The Loyalists of America and Their Times Volume II Part 34

Early in the morning of the 16th the cannonade recommenced, while General Brock, with about 700 regulars and militia, and 600 Indians, crossed the river without opposition at the Spring Wells, three miles below Detroit, under cover of the _Queen Charlotte_ and _Hunter_. This small but resolute force, after forming upon the beach, advanced in column, flanked on the left by the Indians, with the river of Detroit on their right, and took (at the distance of a mile) position in line, in front of the American fort, into which the enemy had retired. Here every preparation was making for an immediate a.s.sault, when, to the surprise of both armies, a white flag was seen flying upon the walls of the fort, and a messenger advancing with proposals from the American general to _capitulate_. Lieutenant-Colonel McDowell, of the Militia, and Major Glegg, of the 49th Regiment, aide-de-camp to General Brock, immediately proceeded by his orders to the tent of the American general, where, in a few minutes, they dictated the terms of capitulation. By this the whole American army, including a detachment of 350 men, under Colonels McArthur and Ca.s.s, dispatched on the 14th for River Raisin to escort the provisions in charge of Captain Brush from thence to Detroit, became prisoners of war; and Detroit, with the Michigan territory, were surrendered to the British arms, without the effusion of a single drop of British blood.

"The American statements of their own strength nearly coincide with British reports, which make it 2,500 men, regulars and militia. The militia were paroled, and permitted to return home, on condition of not serving during the present war. The regulars were sent down to Quebec.

"The British force, including Indians, is acknowledged by the enemy to have consisted of only 1,030 men or thereabout. Our own, and perhaps more correct reports, state it to have consisted of 350 regular troops, 400 militia, and 600 Indians, who, upon the present occasion, are said not to have sullied the glory of the day by any wanton acts of savage barbarity incident to the Indian mode of warfare. Twenty-five pieces of iron and eight pieces of bra.s.s ordnance, with an immense quant.i.ty of stores of every description, and one armed brig, called the _John Adams_ (afterwards named _Detroit_), fell into the hands of the British"

[besides nearly 3,000 stand of small arms, much ammunition, and three weeks' provisions for the whole army]. (Thompson's History of the War of 1812, pp. 67-72.)

"Thus ended this (first) rash and imbecile attempt at the conquest of Canada. The loss of Mackinac and Detroit, with the flower of their army, at the outset of the war, was a disgrace that filled the American Government with consternation and alarm, as their plans of aggrandis.e.m.e.nt were not only totally defeated, but their whole western frontier was laid open to the inroads of the hostile Indians, and at the mercy of a people still warm with indignation at the late invasion."--_Ib_., pp. 72, 73.

General Brock, the day after taking Detroit, addressed to the inhabitants of the Michigan territory the following Proclamation:

"Whereas the territory of Michigan was this day, by capitulation, ceded to the arms of his Britannic Majesty, without any other condition than the protection of private property; and wis.h.i.+ng to give an early proof of the moderation and justice of his Majesty's government, I do hereby announce to all the inhabitants of the said territory, that the laws heretofore in existence shall continue in force until his Majesty's pleasure be known, and so long as the peace and safety of the said territory will admit thereof; and I do hereby also declare and make known to the said inhabitants, that they shall be protected in the full exercise and enjoyment of their religion--of which all persons, both civil and military, will take notice, and govern themselves accordingly.

"All persons having in their possession, or having knowledge of any public property, shall forthwith deliver in the same, or give notice thereof to the officer commanding, or to Lieutenant-Colonel Nicholl, who are duly authorized to receive and give the proper receipts for the same.

"Officers of militia will be held responsible that all arms in possession of the militiamen be immediately delivered up; and all individuals whatever who have in possession arms of any kind, will deliver them up without delay.

"Given under my hand, at Detroit, this 16th day of August, 1812, and in the 52nd year of his Majesty's reign. G.o.d save the King.

(Signed) "ISAAC BROCK, "_Major-General_."

