Title

History of the American troops

Identifier

http://www.nflibrary.ca/nfplindex/show.asp?b=1&ref=oo&id=298017

page

1-51

Bibliographic Citation

History of the American troops, during the late war, under the command of Cols. Fenton and Campbell : giving an account of the crossing of the lake from Erie to Long Point; also, the crossing of Niagara. The taking of Fort Erie, the battle of Chippewa, the imprisonment of Col. Bull, Major Galloway and the author, together with an historical account of the Canadas / by Samuel White, of Adams County, Penn.

10195728

History of the American troops, during the late war, under the command of Cols. Fenton and Campbell : giving an account of the crossing of the lake from Erie to Long Point; also, the crossing of Niagara. The taking of Fort Erie, the battle of Chippewa, the imprisonment of Col. Bull, Major Galloway and the author, together with an historical account of the Canadas / by Samuel White, of Adams County, Penn.

Type

Text

extracted text

HISTORY
OF THE

AMERICAN TROOPS,
DURING

THE LATE WAR,
UNDER THE COMMAND OF
COLONELS FENTON AND CAMPBELL,

Giving an account of the crossing of the Lake from
Erie to Long Point ; also, the crossing of Niagara
by the troops under Gen'ls Gaines, Brown, Scott
and Porter. The taking of Fort Erie, thee' battle of
Chippewa, the imprisonment of Clfr Bull, Major
Galloway, and the author (then a captain) and their
treatment ,. together with an historical account of the
Canadas.
-

BY SAMUEL WHITE,

Of Adams County, Penn.
ogaiiimore :
PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR.
B. EDES, PRINTER.

1830.

HISTORY
OF THE

AMERICAN TROOPS,
DURING

THE LATE WAR,
UNDER THE COMMAND OF
COLONELS FENTON AND CAMPBELL,

Giving an account of the crossing of the Lake from
Erie to Long Point ; also, the crossing of Niagara
by the troop under Gen' ls Gaines, Brown, Scott
and Porter. The taking of Fort Erie, the battle of
Chififiewa, the imfirisonment of Col. Bull, Major
Galloway, and the author (Men a captain) and their
treatment ; together with an historical account of the
Canadas.
-

BY SAMUEL WHITE,

Of Adams County, Penn.

Qaffitnore

:

PUBLISIIED BY THE AUTHOR,
B. EDES, PRINTER.

1830.

LHC
973.52
70924
Whi
Oakes
Room

PREFACE.

Three Hundred Copies Reprinted for
GEORGE P. HUMPHREY,
Rochester, N. Y.
1896
No. .7ers,

CHARLES MANN, PRINTER,
ROCHESTER, N. Y.

NIAGARA FALLS PUBLIC LIBRt

MAR 2 5 n.)

In presenting the following pages to the public,
the author begs leave to return his warmest thanks
to those of his fellow-citizens who have so liberally
come forward to aid him in his undertaking. A
plain man himself, he has not attempted to embellish his narrative with high-flown language, nor
to impose upon the credulous, a string of fictitious
adventures, but has been content with offering them a
plain statement of facts, and as such he hopes it will
be acceptable to the American reader.
It may be necessary to observe that in speaking of
Englishmen, as the author has been forced to do,
rather harshly in many places throughout this volume,
he does not mean to insinuate that all of that nation
are such as he has described ; he has had the pleasure of knowing many, who were an honor to their
country, and to whose kindness and gentlemanly conduct he feels happy in having an opportunity to testify. The contrast, also, which will necessarily be
drawn between the conduct of the contending parties,
resulting so eminently in favor of our own countrymen, will not be without its effect; as it will prove
to those who at some future day may step forward in
defence of their liberties, how much more of real and
never fading glory is acquired, by the exercise of
mercy and benevolence to the fallen foe, than even

.

4
by the greatest valor and most distinguished generalship, unaccompanied by these attributes.
In the compilation of the work, which has been
done chiefly from his notes taken at the time, he
has been careful to avoid errors ; some, nevertheless,
owing to the disadvantages under which they were
taken, may have occurred, and for these, should it
prove to be so, he would bespeak indulgence.

HISTORY
OF THE LATE WAR.

To repel the inroads of the British on the northern
frontier, during the year 1814, the governor of the
state of Pennsylvania ordered out the militia to the
number of one thousand. About one half of this requisition was composed of volunteers from Cumberland county, of the eleventh division, and two companies
belonging to the same division from Franklin county,
and the residue was drawn from the counties of Adams
and York. The detachment of the troops to which I
belonged, rendezvoused at Gettysburg, on the 28th of
February, 1814, and departed from that place on their
march to Erie, on the tenth day of March following.
On the morning of the following day, major Galloway
and myself returned to Gettysburg to hold a court
martial for the trial of delinquents, and after several
days of arduous exertion, completed our business by
the assessment of fines to the amount of upwards of
Hence I returned home, news
forty-thousand dollars.
hiving reached me that my wife lay dangerously ill of
a fever, and remained there for a short time, when upon her being pronounced convalescent, I hastened to
join my companions in arms, and reached Erie, on the
evening of the same day our troops arrived. We encamped on the margin of the lake, near the fort and

6

7

about a mile above the town, where we remained without any occurrence of note taking place until the fourteenth of May.
About this time it was made known in camp that an
expedition to Long Point was projected, and that volunteers to the number of five hundred stepped forward to
assist the regular forces amounting to about four hundred men. The expedition was commanded by Col.
Campbell, and all preparations having been completed
on the fifteenth, we commenced crossing the lake, and
landed on the Canada shore, late on the evening of
the sixteenth. A company of dragoons fired on the
boats that left the vessel, previous to their reaching the
shore, when they put spurs to their horses and immediately rode off. We halted in a piece of woods near
the lake, exposed to the rain which poured upon us all
that night and next day, having no shelter except the
boughs of the trees, under which we rested.
Early next morning, we crossed Buffaloe creek in a
large canoe, which we were fortunate enough to find
there; our troops were formed in single file, showing
our whole force in front, with two small field pieces in
the centre of the line, drawn by sailors and marines.
In that order we marched for Dover, a very politic and
ingenious mode of forming, and one well calculated to
i mpress an enemy unacquainted with the number of
our troops, with an idea of our having a very large
army in the rear, this appearing only as the advance
guard. A little way up the creek was situate a large
store house, but it was completely emptied before
we reached it, they having had information of our
approach, some days before, as will be seen hereafter. We continued our march without opposition,
passing over a beautiful plain, covered with luxuriant fields of wheat. When we reached Dover, we

found it deserted by all but a few women, who had
white clothes hanging upon broomsticks suing for peace.
The only hostile demonstration on our part was, the
destruction of some mills employed in manufacturing
flour for the army, together with some houses occupied as stores, and those belonging to some officers, who,
it had been ascertained, had been on the expedition of
the burning of Buffaloe and Black Rock some time previous. Every possible respect was paid to the women and children, and the best part of the furniture
in the houses which were destroyed, was even carried
out by the troops previous to their being set on fire.
From what information we could derive from the women,
we were led to believe that they had plenty of time to have
prepared for our reception, and might even, had they
so chosen, prevented our landing, as they had news
of our intended expedition ten days before. It appeared
strange how such news should have reached them, as
it was not currently known, even in our own camp,
three days before we embarked, but the mystery was
soon cleared up, when after we had been made prisoners, Major Galloway and I recognized in Chippewa,
in company with the British officers, a gentleman
whom we had formerly seen at Erie in company with
our quartermaster ; he must have been a spy. We took
one man prisoner, whom we carried with us in our retreat. I sat with him until the last boat was ready to
push off to the vessel, and then dismissed him, unhurt,
and went on board. Strange as it may appear, it_is not
the less true, that on the very day after the British came
to Dover, they burnt all the houses we had left standing,
and even hung the poor old fellow whom we had had in
custody.
On our return we had tempestuous weather, and
were detained on the lake three days, making the con-

8
tinuance of our expedition five days in all. Before we
had embarked on the expedition, my company had
drawn rations for three days, every pound of which
had been left on the shore in consequence of the badness of its quality, so that the poor fellows had nothing
but bread to eat for that time ; on the fourth day I prevailed upon the master of the vessel to let me have a
barrel of biscuit, and one of pork for my company,
which having been hoisted on deck, and the heads taken out, it was really amusing to see how soon they
were emptied. In the evening we completed our landing, and arrived in safety at our camp in Erie.
Next day we learned that a general order had been
given for our march to Buffaloe, and that preparations
for that purpose had been commenced by Col. Fenton,
when they were checked for some time by the presentation of a mutinous paper by some of the men selected for that purpose, which paper had been signed by
half, if not more, of the privates in the regiment. This
instrument set forth that they had determined not to'"
march from camp, until they had received the amount
of pay due them for their services, alleging as their
apology, that many of them were much at a loss for shoes
and other cloathing. In this situation, undecided as to
what course we should pursue, we remained for several days, until at length some of the captains of companies, attached to the regiment, conceiving that something more decisive ought to be attempted to compel
the mutinous portion of the regiment to return to their
duty, addressed a communication to the Colonel, setting forth that they held themselves and companies in
readiness to march at a minute's warning. After this
a new impulse was given to preparations, and the order
of march was fixed for the day following.

