extracted text

280

A VETERAN OF 1812.

ENERGETIC OLD AGE.
shortness of all things of time here on earth, as compared with eternity, must surely, under such conviction, be nearly, if not altogether, relieved from much
mental suffering, and enabled to depart in comparative peace, and even with hope and joy and confidence
in the goodness of God.
" That this account of my dream may occasionally
soothe and cheer the anxious spirits of persons so
circumstanced, I humbly hope and fervently pray.
" Amicus."

281

CHAPTER XII.
ITZGIBBON was never idle. His old energy
and anxiety to be of use to someone—to do
what little good might be within his power---never flagged. He read all the papers with avidity,
making notes of interesting items, clipping paragraphs containing information suitable for the acceptance of some of his youthful correspondents among
his nephews and friends ; occasionally, where a reminiscence of his own was apropos, replying to or
writing articles for the press, military matters especially attracting his attention.
The following is, perhaps, as apt an illustration of
this interest and the " grist he sent to the mill " as
anything among his papers :
" MONDAY, November 22nd, 1852.
" SIR,—In the supplement to the Weekly Despatch
of yesterday, I have just read the following words :
And never let us forget to honor and care for the
humblest soldier who has done his part of the great
task in the faithful spirit of his chief. The individual honors cannot be his, and he knows it. He is
proud to see decorations on the breasts of his officers,
they are tributes to his valor; his bayonet helped
' to win them ; his discipline, his firmness held the
ground ; his energy was in the last decisive charge.'
I cannot withhold from you the statement of a simple
18

A VETERAN OF 1812.

A SAILOR'S "PEN YARN."

fact which, I think, beautifully illustrates the truth of
your hypothesis.
" The battle of Queenston, in Upper Canada, was
fought on the 13th of October, 1812. Captain Dennis,
of the Grenadier Company of the 49th Regiment,
commanded the post at the beginning of the battle,
and for about an hour afterwards. Major-General
Brock arrived from Niagara, and was killed, and
Captain Dennis was wounded, but he still kept' the
field. The invaders were all killed or taken prisoners ;
among the latter was Lieut.-Colonel Scott, the present
Commander-in-Chief of the American Army.
" In three months after, a general order was read
at the head of that grenadier company, which promoted Captain Dennis to the brevet of Major.
" On the company being dismissed, one of the
soldiers tossed his musket high above his head, and
cried aloud, ' Hurrah, boys, we have done something
for the old Roman at last !'
" That Captain Dennis is the present Major-General
Sir James B. Dennis. Because of his zeal and his
daring in battle, his soldiers usually called him ' the
old Roman '
" The tribute you have paid to the memory of the
Duke and to the army, and especially to the privates
of that army, is most gratifying to me, having been
once a private soldier myself, and I am most grateful
to you for it. I wish every soldier in the army had
a copy of it. The study of it would add to his just
pride, would increase his devotion to the service and
nerve his hand in the day of battle.
" May I request of you to give this effusion a place
in a future number of your journal.
," I am, Sir, your obedient servant,
" AN OLD GRENADIER OF THE LAST CENTURY."

The mention of an old comrade would again lead
to a renewal of intercourse or letter of enquiry.
The following is a reply so 'evidently characteristic
that we give it. The top of the page has unfortunately been mutilated by some enthusiastic collector
of crests for the impression of the coat of arms :

282

283

" I am, indeed, my dear sir, the same Tom Mansel
who shared with yourself the glory of victory at
Nelson's ever-memorable battle of Copenhagen, but
certainly not possessing the youthful bearing which
then animated my aspiring spirit, as both body and
mind are fearfully, in the present stage of progressive
old age, fast approaching the lee-shore of beam-end
position, yet I endeavor to preserve an even keel as
long as remains a shot in the locker to keep off the
ennui of natural infirmities. As I intend, in the course
of a short time, to clinch the tow-rope of pleasure by
hailing your snuggery at Windsor Castle, I therefore cut my pen yarn short, and will spin one as long
as the main top bowling when we meet to talk in
good earnest, and fight our battles of glorious record
o'er and o'er again.
" Believe me to be,
" My old comrade and friend,
" Yours very faithfully,
" Tom MANSEL
" P.S.—If you happen to visit the gallant Naval
Knights of Windsor, will you kindly convey my
royal mast-high regards to Lieut. Henslow, who
served under my command some years gone by ; a
gentlemanly, exemplary officer thus I held him in

estimation, and no mistake,"

285

A VETERAN OF 1812.

NIGHT SCHOOLS.

