Life and public services of Winfield Scott, General-in-Chief of the Army of the United States. Comprising his early life, his services in the War of 1812 ... and ... in the Mexican War ..
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u *tuo .4L74 :■* ■"■•'A. .** .c;^. ''■e, c°^'J4l.^.■\ .,*^ '^^ i:^" "-^^M^^r^^ '^ A*< o"'^''^^=^J\lI^'«' vj^_ <-J>''' "^oV v>o^ 'bV ^^-^^^ v-o' ^^ HO, 'oK '^0^ ^,.# .'I«M.'. ^^-..^ /.^fe'v ■^*..*^ /- V-^' •1 o v-^^ '^^■ \^. ^\' ■^^ »-,-,<*■ LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF WINFIELD SCOTT General-in-Chief of tlie Army of the United States. ^^O^ ^ COMPRISINR HIS EARLY LIFE, HIS SERVICES IN THE WAR OF 1812, AT QUEENSTOWN HEIGHTS, FORT GREY, CHIPPEWA, LUNDY's LANE, AND NIAGARA; IN THE MEXICAN WAR, AT VERA CRUZ. CERRO GORDO, CHURUBTJSCO, CHAPITL- TEPEC, THE TAKING OF THE CAPITAL, THE CONQUEST OF MEXICO, AND NOMINATION AS CANDIDATE FOR THE PRESIDENCY. WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS. • FROM THE MOST AUTHENTIC- DOCUMENTS. PHILADELPHIA: LIPPINCOTT, GRAMBO AND CO. 1852. C^ For Sale by Booksellers and Periodical Agents generally. Vl LIPPINCOTT, GRAMBO & CO.'S PUBLICATIONS. \ — _A- FROST'S JUVENILE SERIES. TWELTE VOLUMES, 16mo., WITH FIYE HUNDRED ENGRAVINGS. 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STANSBURFS EXPEDITION TO THE GREAT SALT LAKE, AN EXPLORATION OF THE YALLEY OF THE GREAT SALT LAKE OF UTAH, CONTAINING ITS GEOGRAPHY, NATURAL HISTORY, MINERALOGICAL RE- SOURCES, ANALYSIS OF ITS WATERS, AND AN AUTHENTIC ACCOUNT OF THE MORMON SETTLEMENT. ALSO, A RECONNOISSANCE OF A NEW ROUTE THROUGH THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. WITH SEVENTY BEAUTIFUL ILLUSTRATIONS, FROM DRAWINGS TAKEN ON THE SPOT, AND TWO LARGE AND ACCURATE MAPS OF THAT REGION. BV HOWARD STAXTSBVRY, CAPTAIN TOPOGRAPHICAL ENGINEERS. One volume, royal oclavo. 31 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES ov WINFIELD SCOTT, GENERAl-IN-CHIEF OF THE ARIY OF THE UNITED STATES. COMPRISING HIS EARLY LIFE, HIS SERVICES IN THE WAR OF 1812, AT QUEENSTOWN HEIGHTS, FORT GREY, CHIPPEWA, LDNDY's LANE, AND NIAGARA. IN THE MEXICAN WAR, AT VERA CRUZ, CERRO GORDO, CHURUBUSCO, CHAPULTEPEC, THE TAKING OE THE CAPITAL, AND THE CONQUEST OF MEXICO. WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS. /mm tjiB mnst ^lutjiBiitir Dnritmnts. PHILADELPHIA: LIPPINCOTT, GRAMBO & CO. 1852. Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1848, by LIPPINCOTT, GRAMBO & CO. in the clerk's office of the District Court of the United States for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. PRINTED BY T. K. AND P. G. COLLINS. PREFACE The late war with Mexico developed, in a very extraordinary manner, the military resources of this country. It made the world acquainted with many facts and principles which are worthy of especial attention to every one who feels an interest in our national history, and a desire that the na- tional honour shall always be maintained. It demon- strated that a people devoted to the arts of peace, and possessing free political institutions, can easily vanquish a military people, governed by military despots. It has shown that fresh volunteers, under the command of intelligent and able officers, can take fortified cities and castles, garrisoned by double the number of the assailants; and gain victories, in pitched battles, over disciplined armies five times as numerous as themselves. These are interesting facts; and particularly interesting to Americans, as they evidently involve the principle, that political freedom is the chief element of military success. 10 PREFACE. All this has been accomplished by a small army, with a staff of officers never surpassed in valom* and abihty. To afford the public sketches of the personal history of these officers, and to give details of their service in this war, is the purpose of the present work. It is compiled from authentic ma- terials, consisting of public documents and -private correspondence and memoirs, derived in many in- stances from family connections of the officers. The author has endeavoured to give in every in- stance the truth without respect to persons, and he hopes that in this he has been as successful as the nature of the undertaking would permit. Philadelphia, June, 1852. MAJOR-GENERAL SCOTT, COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF THE AMERICAN ARMY. Major-General Witwield Scott is a native of Virginia, born near Petersburg, June 13th, 1786. The accounts of his early life are few and meagre. He passed through the Richmond High- School, and afterwards studied law at William and Mary College. His military career began in 1807, on the reception of news con- cerning the Chesapeake, when he became a volunteer member of the Petersburg treop of horse. On the 3d of May, 1808, he was commissioned as captain of