Title

Chapter 4

Identifier

http://www.nflibrary.ca/nfplindex/show.asp?b=1&ref=oo&id=298022

page

232-265

Bibliographic Citation

History of the late war between Great Britain and the United States of America / David Thompson.

10168089

History of the late war between Great Britain and the United States of America / David Thompson.

Type

Text

extracted text

HISTORY OF

THE LATE WAR.

was furiously assailed by General Scott's brigade, at
the point of the bayonet ; but the enemy was repulsed
with great slaughter. A tremendous fire was then commenced on the crest of the British position, by the first
brigade of the enemy stationed near a copse between
Lundy's Lane and the Falls of Niagara ; and the 9th,
11th and 22d regiments and Captain Towson's brigade
of artillery, stationed on the Queenston road.

vorable termination of the engagement—in short, both
armies appeared to be roused to a state of desperation
for victory.

232

During this stage of the engagement, the light company of the Royal Scots arrived on the ground from
the Twenty Mile Creek ; and a courier was despatched
to countermand the route of the 103d Regiment and
detachment's of the King's and 104th regiments, who
bad, in a mistake, taken the road to Queenston from
the Beach-woods, and to hasten their movement to
the field of action.
On the brow of the hill at the east end of Lundy's
Lane, for the possession of which the armies hitherto
had principally contended, General Drummond now
planted his artillery, as it appeared to form the key to
the position. On this quarter, therefore, the enemy for
a length of time directed his whole efforts ; and notwithstanding the carnage was truly appaling, no visible
impression had yet been made. Still, on this part of
the field did the whirlwind of the conflict continue to
rage with awful and destructive fury : columns of the
enemy, not unlike the undulating surge of the adjacent
cataract, rushed to the charge in close and impetuous
succession.
In this fearful and tremendous stage of the contest,
the British forces both regular and militia, finding themselves pressed by an overwhelming force, simultaneously
closed round the guns, apparently determined to contest
their possession with the last drop of British blood on
the ground, fully assured of their importance to a fa-

233

The enemy at length succeeded to make a slight turn
on the left of the British position.; at which period,
General Riall, who commanded that division of the
army, was severely wounded in the arm, and having
passed to the rear for the purpose of having his wound
dressed, in his return to resume the command, was intercepted by a column of the enemy and made prisoner
of war.
It was long before this crisis of the enga,arient that
the curtains of night had enveloped the scene ; but instead of that circumstance tending to abate the fury of
war which had now completely drenched the field with
the blood of the combatants, the rage of battle appared only to increase as the night advanced. Still
did the enemy continue to direct his strongest force
against the crest of the British position ; but his repeated
charges were as often received and repelled by the
regular, fencible, and militia forces engaged, with that
intrepid gallantry for which the British army has ever
been characterized. Charges were made in such rapid
succession and with such determined vigor that often
were the British artillerymen assailed in the very act of
spunging and charging their guns ; and often were the
muzzles of the guns of the contending armies hauled
up and levelled within a few yards of each other : the
havoc of lives on both sides, under such circumstances,
may be better conceived than described.
The battle having raged with almost unprecedented
fury for upwards of three hours, both sides appeared
for a time mutually to suspend hostilities ; during which
the British troops were supplied with fresh ammunition,
and the enemy employed himself actively in bringing up his reserve columns ; after which, the fire was
V2

234

THE LATE WAR.

HISTORY 07

recommenced from the Queenston road on the left of
the British column ; however, it was discovered that
this was only a diversion to mask the intention of a large
body of the enemy's fresh troops, which was actually
moving on the right of the British position, to outflank
it. General Drummond commenced immediately to
draw his strength towards this flank of his army, forming a line in a field of grain, upon which the enemy
were seen to advance in slow and silent pace. The
British line formed to repel this new attack, was directed to kneel sufficiently low to prevent being perceived
by the enemy ; but scarcely had General Drummond
completed this order of arrangement, before the enemy's
column made its appearance and advanced within a few
yards of the British line, when the signal was made to
fire a volley and charge—the effect of that single fire
upon the enemy's ranks was awful in the extremetht,e of the enemy who were able made a precipitate
retreat.
" The enemy's efforts to carry the hill," says General
Drummond in his despatches, " were continued until
midnight, when he had suffered so severely from the
superior steadiness and discipline of His Majesty's
troops, that he gave up the contest and retreated with
great precipitation to his camp beyond the Chippawa,
burning, as he passed, the flour mills at Bridgewater.
On the following day he abandoned his camp, threw the
greatest part of his baggage, camp equipage and provisions into the rapids above the falls; and destroying the
bridge at Chippawa, he continued his retreat in great
disorder towards Fort Erie."
" The loss sustained by the enemy," adds Sir Gordon
Drummond, " in this severe action, cannot be estimated
at less than fifteen hundred men, including several hun-

235

dred prisoners left in our hands*. Generals Brown and
Scott were among the wounded. His whole force,
which was never rated at less than five thousand men,
was all engaged."
In General Drummond's report of this action, his
return of killed, wounded and missing is as follows,
namely :
Killed,
Wounded,
Missing,
Prisoners,
Total, • ...

...

84
559
193
42

878

By the regimental returns of the British army, including those of the militia both before and after this
engagement, the whole British force consisted of two
thousand eight hundred ; but before the arrival of the
troops under Colonel Scott of the 103d Regiment, it
did not exceed sixteen hundred.
Of all the battles (says a writer on this subject,) fought
in America, the action at Lundy's Lane was unquestionably the best sustained and by far the most sanguinary. The rapid charges and real contest with the
bayonet were of themselves sufficient to render this engagement conspicuous. Traits of real bravery and heroic

In General Brown's report of this action, his return of killed,
wounded and missing is as follows :
Killed,
Wounded,
Missing,

171

Total,

858

570
117

236

HISTORY OF

THE LATE WAR.

devotion were that night displayed by those engaged,
which would not suffer in a comparison with those exhibited at the storming of St. Sebastian, or the conflict at
Quatre Bras.

four miles from Lundy's Lane, the field of action, leaving
the British troops in peaceable possession of the ground
they had gained, and during the arduous contest maintained by their prowess and steady discipline ; and,
next day, the American forces continued their retreat in
great disorder towards Fort Erie*." Here was victory
with a witness ; and just such a victory did Buonaparte
gain at Waterloo.

