The Life and Correspondence of Sir Isaac Brock, K.B Part 20

A cessation of hostilities has taken place along this frontier. Should peace follow, the measure will be well; if hostilities recommence, nothing could be more unfortunate than this pause. I cannot give you freely an account of my situation--it is, however, of late much improved. The militia have been inspired, by the recent success, with confidence--the disaffected are silenced. The 49th have come to my aid, besides other troops. I shall see Vincent, I hope, this evening at Kingston. He is appointed to the command of that post--a most important one. I have withdrawn Plenderleath from Niagara to a.s.sist him. P---- is sitting opposite to me, and desires to be remembered. James Brock is likewise at Kingston. I believe he considers it more his interest to remain with the 49th than to act as my private secretary; indeed, the salary is a mere pittance. Poor Leggatt is dead, and has left his family in the most distressing circ.u.mstances. His wife died last year.

Major Smelt and Captain Brown have sent me your letters, for which I thank you. Let Richard Potenger be a.s.sured that his letter afforded me the highest gratification. I trust in Heaven that the whole of his thoughts will be directed to study, and to qualify himself for the holy profession he has chosen. Ignorance is despised in most men, but more particularly in the clergyman educated at one of the universities, who must have neglected so many opportunities of acquiring knowledge.

I received the other day a long letter from Sir Thomas Saumarez, from Halifax. I regret the death of the two Harry Brocks.[84] I have likewise been particularly unfortunate in the loss of two valuable military friends. I begin to be too old to form new friendships, and those of my youth are dropping off fast.

General Sheaffe has lately been sent to me. There never was an individual so miserably off for the necessary a.s.sistance. Sir George Prevost has kindly hearkened to my remonstrances, and in some measure supplied the deficiency. The 41st is an uncommonly fine regiment, but, with few exceptions, badly officered. You mention John Tupper[85] in a manner as to leave hope that he may still be living. G.o.d grant it! He is a great favorite of mine, and I should lament any disaster happening to him. Perhaps Glegg may be sent home by Sir George, and in that case I hope he will allow you to see the colours taken from the 4th U.S. regiment. The generality of the English will esteem them very little: nothing is prized that is not acquired with blood.

KINGSTON, September 4.

I this instant receive your letters by Mr. Todd, So honest John Tupper is gone! I could not have loved a son of my own more ardently. Hostilities I this instant understand are to be renewed in four days; and though landed only two hours, I must return immediately to Niagara, whence I shall write fully.

_Lieut.-Colonel Nichol, Quartermaster-General of Militia, to Major-General Brock._

DETROIT, August 25, 1812.

I have just been informed by Colonel Proctor that he intends sending an express to-morrow to Fort George, which gives me an opportunity to forward a few printed copies of your proclamation, and to inform you that in order to carry it into effect, it has been found absolutely necessary to organize the civil government. Under existing circ.u.mstances, I have advised Colonel Proctor to a.s.sume the administration until your pleasure is known, to which he has agreed, and the necessary arrangements consequent thereto have been adopted and promulgated. In Judge Woodward, who has been appointed secretary _pro tem_, he will find an able coadjutor; and as your object undoubtedly was to tranquillize the public mind and to give the inhabitants a proof of the moderation and benevolence of his majesty's government, as well as to ensure the due administration of the laws, I do not think a more judicious choice could have been made. In all the discussions which took place on this subject, Colonel Proctor did me the honor to consult me; and I have no hesitation in saying, that I urged him to the step he has taken, of which I hope you will, as it is only temporary, approve. We have had much difficulty in collecting the public cattle and horses, and have suffered greatly from the predatory spirit of the Indians; indeed, their conduct has been infamous. There is hardly a house on either side of the river that has not been robbed by them; they have taken away the greater part of the captured horses and cattle, and without our being able to prevent it. It has not been in my power as yet to send a statement of all that we have captured, as the property is so scattered, but I hope to finish this week. We got upwards of 1,200 in money, and have sent down a hundred packs worth, I suppose 1,500 more. I have reason to think the captured property will not be much under 40,000.

We have still 350 prisoners to ship off, but I hope to get rid of them in a few days. Public confidence seems to be partially restored; business is again going on, and I hope that the country will become perfectly quiet.

It is impossible for me to say when I shall get done here. I hope, however, it will not be long. I regret that we are not able to send you complete returns of every thing; but the captured property is in so many different places, and so scattered, that it cannot be done.

