Title

Chapter 2

Identifier

http://www.nflibrary.ca/nfplindex/show.asp?b=1&ref=oo&id=297992

page

12-17

Bibliographic Citation

The siege of Fort Erie: an episode of the war of 1812 / by Louis L. Babcock.

10195727

The siege of Fort Erie: an episode of the war of 1812 / by Louis L. Babcock.

Type

Text

extracted text

12

The Siege of Fort Erie

CHAPTER II.

Before the Invasion.
Benjamin Franklin once remarked that the war of 1776-1783
was the War of the Revolution, but the war of independence still
remained to be fought. Events during Jefferson's and Madison's
administrations proved the truth of the remark, for the infant
nation was vexed and harassed not only by England and France
but by the pirates of the Mediterranean and the Indians at home
as well. Through the operation of Orders in Council, and the
Berlin and Milan Decrees promulgated by both England and
France, our commerce, just beginning to flourish, was almost
driven from the seas; thousands of our seamen were compelled
to serve in British vessels through the infamous practice of
i mpressment; our ships were stopped and searched on the high
seas for alleged British subjects or suspected breaches of neutrality; Indians formerly friendly to us were armed and incited
to revolt: and these things occurred not once, but many times.
Indeed, as Madison put it in his communication to Congress of
June first, 1812:
" We behold, in fine, on the side of Great Britain a state of
war against the United States, and on the side of the United
States a state of peace toward Great Britain."
The United States dreaded hostilities, and Madison would
gladly have avoided them, yet there seemed no alternative if we
desired to take our place among the nations of the world. Congress accordingly declared war on June eighteenth, 1812, and
the next day it was proclaimed by the president.
The declaration of war found the country totally unprepared
for hostilities. Our army consisted of barely six thousand men,
while our navy was composed of about twenty-five war ships
carrying three hundred guns, against the thousand war vessels of

Before the Invasion

13

the British. Not only in men and war ships were we lacking, but
in munitions of war of every description as well; and to further
embarrass the administration, both the Federal Party and the New
England states strongly opposed the war, and mass meetings
were held and pamphlets continually circulated by the peace
party.
The war opened disastrously with the surrender of Detroit
by Hull, and, as a result, the loss of the territory of Michigan.
• During the years 1812 and 1813 nearly all the land operations
displayed the incompetency of American commanders and the
cowardice of American militia. In short, we were as uniformly
unsuccessful on land as we were successful on the sea; and no
part of our territory suffered more severely than the Niagara
frontier. It is not within the scope of this chapter to recount
these defeats or dwell upon the victories—few and far between—
which served to hearten up the people.

Buffalo, then a village of about one hundred and twenty-five
houses, was burned by the British and Indians on the thirty-first
of December, 1813, and the first of January, 1814. Only one
house, a blacksmith shop, and the jail were left standing. Between
forty and fifty people of both sexes were killed, stripped to the
skin, and scalped by the Canadian Indians accompanying the
column.
While the burning of Buffalo was contrary to the laws of
war, it was an act of retaliation for the wanton burning of the
flourishing village of Newark ( now Niagara) situated near Fort
George in Canada, consisting of one hundred and fifty houses.
This was done by the Americans under General McClure, who
acted entirely without orders or any justification or excuse whatever. Doubtless many of the scenes at the burning of Buffalo
were only repetitions of those at Newark, as each side was assisted
by a large number of Indians, who at such times were uncontrollable. The homeless settlers managed to survive the winter

The Siege of Fort Erie

Before the Invasion

through assistance afforded by the people of the state, who generously contributed supplies. Money was voted by the Legislature and by various cities, amounting in the aggregate to
upwards of fifty thousand dollars.
The dreary winter at last came to a close, and things began
look
brighter. A brickyard was put into operation; building
to
was commenced; and, owing to the presence of a considerable
body of troops quartered at Buffalo, money was quite plentiful.
Johnson, in his History of Erie County, is authority for the statement that by May twentieth the village boasted three taverns,
four stores, twelve shops, twenty-three houses, and thirty or forty
huts, besides many buildings in process of erection.
Along in June rumors of an invasion of Canada began to be
current. The force at Buffalo then consisted of two brigades of
regulars, the First and Second, under General Winfield Scott
and General Ripley respectively, and a portion of one brigade of
militia under General Porter, besides about six hundred Senecas.
The monthly return of General Brown's division for July first,
1814, was as follows:

