LONTARIO Fr. GEORCE QUEENSTOWNO BLACK ROCK BurFALO thousand men, and on the 4th of August appeared before Fort Erie, and commenced preparations for a siege. From the 7th until the 14th, there was an almost incessant cannonade between the besiegers and the besieged. On the 15th, Drummond made a furious assault, but was repulsed, with a loss of almost a thousand men. Very little was done by either party for nearly a month after this affair, when General Brown, who had assumed command again, ordered a sortie [Sept. 17] from the fort. It was successful; and the Americans pressed forward, destroyed the advanced works of the besiegers, and drove them toward Chippewa. Informed, soon afterward, that General Izard was approaching,' with reinforcements for Brown, Drummond retired The Americans abandoned and destroyed Fort Erie in November [November 5], and, crossing the river, went into winter-quarters at Buffalo, Black Rock, and Batavia. NIAGARA FRONTIER. to Fort George. Let us consider the military operations in northern New York, for a moment. Very little of interest transpired in the vicinity of Lake Champlain until toward the close of summer, when General Izard' marched [August, 1814] from Plattsburg, with five thousand men, to reinforce General Brown on the Niagara frontier, leaving General Macomb' in command, with only fifteen hundred men. Taking advantage of this circumstance, General Prevost, who led an army of fourteen thousand men, chiefly Wellington's veterans, to the invasion of the United States, marched for Plattsburg. During the spring and summer, the British and Americans had each constructed a small fleet on Lake Champlain, and those were now ready for operations; the former under Commodore Downie, and the latter under Commodore Macdonough." General Prevost arrived near Plattsburg on the 6th of September, when 1 Note 3, page 427. Page 425. George Izard was born in South Carolina, in 1777, and made military life his profession. After the war he left the army. He was governor of Arkansas Territory in 1825, and died at Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1828. Alexander Macomb was born in the fort in Detroit, in 1782, and entered the army at the age of seventeen years. He was made a brigadier in 1814. In 1835, he was commander-in-chief of the armies of the United States, and died in 1841. Thomas Macdonough was a native of Delaware. He was twenty-eight years of age at the time of the engagement at Plattsburg. The State of New York gave him one thousand acres of land on Plattsburg Bay, for his services. He died in 1825, at the age of thirty-nine years. Macdonough was always remarkable for cool courage. On one occasion, while first lieutenant of a vessel lying in the harbor of Gibraltar, an armed boat from a British man-of-war boarded an American brig anchored near, in the absence of the commander, and carried off a seaman. See page 401. Macdonough manned a gig, and with an inferior force, made chase and recaptured the seaman. The captain of the man-of-war came aboard Macdonough's vessel, and, in a great rage, asked him how he dared to take the man from his majesty's boat. "He was an American seaman, and I did my duty," was the reply. "I'll bring my ship alongside, and sink you," angrily cried the Briton. "That you can do," coolly responded Macdonough; "but while she swims, that man you will not have." The captain, roaring with rage, said, "Supposing I had been in the boat, would you have dared to commit such an act?" "I should have made the attempt, sir," was the calm reply. "What!" shouted the captain, "if I were to impress men from that brig, would you interfere ?" "You have only to try it, sir," was Macdonough's tantalizing reply. The haughty Briton was over-matched, and he did not attempt to try the metal of such a brave young man. There were cannon-balls in his coolness, full of danger. Macomb's little army, and quite a large body of militia under General Mooers, retired to the south side of the Saranac, and prepared to dispute its passage by the invaders. On the morning of the 11th, the British fleet came around Cumberland Head, with a fair wind, and attacked Macdonough's squadron in Plattsburg Bay. At the same time, the British land troops opened a heavy cannonade upon the Americans. After a severe engagement of two hours and Macdonough. twenty minutes, Macdonough became victor, and the whole British fleet was surrendered to him. The land forces fought until dark, and every attempt of the British to cross the Saranac was bravely resisted. During the evening, Prevost hastily retreated, leaving his sick and wounded, and a large quantity of military stores, behind him. The British loss, in killed, wounded, and deserted, from the 6th to the 11th, was about twenty-five hundred; that of the Americans, only one hundred and twenty-one. The victory was applauded with the greatest enthusiasm throughout the land, and gave emphasis to the effect. of another at Baltimore, which had been recently achieved. When the British squadron appeared off Cumberland Head, Macdonough knelt on the deck of the Saratoga (his flag-ship), in the midst of his men, and prayed to the God of Battles for aid. A curious incident occurred during the engagement that soon followed. A British ball demolished a hon-coop on board the Saratoga. A cock, released from his prison, flew into the rigging, and crowed lustily, at the same time flapping his wings with triumphant vehemence. The