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+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 79059 ***
+
+[Illustration: _Andrew Jackson._]
+
+
+
+
+                                 THE
+
+                               GENERALS
+
+                                OF THE
+
+                     LAST WAR WITH GREAT BRITAIN.
+
+
+                         BY JOHN S. JENKINS,
+
+         AUTHOR OF THE “HISTORY OF THE WAR BETWEEN THE UNITED
+                    STATES AND MEXICO,” ETC. ETC.
+
+
+             “There are deeds which should not pass away,
+                   And names that must not wither.”
+
+
+                               AUBURN:
+                   DERBY, MILLER & CO., PUBLISHERS,
+                      BUFFALO: G. H. DERBY & CO.
+
+                                1849.
+
+
+
+
+      Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1848, by
+
+                          DERBY, MILLER & CO.
+
+      In the Clerk’s Office for the Northern District of New York
+
+
+
+
+STEREOTYPED BY THOMAS B. SMITH,
+216 WILLIAM STREET, N. Y.
+
+
+
+
+                                  TO
+
+                     MAJOR GENERAL ZACHARY TAYLOR,
+
+                      OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY,
+
+               THESE MEMOIRS, OF DISTINGUISHED SOLDIERS,
+
+                    WHOSE BRIGHT EXAMPLES HAVE BEEN
+
+             WORTHILY EMULATED IN HIS OWN MILITARY CAREER,
+
+                   ARE MOST RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED.
+
+
+
+
+                               PREFACE.
+
+
+If authors would only adopt the prayer of the honest-hearted Scotch
+pedlar,--“God send us a good conceit of ourselves!”--would they
+not soon get rid of what is, at best, a thankless task--that of
+writing prefaces? Who, then, would care a fig for the Public’s whims
+or prejudices?--the Public might be satisfied, or not, just as
+the Public pleased. A great many readers now regard prefaces with
+abhorrence, and lengthy ones are sure to be pronounced, in advance,
+
+   “As tedious as a twice-told tale,
+    Vexing the dull ear of a drowsy man.”
+
+Still, there is no end to fault-finding, if an author does not put
+a window in the front of his book,--like that the old Roman wished
+in every man’s breast; and yet, the poor wight who thus pretends
+to gratify vulgar curiosity, racks and puzzles his brains in order
+to screen and curtain his window, so that nobody will be a whit
+the wiser, till the volume is opened, and the contents carefully
+examined. It is no wonder that few people like to read prefaces,--or
+that fewer still are satisfied, when they do read them!
+
+I feel confident, however, that it would be a work of supererogation,
+to offer any apology--for that is the gist of most prefaces--for the
+publication of these biographical sketches of distinguished generals,
+whose gallant deeds, whose bravery and heroism, are enshrined in the
+memories of the American people. My only fear is, that it may seem
+that other officers, equally entitled to consideration, have been
+intentionally overlooked, in making the selections for the work. That
+it was deemed necessary to make a selection at all, is the single
+excuse that need be offered for the omission,--which, it is not
+impossible, may be hereafter supplied, by another volume.
+
+The Histories of Ramsay, Perkins, and Brackenridge, Christie’s
+Memoirs of the War in Canada, Thompson’s Historical Sketches,
+James’ Military Occurrences, Wilkinson’s Memoirs, The British
+Annual Register, The Historical Register, Armstrong’s Notices, the
+interesting, but desultory _mélange_ of Mr. Ingersoll, the National
+Portrait Gallery, and numerous biographies, more or less extensive,
+have been consulted in the preparation of the volume. There has been
+no attempt at fine writing, but great pains have been taken to render
+the notices full, comprehensive, and historically accurate; and they
+are believed to be more entitled to confidence, in this respect, than
+any which have preceded them.
+
+_Auburn, December 1, 1848._
+
+
+
+
+                              CONTENTS.
+
+
+                                                             PAGE
+
+  JACOB BROWN,                                                 13
+
+  Situation of the country at the commencement of the war
+     with Great Britain--Parentage of General Brown--Early
+     Vicissitudes--Teaches school--Commences the Study of
+     the Law--Abandons his studies, and removes to Jefferson
+     county, New York--Settlement at Brownville--Attack on
+     Ogdensburgh--Gallant conduct of General Brown--Offered the
+     command of a regiment in the Regular Service--Declines
+     it--Brave defence of Sacketts Harbor--Appointed a Brigadier
+     General--Expedition down the St. Lawrence--Promoted to
+     the rank of Major General--March to Buffalo--Invasion of
+     Canada--Capture of Fort Erie--Battles of Chippewa and
+     Niagara--Severely Wounded, and temporarily surrenders the
+     command--Siege of Fort Erie--Successful Sortie--Close of
+     the war--Appointed General-in-chief--His Death.
+
+  EDMUND PENDLETON GAINES,                                     61
+
+  The “Old Dominion”--Birth and Early History of
+     Gaines--Receives his first commission as an ensign--Claim
+     of the Spanish Government--Projects of Aaron Burr--His
+     arrest and trial--Temporary retirement of Gaines from the
+     army--Obtains a regiment--Abortive Expedition against
+     Montreal--Made a Brigadier-general--Siege of Fort
+     Erie--The Assault--Gallant defence of Gaines--Brevetted
+     a Major-general--War with the Seminoles--The “Black Hawk
+     War”--Outbreak in Florida--The War with Mexico--Patriotic
+     conduct of General Gaines--Personal appearance and traits
+     of character.
+
+  WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON,                                      88
+
+  His Popularity--Benjamin Harrison--Anecdote--Birth
+     and Education of General Harrison--Enters the
+     army--Kentuckeè--Campaign under Wayne--Defeat of the North
+     Western Indians--Fortunate incident--Is married--Civil
+     career--Secretary under Governor St. Clair--Delegate
+     to Congress--Improvement of the Land System--Appointed
+     Governor of Indiana Territory--Important services--Frontier
+     Life--Designs of Great Britain--Subornation of the
+     Indian tribes--Attack on the Chesapeake--Speech of
+     Harrison--Council at Vincennes--Tecumseh--Indian
+     Depredations--Battle of Tippecanoe--Declaration of
+     War against England--Patriotism of the citizens
+     of the West--Harrison invested with a military
+     command--Expedition of General Hopkins--Defence of
+     Fort Harrison--Destruction of Indian Towns--Harrison
+     appointed Brigadier-general--Dispositions for the
+     Campaign--Difficulties and Embarrassments--Massacre at
+     Frenchtown--Siege of Fort Meigs--Narrow Escape--Defence
+     of Fort Stephenson--Perry’s Victory--Pursuit of
+     Proctor--Battle of the Thames--Fruits of the
+     Victory--Letter to General Vincent--Demonstrations of
+     Respect--His Gallantry--Resigns his commission--Senator
+     in Congress--Minister to Colombia--Retires to Private
+     Life--Elected President--Sudden Illness and Death--His
+     character.
+
+  ANDREW JACKSON,                                             163
+
+  Of Irish descent--English oppression--His Father Emigrates
+     to America--Birth of Andrew Jackson--Youthful
+     Adventures--War of the Revolution--Invasion of South
+     Carolina--Patriotic conduct of young Jackson and his
+     brothers--Anecdotes--His Daring and Resolution--Attack
+     on the Waxhaw settlers--Taken as a prisoner to
+     Camden--Sufferings of the Prisoners--Battle of Hobkirk’s
+     Hill--A Mother’s Devotion--Release from Captivity--Close
+     of the War--Praiseworthy Resolution--Andrew Jackson
+     studies law--Emigrates to Tennessee--Life in the Log
+     Cabin--Incidents of the Wilderness--Establishes himself at
+     Nashville--The Debtors--Married to Rachael Donelson--Member
+     of the Tennessee Convention--Representative and Senator
+     in Congress--Judge of the Supreme Court--Difficulty with
+     Governor Sevier--Duel with Dickinson--Altercation with
+     Colonel Benton--Aaron Burr--War with Great Britain--Jackson
+     tenders the services of his Division--Expedition to
+     Natchez--The Southern Indians--War with the Creeks--General
+     Jackson takes the field at the head of the Tennessee
+     volunteers and militia--Difficulty in obtaining
+     supplies--Battle of Talluschatchee--Lincoyer--Battle of
+     Talladega--Destitution of the Troops--Mutiny--Firmness
+     and determination of General Jackson--Patriotic
+     letter to Governor Blount--Battles of Emuckfaw and
+     Enotochopco--Arrival of Reinforcements--Battle of
+     Tohopeka--Terrible slaughter of the Creeks--Termination
+     of Hostilities--Return Home--Jackson appointed
+     a Major-general in the Regular Army--Capture of
+     Pensacola--Expedition of the British against New
+     Orleans--Defences of the city--Arrival of Jackson--Landing
+     of the Enemy--General Jackson attacks them with a part
+     of his command--Fortifications--Battle of the Eighth of
+     January--Complete Rout of the British Army--The enemy
+     retire to their Shipping--Treaty of Peace--Fine imposed by
+     Judge Hall--Gratitude of the citizens of New Orleans--The
+     Seminole War--Appointed commissioner to receive the
+     Territory of Florida--Resignation of his commission--Again
+     elected Senator--Chosen President--Important Events of his
+     Administration--Final Retirement--Death and character.
+
+  ALEXANDER MACOMB,                                           295
+
+  Military Institution at West Point--Ancestors of General
+     Macomb--His Youth--Education--Enters the army as
+     a Cornet of Dragoons--Military Education and
+     Accomplishments--Promotions--Marriage--Superintends
+     the Construction of Coast Defences--Prepares a
+     work on Courts Martial--Appointed Colonel of
+     Artillery--Raises a Regiment--Stationed at Sacketts
+     Harbor--Projected Attack on Kingston--Participation
+     in the Capture of Fort George--Expedition under
+     Wilkinson--Promoted to Brigadier-general--Attack on
+     La Cole Mill--Invasion of New York by the British
+     under Sir George Prevost--Skirmishing--Battle of
+     Plattsburg--Attack and Repulse of the Enemy--Victory
+     of Commodore Macdonough--Thanks of Congress
+     and State Legislatures--Macomb appointed Chief
+     Engineer--General-in-chief of the Army--His Death.
+
+  ZEBULON MONTGOMERY PIKE,                                    323
+
+  His family and Education--Receives a Commission--Fondness
+     for reading and study--His Marriage--Expedition to the
+     sources of the Mississippi--Ordered to explore the
+     interior of Louisiana--Hardships and Sufferings of his
+     party--Loses his way--Taken prisoner to Santa Fe and
+     Chihuahua--Permitted to Return Home--Publishes Narratives
+     of his Expeditions--Rapid Promotions--Deputy Quarter Master
+     General--Appointed Colonel of Infantry--Mode of drilling
+     his regiment--Incursion into Canada--Raised to the rank of
+     Brigadier General--Expedition against York--His Gallant
+     Conduct--Explosion of the Magazine--Death of Pike--Bravery
+     and Heroism.
+
+  WINFIELD SCOTT,                                             338
+
+  Napoleon’s Remark in regard to Turenne--The Pretender--Scott’s
+     Ancestors--His birth--Education--Enters the legal
+     Profession--Commences Practice--Obtains a commission
+     as captain of Artillery--Difficulty with General
+     Wilkinson--Promoted to Lieutenant Colonel--Attack
+     on Queenston--Scott crosses the river and takes
+     the command--The Enemy driven off--Arrival of
+     General Sheaffe with reïnforcements, and surrender
+     of the Americans--Encounter with the Indian
+     Warriors--Interference in behalf of Irish prisoners--Is
+     exchanged and returns to duty--Colonel of the second
+     artillery--Attack on Fort George--Scott commands the
+     advanced guard--Capture of the Fort--Wilkinson’s
+     Expedition--Skirmishing--Appointed a brigadier
+     general--Camp of Instruction at Buffalo--Invasion of
+     Canada--Battle of Chippewa--Scott’s charge--Battle
+     of Niagara--His heroic conduct--Is severely
+     wounded--Complimentary Resolutions--Visit to
+     Europe--Return Home and Marriage--Military Reports and
+     Publications--Controversy in regard to brevet rank--War
+     with the Sacs and Foxes--Campaign in Florida--Disturbances
+     in Canada, and on the frontier--Removal of the
+     Cherokees--The North Eastern Boundary--Raised to the chief
+     command of the Army--The War with Mexico--Expedition
+     against Vera Cruz--Reduction of the city and the castle
+     of San Juan de Ulua--Battle of Cerro Gordo--March to
+     Puebla--Advance to the Mexican Capital--Contreras and
+     Churubusco--El Molino del Rey--Capture of the City of
+     Mexico--Treaty of Peace concluded--Return of General
+     Scott--Reflections.
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: JACOB BROWN.]
+
+
+
+
+                             THE GENERALS
+
+                                OF THE
+
+                     LAST WAR WITH GREAT BRITAIN.
+
+
+
+
+                             JACOB BROWN.
+
+
+The opening scenes of the second, and last contest, between the
+United States and Great Britain, were, to the former, disastrous in
+the extreme. The apprehension long entertained, and, in the western
+part of the Union, the openly avowed desire of a war with Spain, who
+took little pains to conceal her dissatisfaction with the cession of
+Louisiana,--and the protracted agitation of the various questions
+in dispute with England and France; the two great powers contending
+for the mastery, or, at least, the commercial supremacy in the
+world,--had aroused, in some degree, the patriotic emotions of our
+countrymen. The impressment of American seamen, the outrage on the
+Chesapeake, the affair of the Little Belt, and the acts of violence
+committed by the savages on the north-western frontier,--who were
+prompted and encouraged by the agents of the British government,--had
+also excited a war-spirit that needed but a breath to fan it into
+a flame. Volunteer companies for improvement in discipline, were
+everywhere formed; the regular military force of the nation was
+augmented; and our chivalric young men sought eagerly for commissions
+in the army.
+
+But the declaration of war, on the 18th of June, 1812, found
+the country almost entirely unprepared for hostilities.--Upon
+whomsoever the blame may fall, the fact is too glaring to admit of
+contradiction; and its consequences, at the outset, were signally
+unfortunate.--The long line of sea-coast was in a defenceless
+condition. The army was feeble in numbers, and feebler still in skill
+and experience. The prominent officers of the Revolution were either
+dead or superannuated, and recourse was had to those who had held
+subordinate positions in that great struggle, under what proved to
+be the mistaken notion, that they only could be relied on in such an
+emergency. One reverse followed closely after another; and it was not
+until a different policy prevailed, and younger, and more skilful and
+enterprising officers, were placed at the head of the brave yeomen
+who flocked around the American standard, that the tide of defeat
+was turned. Among those who contributed to retrieve the disasters
+of 1812 and 1813, and to terminate the war by a series of brilliant
+achievements that elicited the applause of the nation, and enforced
+admiration at home and abroad, was Major General JACOB BROWN.
+
+[Sidenote: EARLY VICISSITUDES.]
+
+General Brown was born in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, on the ninth
+of March, 1775. His ancestors, for several generations, followed the
+peaceful occupations of an agricultural life. George Brown, the first
+of the family in this country, emigrated from England previous to the
+establishment of William Penn on the Delaware, and was well known as
+a man of strong and well-informed mind. His descendants resembled him
+in character, and a number of them were, for many successive years,
+prominent and influential members of the provincial government. With
+few exceptions, they belonged to the Society of Friends. The early
+associations, therefore, of General Brown, were not calculated to
+awaken a desire for engaging in those warlike pursuits, in which he
+subsequently acquired so much distinction.[1]
+
+In the language of the inscription on the monument erected to his
+memory, in the Congressional Cemetery, at Washington, he was “by
+birth, by education, by principle, devoted to peace!” But the
+fire of patriotism often burns the purest and the freest beneath
+the plainest garb; and the heart warmed by the manly and generous
+impulses which it quickens into existence, is easily moved by the
+incentives that arouse the soldier’s ambition. Love of country,
+where it is honest and sincere, will outweigh a thousand cold and
+selfish considerations, and to him who cherishes it, in the hour of
+danger, there is no post so acceptable as that which will secure the
+protection of the land that gave him birth.
+
+Samuel Brown, the father of Jacob, was a man of intelligence and
+high character. He was liberal and enterprising, though not always
+successful in his undertakings. He inherited a large and unincumbered
+estate, which, with proper care and attention, yielded a very
+respectable income; but, unfortunately, he was not content with the
+moderate gains thus realized, and, with the hope of increasing them,
+was induced to embark in commercial enterprises that wholly failed of
+success. A total sacrifice of property was the consequence; and his
+children were left to depend upon their own efforts and exertions to
+make their way in the world.
+
+At the time of his father’s failure, our hero was about sixteen
+years of age; but, though still a mere youth, he was not unprepared
+for practising that self-reliance which had now become a necessity
+as well as a duty. So far from being dispirited, because he was
+compelled to rely upon his own unaided resources, he nerved himself
+manfully for the task before him, determined, if possible, to
+secure the rewards of honest and industrious enterprise. The evil
+consequences of a hasty and unwise act were brought home to him in
+such a manner, that he could not well forget them; and thus it was
+in after years, that caution and prudence were such conspicuous
+features in his disposition. When he arrived at the age of eighteen,
+he commenced teaching school at Crosswicks, New Jersey, and remained
+there in that capacity, till he was twenty-one. While engaged in this
+vocation,--in itself a noble school, and one that has served as the
+introduction to a brilliant career of usefulness, to so many of our
+most distinguished citizens,--he devoted all his leisure time, with
+great assiduity, to the cultivation of his mind.
+
+[Sidenote: TEACHES SCHOOL.]
+
+After leaving Crosswicks, he spent two years in Ohio, in the
+vicinity of Cincinnati, during which time he was employed in
+surveying and laying out the public lands. On his return from
+the west, he went to the city of New York, and, upon the urgent
+solicitation of his friends, taught a public school for a few months.
+This was in the year 1798--a most exciting period in the history of
+the country. The depredations committed on the commerce of the United
+States, the insults offered to our ministers by the French Directory,
+and the arrogant tone of their Envoy and his agents, threatened
+seriously to disturb the friendly relations which had formerly
+existed between the two governments.
+
+The political discussions of that day were animated and earnest
+in their tone, and there were few possessing the capacity who did
+not engage in them. Young Brown had constantly kept in view the
+importance of disciplining and strengthening his mental powers, and
+the magnitude of the questions, in relation to which parties were
+then divided, was such, that he devoted a considerable portion of
+his time to their examination. He was an active participant in the
+debates which took place among his associates, and wrote several
+essays, that were published in the city papers, and attracted the
+favorable attention of that portion of his fellow-citizens whose
+views coincided with those of the writer. While he remained in
+New York, he commenced the study of the law, but, on discovering
+that it was not congenial with his disposition or tastes, he
+immediately abandoned it. These repeated changes in his occupation
+were not caused by any indecision, or want of energy on his part,
+but rather by the omission to seek a field where his active and
+ardent temperament would have the opportunity to develop itself,
+and his love of adventure find those projects better adapted to its
+gratification.
+
+[Sidenote: SETTLEMENT AT BROWNVILLE.]
+
+In 1799, he purchased, at a low price, a large tract of land on the
+borders of Lake Ontario, lying between the Black river and the St.
+Lawrence, and embraced within the limits of the present county of
+Jefferson. As soon as his arrangements were completed, he removed
+thither, for the purpose of establishing himself and effecting a
+settlement. At this time the country was rude and uncultivated,
+and the first human habitation within thirty miles of the lake was
+erected by him. The settlement that he founded, now a large and
+flourishing village, was called Brownville, and the same name was
+afterwards applied to the town in which it was located. Both the
+village and town, and the county of Jefferson, are much indebted to
+him for their prosperity and wealth. His activity and enterprise
+were rewarded by pecuniary advancement; and his kindly disposition,
+his integrity and intelligence, secured him a large share of
+popularity. He was appointed to fill various public situations,
+and acquired an extensive influence in his own immediate vicinity,
+and in the state at large. He was distinguished as an enlightened
+and practical agriculturist, and for the ability and energy with
+which he prosecuted such measures as were most likely to improve
+the appearance and condition of the country. But these were not the
+only commendable traits that deserve to be mentioned. After he had
+effected the necessary improvements, he brought his parents to his
+home in the wilderness, and having placed them in a comfortable
+situation near him, to the end of his life did every thing in his
+power to promote their happiness.
+
+Though occasionally meeting with reverses and disappointments, his
+firmness and perseverance never deserted him, and his unconquerable
+resolution enabled him to overcome every obstacle that interfered
+with the success of his plans.
+
+In 1809, he received the appointment of colonel in the state militia,
+and, in the following year, was promoted to the rank of brigadier
+general. He had ever been fond of perusing works on military science,
+and the certain prospect of a war with Great Britain now made him the
+more anxious to prepare himself for the proper discharge of those
+duties which he might be required to perform, as it was a favorite
+wish with him, to acquit himself creditably in every position he
+was called upon to fill. At the commencement of hostilities, in
+the summer of 1812, he was placed in command of a brigade in the
+first detachment of New York militia mustered into the service of
+the United States, and the defence of the eastern frontier of Lake
+Ontario, and the southern shore of the St. Lawrence, was intrusted to
+him.
+
+The line under the charge of General Brown extended from Oswego
+to Lake St. Francis, a distance of nearly two hundred miles; and
+throughout the greater portion of its extent, it was but thinly
+inhabited. The exposed situation of the country, on account of its
+proximity to the Canadian provinces, rendered the duty assigned
+him as responsible as it was arduous; and the small force under
+his command, and the inadequate supply of means at his disposal,
+frequently occasioned vexation and embarrassment. Owing to the repeal
+of the orders in council, and the temporary armistice entered into
+between Sir George Prevost, Governor General of Canada, and Major
+General Dearborn, the Commander-in-chief of the American forces, it
+was late in the season before any action of importance took place on
+the northern frontier of New York. Both the regular and the militia
+officers were constantly employed, in the meantime, in organizing and
+disciplining their respective commands.
+
+After completing the organization of his brigade, General Brown fixed
+his head-quarters at Ogdensburgh. On the twenty-first of September,
+1812, Captain Forsyth, the immediate commander of the regular troops
+at that post, was directed to cross the St. Lawrence, with a small
+party, in pursuit of some prisoners whom the English had taken from
+that vicinity. He was met by a superior force of the enemy, whom he
+defeated. He then entered the village of Gananoque, and destroyed and
+brought off a large quantity of military stores, together with some
+prisoners.
+
+[Sidenote: THE BRITISH ATTACK OGDENSBURGH.]
+
+In retaliation for this successful exploit, the British commenced
+a heavy cannonade upon Ogdensburgh, on the second of October, from
+their batteries at Prescott, on the opposite side of the river. This
+was continued for two days in succession, and on Sunday, the fourth
+of October, they attempted to storm the town. For this purpose, about
+six hundred men were embarked in forty boats. General Brown had
+anticipated the attack, and collected together a force not far from
+four hundred strong to resist it. As the enemy approached the shore,
+he ordered his troops, whom he had advantageously posted along the
+bank, to fire upon them. The command was obeyed with alacrity, and a
+spirited contest was kept up for two hours. The British made several
+ineffectual attempts to land; but the galling fire poured upon them
+was too severe to be endured. Deceived and disappointed in regard to
+the firmness of the militia, and the spirit and energy of the officer
+who commanded them, they were at length compelled to retire across
+the river to Prescott, having lost a number of men, and leaving one
+of their boats in the hands of the Americans.
+
+Frequent collisions occurred between small parties of the two armies,
+in this quarter, during the autumn, and the following winter. Early
+in February, 1813, a body of the enemy crossed the St. Lawrence in
+pursuit of some deserters, and committed a number of wanton and
+unprovoked outrages. Major Forsyth, then in command at Ogdensburgh,
+determined, as the only mode of obtaining satisfaction, to make
+an incursion into Canada. Passing over the river with a part of
+his riflemen, and a number of militia, many of the latter being
+volunteers for the occasion, in all about two hundred men, he
+surprised the guard at Brockville, captured the military stores, and
+returned in safety, without the loss of a single man, bringing with
+him fifty-two prisoners, among whom were eight officers.
+
+In return for this second affront, the British attacked Ogdensburgh
+in force, being near twelve hundred strong, under Colonel Frazier,
+on the twenty-second of February. Major Forsyth, in connection
+with Colonel Benedict, of the New York militia, made a gallant
+defence; but they were finally forced to fall back into the interior,
+before the superior numbers of the enemy. The latter destroyed
+two schooners, two gunboats, and the soldiers’ barracks, and then
+retired across the river. In consequence of this event, serious
+apprehensions were entertained for the safety of Sacketts Harbor,
+which had been selected as the principal naval and military dépôt on
+the lake frontier, on account of the excellence of its harbor, and
+prompt measures were taken for its security;--but the British made no
+further attempts at invasion, during the winter.
+
+[Sidenote: IS TENDERED A REGIMENT.]
+
+The term for which he was called into service having expired soon
+after the close of the campaign of 1812, General Brown returned
+to his civil pursuits at Brownville. But the bravery and skill
+which he had manifested in repelling the attack on Ogdensburgh,
+had attracted the favorable notice of the national administration,
+and they were unwilling to be even temporarily deprived of his
+valuable services. Accordingly, the command of a regiment in the
+regular army was tendered to him.--At the opening of hostilities,
+extensive preparations had been made, and orders had been issued, for
+the invasion of Canada; and it was confidently predicted that the
+campaign would be signalized by the conquest of the two provinces.
+The surrender of General Hull, the failure of the attempted invasion
+under General Van Rensselaer, and the inaction of General Dearborn,
+put an end to the brilliant hopes and expectations that had been
+formed, and created a very general feeling of dissatisfaction in
+regard to the manner in which the war had been carried on, and the
+conduct of many of the principal officers of the army. As was quite
+natural, General Brown shared in this feeling, and was unwilling to
+enter the regular service if required to submit to a sacrifice of
+rank. He therefore declined the appointment; but, at the same time,
+acknowledging the duty of every good citizen to aid in the defence
+of the country, he held himself in readiness to bestow his services,
+voluntarily and gratuitously, in case they should be needed in any
+emergency.
+
+In the spring of 1813, the American fleet and land troops were
+withdrawn from Sacketts Harbor, to cooperate in the reduction of York
+and Fort George at the upper end of Lake Ontario. Lieutenant Colonel
+Backus, of the 1st dragoons, was afterwards placed in command of the
+post, whose garrison consisted of two hundred and fifty dragoons,
+Lieutenant Fanning’s artillery, two hundred invalid soldiers, and
+a few seamen. This was but a feeble force for the defence of the
+important military stores collected at that point, and especially so,
+because the batteries on the shore, and the vessels of war that were
+left behind, had been dismantled of nearly all their heavy ordnance.
+The commanding officer was active and vigilant, however, and he
+had been instructed to communicate with General Brown, who resided
+within eight miles of the Harbor, if an attack should be threatened.
+The latter was not then in military command, but he was relied on
+to rally the militia from the surrounding country, if it became
+necessary. Signal guns were directed to be fired, on the approach of
+a hostile force, in order to give the alarm with the least possible
+delay, and such other preparations were made as were supposed to be
+requisite.
+
+On the evening of the twenty-seventh of May, the British fleet from
+Kingston was discovered bearing in the direction of Sacketts Harbor,
+by the small vessels under Lieutenant Chauncey, who had been sent
+out to reconnoitre. The alarm guns were instantly fired, and a
+messenger was also dispatched to General Brown with the information.
+After issuing orders for the militia to assemble, he repaired to the
+post of danger. The delay experienced by the enemy, in the attempt,
+but partially successful, to capture a number of boats coming from
+Oswego with troops, fortunately gave time to collect some five or
+six hundred men: but not more than one thousand could be assembled,
+in all, including the invalids. At the request of Lieutenant Colonel
+Backus, who had been but a short time at the station, and was
+unacquainted with the localities, General Brown took command of the
+united force.
+
+[Sidenote: ATTACK ON SACKETTS HARBOR.]
+
+In the afternoon of the twenty-eighth, the hostile fleet, which
+consisted of four ships, one brig, two schooners, two gunboats,
+and thirty-three flat-bottomed boats, containing one thousand
+picked troops, under Sir George Prevost and Commodore Sir James
+Yeo, appeared in the offing. Under the orders of General Brown, a
+breastwork was hastily, but skilfully thrown up, at the only point
+where a landing could be readily effected,--the primeval forests
+sweeping away, for miles on miles, in rear of the town, and on
+either side of the opening leading down to the margin of the lake.
+The militia, and the Albany volunteers, under Colonel Mills, who
+had recently arrived, were posted behind the breastwork with a
+field-piece. The regular troops, under Lieutenant Colonel Backus,
+were stationed in a second line, in rear, and near the barracks and
+public buildings. Lieutenant Fanning, with his artillerists, occupied
+Fort Tompkins, at the barracks; and Lieutenant Chauncey and his men
+were ordered to defend the stores at Navy Point.
+
+During the night of the twenty-eighth, General Brown was constantly
+on the alert. His men slept on their arms, while he and his officers
+reconnoitred the shores of the lake. All was quiet, however, save the
+mournful sighing of the breeze among the dark pines and hemlocks, the
+tall oaks and maples, in the neighboring forests, and the constant
+dashing of the tiny waves on the pebbly beach, till the early dawn
+on the following morning. The British were then descried pushing
+rapidly towards the landing in their small boats. As they approached,
+the American militia appeared cheerful and animated, and betrayed no
+symptoms of fear; on the contrary, they seemed anxious to participate
+in the conflict.
+
+The orders of General Brown were, to permit the enemy to come
+within pistol shot, and then, taking deliberate aim, to open on
+them vigorously with the field-piece and musketry. The first fire
+was well-directed, and very destructive; the shot tearing and
+crashing through the sides of the boats, knocking off the gunwales,
+splintering the bowls of the oars, and killing and wounding several
+officers and men. The British were thrown into confusion; their
+advance was checked; and a few more rounds would undoubtedly have
+terminated the engagement. But after firing the second round, the
+militia, for the first time in action, were seized with a sudden
+panic, and, in spite of the efforts of their officers, retreated in
+disorder. Colonel Mills lost his life in the vain attempt to prevent
+the retreat. General Brown succeeded in rallying about ninety men
+belonging to the company of Captain McNitt, whom he formed in line
+with the regulars, who maintained their position with spirit and
+bravery.
+
+Meanwhile Sir George Prevost had disembarked his troops on the beach,
+and commenced his march towards the village. But the enemy now
+encountered the most desperate opposition from the little band of
+Americans who remained firm, encouraged by the presence of General
+Brown, and the heroic example of the brave but unfortunate Backus,
+who fell mortally wounded during the attack. Though compelled to give
+way before superior numbers, they disputed every inch of ground, and
+finally took possession of the barrack buildings. Here, partially
+sheltered, they poured their galling volleys on the enemy; at the
+same time, Lieutenant Fanning, though severely wounded, directed the
+fire of his gun with remarkable precision and effect.
+
+The British having made repeated efforts to dislodge the Americans,
+without success, General Brown exhorted his men to continue the
+defence of the position to the last extremity, while he made another
+effort to rally the militia to their assistance. He then hastened
+to overtake the fugitives. Having collected a large number of them
+together, he earnestly addressed them, rebuking both officers and
+men for their lack of courage, with such force and eloquence, that
+many of them shed tears when he alluded to the brave conduct of the
+regulars and volunteers, who, though strangers to the soil, were more
+prompt to defend it, than they, its owners and occupants. He now
+ordered them to form and follow him, declaring that he would punish
+the first act of disobedience with instant death. Although his orders
+were obeyed without reluctance, he was afraid to rely upon their
+firmness in an open attack.
+
+Being unwilling, therefore, to meet the enemy with the troops whom
+he had just rallied, General Brown determined to effect by stratagem
+what he was fearful he could not otherwise accomplish. Directing the
+militia to pass through the edge of the forest, in sight of the field
+of battle, as if affecting to conceal the movement, he marched them
+by a circuitous route towards the place of landing. The British,
+suspecting an attempt to turn their flank and capture their boats,
+became alarmed, and made a precipitate retreat, leaving behind
+them all their killed, a number of their wounded, and thirty-five
+prisoners. They were suffered to re-embark without serious
+molestation, though a dropping fire was kept up till they were out of
+reach. After retiring to his shipping, Sir George Prevost demanded
+the surrender of the town, which was promptly refused. All danger had
+now passed, as reïnforcements were rapidly coming in, and the British
+commander subsequently modified his demand into a request that his
+killed and wounded might be properly cared for, and then returned,
+quite crest-fallen, to the Canada shore.
+
+While the action was at its height, a false report reached Lieutenant
+Chauncey, to the effect that the American troops had been defeated,
+and were about to surrender; whereupon, in compliance with his
+orders, he set fire to the stores and shipping, to prevent their
+falling into the hands of the enemy. The flames were afterwards
+extinguished, but not until more damage had been done than had been
+effected by the British soldiery. The loss of the enemy in this
+affair was very severe; their total of killed, wounded, and taken
+prisoners, being about four hundred and fifty. The Americans lost
+twenty-two killed, eighty-four wounded, and twenty-six missing.
+
+The gallant defence of Sacketts Harbor laid the foundation of the
+military fame of General Brown. As a reward for the tact, courage,
+and promptitude, which he had exhibited, he was appointed, in the
+ensuing month of August, a brigadier general in the regular army.
+In this capacity he accompanied General Wilkinson, who had been
+appointed to succeed General Dearborn, in his unsuccessful expedition
+down the St. Lawrence. General Brown was sent forward to take command
+of the advance, at French Creek, which had been fixed upon as the
+place of rendezvous for the various detachments composing the Army
+of the Centre. On the first, and again on the second of November, a
+British Squadron, with a large force of infantry, attacked the troops
+who had already arrived there; but, on each occasion, they were
+repulsed by the fire of a battery of three 18-pounders, skilfully
+managed by Captains McPherson and Fanning. After many delays, General
+Wilkinson embarked from French Creek with his whole force, amounting
+to near seven thousand men, on the sixth of November, General Brown
+being placed in command of the second brigade. In the evening they
+arrived a few miles above the British batteries at Prescott. The
+main body of the army, carrying with them their powder and fixed
+ammunition, now landed, and moved round to a point on the river below
+the enemy’s batteries.
+
+[Sidenote: EXPEDITION DOWN THE ST. LAWRENCE.]
+
+The commander-in-chief, taking advantage of a dense fog which came on
+early in the night, endeavored to pass down the stream, in his boat,
+unobserved; but the fog rising before he had effected the passage,
+the enemy discovered him, by the light of the moon, and opened their
+fire. General Brown was in the rear, in charge of the flotilla,
+consisting of three hundred boats; and, upon discovering that the
+British were on the alert, he concluded to halt till the moon had
+set. He then gave orders for the flotilla again to get under way. The
+movement was discovered, however, and for three hours the American
+flotilla was exposed to a heavy fire from the guns of the enemy; yet
+such was the foresight and vigilance of General Brown, that not a
+single boat suffered the slightest injury, and but one man was killed.
+
+On the seventh, the army continued its progress down the river,
+preceded by an advanced corps of twelve hundred men, under Colonel
+Macomb, who were ordered to remove the obstructions in the stream,
+and drive the light parties of the enemy occupying the commanding
+points on its northern bank. The flotilla arrived at the White House
+on the eighth of November, and General Brown was then ordered forward
+with his brigade, to reïnforce Colonel Macomb and take command of
+the advance. Clearing the bank of the river as he proceeded, he
+arrived on the ninth instant, at the head of the _Longue Sault_,
+without the occurrence of any incident of unusual moment. In the
+morning of the tenth he continued his march, and soon became engaged
+with a strong party posted at a blockhouse near the rapids, who were
+handsomely driven off by the rifles under Major Forsyth.
+
+In the meantime the British troops from Kingston had made their
+appearance in the rear of the American army, and several skirmishes
+had taken place. While General Brown was still separated from the
+main body, General Boyd was ordered by the commanding general, to
+face about and attack the enemy, with the remaining troops on shore.
+An action was consequently hazarded on the eleventh of November, in
+Chrystler’s fields near Williamsburg, which terminated in no decisive
+result; the British retiring to their encampments, and the Americans
+to their boats, each with the loss of over four hundred men. Without
+being further molested by the enemy, General Wilkinson continued the
+descent of the river to St. Regis, at which point he expected to be
+joined by General Hampton, with the Army of the North. Owing to the
+want of harmony and concert of action between the two generals, a
+junction was not effected; the reduction of Montreal,--understood
+to have been the object of the expedition,--was abandoned; and, on
+the thirteenth of November, General Wilkinson retired into winter
+quarters at French Mills, now Fort Covington, in the forks of the
+Salmon river.
+
+The capture of York and Fort George, and the successful operations
+of the North-western army in the early part of the season, had
+raised the public expectation to the highest pitch. Every thing
+was hoped from the expedition under General Wilkinson, for which
+extensive preparations had been made. The Secretary of War, General
+Armstrong, in person superintended the movement, yet it was attended
+with complete failure. The feeling of dissatisfaction thereby
+engendered, was not confined to the rank and file of the army, but
+extended throughout the nation. The expedition had attracted a more
+than ordinary degree of attention; and, although the censures of
+the public were mainly confined to those who were alone responsible
+for its unfortunate issue, all connected with it, both officers
+and soldiers, felt themselves, to a greater or less extent, the
+objects of reproach. The tendency of this feeling was to produce
+disaffection, even where it did not already exist; to discourage the
+troops; and to impair, if not to destroy, their efficiency.
+
+[Sidenote: APPOINTED A MAJOR GENERAL.]
+
+Soon after the retirement of the army into winter quarters, the
+command devolved on General Brown, in consequence of the sickness
+of General Wilkinson, and the absence of the other senior officers.
+Early in the year 1814, he was promoted to the rank of major general,
+and, in connection with the able and efficient officers under his
+orders, immediately applied himself to the work of reviving and
+perfecting the discipline of the troops, and restoring their _esprit
+du corps_.
+
+The brilliant achievements of the heroic soldiers who rallied around
+the eagle standard of Napoleon, and followed it, reckless of danger
+and peril, to battle and to death, had awakened impulses that
+prompted to like acts of daring; and it only required, among the
+American troops, the presence of a gallant and chivalrous commander
+to inspire that enthusiasm, and enkindle that patriotic ardor,
+which were sure to accomplish the same results. General Brown was
+a soldier by nature. His devotion to his profession assumed the
+character of a romantic attachment. Foremost in every thought, was
+a desire to redeem the honor of the flag that waved above him, and
+to achieve something worthy to be recorded, side by side, with the
+storied annals of the Revolution. His less fortunate contemporary,
+“whose glorious name might turn a coward brave”--the accomplished
+Ney--though the leader of mightier armies, and the hero of prouder
+fields, was neither more brave, nor more highly gifted with those
+qualities which are necessary to constitute a great and a successful
+warrior.
+
+The withdrawal of the greater part of the troops on the Niagara
+frontier, for the expedition down the St. Lawrence, left it almost
+defenceless. Fort George, in Canada West, was evacuated by General
+McClure who had been left in command; but, before crossing the
+river, exceeding his orders, he directed the village of Newark to be
+burned. In retaliation for this act, which was promptly disavowed by
+the American government, Fort Niagara was surprised on the night of
+the eighteenth of December, 1813, and its whole garrison, of near
+three hundred men, principally invalids, with the exception of a
+small number who made their escape, were put to the sword. Lewiston,
+Manchester, Youngstown, Buffalo, and the village of the Tuscaroras,
+many of whom had entered the service of the United States, were
+burned, and the whole frontier laid waste. It was therefore
+determined to remove the principal seat of war to that quarter,
+during the approaching campaign, and about the middle of February,
+1814, the American army abandoned their cantonments at French Mills,
+in two columns;--one marching to Sacketts Harbor, and subsequently
+proceeding to Buffalo, under General Brown, and the other towards
+Lake Champlain, under Generals Wilkinson and Macomb, for the purpose
+of making a diversion in favor of the contemplated operations on the
+Niagara.
+
+[Sidenote: DUTIES OF HIS NEW OFFICE.]
+
+The column under General Brown reached Buffalo in March, where it
+was joined by the new volunteer levies. Having directed a camp of
+instruction to be established, for drilling the troops, and the
+regimental and company officers, he went back to Sacketts Harbor,
+to complete the arrangements for the effectual cooperation of the
+naval force on Lake Ontario, under Commodore Chauncey. The spring of
+1814 opened gloomy and inauspicious for the American cause. Party
+spirit ran high; the country was laboring under severe pecuniary
+embarrassments; bitter complaints were uttered in some quarters;
+and in numerous instances the measures of the administration were
+thwarted, and its plans defeated. The temporary suspension of
+hostilities, on the European continent, left Great Britain at liberty
+to employ a larger portion of her army and navy in carrying on
+the war against the United States. It was now announced, that she
+intended to prosecute a vigorous system of offensive measures; to
+plunder and devastate our sea-coast; and desolate our frontiers with
+fire and sword. When her designs were understood on this side of the
+Atlantic, our citizens, with few exceptions, forgot, for the time,
+their political prejudices, and rallied with enthusiasm in support of
+the government. At no time during the war was the country provided
+with a suitable military establishment; collections, therefore, were
+now made in the principal towns and cities, and large numbers of
+volunteers were equipped, and means furnished for their support, by
+voluntary contribution.
+
+Fortunately, too, at this important crisis, there were such men as
+Brown, Jackson, and Macomb, to take command of our armies, and lead
+them on to victory. General Brown returned to Buffalo in June, and
+resumed the command of the army, which consisted, at this time, of
+the regular brigades under Generals Scott and Ripley, and a brigade
+of volunteers, with a few Indians, under Generals Porter and Swift.
+Notwithstanding his utmost exertions, he was unable to take the field
+with his command before the first of July. It was then determined
+to cross the river and capture Fort Erie, in the expectation that
+the British would be compelled to abandon Fort Niagara, and fall
+back on their posts on the head of the lake. During the night of the
+second instant, General Brown embarked his troops, but little more
+than three thousand strong, at Black Rock; and early in the morning
+of the third, General Scott landed below the fort with his brigade,
+and a battalion of artillery under Major Hindman, and General
+Ripley, with his brigade, above. The commanding general followed
+with the volunteer forces,--and a party of Indians were sent round
+through the woods in rear of the enemy’s position. The fort was soon
+invested, and a battery of heavy guns planted in a position that
+completely commanded its defences. Without awaiting the threatened
+assault, after firing a few guns, the garrison, to the number of one
+hundred and seventy men, surrendered themselves prisoners of war.
+
+[Sidenote: BATTLE OF CHIPPEWA.]
+
+The main body of the British troops in the immediate vicinity of the
+river, amounting to over three thousand men, under Major General
+Riall, occupied an intrenched camp at Chippewa, about two miles above
+the Falls. Leaving a small garrison in Fort Erie, General Brown
+advanced, on the day after its reduction, against the position of
+General Riall. The brigade of General Scott, which, with Captain
+Towson’s battery, formed the advance, had a running fight, for
+sixteen miles, with the 100th regiment, commanded by the Marquis of
+Tweedale, and finally drove it across the Chippewa Creek. In the
+evening, the whole army encamped on the south bank of Street’s Creek,
+the bridge over which had been destroyed by the Marquis, within two
+miles of the enemy’s works. Between this stream and the Chippewa, lay
+the broad plain on which the sanguinary engagement of the following
+day took place. On the east were the waters of the Niagara, speeding
+along in their arrowy flight, to the cataract beyond; and on the west
+was a dense forest of oaks, and beeches, and maples, extending for
+several miles into the interior.
+
+At an early hour on the morning of the fifth of July, the British
+light troops, consisting of Canadian militia and Indians, who were
+posted in the woods on the left, commenced making attacks on the
+American pickets placed on that flank, and small parties of the enemy
+occasionally appeared in the open plain in front. The commanding
+officer of one of the pickets having made a hasty retreat, and left
+one of his men wounded upon the ground, he was ordered instantly to
+give up his command, and another officer was directed to take charge
+of his party, and bring off the wounded man, which was accomplished
+without loss. General Brown could never look with complacency on a
+breach of discipline, or violation of orders; and when accompanied
+with anything that bore the appearance of cowardice, it was sure to
+be visited, not merely with an indignant rebuke, but with summary
+punishment. He would tolerate the presence of no officer with the
+army, who could forget, under any circumstances, the honor of the
+profession to which he belonged. It is due to the officer referred
+to, to remark, that he was permitted to engage in the battle as a
+volunteer, and discharged his duty manfully. He was afterwards tried
+by a court-martial, and honorably acquitted.
+
+General Brown was anxious to bring on an engagement with the
+enemy, and, in order to effect this object, or, if that were found
+impossible, to put an end to the annoying fire of their skirmishers,
+he directed General Porter to fetch a circuit through the forest
+with the volunteers and Indians, and cut off their retreat; and the
+advanced parties were ordered to fall back before the fire of their
+opponents, and thus favor the movement. About four o’clock in the
+afternoon, General Porter encountered the light companies of the
+Royal Scots and the 100th regiment, in the woods, and drove them
+back upon the Chippewa, where they met the whole British column,
+under General Riall, who had anticipated the intentions of General
+Brown, and was now rapidly approaching, with the hope of finding the
+Americans unprepared for his reception.
+
+The commanding general had accompanied the volunteers, but, on
+hearing the roar of the artillery, and discovering the clouds of dust
+rising in the vicinity of Chippewa bridge, he returned to camp, and
+ordered General Scott to advance forthwith, with the first brigade
+and Towson’s battery, and engage the enemy on the open plain, while
+he brought up the second brigade, under General Ripley, to act at
+whatever point it might be needed. The order was executed with all
+possible speed. The troops under General Scott dashed across the
+creek, and through the clumps of bushes fringing its bank, under a
+galling fire of musketry and artillery, and were soon enveloped in
+the wreaths of sulphureous smoke rising over the battle field; their
+shouts and cheers, borne merrily on the breeze, and the deep-toned
+thunder of their artillery, and their sharp rattling volleys,
+announcing the spirit and eagerness with which they entered into
+the contest. Meanwhile the British light troops had rallied, and
+compelled the volunteers of General Porter, in turn, to give way.
+The left flank of Scott’s brigade, therefore, became much exposed;
+and the 21st infantry, forming part of General Ripley’s brigade,
+which had been held in reserve, was detached to gain the rear of the
+enemy’s right flank. The greatest exertions were made to reach their
+position in time, but in vain; for such was the impetuosity of the
+attack made by General Scott, that the battle was fought, and the
+victory won, before they had time to participate in the conflict.
+
+After the retreat of the volunteers, the 25th infantry, commanded
+by Major Jesup, on the extreme left of Scott’s brigade, in the
+forest, was warmly pressed in front and in flank, being exposed to a
+withering tempest of musket balls that was fast thinning their ranks;
+but, at this critical period, their brave leader gave his well-known
+order,--“Support arms--forward march!”--Men who could advance without
+faltering in such fearful peril were not to be resisted. Having
+gained a more favorable position, they returned the fire of the
+enemy, with interest, and in a few minutes compelled them to seek
+safety in flight.
+
+[Sidenote: THE VICTORY AND ITS RESULTS.]
+
+In the other part of the field, equal zeal and gallantry were
+displayed. The strife was bloody and fiercely contested on both
+sides, but of short duration. A warm fire was kept up for about an
+hour, when the enemy’s artillery was silenced; but their infantry
+were now ordered to move forward with charged bayonets. As they
+advanced, a raking fire was poured upon them from Towson’s guns,
+which Scott had posted in the road to Chippewa, and this was
+followed, almost instantly, by a destructive volley from the 9th
+and 11th infantry, thrown forward on their outer flanks, and that
+tremendous charge which scattered the pride of the English soldiery
+like chaff before the wind.[2] The enemy’s whole line now wavered
+and broke, and they were hotly pursued to their intrenchments. Here
+the advance of the victors was checked by the batteries which opened
+their fire. General Brown had already hastened forward with the
+reserve, and joined in the pursuit. He at once decided to force the
+British position, which was well fortified, having a heavy battery
+on one flank, and a strong block-house on the other. The ordnance
+was brought up for the purpose, but, as the hour was late, and the
+men burning with thirst, and wearied with the fatigues of the day,
+upon consulting with his officers, it was concluded to retire to camp
+rather than hazard what had been gained by an attack which might
+terminate in a disastrous repulse.
+
+The number of troops actually engaged in this battle, on the side
+of the British, was not far from twenty-one hundred: the American
+force was about nineteen hundred. The loss of the enemy, according to
+the official report of the action, was one hundred and thirty-eight
+killed, and three hundred and sixty-five wounded and missing. Of the
+Americans there were sixty killed, and two hundred and sixty-seven
+wounded and missing.
+
+This auspicious opening of the campaign, in a quarter, too, which
+had previously witnessed so much of defeat and disgrace, was
+hailed with acclamations of joy, in the farthest borders of the
+Union. Resolutions of thanks and congratulations were liberally
+showered on the American commander, and his brave officers and
+soldiers. No doubt, the associations connected with the anniversary
+of Independence were of invaluable service in encouraging and
+inspiriting his troops; still he was none the less deserving of
+commendation, for wisely availing himself of the emotions which the
+recollections of that day were calculated to arouse. But the victory,
+in itself, was one of which all who participated in it might well
+be proud. Exposed to the fierce radiance of a summer’s sun, with
+inferior numbers, they had met and vanquished disciplined troops,
+familiar with every art and device of war, and who had often fought
+and conquered, with Wellington, in the Spanish Peninsula. The battle
+took place in an open field; the enemy had selected their position;
+and the contest was determined solely by the superior bravery and
+skill of their opponents. The weapon, also, that decided the fate
+of the day, had for years been the Briton’s pride and boast. To the
+bayonet he had arrogantly pointed, as “the test of invincibility,”
+and the sure and certain resource when all other means proved
+unavailing; but courage and presumption went down together, before
+the shock of the glittering steel, that flashed back the rays of
+the blazing orb whose parting effulgence lingered around the spot
+hallowed by the recent triumph of American valor, and the success of
+the American arms!
+
+After their defeat at Chippewa, the British were unwilling to hazard
+another action. On the eighth of July, General Ripley, who had been
+detached by General Brown for that purpose, forced his way over the
+Chippewa Creek, about three miles above the enemy’s camp; whereupon,
+General Riall, though he had been reïnforced by another regiment,
+abandoned his works, which were occupied by General Brown that
+evening. On the following day the British commander continued his
+retreat to Twenty-mile Creek.
+
+[Sidenote: SKIRMISHING.]
+
+General Brown followed closely the retrograde movement of the British
+army, and encamped at Queenstown, or Queenston, as it is now usually
+written, where he remained for several days, awaiting the arrival
+of some heavy guns, and the rifle regiment, which he had ordered
+from Sacketts Harbor. On the twelfth instant, a reconnaissance of
+the works at Fort George, preparatory to an investment, was made
+by General Swift, with a detachment of volunteers, one hundred and
+twenty in number. A picket guard were surprised and taken; but, after
+their surrender, one of the prisoners turned and shot the general
+through the body. This cowardly act exasperated his men to such a
+degree, that they attacked a patrolling party who now made their
+appearance, alarmed by the report of the piece, with great gallantry,
+and succeeded in driving them into the fort. They then returned to
+camp, bringing with them their expiring commander, who died in a few
+hours.
+
+On the eighteenth instant Lieutenant Colonel Stone was detached with
+a small volunteer force to dislodge a party posted four miles west of
+Queenston, near the village of St. David’s, who were lying in wait
+to attack the reconnoitering parties of the American army. The party
+was routed and driven in to the main body, with commendable alacrity
+and zeal; but after the action, the village was set fire to, and
+burned, by some of the volunteers, without the orders or knowledge,
+as was alleged, of the officer commanding the expedition.--It had
+long been a favorite idea, and very properly so, with the American
+authorities, to conciliate the Canadian people. The latter were
+assured by the invading forces, on this as on other occasions, that
+they came “to conquer, but not to destroy;” and strict orders had
+been issued against the commission of any outrages upon the persons,
+or property, of private citizens. General Brown regarded the officer
+in command of the detachment as being responsible for this glaring
+violation of duty, inasmuch as it was scarcely possible for the act
+to have been committed, except through negligence or connivance on
+his part; and, on the following morning, he issued a peremptory order
+directing him to retire forthwith from the army.
+
+This prompt mode of dismissal occasioned considerable remark in
+military circles, and was pronounced, by many, an unwarranted
+assumption of authority. Under ordinary circumstances, it would
+certainly have been regarded as an usurpation of power that ought not
+to be tolerated; but the situation of the army was peculiar--they
+were in an enemy’s country, and the neutrality of the inhabitants was
+absolutely essential to the accomplishment of their paramount object,
+that of dislodging the enemy from the peninsula. An outrage of this
+character could not remain unnoticed, and a delay, even of a few
+days, in meting out the appropriate punishment, might put an end to
+all the hopes and expectations of the campaign. The case, therefore,
+was one that required immediate action, and, though General Brown
+was always careful not to infringe the rights of other officers
+unnecessarily, whether above or beneath him in rank, he never shrank
+from any responsibility, or hesitated in the performance of any duty.
+His course, however harsh it may seem, was approved by President
+Madison, who was never fond of the exercise of doubtful powers,--and
+by Mr. Monroe, then his Secretary of State, in a letter addressed to
+Admiral Cochrane.
+
+Daring reconnaissances of Forts George and Niagara were made by
+Generals Porter and Ripley, and it was then decided at a council of
+war, to attack these posts, instead of following up the retreating
+forces under General Riall. On the thirteenth of July, General Brown
+had written a pressing letter to Commodore Chauncey, informing him
+of his situation, and requesting him to hasten forward the ordnance
+and the reïnforcements, which were to be transported in the vessels
+under his command, and inviting his coöperation in a combined attack,
+by land and water, on the forts at the mouth of the Niagara. No
+answer to this letter was received till the following September, in
+consequence of the illness of Commodore Chauncey.
+
+[Sidenote: EFFORTS TO BRING ON ANOTHER ENGAGEMENT.]
+
+While in this state of suspense, the General decided to make a
+demonstration on Fort George, and to attempt to draw the enemy out
+into the open field. The inactivity which had prevailed since the
+previous battle was no longer to be endured;--and on the twentieth
+instant, he advanced with his whole army, drove in the enemy’s
+outposts, and encamped near Fort George, in the expectation that
+General Riall would be drawn from his position, and offer him battle.
+Disappointed in this, he returned to Queenston on the twenty-second,
+and on the ensuing day he received a letter by express, from General
+Gaines, then in command at Sacketts Harbor, informing him that that
+port was blockaded by a strong naval force,--the enemy now having the
+ascendancy on the lake,--and that Commodore Chauncey was seriously
+ill with a fever.
+
+This information materially changed the aspect of affairs. The
+artillery and reïnforcements, upon which he had confidently
+calculated, were no longer to be expected; and his future
+operations must be conducted entirely independent of them. Other
+Generals, perhaps equally as brave as himself,--and the history
+of modern warfare furnishes numerous examples in support of the
+assertion,--would have suspended all further efforts, or ordered
+an inglorious retreat, relying, for their justification, on the
+neglect of the government to provide the means and supplies
+which they desired. But, among the other valuable traits in his
+character, General Brown possessed that highest quality of the
+soldier--fertility of invention and resource. If the force placed at
+his disposal was not sufficient to accomplish a favorite project, the
+energies of his mind were at once employed in achieving something
+besides, that would redound to the credit of the country, and the
+honor of her flag. With his little army of three thousand men he had
+crossed the Niagara, and established himself on British soil; there
+he was determined to remain, and dispute its possession with the
+enemy, while there was a single chance, or hope of success, still
+left to cheer and encourage his brave and devoted band!
+
+Being without the heavy guns necessary for an attack on Fort George,
+General Brown was forced, though much against his will, to abandon
+his designs on that post. But he was anxious, nevertheless, to
+bring on another engagement with General Riall; and, influenced by
+this desire, continued his feigned retreat up the river, on the
+twenty-fourth, recrossed the Chippewa, and encamped. If this movement
+failed to draw the enemy from their position, he designed to make a
+rapid march on Burlington. About noon on the twenty-fifth, while his
+men were busily engaged in making preparations for the march, he was
+informed that the British appeared in considerable force on Queenston
+heights; that four of their vessels had arrived during the previous
+night at the mouth of the Niagara; and that a number of boats were
+moving up the stream. A few minutes later he received the further
+information, which proved to be incorrect, that the enemy had landed
+one thousand men at Lewiston, and were threatening his baggage and
+stores at Schlosser.
+
+[Sidenote: BATTLE OF NIAGARA.]
+
+The troops were instantly ordered under arms, and in twenty minutes
+General Scott was on the road to Queenston with his brigade, Towson’s
+artillery, and a troop of dragoons. About two miles from the American
+camp, and within a short distance of the Falls, he learned that the
+enemy were in force in his front, separated from view only by a
+narrow piece of wood. Having dispatched Assistant Adjutant General
+Jones, to General Brown, with the intelligence, he held on his march,
+and in a short time discovered the British army, treble his own force
+in numbers, strongly posted on Lundy’s Lane, which led up from the
+Falls to Beaver Dams. Regardless of the great disparity between the
+two armies, General Scott promptly made his dispositions for battle,
+fully determined to maintain his ground till the reserve came up. As
+the head of his column cleared the wood on the brink of the cataract,
+whose low deep thunder was echoed by the enemy’s artillery, which
+immediately opened its fire, it was encircled by the rainbow that
+spanned the boiling Phlegethon beside it. Like the cross that infused
+new ardor into the soldiers of Constantine, this was regarded as the
+omen, the sure presage of victory. With their sabres and bayonets
+gleaming in the rays of the setting sun, and their faces glowing with
+
+    “The stern joy which warriors feel,
+    In foemen worthy of their steel,”
+
+the Americans now deployed in line on the left of the Queenston road.
+Major Jesup was thrown forward on the right with his regiment, and
+Captain Towson was posted on the left opposite the enemy’s artillery.
+All were elated with their recent victory, and animated by the best
+spirit. Undismayed by the terrible fire which they encountered, they
+advanced firmly and steadily against the closely serried columns of
+the enemy.
+
+The British position was well chosen. They had seized a commanding
+eminence at the head of Lundy’s Lane, upon which their battery
+of nine guns was planted, and swept the field of battle with an
+incessant torrent of cannon balls. Their forces, at first engaged,
+consisted of the whole army under General Riall, who had marched
+down from his position, directly to the Falls, with the expectation
+of meeting Lieutenant General Drummond at this point. The latter
+had arrived at the mouth of the Niagara on the evening of the
+twenty-fourth, with large reïnforcements, collected at Kingston and
+various other points on the lake, and was hastening as rapidly as
+possible to join General Riall. He arrived on the ground shortly
+after the commencement of the action, accompanied by his men, and
+assumed the command of the united force, now between four and five
+thousand strong.
+
+[Sidenote: INCIDENTS OF THE BATTLE.]
+
+General Scott and his men held their ground manfully, till the
+arrival of General Brown, who had hurried forward with his suite, in
+advance of the brigades of Generals Ripley and Porter, as soon as the
+firing was heard. Meanwhile the 11th and 22nd infantry, under Colonel
+Brady and Major McNeil, both of whom were severely wounded, having
+expended their ammunition, were withdrawn from action, and the whole
+brunt of the battle in front, was sustained by the 9th infantry,
+commanded by Major Leavenworth. With unswerving courage this regiment
+resisted every effort of the enemy, though with the loss of half
+their number, until their opponents suspended the attack. General
+Riall was deceived by the obstinacy of their resistance, and as it
+was impossible to distinguish objects with any precision in the
+gloaming, he supposed the entire American army was engaged, and was
+therefore content to wait for General Drummond to come up with the
+reïnforcements.
+
+For a few moments the roar of battle was hushed, and the silence
+was only broken by the unceasing murmur of the cataract, and the
+groans of the wounded and the dying. During the temporary suspension
+of the fire, General Ripley, with his brigade and the remainder
+of the artillery under Major Hindman, and the volunteers under
+General Porter, arrived upon the ground. With these fresh troops
+General Brown formed a new alignment, to cover the exhausted
+command of General Scott, who fell back behind their comrades. The
+respite was of brief duration, and the action was soon renewed with
+increased warmth. Wider and wider reverberated the deep echoes of
+the artillery; higher and higher rose the sharp, continued roll of
+musketry; loud was the Briton’s cheer, and louder yet the answering
+shout of defiance!
+
+Captain Towson had failed to make any impression on the enemy’s
+battery, though his guns were skilfully and actively directed; and
+on the renewal of the engagement, under the advice of Major McRee,
+the senior engineer officer, General Brown determined to carry
+the eminence on which it was posted, at the point of the bayonet.
+The execution of this enterprise was intrusted to Colonel Miller
+with the 21st infantry. The reply of the gallant colonel, when he
+received the order to advance, from General Ripley, is memorable in
+history--“_I will try, sir!_” said the intrepid soldier.[3] The trial
+was made,--nor made in vain. Supported by the 23rd infantry under
+Major McFarland, while the 1st infantry, under Colonel Nicholas,
+which had joined the army that day, was left to receive the enemy’s
+fire in front, Colonel Miller moved up the hill through a raging
+flood of missiles. The 1st staggered under the tremendous fire
+to which it was exposed, the 23rd faltered, but the brave 21st,
+following their heroic leader, rushed up the height with accelerated
+speed. On reaching the summit they paused an instant, and then
+rushed forward with shouts and cheers. The British troops had fought
+bravely, for they were anxious to wipe out the discredit of their
+late defeat. The cannoniers were transfixed at their posts, and for
+a few seconds there was a fierce contest fought hand to hand, over
+the loaded guns. But the daring onset of the Americans was not to be
+resisted; the discipline of the British soldiery gave way before it;
+their artillery was captured, and their routed columns, sullen and
+discontented, retired slowly down the hill.
+
+[Sidenote: GENERAL RIALL TAKEN PRISONER.]
+
+Meanwhile Major Jesup had turned the enemy’s left with the 25th
+infantry, and, favored by the darkness, had cautiously advanced in
+their rear. A detachment from his command, under Captain Ketchum,
+succeeded in reaching the place where Generals Drummond and Riall
+were stationed with their suites. The former made his escape, but
+the latter was taken prisoner with his staff. A large number of
+prisoners, in addition, were captured by Major Jesup, and he then
+moved to the left to attack the enemy in rear. Coming upon a body
+of their troops posted in the Queenston road, about the time of the
+capture of the battery, his men delivered their fire, as galling as
+it was unexpected, and instantly dashed over the fence that separated
+them. The enemy broke and fled, and, as the 1st and 23rd infantry had
+been already rallied by the animated efforts of General Ripley, the
+whole British line was now forced.
+
+General Brown was prompt to improve the advantage he had gained, as
+the British officers were heard encouraging their men for a desperate
+effort to recover their cannon. While they were engaged in reforming
+their broken masses under the hill, he advanced his line, placing the
+captured guns in his rear; General Porter being on the extreme left
+with his volunteers, General Ripley’s brigade occupying the centre,
+and Major Hindman being stationed in the interval between the second
+brigade and the 25th infantry, which was posted on the right of the
+line. The first brigade, under General Scott, was held in reserve.
+
+A gloomy and ominous silence prevailed for a short time, and it was
+then interrupted by the lively strains of martial music, as the
+British columns were again ordered to advance. General Drummond
+had given his men but a few moments to recover from the effects of
+their repulse. With great daring and intrepidity they marched up the
+height, at double quick time, presenting an extended line outflanking
+the Americans on both extremes. Within twenty yards of the crest of
+the eminence, they poured forth their volleys, and prepared to rush
+forward with their bayonets. In an instant the American line was one
+blaze of fire. The enemy staggered; another volley, followed rapidly
+by another, and still another, caused them to break and retire down
+the hill in confusion, despite the exertions of their officers to
+inspire them with confidence.
+
+Another half hour passed in suspense, and again the measured tread
+of the advancing columns was heard, as they rose the hill. The
+Americans reserved their fire till it could be most effective, and
+when the enemy came within range, the artillery of Major Hindman
+once more pealed forth its brazen notes, and, as they pressed nearer
+and nearer, the rattling musketry was added to the din. But the
+constant shower of shot and ball poured upon them soon checked their
+advance. For nearly half an hour they strove in vain to overcome the
+firmness of the American troops. The contest was warm and animated;
+and, during its continuance, General Scott, who had consolidated
+his brigade into one battalion, under Major Leavenworth, made
+two effective charges on the left and right of the British line,
+in the latter of which he received two severe wounds, that soon
+after obliged him to quit the field. General Brown was always where
+his presence was needed--in the front of the battle. Heedless of
+the exposure of his person, he was ever ready to utter words of
+encouragement where symptoms of hesitation were manifested; to
+commend every act of noble daring; and to arouse his men to further
+exertions. His efforts were well seconded by the chivalric bearing
+and the dauntless intrepidity of Scott and Ripley and Porter. Unable
+to make head against the stern and unyielding resistance of the
+American soldiers, General Drummond was a second time forced to draw
+off his men.
+
+[Sidenote: LAST EFFORTS OF THE ENEMY.]
+
+The contest was not yet ended. Additional reïnforcements had joined
+the enemy, and, after the lapse of another hour, their hesitating
+columns were encouraged to make one more effort for the victory.
+Regardless of the havoc made in their ranks, the British troops
+advanced boldly under a withering fire. This time they gained the
+summit of the hill, never pausing after they had delivered their
+fire, and closed with their antagonists. The battle was now at its
+height. The beams of the rising moon struggled vainly to penetrate
+the murky pall that overhung the field of combat, but the darkness
+was illuminated by the constant flashing of musketry and artillery.
+Two lines of armed men, merged with each other, were seen surging
+to and fro. The earth shook beneath their feet. Foot to foot, and
+breast to breast, they fought. Locked in the death struggle, the
+Briton and the American fell together. The green sward was soaked
+with blood; it collected in pools in the ridges made by the ploughing
+shot; and ran down in rivulets to mingle its crimson dyes with the
+limpid waters of the Niagara.
+
+General Brown had previously received a severe wound from a musket
+ball which passed through his right thigh, and as he now moved to
+the left of the American line, to encourage the volunteers to remain
+firm, he was struck violently upon his left side by a missile of some
+description. The blow nearly unhorsed him, and on meeting Colonel
+Wood, he expressed his doubts as to his ability to keep the saddle.
+“Never mind, my dear general,” was the reply, “you are gaining the
+greatest victory that was ever gained by your nation!” Cheered by
+these words, which indicated the spirit prevailing among his officers
+and men, General Brown remained on his horse, giving his orders with
+wonted firmness and promptitude. The American troops were sorely
+pressed, but they were more than a match for their opponents. In vain
+was every effort of the latter. The artillery on both sides was taken
+and retaken during the struggle, but the British were finally forced
+to yield the ground, leaving their guns in the hands of the Americans.
+
+At midnight the contest terminated. The British made no further
+effort to regain the position, but shrunk silently away in the
+darkness. Faint from excessive pain and the loss of blood, General
+Brown was now assisted from the field by his staff. General Scott
+being also disabled, the command was assumed by General Ripley,
+under whose directions the wounded were collected, and orders were
+then issued for a return to camp. The artillery horses being all
+killed, and there being no drag-ropes at hand, General Ripley very
+reluctantly left the captured guns on the ground, having rolled the
+smaller pieces down the hill. This circumstance was seized with
+avidity by the British officers to give color to their claim that
+they had defeated the American army, and it has frequently served a
+similar purpose in the works of British writers. A few considerations
+will show how utterly unfounded was this claim. The Americans
+attacked their opponents in a position of their own selection. This
+position they seized, and held against three daring and desperate
+efforts to regain it. It was yielded, but yielded voluntarily; and
+being without the means to remove the guns, General Ripley left them
+on the field, and returned to the American camp unmolested. The
+enemy remained nearer the battle-ground, as their tents and baggage
+were directly in rear of their line; and when they discovered on
+the following morning, that the guns had been abandoned, they took
+possession of them without difficulty, there being no one to oppose
+them.
+
+[Sidenote: LOSSES OF THE TWO ARMIES.]
+
+The truth is, that both parties sustained a severe loss in this
+sanguinary conflict, and neither desired to renew it while the
+odds were in favor of their antagonists. In the morning of the
+twenty-sixth, General Ripley collected all the American troops fit
+for duty, and with this force, which barely amounted to fifteen
+hundred men, he sallied out to seek another contest with the enemy.
+On approaching the field on which the action of the previous day had
+been fought, he found them strongly posted in a still more favorable
+position, slightly in advance of that formerly occupied. Becoming
+satisfied that it would be unwise to attack a superior force under
+such circumstances, he again returned to camp, and subsequently
+retired to Fort Erie, the defences of which were immediately
+strengthened and extended, in accordance with the instructions of
+General Brown.
+
+The British force engaged in the battle of Niagara, was little
+short of five thousand; that of the Americans was nearly one third
+less. The latter sustained the heaviest loss in killed and wounded,
+however, on account of the galling severity of the British fire
+previous to the capture of their guns. The Americans had seven
+hundred and forty-three men killed and wounded, and the British six
+hundred and forty-three. The latter lost two hundred and thirty-five
+men taken prisoners, and the former one hundred and seventeen. The
+aggregate loss of the British, therefore, was a trifle greater
+than that of the Americans. Generals Brown and Scott, as has been
+mentioned, were badly wounded; Generals Drummond and Riall, the
+latter being likewise captured, also received severe wounds.
+
+[Sidenote: ATTACK OF FORT ERIE.]
+
+General Drummond did not offer to molest the American army in their
+march to Fort Erie, or venture to make an attack on that post,
+till the 3rd of August, when he had been reïnforced by General De
+Watteville, with one thousand men. He then invested the fort, and
+made preparations for its reduction. On the fifth of August, General
+Gaines arrived from Sacketts Harbor, and assumed the command.
+The enemy continued their approaches, and on the thirteenth and
+fourteenth a heavy cannonade was kept up, which was followed by an
+assault early in the morning of the fifteenth instant.[4] The work
+was poorly calculated to withstand a siege, being nothing more than a
+small redoubt, occupying the centre of an intrenched camp, of which
+it formed the strong point. The enemy were, notwithstanding, repulsed
+with great loss, by the gallantry and good conduct of General Gaines
+and the officers and men under his command. During the siege General
+Gaines was severely wounded by the bursting of a shell, and on the
+twenty eighth instant, he retired to Buffalo, leaving General Ripley
+in charge of the post.
+
+Having partially recovered from his wounds, General Brown once more
+resumed the command on the second of September. The defences of
+Fort Erie had already suffered considerable injury from the enemy’s
+fire, and the garrison were kept constantly at work repairing the
+damages, and adding to the works. Frequent skirmishes took place, and
+the cannonading on either side was maintained, at intervals, with
+spirit and warmth. Reïnforcements were daily expected to arrive from
+the army on Lake Champlain, but they did not make their appearance,
+and it was soon evident that the post could not be held much longer
+against the efforts of the enemy. General Brown fretted like an
+imprisoned lion, and, on the seventeenth of September, discovering
+that General Drummond had constructed another battery, that would
+open a destructive fire on the following day, he planned a sortie,
+which has been justly considered as the _chef d’œuvre_ of his
+military career.
+
+The infantry of the besieging force was divided into three brigades,
+each containing twelve or fifteen hundred men, one of which was
+stationed alternately in the works in front of the fort, for the
+protection of the artillerists, and the other two occupied the main
+camp about two miles in the rear. The circumvallation consisted of
+two lines of intrenchments supported by blockhouses, in advance of
+which the enemy had constructed their batteries. It was General
+Brown’s intention “to storm the batteries, destroy the cannon, and
+roughly handle the brigade on duty, before those in reserve could be
+brought up.” The project was well conceived and admirably executed.
+
+[Sidenote: SORTIE FROM FORT ERIE.]
+
+At noon on the seventeenth, the troops intended to make the sortie
+were paraded under arms. The sallying force was divided into two
+columns; the left, commanded by General Porter, and consisting of the
+rifles and a body of Indians under Colonel Gibson, the Pennsylvania
+volunteers under Colonel Wood, the New York volunteers under General
+Davis, and the 1st and 23rd infantry under Major Brooks, was ordered
+to move cautiously upon the enemy’s right, by a circuitous road
+previously opened through the woods; and the right, commanded by
+General Miller, and consisting of the first brigade, was directed to
+enter a ravine between the fort and the British lines, and advance
+rapidly upon the enemy’s works as soon as General Porter became
+engaged. General Ripley remained in reserve with the 21st infantry,
+between the new bastions of the fort; his command, and that of
+General Miller, being both out of view of the enemy.
+
+The day was dark and lowering. A thick mist rested upon the lake and
+river, and floated lazily along their banks. The clouds overhead were
+surcharged with moisture, and sent down copious showers of rain.
+Favored by these circumstances, the American columns gained their
+positions unperceived. General Porter advanced with such celerity and
+caution, that his men sprang upon the enemy’s pickets before they
+were aware of his presence. As soon as the rapid volleys of General
+Porter were heard, General Brown ordered General Miller to advance,
+the head of his column being directed towards the interval between
+batteries 2 and 3. Dashing forward at full speed, General Miller
+reached the enemy’s line and pierced their entrenchments. The British
+were taken by surprise, yet they fought bravely and well. The contest
+was close and animated, but brief. Within thirty minutes after the
+first gun was fired, batteries 2 and 3 were in possession of the
+American troops, who swept every thing before them with the bayonet.
+Battery number 1 was then abandoned by the enemy, and the Americans,
+without loss of time, commenced the work of demolition. The British
+guns were spiked or otherwise destroyed, their breastworks levelled,
+and the magazine of battery number 3 was blown up.
+
+General Ripley had now brought up the reserve, and was making
+preparations for a demonstration on the enemy’s camp, when he
+was disabled by a severe wound. The object of the sortie having
+been accomplished, in the destruction, by a force of regulars and
+volunteers, only two thousand strong, of the labors of four thousand
+men for a period of near fifty days, General Miller ordered his men
+to fall back to the ravine, and General Brown then directed all the
+corps to return to camp with their prisoners, which was done in good
+order. In this affair the Americans had eighty-three men killed, two
+hundred and sixteen wounded, and there were two hundred and sixteen
+missing. Three hundred and eighty-five of the enemy were taken
+prisoners, and there were between four and five hundred killed and
+wounded.
+
+This daring sortie put an end to the leaguer. During the night of the
+twenty-first of September, General Drummond broke up his camp, and
+retreated to his intrenchments behind the Chippewa. Not long after,
+General Izard arrived from Sacketts Harbor with large reïnforcements,
+and on the twelfth of October, being the senior officer, he
+superseded General Brown in the command. No further incident of
+importance occurred, however, on this frontier. The gallant exploit
+of the seventeenth of September was the appropriate _finale_ of a
+bloody campaign, unsurpassed, during the war, for the display of
+firmness, valor, and intrepidity. Leaving a sufficient garrison at
+Fort Erie, General Izard moved down towards the Chippewa with the
+remainder of his forces, and offered battle to the enemy, but they
+declined leaving their intrenchments. A partial engagement took place
+between detached corps on the nineteenth of October, which closed the
+operations of the campaign; and early in November the American army
+retired into winter quarters on the opposite side of the Niagara.
+
+[Sidenote: HIS DECEASE.]
+
+The treaty of Ghent, in December of this year, terminated the war,
+and the services of General Brown in the field. Upon the reduction of
+the army he was retained on the peace establishment, and placed in
+command of the northern military division. In 1821 he was appointed
+General-in-chief, and from that time till his death, which occurred
+on the twenty-fourth of February, 1828, he resided at Washington.
+The disease which terminated his life was superinduced by another
+contracted at Fort Erie, from which he was never wholly exempt.
+
+General Brown did not enter the military profession solely from
+motives of patriotism, though these ever guided and governed his
+conduct;--he was a soldier _con amore_! Early disciplined in the
+school of adversity and trained to habits of self-reliance,--and
+gifted with superior mental endowments, which had been carefully
+cultivated,--he possessed that happy combination of faculties
+and acquirements which rarely fails to achieve success. He was a
+correct and thorough disciplinarian; industrious, methodical, and
+indefatigable; brave, both physically and morally; stout in person
+and strong of nerve; bold and energetic in carrying out his offensive
+movements; firm, but cautious, when acting on the defence; sagacious
+in council; and cool, calm, and collected, amid the roar of battle.
+In the language of the general order announcing his decease to
+the army--“Quick to perceive and sagacious to anticipate, prompt
+to decide and daring in execution, he was born with the qualities
+which constitute a great commander. His military _coup d’œil_,
+his intuitive penetration, his knowledge of men and his capacity
+to control them, were known to all his companions in arms, and
+commanded their respect; while the gentleness of his disposition,
+the courtesy of his deportment, his scrupulous regard to their
+rights, his constant attention to their wants, and his affectionate
+attachment to their persons, universally won their hearts, and bound
+them to him as a father.”
+
+The death of one so highly esteemed produced a deep impression, and
+was sincerely lamented, not only by his brethren in arms, but by
+all to whom he had become endeared in the relationships of private
+life. Cut off in the vigor of manhood by a disease contracted in
+the service of his country, she still treasures his memory as that
+of one among the most honored of her sons. Like the amaranth, his
+fame is enduring and imperishable; and while the ceaseless murmurs
+of the cataract rise beside the battle-field of Niagara, his gallant
+daring and determined courage will be gratefully remembered by his
+countrymen.
+
+[Illustration: EDMUND PENDLETON GAINES.]
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+        [1] General Brown is frequently compared with General
+            Greene, who, like him, was descended from a Quaker
+            family; and it has been jocularly said of them,
+            that, although one was _green_, and the other
+            _brown_, both were _true blue_!
+
+        [2] See Memoir of General Scott.
+
+        [3] The reply of Colonel Miller was adopted as the motto
+            of his regiment, and was worn on their buttons.
+
+        [4] See Memoir of General Gaines.
+
+
+
+EDMUND PENDLETON GAINES.
+
+
+It is no slight praise to say of the subject of this memoir, that
+his name is honorably associated with the war of 1812, from its
+commencement to its termination. When disasters were so frequent,
+and defeat so often sustained, where others were concerned, it is
+refreshing to find, that he never wanted the will, and when his means
+were sufficient, never lacked the ability, to retrieve the one, and
+to wipe out the disgrace of the other. Ever to be found where duty
+placed him,--prompt, brave, and skilful,--these are high merits in
+a soldier, and entitle their possessor to a worthy place among his
+compeers.
+
+Virginia is often termed “the mother of statesmen,”--and she may
+also be regarded as the birth-place of heroes. Like Harrison and
+Scott, General Gaines drew his first breath in the Old Dominion.
+He was born on the twentieth day of March, 1777, in Culpepper
+county, near the eastern base of the Blue Ridge, where it looks
+down upon the rolling table land, and undulating slopes,drained
+by the waters of the Rappahannock. His father, James Gaines, was
+a nephew of Edmund Pendleton,--after whom his son was named,--a
+profound and able lawyer, who was for many years presiding judge of
+the Court of Appeals of the state of Virginia. In the latter part
+of the Revolution, the father commanded a company of volunteers,
+and did good service in that capacity. At the close of the war he
+removed to the northwest border of North Carolina. He represented
+the county in which he resided, in the legislature of that state,
+and was afterwards a member of the convention by which the federal
+constitution was rejected. Like many of the most patriotic citizens
+of Virginia, North Carolina, and other states, he was at first
+opposed to that instrument; but, his objections having been removed
+by the adoption of the “bill of rights,” he voted in its favor.
+
+Young Gaines was early familiarized to scenes of war and bloodshed.
+Born in a frontier settlement, during the perilous times of the
+revolutionary struggle, when the whole colony was in a state of
+constant ferment and agitation, though not old enough to appreciate
+the importance of the principles for which his countrymen were
+contending, he was deeply imbued with the spirit that animated
+the men of that great era in the history of our nation. In the
+sparsely-peopled region to which his parents had removed, the means
+of obtaining information were very limited, and, as his father
+was in moderate circumstances, he enjoyed but few advantages of
+that character. These were carefully improved, however, under the
+direction and superintendence of his mother, who possessed a fine
+mind, and had received a good education. A friend, by the name of
+Ralph Mitchell, whose acquaintance he formed while a mere youth,
+instructed him in mathematics, and he subsequently became an accurate
+surveyor.
+
+When he was about thirteen years of age, his father emigrated to
+Sullivan county, in that mountainous tract of country, now known as
+East Tennessee, lying between the Stone and Cumberland mountains.
+This section of the union was then new, and but thinly inhabited.
+Being in the immediate vicinity of the theatre of the depredations
+committed by the Creeks and Cherokees, tales of border warfare were
+rife, and the legends of “the dark and bloody ground” were often
+repeated by the fireside of the elder Gaines. Themes like these
+were calculated to enkindle a desire for entering the profession
+of arms in the bosom of his young son, who listened to them with
+eager interest, and he soon gave unequivocal indications that his
+thoughts were turned in that direction. From boyhood he had been
+taught to labor,--to swing the axe, and follow the plough. When not
+thus employed, or busy in storing his mind with useful information,
+he rambled through the forests in search of game. In his hours of
+pastime the rifle was his constant companion, and he is said to have
+excelled all his companions in the use of that weapon. Passing his
+time in these occupations, his constitution, naturally strong and
+vigorous, had become hardened and invigorated, and fitted to endure
+the sufferings and vicissitudes of a soldier’s life. He was likewise
+bold and fearless, daring and determined;--no difficulty retarded
+him, no danger deterred.
+
+[Sidenote: RECEIVES HIS FIRST COMMISSION.]
+
+He now occupied his leisure hours in reading and studying such
+military and historical works as he could procure; and at the age of
+eighteen he was elected to a lieutenancy in a rifle company commanded
+by Captain J. Cloud. No opportunity was yet presented for gratifying
+the first wish of his heart, and he concluded to turn his attention
+to another profession. When not otherwise busied, much of his time
+had latterly been spent in surveying. In this way he had provided
+himself with a small supply of funds, and on attaining his majority,
+he commenced the study of the law, and pursued it as fast as his
+limited means would allow. While thus engaged, he was recommended by
+his friend, the Hon. W. C. C. Claiborne, then a member of Congress
+from the state of Tennessee, and afterwards governor of Louisiana,
+for an appointment in the army The recommendation proved successful,
+and on the tenth of January, 1799, he received his first commission,
+as an ensign.
+
+The long-cherished desire of young Gaines was now gratified, and
+the way opened for him to win honor and renown in the armies of
+his country. In the autumn of 1799, he was promoted to the rank
+of 2nd lieutenant in the 6th infantry, and sent on the recruiting
+service. His regiment being afterwards disbanded, he was attached to
+the 4th infantry, then under the command of Colonel Thomas Butler.
+In the summer of 1801, Colonel Butler received orders from the
+War Department, to select a subaltern from his regiment to make a
+topographical survey from Nashville to Natchez, for the location of a
+military road. Lieutenant Gaines was selected for this duty, and was
+employed in discharging it, and in the survey of some Indian boundary
+lines, till the winter of 1803–4,--having, in the meantime, been
+raised to the rank of 1st lieutenant.
+
+The Spanish government, being dissatisfied with the transfer of
+Louisiana to the United States, refused to withdraw her troops
+from Fort Condé, at Mobile, and from Baton Rouge,--and to deliver
+up possession of the country lying north of the Isle of Orleans,
+and the Gulf of Mexico, and between the Mississippi and the
+Perdido,--insisting that the territory embraced within those limits
+formed a part of her Floridian possessions, and was not included
+in the cession to France. Mr. Jefferson well knew that the country
+was wholly unprepared for war, and, in conformity with the peaceful
+policy of his administration, was unwilling, at that time, to submit
+the question in dispute to the arbitrament of the sword; yet, lest it
+might be said that the United States had tacitly acquiesced in the
+claim of the Spanish authorities, he resolved to appoint a military
+collector for the district of Mobile. The appointment was conferred
+on Lieutenant Gaines, in 1804, and he immediately established himself
+at Fort Stoddart, thirty-six miles north of Mobile.
+
+[Sidenote: APPOINTED MILITARY COLLECTOR.]
+
+He at once looked forward, with eager hope and expectation, to
+the time when he would be required “to flesh his maiden sword;”
+a collision seemed unavoidable, and he supposed it would soon be
+necessary to assert the rights of his government, and the authority
+deputed to him, by force of arms. In this he was disappointed; but
+a circumstance shortly after transpired, that brought him into
+notoriety,--of a very different character, indeed, from what he
+had desired or anticipated, yet it is not at all probable that he
+ever regretted his connection with the transaction.--In 1806 he was
+appointed postmaster, and selected as the confidential agent of the
+post-office department, being clothed with the power of suspending
+postmasters and contractors concerned in what was called, “the
+conspiracy of Aaron Burr.” Young and ardent, in heart and soul
+a patriot, it is not strange that he should have shared in the
+prevalent feeling, and approved the public judgment that denounced
+Colonel Burr as a traitor. He may have been mistaken in this, and
+if so, it was an error into which he was very likely to fall:--the
+projects of Colonel Burr are still shrouded in mystery; he who was
+chiefly interested in removing the odium attached to them in the
+estimation of his countrymen, if that were possible, refused to make
+any explanations; to the close of his life he maintained a studied
+reserve, and when he died, “he made no sign”!
+
+Lieutenant Gaines was quite active in discharging the extraordinary
+mission intrusted to him, and in ferreting out the parties implicated
+in the supposed conspiracy. He arrested Colonel Burr; and, on
+account of his acquaintance with the western country, he received
+the temporary appointment of marshal, in which capacity he summoned
+a number of witnesses to attend the trial. About the same time he
+was promoted to the rank of captain. Although his conduct had been
+governed by the best and purest motives, and he had but faithfully
+carried out the instructions of those whom it was his duty to obey,
+he incurred the bitterest animosity of the friends of Colonel Burr,
+and was severely attacked on the trial; and, in his subsequent life,
+he was often taught to feel, that they had neither forgotten nor
+forgiven him.
+
+[Sidenote: RE-ENTERS THE ARMY.]
+
+Soon after his connection with this affair terminated, seeing nothing
+before him but a life of inaction wholly unsuited to his active
+temperament, he decided to retire from the army, and enter the
+legal profession. Before announcing his determination, he wisely
+hesitated--there was a prospect of war with England,--though, after
+the settlement of the affair of the Chesapeake, a remote one,--and he
+therefore concluded merely to apply for leave of absence. This was
+cordially granted by his commanding officer, General Hampton, and he
+now commenced the practice of the law in the counties of Washington
+and Baldwin, in what was then the Mississippi territory, but now the
+State of Alabama. He had just rode his second circuit, under auspices
+highly flattering to his talents and abilities, when the alternative,
+of rejoining the army or finally throwing up his commission, was
+presented. The call of his country was the call of duty. The summons
+to arms was joyfully obeyed, and at the commencement of the war of
+1812, he resumed his sword, and his position in the service.
+
+The year 1812 closed without furnishing him an opportunity to
+distinguish himself. In the spring of 1813, he was attached to the
+North-western army, and rose, by rapid promotions, to the command of
+a regiment. A long and tedious illness prevented his participation in
+the battle of the Thames, but he recovered in time to accompany the
+ill-fated expedition of General Wilkinson down the St. Lawrence.[5]
+He was present at the battle of Chrystler’s fields, on the eleventh
+of November, and for his gallantry on that occasion was mentioned
+in terms of high commendation, in the official dispatch of General
+Boyd. In the action he commanded the 25th infantry, one of the finest
+and most effective regiments in the service, and after the British
+had been beaten back, in accordance with the instructions of the
+commander-in-chief to General Boyd, he was directed to cover the
+re-embarkation of the American troops.
+
+This service was performed with skill, fearlessness, and promptitude.
+Colonel Morrison, of the 89th British foot, the officer in command
+of the enemy, animated by the hope of achieving some certain success
+during the day, pushed hard upon him with a large body of troops.
+His men stood firm and immovable as the rocks beneath their feet. A
+desperate onset was made by the enemy to overwhelm him, but after
+an obstinate struggle they were completely repulsed. He then joined
+the advance, retiring with his command slowly and deliberately to
+their boats. Colonel Morrison was so well pleased with the brave
+conduct of the regiment, that, after the action, he sent his card to
+its commanding officer, with a message expressing his admiration,
+and desiring to know his name, in order that if they should chance
+to meet when the two countries were at peace, he might claim the
+privilege of an old friend and fellow soldier. It need not be added,
+that Colonel Gaines promptly complied with the request and returned
+the compliment.
+
+[Sidenote: DEFENCE OF FORT ERIE.]
+
+Colonel Gaines accompanied the army into winter quarters at French
+Mills, and, on the ninth of March, 1814, he received the commission
+of a brigadier general. At the opening of the following campaign, we
+find him placed in command at Sacketts Harbor, upon the departure
+of General Brown and his army for the Niagara frontier. Here he was
+assiduously employed in providing for the defence of the post, and,
+when it was blockaded by the British squadron, in preventing their
+attempts to cut off the supplies and munitions of war, conveyed
+through the interior of New York, by way of the Mohawk, the Oneida
+Lake, and the Oswego river, and the connecting canals, and then
+transported over Lake Ontario to Sacketts Harbor. He remained at this
+post, till he was summoned by General Brown to join the army on the
+Niagara, after the battle of the twenty-fifth of July. On the fifth
+of August he arrived at Fort Erie, then beleaguered by the British
+forces under General Drummond, and assumed the command.
+
+The construction of the additional defences of the fort had already
+been commenced, under the direction of General Ripley, with whose
+arrangements he interfered no further than to press the rapid
+completion of the works. The main structure was a small unfinished
+redoubt, and in a very dilapidated condition. It was situated about
+one hundred yards from the lake, above which it was elevated some
+fifteen or twenty feet. Towards the water it was left exposed, though
+partially repaired; on the right it was strengthened, and extended by
+a breastwork, to the river, where it terminated in a battery, and on
+the left a line of intrenchments and abattis was formed, extending to
+an eminence called Snake hill, which formed the southern angle, and
+on which a redoubt was constructed. From thence eastwardly, to the
+shore of the lake, there was a defence of abattis.
+
+The British general had fancied that the American army was now
+within his grasp, and that a single blow would be followed by
+their immediate surrender, or their withdrawal from the Canadian
+territory. Upon his arrival before the post he found its occupants
+much better prepared for his reception than he expected to find them.
+He therefore sat himself down coolly and deliberately, established
+his main camp about two miles distant, threw up two lines of
+intrenchments, supported by strong block houses, in front of the
+works, planted his batteries at favorable points, and contented
+himself with drawing closer the investment, but, nevertheless,
+pushing his operations with great activity.
+
+The American soldiers labored incessantly on the fortifications; and
+on the seventh of August, though still incomplete, they were in a
+sufficient state of forwardness to withstand an attack. From that
+time till the fourteenth instant, a constant cannonade was kept up,
+on one side or the other; the earth shaking for miles around, as the
+thunders of the artillery boomed over the lake, or rolled along its
+shores, echoing from one headland to the other, and muttering among
+the fissures of the rocks and recesses of the forest, till they were
+lost in the distance. Several skirmishes also took place, in which
+the British were generally defeated. The works were considerably
+crippled, however, as they were enfiladed by one of the enemy’s
+batteries; but the garrison did not suffer materially from the fire,
+there being but seven men killed, and thirty-six wounded, up to the
+night of the fourteenth instant.
+
+[Sidenote: PREPARATIONS OF THE ENEMY.]
+
+Towards evening on the fourteenth a bustle was observed in the
+British lines, from which General Gaines rightly conjectured that the
+enemy designed to hazard an assault, and his dispositions were at
+once made to repel it. The garrison was feeble enough, there being
+but about twenty-five hundred effective men, while the besieging
+force was nearly double that number; but what they lacked in this
+respect was more than made up in the cheerfulness with which the
+officers seconded the wishes of the commander, the unflinching
+firmness of the men, and the readiness with which they obeyed every
+call of duty. The main fort and its bastions were placed under the
+command of Captain Williams, of the artillery; the battery on the
+margin of the lake, on the right, was commanded by Captain Douglass,
+of the engineers; the batteries in front were placed in charge of
+Captains Biddle and Fanning; and Captain Towson’s battery occupied
+the south-western angle of the works,--all being under the command
+of Major Hindman, chief of artillery. The first brigade, under
+Lieutenant Colonel Aspinwall,--its former commander, General Scott,
+having been wounded at the battle of Niagara, on the twenty-fifth of
+July,--was posted on the right, and the second brigade, under General
+Ripley, on the left. The riflemen and volunteers, under General
+Porter, were directed to support the batteries in front, and the
+block house, near the salient bastion of the fort, was occupied by a
+detachment of infantry, under Major Trimble.
+
+The preparations of General Drummond were completed soon after
+nightfall on the fourteenth; it was arranged that the projected
+assault should be made early on the following morning, in three
+columns,--that on the right designed to attack the left of the
+American works, consisting of thirteen hundred men, being placed
+under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Fischer, that on the left,
+of about the same number, under Colonel Scott, and the central
+column, composed of eight hundred select troops, under Lieutenant
+Colonel Drummond. A few hours before the assault was ordered, one
+of the enemy’s shells lodged in a small magazine in the fort, which
+exploded with a deafening noise, shaking the solid earth, and
+shooting a vast pillar of smoke and flame up towards the sky, which
+expanded at the top, and rained down showers of fragments on the
+heads of the garrison. Not a man was injured, or a gun disabled, by
+the explosion; but the British soldiers, fancying some serious injury
+had been effected, raised a loud and joyous shout. This was promptly
+answered by the Americans, and in the midst of the confusion, and
+before the smoke had cleared away, Captain Williams discharged his
+heavy guns. For a few moments an animated fire was kept up, and the
+air was filled with a storm of projectiles, with crashing balls, and
+falling shells,--but it died away again, and all was still. It was
+the silence that forebodes the storm--the hush that precedes the
+whirlwind!
+
+It had been rainy throughout the day, and the rolling thunders of
+the tempest mingled with the loud roar of cannon, and the noise of
+exploding bombs. When the night set in, the rain continued to fall;
+heavy masses of clouds swept athwart the sky, curtaining the scene
+with a dark and gloomy pall; and the fires in the enemy’s camp could
+scarcely be discerned, glimmering feebly through the obscure haze.
+The breastworks of Fort Erie sheltered many an anxious bosom, but
+the fire of a noble courage, that knew not how to falter, sparkled
+in every eye, and beamed on every countenance. General Gaines,
+whose dauntless intrepidity was never more conspicuous than on this
+occasion, was active in encouraging and inspiriting his men, both by
+his language and his example. Every necessary order was issued with
+promptitude, and obeyed with alacrity.
+
+[Sidenote: THE ASSAULT.]
+
+Midnight came,--and yet there were no indications of an attack.
+Another, and another hour passed by in silence. Ere the next half
+hour was told, a low, faint sound was heard, like the rustling of
+the wind among the leaves of the forest. It approached nearer and
+nearer,--and the eager listeners soon caught the measured tread of
+the approaching columns, enveloped in thick darkness, but hurrying
+onward with rapidity to the assault. The column led by Lieutenant
+Colonel Fischer was the first to reach the works. The enemy advanced
+steadily and quickly,--one portion approaching the battery at the
+southwestern angle, with scaling ladders; and the other advancing
+against the line between it and the lake, with the design of
+terminating the contest, in an instant, by the decisive shock of the
+bayonet. They were allowed to approach within good range, when the
+American musketry and artillery opened suddenly upon them. Broad
+sheets of flame leaped from the breastworks; shot and shell were
+vomited in torrents from the batteries; and the dense waves of smoke
+that surged over the combatants, were lighted constantly by the vivid
+flashes of the artillery.
+
+The effect was terrific. The enemy were mowed down in platoons,
+and scores were swept away at every discharge. They hesitated
+for a moment,--another scorching blast burst from the American
+batteries,--and they recoiled in terror and alarm. They were soon
+rallied, however, and again led to the attack; but they were again
+repulsed with fearful slaughter. The British officers once more
+succeeded in animating their wavering troops for another onset.
+They now attempted to pass round the abattis by wading through the
+lake, the water of which came nearly to their arm-pits. The American
+soldiers, cheered by the presence of General Gaines, who had mounted
+his horse and hastened at the first alarm to participate in the
+dangers, and share the perils of the conflict, made every preparation
+to receive them. Some few succeeded in reaching the firm earth on
+the opposite side of the abattis, but it was only to be pierced by a
+dozen wounds. Many were drowned in the lake; others sank exhausted by
+their wounds, beneath the water dyed with the life blood which they
+had vainly shed; and others found their only safety in surrendering
+themselves prisoners of war. The officers no longer endeavored to
+prevent the retreat, but all, as if animated by one impulse, hurried,
+in haste, from the scene of their disaster.
+
+[Sidenote: INCIDENTS OF THE BATTLE.]
+
+On the other flank the enemy were equally unsuccessful. The column
+under Colonel Scott became entangled in the rocks near the river,
+on the right of the intrenched camp, and were delayed for a short
+time; but when they discovered their error, and regained their line
+of march, they pushed on more rapidly than before. The sleepless
+vigilance of the besieged could not be taken by surprise. The
+assailing column were heard distinctly behind the ramparts as they
+approached, and when within fifty yards of the American lines, they
+encountered an appalling fire that forced them to halt. To advance
+further was impossible. The batteries before them presented a
+constant blaze of fire, and the air was full of bursting balls
+and missiles. In the meantime, the central column, commanded by
+Lieutenant Colonel Drummond, had advanced boldly against the fort
+in front. A rapid, and well-directed fire was turned upon them by
+Captain Williams, but, unappalled by the carnage, they succeeded in
+applying their ladders to the walls of the salient bastion. As they
+were striving to gain the parapet, their officers shouted to their
+comrades, in the column under Colonel Scott, to “cease firing”!
+
+This proved to be a mere trick, but it succeeded for a moment. The
+order was heard by Captain Douglass, and supposing that it emanated
+from his own superior officers, both he and his infantry support
+temporarily suspended their fire. Favored by this circumstance,
+Colonel Scott once more led on his men,--but they had only provoked
+their doom. The deception was now manifest, and a still more galling
+fire was sustained, which caused them again to pause. Their commander
+and a number of his officers were cut down; their loss was dreadfully
+severe; they were unable to continue the advance, and a retreat was
+ordered. They commenced retiring slowly, but the movement terminated
+in a disorderly flight.
+
+Drummond’s column, however, had achieved a slight advantage, yet
+it was brief as it was unimportant. The first attempt to carry the
+bastion entirely failed; a second, and a third effort was made, with
+similar results. But the British commander lacked not in brutal
+courage, though sadly deficient in the more ennobling qualities of
+the gallant soldier. Under cover of the intense darkness, just
+before the break of day, he led a portion of his men silently along
+the ditch, applied his ladders at a point where he was not expected,
+and mounted the parapet. With a daring intrepidity worthy of a better
+cause, he led his men forward to the charge, shrieking out in the
+tones of baffled rage and hate--“No quarter!--give the Yankees no
+quarter!” This dastard order was faithfully obeyed. A fierce and
+maddening contest took place for the possession of the bastion.
+Major Hindman and his artillerists, with their supporting force,
+bravely stood their ground. Their efforts proved unavailing. Captain
+Williams, and a number of the men, were killed or mortally wounded,
+and his lieutenants, Watmough and Macdonough, were also severely
+wounded. The latter disdained to yield till he was completely
+disabled, and then asked for quarter. This was refused,--when,
+rallying his remaining strength, he snatched a handspike, and,
+with the madness of despairing humanity, strove to beat off his
+assailants. As he held them at bay, the infuriated Drummond rushed
+forward, and shot him down with his own hand. But this coward act
+received a fearful retribution. The next instant an avenging bullet
+found its way to the heart of the British leader, and he fell beside
+his victim,--a horrid blasphemy gurgling, with the death rattle, in
+his throat!
+
+[Sidenote: FINAL REPULSE OF THE ENEMY.]
+
+Notwithstanding the fall of their commander, the men who had effected
+a lodgment in the bastion, successfully resisted every attempt to
+dislodge them till daylight. General Gaines then ordered up larger
+reinforcements, and the enemy began speedily to fall back. They were
+now at the mercy of the American soldiers, who had not forgotten the
+savage cry which had been the death-knell of many a brave spirit.
+Expecting no favor, as none was merited, they had commenced tumbling
+pellmell over the parapet into the ditch, when a strong reserve
+was descried rapidly coming up under Lieutenant Colonel Tucker. An
+enfilading fire from Captain Douglass’ battery upon the approaching
+column, and a few rapid and effective discharges from the guns of
+Captains Biddle and Fanning, checked their advance. Between three
+and four hundred of the enemy advanced to within a short distance of
+the bastion; but, at this moment, and while the Americans, under the
+orders of General Gaines, were preparing for a vigorous rush upon the
+remnant of Drummond’s column, a number of cartridges deposited in one
+end of the stone building adjoining the bastion, caught fire, and
+exploded, with a tremendous roar, carrying away the whole platform.
+The loss of the enemy by the explosion was small in comparison
+with what they had previously sustained, but it served to add to
+their confusion, and to increase their anxiety to escape beyond
+the reach of the American guns. No effort was made to pursue the
+assault further, and a general retreat of the enemy now took place,
+as tumultuous and disorderly, as their advance had been brave and
+imposing.
+
+The British lost one hundred and fifty-seven men killed, in the
+assault, three hundred and eight wounded, and one hundred and
+eighty-six prisoners; besides a number who were drowned in the lake,
+and a still greater number who deserted under cover of the darkness.
+The American loss was only seventeen killed, fifty-six wounded, and
+eleven missing.
+
+General Drummond had indulged the hope that a single giant stroke
+would retrieve the fortunes of the British arms in the peninsula,
+and enable him to “ride in triumph over all mischance.” The attack
+was well-laid, but failed in every respect. This abortive attempt
+sadly crippled his strength, and though he was reïnforced by two
+regiments on the following day, he durst not hazard a second assault.
+His batteries were enlarged, and the bombardment continued, though
+without any sensible effect. On the twenty-eighth of August, General
+Gaines, having been severely wounded by the bursting of a shell, was
+obliged to retire to Buffalo, leaving General Ripley in charge of
+the post which had been thus bravely defended. General Brown resumed
+the command on the second of September, and soon after compelled the
+British commander to raise the siege, and retire to his intrenched
+camp beyond the Chippewa.[6]
+
+General Gaines did not recover from his wound in time to take part
+in the further operations of the belligerent forces during the few
+months which elapsed previous to the conclusion of the treaty of
+peace.--His gallant service in the defence of Fort Erie, did not go
+unrewarded. He was brevetted a major-general; Congress honored him,
+also, and the officers and men under his command, with a vote of
+thanks, and authorized the president to procure and present him with
+a gold medal. Similar votes of thanks were likewise passed, and
+gold-hilted swords presented to him, by the legislatures of New York,
+Virginia, and Tennessee.
+
+[Sidenote: THE SEMINOLE WAR.]
+
+After the termination of hostilities with Great Britain, being
+retained on the peace-establishment, General Gaines was ordered to
+relieve General Jackson in the command of the southern district.
+He was engaged in the discharge of the duties appertaining to his
+position, in the summer of 1817, when the Seminoles, a branch of the
+Creek tribe, and the Red Sticks, or Mickasaukians, also a branch of
+the same nation, who were driven from the Mississippi territory by
+General Jackson, in 1814, in connection with a number of runaway
+negroes,--all instigated by Nichols and Woodbine, and other British
+agents, and the Spanish authorities of Florida,--began to renew
+their depredations on the southern frontiers of Georgia. In July, a
+large band of these savages and outlaws were dislodged from a fort
+in which they had established themselves, on the Appalachicola, by a
+body of regulars and friendly Indians, under Colonel Clinch; but, as
+their outrages were frequently repeated, General Gaines immediately
+commenced erecting forts for the defence and protection of the border
+settlements. Fort Scott was constructed on the Flint river, a short
+distance above Spring Creek; Fort Gaines on the left bank of the
+Chatahoochee, about midway between the Petawla and Yattayabba creeks;
+and a third fort on the Conecuh.
+
+In order to put an end to the atrocities perpetrated by the hostile
+savages and their associates, orders were issued to General Gaines
+from the War Department, “to remove the Indians still remaining
+on the lands ceded by the treaty made by General Jackson with the
+Creeks;” and, in pursuance of these instructions, on the nineteenth
+of November, he sent an officer to Fowltown, with a message requiring
+the removal of the Indians at that place. The chief in command
+returned a haughty refusal; whereupon, Major Twiggs was dispatched
+with a strong force, to compel an observance of the order, and to
+bring the chief and his party to Fort Scott. He was attacked on the
+way, but succeeded in repulsing the Indians, and arrived safely
+at Fowltown, which was found entirely deserted. On the thirtieth
+instant, Major Muhlenburgh arrived in the Appalachicola, with three
+vessels, containing supplies for Fort Scott, but was unable to ascend
+the river on account of the adverse winds. Lieutenant Scott was
+therefore sent down to his assistance, with a boat and forty men.
+Twenty of his men were left with the vessels, and their places in
+the boat were filled by sick soldiers and women. Lieutenant Scott
+then started to return to the fort, but on reaching the mouth of the
+Flint river, he was suddenly attacked by a band of Indian warriors,
+under their chief Hornotlimed. The whole party, with the exception of
+six soldiers, who made their escape by swimming to the shore, were
+inhumanly butchered, and their scalps taken to the Indian town of
+Mickasauky, to adorn the war-pole, striped with red paint, which had
+already been erected.
+
+Offensive measures of the most rigorous character, were now rendered
+unavoidable. The experience acquired by General Jackson in his Indian
+campaigns, led to his being selected to conduct the war against the
+Seminoles and their allies. He arrived at Fort Scott, with nine
+hundred Georgia militia, on the ninth of March, 1818, and, as the
+senior officer, assumed the command. General Gaines acted under his
+orders during the short, but decisive campaign, that terminated
+in the effectual chastisement of the savages, and their Spanish
+abettors.[7] The services of the former were invaluable to the
+commanding general; he was always to be relied on, ever ready for
+any service, prompt, skilful, persevering and industrious. He was
+present at the reduction of Fort Barrancas, on the twenty-eighth of
+May, and immediately thereafter was ordered to St. Augustine, with a
+detachment, which surrendered to him without serious opposition.
+
+[Sidenote: CONTROVERSY WITH GENERAL SCOTT.]
+
+The hostile Indians being now quieted, General Jackson was relieved
+from duty, and General Gaines again took the command. He continued
+in charge of the southern district, till the further reduction of
+the army in 1821. He was then selected as one of the two brigadiers
+retained in service, and assigned to the command of the western
+military division. Upon the death of General Brown, in 1828, he
+was a candidate, with General Scott, for the vacant office of
+General-in-chief. The appointment, however, was conferred on General
+Macomb, then at the head of the engineer bureau. Pending the
+selection of an officer to supply this vacancy, a warm controversy
+took place between General Scott and himself, in relation to their
+respective priority of rank, which led to an unfortunate estrangement
+between them, and has since been a fruitful subject of contention and
+difficulty, occasioning not more embarrassment to the individuals
+particularly concerned, than to the national authorities, and their
+mutual friends, who are perhaps equally proud of the military
+services of both officers.
+
+General Gaines was continued in command of the western division, his
+head-quarters being established at Jefferson barracks, and on the
+breaking out of disturbances with the Sacs and Foxes, in May, 1831,
+he promptly repaired to the theatre of contention, having previously
+dispatched thither a large body of troops. The principal village
+of the Sacs and Foxes lay in the beautiful peninsula between the
+transparent waters of the Rock river, and the Mississippi. In 1804,
+a treaty was concluded by Governor Harrison with their principal
+chiefs, by the terms of which all their lands east of the Mississippi
+were ceded to the United States; the Indians reserving to themselves
+the right of living and hunting upon the territory ceded while
+the same was unsold. A large number of the Sacs remained in the
+peninsula, and continued peaceably to enjoy the rights which had been
+reserved, till the admission of Illinois into the Union. The state
+then began to be more rapidly populated, and the valuable lead mines
+at Galena attracted a vast body of emigrants. In a few years the
+Indians were entirely surrounded by the settlements of the whites.
+Collisions frequently occurred; excesses were committed on one side,
+and retaliatory measures, far more aggravated in character, were
+adopted on the other.
+
+[Sidenote: DIFFICULTY WITH THE SACS AND FOXES.]
+
+With a view of removing the cause of dispute, the general government,
+in 1829, ordered the lands occupied by the Indians to be sold.
+The Sacs, under their celebrated chief, Black Hawk, now insisted
+that the treaty of 1804 was concluded by a few chiefs without the
+knowledge or consent of the nation at large, and refused to give up
+possession to purchasers. The authorities of the state were called
+upon to interfere for the protection of the whites, and in May, 1831,
+Governor Reynolds called out seven hundred militia, to remove the
+Indians by force. A collision had been anticipated by the Executive
+of the United States, and General Gaines had received orders to
+proceed to the seat of disturbance, if it should appear to be
+necessary. He instantly ordered six companies of regular troops from
+Jefferson Barracks to Rock Island, and four companies from Prairie
+du Chien. On the thirteenth of May, General Gaines arrived with this
+force at Fort Armstrong. A conference was here held with the Indian
+chiefs, but as they were unwilling to agree to any satisfactory
+terms, he called on Governor Reynolds of Illinois, for an additional
+force of militia. The governor joined him on the Rock river, with
+sixteen hundred mounted men, on the twenty-fifth of June, and in
+the morning of the ensuing day, General Gaines took possession of
+the Indian town, at the head of the united force, without firing a
+gun, or meeting a single Indian,--the late occupants of the village
+having crossed the Mississippi, with their women and children, on the
+previous night.
+
+General Gaines again dispatched a message to the Sac chiefs,
+proposing another conference. This was finally acceded to, and on the
+thirtieth of June they entered into a treaty with him and Governor
+Reynolds, by which it was agreed that they should permanently remove
+beyond the Mississippi. Having brought this affair to what, at the
+time, promised to be a satisfactory termination, General Gaines
+returned to his headquarters. The treaty stipulations of the Indians
+proved to be delusory, however. In the following year Black Hawk led
+his warriors across the Mississippi, and refused peremptorily to
+retire, till he and his band were completely routed at the battle of
+the Bad-Axe, on the twenty-seventh of August, after which a treaty
+was concluded with General Scott and Governor Reynolds, in accordance
+with which the Sacs and Foxes removed to the vicinity of the Iowa and
+Des Moines rivers.
+
+Another long interval of comparative inaction now occurred in the
+military service of General Gaines. Little more can be said of him,
+during this time, than that all his duties as the commander of the
+western division, were discharged with punctuality and dispatch.
+We hear nothing further from him of especial moment, till the
+renewal of hostilities with the Seminoles of Florida, in the fall
+of 1835. On receiving intelligence of the massacre of Major Dade’s
+command, and the battle of the Withlacoochee, he collected all the
+disposable troops in the vicinity of New Orleans, to which point
+his head-quarters had been removed, and immediately repaired to the
+seat of war. He landed at Fort Brooke, at the head of Tampa Bay, on
+the fourth of February, 1836, and at once proceeded in search of the
+savages, following the route of the unfortunate Dade down the right
+bank of the Withlacoochee. On arriving at the scene of the massacre,
+he caused the remains of the brave soldiers who had fallen victims
+to the wiles of the Indian warriors, to be decently and carefully
+interred. On the twenty-eighth of February, he encountered a body of
+Indians not far from Fort King, but repulsed them with loss. Soon
+after this affair he entered into a parley with Asceolah, or Osceola,
+the principal chief of the Seminoles, which, like most obligations
+and pledges of a similar character, proved to be a mere ruse,--the
+object of which was to gain time for the removal of the women and
+children to places of security, in the marshy everglades, and leafy
+hummocks, in the southern part of the peninsula.
+
+[Sidenote: THE FLORIDA WAR.]
+
+Previous to these occurrences, General Scott had been ordered to
+take command of the troops, and to prosecute the war in Florida. He
+arrived at St. Augustine on the eighth of February, and on receiving
+authentic information of the fact, and on being informed of the
+orders issued at Washington, General Gaines gave up the command, and
+shortly afterwards returned to New Orleans.
+
+His skirmish with the Indians, on the banks of the Withlacoochee,
+terminated, in all probability, forever, the active service of
+General Gaines in the field. Incapacitated, by reason of his age,
+and physical inability to endure the hardships and privations of a
+campaign, he was not employed in the prosecution of the war with
+Mexico, except in forwarding supplies, and hastening on troops, to
+the camp established by General Taylor at Corpus Christi, in the
+summer of 1845, and in discharging the other duties, in connection
+therewith, that devolved on him as the commanding officer at New
+Orleans. Though yielding to the influence of advancing years, he
+still possessed the chivalric fire, and the ardent patriotism,
+which had distinguished him in his younger days. Like the war-horse
+no longer fitted to endure the shock of battle, he snuffed the
+breeze that came from the field of strife, afar off, and when the
+information was received that General Taylor and his little band of
+soldiers were surrounded on the Rio Grande, and cut off from their
+supplies, he was impatient to rush to the assistance of his gallant
+brother in arms.
+
+Restraining his impulses, he did all that was possible to be done,
+to relieve the army supposed to be in such imminent peril. All the
+regular troops that could be sent to the seat of war, were dispatched
+thither as expeditiously as possible. He also caused a large number
+of volunteers to be enrolled, mustered into service, and transported
+to the Rio Grande, without waiting for orders from Washington; in
+this he exceeded his authority, and it was thought proper to submit
+his conduct to a court of inquiry. The court assembled at Fort
+Monroe, in July, 1846, and after a full investigation, determined
+that he had transcended his powers, but that the act was prompted
+by the purest and most praiseworthy motives. The executive and
+the people of the United States, it is needless to say, cordially
+approved of the decision. Not long after General Gaines was assigned
+to the command of the eastern division, and established his
+head-quarters at New York, where he remained till the close of the
+war with Mexico, when he was relieved from duty at his own request.
+
+[Sidenote: PERSONAL APPEARANCE AND CHARACTER.]
+
+General Gaines yet lives, in the enjoyment of “all that should
+accompany old age,” to recount the thrilling incidents of his
+campaigns, and “fight his battles o’er again.” One of that class of
+men is he--but too few in number--belonging to a past _régime_, who,
+though he has vindicated his title to be ranked among the military
+heroes of the nation, has never forgotten those noble qualities
+which characterize the gentleman of the old school. He is scarcely
+above the ordinary height, and slight of person, but straight as
+the arrow of an Indian warrior. He is somewhat reserved, but not
+taciturn,--courteous and urbane in his manners, but dignified and
+high-minded. Though his head is silvered with the frost of many
+winters, he is still hale and erect, and brave and generous, as in
+the hey-day of youth, when he rambled along the banks of the Yadkin;
+or, in the pride of manhood, when he stood unmoved, gazing with an
+unblenched eye on the carnage around him, and issuing his orders with
+an unfaltering lip, amid the whirling balls and blazing shells, on
+the ramparts of Fort Erie!
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+        [5] See Memoir of General Brown, _ante_.
+
+        [6] See Memoir of General Brown, _ante_.
+
+        [7] See Memoir of General Jackson.
+
+
+
+WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON.
+
+
+Among the most successful officers of the war of 1812, was Major
+General WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. Descended from a good old
+revolutionary stock, and thoroughly imbued, in his boyhood, with
+sentiments of the most sincere and devoted patriotism, he laid the
+foundation, at an early age, of the fame and distinction which
+he acquired in maturer years. Throughout a long life,--one full
+of interest, and replete with important incidents,--he enjoyed a
+wide-spread popularity, which, in the western states of the Union,
+was sometimes manifested with all the fervor of enthusiasm. No one
+better deserved the respect and esteem of his countrymen, and there
+are few whose character has come brighter or purer from the ordeal,
+when submitted to that Areopagus of public opinion, whose decisions
+admit not of dispute.
+
+[Sidenote: HIS FATHER.]
+
+He was born at Berkeley, the family seat of his father, on James
+river, Virginia, on the ninth day of February, 1773; being the
+youngest of three sons. His father, Colonel Benjamin Harrison, was a
+descendant of the celebrated officer of the same name, who fought by
+the side of Cromwell for civil and religious liberty, but, preferring
+a turbulent democracy to a quiet despotism, opposed the ambitious
+projects of the Lord Protector, with the same stubborn vehemence
+with which he had contended against the attempted usurpations of
+the tyrant Charles. But--what is of more immediate value to us
+as Americans--he was one of the signers of the Declaration of
+Independence, and “the intimate friend of Washington”!
+
+[Illustration: WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON.]
+
+Colonel Harrison took his seat in the Congress of the Confederation,
+as one of the delegates from Virginia, in 1774, and remained a
+member of that body, during that and the two following years. On the
+resignation of his brother-in-law, Peyton Randolph, the president
+of Congress, he was urged by a number of friends to take the vacant
+place, but declined the honor, and, on his nomination, John Hancock
+was appointed to fill the station. It is also stated, in connection
+with this circumstance, that when the latter manifested some
+hesitation about accepting the office, Colonel Harrison caught the
+modest patriot in his arms, and almost carried him to the chair,
+_nolens volens_. He took an active part in the discussions and
+deliberations that preceded the adoption of the Declaration, and
+was the chairman of the committee of the whole when the vote to
+agree to it was taken. There is an anecdote related of him at this
+juncture, which attests the warmth of his feelings, and the sterling
+genuineness of his patriotism. Although John Dickinson was openly
+and avowedly opposed to the separation from the mother country, his
+honesty and integrity were never questioned, and his conceded ability
+secured the respect of the other members of Congress. Upon his urgent
+request, he was permitted to draw the second petition to the King,
+which was adopted, though with considerable reluctance. After the
+vote was taken, Mr. Dickinson could not refrain from expressing
+his satisfaction, and, at the close of his remarks, said, that
+there was but one word which he disapproved, and that was the word
+“_Congress_.” Colonel Harrison sprang to his feet the instant Mr.
+Dickinson was seated, and exclaimed with emphatic earnestness--“There
+is but one word in the paper, Mr. President, of which I _approve_,
+and that is the word ‘_Congress_’!”
+
+Colonel Harrison was afterwards, for several years in succession, a
+member of the Virginia house of delegates, and filled the office of
+speaker till the close of the year 1781, when he succeeded Governor
+Nelson in the executive chair of that state. On the expiration of his
+official term in 1784, he retired to private life, but to the time of
+his death, which occurred in 1791, he was known and esteemed by the
+ablest men in the nation, and revered and honored by all classes and
+parties of his fellow-citizens.
+
+The subject of this biography, William Henry Harrison, was early
+placed at Hampden-Sidney college. At the age of seventeen he left
+the institution with his mind well stored with classical lore, and
+not long after, in compliance with the wishes of his father, whose
+liberal hospitality forbade the bestowal of large fortunes on his
+children, commenced the study of medicine. Having completed a short
+preparatory course of reading, he proceeded to Philadelphia, in the
+spring of 1791, to attend the lectures at the University, and avail
+himself of the other facilities afforded in that city for obtaining
+a knowledge of the profession which he had selected. He had but
+just arrived there and resumed his studies, when the intelligence of
+his father’s death reached him, and effected an entire change in his
+plans for the future.
+
+[Sidenote: DEFEAT OF ST. CLAIR.]
+
+Notwithstanding the earnest remonstrances of his guardian, Robert
+Morris, the celebrated financier, who depicted, in glowing colors,
+the fatigues and hardships which he would be compelled to undergo,
+he determined to enter the army, and with his own good sword hew
+out a way to distinction. Preparations were then making for another
+campaign against the Indians on the northwestern frontier,--the
+expedition of the previous year, under General Harmar, having failed
+of accomplishing any decisive results. This added fire to the spirit
+of young Harrison. Washington was applied to,--and respect for the
+memory of the father, and esteem for the son, whose importunities
+could not be disregarded, procured for the latter an ensign’s
+commission in the regular service. He departed immediately for Fort
+Washington, now Cincinnati, but, though he hurried forward with
+eager impetuosity, did not succeed in joining the army, then but a
+remnant of what it had once been, till after the disastrous defeat
+of the brave and honest, but unfortunate St. Clair, on the fourth
+of November, 1791. On joining his regiment, at Fort Washington,
+he learned the particulars of the sad tragedy which had just been
+enacted. The melancholy fate of Butler, Oldham, Hardin, and their
+companions, who had fallen victims to the wiles of a barbarous
+and cruel enemy, so far from damping his ardor, or chilling his
+enthusiasm, only heightened the fire of patriotic indignation that
+burned in his bosom, and increased his anxiety to take the field,
+and aid in inflicting a summary punishment upon the merciless savages.
+
+At this time there were no settlements of consequence north of the
+Ohio, except those at Kaskaskia, Vincennes, Fort Washington, and
+Marietta; and, on the south, between that river and the Tennessee,
+there were comparatively few inhabitants scattered over the territory
+previously known as Kentuckeè, “the Bloody Land,”--for many years the
+battle-ground of the Northern and Southern Indians. The protection,
+therefore, of the exposed frontiers, depended mainly on the regular
+force of the General Government, and the militia of Pennsylvania and
+Virginia; for, though the citizens of this remote region were ever
+prompt to obey the call to arms, they were too feeble in numbers, to
+cope, unassisted, with so powerful a foe. General St. Clair, governor
+of the “Territory north-west of the Ohio,” had moved upon the Miami
+villages with over fourteen hundred men; of this number, six hundred
+and thirty-one were killed in the fearful onslaught of the fourth
+of November, and there were two hundred and sixty-seven wounded;
+consequently, it was necessary to raise a large additional force,
+before offensive operations could be further prosecuted. President
+Washington immediately recommended a considerable increase of the
+army, and Congress adopted his suggestions.
+
+[Sidenote: CAMPAIGN UNDER WAYNE.]
+
+In the then state of the country, it required no little time and
+preparation to fit a great body of troops for the field; numerous and
+unavoidable delays occurred; and, in the meanwhile, attempts were
+made to conclude a peace with the hostile Indians. The messengers
+dispatched by the Executive of the United States were treacherously
+murdered, and negotiation was no longer admissible, save at the point
+of the bayonet. In the autumn of 1793, a force of twenty-six hundred
+men, nearly all of whom were regulars, under the command of General
+Wayne, were concentrated at an encampment established near Fort
+Washington on the Ohio.
+
+While these preparations were in progress, young Harrison, who
+had been promoted to a lieutenancy, was sedulously employed in
+studying his profession. His skill and proficiency as a tactician,
+attracted the attention of the officer selected to take command of
+the projected expedition, and he was designated as one of his aids.
+Having completed his arrangements, General Wayne took up the line
+of march for the Indian country, early in October. The lateness
+of the season rendered it impossible to accomplish anything till
+another campaign, and on his arrival at one of the tributaries of the
+Stillwater branch of the Big Miami, he established himself in winter
+quarters, and commenced organizing and disciplining his troops.
+Lieutenant Harrison was prominent among the young officers engaged in
+the work of instruction, and his services were flatteringly noticed
+by the commanding general.
+
+In the summer of 1794, General Wayne was joined by upwards of one
+thousand mounted militia, and without delay set out in pursuit of
+the enemy, who, he learned, were in strong force at the Rapids of
+the Maumee. On the twentieth of August, he encountered the Indians,
+who had vainly attempted to draw him into an ambush, near the _Roche
+de Bouc_, on the north bank of the river, and defeated them with
+great slaughter. Their chief, Turkey-foot, and a large number of
+their best and bravest warriors, were slain; and the remainder
+either dispersed, or sought shelter under the guns of Fort Maumee,
+then occupied by a British garrison. The bravery and intrepidity of
+Lieutenant Harrison in this affair, were conspicuous; and in the
+official report of the action, his name is mentioned in terms of high
+commendation.[8] While the army lay in the vicinity of Fort Maumee,
+an incident transpired, which came very near terminating, in all
+probability, the life of General Wayne, and that of his gallant aid.
+
+Positive instructions had been received to demolish the fort occupied
+by the English troops, in utter disregard of the provisions of
+the treaty of 1783, and in order to enable him to decide upon the
+propriety of an attempt to reduce it, General Wayne, accompanied by
+his suite, advanced to reconnoitre. In this daring reconnaissance,
+the general, who possessed a constitutional indifference to danger,
+with Lieutenant Harrison at his side, rode within eighty yards of
+the fort, and within point blank range of its guns. While making
+their observations, with the utmost coolness, an English captain of
+marines turned one of the pieces upon them, and was about to apply
+the port-fire, when Major Campbell, the commandant of the garrison,
+interposed, just in time to prevent the catastrophe that would most
+likely have occurred. Major Campbell subsequently apologized for the
+unofficer-like conduct of his subordinate, and to his gentlemanly
+behavior the preservation of peace between the two countries may be
+attributed.
+
+General Wayne did not deem it advisable to attack the post with
+the means at his command, and having destroyed the Indian villages
+within fifty miles of either side of the river, he returned to Fort
+Defiance, at the confluence of the Au Glaize and Maumee. The defeat
+which the Indians had sustained was decisive; everything remained
+quiet during the ensuing winter; and in July, 1795, General Wayne
+concluded a favorable treaty, at Greenville, with a number of chiefs
+representing ten different nations.
+
+Upon the conclusion of the treaty, Harrison, now raised to the
+rank of captain, was placed in command of Fort Washington, and,
+shortly after, was married to a daughter of Judge Symmes,--a most
+amiable woman; distinguished for high moral worth, for her piety and
+benevolence; and esteemed and loved by a large circle of friends and
+acquaintances.
+
+[Sidenote: COMMENCES HIS CIVIL CAREER.]
+
+Captain Harrison soon became dissatisfied with the idle routine of
+a garrison life; there seemed to be no prospect that his serviced
+would be required in the field; and he longed for more active
+employment. Accordingly he resigned his commission, and in 1797, at
+the age of twenty-four, commenced his civil career, as secretary
+of the territory, under Governor St. Clair. His talents and many
+estimable qualities had already brought him into favorable notice,
+and the duties of his office were discharged with so much promptitude
+and fidelity, that he was regarded as one of the ablest young men
+in the territory. His popularity steadily increased, and in 1799,
+he was elected as the first delegate in congress. On taking his
+seat, in December, of that year, he was appointed, upon his urgent
+solicitation, chairman of the committee on the public lands,--the
+only instance, it is stated, in which a delegate was so distinguished.
+
+The improvement of the existing land system had long been a favorite
+object with him. Many of its features were wholly inconsistent with
+the genius and spirit of democratic institutions, and calculated
+to retard the growth and prosperity of the great West. Among other
+provisions equally odious in their character, was one forbidding
+the sale of land by the government, in quantities of less than
+four thousand acres, except where there were fractions on the
+banks of large streams. Harrison had the forecast to discover,
+what a boundless field would be opened for the enterprising youth
+and industrious laboring classes of the Atlantic states, by the
+removal of this obstacle to the settlement of the territory, the
+development of the resources which nature had so lavishly bestowed
+upon it, and its rapid advancement to wealth and greatness. Through
+his instrumentality, aided by the efforts of other able members of
+both houses, who united with him in procuring this reform, a law was
+enacted, requiring one half of the public lands remaining unsold, to
+be divided into sections of six hundred and forty acres each, and the
+remaining moiety into sections of three hundred and twenty acres; the
+old system of forfeiture for non-payment was abolished, and payments
+were directed to be made, in future, one quarter down, and the
+remainder in two, three, and four years, with a further forbearance
+of one year on the last payment, if desired.
+
+[Sidenote: GOVERNOR OF INDIANA TERRITORY.]
+
+This was not all that Harrison wished to effect; but an important
+point was gained. Emigrants flocked into the territory by scores
+and hundreds, and the gratitude of the citizens, both the old
+inhabitants, and the new-comers, who had been benefited by his
+exertions, never failed to follow his footsteps as those of a
+benefactor and friend.--Such was the estimation in which he was
+held by his constituents, that he was solicited, on all hands, to
+take the place of Governor St. Clair. In reply to every intimation
+of this kind, Harrison steadily refused to permit any effort to be
+made, to supersede the war-worn veteran, whose only fault, if fault
+it be, was, that fortune had been chary of her favors to him, when
+her smiles, doubtless for some wise purpose, were showered upon those
+not more able, not more deserving, nor more prompt in the performance
+of every duty. The desire of Harrison’s friends was soon gratified,
+however, in his appointment by President Adams, in 1800, as the first
+governor of the newly erected territory of Indiana. Though deprived,
+by his position as a delegate, from taking part in the general
+legislation of the country, his sound judgment and sterling worth had
+secured him an enviable reputation, and when he left Congress, he was
+followed by the regard and cordial good wishes of his associates.
+
+Shortly before his leaving the Capital, a circumstance occurred,
+which deserves to be mentioned, as illustrating the purity of
+motive, and honesty of purpose, which marked his public conduct.
+His father-in-law, Judge Symmes, was the proprietor of the Miami
+purchase; and previous to obtaining his patent, he had made a number
+of sales. It was doubtful whether the rights thus acquired were of
+any value, even in equity; but, upon the introduction of a bill in
+Congress providing for the settlement of the purchase, although the
+interests of Judge Symmes, and, indirectly, his own, were jeoparded,
+Harrison went before the committee having the bill in charge, and
+successfully urged the insertion of a clause amply protecting the
+claims of the purchasers.
+
+In 1801, Governor Harrison entered upon the discharge of his official
+duties, at Vincennes, an old military and trading post, on the left
+bank of the Wabash, which was settled by the French about the year
+1730. Though invested with extraordinary powers, the office to which
+he had been appointed was no sinecure. Besides the settlement at
+Vincennes, there were but two others, of importance, in the whole
+territory, out of which was afterwards formed the states of Indiana
+and Illinois, viz.; Clarke’s Grant at the falls of the Ohio, and
+the settlement extending along the Mississippi, from Kaskaskia to
+Cahokia. The white population did not exceed five thousand souls, and
+they were entirely surrounded, on the north and west, by numerous
+bands of Indians, who were either openly and avowedly hostile, or
+wanted but a favorable opportunity to manifest their hatred and
+ill-will.
+
+[Sidenote: VARIED SERVICES.]
+
+To provide for the security of the settlements in the territory,
+however remote, or widely separated; to overawe the savages, or
+hold them in check; to encourage immigration; and to promote, in
+all things, the happiness and welfare of the inhabitants,--were
+the objects to which Governor Harrison unremittingly devoted his
+time and attention. In addition to his other duties, he acted as
+commissioner of Indian affairs, in which capacity he concluded
+fifteen treaties, and extinguished the title of the aborigines to
+more than seventy million acres of land--then, for the most part,
+an unbroken wilderness, but now dotted all over with the abodes of
+wealth and contentment, and teeming with a thriving and industrious
+population. Frequent journeys were performed by him, along the wild
+forest paths, and miserable _traces_, which led from one station or
+settlement to another. Dangers were fearlessly encountered; fatigue
+never disheartened him. He cheerfully shared the privations of the
+settlers; partaking with them of the rudest cheer, or, seated on a
+hewed block before a roaring fire, listening attentively to tales
+of trial and hardship, and offering the kind word of sympathy and
+encouragement. Wrapt in his blanket, or enveloped in the folds of a
+bear skin or buffalo robe, he slept, too, as soundly and sweetly on
+the bare earth in the hunter’s lodge, or the puncheon floor of a log
+cabin, as upon the beds of down in his father’s mansion.
+
+In 1802, Ohio was admitted into the Union as a state, and Wayne
+county,--afterwards the territory, and, still later, the state of
+Michigan,--was then attached to the territory of Indiana. The duties
+of Governor Harrison were thus rendered still more arduous. He was
+relieved from this additional care, however, in 1805, when Michigan
+was erected into a separate territory. The country filled up so
+rapidly, that it became necessary, in a few years, to relieve him
+yet further, and in 1809, a territorial government was formed for
+Illinois.
+
+Many years elapsed after the conclusion of the treaty of peace,
+in 1783, before Great Britain entirely abandoned her expectations
+of reëstablishing, at some future, and not very remote day, her
+authority over her revolted American colonies. It was customary for
+her writers and politicians to underrate the importance, and sneer
+at the pretensions of the young republic, till they saw, in the
+rapidly-extending commerce and growing prosperity which followed the
+restoration of peace and tranquillity, unmistakable indications that
+the daughter would soon be no mean rival of the mother country in the
+race of nations. To check these germs of greatness, ere they should
+bud and blossom, was now the favorite object of English statesmen. As
+no pretext existed for open hostilities, resort was had to the low
+arts of diplomacy--to intrigue and cunning; and amid the moral and
+political corruption, which, at that era, polluted the atmosphere of
+St. James, plans were concocted, whose atrocity must ever stand out
+in bold relief on the page of impartial history.
+
+[Sidenote: ENGLISH INTRIGUES.]
+
+Disregarding the provisions of the treaty of 1783, the British
+authorities retained possession of the military posts northwest of
+the Ohio, and to these, and similar establishments in the Canadas,
+agents were sent, to suborn, and tamper with, the savages on the
+northern frontiers of the American Union, and incite them to commit
+acts of hostility upon the persons and property of the settlers who
+had found their way into the rich valley of the Mississippi. It was
+the policy of Washington,--and, after him, of Adams, Jefferson, and
+Madison,--to purchase the lands belonging to the Indian tribes,
+required by the increasing white population of the country, at a fair
+equivalent; to furnish them the means of civilization; to provide
+for them the restraints of well-ordered and wholesome regulations;
+to enkindle new desires, and implant new motives in their breasts;
+to enlighten their minds and Christianize their hearts. England, on
+the contrary, forgetting the eloquent and indignant denunciations of
+her Chatham, and careless how she sullied the national escutcheon,
+already stained by many a foul blot, supplied them with arms and
+ammunition,--with blankets, tobacco, and “fire-water,”--not to induce
+them to cultivate harmony and good-will with their neighbors, the
+citizens of the United States; but to minister to their most depraved
+appetites, and arouse the most vindictive passions of their natures.
+She asked them, not to lay aside the implements of death, and
+engage in the pursuits of peace; but invited them to continue their
+barbarous warfare, and glut their vengeance, to the full, with the
+tomahawk and scalping-knife!
+
+Under the auspices of Simcoe, and other agents of Great Britain,
+immediately after the peace, a combination was formed among the
+Northwestern Indians, the object of which was to prevent the
+Americans from extending their settlements beyond the Alleghanies.
+The border inhabitants were constantly harassed by the irruptions
+of the savages; scenes of bloodshed and murder were of frequent
+occurrence; and when efforts were made to chastise the perpetrators
+of these outrages, they found in England a fast and firm friend,
+whose assistance, though not openly rendered, proved of essential
+service to her allies. Her influence was felt in the defeat of Harmar
+and St. Clair, and when the mounted volunteers under the gallant
+Wayne scattered the savages in confusion, on the banks of the
+Maumee, they fled for protection beneath the guns of a fortress over
+which floated the red cross of St. George.
+
+The defeat of the Indians by Wayne was a severe lesson, and it was
+long remembered. Fortunately, too, for our country,--who needed only
+a season of peace, and repose from “war’s alarms,” to advance with
+rapid strides to the high destiny before her,--the revolutionary
+spirit had, at this time, crossed the Atlantic, and the watch-fires
+of liberty were blazing on the continent of Europe. Alarmed for the
+stability of her institutions at home, England had no time to spend
+in courting the favor of the North American savages, even though
+her machinations promised to terminate in the restoration of “the
+brightest jewel of her crown.” In November, 1794, three months after
+Wayne’s victory, Mr. Jay concluded his commercial treaty, in which it
+was stipulated that the western posts should be surrendered by the
+first of June, 1796, which was accordingly done; and in the summer
+of 1795, as we have seen, the treaty of Greenville was made with the
+Indian tribes.--The quiet thus restored was deceitful, and temporary
+in its duration.
+
+[Sidenote: SEIZURES BY THE ENGLISH.]
+
+The treaty of Mr. Jay provided, among other things, for compensation
+for British spoliations on American commerce, growing out of the war
+with France; yet the ratifications of that instrument had scarcely
+been exchanged, when outrages of the same character, but greater in
+degree, were committed. Taking advantage of the distracted state of
+affairs on the continent, the enterprising citizens of America had
+extensively engaged in the carrying trade; and their commerce had
+increased with so much rapidity, that the jealousy of England was
+again awakened. Large quantities of American provisions were also
+shipped to Europe, and especially to France, and to her possessions
+in the West Indies, the prices paid for which, during the continuance
+of hostilities, afforded handsome profits; but this interfered,
+very materially, with the determination of England, by means of her
+maritime supremacy, to starve the French people into an abandonment
+of their republican notions, and to prevent it, she caused blockades
+to be declared, which were enforced by no suitable naval power, and
+orders to be issued, in defiance of the law of nations, requiring
+neutral vessels to be seized though not carrying articles contraband
+of war.
+
+Remonstrance on the part of the authorities of the United States, was
+of no avail. The example set by England was followed by France--every
+act of injustice on the one side being succeeded by a still more
+odious one on the other. The treaty of Amiens, in 1802, afforded the
+Americans a brief respite; but, on the renewal of the war, in the
+following year, seizures and condemnations of our vessels became more
+frequent than ever. England joined the coalition formed to establish
+Continental despotism on a firmer basis, and restore the Bourbon
+dynasty to the throne which they had disgraced; and she stopped at
+nothing to accomplish her purposes. Not content with watching the
+ports of France, she sent her privateers and vessels of war, under
+her pirate flag, to hover on our coast, and plunder our commerce. Her
+navy having been seriously reduced, in men, by the long continued
+warfare in which she had been engaged, she likewise resorted to the
+impressment of American seamen, to fill up the complements of her
+crews. Large numbers of sailors were taken from our merchantmen; and,
+to conclude these high-handed offences, the frigate Chesapeake was
+despoiled of a portion of her crew, on the twenty-second of June,
+1807.
+
+In the meantime the emissaries of Great Britain had been busy
+among the savages on the Northwestern frontier. So complete and
+irrefragable were the proofs furnished to Congress of this fact,
+that, in 1797, a law was passed to prevent the tampering of
+foreign agents with the Indians, which imposed severe penalties
+and punishments. This law was easily evaded, and it was therefore
+ineffectual. The Indians were invited to the British posts; they were
+flattered and caressed, and loaded with gifts and favors; their minds
+were soured; and no means were left untried to keep up a constant
+strife between them and the settlers. It has often been said, that
+the interference of British agents in this particular existed only
+in imagination, and that the Indians were provoked to hostilities by
+acts of violence committed by the Americans. Doubtless, there were
+isolated cases of wrong and injustice, which cannot, and should not,
+be palliated or excused; but it is idle to suppose, that the settlers
+generally would have so causelessly endangered their own security,
+and so recklessly jeoparded the lives of those who leaned on them for
+protection, and looked up to them for sympathy and love.
+
+[Sidenote: TAMPERING WITH THE INDIANS.]
+
+Governor Harrison was not an indifferent, nor, from his position, an
+uninterested spectator, of these events. The movements of the British
+emissaries did not escape his attention; he repeatedly cautioned
+his government against their designs, and labored incessantly to
+counteract them. He endeavored in every way to conciliate the
+savages, but his efforts were often frustrated by the unseen power
+so long felt in these border troubles. When the attack on the
+Chesapeake was made known in the United States, it excited a general
+sentiment of indignation. He shared deeply in this feeling, and
+embraced the first public opportunity to make known his opinions.
+In his speech delivered on the eighteenth of August, 1807, before
+the General Assembly of Indiana Territory, at their regular session,
+he referred, in emphatic terms of condemnation, to the conduct of
+the British agents who were secretly instigating the Indians on the
+frontier, and, avowing himself in favor of immediate hostilities,
+alluded to the affair of the Chesapeake, as being necessary, perhaps,
+to arouse the American people from their lethargy, and awaken them
+to the importance of teaching other countries and governments, that
+“a nation of freemen,” to quote his own language, “are not to be
+insulted with impunity”!
+
+France, at length, ceased her unjust and oppressive measures; but
+England refused to abandon her position. Embargo and non-intercourse
+were tried in vain. The commercial relations of the country suffered
+more and more. Jefferson and Madison both desired peace; yet,
+notwithstanding their pacific inclinations, affairs daily grew worse,
+and war seemed inevitable. While matters were fast verging towards
+the crisis, the agents of Great Britain were actively engaged among
+the Northwestern Indians. Governor Harrison watched their movements
+with a vigilance that never slumbered, and sought by every means in
+his power to defeat their plans and combinations, and, at least,
+to prevail upon the Indians not to take up arms in favor of either
+party, in case hostilities should commence between England and the
+United States.
+
+In the winter of 1810–11, crowds of Indian warriors collected around
+the British posts in Upper Canada,--their war-plumes streaming from
+their scalp locks, and their checks disfigured with the war-paint;
+and when the sweet notes of the blue robin, the welcome harbinger of
+spring, were heard echoing through the western forests, they went
+forth upon their bloody mission. Nature’s hymn of melody was hushed,
+as their shrill war-whoop resounded through valley and woodland, and
+the heavens became resplendent with the glow of blazing ricks and
+cabins.
+
+[Sidenote: COUNCIL AT VINCENNES.]
+
+Meanwhile Governor Harrison had succeeded in partially conciliating
+the Kickapoos, and some other tribes, and had effected the purchase
+of a large tract of land from them. It was the anxious desire of the
+General Government, to secure, at every hazard, the neutrality of
+the Indian tribes, in the event of a collision with Great Britain.
+This was regarded as of paramount importance; for the sad experience
+of the past had shown how much they were to be feared and dreaded,
+particularly when the military strength and resources of the nation
+should be employed in a contest with a powerful opponent. Governor
+Harrison faithfully reflected the views, and carried out the wishes
+of those whom he represented, and in the summer of 1811, a council
+was held at Vincennes, for which extensive preparations were made,
+and at which the leading, and most influential chiefs, of the
+Northwestern tribes, were present, by his invitation. The object of
+this assemblage was, to conclude a more general treaty, and complete
+the efforts which had been made to induce the Indians to remain
+neutral.
+
+Among the forest warriors who came to Vincennes, in pursuance
+of the summons of Governor Harrison, was Tecumseh, the Shawano
+chief,--conspicuous, then, for his tall and manly frame, his earnest
+and thrilling eloquence, his hostility to the whites, his boldness,
+bravery, and sagacity, and his feats of daring in the chase and valor
+on the war-path; and afterwards celebrated, for the ascendancy he
+acquired over his red brethren, and for his steadfast devotion to the
+English cause. Deep rankling in his heart there had long existed a
+feeling of inveterate hatred towards the American people, which had
+been carefully nurtured and cherished. Several years previous, he had
+formed the project of uniting the tribes, north, south, and west of
+the United States, in a combination, to refuse to sell any portion
+of their remaining lands, to resist every effort to dispossess
+them, and, if possible, to drive back the white settlers from the
+Mississippi valley. Motives of ambition may have been mingled with
+his aspirations, and it is not improbable, that he looked forward to
+the day when a grand native confederacy should be established beyond
+the Alleghanies, with himself as its leader and head.
+
+The project of this “forest-born Demosthenes” was a vast one,
+and he devoted himself with untiring zeal and pertinacity to its
+accomplishment. His exertions were powerfully seconded by his
+brother, Tensquataway--so well known as the Shawnee Prophet, or
+Impostor. The latter was blind of one eye, and lacked the oratorical
+powers of Tecumseh; but, claiming to receive direct revelations
+from the Great Spirit, which, though always possessing a singular
+resemblance to the public harangues of his brother, he imparted to
+his savage hearers,--and availing himself of that superstitious
+reverence, that, in a rude and uncultivated people, renders them so
+impressible, so credulous, and so easy to be governed and directed,
+by the practice of rites and incantations which are said to have
+thrilled and terrified the hearts of those who witnessed them--he
+acquired an influence second only to that of the chieftain whose
+ambitious designs he hoped to further. Tecumseh had already visited
+most of the Northwestern tribes, and was only waiting for the
+anticipated war with England, to marshal his bands and lead them out
+under her banner, hoping with her assistance to accomplish the great
+object he had so much at heart; and he now appeared in the council
+held at Vincennes, not to bury the tomahawk and smoke the calumet of
+peace, but to remonstrate against the purchase from the Kickapoos and
+other tribes, and hurl the gauntlet of defiance.
+
+[Sidenote: SPEECH OF TECUMSEH.]
+
+What excited the indignation of Tecumseh, more than all, was the
+claim of the white man to superiority, and the arrogance, as he
+termed it, evinced in calling the Indians his children. Upon the
+opening of the council, Governor Harrison kindly handed him a chair,
+saying, at the same time, in a courteous, yet dignified tone, “Your
+father offers you a seat.” “_My father!_”--exclaimed the chief, while
+he drew his form up to its full height, and his eye flashed with the
+fire of insulted pride--“_My father!_--the Sun is my father, and
+the Earth my mother; she gives me sustenance, and I will rest on her
+bosom!” Thus speaking he seated himself upon the ground, with as
+lofty and commanding an air, as if the green sward beneath him had
+been the throne of the Cæsars.
+
+After the preliminary business of the council was disposed of,
+Tecumseh rose, and in a strain of impassioned eloquence, which has
+rarely been equalled, and never, perhaps, surpassed, by any native
+orator, reviewed the conduct of the whites, and the wrongs of the
+Indians, from the time when the former first disembarked on the
+Atlantic coast, to that moment--insisting that the land was given
+by the Great Spirit to the red men in common, and that no portion
+of it could be sold without the consent of all. His speech was well
+calculated to inflame the prejudices, and arouse the passions, of
+his savage listeners, and when he had concluded, Governor Harrison
+commenced a reply. While the latter was speaking, Tecumseh, carried
+away by his emotions, sprang to his feet, and, grasping his tomahawk,
+boldly charged the governor with having uttered a falsehood. Twenty
+or thirty of the warriors followed the example of the chief, and
+instantly arrayed themselves in a hostile attitude.
+
+Governor Harrison was no “weak-heart;”[9] nor was he to be
+intimidated by menace. Anticipating a sudden outburst of ill-temper,
+as he had discovered some unfriendly indications, he had posted a
+guard of soldiers within call. At the signal, they darted forward to
+take part in the threatened struggle. But Tecumseh was as politic
+as he was brave; he saw that the time had not yet come for him to
+strike; and he wisely avoided a conflict. The council was broken up,
+however; and all hope of securing the neutrality of the Indians was
+abandoned. The savages returned to their homes in the wilderness,
+and shortly after renewed their outrages, murdering the frontier
+settlers, plundering and burning their homes, and destroying or
+carrying off large quantities of property.
+
+Governor Harrison’s decision was soon taken. Having obtained
+permission from the government to march into the Indian country
+with a military force, he made his preparations with his accustomed
+promptness and energy. Orders were sent to Colonel Boyd, of the
+4th infantry, then at Pittsburgh, to join him forthwith with his
+regiment, and a strong militia force, part of whom were mounted, were
+imbodied in Kentucky and Indiana--the citizens gladly responding to
+the call of patriotism--and marched to Vincennes. Leaving that place
+at the head of about fourteen hundred men, considerably less than one
+half being regulars, the governor moved up the Wabash. About fifty
+miles above Vincennes he constructed a stockade fort, afterwards
+known as Fort Harrison, and then directed his course, without loss of
+time, to Tippecanoe, the Prophet’s Town, which lay on the west bank
+of the Tippecanoe river, not far from its junction with the Wabash.
+
+[Sidenote: BATTLE OF TIPPECANOE.]
+
+On approaching the Indian town, on the sixth of November, Governor
+Harrison proceeded slowly and cautiously; as the enemy’s warriors
+were frequently seen flitting through the woods in advance of the
+army, and their scouts were discovered posted on the hills in every
+direction. Within a short distance of the village, he was met by
+the principal chiefs--Tecumseh himself being absent on a mission
+to the southern tribes--who, in reply to Harrison’s demand of
+satisfaction for the outrages which had been perpetrated, proposed
+that an amicable conference should be held on the following morning,
+and that, in the interim, neither party should commit any act of
+hostility. During the day he had made repeated efforts, without
+success, to bring the Indians to a parley, and he still distrusted
+their sincerity; but, being willing to grant them favorable terms of
+peace, if his demands were complied with, he acceded to their request.
+
+Orders were now issued to encamp for the night. Majors Clarke and W.
+Taylor were sent forward to select a suitable position, and on their
+report Governor Harrison marched his command to an elevated knoll
+of dry oak land, rising in the midst of the open prairie, about one
+mile northwest of the village. The horses were picketed, the guards
+posted, and every preparation made for the bivouac. Having partaken
+of their evening meal, the Americans lay down upon the bare earth,
+to refresh their wearied limbs. From his long acquaintance with the
+character of Indian warfare, Governor Harrison was familiar with the
+arts and devices of the savages; and apprehending treachery, and
+knowing, that, if attacked at all, it would be under cover of the
+darkness, he required his men to sleep on their arms, and directed
+that the order of encampment should be the order of battle.
+
+The troops were arranged in two columns, separated on the left, one
+hundred and eighty yards, and about half that distance on the right.
+The front line consisted of the first battalion of the 4th infantry,
+under Major Floyd, flanked, on the right, by two companies, and on
+the left by one company, of the regiment of Indiana militia, under
+Colonel Bartholomew; and the rear line was composed of the second
+battalion of the 4th infantry, under Captain Baer, flanked by four
+companies of the Indiana militia, under Lieutenant-Colonel Decker.
