At this period a presidential election a_A Book of the United States Exhibiting its geography, divisions, constitution, and government ... and presenting a view of the republic generally, and of the individual states; together with a condensed history of the land, from its first discovery to the present time. The biography of about two hundred of the leading men: a description of the principal cities and towns; with statistical tables

time of the adoption of the constitution, the republican party had

been gradually increasing in numbers. The two parties being now

nearly equal, the contest inspired both with uncommon ardor. The

federalists supported Mr. Adams and general Pinckney; the republicans,

Mr. Jefferson and colonel Burr. The two latter received a small

majority of the electoral votes; and as they received also an equal

number, the selection of one of them to be president devolved upon the

house of representatives. After thirty-five trials, during which the

nation felt intense solicitude, Mr. Jefferson was chosen. Colonel Burr

received the votes of the federalists, and lost, in consequence, the

confidence of his former friends. By the provisions of the constitution

he became, of course, vice-president.

A second census of the inhabitants of the United States was completed

in 1801. They amounted to five millions three hundred and nineteen

thousand seven hundred and sixty-two, having in ten years increased

nearly one million four hundred thousand. In the same number of years

the exports increased from nineteen to ninety-four millions, and

the revenue from four millions seven hundred seventy-one thousand,

to twelve millions nine hundred and forty-five thousand dollars.

This rapid advance in the career of prosperity has no parallel in

the history of nations, and is to be attributed principally to the

institutions of the country, which, securing equal privileges to

all, gave to the enterprise and industry of all free scope and full

encouragement.

In 1802, the state of Ohio was admitted into the Union. It was formerly

a portion of the north-western territory, for the government of which,

in 1787, an ordinance was passed by the continental congress. In thirty

years from its first settlement, the number of its inhabitants exceeded

half a million. The state of Tennessee, which was previously a part

of North Carolina, and which lies between that state and the river

Mississippi, had been admitted in 1796.

The right of deposit at New Orleans, conceded to the citizens of the

United States by Spain, and necessary to the people of the western

country, had, until this period, been freely enjoyed. In October, the

chief officer of that city prohibited the exercise of it in future.

This violation of a solemn engagement produced, throughout the states

of Ohio and Kentucky, indignant clamor and violent commotion. In

congress a proposition was made to take possession by force of the

whole province of Louisiana; but a more pacific course was adopted.

Knowing that the province had been ceded, although not transferred,

to France, the president instituted a negotiation to acquire it by

purchase. In April, 1803, a treaty was concluded, conveying it to the

United States for fifteen millions of dollars. Its acquisition was

considered by the United States of the greatest importance, as it gave

them the entire control of a river which is one of the noblest in the

world.

At this period, also, there was another important acquisition of

territory. The friendly tribe of Kaskaskia Indians, reduced by wars and

other causes to a few individuals, who were unable to defend themselves

against the neighboring tribes, transferred its country to the United

States; reserving only a sufficiency to maintain its members in an

agricultural way. The stipulations on the part of the United States

were, to extend to them patronage and protection, and to give them

certain annual aids, in money, implements of agriculture, and other

articles of their choice. This ceded country extends along the

Mississippi from the mouth of the Illinois to and up the Ohio; and is

esteemed as among the most fertile within the limits of the Union.

The United States had for some time enjoyed the undisputed repose

of peace, with only one exception. Tripoli, the least considerable

of the Barbary states, had made demands founded neither in right

nor in compact, and had denounced war on the failure of the American

government to comply with them before a given day. The president, on

this occasion, sent a small squadron of frigates into the Mediterranean,

with assurances to that power of the sincere desire of the American

government to remain in peace; but with orders to protect our commerce

against the threatened attack. It was a seasonable and salutary measure;

for the bey had already declared war; and the American commerce in the

Mediterranean was blockaded, while that of the Atlantic was in peril.

The arrival of the squadron dispelled the danger. The Insurgente, which

had been so honorably added to the American navy, and the Pickering, of

fourteen guns, the former commanded by captain Fletcher, the latter by

captain Hillar, were lost in the equinoctial gale, in September, 1800.