Both the belligerent armies have offered their claims
for victory in this engagement—upon what grounds the
American general could propose such a claim are best
known to himself. The result of the action, compared
with General Brown's first instructions as set forth in his
despatches to the American secretary of war, contradicts
in the most pointed terms even the slightest suggestion
of a victory on the part of the American arms. " It is
proper here to mention," says General Brown in the
despatches alluded to, " that having received advices
as late as the 20th, from General Gaines, that our fleet
was then in port and the commodore sick, we ceased to
look for co-operation from that quarter, and determined
to disencumber ourselves of the baggage and march directly for Burlington Heights. To mask this intention,
and to draw from Schlosser a supply, I fell back upon
Chippawa. As this arrangement, under the increased
force of the enemy, left much at hazard on our own
side of the Niagara ; and as it appeared, by the before
stated information, that the enemy was about to avail
himself of it, I conceived that the most effectual method
of recalling him from this object, was to put myself in
motion towards Queenston."
Now, a question very naturally presents itself—Did
General Brown or the army under his command, in pursuance of the declared intention of the general, make a
solitary effort after the action, to force a passage to Burlington, or even attempt to maintain the ground he held
during the action ? The reverse was the case. Let General Brown speak for himself. " I therefore believed it
proper," says that general in another part of his report,
"that General Ripley and the troops should return to
camp," that is, beyond Chippawa, a distance of nearly

237

General Brown not only abandoned the plans of operation which he had formed previous to the action at
Lundy's Lane, but " retreated in great disorder towards
Fort Erie," where his egress from the British territory
might be more easy ; and in his way destroyed the
bridge across the Chippawa, in order to retard the advance of the British light troops on his rear.

*General Drummond's Report of the Action.

238

HISTORY of

CHAPTER XXXI.
The British Array, under General Drummond, pursues the
Enemy to Fort Erie—General Drummond invests that
Fort—Nocturnal Assault on Fort Erie and the adjoining Batteries in Possession of the Enemy—Disposition
of the Force intended for that Assault—Failure
that Assault—Sortie by the American Forces on the
British Batteries in Front if Fort Erie—Result of the
Sortie—Retreat of both Armies—Concluding Remarks.
THE American generals, unacquainted with the policy
of war, had suffered themselves to be too easily elated
by the imaginary successes which attended the American arms during the first operations in this campaign,
were now proportionably overwhelmed with disappointment at the signal defeat with which they met at
Lundy's Lane; and confined themselves within the
limits of Fort Erie and the adjacent shore, as far as
Snake Hill, a distance of two miles ; in front of which
position, General Drummond, with as many of the
remaining British forces as could be spared for that service, advanced in a few days.

The British army had no sooner taken up their position in front of Fort Erie than preparations were
i mmediately made to storm the fort and American posts.
General Gaines, on whom had devolved the command
of the second division of the northern army of the
United States, in the absence of Generals Brown and
Scott, who had both been wounded at Lundy's Lane,
now directed his whole attention to strengthening the
Fort and outworks as far as Snake Hill.
On the 13th of August, General Drummond having
previously completed his batteries, commenced a brisk
cannonade on the position of the enemy, which, with

THE LATE WAR.

239

a few intermissions, was continued for two days; after
which it was determined to carry the fort and outworks
of the enemy by a nocturnal assault. In pursuance of
this purpose, General Drummond formed his troops into
three divisions ; the first under Lieutenant Colonel
Fischer of De Wattville's regiment, consisting of the
King's Regimant, the Regiment De Wattville and flank
companies of the 89th and 100th regiments, directed
against the enemy's entrenchments at and near Snake
Hill ; the second, under Lieutenant Colonel Drummond
of the 104th Regiment, consisting of the flank companies of the 41st and 104th regiments and a body of seamen and marines under the direction of Captain Dobbs
of the Royal Navy, against the fort ; and the 3d, under
Lieutenant Colonel Scott of the 103d Regiment, consisting of the 103d Regiment supported by two companies of the Royal Scotts, against the entrenchments
adjoining the fort.
This arrangement being completed, the division destined for the attack of Snake Hill, marched by n
circuitous route at four o'clook on the afternoon of the
day previous to the attack, in order to gain the vicinity
of the point of the enemy's works in sufficient time to
co-operate with the other divisions of the army.
About two o'clock on the morning of the 15th, the
several divisions of the British army moved on towards
the enemy's entrenchments ; but as soon as the column
directed against Snake Hill had emerged from the
woods, it came in contact with an abbattis within twelve
or fifteen paces of the enemy's entrenchments, defended
by a heavy column of infantry under the command of
Major Wood and the artillery under Captain Towson.
this for a time completely checked its advance.
However, it was soon announced by a tremendous fire
from the guns in the fort, and from the columns of infantry defending the entrenchments near the shore of

HISTORY OF

THE LATE WAR.

the lake, that the other two columns, under Lieutenant
Colonels Scott and Drummond, had commenced an assault on the enemy's works.

All the exertions of the few British troops who survived the explosion were found ineffectual to maintain their
ground against such an unequal force as the enemy was
then enabled to bring up against them ; the enterprise
was therefore abandoned ; and the British forces retired
in rear of their works before daybreak.