hght artillery, and has remained in the army ever since. When the war of 1812 commenced, he had al- ready advanced to the rank of lieutenant-colonel. At the battle of Glueenstown Heights, Scott gave assurance of his future military usefulness. After behaving in the most gallant manner, his command of three hundred men became separated from the main body, and were attacked by thirteen hundred British and Indians. He defended himself for a long while, but was at length taken prisoner, and carried with his troops to Gluebec. While here, he challenged the respect of the British officers, by his inde pendent and soldier-like bearing. His rescue of the Irish prisoners is well known ; and many other anecdotes are related of him during this confinement. In a httle while he was exchanged and sent to Boston. In the following year, Scott was engaged in a still more glorious affair at Fort Grey. In the passage of the river, before taking this place, he led the van and rushed up the steep Canadian bank amid a shower of balls, and drove the British into the woods. At the fort, he tore down the flag with his own hands, and afterward pur- sued the enemy until evening. (11) 12 MAJOR-GENERAL WINFIELD SCOTT. The summer passed without any attack from the British, and, burning for active operations, Scott was permitted by General Wilk- inson to resign the command of Fort George, which he then held, to General McClure, and join the main army at Sackett's Harbour ; marching to the mouth of the Genesee river, where the commander- in-chief promised that transports should meet him. In this, how- ever, Scott was disappointed, and he was compelled to advance over roads almost impassable along the whole distance from Niagara to the St. Lawrence. Leaving his column near Utica, under the com- mand of Major Hindman, Scott hastened forward himself, reached the St. Lavirrence at Ogdensburg on the 6th November, in time to take part in the descent, and was appointed to command the ad- vance guard ; and owing to his being in advance, had no part in the indecisive battle of Chrystler's Field, or the events which took place in the rear. He did, however, encounter and overcome se- vere resistance at the Hoophole creek, near Cornwall, where he routed a nearly equal British force under Colonel Dennis — making many prisoners, and pursuing the fugitives till night ; and also at Fort Matilda, erected to guard the narrowest part of the river. He took the fort, its commander, and many of his men. But with vic- tory within his grasp — for there was no force between Scott and Montreal which could have arrested his march six hours, and no garrison in Montreal that could have obstructed his entry — he, as well as the nation, was doomed to disappointment, by the incom petency and the quarrels of two of its generals — Wilkinson and Wade Hampton : Wilkinson ordering a retreat because Hampton would not join him with his detachment, and Hampton refusing to join, because, as he alleged, provisions were insufficient ; the cam- paign closed in disaster. But it was brilliantly redeemed by that of the following year. On the 9th of March, 1814, Colonel Scott was promoted to the rank of brigadier, and immediately joined General Brown, then in full march from French Mills to the Niagara frontier. Brown, who was an able but self-taught commander, perceiving the need of in- struction and discipline, left the camp expressly for the purpose of giving the command to General Scott, and enabling him to carry out a system of instruction and discipline with the troops as they assembled at Buffalo. For more than three months this duty was assiduously and most successfully discharged by General Scott. BATTLE OF CHIPPEWA. 13 Now it was that the knowledge of the art of war, wnich he had so sedulously acquired during his year of suspension, came into play. He personally drilled and instructed all the officers, and then in turn superintended them as they instructed the soldiers. By as- siduous labour, he succeeded, at the end of three months, in pre- senting in the field an army skilful in manoeuvres, and confident alike in their officers and in themselves. When all was ready for action, General Brown resumed the command. The army was crossed over to Canada in two brigades, Scott's and Ripley's, the former below, the latter above Fort Erie, which almost immediately sur- rendered, and then marched to attack the main British army, lying behind the Chippewa river, under the command of General Riall. On the morning of the 4th of July — auspicious day ! — Scott's bri- gade, several hours in advance, fell in with the 100th regiment, British, commanded by the Marquis of Tweedale, and kept up a running fight with it till it was driven across the Chippewa. Scott encamped for the night behind Street's creek, about two miles from the British