In 1801, the Enterprise, of fourteen guns, captain Sterrett, fell

in with a Tripolitan ship of war of equal force. The action continued

three hours and a half, the corsair fighting with great obstinacy,

and even desperation, until she struck, having lost fifty killed and

wounded, while the Enterprise had not a man injured. In 1803, commodore

Preble assumed the command of the Mediterranean squadron, and after

humbling the emperor of Morocco, who had begun a covert war upon

American commerce, concentrated most of his force before Tripoli. On

arriving off that port, captain Bainbridge, in the frigate Philadelphia,

of forty-four guns, was sent into the harbor to reconnoitre. While

in eager pursuit of a small vessel, he unfortunately advanced so far

that the frigate grounded, and all attempts to remove her were in vain.

The sea around her was immediately covered with Tripolitan gun-boats,

and captain Bainbridge was compelled to surrender. This misfortune,

which threw a number of accomplished officers and a valiant crew into

oppressive bondage, and which shed a gloom over the whole nation, as it

seemed at once to increase the difficulties of a peace an hundred fold,

was soon relieved by one of the most daring and chivalrous exploits

that is found in naval annals. Lieutenant Stephen Decatur, then one

of commodore Preble’s subalterns, proposed a plan for re-capturing or

destroying the Philadelphia. The American squadron was at that time

lying at Syracuse. Agreeably to the plan proposed, lieutenant Decatur,

in the ketch Intrepid, four guns and seventy-five men, proceeded, under

the escort of the Syren, captain Stewart, to the harbor of Tripoli.

The Philadelphia lay within half gun-shot of the bashaw’s castle, and

several cruisers and gun-boats surrounded her with jealous vigilance.

The Intrepid entered the harbor alone, about eight o’clock in the

evening, and succeeded in getting near the Philadelphia, between ten

and eleven o’clock, without having awakened suspicion of her hostile

designs. This vessel had been captured from the Tripolitans, and,

assuming on this occasion her former national appearance, was permitted

to warp alongside, under the alleged pretence that she had lost all

her anchors. The moment the vessel came in contact, Decatur and his

followers leaped on board, and soon overwhelmed a crew which was

paralyzed with consternation. Twenty of the Tripolitans were killed.

All the surrounding batteries being opened upon the Philadelphia,

she was immediately set on fire, and not abandoned until thoroughly

wrapped in flames; when, a favoring breeze springing up, the Intrepid

extricated herself from her prey, and sailed triumphantly out of the

harbor amid the light of the conflagration. Not the slightest loss

occurred on the side of the Americans to shade the splendor of the

enterprise.

In July, 1804, commodore Preble brought together all his forces before

Tripoli, determined to try the effect of a bombardment. The enemy

having sent some of his gun-boats and galleys without the reef at the

mouth of the harbor, two divisions of American gun-boats were formed

for the purpose of attacking them, while the large vessels assailed the

batteries and town. On the 3d of August this plan was put in execution.

The squadron approached within gun-shot of the town, and opened a

tremendous fire of shot and shells, which was as promptly returned

by the Tripolitan batteries and shipping. At the same time the two

divisions of gun-boats, the first under the command of captain Somers,

the second under captain Stephen Decatur, who had been promoted as

a reward for his late achievement, advanced against those of the

enemy. The squadron was about two hours under the enemy’s batteries,

generally within pistol-shot, ranging by them in deliberate succession,

alternately silencing their fires, and launching its thunders into

the very palace of the bashaw; while a more animated battle was raging

in another quarter. Simultaneously with the bombardment the American

gun-boats had closed in desperate conflict with the enemy. Captain

Decatur, bearing down upon one of superior force, soon carried her by

boarding, when, taking his prize in tow, he grappled with another, and

in like manner transferred the fight to the enemy’s deck.

In the fierce encounter which followed this second attack, captain

Decatur, having broken his sword, closed with the Turkish commander,

and, both falling in the struggle, gave him a mortal wound with a

pistol-shot, just as the Turk was raising his dirk to plunge it into

his breast. Lieutenant Trippe, of captain Decatur’s squadron, had

boarded a third large gun-boat, with only one midshipman and nine

men, when his boat fell off, and left him to wage the unequal fight of

eleven against thirty-six, which was the number of the enemy. Courage

and resolution, however, converted this devoted little band into

a formidable host, which, after a sanguinary contest, obliged the

numerous foe to yield, with the loss of fourteen killed and seven

wounded. Lieutenant Trippe received eleven sabre wounds, and had three

of his party wounded, but none killed. Several bombardments and attacks

succeeded each other at intervals throughout the month. Day after

day death and devastation were poured into Tripoli with unsparing

perseverance, each attack exhibiting instances of valor and devotedness

which will give lustre to history. The eyes of Europe were drawn to the

spot where a young nation, scarcely emerged into notice, was signally

chastising the despotic and lawless infidel, to whom some of her most

powerful governments were then paving tribute.