+Two companies of Indiana and Kentucky rifles, under General Wells,
+were thrown out to cover the left flank, and Captain Spencer’s troop
+of Indiana rifles was posted on the right. Two troops of dragoons
+were stationed in rear of the left flank, and one in rear of the
+front line, under Major Daviess. The left front and left rear
+angles,--that flank being the most exposed to an attack,--were turned
+by a portion of the regular troops. A strong guard was also detailed,
+each man of which was instructed to be prompt and vigilant. In the
+event of an assault, the different corps were ordered to maintain
+their respective positions till they were relieved; and the cavalry
+were directed to parade on foot, with their swords and pistols, and
+wait for orders.
+
+[Sidenote: ATTACK ON THE LEFT.]
+
+These dispositions being completed, Governor Harrison lay down among
+his men, having his horse near him, saddled, and in readiness for him
+to mount at a moment’s warning. Hour after hour went by in silence.
+The camp fires gleamed brightly in the distance till long after
+midnight, when they were suffered partially to die away. The cold
+chilling wind moaned dismally as it swept through the encampment,
+gently lifting the locks of many a tired sleeper who had looked
+for the last time on the setting sun, and fanning into a brighter
+glow the smouldering embers of the watch-fires. The beams of the
+young moon struggled almost vainly to pierce through the thick
+veil of clouds, from which a drizzling rain descended that hissed
+and sputtered as it fell on the heated ashes. The hour of darkness
+which precedes the dawn had nearly passed, when the governor rose
+from his rude couch, and ordered the réveille to be beaten. He then
+sat down before the fire, and commenced a conversation with some
+of his officers. While thus engaged, the stillness was suddenly
+broken, by the sentinels discharging their pieces, on the left of the
+encampment, and a fierce and hideous yell that roused every man from
+his slumbers.
+
+Wistful and inquiring glances were at once turned towards the quarter
+from whence the alarm proceeded; the cry, “To arms!--To arms!” was
+raised on every side; and the wild slogan of the savage bands, rising
+higher and higher as the conflict deepened, was echoed far down the
+valley of the Wabash. For a few moments the encampment presented a
+scene of confusion; but the active exertions of Governor Harrison,
+Colonel Boyd, and other officers, soon restored order and discipline.
+
+At first the attack was partially successful. The stealthy approach
+of the enemy was not observed until they were in the immediate
+vicinity of the pickets. It was their intention to creep up to
+the sentinels as close as possible, and then to spring upon them,
+and kill them, before they could fire; but, on finding that they
+were discovered, and the alarm given, they gave a deafening yell,
+rattled their deer hoofs--by which their movements in battle were
+guided--and rushed furiously on the guard posted on the left flank.
+The latter gave way almost instantly, and the whole brunt of the
+onset was sustained by Captain Barton’s regulars, and the mounted
+rifles of Captain Guiger, who occupied the left angle of the rear
+line. In every other part of the encampment the fires had already
+been extinguished, in obedience to the directions of Governor
+Harrison;--but, on this flank, there was not sufficient time, and
+the troops were exposed to the murderous aim of the Indian warriors,
+without even the protection afforded by the darkness. Nevertheless,
+they held their position gallantly, amid the storm of bullets that
+whistled incessantly through their ranks, till they were reinforced
+by two companies from the centre of the rear line, ordered to their
+support by the governor.
+
+Such was the desperation evinced by the savages, at the outset of
+the action, that a number of them forced their way into the centre
+of the encampment. Here, for a brief space, the contest was foot to
+foot, and man to man. Fire brands were hurled, and rifles and muskets
+clubbed. The scalping knife glistened momentarily, as it cut the
+air in its descending course; and a dull crashing sound was heard,
+as the tomahawk sank into the quivering brain of some unfortunate
+victim. Louder and louder rang the Indian war-whoop; but the American
+soldiers--their confidence now regained--returned shout for shout,
+and yell for yell. Vengeance was not long deferred. Not one of the
+enemy who had entered within the lines was suffered to escape:--all
+were cut down, uttering, as they fell, in shrieking tones, their
+bitter and unrelenting curse upon the white man.
+
+[Sidenote: FORTUNATE CIRCUMSTANCE.]
+
+A short distance in front of the American left, there was a small
+group of sturdy oaks, which afforded shelter to a number of the most
+skilful marksmen among the assailing band, who poured a galling
+and intense fire, mingled with rapid flights of arrows, from their
+concealment. Major Daviess instantly requested permission to charge
+upon the cover with his cavalry. Governor Harrison granted the
+request, and the major ordered his bugles to sound the charge. His
+manly tones rung cheerily out on the night air, as he called upon his
+men to follow. Nobly did they second him. The charge was made, and
+the Indians scattered like the leaves of the forest before the fury
+of the autumn blast; but it was the last bold stroke of him, whose
+eloquence is yet remembered, and whose memory is still carefully
+treasured, among the people of the West. By his side, too, fell
+Colonel White, of the Indiana militia, like him, mortally wounded,
+in that sanguinary fray. Disheartened by the loss of their leader
+and many of their comrades, the cavalry fell back, and the Indians
+recovered the ground, opening a still more destructive fire on their
+opponents. As the dragoons retired, Captain Snelling promptly led
+forward his company of the 4th infantry, and again drove the savages
+from their shelter with the bayonet.
+
+In the meantime, a heavy fire had been opened on the companies of
+Captains Spencer and Warwick, on the right of the line. The former,
+and his two lieutenants, were killed, and Captain Warwick was
+mortally wounded. All immediate danger being over on the left flank,
+Governor Harrison hastened to the right, to encourage the men to
+remain firm, and maintain the ground till daylight. At the first
+alarm, he had fortunately mounted the horse nearest him, without
+waiting for his own to be brought up, which was well known to the
+enemy. The dark eyes of many a red warrior glared fiercely, as they
+were turned hither and thither through the encampment, in search of
+the favorite steed of the governor. As he dashed to the right, he was
+accompanied by his aid, Colonel Owen, who rode a horse similar in
+color to that on which he had been mounted the previous day. A shower
+of rifle balls fell around them. Colonel Owen was killed, and the
+governor’s cravat was pierced by a bullet, that chanced not to injure
+his person.
+
+In passing to the right flank, the governor found the company of
+Captain Robb, which had fallen back at the commencement of the
+attack, in the centre of the camp. Leading them to the support of
+Spencer’s and Warwick’s companies, he strengthened this part of
+the line, and by his presence encouraged the men to more animated
+exertions. A warm fire was now kept up till the early dawn, in front,
+on both flanks, and partly in rear of the encampment; the sharp crack
+of the rifle, and the prolonged rattle of musketry, mingling with
+the shouts and cheers of the American soldiers. Governor Harrison
+well knew, as the great father of the English drama had written years
+before, that “advantage is a better soldier than rashness,” and he
+did not hazard the safety of his command, though suffering severely
+from the heavy fire, by any offensive movement, till the light of day
+enabled him to ascertain the position and numbers of the enemy.
+
+[Sidenote: THE INDIAN VILLAGE BURNED.]
+
+But when the morning broke, a general charge was ordered. The left
+wing, consisting of five companies of the 4th infantry, and a party
+of dragoons, led by General Wells,--and the right, consisting of the
+remaining companies of the 4th infantry and cavalry, and the mounted
+rifles and militia,--moved rapidly upon the positions occupied by
+the savages. The latter made no further effort to continue the
+fight. Their desperate bravery had proved of no avail against the
+disciplined valor and persevering courage of the American troops.
+Hotly pursued by the gallant soldiers of Harrison, they fled in
+dismay to the neighboring swamps and thickets, in whose impenetrable
+recesses they at length found a secure retreat. The Prophet’s town
+was entirely abandoned by its late occupants. Having collected his
+wounded, and buried his dead, Governor Harrison advanced with his
+forces to the village, which he ordered to be burned. The surrounding
+district was also laid waste, and he then returned into the settled
+country.
+
+The battle of Tippecanoe was one of the bloodiest engagements
+recorded in the annals of Indian warfare. It was bravely fought and
+bravely won. The cautious foresight, the prudence and vigilance of
+Governor Harrison, alone saved his little army from destruction. His
+loss in killed and wounded, was one hundred and eighty-eight; that of
+the enemy was supposed to be about the same.
+
+Tecumseh, as has been mentioned, was absent at the time of this
+engagement. Had he been present, perhaps the result might have been
+different. When the particulars of the disaster reached him, he
+affected to regard it as of little moment, and always spoke of it,
+as the “unfortunate transaction that took place between the white
+people and a few of his young men”; yet it is very evident that this
+untoward occurrence preyed deeply on his spirits, since it tended,
+probably more than any other single circumstance, to the defeat of
+his plans. The result of the action intimidated many of the tribes
+who were preparing to join his confederacy, and they immediately sent
+deputations to Governor Harrison to sue for peace.
+
+The general assembly of Indiana territory passed a resolution, at the
+next session after the battle of Tippecanoe, complimenting Governor
+Harrison in the highest terms, and the Legislature of Kentucky
+also testified, in a similar manner, their approbation of “his
+cool, deliberate, skilful, and gallant conduct.”--Thus was laid the
+foundation of that military reputation, which secured him the regard
+and esteem of his countrymen, and elevated him, in after times, to a
+memorable distinction among the great men of the Nation.
+
+[Sidenote: DECLARATION OF WAR.]
+
+Another effect of the battle of Tippecanoe was soon witnessed. The
+tone of the public press became more bold and warlike, and the public
+temper was inflamed to the highest degree. Doubts as to the necessity
+of a war with England were speedily transformed into settled
+convictions. After a long and tedious negotiation, in the summer of
+1811, reparation was offered for the attack on the Chesapeake; but
+Great Britain abandoned not one of her objectionable positions, nor
+ceased the piratical plunder of our commerce, so long stimulated and
+encouraged by Lords Liverpool and Castlereagh. Forbearance could
+no longer be regarded as a virtue; nor was peace desirable, when
+it could only be preserved by the sacrifice of national honor and
+dignity. War was therefore declared, on the eighteenth of June, 1812,
+and publicly proclaimed by President Madison on the following day.
+
+The declaration of war found Governor Harrison actively engaged in
+the discharge of his duties as governor of the territory of Indiana,
+and in his endeavors to secure the neutrality of the Northwestern
+savages. The general sentiment of that section of the country would
+then have applauded his selection as the commanding officer of the
+forces destined to operate in that quarter; but the appointment was
+conferred on William Hull, governor of the territory of Michigan, an
+officer who had served with credit and ability during the war of the
+Revolution.
+
+The campaign of 1812 was signalized by General Hull’s invasion of
+Canada, in July, and his humiliating surrender, at Detroit, in the
+following August. When the tidings of this event were made known
+in Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee, they were scarcely credited.
+Subsequent information confirmed the rumor, however, and the
+intelligence produced a spontaneous outburst of indignation. To
+retrieve the tarnished honor of the country, was the first impulse
+of every heart. An irrepressible feeling of enthusiasm pervaded
+all classes. The people rose, in a mass, like the upheaving of the
+ocean. Places of rendezvous were appointed, and the hunters of the
+west flocked in crowds around the national standard--all animated by
+one motive, and influenced by one desire. They were cheered, too,
+by the approving smiles, and encouraged by the kind words of their
+wives and mothers, their sisters, daughters, and sweet-hearts, whose
+hands were constantly employed in furnishing them with clothing and
+other necessaries for the march. Such was the alacrity displayed in
+responding to the call to arms, that whole companies were frequently
+enrolled, and equipped, in a single day!
+
+In Ohio, the most patriotic exertions were made by Governor Meigs, to
+fit the militia of that state for the field. In Kentucky, an unusual
+degree of ardor was manifested. The fire of ’76 was rekindled in the
+bosom of the veteran Shelby. Infected with the spirit prevailing
+among their constituents, several members of Congress enrolled
+themselves as privates, and cheerfully shouldered the rifle or
+musket. Henry Clay, the eloquent advocate of the war on the floor
+of Congress, though not under arms, appeared at the musters, and
+addressed the volunteers in fervid and impassioned appeals to their
+patriotism, that thrilled the hearts of those who heard him. Large
+numbers of militia were also imbodied, in Virginia, and in the
+western part of Pennsylvania. In Tennessee, likewise, the utmost
+eagerness to take the field was exhibited by the hardy yeomanry, who
+were doubtless influenced by the noble example of General Jackson and
+his patriotic division.
+
+[Sidenote: APPOINTED A MAJOR GENERAL.]
+
+In a few weeks, about eight thousand men were collected at various
+points on the Ohio river and in its vicinity. The selection of an
+officer to take command of the army, was attended with considerable
+difficulty; but it was finally determined, at a sort of military
+caucus, at which Isaac Shelby, Judge Todd of the Supreme Court of the
+United States, Mr. Clay, and other leading men, were present, that
+Governor Harrison should be commissioned a major general by brevet,
+by Governor Scott, of Kentucky, and temporarily invested with the
+command. This was accordingly done, and General Harrison immediately
+entered upon the performance of his duties. His military life had
+been an irregular one, and his experience, therefore, was extremely
+limited; yet he found himself placed at the head of a numerous body
+of troops, under such disheartening circumstances, and in a season of
+despondency and gloom. To add to his embarrassments, he discovered,
+on examination, that everything was in confusion. Men there were in
+abundance; but they were deficient in arms and ammunition, and poorly
+provided with supplies of every kind. Still, he did not lack the
+moral courage necessary to sustain him at so important a crisis, but
+labored indefatigably to correct what had been done amiss, and to
+secure the efficient action of the army placed under his orders.
+
+The capture of Detroit, and the consequent occupation of all the
+important posts in the territory of Michigan, and about the head
+of Lake Erie, by the British troops, removed every restraint from
+the savages on the frontier, who poured down from their northern
+hives in torrents. The security of the border settlements against
+their murderous incursions was the first object to be attained; and
+in order to accomplish this effectually, it was necessary to move
+without delay to the relief of the frontier posts,--particularly Fort
+Harrison, on the Wabash; and Fort Wayne, at the confluence of the
+St. Mary’s and St. Joseph’s, which form the Maumee, or Miami of the
+Lakes, as it was originally called. It was determined to penetrate
+the Indian country in two columns; one, under General Harrison, being
+ordered to rendezvous at Cincinnati and Urbanna, and the other, under
+General Hopkins, of the Kentucky militia, at Vincennes.
+
+General Harrison put his troops in motion from Cincinnati, on the
+twenty-ninth of August, and reached Piqua on the thirtieth instant,
+with about twenty-five hundred men. Here he completed his final
+arrangements, and received his military stores; and, on the sixth of
+September, he resumed his march for Fort Wayne, where he arrived on
+the twelfth, to the great joy of the garrison, which consisted of
+only seventy men. The post had been for several days invested by a
+large body of Indians who resorted to every stratagem and device to
+induce the garrison to surrender, and, failing in this, made repeated
+attempts to carry the fort by assault. On hearing of the approach
+of General Harrison, the savages retreated precipitately, after
+destroying everything outside the works.
+
+On his arrival at Fort Wayne, General Harrison forthwith organized
+two expeditions to lay waste the Indian villages. Colonel Wells, of
+the 17th infantry, was dispatched on the fourteenth of September,
+with his regiment, and that of Colonel Scott of the Kentucky militia,
+and two hundred mounted rifles, against the Potowatomie town on the
+upper St. Joseph, which disembogues into Lake Michigan. Another
+detachment, commanded by General Payne, consisting of two Kentucky
+regiments, under Colonels Lewis and Allen, and one company of
+mounted men, marched against the Miami villages. Both expeditions
+were successful. Nine Indian towns, which had been abandoned by the
+inhabitants, on the approach of the American troops, were utterly
+destroyed; the wigwams and wooden huts were burnt, and the growing
+corn cut up.
+
+[Sidenote: DEFENCE OF FORT HARRISON.]
+
+Meanwhile, the column under General Hopkins, which had rendezvoused
+at Vincennes, had moved to the relief of Fort Harrison. This post
+was occupied by Captain Z. Taylor, of the 7th infantry, with a
+feeble garrison of fifty men, not one half of whom were effective.
+On the night of the fourth of September, it was assaulted by between
+four and five hundred Indians, who succeeded in firing one of the
+block-houses, in which a large quantity of spirits was stored.
+The flames spread with great rapidity, and the garrison were fast
+giving way to despair, when Captain Taylor directed the roofs of the
+adjoining barracks to be removed. This was quickly accomplished, and
+the fire prevented from extending to the other buildings in the fort.
+Animated by the heroic example of their commander, and reässured by
+the admirable coolness and presence of mind which he had exhibited,
+the soldiers then engaged in the defence of the post, with a courage
+akin to desperation. The assailants failed to make any further
+impression, and after daylight on the morning of the fifth, the
+American fire became so destructive, that they moved out of range.
+They lingered near the post during the day, but retired early on the
+following morning, though they still hovered in the vicinity, keeping
+watch on the principal roads, cutting off the communications with
+the fort, and committing their depredations through the surrounding
+country.
+
+The long-continued anxiety of the garrison was relieved on the
+sixteenth of September, by the arrival of Colonel Russell, with
+eleven hundred men, and a few days later General Hopkins came up
+with the remainder of his column. Preparations were now made for an
+expedition against the Peoria villages, on the Illinois river, and
+other Indian towns on that stream and the Wabash, which had been
+determined on previous to the march of the troops from Vincennes. It
+was agreed that Colonel Russell should proceed directly across the
+country, with his corps of Kentucky rangers, and a party of mounted
+rifles under Governor Edwards of Illinois Territory, three hundred
+and sixty men in all; and that General Hopkins, with the main body,
+should advance by a more northern route, and effect a junction with
+him at the Peoria towns. Another detachment, of eighty men, under
+Captain Craig, was ordered to move up the Illinois, and join them at
+the same place.
+
+[Sidenote: INDIAN TOWNS DESTROYED.]
+
+Colonel Russell left Fort Harrison with his command on the seventh
+of October, and General Hopkins commenced his march on the fifteenth
+instant. The route pursued by the latter lay through a pleasant
+champaign country, and his force was strong enough to set all
+opposition at defiance. But the men were totally undisciplined
+and unaccustomed to restraint; and on the fourth day out refused
+to proceed any further. The remonstrances and entreaties of the
+general produced no effect, and he was compelled to follow his
+refractory troops, in their retrograde march to Fort Harrison.
+Colonel Russell, however, continued his course to the Illinois river.
+Though disappointed in not meeting General Hopkins, he persevered in
+his enterprise, and destroyed one of the principal villages of the
+Peorias, called Pamitaris’ town, together with their winter stock of
+provisions. The Indians were pursued into a swamp in the vicinity
+where they had fled for shelter,--Colonel Russell and his men wading
+for several miles up to their waists in water,--and upwards of twenty
+of them were killed on the bank of the river. After the destruction
+of the town, the detachment returned to Fort Harrison, where they
+arrived on the twenty-first of October.
+
+In November, General Hopkins made a more successful foray. Leaving
+Fort Harrison on the eleventh instant, at the head of about twelve
+hundred men, he proceeded up the Wabash, and destroyed the Prophet’s
+town, and a large Kickapoo village near it, with the store of corn
+provided by the savages for the coming winter. The Winnebago towns on
+Ponce Passu creek were also destroyed by a detachment under Colonel
+Butler.
+
+About the same time, Lieutenant Colonel Campbell, of the 19th
+infantry, was dispatched from Greenville, with a party of six hundred
+men, against the Indian towns on the Mississinewa river, one of
+the tributaries of the Wabash. On the seventeenth of November, he
+surprised a village inhabited by Delawares and Miamis, captured
+thirty-seven prisoners, and killed eight of the enemy’s warriors. The
+town, and two others in the neighborhood, were then burned, and the
+party encamped for the night. Just before daylight, the next morning,
+they were attacked by a party of Indians three hundred strong. A
+desperate contest was kept up for nearly an hour, when the enemy
+were driven off by a charge of cavalry, leaving forty of their best
+and bravest warriors dead on the field. The Americans lost eight men
+killed, and about thirty wounded. Another attack was anticipated,
+as Tecumseh was understood to be in the vicinity with four or five
+hundred warriors, but reïnforcements soon coming up from Greenville,
+the detachment completed the destruction of the towns on the river,
+and returned without molestation.
+
+These repeated incursions had the desired effect. Frequent
+hostilities afterwards arose and engagements took place, but these
+were confined to small parties of volunteers and similar bands of
+savages; exempted from the irruptions of the Indians, the border
+settlements continued to enjoy, for a long period, a degree of
+tranquillity which they had never before witnessed.
+
+[Sidenote: DISPOSITION OF THE TROOPS.]
+
+After the return of the troops sent out by General Harrison, from
+Fort Wayne, it was his intention to advance towards Detroit, and
+recover the territory occupied by the British forces, as soon as he
+found his means adequate to the object. His plans were temporarily
+disarranged by the arrival of Brigadier General Winchester, who had
+originally been designated for the command of the northwestern army,
+with large reïnforcements from Ohio and Kentucky. General Harrison
+accordingly relinquished the command, and set out on his return to
+Indiana territory, accompanied by a considerable force of mounted men
+with which he designed to break up the Indian towns in that quarter.
+It subsequently appeared, that President Madison was ignorant of his
+brevet appointment, and of the general desire of the western people
+that he should be placed in command, at the time the orders to
+General Winchester were issued. General Harrison had not proceeded
+far on his return, when he was overtaken by an express bearing a
+commission as brigadier general in the regular army, together with
+instructions requiring him to take command of the forces on the
+northwestern frontier.
+
+General Harrison returned to Fort Wayne, and resumed the command, on
+the twenty-third of September. Arrived here, he learned that General
+Winchester had marched on the previous day, for Fort Defiance, on his
+way to the Rapids of the Maumee, the place fixed upon for the general
+rendezvous preparatory to the contemplated movement for the recovery
+of Michigan, with four hundred regulars, a brigade of Kentucky
+militia, and a troop of horse,--in all two thousand men. He then
+proceeded to Fort St. Mary’s to make further preparations for the
+campaign, and dispatched Colonel Jennings down the Au Glaize, with
+a detachment, having in charge a quantity of supplies for General
+Winchester, whose men had but a limited stock of provisions.
+
+The march of General Winchester was impeded, not only by the natural
+obstacles of the wet and marshy country through which he was
+compelled to pass, but also by a series of annoying skirmishes with
+the advanced parties of a force lying in and near Fort Defiance,
+consisting of two hundred British regulars and one thousand savages,
+which was destined for the capture of Fort Wayne. Making his way
+through the numerous difficulties that retarded his progress, and
+forcing the enemy to retire down the river as he advanced, he reached
+Fort Defiance on the thirteenth of September, where he was joined
+by the detachment under Colonel Jennings. While on his way, he had
+sent an express to General Harrison, informing him of the situation
+of his troops, and the harassing warfare kept up with the enemy. The
+latter arrived at the fort on the third of October, with additional
+reïnforcements, but returned again, on the ensuing day, to the
+settled country, to bring the remainder of the troops, composing the
+centre and right wing of his army, into the field. General Winchester
+remained at Fort Defiance in command of the left wing.
+
+Before leaving the fort, General Harrison directed General Tupper to
+proceed down the river with the Ohio mounted men, about one thousand
+strong, and drive the enemy from the Rapids. The command of General
+Tupper consisted of raw and inexperienced militia, and, though he
+made every effort, he was unable to comply with the orders he had
+received. In consequence of some misunderstanding between himself and
+General Winchester, he soon after returned with the Ohio cavalry,
+to Urbanna, whence he was ordered forward, with the centre of the
+northwestern army, which was composed of one regiment of regulars,
+and the Ohio volunteers and militia, to Fort M’Arthur. About the same
+time, the right wing, consisting of the Pennsylvania and Virginia
+brigades, under Generals Crooks and Leftwich, was advanced to
+Sandusky.
+
+On his arrival at Fort M’Arthur, General Tupper organized another
+expedition to proceed to the Rapids. He left the fort on the tenth
+of November, with six hundred men, carrying five days’ rations
+in their knapsacks. On the evening of the thirteenth instant, he
+arrived within thirteen miles of the Rapids, and sent an officer
+in advance to reconnoitre. It was ascertained that Fort Maumee, and
+the settlement, were still occupied by the British and their savage
+allies, and their boats and vessels were discovered in the stream
+below. General Tupper made several unavailing attempts to cross
+the river, and then endeavored to decoy the enemy over. In this he
+was more successful; a large party of Indians crossed the river,
+whom he attacked and routed; but, on account of the failure of his
+provisions, he was soon obliged to return to Fort M’Arthur without
+accomplishing the object of the expedition. On the thirteenth of
+December, he conducted another detachment to the Rapids, between
+fifteen hundred and two thousand strong. On this occasion he
+encountered about three hundred British regulars and seven hundred
+Indians, on the right bank of the stream, a few miles above the
+Rapids. These he attacked and completely routed. The enemy left one
+hundred of their number on the field, and many were killed while
+attempting to swim across the river. Shortly after this affair, the
+British evacuated the post and retired to Malden and Detroit.
+
+[Sidenote: WINTER CAMPAIGN.]
+
+In the meantime, General Harrison, whose headquarters were
+established at Franklinton, had labored unceasingly, in connection
+with Governor Meigs, to complete his preparations for the projected
+winter campaign. It was designed that the army should advance, in
+three divisions, from Fort Defiance, Fort M’Arthur, and Sandusky, to
+the Rapids of the Maumee, where they were to receive their supplies
+of ordnance and provisions. A feint was then to be made upon Detroit,
+when the troops were to cross the river and invest Fort Malden.
+
+The army under the orders of General Harrison nominally consisted
+of ten thousand men. But little over six thousand of these were
+effective, and many of the latter number were undisciplined and
+inexperienced. All were poorly clothed and worse fed. The efforts
+of the commanding general were unwearied and untiring, but he
+encountered obstacles and difficulties at every step. The army
+rendered an important service in holding the Indians in check, yet
+they were unable to move forward, and General Harrison was warmly
+censured, by those who were unacquainted with the real state of
+things, for his inactivity. A simple statement of the position of
+affairs on this frontier will be his best defence.--The enemy had
+the command on Lake Erie, and it seemed almost impossible to furnish
+the troops in this remote region with the supplies that they needed,
+and without which it would have been mere fool-hardiness to advance.
+It was necessary to transport the ordnance and heavy stores over the
+Alleghanies, and down the Ohio, and thence they were hauled, over
+land, hundreds of miles, along blazed forest paths and miserable
+trails, across half-frozen swamps and through trackless forests, to
+the banks of the Maumee.
+
+Against such embarrassments, General Harrison struggled almost
+hopelessly, yet as it proved in the sequel, successfully,
+notwithstanding that his plans were frequently thwarted, and his
+measures disconcerted, by the War Department. In January, 1813, Dr.
+Eustis was succeeded by General Armstrong as Secretary of War. The
+latter had imbibed strong prejudices against a militia force, and
+entertained a marked dislike towards General Harrison, who,--though
+possessing the confidence of Madison himself,--never knew what it
+was to be cordially sustained by the executive officers of the
+government, while he remained in service.
+
+[Sidenote: DIFFICULTIES AND EMBARRASSMENTS.]
+
+While General Harrison was busily engaged in distributing the
+supplies, and organizing the reïnforcements, as they arrived, an
+event took place, which, it has been truly said, “clothed Kentucky
+in mourning.”--The left wing of the army, under General Winchester,
+remained at Fort Defiance, on the site of which they constructed
+a new fort, named, after the general in command, Fort Winchester,
+till November. Having constructed a number of pirogues, for the
+transportation of their baggage, they moved down the river about six
+miles, to camp No. 3, where they were delayed until the eighth of
+January, 1813--suffering greatly, in the meantime, for the want of
+clothing and provisions. Orders were then issued for the advance.
+The weather was exceedingly inclement, the river blocked up with
+ice, and the ground covered with snow to the depth of twenty-seven
+inches;--yet the brave Kentuckians, of whom General Winchester’s
+command was almost exclusively composed, harnessed themselves to
+sleighs on which they placed their baggage, and performed the weary
+march of twenty-seven miles, to the Rapids, in two days. Immediately
+after his arrival at this point, the general received a message from
+the inhabitants of Frenchtown, a small village situated on the left
+bank, and near the mouth, of the river Raisin, informing him that
+a large body of British and Indians were about to make a descent
+on that place, and urgently entreating him to hasten to their
+assistance.
+
+Sickness, and the expiration of the terms of service of the
+volunteers, had reduced the strength of his column to but little
+over eight hundred men; and General Winchester hesitated to place
+any portion of this small command, within a single day’s march,--as
+the Detroit river was then frozen over,--of the British forces
+concentrated at Malden. His officers, however, unanimously, and
+earnestly, advised a compliance with the request; and, impelled by
+motives of humanity, without waiting to communicate with General
+Harrison, and, indeed, contrary to his own better judgment, he
+detached Colonels Lewis and Allen, with about five hundred men, on
+the seventeenth of January, instructing them to proceed to Presque
+Isle, and there await his arrival with the remainder of the column.
+
+At Presque Isle, Colonel Lewis, who had been placed in command of the
+detachment, learned that an advanced party of British and Indians
+were already in possession of Frenchtown. He therefore determined
+to hasten forward and attack them. The march was resumed, through
+the ice and snow, and at three o’clock in the afternoon of the
+eighteenth instant, he arrived on the southern bank of the river,
+opposite to the village in which the enemy, about five hundred in
+number, under the command of Major Reynolds, were posted. The stream
+being bridged with ice, Colonel Lewis formed Irishmen for action,
+and advanced steadily to the further shore. A warm contest ensued,
+which was terminated only by the darkness. The enemy were forced from
+their position, and driven nearly two miles into the woods, under a
+continual charge. Colonel Lewis had twelve men killed and fifty-five
+wounded. The enemy’s loss was supposed to be far more severe, as
+fifteen Indian warriors were found on the field,--though it could
+never be ascertained with certainty.
+
+Colonel Lewis was joined on the twentieth instant by General
+Winchester, with two hundred and fifty men,--the latter having
+previously advised General Harrison, then at Lower Sandusky, of
+the advance to Frenchtown. General Harrison received the dispatch
+of General Winchester on the nineteenth of January, and, though
+deeply chagrined at this interference with the general plan of his
+operations, he set out immediately for the Rapids. His inspector
+general, Captain Hart, was dispatched to General Winchester, with
+orders to maintain the position to which he had advanced at all
+hazards. On the twenty-third instant, a reïnforcement of three
+hundred men, under Major Cotgreves, took up the line of march for
+Frenchtown, and on the same day General Harrison followed, with
+another corps, three hundred and sixty strong.
+
+[Sidenote: MASSACRE ON THE RAISIN.]
+
+It was all too late! The catastrophe which General Harrison feared
+had already occurred;--the blow had been struck that desolated
+so many homes, and widowed so many hearts, in the fair state of
+Kentucky.--Early in the morning of the twenty-second, General
+Winchester was attacked by an overwhelming force of British and
+Indians, numbering at least fifteen hundred men, with six pieces
+of artillery, under Colonel Proctor and the chiefs Round-Head and
+Split-Log. His men maintained a stout resistance--fighting bravely
+for hours, exposed to a most murderous fire. At length, after one
+half their number were either killed or wounded, the remainder--a
+sadly diminished band--surrendered themselves prisoners of war, upon
+the pledge of the British commander to protect them from Indian
+violence.
+
+The pledge was basely violated. Another, and still darker feature,
+was added to the worse than brutal warfare waged on the part of
+the English government. On the day after the engagement, Colonel
+Proctor returned to Detroit, leaving between fifty and sixty wounded
+prisoners at Frenchtown, who were cruelly butchered by his savage
+associates,--a half-breed, who held a high commission in the Royal
+service, boasting, in the presence of the British officers, that
+the Indians were “_excellent doctors_”! The houses in which the
+unfortunate victims perished were set on fire, and their bodies
+consumed. Other prisoners, not wounded, were murdered in cold blood;
+the rites of sepulture were denied to their remains, and those of
+their comrades who had fallen in the action; and their bones were
+left to whiten in the wintry storm that howled its requiem above
+their resting place. Some perished by the way side, on the march to
+Detroit, from the inclemency of the weather; others sank beneath
+the tomahawk of the savage. The survivors,--few in number,--to the
+lasting dishonor of a nation whose sovereign rewarded the officer,
+who connived at, or tolerated these abuses, with the commission of a
+brigadier general, were stripped and plundered, and subjected to the
+grossest indignities and outrages.
+
+[Sidenote: BRUTAL CONDUCT OF THE ENEMY.]
+
+General Harrison was three miles in advance of the Rapids,
+hurrying rapidly on with his reïnforcements, when he received the
+intelligence of this sad disaster. Selecting a picked corps of one
+hundred and seventy men, he detached them to the assistance of
+the fugitives, but few of whom made their escape from the field
+of battle, in consequence of the great depth of snow. He also
+dispatched a surgeon, with two companions, provided with money,
+under a flag of truce, to attend the sick and wounded prisoners of
+General Winchester’s command. One of the party was murdered by the
+Indians, and the others were robbed, and otherwise inhumanly treated,
+by both British and savages. After suffering for several months in
+confinement, having been transferred from one dungeon to another,
+they were finally set at liberty in Quebec.
+
+Had General Harrison consulted his first impulses, he would have
+hastened forward with his whole disposable force, to avenge the
+massacre at Frenchtown. Doubtless, it would have been better, had
+he done so--_provided he could have been successful_, which is not
+entirely free from doubt--and he would then have escaped the censure
+bestowed on his conduct, undeserved and ungenerous though it was.
+But the roads, miserable as they were in the most favorable weather,
+were covered with three feet of snow, and almost impracticable for
+artillery; it was not then known that Proctor had himself retired;
+the force of the enemy was greatly exaggerated; and the unanimous
+advice of his officers counselled him to fall back without delay.
+It might be improper to call him a bold man,--because he did not
+court danger unnecessarily. Yet he did not lack bravery; he was not
+timid; nor was his courage like “fire in a flint which will not
+show without knocking.” He was firm, resolute, and unflinching,
+when occasion required,--he was only not rash, not reckless. He was
+responsible for the success, or failure, of the whole campaign; the
+security of the entire frontier depended on his army alone,--the only
+barrier against the swooping torrent of Indian warriors who wanted
+but the opportunity to precipitate themselves on the defenceless
+settlements, in terror and blood.
+
+In conformity with the advice of his officers, General Harrison fell
+back to Carrying river, about midway between the Sandusky and Maumee,
+on the twenty-third of January, in order to effect a junction with
+the troops in the rear, and to cover the transportation of artillery,
+and other stores, from Upper Sandusky. Having been reïnforced by two
+Ohio regiments, promptly dispatched to his assistance by Governor
+Meigs, he again advanced, in the month of February, to the Rapids, at
+the foot of which, and nearly opposite Fort Maumee, he commenced the
+construction of a fort, named, in honor of the governor, Fort Meigs.
+
+The advance of General Winchester to Frenchtown, and the consequent
+defeat and surrender of his command, entirely deranged the plans
+of General Harrison for the winter campaign. The term of service
+of a large portion of his militia force shortly after expired, and
+it became necessary to call out new levies before anything further
+could be attempted. He therefore returned to the interior of Ohio, to
+procure additional troops from that state, and Kentucky. In neither
+was there any lack of patriotism exhibited,--but, in the latter,
+where there was scarcely a family that did not mourn the loss of
+some near friend or relative, one general outcry was raised, for
+vengeance upon the perpetrators of that bloody massacre on the banks
+of the Raisin.
+
+The legislature of Kentucky, at its winter session, authorized
+Governor Shelby, who had been elected the year previous, to take
+command in person of three thousand militia; and Colonel Richard M.
+Johnson, also of that state, was empowered by the War Department to
+raise a regiment of mounted men--which troops were designed for the
+reïnforcement of General Harrison in the spring.
+
+[Sidenote: SIEGE OF FORT MEIGS.]
+
+Early in April, General Harrison, now promoted to the rank of major
+general by brevet, and appointed to the command of the eighth
+military district, learned that extensive preparations were being
+made by General Proctor and Tecumseh, for a combined attack on Fort
+Meigs. He immediately returned to the fort, and, in connection
+with the engineer officers, Captains Wood and Gratiot, labored
+indefatigably, night and day, to put it in a more favorable posture
+of defence. The fort was an octagon, containing about nine acres,
+and was situated on the rising ground overlooking the river bottom.
+At each corner there was a strong block-house, “with cannon planted
+so as to rake each front and command every elevated point near the
+fort”; the block-houses were connected by strong picketings fifteen
+feet high, against which a breastwork of clayey earth was thrown up,
+on either side. There were several long batteries also constructed,
+which were well garnished with cannon. The means of defence were
+ample, with the exception of the garrison, which consisted of only
+twelve hundred men, the greater part of whom were volunteers. The
+regulars were the 19th infantry, under Lieutenant Colonel Miller; and
+the volunteers present, composed the Pennsylvania brigade commanded
+by General Crooks. The term of service of the Pennsylvanians had
+expired, but they generously volunteered to remain and defend the
+fort. All were animated by the best spirit, and determined on holding
+the work as long as it proved tenable; and, when their defences
+failed, to sell their lives dearly.
+
+On the twenty-eighth of April, one of the patrolling parties reported
+that the enemy were ascending the river from the lake, and that
+they were in great force about three miles below. A few British and
+Indians were also discovered on the opposite bank of the river, who
+were driven off by the fire of an eighteen-pounder gun. A brigade of
+Kentucky militia, twelve hundred strong, under General Green Clay,
+were, at this time, approaching the fort from Cincinnati, and a
+dispatch was now sent to quicken their march.
+
+It was the intention of General Proctor, who commanded the British
+force, which consisted of between nine and ten hundred regulars
+and Canadian militia and twelve hundred Indians, to make a dash at
+the American works, and carry them, before the garrison could be
+reïnforced. The wary foresight of General Harrison frustrated his
+design. Disappointed in his original purpose, the British commander
+sat down deliberately before the fort, and began his preparations for
+a regular investment. The light troops, and a part of the Indians,
+were thrown across the river, with directions to occupy the most
+favorable positions for annoying the garrison, while General Proctor
+superintended the erection of batteries on the left bank. The fire
+from the fort prevented the speedy completion of the batteries, as
+the enemy were obliged to perform most of the work under cover of the
+night. A warm fire was kept up on the garrison by their skirmishers,
+but it produced little effect. No inconvenience, of especial
+importance, was felt by the Americans, except the want of water; the
+well in the fort not being completed, it was necessary to procure it
+from the river, after nightfall, which was attended with considerable
+risk, as bands of Indians were constantly lying in wait to intercept
+stragglers.
+
+[Sidenote: FORTUNATE ESCAPE.]
+
+General Proctor completed his batteries, and mounted his guns, on
+the first of May, and immediately opened a vigorous fire from one
+twenty-four, one twelve, and one six-pounder, and one howitzer.
+The guns in the fort were effectively served, in return. The enemy
+produced no sensible impression, although General Harrison made a
+fortunate escape. During the cannonade, he was seated on a bench
+attentively watching the play of the guns, when a ball came plunging
+down into the fort close beside him. With Napoleon at Montereau,
+he might have said, “The bullet which is to kill me, is not yet
+cast!”--The bench on which he was sitting, was shivered in pieces,
+but he himself received no injury.
+
+An additional battery was opened, on the third instant, at a distance
+of two hundred and fifty yards from the fort, on the south side
+of the river. On this a mortar was planted, from which a number
+of shells were thrown. The Americans turned their guns upon it,
+however; and their fire told so well, that it was soon silenced.
+After the opening of the fire from the mortar battery, the garrison
+was for the first time summoned to surrender. General Proctor assured
+the American commander, in his summons, with the most bare-faced
+effrontery, that he was actuated solely by the desire of sparing the
+effusion of blood; that successful resistance was out of the question
+against so numerous a force; and that a prompt surrender could alone
+save the garrison from the horrors of Indian warfare. The reply of
+General Harrison was such as became him:--while he had the honor to
+command an American fort, he said, it should never be surrendered,
+and, least of all, to General Proctor and the savage hordes with whom
+he fraternized.
+
+The enemy now pressed the siege with increased zeal, and the garrison
+suffered far more than they had previously done, from the fire of the
+Indians on the right bank of the river, who climbed the tall forest
+trees, and, sheltered by the intertwining branches, rained their
+rifle balls upon the heads of the American troops. A brisk fire was
+maintained on both sides, till the morning of the fifth instant, when
+a small party from the brigade of General Clay, then descending the
+river from Fort Defiance, arrived at Fort Meigs, with the information
+that the column to which they belonged was rapidly approaching.
+General Harrison’s decision was soon taken: be resolved on making an
+effort that day to raise the siege, and, having matured his plans,
+dispatched a messenger to General Clay, with orders to land eight
+hundred of his men on the left bank of the river and destroy the
+enemy’s batteries, while a sortie should be made from the fort upon
+those on the other side. The remainder of General Clay’s brigade were
+directed to descend the right bank of the stream to the fort.
+
+[Sidenote: APPROACH OF REINFORCEMENTS.]
+
+General Harrison’s plan was a skilful one, and would have
+been attended with complete success, had it not been for the
+“superabundant bravery” of the Kentuckians. In compliance with his
+orders, General Clay detached eight hundred of his best troops,
+under Colonel Dudley, who landed his men in good order, and advanced
+boldly upon the enemy’s batteries, in three columns. The British
+were surprised at the suddenness of the attack, and abandoned their
+guns almost instantly, leaving them in possession of the victors.
+Unfortunately, the American officers lost all control over their
+men. Animated by a burning thirst for vengeance, they refused to
+obey the orders of General Harrison, directing them to spike the
+cannon and retire across the river, but eagerly pursued the fugitive
+artillerists, or engaged in a straggling contest with the Indians
+who now made their appearance. The consequence was what might have
+been foreseen. The enemy rallied, and being joined by a reïnforcement
+from the main camp about two miles below, and a strong body of Indian
+warriors under Tecumseh, who had just arrived, they became, in turn,
+the aggressors. Colonel Dudley exerted himself to the utmost, to
+draw off his men in safety, and lost his life in the attempt. The
+Americans fought bravely; but they lacked discipline, as they wanted
+discretion. But one hundred and fifty men of the command succeeded
+in crossing the river and reaching the fort; the remainder being
+killed, wounded, or taken prisoners.
+
+The sortie on the right bank of the river was made by a detachment of
+three hundred and fifty men, headed by Lieutenant Colonel Miller, of
+the 19th infantry. Imitating the intrepid conduct of their leader,
+they dashed upon the batteries, and drove out the artillerists and
+their supporting party, at the point of the bayonet. After spiking
+the cannon and destroying the carriages, Lieutenant Colonel Miller
+returned with forty-two prisoners. While in the act of retiring, the
+enemy rallied and pressed upon him; but he gallantly held them at bay
+till he reached the fort,--having accomplished the object for which
+his command was detached, in a short time, and with comparatively
+trifling loss.
+
+Meanwhile the remainder of General Clay’s command encountered the
+Indians on the right bank of the river, where they landed, and routed
+them with great ease. Incautiously advancing too far, they came very
+near being drawn into an ambush, from which they were timely rescued
+by General Harrison, who dispatched a troop of horse to cover their
+retreat into the fort.
+
+[Sidenote: RETREAT OF PROCTOR.]
+
+On the sixth a tacit suspension of hostilities took place, which
+continued during that and the two following days. After the sortie,
+the Indian warriors, in accordance with their custom, began
+to return, in large numbers, to their villages,--the eloquent
+remonstrances of Tecumseh proving powerless to detain them. General
+Proctor now feared that the Americans would soon turn upon him,
+and he well knew that he had but little to hope from the outraged
+Kentuckians, should the fortune of war place him in their power.
+He therefore decided to abandon the attempt on the fort, and on the
+evening of the ninth instant commenced embarking his ordnance and
+stores. A warm fire from the American guns checked the movement
+for the time; but, early in the morning of the tenth, he made a
+precipitate retreat down the river with his whole command.
+
+The Americans lost two hundred and seventy men, killed and wounded,
+during the siege. That of the enemy was probably about one hundred.
+Although the defence of the fort was attended by no brilliant
+successes, the savages were thereby prevented from making their
+hostile incursions into the settlements.
+
+At the opening of the season, General Harrison became convinced that
+the command of Lake Erie would be decisive of the campaign, and
+that without it a column could not be supplied with the ordnance
+and heavy stores necessary for a march on Detroit, or Malden. He
+therefore recommended the construction of a fleet, and Captain Perry
+was detailed for this service. While the naval preparations were in
+progress, General Harrison left Fort Meigs in charge of General Clay,
+and repaired to Franklinton, where the new regiments from Ohio and
+Kentucky were ordered to rendezvous. At this place, also, he received
+into the service a large body of Indian warriors, belonging to the
+friendly tribes in the state of Ohio, and the territories of Indiana
+and Illinois, who could not be induced to remain neutral, especially
+as they had recently been attacked by the hostile Indians; but,
+unlike the British officers, whose conduct throughout contrasts so
+unfavorably with his, he pledged them to spare their prisoners, and
+to refrain from injuring defenceless women and children.
+
+During the summer months, while General Harrison necessarily remained
+inactive, the British made several threatening movements upon Fort
+Meigs, Fort Stephenson, (at Lower Sandusky,) Cleveland and Erie.
+Towards the latter part of July, General Proctor again made his
+appearance before Fort Meigs, with between three and four thousand
+troops, including his Indian allies. General Clay was well prepared
+for his reception, and on discovering this, he retired down the
+river. Accompanied by about five hundred regulars and militia, and
+seven or eight hundred savages, he proceeded to Fort Stephenson, then
+garrisoned by Major Croghan, with one hundred and sixty men, and
+a single six-pounder gun. The fort was invested, and the garrison
+summoned to surrender; the usual threat in regard to the ferocity
+of the Indians being added, with a view of terrifying the garrison.
+Nowise intimidated by the superior force of the enemy, the gallant
+Croghan replied that, “when the fort should be taken, there would be
+none left to massacre,--as it would not be given up while a man was
+able to fight.”
+
+[Sidenote: PERRY’S VICTORY.]
+
+The breaking day was spreading its warm bright flush over the
+surrounding scenery, on the second of August when the enemy opened a
+vigorous fire from three six-pounders planted on the shore during the
+night, and two six-pounders and a howitzer in their gunboats lying
+in the Sandusky. The fire was kept up all day, though with trifling
+effect, and just before sunset, an assaulting column of three
+hundred and fifty men, led by Lieutenant Colonel Short, advanced to
+the storm,--several feints being made, at the same time, to draw
+the attention of the besieged from the real point of attack. Major
+Croghan was not to be deceived; loading his six-pounder to its utmost
+capacity, with grape and slugs, he placed it at a masked porthole in
+a blockhouse at the northwestern angle of the work, so as to rake the
+ditch. This proved to be the point assailed. Enveloped in smoke, the
+assailants advanced rapidly up the glacis. When within twenty paces
+of the ditch, a volley of musketry caused them to stagger. Rallied by
+their commander, the foremost files sprang with him into the ditch.
+At the instant, the charge of the six-pounder was poured in upon
+them, strewing its fiery pathway with the dying and the dead. The
+head of the column was completely cut off, and the remainder fled
+in confusion, leaving behind them their fallen leader, and a great
+number of their comrades.
+
+General Proctor made no further effort to reduce the fort. Retreating
+in haste to his boats, he retired down the river to the lake, and
+thence to Malden,--having lost, in this fruitless attempt, one
+hundred and fifty men, either killed or wounded. The Americans had
+but one man killed and seven wounded.
+
+After weeks and months of incessant toil, Commodore Perry finally got
+his fleet in readiness. On the fourth of August he crossed the bar at
+Erie with his squadron,--consisting of three brigs, five schooners,
+and one sloop, carrying fifty-four guns,--and sailed in quest of the
+enemy. On the tenth of September, off Put-in Bay, he encountered the
+British squadron, under Captain Barclay, consisting of two ships, one
+brig, two schooners, and one sloop, carrying, in all, sixty-three
+guns. A desperate engagement, of three hours’ duration, terminated
+in the surrender of the hostile fleet. This well-fought action was
+the prelude to one equally glorious, and removed the only obstacle to
+the advance of the northwestern army into Canada.
+
+Commodore Perry immediately returned to Put-in Bay, to coöperate with
+the land forces in an expedition already projected. General Harrison
+soon concentrated all his disposable troops, among whom were between
+three and four thousand Kentucky volunteers, under Governor Shelby,
+at this point. The regiment of mounted men commanded by Colonel R.
+M. Johnson, one thousand strong, was ordered to proceed to Detroit
+by land; and the remainder of the army embarked on the vessels of
+Commodore Perry, in which they were transported to the islands in the
+vicinity of Malden. On the twenty-seventh of September they effected
+a landing on the Canada shore, about three miles below that post.
+
+The hour of reckoning had come for General Proctor and the savage
+banditti whom he had gathered round him. Strong in his position
+at Malden, and in the men and means necessary for its defence, he
+yet lacked the courage to maintain it. The earnest exhortations of
+Tecumseh and the other Indian chiefs, who entreated him to remain
+firm, failed to reässure him. He felt that a cause which had been
+sullied by so much of dishonor, was, indeed, hopeless; and he
+feared, as well he might, to meet the awakened wrath of the kinsmen
+and friends of the brave men who perished on the Raisin. Under his
+orders, the fort was dismantled and blown up, and the navy yard,
+barracks, and store-houses were burned. He then retreated hastily
+towards the river Thames, or La Tranchée, with his whole force,
+taking with him large stores of private property, which he had
+plundered from American prisoners, and the citizens of Detroit.
+
+[Sidenote: PURSUIT OF PROCTOR.]
+
+General Harrison followed the flying Proctor on the twenty-eighth,
+moving forward with as much rapidity as was possible. Many of the
+Kentuckians were mounted men, but they had been obliged to leave
+their horses on the American shore. The enemy had taken away
+everything of the kind, except a single horse, on which Governor
+Shelby was mounted; who, though in his sixty-third year, pressed
+forward with all the ardor and enthusiasm of twenty-one. The army
+reached Sandwich on the twenty-ninth instant, and General Harrison
+sent a detachment across the river to take possession of Detroit,
+then occupied by hostile Indians. On the thirtieth, Colonel Johnson
+joined the army with his regiment, and preparations were at once made
+for continuing the pursuit of General Proctor,--who, on arriving
+at the Thames, had proceeded up the valley of the river, with the
+intention of making his way to the British posts about the head of
+Lake Ontario.
+
+The Americans resumed the march on the second of October,--the
+mounted rifles of Colonel Johnson leading the van. General Harrison
+was accompanied by Commodore Perry and General Cass, as volunteer
+aids; his whole force consisted of about thirty-five hundred men,
+most of whom were Kentuckians.[10] From the highest to the lowest,
+all manifested the same eager spirit; every heart throbbed high with
+excitement. The time to which they had looked forward with so many
+anxious hopes, had arrived: Proctor and Tecumseh,--the marauders of
+the one, and the murderers of the other,--were before them!
+
+[Sidenote: PROCTOR AND TECUMSEH.]
+
+General Harrison and his men pressed forward with such rapidity,
+that, on the first day of their march, they made twenty-six miles.
+On the next, they captured a British officer and eleven men, from
+whom they learned that Proctor had not received any intimations of
+their approach that he could rely upon. On the fourth instant, they
+were detained several hours at Chatham, seventeen miles above Lake
+St. Clair, at a deep creek that flowed into the Thames, the bridge
+over which had been partly destroyed by the enemy. While the men
+were engaged in repairing it, they were fired on by some Indians who
+appeared on the opposite bank; but the latter were quickly dispersed
+by the artillery of Colonel Wood, and the rifles of Colonel Johnson’s
+command. At this place, also, the Americans found two thousand stand
+of arms, and a quantity of clothing, which had been abandoned by
+Proctor in his flight. After crossing the creek, General Harrison
+continued the pursuit for four miles, capturing several pieces
+of cannon, and forcing the enemy to destroy three of the vessels
+containing their supplies. His men being considerably jaded by the
+march, he encamped, late at night, almost within striking distance
+of the allied force of British and Indians. On the morning of the
+fifth of October, the mounted men, marching from two to three miles
+in front of the infantry, discovered the enemy drawn up in order of
+battle, across a narrow strip of woodland on the north bank of the
+Thames, near the Moravian village.
+
+The nobler aspirations of the soldier,--if, indeed, they ever
+existed in the breast of General Proctor,--had long since given
+way to cowardice and avarice. His chief anxiety now was, to escape
+with his ill-gotten booty. Unwisely incumbered with baggage, his
+army was delayed till their pursuers were close upon them. On the
+afternoon of the fourth instant, it became evident that he must soon
+be overtaken. When he halted for the night, he was still uncertain
+what to do. After all was still, at a late hour, Tecumseh and himself
+silently descended the river in a boat, and reconnoitred the American
+position. The former earnestly advised a night attack, but the latter
+dared not risk the encounter, and determined to make one more effort
+for escape on the morrow.
+
+What a study would that be for the painter!--Proctor and Tecumseh
+on the Thames, at the dead hour of night--no moon to cheer or light
+them--the stars gleaming dimly over their heads--and the solemn
+stillness unbroken, save by the gentle murmuring of the river, the
+low sighing of the breeze, or, it might be, the deep, melodious
+notes of the wood thrush, echoing sweetly through the forest; the
+red warrior arrayed in all the gorgeous attire of his race, his tall
+frame swelling with a manly pride, and his eye blazing like the young
+eagle’s, as, in clear ringing tones, he thundered forth his fierce
+invectives on the American people, and entreated his companion to
+give the signal for a midnight onset; the other shrinking, like a
+craven, beside him, and with faltering lips expressing his fears
+and doubts,--his fears, lest the vigilance of Harrison had provided
+against a surprise, and his doubts as to the issue!
+
+General Proctor persevered in his retreat, on the morning of the
+fifth, until he found that it would be absolutely impossible to make
+his escape. He then decided to make a stand. Ordering a halt, he
+prepared his men for action. His regular troops, about eight hundred
+strong, were formed across the road, in two lines, in open order, on
+a narrow isthmus covered with thrifty beeches; their left, supported
+by the artillery, resting on the river, and their right on a swamp
+Tuning parallel to the stream. The Indians, under Tecumseh, to the
+number of two thousand, were posted beyond the swamp, their right
+thrown forward, and resting on another dense morass,--thus forming
+an obtuse angle with the alignment of the regular troops. It was the
+intention of the British general, that the Indians should precipitate
+themselves upon the left flank of the American troops as soon as the
+latter were engaged with the regulars; and the ground highly favored
+his purpose. Had he protected his front by an abattis, or even thrown
+a few trees horizontally across the road, the result might have been
+more doubtful, but, as it was, the action was scarcely contested, so
+far as he was concerned, and soon became a complete rout.
+
+[Sidenote: BATTLE OF THE THAMES.]
+
+The original plan of General Harrison, when he saw the advantages of
+the enemy’s position, was, to advance upon them with his infantry
+regiments; and for this purpose he had formed the division of General
+Henry, in three lines, on the right, with the division of General
+Desha, _en potence_, on their left. The regulars, but one hundred
+and twenty in number, were stationed on the margin of the river, and
+instructed, at the favorable moment, to advance upon and seize the
+enemy’s guns. But on the return of Colonel Wood, who had been sent
+forward to reconnoitre, the fact was disclosed, that General Proctor
+had formed his men, as has been mentioned, in open order; whereupon
+General Harrison instantly varied his mode of attack, and directed
+Colonel Johnson, who had urgently solicited the honor, to charge
+upon the British line with his regiment of mounted rifles, while
+the infantry should promptly follow the movement.--This order was
+certainly an unusual one, in military tactics,--although the regiment
+had been carefully drilled to charge upon infantry, especially in
+the woods,--and it has been severely criticised, and sometimes
+censured. It was, doubtless, unexpected by General Proctor; and for
+that reason, if no other, was the best, as it proved to be the most
+fortunate, that could have been adopted under the circumstances.[11]
+
+Just before the trumpets sounded the attack, Colonel Johnson
+discovered a narrow passage of firm earth leading across the swamp
+on his left. He then directed his brother, Lieutenant Colonel James
+Johnson, to charge the British line with the first battalion of his
+regiment, while he crossed the swamp with the second, and engaged
+the Indians. At the signal, the two battalions advanced slowly, in
+parallel columns,--the infantry following closely in their rear.
+
+At the first fire, the horses in front of the column led by
+Lieutenant Colonel Johnson, recoiled,--but it was corrected in
+a moment. The bugles pealed forth their cheering notes; the men
+plunged their rowels into their chargers’ sides; and away they all
+went, thundering down upon the enemy--an army of avengers--ready to
+smite and to slay. Bounding over every obstacle, receiving another
+fire almost unharmed, and riding down all who opposed, with fearful
+yells they dashed through and through the British columns, showering
+their balls on every side. In an instant they turned and delivered a
+most effective volley. Stupefied and disconcerted by the suddenness
+of the onset, and nearly hemmed in between two walls of fire, the
+enemy made no resistance, but threw down their arms, and begged for
+quarter. The brave Kentuckians--to their honor be it said--spared
+all who surrendered. Proctor himself, accompanied by about forty
+regulars and some mounted Indians, made his escape, though hotly
+pursued, to Burlington heights, where he was publicly reprimanded for
+his cowardly conduct, by the same officer--Sir George Prevost--who
+had commended his brutality at Frenchtown. His private carriage and
+papers, his sword, and all his plunder, fell into the hands of the
+victors.
+
+On the left, Tecumseh and his warriors refused to fly. The advance
+of the column headed by Colonel Johnson was retarded by the uneven
+character of the ground; his horses floundered in the morass, and
+strove in vain to penetrate the dense thickets of underbrush. He soon
+found that the charge must fail, and directed his men to dismount
+and take cover. Darting from tree to tree, they now pressed upon the
+enemy, and after a short, but animated contest, broke through the
+line and gained their rear. The Indians quickly rallied in force,
+further to the left, and threw their whole weight on the column of
+infantry under General Desha. A slight impression was at one time
+made, but Governor Shelby immediately restored the line by leading up
+another regiment to the support of the wavering column.
+
+[Sidenote: DEATH OF TECUMSEH.]
+
+Still the battle raged with great fury. The voice of Tecumseh was
+heard above the din of arms, and his tones rang loud and clear as the
+notes of a trumpet, as he called upon his gallant braves to stand
+firm to the last. Colonel Johnson, though severely wounded, and a
+number of his best officers and soldiers, had already made their way
+to the spot where the undaunted chieftain and his bravest warriors
+had collected. Here the battle was fiercely fought. In the _mêlée_,
+Tecumseh fell, as it is supposed, by the hand of Colonel Johnson.[12]
+This determined the contest. On the fall of their leader, the
+Indians abandoned the ground, and with an unearthly whoop, like
+the wail of lost spirits, disappeared in the forest. It was the
+_death-halloo_ for their leader--the most formidable enemy among the
+red men with whom the whites have had to contend, since the days of
+Pontiac. With him their cause was prostrated--with him perished their
+hopes, forever!
+
+The American force actually engaged in this battle, numbered about
+twenty-five hundred; the enemy had eight hundred and forty-five
+regular troops, and there were two thousand Indians. The former
+lost fifty killed and wounded; of the British there were eighteen
+killed, twenty-six wounded, and about six hundred made prisoners.
+The Americans also captured a large quantity of arms, ammunition,
+and provisions, and six pieces of artillery--three of which were
+captured in the Revolution, at Saratoga and Yorktown, and had been
+surrendered by General Hull. But, what was of vastly more importance,
+the territory which had been overrun by the enemy, was recovered,
+and the frontiers were rescued from the depredations of the savages.
+By the result of this engagement, the hostile Indians were cut off
+from their communications with the British posts in Canada, except
+the remote one at Mackinaw. Previous to the battle, an armistice
+had been entered into with the Ottawas and Chippewas, who agreed to
+take up arms against the British, and shortly afterwards a similar
+arrangement was entered into with the Miamis and Potowatomies.
+
+[Sidenote: EFFECTS OF THE VICTORY.]
+
+“The victory of Harrison,” said Langdon Cheves, alluding, on the
+floor of Congress, to the battle of the Thames, “was such as would
+have secured to a Roman general, in the best days of the republic,
+the honors of a triumph.” It was the first considerable action in
+which the American arms were triumphant, and, in connection with
+Perry’s success on Lake Erie, served greatly to revive the drooping
+spirits of the American people. The heroes of the two engagements
+were toasted and fêted wherever they went; salutes, bonfires,
+illuminations, and resolutions of thanks, attested, alike, their
+merits, and the gratitude of their countrymen.
+
+Having completed the object of the expedition, and not having orders
+to proceed further into the enemy’s country, General Harrison
+commenced his retrograde march to Detroit, eighty miles distant, on
+the seventh of October, and arrived there on the tenth. The Kentucky
+volunteers were soon after conducted to their homes by the venerable
+Governor Shelby, and in a few days General Harrison embarked in the
+fleet of Commodore Perry, for Buffalo, with the brigade of General
+M’Arthur,--General Cass remaining with his brigade at Detroit.
+Harrison reached Buffalo on the twenty-fourth of October; the
+brigade of General M’Arthur proceeded down Lake Ontario to join the
+unsuccessful expedition under General Wilkinson; and there being a
+sufficient number of general officers already assigned to that duty,
+General Harrison was permitted to return home on a furlough.
+
+While at Buffalo, General Harrison addressed a letter to General
+Vincent, the officer commanding the British troops in the Peninsula,
+in reply to one he had received from General Proctor, immediately
+after the battle of the Thames, requesting the restoration of the
+private property and papers captured on that occasion. The letter
+entered into a lengthy review of the course of the English government
+in employing the savages, the barbarities committed by their allies,
+and the cruel manner in which prisoners of war had been treated by
+both Indians and British; contrasting with the conduct of the English
+and their allies, the kindness and clemency which had distinguished
+the American officers and soldiers, during the war. While he declared
+that, in future, retaliation would be made for Indian outrages, he
+appealed to General Vincent, as a man, to exert his influence in
+preventing the commission of such atrocities. “Use, I pray you,
+your authority and influence,” said the letter of Harrison, “to
+stop the dreadful effusion of innocent blood which proceeds from
+the employment of those savage monsters, whose aid, as must now be
+discovered, is so little to be depended on when most wanted, and
+which can have so trifling an effect on the issue of the war.” The
+reply of General Vincent to this letter, so creditable to the heart
+of the writer, was evasive, although he pledged himself to join with
+General Harrison in attempting to alleviate the calamities to which
+the latter had referred.
+
+[Sidenote: DEMONSTRATIONS OF RESPECT.]
+
+This was the last important act of the military service of General
+Harrison. Shortly after the letter was written, he returned home, on
+a visit to his family, by way of New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore,
+and Washington; being received at each place on his route with the
+most flattering demonstrations of respect. After spending a few
+weeks at the capital, he continued his journey homeward, everywhere
+encountering the same unmistakable evidences of esteem and gratitude.
+
+Connected with his stay at Washington, there is an anecdote on
+record, which shows that his gallantry towards his fair countrywomen,
+was fully equal to that other quality, bearing the same name, that
+he had exhibited on the field of battle. At one of the drawing rooms
+of Mrs. Madison, a handsome and highly connected lady, one of the
+reigning belles at the capital, informed the president that she had
+laid her commands on General Harrison to meet her there on that
+occasion.--“That he cannot do,” said Mr. Madison, in his usual bland,
+but positive tone; “he left Washington this morning, with his horses
+and attendants, and must now be some twenty or thirty miles on his
+way to the west.”--“Still,” replied the lady, archly, “he must be
+here, for I laid my commands on him, and he is too gallant a man to
+disobey me!”--“We shall soon see,” returned the president, “whose
+orders he obeys.”--After the lapse of a few moments, the question
+was settled by the appearance of General Harrison and his suite in
+full military costume, and President Madison was for once obliged to
+acknowledge that he was mistaken.
+
+The military districts into which the country was divided during
+the war of 1812, were so extensive, that it was very often deemed
+necessary to transmit orders directly from the War Department to a
+subordinate officer, at the same time forwarding duplicates to the
+commander of the district. This practice frequently occasioned, as it
+has since done, ill-feeling and dissatisfaction. It was condemned by
+General Harrison as being wholly inconsistent with subordination, and
+similar views were afterwards taken by some of our most distinguished
+officers--among others, Generals Jackson, Scott, and Taylor. Harrison
+remonstrated against the practice in earnest terms. The Secretary of
+War, General Armstrong, being not well disposed towards him, a sharp
+and acrimonious correspondence ensued. President Madison insisted on
+continuing the practice, and in the spring of 1814, General Harrison
+tendered his resignation. The president was absent from Washington at
+the time the letter was received, and the resignation was accepted by
+the Secretary.
+
+President Madison sincerely regretted the separation of General
+Harrison from the army, and in a letter soon after written to
+Governor Shelby, he said, that the resignation “would not have
+been accepted, had he been in Washington.” That his confidence in
+Harrison was never in the least degree weakened, is evident, from the
+fact that he afterwards employed him to conduct several extremely
+difficult negotiations with various tribes of Indians.
+
+General Harrison continued to discharge the duties of governor of
+the territory of Indiana, until it was admitted into the Union as
+a state, in 1816, when he retired to his farm at North Bend, a few
+miles below Cincinnati, in Hamilton county, Ohio. In the same year
+he was elected a member of the House of Representatives of the
+United States. He afterwards represented the district in which he
+resided in the State Senate, and in 1824 was chosen a Senator in
+Congress. As a legislator, General Harrison was distinguished for his
+practical common sense. Though he spoke but rarely, he was considered
+an efficient debater. His views on all subjects were regarded
+with respect, and those having reference to the reörganization of
+the army, and the peculiar interests of the western states and
+territories, were listened to with especial deference.
+
+[Sidenote: APPOINTED MINISTER TO COLOMBIA.]
+
+In 1828, at his solicitation, he was appointed by President J. Q.
+Adams, Minister Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Colombia. The
+distracted condition of the country prevented his accomplishing
+anything of importance, though his brief residence there was
+signalized by a letter addressed to Bolivar, replete with good
+advice, and full of noble and manly sentiments. “To be esteemed
+eminently great,” said he, “it is necessary to be eminently good.
+The qualities of the hero and the general must be devoted to the
+advantage of mankind, before he will be permitted to assume the title
+of their benefactor; and the station which he will hold in their
+regard and affections, will depend, not upon the number and splendor
+of his victories, but upon the results, and the use he may make of
+the influence he acquires from them.”--Trite and common-place as
+these sentiments may at this day seem to the American reader, had
+they but formed the rule of the public conduct of Bolivar, he would
+now be remembered only as the Liberator, not as the Dictator.
+
+On the accession of General Jackson to the presidency, in 1829,
+as the views of General Harrison in regard to the Panama question
+differed from those of the new administration, he was recalled, and
+again returned to the avocations of private life. Though he had had
+numerous opportunities of amassing wealth in the various offices
+which he had filled, he was still in moderate circumstances. In 1834,
+on the almost unanimous petition of the citizens of Hamilton county,
+he was appointed prothonotary of the county court, the duties of
+which he discharged, in person, for several years. In 1836, he was
+supported, in some of the states, though with no expectation of being
+elected, for the office of President, and received seventy-three of
+the electoral votes.
+
+He was still leading a happy and contented life in his retirement at
+North Bend,--
+
+              “A simple husbandman, in garments gray,”--
+
+when he was nominated as the candidate of the Whig party for the
+presidency, in December, 1839. In the following year, he was elected
+to the office, over his competitor, Mr. Van Buren, by an overwhelming
+majority,--receiving two hundred and thirty-four out of two hundred
+and ninety-four electoral votes. On the fourth of March, 1841, he
+took the oath of office, and delivered his inaugural address, amid
+a large concourse of spectators. Selecting as his cabinet advisers,
+some of the most distinguished statesmen of the country, from the
+party to which he belonged, he entered on his administration under
+the most flattering prospects of success.
+
+[Sidenote: ELECTED PRESIDENT.--HIS DEATH.]
+
+One brief month terminated his earthly career, and marred all the
+bright hopes of those who had elevated him to that high station.
+Instead of the brilliant _cortège_ that accompanied him on the
+occasion of his inauguration, another procession--without the joyous
+salvos of artillery, or the lively strains of martial music--but
+clothed in the habiliments of mourning, with banners shrouded in
+crape, with weeping plumes, with arms reversed, and muffled drums,
+followed his remains to the Congressional Cemetery.
+
+A few days after his arrival at Washington, the president caught a
+severe cold, which, in connection with the unaccustomed excitement,
+and the harassing nature of his new duties, soon prostrated him on a
+sick bed. In spite of the utmost efforts of his medical attendants,
+he rapidly grew worse. His system had received a fatal shock; and on
+the fourth day of April, 1841,--in the same mansion where, nearly
+thirty years before, he had attended the gay _soiree_ of Mrs.
+Madison--he died, expressing, with his latest breath, as his spirit
+gathered its pinions for its eternal flight, his anxious desire, that
+the constitution of the country should, in all things, be the guide
+of those upon whom his official duties were about to devolve.
+
+General Harrison was simple and frugal in his habits, and, until
+his last fatal illness, enjoyed good bodily health. He was tall and
+slender in person, and his dark eyes gleamed with intelligence. An
+analysis of his character presents few marked, or striking points.
+The qualities of his heart were probably more conspicuous than
+those of his head. He was liberal and friendly, social and generous
+in his disposition. “His heart,” says Governor Metcalfe, “was
+expanded, and always in the right place”:--it was brimful of kindly
+affections--overflowing with benevolence and love.
+
+He possessed a happy combination of mental faculties; he was a
+plain, practical man,--a man, not of pretence, but of action. His
+voluminous correspondence, as governor of Indiana Territory, his
+speeches in Congress, his official dispatches, and his inaugural
+address, indicate a sound judgment, strong good sense, and a
+well-cultivated mind. His integrity was of that sterling character
+which is proof against temptation. As a soldier, he was usually
+successful, because he was not rash or impulsive, but cautious and
+prudent. He was patient in adversity, and never easily disconcerted;
+he was calm, collected, and resolute--and therefore always fitted
+for an emergency, how trying soever it might be. But, what was still
+worthier and better, throughout his life, even to the closing hour
+of his existence, he was cheered and sustained, by the hopes of the
+patriot, and the consolations of the Christian.
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+        [8] The dispatch of General Wayne has been erroneously
+            printed, without the commendatory notice of
+            Lieutenant Harrison, and other officers, but it may
+            be found in the original.
+
+        [9] The expressive term among the Indians for “coward.”
+
+        [10] Among the Kentucky volunteers, concerned in this
+           expedition, were William T. Barry and Charles A.
+           Wickliffe, afterwards Postmasters-general of the
+           United States, and John J. Crittenden, for many years
+           a distinguished senator in Congress, subsequently
+           attorney general, again a member of the Senate, and,
+           at the present time, (1848,) governor of the State of
+           Kentucky.
+
+        [11] Nevertheless, it was the decided opinion of
+           Napoleon, (Las Casas, vii., 184,) that cavalry must
+           always break infantry, if led by equally brave
+           and resolute men. His cavalry won the victories
+           of Marengo, Austerlitz, and Jena; and a charge of
+           English dragoons, on the flank of his Old Guard, lost
+           him the day at Waterloo. It should be borne in mind,
+           however, that the mounted men of Colonel Johnson were
+           armed with rifles only, and, with the exception of
+           the officers, were without pistols and sabres.
+
+        [12] The honor of killing Tecumseh has been denied
+           Colonel Johnson upon strong circumstantial evidence.
+           In opposition to this we have the sincere belief of
+           the Colonel himself, that he shot the distinguished
+           Indian chief with his pistol; he could not well
+           be positive upon the subject, as he sank upon his
+           dying steed, the moment after he fired his piece,
+           completely exhausted from the loss of blood. His
+           bravery, however, cannot be questioned,--though
+           Tecumseh may not have fallen by his hand,--as he was
+           borne from the field in a blanket, while his blood
+           ran out at the ends.
+
+
+
+
+                           ANDREW JACKSON.
+
+
+“It is not in Indian wars”, said an eloquent writer and speaker of a
+by-gone age,[13] “that heroes are celebrated; but in them they are
+formed.”--Applied to the subject of this biographical sketch, the
+remark is partly correct, partly not correct. His brilliant success
+at New Orleans undoubtedly eclipsed all his former victories; but,
+had that battle never been fought, it may be questioned whether the
+Creek campaign would not have established his celebrity as a hero,
+beyond dispute. Yet it must be admitted, that his military experience
+was mainly acquired, and his military character formed, amid the
+hardships and vicissitudes, the trials and dangers, of that campaign.
+In this respect, he resembles some of the most eminent warriors that
+America has produced, many of whom laid the foundation of future
+renown and distinction, in the border wars with the aboriginal
+inhabitants, which grew out of the discovery and settlement of the
+country, or the subsequent encroachments of the whites.
+
+The father of Andrew Jackson, though a native of Ireland, was
+of Scotch descent.--During the reign of Henry II, in 1172, the
+subjugation of the Emerald Isle was effected,--not so much by the
+superior bravery of the English soldiery, as by the defection of
+her own sons. The conquest entailed, on both oppressor and victim,
+a fruitful legacy of war and bloodshed. It was followed by years of
+strife and dissension--by centuries of tyrannical misrule on the one
+hand, and resistance to wrong on the other. Time did not change the
+character of the Irish peasantry; they were no loyal subjects of
+their new masters,--neither did they remit their efforts to regain
+their independence. Among other expedients resorted to by the English
+government, for confirming their ascendancy, was the confiscation of
+all the lands in Ulster, and large portions of the other provinces.
+These were granted to new proprietors, and measures were taken to
+colonize them from England and Scotland.
+
+The Jackson family emigrated from Scotland at a very remote period,
+and settled in the county of Antrim. Whether it was on account of
+their proximity to the ancient seat of the O’Neals, in Tyrone, or
+their intermarriage and intercourse with the original natives of
+the country, is unknown; but it is nevertheless certain, that they
+soon became imbued with the spirit of disaffection that had so long
+prevailed in that quarter; and when the colonists began to experience
+the bitterness of oppression, they, too, learned to hate the name and
+authority of England.
+
+Hugh Jackson, the grandfather of General Jackson, was a linen-draper,
+and resided near Carrickfergus, on the Lough of Belfast. He had four
+sons, who were plain respectable farmers, liberal and hospitable,
+of strict integrity, and, like their forefathers, firm in their
+adherence to the Church of Scotland. Andrew, the youngest, married
+Elizabeth Hutchinson, by whom he had two sons, Hugh and Robert,
+born in Ireland. Tired of the ceaseless turmoil and confusion that
+distracted the country, and despairing of the success of any attempt
+to relieve the Irish people from the grievances of which they
+complained, he sold his farm, and, in 1765, determined to seek a more
+tranquil and peaceful home in the western wilderness. Accompanied by
+three of his neighbors, James, Robert, and Joseph Crawford, the first
+of whom had married a sister of his wife, he embarked for America
+with his family, and landed in safety, at Charleston, South Carolina.
+
+[Sidenote: HIS BIRTH.]
+
+Dissatisfied with the low country bordering on the coast, the
+immigrants pushed into the interior of the colony. Lands were
+purchased, and they all settled near each other, on Waxhaw creek,
+one of the branches of the Catawba, in Lancaster district, about
+forty-five miles above Camden, and near the boundary line of
+North Carolina. Here, in this fine and healthy region, agreeably
+diversified with hills and dales, and drained by the romantic
+Catawba, Andrew Jackson, the younger, was born, on the fifteenth day
+of March, 1767.
+
+Not long after the birth of his third son, the elder Jackson died,
+leaving to his wife and children a limited property, yet with
+an honest and unsullied name. A double duty now devolved on the
+surviving parent. Faithfully and nobly was it discharged. To the
+resolute firmness and unflinching fortitude of the Spartan mother,
+she united the piety and resignation, the trustful faith and
+confidence, of the devoted Christian. Naturally gifted with a strong
+mind, early disciplined in the school of adversity, and strengthened
+by Him who is ever the stay and helper of the widow and orphan, no
+difficulties deterred her from the accomplishment of her high and
+holy task.
+
+The property of which Mrs. Jackson was left in possession, consisted
+of a new farm, without slaves; and it required the constant practice
+of the most rigid economy and prudence, to enable her to provide
+for the maintenance and education of her three young sons. After
+her husband’s death, she took charge of Mr. Crawford’s family,--her
+sister, Mrs. Crawford, being in feeble health. Her two younger sons,
+Robert and Andrew, remained with her, and the oldest went to reside
+with a neighbor. Hugh and Robert received only a common-school
+education; but Andrew was designed by the, perhaps, partial mother,
+for a more enlarged sphere of usefulness. She intended him for the
+church, and therefore sent him to the Waxhaw Academy, then under the
+charge of Mr. Humphries, where he acquired a knowledge of the various
+English branches taught at that time, and had made considerable
+progress in the Latin and Greek languages, when the ravages of the
+revolutionary war, approaching nearer to this remote settlement, put
+an end to his studies.
+
+Sentiments of patriotism were early imbibed by the sons of Mrs.
+Jackson. Her instructions, and the example of their friends and
+kindred, inspired them, in childhood, with an ardent love of
+liberty. Reminiscences of “father-land” were often mingled with
+her teachings; she recounted deeds of cruelty and oppression that
+fired their youthful bosoms with indignation; she told them of the
+injustice under which their ancestors had suffered, and from which
+their father had fled; and she reminded them, also, that the same
+tyrannical power which had perpetrated these wrongs, was endeavoring
+to reduce the American colonists to a state of abject and hopeless
+slavery. Soon they beheld the watch-fires of liberty blazing up
+on every hill-top and mountain, and heard the deep thunders of
+war echoing through the pine-barrens and savannas of their own
+sunny clime. The young and middle-aged men, in the Waxhaws and its
+vicinity, were enrolled in companies, and met frequently for military
+discipline, while their gray-headed sires looked on approvingly, and
+bade them never shame the blood from which they sprung.
+
+Boys though they were, the young Jacksons became deeply imbued with
+the prevailing spirit. This was especially the case with Andrew, who
+longed for the hour to arrive, when he would be able to shoulder
+a musket, and perform some doughty enterprise, in defence of the
+liberties of his country.
+
+[Sidenote: INVASION OF SOUTH CAROLINA.]
+
+The officers charged with, what proved to be the Sisyphian task, of
+subjugating the colonial rebels, made their first principal efforts
+in the northern provinces.[14] Foiled, or beaten here, they turned
+their attention to the South. Savannah was reduced in December, 1778,
+and South Carolina invaded in the spring of 1779. Among those who
+marched out to meet the enemy, was Hugh Jackson, the oldest of the
+three brothers; he belonged to the company commanded by Captain,
+afterwards Colonel Davie, and was present at the battle of Stono, on
+the twentieth of June, where he lost his life from the excessive
+heat of the day. Early in 1780, a more formidable effort was made by
+the enemy, in South Carolina. Charleston was invested by a strong
+force, under Sir Henry Clinton, on the thirtieth of March; General
+Lincoln, then at the head of the southern army, stoutly defended the
+post, but was compelled to capitulate on the twelfth of May.
+
+After the surrender of Charleston, the British commander divided his
+army into three columns; one being directed to move up the Savannah
+river to Augusta, another up the Congaree and Saluda to Ninety-six,
+and the third, under Lord Cornwallis, up the Wateree to Camden. At
+this time, there were several detachments, belonging to the American
+army, in the country, who were not included in the capitulation.
+One of these, consisting of about four hundred men, with two pieces
+of artillery, was commanded by Colonel Buford, who, on the advance
+of Cornwallis, retired up the Catawba, towards Charlotte, in North
+Carolina. Colonel Tarleton was immediately dispatched, with two
+hundred and seventy mounted men, in pursuit; by making rapid marches,
+he came up with the party under Colonel Buford, at the Waxhaw
+settlement, on the twenty-ninth of May. A brief, but bloody contest,
+took place; the Americans were soon overcome by the dragoons of
+Tarleton; quarter was rarely given when demanded; upwards of two
+hundred and sixty of the detachment were killed, or desperately
+wounded; and their artillery, with their ammunition and stores, fell
+into the hands of the enemy.
+
+[Sidenote: DEFEAT OF COLONEL BUFORD’S PARTY.]
+
+A great portion of the American soldiers wounded in this conflict
+were paroled on the spot, and left at the Waxhaws, to the humanity
+of the inhabitants. The latter were not wanting in kind and generous
+feelings, and their sympathy was freely bestowed on those who had
+suffered and endured so much in behalf of the common cause. The
+meeting-house in the settlement was speedily converted into a
+hospital; nurses were provided,--Mrs. Jackson offering her services
+with others; and every attention was paid to the comfort and wants of
+the unfortunate victims of the brutal ferocity of Tarleton and his
+followers. This was the first lesson learned by Andrew Jackson from
+actual observation, in regard to the horrors of war,--and it produced
+a powerful impression on his mind. So far from being intimidated,
+however, by the sufferings which he witnessed, his desire for taking
+part in the struggle was only stimulated and quickened.
+
+Not long after this bloody catastrophe, Lord Rawdon was dispatched by
+Cornwallis into the Waxhaw settlement, with a large body of troops,
+to practice the same sanguinary measures which had been adopted in
+other parts of the province. Upon the fall of Charleston, marauding
+parties of British dragoons were sent out to scour the country;
+the timid were conciliated, and the refractory punished; rapine,
+murder, and violence, were committed with impunity; members of the
+same family were arrayed against each other, and all were made to
+suffer the misery and wretchedness ever attendant on civil war. The
+loyalists, or Tories, gladly hailed the appearance of the British
+troops; others consented to take protection, as it was called, in
+the hope, often a mistaken one, of enjoying an immunity from attack;
+but there were many who refused to waver in their allegiance to the
+Confederation.
+
+Mrs. Jackson and her two sons, with a number of the Waxhaw settlers,
+retired before Lord Rawdon, into North Carolina, where they remained
+for several days, and until he was recalled to Camden. Resistance
+had now nearly ceased; and the British officers began to flatter
+themselves with the belief that the province was completely subdued.
+But a few weeks elapsed, however, ere General Sumter, who resided
+near the Waxhaws, returned from North Carolina, where he had also
+been a voluntary exile, and raised the patriot standard, at the head
+of his small but gallant band. Other partisan corps, under Marion,
+Pickens, and Davie, were soon formed. Without pay; scantily supplied
+with clothing and subsistence; provided with guns of every form and
+calibre, and swords and lances fashioned out of the rude implements
+of husbandry; and mainly relying for ammunition on their captures
+from the enemy,--these brave yeomen rendezvoused in the swamps and
+forests of South Carolina, where they bivouacked, night after night,
+in the open air, and from which they darted forth on detached parties
+of British and Tories, like the eagle on its prey.
+
+[Sidenote: HIS FIRST BATTLE.]
+
+On the thirtieth of July, General Sumter, with about six hundred
+men, made an unsuccessful attack on the advanced post of the
+British, at Rocky Mount. Three desperate efforts demonstrated the
+impracticability of carrying the enemy’s fortifications, and being
+entirely without cannon, he was obliged to draw off his command. He
+was now reïnforced by a party of the Waxhaw settlers, under Colonel
+Davie, and, on the sixth of August, proceeded against the post
+at Hanging Rock, midway between Camden and the Waxhaws. The first
+onset was attended with complete success. The enemy were driven
+from their camp, and took shelter in the main work. Unfortunately,
+many of Sumter’s men had fasted so long, that they preferred to
+search for something to eat and drink, rather than to advance and
+secure the victory, by carrying the post, which might then have been
+easily accomplished. A quantity of liquor was found in the camp, and
+they commenced drinking, in opposition to the urgent remonstrances
+of their commander. Apprehending the worst consequences if they
+remained, he resolved to retire to his encampment before they became
+wholly ungovernable.
+
+The corps of Colonel Davie particularly distinguished itself
+on this occasion. Prominent among its members, were Lieutenant
+James Crawford, and Robert and Andrew Jackson,--the latter a mere
+stripling, but thirteen years of age; yet, in heart and soul, he was
+a man. This was his first battle, and the accounts we have of it show
+that both he and his brother rendered good service.
+
+Ten days after this affair, General Gates was terribly defeated by
+Lord Cornwallis, and, two days later, General Sumter, overburdened
+with baggage and prisoners--having recently captured a convoy of
+British stores, with their escort, coming up from Charleston to
+Camden--was surprised by Colonel Tarleton, and his band routed and
+dispersed. Following up the advantage he had gained, Cornwallis
+marched with his whole army, on the eighth of September, in the
+direction of Charlotte, whither the remnant of Gates’ army had
+fled. On his approach to the Waxhaw settlement, Mrs. Jackson again
+retired into North Carolina, passing through Charlotte, on her way to
+Guilford county, on the morning of the day upon which the British van
+approached the town. She was accompanied by her two sons, neither of
+whom, on account of their youth, was yet permanently attached to a
+military corps.
+
+Cornwallis soon found great difficulty in maintaining himself at
+Charlotte. His communications with the seaboard were cut off, and his
+supplies intercepted, by the partisans; and his position became still
+more embarrassing, upon the defeat, and almost total annihilation,
+of Major Ferguson’s command, at King’s Mountain, on the seventh of
+October. He therefore determined to retreat, before he was entirely
+surrounded by the aroused and patriotic militia of the Carolinas. On
+the fourteenth of October, he retraced his steps to the Waxhaws, and
+shortly after established himself at Winnsborough, where he awaited
+the arrival of reinforcements.
+
+Besides other affairs, of minor importance, but equally honorable
+to the American cause, the battle of the Cowpens, and the masterly
+retreat of General Greene, took place during the ensuing winter,
+while Mrs. Jackson and her sons, with other Waxhaw settlers, remained
+in North Carolina. Early in February, 1781, Cornwallis crossed the
+Yadkin, in pursuit of Greene; and she and her friends thereupon
+returned to their homes, although they were in the immediate vicinity
+of the British posts, and the country around was full of armed
+parties of Tories, whose cruelties and enormities were every day
+becoming more barbarous and revolting.
+
+[Sidenote: DARING AND RESOLUTION.]
+
+The struggle now began to assume, especially in the Carolinas, a yet
+more direful aspect. A fierce war of extermination was waged between
+Whigs and Tories. The two parties, or factions--call them what we
+may--could not exist on the same soil. The former had imperilled
+everything in the effort to secure their independence, and they
+fought for the safety, not merely of themselves, but of their wives
+and children, their property, their all! Boys, as well as men,
+engaged in this bloody warfare, and it was amid its trying scenes,
+that the stern and inflexible daring and resolution were formed and
+manifested, which distinguished Andrew Jackson in after life.
+
+The two young Jacksons kept their horses and guns, like their
+neighbors, and were always ready for any enterprise of danger or
+difficulty. Among other services which they performed, was that
+of keeping guard at the houses of the Whig officers who resided
+near them, when they desired to visit their families. The conduct
+of Andrew on one of these occasions,--his rapidity of thought and
+action,--afforded a signal presage of future ability:--
+
+A captain in the colonial service, by the name of Lands, desired to
+spend a night with his family, at his house, on the right bank of the
+Catawba, a short distance below the mouth of the Waxhaw. Robert and
+Andrew Jackson, one of the Crawfords, and five other men, including
+a recent deserter from the British army, constituted his guard. With
+the captain, there were nine men, and but seven muskets. Having no
+apprehensions of an attack, they laid down on their arms, upon the
+floor of the house, and all went to sleep, except the deserter, whose
+fears of a recapture kept him awake. Meantime a party of Tories, who
+had been apprised of Lands’ return, were on the way to surprise and
+kill him. The house was approached on the south, by a road leading
+through a wood. The Tories gained the rear of the stable, that stood
+in one corner of the inclosed yard around the house, unobserved.
+Behind this their horses were tied, and, dividing into two parties,
+they then advanced against the dwelling, which had two doors; one
+facing the east,--in front of which was a forked apple tree,--and the
+other the west.
+
+The deserter, who remained on the watch, hearing a noise about the
+stable, went out to discover from whence it proceeded. He had gone,
+but a few steps from the door, when he descried the party of Tories
+approaching the east end of the building. Instantly darting back,
+he caught Andrew Jackson, who lay nearest the door, by the hair,
+crying out in alarm, “The Tories are upon us--the Tories are upon
+us!” Andrew was on his feet in a moment; seizing his gun, he darted
+out of the house, and thrusting the piece through the fork of the
+apple tree, loudly hailed the advancing party. No answer was given.
+He repeated the hail,--still there was no reply. He then fired,
+and at the same instant a volley was returned by the enemy, which
+killed the deserter, who stood at his side. This prompt movement on
+his part, however, saved the inmates of the house. The first party
+of Tories were brought to a stand, and, in the darkness, their fire
+was mistaken by their comrades, who were moving towards the west
+door, for that of a sallying party. The latter also halted, and a
+brisk fire commenced between the two parties. After discharging his
+piece, Andrew Jackson returned into the house, and, with two others,
+commenced firing from the west door. Both his companions were shot
+down, one of them being mortally wounded; but he escaped untouched.
+The two bands of Tories still continued to pour their volleys into
+each other, and upon the house, till they were alarmed by the notes
+of a cavalry trumpet, sounding the charge, in the distance, when they
+mounted their horses, and fled in hot haste. The charge was sounded
+by a Major Isbel, who was in the neighborhood, but had not a single
+man with him. He had heard the firing, and, presuming that Lands’
+house was attacked, had taken this means to alarm the assailants,
+which fortunately proved effectual.
+
+[Sidenote: ATTACK ON THE WAXHAW SETTLERS.]
+
+After the departure of Cornwallis from South Carolina, Lord Rawdon,
+whose head-quarters were at Camden, was left in command. By this
+time, the stubborn patriotism of the Waxhaw settlers was well
+understood; and on being advised of their return, he dispatched
+Major Coffin, with a corps of light dragoons, a company of infantry,
+and a number of Tories, to capture them. On being informed of
+their danger, the settlers resolved that they would no longer fly,
+but maintain their ground at all hazards. A day was appointed for
+the male inhabitants in the settlement, capable of bearing arms,
+to assemble at the Waxhaw meeting-house, which was fixed upon as
+the place of rendezvous. Punctual, at the time and place, about
+forty of the settlers,--Robert and Andrew Jackson being among the
+number,--had collected, and were waiting for a friendly company,
+under Captain Nesbit, when they saw what they supposed to be the
+expected reïnforcement,--but which, in reality, was the detachment
+of Major Coffin, with the Tories, who wore the usual dress of the
+country, in front,--approaching at a rapid rate. The deception was
+not discovered, till the British dashed in among them, cleaving down
+all who stood in their way. Eleven of the party were taken prisoners;
+the remainder sprang upon their horses, and most of them made their
+escape.
+
+Andrew Jackson was accompanied in his flight, by his cousin,
+Lieutenant Thomas Crawford; but, in passing over a piece of marshy
+ground, the horse of the latter mired and fell, and he was wounded
+and taken prisoner. Young Jackson shortly after encountered his
+brother, who had also eluded pursuit. They remained together
+during the night, and, at dawn on the following morning, concealed
+themselves in a dense thicket, on the bank of Cain Creek, near the
+house of Lieutenant Crawford. During the day they became very hungry,
+and, deeming themselves secure, ventured out to the house. A boy was
+directed to watch the road; but while* they were satisfying their
+hunger, a band of Tories and dragoons, who had discovered their
+retreat, and captured their horses and guns, which were left behind
+them, suddenly made their appearance, and surrounded the house.
+Resistance could be of no avail, and escape was impossible. They
+therefore surrendered themselves prisoners of war.
+
+[Sidenote: TAKEN PRISONER TO CAMDEN.]
+
+Not content with the capture of the two young men, the dragoons
+and Tories commenced abusing and maltreating Mrs. Crawford and her
+children. The crockery and furniture in the house were broken in
+pieces; and the beds and bedding, and all the clothing of the family,
+including that of an infant at the breast, was torn into shreds.
+While the work of destruction was going on, the British officer, in
+command of the party, directed Andrew Jackson to clean the mud from
+his boots. As might be supposed, he indignantly refused to do the
+menial office. Enraged at this reply, the officer drew his sword,
+and aimed a dastard blow at the head of his unarmed prisoner. The
+latter parried it with his left hand, but, in so doing, received a
+cut, the scar of which was carried to his grave. Disappointed in the
+spirit of the intrepid youth, the officer turned to his brother, and
+required him to perform the task. Robert likewise refused; a furious
+blow from the infuriated Briton, was the consequence; and a wound was
+inflicted, from the effect of which his victim never recovered.
+
+Andrew Jackson was then placed on a horse, and directed, under
+a threat of instant death if he refused, to guide the party to
+the house of Major Thompson, a well-known Whig, who lived below
+Crawford’s, on the same side of the stream. Fearing that Thompson
+might be at home, our hero resorted to a stratagem to save him;
+which, though it might naturally have suggested itself to his mind,
+seems strange enough when we reflect that it was not only conceived,
+but executed, by a lad scarcely fourteen years of age.--Leading the
+party by a circuitous route, he brought them within full view of
+Thompson’s house, at the distance of a half mile. Nothing more was
+necessary. The dragoons spurred onward, but they were still several
+hundred yards distant, when they saw the major issue forth, mount
+his horse, which, as was then customary, was kept ready saddled, and
+dash towards the creek. The British darted after him in pursuit, but
+reached the stream only in time to hear his loud shout of defiance,
+as he rode leisurely off along the opposite bank. The current was so
+much swollen by the influx during the rainy season, that they dare
+not attempt to cross it, and therefore reluctantly abandoned the
+chase.
+
+After this unsuccessful attempt to capture the Whig officer, the
+two Jacksons, with about twenty other prisoners, were mounted on
+captured horses, and the party set out on their return to Camden. Not
+a mouthful of food, or drop of water, was given them on the road; and
+when they reached Camden, they were thrust into a redoubt surrounding
+the jail, in which some two hundred and fifty prisoners, besides
+those taken at the Waxhaws, were confined. Here they were stripped of
+part of their clothing,--Andrew losing his jacket and shoes; their
+wounds were undressed; no attention was paid to their wants; and when
+the relationship between the two Jacksons and Lieutenant Crawford was
+discovered, they were instantly separated, and kept in ignorance of
+each other’s fate. The Provost was a Tory from New York, who, it was
+afterwards said, took the provisions intended for the prisoners, to
+feed a number of negroes whom he had collected from different Whig
+plantations, with the intention of disposing of them for his own
+benefit. Be that as it may, the prisoners were but sparingly supplied
+with bad bread; and to add to their wretchedness, the smallpox
+appeared among them, and made frightful ravages.
+
+Amid the accumulated horrors of his prison-house, with sickness
+and starvation staring him in the face, the groans of the dying
+constantly ringing in his ears, and hourly exposed to the
+ill-treatment of his captors,--Andrew Jackson never lost the
+fearlessness of spirit which ever distinguished him. Availing himself
+of a favorable opportunity, he boldly remonstrated with the officer
+of the guard, in behalf of himself and his suffering companions. His
+remonstrances had the desired effect; meat was added to the rations,
+and, in other respects, the condition of the prisoners was decidedly
+improved.
+
+[Sidenote: BATTLE OF HOBKIRK’S HILL.]
+
+Matters were in this situation, when General Greene returned from
+North Carolina, in April, 1781, and encamped, with his army, on
+Hobkirk’s Hill, a little over a mile north of Camden, waiting only
+the arrival of his cannon, before making his dispositions to assault
+the post.
+
+On the morning of the twenty-fourth of April, Andrew Jackson
+discovered indications of a design to attack General Greene. The jail
+and redoubt stood on the eminence upon which Camden is situated, and
+a fine view would have been afforded of the encampment on Hobkirk’s
+Hill, had not the British taken the precaution to construct a
+high and tight plank fence on the redoubt, immediately after the
+arrival of the American army in the neighborhood. He was determined,
+nevertheless, to obtain a view of the anticipated conflict; and, by
+working nearly all night, with an old razor-blade, furnished the
+prisoners to cut their rations, he succeeded in digging out a knot in
+one of the planks. When Lord Rawdon led out his men, on the morning
+of the twenty-fifth, for a bold stroke at the American leader,
+Andrew mounted the breastwork, and placed himself at the look-out,
+while his fellow prisoners gathered in groups below him, listening
+attentively, as he detailed the varied incidents of the day.
+
+His voice was tremulous with apprehension, as he informed his
+companions, that the Americans had been taken unawares, and their
+pickets were driven in; it was pitched to a louder key, when the
+cannon of Greene opened their brazen throats, and vomited forth
+torrents of flame and iron, tearing and rending through the British
+columns; again it sank, as the enemy rallied, and pushed boldly
+forward; it rose once more, when the regiments of Ford and Campbell
+pressed gallantly upon their flanks--when Washington and his brave
+dragoons came thundering down in their rear--and he caught sight of
+the glistening bayonets of the 1st Maryland, and the Virginians, as
+they prepared to charge home upon their assailants; it fell again,
+as the veteran regiment of Gunby recoiled before the British fire,
+and died away into a whisper, when all hope of deliverance vanished,
+as the beaten, but not routed Greene, retired slowly over the hill,
+and the pursuit was only checked by the timely charge of Washington’s
+cavalry.
+
+[Sidenote: RELEASE FROM CAPTIVITY.]
+
+The Jacksons were not deserted by one friend, in their
+confinement--the mother who had reared them to serve their country,
+and who knew no prouder joy, than to see them do their duty well. She
+followed them to Camden, to aid and succor them, and, soon after the
+battle of Hobkirk’s Hill, procured their exchange, with five of their
+neighbors, for thirteen British soldiers, captured by a Whig partisan
+captain, by the name of Walker. Pale, emaciated, barefooted, almost
+naked, and infected with the smallpox, they presented themselves
+before their surviving parent. The wound in Robert’s head had never
+been dressed; and this, in connection with hunger, and the disease
+that had fastened itself upon him, had reduced him so low, that he
+was unable even to ride, except as he was held on a horse.
+
+There were but two horses for the whole party, consisting of
+Mrs. Jackson and her sons, and the other released prisoners, who
+accompanied them home. Mrs. Jackson rode one, and Robert was
+supported on the other by his companions. Thus wearily and sadly,
+did they perform their melancholy journey of more than forty
+miles, through a country blighted by the ravages of war, as if the
+lightnings of Heaven had scathed it. Within two hours’ ride of the
+Waxhaws, they were overtaken by a shower of rain, by which the
+company were completely drenched. The smallpox was driven in on
+both the boys; Robert died in two days; and Andrew at once became
+delirious. The fever raged violently for several days, and his
+case was regarded nearly hopeless. The kind nursing of his patient
+and devoted mother, and the attentions of his physician, at length
+triumphed over the disease, and restored him to consciousness and
+health.
+
+He had scarcely recovered his strength, when his mother, with
+characteristic energy and fortitude, in company with four or five
+other ladies, providing themselves with such necessaries as could
+be conveniently carried on horseback, set out to visit a number
+of the Waxhaw settlers, including some of the Crawfords, who had
+been taken by the enemy, and were confined on board the Charleston
+prison-ship--whose history, like that of the Old Jersey, at New
+York, is but a tale of unmitigated horror and suffering. These good
+Samaritan women reached Charleston, obtained permission to visit
+the vessel--a privilege that had always been refused to relatives
+and friends of the other sex--and delivered the supplies which they
+had brought. Mrs. Jackson, however, never returned from this errand
+of love and mercy. Enfeebled by constant care and privation, worn
+down by the numerous hardships and fatigues which she had endured,
+she was seized with the fever prevailing among the prisoners, which
+soon terminated her existence. She was buried near the enemy’s
+lines, in the vicinity of Charleston, in an unknown grave;--but her
+memory, in after times, was doubly honored, as that of the noble,
+self-sacrificing mother, of Andrew Jackson!
+
+Solitary and alone, her orphan son, at the time when he most needed
+the care and advice of a parent, was cast upon the world, to buffet,
+as he might, the billows of adverse fortune. His home was, indeed,
+desolate. Like Logan, there ran not a drop of his blood in the veins
+of any living creature. Mother and brothers,--all had perished--the
+victims of English cruelty!--Is it to be wondered, then, that he
+cherished such a feeling of animosity towards the British name; or
+that he hated everything akin to oppression, with a hatred so deep
+and fervent?
+
+[Sidenote: CLOSE OF THE WAR.]
+
+Early in the summer of 1781, the British voluntarily evacuated, or
+were driven from, all their advanced posts outside of Orangeburg.
+General Greene retired with his army, during the hot season, to the
+hills of Santee, but again made his appearance in the lower country,
+near the close of the month of August, with his command refreshed
+and reïnvigorated. In September, he fought the indecisive battle at
+Eutaw Springs. The palm of victory was disputed, but the substantial
+advantages of the action were his; and when the campaign closed, the
+enemy were cooped up in Charleston and Savannah.--In October, the war
+was finally terminated, by the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown.
+
+After the evacuation of Camden, the Waxhaw settlers, or rather,
+those of them who had survived the perils of war, found the security
+and repose which had so long been denied. Andrew Jackson remained,
+for some time subsequent to the death of his mother, at the house
+of Major Thomas Crawford; but, in consequence of a difficulty with
+Captain Galbraith, an American commissary, whose quarters were at
+the same place, and who became offended with him for some trifling
+cause, he afterwards entered the family of Mr. Joseph White, an uncle
+of Mrs. Crawford. Mr. White’s son was a saddler, and Andrew, though
+suffering all the while with the fever and ague, entered his shop,
+and assisted him as far as he was able.
+
+Unfortunately for him, the enemy still remained in the possession of
+Charleston, and many of its wealthiest and most polished citizens
+resided, temporarily, at the Waxhaws, and in the neighborhood. It
+was quite natural, in the reäction of his ardent temperament, after
+the first shock of his sad bereavement had passed away, that a
+carelessness and recklessness of disposition should be manifested.
+His associates were the young men from the city, and, with them, he
+spent most of his time in idle sports and amusements. The studies,
+which had been necessarily interrupted during the war, were totally
+neglected; his books were thrown aside; and a large portion of his
+little patrimony was squandered, in the vain effort to compete with
+his more wealthy associates, in the liberality of his expenditures.
+When they returned to Charleston, in the winter of 1784, he followed
+them on a fine mare belonging to him. He found some of his old
+companions in the tavern where he stopped, with whom he engaged in a
+game of dice, called “Rattle and Snap.” His mare was staked against a
+sum of money--and he won. Inspired by a sudden thought, he pocketed
+the money, paid his bill, and returned home; with a determination, to
+which he inflexibly adhered, to change his course of life.
+
+How many there are, who would have yielded, like Andrew Jackson, to
+the Circean charms and fascinations of a career of dissipation!--how
+few, like him, would have paused at the very entrance of the vortex,
+and, in an instant, effected an entire reformation!--The descent to
+Avernus is easy, said the Cumæan Sibyl:--
+
+    “Sed revocare gradum, superasque evadere ad auras,
+    Hoc opus, hic labor est.”
+
+Had he remained in Charleston another day, perhaps another hour, he
+might have gone down to an early grave, unhonored and unlamented.
+Though he came off conqueror in a dozen well-fought fields, this was
+the noblest of his victories--the conquest over himself!
+
+[Sidenote: EMIGRATES TO TENNESSEE.]
+
+Arrived at the Waxhaws, young Jackson collected together the remains
+of his small property, and, bidding adieu to his friends, repaired
+to Salisbury, in North Carolina; where he commenced the study of
+the law, in the office of Spruce McCay, an eminent counsellor, and
+afterwards a distinguished judge of that state. His untiring industry
+and zeal, his talents, and his correct and manly deportment, soon won
+the favorable esteem of Judge McCay, and other prominent citizens
+of North Carolina, whose acquaintance he formed. His professional
+studies were completed under Colonel John Stokes, and, in 1786, he
+was admitted to the bar. He remained in the state about two years
+subsequent to this, constantly gaining ground in the regard of his
+new friends and acquaintances; and in 1788, at the age of twenty-one,
+without solicitation on his part, he was appointed by the governor,
+solicitor for the western district, which afterwards became the state
+of Tennessee.
+
+Near the close of the year 1788, in company with John McNairy,
+the newly appointed judge of the western district, he crossed the
+mountains, for the purpose of entering upon his official duties, and
+establishing himself in practice. Jonesborough was then the principal
+seat of justice, and they remained there for several months.
+
+The country was rapidly filling up with the hunters of North Carolina
+and Virginia,--“the pioneers of civilization,”--who fearlessly
+entered the unbroken forest, with the axe in one hand and the rifle
+in the other. The territory lying between the Ohio and Tennessee
+rivers had long before received the name of Kentuckeè, or the
+“Bloody Land,” on account of its being the battle, as well as the
+hunting ground, of the Northern and Southern Indians. The valley
+of the Cumberland river contained some of the most fertile and
+beautiful lands, and abounded in the finest game. The principal
+tide of emigration, therefore, naturally turned in this direction,
+notwithstanding the settlers thereby brought upon themselves the
+animosity of both parties of Indians.
+
+In 1789, Judge McNairy, and his friend, first visited the infant
+settlements on the Cumberland, including that at French Creek,
+near the present site of Nashville. Most of the settlers resided
+in stations,--frequently built on the _stamping grounds_ of the
+buffalo,--which were usually connected by the _traces_ of the wild
+beasts, that everywhere intersected the surrounding forests. The log
+cabin was the abode of all classes,--but these primitive dwellings
+were, perhaps, oftener tenanted by happiness and joy, than the marble
+palaces of the great and opulent. Theirs was a life of peril, indeed;
+but it was well suited to Jackson’s adventurous disposition, and he
+gladly shared their dangers and vicissitudes, and participated in
+their sports and festivities.
+
+He was still undecided in regard to locating permanently in the
+district, when he arrived at the settlements on the Cumberland. He
+found, however, that the debtor class constituted a large proportion
+of the population, and that, having retained the only lawyer in West
+Tennessee in their interest, they were enabled to set their creditors
+at defiance. The latter flocked around him in crowds, and in a few
+days after his arrival he issued a great number of writs. Threats of
+personal violence were employed, in vain, to intimidate him; they had
+only the opposite effect, and induced him to remain, and establish
+himself in the neighborhood of Nashville. At that time there were no
+hotels, or regular boarding-houses, in the country, and none were
+needed,--as travellers, men of business, and professional men, were
+cheerfully entertained by private families. Jackson, and the late
+Judge Overton, boarded together, with Mrs. Donelson, the widow of
+Colonel John Donelson, who had, some years previous, emigrated from
+Virginia to Kentucky, and thence to Tennessee.
+
+[Sidenote: ADVENTURES IN THE WILDERNESS.]
+
+Business of a public, or private nature, often called Jackson to
+Jonesborough, about two hundred miles distant from Nashville, from
+which it was separated by a dense wilderness, with only here and
+there a small station. In those days, a journey was not the pastime
+which it has latterly become; and the traveller enjoyed few of
+the comforts, and none of the luxuries, which modern civilization
+has introduced. A horse; a rifle, to be slung over the shoulder;
+a hunting knife; a portmanteau, containing a few clothes and
+provisions; and a blanket,--constituted his preparations for the
+road. Sometimes journeys were performed singly, but, more generally,
+in companies. At night, the travellers lighted a fire with a
+tinder-box, or the flash of a rifle; and their horses were picketed.
+If they were supplied with bacon, or game, it was roasted on a stick;
+otherwise, jerked meat, parched maize, and the tough corn-dodger,
+formed their frugal repast. After partaking of this, sentinels were
+posted, if an attack from the Indians was apprehended; and, wrapping
+themselves in their blankets, they lay down to sleep, with naught but
+the blue canopy of heaven over their heads.
+
+Numerous anecdotes are related of the fearlessness and intrepidity
+displayed by Andrew Jackson, when performing these weary pilgrimages
+through the forests of Tennessee. On one occasion, in the month
+of March, he was on his way from Jonesborough to the Cumberland,
+with three companions, and reached the east side of the Emory, just
+below the gap in the mountains, shortly after dark. The fires of a
+large party of Indians being discovered on the opposite bank, he
+instantly assumed the direction of affairs, and, enjoining silence
+upon his comrades, led them back some distance into the mountains.
+They then left the road at different points, in order to elude
+pursuit,--reunited again, and proceeded up the stream, until two
+o’clock in the afternoon of the following day, when they attempted to
+cross it, at a basin between two cataracts.
+
+A raft was constructed of logs bound firmly together with hickory
+withes, upon which their clothes, blankets, saddles, rifles and
+ammunition, were placed; Jackson and one of his companions intending
+to cross first with these, and then, at a second trip, with their
+comrades, to swim the horses over alongside the raft. But on pushing
+from the shore, the under-tow seized the frail craft, and hurried
+it rapidly down the stream. Jackson and his friend vainly exerted
+themselves to arrest its progress; they were fast nearing the brink
+of the cataract, when the former, wrenching one of the rude oars
+from its fastenings, sprang to the stern, and braced himself there;
+at the same time holding out the oar to his companions on shore.
+They eagerly seized it, and drew the raft safe to land, just as it
+was quivering on the edge of the fall. On being chided for his too
+venturesome disposition, Jackson replied, “A miss is as good as a
+mile; you see how near I can graze danger--come on, and I will save
+you yet.”--The route up the stream was now resumed, and, after
+spending another night, supperless, in the woods, they found a ford
+the next day, at which they crossed, and ultimately reached a log
+cabin on the road, about forty miles in rear of the Indian encampment.
+
+[Sidenote: DESERTED BY HIS GUIDE.]
+
+At another time, he reached Bean’s Station, the appointed rendezvous
+of a party with whom he designed to cross the wilderness, on the
+evening after they had left. Nowise daunted by the perils of the
+way, he provided himself with a guide, and set out to overtake
+them. He travelled all night, and, in the gray of the morning,
+came to the fires just deserted by the party before him. Pushing
+on, with increased speed, he soon discovered the trail of a body
+of Indians, twenty-two in number, who were evidently pursuing his
+friends in front. He still followed on, until he was close upon the
+savages, when the guide began to hesitate about advancing further,
+and finally refused, absolutely, to proceed. This was an unexpected
+dilemma, but Jackson neither feared danger, nor was he the man to
+desert his friends. Dividing provisions with his timid guide, the
+latter returned to the station, and he continued on cautiously, in
+the opposite direction. Presently he found that the Indians had
+turned off to the right, as he supposed, to get ahead of the party,
+and lay an ambush for them, or attack them at night. He at once
+hastened forward with greater rapidity, and came up with his friends,
+as they were preparing to encamp for the night. Being apprised
+of their danger, in a few moments they were again in motion, and
+continued their march without halting, till the evening of the next
+day. Nothing further was heard from the Indians, till the party had
+reached their destination, in safety; when it was ascertained that
+a company of hunters, who had refused to shelter them in their log
+cabins, had been murdered by the same band of savages from whom they
+had so fortunately escaped.
+
+Besides crossing the wilderness intervening between Jonesborough
+and the Cumberland twenty-two times, while the country was yet new,
+Jackson frequently volunteered, with others, to go out and meet
+parties of emigrants from Virginia, or the Carolinas, who were
+escorted half way by their friends in the states, or the settlers in
+East Tennessee. The same service was often performed for emigrants,
+or travellers, going from Nashville to Lexington. An occasion of
+this kind furnished him an opportunity to display his gallantry as
+well as bravery:--He was proceeding with a company, from Nashville
+to Lexington, among whom was a lady going to join her husband at the
+latter place. The second night out, she was suddenly taken sick, and,
+in the morning, was unable to proceed on her journey. Disregarding
+her situation, a number of the party prepared their horses as usual,
+and were about to resume the march. Jackson earnestly remonstrated
+against leaving the woman alone in the forest, but, finding words
+of no avail, and that they insisted on proceeding, he levelled his
+rifle, and solemnly declared that he would shoot the first man who
+put foot in the stirrup. His companions cowed before the chivalric
+rage that lighted up his cheek, and kindled in his eye; and they
+consented to remain for a day at the encampment, at the expiration of
+which the lady was able to travel.
+
+As the settlers in Kentucky were exposed to the irruptions of the
+Shawanese, so those in Tennessee were liable to similar visitations
+from the Choctaws and Cherokees. Whenever the savages had committed
+any depredations, volunteer parties were always formed to pursue
+them. Andrew Jackson was usually one of the first to make his
+appearance at the rendezvous. He once accompanied a party, between
+forty and fifty strong, under Colonel Elijah Robertson, on an
+expedition of this character, to the head of a creek flowing into
+Duck river. It was then proposed, that a part of the company should
+penetrate through the cane-brakes, a distance of ten miles, to the
+river, where the Indians were supposed to have encamped. Colonel
+R. Weakly, with Jackson and fifteen others, volunteered for the
+enterprise. It was accomplished with great gallantry; the savages
+were surprised, and fled without firing a gun,--leaving their camp,
+and their arms and ammunition, in the hands of their pursuers.
+
+Jackson was repeatedly engaged in affairs of the same kind, and
+acquired a high, and wide-spread reputation, for his bravery and
+skill. He also became well-known to the red warriors, and received
+from them the epithets of “Sharp Knife” and “Pointed Arrow.” The
+most important expedition in which he was concerned, was undertaken
+in 1794, when a large party from Nashville and its neighborhood,
+including himself, proceeded against the Indian town of Nickajack,
+near the Tennessee river, and razed it to the ground.
+
+[Sidenote: RACHAEL DONELSON.]
+
+When Andrew Jackson entered the family of Mrs. Donelson as a
+boarder, her daughter, Rachael, who had married a man by the name
+of Robards, in Kentucky, but had separated from him on account of
+his violent temper and vicious habits, resided with her. Judge
+Overton and himself occupied another cabin, a few steps distant from
+that in which Mrs. Donelson lived, but met with her family, at the
+same table. Mrs. Robards was as distinguished for her beauty, her
+sweetness of temper, and her winning deportment, as was her husband
+for the possession of the opposite qualities. Through the mediation
+of Judge Overton, Robards was at one time reconciled to his wife,
+rejoined her at Mrs. Donelson’s, and commenced preparations for
+erecting a cabin, on a tract of land that he had purchased, in which
+he intended to reside.
+
+Jackson was then a young man, frank and engaging in his manners,
+and fond of female society. He undoubtedly paid Mrs. Robards many
+flattering attentions, which--neither thinking aught of evil, or
+cherishing an impure thought--were reciprocated as they deserved,
+with kindness and friendly esteem, but nothing more. So far from
+rendering her husband more morose and ill-tempered, this should only
+have led him to appreciate better her charms and social virtues, and
+encouraged him to become more pleasing and agreeable. But Iagos were
+not wanting to instil the doubts and suspicions of jealousy, had
+not his gloomy and distrustful temperament predisposed him to such
+impressions. She was, in consequence, rendered very unhappy. On being
+made acquainted with this fact, Jackson sought an interview with her
+husband, and remonstrated with him, in a manly and honorable way.
+This was of no avail, and he then left Mrs. Donelson’s, and took
+board at Mansker’s Station.
+
+The excited jealousy of the husband could not be allayed, however;
+and, in a few months, he abandoned his wife a second time, and
+started for Kentucky,--declaring to a companion on the road, that
+he designed never to return. Mrs. Robards now determined that the
+separation should be final; and on being afterwards informed,
+that he intended to visit Tennessee and take her back with him to
+Kentucky, under the advice of her friends, she accompanied the
+family of Colonel Stark to Natchez, in the spring of 1791. Stark
+was an elderly man, and fearing that the Indians might attack him,
+he invited Jackson to make one of the party. The latter, perhaps
+unwisely,--though he certainly never regretted it,--accepted the
+invitation, and descended the rivers with them, to Natchez.
+
+[Sidenote: HIS MARRIAGE.]
+
+Robards had previously applied to the Legislature of Virginia for
+a divorce, and, soon after the return of Jackson to Nashville, the
+intelligence was received that his application had been granted.
+Desirous of testifying to the world, in the highest and most solemn
+manner, his confidence in her purity and innocence--pleased, alike,
+with the charms of her person, and the graces of her mind--and
+deeming her at perfect liberty to form a new connection--Jackson
+forthwith repaired to Natchez, and tendered his hand to Mrs. Robards.
+She at first hesitated, but finally accepted him. They were married
+in the fall, and she returned with him to the Cumberland, where she
+was greeted with the warm and affectionate congratulations of her
+relatives and friends.
+
+Two years after his marriage,--in December, 1793,--Jackson was
+on his way to Jonesborough, with Judge Overton, when he learned,
+for the first time, equally to his chagrin and surprise, that
+the intelligence received in 1791, and upon which he had acted,
+was incorrect.--Robards had, in 1791, procured the passage of an
+act in the Virginia Legislature, authorizing a suit to be brought
+for a divorce in a court in Kentucky, which suit had just been
+determined in his favor,--no opposition, of course, being made to
+the proceedings. Communications between the Atlantic country and
+the interior were then very irregular, and the exact particulars of
+the affair were not known, or inquired into, as it was universally
+supposed in Tennessee, that the divorce had been actually granted. On
+his return home, in January, 1794, Jackson took out a license, and
+was now regularly married.
+
+The circumstances of his acquaintance and marriage with Mrs.
+Robards, were long after seized upon by his opponents, when he
+became connected with the political controversies of the day, as
+a candidate for the presidency, and were made the foundation of
+unmerited and groundless calumnies. There were features in the case,
+which, unexplained, might appear suspicious; but the evidence of
+all who were personally acquainted with them, whose assertions are
+worthy of a moment’s consideration, acquit both parties of blame,
+and bear witness to the correct demeanor of Mrs. Robards, and the
+chivalric conduct of Andrew Jackson.--“While he would have sacrificed
+his life,” says his biographer, “to prevent Mrs. Robards’ falling
+unwillingly into the hands of her cruel tormentor, her husband
+though he was, he never cast a look upon her, or indulged a thought,
+unworthy of the purest knight in the days of honorable chivalry.
+But, when no longer restrained by law, honor or religion, pity,
+admiration, and a species of regret, though free from guilt, yet akin
+to remorse, kindled into love as pure and as holy as ever glowed
+in the heart of man. Nor was the object unworthy of this exalted
+passion. The united testimony of all who had the pleasure of her
+acquaintance, the happiness which during life she shed over the
+domestic circle, radiating into the cabins of her servants and the
+houses of her neighbors, and, above all, the sacred fervor with which
+the bosom on which she rested in youth, cherishes her memory, bear
+unequivocal testimony, that she was one of the best of those beings
+whom God has given as the companion and solace of man.”[15]
+
+[Sidenote: ANIMOSITY OF THE DEBTOR CLASS.]
+
+After his marriage, Jackson devoted himself with more assiduity than
+ever, to the practice of his profession. His firm and independent
+course in espousing the cause of the creditors, though it elevated
+him in the esteem of the better part of the community, rendered the
+debtors peculiarly inimical towards him. His daring and prowess were
+so well known, however, that those who were nominally his equals in
+standing, dared not assail him; but they stimulated others to do so,
+belonging to the very lowest class of bullies and desperadoes, so
+many of whom are always to be found in a new country, who had neither
+character nor self-respect to lose, but were not deficient in that
+brutal courage, which the philosopher of Ferney terms, “a fortunate
+quality, of which fools partake as well as great men.”
+
+A flax-breaker, of great strength and courage, was the first person
+instigated to attack Jackson; but the latter soon tamed his spirit
+with his own winding-blades, the only weapon within reach. A noted
+bully next assaulted him, while he was conversing with a gentleman
+on business, at a court in Sumner County. Jackson seized a slab, and
+in a few seconds obliged the desperado to make his escape into the
+woods.--These encounters resulted so unfavorably to those who were
+induced to come in contact with him, that he was ever after exempt
+from annoyances of a similar character.
+
+In the course of his practice as a lawyer, Jackson discovered
+that extensive frauds had been committed in the North Carolina
+Land-Office, which he deemed it his duty, as the former attorney of
+that State, to expose. Through his instrumentality, the perpetrators
+were indicted and punished. Some of the most prominent citizens of
+the western district were directly, or indirectly, concerned in these
+transactions, and had profited largely by them. Consequently, he
+incurred their hostility; and they sought by every means to injure
+him. In the state of society then existing, a man, like him, exposed
+to the hatred of powerful enemies, may be said to have constantly
+carried his life in his hand. Unawed by threats, he pursued his way
+steadily and unerringly--daily adding to the number of his friends,
+and gaining ground in the confidence and regard of the wise and good.
+
+The necessary preliminary measures for the formation of a state
+government, were taken by the citizens of Tennessee, in 1795;[16] and
+Andrew Jackson was chosen one of the delegates to the convention,
+without even offering himself as a candidate. The forest Solons and
+Numas composing that body, met at Knoxville, in the wilderness, on
+the eleventh of January, 1796, and adjourned on the sixth day of
+February following; having, in the short space of less than four
+weeks, framed and adopted a state constitution, which, for its
+republican simplicity, compared most favorably with those of other
+states.
+
+[Sidenote: REPRESENTATIVE AND SENATOR IN CONGRESS.]
+
+On the first day of June, 1796, Tennessee was admitted into the Union
+as a State, and became entitled to one representative in Congress.
+Andrew Jackson was elected to the office, with great unanimity,
+and took his seat in the House of Representatives on the fifth of
+December, 1796. His reputation and popularity continuing to increase,
+he was chosen a senator in Congress the following year, when he had
+just reached the age prescribed by the Constitution. He appeared in
+the Senate of the United States on the twenty-second of November,
+1797. At this session, the alien and sedition laws were passed.
+Jackson coïncided and voted with the republican members, and was
+therefore in the minority. During the session, he became so much
+dissatisfied with the course of the administration, to which he was
+opposed in sentiment, that he returned home in April, 1798, and
+shortly after resigned his seat. He was succeeded by his friend and
+neighbor, Daniel Smith.
+
+Upon his resignation of the office of senator, Jackson was appointed,
+by the Legislature of Tennessee, Judge of the Supreme Court of Law
+and Equity. The office was conferred on him unsolicited, and was
+accepted with reluctance. As a lawyer, he had been distinguished for
+his fair and honorable dealing; for his abhorrence of low tricks and
+artifices; and for the ability with which he seized the strong points
+of a case, and presented them to a court or jury:--as a judge, he
+became equally well known, for his firmness and independence; for his
+integrity of purpose; and his plain, common sense adjudications.
+
+His first court was held at Jonesborough, at which a man, by the
+name of Russell Bean, was indicted for cutting off the ears of his
+infant child, in a drunken frolic. The sheriff dared not arrest the
+offender, who was notorious for his strength and ferocity, though
+present in the courtyard, and returned to the court, that he would
+not be taken. Judge Jackson told the officer that such a return was
+an absurdity, and that the man must be taken, even though it became
+necessary to summon the _posse comitatus_. When the court adjourned
+for dinner, the sheriff summoned the judge and his colleagues, as
+part of the _posse_. Jackson saw that the officer desired to avoid
+performing his duty, and therefore accompanied him. Learning that
+Bean was armed, he provided himself with a loaded pistol. At sight of
+him, the former attempted to make his escape; but the judge directing
+him to stop and submit to the law, in a tone that showed he was not
+to be trifled with, his weapons were thrown down, and he quietly
+surrendered. This incident was not lost upon other turbulent spirits
+who had previously treated courts and officers with contempt, and
+nothing of the kind was afterwards attempted.
+
+His health beginning to fail under the severe labor, both mental and
+physical, required of him in the performance of his official duties,
+Jackson determined to resign the judgeship; but, when his intentions
+became public, he was urged, in such flattering terms, to abandon
+his design, in a communication addressed to him by some of the most
+prominent citizens of the state, and a large number of the members of
+the Legislature, that he consented to remain in the office.
+
+[Sidenote: DIFFICULTY WITH GOVERNOR SEVIER.]
+
+In 1801, an election was held by the brigadiers and field-officers
+of Major General Conway’s division, to fill the vacancy occasioned
+by his death. Andrew Jackson, and John Sevier, formerly governor of
+the state, were competitors for the office; and the vote was equally
+divided between them. The appointment then devolved upon Governor
+Roane, who wisely conferred it on Andrew Jackson.
+
+Governor Sevier was connected, to some extent, with a combination
+of land jobbers at Nashville, associated together for the purpose
+of manufacturing fraudulent grants of land, which Jackson had aided
+in breaking up. This circumstance, and the preference of Governor
+Roane, rendered him a most implacable enemy and opponent. In 1803,
+he was a candidate for re-election as governor, and in the course of
+the canvass, his antipathy towards Judge Jackson, was imbibed by his
+party friends. This was particularly the case in East Tennessee. In
+the fall, the Judge proceeded to Jonesborough, to hold his court;
+and, having been taken seriously ill on the road, he retired to his
+room, immediately after his arrival, and lay down on the bed. In a
+few moments he was waited on by a friend, who begged him to lock his
+door--informing him that a large mob had collected, under a Colonel
+Harrison, and loudly threatened to tar and feather him. Jackson
+declined securing his door, but throwing it wide open, sent his
+friend to Colonel Harrison, with the message, that he was ready to
+receive him and his party, whenever they chose to wait on him, and
+that he hoped the colonel’s chivalry would induce him to lead his
+men, and not follow them.--This bold message operated like a charm;
+the mob dispersed; Colonel Harrison apologized for his conduct, and
+thereafter remained on good terms with Jackson.
+
+The next court held by the latter, was at Knoxville, where the
+Legislature were then in session. They had just investigated the land
+frauds, of which mention has been made, and had found some evidence
+tending to implicate Governor Sevier. His excellency evinced a great
+deal of exasperation, and on leaving the courthouse, on the first day
+of the term, Judge Jackson found a large crowd gathered in front of
+the building, in the midst of which was Governor Sevier, with a sword
+in his hand, haranguing them in a violent manner. An altercation
+ensued between them, in which the governor was the aggressor, and
+the Judge sent him a challenge. This was accepted, but the governor
+failed to give the promised meeting, and Jackson at once published
+him in the usual form. A second meeting was then appointed to take
+place, though without any formal arrangement.
+
+Jackson repaired to the designated spot, but the governor failed to
+meet him. After waiting two days, he set out to return to Knoxville,
+but had proceeded only a short distance, when he encountered Governor
+Sevier, escorted by about twenty men, and armed with a brace of
+pistols and a sword. His friend instantly bore a challenge to the
+governor, who refused to receive it. Jackson was provided with a
+brace of pistols and a cane. On the return of his friend, with the
+insulting message of the governor, he levelled his cane, as the
+knight, in olden times, couched his spear in the rest, and dashed
+furiously upon his opponent. The latter hastily dismounted, in
+order to avoid the shock, but, in so doing, trode on the scabbard
+of his sword, and was thus rendered incapable of resistance. In the
+governor’s escort there were mutual friends of both parties, who
+interfered to prevent any further collision, and Jackson accompanied
+them back to Knoxville.
+
+[Sidenote: RETIRES TO PRIVATE LIFE.]
+
+Although Jackson was always prompt to defend himself from insult or
+injury, these altercations and disputes were by no means congenial
+to his spirit, and, anticipating their more frequent recurrence, for
+the reason that a number of cases, growing out of the fraudulent land
+sales, were about to be brought before him for decision, he concluded
+to retire from the bench; and his resignation was accepted by the
+Legislature, on the twenty-fourth of July, 1804, about six years
+after his original appointment.
+
+Previous to his resignation of the judgeship, the services of
+General Jackson, in a military capacity, were invoked by the General
+Government, in consequence of the threatening aspect of its relations
+with Spain, who had taken umbrage at the purchase of Louisiana from
+France. Preparations were made to reïnforce General Wilkinson, then
+at Natchez, at the head of a small force, with fifteen hundred
+men from the upper country, including five hundred cavalry from
+Tennessee. In October, 1803, General Jackson was requested to
+procure, without delay, a sufficient number of boats to transport the
+troops to New Orleans, and to keep them in readiness. The request was
+complied with; the boats were procured; and the general tendered his
+services to the government if they should be needed.
+
+The firmness, caution, and prudence, of Jefferson, rendered a
+resort to arms unnecessary; and in February, 1804, General Jackson
+sold the boats prepared for the expedition down the Mississippi.
+After resigning the office of judge, General Jackson retired to a
+plantation on the Cumberland, which he had purchased; to enjoy,
+what he had long coveted, the quiet scenes of domestic life, its
+gentleness and tranquillity, and the society of his devoted wife. His
+fortune was not large, but amply sufficient to satisfy his wants.
+He devoted most of his time to superintending the labor on his
+plantation, setting an example of methodical industry, and careful
+economy, worthy of general imitation, and often wielding the axe,
+or guiding the plough, with his own hands. Fond of society, and
+frank and generous by nature, he was distinguished far and wide for
+his hospitality; and it was remarked of him, that, “though he was a
+private citizen, he was the most public man in Tennessee.”
+
+He was passionately fond of fine horses, and took every pains to
+improve his stock, by importations from the Atlantic States. Like
+other planters around him, he brought his favorite animals out upon
+the race-courses, and, though not a sportsman, in the ordinary
+acceptation of the term, made many a venture upon their relative
+speed. A circumstance of this kind gave rise to a most unfortunate
+affair:
+
+[Sidenote: HOSTILE MEETING WITH DICKINSON.]
+
+A match race was agreed upon by him, and a Mr. Erwin and his
+son-in-law, Charles Dickinson, between their two horses, for a
+wager of two thousand dollars, with a forfeiture of eight hundred
+dollars, to be paid in cash notes. Erwin and Dickinson subsequently
+chose to pay the forfeit, and withdraw their horse. Some difficulty
+arose in regard to the character of the notes offered, but it was
+finally adjusted, to the apparent satisfaction of all parties. But
+the enemies of Jackson were anxious that he should fight a duel
+with Dickinson, who was reputed to be the best shot in the country.
+Through them, the dispute was revived. Several publications appeared
+in the newspapers, Dickinson grew more and more insulting, and at
+length made a direct imputation of cowardice. Jackson could endure
+his provocations no longer, and on the twenty-third of May, 1806,
+sent him a challenge. It was accepted by Dickinson, and the meeting
+was arranged to take place at Harrison’s Mills, Kentucky, on the
+thirtieth instant.
+
+Dickinson spent the intervening time in practicing; frequently
+boasting how often he had hit his opponent chalked out on a tree, and
+offering to bet that he would kill him. This was reported to General
+Jackson, and the effect on his excitable temperament may be imagined.
+The parties met, as had been agreed on. At the word, Dickinson fired,
+and the dust was seen to fly from the clothes of his antagonist.
+Jackson fired the next instant, and the other fell mortally wounded.
+
+The steadiness of nerve exhibited by General Jackson on this occasion
+has often been the subject of commendation, even with those who
+condemned the practice, then not only tolerated, but actually
+encouraged, by nearly all classes and parties, in the section of
+country in which he resided. It afterwards appeared, that he was
+himself severely wounded, at the time he fired; but his feelings had
+been so wrought upon, and the ardency of his temper was such, that he
+was insensible to physical suffering, and he declared to a friend,
+that he would have killed Dickinson, if he had been shot through the
+brain!
+
+Several years later,--in the summer of 1813,--General Jackson was
+concerned in an affray with Colonel Thomas H. Benton, so well and
+widely known, for many successive years, as a Senator in Congress,
+from the State of Missouri. The former had acted as the second of
+Governor Carroll, in a duel with a brother of Colonel Benton, which,
+the latter thought, was inconsistent with the friendly relations
+existing between himself and the general. An angry correspondence
+passed; bitter recriminations were made on both sides; and they
+afterwards encountered each other, and interchanged shots, at a
+public house in Nashville. In the affray, General Jackson’s left
+arm was shattered by a pistol shot, and he was confined to his room
+for several weeks. The imbittered feelings engendered during the
+progress of this controversy, were cherished for many years after
+the encounter, but they were subsequently entirely allayed; and when
+General Jackson became President of the United States, he had no
+firmer supporter, or warmer friend, than Colonel Benton.
+
+These personal controversies and altercations have been mentioned
+here, not because they afford valuable examples worthy, at this day,
+of imitation, but rather, for the reason, that they are not more
+illustrative of Jackson’s nice sense of honor, his stern will, and
+his indomitable courage, than of the rude state of society in which
+he lived. If, like General Wayne, he manifested “a constitutional
+attachment to the decision of the sword,” he, too, had a warm and
+generous heart; and, though like the aroused lion, when he felt
+himself the object of wrong or injustice, no man possessed more of
+the gentler and softer affections of our natures. As Sir Walter Scott
+said of the Covenanter: “His faults were those of his times and
+associates, his virtues were eminently his own.”
+
+[Sidenote: AARON BURR.]
+
+Aaron Burr made his first appearance in the western country, prior
+to the completion of his arrangements for his mysterious expedition,
+in the spring of 1805, and, on two occasions, during the summer,
+spent several days in the family of General Jackson. The people of
+Tennessee, like all the residents in the valley of the Mississippi,
+were exceedingly hostile to the Spaniards; and so long as Burr was
+supposed to be concerned in making arrangements for the invasion
+of Mexico, in the event of a war with Spain, General Jackson, with
+most of the influential citizens of that section, warmly seconded
+his projects. In 1806, Burr returned to the west and began his
+preparations. In the fall, the suspicions of General Jackson were
+awakened, and the friendly intercourse between them entirely ceased.
+Whatever may have been the designs of Burr, he dared not reveal them
+to General Jackson, though he ever entertained a high opinion of him,
+and always mentioned him in terms of respect. His patriotism was
+much too earnest and sincere to be tempted; and, notwithstanding
+his previous intimacy with Burr, the special agent dispatched by the
+President to secure the arrest of the latter, was directed to call on
+him, with instructions to order out a military force, if necessary.
+General Jackson promptly ordered out twelve companies, but Burr had
+already left the mouth of the Cumberland, and was on his way down the
+Mississippi; and on ascertaining this fact, he dismissed his troops,
+and reported his proceedings to the government.
+
+Not long after General Jackson retired to private life, he entered
+into partnership with a merchant in Nashville. For a time their
+business appeared to be prosperous; Jackson took no active part in
+its management, but trusted everything to his associate. Some slight
+circumstances at length aroused his fears, and, upon examination,
+he found that the firm was not only insolvent, but that their
+liabilities exceeded their assets, by many thousand dollars. But
+one course--that dictated by honor and right--could be pursued. He
+instantly closed the business, sold his fine plantation where he
+lived, paid off the debts of the firm, and removed to a log cabin
+on another plantation, to begin the world anew. By the exercise of
+strict economy and prudence, in a few years he once more gathered
+around him the fruits of prosperous industry.
+
+In 1811, General Jackson had occasion to visit Natchez, to bring up
+a number of negroes, who had become his property as the surety of
+a friend, or belonged to a nephew; and, on reaching the station of
+the Choctaw agency, along which the road passed, he found seven or
+eight families of emigrants, and two members of the Mississippi
+Legislative Council, whom the agent had detained, upon the pretence
+that it was necessary to have passports from the governor of
+Mississippi Territory. Justly indignant at this outrage, Jackson
+demanded what right he had to stop American citizens who were
+travelling on a public road. The agent replied, in a sharp tone,
+by inquiring whether he had a pass? “Yes, sir,” said the general,
+warmly; “I always carry mine with me:--I am a free-born American
+citizen; and that, under the constitution and laws, is my passport to
+go wherever my business calls me!” He then told the emigrants to gear
+up their wagons, and if any one attempted to obstruct them, to shoot
+him down. He himself set the example, and proceeded on his journey,
+utterly regardless of the threats of the agent.
+
+Upon his return from Natchez, he was informed that the agent had
+collected fifty white men, and one hundred Indians, and intended to
+stop him unless he produced a passport. On approaching the station,
+he armed his blacks with clubs and axes, and directed them to regard
+no order unless it emanated from him. The agent was at first inclined
+to stop him, but, being overawed by his firm and determined manner,
+made no attempt to oppose him. He afterwards reported the conduct of
+the officer to the President, and he was removed from the agency.
+
+[Sidenote: WAR WITH GREAT BRITAIN.]
+
+The period now arrived which Jackson had long anticipated.--War
+was declared against the enemy of his country and his race, on the
+eighteenth of June, 1812. It is easy to conceive the emotions which
+the intelligence must have awakened in his bosom. Recollections of
+the past came rushing and thronging into his mind. The cycles of Time
+rolled backward. Again he stood upon the threshold of his desolate
+home,--on “the forest-clad banks of the Catawba,”--orphaned by the
+cruelty of British officers and agents. Let him not be reproached,
+if motives of revenge quickened and sharpened his patriotism. His
+desire for vengeance was almost holy in its character--it was based
+on fraternal affection, on filial love!
+
+When the tocsin of war was sounded, the glad, prolonged echoes, came
+up from every valley and hamlet; but in no quarter of the country
+was the response more enthusiastic, than in the valley of the
+Mississippi. General Jackson immediately issued a stirring address to
+his division, twenty-five hundred men of which volunteered to follow
+wheresoever he saw fit to lead them. A tender of their services was
+made to the President, through Governor Blount, on the twenty-fifth
+of June, which was accepted on the eleventh of July. No immediate
+duty being required of the patriotic volunteers belonging to his
+division, General Jackson became impatient to participate in the
+struggle, and solicited the appointment of brigadier general in
+the regular army, which was conferred on General Winchester. Could
+President Madison have foreseen the sad catastrophe that occurred
+on the banks of the Raisin, in the following January; or had he
+possessed any correct idea of the military qualifications of General
+Jackson, we may well suppose that the latter would have been his
+choice.
+
+[Sidenote: EXPEDITION TO NATCHEZ.]
+
+An opportunity, however, was soon presented to Jackson, for taking
+the field. On the first of November, Governor Blount issued an
+order, in conformity with a requisition from the War Department,
+directing him to organize and equip fifteen hundred infantry and
+riflemen, with whom he was instructed to descend the river to New
+Orleans, and reïnforce General Wilkinson, then commanding that
+department. The necessary proclamation was issued, and, on the tenth
+of December, upwards of two thousand men rendezvoused at Nashville,
+many of whom had come miles upon miles, through cold, and sleet,
+and snow, undaunted by the rigors of the climate, and intent only
+on obeying the call of their country. On the thirteenth instant,
+the organization of the command, which consisted of one regiment
+of cavalry, not embraced in the requisition, but enrolled with the
+consent of Governor Blount, under Colonel Coffee, and two regiments
+of infantry, under Colonels Hall and T. H. Benton, was fully
+completed.
+
+Numerous difficulties were yet to be encountered before the troops
+could be put in motion. Arms had been sparingly furnished by the
+government, and funds for the payment of the men had not been
+provided. Discontents naturally arose, and a mutiny was threatened.
+The firmness and determination of General Jackson prevented any
+outbreak, and his energy and perseverance ultimately overcame every
+obstacle. On the thirty-first of December, Colonel Coffee commenced
+his march with the mounted men, six hundred and seventy strong, by
+the overland route, to Natchez. On the seventh and eighth of January,
+1813, General Jackson embarked on the Cumberland, in flat boats,
+with the two infantry regiments, numbering about fourteen hundred.
+Descending the rivers slowly,--his progress being constantly impeded
+by large masses of floating ice,--he reached Natchez on the fifteenth
+of February, near which he found the cavalry under Colonel Coffee.
+
+At this point, General Jackson was met by a request from General
+Wilkinson, whose headquarters were at New Orleans, to halt his
+command, and report to him his force and instructions. Wilkinson held
+the rank of brigadier general in the regular army, with the brevet
+of major general; and it is not unlikely, that he suspected it was
+the intention of the government, that Jackson should supersede him.
+His request, doubtless, was prompted by this apprehension. As there
+was no indication of an attack on New Orleans, Jackson cheerfully
+complied with it. Natchez was a much more salubrious position for his
+troops, and having disembarked them, he marched to Washington, a few
+miles distant, where a cantonment had been previously established by
+a corps of regulars. The troops were placed in comfortable quarters,
+and a strong guard was detailed to protect the boats at Natchez.
+
+[Sidenote: RETURN HOME.]
+
+Camp regulations were now adopted, and strict orders issued by the
+commanding general, to proceed with the discipline and instruction
+of the troops. Becoming impatient for active duty, he wrote to the
+Secretary of War on the first of March, suggesting the employment
+of his force on the northern frontier, if there was no prospect of
+invasion in the south, or if Congress did not authorize the taking
+possession of Florida. This suggestion was repeated in a second
+letter written on the seventh of March. Before these letters reached
+Washington, an order had been issued from the War Department,
+directing him, on the receipt thereof, to consider his force
+dismissed from the service, and to take measures for the delivery
+of all articles of public property in his possession, to General
+Wilkinson. This unfeeling mandate concluded with a cold tender of
+thanks to himself and the corps under his command.
+
+Jackson was fairly astounded at the blow. His whole command, officers
+and men, joined in denouncing, in unmeasured terms, the Secretary of
+War, General Armstrong, by whom the order was issued. He was still
+more indignant, when he discovered the probable key to the movement,
+in a letter from General Wilkinson, who suggested his encouraging
+the regular recruiting service from the troops he commanded, “in an
+appropriate general order.” Jackson did no such thing;--but, when
+a recruiting officer made his appearance, informed him that if he
+attempted to seduce a single volunteer from the corps, he would drum
+him out of the camp.
+
+The patriotic volunteers who had accompanied General Jackson to
+Natchez were mostly young men--the flower of West Tennessee--the
+sons and brothers of his dearest friends and neighbors. The order he
+had received, required him to abandon these men, who looked up to
+him as a parent, in a strange land, five hundred miles from their
+homes; to deprive them of their arms, their tents and provisions;
+and to leave the sick uncared for, and unattended. This he could
+not, and did not do. He immediately wrote to the Secretary of War,
+denouncing his order, in no very honied words, and to the President,
+complaining of its barbarity, and giving his reasons for partially
+disregarding it. The necessary orders were then given to provide
+wagons and supplies; the men were directed to retain their arms; he
+borrowed five thousand dollars of a merchant in Natchez, on his own
+responsibility, to make up deficiencies; and, as soon as everything
+could be got in readiness, set out on his return march with his whole
+command,--declaring that not a single man should be left behind, “who
+had any life in him.”
+
+Two hundred miles of the route lay through the Choctaw and Chickasaw
+country, and the only essential service rendered by the expedition
+was this homeward march, which overawed the Indians, and deterred
+them from joining the hostile Creeks and Cherokees.--Jackson paid
+every attention to the comfort of his soldiers, up to the last
+moment, strictly fulfilling his solemn pledge not to abandon one of
+them. Frequently he gave up his own horse to the sick, or exhausted
+soldier, and trudged along on foot, cheering all by his example, and
+ever ready with a kind word, to encourage those who faltered.
+
+[Sidenote: CESSION OF LOUISIANA.]
+
+Deeply chagrined though he was, at the result of the expedition to
+Natchez, General Jackson was still anxious to take part in the active
+scenes of the war. The disasters on the northern frontier in 1812,
+and the failure of the projected winter campaign under Harrison,
+in consequence of the incautious advance of General Winchester to
+Frenchtown, had produced a deep impression on his mind. His proud
+spirit smarted under the discredit of defeat; and, on the eighth
+of April, when on his way home, he wrote to the Secretary of War,
+informing him that he should be glad to execute any orders of the
+government in Canada, with his detachment, which could be augmented,
+if necessary. “I have a few standards,” said he, “wearing the
+American eagle, that I should be happy to place upon the ramparts of
+Malden.”
+
+About the middle of May, the Tennessee volunteers reached home and
+were discharged. The Secretary of War informed General Jackson
+that the order to dismiss his force was designed to reach him at
+Fort Massac, near the mouth of the Cumberland; it being supposed
+that he had not yet moved down the river. Though this explanation
+appeared inconsistent with the orders at the same time issued to
+General Wilkinson, its sincerity was not questioned by General
+Jackson. It was sufficient for him that his conduct was sanctioned
+by the government, and that he was relieved from the pecuniary
+responsibilities he had incurred.
+
+Within a few months after his return from Natchez, General Jackson
+was again called from his retirement, to lead a large body of troops
+into the Indian country on the southern borders of Tennessee.
+
+By the treaty of San Ildefonso, concluded on the first day of
+October, 1800, Louisiana was ceded by the Spanish government to
+the French republic. The territorial rights thereby acquired, were
+transferred to the United States, by a treaty concluded at Paris,
+on the thirtieth of April, 1803. Spain was highly incensed at the
+assignment of the territory, and threw every possible obstacle in
+the way of its occupation by the authorities of the United States.
+For a long time she refused absolutely, to yield up a large tract of
+country lying between the Perdido and Mississippi rivers, upon the
+pretence that it belonged to Florida.
+
+During the war on the European continent, a community of feeling
+and interest was established between Spain and England; and it
+was only by the assistance and coöperation of British fleets
+and armies, that Ferdinand VII was able finally to preserve his
+throne. When hostilities commenced between the United States and
+Great Britain,--though solemnly bound by the provisions of a
+treaty concluded with the former, in 1795, to restrain the Indians
+on the frontiers of Florida, by force, from attacking American
+citizens,--Spain, through her officers, permitted British agents sent
+from Canada, to establish themselves at the posts belonging to, or
+occupied by her, and countenanced, or connived at, their efforts to
+stir up the savages to begin an exterminating warfare.
+
+[Sidenote: THE SOUTHERN INDIANS.]
+
+The principal Indian nations in the southern part of the Union
+were the Cherokees, Creeks, Choctaws, and Chickasaws. The two last
+mentioned tribes, together about thirty-five thousand strong, resided
+on the Yazoo, Pearl, and Pascagoula rivers, in the Territory of
+Mississippi; and after the occupation of Louisiana, and the march
+of General Jackson through their country, with his large army,
+on his return from Natchez, they could not be induced to take up
+arms against the Americans. The Cherokees, also, who occupied the
+mountainous country, where the two Carolinas, Georgia, Tennessee,
+and Alabama,--the last a part of Mississippi Territory at the time
+of which I am speaking,--adjoin, or approach each other, with the
+exception of a very small portion of the younger members of the
+tribe, remained on friendly terms with their white neighbors. The
+Creeks, numbering near twenty-five thousand, inhabited the fertile
+and beautiful Aulochewan country; their settlements extending from
+the Gulf of Mexico to the Tennessee river, and from the Chatahoochee
+to the Tombigbee, in the centre of which was the famous Hickory
+Ground, a rich tract of land lying in the forks of the Coosa and
+Tallapoosa, which its aboriginal occupants, from time immemorial,
+held peculiarly sacred. Besides these tribes, there was the Seminole
+band, an off-shoot of the Creeks, who had their homes in the swamps
+and hummocks on the borders of Georgia and Florida.
+
+The Creeks and Seminoles, from their situation, in the vicinity of
+St. Augustine, St. Marks, Pensacola, and Fort Condé, were rendered
+particularly liable to be influenced by the British agents at those
+posts. In the winter of 1811–12, Tecumseh visited the Creeks, and
+exhorted them earnestly to dig up the hatchet. After his departure,
+prophets arose among them, who practiced the same rites and
+incantations with the brother of the Shawano Chief, and, like him,
+professed to have received important revelations from the Great
+Spirit.[17] The older and wiser warriors were exceedingly averse
+to war, but, through the influence and machinations of British and
+Spanish officers who attended their councils, they were overruled by
+the younger and more ambitious spirits of the tribe.
+
+Soon after war was declared, the Seminoles commenced their
+depredations; but in the following winter, a body of Georgia militia,
+with two hundred volunteers from East Tennessee, followed them into
+Florida, burned several of their towns, and returned home again
+in the spring of 1813. Matters were not yet ripe for a general
+outbreak, although it was confidently anticipated, as English vessels
+were known to be sent from the Bahamas to Florida, laden with arms,
+clothing, and ammunition, for the hostile Indians. In January,
+1813, President Madison requested authority from Congress, to take
+possession of the territory claimed by Spain, lying west of the
+Perdido. After some delay, an act was passed, and on the fifteenth of
+April, General Wilkinson appeared before Fort Condé, near Mobile, and
+demanded its surrender. The Spanish commandant made no resistance,
+and the American standard was for the first time planted in the
+disputed territory. Other prominent points in the vicinity of Mobile
+were also occupied by the American troops.
+
+Occasional outrages were committed during the summer of 1813, and
+the white settlers residing in the neighborhood of the Creeks and
+Seminoles lived in a state of constant alarm and agitation. On the
+fifteenth of August, Governor Blount, of Tennessee, was directed to
+detail fifteen hundred of the militia of that state, and hold them in
+readiness for immediate service. These troops were not called out,
+however; and as time wore on without the occurrence of any serious
+calamity, the border inhabitants began to fancy themselves almost
+secure from attack. They were soon aroused from their lethargy, by
+the glare of burning villages, and the rattling war-cry of the Indian
+warrior.
+
+[Sidenote: WAR WITH THE CREEKS.]
+
+On the thirtieth day of August, 1813, Fort Mims, about forty miles
+from Mobile, on the left bank of the Alabama river, and a short
+distance above its junction with the Tombigbee, was surprised
+by a party of Creeks, seven hundred strong, under their chief,
+Weatherford; the garrison, consisting of one hundred and fifty of the
+1st Mississippi volunteers, under Major Beasely, and twenty white
+families who had taken refuge in the fort, with their negroes, in
+all about three hundred and fifty persons, were cruelly massacred.
