The Greater Republic Part 20

JAMES MADISON.

James Madison, the fourth President of the United States, was born at Port Conway, Virginia, March 16, 1751, and died June 28, 1836. He received the best educational facilities and graduated from Princeton College at the age of twenty. He devoted himself so closely to study that he permanently injured his health. In 1776, he was elected a member of the Virginia Legislature, and was offered the mission to France, after the return of Jefferson, but declined it. Again he had the chance of becoming Jefferson's successor, when the latter resigned as secretary of State, but refused through fear of causing differences in Washington's cabinet. He was a Federalist at first, but changed his views and became an earnest Republican. Jefferson made him his secretary of State, and he served throughout both administrations. He was a cultured gentleman, an ardent friend of Jefferson, and carried out his policy when he became President.

THE NON-INTERCOURSE ACT.

Just before the close of Jefferson's last term, Congress repealed the Embargo Act and pa.s.sed the Non-Intercourse Act, which forbade all trade with England. This was in 1809, and the law was abrogated in the following year. Our relations with England, however, continued to grow more irritating, until it became clear that war was at hand. Congress gave notice that if either Great Britain or France would repeal their offensive decrees, the Non-Intercourse Act would be revived against the other. Bonaparte immediately announced that he revoked his decrees, but instead of doing so, he enforced them more rigidly than before, thus accomplishing what he sought, that of arraying the United States against Great Britain. The Non-Intercourse Law was revived against Great Britain, whose conduct became more exasperating than ever. Our whole coast was under surveillance, and many of our merchant vessels were captured without any excuse whatever.

[Ill.u.s.tration: JAMES MADISON. (1751-1836.) Two terms, 1809-1817.]

In the dusk of early evening, May 16, 1811, the British sloop _Little Belt_, while occupied in holding up American vessels, hailed the frigate _President_ off the coast of Virginia. Deeming the reply of the American not sufficiently respectful, the _Little Belt_ fired a shot at the _President_, which instantly let fly with a broadside, followed by several others, that killed eleven men and wounded twenty-one. The incident added to the angry excitement in both countries and brought war nearer.

BATTLE OF TIPPECANOE.

The population of the United States in 1810 was 7,239,881, somewhat more than a third of Great Britain and Ireland. Our growth in the West was rapid. There was a continual stream of emigration thither, and the Indians, seeing how rapidly their hunting grounds were pa.s.sing from them; combined to resist the invasion. This was done under the leadership of Tec.u.mseh, the ablest Indian that ever lived. In this course he was incited by British agents, who, knowing that war was coming, were anxious to do the Americans all the harm they could. The outrages of the red men became so numerous that General William Henry Harrison, governor of the Northwest Territory, gathered a large, force and marched against them. Near the present city of Lafayette, while encamped at a place called Tippecanoe, he was furiously a.s.sailed (Nov.

7, 1811) by the Indians. Tec.u.mseh was absent at the time, and the battle was brought on, against his orders, by his brother, called "The Prophet." The loss was severe on both sides, but the Indians were decisively defeated.

By this time the American people were clamoring more loudly than ever for war with England. The congressional candidates were obliged to declare whether they favored or opposed the war. Those who opposed it were beaten at the polls. Congress, which had been making preparations for some time for hostilities, declared war against England, June 18, 1812. It is a regrettable fact that we could not know that almost on the same day England suspended the Orders of Council, so far as they affected this country. Had the Atlantic cable been in existence at the time, there would have been no war.

ENGLAND'S OVERWHELMING NAVAL STRENGTH.

England had been fighting so continuously with her neighbors that her strength on the ocean was overwhelming when compared with ours. She had 1,036 vessels, of which 254 were ships-of-the-line, not one of which carried less than seventy-four guns. This immense navy was manned by 144,000 men. The American navy numbered 12 vessels, besides a few gunboats of little value. Indeed, the relative strength of the warring nations was so disproportionate that the intention of the United States at first was not to attempt a conflict on the ocean. Captains Bainbridge and Stewart, however, persuaded the government to allow our little navy to try its hand.

Despite the seeming hopelessness of such a struggle, it had some advantages for the Americans. In the first place, it was easier for them to find the enemy than for the latter to find them, because of the disproportion between the number of their vessels. More important, however, than all was the fact that our navy contained no politicians.

The men were brave sailors, and marvelously skillful in handling guns.

With these conditions they were sure to win glory on the ocean.

Still another fact must be mentioned, for it will explain many of the incidents recorded in the following pages. England had been triumphant so long on the ocean that she had become unduly confident and careless.

She held the surrounding nations in light esteem, and had good warrant for doing so. Naturally this led her greatly to underestimate the insignificant American navy. When such a mistake is made the consequences are sure to be disastrous to the one committing the blunder.

Truth compels the statement that in every war in which our country has been engaged since the Revolution, the disasters have been mainly due to the politicians. They have the "pull," as it is called, with the government, and secure the appointment of men as leaders who are totally lacking in military skill. When defeat has followed defeat, with exasperating regularity, the government gradually awakes to the fact that the most criminal thing it can do is to place a politician in charge of a body of brave men, or to appoint a callow youth to the same position, merely because his father was a good soldier and has become a politician.

THE WAR UNPOPULAR IN SOME SECTIONS.

Moreover, it must be remembered that our country was by no means a unit in favoring the second war with England. It was popular in most of the Middle States and the South, but bitterly opposed in New England. When the news reached Boston of the declaration of war, the shipping hung their flags at half-mast. Ma.s.sachusetts, Connecticut, and New Jersey, through their Legislatures, protested against it, but, as in the Revolution, the general enthusiasm swept away all opposition.

An increase of the regular army was ordered to 25,000 men, in addition to the call for 50,000 volunteers, while the States were asked to summon 100,000 militia, to be used in defense of the coast and harbors. The government authorized a loan of $11,000,000, and Henry Dearborn, of Ma.s.sachusetts, was made the first major-general and commander-in-chief of the army, while the princ.i.p.al brigadiers were James Wilkinson, William Hull, Joseph Bloomfield, and Wade Hampton, the last being father of the general of the same name who became famous as a Confederate leader in the War for the Union.

A SHAMEFUL SURRENDER.

The opening battle of the war was one of the most shameful affairs that ever befell the American arms. General William Hull, who had made a creditable record in the Revolution, was governor of Michigan Territory.

He was ordered to cross the river from Detroit, which was his home, and invade Canada. He showed great timidity, and learning that a British force, under General Brock, was advancing against him, he recrossed the river and returned to Detroit, before which General Brock appeared, on the 12th of August, at the head of 700 British soldiers and 600 Indians.

In demanding the surrender of the post, he frightened Hull, whose daughter and her children were with him, by telling him he would be unable to restrain the ferocity of his Indians, if the Americans made a defense.

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 astonishing 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 ship 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 marksmanship 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 ships 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 ship _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 ships-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!"