The purport and spirit of this proclamation was very different from those issued by successful American commanders in former years, when they required the conquered to take a new oath of allegiance, to enrol themselves in a new army under pain of confiscation of property, imprisonment, and even death. The true genius of English government is justice, law, and liberty; the genius of democratic government is the domination of party, and the spoils to the victors. In the conquest of a vast territory by General Brock, there was no plunder or sacrifice of life, by Indian or soldier, much less plunder for the benefit of the general. It was not so with the promising, threatening, ostentatious, grasping General Hull, who, according to the Patriotic Society of Upper Canada (of which hereafter), is thus reported:

"In 1812, General Hull invaded the British province of Upper Canada, and took possession of the town of Sandwich. He threatened (by proclamation) _to exterminate the inhabitants if they made any resistance_. _He plundered_ those with whom he had been on habits of intimacy years before the war. Their plate and linen were found in his possession after his surrender to General Brock. He marked out the loyal subjects of the King as objects of his peculiar resentment, and consigned their property to pillage and conflagration."

General Brock left Colonel Proctor in command of Detroit, and returned to York (Toronto), where he arrived the 27th of August, amidst the heartfelt acclamations of a grateful people.

"In the short s.p.a.ce of nineteen days he had, with the a.s.sistance of the Provincial Parliament, settled the public business of the province, under the most trying circ.u.mstances that a commander could encounter, and having united and prepared his little army, had effected a long and fatiguing march of several hundred miles; and with means incredibly limited, had repelled an invading enemy of double his force, pursued him into his own territory, and finally compelled him to surrender his whole army and jurisdiction; thus extending the British dominions, without bloodshed, over an extent of territory almost equal to Upper Canada."--"Our little navy on Lake Erie, and on Lake Ontario, though the enemy were making the most active exertions, still maintained a decided ascendency, and upon it depended the safety of Upper Canada and the future fate of the British provinces. General Brock intended to have followed up his first success by an attempt on Niagara, a fort nearly opposite to Fort George; which, in all probability, as well as Oswego and Sackett's Harbour, the nursery of the enemy's fleet and forces, would have yielded to the terror of his name and the tide of success that attended his arms; but, _controlled by his instructions_, he was prevented from adopting measures which probably might have for ever blasted the hopes of the United States in Upper Canada." (Christie.)

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 195: The brother-in-law and elder brother of the writer were ordered by General Brock to select the fleetest horses of those captured from the Americans, in order to convey the intelligence of the capture of Detroit, and of General Hull and army, to Colonel Talbot, at Port Talbot, and to General Vincent, commander of the forces at Burlington Heights. They had wrought all night before they received their orders, and travelled, one of them two days and two nights, and the other two nights and three days without sleep. But these deeds were not peculiar; similar deeds were performed on the Niagara and Lower Canada frontiers during that and the following years. The Loyalist defenders of Canada of those days were patriots and soldiers to the heart's core; and they had wills, and nerves, and muscles "to endure hardness as good soldiers," in the hardest and darkest hours of our country's trials and struggles.

It may be added, that the horse on which the elder brother of the writer of these pages rode, in execution of the orders of General Brock, was afterwards stolen by the traitor Wilc.o.x, who escaped to the United States, but was afterwards killed while invading Fort Erie.]

[Footnote 196: I think the reader will be interested in the following particulars, which I have collected of this remarkable Indian Chief:

"In the year 1809, Tec.u.mseh, attended by several hundred warriors, encamped near Vincennes, then capital of Indiana, and demanded an interview with the Governor of the State; for which interview was a.s.sembled a Council, when it was observed there was no vacant seat for the n.o.ble chief, Tec.u.mseh. One of the Council officers hastily offered his seat, and having respectfully said to him, 'Warrior, your Father, General Harrison, offers you a seat.' 'My Father,' exclaimed Tec.u.mseh, extending his arms towards the heavens, 'There, son, is my Father, and the earth is my mother; she giving me nourishment, and I dwell upon her bosom.' He then sat himself upon the ground."

"The Indian warrior Tec.u.mseh, a Shawnee chief, himself and warriors, attached themselves to the cause of Great Britain, on the declaration of the American war of 1812. * *

"Tec.u.mseh's first engagement, under the British Colonel Proctor, then in command of the Western District, was attacking and defeating a detachment of Americans under Major Howe, from Detroit to the Beaver river. In this affair, General Hull's despatches, and correspondence of his troops, fell into the hands of Tec.u.mseh; and it was partly from the discouraging nature of their contents that General Brock attempted the capture of the American army under General Hull."

"On the 16th of July, Tec.u.mseh and a few of his warriors pursued near Sandwich [on the Canadian side of the river] a detachment of the American army, under Colonel McArthur, and fired on the rear guard. 'The colonel suddenly faced about and gave orders for a volley, when all the Indians fell flat on the ground, with the exception of Tec.u.mseh, who stood firm on his feet, with apparent unconcern."