On the 4th of September, commodore Preble, in order to try new

experiments of annoyance, determined to send a fireship into the

enemy’s harbor. The Intrepid was fitted out for this service, being

filled with powder, shells, and other combustible materials. Captain

Somers, who had often been the emulous rival of Decatur in the career

of glory, was appointed to conduct her in, having for his associates

in the hazardous enterprise lieutenants Wadsworth and Israel, all

volunteers. The Argus, Vixen, and Nautilus, were to convey the Intrepid

as far as the mouth of the harbor. Captain Somers and lieutenant

Wadsworth made choice of two of the fleetest boats in the squadron,

manned with picked crews, to bring them out. At eight o’clock in the

evening she stood into the harbor with a moderate breeze. Several

shot were fired at her from the batteries. She had nearly gained her

place of destination when she exploded, without having made any of the

signals previously concerted to show that the crew was safe. Night hung

over the dreadful catastrophe, and left the whole squadron a prey to

the most painful anxiety. The convoy hovered about the harbor until

sunrise, when no remains could be discovered either of the Intrepid or

her boats. Doubt was turned into certainty, that she had prematurely

blown up, as one of the enemy’s gun-boats was observed to be missing,

and several others much shattered and damaged.

Commodore Preble, in his account, says, that he was led to believe

‘that those boats were detached from the enemy’s flotilla to intercept

the ketch, and without suspecting her to be a fireship, the missing

boats had suddenly boarded her, when the gallant Somers and the heroes

of his party observing the other three boats surrounding them, and

no prospect of escape, determined at once to prefer death, and the

destruction of the enemy, to captivity and torturing slavery, put a

match to the train leading directly to the magazine, which at once

blew the whole into the air, and terminated their existence;’ and

he adds, that his ‘conjectures respecting this affair are founded

on a resolution which captain Somers and lieutenants Wadsworth and

Israel had formed, neither to be taken by the enemy, nor suffer

him to get possession of the powder on board the Intrepid.’[144]

Soon after these events, commodore Preble gave up the command in the

Mediterranean to commodore Barron, and returned to the United States.

His eminent services were enthusiastically acknowledged by his admiring

fellow-citizens, as well as those of his associates in arms, ‘whose

names,’ in the expressive language of congress on the occasion, ‘ought

to live in the recollection and affection of a grateful country, and

whose conduct ought to be regarded as an example to future generations.’

While the squadron remained before Tripoli other deeds of heroism were

performed. William Eaton, who had been a captain in the American army,

was, at the commencement of this war, consul at Tunis. He there became

acquainted with Hamet Caramauly, whom a younger brother had excluded

from the throne of Tripoli. With him he concerted an expedition against

the reigning sovereign, and repaired to the United States to obtain

permission and the means to undertake it. Permission was granted, the

co-operation of the squadron recommended, and such pecuniary assistance

as could be spared was afforded. To raise an army in Egypt, and lead it

to attack the usurper in his dominions, was the project which had been

concerted. In the beginning of 1805, Eaton met Hamet at Alexandria, and

was appointed general of his forces. On the 6th of March, at the head

of a respectable body of mounted Arabs, and about seventy Christians,

he set out for Tripoli. His route lay across a desert one thousand

miles in extent. On his march, he encountered peril, fatigue, and

suffering, the description of which would resemble the exaggerations of

romance. On the 25th of April, having been fifty days on the march, he

arrived before Derne, a Tripolitan city on the Mediterranean, and found

in the harbor a part of the American squadron destined to assist him.

He learnt also that the usurper, having received notice of his approach,

had raised a considerable army, and was then within a day’s march of

the city. No time was therefore to be lost.

