Chapter II: Part 2

General Brown followed closely the retrograde movement of the British army, and encamped at Queenstown, or Queenston, as it is now usually written, where he remained for several days, awaiting the arrival of some heavy guns, and the rifle regiment, which he had ordered from Sacketts Harbor. On the twelfth instant, a reconnaissance of the works at Fort George, preparatory to an investment, was made by General Swift, with a detachment of volunteers, one hundred and twenty in number. A picket guard were surprised and taken; but, after their surrender, one of the prisoners turned and shot the general through the body. This cowardly act exasperated his men to such a degree, that they attacked a patrolling party who now made their appearance, alarmed by the report of the piece, with great gallantry, and succeeded in driving them into the fort. They then returned to camp, bringing with them their expiring commander, who died in a few hours.

On the eighteenth instant Lieutenant Colonel Stone was detached with a small volunteer force to dislodge a party posted four miles west of Queenston, near the village of St. David’s, who were lying in wait to attack the reconnoitering parties of the American army. The party was routed and driven in to the main body, with commendable alacrity and zeal; but after the action, the village was set fire to, and burned, by some of the volunteers, without the orders or knowledge, as was alleged, of the officer commanding the expedition.--It had long been a favorite idea, and very properly so, with the American authorities, to conciliate the Canadian people. The latter were assured by the invading forces, on this as on other occasions, that they came “to conquer, but not to destroy;” and strict orders had been issued against the commission of any outrages upon the persons, or property, of private citizens. General Brown regarded the officer in command of the detachment as being responsible for this glaring violation of duty, inasmuch as it was scarcely possible for the act to have been committed, except through negligence or connivance on his part; and, on the following morning, he issued a peremptory order directing him to retire forthwith from the army.

This prompt mode of dismissal occasioned considerable remark in military circles, and was pronounced, by many, an unwarranted assumption of authority. Under ordinary circumstances, it would certainly have been regarded as an usurpation of power that ought not to be tolerated; but the situation of the army was peculiar--they were in an enemy’s country, and the neutrality of the inhabitants was absolutely essential to the accomplishment of their paramount object, that of dislodging the enemy from the peninsula. An outrage of this character could not remain unnoticed, and a delay, even of a few days, in meting out the appropriate punishment, might put an end to all the hopes and expectations of the campaign. The case, therefore, was one that required immediate action, and, though General Brown was always careful not to infringe the rights of other officers unnecessarily, whether above or beneath him in rank, he never shrank from any responsibility, or hesitated in the performance of any duty. His course, however harsh it may seem, was approved by President Madison, who was never fond of the exercise of doubtful powers,--and by Mr. Monroe, then his Secretary of State, in a letter addressed to Admiral Cochrane.

Daring reconnaissances of Forts George and Niagara were made by Generals Porter and Ripley, and it was then decided at a council of war, to attack these posts, instead of following up the retreating forces under General Riall. On the thirteenth of July, General Brown had written a pressing letter to Commodore Chauncey, informing him of his situation, and requesting him to hasten forward the ordnance and the reïnforcements, which were to be transported in the vessels under his command, and inviting his coöperation in a combined attack, by land and water, on the forts at the mouth of the Niagara. No answer to this letter was received till the following September, in consequence of the illness of Commodore Chauncey.

[Sidenote: EFFORTS TO BRING ON ANOTHER ENGAGEMENT.]

While in this state of suspense, the General decided to make a demonstration on Fort George, and to attempt to draw the enemy out into the open field. The inactivity which had prevailed since the previous battle was no longer to be endured;--and on the twentieth instant, he advanced with his whole army, drove in the enemy’s outposts, and encamped near Fort George, in the expectation that General Riall would be drawn from his position, and offer him battle. Disappointed in this, he returned to Queenston on the twenty-second, and on the ensuing day he received a letter by express, from General Gaines, then in command at Sacketts Harbor, informing him that that port was blockaded by a strong naval force,--the enemy now having the ascendancy on the lake,--and that Commodore Chauncey was seriously ill with a fever.

This information materially changed the aspect of affairs. The artillery and reïnforcements, upon which he had confidently calculated, were no longer to be expected; and his future operations must be conducted entirely independent of them. Other Generals, perhaps equally as brave as himself,--and the history of modern warfare furnishes numerous examples in support of the assertion,--would have suspended all further efforts, or ordered an inglorious retreat, relying, for their justification, on the neglect of the government to provide the means and supplies which they desired. But, among the other valuable traits in his character, General Brown possessed that highest quality of the soldier--fertility of invention and resource. If the force placed at his disposal was not sufficient to accomplish a favorite project, the energies of his mind were at once employed in achieving something besides, that would redound to the credit of the country, and the honor of her flag. With his little army of three thousand men he had crossed the Niagara, and established himself on British soil; there he was determined to remain, and dispute its possession with the enemy, while there was a single chance, or hope of success, still left to cheer and encourage his brave and devoted band!

Being without the heavy guns necessary for an attack on Fort George, General Brown was forced, though much against his will, to abandon his designs on that post. But he was anxious, nevertheless, to bring on another engagement with General Riall; and, influenced by this desire, continued his feigned retreat up the river, on the twenty-fourth, recrossed the Chippewa, and encamped. If this movement failed to draw the enemy from their position, he designed to make a rapid march on Burlington. About noon on the twenty-fifth, while his men were busily engaged in making preparations for the march, he was informed that the British appeared in considerable force on Queenston heights; that four of their vessels had arrived during the previous night at the mouth of the Niagara; and that a number of boats were moving up the stream. A few minutes later he received the further information, which proved to be incorrect, that the enemy had landed one thousand men at Lewiston, and were threatening his baggage and stores at Schlosser.