_Extract from a Canadian Newspaper._

MONTREAL, September 12.

Last Sunday evening the inhabitants of this city were gratified with an exhibition equally novel and interesting.

That General Hull should have entered into our city so soon, at the head of his troops, rather exceeded our expectations.

We were, however, very happy to see him, and received him with all the honors due to his high rank and importance as a public character. The following particulars, relative to his journey and reception at Montreal, may not be uninteresting to our readers:

It appears that General Hull and suite, accompanied by about 25 officers and 350 soldiers, left Kingston, under an escort of 130 men, commanded by Major Heathcote, of the Newfoundland regiment. At Cornwall, the escort was met by Captain Gray, of the quartermaster-general's department, who took charge of the prisoners of war, and from thence proceeded with them to La Chine, where they arrived about two o'clock on Sunday afternoon. At La Chine, Captains Richardson and Ogilvie, with their companies of Montreal militia, and a company of the king's from Lower Chine, commanded by Captain Blackmore, formed the escort till they were met by Colonel Auldjo, with the remainder of the flank companies of the militia, upon which Captain Blackmore's company fell out and presented arms as the general and line pa.s.sed, and then returned to La Chine, leaving the prisoners of war to be guarded by the militia alone. The line of march then proceeded to the town in the following order, viz:

1. Band of the king's regiment.

2. The first division of the escort.

3. General Hull in a carriage, accompanied by Captain Gray.

Captain Hull and Major Shekleton followed in the second, and some wounded officers occupied four others.

4. The American officers.

5. The non-commissioned officers and soldiers.

6. The second division of the escort.

It unfortunately proved rather late in the evening for the vast concourse of spectators a.s.sembled to experience that gratification they so anxiously looked for. This inconvenience was, however, in a great measure remedied by the illuminations of the streets through which the line of march pa.s.sed. When they arrived at the general's house, the general was conducted in, and presented to his excellency Sir George Prevost, and was received with the greatest politeness, and invited to take up his residence there during his stay at Montreal. The other officers were accommodated at Holmes' hotel, and the soldiers lodged in the Quebec barracks. The general appears to be about sixty years of age, and is a good looking man, and we are informed by those who have had frequent opportunities of conversing with him, that he is a man of general information.

He is communicative, and seems to bear his misfortunes with a degree of philosophical resignation that but few men in similar circ.u.mstances are gifted with. On Thursday last General Hull, with eight American officers, left this city for the United States, on their parole.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 79: We can discover none from Colonel Baynes on the subject.]

[Footnote 80: This dispatch was published in a Gazette Extraordinary, in London, on the 6th of October. See page 240.]

[Footnote 81: Captain Glegg was made a brevet-major for the capture of Detroit. Sir George Prevost's aide-de-camp, Captain Coore, was also made a brevet-major for taking the dispatches to England.]

[Footnote 82: Created a baronet on the 30th November, 1818.]

[Footnote 83: This letter is apparently written with the left hand, as if the writer had lost his right.]

[Footnote 84: Henry Frederick Brock, Esq., jurat of the Royal Court of Guernsey; and Lieutenant Henry Brock, R.N. In his letter, (see page 194,) Sir Thomas Saumarez, speaking of the latter, says: "He was a most promising young officer, and, had the poor fellow lived, my brother James would probably have made him a commander this summer."]

[Footnote 85: His nephew, John E. Tupper, Esq., aged twenty, perished at sea in January, 1812, in the Mediterranean, the vessel in which he was a pa.s.senger from Catalonia to Gibraltar having never been heard of after sailing. He was educated at Harrow at the same time as Lord Byron, Sir Robert Peel, &c.]

CHAPTER XIII.

After issuing a proclamation to the inhabitants of the Michigan territory, by which their private property was secured and their laws and religion confirmed, and leaving as large a force under Colonel Proctor as could be spared at Detroit, Major-General Brock hastened to return to the Niagara frontier; and while on his voyage across Lake Erie, in the schooner Chippewa, he was met on the 23d of August by the provincial schooner Lady Prevost, of 14 guns, the commander of which, after saluting the general with seventeen guns, came on board and gave him the first intelligence of the armistice which Sir George Prevost had unfortunately concluded with the American general, Dearborn.

