Title

Chapter 6

Identifier

http://www.nflibrary.ca/nfplindex/show.asp?b=1&ref=oo&id=298113

page

104-117

Bibliographic Citation

A veteran of 1812 : the life of James FitzGibbon / by Mary Agnes FitzGibbon.

10168803

A veteran of 1812 : the life of James FitzGibbon / by Mary Agnes FitzGibbon.

Type

Text

extracted text

104

A

A VETERAN OF 181'2.

CHAPTER VI.

LTHOUGH FitzGibbon speaks gratefully of
the reward for his services at Beaver Darn,
reference to Colonel Brock's letter, given in a
previous chapter, as well as to the extract below,
from the Canadian Archives, betrays the fact that the
company " so graciously bestowed upon him " was not
unsolicited on his part. In after years he regretted
his removal into a colonial regiment. It took him
from under the notice of the Commander-in-Chief, and
interfered with his success and advancement in the
.
army and as a soldier.
At the time, however, his ambition was satisfied by
obtaining a company in a regiment which he knew
to have been a favorite, and, to a certain extent, a
creation of Sir Isaac Brock's.

July 1, 1813. '
" SIR,—I have the honor to submit to your Excellency's consideration the copy of a letter from Lieut.
Johnson, of the Canadian Fencible Infantry, soliciting
1
to be permitted to resign all pretensions to promotion J
in the Glengarry Light Infantry, to return to his
lieutenancy in the Canadian Fencibles.
" I beg leave to inform your Excellency that Lieut.
Johnson, at an early period, resigned his recruiting
orders, which were transferred to Lieut. FitzGibbon of
" HEADQUARTERS, KINGSTON,

THE ATTACK ON FORT SCHLOSSER.

105

the 49th Regiment, but were afterwards recalled and
restored to Lieut. Johnson at the earnest solicitation
of his father, to the great disappointment and prejudice of Lieut. FitzGibbon, who, in consequence of
this prospect of promotion in the levy, resigned the
adjutancy of the 49th Regiment . . . . ;
" I beg strongly to recommend to your Excellency's
notice the pretensions of Lieut. FitzGibbon of the
49th, from the circumstances above stated, but most
particularly from his ability as an officer of a light
corps, in which line of service he has recently so
eminently distinguished himself."
It would also appear from this letter that the gift
of such promotion had to be earned by the recipient
in the arduous and often expensive duty of recruiting a certain complement of the men to form the
company over which he was granted the command.
FitzGibbon's pretensions were favorably considered,
and the step in regimental rank given him, but he
did not join the new regiment until January, 1814.
He still retained command of the gallant little band
of the 49th.
On July 3rd, he sent Ensign Winder with a note
from Fort Erie, where he then was, to Chippewa,
bidding him give it to any militia officer he could
find who would assist him in carrying out the plan
it contained.
The following report gives the result :
*Letter from Colonel Baynes to Sir George Prevost, Canadian
Archives, 797, Page 131.

106

A VETERAN OIL 1812.
" CHIPPEWA,

July 5th, 1813.

" SIR,—For the information of General De Rottenburg, please say that I last evening received a note
from Lieut. FitzGibbon, requesting me to assist
Ensign Winder of the 49th Regiment, with what
militia I could muster, to make a descent about daybreak of this morning upon Fort Schlosser, and bring
off what public boats and stores we could find there.
I accordingly, in the course of the night, assembled
34, including officers, who, together with Ensign
Winder, volunteer Thompson and 6 privates of the
49th, crossed over in three boats and arrived at
Schlosser a little after daybreak, and were so fortunate 'as to surprise the guard, consisting of 2 lieutenants, 1 sergeant, 8 privates, 3 civilians, and 3 of
our own subjects, in the public storehouse at and
upon the wharf. We found one brass 6-pounder, 57
stand of arms, 21 kegs of musket ball-cartridges, 6
bulwarks (or musket-proof curtains for boats), 1
gunboat, 2 bateaux, 2 anchors, 20 barrels of salt, 17
casks of tobacco, 8 barrels of pork, 1 barrel whiskey,
with some spades, bars and axes—all of which we
brought to this place. We left at'Schlosser 6 scows,
6 boats (some of them very large), and about 16 tons
weight of cannon shot and shells. The scows and
boats, from their being immersed in water, we could
not bring off nor completely disable. We remained
at Schlosser about one hour, during which time no
person appeared to oppose us ; however, we had
scarcely embarked in the last boat, when from 12 to
15 men came to the beach, supposed to be militia or
workmen from Patey Mills. They fired about twenty
shots of musketry at us, which were returned by our
last two boats. No damage was done to any person

BLACK ROCK.