His correspondence with George Combe led to an
enthusiastic study of phrenology. He was a firm
advocate and believer in the science, and in many of
his letters speaks highly of its influence for greater
contentment and increase of hope in the future
i mprovement and development of good in humanity.
He was also a great reader, and many of his letters
of this date contain his opinions and impressions of
the books he was at the time perusing. In July,
1857, during the mutiny in India, he refers to the
life of Sir Charles Napier as " the most exciting
work I have ever read."
He understood the antagonism of the directors of
the East India Company to Sir Charles Napier's
measures. Sir Charles' difficulties were a more
extensive reproduction of his own in Canada prior to
the rebellion. He believed that had Sir Charles
"been duly supported, the present mutiny would
never have occurred. For years he had warned the
Indian Government of their danger. He had prevented mutinies, and pointed out clearly how to
govern all safely and well, but as his counsel involved changes in the civil departments, which affected
the vast abuses -of patronage, he was treated as an
intolerable nuisance, and driven from the country.
" Were it not for the destruction and ruin consequent upon this mutiny, I would rejoice at it. Never
have men so well deserved disaster and punishment
as these directors."
He paid one or two visits to Dublin before the year

1855, but though he made many plans and promises
to repeat them later—promises which he was, however, careful to speak of as " conditional only "—he
was unable to fulfil them. He valued and loved his
sister-in-law (wife of his brother Gerald) highly, and
his letters are full of kindly, grateful reminiscences
of her hospitality and affection for him. It is to her
care of his correspondence we are chiefly indebted
for the details necessary for the last chapter of our
veteran's life.
The night schools and classes established in the
town of Windsor were also of great interest to FitzGibbon. He frequently addressed the boys, and
while entertaining them with graphically depicted
accounts of incidents in his own experience, anecdotes
of men and soldiers he had known, he drove home
many a lesson and maxim of value. He never lost
an opportunity of impressing upon them the desirability of cultivating truth, sobriety, courtesy and
kindness to the least of God's creatures. He noted
everyday inc idents in the streets, trifles which others
passed by unheeded, and turned them to account in
his friendly talks with the boys.
He was always ready to drill a score of ragamuffins, and halfpennies never stayed long in his pockets
when others' need seemed to demand their expenditure..
During the last few years of his life, while still
able to go up to town for the day, it became necessary
to see that he had a return ticket on the railway ;

284

.

41.

286 A VETERAN OF 1812.
otherwise his soft heart for a hungry lad or sympathy for a doleful tale of want would have left him
without the means to pay his fare back.
He was repeatedly called upon by the Dean to act
as trustee for the widow or orphan daughter of a
deceased brother knight, or for advice and assistance
in preparing pension papers and arranging their
affairs.
Although he corresponded with many friends in
Canada during these first few years of his life at
Windsor, none of his letters has come within my reach
except the following to the late Mr. Walter Mackenzie,
of Castle Frank, Toronto. He had been one of FitzGibbon's rifle corps organized previous to the rebellion
of 1837, and ever remained one of his most devoted
friends and admirers. In this letter a strong love for
Canada is expressed, and one cannot but regret that
his version of the history of the war of 1812 was not
written for the benefit of those now so deeply interested in that little known period of Canadian history.
"LOWER WARD,
" WINDSOR CASTLE, May 10th, 1855.
" MY DEAR MR. MACKENZ[E,—I must begin this
answer to your interesting letter of the 14th ultimo,
by making an admission, or more properly a confession, that I really am unequal to making it an adequate return to your epistle. Your idea that the
' Celt being especially distinguishable from the Saxon
by retaining the fire of youth amid the snows of
winter's age,' is no longer fairly to be entertained by

LETTER TO WALTER MACKENZIE.

287

me. It is true that my physical condition is now far
better than ever hitherto I could have hoped for. I
can jump and dance with as light and elastic a bound
as at any period during the last forty years, and
certainly more so than during any period of the last
ten years. But I cannot say so much for the mental
energy. Would that I could guide, aid or forward in
any way your efforts in the cause of Canadian advancement, either historically, politically or socially.
' In fact, my desire is so strong in this direction that it
requires an effort to make me refrain from making
you an offer of help wherever you may think I could
render it. But in justice to you I dare not. The only
way in which I can concoct anything like an adequate
answer to yours is to go over it paragraph by paragraph and say something to each.
" Should Dr. Widmer not have left Toronto before
you receive this, pray charge him from me to come
to Windsor, which he can do in less than an hour by
rail, or if he cannot from any cause, that he will
write me to come to him. I think the meeting would
make us both a year younger.
" Our ' tilt' with the Dean and Canons is now fully
in the lists before the Chancellor. Whether we, like
the slender Ivanhoe, shall roll their Reverences in the
dust, as he rolled the brawny Bois de Guilbert, time
alone can tell. Your letter shows me that we have
the good wishes of one honest heart. The gentlemen
of the long robe are now actively employed in preparing questions and answers, replies and rejoinders,
and all the usual prolonged fence of such gladiators.
The last note to me, as chairman of the Knights'
Committee, from our chief champion, is very encouraging. Still I will not indulge in much hope, and I
am pursuing my own course without any reference to
aid from that quarter. If it come, tant mieux.