seamen regarded the event as a good omen, and they fought like tigers, while the cock cheered them on with his crowings, until the British flag was struck and the firing ceased. The Americans lost, in killed and wounded, one hundred and sixteen; the British one hundred and ninety-four. Among them was Commodore Downie, whose remains lie under a monument at Plattsburg. So wide was the theater of war, that in our rapid view of it, the shifting scenes carry us alternately from the northern frontier to the western and southern borders, and then upon the Atlantic and its coasts. The latter were experiencing much trouble, while the whole frontier from the Niagara to the St. Lawrence was in commotion. The principal ports from New York to Maine were blockaded by British war-vessels; and early in the spring, a depredating warfare again' commenced on the shores of the Chesapeake. These were but feebly defended by a small flotilla,' under the veteran, Commodore Barney;' and when, about the middle of August, a British squadron, of almost sixty sail, arrived in the bay, with six thousand troops, under General Ross, destined for the capture of Washington city, it proved of little value. Ross landed [Aug. 19, 1814] at Benedict, on the Patuxent (about twenty-five miles from its mouth), with five thousand men, and marched toward Washington city. Barney's flotilla, lying higher up the stream, was abandoned and burned, and his marines joined the gathering land forces, under General Winder. Ross was one of Wellington's most active commanders, and Winder had only three thousand troops to oppose him, one half of whom were undisciplined militia. A sharp engagement took place [Aug. 24] at Bladensburg,' a few miles from Washington city, when the militia fled, and Barney, fighting gallantly at the head of his seamen and marines, was made prisoner. Ross pushed forward to Washington city the same day, burned the capitol, President's house, and other public and private buildings [August 24], and then hastily retreated [August 25] to his shipping." The British ministry were greatly elated by the destruction of the public buildings and property at Washington, but their jubilant feelings were not shared by the best of the English people at large. The act was denounced, in severe terms, on the floor of the British House of Commons; and throughout civilized Europe, it was considered a disgrace to the perpetrators and abettors. General Ross, however, seemed to glory in it as heartily as did the marauder, Cockburn; and, flushed with success, he proceeded to attack Baltimore, where the veteran, General Smith, was in command. That officer, in connection with 1 Page 430. 8 It consisted of a cutter (a vessel with one mast), two gun-boats [page 401], and nine barges, or boats propelled by oars. He was born in Baltimore in 1759. He entered the naval service of the Revolution in 1775, and was active during the whole war. He bore the American flag to the French National Convention in 1796, and entered the French service. He returned to America in 1800, took part in the War of 1812, and died at Pittsburg in 1818. Another small squadren was sent up the Potomac, but effected little else than plunder. Until the latest moment, it was not known whether Washington or Baltimore was to be attacked. Winder's troops, employed for the defense of both cities, were divided. The loss of the British, in killed, wounded, and by desertion, was almost a thousand men; that of the Americans was about a hundred killed and wounded, and a hundred and twenty taken prisoners. The President and his Cabinet were at Bladensburg when the British approached, but returned to the city when the conflict began, and narrowly escaped capture. "Washington then contained about nine hundred houses, scattered, in groups, over a surface of three miles. The Great Bridge across the Potomac was also burnt. The light of the conflagration was distinctly seen at Baltimore, forty miles distant. * Samuel Smith, the brave commander of Fort Mifflin [page 275] in 1777. He was born in General Stricker, rallied the militia of the city and vicinity, and soon almost fifteen thousand men were under arms, to defend the town. Ross landed [Sept. 12, 1814], with almost eight thousand troops, at North Point, fourteen miles from the city, while a portion of the fleet went up the Patapsco to bombard Fort M'Henry. He immediately pressed forward, but was soon met by the advanced corps of General Stricker, and a slight skirmish ensued. Ross was killed, and the command devolved on Colonel Brooke, who continued to advance. A severe battle now commenced, which continued an hour and a quarter, when the Americans fell back, in good order, toward the city. In this engagement the British lost about three hundred men; the Americans, one hundred and sixtythree. Both parties slept on their arms that night; and the following morning [Sept. 13], the British advanced, as if to attack the city. The fleet, in the mean while, had opened its bombs and cannons upon the fort, whose garrison, under Major Armistead, made a most gallant defense. The bombardment continued most of the day and night, and no less than fifteen hundred bombshells were thrown. The people in the city fel in immediate danger of an attack from the land troops; but toward the morning of the 14th, these silently embarked, and the disheartened and discomfited enemy withdrew.' This defense was hailed as an important