9
But the spirit of mutiny was still alive, and secret
resolutions were formed amongst the disaffected, to
obey no orders until the terms for which they held out
were complied with, and on the following day when
according to the orders, at the third roll of the drum the
tents should have fallen, a number remained standing,
and those who were willing to obey orders, had to be
detached for the purpose of pulling them down, which
however, they were permitted to do, unmolested.
While the wagons were lading, I had occasion to
proceed to the centre of the regiment, having some
business to transact with one of the field officers, and
upon my return was waited on by Lieutenant Gardner,
who informed me that during my absence a private
from Capt. Roberts' company, had been amongst my
men encouraging them to stand firm to their agreement,
and oppose the march, and had moreover instructed
them that the others had agreed to commence forming
a line, which he urged them to imitate. This man
was supposed to be their ringleader, and to have been
appointed their commander. As the first step towards
the suppression of this mutiny, I determined upon his
arrest, hoping that prompt and decisive conduct in this
instance would not be without its effect, in deterring the
others from a continuance in the course which they
adopted. Accordingly having ascertained from the
Lieutenant that he could recognise him, I forthwith
proceeded to the place where Roberts' company were
stationed, and upon his being pointed out, immediately
arrested him, and sent him to the block house, used as
a guard house, and under the command of Major Marlin, a regular officer. Returning to my company I
found that several of my men had already fallen into
line, and that others were quickly following their example. To my demand of why they formed or by

I0

II

whose orders, I was unable to obtain an answer, and
ordered them to disperse under pain of immediate arrest, and await the regular orders, which after some
little hesitation, I succeeded in accomplishing.
The order was now passed to form line, and prepare to march ; the peaceable portion of the men immediately fell into rank, leaving a number strolling about,
as if undecided what course to pursue. While in the
act of walking round, enquiring from each individual
his reasons for not obeying orders, and just as I had
placed under arrest a couple who were conspicuous as
spokesmen, and who had positively and most impertinently refused to comply, I was called to by one of my
men, who bid me take care, as one of those in my rear
was loading his gun to shoot me. I instantly wheeled
round, sprang upon him, wrested the gun from him,
and despatched him also to the guard house. The
most determined being now removed. and the others
left to their own discretion, aided no doubt, in the decision by Major Marlin, who, having loaded the gun
in the block house with grape and cannister, commencd
running them out of the port holes directed towards
us ; the line was promptly formed, the order of march
given, and the regiment moved off in perfect order.
Another circumstance no doubt, contributed largely in
restoring order, viz.: when Captain Roberts was informed that I had placed one of his men under arrest, he
i mmediately sent to Major Marlin, requesting his liberation. Major M. applied to me to know the nature
of the offence, for which the prisoner had been committed. Upon my informing him, that he had been
sent there for mutinous conduct, his reply was— " I will
not release him even at the command of your Colonel,
until he has first undergone trial for his offence."

This answer was soon rumored about, and perceiving
that the business was assuming rather too serious an
appearance, the disaffected were somewhat panic
struck, and there is every reason to believe that it afforded another and a strong inducement, for their return to duty.
We pursued our march that day over a road running
parallel with the lake, and in some places, immediately along the beach for a considerable distance, and
found it very fatiguing, owing to the deepness of the
sand. The country along the lake shore was generally hilly, and seemed to be well supplied with game.
We crossed two or three streams of water on our march,
the principal of which was Cattaraugus creek, which
we were compelled to cross in a boat. On the opposite side was situated a small village with two or three
public houses. Here the soil appeared to be very good,
as was the case as far as we could perceive, whenever the road diverged from the margin of the lake.
Near the village just mentioned was an Indian settlement, composed of the tribe called the Cattaraugus Indians. After our encampment for the night, which we
did upon the bank of the creek, we were visited by a
number of them and their squaws, who appeared very
much pleased to see us, more particularly as they understood we were going to fight the British. There
seemed to be a great scarcity of men in that portion of
New-York state, many, I presume, had been killed by the
enemy, at the time of the burning of Buffaloe and
Black Rock, as they had been called out en masse, previous to that transaction.
In many places along the road, the houses were literally crammed with ladies, collected there to see us as
we passed through the county, and here I would
strongly recommend all who may be in want of hand-

T2

13

some wives to visit the borders of lake Erie, for I have
never seen, before or since, in any part of the county,
more beautiful and elegant looking ladies.
We at length reached Buffaloe without any disaster,
except the loss of a few men by desertion, if indeed
such an occurrence may justly be so termed, and found
there quite a respectable body of regulars, consisting
of two brigades. We encamped and remained there
drilling our troops until the second of July, when general orders were issued for embarkation at daylight of the following morning. So unexpected was
this order, and so completely had Gen. Brown concealed his intentions, that his officers, not at all suspecting
the meditated movement, had actually made preparations for the celebration in camp of the Fourth of July,
and had engaged his company at dinner. The immediate consequences, as will be seen, of such good policy on the part of the General, was the capture by surprise of Fort Erie on the third, without bloodshed. To
return to our narrative ; the army consisting of two
brigades, were landed on the opposite shore without
the least opposition. The first brigade under the cornmand of Gen. Scott, and the artillery corps commanded by Major Hurdman, landed nearly a mile below
whilst Gen. Ripley with the second brigade made the
shore about the same distance above. Thus the fort
was soon completely invested. A battery of long
eighteens was immediately planted in a position which
commanded it, and a flag dispatched, demanding a surrender, and granting two hours for that purpose, at the
expiration of which time, the garrison consisting of 137
men, including officers, marched out and surrendered
themselves prisoners of war. ∎ Several pieces of ordnance and some military stores were found in the fort.

Having reduced Fort Erie, the General immediately proclaimed martial law. His proclamation set forth,
that persons demeaning themselves peaceably, and attending to their private business should meet with no
interruption, whilst those found in arms should be treated as enemies. Private property, he pledged himself,
should be held inviolate, but public property should be
seized wherever found, and sold by the commanding
General. Plundering was strictly prohibited—from
the regular army the Major General had no fears, and
those honorable men who had pressed forward to the
standard of their country, to avenge her wrongs and gain
a name in arms, would scorn to be guilty of any act,
which might, in even so remote a manner reflect disgrace upon their national character.
The necessary arrangements for the preservation
and garrisoning the Fort Erie, being concluded, Gen.
Brown determined to march forward on the following
day, and attack the enemy who lay entrenched in his
works upon the plains of Chippewa. To this resolution,
considered of a desperate and dangerous character,
the General was doubtless urged by the necessity which
he felt existed, to redeem the reputation which had
been lost by the events of former campaigns—dangers
and remonstrances were therefore entirely disregarded.
The ardor and desire for battle was even increased
by the knowledge that the glory of the victory would
be so much the more brilliant, besides having formed
his resolutions and plans, he was determined upon attempting their execution.
Before day-break on the morning of the fifth, it was
ascertained, that the Colonel to whom orders had been
sent by Gen. Porter to supply the troops with three
days' provisions, had neglected that necessary precaution; the consequence was, that a boat had to be des-

1

4

patched to Buffaloe with an order for provisions, which
however, did not reach us until about two o'clock in the
day, when we were supplied with a couple of biscuits
each, being the first which a majority of us had eaten that
day. At four o'clock we came in view of the encampwent of our regular troops, and halted. We had not
been many minutes at rest before a requisition was
made for volunteers to turn out and drive off the hostile
Indians who had been firing on our pickets. Fatigued
as we were, having traveled that day about eighteen
miles without rations, it is not to be wondered at, that
not much alacrity was showed by the men to become
of the party. Lieut. Gilleland, Ensign Graff, the surgeon of the volunteers, and myself, laid aside our
swords, and borrowing rifles, volunteered as privates ;
about three hundred of the volunteers of our own
regiment also came forward, and these were strengthened by several hundred Indians, the whole under
the command of Gen. Porter, Col. Bull and Major
Galloway. I had eaten nothing except - one biscuit
from the time I had my dinner the day before at Buffaloe, and had even given away the balance of my store,
expecting to get a good supper that evening ; but I was
doomed to be mistaken.
Orders were issued that every white man who went
out under Gen. Porter should leave his hat, and go uncovered. The Indians tied up their heads with pieces of
white muslin, and it was really diverting to see them
making their preparations for battle, After having tied
up their heads, which process must have consumed at
least fifty yards of fine muslin, they painted their faces,
making red streaks above their eyes and foreheads—
they then went to old logs and burnt stumps, and spitting upon their hands rubbed them upon the burnt part,
until they were perfectly black, when they drew their