288

289

A VETERAN OF 1812.

REMINISCENCES OF THE REBELLION.

" For the honor and prosperity of old England, I
grieve to see its clergy so grasping and avaricious.
No class of this nation is doing so much injury to the
public mind, and it pains me to learn that a like
spirit is manifesting itself in your thriving province.
" I have not a copy left of the letter you mention.
I believe it was the substance of a paper I wrote at
the request of Lord Seaton, in 1849, and which I had
soon after printed in London. I have been sometimes
urged to give my version of the war of 1812, but I
could hot reconcile myself to do so ; because, if I did,
I could not refrain from telling all the truth, and this
would expose to public blame, if not shame, some I
would fain not wound. But at this long distance of
time I might say much without reluctance which then
I would decline. Therefore, should you ever enter
upon a sketch of Canadian chronicles, and would call
on me for an account of any single occurrence or
series of events known to me, I could give you detached sketches, some of which may help to fill up or
amplify a narrative for you.
" It is interesting to me to learn that you went to
Sir Francis Head, with Judge McLean, to urge him
to attack the rebels on Tuesday morning, because I
also went to him soon after sunrise and entreated of
him to give me three hundred out of the five hundred
then armed in the Market Square, and with the only
6-pounder then brought from the garrison, I promised in two hours to disperse the rebels. - His
hurried answer was, ' Oh, no, sir, I will not fight them
on their ground ; they must fight me on mine.' I
could not help mentally exclaiming, What an old
woman I have here to deal with (Perhaps you
'have a copy of a pamphlet which I had printed and
published in Montreal in 1847, An Appeal to the
People of Upper Canada ;' if you have not, pray

obtain one if you can ; I suppose Rowsell may yet
have some unsold.) At that moment I considered it
of the highest importance to disperse them with the
least possible delay, that the news of their defeat
should accompany, if not precede, the news of the
outbreak, and thereby paralyze and confound all
other disloyal men in the Province before they could
act in concert ; and had the rebels the presence of
mind and the daring which their first steps indicated,
the Upper Province might have fallen under their
power. The steps taken by you and me and our
other few friends, such as the shooting of Anderson
by Powell and the ringing of the city bells on Monday night, gave the first check.
" As to the Navy Island campaign, it was disgraceful to us. The rebels and sympathizers were on the
island like rats in a trap, and the moment the detachment of the 24th joined at Chippewa, an attack should
have been made. Elmsley had boats enough, and a
descent upon the island was easy and certain to succeed. But there was no will and therefore no way.
So far from thinking you not the fit person to record
the events of that outbreak, I know no man who
knows more of its details, or obs e rved them with so
earnest a zeal and spirit as you did—no, not one.
" And here I must break off to attend the summons
of Margaret to tea—as you broke off to attend the
summons to tax costs.'
" What you say as to your lack of love for your
profession brings vividly to my remembrance the
case of the only son of old Col. James Green, long
secretary to Lieut.-General Peter Hunter, once Lieut.Governor of Upper Canada. He desired above all
things to go into the army, but his father sent him
to Oxford, to be educated for the Bar. He was called
to the Bar in Lower Canada, and took up his post,

290

A VETERAN OF 1812.