"As Colonel Proctor retired to Na.s.sau (Moravian town), on the Thames, and when the regulars and militia had surrendered on the right, the Indians carried on the contest on the left, and did not retreat until the day was lost, and thirty-three of their number had been slain, including the n.o.ble warrior, Tec.u.mseh. After his fall, his lifeless corpse was recovered with great interest by the American officers, who declared that the contour of his features was majestic even in death. He left a son who fought by his side when he fell, and was seventeen years of age.

"The Prince Regent, in 1815, as a mark of respect to the memory of his father, sent a handsome sword as a present to his son."]

[Footnote 197: Christie's War of 1812, pp. 65, 66.]

CHAPTER LIII.

SECOND AMERICAN INVASION OF UPPER CANADA AT QUEENSTON--DISPROPORTION OF AMERICAN AND CANADIAN FORCES--DEATH OF GENERAL BROCK--DEFEAT AND LOSS OF THE AMERICANS--ARMISTICE--INCIDENTS WHICH OCCURRED ON THE NIAGARA FRONTIER, AT FORT ERIE, AS RELATED BY LIEUTENANT DRISCOLL, OF THE 100TH REGIMENT.

The _second invasion_ of Upper Canada took place on the Niagara frontier, at Queenston. We will give the account of it (condensed) from the History of the War by Mr. Thompson, of the Royal Scots:

"Dispirited at such a total failure in General Hull's expedition, it became late in the season before the American Government could collect a force on the frontiers with which, with any safety, another descent upon Canada could be made. At length, Major-General Van Rensellaer, of the New York Militia, with a force of _four thousand men_ under his command (1,500 of whom were regular troops), established his camp at Lewiston, on the Niagara river, nearly half-way between Lake Ontario and the Falls.

"Before daylight on the morning of the 13th of October, a large division of General Van Rensellaer's army, under Brigadier-General Wadsworth, effected a landing at the lower end of the village of Queenston (opposite to Lewiston), and made an attack upon the position, which was defended with the most determined bravery by the two flank companies of the 49th Regiment, commanded by Captains Dennis and Williams, aided by such of the militia forces and Indians as could be collected in the vicinity.

"Major-General Brock, on receiving intelligence, immediately proceeded to that post, from Fort George, and arrived at the juncture when the handful of British regulars was compelled to retire for a time before an overwhelming force of the enemy. However, on the appearance of their gallant chief, the troops were seized with a fresh animation, and were led on by that brave general to a renewed exertion to maintain the post; but at the moment of charging the enemy's position, within pistol-shot of the line, General Brock was killed by a musket ball, and with him the position was for a short time lost. Colonel Macdonell, his provincial aide-de-camp, was mortally wounded about the same time, and died shortly afterwards of his wounds.

"A reinforcement of the 41st Regiment, commanded by Captain Derenzy, with a few of the Lincoln Militia and a party of Indians, were immediately marched from Fort George to the succour of the troops at Queenston, under the direction of Major-General Sheaffe, who now a.s.sumed the command; and persons who were, by their situations in life and advanced age, exempt from serving in the militia, made common cause, seized their arms, and flew to the field of action as volunteers.

"The conflict was again renewed, and from the advantageous position of Norton, the Indian chief, with his warriors, on the woody brow of the high grounds, a communication was opened with Chippewa, from whence Captain Bullock, of the 41st Regiment, with a detachment of that corps, was enabled to march for Queenston, and was joined on the way by parties of militia who were repairing from all quarters, with all the enthusiasm imaginable, to the field of battle. The fight was maintained on both sides with a courage truly heroic. The British regulars and militia charged in rapid succession against a force in number far exceeding their own, until they succeeded in turning the left flank of their column, which rested on the summit of the hill. The event of the day no longer appeared doubtful."

"Major-General Van Rensellaer, commanding the American army, perceiving his reinforcements embarking very slowly, recrossed the Niagara river to accelerate their movements; but, to his utter astonishment, he found that at the very moment when their services were most required, the ardour of the engaged troops had entirely subsided. He rode in all directions through his camp, urging the men by every consideration to pa.s.s over. Lieutenant-Colonel Bloome, who had been wounded in the action and recrossed the river, together with Judge Peck, who happened to be in Lewiston at the time, mounted their horses and rode through the camp, exhorting the companies to proceed--_but all in vain_. Crowds of the United States Militia remained on the American bank of the river, to which they had not been marched in any order, but run as a mob; _not one of them would cross_. They had seen the wounded re-crossing; they had seen the Indians, _and were panic-struck_." (American Report of the Battle of Queenston.)