5
fingers down their cheeks leaving large black streaks—
after this preparation they were ready for action or
march. We proceeded in single file through a lane
to our left, and in the course of half an hour came in
contact with the enemy, who were posted in the woods
on our right, and completely concealed from our observation. Immediately upon our entering a long narrow
path, they opened upon us with a pretty brisk fire—
we faced to the right and pressing forward put them to
rout. They continued their flight and we pursued
them, keeping up a smart fire, which, from the manner of the position, did considerable damage, until they drew us into rather a perilous situation. The
whole British army had crossed the bridge at Chippewa, and drawn up their forces under cover of a piece
of woods, near the Niagara river, and running parallel
with the Chippewa creek, directly across the creek,
where the British batteries commanded the same position. Driving the Indians rapidly through the woods,
we at length came in lull contact with the British regular line, which in conjunction with the batteries,
opened a most tremendous fire. From the clouds of
dust and heavy firing, General Brown concluded
that the entire force of the British was in motion, and
gave orders to General Scott to advance with his
brigade and Towson's artillery, and meet the enemy on
the plain in front of the American camp. In a few
minutes Scott was in close action with a far superior
force of regulars. Major Jessup commanding the battallion on the left flank, finding himself pressed both in
front and rear, and his men falling fast, ordered his battallion to support arms and advance, which bold order
in the midst of the enemy's hottest fire, was obeyed
with a promptness which did them honour. Having
advanced within twenty paces of the enemy's line,

7
I6
they were ordered to level and fire, causing such
havoc in the enemy's line as forced them to retreat. About this time, also one of our hot shot fell
into the enemy's magazine and blew it up—this occurrence silenced their artillery--the whole British force
fell back, and being closely pressed by the American troops, retreated in confusion to their entrenchment, about a quarter of a mile distant. Gen. Brown
i mmediately ordered the ordinance to be brought up with
the intention of forcing the works, but upon more mature reflection, and by the advice of his officers, he
was induced to order the forces back to camp. In this
engagement, which resulted so disastrously to the British, a considerable portion of the army, though burning for the conflict, had not an opportunity of coming
into action. The conquerors of the veterans of France,
were, in fact, defeated by a detachment from the
American army. The only troops engaged on the
part of Gen. Brown, were Scott's brigade, and the Pennsylvania volunteers, commanded by Porter—the conduct of these men was heroic in the extreme ; wherever
they directed their fire, or pointed their bayonets, the
boasted " conquerors of the peninsula" fell or fled ; the
volunteers, in particular manifested all the coolness
and bravery of regular troops. Such was the punishment they received in this engagement, that, although
battle was offered them again on their own terms,.they
shrunk from its acceptance.
The loss of the enemy was nearly six hundred killed, as was ascertained some time afterwards, although
they were never willing to acknowledge it so great ;
they removed, however, off the field, nearly five hundred wounded men before their retreat, and the loss in
the woods of the Canadian militia, by our scouting
party, was upwards of eighty killed. It was not known

how many Indians fell, but their loss must have been
very great. When our scouting party returned, there
were but twenty men missing, five of that number
were prisoners, four whites and one Indian.
I was nearly on the extreme right of our line, which
was very much extended in our progress through the
woods, in consequence of broken trees, thickets, &c.,
and did not immediately hear the order for retreat,
consequently, was slow in following the example of
several of those in my rear, whom I perceived retreating ; and it was not until my left had been entirely deserted, and those on my right were rapidly falling away,
Fr
that I made my way with some others to a field which
lay on our right. On coming to the fence, we perceived the British light horse advancing along the opposite side of the field in full speed ; we immediately
perceived that our chance of escape in that direction
was small, as we would be taken long before we should
have crossed. We then shifted our course, keeping
under cover of the wood, until we had reached the
end of the field, where we fell in with Col. Bull and
Major Galloway, who had been more on the left. We
were now on the very ground, over which, a short
time before, we had driven the Canadians and Indians,
and concluded ourselves in perfect safety ; but we had
ri4 not proceeded more than a few rods, when we suddenly found ourselves surrounded by Indians who had
been lying in ambush—unable to surround us all, they
had permitted a number of friendly Indians, and several of our volunteers to pass by unmolested, that they
might the better secure us. After having disposed of us.
a small party of them pursued those whom they had suffered to pass, several of whom, however, made good
their retreat.

18
Having disarmed us, the first enquiry was for money.
A large Indian came up to me, calling out " money,
money."—I insisted that I had none. He then seized
my coat, which he took off me, another claimed my
vest, another my neck-cloth, and so on, until they had
stripped me of every article of cloathing, except my
shirt and pantaloons. It was fortunate for me my
shirt was not ruffled, or they would have taken even
that; they took from me a ruffled sham, which I wore
over my shirt ; a fellow had placed his hand upon my
watch chain, with a view of drawing it from my pocket, but meeting with some little difficulty in consequence of my pocket being damp from perspiration, he
deliberately drew his knife, when not wishing to give
the gentleman the trouble of operating, I drew it out
and handed it to him.
At the time these savages were stripping me, others
were as busily engaged in dealing out in like manner to
Col. Bull and Major Galloway—they took the Major's
boots, compelling him to walk bare-footed. We proceeded on our march, well guarded, and had not gone
more than about half a mile, when an Indian in the
rear suddenly whooped loudly, raised his rifle, and shot
Col. Bull through the body; the ball entered at the left
shoulder, and passed out through the right breast.
After he had been shot, he raised himself upon his elbow, and reached out his hand to Major Galloway
asking him for assistance. At this moment the fellow
who had fired came up, sunk his tomahawk in his
head, scalped him, and left his body where he fell ;
thus perished as gallant, and noble hearted a fellow, as
ever drew the sword in defence of his country. I was
then unable to account for an act so contrary to all
laws of warfare, and expected every moment that we
should have shared the fate of our unfortunate friend.
-

19
I was afterwards informed by a Canadian gentleman,
with whom I had formed an acquaintance while at
Ives' Creek, that the murder was committed in compliance with the order of Gen. Rial, who had given
the Indians positive instructions not to spare any who
wore the uniform of militia officers, he at the same
time gave them a minute description of the dress of the
militia and regular officers, the latter of whom, should
any be captured, they were ordered to bring into camp
in safety. Now if Gen. Rial gave such orders, and
that he did, I have good reason to believe, how very
degrading to a civilized people is such conduct, how
barbarous, worse, infinitely worse than the cruelty of
the untutored savage? Startled by the whoop, I had
just looked over my shoulder, and was struck motionless, petrified, by the sight ; but my conductors did not
allow me much time for contemplation, but hurried me
forward at even a more rapid rate.
That we were not murdered as we expected, was
owing to our being dressed in the uniform of the regular troops, with which we had provided ourselves before our departure from Gettysburg—the unfortunate
Colonel was dressed in the old uniform of the Pennsylvania militia, and met his disastrous fate in consequence of a trifling inattention—so frail and slender
are the threads upon which human life and human
prosperity are dependent. Col. Bull was a man of sober and exemplary habits, and highly esteemed by
the soldiery—he was a pious man, and his mind had a
strong religious cast. Whilst at Erie, the most part of
his Sabbaths were spent in the hospitals, in reading
conversing upon, and explaining the scriptures to the
sick and disabled—but to return to our narrative, the
savages who conducted me, were now hurrying me forward at a trot. Several times during our flight.
,

20

21

Major Galloway asked them whether they intended to
kill him and Captain White, their answer was, they
would not, but it will readily be believed, that after
the dreadful sight we had just witnessed, we did not
place much confidence in their assertions. Having
cleared the woods, we now reached a green field, in
running through which, the Indian who held me by
the arm, and I, both trying for the furrow, jostled
each other, and he fell, but still holding his grip, was
instantly on his feet again. At that moment the hope
of liberty flashed strongly over my mind, and had he
been the only Indian with me, I would most certainly
have dispatched him, or at least made the attempt;
but a moment's reflection served to convince me that
any effort of that kind would be attended only with instant death, and under these considerations of the
case, I concluded that my safest plan was to desist
from so hazardous an exploit. Coming out of the
grain field, near Chippewa Creek, we were in sight of
the bridge, over which the last of the British army
then in view, had just crossed, the American cannon
were playing briskly on the rear ; the Indians who led
me, for we had entirely outrun those who conducted
Galloway, became alarmed, dreading that the whole
army would have passed, and the bridge be destroyed, before they should be able to reach it, and accordingly turned and ran up the creek for some distance, the Indians who left Galloway, now halloed to
them, when they wheeled, and came in view of the rear
guard of the British army, at the moment they were on
the point of crossing the bridge. I was dreadfully fatigued, and to hurry me on, a fellow was placed
behind me, who every minute or so, fixed his hands
upon my shoulders, pushing me forward with a violence
that well nigh threw me on my face. Faint and ex-

hausted, I still hurried forward, exerting all my nerve,
fearing that if I failed or fell, the tomahawk, the sound
of which still ran in my ears, would soon give me my
quietus ; I had hopes too, that the moment of my deliverance from these wretches was not far distant, as
I fully expected to be taken ont of their hands as soon
as we should have reached the British army. In this
manner we gained the bridge just as the last of the
rear guard had got on it, the American round shot still
rolling after us; one of them fell within a yard of me
as I pressed forward, making the clay fly all over us,
and then bounded into the creek ; having completed
our crossing, the bridge was cut down.
What was my astonishment and indignation, when
having come in company with those from whom I expected relief to find them even worse than the savages,
and that instead of respiting us, they encouraged them
to run us still further, crying out who have you got
there, a damned Yankee ?—Yes—well damn him, run
him well, he's not half run yet ; although I then thought
it impossible for me to proceed twenty rods further
without dropping down dead. Thus situated, my
mouth stretched wide open panting for breath, I was
compelled to run between one and two miles further,
to the Indian encampment, still shoved forward as before, whenever I slackened my pace ; my persecutors
encouraged and cheered on by the brutal and unfeeling soldiery, who seemed to look upon the affair as
mere amusement.
We were sent to the rear of the camp, and here, for
the first time, I was permitted to sit down ; in fact I was
so weakened by previous fatigue, as to be unable to
stand without support. Having recruited as much
breath as enabled me to speak, I asked for a drink of
water; they not understanding the language, I made a