+But seventeen of the whites made their escape. The perpetration of
+this horrid tragedy excited the utmost consternation at the forts and
+stations on the Tombigbee, of which there were nearly twenty within
+a distance of seventy miles above Fort Stoddart. Most of the forts
+were abandoned, and the affrighted fugitives fled down the river to
+Mobile, which was itself extremely insecure.
+
+General Claiborne, and Governor Holmes of the Mississippi Territory,
+immediately called out a small militia force,--all that it was in
+their power to bring into the field,--for the protection of the
+Mobile country. In Tennessee, the alarm was universal, and the whole
+population were aroused. But little aid could be expected from the
+General Government, all whose means and energies were employed in
+the prosecution of the northern campaign, and the defence of the
+Atlantic coast from the ravages of the more civilized, but not less
+brutal enemy. A public meeting of the citizens of Nashville was held
+on the eighteenth of September, at which resolutions were passed,
+urgently recommending the adoption, by the State Legislature, of
+prompt measures for the invasion of the Creek country. In accordance
+therewith, an act was passed on the twenty-fifth instant, authorizing
+the governor to call out thirty-five hundred men, in addition to the
+fifteen hundred already required by the General Government, who were
+to be immediately put in service, and pledging the faith of the state
+to pay them, if Congress should refuse. A resolution was also adopted
+on the twenty-seventh instant, directing the governor to tender the
+services of the Tennessee troops to the United States.
+
+The public sentiment, with one accord, fixed upon Andrew Jackson
+as the leader of this force. He was still confined to his room, on
+account of the arm fractured in the affray with Colonel Benton,
+which has been mentioned; but when his country called him to the
+field, he was ready to obey her behest. On the twenty-fourth of
+September, Governor Blount directed him to call out, without delay,
+two thousand men of his division, to rendezvous at Fayetteville,--and
+to order Colonel Coffee into immediate service, with five hundred
+cavalry previously raised. The necessary instructions were issued,
+on the same day, to Colonel Coffee, who was further instructed, to
+incorporate with his regiment any companies of volunteer riflemen
+that might present themselves. He also ordered into service the
+volunteers who had accompanied him to Natchez, together with one
+thousand militia from his division.
+
+On the twenty-fifth of September, General Jackson directed a part
+of the cavalry to repair to Huntsville, by forced marches. On the
+twenty-sixth, Colonel Coffee was ordered to move upon the same point
+and wait further orders, and on the twenty-eighth, he was instructed
+to proceed to Fort St. Stephen’s which was said to be threatened by
+the enemy. The state of his health did not permit the general to
+appear at Fayetteville on the fourth of October, the day appointed
+for the rendezvous; but he was represented on that occasion, by his
+aid, Major Reid, through whom he delivered to the assembled troops a
+most eloquent and spirited address. On the seventh instant he reached
+the place of rendezvous, with his arm in a sling, where he found
+a dispatch from Colonel Coffee, who had marched a short distance
+beyond Huntsville, with near thirteen hundred men, informing him that
+the Creeks had divided their forces,--one portion moving towards
+the Georgia line, and the other advancing upon the frontiers of
+Tennessee,--and that, in consequence of this, he had not proceeded to
+Fort St. Stephen’s.
+
+[Sidenote: TROOPS IN THE FIELD.]
+
+It had been generally supposed that the next blow would be struck at
+Mobile--more particularly, because of the facilities which would have
+been afforded to the Indians, by its possession, of communicating
+with their British allies; but the report of Colonel Coffee allayed
+all the fears that had been entertained in regard to the safety of
+that post. Relieved on this point, General Jackson commenced his
+preparations for taking the field. Delay, however brief, was hardly
+admissible, as he desired to terminate the campaign by a few bold and
+decisive movements, but it was necessary, in order to furnish the
+volunteers and militia, who had rendezvoused at Fayetteville, with
+the requisite arms and supplies.
+
+The hostile Creeks, or Red Sticks, numbered only about four thousand
+warriors, and they were now surrounded by an American force large
+enough, had it been properly provided, and directed by a single
+commander, like General Jackson, to have driven them into the Gulf
+of Mexico, or exterminated them in a very few weeks. On the west of
+their settlements, there were six hundred Mississippi volunteers,
+under General Claiborne; the 3rd regiment of regular infantry, six
+hundred strong, under Colonel Russell; and two hundred militia, at
+Fort St. Stephen’s. On the north, were the Tennessee volunteers and
+militia, five thousand in number,--twenty-five hundred from West
+Tennessee, with General Jackson in person, and twenty-five hundred
+from East Tennessee, under Generals Cocke and White,--all under
+the orders of General Jackson; and in addition to these, there was
+a force of two hundred Mississippi volunteers, near Huntsville,
+under Colonel Perkins. On the east were twenty-five hundred Georgia
+militia, commanded by General Floyd. Besides the troops mentioned,
+there was a body of Cherokees and friendly Creeks, sometimes with one
+party and sometimes with another, and varying, at different times,
+from one or two, to seven or eight hundred.
+
+[Sidenote: DESIGNS OF THE BRITISH.]
+
+Had they not been grossly deceived and deluded by their prophets, the
+Creeks could never have hoped to accomplish anything against this
+formidable array. Indeed, they seem to have been strangely infatuated
+throughout; for, instead of concentrating their whole force in an
+attack on Mobile, or the Mississippi or Georgia troops, neither of
+whom were yet fully prepared for the field, they advanced with their
+main body, weakened by a detachment sent towards the frontiers of
+Georgia, against the column under General Jackson, who was ready to
+meet them at any odds, and determined to defeat, when he did meet
+them. It is not probable that the British agents who instigated the
+Creeks to hostilities, anticipated that the latter would achieve any
+certain success. They only supposed that the savages would hold the
+Americans at bay, until a British army could be brought to succor
+them. The resistless energy and perseverance of General Jackson,
+defeated any such project. Long before England was able to dispatch a
+considerable force to the Gulf, he had fallen upon the Creeks like a
+thunderbolt, scattered their warriors, who escaped the deadly aim of
+his rifles, like chaff before the wind, spread terror and devastation
+through their settlements, and forced them, as suppliants, humbly to
+beg for peace.
+
+About one o’clock in the morning of the eleventh of October, an
+express from Colonel Coffee,--who had crossed the Tennessee river
+south of Huntsville, at Ditto’s Landing, and posted his command on
+a high bluff on the opposite shore,--arrived at Fayetteville, with
+the information that the Red Sticks were rapidly approaching his
+position. Jackson instantly replied, that he would be on the march to
+reïnforce him, in two hours. It had been sometime before understood,
+between General Jackson and General Cocke, that the latter would
+send supplies down the river, from East Tennessee, where provisions
+were abundant, to meet the other column at Ditto’s Landing. Hoping,
+rather than believing, that he would be supplied with provisions,
+in sufficient quantities, if he advanced into the enemy’s country,
+Jackson ordered all his disposable force under arms, and left
+Fayetteville early in the morning of the eleventh.
+
+Rumors of Indian massacres and outrages reached the command at every
+stage of their progress. They scarcely halted during the day, and at
+eight o’clock in the evening were in Huntsville, thirty-two miles
+distant. Here General Jackson ascertained that the report in regard
+to the advance of the Creeks was not well founded; and he therefore
+concluded to rest his men till the following morning, when he resumed
+his march, and in the evening effected a junction with the troops
+under Colonel Coffee.
+
+From the positive assurances contained in letters received from
+Generals Cocke and White,--the latter of whom had concentrated
+about eight hundred and fifty men, at Highwassee Garrison, in the
+Cherokee country, on the fourth of October,--General Jackson was
+led to believe that he should find ample stores of provisions when
+he reached the Tennessee river. On the thirteenth of October, he
+dispatched Colonel Coffee, with six hundred men picked from his
+regiment, against Blackwarriors’ Town, on the Blackwarrior river,
+about one hundred miles south of Ditto’s Landing. Day after day
+passed by, and still the supplies did not arrive. The time was
+profitably spent, under the circumstances, in drilling the troops,
+but the delay was, nevertheless, intolerable. Repeated messages
+were received from Chenubby, Pathkiller, and other friendly chiefs,
+informing him that they and their families were liable to be cut off,
+at any moment, by the Red Sticks, who were collecting in force near
+the Ten Islands, on the Coosa River, and urging him to hasten to
+their assistance. He at length determined that he would not longer
+remain inactive.
+
+[Sidenote: ADVANCE TO THOMPSON’S CREEK.]
+
+As his contemplated route to the Coosa lay, for some distance, up
+the Tennessee river, he resolved to advance, hoping to meet the
+stores which he supposed were descending the stream; and so confident
+was he upon this point, that he sent forward expresses to stop them
+at Thompson’s Creek. On the nineteenth of October, he commenced his
+march for that point, with scarcely a week’s rations on hand, having
+previously dismissed the former contractors for his army and supplied
+their places with others.
+
+He was obliged to cut a road for the passage of his wagon train
+through dense forests, and over almost impassable mountains; but he
+only smiled at obstacles when he possessed the means to overcome
+them. On the twenty-second instant, he arrived at Thompson’s Creek,
+but it was only to be again disappointed. No supplies were to be
+found, and nothing could be heard of any. Other generals would have
+given up in despair; but it was not in his nature to falter. Though
+environed by difficulties, which might well have appalled a braver
+spirit, he formed the stern resolution to breast them nobly and
+manfully. To retreat now, would be to abandon the friendly Creeks,
+of whose danger he was again reminded, by a message from Pathkiller,
+at Turkey Town, to their fate,--and to leave the southern frontiers
+of Tennessee exposed to the ruthless ravages of the savage enemy.
+Though the hideous monster, Famine, stared him in the face at every
+step, he resolved to advance to the Ten Islands, and then sweep down
+through the country where the hostiles, or Red Sticks, as they were
+called, in allusion to the emblems which they had adopted, were
+concentrating, to the forks of the Coosa and Tallapoosa.
+
+He addressed earnest and importunate letters to the governors of
+Tennessee and Georgia, to Colonels Meigs and McKee, the Cherokee
+and Choctaw agents, to General Flourney, the commander of the
+seventh military district, to the friendly chiefs, and several
+private citizens of wealth and influence, urging them to leave no
+means untried to throw forward the necessary supplies for his army,
+and pledging himself, if properly furnished in this respect, to
+terminate the war in a very few weeks. While at Thompson’s Creek, he
+received a letter from General White, who had increased his force at
+Highwassee to about thirteen hundred men, besides one or two hundred
+friendly Cherokees, informing him that no flour could be spared at
+that post. He immediately dispatched expresses to Generals Cocke and
+White, apprising them of the condition of his troops in regard to
+provisions, and requiring them to join him as soon as possible in the
+Creek country.
+
+On the twenty-fourth of October, Colonel Coffee returned from his
+expedition, having destroyed Blackwarriors’ Town, and captured three
+hundred bushels of corn, though he had not seen an Indian. The
+provisions of his men were so nearly exhausted, that, during the
+last four days of their excursion, they were obliged to subsist on
+parched corn. In the evening of the twenty-fourth, the preparations
+of General Jackson for a forward movement were completed; a dépôt
+was established at Thompson’s Creek, called Fort Deposit, and means
+provided for forwarding such supplies as might arrive; and, on the
+morning of the twenty-fifth, he put his army in motion for the
+interior, marching, as was his invariable custom, in three columns,
+so arranged that they could be instantly formed in order of battle,
+if attacked in front or in rear, or on either flank.
+
+In two days General Jackson reached Wills’ Creek, a tributary of the
+Coosa, where he encamped till the morning of the twenty-ninth, to
+collect corn from the neighboring Indians,--his army being entirely
+out of bread. On the twenty-eighth instant, Lieutenant Colonel
+Dyer was detached with two hundred cavalry, against the village of
+Littefutchee, which he attacked the following night; the village was
+burned; twenty-nine prisoners were taken; and considerable corn,
+and a number of beeves, were collected from the vicinity. While at
+Wills’ Creek, Jackson was again obliged to remove his contractors,
+and employ others. On the thirtieth instant, he reörganized his
+troops. General Hall was placed in command of the first brigade,
+consisting of the first and second regiments of volunteer infantry,
+under Colonels Bradley and Pillow; and General Roberts in command
+of the second brigade, consisting of the first and second militia
+regiments, under Colonels Wynne and M’Crory. General Coffee, promoted
+from colonel, was placed in command of the cavalry brigade, which
+consisted of the volunteer regiment, Colonel Alcorn, and the mounted
+rifles, Colonel Cannon.
+
+[Sidenote: BATTLE OF TALLUSCHATCHEE.]
+
+The march was then resumed for the Ten Islands. While General Jackson
+was cutting his way over the Coosa mountain, General Coffee was
+ordered to cross the river, at the fish-dams, with one thousand
+men of his brigade, to scour the country in the direction of the
+Ten Islands, and attack the Indian town of Talluschatchee, about
+thirteen miles distant, in an easterly direction, where a large
+force of the enemy had collected. The orders issued to General Coffee
+were gallantly executed. On the morning of the third of November he
+approached the town; the savages in vain attempted to oppose his
+march; and they were driven rapidly back upon their buildings, in and
+about which a fierce and bloody contest took place, that terminated
+in their complete rout and overthrow. Both men and women fought with
+the utmost desperation. One hundred and eighty-six of the enemy,
+including one of their prophets, and a number of women and children,
+were found dead on the field of battle; and there were eighty-four
+taken prisoners, all of whom were women and children. General Coffee
+had five men killed and fourteen wounded. Having destroyed the town
+and buried his dead, he rejoined the main army, at the Ten Islands,
+in the evening of the same day, with his wounded and prisoners.
+
+[Sidenote: KINDNESS TO THE ORPHAN.]
+
+Harassed by constant care and anxiety,--exposed, at every turn,
+to vexatious delays and hindrances, that fretted and annoyed
+him,--General Jackson never lost that kindness and gentleness of
+spirit, which bloomed, bright and pure, amid the intenser passions
+that burned and blazed around it. Among the prisoners taken at
+Talluschatchee, was an infant boy found clinging to the breast of
+his dead mother. He was brought to camp with the others, and General
+Jackson endeavored to hire some of the captive women to take care
+of him. They refused, saying, “All his relations are dead; kill
+him too!”--Jackson then caused him to be fed with sweetened water,
+and afterwards sent him to Huntsville, where he was nursed at his
+expense. After the close of the campaign, he took the little orphan,
+who was named Lincoyer, home with him to the Hermitage, where he was
+reared and educated with parental care and kindness. At a proper age,
+he was apprenticed to a saddler in Nashville; but he never lost his
+Indian tastes. His health began to fail before he reached the age of
+manhood, and he was removed to the Hermitage. He sunk rapidly into
+a consumption, and soon died, sincerely mourned and lamented by the
+general and his wife, who had watched over his sick bed with untiring
+assiduity.
+
+At the Ten Islands, General Jackson established a post, called Fort
+Strother, on the right bank of the Coosa, opposite the mouth of
+Talluschatchee creek. The prisoners brought in by General Coffee
+were forthwith sent to Huntsville. No supplies had yet arrived;
+the army could not be furnished with regular rations; and it was
+hardly known, one day, what they were to subsist on the next. Once
+more the commanding general appealed to the contractors, by every
+consideration of humanity and patriotism, to forward the provisions
+which could alone save his troops from starvation. He likewise again
+wrote to General White, who had arrived at Turkey Town, twenty-five
+miles above Fort Strother, to join him immediately. His dispatch was
+written on the seventh of November, and, late in the evening, before
+it was closed, a runner came in from Lashly’s fort, at Talladega,
+about thirty miles south of Fort Strother, and a short distance east
+of the Coosa, with the intelligence that a large body of Red Sticks
+had encamped near that place, which was occupied by friendly Indians,
+and were preparing to destroy it and the inmates. General Jackson
+could not hesitate to grant the desired succor. He determined to
+march forthwith; the urgent circumstances which induced him to
+advance, were mentioned in the dispatch to General White; and the
+latter was entreated to lose no time in reaching Fort Strother, to
+protect his dépôt and cover his rear.
+
+Marching orders were issued in a few moments after the arrival of
+the runner, and at midnight General Jackson was on the march for
+Talladega, with his whole disposable force, consisting of twelve
+hundred infantry, and eight hundred cavalry and mounted rifles. His
+sick, wounded, and baggage, were left at Fort Strother. Crossing the
+Coosa in the night, he pressed forward with such celerity--officers
+and men vieing with each other in zeal--that, on the evening of
+the eighth instant, he encamped within six miles of the fort at
+Talladega, which was occupied by one hundred and sixty friendly
+warriors, with their women and children. About midnight the chief
+Chenubby arrived from Turkey Town, with a letter from General White,
+informing General Jackson that he had received an order from his
+division commander, General Cocke, to join him at Chattooga, higher
+up the Coosa, and that he could not, therefore, advance to Fort
+Strother.
+
+[Sidenote: BATTLE OF TALLADEGA.]
+
+Jackson’s cup of disappointment was almost full. Neither General
+Cocke, nor General White, wanted in patriotism; but they seem, more
+particularly the former, to have been impressed with the belief,
+that by remaining aloof from General Jackson, they would secure a
+larger share of the honors of the campaign. It seems almost painful
+to contemplate the struggles of the proud and ambitious spirit
+constantly thwarted by their unwise movements. Had they joined him
+at once, the war would have been brought to a close in a few weeks;
+but they preferred to linger behind, in safety and security, eating
+up the provisions better deserved by those who were enduring the
+severest fatigues and privations; and when they recovered from their
+inactivity, and advanced to strike a blow, it proved to be the only
+unfortunate one of the whole campaign.
+
+The dispatch from General White made no change, however, in the
+determination of General Jackson. He resolved to dispose of the
+enemy in his front, and then fall back, with all possible speed,
+to Fort Strother, before the enemy would have time to profit by
+its defenceless condition. The prospect before his troops was
+disheartening in the extreme; if they conquered, there would be no
+food to refresh or reïnvigorate them; yet his example inspired them
+with confidence, and they obeyed his commands without hesitation or
+reluctance.
+
+Long before daylight on the morning of the ninth of November, the
+army was again in motion. Silently threading their way through the
+luxuriant forests, winding over the hills, and crossing the rich
+intervals, that separated them from the enemy, they approached their
+position. Within a mile, they were halted, and formed in order of
+battle. The infantry brigades were placed in the centre,--General
+Hall’s on the right, and General Roberts’ on the left. They were
+flanked, on the right, by Colonel Alcorn’s volunteer cavalry, and, on
+the left, by the mounted rifles of Colonel Cannon. An advanced corps
+of riflemen, spies, and artillery, was formed under Colonel Carroll,
+the inspector general, and a strong reserve of two hundred and fifty
+mounted men, under Lieutenant Colonel Dyer.
+
+At eight o’clock the attack was ordered; and the whole column moved
+rapidly forward, all full of animation and enthusiasm. Colonel
+Carroll preceded the main body, with the advance, having received
+orders to rouse the enemy from the thicket on the banks of a small
+rivulet, in which they had concealed themselves, and then to retire
+towards the centre. The sharp quick report of his rifles, and the
+hideous yells and screams, soon apprised the remainder of the column
+that the savages had been started from their cover. Meantime, the
+infantry regiments, which had previously advanced by heads of
+companies, had displayed, in accordance with the orders of General
+Jackson, and the cavalry were extending themselves, to the right
+and left, so as to encircle the enemy. The orders issued by the
+commanding general required the cavalry to keep up their connection
+with the flanks of the infantry. This was neglected on the right, and
+the plan of attack, which was most skilfully formed, was partially
+defeated by this untoward circumstance. Colonel Bradley, the officer
+commanding the infantry regiment on the right, also halted his men on
+a rising ground, before he came in contact with the enemy, and the
+gap was thereby considerably widened.
+
+[Sidenote: DEFEAT OF THE ENEMY.]
+
+When the fronts of the cavalry columns met on the further side of the
+enemy, they faced inwardly, and a general rush was made towards the
+centre. The Indians did not appear inclined to fly, at first, but
+made a bold onset upon the right wing of General Roberts’ brigade.
+Three of the companies, after delivering their fire, began to
+stagger, and finally fell back in the rear. Colonel Bradley was then
+ordered to advance with his regiment, and fill up the vacancy. This
+he declined doing; and General Jackson, much against his will, as he
+designed the reserve to pursue the enemy if they attempted to escape,
+was forced to direct Lieutenant Colonel Dyer to dismount his men, and
+engage them. Observing this movement, the retiring militia rallied
+and did good service.
+
+The action was not of long continuance. The savages could not
+withstand the destructive fire poured in upon them from every side,
+and in fifteen minutes they commenced flying hither and thither,
+within the circle, seeking some avenue of escape. Whichsoever way
+they turned, they encountered the rifle and the bayonet. At length,
+they discovered the opening between Colonel Alcorn’s regiment of
+cavalry, on the right, and the volunteers of Colonel Bradley.
+Through this numbers of them dashed, hotly pursed by both cavalry
+and infantry, who followed them for nearly three miles, strewing the
+ground throughout the whole distance with their dead bodies. The
+Indian force numbered one thousand and eighty warriors, of whom two
+hundred and ninety-nine were found killed on the field of battle, and
+many more must have perished in the woods. The Americans lost but
+fifteen killed, and eighty-five wounded, some of the latter mortally.
+
+The occupants of the fort thus timely relieved, crowded around
+General Jackson and his brave troops, and poured forth their thanks
+in eloquent and impressive terms. There were only one hundred and
+sixty warriors, with their women and children, and the arrival of
+the Tennesseans was most opportune, as the Red Sticks were to have
+assaulted the fort in a few hours. They had been entirely cut off
+from their supply of water, and had suffered considerably for want of
+it. Their stock of provisions was also limited; but on discovering
+the condition of Jackson’s troops, who had left Fort Strother with
+but little over one day’s rations, they cheerfully furnished them all
+they had to spare, which scarcely amounted to a single meal.
+
+General Jackson complimented his troops, in the highest terms, for
+their gallantry in this action. All the officers, with the exception
+of Colonel Bradley, who was placed under arrest, but afterwards
+released, were mentioned in his dispatches in terms of marked
+approbation.
+
+[Sidenote: DESTITUTION OF THE TROOPS.]
+
+An instant retreat to Fort Strother was now necessary. The
+horses were suffering for the want of forage, and the men were
+half-famished, when they turned their backs on the field of victory,
+and commenced their retrograde march. Jackson was with the van of the
+army, and on the way discovered a quantity of acorns lying on the
+ground. Dismounting from his horse, he threw the bridle over his arm,
+and, having gathered a few of the nuts, sat down on the roots of a
+tree to eat them. He was thus engaged in satisfying his hunger, when
+a soldier approached him, and demanded something to eat. “I never
+turn away the hungry,” said the general, “while I have anything to
+give them.” He then offered the soldier a few acorns, adding, “I will
+most cheerfully divide with you such food as I have.” Mortified and
+surprised, the man shrunk back among his companions, who thereafter
+repressed every disposition to murmur or complain.
+
+The army reached Fort Strother on the evening of the eleventh
+of November, but it was only to be once more disappointed. No
+provisions, except the limited quantities forwarded by the
+contractors, had yet arrived; and the private stores of the general
+had been almost exhausted, in order to supply the wants of the sick
+and wounded. Still he assumed a cheerful and confident tone, though
+sad enough at heart, and resorting to the slaughter-pens, provided
+himself with tripes, with which he made what he termed a comfortable
+repast. His example was imitated by the soldiers, who seemed inclined
+willingly to endure the hardships of the campaign.
+
+But matters could not long continue in this situation. The battles of
+Talluschatchee and Talladega had satisfied, to a considerable degree,
+the desire for adventure which had previously animated the troops in
+the midst of the most embarrassing difficulties, and they soon began
+to pine for the comforts of home. Starvation was far more terrible to
+them than “an army with banners.” They were brave,--this could not
+be doubted,--and they would have gladly followed their general into
+the very heart of the Creek country, if they could only have been
+assured that a reasonable supply of food would be provided; of the
+two enemies whom they met in the wilderness, they feared the savage
+least; and was it not asking too much that they should encounter both?
+
+Disaffection gradually gained ground, and, in a few days, the whole
+army was on the verge of mutiny. The militia regiments were the
+first to make known their determination to leave the camp, and return
+to Tennessee. Apprised of their intention, General Jackson ordered
+the volunteer brigade under arms, and when the militia attempted to
+move off, the former were directed to fire upon them unless they
+returned to their duty. This had the desired effect. The overawed
+militia retired to their tents, but, on the following morning,
+they were themselves paraded, in a similar manner, to prevent
+the volunteers from deserting their colors. This arraying of one
+species of force against another was a bold and happy conception of
+Jackson’s; but it would not bear repetition. No one could be better
+aware than himself, that the men had reasonable cause for complaint,
+even though he insisted on a rigid compliance with his orders to
+remain at Fort Strother. The horses were suffering so much, however,
+for the want of forage, that the mounted men received permission to
+go back to Huntsville, upon their pledge to return promptly when
+required to do so.
+
+[Sidenote: SUPPRESSION OF THE MUTINY.]
+
+Having been positively assured by the new contractor, Colonel
+Pope, in reply to his earnest and pathetic appeals, that supplies
+would soon reach his camp, General Jackson made a most eloquent
+and animated harangue to his troops on the fourteenth of November,
+exhorting them, by every consideration and argument which should
+influence brave and patriotic citizens, not to abandon the service,
+and leave the frontier settlements exposed to the desolating
+incursions of the Indians. He also promised them, that if a supply
+of provisions did not arrive within two days, he would himself
+lead them back where there was plenty. The militia consented to
+remain; but the volunteer regiments, forgetful of the heavy debt
+of gratitude which they owed to their commander, for his refusal
+to desert them the previous winter, at Natchez, when they had been
+abandoned by their government, determined to march forthwith to
+the settlements. Discovering that it was useless longer to attempt
+compulsory measures, General Jackson issued the necessary orders to
+General Hall, to conduct his brigade to Fort Deposit. Before the
+march was commenced, the second regiment wisely reconsidered their
+determination, and concluded to stay with the general; whereupon the
+first regiment moved off alone.
+
+The specified time elapsed, and still no provisions had arrived.
+On the sixteenth, General Jackson commenced his preparations for
+the abandonment of Fort Strother; but, on reflecting how much
+this movement would reïnspirit the savages, he declared that he
+would not leave the post, if only two men would remain with him.
+Captain Gordon, of the spies, instantly volunteered to be one of
+his companions, and through his exertions, and those of some of the
+members of the general staff, one hundred and nine men were found who
+agreed to stay.
+
+Feeling confident, however, that supplies were close at hand, General
+Jackson marched with the militia, apprising them, in advance, that
+they would be ordered back if his expectations should be realized.
+Within ten or twelve miles of the fort, they met one hundred and
+fifty beeves. The column at once halted; the cattle were knocked
+down, and eagerly cooked and eaten by the half-starved troops. But
+when the order to return was issued, none obeyed it. One company,
+indeed, had resumed the march, before the general discovered the
+mutinous disposition which prevailed among the troops. He immediately
+dashed ahead of the men who were moving off, and with General Coffee,
+a part of the staff, and a few soldiers, formed a line across the
+road, and declared that he would fire on them if they endeavored
+to pass. Well knowing that he was not the man to forfeit his word,
+they fell back to the main body, who were soon discovered to be
+likewise infected with the spirit of mutiny. Arguments and entreaties
+proved of no avail,--the troops all formed, and were on the point of
+continuing their march to Fort Deposit. As a last resort, the general
+snatched a musket, threw it across the neck of his horse, and placing
+himself in front of the column, declared that he would shoot down the
+first man who moved a single step in advance.
+
+The piece which General Jackson had seized was too much out of order
+to be fired, and his arm was so weak that he could not aim it with
+any precision; but the men before him knew nothing of this, or, if
+they did, thought not of it. They only saw his flashing eye, and his
+determined look. General Coffee and some of the staff took their
+places in silence beside him. Two faithful companies also formed in
+his rear. All were ready to fire when he gave the signal. For several
+moments not a word was uttered. At length the power of numbers
+quailed before the iron will, the moral greatness of that one man.
+The mutineers signified their willingness to return, and in a short
+time they were retracing their steps to Fort Strother.
+
+[Sidenote: DESTRUCTION OF THE HILLABEE TOWNS.]
+
+While General Jackson was engaged in quelling the disturbances in
+his camp, the East Tennesseans, under General White, were proceeding
+against the Hillabee towns, the warriors from which had been present
+at the battle of Talladega. Intimidated by the result of this action,
+they had applied to General Jackson, on the thirteenth of November,
+for terms of peace. On the seventeenth he replied, making known to
+them the conditions upon which their request would be granted. On the
+same night, General White, who had been detached for this service by
+General Cocke, on the eleventh of November, with all his cavalry and
+mounted infantry, approached the principal Hillabee village, having
+previously destroyed Little Oakfuskie, Genalga, and Netta Chaptoa.
+At daylight the town was surprised, sixty warriors were killed, and
+two hundred and fifty taken prisoners, without the loss of a drop of
+blood on the part of General White’s command.
+
+This unfortunate movement--unfortunate, inasmuch as the blow fell
+with crushing weight upon a people already subdued, and anxious to
+make peace on any terms--confirmed General Cocke in the opinion which
+he had previously formed and communicated to General Jackson on the
+fourteenth of November, that it was far better to unite his forces
+with those of the latter, and act in concert with him, than, by
+remaining separate, to paralyze his efforts, and defeat his plans.
+Thereafter he made no attempt to operate independently of General
+Jackson, and on the twelfth of December joined him at Fort Strother,
+with fourteen hundred and fifty men.
+
+Meanwhile the Georgia militia, under General Floyd, though, like the
+Tennessee troops, much embarrassed by the want of supplies, had been
+advancing from the frontier of that state into the Creek country.
+Early in the morning of the twenty-ninth of November, they surprised
+the Indian town of Antossee, situated on the left bank of the
+Tallapoosa, about twenty miles above its junction with the Coosa, and
+which the savages had been taught by their prophets to consider holy
+ground. The force under General Floyd consisted of nine hundred and
+fifty Georgians, and between three and four hundred friendly Indians.
+Antossee, and another town about five hundred yards lower down, were
+occupied by large parties of the enemy. Both were attacked at the
+same moment; the houses were set on fire; and a furious contest took
+place amid the surrounding flames. The Indians were ultimately routed
+and dispersed, with the loss of two hundred killed and wounded.
+General Floyd was himself severely wounded; and there were eleven
+of his men killed, and fifty-four wounded. As the principal Creek
+towns were within a short distance of Antossee, he completed the work
+of destruction, and immediately retired to the Chatahoochee, which
+he reached without molestation. On the ninth of December, another
+detachment of Georgia militia, under General Adams, consisting of
+five hundred and thirty men, marched on a second expedition against
+the towns on the Tallapoosa. They were unable to bring the enemy to
+action, but destroyed two of their villages, and then returned to
+camp.
+
+[Sidenote: ECCANAHACA DESTROYED.]
+
+While these operations were going on, east and north of the Creeks,
+the regulars and militia on the west, though cut off from all
+communication with the other columns, by the trackless forests which
+separated them, were not inactive. On the thirteenth of December,
+General Claiborne moved up the Alabama river, from Fort Stoddart,
+with a detachment, in order to destroy the towns above the mouth of
+the Cahawba. On the twenty-third instant he attacked Eccanahaca, or
+Holy Ground, a new town erected since the commencement of the war,
+in the midst of tangled thickets, and almost impenetrable swamps
+and morasses. This village was the general dépôt of the Indians in
+this section, and contained large quantities of property and stores
+of provisions. It consisted of about two hundred houses, and was
+occupied by a considerable body of the enemy, under the half-breed
+chief, Weatherford. General Claiborne advanced upon the town, with
+his force divided into three columns. The Indians were quickly driven
+out, leaving thirty dead on the ground. Having no facilities for
+removing the property or provisions, the general ordered them to be
+consumed with the town. He also destroyed another village, containing
+sixty houses, eight miles higher up the river.
+
+Among the slain at Eccanahaca were three Shawnee warriors, who had
+probably joined the hostile Creeks after the terrible defeat of their
+tribe on the banks of the Thames, in October previous; and among
+the trophies of the expedition, was a letter to Weatherford, from
+Manriquez, the Spanish governor of Florida, dated at Pensacola, the
+twenty-ninth of September, affording ample and conclusive evidence of
+his connivance with the Red Sticks.[18]
+
+The troops called out under the authority of the Legislature of
+Tennessee, were accepted by the General Government, and on the
+seventh of November, General Pinckney, previously in charge of
+the sixth military district, was ordered to assume command of the
+seventh. His plan of conducting the campaign contemplated the
+junction of the various corps operating in the Creek country, at the
+confluence of the Coosa and Tallapoosa; and instructions were issued
+by him to the different commanders, requiring them to take possession
+of the country as they advanced, so as, at all times, to keep open
+their communication in the rear.
+
+[Sidenote: ANOTHER MUTINY.]
+
+After allaying the mutiny in his camp, in November, General Jackson
+visited Fort Deposit and Ditto’s Landing, to make arrangements for
+supplying his army, preparatory to another forward movement which
+he had in contemplation. Requisitions were issued for furnishing
+a suitable number of rations at Fort Strother, Talladega, and the
+junction of the Coosa and Tallapoosa, together with wagons and
+pack-horses for their transportation. He then returned to Fort
+Strother with the first regiment of volunteers. Shortly after
+his return a new cause of disturbance arose. The volunteers had
+originally engaged to serve for twelve months, and they claimed that
+their term of service would expire on the tenth of December. General
+Jackson, however, contended that the period which elapsed between the
+time of their dismissal, after their return from Natchez, and that
+of their subsequent remuster, at Fayetteville, must be deducted. Each
+party insisted on its particular view of the case; and in the evening
+of the ninth of December, General Jackson was informed by General
+Hall, that his brigade were preparing to move off, with, or without
+permission, on the following morning.
+
+General Jackson had become familiar with scenes of this character,
+and he immediately issued an order, stating that an actual mutiny
+existed in the camp, and commanding all officers and soldiers to
+unite in putting it down. He further directed the volunteer brigade
+to parade on the west side of the fort; the company of artillerists
+were ordered to take post, with one piece in front, and one in rear,
+of their line; and the militia, under Colonel Wynne, were instructed
+to occupy the eminences in advance. These dispositions being made,
+the general rode in front of the volunteers, and addressed each
+company separately, in eloquent and animated terms, informing them
+that he had submitted the question in dispute to the governor, and
+that, until his decision was known, or reïnforcements joined him, he
+could not dispense with their services. He appealed to every noble
+and worthy motive to induce them to remain; but declared, that he
+should do his duty, regardless of consequences; and that they could
+not leave him, without passing over his dead body. “Now,” said he, in
+conclusion, “argument is at an end; and you must choose, and that at
+once, whether you will go or stay!”
+
+Not a word was uttered in reply, by the volunteers. He then demanded
+a prompt answer. Still there was no response. He now ordered the
+artillerists to prepare their matches. Ere the order was obeyed, the
+obstinacy of the men gave way before his unyielding firmness. “Let us
+return,” was whispered from one to another, with trembling lips; and
+the officers soon came forward, and pledged themselves and their men,
+to remain until the general should hear from the governor, or the
+expected reïnforcements arrive.
+
+On the twelfth of December, General Cocke reached the camp, from Fort
+Armstrong, with the East Tennesseans. General Jackson then issued
+an address to the volunteer brigade, offering to permit those who
+desired to leave him, to return at once to Nashville, and those who
+chose to remain, to organize themselves into a separate corps, with
+officers of their own selection. But one man in the whole brigade,
+Captain Williamson, consented to stay; the remainder were marched
+back to Nashville, by General Hall, and soon after discharged from
+the service.
+
+The regiment of volunteer cavalry belonging to General Coffee’s
+brigade, claimed the same indulgence with the volunteer infantry,
+and the mounted rifles insisted that they were only bound for a
+three months’ tour of duty. About one-half the brigade abandoned the
+service, at Huntsville, and the other half returned to Fort Deposit,
+but they also subsequently deserted their commander,--General
+Coffee exerting himself, in vain, to induce them to remain,--and
+returned home. These defections, and the expiration of the terms of
+service of a portion of General Cocke’s division, reduced the force
+under General Jackson, at Fort Strother, to six hundred militia,
+two companies of spies, under Captains Gordon and Russell, one of
+artillery, under Captain Deadrick, and a few volunteers from the
+various corps, who had been, “faithful among the faithless found.”
+The militia demanded their discharge at the expiration of three
+months, although it had been supposed they were enlisted for six, and
+it was not thought advisable to compel them to remain.
+
+All these difficulties in keeping the troops in the field arose from
+the want of sufficient supplies. Had General Jackson been properly
+supported in this respect, it is probable there would not have been
+a single case of defection, and the first of January, 1814, would
+have witnessed the complete subjection of the Creeks. Still he was
+determined to prosecute the campaign, as soon as he should be in
+a condition to move forward. After the return of the militia, he
+was left with only about one hundred men, and was, in consequence,
+obliged to employ the friendly Cherokees in garrisoning Fort
+Armstrong and protecting the stores at Camp Ross. Generals Cocke and
+Roberts, Colonel Carroll, and Major Searcy, the aid of the commanding
+general, were at this time absent in Tennessee, exerting themselves
+to raise additional troops.
+
+[Sidenote: LETTER TO GOVERNOR BLOUNT.]
+
+On being informed of the situation of General Jackson, Governor
+Blount advised him to fall back from his advanced posts, and content
+himself with defending the frontiers of the state, until he was
+placed in sufficient force to carry on the war. On the twenty-ninth
+of December, 1813, the general unburthened his whole soul to the
+governor,
+
+           “In thoughts that breathe, and words that burn.”
+
+“What!” said he, in his letter, “retrograde under such
+circumstances! I will perish first. What! a governor of a patriotic
+state, whose citizens pressed for war, who bawled for permission
+to exterminate the Creeks, to pause or hesitate at such a crisis
+as this? Such conduct cannot be justified, cannot be excused. Hear
+the voice of a friend: If you compel me to retrograde, the awful
+responsibility must and will be ascribed to you.... I shall do my
+duty. I will retain the post, or die in the struggle, unless ordered
+to retreat by my commanding general!”
+
+The earnest appeals of General Jackson, whose intrepidity of spirit
+and resoluteness of purpose appeared only the more conspicuous, when
+fortune smiled the most unkindly on him, were not without effect. On
+the thirteenth of January, 1814, he was joined at Fort Strother, by
+two regiments of mounted men, eight hundred and fifty strong, under
+Colonels Perkins and Higgins, who had volunteered for sixty days.
+Previous to this time, he had ascertained that the hostile Indians
+from several towns on the Tallapoosa, had concentrated in a bend of
+the river, thirty-five miles south-east of Talladega, near the mouth
+of the Emuckfaw Creek, and were either preparing to attack Fort
+Armstrong, or the Georgia troops.
+
+The volunteer, cavalry having been enlisted for so short a period,
+it was necessary to act speedily if he desired to avail himself of
+their services. On the day of their arrival at Fort Strother, he
+issued orders directing them to hold themselves in readiness for the
+march, and, on the fifteenth and sixteenth of January, crossed the
+Coosa with his whole force, numbering seven hundred and sixty-seven
+men, though the official reports, which were not corrected lest the
+army should be intimidated by the knowledge of its weakness, showed a
+total of nine hundred and thirty.
+
+[Sidenote: BATTLE OF EMUCKFAW.]
+
+At Talladega, General Jackson was joined by two hundred friendly
+Creeks and Cherokees. The march was continued without intermission,
+and on the night of the twentieth instant, he encamped at
+Enotochopco, one of the Hillabee villages, within twelve miles of
+Emuckfaw. In the morning of the twenty-first, the army proceeded
+direct towards the bend of the river where the enemy were said to be
+fortified. About the middle of the afternoon, the spies discovered
+two Indians, who were pursued, but made their escape. Advancing a
+short distance further, they came upon the main trail of the savages.
+The general then determined to encamp and reconnoitre the surrounding
+country. A proper position having been selected, the army encamped
+in a hollow square. Pickets and spies were thrown out on every side;
+the sentinels were doubled; fires were built in a circle around the
+encampment; and every precaution taken to guard against a surprise.
+
+Though General Jackson knew it not, as his spies could obtain but
+little information, he was in the immediate vicinity of the three
+principal, and most formidable, bands of the Red Sticks. Girded by
+the belt of watch-fires which their vigilant and sagacious commander
+directed to be formed, in order to prevent the approach of an enemy
+undiscovered, his troops reposed in security. All remained quiet till
+ten o’clock in the evening, when three of the savages were descried
+stealing cautiously towards one of the pickets. They were instantly
+fired on, and one of them was shot down. About an hour later, the
+spies came in, and reported that there was a large Indian encampment
+three miles distant, and that its occupants were whooping and
+dancing, as if preparing to go out on the war-path. The general was
+further informed by one of the spies, an intelligent Indian, that the
+enemy were sending away their women and children--a sure indication
+that they intended to decamp, or attack him, before morning. Orders
+were now given for the men to be prepared for action, at any moment.
+
+Moments and hours passed by in anxious suspense. From time to time
+the orders enjoining strict caution and vigilance were repeated.
+The darkest hour of the morning--the time usually selected by the
+Indians for their attacks--approached; and when everything was the
+most quiet and undisturbed, all at once there rose a loud pealing
+yell on the left of the encampment, and with it came a hurtling
+volley of rifle-balls. A deafening responsive shout went up, within
+that fiery circle, like the wild pibroch of some Gaelic clan, rousing
+the martial spirit of all who heard it. The enemy kept up a rapid
+and unintermitting fire; but they could not approach near enough to
+effect any execution, without entering the line of light which the
+timely precaution of Jackson had thrown around his men; and whenever
+a single swart form, or painted visage, was disclosed, the American
+bullet sped away on its sure errand of death.
+
+[Sidenote: THE ENEMY REPULSED.]
+
+When the alarm was first given, General Coffee, Colonel Carroll, and
+Colonel Sitler, the adjutant general,--who, with a number of other
+officers previously belonging to different detachments, had remained
+with the commander to whom they were devotedly attached, and formed
+themselves into a corps, without privates,--mounted their horses
+and rode to the left. Their presence inspirited and encouraged the
+troops, and the savages were held firmly at bay till the dawning
+light enabled objects to be distinguished with precision. A company
+of infantry was then ordered to that flank, and thus strengthened,
+General Coffee, supported by Colonels Higgins and Carroll, led the
+whole line to the charge. The red warriors were driven from their
+coverts at the point of the bayonet, and pursued for more than two
+miles; the friendly Indians joining in the chase, and marking their
+pathway with the blood of the slain.
+
+The enemy having been effectually repulsed, General Coffee was
+ordered to advance to the Indian encampment, with four hundred men
+and all the friendly warriors, and destroy it. On approaching it, he
+found that it was too strongly fortified to be carried by assault,
+and therefore returned to bring up the company of artillery. Before
+he again set out, his services were required at the camp. Within half
+an hour after his return, a body of savages were observed on the
+right, who opened a brisk fire on a party searching for the Indian
+shot by the picket on the previous night. General Coffee solicited
+the honor of attacking them. He was directed to take two hundred
+men with him, but through some mistake, he was followed by only
+fifty-four men, all of whom belonged to the company of volunteer
+officers which he commanded. With this small force, he fell with such
+fury on the left flank of the assailants, that they were forced to
+take shelter in a thicket on the bank of a small creek.
+
+In the meantime, as had been anticipated by General Jackson, who
+supposed the demonstration on the right to be a mere _ruse de
+guerre_, the main body of the enemy came rushing like demons, with
+the most hideous and discordant yells, on the left of the American
+encampment. He instantly repaired thither in person. His men always
+knew how to fight under his eyes, and they stood their ground with
+veteran intrepidity and firmness. A few well-directed and effective
+volleys were delivered, and resort was then had to the bayonet; the
+men advancing to the charge under the orders of Colonel Carroll. Once
+more the enemy fled with precipitation, and were hotly pursued some
+distance from the camp.
+
+The savages were now completely repulsed on the left, and General
+Coffee and his little band, who had been forced back into the open
+wood where the battle commenced, were reïnforced by one hundred
+friendly warriors. General Coffee, though severely wounded in the
+fierce conflict, which had deprived him of several of his best
+officers, including his aid, Major Donelson, placed himself at the
+head of the united force, and charged home upon the assailants. They
+could no longer make head against him, but retreated in confusion.
+The pursuit was continued for about three miles, in which forty-five
+of the enemy were killed.
+
+Victorious as he was, General Jackson was still in a precarious
+position. His men had but few rations left, and the horses had not
+had corn or cane, for two days. The main object of the expedition--a
+diversion in favor of the Georgia troops--had been accomplished; yet
+his small force was seriously crippled, and it was to be feared, if
+he remained at Emuckfaw, that the Red Sticks would rally in greater
+numbers, and attack him once more, under all his disadvantages.
+He therefore decided to fall back to Fort Strother as soon as
+practicable. The remainder of the day was spent in burying the
+dead, in taking care of the wounded and preparing litters for their
+transportation, and in fortifying the camp. The militia sentinels
+were repeatedly alarmed during the night, probably by their own
+fancies, as no enemy was discovered; and on the morning of the
+twenty-third, without having been again molested, the army commenced
+the return march.
+
+Not a solitary Indian was seen through the day, except those attached
+to the command. They defiled, without interruption, through a
+hurricane, covered with the huge bolls of prostrate oaks and pines,
+with straggling branches of trees flung in every direction, and
+closely-matted weeds and brambles, in which there were numerous
+hiding-places that might have afforded shelter to an enemy; and just
+before sunset, they arrived at Enotochopco, where they halted for the
+night, selecting a strong position, which they fortified, within a
+quarter of a mile of the creek.
+
+[Sidenote: BATTLE OF ENOTOCHOPCO.]
+
+In the evening, small parties of the hostile savages were seen
+prowling about the encampment, although no attack was made. This
+circumstance, in connection with the fact that he had not been
+molested during the day, convinced General Jackson that the enemy had
+got in the advance, and were lying in wait for him at a dangerous
+defile where he had forded the creek on his outward march. He
+therefore sent out his pioneers, who discovered another crossing,
+about six hundred yards lower down, which was approached through open
+woodlands; and, unlike the other, its banks sloped gently down, and
+were tolerably free from reeds and underbrush. The lower ford was, of
+course, selected, in preference to the one above.
+
+Presuming that the Indians would rush upon his men, when they were
+engaged in passing the stream, the general made his preparations with
+great care, and issued his orders with unusual precision. Colonel
+Carroll was ordered to take command of the centre of the rear-guard;
+Colonel Perkins of the right column; and Colonel Stump of the left.
+Captain Russell was directed to bring up the rear with his company
+of spies. If attacked, Colonel Carroll was instructed to face about,
+display, and maintain his ground; while the right and left columns
+were to face outward, wheel back on their pivots, and then attack the
+Indians on both flanks.
+
+[Sidenote: SUDDENNESS OF THE ATTACK.]
+
+In this order the crossing proceeded on the morning of the
+twenty-fourth. The front-guard, the wounded, and a part of the flank
+columns, had passed over; and the artillery were in the act of
+entering the creek--General Jackson being on the bank superintending
+the movement--when an alarm gun was fired in the rear. The instant
+after, the whole troop of Indians, who had discovered the effort to
+turn their position, came plunging down upon the rear-guard. Captain
+Russell received them gallantly, and fell back in good order. Colonel
+Carroll had scarcely given the order to halt and form, when the right
+and left columns, headed by their officers, broke and fled down the
+bank. Colonel Stump was among the foremost, and as he approached
+General Jackson’s position, the latter attempted to cut him down with
+his sword.
+
+All was now confusion and disorder. The panic was communicated to the
+rear-guard, most of whom followed the example of their companions.
+Colonel Carroll, and Captain Quarles, were left with only twenty-five
+men, yet they sustained the unequal contest with unflinching bravery.
+The savages were checked in their advance, but the men were rapidly
+falling, and the iron hail came thicker and faster. General Jackson
+fairly boiled over with rage and indignation; yet, smothering his
+passion, he gave his orders coolly and calmly, but in a tone that
+rang like the blast of a trumpet. Words of encouragement were not
+wanting; and when the fearless and intrepid Coffee sprang from
+his litter into the saddle, he cried, “We shall whip them yet, my
+men!--the dead have risen and come to aid us!”
+
+The company of artillery, who were armed with muskets, now rushed
+up the acclivity, and ranged themselves by the side of Colonel
+Carroll and his little band, while their commander, Lieutenant
+Armstrong[19]--Captain Deadrick being absent--and a few of his men,
+dragged up their six pounder. The gun had been unlimbered at the
+foot of the height, and when they prepared to load it, the rammer
+and picker were missing. No time was to be lost, as the savages were
+fast closing upon them. One of the men instantly wrested off his
+bayonet, and rammed the cartridge home with his musket; another used
+his ramrod as a picker, and primed with a musket cartridge. Twice was
+the gun loaded and fired with grapeshot. At the second discharge, the
+enemy were thrown into confusion, when Colonel Carroll pressed upon
+them with the bayonet, and forced them to retire a short distance,
+though they still persisted in the attack.
+
+Meanwhile, Captain Gordon, whose company had been in the advance, had
+moved round and thrown himself upon the left flank of the Indians;
+and a few moments later, General Jackson brought up a considerable
+number of the rear-guard and flankers, whom he had rallied and
+reformed, with the assistance of General Coffee, Colonel Higgins, and
+other officers. Finding themselves baffled at every point, the enemy
+gave up the contest and made a hasty retreat, throwing away their
+packs as they fled, and leaving twenty-six of their warriors dead on
+the field.
+
+In this series of engagements, at Emuckfaw and Enotochopco, General
+Jackson lost twenty men killed, and seventy-five wounded, four of
+them mortally. One hundred and eighty-nine dead bodies of the enemy
+were counted; but they removed all their wounded, and, probably, many
+who were killed outright.
+
+[Sidenote: A NEW ARMY RAISED.]
+
+Important as were these actions in their immediate results, they
+assumed additional consequence, as effecting a fortunate diversion
+in favor of the troops under General Floyd. He was attacked by the
+savages, at Camp Defiance, shortly before daylight, on the morning
+of the twenty-seventh of January, three days after the battle of
+Enotochopco. The furious onset of the savages was with difficulty
+resisted, and they were only repulsed with the loss of seventeen
+men killed, and one hundred and thirty-two wounded. Three hundred
+warriors, at the least, were rendered _hors du combat_ in the several
+contests with General Jackson, and many more were intimidated from
+again taking up arms; and had they been present, the Georgia force
+might, not unlikely, have been overpowered.
+
+After caring for his dead and wounded, General Jackson resumed his
+march, and arrived at Fort Strother on the twenty-seventh of January.
+On the twenty-eighth, General Coffee and his corps of officers were
+directed to return home, and wait the orders of the government; and
+on the thirty-first instant, General Roberts was ordered to conduct
+the volunteer regiments, whose bravery and patriotism were highly
+commended by the commanding general, back to Fayetteville, where they
+were discharged.
+
+The brilliant successes of General Jackson in the Creek country now
+began to attract unusual attention. The commander of the military
+district, General Pinckney, referred to his conduct in terms of
+strong approbation, and suggested his name to the Secretary of
+War, for an appointment in the regular army. He had fought himself
+into the confidence and affections of the public, and he had no
+further need to depend on the reluctant services of a disorderly and
+half-mutinous soldiery.
+
+So far from being offended at the tone and language of General
+Jackson’s letter, Governor Blount properly appreciated the feelings
+of the writer, and made every possible exertion to send him both
+troops and supplies. Men were not wanting to enrol their names;
+but there were hundreds and thousands who longed to fight beneath
+the standard, and under the eye, of Andrew Jackson. On the third of
+February, General Doherty arrived at Camp Ross with two thousand
+men from East Tennessee; and, shortly after, General Johnston
+reported himself at Huntsville, with over seventeen hundred men,
+from West Tennessee. Two regiments of cavalry, one from each section
+of the state, under Colonels Dyer and Brown, also appeared, and
+were organized into a brigade, under General Coffee. On the sixth
+of February, the 39th infantry, under Colonel Williams, about six
+hundred strong, joined General Jackson at Fort Strother, and about
+the same time, the Choctaws took up the hatchet against the Red
+Sticks, and offered him their services.
+
+It was the intention of General Jackson to advance as soon as
+possible towards the bend of the Tallapoosa, near which the battle
+of Emuckfaw had been fought, and where, he was assured, the main
+strength of the enemy lay. The want of supplies, as usual, retarded
+his movements. It was now the rainy season; the streams were very
+much swollen, and the bridges swept away; the roads were soaked with
+water, and terribly cut up; and, although he kept five hundred men
+at work on the route between Fort Deposit and Fort Strother, several
+weeks elapsed before he was able to collect twenty days’ rations at
+the latter place.
+
+[Sidenote: PREPARATIONS TO TAKE THE FIELD.]
+
+While the general was making his preparations at Fort Strother, most
+of the detachments composing the force under his command remained in
+the rear, that the supplies thrown forward to that post might not be
+too quickly consumed. During this period of inaction, the spirit of
+mutiny again made its appearance, among the West Tennessee troops. He
+felt that he had so far dealt too leniently with this offence, and
+determined to visit it with summary punishment. A private belonging
+to General Johnston’s command was convicted of open mutiny, and
+sentenced to death. This was his second offence, and the general
+firmly refused to pardon him. The sentence was carried into effect,
+and the example thus presented exerted a most salutary influence on
+the whole army.
+
+Early in March, General Jackson had finally completed his
+arrangements. Colonel Dyer was ordered to scour the country between
+the Coosa, Blackwarrior, and Cahawba, as low down as the old Coosa
+towns; the Choctaws and Chickasaws were directed to watch the
+country west of the Tombigbee, and prevent the escape of any of
+the Red Sticks beyond the Mississippi; and the Cherokees received
+instructions to range about the headwaters of the Tallapoosa. At
+the same time, there was a large force of North Carolina and South
+Carolina militia, under Colonel Pearson, who had relieved the Georgia
+troops under General Floyd, on the eastern borders of the Creek
+country, in readiness to coöperate in any simultaneous movement upon
+the fastnesses of the hostile Indians.
+
+Leaving a garrison of four hundred and fifty men at Fort Strother,
+under Colonel Steel, General Jackson commenced descending the Coosa,
+having embarked his stores in boats, with the remainder of his force,
+on the sixteenth day of March. Arrived at the mouth of Cedar Creek,
+he established a dépôt at this point, and commenced the construction
+of a fort, which he named Fort Williams. The work on the fort being
+in a sufficient state of forwardness, he took up the line of march
+across the country to Emuckfaw, on the morning of the twenty-fourth
+instant, with about two thousand men. A strong detachment was left at
+Fort Williams, to protect the supplies, and continue the labor on the
+fortifications.
+
+Not far from five miles below the battle-ground of the twenty-second
+of January, at Emuckfaw, is the great bend of the Tallapoosa, called
+by the Indians, Tohopeca, or Horse Shoe. At this place, the warriors
+from the hostile towns of Oakfuskie, Oakchoya, Eufaulee, New Youca,
+the Hillabees and Fish Ponds, had concentrated their forces, near
+one thousand strong, for a last desperate struggle. Across the
+narrow neck of land, or isthmus, by which the peninsula formed by
+the crooked river was entered, they had erected a breastwork of
+logs, from five to eight feet high, with double portholes, arranged
+with no little skill and ingenuity. Within the inclosure, there were
+about one hundred acres of land; the centre was high ground, covered
+with brush and fallen timber; and on the river bottom, at the lower
+extremity of the peninsula, was the Indian village.
+
+[Sidenote: TOHOPECA.]
+
+On the night of the twenty-sixth of March, General Jackson encamped
+within six miles of the Horse Shoe, and early on the following
+morning, General Coffee was detached, with the mounted men and most
+of the friendly Indians, under instructions to cross the river at
+a ford two miles below Tohopeca, and take possession of the high
+grounds on the opposite bank, so as to cut off all chance of escape
+in that quarter. General Jackson then marched the remainder of his
+force to a position in front of the enemy’s breastworks, where he
+halted his men, until the preärranged signal announced that General
+Coffee had drawn a cordon of soldiers around the elevated ground
+overlooking the river and the hostile town and fortification. The
+main column immediately moved forward; the two pieces of artillery, a
+six and a three pounder, were planted on a hill eighty yards distant
+from the left of the enemy’s line; and at half past ten o’clock in
+the forenoon, the action was opened by a brisk fire, which was warmly
+returned by the Red Sticks.
+
+The firing on the American side was mainly confined to the artillery,
+though a rifle or musket was occasionally discharged, whenever the
+dark warriors incautiously exposed their persons. For nearly two
+hours, the cannonade was kept up, with spirit and activity, though
+without producing any sensible impression. Meantime the friendly
+Indians had advanced to the left bank of the river, while General
+Coffee remained on the high ground with the rest of his troops. Some
+of the Cherokees now discovered that the enemy’s canoes, which were
+drawn up on the shore, near their village, had been left unguarded.
+They instantly plunged into the stream, swam across, and, in a few
+moments, returned with a number of the canoes. Means being thus
+provided for passing over, the Cherokees, headed by their chief,
+Richard Brown, and Colonel Morgan, and Captain Russell’s company of
+spies, crossed to the village, set it on fire, and attacked the enemy
+in the rear.
+
+Surrounded though they were, the hostile Indians fought with the
+utmost bravery and desperation. Every avenue by which they might
+have fled was occupied by the American troops, and their habitations
+were in flames; still they refused to surrender, and successfully
+resisted every attempt of the spies and Cherokees to dislodge them.
+The soldiers with General Jackson, clamored loudly to be led to the
+assault, but he hesitated to give the order, till he became convinced
+that the party in the rear were not strong enough to overcome the
+opposition they encountered. The command to storm the works was then
+received with shouts and acclamations. General Doherty’s brigade,
+and the 39th infantry, under Colonel Williams, promptly advanced to
+the attack. The result of the contest did not long remain in doubt.
+A fierce struggle was maintained for a short time, through the
+portholes, muzzle to muzzle; the action being so close, as remarked
+in the dispatch of the commanding general, that “many of the enemy’s
+balls were welded to the American bayonets.” Major Montgomery, of the
+39th infantry, was the first to spring upon the breastwork, but was
+shot dead among his comrades, who were rushing forward to sustain
+him. A smothered cry for vengeance rolled along the line,--and the
+whole column dashed over the feeble barrier, like the avalanche,
+crushing and bearing down everything before it.
+
+[Sidenote: THE RED STICKS COMPLETELY ROUTED.]
+
+The Indians, fighting with the fury of despair, met the shock with
+clubbed muskets and rifles, with the gleaming knife and tomahawk.
+Some few attempted to escape by swimming the river, but were
+shot down in their flight, by the spies and mounted men under
+General Coffee. Most of them, however, fought and died, where they
+stood--behind the ramparts which they were unable to defend. The
+conflict--nay, we may call it, without reproach to the victors,
+the butchery--was continued for hours. None asked for quarter. The
+Tallapoosa ran red with the blood of the savages, and the dead were
+piled in mangled heaps upon its banks.
+
+Driven from the breastwork, a considerable number of the enemy took
+refuge among the brush and fallen timber on the high ground in the
+centre of the peninsula. General Jackson sent them an interpreter,
+to offer terms of capitulation, but they fired on and wounded him.
+The cannon were brought to bear on their position, and a partially
+successful charge was made, yet they were not dislodged. Finally,
+the brush was set on fire. The flames spread with rapidity, snapping
+and crackling as they caught the dry bark and leaves, and licking up
+everything in their way, like some huge, greedy monster. The Indians
+were now forced from their concealment; and all who attempted to fly,
+or offered resistance, were shot down. Night at length put an end to
+the carnage, and, under cover of the darkness, a few of the survivors
+of that fatal field escaped into the adjoining forests.
+
+Five hundred and fifty-seven dead bodies of the enemy were found
+within the peninsula; and there were over three hundred taken
+prisoners, nearly all women and children. The total loss of the Red
+Sticks, in killed alone, must have been near eight hundred; as a
+number of the dead were thrown into the river previous to the final
+rout, by their surviving friends, or shot by General Coffee’s men
+while attempting to make their escape. Among the slain were three
+prophets, one of whom, by the name of Monohoe, was struck by a
+grapeshot in his mouth, out of which had issued the lies which had
+lured his nation to their ruin.
+
+General Jackson lost fifty-five men killed, and one hundred and
+forty-six wounded. Twenty-three of the killed, and forty-seven of the
+wounded, were friendly Creeks and Cherokees.
+
+After completing the destruction of the Indian fortifications
+at Tohopeka, General Jackson commenced his return march to Fort
+Williams, where he arrived on the second of April. He instantly began
+his preparations for scouring the country lying in the forks of the
+Coosa and Tallapoosa; and, on the seventh of April, his army was in
+motion for Hoithlewalee, one of the principal towns on the Hickory
+Ground;--the men being provided with eight days’ rations, which they
+carried on their backs. The campaign was now drawing to a close, but
+its hardships were not quite ended. The roads were flooded by the
+heavy rains, and the streams scarcely fordable; and, consequently,
+the march was tedious and difficult. General Jackson was much worn
+by the fatigues and privations which he had encountered, but his
+capability of endurance was not yet exhausted; and the strength of
+constitution he manifested, though belied by the apparent weakness of
+his frame, gave rise to the _sobriquet_ of “Old Hickory,” which was
+applied to him by his soldiers, and adhered to him through life.
+
+[Sidenote: INDIAN TOWNS DESTROYED.]
+
+The terrible vengeance taken at Tohopeka, for the massacre at Fort
+Mims, and the other monstrous cruelties perpetrated by the Red
+Sticks, put an end to the war. The great body of the hostile savages
+fled in dismay, before the advancing columns of General Jackson. Many
+of the fugitives were killed by a detachment of the 3rd infantry,
+under Colonel Russell, but numbers effected their escape into
+Florida, on account of the remissness of Colonel Milton, the officer
+in command of the South Carolinians, who were then on the left
+bank of the Tallapoosa, not far above its junction with the Coosa.
+McQueen, one of the most prominent chiefs among the Red Sticks, was
+captured, but afterwards escaped to the Escambia river, with five
+hundred adherents.
+
+Arrived at Hoithlewalee, General Jackson found the town abandoned.
+On the fourteenth of April it was destroyed, with several other
+villages in the vicinity. The general then divided his command
+into two columns; one scouring the country on the left bank, and
+the other, with which he remained in person, advancing down the
+right bank of the Tallapoosa, to the confluence, where a fort was
+constructed, called by General Pinckney, in honor of the gallant
+Tennessee commander, Fort Jackson. At this point most of the Hickory
+Ground chiefs came in and submitted to the conqueror. Weatherford
+also voluntarily surrendered, and the great prophet of the Creeks,
+Hillinghagee, was taken prisoner. The only terms prescribed by
+the victorious general were, that all who surrendered themselves
+should retire to the country north of Fort Williams, where, if their
+conduct was good, they would be permitted to remain proposition was
+made known, numbers of the fugitives were on their way to the neutral
+territory.
+
+On the twentieth of April, General Pinckney arrived at Fort Jackson,
+and on the following day assumed the command. General Jackson shortly
+after repaired to his home in Tennessee, to recruit his health and
+strength, which had suffered materially during his long and arduous
+campaign. The thanks of the government and the applause of the nation
+followed him in his retirement. An opportunity was soon afforded for
+rewarding his services by an appointment in the regular army.--On
+the resignation of General Harrison, President Madison nominated
+him as a brigadier general, and major general by brevet; and, a
+short time afterwards, he was appointed a full major general, to
+fill the vacancy occasioned by the retirement of General Hampton.
+Both commissions were received at the same time, and the latter was
+accepted.
+
+In the summer of 1814, General Jackson was ordered to take command
+of the seventh military district, and established his headquarters
+at Mobile. Associated with Colonel Hawkins, he concluded a favorable
+treaty with the Creek nation, by which, with the exception of a
+small portion of the tribe who chose to remain in Florida, they were
+prevented from again taking up arms during the continuance of the war
+with England.
+
+[Sidenote: THE SPANISH AUTHORITIES IN FLORIDA.]
+
+The hostile tribes were now entirely quieted, and a chain of military
+posts established through the former theatre of their outrages. No
+sooner had this been done, than the attention of General Jackson
+was directed to the alarming state of affairs at Pensacola. He had
+long been convinced that the Spanish authorities in Florida were
+lending their aid and assistance to the English, in the prosecution
+of hostilities. Indeed, the facts and circumstances which forced
+him to such a conclusion, were so glaring and palpable, that it was
+impossible to form any other opinion. It is barely probable that
+Spain was the passive agent of Great Britain in this respect; but
+if so, her pusillanimity, in thus tamely surrendering her neutral
+rights and character, was equally censurable. If she was, in fact,
+the coädjutor of England, the measures adopted by General Jackson
+were justifiable; but if she was the creature only, they were
+necessary. This is the only argument that need be offered, in defence
+of the attack on Pensacola, which, in after times, was so severely
+criticised and censured, by his political opponents.
+
+In the month of August, Captain Gordon, of the spies, visited
+Pensacola, and ascertained that a large body of savages had been
+organized there by Colonel Nicholls, of the British army, and were
+then being instructed and drilled by British officers, in the
+presence, and with the knowledge, of the Spanish governor; that Fort
+Barrancas was occupied by between two and three hundred British
+troops; and that there were three armed vessels belonging to the
+same nation, in the bay, from which a considerable quantity of arms
+and provisions had been disembarked. Another reconnaissance was
+subsequently made by Lieutenant Murray, of the Mississippi militia,
+which fully confirmed the report made by Captain Gordon. On the
+twenty-ninth of August, also, Colonel Nicholls issued a proclamation,
+dated at his “headquarters, Pensacola,” addressed to the inhabitants
+of the southern and southwestern states, and inviting them to join
+his standard, in which he informed them that he was “at the head of
+a large body of Indians, well armed, disciplined, and commanded by
+British officers; a good train of artillery, with every requisite;
+seconded by the powerful aid of a numerous British and Spanish
+squadron of ships and vessels of war.”
+
+General Jackson was not disposed to stand idly by, and see the rights
+of his country violated, and her interests jeoparded. He forthwith
+dispatched an express to the governor of Tennessee, requesting the
+whole quota of the militia of that state to be brought into the
+field without delay, and commenced his preparations for a march on
+Pensacola. On the fifteenth of September Colonel Nicholls appeared
+before Fort Bowyer, thirty miles below Mobile, at the entrance of
+the bay, with four vessels, containing a number of siege pieces, and
+several hundred sailors, mariners, and savages. The heavy guns were
+landed, the fort invested, and a lively cannonade opened upon it.
+Major Lawrence, of the 2nd infantry, the commander of the post, with
+its garrison of one hundred and twenty men, made a brave defence, and
+finally forced the enemy to retire, with the loss of one of their
+ships, and over two hundred killed and wounded.
+
+[Sidenote: CAPTURE OF PENSACOLA.]
+
+Having been joined by about two thousand men from Tennessee, General
+Jackson took up the line of march for Pensacola, with all his
+disposable troops. His whole force consisted of upwards of three
+thousand men, but a small part being regulars, and the remainder
+militia from Mississippi and Tennessee, with a few Choctaw warriors.
+On the sixth of November he arrived near Pensacola, and sent a flag
+to the Spanish governor, to communicate the purpose of his visit. The
+bearer of the flag was fired on from the batteries in the town, and
+forced to return. Dispositions were then made for carrying the fort
+by assault, which was discovered to be defended by both British and
+Spanish troops, on the following day. On the morning of the seventh,
+the general entered the town with his troops, under a heavy fire
+from the fort, and the British flotilla in the harbor, and carried
+one of the advanced batteries at the point of the bayonet. The
+governor now supplicated for mercy, and surrendered the town and fort
+unconditionally; the British troops retiring to Fort Barrancas, and
+their savages allies seeking shelter in the everglades of Florida,
+whither they were driven by a detachment from the American army under
+Major Blue.
+
+On the morning of the eighth of November, just as General Jackson
+was making ready to march upon Fort Barrancas, the British spiked
+and dismounted the cannon, blew up the works, and retreated to
+their shipping. The object of his visit to Pensacola being thus
+accomplished, and the enemy driven from the rendezvous, where they
+had been invited, or welcomed, by the Spanish authorities, General
+Jackson restored the town and fort to Governor Manriquez, and
+immediately returned to Mobile with his troops.
+
+Intimations of an intended attack, or descent, on the southern
+frontier of the United States, had been previously given, and they
+were corroborated by the statements of the pirates of Barrataria,
+who, with their leader, Lafitte, had been solicited by Colonel
+Nicholls to join the projected expedition, but were afterwards
+induced, under a promise of pardon for their offences, to take an
+active and important part in the defence of New Orleans. It was for
+a long time uncertain at what point the blow would be struck; but,
+early in September, it became known that formidable preparations
+were making for the invasion of Louisiana, and the reduction of
+New Orleans. Governor Claiborne promptly ordered the two militia
+divisions of the state, under Generals Villeré and Thomas, to hold
+themselves in readiness to march at a moment’s notice, and issued a
+patriotic address to his fellow citizens, calling upon them to turn
+out, in a mass, if necessary, in defence of their homes and families.
+No immediate attack was then made, however, and the alarm subsided.
+It was renewed again towards the close of November; the apprehensions
+of danger were evidently well founded, and General Jackson at once
+hastened to the city of New Orleans, giving directions, before he set
+out, for his troops to follow as rapidly as possible, and dispatching
+an express to expedite the movements of the Kentucky militia, who
+were required to join him without loss of time.
+
+[Sidenote: THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS.]
+
+Important as was the position of New Orleans, as the great emporium
+of the southwestern part of the Union, commanding the extensive
+trade and navigation of the Mississippi and its tributaries, the
+means provided for its defence were lamentably insufficient. It had
+been understood for some time, that the expedition under Admiral
+Cochrane, baffled at Baltimore, but subsequently reïnforced by a
+large body of troops, supposed, after the conclusion of the Treaty of
+Paris, to be no longer needed in Europe, was destined, ultimately,
+to operate upon the Gulf coast. Although New Orleans was the most
+liable to attack, and the most vulnerable point, in that quarter, few
+preparations were made for its protection; for the reason, probably,
+that the plundering and harassing warfare carried on by the enemy
+on the Atlantic shore, and the operations on the Niagara frontier,
+furnished constant employment for all the men and means at the
+disposal of the General Government. Late in the fall of 1814, the new
+levies raised in Kentucky and Tennessee, were ordered to proceed to
+that city, and supplies of arms and ammunition were also sent down
+the Mississippi.
+
+New Orleans, at this time, contained about twenty thousand
+inhabitants,[20] a great number of whom were of Spanish or English
+descent, and, consequently, but little reliance was to be placed on
+their fidelity to the American cause; so far from this, many were
+known to be in correspondence with the enemy, and only waiting for
+a favorable opportunity to act in a more open and decided manner.
+General Jackson arrived in the city on the second of December, and
+found everything in confusion and alarm. The apprehended invasion was
+the principal topic of conversation in every _café_ and _boudoir_.
+The opponents of the administration there, as elsewhere throughout
+the union, confidently predicted that New Orleans must fall; and its
+friends more than half feared that the prediction would be verified.
+
+It was no easy task to reänimate those who had grown faint-hearted
+under the influence of the pitiful Jeremiads which were constantly
+sounding in their ears. The American commander was accompanied by
+but few of his men, and his presence alone could not go very far
+towards the restoration of confidence. Yet he set himself vigorously
+to the work, and in a brief space of time, his impulsive energy, his
+earnest zeal, and his determined patriotism had wrought marvellous
+changes. The timid were reässured; the wavering were encouraged
+to remain steadfast; and those who had never doubted or faltered,
+derived new strength from his example. As yet, there were but a few
+hundred regular troops in the city, and the imminence of the danger
+was such, that it was necessary to commence operations without delay.
+The general was deficient both in the _personnel_ and the _matériel_
+of war; but the exigencies of his military career had long since
+taught him to rely on his own unaided efforts. He was ever full of
+resources,--but never more than now.
+
+The geographical position of New Orleans was highly favorable to its
+defence. It is situated on the left bank of the Mississippi, around
+a bend of the river, shaped like a crescent, about midway between
+the high ground at Baton Rouge, and the Gulf. On either side of the
+river, there is a strip of arable alluvion, protected from inundation
+by levees, and varying in width, from three hundred, to one thousand
+yards. Beyond this there are dense cypress brakes and swamps, with
+here and there a few acres of salt prairie, extending, on the east,
+to Lakes Borgne and Pontchartrain. The river debouches into the Gulf
+through several mouths, which are obstructed by numerous sand bars;
+and its ascent, at all times difficult, is especially so in high
+water, when the current is unusually rapid. Under the direction of
+General Jackson, the militia were imbodied; the defences of Forts
+St. Philip and Bourbon, on the Mississippi, below New Orleans,
+were enlarged and strengthened; batteries were constructed at the
+Rigolets, and on the Chef Menteur; all the numerous bayous and
+inlets, intersecting the lower valley of the river, between the Chef
+Menteur and the Atchafalaya, were obstructed, or guarded by strong
+pickets; and lines of intrenchments and fortifications were traced,
+below the city, extending from the Mississippi to the swampy grounds,
+and their construction commenced. Commodore Patterson, the officer
+in command of the naval station, zealously coöperated with General
+Jackson, in carrying out the measures of defence which he projected.
+
+[Sidenote: APPROACH OF THE BRITISH FLEET.]
+
+Positive intelligence was received in New Orleans, on the ninth of
+December, that the British fleet had been descried standing off
+the Chandeleur islands; and Lieutenant Thomas ap Catesby Jones was
+immediately dispatched by Commodore Patterson, with a flotilla of
+five gun boats, and one hundred and eighty-two men, to watch the
+motions of the enemy. On the twelfth instant, they were discovered
+in such force, off Cat island, at the eastern extremity of Lake
+Borgne, that Lieutenant Jones judged it safer to retire up the lake
+and guard the passes leading towards the city. On the following day,
+the schooner Seahorse, which had been sent to the bay of St. Louis,
+to assist in the removal of some public stores at Shieldsboro, was
+attacked by three of the enemy’s barges. These were driven off,
+but they soon returned with four others. The crew then abandoned
+the vessel and blew her up; and the storehouse on the bay was set
+on fire. The flotilla under Lieutenant Jones was attacked on the
+fourteenth instant, while becalmed, by a detachment of seamen and
+marines, twelve hundred strong, under Captain Lockyer, in forty-two
+launches and barges. Lieutenant Jones and his men made a brave
+defence; but after an obstinate contest of more than an hour, during
+which the enemy lost two of their boats, and over three hundred men,
+they were obliged to surrender, with the loss of forty killed and
+wounded.
+
+In the meantime, large appropriations had been made by the
+legislature of Louisiana for the defence of New Orleans; but that
+body appeared extremely reluctant to adopt all the suggestions of
+General Jackson and Governor Claiborne. Many of the members were
+disaffected, and others had been led to believe, by the British spies
+and emissaries who infested the city, that all attempts at resistance
+would be unavailing, and that it would be far wiser to propose terms
+of capitulation, immediately upon the appearance of the British
+force. General Jackson in vain urged the legislature to suspend the
+_habeas corpus_ act; and despairing of accomplishing anything, except
+by the adoption of rigorous and decided measures, as a last resort,
+he finally ordered martial law to be proclaimed in the city and its
+vicinity. The functions of the civil authorities were only suspended
+in part, however, and the legislature continued its sessions.
+
+[Sidenote: PROCLAMATION OF MARTIAL LAW.]
+
+This high-handed exercise of power, rendered necessary by the
+temporizing and vacillating course of the legislature, naturally
+provoked considerable comment. Those who were really and truly
+devoted to the American cause had no fears, when they saw the
+general wielding the authority which he had seized into his own
+hands; those only clamored against what they termed this infraction
+of the rights of the citizen, who were prepared to surrender the city
+to the enemy, at the first summons. The proclamation of martial law,
+though, perhaps, scarcely warranted by the law and the constitution,
+was one of those acts which are sometimes absolutely requisite in
+great emergencies. The power acquired under such circumstances, is,
+doubtless, liable to abuse; but in the hands of one whose patriotism,
+like that of Andrew Jackson, is _sans peur, sans reproche_, there can
+be no danger. “_Silent leges, inter arma_,” is a maxim, as applicable
+to free, as to monarchical governments. General Jackson was extremely
+loth to assume any questionable power, until he became penetrated
+with the conviction that the safety of the country demanded this
+step, and he surrendered it the very moment he felt assured that the
+crisis was past. His course was subsequently approved by the General
+Government, and pronounced by the Secretary of War, both “just as it
+respected the responsibility of the commanding general, and safe as
+it respected the liberties of the nation.”
+
+A new impetus was given to every movement, by the active and
+energetic conduct of General Jackson. The fruitful and varied
+resources of his great mind were in constant requisition. His
+determined spirit, manifested in his expressive remark to Governor
+Claiborne--that he would “defend the country, or die in the last
+ditch!”--was communicated to those around him. Treason shrunk abashed
+from his presence, and cowardice assumed the appearance of valor at
+his side.
+
+After the capture of the flotilla under Lieutenant Jones, it became
+impossible to watch the movements of the British squadron; and
+hence it was extremely difficult to foretell what point would be
+first attacked. Large requisitions were made by General Jackson,
+of negroes to work on the projected fortifications, intended to
+secure the different approaches; and all those found in the streets,
+together with the drays and carts, were impressed for the same
+purpose. The militia were ordered out _en masse_, and disciplined
+regularly every day. Orders were likewise again sent to hasten
+the march of the reïnforcements; and to General Coffee, who was
+rapidly approaching with his brigade of mounted men from Tennessee,
+the commanding general said, “You must not sleep until you arrive
+within striking distance!” The order was obeyed with characteristic
+promptitude;--General Coffee marched his command eighty miles on
+the last day, and arrived near the city late in the evening of the
+twenty-first of December.
+
+All the arrangements of General Jackson for the defence of New
+Orleans were made with consummate skill. The batteries commanding the
+passes from Lake Borgne into Lake Pontchartrain were well manned; the
+colored battalion, under Major Lacoste, with the Feliciana dragoons,
+were ordered to take post on the Chef Menteur, to cover the Gentilly
+road; Major Plauche’s battalion, with Lieutenant Wagner’s company of
+light artillery, were stationed at Fort St. John, on the bayou of
+that name; the Tennessee cavalry and infantry, under Generals Coffee
+and Carroll, remained about four miles above the city; the regular
+troops, and the remainder of the state militia, occupied the city,
+and the fortifications on the river below; and the schooner Caroline
+and brig Louisiana were moored in the stream.
+
+[Sidenote: LANDING OF THE ENEMY.]
+
+The watchful care and vigilance of the American commander were
+frustrated, however, by the want of due caution on the part of a
+picket posted near the mouth of the bayou Bienvenu, which led up
+from Lake Borgne. On the twenty-second of December, the picket
+was surprised by a party of the enemy, belonging to the division
+of General Keane, whose whole command, about four thousand five
+hundred in number, with their heavy cannon and stores, immediately
+proceeded, in their small boats, up the bayou, and, at four o’clock
+in the morning of the twenty-third, arrived opposite the opening of
+Villeré’s canal, which connected with the Mississippi. They halted at
+this point for a few hours, and then continued up the canal. Early
+in the afternoon of the same day, they gained the bank of the river
+unmolested, and established themselves on the plantations of General
+Villeré, Colonel La Ronde, and Major Lacoste, about eight miles below
+the city.
+
+General Jackson did not wait to be attacked. Within an hour after
+receiving the information that the enemy had effected a landing,
+he put his troops in motion. Anticipating that the city might be
+simultaneously threatened by way of the Chef Menteur, General Carroll
+was left posted on the Gentilly road, with his command and the city
+militia; and the remainder of the troops, under General Jackson
+in person, consisting of General Coffee’s brigade, Major Hind’s
+dragoons, a detachment of artillery and marines, under Colonel
+McRea, parts of the 7th and 44th infantry, the battalions of Majors
+Plauche and Daquin, and two six pounder guns in charge of Lieutenant
+Spotts, moved down the left bank of the river, to attack the enemy
+who had landed below. The schooner Caroline, Captain Henley, with
+Commodore Patterson on board, and the brig Louisiana, Lieutenant
+Thompson, also dropped down the river. It was understood that the
+signal of attack would be the fire of the Caroline, when she had
+arrived opposite the position of the British troops.
+
+At six o’clock in the evening of the twenty-third, the different
+corps composing the main column, in all not far from two thousand
+men, effected a junction at the canal Rodriguez, within sight of
+the watch fires of the enemy, which were discovered gleaming dimly
+in the distance. The night was prematurely dark, owing to the dense
+fog rising from the river. This circumstance, however, favored
+the movement, as it was thereby concealed from the enemy; and the
+very best spirit pervaded the whole command. The troops were now
+formed for the attack;--the artillery and marines, and the regular
+infantry, on the right; the battalions of Plauche and Daquin, both
+under Colonel Ross, in the centre; and the brigade of General Coffee,
+dismounted, on the left. General Coffee was directed to turn the
+enemy’s right, and attack them in the rear; while the rest of the
+column advanced against them in front.
+
+[Sidenote: NIGHT ATTACK.]
+
+At half-past seven o’clock, the long looked-for signal was given
+by the Caroline. The first intimation received by the enemy, of
+the approach of the Americans, was the raking broadside of the
+schooner, which completely swept their encampment. Before they had
+fairly recovered from their astonishment, General Jackson fell upon
+them like a thunderbolt. Though taken by surprise, General Keane
+ordered his fires to be extinguished, and finally succeeded in
+forming his men to beat off the attack. Before order was entirely
+restored, General Coffee had forced his way into the enemy’s camp,
+and General Jackson was moving upon them in front with equal daring
+and impetuosity.
+
+Notwithstanding the intense darkness, the American soldiers were
+kept to their duty, and displayed the most praiseworthy gallantry.
+The enemy were driven from their position, and several successive
+charges were made, with great success. At length, it was discovered
+that the troops were falling into confusion, on account of the thick
+mist which shrouded everything around, and General Jackson thought
+it best to call off his men. During the remainder of the night they
+lay on the field of battle, and in the morning fell back to the canal
+Rodriguez, about two miles nearer the city, where the swamp and the
+Mississippi approached within a few hundred yards of each other.
+
+The American loss in the engagement on the evening of the
+twenty-third, was twenty-four killed, one hundred and fifteen
+wounded, and seventy-four taken prisoners; that of the British
+was forty-six killed, one hundred and seventy-four wounded, and
+sixty-four missing. But the most important result of the action, was
+the check given to the operations of the enemy. They were taught to
+respect their antagonists far more than they had done; and, when they
+were informed by their prisoners, who designed to deceive them, that
+the American force was at least fifteen thousand strong, they began
+to think the conquest of New Orleans would not, after all, be a mere
+holiday affair.
+
+General Jackson decided to make a stand at the position to which
+he retired on the morning of the twenty-fourth of December, as it
+was ascertained that reïnforcements were constantly arriving at the
+enemy’s camp. The work of fortifying it was instantly commenced.
+The canal Rodriguez, which was about four feet deep, served the
+purpose of a ditch; and, behind this, a breastwork was constructed,
+stretching from the Mississippi on the right, about one thousand
+yards, to the cypress swamp on the left. The line extended some
+distance into the marsh and then inclined to the right, in order to
+prevent any attempt to turn that flank. The underbrush and trees in
+this quarter were also cleared away for a considerable space, so
+that an assailing column could not approach without being exposed to
+a destructive fire. Earth being scarce in this low country, General
+Jackson had recourse to a novel expedient. Bales of cotton, in large
+numbers, were brought from the city, which were placed in line and
+covered over with dirt. Flank bastions to enfilade the works, and
+strong batteries, were also constructed, at irregular intervals.
+
+On the right bank of the Mississippi, about half a mile in advance of
+General Jackson’s main position, a line of intrenchments, extending
+from the river to the low grounds, was also formed, and a heavy
+battery of fifteen guns established, which enfiladed the whole front
+©f the position on the left bank. In addition to this principal line
+of intrenchments, there were others formed in the rear, to which
+General Jackson designed to retreat, in succession, if the enemy
+forced him to abandon his first position. Another precautionary
+measure was likewise adopted, to render his main line more secure
+against attack. Sluices were opened through the levee, and the
+plains in front flooded with water from the river. The general was
+so carried away with zeal and enthusiasm, and so deeply impressed
+with the great responsibility resting upon him, and the importance
+of every step, that for four days and nights, while his preparations
+were in progress, he scarcely took a moment’s rest. No crisis seemed
+to be too great for him; his vigilance became more keen sighted,
+and his spirits rose higher, as dangers thickened around his path;
+his resources grew more ample as the occasion required, and his
+resolution hourly grew more stern and unbending.
+
+[Sidenote: SKIRMISHING.]
+
+Sir Edward Packenham, the Commander in Chief of the British land
+forces, joined General Keane on the twenty-fourth of December with
+heavy reïnforcements, and an additional supply of artillery. Frequent
+skirmishes took place between detached parties of the hostile
+commands, and on the twenty-seventh instant, the schooner Caroline,
+which had been prevented from ascending the river by a strong
+norther, was blown up by hot shot thrown from a battery erected by
+the enemy, on the night of the twenty-sixth. Fortunately, the crew of
+the vessel had previously made their escape. A similar attempt was
+made upon the brig Louisiana, but her commander, Lieutenant Thompson,
+succeeded in getting her up the river, and anchored her on the right
+of General Jackson’s position.
+
+It was at first designed by the British commander, to commence
+regular approaches against the formidable line of intrenchments
+occupied by the American troops. On the twenty-eighth of December,
+a brisk cannonade was opened from a battery planted near the levee,
+within half a mile of the river. Showers of Congreve rockets were
+also thrown, which, although a new implement of warfare,[21] failed
+to excite either fear or astonishment in the opposing ranks. The
+firing was kept up for several hours without producing any sensible
+effect; and the attack was then relinquished. During the night of
+the thirty-first, heavy batteries were constructed on the plain,
+directly in front of the American position; and the advent of the new
+year was welcomed by a tremendous burst of artillery, accompanied by
+incessant flights of rockets, which was continued till three o’clock
+in the afternoon, when the batteries were effectually silenced by the
+American guns. The casualties on these two occasions were,--on the
+side of the Americans, eighteen killed and thirty-one wounded; and,
+on the side of the enemy, forty-eight killed, and eighty-two wounded.
+
+These repeated efforts having proved of no avail, General Packenham
+decided to carry the works by a _coup de main_. For a number of
+days all his men were employed in deepening Villeré’s canal, for
+the passage of the boats, by which a detachment could be thrown
+across the river to attack the fortifications on the right bank.
+On the sixth instant, General Lambert joined the main body of the
+enemy, already on shore, with his division; and the whole command was
+thus increased to upwards of twelve thousand men. Everything being
+in readiness for the contemplated assault, on the evening of the
+seventh instant, it was directed to take place at dawn of day on the
+following morning.
+
+Meanwhile General Jackson had been actively employed in completing
+his preparations. Near the river, and in advance of the cotton
+embankment, he commenced the construction of a redoubt, with
+embrasures, calculated to rake the ditch in front of the
+intrenchments, and the road down the levee; but this was still
+incomplete on the eighth of January. The line Dupré, about two
+miles in rear of the main line, to which he designed to retreat and
+make a second stand, if he should be compelled to retire, was also
+strengthened as far as practicable. Various devices were employed
+to mislead the enemy in regard to his position, and the strength of
+his command, which was daily rendered more necessary, on account
+of the increasing disaffection in the city. The number of his men
+was represented to be greater than it was; their deficiency in arms
+was carefully concealed; and no intercourse was allowed between the
+lines and the city, except through officers in whom he had the most
+implicit confidence.
+
+[Sidenote: DISAFFECTION IN THE CITY.]
+
+In spite of all his precautions, the enemy were informed by their
+agents of every movement that took place, and the disaffection which
+they eagerly fomented, ultimately increased to such an extent,
+that it was seriously proposed that terms of surrender should be
+offered by the legislature. On being apprised of this treasonable
+design, General Jackson directed Governor Claiborne, whenever such
+a proposition was made, to close the doors of the state-house.
+The order was misunderstood by the governor, who closed the doors
+forthwith, and the members of the legislature were thus prevented
+from assembling. The commanding general did not design to interrupt
+their ordinary deliberations, but it was probably fortunate for the
+safety of the city, that they were not allowed to convene.
+
+On the fourth of January, the anxiously-expected reïnforcements
+from Kentucky, under Generals Thomas and Adair, twenty-five hundred
+strong, reached New Orleans. They were poorly furnished with arms,
+however, and, like most of the other troops, were nearly destitute of
+clothing. The city was ransacked in search of weapons, but a scanty
+supply could be obtained; and the other deficiency was partially
+remedied, by the patriotic exertions of Mr. Girod, the mayor, and the
+ladies of New Orleans.
+
+General Jackson now made a final disposition of his troops.
+Governor Claiborne was posted on the Gentilly road, with a portion
+of the Louisiana militia; another portion, under General Morgan,
+was stationed on the right bank of the river, and the battery on
+that shore was manned by the sailors and marines under Commodore
+Patterson. General Morgan was further reïnforced, on the night of
+the seventh of January, when it was ascertained that the enemy were
+opening a passage into the river, by a detachment of the Kentucky
+troops. On the left bank, General Jackson was posted with his main
+column, consisting of about thirty-five hundred men. There were eight
+distinct batteries along the line, mounting, in all, twelve guns and
+two howitzers. On the right, were the 7th and 44th infantry, between
+which were the battalions of Majors Plauche, Lacoste, and Daquin;
+in the centre was General Carroll’s command, supported by that of
+General Adair; and, on the extreme left, were the Tennessee rifles
+under General Coffee. The remainder of the Kentucky troops, under
+General Thomas, remained in the rear.
+
+The brave troops whom General Jackson had gathered around him calmly
+awaited the approach of the enemy, behind the breastwork of cotton
+bags which their sagacious commander had provided, not as a shelter
+for cowardice, but as a protection against the onset of a superior
+force. Night after night they slept upon their arms; the soldiers
+of Coffee lying far out in the swamp, on heaps of logs and brush,
+half benumbed with the cold, and covered with the moist ooze of the
+morass; yet all indifferent to the inclemency of the weather, to
+hardship and suffering, and anxious only to win new laurels for the
+general whom they loved and honored.
+
+[Sidenote: THE EIGHTH OF JANUARY.]
+
+The wintry dawn was just breaking, and the cold silvery sheen of the
+early morning was rapidly spreading over the plains of Chalmette, on
+the memorable eighth of January, 1815, when the dark masses of the
+British assaulting columns were discerned from the American lines, as
+they emerged from the thick veil of mist which intercepted the view
+of their encampment, and rapidly pressed forward to the storm. At the
+same time, their batteries, planted on the previous night, within
+eight hundred yards of the intrenchments, commenced an active fire,
+which soon deepened into a continuous roar, that shook the whole
+valley, and started the inhabitants of the city from their slumbers.
+
+Simultaneously with the movement on the left bank of the river,
+Colonel Thornton crossed the stream with five hundred picked men,
+ascended the levee, and, by a sudden charge, turned the position, and
+made himself master of the battery, which formed the strong point of
+the line. General Morgan was at the head of a much superior force,
+but finding himself unable to maintain his ground, he fell back
+towards the city, followed slowly by the British troops.
+
+Upon the other shore, the most desperate and unflinching valor failed
+to achieve the least substantial success. The main attack, on this
+bank of the river, was made in two columns, sixty or seventy deep;
+that on the right, between eight and nine thousand strong, led by
+General Gibbs, moving upon the centre of Jackson’s position; and the
+left, about twelve hundred in number, under General Keane, advancing
+along the levee road. The British troops moved forward slowly and
+steadily, many of them carrying scaling ladders and fascines. “Beauty
+and booty” was the watchword which inspired their zeal, and quickened
+their steps.[22] A great number of them had served in the Spanish
+Peninsula; and it is not to be wondered that this appeal to the
+unholy passions that were suffered to riot unchecked at the storming
+of St. Sebastian, produced its legitimate effect.
+
+[Sidenote: TERRIBLE SLAUGHTER OF THE ENEMY.]
+
+Three hearty cheers rose from the American lines, when the enemy
+came within range. Every piece was instantly put in requisition.
+A well-sustained rolling fire welcomed the assailants as they
+approached. Still, the regularity of their array was unbroken.
+Torrents of grape and round shot, hissing hot, swept through the
+solid columns, rending them asunder like ropes of sand. Yet they
+pressed on undaunted, through the driving storm of missiles poured
+upon them from the different batteries, whose converging fires smote
+them more and more heavily at every step of their advance, and
+strewed the plain with the dying and the dead.
+
+Meantime the American infantry and riflemen had remained at their
+posts, with their hands clenched about the locks of their pieces,
+attentively watching the movements of the enemy. General Jackson
+himself occasionally rode along the lines, to cheer and animate his
+men. It was, indeed, a critical period for his own fame, for the
+martial reputation of his country. His chivalric courage, his proud
+and lofty self-reliance, rose with the emergency. His eagle eye
+blazed with an almost unearthly light, and the shrill notes of his
+trumpet voice rang high above the roar of battle.
+
+Making their way through the heaps of their comrades, who lay
+weltering in their gore, pale, distorted, and stiffening in death,
+the British soldiers advanced within reach of the American rifle and
+musket. In an instant, a vivid stream of fire rolled down from the
+whole line of intrenchments. The way was now blocked by a glistening
+wall of flame. The bravest shrank back aghast. Stout-hearted men,
+who had never faltered amid the sea of carnage whose crimson waves
+dyed the ramparts of Badajoz, trembled like the aspen. The American
+fire was never for a moment interrupted,--the western riflemen making
+their mark at every discharge, and the men in the rear constantly
+loading and exchanging pieces with their companions in front. At the
+head of the glacis, the right column of the assailants staggered and
+halted. Generals Pakenham and Gibbs dashed forward, eager to retrieve
+the fortunes of the day ere all was lost. In vain was every effort to
+turn the tide of battle. Both officers fell mortally wounded, while
+hundreds were swept down around them, as the grass before the mower.
+Some few pressed on,--on and on,--to sure destruction!
+
+[Sidenote: FINAL REPULSE OF THE ASSAILANTS.]
+
+On the left, the advance of General Keane’s column, led by Colonel
+Rennie, gained the redoubt in front of the line of intrenchments;
+but it was only to find a soldier’s grave. A murderous fire was at
+once directed upon them from the main fortification, and every man
+who had entered the work, including the gallant officer who headed
+the attack, was cut down. General Keane made an ineffectual effort
+to rally the troops for another onset, and was borne from the field
+severely wounded. The command now devolved on General Lambert, who
+promptly led up the reserve; but on discovering the dreadful havoc
+which had been made in the shattered and terrified column before
+him, he gave the signal to retire.
+
+At mid-day the battle was ended; the bright sun looked down on that
+red waste, everywhere marred by the ploughing shot, and dotted
+all over with huge piles of festering corruption; and the cool
+breeze that murmured among the acacia and orange groves, was loaded
+with scents of slaughter, with the steam of the battle-field. The
+appalling fire from the American lines was most terrible in its
+effects. The British lost two hundred and ninety-three killed,
+twelve hundred and sixty-seven wounded, and there were four hundred
+and eighty-four taken prisoners. The American loss was trifling in
+comparison; there were but thirteen killed, thirty-nine wounded, and
+nineteen missing, on both sides of the river, during the day.[23]
+
+General Lambert determined, on the day after this bloody repulse,
+not to prosecute further the hopeless enterprise. The detachment
+thrown across the river was recalled, and preparations commenced for
+the reëmbarkation. The ditches and field in front of the American
+line, were cleared of the débris of the assaulting army, and a warm
+cannonade was kept up by the artillery for several days; but, on the
+night of the eighteenth of January, the enemy evacuated all their
+positions, and retreated to their shipping. Eight of their heavy guns
+were abandoned, and eighty of their wounded were left to the humanity
+of General Jackson, a duty which, in the language of a not too
+partial historian, he discharged “with a zeal and attention worthy
+of the ability and gallantry he had displayed in the action.”[24]
+About the same time, the British fleet, which had ascended the
+Mississippi, and bombarded Fort St. Philip, unsuccessfully, for about
+eight days, from the eleventh to the nineteenth of January, retired
+down the river. Having taken the land forces on board, the squadron
+proceeded to Mobile bay and invested Fort Bowyer, which surrendered
+after a short resistance. This proved a barren victory, however, as
+a treaty of peace had been concluded in December previous, which was
+officially proclaimed on the eighteenth of February.
+
+All immediate danger having vanished, General Jackson, and his
+victorious troops, entered the city of New Orleans in triumph, on
+the twentieth day of January. Fêtes and rejoicings now took the
+place of the consternation and alarm which had prevailed. The hero
+of Chalmette was “the observed of all observers,” and no festive
+occasion could be complete without his presence. A procession was
+formed to the cathedral, in the midst of which walked the gallant
+conqueror, ladies dressed in white strewing his path with flowers.
+_Te Deum_ was chanted, and a solemn thanksgiving offered to Divine
+Providence.
+
+[Sidenote: FINED BY JUDGE HALL.]
+
+Treason and disaffection still lingered in the city; and anonymous
+articles appeared in one of the public journals, designed to excite
+mutiny and sedition among the American troops. These were traced
+to one Louailler, a member of the state legislature, whom General
+Jackson instantly ordered to be arrested. A writ of _habeas corpus_
+was shortly after issued by Judge Hall, the district judge, for
+the purpose of procuring the release of the prisoner. The order
+proclaiming martial law was still in force, and the judge was
+promptly ordered into confinement. Two days later, intelligence was
+received of the conclusion of the treaty of peace. On being restored
+to his authority, Judge Hall summoned General Jackson before him. The
+latter readily obeyed the summons, and appeared with his counsel.
+The judge, whose only title to immortality is this one act of
+injustice, refused to hear either reason or argument, and, to satisfy
+his offended dignity, imposed a fine of one thousand dollars on the
+general, for disregarding the writ of _habeas corpus_. A spontaneous
+burst of indignation at once rose from the spectators, but General
+Jackson magnanimously interposed to shield the trembling judge from
+outrage. The fine was paid, and when he left the court room the
+multitude followed him in crowds. In a few moments, he was waited
+on by a committee of ladies, who had already raised the amount of
+the fine among the citizens of New Orleans, and now entreated him to
+accept it. He refused to take the money, and, at his suggestion, it
+was distributed among the widows and orphans of those who had fallen
+in defence of the city. After the lapse of many years, at the session
+of Congress in the winter of 1843–4, tardy, though merited justice,
+was done to General Jackson, by the passage of a bill directing the
+amount of the fine to be refunded to him, with interest.
+
+General Jackson remained in command at New Orleans, until the month
+of March, when he was relieved by General Gaines. He immediately
+retired to the tranquillity of the Hermitage, though compelled to
+witness, everywhere on his homeward route, the evidences of the
+respect and gratitude which thrilled the hearts of his countrymen.
+The war with the Seminole Indians on the southern frontiers of
+Georgia again called him from his retirement, in the winter of
+1818.[25] Shortly after the breaking out of hostilities, he was
+ordered to assume the command of the forces operating in that
+quarter. On the ninth of March, 1818. he joined General Gaines at
+Fort Scott, with nine hundred Georgia militia. Early in April, he
+was reïnforced by one thousand volunteers from West Tennessee, and
+fifteen hundred friendly Creek warriors, under their chief, McIntosh.
+
+[Sidenote: THE SEMINOLE WAR.]
+
+General Jackson now found himself at the head of four thousand five
+hundred men, with whom he marched to the Indian town of Mickasauky,
+which he laid waste. The hostile savages fled into Florida, whither
+he followed them, and took refuge in the neighborhood of St. Marks,
+the Spanish authorities of which endeavored to protect and shelter
+them. Accordingly, the American commander took possession of the
+town, and sent the garrison to Pensacola. On the sixteenth of April,
+he destroyed the Suwanee villages, and then returned to St. Marks,
+where two of the principal instigators of the Indian outrages, whom
+he had captured, a Scotchman and an Englishman, whose names were
+Arbuthnot and Ambrister, were tried by a court martial, sentenced
+to death, and executed. Not long after, intelligence was received
+that the governor of West Florida, at Pensacola, in violation of
+the treaty with Spain, was affording countenance and protection to
+the fugitive Seminoles. General Jackson proceeded thither without
+delay, seized Pensacola, on the twenty-fourth of May, and on the
+twenty-seventh Fort Barrancas surrendered to his authority. St.
+Augustine was also captured by a detachment under General Gaines.
+The seizure and occupation, by the American troops, of these places
+of refuge for the hostile Indians put an end to the outbreak, and in
+the month of June, General Jackson, whose health had become seriously
+impaired by the unfriendliness of the climate, returned home, and
+subsequently resigned his commission.
+
+The Spanish posts in Florida seized by General Jackson were
+afterwards ordered to be restored, but his conduct was approved
+by President Monroe, and a resolution of censure, offered in the
+House of Representatives, was voted down by a large majority. Any
+difficulty with Spain that might have grown out of his proceedings
+was obviated, by the cession of Florida to the United States, in the
+winter of 1819. General Jackson was very appropriately selected by
+the American Executive, as the commissioner to receive the territory,
+and on the first of July, 1821, he issued a proclamation at
+Pensacola, officially announcing its annexation to the United States.
+His administration of the executive affairs of the new territory,
+owing to the bad state of his health, was quite brief; during
+it, however, he came in collision with the Spanish ex-governor,
+in an effort, which proved successful, to protect the rights of
+several orphan females. His firm and unyielding will, and his
+determined purpose, were never exhibited in a more characteristic,
+or more creditable manner. His health continuing to grow worse, he
+transferred the authority with which he had been clothed, to his
+secretaries, on the seventh of October, 1821, and immediately set out
+for Nashville.
+
+The gallant soldier was not forgotten. In August, 1822, he was
+nominated for the presidency as the successor of Mr. Monroe, by
+the legislature of Tennessee. In 1823 he declined the appointment
+of minister to Mexico, tendered to him by the President, and, in
+the same year, he was elected to the Senate of the United States.
+On becoming a prominent candidate for the presidential office, he
+resigned his seat. At the election in 1824, he received a plurality
+of the electoral votes, but as there was no choice by the colleges,
+the question was referred to the House of Representatives, by whom
+his principal competitor, John Quincy Adams, was elected to the
+office. In 1828, he was again a candidate, and received one hundred
+and seventy-eight of the two hundred and sixty-one electoral votes.
+In 1832 he was elected for a second term, by a still larger majority.
+
+It is not within the scope of this work, to notice in detail the
+political services of General Jackson. A brief recapitulation of
+some of the most important acts of his administration must suffice.
+On the twentieth of May, 1830, he vetoed the Maysville road bill,
+and on the tenth of July, 1832, the bill to recharter the United
+States Bank. On the sixteenth of January, 1833, his celebrated
+nullification message, recapitulating the facts, and many of the
+arguments, contained in his proclamation of December previous, was
+issued. In October, 1833, the public deposits were removed from the
+United States Bank. On the fifteenth of April, 1834, he protested
+against the resolutions of censure adopted by the Senate, which were
+afterwards, in January, 1837, expunged from their journal; and on the
+fifteenth of January, 1835, his warlike, but patriotic message, in
+regard to the refusal of the French government to pay the stipulated
+indemnity, made its appearance.
+
+[Sidenote: FINAL TERMINATION OF HIS PUBLIC CAREER.]
+
+His long public career finally terminated on the third of March,
+1837, when he issued a farewell address to the people of the
+United States, and retired forever from the harassing cares and
+responsibilities of an official position, to the peaceful shades of
+his own quiet Hermitage. The wife whom he had so ardently loved, no
+longer lived to bless him with her affection, and cheer him with her
+smiles;--she had been taken from his side, by death, in December,
+1828,--yet her memory was ever a sweet solace throughout the closing
+hours of his earthly pilgrimage.
+
+General Jackson had gained a world-wide reputation by the bravery and
+skill displayed in his Indian campaigns, and in the war with Great
+Britain. Lafayette was a guest at the Hermitage, on his visit to
+this country in 1825, and, twenty years later, the portrait of the
+general was painted, when almost in a dying condition, to adorn the
+gallery of Louis Philippe, the King of the French. He was known and
+honored by the great and good in every land. Whatever may be said of
+the domestic policy of his administration, in his intercourse with
+foreign nations he inspired or enforced respect, and few, perhaps
+none, of our presidents, Washington alone excepted, ever commanded
+greater consideration abroad.
+
+A peaceful close was vouchsafed to the stormy and eventful life,
+the prominent incidents of which have been briefly portrayed in
+this sketch. The Imperial prisoner of St. Helena died amid a raging
+storm, shouting, in imagination, to his marshalled legions, while the
+winds howled and shrieked above his head; the words, _Tête d’armée!_
+were the last to leave his lips, as his eye glazed in death, and
+his frame was convulsed with the last agony. At the close of a
+Sabbath afternoon, in the bright summer time, when Nature had spread
+her richest garniture over her wide domains, and grove and forest
+were vocal with sweetest melody; in the presence of his family and
+friends; by his own fireside; on the eighth of June, 1845; Andrew
+Jackson calmly yielded up his spirit. For weeks and months he had
+suffered under a painful disease, yet not a murmur escaped him.
+His heart was stayed on a noble hope--a hope sure, steadfast, and
+unfading--the priceless hope of the Christian!
+
+        “Serene, serene,
+    He pressed the crumbling verge of this terrestrial scene,
+        Breathed soft, in childlike trust,
+          The parting groan;
+        _Gave back to dust its dust,--
+          To Heaven its own!_”
+
+In person General Jackson was tall and thin. His frame was well knit,
+but gaunt. He had an iron visage, and a commanding look. His eyes
+were a deep blue, bright and penetrating. He was frank and easy in
+his manners, courteous and affable in his address.
+
+[Sidenote: HIS CHARACTER.]
+
+His character was decidedly pronounced. It was full of salient
+points, remarkable for their strength, and the fitness and harmony
+of their combination. He was kind and affectionate, benevolent and
+humane; pure and earnest of purpose; inflexibly honest; physically
+and morally brave; ardent and sincere in his patriotism; direct in
+his professions; and resolute and unflinching in determination.
+He possessed a firm will, was clear in judgment, and rapid in his
+decisions. His temperament was restless, though not mercurial. He had
+an abundance of what the French call _fortes emotions_. His passions
+were intense, and what he did, he did with all his might. Like
+Cicero, he was a _new man_; and, by his own unaided exertions, raised
+himself from comparative obscurity, to the highest distinction. He
+was a good hater, but he never forgot his friends; and there are many
+who still prize his friendship, bestowed while in life, as a favor
+from heaven.[26]
+
+All these traits and characteristics were strikingly exhibited, both
+in his civil, and military career. His style as a writer partook of
+his mental peculiarities; it was rugged and uneven as the mountain
+torrent; yet it had a nervous eloquence, that never failed to produce
+a deep impression, and indicated a powerful grasp of thought.
+As a soldier, he was fruitful in expedients; he had the genius,
+perseverance and skill, of Hannibal,--the indomitable will and
+energy, without the selfishness, of Napoleon. He was persevering,
+cool, and intrepid,--hardy in endurance, and gifted with rare
+courage. In a word, as the historian remarks of the French soldier of
+fortune,--“He was not a great man because he was a great general: he
+was a great general because he was a great man”![27]
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+       [13] Fisher Ames.
+
+       [14] An attempt was made on Charleston, in June, 1776;
+            but the enemy were repulsed with great loss.
+
+       [15] Kendall’s Life of Jackson.
+
+       [16] In 1790, the “Territory South of the Ohio,” of
+            which Tennessee formed a part, was erected. Kentucky
+            was admitted into the Union as a State, in 1792.
+
+       [17] See Memoir of General Harrison, _ante_.
+
+       [18] Manriquez stated in his letter, that he had
+            requested the Captain General, at Havana, to forward
+            him a supply of arms and ammunition, for distribution
+            among the Indians. This was one of the circumstances
+            which justified the attack on Pensacola, by General
+            Jackson, in the fall of 1814.
+
+       [19] Lieutenant Armstrong evinced the utmost bravery on
+            this occasion. He was shot down, when the action was
+            at its height, but cried out to his men, as he lay
+            upon the ground,--“My brave fellows some of you must
+            fall, but _save the cannon_!”
+
+       [20] In 1810, the population was 17,242.
+
+       [21] Rockets were first used at the battle of Leipsic,
+            in October, 1813. The English rocket brigade in
+            that bloody engagement, was commanded by Captain
+            Bogue; and, after playing ten minutes on a solid
+            square of French infantry, they forced them to
+            surrender.--_Lord Londonderry’s War in Germany_, 172.
+
+       [22] In 1833, a card was published by General Lambert,
+            and four other British officers, of high rank, who
+            were engaged in the expedition against New Orleans,
+            denying, most emphatically, that this was the
+            countersign on the occasion alluded to in the text.
+            An order-book was found, however, on the field of
+            battle, which shows that the watchword was given. It
+            is very possible that the word may have been used
+            by a different division from that to which those
+            officers belonged; this is much more probable than
+            that they could be mistaken in their assertion.
+
+       [23] There is one consideration not often noticed in
+            connection with the defence of New Orleans, which
+            gives it additional importance. It is extremely
+            doubtful, whether the city would have been
+            surrendered to the Americans, under the treaty of
+            peace, had it been captured. Spain never cordially
+            acquiesced in the transfer of the territory of
+            Louisiana from France to the United States, and
+            her minister at Washington, the Marquis of Trujo,
+            formally protested against it. At this time England
+            was peculiarly zealous in taking care of Spanish
+            interests, and in a letter addressed to the American,
+            by the British Commissioners, at Ghent, on the 8th of
+            October, 1814, these facts were stated, and the right
+            of France to make the cession was seriously called in
+            question.
+
+       [24] Alison’s History of Europe, chap. lxxvi.
+
+       [25] See Memoir of General Gaines, _ante_.
+
+       [26] “L’amitie d’un grand homme, est un bienfait des
+            dieux.”--_Voltaire’s Oedipe._
+
+       [27] Alison’s History of Europe, chap. lxx.
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: ALEXANDER MACOMB.]
+
+
+
+
+                          ALEXANDER MACOMB.
+
+
+Alexander Macomb, late General-in-Chief of the Army of the United
+States, was one of the first fruits of the military institution
+at West Point, suggested by General Washington, and established
+during the administration of President Jefferson. Like all the most
+prominent officers in the army, at the close of the war of 1812, he
+was indebted, however, for his rapid promotion, to that “exfoliation
+of veteran commanders,” which, says Mr. Ingersoll, in his Historical
+Sketch of the second war with Great Britain, “was one of the
+processes which the young army of that war had to suffer, before
+becoming fit for action.”[28]
+
+He was born at Detroit, then a frontier garrison town, on the third
+day of April, 1782. His father, whose name was, also, Alexander
+Macomb, was of Irish parentage, though a native of the city of New
+York; he was highly esteemed as a citizen, and subsequently became
+a member of the New York legislature; and it is said, to his honor,
+that he furnished five sons for the regular army and the militia,
+in the war of 1812. The elder Macomb removed to Detroit, just
+previous to the American Revolution, and engaged in the fur trade,
+in which he acquired a large property. His wife, the mother of
+young Alexander, was a grand-daughter of Robert de Navarre, a French
+officer, who came to America in 1745, and was appointed Notaire Royal
+and Sub-Deligué, on the early establishment of Detroit.
+
+Shortly after the restoration of peace, and while Alexander was yet
+a mere infant, his father returned with his family to New York.
+When the latter was eight years of age, he was placed at the Newark
+Academy, in New Jersey, then under the charge of Bishop Ogden.
+Many of his associates at this institution were the sons of French
+_emigrés_, whom the revolution in France had driven to seek an asylum
+in the western world. In their society, he acquired that polished
+grace, and that polite ease of manners, for which he was always
+remarkable, after he had arrived at the age of manhood.
+
+He early manifested an unusual fondness for military studies and
+accomplishments, and his infantile recollections were associated
+with the martial displays he had witnessed at Detroit. When
+preparations were made for the defence of the country, on account of
+the threatening aspect of our relations with Great Britain, he, with
+other lads of the same age, assisted in throwing up the projected
+works; and when the nation became agitated with the almost certain
+prospect of a war with France, his playmates and companions divided
+themselves into parties, he being usually selected as the leader of
+the American faction, and, like Napoleon and his school-fellows at
+Brienne, built forts and castles in the snow, which they alternately
+stormed and defended.
+
+[Sidenote: RECEIVES A COMMISSION.]
+
+In May, 1798, though still but a lad, young Macomb was elected a
+member of a select company, called the “New York Rangers,” attached
+to the third regiment of the state militia, who took their name
+from those provincial bands, that, from 1755 to 1763, formed the
+_élite_ of the armies operating on the borders of Canada. Congress
+had recently passed a law authorizing the enrollment of a large
+body of volunteers, and the services of this corps were tendered
+to the General Government, and accepted. Previous to this time,
+when only fourteen years of age, young Macomb had intimated to his
+father a desire to enter the army or navy, but the latter gave no
+encouragement to his wishes. He was bent, however, on accomplishing
+the object which was now the favorite one of his heart; and, in the
+autumn of 1798, he applied for a commission in the regular service,
+through the commander of his regiment, Colonel Jacob Morton. His
+application was supported by the recommendation of General Alexander
+Hamilton, who had been attracted by his manly bearing, and his
+personal and mental accomplishments; and on the tenth of January,
+1799, he was commissioned a cornet of light dragoons, under the act
+providing for the enlistment of an additional force of regulars.
+
+Immediately after his appointment, through the kind partiality of
+General Hamilton, he was selected as an assistant adjutant general,
+and assigned to duty in the office of General North, the Adjutant
+General of the Army. No opportunity was offered for signalizing
+himself in the field, on account of the amicable settlement of the
+matters in dispute with France; though, by the prompt and faithful
+discharge of the duties which devolved upon him, he secured the
+respect and confidence of his superior officers. With the permission
+of General Hamilton, he visited Canada, to make himself acquainted
+with the discipline and tactics in the British service; he was
+kindly received by the officers at Montreal, visited the troops in
+their quarters, and was present at several reviews for manœuvre and
+inspection.
+
+The American army was now reduced to a peace establishment; a great
+portion of the troops were disbanded; and most of the officers
+returned to private life. Macomb, however, was retained in the
+service, and on the tenth of February, 1801, was appointed a second
+lieutenant of dragoons. Upon his return to the United States, he was
+ordered to Philadelphia, on the recruiting service. While in this
+city, he eagerly embraced every opportunity to cultivate and improve
+his mental abilities, by reading, and associating with learned and
+scientific men. The valuable public libraries were open to him, and
+he became a constant visitor. He here met with a French officer of
+engineers, under whom he passed through a course of instruction
+in fortification and military topography. He likewise formed the
+acquaintance of Major Williams, of the 2d artillery, the Inspector of
+Fortifications, an able and intelligent officer, who was afterwards
+placed at the head of the corps of engineers, and the Military
+Academy at West Point.
+
+Having raised a body of recruits, he received orders to conduct
+them to Pittsburg, the headquarters of General Wilkinson. Being
+accompanied by a number of subaltern officers of infantry, he
+cheerfully waived his privilege of being mounted, and walked
+with them on foot, enlivening the weary march by his sprightly
+conversation, his gay good humor, and his friendly attention to the
+wants of those under his command.
+
+Arrived at Pittsburg, Lieutenant Macomb was employed in instructing
+the recruits preparatory to joining their respective regiments. He
+also renewed his intimacy with Major Williams, then on a tour of
+inspection upon the Niagara frontier, whom he assisted in preparing
+his drawings, calculations, and estimates. He was subsequently
+attached to the military family of General Wilkinson, as an extra
+aid-de-camp, and accompanied him, in that capacity, to the camp of
+instruction formed at Wilkinsonville, at the mouth of the Ohio,
+for practicing the evolutions of the line. In August, 1801, he was
+selected as the secretary of the commission, consisting of Generals
+Wilkinson and Pickens, and Colonel Hawkins, appointed to treat with
+the Indian tribes inhabiting the Southwestern territory. He was
+engaged in this service, and in other collateral duties, until June,
+1802--spending the winter of 1801–2 in the Creek nation--when he was
+dispatched to Washington by the commissioners, with the treaties
+and accounts. During all this time, he kept a journal, in which he
+carefully noted the geological and geographical features of the
+country which he traversed; and he also constructed a topographical
+map of the Tennessee and Mississippi rivers, which was deposited
+in the War office, and noticed by President Jefferson in the most
+commendatory terms.
+
+[Sidenote: APPOINTED A LIEUTENANT OF ENGINEERS.]
+
+Upon his arrival at the seat of government, he found that the corps
+to which he belonged had been disbanded, but that he had been
+retained, and attached to the 1st infantry, with the rank of first
+lieutenant. At the same time authority had been given to raise
+a corps of engineers, to consist of one major, two captains, two
+first, and two second lieutenants, and ten cadets--which corps, when
+organized, was to constitute the Military Academy. Being dissatisfied
+with his new appointment, he remonstrated with the Secretary of War;
+Major Williams, the head of the corps of engineers, seconded his
+appeal; and, in consequence, he was transferred to that corps, as a
+first lieutenant, in October, 1802.
+
+He now proceeded to West Point, to take his place as a student,--the
+lieutenants, as well as the cadets, being obliged to go through
+the course of study,--in conformity with the provisions of the law
+organizing the Academy. He was one of the first graduates, and was
+then appointed adjutant of the corps. It was his duty to instruct the
+cadets in their military exercises, and he was the first officer who
+organized them into a body, and put arms in their hands.--This was
+the beginning of an institution, which has since made the world ring,
+with the heroism and daring of the gallant officers whose military
+character and education were there formed and acquired.
+
+In July, 1803, Lieutenant Macomb was married to his cousin,
+Catharine Macomb, a young lady of rare beauty, of refined mind, and
+highly-polished manners.
+
+So highly were his talents appreciated, that in the autumn of the
+same year, he was appointed Judge Advocate of a general court-martial
+held at Frederick, Maryland, for the trial of Colonel Butler. In
+discharging this duty he acquitted himself with such marked ability,
+that the members of the court suggested to him the preparation
+of a treatise on the subject of courts-martial,--a work which he
+afterwards executed.
+
+On the eleventh of June, 1805, in pursuance of the strong
+recommendation of Colonel Williams, who was ever warmly attached to
+his _protége_, he was further promoted to the rank of captain in
+the corps of engineers; and, immediately thereafter, was ordered
+to Portsmouth, to oversee the repairs on the fortifications in
+that harbor. The next year he was appointed superintendent of the
+public works, then erecting at Mount Dearborn, on the Catawba river,
+thirty-six miles above Camden, where it was designed to establish
+a national armory and dépôt. While at this place, he prepared his
+treatise on courts-martial,--receiving the benefit of the advice
+and suggestions of General William R. Davie, and General Charles
+C. Pinckney, both equally accomplished as soldiers and civilians.
+The work was soon after printed, and submitted to the President and
+Secretary of War, by whom it was adopted as the standard for the
+government of courts-martial.
+
+[Sidenote: MADE LIEUTENANT COLONEL.]
+
+Captain Macomb remained at Mount Dearborn, until 1807, when he was
+instructed to take the general direction, as chief engineer, of the
+works then in process of construction for the defence of Georgia and
+the two Carolinas. He made a careful reconnaissance of the whole
+coast, from Ocracoke inlet to the river St. Mary’s, and projected a
+complete system of defences for all the principal harbors and inlets.
+In February, 1808, he was raised to the rank of major, and, in 1811,
+was made a lieutenant colonel. He remained at Charleston, and in
+its neighborhood, superintending the fortifications on the coast,
+till the month of April, 1812, when he was called to Washington, to
+assist the Secretary of War in organizing, arranging, equipping, and
+providing supplies, for the new regiments ordered to be raised, in
+anticipation of a collision with England.
+
+War was declared in June following, and Colonel Macomb promptly
+solicited a command in the line of the army. Much to his chagrin
+this was refused, as being incompatible with the existing rules of
+the service.[29] Still he was not to be balked in his determination
+to take a far more active part in the approaching contest, than as
+a mere cabinet and staff officer. He now applied for an appointment
+in one of the new regiments of artillery; the delegation in Congress
+from the State of New York endorsed his application; and, on the
+sixth of July, 1812, he received a commission as colonel of the 3rd
+artillery, a double regiment, to consist of twenty companies, of one
+hundred and eighteen men each.
+
+Colonel Macomb forthwith repaired to New York, and by his own
+personal efforts and exertions, soon succeeded in raising the
+requisite number of men to compose his regiment. The different
+companies rendezvoused at Greenbush, where they were completely
+organized and instructed. Their fine state of discipline, their
+soldierly appearance and deportment, and the high character of their
+officers for ability and intelligence, attracted general attention,
+and elicited tokens of approbation in every quarter. In November, the
+colonel marched his regiment to Sacketts Harbor, with the intention
+of embarking it on board the fleet, and making an attack on Kingston.
+On his arrival at that post, he found that Commodore Chauncey had
+sailed in quest of the enemy, whereupon, in accordance with the
+advice of a council of war, the contemplated movement was abandoned,
+and the regiment went into winter quarters.
+
+[Sidenote: STATIONED AT SACKETTS HARBOR.]
+
+During the winter, Colonel Macomb was invested with the command of
+the land forces at Sacketts Harbor. In addition to his own regiment,
+there was a large body of militia and volunteers stationed there,
+together with a number of sailors and marines belonging to the
+squadron. All the troops were drilled with great regularity and
+precision--being often paraded on the frozen lake, to inure them to
+the cold, and to fit them for a projected march, across the ice, upon
+Kingston. This was ascertained to be practicable, by a reconnaissance
+made by Captain Crane, and in order to cover the design, a rumor was
+set afloat, to the effect that Sir George Prevost was concentrating
+his forces at Kingston for an attack on Sacketts Harbor.[30] By some
+means or other, the rumor reached the ears of General Dearborn, the
+commander-in-chief, at Albany, in such a shape, that he could not
+be induced to believe it was a mere device designed to lull the
+suspicions of the enemy. He left Albany in a sleigh drawn by four
+horses, reached Sacketts Harbor in forty-eight hours, and soon after
+ordered up the brigades of Chandler and Pike from Plattsburg.
+
+Kingston, therefore, remained unmolested,--and the army at Sacketts
+Harbor continued inactive, till the opening of the lake navigation
+in the spring of 1813, when General Dearborn proceeded against York
+with the greater part of his forces. A portion of Colonel Macomb’s
+regiment took part in the expedition, but their commander himself,
+much against his own inclination and wishes, was left at Sacketts
+Harbor,--it being deemed of the highest importance that an officer of
+skill and ability should be placed in command of that post.
+
+Having made every possible preparation for the defence of Sacketts
+Harbor, and received permission to join General Dearborn on the
+Niagara frontier, Colonel Macomb sailed up the lake, in company with
+Commodore Chauncey, with the remainder of his regiment, and joined
+the main army on the twenty-fourth of May; passing, in the night,
+a schooner dispatched by the general-in-chief, with an officer on
+board, bearing positive orders for him to remain at the post he had
+left. The arrangements for the attack on Fort George had previously
+been made; but a sort of second reserve was formed, under Colonel
+Macomb, consisting of his regiment and the marines. The attack was
+made on the twenty-seventh of May, and was eminently successful. None
+of the troops participated in the action, except the advanced guard
+under Colonel Scott, and the brigade of General Boyd; consequently,
+Colonel Macomb had no opportunity to gather the laurels he longed to
+win; and, immediately after the battle took place, he was ordered to
+return to Sacketts Harbor, with four companies of his regiment.
+
+Upon what trifling, and apparently unimportant circumstances, does
+the destiny of individuals, like that of nations, depend!--The
+temporary absence of Colonel Macomb from Sacketts Harbor enabled
+General Brown, then only an officer of the militia, to distinguish
+himself, and to obtain a high command, followed by rapid promotion,
+in the regular service; while the former, though equally brave and
+patriotic, was defeated in his most ardent hopes, by his impatience
+and anxiety to meet the enemy in the field.
+
+[Sidenote: EXPEDITION DOWN THE ST. LAWRENCE.]
+
+In the summer of 1813, General Wilkinson relieved General Dearborn
+in the command of the Northern army. Colonel Macomb accompanied him
+in the fruitless and unfortunate movement down the St. Lawrence,
+in the autumn of that year.[31] He was placed at the head of the
+_corps d’élite_, which consisted of his own regiment, the 20th
+infantry, Forsyth’s rifles, and Major Herkimer’s New York volunteers,
+numbering, in all, about twelve hundred men. On the march over land,
+to avoid the fire of the British batteries at Prescott, he led the
+advance; and when the army resumed its progress down the river, he
+was detached with his corps, to remove obstructions from the stream,
+and drive the enemy’s skirmishers and light troops from the line of
+the route. While on this service, several slight affairs occurred
+with the enemy, in which he and the officers and men of his command,
+displayed commendable zeal and gallantry.
+
+Being in the advance, Colonel Macomb had no part in the action fought
+on the eleventh of November, near Williamsburg. After the death of
+General Covington, who fell on that occasion, Macomb succeeded to
+the command of his brigade, and conducted it to the winter quarters
+of the army, at French Mills, where he was placed in command of the
+artillery.
+
+On the twenty-fourth of January, 1814, Colonel Macomb was promoted to
+the rank of brigadier general, and, on the receipt of his commission,
+was regularly assigned to the command of Covington’s brigade. In
+conformity with orders from the War Department, the cantonment at
+French Mills was broken up in February, 1814, and the troops divided
+into two columns,--one moving to Sacketts Harbor, under General
+Brown, and the other proceeding to Plattsburg and Burlington, under
+Generals Wilkinson and Macomb. The latter was appointed to the
+command of the troops on the eastern shore of Lake Champlain, and
+established his headquarters at Burlington.
+
+In the month of March following, General Wilkinson concentrated his
+forces at Champlain, on the New York frontier, in order to make a
+demonstration, or attack, as might be most practicable, upon the
+British outposts. General Macomb joined him with his brigade, and
+proceeded, with the column, to La Cole Mill, on the St. John’s, a
+strongly fortified position of the enemy. An attempt was made to
+carry the work on the thirtieth of March, which wholly failed of
+success. General Macomb, who had opposed, to the last, the order of
+attack laid down by the commanding general, and suggested an entirely
+different plan of operations, commanded the reserve, and displayed
+his usual ability in covering the retrograde march to Odletown.
+
+[Sidenote: INVASION OF NEW YORK.]
+
+Shortly after this affair, General Wilkinson was recalled, and
+General Macomb assumed the command of the army, till the arrival
+of General Izard. Commodore Macdonough was then actively engaged in
+constructing and equipping his fleet, at Vergennes. Early in May, the
+enemy’s flotilla appeared off Plattsburg, on their way towards the
+naval dépôt, intending, doubtless, to destroy the vessels and stores.
+General Macomb instantly penetrated their design, and dispatched the
+light artillery under Captain Thornton, to man the batteries which he
+had caused to be erected on Otter Creek, to protect the dépôt. The
+British flotilla attempted to pass up the creek, but were so roughly
+handled by the American batteries, that they judged it expedient to
+return to the Isle Aux Noix.
+
+When General Izard arrived at Plattsburg and took the command,
+General Macomb resumed his position at Burlington, till the departure
+of the former, on the twenty-seventh of August, 1814, with the
+greater part of his troops, to reïnforce General Brown on the Niagara
+frontier.
+
+Meanwhile, the British force in the Canadas had been largely
+augmented, by the arrival of successive detachments from Wellington’s
+victorious army on the Garonne. At the close of the month of August,
+there were, at least, sixteen thousand regular soldiers, under the
+orders of the governor-general, Sir George Prevost,--twelve thousand
+of whom were in the lower province. This formidable force was
+designed for the invasion of the United States, by the way of Lake
+Champlain, in conjunction with the fleet then preparing to coöperate
+with it, under Commodore Downie. At the same time, a strong naval
+expedition, under Sir John Sherbrooke and Admiral Griffith, was
+moving along the New England coast, landing at different places
+on their route, and encountering but a feeble opposition, except
+on the part of the regular troops or the navy. These two movements
+were parts of a general plan, formed by the Prince Regent and his
+cabinet--based, in all probability, on the well-known disaffection
+in the New England States. But Sir George Prevost found, to his
+cost, that the want of patriotism manifested in Massachusetts, Rhode
+Island, and Connecticut, was not shared, to any considerable degree,
+by the yeomen of New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York.
+
+The preparations of the English commander for the projected invasion
+were nearly completed, when General Izard set out for the theatre
+of General Brown’s operations. General Macomb, whose brigade was
+now broken up, was left in command at Plattsburg, to which he
+again removed his headquarters. His whole force numbered about
+twenty-five hundred men, most of whom, however, were convalescents,
+or new recruits belonging to different regiments; there was but one
+organized battalion in the entire command; many were sick; and,
+on examination, it was found that there were only fifteen hundred
+fit for duty. This was, indeed, a dilemma; and especially so, as
+there was no time given to bring up new regular troops,--it being
+announced, on the first of September, that the advance of Sir George
+Prevost’s army had that day crossed the lines at Odletown, where he
+was issuing his proclamations inviting the inhabitants to remain
+neutral, and impressing wagons and teams--thus plainly indicating
+his intention to sweep down the western shore of the lake, in the
+direction of Plattsburg.
+
+General Macomb never paused to count the number of his enemies, or
+to consider his own weakness, any further than was necessary for the
+defence of his position, which he was determined to maintain at all
+hazards. General Mooers, of the New York militia, was invited to
+consult with him, and to coöperate in the obstruction of the enemy’s
+advance, with all the troops under his orders. Messengers sped off
+in every direction, bearing spirited appeals from General Macomb,
+to arouse the people of Vermont and New York; and every exertion
+was made, in the meantime, to reduce the confusion prevailing
+at Plattsburg into something like order, and to strengthen the
+fortifications prepared to resist the “rushing onslaught” of the
+British legions. A spirit of emulation was carefully fostered among
+the officers and men, who were divided into detachments, and placed
+near the different forts; General Macomb announcing, in orders, that
+each party must be the garrison of its own work, and defend it to the
+last extremity.
+
+[Sidenote: DEFENCES OF PLATTSBURG.]
+
+The village of Plattsburg is situated on the north-western bank of
+the Saranac river, which flows into Cumberland bay, an arm of Lake
+Champlain. On the south-east, between the river and the bay, there
+is a triangular peninsula, from four to six hundred yards wide.
+The American works were constructed, under the direction of Major
+Totten, of the engineers, on this peninsula. There were, at first,
+three redoubts, and two strong blockhouses. The principal work,
+called, by General Izard, Fort Moreau, stood in the centre,--having
+on its right, on the Saranac, Fort Brown, and on its left, resting
+on the lake, Fort Scott; so named by General Macomb, in honor of
+his gallant brothers in arms. Fort Brown and Fort Scott were deemed
+inaccessible, on their water fronts, as the banks of the river and
+bay were high and precipitous. On all the other sides, the several
+works were surrounded by deep and wide ditches; they were defended by
+_caponnières_; and each glacis was covered with rows of abattis. The
+blockhouses occupied favorable positions for guarding the river, and
+the ravines on the northern bank leading to the redoubts. The general
+afterwards constructed a fourth redoubt, which he called Fort Gaines,
+in advance of the other forts, on the south side of the river.
+
+All the works occupied by the American troops were well supplied
+with artillery, and their position was further strengthened, by the
+presence of the fleet under Commodore Macdonough, which lay moored in
+the bay on the right of their position. Besides the regular garrisons
+detailed for the different redoubts, General Macomb formed four
+small corps of observation,--placing two hundred and fifty men under
+Major Wool, of the 29th infantry; two hundred under Major Sproul, of
+the 13th; one hundred rifles under Captain Grosvenor, of the 26th;
+and one hundred and ten rifles under Lieutenant Colonel Appling.
+These corps were thrown forward on the different routes, to watch
+the movements of the enemy. Most of the citizens of Plattsburg had
+fled with their families and effects, but a small party of young men
+remained behind, received rifles, and organized themselves into a
+separate company. They also did good service as skirmishers.
+
+[Sidenote: ADVANCE OF SIR GEORGE PREVOST.]
+
+The advance of Sir George Prevost was slow and cautious. The example
+and fate of Burgoyne were before him, and he desired to profit by
+the lesson. He wished to penetrate into the country as far as Crown
+Point and Ticonderoga, before the winter set in, but he did not care
+to be caught in a trap. He therefore felt his way at every step,
+repeatedly urging Captain Downie, however, to hasten the completion
+and equipment of his fleet. Without the command of the lake he
+naturally felt that his position, far advanced into the enemy’s
+country, would be extremely hazardous and insecure. On the third of
+September, the whole British army entered the town of Champlain,
+and on the following day moved forward upon Plattsburg. They found
+the roads blocked up with felled trees, the passes obstructed by
+_chevaux-de-frise_ and abattis, and the bridges broken down,--the
+corps of observation pushed out by General Macomb having faithfully
+obeyed his orders, to impede, in every way, the progress of the
+enemy’s troops.
+
+The eloquent appeals of the American general to the yeomanry of
+Vermont and New York were nobly answered. Hundreds and thousands
+of the brave Green Mountain boys, and the patriotic militia and
+volunteers of New York, daily poured into his camp. Those who
+were destitute he furnished with arms, and all were supplied with
+provisions. The militia were, of course, organized and enrolled under
+their respective commanders, but the volunteers, at his suggestion,
+usually separated into small parties, to lie in wait in the woods, to
+fall upon detached parties of the enemy, to annoy their flanks, to
+harass them by every possible means, and to obtain information and
+intercept stragglers.
+
+On the fourth of September, General Mooers, with seven hundred
+militia, advanced about seven miles on the Beekmantown road,--which
+passes over the swelling uplands overlooking the lake, and the lower,
+or lake road, on its margin,--to reconnoitre, and obstruct the
+approaches. Captain Sproul was then at Dead Creek bridge, on the lake
+road, with his corps and two pieces of artillery; while Lieutenant
+Colonel Appling and his rifles, who had been stationed on the Great
+Chazy, were still further in front. When the enemy moved forward, on
+the fourth instant, Appling retreated leisurely before them, tearing
+up the bridges, cutting down trees and flinging them across the road,
+and throwing every possible obstruction in the way of their advance.
+
+[Sidenote: BATTLE OF PLATTSBURG.]
+
+Sir George Prevost halted his troops at Little Chazy, on the fifth
+instant, and it was the same day ascertained by General Macomb, that
+they would take up the line of march on the following morning, in two
+columns, on the Beekmantown and lake roads, which divided below Chazy
+village. The general was urged by many warm and zealous friends, to
+abandon Plattsburg to its fate, to remove the stores while there was
+yet time, and to retire higher up the lake. He was not the man to
+follow such advice; though a retreat, under the circumstances, could
+not justly have been termed dishonorable. He had already decided to
+dispute every inch of ground, and he felt confident, that if the
+narrow peninsula, between the Saranac and the Champlain, should,
+indeed, prove the Thermopylæ of himself and his gallant little band
+of regular soldiers, the sacrifice would not be in vain. The militia
+and volunteers who had flocked around his standard, or were operating
+in the neighborhood, numbered from eight to ten thousand men, and
+before the enemy could have improved any advantage gained over his
+command, the forests around them would have been filled with an
+overwhelming force of citizen soldiers, burning with impatience to
+drive back the invader.
+
+In the evening of the fifth instant, Major Wool was ordered forward
+with his corps, to support the militia on the Beekmantown road. It
+was designed to reïnforce him with two pieces of artillery, before
+daylight; but the officer having charge of the guns did not join him
+in season. At early dawn on the sixth, the enemy were in motion.
+The column on the Beekmantown road, consisting of the divisions of
+Generals Power and Robinson, pushed forward with great rapidity.
+Major Wool and his men withstood them for some time with matchless
+hardihood and bravery, killing Lieutenant Colonel Wellington, of
+the Buffs, the leader of the advanced parties; but the militia were
+seized with an unhappy panic, occasioned, in part, by the red coats
+of the New York cavalry, stationed as look-outs on the hills, whom
+they mistook for the British soldiers. The firmness and intrepidity
+of Major Wool and his command failed to encourage them, and their
+premature flight soon compelled him to retire.
+
+The right column of the enemy having approached within one mile of
+Plattsburg, General Macomb dispatched his aid, with orders to Captain
+Sproul, to fall back by the lake road; and to Lieutenant Colonel
+Appling, to attack the British right. Appling retired just in time
+to escape being cut off; as he soon after encountered the head of a
+detachment from the left column, which had made a _détour_ through
+the woods for that purpose. A destructive fire from his rifles, at
+rest, checked their advance, and enabled him to effect his retreat
+in safety. The different corps, under Appling, Wool, and Sproul, now
+united, and slowly continued their retrograde movement; the field
+pieces were kept actively playing; the gunboats lying off the mouth
+of Dead Creek, poured a lively and galling fire upon the enemy; and
+their advanced parties were severely handled.
+
+[Sidenote: SKIRMISHING.]
+
+Every road and lane leading into Plattsburg was now full of British
+soldiers. The artillery, which had supported the American advanced
+corps, was pushed across the bridge in the town, where it was placed
+in battery, to cover the retreat of the infantry, who retired in
+alternate detachments. As the last platoons reached the southern
+bank of the river, the planks of all the bridges spanning the stream
+were torn up, by order of General Macomb, and breastworks formed
+from them, to protect the parties left to guard the crossings. The
+enemy promptly entered the town, flattering themselves that the
+victory was more than half completed. The heavy artillery in the
+redoubts immediately opened on them, and the staff officers, who
+ascended the roofs and balconies to reconnoitre, were speedily
+dislodged by the hot shot, poured upon them “like burning lava,”
+while the buildings of which they had taken possession were set on
+fire. The British commander, discovering that his men were suffering
+considerably from the fire of the heavy metal, and not being prepared
+to force the passage of the river, drew off the main body of his
+army,--leaving only a few light troops to skirmish at the different
+fords and bridges,--and encamped in a semicircle, about two miles
+from the American forts. It was of the highest importance that the
+weakness of his army should be concealed from the enemy, and General
+Macomb took extraordinary precautions to prevent their obtaining
+any positive information, and to deceive them in regard to his real
+strength. All the troops were paraded at guard-mounting; and, as
+several days elapsed before anything of moment transpired on either
+side, a portion of the barracks constructed for General Izard’s army
+was burned every night, to prevent the enemy from approaching the
+works unobserved, and to march the troops through the light, as if
+they were reïnforcements just arriving from the opposite shore of the
+lake.
+
+From the evening of the sixth of September, till the morning of the
+eleventh, Sir George Prevost was zealously engaged in planting his
+batteries, both open and masked, and bringing up his heavy artillery.
+During all this time he refrained from offensive operations, though
+there were constant skirmishes between advanced corps of the two
+armies, at the bridges and fords. The reason alleged for the delay
+on his part, was the want of his battering train, that came up very
+slowly; but the absence of the fleet under Captain Downie, which had
+not yet arrived,--and without which, as appeared in the sequel, he
+dared not make an attempt on the American position,--was, probably,
+the main consideration that influenced him.
+
+In the meantime, a lively and effective cannonade was directed upon
+the enemy’s lines from the American forts,--the sullen thunder of
+their artillery echoing for many a mile through the sweeping forests
+whose rich foliage enamelled the borders of Lake Champlain. The
+repeated assaults of the enemy at the different crossings of the
+river were repelled with ease and alacrity; and on one occasion,
+Captain M‘Glassin, of the 15th infantry, gallantly crossed the river
+in the night, with fifty men; attacked a working party one hundred
+and fifty strong, constructing a battery opposite Fort Brown;
+defeated both them and their support, also one hundred and fifty in
+number, killing seven of the enemy; and completely demolished the
+work. The regular troops, besides performing regular tours of duty
+at the bridge and fords, labored incessantly, in strengthening the
+fortifications.
+
+On the night of the tenth of September, General Macomb was apprised
+of the intention of the enemy to make an attack the next day; and,
+by his orders, the roads and passes leading to the south of his
+position, as he suspected they designed to turn it, were covered with
+felled trees, and strewed with leaves, so as to deceive them, and a
+new road was opened leading towards Salmon river.
+
+[Sidenote: REPULSE OF THE ENEMY.]
+
+At the earliest dawn of day, before the welkin began to glow with
+the purple light of morning, a general movement was reported, by the
+advanced parties, to be making in the enemy’s camp; and when objects
+could be distinguished from the main line, all their different corps
+were observed under arms. Shortly afterwards, the British fleet
+rounded Cumberland head. As the Confiance, the flag ship of Captain
+Downie, entered the bay, she scaled her guns,--the signal agreed
+on with Sir George Prevost for the commencement of the action. A
+desperate conflict, of rather more than two hours’ duration, now
+took place between the rival squadrons, at the termination of which
+Commodore Macdonough obtained a signal triumph over his opponent, who
+fell mortally wounded in the action.
+
+Nearly all the enemy’s vessels were captured or destroyed, and
+their crews, with the exception of those who were killed during the
+engagement, were taken prisoners.
+
+Sir George Prevost only waited to give his men their breakfast, when
+the attack was ordered on the land. Showers of bombs, shrapnels,
+balls, and rockets, were hurled across the river; and immediately
+after the bombardment commenced, the enemy advanced to force a
+passage across the stream, and assault the American works, in three
+columns--one approaching the bridge in the village, another the
+upper bridge, and the third a ford about three miles above the
+forts--all of which were provided with scaling ladders. The attack
+was vigorously met by the American artillerists; fire answered fire;
+and the ringing shot and shout resounded far and wide.
+
+The two columns of the enemy which attempted to pass the bridges,
+were gallantly driven back by the regulars; the remaining column was
+led astray in the woods--the artifices of the American commander
+being entirely successful--and after spending a long time in marching
+and countermarching to no purpose, wearied and worn with fatigue,
+they arrived in sight of the American works, only to hear the glad
+shouts of victory at the brilliant success of the brave Macdonough.
+A further advance was no longer to be thought of; the recall was
+sounded; the scaling ladders were thrown down; and a hasty retreat
+was made. The volunteers and militia stationed in this quarter,
+pressed warmly upon them, and succeeded in cutting off an entire
+company of the 76th foot, not a single man of whom escaped. The
+cannonade was kept up till sunset, when the enemy’s batteries were
+all silenced by the effective fire from the American forts.
+
+Before another morning dawned, Sir George Prevost and his powerful
+army had all disappeared, like “the baseless fabric of a vision.”
+Their sick and wounded were left behind, with a message to the
+American general commending them to his kindness and generosity. Vast
+quantities of provisions were also abandoned or destroyed, together
+with large stores of ammunition, tents, and intrenching tools.
+The retreat was made so unexpectedly, and with such extraordinary
+precipitance, that it was not discovered till the enemy had nearly
+reached Chazy, about eight miles distant. The light troops,
+volunteers, and militia, were instantly detached in pursuit of the
+flying Britons; but a violent storm of rain impeded their progress,
+and they were only able to capture a few prisoners, and to cover
+the escape of between three and four hundred deserters. Sir George
+Prevost succeeded in effecting his return to Canada, without further
+molestation, where he resigned the command of the army and demanded a
+court martial. Before the investigation took place, he died, as it is
+said, of grief and mortification at the ill-success of an expedition
+so well equipped and provided, and upon which depended so many hopes
+and expectations.
+
+The actual loss of the British army in this expedition was only
+two hundred and fifty killed and wounded, but there were over four
+hundred deserted in the retreat. Of the Americans, there were
+thirty-seven killed, sixty-two wounded, and twenty missing.
+
+The double victory of Macomb and Macdonough was everywhere hailed
+by their countrymen with acclamations of joy. The legislatures of
+New York and Vermont were foremost in offering their thanks and
+congratulations. The freedom of the city of New York was presented to
+General Macomb, in a gold box, and the State legislature voted him a
+magnificent sword. Congress also passed a vote of thanks, and ordered
+that a gold medal, emblematical of the victory, should be struck and
+presented to him. The brevet of major general was likewise conferred
+on him--his commission bearing date on the memorable eleventh of
+September, 1814.
+
+[Sidenote: RETURN OF PEACE.]
+
+Upon the conclusion of the treaty of peace, the negotiations for
+which were undoubtedly hastened to a close by the disastrous result
+of the expedition under Sir George Prevost, the army was reduced
+to the peace establishment, which was fixed at ten thousand men.
+Two major generals, and four brigadier generals, were retained in
+the service; among them was General Macomb, who stood at the head
+of the brigadiers. He was now assigned to the command of the 3rd
+military department, and established his headquarters at New York;
+subsequently he was transferred to the 5th department, and removed
+to Detroit. While in charge of the latter department, he established
+the posts at Fort Gratiot, Chicago, Mackinaw, Prairie du Chien, St.
+Peter’s, and St. Mary’s. So highly was he esteemed by the people
+of Detroit, that when he was called to Washington, on the further
+reduction of the army, in June, 1821, to take charge of the Engineer
+Bureau, an address, in their name, with a piece of plate, was
+presented to him, by Governor Cass; and the clergy, and all the most
+prominent citizens, called upon him to take their leave, and express
+their regret at his departure.
+
+General Macomb now removed to Georgetown, in the District of
+Columbia, in order to enter upon the duties of his appointment as
+Chief Engineer. His military studies, his talents and experience,
+eminently fitted him for this post; and it is not strange, therefore,
+that he should have received, as he did, the repeated thanks of every
+head of the War Department, during his administration of the affairs
+of the engineer bureau. Millions of dollars were appropriated under
+his directions, not a single cent of which was unaccounted for to the
+government.
+
+In the first year of his residence at Georgetown, General Macomb was
+called upon to mourn the loss of his excellent wife, who had so long
+shared with him the toils and dangers, the hardships and sufferings,
+of a soldier’s life. He was married a second time, in May, 1826, to
+Mrs. Harriet Balch Wilson, a lady richly meriting the praise awarded
+to the possessor of so many graces and accomplishments.
+
+On the death of General Brown, in February, 1828, General Macomb
+was raised to the full rank of major general, and appointed
+General-in-Chief of the army. His claims to this preference were
+disputed by Generals Scott and Gaines, the two brigadiers; but
+President Adams, and his successor, General Jackson, decided in favor
+of Macomb, on the ground that his military service was the longest,
+and that, even if this were not the case, the Executive possessed
+the unquestioned right to go beyond the pale of the army, if thought
+advisable, in making the selection.
+
+While at the head of the army, General Macomb devised and recommended
+various plans for its improvement, and that of the military school
+at West Point, many of which were adopted by Congress, or the War
+Department, and all of which would no doubt materially conduce to
+the elevation of the military character of the country. He was not
+again required to take the field, except that he was absent for a
+few months in Florida, during the second Seminole war, and, in 1839,
+concluded a treaty of peace with the refractory Indians, which proved
+to be illusory and deceptive.
+
+[Sidenote: HIS DEATH.]
+
+As General Macomb advanced in years, he grew somewhat corpulent, and
+became subject to apoplectic attacks. On the occasion of the funeral
+ceremonies of President Harrison, in the city of Washington, he
+commanded the funeral escort; and his tall and manly form, his noble
+and dignified presence, rendered him the most conspicuous personage
+in that brilliant pageant. But little more than two months elapsed,
+when he was struck by the same relentless enemy of our race. He died
+in a fit of apoplexy, on the twenty-fifth of June, 1841, universally
+lamented by his associates and brethren in arms, and by his numerous
+friends and acquaintances throughout the Union.
+
+The personal appearance of General Macomb was decidedly in his favor.
+He was above the ordinary height, and, until a few years previous to
+his death, was finely proportioned. His eyes were blue, and beamed
+with intelligence and kindness. His look was lofty and imposing, and
+his whole cast of countenance indicated great decision and firmness,
+coupled with intellectual ability of the highest order.
+
+He was polished and easy in his manners; at all times accessible;
+but never forgetting his own self-respect, or losing sight of the
+dignity of his position. In his military career, he evinced unusual
+promptness and energy, appropriately tempered by wisdom and prudence.
+He made no pretences to extraordinary courage; but a braver soldier,
+in the better sense of the term, never lived. His scientific
+attainments in the line of his profession, and in general literature,
+were remarked, and admired, by all who had the pleasure of his
+acquaintance. He was singularly accurate in his judgment; correct
+and exact in the discharge of every duty; patient and assiduous, but
+decided, in anything he undertook. His disposition and character were
+equable; and he wore well, as a soldier and a citizen,--as a friend,
+a father, and a husband.
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+       [28] Vol. I. p. 288.
+
+       [29] Colonel Williams, the chief of the corps of
+            Engineers, resigned his commission in 1812, for the
+            reason that he was denied a command in the line of
+            the army, which he solicited.
+
+       [30] The post was attacked in May, 1813, (see Memoir
+            of General Brown, _ante_,) but not until after the
+            withdrawal of the troops for the expedition against
+            York and Fort George.
+
+       [31] See Memoir of General Brown, _ante_.
+
+
+
+
+                       ZEBULON MONTGOMERY PIKE.