The next morning he summoned the governor to surrender, who returned

for answer, ‘My head or yours.’ The city was assaulted, and after a

contest of two hours and a half, possession was gained. The Christians

suffered severely, and the general was slightly wounded. Great

exertions were immediately made to fortify the city. On the 8th of

May it was attacked by the Tripolitan army. Although ten times more

numerous than Eaton’s band, the assailants, after persisting four hours

in the attempt, were compelled to retire. On the 10th of June another

battle was fought, in which the enemy were defeated. The next day the

American frigate Constitution arrived in the harbor, which so terrified

the Tripolitans that they fled precipitately to the desert. The frigate

came, however, to arrest the operations of Eaton in the midst of his

brilliant and successful career. Alarmed at his progress, the reigning

bashaw had offered terms of peace, which being much more favorable

than had before been offered, were accepted by Mr. Lear, the authorized

agent of the government. Sixty thousand dollars were given as a ransom

for the unfortunate American prisoners, and an engagement was made

to withdraw all support from Hamet. The nation, proud of the exploits

of Eaton, regretted this diplomatic interference, but the treaty was

subsequently ratified by the president and senate.

During the year 1804, the Delaware Indians relinquished to the United

States their title to an extensive tract east of the Mississippi,

between the Wabash and Ohio, for which they were to receive annuities

in animals and implements for agriculture, and in other necessaries.

This was an important acquisition, not only for its extent and

fertility, but because, by its commanding the Ohio for three hundred

miles, and nearly half that distance the Wabash, the produce of the

settled country could be safely conveyed down those rivers, and, with

the cession recently made by Kaskaskias, it nearly consolidated the

possessions of the United States north of the Ohio, from lake Erie to

the Mississippi.

Early in the following year Mr. Jefferson was re-elected to fill the

president’s chair by the decided majority of sixty-two votes against

sixteen, a circumstance which he viewed as an indication of a great

decay in the strength of the federal party.[145] George Clinton was

also elected vice-president.

During the year 1806, a circumstance occurred which put to the test

the attachment of the inhabitants of the southern and western states,

as well as the good faith of the American government in her foreign

relations. Colonel Burr, whose character and influence had formerly

encouraged him in the hope of filling the highest office of his country,

subsequently lost the public confidence and fell into obscurity. While

unobserved by his fellow-citizens he was by no means inactive; he was

employed in purchasing and building boats on the Ohio, and in engaging

men to descend that river. His professed intention was to form a

settlement on the banks of the Washita, in Louisiana; but the nature of

his preparations, and the incautious disclosures of his associates, led

to the suspicion that his real object was of a far different character.

‘His conspiracy,’ says president Jefferson, in a letter to the marquis

de la Fayette, ‘has been one of the most flagitious of which history

will ever furnish an example. He meant to separate the western states

from us, to add Mexico to them, place himself at their head, establish

what he would deem an energetic government, and thus provide an example

and an instrument for the subversion of our freedom. The man who could

expect to affect this with American materials must be a fit subject

for Bedlam. Nothing has ever so strongly proved the innate force of

our form of government as this conspiracy. Burr had probably engaged

one thousand men to follow his fortunes, without letting them know his

projects, otherwise than by assuring them the government approved of

them. The moment a proclamation was issued, undeceiving them, he found

himself left with about thirty desperadoes only. The people rose in a

mass wherever he was, or was suspected to be, and by their own energy

the thing was crushed in one instant, without its having been necessary

to employ a man of the military but to take care of their respective

stations. His first enterprise was to have been to seize New Orleans,

which he supposed would powerfully bridle the upper country, and

place him at the door of Mexico. It is with pleasure I inform you that

not a single native Creole, and but one American, of those settled

there before we received the place, took any part with him. His

partisans were the new emigrants from the United States and elsewhere,

fugitives from justice or debt, and adventurers and speculators of

all descriptions.’ In August, 1807, he was tried before chief-justice

Marshall, and the evidence of his guilt not being deemed sufficient he

was acquitted. The people, however, very generally believed him guilty.