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sign for what I wanted, when I was led between two to
a pond, where I was permitted to drink—those only who
have felt the same pressing necessity, can form any idea
of the luxury of that draught. They then led me back,
and I again resumed my seat on the ground. A few
minutes afterwards I was surrounded by thirty or forty
of these savages, all armed, they brought down their
guns at an order and commenced to talk—here I sat for
some time perfectly silent, but at length looking up at
the fellow who had had me in custody, I asked him if
they were going to kill me? He snatched up his rifle
and raising it in both hands brought it down with violence—he checked the fall, however, before it reached
my head, and set it down as before, and casting at me
a scowl of rage and hatred, resumed his place in the
circle, from which the momentary act alluded to had
moved him. It may be well presumed that I had no
very great anxiety to ask more questions.
Two or three Canadian officers now came up, one
of whom appeared perfectly versed in the language ; after some conversation between him and the Indians,
they opened the ring and admitted him to me ; he asked
a number of questions, where I was from ? whether I
was an officer or private ? and whether I knew if there
were any other officers made prisoners, and if so whether I would not like to be with them ? I informed him
that Major Galloway was a prisoner, in the British
camp, and that I should be much pleased to have his
company—he commenced another talk with the Indians,
and in a few minutes they began to disperse ; after the
crowd had pretty well cleared away, two of them came
to me and taking me by the arms, one at each side,
walked me back to the British camp, where we found
Major Galloway still sitting on the ground, with his Indian guard beside him. We proceeded together and

were in a few minutes brought into the presence of
General Rial, who immediately commenced interrogating us, asking a number of questions, the truth of
which I was determined he should not know from me.
One of his questions as to what number of troops we
had, was addressed to Major Galloway, who seeming
to hesitate, I answered for him, saying that we had
something like five thousand ; he replied that is not true
sir, you know it is not, you have more than double that
number. Had I then been acquainted with my privileges as a prisoner of war, I should not have made him
an answer, as it was I excused myself, by telling him
that I had computed them at that number from having
seen them on parade, and had never heard from any
official source, what was the actual number of men in
service. He then enquired our grade, and whether
we were in the regular service, or in the militia, upon
our replying that we belonged to the Pennsylvania
volunteers—he exclaimed what business had you to
cross the frontier ? We crossed, sir, in obedience to
orders. Who could give such orders, sir, I thought no
militiaman or volunteer could be ordered out of the
United States ? They can, sir, in case of insurrection or invasion. Well, sir, have you an insurrection
among you ? No, thank heaven, and I hope we never
shall, but, sir, we have invasion. How is that, sir ? where ?
I replied, have you not Fort Niagara in your possession? Then, sir, said he, why did you not go there ?
I answered, we were not ordered there. When I complained that we had been badly treated, having had
our clothes stripped off us, that we had been robbed
of money to the amount of about one thousand dollars,
and that all we requested was to have our clothes returned as we were not accustomed to going naked, he
give us to understand that all the Indians got was legi-

4

25

ti mate spoil and could not be returned—he then called
two sergeants, and gave one of them orders to take that
fellow, meaning me, and keep him safe 'till to-morrow
morning, when I shall demand him at your hand—to
the other he gave similar directions concerning Galloway, and turning upon his heel with a smile, joined
his officers who were seated outside of the door on
benches round a table covered with glasses. I forgot
to state, that when I had informed him of the murder
of Col. Bull, and that he had been scalped by the Indians, his reply was—I do not believe he has been scalped, assigning at the same time as his reason for not so
believing, that at that time they gave nothing for scalps.
We were now carried off by the sergeants and separated—we were compelled to be behind the breastworks. on the bare ground, without tent or covering of
any kind. I suffered severely from the cold, in consequence of having been overheated during the day, and
then stripped of my cloathing. In the night I took a
chill, and shook as if I had had the ague ; I am confident I should have perished but for the humanity of
the sergeant. who had charge of me, in lending me his
old watch coat, and a handkerchief to tie round my
head; he also gave me a dram from his canteen—he,
poor fellow, had been a prisoner amongst the Americans, and candidly acknowledged, that he had been
well treated. In the morning he applied for rations
for Galloway and myself, and returned without having
been able to obtain any—this was continued for three
days in succession, during which time we sustained
life merely through the charity of our friendly guard.
On the first morning after the battle, having heard
that a flag of truce was about to be sent to the American camp, asking the privilege of burying their dead,
I enquired whether a letter would be carried for me,

and was told it would, but that it must be sent open.
Being kindly furnished by the sergeant with pen
and paper, I wrote a note merely stating that we
were prisoners, requesting that our clothes, and if
possible, a little money might be sent to us, as we were
suffering severely from want of them. Fearful that
the letter might not be sent, if it contained any thing
offensive, I forebore to mention either the death of Col.
Bull, or our own treatment. On the return of the
flag, I enquired if my letter had been delivered and
what answer ; the letter had been delivered but they
had no answer whatever. I was also informed, that
to their request to be allowed to bury the dead, Gen.
Brown replied that he was able to bury all the men he
could kill.
On the afternoon of the third day I saw one of the
British light horse coming down the Chippewa at full
speed ; he kept his horse under whip and spur, until
he arrived at the officers' quarters, and in a few minutes the camp was all bustle. The artillery horses
were speedily driven under the whip up the Chippewa at a round pace ; the baggage wagons were loading in all quarters. and in a few minutes the artillery
opened a brisk fire ; they had not fired many rounds before I heard our long eighteens speaking in return.
I felt rejoiced at the sound, believing that they must be
beaten should a general engagement ensue, and that
in the interim I might have a fair chance of escape.
However during the cannonade the British army was
formed in line and led into the field, Major Galloway,
two of our volunteers, one Indian, myself and three or.
four Canadians who were in confinement, on suspicion
of being friendly to the American cause, were led into, the held under a strong guard and halted to await
the fate of the day. The British artillery was soon si.

2

26%

27

lenced, the captain as I afterwards understood had
been killed, several others severely wounded, and one
of their cannon dismounted, by having the carriage
wheels blown away. They now retired nearly as fast
as they advanced, and by this time:the baggage wagons
being loaded, were moved forward on the road to Fort
George, and orders being giving to retreat, they set off
at full trot, and some in a gallop, not delaying to pick
up the camp kettles, which were dropping along the
road, one here, one there, shaken from the wagons by
the unusually rapid motion ; the army moved off at quick
step, and we were marched in the rear, still surrounded by our guard. In this manner we proceeded until
we came to Lundy's Lane, where they were met by a
reinforcement from Queenstown heighths ; they called
a halt for a few minutes, during which the officers held
a council, at the close of which the reinforcement was
wheeled round and the retreat continued. When we
reached Queenstown heighths we were halted before
a house, at which were a number of British officers ;
I was then brought in front, and viewed by some of
them, who not being able to discover in me an old acquaintance, I was remanded to my former station. This
examination was owing to information having been
lodged by a fellow who had seen me the day after I had
been made prisoner, that I had belonged to a certain
British regiment, the name of which I do not remember; that I had deserted and gone over to the United
States, and had received my commission as a reward ;
he had sworn most blasphemously to the truth of his
assertions, and concluded with " d n you, I will have
you hung "; I, however, heard no more of the business ;
we were then marched forward on the road to Fort
George, and after some time diverged to the right and
proceeded nearly two miles _to 'a large brick house,

where we were confined up stairs, having One guard
at the room door, one at the head of the stairs and one
at the outer door ; part of the army also had encamped
round the house, around them was stationed a camp
guard, and outside of all was stationed a picket guard,
all to take care of four American prisoners, and one
Indian. The rest of the troops continued their march
to Fort George. Had any of us made our escape at
that time, it would have been highly injurious to them,
as their forces were much weakened by previous losses. I know that they had two vessels so completely
crammed with wounded men, that the other prisoners
and myself were obliged to remain on deck the whole
time of the passage from Fort George to York, where
we were landed.
The wounded officers were carried to town in blankets by four men one at each corner.
And here I should be committing an act of ingratitude,
did I not notice the kind manner in which we were
treated by a gentleman, named Carr, a doctor, who
overtook us on our march from Chippewa to Fort
George, and a short distance from the former place.
In conversation with me he stated that he had two
sons, Captains in the British army, that one of them
had been for some time a prisoner amongst the Americans, and that he had been well treated, that the other
had been taken at the battle of Chippewa, and that
this was the first time he had had it in his power to
evince his gratitude to any of the American Officers ;
he at the same time requested me to receive a twenty
dollar bill, and divide it with my companion Major Galloway; in our circumstances it was a very acceptable
present ; we were still almost naked, and it was evening of the third day since the battle of Chippewa, and
we had not as yet been supplied with rations, and were