+
+
+This gallant officer, whose fate so closely resembles that of the
+chivalric, ardent, and romantic Montgomery, was bred in a camp, lived
+a soldier’s life, and died a soldier’s death.
+
+          “Brief brave, and glorious, was his young career!”
+
+Like Sidney before the walls of Zutphen, he perished in the hour of
+victory, when he had just plucked the coronal of his fame; like him,
+too, rejoicing that his death was for the honor of his country.
+
+General Pike was descended from a family of soldiers. One of his
+ancestors, Captain John Pike, was highly distinguished, according to
+the traditionary accounts, in the early Indian wars of the colony.
+His father, Major Zebulon Pike, entered the army of the United
+States as a captain of infantry, in 1792, having served, with high
+credit, in the levies of the previous year, and was promoted to
+the rank of major in 1800. His son, the hero of this sketch, was
+born at Lamberton, New Jersey, the residence of the family for many
+generations, on the fifth day of January, 1779. While he was yet a
+child, his father removed to Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and thence
+to Easton. In his boyhood, he was remarkable both for his spirit and
+bravery, and his thoughtful and studious habits. He enjoyed but few
+advantages, and obtained a knowledge only of the ordinary branches of
+an English education.
+
+At an early age, he accompanied his father to the western frontiers
+of the Union, and served for some time as a cadet in his company.
+On the third of March, 1799, he received a commission as ensign
+in the 2nd infantry, and on the twenty-fourth of April, 1800, was
+promoted to a first lieutenancy in the same regiment. During the
+year 1800, he was transferred to the 1st infantry. Unlike most of
+the young officers around him, who contented themselves with going
+through the customary routine of barrack duty, he devoted all his
+leisure time to reading and study. Without the aid of an instructor,
+he became tolerably well acquainted with the French, Latin, and
+Spanish languages, and made considerable proficiency in mathematics
+and general science. He was not indifferently versed in polite
+literature, though much could not have been expected from him in this
+respect, as his reading and studies were very desultory in their
+character. He possessed an inquiring mind, habits of investigation
+and reflection, and was a nice observer of men and things; he
+was likewise patient and assiduous in his efforts to improve his
+mind,--but all these good qualities did not make up for the absence
+of a regular system.
+
+In March, 1801, Pike was married to Miss Clarissa Brown, of
+Cincinnati. He was tenderly and devotedly attached to his wife, and
+had several children by her, only one of whom, a daughter, survived
+him.
+
+[Sidenote: EXPEDITION UP THE MISSISSIPPI.]
+
+After the purchase of Louisiana from France, Mr. Jefferson projected
+several expeditions of discovery in the territory newly acquired.
+Captain Lewis and Lieutenant Clarke were selected to ascend the
+Missouri, to cross the mountains, and trace the Columbia river to its
+mouth; and about the same time, Lieutenant Pike was ordered by his
+commanding officer, General Wilkinson, to conduct an expedition to
+the sources of the Mississippi. On the ninth of August, 1805, he left
+St. Louis in a keel boat, seventy feet long, with provisions for four
+months; his whole party consisting of one sergeant, one corporal,
+and seventeen private soldiers. There was not a scientific man
+attached to the expedition; his men were totally unacquainted with
+the country; and Pike himself was required to perform the duties, as
+he remarks in the Preface to his published Narrative, “of astronomer,
+surveyor, commanding officer, clerk, spy, guide, and hunter.”
+
+He was absent on this expedition nearly nine months. He visited
+a great number of Indian tribes, attended several councils, made
+treaties with them, and purchased valuable tracts of land. On the
+sixteenth of October he erected a stockade, and established a winter
+station for his men, two hundred and thirty-three miles above the
+falls of St. Anthony. He was determined to pursue his explorations
+still further, and accordingly commenced his preparations as soon
+as practicable. While he remained at the encampment, its tedious
+monotony was relieved by the excitement of the chase. In December,
+he continued his journey in canoes and on foot--his men drawing
+their baggage on sleds over the frozen snow. After visiting Sandy,
+Leech, and Red Cedar lakes, and making his surveys and examinations,
+he returned to his stockade, where he had left his sergeant, and
+invalid soldiers, on the eighteenth of February, 1806. He was
+compelled to wait here till the breaking up of the ice in the spring,
+when he descended the river to St. Louis, arriving there on the
+thirtieth of April.
+
+General Wilkinson was so well pleased with the manner in which
+Lieutenant Pike had conducted the expedition up the Mississippi, that
+within four months after his return, he selected him to undertake
+a similar enterprise. On the fifteenth of July, 1806, he embarked
+at St. Louis, with his party, consisting of one lieutenant, one
+sergeant, two corporals, sixteen privates, and an interpreter,
+together with forty Osage captives, who had recently been recovered
+from their enemies, the Potowatomies. Dr. Robinson, a professional
+gentleman, accompanied the expedition as a volunteer.
+
+Proceeding up the Missouri river to the Osage country, Lieutenant
+Pike restored the captives to their friends, and then made his way
+to the Pawnee towns, with whom he partially succeeded in cultivating
+friendly relations. His efforts, however, were in a great measure
+frustrated, by their proximity to the Spanish settlers of New Mexico,
+a large body of whom had lately visited their country.
+
+Having fulfilled the duties required of him in the Indian country,
+Lieutenant Pike proceeded to obey his further instructions, to
+explore the territory lying on the headwaters of the Arkansas and
+Red rivers. After leaving the Indian neighborhood, he and his party
+encountered the severest hardships and fatigues. On reaching the
+Arkansas, he directed Lieutenant Wilkinson to descend the river to
+the military post on its lower waters, with seven men of the party.
+He then held on his way with the remainder of his command, and, at
+length, after days and weeks of toil and suffering--he and his men
+being compelled for a portion of the time to carry seventy pounds
+each on their backs--he arrived on what he supposed to be the bank of
+the Red river, but which proved to be the Rio Grande.
+
+[Sidenote: TAKEN PRISONER TO CHIHUAHUA.]
+
+While encamped in the vicinity of the river, he was visited by a
+detachment of Spanish and Mexican lancers, by whom he was conducted
+to Santa Fé. The Spaniards were at that time extremely inimical
+towards the people of the United States, and it was probably supposed
+that Pike was connected with the expedition of Colonel Burr. He was
+treated with great respect, however, but was carefully watched,
+and shortly afterwards sent, with his party, to Chihuahua, the
+residence of the Captain-general of the Internal Provinces, under
+a strong escort. All his papers, with the exception of his private
+journal, were here taken from him, and he was then permitted to
+return home, accompanied by an escort, by way of San Antonio and
+Nacogdoches,--though he was forbidden to take any notes, or make any
+observations, on the route. He evaded this prohibition, by making
+his memoranda on small scraps of paper, which were concealed in the
+gunbarrels of his men. On the first of July, 1807, the long and
+arduous expedition terminated, by the arrival of himself and party at
+Natchitoches.
+
+On his return to the United States, Pike found himself promoted to
+the rank of captain. His conduct received the express approbation of
+the Secretary of War, and his zeal, perseverance, and intelligence,
+elicited a high, but richly deserved encomium, from a committee of
+Congress. He subsequently prepared a Narrative of his Expedition,
+abounding in interesting and useful information, and accompanied with
+valuable maps and charts, which was published in 1810.
+
+In 1809, Pike was raised to a majority in the 6th infantry, and, in
+1810, was appointed lieutenant colonel of the 4th infantry. Being
+engaged on detached service at the southwest, he was not present at
+the battle of Tippecanoe, in November, 1811, in which his regiment
+bore so prominent a part. While holding the rank of lieutenant
+colonel, he was appointed deputy quartermaster general, the duties of
+which office he discharged with commendable fidelity and punctuality.
+
+On the twentieth day of May, 1812, Colonel Pike was present at a
+numerous meeting of the citizens of Philadelphia, held in the State
+House yard, the object of which was to embolden the government
+to declare war against Great Britain. He took no part in the
+proceedings, but was not an uninterested spectator. His whole soul
+was in his profession; his heart glowed with the noble ambition of
+the soldier; and he gladly welcomed these expressions of the popular
+will, as the certain indications that he would soon be summoned to
+the field. He panted for action, for glory and fame. His ardent wish
+was soon gratified, by the declaration of war in June following,
+and on the increase of the army, in July, he was promoted to the
+colonelcy of the 15th infantry.
+
+Shortly after receiving his new commission, Colonel Pike proceeded
+to the Champlain frontier, where he was stationed for some months,
+under the immediate orders of General Dearborn, with a command
+consisting of twenty-five hundred men. He found the troops in great
+need of discipline, and labored earnestly and indefatigably to
+correct the difficulty. No regular system of tactics had then been
+adopted; some officers adhering to that of “Old Steuben,” in vogue
+during the revolution, and others adopting the more modern French
+system. Pike was active in his temperament, enthusiastic, ambitious
+to excel, and, perhaps, too fond of innovations. He felt himself
+at liberty to choose for himself, and therefore drilled his own
+regiment in three ranks, according to the French mode; the rear rank
+being provided with short guns and long pikes. They made a bristling
+appearance in the charge, but were not very serviceable, and soon
+became known in the army as “Pike’s regiment of _pikes_.” After his
+death the short guns and pikes were no longer used.
+
+One of the innovations introduced by Pike, was that of drilling
+his men with snow shoes, in anticipation of a winter campaign in
+Canada; and there are many amusing anecdotes related of the singular
+appearance presented by his men when going through their manœuvres
+and evolutions on parade.
+
+[Sidenote: INCURSION INTO CANADA.]
+
+In October, 1812, Colonel Pike made a successful incursion into
+Canada, with his regiment; the northern army being then stationed
+near the frontier, in the town of Champlain. On the nineteenth
+instant, he surprised a body of British and Indians stationed at a
+blockhouse, destroyed a large quantity of public stores, and returned
+to camp without sustaining much loss. In the winter of 1813, he
+was assigned to the command of a brigade, and was ordered from
+Plattsburg to Sacketts Harbor, in consequence of a report that Sir
+George Prevost designed to attack that post.[32]
+
+At the opening of the campaign of 1813, Pike was promoted to the
+rank of brigadier general, and accompanied General Dearborn in his
+expedition against York. It was the great fault committed by our
+generals in the war of 1812, that no permanent lodgment was made on
+the Canada shore, between Kingston and Montreal. Had this been done,
+the two provinces would have been effectually detached, and the upper
+one must of necessity have submitted to the authority of the United
+States. The instructions issued from the War Department to General
+Dearborn, in the spring of 1813, specified Kingston and York, Forts
+George and Erie, as suitable points of attack. It was, of course,
+designed that an attempt should be first made on Kingston; but the
+commanding general was deceived by a false report as to its strength,
+intended by the enemy to produce that effect, and therefore selected
+York, the capital of Upper Canada, now known as Toronto.
+
+Pike was constantly employed at Sacketts Harbor, in drilling the men
+intended for the expedition, which was to be a secret one,--it being
+understood that he was to have the actual command of the forces,
+though General Dearborn decided to accompany him. The troops, to
+the number of about seventeen hundred men, were embarked on board
+Commodore Chauncey’s fleet, on the twenty-third of April, 1813,
+and set sail on the twenty-fifth instant. On the morning of the
+twenty-seventh, they hove in sight of York, and the landing instantly
+commenced, in the small boats, under the direction of General Pike,
+who had previously made all the necessary arrangements, and issued
+the most precise orders, which were directed to be read at the head
+of every corps.
+
+[Sidenote: EXPEDITION AGAINST YORK.]
+
+It was originally designed that the debarkation should take place
+on the open shore, near the ruins of old Fort Toronto, about two
+miles above York; but the prevalence of a strong east wind forced
+the boats on a part of the coast fringed with trees and underbrush,
+which afforded an excellent cover to the enemy’s sharpshooters. Major
+Forsyth led the descent with his rifle corps. His men cheered lustily
+as their boats skimmed over the blue waters, and rapidly neared the
+beach. The alarm had already been communicated to General Sheaffe,
+the commandant of the garrison at York; a strong body of grenadiers,
+with the Glengary fencibles, were paraded on the shore to oppose the
+landing; a still larger force of regulars and militia, at least seven
+hundred strong, were observed in the rear; and there were five or six
+hundred Indians scattered through the woods in detached parties.
+
+As Major Forsyth approached the shore, a heavy fire of musketry and
+rifles was poured on his command. He at once ordered his men to rest
+a few seconds on their oars, and return the enemy’s fire. General
+Pike was at this moment standing on the deck of his ship, intently
+surveying the scene with his glass. Observing what he thought a
+cowardly pause on the part of the advance, he exclaimed to his staff,
+“I can stay here no longer,--come, jump into the boat!” As he spoke,
+he leaped into the boat, followed by his officers, gave the order to
+make way, and pushed into the thickest of the fire.
+
+Meantime, Major Forsyth and his men had gallantly driven the enemy
+from the bank, and effected a landing. They then sheltered themselves
+behind the trees and bushes, and opened a lively fire. The first
+volley of the enemy had killed their armorer, the best shot in the
+corps, and they now made the woods ring with the shrill report of
+their pieces, and their loud shouts for vengeance.
+
+General Pike soon landed, with Major King’s infantry, the light
+artillery under Major Eustis, the volunteer corps of Colonel
+McClure, and Lieutenant Riddle’s rifles. The general placed himself
+at the head of the platoon first formed, and ordering the rest to
+follow, dashed up the bank under a fierce shower of bullets from
+the grenadiers. His noble example inspired his men with confidence.
+Willing hearts found ready hands. At the word they sprang forward
+with the utmost vivacity and firmness, and charged impetuously upon
+the enemy, who almost immediately broke, and retired in disorder
+towards their works in the town. At the same instant, Forsyth’s
+bugles pealed forth their merry notes of victory. The effect on the
+Indians was electrical; they gave a loud yell and fled in every
+direction; but the Glengary fencibles still maintained an irregular
+fire. A fresh body of grenadiers now issued from the wood, and made
+a dash at Major King’s regiment; at first, the latter faltered under
+the terrible crash of the bayonet, but they speedily rallied,
+returned the charge with a will, and drove the enemy from the field.
+
+All the troops having landed, they were formed in order of attack,
+and led on by General Pike in person, against the enemy’s works.
+Advancing through the wood, they came within range of a twenty-four
+pounder gun planted in one of the batteries. The battery was stormed
+and cleaned in an instant. A second work was soon after entered,
+which had previously been abandoned. The assailants then moved
+forward, in columns, upon the principal intrenchment, whither the
+enemy had retreated. On approaching it, the barracks appeared to have
+been evacuated. Suspecting some trick, General Pike ordered a halt,
+and sent Lieutenant Riddle forward to reconnoitre.
+
+[Sidenote: EXPLOSION OF THE MAGAZINE.]
+
+In the meanwhile, General Pike, ever as humane and generous, as he
+was brave, had aided in removing a wounded British soldier with his
+own hands to a place of safety, and then sat down on the stump of a
+tree with one of the enemy’s sergeants who had been taken prisoner.
+He was busily employed in examining him, with the assistance of his
+aids, when the hill-side was suddenly convulsed as if with the throes
+of an earthquake. The magazine in the main work of the enemy exploded
+with a deafening roar. Huge volumes of smoke darkened the air;
+vast columns of flame shot up towards the sky; and large masses of
+fragments were thrown into the air, where they hung suspended for a
+moment, and then descended with a sharp hissing sound, crushing into
+the earth both friends and foes within a circuit of three hundred
+yards.[33] The magazine was constructed of stone, and one of the
+heaviest masses fell upon the group gathered about General Pike. All,
+except one of the aids, were mortally wounded,--the general himself
+receiving a severe contusion on the breast.
+
+The American troops for an instant recoiled before this terrible
+catastrophe; but they were quickly reformed by Colonel Pearce, of
+the 16th infantry, who now assumed the command, and his subordinate
+officers; the lively strains of martial music soon reïnspired them;
+and they were again led forward to the attack, rending the air,
+as they advanced, with their loud hurrahs. As they filed past the
+suffering, but heroic Pike, whose breast and sides were literally
+crushed in, he said, “Push on, my brave fellows, and avenge your
+general!”--They instantly dashed on with redoubled zeal; though the
+plume of their gallant leader was no longer to be seen, his influence
+was still upon them; and in a few hours the victory was completed,
+by the capture of the town and fort; General Sheaffe making a
+precipitate retreat with his regulars, in the direction of Kingston.
+The public buildings and barracks were destroyed, and the military
+stores removed; and the place was then abandoned. The enemy lost
+about two hundred men in killed and wounded, and nearly three hundred
+were taken prisoners. The loss of the Americans was three hundred and
+twenty killed and wounded, principally caused by the explosion of the
+magazine. Between thirty and forty of the enemy were also killed and
+wounded by the explosion.
+
+[Sidenote: HIS DEATH.]
+
+After the advance of the troops, Pike was taken up by some of his
+men, under the direction of the surgeons, to be conveyed on board
+the ship. As they reached the shore of the lake, a loud prolonged
+shout was heard, evidently proceeding from his brigade. The cheering
+sound revived the dying hero. Like Wolfe upon the plains of Abraham,
+he turned his head with an inquiring look. This was noticed by a
+sergeant beside him, who instantly cried, “The British union jack
+is coming down, general--the stars are going up!” Pike struggled
+to speak, but the effort was vain; he heaved a deep sigh, and a
+glad smile lighted up his fine features. He was then rowed to the
+Commodore’s ship and taken on board. He lingered a few hours in great
+pain, being unable to articulate a single syllable. Just before he
+breathed his last, as his eye was glazing in death, the British
+standard was brought to him; he made a sign to have it placed under
+his head, and calmly breathed his last.
+
+The personal intrepidity of General Pike was not his only good
+quality. He was devotedly attached to his profession, and jealous of
+the preservation of its honor,--as was evinced by the orders issued
+on the morning of the fatal twenty-seventh of April. Among them
+was one, in which he prohibited any molestation of the persons or
+property of private citizens, and strictly enjoined upon his troops
+that they should refrain from committing outrages of every character,
+however much they might be provoked. He was pure-minded, frank and
+ingenuous; firm in danger, and resolute in adversity; blameless in
+life, and heroic in death,--exemplifying, under circumstances that
+required the exhibition of unusual fortitude and resignation, the
+truthful sentiment of the Roman poet--
+
+               “Dulce, et decorum est, pro patria mori!”
+
+On the day previous to the embarkation at Sacketts Harbor, General
+Pike addressed a letter to his father, in which he said: “I embark
+to-morrow in the fleet at Sacketts Harbor, at the head of a column
+of fifteen hundred choice troops, on a secret expedition. If success
+attend my steps, honor and glory await my name; if defeat, still
+shall it be said that we died like brave men, and conferred honor,
+even in death, on the American name. Should I be the happy mortal
+destined to turn the scale of war, will you not rejoice, O my father?
+May Heaven be propitious, and smile on the cause of my country! But
+if we are destined to fall, may my fall be like Wolfe’s--to sleep in
+the arms of victory!”
+
+[Sidenote: HIS CHARACTER.]
+
+The hero’s wish was gratified. The same breeze that fanned his cheek,
+and cooled the aching forehead on which the death-damp was rapidly
+gathering, unfurled the victorious banner, welcomed, as it shook
+its star-gemmed folds above the heads of his brave soldiers, with
+a deafening shout that went up like the gush of many waters. He
+desired no higher, or greater distinction, in life, than to serve his
+country in the tented field--he asked no nobler death than that which
+awaited him, in the hour of his proud triumph:--
+
+    “He died, as hearts like his should die,--
+    In the hot clasp of victory!”
+
+[Illustration: WINFIELD SCOTT.]
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+       [32] See Memoir of General Macomb, _ante_.
+
+       [33] Some of the escapes made on this occasion were
+            rather amusing;--one officer saved himself by dodging
+            under a gun, and another by springing into an
+            empty pork barrel. It was for a long time supposed
+            that the explosion was the work of design, and
+            the circumstance of finding the lighted trains at
+            Fort George, (See Memoir of General Scott.) in May
+            following, tended to strengthen this impression.
+            General Sheaffe, however, repelled the dishonorable
+            imputation, and declared that it was wholly
+            accidental. The most critical and reliable biographer
+            of General Pike, (See Memoir of Pike, by Colonel
+            Whiting, in Sparks’ American Biography.) adopts the
+            opinion that it was a mere accident, and could not
+            have been designed.
+
+
+
+
+                           WINFIELD SCOTT.
+
+
+On learning the particulars of the defeat of Marshal Ney at
+Dennewitz, says St. Cyr, in his _Histoire Militaire_,[34] Napoleon
+remarked, that “he knew of but one general who had constantly
+gained by experience, and that was Turenne, whose great talents
+were the result of profound study.” A similar remark might, not
+inappropriately, be applied to WINFIELD SCOTT, the General-in-Chief
+of the Army of the United States. For more than forty years he has
+been in the military service of the American people, constantly
+improving in reputation, as in the knowledge appertaining to his
+profession,--the experience of each year furnishing new and useful
+lessons to its successor, which have not been permitted to remain
+unimproved,--and he now stands before the country and the world,
+occupying a high place among the heroes of modern times, and towering
+far above his compeers, in stature and in fame.
+
+[Sidenote: BIRTH AND EDUCATION.]
+
+Among the Scottish gentlemen who rallied around Charles Edward, when
+he unfurled the banner of his kingly race on the hills of Glenfinnan,
+on the nineteenth of August, 1745, were two brothers, by the name
+of Scott. They adhered to “the young Chevalier” through weal and
+woe, through good and evil report, till the fortunes of the Stuarts
+sank forever on the bloody field of Culloden. The elder brother
+sealed his loyalty with his life on that fatal day; and the younger,
+being seriously compromised by his participation in the rebellion,
+emigrated to America, and established himself in the practice of
+the law, in the then Colony of Virginia. His son William, a farmer
+by occupation, married into one of the most respectable families in
+Virginia, and died in 1791, leaving two sons and several daughters.
+The elder son, James, commanded a regiment of Virginia militia, at
+Norfolk, in 1812; the younger was Winfield, the subject of this
+biographical notice, who was born near Petersburg, Virginia, on the
+thirteenth of June, 1786.
+
+Within two years after the death of his father, young Scott was
+also deprived of his mother, and, at the age of seventeen, was left
+his sole master, possessed of but limited means, to make or mar his
+fortune, as he himself decided to guide the little bark freighted
+with his boyish hopes and aspirations. Happily, he had been early
+accustomed to habits of self-government and self-reliance. He was
+frank and ingenuous by nature; ardent, ambitious, and chivalric,
+in his temperament; gifted with a superior intellect; industrious
+by inclination, as well as from a consciousness of its importance;
+quick to perceive, and ready to learn. Qualities like these, properly
+improved and directed, are always sure to reward their possessor a
+hundred fold; for mind, like water, will, sooner or later, find its
+own appropriate level.
+
+Scott was originally designed for the legal profession. He pursued
+a regular course of instruction in mathematics and the classics,
+in the High-School at Richmond, then in charge of a distinguished
+teacher of the name of Ogilvie, and afterwards repaired to William
+and Mary College, where he spent between one and two years, and
+attended a course of law lectures. His legal studies were completed
+in the office of David Robertson, a learned and able lawyer, and
+in 1806 he was admitted to the bar. He spent the following year in
+his native state, riding the circuit two terms in the vicinity of
+Petersburg, and residing most of the time with Benjamin Watkins
+Leigh, subsequently one of the most eminent counsellors and advocates
+in Virginia. In the fall of 1807, he visited South Carolina,
+intending to establish himself in practice in the city of Charleston.
+Failing, for want of time, to procure the passage of a bill by the
+legislature, specially exempting him from the statutory provision
+requiring a year’s residence in the state, he returned to Virginia.
+
+This was, perhaps, the most fortunate disappointment he has ever
+experienced. The whole country was then in a complete ferment of
+agitation. The attack on the Chesapeake took place in June previous,
+and a war was confidently predicted as the inevitable result.
+President Jefferson issued a proclamation prohibiting British armed
+vessels from entering the harbors of the United States, and bodies
+of militia were called out for the defence of the coast, and the
+enforcement of the prohibition. The first blast of the trumpet roused
+young Scott from his studies, and dissolved many of his gayest
+and brightest dreams of future eminence and distinction among the
+gentlemen of the gown and wig. He enrolled himself as a member of a
+volunteer troop of horse raised in Petersburg, and, in the summer of
+1807, performed a tour of duty on Lynnhaven Bay.
+
+Visions of military greatness and renown danced constantly before
+him, while on his visit to South Carolina, which more than half
+compensated for his disappointment. He took a deep interest in
+the progress of the difficulties with England and France, and his
+sympathies were warmly enlisted in behalf of his country. His voice
+and his pen were both employed in defence of the administration of
+Mr. Jefferson, and of that of his successor, Mr. Madison; and from
+the time of the attack on the Chesapeake, till the declaration of
+war, he was an active and energetic supporter of war measures.
+
+[Sidenote: APPOINTED A CAPTAIN OF ARTILLERY.]
+
+Immediately after his return to Virginia, he determined to abandon
+his profession and enter the army. Accordingly, he applied to the
+President, for a commission in one of the new regiments proposed to
+be raised by a bill introduced in Congress at the session of 1807–8.
+The bill lingered sometime on its passage, and, in the meanwhile,
+Scott returned to his circuit. It finally became a law in April,
+1808; and on the third day of May following, through the influence of
+his friend, the Hon. Wm. B. Giles, then a senator in Congress, and
+afterwards governor of the State of Virginia, he was commissioned,
+by President Jefferson, a captain of light artillery. Briefs and
+black-letter tomes, red tape and parchment, were now thrown aside;
+his company was raised and organized; and early in 1809, he joined
+the army under General Wilkinson, at New Orleans.
+
+The character of the connection of Wilkinson with the intrigues
+of Colonel Burr, as indicated by the testimony elicited on the
+trial of the latter, which took place while Scott was in Virginia,
+had not produced a very favorable impression on his mind. General
+Wilkinson, however, was pleased with the appearance and talents of
+his subordinate; he mentioned him as a young man “who could speak,
+and write, and fight”, and made repeated attempts to attach him to
+his interest. Scott calmly, but firmly, declined to meet his advances
+in a similar spirit, and took no pains to conceal the opinions he
+had formed. In the autumn of 1809, General Wilkinson was relieved by
+General Hampton, in the command of the southern army,--the main body
+of which was stationed near Natchez. Scott was now more unguarded
+in his conversation, and on one occasion, perhaps unwisely, though
+his sincerity cannot be doubted, indulged in the strongest terms of
+reprehension. Charges were soon after preferred against him,[35]
+and in January, 1810, he was tried and found guilty, of having
+uttered disrespectful language towards his superior officer, General
+Wilkinson. The sentence of the court was, that he should be suspended
+“from all rank, pay, and emoluments, for the space of twelve months.”
+
+The following year was spent by Captain Scott, at Richmond, in the
+family of his friend, Mr. Leigh, who tendered him the free use of
+his large library. The opportunity thus afforded, for benefiting
+his mind, was faithfully improved. The greater part of the period
+of his suspension was spent in the careful and diligent study of
+works on military science; and he thus laid the foundation of that
+vast and comprehensive information, which subsequently embraced
+every department of knowledge belonging to, or connected with, his
+profession.
+
+[Sidenote: PROMOTED TO LIEUTENANT COLONEL.]
+
+A further augmentation of the army, consequent upon the declaration
+of war against Great Britain, was made in the summer of 1812, and in
+the month of July, upon the urgent recommendation of the Virginia
+delegation in Congress, Scott was promoted to the rank of lieutenant
+colonel in the 2nd artillery. He at once proceeded to the Niagara
+frontier, with two companies of his regiment, and took post at Black
+Rock, to protect the naval dépôt at that place.
+
+It is well known that the venerable Albert Gallatin, whose varied
+learning, and great abilities, are so highly honored and esteemed at
+home and abroad, was decidedly opposed, as a member of Mr. Madison’s
+cabinet, to the war with England, or to a war with any foreign power;
+and the younger, and more ardent and ambitious, members of the
+party to which he belonged, often complained that he did not render
+that hearty support to the administration, in the management of the
+affairs of his department, necessary to the vigorous prosecution
+of hostilities. On one occasion he is reported to have doubtingly
+inquired of Lieutenant Elliott, of the navy, what they were to do
+for vessels on Lake Erie, when they had none, and there was no money
+to build any? “Take them!” said the lieutenant, in whose patriotism
+calculations of dollars and cents had no place.--The theory of the
+young officer was gallantly put in practice on the night of the
+eighth of October, 1812, on the shores of the Niagara. The Caledonia,
+a British brig of war, the next year employed in Perry’s squadron,
+and the Detroit, formerly the Adams surrendered by Hull, were cut out
+from under the guns of Fort Erie, where they were lying at anchor,
+and brought off with their crews, by a party in two boats, headed
+by Elliott in person. Captain Towson, of the 2nd artillery, and a
+portion of his company, belonging to Scott’s command, took part in
+the expedition. Scott himself volunteered to accompany his men, but
+was not permitted to go; he rendered important assistance, however,
+by the fire of his guns, in preventing the recapture of the Detroit,
+which grounded on Squaw Island. It being found impossible to get her
+off, she was subsequently burned, by order of General Smythe.
+
+Early in the month of October, 1812, there were near fifteen hundred
+regular troops at Buffalo and Fort Niagara, under the command of
+General Smythe; and General Stephen Van Rensselaer, of the New York
+militia, the commander of the united force, known as the Army of the
+Centre, had concentrated about twenty-five hundred men at Lewiston.
+Nothing was talked of but the invasion and conquest of Canada. The
+successful enterprise under Elliott infused new zeal into the breasts
+of the really patriotic, but raw and undisciplined militia; and all
+that was then required to have terminated the campaign, and perhaps
+the war, by a bold and successful stroke in the upper province, was
+the presence of resolute and energetic general officers. General
+Smythe possessed few of the qualifications requisite in a skilful and
+successful soldier, and there was very little cordiality of feeling
+existing between him and General Van Rensselaer,--when, had they
+zealously coöperated together, and made a vigorous irruption into the
+enemy’s country, at the head of their combined forces, the power of
+England in Upper Canada, would have been at an end in three weeks.
+
+[Sidenote: ATTACK ON QUEENSTON.]
+
+General Van Rensselaer was high-minded and patriotic, and not
+deficient in ability or personal bravery, but he was, to some extent,
+jealous of the regular officers, and did not infuse that energy into
+his operations, which, after all, is the great secret of converting
+militia into reliable troops. Day after day passed by, and the army
+still remained inactive. Action and excitement are always necessary
+to keep up the spirits of a newly organized militia force. Nothing
+was done in this respect, until the men threatened to return home,
+when an attack was planned on the British post at Queenston, nearly
+opposite Lewiston; it being understood that the greater part of the
+enemy’s forces had been withdrawn from the peninsula, for the defence
+of Malden.
+
+The morning of the eleventh of October was fixed upon for the attack;
+but on account of the violence of the weather, and the want of a
+sufficient number of boats, it was postponed to the thirteenth, when
+it was arranged to take place in two columns, one of militia, and
+the other of regulars, each to consist of three hundred men. Colonel
+Solomon Van Rensselaer, of the New York militia, and Lieutenant
+Colonel Chrystie, of the 13th infantry, were selected to command the
+two columns. Lieutenant Colonel Fenwick was to follow the movement
+with a force of two hundred regulars, under Major Mullaney.
+
+The arrangements for storming the heights of Queenston were completed
+on the twelfth of October, and late in the evening of that day
+Lieutenant Colonel Scott hastened to Lewiston, through mud, and
+rain, and sleet, and entreated General Van Rensselaer to permit him
+to serve as a volunteer with the attacking force. His services were
+declined, but he was authorized to bring his command to Lewiston,
+there to act as circumstances might require. He instantly returned
+to Schlosser, where his men were posted, ordered them under arms,
+and just before daylight arrived at Lewiston, bringing with him two
+pieces of artillery which were conveyed down the river in a boat,
+in consequence of the bad state of the roads. The troops under Van
+Rensselaer and Chrystie had already passed the river,--though with
+not much regularity, on account of the deficiency of boats,--under
+a heavy fire from the enemy’s batteries; and they were now warmly
+engaged on the opposite bank. Colonel Van Rensselaer and Lieutenant
+Colonel Chrystie were both known to be severely wounded, and
+Scott was finally ordered to cross over and take the command. The
+detachment under Major Mullaney, had previously attempted the
+passage, but their boats being seized by the eddies, they were
+driven below the point designated for the landing, and directly
+under the British batteries; the whole detachment, therefore, with
+the exception of Major Mullaney and a few of his men, who made their
+escape, were obliged to surrender themselves as prisoners of war.
+
+[Sidenote: CROSSES THE RIVER.]
+
+Leaving his train in battery on the American shore, under the command
+of Captains Towson and Barker, who opened an effective fire on the
+enemy, Scott crossed the stream, about eight o’clock in the morning,
+when he found that the British force, consisting of two flank
+companies of the 49th, and a body of militia, had been driven from
+their position; that Captain Wool had stormed the heights south of
+the town, with three companies of the 13th infantry, and carried the
+enemy’s batteries; and that the British commander, General Brock,
+had been killed in an unsuccessful charge, which he had gallantly
+headed in person. He also ascertained that General Wadsworth, of the
+New York militia, had reached the Canada shore, though without the
+knowledge of General Van Rensselaer, and, of course, was entitled
+to the command. General Wadsworth, however, magnanimously waived
+all claims of superior rank, and requested Scott to make such
+dispositions as he thought proper.
+
+Although the American detachments, who had made a lodgment on the
+Canada shore, remained for several hours unmolested, it was not
+doubted that the enemy would rally again before night. Scott arranged
+his men, therefore, so as both to cover the ferry, in order that
+he might be reinforced if necessary, and to repel an attack. About
+the middle of the day, General Van Rensselaer came over, and having
+examined and approved of his arrangements, returned to superintend
+the crossing of the remainder of the troops. But the sight of the
+action in the morning had cooled the ardor and impatience of the
+militia. Some few parties were induced to cross over,--though most of
+them might as well have remained behind; but the great body of the
+command had entirely forgotten their former boisterous professions of
+patriotism. General Van Rensselaer alternately coaxed and threatened,
+but it was all to no purpose. Every circumstance was calculated to
+discourage them; many of the boats, originally too few in number, had
+been crippled, the current was rapid, the stream one complete sheet
+of eddies, and the weather cold, wet, and stormy. They would not, and
+they did not go; but they stood still, and with the utmost unconcern
+and indifference, saw their countrymen sacrificed on the opposite
+shore of the river, when their presence would have changed the fate
+of the day.
+
+Between two and three o’clock in the afternoon, small parties of the
+enemy were seen hovering along the slopes of the hills, and, shortly
+after, the action was fiercely renewed by the rallied militia and
+grenadiers, and about four hundred Indians, under Norton, who had
+heard the previous firing, and had hurried down from Chippewa. With
+a mixed command of regulars and militia, not far from three hundred
+and fifty strong--nearly four hundred of the militia being seized
+with a panic, and refusing to take part in the action--Scott boldly
+encountered the enemy. A sharp conflict ensued for a few moments, and
+the assailants were then driven back, and put to flight, by a forward
+movement of the bayonet.
+
+[Sidenote: GALLANTRY AND INTREPIDITY.]
+
+The protection of the ferry rendered a pursuit impossible. Scott
+therefore reformed his line, in readiness for another attack. He
+had just returned to the rear, to direct his men how to unspike a
+captured cannon, when the enemy rallied again, and forced in the
+advanced picket. The main line, too, had commenced a retreat ere
+he could reach them. Instantly springing to the front, by great
+exertions, in which he was ably seconded by General Wadsworth and
+Lieutenant Colonel Chrystie, he brought the retreating line to the
+right about. His earnest enthusiasm produced a sudden revulsion of
+feeling, and the enemy were soon a second time repulsed.
+
+Meanwhile, General Sheaffe, who commanded the troops at Fort George,
+had hastily collected all his disposable forces, and the provincial
+militia in the neighborhood, and was rapidly approaching the scene of
+action. About four o’clock, his column, numbering rather more than
+eight hundred men, emerged into open view just below the village of
+Queenston. He advanced with much caution, though fully aware that
+the Americans were greatly inferior to his own force in point of
+numbers, especially when he had effected a junction with the light
+troops and Indians. Leaving Queenston on his left, he took a wide
+circuit through the woods, gained the heights, and opened the action
+anew, with a rapid fire of musketry and artillery. For half an hour,
+the little band headed by the dauntless and heroic Scott, manfully
+held their ground, and breasted the volleys that met them on every
+side. All that bravery and skill could do, was nobly performed,--but
+performed in vain!
+
+Scott fearlessly exposed his person to the enemy’s bullets. His tall
+form, six feet and five inches in height, was the most conspicuous
+object on the field. He was arrayed in full uniform, and was
+entreated again and again to cover up or change some part of his
+dress. “No, no!” said he, smiling; “I will die in my robes!” Others
+were constantly falling around him, but he escaped unharmed.--After
+the action, when he had surrendered himself a prisoner of war,
+an Indian warrior came up to him, and surveying him attentively,
+said--“You are not born to be shot; so many times--(holding up all
+the fingers of both hands)--so many times did I fire at you!”
+
+The bloody and desperate contest was soon ended. Overpowered by
+superior numbers, and nearly surrounded on all sides, the Americans
+retreated to the bank of the river, under cover of the precipice,
+where they found the faint-hearted militia concealed in the clefts
+and fissures. Retreat was hopeless; the troops were disheartened;
+there were no boats in which they could cross the river; and the
+twilight was fast settling over the field of combat. General
+Wadsworth and the other principal officers now held a consultation,
+and it was decided that they should surrender themselves to the
+enemy. Several messengers were sent with a flag, but they failed to
+reach the British commander, as they were shot down on the way by
+the Indian rifles. Scott then volunteered to go himself. He attached
+a white handkerchief to his sword, and, accompanied by Captains
+Totten and Gibson, made his way to the enemy’s rear, by taking a
+circuitous route under cover of the precipice overlooking the river.
+He and his companions had all the while been exposed to a random fire
+from the Indians, and on approaching the road leading up from the
+village to the heights, they were suddenly beset by two warriors,
+who discharged their rifles at them, and were preparing to rush
+forward with their knives and hatchets,--paying no heed to the sacred
+character of the flag which they carried,--when a British officer
+came up with a file of men, and compelled them to desist.
+
+[Sidenote: TAKEN PRISONER.]
+
+The three officers were forthwith conducted to the presence of
+General Sheaffe, and terms of capitulation agreed on. The force
+surrendered with Wadsworth and Scott, consisted of one hundred and
+thirty-nine regulars, and one hundred and fifty-four militia; about
+four hundred militia, who had taken no part in the engagement, were
+afterwards included in the surrender; and there had been about
+one hundred killed during the day--making a total of casualties,
+including the two hundred regulars under Major Mullaney, who
+surrendered in the morning, of near one thousand.
+
+This disastrous action was the first, as it was the most unfortunate,
+in which Scott was engaged. His conduct throughout the day was
+worthy of all praise. He was but a few years older than young Condé,
+when the latter routed the famous corps of Spanish infantry; yet he
+exhibited the skill and intrepidity of a veteran officer, and had
+he been supported by anything like an equal force, it can scarcely
+be doubted that the setting sun would have witnessed the American
+banners floating in triumph on the heights of Queenston.
+
+After the surrender, the American prisoners were taken to the
+village of Niagara, or Newark, under an escort, and the officers
+temporarily lodged in an inn. While there, a message was brought in
+that some one at the door wished to see the “tall American.” Scott,
+presuming, of course, that he was intended by the designation, went
+out into the hall, where he was surprised to find the two warriors
+who had so cowardly attacked him when bearing the flag of truce.
+Both were distinguished chiefs--one being the son of the renowned
+Mohawk leader, Joseph Brant, and the other known by the name of
+Captain Jacobs. They eagerly commenced questioning him in regard to
+his wounds, and attempted to examine his person. Scott bore with
+them for some time, but they soon became angry and insulting, and at
+length Jacobs seized him by the arm to turn him round. Scott promptly
+resented the indignity, and hurled the savage from him, with ease,
+exclaiming, “Off, villain!--you fired like a squaw!”
+
+The savages at once clenched their knives and tomahawks, and sprang
+towards him, crying out--“We kill you now!--we kill you now!”
+Fortunately, in one corner of the hall, underneath the staircase,
+stood the swords of the American officers. Scott darted back, caught
+up a long heavy sabre, turned upon his heel, and in a breath stood
+on his defence; with an unflinching eye and look regarding the dark
+warriors, whose painted visages lowered fiercely upon him. At this
+moment, Captain Coffin, a member of General Sheaffe’s staff, entered
+from the street; he instantly cried out for the guard, caught Jacobs
+by the arm, and placed his pistol at the head of young Brant. This
+had the desired effect. The Indians were intimidated, and on the
+appearance of the guard, retired from the inn. Their people, however,
+were so much excited, that Scott could not venture out into the
+street, during his stay at Niagara, even to dine with the British
+commander, without a strong escort.
+
+General Brock was buried on Queenston Heights, immediately after the
+surrender of the American troops, and at the request of Lieutenant
+Colonel Scott, who so well knew what was due to the memory of the
+gallant dead, minute guns were fired from Fort Niagara, on the
+American shore, during the sad ceremony.
+
+[Sidenote: INTERFERENCE IN BEHALF OF PRISONERS.]
+
+Scott was sent to Quebec with the other prisoners, where he was
+placed on a cartel to be conveyed to Boston; and in January, 1813, he
+was regularly exchanged. When the transport was about leaving Quebec,
+a party of British officers came on board, and commenced mustering
+the prisoners, with a view of selecting those who were ascertained to
+be Irishmen, by their speech, to be sent to England for trial. Great
+Britain has ever denied the right of expatriation in the subject, and
+hence these men, if found in arms against her authority, were liable,
+according to her laws, to be convicted of the crime of treason. Scott
+was seated in the cabin; but hearing the tumult, he rushed upon deck.
+By this time, the British officers had selected twenty-three men
+from the detachment. On learning the cause of the disturbance, he
+forbade the remainder of the prisoners to utter a single syllable,
+when questioned. The men readily obeyed him; the British officers
+threatened to use violence, but he was in nowise intimidated by their
+menaces; he felt, justly, that the honor of his country was for the
+time in his keeping, and, in spite of threats and frowns, persisted
+in the order he had given.
+
+The British officers were finally obliged to retire with the
+twenty-three prisoners, but before the latter left the side of the
+vessel, Scott pledged himself to secure their liberation, if it were
+possible; but if not, he solemnly declared that he would retaliate,
+on the first prisoners whom the fortune of war should place in his
+power. He faithfully kept his word. On his return to the United
+States, he made a full and faithful report of the transaction to
+the Secretary of War, and in May, 1813, at the capture of Fort
+George, selected twenty-three prisoners to be held as hostages for
+the unfortunate Irishmen. The British government persisted in their
+determination to try the men and execute them; consequently, they
+ordered forty-six other prisoners into confinement; the Americans
+reciprocated their conduct, in kind; but after venting a great deal
+of spleen and ill humor to no purpose, the British ministry finding
+their braggadocio of no avail, tacitly surrendered their position,
+and shortly after the peace, the twenty-three prisoners taken to
+England from Quebec, were sent home to the United States. Twenty-one
+of them--the remaining two having died natural deaths--landed in New
+York, in July, 1815. Almost the first object which they encountered,
+was the tall form of the gallant Scott, upon whose brow the laurels
+were yet fresh and green which he had won at Chippewa and Niagara.
+They eagerly hailed him as their deliverer, caught him in their arms,
+and nearly overwhelmed him with their enthusiastic manifestations of
+gratitude.
+
+At the opening of the campaign of 1813, Scott was appointed adjutant
+general in the staff of General Dearborn, the head of the army, and
+the commander of the ninth military district. It was stipulated,
+however, on his part, that he should be entitled to his command in
+the line, on all extraordinary occasions. On the second of March,
+he was promoted to the colonelcy of the 2nd artillery, a double
+regiment, consisting of twenty companies.
+
+The campaign of this year opened auspiciously. The forests of
+Canada were scarcely robed in the bright array of spring, when the
+American soldiers precipitated themselves on her shores. On the
+twenty-seventh of April, York capitulated to the surviving comrades
+of the heroic Pike.[36] General Dearborn remained for several days
+in the vicinity; but on the fifth of May he reëmbarked, and, having
+been joined by successive reinforcements, increasing his command to
+about five thousand men, effected a landing on the American shore,
+at Four Mile Creek, on the evening of the eighth instant. Colonel
+Scott joined the army shortly after the capture of York. The duties
+devolving upon him, as chief of General Dearborn’s staff, were
+intricate and multifarious, as the army was newly organized, or
+composed of different corps recently brought together; but they were
+performed with untiring zeal and industry, and in a manner that gave
+satisfaction to all parties concerned.
+
+[Sidenote: ATTACK ON FORT GEORGE.]
+
+The next object of attack, was the British post of Fort George,
+situated opposite Fort Niagara, at the mouth of the river. The
+boats built for the occasion were launched on the afternoon of
+the twenty-sixth of May, and their stations assigned; and careful
+reconnaissances were made of the Canada shore, in order to ascertain
+the most feasible points for landing. The movement in the American
+camp being discovered by the enemy, a severe cannonade was opened on
+Fort Niagara and the adjacent batteries. The roar of the howitzers
+was incessant; and peal on peal of heavy ordnance reverberated
+along the beach, with a loud crashing noise, and then died away, in
+deafening echoes, among the distant hills and ridges. The fire was
+soon returned from the American fort; shells were rained without
+intermission on the enemy’s batteries, and balls sent whistling
+through the lanes and streets of the village of Niagara.
+
+[Sidenote: CAPTURE OF THE FORT.]
+
+At three o’clock in the morning of the twenty-seventh of May, all was
+in readiness for the expedition, and the signal was given for the
+flotilla of boats to get under weigh. The descent was to be made in
+six divisions of boats, though, in consequence of the early retreat
+of the enemy, all the troops were not landed. In the first division
+was the advanced guard, or forlorn hope, of five hundred picked men,
+led by the intrepid Scott; in the second was the field train, under
+Colonel Porter; and these were followed, in the order of attack, by
+the brigades of Generals Boyd, Winder and Chandler, and a second
+reserve under Colonel Macomb. Owing to a strong wind then prevailing,
+the rapid current, and the heavy surf, the landing on the Canada
+shore was not effected as easily as had been anticipated. Under cover
+of the guns of the fleet and of Fort Niagara, which opened a terrible
+fire, that crushed down the walls and batteries in and about Fort
+George, in huge masses, at nine o’clock in the morning, Colonel Scott
+gained the beach, and prepared to land. General Vincent, the British
+commander, had previously disposed his whole regular force, about
+nine hundred strong, with five or six hundred militia, in a ravine
+near the shore; and as the Americans approached, they were met by
+several warm volleys of musketry.
+
+With shouts and cheers, the American advance leaped into the water,
+and waded to the beach. They instantly formed on the shingle,
+covered by an irregular bank, from seven to twelve feet high, above
+which flashed the bristling bayonets of the enemy. Colonel Scott
+forthwith ordered a charge. The first attempt to scale the bank
+was unsuccessful; on the second, the men clambered up in spite of
+resistance,--Scott himself being among the foremost, and knocking
+up the British bayonets with his sword. The enemy retired a short
+distance, and stoutly maintained the ground for twenty minutes;
+but on the arrival of Colonel Porter and General Boyd, with their
+commands, portions of which participated in the skirmish near its
+close, they commenced retreating in haste, in the direction of
+Queenston,--having already laid trains to their different magazines.
+Scott pushed his column after them, without delay, and, at the
+village of Niagara, was joined by the 6th infantry, under Colonel
+Miller.
+
+On approaching Fort George, one of its magazines exploded. The sad
+calamity that befel the American troops at York, had produced its
+probably natural effect; and a similar mishap was the _bête noire_
+which they always dreaded throughout the early part of the campaign.
+Colonel Scott was struck by a piece of timber, thrown from the horse
+which he had borrowed from a British colonel taken prisoner, and
+considerably bruised; but he sprang to his feet in an instant, and
+accompanied by a few equally brave spirits, forced the gate, and
+entered the fort.[37] Captains Hindman and Stockton extinguished
+the lighted matches, and General Boyd and Colonel Scott made their
+way to the flag staff. The British standard soon fluttered in the
+wind,--Captain Hindman being the fortunate individual who first
+seized it, though the staff was cut down by Scott,--and the stars and
+stripes speedily rose in its place.
+
+Colonel Scott continued the pursuit for some distance beyond the
+fort,--Lieutenant Riddle, with his party, following the enemy almost
+to Queenston, and picking up a number of stragglers--but he was
+soon recalled by General Boyd, in conformity with the directions of
+General Lewis, who had assumed the command on shore. With the return
+of the advanced corps, the battle terminated. The Americans had
+thirty-nine killed and one hundred and ten wounded in the attack;
+while the British lost one hundred and eight killed, and one hundred
+and sixty wounded,--and there were one hundred and fifteen regulars,
+and five hundred militia, taken prisoners.
+
+After the loss of Fort George, General Vincent withdrew all his
+forces from the peninsula, including those previously stationed at
+Chippewa and Fort Erie, to Burlington Heights; and the Americans
+established themselves in a solid manner on the Niagara frontier.
+This lodgment would undoubtedly have been permanent, had it not been
+for the inaction--the pest and bane of the northern army during
+the campaigns of ’12 and ’13--which characterized the subsequent
+operations of our principal officers in that quarter.
+
+It has been said that the campaign of 1813 opened auspiciously. So,
+indeed, it did,--but it terminated in disaster and disgrace. The
+bold stroke of Lieutenant Colonel Harvey, which resulted in the
+capture of Generals Chandler and Winder, on the third of June, and
+the defeat and surrender of Colonel Boerstler on the twenty-fourth of
+the same month, were, in themselves, affairs of no great importance;
+or rather, they would not have been considered such, had they been
+relieved, as might, and should have been the case, by those successes
+which it was in the power of the American army to have achieved.
+Immediately after the surrender of Boerstler, General Dearborn was
+recalled, and subsequently resigned his commission. General Boyd
+succeeded to the command, during the summer, but the War Department
+refused to give him authority to act offensively; consequently,
+he remained cooped up the whole season in Fort George, with four
+thousand men, when General Vincent had very little over two thousand.
+
+[Sidenote: EXPEDITION AGAINST BURLINGTON HEIGHTS.]
+
+General Dearborn surrendered the command on the fifteenth of July,
+and Colonel Scott then returned to his duty in the line, and took
+charge of his regiment. In September, an expedition was projected
+against Burlington Heights, and he volunteered to command the
+land troops. Embarking on board Commodore Chauncey’s fleet, he
+proceeded to the Heights, but found neither enemy, nor stores, at
+that point. On his return, he landed at York, burned the barracks
+and storehouses, and brought off a large quantity of provisions,
+clothing, and ammunition, together with eleven armed boats and
+several pieces of cannon.
+
+Upon the resignation of General Dearborn, the command of the army
+was given to General Wilkinson, under whose auspices the famous
+expedition down the St. Lawrence, in the fall of 1813, was conducted.
+In the original arrangements of Wilkinson, Colonel Scott was to be
+left in command at Fort George, which had been considerably enlarged
+and strengthened after its occupation by the American troops. At
+the urgent request of the latter, who ardently desired to take part
+in the great movement of the campaign, his orders were made so far
+discretionary, that he was authorized to give up the fort to General
+McClure, of the New York militia, when it had been placed in a
+proper state of defence, provided it was not seriously threatened
+by the enemy. The works were soon completed, and the enemy retired
+to Burlington Heights, and afterwards concentrated at Kingston,
+which post they supposed to be threatened by General Wilkinson.
+On the thirteenth of October, General McClure took charge of Fort
+George, and Colonel Scott proceeded with the regular troops, who had
+previously garrisoned the post, to the mouth of the Genesee river,
+where he expected to find transportation for his men. Disappointed
+in this, he marched his column, with all possible expedition, to
+Utica, and then directed his course towards Sacketts Harbor. A short
+distance north of Utica, he met General Armstrong, the Secretary of
+War, who informed him that the expedition had already set out, but
+gave him permission to leave his command with Major Hindman, and to
+join Wilkinson, in person, on the St. Lawrence, at whatever point he
+could.
+
+[Sidenote: SKIRMISH AT HOOPHOLE CREEK.]
+
+Thirsting for distinction, Scott eagerly availed himself of the
+permission granted, and dashed off on horseback, through the rain and
+mud. On the sixth of November, he joined the army at Ogdensburgh,
+and accompanied General Brown in the descent of the river, with the
+flotilla, under the heavy fire of the British batteries at Prescott.
+Being without a command, Colonel Macomb magnanimously surrendered
+to him one of his battalions, which he had reserved for himself in
+case the regiment was divided; and, on the seventh instant, he was
+regularly assigned to the _corps d’élite_. He commanded the advanced
+guard during the subsequent movement of the army down the river,
+almost daily encountering and defeating large or small parties of
+the enemy. He was not concerned in the action on the eleventh of
+November; but, on the following day, he engaged a detachment of
+the enemy, under Colonel Dennis, about equal to his own command in
+numbers, at Hoophole Creek, near Cornwall, routed them with ease,
+captured a number of prisoners, and hotly pursued the remainder of
+the enemy till dark. The army now retired into winter quarters at
+French Mills,--the young and ambitious officers, like Brown and
+Macomb, Gaines and Scott, literally overcome with mortification and
+chagrin.[38]
+
+Not long after this memorable expedition terminated, Colonel Scott
+was relieved from duty, and made a visit to his friends in Virginia,
+and at the seat of government. By the direction of the president,
+he spent a part of the winter at Albany, engaged in making
+preparations, in connection with Governor Tompkins, for the ensuing
+campaign.
+
+On the ninth of March, 1814, when scarcely twenty-eight years of
+age, Colonel Scott was promoted to the rank of brigadier general,
+and immediately joined General Brown, then moving with his column
+from Sacketts Harbor to Buffalo. At the latter place, a camp of
+instruction was established by General Scott,--General Brown leaving
+him temporarily in the command, while he returned for a few weeks to
+Sacketts Harbor, with authority to adopt such measures as he thought
+proper, to secure the efficient discipline and instruction of the
+troops, preparatory to taking the field.
+
+New officers,--more active, more ambitious, and more
+enterprising,--were now at the head of affairs on the Niagara
+frontier. General Brown properly appreciated the skill and abilities
+of the talented Scott, and gave him almost unlimited power. The
+latter infused new spirit and energy into every corps belonging
+to the army; superannuated, infirm, or incompetent officers, no
+matter how high in rank, were relieved from duty; the strict
+rules of military discipline were rigidly enforced; and the whole
+command was daily paraded for instruction. All were drilled, from
+the highest to the lowest, officers as well as men, under the eye
+of Scott himself,--first in squads, then in companies, then in
+battalions, and, finally, carried through the evolutions of the line.
+The brilliant, but practical genius, of the youthful general, his
+unwearied efforts and exertions, accomplished wonders. When General
+Brown crossed the Niagara on the third of July, he crossed it with
+an army of soldiers, not merely of men!
+
+[Sidenote: CAMP OF INSTRUCTION AT BUFFALO.]
+
+The fruits of the camp of instruction at Buffalo, established
+and directed by General Scott, were witnessed on the plains of
+Chippewa,--on the blood-stained heights of Niagara,--when “Greek met
+Greek,” when steel clashed against steel, and the American soldiers
+stood firm and unflinching as the rocks beneath their feet. They
+may still be witnessed, in the wide-spread renown and eminent glory
+indissolubly connected with the achievements of the gallant army
+which Brown and Scott led out to battle,--in the noble deeds and
+feats of lofty daring, paralleled only on the brightest pages of
+by-gone martial story.
+
+The incidents of the campaign on the Niagara frontier, in the summer
+of 1814, have been so fully detailed in the memoir of General
+Brown,[39] that it seems unnecessary to recapitulate them here. On
+the third of July, the American commander crossed the Niagara with
+his whole army, little more than three thousand strong, consisting
+of the regular brigades of Scott and Ripley,--the former leading the
+van,--and the militia under Porter. Fort Erie was reduced on the same
+day, and, immediately thereafter, he proceeded against the position
+of General Riall, at Chippewa. On the fourth of July, General Scott
+had a running fight for more than sixteen miles, with the 100th
+British foot, under the command of the Marquis of Tweedale, whom he
+drove at full speed across the Chippewa.
+
+On the fifth of July, the battle of Chippewa was fought,--mainly by
+the first brigade, under General Scott. “To him more than any other
+man,” said General Brown, in his official dispatch, “am I indebted
+for the victory.” This was high praise; but it was well deserved by
+the personal intrepidity, the chivalric bearing, and the dashing and
+dazzling manœuvres, which decided the result of the action. The day
+had opened with skirmishes of light troops, but the main action was
+brought on about four o’clock in the afternoon, when Scott dashed
+across Street’s creek, and engaged the British army on the plain
+south of the Chippewa. The light troops on the left of the field were
+in the meantime warmly engaged, but the principal struggle took place
+in the open field, which was as brief as it was decisive.
+
+Scott’s brigade numbered only about fourteen hundred men, consisting
+of three small battalions, and the battery of Captain Towson. After
+crossing Street’s creek, he continued alternately to advance, halt,
+and fire, till he was not more than eighty yards from the enemy’s
+line. It being evident that preparations were making to outflank
+him, he detached one of his battalions into the woods on his left,
+to protect that flank. With the remainder of his small force, he
+prepared to meet the enemy, who were making ready to charge,--their
+artillery having been already silenced. Spurring his horse through
+the dust and smoke, he dashed up to the side of Captain Towson, who
+was posted on the Chippewa road, on the right of the field, and
+directed him to maintain his ground, and pour a raking fire into the
+British columns as they came up.
+
+[Sidenote: BATTLE OF CHIPPEWA.]
+
+This order being given, he returned to his place in the rear of his
+two infantry battalions. He now directed them to throw forward their
+outer flanks, so as to form a reëntering angle, but taking care to
+flank the enemy on the left.[40] The two battalions did not touch
+each other; but the interval would be every instant lessened by the
+movement which he contemplated. Having given the necessary orders, he
+cried out to the battalion of Major McNeil--the 11th infantry, which
+had not a recruit in it--on the left,--“The enemy say we are good at
+long shot, but cannot stand the cold iron! I call upon the Eleventh
+instantly to give the lie to that slander!”--“Charge!” he added, as
+the shot from Towson’s guns ploughed through and through the British
+ranks. “Charge!--Charge!” he repeated in thundering tones, rising up
+in his stirrups, and waving his men on with his sword.
+
+This masterly charge, so well conceived and executed, put an end
+to the contest. The front lines of the enemy staggered, and rolled
+back in a confused mass on the reserve. All caught the infection of
+defeat, and the slope leading down to the Chippewa was soon darkened
+by a cloud of fugitives. The pursuit was ordered, but was checked
+when the Americans reached the stream, by the hostile batteries that
+frowned on the opposite shore.
+
+The bloody battle on the heights of Niagara followed, on the night of
+the twenty-fifth of July.[41] General Scott opened the action with
+his brigade, and for nearly two hours gallantly sustained himself
+against the vastly superior numbers of the British army. When the
+enemy’s batteries were ordered to be stormed, he piloted Colonel
+Miller, who was directed to execute this daring enterprise with the
+21st infantry, through the smoke and darkness, and the iron shower
+that swept unceasingly down the hill-side. Twice, during the height
+of the engagement, after being relieved by the troops under Ripley
+and Porter, Scott precipitated his brigade on the British left and
+right. Two horses were shot under him--one literally torn from its
+rider. Though badly wounded in the side by a spent ball, he persisted
+in remaining on the ground, wading on foot through the blood and
+carnage, and his clear ringing voice ever and anon heard above the
+roar of artillery, as he cheered and encouraged his men. At length,
+about eleven o’clock, he was finally disabled by a musket ball, which
+shattered his left shoulder; and at midnight, just as the battle
+closed, he was borne from the field, with his aid, Lieutenant Worth,
+also severely wounded.
+
+[Sidenote: COMPLIMENTARY RESOLUTIONS.]
+
+For more than a month it was extremely doubtful whether General Scott
+would recover from his wounds. Kind friends were not wanting, to
+provide for the comfort, and to soften the pillow, of the gallant
+soldier. He remained for several weeks,--suffering, in the meantime,
+great pain,--at Buffalo, Williamsville, and Batavia, and was thence
+borne, in a litter, to Geneva, to the house of his friend, the Hon.
+John Nicholas. As soon as he became able to travel, he proceeded to
+Philadelphia and Baltimore, in order to procure the best surgical and
+medical aid in the country. His journey was like the triumphal march
+of a conqueror. Passing through Princeton on commencement day, he
+was waited on by a committee of the faculty of the College of New
+Jersey, who requested his presence at the exercises. He complied with
+the invitation, and was received by the large audience assembled,
+with the most rapturous demonstrations of applause. Before he left
+Princeton, he was also complimented with the honorary degree of
+Master of Arts, bestowed upon him by the authorities of the College.
+As he approached Philadelphia, he was met by Governor Snyder at the
+head of a division of militia, who formed his escort into the town.
+
+Being incapacitated by his wounds, which were a long time in
+healing, from any active duty, General Scott was prevailed upon,
+at the instance of the congressional delegations from Maryland and
+Pennsylvania, to take the nominal command of the troops collected
+for the defence of Baltimore and Philadelphia. On the sixteenth of
+October, 1814, he entered upon the duties of commanding officer of
+the tenth military district,--his headquarters being at Washington
+city.
+
+On the third day of November, 1814, Congress passed a resolution of
+thanks, complimenting General Scott for his skill and gallantry at
+Chippewa and Niagara, and for his uniform good conduct “in sustaining
+the reputation of the arms of the United States.” A massive gold
+medal was also struck and presented to him, by order of Congress,
+and he was brevetted a major general. Resolutions of thanks were
+likewise adopted by the Legislatures of New York and Virginia, and
+splendid swords publicly presented to him, in accordance with their
+directions. He was further honored, by being chosen an honorary
+member of the State Society of Cincinnati in Pennsylvania, in the
+year 1815.
+
+After the ratification of the treaty of peace, in February, 1815,
+General Scott was requested, temporarily, at least, to take charge
+of the War Department. This he declined, but solicited permission to
+travel in Europe, for the restoration of his health and professional
+improvement. The request was granted without hesitation. Having
+assisted in reducing the army to the peace establishment--being
+himself retained as one of the four brigadier generals--he embarked
+for England, and then crossed over to the Continent. While abroad,
+he was honored with the notice of Kosciusko, who gave him letters
+of introduction to the most distinguished marshals of France. He
+attended several courses of public lectures, in the most eminent
+literary institutions, and visited all the principal fortresses
+and naval establishments in western Europe. He returned home in
+1816, fully restored in strength and spirits; and in the same year
+was assigned to the command of the Eastern Division, with his
+headquarters at the city of New York.[42]
+
+In March, 1817, General Scott was married to Miss Maria Mayo,
+a Virginia lady, distinguished alike for rare beauty and
+accomplishments. By her he has had several daughters, but no living
+son.
+
+Shortly after his marriage, General Scott purchased a residence in
+the village of Elizabethtown, New Jersey, which he still regards as
+his home. For nearly twenty-five years, from the fall of 1816 to the
+summer of 1841, with brief intervals, he was continued in command of
+the Eastern Division, and his family, during that period and since,
+have spent most of their time at Elizabethtown.
+
+[Sidenote: PUBLICATIONS ON MILITARY SUBJECTS.]
+
+The commanding talents, and extensive military information of
+General Scott--his whole life having been spent in storing up
+valuable knowledge in every department of science connected with his
+profession--have been of vast service to his country, even in time
+of peace. In 1821, he published an octavo volume, entitled “General
+Regulations for the Army, or Military Institutes,”--a complete manual
+for both regular and militia officers. In the winter of 1814–15, he
+was president of a board appointed to prepare a system of infantry
+tactics, similar to that taught in the camp of instruction at
+Buffalo, which was afterwards revised by another board, of which he
+was also president, and published in 1825. In 1826, he presided over
+another board, composed of regular officers and militia generals,
+ordered to convene by the War Department, and to report--1. A plan
+for the organization and instruction of the whole body of the militia
+of the Union--2. A system of tactics for the artillery--3. A system
+of cavalry tactics--and 4. A system of infantry and rifle tactics.
+
+The reports made by the board, on the first and fourth subjects, were
+prepared exclusively by General Scott, and reflect high credit on his
+military knowledge and abilities. They were published for the use
+of the army, and the information of the country; and in 1835, under
+a resolution of Congress, he prepared a new edition of his system
+of Infantry Tactics, in three small volumes, containing all the
+improvements made subsequent to the general peace of 1815.
+
+On the death of General Brown, in February, 1828, General Scott was a
+candidate for the vacant office of General-in-Chief. His claims were
+founded, mainly, on the fact, that his commission as a brevet major
+general, which bore date July 25, 1814, was older than that of Macomb
+or Gaines, both of whom were candidates for the same station. It was
+decided, however, by President Adams, and, subsequently, by President
+Jackson, that brevet rank was merely honorary in its character; and
+the appointment was therefore conferred on General Macomb, the oldest
+brigadier.[43] Pending the decision of this question, a warm personal
+controversy sprung up between the different parties concerned, in
+regard to brevet rank; and on the decision of the government being
+made known, General Scott tendered his resignation. Under the advice
+of his friends, he afterwards reconsidered this hasty step, withdrew
+his resignation, and resumed the command of the Eastern Division.
+
+On the fourth of July, 1831, the melancholy duty devolved upon
+General Scott, of closing the eyes of his esteemed and venerable
+friend, Ex-President Monroe, who expired at the city of New York on
+that day.
+
+[Sidenote: WAR WITH THE SACS AND FOXES.]
+
+In the summer of 1832, General Scott was ordered to assume the
+command of the troops sent to suppress the disturbance with the
+Sacs and Foxes, under Black Hawk, on the Illinois frontier.[44] He
+embarked at Buffalo, in July, on board a steamer, with two hundred
+and twenty men; Colonel Twiggs proceeding on another vessel, with a
+detachment of four hundred; and a third detachment, of over three
+hundred men, taking still another vessel. Bunches of cypress, rather
+than wreaths of laurel, were the trophies of this expedition. On the
+route to Chicago, the command was overtaken by that terrible scourge,
+the Asiatic Cholera. More than one half of the men composing the
+detachments died of the disease, or were left in hospital. General
+Scott paid every necessary attention to the wants of his soldiers;
+nurses and medical attendants, suitable food and clothing, were
+provided; and everything in his power was done, that could assuage
+the sufferings of disease, or the pangs of death. After a long
+delay, he left Chicago, at the head of only four hundred men. With
+these he pushed forward as rapidly as possible, but did not come up
+with General Atkinson, the officer in command of the troops then
+operating in that quarter, till the third of August, the day after
+the battle of the Bad-Axe, which put a finishing stroke to the war.
+On the twenty-seventh instant, Black Hawk surrendered himself to the
+American officers, and in September following, advantageous treaties
+were concluded with the Sacs and Foxes, and the Winnebagoes, by
+General Scott, and Governor Reynolds, of Illinois.
+
+During the agitation of the nullification question, when a conflict
+was daily expected to take place between South Carolina and the
+General Government, General Scott was ordered to Charleston and
+Savannah, to take command of the regular troops in that section, if
+a collision should become unavoidable. His firmness, and manly and
+dignified conduct, were productive of the happiest results. The state
+receded from her position, and the angry waters which discord had
+lashed into fury, were hushed and stilled by the blessed influence of
+Peace.
+
+Osceola, or Asceolah, “the black drink,”--as the name signifies,--and
+the hostile Seminoles of Florida under his command, commenced their
+depredations in the summer of 1835, and in the autumn the everglades
+resounded with their shrill war-whoop. On the twenty-eighth of
+December, Major Dade and his command were attacked and massacred,
+when on the march from Fort Brooke, and General Thompson, the Indian
+agent, and several companions were waylaid and killed, in sight of
+Fort King. On the thirty-first instant, General Clinch encountered
+the savages, under Osceola, on the banks of the Withlacoochee, and
+after a severe action, though of brief duration, put them to flight.
+
+[Sidenote: THE FLORIDA WAR.]
+
+Immediately on the receipt of the intelligence of this outbreak,
+General Scott was ordered to take command of the army in Florida.
+At four o’clock in the afternoon of the twentieth of January,
+1836, he reported to the Secretary of War, and was asked when he
+could set out? “To night!” he replied promptly. His instructions,
+however, could not be prepared until the following day; and, on
+the twenty-first instant, he left Washington, travelling night and
+day until he reached Florida. On the twenty-second of February, he
+arrived at Picolata, and issued his orders forming the army into
+three divisions.--Previous to this time, General Gaines had repaired
+to the seat of war and commenced offensive operations; but he now
+surrendered the command to General Scott.[45]--The troops on the
+west of the St. John’s were placed under General Clinch; those on
+the east of the river under General Eustis; and those at Tampa Bay
+under Colonel Lindsay. The three divisions then moved towards the
+Withlacoochee, where they met, in what was supposed, with good
+reason--as this had been the theatre of the disturbances--to be the
+heart of the Indian country; but they failed to discover the retreats
+of the savages.
+
+The object of this expedition not having been attained, another
+movement was ordered. Six different corps were organized, with which
+the whole country, between the twenty-eighth and thirtieth degrees of
+north latitude, was effectually scoured. One of these detachments was
+led by General Scott in person. Passing the scene of the massacre on
+the twenty-eighth of December, he crossed the Ocklewaha, and ascended
+the St. John’s from Volusia, in a steamboat. Still the Indians could
+not be discovered, in any large bodies, though very small parties
+were occasionally seen, with whom the troops had several skirmishes.
+The soldiers had suffered considerably by their long and fatiguing
+marches through the sickly and malarious swamps in the interior, the
+deadly exhalations of which brought on severe diseases, and filled
+the hospitals with the sick and suffering. It was now rendered
+certain that the savages had retired among the dense live oak and
+cypress forests, and the marshy hummocks, in the southern part of the
+peninsula. To follow them, at that time, was out of the question;
+and General Scott decided to suspend his operations until another
+campaign. He then repaired to the Creek country, in Georgia and
+Alabama, where a number of outrages had recently been committed. Here
+he had fewer difficulties of climate or country to contend with. He
+arrived in Georgia, in May, and in less than one month, nearly five
+hundred of the refractory Creeks had surrendered themselves.
+
+While General Scott was actively engaged in the discharge of his
+duties in the Creek country, he was unexpectedly recalled, and, on
+the ninth of July, gave up the command to General Jesup. It being
+evident that he labored under the displeasure of the Executive,
+General Jackson, he demanded a court of inquiry, on his arrival at
+Washington. The court assembled at Frederick, Maryland, in October,
+and after a long and tedious investigation, fully approved of
+his conduct. The finding of the court was sustained by the then
+president, Mr. Van Buren, and General Scott soon after returned to
+the command of the Eastern Division. He requested permission to
+be again sent to Florida, but as the war was at that time being
+prosecuted by other officers, it was not thought advisable to comply
+with his request, and thus disturb the arrangements which had been
+made subsequent to his recall.
+
+[Sidenote: THE NORTH EASTERN BOUNDARY.]
+
+In the winter of 1837–8, General Scott rendered efficient services
+in the preservation of neutrality on the northern frontier, and in
+preventing the war which threatened to grow out of the outbreak in
+Canada, and what was called “the patriot excitement.” No collision
+took place with the British forces, although General Scott was
+fully prepared for such an emergency. In the summer of 1838, he was
+ordered to take command of the troops in the Cherokee country,--in
+Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, and Tennessee,--and to superintend
+the removal of the Indians west of the Mississippi. This duty was
+discharged with so much promptitude and humanity, that he received
+the grateful thanks of the Cherokees, as well as the express
+approbation of his own government.
+
+Having terminated his mission among the Cherokees, General Scott
+hastened to the north, where his almost unbounded popularity had
+produced such a favorable result the previous year, to take command
+of the troops ordered to preserve the integrity of the territory
+of Maine, a large part of which had long been in dispute, and the
+subject of negotiation, between the governments of England and
+the United States. He found in Sir John Harvey, the lieutenant
+governor of New Brunswick--in the campaign of 1813, Lieutenant
+Colonel Harvey--an old acquaintance, whom he had known during the
+late war with England. The former discovered that the militia of
+Maine were too numerous, and too well disposed, to be attacked by
+his inferior force, and he readily met the friendly, but dignified
+advances, of General Scott, in a similar spirit. A cessation of all
+hostile movements and operations, was mutually agreed on between
+them,--which received the approval of the Governor of Maine, the
+American Executive, and the British Minister. The disputed boundary
+was finally adjusted, under the Treaty of Washington, concluded in
+1842.
+
+Though taking no active part in the political contests of the day,
+and never solicitous to venture in “the fiery chase of ambition,”
+the opinions of General Scott on all leading questions, were so well
+known to coincide with those of the Whig party, that he was warmly
+supported as a candidate for the presidency, at their National
+Convention, held at Harrisburg, in December, 1839. He received
+sixty-two votes, on the last ballot but one; the choice of the
+convention, however, fell on General Harrison, who was elected to the
+office in the autumn of 1840. In the summer of 1848, General Scott
+was again proposed as a candidate for the same high station, by his
+numerous friends in different sections of the Union, and received a
+highly flattering vote in the Whig National Convention, which met
+at Philadelphia in the month of June,--though the nomination was
+conferred on General Taylor, also a distinguished officer of the army.
+
+General Macomb, the commanding general, died at Washington on the
+twenty-fifth of June, 1841, and General Scott, to the universal
+satisfaction of the American people, was elevated to the head of the
+army, with the full rank of major general. The services performed by
+him in this capacity were chiefly those of a cabinet officer, and
+nothing more need be said of them, than that they were faithfully and
+appropriately rendered.
+
+[Sidenote: THE WAR WITH MEXICO.]
+
+We now approach the most brilliant epoch in the military history of
+General Scott,--his splendid campaign amid the burning sands and
+lofty mountains of Mexico--the land of the citron and the orange, of
+the fragrant acacia and the spreading banana; whose valleys teem with
+the glowing vegetation of an unending summer, and whose hill-tops
+are covered with eternal snow;
+
+             “where the stars,
+    In tropic brightness gleam,”--
+
+and the overhanging rocks and rough buttresses of the sierras,
+intrenched by the “deep scars of thunder,” look down upon sweet
+Paphian bowers, blooming with the fragrant shrubs and flowers whose
+soft intoxicating odors lull the senses to repose, and bright with
+the plumage of the parrot and mocking bird, and the scarlet and
+purple blossoms of innumerable creepers, twining about the columnar
+stems of the tulip tree, or depending in heavy festoons from the
+graceful palm. Like the Alpine scenery, to which the reviewer[46]
+compares the poetry of Milton, “Nooks and dells, beautiful as fairy
+land, are imbosomed in its most rugged elevations. The roses and the
+myrtle bloom unchilled on the verge of the avalanche!”
+
+Repeated insults and outrages, for a long series of years, were
+heaped upon the American people and the American flag, by the
+authorities of Mexico. Her weakness, and her position as one of the
+family of republics on the Western Continent, alone shielded her
+from attack. Injuries perpetrated by her were tolerated, which, had
+they been committed by a monarchical power, would have been promptly
+redressed. At length, after the annexation of Texas to the United
+States--the citizens of which had revolted from her authority and
+achieved their independence--on the twenty-fourth of April, 1846, a
+body of Mexican lancers committed an unprovoked attack upon a small
+party of American troops, on the left bank of the Rio Grande, and
+within what was claimed to be the territory of the State of Texas.
+The Congress of the United States was at this time in session, and
+on receiving official intelligence of the transaction, an act was
+passed, with great unanimity, declaring that a state of war existed
+between the two countries “by the act of the republic of Mexico.”
+Provision was made for filling up the regular regiments, the
+President was authorized to accept the services of fifty thousand
+volunteers, and the sum of ten millions of dollars was appropriated
+to carry on the war.
+
+Consultations were immediately held between the President, the
+Secretary of War, and General Scott; and the various staff officers
+and heads of bureaus were directed to prepare estimates, and furnish
+the _matériel_ for the large army about to be called into the field.
+It was originally intended that General Scott, whose abilities as a
+skilful and scientific officer were admitted to be unequalled in the
+American service, should proceed to the seat of war and assume the
+chief command. An unfortunate misunderstanding, however, occurred
+between him and the Executive, and he was directed to remain at
+Washington. During the summer of 1846, nearly twenty thousand men
+were thrown forward. General Taylor, the officer commanding on the
+Rio Grande, was largely reïnforced, and strong columns of attack
+were directed upon Chihuahua and New Mexico, under Generals Wool and
+Kearny. Previous to this, General Taylor had driven the Mexicans from
+the left bank of the Rio Grande, by a series of brilliant victories,
+and taken possession of Matamoras. On the arrival of reïnforcements
+and supplies, he proceeded against Monterey, the capital of New Leon,
+where the shattered columns of the enemy had rallied; and after a
+stout resistance, this town also surrendered to his arms, on the
+twenty-fourth of September.
+
+[Sidenote: EXPEDITION AGAINST VERA CRUZ.]
+
+Before the close of the campaign, most of the northern provinces
+of Mexico had been overrun, or occupied, by the American troops.
+Victory everywhere perched on our banners. Still, the enemy made no
+propositions for peace. Artful demagogues, availing themselves of
+the dissensions which they had fomented among the Mexican people,
+had obtained the control of affairs; and they hoped to preserve
+their influence and authority, only by the successful prosecution
+of hostilities. It was therefore determined to land a strong and
+well-appointed column at Vera Cruz, and after reducing the formidable
+castle of San Juan de Ulua--the Gibraltar of America--to march upon
+the Mexican capital. This service demanded the highest military
+talents in the Nation, and, in accordance with the general desire,
+the hero of Chippewa and Niagara was selected to lead the American
+armies to victory and triumph.
+
+The expedition against Vera Cruz and San Juan de Ulua, was planned by
+General Scott; great pains had been taken to procure the necessary
+information in regard to the defences of the city and castle; and he
+was engaged for several weeks in making the necessary preparations. A
+corps of sappers and miners, mountain howitzer and rocket batteries,
+heavy ordnance, large quantities of missiles and ammunition,
+transport vessels, bomb-ketches, and surf-boats, to land the troops,
+were ordered to be organized and prepared, and dispatched to the
+Gulf of Mexico without delay. The troops destined to take part in the
+expedition, who were to proceed from the United States, were ordered
+to rendezvous at the island of Lobos, lying just off the Mexican
+shore, about one hundred and twenty miles northwest of Vera Cruz--a
+lovely perfumed island, hanging suspended in the waters like a basket
+of flowers. The remainder of the force was to be withdrawn from the
+army under General Taylor, and to embark for the same point, at
+Tampico, or the Brazos.
+
+General Scott received his final orders on the twenty-third of
+November, 1846, and on the twenty-fourth left Washington for New
+York, where he embarked for New Orleans. From thence he proceeded
+to the Rio Grande, and, having selected the troops to compose his
+column, repaired to the general rendezvous.
+
+It was late in the month of February, 1847, before all the troops
+reached the island of Lobos; the arrangements were then speedily
+completed; and just before nightfall on the fifth of March, the whole
+fleet came bearing down into the roadstead of Vera Cruz, under a
+full press of canvas, and blocking up the bay with a dense forest
+of masts and spars. The American naval squadron, under Commodore
+Conner, previously employed in blockading the Mexican ports, was
+present to coöperate in the expedition. Careful reconnaissances of
+the enemy’s coast were immediately made by the Commodore and General
+Scott, and the debarkation was ordered to take place on the ninth
+of March, opposite the island of Sacrificios, between four and five
+miles south of the city of Vera Cruz. The surf-boats, sixty-five in
+number, were properly marked, and the troops arranged in divisions,
+and transferred from the transports to the vessels of war, so as not
+to crowd the contracted anchorage with too many sail.
+
+[Sidenote: LANDING OF THE TROOPS.]
+
+At eleven o’clock in the morning of the ninth, the squadron weighed
+anchor, and at three in the afternoon hove to abreast of Sacrificios.
+The arrangements of Commodore Conner and General Scott were all
+perfect; nothing was amiss or in confusion; and not a single accident
+occurred to interrupt the movement. The small boats, which had been
+towed astern of the larger vessels, were ranged alongside, manned by
+the sailors, and received their complements of men, all fully armed
+and equipped, and their bright muskets and bayonets glistening with
+sunbeams. The steamers Spitfire and Vixen, with five gun boats, then
+formed a line parallel with the beach, within good grape range, to
+cover the descent. The regular brigade of General Worth, was the
+first to land. As the signal gun fired from the Massachusetts boomed
+over the waters, the line of boats darted for the shore.
+
+The day was highly favorable for the landing. It was bright and
+clear, and a soft southeasterly breeze, fresh from groves of balm
+and forests of citron trees, just rippled the surface of the bay,
+and died away in gentle murmurs on the sandy beach. The harbor was
+crowded with American, and foreign vessels of war; and every deck,
+mast and spar, were alive with anxious spectators. But a few moments
+elapsed ere the boats reached the shore, and the American flag was
+unfurled amid the joyous shouts and loud hurrahs of the brave tars
+and gallant soldiers. The remainder of the troops--the volunteer
+division of General Patterson, and the regular brigade of General
+Twiggs--numbering, in all, between ten and eleven thousand men, were
+landed by the surf-boats, in successive trips, before ten o’clock in
+the evening.
+
+No attempt was made by the enemy to oppose the disembarkation of
+General Scott’s army. There were between six and seven thousand men
+in the city and castle, all under the command of General Morales,
+Governor of the State of Vera Cruz; but that officer contented
+himself with remaining in security behind his defences, which he
+might well have deemed almost impregnable. The city was entirely
+surrounded by a stone wall, with towers at irregular intervals,--the
+two most important ones, the Santiago and the Conception, being on
+the water-front, twelve hundred and seventy yards distant from each
+other. The castle of San Juan de Ulua, the reduction of which was
+the great object of the expedition, stood on a bar, or small island,
+in front of the town, one thousand and sixty-two yards from the main
+land. The armament of the castle was very heavy; it contained about
+one hundred and fifty guns, of different calibre; and there were over
+one hundred guns mounted upon the fortifications of the city. In the
+rear of the town was a wide stretch of country, dotted here and there
+with thickets of chaparral, originally a level plain; but the loose
+sand had been drifted into hillocks, from twenty to two hundred and
+fifty feet high, by the perpetual blowing of the fierce _nortes_.
+
+[Sidenote: LINE OF INVESTMENT.]
+
+General Scott landed on the morning of the tenth of March, and made
+immediate preparations to invest the town. He had rendered himself
+familiar with the topography of the country, and his columns moved
+as regularly to their positions, as if they had been on parade;
+General Worth occupying the right of the line with his command,
+General Patterson the centre, and General Twiggs the extreme left.
+Though half blinded by the whirling sand, the men cheerfully mounted
+over the clumps and ridges, dragging after them their baggage,
+tents, and artillery, and entirely indifferent to the fire of the
+enemy’s guns, which kept up a continued and incessant roar. Several
+slight skirmishes occurred, but the Mexicans appeared nowhere in
+force outside their strong fortifications, frowning with cannon,
+and bristling with bayonets. The investment was completed on the
+thirteenth of March, and on the same day safeguards were sent to the
+foreign consuls in the town. The whole line, extending from the beach
+opposite Sacrificios, to the hamlet of Vergara, on the coast north of
+Vera Cruz, was about seven miles in length, with an interval of from
+two and a half to three miles between it and the city.
+
+The plan of attack fixed upon by General Scott, was, in the first
+place, to compel the city to surrender, and then to take up battering
+positions near it, and assault the castle. A succession of severe
+northers cut off all communication with the fleet for several
+days, and prevented the landing of the mortars and heavy guns; but
+in the afternoon of the twenty-second of March, three batteries
+were finally established, within eight hundred yards of the city,
+under the direction of Colonel Totten, the Chief Engineer, and
+seven mortars planted. The city was then regularly summoned; but
+Governor Morales affected to regard the castle as being embraced
+in the demand, and peremptorily refused to capitulate. Orders were
+therefore given to open the fire, and the squadron, under Commodore
+Perry, who had relieved Commodore Conner, moved up to prevent any
+further intercourse between the town and the foreign vessels of war.
+The command of the trenches was assigned to Colonel Bankhead, of
+the 2nd artillery; and shortly after four o’clock on the afternoon
+of the twenty-second, the three batteries commenced bombarding the
+town. A strong battery, manned by officers and men of the navy, and
+mounting three 8-inch Paixhan guns, and three long thirty-two’s,
+opened its fire on the following day; and early in the morning of
+the twenty-fifth, a fifth battery, with four 24-pounders and two
+8-inch howitzers, added its deep-toned thunders to the ceaseless din.
+The enemy returned the fire, with considerable spirit, from their
+batteries in the city and castle; but little injury was done to the
+trenches, and the Americans sustained but a trifling loss.
+
+In the city, the horrors of a bombardment were soon witnessed.
+The American fire was terribly destructive. Deep channels were
+ploughed in the streets, and the walls sunk in large masses. The
+air was full of blazing shells; houses were set on fire, and the
+affrighted inmates fled hither and thither, seeking, in vain, some
+place of refuge and safety. The city resounded, in every quarter,
+with the groans of the dying, the shrieks of pale-faced women and
+orphaned children. On the night of the twenty-fourth, the foreign
+consuls dispatched a memorial to General Scott, praying him to
+grant a truce to enable the neutrals to withdraw, with the Mexican
+women and children. All the terrors which they depicted, had been
+foreseen by the American commander, and they had been forewarned in
+time. They had chosen to remain in the city till it was too late.
+There could now be no alternative but a surrender. The request of
+the memorialists was therefore refused, and the siege pressed with
+increased vigor.
+
+[Sidenote: THE BOMBARDMENT AND CAPITULATION.]
+
+The firing was continued without intermission during the day,
+on the twenty-fifth, and the following night. Governor Morales
+resisted every appeal on the part of the inhabitants of Vera Cruz,
+to surrender, and it was only when the streets had become deluged
+with blood, that he resigned the command to General Landero, who
+immediately opened negotiations with General Scott, which terminated
+in the capitulation of the city and castle, with their armaments,
+and the surrender of the garrison as prisoners of war. The American
+batteries ceased playing on the morning of the twenty-sixth; and on
+the twenty-ninth, the Mexican troops marched out and lay down their
+arms, while the victors entered and took possession of the formidable
+strongholds which they had evacuated.
+
+There were but thirteen killed, and sixty-three wounded, on the side
+of the Americans, including the losses sustained by the navy, during
+the operations before the city of Vera Cruz, from the landing to the
+capitulation; except that there were a few casualties occurred on the
+twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth of March, in brief skirmishes with
+mounted parties of the enemy, who made their appearance in the rear
+of the line of investment, but were driven off by detachments under
+the command, respectively, of General P. F. Smith and Colonel Harney.
+The loss of the Mexicans during the siege was not ascertained, but
+was variously estimated at from one to two thousand.
+
+Anticipating the speedy arrival of the dreaded _vómito_ on the low
+and sickly coast of Mexico, General Scott hastened to put his army in
+motion for the interior, hoping to find among the cool retreats of
+the _terra templada_, a refuge from the scorching sun of the tropics.
+Lieutenant Colonel Belton, of the 3rd artillery, was left in command
+of Vera Cruz and the Castle, with a suitable garrison; and, on the
+eighth of April, General Twiggs took up the line of march for Jalapa,
+about ninety miles distant. The remaining columns followed in a few
+days.
+
+Meanwhile, Santa Anna, the Provisional President of Mexico, and
+General-in-chief of her armies, had sustained a terrible repulse
+near Buena Vista, on the twenty-third of February, when he had
+attacked the American army under General Taylor, with a force four
+times greater than that of his opponents. Escaping from the scene of
+disaster, with the wreck of his forces,--as the Americans did not
+design to penetrate further into the country in that direction,--and
+augmenting their numbers by forced levies, together with large
+additions from the National Guard, and considerable bodies of
+guerillereros, he proceeded to the heights of Cerro Gordo, nearly
+thirty miles east of Jalapa, and commenced fortifying his position.
+The National Road, along which the victorious columns of General
+Scott were approaching, here commences the ascent from the _tierra
+caliente_, to the elevated table land of Mexico.
+
+[Sidenote: THE HEIGHTS OF CERRO GORDO.]
+
+After crossing the Rio del Plan, the road winds up among the
+hills--now scaling a bold sierra, and now disappearing in the
+wooded depths of some dark ravine--until, at the distance of two
+or three miles, it enters a narrow defile, flanked, on the left,
+by three ridges jutting out from the plateau above,--beyond which
+is the impassable channel of the river,--and, on the right, by the
+tall mountain peak of Cerro Gordo, crowned with the _Telegrafo_, a
+fortified citadel, or tower. Intrenchments were thrown up on the
+eastern extremities of the hills on the left, which terminated
+abruptly, and upwards of twenty guns placed in battery. In addition
+to the work on the lofty summit of Cerro Gordo, which contained six
+guns mounted on carriages, there was a strong battery, of six large
+brass guns, at the foot of the height, which completely enfiladed the
+defile. Breastworks for the protection of infantry were constructed
+in and about this chain of defences, within which Santa Anna posted
+about one half of his army, altogether consisting of not far from
+fifteen thousand men. With the remaining half, he encamped on the
+National Road, about half a mile west of the tower, where he had,
+also, a battery of five guns.
+
+The march of the American army from Vera Cruz to the Rio del Plan was
+entirely unobstructed,--though, on account of the deep sandy roads,
+very tedious and difficult. For most of the distance, the wayside
+was skirted with thickets of chaparral, with occasional openings,
+through which glimpses could be caught of plantations of maguey,
+whose bright clustering flowers shed their rich golden radiance
+on everything around; of waving fields of corn and sugar cane; of
+groves of citrons, oranges, and pomegranates,--the trees bending
+down with their luscious fruit, or loaded with rare foliage; or of
+sylvan nooks, where the waters of some gentle streamlet trembled in
+the faint light stealing softly down through the overhanging branches
+of the majestic plane-tree, the dark-leaved banana, the lofty cedar,
+or the gigantic arbutus. Now and then, too, they passed the rude
+sheds, covered with green palmetto leaves, of the _jarochada_,--the
+humblest class of Mexican peasantry,--who looked upon the advent of
+these strange warriors, with emotions similar to those with which the
+ancient Aztecs regarded the mail-clad followers of Hernando Cortés.
+
+General Twiggs arrived at the Plan del Rio, on the eleventh of April,
+with his division, and encamped for the night; his advanced guard,
+under Colonel Harney, having driven a party of Mexican lancers from
+the ground. On the following day reconnaissances were pushed in the
+direction of the enemy’s position, which, it was ascertained, could
+be turned on the right, by the construction of a road leaving the
+main route some distance below the defile, and winding round to the
+north of the height of Cerro Gordo. The first and third brigades of
+General Patterson’s volunteer division, commanded by Generals Pillow
+and Shields, came up on the twelfth instant; the second brigade,
+under General Quitman, did not arrive in time to take part in the
+action. General Scott soon followed, and, on the sixteenth of April,
+General Worth reached the ground with his division. Dispositions were
+forthwith made for carrying the whole Mexican line of intrenchments
+by assault. The operations on the line reconnoitred by General
+Twiggs, were pushed with great activity, and a road was constructed,
+extending for two or three miles, through thickets of chaparral,
+underneath jutting precipices, and across deep stony chasms. The
+fatigue parties continued at work, until they came within range of
+the enemy’s batteries, and orders were then issued to prepare for the
+storm.
+
+[Sidenote: STORMING THE FORTIFICATIONS.]
+
+The division of General Twiggs was thrown forward on the new road,
+and in the afternoon of the seventeenth, his advanced parties seized
+a commanding eminence directly below the frowning height of Cerro
+Gordo, upon which several heavy guns were planted, that were drawn
+up during the evening by the 4th artillery and the volunteers of
+General Shields, who had been directed to reïnforce the regular
+division. The main attack was now ordered to be made at sunrise on
+the eighteenth of April; General Twiggs being directed to carry the
+works on the right of the road, with his division and the brigade of
+General Shields; and General Pillow receiving orders to attack the
+intrenchments on the series of hills on the left, aided by the fire
+of an 8-inch howitzer put in position on the heights, on the opposite
+bank of the Rio del Plan. General Worth was required to follow the
+movement under General Twiggs with his division.
+
+With the first light of dawn, the command of General Twiggs was in
+motion. The main height of Cerro Gordo, from the sides of which the
+enemy’s skirmishers were driven by the fire of the mounted rifles,
+was gallantly ascended by the 1st artillery,[47] and the 3rd and 7th
+infantry, headed by Colonel Harney, under a plunging and withering
+fire of grape and musketry, and the fortified work on its summit
+carried at the point of the bayonet. General Shields crossed a
+ravine, hitherto deemed impassable, further to the west and right,
+with his brigade, and boldly attacked the battery in the rear near
+the principal camp of Santa Anna; being desperately wounded, he gave
+up the command to Colonel Baker, who promptly led on the column,
+and, with the assistance of Colonel Riley, who moved up with the
+2nd infantry and 4th artillery, succeeded in carrying the battery
+and routing the main body of the enemy. The private carriage of the
+Mexican President, his baggage, and the military chest of the army,
+were captured; but Santa Anna himself, and his principal officers,
+succeeded in effecting their escape.
+
+General Pillow was less successful in the attempt to carry the
+batteries and intrenchments on the left of the road. The fire of the
+enemy proved so destructive, that he was obliged to call off his men;
+but, nothing daunted by one repulse, they were preparing for a second
+and more determined effort, when white flags were thrown out over
+the breastworks,--the Mexican force in this quarter being completely
+in the power of the American troops, who had carried the height of
+Cerro Gordo and the battery in the rear. A large number of the enemy
+having escaped just previous to the capture of the works, the way
+was cleared, and the mounted men and light batteries, with portions
+of the infantry, dashed after them in pursuit, under Generals Twiggs
+and Patterson. The intrenchments and fortifications were all carried
+before the sun had reached its meridian, and at eventide the advanced
+corps halted and encamped within sight of the white towers of Jalapa.
+
+[Sidenote: DEFEAT AND PURSUIT OF THE ENEMY.]
+
+The American force in this action barely exceeded eight thousand
+men; but the network of defences constructed by Santa Anna to impede
+their advance, proved as frail and powerless as the gossamer’s web.
+Yet the victory was not achieved without a severe loss; there being
+four hundred and thirty-one officers and men killed and wounded.
+The Mexican loss, however, was much greater; there were upwards
+of one thousand killed and wounded, and over three thousand taken
+prisoners, including five general officers. Forty-three pieces of
+artillery, four thousand stands of arms, and a large quantity of
+fixed ammunition, were also captured by the Americans.
+
+Jalapa surrendered to the victors on the nineteenth of April, and
+on the twenty-second General Worth took possession of the important
+castle of Perote. No resistance was now made to the arms of General
+Scott. Panic and dismay were visible on every side, and had the
+American commander been in a situation to advance immediately upon
+the Mexican capital, it is more than probable that he would have
+encountered but feeble opposition. But, when he arrived at Jalapa,
+the terms of service of more than three thousand of his volunteer
+force were about to expire; and they returned at once to the
+coast, to reëmbark for the United States before the sickly season
+came on. Although his army was thereby reduced to less than seven
+thousand effective men--a feeble band left to maintain themselves
+in the heart of the enemy’s country, whose communications with the
+sea-board were soon after cut off by the guerilleros, who swarmed
+during the whole season on the road to Vera Cruz--he determined,
+nevertheless, to surrender not one of the advantages which he
+had gained, but to penetrate still further into the interior.
+Accordingly, General Worth moved forward, in May, to Puebla de los
+Ángelos--the City of the Angels--with his division and the volunteer
+brigade of General Quitman, in all but little more than four thousand
+men. On the fourteenth instant, near Amasoque, he had a slight
+skirmish with a body of lancers three thousand strong, under Santa
+Anna; but he drove them before him with ease, and on the fifteenth
+instant entered the city and took formal possession.
+
+Like Jackson and Harrison, General Scott had no sooner evolved
+his plans, than he found them counteracted by the orders or
+proceedings of the War Department. The experience, oftentimes the
+bitter experience, of the Revolution and the second war with Great
+Britain,--in which it was over and over again demonstrated, that it
+was essential to success that there should be as little interference
+as possible with the details and incidents of a campaign,--seemed
+to be forgotten by the Executive authorities at Washington. The
+general object of a campaign, or expedition, may, perhaps should be,
+designated by the President, as commander in chief of the army; but
+it may be unhesitatingly affirmed, that no officer is fit to conduct
+either, to whom a large discretion may not be safely confided. He
+will find cares and vexations enough, without being fretted by
+petty annoyances, or thwarted, at every turn, in the most trifling
+circumstance.
+
+[Sidenote: MARCH FROM PUEBLA.]
+
+It was a long time before General Scott found himself in sufficient
+force to warrant him in continuing his march upon the Mexican
+capital. On the twenty-second of May, General Twiggs marched from
+Jalapa for Puebla, with his division. General Scott followed him
+on the twenty-third, in company with Mr. Trist, the American
+Commissioner sent to confer with the Mexican government, in case
+negotiations for peace should be proposed. Strong garrisons were
+left at Jalapa and Perote, under Colonels Childs and Wynkoop. At
+Puebla another tedious delay took place; but the time was wisely and
+profitably spent in drilling the troops. At length, the long-expected
+reïnforcements began to arrive. Generals Pillow and Cadwalader
+reached Puebla on the eighth of July, with over three thousand men,
+including the command of Colonel Childs; and on the sixth of August,
+General Pierce came up with twenty-five hundred men. Both columns had
+repeated, and, in every instance, successful encounters, with the
+guerilleros.
+
+Arrangements had already been made for the contemplated movement
+towards the far-famed halls of the Montezumas. The army, now
+consisting of ten thousand seven hundred men, moved forward _en
+échelon_; General Twiggs marching on the seventh instant with his
+division, preceded by the cavalry brigade of Colonel Harney, and
+the remaining divisions, under Generals Quitman, Worth, and Pillow,
+following on successive days. General Scott left Puebla in person on
+the eighth instant, and on the same day overtook, and then continued
+with, the leading division, under General Twiggs. The line of march
+followed the National Road, which ascends gradually through a rich
+rolling country, to the _tierra fria_, the third of the great
+terraces into which Mexico is divided.--Elated with past victories,
+and the brilliant promise of future triumphs, the serried columns
+press on, through groves and gardens decked out in the most gorgeous
+array, through fields of maize and barley, and amidst towering cedars
+and lofty pines:
+
+    “Through rocky pass, o’er wooded steep,
+    In long and glittering files they sweep.”
+
+Not an enemy appeared to obstruct their march, until, on emerging
+from the pass of Rio Frio, they commenced descending into the valley,
+in the midst of which, like some bright vision of fairy land, lay
+the city of Mexico, whose shining domes and sculptured façades were
+bathed in the rich flood of golden light that streamed down through
+the transparent atmosphere. On approaching the hacienda of Buena
+Vista, Major Sumner, of the 2nd dragoons, who commanded the advanced
+corps, descried a party of Mexican lancers apparently drawn up to
+defend the passage. Dashing fiercely upon the enemy, without pausing
+to count their numbers, he compelled them to make a hasty retreat.
+General Twiggs’ division halted at Ayotla, fifteen miles from Mexico,
+on the eleventh of August, and as the other divisions came up, they
+encamped in the rear, about the head of Lake Chalco.
+
+The Mexican capital lies about three miles west of Lake Tezcuco,
+and six miles from the northwest point of Lake Xochimilco. It is
+approached by six principal roads, which terminate in massive stone
+causeways, elevated from ten to twenty feet above the low marshy
+grounds that surround the city. On the east, is the National Road,
+along which the American army moved; on the south, the Acapulco road,
+entering on the San Antonio causeway; on the south-west, the Tacubaya
+road and causeway; on the west, the San Cosmé road and causeway; and
+on the north, are the remaining two roads.
+
+[Sidenote: FORTIFICATIONS OF MEXICO.]
+
+After his repulse at Amasoque, Santa Anna returned to the capital,
+and began diligently to fortify it. The National Road, which runs
+close to the southern shore of Lake Tezcuco, was defended by El
+Peñon, an isolated hill three hundred feet high, seven miles from the
+city, on the south side of the road; this was garnished with twenty
+batteries mounting fifty-one guns, and fifteen infantry breastworks;
+and there was, also, a strong battery on the road, or causeway, four
+hundred yards in advance of the height, another by its side, and a
+third about a mile from the gate of San Lazaro. Between the National
+Road and Lake Xochimilco, is a lateral road, leading to the San
+Antonio causeway by way of the village of Mexicalcingo, which lies on
+the outlet or canal reaching from the lake to the city. The bridge
+over the outlet was fortified, and flanked by strong works,--there
+being, in all, eight batteries, with thirty-eight guns, and one
+breastwork for infantry.
+
+On the opposite side of Lake Xochimilco, upon the San Antonio
+causeway, was a _tête du pont_ of heavy mason work, at the bridge
+over the Churubusco river, over two miles south of the city. To
+the left of the bridge, were the church and convent of San Pablo,
+surrounded by a high wall and designed to be used for purposes of
+defence. Between two and three miles further south, at San Antonio,
+there were extensive field works, containing seven batteries,
+mounting twenty-four heavy guns, and two infantry breastworks. Five
+miles northwest of the _tête du pont_, on the Tacubaya causeway, and
+distant only one and a half miles from the Belén garita, or fortified
+gateway, was the frowning fortress of Chapultepec, situated on a
+rocky eminence in an oblong inclosure, the walls at the foot of
+which, on the north and south, were formed by aqueducts extending
+into the city, over heavy arches, by the Tacubaya and San Cosmé
+causeways, which were thus divided into double roadways. On the
+heights of Chapultepec, there were seven batteries, including those
+in the main fortification, which mounted nineteen guns, and seven
+infantry breastworks. Beneath this fortress, on the west, twelve
+hundred yards distant from the acclivity, was El Molino del Rey--“the
+Mill of the King”--a long range of stone buildings now occupied by
+the Mexican troops; and four or five hundred yards further to the
+west, on a retired line, was Casa de Mata, an old square building,
+with thick stone walls, and surrounded by ditches and bastioned
+intrenchments.
+
+In addition to the exterior chain of defences, there was an interior
+line equally formidable. A wide and deep navigable canal, extremely
+difficult, if not impossible, to bridge in the face of an active
+enemy, girded the city throughout its greater extent. There were
+eight main entrances, at each of which there was a fortified garita;
+and on the left and north of the Tacubaya causeway, a short distance
+in rear of the garita Belén, was the Ciudadela, or citadel, a
+rectangular work, containing fifteen heavy guns. Batteries and
+redans were constructed upon and near the causeways and garitas, and
+preparations were made to connect all the works of the interior line
+by a continuous chain of redoubts. Guns could not be obtained in
+sufficient quantities to arm all the works, but it was the intention
+of the Mexican commander to withdraw his pieces from the outer
+batteries, whenever it became necessary to take up a new position.
+For the defence of these fortifications, and the protection of the
+city, he had collected an army of over thirty thousand men, mainly
+consisting of the battalions of the National Guard, but all well
+armed and equipped.
+
+[Sidenote: RECONNAISSANCES.]
+
+From his camp at Ayotla, General Scott threw forward several
+reconnoitering parties, through whom he obtained definite and
+reliable information in regard to the enemy’s fortifications. He was
+able to break through the chain at any point, but his army was weak
+in numbers, and no reïnforcements could be expected for some time to
+come; consequently, he decided to husband his strength, and avoid
+the more important and stronger works at El Peñon and Mexicalcingo,
+by making a détour to the left, round Lakes Chalco and Xochimilco.
+He had long had this project in contemplation, and on the fourteenth
+of August, a reconnaissance was made in that direction, which
+demonstrated its entire practicability. Directions were forthwith
+given for the columns to be put in motion. The order of march was
+now reversed; General Worth leading the van, with Colonel Harney’s
+brigade in the advance, and the other divisions closely following the
+movement.
+
+The enemy’s light troops and skirmishers were repeatedly encountered
+while making the circuit of the lakes; the route was found to be low
+and uneven, sometimes crossing deep pits and marshes, and at others
+running underneath overhanging scaurs which threatened to fall down
+upon the heads of the soldiers; but the tedious march was terminated
+on the evening of the seventeenth of August, by the arrival of
+General Worth at San Augustin, on the Acapulco road,--twenty-seven
+miles from Ayotla by this circuitous route, and nine miles south of
+the city of Mexico. In the morning of the eighteenth, General Worth
+moved along the causeway, towards San Antonio, to allow the other
+divisions to close on him.
+
+Reconnaissances having been made by the engineer officers, it was
+found that the fortifications at San Antonio commanded the causeway
+and the marshes on their left, as far as Lake Xochimilco. West of the
+road there was a vast field of volcanic rocks, called a _pedregal_,
+utterly impassable for cavalry or artillery, and nearly so for
+infantry, which extended some four or five miles, to the San Angel
+road, leading from the factory of Magdalena, down the valley of the
+Churubusco river, to the San Antonio causeway. General Scott again
+resolved that the skill of the enemy should avail them nothing. His
+plan--to gain the San Angel road, and then move round to the attack
+of San Antonio in rear--was soon formed, and the necessary orders
+given to carry it into effect. A mule path was discovered running
+westward from San Augustin, and connecting with the San Angel road,
+which the engineers reported could be made practicable for artillery.
+On the morning of the nineteenth instant General Pillow advanced
+to open the path with his division and the corps of sappers and
+miners,--the movement being covered by the division of General Twiggs.
+
+[Sidenote: CONTRERAS AND CHERUBUSCO.]
+
+In the meantime, Santa Anna had moved his forces to the southern
+side of the city. Eight guns were planted in battery at the _tête
+du pont_; the defences of San Pablo were increased, and seven guns
+mounted; and General Valencia was thrown forward on the San Angel
+road, with a corps of seven thousand men, and twenty-four pieces
+of artillery, half of which were of heavy calibre. In the morning
+of the eighteenth of August, he had been directed to fall back to
+Coyoacan, near San Pablo; but he proceeded to the Hill of Contreras,
+situated in a bend of the San Angel road, opposite the opening of the
+mule path leading from San Augustin, where he intrenched himself and
+planted his guns.
+
+The working parties under General Pillow encountered innumerable
+difficulties, but they overcame them all, with cheerfulness and
+alacrity; and at three o’clock in the afternoon, he opened a lively
+and well-directed fire from a battery of field pieces, and a mountain
+howitzer battery, which he had planted within nine hundred yards
+of the Hill of Contreras. The fire was answered with spirit; and
+slugs, shot, and fragments, were thrown from the enemy’s guns with
+terrible effect. Meanwhile, Colonel Riley had moved round to the
+right, with his brigade of General Twiggs’ division, across the field
+of lava,--officers and men, the latter divested of their knapsacks,
+picking their way on foot,--to attack the Mexicans in the rear.
+Strong detachments of the enemy’s infantry, supported by heavy
+guns, being discovered moving up the slopes west of the San Angel
+road, General Pillow detached General Cadwalader, with his brigade,
+to the support of Colonel Riley. General Smith also crossed the
+_pedregal_, with the remaining brigade of General Twiggs’ division;
+and, subsequently, General Scott dispatched Colonel Morgan, with the
+fifteenth infantry, and General Shields, with his brigade, in the
+same direction.
+
+No serious impression being made against the heavier metal of the
+enemy, by the American guns, they ceased playing after nightfall. A
+violent storm of wind and rain now came on, which served to heighten
+the anxiety of General Scott and his officers, to learn the situation
+and prospects of the troops who had crossed the _pedregal_. Late
+at night, when all was uncertainty and gloom, Captain Lee, of the
+engineers, returned from the opposite side of the bed of lava, with
+the information that General Smith, who had taken the command of the
+detachments, numbering altogether about thirty-three hundred men,
+would storm the camp of General Valencia at sunrise. Shortly after
+the day broke on the twentieth instant, the intrenchments on the hill
+of Contreras were gallantly carried, as had been promised, and the
+enemy driven from their position with great loss.
+
+General Scott immediately followed the mule path to the San Angel
+road, with the brigades of General Pierce and Colonel Harney,
+and ordered a rapid pursuit of the retreating enemy, who were
+concentrating at San Pablo and the _tête du pont_. At the same time,
+General Worth moved against San Antonio in front, with his division;
+but the enemy evacuated their works on his approach, and retired to
+the bridge, whither he pursued them as rapidly as possible.
+
+[Sidenote: ROUT OF THE ENEMY.]
+
+A general action, of more than two hours’ duration, which was hotly
+contested on both sides, now took place in and about the _tête du
+pont_ and the defences of San Pablo. At length, the fierce onset of
+General Worth compelled the enemy to give way on the right; the whole
+line soon staggered and broke, and a complete rout ensued. At the
+request of Colonel Harney, the way was cleared, and he was permitted
+to follow the retreating columns of the enemy along the San Antonio
+causeway, to the very gates of the city. His squadrons dashed through
+and through the files of Mexican infantry, smiting terrible blows on
+every side; spurring in upon the crowding fugitives, they cleft down
+all who refused to surrender; and up to the very garita, their shouts
+and cheers, their pistol shots and sabre strokes, spread terror and
+alarm.
+
+In this action, the old war-spirit of General Scott was fully
+aroused. When the clangor of the battle was the wildest and the
+highest, careless and indifferent in regard to the exposure of his
+person, he ventured again and again within range of the enemy’s guns.
+In the course of the engagement, he received a slight wound from a
+grape-shot, but he entered the church of San Pablo soon after it was
+taken, and was received by his brave soldiers with many a glad hurrah.
+
+This series of bloody contests finally terminated at sunset. During
+the day, the enemy lost four thousand men in killed and wounded,
+and there were over twenty-five hundred taken prisoners. Among
+the prisoners were eight general officers. Thirty-seven pieces
+of artillery, and large quantities of small arms and ammunition,
+standards, pack-mules and horses, were also captured. The American
+loss was far less in proportion, yet it was very severe; there were
+one hundred and thirty-seven killed, eight hundred and seventy-nine
+wounded, and forty missing.
+
+It is not improbable, that General Scott might have forced his way
+into the city, on the night after this action; but it was far too
+hazardous an undertaking for eight thousand men to enter a hostile
+town, containing a population of two hundred thousand souls, whose
+convents and public edifices could be readily converted into
+fortifications, and the _azoteas_, or flat roofs, of whose dwellings,
+would afford a secure shelter for thousands upon thousands of
+sharp-shooters. It was not half so well provided for defence, when
+Guatemozin, “the last of the Aztecs,” resisted for three months the
+utmost efforts of Cortés, though the latter was aided by two hundred
+thousand Tlascalan allies.
+
+[Sidenote: THE ARMISTICE.]
+
+On the night of the twentieth of August, while the thunders of the
+battle were yet echoing among the gorges of the Cordilleras, and
+ere the dark flocks of the _zopilote_--the voracious vulture of the
+country--which hovered over the ensanguined plain, had descended to
+their unhallowed carnival, General Scott was visited by the British
+Consul, and other foreign residents of the Mexican capital, at whose
+suggestion, in the spirit of a magnanimous victor, he addressed a
+note to Santa Anna on the following morning, proposing an armistice
+with a view to negotiation. Previous to this time, on the morning
+of the twenty-first, General Scott was waited on by General Mora y
+Villamil, who came out to propose a truce; but the terms not being
+satisfactory, nothing was agreed on. Upon the receipt of General
+Scott’s note, Santa Anna appointed commissioners to confer with such
+as might be appointed on the other side. An armistice was ultimately
+signed, and ratified on the twenty-fourth instant.
+
+Negotiations were instantly opened; but the duplicity and bad faith
+of the Mexican government daily became more and more apparent.
+Infractions of the armistice constantly took place; and on the
+sixth of September General Scott notified Santa Anna, that unless
+full satisfaction was made, before twelve o’clock, meridian, on the
+following day, he should consider it at an end from and after that
+hour. The reply of the Mexican President was both insulting and
+evasive,--and General Scott made immediate preparations to renew
+offensive operations. Having been informed that there was a cannon
+foundry in El Molino del Rey, to which a number of bells had been
+sent from the city to be cast into guns--though this afterwards
+proved to be a mistake--and that there was a large deposit of powder
+in Casa de Mata, he determined to drive the enemy from these works,
+and to seize the powder and destroy the foundry. The performance
+of this service was confided to General Worth, with his division,
+reïnforced by the brigade of General Cadwalader and other small
+detachments. It was brilliantly executed on the eighth of September,
+in spite of the opposition of nearly the whole Mexican army, but
+with the loss of near eight hundred men killed and wounded, out of
+thirty-four hundred.
+
+The capital itself still remained in the possession of the enemy, who
+labored night and day to complete their defences. Including the works
+at the garitas, there were forty-seven batteries, designed for one
+hundred and seventy-seven guns, and seventeen infantry breastworks,
+constructed around the city. All the batteries, however, could
+not be manned at the same time, in consequence of the deficiency
+in artillery. The most formidable works were at the garita of San
+Antonio, and on the heights of Chapultepec.
+
+After completing his reconnaissances, General Scott made a
+demonstration before the southern gates of the city, with the
+divisions of Generals Pillow and Quitman, on the afternoon of the
+eleventh of September, in order to deceive the enemy; but when it
+became dark, he directed those officers to join him with their
+columns, at Tacubuya, whither his headquarters had been sometime
+previous removed. General Twiggs was left at Piedad with his
+division, to threaten, or make false attacks, on the batteries near
+the garita of San Antonio.
+
+On the twelfth instant, four heavy batteries were planted, and
+opened, on the castle of Chapultepec, less than a mile distant from
+Tacubaya,--while General Twiggs directed a vigorous fire upon the
+batteries in the vicinity of the southern gates. The cannonade was
+very effective; the enemy were driven from their outworks on the
+heights of Chapultepec, and the main fortification was seriously
+crippled. On the night of the twelfth, final arrangements were made
+for storming the castle early on the following morning. Before midday
+on the thirteenth, the works were bravely carried at the point of
+the bayonet, by the divisions of Generals Pillow and Quitman,--the
+former being supported by the division of General Worth, and the
+latter by the brigade of General Smith. Immediately after the
+reduction of the castle, Generals Worth and Quitman followed the
+retreating masses of the Mexican troops along the San Cosmé, and
+Chapultepec, or Tacubaya causeways. The latter was the first to gain
+a foothold in the city; the garita of Belén being carried by his
+men shortly after one o’clock in the afternoon. The route taken by
+General Worth was much longer, but he steadily advanced on his way,
+driving the enemy from every redoubt and battery; and, during the
+evening, he securely established himself inside of the garita of San
+Cosmé. Between nine and ten o’clock, a few shells were thrown from
+a mortar brought up to his column, in the direction of the National
+Palace, on the great plaza, in order to obtain the exact distance.
+
+[Sidenote: CAPTURE OF MEXICO.]
+
+Santa Anna and his ministers did not think it advisable again to
+encounter the American army, or to bring upon the city the horrors
+of a bombardment. During the night of the thirteenth, the Mexican
+commander hastily evacuated the capital with all his forces; and on
+the morning of the fourteenth of September, General Scott entered
+and took possession with his troops,--the civil officers making an
+unconditional surrender of the town. For upwards of twenty-four
+hours, the Americans were annoyed by the _leperos_, and lower classes
+of the populace, who fired, and hurled missiles upon them, from the
+roofs and windows. The vigilant measures of General Scott speedily
+checked the _émeute_, and the American flag waved undisturbed over
+the Palacio of Mexico.[48]
+
+A rigid system of police was at once established and enforced by the
+American commander,--whose watchful care for the comfort and welfare
+of his men, whose regard for the rights of the citizens, and whose
+respect for his vanquished opponents, manifested at all times and on
+all occasions, won golden opinions from both friends and foes.
+
+The brilliant campaign of General Scott,--especially remarkable
+for the wonderful display of his military knowledge and ability,
+his rapidity of decision, the power and compass of his mind, the
+clearness of his plans, and the strategical skill which so often
+rendered all the labors of the enemy completely nugatory,--terminated
+with the fall of the Mexican capital. Large reïnforcements were sent
+to join him, by the aid of which his communications with the seacoast
+were effectually opened. For a few weeks, Santa Anna, who had
+resigned his office of provisional president, attempted to continue
+the war, but he eventually abandoned the contest and quitted the
+country. The new administration exhibited a more friendly and pacific
+disposition; the negotiations were resumed, and on the second day of
+February, 1848, a treaty of peace was signed at Guadalupe Hidalgo,
+which was subsequently duly ratified.
+
+[Sidenote: RETURN TO THE UNITED STATES.]
+
+On the nineteenth of February, General Scott was relieved from duty
+in Mexico, at his own request; and shortly thereafter he returned to
+the United States, where he was received with the most flattering
+demonstrations of respect. The thanks of Congress and a gold medal
+were voted to him. Resolutions of congratulation were adopted by a
+number of State Legislatures, and in the city of New York and other
+towns, public processions and festivities were had, in honor of the
+gallant commander and successful soldier.
+
+The athletic frame and robust constitution of General Scott indicate
+that his life may be prolonged for many years. While he is still
+living, and occupying so high a place in the estimation of his
+countrymen, it would, perhaps, be as unwise, as it is unnecessary,
+to speak of his character more in detail. It may be, that he is
+reserved for other and higher honors,--but whatever fortune befal
+him, it will ever be a proud satisfaction to his friends, to point
+to his triumphant march to the Mexican capital, as the most splendid
+achievement recorded in modern history.
+
+
+THE END.
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+       [34] Tom. iv., p. 150.
+
+       [35] The charge was, in substance, that General Scott
+            remarked at a public table, that he had never seen
+            but two traitors, viz.: Generals Wilkinson and
+            Burr,--and that General Wilkinson was a liar and a
+            scoundrel. Whatever may have been the justice of
+            Scott’s sentence, for violating the rules of military
+            subordination, he had certainly strong reasons for
+            associating the name of Wilkinson with that of Burr,
+            inasmuch as there were then weighty suspicions
+            attaching to the conduct of the former which have
+            never been wholly removed.
+
+       [36] See Memoir of General Pike, _ante_.
+
+       [37] Close behind Scott was Colonel Porter, who
+            complained that the long legs of the former gave him
+            an undue advantage.
+
+       [38] See Memoirs of Brown and Macomb, _ante_.
+
+       [39] _Ante_, p. 34, et seq.
+
+       [40] Captain Towson, with his three guns, was on the
+            other flank, opposite the enemy’s left.
+
+       [41] _Ante_, p. 45, et seq.
+
+       [42] He visited Europe again in 1829, and made the tour
+            of France, Belgium and Germany--his principal object
+            being to procure professional information.
+
+       [43] See Memoirs of Generals Gaines and Macomb, _ante_.
+
+       [44] See Memoir of General Gaines, _ante_.
+
+       [45] See Memoir of General Gaines, _ante_.
+
+       [46] Macaulay.
+
+       [47] The artillery regiments in the American service,
+            are equipped, and act, as infantry, with the
+            exception of the detached companies serving with
+            batteries.
+
+       [48] The casualties consequent upon the capture of
+            Chapultepec and the reduction of the city, on the
+            side of the Mexicans, were 1,000 killed, 1,500
+            wounded, and 823 taken prisoners. The Americans lost
+            130 killed, 704 wounded, and 29 missing. Among the
+            captures of the latter, were 100 pieces of artillery,
+            a number of colors and standards, and small arms and
+            ammunition in sufficient quantities to supply an army
+            during a campaign.
+
+
+
+
+             BOOKS RECENTLY PUBLISHED BY DERBY & MILLER.
+
+
+  =The Lives of Mary and Martha, mother and wife of Washington=: by
+     Margaret C. Conkling, with a steel portrait, 18mo, scarlet cloth.
+
+MISS CONKLING, who is a daughter of Judge Conkling of Auburn, is
+favorably known as the author of Harpers translation of “Florian’s
+History of the Moors of Spain.” She also wrote “Isabel, or the Trials
+of the Heart.” In the preparation of the pretty little volume she has
+done a praiseworthy deed, and we hope she will receive the reward she
+merits. She has taught us in the work
+
+        “how divine a thing
+    A woman may be made.”
+
+The mother and wife of Washington were, in many respects, model
+women, and the daughters of America will do well to study their
+character--which is finely drawn on these pages.--_Literary
+Messenger._
+
+
+This beautifully printed and elegantly bound little work, reflecting
+the highest credit upon the skill and task of the publishers,
+contains biographical sketches of Mary, the mother, and Martha, the
+wife of the Father of his country. It is a most valuable contribution
+to the history of the American people, embracing not only the great
+public events of the century during which the subjects lived, but
+those pictures of home life, and that exhibition of social manners
+and customs, which constitute the most important part of life, but
+which, from the fact of their apparent triviality and intangibility,
+the historian generally passes over. The authoress evidently
+sympathises earnestly with her subject, and feels that in the
+exhibition of those womanly virtues which characterized the heroines
+of her narrative, she makes the most eloquent plea in favor of the
+dignity of her sex. It is dedicated to Mrs. WM. H. SEWARD, and
+contains a finely executed engraving of the wife of Washington. We
+cordially commend it to the public, and most especially our lady
+readers.--_Syracuse Journal._
+
+
+This acceptable and well written volume goes forth upon a happy
+mission,
+
+   “To teach us how divine a thing
+    A woman may be made,”
+
+by unfolding those charms of character which belong to the mother and
+wife of the hero of the Land of the Free; and in the companionship
+of which, while they illustrated the watchful tenderness of a
+mother, and the confiding affections of a wife, is shown those
+influences which made up the moral sentiments of a man, whose moral
+grandeur will be felt in all that is future in government or divine
+in philosophy; and one whose name is adored by all nations, as the
+leader of man in in the progress of government, to that perfection of
+human rights where all enjoy liberty and equality. To say that Miss
+Conkling has fulfilled the task she says a “too partial friendship
+has assigned her” faultlessly, would perhaps be too unmeasured
+praise, for perfection is seldom attained; but it will not be denied
+but that her biographies are traced in the chaste elegances that
+belong to the finished periods of a refined style, which fascinates
+the reader with what she has thus contributed to our national
+literature.
+
+The design of the volume is, to picture a _mother_ fitting the
+“Father of his Country” in a light full of the inexhaustible
+nobleness of woman’s nature, and yet as possessing that subdued and
+quiet simplicity, where Truth becomes the Hope on which Faith looks
+at the future with a smile. The mother of Washington was tried in
+a school of practice where frugal habits and active industry were
+combined with the proverbial excellences of those Virginia matrons,
+who were worthy mothers of such men as Washington, Jefferson,
+Marshall, and Henry. Miss C. has pictured with fidelity and elegance,
+her views of this remarkable woman; not less beautifully has she
+sketched the character of Martha, the wife; following her from
+her brilliant manners as the Virginia belle, through the various
+phases of her lite, she gives a rapid but comprehensive view
+of those characteristics which make up the quiet refinement of
+manners native to her, and which ever gave her the reputation of an
+accomplished wife and lady. And with peculiar delicacy Miss Conkling
+has portrayed the thousand virtues with which she embellished a
+home; her amiable disposition and winning manners made the happiest
+to the purest and best of all men fame has chosen for its noblest
+achievements.--_Syracuse Star._
+
+
+  =The Life of Gen. Zachary Taylor=, 12th President of the United
+     States, brought down to his inauguration. Steel portrait, 12mo.,
+     muslin; a new edition, by H. Montgomery.                  $1,25.
+
+           ∵ 18,000 of the above work have been sold by us.
+
+
+“THE LIFE OF GEN. Z. TAYLOR.”--_H. Montgomery_, Esq., editor of the
+Auburn Daily Advertiser, has found leisure, amid the multitude of his
+engagements, to get up the most respectable looking and carefully
+prepared biography of the old General we have yet seen. It makes a
+neat volume, and is printed on excellent paper and new type, and
+bound in the very best style. It cannot fail to find a tremendous
+sale; a result due alike to the book itself, and the enterprise of
+its busy publishers.--_Albany Evening Journal._
+
+
+“LIFE OF GENERAL ZACHARY TAYLOR, by _H. Montgomery_,” is the latest
+and most complete of the numerous volumes purporting to be ‘Lives’
+of the General. The author of this work--likewise editor of the
+Auburn Journal--is already known as a forcible and pleasing writer,
+handling his subject with a masterly hand; these characteristics are
+fully developed in the book before us. The stirring incidents of
+General Taylor’s life, and the recent battles on Mexican soil are
+well portrayed--the very fair and impartial style of narration being
+a rare quality in depicting battle scenes. The book will repay an
+attentive perusal.--_N. Y. Tribune._
+
+
+THE LIFE OF MAJOR GENERAL ZACHARY TAYLOR. _By H. Montgomery._--Another
+and still another “illustrated” Life of the great American, (would
+that he had as many lives as the publishers give him,) the American
+whom Carlyle would recognise as “a hero” worthy of his pen’s most
+eloquent recognition; THE MAN OF DUTY in an age of Self. An American
+in everything; in valor, in strong muscular sense; in simplicity and
+directness and cordiality of feeling; an American in every thing,
+save in devotion to our new political God of Expediency.
+
+The volume before us is put forth in Auburn, by the editor of the
+Auburn Daily Advertiser, whose vigorous, fluent style, and skill
+in compressing his materials, must make his elegant volume very
+generally acceptable. Many of the traits ascribed to General Taylor
+have been assimilated by some of his admirers to the leading military
+characteristics of Frederick the Great. But, unlike Frederick, Taylor
+is anything but a martinet in discipline; and, though his movements
+of small bodies of troops against vast odds, are characterized by
+the vigorous will and iron determination of Frederick, the arbitrary
+disposition of the Prussian despot is wholly alien to his tolerant
+and candid nature. Taylor’s affectionate and almost parental relation
+to his soldiers, perhaps, alone first suggested the parallel, as we
+find it hinted in the following stanza of some verses upon one of his
+battles, quoted by Mr. Montgomery:
+
+   “‘OLD ZACH!’ ‘OLD ZACH!’ the war cry rattles
+      Among those men of iron tread,
+    As rung ‘OLD FRITZ’ in Europe’s battles
+      When thus his host Great Frederick led.”
+
+                                                     _Literary World._
+
+
+Transcriber’s Note:
+
+Page headers are displayed as sidenotes. Footnotes were renumbered
+sequentially and were moved to the end of each chapter.
+
+Words and phrases in italics are surrounded by underscores, _like
+this_. Those in bold are surrounded by equal signs, =like this=.
+Words may have multiple spelling variations, inconsistent
+hyphenation, or inconsistent use of diacriticals. Eleven misspelled
+words were corrected. Obvious printing errors, such as backwards,
+upside down, or partially printed letters and punctuation, and
+missing or excess space between words, were corrected. Final stops
+missing at the end of sentences were added.
+
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 79059 ***
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+
+    </style>
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+
+<body>
+<div style='text-align:center'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 79059 ***</div>
+
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp56" id="frontis" style="max-width: 56.875em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/frontis.jpg" alt="full-length portrait, wearing a suit, holding a sword in his right hand; pastoral background">
+  <figcaption>
+    <i class="cursive">Andrew Jackson.</i>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<h1>
+<span class="muchsmaller">THE</span><br>
+<span class="ls">GENERALS</span><br>
+<span class="xxs">OF THE</span><br>
+<span class="smaller">LAST WAR WITH GREAT BRITAIN.</span>
+</h1>
+</div>
+<p class="p2 byline x-ebookmaker-important">BY JOHN S. JENKINS,</p>
+
+<p class="p2 center allsmcap smaller">AUTHOR OF THE “HISTORY OF THE WAR BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES
+AND MEXICO,” <abbr>ETC.</abbr> ETC.</p>
+<br><br>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" style="max-width: 40%;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/dec_line2.jpg" alt="" data-role="presentation">
+</figure>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+ <div class="poetry">
+  <div class="verse indent0a">“There are deeds which should not pass away,</div>
+  <div class="verse indent0">And names that must not wither.”</div>
+ </div>
+</div>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" style="max-width: 40%;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/dec_line2.jpg" alt="" data-role="presentation">
+</figure>
+
+<p class="p2 center ls">AUBURN:<br>
+<span class="small">DERBY, MILLER &amp; <abbr title="Company">CO.</abbr>, PUBLISHERS,</span><br>
+<span class="muchsmaller">BUFFALO: G. H. DERBY &amp; CO.</span></p>
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" style="max-width: 15%;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/dec_line2.jpg" alt="" data-role="presentation">
+</figure>
+<p class="center">1849.</p>
+<hr aria-hidden="true" class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" style="max-width: 90%;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/dec_line2.jpg" alt="" data-role="presentation">
+</figure>
+
+<p class="center">
+Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1848, by<br>
+<br>
+DERBY, MILLER &amp; CO.<br>
+<br>
+In the Clerk’s Office for the Northern District of New York
+</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" style="max-width: 90%;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/dec_line2.jpg" alt="" data-role="presentation">
+</figure>
+
+</div>
+<br><br>
+<div class="p4 leftblock">
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" style="max-width: 90%;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/dec_line2.jpg" alt="" data-role="presentation">
+</figure>
+
+<p class="muchsmaller allsmcap center">
+STEREOTYPED BY THOMAS B. SMITH,<br>
+216 WILLIAM STREET, <abbr title="New York">N. Y.</abbr></p>
+</div><!--end leftblock-->
+
+<hr aria-hidden="true" class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p class="center tall2">
+<span class="smaller">TO</span><br>
+<span class="larger">MAJOR GENERAL ZACHARY TAYLOR,</span><br>
+OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY,<br>
+THESE MEMOIRS, OF DISTINGUISHED SOLDIERS,<br>
+<span class="smaller">WHOSE BRIGHT EXAMPLES HAVE BEEN</span><br>
+<span class="small">WORTHILY EMULATED IN HIS OWN MILITARY CAREER,</span><br>
+<span class="smaller">ARE MOST RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED.</span>
+</p>
+</div>
+<hr aria-hidden="true" class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_v">[Pg v]</span></p>
+  <h2 class="nobreak" id="PREFACE">
+    PREFACE.
+  </h2>
+</div>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" style="max-width: 25%;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/dec_line.jpg" alt="" data-role="presentation">
+</figure>
+<div class="tall1">
+<p class="p2"><span class="smcap">If</span> authors would only adopt the prayer of the honest-hearted
+Scotch pedlar,—“God send us a good conceit of ourselves!”—would
+they not soon get rid of what is, at best, a
+thankless task—that of writing prefaces? Who, then, would
+care a fig for the Public’s whims or prejudices?—the Public
+might be satisfied, or not, just as the Public pleased. A great
+many readers now regard prefaces with abhorrence, and
+lengthy ones are sure to be pronounced, in advance,</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+  <div class="poetry">
+      <div class="verse indent0a">“As tedious as a twice-told tale,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Vexing the dull ear of a drowsy man.”</div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<p>Still, there is no end to fault-finding, if an author does not
+put a window in the front of his book,—like that the old Roman
+wished in every man’s breast; and yet, the poor wight who
+thus pretends to gratify vulgar curiosity, racks and puzzles
+his brains in order to screen and curtain his window, so that
+nobody will be a whit the wiser, till the volume is opened, and
+the contents carefully examined. It is no wonder that few
+people like to read prefaces,—or that fewer still are satisfied,
+when they do read them!</p>
+
+<p>I feel confident, however, that it would be a work of supererogation,
+to offer any apology—for that is the gist of most
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_vi">[Pg vi]</span>prefaces—for the publication of these biographical sketches of
+distinguished generals, whose gallant deeds, whose bravery
+and heroism, are enshrined in the memories of the American
+people. My only fear is, that it may seem that other officers,
+equally entitled to consideration, have been intentionally overlooked,
+in making the selections for the work. That it was
+deemed necessary to make a selection at all, is the single excuse
+that need be offered for the omission,—which, it is not
+impossible, may be hereafter supplied, by another volume.</p>
+
+<p>The Histories of Ramsay, Perkins, and Brackenridge, Christie’s
+Memoirs of the War in Canada, Thompson’s Historical
+Sketches, James’ Military Occurrences, Wilkinson’s Memoirs,
+The British Annual Register, The Historical Register, Armstrong’s
+Notices, the interesting, but desultory <i lang="fr">mélange</i> of <abbr>Mr.</abbr>
+Ingersoll, the National Portrait Gallery, and numerous biographies,
+more or less extensive, have been consulted in the
+preparation of the volume. There has been no attempt at
+fine writing, but great pains have been taken to render the notices
+full, comprehensive, and historically accurate; and they
+are believed to be more entitled to confidence, in this respect,
+than any which have preceded them.</p>
+</div>
+
+<p><i>Auburn, December 1, 1848.</i></p>
+<hr aria-hidden="true" class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_vii">[Pg vii]</span></p>
+  <h2 class="nobreak" id="CONTENTS">
+    CONTENTS.
+  </h2>
+</div>
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" style="max-width: 25%;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/dec_line2.jpg" alt="" data-role="presentation">
+</figure>
+<nav data-epub-type="toc">
+<table data-summary="contents">
+<thead>
+<tr><td></td>
+<th scope="col" class="tdr smcap muchsmaller">Page</th></tr>
+</thead>
+<tbody>
+<tr><td class="tdl">JACOB BROWN,</td>
+    <td class="tdr pad2"><a href="#Page_13">13</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="tdh">Situation of the country at the commencement of the war with
+Great Britain—Parentage of General Brown—Early Vicissitudes—Teaches
+school—Commences the Study of the Law—Abandons
+his studies, and removes to Jefferson county,
+New York—Settlement at Brownville—Attack on Ogdensburgh—Gallant
+conduct of General Brown—Offered the command
+of a regiment in the Regular Service—Declines it—Brave
+defence of Sacketts Harbor—Appointed a Brigadier
+General—Expedition down the <abbr title="Saint">St.</abbr> Lawrence—Promoted to
+the rank of Major General—March to Buffalo—Invasion of
+Canada—Capture of Fort Erie—Battles of Chippewa and
+Niagara—Severely Wounded, and temporarily surrenders the
+command—Siege of Fort Erie—Successful Sortie—Close
+of the war—Appointed General-in-chief—His Death.</td>
+<td></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="tdl pad1">EDMUND PENDLETON GAINES,</td>
+    <td class="tdr pad2"><a href="#Page_61">61</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="tdh">The “Old Dominion”—Birth and Early History of Gaines—Receives
+his first commission as an ensign—Claim of the
+Spanish Government—Projects of Aaron Burr—His arrest
+and trial—Temporary retirement of Gaines from the army—Obtains
+a regiment—Abortive Expedition against Montreal—Made
+a Brigadier-general—Siege of Fort Erie—The
+Assault—Gallant defence of Gaines—Brevetted a Major-general—War
+with the Seminoles—The “Black Hawk War”—Outbreak
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_viii">[Pg viii]</span>in Florida—The War with Mexico—Patriotic
+conduct of General Gaines—Personal appearance and traits
+of character.</td>
+<td></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="tdl pad1">WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON,</td>
+    <td class="tdr pad2"><a href="#Page_88">88</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="tdh">His Popularity—Benjamin Harrison—Anecdote—Birth and
+Education of General Harrison—Enters the army—Kentuckeè—Campaign
+under Wayne—Defeat of the North
+Western Indians—Fortunate incident—Is married—Civil
+career—Secretary under Governor St. Clair—Delegate to
+Congress—Improvement of the Land System—Appointed
+Governor of Indiana Territory—Important services—Frontier
+Life—Designs of Great Britain—Subornation of the
+Indian tribes—Attack on the Chesapeake—Speech of Harrison—Council
+at Vincennes—Tecumseh—Indian Depredations—Battle
+of Tippecanoe—Declaration of War against
+England—Patriotism of the citizens of the West—Harrison
+invested with a military command—Expedition of General
+Hopkins—Defence of Fort Harrison—Destruction of Indian
+Towns—Harrison appointed Brigadier-general—Dispositions
+for the Campaign—Difficulties and Embarrassments—Massacre
+at Frenchtown—Siege of Fort Meigs—Narrow
+Escape—Defence of Fort Stephenson—Perry’s Victory—Pursuit
+of Proctor—Battle of the Thames—Fruits of the
+Victory—Letter to General Vincent—Demonstrations of
+Respect—His Gallantry—Resigns his commission—Senator
+in Congress—Minister to Colombia—Retires to Private Life—Elected
+President—Sudden Illness and Death—His character.</td>
+<td></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="tdl pad1">ANDREW JACKSON,</td>
+    <td class="tdr pad2"><a href="#Page_163">163</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="tdh">Of Irish descent—English oppression—His Father Emigrates
+to America—Birth of Andrew Jackson—Youthful Adventures—War
+of the Revolution—Invasion of South Carolina—Patriotic
+conduct of young Jackson and his brothers—Anecdotes—His
+Daring and Resolution—Attack on the
+Waxhaw settlers—Taken as a prisoner to Camden—Sufferings
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_ix">[Pg ix]</span>of the Prisoners—Battle of Hobkirk’s Hill—A Mother’s
+Devotion—Release from Captivity—Close of the War—Praiseworthy
+Resolution—Andrew Jackson studies law—Emigrates
+to Tennessee—Life in the Log Cabin—Incidents
+of the Wilderness—Establishes himself at Nashville—The
+Debtors—Married to Rachael Donelson—Member of the
+Tennessee Convention—Representative and Senator in Congress—Judge
+of the Supreme Court—Difficulty with Governor
+Sevier—Duel with Dickinson—Altercation with Colonel
+Benton—Aaron Burr—War with Great Britain—Jackson
+tenders the services of his Division—Expedition to
+Natchez—The Southern Indians—War with the Creeks—General
+Jackson takes the field at the head of the Tennessee
+volunteers and militia—Difficulty in obtaining supplies—Battle
+of Talluschatchee—Lincoyer—Battle of Talladega—Destitution
+of the Troops—Mutiny—Firmness and determination
+of General Jackson—Patriotic letter to Governor
+Blount—Battles of Emuckfaw and Enotochopco—Arrival
+of Reinforcements—Battle of Tohopeka—Terrible slaughter
+of the Creeks—Termination of Hostilities—Return Home—Jackson
+appointed a Major-general in the Regular Army—Capture
+of Pensacola—Expedition of the British against
+New Orleans—Defences of the city—Arrival of Jackson—Landing
+of the Enemy—General Jackson attacks them with
+a part of his command—Fortifications—Battle of the Eighth
+of January—Complete Rout of the British Army—The enemy
+retire to their Shipping—Treaty of Peace—Fine imposed
+by Judge Hall—Gratitude of the citizens of New
+Orleans—The Seminole War—Appointed commissioner to
+receive the Territory of Florida—Resignation of his commission—Again
+elected Senator—Chosen President—Important
+Events of his Administration—Final Retirement—Death
+and character.</td>
+<td></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="tdl pad1">ALEXANDER MACOMB,</td>
+    <td class="tdr pad2"><a href="#Page_295">295</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="tdh">Military Institution at West Point—Ancestors of General
+Macomb—His Youth—Education—Enters the army as a
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_x">[Pg x]</span>Cornet of Dragoons—Military Education and Accomplishments—Promotions—Marriage—Superintends
+the Construction
+of Coast Defences—Prepares a work on Courts Martial—Appointed
+Colonel of Artillery—Raises a Regiment—Stationed
+at Sacketts Harbor—Projected Attack on Kingston—Participation
+in the Capture of Fort George—Expedition
+under Wilkinson—Promoted to Brigadier-general—Attack
+on La Cole Mill—Invasion of New York by the British
+under Sir George Prevost—Skirmishing—Battle of Plattsburg—Attack
+and Repulse of the Enemy—Victory of Commodore
+Macdonough—Thanks of Congress and State Legislatures—Macomb
+appointed Chief Engineer—General-in-chief
+of the Army—His Death.</td>
+<td></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="tdl pad1">ZEBULON MONTGOMERY PIKE,</td>
+    <td class="tdr pad2"><a href="#Page_323">323</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="tdh">His family and Education—Receives a Commission—Fondness
+for reading and study—His Marriage—Expedition to
+the sources of the Mississippi—Ordered to explore the interior
+of Louisiana—Hardships and Sufferings of his party—Loses
+his way—Taken prisoner to Santa Fe and Chihuahua—Permitted
+to Return Home—Publishes Narratives of
+his Expeditions—Rapid Promotions—Deputy Quarter Master
+General—Appointed Colonel of Infantry—Mode of drilling
+his regiment—Incursion into Canada—Raised to the
+rank of Brigadier General—Expedition against York—His
+Gallant Conduct—Explosion of the Magazine—Death of
+Pike—Bravery and Heroism.</td>
+<td></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="tdl pad1">WINFIELD SCOTT,</td>
+    <td class="tdr pad2"><a href="#Page_338">338</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="tdh">Napoleon’s Remark in regard to Turenne—The Pretender—Scott’s
+Ancestors—His birth—Education—Enters the legal
+Profession—Commences Practice—Obtains a commission as
+captain of Artillery—Difficulty with General Wilkinson—Promoted
+to Lieutenant Colonel—Attack on Queenston—Scott
+crosses the river and takes the command—The Enemy
+driven off—Arrival of General Sheaffe with reïnforcements,
+and surrender of the Americans—Encounter with the Indian
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_xi">[Pg xi]</span>Warriors—Interference in behalf of Irish prisoners—Is exchanged
+and returns to duty—Colonel of the second artillery—Attack
+on Fort George—Scott commands the advanced
+guard—Capture of the Fort—Wilkinson’s Expedition—Skirmishing—Appointed
+a brigadier general—Camp
+of Instruction at Buffalo—Invasion of Canada—Battle of
+Chippewa—Scott’s charge—Battle of Niagara—His heroic
+conduct—Is severely wounded—Complimentary Resolutions—Visit
+to Europe—Return Home and Marriage—Military
+Reports and Publications—Controversy in regard to
+brevet rank—War with the Sacs and Foxes—Campaign in
+Florida—Disturbances in Canada, and on the frontier—Removal
+of the Cherokees—The North Eastern Boundary—Raised
+to the chief command of the Army—The War with
+Mexico—Expedition against Vera Cruz—Reduction of the
+city and the castle of San Juan de Ulua—Battle of Cerro
+Gordo—March to Puebla—Advance to the Mexican Capital—Contreras
+and Churubusco—El Molino del Rey—Capture
+of the City of Mexico—Treaty of Peace concluded—Return
+of General Scott—Reflections.</td>
+<td></td></tr>
+</tbody>
+</table>
+</nav>
+<hr aria-hidden="true" class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<main>
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp56" id="i_012" style="max-width: 47.4375em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/i_012.jpg" alt="portrait, in uniform, head and torso, right hand holding a sword below the haft.">
+  <figcaption>
+    JACOB BROWN.
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+</div>
+<hr aria-hidden="true" class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter tall2">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</span></p>
+<p class="h2head ls">
+THE GENERALS</p>
+<p class="center allsmcap">OF THE</p>
+<p class="center larger">LAST WAR WITH GREAT BRITAIN.</p>
+</div>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" style="max-width: 75%;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/dec_line2.jpg" alt="" data-role="presentation">
+</figure>
+
+  <h2 class="nobreak" id="BROWN">
+    JACOB BROWN.
+  </h2>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">The</span> opening scenes of the second, and last contest,
+between the United States and Great Britain, were,
+to the former, disastrous in the extreme. The apprehension
+long entertained, and, in the western part of
+the Union, the openly avowed desire of a war with
+Spain, who took little pains to conceal her dissatisfaction
+with the cession of Louisiana,—and the protracted
+agitation of the various questions in dispute with England
+and France; the two great powers contending for
+the mastery, or, at least, the commercial supremacy
+in the world,—had aroused, in some degree, the patriotic
+emotions of our countrymen. The impressment
+of American seamen, the outrage on the Chesapeake,
+the affair of the Little Belt, and the acts of violence
+committed by the savages on the north-western frontier,—who
+were prompted and encouraged by the
+agents of the British government,—had also excited a
+war-spirit that needed but a breath to fan it into a
+flame. Volunteer companies for improvement in discipline,
+were everywhere formed; the regular military
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</span>force of the nation was augmented; and our chivalric
+young men sought eagerly for commissions in the
+army.</p>
+
+<p>But the declaration of war, on the 18th of June,
+1812, found the country almost entirely unprepared
+for hostilities.—Upon whomsoever the blame may fall,
+the fact is too glaring to admit of contradiction;
+and its consequences, at the outset, were signally
+unfortunate.—The long line of sea-coast was in a
+defenceless condition. The army was feeble in numbers,
+and feebler still in skill and experience. The
+prominent officers of the Revolution were either dead
+or superannuated, and recourse was had to those who
+had held subordinate positions in that great struggle,
+under what proved to be the mistaken notion, that
+they only could be relied on in such an emergency.
+One reverse followed closely after another; and it was
+not until a different policy prevailed, and younger,
+and more skilful and enterprising officers, were placed
+at the head of the brave yeomen who flocked around
+the American standard, that the tide of defeat was
+turned. Among those who contributed to retrieve the
+disasters of 1812 and 1813, and to terminate the war
+by a series of brilliant achievements that elicited the
+applause of the nation, and enforced admiration at
+home and abroad, was Major General <span class="smcap">Jacob Brown</span>.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">EARLY VICISSI&shy;TUDES.</div>
+
+<p>General Brown was born in Bucks county, Pennsylvania,
+on the ninth of March, 1775. His ancestors,
+for several generations, followed the peaceful occupations
+of an agricultural life. George Brown, the first
+of the family in this country, emigrated from England
+previous to the establishment of William Penn on the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</span>Delaware, and was well known as a man of strong and
+well-informed mind. His descendants resembled him
+in character, and a number of them were, for many
+successive years, prominent and influential members
+of the provincial government. With few exceptions,
+they belonged to the Society of Friends. The early
+associations, therefore, of General Brown, were not
+calculated to awaken a desire for engaging in those
+warlike pursuits, in which he subsequently acquired so
+much distinction.&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_1_1" href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a>&#x2060;</p>
+
+<p>In the language of the inscription on the monument
+erected to his memory, in the Congressional Cemetery,
+at Washington, he was “by birth, by education, by
+principle, devoted to peace!” But the fire of patriotism
+often burns the purest and the freest beneath the
+plainest garb; and the heart warmed by the manly
+and generous impulses which it quickens into existence,
+is easily moved by the incentives that arouse the
+soldier’s ambition. Love of country, where it is honest
+and sincere, will outweigh a thousand cold and selfish
+considerations, and to him who cherishes it, in the
+hour of danger, there is no post so acceptable as that
+which will secure the protection of the land that gave
+him birth.</p>
+
+<p>Samuel Brown, the father of Jacob, was a man of
+intelligence and high character. He was liberal and
+enterprising, though not always successful in his
+undertakings. He inherited a large and unincumbered
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</span>estate, which, with proper care and attention,
+yielded a very respectable income; but, unfortunately,
+he was not content with the moderate gains thus
+realized, and, with the hope of increasing them, was
+induced to embark in commercial enterprises that
+wholly failed of success. A total sacrifice of property
+was the consequence; and his children were left to
+depend upon their own efforts and exertions to make
+their way in the world.</p>
+
+<p>At the time of his father’s failure, our hero was
+about sixteen years of age; but, though still a mere
+youth, he was not unprepared for practising that self-reliance
+which had now become a necessity as well as
+a duty. So far from being dispirited, because he was
+compelled to rely upon his own unaided resources, he
+nerved himself manfully for the task before him, determined,
+if possible, to secure the rewards of honest and
+industrious enterprise. The evil consequences of a
+hasty and unwise act were brought home to him in
+such a manner, that he could not well forget them;
+and thus it was in after years, that caution and prudence
+were such conspicuous features in his disposition.
+When he arrived at the age of eighteen, he
+commenced teaching school at Crosswicks, New Jersey,
+and remained there in that capacity, till he was
+twenty-one. While engaged in this vocation,—in
+itself a noble school, and one that has served as the
+introduction to a brilliant career of usefulness, to so
+many of our most distinguished citizens,—he devoted
+all his leisure time, with great assiduity, to the cultivation
+of his mind.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">TEACHES SCHOOL.</div>
+
+<p>After leaving Crosswicks, he spent two years in
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</span>Ohio, in the vicinity of Cincinnati, during which
+time he was employed in surveying and laying out the
+public lands. On his return from the west, he went
+to the city of New York, and, upon the urgent solicitation
+of his friends, taught a public school for a few
+months. This was in the year 1798—a most exciting
+period in the history of the country. The depredations
+committed on the commerce of the United
+States, the insults offered to our ministers by the
+French Directory, and the arrogant tone of their Envoy
+and his agents, threatened seriously to disturb the
+friendly relations which had formerly existed between
+the two governments.</p>
+
+<p>The political discussions of that day were animated
+and earnest in their tone, and there were few possessing
+the capacity who did not engage in them. Young
+Brown had constantly kept in view the importance of
+disciplining and strengthening his mental powers, and
+the magnitude of the questions, in relation to which
+parties were then divided, was such, that he devoted a
+considerable portion of his time to their examination.