240

At the first outset of the two last columns, the enemy
succeeded in turning the column on the left under Colonel Scott ; but that under Colonel Drummond penetrated
the enemy's works and charged through his ranks with
such irresistable impetuosity that nothing seemed sufficiently impregnable to arrest its progress. Lieutenant
Colonel Scott, in the mean time, rallied his column
which had been partially turned on one 'flank, and the
fort was assailed in almost every quarter by the besiegers; an escalade was effected, the enemy drove from
the ramparts at the point of the bayonet, and the guns
of the fort turned upon the garrison ; all of which preludes of victory had actually been gained a few minutes
after the first alarm.
The battle raged with a fury seldom equalled. The
British troops having previously, in pursuance of an order to that effect, divested their muskets of the flints,
every foot of ground was contended at the point of the
bayonet, which rendered the carnage more dreadful and
appaling.
Lieutenant Colonel Drummond, during the conflict
within the fort, performed most extraordinary acts of valor : in the hottest of the battle he would present himself
encouraging his men both by example and precept. But
in the very moment when victory was declaring herself
in favor of the British arms, some ammunition which
had been placed under the platform ignited from the
firing of the guns to the rear, and a dreadful explosion
was the result, by which the greater part of the British
forces which had entered the fort, were literally blown
into the air.

241

The loss of the British, in consequence of the explosion, was much greater than that of the enemy ; and
amongst the killed were Colonels Scott and Drummond.
In General Drummond's report of this action, the return of the killed, wounded and missing stands thus,
namely :
Killed, 2 lieutenant colonels, 1 captain, 1 lieutenant,
1 serjeant, 1 drummer, 51 rank and file,
57
Wounded, 1 deputy assistant quarter master general, 1 major, 8 captains, 11 lieutenants, 2 ensigns,
1 master, 12 seamen, 20 serjeants, 2 drummers,
250 rank and file,
308
Missing, 1 deputy assistant quarter master general,
1 captain, 3 lieutenants, 2 ensigns, 1 midshipman, 1 adjutant, 7 seamen, 41 sergeants, 3
drummers, 479 rank and file,
539
Total,

904

Nothing particular occurred for the space of a month
after the affair of the 15th August, if we except occasional skirmishes with the advanced posts, and the
frequent cannonading maintained between the British
batteries and the enemy's works, as well at Black Rock,
on the opposite side of the river, as at Fort Erie and
its neighborhood. At about the expiration of a month,
however, General Brown, having recovered of his
wounds, again resumed the command of the American
army on the Niagara frontier, and brought with him a

HISTORY OF

THE LATE WAR.

strong reinforcement, resolving to attempt the destruction
of the British batteries in front of the fort. Pursuant
to this determination, on the 17th September, at about
12 o'clock, noon, the whole American force including
both regulars and militia sallied forth in three divisions
under Generals Porter, Miller and Ripley ; and before
the ready and reserve columns of the British could be
brought up from the camp, (about a mile in rear,) the
enemy had succeeded in penetrating the batteries, destroying the works With one magazine of ammunition,
and spiking the guns. But ere he could effect his
retreat, the ready and reserve columns had arrived,
who immediately commenced a determined attack upon
his columns ; and after about a half hour's desperate
fighting, notwithstanding his great superiority of numbers, he returned before the bayonets of the British
line, in great precipitation, under the cover of his works,
after losing nearly six hundred of his force.

to invade Canada, it is certain that nothing was acquired,
if we except afresh proof (if such had been now neces-

242

The incessant rains which had fallen that season
rendered it impossible for General Drummond to repair
his batteries, or, indeed, longer to keep the field ; he,
therefore, on the 21st of September, broke up his
camp, and retired to winter quarters in rear of his
works at the mouth of the Chippawa.
During the retreat, General Brown feigned some inclination to follow on the rear of the British army ; yet,
notwithstanding all the efforts which could possibly be
exercised by a general, were called into contribution
by Sir Gordon Drummond, to bring General Brown into
action; but it all proved unavailing. The American
general, " as soon as the coast was clear," evacuated
Fort Erie and retreated across the river into his own
territory.
Thus terminated the campaign of 1814, on the Niagara frontier ; and whatever might have been the object
of the American government when they sent that army

248

sary,) of the loyalty of the Canadian people to their sovereign, and their unshaken zeal to defend their country
from the grasp of its enemy, at whatever time he might

think proper to invade it.

HISTORY OF

244

CHAPTER XXXII.
Arrival of a British naval and military Force on the
Shores of the U. States—Troops land at the Mouth of the
Pawtuxet and move on towards Washington—General
Ross arrives at Bladensburg and finds the American
Force strongly posted to oppose his Passage—The
American Army routed—General Ross takes Possession
of the American Capital—The British Forces again
retire to the Seaboard and embark—Captain Gordon's
Expedition up the Potomac—Captain Sir Peter Parker's Expedition up the Chesapeake—Descent upon
Baltimore—Retreat and re-embarkation of the British.
DURING the period in which the operations of the
campaign on the Niagara frontiers were transpiring, a
naval force, consisting of five line of battle ships and a
few frigates, was fitted out and placed under the command of Vice-admiral Cochrane, for the purpose of
visiting the coasts of the United States and laying waste
her maritime cities and towns, with a view to putting a
more speedy termination to the war so much deprecated
by the enlightened men of both countries. This naval
squadron was accompanied by several transports having
on board a military force of from five to six thousand
men under the command of Major General Ross. This
arri- ment arrived on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay,
which it hovered a few days, occasionally bombarding the towns and villages along the coast.
,

On the 21st, the squadron arrived at Benedict, at the
mouth of the Pawtuxet, (about forty-seven miles from
the city of Washington, the metropolis of the United
States,) where General Ross disembarked his troops ;
from whence he proceeded to Nottingham, and on the
following day to Upper Marlborough. On this march
the British army met with but little or no opposition,