not of exercise, but of practice, in Three Rivers. The
headquarters of the 49th were then there, in 1810,
and young Green told me that when in Portsmouth,
England, on his return to Canada, he was on the
point of enlisting as a private soldier, which, however, he did not, but returned to Canada. We invited
him to become an honorary member of our Mess,
where I became most intimate with him. His life
became a most unhappy one, and although he became
Clerk of the Peace at Quebec, he died early, as I
believe, of something like a broken heart, He was a
high-minded, noble and generous young man. (Mrs.
Grasett is his daughter, or other relative of his.)
"But surrounded by such ' specimens of humanity '
as you mention, you must cultivate cheerfulness, selfconfidence and perseverance for their sakes, and not
sink, nor even bend, beneath the burden of mortified
feelings or disappointed hopes. For Mrs. Mackenzie's
sake and their sakes, cheer up and cherish a manly
pride and a lofty resolution to meet and surmount
every obstacle to a final success and independence.
" I would gladly see you employ such spare time
as you can command in literary exercises which may
be most agreeable to you. I dream of preparing
some essays for the guidance of the young in Canada
in the exercise of their social and political duties,
adding now and then a few hints on the parable of
the Good Samaritan, with special reference to my
discordant countrymen, the Orangemen, and their adversaries, the Romanists, who mutually dishonor our
common Christianity by their almost total want of
the great Christian virtue, charity. From time to
time I fear much for the future harmony and prosperity of Canada.
" But I find my firmness of purpose becoming, day
by day, less firm, or rather more feeble. It just

THE CRIMEAN WAR.

291

occurs to me that if I were near you I would give
you leave to exercise authority over me, which, if
sternly exercised by you, might produce some fruit ;
for I really have the needful health and physical
strength, and lack only the strong will to bring all
into active operation.
"The first Anglo American magazine you sent me,
and the only one I have received, I lent to the Earl
of Albemarle and have not received it back. As
chairman of the Committee of the Military Knights
of Windsor, I have been in correspondence with his
Lordship for some months, he being our advocate in
the House of Lords. On seeing the appointment of
Lord Bury to an office in Canada, I have from time
to time sent to the Earl Canadian papers of various
descriptions, finding they are acceptable to him and
to other individuals of the family.
" You say, ' Last week I sent you one containing
a second article on the same subject, which I took
complimentary but somewhat mistaken notice of,'
but this I have not received. I fear that all things
sent by post are not surely delivered. Occasionally I
send newspapers to Canada, and know not if they
ever reach. I cannot enter into a correspondence to
ascertain if they do. Last week I sent you a Times,
and occasionally I may obtain one to send you hereafter, though uncertain if they ever reach you. But
the Provincial papers, no doubt, republish all, or
nearly all, that can interest you Provincials.
" I cannot think of offering you any comment on
the thousand and one errors and blunders of our great
men here. The public prints say much more than
any private correspondent possibly could ; to them,
therefore, I must refer you. In November I was on
the point of addressing a letter to the Times, giving
sage counsel to Lord Raglan. (What presumption ! !!)
-

292

A VETERAN OF 1812.

The letter which I thought of writing, I was sure the
Times would not publish. Nevertheless, I am since
sorry I did not then write it, as it would have actually
foreshadowed almost every evil which has since been
inflicted on that doomed (as it then appeared to me)
army. I, who witnessed three campaigns in the
winters of Canada, might well foresee the horrors in
store for those gallant fellows. But the horrors have
been so patiently, so heroically borne, that the soldiers
of that army have added a new and beautiful ray
of glory to the character of the British arms, or I
should rather say, to the character of the British
soldier. I consider this result as almost an equivalent
for those losses and disasters—and the like, I say, of
the insane charge at Balaclava, ordered by Lord
Lucan. The men who made that charge have earned
a place for themselves in history above that of any
of their predecessors. These two examples will bring
forth good fruit in due season.
" The Roebuck Committee's report will be printed
by order of the House, and, I suppose, sold as usual.
I will, if I can, procure a copy for you.
" You talk of blind and brainless men. Query :
Have we any other now, after forty years of systematical exclusion of all talent, as such, or if any one
of the favored class did possess natural talent, had
he any encouragement to cultivate his talent ? Or
would he not have exposed himself to ridicule had he
seriously attempted it ? Now, however, we are on
the eve of changes which as yet cannot be clearly
seen.
" Being now old, and no more work in me, I often
i magine myself as if standing on the WI) of the flagstaff on the Round Tower of this castle, and surveying
all the passing displays of folly and wisdom exhibiting

REPUBLIC OR COSSACK ?