+He was an active participant in the debates which
+took place among his associates, and wrote several essays,
+that were published in the city papers, and attracted
+the favorable attention of that portion of his
+fellow-citizens whose views coincided with those of the
+writer. While he remained in New York, he commenced
+the study of the law, but, on discovering that
+it was not congenial with his disposition or tastes, he
+immediately abandoned it. These repeated changes in
+his occupation were not caused by any indecision, or
+want of energy on his part, but rather by the omission
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</span>to seek a field where his active and ardent temperament
+would have the opportunity to develop itself, and
+his love of adventure find those projects better adapted
+to its gratification.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">SETTLE&shy;MENT AT BROWN&shy;VILLE.</div>
+
+<p>In 1799, he purchased, at a low price, a large tract
+of land on the borders of Lake Ontario, lying between
+the Black river and the St. Lawrence, and embraced
+within the limits of the present county of Jefferson.
+As soon as his arrangements were completed, he removed
+thither, for the purpose of establishing himself
+and effecting a settlement. At this time the country
+was rude and uncultivated, and the first human habitation
+within thirty miles of the lake was erected by
+him. The settlement that he founded, now a large
+and flourishing village, was called Brownville, and the
+same name was afterwards applied to the town in
+which it was located. Both the village and town, and
+the county of Jefferson, are much indebted to him for
+their prosperity and wealth. His activity and enterprise
+were rewarded by pecuniary advancement; and
+his kindly disposition, his integrity and intelligence,
+secured him a large share of popularity. He was appointed
+to fill various public situations, and acquired
+an extensive influence in his own immediate vicinity,
+and in the state at large. He was distinguished as an
+enlightened and practical agriculturist, and for the
+ability and energy with which he prosecuted such
+measures as were most likely to improve the appearance
+and condition of the country. But these were
+not the only commendable traits that deserve to be
+mentioned. After he had effected the necessary improvements,
+he brought his parents to his home in the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</span>wilderness, and having placed them in a comfortable
+situation near him, to the end of his life did every
+thing in his power to promote their happiness.</p>
+
+<p>Though occasionally meeting with reverses and
+disappointments, his firmness and perseverance never
+deserted him, and his unconquerable resolution enabled
+him to overcome every obstacle that interfered with the
+success of his plans.</p>
+
+<p>In 1809, he received the appointment of colonel in
+the state militia, and, in the following year, was promoted
+to the rank of brigadier general. He had ever
+been fond of perusing works on military science, and
+the certain prospect of a war with Great Britain now
+made him the more anxious to prepare himself for the
+proper discharge of those duties which he might be required
+to perform, as it was a favorite wish with him,
+to acquit himself creditably in every position he was
+called upon to fill. At the commencement of hostilities,
+in the summer of 1812, he was placed in command
+of a brigade in the first detachment of New
+York militia mustered into the service of the United
+States, and the defence of the eastern frontier of Lake
+Ontario, and the southern shore of the St. Lawrence,
+was intrusted to him.</p>
+
+<p>The line under the charge of General Brown extended
+from Oswego to Lake St. Francis, a distance
+of nearly two hundred miles; and throughout the
+greater portion of its extent, it was but thinly inhabited.
+The exposed situation of the country, on account
+of its proximity to the Canadian provinces, rendered
+the duty assigned him as responsible as it was arduous;
+and the small force under his command, and the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</span>inadequate supply of means at his disposal, frequently
+occasioned vexation and embarrassment. Owing to
+the repeal of the orders in council, and the temporary
+armistice entered into between Sir George Prevost,
+Governor General of Canada, and Major General
+Dearborn, the Commander-in-chief of the American
+forces, it was late in the season before any action of
+importance took place on the northern frontier of New
+York. Both the regular and the militia officers were
+constantly employed, in the meantime, in organizing
+and disciplining their respective commands.</p>
+
+<p>After completing the organization of his brigade,
+General Brown fixed his head-quarters at Ogdensburgh.
+On the twenty-first of September, 1812, Captain
+Forsyth, the immediate commander of the regular
+troops at that post, was directed to cross the St. Lawrence,
+with a small party, in pursuit of some prisoners
+whom the English had taken from that vicinity. He
+was met by a superior force of the enemy, whom he
+defeated. He then entered the village of Gananoque,
+and destroyed and brought off a large quantity of military
+stores, together with some prisoners.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">THE BRITISH ATTACK OGDENS&shy;BURGH.</div>
+
+<p>In retaliation for this successful exploit, the British
+commenced a heavy cannonade upon Ogdensburgh, on
+the second of October, from their batteries at Prescott,
+on the opposite side of the river. This was continued
+for two days in succession, and on Sunday, the fourth
+of October, they attempted to storm the town. For
+this purpose, about six hundred men were embarked
+in forty boats. General Brown had anticipated the
+attack, and collected together a force not far from four
+hundred strong to resist it. As the enemy approached
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</span>the shore, he ordered his troops, whom he had advantageously
+posted along the bank, to fire upon them.
+The command was obeyed with alacrity, and a spirited
+contest was kept up for two hours. The British
+made several ineffectual attempts to land; but the
+galling fire poured upon them was too severe to be endured.
+Deceived and disappointed in regard to the
+firmness of the militia, and the spirit and energy of the
+officer who commanded them, they were at length
+compelled to retire across the river to Prescott, having
+lost a number of men, and leaving one of their boats
+in the hands of the Americans.</p>
+
+<p>Frequent collisions occurred between small parties
+of the two armies, in this quarter, during the autumn,
+and the following winter. Early in February, 1813,
+a body of the enemy crossed the St. Lawrence in pursuit
+of some deserters, and committed a number of
+wanton and unprovoked outrages. Major Forsyth,
+then in command at Ogdensburgh, determined, as the
+only mode of obtaining satisfaction, to make an incursion
+into Canada. Passing over the river with a part
+of his riflemen, and a number of militia, many of the
+latter being volunteers for the occasion, in all about two
+hundred men, he surprised the guard at Brockville,
+captured the military stores, and returned in safety,
+without the loss of a single man, bringing with him
+fifty-two prisoners, among whom were eight officers.</p>
+
+<p>In return for this second affront, the British attacked
+Ogdensburgh in force, being near twelve hundred
+strong, under Colonel Frazier, on the twenty-second
+of February. Major Forsyth, in connection
+with Colonel Benedict, of the New York militia, made
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</span>a gallant defence; but they were finally forced to fall
+back into the interior, before the superior numbers of
+the enemy. The latter destroyed two schooners, two
+gunboats, and the soldiers’ barracks, and then retired
+across the river. In consequence of this event, serious
+apprehensions were entertained for the safety of
+Sacketts Harbor, which had been selected as the principal
+naval and military dépôt on the lake frontier, on
+account of the excellence of its harbor, and prompt
+measures were taken for its security;—but the British
+made no further attempts at invasion, during the winter.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">IS TEN&shy;DERED A REGI&shy;MENT.</div>
+
+<p>The term for which he was called into service having
+expired soon after the close of the campaign of
+1812, General Brown returned to his civil pursuits at
+Brownville. But the bravery and skill which he had
+manifested in repelling the attack on Ogdensburgh,
+had attracted the favorable notice of the national administration,
+and they were unwilling to be even temporarily
+deprived of his valuable services. Accordingly,
+the command of a regiment in the regular army
+was tendered to him.—At the opening of hostilities,
+extensive preparations had been made, and orders had
+been issued, for the invasion of Canada; and it was
+confidently predicted that the campaign would be signalized
+by the conquest of the two provinces. The
+surrender of General Hull, the failure of the attempted
+invasion under General Van Rensselaer, and
+the inaction of General Dearborn, put an end to the
+brilliant hopes and expectations that had been formed,
+and created a very general feeling of dissatisfaction in
+regard to the manner in which the war had been carried
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</span>on, and the conduct of many of the principal officers
+of the army. As was quite natural, General
+Brown shared in this feeling, and was unwilling to
+enter the regular service if required to submit to a
+sacrifice of rank. He therefore declined the appointment;
+but, at the same time, acknowledging the duty
+of every good citizen to aid in the defence of the
+country, he held himself in readiness to bestow his
+services, voluntarily and gratuitously, in case they
+should be needed in any emergency.</p>
+
+<p>In the spring of 1813, the American fleet and land
+troops were withdrawn from Sacketts Harbor, to cooperate
+in the reduction of York and Fort George at
+the upper end of Lake Ontario. Lieutenant Colonel
+Backus, of the 1st dragoons, was afterwards placed in
+command of the post, whose garrison consisted of two
+hundred and fifty dragoons, Lieutenant Fanning’s artillery,
+two hundred invalid soldiers, and a few seamen.
+This was but a feeble force for the defence of
+the important military stores collected at that point,
+and especially so, because the batteries on the shore,
+and the vessels of war that were left behind, had been
+dismantled of nearly all their heavy ordnance. The
+commanding officer was active and vigilant, however,
+and he had been instructed to communicate with General
+Brown, who resided within eight miles of the
+Harbor, if an attack should be threatened. The latter
+was not then in military command, but he was
+relied on to rally the militia from the surrounding
+country, if it became necessary. Signal guns were
+directed to be fired, on the approach of a hostile force,
+in order to give the alarm with the least possible delay,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</span>and such other preparations were made as were supposed
+to be requisite.</p>
+
+<p>On the evening of the twenty-seventh of May, the
+British fleet from Kingston was discovered bearing in
+the direction of Sacketts Harbor, by the small vessels
+under Lieutenant Chauncey, who had been sent out
+to reconnoitre. The alarm guns were instantly fired,
+and a messenger was also dispatched to General Brown
+with the information. After issuing orders for the
+militia to assemble, he repaired to the post of danger.
+The delay experienced by the enemy, in the attempt,
+but partially successful, to capture a number of boats
+coming from Oswego with troops, fortunately gave
+time to collect some five or six hundred men: but not
+more than one thousand could be assembled, in all,
+including the invalids. At the request of Lieutenant
+Colonel Backus, who had been but a short time at the
+station, and was unacquainted with the localities,
+General Brown took command of the united force.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">ATTACK ON SACK&shy;ETTS HARBOR.</div>
+
+<p>In the afternoon of the twenty-eighth, the hostile
+fleet, which consisted of four ships, one brig, two
+schooners, two gunboats, and thirty-three flat-bottomed
+boats, containing one thousand picked troops, under
+Sir George Prevost and Commodore Sir James Yeo,
+appeared in the offing. Under the orders of General
+Brown, a breastwork was hastily, but skilfully thrown
+up, at the only point where a landing could be readily
+effected,—the primeval forests sweeping away, for
+miles on miles, in rear of the town, and on either
+side of the opening leading down to the margin of the
+lake. The militia, and the Albany volunteers, under
+Colonel Mills, who had recently arrived, were posted
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</span>behind the breastwork with a field-piece. The regular
+troops, under Lieutenant Colonel Backus, were stationed
+in a second line, in rear, and near the barracks
+and public buildings. Lieutenant Fanning, with his
+artillerists, occupied Fort Tompkins, at the barracks;
+and Lieutenant Chauncey and his men were ordered
+to defend the stores at Navy Point.</p>
+
+<p>During the night of the twenty-eighth, General
+Brown was constantly on the alert. His men slept on
+their arms, while he and his officers reconnoitred the
+shores of the lake. All was quiet, however, save the
+mournful sighing of the breeze among the dark pines
+and hemlocks, the tall oaks and maples, in the neighboring
+forests, and the constant dashing of the tiny
+waves on the pebbly beach, till the early dawn on the
+following morning. The British were then descried
+pushing rapidly towards the landing in their small
+boats. As they approached, the American militia appeared
+cheerful and animated, and betrayed no symptoms
+of fear; on the contrary, they seemed anxious to
+participate in the conflict.</p>
+
+<p>The orders of General Brown were, to permit the
+enemy to come within pistol shot, and then, taking
+deliberate aim, to open on them vigorously with the
+field-piece and musketry. The first fire was well-directed,
+and very destructive; the shot tearing and
+crashing through the sides of the boats, knocking off
+the gunwales, splintering the bowls of the oars, and
+killing and wounding several officers and men. The
+British were thrown into confusion; their advance was
+checked; and a few more rounds would undoubtedly
+have terminated the engagement. But after firing the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</span>second round, the militia, for the first time in action,
+were seized with a sudden panic, and, in spite of the
+efforts of their officers, retreated in disorder. Colonel
+Mills lost his life in the vain attempt to prevent the
+retreat. General Brown succeeded in rallying about
+ninety men belonging to the company of Captain
+McNitt, whom he formed in line with the regulars,
+who maintained their position with spirit and bravery.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile Sir George Prevost had disembarked his
+troops on the beach, and commenced his march towards
+the village. But the enemy now encountered the most
+desperate opposition from the little band of Americans
+who remained firm, encouraged by the presence of
+General Brown, and the heroic example of the brave
+but unfortunate Backus, who fell mortally wounded
+during the attack. Though compelled to give way
+before superior numbers, they disputed every inch of
+ground, and finally took possession of the barrack
+buildings. Here, partially sheltered, they poured their
+galling volleys on the enemy; at the same time, Lieutenant
+Fanning, though severely wounded, directed
+the fire of his gun with remarkable precision and effect.</p>
+
+<p>The British having made repeated efforts to dislodge
+the Americans, without success, General Brown exhorted
+his men to continue the defence of the position
+to the last extremity, while he made another effort to
+rally the militia to their assistance. He then hastened
+to overtake the fugitives. Having collected a large
+number of them together, he earnestly addressed them,
+rebuking both officers and men for their lack of courage,
+with such force and eloquence, that many of them
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</span>shed tears when he alluded to the brave conduct of the
+regulars and volunteers, who, though strangers to the
+soil, were more prompt to defend it, than they, its
+owners and occupants. He now ordered them to form
+and follow him, declaring that he would punish the
+first act of disobedience with instant death. Although
+his orders were obeyed without reluctance, he was
+afraid to rely upon their firmness in an open attack.</p>
+
+<p>Being unwilling, therefore, to meet the enemy with
+the troops whom he had just rallied, General Brown
+determined to effect by stratagem what he was fearful
+he could not otherwise accomplish. Directing the
+militia to pass through the edge of the forest, in sight
+of the field of battle, as if affecting to conceal the
+movement, he marched them by a circuitous route
+towards the place of landing. The British, suspecting
+an attempt to turn their flank and capture their boats,
+became alarmed, and made a precipitate retreat,
+leaving behind them all their killed, a number of
+their wounded, and thirty-five prisoners. They
+were suffered to re-embark without serious molestation,
+though a dropping fire was kept up till they
+were out of reach. After retiring to his shipping, Sir
+George Prevost demanded the surrender of the town,
+which was promptly refused. All danger had now
+passed, as reïnforcements were rapidly coming in, and
+the British commander subsequently modified his
+demand into a request that his killed and wounded
+might be properly cared for, and then returned, quite
+crest-fallen, to the Canada shore.</p>
+
+<p>While the action was at its height, a false report
+reached Lieutenant Chauncey, to the effect that the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</span>American troops had been defeated, and were about to
+surrender; whereupon, in compliance with his orders,
+he set fire to the stores and shipping, to prevent their
+falling into the hands of the enemy. The flames were
+afterwards extinguished, but not until more damage
+had been done than had been effected by the British
+soldiery. The loss of the enemy in this affair was
+very severe; their total of killed, wounded, and taken
+prisoners, being about four hundred and fifty. The
+Americans lost twenty-two killed, eighty-four wounded,
+and twenty-six missing.</p>
+
+<p>The gallant defence of Sacketts Harbor laid the
+foundation of the military fame of General Brown.
+As a reward for the tact, courage, and promptitude,
+which he had exhibited, he was appointed, in the ensuing
+month of August, a brigadier general in the
+regular army. In this capacity he accompanied General
+Wilkinson, who had been appointed to succeed
+General Dearborn, in his unsuccessful expedition
+down the St. Lawrence. General Brown was sent
+forward to take command of the advance, at French
+Creek, which had been fixed upon as the place of rendezvous
+for the various detachments composing the
+Army of the Centre. On the first, and again on the
+second of November, a British Squadron, with a large
+force of infantry, attacked the troops who had already
+arrived there; but, on each occasion, they were repulsed
+by the fire of a battery of three 18-pounders,
+skilfully managed by Captains McPherson and Fanning.
+After many delays, General Wilkinson embarked
+from French Creek with his whole force,
+amounting to near seven thousand men, on the sixth
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</span>of November, General Brown being placed in command
+of the second brigade. In the evening they arrived
+a few miles above the British batteries at Prescott.
+The main body of the army, carrying with them
+their powder and fixed ammunition, now landed, and
+moved round to a point on the river below the enemy’s
+batteries.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">EXPEDI&shy;TION DOWN THE ST. LAW&shy;RENCE.</div>
+
+<p>The commander-in-chief, taking advantage of a
+dense fog which came on early in the night, endeavored
+to pass down the stream, in his boat, unobserved;
+but the fog rising before he had effected the passage,
+the enemy discovered him, by the light of the moon,
+and opened their fire. General Brown was in the rear,
+in charge of the flotilla, consisting of three hundred
+boats; and, upon discovering that the British were on
+the alert, he concluded to halt till the moon had set.
+He then gave orders for the flotilla again to get under
+way. The movement was discovered, however, and
+for three hours the American flotilla was exposed to a
+heavy fire from the guns of the enemy; yet such was
+the foresight and vigilance of General Brown, that not
+a single boat suffered the slightest injury, and but one
+man was killed.</p>
+
+<p>On the seventh, the army continued its progress
+down the river, preceded by an advanced corps of
+twelve hundred men, under Colonel Macomb, who
+were ordered to remove the obstructions in the stream,
+and drive the light parties of the enemy occupying the
+commanding points on its northern bank. The flotilla
+arrived at the White House on the eighth of November,
+and General Brown was then ordered forward with
+his brigade, to reïnforce Colonel Macomb and take
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</span>command of the advance. Clearing the bank of the
+river as he proceeded, he arrived on the ninth instant,
+at the head of the <i lang="fr">Longue Sault</i>, without the occurrence
+of any incident of unusual moment. In the
+morning of the tenth he continued his march, and soon
+became engaged with a strong party posted at a blockhouse
+near the rapids, who were handsomely driven
+off by the rifles under Major Forsyth.</p>
+
+<p>In the meantime the British troops from Kingston
+had made their appearance in the rear of the American
+army, and several skirmishes had taken place.
+While General Brown was still separated from the
+main body, General Boyd was ordered by the commanding
+general, to face about and attack the enemy,
+with the remaining troops on shore. An action was
+consequently hazarded on the eleventh of November,
+in Chrystler’s fields near Williamsburg, which terminated
+in no decisive result; the British retiring to their
+encampments, and the Americans to their boats, each
+with the loss of over four hundred men. Without
+being further molested by the enemy, General Wilkinson
+continued the descent of the river to St. Regis,
+at which point he expected to be joined by General
+Hampton, with the Army of the North. Owing to
+the want of harmony and concert of action between
+the two generals, a junction was not effected; the reduction
+of Montreal,—understood to have been the
+object of the expedition,—was abandoned; and, on the
+thirteenth of November, General Wilkinson retired
+into winter quarters at French Mills, now Fort Covington,
+in the forks of the Salmon river.</p>
+
+<p>The capture of York and Fort George, and the successful
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</span>operations of the North-western army in the
+early part of the season, had raised the public expectation
+to the highest pitch. Every thing was hoped from
+the expedition under General Wilkinson, for which extensive
+preparations had been made. The Secretary
+of War, General Armstrong, in person superintended
+the movement, yet it was attended with complete failure.
+The feeling of dissatisfaction thereby engendered,
+was not confined to the rank and file of the army, but
+extended throughout the nation. The expedition had
+attracted a more than ordinary degree of attention;
+and, although the censures of the public were mainly
+confined to those who were alone responsible for its unfortunate
+issue, all connected with it, both officers and
+soldiers, felt themselves, to a greater or less extent, the
+objects of reproach. The tendency of this feeling was
+to produce disaffection, even where it did not already
+exist; to discourage the troops; and to impair, if not
+to destroy, their efficiency.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">APPOIN&shy;TED A MAJOR GENERAL.</div>
+
+<p>Soon after the retirement of the army into winter
+quarters, the command devolved on General Brown, in
+consequence of the sickness of General Wilkinson,
+and the absence of the other senior officers. Early in
+the year 1814, he was promoted to the rank of major
+general, and, in connection with the able and efficient
+officers under his orders, immediately applied himself
+to the work of reviving and perfecting the discipline
+of the troops, and restoring their <i lang="fr">esprit du corps</i>.</p>
+
+<p>The brilliant achievements of the heroic soldiers who
+rallied around the eagle standard of Napoleon, and followed
+it, reckless of danger and peril, to battle and to
+death, had awakened impulses that prompted to like
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</span>acts of daring; and it only required, among the American
+troops, the presence of a gallant and chivalrous
+commander to inspire that enthusiasm, and enkindle
+that patriotic ardor, which were sure to accomplish the
+same results. General Brown was a soldier by nature.
+His devotion to his profession assumed the
+character of a romantic attachment. Foremost in
+every thought, was a desire to redeem the honor of
+the flag that waved above him, and to achieve something
+worthy to be recorded, side by side, with the
+storied annals of the Revolution. His less fortunate
+contemporary, “whose glorious name might turn a
+coward brave”—the accomplished Ney—though the
+leader of mightier armies, and the hero of prouder
+fields, was neither more brave, nor more highly gifted
+with those qualities which are necessary to constitute
+a great and a successful warrior.</p>
+
+<p>The withdrawal of the greater part of the troops on
+the Niagara frontier, for the expedition down the St.
+Lawrence, left it almost defenceless. Fort George, in
+Canada West, was evacuated by General McClure
+who had been left in command; but, before crossing
+the river, exceeding his orders, he directed the village
+of Newark to be burned. In retaliation for this act,
+which was promptly disavowed by the American government,
+Fort Niagara was surprised on the night of
+the eighteenth of December, 1813, and its whole garrison,
+of near three hundred men, principally invalids,
+with the exception of a small number who made their
+escape, were put to the sword. Lewiston, Manchester,
+Youngstown, Buffalo, and the village of the Tuscaroras,
+many of whom had entered the service of the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</span>United States, were burned, and the whole frontier
+laid waste. It was therefore determined to remove
+the principal seat of war to that quarter, during the
+approaching campaign, and about the middle of February,
+1814, the American army abandoned their cantonments
+at French Mills, in two columns;—one
+marching to Sacketts Harbor, and subsequently proceeding
+to Buffalo, under General Brown, and the
+other towards Lake Champlain, under Generals Wilkinson
+and Macomb, for the purpose of making a diversion
+in favor of the contemplated operations on the
+Niagara.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">DUTIES OF HIS NEW OFFICE.</div>
+
+<p>The column under General Brown reached Buffalo
+in March, where it was joined by the new volunteer
+levies. Having directed a camp of instruction to be
+established, for drilling the troops, and the regimental
+and company officers, he went back to Sacketts Harbor,
+to complete the arrangements for the effectual cooperation
+of the naval force on Lake Ontario, under
+Commodore Chauncey. The spring of 1814 opened
+gloomy and inauspicious for the American cause.
+Party spirit ran high; the country was laboring under
+severe pecuniary embarrassments; bitter complaints
+were uttered in some quarters; and in numerous instances
+the measures of the administration were
+thwarted, and its plans defeated. The temporary suspension
+of hostilities, on the European continent, left
+Great Britain at liberty to employ a larger portion of
+her army and navy in carrying on the war against the
+United States. It was now announced, that she intended
+to prosecute a vigorous system of offensive
+measures; to plunder and devastate our sea-coast; and
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</span>desolate our frontiers with fire and sword. When her
+designs were understood on this side of the Atlantic,
+our citizens, with few exceptions, forgot, for the time,
+their political prejudices, and rallied with enthusiasm
+in support of the government. At no time during the
+war was the country provided with a suitable military
+establishment; collections, therefore, were now made
+in the principal towns and cities, and large numbers
+of volunteers were equipped, and means furnished for
+their support, by voluntary contribution.</p>
+
+<p>Fortunately, too, at this important crisis, there were
+such men as Brown, Jackson, and Macomb, to take
+command of our armies, and lead them on to victory.
+General Brown returned to Buffalo in June, and resumed
+the command of the army, which consisted, at
+this time, of the regular brigades under Generals
+Scott and Ripley, and a brigade of volunteers, with a
+few Indians, under Generals Porter and Swift. Notwithstanding
+his utmost exertions, he was unable to
+take the field with his command before the first of
+July. It was then determined to cross the river and
+capture Fort Erie, in the expectation that the British
+would be compelled to abandon Fort Niagara, and fall
+back on their posts on the head of the lake. During
+the night of the second instant, General Brown embarked
+his troops, but little more than three thousand
+strong, at Black Rock; and early in the morning of
+the third, General Scott landed below the fort with
+his brigade, and a battalion of artillery under Major
+Hindman, and General Ripley, with his brigade, above.
+The commanding general followed with the volunteer
+forces,—and a party of Indians were sent round
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</span>through the woods in rear of the enemy’s position.
+The fort was soon invested, and a battery of heavy
+guns planted in a position that completely commanded
+its defences. Without awaiting the threatened assault,
+after firing a few guns, the garrison, to the number
+of one hundred and seventy men, surrendered
+themselves prisoners of war.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">BATTLE OF CHIPPE&shy;WA.</div>
+
+<p>The main body of the British troops in the immediate
+vicinity of the river, amounting to over three
+thousand men, under Major General Riall, occupied
+an intrenched camp at Chippewa, about two miles
+above the Falls. Leaving a small garrison in Fort
+Erie, General Brown advanced, on the day after its
+reduction, against the position of General Riall. The
+brigade of General Scott, which, with Captain Towson’s
+battery, formed the advance, had a running fight,
+for sixteen miles, with the 100th regiment, commanded
+by the Marquis of Tweedale, and finally drove it
+across the Chippewa Creek. In the evening, the
+whole army encamped on the south bank of Street’s
+Creek, the bridge over which had been destroyed by
+the Marquis, within two miles of the enemy’s works.
+Between this stream and the Chippewa, lay the broad
+plain on which the sanguinary engagement of the following
+day took place. On the east were the waters
+of the Niagara, speeding along in their arrowy flight,
+to the cataract beyond; and on the west was a dense
+forest of oaks, and beeches, and maples, extending for
+several miles into the interior.</p>
+
+<p>At an early hour on the morning of the fifth of July,
+the British light troops, consisting of Canadian militia
+and Indians, who were posted in the woods on the left,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</span>commenced making attacks on the American pickets
+placed on that flank, and small parties of the enemy
+occasionally appeared in the open plain in front. The
+commanding officer of one of the pickets having made
+a hasty retreat, and left one of his men wounded upon
+the ground, he was ordered instantly to give up his
+command, and another officer was directed to take
+charge of his party, and bring off the wounded man,
+which was accomplished without loss. General Brown
+could never look with complacency on a breach of discipline,
+or violation of orders; and when accompanied
+with anything that bore the appearance of cowardice,
+it was sure to be visited, not merely with an indignant
+rebuke, but with summary punishment. He would
+tolerate the presence of no officer with the army, who
+could forget, under any circumstances, the honor of the
+profession to which he belonged. It is due to the officer
+referred to, to remark, that he was permitted to
+engage in the battle as a volunteer, and discharged his
+duty manfully. He was afterwards tried by a court-martial,
+and honorably acquitted.</p>
+
+<p>General Brown was anxious to bring on an engagement
+with the enemy, and, in order to effect this object,
+or, if that were found impossible, to put an end
+to the annoying fire of their skirmishers, he directed
+General Porter to fetch a circuit through the forest
+with the volunteers and Indians, and cut off their retreat;
+and the advanced parties were ordered to fall
+back before the fire of their opponents, and thus favor
+the movement. About four o’clock in the afternoon,
+General Porter encountered the light companies of the
+Royal Scots and the 100th regiment, in the woods,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</span>and drove them back upon the Chippewa, where they
+met the whole British column, under General Riall,
+who had anticipated the intentions of General Brown,
+and was now rapidly approaching, with the hope of
+finding the Americans unprepared for his reception.</p>
+
+<p>The commanding general had accompanied the volunteers,
+but, on hearing the roar of the artillery, and
+discovering the clouds of dust rising in the vicinity of
+Chippewa bridge, he returned to camp, and ordered
+General Scott to advance forthwith, with the first brigade
+and Towson’s battery, and engage the enemy on
+the open plain, while he brought up the second brigade,
+under General Ripley, to act at whatever point
+it might be needed. The order was executed with all
+possible speed. The troops under General Scott dashed
+across the creek, and through the clumps of bushes
+fringing its bank, under a galling fire of musketry and
+artillery, and were soon enveloped in the wreaths of
+sulphureous smoke rising over the battle field; their
+shouts and cheers, borne merrily on the breeze, and the
+deep-toned thunder of their artillery, and their sharp
+rattling volleys, announcing the spirit and eagerness
+with which they entered into the contest. Meanwhile
+the British light troops had rallied, and compelled the
+volunteers of General Porter, in turn, to give way.
+The left flank of Scott’s brigade, therefore, became
+much exposed; and the 21st infantry, forming part
+of General Ripley’s brigade, which had been held in
+reserve, was detached to gain the rear of the enemy’s
+right flank. The greatest exertions were made to reach
+their position in time, but in vain; for such was the
+impetuosity of the attack made by General Scott, that
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</span>the battle was fought, and the victory won, before they
+had time to participate in the conflict.</p>
+
+<p>After the retreat of the volunteers, the 25th infantry,
+commanded by Major Jesup, on the extreme left
+of Scott’s brigade, in the forest, was warmly pressed
+in front and in flank, being exposed to a withering
+tempest of musket balls that was fast thinning their
+ranks; but, at this critical period, their brave leader
+gave his well-known order,—“Support arms—forward
+march!”—Men who could advance without faltering
+in such fearful peril were not to be resisted. Having
+gained a more favorable position, they returned the
+fire of the enemy, with interest, and in a few minutes
+compelled them to seek safety in flight.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">THE VICTORY AND ITS RESULTS.</div>
+
+<p>In the other part of the field, equal zeal and gallantry
+were displayed. The strife was bloody and
+fiercely contested on both sides, but of short duration.
+A warm fire was kept up for about an hour, when the
+enemy’s artillery was silenced; but their infantry were
+now ordered to move forward with charged bayonets.
+As they advanced, a raking fire was poured upon them
+from Towson’s guns, which Scott had posted in the
+road to Chippewa, and this was followed, almost instantly,
+by a destructive volley from the 9th and 11th
+infantry, thrown forward on their outer flanks, and that
+tremendous charge which scattered the pride of the
+English soldiery like chaff before the wind.&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_2_2" href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a> The
+enemy’s whole line now wavered and broke, and they
+were hotly pursued to their intrenchments. Here the
+advance of the victors was checked by the batteries
+which opened their fire. General Brown had already
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</span>hastened forward with the reserve, and joined in the
+pursuit. He at once decided to force the British position,
+which was well fortified, having a heavy battery
+on one flank, and a strong block-house on the other.
+The ordnance was brought up for the purpose, but, as
+the hour was late, and the men burning with thirst,
+and wearied with the fatigues of the day, upon consulting
+with his officers, it was concluded to retire to camp
+rather than hazard what had been gained by an attack
+which might terminate in a disastrous repulse.</p>
+
+<p>The number of troops actually engaged in this battle,
+on the side of the British, was not far from twenty-one
+hundred: the American force was about nineteen
+hundred. The loss of the enemy, according to the
+official report of the action, was one hundred and thirty-eight
+killed, and three hundred and sixty-five wounded
+and missing. Of the Americans there were sixty
+killed, and two hundred and sixty-seven wounded and
+missing.</p>
+
+<p>This auspicious opening of the campaign, in a quarter,
+too, which had previously witnessed so much of
+defeat and disgrace, was hailed with acclamations of
+joy, in the farthest borders of the Union. Resolutions
+of thanks and congratulations were liberally showered
+on the American commander, and his brave officers and
+soldiers. No doubt, the associations connected with
+the anniversary of Independence were of invaluable
+service in encouraging and inspiriting his troops; still
+he was none the less deserving of commendation, for
+wisely availing himself of the emotions which the recollections
+of that day were calculated to arouse. But
+the victory, in itself, was one of which all who participated
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</span>in it might well be proud. Exposed to the fierce
+radiance of a summer’s sun, with inferior numbers,
+they had met and vanquished disciplined troops, familiar
+with every art and device of war, and who had
+often fought and conquered, with Wellington, in the
+Spanish Peninsula. The battle took place in an open
+field; the enemy had selected their position; and the
+contest was determined solely by the superior bravery
+and skill of their opponents. The weapon, also, that
+decided the fate of the day, had for years been the
+Briton’s pride and boast. To the bayonet he had arrogantly
+pointed, as “the test of invincibility,” and the
+sure and certain resource when all other means proved
+unavailing; but courage and presumption went down
+together, before the shock of the glittering steel, that
+flashed back the rays of the blazing orb whose parting
+effulgence lingered around the spot hallowed by the recent
+triumph of American valor, and the success of the
+American arms!</p>
+
+<p>After their defeat at Chippewa, the British were
+unwilling to hazard another action. On the eighth of
+July, General Ripley, who had been detached by General
+Brown for that purpose, forced his way over the
+Chippewa Creek, about three miles above the enemy’s
+camp; whereupon, General Riall, though he had been
+reïnforced by another regiment, abandoned his works,
+which were occupied by General Brown that evening.
+On the following day the British commander continued
+his retreat to Twenty-mile Creek.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">SKIR&shy;MISHING.</div>
+
+<p>General Brown followed closely the retrograde movement
+of the British army, and encamped at Queenstown,
+or Queenston, as it is now usually written, where
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</span>he remained for several days, awaiting the arrival of
+some heavy guns, and the rifle regiment, which he had
+ordered from Sacketts Harbor. On the twelfth instant,
+a reconnaissance of the works at Fort George,
+preparatory to an investment, was made by General
+Swift, with a detachment of volunteers, one hundred
+and twenty in number. A picket guard were surprised
+and taken; but, after their surrender, one of the
+prisoners turned and shot the general through the body.
+This cowardly act exasperated his men to such a degree,
+that they attacked a patrolling party who now
+made their appearance, alarmed by the report of the
+piece, with great gallantry, and succeeded in driving
+them into the fort. They then returned to camp, bringing
+with them their expiring commander, who died in
+a few hours.</p>
+
+<p>On the eighteenth instant Lieutenant Colonel Stone
+was detached with a small volunteer force to dislodge
+a party posted four miles west of Queenston, near the
+village of St. David’s, who were lying in wait to attack
+the reconnoitering parties of the American army. The
+party was routed and driven in to the main body, with
+commendable alacrity and zeal; but after the action,
+the village was set fire to, and burned, by some of the
+volunteers, without the orders or knowledge, as was
+alleged, of the officer commanding the expedition.—It
+had long been a favorite idea, and very properly so,
+with the American authorities, to conciliate the Canadian
+people. The latter were assured by the invading
+forces, on this as on other occasions, that they came
+“to conquer, but not to destroy;” and strict orders
+had been issued against the commission of any outrages
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</span>upon the persons, or property, of private citizens.
+General Brown regarded the officer in command of the
+detachment as being responsible for this glaring violation
+of duty, inasmuch as it was scarcely possible for
+the act to have been committed, except through negligence
+or connivance on his part; and, on the following
+morning, he issued a peremptory order directing him to
+retire forthwith from the army.</p>
+
+<p>This prompt mode of dismissal occasioned considerable
+remark in military circles, and was pronounced, by
+many, an unwarranted assumption of authority. Under
+ordinary circumstances, it would certainly have
+been regarded as an usurpation of power that ought
+not to be tolerated; but the situation of the army was
+peculiar—they were in an enemy’s country, and the
+neutrality of the inhabitants was absolutely essential
+to the accomplishment of their paramount object, that
+of dislodging the enemy from the peninsula. An outrage
+of this character could not remain unnoticed, and
+a delay, even of a few days, in meting out the appropriate
+punishment, might put an end to all the hopes
+and expectations of the campaign. The case, therefore,
+was one that required immediate action, and,
+though General Brown was always careful not to infringe
+the rights of other officers unnecessarily, whether
+above or beneath him in rank, he never shrank from
+any responsibility, or hesitated in the performance of
+any duty. His course, however harsh it may seem,
+was approved by President Madison, who was never
+fond of the exercise of doubtful powers,—and by Mr.
+Monroe, then his Secretary of State, in a letter addressed
+to Admiral Cochrane.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</span></p>
+
+<p>Daring reconnaissances of Forts George and Niagara
+were made by Generals Porter and Ripley, and it was
+then decided at a council of war, to attack these posts,
+instead of following up the retreating forces under General
+Riall. On the thirteenth of July, General Brown
+had written a pressing letter to Commodore Chauncey,
+informing him of his situation, and requesting him to
+hasten forward the ordnance and the reïnforcements,
+which were to be transported in the vessels under
+his command, and inviting his coöperation in a combined
+attack, by land and water, on the forts at the
+mouth of the Niagara. No answer to this letter was
+received till the following September, in consequence
+of the illness of Commodore Chauncey.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">EFFORTS TO BRING ON ANOTHER ENGAGE&shy;MENT.</div>
+
+<p>While in this state of suspense, the General decided
+to make a demonstration on Fort George, and to attempt
+to draw the enemy out into the open field. The
+inactivity which had prevailed since the previous battle
+was no longer to be endured;—and on the twentieth
+instant, he advanced with his whole army, drove in the
+enemy’s outposts, and encamped near Fort George, in
+the expectation that General Riall would be drawn
+from his position, and offer him battle. Disappointed
+in this, he returned to Queenston on the twenty-second,
+and on the ensuing day he received a letter by express,
+from General Gaines, then in command at Sacketts
+Harbor, informing him that that port was blockaded
+by a strong naval force,—the enemy now having the
+ascendancy on the lake,—and that Commodore Chauncey
+was seriously ill with a fever.</p>
+
+<p>This information materially changed the aspect of
+affairs. The artillery and reïnforcements, upon which
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</span>he had confidently calculated, were no longer to be expected;
+and his future operations must be conducted
+entirely independent of them. Other Generals, perhaps
+equally as brave as himself,—and the history of
+modern warfare furnishes numerous examples in support
+of the assertion,—would have suspended all further
+efforts, or ordered an inglorious retreat, relying,
+for their justification, on the neglect of the government
+to provide the means and supplies which they desired.
+But, among the other valuable traits in his character,
+General Brown possessed that highest quality of the
+soldier—fertility of invention and resource. If the
+force placed at his disposal was not sufficient to accomplish
+a favorite project, the energies of his mind were
+at once employed in achieving something besides, that
+would redound to the credit of the country, and the
+honor of her flag. With his little army of three thousand
+men he had crossed the Niagara, and established
+himself on British soil; there he was determined to
+remain, and dispute its possession with the enemy,
+while there was a single chance, or hope of success,
+still left to cheer and encourage his brave and devoted
+band!</p>
+
+<p>Being without the heavy guns necessary for an attack
+on Fort George, General Brown was forced, though
+much against his will, to abandon his designs on that
+post. But he was anxious, nevertheless, to bring on
+another engagement with General Riall; and, influenced
+by this desire, continued his feigned retreat up
+the river, on the twenty-fourth, recrossed the Chippewa,
+and encamped. If this movement failed to draw
+the enemy from their position, he designed to make a
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</span>rapid march on Burlington. About noon on the twenty-fifth,
+while his men were busily engaged in making
+preparations for the march, he was informed that the
+British appeared in considerable force on Queenston
+heights; that four of their vessels had arrived during
+the previous night at the mouth of the Niagara; and
+that a number of boats were moving up the stream.
+A few minutes later he received the further information,
+which proved to be incorrect, that the enemy had
+landed one thousand men at Lewiston, and were threatening
+his baggage and stores at Schlosser.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">BATTLE OF NIAGARA.</div>
+
+<p>The troops were instantly ordered under arms, and
+in twenty minutes General Scott was on the road to
+Queenston with his brigade, Towson’s artillery, and a
+troop of dragoons. About two miles from the American
+camp, and within a short distance of the Falls, he
+learned that the enemy were in force in his front, separated
+from view only by a narrow piece of wood. Having
+dispatched Assistant Adjutant General Jones, to
+General Brown, with the intelligence, he held on his
+march, and in a short time discovered the British army,
+treble his own force in numbers, strongly posted on
+Lundy’s Lane, which led up from the Falls to Beaver
+Dams. Regardless of the great disparity between the
+two armies, General Scott promptly made his dispositions
+for battle, fully determined to maintain his ground
+till the reserve came up. As the head of his column
+cleared the wood on the brink of the cataract, whose
+low deep thunder was echoed by the enemy’s artillery,
+which immediately opened its fire, it was encircled by
+the rainbow that spanned the boiling Phlegethon beside
+it. Like the cross that infused new ardor into the soldiers<span class="pagenum" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</span>
+of Constantine, this was regarded as the omen,
+the sure presage of victory. With their sabres and
+bayonets gleaming in the rays of the setting sun, and
+their faces glowing with</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+  <div class="poetry">
+      <div class="verse indent0a">“The stern joy which warriors feel,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">In foemen worthy of their steel,”</div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<p class="unindent">the Americans now deployed in line on the left of the
+Queenston road. Major Jesup was thrown forward on
+the right with his regiment, and Captain Towson was
+posted on the left opposite the enemy’s artillery. All
+were elated with their recent victory, and animated by
+the best spirit. Undismayed by the terrible fire which
+they encountered, they advanced firmly and steadily
+against the closely serried columns of the enemy.</p>
+
+<p>The British position was well chosen. They had
+seized a commanding eminence at the head of Lundy’s
+Lane, upon which their battery of nine guns was planted,
+and swept the field of battle with an incessant torrent
+of cannon balls. Their forces, at first engaged, consisted
+of the whole army under General Riall, who had
+marched down from his position, directly to the Falls,
+with the expectation of meeting Lieutenant General
+Drummond at this point. The latter had arrived at
+the mouth of the Niagara on the evening of the twenty-fourth,
+with large reïnforcements, collected at Kingston
+and various other points on the lake, and was hastening
+as rapidly as possible to join General Riall.
+He arrived on the ground shortly after the commencement
+of the action, accompanied by his men, and
+assumed the command of the united force, now between
+four and five thousand strong.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</span></p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">INCI&shy;DENTS OF THE BATTLE.</div>
+
+<p>General Scott and his men held their ground manfully,
+till the arrival of General Brown, who had hurried
+forward with his suite, in advance of the brigades
+of Generals Ripley and Porter, as soon as the firing was
+heard. Meanwhile the 11th and 22nd infantry, under
+Colonel Brady and Major McNeil, both of whom were
+severely wounded, having expended their ammunition,
+were withdrawn from action, and the whole brunt of
+the battle in front, was sustained by the 9th infantry,
+commanded by Major Leavenworth. With unswerving
+courage this regiment resisted every effort of the
+enemy, though with the loss of half their number, until
+their opponents suspended the attack. General
+Riall was deceived by the obstinacy of their resistance,
+and as it was impossible to distinguish objects with any
+precision in the gloaming, he supposed the entire American
+army was engaged, and was therefore content to
+wait for General Drummond to come up with the reïnforcements.</p>
+
+<p>For a few moments the roar of battle was hushed,
+and the silence was only broken by the unceasing murmur
+of the cataract, and the groans of the wounded
+and the dying. During the temporary suspension of
+the fire, General Ripley, with his brigade and the remainder
+of the artillery under Major Hindman, and
+the volunteers under General Porter, arrived upon the
+ground. With these fresh troops General Brown
+formed a new alignment, to cover the exhausted command
+of General Scott, who fell back behind their
+comrades. The respite was of brief duration, and the
+action was soon renewed with increased warmth.
+Wider and wider reverberated the deep echoes of the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</span>artillery; higher and higher rose the sharp, continued
+roll of musketry; loud was the Briton’s cheer, and
+louder yet the answering shout of defiance!</p>
+
+<p>Captain Towson had failed to make any impression
+on the enemy’s battery, though his guns were skilfully
+and actively directed; and on the renewal of the engagement,
+under the advice of Major McRee, the senior
+engineer officer, General Brown determined to carry
+the eminence on which it was posted, at the point of
+the bayonet. The execution of this enterprise was intrusted
+to Colonel Miller with the 21st infantry. The
+reply of the gallant colonel, when he received the order
+to advance, from General Ripley, is memorable in history—“<cite>I
+will try, sir!</cite>” said the intrepid soldier.&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_3_3" href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a>
+The trial was made,—nor made in vain. Supported
+by the 23rd infantry under Major McFarland, while
+the 1st infantry, under Colonel Nicholas, which had
+joined the army that day, was left to receive the enemy’s
+fire in front, Colonel Miller moved up the hill
+through a raging flood of missiles. The 1st staggered
+under the tremendous fire to which it was exposed,
+the 23rd faltered, but the brave 21st, following their heroic
+leader, rushed up the height with accelerated speed.
+On reaching the summit they paused an instant, and
+then rushed forward with shouts and cheers. The British
+troops had fought bravely, for they were anxious to
+wipe out the discredit of their late defeat. The cannoniers
+were transfixed at their posts, and for a few
+seconds there was a fierce contest fought hand to hand,
+over the loaded guns. But the daring onset of the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</span>Americans was not to be resisted; the discipline of the
+British soldiery gave way before it; their artillery was
+captured, and their routed columns, sullen and discontented,
+retired slowly down the hill.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">GENERAL RIALL TAKEN PRISONER.</div>
+
+<p>Meanwhile Major Jesup had turned the enemy’s left
+with the 25th infantry, and, favored by the darkness,
+had cautiously advanced in their rear. A detachment
+from his command, under Captain Ketchum, succeeded
+in reaching the place where Generals Drummond and
+Riall were stationed with their suites. The former
+made his escape, but the latter was taken prisoner with
+his staff. A large number of prisoners, in addition,
+were captured by Major Jesup, and he then moved to
+the left to attack the enemy in rear. Coming upon a
+body of their troops posted in the Queenston road, about
+the time of the capture of the battery, his men delivered
+their fire, as galling as it was unexpected, and instantly
+dashed over the fence that separated them. The
+enemy broke and fled, and, as the 1st and 23rd infantry
+had been already rallied by the animated efforts of
+General Ripley, the whole British line was now forced.</p>
+
+<p>General Brown was prompt to improve the advantage
+he had gained, as the British officers were heard
+encouraging their men for a desperate effort to recover
+their cannon. While they were engaged in reforming
+their broken masses under the hill, he advanced his
+line, placing the captured guns in his rear; General
+Porter being on the extreme left with his volunteers,
+General Ripley’s brigade occupying the centre, and
+Major Hindman being stationed in the interval between
+the second brigade and the 25th infantry, which was
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</span>posted on the right of the line. The first brigade, under
+General Scott, was held in reserve.</p>
+
+<p>A gloomy and ominous silence prevailed for a short
+time, and it was then interrupted by the lively strains
+of martial music, as the British columns were again
+ordered to advance. General Drummond had given
+his men but a few moments to recover from the effects
+of their repulse. With great daring and intrepidity
+they marched up the height, at double quick time, presenting
+an extended line outflanking the Americans on
+both extremes. Within twenty yards of the crest of
+the eminence, they poured forth their volleys, and
+prepared to rush forward with their bayonets. In
+an instant the American line was one blaze of fire.
+The enemy staggered; another volley, followed rapidly
+by another, and still another, caused them to break
+and retire down the hill in confusion, despite the
+exertions of their officers to inspire them with confidence.</p>
+
+<p>Another half hour passed in suspense, and again the
+measured tread of the advancing columns was heard,
+as they rose the hill. The Americans reserved their
+fire till it could be most effective, and when the enemy
+came within range, the artillery of Major Hindman
+once more pealed forth its brazen notes, and, as they
+pressed nearer and nearer, the rattling musketry was
+added to the din. But the constant shower of shot
+and ball poured upon them soon checked their advance.
+For nearly half an hour they strove in vain to
+overcome the firmness of the American troops. The
+contest was warm and animated; and, during its
+continuance, General Scott, who had consolidated his
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</span>brigade into one battalion, under Major Leavenworth,
+made two effective charges on the left and
+right of the British line, in the latter of which he
+received two severe wounds, that soon after obliged
+him to quit the field. General Brown was always
+where his presence was needed—in the front of
+the battle. Heedless of the exposure of his person,
+he was ever ready to utter words of encouragement
+where symptoms of hesitation were manifested;
+to commend every act of noble daring; and
+to arouse his men to further exertions. His efforts
+were well seconded by the chivalric bearing and the
+dauntless intrepidity of Scott and Ripley and Porter.
+Unable to make head against the stern and
+unyielding resistance of the American soldiers, General
+Drummond was a second time forced to draw off
+his men.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">LAST EFFORTS OF THE ENEMY.</div>
+
+<p>The contest was not yet ended. Additional reïnforcements
+had joined the enemy, and, after the lapse
+of another hour, their hesitating columns were encouraged
+to make one more effort for the victory. Regardless
+of the havoc made in their ranks, the British
+troops advanced boldly under a withering fire. This
+time they gained the summit of the hill, never pausing
+after they had delivered their fire, and closed with
+their antagonists. The battle was now at its height.
+The beams of the rising moon struggled vainly to penetrate
+the murky pall that overhung the field of combat,
+but the darkness was illuminated by the constant
+flashing of musketry and artillery. Two lines of
+armed men, merged with each other, were seen surging
+to and fro. The earth shook beneath their feet. Foot
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</span>to foot, and breast to breast, they fought. Locked
+in the death struggle, the Briton and the American
+fell together. The green sward was soaked with
+blood; it collected in pools in the ridges made by the
+ploughing shot; and ran down in rivulets to mingle its
+crimson dyes with the limpid waters of the Niagara.</p>
+
+<p>General Brown had previously received a severe
+wound from a musket ball which passed through his
+right thigh, and as he now moved to the left of the
+American line, to encourage the volunteers to remain
+firm, he was struck violently upon his left side by a
+missile of some description. The blow nearly unhorsed
+him, and on meeting Colonel Wood, he expressed his
+doubts as to his ability to keep the saddle. “Never
+mind, my dear general,” was the reply, “you are gaining
+the greatest victory that was ever gained by your
+nation!” Cheered by these words, which indicated the
+spirit prevailing among his officers and men, General
+Brown remained on his horse, giving his orders with
+wonted firmness and promptitude. The American
+troops were sorely pressed, but they were more than a
+match for their opponents. In vain was every effort
+of the latter. The artillery on both sides was taken
+and retaken during the struggle, but the British were
+finally forced to yield the ground, leaving their guns in
+the hands of the Americans.</p>
+
+<p>At midnight the contest terminated. The British
+made no further effort to regain the position, but
+shrunk silently away in the darkness. Faint from excessive
+pain and the loss of blood, General Brown was
+now assisted from the field by his staff. General
+Scott being also disabled, the command was assumed
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</span>by General Ripley, under whose directions the wounded
+were collected, and orders were then issued for a return
+to camp. The artillery horses being all killed, and
+there being no drag-ropes at hand, General Ripley
+very reluctantly left the captured guns on the ground,
+having rolled the smaller pieces down the hill. This
+circumstance was seized with avidity by the British
+officers to give color to their claim that they had defeated
+the American army, and it has frequently served
+a similar purpose in the works of British writers. A
+few considerations will show how utterly unfounded was
+this claim. The Americans attacked their opponents
+in a position of their own selection. This position they
+seized, and held against three daring and desperate
+efforts to regain it. It was yielded, but yielded voluntarily;
+and being without the means to remove the
+guns, General Ripley left them on the field, and returned
+to the American camp unmolested. The enemy
+remained nearer the battle-ground, as their tents and
+baggage were directly in rear of their line; and when
+they discovered on the following morning, that the
+guns had been abandoned, they took possession of
+them without difficulty, there being no one to oppose
+them.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">LOSSES OF THE TWO ARMIES.</div>
+
+<p>The truth is, that both parties sustained a severe
+loss in this sanguinary conflict, and neither desired to
+renew it while the odds were in favor of their antagonists.
+In the morning of the twenty-sixth, General
+Ripley collected all the American troops fit for duty,
+and with this force, which barely amounted to fifteen
+hundred men, he sallied out to seek another contest
+with the enemy. On approaching the field on which
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</span>the action of the previous day had been fought, he
+found them strongly posted in a still more favorable
+position, slightly in advance of that formerly occupied.
+Becoming satisfied that it would be unwise to attack
+a superior force under such circumstances, he again
+returned to camp, and subsequently retired to Fort
+Erie, the defences of which were immediately strengthened
+and extended, in accordance with the instructions
+of General Brown.</p>
+
+<p>The British force engaged in the battle of Niagara,
+was little short of five thousand; that of the Americans
+was nearly one third less. The latter sustained
+the heaviest loss in killed and wounded, however, on
+account of the galling severity of the British fire previous
+to the capture of their guns. The Americans had
+seven hundred and forty-three men killed and wounded,
+and the British six hundred and forty-three. The latter
+lost two hundred and thirty-five men taken prisoners,
+and the former one hundred and seventeen. The
+aggregate loss of the British, therefore, was a trifle
+greater than that of the Americans. Generals Brown
+and Scott, as has been mentioned, were badly wounded;
+Generals Drummond and Riall, the latter being likewise
+captured, also received severe wounds.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">ATTACK OF FORT ERIE.</div>
+
+<p>General Drummond did not offer to molest the
+American army in their march to Fort Erie, or venture
+to make an attack on that post, till the 3rd of
+August, when he had been reïnforced by General De
+Watteville, with one thousand men. He then invested
+the fort, and made preparations for its reduction. On
+the fifth of August, General Gaines arrived from
+Sacketts Harbor, and assumed the command. The
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</span>enemy continued their approaches, and on the thirteenth
+and fourteenth a heavy cannonade was kept
+up, which was followed by an assault early in the
+morning of the fifteenth instant.&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_4_4" href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a> The work was
+poorly calculated to withstand a siege, being nothing
+more than a small redoubt, occupying the centre of an
+intrenched camp, of which it formed the strong point.
+The enemy were, notwithstanding, repulsed with great
+loss, by the gallantry and good conduct of General
+Gaines and the officers and men under his command.
+During the siege General Gaines was severely
+wounded by the bursting of a shell, and on the twenty
+eighth instant, he retired to Buffalo, leaving General
+Ripley in charge of the post.</p>
+
+<p>Having partially recovered from his wounds, General
+Brown once more resumed the command on the second
+of September. The defences of Fort Erie had already
+suffered considerable injury from the enemy’s fire, and
+the garrison were kept constantly at work repairing
+the damages, and adding to the works. Frequent
+skirmishes took place, and the cannonading on either
+side was maintained, at intervals, with spirit and
+warmth. Reïnforcements were daily expected to arrive
+from the army on Lake Champlain, but they did
+not make their appearance, and it was soon evident
+that the post could not be held much longer against
+the efforts of the enemy. General Brown fretted like
+an imprisoned lion, and, on the seventeenth of September,
+discovering that General Drummond had constructed
+another battery, that would open a destructive
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</span>fire on the following day, he planned a sortie, which
+has been justly considered as the <i lang="fr">chef d’œuvre</i> of his
+military career.</p>
+
+<p>The infantry of the besieging force was divided into
+three brigades, each containing twelve or fifteen hundred
+men, one of which was stationed alternately in
+the works in front of the fort, for the protection of
+the artillerists, and the other two occupied the main
+camp about two miles in the rear. The circumvallation
+consisted of two lines of intrenchments supported
+by blockhouses, in advance of which the enemy had
+constructed their batteries. It was General Brown’s
+intention “to storm the batteries, destroy the cannon,
+and roughly handle the brigade on duty, before those in
+reserve could be brought up.” The project was well
+conceived and admirably executed.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">SORTIE FROM FORT ERIE.</div>
+
+<p>At noon on the seventeenth, the troops intended to
+make the sortie were paraded under arms. The sallying
+force was divided into two columns; the left, commanded
+by General Porter, and consisting of the rifles
+and a body of Indians under Colonel Gibson, the Pennsylvania
+volunteers under Colonel Wood, the New York
+volunteers under General Davis, and the 1st and 23rd
+infantry under Major Brooks, was ordered to move
+cautiously upon the enemy’s right, by a circuitous road
+previously opened through the woods; and the right,
+commanded by General Miller, and consisting of the
+first brigade, was directed to enter a ravine between
+the fort and the British lines, and advance rapidly upon
+the enemy’s works as soon as General Porter became
+engaged. General Ripley remained in reserve with
+the 21st infantry, between the new bastions of the fort;
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</span>his command, and that of General Miller, being both
+out of view of the enemy.</p>
+
+<p>The day was dark and lowering. A thick mist
+rested upon the lake and river, and floated lazily along
+their banks. The clouds overhead were surcharged
+with moisture, and sent down copious showers of rain.
+Favored by these circumstances, the American columns
+gained their positions unperceived. General Porter advanced
+with such celerity and caution, that his men
+sprang upon the enemy’s pickets before they were
+aware of his presence. As soon as the rapid volleys of
+General Porter were heard, General Brown ordered
+General Miller to advance, the head of his column
+being directed towards the interval between batteries 2
+and 3. Dashing forward at full speed, General Miller
+reached the enemy’s line and pierced their entrenchments.
+The British were taken by surprise, yet they
+fought bravely and well. The contest was close and
+animated, but brief. Within thirty minutes after the
+first gun was fired, batteries 2 and 3 were in possession
+of the American troops, who swept every thing before
+them with the bayonet. Battery number 1 was then
+abandoned by the enemy, and the Americans, without
+loss of time, commenced the work of demolition. The
+British guns were spiked or otherwise destroyed, their
+breastworks levelled, and the magazine of battery number
+3 was blown up.</p>
+
+<p>General Ripley had now brought up the reserve, and
+was making preparations for a demonstration on the
+enemy’s camp, when he was disabled by a severe wound.
+The object of the sortie having been accomplished, in
+the destruction, by a force of regulars and volunteers,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</span>only two thousand strong, of the labors of four thousand
+men for a period of near fifty days, General Miller
+ordered his men to fall back to the ravine, and General
+Brown then directed all the corps to return to camp
+with their prisoners, which was done in good order. In
+this affair the Americans had eighty-three men killed,
+two hundred and sixteen wounded, and there were two
+hundred and sixteen missing. Three hundred and
+eighty-five of the enemy were taken prisoners, and
+there were between four and five hundred killed and
+wounded.</p>
+
+<p>This daring sortie put an end to the leaguer. During
+the night of the twenty-first of September, General
+Drummond broke up his camp, and retreated to his
+intrenchments behind the Chippewa. Not long after,
+General Izard arrived from Sacketts Harbor with large
+reïnforcements, and on the twelfth of October, being
+the senior officer, he superseded General Brown in the
+command. No further incident of importance occurred,
+however, on this frontier. The gallant exploit of the
+seventeenth of September was the appropriate <i lang="fr">finale</i>
+of a bloody campaign, unsurpassed, during the war, for
+the display of firmness, valor, and intrepidity. Leaving
+a sufficient garrison at Fort Erie, General Izard
+moved down towards the Chippewa with the remainder
+of his forces, and offered battle to the enemy, but they
+declined leaving their intrenchments. A partial engagement
+took place between detached corps on the
+nineteenth of October, which closed the operations of
+the campaign; and early in November the American
+army retired into winter quarters on the opposite side
+of the Niagara.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</span></p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">HIS DECEASE.</div>
+
+<p>The treaty of Ghent, in December of this year, terminated
+the war, and the services of General Brown
+in the field. Upon the reduction of the army he was
+retained on the peace establishment, and placed in command
+of the northern military division. In 1821 he
+was appointed General-in-chief, and from that time till
+his death, which occurred on the twenty-fourth of February,
+1828, he resided at Washington. The disease
+which terminated his life was superinduced by another
+contracted at Fort Erie, from which he was never wholly
+exempt.</p>
+
+<p>General Brown did not enter the military profession
+solely from motives of patriotism, though these ever
+guided and governed his conduct;—he was a soldier
+<i lang="it">con amore</i>! Early disciplined in the school of adversity
+and trained to habits of self-reliance,—and gifted
+with superior mental endowments, which had been
+carefully cultivated,—he possessed that happy combination
+of faculties and acquirements which rarely fails
+to achieve success. He was a correct and thorough
+disciplinarian; industrious, methodical, and indefatigable;
+brave, both physically and morally; stout in person
+and strong of nerve; bold and energetic in carrying
+out his offensive movements; firm, but cautious,
+when acting on the defence; sagacious in council; and
+cool, calm, and collected, amid the roar of battle. In
+the language of the general order announcing his decease
+to the army—“Quick to perceive and sagacious
+to anticipate, prompt to decide and daring in execution,
+he was born with the qualities which constitute a great
+commander. His military <i lang="fr">coup d’œil</i>, his intuitive
+penetration, his knowledge of men and his capacity to
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</span>control them, were known to all his companions in arms,
+and commanded their respect; while the gentleness of
+his disposition, the courtesy of his deportment, his scrupulous
+regard to their rights, his constant attention to
+their wants, and his affectionate attachment to their
+persons, universally won their hearts, and bound them
+to him as a father.”</p>
+
+<p>The death of one so highly esteemed produced a
+deep impression, and was sincerely lamented, not only
+by his brethren in arms, but by all to whom he had
+become endeared in the relationships of private life.
+Cut off in the vigor of manhood by a disease contracted
+in the service of his country, she still treasures his
+memory as that of one among the most honored of her
+sons. Like the amaranth, his fame is enduring and
+imperishable; and while the ceaseless murmurs of the
+cataract rise beside the battle-field of Niagara, his gallant
+daring and determined courage will be gratefully
+remembered by his countrymen.</p>
+
+<div class="footnotes">
+<h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+<p class="footnote unindent"><a id="Footnote_1_1" href="#FNanchor_1_1" class="label">[1]</a> General Brown is frequently compared with General Greene, who,
+like him, was descended from a Quaker family; and it has been jocularly
+said of them, that, although one was <em>green</em>, and the other <em>brown</em>,
+both were <em>true blue</em>!</p>
+
+<p class="footnote unindent"><a id="Footnote_2_2" href="#FNanchor_2_2" class="label">[2]</a> See <a href="#SCOTT">Memoir of General Scott</a>.</p>
+
+<p class="footnote unindent"><a id="Footnote_3_3" href="#FNanchor_3_3" class="label">[3]</a> The reply of Colonel Miller was adopted as the motto of his regiment,
+and was worn on their buttons.</p>
+
+<p class="footnote unindent"><a id="Footnote_4_4" href="#FNanchor_4_4" class="label">[4]</a> See <a href="#GAINES">Memoir of General Gaines</a>.</p>
+</div>
+
+<hr aria-hidden="true" class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp55" id="i_060" style="max-width: 45.9375em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/i_060.jpg" alt="portrait; seated in uniform, holding a sword below the hilt in his right hand.">
+  <figcaption>
+    EDMUND PENDLETON GAINES.
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</span></p>
+  <h2 class="nobreak" id="GAINES">
+    EDMUND PENDLETON GAINES.
+  </h2>
+</div>
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" style="max-width: 75%;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/dec_line2.jpg" alt="" data-role="presentation">
+</figure>
+</div>
+<p><span class="smcap">It</span> is no slight praise to say of the subject of this
+memoir, that his name is honorably associated with the
+war of 1812, from its commencement to its termination.
+When disasters were so frequent, and defeat so often
+sustained, where others were concerned, it is refreshing
+to find, that he never wanted the will, and when his
+means were sufficient, never lacked the ability, to retrieve
+the one, and to wipe out the disgrace of the other.
+Ever to be found where duty placed him,—prompt,
+brave, and skilful,—these are high merits in a soldier,
+and entitle their possessor to a worthy place among his
+compeers.</p>
+
+<p>Virginia is often termed “the mother of statesmen,”—and
+she may also be regarded as the birth-place of
+heroes. Like Harrison and Scott, General Gaines
+drew his first breath in the Old Dominion. He was
+born on the twentieth day of March, 1777, in Culpepper
+county, near the eastern base of the Blue Ridge,
+where it looks down upon the rolling table land, and
+undulating slopes,drained by the waters of the Rappahannock.
+His father, James Gaines, was a nephew of
+Edmund Pendleton,—after whom his son was named,—a
+profound and able lawyer, who was for many years
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</span>presiding judge of the Court of Appeals of the state of
+Virginia. In the latter part of the Revolution, the
+father commanded a company of volunteers, and did
+good service in that capacity. At the close of the war
+he removed to the northwest border of North Carolina.
+He represented the county in which he resided, in the
+legislature of that state, and was afterwards a member
+of the convention by which the federal constitution was
+rejected. Like many of the most patriotic citizens of
+Virginia, North Carolina, and other states, he was at first
+opposed to that instrument; but, his objections having
+been removed by the adoption of the “bill of rights,”
+he voted in its favor.</p>
+
+<p>Young Gaines was early familiarized to scenes of
+war and bloodshed. Born in a frontier settlement, during
+the perilous times of the revolutionary struggle,
+when the whole colony was in a state of constant ferment
+and agitation, though not old enough to appreciate
+the importance of the principles for which his
+countrymen were contending, he was deeply imbued
+with the spirit that animated the men of that great era
+in the history of our nation. In the sparsely-peopled
+region to which his parents had removed, the means
+of obtaining information were very limited, and, as
+his father was in moderate circumstances, he enjoyed
+but few advantages of that character. These were
+carefully improved, however, under the direction and
+superintendence of his mother, who possessed a fine
+mind, and had received a good education. A friend,
+by the name of Ralph Mitchell, whose acquaintance he
+formed while a mere youth, instructed him in mathematics,
+and he subsequently became an accurate surveyor.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</span></p>
+
+<p>When he was about thirteen years of age, his father
+emigrated to Sullivan county, in that mountainous
+tract of country, now known as East Tennessee, lying
+between the Stone and Cumberland mountains. This
+section of the union was then new, and but thinly inhabited.
+Being in the immediate vicinity of the theatre
+of the depredations committed by the Creeks and Cherokees,
+tales of border warfare were rife, and the legends
+of “the dark and bloody ground” were often repeated
+by the fireside of the elder Gaines. Themes like these
+were calculated to enkindle a desire for entering the
+profession of arms in the bosom of his young son, who
+listened to them with eager interest, and he soon gave
+unequivocal indications that his thoughts were turned
+in that direction. From boyhood he had been taught
+to labor,—to swing the axe, and follow the plough.
+When not thus employed, or busy in storing his mind
+with useful information, he rambled through the forests
+in search of game. In his hours of pastime the rifle
+was his constant companion, and he is said to have excelled
+all his companions in the use of that weapon.
+Passing his time in these occupations, his constitution,
+naturally strong and vigorous, had become hardened
+and invigorated, and fitted to endure the sufferings and
+vicissitudes of a soldier’s life. He was likewise bold
+and fearless, daring and determined;—no difficulty
+retarded him, no danger deterred.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">RECEIVES HIS FIRST COMMIS&shy;SION.</div>
+
+<p>He now occupied his leisure hours in reading and
+studying such military and historical works as he could
+procure; and at the age of eighteen he was elected to
+a lieutenancy in a rifle company commanded by Captain
+J. Cloud. No opportunity was yet presented for
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</span>gratifying the first wish of his heart, and he concluded
+to turn his attention to another profession. When not
+otherwise busied, much of his time had latterly been
+spent in surveying. In this way he had provided himself
+with a small supply of funds, and on attaining his
+majority, he commenced the study of the law, and pursued
+it as fast as his limited means would allow.
+While thus engaged, he was recommended by his friend,
+the Hon. W. C. C. Claiborne, then a member of Congress
+from the state of Tennessee, and afterwards governor
+of Louisiana, for an appointment in the army
+The recommendation proved successful, and on the
+tenth of January, 1799, he received his first commission,
+as an ensign.</p>
+
+<p>The long-cherished desire of young Gaines was now
+gratified, and the way opened for him to win honor and
+renown in the armies of his country. In the autumn
+of 1799, he was promoted to the rank of 2nd lieutenant
+in the 6th infantry, and sent on the recruiting service.
+His regiment being afterwards disbanded, he was attached
+to the 4th infantry, then under the command of
+Colonel Thomas Butler. In the summer of 1801,
+Colonel Butler received orders from the War Department,
+to select a subaltern from his regiment to make
+a topographical survey from Nashville to Natchez, for
+the location of a military road. Lieutenant Gaines
+was selected for this duty, and was employed in discharging
+it, and in the survey of some Indian boundary
+lines, till the winter of 1803–4,—having, in the meantime,
+been raised to the rank of 1st lieutenant.</p>
+
+<p>The Spanish government, being dissatisfied with the
+transfer of Louisiana to the United States, refused to
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</span>withdraw her troops from Fort Condé, at Mobile, and
+from Baton Rouge,—and to deliver up possession of
+the country lying north of the Isle of Orleans, and the
+Gulf of Mexico, and between the Mississippi and the
+Perdido,—insisting that the territory embraced within
+those limits formed a part of her Floridian possessions,
+and was not included in the cession to France. Mr.
+Jefferson well knew that the country was wholly unprepared
+for war, and, in conformity with the peaceful
+policy of his administration, was unwilling, at that
+time, to submit the question in dispute to the arbitrament
+of the sword; yet, lest it might be said that the
+United States had tacitly acquiesced in the claim of
+the Spanish authorities, he resolved to appoint a military
+collector for the district of Mobile. The appointment
+was conferred on Lieutenant Gaines, in 1804,
+and he immediately established himself at Fort Stoddart,
+thirty-six miles north of Mobile.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">APPOINTED MILITARY COLLECTOR.</div>
+
+<p>He at once looked forward, with eager hope and expectation,
+to the time when he would be required “to
+flesh his maiden sword;” a collision seemed unavoidable,
+and he supposed it would soon be necessary to assert
+the rights of his government, and the authority
+deputed to him, by force of arms. In this he was disappointed;
+but a circumstance shortly after transpired,
+that brought him into notoriety,—of a very different
+character, indeed, from what he had desired or anticipated,
+yet it is not at all probable that he ever regretted
+his connection with the transaction.—In 1806 he
+was appointed postmaster, and selected as the confidential
+agent of the post-office department, being clothed
+with the power of suspending postmasters and contractors
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</span>concerned in what was called, “the conspiracy
+of Aaron Burr.” Young and ardent, in heart and soul
+a patriot, it is not strange that he should have shared
+in the prevalent feeling, and approved the public judgment
+that denounced Colonel Burr as a traitor. He
+may have been mistaken in this, and if so, it was an
+error into which he was very likely to fall:—the projects
+of Colonel Burr are still shrouded in mystery; he who
+was chiefly interested in removing the odium attached
+to them in the estimation of his countrymen, if that
+were possible, refused to make any explanations; to
+the close of his life he maintained a studied reserve,
+and when he died, “he made no sign”!</p>
+
+<p>Lieutenant Gaines was quite active in discharging
+the extraordinary mission intrusted to him, and in ferreting
+out the parties implicated in the supposed conspiracy.
+He arrested Colonel Burr; and, on account
+of his acquaintance with the western country, he received
+the temporary appointment of marshal, in which
+capacity he summoned a number of witnesses to attend
+the trial. About the same time he was promoted to
+the rank of captain. Although his conduct had been
+governed by the best and purest motives, and he had
+but faithfully carried out the instructions of those whom
+it was his duty to obey, he incurred the bitterest animosity
+of the friends of Colonel Burr, and was severely
+attacked on the trial; and, in his subsequent life, he
+was often taught to feel, that they had neither forgotten
+nor forgiven him.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">RE-ENTERS THE ARMY.</div>
+
+<p>Soon after his connection with this affair terminated,
+seeing nothing before him but a life of inaction wholly
+unsuited to his active temperament, he decided to retire
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</span>from the army, and enter the legal profession.
+Before announcing his determination, he wisely hesitated—there
+was a prospect of war with England,—though,
+after the settlement of the affair of the Chesapeake,
+a remote one,—and he therefore concluded
+merely to apply for leave of absence. This was cordially
+granted by his commanding officer, General
+Hampton, and he now commenced the practice of the
+law in the counties of Washington and Baldwin, in
+what was then the Mississippi territory, but now the
+State of Alabama. He had just rode his second circuit,
+under auspices highly flattering to his talents and
+abilities, when the alternative, of rejoining the army
+or finally throwing up his commission, was presented.
+The call of his country was the call of duty. The
+summons to arms was joyfully obeyed, and at the commencement
+of the war of 1812, he resumed his sword,
+and his position in the service.</p>
+
+<p>The year 1812 closed without furnishing him an opportunity
+to distinguish himself. In the spring of
+1813, he was attached to the North-western army, and
+rose, by rapid promotions, to the command of a regiment.
+A long and tedious illness prevented his participation
+in the battle of the Thames, but he recovered
+in time to accompany the ill-fated expedition of General
+Wilkinson down the St. Lawrence.&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_5_5" href="#Footnote_5_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a> He was
+present at the battle of Chrystler’s fields, on the eleventh
+of November, and for his gallantry on that occasion
+was mentioned in terms of high commendation, in
+the official dispatch of General Boyd. In the action
+he commanded the 25th infantry, one of the finest and
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</span>most effective regiments in the service, and after the
+British had been beaten back, in accordance with the
+instructions of the commander-in-chief to General
+Boyd, he was directed to cover the re-embarkation of
+the American troops.</p>
+
+<p>This service was performed with skill, fearlessness,
+and promptitude. Colonel Morrison, of the 89th British
+foot, the officer in command of the enemy, animated
+by the hope of achieving some certain success
+during the day, pushed hard upon him with a large
+body of troops. His men stood firm and immovable as
+the rocks beneath their feet. A desperate onset was
+made by the enemy to overwhelm him, but after an obstinate
+struggle they were completely repulsed. He
+then joined the advance, retiring with his command
+slowly and deliberately to their boats. Colonel Morrison
+was so well pleased with the brave conduct of the
+regiment, that, after the action, he sent his card to its
+commanding officer, with a message expressing his admiration,
+and desiring to know his name, in order that
+if they should chance to meet when the two countries
+were at peace, he might claim the privilege of an old
+friend and fellow soldier. It need not be added, that
+Colonel Gaines promptly complied with the request and
+returned the compliment.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">DEFENCE OF FORT ERIE.</div>
+
+<p>Colonel Gaines accompanied the army into winter
+quarters at French Mills, and, on the ninth of March,
+1814, he received the commission of a brigadier general.
+At the opening of the following campaign, we
+find him placed in command at Sacketts Harbor, upon
+the departure of General Brown and his army for the
+Niagara frontier. Here he was assiduously employed
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</span>in providing for the defence of the post, and, when it
+was blockaded by the British squadron, in preventing
+their attempts to cut off the supplies and munitions of
+war, conveyed through the interior of New York, by
+way of the Mohawk, the Oneida Lake, and the Oswego
+river, and the connecting canals, and then transported
+over Lake Ontario to Sacketts Harbor. He remained
+at this post, till he was summoned by General Brown
+to join the army on the Niagara, after the battle of the
+twenty-fifth of July. On the fifth of August he arrived
+at Fort Erie, then beleaguered by the British
+forces under General Drummond, and assumed the
+command.</p>
+
+<p>The construction of the additional defences of the
+fort had already been commenced, under the direction
+of General Ripley, with whose arrangements he interfered
+no further than to press the rapid completion of
+the works. The main structure was a small unfinished
+redoubt, and in a very dilapidated condition. It was
+situated about one hundred yards from the lake, above
+which it was elevated some fifteen or twenty feet.
+Towards the water it was left exposed, though partially
+repaired; on the right it was strengthened, and extended
+by a breastwork, to the river, where it terminated in a
+battery, and on the left a line of intrenchments and
+abattis was formed, extending to an eminence called
+Snake hill, which formed the southern angle, and on
+which a redoubt was constructed. From thence eastwardly,
+to the shore of the lake, there was a defence
+of abattis.</p>
+
+<p>The British general had fancied that the American
+army was now within his grasp, and that a single blow
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</span>would be followed by their immediate surrender, or their
+withdrawal from the Canadian territory. Upon his arrival
+before the post he found its occupants much better
+prepared for his reception than he expected to find them.
+He therefore sat himself down coolly and deliberately,
+established his main camp about two miles distant,
+threw up two lines of intrenchments, supported by
+strong block houses, in front of the works, planted his
+batteries at favorable points, and contented himself
+with drawing closer the investment, but, nevertheless,
+pushing his operations with great activity.</p>
+
+<p>The American soldiers labored incessantly on the
+fortifications; and on the seventh of August, though
+still incomplete, they were in a sufficient state of forwardness
+to withstand an attack. From that time till
+the fourteenth instant, a constant cannonade was kept
+up, on one side or the other; the earth shaking for miles
+around, as the thunders of the artillery boomed over
+the lake, or rolled along its shores, echoing from one
+headland to the other, and muttering among the fissures
+of the rocks and recesses of the forest, till they
+were lost in the distance. Several skirmishes also took
+place, in which the British were generally defeated.
+The works were considerably crippled, however, as they
+were enfiladed by one of the enemy’s batteries; but the
+garrison did not suffer materially from the fire, there
+being but seven men killed, and thirty-six wounded,
+up to the night of the fourteenth instant.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">PREPARA&shy;TIONS OF THE ENEMY.</div>
+
+<p>Towards evening on the fourteenth a bustle was observed
+in the British lines, from which General Gaines
+rightly conjectured that the enemy designed to hazard
+an assault, and his dispositions were at once made to
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</span>repel it. The garrison was feeble enough, there being
+but about twenty-five hundred effective men, while the
+besieging force was nearly double that number; but
+what they lacked in this respect was more than made
+up in the cheerfulness with which the officers seconded
+the wishes of the commander, the unflinching firmness
+of the men, and the readiness with which they obeyed
+every call of duty. The main fort and its bastions
+were placed under the command of Captain Williams,
+of the artillery; the battery on the margin of the lake,
+on the right, was commanded by Captain Douglass, of
+the engineers; the batteries in front were placed in
+charge of Captains Biddle and Fanning; and Captain
+Towson’s battery occupied the south-western angle of
+the works,—all being under the command of Major
+Hindman, chief of artillery. The first brigade, under
+Lieutenant Colonel Aspinwall,—its former commander,
+General Scott, having been wounded at the battle of
+Niagara, on the twenty-fifth of July,—was posted on
+the right, and the second brigade, under General Ripley,
+on the left. The riflemen and volunteers, under
+General Porter, were directed to support the batteries
+in front, and the block house, near the salient bastion
+of the fort, was occupied by a detachment of infantry,
+under Major Trimble.</p>
+
+<p>The preparations of General Drummond were completed
+soon after nightfall on the fourteenth; it was
+arranged that the projected assault should be made
+early on the following morning, in three columns,—that
+on the right designed to attack the left of the
+American works, consisting of thirteen hundred men,
+being placed under the command of Lieutenant Colonel
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</span>Fischer, that on the left, of about the same number,
+under Colonel Scott, and the central column, composed
+of eight hundred select troops, under Lieutenant Colonel
+Drummond. A few hours before the assault was ordered,
+one of the enemy’s shells lodged in a small magazine
+in the fort, which exploded with a deafening
+noise, shaking the solid earth, and shooting a vast pillar
+of smoke and flame up towards the sky, which expanded
+at the top, and rained down showers of fragments
+on the heads of the garrison. Not a man was
+injured, or a gun disabled, by the explosion; but the
+British soldiers, fancying some serious injury had been
+effected, raised a loud and joyous shout. This was
+promptly answered by the Americans, and in the midst
+of the confusion, and before the smoke had cleared
+away, Captain Williams discharged his heavy guns.
+For a few moments an animated fire was kept up, and
+the air was filled with a storm of projectiles, with crashing
+balls, and falling shells,—but it died away again,
+and all was still. It was the silence that forebodes
+the storm—the hush that precedes the whirlwind!</p>
+
+<p>It had been rainy throughout the day, and the rolling
+thunders of the tempest mingled with the loud roar of
+cannon, and the noise of exploding bombs. When the
+night set in, the rain continued to fall; heavy masses
+of clouds swept athwart the sky, curtaining the scene
+with a dark and gloomy pall; and the fires in the enemy’s
+camp could scarcely be discerned, glimmering
+feebly through the obscure haze. The breastworks of
+Fort Erie sheltered many an anxious bosom, but the
+fire of a noble courage, that knew not how to falter,
+sparkled in every eye, and beamed on every countenance.
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</span>General Gaines, whose dauntless intrepidity
+was never more conspicuous than on this occasion, was
+active in encouraging and inspiriting his men, both by
+his language and his example. Every necessary order
+was issued with promptitude, and obeyed with alacrity.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">THE ASSAULT.</div>
+
+<p>Midnight came,—and yet there were no indications
+of an attack. Another, and another hour passed by in
+silence. Ere the next half hour was told, a low, faint
+sound was heard, like the rustling of the wind among
+the leaves of the forest. It approached nearer and
+nearer,—and the eager listeners soon caught the measured
+tread of the approaching columns, enveloped in
+thick darkness, but hurrying onward with rapidity to
+the assault. The column led by Lieutenant Colonel
+Fischer was the first to reach the works. The enemy
+advanced steadily and quickly,—one portion approaching
+the battery at the southwestern angle, with scaling
+ladders; and the other advancing against the line between
+it and the lake, with the design of terminating
+the contest, in an instant, by the decisive shock of the
+bayonet. They were allowed to approach within good
+range, when the American musketry and artillery opened
+suddenly upon them. Broad sheets of flame leaped
+from the breastworks; shot and shell were vomited in
+torrents from the batteries; and the dense waves of
+smoke that surged over the combatants, were lighted
+constantly by the vivid flashes of the artillery.</p>
+
+<p>The effect was terrific. The enemy were mowed
+down in platoons, and scores were swept away at every
+discharge. They hesitated for a moment,—another
+scorching blast burst from the American batteries,—and
+they recoiled in terror and alarm. They were soon
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</span>rallied, however, and again led to the attack; but they
+were again repulsed with fearful slaughter. The British
+officers once more succeeded in animating their wavering
+troops for another onset. They now attempted
+to pass round the abattis by wading through the lake,
+the water of which came nearly to their arm-pits. The
+American soldiers, cheered by the presence of General
+Gaines, who had mounted his horse and hastened at
+the first alarm to participate in the dangers, and share
+the perils of the conflict, made every preparation to
+receive them. Some few succeeded in reaching the
+firm earth on the opposite side of the abattis, but it
+was only to be pierced by a dozen wounds. Many
+were drowned in the lake; others sank exhausted by
+their wounds, beneath the water dyed with the life
+blood which they had vainly shed; and others found
+their only safety in surrendering themselves prisoners
+of war. The officers no longer endeavored to prevent
+the retreat, but all, as if animated by one impulse,
+hurried, in haste, from the scene of their disaster.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">INCIDENTS OF THE BATTLE.</div>
+
+<p>On the other flank the enemy were equally unsuccessful.
+The column under Colonel Scott became entangled
+in the rocks near the river, on the right of the
+intrenched camp, and were delayed for a short time;
+but when they discovered their error, and regained their
+line of march, they pushed on more rapidly than before.
+The sleepless vigilance of the besieged could not be
+taken by surprise. The assailing column were heard
+distinctly behind the ramparts as they approached, and
+when within fifty yards of the American lines, they
+encountered an appalling fire that forced them to halt.
+To advance further was impossible. The batteries
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</span>before them presented a constant blaze of fire, and the
+air was full of bursting balls and missiles. In the
+meantime, the central column, commanded by Lieutenant
+Colonel Drummond, had advanced boldly against
+the fort in front. A rapid, and well-directed fire was
+turned upon them by Captain Williams, but, unappalled
+by the carnage, they succeeded in applying their
+ladders to the walls of the salient bastion. As they
+were striving to gain the parapet, their officers shouted
+to their comrades, in the column under Colonel Scott,
+to “cease firing”!</p>
+
+<p>This proved to be a mere trick, but it succeeded for
+a moment. The order was heard by Captain Douglass,
+and supposing that it emanated from his own superior
+officers, both he and his infantry support temporarily
+suspended their fire. Favored by this circumstance,
+Colonel Scott once more led on his men,—but
+they had only provoked their doom. The deception
+was now manifest, and a still more galling fire was
+sustained, which caused them again to pause. Their
+commander and a number of his officers were cut down;
+their loss was dreadfully severe; they were unable to
+continue the advance, and a retreat was ordered. They
+commenced retiring slowly, but the movement terminated
+in a disorderly flight.</p>
+
+<p>Drummond’s column, however, had achieved a slight
+advantage, yet it was brief as it was unimportant.
+The first attempt to carry the bastion entirely failed;
+a second, and a third effort was made, with similar results.
+But the British commander lacked not in brutal
+courage, though sadly deficient in the more ennobling
+qualities of the gallant soldier. Under cover of the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</span>intense darkness, just before the break of day, he led a
+portion of his men silently along the ditch, applied his
+ladders at a point where he was not expected, and
+mounted the parapet. With a daring intrepidity worthy
+of a better cause, he led his men forward to the
+charge, shrieking out in the tones of baffled rage and
+hate—“No quarter!—give the Yankees no quarter!”
+This dastard order was faithfully obeyed. A fierce and
+maddening contest took place for the possession of the
+bastion. Major Hindman and his artillerists, with their
+supporting force, bravely stood their ground. Their
+efforts proved unavailing. Captain Williams, and a
+number of the men, were killed or mortally wounded,
+and his lieutenants, Watmough and Macdonough, were
+also severely wounded. The latter disdained to yield
+till he was completely disabled, and then asked for
+quarter. This was refused,—when, rallying his remaining
+strength, he snatched a handspike, and, with
+the madness of despairing humanity, strove to beat off
+his assailants. As he held them at bay, the infuriated
+Drummond rushed forward, and shot him down with
+his own hand. But this coward act received a fearful
+retribution. The next instant an avenging bullet found
+its way to the heart of the British leader, and he fell
+beside his victim,—a horrid blasphemy gurgling, with
+the death rattle, in his throat!</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">FINAL REPULSE OF THE ENEMY.</div>
+
+<p>Notwithstanding the fall of their commander, the
+men who had effected a lodgment in the bastion, successfully
+resisted every attempt to dislodge them till
+daylight. General Gaines then ordered up larger reinforcements,
+and the enemy began speedily to fall
+back. They were now at the mercy of the American
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</span>soldiers, who had not forgotten the savage cry which
+had been the death-knell of many a brave spirit. Expecting
+no favor, as none was merited, they had commenced
+tumbling pellmell over the parapet into the
+ditch, when a strong reserve was descried rapidly coming
+up under Lieutenant Colonel Tucker. An enfilading
+fire from Captain Douglass’ battery upon the approaching
+column, and a few rapid and effective discharges
+from the guns of Captains Biddle and Fanning,
+checked their advance. Between three and four hundred
+of the enemy advanced to within a short distance
+of the bastion; but, at this moment, and while the
+Americans, under the orders of General Gaines, were
+preparing for a vigorous rush upon the remnant of
+Drummond’s column, a number of cartridges deposited
+in one end of the stone building adjoining the bastion,
+caught fire, and exploded, with a tremendous roar, carrying
+away the whole platform. The loss of the enemy
+by the explosion was small in comparison with
+what they had previously sustained, but it served to
+add to their confusion, and to increase their anxiety to
+escape beyond the reach of the American guns. No
+effort was made to pursue the assault further, and a
+general retreat of the enemy now took place, as tumultuous
+and disorderly, as their advance had been brave
+and imposing.</p>
+
+<p>The British lost one hundred and fifty-seven men
+killed, in the assault, three hundred and eight wounded,
+and one hundred and eighty-six prisoners; besides a
+number who were drowned in the lake, and a still
+greater number who deserted under cover of the darkness.
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</span>The American loss was only seventeen killed,
+fifty-six wounded, and eleven missing.</p>
+
+<p>General Drummond had indulged the hope that a
+single giant stroke would retrieve the fortunes of the
+British arms in the peninsula, and enable him to “ride
+in triumph over all mischance.” The attack was well-laid,
+but failed in every respect. This abortive attempt
+sadly crippled his strength, and though he was reïnforced
+by two regiments on the following day, he durst
+not hazard a second assault. His batteries were enlarged,
+and the bombardment continued, though without
+any sensible effect. On the twenty-eighth of
+August, General Gaines, having been severely wounded
+by the bursting of a shell, was obliged to retire to Buffalo,
+leaving General Ripley in charge of the post which
+had been thus bravely defended. General Brown resumed
+the command on the second of September, and
+soon after compelled the British commander to raise the
+siege, and retire to his intrenched camp beyond the
+Chippewa.&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_6_6" href="#Footnote_6_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a>&#x2060;</p>
+
+<p>General Gaines did not recover from his wound in
+time to take part in the further operations of the belligerent
+forces during the few months which elapsed
+previous to the conclusion of the treaty of peace.—His
+gallant service in the defence of Fort Erie, did not
+go unrewarded. He was brevetted a major-general;
+Congress honored him, also, and the officers and men
+under his command, with a vote of thanks, and authorized
+the president to procure and present him with a
+gold medal. Similar votes of thanks were likewise
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</span>passed, and gold-hilted swords presented to him, by the
+legislatures of New York, Virginia, and Tennessee.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">THE SEMINOLE WAR.</div>
+
+<p>After the termination of hostilities with Great Britain,
+being retained on the peace-establishment, General
+Gaines was ordered to relieve General Jackson in the
+command of the southern district. He was engaged in
+the discharge of the duties appertaining to his position,
+in the summer of 1817, when the Seminoles, a branch
+of the Creek tribe, and the Red Sticks, or Mickasaukians,
+also a branch of the same nation, who were
+driven from the Mississippi territory by General Jackson,
+in 1814, in connection with a number of runaway
+negroes,—all instigated by Nichols and Woodbine, and
+other British agents, and the Spanish authorities of Florida,—began
+to renew their depredations on the southern
+frontiers of Georgia. In July, a large band of these
+savages and outlaws were dislodged from a fort in which
+they had established themselves, on the Appalachicola,
+by a body of regulars and friendly Indians, under
+Colonel Clinch; but, as their outrages were frequently
+repeated, General Gaines immediately commenced
+erecting forts for the defence and protection of the border
+settlements. Fort Scott was constructed on the
+Flint river, a short distance above Spring Creek; Fort
+Gaines on the left bank of the Chatahoochee, about
+midway between the Petawla and Yattayabba creeks;
+and a third fort on the Conecuh.</p>
+
+<p>In order to put an end to the atrocities perpetrated
+by the hostile savages and their associates, orders were
+issued to General Gaines from the War Department,
+“to remove the Indians still remaining on the lands
+ceded by the treaty made by General Jackson with the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</span>Creeks;” and, in pursuance of these instructions, on
+the nineteenth of November, he sent an officer to Fowltown,
+with a message requiring the removal of the Indians
+at that place. The chief in command returned
+a haughty refusal; whereupon, Major Twiggs was
+dispatched with a strong force, to compel an observance
+of the order, and to bring the chief and his party to
+Fort Scott. He was attacked on the way, but succeeded
+in repulsing the Indians, and arrived safely at
+Fowltown, which was found entirely deserted. On the
+thirtieth instant, Major Muhlenburgh arrived in the
+Appalachicola, with three vessels, containing supplies
+for Fort Scott, but was unable to ascend the river on
+account of the adverse winds. Lieutenant Scott was
+therefore sent down to his assistance, with a boat and
+forty men. Twenty of his men were left with the vessels,
+and their places in the boat were filled by sick
+soldiers and women. Lieutenant Scott then started to
+return to the fort, but on reaching the mouth of the
+Flint river, he was suddenly attacked by a band of Indian
+warriors, under their chief Hornotlimed. The
+whole party, with the exception of six soldiers, who
+made their escape by swimming to the shore, were inhumanly
+butchered, and their scalps taken to the Indian
+town of Mickasauky, to adorn the war-pole, striped
+with red paint, which had already been erected.</p>
+
+<p>Offensive measures of the most rigorous character,
+were now rendered unavoidable. The experience acquired
+by General Jackson in his Indian campaigns, led
+to his being selected to conduct the war against the
+Seminoles and their allies. He arrived at Fort Scott,
+with nine hundred Georgia militia, on the ninth of
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</span>March, 1818, and, as the senior officer, assumed the
+command. General Gaines acted under his orders
+during the short, but decisive campaign, that terminated
+in the effectual chastisement of the savages, and
+their Spanish abettors.&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_7_7" href="#Footnote_7_7" class="fnanchor">[7]</a> The services of the former
+were invaluable to the commanding general; he was
+always to be relied on, ever ready for any service,
+prompt, skilful, persevering and industrious. He was
+present at the reduction of Fort Barrancas, on the
+twenty-eighth of May, and immediately thereafter was
+ordered to St. Augustine, with a detachment, which
+surrendered to him without serious opposition.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">CONTRO&shy;VERSY WITH GENERAL SCOTT.</div>
+
+<p>The hostile Indians being now quieted, General
+Jackson was relieved from duty, and General Gaines
+again took the command. He continued in charge of
+the southern district, till the further reduction of the
+army in 1821. He was then selected as one of the
+two brigadiers retained in service, and assigned to the
+command of the western military division. Upon the
+death of General Brown, in 1828, he was a candidate,
+with General Scott, for the vacant office of General-in-chief.
+The appointment, however, was conferred on
+General Macomb, then at the head of the engineer
+bureau. Pending the selection of an officer to supply
+this vacancy, a warm controversy took place between
+General Scott and himself, in relation to their respective
+priority of rank, which led to an unfortunate estrangement
+between them, and has since been a fruitful subject
+of contention and difficulty, occasioning not more
+embarrassment to the individuals particularly concerned,
+than to the national authorities, and their mutual
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</span>friends, who are perhaps equally proud of the military
+services of both officers.</p>
+
+<p>General Gaines was continued in command of the
+western division, his head-quarters being established at
+Jefferson barracks, and on the breaking out of disturbances
+with the Sacs and Foxes, in May, 1831, he promptly
+repaired to the theatre of contention, having previously
+dispatched thither a large body of troops. The principal
+village of the Sacs and Foxes lay in the beautiful
+peninsula between the transparent waters of the Rock
+river, and the Mississippi. In 1804, a treaty was concluded
+by Governor Harrison with their principal
+chiefs, by the terms of which all their lands east of the
+Mississippi were ceded to the United States; the Indians
+reserving to themselves the right of living and
+hunting upon the territory ceded while the same was
+unsold. A large number of the Sacs remained in the
+peninsula, and continued peaceably to enjoy the rights
+which had been reserved, till the admission of Illinois
+into the Union. The state then began to be more rapidly
+populated, and the valuable lead mines at Galena
+attracted a vast body of emigrants. In a few years
+the Indians were entirely surrounded by the settlements
+of the whites. Collisions frequently occurred;
+excesses were committed on one side, and retaliatory
+measures, far more aggravated in character, were
+adopted on the other.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">DIFFICULTY WITH THE SACS AND FOXES.</div>
+
+<p>With a view of removing the cause of dispute, the
+general government, in 1829, ordered the lands occupied
+by the Indians to be sold. The Sacs, under their
+celebrated chief, Black Hawk, now insisted that the
+treaty of 1804 was concluded by a few chiefs without
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</span>the knowledge or consent of the nation at large, and refused
+to give up possession to purchasers. The authorities
+of the state were called upon to interfere for the
+protection of the whites, and in May, 1831, Governor
+Reynolds called out seven hundred militia, to remove
+the Indians by force. A collision had been anticipated
+by the Executive of the United States, and General
+Gaines had received orders to proceed to the seat
+of disturbance, if it should appear to be necessary. He
+instantly ordered six companies of regular troops from
+Jefferson Barracks to Rock Island, and four companies
+from Prairie du Chien. On the thirteenth of May,
+General Gaines arrived with this force at Fort Armstrong.
+A conference was here held with the Indian
+chiefs, but as they were unwilling to agree to any satisfactory
+terms, he called on Governor Reynolds of Illinois,
+for an additional force of militia. The governor
+joined him on the Rock river, with sixteen hundred
+mounted men, on the twenty-fifth of June, and in the
+morning of the ensuing day, General Gaines took possession
+of the Indian town, at the head of the united force,
+without firing a gun, or meeting a single Indian,—the late
+occupants of the village having crossed the Mississippi,
+with their women and children, on the previous night.</p>
+
+<p>General Gaines again dispatched a message to the
+Sac chiefs, proposing another conference. This was
+finally acceded to, and on the thirtieth of June they
+entered into a treaty with him and Governor Reynolds,
+by which it was agreed that they should permanently
+remove beyond the Mississippi. Having brought this
+affair to what, at the time, promised to be a satisfactory
+termination, General Gaines returned to his headquarters.
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</span>The treaty stipulations of the Indians proved
+to be delusory, however. In the following year Black
+Hawk led his warriors across the Mississippi, and refused
+peremptorily to retire, till he and his band were
+completely routed at the battle of the Bad-Axe, on the
+twenty-seventh of August, after which a treaty was
+concluded with General Scott and Governor Reynolds,
+in accordance with which the Sacs and Foxes removed
+to the vicinity of the Iowa and Des Moines rivers.</p>
+
+<p>Another long interval of comparative inaction now
+occurred in the military service of General Gaines.
+Little more can be said of him, during this time, than
+that all his duties as the commander of the western
+division, were discharged with punctuality and dispatch.
+We hear nothing further from him of especial
+moment, till the renewal of hostilities with the
+Seminoles of Florida, in the fall of 1835. On receiving
+intelligence of the massacre of Major Dade’s
+command, and the battle of the Withlacoochee, he
+collected all the disposable troops in the vicinity of
+New Orleans, to which point his head-quarters had
+been removed, and immediately repaired to the seat of
+war. He landed at Fort Brooke, at the head of Tampa
+Bay, on the fourth of February, 1836, and at once
+proceeded in search of the savages, following the route
+of the unfortunate Dade down the right bank of the
+Withlacoochee. On arriving at the scene of the massacre,
+he caused the remains of the brave soldiers who
+had fallen victims to the wiles of the Indian warriors,
+to be decently and carefully interred. On the twenty-eighth
+of February, he encountered a body of Indians
+not far from Fort King, but repulsed them with loss.
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</span>Soon after this affair he entered into a parley with Asceolah,
+or Osceola, the principal chief of the Seminoles,
+which, like most obligations and pledges of a similar
+character, proved to be a mere ruse,—the object of
+which was to gain time for the removal of the women
+and children to places of security, in the marshy everglades,
+and leafy hummocks, in the southern part of
+the peninsula.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">THE FLORIDA WAR.</div>
+
+<p>Previous to these occurrences, General Scott had
+been ordered to take command of the troops, and to
+prosecute the war in Florida. He arrived at St.
+Augustine on the eighth of February, and on receiving
+authentic information of the fact, and on being informed
+of the orders issued at Washington, General Gaines
+gave up the command, and shortly afterwards returned
+to New Orleans.</p>
+
+<p>His skirmish with the Indians, on the banks of the
+Withlacoochee, terminated, in all probability, forever, the
+active service of General Gaines in the field. Incapacitated,
+by reason of his age, and physical inability to endure
+the hardships and privations of a campaign, he was
+not employed in the prosecution of the war with Mexico,
+except in forwarding supplies, and hastening on troops,
+to the camp established by General Taylor at Corpus
+Christi, in the summer of 1845, and in discharging the
+other duties, in connection therewith, that devolved on
+him as the commanding officer at New Orleans. Though
+yielding to the influence of advancing years, he still
+possessed the chivalric fire, and the ardent patriotism,
+which had distinguished him in his younger days. Like
+the war-horse no longer fitted to endure the shock of
+battle, he snuffed the breeze that came from the field
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</span>of strife, afar off, and when the information was received
+that General Taylor and his little band of soldiers
+were surrounded on the Rio Grande, and cut off
+from their supplies, he was impatient to rush to the
+assistance of his gallant brother in arms.</p>
+
+<p>Restraining his impulses, he did all that was possible
+to be done, to relieve the army supposed to be in
+such imminent peril. All the regular troops that could
+be sent to the seat of war, were dispatched thither as
+expeditiously as possible. He also caused a large
+number of volunteers to be enrolled, mustered into service,
+and transported to the Rio Grande, without waiting
+for orders from Washington; in this he exceeded
+his authority, and it was thought proper to submit his
+conduct to a court of inquiry. The court assembled at
+Fort Monroe, in July, 1846, and after a full investigation,
+determined that he had transcended his powers,
+but that the act was prompted by the purest and most
+praiseworthy motives. The executive and the people
+of the United States, it is needless to say, cordially approved
+of the decision. Not long after General Gaines
+was assigned to the command of the eastern division,
+and established his head-quarters at New York, where
+he remained till the close of the war with Mexico,
+when he was relieved from duty at his own request.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">PERSONAL APPEAR&shy;ANCE AND CHARAC&shy;TER.</div>
+
+<p>General Gaines yet lives, in the enjoyment of “all
+that should accompany old age,” to recount the thrilling
+incidents of his campaigns, and “fight his battles
+o’er again.” One of that class of men is he—but too
+few in number—belonging to a past <i lang="fr">régime</i>, who,
+though he has vindicated his title to be ranked among
+the military heroes of the nation, has never forgotten
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</span>those noble qualities which characterize the gentleman
+of the old school. He is scarcely above the ordinary
+height, and slight of person, but straight as the arrow
+of an Indian warrior. He is somewhat reserved, but
+not taciturn,—courteous and urbane in his manners,
+but dignified and high-minded. Though his head is
+silvered with the frost of many winters, he is still hale
+and erect, and brave and generous, as in the hey-day
+of youth, when he rambled along the banks of the
+Yadkin; or, in the pride of manhood, when he stood
+unmoved, gazing with an unblenched eye on the carnage
+around him, and issuing his orders with an unfaltering
+lip, amid the whirling balls and blazing shells,
+on the ramparts of Fort Erie!</p>
+
+<div class="footnotes">
+<h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+<p class="footnote unindent"><a id="Footnote_5_5" href="#FNanchor_5_5" class="label">[5]</a> See <a href="#BROWN">Memoir of General Brown</a>, <i>ante</i>.</p>
+
+<p class="footnote unindent"><a id="Footnote_6_6" href="#FNanchor_6_6" class="label">[6]</a> See <a href="#BROWN">Memoir of General Brown</a>, <i>ante</i>.</p>
+
+<p class="footnote unindent"><a id="Footnote_7_7" href="#FNanchor_7_7" class="label">[7]</a> See <a href="#JACKSON">Memoir of General Jackson</a>.</p>
+</div>
+
+<hr aria-hidden="true" class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</span></p>
+  <h2 class="nobreak" id="HARRISON">
+    WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON.
+  </h2>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" style="max-width: 75%;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/dec_line2.jpg" alt="" data-role="presentation">
+</figure>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Among</span> the most successful officers of the war of
+1812, was Major General <span class="smcap">William Henry Harrison</span>.
+Descended from a good old revolutionary stock, and
+thoroughly imbued, in his boyhood, with sentiments of
+the most sincere and devoted patriotism, he laid the
+foundation, at an early age, of the fame and distinction
+which he acquired in maturer years. Throughout a
+long life,—one full of interest, and replete with important
+incidents,—he enjoyed a wide-spread popularity,
+which, in the western states of the Union, was sometimes
+manifested with all the fervor of enthusiasm. No
+one better deserved the respect and esteem of his countrymen,
+and there are few whose character has come
+brighter or purer from the ordeal, when submitted to
+that Areopagus of public opinion, whose decisions admit
+not of dispute.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">HIS FATHER.</div>
+
+<p>He was born at Berkeley, the family seat of his father,
+on James river, Virginia, on the ninth day of
+February, 1773; being the youngest of three sons.
+His father, Colonel Benjamin Harrison, was a descendant
+of the celebrated officer of the same name, who
+fought by the side of Cromwell for civil and religious
+liberty, but, preferring a turbulent democracy to a quiet
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</span>despotism, opposed the ambitious projects of the Lord
+Protector, with the same stubborn vehemence with
+which he had contended against the attempted usurpations
+of the tyrant Charles. But—what is of more
+immediate value to us as Americans—he was one of
+the signers of the Declaration of Independence, and
+“the intimate friend of Washington”!</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp59" id="i_088" style="max-width: 49.4375em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/i_088.jpg" alt="Portrait, wearing a heavy coat and ascot, head and uppoer torso.">
+  <figcaption>
+    WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON.
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>Colonel Harrison took his seat in the Congress of the
+Confederation, as one of the delegates from Virginia,
+in 1774, and remained a member of that body, during
+that and the two following years. On the resignation
+of his brother-in-law, Peyton Randolph, the president
+of Congress, he was urged by a number of friends to
+take the vacant place, but declined the honor, and, on
+his nomination, John Hancock was appointed to fill the
+station. It is also stated, in connection with this circumstance,
+that when the latter manifested some hesitation
+about accepting the office, Colonel Harrison caught the
+modest patriot in his arms, and almost carried him to
+the chair, <i lang="la">nolens volens</i>. He took an active part in the
+discussions and deliberations that preceded the adoption
+of the Declaration, and was the chairman of the committee
+of the whole when the vote to agree to it was
+taken. There is an anecdote related of him at this
+juncture, which attests the warmth of his feelings, and
+the sterling genuineness of his patriotism. Although
+John Dickinson was openly and avowedly opposed to
+the separation from the mother country, his honesty
+and integrity were never questioned, and his conceded
+ability secured the respect of the other members of
+Congress. Upon his urgent request, he was permitted
+to draw the second petition to the King, which was
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</span>adopted, though with considerable reluctance. After
+the vote was taken, Mr. Dickinson could not refrain
+from expressing his satisfaction, and, at the close of his
+remarks, said, that there was but one word which he
+disapproved, and that was the word “<em>Congress</em>.”
+Colonel Harrison sprang to his feet the instant Mr.
+Dickinson was seated, and exclaimed with emphatic
+earnestness—“There is but one word in the paper, Mr.
+President, of which I <em>approve</em>, and that is the word
+‘<em>Congress</em>’!”</p>
+
+<p>Colonel Harrison was afterwards, for several years
+in succession, a member of the Virginia house of delegates,
+and filled the office of speaker till the close of
+the year 1781, when he succeeded Governor Nelson in
+the executive chair of that state. On the expiration of
+his official term in 1784, he retired to private life, but
+to the time of his death, which occurred in 1791, he
+was known and esteemed by the ablest men in the nation,
+and revered and honored by all classes and parties
+of his fellow-citizens.</p>
+
+<p>The subject of this biography, William Henry Harrison,
+was early placed at Hampden-Sidney college.
+At the age of seventeen he left the institution with his
+mind well stored with classical lore, and not long after,
+in compliance with the wishes of his father, whose liberal
+hospitality forbade the bestowal of large fortunes
+on his children, commenced the study of medicine.
+Having completed a short preparatory course of reading,
+he proceeded to Philadelphia, in the spring of 1791,
+to attend the lectures at the University, and avail himself
+of the other facilities afforded in that city for obtaining
+a knowledge of the profession which he had
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</span>selected. He had but just arrived there and resumed
+his studies, when the intelligence of his father’s death
+reached him, and effected an entire change in his plans
+for the future.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">DEFEAT OF <abbr title="Saint">ST.</abbr> CLAIR.</div>
+
+<p>Notwithstanding the earnest remonstrances of his
+guardian, Robert Morris, the celebrated financier, who
+depicted, in glowing colors, the fatigues and hardships
+which he would be compelled to undergo, he determined
+to enter the army, and with his own good sword hew
+out a way to distinction. Preparations were then making
+for another campaign against the Indians on the
+northwestern frontier,—the expedition of the previous
+year, under General Harmar, having failed of accomplishing
+any decisive results. This added fire to the
+spirit of young Harrison. Washington was applied
+to,—and respect for the memory of the father, and esteem
+for the son, whose importunities could not be disregarded,
+procured for the latter an ensign’s commission
+in the regular service. He departed immediately
+for Fort Washington, now Cincinnati, but, though he
+hurried forward with eager impetuosity, did not succeed
+in joining the army, then but a remnant of what it had
+once been, till after the disastrous defeat of the brave
+and honest, but unfortunate St. Clair, on the fourth of
+November, 1791. On joining his regiment, at Fort
+Washington, he learned the particulars of the sad tragedy
+which had just been enacted. The melancholy
+fate of Butler, Oldham, Hardin, and their companions,
+who had fallen victims to the wiles of a barbarous and
+cruel enemy, so far from damping his ardor, or chilling
+his enthusiasm, only heightened the fire of patriotic indignation
+that burned in his bosom, and increased his
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</span>anxiety to take the field, and aid in inflicting a summary
+punishment upon the merciless savages.</p>
+
+<p>At this time there were no settlements of consequence
+north of the Ohio, except those at Kaskaskia,
+Vincennes, Fort Washington, and Marietta; and, on
+the south, between that river and the Tennessee, there
+were comparatively few inhabitants scattered over the
+territory previously known as Kentuckeè, “the Bloody
+Land,”—for many years the battle-ground of the Northern
+and Southern Indians. The protection, therefore,
+of the exposed frontiers, depended mainly on the regular
+force of the General Government, and the militia
+of Pennsylvania and Virginia; for, though the citizens
+of this remote region were ever prompt to obey the call
+to arms, they were too feeble in numbers, to cope, unassisted,
+with so powerful a foe. General St. Clair,
+governor of the “Territory north-west of the Ohio,”
+had moved upon the Miami villages with over fourteen
+hundred men; of this number, six hundred and thirty-one
+were killed in the fearful onslaught of the fourth
+of November, and there were two hundred and sixty-seven
+wounded; consequently, it was necessary to
+raise a large additional force, before offensive operations
+could be further prosecuted. President Washington
+immediately recommended a considerable increase of
+the army, and Congress adopted his suggestions.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">CAMPAIGN UNDER WAYNE.</div>
+
+<p>In the then state of the country, it required no little
+time and preparation to fit a great body of troops for
+the field; numerous and unavoidable delays occurred;
+and, in the meanwhile, attempts were made to conclude
+a peace with the hostile Indians. The messengers dispatched
+by the Executive of the United States were
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</span>treacherously murdered, and negotiation was no longer
+admissible, save at the point of the bayonet. In the
+autumn of 1793, a force of twenty-six hundred men,
+nearly all of whom were regulars, under the command
+of General Wayne, were concentrated at an encampment
+established near Fort Washington on the Ohio.</p>
+
+<p>While these preparations were in progress, young
+Harrison, who had been promoted to a lieutenancy,
+was sedulously employed in studying his profession.
+His skill and proficiency as a tactician, attracted the
+attention of the officer selected to take command of the
+projected expedition, and he was designated as one of
+his aids. Having completed his arrangements, General
+Wayne took up the line of march for the Indian country,
+early in October. The lateness of the season rendered
+it impossible to accomplish anything till another
+campaign, and on his arrival at one of the tributaries
+of the Stillwater branch of the Big Miami, he established
+himself in winter quarters, and commenced organizing
+and disciplining his troops. Lieutenant Harrison
+was prominent among the young officers engaged
+in the work of instruction, and his services were flatteringly
+noticed by the commanding general.</p>
+
+<p>In the summer of 1794, General Wayne was joined
+by upwards of one thousand mounted militia, and without
+delay set out in pursuit of the enemy, who, he
+learned, were in strong force at the Rapids of the Maumee.
+On the twentieth of August, he encountered the
+Indians, who had vainly attempted to draw him into
+an ambush, near the <i lang="fr">Roche de Bouc</i>, on the north bank
+of the river, and defeated them with great slaughter.
+Their chief, Turkey-foot, and a large number of their
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</span>best and bravest warriors, were slain; and the remainder
+either dispersed, or sought shelter under the guns
+of Fort Maumee, then occupied by a British garrison.
+The bravery and intrepidity of Lieutenant Harrison in
+this affair, were conspicuous; and in the official report
+of the action, his name is mentioned in terms of high
+commendation.&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_8_8" href="#Footnote_8_8" class="fnanchor">[8]</a> While the army lay in the vicinity
+of Fort Maumee, an incident transpired, which came
+very near terminating, in all probability, the life of
+General Wayne, and that of his gallant aid.</p>
+
+<p>Positive instructions had been received to demolish
+the fort occupied by the English troops, in utter disregard
+of the provisions of the treaty of 1783, and in
+order to enable him to decide upon the propriety of an
+attempt to reduce it, General Wayne, accompanied by
+his suite, advanced to reconnoitre. In this daring reconnaissance,
+the general, who possessed a constitutional
+indifference to danger, with Lieutenant Harrison
+at his side, rode within eighty yards of the fort, and
+within point blank range of its guns. While making
+their observations, with the utmost coolness, an English
+captain of marines turned one of the pieces upon
+them, and was about to apply the port-fire, when
+Major Campbell, the commandant of the garrison, interposed,
+just in time to prevent the catastrophe that
+would most likely have occurred. Major Campbell
+subsequently apologized for the unofficer-like conduct
+of his subordinate, and to his gentlemanly behavior the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</span>preservation of peace between the two countries may
+be attributed.</p>
+
+<p>General Wayne did not deem it advisable to attack
+the post with the means at his command, and having
+destroyed the Indian villages within fifty miles of either
+side of the river, he returned to Fort Defiance, at the
+confluence of the Au Glaize and Maumee. The defeat
+which the Indians had sustained was decisive; everything
+remained quiet during the ensuing winter; and
+in July, 1795, General Wayne concluded a favorable
+treaty, at Greenville, with a number of chiefs representing
+ten different nations.</p>
+
+<p>Upon the conclusion of the treaty, Harrison, now
+raised to the rank of captain, was placed in command
+of Fort Washington, and, shortly after, was married
+to a daughter of Judge Symmes,—a most amiable
+woman; distinguished for high moral worth, for her
+piety and benevolence; and esteemed and loved by a
+large circle of friends and acquaintances.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">COMMEN&shy;CES HIS CIVIL CAREER.</div>
+
+<p>Captain Harrison soon became dissatisfied with the
+idle routine of a garrison life; there seemed to be
+no prospect that his serviced would be required in the
+field; and he longed for more active employment.
+Accordingly he resigned his commission, and in 1797,
+at the age of twenty-four, commenced his civil career,
+as secretary of the territory, under Governor St. Clair.
+His talents and many estimable qualities had already
+brought him into favorable notice, and the duties of
+his office were discharged with so much promptitude
+and fidelity, that he was regarded as one of the ablest
+young men in the territory. His popularity steadily
+increased, and in 1799, he was elected as the first delegate
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</span>in congress. On taking his seat, in December,
+of that year, he was appointed, upon his urgent solicitation,
+chairman of the committee on the public lands,—the
+only instance, it is stated, in which a delegate
+was so distinguished.</p>
+
+<p>The improvement of the existing land system had
+long been a favorite object with him. Many of its
+features were wholly inconsistent with the genius and
+spirit of democratic institutions, and calculated to retard
+the growth and prosperity of the great West.
+Among other provisions equally odious in their character,
+was one forbidding the sale of land by the government,
+in quantities of less than four thousand acres,
+except where there were fractions on the banks of large
+streams. Harrison had the forecast to discover, what
+a boundless field would be opened for the enterprising
+youth and industrious laboring classes of the Atlantic
+states, by the removal of this obstacle to the settlement
+of the territory, the development of the resources which
+nature had so lavishly bestowed upon it, and its rapid
+advancement to wealth and greatness. Through his
+instrumentality, aided by the efforts of other able members
+of both houses, who united with him in procuring
+this reform, a law was enacted, requiring one half of
+the public lands remaining unsold, to be divided into
+sections of six hundred and forty acres each, and the
+remaining moiety into sections of three hundred and
+twenty acres; the old system of forfeiture for non-payment
+was abolished, and payments were directed to be
+made, in future, one quarter down, and the remainder
+in two, three, and four years, with a further forbearance
+of one year on the last payment, if desired.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</span></p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">GOVERNOR OF INDIANA TERRITORY.</div>
+
+<p>This was not all that Harrison wished to effect; but
+an important point was gained. Emigrants flocked
+into the territory by scores and hundreds, and the gratitude
+of the citizens, both the old inhabitants, and the
+new-comers, who had been benefited by his exertions,
+never failed to follow his footsteps as those of a benefactor
+and friend.—Such was the estimation in which
+he was held by his constituents, that he was solicited,
+on all hands, to take the place of Governor St. Clair.
+In reply to every intimation of this kind, Harrison
+steadily refused to permit any effort to be made, to supersede
+the war-worn veteran, whose only fault, if fault
+it be, was, that fortune had been chary of her favors to
+him, when her smiles, doubtless for some wise purpose,
+were showered upon those not more able, not more deserving,
+nor more prompt in the performance of every
+duty. The desire of Harrison’s friends was soon gratified,
+however, in his appointment by President Adams,
+in 1800, as the first governor of the newly erected territory
+of Indiana. Though deprived, by his position as
+a delegate, from taking part in the general legislation
+of the country, his sound judgment and sterling worth
+had secured him an enviable reputation, and when he
+left Congress, he was followed by the regard and cordial
+good wishes of his associates.</p>
+
+<p>Shortly before his leaving the Capital, a circumstance
+occurred, which deserves to be mentioned, as illustrating
+the purity of motive, and honesty of purpose, which
+marked his public conduct. His father-in-law, Judge
+Symmes, was the proprietor of the Miami purchase;
+and previous to obtaining his patent, he had made a
+number of sales. It was doubtful whether the rights
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</span>thus acquired were of any value, even in equity; but,
+upon the introduction of a bill in Congress providing
+for the settlement of the purchase, although the interests
+of Judge Symmes, and, indirectly, his own, were
+jeoparded, Harrison went before the committee having
+the bill in charge, and successfully urged the insertion
+of a clause amply protecting the claims of the purchasers.</p>
+
+<p>In 1801, Governor Harrison entered upon the discharge
+of his official duties, at Vincennes, an old military
+and trading post, on the left bank of the Wabash,
+which was settled by the French about the year 1730.
+Though invested with extraordinary powers, the office
+to which he had been appointed was no sinecure. Besides
+the settlement at Vincennes, there were but two
+others, of importance, in the whole territory, out of
+which was afterwards formed the states of Indiana and
+Illinois, viz.; Clarke’s Grant at the falls of the Ohio,
+and the settlement extending along the Mississippi,
+from Kaskaskia to Cahokia. The white population did
+not exceed five thousand souls, and they were entirely
+surrounded, on the north and west, by numerous bands
+of Indians, who were either openly and avowedly hostile,
+or wanted but a favorable opportunity to manifest
+their hatred and ill-will.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">VARIED SERVICES.</div>
+
+<p>To provide for the security of the settlements in the
+territory, however remote, or widely separated; to overawe
+the savages, or hold them in check; to encourage
+immigration; and to promote, in all things, the happiness
+and welfare of the inhabitants,—were the objects
+to which Governor Harrison unremittingly devoted his
+time and attention. In addition to his other duties, he
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</span>acted as commissioner of Indian affairs, in which capacity
+he concluded fifteen treaties, and extinguished
+the title of the aborigines to more than seventy million
+acres of land—then, for the most part, an unbroken
+wilderness, but now dotted all over with the abodes of
+wealth and contentment, and teeming with a thriving
+and industrious population. Frequent journeys were
+performed by him, along the wild forest paths, and
+miserable <em>traces</em>, which led from one station or settlement
+to another. Dangers were fearlessly encountered; fatigue
+never disheartened him. He cheerfully shared
+the privations of the settlers; partaking with them of
+the rudest cheer, or, seated on a hewed block before a
+roaring fire, listening attentively to tales of trial and
+hardship, and offering the kind word of sympathy and
+encouragement. Wrapt in his blanket, or enveloped
+in the folds of a bear skin or buffalo robe, he slept, too,
+as soundly and sweetly on the bare earth in the hunter’s
+lodge, or the puncheon floor of a log cabin, as upon
+the beds of down in his father’s mansion.</p>
+
+<p>In 1802, Ohio was admitted into the Union as a
+state, and Wayne county,—afterwards the territory,
+and, still later, the state of Michigan,—was then attached
+to the territory of Indiana. The duties of Governor
+Harrison were thus rendered still more arduous.
+He was relieved from this additional care, however, in
+1805, when Michigan was erected into a separate territory.
+The country filled up so rapidly, that it became
+necessary, in a few years, to relieve him yet further,
+and in 1809, a territorial government was formed
+for Illinois.</p>
+
+<p>Many years elapsed after the conclusion of the treaty
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</span>of peace, in 1783, before Great Britain entirely abandoned
+her expectations of reëstablishing, at some future,
+and not very remote day, her authority over her revolted
+American colonies. It was customary for her writers
+and politicians to underrate the importance, and sneer
+at the pretensions of the young republic, till they saw,
+in the rapidly-extending commerce and growing prosperity
+which followed the restoration of peace and tranquillity,
+unmistakable indications that the daughter
+would soon be no mean rival of the mother country in
+the race of nations. To check these germs of greatness,
+ere they should bud and blossom, was now the
+favorite object of English statesmen. As no pretext
+existed for open hostilities, resort was had to the low
+arts of diplomacy—to intrigue and cunning; and amid
+the moral and political corruption, which, at that era,
+polluted the atmosphere of St. James, plans were concocted,
+whose atrocity must ever stand out in bold relief
+on the page of impartial history.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">ENGLISH INTRIGUES.</div>
+
+<p>Disregarding the provisions of the treaty of 1783, the
+British authorities retained possession of the military
+posts northwest of the Ohio, and to these, and similar
+establishments in the Canadas, agents were sent, to
+suborn, and tamper with, the savages on the northern
+frontiers of the American Union, and incite them to
+commit acts of hostility upon the persons and property
+of the settlers who had found their way into the rich
+valley of the Mississippi. It was the policy of Washington,—and,
+after him, of Adams, Jefferson, and
+Madison,—to purchase the lands belonging to the Indian
+tribes, required by the increasing white population
+of the country, at a fair equivalent; to furnish them
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</span>the means of civilization; to provide for them the restraints
+of well-ordered and wholesome regulations; to
+enkindle new desires, and implant new motives in their
+breasts; to enlighten their minds and Christianize their
+hearts. England, on the contrary, forgetting the eloquent
+and indignant denunciations of her Chatham,
+and careless how she sullied the national escutcheon,
+already stained by many a foul blot, supplied them with
+arms and ammunition,—with blankets, tobacco, and
+“fire-water,”—not to induce them to cultivate harmony
+and good-will with their neighbors, the citizens
+of the United States; but to minister to their most
+depraved appetites, and arouse the most vindictive passions
+of their natures. She asked them, not to lay
+aside the implements of death, and engage in the pursuits
+of peace; but invited them to continue their barbarous
+warfare, and glut their vengeance, to the full,
+with the tomahawk and scalping-knife!</p>
+
+<p>Under the auspices of Simcoe, and other agents of
+Great Britain, immediately after the peace, a combination
+was formed among the Northwestern Indians,
+the object of which was to prevent the Americans from
+extending their settlements beyond the Alleghanies.
+The border inhabitants were constantly harassed by
+the irruptions of the savages; scenes of bloodshed and
+murder were of frequent occurrence; and when efforts
+were made to chastise the perpetrators of these outrages,
+they found in England a fast and firm friend,
+whose assistance, though not openly rendered, proved
+of essential service to her allies. Her influence was felt
+in the defeat of Harmar and St. Clair, and when the
+mounted volunteers under the gallant Wayne scattered
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</span>the savages in confusion, on the banks of the Maumee,
+they fled for protection beneath the guns of a fortress
+over which floated the red cross of St. George.</p>
+
+<p>The defeat of the Indians by Wayne was a severe
+lesson, and it was long remembered. Fortunately, too,
+for our country,—who needed only a season of peace,
+and repose from “war’s alarms,” to advance with rapid
+strides to the high destiny before her,—the revolutionary
+spirit had, at this time, crossed the Atlantic, and
+the watch-fires of liberty were blazing on the continent
+of Europe. Alarmed for the stability of her institutions
+at home, England had no time to spend in
+courting the favor of the North American savages,
+even though her machinations promised to terminate in
+the restoration of “the brightest jewel of her crown.”
+In November, 1794, three months after Wayne’s victory,
+Mr. Jay concluded his commercial treaty, in which
+it was stipulated that the western posts should be surrendered
+by the first of June, 1796, which was accordingly
+done; and in the summer of 1795, as we have
+seen, the treaty of Greenville was made with the Indian
+tribes.—The quiet thus restored was deceitful, and
+temporary in its duration.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">SEIZURES BY THE ENGLISH.</div>
+
+<p>The treaty of Mr. Jay provided, among other things,
+for compensation for British spoliations on American
+commerce, growing out of the war with France; yet
+the ratifications of that instrument had scarcely been
+exchanged, when outrages of the same character, but
+greater in degree, were committed. Taking advantage
+of the distracted state of affairs on the continent, the
+enterprising citizens of America had extensively engaged
+in the carrying trade; and their commerce had
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</span>increased with so much rapidity, that the jealousy of
+England was again awakened. Large quantities of
+American provisions were also shipped to Europe, and
+especially to France, and to her possessions in the West
+Indies, the prices paid for which, during the continuance
+of hostilities, afforded handsome profits; but this
+interfered, very materially, with the determination of
+England, by means of her maritime supremacy, to
+starve the French people into an abandonment of their
+republican notions, and to prevent it, she caused blockades
+to be declared, which were enforced by no suitable
+naval power, and orders to be issued, in defiance of
+the law of nations, requiring neutral vessels to be seized
+though not carrying articles contraband of war.</p>
+
+<p>Remonstrance on the part of the authorities of the
+United States, was of no avail. The example set by
+England was followed by France—every act of injustice
+on the one side being succeeded by a still more
+odious one on the other. The treaty of Amiens, in
+1802, afforded the Americans a brief respite; but, on
+the renewal of the war, in the following year, seizures
+and condemnations of our vessels became more frequent
+than ever. England joined the coalition formed
+to establish Continental despotism on a firmer basis,
+and restore the Bourbon dynasty to the throne which
+they had disgraced; and she stopped at nothing to accomplish
+her purposes. Not content with watching
+the ports of France, she sent her privateers and vessels
+of war, under her pirate flag, to hover on our coast,
+and plunder our commerce. Her navy having been
+seriously reduced, in men, by the long continued warfare
+in which she had been engaged, she likewise resorted
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</span>to the impressment of American seamen, to fill
+up the complements of her crews. Large numbers of
+sailors were taken from our merchantmen; and, to
+conclude these high-handed offences, the frigate Chesapeake
+was despoiled of a portion of her crew, on the
+twenty-second of June, 1807.</p>
+
+<p>In the meantime the emissaries of Great Britain
+had been busy among the savages on the Northwestern
+frontier. So complete and irrefragable were the
+proofs furnished to Congress of this fact, that, in 1797,
+a law was passed to prevent the tampering of foreign
+agents with the Indians, which imposed severe penalties
+and punishments. This law was easily evaded,
+and it was therefore ineffectual. The Indians were
+invited to the British posts; they were flattered and
+caressed, and loaded with gifts and favors; their minds
+were soured; and no means were left untried to keep
+up a constant strife between them and the settlers. It
+has often been said, that the interference of British
+agents in this particular existed only in imagination,
+and that the Indians were provoked to hostilities by
+acts of violence committed by the Americans. Doubtless,
+there were isolated cases of wrong and injustice,
+which cannot, and should not, be palliated or excused;
+but it is idle to suppose, that the settlers generally
+would have so causelessly endangered their own security,
+and so recklessly jeoparded the lives of those who
+leaned on them for protection, and looked up to them
+for sympathy and love.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">TAMPERING WITH THE INDIANS.</div>
+
+<p>Governor Harrison was not an indifferent, nor, from
+his position, an uninterested spectator, of these events.
+The movements of the British emissaries did not escape
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</span>his attention; he repeatedly cautioned his government
+against their designs, and labored incessantly to counteract
+them. He endeavored in every way to conciliate
+the savages, but his efforts were often frustrated by the
+unseen power so long felt in these border troubles.
+When the attack on the Chesapeake was made known
+in the United States, it excited a general sentiment of
+indignation. He shared deeply in this feeling, and embraced
+the first public opportunity to make known his
+opinions. In his speech delivered on the eighteenth of
+August, 1807, before the General Assembly of Indiana
+Territory, at their regular session, he referred, in emphatic
+terms of condemnation, to the conduct of the
+British agents who were secretly instigating the Indians
+on the frontier, and, avowing himself in favor of immediate
+hostilities, alluded to the affair of the Chesapeake,
+as being necessary, perhaps, to arouse the American
+people from their lethargy, and awaken them to
+the importance of teaching other countries and governments,
+that “a nation of freemen,” to quote his
+own language, “are not to be insulted with impunity”!</p>
+
+<p>France, at length, ceased her unjust and oppressive
+measures; but England refused to abandon her position.
+Embargo and non-intercourse were tried in vain.
+The commercial relations of the country suffered more
+and more. Jefferson and Madison both desired peace;
+yet, notwithstanding their pacific inclinations, affairs
+daily grew worse, and war seemed inevitable. While
+matters were fast verging towards the crisis, the agents
+of Great Britain were actively engaged among the
+Northwestern Indians. Governor Harrison watched
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</span>their movements with a vigilance that never slumbered,
+and sought by every means in his power to defeat their
+plans and combinations, and, at least, to prevail upon
+the Indians not to take up arms in favor of either
+party, in case hostilities should commence between
+England and the United States.</p>
+
+<p>In the winter of 1810–11, crowds of Indian warriors
+collected around the British posts in Upper Canada,—their
+war-plumes streaming from their scalp locks,
+and their checks disfigured with the war-paint;
+and when the sweet notes of the blue robin, the welcome
+harbinger of spring, were heard echoing through
+the western forests, they went forth upon their bloody
+mission. Nature’s hymn of melody was hushed, as
+their shrill war-whoop resounded through valley and
+woodland, and the heavens became resplendent with
+the glow of blazing ricks and cabins.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">COUNCIL AT VINCENNES.</div>
+
+<p>Meanwhile Governor Harrison had succeeded in partially
+conciliating the Kickapoos, and some other tribes,
+and had effected the purchase of a large tract of land
+from them. It was the anxious desire of the General
+Government, to secure, at every hazard, the neutrality
+of the Indian tribes, in the event of a collision with
+Great Britain. This was regarded as of paramount importance;
+for the sad experience of the past had shown
+how much they were to be feared and dreaded, particularly
+when the military strength and resources of the
+nation should be employed in a contest with a powerful
+opponent. Governor Harrison faithfully reflected
+the views, and carried out the wishes of those whom
+he represented, and in the summer of 1811, a council
+was held at Vincennes, for which extensive preparations
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</span>were made, and at which the leading, and most
+influential chiefs, of the Northwestern tribes, were
+present, by his invitation. The object of this assemblage
+was, to conclude a more general treaty, and complete
+the efforts which had been made to induce the
+Indians to remain neutral.</p>
+
+<p>Among the forest warriors who came to Vincennes,
+in pursuance of the summons of Governor Harrison, was
+Tecumseh, the Shawano chief,—conspicuous, then, for
+his tall and manly frame, his earnest and thrilling eloquence,
+his hostility to the whites, his boldness, bravery,
+and sagacity, and his feats of daring in the chase and
+valor on the war-path; and afterwards celebrated, for
+the ascendancy he acquired over his red brethren, and
+for his steadfast devotion to the English cause. Deep
+rankling in his heart there had long existed a feeling
+of inveterate hatred towards the American people, which
+had been carefully nurtured and cherished. Several
+years previous, he had formed the project of uniting the
+tribes, north, south, and west of the United States, in
+a combination, to refuse to sell any portion of their remaining
+lands, to resist every effort to dispossess them,
+and, if possible, to drive back the white settlers from
+the Mississippi valley. Motives of ambition may have
+been mingled with his aspirations, and it is not improbable,
+that he looked forward to the day when a grand
+native confederacy should be established beyond the
+Alleghanies, with himself as its leader and head.</p>
+
+<p>The project of this “forest-born Demosthenes” was
+a vast one, and he devoted himself with untiring zeal
+and pertinacity to its accomplishment. His exertions
+were powerfully seconded by his brother, Tensquataway—so
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</span>well known as the Shawnee Prophet, or Impostor.
+The latter was blind of one eye, and lacked
+the oratorical powers of Tecumseh; but, claiming to
+receive direct revelations from the Great Spirit, which,
+though always possessing a singular resemblance to the
+public harangues of his brother, he imparted to his savage
+hearers,—and availing himself of that superstitious
+reverence, that, in a rude and uncultivated people, renders
+them so impressible, so credulous, and so easy to be
+governed and directed, by the practice of rites and incantations
+which are said to have thrilled and terrified
+the hearts of those who witnessed them—he acquired
+an influence second only to that of the chieftain whose
+ambitious designs he hoped to further. Tecumseh had
+already visited most of the Northwestern tribes, and
+was only waiting for the anticipated war with England,
+to marshal his bands and lead them out under her banner,
+hoping with her assistance to accomplish the great
+object he had so much at heart; and he now appeared
+in the council held at Vincennes, not to bury the tomahawk
+and smoke the calumet of peace, but to remonstrate
+against the purchase from the Kickapoos and
+other tribes, and hurl the gauntlet of defiance.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">SPEECH OF TECUMSEH.</div>
+
+<p>What excited the indignation of Tecumseh, more
+than all, was the claim of the white man to superiority,
+and the arrogance, as he termed it, evinced in calling
+the Indians his children. Upon the opening of the
+council, Governor Harrison kindly handed him a chair,
+saying, at the same time, in a courteous, yet dignified
+tone, “Your father offers you a seat.” “<cite>My father!</cite>”—exclaimed
+the chief, while he drew his form
+up to its full height, and his eye flashed with the fire
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</span>of insulted pride—“<cite>My father!</cite>—the Sun is my
+father, and the Earth my mother; she gives me sustenance,
+and I will rest on her bosom!” Thus speaking
+he seated himself upon the ground, with as lofty and
+commanding an air, as if the green sward beneath him
+had been the throne of the Cæsars.</p>
+
+<p>After the preliminary business of the council was
+disposed of, Tecumseh rose, and in a strain of impassioned
+eloquence, which has rarely been equalled, and
+never, perhaps, surpassed, by any native orator, reviewed
+the conduct of the whites, and the wrongs of the Indians,
+from the time when the former first disembarked
+on the Atlantic coast, to that moment—insisting that
+the land was given by the Great Spirit to the red men
+in common, and that no portion of it could be sold
+without the consent of all. His speech was well calculated
+to inflame the prejudices, and arouse the passions,
+of his savage listeners, and when he had concluded,
+Governor Harrison commenced a reply. While
+the latter was speaking, Tecumseh, carried away by
+his emotions, sprang to his feet, and, grasping his tomahawk,
+boldly charged the governor with having uttered
+a falsehood. Twenty or thirty of the warriors followed
+the example of the chief, and instantly arrayed themselves
+in a hostile attitude.</p>
+
+<p>Governor Harrison was no “weak-heart;”&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_9_9" href="#Footnote_9_9" class="fnanchor">[9]</a> nor was
+he to be intimidated by menace. Anticipating a sudden
+outburst of ill-temper, as he had discovered some
+unfriendly indications, he had posted a guard of soldiers
+within call. At the signal, they darted forward
+to take part in the threatened struggle. But Tecumseh
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</span>was as politic as he was brave; he saw that the
+time had not yet come for him to strike; and he wisely
+avoided a conflict. The council was broken up, however;
+and all hope of securing the neutrality of the
+Indians was abandoned. The savages returned to their
+homes in the wilderness, and shortly after renewed
+their outrages, murdering the frontier settlers, plundering
+and burning their homes, and destroying or carrying
+off large quantities of property.</p>
+
+<p>Governor Harrison’s decision was soon taken. Having
+obtained permission from the government to march
+into the Indian country with a military force, he made
+his preparations with his accustomed promptness and
+energy. Orders were sent to Colonel Boyd, of the 4th
+infantry, then at Pittsburgh, to join him forthwith with
+his regiment, and a strong militia force, part of whom
+were mounted, were imbodied in Kentucky and Indiana—the
+citizens gladly responding to the call of patriotism—and
+marched to Vincennes. Leaving that
+place at the head of about fourteen hundred men, considerably
+less than one half being regulars, the governor
+moved up the Wabash. About fifty miles above
+Vincennes he constructed a stockade fort, afterwards
+known as Fort Harrison, and then directed his course,
+without loss of time, to Tippecanoe, the Prophet’s
+Town, which lay on the west bank of the Tippecanoe
+river, not far from its junction with the Wabash.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">BATTLE OF TIPPE&shy;CANOE.</div>
+
+<p>On approaching the Indian town, on the sixth of
+November, Governor Harrison proceeded slowly and
+cautiously; as the enemy’s warriors were frequently
+seen flitting through the woods in advance of the army,
+and their scouts were discovered posted on the hills in
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</span>every direction. Within a short distance of the village,
+he was met by the principal chiefs—Tecumseh
+himself being absent on a mission to the southern
+tribes—who, in reply to Harrison’s demand of satisfaction
+for the outrages which had been perpetrated, proposed
+that an amicable conference should be held on
+the following morning, and that, in the interim, neither
+party should commit any act of hostility. During
+the day he had made repeated efforts, without success,
+to bring the Indians to a parley, and he still distrusted
+their sincerity; but, being willing to grant them
+favorable terms of peace, if his demands were complied
+with, he acceded to their request.</p>
+
+<p>Orders were now issued to encamp for the night.
+Majors Clarke and W. Taylor were sent forward to select
+a suitable position, and on their report Governor
+Harrison marched his command to an elevated knoll
+of dry oak land, rising in the midst of the open prairie,
+about one mile northwest of the village. The horses
+were picketed, the guards posted, and every preparation
+made for the bivouac. Having partaken of their evening
+meal, the Americans lay down upon the bare earth,
+to refresh their wearied limbs. From his long acquaintance
+with the character of Indian warfare, Governor
+Harrison was familiar with the arts and devices
+of the savages; and apprehending treachery, and knowing,
+that, if attacked at all, it would be under cover
+of the darkness, he required his men to sleep on their
+arms, and directed that the order of encampment should
+be the order of battle.</p>
+
+<p>The troops were arranged in two columns, separated
+on the left, one hundred and eighty yards, and about
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</span>half that distance on the right. The front line consisted
+of the first battalion of the 4th infantry, under
+Major Floyd, flanked, on the right, by two companies,
+and on the left by one company, of the regiment of
+Indiana militia, under Colonel Bartholomew; and the
+rear line was composed of the second battalion of the
+4th infantry, under Captain Baer, flanked by four companies
+of the Indiana militia, under Lieutenant-Colonel
+Decker. Two companies of Indiana and Kentucky rifles,
+under General Wells, were thrown out to cover the left
+flank, and Captain Spencer’s troop of Indiana rifles was
+posted on the right. Two troops of dragoons were stationed
+in rear of the left flank, and one in rear of the
+front line, under Major Daviess. The left front and left
+rear angles,—that flank being the most exposed to an
+attack,—were turned by a portion of the regular troops.
+A strong guard was also detailed, each man of which
+was instructed to be prompt and vigilant. In the event
+of an assault, the different corps were ordered to maintain
+their respective positions till they were relieved;
+and the cavalry were directed to parade on foot, with
+their swords and pistols, and wait for orders.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">ATTACK ON THE LEFT.</div>
+
+<p>These dispositions being completed, Governor Harrison
+lay down among his men, having his horse near
+him, saddled, and in readiness for him to mount at a
+moment’s warning. Hour after hour went by in silence.
+The camp fires gleamed brightly in the distance
+till long after midnight, when they were suffered partially
+to die away. The cold chilling wind moaned
+dismally as it swept through the encampment, gently
+lifting the locks of many a tired sleeper who had looked
+for the last time on the setting sun, and fanning into a
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</span>brighter glow the smouldering embers of the watch-fires.
+The beams of the young moon struggled almost
+vainly to pierce through the thick veil of clouds, from
+which a drizzling rain descended that hissed and sputtered
+as it fell on the heated ashes. The hour of darkness
+which precedes the dawn had nearly passed, when
+the governor rose from his rude couch, and ordered the
+réveille to be beaten. He then sat down before the fire,
+and commenced a conversation with some of his officers.
+While thus engaged, the stillness was suddenly
+broken, by the sentinels discharging their pieces, on the
+left of the encampment, and a fierce and hideous yell
+that roused every man from his slumbers.</p>
+
+<p>Wistful and inquiring glances were at once turned
+towards the quarter from whence the alarm proceeded;
+the cry, “To arms!—To arms!” was raised on every
+side; and the wild slogan of the savage bands, rising
+higher and higher as the conflict deepened, was echoed
+far down the valley of the Wabash. For a few moments
+the encampment presented a scene of confusion;
+but the active exertions of Governor Harrison, Colonel
+Boyd, and other officers, soon restored order and discipline.</p>
+
+<p>At first the attack was partially successful. The
+stealthy approach of the enemy was not observed until
+they were in the immediate vicinity of the pickets. It
+was their intention to creep up to the sentinels as close
+as possible, and then to spring upon them, and kill
+them, before they could fire; but, on finding that they
+were discovered, and the alarm given, they gave a deafening
+yell, rattled their deer hoofs—by which their
+movements in battle were guided—and rushed furiously
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</span>on the guard posted on the left flank. The latter
+gave way almost instantly, and the whole brunt of the
+onset was sustained by Captain Barton’s regulars, and
+the mounted rifles of Captain Guiger, who occupied
+the left angle of the rear line. In every other part of
+the encampment the fires had already been extinguished,
+in obedience to the directions of Governor Harrison;—but,
+on this flank, there was not sufficient time,
+and the troops were exposed to the murderous aim of
+the Indian warriors, without even the protection afforded
+by the darkness. Nevertheless, they held their
+position gallantly, amid the storm of bullets that whistled
+incessantly through their ranks, till they were reinforced
+by two companies from the centre of the rear
+line, ordered to their support by the governor.</p>
+
+<p>Such was the desperation evinced by the savages, at
+the outset of the action, that a number of them forced
+their way into the centre of the encampment. Here,
+for a brief space, the contest was foot to foot, and man
+to man. Fire brands were hurled, and rifles and muskets
+clubbed. The scalping knife glistened momentarily,
+as it cut the air in its descending course; and a
+dull crashing sound was heard, as the tomahawk sank
+into the quivering brain of some unfortunate victim.
+Louder and louder rang the Indian war-whoop; but
+the American soldiers—their confidence now regained—returned
+shout for shout, and yell for yell. Vengeance
+was not long deferred. Not one of the enemy who
+had entered within the lines was suffered to escape:—all
+were cut down, uttering, as they fell, in shrieking
+tones, their bitter and unrelenting curse upon the white
+man.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</span></p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">FORTUNATE CIRCUM&shy;STANCE.</div>
+
+<p>A short distance in front of the American left, there
+was a small group of sturdy oaks, which afforded shelter
+to a number of the most skilful marksmen among
+the assailing band, who poured a galling and intense
+fire, mingled with rapid flights of arrows, from their
+concealment. Major Daviess instantly requested permission
+to charge upon the cover with his cavalry.
+Governor Harrison granted the request, and the major
+ordered his bugles to sound the charge. His manly
+tones rung cheerily out on the night air, as he called
+upon his men to follow. Nobly did they second him.
+The charge was made, and the Indians scattered like
+the leaves of the forest before the fury of the autumn
+blast; but it was the last bold stroke of him, whose
+eloquence is yet remembered, and whose memory is
+still carefully treasured, among the people of the West.
+By his side, too, fell Colonel White, of the Indiana
+militia, like him, mortally wounded, in that sanguinary
+fray. Disheartened by the loss of their leader and
+many of their comrades, the cavalry fell back, and the
+Indians recovered the ground, opening a still more destructive
+fire on their opponents. As the dragoons retired,
+Captain Snelling promptly led forward his company
+of the 4th infantry, and again drove the savages
+from their shelter with the bayonet.</p>
+
+<p>In the meantime, a heavy fire had been opened on
+the companies of Captains Spencer and Warwick, on
+the right of the line. The former, and his two lieutenants,
+were killed, and Captain Warwick was mortally
+wounded. All immediate danger being over on
+the left flank, Governor Harrison hastened to the right,
+to encourage the men to remain firm, and maintain the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</span>ground till daylight. At the first alarm, he had fortunately
+mounted the horse nearest him, without waiting
+for his own to be brought up, which was well
+known to the enemy. The dark eyes of many a red
+warrior glared fiercely, as they were turned hither and
+thither through the encampment, in search of the favorite
+steed of the governor. As he dashed to the right,
+he was accompanied by his aid, Colonel Owen, who
+rode a horse similar in color to that on which he had
+been mounted the previous day. A shower of rifle
+balls fell around them. Colonel Owen was killed, and
+the governor’s cravat was pierced by a bullet, that
+chanced not to injure his person.</p>
+
+<p>In passing to the right flank, the governor found the
+company of Captain Robb, which had fallen back at
+the commencement of the attack, in the centre of the
+camp. Leading them to the support of Spencer’s and
+Warwick’s companies, he strengthened this part of the
+line, and by his presence encouraged the men to more
+animated exertions. A warm fire was now kept up
+till the early dawn, in front, on both flanks, and partly
+in rear of the encampment; the sharp crack of the
+rifle, and the prolonged rattle of musketry, mingling
+with the shouts and cheers of the American soldiers.
+Governor Harrison well knew, as the great father of
+the English drama had written years before, that “advantage
+is a better soldier than rashness,” and he did
+not hazard the safety of his command, though suffering
+severely from the heavy fire, by any offensive movement,
+till the light of day enabled him to ascertain the
+position and numbers of the enemy.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">THE INDIAN VILLAGE BURNED.</div>
+
+<p>But when the morning broke, a general charge was
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</span>ordered. The left wing, consisting of five companies
+of the 4th infantry, and a party of dragoons, led by
+General Wells,—and the right, consisting of the remaining
+companies of the 4th infantry and cavalry,
+and the mounted rifles and militia,—moved rapidly
+upon the positions occupied by the savages. The latter
+made no further effort to continue the fight. Their
+desperate bravery had proved of no avail against the
+disciplined valor and persevering courage of the American
+troops. Hotly pursued by the gallant soldiers of
+Harrison, they fled in dismay to the neighboring swamps
+and thickets, in whose impenetrable recesses they at
+length found a secure retreat. The Prophet’s town
+was entirely abandoned by its late occupants. Having
+collected his wounded, and buried his dead, Governor
+Harrison advanced with his forces to the village, which
+he ordered to be burned. The surrounding district was
+also laid waste, and he then returned into the settled
+country.</p>
+
+<p>The battle of Tippecanoe was one of the bloodiest
+engagements recorded in the annals of Indian warfare.
+It was bravely fought and bravely won. The cautious
+foresight, the prudence and vigilance of Governor Harrison,
+alone saved his little army from destruction. His
+loss in killed and wounded, was one hundred and eighty-eight;
+that of the enemy was supposed to be about the
+same.</p>
+
+<p>Tecumseh, as has been mentioned, was absent at the
+time of this engagement. Had he been present, perhaps
+the result might have been different. When the
+particulars of the disaster reached him, he affected to
+regard it as of little moment, and always spoke of it,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</span>as the “unfortunate transaction that took place between
+the white people and a few of his young men”;
+yet it is very evident that this untoward occurrence
+preyed deeply on his spirits, since it tended, probably
+more than any other single circumstance, to the defeat
+of his plans. The result of the action intimidated
+many of the tribes who were preparing to join his confederacy,
+and they immediately sent deputations to
+Governor Harrison to sue for peace.</p>
+
+<p>The general assembly of Indiana territory passed a
+resolution, at the next session after the battle of Tippecanoe,
+complimenting Governor Harrison in the highest
+terms, and the Legislature of Kentucky also testified,
+in a similar manner, their approbation of “his
+cool, deliberate, skilful, and gallant conduct.”—Thus
+was laid the foundation of that military reputation,
+which secured him the regard and esteem of his countrymen,
+and elevated him, in after times, to a memorable
+distinction among the great men of the Nation.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">DECLARA&shy;TION OF WAR.</div>
+
+<p>Another effect of the battle of Tippecanoe was soon
+witnessed. The tone of the public press became more
+bold and warlike, and the public temper was inflamed
+to the highest degree. Doubts as to the necessity of a
+war with England were speedily transformed into settled
+convictions. After a long and tedious negotiation,
+in the summer of 1811, reparation was offered for the
+attack on the Chesapeake; but Great Britain abandoned
+not one of her objectionable positions, nor ceased
+the piratical plunder of our commerce, so long stimulated
+and encouraged by Lords Liverpool and Castlereagh.
+Forbearance could no longer be regarded as a
+virtue; nor was peace desirable, when it could only be
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</span>preserved by the sacrifice of national honor and dignity.
+War was therefore declared, on the eighteenth of June,
+1812, and publicly proclaimed by President Madison on
+the following day.</p>
+
+<p>The declaration of war found Governor Harrison actively
+engaged in the discharge of his duties as governor
+of the territory of Indiana, and in his endeavors to
+secure the neutrality of the Northwestern savages.
