Laura Secord, the heroine of 1812 Part 33

NOTE 12, page 27.

Sergeant George Mosier.

This character is singular in being the only pure invention in the poem; and the name was chosen as being most unlikely to be borne by any one in the neighbourhood of Queenston. By one of those coincidences, however, that are not unknown, it appears that there was a Captain Mosier living at Newark in 1812, and commanding a vessel on Lake Ontario. Captain Mosier was of some service to the British Government, and on one occasion was able to be of special use in carrying off and concealing, until the mischievous effect was over, a somewhat hot-headed gentleman who in the ardour of his loyalty had thought it his solemn duty to cross the river and bayonet the sentinel at Fort Niagara.

NOTE 13, page 27.

--all is pretty quiet still Since Harvey struck them dumb at Stony Creek.

Along the Lake bold Yeb holds them fast, And Erie-way, Bishopp and Evans back him,

"On the withdrawal of the British troops, the battlefield of Stony Creek was, as before said, for a short s.p.a.ce re-occupied by the Americans under Colonel Burns, a cavalry officer, upon whom the command had devolved. He merely remained long enough to destroy the tents ... and stores. He then rapidly retired to the protection of the lines of Fort George, though in executing this manoeuvre he was intercepted and suffered much. On their advance the Americans had been accompanied all along the lake sh.o.r.e by a flotilla of boats and batteaux. Burns fell back upon this support, and embarked his wounded, and such of his men as had not yet got under cover, and was slowly creeping down the coast to the place from whence he came, when, on the 8th June, Sir James Yeo, who by this time had become master of his own movements, and had got out of Kingston, appeared in the offing; intelligence from the sh.o.r.e had apprised him of the state of things, and of the position of the enemy; and Richardson (the late James Richardson, D.D.) dwells with sailorly impatience on the perversity of a calm.... A breeze sprung up and the squadron closed in with the sh.o.r.e, cutting off the twelve rearmost boats of the American flotilla, laden with valuable supplies and stores.

Perceiving an encampment in the woods on the beach, the Commodore disembarked in the s.h.i.+p's boats two companies of regulars under Major Evans of the 8th Regiment. This active officer landed, and in the evening having been reinforced by two companies from Burlington Heights under Colonel Bishopp, the second deserted American camp was entered. It was in a state of conflagration, ... but the captors saved from the flames 500 tents, 140 barrels of flour, 100 stand of arms.... Thus did this exploit of Harvey free the whole Peninsula from the invaders, and threw them back upon the mere edge of the frontier with a deep and dangerous river in their rear, between them and their supports and supplies."--_Col. Coffin's Chronicles of the War of 1812_. (_See_ also Appendix.)

NOTE 14, page 29.

She, our neighbour there At Queenston.

This brave woman was Mrs. Maria Hill, a soldier's wife, who pitying the hungry condition of men who had been called out before day-break on a cold October morning, to meet a foe already in partial occupation and temporarily victorious, had no means of procuring or cooking supplies, and indeed could not even break their fast, except by the intervention of those whose property they, for the time, had been unable to defend.

Mrs. Hill carried her little stores on to the field, and leaving her babe, who crowed and cheered, it is said, as though mightily diverted by the sight of the red-coats, under the shelter of a wood-pile, lighted fires, boiled water, and carried tea and food to as many of the men on the field as she could supply.

NOTE 15, page 30.

The Lady Harriet Acland.

This lady was the daughter of Stephen, first Earl of Ilchester, and accompanied her husband, Major John d.y.k.e-Acland, to Canada in 1776.

The story put into the mouth of Sergeant George Mosier may be found in the _Sat.u.r.day Magazine_ for May, 1835, and also in Burke's "Romance of the Aristocracy." Her beauty, bravery and tender love for her husband made the name of Lady Harriet Acland an honour and delight among the men of her husband's regiment, and thus it is that Sergeant Mosier is made her historian with great propriety.