camp, behind the Chippewa, with a level plain extend- ing between, skirted on the east by the Niagara river, on the west by woods. On the 5th — a bright, hot day — the morning began with skir- mishing in the woods, between the New York volunteers, under General Porter, and the British irregulars ; and it was not till four o'clock in the afternoon, and just as Scott, despairing of bringing on an action that day, was drawing out his brigade on the plain for drill, that General Brown, who had been reconnoitring on the left flank, and perceived that the main body of the British army was moving forward, rode up to General Scott, and said, " The enemy is advancing ; you will have a fight :" and without giving any order, such was his reliance upon Scott, proceeded to the rear to bring up Ripley's brigade. Scott immediately prepared for action ; and there, on the plain of Chippewa, with his own brigade only, consisting of the 9th, 11th, and 25th regiments of infantry, with a detachment ot the 22d, Towson's company of artillery, and Porter's volunteers— in all, nineteen hundred men — encountered, routed, and pursued a superior force of some of the best regiments of the British service — the Royal Scots, the 8th and 100th regiments, a detachment of the 19ih dragoons, another of the Royal Artillery, and some Cana- dian militia — in all, twenty-one hundred men. Here it was that the O 14 MAJOR-GENERAL WINFIELD SCOTT. discipline so laboriously taught by Scott, in the camp of instruction, told ; and this it was that enabled him, as at a turning point of the battle he did, in a voice rising above the roar of artillery, to say to McNeil's battalion of the 11th infantry : — " The enemy say that we are good at long shot, but cannot stand the cold iron. I call upon the Eleventh instantly to give the lie to the slander. Charge !" And they did charge ; and, aided by Leavenworth's battalion, they quickly put the enemy to rout, before the 21st, of Ripley's brigade, which was hastening to take part in the battle, or any portion of that brigade, could get up. Justly, indeed, did General Brown, in his official report of the battle, say : " Brigadier-General Scott is entitled to the highest praise our country can bestow : to him, more than to any other man, am I indebted for the victory of the 5th of July." The fight was fierce and bloody in an unwonted degree, the killed on both sides amounting to eight hundred and thirty, out of about four thousand engaged — more than one in five. This action — which was chiefly valuable for the good effect it produced upon the feehngs of the na- tion, by proving that in the open field, and hand to hand, our troops were equal at least, and in this instance had proved themselves su- perior to the best troops of England — was followed in just three weeks by another, yet more decisive of the courage and discipline of the American army — that at Lundy's Lane. General Riall, un- known to General Brown, had been largely reinforced by General Drummond from below ; and when, on the morning of the 26th of July, General Scott in advance, as usual, was on a march to attack General Riall's forces, he suddenly came upon the British troops, which, reinforced that very day by Drummond, were themselves bent on attack. Scott had with him but four small battalions, com- manded, respectively, by Brady, Jessup, Leavenworth, and McNeil ; and Towson's artillery, with Captain Harris's detachment of regular and irregular cavalry — the whole column not exceeding thirteen hundred men. With this small force, Scott found himself in pre- sence of a superior body. His position was critical, but it was pre- cisely one of those where pr'^mptness and decision of action must supply the want of battalions. Despatching officers to the rear to apprise General Brown that the whule British army were before him, General Scott at once engaged the enemy, who all the while believed they had to do with the whole of General Brown's army, BATTLE OF LUNDY'S LANE. 15 not at all expecting that a mere detachment of it would venture upon the apparently desperate course of encountering such greatly su- perior numbers as the British knew they had in the field. The battle began about half an hour before sunset, within the spray, almost, of the everlasting Falls of Niagara, and beneath the halo of its irradiated bow of promise and of hope. It is recorded as a fact, that the head of our advancing column was actually en- circled by this beautiful bow, and all took courage from the omen. The battle raged with unequal fortune and desperate valour, till far into the night. When Miller made his famous and decisive charge upon the battery of the British, which was the key of their position, darkness covered the earth ; and Scott, who knew the localities, piloted Miller on his way, till the fire from the battery revealed