107

in the boats, and I believe little hurt was done to
the people on shore.
" I have the honor to be, Sir,
" Your most obedient servant,
" THOMAS CLARKE,

" Lieut.-Colonel 2nd Lincoln Militia.
" To LIEUT.-COLONEL HARVEY,
'

"Deputy Adjutant-General."

FitzGibbon had judged correctly in estimating that
the celebration of their national festival, the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, would
occupy the enemy and render them less on the alert.
When sending Ensign Winder upon this enterprise,
he had a twofold object in view. He wished to give
his subaltern a chance of distinguishing himself in a
separate service, and so draw the attention of the
officer in command to him, and obtain his recommendation for promotion. He also intended with the
remainder of his party to make a simultaneous raid
or attack upon Black Rock, a more important and
strongly garrisoned post on the enemy's shores. To
his great disappointment, he could not obtain sufficient boats in which to convey his men across the
river, and was reluctantly obliged to postpone the
intended descent.
Sir George Prevost thought the success at Schlosser
of sufficient importance to issue a general order upon
t.
Two days later, Lieut.-Colonel Bisshopp informed
FitzGibbon that he desired to attack Black Rock, and

108

A VETERAN OF 1812.

had asked General De Rottenburg for three hundred
men, but could obtain only two hundred.
" Do you think this number sufficient ? "
FitzGibbon smilingly replied, " I hope, sir, you will
not be offended when I tell you that I am only waiting for boats to make the attack with less than fifty
men."
" Then you think two hundred will do," returned
the colonel ; adding, " You must not attack, but wait
until I return with the men, and you shall accompany
me."
Colonel Bisshopp came back the following morning.
He allowed FitzGibbon to arrange the plan of attack s
to lead the advance, and to undertake to cover the
retreat should the main attack be frustrated.
At two o'clock on the morning of the 11th, the
men embarked. A thick mist lay over the water,
making the morning very dark. FitzGibbon's men
were in the first four boats. Owing to the darkness
and the strength of the current, they were carried
farther down than their intended point of landing
and had to pull up about a quarter of a mile on the
enemy's side.
Although it was broad daylight, the mist still hung
over the river and its shores. Advancing at once, their
approach was soon discovered by the one hundred and
fifty militiamen occupying one of the barracks, who
were under arms to receive them. Rightly judging
that Colonel Bisshopp with the main body had been
carried farther down the stream, FitzGibbon had re-

AN INDIGNANT OFFICER.

109

course to his old tactics to gain time, in order that

they might join him.
Leaving his handful of men in the background,
trusting that the nature of the mist would magnify
their number in the eyes of the enemy, he advanced
with his bugler and a flag of truce. He was met by
the American commander, Major Hall, with his
militiamen close at his back. Speaking in a voice
loud enough to be heard by all, FitzGibbon summoned them to surrender. " I see you are all militia,
and. I do not wish to be killing the husbands, fathers
and brothers of your innocent families. You shall
all be allowed to retire on parole."
He had scarcely finished, when the men broke their
ranks and made off down the hill towards Buffalo as
fast as they could run.
" Stop your men, Major Hall," called out FitzGibbon, though secretly delighted at the success of
his speech, " this is quite irregular while negotiating

under a flag of truce."
" I know it, sir," replied the indignant officer, " but
I cannot stop them."
" Then I must detain you as my prisoner," answered
FitzGibbon ; but upon Major Hall reiterating his
inability to " stop his men," he added, " I see it, sir,
therefore I will not detain you ; you may retire."
Colonel Bisshopp now came up. Eight large boats
belonging to the enemy were seized, loaded with two
12-pounders, one 6-pounder, a large quantity of provisions and military stores, and sent over to the

1 10 A VETERAN OF 1812.

Canadian side in charge of about half his men. The
barracks and block-house, sufficient to accommodate
five thousand men, were burned, and a schooner also
set on fire.
Had Colonel Bisshopp been content with such
measure of success, the enterprise had ended without
loss, but excited by the unexpected result he refused
to listen to Fitz Gibbon. He wished to carry off four
hundred barrels of salt that were piled on the beach.
FitzGibbon knew that the panic caused by his
bold words among the American militia would be
only temporary—the light of the burning buildings
would discover the small number of the attacking •
party, and unless they put the river speedily between
them and the enemy the result would be fatal.
FitzGibbon never liked to speak of this, and in all
his brief accounts of the affair I can find only the
following statement regarding this part of it :
" The details of what followed I am unwilling to
give, because it would be imputing blame to others
and taking credit to myself. I will only add that we
remained longer than was needed, and were attacked
by a body of militia and Indians. About half of our
own force having been already sent back to our own
shore with the captured boats, the other half were
driven to their boats, leaving behind a captain and
fifteen men killed and wounded, and having twentyseven killed and wounded in our boats. Colonel
Bisshopp himself was wounded on shore and carried
to a boat. He received two wounds more in the boat,
of which he died five days after.