+The general sentiment of that section of the country
+would then have applauded his selection as the commanding
+officer of the forces destined to operate in that
+quarter; but the appointment was conferred on William
+Hull, governor of the territory of Michigan, an officer
+who had served with credit and ability during the war
+of the Revolution.</p>
+
+<p>The campaign of 1812 was signalized by General
+Hull’s invasion of Canada, in July, and his humiliating
+surrender, at Detroit, in the following August. When
+the tidings of this event were made known in Ohio,
+Kentucky, and Tennessee, they were scarcely credited.
+Subsequent information confirmed the rumor, however,
+and the intelligence produced a spontaneous outburst
+of indignation. To retrieve the tarnished honor of the
+country, was the first impulse of every heart. An irrepressible
+feeling of enthusiasm pervaded all classes.
+The people rose, in a mass, like the upheaving of the
+ocean. Places of rendezvous were appointed, and the
+hunters of the west flocked in crowds around the national
+standard—all animated by one motive, and influenced
+by one desire. They were cheered, too, by the
+approving smiles, and encouraged by the kind words
+of their wives and mothers, their sisters, daughters, and
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</span>sweet-hearts, whose hands were constantly employed
+in furnishing them with clothing and other necessaries
+for the march. Such was the alacrity displayed in
+responding to the call to arms, that whole companies
+were frequently enrolled, and equipped, in a single
+day!</p>
+
+<p>In Ohio, the most patriotic exertions were made by
+Governor Meigs, to fit the militia of that state for the
+field. In Kentucky, an unusual degree of ardor was
+manifested. The fire of ’76 was rekindled in the bosom
+of the veteran Shelby. Infected with the spirit prevailing
+among their constituents, several members of
+Congress enrolled themselves as privates, and cheerfully
+shouldered the rifle or musket. Henry Clay, the
+eloquent advocate of the war on the floor of Congress,
+though not under arms, appeared at the musters, and
+addressed the volunteers in fervid and impassioned appeals
+to their patriotism, that thrilled the hearts of
+those who heard him. Large numbers of militia were
+also imbodied, in Virginia, and in the western part of
+Pennsylvania. In Tennessee, likewise, the utmost
+eagerness to take the field was exhibited by the hardy
+yeomanry, who were doubtless influenced by the noble
+example of General Jackson and his patriotic
+division.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">APPOINTED A MAJOR GENERAL.</div>
+
+<p>In a few weeks, about eight thousand men were collected
+at various points on the Ohio river and in its
+vicinity. The selection of an officer to take command
+of the army, was attended with considerable difficulty;
+but it was finally determined, at a sort of military caucus,
+at which Isaac Shelby, Judge Todd of the Supreme
+Court of the United States, Mr. Clay, and other
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</span>leading men, were present, that Governor Harrison
+should be commissioned a major general by brevet, by
+Governor Scott, of Kentucky, and temporarily invested
+with the command. This was accordingly done, and
+General Harrison immediately entered upon the performance
+of his duties. His military life had been an
+irregular one, and his experience, therefore, was extremely
+limited; yet he found himself placed at the
+head of a numerous body of troops, under such disheartening
+circumstances, and in a season of despondency
+and gloom. To add to his embarrassments, he
+discovered, on examination, that everything was in
+confusion. Men there were in abundance; but they
+were deficient in arms and ammunition, and poorly
+provided with supplies of every kind. Still, he did not
+lack the moral courage necessary to sustain him at so
+important a crisis, but labored indefatigably to correct
+what had been done amiss, and to secure the efficient
+action of the army placed under his orders.</p>
+
+<p>The capture of Detroit, and the consequent occupation
+of all the important posts in the territory of Michigan,
+and about the head of Lake Erie, by the British
+troops, removed every restraint from the savages on the
+frontier, who poured down from their northern hives in
+torrents. The security of the border settlements against
+their murderous incursions was the first object to be attained;
+and in order to accomplish this effectually, it
+was necessary to move without delay to the relief of
+the frontier posts,—particularly Fort Harrison, on the
+Wabash; and Fort Wayne, at the confluence of the
+St. Mary’s and St. Joseph’s, which form the Maumee,
+or Miami of the Lakes, as it was originally called. It
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</span>was determined to penetrate the Indian country in two
+columns; one, under General Harrison, being ordered
+to rendezvous at Cincinnati and Urbanna, and the other,
+under General Hopkins, of the Kentucky militia, at
+Vincennes.</p>
+
+<p>General Harrison put his troops in motion from Cincinnati,
+on the twenty-ninth of August, and reached
+Piqua on the thirtieth instant, with about twenty-five
+hundred men. Here he completed his final arrangements,
+and received his military stores; and, on the
+sixth of September, he resumed his march for Fort
+Wayne, where he arrived on the twelfth, to the great
+joy of the garrison, which consisted of only seventy
+men. The post had been for several days invested by
+a large body of Indians who resorted to every stratagem
+and device to induce the garrison to surrender,
+and, failing in this, made repeated attempts to carry
+the fort by assault. On hearing of the approach of
+General Harrison, the savages retreated precipitately,
+after destroying everything outside the works.</p>
+
+<p>On his arrival at Fort Wayne, General Harrison
+forthwith organized two expeditions to lay waste the
+Indian villages. Colonel Wells, of the 17th infantry,
+was dispatched on the fourteenth of September, with
+his regiment, and that of Colonel Scott of the Kentucky
+militia, and two hundred mounted rifles, against
+the Potowatomie town on the upper St. Joseph, which
+disembogues into Lake Michigan. Another detachment,
+commanded by General Payne, consisting of
+two Kentucky regiments, under Colonels Lewis and Allen,
+and one company of mounted men, marched
+against the Miami villages. Both expeditions were
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</span>successful. Nine Indian towns, which had been abandoned
+by the inhabitants, on the approach of the American
+troops, were utterly destroyed; the wigwams
+and wooden huts were burnt, and the growing corn
+cut up.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">DEFENCE OF FORT HARRISON.</div>
+
+<p>Meanwhile, the column under General Hopkins,
+which had rendezvoused at Vincennes, had moved to
+the relief of Fort Harrison. This post was occupied
+by Captain Z. Taylor, of the 7th infantry, with a feeble
+garrison of fifty men, not one half of whom were
+effective. On the night of the fourth of September, it
+was assaulted by between four and five hundred Indians,
+who succeeded in firing one of the block-houses,
+in which a large quantity of spirits was stored. The
+flames spread with great rapidity, and the garrison were
+fast giving way to despair, when Captain Taylor
+directed the roofs of the adjoining barracks to be removed.
+This was quickly accomplished, and the fire
+prevented from extending to the other buildings in the
+fort. Animated by the heroic example of their commander,
+and reässured by the admirable coolness and
+presence of mind which he had exhibited, the soldiers
+then engaged in the defence of the post, with a courage
+akin to desperation. The assailants failed to make
+any further impression, and after daylight on the morning
+of the fifth, the American fire became so destructive,
+that they moved out of range. They lingered
+near the post during the day, but retired early on the
+following morning, though they still hovered in the vicinity,
+keeping watch on the principal roads, cutting
+off the communications with the fort, and committing
+their depredations through the surrounding country.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</span></p>
+
+<p>The long-continued anxiety of the garrison was relieved
+on the sixteenth of September, by the arrival of
+Colonel Russell, with eleven hundred men, and a few
+days later General Hopkins came up with the remainder
+of his column. Preparations were now made for
+an expedition against the Peoria villages, on the Illinois
+river, and other Indian towns on that stream and
+the Wabash, which had been determined on previous
+to the march of the troops from Vincennes. It was
+agreed that Colonel Russell should proceed directly
+across the country, with his corps of Kentucky rangers,
+and a party of mounted rifles under Governor Edwards
+of Illinois Territory, three hundred and sixty
+men in all; and that General Hopkins, with the main
+body, should advance by a more northern route, and
+effect a junction with him at the Peoria towns. Another
+detachment, of eighty men, under Captain Craig,
+was ordered to move up the Illinois, and join them at
+the same place.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">INDIAN TOWNS DESTROYED.</div>
+
+<p>Colonel Russell left Fort Harrison with his command
+on the seventh of October, and General Hopkins commenced
+his march on the fifteenth instant. The route
+pursued by the latter lay through a pleasant champaign
+country, and his force was strong enough to set all opposition
+at defiance. But the men were totally undisciplined
+and unaccustomed to restraint; and on the
+fourth day out refused to proceed any further. The
+remonstrances and entreaties of the general produced
+no effect, and he was compelled to follow his refractory
+troops, in their retrograde march to Fort Harrison.
+Colonel Russell, however, continued his course to the
+Illinois river. Though disappointed in not meeting
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</span>General Hopkins, he persevered in his enterprise, and
+destroyed one of the principal villages of the Peorias,
+called Pamitaris’ town, together with their winter stock
+of provisions. The Indians were pursued into a swamp
+in the vicinity where they had fled for shelter,—Colonel
+Russell and his men wading for several miles up to their
+waists in water,—and upwards of twenty of them
+were killed on the bank of the river. After the destruction
+of the town, the detachment returned to Fort
+Harrison, where they arrived on the twenty-first of
+October.</p>
+
+<p>In November, General Hopkins made a more successful
+foray. Leaving Fort Harrison on the eleventh instant,
+at the head of about twelve hundred men, he proceeded
+up the Wabash, and destroyed the Prophet’s town,
+and a large Kickapoo village near it, with the store of corn
+provided by the savages for the coming winter. The
+Winnebago towns on Ponce Passu creek were also destroyed
+by a detachment under Colonel Butler.</p>
+
+<p>About the same time, Lieutenant Colonel Campbell,
+of the 19th infantry, was dispatched from Greenville,
+with a party of six hundred men, against the Indian
+towns on the Mississinewa river, one of the tributaries
+of the Wabash. On the seventeenth of November, he
+surprised a village inhabited by Delawares and Miamis,
+captured thirty-seven prisoners, and killed eight of the
+enemy’s warriors. The town, and two others in the
+neighborhood, were then burned, and the party encamped
+for the night. Just before daylight, the next
+morning, they were attacked by a party of Indians
+three hundred strong. A desperate contest was kept
+up for nearly an hour, when the enemy were driven
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</span>off by a charge of cavalry, leaving forty of their best
+and bravest warriors dead on the field. The Americans
+lost eight men killed, and about thirty wounded. Another
+attack was anticipated, as Tecumseh was understood
+to be in the vicinity with four or five hundred
+warriors, but reïnforcements soon coming up from
+Greenville, the detachment completed the destruction
+of the towns on the river, and returned without molestation.</p>
+
+<p>These repeated incursions had the desired effect.
+Frequent hostilities afterwards arose and engagements
+took place, but these were confined to small parties of
+volunteers and similar bands of savages; exempted
+from the irruptions of the Indians, the border settlements
+continued to enjoy, for a long period, a degree
+of tranquillity which they had never before witnessed.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">DISPOSITION OF THE TROOPS.</div>
+
+<p>After the return of the troops sent out by General
+Harrison, from Fort Wayne, it was his intention to
+advance towards Detroit, and recover the territory occupied
+by the British forces, as soon as he found his
+means adequate to the object. His plans were temporarily
+disarranged by the arrival of Brigadier General
+Winchester, who had originally been designated for the
+command of the northwestern army, with large reïnforcements
+from Ohio and Kentucky. General Harrison
+accordingly relinquished the command, and set out
+on his return to Indiana territory, accompanied by a
+considerable force of mounted men with which he designed
+to break up the Indian towns in that quarter.
+It subsequently appeared, that President Madison was
+ignorant of his brevet appointment, and of the general
+desire of the western people that he should be placed
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</span>in command, at the time the orders to General Winchester
+were issued. General Harrison had not proceeded
+far on his return, when he was overtaken by an
+express bearing a commission as brigadier general in the
+regular army, together with instructions requiring him to
+take command of the forces on the northwestern frontier.</p>
+
+<p>General Harrison returned to Fort Wayne, and resumed
+the command, on the twenty-third of September.
+Arrived here, he learned that General Winchester
+had marched on the previous day, for Fort Defiance,
+on his way to the Rapids of the Maumee, the place
+fixed upon for the general rendezvous preparatory to
+the contemplated movement for the recovery of Michigan,
+with four hundred regulars, a brigade of Kentucky
+militia, and a troop of horse,—in all two thousand
+men. He then proceeded to Fort St. Mary’s to
+make further preparations for the campaign, and dispatched
+Colonel Jennings down the Au Glaize, with a
+detachment, having in charge a quantity of supplies for
+General Winchester, whose men had but a limited stock
+of provisions.</p>
+
+<p>The march of General Winchester was impeded, not
+only by the natural obstacles of the wet and marshy
+country through which he was compelled to pass, but
+also by a series of annoying skirmishes with the advanced
+parties of a force lying in and near Fort Defiance,
+consisting of two hundred British regulars and
+one thousand savages, which was destined for the capture
+of Fort Wayne. Making his way through the
+numerous difficulties that retarded his progress, and
+forcing the enemy to retire down the river as he advanced,
+he reached Fort Defiance on the thirteenth of
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</span>September, where he was joined by the detachment under
+Colonel Jennings. While on his way, he had sent
+an express to General Harrison, informing him of the
+situation of his troops, and the harassing warfare kept
+up with the enemy. The latter arrived at the fort on
+the third of October, with additional reïnforcements, but
+returned again, on the ensuing day, to the settled country,
+to bring the remainder of the troops, composing the
+centre and right wing of his army, into the field. General
+Winchester remained at Fort Defiance in command
+of the left wing.</p>
+
+<p>Before leaving the fort, General Harrison directed
+General Tupper to proceed down the river with the
+Ohio mounted men, about one thousand strong, and
+drive the enemy from the Rapids. The command of
+General Tupper consisted of raw and inexperienced
+militia, and, though he made every effort, he was unable
+to comply with the orders he had received. In consequence
+of some misunderstanding between himself
+and General Winchester, he soon after returned with
+the Ohio cavalry, to Urbanna, whence he was ordered
+forward, with the centre of the northwestern army,
+which was composed of one regiment of regulars, and
+the Ohio volunteers and militia, to Fort M’Arthur.
+About the same time, the right wing, consisting of the
+Pennsylvania and Virginia brigades, under Generals
+Crooks and Leftwich, was advanced to Sandusky.</p>
+
+<p>On his arrival at Fort M’Arthur, General Tupper
+organized another expedition to proceed to the Rapids.
+He left the fort on the tenth of November, with six
+hundred men, carrying five days’ rations in their knapsacks.
+On the evening of the thirteenth instant, he
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</span>arrived within thirteen miles of the Rapids, and sent
+an officer in advance to reconnoitre. It was ascertained
+that Fort Maumee, and the settlement, were still occupied
+by the British and their savage allies, and their
+boats and vessels were discovered in the stream below.
+General Tupper made several unavailing attempts to
+cross the river, and then endeavored to decoy the enemy
+over. In this he was more successful; a large party
+of Indians crossed the river, whom he attacked and
+routed; but, on account of the failure of his provisions,
+he was soon obliged to return to Fort M’Arthur without
+accomplishing the object of the expedition. On the
+thirteenth of December, he conducted another detachment
+to the Rapids, between fifteen hundred and two
+thousand strong. On this occasion he encountered
+about three hundred British regulars and seven hundred
+Indians, on the right bank of the stream, a few
+miles above the Rapids. These he attacked and completely
+routed. The enemy left one hundred of their
+number on the field, and many were killed while attempting
+to swim across the river. Shortly after this
+affair, the British evacuated the post and retired to
+Malden and Detroit.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">WINTER CAMPAIGN.</div>
+
+<p>In the meantime, General Harrison, whose headquarters
+were established at Franklinton, had labored
+unceasingly, in connection with Governor Meigs, to
+complete his preparations for the projected winter campaign.
+It was designed that the army should advance,
+in three divisions, from Fort Defiance, Fort M’Arthur,
+and Sandusky, to the Rapids of the Maumee, where
+they were to receive their supplies of ordnance and
+provisions. A feint was then to be made upon Detroit,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</span>when the troops were to cross the river and invest Fort
+Malden.</p>
+
+<p>The army under the orders of General Harrison
+nominally consisted of ten thousand men. But little
+over six thousand of these were effective, and many of
+the latter number were undisciplined and inexperienced.
+All were poorly clothed and worse fed. The efforts of
+the commanding general were unwearied and untiring,
+but he encountered obstacles and difficulties at every
+step. The army rendered an important service in holding
+the Indians in check, yet they were unable to move
+forward, and General Harrison was warmly censured,
+by those who were unacquainted with the real state of
+things, for his inactivity. A simple statement of the
+position of affairs on this frontier will be his best defence.—The
+enemy had the command on Lake Erie,
+and it seemed almost impossible to furnish the troops in
+this remote region with the supplies that they needed,
+and without which it would have been mere fool-hardiness
+to advance. It was necessary to transport the ordnance
+and heavy stores over the Alleghanies, and down
+the Ohio, and thence they were hauled, over land, hundreds
+of miles, along blazed forest paths and miserable
+trails, across half-frozen swamps and through trackless
+forests, to the banks of the Maumee.</p>
+
+<p>Against such embarrassments, General Harrison
+struggled almost hopelessly, yet as it proved in the sequel,
+successfully, notwithstanding that his plans were
+frequently thwarted, and his measures disconcerted, by
+the War Department. In January, 1813, <abbr>Dr.</abbr> Eustis
+was succeeded by General Armstrong as Secretary of
+War. The latter had imbibed strong prejudices against
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</span>a militia force, and entertained a marked dislike towards
+General Harrison, who,—though possessing the confidence
+of Madison himself,—never knew what it was
+to be cordially sustained by the executive officers of the
+government, while he remained in service.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">DIFFICULTIES AND EMBARRASS&shy;MENTS.</div>
+
+<p>While General Harrison was busily engaged in distributing
+the supplies, and organizing the reïnforcements,
+as they arrived, an event took place, which, it
+has been truly said, “clothed Kentucky in mourning.”—The
+left wing of the army, under General
+Winchester, remained at Fort Defiance, on the site of
+which they constructed a new fort, named, after the
+general in command, Fort Winchester, till November.
+Having constructed a number of pirogues, for the transportation
+of their baggage, they moved down the river
+about six miles, to camp No. 3, where they were delayed
+until the eighth of January, 1813—suffering
+greatly, in the meantime, for the want of clothing and
+provisions. Orders were then issued for the advance.
+The weather was exceedingly inclement, the river
+blocked up with ice, and the ground covered with snow
+to the depth of twenty-seven inches;—yet the brave
+Kentuckians, of whom General Winchester’s command
+was almost exclusively composed, harnessed themselves
+to sleighs on which they placed their baggage, and performed
+the weary march of twenty-seven miles, to the
+Rapids, in two days. Immediately after his arrival at
+this point, the general received a message from the inhabitants
+of Frenchtown, a small village situated on
+the left bank, and near the mouth, of the river Raisin,
+informing him that a large body of British and Indians
+were about to make a descent on that place,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</span>and urgently entreating him to hasten to their assistance.</p>
+
+<p>Sickness, and the expiration of the terms of service
+of the volunteers, had reduced the strength of his column
+to but little over eight hundred men; and General
+Winchester hesitated to place any portion of this
+small command, within a single day’s march,—as the
+Detroit river was then frozen over,—of the British
+forces concentrated at Malden. His officers, however,
+unanimously, and earnestly, advised a compliance with
+the request; and, impelled by motives of humanity,
+without waiting to communicate with General Harrison,
+and, indeed, contrary to his own better judgment,
+he detached Colonels Lewis and Allen, with about five
+hundred men, on the seventeenth of January, instructing
+them to proceed to Presque Isle, and there await
+his arrival with the remainder of the column.</p>
+
+<p>At Presque Isle, Colonel Lewis, who had been placed
+in command of the detachment, learned that an advanced
+party of British and Indians were already in
+possession of Frenchtown. He therefore determined to
+hasten forward and attack them. The march was resumed,
+through the ice and snow, and at three o’clock
+in the afternoon of the eighteenth instant, he arrived
+on the southern bank of the river, opposite to the village
+in which the enemy, about five hundred in number,
+under the command of Major Reynolds, were
+posted. The stream being bridged with ice, Colonel
+Lewis formed Irishmen for action, and advanced steadily
+to the further shore. A warm contest ensued, which
+was terminated only by the darkness. The enemy were
+forced from their position, and driven nearly two miles
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</span>into the woods, under a continual charge. Colonel
+Lewis had twelve men killed and fifty-five wounded.
+The enemy’s loss was supposed to be far more severe,
+as fifteen Indian warriors were found on the field,—though
+it could never be ascertained with certainty.</p>
+
+<p>Colonel Lewis was joined on the twentieth instant
+by General Winchester, with two hundred and fifty
+men,—the latter having previously advised General
+Harrison, then at Lower Sandusky, of the advance to
+Frenchtown. General Harrison received the dispatch
+of General Winchester on the nineteenth of January,
+and, though deeply chagrined at this interference with
+the general plan of his operations, he set out immediately
+for the Rapids. His inspector general, Captain
+Hart, was dispatched to General Winchester, with orders
+to maintain the position to which he had advanced
+at all hazards. On the twenty-third instant, a reïnforcement
+of three hundred men, under Major Cotgreves,
+took up the line of march for Frenchtown, and
+on the same day General Harrison followed, with another
+corps, three hundred and sixty strong.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">MASSACRE ON THE RAISIN.</div>
+
+<p>It was all too late! The catastrophe which General
+Harrison feared had already occurred;—the blow
+had been struck that desolated so many homes, and
+widowed so many hearts, in the fair state of Kentucky.—Early
+in the morning of the twenty-second, General
+Winchester was attacked by an overwhelming force of
+British and Indians, numbering at least fifteen hundred
+men, with six pieces of artillery, under Colonel Proctor
+and the chiefs Round-Head and Split-Log. His
+men maintained a stout resistance—fighting bravely
+for hours, exposed to a most murderous fire. At length,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</span>after one half their number were either killed or
+wounded, the remainder—a sadly diminished band—surrendered
+themselves prisoners of war, upon the pledge
+of the British commander to protect them from Indian
+violence.</p>
+
+<p>The pledge was basely violated. Another, and still
+darker feature, was added to the worse than brutal
+warfare waged on the part of the English government.
+On the day after the engagement, Colonel Proctor returned
+to Detroit, leaving between fifty and sixty
+wounded prisoners at Frenchtown, who were cruelly
+butchered by his savage associates,—a half-breed, who
+held a high commission in the Royal service, boasting,
+in the presence of the British officers, that the Indians
+were “<em>excellent doctors</em>”! The houses in which
+the unfortunate victims perished were set on fire, and
+their bodies consumed. Other prisoners, not wounded,
+were murdered in cold blood; the rites of sepulture
+were denied to their remains, and those of their comrades
+who had fallen in the action; and their bones
+were left to whiten in the wintry storm that howled its
+requiem above their resting place. Some perished by
+the way side, on the march to Detroit, from the inclemency
+of the weather; others sank beneath the tomahawk
+of the savage. The survivors,—few in number,—to
+the lasting dishonor of a nation whose sovereign rewarded
+the officer, who connived at, or tolerated these
+abuses, with the commission of a brigadier general, were
+stripped and plundered, and subjected to the grossest
+indignities and outrages.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">BRUTAL CONDUCT OF THE ENEMY.</div>
+
+<p>General Harrison was three miles in advance of the
+Rapids, hurrying rapidly on with his reïnforcements,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</span>when he received the intelligence of this sad disaster.
+Selecting a picked corps of one hundred and seventy
+men, he detached them to the assistance of the fugitives,
+but few of whom made their escape from the
+field of battle, in consequence of the great depth of
+snow. He also dispatched a surgeon, with two companions,
+provided with money, under a flag of truce, to
+attend the sick and wounded prisoners of General Winchester’s
+command. One of the party was murdered
+by the Indians, and the others were robbed, and otherwise
+inhumanly treated, by both British and savages.
+After suffering for several months in confinement, having
+been transferred from one dungeon to another, they
+were finally set at liberty in Quebec.</p>
+
+<p>Had General Harrison consulted his first impulses,
+he would have hastened forward with his whole disposable
+force, to avenge the massacre at Frenchtown.
+Doubtless, it would have been better, had he done
+so—<em>provided he could have been successful</em>, which is
+not entirely free from doubt—and he would then have
+escaped the censure bestowed on his conduct, undeserved
+and ungenerous though it was. But the roads,
+miserable as they were in the most favorable weather,
+were covered with three feet of snow, and almost impracticable
+for artillery; it was not then known that
+Proctor had himself retired; the force of the enemy
+was greatly exaggerated; and the unanimous advice
+of his officers counselled him to fall back without delay.
+It might be improper to call him a bold man,—because
+he did not court danger unnecessarily. Yet
+he did not lack bravery; he was not timid; nor was
+his courage like “fire in a flint which will not show
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</span>without knocking.” He was firm, resolute, and unflinching,
+when occasion required,—he was only not
+rash, not reckless. He was responsible for the success,
+or failure, of the whole campaign; the security of the
+entire frontier depended on his army alone,—the only
+barrier against the swooping torrent of Indian warriors
+who wanted but the opportunity to precipitate themselves
+on the defenceless settlements, in terror and
+blood.</p>
+
+<p>In conformity with the advice of his officers, General
+Harrison fell back to Carrying river, about midway
+between the Sandusky and Maumee, on the twenty-third
+of January, in order to effect a junction with the
+troops in the rear, and to cover the transportation of
+artillery, and other stores, from Upper Sandusky. Having
+been reïnforced by two Ohio regiments, promptly
+dispatched to his assistance by Governor Meigs, he
+again advanced, in the month of February, to the Rapids,
+at the foot of which, and nearly opposite Fort
+Maumee, he commenced the construction of a fort,
+named, in honor of the governor, Fort Meigs.</p>
+
+<p>The advance of General Winchester to Frenchtown,
+and the consequent defeat and surrender of his command,
+entirely deranged the plans of General Harrison
+for the winter campaign. The term of service of a
+large portion of his militia force shortly after expired,
+and it became necessary to call out new levies before
+anything further could be attempted. He therefore
+returned to the interior of Ohio, to procure additional
+troops from that state, and Kentucky. In neither was
+there any lack of patriotism exhibited,—but, in the latter,
+where there was scarcely a family that did not
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</span>mourn the loss of some near friend or relative, one general
+outcry was raised, for vengeance upon the perpetrators
+of that bloody massacre on the banks of the
+Raisin.</p>
+
+<p>The legislature of Kentucky, at its winter session,
+authorized Governor Shelby, who had been elected the
+year previous, to take command in person of three
+thousand militia; and Colonel Richard M. Johnson,
+also of that state, was empowered by the War Department
+to raise a regiment of mounted men—which troops
+were designed for the reïnforcement of General Harrison
+in the spring.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">SIEGE OF FORT MEIGS.</div>
+
+<p>Early in April, General Harrison, now promoted to
+the rank of major general by brevet, and appointed to
+the command of the eighth military district, learned
+that extensive preparations were being made by General
+Proctor and Tecumseh, for a combined attack on
+Fort Meigs. He immediately returned to the fort, and,
+in connection with the engineer officers, Captains Wood
+and Gratiot, labored indefatigably, night and day, to
+put it in a more favorable posture of defence. The
+fort was an octagon, containing about nine acres, and
+was situated on the rising ground overlooking the river
+bottom. At each corner there was a strong block-house,
+“with cannon planted so as to rake each front
+and command every elevated point near the fort”; the
+block-houses were connected by strong picketings fifteen
+feet high, against which a breastwork of clayey earth
+was thrown up, on either side. There were several long
+batteries also constructed, which were well garnished
+with cannon. The means of defence were ample, with
+the exception of the garrison, which consisted of only
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</span>twelve hundred men, the greater part of whom were
+volunteers. The regulars were the 19th infantry, under
+Lieutenant Colonel Miller; and the volunteers
+present, composed the Pennsylvania brigade commanded
+by General Crooks. The term of service of the Pennsylvanians
+had expired, but they generously volunteered
+to remain and defend the fort. All were animated by
+the best spirit, and determined on holding the work as
+long as it proved tenable; and, when their defences
+failed, to sell their lives dearly.</p>
+
+<p>On the twenty-eighth of April, one of the patrolling
+parties reported that the enemy were ascending the
+river from the lake, and that they were in great force
+about three miles below. A few British and Indians
+were also discovered on the opposite bank of the river,
+who were driven off by the fire of an eighteen-pounder
+gun. A brigade of Kentucky militia, twelve hundred
+strong, under General Green Clay, were, at this time,
+approaching the fort from Cincinnati, and a dispatch
+was now sent to quicken their march.</p>
+
+<p>It was the intention of General Proctor, who commanded
+the British force, which consisted of between
+nine and ten hundred regulars and Canadian militia
+and twelve hundred Indians, to make a dash at the
+American works, and carry them, before the garrison
+could be reïnforced. The wary foresight of General
+Harrison frustrated his design. Disappointed in his
+original purpose, the British commander sat down deliberately
+before the fort, and began his preparations for
+a regular investment. The light troops, and a part of
+the Indians, were thrown across the river, with directions
+to occupy the most favorable positions for annoying
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</span>the garrison, while General Proctor superintended
+the erection of batteries on the left bank. The fire
+from the fort prevented the speedy completion of the
+batteries, as the enemy were obliged to perform most
+of the work under cover of the night. A warm fire
+was kept up on the garrison by their skirmishers, but
+it produced little effect. No inconvenience, of especial
+importance, was felt by the Americans, except the want
+of water; the well in the fort not being completed, it
+was necessary to procure it from the river, after nightfall,
+which was attended with considerable risk, as bands
+of Indians were constantly lying in wait to intercept
+stragglers.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">FORTUNATE ESCAPE.</div>
+
+<p>General Proctor completed his batteries, and mounted
+his guns, on the first of May, and immediately opened
+a vigorous fire from one twenty-four, one twelve, and
+one six-pounder, and one howitzer. The guns in the
+fort were effectively served, in return. The enemy
+produced no sensible impression, although General Harrison
+made a fortunate escape. During the cannonade,
+he was seated on a bench attentively watching the play
+of the guns, when a ball came plunging down into the
+fort close beside him. With Napoleon at Montereau,
+he might have said, “The bullet which is to kill me,
+is not yet cast!”—The bench on which he was sitting,
+was shivered in pieces, but he himself received no
+injury.</p>
+
+<p>An additional battery was opened, on the third instant,
+at a distance of two hundred and fifty yards
+from the fort, on the south side of the river. On this
+a mortar was planted, from which a number of shells
+were thrown. The Americans turned their guns upon
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</span>it, however; and their fire told so well, that it was
+soon silenced. After the opening of the fire from the
+mortar battery, the garrison was for the first time summoned
+to surrender. General Proctor assured the
+American commander, in his summons, with the most
+bare-faced effrontery, that he was actuated solely by the
+desire of sparing the effusion of blood; that successful
+resistance was out of the question against so numerous
+a force; and that a prompt surrender could alone save
+the garrison from the horrors of Indian warfare. The
+reply of General Harrison was such as became him:—while
+he had the honor to command an American fort,
+he said, it should never be surrendered, and, least of all,
+to General Proctor and the savage hordes with whom
+he fraternized.</p>
+
+<p>The enemy now pressed the siege with increased
+zeal, and the garrison suffered far more than they had
+previously done, from the fire of the Indians on the
+right bank of the river, who climbed the tall forest trees,
+and, sheltered by the intertwining branches, rained their
+rifle balls upon the heads of the American troops. A
+brisk fire was maintained on both sides, till the morning
+of the fifth instant, when a small party from the
+brigade of General Clay, then descending the river
+from Fort Defiance, arrived at Fort Meigs, with the
+information that the column to which they belonged
+was rapidly approaching. General Harrison’s decision
+was soon taken: be resolved on making an effort that
+day to raise the siege, and, having matured his plans,
+dispatched a messenger to General Clay, with orders to
+land eight hundred of his men on the left bank of the
+river and destroy the enemy’s batteries, while a sortie
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</span>should be made from the fort upon those on the other
+side. The remainder of General Clay’s brigade were
+directed to descend the right bank of the stream to the
+fort.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">APPROACH OF REINFORCE&shy;MENTS.</div>
+
+<p>General Harrison’s plan was a skilful one, and would
+have been attended with complete success, had it not
+been for the “superabundant bravery” of the Kentuckians.
+In compliance with his orders, General Clay
+detached eight hundred of his best troops, under Colonel
+Dudley, who landed his men in good order, and advanced
+boldly upon the enemy’s batteries, in three columns.
+The British were surprised at the suddenness
+of the attack, and abandoned their guns almost instantly,
+leaving them in possession of the victors. Unfortunately,
+the American officers lost all control over their
+men. Animated by a burning thirst for vengeance,
+they refused to obey the orders of General Harrison,
+directing them to spike the cannon and retire across
+the river, but eagerly pursued the fugitive artillerists,
+or engaged in a straggling contest with the Indians
+who now made their appearance. The consequence was
+what might have been foreseen. The enemy rallied,
+and being joined by a reïnforcement from the main
+camp about two miles below, and a strong body of Indian
+warriors under Tecumseh, who had just arrived,
+they became, in turn, the aggressors. Colonel Dudley
+exerted himself to the utmost, to draw off his men in
+safety, and lost his life in the attempt. The Americans
+fought bravely; but they lacked discipline, as they
+wanted discretion. But one hundred and fifty men of
+the command succeeded in crossing the river and reaching
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</span>the fort; the remainder being killed, wounded, or
+taken prisoners.</p>
+
+<p>The sortie on the right bank of the river was made
+by a detachment of three hundred and fifty men, headed
+by Lieutenant Colonel Miller, of the 19th infantry.
+Imitating the intrepid conduct of their leader, they
+dashed upon the batteries, and drove out the artillerists
+and their supporting party, at the point of the bayonet.
+After spiking the cannon and destroying the carriages,
+Lieutenant Colonel Miller returned with forty-two prisoners.
+While in the act of retiring, the enemy rallied
+and pressed upon him; but he gallantly held them at
+bay till he reached the fort,—having accomplished the
+object for which his command was detached, in a short
+time, and with comparatively trifling loss.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile the remainder of General Clay’s command
+encountered the Indians on the right bank of the
+river, where they landed, and routed them with great
+ease. Incautiously advancing too far, they came very
+near being drawn into an ambush, from which they
+were timely rescued by General Harrison, who dispatched
+a troop of horse to cover their retreat into the
+fort.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">RETREAT OF PROCTOR.</div>
+
+<p>On the sixth a tacit suspension of hostilities took
+place, which continued during that and the two following
+days. After the sortie, the Indian warriors, in accordance
+with their custom, began to return, in large
+numbers, to their villages,—the eloquent remonstrances
+of Tecumseh proving powerless to detain them. General
+Proctor now feared that the Americans would soon
+turn upon him, and he well knew that he had but little
+to hope from the outraged Kentuckians, should the fortune
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</span>of war place him in their power. He therefore
+decided to abandon the attempt on the fort, and on the
+evening of the ninth instant commenced embarking his
+ordnance and stores. A warm fire from the American
+guns checked the movement for the time; but, early in
+the morning of the tenth, he made a precipitate retreat
+down the river with his whole command.</p>
+
+<p>The Americans lost two hundred and seventy men,
+killed and wounded, during the siege. That of the
+enemy was probably about one hundred. Although
+the defence of the fort was attended by no brilliant
+successes, the savages were thereby prevented from
+making their hostile incursions into the settlements.</p>
+
+<p>At the opening of the season, General Harrison became
+convinced that the command of Lake Erie would
+be decisive of the campaign, and that without it a column
+could not be supplied with the ordnance and heavy
+stores necessary for a march on Detroit, or Malden.
+He therefore recommended the construction of a fleet,
+and Captain Perry was detailed for this service. While
+the naval preparations were in progress, General Harrison
+left Fort Meigs in charge of General Clay, and
+repaired to Franklinton, where the new regiments from
+Ohio and Kentucky were ordered to rendezvous. At
+this place, also, he received into the service a large
+body of Indian warriors, belonging to the friendly tribes
+in the state of Ohio, and the territories of Indiana and
+Illinois, who could not be induced to remain neutral,
+especially as they had recently been attacked by the
+hostile Indians; but, unlike the British officers, whose
+conduct throughout contrasts so unfavorably with his,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</span>he pledged them to spare their prisoners, and to refrain
+from injuring defenceless women and children.</p>
+
+<p>During the summer months, while General Harrison
+necessarily remained inactive, the British made several
+threatening movements upon Fort Meigs, Fort Stephenson,
+(at Lower Sandusky,) Cleveland and Erie. Towards
+the latter part of July, General Proctor again
+made his appearance before Fort Meigs, with between
+three and four thousand troops, including his Indian
+allies. General Clay was well prepared for his reception,
+and on discovering this, he retired down the river.
+Accompanied by about five hundred regulars and militia,
+and seven or eight hundred savages, he proceeded
+to Fort Stephenson, then garrisoned by Major Croghan,
+with one hundred and sixty men, and a single six-pounder
+gun. The fort was invested, and the garrison
+summoned to surrender; the usual threat in regard to
+the ferocity of the Indians being added, with a view of
+terrifying the garrison. Nowise intimidated by the superior
+force of the enemy, the gallant Croghan replied
+that, “when the fort should be taken, there would be
+none left to massacre,—as it would not be given up
+while a man was able to fight.”</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">PERRY’S VICTORY.</div>
+
+<p>The breaking day was spreading its warm bright
+flush over the surrounding scenery, on the second of
+August when the enemy opened a vigorous fire from
+three six-pounders planted on the shore during the night,
+and two six-pounders and a howitzer in their gunboats
+lying in the Sandusky. The fire was kept up all day,
+though with trifling effect, and just before sunset, an
+assaulting column of three hundred and fifty men, led
+by Lieutenant Colonel Short, advanced to the storm,—several
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</span>feints being made, at the same time, to draw
+the attention of the besieged from the real point of attack.
+Major Croghan was not to be deceived; loading
+his six-pounder to its utmost capacity, with grape and
+slugs, he placed it at a masked porthole in a blockhouse
+at the northwestern angle of the work, so as to
+rake the ditch. This proved to be the point assailed.
+Enveloped in smoke, the assailants advanced rapidly
+up the glacis. When within twenty paces of the ditch,
+a volley of musketry caused them to stagger. Rallied
+by their commander, the foremost files sprang with him
+into the ditch. At the instant, the charge of the six-pounder
+was poured in upon them, strewing its fiery
+pathway with the dying and the dead. The head of
+the column was completely cut off, and the remainder
+fled in confusion, leaving behind them their fallen
+leader, and a great number of their comrades.</p>
+
+<p>General Proctor made no further effort to reduce the
+fort. Retreating in haste to his boats, he retired down
+the river to the lake, and thence to Malden,—having
+lost, in this fruitless attempt, one hundred and fifty
+men, either killed or wounded. The Americans had
+but one man killed and seven wounded.</p>
+
+<p>After weeks and months of incessant toil, Commodore
+Perry finally got his fleet in readiness. On the
+fourth of August he crossed the bar at Erie with his
+squadron,—consisting of three brigs, five schooners, and
+one sloop, carrying fifty-four guns,—and sailed in quest
+of the enemy. On the tenth of September, off Put-in
+Bay, he encountered the British squadron, under Captain
+Barclay, consisting of two ships, one brig, two
+schooners, and one sloop, carrying, in all, sixty-three
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</span>guns. A desperate engagement, of three hours’ duration,
+terminated in the surrender of the hostile fleet.
+This well-fought action was the prelude to one equally
+glorious, and removed the only obstacle to the advance
+of the northwestern army into Canada.</p>
+
+<p>Commodore Perry immediately returned to Put-in
+Bay, to coöperate with the land forces in an expedition
+already projected. General Harrison soon concentrated
+all his disposable troops, among whom were between
+three and four thousand Kentucky volunteers, under
+Governor Shelby, at this point. The regiment of
+mounted men commanded by Colonel R. M. Johnson,
+one thousand strong, was ordered to proceed to Detroit
+by land; and the remainder of the army embarked on
+the vessels of Commodore Perry, in which they were
+transported to the islands in the vicinity of Malden.
+On the twenty-seventh of September they effected a
+landing on the Canada shore, about three miles below
+that post.</p>
+
+<p>The hour of reckoning had come for General Proctor
+and the savage banditti whom he had gathered round
+him. Strong in his position at Malden, and in the men
+and means necessary for its defence, he yet lacked the
+courage to maintain it. The earnest exhortations of
+Tecumseh and the other Indian chiefs, who entreated
+him to remain firm, failed to reässure him. He felt
+that a cause which had been sullied by so much of dishonor,
+was, indeed, hopeless; and he feared, as well he
+might, to meet the awakened wrath of the kinsmen
+and friends of the brave men who perished on the Raisin.
+Under his orders, the fort was dismantled and
+blown up, and the navy yard, barracks, and store-houses
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</span>were burned. He then retreated hastily towards the
+river Thames, or La Tranchée, with his whole force,
+taking with him large stores of private property, which
+he had plundered from American prisoners, and the
+citizens of Detroit.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">PURSUIT OF PROCTOR.</div>
+
+<p>General Harrison followed the flying Proctor on the
+twenty-eighth, moving forward with as much rapidity
+as was possible. Many of the Kentuckians were
+mounted men, but they had been obliged to leave their
+horses on the American shore. The enemy had taken
+away everything of the kind, except a single horse, on
+which Governor Shelby was mounted; who, though in
+his sixty-third year, pressed forward with all the ardor
+and enthusiasm of twenty-one. The army reached
+Sandwich on the twenty-ninth instant, and General
+Harrison sent a detachment across the river to take
+possession of Detroit, then occupied by hostile Indians.
+On the thirtieth, Colonel Johnson joined the army
+with his regiment, and preparations were at once made
+for continuing the pursuit of General Proctor,—who,
+on arriving at the Thames, had proceeded up the valley
+of the river, with the intention of making his way to
+the British posts about the head of Lake Ontario.</p>
+
+<p>The Americans resumed the march on the second
+of October,—the mounted rifles of Colonel Johnson
+leading the van. General Harrison was accompanied
+by Commodore Perry and General Cass, as volunteer
+aids; his whole force consisted of about thirty-five
+hundred men, most of whom were Kentuckians.&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_10_10" href="#Footnote_10_10" class="fnanchor">[10]</a> From
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</span>the highest to the lowest, all manifested the same eager
+spirit; every heart throbbed high with excitement.
+The time to which they had looked forward with so
+many anxious hopes, had arrived: Proctor and Tecumseh,—the
+marauders of the one, and the murderers of
+the other,—were before them!</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">PROCTOR AND TECUMSEH.</div>
+
+<p>General Harrison and his men pressed forward with
+such rapidity, that, on the first day of their march,
+they made twenty-six miles. On the next, they captured
+a British officer and eleven men, from whom they
+learned that Proctor had not received any intimations
+of their approach that he could rely upon. On the
+fourth instant, they were detained several hours at
+Chatham, seventeen miles above Lake St. Clair, at a
+deep creek that flowed into the Thames, the bridge over
+which had been partly destroyed by the enemy. While
+the men were engaged in repairing it, they were fired
+on by some Indians who appeared on the opposite bank;
+but the latter were quickly dispersed by the artillery
+of Colonel Wood, and the rifles of Colonel Johnson’s
+command. At this place, also, the Americans found
+two thousand stand of arms, and a quantity of clothing,
+which had been abandoned by Proctor in his flight.
+After crossing the creek, General Harrison continued
+the pursuit for four miles, capturing several pieces of
+cannon, and forcing the enemy to destroy three of the
+vessels containing their supplies. His men being considerably
+jaded by the march, he encamped, late at
+night, almost within striking distance of the allied
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</span>force of British and Indians. On the morning of the
+fifth of October, the mounted men, marching from two
+to three miles in front of the infantry, discovered the
+enemy drawn up in order of battle, across a narrow
+strip of woodland on the north bank of the Thames,
+near the Moravian village.</p>
+
+<p>The nobler aspirations of the soldier,—if, indeed, they
+ever existed in the breast of General Proctor,—had
+long since given way to cowardice and avarice. His
+chief anxiety now was, to escape with his ill-gotten
+booty. Unwisely incumbered with baggage, his army
+was delayed till their pursuers were close upon them.
+On the afternoon of the fourth instant, it became evident
+that he must soon be overtaken. When he halted
+for the night, he was still uncertain what to do. After
+all was still, at a late hour, Tecumseh and himself silently
+descended the river in a boat, and reconnoitred
+the American position. The former earnestly advised
+a night attack, but the latter dared not risk the encounter,
+and determined to make one more effort for escape
+on the morrow.</p>
+
+<p>What a study would that be for the painter!—Proctor
+and Tecumseh on the Thames, at the dead
+hour of night—no moon to cheer or light them—the
+stars gleaming dimly over their heads—and the solemn
+stillness unbroken, save by the gentle murmuring of
+the river, the low sighing of the breeze, or, it might
+be, the deep, melodious notes of the wood thrush, echoing
+sweetly through the forest; the red warrior arrayed
+in all the gorgeous attire of his race, his tall frame
+swelling with a manly pride, and his eye blazing like
+the young eagle’s, as, in clear ringing tones, he thundered
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</span>forth his fierce invectives on the American people,
+and entreated his companion to give the signal for
+a midnight onset; the other shrinking, like a craven,
+beside him, and with faltering lips expressing his fears
+and doubts,—his fears, lest the vigilance of Harrison
+had provided against a surprise, and his doubts as to the
+issue!</p>
+
+<p>General Proctor persevered in his retreat, on the
+morning of the fifth, until he found that it would be
+absolutely impossible to make his escape. He then decided
+to make a stand. Ordering a halt, he prepared
+his men for action. His regular troops, about eight
+hundred strong, were formed across the road, in two
+lines, in open order, on a narrow isthmus covered with
+thrifty beeches; their left, supported by the artillery,
+resting on the river, and their right on a swamp Tuning
+parallel to the stream. The Indians, under Tecumseh,
+to the number of two thousand, were posted
+beyond the swamp, their right thrown forward, and
+resting on another dense morass,—thus forming an obtuse
+angle with the alignment of the regular troops. It
+was the intention of the British general, that the Indians
+should precipitate themselves upon the left flank
+of the American troops as soon as the latter were engaged
+with the regulars; and the ground highly favored
+his purpose. Had he protected his front by an abattis,
+or even thrown a few trees horizontally across the road,
+the result might have been more doubtful, but, as it
+was, the action was scarcely contested, so far as he
+was concerned, and soon became a complete rout.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">BATTLE OF THE THAMES.</div>
+
+<p>The original plan of General Harrison, when he saw
+the advantages of the enemy’s position, was, to advance
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</span>upon them with his infantry regiments; and for this
+purpose he had formed the division of General Henry,
+in three lines, on the right, with the division of General
+Desha, <i lang="fr">en potence</i>, on their left. The regulars, but
+one hundred and twenty in number, were stationed on
+the margin of the river, and instructed, at the favorable
+moment, to advance upon and seize the enemy’s
+guns. But on the return of Colonel Wood, who had been
+sent forward to reconnoitre, the fact was disclosed, that
+General Proctor had formed his men, as has been mentioned,
+in open order; whereupon General Harrison
+instantly varied his mode of attack, and directed Colonel
+Johnson, who had urgently solicited the honor, to
+charge upon the British line with his regiment of
+mounted rifles, while the infantry should promptly follow
+the movement.—This order was certainly an unusual
+one, in military tactics,—although the regiment
+had been carefully drilled to charge upon infantry, especially
+in the woods,—and it has been severely criticised,
+and sometimes censured. It was, doubtless, unexpected
+by General Proctor; and for that reason, if
+no other, was the best, as it proved to be the most fortunate,
+that could have been adopted under the circumstances.&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_11_11" href="#Footnote_11_11" class="fnanchor">[11]</a>&#x2060;</p>
+
+<p>Just before the trumpets sounded the attack, Colonel
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</span>Johnson discovered a narrow passage of firm earth
+leading across the swamp on his left. He then directed
+his brother, Lieutenant Colonel James Johnson, to
+charge the British line with the first battalion of his
+regiment, while he crossed the swamp with the second,
+and engaged the Indians. At the signal, the two battalions
+advanced slowly, in parallel columns,—the infantry
+following closely in their rear.</p>
+
+<p>At the first fire, the horses in front of the column led
+by Lieutenant Colonel Johnson, recoiled,—but it was
+corrected in a moment. The bugles pealed forth their
+cheering notes; the men plunged their rowels into their
+chargers’ sides; and away they all went, thundering
+down upon the enemy—an army of avengers—ready
+to smite and to slay. Bounding over every obstacle,
+receiving another fire almost unharmed, and riding
+down all who opposed, with fearful yells they dashed
+through and through the British columns, showering
+their balls on every side. In an instant they turned
+and delivered a most effective volley. Stupefied and
+disconcerted by the suddenness of the onset, and nearly
+hemmed in between two walls of fire, the enemy made
+no resistance, but threw down their arms, and begged
+for quarter. The brave Kentuckians—to their honor
+be it said—spared all who surrendered. Proctor himself,
+accompanied by about forty regulars and some
+mounted Indians, made his escape, though hotly pursued,
+to Burlington heights, where he was publicly reprimanded
+for his cowardly conduct, by the same officer—Sir
+George Prevost—who had commended his
+brutality at Frenchtown. His private carriage and papers,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</span>his sword, and all his plunder, fell into the hands
+of the victors.</p>
+
+<p>On the left, Tecumseh and his warriors refused to
+fly. The advance of the column headed by Colonel
+Johnson was retarded by the uneven character of the
+ground; his horses floundered in the morass, and strove
+in vain to penetrate the dense thickets of underbrush.
+He soon found that the charge must fail, and directed
+his men to dismount and take cover. Darting from
+tree to tree, they now pressed upon the enemy, and
+after a short, but animated contest, broke through the
+line and gained their rear. The Indians quickly rallied
+in force, further to the left, and threw their whole
+weight on the column of infantry under General Desha.
+A slight impression was at one time made, but Governor
+Shelby immediately restored the line by leading
+up another regiment to the support of the wavering
+column.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">DEATH OF TECUMSEH.</div>
+
+<p>Still the battle raged with great fury. The voice
+of Tecumseh was heard above the din of arms, and his
+tones rang loud and clear as the notes of a trumpet, as
+he called upon his gallant braves to stand firm to the
+last. Colonel Johnson, though severely wounded, and
+a number of his best officers and soldiers, had already
+made their way to the spot where the undaunted chieftain
+and his bravest warriors had collected. Here the
+battle was fiercely fought. In the <i lang="fr">mêlée</i>, Tecumseh
+fell, as it is supposed, by the hand of Colonel Johnson.&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_12_12" href="#Footnote_12_12" class="fnanchor">[12]</a>
+This determined the contest. On the fall of
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</span>their leader, the Indians abandoned the ground, and
+with an unearthly whoop, like the wail of lost spirits,
+disappeared in the forest. It was the <em>death-halloo</em> for
+their leader—the most formidable enemy among the
+red men with whom the whites have had to contend,
+since the days of Pontiac. With him their cause was
+prostrated—with him perished their hopes, forever!</p>
+
+<p>The American force actually engaged in this battle,
+numbered about twenty-five hundred; the enemy had
+eight hundred and forty-five regular troops, and there
+were two thousand Indians. The former lost fifty
+killed and wounded; of the British there were eighteen
+killed, twenty-six wounded, and about six hundred
+made prisoners. The Americans also captured a large
+quantity of arms, ammunition, and provisions, and six
+pieces of artillery—three of which were captured in
+the Revolution, at Saratoga and Yorktown, and had
+been surrendered by General Hull. But, what was of
+vastly more importance, the territory which had been
+overrun by the enemy, was recovered, and the frontiers
+were rescued from the depredations of the savages. By
+the result of this engagement, the hostile Indians were
+cut off from their communications with the British
+posts in Canada, except the remote one at Mackinaw.
+Previous to the battle, an armistice had been entered
+into with the Ottawas and Chippewas, who agreed to
+take up arms against the British, and shortly afterwards
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</span>a similar arrangement was entered into with the
+Miamis and Potowatomies.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">EFFECTS OF THE VICTORY.</div>
+
+<p>“The victory of Harrison,” said Langdon Cheves,
+alluding, on the floor of Congress, to the battle of the
+Thames, “was such as would have secured to a Roman
+general, in the best days of the republic, the honors
+of a triumph.” It was the first considerable action
+in which the American arms were triumphant, and, in
+connection with Perry’s success on Lake Erie, served
+greatly to revive the drooping spirits of the American
+people. The heroes of the two engagements were
+toasted and fêted wherever they went; salutes, bonfires,
+illuminations, and resolutions of thanks, attested,
+alike, their merits, and the gratitude of their countrymen.</p>
+
+<p>Having completed the object of the expedition, and
+not having orders to proceed further into the enemy’s
+country, General Harrison commenced his retrograde
+march to Detroit, eighty miles distant, on the seventh
+of October, and arrived there on the tenth. The Kentucky
+volunteers were soon after conducted to their
+homes by the venerable Governor Shelby, and in a few
+days General Harrison embarked in the fleet of Commodore
+Perry, for Buffalo, with the brigade of General
+M’Arthur,—General Cass remaining with his brigade
+at Detroit. Harrison reached Buffalo on the twenty-fourth
+of October; the brigade of General M’Arthur
+proceeded down Lake Ontario to join the unsuccessful
+expedition under General Wilkinson; and there being
+a sufficient number of general officers already assigned
+to that duty, General Harrison was permitted to return
+home on a furlough.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</span></p>
+
+<p>While at Buffalo, General Harrison addressed a letter
+to General Vincent, the officer commanding the
+British troops in the Peninsula, in reply to one he had
+received from General Proctor, immediately after the
+battle of the Thames, requesting the restoration of the
+private property and papers captured on that occasion.
+The letter entered into a lengthy review of the course
+of the English government in employing the savages,
+the barbarities committed by their allies, and the cruel
+manner in which prisoners of war had been treated
+by both Indians and British; contrasting with the
+conduct of the English and their allies, the kindness
+and clemency which had distinguished the American
+officers and soldiers, during the war. While he declared
+that, in future, retaliation would be made for
+Indian outrages, he appealed to General Vincent, as a
+man, to exert his influence in preventing the commission
+of such atrocities. “Use, I pray you, your authority
+and influence,” said the letter of Harrison, “to
+stop the dreadful effusion of innocent blood which proceeds
+from the employment of those savage monsters,
+whose aid, as must now be discovered, is so little to be
+depended on when most wanted, and which can have
+so trifling an effect on the issue of the war.” The reply
+of General Vincent to this letter, so creditable to
+the heart of the writer, was evasive, although he pledged
+himself to join with General Harrison in attempting
+to alleviate the calamities to which the latter had referred.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">DEMONSTRA&shy;TIONS OF RESPECT.</div>
+
+<p>This was the last important act of the military service
+of General Harrison. Shortly after the letter was
+written, he returned home, on a visit to his family, by
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</span>way of New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington;
+being received at each place on his route with
+the most flattering demonstrations of respect. After
+spending a few weeks at the capital, he continued his
+journey homeward, everywhere encountering the same
+unmistakable evidences of esteem and gratitude.</p>
+
+<p>Connected with his stay at Washington, there is an
+anecdote on record, which shows that his gallantry
+towards his fair countrywomen, was fully equal to that
+other quality, bearing the same name, that he had exhibited
+on the field of battle. At one of the drawing rooms
+of Mrs. Madison, a handsome and highly connected
+lady, one of the reigning belles at the capital,
+informed the president that she had laid her commands
+on General Harrison to meet her there on that occasion.—“That
+he cannot do,” said Mr. Madison, in his
+usual bland, but positive tone; “he left Washington
+this morning, with his horses and attendants, and must
+now be some twenty or thirty miles on his way to the
+west.”—“Still,” replied the lady, archly, “he must be
+here, for I laid my commands on him, and he is too
+gallant a man to disobey me!”—“We shall soon see,”
+returned the president, “whose orders he obeys.”—After
+the lapse of a few moments, the question was settled
+by the appearance of General Harrison and his
+suite in full military costume, and President Madison
+was for once obliged to acknowledge that he was mistaken.</p>
+
+<p>The military districts into which the country was
+divided during the war of 1812, were so extensive, that
+it was very often deemed necessary to transmit orders
+directly from the War Department to a subordinate
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</span>officer, at the same time forwarding duplicates to the
+commander of the district. This practice frequently occasioned,
+as it has since done, ill-feeling and dissatisfaction.
+It was condemned by General Harrison as being
+wholly inconsistent with subordination, and similar views
+were afterwards taken by some of our most distinguished
+officers—among others, Generals Jackson,
+Scott, and Taylor. Harrison remonstrated against the
+practice in earnest terms. The Secretary of War,
+General Armstrong, being not well disposed towards
+him, a sharp and acrimonious correspondence ensued.
+President Madison insisted on continuing the practice,
+and in the spring of 1814, General Harrison tendered
+his resignation. The president was absent from Washington
+at the time the letter was received, and the
+resignation was accepted by the Secretary.</p>
+
+<p>President Madison sincerely regretted the separation
+of General Harrison from the army, and in a letter
+soon after written to Governor Shelby, he said, that the
+resignation “would not have been accepted, had he
+been in Washington.” That his confidence in Harrison
+was never in the least degree weakened, is evident,
+from the fact that he afterwards employed him to conduct
+several extremely difficult negotiations with various
+tribes of Indians.</p>
+
+<p>General Harrison continued to discharge the duties
+of governor of the territory of Indiana, until it was admitted
+into the Union as a state, in 1816, when he
+retired to his farm at North Bend, a few miles below
+Cincinnati, in Hamilton county, Ohio. In the same
+year he was elected a member of the House of Representatives
+of the United States. He afterwards represented
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</span>the district in which he resided in the State Senate,
+and in 1824 was chosen a Senator in Congress.
+As a legislator, General Harrison was distinguished for
+his practical common sense. Though he spoke but
+rarely, he was considered an efficient debater. His
+views on all subjects were regarded with respect, and
+those having reference to the reörganization of the
+army, and the peculiar interests of the western states
+and territories, were listened to with especial deference.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">APPOINTED MINISTER TO COLOMBIA.</div>
+
+<p>In 1828, at his solicitation, he was appointed by
+President J. Q. Adams, Minister Plenipotentiary to the
+Republic of Colombia. The distracted condition of the
+country prevented his accomplishing anything of importance,
+though his brief residence there was signalized
+by a letter addressed to Bolivar, replete with good
+advice, and full of noble and manly sentiments. “To
+be esteemed eminently great,” said he, “it is necessary
+to be eminently good. The qualities of the hero
+and the general must be devoted to the advantage of
+mankind, before he will be permitted to assume the title
+of their benefactor; and the station which he will hold
+in their regard and affections, will depend, not upon the
+number and splendor of his victories, but upon the results,
+and the use he may make of the influence he
+acquires from them.”—Trite and common-place as
+these sentiments may at this day seem to the American
+reader, had they but formed the rule of the public conduct
+of Bolivar, he would now be remembered only as
+the Liberator, not as the Dictator.</p>
+
+<p>On the accession of General Jackson to the presidency,
+in 1829, as the views of General Harrison in
+regard to the Panama question differed from those of
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</span>the new administration, he was recalled, and again returned
+to the avocations of private life. Though he
+had had numerous opportunities of amassing wealth in
+the various offices which he had filled, he was still in
+moderate circumstances. In 1834, on the almost
+unanimous petition of the citizens of Hamilton county,
+he was appointed prothonotary of the county court, the
+duties of which he discharged, in person, for several
+years. In 1836, he was supported, in some of the states,
+though with no expectation of being elected, for the
+office of President, and received seventy-three of the
+electoral votes.</p>
+
+<p>He was still leading a happy and contented life in his
+retirement at North Bend,&#x2060;—</p>
+
+<p class="center">
+“A simple husbandman, in garments gray,”—
+</p>
+
+<p class="unindent">when he was nominated as the candidate of the Whig
+party for the presidency, in December, 1839. In the following
+year, he was elected to the office, over his competitor,
+Mr. Van Buren, by an overwhelming majority,—receiving
+two hundred and thirty-four out of two
+hundred and ninety-four electoral votes. On the fourth
+of March, 1841, he took the oath of office, and delivered
+his inaugural address, amid a large concourse of
+spectators. Selecting as his cabinet advisers, some of
+the most distinguished statesmen of the country, from
+the party to which he belonged, he entered on his administration
+under the most flattering prospects of success.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">ELECTED PRESIDENT.—HIS DEATH.</div>
+
+<p>One brief month terminated his earthly career, and
+marred all the bright hopes of those who had elevated
+him to that high station. Instead of the brilliant <i lang="fr">cortège</i>
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</span>that accompanied him on the occasion of his inauguration,
+another procession—without the joyous
+salvos of artillery, or the lively strains of martial music—but
+clothed in the habiliments of mourning, with
+banners shrouded in crape, with weeping plumes, with
+arms reversed, and muffled drums, followed his remains
+to the Congressional Cemetery.</p>
+
+<p>A few days after his arrival at Washington, the
+president caught a severe cold, which, in connection
+with the unaccustomed excitement, and the harassing
+nature of his new duties, soon prostrated him on a sick
+bed. In spite of the utmost efforts of his medical attendants,
+he rapidly grew worse. His system had received
+a fatal shock; and on the fourth day of April,
+1841,—in the same mansion where, nearly thirty years
+before, he had attended the gay <i lang="fr">soiree</i> of Mrs. Madison—he
+died, expressing, with his latest breath, as his
+spirit gathered its pinions for its eternal flight, his anxious
+desire, that the constitution of the country should,
+in all things, be the guide of those upon whom his official
+duties were about to devolve.</p>
+
+<p>General Harrison was simple and frugal in his habits,
+and, until his last fatal illness, enjoyed good bodily health.
+He was tall and slender in person, and his dark eyes
+gleamed with intelligence. An analysis of his character
+presents few marked, or striking points. The qualities
+of his heart were probably more conspicuous than
+those of his head. He was liberal and friendly, social
+and generous in his disposition. “His heart,” says
+Governor Metcalfe, “was expanded, and always in the
+right place”:—it was brimful of kindly affections—overflowing
+with benevolence and love.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</span></p>
+
+<p>He possessed a happy combination of mental faculties;
+he was a plain, practical man,—a man, not of
+pretence, but of action. His voluminous correspondence,
+as governor of Indiana Territory, his speeches in
+Congress, his official dispatches, and his inaugural address,
+indicate a sound judgment, strong good sense,
+and a well-cultivated mind. His integrity was of that
+sterling character which is proof against temptation.
+As a soldier, he was usually successful, because he was
+not rash or impulsive, but cautious and prudent. He
+was patient in adversity, and never easily disconcerted;
+he was calm, collected, and resolute—and therefore
+always fitted for an emergency, how trying soever it
+might be. But, what was still worthier and better,
+throughout his life, even to the closing hour of his existence,
+he was cheered and sustained, by the hopes of
+the patriot, and the consolations of the Christian.</p>
+
+<div class="footnotes">
+<h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+<p class="footnote unindent"><a id="Footnote_8_8" href="#FNanchor_8_8" class="label">[8]</a> The dispatch of General Wayne has been erroneously printed,
+without the commendatory notice of Lieutenant Harrison, and other
+officers, but it may be found in the original.</p>
+
+<p class="footnote unindent"><a id="Footnote_9_9" href="#FNanchor_9_9" class="label">[9]</a> The expressive term among the Indians for “coward.”</p>
+
+<p class="footnote unindent"><a id="Footnote_10_10" href="#FNanchor_10_10" class="label">[10]</a> Among the Kentucky volunteers, concerned in this expedition, were
+William T. Barry and Charles A. Wickliffe, afterwards Postmasters-general
+of the United States, and John J. Crittenden, for many years a distinguished
+senator in Congress, subsequently attorney general, again a
+member of the Senate, and, at the present time, (1848,) governor of the
+State of Kentucky.</p>
+
+<p class="footnote unindent"><a id="Footnote_11_11" href="#FNanchor_11_11" class="label">[11]</a> Nevertheless, it was the decided opinion of Napoleon, (Las Casas,
+<abbr title="seven">vii.</abbr>, 184,) that cavalry must always break infantry, if led by equally brave
+and resolute men. His cavalry won the victories of Marengo, Austerlitz,
+and Jena; and a charge of English dragoons, on the flank of his Old
+Guard, lost him the day at Waterloo. It should be borne in mind, however,
+that the mounted men of Colonel Johnson were armed with rifles
+only, and, with the exception of the officers, were without pistols and
+sabres.</p>
+
+<p class="footnote unindent"><a id="Footnote_12_12" href="#FNanchor_12_12" class="label">[12]</a> The honor of killing Tecumseh has been denied Colonel Johnson
+upon strong circumstantial evidence. In opposition to this we have the
+sincere belief of the Colonel himself, that he shot the distinguished Indian
+chief with his pistol; he could not well be positive upon the subject, as
+he sank upon his dying steed, the moment after he fired his piece, completely
+exhausted from the loss of blood. His bravery, however, cannot
+be questioned,—though Tecumseh may not have fallen by his hand,—as
+he was borne from the field in a blanket, while his blood ran out at the
+ends.</p>
+</div>
+
+<hr aria-hidden="true" class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</span></p>
+  <h2 class="nobreak" id="JACKSON">
+    ANDREW JACKSON.
+  </h2>
+</div>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" style="max-width: 75%;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/dec_line2.jpg" alt="" data-role="presentation">
+</figure>
+
+<p>“<span class="smcap">It</span> is not in Indian wars”, said an eloquent writer
+and speaker of a by-gone age,&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_13_13" href="#Footnote_13_13" class="fnanchor">[13]</a> “that heroes are celebrated;
+but in them they are formed.”—Applied to the
+subject of this biographical sketch, the remark is partly
+correct, partly not correct. His brilliant success at
+New Orleans undoubtedly eclipsed all his former victories;
+but, had that battle never been fought, it may be
+questioned whether the Creek campaign would not have
+established his celebrity as a hero, beyond dispute.
+Yet it must be admitted, that his military experience
+was mainly acquired, and his military character formed,
+amid the hardships and vicissitudes, the trials and dangers,
+of that campaign. In this respect, he resembles
+some of the most eminent warriors that America has
+produced, many of whom laid the foundation of future
+renown and distinction, in the border wars with the
+aboriginal inhabitants, which grew out of the discovery
+and settlement of the country, or the subsequent encroachments
+of the whites.</p>
+
+<p>The father of Andrew Jackson, though a native of
+Ireland, was of Scotch descent.—During the reign of
+Henry <abbr title="Two">II</abbr>, in 1172, the subjugation of the Emerald
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</span>Isle was effected,—not so much by the superior bravery
+of the English soldiery, as by the defection of her own
+sons. The conquest entailed, on both oppressor and
+victim, a fruitful legacy of war and bloodshed. It was
+followed by years of strife and dissension—by centuries
+of tyrannical misrule on the one hand, and resistance
+to wrong on the other. Time did not change the
+character of the Irish peasantry; they were no loyal
+subjects of their new masters,—neither did they remit
+their efforts to regain their independence. Among
+other expedients resorted to by the English government,
+for confirming their ascendancy, was the confiscation
+of all the lands in Ulster, and large portions of the other
+provinces. These were granted to new proprietors, and
+measures were taken to colonize them from England
+and Scotland.</p>
+
+<p>The Jackson family emigrated from Scotland at a
+very remote period, and settled in the county of Antrim.
+Whether it was on account of their proximity
+to the ancient seat of the O’Neals, in Tyrone, or their
+intermarriage and intercourse with the original natives
+of the country, is unknown; but it is nevertheless certain,
+that they soon became imbued with the spirit of
+disaffection that had so long prevailed in that quarter;
+and when the colonists began to experience the bitterness
+of oppression, they, too, learned to hate the name
+and authority of England.</p>
+
+<p>Hugh Jackson, the grandfather of General Jackson,
+was a linen-draper, and resided near Carrickfergus, on
+the Lough of Belfast. He had four sons, who were
+plain respectable farmers, liberal and hospitable, of
+strict integrity, and, like their forefathers, firm in their
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</span>adherence to the Church of Scotland. Andrew, the
+youngest, married Elizabeth Hutchinson, by whom he
+had two sons, Hugh and Robert, born in Ireland. Tired
+of the ceaseless turmoil and confusion that distracted
+the country, and despairing of the success of any attempt
+to relieve the Irish people from the grievances
+of which they complained, he sold his farm, and, in
+1765, determined to seek a more tranquil and peaceful
+home in the western wilderness. Accompanied by
+three of his neighbors, James, Robert, and Joseph
+Crawford, the first of whom had married a sister of his
+wife, he embarked for America with his family, and
+landed in safety, at Charleston, South Carolina.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">HIS BIRTH.</div>
+
+<p>Dissatisfied with the low country bordering on the
+coast, the immigrants pushed into the interior of the
+colony. Lands were purchased, and they all settled
+near each other, on Waxhaw creek, one of the branches
+of the Catawba, in Lancaster district, about forty-five
+miles above Camden, and near the boundary line of
+North Carolina. Here, in this fine and healthy region,
+agreeably diversified with hills and dales, and drained
+by the romantic Catawba, Andrew Jackson, the
+younger, was born, on the fifteenth day of March, 1767.</p>
+
+<p>Not long after the birth of his third son, the elder
+Jackson died, leaving to his wife and children a limited
+property, yet with an honest and unsullied name. A
+double duty now devolved on the surviving parent.
+Faithfully and nobly was it discharged. To the resolute
+firmness and unflinching fortitude of the Spartan
+mother, she united the piety and resignation, the trustful
+faith and confidence, of the devoted Christian.
+Naturally gifted with a strong mind, early disciplined
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</span>in the school of adversity, and strengthened by Him
+who is ever the stay and helper of the widow and orphan,
+no difficulties deterred her from the accomplishment
+of her high and holy task.</p>
+
+<p>The property of which Mrs. Jackson was left in possession,
+consisted of a new farm, without slaves; and
+it required the constant practice of the most rigid economy
+and prudence, to enable her to provide for the
+maintenance and education of her three young sons.
+After her husband’s death, she took charge of Mr.
+Crawford’s family,—her sister, Mrs. Crawford, being
+in feeble health. Her two younger sons, Robert and
+Andrew, remained with her, and the oldest went to reside
+with a neighbor. Hugh and Robert received only
+a common-school education; but Andrew was designed
+by the, perhaps, partial mother, for a more enlarged
+sphere of usefulness. She intended him for the church,
+and therefore sent him to the Waxhaw Academy, then
+under the charge of Mr. Humphries, where he acquired
+a knowledge of the various English branches taught
+at that time, and had made considerable progress in the
+Latin and Greek languages, when the ravages of the
+revolutionary war, approaching nearer to this remote
+settlement, put an end to his studies.</p>
+
+<p>Sentiments of patriotism were early imbibed by the
+sons of Mrs. Jackson. Her instructions, and the example
+of their friends and kindred, inspired them, in childhood,
+with an ardent love of liberty. Reminiscences
+of “father-land” were often mingled with her teachings;
+she recounted deeds of cruelty and oppression that fired
+their youthful bosoms with indignation; she told them
+of the injustice under which their ancestors had suffered,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</span>and from which their father had fled; and she reminded
+them, also, that the same tyrannical power which had
+perpetrated these wrongs, was endeavoring to reduce
+the American colonists to a state of abject and hopeless
+slavery. Soon they beheld the watch-fires of liberty
+blazing up on every hill-top and mountain, and heard
+the deep thunders of war echoing through the pine-barrens
+and savannas of their own sunny clime. The
+young and middle-aged men, in the Waxhaws and its
+vicinity, were enrolled in companies, and met frequently
+for military discipline, while their gray-headed sires
+looked on approvingly, and bade them never shame the
+blood from which they sprung.</p>
+
+<p>Boys though they were, the young Jacksons became
+deeply imbued with the prevailing spirit. This was
+especially the case with Andrew, who longed for the
+hour to arrive, when he would be able to shoulder a
+musket, and perform some doughty enterprise, in defence
+of the liberties of his country.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">INVASION OF SOUTH CAROLINA.</div>
+
+<p>The officers charged with, what proved to be the
+Sisyphian task, of subjugating the colonial rebels, made
+their first principal efforts in the northern provinces.&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_14_14" href="#Footnote_14_14" class="fnanchor">[14]</a>
+Foiled, or beaten here, they turned their attention to
+the South. Savannah was reduced in December, 1778,
+and South Carolina invaded in the spring of 1779.
+Among those who marched out to meet the enemy,
+was Hugh Jackson, the oldest of the three brothers;
+he belonged to the company commanded by Captain,
+afterwards Colonel Davie, and was present at the battle
+of Stono, on the twentieth of June, where he lost his
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</span>life from the excessive heat of the day. Early in 1780,
+a more formidable effort was made by the enemy, in
+South Carolina. Charleston was invested by a strong
+force, under Sir Henry Clinton, on the thirtieth of
+March; General Lincoln, then at the head of the
+southern army, stoutly defended the post, but was
+compelled to capitulate on the twelfth of May.</p>
+
+<p>After the surrender of Charleston, the British commander
+divided his army into three columns; one being
+directed to move up the Savannah river to Augusta,
+another up the Congaree and Saluda to Ninety-six, and
+the third, under Lord Cornwallis, up the Wateree to
+Camden. At this time, there were several detachments,
+belonging to the American army, in the country, who
+were not included in the capitulation. One of these,
+consisting of about four hundred men, with two pieces
+of artillery, was commanded by Colonel Buford, who,
+on the advance of Cornwallis, retired up the Catawba,
+towards Charlotte, in North Carolina. Colonel Tarleton
+was immediately dispatched, with two hundred and
+seventy mounted men, in pursuit; by making rapid
+marches, he came up with the party under Colonel
+Buford, at the Waxhaw settlement, on the twenty-ninth
+of May. A brief, but bloody contest, took place;
+the Americans were soon overcome by the dragoons of
+Tarleton; quarter was rarely given when demanded;
+upwards of two hundred and sixty of the detachment
+were killed, or desperately wounded; and their artillery,
+with their ammunition and stores, fell into the hands
+of the enemy.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">DEFEAT OF COLONEL BUFORD’S PARTY.</div>
+
+<p>A great portion of the American soldiers wounded in
+this conflict were paroled on the spot, and left at the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</span>Waxhaws, to the humanity of the inhabitants. The
+latter were not wanting in kind and generous feelings,
+and their sympathy was freely bestowed on those who
+had suffered and endured so much in behalf of the common
+cause. The meeting-house in the settlement was
+speedily converted into a hospital; nurses were provided,—Mrs.
+Jackson offering her services with others;
+and every attention was paid to the comfort and wants
+of the unfortunate victims of the brutal ferocity of
+Tarleton and his followers. This was the first lesson
+learned by Andrew Jackson from actual observation, in
+regard to the horrors of war,—and it produced a powerful
+impression on his mind. So far from being intimidated,
+however, by the sufferings which he witnessed,
+his desire for taking part in the struggle was only stimulated
+and quickened.</p>
+
+<p>Not long after this bloody catastrophe, Lord Rawdon
+was dispatched by Cornwallis into the Waxhaw settlement,
+with a large body of troops, to practice the same
+sanguinary measures which had been adopted in other
+parts of the province. Upon the fall of Charleston,
+marauding parties of British dragoons were sent out to
+scour the country; the timid were conciliated, and the
+refractory punished; rapine, murder, and violence, were
+committed with impunity; members of the same family
+were arrayed against each other, and all were made to
+suffer the misery and wretchedness ever attendant on
+civil war. The loyalists, or Tories, gladly hailed the
+appearance of the British troops; others consented to
+take protection, as it was called, in the hope, often a
+mistaken one, of enjoying an immunity from attack;
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</span>but there were many who refused to waver in their
+allegiance to the Confederation.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Jackson and her two sons, with a number of
+the Waxhaw settlers, retired before Lord Rawdon, into
+North Carolina, where they remained for several days,
+and until he was recalled to Camden. Resistance had
+now nearly ceased; and the British officers began to
+flatter themselves with the belief that the province was
+completely subdued. But a few weeks elapsed, however,
+ere General Sumter, who resided near the Waxhaws,
+returned from North Carolina, where he had also
+been a voluntary exile, and raised the patriot standard,
+at the head of his small but gallant band. Other partisan
+corps, under Marion, Pickens, and Davie, were
+soon formed. Without pay; scantily supplied with
+clothing and subsistence; provided with guns of every
+form and calibre, and swords and lances fashioned out
+of the rude implements of husbandry; and mainly relying
+for ammunition on their captures from the enemy,—these
+brave yeomen rendezvoused in the swamps and
+forests of South Carolina, where they bivouacked, night
+after night, in the open air, and from which they darted
+forth on detached parties of British and Tories, like the
+eagle on its prey.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">HIS FIRST BATTLE.</div>
+
+<p>On the thirtieth of July, General Sumter, with
+about six hundred men, made an unsuccessful attack
+on the advanced post of the British, at Rocky Mount.
+Three desperate efforts demonstrated the impracticability
+of carrying the enemy’s fortifications, and being
+entirely without cannon, he was obliged to draw off his
+command. He was now reïnforced by a party of the
+Waxhaw settlers, under Colonel Davie, and, on the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</span>sixth of August, proceeded against the post at Hanging
+Rock, midway between Camden and the Waxhaws.
+The first onset was attended with complete success.
+The enemy were driven from their camp, and took
+shelter in the main work. Unfortunately, many of
+Sumter’s men had fasted so long, that they preferred to
+search for something to eat and drink, rather than to
+advance and secure the victory, by carrying the post,
+which might then have been easily accomplished. A
+quantity of liquor was found in the camp, and they
+commenced drinking, in opposition to the urgent remonstrances
+of their commander. Apprehending the
+worst consequences if they remained, he resolved to
+retire to his encampment before they became wholly
+ungovernable.</p>
+
+<p>The corps of Colonel Davie particularly distinguished
+itself on this occasion. Prominent among its members,
+were Lieutenant James Crawford, and Robert and
+Andrew Jackson,—the latter a mere stripling, but
+thirteen years of age; yet, in heart and soul, he was a
+man. This was his first battle, and the accounts we
+have of it show that both he and his brother rendered
+good service.</p>
+
+<p>Ten days after this affair, General Gates was terribly
+defeated by Lord Cornwallis, and, two days later,
+General Sumter, overburdened with baggage and prisoners—having
+recently captured a convoy of British
+stores, with their escort, coming up from Charleston to
+Camden—was surprised by Colonel Tarleton, and his
+band routed and dispersed. Following up the advantage
+he had gained, Cornwallis marched with his whole
+army, on the eighth of September, in the direction of
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</span>Charlotte, whither the remnant of Gates’ army had
+fled. On his approach to the Waxhaw settlement,
+Mrs. Jackson again retired into North Carolina, passing
+through Charlotte, on her way to Guilford county, on
+the morning of the day upon which the British van
+approached the town. She was accompanied by her
+two sons, neither of whom, on account of their youth,
+was yet permanently attached to a military corps.</p>
+
+<p>Cornwallis soon found great difficulty in maintaining
+himself at Charlotte. His communications with the
+seaboard were cut off, and his supplies intercepted, by
+the partisans; and his position became still more embarrassing,
+upon the defeat, and almost total annihilation,
+of Major Ferguson’s command, at King’s Mountain,
+on the seventh of October. He therefore determined
+to retreat, before he was entirely surrounded by the
+aroused and patriotic militia of the Carolinas. On the
+fourteenth of October, he retraced his steps to the
+Waxhaws, and shortly after established himself at
+Winnsborough, where he awaited the arrival of reinforcements.</p>
+
+<p>Besides other affairs, of minor importance, but equally
+honorable to the American cause, the battle of the
+Cowpens, and the masterly retreat of General Greene,
+took place during the ensuing winter, while Mrs. Jackson
+and her sons, with other Waxhaw settlers, remained in
+North Carolina. Early in February, 1781, Cornwallis
+crossed the Yadkin, in pursuit of Greene; and she and
+her friends thereupon returned to their homes, although
+they were in the immediate vicinity of the British posts,
+and the country around was full of armed parties of
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</span>Tories, whose cruelties and enormities were every day
+becoming more barbarous and revolting.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">DARING AND RESOLUTION.</div>
+
+<p>The struggle now began to assume, especially in the
+Carolinas, a yet more direful aspect. A fierce war of
+extermination was waged between Whigs and Tories.
+The two parties, or factions—call them what we may—could
+not exist on the same soil. The former had
+imperilled everything in the effort to secure their independence,
+and they fought for the safety, not merely of
+themselves, but of their wives and children, their property,
+their all! Boys, as well as men, engaged in this
+bloody warfare, and it was amid its trying scenes, that
+the stern and inflexible daring and resolution were
+formed and manifested, which distinguished Andrew
+Jackson in after life.</p>
+
+<p>The two young Jacksons kept their horses and guns,
+like their neighbors, and were always ready for any
+enterprise of danger or difficulty. Among other services
+which they performed, was that of keeping guard
+at the houses of the Whig officers who resided near
+them, when they desired to visit their families. The
+conduct of Andrew on one of these occasions,—his
+rapidity of thought and action,—afforded a signal
+presage of future ability:&#x2060;—</p>
+
+<p>A captain in the colonial service, by the name of
+Lands, desired to spend a night with his family, at his
+house, on the right bank of the Catawba, a short distance
+below the mouth of the Waxhaw. Robert and
+Andrew Jackson, one of the Crawfords, and five other
+men, including a recent deserter from the British army,
+constituted his guard. With the captain, there were
+nine men, and but seven muskets. Having no apprehensions
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</span>of an attack, they laid down on their arms,
+upon the floor of the house, and all went to sleep, except
+the deserter, whose fears of a recapture kept him awake.
+Meantime a party of Tories, who had been apprised of
+Lands’ return, were on the way to surprise and kill
+him. The house was approached on the south, by a
+road leading through a wood. The Tories gained the
+rear of the stable, that stood in one corner of the inclosed
+yard around the house, unobserved. Behind this
+their horses were tied, and, dividing into two parties,
+they then advanced against the dwelling, which had
+two doors; one facing the east,—in front of which was
+a forked apple tree,—and the other the west.</p>
+
+<p>The deserter, who remained on the watch, hearing a
+noise about the stable, went out to discover from whence
+it proceeded. He had gone, but a few steps from the
+door, when he descried the party of Tories approaching
+the east end of the building. Instantly darting back,
+he caught Andrew Jackson, who lay nearest the door,
+by the hair, crying out in alarm, “The Tories are upon
+us—the Tories are upon us!” Andrew was on his
+feet in a moment; seizing his gun, he darted out of the
+house, and thrusting the piece through the fork of the
+apple tree, loudly hailed the advancing party. No answer
+was given. He repeated the hail,—still there was
+no reply. He then fired, and at the same instant a
+volley was returned by the enemy, which killed the
+deserter, who stood at his side. This prompt movement
+on his part, however, saved the inmates of the house.
+The first party of Tories were brought to a stand, and,
+in the darkness, their fire was mistaken by their comrades,
+who were moving towards the west door, for
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</span>that of a sallying party. The latter also halted, and a
+brisk fire commenced between the two parties. After
+discharging his piece, Andrew Jackson returned into
+the house, and, with two others, commenced firing
+from the west door. Both his companions were shot
+down, one of them being mortally wounded; but he
+escaped untouched. The two bands of Tories still
+continued to pour their volleys into each other, and
+upon the house, till they were alarmed by the notes of
+a cavalry trumpet, sounding the charge, in the distance,
+when they mounted their horses, and fled in hot haste.
+The charge was sounded by a Major Isbel, who was
+in the neighborhood, but had not a single man with
+him. He had heard the firing, and, presuming that
+Lands’ house was attacked, had taken this means to
+alarm the assailants, which fortunately proved effectual.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">ATTACK ON THE WAXHAW SETTLERS.</div>
+
+<p>After the departure of Cornwallis from South Carolina,
+Lord Rawdon, whose head-quarters were at
+Camden, was left in command. By this time, the
+stubborn patriotism of the Waxhaw settlers was well
+understood; and on being advised of their return, he
+dispatched Major Coffin, with a corps of light dragoons,
+a company of infantry, and a number of Tories, to
+capture them. On being informed of their danger, the
+settlers resolved that they would no longer fly, but
+maintain their ground at all hazards. A day was
+appointed for the male inhabitants in the settlement,
+capable of bearing arms, to assemble at the Waxhaw
+meeting-house, which was fixed upon as the place of
+rendezvous. Punctual, at the time and place, about
+forty of the settlers,—Robert and Andrew Jackson
+being among the number,—had collected, and were
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</span>waiting for a friendly company, under Captain Nesbit,
+when they saw what they supposed to be the expected
+reïnforcement,—but which, in reality, was the detachment
+of Major Coffin, with the Tories, who wore the
+usual dress of the country, in front,—approaching at a
+rapid rate. The deception was not discovered, till the
+British dashed in among them, cleaving down all who
+stood in their way. Eleven of the party were taken
+prisoners; the remainder sprang upon their horses, and
+most of them made their escape.</p>
+
+<p>Andrew Jackson was accompanied in his flight, by his
+cousin, Lieutenant Thomas Crawford; but, in passing
+over a piece of marshy ground, the horse of the latter
+mired and fell, and he was wounded and taken prisoner.
+Young Jackson shortly after encountered his brother,
+who had also eluded pursuit. They remained together
+during the night, and, at dawn on the following morning,
+concealed themselves in a dense thicket, on the
+bank of Cain Creek, near the house of Lieutenant
+Crawford. During the day they became very hungry,
+and, deeming themselves secure, ventured out to the
+house. A boy was directed to watch the road; but
+while* they were satisfying their hunger, a band of
+Tories and dragoons, who had discovered their retreat,
+and captured their horses and guns, which were left
+behind them, suddenly made their appearance, and
+surrounded the house. Resistance could be of no
+avail, and escape was impossible. They therefore surrendered
+themselves prisoners of war.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">TAKEN PRISONER TO CAMDEN.</div>
+
+<p>Not content with the capture of the two young men,
+the dragoons and Tories commenced abusing and maltreating
+Mrs. Crawford and her children. The crockery
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</span>and furniture in the house were broken in pieces; and
+the beds and bedding, and all the clothing of the family,
+including that of an infant at the breast, was torn into
+shreds. While the work of destruction was going on,
+the British officer, in command of the party, directed
+Andrew Jackson to clean the mud from his boots.
+As might be supposed, he indignantly refused to do
+the menial office. Enraged at this reply, the officer
+drew his sword, and aimed a dastard blow at the head
+of his unarmed prisoner. The latter parried it with his
+left hand, but, in so doing, received a cut, the scar of
+which was carried to his grave. Disappointed in the
+spirit of the intrepid youth, the officer turned to his
+brother, and required him to perform the task. Robert
+likewise refused; a furious blow from the infuriated
+Briton, was the consequence; and a wound was inflicted,
+from the effect of which his victim never recovered.</p>
+
+<p>Andrew Jackson was then placed on a horse, and directed,
+under a threat of instant death if he refused, to
+guide the party to the house of Major Thompson, a
+well-known Whig, who lived below Crawford’s, on the
+same side of the stream. Fearing that Thompson
+might be at home, our hero resorted to a stratagem to
+save him; which, though it might naturally have suggested
+itself to his mind, seems strange enough when
+we reflect that it was not only conceived, but executed,
+by a lad scarcely fourteen years of age.—Leading the
+party by a circuitous route, he brought them within
+full view of Thompson’s house, at the distance of a
+half mile. Nothing more was necessary. The dragoons
+spurred onward, but they were still several hundred
+yards distant, when they saw the major issue
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</span>forth, mount his horse, which, as was then customary,
+was kept ready saddled, and dash towards the creek.
+The British darted after him in pursuit, but reached
+the stream only in time to hear his loud shout of defiance,
+as he rode leisurely off along the opposite bank. The
+current was so much swollen by the influx during the
+rainy season, that they dare not attempt to cross it,
+and therefore reluctantly abandoned the chase.</p>
+
+<p>After this unsuccessful attempt to capture the Whig
+officer, the two Jacksons, with about twenty other
+prisoners, were mounted on captured horses, and the
+party set out on their return to Camden. Not a
+mouthful of food, or drop of water, was given them on
+the road; and when they reached Camden, they were
+thrust into a redoubt surrounding the jail, in which
+some two hundred and fifty prisoners, besides those
+taken at the Waxhaws, were confined. Here they
+were stripped of part of their clothing,—Andrew losing
+his jacket and shoes; their wounds were undressed;
+no attention was paid to their wants; and when the
+relationship between the two Jacksons and Lieutenant
+Crawford was discovered, they were instantly separated,
+and kept in ignorance of each other’s fate. The Provost
+was a Tory from New York, who, it was afterwards
+said, took the provisions intended for the prisoners, to
+feed a number of negroes whom he had collected from
+different Whig plantations, with the intention of disposing
+of them for his own benefit. Be that as it may,
+the prisoners were but sparingly supplied with bad
+bread; and to add to their wretchedness, the smallpox
+appeared among them, and made frightful ravages.</p>
+
+<p>Amid the accumulated horrors of his prison-house,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</span>with sickness and starvation staring him in the face,
+the groans of the dying constantly ringing in his ears,
+and hourly exposed to the ill-treatment of his captors,—Andrew
+Jackson never lost the fearlessness of spirit
+which ever distinguished him. Availing himself of a
+favorable opportunity, he boldly remonstrated with the
+officer of the guard, in behalf of himself and his suffering
+companions. His remonstrances had the desired effect;
+meat was added to the rations, and, in other respects,
+the condition of the prisoners was decidedly improved.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">BATTLE OF HOBKIRK’S HILL.</div>
+
+<p>Matters were in this situation, when General Greene
+returned from North Carolina, in April, 1781, and encamped,
+with his army, on Hobkirk’s Hill, a little over
+a mile north of Camden, waiting only the arrival of his
+cannon, before making his dispositions to assault the
+post.</p>
+
+<p>On the morning of the twenty-fourth of April,
+Andrew Jackson discovered indications of a design to
+attack General Greene. The jail and redoubt stood on
+the eminence upon which Camden is situated, and a
+fine view would have been afforded of the encampment
+on Hobkirk’s Hill, had not the British taken the precaution
+to construct a high and tight plank fence on
+the redoubt, immediately after the arrival of the American
+army in the neighborhood. He was determined,
+nevertheless, to obtain a view of the anticipated conflict;
+and, by working nearly all night, with an old razor-blade,
+furnished the prisoners to cut their rations, he
+succeeded in digging out a knot in one of the planks.
+When Lord Rawdon led out his men, on the morning
+of the twenty-fifth, for a bold stroke at the American
+leader, Andrew mounted the breastwork, and placed
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</span>himself at the look-out, while his fellow prisoners gathered
+in groups below him, listening attentively, as he
+detailed the varied incidents of the day.</p>
+
+<p>His voice was tremulous with apprehension, as he
+informed his companions, that the Americans had been
+taken unawares, and their pickets were driven in; it
+was pitched to a louder key, when the cannon of Greene
+opened their brazen throats, and vomited forth torrents
+of flame and iron, tearing and rending through the
+British columns; again it sank, as the enemy rallied,
+and pushed boldly forward; it rose once more, when
+the regiments of Ford and Campbell pressed gallantly
+upon their flanks—when Washington and his brave
+dragoons came thundering down in their rear—and he
+caught sight of the glistening bayonets of the 1st Maryland,
+and the Virginians, as they prepared to charge
+home upon their assailants; it fell again, as the veteran
+regiment of Gunby recoiled before the British fire, and
+died away into a whisper, when all hope of deliverance
+vanished, as the beaten, but not routed Greene, retired
+slowly over the hill, and the pursuit was only checked
+by the timely charge of Washington’s cavalry.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">RELEASE FROM CAPTIVITY.</div>
+
+<p>The Jacksons were not deserted by one friend, in their
+confinement—the mother who had reared them to serve
+their country, and who knew no prouder joy, than to
+see them do their duty well. She followed them to
+Camden, to aid and succor them, and, soon after the
+battle of Hobkirk’s Hill, procured their exchange, with
+five of their neighbors, for thirteen British soldiers,
+captured by a Whig partisan captain, by the name of
+Walker. Pale, emaciated, barefooted, almost naked,
+and infected with the smallpox, they presented themselves
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</span>before their surviving parent. The wound in
+Robert’s head had never been dressed; and this, in
+connection with hunger, and the disease that had fastened
+itself upon him, had reduced him so low, that he
+was unable even to ride, except as he was held on a horse.</p>
+
+<p>There were but two horses for the whole party,
+consisting of Mrs. Jackson and her sons, and the other
+released prisoners, who accompanied them home. Mrs.
+Jackson rode one, and Robert was supported on the
+other by his companions. Thus wearily and sadly, did
+they perform their melancholy journey of more than
+forty miles, through a country blighted by the ravages
+of war, as if the lightnings of Heaven had scathed it.
+Within two hours’ ride of the Waxhaws, they were
+overtaken by a shower of rain, by which the company
+were completely drenched. The smallpox was driven
+in on both the boys; Robert died in two days; and
+Andrew at once became delirious. The fever raged
+violently for several days, and his case was regarded
+nearly hopeless. The kind nursing of his patient and
+devoted mother, and the attentions of his physician, at
+length triumphed over the disease, and restored him to
+consciousness and health.</p>
+
+<p>He had scarcely recovered his strength, when his
+mother, with characteristic energy and fortitude, in
+company with four or five other ladies, providing
+themselves with such necessaries as could be conveniently
+carried on horseback, set out to visit a number
+of the Waxhaw settlers, including some of the Crawfords,
+who had been taken by the enemy, and were
+confined on board the Charleston prison-ship—whose
+history, like that of the Old Jersey, at New York,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</span>is but a tale of unmitigated horror and suffering.
+These good Samaritan women reached Charleston,
+obtained permission to visit the vessel—a privilege that
+had always been refused to relatives and friends of the
+other sex—and delivered the supplies which they had
+brought. Mrs. Jackson, however, never returned from
+this errand of love and mercy. Enfeebled by constant
+care and privation, worn down by the numerous hardships
+and fatigues which she had endured, she was
+seized with the fever prevailing among the prisoners,
+which soon terminated her existence. She was buried
+near the enemy’s lines, in the vicinity of Charleston, in
+an unknown grave;—but her memory, in after times,
+was doubly honored, as that of the noble, self-sacrificing
+mother, of Andrew Jackson!</p>
+
+<p>Solitary and alone, her orphan son, at the time when
+he most needed the care and advice of a parent, was
+cast upon the world, to buffet, as he might, the billows
+of adverse fortune. His home was, indeed, desolate.
+Like Logan, there ran not a drop of his blood in the
+veins of any living creature. Mother and brothers,—all
+had perished—the victims of English cruelty!—Is
+it to be wondered, then, that he cherished such a feeling of
+animosity towards the British name; or that he
+hated everything akin to oppression, with a hatred so
+deep and fervent?</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">CLOSE OF THE WAR.</div>
+
+<p>Early in the summer of 1781, the British voluntarily
+evacuated, or were driven from, all their advanced
+posts outside of Orangeburg. General Greene retired
+with his army, during the hot season, to the hills of
+Santee, but again made his appearance in the lower
+country, near the close of the month of August, with
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</span>his command refreshed and reïnvigorated. In September,
+he fought the indecisive battle at Eutaw Springs.
+The palm of victory was disputed, but the substantial
+advantages of the action were his; and when the campaign
+closed, the enemy were cooped up in Charleston
+and Savannah.—In October, the war was finally terminated,
+by the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown.</p>
+
+<p>After the evacuation of Camden, the Waxhaw settlers,
+or rather, those of them who had survived the
+perils of war, found the security and repose which had
+so long been denied. Andrew Jackson remained, for
+some time subsequent to the death of his mother, at
+the house of Major Thomas Crawford; but, in consequence
+of a difficulty with Captain Galbraith, an American
+commissary, whose quarters were at the same
+place, and who became offended with him for some
+trifling cause, he afterwards entered the family of Mr.
+Joseph White, an uncle of Mrs. Crawford. Mr. White’s
+son was a saddler, and Andrew, though suffering all
+the while with the fever and ague, entered his shop,
+and assisted him as far as he was able.</p>
+
+<p>Unfortunately for him, the enemy still remained in
+the possession of Charleston, and many of its wealthiest
+and most polished citizens resided, temporarily, at the
+Waxhaws, and in the neighborhood. It was quite
+natural, in the reäction of his ardent temperament,
+after the first shock of his sad bereavement had passed
+away, that a carelessness and recklessness of disposition
+should be manifested. His associates were the young
+men from the city, and, with them, he spent most of
+his time in idle sports and amusements. The studies,
+which had been necessarily interrupted during the war,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</span>were totally neglected; his books were thrown aside;
+and a large portion of his little patrimony was squandered,
+in the vain effort to compete with his more
+wealthy associates, in the liberality of his expenditures.
+When they returned to Charleston, in the winter of
+1784, he followed them on a fine mare belonging to
+him. He found some of his old companions in the
+tavern where he stopped, with whom he engaged in a
+game of dice, called “Rattle and Snap.” His mare
+was staked against a sum of money—and he won.
+Inspired by a sudden thought, he pocketed the money,
+paid his bill, and returned home; with a determination,
+to which he inflexibly adhered, to change his course of
+life.</p>
+
+<p>How many there are, who would have yielded, like
+Andrew Jackson, to the Circean charms and fascinations
+of a career of dissipation!—how few, like him,
+would have paused at the very entrance of the vortex,
+and, in an instant, effected an entire reformation!—The
+descent to Avernus is easy, said the Cumæan
+Sibyl:&#x2060;—</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+  <div class="poetry" lang="la">
+      <div class="verse indent0a">“Sed revocare gradum, superasque evadere ad auras,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Hoc opus, hic labor est.”</div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<p>Had he remained in Charleston another day, perhaps
+another hour, he might have gone down to an early
+grave, unhonored and unlamented. Though he came
+off conqueror in a dozen well-fought fields, this was the
+noblest of his victories—the conquest over himself!</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">EMIGRATES TO TENNESSEE.</div>
+
+<p>Arrived at the Waxhaws, young Jackson collected
+together the remains of his small property, and, bidding
+adieu to his friends, repaired to Salisbury, in North
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</span>Carolina; where he commenced the study of the law,
+in the office of Spruce McCay, an eminent counsellor,
+and afterwards a distinguished judge of that state.
+His untiring industry and zeal, his talents, and his
+correct and manly deportment, soon won the favorable
+esteem of Judge McCay, and other prominent citizens
+of North Carolina, whose acquaintance he formed. His
+professional studies were completed under Colonel John
+Stokes, and, in 1786, he was admitted to the bar. He
+remained in the state about two years subsequent to
+this, constantly gaining ground in the regard of his
+new friends and acquaintances; and in 1788, at the
+age of twenty-one, without solicitation on his part, he
+was appointed by the governor, solicitor for the western
+district, which afterwards became the state of Tennessee.</p>
+
+<p>Near the close of the year 1788, in company with
+John McNairy, the newly appointed judge of the western
+district, he crossed the mountains, for the purpose
+of entering upon his official duties, and establishing
+himself in practice. Jonesborough was then the principal
+seat of justice, and they remained there for several
+months.</p>
+
+<p>The country was rapidly filling up with the hunters
+of North Carolina and Virginia,—“the pioneers of civilization,”—who
+fearlessly entered the unbroken forest,
+with the axe in one hand and the rifle in the other. The
+territory lying between the Ohio and Tennessee rivers
+had long before received the name of Kentuckeè, or the
+“Bloody Land,” on account of its being the battle, as
+well as the hunting ground, of the Northern and Southern
+Indians. The valley of the Cumberland river contained
+some of the most fertile and beautiful lands, and
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</span>abounded in the finest game. The principal tide of emigration,
+therefore, naturally turned in this direction,
+notwithstanding the settlers thereby brought upon themselves
+the animosity of both parties of Indians.</p>
+
+<p>In 1789, Judge McNairy, and his friend, first visited
+the infant settlements on the Cumberland, including
+that at French Creek, near the present site of Nashville.
+Most of the settlers resided in stations,—frequently
+built on the <em>stamping grounds</em> of the buffalo,—which
+were usually connected by the <em>traces</em> of the wild
+beasts, that everywhere intersected the surrounding
+forests. The log cabin was the abode of all classes,—but
+these primitive dwellings were, perhaps, oftener
+tenanted by happiness and joy, than the marble palaces
+of the great and opulent. Theirs was a life of peril,
+indeed; but it was well suited to Jackson’s adventurous
+disposition, and he gladly shared their dangers and
+vicissitudes, and participated in their sports and festivities.</p>
+
+<p>He was still undecided in regard to locating permanently
+in the district, when he arrived at the settlements
+on the Cumberland. He found, however, that the
+debtor class constituted a large proportion of the population,
+and that, having retained the only lawyer in
+West Tennessee in their interest, they were enabled to
+set their creditors at defiance. The latter flocked
+around him in crowds, and in a few days after his arrival
+he issued a great number of writs. Threats of
+personal violence were employed, in vain, to intimidate
+him; they had only the opposite effect, and induced him
+to remain, and establish himself in the neighborhood of
+Nashville. At that time there were no hotels, or regular
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</span>boarding-houses, in the country, and none were
+needed,—as travellers, men of business, and professional
+men, were cheerfully entertained by private families.
+Jackson, and the late Judge Overton, boarded together,
+with Mrs. Donelson, the widow of Colonel John Donelson,
+who had, some years previous, emigrated from Virginia
+to Kentucky, and thence to Tennessee.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">ADVENTURES IN THE WILDERNESS.</div>
+
+<p>Business of a public, or private nature, often called
+Jackson to Jonesborough, about two hundred miles distant
+from Nashville, from which it was separated by a
+dense wilderness, with only here and there a small station.
+In those days, a journey was not the pastime
+which it has latterly become; and the traveller enjoyed
+few of the comforts, and none of the luxuries, which
+modern civilization has introduced. A horse; a rifle,
+to be slung over the shoulder; a hunting knife; a portmanteau,
+containing a few clothes and provisions; and
+a blanket,—constituted his preparations for the road.
+Sometimes journeys were performed singly, but, more
+generally, in companies. At night, the travellers lighted
+a fire with a tinder-box, or the flash of a rifle; and
+their horses were picketed. If they were supplied with
+bacon, or game, it was roasted on a stick; otherwise,
+jerked meat, parched maize, and the tough corn-dodger,
+formed their frugal repast. After partaking of this, sentinels
+were posted, if an attack from the Indians was
+apprehended; and, wrapping themselves in their blankets,
+they lay down to sleep, with naught but the blue
+canopy of heaven over their heads.</p>
+
+<p>Numerous anecdotes are related of the fearlessness
+and intrepidity displayed by Andrew Jackson, when
+performing these weary pilgrimages through the forests
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</span>of Tennessee. On one occasion, in the month of March,
+he was on his way from Jonesborough to the Cumberland,
+with three companions, and reached the east side
+of the Emory, just below the gap in the mountains,
+shortly after dark. The fires of a large party of Indians
+being discovered on the opposite bank, he instantly
+assumed the direction of affairs, and, enjoining silence
+upon his comrades, led them back some distance into
+the mountains. They then left the road at different
+points, in order to elude pursuit,—reunited again, and
+proceeded up the stream, until two o’clock in the afternoon
+of the following day, when they attempted to cross
+it, at a basin between two cataracts.</p>
+
+<p>A raft was constructed of logs bound firmly together
+with hickory withes, upon which their clothes, blankets,
+saddles, rifles and ammunition, were placed; Jackson
+and one of his companions intending to cross first with
+these, and then, at a second trip, with their comrades,
+to swim the horses over alongside the raft. But on
+pushing from the shore, the under-tow seized the frail
+craft, and hurried it rapidly down the stream. Jackson
+and his friend vainly exerted themselves to arrest its
+progress; they were fast nearing the brink of the cataract,
+when the former, wrenching one of the rude oars
+from its fastenings, sprang to the stern, and braced himself
+there; at the same time holding out the oar to his
+companions on shore. They eagerly seized it, and drew
+the raft safe to land, just as it was quivering on the
+edge of the fall. On being chided for his too venturesome
+disposition, Jackson replied, “A miss is as good as
+a mile; you see how near I can graze danger—come
+on, and I will save you yet.”—The route up the stream
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</span>was now resumed, and, after spending another night,
+supperless, in the woods, they found a ford the next day,
+at which they crossed, and ultimately reached a log
+cabin on the road, about forty miles in rear of the Indian
+encampment.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">DESERTED BY HIS GUIDE.</div>
+
+<p>At another time, he reached Bean’s Station, the appointed
+rendezvous of a party with whom he designed
+to cross the wilderness, on the evening after they had
+left. Nowise daunted by the perils of the way, he provided
+himself with a guide, and set out to overtake
+them. He travelled all night, and, in the gray of the
+morning, came to the fires just deserted by the party before
+him. Pushing on, with increased speed, he soon
+discovered the trail of a body of Indians, twenty-two in
+number, who were evidently pursuing his friends in
+front. He still followed on, until he was close upon the
+savages, when the guide began to hesitate about advancing
+further, and finally refused, absolutely, to proceed.
+This was an unexpected dilemma, but Jackson neither
+feared danger, nor was he the man to desert his friends.
+Dividing provisions with his timid guide, the latter returned
+to the station, and he continued on cautiously,
+in the opposite direction. Presently he found that the
+Indians had turned off to the right, as he supposed, to
+get ahead of the party, and lay an ambush for them, or
+attack them at night. He at once hastened forward
+with greater rapidity, and came up with his friends, as
+they were preparing to encamp for the night. Being
+apprised of their danger, in a few moments they were
+again in motion, and continued their march without
+halting, till the evening of the next day. Nothing
+further was heard from the Indians, till the party had
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</span>reached their destination, in safety; when it was ascertained
+that a company of hunters, who had refused to
+shelter them in their log cabins, had been murdered by
+the same band of savages from whom they had so fortunately
+escaped.</p>
+
+<p>Besides crossing the wilderness intervening between
+Jonesborough and the Cumberland twenty-two times,
+while the country was yet new, Jackson frequently
+volunteered, with others, to go out and meet parties of
+emigrants from Virginia, or the Carolinas, who were
+escorted half way by their friends in the states, or the
+settlers in East Tennessee. The same service was
+often performed for emigrants, or travellers, going from
+Nashville to Lexington. An occasion of this kind furnished
+him an opportunity to display his gallantry as
+well as bravery:—He was proceeding with a company,
+from Nashville to Lexington, among whom was a lady
+going to join her husband at the latter place. The
+second night out, she was suddenly taken sick, and, in
+the morning, was unable to proceed on her journey.
+Disregarding her situation, a number of the party prepared
+their horses as usual, and were about to resume
+the march. Jackson earnestly remonstrated against
+leaving the woman alone in the forest, but, finding
+words of no avail, and that they insisted on proceeding,
+he levelled his rifle, and solemnly declared that he
+would shoot the first man who put foot in the stirrup.
+His companions cowed before the chivalric rage that
+lighted up his cheek, and kindled in his eye; and they
+consented to remain for a day at the encampment, at
+the expiration of which the lady was able to travel.</p>
+
+<p>As the settlers in Kentucky were exposed to the irruptions
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</span>of the Shawanese, so those in Tennessee were
+liable to similar visitations from the Choctaws and
+Cherokees. Whenever the savages had committed any
+depredations, volunteer parties were always formed to
+pursue them. Andrew Jackson was usually one of the
+first to make his appearance at the rendezvous. He
+once accompanied a party, between forty and fifty
+strong, under Colonel Elijah Robertson, on an expedition
+of this character, to the head of a creek flowing
+into Duck river. It was then proposed, that a part of
+the company should penetrate through the cane-brakes,
+a distance of ten miles, to the river, where the Indians
+were supposed to have encamped. Colonel R. Weakly,
+with Jackson and fifteen others, volunteered for the
+enterprise. It was accomplished with great gallantry;
+the savages were surprised, and fled without firing a
+gun,—leaving their camp, and their arms and ammunition,
+in the hands of their pursuers.</p>
+
+<p>Jackson was repeatedly engaged in affairs of the same
+kind, and acquired a high, and wide-spread reputation,
+for his bravery and skill. He also became well-known
+to the red warriors, and received from them the epithets
+of “Sharp Knife” and “Pointed Arrow.” The most
+important expedition in which he was concerned, was
+undertaken in 1794, when a large party from Nashville
+and its neighborhood, including himself, proceeded
+against the Indian town of Nickajack, near the Tennessee
+river, and razed it to the ground.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">RACHAEL DONELSON.</div>
+
+<p>When Andrew Jackson entered the family of Mrs.
+Donelson as a boarder, her daughter, Rachael, who had
+married a man by the name of Robards, in Kentucky,
+but had separated from him on account of his violent
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</span>temper and vicious habits, resided with her. Judge
+Overton and himself occupied another cabin, a few
+steps distant from that in which Mrs. Donelson lived,
+but met with her family, at the same table. Mrs.
+Robards was as distinguished for her beauty, her
+sweetness of temper, and her winning deportment, as
+was her husband for the possession of the opposite
+qualities. Through the mediation of Judge Overton,
+Robards was at one time reconciled to his wife, rejoined
+her at Mrs. Donelson’s, and commenced preparations
+for erecting a cabin, on a tract of land that he had
+purchased, in which he intended to reside.</p>
+
+<p>Jackson was then a young man, frank and engaging
+in his manners, and fond of female society. He undoubtedly
+paid Mrs. Robards many flattering attentions,
+which—neither thinking aught of evil, or cherishing an
+impure thought—were reciprocated as they deserved,
+with kindness and friendly esteem, but nothing more.
+So far from rendering her husband more morose and ill-tempered,
+this should only have led him to appreciate
+better her charms and social virtues, and encouraged
+him to become more pleasing and agreeable. But Iagos
+were not wanting to instil the doubts and suspicions of
+jealousy, had not his gloomy and distrustful temperament
+predisposed him to such impressions. She was,
+in consequence, rendered very unhappy. On being
+made acquainted with this fact, Jackson sought an interview
+with her husband, and remonstrated with him,
+in a manly and honorable way. This was of no avail,
+and he then left Mrs. Donelson’s, and took board at
+Mansker’s Station.</p>
+
+<p>The excited jealousy of the husband could not be allayed,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_193">[Pg 193]</span>however; and, in a few months, he abandoned
+his wife a second time, and started for Kentucky,—declaring
+to a companion on the road, that he designed
+never to return. Mrs. Robards now determined that
+the separation should be final; and on being afterwards
+informed, that he intended to visit Tennessee and take
+her back with him to Kentucky, under the advice of
+her friends, she accompanied the family of Colonel
+Stark to Natchez, in the spring of 1791. Stark was
+an elderly man, and fearing that the Indians might attack
+him, he invited Jackson to make one of the party.
+The latter, perhaps unwisely,—though he certainly
+never regretted it,—accepted the invitation, and descended
+the rivers with them, to Natchez.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">HIS MARRIAGE.</div>
+
+<p>Robards had previously applied to the Legislature of
+Virginia for a divorce, and, soon after the return of
+Jackson to Nashville, the intelligence was received that
+his application had been granted. Desirous of testifying
+to the world, in the highest and most solemn manner,
+his confidence in her purity and innocence—pleased,
+alike, with the charms of her person, and the graces of
+her mind—and deeming her at perfect liberty to form a
+new connection—Jackson forthwith repaired to Natchez,
+and tendered his hand to Mrs. Robards. She at
+first hesitated, but finally accepted him. They were
+married in the fall, and she returned with him to the
+Cumberland, where she was greeted with the warm
+and affectionate congratulations of her relatives and
+friends.</p>
+
+<p>Two years after his marriage,—in December, 1793,—Jackson
+was on his way to Jonesborough, with Judge
+Overton, when he learned, for the first time, equally to
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_194">[Pg 194]</span>his chagrin and surprise, that the intelligence received
+in 1791, and upon which he had acted, was incorrect.—Robards
+had, in 1791, procured the passage of an act
+in the Virginia Legislature, authorizing a suit to be
+brought for a divorce in a court in Kentucky, which
+suit had just been determined in his favor,—no opposition,
+of course, being made to the proceedings. Communications
+between the Atlantic country and the interior
+were then very irregular, and the exact particulars
+of the affair were not known, or inquired into, as
+it was universally supposed in Tennessee, that the divorce
+had been actually granted. On his return home,
+in January, 1794, Jackson took out a license, and was
+now regularly married.</p>
+
+<p>The circumstances of his acquaintance and marriage
+with Mrs. Robards, were long after seized upon by his
+opponents, when he became connected with the political
+controversies of the day, as a candidate for the presidency,
+and were made the foundation of unmerited
+and groundless calumnies. There were features in the
+case, which, unexplained, might appear suspicious; but
+the evidence of all who were personally acquainted with
+them, whose assertions are worthy of a moment’s consideration,
+acquit both parties of blame, and bear witness
+to the correct demeanor of Mrs. Robards, and the
+chivalric conduct of Andrew Jackson.—“While he
+would have sacrificed his life,” says his biographer, “to
+prevent Mrs. Robards’ falling unwillingly into the hands
+of her cruel tormentor, her husband though he was, he
+never cast a look upon her, or indulged a thought, unworthy
+of the purest knight in the days of honorable
+chivalry. But, when no longer restrained by law,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_195">[Pg 195]</span>honor or religion, pity, admiration, and a species of regret,
+though free from guilt, yet akin to remorse, kindled
+into love as pure and as holy as ever glowed in the
+heart of man. Nor was the object unworthy of this
+exalted passion. The united testimony of all who had
+the pleasure of her acquaintance, the happiness which
+during life she shed over the domestic circle, radiating
+into the cabins of her servants and the houses of her
+neighbors, and, above all, the sacred fervor with which
+the bosom on which she rested in youth, cherishes her
+memory, bear unequivocal testimony, that she was one
+of the best of those beings whom God has given as the
+companion and solace of man.”&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_15_15" href="#Footnote_15_15" class="fnanchor">[15]</a>&#x2060;</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">ANIMOSITY OF THE DEBTOR CLASS.</div>
+
+<p>After his marriage, Jackson devoted himself with
+more assiduity than ever, to the practice of his profession.
+His firm and independent course in espousing
+the cause of the creditors, though it elevated him in
+the esteem of the better part of the community, rendered
+the debtors peculiarly inimical towards him.
+His daring and prowess were so well known, however,
+that those who were nominally his equals in standing,
+dared not assail him; but they stimulated others to do
+so, belonging to the very lowest class of bullies and desperadoes,
+so many of whom are always to be found in a
+new country, who had neither character nor self-respect
+to lose, but were not deficient in that brutal courage,
+which the philosopher of Ferney terms, “a fortunate
+quality, of which fools partake as well as great men.”</p>
+
+<p>A flax-breaker, of great strength and courage, was
+the first person instigated to attack Jackson; but the
+latter soon tamed his spirit with his own winding-blades,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_196">[Pg 196]</span>the only weapon within reach. A noted bully next assaulted
+him, while he was conversing with a gentleman
+on business, at a court in Sumner County. Jackson
+seized a slab, and in a few seconds obliged the desperado
+to make his escape into the woods.—These encounters
+resulted so unfavorably to those who were
+induced to come in contact with him, that he was
+ever after exempt from annoyances of a similar character.</p>
+
+<p>In the course of his practice as a lawyer, Jackson
+discovered that extensive frauds had been committed in
+the North Carolina Land-Office, which he deemed it
+his duty, as the former attorney of that State, to expose.
+Through his instrumentality, the perpetrators
+were indicted and punished. Some of the most prominent
+citizens of the western district were directly, or
+indirectly, concerned in these transactions, and had
+profited largely by them. Consequently, he incurred
+their hostility; and they sought by every means to injure
+him. In the state of society then existing, a man,
+like him, exposed to the hatred of powerful enemies,
+may be said to have constantly carried his life in his
+hand. Unawed by threats, he pursued his way steadily
+and unerringly—daily adding to the number of his
+friends, and gaining ground in the confidence and regard
+of the wise and good.</p>
+
+<p>The necessary preliminary measures for the formation
+of a state government, were taken by the citizens
+of Tennessee, in 1795;&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_16_16" href="#Footnote_16_16" class="fnanchor">[16]</a> and Andrew Jackson was
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_197">[Pg 197]</span>chosen one of the delegates to the convention, without
+even offering himself as a candidate. The forest Solons
+and Numas composing that body, met at Knoxville, in
+the wilderness, on the eleventh of January, 1796, and
+adjourned on the sixth day of February following; having,
+in the short space of less than four weeks, framed
+and adopted a state constitution, which, for its republican
+simplicity, compared most favorably with those of
+other states.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">REPRESEN&shy;TATIVE AND SENATOR IN CONGRESS.</div>
+
+<p>On the first day of June, 1796, Tennessee was admitted
+into the Union as a State, and became entitled
+to one representative in Congress. Andrew Jackson
+was elected to the office, with great unanimity, and
+took his seat in the House of Representatives on the
+fifth of December, 1796. His reputation and popularity
+continuing to increase, he was chosen a senator in
+Congress the following year, when he had just reached
+the age prescribed by the Constitution. He appeared
+in the Senate of the United States on the twenty-second
+of November, 1797. At this session, the alien and
+sedition laws were passed. Jackson coïncided and
+voted with the republican members, and was therefore
+in the minority. During the session, he became so
+much dissatisfied with the course of the administration,
+to which he was opposed in sentiment, that he returned
+home in April, 1798, and shortly after resigned his seat.
+He was succeeded by his friend and neighbor, Daniel
+Smith.</p>
+
+<p>Upon his resignation of the office of senator, Jackson
+was appointed, by the Legislature of Tennessee, Judge
+of the Supreme Court of Law and Equity. The office
+was conferred on him unsolicited, and was accepted
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_198">[Pg 198]</span>with reluctance. As a lawyer, he had been distinguished
+for his fair and honorable dealing; for his abhorrence
+of low tricks and artifices; and for the ability
+with which he seized the strong points of a case, and
+presented them to a court or jury:—as a judge, he became
+equally well known, for his firmness and independence;
+for his integrity of purpose; and his plain,
+common sense adjudications.</p>
+
+<p>His first court was held at Jonesborough, at which a
+man, by the name of Russell Bean, was indicted for
+cutting off the ears of his infant child, in a drunken
+frolic. The sheriff dared not arrest the offender, who
+was notorious for his strength and ferocity, though
+present in the courtyard, and returned to the court, that
+he would not be taken. Judge Jackson told the officer
+that such a return was an absurdity, and that the man
+must be taken, even though it became necessary to
+summon the <i lang="la">posse comitatus</i>. When the court adjourned
+for dinner, the sheriff summoned the judge and
+his colleagues, as part of the <i lang="la">posse</i>. Jackson saw that
+the officer desired to avoid performing his duty, and
+therefore accompanied him. Learning that Bean was
+armed, he provided himself with a loaded pistol. At
+sight of him, the former attempted to make his escape;
+but the judge directing him to stop and submit to the
+law, in a tone that showed he was not to be trifled with,
+his weapons were thrown down, and he quietly surrendered.
+This incident was not lost upon other turbulent
+spirits who had previously treated courts and officers
+with contempt, and nothing of the kind was afterwards
+attempted.</p>
+
+<p>His health beginning to fail under the severe labor,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_199">[Pg 199]</span>both mental and physical, required of him in the performance
+of his official duties, Jackson determined to
+resign the judgeship; but, when his intentions became
+public, he was urged, in such flattering terms, to abandon
+his design, in a communication addressed to him by
+some of the most prominent citizens of the state, and a
+large number of the members of the Legislature, that
+he consented to remain in the office.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">DIFFICULTY WITH GOVERNOR SEVIER.</div>
+
+<p>In 1801, an election was held by the brigadiers and
+field-officers of Major General Conway’s division, to
+fill the vacancy occasioned by his death. Andrew
+Jackson, and John Sevier, formerly governor of the
+state, were competitors for the office; and the vote was
+equally divided between them. The appointment then
+devolved upon Governor Roane, who wisely conferred it
+on Andrew Jackson.</p>
+
+<p>Governor Sevier was connected, to some extent, with
+a combination of land jobbers at Nashville, associated
+together for the purpose of manufacturing fraudulent
+grants of land, which Jackson had aided in breaking up.
+This circumstance, and the preference of Governor
+Roane, rendered him a most implacable enemy and opponent.
+In 1803, he was a candidate for re-election as
+governor, and in the course of the canvass, his antipathy
+towards Judge Jackson, was imbibed by his party
+friends. This was particularly the case in East Tennessee.
+In the fall, the Judge proceeded to Jonesborough,
+to hold his court; and, having been taken seriously
+ill on the road, he retired to his room, immediately
+after his arrival, and lay down on the bed. In
+a few moments he was waited on by a friend, who
+begged him to lock his door—informing him that a large
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_200">[Pg 200]</span>mob had collected, under a Colonel Harrison, and loudly
+threatened to tar and feather him. Jackson declined
+securing his door, but throwing it wide open, sent his
+friend to Colonel Harrison, with the message, that he
+was ready to receive him and his party, whenever they
+chose to wait on him, and that he hoped the colonel’s
+chivalry would induce him to lead his men, and not follow
+them.—This bold message operated like a charm;
+the mob dispersed; Colonel Harrison apologized for his
+conduct, and thereafter remained on good terms with
+Jackson.</p>
+
+<p>The next court held by the latter, was at Knoxville,
+where the Legislature were then in session. They had
+just investigated the land frauds, of which mention has
+been made, and had found some evidence tending to
+implicate Governor Sevier. His excellency evinced a
+great deal of exasperation, and on leaving the courthouse,
+on the first day of the term, Judge Jackson
+found a large crowd gathered in front of the building,
+in the midst of which was Governor Sevier, with a
+sword in his hand, haranguing them in a violent manner.
+An altercation ensued between them, in which
+the governor was the aggressor, and the Judge sent him
+a challenge. This was accepted, but the governor failed
+to give the promised meeting, and Jackson at once published
+him in the usual form. A second meeting was
+then appointed to take place, though without any formal
+arrangement.</p>
+
+<p>Jackson repaired to the designated spot, but the governor
+failed to meet him. After waiting two days, he
+set out to return to Knoxville, but had proceeded only
+a short distance, when he encountered Governor Sevier,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_201">[Pg 201]</span>escorted by about twenty men, and armed with a brace
+of pistols and a sword. His friend instantly bore a
+challenge to the governor, who refused to receive it.
+Jackson was provided with a brace of pistols and a
+cane. On the return of his friend, with the insulting
+message of the governor, he levelled his cane, as the
+knight, in olden times, couched his spear in the rest,
+and dashed furiously upon his opponent. The latter
+hastily dismounted, in order to avoid the shock, but, in
+so doing, trode on the scabbard of his sword, and was
+thus rendered incapable of resistance. In the governor’s
+escort there were mutual friends of both parties,
+who interfered to prevent any further collision, and
+Jackson accompanied them back to Knoxville.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">RETIRES TO PRIVATE LIFE.</div>
+
+<p>Although Jackson was always prompt to defend
+himself from insult or injury, these altercations and
+disputes were by no means congenial to his spirit, and,
+anticipating their more frequent recurrence, for the
+reason that a number of cases, growing out of the
+fraudulent land sales, were about to be brought before
+him for decision, he concluded to retire from the bench;
+and his resignation was accepted by the Legislature, on
+the twenty-fourth of July, 1804, about six years after
+his original appointment.</p>
+
+<p>Previous to his resignation of the judgeship, the services
+of General Jackson, in a military capacity, were
+invoked by the General Government, in consequence
+of the threatening aspect of its relations with Spain,
+who had taken umbrage at the purchase of Louisiana
+from France. Preparations were made to reïnforce
+General Wilkinson, then at Natchez, at the head of a
+small force, with fifteen hundred men from the upper
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_202">[Pg 202]</span>country, including five hundred cavalry from Tennessee.
+In October, 1803, General Jackson was requested to
+procure, without delay, a sufficient number of boats to
+transport the troops to New Orleans, and to keep them
+in readiness. The request was complied with; the
+boats were procured; and the general tendered his services
+to the government if they should be needed.</p>
+
+<p>The firmness, caution, and prudence, of Jefferson,
+rendered a resort to arms unnecessary; and in February,
+1804, General Jackson sold the boats prepared
+for the expedition down the Mississippi. After resigning
+the office of judge, General Jackson retired to a
+plantation on the Cumberland, which he had purchased;
+to enjoy, what he had long coveted, the quiet scenes of
+domestic life, its gentleness and tranquillity, and the
+society of his devoted wife. His fortune was not large,
+but amply sufficient to satisfy his wants. He devoted
+most of his time to superintending the labor on
+his plantation, setting an example of methodical industry,
+and careful economy, worthy of general imitation,
+and often wielding the axe, or guiding the plough, with
+his own hands. Fond of society, and frank and generous
+by nature, he was distinguished far and wide for
+his hospitality; and it was remarked of him, that,
+“though he was a private citizen, he was the most
+public man in Tennessee.”</p>
+
+<p>He was passionately fond of fine horses, and took
+every pains to improve his stock, by importations from
+the Atlantic States. Like other planters around him,
+he brought his favorite animals out upon the race-courses,
+and, though not a sportsman, in the ordinary
+acceptation of the term, made many a venture upon
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_203">[Pg 203]</span>their relative speed. A circumstance of this kind gave
+rise to a most unfortunate affair:</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">HOSTILE MEETING WITH DICKINSON.</div>
+
+<p>A match race was agreed upon by him, and a Mr.
+Erwin and his son-in-law, Charles Dickinson, between
+their two horses, for a wager of two thousand dollars,
+with a forfeiture of eight hundred dollars, to be paid in
+cash notes. Erwin and Dickinson subsequently chose
+to pay the forfeit, and withdraw their horse. Some
+difficulty arose in regard to the character of the notes
+offered, but it was finally adjusted, to the apparent
+satisfaction of all parties. But the enemies of Jackson
+were anxious that he should fight a duel with Dickinson,
+who was reputed to be the best shot in the country.
+Through them, the dispute was revived. Several publications
+appeared in the newspapers, Dickinson grew
+more and more insulting, and at length made a direct
+imputation of cowardice. Jackson could endure his
+provocations no longer, and on the twenty-third of
+May, 1806, sent him a challenge. It was accepted by
+Dickinson, and the meeting was arranged to take place
+at Harrison’s Mills, Kentucky, on the thirtieth instant.</p>
+
+<p>Dickinson spent the intervening time in practicing;
+frequently boasting how often he had hit his opponent
+chalked out on a tree, and offering to bet that he would
+kill him. This was reported to General Jackson, and
+the effect on his excitable temperament may be imagined.
+The parties met, as had been agreed on. At
+the word, Dickinson fired, and the dust was seen to
+fly from the clothes of his antagonist. Jackson fired
+the next instant, and the other fell mortally wounded.</p>
+
+<p>The steadiness of nerve exhibited by General Jackson
+on this occasion has often been the subject of commendation,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_204">[Pg 204]</span>even with those who condemned the practice,
+then not only tolerated, but actually encouraged,
+by nearly all classes and parties, in the section of country
+in which he resided. It afterwards appeared, that
+he was himself severely wounded, at the time he fired;
+but his feelings had been so wrought upon, and the
+ardency of his temper was such, that he was insensible
+to physical suffering, and he declared to a friend, that
+he would have killed Dickinson, if he had been shot
+through the brain!</p>
+
+<p>Several years later,—in the summer of 1813,—General
+Jackson was concerned in an affray with Colonel
+Thomas H. Benton, so well and widely known, for
+many successive years, as a Senator in Congress, from
+the State of Missouri. The former had acted as the
+second of Governor Carroll, in a duel with a brother of
+Colonel Benton, which, the latter thought, was inconsistent
+with the friendly relations existing between
+himself and the general. An angry correspondence
+passed; bitter recriminations were made on both sides;
+and they afterwards encountered each other, and interchanged
+shots, at a public house in Nashville. In
+the affray, General Jackson’s left arm was shattered
+by a pistol shot, and he was confined to his room for
+several weeks. The imbittered feelings engendered
+during the progress of this controversy, were cherished
+for many years after the encounter, but they were subsequently
+entirely allayed; and when General Jackson
+became President of the United States, he had no firmer
+supporter, or warmer friend, than Colonel Benton.</p>
+
+<p>These personal controversies and altercations have
+been mentioned here, not because they afford valuable
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_205">[Pg 205]</span>examples worthy, at this day, of imitation, but rather,
+for the reason, that they are not more illustrative of
+Jackson’s nice sense of honor, his stern will, and his
+indomitable courage, than of the rude state of society
+in which he lived. If, like General Wayne, he manifested
+“a constitutional attachment to the decision of
+the sword,” he, too, had a warm and generous heart;
+and, though like the aroused lion, when he felt himself
+the object of wrong or injustice, no man possessed more
+of the gentler and softer affections of our natures. As
+Sir Walter Scott said of the Covenanter: “His faults
+were those of his times and associates, his virtues were
+eminently his own.”</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">AARON BURR.</div>
+
+<p>Aaron Burr made his first appearance in the western
+country, prior to the completion of his arrangements for
+his mysterious expedition, in the spring of 1805, and,
+on two occasions, during the summer, spent several
+days in the family of General Jackson. The people of
+Tennessee, like all the residents in the valley of the
+Mississippi, were exceedingly hostile to the Spaniards;
+and so long as Burr was supposed to be concerned in
+making arrangements for the invasion of Mexico, in
+the event of a war with Spain, General Jackson, with
+most of the influential citizens of that section, warmly
+seconded his projects. In 1806, Burr returned to the
+west and began his preparations. In the fall, the suspicions
+of General Jackson were awakened, and the
+friendly intercourse between them entirely ceased.
+Whatever may have been the designs of Burr, he dared
+not reveal them to General Jackson, though he ever
+entertained a high opinion of him, and always mentioned
+him in terms of respect. His patriotism was
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_206">[Pg 206]</span>much too earnest and sincere to be tempted; and, notwithstanding
+his previous intimacy with Burr, the
+special agent dispatched by the President to secure the
+arrest of the latter, was directed to call on him, with
+instructions to order out a military force, if necessary.
+General Jackson promptly ordered out twelve companies,
+but Burr had already left the mouth of the Cumberland,
+and was on his way down the Mississippi;
+and on ascertaining this fact, he dismissed his troops,
+and reported his proceedings to the government.</p>
+
+<p>Not long after General Jackson retired to private
+life, he entered into partnership with a merchant in
+Nashville. For a time their business appeared to be
+prosperous; Jackson took no active part in its management,
+but trusted everything to his associate. Some
+slight circumstances at length aroused his fears, and,
+upon examination, he found that the firm was not only
+insolvent, but that their liabilities exceeded their assets,
+by many thousand dollars. But one course—that
+dictated by honor and right—could be pursued. He
+instantly closed the business, sold his fine plantation
+where he lived, paid off the debts of the firm, and removed
+to a log cabin on another plantation, to begin
+the world anew. By the exercise of strict economy
+and prudence, in a few years he once more gathered
+around him the fruits of prosperous industry.</p>
+
+<p>In 1811, General Jackson had occasion to visit
+Natchez, to bring up a number of negroes, who had
+become his property as the surety of a friend, or belonged
+to a nephew; and, on reaching the station of
+the Choctaw agency, along which the road passed, he
+found seven or eight families of emigrants, and two
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_207">[Pg 207]</span>members of the Mississippi Legislative Council, whom
+the agent had detained, upon the pretence that it was
+necessary to have passports from the governor of Mississippi
+Territory. Justly indignant at this outrage,
+Jackson demanded what right he had to stop American
+citizens who were travelling on a public road. The agent
+replied, in a sharp tone, by inquiring whether he had
+a pass? “Yes, sir,” said the general, warmly; “I
+always carry mine with me:—I am a free-born American
+citizen; and that, under the constitution and laws,
+is my passport to go wherever my business calls me!”
+He then told the emigrants to gear up their wagons,
+and if any one attempted to obstruct them, to shoot
+him down. He himself set the example, and proceeded
+on his journey, utterly regardless of the threats of the
+agent.</p>
+
+<p>Upon his return from Natchez, he was informed that
+the agent had collected fifty white men, and one hundred
+Indians, and intended to stop him unless he produced
+a passport. On approaching the station, he
+armed his blacks with clubs and axes, and directed
+them to regard no order unless it emanated from him.
+The agent was at first inclined to stop him, but, being
+overawed by his firm and determined manner, made no
+attempt to oppose him. He afterwards reported the
+conduct of the officer to the President, and he was removed
+from the agency.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">WAR WITH GREAT BRITAIN.</div>
+
+<p>The period now arrived which Jackson had long anticipated.—War
+was declared against the enemy of
+his country and his race, on the eighteenth of June,
+1812. It is easy to conceive the emotions which the
+intelligence must have awakened in his bosom. Recollections
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_208">[Pg 208]</span>of the past came rushing and thronging into his
+mind. The cycles of Time rolled backward. Again
+he stood upon the threshold of his desolate home,—on
+“the forest-clad banks of the Catawba,”—orphaned by
+the cruelty of British officers and agents. Let him
+not be reproached, if motives of revenge quickened and
+sharpened his patriotism. His desire for vengeance was
+almost holy in its character—it was based on fraternal
+affection, on filial love!</p>
+
+<p>When the tocsin of war was sounded, the glad, prolonged
+echoes, came up from every valley and hamlet;
+but in no quarter of the country was the response more
+enthusiastic, than in the valley of the Mississippi. General
+Jackson immediately issued a stirring address to
+his division, twenty-five hundred men of which volunteered
+to follow wheresoever he saw fit to lead them.
+A tender of their services was made to the President,
+through Governor Blount, on the twenty-fifth of
+June, which was accepted on the eleventh of July.
+No immediate duty being required of the patriotic
+volunteers belonging to his division, General Jackson
+became impatient to participate in the struggle, and
+solicited the appointment of brigadier general in the
+regular army, which was conferred on General Winchester.
+Could President Madison have foreseen the
+sad catastrophe that occurred on the banks of the Raisin,
+in the following January; or had he possessed any
+correct idea of the military qualifications of General
+Jackson, we may well suppose that the latter would
+have been his choice.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">EXPEDITION TO NATCHEZ.</div>
+
+<p>An opportunity, however, was soon presented to Jackson,
+for taking the field. On the first of November,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_209">[Pg 209]</span>Governor Blount issued an order, in conformity with a
+requisition from the War Department, directing him
+to organize and equip fifteen hundred infantry and
+riflemen, with whom he was instructed to descend the
+river to New Orleans, and reïnforce General Wilkinson,
+then commanding that department. The necessary
+proclamation was issued, and, on the tenth of December,
+upwards of two thousand men rendezvoused at
+Nashville, many of whom had come miles upon miles,
+through cold, and sleet, and snow, undaunted by the
+rigors of the climate, and intent only on obeying the
+call of their country. On the thirteenth instant, the
+organization of the command, which consisted of one
+regiment of cavalry, not embraced in the requisition,
+but enrolled with the consent of Governor Blount, under
+Colonel Coffee, and two regiments of infantry,
+under Colonels Hall and T. H. Benton, was fully completed.</p>
+
+<p>Numerous difficulties were yet to be encountered
+before the troops could be put in motion. Arms had
+been sparingly furnished by the government, and funds
+for the payment of the men had not been provided.
+Discontents naturally arose, and a mutiny was threatened.
+The firmness and determination of General
+Jackson prevented any outbreak, and his energy and
+perseverance ultimately overcame every obstacle. On
+the thirty-first of December, Colonel Coffee commenced
+his march with the mounted men, six hundred and
+seventy strong, by the overland route, to Natchez. On
+the seventh and eighth of January, 1813, General Jackson
+embarked on the Cumberland, in flat boats, with
+the two infantry regiments, numbering about fourteen
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_210">[Pg 210]</span>hundred. Descending the rivers slowly,—his progress
+being constantly impeded by large masses of floating
+ice,—he reached Natchez on the fifteenth of February,
+near which he found the cavalry under Colonel Coffee.</p>
+
+<p>At this point, General Jackson was met by a request
+from General Wilkinson, whose headquarters were at
+New Orleans, to halt his command, and report to him
+his force and instructions. Wilkinson held the rank of
+brigadier general in the regular army, with the brevet
+of major general; and it is not unlikely, that he suspected
+it was the intention of the government, that
+Jackson should supersede him. His request, doubtless,
+was prompted by this apprehension. As there was no
+indication of an attack on New Orleans, Jackson cheerfully
+complied with it. Natchez was a much more
+salubrious position for his troops, and having disembarked
+them, he marched to Washington, a few miles
+distant, where a cantonment had been previously established
+by a corps of regulars. The troops were placed
+in comfortable quarters, and a strong guard was detailed
+to protect the boats at Natchez.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">RETURN HOME.</div>
+
+<p>Camp regulations were now adopted, and strict orders
+issued by the commanding general, to proceed with the
+discipline and instruction of the troops. Becoming impatient
+for active duty, he wrote to the Secretary of
+War on the first of March, suggesting the employment
+of his force on the northern frontier, if there was no
+prospect of invasion in the south, or if Congress did not
+authorize the taking possession of Florida. This suggestion
+was repeated in a second letter written on the
+seventh of March. Before these letters reached Washington,
+an order had been issued from the War Department,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_211">[Pg 211]</span>directing him, on the receipt thereof, to consider
+his force dismissed from the service, and to take measures
+for the delivery of all articles of public property in
+his possession, to General Wilkinson. This unfeeling
+mandate concluded with a cold tender of thanks to
+himself and the corps under his command.</p>
+
+<p>Jackson was fairly astounded at the blow. His
+whole command, officers and men, joined in denouncing,
+in unmeasured terms, the Secretary of War, General
+Armstrong, by whom the order was issued. He was
+still more indignant, when he discovered the probable
+key to the movement, in a letter from General Wilkinson,
+who suggested his encouraging the regular recruiting
+service from the troops he commanded, “in an
+appropriate general order.” Jackson did no such thing;—but,
+when a recruiting officer made his appearance,
+informed him that if he attempted to seduce a single
+volunteer from the corps, he would drum him out of
+the camp.</p>
+
+<p>The patriotic volunteers who had accompanied General
+Jackson to Natchez were mostly young men—the
+flower of West Tennessee—the sons and brothers of his
+dearest friends and neighbors. The order he had received,
+required him to abandon these men, who looked
+up to him as a parent, in a strange land, five hundred
+miles from their homes; to deprive them of their arms,
+their tents and provisions; and to leave the sick uncared
+for, and unattended. This he could not, and did not do.
+He immediately wrote to the Secretary of War, denouncing
+his order, in no very honied words, and to the
+President, complaining of its barbarity, and giving his
+reasons for partially disregarding it. The necessary
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_212">[Pg 212]</span>orders were then given to provide wagons and supplies;
+the men were directed to retain their arms; he borrowed
+five thousand dollars of a merchant in Natchez, on his
+own responsibility, to make up deficiencies; and, as
+soon as everything could be got in readiness, set out on
+his return march with his whole command,—declaring
+that not a single man should be left behind, “who had
+any life in him.”</p>
+
+<p>Two hundred miles of the route lay through the
+Choctaw and Chickasaw country, and the only essential
+service rendered by the expedition was this homeward
+march, which overawed the Indians, and deterred them
+from joining the hostile Creeks and Cherokees.—Jackson
+paid every attention to the comfort of his soldiers,
+up to the last moment, strictly fulfilling his solemn
+pledge not to abandon one of them. Frequently he
+gave up his own horse to the sick, or exhausted soldier,
+and trudged along on foot, cheering all by his example,
+and ever ready with a kind word, to encourage those
+who faltered.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">CESSION OF LOUISIANA.</div>
+
+<p>Deeply chagrined though he was, at the result of the
+expedition to Natchez, General Jackson was still anxious
+to take part in the active scenes of the war. The
+disasters on the northern frontier in 1812, and the failure
+of the projected winter campaign under Harrison,
+in consequence of the incautious advance of General
+Winchester to Frenchtown, had produced a deep impression
+on his mind. His proud spirit smarted under
+the discredit of defeat; and, on the eighth of April,
+when on his way home, he wrote to the Secretary of
+War, informing him that he should be glad to execute
+any orders of the government in Canada, with his detachment,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_213">[Pg 213]</span>which could be augmented, if necessary. “I
+have a few standards,” said he, “wearing the American
+eagle, that I should be happy to place upon the
+ramparts of Malden.”</p>
+
+<p>About the middle of May, the Tennessee volunteers
+reached home and were discharged. The Secretary of
+War informed General Jackson that the order to dismiss
+his force was designed to reach him at Fort Massac,
+near the mouth of the Cumberland; it being supposed
+that he had not yet moved down the river. Though
+this explanation appeared inconsistent with the orders
+at the same time issued to General Wilkinson, its sincerity
+was not questioned by General Jackson. It was
+sufficient for him that his conduct was sanctioned by
+the government, and that he was relieved from the pecuniary
+responsibilities he had incurred.</p>
+
+<p>Within a few months after his return from Natchez,
+General Jackson was again called from his retirement,
+to lead a large body of troops into the Indian country
+on the southern borders of Tennessee.</p>
+
+<p>By the treaty of San Ildefonso, concluded on the
+first day of October, 1800, Louisiana was ceded by the
+Spanish government to the French republic. The territorial
+rights thereby acquired, were transferred to the
+United States, by a treaty concluded at Paris, on the
+thirtieth of April, 1803. Spain was highly incensed
+at the assignment of the territory, and threw every
+possible obstacle in the way of its occupation by the
+authorities of the United States. For a long time she
+refused absolutely, to yield up a large tract of country
+lying between the Perdido and Mississippi rivers, upon
+the pretence that it belonged to Florida.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_214">[Pg 214]</span></p>
+
+<p>During the war on the European continent, a community
+of feeling and interest was established between
+Spain and England; and it was only by the assistance
+and coöperation of British fleets and armies, that Ferdinand
+VII was able finally to preserve his throne.
+When hostilities commenced between the United States
+and Great Britain,—though solemnly bound by the provisions
+of a treaty concluded with the former, in 1795,
+to restrain the Indians on the frontiers of Florida,
+by force, from attacking American citizens,—Spain,
+through her officers, permitted British agents sent from
+Canada, to establish themselves at the posts belonging
+to, or occupied by her, and countenanced, or connived
+at, their efforts to stir up the savages to begin an exterminating
+warfare.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">THE SOUTHERN INDIANS.</div>
+
+<p>The principal Indian nations in the southern part of the
+Union were the Cherokees, Creeks, Choctaws, and Chickasaws.
+The two last mentioned tribes, together about
+thirty-five thousand strong, resided on the Yazoo, Pearl,
+and Pascagoula rivers, in the Territory of Mississippi;
+and after the occupation of Louisiana, and the march of
+General Jackson through their country, with his large
+army, on his return from Natchez, they could not be
+induced to take up arms against the Americans. The
+Cherokees, also, who occupied the mountainous country,
+where the two Carolinas, Georgia, Tennessee, and
+Alabama,—the last a part of Mississippi Territory at
+the time of which I am speaking,—adjoin, or approach
+each other, with the exception of a very small portion
+of the younger members of the tribe, remained on
+friendly terms with their white neighbors. The Creeks,
+numbering near twenty-five thousand, inhabited the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_215">[Pg 215]</span>fertile and beautiful Aulochewan country; their settlements
+extending from the Gulf of Mexico to the
+Tennessee river, and from the Chatahoochee to the
+Tombigbee, in the centre of which was the famous
+Hickory Ground, a rich tract of land lying in the forks
+of the Coosa and Tallapoosa, which its aboriginal occupants,
+from time immemorial, held peculiarly sacred.
+Besides these tribes, there was the Seminole band, an
+off-shoot of the Creeks, who had their homes in the
+swamps and hummocks on the borders of Georgia and
+Florida.</p>
+
+<p>The Creeks and Seminoles, from their situation, in
+the vicinity of St. Augustine, St. Marks, Pensacola,
+and Fort Condé, were rendered particularly liable to
+be influenced by the British agents at those posts. In
+the winter of 1811–12, Tecumseh visited the Creeks,
+and exhorted them earnestly to dig up the hatchet.
+After his departure, prophets arose among them, who
+practiced the same rites and incantations with the brother
+of the Shawano Chief, and, like him, professed to
+have received important revelations from the Great
+Spirit.&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_17_17" href="#Footnote_17_17" class="fnanchor">[17]</a> The older and wiser warriors were exceedingly
+averse to war, but, through the influence and
+machinations of British and Spanish officers who attended
+their councils, they were overruled by the
+younger and more ambitious spirits of the tribe.</p>
+
+<p>Soon after war was declared, the Seminoles commenced
+their depredations; but in the following winter,
+a body of Georgia militia, with two hundred volunteers
+from East Tennessee, followed them into Florida,
+burned several of their towns, and returned home again
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_216">[Pg 216]</span>in the spring of 1813. Matters were not yet ripe for a
+general outbreak, although it was confidently anticipated,
+as English vessels were known to be sent from
+the Bahamas to Florida, laden with arms, clothing, and
+ammunition, for the hostile Indians. In January, 1813,
+President Madison requested authority from Congress,
+to take possession of the territory claimed by Spain,
+lying west of the Perdido. After some delay, an act
+was passed, and on the fifteenth of April, General Wilkinson
+appeared before Fort Condé, near Mobile, and
+demanded its surrender. The Spanish commandant
+made no resistance, and the American standard was for
+the first time planted in the disputed territory. Other
+prominent points in the vicinity of Mobile were also
+occupied by the American troops.</p>
+
+<p>Occasional outrages were committed during the summer
+of 1813, and the white settlers residing in the
+neighborhood of the Creeks and Seminoles lived in a
+state of constant alarm and agitation. On the fifteenth
+of August, Governor Blount, of Tennessee, was directed
+to detail fifteen hundred of the militia of that
+state, and hold them in readiness for immediate service.
+These troops were not called out, however; and
+as time wore on without the occurrence of any serious
+calamity, the border inhabitants began to fancy themselves
+almost secure from attack. They were soon
+aroused from their lethargy, by the glare of burning
+villages, and the rattling war-cry of the Indian warrior.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">WAR WITH THE CREEKS.</div>
+
+<p>On the thirtieth day of August, 1813, Fort Mims,
+about forty miles from Mobile, on the left bank of the
+Alabama river, and a short distance above its junction
+with the Tombigbee, was surprised by a party of Creeks,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_217">[Pg 217]</span>seven hundred strong, under their chief, Weatherford;
+the garrison, consisting of one hundred and fifty of the
+1st Mississippi volunteers, under Major Beasely, and
+twenty white families who had taken refuge in the fort,
+with their negroes, in all about three hundred and fifty
+persons, were cruelly massacred. But seventeen of
+the whites made their escape. The perpetration of
+this horrid tragedy excited the utmost consternation at
+the forts and stations on the Tombigbee, of which there
+were nearly twenty within a distance of seventy miles
+above Fort Stoddart. Most of the forts were abandoned,
+and the affrighted fugitives fled down the river
+to Mobile, which was itself extremely insecure.</p>
+
+<p>General Claiborne, and Governor Holmes of the
+Mississippi Territory, immediately called out a small
+militia force,—all that it was in their power to bring
+into the field,—for the protection of the Mobile country.