its position completely. Scott then resumed the attack in front, while Miller gallantly stormed and carried the battery, and held it against repeated charges from the oft-rallied, but as oft-dispersed, British troops. Twice, mean time, had Scott charged through the British lines — two horses had been killed under him — he was wounded in the side — and about eleven o'clock at night, on foot and yet fighting, he was finally disabled by a shot, which shattered the left shoulder, and he was borne away about midnight from the battle ; his com- mander, General Brown, having been previously, in like manner, carried away wounded from the field. The honours of the battle belonged to the American arms, although, from the want of horses, they could not carry off the British cannon, captured with so much gallantry by Miller. But the American troops retired to Chippewa, and thence to Fort Erie, where they were soon besieged by General Drummond. Scott was absent, suf- fering under his wounds ; but the spirit and the discipline with which his efforts and his example had inspired the army, failed not, though he was no longer with them ; and after being beleaguered near fifty days, General Brown, who had sufficiently recovered to resume the command, made a sortie, on the 17th of September, in which he defeated the troops in the trenches, captured and destroyed their works, and so effectually overthrew all that it had cost long weeks to accomplish, that the British commander, General Drum- mond, withdrew his troops, and soon after the American army wenr into winter quarters at Buffalo. 2 1 J 6 MAJOR-GENERAL WINFIELD SCOTT. This was virtually, in this region, the end of the war ; for peace was negotiated at Ghent at the close of 1814, and was ratified early the ensuing spring. Scott, who had been carried to Buffalo, where he was most kindly and cordially received and watched over, as soon as he could bear the motion, was borne in a litter from place to place by the citizens themselves, who would not commit to mercenary hands the care and comfort of a gallant soldier, still disabled by his wounds, until he reached the house of his old friend Nicholas, at Geneva. But his great desire was to reach Philadelphia, in order to avail himself of the eminent skill of Doctors Physick and Chapman ; for the possi- bility of being so crippled, for life, as to be incapable of further ser- vice to his country, was to Scott an intolerable thought, and hence he sought the best surgical aid. He, therefore, by slow progress, reached Philadelphia — everywhere welcomed and honoured on his route as the suffering representative of the army on the Niagara, which had won imperishable laurels for the country and itself. At Princeton, where he happened to arrive on the day of the an- nual commencement, the faculty, students, and citizens all insisted on his taking part in the ceremonial ; and pale, emaciated, and weak as he was, that he should be present during a part, at least, of the public performances. He was fain to comply ; and when, at the close of an oration " on the public duties of a good citizen, in peace and in war," the youthful and graceful orator turned to Scott, and made him the personification of the civic and heroic virtues which had just been inculcated, the edifice rang with applause, woman's gentle voice mingling in with the harsher tones of the other sex. The faculty conferred on him the degree of A. M., which his early training and literary pursuits, not less than his public services, ren- dered wholly appropriate. On approaching Philadelphia, he found the governor of the state, Snyder, at the head of a division of miUtia, with which he had marched out to receive him. Baltimore being still menaced by the British, General Scott, at the earnest request of the citizens, consented, wounded as he was, and incapable of exertion, to assume the command of the district ; and in such command the tidings of peace found him. After de- clining the post of Secretary at War, proffered to him by President Madison, and aiding in the painful and delicate task of reducing the nrmy to a peace establishment, he was sent by the government to THANKS OF CONGRESS, ETC. 17 Europe, both for the restoration of his health and professional im- provement. He was, moreover, commissioned to ascertain the views and designs of different courts and prominent public men respecting the revolutionary struggle then commenced in the Spanish American colonies, and especially those of England, respecting the island of Cuba — all at that time subjects of solicitude at Washington. How he acquitted himself of these commissions may be inferred from the fact that, by order of President Madison, a special letter of thanks was written to him by the Secretary of State. After two years spent in Europe, where he associated with