[Sidenote: BATTLE OF NIAGARA.]

The troops were instantly ordered under arms, and in twenty minutes General Scott was on the road to Queenston with his brigade, Towson’s artillery, and a troop of dragoons. About two miles from the American camp, and within a short distance of the Falls, he learned that the enemy were in force in his front, separated from view only by a narrow piece of wood. Having dispatched Assistant Adjutant General Jones, to General Brown, with the intelligence, he held on his march, and in a short time discovered the British army, treble his own force in numbers, strongly posted on Lundy’s Lane, which led up from the Falls to Beaver Dams. Regardless of the great disparity between the two armies, General Scott promptly made his dispositions for battle, fully determined to maintain his ground till the reserve came up. As the head of his column cleared the wood on the brink of the cataract, whose low deep thunder was echoed by the enemy’s artillery, which immediately opened its fire, it was encircled by the rainbow that spanned the boiling Phlegethon beside it. Like the cross that infused new ardor into the soldiers of Constantine, this was regarded as the omen, the sure presage of victory. With their sabres and bayonets gleaming in the rays of the setting sun, and their faces glowing with

“The stern joy which warriors feel,
In foemen worthy of their steel,”

the Americans now deployed in line on the left of the Queenston road. Major Jesup was thrown forward on the right with his regiment, and Captain Towson was posted on the left opposite the enemy’s artillery. All were elated with their recent victory, and animated by the best spirit. Undismayed by the terrible fire which they encountered, they advanced firmly and steadily against the closely serried columns of the enemy.

The British position was well chosen. They had seized a commanding eminence at the head of Lundy’s Lane, upon which their battery of nine guns was planted, and swept the field of battle with an incessant torrent of cannon balls. Their forces, at first engaged, consisted of the whole army under General Riall, who had marched down from his position, directly to the Falls, with the expectation of meeting Lieutenant General Drummond at this point. The latter had arrived at the mouth of the Niagara on the evening of the twenty-fourth, with large reïnforcements, collected at Kingston and various other points on the lake, and was hastening as rapidly as possible to join General Riall. He arrived on the ground shortly after the commencement of the action, accompanied by his men, and assumed the command of the united force, now between four and five thousand strong.

[Sidenote: INCIDENTS OF THE BATTLE.]

General Scott and his men held their ground manfully, till the arrival of General Brown, who had hurried forward with his suite, in advance of the brigades of Generals Ripley and Porter, as soon as the firing was heard. Meanwhile the 11th and 22nd infantry, under Colonel Brady and Major McNeil, both of whom were severely wounded, having expended their ammunition, were withdrawn from action, and the whole brunt of the battle in front, was sustained by the 9th infantry, commanded by Major Leavenworth. With unswerving courage this regiment resisted every effort of the enemy, though with the loss of half their number, until their opponents suspended the attack. General Riall was deceived by the obstinacy of their resistance, and as it was impossible to distinguish objects with any precision in the gloaming, he supposed the entire American army was engaged, and was therefore content to wait for General Drummond to come up with the reïnforcements.

For a few moments the roar of battle was hushed, and the silence was only broken by the unceasing murmur of the cataract, and the groans of the wounded and the dying. During the temporary suspension of the fire, General Ripley, with his brigade and the remainder of the artillery under Major Hindman, and the volunteers under General Porter, arrived upon the ground. With these fresh troops General Brown formed a new alignment, to cover the exhausted command of General Scott, who fell back behind their comrades. The respite was of brief duration, and the action was soon renewed with increased warmth. Wider and wider reverberated the deep echoes of the artillery; higher and higher rose the sharp, continued roll of musketry; loud was the Briton’s cheer, and louder yet the answering shout of defiance!

Captain Towson had failed to make any impression on the enemy’s battery, though his guns were skilfully and actively directed; and on the renewal of the engagement, under the advice of Major McRee, the senior engineer officer, General Brown determined to carry the eminence on which it was posted, at the point of the bayonet. The execution of this enterprise was intrusted to Colonel Miller with the 21st infantry. The reply of the gallant colonel, when he received the order to advance, from General Ripley, is memorable in history--“_I will try, sir!_” said the intrepid soldier.[3] The trial was made,--nor made in vain. Supported by the 23rd infantry under Major McFarland, while the 1st infantry, under Colonel Nicholas, which had joined the army that day, was left to receive the enemy’s fire in front, Colonel Miller moved up the hill through a raging flood of missiles. The 1st staggered under the tremendous fire to which it was exposed, the 23rd faltered, but the brave 21st, following their heroic leader, rushed up the height with accelerated speed. On reaching the summit they paused an instant, and then rushed forward with shouts and cheers. The British troops had fought bravely, for they were anxious to wipe out the discredit of their late defeat. The cannoniers were transfixed at their posts, and for a few seconds there was a fierce contest fought hand to hand, over the loaded guns. But the daring onset of the Americans was not to be resisted; the discipline of the British soldiery gave way before it; their artillery was captured, and their routed columns, sullen and discontented, retired slowly down the hill.

