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  THE SECOND WAR WITH ENGLAND.




[Illustration: The Constitution and Java.]




  THE SECOND WAR

  WITH

  ENGLAND.


  BY J. T. HEADLEY,

  AUTHOR OF "NAPOLEON AND HIS MARSHALS," "WASHINGTON AND HIS GENERALS,"
  "THE OLD GUARD," "SCOTT AND JACKSON," ETC. ETC.


  IN TWO VOLUMES.


  VOL. I.


  NEW YORK:
  CHARLES SCRIBNER, 145 NASSAU STREET.
  1853.




  Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1853, by

  CHARLES SCRIBNER,

  In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for
  the Southern District of New York.


  C. W. BENEDICT,
  STEREOTYPER AND PRINTER,
  12 Spruce Street, N. Y.




PREFACE.


More books, probably, have been written on the War of 1812 than on any
other portion of our history. The great political leaders of that time
were so vindictive in their animosities, and took such strong and
decided ground on all political questions, that the success of one or
the other afterwards in public life depended very much on his conduct
during the war. Hence, much detached and personal history has been
written in order to clear up or illustrate some particular event. A
candidate for public office was often chosen for his services in the
war; hence, every portion of it in which he took part was thoroughly
investigated by both friends and foes. So if one had failed in that
trying period of the country, the world was sure to hear of it when he
came up for the suffrages of the people. The war proved very
unfortunate for some of the leaders, and court martials and disgrace
closed the career of many which had hitherto been bright and
prosperous. These men have written long pamphlets and books in
self-defence, or they have been written by their descendants, so that
if hearing both sides would aid the reader in coming to a correct
conclusion, he was pretty sure to reach it. When so many quarrels are
to be settled the public will not fail to be informed all about the
origin of them. Another class of works have been written, designed
only to furnish a synopsis of the war, and scarcely reach to the value
of histories. Others have been confined solely to the military and
naval movements--others still are devoted almost exclusively to
political matters of that period; so that notwithstanding the large
supply of works on the War of 1812, I know of none in which all these
different topics are even attempted to be combined in proper
proportions. The present work is an effort to accomplish that end
without being too voluminous on the one hand, or too general on the
other. I have endeavored to give impressions as well as facts--to
trace the current and depict the phases of public feeling, rather than
inflict on the reader long documents and longer debates, in which
everything that gave them life and interest was carefully excluded by
the reporter.

The effects of the fierce conflict waged between the Federalists and
Democrats during the war have not yet passed away, and many of the
actors in it are still living, who retain their old prejudices and
hatred. Their near descendants and relatives, though so many of them
are found in the ranks of democracy, still defend the memory of those
whose names they bear, and endeavor to throw discredit on the writer
who would rob them of reputation, and consign them to the obloquy they
deserve. In a war like the late one with Mexico, where almost every
officer was a hero, and in narrating the progress of which the
historian is called upon only to eulogize, his task is an easy one.
But in one like that of 1812, in which the most conspicuous leaders
met with signal defeat and disgrace, and instead of winning
reputation, lost that which had illustrated them in the revolutionary
struggle, the historian necessarily recalls feuds and assails
character, which is sure to bring down on him the maledictions and
open condemnation of friends and relations. A noble man and true
patriot, like General Dearborn, will never want friends who will deny
his incompetency as commander-in-chief, while one who had won so brave
a name in the revolution, and was so estimable a man in social life as
General Hull, must always be defended by those in whose veins his
blood flows. The inefficiency and blunders of the government remain to
this day to many a sufficient apology for the conduct of Wilkinson,
Hampton and others.

Having no animosities to gratify, and no prejudices to favor, I have
set down nought in malice, but have endeavored to ascertain, amid
conflicting testimony, the exact truth, without regarding the friendly
or hostile feelings the declaration of it might awaken. In many cases
I have withheld much that was personal, because it was not necessary
to my purpose, and useless only in self-defence. That I should
reconcile difficulties which have never yet been healed, and please
rivals who have ever hated each other, was not to be expected. I have
attempted also to give a clear impression of the political and social
feelings of the times, and make the reader, as far as lay in my power,
live amid the scenes I depict.

Two new features have been introduced into the present work, which I
though necessary to a complete history of the war, viz., privateering
and the Dartmoor Prison.

It would be impossible to give all the authorities to which I am
indebted. State papers, records, journals, Gazettes of the time have
been consulted, as well as histories, while I have earnestly sought
for information from the survivors of the war. In many cases I have
omitted references to books in which facts I state are found recorded,
because I came across them in old pamphlets, letters, and newspaper
paragraphs, where, probably, the original compiler also obtained them.
I cannot omit, however, acknowledging the vast aid I have derived from
Niles' Register. A more valuable periodical was never published in
this country. Ingersoll's History also, though very deficient in
arrangement, contains more valuable material than any other work
embracing the same period.