the most distinguished men in all the walks of life, attended courses of public lectures, and visited and inspected the great fortresses and naval establishments, Scott returned to the United States, and was assigned to the command of the seaboard, making New York his head-quarters ; and there, for twenty years, except with occasional absences on duty in the west, he remained. The gratitude of the country for his war services was testified in various shapes. Congress voted him a gold medal, and passed resolutions of thanks, in which he was not only compliment- ed for his skill and gallantry at Chijipewa and Niagara, but for his uniform good conduct throughout the war — a compliment paid by Congress to no other officer. The gold medal was presented by President Monroe. Virginia and New York each voted a sword to him ; which, for Virginia, was presented by Governor Pleasants ; for New York, by Governor Tompkins. He was also elected an honorary member of the Cincinnati, and numerous states named new counties after him. In the long interval of comparative inaction which followed the close of the war, Scott's services were availed of by the general go- vernment— first, in that most painful task of reducing the army to a peace establishment, which necessarily imposed upon the general the responsibility of deciding between the merits and fitness of many gallant men, who had stood with him unflinching on the red fields of battle. But in the discharge of this, as of every other duty to his country, Scott acted with a single eye to its honour and wel- fare. Neither the relations of general friendship, nor the influences of various sorts, brought to bear from without, were suffered to warp his firm mind. He was there for his country, and m consonance with what he thought its clear interests, was his course throughout. The next important benefit rendered, and which, perhaps, was not 18 MAJOR-GENERAL WINFIELD S«OTT the least of all the many he was capable of rendering, was to trans- late from the French, prepare, digest, and adapt to our service, a complete system of military tactics. In the execution of this trust, his previous military studies gave him great facilities and advan- tages ; and the system thus introduced, carried into effect by those jewels of the nation, the West Point cadets, has recently proved itself at Palo Alto and Fort Brown, Resaca de la Palma, and Mon- terey. The frankness of his nature, and his high sense of subordination, and ever-present and active respect for the spirit as well as letter of the Constitution of his country, involved him, about the year 1817, in an unpleasant controversy, first with General Jackson, and second, as a consequence of the first, with De Witt Clinton. The particulars of the controversy have passed from memory, and it is not our pur» pose to revive them. In the lifetime, before the Presidency of General Jackson, a very complete and soldierly reconciliation took place between General Scott and himself. But, we may add, in the way of caution and reprobation, that the whole difficulty arose from the unjustifiable and ungentlemanly repetition of some obser- vations made at a private dinner-table by General Scott. Another controversy arose between General Scott and General Gaines, on the subject of brevet rank, on occasion of the appoint- ment of General Macomb to the command of the army, after the death of General Brown. The government did not sustain the views taken by General Scott of the rights of brevet rank, and this officer, in consequence, tendered the resignation of his commission, not from any mere personal feelings, but because he thought that in his per- son a great military principle was violated. Happily, General Jackson (then become president) would not act upon the proflJered resignation ; and in order to allow time for reflection, and at the same time to prevent any damage to the service from an open colli- sion on points of duty between General Scott and his official supe- rior, a furlough of one year was sent to him. Scott took advantage of the furlough to revisit Europe ; and on his return, under the earnest advice of his friends, and, as is believed, with the unanimous approval of his brother ofiicers, Scott withdrew his resignation, and reported himself for duty. The Secretary of War, Major Eaton, in acknowledging General Scott's letter, frankly and honourably says : THE BLACK HAWK WAR. 19 " It affords the department much satisfaction to perceive the con- clusion at which you have arrived as to your brevet rights. None will do you the injustice to suppose that the opinions declared by you on the subject are not the result of reflection and conviction ; but since the constituted authorities of the government have, with the best feelings entertained, come to conclusions adverse to your own, no other