[Sidenote: GENERAL RIALL TAKEN PRISONER.]

Meanwhile Major Jesup had turned the enemy’s left with the 25th infantry, and, favored by the darkness, had cautiously advanced in their rear. A detachment from his command, under Captain Ketchum, succeeded in reaching the place where Generals Drummond and Riall were stationed with their suites. The former made his escape, but the latter was taken prisoner with his staff. A large number of prisoners, in addition, were captured by Major Jesup, and he then moved to the left to attack the enemy in rear. Coming upon a body of their troops posted in the Queenston road, about the time of the capture of the battery, his men delivered their fire, as galling as it was unexpected, and instantly dashed over the fence that separated them. The enemy broke and fled, and, as the 1st and 23rd infantry had been already rallied by the animated efforts of General Ripley, the whole British line was now forced.

General Brown was prompt to improve the advantage he had gained, as the British officers were heard encouraging their men for a desperate effort to recover their cannon. While they were engaged in reforming their broken masses under the hill, he advanced his line, placing the captured guns in his rear; General Porter being on the extreme left with his volunteers, General Ripley’s brigade occupying the centre, and Major Hindman being stationed in the interval between the second brigade and the 25th infantry, which was posted on the right of the line. The first brigade, under General Scott, was held in reserve.

A gloomy and ominous silence prevailed for a short time, and it was then interrupted by the lively strains of martial music, as the British columns were again ordered to advance. General Drummond had given his men but a few moments to recover from the effects of their repulse. With great daring and intrepidity they marched up the height, at double quick time, presenting an extended line outflanking the Americans on both extremes. Within twenty yards of the crest of the eminence, they poured forth their volleys, and prepared to rush forward with their bayonets. In an instant the American line was one blaze of fire. The enemy staggered; another volley, followed rapidly by another, and still another, caused them to break and retire down the hill in confusion, despite the exertions of their officers to inspire them with confidence.

Another half hour passed in suspense, and again the measured tread of the advancing columns was heard, as they rose the hill. The Americans reserved their fire till it could be most effective, and when the enemy came within range, the artillery of Major Hindman once more pealed forth its brazen notes, and, as they pressed nearer and nearer, the rattling musketry was added to the din. But the constant shower of shot and ball poured upon them soon checked their advance. For nearly half an hour they strove in vain to overcome the firmness of the American troops. The contest was warm and animated; and, during its continuance, General Scott, who had consolidated his brigade into one battalion, under Major Leavenworth, made two effective charges on the left and right of the British line, in the latter of which he received two severe wounds, that soon after obliged him to quit the field. General Brown was always where his presence was needed--in the front of the battle. Heedless of the exposure of his person, he was ever ready to utter words of encouragement where symptoms of hesitation were manifested; to commend every act of noble daring; and to arouse his men to further exertions. His efforts were well seconded by the chivalric bearing and the dauntless intrepidity of Scott and Ripley and Porter. Unable to make head against the stern and unyielding resistance of the American soldiers, General Drummond was a second time forced to draw off his men.

[Sidenote: LAST EFFORTS OF THE ENEMY.]

The contest was not yet ended. Additional reïnforcements had joined the enemy, and, after the lapse of another hour, their hesitating columns were encouraged to make one more effort for the victory. Regardless of the havoc made in their ranks, the British troops advanced boldly under a withering fire. This time they gained the summit of the hill, never pausing after they had delivered their fire, and closed with their antagonists. The battle was now at its height. The beams of the rising moon struggled vainly to penetrate the murky pall that overhung the field of combat, but the darkness was illuminated by the constant flashing of musketry and artillery. Two lines of armed men, merged with each other, were seen surging to and fro. The earth shook beneath their feet. Foot to foot, and breast to breast, they fought. Locked in the death struggle, the Briton and the American fell together. The green sward was soaked with blood; it collected in pools in the ridges made by the ploughing shot; and ran down in rivulets to mingle its crimson dyes with the limpid waters of the Niagara.

General Brown had previously received a severe wound from a musket ball which passed through his right thigh, and as he now moved to the left of the American line, to encourage the volunteers to remain firm, he was struck violently upon his left side by a missile of some description. The blow nearly unhorsed him, and on meeting Colonel Wood, he expressed his doubts as to his ability to keep the saddle. “Never mind, my dear general,” was the reply, “you are gaining the greatest victory that was ever gained by your nation!” Cheered by these words, which indicated the spirit prevailing among his officers and men, General Brown remained on his horse, giving his orders with wonted firmness and promptitude. The American troops were sorely pressed, but they were more than a match for their opponents. In vain was every effort of the latter. The artillery on both sides was taken and retaken during the struggle, but the British were finally forced to yield the ground, leaving their guns in the hands of the Americans.