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29

obliged to march part of the afternoon nearly eleven
miles. He returned in a few minutes afterwards with
a five dollar bill, which he told us he had collected
from some of the officers, and which he entreated me
to divide among the other prisoners, or apply to their
use by buying necessaries for them, which was accordingly done. We were several days at Fort George
before the vessels were ready to sail for York. Late
in the afternoon of the fourth day after we had been
made prisoners, we were furnished with rations—we
ate our beef as it came out of the pickle, as we could
not think of waiting to cook it.
While we remained there, an officer, who from his
dress, appeared to belong to the dragoons, called to
see the Major and myself, and in course of conversation, asked us if we had any tea or sugar, or any liquors ; he continued to converse some time in a very
agreeable manner, and then took his leave. A short
time after he had gone, we had a visit trom his servant,
who brought us a paper of tea, some sugar, and a bottle of rum. All the time we drew rations we were
never allowed any liquor, and got none except the one
bottle thus made a present of. This treatment was
very different from what they, when made prisoners
by us, experienced—if any part of the rations were
scarce, our own men have stinted themselves in order
that the prisoners might be supplied—this I know to
be a fact, as the men belonging to my own company
have gone without their liquor, that prisoners might be
better accommodated. The evening after Galloway
and I were made prisoners, and were almost perishing
with cold and hunger, with the damp ground alone for
our bed, and the canopy of heaven for our covering,
the British officers made prisoners by our troops, were
feasted with the best the camp could afford. The of-

ficers of my own company had killed a fat calf, in order to have something nice to give them for supper ;
as they were strangers, they wished to entertain them
well, and would have been happy to have had all the
officers in the British army in the same situation, were
it only to afford them a more ample field for the exercise of their generosity—but to return. We were
marched into York, and halted for about half an hour
at a tavern ; here we applied to the landlady, to know if
she could provide us change of linen ; we had been then
upwards of two weeks without change. She furnished
us with two old shirts more than half worn for which,
however, we had to pay her the moderate price of eight
dollars.
We were then asked if we would accept of paroles
to go to Montreal, stating at the same time that if we
did, we should be furnished with money and horses,
and if we did not, we would be sent on board a boat
under guard. We concluded that it would be better
for us to accept the terms offered, than to be dragged
under guard through the country ; however, we did not
profit much by our compliance, for an hour had scarcely passed, after we had signed the parole, when we
were ordered on board a Durham boat, to be sent under guard to Kingston. The British officers on board,
when night came on, went ashore, and always took
Galloway and myself with them, we lodged in a house
convenient to the vessel ; the others prisoners were suffered to remain on board, under guard.
We now found that we had acted unadvisedly in
accepting of paroles, as we found several friends here
who were anxious to secrete us until the British were
gone, and then they promised us a safe landing on the
American shore. These friendly and tempting offers,
our inconsiderateness in signing paroles, completely

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31

prevented our accepting. Hence we were taken to the
mouth of Ives' creek, about eighteen miles below
York, where we put up for the night. For several
days past, I had been very unwell, owing to fatigue
and exposure to the damp night air, having lain out a
few nights before. I was taken with a violent pain in
my head, which lasted for nearly two hours, I then obtained a little rest, lay down in the boat, and fell asleep
when the crew went ashore ; the officers also went off,
leaving me under care of the guard. Having slept for
some time, I awoke almost perished, and calling to the
guard, who had lit a fire on shore, they threw me a
plank, by means of which, I got out dry. Before I had
well warmed myself, I was taken intolerably sick, so
much so indeed, that I could not stand up—they furnished me with a blanket, and I lay down on the beach
by the fire. When I woke in the morning, I was wet
to the skin, the blanket having absorbed all the moisture from the sand. All that day I remained very ill,
and upon reaching Mr. Ives', was compelled to go to
bed. Next morning, notwithstanding my sickness, I
was marched on board, but the wind being dead ahead,
and blowing fresh, we could not sail, and consequently
returned to the house. On the following day, my fever had gained so much as to preclude all possibility of
my being removed, in fact, I was completely deranged.
In this state they made me sign a parole, and an article
binding myself to be accountable for John Hughes'
should he make his escape—this man was a private in
my own company and had been made prisoner with me ;
they had determined to leave him to wait on me. So
unconscious was I, at the time I signed the paper,that I
knew nothing of the circumstance, until after my recovery, when I was informed of the circumstance by Major
Galloway. I remained in a very bad state for eight or

ten days, entirely given up by the medical gentleman
who had been appointed by government to attend me ;
he had informed the family that they must expect my
death, and so firmly were they convinced of it, that
they actually prepared a shroud for me, and Mr. Ives
was looking out a snug corner in one of his fields, in
which to deposit me.
Matters were in this train, when chance, or my better fortune brought an old Yankee Doctor, as they called him, and who was Mr. Ives' family physician, on a
visit to the house—having seen me, and examined the
medicine which was administering to me, he pronounced my case as desperate, but at the same time expressed an opinion that something might yet be done for
me—he accordingly commenced operations by having
all the remaining medicines prescribed by my former
physician, thrown out, and ordered me a treatment directly the reverse ; whether it was owing to this change
of practice, or that the crisis of the disease had arrived,
I am not sufficiently versed in medicine to pass opinion
upon, but by twelve o'clock that night, I had changed
so much for the better, as to have recovered my reason, and from that time forward my progress to perfect
health was slow indeed, but sure. To the kindness of
a gentleman, a doctor, who resided in the neighbourhood, and who, during the first stages of my illness, had
called once or twice to see me, and prescribed for me
until such time as the government doctor commenced
attendance, and to another, also a neighbour, and a
namesake, a Mr. White, I take this opportunity of paying the tribute of my best and warmest thanks, (the
poor man's only guerdon) for their liberality in supplying me with clothing, acts as grateful to me, as they
were honorable to them. When I had recovered sufficiently well to see company, I had many visitors
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from several miles distance, who always came after
dark, and returned the same night ; they were very
anxious to know what was the intention of the United
States in sending troops into Canada, and if they had
determined upon taking it—if such, they said, was our
intention, a powerful party in Canada might be raised
to assist in the undertaking, providing the United States
government would give assurance of the fact ; but that
so much had they been deceived by Gen. Hull, that
nothing could or would be done until such time as they
had something satisfactory to rely upon. There were
an immense number of men at that time disaffected
with government, and had the United States deemed it
expedient, or possessed the means of sending a large
army into Canada, with the avowed purpose of freeing
them from British dominion, numbers would have
flocked to our standard, and they might with reason
have trembled for their possessions—but to return.
About this time, a great sensation was caused by
the landing, during the night, of a boat, about two
miles below, with three or four well armed men on
board, who, stationing themselves on the mail road,
shot the horse of the mail rider, and carried off the
mail, no doubt with a view to obtain news of the army,
they also made prisoners, a colonel of militia, and his
son, who was also an officer in the militia. They took
them with the mail rider, to the beach of the lake, where
having stove a parcel of flour lying there, they threw
it into the water—they then compelled the prisoners
to gather wood, and cook their victuals for them ; after
which they were paroled, and the depredators went
off unmolested.
The next day I had a visit from Major Rogers, who
seemed alarmed for my safety, and said that he had
expected some of my friends had been to see me, and

33
had carried me off. I replied that I believed there
was not much danger of my escape, and that I should
look well into whose hands I surrendered myself a
prisoner again, as I had been one once too often already. He said he would not trust me, and that as
soon as my health was sufficiently established to allow
of my removal, he would have me carried into the
country, so as to be at a distance from the lake.
A few days afterwards he called again, in company
with a physician, who having examined me, declared
me unfit for removal—the visit was continued from
time to time, until the doctor at last pronounced me
sufficiently strong for removal. During my residence
with Mr. Ives, himself and family treated me with the
greatest hospitality—had I been a relative, they could
not have exerted themselves more for my benefit—they
have my highest esteem, and highly deserved recompense, which, had I the power, I would gladly make.
I was now removed some miles back into the country,
where I remained for ten or twelve days, and was then
put on board a boat under the care of Lieutenant Norris, a Canadian militia officer, who had orders from
Major Rogers to take me to Kingston. Rogers was
himself a militia officer, a devoted monarchist, and in
consequence of his zeal,'was then, though stationed at
home under full pay from his government, being kept
there to have an eye to the inhabitants, and prevent
them from making their escape to the United States.
In many places along Lake Ontario, the inhabitants
had deserted their homes and farms, and made their
way good to the United States ; several were compelled
to fly to save their lives, as a single word said against
the government, at that time, was sufficient to hang
them. Those who were brought prisoners from Fort
George to York, at the time we were brought on there,