TIIE LATE WAR

except from a flotilla of about twenty gun-boats maimed
with about four or five hundred marines and seamen,
under the command of Commodore Barney, an experienced and meritorious naval officer, but who was at
length compelled, with the men under his command, to
abandon and set fire to the boats, directing their flight
to Bladensburg, there to join General Winder, who
had, at that place collected a force of nearly nine thousand for the purpose of disputing with Gener 1 Ross
the road to the capital.
General Winder's army was visited by President Madison accompanied by General Armstrong, the American
Secretary of War, together with the United States Attorney General, before whom they passed in review on
the morning of the 23d, at Old-Fields, about five miles
distant from the iity of Washington.
-

After the review, General Winder detached a column
under Colonel Scott, to reconnoitre the force of the
British with a view to harrass them in their advance, and
by which means so retard their progress that the American army might gain as much strength as possible,
whose ranks were hourly swelling by the arrivals of the
militia from Baltimore and Annopolis and volunteers
from Georgetown and its vicinity. General Ross had
advanced within six miles of the enemy's camp, when
Colonel Scott's column was discovered ; but receiving a
few volleys from the British advanced guard, they retreated in rapid movement towards their camp. General
Ross advanced his column about three miles further on
the road to Washington, where he encamped during the
night ; but the enemy, dreading a nocturnal attack,
retired about sunset towards Washington, to a position
where they could encamp in greater security.
Early on the morning of the 24th, the British forces
were in movemont towards Washington, taking a route
which kept General Winder's army on their left flank ;
W2

246

HISTORY OF

THE LATE WAR.

but about noon the enemy was discovered strongly posted at Bladensburg, ready to dispute the passage at that
place. The bridge was defended by a large brigade of
artillery supported by a column of riflemen, with a division of tnicantry drawn up in an orchard in the rear ; and
a strong brigade of infantry under the directions of General Stansbury was drawn up on the west side of the
western branch of the river ; and on the heights commanding the great road to Washington were erected two
batteries served by the seamen and marines commanded
by Commodore Barney and Captain Miller, and supported by a body of infantry and riflemen -; the other
columns of the enemy were posted according to the situation of the ground, in the best order of defence which
suggested itself to the minds of their generals.

of the former*. The loss of the American army only
amounted to one hundred and eighty, in killed, wounded
and missingli ; but their loss in property was immenseT
no less than two hundred and sixty pieces of cannon,
five hundred and forty barrels of gun-powder, and a
hundred thousand cartridge mostly charged each with a
ball and three buck-shot, were taken by the captors.

General Ross, taking a moment's survey of the disposition of the enemy, formed his plan of attack. The
85th Light infantry regiment, and the light infantry
companies of the different regiments constituting the
British column—the whole Under the command of Colonel Thornton—rushed forward with such irresistable
i mpetuosity, supported by a 'division of infantry commanded by Colonel Brooke, that the bridge was carried
in a few minutes : and the enemy compelled to retreat
in confusion and dismay towards the capital, carrying
terror in their flight, and after the brief deliberations of
a council of war hastily assembled, it was concluded
that under present circumstances the metropolis was
completely untenable by the American army under their
present dispersed and disorganized state ; it was, therefore, ordered that General Smith should continue the
retreat of the army through the city, and take up a position on the heights of Georgetown.

247

General Ross, meeting with no further resistance,
continued his approach to Washington ; and having the
main body of his army encamped about a mile and a
half from the city, he entered the metropolis at the head
of six or seven hundred men, about 8 o'clock in the
evening. Immediately on the entry of the detachment
of British troops into the city, General Ross issued orders for the destruction of all the public buildings and
public works together with the public library, the capitol and a frigate and sloop of war in the navy yard,
almost ready for launching, with all the materials in the
naval arsenal ; pursuant to which they were all consigned to one continued conflagration, in which it is to
be regretted that an elegant hotel with a few other private
buildings were consumed.
Next day, General Ross having accomplished the
object of his expedition to Washington, ordered a retreat
which was commenced that evening and continued next
day to Benedict. During the progress of these affairs %

*General Ross to Earl Bathurst, dated, on board the Tonnant,
30th August, 1814.
II General Winder to General Armstrong.

The loss sustained by the British in the engagement
at Bladensburg, amounted to two hundred and fortynixie in killed and wounded, sixty-four of whom were

.I. By the report of the committee appointed to investigate the
amount of public property lost to the United States at the capture of Washington, it is estimated at nine hundred and sixty-nine
thousand, one linndred and seventy-one dollars.

HISTORY OF

THE LATE WAR

Captain Gordon of the Sea Horse, with a naval force
under 'his command, ascended the Potomac ; but, in
consequence of the difficulties which presented themselves in the navigation of that river with vessels of
large dimensions, he did not reach Fort Washington
until the 27th, upon which he immediately opened a
bombardment ; but the officer commanding that garrison
gave orders for spiking the guns and blowing up the
works without the least show of resistance. Captaia
Gordon then passed on to the town of Alexandria, the
municipal authorities of which, in order to save the town
from destruction, stipulated for the surrender of all
public stores together with twenty-one sail of merchant
shipping with their cargoes then lying in the harbor.

they came to an anchor off the mouth of the Potomac
River, about fourteen miles distant from Baltimore.
Early on the following morning, General Ross debarked
his troops amounting to nearly six thousand, under cover of the gun-boats, at a place called North Point. On
receiving intelligence of this movement, Brigadier General Stricker, who had been detached with a force of
between three and four thousand infantry, with a large
park of artillery, a corps of cavalry and a body of riflemen, to resist the approach of General Ross, took a
position at the junction of the several roads which led
to the city, having a body of light troops in his front
under Major Heath, for the purpose of annoying the
British and checking their advance. The point at which
General Ross had effected a landing is a kind of peninsula formed by the Patapsco and Back rivers, across which
Major Heath had thrown up an intrenehment ; but, on
the advance of the . British column, this position was
hastill abandoned with little or no resistance.

