Part 20 (2/2)

The soldiers were brave and eager to fight, but, to their inexpressible disgust, the siege had been pressed but a short time when Hull ran up a white flag and surrendered, August 16th. With the submission of Detroit went the whole territory northwest of Ohio.

The country was angered and humiliated by the act. Twenty-five men were given in exchange for Hull, and he was placed on trial, charged with treason, cowardice, and conduct unbecoming an officer. He was convicted on the last two charges and sentenced to be shot. In recognition of his services in the Revolution, however, the President pardoned him, and he died, without ever having gained the respect of his countrymen, in 1825.

PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION OF 1812.

Before proceeding with the history of the war, a few incidents not connected with it should be recorded. In the presidential election of 1812, the electoral vote was: for President, James Madison, Republican, 128; De Witt Clinton, of New York, Federalist, 89. For Vice-President, Elbridge Gerry, of Ma.s.sachusetts, Republican, 131; Jared Ingersoll, of Pennsylvania, Federalist, 86. Vacancy, 1. Thus Madison and Gerry were elected.

Louisiana was admitted as a State in 1812, being a part of the immense territory of that name purchased from France in 1803. Indiana was admitted in 1816, and was the second of the five States carved out of the old Northwest Territory. It will be recalled that the United States Bank was chartered in 1791 for twenty years. Its charter, therefore, expired in 1811. In 1816, Congress chartered a new bank, on the same plan and for the same length of time. The public money was to be deposited in it or its branches, except when the secretary of the treasury choose to order its deposit elsewhere.

BATTLE OF QUEENSTOWN HEIGHTS.

Returning to the history of the war, it has to be said that the second attempt to invade Canada was more disastrous if possible than the first, and more disgraceful to American arms. The troops on the Niagara frontier were mainly New York militia, with a few regulars and recruits from other States, all under the command of Stephen Van Rensselaer.

Resolved to capture the Heights of Queenstown, he sent two columns across the river on the morning of October 13, 1812. They were led by Colonel Solomon Van Rensselaer, cousin of the general and a brave officer. The engagement was a brisk one, the colonel being wounded early in the fight, but his troops gallantly charged the Heights and captured the fortress. General Brock was reinforced and attacked the Americans, but was repulsed, Brock being killed. The fierceness of the battle is shown by that fact that the three commanders who succeeded Brock were either killed or severely wounded.

Under the attack of superior forces, the Americans had managed to hold their ground and they now began to intrench. Meanwhile, the 1,200 New York militia on the other side of the river had become frightened by the sounds of battle, and when called upon to cross refused to do so, on the cowardly plea that they had enlisted to defend only their State.

Lieutenant-Colonel Winfield Scott had taken command of the brigade and was engaged in intrenching, when the enemy, again reinforced, drove his troops, after two attacks, to the river, where they were hemmed in and compelled to surrender. The American loss in killed and wounded was fully a thousand. General Van Rensselaer was so disgusted with the conduct of his militia that he resigned his command, and was succeeded by General Alexander Smyth, of Virginia, whose conduct led to the general conviction that he was mentally about as near to being an idiot as it is possible for a man to be and still retain a little ground for being thought otherwise.

The first thing General Smyth did was to issue a proclamation of so bombastic a character that his friends were humiliated. He made several starts toward Canada, but in each instance recalled his troops, and acted so inexplicably that the militia were on the point of revolting, when he was deprived of his command. This closed the military operations for the year 1812, and the story is enough to crimson the cheek of every American with shame.

BRILLIANT WORK OF THE AMERICAN NAVY.

On the ocean, however, the record was brilliant and as astonis.h.i.+ng to friends as to enemies. Hardly had the news of the declaration of war reached New York, when Commodore John Rodgers put to sea in the _President_, the same vessel that had taught the _Little Belt_ her severe lesson. Some time later Rodgers sighted the frigate _Belvidera_ and gave chase. He killed a number of the crew, but the vessel managed to escape. Continuing his cruise, he captured a number of merchantmen and retook an American prize. The luckiest s.h.i.+p in the American navy was said to be the _Const.i.tution_, afterward popularly known as ”Old Ironsides.” Under command of Captain Isaac Hull, nephew of the disgraced general of Detroit, she engaged the sloop-of-war _Guerriere_ off the coast of Ma.s.sachusetts. The battle was a desperate one, but extraordinary marksmans.h.i.+p prevailed, and the enemy were compelled to strike their flag after a loss of 79 killed and wounded, while that of the Americans was 7 killed and 7 wounded.

The victory caused deep chagrin in England and corresponding rejoicing in the United States. Congress gave Captain Hull a gold medal and distributed $50,000 among his crew.

In October, the sloop-of-war _Wasp_, Captain Jacob Jones, met the British brig _Frolic_ off Cape Hatteras. Since the vessels were of precisely the same strength, the contest could not have been a more perfect test of the bravery and efficiency of the s.h.i.+ps of England and our own country. As respects bravery, it was equal, for the men on both sides fought with a courage that could not have been surpa.s.sed. When the crew of the _Wasp_ boarded the _Frolic_, they found no one on deck except the man at the wheel and two wounded officers. The vessels were so damaged that on the same day the British s.h.i.+p _Poicters_ captured both.

During the same month (October 25th), Commodore Stephen Decatur, in command of the frigate _United States_, encountered the British frigate _Macedonian_ off the Island of Madeira, and captured her after a battle of two hours, in which he lost twelve men, while that of the enemy was more than a hundred. The _Macedonian_ was so shattered that only with the greatest difficulty was she brought into New London.

The command of the _Const.i.tution_ was now turned over to Bainbridge, who sighted the frigate _Java_ off the coast of Brazil, December 29th. In the terrific battle that followed he lost 34 men, but killed 120 of the enemy, tore out every mast, and burst her hull with round shot. The _Java_ was blown up, and the prisoners and wounded were taken to Boston, where Bainbridge received a right royal welcome.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE ARTS OF PEACE AND THE ART OF WAR.]

This ends the history of the first half-year of the war of 1812. While everything went wrong on land, the ocean showed only a succession of brilliant victories. England, chagrined and humiliated, declared that her flag had been disgraced ”by a piece of striped bunting flying at the mast-heads of a few fir-built frigates, manned by a handful of outlaws.”

REORGANIZATION OF THE ARMY.

Congress took measures for strengthening and reorganizing the army. The pay and bounty of the soldiers were increased; the President was empowered to raise twenty additional regiments of infantry, to borrow money, and to issue treasury notes, and provisions were made for adding four s.h.i.+ps-of-the-line, six frigates, and as many vessels of war on the Great Lakes as might be needed. The army was organized into three divisions: the Army of the North, under General Wade Hampton, to act in the country about Lake Champlain; the Army of the Centre, under the commander-in-chief, General Henry Dearborn, to act on the Niagara frontier and Lake Ontario; and the Army of the East, under General Winchester, who soon after was superseded by General William Henry Harrison.

IN THE WEST.

The last-named officer did his utmost to drive the British out of Detroit. His troops were volunteers, brave but undisciplined, and displayed their most effective work in scattered fighting and against the Indians; but their success was not decisive. When the swamps and lakes of the Northwest were sufficiently frozen to bear their weight, Harrison repeated his attempts to expel the British from Detroit. His advance, under General Winchester, was attacked on the River Raisin by the British, led by General Proctor. Winchester was as prompt as General Hull in surrendering. Proctor allowed his Indians to ma.s.sacre the wounded prisoners, most of whom were Kentuckians. Thereafter, when the Kentucky troops rushed into battle they raised the war-cry, ”Remember the Raisin!”

<script>