opinions were cherished, or were hoped for, but that on your return to the United States you would adopt the course your letter indicates, and with good feehngs resume those duties of which your country has so long had the benefit." The general was ordered in conclusion to report himself at once for duty to General Macomb. He was assigned anew to the eastern department, and there remained till called by the Black Hawk war in 1832, to assume command. It was in this capacity that Scott had the opportunity of showing himself a " hero of humanity," as he had before shown himself a " hero in the battle-field." The Asiatic cholera in this year first reached this continent, and, sweeping with rapid but irregular strides from point to point, it manifested itself most fatally on board the fleet of steamboats on Lake Erie, in which General Scott, with a corps of about one thousand regulars, embarked for Chicago. They left Buffalo in the beginning of July. On the 8th, the cholera declared itself on board the steamboat in which General Scott and staff, and two hundred and twenty men were embarked, and in less than six days one officer and fifty-one men died, and eighty were put on shore sick at Chicago. It was amid the gloom and the terror of this attack from a disease, known only by its fatal ap- proaches, that General Scott displayed those attributes of moral courage, of genuine philanthropy, which would weigh so much more in the scale of national gratitude, than the exercise of physical courage — that quality common to our race in the battle-field. From cot to cot of the sick soldiers, their general daily went, soothing the last moments of the dying, sustaining and cheering those who hoped to survive, and for all, disarming the pestilence of that formidable character of contagion which seemed to render its attack inevitable, and almost synonymous with death, by showing in his own person that he feared it not. Of the numbers whom his heroic self-confi- dence and generous example, in such circumstances, saved from death, by dissipating their apprehensions, no estimate has ever been 20 MAJOR-GENERAL VVINFIELD SCOTT. made ; but such deeds and such (Jpvotion are not unmarked by the eye of Providence, and cannot be without their reward. Of the nine hundred and fifty men that left Buffalo, not more than four hundred survived for active service. On leaving Chicago, with this diminished command, Scott proceeded as rapidly as possible to the Mississippi, and there joined General Atkinson at Prairie du Chien, who, in the battle of the Badaxe, had already scattered the forces of Black Hawk. In spite of all the precaution adopted by Scott and Atkinson, the cholera was communicated anew to the army assembled at Rock Island, and great were its ravages. Here, again, as on board the steamboat, when the malady first appeared, Scott's self-sacrificing care and solicitude for his men were unceasing. It was late in September before the dread disease was extirpated from the camp, and then commenced the negotiations with the Sacs and Foxes ; this was concluded by Scott with consummate skill, and resulted in the cession, for a valuable consideration, of the fine region which now constitutes the state of Iowa. Another treaty was made on the same terms by him with the Winnebagoes, by which they ceded some five million acres of land east of the Missis- sippi and between the Ilhnois and Wisconsin, now constituting a valuable portion of the territory of Wisconsin. In reference, as \^ ell to his successful negotiations, as to his humane conduct under the calamity of pestilence, the then Secretary of War, General Cass, wrote thus to General Scott : " Allow me to congratulate you upon the fortunate consummation of your arduous duties, and to express my^entire approbation of the whole course of your proceedings, during a series of difficulties re- quiring higher moral courage than the operations of an active cam- paign under ordinary circumstances." Scarcely had Scott reached home and his family in New York, when he was detailed by President Jackson to a new, important, and most delicate duty, that of maintaining at home the supremacy of the United States against South Carolina nullification. He imme- diately proceeded to Washington, and there, in personal interviews with the president and the cabinet, becoming fully possessed of their views, and having expressed to them his own, he was invested with very ample discretionary power to meet the perilous crisis. In no scene of his life, perhaps, has General Scott exhibited more SCOTT IN FLORIDA. 