293

on the surface of this globe of ours, and sapiently
commenting thereon. I often wish to record my
i maginary comments, but it is too late in the day.
Of the views and objects of the Royalists, the Aristocrats and the Democrats in Europe, I entertain
opinions which I believe to be clear and well founded,
but to detail them would be too much for me to write,
and perhaps for you to read. But I am convinced
that the period is approaching when Napoleon's saying at St. Helena will be verified, that "in fifty years
Europe will be Republic or Cossack," and I think the
danger is greater of its becoming Cossack than Republic. The despots everywhere are armed and well
prepared to pounce upon the first uprising of any of
the peoples, who are everywhere isolated and, as it
were, prostrate. I sometimes exclaim, ' Thank God,
I have Canada to fall back upon.' Its future seems
to me more full of promise than that of any other
section of the human family. I long to be among
you. I think I could make my pen useful to you all,
but this hope is not a very strong one.
" Tell Mrs. Mackenzie that if I go to Chatham, I
will call upon Al ajor Durk. But this is not likely,
unless I can obtain more money from the Dean and
Canons ; for I have reserved to myself only the bare
means of subsistence, and have appropriated all else
towards paying off my remaining debts. How cruel
of this heartless Government to stand between me
and the grant of land three times voted for me by the
two Houses of the Upper Canada Parliament ! And
yet they assented to the Rebels' Losses Bill, and voted
to Papineau $4,500 which he had forfeited by his
acknowledged rebellion. I sometimes lose my patience
and my temper. God bless you and yours.
J. F.G.

294

A VETERAN OF 1812.

DISASTERS IN THE CRIMEA.

Although the letter to the Times of which FitzGibbon speaks was not written, the following extract
from one to his nephew Gerald, of a later date, may
be interesting as a soldier's opinion on the cause of
some of the disasters in the Crimea. The letter is
dated Monday evening, 5th February, only, but from
the context we may conclude the year to have been
1856.

tion, with a contemptuous repulse. General de Rottenburg gave for answer to a suggestion offered to
him by an excellent officer in Canada, in 1813:
' Colonel Nichol, when I want your advice I will ask
you for it.' Yet if the colonel's suggestion had been
acted upon, Buffalo would have been taken during
the following week, and all the stores for the approaching campaign captured or destroyed, which
would have made it impossible for the Americans to
invade the Province that summer. They, however,
did invade it, and we lost Fort George and the lives
of many hundreds of our officers and soldiers, together
with many valuable stores and much provision.
"I rejoice that the French army is side by side
with ours, thus to prove, beyond all doubt or denial,
our shameful mismanagement, which would be stoutly
and insolently denied were our army acting alone, for
it would be impudently said that such evils were
inevitable."

" My indignation against those who have caused so
many unnecessary evils to our army in the Crimea
was boiling over when I wrote my last note to you,
and I therefore forgot your request as to the Toronto
magazine. It was then lent, and has not yet been
returned to me, but when I receive it back I will
send it to you by post. The charge will be sixpence
only.
" From all I have now read, I am confirmed in my
opinion that those evils have been chiefly caused by
the want of a good road from Balaclava to the camp.
The want of that road I ascribe chiefly to Sir John
Burgoyne, the commanding engineer there. Next to
him I would blame Lord Raglan himself, who should
early have foreseen the necessity for such a road. I
consider that every officer on his staff, certainly the
Quartermaster-General, Lord de Ros, and every general belonging to that army, as most shamefully wanting in military skill and foresight. They were there
for weeks before the bad weather set in, during which
time I wonder the want of a winter road does not
appear to have occurred to them ; or if it occurred to
the juniors, they, perhaps, had not courage to offer an
opinion to a senior. For many of our commanders I

have known to have met such advice, or even sugges-

295

His knowledge of Canada and Canadian life brought
many to him for information or letters of introduction
for themselves or friends about to emigrate. All sorts
and conditions of men came to him ; some he could
put off with his card to be exhibited in Canada, but
the majority requiring more particular attention,
occupied much of his time and increased his correspondence extensively.
The following letter, addressed to Mr. Stayner,
Post Office Inspector of Upper Canada, and sent to
the care of FitzGibbon's eldest son, is a specimen of
the many kindly letters of introduction he wrote to
old friends in Canada in behalf of parties in whom
he was interested :

296

A

A LETTER OF iNTRODTICTION.

VETERAN OF 1812.

" 9 LOWER WARD,
" WINDSOR CASTLE, Sept. 24th, 1859.
" MY DEAR SIR,—I can hardly expect that you can
recall me to your memory, for I never had the honor
of an intimate acquaintance with you. I first saw
you in Montreal in 1807 or '08, when you married
the daughter of Mr. Sutherland, with whom I was
then acquainted. I was then the Adjutant of the
49th Regiment.
" I am now impelled to address you in behalf of a
young gentleman (son of one of the Military Knights
of Windsor, Capt. Douglas, a neighbor of mine) who
has ventured to identify his fortunes with the Province of Canada, and is now employed in the Provincial post office at Toronto. The Hon. W. H. Merritt, of
Upper Canada, spent a day with me here this week,
of whom I enquired if you were yet at the head of
that department in Canada, and he thought you were,
as he had recently seen you.
"Capt. Douglas is now an old man, as all these Military Knights are. He has three daughters here with
him. At his death I fear these three young ladies
will be wholly unprovided for. They have two
brothers. One is employed in the Post Office Department here in England, usually in taking charge of
the mails to Alexandria and other ports in the Mediterranean. His conduct has given so much satisfaction
that he has recently been promoted in the Department. This brother remits to his sisters all he can
possibly spare from his income. That his brother in
Canada is equally desirous of aiding them I entirely
believe.
" The interest I take in these young ladies impels
me to address you ; they are intimate with my two
nieces who reside with me and keep house for me,