248

Captain Sir Peter Parker, to whom was entrusted
the command of another division of the fleet with which
to ascend the Chesapeake, on the night of the 30th of
August, landed a body of seamen and marines, in all
amounting to one hundred and twenty, near a place
called Georgetown Cross Roads, where a body of the
militia of Maryland was stationed. The enemy, apprized
of this movement, were drawn up in much greater force
than Captain Parker was led to anticipate, in front of
their camp. Still the intrepid captain, thinking of nothing but conquest, pressed forward with his handful of
brave followers, and while animating them in the fury
of the combat, received a buck-shot in the thigh, which
penetrate(' the femoral artery, yet continuing to cheer
his n the conflict, he fell and terminated a life rendered immortal in the recollections of his countrymen;
after which the enemy pouring upon them in overwhelming numbers, compelled them to retire to their boats
and abandon the enterprise.
Admiral Cochrane now assembled his whole squadron

in the waters of the Chesapeake, determined on a descent upon the city of Baltimore ; for which purpose
the fleet ascended the bay, and on the 11th of September,

249

In a short time the British forces came up with the
column under General Stricker, which was discovered
to be strongly posted with the right resting on Bear
Creek and the left covered by a swamp almost impervious. General Ross continued to advance under the
fire of the enemy's riflemen and light troops; and always too prodigal of his own safety in the field, placed
himself in front of his advance, who had now become
engaged with that of the enemy. While iii this situation, with his hat waving in the air, animating his troops,
lie received a rifle ball in his breast which proved to be
mortal.
The command of the expedition now devolved on
Colonel Brooke, for whom General Ross immediately
sent, and to whom he yielded his instructions ; and after
taking an affectionate leave of that officer and his personal staff, and ejaculating " my dear wife," he breathed
his last, deeply lamented by the whole army he had

2M

HISTORY OF

THE LATE WAR.

so recently commanded. Colonel Brooke continued to
move forward on the enemy's position, and commenced
a general attack ; a few minutes after the commencement of which the signal was given to charge the
enemy's line, when a rapid advance took place ; and the
whole of General Stricker's army was completely routed
and driven in confusion at the point of the bayonet.
The enemy's position was then taken possession of, together with two pieces of field ordnance which the
enemy's artillery, in their precipitation, were unable to
take from the field.

with an intention to draw the American forces from their
defences for an attack ; but finding the enemy no way
disposed to hazard a field engagement, the retreat was
continued the next morning to North Point, where the
troops were re-embarked, together with about two hundred of the most respectable inhabitants of Baltimore,
prisoners of war. The loss of the Americans is said, in
their own accounts, not to exceed one hundred and
eighty killed and wounded ; while, on the same authority, the British loss amounted to six hundred including
a number of prisoners.

250

On the following morning, Colonel Brooke continued
to advance till he arrived within a mile and a half of
Baltimore, intending an immediate assault upon that
place ; but upon reconnoitring the works with which the
enemy had surrounded the city, he discovered that all
those hills, with which its ambient vicinity abounds,
were completely studded with fortifications and redoubts,
the whole of which were connected by breastworks
and defended by an army of fifteen thousand men, exclusive of a numerous train of artillery commanded by
Generals Stansbury and Foreman, and a body of seamen
and marines under Commodore Rogers.
During the land operations against Baltimore, a powerful and well concerted plan of attack was attempted
against Fort Mc. Henry commanding the entrance of
the harbor of Baltimore, with a view to the reduction of
that fort, that the naval farce might approach the town
and co-operate with the army; but in consequence of a
number of vessels having been previously sunk by the
enemy across the entrance, it was found impracticable
to approach sufficiently near to render any assistance ;
the enterprise was therefore given up.
Next morning, the 15th, between one and two
o'clock, the British army retreated a few miles from
Baltimore, where they remained the whole of that day,

I

252

IIISTORY OF

CHAPTER XXXIII.
An Expedition formed in Lower Canada for the Invasion of Plattsburg—Arrival of the British Squadron
at the Harbor of Plattsburgh—Naval Engagement,
and loss of the British Squadron—Retreat of the British Troops—British Expedition formed against the
Shores of the United States bordering on the Mexican
Gulpk—Result of that Expedition—Expedition against
New Orleans—Partial Encounter between General
Jackson's Army and a Body of British Troops under
Colonel Thornton—The British under General Packenham advance towards New Orleans—Reinforcements
arrive for both Armies—Unsuccessful Attack on the
Enemy's Entrenchments—Second Attack on Fort
Bowyer—Surrender of that Fort—Action between the
British Frigate Endymion and the American Frigate
President—Surrender of the latter—Concluding Remarks—Summary of the Treaty of Peace.
DURING the period in which the operations against
Washington and Baltimore were in progress, British
troops were pouring into Lower Canada from France,
in consequence of the Peace of Paris having been concluded, until the army under Lieutenant General Sir
George Prevost actually amounted to fourteen thousand
effective men, which were immediately formed into
brigades ; and an expedition fitted out for the invasion
of the enemy's territory.
On the 2d of September, the British army commanded by Sir George Prevost in person, approached the
line of demarkation between Lower Canada and the
United States. On their advance, the American forces
stationed on the lines fled from their entrenchments,
panic struck, towards Plattsburgh, destroying all the
bridges and felling trees across the road in their route