In the _Gentleman's Magazine_ for February, 1778, I also find the following note, p. 69, in "Extracts from the Congress Accounts of the Northern Expeditions":

"Oct. 11.--Some letters pa.s.sed between the Generals, the first from Gen.

Burgoyne, by Lady Acland, whose husband was dangerously wounded, recommending her Ladys.h.i.+p to the care and protection of Gen. Gates. Gen.

Gates's answer, in which he expresses his surprise that his Excellency, after considering his preceding conduct, should think that he could consider the greatest attention to Lady Acland in the light of an _obligation_."

NOTE 16, page 30.

Save perhaps the Baroness.

The Baroness Reidessel, the wife of one of the officers of the Hessians.

This lady, together with the wives of Major Harnage and Lieutenant Reynell, was with Lady Acland during the painful march that preceded the action of the 19th September, 1777. They had followed the route of the artillery and baggage as being less likely of attack on the road, and when the engagement begun found themselves at a little uninhabited hut, from whence they could hear the roll of the guns that were carrying death to scores of brave men. Here they had to endure a great trial, for their only refuge was also the only place to which the wounded, who soon began to arrive in great numbers, could be brought for first care. Soon Major Harnage was brought in desperately wounded. Not long after the news arrived that Lieutenant Reynell was shot dead, and before the day was done Major Acland was a prisoner dangerously wounded. Herself saved for the present such terrible trials, Baroness Reidessel distinguished herself by her ministrations to her suffering companions, and to the dying and wounded around, thus gaining the affectionate remembrance of many a poor fellow who had no other ray of comfort in his anguish.

NOTE 17, page 37.

"Rule Britannia."

This, together with "The King: G.o.d bless him," and "The Duke of York's March" were at this period new and favourite tunes all over the British Empire. In the _Times_, Oct. 3, 1798, under the heading "Drury Lane Theatre," it is reported that "after the play the news of Admiral Nelson's victory (over the French under Admiral Brueys at Rosetta) produced a burst of patriotic exultation that has been rarely witnessed in a theatre. 'Rule Britannia' was l.u.s.tily called for from every part of the house, and Messrs. Kelly, Dignum, Sedgwick, Miss Leak and Mrs. Bland came forward and sang it, accompanied by numbers of the audience. It was called for and sung a second time. The acclamations were the loudest and most fervent we have ever witnessed. The following lines, written for the occasion, were introduced by Mr. Dignum and Mr. Sedgwick:

"'Again the tributary strain Of grateful Britons, let us raise; And to the heroes on the main, Triumphant add a Nelson's praise.

Though the "Great Nation" proudly boasts Herself invincible to be, Yet oft brave Nelson still can prove Britannia Mistress of the Sea.'

"The audience was not satisfied with this repeated mark of exultation, but in the effusion of enthusiasic loyalty called for 'G.o.d Save the King,' which was received with reiterated plaudits."

In another column of the same issue it is told that, "A person last night in the gallery of Drury Lane House calling frequently in a boisterous manner for the tune of 'Britons, Strike Home!' was immediately silenced by the appropriate observation of another at some distance from him, 'Why, d.a.m.n it, they have, haven't they?'"

The great popularity of "Rule Britannia" was owing to its entire consonance with the spirit of the nation, a popularity not even yet diminished. A further instance of its use in the celebration of a great national event is given in the _Times_, Nov. 7, 1805, in which is recorded the official account of the Battle of Trafalgar and the death of Nelson. At Covent Garden, where both the Kembles were then playing together with Mrs. Siddons, a "hasty but elegant compliment to the memory of Lord Nelson" was presented. It "consisted of columns in the foreground decorated with medallions of the naval heroes of Britain. In the distance a number of s.h.i.+ps were seen, and the front of the picture was filled by Mr. Taylor and the princ.i.p.al singers of the theatre. They were grouped in an interesting manner with their eyes turned toward the clouds, from whence a half-length portrait of Lord Nelson descended with the following words underwritten, 'Horatio Nelson, Ob. 21st Oct.'" Mr.