A GALLANT RESCUE.

11

1

" For no man fallen in battle did I grieve so much
as for him. He was a man of most gentle and generous nature, and was more beloved by the militia, over
whom he was an inspecting field officer, than any
other who served in the province during the war.
But lie wanted either experience or judgment, and
fell in consequence in the prime of life, in the twentyeighth year of his age."
From other sources, recollections of hearing the
story as told by some who shared the enterprise, I
have been able to piece together what the soldier
could not tell himself.*
The blazing buildings attracted the Indians. The
militiamen, ashamed of their panic, when reinforced
by Major Parker and the force at Buffalo, returned
and attacked the British with irresistible spirit FitzGibbon, true to his command, endeavored to rally his
men and cover the retreat, but the disorder was too
great. In the confusion the wounded colonel narrowly escaped being left in the enemy's hands. Some •
of the boats had already been pushed off; when the
cry arose that the colonel was wounded and down.
FitzGibbon shouted, "To the rescue!" Then as the men
still scrambled for the boats, he called out, " Come,
my lads, we'll try for him anyway," and followed by
a handful of the devoted "Green 'uns," made a rush
and succeeded in rescuing and carrying the wounded
" Losing refers to this in his " Pictorial History of the War "—in
a note—where he says : "He (Bisshopp) was taken care of by the
gallant FitzGibbon and carried to the boats," etc.

•

112 A VETERAN

OF 1812.

officer to the boat. Alas, that the few strokes willing
arms plied could not evade the shot which carried
death with it.
In reading the few private letters extant, and the
scanty allusions to the condition of the army employed
on the frontier of Upper Canada during the summer
and autumn campaigns of 1813-14, one learns something of the hardships and suffering patiently endured
by the men. The breaking down of the commissariat
here, as in the other quarters both before and since,
was the cause of much unnecessary privation and
anxiety on the part of those in command, who, for
want of the material and adequate supplies, were
unable to take advantage of either their own military
success or the blunders of their adversaries. The
often heavy loss of life, the cruel carnage, the heap
of slain which marked the taking of the enemy'ss"
guns, the loss of the hastily erected battery, or a
determined stand against the onslaught of the enemy,
appear much more terrible under the reflection that
had the duty of those at headquarters to furnish the
machinery of war been more faithfully performed,
much of it might have been saved. When one
reads, too, of battles fought and won, of daring
deeds done in the face of the foe, victories won
against great odds, one scarcely realizes that the
report of killed and wounded is more than mere
statistics, and is apt to dwell upon the comparison of
a small numerical loss with the greater as the chief
item of congratulation.

StYFFERING SOLDItitS.

na

On the contrary, the weary record of men dying
singly of fever, exposure, or deprivation of the absolute necessaries of life, due to an inefficient commissariat, acquires an importance out of all proportion
to the actual loss. A soldier will understand this.
Would he not rather die a hundred deaths in the
moment of victory, than one on the lingering, weariful bed of fever in camp ?
A touch is given here and there in a private letter,
a bitter word of censure levelled against the ComF missariat department, of indignation at the apparently wilful ignorance of the situation displayed by
the Home Government, or even as near the scene of
action as the headquarters at Kingston ; a bare fact
stated in official despatches, or a sympathetic regret
expressed by an officer for the useless sufferings of
his men ; these are all we have to enable us to judge
of the daily life of the soldier watching and waiting
on the Niagara frontier.
" On my arrival here I found the troops in great
distress for necessaries, shirts, shoes and stockings
Most of the 49th are literally naked," writes James
J. Fulton, A.D.C. to Sir George Prevost, on June 18th.
The italics are his. (Canadian Archives.)
Speaking of the 41st on July 14th, General De
Rottenburg says : " That regiment is in rags, and
without shoes." (Ibid.)
The letters of that date reveal a history of wearisome marches and counter-marches, unceasing vigi-

114

A VETERAN OF 1812.