CONTENTS OF VOL. I.


CHAPTER I.

A REVIEW OF THE CAUSES LEADING TO THE SECOND WAR WITH ENGLAND.

     Duplicity and oppressive acts of the British Government
     contrasted with the forbearance of the United States --
     Character of Madison -- Debates in Congress on War measures
     -- Declaration of War,                                         15


CHAPTER II.

     Different feelings with which the Declaration of War was
     received -- State of the parties at the commencement --
     Federalists and Democrats -- Their hostility -- Absurd
     doctrines of the Federalists -- Hostility of New England --
     Unprepared state of the country -- Culpable neglect of the
     government -- Comparative strength of the two navies --
     Empty state of the Treasury -- Inefficiency of the Cabinet,    58


CHAPTER III.

     Plan of the Campaign -- General Hull sent to Detroit --
     British officers first receive news of the declaration of
     war -- Capture of Hull's baggage, etc. -- Enters Canada and
     issues a proclamation, and sends out detachments -- Colonels
     McArthur and Cass advance on Maiden -- Hull refuses to
     sustain them -- Recrosses to Detroit -- Van Horne's defeat
     -- Colonel Miller defeats the enemy, and opens Hull's
     communications -- Strange conduct of Hull -- Advance of the
     British -- Surrender of Detroit -- Indignation of the
     officers -- Review of the Campaign -- Rising of the people
     -- Harrison takes command -- Advance of the army,              70


CHAPTER IV.

     Operations on the New York frontier -- Battle of Queenstown
     -- Death of Brock -- Scott a prisoner -- General Smythe's
     Proclamation and abortive attempts -- Cursed by the army --
     Duel with General Porter -- Retires in disgrace --
     Dearborn's movements and failures -- Review of the campaign
     on the New York frontier -- Character of the officers and
     soldiers,                                                      98


CHAPTER V.

THE NAVY.

     The Cabinet resolves to shut up our ships of war in port --
     Remonstrance of Captains Bainbridge and Stuart -- Rodgers
     ordered to sea -- Feeling of the crews -- Chase of the
     Belvidere -- Narrow escape of the Constitution from an
     English fleet -- Cruise of the Essex -- Action between the
     Constitution and Guerriere -- Effect of the victory in
     England and the United States -- United States takes the
     Macedonian -- Lieutenant Hamilton carries the captured
     colors to Washington -- Presented to Mrs Madison in a
     ball-room -- The Argus -- Action between the Wasp and Frolic
     -- Constitution captures the Java -- Hornet takes the
     Peacock -- Effect of these Victories abroad,                  125


CHAPTER VII.

     Harrison plans a winter campaign -- Advance of the army --
     Battle and massacre at the River Raisin -- Baseness of
     Proctor -- Promoted by his Government -- Tecumseh, his
     character and eloquence -- He stirs up the Creeks to War --
     Massacre at Fort Mimms -- Investment of Fort Meigs --
     Advance of Clay's reinforcements and their destruction --
     Successful sortie -- Flight of the besiegers -- Major
     Croghan's gallant defence of Fort Stephenson,                 177


CHAPTER VIII.

     Chauncey ordered to Lake Erie to build a fleet -- A plan of
     the campaign -- Woolsey -- Attack on York -- Death of
     General Pike -- His character -- Capture of Fort George --
     Gallantry of Scott -- Repulse of the British at Sackett's
     Harbor by General Brown -- Dearborn pursues Vincent -- Night
     attack on the American encampment -- Generals Winder and
     Chandler taken prisoners -- Retreat of the army --
     Reinforced by General Lewis -- Dearborn at Fort George --
     Defeat of Colonel Boestler at Beaver Dams -- Attack on Black
     Rock -- Dearborn withdrawn from the command of the northern
     army,                                                         205


CHAPTER IX.

SECOND SESSION OF THE TWELFTH CONGRESS.

     Army bill -- Quincy and Williams -- Debate on the bonds of
     merchants given for British goods imported in contravention
     of the non-importation act -- Debate on the bills increasing
     the army to 55,000 men -- Williams' report -- Quincy's
     attack -- Clay's rejoinder -- Randolph, Calhoun, Quincy,
     Lowndes and Clay -- State of the Treasury,                    224


CHAPTER X.