+In Tennessee, the alarm was universal, and the
+whole population were aroused. But little aid could
+be expected from the General Government, all whose
+means and energies were employed in the prosecution
+of the northern campaign, and the defence of the Atlantic
+coast from the ravages of the more civilized, but
+not less brutal enemy. A public meeting of the citizens
+of Nashville was held on the eighteenth of September,
+at which resolutions were passed, urgently
+recommending the adoption, by the State Legislature,
+of prompt measures for the invasion of the Creek
+country. In accordance therewith, an act was passed
+on the twenty-fifth instant, authorizing the governor
+to call out thirty-five hundred men, in addition to the
+fifteen hundred already required by the General Government,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_218">[Pg 218]</span>who were to be immediately put in service,
+and pledging the faith of the state to pay them, if
+Congress should refuse. A resolution was also adopted
+on the twenty-seventh instant, directing the governor to
+tender the services of the Tennessee troops to the United
+States.</p>
+
+<p>The public sentiment, with one accord, fixed upon
+Andrew Jackson as the leader of this force. He was
+still confined to his room, on account of the arm fractured
+in the affray with Colonel Benton, which has been
+mentioned; but when his country called him to the
+field, he was ready to obey her behest. On the twenty-fourth
+of September, Governor Blount directed him to
+call out, without delay, two thousand men of his division,
+to rendezvous at Fayetteville,—and to order Colonel
+Coffee into immediate service, with five hundred
+cavalry previously raised. The necessary instructions
+were issued, on the same day, to Colonel Coffee, who
+was further instructed, to incorporate with his regiment
+any companies of volunteer riflemen that might
+present themselves. He also ordered into service the
+volunteers who had accompanied him to Natchez, together
+with one thousand militia from his division.</p>
+
+<p>On the twenty-fifth of September, General Jackson
+directed a part of the cavalry to repair to Huntsville,
+by forced marches. On the twenty-sixth, Colonel
+Coffee was ordered to move upon the same point and
+wait further orders, and on the twenty-eighth, he was
+instructed to proceed to Fort St. Stephen’s which was
+said to be threatened by the enemy. The state of his
+health did not permit the general to appear at Fayetteville
+on the fourth of October, the day appointed for
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_219">[Pg 219]</span>the rendezvous; but he was represented on that occasion,
+by his aid, Major Reid, through whom he delivered
+to the assembled troops a most eloquent and
+spirited address. On the seventh instant he reached
+the place of rendezvous, with his arm in a sling, where
+he found a dispatch from Colonel Coffee, who had
+marched a short distance beyond Huntsville, with near
+thirteen hundred men, informing him that the Creeks
+had divided their forces,—one portion moving towards
+the Georgia line, and the other advancing upon the
+frontiers of Tennessee,—and that, in consequence of
+this, he had not proceeded to Fort St. Stephen’s.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">TROOPS IN THE FIELD.</div>
+
+<p>It had been generally supposed that the next blow
+would be struck at Mobile—more particularly, because
+of the facilities which would have been afforded to the
+Indians, by its possession, of communicating with their
+British allies; but the report of Colonel Coffee allayed
+all the fears that had been entertained in regard to the
+safety of that post. Relieved on this point, General
+Jackson commenced his preparations for taking the
+field. Delay, however brief, was hardly admissible, as
+he desired to terminate the campaign by a few bold
+and decisive movements, but it was necessary, in order
+to furnish the volunteers and militia, who had rendezvoused
+at Fayetteville, with the requisite arms and
+supplies.</p>
+
+<p>The hostile Creeks, or Red Sticks, numbered only
+about four thousand warriors, and they were now surrounded
+by an American force large enough, had it
+been properly provided, and directed by a single commander,
+like General Jackson, to have driven them into
+the Gulf of Mexico, or exterminated them in a very
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_220">[Pg 220]</span>few weeks. On the west of their settlements, there
+were six hundred Mississippi volunteers, under General
+Claiborne; the 3rd regiment of regular infantry, six
+hundred strong, under Colonel Russell; and two hundred
+militia, at Fort St. Stephen’s. On the north,
+were the Tennessee volunteers and militia, five thousand
+in number,—twenty-five hundred from West Tennessee,
+with General Jackson in person, and twenty-five
+hundred from East Tennessee, under Generals
+Cocke and White,—all under the orders of General
+Jackson; and in addition to these, there was a force
+of two hundred Mississippi volunteers, near Huntsville,
+under Colonel Perkins. On the east were
+twenty-five hundred Georgia militia, commanded by
+General Floyd. Besides the troops mentioned, there
+was a body of Cherokees and friendly Creeks, sometimes
+with one party and sometimes with another, and
+varying, at different times, from one or two, to seven
+or eight hundred.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">DESIGNS OF THE BRITISH.</div>
+
+<p>Had they not been grossly deceived and deluded by
+their prophets, the Creeks could never have hoped to
+accomplish anything against this formidable array.
+Indeed, they seem to have been strangely infatuated
+throughout; for, instead of concentrating their whole
+force in an attack on Mobile, or the Mississippi or
+Georgia troops, neither of whom were yet fully prepared
+for the field, they advanced with their main
+body, weakened by a detachment sent towards the
+frontiers of Georgia, against the column under General
+Jackson, who was ready to meet them at any
+odds, and determined to defeat, when he did meet
+them. It is not probable that the British agents who
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_221">[Pg 221]</span>instigated the Creeks to hostilities, anticipated that the
+latter would achieve any certain success. They only
+supposed that the savages would hold the Americans
+at bay, until a British army could be brought to succor
+them. The resistless energy and perseverance of
+General Jackson, defeated any such project. Long
+before England was able to dispatch a considerable
+force to the Gulf, he had fallen upon the Creeks like a
+thunderbolt, scattered their warriors, who escaped the
+deadly aim of his rifles, like chaff before the wind,
+spread terror and devastation through their settlements,
+and forced them, as suppliants, humbly to beg
+for peace.</p>
+
+<p>About one o’clock in the morning of the eleventh of
+October, an express from Colonel Coffee,—who had
+crossed the Tennessee river south of Huntsville, at
+Ditto’s Landing, and posted his command on a high
+bluff on the opposite shore,—arrived at Fayetteville,
+with the information that the Red Sticks were rapidly
+approaching his position. Jackson instantly replied,
+that he would be on the march to reïnforce him, in
+two hours. It had been sometime before understood,
+between General Jackson and General Cocke, that the
+latter would send supplies down the river, from East
+Tennessee, where provisions were abundant, to meet
+the other column at Ditto’s Landing. Hoping, rather
+than believing, that he would be supplied with provisions,
+in sufficient quantities, if he advanced into
+the enemy’s country, Jackson ordered all his disposable
+force under arms, and left Fayetteville early in the
+morning of the eleventh.</p>
+
+<p>Rumors of Indian massacres and outrages reached
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_222">[Pg 222]</span>the command at every stage of their progress. They
+scarcely halted during the day, and at eight o’clock in
+the evening were in Huntsville, thirty-two miles distant.
+Here General Jackson ascertained that the report
+in regard to the advance of the Creeks was not
+well founded; and he therefore concluded to rest his
+men till the following morning, when he resumed his
+march, and in the evening effected a junction with the
+troops under Colonel Coffee.</p>
+
+<p>From the positive assurances contained in letters
+received from Generals Cocke and White,—the latter
+of whom had concentrated about eight hundred and
+fifty men, at Highwassee Garrison, in the Cherokee
+country, on the fourth of October,—General Jackson
+was led to believe that he should find ample stores of
+provisions when he reached the Tennessee river. On
+the thirteenth of October, he dispatched Colonel Coffee,
+with six hundred men picked from his regiment, against
+Blackwarriors’ Town, on the Blackwarrior river, about
+one hundred miles south of Ditto’s Landing. Day
+after day passed by, and still the supplies did not arrive.
+The time was profitably spent, under the circumstances,
+in drilling the troops, but the delay was,
+nevertheless, intolerable. Repeated messages were received
+from Chenubby, Pathkiller, and other friendly
+chiefs, informing him that they and their families were
+liable to be cut off, at any moment, by the Red Sticks,
+who were collecting in force near the Ten Islands, on
+the Coosa River, and urging him to hasten to their assistance.
+He at length determined that he would not
+longer remain inactive.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">ADVANCE TO THOMPSON’S CREEK.</div>
+
+<p>As his contemplated route to the Coosa lay, for some
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_223">[Pg 223]</span>distance, up the Tennessee river, he resolved to advance,
+hoping to meet the stores which he supposed were descending
+the stream; and so confident was he upon this
+point, that he sent forward expresses to stop them at
+Thompson’s Creek. On the nineteenth of October, he
+commenced his march for that point, with scarcely a
+week’s rations on hand, having previously dismissed
+the former contractors for his army and supplied their
+places with others.</p>
+
+<p>He was obliged to cut a road for the passage of his
+wagon train through dense forests, and over almost
+impassable mountains; but he only smiled at obstacles
+when he possessed the means to overcome them. On
+the twenty-second instant, he arrived at Thompson’s
+Creek, but it was only to be again disappointed. No
+supplies were to be found, and nothing could be heard
+of any. Other generals would have given up in despair;
+but it was not in his nature to falter. Though environed
+by difficulties, which might well have appalled a
+braver spirit, he formed the stern resolution to breast
+them nobly and manfully. To retreat now, would be
+to abandon the friendly Creeks, of whose danger he was
+again reminded, by a message from Pathkiller, at Turkey
+Town, to their fate,—and to leave the southern
+frontiers of Tennessee exposed to the ruthless ravages
+of the savage enemy. Though the hideous monster,
+Famine, stared him in the face at every step, he resolved
+to advance to the Ten Islands, and then sweep
+down through the country where the hostiles, or Red
+Sticks, as they were called, in allusion to the emblems
+which they had adopted, were concentrating, to the
+forks of the Coosa and Tallapoosa.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_224">[Pg 224]</span></p>
+
+<p>He addressed earnest and importunate letters to the
+governors of Tennessee and Georgia, to Colonels Meigs
+and McKee, the Cherokee and Choctaw agents, to
+General Flourney, the commander of the seventh military
+district, to the friendly chiefs, and several private
+citizens of wealth and influence, urging them to leave
+no means untried to throw forward the necessary supplies
+for his army, and pledging himself, if properly
+furnished in this respect, to terminate the war in a very
+few weeks. While at Thompson’s Creek, he received
+a letter from General White, who had increased his
+force at Highwassee to about thirteen hundred men,
+besides one or two hundred friendly Cherokees, informing
+him that no flour could be spared at that post. He
+immediately dispatched expresses to Generals Cocke
+and White, apprising them of the condition of his troops
+in regard to provisions, and requiring them to join him
+as soon as possible in the Creek country.</p>
+
+<p>On the twenty-fourth of October, Colonel Coffee returned
+from his expedition, having destroyed Blackwarriors’
+Town, and captured three hundred bushels
+of corn, though he had not seen an Indian. The provisions
+of his men were so nearly exhausted, that,
+during the last four days of their excursion, they were
+obliged to subsist on parched corn. In the evening of
+the twenty-fourth, the preparations of General Jackson
+for a forward movement were completed; a dépôt was
+established at Thompson’s Creek, called Fort Deposit,
+and means provided for forwarding such supplies as
+might arrive; and, on the morning of the twenty-fifth,
+he put his army in motion for the interior, marching,
+as was his invariable custom, in three columns, so arranged
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_225">[Pg 225]</span>that they could be instantly formed in order of
+battle, if attacked in front or in rear, or on either flank.</p>
+
+<p>In two days General Jackson reached Wills’ Creek,
+a tributary of the Coosa, where he encamped till the
+morning of the twenty-ninth, to collect corn from the
+neighboring Indians,—his army being entirely out of
+bread. On the twenty-eighth instant, Lieutenant
+Colonel Dyer was detached with two hundred cavalry,
+against the village of Littefutchee, which he attacked
+the following night; the village was burned; twenty-nine
+prisoners were taken; and considerable corn, and
+a number of beeves, were collected from the vicinity.
+While at Wills’ Creek, Jackson was again obliged to
+remove his contractors, and employ others. On the
+thirtieth instant, he reörganized his troops. General
+Hall was placed in command of the first brigade, consisting
+of the first and second regiments of volunteer
+infantry, under Colonels Bradley and Pillow; and
+General Roberts in command of the second brigade,
+consisting of the first and second militia regiments,
+under Colonels Wynne and M’Crory. General Coffee,
+promoted from colonel, was placed in command of the
+cavalry brigade, which consisted of the volunteer regiment,
+Colonel Alcorn, and the mounted rifles, Colonel
+Cannon.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">BATTLE OF TALLUS&shy;CHATCHEE.</div>
+
+<p>The march was then resumed for the Ten Islands.
+While General Jackson was cutting his way over the
+Coosa mountain, General Coffee was ordered to cross
+the river, at the fish-dams, with one thousand men of
+his brigade, to scour the country in the direction of the
+Ten Islands, and attack the Indian town of Talluschatchee,
+about thirteen miles distant, in an easterly direction,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_226">[Pg 226]</span>where a large force of the enemy had collected.
+The orders issued to General Coffee were gallantly executed.
+On the morning of the third of November he
+approached the town; the savages in vain attempted to
+oppose his march; and they were driven rapidly back
+upon their buildings, in and about which a fierce and
+bloody contest took place, that terminated in their
+complete rout and overthrow. Both men and women
+fought with the utmost desperation. One hundred and
+eighty-six of the enemy, including one of their prophets,
+and a number of women and children, were found dead
+on the field of battle; and there were eighty-four taken
+prisoners, all of whom were women and children. General
+Coffee had five men killed and fourteen wounded.
+Having destroyed the town and buried his dead, he
+rejoined the main army, at the Ten Islands, in the evening
+of the same day, with his wounded and prisoners.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">KINDNESS TO THE ORPHAN.</div>
+
+<p>Harassed by constant care and anxiety,—exposed,
+at every turn, to vexatious delays and hindrances, that
+fretted and annoyed him,—General Jackson never lost
+that kindness and gentleness of spirit, which bloomed,
+bright and pure, amid the intenser passions that burned
+and blazed around it. Among the prisoners taken at
+Talluschatchee, was an infant boy found clinging to
+the breast of his dead mother. He was brought to camp
+with the others, and General Jackson endeavored to
+hire some of the captive women to take care of him.
+They refused, saying, “All his relations are dead; kill
+him too!”—Jackson then caused him to be fed with
+sweetened water, and afterwards sent him to Huntsville,
+where he was nursed at his expense. After the close
+of the campaign, he took the little orphan, who was
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_227">[Pg 227]</span>named Lincoyer, home with him to the Hermitage,
+where he was reared and educated with parental care
+and kindness. At a proper age, he was apprenticed to
+a saddler in Nashville; but he never lost his Indian
+tastes. His health began to fail before he reached the
+age of manhood, and he was removed to the Hermitage.
+He sunk rapidly into a consumption, and soon died,
+sincerely mourned and lamented by the general and his
+wife, who had watched over his sick bed with untiring
+assiduity.</p>
+
+<p>At the Ten Islands, General Jackson established a
+post, called Fort Strother, on the right bank of the
+Coosa, opposite the mouth of Talluschatchee creek.
+The prisoners brought in by General Coffee were forthwith
+sent to Huntsville. No supplies had yet arrived;
+the army could not be furnished with regular rations;
+and it was hardly known, one day, what they were to
+subsist on the next. Once more the commanding general
+appealed to the contractors, by every consideration
+of humanity and patriotism, to forward the provisions
+which could alone save his troops from starvation. He
+likewise again wrote to General White, who had arrived
+at Turkey Town, twenty-five miles above Fort
+Strother, to join him immediately. His dispatch was
+written on the seventh of November, and, late in the
+evening, before it was closed, a runner came in from
+Lashly’s fort, at Talladega, about thirty miles south
+of Fort Strother, and a short distance east of the Coosa,
+with the intelligence that a large body of Red Sticks
+had encamped near that place, which was occupied by
+friendly Indians, and were preparing to destroy it and
+the inmates. General Jackson could not hesitate to
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_228">[Pg 228]</span>grant the desired succor. He determined to march
+forthwith; the urgent circumstances which induced
+him to advance, were mentioned in the dispatch to
+General White; and the latter was entreated to lose
+no time in reaching Fort Strother, to protect his dépôt
+and cover his rear.</p>
+
+<p>Marching orders were issued in a few moments after
+the arrival of the runner, and at midnight General
+Jackson was on the march for Talladega, with his
+whole disposable force, consisting of twelve hundred
+infantry, and eight hundred cavalry and mounted rifles.
+His sick, wounded, and baggage, were left at Fort
+Strother. Crossing the Coosa in the night, he pressed
+forward with such celerity—officers and men vieing
+with each other in zeal—that, on the evening of the
+eighth instant, he encamped within six miles of the
+fort at Talladega, which was occupied by one hundred
+and sixty friendly warriors, with their women and
+children. About midnight the chief Chenubby arrived
+from Turkey Town, with a letter from General White,
+informing General Jackson that he had received an
+order from his division commander, General Cocke, to
+join him at Chattooga, higher up the Coosa, and that
+he could not, therefore, advance to Fort Strother.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">BATTLE OF TALLADEGA.</div>
+
+<p>Jackson’s cup of disappointment was almost full.
+Neither General Cocke, nor General White, wanted
+in patriotism; but they seem, more particularly the
+former, to have been impressed with the belief, that by
+remaining aloof from General Jackson, they would secure
+a larger share of the honors of the campaign. It
+seems almost painful to contemplate the struggles of
+the proud and ambitious spirit constantly thwarted by
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_229">[Pg 229]</span>their unwise movements. Had they joined him at once,
+the war would have been brought to a close in a few
+weeks; but they preferred to linger behind, in safety
+and security, eating up the provisions better deserved
+by those who were enduring the severest fatigues and
+privations; and when they recovered from their inactivity,
+and advanced to strike a blow, it proved to be
+the only unfortunate one of the whole campaign.</p>
+
+<p>The dispatch from General White made no change,
+however, in the determination of General Jackson.
+He resolved to dispose of the enemy in his front, and
+then fall back, with all possible speed, to Fort Strother,
+before the enemy would have time to profit by its defenceless
+condition. The prospect before his troops was
+disheartening in the extreme; if they conquered, there
+would be no food to refresh or reïnvigorate them; yet
+his example inspired them with confidence, and they
+obeyed his commands without hesitation or reluctance.</p>
+
+<p>Long before daylight on the morning of the ninth of
+November, the army was again in motion. Silently
+threading their way through the luxuriant forests,
+winding over the hills, and crossing the rich intervals,
+that separated them from the enemy, they approached
+their position. Within a mile, they were halted, and
+formed in order of battle. The infantry brigades were
+placed in the centre,—General Hall’s on the right, and
+General Roberts’ on the left. They were flanked, on
+the right, by Colonel Alcorn’s volunteer cavalry, and,
+on the left, by the mounted rifles of Colonel Cannon.
+An advanced corps of riflemen, spies, and artillery,
+was formed under Colonel Carroll, the inspector general,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_230">[Pg 230]</span>and a strong reserve of two hundred and fifty
+mounted men, under Lieutenant Colonel Dyer.</p>
+
+<p>At eight o’clock the attack was ordered; and the
+whole column moved rapidly forward, all full of animation
+and enthusiasm. Colonel Carroll preceded the
+main body, with the advance, having received orders
+to rouse the enemy from the thicket on the banks of a
+small rivulet, in which they had concealed themselves,
+and then to retire towards the centre. The sharp
+quick report of his rifles, and the hideous yells and
+screams, soon apprised the remainder of the column
+that the savages had been started from their cover.
+Meantime, the infantry regiments, which had previously
+advanced by heads of companies, had displayed,
+in accordance with the orders of General Jackson,
+and the cavalry were extending themselves, to the
+right and left, so as to encircle the enemy. The orders
+issued by the commanding general required the cavalry
+to keep up their connection with the flanks of the infantry.
+This was neglected on the right, and the plan
+of attack, which was most skilfully formed, was partially
+defeated by this untoward circumstance. Colonel
+Bradley, the officer commanding the infantry regiment
+on the right, also halted his men on a rising
+ground, before he came in contact with the enemy,
+and the gap was thereby considerably widened.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">DEFEAT OF THE ENEMY.</div>
+
+<p>When the fronts of the cavalry columns met on the
+further side of the enemy, they faced inwardly, and a
+general rush was made towards the centre. The Indians
+did not appear inclined to fly, at first, but made
+a bold onset upon the right wing of General Roberts’
+brigade. Three of the companies, after delivering their
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_231">[Pg 231]</span>fire, began to stagger, and finally fell back in the rear.
+Colonel Bradley was then ordered to advance with his
+regiment, and fill up the vacancy. This he declined
+doing; and General Jackson, much against his will,
+as he designed the reserve to pursue the enemy if they
+attempted to escape, was forced to direct Lieutenant
+Colonel Dyer to dismount his men, and engage them.
+Observing this movement, the retiring militia rallied
+and did good service.</p>
+
+<p>The action was not of long continuance. The savages
+could not withstand the destructive fire poured
+in upon them from every side, and in fifteen minutes
+they commenced flying hither and thither, within the
+circle, seeking some avenue of escape. Whichsoever
+way they turned, they encountered the rifle and the bayonet.
+At length, they discovered the opening between
+Colonel Alcorn’s regiment of cavalry, on the right, and
+the volunteers of Colonel Bradley. Through this numbers
+of them dashed, hotly pursed by both cavalry and
+infantry, who followed them for nearly three miles,
+strewing the ground throughout the whole distance
+with their dead bodies. The Indian force numbered
+one thousand and eighty warriors, of whom two hundred
+and ninety-nine were found killed on the field of
+battle, and many more must have perished in the
+woods. The Americans lost but fifteen killed, and
+eighty-five wounded, some of the latter mortally.</p>
+
+<p>The occupants of the fort thus timely relieved, crowded
+around General Jackson and his brave troops, and
+poured forth their thanks in eloquent and impressive
+terms. There were only one hundred and sixty warriors,
+with their women and children, and the arrival
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_232">[Pg 232]</span>of the Tennesseans was most opportune, as the Red
+Sticks were to have assaulted the fort in a few hours.
+They had been entirely cut off from their supply of
+water, and had suffered considerably for want of it.
+Their stock of provisions was also limited; but on discovering
+the condition of Jackson’s troops, who had left
+Fort Strother with but little over one day’s rations,
+they cheerfully furnished them all they had to spare,
+which scarcely amounted to a single meal.</p>
+
+<p>General Jackson complimented his troops, in the
+highest terms, for their gallantry in this action. All
+the officers, with the exception of Colonel Bradley, who
+was placed under arrest, but afterwards released, were
+mentioned in his dispatches in terms of marked approbation.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">DESTITUTION OF THE TROOPS.</div>
+
+<p>An instant retreat to Fort Strother was now necessary.
+The horses were suffering for the want of forage,
+and the men were half-famished, when they turned
+their backs on the field of victory, and commenced their
+retrograde march. Jackson was with the van of the
+army, and on the way discovered a quantity of acorns
+lying on the ground. Dismounting from his horse, he
+threw the bridle over his arm, and, having gathered a
+few of the nuts, sat down on the roots of a tree to eat
+them. He was thus engaged in satisfying his hunger,
+when a soldier approached him, and demanded something
+to eat. “I never turn away the hungry,” said
+the general, “while I have anything to give them.”
+He then offered the soldier a few acorns, adding, “I
+will most cheerfully divide with you such food as I
+have.” Mortified and surprised, the man shrunk back
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_233">[Pg 233]</span>among his companions, who thereafter repressed every
+disposition to murmur or complain.</p>
+
+<p>The army reached Fort Strother on the evening of
+the eleventh of November, but it was only to be once
+more disappointed. No provisions, except the limited
+quantities forwarded by the contractors, had yet arrived;
+and the private stores of the general had been
+almost exhausted, in order to supply the wants of the
+sick and wounded. Still he assumed a cheerful and
+confident tone, though sad enough at heart, and resorting
+to the slaughter-pens, provided himself with tripes,
+with which he made what he termed a comfortable repast.
+His example was imitated by the soldiers, who
+seemed inclined willingly to endure the hardships of the
+campaign.</p>
+
+<p>But matters could not long continue in this situation.
+The battles of Talluschatchee and Talladega had satisfied,
+to a considerable degree, the desire for adventure
+which had previously animated the troops in the midst
+of the most embarrassing difficulties, and they soon began
+to pine for the comforts of home. Starvation was
+far more terrible to them than “an army with banners.”
+They were brave,—this could not be doubted,—and
+they would have gladly followed their general into the
+very heart of the Creek country, if they could only
+have been assured that a reasonable supply of food
+would be provided; of the two enemies whom they met
+in the wilderness, they feared the savage least; and
+was it not asking too much that they should encounter
+both?</p>
+
+<p>Disaffection gradually gained ground, and, in a few
+days, the whole army was on the verge of mutiny.
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_234">[Pg 234]</span>The militia regiments were the first to make known
+their determination to leave the camp, and return to
+Tennessee. Apprised of their intention, General Jackson
+ordered the volunteer brigade under arms, and
+when the militia attempted to move off, the former
+were directed to fire upon them unless they returned
+to their duty. This had the desired effect. The overawed
+militia retired to their tents, but, on the following
+morning, they were themselves paraded, in a similar
+manner, to prevent the volunteers from deserting
+their colors. This arraying of one species of force
+against another was a bold and happy conception of
+Jackson’s; but it would not bear repetition. No one
+could be better aware than himself, that the men had
+reasonable cause for complaint, even though he insisted
+on a rigid compliance with his orders to remain at Fort
+Strother. The horses were suffering so much, however,
+for the want of forage, that the mounted men received
+permission to go back to Huntsville, upon their pledge
+to return promptly when required to do so.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">SUPPRESSION OF THE MUTINY.</div>
+
+<p>Having been positively assured by the new contractor,
+Colonel Pope, in reply to his earnest and pathetic
+appeals, that supplies would soon reach his camp, General
+Jackson made a most eloquent and animated harangue
+to his troops on the fourteenth of November,
+exhorting them, by every consideration and argument
+which should influence brave and patriotic citizens, not
+to abandon the service, and leave the frontier settlements
+exposed to the desolating incursions of the Indians.
+He also promised them, that if a supply of provisions
+did not arrive within two days, he would himself
+lead them back where there was plenty. The
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_235">[Pg 235]</span>militia consented to remain; but the volunteer regiments,
+forgetful of the heavy debt of gratitude which
+they owed to their commander, for his refusal to desert
+them the previous winter, at Natchez, when they had
+been abandoned by their government, determined to
+march forthwith to the settlements. Discovering that
+it was useless longer to attempt compulsory measures,
+General Jackson issued the necessary orders to General
+Hall, to conduct his brigade to Fort Deposit.
+Before the march was commenced, the second regiment
+wisely reconsidered their determination, and concluded
+to stay with the general; whereupon the first regiment
+moved off alone.</p>
+
+<p>The specified time elapsed, and still no provisions
+had arrived. On the sixteenth, General Jackson commenced
+his preparations for the abandonment of Fort
+Strother; but, on reflecting how much this movement
+would reïnspirit the savages, he declared that he would
+not leave the post, if only two men would remain with
+him. Captain Gordon, of the spies, instantly volunteered
+to be one of his companions, and through his
+exertions, and those of some of the members of the
+general staff, one hundred and nine men were found
+who agreed to stay.</p>
+
+<p>Feeling confident, however, that supplies were close
+at hand, General Jackson marched with the militia,
+apprising them, in advance, that they would be ordered
+back if his expectations should be realized. Within
+ten or twelve miles of the fort, they met one hundred
+and fifty beeves. The column at once halted; the cattle
+were knocked down, and eagerly cooked and eaten
+by the half-starved troops. But when the order to
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_236">[Pg 236]</span>return was issued, none obeyed it. One company, indeed,
+had resumed the march, before the general discovered
+the mutinous disposition which prevailed
+among the troops. He immediately dashed ahead of
+the men who were moving off, and with General Coffee,
+a part of the staff, and a few soldiers, formed a
+line across the road, and declared that he would fire
+on them if they endeavored to pass. Well knowing
+that he was not the man to forfeit his word, they fell
+back to the main body, who were soon discovered to be
+likewise infected with the spirit of mutiny. Arguments
+and entreaties proved of no avail,—the troops
+all formed, and were on the point of continuing their
+march to Fort Deposit. As a last resort, the general
+snatched a musket, threw it across the neck of his
+horse, and placing himself in front of the column, declared
+that he would shoot down the first man who
+moved a single step in advance.</p>
+
+<p>The piece which General Jackson had seized was
+too much out of order to be fired, and his arm was so
+weak that he could not aim it with any precision; but
+the men before him knew nothing of this, or, if they
+did, thought not of it. They only saw his flashing
+eye, and his determined look. General Coffee and
+some of the staff took their places in silence beside him.
+Two faithful companies also formed in his rear. All
+were ready to fire when he gave the signal. For several
+moments not a word was uttered. At length the
+power of numbers quailed before the iron will, the
+moral greatness of that one man. The mutineers signified
+their willingness to return, and in a short time
+they were retracing their steps to Fort Strother.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_237">[Pg 237]</span></p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">DESTRUC&shy;TION OF THE HILLABEE TOWNS.</div>
+
+<p>While General Jackson was engaged in quelling
+the disturbances in his camp, the East Tennesseans,
+under General White, were proceeding against the
+Hillabee towns, the warriors from which had been
+present at the battle of Talladega. Intimidated by the
+result of this action, they had applied to General Jackson,
+on the thirteenth of November, for terms of peace.
+On the seventeenth he replied, making known to them
+the conditions upon which their request would be
+granted. On the same night, General White, who had
+been detached for this service by General Cocke, on
+the eleventh of November, with all his cavalry and
+mounted infantry, approached the principal Hillabee
+village, having previously destroyed Little Oakfuskie,
+Genalga, and Netta Chaptoa. At daylight the town
+was surprised, sixty warriors were killed, and two hundred
+and fifty taken prisoners, without the loss of a
+drop of blood on the part of General White’s command.</p>
+
+<p>This unfortunate movement—unfortunate, inasmuch
+as the blow fell with crushing weight upon a people
+already subdued, and anxious to make peace on any
+terms—confirmed General Cocke in the opinion which
+he had previously formed and communicated to General
+Jackson on the fourteenth of November, that it was far
+better to unite his forces with those of the latter, and
+act in concert with him, than, by remaining separate,
+to paralyze his efforts, and defeat his plans. Thereafter
+he made no attempt to operate independently of General
+Jackson, and on the twelfth of December joined
+him at Fort Strother, with fourteen hundred and fifty
+men.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile the Georgia militia, under General Floyd,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_238">[Pg 238]</span>though, like the Tennessee troops, much embarrassed
+by the want of supplies, had been advancing from the
+frontier of that state into the Creek country. Early in
+the morning of the twenty-ninth of November, they
+surprised the Indian town of Antossee, situated on the
+left bank of the Tallapoosa, about twenty miles above
+its junction with the Coosa, and which the savages had
+been taught by their prophets to consider holy ground.
+The force under General Floyd consisted of nine hundred
+and fifty Georgians, and between three and four
+hundred friendly Indians. Antossee, and another town
+about five hundred yards lower down, were occupied by
+large parties of the enemy. Both were attacked at the
+same moment; the houses were set on fire; and a furious
+contest took place amid the surrounding flames.
+The Indians were ultimately routed and dispersed, with
+the loss of two hundred killed and wounded. General
+Floyd was himself severely wounded; and there were
+eleven of his men killed, and fifty-four wounded. As
+the principal Creek towns were within a short distance
+of Antossee, he completed the work of destruction, and
+immediately retired to the Chatahoochee, which he
+reached without molestation. On the ninth of December,
+another detachment of Georgia militia, under
+General Adams, consisting of five hundred and thirty
+men, marched on a second expedition against the towns
+on the Tallapoosa. They were unable to bring the
+enemy to action, but destroyed two of their villages,
+and then returned to camp.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">ECCANAHACA DESTROYED.</div>
+
+<p>While these operations were going on, east and north
+of the Creeks, the regulars and militia on the west,
+though cut off from all communication with the other
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_239">[Pg 239]</span>columns, by the trackless forests which separated them,
+were not inactive. On the thirteenth of December,
+General Claiborne moved up the Alabama river, from
+Fort Stoddart, with a detachment, in order to destroy
+the towns above the mouth of the Cahawba. On the
+twenty-third instant he attacked Eccanahaca, or Holy
+Ground, a new town erected since the commencement
+of the war, in the midst of tangled thickets, and almost
+impenetrable swamps and morasses. This village was
+the general dépôt of the Indians in this section, and
+contained large quantities of property and stores of provisions.
+It consisted of about two hundred houses, and
+was occupied by a considerable body of the enemy,
+under the half-breed chief, Weatherford. General
+Claiborne advanced upon the town, with his force
+divided into three columns. The Indians were quickly
+driven out, leaving thirty dead on the ground. Having
+no facilities for removing the property or provisions,
+the general ordered them to be consumed with the
+town. He also destroyed another village, containing
+sixty houses, eight miles higher up the river.</p>
+
+<p>Among the slain at Eccanahaca were three Shawnee
+warriors, who had probably joined the hostile Creeks
+after the terrible defeat of their tribe on the banks of
+the Thames, in October previous; and among the trophies
+of the expedition, was a letter to Weatherford,
+from Manriquez, the Spanish governor of Florida, dated
+at Pensacola, the twenty-ninth of September, affording
+ample and conclusive evidence of his connivance with
+the Red Sticks.&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_18_18" href="#Footnote_18_18" class="fnanchor">[18]</a>&#x2060;</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_240">[Pg 240]</span></p>
+
+<p>The troops called out under the authority of the
+Legislature of Tennessee, were accepted by the General
+Government, and on the seventh of November,
+General Pinckney, previously in charge of the sixth
+military district, was ordered to assume command of
+the seventh. His plan of conducting the campaign
+contemplated the junction of the various corps operating
+in the Creek country, at the confluence of the
+Coosa and Tallapoosa; and instructions were issued
+by him to the different commanders, requiring them to
+take possession of the country as they advanced, so as,
+at all times, to keep open their communication in the
+rear.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">ANOTHER MUTINY.</div>
+
+<p>After allaying the mutiny in his camp, in November,
+General Jackson visited Fort Deposit and Ditto’s Landing,
+to make arrangements for supplying his army, preparatory
+to another forward movement which he had
+in contemplation. Requisitions were issued for furnishing
+a suitable number of rations at Fort Strother,
+Talladega, and the junction of the Coosa and Tallapoosa,
+together with wagons and pack-horses for their
+transportation. He then returned to Fort Strother
+with the first regiment of volunteers. Shortly after
+his return a new cause of disturbance arose. The
+volunteers had originally engaged to serve for twelve
+months, and they claimed that their term of service
+would expire on the tenth of December. General
+Jackson, however, contended that the period which
+elapsed between the time of their dismissal, after their
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_241">[Pg 241]</span>return from Natchez, and that of their subsequent remuster,
+at Fayetteville, must be deducted. Each
+party insisted on its particular view of the case; and
+in the evening of the ninth of December, General Jackson
+was informed by General Hall, that his brigade
+were preparing to move off, with, or without permission,
+on the following morning.</p>
+
+<p>General Jackson had become familiar with scenes
+of this character, and he immediately issued an order,
+stating that an actual mutiny existed in the camp, and
+commanding all officers and soldiers to unite in putting
+it down. He further directed the volunteer brigade to
+parade on the west side of the fort; the company of
+artillerists were ordered to take post, with one piece in
+front, and one in rear, of their line; and the militia,
+under Colonel Wynne, were instructed to occupy the
+eminences in advance. These dispositions being made,
+the general rode in front of the volunteers, and addressed
+each company separately, in eloquent and animated
+terms, informing them that he had submitted
+the question in dispute to the governor, and that, until
+his decision was known, or reïnforcements joined him,
+he could not dispense with their services. He appealed
+to every noble and worthy motive to induce them to
+remain; but declared, that he should do his duty, regardless
+of consequences; and that they could not
+leave him, without passing over his dead body. “Now,”
+said he, in conclusion, “argument is at an end; and
+you must choose, and that at once, whether you will
+go or stay!”</p>
+
+<p>Not a word was uttered in reply, by the volunteers.
+He then demanded a prompt answer. Still there was
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_242">[Pg 242]</span>no response. He now ordered the artillerists to prepare
+their matches. Ere the order was obeyed, the obstinacy
+of the men gave way before his unyielding firmness.
+“Let us return,” was whispered from one to
+another, with trembling lips; and the officers soon
+came forward, and pledged themselves and their men,
+to remain until the general should hear from the governor,
+or the expected reïnforcements arrive.</p>
+
+<p>On the twelfth of December, General Cocke reached
+the camp, from Fort Armstrong, with the East Tennesseans.
+General Jackson then issued an address to
+the volunteer brigade, offering to permit those who desired
+to leave him, to return at once to Nashville, and
+those who chose to remain, to organize themselves into
+a separate corps, with officers of their own selection.
+But one man in the whole brigade, Captain Williamson,
+consented to stay; the remainder were marched
+back to Nashville, by General Hall, and soon after
+discharged from the service.</p>
+
+<p>The regiment of volunteer cavalry belonging to General
+Coffee’s brigade, claimed the same indulgence with
+the volunteer infantry, and the mounted rifles insisted
+that they were only bound for a three months’ tour of
+duty. About one-half the brigade abandoned the service,
+at Huntsville, and the other half returned to Fort
+Deposit, but they also subsequently deserted their commander,—General
+Coffee exerting himself, in vain, to
+induce them to remain,—and returned home. These
+defections, and the expiration of the terms of service
+of a portion of General Cocke’s division, reduced the
+force under General Jackson, at Fort Strother, to six
+hundred militia, two companies of spies, under Captains
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_243">[Pg 243]</span>Gordon and Russell, one of artillery, under Captain
+Deadrick, and a few volunteers from the various corps,
+who had been, “faithful among the faithless found.”
+The militia demanded their discharge at the expiration
+of three months, although it had been supposed they
+were enlisted for six, and it was not thought advisable
+to compel them to remain.</p>
+
+<p>All these difficulties in keeping the troops in the
+field arose from the want of sufficient supplies. Had
+General Jackson been properly supported in this respect,
+it is probable there would not have been a single
+case of defection, and the first of January, 1814,
+would have witnessed the complete subjection of the
+Creeks. Still he was determined to prosecute the
+campaign, as soon as he should be in a condition to
+move forward. After the return of the militia, he was
+left with only about one hundred men, and was, in
+consequence, obliged to employ the friendly Cherokees
+in garrisoning Fort Armstrong and protecting the
+stores at Camp Ross. Generals Cocke and Roberts,
+Colonel Carroll, and Major Searcy, the aid of the commanding
+general, were at this time absent in Tennessee,
+exerting themselves to raise additional troops.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">LETTER TO GOVERNOR BLOUNT.</div>
+
+<p>On being informed of the situation of General Jackson,
+Governor Blount advised him to fall back from his
+advanced posts, and content himself with defending
+the frontiers of the state, until he was placed in sufficient
+force to carry on the war. On the twenty-ninth
+of December, 1813, the general unburthened his whole
+soul to the governor,</p>
+
+<p class="center">
+“In thoughts that breathe, and words that burn.”
+</p>
+
+<p>“What!” said he, in his letter, “retrograde under
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_244">[Pg 244]</span>such circumstances! I will perish first. What! a
+governor of a patriotic state, whose citizens pressed for
+war, who bawled for permission to exterminate the
+Creeks, to pause or hesitate at such a crisis as this?
+Such conduct cannot be justified, cannot be excused.
+Hear the voice of a friend: If you compel me to retrograde,
+the awful responsibility must and will be ascribed
+to you.... I shall do my duty. I will retain
+the post, or die in the struggle, unless ordered to
+retreat by my commanding general!”</p>
+
+<p>The earnest appeals of General Jackson, whose intrepidity
+of spirit and resoluteness of purpose appeared
+only the more conspicuous, when fortune smiled the
+most unkindly on him, were not without effect. On
+the thirteenth of January, 1814, he was joined at Fort
+Strother, by two regiments of mounted men, eight
+hundred and fifty strong, under Colonels Perkins and
+Higgins, who had volunteered for sixty days. Previous
+to this time, he had ascertained that the hostile Indians
+from several towns on the Tallapoosa, had concentrated
+in a bend of the river, thirty-five miles south-east of
+Talladega, near the mouth of the Emuckfaw Creek,
+and were either preparing to attack Fort Armstrong,
+or the Georgia troops.</p>
+
+<p>The volunteer, cavalry having been enlisted for so
+short a period, it was necessary to act speedily if he
+desired to avail himself of their services. On the day
+of their arrival at Fort Strother, he issued orders directing
+them to hold themselves in readiness for the
+march, and, on the fifteenth and sixteenth of January,
+crossed the Coosa with his whole force, numbering
+seven hundred and sixty-seven men, though the official
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_245">[Pg 245]</span>reports, which were not corrected lest the army should
+be intimidated by the knowledge of its weakness,
+showed a total of nine hundred and thirty.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">BATTLE OF EMUCKFAW.</div>
+
+<p>At Talladega, General Jackson was joined by two
+hundred friendly Creeks and Cherokees. The march
+was continued without intermission, and on the night of
+the twentieth instant, he encamped at Enotochopco, one
+of the Hillabee villages, within twelve miles of Emuckfaw.
+In the morning of the twenty-first, the army
+proceeded direct towards the bend of the river where
+the enemy were said to be fortified. About the middle
+of the afternoon, the spies discovered two Indians, who
+were pursued, but made their escape. Advancing a
+short distance further, they came upon the main trail
+of the savages. The general then determined to encamp
+and reconnoitre the surrounding country. A
+proper position having been selected, the army encamped
+in a hollow square. Pickets and spies were
+thrown out on every side; the sentinels were doubled;
+fires were built in a circle around the encampment;
+and every precaution taken to guard against a surprise.</p>
+
+<p>Though General Jackson knew it not, as his spies
+could obtain but little information, he was in the immediate
+vicinity of the three principal, and most formidable,
+bands of the Red Sticks. Girded by the belt of
+watch-fires which their vigilant and sagacious commander
+directed to be formed, in order to prevent the
+approach of an enemy undiscovered, his troops reposed
+in security. All remained quiet till ten o’clock in the
+evening, when three of the savages were descried stealing
+cautiously towards one of the pickets. They were
+instantly fired on, and one of them was shot down.
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_246">[Pg 246]</span>About an hour later, the spies came in, and reported
+that there was a large Indian encampment three miles
+distant, and that its occupants were whooping and dancing,
+as if preparing to go out on the war-path. The
+general was further informed by one of the spies, an
+intelligent Indian, that the enemy were sending away
+their women and children—a sure indication that they
+intended to decamp, or attack him, before morning.
+Orders were now given for the men to be prepared for
+action, at any moment.</p>
+
+<p>Moments and hours passed by in anxious suspense.
+From time to time the orders enjoining strict caution
+and vigilance were repeated. The darkest hour of the
+morning—the time usually selected by the Indians for
+their attacks—approached; and when everything was
+the most quiet and undisturbed, all at once there rose
+a loud pealing yell on the left of the encampment, and
+with it came a hurtling volley of rifle-balls. A deafening
+responsive shout went up, within that fiery circle,
+like the wild pibroch of some Gaelic clan, rousing the
+martial spirit of all who heard it. The enemy kept
+up a rapid and unintermitting fire; but they could not
+approach near enough to effect any execution, without
+entering the line of light which the timely precaution
+of Jackson had thrown around his men; and whenever
+a single swart form, or painted visage, was disclosed,
+the American bullet sped away on its sure errand of
+death.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">THE ENEMY REPULSED.</div>
+
+<p>When the alarm was first given, General Coffee,
+Colonel Carroll, and Colonel Sitler, the adjutant general,—who,
+with a number of other officers previously
+belonging to different detachments, had remained with
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_247">[Pg 247]</span>the commander to whom they were devotedly attached,
+and formed themselves into a corps, without privates,—mounted
+their horses and rode to the left. Their presence
+inspirited and encouraged the troops, and the savages
+were held firmly at bay till the dawning light
+enabled objects to be distinguished with precision. A
+company of infantry was then ordered to that flank,
+and thus strengthened, General Coffee, supported by
+Colonels Higgins and Carroll, led the whole line to the
+charge. The red warriors were driven from their coverts
+at the point of the bayonet, and pursued for more
+than two miles; the friendly Indians joining in the
+chase, and marking their pathway with the blood of
+the slain.</p>
+
+<p>The enemy having been effectually repulsed, General
+Coffee was ordered to advance to the Indian encampment,
+with four hundred men and all the friendly
+warriors, and destroy it. On approaching it, he found
+that it was too strongly fortified to be carried by assault,
+and therefore returned to bring up the company
+of artillery. Before he again set out, his services were
+required at the camp. Within half an hour after his
+return, a body of savages were observed on the right,
+who opened a brisk fire on a party searching for the
+Indian shot by the picket on the previous night. General
+Coffee solicited the honor of attacking them. He
+was directed to take two hundred men with him, but
+through some mistake, he was followed by only fifty-four
+men, all of whom belonged to the company of volunteer
+officers which he commanded. With this small
+force, he fell with such fury on the left flank of the assailants,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_248">[Pg 248]</span>that they were forced to take shelter in a
+thicket on the bank of a small creek.</p>
+
+<p>In the meantime, as had been anticipated by General
+Jackson, who supposed the demonstration on the
+right to be a mere <i lang="fr">ruse de guerre</i>, the main body of
+the enemy came rushing like demons, with the most
+hideous and discordant yells, on the left of the American
+encampment. He instantly repaired thither in
+person. His men always knew how to fight under his
+eyes, and they stood their ground with veteran intrepidity
+and firmness. A few well-directed and effective
+volleys were delivered, and resort was then had to the
+bayonet; the men advancing to the charge under the
+orders of Colonel Carroll. Once more the enemy fled
+with precipitation, and were hotly pursued some distance
+from the camp.</p>
+
+<p>The savages were now completely repulsed on the
+left, and General Coffee and his little band, who had
+been forced back into the open wood where the battle
+commenced, were reïnforced by one hundred friendly
+warriors. General Coffee, though severely wounded
+in the fierce conflict, which had deprived him of several
+of his best officers, including his aid, Major Donelson,
+placed himself at the head of the united force, and
+charged home upon the assailants. They could no longer
+make head against him, but retreated in confusion.
+The pursuit was continued for about three miles, in
+which forty-five of the enemy were killed.</p>
+
+<p>Victorious as he was, General Jackson was still in
+a precarious position. His men had but few rations
+left, and the horses had not had corn or cane, for two
+days. The main object of the expedition—a diversion
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_249">[Pg 249]</span>in favor of the Georgia troops—had been accomplished;
+yet his small force was seriously crippled, and it was
+to be feared, if he remained at Emuckfaw, that the
+Red Sticks would rally in greater numbers, and attack
+him once more, under all his disadvantages. He therefore
+decided to fall back to Fort Strother as soon as
+practicable. The remainder of the day was spent in
+burying the dead, in taking care of the wounded and
+preparing litters for their transportation, and in fortifying
+the camp. The militia sentinels were repeatedly
+alarmed during the night, probably by their own fancies,
+as no enemy was discovered; and on the morning
+of the twenty-third, without having been again molested,
+the army commenced the return march.</p>
+
+<p>Not a solitary Indian was seen through the day, except
+those attached to the command. They defiled,
+without interruption, through a hurricane, covered with
+the huge bolls of prostrate oaks and pines, with straggling
+branches of trees flung in every direction, and
+closely-matted weeds and brambles, in which there
+were numerous hiding-places that might have afforded
+shelter to an enemy; and just before sunset, they arrived
+at Enotochopco, where they halted for the night,
+selecting a strong position, which they fortified, within
+a quarter of a mile of the creek.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">BATTLE OF ENOTO&shy;CHOPCO.</div>
+
+<p>In the evening, small parties of the hostile savages
+were seen prowling about the encampment, although
+no attack was made. This circumstance, in connection
+with the fact that he had not been molested during the
+day, convinced General Jackson that the enemy had
+got in the advance, and were lying in wait for him at
+a dangerous defile where he had forded the creek on
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_250">[Pg 250]</span>his outward march. He therefore sent out his pioneers,
+who discovered another crossing, about six hundred
+yards lower down, which was approached through open
+woodlands; and, unlike the other, its banks sloped
+gently down, and were tolerably free from reeds and
+underbrush. The lower ford was, of course, selected, in
+preference to the one above.</p>
+
+<p>Presuming that the Indians would rush upon his
+men, when they were engaged in passing the stream,
+the general made his preparations with great care, and
+issued his orders with unusual precision. Colonel Carroll
+was ordered to take command of the centre of the rear-guard;
+Colonel Perkins of the right column; and
+Colonel Stump of the left. Captain Russell was directed
+to bring up the rear with his company of spies. If attacked,
+Colonel Carroll was instructed to face about,
+display, and maintain his ground; while the right and
+left columns were to face outward, wheel back on their
+pivots, and then attack the Indians on both flanks.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">SUDDENNESS OF THE ATTACK.</div>
+
+<p>In this order the crossing proceeded on the morning
+of the twenty-fourth. The front-guard, the wounded,
+and a part of the flank columns, had passed over; and
+the artillery were in the act of entering the creek—General
+Jackson being on the bank superintending the
+movement—when an alarm gun was fired in the rear.
+The instant after, the whole troop of Indians, who had
+discovered the effort to turn their position, came plunging
+down upon the rear-guard. Captain Russell received
+them gallantly, and fell back in good order. Colonel
+Carroll had scarcely given the order to halt and form,
+when the right and left columns, headed by their officers,
+broke and fled down the bank. Colonel Stump was
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_251">[Pg 251]</span>among the foremost, and as he approached General
+Jackson’s position, the latter attempted to cut him
+down with his sword.</p>
+
+<p>All was now confusion and disorder. The panic was
+communicated to the rear-guard, most of whom followed
+the example of their companions. Colonel Carroll, and
+Captain Quarles, were left with only twenty-five men,
+yet they sustained the unequal contest with unflinching
+bravery. The savages were checked in their advance,
+but the men were rapidly falling, and the iron hail
+came thicker and faster. General Jackson fairly boiled
+over with rage and indignation; yet, smothering his
+passion, he gave his orders coolly and calmly, but in a
+tone that rang like the blast of a trumpet. Words of
+encouragement were not wanting; and when the fearless
+and intrepid Coffee sprang from his litter into the
+saddle, he cried, “We shall whip them yet, my men!—the
+dead have risen and come to aid us!”</p>
+
+<p>The company of artillery, who were armed with
+muskets, now rushed up the acclivity, and ranged
+themselves by the side of Colonel Carroll and his little
+band, while their commander, Lieutenant Armstrong&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_19_19" href="#Footnote_19_19" class="fnanchor">[19]</a>&#x2060;—Captain
+Deadrick being absent—and a few of his
+men, dragged up their six pounder. The gun had been
+unlimbered at the foot of the height, and when they
+prepared to load it, the rammer and picker were missing.
+No time was to be lost, as the savages were fast
+closing upon them. One of the men instantly wrested
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_252">[Pg 252]</span>off his bayonet, and rammed the cartridge home with
+his musket; another used his ramrod as a picker, and
+primed with a musket cartridge. Twice was the gun
+loaded and fired with grapeshot. At the second discharge,
+the enemy were thrown into confusion, when
+Colonel Carroll pressed upon them with the bayonet,
+and forced them to retire a short distance, though they
+still persisted in the attack.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile, Captain Gordon, whose company had
+been in the advance, had moved round and thrown
+himself upon the left flank of the Indians; and a few
+moments later, General Jackson brought up a considerable
+number of the rear-guard and flankers, whom he
+had rallied and reformed, with the assistance of General
+Coffee, Colonel Higgins, and other officers. Finding
+themselves baffled at every point, the enemy gave up
+the contest and made a hasty retreat, throwing away
+their packs as they fled, and leaving twenty-six of their
+warriors dead on the field.</p>
+
+<p>In this series of engagements, at Emuckfaw and
+Enotochopco, General Jackson lost twenty men killed,
+and seventy-five wounded, four of them mortally. One
+hundred and eighty-nine dead bodies of the enemy were
+counted; but they removed all their wounded, and,
+probably, many who were killed outright.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">A NEW ARMY RAISED.</div>
+
+<p>Important as were these actions in their immediate
+results, they assumed additional consequence, as effecting
+a fortunate diversion in favor of the troops under
+General Floyd. He was attacked by the savages, at
+Camp Defiance, shortly before daylight, on the morning
+of the twenty-seventh of January, three days after the
+battle of Enotochopco. The furious onset of the savages
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_253">[Pg 253]</span>was with difficulty resisted, and they were only repulsed
+with the loss of seventeen men killed, and one hundred
+and thirty-two wounded. Three hundred warriors, at
+the least, were rendered <i lang="fr">hors du combat</i> in the several
+contests with General Jackson, and many more were
+intimidated from again taking up arms; and had they
+been present, the Georgia force might, not unlikely,
+have been overpowered.</p>
+
+<p>After caring for his dead and wounded, General
+Jackson resumed his march, and arrived at Fort
+Strother on the twenty-seventh of January. On the
+twenty-eighth, General Coffee and his corps of officers
+were directed to return home, and wait the orders of
+the government; and on the thirty-first instant, General
+Roberts was ordered to conduct the volunteer regiments,
+whose bravery and patriotism were highly commended
+by the commanding general, back to Fayetteville,
+where they were discharged.</p>
+
+<p>The brilliant successes of General Jackson in the
+Creek country now began to attract unusual attention.
+The commander of the military district, General
+Pinckney, referred to his conduct in terms of strong
+approbation, and suggested his name to the Secretary
+of War, for an appointment in the regular army. He
+had fought himself into the confidence and affections of
+the public, and he had no further need to depend on
+the reluctant services of a disorderly and half-mutinous
+soldiery.</p>
+
+<p>So far from being offended at the tone and language
+of General Jackson’s letter, Governor Blount properly
+appreciated the feelings of the writer, and made every
+possible exertion to send him both troops and supplies.
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_254">[Pg 254]</span>Men were not wanting to enrol their names; but there
+were hundreds and thousands who longed to fight beneath
+the standard, and under the eye, of Andrew
+Jackson. On the third of February, General Doherty
+arrived at Camp Ross with two thousand men from
+East Tennessee; and, shortly after, General Johnston
+reported himself at Huntsville, with over seventeen
+hundred men, from West Tennessee. Two regiments
+of cavalry, one from each section of the state, under
+Colonels Dyer and Brown, also appeared, and were
+organized into a brigade, under General Coffee. On
+the sixth of February, the 39th infantry, under Colonel
+Williams, about six hundred strong, joined General
+Jackson at Fort Strother, and about the same time,
+the Choctaws took up the hatchet against the Red
+Sticks, and offered him their services.</p>
+
+<p>It was the intention of General Jackson to advance
+as soon as possible towards the bend of the Tallapoosa,
+near which the battle of Emuckfaw had been fought,
+and where, he was assured, the main strength of the
+enemy lay. The want of supplies, as usual, retarded
+his movements. It was now the rainy season; the
+streams were very much swollen, and the bridges swept
+away; the roads were soaked with water, and terribly
+cut up; and, although he kept five hundred men at
+work on the route between Fort Deposit and Fort
+Strother, several weeks elapsed before he was able to
+collect twenty days’ rations at the latter place.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">PREPARA&shy;TIONS TO TAKE THE FIELD.</div>
+
+<p>While the general was making his preparations at
+Fort Strother, most of the detachments composing the
+force under his command remained in the rear, that the
+supplies thrown forward to that post might not be too
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_255">[Pg 255]</span>quickly consumed. During this period of inaction, the
+spirit of mutiny again made its appearance, among the
+West Tennessee troops. He felt that he had so far
+dealt too leniently with this offence, and determined to
+visit it with summary punishment. A private belonging
+to General Johnston’s command was convicted of
+open mutiny, and sentenced to death. This was his
+second offence, and the general firmly refused to pardon
+him. The sentence was carried into effect, and the
+example thus presented exerted a most salutary influence
+on the whole army.</p>
+
+<p>Early in March, General Jackson had finally completed
+his arrangements. Colonel Dyer was ordered to
+scour the country between the Coosa, Blackwarrior,
+and Cahawba, as low down as the old Coosa towns;
+the Choctaws and Chickasaws were directed to watch
+the country west of the Tombigbee, and prevent
+the escape of any of the Red Sticks beyond the Mississippi;
+and the Cherokees received instructions to
+range about the headwaters of the Tallapoosa. At the
+same time, there was a large force of North Carolina
+and South Carolina militia, under Colonel Pearson, who
+had relieved the Georgia troops under General Floyd,
+on the eastern borders of the Creek country, in readiness
+to coöperate in any simultaneous movement upon
+the fastnesses of the hostile Indians.</p>
+
+<p>Leaving a garrison of four hundred and fifty men at
+Fort Strother, under Colonel Steel, General Jackson
+commenced descending the Coosa, having embarked his
+stores in boats, with the remainder of his force, on the
+sixteenth day of March. Arrived at the mouth of Cedar
+Creek, he established a dépôt at this point, and commenced
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_256">[Pg 256]</span>the construction of a fort, which he named
+Fort Williams. The work on the fort being in a sufficient
+state of forwardness, he took up the line of march
+across the country to Emuckfaw, on the morning of
+the twenty-fourth instant, with about two thousand
+men. A strong detachment was left at Fort Williams,
+to protect the supplies, and continue the labor on the
+fortifications.</p>
+
+<p>Not far from five miles below the battle-ground of
+the twenty-second of January, at Emuckfaw, is the
+great bend of the Tallapoosa, called by the Indians,
+Tohopeca, or Horse Shoe. At this place, the warriors
+from the hostile towns of Oakfuskie, Oakchoya, Eufaulee,
+New Youca, the Hillabees and Fish Ponds, had
+concentrated their forces, near one thousand strong, for
+a last desperate struggle. Across the narrow neck of
+land, or isthmus, by which the peninsula formed by the
+crooked river was entered, they had erected a breastwork
+of logs, from five to eight feet high, with double
+portholes, arranged with no little skill and ingenuity.
+Within the inclosure, there were about one hundred
+acres of land; the centre was high ground, covered with
+brush and fallen timber; and on the river bottom, at
+the lower extremity of the peninsula, was the Indian
+village.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">TOHOPECA.</div>
+
+<p>On the night of the twenty-sixth of March, General
+Jackson encamped within six miles of the Horse Shoe,
+and early on the following morning, General Coffee was
+detached, with the mounted men and most of the
+friendly Indians, under instructions to cross the river
+at a ford two miles below Tohopeca, and take possession
+of the high grounds on the opposite bank, so as to
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_257">[Pg 257]</span>cut off all chance of escape in that quarter. General
+Jackson then marched the remainder of his force to a
+position in front of the enemy’s breastworks, where he
+halted his men, until the preärranged signal announced
+that General Coffee had drawn a cordon of soldiers
+around the elevated ground overlooking the river and
+the hostile town and fortification. The main column
+immediately moved forward; the two pieces of artillery,
+a six and a three pounder, were planted on a hill eighty
+yards distant from the left of the enemy’s line; and at
+half past ten o’clock in the forenoon, the action was
+opened by a brisk fire, which was warmly returned by
+the Red Sticks.</p>
+
+<p>The firing on the American side was mainly confined
+to the artillery, though a rifle or musket was occasionally
+discharged, whenever the dark warriors incautiously
+exposed their persons. For nearly two hours,
+the cannonade was kept up, with spirit and activity,
+though without producing any sensible impression.
+Meantime the friendly Indians had advanced to the
+left bank of the river, while General Coffee remained
+on the high ground with the rest of his troops. Some
+of the Cherokees now discovered that the enemy’s canoes,
+which were drawn up on the shore, near their village,
+had been left unguarded. They instantly plunged
+into the stream, swam across, and, in a few moments,
+returned with a number of the canoes. Means being
+thus provided for passing over, the Cherokees, headed
+by their chief, Richard Brown, and Colonel Morgan,
+and Captain Russell’s company of spies, crossed to the
+village, set it on fire, and attacked the enemy in the
+rear.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_258">[Pg 258]</span></p>
+
+<p>Surrounded though they were, the hostile Indians
+fought with the utmost bravery and desperation. Every
+avenue by which they might have fled was occupied by
+the American troops, and their habitations were in
+flames; still they refused to surrender, and successfully
+resisted every attempt of the spies and Cherokees
+to dislodge them. The soldiers with General Jackson,
+clamored loudly to be led to the assault, but he hesitated
+to give the order, till he became convinced that
+the party in the rear were not strong enough to overcome
+the opposition they encountered. The command
+to storm the works was then received with shouts and
+acclamations. General Doherty’s brigade, and the 39th
+infantry, under Colonel Williams, promptly advanced
+to the attack. The result of the contest did not long
+remain in doubt. A fierce struggle was maintained for
+a short time, through the portholes, muzzle to muzzle;
+the action being so close, as remarked in the dispatch
+of the commanding general, that “many of the enemy’s
+balls were welded to the American bayonets.” Major
+Montgomery, of the 39th infantry, was the first to
+spring upon the breastwork, but was shot dead among
+his comrades, who were rushing forward to sustain him.
+A smothered cry for vengeance rolled along the line,—and
+the whole column dashed over the feeble barrier,
+like the avalanche, crushing and bearing down everything
+before it.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">THE RED STICKS COMPLETELY ROUTED.</div>
+
+<p>The Indians, fighting with the fury of despair, met
+the shock with clubbed muskets and rifles, with the
+gleaming knife and tomahawk. Some few attempted
+to escape by swimming the river, but were shot down
+in their flight, by the spies and mounted men under
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_259">[Pg 259]</span>General Coffee. Most of them, however, fought and
+died, where they stood—behind the ramparts which
+they were unable to defend. The conflict—nay, we
+may call it, without reproach to the victors, the butchery—was
+continued for hours. None asked for quarter.
+The Tallapoosa ran red with the blood of the savages,
+and the dead were piled in mangled heaps upon its
+banks.</p>
+
+<p>Driven from the breastwork, a considerable number
+of the enemy took refuge among the brush and fallen
+timber on the high ground in the centre of the peninsula.
+General Jackson sent them an interpreter, to offer terms
+of capitulation, but they fired on and wounded him.
+The cannon were brought to bear on their position, and
+a partially successful charge was made, yet they were
+not dislodged. Finally, the brush was set on fire. The
+flames spread with rapidity, snapping and crackling as
+they caught the dry bark and leaves, and licking up
+everything in their way, like some huge, greedy monster.
+The Indians were now forced from their concealment;
+and all who attempted to fly, or offered resistance,
+were shot down. Night at length put an end to
+the carnage, and, under cover of the darkness, a few of
+the survivors of that fatal field escaped into the adjoining
+forests.</p>
+
+<p>Five hundred and fifty-seven dead bodies of the enemy
+were found within the peninsula; and there were
+over three hundred taken prisoners, nearly all women
+and children. The total loss of the Red Sticks, in killed
+alone, must have been near eight hundred; as a number
+of the dead were thrown into the river previous to
+the final rout, by their surviving friends, or shot by
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_260">[Pg 260]</span>General Coffee’s men while attempting to make their
+escape. Among the slain were three prophets, one of
+whom, by the name of Monohoe, was struck by a grapeshot
+in his mouth, out of which had issued the lies
+which had lured his nation to their ruin.</p>
+
+<p>General Jackson lost fifty-five men killed, and one
+hundred and forty-six wounded. Twenty-three of the
+killed, and forty-seven of the wounded, were friendly
+Creeks and Cherokees.</p>
+
+<p>After completing the destruction of the Indian fortifications
+at Tohopeka, General Jackson commenced his
+return march to Fort Williams, where he arrived on
+the second of April. He instantly began his preparations
+for scouring the country lying in the forks of the
+Coosa and Tallapoosa; and, on the seventh of April,
+his army was in motion for Hoithlewalee, one of the
+principal towns on the Hickory Ground;—the men
+being provided with eight days’ rations, which they
+carried on their backs. The campaign was now drawing
+to a close, but its hardships were not quite ended.
+The roads were flooded by the heavy rains, and the
+streams scarcely fordable; and, consequently, the march
+was tedious and difficult. General Jackson was much
+worn by the fatigues and privations which he had encountered,
+but his capability of endurance was not yet
+exhausted; and the strength of constitution he manifested,
+though belied by the apparent weakness of his
+frame, gave rise to the <i lang="fr">sobriquet</i> of “Old Hickory,”
+which was applied to him by his soldiers, and adhered
+to him through life.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">INDIAN TOWNS DESTROYED.</div>
+
+<p>The terrible vengeance taken at Tohopeka, for the
+massacre at Fort Mims, and the other monstrous cruelties
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_261">[Pg 261]</span>perpetrated by the Red Sticks, put an end to the
+war. The great body of the hostile savages fled in
+dismay, before the advancing columns of General Jackson.
+Many of the fugitives were killed by a detachment
+of the 3rd infantry, under Colonel Russell, but numbers
+effected their escape into Florida, on account of the remissness
+of Colonel Milton, the officer in command of
+the South Carolinians, who were then on the left bank
+of the Tallapoosa, not far above its junction with the
+Coosa. McQueen, one of the most prominent chiefs
+among the Red Sticks, was captured, but afterwards
+escaped to the Escambia river, with five hundred adherents.</p>
+
+<p>Arrived at Hoithlewalee, General Jackson found the
+town abandoned. On the fourteenth of April it was
+destroyed, with several other villages in the vicinity.
+The general then divided his command into two columns;
+one scouring the country on the left bank, and
+the other, with which he remained in person, advancing
+down the right bank of the Tallapoosa, to the confluence,
+where a fort was constructed, called by General
+Pinckney, in honor of the gallant Tennessee commander,
+Fort Jackson. At this point most of the Hickory
+Ground chiefs came in and submitted to the conqueror.
+Weatherford also voluntarily surrendered, and the great
+prophet of the Creeks, Hillinghagee, was taken prisoner.
+The only terms prescribed by the victorious general
+were, that all who surrendered themselves should retire
+to the country north of Fort Williams, where, if their
+conduct was good, they would be permitted to remain
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_262">[Pg 262]</span>proposition was made known, numbers of the fugitives
+were on their way to the neutral territory.</p>
+
+<p>On the twentieth of April, General Pinckney arrived
+at Fort Jackson, and on the following day assumed the
+command. General Jackson shortly after repaired to
+his home in Tennessee, to recruit his health and strength,
+which had suffered materially during his long and arduous
+campaign. The thanks of the government and
+the applause of the nation followed him in his retirement.
+An opportunity was soon afforded for rewarding
+his services by an appointment in the regular army.—On
+the resignation of General Harrison, President Madison
+nominated him as a brigadier general, and major
+general by brevet; and, a short time afterwards, he
+was appointed a full major general, to fill the vacancy
+occasioned by the retirement of General Hampton.
+Both commissions were received at the same time, and
+the latter was accepted.</p>
+
+<p>In the summer of 1814, General Jackson was ordered
+to take command of the seventh military district, and
+established his headquarters at Mobile. Associated
+with Colonel Hawkins, he concluded a favorable treaty
+with the Creek nation, by which, with the exception of
+a small portion of the tribe who chose to remain in
+Florida, they were prevented from again taking up
+arms during the continuance of the war with England.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">THE SPANISH AUTHORITIES IN FLORIDA.</div>
+
+<p>The hostile tribes were now entirely quieted, and a
+chain of military posts established through the former
+theatre of their outrages. No sooner had this been
+done, than the attention of General Jackson was directed
+to the alarming state of affairs at Pensacola.
+He had long been convinced that the Spanish authorities
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_263">[Pg 263]</span>in Florida were lending their aid and assistance to
+the English, in the prosecution of hostilities. Indeed,
+the facts and circumstances which forced him to such
+a conclusion, were so glaring and palpable, that it was
+impossible to form any other opinion. It is barely probable
+that Spain was the passive agent of Great Britain
+in this respect; but if so, her pusillanimity, in thus
+tamely surrendering her neutral rights and character,
+was equally censurable. If she was, in fact, the coädjutor
+of England, the measures adopted by General
+Jackson were justifiable; but if she was the creature
+only, they were necessary. This is the only argument
+that need be offered, in defence of the attack on Pensacola,
+which, in after times, was so severely criticised
+and censured, by his political opponents.</p>
+
+<p>In the month of August, Captain Gordon, of the
+spies, visited Pensacola, and ascertained that a large
+body of savages had been organized there by Colonel
+Nicholls, of the British army, and were then being instructed
+and drilled by British officers, in the presence,
+and with the knowledge, of the Spanish governor; that
+Fort Barrancas was occupied by between two and three
+hundred British troops; and that there were three
+armed vessels belonging to the same nation, in the bay,
+from which a considerable quantity of arms and provisions
+had been disembarked. Another reconnaissance
+was subsequently made by Lieutenant Murray, of the
+Mississippi militia, which fully confirmed the report
+made by Captain Gordon. On the twenty-ninth of
+August, also, Colonel Nicholls issued a proclamation,
+dated at his “headquarters, Pensacola,” addressed
+to the inhabitants of the southern and southwestern
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_264">[Pg 264]</span>states, and inviting them to join his standard, in which
+he informed them that he was “at the head of a large
+body of Indians, well armed, disciplined, and commanded
+by British officers; a good train of artillery, with every
+requisite; seconded by the powerful aid of a numerous
+British and Spanish squadron of ships and vessels of
+war.”</p>
+
+<p>General Jackson was not disposed to stand idly by,
+and see the rights of his country violated, and her interests
+jeoparded. He forthwith dispatched an express
+to the governor of Tennessee, requesting the whole quota
+of the militia of that state to be brought into the field
+without delay, and commenced his preparations for a
+march on Pensacola. On the fifteenth of September
+Colonel Nicholls appeared before Fort Bowyer, thirty
+miles below Mobile, at the entrance of the bay, with
+four vessels, containing a number of siege pieces, and
+several hundred sailors, mariners, and savages. The
+heavy guns were landed, the fort invested, and a lively
+cannonade opened upon it. Major Lawrence, of the 2nd
+infantry, the commander of the post, with its garrison
+of one hundred and twenty men, made a brave defence,
+and finally forced the enemy to retire, with the loss of
+one of their ships, and over two hundred killed and
+wounded.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">CAPTURE OF PENSACOLA.</div>
+
+<p>Having been joined by about two thousand men from
+Tennessee, General Jackson took up the line of march
+for Pensacola, with all his disposable troops. His whole
+force consisted of upwards of three thousand men, but
+a small part being regulars, and the remainder militia
+from Mississippi and Tennessee, with a few Choctaw
+warriors. On the sixth of November he arrived near
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_265">[Pg 265]</span>Pensacola, and sent a flag to the Spanish governor, to
+communicate the purpose of his visit. The bearer of
+the flag was fired on from the batteries in the town, and
+forced to return. Dispositions were then made for carrying
+the fort by assault, which was discovered to be
+defended by both British and Spanish troops, on the
+following day. On the morning of the seventh, the
+general entered the town with his troops, under a heavy
+fire from the fort, and the British flotilla in the harbor,
+and carried one of the advanced batteries at the point
+of the bayonet. The governor now supplicated for
+mercy, and surrendered the town and fort unconditionally;
+the British troops retiring to Fort Barrancas, and
+their savages allies seeking shelter in the everglades
+of Florida, whither they were driven by a detachment
+from the American army under Major Blue.</p>
+
+<p>On the morning of the eighth of November, just as
+General Jackson was making ready to march upon
+Fort Barrancas, the British spiked and dismounted the
+cannon, blew up the works, and retreated to their shipping.
+The object of his visit to Pensacola being thus
+accomplished, and the enemy driven from the rendezvous,
+where they had been invited, or welcomed, by the
+Spanish authorities, General Jackson restored the town
+and fort to Governor Manriquez, and immediately returned
+to Mobile with his troops.</p>
+
+<p>Intimations of an intended attack, or descent, on the
+southern frontier of the United States, had been previously
+given, and they were corroborated by the statements
+of the pirates of Barrataria, who, with their
+leader, Lafitte, had been solicited by Colonel Nicholls
+to join the projected expedition, but were afterwards induced,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_266">[Pg 266]</span>under a promise of pardon for their offences, to
+take an active and important part in the defence of
+New Orleans. It was for a long time uncertain at
+what point the blow would be struck; but, early in
+September, it became known that formidable preparations
+were making for the invasion of Louisiana, and
+the reduction of New Orleans. Governor Claiborne
+promptly ordered the two militia divisions of the state,
+under Generals Villeré and Thomas, to hold themselves
+in readiness to march at a moment’s notice, and issued
+a patriotic address to his fellow citizens, calling upon
+them to turn out, in a mass, if necessary, in defence of
+their homes and families. No immediate attack was
+then made, however, and the alarm subsided. It was
+renewed again towards the close of November; the apprehensions
+of danger were evidently well founded, and
+General Jackson at once hastened to the city of New
+Orleans, giving directions, before he set out, for his
+troops to follow as rapidly as possible, and dispatching
+an express to expedite the movements of the Kentucky
+militia, who were required to join him without loss of
+time.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS.</div>
+
+<p>Important as was the position of New Orleans, as the
+great emporium of the southwestern part of the Union,
+commanding the extensive trade and navigation of the
+Mississippi and its tributaries, the means provided for
+its defence were lamentably insufficient. It had been
+understood for some time, that the expedition under
+Admiral Cochrane, baffled at Baltimore, but subsequently
+reïnforced by a large body of troops, supposed,
+after the conclusion of the Treaty of Paris, to be no
+longer needed in Europe, was destined, ultimately, to
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_267">[Pg 267]</span>operate upon the Gulf coast. Although New Orleans
+was the most liable to attack, and the most vulnerable
+point, in that quarter, few preparations were made for
+its protection; for the reason, probably, that the plundering
+and harassing warfare carried on by the enemy
+on the Atlantic shore, and the operations on the Niagara
+frontier, furnished constant employment for all the men
+and means at the disposal of the General Government.
+Late in the fall of 1814, the new levies raised in Kentucky
+and Tennessee, were ordered to proceed to that
+city, and supplies of arms and ammunition were also
+sent down the Mississippi.</p>
+
+<p>New Orleans, at this time, contained about twenty
+thousand inhabitants,&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_20_20" href="#Footnote_20_20" class="fnanchor">[20]</a> a great number of whom were
+of Spanish or English descent, and, consequently, but
+little reliance was to be placed on their fidelity to the
+American cause; so far from this, many were known
+to be in correspondence with the enemy, and only waiting
+for a favorable opportunity to act in a more open
+and decided manner. General Jackson arrived in the
+city on the second of December, and found everything
+in confusion and alarm. The apprehended invasion
+was the principal topic of conversation in every <i lang="fr">café</i>
+and <i lang="fr">boudoir</i>. The opponents of the administration
+there, as elsewhere throughout the union, confidently
+predicted that New Orleans must fall; and its friends
+more than half feared that the prediction would be verified.</p>
+
+<p>It was no easy task to reänimate those who had grown
+faint-hearted under the influence of the pitiful Jeremiads
+which were constantly sounding in their ears. The
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_268">[Pg 268]</span>American commander was accompanied by but few of
+his men, and his presence alone could not go very far
+towards the restoration of confidence. Yet he set himself
+vigorously to the work, and in a brief space of time,
+his impulsive energy, his earnest zeal, and his determined
+patriotism had wrought marvellous changes.
+The timid were reässured; the wavering were encouraged
+to remain steadfast; and those who had never
+doubted or faltered, derived new strength from his example.
+As yet, there were but a few hundred regular
+troops in the city, and the imminence of the danger was
+such, that it was necessary to commence operations
+without delay. The general was deficient both in the
+<i lang="fr">personnel</i> and the <i lang="fr">matériel</i> of war; but the exigencies
+of his military career had long since taught him to rely
+on his own unaided efforts. He was ever full of resources,—but
+never more than now.</p>
+
+<p>The geographical position of New Orleans was highly
+favorable to its defence. It is situated on the left bank
+of the Mississippi, around a bend of the river, shaped
+like a crescent, about midway between the high ground
+at Baton Rouge, and the Gulf. On either side of the
+river, there is a strip of arable alluvion, protected from
+inundation by levees, and varying in width, from three
+hundred, to one thousand yards. Beyond this there are
+dense cypress brakes and swamps, with here and there
+a few acres of salt prairie, extending, on the east, to
+Lakes Borgne and Pontchartrain. The river debouches
+into the Gulf through several mouths, which are obstructed
+by numerous sand bars; and its ascent, at all
+times difficult, is especially so in high water, when the
+current is unusually rapid.
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_269">[Pg 269]</span>Under the direction of General Jackson, the militia
+were imbodied; the defences of Forts St. Philip and
+Bourbon, on the Mississippi, below New Orleans, were
+enlarged and strengthened; batteries were constructed
+at the Rigolets, and on the Chef Menteur; all the
+numerous bayous and inlets, intersecting the lower
+valley of the river, between the Chef Menteur and the
+Atchafalaya, were obstructed, or guarded by strong
+pickets; and lines of intrenchments and fortifications
+were traced, below the city, extending from the Mississippi
+to the swampy grounds, and their construction
+commenced. Commodore Patterson, the officer in command
+of the naval station, zealously coöperated with
+General Jackson, in carrying out the measures of defence
+which he projected.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">APPROACH OF THE BRITISH FLEET.</div>
+
+<p>Positive intelligence was received in New Orleans,
+on the ninth of December, that the British fleet had
+been descried standing off the Chandeleur islands;
+and Lieutenant Thomas ap Catesby Jones was immediately
+dispatched by Commodore Patterson, with a flotilla
+of five gun boats, and one hundred and eighty-two
+men, to watch the motions of the enemy. On the
+twelfth instant, they were discovered in such force, off
+Cat island, at the eastern extremity of Lake Borgne,
+that Lieutenant Jones judged it safer to retire up the
+lake and guard the passes leading towards the city. On
+the following day, the schooner Seahorse, which had
+been sent to the bay of St. Louis, to assist in the removal
+of some public stores at Shieldsboro, was attacked
+by three of the enemy’s barges. These were driven off,
+but they soon returned with four others. The crew
+then abandoned the vessel and blew her up; and the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_270">[Pg 270]</span>storehouse on the bay was set on fire. The flotilla
+under Lieutenant Jones was attacked on the fourteenth
+instant, while becalmed, by a detachment of seamen
+and marines, twelve hundred strong, under Captain
+Lockyer, in forty-two launches and barges. Lieutenant
+Jones and his men made a brave defence; but after an
+obstinate contest of more than an hour, during which
+the enemy lost two of their boats, and over three hundred
+men, they were obliged to surrender, with the loss
+of forty killed and wounded.</p>
+
+<p>In the meantime, large appropriations had been made
+by the legislature of Louisiana for the defence of New
+Orleans; but that body appeared extremely reluctant
+to adopt all the suggestions of General Jackson and
+Governor Claiborne. Many of the members were disaffected,
+and others had been led to believe, by the
+British spies and emissaries who infested the city, that
+all attempts at resistance would be unavailing, and that
+it would be far wiser to propose terms of capitulation,
+immediately upon the appearance of the British force.
+General Jackson in vain urged the legislature to suspend
+the <i lang="la">habeas corpus</i> act; and despairing of accomplishing
+anything, except by the adoption of rigorous
+and decided measures, as a last resort, he finally ordered
+martial law to be proclaimed in the city and its vicinity.
+The functions of the civil authorities were only suspended
+in part, however, and the legislature continued
+its sessions.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">PROCLAMA&shy;TION OF MARTIAL LAW.</div>
+
+<p>This high-handed exercise of power, rendered necessary
+by the temporizing and vacillating course of the
+legislature, naturally provoked considerable comment.
+Those who were really and truly devoted to the American
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_271">[Pg 271]</span>cause had no fears, when they saw the general
+wielding the authority which he had seized into his own
+hands; those only clamored against what they termed
+this infraction of the rights of the citizen, who were
+prepared to surrender the city to the enemy, at the first
+summons. The proclamation of martial law, though,
+perhaps, scarcely warranted by the law and the constitution,
+was one of those acts which are sometimes absolutely
+requisite in great emergencies. The power
+acquired under such circumstances, is, doubtless, liable
+to abuse; but in the hands of one whose patriotism,
+like that of Andrew Jackson, is <i lang="fr">sans peur, sans reproche</i>,
+there can be no danger. “<i lang="la">Silent leges, inter arma</i>,”
+is a maxim, as applicable to free, as to monarchical
+governments. General Jackson was extremely loth to
+assume any questionable power, until he became penetrated
+with the conviction that the safety of the country
+demanded this step, and he surrendered it the very moment
+he felt assured that the crisis was past. His
+course was subsequently approved by the General Government,
+and pronounced by the Secretary of War, both
+“just as it respected the responsibility of the commanding
+general, and safe as it respected the liberties of the
+nation.”</p>
+
+<p>A new impetus was given to every movement, by
+the active and energetic conduct of General Jackson.
+The fruitful and varied resources of his great mind
+were in constant requisition. His determined spirit,
+manifested in his expressive remark to Governor Claiborne—that
+he would “defend the country, or die in
+the last ditch!”—was communicated to those around
+him. Treason shrunk abashed from his presence, and
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_272">[Pg 272]</span>cowardice assumed the appearance of valor at his
+side.</p>
+
+<p>After the capture of the flotilla under Lieutenant
+Jones, it became impossible to watch the movements
+of the British squadron; and hence it was extremely
+difficult to foretell what point would be first attacked.
+Large requisitions were made by General Jackson, of
+negroes to work on the projected fortifications, intended
+to secure the different approaches; and all those found
+in the streets, together with the drays and carts, were
+impressed for the same purpose. The militia were ordered
+out <i lang="fr">en masse</i>, and disciplined regularly every day.
+Orders were likewise again sent to hasten the march
+of the reïnforcements; and to General Coffee, who was
+rapidly approaching with his brigade of mounted men
+from Tennessee, the commanding general said, “You
+must not sleep until you arrive within striking distance!”
+The order was obeyed with characteristic
+promptitude;—General Coffee marched his command
+eighty miles on the last day, and arrived near the city
+late in the evening of the twenty-first of December.</p>
+
+<p>All the arrangements of General Jackson for the defence
+of New Orleans were made with consummate
+skill. The batteries commanding the passes from Lake
+Borgne into Lake Pontchartrain were well manned;
+the colored battalion, under Major Lacoste, with the
+Feliciana dragoons, were ordered to take post on the
+Chef Menteur, to cover the Gentilly road; Major
+Plauche’s battalion, with Lieutenant Wagner’s company
+of light artillery, were stationed at Fort St. John,
+on the bayou of that name; the Tennessee cavalry and
+infantry, under Generals Coffee and Carroll, remained
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_273">[Pg 273]</span>about four miles above the city; the regular troops,
+and the remainder of the state militia, occupied the
+city, and the fortifications on the river below; and the
+schooner Caroline and brig Louisiana were moored in
+the stream.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">LANDING OF THE ENEMY.</div>
+
+<p>The watchful care and vigilance of the American
+commander were frustrated, however, by the want of
+due caution on the part of a picket posted near the
+mouth of the bayou Bienvenu, which led up from Lake
+Borgne. On the twenty-second of December, the picket
+was surprised by a party of the enemy, belonging to the
+division of General Keane, whose whole command,
+about four thousand five hundred in number, with their
+heavy cannon and stores, immediately proceeded, in
+their small boats, up the bayou, and, at four o’clock
+in the morning of the twenty-third, arrived opposite the
+opening of Villeré’s canal, which connected with the
+Mississippi. They halted at this point for a few hours,
+and then continued up the canal. Early in the afternoon
+of the same day, they gained the bank of the river
+unmolested, and established themselves on the plantations
+of General Villeré, Colonel La Ronde, and Major
+Lacoste, about eight miles below the city.</p>
+
+<p>General Jackson did not wait to be attacked.
+Within an hour after receiving the information that
+the enemy had effected a landing, he put his troops in
+motion. Anticipating that the city might be simultaneously
+threatened by way of the Chef Menteur, General
+Carroll was left posted on the Gentilly road, with
+his command and the city militia; and the remainder
+of the troops, under General Jackson in person, consisting
+of General Coffee’s brigade, Major Hind’s dragoons,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_274">[Pg 274]</span>a detachment of artillery and marines, under
+Colonel McRea, parts of the 7th and 44th infantry, the
+battalions of Majors Plauche and Daquin, and two six
+pounder guns in charge of Lieutenant Spotts, moved
+down the left bank of the river, to attack the enemy
+who had landed below. The schooner Caroline, Captain
+Henley, with Commodore Patterson on board, and
+the brig Louisiana, Lieutenant Thompson, also dropped
+down the river. It was understood that the signal of
+attack would be the fire of the Caroline, when she had
+arrived opposite the position of the British troops.</p>
+
+<p>At six o’clock in the evening of the twenty-third,
+the different corps composing the main column, in all
+not far from two thousand men, effected a junction at
+the canal Rodriguez, within sight of the watch fires of
+the enemy, which were discovered gleaming dimly in
+the distance. The night was prematurely dark, owing
+to the dense fog rising from the river. This circumstance,
+however, favored the movement, as it was
+thereby concealed from the enemy; and the very best
+spirit pervaded the whole command. The troops were
+now formed for the attack;—the artillery and marines,
+and the regular infantry, on the right; the battalions
+of Plauche and Daquin, both under Colonel Ross, in
+the centre; and the brigade of General Coffee, dismounted,
+on the left. General Coffee was directed to
+turn the enemy’s right, and attack them in the rear;
+while the rest of the column advanced against them in
+front.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">NIGHT ATTACK.</div>
+
+<p>At half-past seven o’clock, the long looked-for signal
+was given by the Caroline. The first intimation received
+by the enemy, of the approach of the Americans,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_275">[Pg 275]</span>was the raking broadside of the schooner, which completely
+swept their encampment. Before they had fairly
+recovered from their astonishment, General Jackson fell
+upon them like a thunderbolt. Though taken by surprise,
+General Keane ordered his fires to be extinguished,
+and finally succeeded in forming his men to beat off the
+attack. Before order was entirely restored, General
+Coffee had forced his way into the enemy’s camp, and
+General Jackson was moving upon them in front with
+equal daring and impetuosity.</p>
+
+<p>Notwithstanding the intense darkness, the American
+soldiers were kept to their duty, and displayed the most
+praiseworthy gallantry. The enemy were driven from
+their position, and several successive charges were made,
+with great success. At length, it was discovered that
+the troops were falling into confusion, on account of the
+thick mist which shrouded everything around, and
+General Jackson thought it best to call off his men.
+During the remainder of the night they lay on the field
+of battle, and in the morning fell back to the canal
+Rodriguez, about two miles nearer the city, where the
+swamp and the Mississippi approached within a few
+hundred yards of each other.</p>
+
+<p>The American loss in the engagement on the evening
+of the twenty-third, was twenty-four killed, one
+hundred and fifteen wounded, and seventy-four taken
+prisoners; that of the British was forty-six killed, one
+hundred and seventy-four wounded, and sixty-four missing.
+But the most important result of the action, was
+the check given to the operations of the enemy. They
+were taught to respect their antagonists far more than
+they had done; and, when they were informed by their
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_276">[Pg 276]</span>prisoners, who designed to deceive them, that the American
+force was at least fifteen thousand strong, they
+began to think the conquest of New Orleans would not,
+after all, be a mere holiday affair.</p>
+
+<p>General Jackson decided to make a stand at the position
+to which he retired on the morning of the twenty-fourth
+of December, as it was ascertained that reïnforcements
+were constantly arriving at the enemy’s
+camp. The work of fortifying it was instantly commenced.
+The canal Rodriguez, which was about four
+feet deep, served the purpose of a ditch; and, behind
+this, a breastwork was constructed, stretching from the
+Mississippi on the right, about one thousand yards, to
+the cypress swamp on the left. The line extended
+some distance into the marsh and then inclined to the
+right, in order to prevent any attempt to turn that flank.
+The underbrush and trees in this quarter were also
+cleared away for a considerable space, so that an assailing
+column could not approach without being exposed
+to a destructive fire. Earth being scarce in this low
+country, General Jackson had recourse to a novel expedient.
+Bales of cotton, in large numbers, were brought
+from the city, which were placed in line and covered
+over with dirt. Flank bastions to enfilade the works,
+and strong batteries, were also constructed, at irregular
+intervals.</p>
+
+<p>On the right bank of the Mississippi, about half a
+mile in advance of General Jackson’s main position, a
+line of intrenchments, extending from the river to the
+low grounds, was also formed, and a heavy battery of
+fifteen guns established, which enfiladed the whole front
+©f the position on the left bank. In addition to this
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_277">[Pg 277]</span>principal line of intrenchments, there were others formed
+in the rear, to which General Jackson designed to retreat,
+in succession, if the enemy forced him to abandon
+his first position. Another precautionary measure was
+likewise adopted, to render his main line more secure
+against attack. Sluices were opened through the levee,
+and the plains in front flooded with water from the
+river. The general was so carried away with zeal and
+enthusiasm, and so deeply impressed with the great responsibility
+resting upon him, and the importance of
+every step, that for four days and nights, while his
+preparations were in progress, he scarcely took a moment’s
+rest. No crisis seemed to be too great for him;
+his vigilance became more keen sighted, and his spirits
+rose higher, as dangers thickened around his path; his
+resources grew more ample as the occasion required,
+and his resolution hourly grew more stern and unbending.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">SKIRMISHING.</div>
+
+<p>Sir Edward Packenham, the Commander in Chief
+of the British land forces, joined General Keane on the
+twenty-fourth of December with heavy reïnforcements,
+and an additional supply of artillery. Frequent skirmishes
+took place between detached parties of the hostile
+commands, and on the twenty-seventh instant, the
+schooner Caroline, which had been prevented from ascending
+the river by a strong norther, was blown up by
+hot shot thrown from a battery erected by the enemy,
+on the night of the twenty-sixth. Fortunately, the
+crew of the vessel had previously made their escape.
+A similar attempt was made upon the brig Louisiana,
+but her commander, Lieutenant Thompson, succeeded
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_278">[Pg 278]</span>in getting her up the river, and anchored her on the
+right of General Jackson’s position.</p>
+
+<p>It was at first designed by the British commander,
+to commence regular approaches against the formidable
+line of intrenchments occupied by the American troops.
+On the twenty-eighth of December, a brisk cannonade
+was opened from a battery planted near the levee,
+within half a mile of the river. Showers of Congreve
+rockets were also thrown, which, although a new implement
+of warfare,&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_21_21" href="#Footnote_21_21" class="fnanchor">[21]</a> failed to excite either fear or astonishment
+in the opposing ranks. The firing was kept
+up for several hours without producing any sensible effect;
+and the attack was then relinquished. During
+the night of the thirty-first, heavy batteries were constructed
+on the plain, directly in front of the American
+position; and the advent of the new year was welcomed
+by a tremendous burst of artillery, accompanied by incessant
+flights of rockets, which was continued till three
+o’clock in the afternoon, when the batteries were effectually
+silenced by the American guns. The casualties
+on these two occasions were,—on the side of the Americans,
+eighteen killed and thirty-one wounded; and, on
+the side of the enemy, forty-eight killed, and eighty-two
+wounded.</p>
+
+<p>These repeated efforts having proved of no avail,
+General Packenham decided to carry the works by a
+<i lang="fr">coup de main</i>. For a number of days all his men
+were employed in deepening Villeré’s canal, for the passage
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_279">[Pg 279]</span>of the boats, by which a detachment could be
+thrown across the river to attack the fortifications on
+the right bank. On the sixth instant, General Lambert
+joined the main body of the enemy, already on
+shore, with his division; and the whole command was
+thus increased to upwards of twelve thousand men.
+Everything being in readiness for the contemplated assault,
+on the evening of the seventh instant, it was directed
+to take place at dawn of day on the following
+morning.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile General Jackson had been actively employed
+in completing his preparations. Near the river,
+and in advance of the cotton embankment, he commenced
+the construction of a redoubt, with embrasures,
+calculated to rake the ditch in front of the intrenchments,
+and the road down the levee; but this was still
+incomplete on the eighth of January. The line Dupré,
+about two miles in rear of the main line, to which he
+designed to retreat and make a second stand, if he
+should be compelled to retire, was also strengthened as
+far as practicable. Various devices were employed to
+mislead the enemy in regard to his position, and the
+strength of his command, which was daily rendered
+more necessary, on account of the increasing disaffection
+in the city. The number of his men was represented
+to be greater than it was; their deficiency in
+arms was carefully concealed; and no intercourse was
+allowed between the lines and the city, except through
+officers in whom he had the most implicit confidence.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">DISAFFEC&shy;TION IN THE CITY.</div>
+
+<p>In spite of all his precautions, the enemy were informed
+by their agents of every movement that took
+place, and the disaffection which they eagerly fomented,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_280">[Pg 280]</span>ultimately increased to such an extent, that it was
+seriously proposed that terms of surrender should be
+offered by the legislature. On being apprised of this
+treasonable design, General Jackson directed Governor
+Claiborne, whenever such a proposition was made, to
+close the doors of the state-house. The order was misunderstood
+by the governor, who closed the doors forthwith,
+and the members of the legislature were thus
+prevented from assembling. The commanding general
+did not design to interrupt their ordinary deliberations,
+but it was probably fortunate for the safety of the city,
+that they were not allowed to convene.</p>
+
+<p>On the fourth of January, the anxiously-expected
+reïnforcements from Kentucky, under Generals Thomas
+and Adair, twenty-five hundred strong, reached New
+Orleans. They were poorly furnished with arms, however,
+and, like most of the other troops, were nearly
+destitute of clothing. The city was ransacked in
+search of weapons, but a scanty supply could be obtained;
+and the other deficiency was partially remedied,
+by the patriotic exertions of Mr. Girod, the mayor, and
+the ladies of New Orleans.</p>
+
+<p>General Jackson now made a final disposition of his
+troops. Governor Claiborne was posted on the Gentilly
+road, with a portion of the Louisiana militia; another
+portion, under General Morgan, was stationed on the
+right bank of the river, and the battery on that shore
+was manned by the sailors and marines under Commodore
+Patterson. General Morgan was further reïnforced,
+on the night of the seventh of January, when
+it was ascertained that the enemy were opening a passage
+into the river, by a detachment of the Kentucky
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_281">[Pg 281]</span>troops. On the left bank, General Jackson was posted
+with his main column, consisting of about thirty-five
+hundred men. There were eight distinct batteries
+along the line, mounting, in all, twelve guns and two
+howitzers. On the right, were the 7th and 44th infantry,
+between which were the battalions of Majors Plauche,
+Lacoste, and Daquin; in the centre was General Carroll’s
+command, supported by that of General Adair;
+and, on the extreme left, were the Tennessee rifles
+under General Coffee. The remainder of the Kentucky
+troops, under General Thomas, remained in the rear.</p>
+
+<p>The brave troops whom General Jackson had gathered
+around him calmly awaited the approach of the
+enemy, behind the breastwork of cotton bags which
+their sagacious commander had provided, not as a shelter
+for cowardice, but as a protection against the onset
+of a superior force. Night after night they slept upon
+their arms; the soldiers of Coffee lying far out in the
+swamp, on heaps of logs and brush, half benumbed
+with the cold, and covered with the moist ooze of the
+morass; yet all indifferent to the inclemency of the
+weather, to hardship and suffering, and anxious only to
+win new laurels for the general whom they loved and
+honored.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">THE EIGHTH OF JANUARY.</div>
+
+<p>The wintry dawn was just breaking, and the cold
+silvery sheen of the early morning was rapidly spreading
+over the plains of Chalmette, on the memorable
+eighth of January, 1815, when the dark masses of the
+British assaulting columns were discerned from the
+American lines, as they emerged from the thick veil
+of mist which intercepted the view of their encampment,
+and rapidly pressed forward to the storm. At the same
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_282">[Pg 282]</span>time, their batteries, planted on the previous night,
+within eight hundred yards of the intrenchments, commenced
+an active fire, which soon deepened into a continuous
+roar, that shook the whole valley, and started
+the inhabitants of the city from their slumbers.</p>
+
+<p>Simultaneously with the movement on the left bank
+of the river, Colonel Thornton crossed the stream with
+five hundred picked men, ascended the levee, and, by a
+sudden charge, turned the position, and made himself
+master of the battery, which formed the strong point
+of the line. General Morgan was at the head of a much
+superior force, but finding himself unable to maintain
+his ground, he fell back towards the city, followed slowly
+by the British troops.</p>
+
+<p>Upon the other shore, the most desperate and unflinching
+valor failed to achieve the least substantial
+success. The main attack, on this bank of the river,
+was made in two columns, sixty or seventy deep; that
+on the right, between eight and nine thousand strong,
+led by General Gibbs, moving upon the centre of Jackson’s
+position; and the left, about twelve hundred in
+number, under General Keane, advancing along the
+levee road. The British troops moved forward slowly
+and steadily, many of them carrying scaling ladders
+and fascines. “Beauty and booty” was the watchword
+which inspired their zeal, and quickened their steps.&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_22_22" href="#Footnote_22_22" class="fnanchor">[22]</a>
+A great number of them had served in the Spanish
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_283">[Pg 283]</span>Peninsula; and it is not to be wondered that this appeal
+to the unholy passions that were suffered to riot unchecked
+at the storming of St. Sebastian, produced its
+legitimate effect.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">TERRIBLE SLAUGHTER OF THE ENEMY.</div>
+
+<p>Three hearty cheers rose from the American lines,
+when the enemy came within range. Every piece was
+instantly put in requisition. A well-sustained rolling
+fire welcomed the assailants as they approached. Still,
+the regularity of their array was unbroken. Torrents
+of grape and round shot, hissing hot, swept through the
+solid columns, rending them asunder like ropes of sand.
+Yet they pressed on undaunted, through the driving
+storm of missiles poured upon them from the different
+batteries, whose converging fires smote them more and
+more heavily at every step of their advance, and strewed
+the plain with the dying and the dead.</p>
+
+<p>Meantime the American infantry and riflemen had
+remained at their posts, with their hands clenched about
+the locks of their pieces, attentively watching the movements
+of the enemy. General Jackson himself occasionally
+rode along the lines, to cheer and animate his
+men. It was, indeed, a critical period for his own fame,
+for the martial reputation of his country. His chivalric
+courage, his proud and lofty self-reliance, rose with the
+emergency. His eagle eye blazed with an almost unearthly
+light, and the shrill notes of his trumpet voice
+rang high above the roar of battle.</p>
+
+<p>Making their way through the heaps of their comrades,
+who lay weltering in their gore, pale, distorted,
+and stiffening in death, the British soldiers advanced
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_284">[Pg 284]</span>within reach of the American rifle and musket. In an
+instant, a vivid stream of fire rolled down from the
+whole line of intrenchments. The way was now blocked
+by a glistening wall of flame. The bravest shrank back
+aghast. Stout-hearted men, who had never faltered
+amid the sea of carnage whose crimson waves dyed the
+ramparts of Badajoz, trembled like the aspen. The
+American fire was never for a moment interrupted,—the
+western riflemen making their mark at every discharge,
+and the men in the rear constantly loading and
+exchanging pieces with their companions in front. At
+the head of the glacis, the right column of the assailants
+staggered and halted. Generals Pakenham and Gibbs
+dashed forward, eager to retrieve the fortunes of the
+day ere all was lost. In vain was every effort to turn
+the tide of battle. Both officers fell mortally wounded,
+while hundreds were swept down around them, as the
+grass before the mower. Some few pressed on,—on
+and on,—to sure destruction!</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">FINAL REPULSE OF THE ASSAIL&shy;ANTS.</div>
+
+<p>On the left, the advance of General Keane’s column,
+led by Colonel Rennie, gained the redoubt in front of
+the line of intrenchments; but it was only to find a
+soldier’s grave. A murderous fire was at once directed
+upon them from the main fortification, and every man
+who had entered the work, including the gallant officer
+who headed the attack, was cut down. General Keane
+made an ineffectual effort to rally the troops for another
+onset, and was borne from the field severely wounded.
+The command now devolved on General Lambert, who
+promptly led up the reserve; but on discovering the
+dreadful havoc which had been made in the shattered
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_285">[Pg 285]</span>and terrified column before him, he gave the signal to
+retire.</p>
+
+<p>At mid-day the battle was ended; the bright sun
+looked down on that red waste, everywhere marred by
+the ploughing shot, and dotted all over with huge piles
+of festering corruption; and the cool breeze that murmured
+among the acacia and orange groves, was loaded
+with scents of slaughter, with the steam of the battle-field.
+The appalling fire from the American lines was
+most terrible in its effects. The British lost two hundred
+and ninety-three killed, twelve hundred and sixty-seven
+wounded, and there were four hundred and eighty-four
+taken prisoners. The American loss was trifling
+in comparison; there were but thirteen killed, thirty-nine
+wounded, and nineteen missing, on both sides of
+the river, during the day.&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_23_23" href="#Footnote_23_23" class="fnanchor">[23]</a>&#x2060;</p>
+
+<p>General Lambert determined, on the day after this
+bloody repulse, not to prosecute further the hopeless enterprise.
+The detachment thrown across the river was
+recalled, and preparations commenced for the reëmbarkation.
+The ditches and field in front of the American
+line, were cleared of the débris of the assaulting
+army, and a warm cannonade was kept up by the artillery
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_286">[Pg 286]</span>for several days; but, on the night of the
+eighteenth of January, the enemy evacuated all their
+positions, and retreated to their shipping. Eight of
+their heavy guns were abandoned, and eighty of their
+wounded were left to the humanity of General Jackson,
+a duty which, in the language of a not too partial
+historian, he discharged “with a zeal and attention
+worthy of the ability and gallantry he had displayed in
+the action.”&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_24_24" href="#Footnote_24_24" class="fnanchor">[24]</a> About the same time, the British fleet,
+which had ascended the Mississippi, and bombarded
+Fort St. Philip, unsuccessfully, for about eight days,
+from the eleventh to the nineteenth of January, retired
+down the river. Having taken the land forces on board,
+the squadron proceeded to Mobile bay and invested
+Fort Bowyer, which surrendered after a short resistance.
+This proved a barren victory, however, as a treaty of
+peace had been concluded in December previous, which
+was officially proclaimed on the eighteenth of February.</p>
+
+<p>All immediate danger having vanished, General Jackson,
+and his victorious troops, entered the city of New
+Orleans in triumph, on the twentieth day of January.
+Fêtes and rejoicings now took the place of the consternation
+and alarm which had prevailed. The hero of
+Chalmette was “the observed of all observers,” and no
+festive occasion could be complete without his presence.
+A procession was formed to the cathedral, in the midst
+of which walked the gallant conqueror, ladies dressed
+in white strewing his path with flowers. <i lang="la">Te Deum</i> was
+chanted, and a solemn thanksgiving offered to Divine
+Providence.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">FINED BY JUDGE HALL.</div>
+
+<p>Treason and disaffection still lingered in the city;
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_287">[Pg 287]</span>and anonymous articles appeared in one of the public
+journals, designed to excite mutiny and sedition among
+the American troops. These were traced to one Louailler,
+a member of the state legislature, whom General
+Jackson instantly ordered to be arrested. A writ of
+<i lang="la">habeas corpus</i> was shortly after issued by Judge Hall,
+the district judge, for the purpose of procuring the release
+of the prisoner. The order proclaiming martial
+law was still in force, and the judge was promptly ordered
+into confinement. Two days later, intelligence
+was received of the conclusion of the treaty of peace.
+On being restored to his authority, Judge Hall summoned
+General Jackson before him. The latter readily
+obeyed the summons, and appeared with his counsel.
+The judge, whose only title to immortality is this one
+act of injustice, refused to hear either reason or argument,
+and, to satisfy his offended dignity, imposed a
+fine of one thousand dollars on the general, for disregarding
+the writ of <i lang="la">habeas corpus</i>. A spontaneous
+burst of indignation at once rose from the spectators,
+but General Jackson magnanimously interposed to
+shield the trembling judge from outrage. The fine was
+paid, and when he left the court room the multitude
+followed him in crowds. In a few moments, he was
+waited on by a committee of ladies, who had already
+raised the amount of the fine among the citizens of
+New Orleans, and now entreated him to accept it. He
+refused to take the money, and, at his suggestion, it
+was distributed among the widows and orphans of those
+who had fallen in defence of the city. After the lapse
+of many years, at the session of Congress in the winter
+of 1843–4, tardy, though merited justice, was done to
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_288">[Pg 288]</span>General Jackson, by the passage of a bill directing the
+amount of the fine to be refunded to him, with interest.</p>
+
+<p>General Jackson remained in command at New
+Orleans, until the month of March, when he was relieved
+by General Gaines. He immediately retired to
+the tranquillity of the Hermitage, though compelled to
+witness, everywhere on his homeward route, the evidences
+of the respect and gratitude which thrilled the hearts
+of his countrymen. The war with the Seminole Indians
+on the southern frontiers of Georgia again called
+him from his retirement, in the winter of 1818.&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_25_25" href="#Footnote_25_25" class="fnanchor">[25]</a> Shortly
+after the breaking out of hostilities, he was ordered to
+assume the command of the forces operating in that
+quarter. On the ninth of March, 1818. he joined General
+Gaines at Fort Scott, with nine hundred Georgia
+militia. Early in April, he was reïnforced by one
+thousand volunteers from West Tennessee, and fifteen
+hundred friendly Creek warriors, under their chief,
+McIntosh.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">THE SEMINOLE WAR.</div>
+
+<p>General Jackson now found himself at the head of
+four thousand five hundred men, with whom he marched
+to the Indian town of Mickasauky, which he laid waste.
+The hostile savages fled into Florida, whither he followed
+them, and took refuge in the neighborhood of St.
+Marks, the Spanish authorities of which endeavored to
+protect and shelter them. Accordingly, the American
+commander took possession of the town, and sent the
+garrison to Pensacola. On the sixteenth of April, he
+destroyed the Suwanee villages, and then returned to
+St. Marks, where two of the principal instigators of the
+Indian outrages, whom he had captured, a Scotchman
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_289">[Pg 289]</span>and an Englishman, whose names were Arbuthnot and
+Ambrister, were tried by a court martial, sentenced to
+death, and executed. Not long after, intelligence was
+received that the governor of West Florida, at Pensacola,
+in violation of the treaty with Spain, was affording
+countenance and protection to the fugitive Seminoles.
+General Jackson proceeded thither without delay, seized
+Pensacola, on the twenty-fourth of May, and on the
+twenty-seventh Fort Barrancas surrendered to his authority.
+St. Augustine was also captured by a detachment
+under General Gaines. The seizure and occupation,
+by the American troops, of these places of refuge
+for the hostile Indians put an end to the outbreak, and
+in the month of June, General Jackson, whose health
+had become seriously impaired by the unfriendliness of
+the climate, returned home, and subsequently resigned
+his commission.</p>
+
+<p>The Spanish posts in Florida seized by General Jackson
+were afterwards ordered to be restored, but his conduct
+was approved by President Monroe, and a resolution
+of censure, offered in the House of Representatives,
+was voted down by a large majority. Any difficulty
+with Spain that might have grown out of his proceedings
+was obviated, by the cession of Florida to the
+United States, in the winter of 1819. General Jackson
+was very appropriately selected by the American
+Executive, as the commissioner to receive the territory,
+and on the first of July, 1821, he issued a proclamation
+at Pensacola, officially announcing its annexation to the
+United States. His administration of the executive
+affairs of the new territory, owing to the bad state of
+his health, was quite brief; during it, however, he came
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_290">[Pg 290]</span>in collision with the Spanish ex-governor, in an effort,
+which proved successful, to protect the rights of several
+orphan females. His firm and unyielding will, and his
+determined purpose, were never exhibited in a more
+characteristic, or more creditable manner. His health
+continuing to grow worse, he transferred the authority
+with which he had been clothed, to his secretaries, on
+the seventh of October, 1821, and immediately set out
+for Nashville.</p>
+
+<p>The gallant soldier was not forgotten. In August,
+1822, he was nominated for the presidency as the successor
+of Mr. Monroe, by the legislature of Tennessee.
+In 1823 he declined the appointment of minister to
+Mexico, tendered to him by the President, and, in the
+same year, he was elected to the Senate of the United
+States. On becoming a prominent candidate for the
+presidential office, he resigned his seat. At the election
+in 1824, he received a plurality of the electoral votes,
+but as there was no choice by the colleges, the question
+was referred to the House of Representatives, by whom
+his principal competitor, John Quincy Adams, was
+elected to the office. In 1828, he was again a candidate,
+and received one hundred and seventy-eight of
+the two hundred and sixty-one electoral votes. In
+1832 he was elected for a second term, by a still larger
+majority.</p>
+
+<p>It is not within the scope of this work, to notice in
+detail the political services of General Jackson. A brief
+recapitulation of some of the most important acts of his
+administration must suffice. On the twentieth of May,
+1830, he vetoed the Maysville road bill, and on the
+tenth of July, 1832, the bill to recharter the United
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_291">[Pg 291]</span>States Bank. On the sixteenth of January, 1833, his
+celebrated nullification message, recapitulating the
+facts, and many of the arguments, contained in his
+proclamation of December previous, was issued. In
+October, 1833, the public deposits were removed from
+the United States Bank. On the fifteenth of April,
+1834, he protested against the resolutions of censure
+adopted by the Senate, which were afterwards, in January,
+1837, expunged from their journal; and on the
+fifteenth of January, 1835, his warlike, but patriotic
+message, in regard to the refusal of the French government
+to pay the stipulated indemnity, made its appearance.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">FINAL TERMINATION OF HIS PUBLIC CAREER.</div>
+
+<p>His long public career finally terminated on the third
+of March, 1837, when he issued a farewell address to
+the people of the United States, and retired forever from
+the harassing cares and responsibilities of an official
+position, to the peaceful shades of his own quiet Hermitage.
+The wife whom he had so ardently loved, no
+longer lived to bless him with her affection, and cheer
+him with her smiles;—she had been taken from his
+side, by death, in December, 1828,—yet her memory
+was ever a sweet solace throughout the closing hours
+of his earthly pilgrimage.</p>
+
+<p>General Jackson had gained a world-wide reputation
+by the bravery and skill displayed in his Indian campaigns,
+and in the war with Great Britain. Lafayette
+was a guest at the Hermitage, on his visit to this country
+in 1825, and, twenty years later, the portrait of the
+general was painted, when almost in a dying condition,
+to adorn the gallery of Louis Philippe, the King of the
+French. He was known and honored by the great and
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_292">[Pg 292]</span>good in every land. Whatever may be said of the domestic
+policy of his administration, in his intercourse
+with foreign nations he inspired or enforced respect, and
+few, perhaps none, of our presidents, Washington alone
+excepted, ever commanded greater consideration abroad.</p>
+
+<p>A peaceful close was vouchsafed to the stormy and
+eventful life, the prominent incidents of which have
+been briefly portrayed in this sketch. The Imperial
+prisoner of St. Helena died amid a raging storm, shouting,
+in imagination, to his marshalled legions, while the
+winds howled and shrieked above his head; the words,
+<i lang="fr">Tête d’armée!</i> were the last to leave his lips, as his
+eye glazed in death, and his frame was convulsed with
+the last agony. At the close of a Sabbath afternoon,
+in the bright summer time, when Nature had spread
+her richest garniture over her wide domains, and grove
+and forest were vocal with sweetest melody; in the
+presence of his family and friends; by his own fireside;
+on the eighth of June, 1845; Andrew Jackson calmly
+yielded up his spirit. For weeks and months he had
+suffered under a painful disease, yet not a murmur escaped
+him. His heart was stayed on a noble hope—a
+hope sure, steadfast, and unfading—the priceless hope
+of the Christian!</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+  <div class="poetry">
+      <div class="verse indent4">“Serene, serene,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">He pressed the crumbling verge of this terrestrial scene,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent4">Breathed soft, in childlike trust,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent6">The parting groan;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent4"><em>Gave back to dust its dust,—</em></div>
+      <div class="verse indent6"><em>To Heaven its own!</em>”</div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<p>In person General Jackson was tall and thin. His
+frame was well knit, but gaunt. He had an iron visage,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_293">[Pg 293]</span>and a commanding look. His eyes were a deep
+blue, bright and penetrating. He was frank and easy
+in his manners, courteous and affable in his address.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">HIS CHARACTER.</div>
+
+<p>His character was decidedly pronounced. It was
+full of salient points, remarkable for their strength, and
+the fitness and harmony of their combination. He was
+kind and affectionate, benevolent and humane; pure
+and earnest of purpose; inflexibly honest; physically
+and morally brave; ardent and sincere in his patriotism;
+direct in his professions; and resolute and unflinching
+in determination. He possessed a firm will,
+was clear in judgment, and rapid in his decisions. His
+temperament was restless, though not mercurial. He
+had an abundance of what the French call <i lang="fr">fortes
+emotions</i>. His passions were intense, and what he
+did, he did with all his might. Like Cicero, he was a
+<em>new man</em>; and, by his own unaided exertions, raised
+himself from comparative obscurity, to the highest distinction.
+He was a good hater, but he never forgot his
+friends; and there are many who still prize his friendship,
+bestowed while in life, as a favor from heaven.&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_26_26" href="#Footnote_26_26" class="fnanchor">[26]</a>&#x2060;</p>
+
+<p>All these traits and characteristics were strikingly
+exhibited, both in his civil, and military career. His
+style as a writer partook of his mental peculiarities;
+it was rugged and uneven as the mountain torrent;
+yet it had a nervous eloquence, that never failed to
+produce a deep impression, and indicated a powerful
+grasp of thought. As a soldier, he was fruitful in expedients;
+he had the genius, perseverance and skill,
+of Hannibal,—the indomitable will and energy, without
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_294">[Pg 294]</span>the selfishness, of Napoleon. He was persevering, cool,
+and intrepid,—hardy in endurance, and gifted with rare
+courage. In a word, as the historian remarks of the
+French soldier of fortune,—“He was not a great man
+because he was a great general: he was a great general
+because he was a great man”!&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_27_27" href="#Footnote_27_27" class="fnanchor">[27]</a>&#x2060;</p>
+
+<div class="footnotes">
+<h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+<p class="footnote unindent"><a id="Footnote_13_13" href="#FNanchor_13_13" class="label">[13]</a> Fisher Ames.</p>
+
+<p class="footnote unindent"><a id="Footnote_14_14" href="#FNanchor_14_14" class="label">[14]</a> An attempt was made on Charleston, in June, 1776; but the enemy
+were repulsed with great loss.</p>
+
+<p class="footnote unindent"><a id="Footnote_15_15" href="#FNanchor_15_15" class="label">[15]</a> Kendall’s Life of Jackson.</p>
+
+<p class="footnote unindent"><a id="Footnote_16_16" href="#FNanchor_16_16" class="label">[16]</a> In 1790, the “Territory South of the Ohio,” of which Tennessee
+formed a part, was erected. Kentucky was admitted into the Union as
+a State, in 1792.</p>
+
+<p class="footnote unindent"><a id="Footnote_17_17" href="#FNanchor_17_17" class="label">[17]</a> See <a href="#HARRISON">Memoir of General Harrison</a>, <i>ante</i>.</p>
+
+<p class="footnote unindent"><a id="Footnote_18_18" href="#FNanchor_18_18" class="label">[18]</a> Manriquez stated in his letter, that he had requested the Captain
+General, at Havana, to forward him a supply of arms and ammunition,
+for distribution among the Indians. This was one of the circumstances
+which justified the attack on Pensacola, by General Jackson, in the fall
+of 1814.</p>
+
+<p class="footnote unindent"><a id="Footnote_19_19" href="#FNanchor_19_19" class="label">[19]</a> Lieutenant Armstrong evinced the utmost bravery on this occasion.
+He was shot down, when the action was at its height, but cried out to
+his men, as he lay upon the ground,—“My brave fellows some of you
+must fall, but <em>save the cannon</em>!”</p>
+
+<p class="footnote unindent"><a id="Footnote_20_20" href="#FNanchor_20_20" class="label">[20]</a> In 1810, the population was 17,242.</p>
+
+<p class="footnote unindent"><a id="Footnote_21_21" href="#FNanchor_21_21" class="label">[21]</a> Rockets were first used at the battle of Leipsic, in October, 1813.
+The English rocket brigade in that bloody engagement, was commanded
+by Captain Bogue; and, after playing ten minutes on a solid square of
+French infantry, they forced them to surrender.—<cite>Lord Londonderry’s
+War in Germany</cite>, 172.</p>
+
+<p class="footnote unindent"><a id="Footnote_22_22" href="#FNanchor_22_22" class="label">[22]</a> In 1833, a card was published by General Lambert, and four other
+British officers, of high rank, who were engaged in the expedition against
+New Orleans, denying, most emphatically, that this was the countersign
+on the occasion alluded to in the text. An order-book was found, however,
+on the field of battle, which shows that the watchword was given.
+It is very possible that the word may have been used by a different
+division from that to which those officers belonged; this is much more
+probable than that they could be mistaken in their assertion.</p>
+
+<p class="footnote unindent"><a id="Footnote_23_23" href="#FNanchor_23_23" class="label">[23]</a> There is one consideration not often noticed in connection with the
+defence of New Orleans, which gives it additional importance. It is extremely
+doubtful, whether the city would have been surrendered to the
+Americans, under the treaty of peace, had it been captured. Spain never
+cordially acquiesced in the transfer of the territory of Louisiana from
+France to the United States, and her minister at Washington, the Marquis
+of Trujo, formally protested against it. At this time England was
+peculiarly zealous in taking care of Spanish interests, and in a letter addressed
+to the American, by the British Commissioners, at Ghent, on the
+8th of October, 1814, these facts were stated, and the right of France to
+make the cession was seriously called in question.</p>
+
+<p class="footnote unindent"><a id="Footnote_24_24" href="#FNanchor_24_24" class="label">[24]</a> Alison’s History of Europe, <abbr title ="chapter 76">chap. lxxvi</abbr>.</p>
+
+<p class="footnote unindent"><a id="Footnote_25_25" href="#FNanchor_25_25" class="label">[25]</a> See <a href="#GAINES">Memoir of General Gaines</a>, <i>ante</i>.</p>
+
+<p class="footnote unindent" lang="fr"><a id="Footnote_26_26" href="#FNanchor_26_26" class="label">[26]</a> “L’amitie d’un grand homme, est un bienfait des dieux.”—<cite>Voltaire’s
+Oedipe.</cite></p>
+
+<p class="footnote unindent"><a id="Footnote_27_27" href="#FNanchor_27_27" class="label">[27]</a> Alison’s History of Europe, <abbr title="chapter seventy">chap. lxx</abbr>.</p>
+</div>
+
+<hr aria-hidden="true" class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp59" id="i_294" style="max-width: 49.9375em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/i_294.jpg" alt="Portrait, in uniform, head and torso, arms crossed in front">
+  <figcaption>
+    ALEXANDER MACOMB.
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_295">[Pg 295]</span></p>
+  <h2 class="nobreak" id="MACOMB">
+    ALEXANDER MACOMB.
+  </h2>
+</div>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" style="max-width: 75%;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/dec_line2.jpg" alt="" data-role="presentation">
+</figure>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Alexander Macomb</span>, late General-in-Chief of the
+Army of the United States, was one of the first fruits
+of the military institution at West Point, suggested by
+General Washington, and established during the administration
+of President Jefferson. Like all the most
+prominent officers in the army, at the close of the war
+of 1812, he was indebted, however, for his rapid promotion,
+to that “exfoliation of veteran commanders,”
+which, says Mr. Ingersoll, in his Historical Sketch of
+the second war with Great Britain, “was one of the
+processes which the young army of that war had to
+suffer, before becoming fit for action.”&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_28_28" href="#Footnote_28_28" class="fnanchor">[28]</a>&#x2060;</p>
+
+<p>He was born at Detroit, then a frontier garrison town,
+on the third day of April, 1782. His father, whose
+name was, also, Alexander Macomb, was of Irish parentage,
+though a native of the city of New York;
+he was highly esteemed as a citizen, and subsequently
+became a member of the New York legislature; and it
+is said, to his honor, that he furnished five sons for the
+regular army and the militia, in the war of 1812. The
+elder Macomb removed to Detroit, just previous to the
+American Revolution, and engaged in the fur trade, in
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_296">[Pg 296]</span>which he acquired a large property. His wife, the
+mother of young Alexander, was a grand-daughter of
+Robert de Navarre, a French officer, who came to
+America in 1745, and was appointed Notaire Royal
+and Sub-Deligué, on the early establishment of Detroit.</p>
+
+<p>Shortly after the restoration of peace, and while
+Alexander was yet a mere infant, his father returned
+with his family to New York. When the latter was
+eight years of age, he was placed at the Newark Academy,
+in New Jersey, then under the charge of Bishop
+Ogden. Many of his associates at this institution were
+the sons of French <i lang="fr">emigrés</i>, whom the revolution in
+France had driven to seek an asylum in the western
+world. In their society, he acquired that polished grace,
+and that polite ease of manners, for which he was always
+remarkable, after he had arrived at the age of
+manhood.</p>
+
+<p>He early manifested an unusual fondness for military
+studies and accomplishments, and his infantile recollections
+were associated with the martial displays he had
+witnessed at Detroit. When preparations were made
+for the defence of the country, on account of the threatening
+aspect of our relations with Great Britain, he,
+with other lads of the same age, assisted in throwing
+up the projected works; and when the nation became
+agitated with the almost certain prospect of a war with
+France, his playmates and companions divided themselves
+into parties, he being usually selected as the
+leader of the American faction, and, like Napoleon and
+his school-fellows at Brienne, built forts and castles in
+the snow, which they alternately stormed and defended.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">RECEIVES A COMMISSION.</div>
+
+<p>In May, 1798, though still but a lad, young Macomb
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_297">[Pg 297]</span>was elected a member of a select company, called the
+“New York Rangers,” attached to the third regiment
+of the state militia, who took their name from those provincial
+bands, that, from 1755 to 1763, formed the <i lang="fr">élite</i>
+of the armies operating on the borders of Canada. Congress
+had recently passed a law authorizing the enrollment
+of a large body of volunteers, and the services of
+this corps were tendered to the General Government,
+and accepted. Previous to this time, when only fourteen
+years of age, young Macomb had intimated to his father
+a desire to enter the army or navy, but the latter gave
+no encouragement to his wishes. He was bent, however,
+on accomplishing the object which was now the
+favorite one of his heart; and, in the autumn of 1798,
+he applied for a commission in the regular service,
+through the commander of his regiment, Colonel Jacob
+Morton. His application was supported by the recommendation
+of General Alexander Hamilton, who had
+been attracted by his manly bearing, and his personal
+and mental accomplishments; and on the tenth of
+January, 1799, he was commissioned a cornet of light
+dragoons, under the act providing for the enlistment of
+an additional force of regulars.</p>
+
+<p>Immediately after his appointment, through the kind
+partiality of General Hamilton, he was selected as an
+assistant adjutant general, and assigned to duty in the
+office of General North, the Adjutant General of the
+Army. No opportunity was offered for signalizing himself
+in the field, on account of the amicable settlement
+of the matters in dispute with France; though, by the
+prompt and faithful discharge of the duties which devolved
+upon him, he secured the respect and confidence
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_298">[Pg 298]</span>of his superior officers. With the permission of General
+Hamilton, he visited Canada, to make himself acquainted
+with the discipline and tactics in the British service; he
+was kindly received by the officers at Montreal, visited
+the troops in their quarters, and was present at several
+reviews for manœuvre and inspection.</p>
+
+<p>The American army was now reduced to a peace establishment;
+a great portion of the troops were disbanded;
+and most of the officers returned to private
+life. Macomb, however, was retained in the service,
+and on the tenth of February, 1801, was appointed a
+second lieutenant of dragoons. Upon his return to the
+United States, he was ordered to Philadelphia, on the
+recruiting service. While in this city, he eagerly embraced
+every opportunity to cultivate and improve his
+mental abilities, by reading, and associating with learned
+and scientific men. The valuable public libraries were
+open to him, and he became a constant visitor. He
+here met with a French officer of engineers, under
+whom he passed through a course of instruction in fortification
+and military topography. He likewise formed
+the acquaintance of Major Williams, of the 2d artillery,
+the Inspector of Fortifications, an able and intelligent
+officer, who was afterwards placed at the head of the
+corps of engineers, and the Military Academy at West
+Point.</p>
+
+<p>Having raised a body of recruits, he received orders
+to conduct them to Pittsburg, the headquarters of General
+Wilkinson. Being accompanied by a number of
+subaltern officers of infantry, he cheerfully waived his
+privilege of being mounted, and walked with them on
+foot, enlivening the weary march by his sprightly conversation,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_299">[Pg 299]</span>his gay good humor, and his friendly attention
+to the wants of those under his command.</p>
+
+<p>Arrived at Pittsburg, Lieutenant Macomb was employed
+in instructing the recruits preparatory to joining
+their respective regiments. He also renewed his intimacy
+with Major Williams, then on a tour of inspection
+upon the Niagara frontier, whom he assisted in preparing
+his drawings, calculations, and estimates. He was
+subsequently attached to the military family of General
+Wilkinson, as an extra aid-de-camp, and accompanied
+him, in that capacity, to the camp of instruction
+formed at Wilkinsonville, at the mouth of the Ohio, for
+practicing the evolutions of the line. In August, 1801,
+he was selected as the secretary of the commission,
+consisting of Generals Wilkinson and Pickens, and
+Colonel Hawkins, appointed to treat with the Indian
+tribes inhabiting the Southwestern territory. He was
+engaged in this service, and in other collateral duties,
+until June, 1802—spending the winter of 1801–2 in
+the Creek nation—when he was dispatched to Washington
+by the commissioners, with the treaties and accounts.
+During all this time, he kept a journal, in
+which he carefully noted the geological and geographical
+features of the country which he traversed; and he also
+constructed a topographical map of the Tennessee and
+Mississippi rivers, which was deposited in the War
+office, and noticed by President Jefferson in the most
+commendatory terms.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">APPOINTED A LIEUTENANT OF ENGINEERS.</div>
+
+<p>Upon his arrival at the seat of government, he found
+that the corps to which he belonged had been disbanded,
+but that he had been retained, and attached to the 1st
+infantry, with the rank of first lieutenant. At the same
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_300">[Pg 300]</span>time authority had been given to raise a corps of engineers,
+to consist of one major, two captains, two first,
+and two second lieutenants, and ten cadets—which
+corps, when organized, was to constitute the Military
+Academy. Being dissatisfied with his new appointment,
+he remonstrated with the Secretary of War; Major
+Williams, the head of the corps of engineers, seconded
+his appeal; and, in consequence, he was transferred to
+that corps, as a first lieutenant, in October, 1802.</p>
+
+<p>He now proceeded to West Point, to take his place
+as a student,—the lieutenants, as well as the cadets,
+being obliged to go through the course of study,—in
+conformity with the provisions of the law organizing
+the Academy. He was one of the first graduates, and
+was then appointed adjutant of the corps. It was his
+duty to instruct the cadets in their military exercises,
+and he was the first officer who organized them into a
+body, and put arms in their hands.—This was the beginning
+of an institution, which has since made the
+world ring, with the heroism and daring of the gallant
+officers whose military character and education were
+there formed and acquired.</p>
+
+<p>In July, 1803, Lieutenant Macomb was married to
+his cousin, Catharine Macomb, a young lady of rare
+beauty, of refined mind, and highly-polished manners.</p>
+
+<p>So highly were his talents appreciated, that in the
+autumn of the same year, he was appointed Judge Advocate
+of a general court-martial held at Frederick,
+Maryland, for the trial of Colonel Butler. In discharging
+this duty he acquitted himself with such marked
+ability, that the members of the court suggested to him
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_301">[Pg 301]</span>the preparation of a treatise on the subject of courts-martial,—a
+work which he afterwards executed.</p>
+
+<p>On the eleventh of June, 1805, in pursuance of the
+strong recommendation of Colonel Williams, who was
+ever warmly attached to his <i lang="fr">protége</i>, he was further
+promoted to the rank of captain in the corps of engineers;
+and, immediately thereafter, was ordered to Portsmouth,
+to oversee the repairs on the fortifications in that harbor.
+The next year he was appointed superintendent
+of the public works, then erecting at Mount Dearborn,
+on the Catawba river, thirty-six miles above Camden,
+where it was designed to establish a national armory
+and dépôt. While at this place, he prepared his treatise
+on courts-martial,—receiving the benefit of the
+advice and suggestions of General William R. Davie,
+and General Charles C. Pinckney, both equally accomplished
+as soldiers and civilians. The work was soon
+after printed, and submitted to the President and Secretary
+of War, by whom it was adopted as the standard
+for the government of courts-martial.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">MADE LIEUTENANT COLONEL.</div>
+
+<p>Captain Macomb remained at Mount Dearborn, until
+1807, when he was instructed to take the general direction,
+as chief engineer, of the works then in process
+of construction for the defence of Georgia and the
+two Carolinas. He made a careful reconnaissance of
+the whole coast, from Ocracoke inlet to the river St.
+Mary’s, and projected a complete system of defences
+for all the principal harbors and inlets. In February,
+1808, he was raised to the rank of major, and, in 1811,
+was made a lieutenant colonel. He remained at
+Charleston, and in its neighborhood, superintending
+the fortifications on the coast, till the month of April,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_302">[Pg 302]</span>1812, when he was called to Washington, to assist the
+Secretary of War in organizing, arranging, equipping,
+and providing supplies, for the new regiments ordered
+to be raised, in anticipation of a collision with England.</p>
+
+<p>War was declared in June following, and Colonel
+Macomb promptly solicited a command in the line of
+the army. Much to his chagrin this was refused, as
+being incompatible with the existing rules of the service.&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_29_29" href="#Footnote_29_29" class="fnanchor">[29]</a>
+Still he was not to be balked in his determination
+to take a far more active part in the approaching
+contest, than as a mere cabinet and staff officer. He
+now applied for an appointment in one of the new regiments
+of artillery; the delegation in Congress from
+the State of New York endorsed his application; and,
+on the sixth of July, 1812, he received a commission
+as colonel of the 3rd artillery, a double regiment, to
+consist of twenty companies, of one hundred and eighteen
+men each.</p>
+
+<p>Colonel Macomb forthwith repaired to New York,
+and by his own personal efforts and exertions, soon succeeded
+in raising the requisite number of men to compose
+his regiment. The different companies rendezvoused
+at Greenbush, where they were completely
+organized and instructed. Their fine state of discipline,
+their soldierly appearance and deportment, and
+the high character of their officers for ability and intelligence,
+attracted general attention, and elicited
+tokens of approbation in every quarter. In November,
+the colonel marched his regiment to Sacketts Harbor,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_303">[Pg 303]</span>with the intention of embarking it on board the fleet,
+and making an attack on Kingston. On his arrival at
+that post, he found that Commodore Chauncey had
+sailed in quest of the enemy, whereupon, in accordance
+with the advice of a council of war, the contemplated
+movement was abandoned, and the regiment went into
+winter quarters.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">STATIONED AT SACKETTS HARBOR.</div>
+
+<p>During the winter, Colonel Macomb was invested
+with the command of the land forces at Sacketts Harbor.
+In addition to his own regiment, there was a
+large body of militia and volunteers stationed there, together
+with a number of sailors and marines belonging
+to the squadron. All the troops were drilled with great
+regularity and precision—being often paraded on the
+frozen lake, to inure them to the cold, and to fit them
+for a projected march, across the ice, upon Kingston.
+This was ascertained to be practicable, by a reconnaissance
+made by Captain Crane, and in order to cover
+the design, a rumor was set afloat, to the effect that
+Sir George Prevost was concentrating his forces at
+Kingston for an attack on Sacketts Harbor.&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_30_30" href="#Footnote_30_30" class="fnanchor">[30]</a> By some
+means or other, the rumor reached the ears of General
+Dearborn, the commander-in-chief, at Albany, in such
+a shape, that he could not be induced to believe it was
+a mere device designed to lull the suspicions of the enemy.
+He left Albany in a sleigh drawn by four horses,
+reached Sacketts Harbor in forty-eight hours, and soon
+after ordered up the brigades of Chandler and Pike from
+Plattsburg.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_304">[Pg 304]</span></p>
+
+<p>Kingston, therefore, remained unmolested,—and the
+army at Sacketts Harbor continued inactive, till the
+opening of the lake navigation in the spring of 1813,
+when General Dearborn proceeded against York with
+the greater part of his forces. A portion of Colonel
+Macomb’s regiment took part in the expedition, but
+their commander himself, much against his own inclination
+and wishes, was left at Sacketts Harbor,—it being
+deemed of the highest importance that an officer of skill
+and ability should be placed in command of that post.</p>
+
+<p>Having made every possible preparation for the defence
+of Sacketts Harbor, and received permission to
+join General Dearborn on the Niagara frontier, Colonel
+Macomb sailed up the lake, in company with Commodore
+Chauncey, with the remainder of his regiment,
+and joined the main army on the twenty-fourth of May;
+passing, in the night, a schooner dispatched by the
+general-in-chief, with an officer on board, bearing positive
+orders for him to remain at the post he had left.
+The arrangements for the attack on Fort George had
+previously been made; but a sort of second reserve was
+formed, under Colonel Macomb, consisting of his regiment
+and the marines. The attack was made on the
+twenty-seventh of May, and was eminently successful.
+None of the troops participated in the action, except
+the advanced guard under Colonel Scott, and the brigade
+of General Boyd; consequently, Colonel Macomb
+had no opportunity to gather the laurels he
+longed to win; and, immediately after the battle took
+place, he was ordered to return to Sacketts Harbor,
+with four companies of his regiment.</p>
+
+<p>Upon what trifling, and apparently unimportant circumstances,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_305">[Pg 305]</span>does the destiny of individuals, like that
+of nations, depend!—The temporary absence of Colonel
+Macomb from Sacketts Harbor enabled General
+Brown, then only an officer of the militia, to distinguish
+himself, and to obtain a high command, followed
+by rapid promotion, in the regular service; while the
+former, though equally brave and patriotic, was defeated in
+his most ardent hopes, by his impatience and
+anxiety to meet the enemy in the field.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">EXPEDITION DOWN THE ST. LAWRENCE.</div>
+
+<p>In the summer of 1813, General Wilkinson relieved
+General Dearborn in the command of the Northern
+army. Colonel Macomb accompanied him in the fruitless
+and unfortunate movement down the St. Lawrence,
+in the autumn of that year.&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_31_31" href="#Footnote_31_31" class="fnanchor">[31]</a> He was placed
+at the head of the <i lang="fr">corps d’élite</i>, which consisted of his
+own regiment, the 20th infantry, Forsyth’s rifles, and
+Major Herkimer’s New York volunteers, numbering, in
+all, about twelve hundred men. On the march over
+land, to avoid the fire of the British batteries at Prescott,
+he led the advance; and when the army resumed
+its progress down the river, he was detached with his
+corps, to remove obstructions from the stream, and
+drive the enemy’s skirmishers and light troops from the
+line of the route. While on this service, several slight
+affairs occurred with the enemy, in which he and the
+officers and men of his command, displayed commendable
+zeal and gallantry.</p>
+
+<p>Being in the advance, Colonel Macomb had no part
+in the action fought on the eleventh of November, near
+Williamsburg. After the death of General Covington,
+who fell on that occasion, Macomb succeeded to
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_306">[Pg 306]</span>the command of his brigade, and conducted it to the
+winter quarters of the army, at French Mills, where
+he was placed in command of the artillery.</p>
+
+<p>On the twenty-fourth of January, 1814, Colonel
+Macomb was promoted to the rank of brigadier general,
+and, on the receipt of his commission, was regularly
+assigned to the command of Covington’s brigade. In
+conformity with orders from the War Department, the
+cantonment at French Mills was broken up in February,
+1814, and the troops divided into two columns,—one
+moving to Sacketts Harbor, under General Brown,
+and the other proceeding to Plattsburg and Burlington,
+under Generals Wilkinson and Macomb. The latter
+was appointed to the command of the troops on the
+eastern shore of Lake Champlain, and established his
+headquarters at Burlington.</p>
+
+<p>In the month of March following, General Wilkinson
+concentrated his forces at Champlain, on the New
+York frontier, in order to make a demonstration, or attack,
+as might be most practicable, upon the British
+outposts. General Macomb joined him with his brigade,
+and proceeded, with the column, to La Cole Mill,
+on the St. John’s, a strongly fortified position of the
+enemy. An attempt was made to carry the work on
+the thirtieth of March, which wholly failed of success.
+General Macomb, who had opposed, to the last, the
+order of attack laid down by the commanding general,
+and suggested an entirely different plan of operations,
+commanded the reserve, and displayed his usual ability
+in covering the retrograde march to Odletown.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">INVASION OF NEW YORK.</div>
+
+<p>Shortly after this affair, General Wilkinson was recalled,
+and General Macomb assumed the command of
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_307">[Pg 307]</span>the army, till the arrival of General Izard. Commodore
+Macdonough was then actively engaged in constructing
+and equipping his fleet, at Vergennes. Early in May,
+the enemy’s flotilla appeared off Plattsburg, on their
+way towards the naval dépôt, intending, doubtless, to
+destroy the vessels and stores. General Macomb instantly
+penetrated their design, and dispatched the light
+artillery under Captain Thornton, to man the batteries
+which he had caused to be erected on Otter Creek, to
+protect the dépôt. The British flotilla attempted to
+pass up the creek, but were so roughly handled by the
+American batteries, that they judged it expedient to
+return to the Isle Aux Noix.</p>
+
+<p>When General Izard arrived at Plattsburg and took
+the command, General Macomb resumed his position
+at Burlington, till the departure of the former, on the
+twenty-seventh of August, 1814, with the greater part
+of his troops, to reïnforce General Brown on the Niagara
+frontier.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile, the British force in the Canadas had
+been largely augmented, by the arrival of successive
+detachments from Wellington’s victorious army on the
+Garonne. At the close of the month of August, there
+were, at least, sixteen thousand regular soldiers, under
+the orders of the governor-general, Sir George Prevost,—twelve
+thousand of whom were in the lower province.
+This formidable force was designed for the invasion of
+the United States, by the way of Lake Champlain, in
+conjunction with the fleet then preparing to coöperate
+with it, under Commodore Downie. At the same time,
+a strong naval expedition, under Sir John Sherbrooke
+and Admiral Griffith, was moving along the New
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_308">[Pg 308]</span>England coast, landing at different places on their
+route, and encountering but a feeble opposition, except
+on the part of the regular troops or the navy. These
+two movements were parts of a general plan, formed by
+the Prince Regent and his cabinet—based, in all probability,
+on the well-known disaffection in the New England
+States. But Sir George Prevost found, to his
+cost, that the want of patriotism manifested in Massachusetts,
+Rhode Island, and Connecticut, was not
+shared, to any considerable degree, by the yeomen of
+New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York.</p>
+
+<p>The preparations of the English commander for the
+projected invasion were nearly completed, when General
+Izard set out for the theatre of General Brown’s
+operations. General Macomb, whose brigade was now
+broken up, was left in command at Plattsburg, to which
+he again removed his headquarters. His whole force
+numbered about twenty-five hundred men, most of
+whom, however, were convalescents, or new recruits
+belonging to different regiments; there was but one
+organized battalion in the entire command; many were
+sick; and, on examination, it was found that there
+were only fifteen hundred fit for duty. This was, indeed,
+a dilemma; and especially so, as there was no
+time given to bring up new regular troops,—it being
+announced, on the first of September, that the advance
+of Sir George Prevost’s army had that day crossed the
+lines at Odletown, where he was issuing his proclamations
+inviting the inhabitants to remain neutral, and
+impressing wagons and teams—thus plainly indicating
+his intention to sweep down the western shore of the
+lake, in the direction of Plattsburg.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_309">[Pg 309]</span></p>
+
+<p>General Macomb never paused to count the number
+of his enemies, or to consider his own weakness, any
+further than was necessary for the defence of his position,
+which he was determined to maintain at all hazards.
+General Mooers, of the New York militia, was
+invited to consult with him, and to coöperate in the
+obstruction of the enemy’s advance, with all the troops
+under his orders. Messengers sped off in every direction,
+bearing spirited appeals from General Macomb, to
+arouse the people of Vermont and New York; and
+every exertion was made, in the meantime, to reduce
+the confusion prevailing at Plattsburg into something
+like order, and to strengthen the fortifications prepared
+to resist the “rushing onslaught” of the British legions.
+A spirit of emulation was carefully fostered among the
+officers and men, who were divided into detachments,
+and placed near the different forts; General Macomb
+announcing, in orders, that each party must be the
+garrison of its own work, and defend it to the last extremity.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">DEFENCES OF PLATTSBURG.</div>
+
+<p>The village of Plattsburg is situated on the north-western
+bank of the Saranac river, which flows into
+Cumberland bay, an arm of Lake Champlain. On the
+south-east, between the river and the bay, there is a
+triangular peninsula, from four to six hundred yards
+wide. The American works were constructed, under
+the direction of Major Totten, of the engineers, on this
+peninsula. There were, at first, three redoubts, and
+two strong blockhouses. The principal work, called, by
+General Izard, Fort Moreau, stood in the centre,—having
+on its right, on the Saranac, Fort Brown, and
+on its left, resting on the lake, Fort Scott; so named
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_310">[Pg 310]</span>by General Macomb, in honor of his gallant brothers in
+arms. Fort Brown and Fort Scott were deemed inaccessible,
+on their water fronts, as the banks of the
+river and bay were high and precipitous. On all the
+other sides, the several works were surrounded by deep
+and wide ditches; they were defended by <i lang="it">caponnières</i>;
+and each glacis was covered with rows of abattis. The
+blockhouses occupied favorable positions for guarding
+the river, and the ravines on the northern bank leading
+to the redoubts. The general afterwards constructed a
+fourth redoubt, which he called Fort Gaines, in advance
+of the other forts, on the south side of the river.</p>
+
+<p>All the works occupied by the American troops were
+well supplied with artillery, and their position was further
+strengthened, by the presence of the fleet under
+Commodore Macdonough, which lay moored in the bay
+on the right of their position. Besides the regular garrisons
+detailed for the different redoubts, General Macomb
+formed four small corps of observation,—placing
+two hundred and fifty men under Major Wool, of
+the 29th infantry; two hundred under Major Sproul,
+of the 13th; one hundred rifles under Captain Grosvenor,
+of the 26th; and one hundred and ten rifles
+under Lieutenant Colonel Appling. These corps were
+thrown forward on the different routes, to watch the
+movements of the enemy. Most of the citizens of
+Plattsburg had fled with their families and effects, but
+a small party of young men remained behind, received
+rifles, and organized themselves into a separate company.
+They also did good service as skirmishers.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">ADVANCE OF SIR GEORGE PREVOST.</div>
+
+<p>The advance of Sir George Prevost was slow and cautious.
+The example and fate of Burgoyne were before
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_311">[Pg 311]</span>him, and he desired to profit by the lesson. He wished
+to penetrate into the country as far as Crown Point and
+Ticonderoga, before the winter set in, but he did not
+care to be caught in a trap. He therefore felt his way
+at every step, repeatedly urging Captain Downie, however,
+to hasten the completion and equipment of his
+fleet. Without the command of the lake he naturally
+felt that his position, far advanced into the enemy’s
+country, would be extremely hazardous and insecure.
+On the third of September, the whole British army
+entered the town of Champlain, and on the following
+day moved forward upon Plattsburg. They found the
+roads blocked up with felled trees, the passes obstructed
+by <i lang="fr">chevaux-de-frise</i> and abattis, and the bridges broken
+down,—the corps of observation pushed out by General
+Macomb having faithfully obeyed his orders, to impede,
+in every way, the progress of the enemy’s troops.</p>
+
+<p>The eloquent appeals of the American general to the
+yeomanry of Vermont and New York were nobly answered.
+Hundreds and thousands of the brave Green
+Mountain boys, and the patriotic militia and volunteers
+of New York, daily poured into his camp. Those who
+were destitute he furnished with arms, and all were
+supplied with provisions. The militia were, of course,
+organized and enrolled under their respective commanders,
+but the volunteers, at his suggestion, usually
+separated into small parties, to lie in wait in the woods,
+to fall upon detached parties of the enemy, to annoy
+their flanks, to harass them by every possible means,
+and to obtain information and intercept stragglers.</p>
+
+<p>On the fourth of September, General Mooers, with
+seven hundred militia, advanced about seven miles on
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_312">[Pg 312]</span>the Beekmantown road,—which passes over the swelling
+uplands overlooking the lake, and the lower, or lake
+road, on its margin,—to reconnoitre, and obstruct the
+approaches. Captain Sproul was then at Dead Creek
+bridge, on the lake road, with his corps and two pieces
+of artillery; while Lieutenant Colonel Appling and his
+rifles, who had been stationed on the Great Chazy, were
+still further in front. When the enemy moved forward,
+on the fourth instant, Appling retreated leisurely before
+them, tearing up the bridges, cutting down trees
+and flinging them across the road, and throwing every
+possible obstruction in the way of their advance.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">BATTLE OF PLATTSBURG.</div>
+
+<p>Sir George Prevost halted his troops at Little Chazy,
+on the fifth instant, and it was the same day ascertained
+by General Macomb, that they would take up the line
+of march on the following morning, in two columns,
+on the Beekmantown and lake roads, which divided
+below Chazy village. The general was urged by many
+warm and zealous friends, to abandon Plattsburg to its
+fate, to remove the stores while there was yet time, and
+to retire higher up the lake. He was not the man to
+follow such advice; though a retreat, under the circumstances,
+could not justly have been termed dishonorable.
+He had already decided to dispute every inch
+of ground, and he felt confident, that if the narrow
+peninsula, between the Saranac and the Champlain,
+should, indeed, prove the Thermopylæ of himself and
+his gallant little band of regular soldiers, the sacrifice
+would not be in vain. The militia and volunteers who
+had flocked around his standard, or were operating in
+the neighborhood, numbered from eight to ten thousand
+men, and before the enemy could have improved any
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_313">[Pg 313]</span>advantage gained over his command, the forests around
+them would have been filled with an overwhelming force
+of citizen soldiers, burning with impatience to drive
+back the invader.</p>
+
+<p>In the evening of the fifth instant, Major Wool was
+ordered forward with his corps, to support the militia
+on the Beekmantown road. It was designed to reïnforce
+him with two pieces of artillery, before daylight;
+but the officer having charge of the guns did not join
+him in season. At early dawn on the sixth, the enemy
+were in motion. The column on the Beekmantown
+road, consisting of the divisions of Generals Power and
+Robinson, pushed forward with great rapidity. Major
+Wool and his men withstood them for some time with
+matchless hardihood and bravery, killing Lieutenant
+Colonel Wellington, of the Buffs, the leader of the advanced
+parties; but the militia were seized with an
+unhappy panic, occasioned, in part, by the red coats of
+the New York cavalry, stationed as look-outs on the
+hills, whom they mistook for the British soldiers. The
+firmness and intrepidity of Major Wool and his command
+failed to encourage them, and their premature
+flight soon compelled him to retire.</p>
+
+<p>The right column of the enemy having approached
+within one mile of Plattsburg, General Macomb dispatched
+his aid, with orders to Captain Sproul, to fall
+back by the lake road; and to Lieutenant Colonel Appling,
+to attack the British right. Appling retired just
+in time to escape being cut off; as he soon after encountered
+the head of a detachment from the left column,
+which had made a <i lang="fr">détour</i> through the woods for
+that purpose. A destructive fire from his rifles, at rest,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_314">[Pg 314]</span>checked their advance, and enabled him to effect his retreat
+in safety. The different corps, under Appling,
+Wool, and Sproul, now united, and slowly continued
+their retrograde movement; the field pieces were kept
+actively playing; the gunboats lying off the mouth of
+Dead Creek, poured a lively and galling fire upon the
+enemy; and their advanced parties were severely
+handled.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">SKIRMISHING.</div>
+
+<p>Every road and lane leading into Plattsburg was
+now full of British soldiers. The artillery, which had
+supported the American advanced corps, was pushed
+across the bridge in the town, where it was placed in
+battery, to cover the retreat of the infantry, who retired
+in alternate detachments. As the last platoons
+reached the southern bank of the river, the planks of
+all the bridges spanning the stream were torn up, by
+order of General Macomb, and breastworks formed from
+them, to protect the parties left to guard the crossings.
+The enemy promptly entered the town, flattering themselves
+that the victory was more than half completed.
+The heavy artillery in the redoubts immediately opened
+on them, and the staff officers, who ascended the roofs
+and balconies to reconnoitre, were speedily dislodged by
+the hot shot, poured upon them “like burning lava,”
+while the buildings of which they had taken possession
+were set on fire. The British commander, discovering
+that his men were suffering considerably from the fire
+of the heavy metal, and not being prepared to force the
+passage of the river, drew off the main body of his
+army,—leaving only a few light troops to skirmish at
+the different fords and bridges,—and encamped in a
+semicircle, about two miles from the American forts.
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_315">[Pg 315]</span>It was of the highest importance that the weakness of
+his army should be concealed from the enemy, and
+General Macomb took extraordinary precautions to
+prevent their obtaining any positive information, and
+to deceive them in regard to his real strength. All the
+troops were paraded at guard-mounting; and, as several
+days elapsed before anything of moment transpired
+on either side, a portion of the barracks constructed for
+General Izard’s army was burned every night, to prevent
+the enemy from approaching the works unobserved,
+and to march the troops through the light, as if they
+were reïnforcements just arriving from the opposite
+shore of the lake.</p>
+
+<p>From the evening of the sixth of September, till the
+morning of the eleventh, Sir George Prevost was zealously
+engaged in planting his batteries, both open and
+masked, and bringing up his heavy artillery. During
+all this time he refrained from offensive operations,
+though there were constant skirmishes between advanced
+corps of the two armies, at the bridges and
+fords. The reason alleged for the delay on his part,
+was the want of his battering train, that came up
+very slowly; but the absence of the fleet under Captain
+Downie, which had not yet arrived,—and without
+which, as appeared in the sequel, he dared not make
+an attempt on the American position,—was, probably,
+the main consideration that influenced him.</p>
+
+<p>In the meantime, a lively and effective cannonade was
+directed upon the enemy’s lines from the American
+forts,—the sullen thunder of their artillery echoing for
+many a mile through the sweeping forests whose rich
+foliage enamelled the borders of Lake Champlain. The
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_316">[Pg 316]</span>repeated assaults of the enemy at the different crossings
+of the river were repelled with ease and alacrity;
+and on one occasion, Captain M‘Glassin, of the 15th
+infantry, gallantly crossed the river in the night, with
+fifty men; attacked a working party one hundred and
+fifty strong, constructing a battery opposite Fort Brown;
+defeated both them and their support, also one hundred
+and fifty in number, killing seven of the enemy; and
+completely demolished the work. The regular troops,
+besides performing regular tours of duty at the bridge
+and fords, labored incessantly, in strengthening the fortifications.</p>
+
+<p>On the night of the tenth of September, General
+Macomb was apprised of the intention of the enemy
+to make an attack the next day; and, by his orders,
+the roads and passes leading to the south of his position,
+as he suspected they designed to turn it, were
+covered with felled trees, and strewed with leaves, so
+as to deceive them, and a new road was opened leading
+towards Salmon river.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">REPULSE OF THE ENEMY.</div>
+
+<p>At the earliest dawn of day, before the welkin began
+to glow with the purple light of morning, a general
+movement was reported, by the advanced parties,
+to be making in the enemy’s camp; and when objects
+could be distinguished from the main line, all their
+different corps were observed under arms. Shortly afterwards,
+the British fleet rounded Cumberland head.