21 thorough patriotism — more entire devotion to the laws and constitu- tion of his country — more anxious, and skilfully-conducted efforts to arrest that direst of calamities, civil war — more self-command — more tact and talent — than while stationed at Fort Moultrie, in Charleston Harbour, and face to face, as it were, with nullification in arms. A single drop of blood shed at that moment might have deluged the nation in blood — and yet the laws of the United States, made in conformity with the constitution, Scott was sworn and commissioned to uphold, defend, and enforce : the point of difficulty was to avert the bloodshed, and yet maintain the laws ; and he came off entirely successful in both — under circumstances that history will do justice to, as those who remember the fearful apprehensions of that day did at the time, and still do. -^ His next field of public service was in Florida, where the Semi- noles — in possession of the everglades, and having taken our troops at unawares — owing to the want of adequate preparation by the ad- • ministration, although timely warned of the danger by the gallant Clinch — seemed for a time to set the whole efforts of our country at defiance. On the 20th January, 1836, General Scott was ordered to the command of the troops in Florida, and he displayed his habitual promptitude in obeying the order. He was apprised of the will of" the president at four o'clock in the afternoon, and asked when he could set forth. " This night," was the reply. But a day's delay was required to draw up the requisite instructions, and he left Washington on the 21st. We enter not here into an examination of the steps taken and the plans devised by General Scott, to bring to a rapid and sure termi nation these disastrous and discreditable hostilities, nor into the manner or the motives of his unmilitary recall, and of the subse- quent investigation of his conduct by a court of inquiry ; these are among the historic archives of the nation. Our only concern here with them is to say, that this court unanimously approved his con- duct— pronounced the plan of his Seminole campaign " well devised," and added that it "was prosecuted with energy, steadiness, and ability." With regard to the Creek war, which at the same time fell upon his hands, the court found " that the plan of campaign adopted by Major-General Scott was well calculated to lead to sue cessful results ; and that it was prosecuted by him, as far a^ practi 0* 22 MAJOR-GENERAL WINFIELD SCOTT. cable, with zeal and ability, until he was recalled from the com- mand." Mr. Van Buren, who had now become president, approved the finding of the court, and the nation at large ratified the verdict. Public dinners were tendered to General Scott by the citizens of New York, of Richmond, and of other places, all of which, how- ever, he dechned ; and was in the discharge of the ordinary duties of his -station, when the patriot troubles broke out in 1837 on the Canada frontier. For two years these troubles agitated our coun- try, and seriously menaced its peace. To no man in so great a degree as to General Scott is it indebted for the preservation of that peace. His honour and patriotism, his approved military service, his reputation and his bearing as a soldier, gave great efl!ect to his frank and friendly expostulations with the deluded American citi- zens, who supposed they were acting patriotically in taking part with the Canadian revolters ; and by kindness and reason, combined with much skill and assiduity in discovering and tracing the rami- fications of the patriot lodges, he was enabled to prevent any out- break that might connpromise our country with Great Britain. His leturn from the Niagara frontier w>as greeted with compliments at Albany and elsewhere, and all felt that a great national good had been accomplished by this gallant soldier. In 1838, another difficult and painful service was confided to Gene- lal Scott — that of removing the Cherokees from the homes of their fathers, to the region beyond the Mississippi. Here he was as suc- cessful as in all previous pubhc service : tempering humanity with power, and operating more by moral influence than force, he effected this most trying object in a manner that secured the gratitude of those whom he was, acting for .liis country, obliged to wrong. It was this service, connected with his subsequent pacific arrangement of the north-eastern boundary difficuhies, that drew from the lamented Channing — that apostle of human rights — this fine tribute : "To this distinguished man belongs the rare honour of uniting with military energy and daring the spirit of a philanthropist. His exploits in the field, which placed him in the first rank of our sol- diers, have been obscured by the purer and more lasting glory of a pacificator, and of a friend of mankind. In the whole history of the mtercourse of civihzed with barbarous or half-civilized communities, we doubt whether a brighter page can be found than that which re- NORTH-EASTERN BOUNDARY QUESTION. 