     Action between the Chesapeake and Shannon -- Rejoicing in
     England over the victory -- The Enterprise captures the
     Boxer -- Death of Lieutenant Burrows -- Daring cruise of the
     Argus in the English and Irish channels -- Lieutenant
     Allen's humanity -- Action with the Pelican -- Death of
     Allen -- His character,                                       244


CHAPTER XI.

     Cost of transportation to the northern frontier -- English
     fleet on our coast -- Chesapeake blockaded -- Blockade of
     the whole coast -- Cockburn attacks Frenchtown -- Burns
     Havre De Grace -- Attacks Georgetown and Frederickstown --
     Arrival of British reinforcements -- Attack on Craney Island
     -- Barbarities committed in Hampton -- Excitement caused by
     these outrages -- Commodore Hardy blockades the northern
     coast -- Torpedoes -- Hostile attitude of Massachusetts --
     Remonstrances of its legislature -- Feeling of the people,    257


CHAPTER XII.

     Perry obtains and equips a fleet on Lake Erie -- Puts to sea
     -- Kentucky marines -- Description of the battle -- Gallant
     bearing of Perry -- Slaughter on the Lawrence -- Perry after
     the battle -- Burial of the officers -- Exultation of the
     people -- Harrison advances on Maiden -- flight of Proctor
     -- Battle of the Thames, and death of Tecumseh,               271


CHAPTER XIII.

     Wilkinson takes command of the northern army -- Plan of the
     campaign -- Hampton entrusted with the 5th military district
     and takes position at Plattsburg -- Quarrel between the two
     Generals -- Hampton advances, against orders, into Canada:
     is defeated -- Concentration of Wilkinson's army -- Moves
     down the St. Lawrence -- Its picturesque aspect -- Harassed
     by the enemy -- Battle of Chrystler's field -- Hampton
     refuses to join him -- The expedition abandoned and the
     armies retire to winter-quarters -- Disappointment and
     indignation of the war party, and gratification of the
     Federalists -- Abandonment of Fort George and burning of
     Newark -- Loss of Fort Niagara and burning of Buffalo and
     the settlements along the river -- Retaliation -- Gloomy
     close of the campaign,                                        291


CHAPTER XIV.

1813--1814.

     Winter operations -- Decatur challenges Commodore Hardy to
     meet the United States and Macedonian with two of his
     frigates -- Wilkinson's second invasion, of Canada -- Battle
     of la Cole Mill -- Holmes' expedition into Canada --
     Romantic character of our border warfare -- Inroad of the
     British marines to Saybrook and Brockaway's Ferry,            310


CHAPTER XV.

THIRTEENTH CONGRESS. MAY 27, 1813.

     Democratic gain in Congress -- Spirit in which the two
     parties met -- Russian mediation offered and accepted, and
     commerce opened -- State of the Treasury -- Debate
     respecting a reporter's seat -- Direct Tax -- Webster's
     resolutions -- Governor Chittenden -- Strange conduct of
     parties in New Hampshire -- The embargo -- England proposes
     peace -- Commissioners appointed -- Army bill -- Webster's
     speech upon it -- Sketch of him -- The loan bill -- Defended
     by Mr. Eppes -- Sketch of Mr. Pickering, with his speech --
     Sketch of John Forsyth, and his speech -- Calhoun --
     Grosvenor -- Bill for the support of military establishments
     -- Speech of Artemus Ward -- Resolutions of Otis in the
     Massachusetts Senate -- Repeal of the embargo -- Calhoun and
     Webster -- Strange reversal of their positions -- Strength
     of our navy and army,                                         319




HISTORY OF THE SECOND WAR WITH ENGLAND.




CHAPTER I.

A REVIEW OF THE CAUSES LEADING TO THE SECOND WAR WITH ENGLAND.

     Duplicity and oppressive acts of the British Government
     contrasted with the forbearance of the United States --
     Character of Madison -- Debates in Congress on War measures
     -- Declaration of War.