At midnight the contest terminated. The British made no further effort to regain the position, but shrunk silently away in the darkness. Faint from excessive pain and the loss of blood, General Brown was now assisted from the field by his staff. General Scott being also disabled, the command was assumed by General Ripley, under whose directions the wounded were collected, and orders were then issued for a return to camp. The artillery horses being all killed, and there being no drag-ropes at hand, General Ripley very reluctantly left the captured guns on the ground, having rolled the smaller pieces down the hill. This circumstance was seized with avidity by the British officers to give color to their claim that they had defeated the American army, and it has frequently served a similar purpose in the works of British writers. A few considerations will show how utterly unfounded was this claim. The Americans attacked their opponents in a position of their own selection. This position they seized, and held against three daring and desperate efforts to regain it. It was yielded, but yielded voluntarily; and being without the means to remove the guns, General Ripley left them on the field, and returned to the American camp unmolested. The enemy remained nearer the battle-ground, as their tents and baggage were directly in rear of their line; and when they discovered on the following morning, that the guns had been abandoned, they took possession of them without difficulty, there being no one to oppose them.

[Sidenote: LOSSES OF THE TWO ARMIES.]

The truth is, that both parties sustained a severe loss in this sanguinary conflict, and neither desired to renew it while the odds were in favor of their antagonists. In the morning of the twenty-sixth, General Ripley collected all the American troops fit for duty, and with this force, which barely amounted to fifteen hundred men, he sallied out to seek another contest with the enemy. On approaching the field on which the action of the previous day had been fought, he found them strongly posted in a still more favorable position, slightly in advance of that formerly occupied. Becoming satisfied that it would be unwise to attack a superior force under such circumstances, he again returned to camp, and subsequently retired to Fort Erie, the defences of which were immediately strengthened and extended, in accordance with the instructions of General Brown.

The British force engaged in the battle of Niagara, was little short of five thousand; that of the Americans was nearly one third less. The latter sustained the heaviest loss in killed and wounded, however, on account of the galling severity of the British fire previous to the capture of their guns. The Americans had seven hundred and forty-three men killed and wounded, and the British six hundred and forty-three. The latter lost two hundred and thirty-five men taken prisoners, and the former one hundred and seventeen. The aggregate loss of the British, therefore, was a trifle greater than that of the Americans. Generals Brown and Scott, as has been mentioned, were badly wounded; Generals Drummond and Riall, the latter being likewise captured, also received severe wounds.

[Sidenote: ATTACK OF FORT ERIE.]

General Drummond did not offer to molest the American army in their march to Fort Erie, or venture to make an attack on that post, till the 3rd of August, when he had been reïnforced by General De Watteville, with one thousand men. He then invested the fort, and made preparations for its reduction. On the fifth of August, General Gaines arrived from Sacketts Harbor, and assumed the command. The enemy continued their approaches, and on the thirteenth and fourteenth a heavy cannonade was kept up, which was followed by an assault early in the morning of the fifteenth instant.[4] The work was poorly calculated to withstand a siege, being nothing more than a small redoubt, occupying the centre of an intrenched camp, of which it formed the strong point. The enemy were, notwithstanding, repulsed with great loss, by the gallantry and good conduct of General Gaines and the officers and men under his command. During the siege General Gaines was severely wounded by the bursting of a shell, and on the twenty eighth instant, he retired to Buffalo, leaving General Ripley in charge of the post.

Having partially recovered from his wounds, General Brown once more resumed the command on the second of September. The defences of Fort Erie had already suffered considerable injury from the enemy’s fire, and the garrison were kept constantly at work repairing the damages, and adding to the works. Frequent skirmishes took place, and the cannonading on either side was maintained, at intervals, with spirit and warmth. Reïnforcements were daily expected to arrive from the army on Lake Champlain, but they did not make their appearance, and it was soon evident that the post could not be held much longer against the efforts of the enemy. General Brown fretted like an imprisoned lion, and, on the seventeenth of September, discovering that General Drummond had constructed another battery, that would open a destructive fire on the following day, he planned a sortie, which has been justly considered as the _chef d’œuvre_ of his military career.

The infantry of the besieging force was divided into three brigades, each containing twelve or fifteen hundred men, one of which was stationed alternately in the works in front of the fort, for the protection of the artillerists, and the other two occupied the main camp about two miles in the rear. The circumvallation consisted of two lines of intrenchments supported by blockhouses, in advance of which the enemy had constructed their batteries. It was General Brown’s intention “to storm the batteries, destroy the cannon, and roughly handle the brigade on duty, before those in reserve could be brought up.” The project was well conceived and admirably executed.

[Sidenote: SORTIE FROM FORT ERIE.]

At noon on the seventeenth, the troops intended to make the sortie were paraded under arms. The sallying force was divided into two columns; the left, commanded by General Porter, and consisting of the rifles and a body of Indians under Colonel Gibson, the Pennsylvania volunteers under Colonel Wood, the New York volunteers under General Davis, and the 1st and 23rd infantry under Major Brooks, was ordered to move cautiously upon the enemy’s right, by a circuitous road previously opened through the woods; and the right, commanded by General Miller, and consisting of the first brigade, was directed to enter a ravine between the fort and the British lines, and advance rapidly upon the enemy’s works as soon as General Porter became engaged. General Ripley remained in reserve with the 21st infantry, between the new bastions of the fort; his command, and that of General Miller, being both out of view of the enemy.