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35

on suspicion of being friendly to the American cause,
were, as I afterwards understood, hanged, and some
even without judge, jury, or the common formalities of
a trial.
Arrived at Kingston, I was handed over to the commanding officer of that post, together with a letter of
recommendation from Major Rogers. As soon as he
had read the letter, he ordered me into close confinement. This I expected, from having a knowledge of
the contents of the letter, given me by an officer under
promise of secrecy ; he at the same time promised me
his influence in obtaining my release from confinement. The letter went on to state, " that I was not a
commissioned officer of the United States, but had
headed a party of depredators, who had come into Canada for the sole purpose of plundering the inhabitants, and therefore to show me no favors." What
could have been Major Rogers' inducement to pen
such a notoriously manifest falsehood, I cannot divine
unless for the mere gratification of his vile disposition,
and the rancorous hatred he bore to every one who
professed republican principles; at home he bore the
name of a tyrant and was generally despised.
I will relate a circumstance which will serve more
fully to explain his character.—While recovering, and
before I had been able to leave my room, he came to
see me, and after strutting about for a considerable
time, gave me to understand that the United States
would shortly be compelled to surrender, as the British
troops had taken their Capitol, Washington. Mr. Ives
fearing the effect such information might have upon
me in my then reduced state, endeavored to change
the conversation by telling the Major how very bad I
had been ; he interrupted him with the remark,—" Oh,
that makes no difference, Washington being taken by

the British, the United States will of course become

-

,

subject to them, and he, (meaning myself) may as
well die now as at any other time, as that will be his
fate at all events. I was irritated, and determined that
he should not escape with impunity, I immediately replied that I did not believe one word of his information ; he retorted somewhat angrily that it was not only
taken, but burnt, and added, even were it not, what
chance had we to preserve our country, having a sea
coast of nearly three thousand miles, without any fortification ; the United States, I replied, have the power
to fortify the whole line of coast; and to his enquiry, in
what manner they could do it, I answered with men
and bayonets. 1 had thepleasure to see him depart in
no very enviable humor.
Through the influence of 'Lieutenant Norris, I was
liberated on the evening of the day I arrived at Kingston, in which place I remained but a few days, and
then not having liberty to View the navy-yard, and in
fact, not being suffered to leave the street in which I
boarded, I had no opportunity of seeing any of the curiosities of the place. Between York and Kingston,
although a distance of about two hundred miles, I do
not recollect having seen one town, either situate on,
or in view of the lake.
I was now put on board a boat and ordered to Montreal. After we had got some distance below Kingston,
perhaps seventy or eighty miles, near the seven Islands,
we met a fleet of boats, one hundred and ten in nutm.
ber, two of which were gun boats, the rest were laden
with military stores, cash to pay the troops, and the
timbers of a vessel built in England, even to the last
pin, and ready to put together, to enable them to maintain their superiority on lake Ontario. After the fleet
had passed, I intimated to the officer who command-

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37

ed the boat I was on board of, that I would be much
gratified if he would run his boat on the other side of
the St. Lawrence, which he could do with as much facility as upon this—his reply was, I understand you, sir,
but were the other side of the river equally near, you
could not make your escape, as upon the first attempt,
I would have you shot—I bantered him by telling him,
that if he would agree to run his boat as near the Amer' ican shore as he then was to the British, I would execute a bond for five hundred dollars, payable in ten
days, in any house in Boston or New York, that he
might mention, and he might fire all the guns on board
after me, and kill me if he could ; but all would not do,
neither bribe nor persuasion could induce him to alter
his course. I well knew that the guns had lain in the
boat until the powder was so damp that it would have
been next to a miracle if one amongst them would go
off. It was my fixed determination if I could have got
near enough, to have made the shore, to have jumped
overboard, and run all risks. Had I been then able to
have effected my escape, I would have pressed a horse,
and made the best of my way to Sackett's harbor,
where I would have given information of the fleet of
boats, as the whole of them might have been easily taken, and would have been a valuable prize.
On proceeding a little further, we saw a drove of fat
bullocks, consisting of one hundred head ; which I learned, had been smuggled across, from the state of NewYork, at the Seven Islands. The drovers were met
that day by the British commissary, who paid them
twenty dollars per hundred, for the beef cattle, all in
gold. Upon their return down the river, the drovers
put up for the night, at the same tavern where I lodged ;
and, sometime after supper, I walked into the room
where they were seated ; there were but two of them,

ticl had the gold spread on the table, in the act of dividing it. I that night obtained information of their
real names, for they had passed by fictitious ones ; and,
also learned the name of the town, in which one of
them resided, and made a memorandum of the whole,
with a view to their apprehension, if I could make my
escape. I had also viewed them so particularly, that I
would have been able to recognize them any where ; but
fortunately for them, I was detained in imprisonment
until after the peace.
The conditions of my parole having been broken by
the enemy, by my imprisonment at Kingston, I, of
course, no longer felt myself in honor bound to comply
with them ; and had been for some time anxiously waiting an opportunity of effecting an escape. I had some
thoughts of making the attempt that night, on board a
large canoe, that lay a little way down the river from
where we had landed, and preparatory to my going
down to the boat, where my man Hughes, and another
young man who belonged to the boat, and who had
agreed to start with me if I got any chance of escape,
were awaiting me. 1 took an opportunity to enter into
conversation with one of the smugglers who was standing by the door, and in the course of our talk enquired
of him about the pass of the Seven Islands, and whether the Indians who inhabited them, were friendly
or hostile ; he gave me some little information and after
a while turned into the house. I then went down to
the boat and had just communicated my views to
my friends, when I was called to from the house by
Lieutenant Norris ; I immediately went up, after having told my men that I would be back as soon as I
could get away, and that we should then put out—the
night was very dark, and had we once got under weigh,
it would have been a difficult matter to re-capture us.
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8

Upon my reaching the house imagine my disappointment when handed into a room by the Lieutenant,
who locked the door as soon as we had entered, telling me that he would keep me company, and pointing
to a table upon which lay his sword and pistols, gave
me to understand that he would kill me, if I made an
attempt to escape ; he afterwards informed me that one
of the smugglers had told him to take care of me, as I
would leave him to-night, and that I had been asking
about the passes of the Seven Islands. He then entreated me not to make any attempt to leave him, for
if I made my escape it would ruin him, as Major Rogers had suspicions about his loyalty, and he believed
that I was placed under his care, merely to try his fidelity. He was a clever fellow, and he and his wife
had treated me well, and I should have been sorry to
have attempted any thing which would have involved
him in difficulties.
I therefore pledged my word that
I would not attempt leaving him, and, for the present gave up my hopes of escape ; he however remained
with me until morning, when we re-embarked, and
proceeded on our voyage. Nothing occurred worth
notice, until we came to what was called the
down which, though a distance of nine miles, we passed in the short space of fifteen minutes. I saw some
Canadians drawing up a boat, which appeared to be a
very difficult undertaking—they had a long rope attached to the boat, one end of which was tugged at by
twenty or thirty men—hence we proceeded to La
Chine, a distance of nine miles from Montreal, where
having landed, Lieutenant Norris conducted me to a
tavern, and left me with instructions to remain there
until his return.
In the mean time I called for something to drink, which I procured without difficulty:
I
then told the landlord that I would want something to

39
eat also, but I could not procure a mouthful. Upon
the return of the Lieutenant, I reported my bad success, when he applied with no better fortune. We
then proceeded together to all the public houses, and a
good many of the private ones ; nothing was to be had.
It was then nearly dark and raining, and we had had
nothing to eat since morning. He then instructed us
to proceed on the road to Montreal, until we could
procure something, and accordingly John Hughes,
two others who belonged to the boat, and myself put
forward on the road. After having travelled about
a mile, we came to a good looking stone house, and
here I repeated my call for supper, and received for
answer, as before, that I could not have any ;•they could
not give us what they had not themselves. The
rain still continued, and the darkness had considerably
increased; however we dashed through the mud for
something like another mile, when we reached another tavern ; here we received the same answer as before, and–as for lodging, they could not well accommodate us, but we might lie down on the bar-room floor,
which was covered with mud; having no alternative we
were obliged to accept the offer, and after awhile they
procured us some apples and milk, for which they
charged us a handsome price ; for our lodgings, however, they charged us nothing. We set forward in the
morning towards Montreal, and after travelling two or
three miles, espied a snug little farm house at some distance from the road ; the prospect looked cheering, and
we immediately struck off in its direction. The farmer himself, who proved to be a countryman of our own,
met us at the door, invited us to walk in, and handed
down a decanter of old whiskey, requesting us to help
ourselves. When he heard how we had been treated
the evening before, and that we had not breakfasted,