lance, long watches miserable worn-out camping
necessaries, where there were any at all, and scarcity
of provisions and medicine.
The anxiety of the poor settlers, who were also
soldiers, to harvest their crops and save the produce
of their farms for their own use, their reluctance to
sell at any price, necessitated the placing of districts
in the immediate vicinity of the headquarters under .
martial law.
The inefficiency of the officials, who omitted to take
stock of the quantity of stores of either food or ammunition ; the harassing character of the warfare in
the forest ; the heat, drenching rains, sickness, and
the anxiety of each scattered handful of troops for
the safety or success of the others, knowing that the
defeat of one added tenfold to the dangers to be
incurred by the other ; and the mystery and uncertainty in which the intentions of the Commanderin-Chief were shrOuded, even to the officers immediately under his command, added to the great • distance from their homes and all that life held dear to
them, rendered the situation a most trying one for
both officers' and men to endure with patience.
" For many months past the prospect has appeared
so clouded to my imagination, and men and measures
so different to those which you and others have so
repeatedly expatiated on with sensations of pleasure
and confidence, that I have been for months a silent
spectator of events which I durst not trust my pen to
dwell on. A veil of mystery and seclusion has, alas,
;

PROJECTED ATTACK ON NIAGARA.

115

but too long been the prevalent* feature in this part
of the world."*
Sickness decimated the ranks, and the great heat
increased the dangers.
" The weather is intensely hot," writes General De
Rottenburg from St. David's, 30th of August, in a
private letter to Sir George Prevost, " and everybody
is more or less affected by it. Colonels Stewart, Plenderleath, May, Williams, FitzGibbon, and a great
number of others are laid up with the lake fever.
We are in great want of medicine and wine for the
sick."
Colonel Plenderleath had been obliged to retire
from the outposts at Long Point on July 31st, owing
to the great heat, drenching rains, and the sickness
among his men.
In the list of the troops to be employed on the
south side of the river in the projected attack on
Forts Niagara and George, on August 24th, are 350
of the 49th under Major Plenderleath, including the
party of Lieut. FitzGibbon.
In the plan of attack, the Light Corps under General Vincent are detailed " to rendezvous at the headquarters at St. David's , sufficiency of boats and
craft to be previous'y at a convenient place for crossing the river, between Lewistown and the Fort. The
Voltigeurs, Lieut. FitzGibton's party and the Indians
to cross in the leading boats, and to possess themselves
*Extract from a letter written by Major Glegg, 49th Regiment,
from camp at Cross, to Drummer Powell, Oct. 8th, 1813.

116

A VFTERAN OF 1812.

of the woody, close country near the fort. Major
Plenderleath to attack and possess himself of the
guns and batteries on the bank of the river facing
Fort George."*
There is no record of this carefully planned attack
upon Fort Niagara having been carried out, except
that portion of it under Major Plenderleath, including
Lieut. FitzGibbon's party. The enemy were driven
in to their inner works, and fourteen prisoners taken.
The 49th had two officers and three rank and file
wounded.
The tidings of the defeat of General Proctor at
Moraviantown on the 5th of October, and the probable fate of the remnant of his small but brave force,
made instant retreat imperative.
" My friend General V
has only one decision
to make, and, if I do not greatly err, his time is very
short. Our sick and baggage are hastening to the,
rear, and I hope to God we may follow them tomorrow," writes one of the bravest and best officers of
the 49th, from camp at Cross, Oct. 8th. "I shall not
consider our retreat safe until we reach Burlington,
and little advantage can arise from remaining there.
I have this instant received a private note from Fort
George, from a source to be depended on, which mentions that the Indians have been crossing all morning
to this side, and an attack has been promised by
Major Chapin this night or to-morrow."-f* Canadian Archives, 1812, p. 480.
t Major Glegg to Drummer Powell, from camp at Cross, October
8th, 1813.

-'A'RETREAT.

117

That this promise was not kept, the miserable condition of the retreating British force discovered, and
a hot pursuit, of more than possible success, made by
the American army, was due entirely to the bold
front, the vigilance and bravery of the light troops
covering the retreat.
On the 14th, Major Glegg again writes to Mr.
Powell, from headquarters, Bensley's :
" I am obliged to send you hasty but very important details of our proceedings. Your consideration
must make the necessary allowance. We arrived
here (Bensley's) on the 12th, after undergoing a very
harassing march for our poor fellows, particularly the
numerous sick, whose pallid countenances cut me to
the quick. The elements were most unkind during
our retreat, but anything was pleasing after quitting
that sink of disease on the Twelve Mile Creek, where
an inactive residence had nearly annihilated as fine a
body of men as were ever led against an enemy. Our
men are comparatively comfortable in this position.
They are all under cover, but of course barns will
not last much longer. Considering all things, the
casualties of our retreat have been very trifling.
Fortunately the enemy did not pursue us. Colonel
Murray brought up the rear with the 100th and
Light Company of the King's, and he is still at the
Forty Mile, merely waiting until the bateaux with
the sick have passed it. He will then fall back upon
Stony Creek, watching the two roads on the right
and left of that place.
" Of our further movements I can give you no certain information at present. A plain statement of
our situation has been transmitted to Kingston and