The day was dark and lowering. A thick mist rested upon the lake and river, and floated lazily along their banks. The clouds overhead were surcharged with moisture, and sent down copious showers of rain. Favored by these circumstances, the American columns gained their positions unperceived. General Porter advanced with such celerity and caution, that his men sprang upon the enemy’s pickets before they were aware of his presence. As soon as the rapid volleys of General Porter were heard, General Brown ordered General Miller to advance, the head of his column being directed towards the interval between batteries 2 and 3. Dashing forward at full speed, General Miller reached the enemy’s line and pierced their entrenchments. The British were taken by surprise, yet they fought bravely and well. The contest was close and animated, but brief. Within thirty minutes after the first gun was fired, batteries 2 and 3 were in possession of the American troops, who swept every thing before them with the bayonet. Battery number 1 was then abandoned by the enemy, and the Americans, without loss of time, commenced the work of demolition. The British guns were spiked or otherwise destroyed, their breastworks levelled, and the magazine of battery number 3 was blown up.

General Ripley had now brought up the reserve, and was making preparations for a demonstration on the enemy’s camp, when he was disabled by a severe wound. The object of the sortie having been accomplished, in the destruction, by a force of regulars and volunteers, only two thousand strong, of the labors of four thousand men for a period of near fifty days, General Miller ordered his men to fall back to the ravine, and General Brown then directed all the corps to return to camp with their prisoners, which was done in good order. In this affair the Americans had eighty-three men killed, two hundred and sixteen wounded, and there were two hundred and sixteen missing. Three hundred and eighty-five of the enemy were taken prisoners, and there were between four and five hundred killed and wounded.

This daring sortie put an end to the leaguer. During the night of the twenty-first of September, General Drummond broke up his camp, and retreated to his intrenchments behind the Chippewa. Not long after, General Izard arrived from Sacketts Harbor with large reïnforcements, and on the twelfth of October, being the senior officer, he superseded General Brown in the command. No further incident of importance occurred, however, on this frontier. The gallant exploit of the seventeenth of September was the appropriate _finale_ of a bloody campaign, unsurpassed, during the war, for the display of firmness, valor, and intrepidity. Leaving a sufficient garrison at Fort Erie, General Izard moved down towards the Chippewa with the remainder of his forces, and offered battle to the enemy, but they declined leaving their intrenchments. A partial engagement took place between detached corps on the nineteenth of October, which closed the operations of the campaign; and early in November the American army retired into winter quarters on the opposite side of the Niagara.

[Sidenote: HIS DECEASE.]

The treaty of Ghent, in December of this year, terminated the war, and the services of General Brown in the field. Upon the reduction of the army he was retained on the peace establishment, and placed in command of the northern military division. In 1821 he was appointed General-in-chief, and from that time till his death, which occurred on the twenty-fourth of February, 1828, he resided at Washington. The disease which terminated his life was superinduced by another contracted at Fort Erie, from which he was never wholly exempt.

General Brown did not enter the military profession solely from motives of patriotism, though these ever guided and governed his conduct;--he was a soldier _con amore_! Early disciplined in the school of adversity and trained to habits of self-reliance,--and gifted with superior mental endowments, which had been carefully cultivated,--he possessed that happy combination of faculties and acquirements which rarely fails to achieve success. He was a correct and thorough disciplinarian; industrious, methodical, and indefatigable; brave, both physically and morally; stout in person and strong of nerve; bold and energetic in carrying out his offensive movements; firm, but cautious, when acting on the defence; sagacious in council; and cool, calm, and collected, amid the roar of battle. In the language of the general order announcing his decease to the army--“Quick to perceive and sagacious to anticipate, prompt to decide and daring in execution, he was born with the qualities which constitute a great commander. His military _coup d’œil_, his intuitive penetration, his knowledge of men and his capacity to control them, were known to all his companions in arms, and commanded their respect; while the gentleness of his disposition, the courtesy of his deportment, his scrupulous regard to their rights, his constant attention to their wants, and his affectionate attachment to their persons, universally won their hearts, and bound them to him as a father.”

The death of one so highly esteemed produced a deep impression, and was sincerely lamented, not only by his brethren in arms, but by all to whom he had become endeared in the relationships of private life. Cut off in the vigor of manhood by a disease contracted in the service of his country, she still treasures his memory as that of one among the most honored of her sons. Like the amaranth, his fame is enduring and imperishable; and while the ceaseless murmurs of the cataract rise beside the battle-field of Niagara, his gallant daring and determined courage will be gratefully remembered by his countrymen.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] General Brown is frequently compared with General
Greene, who, like him, was descended from a Quaker
family; and it has been jocularly said of them,
that, although one was _green_, and the other
_brown_, both were _true blue_!

[2] See Memoir of General Scott.

[3] The reply of Colonel Miller was adopted as the motto
of his regiment, and was worn on their buttons.

[4] See Memoir of General Gaines.

EDMUND PENDLETON GAINES.

It is no slight praise to say of the subject of this memoir, that his name is honorably associated with the war of 1812, from its commencement to its termination. When disasters were so frequent, and defeat so often sustained, where others were concerned, it is refreshing to find, that he never wanted the will, and when his means were sufficient, never lacked the ability, to retrieve the one, and to wipe out the disgrace of the other. Ever to be found where duty placed him,--prompt, brave, and skilful,--these are high merits in a soldier, and entitle their possessor to a worthy place among his compeers.