victory." The whole Atlantic coast, eastward from Sandy Hook,' was greatly annoyed by small British squadrons, during the summer of 1814. These captured many American coasting vessels, and sometimes menaced towns with bombardment. Finally, in August, Commodore Hardy' appeared before Stonington, and opened a terrible storm of bombshells and rockets' upon the town. The attack continued four successive days [August 9-12], and several times land forces attempted to debark, but were always driven back by the militia. The object of this unprovoked attack seems to have been, to entice the American. forces from New London, so that British shipping might go up the Thames, and destroy some American frigates, then near Norwich. The expedient signally failed, and no further attempt of a similar kind was made on the Connecti cut coast. Further eastward, that part of Maine which lies between the Penobscot River and Passamaquoddy Bay, became a scene of stirring events. On the first Pennsylvania in 1752; entered the revolutionary army in 1776; afterward represented Baltimore in Congress many years; and died in April 1839. General Smith estimated the entire loss of the British, in their attack upon Baltimore, at "between six and seven hundred." 2 An event, connected with this attack on Baltimore, was the origin of the stirring song, The Star-Spangled Banner, which was written by Francis S. Key, of that city, to the air of " Anacreon in Heaven." A gentleman left Baltimore with a flag of truce, to attempt the release of a friend on board the British fleet. He was not allowed to return, lest he should disclose the intended attack on the city. From a British vessel he was compelled to see the bombardment of Fort M'Henry. He watched the American flag over the fort, all day, with great anxiety. The darkness of the night hid it from view. With eager eyes, he looked in that direction at dawn, and, to his great joy, he saw the star-spangled banner yet waving over the ramparts. Page 289. 3 4 Page 430. 5 Rockets used for setting fire to towns and shipping, are made similar to the common "skyrockets," but filled with inflammable substances, which are scattered over buildings and the rigging of ships. of September [1814], the governor of Nova Scotia and Admiral Griffith entered the Penobscot River, seized the town of Castine, and, by proclamation, took possession of the country, then inhabited by about thirty thousand people. A few days afterward, the United States frigate John Adams entered the Penobscot after a successful cruise, and ran upon the rocks. While having her injuries repaired, she was attacked by several of the British sailing vessels and barges, manned by about a thousand men. Finding resistance to be vain, Captain Morris, her commander, fired her magazine, and blew her up. Difficulties again appeared in the south-west. We have already considered Jackson's successful warfare upon the Creek Indians.' In the course of the summer of 1814, he wrung from them a treaty, which completed their downfall, as a nation, and the war at the South was considered ended. They agreed to surrender a large portion of their beautiful and fertile country, as indemnity for the expenses of the war; to allow the United States to make roads through the remainder; and also not to hold intercourse with any British or Spanish posts. But the common enemy, favored by the Spaniards at Pensacola, soon appeared, and the Creeks again lifted their heads in hope, for a moment. A British squadron, cruising in the Gulf of Mexico, took possession of the forts at Pensacola, by permission of the Spanish authorities, and there fitted out an expedition against Fort Bower (now Fort Morgan), at the entrance to Mobile Bay, then commanded by Major Lawrence. General Jackson then had his head-quarters at Mobile. The enemy appeared off Mobile Point on the 15th of September, and commenced the attack, by land and water, at about four o'clock in the afternoon. Fort Bower was garrisoned by resolute men, and was armed with twenty pieces of cannon. Lawrence and his little band made a gallant defense; and soon the British were repulsed, with the loss of a ship of war and many men. Among the British land troops on the occasion, were two hundred Creek warriors. Jackson, now a Major-General in the army, and commander of the southwestern military district, assuming all the authority he was entitled to, held the Spanish governor of Florida responsible for the act of giving shelter to the enemies of the United States. Failing to obtain any satisfactory guaranty for the future, he marched from Mobile with about two thousand Tennessee militia and some Choctaw warriors, against Pensacola. On the 7th of November [1814] he stormed the town, drove the British to their shipping, and finally from the harbor, and made the governor beg for mercy, and surrender Pensacola and all its military works, unconditionally. The British fleet disappeared the next day [November 8], and the victor retraced his steps [November 9]. His return was timely, for he was needed where extreme danger was menacing the whole southern country. On his arrival at Mobile, he found messages from New Orleans, begging his immediate march thither, for the British in the Gulf of Mexico, reinforced by thousands of troops from England, were about to invade Louisiana. Jackson instantly obeyed the summons, and arrived there 1 Page 427. 2 On the east side, about thirty miles south from Mobile. |