The peace which closed our revolutionary struggle was like a wound
healed only at the surface, and which must be opened anew before a
permanent cure can be effected. The desire for territory had become
the ruling passion of the British Empire, and the loss of the most
promising part of her vast possessions could not, therefore, be borne
with equanimity. The comparatively barren and inhospitable tract lying
north of the St. Lawrence and the lakes, which still belonged to her,
was but a sorry substitute for the rich alluvial bottoms that
stretched along the western rivers, while the mouth of the St.
Lawrence furnished but a meagre outlet compared with the noble rivers
and capacious harbors that seamed the inland and indented the coasts
of the Atlantic <DW72>. Some have supposed that England had never
abandoned the design of recovering a part, if not the whole of the
possessions she had lost on this continent. If this be true, that
purpose was doubtless a very vague one, and it depended entirely on
circumstances whether it ever assumed a definite form. One thing,
however, is certain, she had determined to narrow down our limits
wherever it was practicable, and to the fullest extent of her power.
This is evident from the eagerness with which she urged us to
acknowledge the various Indian tribes on our frontier, as independent
nations. She wished to have them placed on a footing with other
sovereign States, so that they could form treaties and dispose of
territory to foreign governments. Numerous and powerful tribes then
roamed undisturbed over vast tracts which have since become populous
States. Could Great Britain have purchased these, or had them
colonized by other foreign powers, nearly the whole line of lakes and
the territory west of Lake Erie would have presented an impenetrable
barrier to our growth in the north-west. Not succeeding in this
policy, she determined that the Indians should retain possession of
the land as her allies. This is evident from the constant disturbance
kept up on our north-western frontiers--from Lord Dorchester's
speeches instigating the Indians to war, and from the fact that an
English fort was erected within the territory of the republic. So
resolved was the British Government on this course that it for a long
time refused to carry out the stipulations of the treaty of 1783, and
still retained American posts captured by its forces during the
revolutionary war. The defeat of General Harmar, in 1790, and of St.
Clair, in 1791, were not wholly owing to our inefficiency or to Indian
prowess, but to British interference and encouragement.

The victory of Wayne, which followed these disastrous expeditions,
proved this true. Canadian militia and volunteers were found in the
Indian armies, while the battle that completed their overthrow ended
under the walls of a British fort standing on American ground. These
violations of a sacred treaty, and undisguised encroachments upon our
territory on the frontier, were afterwards surpassed by still greater
outrages at sea.

The French revolution exploding like a volcano in the heart of Europe,
followed by a republic whose foundation stones were laid in the
proudest blood of France--the extinction of the Bourbon dynasty, and
the loud declaration of rights which startled every despot from the
Archangel to the Mediterranean like a peal of thunder, had covered the
continent with hostile armies. The European powers who rejoiced in the
success of the revolutionary struggle on these distant shores, because
it inflicted a blow on their proud rival, saw with consternation the
principle that sustained it at work in their midst. Like the first
crusade against the infidels, which at once healed all the animosities
of the princes of Europe, a second crusade, harmonizing powers
hitherto at variance, was formed against this principle of human
rights, and the allied armies moved down upon the infant republic of
France. The devastating flood of feudalism would soon have swept
everything under but for the appearance of that strange embodiment of
power, Napoleon Bonaparte. Rolling it back from the French borders, he
commenced that long and fearful struggle which ended only at Waterloo.
England rashly formed a coalition with the continental powers,
anticipating an easy overthrow to the plebeian warrior, but soon found
herself almost alone in the conflict; and instead of treading down her
ancient rival, began to tremble for her own safety. The long and
deadly strife that followed exhausted her resources and crippled her
strength. Her war ships stretched from Copenhagen to the Nile, and to
supply these with seamen, she resorted to impressment not only on her
own shores, amid her own subjects, but on American ships, among
American sailors. Our merchant vessels were arrested on the high seas,
and men, on the groundless charge of being deserters, immediately
coerced into the British service. To such an extent was this carried,
that in _nine months_ of the years 1796 and '97, Mr. King, the
American minister at London, had made application for the release of
_two hundred and seventy-one seamen_,[1] most of whom were American
citizens.

[Footnote 1: Vide letter of Mr. King to the Secretary of State.]

At first the British Government claimed only the right to seize
deserters; but its necessities demanding a broader application to
right of search, her vessels of war arrested American merchantmen to
seek for _British seamen_, and later still, for British
subjects--finally, every sailor was obliged to prove himself a citizen
of the United States on the spot, or he was liable to be forced into
British service. American merchants were thus injured while
prosecuting a lawful commerce, and worse than all, great distress was
visited on the friends and relatives of those who were illegally torn
from their country and pressed into the hated service of a hated
nation. Over six thousand were known to have been thus seized, while
the actual number was much greater.

Not content with committing these outrages on the high seas, English
vessels boarded our merchantmen and impressed our seamen in our own
waters. That line which runs parallel to the sea coast of every
nation, and which is considered its legitimate boundary, presented no
obstacles to British cruisers.

In 1804, the frigate Cambria boarded an American merchantman in the
harbor of New York, and in direct opposition to the port officers,
carried off several of her seamen. To complete the insult, the
commander declared, in an official letter to the British Minister,
that he "considered his ship, while lying in the harbor of New York,
as _having dominion around her within the distance of her buoys_." Not
long after a coasting vessel while going from one American port to
another, was hailed by a British cruiser, and, refusing to stop, was
fired into and one of her crew killed. Thus an American citizen was
murdered within a mile of shore, and while going from port to port of
his own country.[2]

[Footnote 2: Vide Letter of Madison to Mr. Rose, the British Minister,
dated March 5th, 1808.]