Virginia is often termed “the mother of statesmen,”--and she may also be regarded as the birth-place of heroes. Like Harrison and Scott, General Gaines drew his first breath in the Old Dominion. He was born on the twentieth day of March, 1777, in Culpepper county, near the eastern base of the Blue Ridge, where it looks down upon the rolling table land, and undulating slopes,drained by the waters of the Rappahannock. His father, James Gaines, was a nephew of Edmund Pendleton,--after whom his son was named,--a profound and able lawyer, who was for many years presiding judge of the Court of Appeals of the state of Virginia. In the latter part of the Revolution, the father commanded a company of volunteers, and did good service in that capacity. At the close of the war he removed to the northwest border of North Carolina. He represented the county in which he resided, in the legislature of that state, and was afterwards a member of the convention by which the federal constitution was rejected. Like many of the most patriotic citizens of Virginia, North Carolina, and other states, he was at first opposed to that instrument; but, his objections having been removed by the adoption of the “bill of rights,” he voted in its favor.

Young Gaines was early familiarized to scenes of war and bloodshed. Born in a frontier settlement, during the perilous times of the revolutionary struggle, when the whole colony was in a state of constant ferment and agitation, though not old enough to appreciate the importance of the principles for which his countrymen were contending, he was deeply imbued with the spirit that animated the men of that great era in the history of our nation. In the sparsely-peopled region to which his parents had removed, the means of obtaining information were very limited, and, as his father was in moderate circumstances, he enjoyed but few advantages of that character. These were carefully improved, however, under the direction and superintendence of his mother, who possessed a fine mind, and had received a good education. A friend, by the name of Ralph Mitchell, whose acquaintance he formed while a mere youth, instructed him in mathematics, and he subsequently became an accurate surveyor.

When he was about thirteen years of age, his father emigrated to Sullivan county, in that mountainous tract of country, now known as East Tennessee, lying between the Stone and Cumberland mountains. This section of the union was then new, and but thinly inhabited. Being in the immediate vicinity of the theatre of the depredations committed by the Creeks and Cherokees, tales of border warfare were rife, and the legends of “the dark and bloody ground” were often repeated by the fireside of the elder Gaines. Themes like these were calculated to enkindle a desire for entering the profession of arms in the bosom of his young son, who listened to them with eager interest, and he soon gave unequivocal indications that his thoughts were turned in that direction. From boyhood he had been taught to labor,--to swing the axe, and follow the plough. When not thus employed, or busy in storing his mind with useful information, he rambled through the forests in search of game. In his hours of pastime the rifle was his constant companion, and he is said to have excelled all his companions in the use of that weapon. Passing his time in these occupations, his constitution, naturally strong and vigorous, had become hardened and invigorated, and fitted to endure the sufferings and vicissitudes of a soldier’s life. He was likewise bold and fearless, daring and determined;--no difficulty retarded him, no danger deterred.

[Sidenote: RECEIVES HIS FIRST COMMISSION.]

He now occupied his leisure hours in reading and studying such military and historical works as he could procure; and at the age of eighteen he was elected to a lieutenancy in a rifle company commanded by Captain J. Cloud. No opportunity was yet presented for gratifying the first wish of his heart, and he concluded to turn his attention to another profession. When not otherwise busied, much of his time had latterly been spent in surveying. In this way he had provided himself with a small supply of funds, and on attaining his majority, he commenced the study of the law, and pursued it as fast as his limited means would allow. While thus engaged, he was recommended by his friend, the Hon. W. C. C. Claiborne, then a member of Congress from the state of Tennessee, and afterwards governor of Louisiana, for an appointment in the army The recommendation proved successful, and on the tenth of January, 1799, he received his first commission, as an ensign.

The long-cherished desire of young Gaines was now gratified, and the way opened for him to win honor and renown in the armies of his country. In the autumn of 1799, he was promoted to the rank of 2nd lieutenant in the 6th infantry, and sent on the recruiting service. His regiment being afterwards disbanded, he was attached to the 4th infantry, then under the command of Colonel Thomas Butler. In the summer of 1801, Colonel Butler received orders from the War Department, to select a subaltern from his regiment to make a topographical survey from Nashville to Natchez, for the location of a military road. Lieutenant Gaines was selected for this duty, and was employed in discharging it, and in the survey of some Indian boundary lines, till the winter of 1803–4,--having, in the meantime, been raised to the rank of 1st lieutenant.

The Spanish government, being dissatisfied with the transfer of Louisiana to the United States, refused to withdraw her troops from Fort Condé, at Mobile, and from Baton Rouge,--and to deliver up possession of the country lying north of the Isle of Orleans, and the Gulf of Mexico, and between the Mississippi and the Perdido,--insisting that the territory embraced within those limits formed a part of her Floridian possessions, and was not included in the cession to France. Mr. Jefferson well knew that the country was wholly unprepared for war, and, in conformity with the peaceful policy of his administration, was unwilling, at that time, to submit the question in dispute to the arbitrament of the sword; yet, lest it might be said that the United States had tacitly acquiesced in the claim of the Spanish authorities, he resolved to appoint a military collector for the district of Mobile. The appointment was conferred on Lieutenant Gaines, in 1804, and he immediately established himself at Fort Stoddart, thirty-six miles north of Mobile.

[Sidenote: APPOINTED MILITARY COLLECTOR.]