Taylor and the other performers then sang "Rule Britannia," verse and chorus. The following additional verse, written by Mr. Ashley, of Bath, was introduced and sung by Mr. Taylor with the most affecting expression. It was universally encored:--

"Again the loud-toned trump of fame, Proclaims Britannia rules the main; While sorrow whispers Nelson's name, And mourns the gallant hero slain.

Rule, brave Britons, rule the main.

Revenge the G.o.d-like hero slain."

NOTE 18, page 37.

Can you wonder? ... shot at, etc.

The cruel treatment of the Loyalists, or _King's Men_, by the _Continentals_, as they called themselves, is one of the features of this painful time, records of which abound: the story of Moody is well known: another as authentic may be here quoted. The Rev. G. A.

Anderson, late Chaplain to the Reformatory at Penetanguishene, in writing to the press with reference to the U. E. L. Celebration in 1884, says:

"My grandfather, Samuel Anderson, was born of Irish parents, near Boston, 4th May, 1736.... He joined the King's forces, serving under General Abercrombie ... then under General Amherst, ... and was at the taking of Ticonderoga.... In 1775 he was offered a captaincy in the _Continental_ service which he peremptorily refused. Some time after he was offered the command of a regiment; this he also refused. He was at once suspected of being a _King's Man_, taken prisoner, and with several others, confined in Litchfield gaol, where he suffered almost death for two years. One morning, having heard that he and his fellow-prisoners were to be shot the following day, being a powerful man he wrenched the iron bars from the windows, and, with his companions, escaped to Canada...."

A quotation from the "Boston Confiscation Act," Sept., 1778, ch. 48, speaks volumes as to the att.i.tude of the new Republic towards the Loyalists: "In Ma.s.sachusetts a person suspected of enmity to the Whig cause could be arrested under a magistrate's warrant, and banished, unless he would swear fealty to the friends of liberty; and the select-men of towns could prefer charges of political treachery in town meetings, and the individual thus accused, if convicted by a jury, could be sent into the enemy's jurisdiction. Ma.s.sachusetts also designated by name, and generally by occupation and residence, three hundred and eight of her people, of whom seventeen had been inhabitants of Maine who had fled from their houses, and denounced against any one of them who should return apprehension, imprisonment and transportation to a place possessed by the British, and for a second voluntary return, without leave, death, without the benefit of clergy. By another law the property of twenty-nine persons, who were denominated 'notorious conspirators,'

was confiscated; of these fifteen had been appointed 'Mandamus Councillors,' two had been Governors, one Lieutenant-Governor, one Treasurer, one Attorney-General, one Chief Justice and four Commissioners of Customs."--Lorenzo Sabine, _Historical Essay prefixed to Biographical Sketches of the American Loyalists_. (See further, chapters 39 and 41, vol. 2, Ryerson's _Loyalists of America and Their Times_. _See_ also Appendix.)

NOTE 19, page 38.

"James Coffin is good."

The name of Coffin is famous in the annals, military, naval and civil, of Canada, and is scarcely less marked in the history of the earlier United States of America. Two branches of the family came, U. E.

Loyalists, to Canada in 1775-78. One established itself on the St. John, New Brunswick, the other in Quebec. "Twenty years after the landing from the _Mayflower_, the first of the name put in an appearance from Brixton, near Plymouth, South Devon, England, at Newbury Port, in New Hamps.h.i.+re." James Coffin, mentioned above, was the sixth son of John Coffin, who settled in Quebec, and did such good service at the _Pres-de-ville_, when Montgomery and Arnold invaded the Province.

Like all the Coffins, James was of a genial and kindly disposition, and his appointment as a Commissary Officer permitted opportunities for consideration and courtesy to people of all ranks, which he did not fail to avail himself of. He died a.s.sistant Commissary-General in 1835, at Quebec.

NOTE 20, page 40.