of Front Avenue and Maryland Street, in June, 1814. The
volunteers, however, were in poor condition for service. On
many occasions during the war these troops had shown not only
inefficiency but absolute cowardice. The reason for this is clear
enough. The militia of that day consisted of men who would
volunteer only for short terms, and a man who had served five
or six months was looked upon as a veteran, the average term
of service being but a few weeks. They were poorly armed,
equipped, and commanded; and it is no wonder that they were
content to endure the hardships incident to a soldier's life for
only a few weeks.
The late war with Spain has clearly shown how difficult it is
to supply an army with the thousand and one things it requires,
although at the present time the resources of this country are
practically inexhaustible. When the condition of the country
during the War of 1812 is considered, the statement that the
volunteers were scantily supplied with equipment will cause no
astonishment. For instance, on July third, the day Fort Erie
was captured and the Canadian invasion was begun, Porter's
brigade had not been issued a rifle, saber, bayonet; or blanket,
and but a small number of tents.
The volunteers were green troops, and badly handled; and,
being jeered at and made a convenience of by the regulars in the
fatigue work, it is of small wonder that army life was distasteful
and that poor service resulted. In the training and control of
these volunteers, General Peter B. Porter, then a Buffalonian,
showed great ability; and, as he was one of the foremost men of
this locality—and, indeed, of the state—a gentleman born and
bred, of fine bearinc, and courtly manners, he commanded their
reos pmepcit ianns d rae dfemiration.
T
General Brown, in a letter to Governor
of the to Porter, only stated a fact when he said,
" In the midst ol
greatest danger I have found his mind cool
and collected and his
11 . judgment
j
to be relied upon." He was full
of resources and pi
prompt
ompt to seize a favorable opportunity to secure
an advantage,analthough
a ltho
not bred a soldier. His conduct during

14

Present for Duty.
N. C. 0. and Men. - Officers.

Artillery, Scott's Brigade,
Ripley's Brigade,
Porter's Brigade,
Total,

33o
1,312
992
710
3,344

15
65
36

Aggregate
Present and Absent.

413
2, 122

1,415

43

83o

159

4,780

A portion of General Porter's brigade did not join him until July
seventh, after the invasion had begun.
The whole force numbered about four thousand men effective
for duty. Considerable attention had been given to disciplining
and drilling the regulars, until these troops were in a fair state of
efficiency and eager for an invasion of Canada. As an instance
of the discipline that prevailed, it is related that four privates
from the regulars convicted of desertion were shot in the presence
of General Scott, his staff, and the army, near the present corner

i5

.

16

•

The Siege of Fort Erie

Before the Invasion

this war was justly recognized by the government, which brevetted him a Major General; and for his gallantry and bravery
• during the war Congress voted him a gold medal. Volunteer
generals of capacity and aggressiveness even unto this day are
jealous of the regular army officers and a trifle insubordinate.
Porter appears to have been no exception to the rule, as his letters to Governor Tompkins disclose, but when it came to a fight
he loyally supported his superiors and freely exposed his life to
gain a victory. Under Porter the militia stood up against the
trained troops of the British like veterans, and at Chippewa,
Lundy's Lane, and Fort Erie their conduct went far to redeem
the bad reputation the American militia had acquired during the
preceding years of the war.
Porter died at Niagara Falls, aged seventy-one. A beautiful
monument was erected over his grave, and upon it is engraved
the following epitaph, which is so apt an estimate of his services
and character that a portion of it, at least, is well worth quoting.
PETER BUEL PORTER.
A pioneer in western New York ; a statesman eminent in the annals of the nation and the state ; a general
in the armies of America defending in the field what he
had maintained in the council. * * Known and
mourned throughout that extensive region which he had
been among the foremost to explore and to defend.

The characters of Brown, Scott, and Ripley are well known.
Each was uniformly successful. Brown and Scott were brave
even to recklessness, and ready to fight under any and all circumstances, while Ripley inclined to overcautiousness.
The monthly return of the regulars for June thirtieth, 1814,
was as follows:
Present for Duty.
N. C. O. and Men.
Officers.
SCOTT'S BRIGADE ( First).
332
Ninth Regiment,
416
Eleventh Regiment,
Twenty-second Regiment, 217
Twenty-fifth Regiment,
354
General staff,
1,319
Total,

,i(
17
12

16

4
65

Aggregate
Present and Absent.

642
577
, 287
619
4
2,129

17

Present for Duty.
N. C. 0. and Men.
Officers.

(Second).
651
Twenty-first Regiment,
Twenty-third Regiment,
34r
General staff
Total,
992

Aggregate
Present and Absent.

RIPLEY'S BRIGADE

ARTILLERY (

Towson's,
Riddle's,
Ritchie's,
Williams's,
Total,

25
8
2

35

917
496
2

1,415

Major Hindman ).
89
8o
96
62
327

101
104
138

73
416