Major-General Brock could not conceal his deep regret and mortification at the intelligence, which he feared would prevent his contemplated attack on Sackett's Harbour. Sir George Prevost, early in August, on hearing of the repeal of the British orders in council, which were the princ.i.p.al among the alleged causes of the war, had proposed a suspension of hostilities until the sentiments of the American government were received on the subject; and to this suspension General Dearborn readily agreed, with the exception of the forces under General Hull, who, he said, acted under the immediate orders of the secretary at war.

But, by the terms of the truce, General Hull had the option of availing himself of its provisions if he thought fit, and that he would gladly have done so there can be no doubt. Happily, however, owing to the rapidity of Major-General Brock's movements, the news of the armistice did not reach the belligerent commanders in time to prevent the surrender of the one, or to s.n.a.t.c.h well-earned laurels from the brow of the other.[86] This armistice was attended with very prejudicial consequences, as it not only marred the attempt on Sackett's Harbour, but it rendered unavailing the command of the lakes, which was then held by the British.[87]

The successful commander, in transmitting by Captain Glegg his dispatches to the governor-general at Montreal, expressed, through his aide-de-camp, his intention of proceeding immediately to Kingston, and from thence to the attack of the naval a.r.s.enal at Sackett's Harbour, on Lake Ontario. Had its destruction been accomplished--and no one can doubt that this was the proper period to attempt it, as the enemy, dispirited by the capture of Detroit, would probably have offered but a feeble resistance--the Americans could not, without much additional difficulty and future risk of destruction, have built and equipped the fleet which subsequently gave them the naval ascendancy on that lake, and enabled them twice in 1813 to capture the capital of Upper Canada.

The armistice, however, caused a delay of nearly a fortnight in the necessary preparations, as Major-General Brock returned from Detroit to Fort George on the 24th of August, and the cessation of the truce was not known to him until his arrival at Kingston, on the 4th of September.

The distance by water between Fort George and Kingston is about 160 miles, and from Kingston to Sackett's Harbour only 35 miles; so that the destruction of the a.r.s.enal might have been effected early in September, had not the armistice prevented the attempt. But, unhappily for the interests of his country and the credit of his own fame, Sir George Prevost disapproved of the proposition, and commanded Major-General Brock to relinquish all idea of the contemplated enterprize, although the official intelligence of the president's refusal to continue the suspension of hostilities reached him at Montreal on the 30th of August, a day or two _before_ Captain Glegg, with the dispatches and trophies of the capture of Detroit. At the commencement of the war, a defensive att.i.tude was perhaps excusable, especially as the British cabinet seems to have been anxious to accommodate the differences between the two countries; but _after_ the American government had refused to continue the armistice, it appears to us that Sir George Prevost was pursuing a suicidal course, as to wait for the enemy till he shall have prepared his forces and pa.s.sed your frontiers, to plunder your towns and occupy your country, is a very recent expedient recognized by no government, and practised by no people of ancient or modern times. But notwithstanding the delay caused by the armistice, the proposed attack could still have been carried into effect after its cessation; and it was only relinquished by express orders from the commander-in-chief. We seek not to impugn his motives, as they probably originated in a mistaken sense of duty, and evidently from an impression that to attack the Americans again on their own frontier would be to render the contest more popular among them. It was under this impression that, in a general order[88] issued at Montreal on the 31st of August, the commander-in-chief was weak enough to offer an indirect apology to the American people for the invasion of their territory at Detroit. Whether this continued defensive policy was such as, under all the circ.u.mstances, ought to have been observed, we leave it to others to determine; but certainly the result did not justify its expediency, and the tree is usually judged of by its fruit. Forbearance in war, where success is probable, strikes us as a positive evil that a very doubtful good may ensue--it is seldom properly appreciated; and the governor-general appears to have seen his error when too late, as in the following year he was himself ign.o.bly foiled in an attack on Sackett's Harbour. We cannot understand why the attack under Sir George Prevost, in May, 1813, was more politic than it would have been in September the year preceding, under Major-General Brock; and although Captain Glegg met with a very chilling reception from the former officer, yet we would willingly acquit him of any jealous feeling where such important interests were at stake. At the same time it is due to the memory of this unfortunate officer to add, that his civil administration was as able as his military one in Canada was inglorious; and that although his conduct as a soldier was on more than one occasion the subject of much and just animadversion in England, yet he acquired the warm attachment of the French Canadians, who speak highly of him to this day. Those leading men who, during the administration of Sir James Craig, had been considered almost as enemies, were treated with confidence by his successor, who gradually appointed them to situations of trust, and by this wise measure secured their aid and influence in the defence of the province. Certain it is, on the other hand, that Major-General Brock did not approve of the defensive warfare to which he was restricted, and subsequent events too truly proved that had he been permitted to pursue that course which his zeal and foresight dictated, his valuable life might have been spared, and a very different series of incidents in that war claimed the attention of the historian. The high-minded soldier could not brook a state of inaction with such promising prospects before him. His best feelings revolted at being compelled to languish within the strict pale of military obedience, when so rich a field for doing good service presented itself; and in place of becoming the a.s.sailant, he was soon doomed, by awaiting the attacks of his opponents, to sacrifice not only life, but, what is far dearer, the opening prospects of honorable ambition.