41

but would gladly do so with him, unless he should
plead poverty as the rest had done ; he immediately replied that he would have something prepared for us,
and in a few minutes we sat down to as good a breakfast as any man could wish for, and with stomachs well
prepared for wreaking ample satisfaction, to atone for
previous abstemiousness. Having finished breakfast,
we called for the bill, but our hospitable entertainer
absolutely refused to receive any recompense, saying
that he should be visited with worse times than the
present, before he would receive payment for so trifling a service to a fellow countryman.
Nothing deserving notice came under my observation, until .we arrived at Montreal, where as we passed
along the streets, the citizens crowded their doors and
pavements, and pointing to me, cried out, "there goes
an American officer he's a d— d pretty creature,
isn't he?" I had then been a prisoner nearly three
months and was without hat, coat or vest. It was exceedingly mortifying to me to be held up in my present
situation as a specimen of American officers, after having been by themselves stripped almost to a state of nudity. I was exceedingly wrath, and had my power been
then equal to my will, I would have taken ample vengeance.
From Kingston to Montreal, along the St. Lawrence,
there are nine smart little villages, viz.: Prescott,
Youngstown, Edwardsburg, Williamsburg, Osnaburg,
Cromwell, Dulac, Cidris, Vaudril and La Chine. Some
part of the country appeared to be fertile, and there
were several handsome farm houses, whose exterior
spoke loudly for the comfort of their inhabitants.
Montreal is the capital of an island of the same name,
formerly called Villa Marie; it is the second place in
Canada for strength, buildings and extent, and besides

the advantages of a better climate, for delightfulness of
situation, is much preferable to Quebec. It stands on
the side of a hill sloping to the south, with many agreeable villas upon it, which, with the island of St. Helen,
and the river, which is about two miles broad, forms a
most charming landscape. The city is not very broad
from north to south, but covers a great deal of grOund
from east to west, and is nearly as populous as Quebec.
The streets are regular, forming an oblong square,
the houses well built, and the public edifices far exceed those of Quebec in beauty and commodiousness;
the residence of the knights hospitalers, is extremely
magnificent; there are several gardens within the walls,
particularly those of the Governor, the Sisters of the
Congregation, the Nunnery Itospital, the Recollects,
Jesuits Seminary, &c.; there are also many other gardens and plantations without the gates. The churches
and religious houses are of the greatest neatness and
simplicity. The city has seven gates, but its fortifications are inconsiderable, being encompassed by a slight
wall of masonry, sufficient only to prevent a surprise
from the numerous tribes of Indians, with whom they
are surrounded, and who used to resort in large bodies,
to the annual fair, held here from June to the end of
August. On the inside of the town, is a cavalier on
an artificial eminence, with a parapet, and six or eight
guns, called the citadel. The number of inhabitants,
I was informed, amounted to about six thousand. The
neighboring shores supply them with a vast variety of
game in the different seasons, and the island abounds
with soft springs, which form many pleasant rivulets.—
They drive a considerable trade in furs ; and the place
is well calculated for commerce, as vessels of two hundred tons burthen can come directly up to the city. It
stands one hundred and twenty miles south of Que-

42
bec, and one hundred and ten north of Albany. This
island formerly belonged to the French, but was taken
by generals Amherst and Murray, on the eighth of September, one thousand seven hundred and sixty. By
the capitulation, all the French forces were sent to old
France, and thus it became subject to the crown of
Great-Britain ; it was afterwards confirmed to them by
the peace of one thousand seven hundred and sixtythree.
After I had been in Montreal a few days, I was given to understand, that a number of American officers
had been paroled home from this place, and made application to the provost major for a parole to go home ;
he would apply to the governor, he said, and if I would
call at his office in a day or two, he would inform me of
the result. After repeated calls on my part, he enquired upon what terms I expected to be paroled. I
told him I would agree not to lift arms, until legally
exchanged. He then asked me if I would agree not
to lift arms during the war ? I replied that it was not
fair to ask me to agree to such terms, and that at all
events, I could not, nor would not accept of a parole,
badly as I liked being a prisoner, upon any such terms.
He then informed me that I would not be paroled on
any other terms ; and so finished the discussion.
A short time afterwards, a chance of escape was offered me by a friend, who promised to procure me a
pass, provided I would change my name, and enter
with him as a boatman. When I reached the narrows,
I could take a canoe and paddle across to the American shore, as he was going up the river with liquor to
the British army. This I declined, not liking the idea
of changing my name ; and it was absolutely necessary
for any one who attempted to travel in that country
then, to have a pass, as to be found without one, sub-

43
jected the person to instant arrest, and of course I
could not apply for one in my own name, consequently could not avail myself of the opportunity.
While killing time one day in a tavern at Montreal,
a deserter from the American army came in, who had a
great deal to say about the Americans. To the question of why he deserted, he replied that it was entirely
in consequence of the bad treatment he received from
his officers. We had some warm words, and I cautioned him to be careful, now that winter was coming on,
in case he could not get work to support himself, which
it was more than probable would prove the case, not to
turn his hand to stealing, as a comrade of his had been
hanged but a few days before for an offence of the
kind ; and it was, I thought, a most excellent plan
adopted by the British, to get rid of such rubbish, as no
man can place confidence in. It may well be supposed
that he did not wait to hear any more.
About this time a man who resided a few miles from
town came and told me that if I would give him one
hundred dollars, he would deliver me safe in the United
States, in the course of one night. Soon after, a
gentleman, a resident of Montreal, told me, that if I
would disguise myself by putting on a good suit of
clothes, he would give me a seat in his calash, procure
a pass for me, and carry me in part of a day to where I
might conveniently cross in a canoe. Both these offers required money, and I postponed answering for a
day or two, hoping that I might be able to raise the
money by some exertion. Accordingly I enquired
of my landlord, he being an American, whether he
could inform me of any means of procuring fifty or one
hundred dollars on loan ; he recommended me to a mercantile house, which he told me, was immensely rich,
and American ; the name of the firm was " Ballas and
.

44
Gaits," they had made a splendid fortune by smuggling
business, carried on between them and some of the
merchants of New-York. and Boston, who exchanged
flour, etc., for dry goods ; if I would apply to them, he
thought there would be no doubt of my success. In
pursuance, therefore, of this advice, I immediately waited upon Mr. Gaits, and after stating my situation to him,
told him I had been recommended to apply to his
house for the loan of from fifty to one hundred dollars,
and that I would pay the amount with any per centage
he might demand, to any house in New-York or Boston,
in ten days after I should have arrived in the United
States. He then enquired if I had made my case
known to the British officers, and upon my replying
that they were well acquainted with all the circumstances of my situation, remarked that if the gentlemen
of the place were made acquainted with my wants, the
sum would easily be raised. I told him that although
reduced by misfortune to the disagreeable necessity of
applying to a stranger, and I expected a gentleman, for
a loan of money, I was not yet reduced to beggary,
and left him.
About this time Cornet Gillas was brought on, and
left at the same house with me; he was a spirited,
and had been a very stout young man, but was now
much disabled, by rheumatic pains, which I believe he
never got entirely rid of. Having been irritated while
at Fort George, by being put into the guard-house,
among several refractory soldiers, he had commenced
beating them with a leg of a bench, which he had broken off, and before the guard alarmed by the cries of
" murder," had time to come to their assistance, he had
knocked down three or four. For this, he was taken
and stretched on a log, sunk level with the ground,
where he was tightly fastened down with ropes, and

45
kept in that position for several days. It was here he
had taken the rheumatic pains, under which he was
suffering.
A company of merchants, five in number, from Long
Point, and who had come to Montreal to lay in goods,
put up at the tavern where I lodged, and sent me an
invitation to come to their room after supper, and
drink some wine with them. They were very sociable,
and made a good many inquiries relative to my imprisonment and subsequent treatment. I gratified them
in every particular. Next morning, I was speaking to
one of their boatman, who was going to get his watch
repaired, and I asked him to show it to me, and to my
astonishment he drew out ray own watch. It had a
compass on the face of it, anwa the needle being loose,
I asked him if he could fasten it, and upon his answering that he could not, I told him to hand it to me, and
I would fasten it for him ; when he was in the act of
reaching it to me, I remarked, that I had carried that
watch a much longer time than he, and that it was the
very one which had been taken from me by the Indians,
when I was made prisoner ; he immediately drew back
his hand, when I told him not to be alarmed, as I had
no notion of laying claim to it, as I supposed he came
honestly by it. He then handed it to me, when I put
in the needle, I showed him the spring which fastened
it, and returned it to him, saying, that if I had money
I would buy it of him, as it was a favorite watch, and
had been the gift of a brother, now dead ; but, that as
my means had been taken, as well as my watch, I had
no means of gratifying myself, by its recovery. The
same evening, however, the merchants again sent for
me to their room, and after some conversation, and
drinking a few glasses of wine, one of them drew out
my watch, and presented it to me, saying, he hoped I