291

and I am therefore acquainted with the particulars
which I thus communicate.
" Should the brother in Canada be really deserving
of your favorable consideration, may I venture to
bring him to your notice, in the anxious hope that he
may be soon enabled to contribute his share to the
support of these excellent girls.
" The only apology I can offer for thus trespassing
upon your benevolent attention is my desire ' to do
good to my neighbor ; ' and my impression of you
makes me believe that my appeal will not be unacceptable, but rather the contrary, if you can depend
upon my judgment and discretion in making this
statement. And I venture to hope that the recollections of those days, and of the 49th Regiment, will be
pleasing to you, especially of the family of the late
Dr. Robertson and Mrs. Robertson, who were intimate
friends of Mr. and Mrs. Sutherland.
" Do not take the trouble of acknowledging the
receipt of this letter. I write it in the hope that you
are yet at the head of the Department in Canada,
and that it may possibly be in your power to advance
this young man should his good conduct deserve your
patronage.
" Should Mrs. Stayner be yet alive to bless you,
pray offer my kind remembrances, for I well remember her while she was at school.
" Very truly, my dear Sir, yours,
" JAMES FITZGIBBON."
This kindly letter was never delivered. Mr. Stayner had been succeeded by Mr. John Dewe, and he
being a more intimate friend, and the letter being
unsealed, its contents were conveyed to him verbally.
19

1'

299

A VETERAN or 1812.

RIGHTING A WRONG.

In the postscript to the letter to his son, FitzGibbon
says :

when he could thereby benefit others. Though poor
in purse, he was rich in friends, in resource and ability.
Fortunately for the success of his eflOrts, one of the
next vacancies among the knights was filled by the
appointment of Sir John Millais Doyle. Sir John
was a man of family and position in the army. He
seconded FitzGibbon's efforts, and brought many
influential friends to bear upon the question. They
worked together, and succeeded in making such a stir,
both through the press and in Parliament, that the
knights' cause was taken up and carried into Court.
The correspondence the case entailed fell principally
on FitzGibbon. The business carried him frequently
to London to interview those whose interest could
further the settlement of the claim of the lawyers
who had taken it under their charge.
Sir John Doyle knew little of business matters
other than military, and he was willing enough to
leave it to his more enthusiastically energetic friend.
Lord Albemarle took a great interest in it, and friendly
letters passed between him and FitzGibbon on the
subject. The latter's letters to Dublin from the years
1851 to 1859 are full of the hopes and fears to which
the various delays and law proceedings gave rise ;
regret at the delay and the consequent deprivation as
one or other of the knights, who had watched the
case in anxious anticipation of an increase of income,
passed away without receiving any benefit ; and of
indignation at the slow progress, dilatoriness and law

8 •

" Since writing the foregoing I have looked over a
Canadian almanac, and see that Mr. Dewe is Inspector of the Department in Toronto. He called on
me here a few days ago in company with Mr. Vankoughnet, of Toronto. I knew him in Kingston
formerly, and I feel confident he would willingly
oblige me. Show him my letter to Mr. Stayner, and
I think you had better follow his advice in regard to
young Douglas.. He may be able to do more for him
than anyone else."
FitzGibbon's energetic service did not stop here. A
short time before his appointment a question had
been raised by the knights over the appropriation of
the revenues from which their pensions were paid.
Few among them had influential friends who cared
to exert themselves in their behalf. They could only
bemoan their wrongs and condole with each other
over the iniquity of those who had deprived them of
their just rights, the supineness of those who had
benefited by it, and the coldness of the Government
that could not be moved to take any action in the
matter. They were literally " poor knights," although
the march of manners had altered the title to "Military
and Naval Knights," and were proving the worldly
wise maxim that " those who cannot command friends
at Court, find it hard to obtain them by begging."
But FitzGibbon was not one to rest content under a
wrong without making an effort to right it, especially

800

A VETERAN OF 1812.