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253

thither, in order to impede the advance of the British ;
but, in apposition to all these obstructions, the army
appeared before Plattsburgh on the sixth.
General Moers of the New-York militia, Colonel
Appling, Major Wood and Captain Sprout, of the American army, were sent out from Plattsburgh at the head
of columns of both regulars and militia, to oppose the
British in their advance; but the utmost united exertions of the general and every officer under his
command were found insufficient to prevail on the American troops for a moment to maintain their ground
before the advance of the British.
On the approach of the British to Plattsburgh, it was
discovered that the bridge across the River Saranac had
been stripped of its planks, to the south side of which
river the whole of the American force had retired and
taken up a position on an elevated piece of ground, fortified by three redoubts and a number of breastworks
and batteries, and commanded by General Mc. Comb in
person. The planks which had been taken from the
bridge crossing the Saranac were piled in the form of a
breast work at the south end, to cover the American
troops intended to dispute the passage with the British
advance.
The time which intervened between the 6th and 11th
was chiefly employed by Sir George Prevost in raising
his works and bringing up his ordnance and mounting it
for the purpose of bombarding the town and out works
of the enemy. At 7 o'clock on the morning of the last
mentioned day, the British squadron on Lake Champlain, under Captain Downie, was discovered over the
isthmus formed by the union of the River Saranac and
Cumberland Bay, nearing the harbor of Plattsburgh to
attack the American squadron under Commodore Mc.
Donough, and to co-operate with the forces on land.
The British squadron consisted of the Confiance of
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HISTORY OF

thirty-nine guns, the brig Linnet of sixteen guns, the
Chub of eleven guns, the sloop Finch of eleven guns,
and thirteen gun-boats, five of which carried two guns
each and eight one gun each—total ninety-four guns.
The American squadron consisted of the Saratoga of
twenty-six guns, the Eagle of twenty guns, the Ticonderoga of seventeen guns, the Preble of seven guns,
and ten gun-boats, six of which carrying two guns
each and four one gun each—total eighty-six guns.
The American squadron was moored in line, within the
harbor of Plattsburgh, supported by the gun-boats on
the flank, awaiting the approach of the British.
About S o'clock, A. M., Captain Downie bore into
the harbor, and formed his line directly in front of the
enemy, each vessel selecting her antagonist according to
its strength and agreeable to previous arrangements,
within two or three cables length distance. The action
between the two hostile fleets commenced with cheers
from the crews on both sides ; and in consequence of
the very light winds which prevailed during the action,
the lake was quite smooth, by means of which the fire
on both sides had the most destructive effect.
The battle raged for nearly two hours, in the early
part of which Captain Downie was killed and the confiance so completely disabled that she was compelled to
surrender, a destiny which awaited the other vessels of
the British squadron. Three of the British gun-boats
had been sunk in an early stage of the action, which
considerably weakened their force ; but in consequence
of the shattered state of the enemy's ships, the remaining gun-boats were enabled to escape.
The British lost in killed'and wounded, in this action,
one hundred & seventy-four, eighty-four of whom were
killed, including the gallant Downie who commanded
the British squadron. The American loss amounted to

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255

one hundred and ten, in killed and wounded, fifty-two
of whom were of the former number.
During this naval engagement, the efforts of the land
forces had been in some measure successful. The brigades under Generals Robinson and Power had succeeded
in forcing a passage across the Saranec ; but on the first
shouts of victory from the enemy's works, in consequence of the surrender of the British squadron, Sir
George Prevost, in the most unaccountable manner,
peremptorily commanded them to retreat ; and the same
evening the guns were all dismounted from the British
works ; and two hours before day on the following morning, the army retreated once more to Canada, leaving
a number of the wounded in the hands of the enemy.
The loss sustained by the British land forces, in killed
and wounded, from the 6th to the 14th' September,
amounted to about two hundred and forty*, but the
number was supposed to have been augmented by desertions.
During the time of the expedition to Plattsburgh, and
while negotiations for peace were in progress at Ghent,
an expedition was undertaken by the British government
for the invasion of the shores of the Gulph of Mexico.
On the 15th day of September, a squadron under the
command of the honorable Captain Wm. Henry Percy of
the Royal Navy, consisting of two frigates and two gun
brigs, appeared off Mobile. A force Was immediately
landed under the directions of Colonel Nicholls and
Captain Woodbine, for the purpose of attacking Fort
Bowyer ; (situated on Mobile Point ;) but the American
commandant, Major Lawrence, withstood the attack
with such determined bravery that the force was compelled to retire ; and the fire from the fort was so ably

*Sir George Prevost's Despatches to Earl Bathurst.

256

257

HISTORY O'

THE LATE WAR.

directed against the shipping that before they could
withdraw themselves without the reach of the cannonade, the Hermes, flag-ship to the squadron, caught fire
and exploded.

landing and the main position of the enemy, captured
a strong piquet stationed at the entrance of a canal called
bayou Bien-venu, for the purpose of checking the advance.

As soon as the severity of the winter had suspended
the military operations on the frontier of Upper and
Lower Canada, a force was collected in the neighborhood of the Bermudas under the command of Major
General Keane. This force was embarked on board
the fleet under Vice-admiral the Honorable Sir Alexander Cochrane. The armament, on the 12th of December,
made its appearance in the bay of St. Louis. The
American flotilla of gun-boats under Lieutenant Jones,
then lying at Cat's Island, took shelt.ir further up the
bay, where they were attacked by the British gun-boats
under Captain Lockyer, with great bravery and skill ;
and after an animated engagement, the American gunboats were compelled to surrender.

General Jackson no sooner heard of the approach of
the British column, than placing himself at the head of
two regiments of regular troops, the militia and volunteers of Tennessee and New Orleans and a regiment of
colored troops, moved a few miles down the river where
he awaited the arrival of General Coffie with the force
under his command, to whom orders had been previously
transmitted to join General Jackson at that place ; cfter
which he prosecuted his march down the river, until
about dark he found himself coming in contact with that
British advance under Colonel Thornton. A heavy fire
was immediately commenced on both sides ; and an
American schooner which had dropped down the river
for that purpose, kept up a galling fire upon the British.
But Colonel Thornton, perceiving the awkward predicament into which he had fallen, immediately ordered
his troops to charge ; which compelled the enemy to
retreat, and a body of the American riflemen fell into
the hands of the victors.