He at once looked forward, with eager hope and expectation, to the time when he would be required “to flesh his maiden sword;” a collision seemed unavoidable, and he supposed it would soon be necessary to assert the rights of his government, and the authority deputed to him, by force of arms. In this he was disappointed; but a circumstance shortly after transpired, that brought him into notoriety,--of a very different character, indeed, from what he had desired or anticipated, yet it is not at all probable that he ever regretted his connection with the transaction.--In 1806 he was appointed postmaster, and selected as the confidential agent of the post-office department, being clothed with the power of suspending postmasters and contractors concerned in what was called, “the conspiracy of Aaron Burr.” Young and ardent, in heart and soul a patriot, it is not strange that he should have shared in the prevalent feeling, and approved the public judgment that denounced Colonel Burr as a traitor. He may have been mistaken in this, and if so, it was an error into which he was very likely to fall:--the projects of Colonel Burr are still shrouded in mystery; he who was chiefly interested in removing the odium attached to them in the estimation of his countrymen, if that were possible, refused to make any explanations; to the close of his life he maintained a studied reserve, and when he died, “he made no sign”!

Lieutenant Gaines was quite active in discharging the extraordinary mission intrusted to him, and in ferreting out the parties implicated in the supposed conspiracy. He arrested Colonel Burr; and, on account of his acquaintance with the western country, he received the temporary appointment of marshal, in which capacity he summoned a number of witnesses to attend the trial. About the same time he was promoted to the rank of captain. Although his conduct had been governed by the best and purest motives, and he had but faithfully carried out the instructions of those whom it was his duty to obey, he incurred the bitterest animosity of the friends of Colonel Burr, and was severely attacked on the trial; and, in his subsequent life, he was often taught to feel, that they had neither forgotten nor forgiven him.

[Sidenote: RE-ENTERS THE ARMY.]

Soon after his connection with this affair terminated, seeing nothing before him but a life of inaction wholly unsuited to his active temperament, he decided to retire from the army, and enter the legal profession. Before announcing his determination, he wisely hesitated--there was a prospect of war with England,--though, after the settlement of the affair of the Chesapeake, a remote one,--and he therefore concluded merely to apply for leave of absence. This was cordially granted by his commanding officer, General Hampton, and he now commenced the practice of the law in the counties of Washington and Baldwin, in what was then the Mississippi territory, but now the State of Alabama. He had just rode his second circuit, under auspices highly flattering to his talents and abilities, when the alternative, of rejoining the army or finally throwing up his commission, was presented. The call of his country was the call of duty. The summons to arms was joyfully obeyed, and at the commencement of the war of 1812, he resumed his sword, and his position in the service.

The year 1812 closed without furnishing him an opportunity to distinguish himself. In the spring of 1813, he was attached to the North-western army, and rose, by rapid promotions, to the command of a regiment. A long and tedious illness prevented his participation in the battle of the Thames, but he recovered in time to accompany the ill-fated expedition of General Wilkinson down the St. Lawrence.[5] He was present at the battle of Chrystler’s fields, on the eleventh of November, and for his gallantry on that occasion was mentioned in terms of high commendation, in the official dispatch of General Boyd. In the action he commanded the 25th infantry, one of the finest and most effective regiments in the service, and after the British had been beaten back, in accordance with the instructions of the commander-in-chief to General Boyd, he was directed to cover the re-embarkation of the American troops.

This service was performed with skill, fearlessness, and promptitude. Colonel Morrison, of the 89th British foot, the officer in command of the enemy, animated by the hope of achieving some certain success during the day, pushed hard upon him with a large body of troops. His men stood firm and immovable as the rocks beneath their feet. A desperate onset was made by the enemy to overwhelm him, but after an obstinate struggle they were completely repulsed. He then joined the advance, retiring with his command slowly and deliberately to their boats. Colonel Morrison was so well pleased with the brave conduct of the regiment, that, after the action, he sent his card to its commanding officer, with a message expressing his admiration, and desiring to know his name, in order that if they should chance to meet when the two countries were at peace, he might claim the privilege of an old friend and fellow soldier. It need not be added, that Colonel Gaines promptly complied with the request and returned the compliment.

[Sidenote: DEFENCE OF FORT ERIE.]

Colonel Gaines accompanied the army into winter quarters at French Mills, and, on the ninth of March, 1814, he received the commission of a brigadier general. At the opening of the following campaign, we find him placed in command at Sacketts Harbor, upon the departure of General Brown and his army for the Niagara frontier. Here he was assiduously employed in providing for the defence of the post, and, when it was blockaded by the British squadron, in preventing their attempts to cut off the supplies and munitions of war, conveyed through the interior of New York, by way of the Mohawk, the Oneida Lake, and the Oswego river, and the connecting canals, and then transported over Lake Ontario to Sacketts Harbor. He remained at this post, till he was summoned by General Brown to join the army on the Niagara, after the battle of the twenty-fifth of July. On the fifth of August he arrived at Fort Erie, then beleaguered by the British forces under General Drummond, and assumed the command.

The construction of the additional defences of the fort had already been commenced, under the direction of General Ripley, with whose arrangements he interfered no further than to press the rapid completion of the works. The main structure was a small unfinished redoubt, and in a very dilapidated condition. It was situated about one hundred yards from the lake, above which it was elevated some fifteen or twenty feet. Towards the water it was left exposed, though partially repaired; on the right it was strengthened, and extended by a breastwork, to the river, where it terminated in a battery, and on the left a line of intrenchments and abattis was formed, extending to an eminence called Snake hill, which formed the southern angle, and on which a redoubt was constructed. From thence eastwardly, to the shore of the lake, there was a defence of abattis.