These aggressions on land and insults at sea continued, at intervals,
down to 1806, when our commerce received a more deadly blow from the
British orders in council, and Napoleon's famous Berlin and Milan
decrees. To annoy and <DW36> her adversary, England declared the
whole coast of France, from Brest to the Elbe, in a state of blockade.
Napoleon retaliated by the Berlin decree, in which he declared the
British Islands in a state of blockade. The next year the English
government issued other orders in council, blockading the whole
continent, which were met by Napoleon's Milan decree.

These famous orders in council, so far as they affected us, declared
all American vessels going to and from the harbors of France and her
allies, lawful prizes, except such as had first touched at, or cleared
from an English port. The Berlin and Milan decrees, on the other hand,
pronounced all vessels that had so touched at an English port, or
allowed themselves to be searched by a British cruiser, the property
of France, while British goods, wherever found, were subject to
confiscation. In short, if we did not confine our commerce to England,
the latter would seize our merchantmen, wherever found, as lawful
prizes, while if we did trade with her, or even touch at her ports at
all, France claimed them as her property.

England, without the slightest provocation, had commenced a war
against France, and irritated at her want of success, declared her
coast in a state of blockade--thus violating an established law of
nations. The principle has long been admitted and acted upon by the
principal maritime nations of the world, that neutral flags have a
right to sail from port to port of the belligerent powers, to carry
any merchandise whatever, except those contraband of war, such as
arms, munitions of war, or provisions for the enemy. The only
exception to it is an actual blockade of a port where neutrals are
forbidden an entrance. This principle is founded in common justice;
otherwise two strong maritime nations might make a third neutral power
the greatest sufferer from the war. Besides, if the right to create
paper blockades is allowed, no restrictions can be placed upon it, and
in case of another war with England, she could declare the whole coast
of America, from Maine to Mexico, and that portion of our territory on
the Pacific, in a state of blockade, while the naval force of the
world could not maintain an _actual_ one.

The injustice of these retaliatory measures was severely felt by our
government. They placed us, a neutral power, in a worse attitude than
if allied to one or the other we had been at open war with the third,
for in the latter case our war ships could have defended our commerce,
which would also have been under the protection of the cruisers of our
ally. But now our men-of-war were compelled to look silently on and
see American merchantmen seized, while two nations, instead of one,
claimed the right to plunder us. Our commerce for the last few years
had advanced with unparalleled strides--so that at this time our
canvass whitened almost every sea on the globe, and wealth was pouring
into the nation. Suddenly, as if the whole world, without any
forewarning, had declared war against us; the ocean was covered with
cruisers after American vessels, and the commerce of the country was
paralyzed by a single blow.

But the most extraordinary part of the whole proceeding was, that
while England, by her orders in council, shut the Continent from us
and confiscated as a smuggler every American vessel that attempted to
enter any of its ports, she herself, with _forged_ papers, under the
American flag, carried on an extensive trade. The _counterfeit_
American vessel was allowed to pass unmolested by British cruisers,
while the real American was seized. It was estimated that England made
fifteen thousand voyages per annum in these disguised vessels, thus
appropriating to herself all the advantages to be gained by a neutral
nation in trading with the Continent, and using our flag as a
protection.

These were the prominent causes of the war, sufficient, one would
think, to justify the American Government in declaring it.
One-hundredth part of the provocation which we then endured, would now
bring the two governments in immediate and fierce collision.

But, notwithstanding England's desires and necessities, she would
never have committed these outrages, had she not entertained a supreme
contempt for our power, and cherished an inextinguishable hatred of
the nation, rendering her utterly indifferent to our rights. The
treaty of 1783, by which our independence was acknowledged, was wrung
from her by stern necessity. It was not an amicable settlement of the
quarrel--a final and satisfactory adjustment of all difficulties. On
the part of England it was a morose and reluctant abandonment of a
strife which was costing her too dear--the unwilling surrender of her
best provinces under circumstances dishonorable to her flag, and
humbling to her national pride. This hatred of the rebel colony was
mingled with contempt for our institutions and national character,
exhibited in a proud assumption of superiority and disregard of our
rights and our demands. A nation sunk in helpless weakness may submit
to tyrannical treatment, but one rapidly growing in strength and
resources, is sure to have a day of reckoning, when it will demand a
swift and