23 cords his agency in the removal of the Cherokees. As far as the wrongs done to this race can be atoned for, General Scott has made the expiation. " In his recent mission to the disturbed borders of our country, he has succeeded, not so much by policy as by the nobleness and generosity of his character, by moral influences, by the earnest con viction with which he has enforced upon all with whom he has had to do, the obligations of patriotism, justice, humanity, and religion. It would not be easy to find among us a man who has won a purer fame, and I am happy to offer this tribute, because I would do some- thing— no matter how little — to hasten the time when the spirit of Christian humanity shall be accounted an essential attribute, and the brightest ornament to a public man." This is justly said, and most justly apphed. In 1839, Scott was again deputed by the government to keep the peace, and, soldier as he is, to use all his great influence to prevent the occurrence of war. The dispute respecting the contested boun- dary on the north-eastern frontier had become alarming — Massa- chusetts and Maine on one side, and New Brunswick on the other, had in some degree taken the matter into their own hands, and hostile bands stood facing each other ; a single indiscretion among them might have precipitated war beyond the possibility of its bemg averted. Happily, a friendship formed on the field of battle, in years long past, between General Scott and General Sir John Har- vey, the governor of New Brunswick, contributed to smooth the difficulties between the two nations. General Scott having over- come the first great obstacles in soothing the irritated feelings of the American borderers, made overtures to Sir John Harvey for the mutual withdrawal of troops from the disputed territory ; and Sir John frankly acceded to them, saying in his letter of the 23d March, 1839, to General Scott, " My reliance upon you, my dear general, has led me to give my willing assent to the proposition which you have made yourself the very acceptable means of conveying to me." The menacing position of affairs was now effectually changed intu feelings of reciprocal forbearance, and Daniel Webster finally accom phshed, by the treaty at Washington, the good work so satisfactorily commenced by the pacificator, Scott. Soon after the commencement of actual hostilities between tne United States and Mexico, Scott requested of government permis- 24 MAJOR-GENERAL WINFIELD SCOTT. sion to join General Taylor with a large army, and push foiAvard for the enemy's capital. This was denied him, and he remained at Washington until November. Receiving orders to proceed to the seat of war, he embarked from New York, and reached the mouth of the Rio Grande January 1st, 1847. After mustering an army of nearly twelve thousand men, part of them from General Taylor's force, he proceeded against the city and castle of Vera Cruz, the first object of the campaign. The following graphic description of the landing of the troops and siege of the city, is from the pen of an eye-witness : — " On the fifth day of March, 1847, while the American squadron was lying at Anton Lizardo, a norther sprang up, and commenced blowing with great violence. The ships rolled and pitched, and tugged at their anchors, as if striving to tear them from their hold, while the sea was white with foam. About noon, General Scott's fleet of transports, destined for the reduction of Vera Cruz, came like a great white cloud bearing down before the storm. The whole eastern horizon looked like a wall of canvass. Vessel after vessel came flying in under reduced sail, until the usually quiet harbour was crowded with them. A perfect wilderness of spars and rigging met the eye at every turn ; and for five days, all was bustle, activity and excitement. Officers of the two services were visiting about from ship to ship ; drums were beating, bands of music, playing, and every thing told of an approaching conflict. " On the 10th, the army were conveyed in huge surf-boats from the transports to the different ships of war, which immediately got under way for Vera Cruz. During the passage down to the city, I was in the fore-top of the United States' sloop-of-war 'Albany,' from which place I had a good view of all that occurred. It was a 'sight to see !' The tail ships of war sailing leisurely along under their top-sails, their decks thronged in every part with dense masses of troops, whose bright muskets and bayonets were flashing in the sunbeams ; the gingling of spurs and sabres ; the bands of music playing ; the hum of the multitude rising up like the murmur of the distant ocean ; the small steamers plying about, their decks crowded with anxious spectators ; the long lines of surf-boats towing astern of the ships, ready to disembark the troops ; all these tended to render the scene one of the deepest interest. 