"No sooner had the British forces succeeded in turning the left flank of the enemy, than he visibly began to give way; one grand effort was therefore made upon the crest of his position, in which the heights were carried at the point of the bayonet.

"General Van Rensellaer, having found that it was impossible to induce a man to cross the river to reinforce the army on the heights, and that the army had nearly expended its ammunition, immediately sent boats to cover their retreat; but the fire, which was maintained upon the ferry from a battery on the bank of the lower end of Queenston, completely dispersed the boats, and many of the boatmen re-landed and fled in dismay.

"Brigadier-General Wadsworth was therefore compelled, after a vigorous conflict had been maintained for some time on both sides, to surrender himself and all his officers, with 900 men, between three and four o'clock in the afternoon, to a force far inferior to his in numbers--a circ.u.mstance which speaks loudly in favour of the plan of defence and attack adopted by Major-General Sheaffe.

"The loss of the British in this battle did not exceed 100 men, including killed, wounded, and missing; while that on the side of the Americans, including deserters, was not less than 2,000; but amongst the killed, the British Government and the country had to deplore the loss of Sir Isaac Brock, one whose memory will long live in the warmest affections of every British subject in Canada."[198]

"On the morning subsequent to the battle of Queenston, General Sheaffe entered into an armistice with the American general commanding at Lewiston, to be confined to that part of the frontier comprised between Lakes Ontario and Erie, subject to a condition that forty-eight hours'

notice should be given by either party for a recommencement of hostilities [a condition violated by the American commander]. This arrangement [considered disadvantageous to the British cause] was at first censured by individuals unaware of the motives by which General Sheaffe was actuated. It was not, in the flush of victory, taken into consideration that the number of American prisoners then in his charge far exceeded the numerical strength of his army, when the Indian force was withdrawn; and that, with his very limited means of defence, he had a frontier of forty miles to protect."[199]

Before noticing the _third_ American invasion of Canada, in 1812, or the second on the Niagara frontier, we will conclude this Chapter by adding a few incidents on the Niagara river frontier, at Fort Erie, after the death of General Brock, October 13, 1812, by Lieutenant Driscoll, of the 100th Regiment:

"I was stationed at Fort Erie on the memorable 13th of October, 1812. At daybreak, having returned with my escort as visiting rounds, after a march of about six miles in muddy roads through the forests, and about to refresh the inward man, after my fatiguing trudge, I heard a booming of distant artillery, very faintly articulated.

"Having satisfied myself of the certainty of my belief, hunger, wet, and fatigue were no longer remembered; excitement banishes these trifling matters from the mind; and I posted off to my commanding officer to report the firing, now more audible and rapid.

"I found my chief, booted, spurred, and snoring--lying, as was his wont, on a small hair mattress on the floor in his barrack-room, which boasted of furniture, one oak table covered with green baize, a writing-desk, a tin basin containing water, and a bra.s.s candlestick, which had planted in it a regulation mutton-dip, dimly flickering its last ray of light, paling before the dawn, now making its first appearance through the curtainless window.

"The noise I made on entering the major's sleeping and other apartment awoke him. As he sat up on his low mattra.s.s, he said, 'What is the matter?' 'Heavy firing down the river, sir.' 'Turn the men out.' 'All under arms, sir.' 'That'll do.'

"By this time he was on his legs--his hat and gloves on. His hutman was at the door with his charger, and his spurs in his horse's flanks in an instant--leaving the orderly, hutman, and myself to double after him up to the fort, some hundred yards off.

"As we reached it, the men were emerging through the gate in measured cadence, and we were on our way to the batteries, opposite the enemy's station at Black Rock.

"Before we reached our post of alarm the sun was up and bright. We had not a.s.sumed our position long before an orderly officer of the Provincial Dragoons rode up, and gave us the information that the enemy were attempting to cross at Kingston, and that we must annoy them along the whole line, as was being done from Niagara to Queenston, by any and every means in our power short of crossing the river. Everything was ready on our parts. The enemy all appeared asleep, judging from the apparent quiet that prevailed on their side of the river.