SINNERS VS. SAINTS.

quibbles resorted to in order to postpone the hearing.
(See'Appendix XI.)
Sanguine expectations of obtaining redress, anticipations of an increase of from two to three hundred
a year to the one shilling a day allowed, dwindled as
the years passed and their cause was deferred from
term to term ; and hope dying hard, they were thankful to accept the sixty pounds a year derived from
the lapsed canonry finally allotted to them.
The sum varied according to the proceeds or revenue
derived from the "new canonry," as it was called by
the knights. In 1863, the amount they received only
reached the sum of thirty pounds fourteen shillings.
In a letter dated January 19th, 1853, he says : " The
knights' case before the Chancellor does not appear
to make much progress. We are just told that the
Dean and Canons are about to demur to the jurisdiction of that Court. Should the demurrer be allowed,
I am told our case will be the stronger. But will it
be the sooner terminated ? Time will tell, but it may
be a long time. Procrastination is to these fat divines
rich living; while to the lean old soldiers it is short
commons. However, with the fins of the Dogger
Bank codfish,* and the wings of the Windsor Park
pheasants,f my larder can furnish more than one

sporting dinner. Thanks to the sinners rather than
the saints—the cormorants."
On December 5th, 1856, he writes : " I send you a
copy of a note from our solicitor, that you may see
the progress making in our suit against the Dean and
Canons here. I begin now to indulge hope a little ;
but even if not successful, I will not be disappointed.
Your father, who knows so much of ' the glorious
uncertainty of the law,' will approve of the resolution.
But if my income be increased, and I live to be out
of debt, I fear I shall not then know how to ' demean
myself ' in circumstances so entirely new to me."
The copy sent is but the usual lawyer's letter,
reporting proceedings, and there being " every pro).pect of success attending our efforts."
This hopeful prospect was, however, not realized,
and the disappointment felt by his clients was proportionately great. Sir John Doyle died without
receiving any benefit from the lapsed canonry finally
granted them, and FitzGibbon enjoyed it only for one
year and a half. Small though the addition was, the
knights owed it, certainly to some extent, to FitzGibbon's energy, perseverance and determination to do
his best to succeed.
Other friends who were most instrumental in aiding
him to force the case upon the attention of the authorities, were Colonel North, of Wroxham Abbey ; Sir
Francis Doyle and General Read, M.P. for Windsor.
Charles Grenfel, also M.P. for Windsor, was also one of
the most active supporters of the claim, and FitzGibbon

* Sent FitzGibbon from Ramsgate by Major Plenderleath, a
brother of his old friend and brother officer of the 49th.
1- A brace of pheasants sent annually as a New Year's gift to each
Military Knight by H. R. Highness the Prince Consort.

a

301

A VETERAN OF 1812.

THE FRENCH INVASION SCARE.

was able to repay him in kind. When the representation of Windsor was being hotly contested by Mr.
Grenfel and Lord Charles Wellesley in 1859, FitzGibbon brought up the knights in a body to vote, and
turned the poll in favor of the man who advocated
his cause.
This was almost the last flash of the old energy
and enterprise. The malady, a sort of epileptic or
apoplectic seizure, which eventually caused his death,
showed its first symptoms shortly after, and though
he recovered from the first attack, he never regained
the old strength. His grand constitution, a life of
steady abstemiousness and healthy exercise, his steady
perseverance and sanguine temperament, enabled him
to rally after each successive attack with surprising
vitality.
The knights' case ended, there was no longer any
incentive to exertion, but he kept up a lively correspondence, his handwriting and diction showing few
signs of decaying powers. When reading the papers
now and then, the old fire flashed out in protest
against injustice or pusillanimous fears.
The following letter, written after reading the
report of a debate in the House of Commons, on the
question of the rumored threatened invasion by the
French, is an instance :
"August, 1860.
"SIR,—I have just read the communication addressed to you, signed " H," and published in the Star
of this morning. I am in the eightieth year of my
age, and too feeble to express at much length in writ:

ing the feelings excited in my mind by the perusal of
that paper. But I cannot refrain from expressing
myself as follows :
" I entered the army as a private soldier in the year
1798, and was placed on half pay as a captain on the
reduction of the army in 1816. I have met the
French repeatedly in action among the sand-hills of
Holland in 1799, and other enemies of England in
other countries for several years afterwards.
" I have ever looked with contempt upon batteries
and breastworks in almost every position. I look
upon fighting face to face as the true mode of trial
for the British soldier. Batteries and other works of
defence I have thought rather diminished the soldier's
bravery.
" I consider it impossible for the French to land
half a million of men in England, perhaps even half
that number could not be brought over at one time.
Have we not five millions capable of bearing arms ?
Could we not in a few days bring together half a
million of these to meet the French ? Would not
our men be filled with indignation against any enemy
who dared to insult us by such invasion ?
" I know that the French soldier advances to meet
the British bayonet with more hesitation, I will not
say trepidation, than he would advance to meet any
other enemy. The British soldier rejoices in his
bayonet. It does not require much skill or manoeuvring to bring an enemy at once to close quarters. We
have only to rush upon an opposing line and decide
the issue at once by a hand-to-hand encounter. No
two lines have ever yet crossed bayonets in battle.
I was often assured that it was done at the battle of
Maida, but I did not believe it. Long after that battle,

302

303

Sir James Kempt, who commanded our battalion making that charge, declared in my presence that the

A VETERAN OF 1812.

CLOSING SCENES.

bayonets did not cross. The French, while advancing,
hesitated, and at last halted, turned round and ran
away ; but they delayed too long in doing so ; the
British rushed in, and laid upwards of three hundred
of them on their faces with the bayonet. Very many
years after, I repeated this to Commodore Sandham
of the navy, who said to me : I am glad you mentioned this matter to me, for I was that morning a
lieutenant in one of the ships which landed our force
in the Bay of St. Euphemia, and witnessed the action
from our decks. After the battle was over the men
were re-embarked, together with many wounded
French soldiers, and it was curious to see the wounded
in the sick bay the follow; i ng morning—all the French
on their faces, being stabbed in the back ; while all
the British lay on their backs, being shot in front by
the volley which the French fired as they advanced
to the charge.'
" Would that I could cry aloud in the ear of every
Briton, calling upon him to hold in contempt all
defensive works. An enemy must land upon an open
beach. We must know of his coming many days
before he can possibly come. We may, therefore, be
to some extent prepared. Even though we be not
at hand to meet him, telegraph and rail-cars can soon
bring us upon him ; and then if we do not kill and
capture his army, we deserve to be conquered and
enslaved. But of the issue I have no doubt.
" I do not now hesitate to declare that no army
from France will ever invade England. For it is
manifest to me that no nation of 20,000,000 people
can ever be overcome by any force which can possibly
be brought from abroad. I am ashamed of the debates
in the House of Commons upon the question of the
projected defences. They fill me with indignation.
Is it that those members are chiefly of the feeble

aristocracy, the plutocracy and dandyocracy, that
they seek to defend our country by means of spade
and pick-axe, rather than by strong hands, stout
hearts and British bayonets ?
" It requires but little previous drill to qualify our
yeomanry to fight the battle of the bayonet, and
therefore I rejoice at the organization of our volunteers. Of these we may organize a number quite
equal to the destruction of any invading force. Upon
these our old men, our women and children, may
look with confidence, with pride and affection, and
they will never be disappointed.
" I pray of you to publish this, which may be called
a rash effusion, but I write it with the fullest conviction.
" Your obedient servant,
" AN OLD SOLDIER, WHO DESPISES ALL FEAR
" OF INVASION."

304

i

305

FitzGibbon clung more closely to the fireside as the
end approached, and seldom quitted the precincts of
the Castle. He was always glad to see and chat with
his old friends from Dublin, London and Canada,
and many visited him. The old love for Canada
returned with redoubled force ; the burden of all the
latest letters is to be once more among the old scenes,
and to be to his grandchildren what his grandfather
had been to him. So strong was this longing that his
medical attendant was consulted on the possibility of
his being able to endure the voyage. But it was not
to be. The soldier who had fought for Canada was
not to find a grave within her borders.

306

A VETERAN, OF 1812.

During one of his many visits to the Castle, his
nephew, Gerald FitzGibbon, induced him to have a
photograph taken to send to the grandchildren he
wished so much to see. It was sent with a loving
message and apology for what he considered an "unsoldierly beard," but his hand had grown " too infirm
to trust it with a razoF." It is from this photograph
that the frontispiece is taken.
He died at Windsor, on December 10th, 1863, and
was laid to rest in the catacombs of St. George's,
beside those he had loved and honored most among
his fellow-knights.
Thus ended the life of one whose enthusiastic ternperam'ent and excitability led him often to run counter
to the world's opinion, or the more coldly calculating
worldly wisdom of his superiors, but whose fearless
integrity and honest singleness of purpose carried
him to the goal he sought ; one whose sole aim in
life was to be an honest man, a simple soldier, to do
his duty to his country, good to his neighbor, and
walk humbly with his God.

FINIS.