+As the Confiance, the flag ship of Captain Downie, entered
+the bay, she scaled her guns,—the signal agreed
+on with Sir George Prevost for the commencement of the
+action. A desperate conflict, of rather more than two
+hours’ duration, now took place between the rival
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_317">[Pg 317]</span>squadrons, at the termination of which Commodore
+Macdonough obtained a signal triumph over his opponent,
+who fell mortally wounded in the action.</p>
+
+<p>Nearly all the enemy’s vessels were captured or destroyed,
+and their crews, with the exception of those
+who were killed during the engagement, were taken
+prisoners.</p>
+
+<p>Sir George Prevost only waited to give his men their
+breakfast, when the attack was ordered on the land.
+Showers of bombs, shrapnels, balls, and rockets, were
+hurled across the river; and immediately after the bombardment
+commenced, the enemy advanced to force a
+passage across the stream, and assault the American
+works, in three columns—one approaching the bridge
+in the village, another the upper bridge, and the third
+a ford about three miles above the forts—all of which
+were provided with scaling ladders. The attack was
+vigorously met by the American artillerists; fire answered
+fire; and the ringing shot and shout resounded
+far and wide.</p>
+
+<p>The two columns of the enemy which attempted to
+pass the bridges, were gallantly driven back by the
+regulars; the remaining column was led astray in the
+woods—the artifices of the American commander being
+entirely successful—and after spending a long time in
+marching and countermarching to no purpose, wearied
+and worn with fatigue, they arrived in sight of the
+American works, only to hear the glad shouts of victory
+at the brilliant success of the brave Macdonough.
+A further advance was no longer to be thought of; the
+recall was sounded; the scaling ladders were thrown
+down; and a hasty retreat was made. The volunteers
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_318">[Pg 318]</span>and militia stationed in this quarter, pressed warmly
+upon them, and succeeded in cutting off an entire company
+of the 76th foot, not a single man of whom escaped.
+The cannonade was kept up till sunset, when
+the enemy’s batteries were all silenced by the effective
+fire from the American forts.</p>
+
+<p>Before another morning dawned, Sir George Prevost
+and his powerful army had all disappeared, like “the
+baseless fabric of a vision.” Their sick and wounded
+were left behind, with a message to the American general
+commending them to his kindness and generosity.
+Vast quantities of provisions were also abandoned or destroyed,
+together with large stores of ammunition, tents,
+and intrenching tools. The retreat was made so unexpectedly,
+and with such extraordinary precipitance,
+that it was not discovered till the enemy had nearly
+reached Chazy, about eight miles distant. The light
+troops, volunteers, and militia, were instantly detached
+in pursuit of the flying Britons; but a violent storm of
+rain impeded their progress, and they were only able
+to capture a few prisoners, and to cover the escape of
+between three and four hundred deserters. Sir George
+Prevost succeeded in effecting his return to Canada,
+without further molestation, where he resigned the
+command of the army and demanded a court martial.
+Before the investigation took place, he died, as it is
+said, of grief and mortification at the ill-success of an
+expedition so well equipped and provided, and upon
+which depended so many hopes and expectations.</p>
+
+<p>The actual loss of the British army in this expedition
+was only two hundred and fifty killed and wounded,
+but there were over four hundred deserted in the retreat.
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_319">[Pg 319]</span>Of the Americans, there were thirty-seven killed,
+sixty-two wounded, and twenty missing.</p>
+
+<p>The double victory of Macomb and Macdonough was
+everywhere hailed by their countrymen with acclamations
+of joy. The legislatures of New York and Vermont
+were foremost in offering their thanks and congratulations.
+The freedom of the city of New York
+was presented to General Macomb, in a gold box, and
+the State legislature voted him a magnificent sword.
+Congress also passed a vote of thanks, and ordered that
+a gold medal, emblematical of the victory, should be
+struck and presented to him. The brevet of major general
+was likewise conferred on him—his commission
+bearing date on the memorable eleventh of September,
+1814.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">RETURN OF PEACE.</div>
+
+<p>Upon the conclusion of the treaty of peace, the negotiations
+for which were undoubtedly hastened to a close
+by the disastrous result of the expedition under Sir
+George Prevost, the army was reduced to the peace
+establishment, which was fixed at ten thousand men.
+Two major generals, and four brigadier generals, were
+retained in the service; among them was General Macomb,
+who stood at the head of the brigadiers. He
+was now assigned to the command of the 3rd military
+department, and established his headquarters at New
+York; subsequently he was transferred to the 5th department,
+and removed to Detroit. While in charge
+of the latter department, he established the posts at
+Fort Gratiot, Chicago, Mackinaw, Prairie du Chien,
+St. Peter’s, and St. Mary’s. So highly was he esteemed
+by the people of Detroit, that when he was called to
+Washington, on the further reduction of the army, in
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_320">[Pg 320]</span>June, 1821, to take charge of the Engineer Bureau, an
+address, in their name, with a piece of plate, was presented
+to him, by Governor Cass; and the clergy, and
+all the most prominent citizens, called upon him to
+take their leave, and express their regret at his departure.</p>
+
+<p>General Macomb now removed to Georgetown, in
+the District of Columbia, in order to enter upon the
+duties of his appointment as Chief Engineer. His military
+studies, his talents and experience, eminently fitted
+him for this post; and it is not strange, therefore, that
+he should have received, as he did, the repeated thanks
+of every head of the War Department, during his administration
+of the affairs of the engineer bureau.
+Millions of dollars were appropriated under his directions,
+not a single cent of which was unaccounted for
+to the government.</p>
+
+<p>In the first year of his residence at Georgetown,
+General Macomb was called upon to mourn the loss of
+his excellent wife, who had so long shared with him
+the toils and dangers, the hardships and sufferings, of a
+soldier’s life. He was married a second time, in May,
+1826, to Mrs. Harriet Balch Wilson, a lady richly
+meriting the praise awarded to the possessor of so many
+graces and accomplishments.</p>
+
+<p>On the death of General Brown, in February, 1828,
+General Macomb was raised to the full rank of major
+general, and appointed General-in-Chief of the army.
+His claims to this preference were disputed by Generals
+Scott and Gaines, the two brigadiers; but President
+Adams, and his successor, General Jackson, decided in
+favor of Macomb, on the ground that his military service
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_321">[Pg 321]</span>was the longest, and that, even if this were not the
+case, the Executive possessed the unquestioned right to
+go beyond the pale of the army, if thought advisable, in
+making the selection.</p>
+
+<p>While at the head of the army, General Macomb
+devised and recommended various plans for its improvement,
+and that of the military school at West Point,
+many of which were adopted by Congress, or the War
+Department, and all of which would no doubt materially
+conduce to the elevation of the military character
+of the country. He was not again required to take
+the field, except that he was absent for a few months
+in Florida, during the second Seminole war, and, in
+1839, concluded a treaty of peace with the refractory
+Indians, which proved to be illusory and deceptive.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">HIS DEATH.</div>
+
+<p>As General Macomb advanced in years, he grew
+somewhat corpulent, and became subject to apoplectic
+attacks. On the occasion of the funeral ceremonies of
+President Harrison, in the city of Washington, he
+commanded the funeral escort; and his tall and manly
+form, his noble and dignified presence, rendered him the
+most conspicuous personage in that brilliant pageant.
+But little more than two months elapsed, when he was
+struck by the same relentless enemy of our race. He
+died in a fit of apoplexy, on the twenty-fifth of June,
+1841, universally lamented by his associates and brethren
+in arms, and by his numerous friends and acquaintances
+throughout the Union.</p>
+
+<p>The personal appearance of General Macomb was
+decidedly in his favor. He was above the ordinary
+height, and, until a few years previous to his death,
+was finely proportioned. His eyes were blue, and
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_322">[Pg 322]</span>beamed with intelligence and kindness. His look was
+lofty and imposing, and his whole cast of countenance
+indicated great decision and firmness, coupled with intellectual
+ability of the highest order.</p>
+
+<p>He was polished and easy in his manners; at all
+times accessible; but never forgetting his own self-respect,
+or losing sight of the dignity of his position. In
+his military career, he evinced unusual promptness and
+energy, appropriately tempered by wisdom and prudence.
+He made no pretences to extraordinary courage;
+but a braver soldier, in the better sense of the
+term, never lived. His scientific attainments in the
+line of his profession, and in general literature, were
+remarked, and admired, by all who had the pleasure of
+his acquaintance. He was singularly accurate in his
+judgment; correct and exact in the discharge of every
+duty; patient and assiduous, but decided, in anything
+he undertook. His disposition and character were
+equable; and he wore well, as a soldier and a citizen,—as
+a friend, a father, and a husband.</p>
+
+<div class="footnotes">
+<h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+<p class="footnote unindent"><a id="Footnote_28_28" href="#FNanchor_28_28" class="label">[28]</a> <abbr title="Volume One page">Vol. I. p.</abbr> 288.</p>
+
+<p class="footnote unindent"><a id="Footnote_29_29" href="#FNanchor_29_29" class="label">[29]</a> Colonel Williams, the chief of the corps of Engineers, resigned his
+commission in 1812, for the reason that he was denied a command in the
+line of the army, which he solicited.</p>
+
+<p class="footnote unindent"><a id="Footnote_30_30" href="#FNanchor_30_30" class="label">[30]</a> The post was attacked in May, 1813, (see <a href="#BROWN">Memoir of General Brown</a>,
+<i>ante</i>,) but not until after the withdrawal of the troops for the expedition
+against York and Fort George.</p>
+
+<p class="footnote unindent"><a id="Footnote_31_31" href="#FNanchor_31_31" class="label">[31]</a> See <a href="#BROWN">Memoir of General Brown</a>, <i>ante</i>.</p>
+</div>
+
+<hr aria-hidden="true" class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_323">[Pg 323]</span></p>
+  <h2 class="nobreak" id="PIKE">
+    ZEBULON MONTGOMERY PIKE.
+  </h2>
+</div>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" style="max-width: 75%;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/dec_line2.jpg" alt="" data-role="presentation">
+</figure>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">This</span> gallant officer, whose fate so closely resembles
+that of the chivalric, ardent, and romantic Montgomery,
+was bred in a camp, lived a soldier’s life, and died a
+soldier’s death.</p>
+
+<p class="center">
+“Brief brave, and glorious, was his young career!”
+</p>
+
+<p>Like Sidney before the walls of Zutphen, he perished
+in the hour of victory, when he had just plucked
+the coronal of his fame; like him, too, rejoicing that his
+death was for the honor of his country.</p>
+
+<p>General Pike was descended from a family of soldiers.
+One of his ancestors, Captain John Pike, was
+highly distinguished, according to the traditionary accounts,
+in the early Indian wars of the colony. His
+father, Major Zebulon Pike, entered the army of the
+United States as a captain of infantry, in 1792, having
+served, with high credit, in the levies of the previous
+year, and was promoted to the rank of major in 1800.
+His son, the hero of this sketch, was born at Lamberton,
+New Jersey, the residence of the family for many
+generations, on the fifth day of January, 1779. While
+he was yet a child, his father removed to Bucks
+County, Pennsylvania, and thence to Easton. In his
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_324">[Pg 324]</span>boyhood, he was remarkable both for his spirit and
+bravery, and his thoughtful and studious habits. He
+enjoyed but few advantages, and obtained a knowledge
+only of the ordinary branches of an English education.</p>
+
+<p>At an early age, he accompanied his father to the
+western frontiers of the Union, and served for some time
+as a cadet in his company. On the third of March,
+1799, he received a commission as ensign in the 2nd
+infantry, and on the twenty-fourth of April, 1800, was
+promoted to a first lieutenancy in the same regiment.
+During the year 1800, he was transferred to the 1st
+infantry. Unlike most of the young officers around
+him, who contented themselves with going through the
+customary routine of barrack duty, he devoted all his
+leisure time to reading and study. Without the aid
+of an instructor, he became tolerably well acquainted
+with the French, Latin, and Spanish languages, and
+made considerable proficiency in mathematics and general
+science. He was not indifferently versed in polite
+literature, though much could not have been expected
+from him in this respect, as his reading and studies
+were very desultory in their character. He possessed
+an inquiring mind, habits of investigation and reflection,
+and was a nice observer of men and things; he
+was likewise patient and assiduous in his efforts to improve
+his mind,—but all these good qualities did not
+make up for the absence of a regular system.</p>
+
+<p>In March, 1801, Pike was married to Miss Clarissa
+Brown, of Cincinnati. He was tenderly and devotedly
+attached to his wife, and had several children by her,
+only one of whom, a daughter, survived him.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">EXPEDITION UP THE MISSISSIPPI.</div>
+
+<p>After the purchase of Louisiana from France, Mr.
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_325">[Pg 325]</span>Jefferson projected several expeditions of discovery in
+the territory newly acquired. Captain Lewis and
+Lieutenant Clarke were selected to ascend the Missouri,
+to cross the mountains, and trace the Columbia river
+to its mouth; and about the same time, Lieutenant
+Pike was ordered by his commanding officer, General
+Wilkinson, to conduct an expedition to the sources of
+the Mississippi. On the ninth of August, 1805, he left
+St. Louis in a keel boat, seventy feet long, with provisions
+for four months; his whole party consisting of
+one sergeant, one corporal, and seventeen private soldiers.
+There was not a scientific man attached to the
+expedition; his men were totally unacquainted with
+the country; and Pike himself was required to perform
+the duties, as he remarks in the Preface to his published
+Narrative, “of astronomer, surveyor, commanding
+officer, clerk, spy, guide, and hunter.”</p>
+
+<p>He was absent on this expedition nearly nine months.
+He visited a great number of Indian tribes, attended
+several councils, made treaties with them, and purchased
+valuable tracts of land. On the sixteenth of October
+he erected a stockade, and established a winter station
+for his men, two hundred and thirty-three miles above
+the falls of St. Anthony. He was determined to pursue
+his explorations still further, and accordingly commenced
+his preparations as soon as practicable. While he remained
+at the encampment, its tedious monotony was
+relieved by the excitement of the chase. In December,
+he continued his journey in canoes and on foot—his
+men drawing their baggage on sleds over the frozen
+snow. After visiting Sandy, Leech, and Red Cedar
+lakes, and making his surveys and examinations, he
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_326">[Pg 326]</span>returned to his stockade, where he had left his sergeant,
+and invalid soldiers, on the eighteenth of February,
+1806. He was compelled to wait here till the breaking
+up of the ice in the spring, when he descended the
+river to St. Louis, arriving there on the thirtieth of
+April.</p>
+
+<p>General Wilkinson was so well pleased with the
+manner in which Lieutenant Pike had conducted the
+expedition up the Mississippi, that within four months
+after his return, he selected him to undertake a similar
+enterprise. On the fifteenth of July, 1806, he embarked
+at St. Louis, with his party, consisting of one
+lieutenant, one sergeant, two corporals, sixteen privates,
+and an interpreter, together with forty Osage captives,
+who had recently been recovered from their enemies,
+the Potowatomies. Dr. Robinson, a professional gentleman,
+accompanied the expedition as a volunteer.</p>
+
+<p>Proceeding up the Missouri river to the Osage country,
+Lieutenant Pike restored the captives to their friends,
+and then made his way to the Pawnee towns, with
+whom he partially succeeded in cultivating friendly
+relations. His efforts, however, were in a great measure
+frustrated, by their proximity to the Spanish settlers
+of New Mexico, a large body of whom had lately visited
+their country.</p>
+
+<p>Having fulfilled the duties required of him in the
+Indian country, Lieutenant Pike proceeded to obey his
+further instructions, to explore the territory lying on
+the headwaters of the Arkansas and Red rivers. After
+leaving the Indian neighborhood, he and his party encountered
+the severest hardships and fatigues. On
+reaching the Arkansas, he directed Lieutenant Wilkinson
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_327">[Pg 327]</span>to descend the river to the military post on its lower
+waters, with seven men of the party. He then held on his
+way with the remainder of his command, and, at length,
+after days and weeks of toil and suffering—he and his
+men being compelled for a portion of the time to carry
+seventy pounds each on their backs—he arrived on what
+he supposed to be the bank of the Red river, but which
+proved to be the Rio Grande.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">TAKEN PRISONER TO CHIHUAHUA.</div>
+
+<p>While encamped in the vicinity of the river, he was
+visited by a detachment of Spanish and Mexican lancers,
+by whom he was conducted to Santa Fé. The
+Spaniards were at that time extremely inimical towards
+the people of the United States, and it was probably
+supposed that Pike was connected with the expedition
+of Colonel Burr. He was treated with great respect,
+however, but was carefully watched, and shortly afterwards
+sent, with his party, to Chihuahua, the residence
+of the Captain-general of the Internal Provinces, under
+a strong escort. All his papers, with the exception of
+his private journal, were here taken from him, and he
+was then permitted to return home, accompanied by an
+escort, by way of San Antonio and Nacogdoches,—though
+he was forbidden to take any notes, or make
+any observations, on the route. He evaded this prohibition,
+by making his memoranda on small scraps of
+paper, which were concealed in the gunbarrels of his
+men. On the first of July, 1807, the long and arduous
+expedition terminated, by the arrival of himself and
+party at Natchitoches.</p>
+
+<p>On his return to the United States, Pike found himself
+promoted to the rank of captain. His conduct received
+the express approbation of the Secretary of War, and
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_328">[Pg 328]</span>his zeal, perseverance, and intelligence, elicited a high,
+but richly deserved encomium, from a committee of
+Congress. He subsequently prepared a Narrative of his
+Expedition, abounding in interesting and useful information,
+and accompanied with valuable maps and charts,
+which was published in 1810.</p>
+
+<p>In 1809, Pike was raised to a majority in the 6th
+infantry, and, in 1810, was appointed lieutenant colonel
+of the 4th infantry. Being engaged on detached
+service at the southwest, he was not present at the
+battle of Tippecanoe, in November, 1811, in which his
+regiment bore so prominent a part. While holding the
+rank of lieutenant colonel, he was appointed deputy
+quartermaster general, the duties of which office he
+discharged with commendable fidelity and punctuality.</p>
+
+<p>On the twentieth day of May, 1812, Colonel Pike was
+present at a numerous meeting of the citizens of Philadelphia,
+held in the State House yard, the object of
+which was to embolden the government to declare war
+against Great Britain. He took no part in the proceedings,
+but was not an uninterested spectator. His
+whole soul was in his profession; his heart glowed
+with the noble ambition of the soldier; and he gladly
+welcomed these expressions of the popular will, as the
+certain indications that he would soon be summoned to
+the field. He panted for action, for glory and fame.
+His ardent wish was soon gratified, by the declaration
+of war in June following, and on the increase of the
+army, in July, he was promoted to the colonelcy of the
+15th infantry.</p>
+
+<p>Shortly after receiving his new commission, Colonel
+Pike proceeded to the Champlain frontier, where he
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_329">[Pg 329]</span>was stationed for some months, under the immediate
+orders of General Dearborn, with a command consisting
+of twenty-five hundred men. He found the troops
+in great need of discipline, and labored earnestly and
+indefatigably to correct the difficulty. No regular system
+of tactics had then been adopted; some officers
+adhering to that of “Old Steuben,” in vogue during
+the revolution, and others adopting the more modern
+French system. Pike was active in his temperament,
+enthusiastic, ambitious to excel, and, perhaps, too fond
+of innovations. He felt himself at liberty to choose for
+himself, and therefore drilled his own regiment in three
+ranks, according to the French mode; the rear rank
+being provided with short guns and long pikes. They
+made a bristling appearance in the charge, but were
+not very serviceable, and soon became known in the
+army as “Pike’s regiment of <em>pikes</em>.” After his death
+the short guns and pikes were no longer used.</p>
+
+<p>One of the innovations introduced by Pike, was that
+of drilling his men with snow shoes, in anticipation of
+a winter campaign in Canada; and there are many
+amusing anecdotes related of the singular appearance
+presented by his men when going through their manœuvres
+and evolutions on parade.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">INCURSION INTO CANADA.</div>
+
+<p>In October, 1812, Colonel Pike made a successful
+incursion into Canada, with his regiment; the northern
+army being then stationed near the frontier, in the
+town of Champlain. On the nineteenth instant, he
+surprised a body of British and Indians stationed at a
+blockhouse, destroyed a large quantity of public stores,
+and returned to camp without sustaining much loss.
+In the winter of 1813, he was assigned to the command
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_330">[Pg 330]</span>of a brigade, and was ordered from Plattsburg to Sacketts
+Harbor, in consequence of a report that Sir George
+Prevost designed to attack that post.&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_32_32" href="#Footnote_32_32" class="fnanchor">[32]</a>&#x2060;</p>
+
+<p>At the opening of the campaign of 1813, Pike was
+promoted to the rank of brigadier general, and accompanied
+General Dearborn in his expedition against
+York. It was the great fault committed by our generals
+in the war of 1812, that no permanent lodgment
+was made on the Canada shore, between Kingston and
+Montreal. Had this been done, the two provinces
+would have been effectually detached, and the upper
+one must of necessity have submitted to the authority
+of the United States. The instructions issued from the
+War Department to General Dearborn, in the spring
+of 1813, specified Kingston and York, Forts George
+and Erie, as suitable points of attack. It was, of
+course, designed that an attempt should be first made
+on Kingston; but the commanding general was deceived
+by a false report as to its strength, intended by
+the enemy to produce that effect, and therefore selected
+York, the capital of Upper Canada, now known as
+Toronto.</p>
+
+<p>Pike was constantly employed at Sacketts Harbor,
+in drilling the men intended for the expedition, which
+was to be a secret one,—it being understood that he
+was to have the actual command of the forces, though
+General Dearborn decided to accompany him. The
+troops, to the number of about seventeen hundred men,
+were embarked on board Commodore Chauncey’s fleet,
+on the twenty-third of April, 1813, and set sail on the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_331">[Pg 331]</span>twenty-fifth instant. On the morning of the twenty-seventh,
+they hove in sight of York, and the landing instantly
+commenced, in the small boats, under the direction
+of General Pike, who had previously made all the
+necessary arrangements, and issued the most precise
+orders, which were directed to be read at the head of
+every corps.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">EXPEDITION AGAINST YORK.</div>
+
+<p>It was originally designed that the debarkation should
+take place on the open shore, near the ruins of old Fort
+Toronto, about two miles above York; but the prevalence
+of a strong east wind forced the boats on a part
+of the coast fringed with trees and underbrush, which
+afforded an excellent cover to the enemy’s sharpshooters.
+Major Forsyth led the descent with his rifle corps. His
+men cheered lustily as their boats skimmed over the
+blue waters, and rapidly neared the beach. The alarm
+had already been communicated to General Sheaffe,
+the commandant of the garrison at York; a strong
+body of grenadiers, with the Glengary fencibles, were
+paraded on the shore to oppose the landing; a still
+larger force of regulars and militia, at least seven hundred
+strong, were observed in the rear; and there were
+five or six hundred Indians scattered through the woods
+in detached parties.</p>
+
+<p>As Major Forsyth approached the shore, a heavy fire
+of musketry and rifles was poured on his command.
+He at once ordered his men to rest a few seconds on
+their oars, and return the enemy’s fire. General Pike
+was at this moment standing on the deck of his ship,
+intently surveying the scene with his glass. Observing
+what he thought a cowardly pause on the part of the
+advance, he exclaimed to his staff, “I can stay here no
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_332">[Pg 332]</span>longer,—come, jump into the boat!” As he spoke, he
+leaped into the boat, followed by his officers, gave the
+order to make way, and pushed into the thickest of the
+fire.</p>
+
+<p>Meantime, Major Forsyth and his men had gallantly
+driven the enemy from the bank, and effected a landing.
+They then sheltered themselves behind the trees
+and bushes, and opened a lively fire. The first volley
+of the enemy had killed their armorer, the best shot in
+the corps, and they now made the woods ring with the
+shrill report of their pieces, and their loud shouts for
+vengeance.</p>
+
+<p>General Pike soon landed, with Major King’s infantry,
+the light artillery under Major Eustis, the volunteer
+corps of Colonel McClure, and Lieutenant Riddle’s
+rifles. The general placed himself at the head of
+the platoon first formed, and ordering the rest to follow,
+dashed up the bank under a fierce shower of bullets
+from the grenadiers. His noble example inspired his
+men with confidence. Willing hearts found ready
+hands. At the word they sprang forward with the
+utmost vivacity and firmness, and charged impetuously
+upon the enemy, who almost immediately broke, and
+retired in disorder towards their works in the town.
+At the same instant, Forsyth’s bugles pealed forth their
+merry notes of victory. The effect on the Indians was
+electrical; they gave a loud yell and fled in every direction;
+but the Glengary fencibles still maintained an
+irregular fire. A fresh body of grenadiers now issued
+from the wood, and made a dash at Major King’s regiment;
+at first, the latter faltered under the terrible
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_333">[Pg 333]</span>crash of the bayonet, but they speedily rallied, returned
+the charge with a will, and drove the enemy from the
+field.</p>
+
+<p>All the troops having landed, they were formed in
+order of attack, and led on by General Pike in person,
+against the enemy’s works. Advancing through the
+wood, they came within range of a twenty-four pounder
+gun planted in one of the batteries. The battery was
+stormed and cleaned in an instant. A second work was
+soon after entered, which had previously been abandoned.
+The assailants then moved forward, in columns,
+upon the principal intrenchment, whither the enemy
+had retreated. On approaching it, the barracks appeared
+to have been evacuated. Suspecting some trick,
+General Pike ordered a halt, and sent Lieutenant Riddle
+forward to reconnoitre.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">EXPLOSION OF THE MAGAZINE.</div>
+
+<p>In the meanwhile, General Pike, ever as humane and
+generous, as he was brave, had aided in removing a
+wounded British soldier with his own hands to a place
+of safety, and then sat down on the stump of a tree
+with one of the enemy’s sergeants who had been taken
+prisoner. He was busily employed in examining him,
+with the assistance of his aids, when the hill-side was
+suddenly convulsed as if with the throes of an earthquake.
+The magazine in the main work of the enemy
+exploded with a deafening roar. Huge volumes of
+smoke darkened the air; vast columns of flame shot up
+towards the sky; and large masses of fragments were
+thrown into the air, where they hung suspended for a
+moment, and then descended with a sharp hissing
+sound, crushing into the earth both friends and foes
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_334">[Pg 334]</span>within a circuit of three hundred yards.&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_33_33" href="#Footnote_33_33" class="fnanchor">[33]</a> The magazine
+was constructed of stone, and one of the heaviest
+masses fell upon the group gathered about General
+Pike. All, except one of the aids, were mortally
+wounded,—the general himself receiving a severe contusion
+on the breast.</p>
+
+<p>The American troops for an instant recoiled before
+this terrible catastrophe; but they were quickly reformed
+by Colonel Pearce, of the 16th infantry, who
+now assumed the command, and his subordinate officers;
+the lively strains of martial music soon reïnspired them;
+and they were again led forward to the attack, rending
+the air, as they advanced, with their loud hurrahs. As
+they filed past the suffering, but heroic Pike, whose
+breast and sides were literally crushed in, he said, “Push
+on, my brave fellows, and avenge your general!”—They
+instantly dashed on with redoubled zeal; though the
+plume of their gallant leader was no longer to be seen,
+his influence was still upon them; and in a few hours
+the victory was completed, by the capture of the town
+and fort; General Sheaffe making a precipitate retreat
+with his regulars, in the direction of Kingston. The
+public buildings and barracks were destroyed, and the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_335">[Pg 335]</span>military stores removed; and the place was then abandoned.
+The enemy lost about two hundred men in killed
+and wounded, and nearly three hundred were taken
+prisoners. The loss of the Americans was three hundred
+and twenty killed and wounded, principally caused
+by the explosion of the magazine. Between thirty and
+forty of the enemy were also killed and wounded by the
+explosion.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">HIS DEATH.</div>
+
+<p>After the advance of the troops, Pike was taken up
+by some of his men, under the direction of the surgeons,
+to be conveyed on board the ship. As they
+reached the shore of the lake, a loud prolonged shout
+was heard, evidently proceeding from his brigade. The
+cheering sound revived the dying hero. Like Wolfe
+upon the plains of Abraham, he turned his head with
+an inquiring look. This was noticed by a sergeant
+beside him, who instantly cried, “The British union
+jack is coming down, general—the stars are going up!”
+Pike struggled to speak, but the effort was vain; he
+heaved a deep sigh, and a glad smile lighted up his fine
+features. He was then rowed to the Commodore’s ship
+and taken on board. He lingered a few hours in great
+pain, being unable to articulate a single syllable. Just
+before he breathed his last, as his eye was glazing in
+death, the British standard was brought to him; he
+made a sign to have it placed under his head, and
+calmly breathed his last.</p>
+
+<p>The personal intrepidity of General Pike was not his
+only good quality. He was devotedly attached to his
+profession, and jealous of the preservation of its honor,—as
+was evinced by the orders issued on the morning
+of the fatal twenty-seventh of April. Among them
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_336">[Pg 336]</span>was one, in which he prohibited any molestation of the
+persons or property of private citizens, and strictly enjoined
+upon his troops that they should refrain from
+committing outrages of every character, however much
+they might be provoked. He was pure-minded, frank
+and ingenuous; firm in danger, and resolute in adversity;
+blameless in life, and heroic in death,—exemplifying,
+under circumstances that required the exhibition
+of unusual fortitude and resignation, the truthful sentiment
+of the Roman poet&#x2060;—</p>
+
+<p class="center small" lang="la">
+“Dulce, et decorum est, pro patria mori!”
+</p>
+
+<p>On the day previous to the embarkation at Sacketts
+Harbor, General Pike addressed a letter to his father,
+in which he said: “I embark to-morrow in the fleet
+at Sacketts Harbor, at the head of a column of fifteen
+hundred choice troops, on a secret expedition. If success
+attend my steps, honor and glory await my name;
+if defeat, still shall it be said that we died like brave
+men, and conferred honor, even in death, on the American
+name. Should I be the happy mortal destined to
+turn the scale of war, will you not rejoice, O my father?
+May Heaven be propitious, and smile on the cause of
+my country! But if we are destined to fall, may my
+fall be like Wolfe’s—to sleep in the arms of victory!”</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">HIS CHARACTER.</div>
+
+<p>The hero’s wish was gratified. The same breeze that
+fanned his cheek, and cooled the aching forehead on
+which the death-damp was rapidly gathering, unfurled
+the victorious banner, welcomed, as it shook its star-gemmed
+folds above the heads of his brave soldiers,
+with a deafening shout that went up like the gush of
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_337">[Pg 337]</span>many waters. He desired no higher, or greater distinction,
+in life, than to serve his country in the tented
+field—he asked no nobler death than that which awaited
+him, in the hour of his proud triumph:&#x2060;—</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+  <div class="poetry">
+      <div class="verse indent0a">“He died, as hearts like his should die,—</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">In the hot clasp of victory!”</div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+<br>
+<div class="footnotes">
+<h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+<p class="footnote unindent"><a id="Footnote_32_32" href="#FNanchor_32_32" class="label">[32]</a> See <a href="#MACOMB">Memoir of General Macomb</a>, <i>ante</i>.</p>
+
+<p class="footnote unindent"><a id="Footnote_33_33" href="#FNanchor_33_33" class="label">[33]</a> Some of the escapes made on this occasion were rather amusing;—one
+officer saved himself by dodging under a gun, and another by springing
+into an empty pork barrel. It was for a long time supposed that the
+explosion was the work of design, and the circumstance of finding the
+lighted trains at Fort George, (See <a href="#SCOTT">Memoir of General Scott</a>.) in May
+following, tended to strengthen this impression. General Sheaffe, however,
+repelled the dishonorable imputation, and declared that it was
+wholly accidental. The most critical and reliable biographer of General
+Pike, (See Memoir of Pike, by Colonel Whiting, in Sparks’ American
+Biography.) adopts the opinion that it was a mere accident, and could
+not have been designed.</p>
+</div>
+<hr aria-hidden="true" class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp62" id="i_338" style="max-width: 52.125em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/i_338.jpg" alt="Portait, in uniform, head and torso">
+  <figcaption>
+    WINFIELD SCOTT.
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_338">[Pg 338]</span></p>
+<div class="chapter">
+  <h2 class="nobreak" id="SCOTT">
+    WINFIELD SCOTT.
+  </h2>
+</div>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" style="max-width: 75%;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/dec_line2.jpg" alt="" data-role="presentation">
+</figure>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">On</span> learning the particulars of the defeat of Marshal
+Ney at Dennewitz, says St. Cyr, in his <cite>Histoire Militaire</cite>,&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_34_34" href="#Footnote_34_34" class="fnanchor">[34]</a>
+Napoleon remarked, that “he knew of but one
+general who had constantly gained by experience, and that
+was Turenne, whose great talents were the result of profound
+study.” A similar remark might, not inappropriately,
+be applied to <span class="smcap">Winfield Scott</span>, the General-in-Chief
+of the Army of the United States. For more than
+forty years he has been in the military service of the
+American people, constantly improving in reputation, as
+in the knowledge appertaining to his profession,—the
+experience of each year furnishing new and useful lessons
+to its successor, which have not been permitted to
+remain unimproved,—and he now stands before the
+country and the world, occupying a high place among
+the heroes of modern times, and towering far above
+his compeers, in stature and in fame.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">BIRTH AND EDUCATION.</div>
+
+<p>Among the Scottish gentlemen who rallied around
+Charles Edward, when he unfurled the banner of his
+kingly race on the hills of Glenfinnan, on the nineteenth
+of August, 1745, were two brothers, by the name of
+Scott. They adhered to “the young Chevalier” through
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_339">[Pg 339]</span>weal and woe, through good and evil report, till the fortunes
+of the Stuarts sank forever on the bloody field
+of Culloden. The elder brother sealed his loyalty with
+his life on that fatal day; and the younger, being seriously
+compromised by his participation in the rebellion,
+emigrated to America, and established himself in
+the practice of the law, in the then Colony of Virginia.
+His son William, a farmer by occupation, married into
+one of the most respectable families in Virginia, and
+died in 1791, leaving two sons and several daughters.
+The elder son, James, commanded a regiment of Virginia
+militia, at Norfolk, in 1812; the younger was
+Winfield, the subject of this biographical notice, who
+was born near Petersburg, Virginia, on the thirteenth
+of June, 1786.</p>
+
+<p>Within two years after the death of his father, young
+Scott was also deprived of his mother, and, at the age
+of seventeen, was left his sole master, possessed of but
+limited means, to make or mar his fortune, as he himself
+decided to guide the little bark freighted with his
+boyish hopes and aspirations. Happily, he had been
+early accustomed to habits of self-government and self-reliance.
+He was frank and ingenuous by nature;
+ardent, ambitious, and chivalric, in his temperament;
+gifted with a superior intellect; industrious by inclination,
+as well as from a consciousness of its importance;
+quick to perceive, and ready to learn. Qualities like
+these, properly improved and directed, are always sure
+to reward their possessor a hundred fold; for mind, like
+water, will, sooner or later, find its own appropriate
+level.</p>
+
+<p>Scott was originally designed for the legal profession.
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_340">[Pg 340]</span>He pursued a regular course of instruction in mathematics
+and the classics, in the High-School at Richmond,
+then in charge of a distinguished teacher of the
+name of Ogilvie, and afterwards repaired to William
+and Mary College, where he spent between one and two
+years, and attended a course of law lectures. His legal
+studies were completed in the office of David
+Robertson, a learned and able lawyer, and in 1806 he
+was admitted to the bar. He spent the following year
+in his native state, riding the circuit two terms in the
+vicinity of Petersburg, and residing most of the time
+with Benjamin Watkins Leigh, subsequently one of
+the most eminent counsellors and advocates in Virginia.
+In the fall of 1807, he visited South Carolina, intending
+to establish himself in practice in the city of Charleston.
+Failing, for want of time, to procure the passage
+of a bill by the legislature, specially exempting
+him from the statutory provision requiring a year’s
+residence in the state, he returned to Virginia.</p>
+
+<p>This was, perhaps, the most fortunate disappointment
+he has ever experienced. The whole country was then
+in a complete ferment of agitation. The attack on the
+Chesapeake took place in June previous, and a war
+was confidently predicted as the inevitable result.
+President Jefferson issued a proclamation prohibiting
+British armed vessels from entering the harbors of the
+United States, and bodies of militia were called out for
+the defence of the coast, and the enforcement of the
+prohibition. The first blast of the trumpet roused
+young Scott from his studies, and dissolved many of
+his gayest and brightest dreams of future eminence and
+distinction among the gentlemen of the gown and wig.
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_341">[Pg 341]</span>He enrolled himself as a member of a volunteer troop
+of horse raised in Petersburg, and, in the summer of
+1807, performed a tour of duty on Lynnhaven Bay.</p>
+
+<p>Visions of military greatness and renown danced
+constantly before him, while on his visit to South Carolina,
+which more than half compensated for his disappointment.
+He took a deep interest in the progress of
+the difficulties with England and France, and his sympathies
+were warmly enlisted in behalf of his country.
+His voice and his pen were both employed in defence
+of the administration of Mr. Jefferson, and of that of
+his successor, Mr. Madison; and from the time of the
+attack on the Chesapeake, till the declaration of war,
+he was an active and energetic supporter of war
+measures.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">APPOINTED A CAPTAIN OF ARTILLERY.</div>
+
+<p>Immediately after his return to Virginia, he determined
+to abandon his profession and enter the army.
+Accordingly, he applied to the President, for a commission
+in one of the new regiments proposed to be raised
+by a bill introduced in Congress at the session of 1807–8.
+The bill lingered sometime on its passage, and, in the
+meanwhile, Scott returned to his circuit. It finally
+became a law in April, 1808; and on the third day of
+May following, through the influence of his friend, the
+Hon. Wm. B. Giles, then a senator in Congress, and
+afterwards governor of the State of Virginia, he was
+commissioned, by President Jefferson, a captain of light
+artillery. Briefs and black-letter tomes, red tape and
+parchment, were now thrown aside; his company was
+raised and organized; and early in 1809, he joined the
+army under General Wilkinson, at New Orleans.</p>
+
+<p>The character of the connection of Wilkinson with
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_342">[Pg 342]</span>the intrigues of Colonel Burr, as indicated by the testimony
+elicited on the trial of the latter, which took place
+while Scott was in Virginia, had not produced a very
+favorable impression on his mind. General Wilkinson,
+however, was pleased with the appearance and talents
+of his subordinate; he mentioned him as a young man
+“who could speak, and write, and fight”, and made repeated
+attempts to attach him to his interest. Scott
+calmly, but firmly, declined to meet his advances in a
+similar spirit, and took no pains to conceal the opinions
+he had formed. In the autumn of 1809, General Wilkinson
+was relieved by General Hampton, in the command
+of the southern army,—the main body of which
+was stationed near Natchez. Scott was now more unguarded
+in his conversation, and on one occasion, perhaps
+unwisely, though his sincerity cannot be doubted, indulged
+in the strongest terms of reprehension. Charges
+were soon after preferred against him,&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_35_35" href="#Footnote_35_35" class="fnanchor">[35]</a> and in January,
+1810, he was tried and found guilty, of having uttered
+disrespectful language towards his superior officer,
+General Wilkinson. The sentence of the court was,
+that he should be suspended “from all rank, pay, and
+emoluments, for the space of twelve months.”</p>
+
+<p>The following year was spent by Captain Scott, at
+Richmond, in the family of his friend, Mr. Leigh, who
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_343">[Pg 343]</span>tendered him the free use of his large library. The
+opportunity thus afforded, for benefiting his mind, was
+faithfully improved. The greater part of the period of
+his suspension was spent in the careful and diligent
+study of works on military science; and he thus laid
+the foundation of that vast and comprehensive information,
+which subsequently embraced every department
+of knowledge belonging to, or connected with, his
+profession.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">PROMOTED TO LIEUTENANT COLONEL.</div>
+
+<p>A further augmentation of the army, consequent
+upon the declaration of war against Great Britain, was
+made in the summer of 1812, and in the month of
+July, upon the urgent recommendation of the Virginia
+delegation in Congress, Scott was promoted to the rank
+of lieutenant colonel in the 2nd artillery. He at once
+proceeded to the Niagara frontier, with two companies
+of his regiment, and took post at Black Rock, to protect
+the naval dépôt at that place.</p>
+
+<p>It is well known that the venerable Albert Gallatin,
+whose varied learning, and great abilities, are so highly
+honored and esteemed at home and abroad, was decidedly
+opposed, as a member of Mr. Madison’s cabinet,
+to the war with England, or to a war with any foreign
+power; and the younger, and more ardent and ambitious,
+members of the party to which he belonged, often
+complained that he did not render that hearty support
+to the administration, in the management of the affairs
+of his department, necessary to the vigorous prosecution
+of hostilities. On one occasion he is reported to
+have doubtingly inquired of Lieutenant Elliott, of the
+navy, what they were to do for vessels on Lake Erie,
+when they had none, and there was no money to build
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_344">[Pg 344]</span>any? “Take them!” said the lieutenant, in whose
+patriotism calculations of dollars and cents had no
+place.—The theory of the young officer was gallantly
+put in practice on the night of the eighth of October,
+1812, on the shores of the Niagara. The Caledonia, a
+British brig of war, the next year employed in Perry’s
+squadron, and the Detroit, formerly the Adams surrendered
+by Hull, were cut out from under the guns
+of Fort Erie, where they were lying at anchor, and
+brought off with their crews, by a party in two boats,
+headed by Elliott in person. Captain Towson, of the
+2nd artillery, and a portion of his company, belonging
+to Scott’s command, took part in the expedition. Scott
+himself volunteered to accompany his men, but was
+not permitted to go; he rendered important assistance,
+however, by the fire of his guns, in preventing the recapture
+of the Detroit, which grounded on Squaw
+Island. It being found impossible to get her off, she
+was subsequently burned, by order of General Smythe.</p>
+
+<p>Early in the month of October, 1812, there were near
+fifteen hundred regular troops at Buffalo and Fort Niagara,
+under the command of General Smythe; and
+General Stephen Van Rensselaer, of the New York
+militia, the commander of the united force, known as the
+Army of the Centre, had concentrated about twenty-five
+hundred men at Lewiston. Nothing was talked
+of but the invasion and conquest of Canada. The successful
+enterprise under Elliott infused new zeal into
+the breasts of the really patriotic, but raw and undisciplined
+militia; and all that was then required to have
+terminated the campaign, and perhaps the war, by a
+bold and successful stroke in the upper province, was
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_345">[Pg 345]</span>the presence of resolute and energetic general officers.
+General Smythe possessed few of the qualifications requisite
+in a skilful and successful soldier, and there was
+very little cordiality of feeling existing between him
+and General Van Rensselaer,—when, had they zealously
+coöperated together, and made a vigorous irruption
+into the enemy’s country, at the head of their combined
+forces, the power of England in Upper Canada,
+would have been at an end in three weeks.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">ATTACK ON QUEENSTON.</div>
+
+<p>General Van Rensselaer was high-minded and patriotic,
+and not deficient in ability or personal bravery,
+but he was, to some extent, jealous of the regular officers,
+and did not infuse that energy into his operations,
+which, after all, is the great secret of converting militia
+into reliable troops. Day after day passed by, and the
+army still remained inactive. Action and excitement
+are always necessary to keep up the spirits of a newly
+organized militia force. Nothing was done in this respect,
+until the men threatened to return home, when
+an attack was planned on the British post at Queenston,
+nearly opposite Lewiston; it being understood that the
+greater part of the enemy’s forces had been withdrawn
+from the peninsula, for the defence of Malden.</p>
+
+<p>The morning of the eleventh of October was fixed
+upon for the attack; but on account of the violence
+of the weather, and the want of a sufficient number
+of boats, it was postponed to the thirteenth, when it
+was arranged to take place in two columns, one of militia,
+and the other of regulars, each to consist of three
+hundred men. Colonel Solomon Van Rensselaer, of
+the New York militia, and Lieutenant Colonel Chrystie,
+of the 13th infantry, were selected to command the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_346">[Pg 346]</span>two columns. Lieutenant Colonel Fenwick was to
+follow the movement with a force of two hundred regulars,
+under Major Mullaney.</p>
+
+<p>The arrangements for storming the heights of Queenston
+were completed on the twelfth of October, and late
+in the evening of that day Lieutenant Colonel Scott
+hastened to Lewiston, through mud, and rain, and
+sleet, and entreated General Van Rensselaer to permit
+him to serve as a volunteer with the attacking force.
+His services were declined, but he was authorized to
+bring his command to Lewiston, there to act as circumstances
+might require. He instantly returned to
+Schlosser, where his men were posted, ordered them
+under arms, and just before daylight arrived at Lewiston,
+bringing with him two pieces of artillery which
+were conveyed down the river in a boat, in consequence
+of the bad state of the roads. The troops under Van
+Rensselaer and Chrystie had already passed the river,—though
+with not much regularity, on account of the
+deficiency of boats,—under a heavy fire from the enemy’s
+batteries; and they were now warmly engaged
+on the opposite bank. Colonel Van Rensselaer and
+Lieutenant Colonel Chrystie were both known to be
+severely wounded, and Scott was finally ordered to
+cross over and take the command. The detachment
+under Major Mullaney, had previously attempted the
+passage, but their boats being seized by the eddies, they
+were driven below the point designated for the landing,
+and directly under the British batteries; the whole
+detachment, therefore, with the exception of Major
+Mullaney and a few of his men, who made their escape,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_347">[Pg 347]</span>were obliged to surrender themselves as prisoners
+of war.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">CROSSES THE RIVER.</div>
+
+<p>Leaving his train in battery on the American shore,
+under the command of Captains Towson and Barker,
+who opened an effective fire on the enemy, Scott crossed
+the stream, about eight o’clock in the morning, when
+he found that the British force, consisting of two flank
+companies of the 49th, and a body of militia, had been
+driven from their position; that Captain Wool had
+stormed the heights south of the town, with three companies
+of the 13th infantry, and carried the enemy’s
+batteries; and that the British commander, General
+Brock, had been killed in an unsuccessful charge, which
+he had gallantly headed in person. He also ascertained
+that General Wadsworth, of the New York militia,
+had reached the Canada shore, though without the
+knowledge of General Van Rensselaer, and, of course,
+was entitled to the command. General Wadsworth,
+however, magnanimously waived all claims of superior
+rank, and requested Scott to make such dispositions as
+he thought proper.</p>
+
+<p>Although the American detachments, who had made
+a lodgment on the Canada shore, remained for several
+hours unmolested, it was not doubted that the enemy
+would rally again before night. Scott arranged his
+men, therefore, so as both to cover the ferry, in order
+that he might be reinforced if necessary, and to repel
+an attack. About the middle of the day, General
+Van Rensselaer came over, and having examined and
+approved of his arrangements, returned to superintend
+the crossing of the remainder of the troops. But the
+sight of the action in the morning had cooled the ardor
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_348">[Pg 348]</span>and impatience of the militia. Some few parties were
+induced to cross over,—though most of them might as
+well have remained behind; but the great body of the
+command had entirely forgotten their former boisterous
+professions of patriotism. General Van Rensselaer alternately
+coaxed and threatened, but it was all to no
+purpose. Every circumstance was calculated to discourage
+them; many of the boats, originally too few in
+number, had been crippled, the current was rapid, the
+stream one complete sheet of eddies, and the weather
+cold, wet, and stormy. They would not, and they did
+not go; but they stood still, and with the utmost unconcern
+and indifference, saw their countrymen sacrificed
+on the opposite shore of the river, when their
+presence would have changed the fate of the day.</p>
+
+<p>Between two and three o’clock in the afternoon, small
+parties of the enemy were seen hovering along the
+slopes of the hills, and, shortly after, the action was
+fiercely renewed by the rallied militia and grenadiers,
+and about four hundred Indians, under Norton, who
+had heard the previous firing, and had hurried down
+from Chippewa. With a mixed command of regulars
+and militia, not far from three hundred and fifty strong—nearly
+four hundred of the militia being seized with
+a panic, and refusing to take part in the action—Scott
+boldly encountered the enemy. A sharp conflict ensued
+for a few moments, and the assailants were then driven
+back, and put to flight, by a forward movement of the
+bayonet.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">GALLANTRY AND INTREPIDITY.</div>
+
+<p>The protection of the ferry rendered a pursuit impossible.
+Scott therefore reformed his line, in readiness
+for another attack. He had just returned to the rear,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_349">[Pg 349]</span>to direct his men how to unspike a captured cannon,
+when the enemy rallied again, and forced in the advanced
+picket. The main line, too, had commenced a
+retreat ere he could reach them. Instantly springing
+to the front, by great exertions, in which he was ably
+seconded by General Wadsworth and Lieutenant Colonel
+Chrystie, he brought the retreating line to the right
+about. His earnest enthusiasm produced a sudden
+revulsion of feeling, and the enemy were soon a second
+time repulsed.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile, General Sheaffe, who commanded the
+troops at Fort George, had hastily collected all his
+disposable forces, and the provincial militia in the
+neighborhood, and was rapidly approaching the scene
+of action. About four o’clock, his column, numbering
+rather more than eight hundred men, emerged into
+open view just below the village of Queenston. He
+advanced with much caution, though fully aware that
+the Americans were greatly inferior to his own force
+in point of numbers, especially when he had effected a
+junction with the light troops and Indians. Leaving
+Queenston on his left, he took a wide circuit through
+the woods, gained the heights, and opened the action
+anew, with a rapid fire of musketry and artillery.
+For half an hour, the little band headed by the dauntless
+and heroic Scott, manfully held their ground, and
+breasted the volleys that met them on every side. All
+that bravery and skill could do, was nobly performed,—but
+performed in vain!</p>
+
+<p>Scott fearlessly exposed his person to the enemy’s
+bullets. His tall form, six feet and five inches in
+height, was the most conspicuous object on the field.
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_350">[Pg 350]</span>He was arrayed in full uniform, and was entreated
+again and again to cover up or change some part of his
+dress. “No, no!” said he, smiling; “I will die in my
+robes!” Others were constantly falling around him,
+but he escaped unharmed.—After the action, when he
+had surrendered himself a prisoner of war, an Indian
+warrior came up to him, and surveying him attentively,
+said—“You are not born to be shot; so many times—(holding
+up all the fingers of both hands)—so many
+times did I fire at you!”</p>
+
+<p>The bloody and desperate contest was soon ended.
+Overpowered by superior numbers, and nearly surrounded
+on all sides, the Americans retreated to the
+bank of the river, under cover of the precipice, where
+they found the faint-hearted militia concealed in the
+clefts and fissures. Retreat was hopeless; the troops
+were disheartened; there were no boats in which they
+could cross the river; and the twilight was fast settling
+over the field of combat. General Wadsworth
+and the other principal officers now held a consultation,
+and it was decided that they should surrender themselves
+to the enemy. Several messengers were sent
+with a flag, but they failed to reach the British commander,
+as they were shot down on the way by the
+Indian rifles. Scott then volunteered to go himself.
+He attached a white handkerchief to his sword, and,
+accompanied by Captains Totten and Gibson, made
+his way to the enemy’s rear, by taking a circuitous
+route under cover of the precipice overlooking the river.
+He and his companions had all the while been exposed
+to a random fire from the Indians, and on approaching
+the road leading up from the village to the heights,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_351">[Pg 351]</span>they were suddenly beset by two warriors, who discharged
+their rifles at them, and were preparing to rush
+forward with their knives and hatchets,—paying no
+heed to the sacred character of the flag which they
+carried,—when a British officer came up with a file
+of men, and compelled them to desist.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">TAKEN PRISONER.</div>
+
+<p>The three officers were forthwith conducted to the
+presence of General Sheaffe, and terms of capitulation
+agreed on. The force surrendered with Wadsworth
+and Scott, consisted of one hundred and thirty-nine
+regulars, and one hundred and fifty-four militia; about
+four hundred militia, who had taken no part in the engagement,
+were afterwards included in the surrender;
+and there had been about one hundred killed during
+the day—making a total of casualties, including the
+two hundred regulars under Major Mullaney, who
+surrendered in the morning, of near one thousand.</p>
+
+<p>This disastrous action was the first, as it was the
+most unfortunate, in which Scott was engaged. His
+conduct throughout the day was worthy of all praise.
+He was but a few years older than young Condé, when
+the latter routed the famous corps of Spanish infantry;
+yet he exhibited the skill and intrepidity of a veteran
+officer, and had he been supported by anything like an
+equal force, it can scarcely be doubted that the setting
+sun would have witnessed the American banners floating
+in triumph on the heights of Queenston.</p>
+
+<p>After the surrender, the American prisoners were
+taken to the village of Niagara, or Newark, under an
+escort, and the officers temporarily lodged in an inn.
+While there, a message was brought in that some one
+at the door wished to see the “tall American.” Scott,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_352">[Pg 352]</span>presuming, of course, that he was intended by the designation,
+went out into the hall, where he was surprised
+to find the two warriors who had so cowardly attacked
+him when bearing the flag of truce. Both were distinguished
+chiefs—one being the son of the renowned
+Mohawk leader, Joseph Brant, and the other known by
+the name of Captain Jacobs. They eagerly commenced
+questioning him in regard to his wounds, and attempted
+to examine his person. Scott bore with them for some
+time, but they soon became angry and insulting, and
+at length Jacobs seized him by the arm to turn him
+round. Scott promptly resented the indignity, and
+hurled the savage from him, with ease, exclaiming,
+“Off, villain!—you fired like a squaw!”</p>
+
+<p>The savages at once clenched their knives and tomahawks,
+and sprang towards him, crying out—“We
+kill you now!—we kill you now!” Fortunately, in
+one corner of the hall, underneath the staircase, stood
+the swords of the American officers. Scott darted
+back, caught up a long heavy sabre, turned upon his
+heel, and in a breath stood on his defence; with an unflinching
+eye and look regarding the dark warriors,
+whose painted visages lowered fiercely upon him. At
+this moment, Captain Coffin, a member of General
+Sheaffe’s staff, entered from the street; he instantly
+cried out for the guard, caught Jacobs by the arm, and
+placed his pistol at the head of young Brant. This
+had the desired effect. The Indians were intimidated,
+and on the appearance of the guard, retired from the
+inn. Their people, however, were so much excited,
+that Scott could not venture out into the street, during
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_353">[Pg 353]</span>his stay at Niagara, even to dine with the British commander,
+without a strong escort.</p>
+
+<p>General Brock was buried on Queenston Heights,
+immediately after the surrender of the American troops,
+and at the request of Lieutenant Colonel Scott, who
+so well knew what was due to the memory of the gallant
+dead, minute guns were fired from Fort Niagara,
+on the American shore, during the sad ceremony.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">INTERFER&shy;ENCE IN BEHALF OF PRISONERS.</div>
+
+<p>Scott was sent to Quebec with the other prisoners,
+where he was placed on a cartel to be conveyed to Boston;
+and in January, 1813, he was regularly exchanged.
+When the transport was about leaving Quebec, a party
+of British officers came on board, and commenced mustering
+the prisoners, with a view of selecting those who
+were ascertained to be Irishmen, by their speech, to be
+sent to England for trial. Great Britain has ever denied
+the right of expatriation in the subject, and hence
+these men, if found in arms against her authority, were
+liable, according to her laws, to be convicted of the
+crime of treason. Scott was seated in the cabin; but
+hearing the tumult, he rushed upon deck. By this
+time, the British officers had selected twenty-three men
+from the detachment. On learning the cause of the
+disturbance, he forbade the remainder of the prisoners
+to utter a single syllable, when questioned. The men
+readily obeyed him; the British officers threatened to
+use violence, but he was in nowise intimidated by their
+menaces; he felt, justly, that the honor of his country
+was for the time in his keeping, and, in spite of threats
+and frowns, persisted in the order he had given.</p>
+
+<p>The British officers were finally obliged to retire with
+the twenty-three prisoners, but before the latter left the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_354">[Pg 354]</span>side of the vessel, Scott pledged himself to secure their
+liberation, if it were possible; but if not, he solemnly
+declared that he would retaliate, on the first prisoners
+whom the fortune of war should place in his power.
+He faithfully kept his word. On his return to the
+United States, he made a full and faithful report of the
+transaction to the Secretary of War, and in May, 1813,
+at the capture of Fort George, selected twenty-three
+prisoners to be held as hostages for the unfortunate
+Irishmen. The British government persisted in their
+determination to try the men and execute them; consequently,
+they ordered forty-six other prisoners into
+confinement; the Americans reciprocated their conduct,
+in kind; but after venting a great deal of spleen
+and ill humor to no purpose, the British ministry finding
+their braggadocio of no avail, tacitly surrendered
+their position, and shortly after the peace, the twenty-three
+prisoners taken to England from Quebec, were
+sent home to the United States. Twenty-one of them—the
+remaining two having died natural deaths—landed
+in New York, in July, 1815. Almost the first
+object which they encountered, was the tall form of the
+gallant Scott, upon whose brow the laurels were yet
+fresh and green which he had won at Chippewa and
+Niagara. They eagerly hailed him as their deliverer,
+caught him in their arms, and nearly overwhelmed him
+with their enthusiastic manifestations of gratitude.</p>
+
+<p>At the opening of the campaign of 1813, Scott was
+appointed adjutant general in the staff of General
+Dearborn, the head of the army, and the commander
+of the ninth military district. It was stipulated, however,
+on his part, that he should be entitled to his command
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_355">[Pg 355]</span>in the line, on all extraordinary occasions. On
+the second of March, he was promoted to the colonelcy
+of the 2nd artillery, a double regiment, consisting of
+twenty companies.</p>
+
+<p>The campaign of this year opened auspiciously. The
+forests of Canada were scarcely robed in the bright array
+of spring, when the American soldiers precipitated
+themselves on her shores. On the twenty-seventh of
+April, York capitulated to the surviving comrades of
+the heroic Pike.&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_36_36" href="#Footnote_36_36" class="fnanchor">[36]</a> General Dearborn remained for several
+days in the vicinity; but on the fifth of May he
+reëmbarked, and, having been joined by successive reinforcements,
+increasing his command to about five
+thousand men, effected a landing on the American
+shore, at Four Mile Creek, on the evening of the eighth
+instant. Colonel Scott joined the army shortly after
+the capture of York. The duties devolving upon him,
+as chief of General Dearborn’s staff, were intricate and
+multifarious, as the army was newly organized, or
+composed of different corps recently brought together;
+but they were performed with untiring zeal and industry,
+and in a manner that gave satisfaction to all
+parties concerned.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">ATTACK ON FORT GEORGE.</div>
+
+<p>The next object of attack, was the British post of
+Fort George, situated opposite Fort Niagara, at the
+mouth of the river. The boats built for the occasion
+were launched on the afternoon of the twenty-sixth of
+May, and their stations assigned; and careful reconnaissances
+were made of the Canada shore, in order to
+ascertain the most feasible points for landing. The
+movement in the American camp being discovered by
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_356">[Pg 356]</span>the enemy, a severe cannonade was opened on Fort
+Niagara and the adjacent batteries. The roar of the
+howitzers was incessant; and peal on peal of heavy
+ordnance reverberated along the beach, with a loud
+crashing noise, and then died away, in deafening echoes,
+among the distant hills and ridges. The fire was soon
+returned from the American fort; shells were rained
+without intermission on the enemy’s batteries, and
+balls sent whistling through the lanes and streets of
+the village of Niagara.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">CAPTURE OF THE FORT.</div>
+
+<p>At three o’clock in the morning of the twenty-seventh
+of May, all was in readiness for the expedition, and the
+signal was given for the flotilla of boats to get under
+weigh. The descent was to be made in six divisions
+of boats, though, in consequence of the early retreat of
+the enemy, all the troops were not landed. In the first
+division was the advanced guard, or forlorn hope, of
+five hundred picked men, led by the intrepid Scott; in
+the second was the field train, under Colonel Porter;
+and these were followed, in the order of attack, by the
+brigades of Generals Boyd, Winder and Chandler, and
+a second reserve under Colonel Macomb. Owing to a
+strong wind then prevailing, the rapid current, and the
+heavy surf, the landing on the Canada shore was not
+effected as easily as had been anticipated. Under cover
+of the guns of the fleet and of Fort Niagara, which
+opened a terrible fire, that crushed down the walls
+and batteries in and about Fort George, in huge
+masses, at nine o’clock in the morning, Colonel Scott
+gained the beach, and prepared to land. General Vincent,
+the British commander, had previously disposed
+his whole regular force, about nine hundred strong,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_357">[Pg 357]</span>with five or six hundred militia, in a ravine near the
+shore; and as the Americans approached, they were
+met by several warm volleys of musketry.</p>
+
+<p>With shouts and cheers, the American advance leaped
+into the water, and waded to the beach. They instantly
+formed on the shingle, covered by an irregular
+bank, from seven to twelve feet high, above which flashed
+the bristling bayonets of the enemy. Colonel Scott
+forthwith ordered a charge. The first attempt to scale
+the bank was unsuccessful; on the second, the men
+clambered up in spite of resistance,—Scott himself
+being among the foremost, and knocking up the British
+bayonets with his sword. The enemy retired a short
+distance, and stoutly maintained the ground for twenty
+minutes; but on the arrival of Colonel Porter and General
+Boyd, with their commands, portions of which participated
+in the skirmish near its close, they commenced
+retreating in haste, in the direction of Queenston,—having
+already laid trains to their different magazines.
+Scott pushed his column after them, without delay,
+and, at the village of Niagara, was joined by the 6th
+infantry, under Colonel Miller.</p>
+
+<p>On approaching Fort George, one of its magazines
+exploded. The sad calamity that befel the American
+troops at York, had produced its probably natural effect;
+and a similar mishap was the <i lang="fr">bête noire</i> which
+they always dreaded throughout the early part of the
+campaign. Colonel Scott was struck by a piece of
+timber, thrown from the horse which he had borrowed
+from a British colonel taken prisoner, and considerably
+bruised; but he sprang to his feet in an instant, and
+accompanied by a few equally brave spirits, forced the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_358">[Pg 358]</span>gate, and entered the fort.&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_37_37" href="#Footnote_37_37" class="fnanchor">[37]</a> Captains Hindman and
+Stockton extinguished the lighted matches, and General
+Boyd and Colonel Scott made their way to the
+flag staff. The British standard soon fluttered in the
+wind,—Captain Hindman being the fortunate individual
+who first seized it, though the staff was cut down by
+Scott,—and the stars and stripes speedily rose in its
+place.</p>
+
+<p>Colonel Scott continued the pursuit for some distance
+beyond the fort,—Lieutenant Riddle, with his party,
+following the enemy almost to Queenston, and picking
+up a number of stragglers—but he was soon recalled
+by General Boyd, in conformity with the directions of
+General Lewis, who had assumed the command on
+shore. With the return of the advanced corps, the
+battle terminated. The Americans had thirty-nine
+killed and one hundred and ten wounded in the attack;
+while the British lost one hundred and eight
+killed, and one hundred and sixty wounded,—and
+there were one hundred and fifteen regulars, and five
+hundred militia, taken prisoners.</p>
+
+<p>After the loss of Fort George, General Vincent withdrew
+all his forces from the peninsula, including those
+previously stationed at Chippewa and Fort Erie, to
+Burlington Heights; and the Americans established
+themselves in a solid manner on the Niagara frontier.
+This lodgment would undoubtedly have been permanent,
+had it not been for the inaction—the pest and
+bane of the northern army during the campaigns of
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_359">[Pg 359]</span>’12 and ’13—which characterized the subsequent operations
+of our principal officers in that quarter.</p>
+
+<p>It has been said that the campaign of 1813 opened
+auspiciously. So, indeed, it did,—but it terminated in
+disaster and disgrace. The bold stroke of Lieutenant
+Colonel Harvey, which resulted in the capture of Generals
+Chandler and Winder, on the third of June, and
+the defeat and surrender of Colonel Boerstler on the
+twenty-fourth of the same month, were, in themselves,
+affairs of no great importance; or rather, they would
+not have been considered such, had they been relieved,
+as might, and should have been the case, by those successes
+which it was in the power of the American army
+to have achieved. Immediately after the surrender of
+Boerstler, General Dearborn was recalled, and subsequently
+resigned his commission. General Boyd succeeded
+to the command, during the summer, but the
+War Department refused to give him authority to act
+offensively; consequently, he remained cooped up the
+whole season in Fort George, with four thousand
+men, when General Vincent had very little over two
+thousand.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">EXPEDITION AGAINST BURLINGTON HEIGHTS.</div>
+
+<p>General Dearborn surrendered the command on the
+fifteenth of July, and Colonel Scott then returned to
+his duty in the line, and took charge of his regiment.
+In September, an expedition was projected against
+Burlington Heights, and he volunteered to command
+the land troops. Embarking on board Commodore
+Chauncey’s fleet, he proceeded to the Heights, but
+found neither enemy, nor stores, at that point. On his
+return, he landed at York, burned the barracks and
+storehouses, and brought off a large quantity of provisions,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_360">[Pg 360]</span>clothing, and ammunition, together with eleven
+armed boats and several pieces of cannon.</p>
+
+<p>Upon the resignation of General Dearborn, the command
+of the army was given to General Wilkinson,
+under whose auspices the famous expedition down the
+St. Lawrence, in the fall of 1813, was conducted. In
+the original arrangements of Wilkinson, Colonel Scott
+was to be left in command at Fort George, which had
+been considerably enlarged and strengthened after its
+occupation by the American troops. At the urgent
+request of the latter, who ardently desired to take part
+in the great movement of the campaign, his orders were
+made so far discretionary, that he was authorized to
+give up the fort to General McClure, of the New York
+militia, when it had been placed in a proper state of
+defence, provided it was not seriously threatened by
+the enemy. The works were soon completed, and the
+enemy retired to Burlington Heights, and afterwards
+concentrated at Kingston, which post they supposed to
+be threatened by General Wilkinson. On the thirteenth
+of October, General McClure took charge of
+Fort George, and Colonel Scott proceeded with the
+regular troops, who had previously garrisoned the post,
+to the mouth of the Genesee river, where he expected
+to find transportation for his men. Disappointed in
+this, he marched his column, with all possible expedition,
+to Utica, and then directed his course towards
+Sacketts Harbor. A short distance north of Utica, he
+met General Armstrong, the Secretary of War, who
+informed him that the expedition had already set out,
+but gave him permission to leave his command with
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_361">[Pg 361]</span>Major Hindman, and to join Wilkinson, in person, on
+the St. Lawrence, at whatever point he could.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">SKIRMISH AT HOOPHOLE CREEK.</div>
+
+<p>Thirsting for distinction, Scott eagerly availed himself
+of the permission granted, and dashed off on horseback,
+through the rain and mud. On the sixth of November,
+he joined the army at Ogdensburgh, and
+accompanied General Brown in the descent of the
+river, with the flotilla, under the heavy fire of the
+British batteries at Prescott. Being without a command,
+Colonel Macomb magnanimously surrendered to
+him one of his battalions, which he had reserved for
+himself in case the regiment was divided; and, on the
+seventh instant, he was regularly assigned to the <i lang="fr">corps
+d’élite</i>. He commanded the advanced guard during
+the subsequent movement of the army down the river,
+almost daily encountering and defeating large or small
+parties of the enemy. He was not concerned in the
+action on the eleventh of November; but, on the following
+day, he engaged a detachment of the enemy,
+under Colonel Dennis, about equal to his own command
+in numbers, at Hoophole Creek, near Cornwall, routed
+them with ease, captured a number of prisoners, and
+hotly pursued the remainder of the enemy till dark.
+The army now retired into winter quarters at French
+Mills,—the young and ambitious officers, like Brown
+and Macomb, Gaines and Scott, literally overcome
+with mortification and chagrin.&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_38_38" href="#Footnote_38_38" class="fnanchor">[38]</a>&#x2060;</p>
+
+<p>Not long after this memorable expedition terminated,
+Colonel Scott was relieved from duty, and made a visit
+to his friends in Virginia, and at the seat of government.
+By the direction of the president, he spent a
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_362">[Pg 362]</span>part of the winter at Albany, engaged in making
+preparations, in connection with Governor Tompkins,
+for the ensuing campaign.</p>
+
+<p>On the ninth of March, 1814, when scarcely twenty-eight
+years of age, Colonel Scott was promoted to the
+rank of brigadier general, and immediately joined General
+Brown, then moving with his column from Sacketts
+Harbor to Buffalo. At the latter place, a camp of
+instruction was established by General Scott,—General
+Brown leaving him temporarily in the command,
+while he returned for a few weeks to Sacketts Harbor,
+with authority to adopt such measures as he thought
+proper, to secure the efficient discipline and instruction
+of the troops, preparatory to taking the field.</p>
+
+<p>New officers,—more active, more ambitious, and
+more enterprising,—were now at the head of affairs on
+the Niagara frontier. General Brown properly appreciated
+the skill and abilities of the talented Scott, and
+gave him almost unlimited power. The latter infused
+new spirit and energy into every corps belonging to the
+army; superannuated, infirm, or incompetent officers,
+no matter how high in rank, were relieved from duty;
+the strict rules of military discipline were rigidly enforced;
+and the whole command was daily paraded
+for instruction. All were drilled, from the highest to
+the lowest, officers as well as men, under the eye of
+Scott himself,—first in squads, then in companies, then
+in battalions, and, finally, carried through the evolutions
+of the line. The brilliant, but practical genius, of the
+youthful general, his unwearied efforts and exertions,
+accomplished wonders. When General Brown crossed
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_363">[Pg 363]</span>the Niagara on the third of July, he crossed it with an
+army of soldiers, not merely of men!</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">CAMP OF INSTRUCTION AT BUFFALO.</div>
+
+<p>The fruits of the camp of instruction at Buffalo, established
+and directed by General Scott, were witnessed
+on the plains of Chippewa,—on the blood-stained heights
+of Niagara,—when “Greek met Greek,” when steel
+clashed against steel, and the American soldiers stood
+firm and unflinching as the rocks beneath their feet.
+They may still be witnessed, in the wide-spread renown
+and eminent glory indissolubly connected with the
+achievements of the gallant army which Brown and
+Scott led out to battle,—in the noble deeds and feats of
+lofty daring, paralleled only on the brightest pages of
+by-gone martial story.</p>
+
+<p>The incidents of the campaign on the Niagara frontier,
+in the summer of 1814, have been so fully detailed
+in the memoir of General Brown,&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_39_39" href="#Footnote_39_39" class="fnanchor">[39]</a> that it seems unnecessary
+to recapitulate them here. On the third of
+July, the American commander crossed the Niagara
+with his whole army, little more than three thousand
+strong, consisting of the regular brigades of Scott and
+Ripley,—the former leading the van,—and the militia
+under Porter. Fort Erie was reduced on the same day,
+and, immediately thereafter, he proceeded against the
+position of General Riall, at Chippewa. On the fourth
+of July, General Scott had a running fight for more
+than sixteen miles, with the 100th British foot, under
+the command of the Marquis of Tweedale, whom he
+drove at full speed across the Chippewa.</p>
+
+<p>On the fifth of July, the battle of Chippewa was
+fought,—mainly by the first brigade, under General
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_364">[Pg 364]</span>Scott. “To him more than any other man,” said
+General Brown, in his official dispatch, “am I indebted
+for the victory.” This was high praise; but it was
+well deserved by the personal intrepidity, the chivalric
+bearing, and the dashing and dazzling manœuvres,
+which decided the result of the action. The day had
+opened with skirmishes of light troops, but the main
+action was brought on about four o’clock in the afternoon,
+when Scott dashed across Street’s creek, and engaged
+the British army on the plain south of the Chippewa.
+The light troops on the left of the field were
+in the meantime warmly engaged, but the principal
+struggle took place in the open field, which was as
+brief as it was decisive.</p>
+
+<p>Scott’s brigade numbered only about fourteen hundred
+men, consisting of three small battalions, and the battery
+of Captain Towson. After crossing Street’s creek,
+he continued alternately to advance, halt, and fire, till
+he was not more than eighty yards from the enemy’s
+line. It being evident that preparations were making
+to outflank him, he detached one of his battalions into
+the woods on his left, to protect that flank. With the
+remainder of his small force, he prepared to meet the
+enemy, who were making ready to charge,—their artillery
+having been already silenced. Spurring his
+horse through the dust and smoke, he dashed up to the
+side of Captain Towson, who was posted on the Chippewa
+road, on the right of the field, and directed him
+to maintain his ground, and pour a raking fire into the
+British columns as they came up.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">BATTLE OF CHIPPEWA.</div>
+
+<p>This order being given, he returned to his place in
+the rear of his two infantry battalions. He now directed
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_365">[Pg 365]</span>them to throw forward their outer flanks, so as
+to form a reëntering angle, but taking care to flank
+the enemy on the left.&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_40_40" href="#Footnote_40_40" class="fnanchor">[40]</a> The two battalions did not
+touch each other; but the interval would be every
+instant lessened by the movement which he contemplated.
+Having given the necessary orders, he cried
+out to the battalion of Major McNeil—the 11th infantry,
+which had not a recruit in it—on the left,—“The
+enemy say we are good at long shot, but cannot
+stand the cold iron! I call upon the Eleventh instantly
+to give the lie to that slander!”—“Charge!” he added,
+as the shot from Towson’s guns ploughed through and
+through the British ranks. “Charge!—Charge!” he
+repeated in thundering tones, rising up in his stirrups,
+and waving his men on with his sword.</p>
+
+<p>This masterly charge, so well conceived and executed,
+put an end to the contest. The front lines of the enemy
+staggered, and rolled back in a confused mass on the
+reserve. All caught the infection of defeat, and the
+slope leading down to the Chippewa was soon darkened
+by a cloud of fugitives. The pursuit was ordered, but
+was checked when the Americans reached the stream,
+by the hostile batteries that frowned on the opposite
+shore.</p>
+
+<p>The bloody battle on the heights of Niagara followed,
+on the night of the twenty-fifth of July.&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_41_41" href="#Footnote_41_41" class="fnanchor">[41]</a> General
+Scott opened the action with his brigade, and for nearly
+two hours gallantly sustained himself against the vastly
+superior numbers of the British army. When the enemy’s
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_366">[Pg 366]</span>batteries were ordered to be stormed, he piloted
+Colonel Miller, who was directed to execute this daring
+enterprise with the 21st infantry, through the smoke
+and darkness, and the iron shower that swept unceasingly
+down the hill-side. Twice, during the height of
+the engagement, after being relieved by the troops under
+Ripley and Porter, Scott precipitated his brigade on the
+British left and right. Two horses were shot under
+him—one literally torn from its rider. Though badly
+wounded in the side by a spent ball, he persisted in remaining
+on the ground, wading on foot through the
+blood and carnage, and his clear ringing voice ever and
+anon heard above the roar of artillery, as he cheered
+and encouraged his men. At length, about eleven
+o’clock, he was finally disabled by a musket ball, which
+shattered his left shoulder; and at midnight, just as
+the battle closed, he was borne from the field, with his
+aid, Lieutenant Worth, also severely wounded.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">COMPLIMEN&shy;TARY RESOLUTIONS.</div>
+
+<p>For more than a month it was extremely doubtful
+whether General Scott would recover from his wounds.
+Kind friends were not wanting, to provide for the comfort,
+and to soften the pillow, of the gallant soldier.
+He remained for several weeks,—suffering, in the
+meantime, great pain,—at Buffalo, Williamsville, and
+Batavia, and was thence borne, in a litter, to Geneva,
+to the house of his friend, the Hon. John Nicholas. As
+soon as he became able to travel, he proceeded to Philadelphia
+and Baltimore, in order to procure the best
+surgical and medical aid in the country. His journey
+was like the triumphal march of a conqueror. Passing
+through Princeton on commencement day, he was
+waited on by a committee of the faculty of the College
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_367">[Pg 367]</span>of New Jersey, who requested his presence at the
+exercises. He complied with the invitation, and was
+received by the large audience assembled, with the
+most rapturous demonstrations of applause. Before he
+left Princeton, he was also complimented with the
+honorary degree of Master of Arts, bestowed upon him
+by the authorities of the College. As he approached
+Philadelphia, he was met by Governor Snyder at the
+head of a division of militia, who formed his escort into
+the town.</p>
+
+<p>Being incapacitated by his wounds, which were a
+long time in healing, from any active duty, General
+Scott was prevailed upon, at the instance of the congressional
+delegations from Maryland and Pennsylvania,
+to take the nominal command of the troops collected
+for the defence of Baltimore and Philadelphia. On the
+sixteenth of October, 1814, he entered upon the duties
+of commanding officer of the tenth military district,—his
+headquarters being at Washington city.</p>
+
+<p>On the third day of November, 1814, Congress
+passed a resolution of thanks, complimenting General
+Scott for his skill and gallantry at Chippewa and Niagara,
+and for his uniform good conduct “in sustaining
+the reputation of the arms of the United States.”
+A massive gold medal was also struck and presented to
+him, by order of Congress, and he was brevetted a
+major general. Resolutions of thanks were likewise
+adopted by the Legislatures of New York and Virginia,
+and splendid swords publicly presented to him,
+in accordance with their directions. He was further
+honored, by being chosen an honorary member of the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_368">[Pg 368]</span>State Society of Cincinnati in Pennsylvania, in the
+year 1815.</p>
+
+<p>After the ratification of the treaty of peace, in February,
+1815, General Scott was requested, temporarily,
+at least, to take charge of the War Department. This
+he declined, but solicited permission to travel in Europe,
+for the restoration of his health and professional
+improvement. The request was granted without hesitation.
+Having assisted in reducing the army to the
+peace establishment—being himself retained as one of
+the four brigadier generals—he embarked for England,
+and then crossed over to the Continent. While abroad,
+he was honored with the notice of Kosciusko, who gave
+him letters of introduction to the most distinguished
+marshals of France. He attended several courses of
+public lectures, in the most eminent literary institutions,
+and visited all the principal fortresses and naval establishments
+in western Europe. He returned home in
+1816, fully restored in strength and spirits; and in the
+same year was assigned to the command of the Eastern
+Division, with his headquarters at the city of New
+York.&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_42_42" href="#Footnote_42_42" class="fnanchor">[42]</a>&#x2060;</p>
+
+<p>In March, 1817, General Scott was married to Miss
+Maria Mayo, a Virginia lady, distinguished alike for
+rare beauty and accomplishments. By her he has had
+several daughters, but no living son.</p>
+
+<p>Shortly after his marriage, General Scott purchased
+a residence in the village of Elizabethtown, New Jersey,
+which he still regards as his home. For nearly
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_369">[Pg 369]</span>twenty-five years, from the fall of 1816 to the summer
+of 1841, with brief intervals, he was continued in command
+of the Eastern Division, and his family, during
+that period and since, have spent most of their time at
+Elizabethtown.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">PUBLICATIONS ON MILITARY SUBJECTS.</div>
+
+<p>The commanding talents, and extensive military information
+of General Scott—his whole life having been
+spent in storing up valuable knowledge in every department
+of science connected with his profession—have
+been of vast service to his country, even in time
+of peace. In 1821, he published an octavo volume, entitled
+“General Regulations for the Army, or Military
+Institutes,”—a complete manual for both regular and
+militia officers. In the winter of 1814–15, he was
+president of a board appointed to prepare a system of
+infantry tactics, similar to that taught in the camp of
+instruction at Buffalo, which was afterwards revised by
+another board, of which he was also president, and
+published in 1825. In 1826, he presided over another
+board, composed of regular officers and militia generals,
+ordered to convene by the War Department, and
+to report—1. A plan for the organization and instruction
+of the whole body of the militia of the Union—2.
+A system of tactics for the artillery—3. A system
+of cavalry tactics—and 4. A system of infantry and
+rifle tactics.</p>
+
+<p>The reports made by the board, on the first and fourth
+subjects, were prepared exclusively by General Scott,
+and reflect high credit on his military knowledge and
+abilities. They were published for the use of the army,
+and the information of the country; and in 1835, under
+a resolution of Congress, he prepared a new edition of
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_370">[Pg 370]</span>his system of Infantry Tactics, in three small volumes,
+containing all the improvements made subsequent to the
+general peace of 1815.</p>
+
+<p>On the death of General Brown, in February, 1828,
+General Scott was a candidate for the vacant office of
+General-in-Chief. His claims were founded, mainly,
+on the fact, that his commission as a brevet major general,
+which bore date July 25, 1814, was older than
+that of Macomb or Gaines, both of whom were candidates
+for the same station. It was decided, however,
+by President Adams, and, subsequently, by President
+Jackson, that brevet rank was merely honorary in its
+character; and the appointment was therefore conferred
+on General Macomb, the oldest brigadier.&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_43_43" href="#Footnote_43_43" class="fnanchor">[43]</a> Pending
+the decision of this question, a warm personal controversy
+sprung up between the different parties concerned,
+in regard to brevet rank; and on the decision of the
+government being made known, General Scott tendered
+his resignation. Under the advice of his friends, he
+afterwards reconsidered this hasty step, withdrew his
+resignation, and resumed the command of the Eastern
+Division.</p>
+
+<p>On the fourth of July, 1831, the melancholy duty
+devolved upon General Scott, of closing the eyes of his
+esteemed and venerable friend, Ex-President Monroe,
+who expired at the city of New York on that day.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">WAR WITH THE SACS AND FOXES.</div>
+
+<p>In the summer of 1832, General Scott was ordered
+to assume the command of the troops sent to suppress
+the disturbance with the Sacs and Foxes, under Black
+Hawk, on the Illinois frontier.&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_44_44" href="#Footnote_44_44" class="fnanchor">[44]</a> He embarked at Buffalo,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_371">[Pg 371]</span>in July, on board a steamer, with two hundred
+and twenty men; Colonel Twiggs proceeding on
+another vessel, with a detachment of four hundred;
+and a third detachment, of over three hundred men,
+taking still another vessel. Bunches of cypress, rather
+than wreaths of laurel, were the trophies of this expedition.
+On the route to Chicago, the command was
+overtaken by that terrible scourge, the Asiatic Cholera.
+More than one half of the men composing the detachments
+died of the disease, or were left in hospital.
+General Scott paid every necessary attention to the
+wants of his soldiers; nurses and medical attendants,
+suitable food and clothing, were provided; and everything
+in his power was done, that could assuage the
+sufferings of disease, or the pangs of death. After a
+long delay, he left Chicago, at the head of only four
+hundred men. With these he pushed forward as rapidly
+as possible, but did not come up with General Atkinson,
+the officer in command of the troops then operating
+in that quarter, till the third of August, the day after
+the battle of the Bad-Axe, which put a finishing stroke
+to the war. On the twenty-seventh instant, Black
+Hawk surrendered himself to the American officers,
+and in September following, advantageous treaties
+were concluded with the Sacs and Foxes, and the
+Winnebagoes, by General Scott, and Governor Reynolds,
+of Illinois.</p>
+
+<p>During the agitation of the nullification question,
+when a conflict was daily expected to take place between
+South Carolina and the General Government,
+General Scott was ordered to Charleston and Savannah,
+to take command of the regular troops in that section,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_372">[Pg 372]</span>if a collision should become unavoidable. His firmness,
+and manly and dignified conduct, were productive of
+the happiest results. The state receded from her position,
+and the angry waters which discord had lashed
+into fury, were hushed and stilled by the blessed influence
+of Peace.</p>
+
+<p>Osceola, or Asceolah, “the black drink,”—as the
+name signifies,—and the hostile Seminoles of Florida
+under his command, commenced their depredations in
+the summer of 1835, and in the autumn the everglades
+resounded with their shrill war-whoop. On the twenty-eighth
+of December, Major Dade and his command were
+attacked and massacred, when on the march from Fort
+Brooke, and General Thompson, the Indian agent, and
+several companions were waylaid and killed, in sight
+of Fort King. On the thirty-first instant, General
+Clinch encountered the savages, under Osceola, on the
+banks of the Withlacoochee, and after a severe action,
+though of brief duration, put them to flight.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">THE FLORIDA WAR.</div>
+
+<p>Immediately on the receipt of the intelligence of this
+outbreak, General Scott was ordered to take command
+of the army in Florida. At four o’clock in the afternoon
+of the twentieth of January, 1836, he reported to the
+Secretary of War, and was asked when he could set
+out? “To night!” he replied promptly. His instructions,
+however, could not be prepared until the following
+day; and, on the twenty-first instant, he left
+Washington, travelling night and day until he reached
+Florida. On the twenty-second of February, he arrived
+at Picolata, and issued his orders forming the
+army into three divisions.—Previous to this time, General
+Gaines had repaired to the seat of war and commenced
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_373">[Pg 373]</span>offensive operations; but he now surrendered
+the command to General Scott.&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_45_45" href="#Footnote_45_45" class="fnanchor">[45]</a>&#x2060;—The troops on the
+west of the St. John’s were placed under General
+Clinch; those on the east of the river under General
+Eustis; and those at Tampa Bay under Colonel Lindsay.
+The three divisions then moved towards the
+Withlacoochee, where they met, in what was supposed,
+with good reason—as this had been the theatre
+of the disturbances—to be the heart of the Indian
+country; but they failed to discover the retreats of
+the savages.</p>
+
+<p>The object of this expedition not having been attained,
+another movement was ordered. Six different corps
+were organized, with which the whole country, between
+the twenty-eighth and thirtieth degrees of north
+latitude, was effectually scoured. One of these detachments
+was led by General Scott in person. Passing
+the scene of the massacre on the twenty-eighth of December,
+he crossed the Ocklewaha, and ascended the
+St. John’s from Volusia, in a steamboat. Still the
+Indians could not be discovered, in any large bodies,
+though very small parties were occasionally seen, with
+whom the troops had several skirmishes. The soldiers
+had suffered considerably by their long and fatiguing
+marches through the sickly and malarious swamps in
+the interior, the deadly exhalations of which brought
+on severe diseases, and filled the hospitals with the
+sick and suffering. It was now rendered certain that
+the savages had retired among the dense live oak and
+cypress forests, and the marshy hummocks, in the
+southern part of the peninsula. To follow them, at
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_374">[Pg 374]</span>that time, was out of the question; and General Scott
+decided to suspend his operations until another campaign.
+He then repaired to the Creek country, in
+Georgia and Alabama, where a number of outrages
+had recently been committed. Here he had fewer difficulties
+of climate or country to contend with. He
+arrived in Georgia, in May, and in less than one
+month, nearly five hundred of the refractory Creeks
+had surrendered themselves.</p>
+
+<p>While General Scott was actively engaged in the
+discharge of his duties in the Creek country, he was
+unexpectedly recalled, and, on the ninth of July, gave
+up the command to General Jesup. It being evident
+that he labored under the displeasure of the Executive,
+General Jackson, he demanded a court of inquiry, on
+his arrival at Washington. The court assembled at
+Frederick, Maryland, in October, and after a long and
+tedious investigation, fully approved of his conduct.
+The finding of the court was sustained by the then
+president, Mr. Van Buren, and General Scott soon
+after returned to the command of the Eastern Division.
+He requested permission to be again sent to
+Florida, but as the war was at that time being prosecuted
+by other officers, it was not thought advisable to
+comply with his request, and thus disturb the arrangements
+which had been made subsequent to his recall.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">THE NORTH EASTERN BOUNDARY.</div>
+
+<p>In the winter of 1837–8, General Scott rendered efficient
+services in the preservation of neutrality on the
+northern frontier, and in preventing the war which
+threatened to grow out of the outbreak in Canada, and
+what was called “the patriot excitement.” No collision
+took place with the British forces, although General
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_375">[Pg 375]</span>Scott was fully prepared for such an emergency. In
+the summer of 1838, he was ordered to take command
+of the troops in the Cherokee country,—in Georgia, Alabama,
+North Carolina, and Tennessee,—and to superintend
+the removal of the Indians west of the Mississippi.
+This duty was discharged with so much promptitude
+and humanity, that he received the grateful
+thanks of the Cherokees, as well as the express approbation
+of his own government.</p>
+
+<p>Having terminated his mission among the Cherokees,
+General Scott hastened to the north, where his almost
+unbounded popularity had produced such a favorable
+result the previous year, to take command of the troops
+ordered to preserve the integrity of the territory of
+Maine, a large part of which had long been in dispute,
+and the subject of negotiation, between the governments
+of England and the United States. He found
+in Sir John Harvey, the lieutenant governor of New
+Brunswick—in the campaign of 1813, Lieutenant
+Colonel Harvey—an old acquaintance, whom he had
+known during the late war with England. The former
+discovered that the militia of Maine were too numerous,
+and too well disposed, to be attacked by his inferior
+force, and he readily met the friendly, but dignified advances,
+of General Scott, in a similar spirit. A cessation
+of all hostile movements and operations, was mutually
+agreed on between them,—which received the
+approval of the Governor of Maine, the American Executive,
+and the British Minister. The disputed boundary
+was finally adjusted, under the Treaty of Washington,
+concluded in 1842.</p>
+
+<p>Though taking no active part in the political contests
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_376">[Pg 376]</span>of the day, and never solicitous to venture in
+“the fiery chase of ambition,” the opinions of General
+Scott on all leading questions, were so well known to
+coincide with those of the Whig party, that he was
+warmly supported as a candidate for the presidency, at
+their National Convention, held at Harrisburg, in December,
+1839. He received sixty-two votes, on the
+last ballot but one; the choice of the convention, however,
+fell on General Harrison, who was elected to the
+office in the autumn of 1840. In the summer of 1848,
+General Scott was again proposed as a candidate for
+the same high station, by his numerous friends in different
+sections of the Union, and received a highly flattering
+vote in the Whig National Convention, which
+met at Philadelphia in the month of June,—though
+the nomination was conferred on General Taylor, also
+a distinguished officer of the army.</p>
+
+<p>General Macomb, the commanding general, died at
+Washington on the twenty-fifth of June, 1841, and
+General Scott, to the universal satisfaction of the American
+people, was elevated to the head of the army, with
+the full rank of major general. The services performed
+by him in this capacity were chiefly those of a cabinet
+officer, and nothing more need be said of them, than
+that they were faithfully and appropriately rendered.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">THE WAR WITH MEXICO.</div>
+
+<p>We now approach the most brilliant epoch in the
+military history of General Scott,—his splendid campaign
+amid the burning sands and lofty mountains of
+Mexico—the land of the citron and the orange, of the
+fragrant acacia and the spreading banana; whose valleys
+teem with the glowing vegetation of an unending
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_377">[Pg 377]</span>summer, and whose hill-tops are covered with eternal
+snow;</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+  <div class="poetry">
+      <div class="verse indent8">“where the stars,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">In tropic brightness gleam,”—</div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<p class="unindent">and the overhanging rocks and rough buttresses of the
+sierras, intrenched by the “deep scars of thunder,” look
+down upon sweet Paphian bowers, blooming with the
+fragrant shrubs and flowers whose soft intoxicating
+odors lull the senses to repose, and bright with the
+plumage of the parrot and mocking bird, and the scarlet
+and purple blossoms of innumerable creepers, twining
+about the columnar stems of the tulip tree, or depending
+in heavy festoons from the graceful palm.
+Like the Alpine scenery, to which the reviewer&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_46_46" href="#Footnote_46_46" class="fnanchor">[46]</a> compares
+the poetry of Milton, “Nooks and dells, beautiful
+as fairy land, are imbosomed in its most rugged elevations.
+The roses and the myrtle bloom unchilled on
+the verge of the avalanche!”</p>
+
+<p>Repeated insults and outrages, for a long series of
+years, were heaped upon the American people and the
+American flag, by the authorities of Mexico. Her
+weakness, and her position as one of the family of republics
+on the Western Continent, alone shielded her
+from attack. Injuries perpetrated by her were tolerated,
+which, had they been committed by a monarchical
+power, would have been promptly redressed. At length,
+after the annexation of Texas to the United States—the
+citizens of which had revolted from her authority
+and achieved their independence—on the twenty-fourth
+of April, 1846, a body of Mexican lancers committed
+an unprovoked attack upon a small party of American
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_378">[Pg 378]</span>troops, on the left bank of the Rio Grande, and within
+what was claimed to be the territory of the State of
+Texas. The Congress of the United States was at this
+time in session, and on receiving official intelligence of
+the transaction, an act was passed, with great unanimity,
+declaring that a state of war existed between
+the two countries “by the act of the republic of Mexico.”
+Provision was made for filling up the regular
+regiments, the President was authorized to accept the
+services of fifty thousand volunteers, and the sum of
+ten millions of dollars was appropriated to carry on
+the war.</p>
+
+<p>Consultations were immediately held between the
+President, the Secretary of War, and General Scott;
+and the various staff officers and heads of bureaus were
+directed to prepare estimates, and furnish the <i lang="fr">matériel</i>
+for the large army about to be called into the field. It
+was originally intended that General Scott, whose abilities
+as a skilful and scientific officer were admitted to
+be unequalled in the American service, should proceed
+to the seat of war and assume the chief command.
+An unfortunate misunderstanding, however, occurred
+between him and the Executive, and he was directed
+to remain at Washington. During the summer of
+1846, nearly twenty thousand men were thrown forward.
+General Taylor, the officer commanding on the
+Rio Grande, was largely reïnforced, and strong columns
+of attack were directed upon Chihuahua and New
+Mexico, under Generals Wool and Kearny. Previous
+to this, General Taylor had driven the Mexicans from
+the left bank of the Rio Grande, by a series of brilliant
+victories, and taken possession of Matamoras. On the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_379">[Pg 379]</span>arrival of reïnforcements and supplies, he proceeded
+against Monterey, the capital of New Leon, where the
+shattered columns of the enemy had rallied; and after
+a stout resistance, this town also surrendered to his
+arms, on the twenty-fourth of September.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">EXPEDITION AGAINST VERA CRUZ.</div>
+
+<p>Before the close of the campaign, most of the
+northern provinces of Mexico had been overrun, or occupied,
+by the American troops. Victory everywhere
+perched on our banners. Still, the enemy made no
+propositions for peace. Artful demagogues, availing
+themselves of the dissensions which they had fomented
+among the Mexican people, had obtained the control of
+affairs; and they hoped to preserve their influence and
+authority, only by the successful prosecution of hostilities.
+It was therefore determined to land a strong and
+well-appointed column at Vera Cruz, and after reducing
+the formidable castle of San Juan de Ulua—the
+Gibraltar of America—to march upon the Mexican
+capital. This service demanded the highest military
+talents in the Nation, and, in accordance with the general
+desire, the hero of Chippewa and Niagara was selected
+to lead the American armies to victory and
+triumph.</p>
+
+<p>The expedition against Vera Cruz and San Juan de
+Ulua, was planned by General Scott; great pains had
+been taken to procure the necessary information in regard
+to the defences of the city and castle; and he was
+engaged for several weeks in making the necessary
+preparations. A corps of sappers and miners, mountain
+howitzer and rocket batteries, heavy ordnance,
+large quantities of missiles and ammunition, transport
+vessels, bomb-ketches, and surf-boats, to land the troops,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_380">[Pg 380]</span>were ordered to be organized and prepared, and dispatched
+to the Gulf of Mexico without delay. The
+troops destined to take part in the expedition, who were
+to proceed from the United States, were ordered to rendezvous
+at the island of Lobos, lying just off the Mexican
+shore, about one hundred and twenty miles northwest
+of Vera Cruz—a lovely perfumed island, hanging
+suspended in the waters like a basket of flowers. The
+remainder of the force was to be withdrawn from the
+army under General Taylor, and to embark for the
+same point, at Tampico, or the Brazos.</p>
+
+<p>General Scott received his final orders on the twenty-third
+of November, 1846, and on the twenty-fourth
+left Washington for New York, where he embarked for
+New Orleans. From thence he proceeded to the Rio
+Grande, and, having selected the troops to compose his
+column, repaired to the general rendezvous.</p>
+
+<p>It was late in the month of February, 1847, before
+all the troops reached the island of Lobos; the arrangements
+were then speedily completed; and just before
+nightfall on the fifth of March, the whole fleet came
+bearing down into the roadstead of Vera Cruz, under
+a full press of canvas, and blocking up the bay with a
+dense forest of masts and spars. The American naval
+squadron, under Commodore Conner, previously employed
+in blockading the Mexican ports, was present to
+coöperate in the expedition. Careful reconnaissances
+of the enemy’s coast were immediately made by the
+Commodore and General Scott, and the debarkation
+was ordered to take place on the ninth of March, opposite
+the island of Sacrificios, between four and five
+miles south of the city of Vera Cruz. The surf-boats,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_381">[Pg 381]</span>sixty-five in number, were properly marked, and the
+troops arranged in divisions, and transferred from the
+transports to the vessels of war, so as not to crowd the
+contracted anchorage with too many sail.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">LANDING OF THE TROOPS.</div>
+
+<p>At eleven o’clock in the morning of the ninth, the
+squadron weighed anchor, and at three in the afternoon
+hove to abreast of Sacrificios. The arrangements of
+Commodore Conner and General Scott were all perfect;
+nothing was amiss or in confusion; and not a single
+accident occurred to interrupt the movement. The
+small boats, which had been towed astern of the larger
+vessels, were ranged alongside, manned by the sailors,
+and received their complements of men, all fully armed
+and equipped, and their bright muskets and bayonets
+glistening with sunbeams. The steamers Spitfire and
+Vixen, with five gun boats, then formed a line parallel
+with the beach, within good grape range, to cover the
+descent. The regular brigade of General Worth, was
+the first to land. As the signal gun fired from the
+Massachusetts boomed over the waters, the line of
+boats darted for the shore.</p>
+
+<p>The day was highly favorable for the landing. It
+was bright and clear, and a soft southeasterly breeze,
+fresh from groves of balm and forests of citron trees,
+just rippled the surface of the bay, and died away in
+gentle murmurs on the sandy beach. The harbor was
+crowded with American, and foreign vessels of war;
+and every deck, mast and spar, were alive with anxious
+spectators. But a few moments elapsed ere the boats
+reached the shore, and the American flag was unfurled
+amid the joyous shouts and loud hurrahs of the brave
+tars and gallant soldiers. The remainder of the troops—the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_382">[Pg 382]</span>volunteer division of General Patterson, and the
+regular brigade of General Twiggs—numbering, in all,
+between ten and eleven thousand men, were landed by
+the surf-boats, in successive trips, before ten o’clock in
+the evening.</p>
+
+<p>No attempt was made by the enemy to oppose the
+disembarkation of General Scott’s army. There were
+between six and seven thousand men in the city and
+castle, all under the command of General Morales,
+Governor of the State of Vera Cruz; but that officer
+contented himself with remaining in security behind
+his defences, which he might well have deemed almost
+impregnable. The city was entirely surrounded by a
+stone wall, with towers at irregular intervals,—the two
+most important ones, the Santiago and the Conception,
+being on the water-front, twelve hundred and seventy
+yards distant from each other. The castle of San Juan
+de Ulua, the reduction of which was the great object of
+the expedition, stood on a bar, or small island, in front
+of the town, one thousand and sixty-two yards from the
+main land. The armament of the castle was very
+heavy; it contained about one hundred and fifty guns,
+of different calibre; and there were over one hundred
+guns mounted upon the fortifications of the city. In
+the rear of the town was a wide stretch of country,
+dotted here and there with thickets of chaparral, originally
+a level plain; but the loose sand had been drifted
+into hillocks, from twenty to two hundred and fifty feet
+high, by the perpetual blowing of the fierce <i lang="es">nortes</i>.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">LINE OF INVESTMENT.</div>
+
+<p>General Scott landed on the morning of the tenth of
+March, and made immediate preparations to invest the
+town. He had rendered himself familiar with the topography
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_383">[Pg 383]</span>of the country, and his columns moved as
+regularly to their positions, as if they had been on
+parade; General Worth occupying the right of the line
+with his command, General Patterson the centre, and
+General Twiggs the extreme left. Though half blinded
+by the whirling sand, the men cheerfully mounted over
+the clumps and ridges, dragging after them their baggage,
+tents, and artillery, and entirely indifferent to the
+fire of the enemy’s guns, which kept up a continued
+and incessant roar. Several slight skirmishes occurred,
+but the Mexicans appeared nowhere in force outside
+their strong fortifications, frowning with cannon, and
+bristling with bayonets. The investment was completed
+on the thirteenth of March, and on the same
+day safeguards were sent to the foreign consuls in the
+town. The whole line, extending from the beach opposite
+Sacrificios, to the hamlet of Vergara, on the
+coast north of Vera Cruz, was about seven miles in
+length, with an interval of from two and a half to three
+miles between it and the city.</p>
+
+<p>The plan of attack fixed upon by General Scott,
+was, in the first place, to compel the city to surrender,
+and then to take up battering positions near it, and
+assault the castle. A succession of severe northers
+cut off all communication with the fleet for several
+days, and prevented the landing of the mortars and
+heavy guns; but in the afternoon of the twenty-second
+of March, three batteries were finally established, within
+eight hundred yards of the city, under the direction of
+Colonel Totten, the Chief Engineer, and seven mortars
+planted. The city was then regularly summoned; but
+Governor Morales affected to regard the castle as being
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_384">[Pg 384]</span>embraced in the demand, and peremptorily refused to
+capitulate. Orders were therefore given to open the
+fire, and the squadron, under Commodore Perry, who
+had relieved Commodore Conner, moved up to prevent
+any further intercourse between the town and the
+foreign vessels of war. The command of the trenches
+was assigned to Colonel Bankhead, of the 2nd artillery;
+and shortly after four o’clock on the afternoon
+of the twenty-second, the three batteries commenced
+bombarding the town. A strong battery, manned by
+officers and men of the navy, and mounting three
+8-inch Paixhan guns, and three long thirty-two’s, opened
+its fire on the following day; and early in the morning
+of the twenty-fifth, a fifth battery, with four 24-pounders
+and two 8-inch howitzers, added its deep-toned thunders
+to the ceaseless din. The enemy returned the fire,
+with considerable spirit, from their batteries in the city
+and castle; but little injury was done to the trenches,
+and the Americans sustained but a trifling loss.</p>
+
+<p>In the city, the horrors of a bombardment were soon
+witnessed. The American fire was terribly destructive.
+Deep channels were ploughed in the streets, and the
+walls sunk in large masses. The air was full of blazing
+shells; houses were set on fire, and the affrighted
+inmates fled hither and thither, seeking, in vain, some
+place of refuge and safety. The city resounded, in
+every quarter, with the groans of the dying, the shrieks
+of pale-faced women and orphaned children. On the
+night of the twenty-fourth, the foreign consuls dispatched
+a memorial to General Scott, praying him to grant a
+truce to enable the neutrals to withdraw, with the
+Mexican women and children. All the terrors which
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_385">[Pg 385]</span>they depicted, had been foreseen by the American commander,
+and they had been forewarned in time. They
+had chosen to remain in the city till it was too late.
+There could now be no alternative but a surrender.
+The request of the memorialists was therefore refused,
+and the siege pressed with increased vigor.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">THE BOMBARD&shy;MENT AND CAPITU&shy;LATION.</div>
+
+<p>The firing was continued without intermission during
+the day, on the twenty-fifth, and the following night.
+Governor Morales resisted every appeal on the part of
+the inhabitants of Vera Cruz, to surrender, and it was
+only when the streets had become deluged with blood,
+that he resigned the command to General Landero, who
+immediately opened negotiations with General Scott,
+which terminated in the capitulation of the city and
+castle, with their armaments, and the surrender of the
+garrison as prisoners of war. The American batteries
+ceased playing on the morning of the twenty-sixth;
+and on the twenty-ninth, the Mexican troops marched
+out and lay down their arms, while the victors entered
+and took possession of the formidable strongholds which
+they had evacuated.</p>
+
+<p>There were but thirteen killed, and sixty-three
+wounded, on the side of the Americans, including the
+losses sustained by the navy, during the operations before
+the city of Vera Cruz, from the landing to the
+capitulation; except that there were a few casualties
+occurred on the twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth of
+March, in brief skirmishes with mounted parties of the
+enemy, who made their appearance in the rear of the
+line of investment, but were driven off by detachments
+under the command, respectively, of General P. F.
+Smith and Colonel Harney. The loss of the Mexicans
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_386">[Pg 386]</span>during the siege was not ascertained, but was variously
+estimated at from one to two thousand.</p>
+
+<p>Anticipating the speedy arrival of the dreaded
+<i lang="es">vómito</i> on the low and sickly coast of Mexico, General
+Scott hastened to put his army in motion for the interior,
+hoping to find among the cool retreats of the
+<i lang="es">terra templada</i>, a refuge from the scorching sun of the
+tropics. Lieutenant Colonel Belton, of the 3rd artillery,
+was left in command of Vera Cruz and the Castle,
+with a suitable garrison; and, on the eighth of April,
+General Twiggs took up the line of march for Jalapa,
+about ninety miles distant. The remaining columns
+followed in a few days.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile, Santa Anna, the Provisional President
+of Mexico, and General-in-chief of her armies, had
+sustained a terrible repulse near Buena Vista, on the
+twenty-third of February, when he had attacked the
+American army under General Taylor, with a force
+four times greater than that of his opponents. Escaping
+from the scene of disaster, with the wreck of his
+forces,—as the Americans did not design to penetrate
+further into the country in that direction,—and augmenting
+their numbers by forced levies, together with
+large additions from the National Guard, and considerable
+bodies of guerillereros, he proceeded to the heights
+of Cerro Gordo, nearly thirty miles east of Jalapa,
+and commenced fortifying his position. The National
+Road, along which the victorious columns of General
+Scott were approaching, here commences the ascent
+from the <i lang="es">tierra caliente</i>, to the elevated table land of
+Mexico.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">THE HEIGHTS OF CERRO GORDO.</div>
+
+<p>After crossing the Rio del Plan, the road winds up
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_387">[Pg 387]</span>among the hills—now scaling a bold sierra, and now
+disappearing in the wooded depths of some dark ravine—until,
+at the distance of two or three miles, it enters
+a narrow defile, flanked, on the left, by three ridges
+jutting out from the plateau above,—beyond which is
+the impassable channel of the river,—and, on the right,
+by the tall mountain peak of Cerro Gordo, crowned
+with the <i lang="es">Telegrafo</i>, a fortified citadel, or tower. Intrenchments
+were thrown up on the eastern extremities
+of the hills on the left, which terminated abruptly, and
+upwards of twenty guns placed in battery. In addition
+to the work on the lofty summit of Cerro Gordo, which
+contained six guns mounted on carriages, there was a
+strong battery, of six large brass guns, at the foot of
+the height, which completely enfiladed the defile.
+Breastworks for the protection of infantry were constructed
+in and about this chain of defences, within
+which Santa Anna posted about one half of his army,
+altogether consisting of not far from fifteen thousand
+men. With the remaining half, he encamped on the
+National Road, about half a mile west of the tower,
+where he had, also, a battery of five guns.</p>
+
+<p>The march of the American army from Vera Cruz
+to the Rio del Plan was entirely unobstructed,—though,
+on account of the deep sandy roads, very tedious and
+difficult. For most of the distance, the wayside was
+skirted with thickets of chaparral, with occasional
+openings, through which glimpses could be caught of
+plantations of maguey, whose bright clustering flowers
+shed their rich golden radiance on everything around;
+of waving fields of corn and sugar cane; of groves of
+citrons, oranges, and pomegranates,—the trees bending
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_388">[Pg 388]</span>down with their luscious fruit, or loaded with rare
+foliage; or of sylvan nooks, where the waters of some
+gentle streamlet trembled in the faint light stealing
+softly down through the overhanging branches of the
+majestic plane-tree, the dark-leaved banana, the lofty
+cedar, or the gigantic arbutus. Now and then, too,
+they passed the rude sheds, covered with green palmetto
+leaves, of the <i lang="es">jarochada</i>,—the humblest class
+of Mexican peasantry,—who looked upon the advent
+of these strange warriors, with emotions similar to those
+with which the ancient Aztecs regarded the mail-clad
+followers of Hernando Cortés.</p>
+
+<p>General Twiggs arrived at the Plan del Rio, on the
+eleventh of April, with his division, and encamped for
+the night; his advanced guard, under Colonel Harney,
+having driven a party of Mexican lancers from the
+ground. On the following day reconnaissances were
+pushed in the direction of the enemy’s position, which,
+it was ascertained, could be turned on the right, by the
+construction of a road leaving the main route some distance
+below the defile, and winding round to the north
+of the height of Cerro Gordo. The first and third
+brigades of General Patterson’s volunteer division,
+commanded by Generals Pillow and Shields, came up
+on the twelfth instant; the second brigade, under General
+Quitman, did not arrive in time to take part in the
+action. General Scott soon followed, and, on the sixteenth
+of April, General Worth reached the ground
+with his division. Dispositions were forthwith made
+for carrying the whole Mexican line of intrenchments
+by assault. The operations on the line reconnoitred by
+General Twiggs, were pushed with great activity, and
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_389">[Pg 389]</span>a road was constructed, extending for two or three
+miles, through thickets of chaparral, underneath jutting
+precipices, and across deep stony chasms. The fatigue
+parties continued at work, until they came within range
+of the enemy’s batteries, and orders were then issued
+to prepare for the storm.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">STORMING THE FORTIFICA&shy;TIONS.</div>
+
+<p>The division of General Twiggs was thrown forward
+on the new road, and in the afternoon of the seventeenth,
+his advanced parties seized a commanding eminence directly
+below the frowning height of Cerro Gordo, upon
+which several heavy guns were planted, that were
+drawn up during the evening by the 4th artillery and
+the volunteers of General Shields, who had been directed
+to reïnforce the regular division. The main
+attack was now ordered to be made at sunrise on the
+eighteenth of April; General Twiggs being directed to
+carry the works on the right of the road, with his division
+and the brigade of General Shields; and General
+Pillow receiving orders to attack the intrenchments
+on the series of hills on the left, aided by the fire of an
+8-inch howitzer put in position on the heights, on the
+opposite bank of the Rio del Plan. General Worth
+was required to follow the movement under General
+Twiggs with his division.</p>
+
+<p>With the first light of dawn, the command of General
+Twiggs was in motion. The main height of Cerro
+Gordo, from the sides of which the enemy’s skirmishers
+were driven by the fire of the mounted rifles, was gallantly
+ascended by the 1st artillery,&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_47_47" href="#Footnote_47_47" class="fnanchor">[47]</a> and the 3rd and
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_390">[Pg 390]</span>7th infantry, headed by Colonel Harney, under a
+plunging and withering fire of grape and musketry,
+and the fortified work on its summit carried at the
+point of the bayonet. General Shields crossed a ravine,
+hitherto deemed impassable, further to the west
+and right, with his brigade, and boldly attacked the
+battery in the rear near the principal camp of Santa
+Anna; being desperately wounded, he gave up the
+command to Colonel Baker, who promptly led on the
+column, and, with the assistance of Colonel Riley, who
+moved up with the 2nd infantry and 4th artillery, succeeded
+in carrying the battery and routing the main
+body of the enemy. The private carriage of the Mexican
+President, his baggage, and the military chest of
+the army, were captured; but Santa Anna himself,
+and his principal officers, succeeded in effecting their
+escape.</p>
+
+<p>General Pillow was less successful in the attempt
+to carry the batteries and intrenchments on the left of
+the road. The fire of the enemy proved so destructive,
+that he was obliged to call off his men; but, nothing
+daunted by one repulse, they were preparing for a
+second and more determined effort, when white flags
+were thrown out over the breastworks,—the Mexican
+force in this quarter being completely in the power of
+the American troops, who had carried the height of
+Cerro Gordo and the battery in the rear. A large
+number of the enemy having escaped just previous to
+the capture of the works, the way was cleared, and the
+mounted men and light batteries, with portions of the
+infantry, dashed after them in pursuit, under Generals
+Twiggs and Patterson. The intrenchments and fortifications
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_391">[Pg 391]</span>were all carried before the sun had reached its
+meridian, and at eventide the advanced corps halted
+and encamped within sight of the white towers of
+Jalapa.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">DEFEAT AND PURSUIT OF THE ENEMY.</div>
+
+<p>The American force in this action barely exceeded
+eight thousand men; but the network of defences constructed
+by Santa Anna to impede their advance,
+proved as frail and powerless as the gossamer’s web.
+Yet the victory was not achieved without a severe loss;
+there being four hundred and thirty-one officers and
+men killed and wounded. The Mexican loss, however,
+was much greater; there were upwards of one thousand
+killed and wounded, and over three thousand taken
+prisoners, including five general officers. Forty-three
+pieces of artillery, four thousand stands of arms, and a
+large quantity of fixed ammunition, were also captured
+by the Americans.</p>
+
+<p>Jalapa surrendered to the victors on the nineteenth
+of April, and on the twenty-second General Worth
+took possession of the important castle of Perote. No
+resistance was now made to the arms of General Scott.
+Panic and dismay were visible on every side, and had
+the American commander been in a situation to advance
+immediately upon the Mexican capital, it is more than
+probable that he would have encountered but feeble opposition.
+But, when he arrived at Jalapa, the terms
+of service of more than three thousand of his volunteer
+force were about to expire; and they returned at once
+to the coast, to reëmbark for the United States before
+the sickly season came on. Although his army was
+thereby reduced to less than seven thousand effective
+men—a feeble band left to maintain themselves in the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_392">[Pg 392]</span>heart of the enemy’s country, whose communications
+with the sea-board were soon after cut off by the guerilleros,
+who swarmed during the whole season on the
+road to Vera Cruz—he determined, nevertheless, to
+surrender not one of the advantages which he had
+gained, but to penetrate still further into the interior.
+Accordingly, General Worth moved forward, in May,
+to Puebla de los Ángelos—the City of the Angels—with
+his division and the volunteer brigade of General
+Quitman, in all but little more than four thousand
+men. On the fourteenth instant, near Amasoque, he
+had a slight skirmish with a body of lancers three
+thousand strong, under Santa Anna; but he drove
+them before him with ease, and on the fifteenth instant
+entered the city and took formal possession.</p>
+
+<p>Like Jackson and Harrison, General Scott had no
+sooner evolved his plans, than he found them counteracted
+by the orders or proceedings of the War Department.
+The experience, oftentimes the bitter experience,
+of the Revolution and the second war with Great
+Britain,—in which it was over and over again demonstrated,
+that it was essential to success that there should
+be as little interference as possible with the details and
+incidents of a campaign,—seemed to be forgotten by the
+Executive authorities at Washington. The general
+object of a campaign, or expedition, may, perhaps
+should be, designated by the President, as commander
+in chief of the army; but it may be unhesitatingly affirmed,
+that no officer is fit to conduct either, to whom
+a large discretion may not be safely confided. He will
+find cares and vexations enough, without being fretted
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_393">[Pg 393]</span>by petty annoyances, or thwarted, at every turn, in the
+most trifling circumstance.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">MARCH FROM PUEBLA.</div>
+
+<p>It was a long time before General Scott found himself
+in sufficient force to warrant him in continuing his
+march upon the Mexican capital. On the twenty-second
+of May, General Twiggs marched from Jalapa
+for Puebla, with his division. General Scott followed
+him on the twenty-third, in company with Mr. Trist,
+the American Commissioner sent to confer with the
+Mexican government, in case negotiations for peace
+should be proposed. Strong garrisons were left at Jalapa
+and Perote, under Colonels Childs and Wynkoop.
+At Puebla another tedious delay took place; but the
+time was wisely and profitably spent in drilling the
+troops. At length, the long-expected reïnforcements
+began to arrive. Generals Pillow and Cadwalader
+reached Puebla on the eighth of July, with over three
+thousand men, including the command of Colonel
+Childs; and on the sixth of August, General Pierce
+came up with twenty-five hundred men. Both columns
+had repeated, and, in every instance, successful
+encounters, with the guerilleros.</p>
+
+<p>Arrangements had already been made for the contemplated
+movement towards the far-famed halls of the
+Montezumas. The army, now consisting of ten thousand
+seven hundred men, moved forward <i lang="fr">en échelon</i>;
+General Twiggs marching on the seventh instant with
+his division, preceded by the cavalry brigade of Colonel
+Harney, and the remaining divisions, under Generals
+Quitman, Worth, and Pillow, following on successive
+days. General Scott left Puebla in person on the
+eighth instant, and on the same day overtook, and then
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_394">[Pg 394]</span>continued with, the leading division, under General
+Twiggs. The line of march followed the National
+Road, which ascends gradually through a rich rolling
+country, to the <i lang="es">"tierra fria</i>, the third of the great terraces
+into which Mexico is divided.—Elated with past
+victories, and the brilliant promise of future triumphs,
+the serried columns press on, through groves and gardens
+decked out in the most gorgeous array, through
+fields of maize and barley, and amidst towering cedars
+and lofty pines:</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+  <div class="poetry">
+      <div class="verse indent0a">“Through rocky pass, o’er wooded steep,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">In long and glittering files they sweep.”</div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<p>Not an enemy appeared to obstruct their march,
+until, on emerging from the pass of Rio Frio, they
+commenced descending into the valley, in the midst of
+which, like some bright vision of fairy land, lay the
+city of Mexico, whose shining domes and sculptured
+façades were bathed in the rich flood of golden light
+that streamed down through the transparent atmosphere.
+On approaching the hacienda of Buena Vista,
+Major Sumner, of the 2nd dragoons, who commanded
+the advanced corps, descried a party of Mexican lancers
+apparently drawn up to defend the passage. Dashing
+fiercely upon the enemy, without pausing to count
+their numbers, he compelled them to make a hasty retreat.
+General Twiggs’ division halted at Ayotla, fifteen
+miles from Mexico, on the eleventh of August,
+and as the other divisions came up, they encamped in
+the rear, about the head of Lake Chalco.</p>
+
+<p>The Mexican capital lies about three miles west of
+Lake Tezcuco, and six miles from the northwest point
+of Lake Xochimilco. It is approached by six principal
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_395">[Pg 395]</span>roads, which terminate in massive stone causeways,
+elevated from ten to twenty feet above the low marshy
+grounds that surround the city. On the east, is the
+National Road, along which the American army moved;
+on the south, the Acapulco road, entering on the San
+Antonio causeway; on the south-west, the Tacubaya
+road and causeway; on the west, the San Cosmé road
+and causeway; and on the north, are the remaining
+two roads.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">FORTIFICA&shy;TIONS OF MEXICO.</div>
+
+<p>After his repulse at Amasoque, Santa Anna returned
+to the capital, and began diligently to fortify it. The
+National Road, which runs close to the southern shore
+of Lake Tezcuco, was defended by El Peñon, an isolated
+hill three hundred feet high, seven miles from the
+city, on the south side of the road; this was garnished
+with twenty batteries mounting fifty-one guns, and
+fifteen infantry breastworks; and there was, also, a
+strong battery on the road, or causeway, four hundred
+yards in advance of the height, another by its side, and
+a third about a mile from the gate of San Lazaro.
+Between the National Road and Lake Xochimilco, is a
+lateral road, leading to the San Antonio causeway by
+way of the village of Mexicalcingo, which lies on the
+outlet or canal reaching from the lake to the city. The
+bridge over the outlet was fortified, and flanked by
+strong works,—there being, in all, eight batteries, with
+thirty-eight guns, and one breastwork for infantry.</p>
+
+<p>On the opposite side of Lake Xochimilco, upon the
+San Antonio causeway, was a <i lang="fr">tête du pont</i> of heavy
+mason work, at the bridge over the Churubusco river,
+over two miles south of the city. To the left of the
+bridge, were the church and convent of San Pablo, surrounded
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_396">[Pg 396]</span>by a high wall and designed to be used for
+purposes of defence. Between two and three miles
+further south, at San Antonio, there were extensive
+field works, containing seven batteries, mounting twenty-four
+heavy guns, and two infantry breastworks. Five
+miles northwest of the <i lang="fr">tête du pont</i>, on the Tacubaya
+causeway, and distant only one and a half miles from
+the Belén garita, or fortified gateway, was the frowning
+fortress of Chapultepec, situated on a rocky eminence
+in an oblong inclosure, the walls at the foot of
+which, on the north and south, were formed by aqueducts
+extending into the city, over heavy arches, by the
+Tacubaya and San Cosmé causeways, which were thus
+divided into double roadways. On the heights of
+Chapultepec, there were seven batteries, including those
+in the main fortification, which mounted nineteen guns,
+and seven infantry breastworks. Beneath this fortress,
+on the west, twelve hundred yards distant from the
+acclivity, was El Molino del Rey—“the Mill of the
+King”—a long range of stone buildings now occupied
+by the Mexican troops; and four or five hundred yards
+further to the west, on a retired line, was Casa de Mata,
+an old square building, with thick stone walls, and surrounded
+by ditches and bastioned intrenchments.</p>
+
+<p>In addition to the exterior chain of defences, there
+was an interior line equally formidable. A wide and
+deep navigable canal, extremely difficult, if not impossible,
+to bridge in the face of an active enemy, girded
+the city throughout its greater extent. There were
+eight main entrances, at each of which there was a fortified
+garita; and on the left and north of the Tacubaya
+causeway, a short distance in rear of the garita
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_397">[Pg 397]</span>Belén, was the Ciudadela, or citadel, a rectangular
+work, containing fifteen heavy guns. Batteries and redans
+were constructed upon and near the causeways
+and garitas, and preparations were made to connect all
+the works of the interior line by a continuous chain of
+redoubts. Guns could not be obtained in sufficient
+quantities to arm all the works, but it was the intention
+of the Mexican commander to withdraw his pieces
+from the outer batteries, whenever it became necessary
+to take up a new position. For the defence of these
+fortifications, and the protection of the city, he had collected
+an army of over thirty thousand men, mainly
+consisting of the battalions of the National Guard, but
+all well armed and equipped.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">RECONNAIS&shy;SANCES.</div>
+
+<p>From his camp at Ayotla, General Scott threw forward
+several reconnoitering parties, through whom he
+obtained definite and reliable information in regard to
+the enemy’s fortifications. He was able to break through
+the chain at any point, but his army was weak in numbers,
+and no reïnforcements could be expected for some
+time to come; consequently, he decided to husband his
+strength, and avoid the more important and stronger
+works at El Peñon and Mexicalcingo, by making a détour
+to the left, round Lakes Chalco and Xochimilco.
+He had long had this project in contemplation, and on
+the fourteenth of August, a reconnaissance was made
+in that direction, which demonstrated its entire practicability.
+Directions were forthwith given for the columns
+to be put in motion. The order of march was
+now reversed; General Worth leading the van, with
+Colonel Harney’s brigade in the advance, and the other
+divisions closely following the movement.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_398">[Pg 398]</span></p>
+
+<p>The enemy’s light troops and skirmishers were repeatedly
+encountered while making the circuit of the
+lakes; the route was found to be low and uneven, sometimes
+crossing deep pits and marshes, and at others
+running underneath overhanging scaurs which threatened
+to fall down upon the heads of the soldiers; but
+the tedious march was terminated on the evening of
+the seventeenth of August, by the arrival of General
+Worth at San Augustin, on the Acapulco road,—twenty-seven
+miles from Ayotla by this circuitous route, and
+nine miles south of the city of Mexico. In the morning
+of the eighteenth, General Worth moved along the
+causeway, towards San Antonio, to allow the other divisions
+to close on him.</p>
+
+<p>Reconnaissances having been made by the engineer
+officers, it was found that the fortifications at San Antonio
+commanded the causeway and the marshes on their
+left, as far as Lake Xochimilco. West of the road
+there was a vast field of volcanic rocks, called a <i lang="es">"pedregal</i>,
+utterly impassable for cavalry or artillery, and
+nearly so for infantry, which extended some four or
+five miles, to the San Angel road, leading from the factory
+of Magdalena, down the valley of the Churubusco
+river, to the San Antonio causeway. General Scott
+again resolved that the skill of the enemy should avail
+them nothing. His plan—to gain the San Angel road,
+and then move round to the attack of San Antonio in
+rear—was soon formed, and the necessary orders given
+to carry it into effect. A mule path was discovered
+running westward from San Augustin, and connecting
+with the San Angel road, which the engineers reported
+could be made practicable for artillery. On the morning
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_399">[Pg 399]</span>of the nineteenth instant General Pillow advanced
+to open the path with his division and the corps of sappers
+and miners,—the movement being covered by the
+division of General Twiggs.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">CONTRERAS AND CHERU&shy;BUSCO.</div>
+
+<p>In the meantime, Santa Anna had moved his forces
+to the southern side of the city. Eight guns were
+planted in battery at the <i lang="fr">tête du pont</i>; the defences of
+San Pablo were increased, and seven guns mounted;
+and General Valencia was thrown forward on the San
+Angel road, with a corps of seven thousand men, and
+twenty-four pieces of artillery, half of which were of
+heavy calibre. In the morning of the eighteenth of
+August, he had been directed to fall back to Coyoacan,
+near San Pablo; but he proceeded to the Hill of Contreras,
+situated in a bend of the San Angel road, opposite
+the opening of the mule path leading from San Augustin,
+where he intrenched himself and planted his
+guns.</p>
+
+<p>The working parties under General Pillow encountered
+innumerable difficulties, but they overcame them
+all, with cheerfulness and alacrity; and at three o’clock
+in the afternoon, he opened a lively and well-directed
+fire from a battery of field pieces, and a mountain
+howitzer battery, which he had planted within nine
+hundred yards of the Hill of Contreras. The fire was
+answered with spirit; and slugs, shot, and fragments,
+were thrown from the enemy’s guns with terrible effect.
+Meanwhile, Colonel Riley had moved round to the right,
+with his brigade of General Twiggs’ division, across
+the field of lava,—officers and men, the latter divested
+of their knapsacks, picking their way on foot,—to attack
+the Mexicans in the rear. Strong detachments of the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_400">[Pg 400]</span>enemy’s infantry, supported by heavy guns, being discovered
+moving up the slopes west of the San Angel
+road, General Pillow detached General Cadwalader,
+with his brigade, to the support of Colonel Riley.
+General Smith also crossed the <i lang="es">"pedregal</i>, with the
+remaining brigade of General Twiggs’ division; and,
+subsequently, General Scott dispatched Colonel Morgan,
+with the fifteenth infantry, and General Shields,
+with his brigade, in the same direction.</p>
+
+<p>No serious impression being made against the heavier
+metal of the enemy, by the American guns, they ceased
+playing after nightfall. A violent storm of wind and
+rain now came on, which served to heighten the anxiety
+of General Scott and his officers, to learn the situation
+and prospects of the troops who had crossed the <i lang="es">"pedregal</i>.
+Late at night, when all was uncertainty and gloom,
+Captain Lee, of the engineers, returned from the opposite
+side of the bed of lava, with the information that
+General Smith, who had taken the command of the
+detachments, numbering altogether about thirty-three
+hundred men, would storm the camp of General Valencia
+at sunrise. Shortly after the day broke on the
+twentieth instant, the intrenchments on the hill of Contreras
+were gallantly carried, as had been promised,
+and the enemy driven from their position with great
+loss.</p>
+
+<p>General Scott immediately followed the mule path
+to the San Angel road, with the brigades of General
+Pierce and Colonel Harney, and ordered a rapid pursuit
+of the retreating enemy, who were concentrating at
+San Pablo and the <i lang="fr">tête du pont</i>. At the same time,
+General Worth moved against San Antonio in front,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_401">[Pg 401]</span>with his division; but the enemy evacuated their works
+on his approach, and retired to the bridge, whither he
+pursued them as rapidly as possible.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">ROUT OF THE ENEMY.</div>
+
+<p>A general action, of more than two hours’ duration,
+which was hotly contested on both sides, now took
+place in and about the <i lang="fr">tête du pont</i> and the defences of
+San Pablo. At length, the fierce onset of General
+Worth compelled the enemy to give way on the right;
+the whole line soon staggered and broke, and a complete
+rout ensued. At the request of Colonel Harney, the
+way was cleared, and he was permitted to follow the
+retreating columns of the enemy along the San Antonio
+causeway, to the very gates of the city. His squadrons
+dashed through and through the files of Mexican infantry,
+smiting terrible blows on every side; spurring
+in upon the crowding fugitives, they cleft down all who
+refused to surrender; and up to the very garita, their
+shouts and cheers, their pistol shots and sabre strokes,
+spread terror and alarm.</p>
+
+<p>In this action, the old war-spirit of General Scott
+was fully aroused. When the clangor of the battle
+was the wildest and the highest, careless and indifferent
+in regard to the exposure of his person, he ventured
+again and again within range of the enemy’s guns.
+In the course of the engagement, he received a slight
+wound from a grape-shot, but he entered the church of
+San Pablo soon after it was taken, and was received
+by his brave soldiers with many a glad hurrah.</p>
+
+<p>This series of bloody contests finally terminated at
+sunset. During the day, the enemy lost four thousand
+men in killed and wounded, and there were over twenty-five
+hundred taken prisoners. Among the prisoners
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_402">[Pg 402]</span>were eight general officers. Thirty-seven pieces of artillery,
+and large quantities of small arms and ammunition,
+standards, pack-mules and horses, were also captured.
+The American loss was far less in proportion,
+yet it was very severe; there were one hundred and
+thirty-seven killed, eight hundred and seventy-nine
+wounded, and forty missing.</p>
+
+<p>It is not improbable, that General Scott might have
+forced his way into the city, on the night after this
+action; but it was far too hazardous an undertaking
+for eight thousand men to enter a hostile town, containing
+a population of two hundred thousand souls,
+whose convents and public edifices could be readily
+converted into fortifications, and the <i lang="es">"azoteas</i>, or flat
+roofs, of whose dwellings, would afford a secure shelter
+for thousands upon thousands of sharp-shooters. It was
+not half so well provided for defence, when Guatemozin,
+“the last of the Aztecs,” resisted for three months
+the utmost efforts of Cortés, though the latter was
+aided by two hundred thousand Tlascalan allies.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">THE ARMISTICE.</div>
+
+<p>On the night of the twentieth of August, while the
+thunders of the battle were yet echoing among the
+gorges of the Cordilleras, and ere the dark flocks of the
+<i lang="es">"zopilote</i>—the voracious vulture of the country—which
+hovered over the ensanguined plain, had descended to
+their unhallowed carnival, General Scott was visited
+by the British Consul, and other foreign residents of
+the Mexican capital, at whose suggestion, in the spirit
+of a magnanimous victor, he addressed a note to Santa
+Anna on the following morning, proposing an armistice
+with a view to negotiation. Previous to this time, on
+the morning of the twenty-first, General Scott was
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_403">[Pg 403]</span>waited on by General Mora y Villamil, who came out
+to propose a truce; but the terms not being satisfactory,
+nothing was agreed on. Upon the receipt of General
+Scott’s note, Santa Anna appointed commissioners to
+confer with such as might be appointed on the other
+side. An armistice was ultimately signed, and ratified
+on the twenty-fourth instant.</p>
+
+<p>Negotiations were instantly opened; but the duplicity
+and bad faith of the Mexican government daily
+became more and more apparent. Infractions of the
+armistice constantly took place; and on the sixth of
+September General Scott notified Santa Anna, that
+unless full satisfaction was made, before twelve o’clock,
+meridian, on the following day, he should consider it at
+an end from and after that hour. The reply of the
+Mexican President was both insulting and evasive,—and
+General Scott made immediate preparations to renew
+offensive operations. Having been informed that
+there was a cannon foundry in El Molino del Rey, to
+which a number of bells had been sent from the city to
+be cast into guns—though this afterwards proved to be
+a mistake—and that there was a large deposit of powder
+in Casa de Mata, he determined to drive the enemy
+from these works, and to seize the powder and destroy
+the foundry. The performance of this service was
+confided to General Worth, with his division, reïnforced
+by the brigade of General Cadwalader and other small
+detachments. It was brilliantly executed on the eighth
+of September, in spite of the opposition of nearly the
+whole Mexican army, but with the loss of near eight
+hundred men killed and wounded, out of thirty-four
+hundred.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_404">[Pg 404]</span></p>
+
+<p>The capital itself still remained in the possession of
+the enemy, who labored night and day to complete their
+defences. Including the works at the garitas, there
+were forty-seven batteries, designed for one hundred and
+seventy-seven guns, and seventeen infantry breastworks,
+constructed around the city. All the batteries, however,
+could not be manned at the same time, in consequence
+of the deficiency in artillery. The most formidable
+works were at the garita of San Antonio, and on
+the heights of Chapultepec.</p>
+
+<p>After completing his reconnaissances, General Scott
+made a demonstration before the southern gates of the
+city, with the divisions of Generals Pillow and Quitman,
+on the afternoon of the eleventh of September, in
+order to deceive the enemy; but when it became dark,
+he directed those officers to join him with their columns,
+at Tacubuya, whither his headquarters had been sometime
+previous removed. General Twiggs was left at
+Piedad with his division, to threaten, or make false
+attacks, on the batteries near the garita of San Antonio.</p>
+
+<p>On the twelfth instant, four heavy batteries were planted,
+and opened, on the castle of Chapultepec, less than a
+mile distant from Tacubaya,—while General Twiggs
+directed a vigorous fire upon the batteries in the vicinity
+of the southern gates. The cannonade was very effective;
+the enemy were driven from their outworks on
+the heights of Chapultepec, and the main fortification
+was seriously crippled. On the night of the twelfth,
+final arrangements were made for storming the castle
+early on the following morning. Before midday on the
+thirteenth, the works were bravely carried at the point
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_405">[Pg 405]</span>of the bayonet, by the divisions of Generals Pillow and
+Quitman,—the former being supported by the division
+of General Worth, and the latter by the brigade of
+General Smith. Immediately after the reduction of
+the castle, Generals Worth and Quitman followed the
+retreating masses of the Mexican troops along the San
+Cosmé, and Chapultepec, or Tacubaya causeways. The
+latter was the first to gain a foothold in the city; the
+garita of Belén being carried by his men shortly after
+one o’clock in the afternoon. The route taken by General
+Worth was much longer, but he steadily advanced
+on his way, driving the enemy from every redoubt and
+battery; and, during the evening, he securely established
+himself inside of the garita of San Cosmé. Between
+nine and ten o’clock, a few shells were thrown
+from a mortar brought up to his column, in the direction
+of the National Palace, on the great plaza, in order
+to obtain the exact distance.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">CAPTURE OF MEXICO.</div>
+
+<p>Santa Anna and his ministers did not think it advisable
+again to encounter the American army, or to bring
+upon the city the horrors of a bombardment. During
+the night of the thirteenth, the Mexican commander
+hastily evacuated the capital with all his forces; and
+on the morning of the fourteenth of September, General
+Scott entered and took possession with his troops,—the
+civil officers making an unconditional surrender of
+the town. For upwards of twenty-four hours, the
+Americans were annoyed by the <i lang="es">"leperos</i>, and lower
+classes of the populace, who fired, and hurled missiles
+upon them, from the roofs and windows. The vigilant
+measures of General Scott speedily checked the <i lang="fr">émeute</i>,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_406">[Pg 406]</span>and the American flag waved undisturbed over the Palacio
+of Mexico.&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_48_48" href="#Footnote_48_48" class="fnanchor">[48]</a>&#x2060;</p>
+
+<p>A rigid system of police was at once established and
+enforced by the American commander,—whose watchful
+care for the comfort and welfare of his men, whose
+regard for the rights of the citizens, and whose respect
+for his vanquished opponents, manifested at all times
+and on all occasions, won golden opinions from both
+friends and foes.</p>
+
+<p>The brilliant campaign of General Scott,—especially
+remarkable for the wonderful display of his military
+knowledge and ability, his rapidity of decision, the
+power and compass of his mind, the clearness of his
+plans, and the strategical skill which so often rendered
+all the labors of the enemy completely nugatory,—terminated
+with the fall of the Mexican capital. Large
+reïnforcements were sent to join him, by the aid of
+which his communications with the seacoast were effectually
+opened. For a few weeks, Santa Anna, who
+had resigned his office of provisional president, attempted
+to continue the war, but he eventually abandoned the
+contest and quitted the country. The new administration
+exhibited a more friendly and pacific disposition;
+the negotiations were resumed, and on the second day
+of February, 1848, a treaty of peace was signed at
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_407">[Pg 407]</span>Guadalupe Hidalgo, which was subsequently duly
+ratified.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote">RETURN TO THE UNITED STATES.</div>
+
+<p>On the nineteenth of February, General Scott was
+relieved from duty in Mexico, at his own request; and
+shortly thereafter he returned to the United States,
+where he was received with the most flattering demonstrations
+of respect. The thanks of Congress and
+a gold medal were voted to him. Resolutions of congratulation
+were adopted by a number of State Legislatures,
+and in the city of New York and other towns,
+public processions and festivities were had, in honor of
+the gallant commander and successful soldier.</p>
+
+<p>The athletic frame and robust constitution of General
+Scott indicate that his life may be prolonged for
+many years. While he is still living, and occupying
+so high a place in the estimation of his countrymen, it
+would, perhaps, be as unwise, as it is unnecessary, to
+speak of his character more in detail. It may be, that
+he is reserved for other and higher honors,—but whatever
+fortune befal him, it will ever be a proud satisfaction
+to his friends, to point to his triumphant march to
+the Mexican capital, as the most splendid achievement
+recorded in modern history.</p>
+
+<p class="p2 center">THE END.</p>
+
+<br>
+
+<div class="footnotes">
+<h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+<p class="footnote unindent"><a id="Footnote_34_34" href="#FNanchor_34_34" class="label">[34]</a> <abbr title="Tome four, page">Tom. iv., p.</abbr> 150.</p>
+
+<p class="footnote unindent"><a id="Footnote_35_35" href="#FNanchor_35_35" class="label">[35]</a> The charge was, in substance, that General Scott remarked at a
+public table, that he had never seen but two traitors, viz.: Generals Wilkinson
+and Burr,—and that General Wilkinson was a liar and a
+scoundrel. Whatever may have been the justice of Scott’s sentence,
+for violating the rules of military subordination, he had certainly strong
+reasons for associating the name of Wilkinson with that of Burr, inasmuch
+as there were then weighty suspicions attaching to the conduct of
+the former which have never been wholly removed.</p>
+
+<p class="footnote unindent"><a id="Footnote_36_36" href="#FNanchor_36_36" class="label">[36]</a> See <a href="#PIKE">Memoir of General Pike</a>, <i>ante</i>.</p>
+
+<p class="footnote unindent"><a id="Footnote_37_37" href="#FNanchor_37_37" class="label">[37]</a> Close behind Scott was Colonel Porter, who complained that the
+long legs of the former gave him an undue advantage.</p>
+
+<p class="footnote unindent"><a id="Footnote_38_38" href="#FNanchor_38_38" class="label">[38]</a> See <a href="#BROWN">Memoirs of Brown</a> and <a href="#MACOMB">Macomb</a>, <i>ante</i>.</p>
+
+<p class="footnote unindent"><a id="Footnote_39_39" href="#FNanchor_39_39" class="label">[39]</a> <i>Ante</i>, <a href="#Page_34">p. 34</a>, et seq.</p>
+
+<p class="footnote unindent"><a id="Footnote_40_40" href="#FNanchor_40_40" class="label">[40]</a> Captain Towson, with his three guns, was on the other flank, opposite
+the enemy’s left.</p>
+
+<p class="footnote unindent"><a id="Footnote_41_41" href="#FNanchor_41_41" class="label">[41]</a> <i>Ante</i>, <a href="#Page_45">p. 45</a>, et seq.</p>
+
+<p class="footnote unindent"><a id="Footnote_42_42" href="#FNanchor_42_42" class="label">[42]</a> He visited Europe again in 1829, and made the tour of France,
+Belgium and Germany—his principal object being to procure professional
+information.</p>
+
+<p class="footnote unindent"><a id="Footnote_43_43" href="#FNanchor_43_43" class="label">[43]</a> See <a href="#GAINES">Memoirs of Generals Gaines</a> and <a href="#MACOMB">Macomb</a>, <i>ante</i>.</p>
+
+<p class="footnote unindent"><a id="Footnote_44_44" href="#FNanchor_44_44" class="label">[44]</a> See <a href="#GAINES">Memoirs of Generals Gaines</a>, <i>ante</i>.</p>
+
+<p class="footnote unindent"><a id="Footnote_45_45" href="#FNanchor_45_45" class="label">[45]</a> See <a href="#GAINES">Memoirs of Generals Gaines</a>, <i>ante</i>.</p>
+
+<p class="footnote unindent"><a id="Footnote_46_46" href="#FNanchor_46_46" class="label">[46]</a> Macaulay.</p>
+
+<p class="footnote unindent"><a id="Footnote_47_47" href="#FNanchor_47_47" class="label">[47]</a> The artillery regiments in the American service, are equipped, and
+act, as infantry, with the exception of the detached companies serving
+with batteries.</p>
+
+<p class="footnote unindent"><a id="Footnote_48_48" href="#FNanchor_48_48" class="label">[48]</a> The casualties consequent upon the capture of Chapultepec and the
+reduction of the city, on the side of the Mexicans, were 1,000 killed,
+1,500 wounded, and 823 taken prisoners. The Americans lost 130 killed,
+704 wounded, and 29 missing. Among the captures of the latter, were
+100 pieces of artillery, a number of colors and standards, and small
+arms and ammunition in sufficient quantities to supply an army during
+a campaign.</p>
+</div>
+<hr aria-hidden="true" class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+</main>
+
+<div class="chapter">
+  <h2 style="display: none; visibility: hidden;">Advertisements</h2>
+  <p class="center allsmcap smaller">
+    BOOKS RECENTLY PUBLISHED BY DERBY &amp; MILLER.
+  </p>
+
+<hr class="full">
+</div>
+
+<p class="hanging"><b>The Lives of Mary and Martha, mother and
+wife of Washington</b>: by Margaret C. Conkling,
+with a steel portrait, 18mo, scarlet cloth.</p>
+
+<div class="smaller">
+<p><span class="smcap">Miss Conkling</span>, who is a daughter of Judge Conkling of Auburn, is favorably
+known as the author of Harpers translation of “Florian’s History of the Moors
+of Spain.” She also wrote “Isabel, or the Trials of the Heart.” In the preparation
+of the pretty little volume she has done a praiseworthy deed, and we hope she will
+receive the reward she merits. She has taught us in the work</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+  <div class="poetry">
+      <div class="verse indent4">“how divine a thing</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">A woman may be made.”</div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<p>The mother and wife of Washington were, in many respects, model women, and
+the daughters of America will do well to study their character—which is finely
+drawn on these pages.—<cite>Literary Messenger.</cite></p>
+
+<p class="p2">This beautifully printed and elegantly bound little work, reflecting the highest
+credit upon the skill and task of the publishers, contains biographical sketches of
+Mary, the mother, and Martha, the wife of the Father of his country. It is a most
+valuable contribution to the history of the American people, embracing not only the
+great public events of the century during which the subjects lived, but those pictures
+of home life, and that exhibition of social manners and customs, which constitute
+the most important part of life, but which, from the fact of their apparent triviality
+and intangibility, the historian generally passes over. The authoress evidently
+sympathises earnestly with her subject, and feels that in the exhibition of those
+womanly virtues which characterized the heroines of her narrative, she makes the
+most eloquent plea in favor of the dignity of her sex. It is dedicated to Mrs. <span class="smcap">Wm.
+H. Seward</span>, and contains a finely executed engraving of the wife of Washington.
+We cordially commend it to the public, and most especially our lady readers.—<cite>Syracuse
+Journal.</cite></p>
+
+<p class="p2">This acceptable and well written volume goes forth upon a happy mission,</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+  <div class="poetry">
+      <div class="verse indent0a">“To teach us how divine a thing</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">A woman may be made,”</div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<p class="unindent">by unfolding those charms of character which belong to the mother and wife of the
+hero of the Land of the Free; and in the companionship of which, while they illustrated
+the watchful tenderness of a mother, and the confiding affections of a wife,
+is shown those influences which made up the moral sentiments of a man, whose
+moral grandeur will be felt in all that is future in government or divine in
+philosophy; and one whose name is adored by all nations, as the leader of man in
+in the progress of government, to that perfection of human rights where all enjoy
+liberty and equality. To say that Miss Conkling has fulfilled the task she says a
+“too partial friendship has assigned her” faultlessly, would perhaps be too
+unmeasured praise, for perfection is seldom attained; but it will not be denied but
+that her biographies are traced in the chaste elegances that belong to the finished
+periods of a refined style, which fascinates the reader with what she has thus contributed
+to our national literature.</p>
+
+<p>The design of the volume is, to picture a <em>mother</em> fitting the “Father of his
+Country” in a light full of the inexhaustible nobleness of woman’s nature, and yet
+as possessing that subdued and quiet simplicity, where Truth becomes the Hope on
+which Faith looks at the future with a smile. The mother of Washington was
+tried in a school of practice where frugal habits and active industry were combined
+with the proverbial excellences of those Virginia matrons, who were worthy mothers
+of such men as Washington, Jefferson, Marshall, and Henry. Miss C. has pictured
+with fidelity and elegance, her views of this remarkable woman; not less beautifully
+has she sketched the character of Martha, the wife; following her from her
+brilliant manners as the Virginia belle, through the various phases of her lite, she
+gives a rapid but comprehensive view of those characteristics which make up the
+quiet refinement of manners native to her, and which ever gave her the reputation
+of an accomplished wife and lady. And with peculiar delicacy Miss Conkling has
+portrayed the thousand virtues with which she embellished a home; her amiable
+disposition and winning manners made the happiest to the purest and best of all
+men fame has chosen for its noblest achievements.—<cite>Syracuse Star.</cite></p>
+</div>
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p class="hanging"><b>The Life of Gen. Zachary Taylor</b>, 12th President
+of the United States, brought down to his inauguration.
+Steel portrait, 12mo., muslin; a new edition, by H. Montgomery.
+<span class="righttext">$1,25.</span></p>
+
+<p class="center">
+<span class="larger">∵</span> 18,000 of the above work have been sold by us.
+</p>
+
+<div class="smaller">
+<p class="p2">“<span class="smcap">The Life of Gen. Z. Taylor.</span>”—<cite>H. Montgomery</cite>, <abbr title="Esquire">Esq.</abbr>, editor of the Auburn
+Daily Advertiser, has found leisure, amid the multitude of his engagements, to get
+up the most respectable looking and carefully prepared biography of the old General
+we have yet seen. It makes a neat volume, and is printed on excellent paper and
+new type, and bound in the very best style. It cannot fail to find a tremendous sale;
+a result due alike to the book itself, and the enterprise of its busy publishers.—<cite>Albany
+Evening Journal.</cite></p>
+
+<p class="p2">“<span class="smcap">Life of General Zachary Taylor</span>, by <cite>H. Montgomery</cite>,” is the latest and
+most complete of the numerous volumes purporting to be ‘Lives’ of the General.
+The author of this work—likewise editor of the Auburn Journal—is already known
+as a forcible and pleasing writer, handling his subject with a masterly hand; these
+characteristics are fully developed in the book before us. The stirring incidents of
+General Taylor’s life, and the recent battles on Mexican soil are well portrayed—the
+very fair and impartial style of narration being a rare quality in depicting battle
+scenes. The book will repay an attentive perusal.—<cite>N. Y. Tribune.</cite></p>
+
+<p class="p2"><span class="smcap">The Life of Major General Zachary Taylor.</span> <cite>By H. Montgomery.</cite>—Another
+and still another “illustrated” Life of the great American, (would that he
+had as many lives as the publishers give him,) the American whom Carlyle would
+recognise as “a hero” worthy of his pen’s most eloquent recognition; <span class="allsmcap">THE MAN OF
+DUTY</span> in an age of Self. An American in everything; in valor, in strong muscular
+sense; in simplicity and directness and cordiality of feeling; an American in every
+thing, save in devotion to our new political God of Expediency.</p>
+
+<p>The volume before us is put forth in Auburn, by the editor of the Auburn Daily
+Advertiser, whose vigorous, fluent style, and skill in compressing his materials,
+must make his elegant volume very generally acceptable. Many of the traits
+ascribed to General Taylor have been assimilated by some of his admirers to the
+leading military characteristics of Frederick the Great. But, unlike Frederick,
+Taylor is anything but a martinet in discipline; and, though his movements of small
+bodies of troops against vast odds, are characterized by the vigorous will and iron
+determination of Frederick, the arbitrary disposition of the Prussian despot is wholly
+alien to his tolerant and candid nature. Taylor’s affectionate and almost parental
+relation to his soldiers, perhaps, alone first suggested the parallel, as we find it
+hinted in the following stanza of some verses upon one of his battles, quoted by Mr.
+Montgomery:</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+  <div class="poetry">
+      <div class="verse indent0a">“<span class="smcap">‘Old Zach!’ ‘Old Zach!’</span> the war cry rattles</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Among those men of iron tread,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">As rung ‘<span class="smcap">Old Fritz</span>’ in Europe’s battles</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">When thus his host Great Frederick led.”</div>
+  </div>
+</div><!--end poetry-container-->
+<p class="right r4">
+  <cite>Literary World.</cite>
+</p>
+</div><!--end smaller font-->
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter transnote">
+<h3>Transcriber’s Note:</h3>
+
+<p>Page headers are displayed as sidenotes. Footnotes were renumbered
+sequentially and were moved to the end of each chapter.</p>
+
+<p>Words may have multiple spelling variations, inconsistent
+hyphenation, or inconsistent use of diacriticals. Eleven misspelled
+words were corrected. Obvious printing errors, such as backwards,
+upside down, or partially printed letters and punctuation, and
+missing or excess space between words, were corrected. Final stops
+missing at the end of sentences were added.</p>
+</div>
+<div style='text-align:center'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 79059 ***</div>
+</body>
+</html>
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+This book, including all associated images, markup, improvements,
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+
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+
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+[Project Gutenberg](https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for eBook [#79059](https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/79059)