46
would receive it as a mark of their friendship, and that
they felt very happy in being able to restore it to me.
They had each subscribed five dollars. I feel sorry that
I cannot recollect the names of men who acted so very
generously.
Next morning Gillas and I were ordered to repair to
the wharf, there to go aboard a vessel bound for Quebec; previous to going on board, I called to bid Mrs.
Norris farewell ; she inquired if I had any money to
purchase necessaries for the voyage, and upon my
replying that I had not, presented me with four dollars,
which she insisted upon my taking, regretting, at the
same time, the absence of her husband, which disabled
her from giving me a much larger sum. We repaired,
according to orders, to the wharf, and went aboard of a
merchant vessel. I regret very much that the loss of
detached parts of my manuscript, has put it out of my
power in several instances to mention the names of
persons from whom I had received kindnesses; the
captain of the vessel which conveyed us to Quebec, is
amongst the number of those, whose names it would
have afforded me pleasure to record; he was in every
sense of the word, a gentleman. He conducted us to
his cabin, and opened for us his library, assuring us if
we could find any thing in it to divert ourselves, we
were perfectly welcome to its use. When dinner time
came he sent for us to dine with him, and continued
to entertain us at his own table all the time we were
aboard; dinner over, he brought in brandy and wine,
requesting us to make choice and help ourselves. In
the evening, after supper, we had our wine and a pack
of cards for our amusement, when he would himself
take a hand. This, as the saying is, was too good to
last long, and in three days we reached Quebec, a
large and handsome town, and the capital of Canada.

47
The first place taken notice of upon landing here, is a
square of an irregular figure, with well built houses
on each side, on the back of .which is a rock ; on the
left it is bounded by a small church, and on the right
are two rows of handsome, and apparently convenient
houses, built parallel to each other. There is another
row between the church and the harbor, and another
and a large one on the side of the bay. This is a kind
of suburb ; between this and the great street is a very
steep ascent, with steps for foot passengers. This is
what is called the Upper Town ; the city being divided
into an Upper and Lower Town. In the upper is situated the Bishop's palace, a very elegant and splendid
building, and between two large squares is a fort, where
the Governor lodges. The Acolects, a sort of Franciscan friars, have handsome houses over against it. On
the right of the Cathedral, and directly facing it, stands
the ci-devant Jesuits college. In a direct line from
the fort, and parallel to each other, run two streets
which are crossed by a third, and between these and
the Governor's house are situate a church and a convent. The houses are mostly built of stone, and the
number of inhabitants amounted, I was informed, to
about seven thousand. The fort is also a handsome
building. Quebec is situated at the confluence of the
rivers St. Lawrence and St. Charles. The river,
which from the sea hither, is about four or five leagues
broad, narrows all of a sudden to the breadth of a mile.
The harbor is safe and commodious, and the water is
about five fathoms deep.
Quebec is not regularly fortified, but it cannot be
easily taken, for the harbor is flanked with two bastions,
which at high tides are almost level with the water.
In the year seventeen hundred and eleven, the British fitted out a fleet, with a design to conquer Can-

4

8

ada, which failed, in consequence of the Admiral rashly following his own opinion, although in direct contradiction to the advice of his pilot, in sailing too close to
the " Seven Isles," by which piece of imprudence he
lost his largest ships, and upwards of three thousand
of his best soldiers. On the eighteenth of October,
seventeen hundred and fifty-nine, it was taken however,
by the British, under the command of General Wolfe,
who fell in the battle, after he had the satisfaction of
knowing that his troops were victorious.
In December, seventeen hundred and seventy-five'
it was attacked by the Americans, under General
Montgomery, who was killed, and his army repulsed.
Quebec lies three hundred and twelve miles from the
sea coast, and five hundred and ninety northwest of
Boston.
Having arrived here we were paroled to Beaufort,
a village at the distance of about three miles, where we
were ordered to proceed immediately. We got into
a calash or sort of gig, which carried us there in a short
time, for which conveyance we were charged two
dollars each. Here we fell into company with a num- 41
ber of paroled officers, and here I again came into
company with my old friends and companions, Major
Galloway and Captain Roberts from Cumberland county, the latter of whom had been made prisoner at the
battle of Bridgewater, on the twenty-fifth of July eighteen hundred and fourteen.
Here also we met with Major Wilson, Major Stanton, Col. Churchill, and several other officers from the
state of New-York. The hostages who had been kept
in Quebec prison for several months, were also at this
place under parole.
The officers whose names I have above mentioned,
had been marched to this place over land, under guard,

49
and had been, during their march, treated by the guard
with the utmost contempt. When in their passage
along the roads, they came in contact with a mud hole,
although there might be plenty of room to pass round,
they were compelled to walk through it, at the point of
the bayonet. In many places they were almost knee
deep in mud.
During the whole of the war, the treatment received by the American prisoners, was cruelly mortifying to them, and deeply degrading to the captors. That
of an officer belonging to the New-York militia, who
had been wounded and made prisoner, was shameful in
the extreme : He had been shdt through his shoulder,
and had his collar-bone broken, so that he could not
raise his arm, and it was Tut into a sling by some of
his companions. He was dragged all the way to Montreal without having had his wound dressed, and even
in his bloody clothes, a distance of at least fifty miles,
where it was dressed; but assistance so long neglected
came too late, and the unfortunate man died at Beaufort, totally neglected. I never felt more pity for suffering humanity, than this poor fellow's case excited.
Death is at all times a scene of sorrow, even when accompanied by every thing calculated to soothe the mind,
and relieve the anxiety of the sufferer ; how much more
distressing, therefore, must have been the situation of a
man dying far from home, in the midst of his enemies,
and under the most mortifying treatment, with his
thoughts resting on his family, who would be left to lament his loss ?
I will mention another instance of unfeeling treatment, towards a private soldier ; a musket ball had broken his leg, and in the absence of all other care or attendance, his companions had splintered it up as well
as they knew how, and it was beginning to heal. On his

50
way to La Chine, where he was taken by water, he was
rudely thrown from the boat by a British soldier, because he did not move as fast as those who were well,
and his leg was again broken. He was then hauled in
a cart, into which he was brutally tumbled, to Montreal,
in a state of extreme suffering.
At Beaufort the officers formed themselves into messes, and rented a room or two, as the mess was larger
or smaller. Major Galloway, Stanton, myself and some
others, whose names, I do not recollect, belonged to
Col. Churchill's mess. The Colonel and Major Galloway had each a man to wait on them, who cooked for
us. We paid three dollars a week for the room, and
the privilege of cooking at the kitchen fire; a cart load
of wood cost two dollars, a turkey one dollar, a chicken
twenty-five cents, and beef was twenty cents a pound,
and by marketing for ourselves, and messing together
we fared better and at less cost, than if we were at a
boarding house. Capt. Roberts boarded at the only
tavern in the place, and from their manner of cooking,
which I witnessed one day, I had no desire whatever,
to belong to his company. Eels they kept barrelled
up as herrings are, and they cook them in a different
manner from what I had ever seen before, which is
called the French method. The landlady, whom I saw
dress them, took a large one out of the barrel, it was
just as it had been caught, except that it had been in
pickle, and having twisted it around in the form of a
ring, tied it in that shape with a piece of thread, when
opening the bar-room stove door she hung it on a hook
placed inside of the stove, and closing the door left it
there. After a while she came back with a plate in her
hand, and with a tongs removed the eel, and put it on
the plate, when it was conveyed to the table, and the
guests commenced carving and helping themselves.

5
Those who disliked eating the skin, might leave it with
the intestines on the plates.
We had the privilege of walking as far as the bridge
over the river Montmorency, near which is a beautiful
waterfall, formed by the waters of the Montmorency,
pouring over steep rocks, and falling with a tremendous
noise, into the St. Lawrence, from a distance of from
one to two hundred feet.
Major Vandewenter, from Philadelphia, one of the
hostages, who had been confined in Quebec Jail, was
at that time permitted by the British to act as American agent, the former agent having been sent home
some time previous. In making out his requisition
to pay for cloathing, &c., he so managed as to have
such an overplus, as enablet.hirn to give each of us two
months pay, with which I purchased cloathing.
The houses here are principally of stone, two stories
high, with very steep roofs; they are built in this manner to facilitate the falling off of the snow, in the winter, which would otherwise injure the roof, as it lies in
that season, to the depth of from six to seven feet. The
quality of the land, about Beaufort, appears to be
good, principally lime stone ; the farms are narrow, running in one direction, to the base of a large mountain,
and in the other to the water's edge. The people
here are excessively fond of onions, you will hardly
find a family, who will not lay up for winter use, from
fifty to a hundred bushels. They seem to live very
poorly, not being able to buy beef on account of its
very high price.
I had been here between three and four weeks, when
one evening a British officer came in and told us we
must make preparations to go on board of a vessel then
in harbor and bound for Halifax, on the following evening. We enquired if it would be necessary for us to