General Jackson, who commanded the United States
forces in this region, had been for some time employed
in making the most formidable preparations for defending New Orleans. He had proclaimed the country as
far as his command extended under martial law ; he
personally superintended the erection of such works of
defence as time would permit, and he reviewed the
whole of the militia and volunteers in the vicinity of
New Orleans, preparatory to their being engaged. No
possible exertion that could be made was neglected :
General Carrol was called from Tennessee with about
five or six thousand troops, who arrived at New Orleans
on the 21st December. A host, too, of Baritarian
pirates offered themselves to General Jackson as a reinforcement, on condition of a free pardon, whose services
were accepted of.
On the 23d, the British army landed, and, making their
way through a swamp which lay between the place of

On the morning of the 25th December, Major General Sir Edward Packenham accompanied by Major
General Gibbs, arrived in the British camp and assumed
the command of the army. Early on the morning of
the 27th, the British forces moved forward in two divisions, driving in the enemy's advanced columns to a
position about three miles distant from New Orleans ;
where his main body was discovered strongly posted in
rear of a breast work raised in some places with bales of
cotton and covered in front with a very wide ditch ; and
in consequence of a recent swell in the river, the
American general was enabled to inundate the ground
in front of his position, which, when the water receded,
left a sufficient quantity in the ditch to render it impas-

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HISTORY OF

THE LATE WAR.

sable without the aid of temporary bridges or fascines to
fill it up.

and Gibbs were also wounded, the latter of whom died
next day.

The Vangeur with a convoy of transports arrived in the
bay on the 1st of January, 1815, with a reinforcement
of British troops under Major General Sir John Lambert,
who arrived in the British lines on the 6th; and on the
4th, a reinforcement of three thousand Kentucky militia arrived in the American camp under Generals
Thomas and Adair.

The circumstance of the fascines and other apparatus
for crossing the trenches not having been such, as was
now discovered, entirely to answer the purpose for
which they were intended—and the troops perceiving
all their leaders, as it were, either killed or carried oft
the field wounded, (as General Lambert expresses in
his despatches)—caused a wavering in the ranks, which,
in such a situation became irreparable ; and as I advanced, continues the general, at about two hundred
and fifty yards from the line, I had the mortification to
observe the whole falling back upon me in the greatest
confusion. The disorder into which the British columns
had been thrown at this juncture rendered it impossible,
notwithstanding the utmost exertions of General Lambert and the officers under his command, to restore any
kind of order in the lines ; a short consultation was
therefore held, in which it was conceived advisable to
withdraw the troops and abandon the enterprise.

25S

From the time of the arrival of General Lambert
until daylight on the morning of the 8th was incessantly
employed by the British in preparations for a general
assault upon the enemy's intrenchments. Colonel
Thornton was ordered to the right bank of the Mississippi with a detachment under his command, to seize a
battery erected by the enemy for the purpose of enfilading the British columns in their advance to the attack.
At break of day on the morning of the 8th, the
British columns being under arms, and all things being
prepared for the onset, a volley of bombs and Congreive
rockets were thrown into the American lines ; and at
the same moment the army commenced its movement
upon the enemy's works. General Packenham, after
giving the word of command to advance, galloped in
front of the advancing columns and continued to animate
his men with his hat waving in the air, until he arrived
in front of the enemy's position ; where reckless of his
own invaluable life, he would present himself at all
times in the fury of the conflict, in the same animating
manner ; but such heroic conduct could not escape the
observation of the enemy, especially in close quarters;
for almost in the same moment of time he received a
wound in the knee and another in the body, upon which
he fell into the arms of his aid de camp, Major Mc.
Dougal, and immediately expired. Generals Keane

259

On the opposite side of the Mississippi matters wore
a more brilliant aspect. Colonel Thornton advanced his
detachment to the attack simultaneously with main body on the other side of the river. The forts against
which Colonel Thornton's brigade was opposed were
def .nded by a body of Kentucky volunteers and the
Louisiana militia under the command of General Morgan, who, after the first fire, retreated in disorder,
leaving the British in possession of their intrenchments.
,

The loss sustained by the British, on both sides of
the river, amounted to not less than two thousand and
forty in killed, wounded and missing, a great number of
whom were of the latter and were afterwards found to
be prisoners of war. The loss of the enemy, according
to the despatches ,of his adjutant general, was very

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HISTORY OF

trifling, not exceeding twenty killed and fifty-one
wounded.
It was concluded in a council of war held by General
Lambert and the heads of departments assisted by Viceadmiral the Honorable Sir Alexander Cochrane, that,
from the unsuccessful result of the attack already made
upon the enemy, and the heavy loss sustained, to renew
the assault was utterly hopeless ; it was therefore given
up and the army retired from before New Orleans.
Before re-embarking the troops, a second attack was
made upon Fort Bowyer on Mobile Point. On the 7th
of February, the Vangeur, commanded by Captain
Ricketts, was brought up in front of the fort, while the
other side : and so
land forces closely invested on
closely was the seige pushed that
that in a few days Major
Lawrence found it necessary to accept terms of capitulation, and surrender himself with a garrison of three
hundred and sixty-six men, prisoners of war.
On the 15th of January, as a British squadron blockaded the port of New-York, the President frigate,
Commodore Decatur, was discovered leaving the harbor ;
a chase immediately commenced which lasted eighteen
hours, when the Endymion came up with and laying
herself alongside her antagonist, a spirited action commenced, which was maintained on both sides with
equal courage and heroism during a period of two
hours and a half, the result of which was the surrender
of the President. This was the last naval engagement
fought between the two nations, and may be said,
together with the most of the campaign in the neighborhood of New Orleans, to have transpired after the
plenipotentiaries of the two powers had finished their
labors at Ghent.
Thus terminated a second war between Great Britain
and America—a contest from the narrative of which,