On the 16th December, 1812, the inhabitants of the Niagara district addressed a spirited letter to Sir George Prevost, from which we copy the following extract, as confirming what we have already stated on the same subject: "Nevertheless, such was the popularity of the general, such the confidence he had inspired, that he was enabled to carry with him to Detroit, though under great privations, a large body of volunteers, which, in addition to the small regular force at Amherstburg, enabled him to capture an entire army of our invaders, with the fortress from which they had made their descent into Canada--a success unparalleled in the annals of war. Here, for the first time, we got a supply of good arms. The success of this first enterprize, in which the militia were engaged, acted like an electric shock throughout the country: it awed the disaffected, of whom there were many; it confirmed the timid and the wavering; and it induced the Six Nation Indians, who had until that time kept aloof, to take an active part in our favor. At that moment such was the energy and confidence that had been excited by our ill.u.s.trious chief and the success of his plans, that had _he_ been permitted, he could, and would, have destroyed and laid waste the whole American frontier, from Sandusky to St. Regis. Your excellency doubtless recollects the armistice which immediately preceded the capture of Detroit, which gave the enemy an opportunity to recover from their consternation, to fortify and strengthen their lines, to acc.u.mulate in security the means of annoying us at pleasure along our whole frontier, and which sent at least 800 of our Indian allies in disgust to their own homes."

_Colonel Baynes to Major-General Brock._

MONTREAL, August 13, 1812.[89]

I wrote to you from Albany on the 8th instant, but as my letter was submitted to the inspection of General Dearborn, I of course confined myself to the sole subject of the armistice entered into with that officer.... A clause, admitting reinforcements to pa.s.s with stores, was readily agreed to on my part. General Dearborn told me that a considerable reinforcement with stores was on its way to Niagara, and that he could not delay or alter its destination. I informed him that we were also forwarding reinforcements and stores, and that it would be advisable to agree that all movements of that nature on either side should be suffered to proceed unmolestedly by troops under instructions to preserve defensive measures. I am apprehensive that General Dearborn may not explicitly explain all these points; and I have therefore cautioned all the officers, to whom I have communicated them, to act with the utmost caution, and to be prepared for all events that may arise. I feel extremely prepossessed in favor of General Dearborn, whose manners appear to evince great candour and sincerity: he a.s.sured me that no event of his life would afford him so much satisfaction and happiness as resigning his command in consequence of our honorable adjustment of differences. He told me that General Hull was placed under his orders merely for form sake, but that he acted by particular instructions from the war department, and would not consider himself bound to obey any order that was not in conformity to them.

[Colonel Baynes describes at length the incipient state of military preparation for the invasion of Lower Canada, which he witnessed on his journey; and after mentioning that the Americans had sent the most efficient of their forces to the Niagara frontier, he adds:]

Under all these circ.u.mstances, which I have represented to Sir George, I have strongly urged his sending you further reinforcements, which I am sure can be spared: we are at present checked from the want of conveyance, but I trust after the corps, now on their route, are dispatched, that Sir George will be induced to send you further aid, and that of the best description. I think it of the highest importance, particularly if we are likely to arrange matters with the States, that the balance of military events should be unequivocally in our favor. I found a very general prejudice prevailing with Jonathan, of his own resources and means of invading these provinces, and of our weakness and inability to resist, both exaggerated in a most absurd and extravagant degree--a little practical correction of this error would be attended with the best effects.

The 1st battalion of the royals are upwards of 1,100 strong, but sickly, having suffered from their long residence in the West Indies, and they are in consequence marked for the Quebec garrison.