The British general had fancied that the American army was now within his grasp, and that a single blow would be followed by their immediate surrender, or their withdrawal from the Canadian territory. Upon his arrival before the post he found its occupants much better prepared for his reception than he expected to find them. He therefore sat himself down coolly and deliberately, established his main camp about two miles distant, threw up two lines of intrenchments, supported by strong block houses, in front of the works, planted his batteries at favorable points, and contented himself with drawing closer the investment, but, nevertheless, pushing his operations with great activity.

The American soldiers labored incessantly on the fortifications; and on the seventh of August, though still incomplete, they were in a sufficient state of forwardness to withstand an attack. From that time till the fourteenth instant, a constant cannonade was kept up, on one side or the other; the earth shaking for miles around, as the thunders of the artillery boomed over the lake, or rolled along its shores, echoing from one headland to the other, and muttering among the fissures of the rocks and recesses of the forest, till they were lost in the distance. Several skirmishes also took place, in which the British were generally defeated. The works were considerably crippled, however, as they were enfiladed by one of the enemy’s batteries; but the garrison did not suffer materially from the fire, there being but seven men killed, and thirty-six wounded, up to the night of the fourteenth instant.

[Sidenote: PREPARATIONS OF THE ENEMY.]

Towards evening on the fourteenth a bustle was observed in the British lines, from which General Gaines rightly conjectured that the enemy designed to hazard an assault, and his dispositions were at once made to repel it. The garrison was feeble enough, there being but about twenty-five hundred effective men, while the besieging force was nearly double that number; but what they lacked in this respect was more than made up in the cheerfulness with which the officers seconded the wishes of the commander, the unflinching firmness of the men, and the readiness with which they obeyed every call of duty. The main fort and its bastions were placed under the command of Captain Williams, of the artillery; the battery on the margin of the lake, on the right, was commanded by Captain Douglass, of the engineers; the batteries in front were placed in charge of Captains Biddle and Fanning; and Captain Towson’s battery occupied the south-western angle of the works,--all being under the command of Major Hindman, chief of artillery. The first brigade, under Lieutenant Colonel Aspinwall,--its former commander, General Scott, having been wounded at the battle of Niagara, on the twenty-fifth of July,--was posted on the right, and the second brigade, under General Ripley, on the left. The riflemen and volunteers, under General Porter, were directed to support the batteries in front, and the block house, near the salient bastion of the fort, was occupied by a detachment of infantry, under Major Trimble.

The preparations of General Drummond were completed soon after nightfall on the fourteenth; it was arranged that the projected assault should be made early on the following morning, in three columns,--that on the right designed to attack the left of the American works, consisting of thirteen hundred men, being placed under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Fischer, that on the left, of about the same number, under Colonel Scott, and the central column, composed of eight hundred select troops, under Lieutenant Colonel Drummond. A few hours before the assault was ordered, one of the enemy’s shells lodged in a small magazine in the fort, which exploded with a deafening noise, shaking the solid earth, and shooting a vast pillar of smoke and flame up towards the sky, which expanded at the top, and rained down showers of fragments on the heads of the garrison. Not a man was injured, or a gun disabled, by the explosion; but the British soldiers, fancying some serious injury had been effected, raised a loud and joyous shout. This was promptly answered by the Americans, and in the midst of the confusion, and before the smoke had cleared away, Captain Williams discharged his heavy guns. For a few moments an animated fire was kept up, and the air was filled with a storm of projectiles, with crashing balls, and falling shells,--but it died away again, and all was still. It was the silence that forebodes the storm--the hush that precedes the whirlwind!

It had been rainy throughout the day, and the rolling thunders of the tempest mingled with the loud roar of cannon, and the noise of exploding bombs. When the night set in, the rain continued to fall; heavy masses of clouds swept athwart the sky, curtaining the scene with a dark and gloomy pall; and the fires in the enemy’s camp could scarcely be discerned, glimmering feebly through the obscure haze. The breastworks of Fort Erie sheltered many an anxious bosom, but the fire of a noble courage, that knew not how to falter, sparkled in every eye, and beamed on every countenance. General Gaines, whose dauntless intrepidity was never more conspicuous than on this occasion, was active in encouraging and inspiriting his men, both by his language and his example. Every necessary order was issued with promptitude, and obeyed with alacrity.

[Sidenote: THE ASSAULT.]

Midnight came,--and yet there were no indications of an attack. Another, and another hour passed by in silence. Ere the next half hour was told, a low, faint sound was heard, like the rustling of the wind among the leaves of the forest. It approached nearer and nearer,--and the eager listeners soon caught the measured tread of the approaching columns, enveloped in thick darkness, but hurrying onward with rapidity to the assault. The column led by Lieutenant Colonel Fischer was the first to reach the works. The enemy advanced steadily and quickly,--one portion approaching the battery at the southwestern angle, with scaling ladders; and the other advancing against the line between it and the lake, with the design of terminating the contest, in an instant, by the decisive shock of the bayonet. They were allowed to approach within good range, when the American musketry and artillery opened suddenly upon them. Broad sheets of flame leaped from the breastworks; shot and shell were vomited in torrents from the batteries; and the dense waves of smoke that surged over the combatants, were lighted constantly by the vivid flashes of the artillery.