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261

detailed in the preceding pages, may be seen was
evidently commenced by the government of the United
States, from the most unworthy motives that possibly
could have actuated the councils of a nation. They
attempted to practise a scheme of policy, in all their
interemirse with Great Britain and France, which was
obviously intended to paralyze the whole energies of
the British empire, and give loose reins to the high
towering ambition of the French usurper ; to defeat the
means employed by Great Britain in resisting the arrogant and aspiring pretensions of that despot, in the
magnanimous stand she had taken in defence of the independence of nations.
It cannot surely be denied by any person having the
exercise of reason, that the very first principle in prosecuting a war is to inflict the greatest possible injury
upon the enemy, at the least possible risk or expense.
Then, precisely so did the case stand with Great Britain : no circumstance ever shone on any page of the
annals of the world could have rested more fully and
fairly upon this basis. The cause in which England
was engaged was the most interesting and the most calculated to draw forth the sympathies of the world at
large. To see, as it were, all Europe (Great Britain
alone excepted,) groaning under the iron yoke of a
haughty, arrogant tyrant, equally reckless of justice or
humanity—actually visiting those nations he had already
subdued into a state of the most degraded vassalage,
with the most unparalleled treachery and the most atrocious violence that ever stained the ambition of despotic
power. To redress those wrongs and to emancipate
European nations from the galling chains of that despot—
in fine, to break the bewildering spell which appeared
to hang over the surrounding continent, at his growing
power—Great Britain, with a promptitude and generosity confessedly peculiar to herself as a nation, had
stepped forward ; and to see the councils of America,
(let it again be reiterated,) the only republican nation

HISTORY OT

THE LATE WAR.

then in existence, willingly enlist the energies of that
country into the service of the French ruler, to oppose
the grand struggle for freedom, is. a problem, to the
solution of which the historian is compelled humbly to
acknowledge himself incompetent.

3d. A review of the boundary line between the United
States and the adjacent British colonies.

262

But, however the warlike resources cc Great Britain
were absorbed in the peninsular war, the celebrity of
her arms was gallantly sustained (as is seen in the foregoing review of the operations of the war,) by the brave
militia and fencible corps of Can ada,Nov a Scotia and New
Brunswick; to whom, with the few regular troops then
in the country, was entrusted the defence of the whole
of that part of the British empire ; and to the small naval
force which could be spared on that service, whose
gallant conduct stands forth eminently conspicuous, when
it is considered the prodigious disadvantages under
which they had at at all times to engage an American.
On the 8th of August, the day on which the plenipotentiaries of Great Britain and the United States held
their first conference at Ghent, th. English ministers
submitted to the American commissioners the following
rojet, explanatory of the subjects to be brought under
discussion*:
1st. The forcible seizure of mariners on board of merchant vessels and, in connection with it, the claims of
his Britannic Majesty to the allegiance of all his native
subjects.
2d. The Indian allies of Great Britain to be included
in the pacifications, and a definite boundary to be settled
for their territory. The British commissioners stated that
an arrangement upon this subject was a sine qua non.
.

•Draft of the original Protocol, made by the American ministers at the two first conferences held with the British commissioners.

263

With respect to this point, the British commissioners
disclaimed any intention, on the part of their government, to acquire any increase of territory.
4th. The fisheries, respecting which the British government will not allow the people of the United States
the privilege of landing and drying fish, within the
territorial jurisdiction of Great Britain, without an equivalent.
The American ministers, at the second meeting,
which was held the following day, stated that, upon
the first and third points proposed by the British commissioners, they were prepared with no instructions
from their government ; but that on the second and
fourth of these points, there not having existed, hitherto, any difference between the two governments, they
had not been anticipated by the United States, and were
therefore not provided for in their instructions : that, in
relation to an Indian pacification, they knew that the
government of the United States had appointed commissioners to treat for peace with the Indians ; and that it
was not improbable that peace had already been made
with them. At the same time, the American commissioners presented, as further subjects considered by the
government of the United States as suitable for discussion, the following :
1st. A definition of blockade, and, as far as may be
agreed, of other neutral and belligerent rights.
2d. Certain claims of indemnity to individuals, for
captures and seizures preceding and subsequent to the

war.

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HISTORY OF

THE LATE WAR.

3d. They further stated, that there were various other
points to which their instructions extend, which might
with propriety be the subjects of discussion, either in
the negotiation of the peace or in that of a treaty of
commerce ; which, in case of a propitious termination
of the conferences, they were likewise authorised to
conclude. That for the purpose of facilitating the first
and most essential object of peace, they had discarded
every subject which was not considered so peculiarly
connected with that, and presented only those points
which appeared to be immediately relevant to the
negotiation.

States should be removed by commissioners appointed
on both sides for that purpose ; but that the line of demarkation, as drawn by the treaty of 1783, should- form
the standard of their decisions*.

At a subsequent meeting held on the 10th, the British commissioners endeavored to impress the American
ministers with the propriety of giving up certain places
ceded to the United States by the memorable treaty of
1783, for the purpose of rendering the limits of Canada
more precise and secure ; but upon this point the Americans were immovable.
The most important, as well as the most difficult subjects in dispute between the two countries, were
undoubtedly those relating to the impressment of seamen
from American ships, and the limits of blockade. The
peace in Europe had, however, reduced these questions
to mere abstract principles, regarding the future rather
than the present ; and both parties, aware of the difficulty, agreed to wave discussions upon whtch it seemed
impossible to arrive at any amicable conclusion. The
other subjects of importance were the admission of the
Indians to the treaty and the establishment of a new
Canadian frontier. On the former of these points, it
was agreed that the Indian allies of both parties should
be left in the same situation in which they were found
in 1812 ; and on the latter, that any ambiguity regarding
the territorial limits between Canada and the United

265

The foregoing formed the basis of an amicable arrangement of the ditietences between the two countries,
and was concluded by the signature of a treaty of peace
to that effect, at Ghent, on the 24th December, 1814.

*For the foregoing summary, see Baines' Wars of the Frenck
Revolution,