The American government at this period began to be seriously affected

by the contest which was raging in Europe. Under the guidance of the

splendid talents of Napoleon the military prowess of France had brought

most of the European nations to her feet. America profited from the

destruction of the ships and commerce of other nations; being neutral,

her vessels carried from port to port the productions of France and

the dependent kingdoms; and also to the ports of those kingdoms the

manufactures of England: indeed, few ships were found on the ocean

except those of the United States and Great Britain. These advantages

were, however, too great to be long enjoyed unmolested. American ships

carrying to Europe the produce of French colonies were, in the early

stage of the war, captured by British cruisers, and condemned by their

courts as lawful prizes; and now several European ports under the

control of France were by British orders in council, dated in May, 1806,

declared in a state of blockade, although not invested with a British

fleet; and American vessels attempting to enter those ports were also

captured and condemned. France and her allies suffered, as well as the

United States, from these proceedings; but her vengeance fell not so

much upon the belligerent as upon the neutral party. By a decree, used

at Berlin in November, 1806, the French emperor declared the British

islands in a state of blockade, and of course authorized the capture of

all neutral vessels attempting to trade with those islands. From these

measures of both nations the commerce of the United States severely

suffered, and their merchants loudly demanded of the government redress

and protection.

This was not the only grievance to which the contest between the

European powers gave rise. Great Britain claimed a right to search

for and seize English sailors, even on board neutral vessels while

traversing the ocean. In the exercise of this pretended right,

citizens of the United States were seized, dragged from their friends,

transported to distant parts of the world, compelled to perform the

duty of British sailors, and to fight with nations at peace with their

own. Against this outrage upon personal liberty and the rights of

American citizens, Washington, Adams, and Jefferson had remonstrated in

vain. The abuse continued, and every year added to its aggravation. In

June, 1807, a circumstance occurred which highly and justly incensed

the Americans. The frigate Chesapeake, being ordered on a cruise in the

Mediterranean sea, under the command of commodore Barron, sailing from

Hampton roads, was come up with by the British ship of war Leopard, one

of a squadron then at anchor within the limits of the United States.

An officer was sent from the Leopard to the Chesapeake, with a note

from the captain respecting some deserters from some of his Britannic

majesty’s ships, supposed to be serving as part of the crew of the

Chesapeake, and inclosing a copy of an order from vice-admiral Berkeley,

requiring and directing the commanders of ships and vessels under

his command, in case of meeting with the American frigate at sea,

and without the limits of the United States, to show the order to

her captain, and to require to search his ship for the deserters from

certain ships therein named, and to proceed and search for them; and

if a similar demand should be made by the American, he was permitted to

search for deserters from their service, according to the customs and

usage of civilized nations on terms of amity with each other.

Commodore Barron gave an answer, purporting that he knew of no such

men as were described; that the recruiting officers for the Chesapeake

had been particularly instructed by the government, through him, not

to enter any deserters from his Britannic majesty’s ships; that he knew

of none such being in her; that he was instructed never to permit the

crew of any ship under his command to be mustered by any officers but

her own; that he was disposed to preserve harmony, and hoped his answer

would prove satisfactory. The Leopard, shortly after this answer was

received by her commander, ranged along side of the Chesapeake, and

commenced a heavy fire upon her. The Chesapeake, unprepared for action,

made no resistance, but having suffered much damage, and lost three men

killed, and eighteen wounded, commodore Barron ordered his colors to

be struck, and sent a lieutenant on board the Leopard, to inform her

commander that he considered the Chesapeake her prize. The commander

of the Leopard sent an officer on board, who took possession of the

Chesapeake, mustered her crew, and, carrying off four of her men,

abandoned the ship. Commodore Barron, finding that the Chesapeake

was very much injured, returned, with the advice of his officers, to

Hampton roads. On receiving information of this outrage, the president,

by proclamation, interdicted the harbors and waters of the United

States to all armed British vessels, forbade intercourse with them,

and ordered a sufficient force for the protection of Norfolk, and

such other preparations as the occasion appeared to require. An armed

vessel of the United States was despatched with instructions to the

American minister at London, to call on the British government for the

satisfaction and security which this outrage required.

Buonaparte having declared his purpose of enforcing with rigor the

Berlin decree; the British government having solemnly asserted the

right of search and impressment, and having intimated their intention

to adopt measures in retaliation of the French decree, the president

recommended to congress that the seamen, ships, and merchandise of

the United States should be detained in port to preserve them from

the dangers which threatened them on the ocean; and a law laying an

indefinite embargo was in consequence enacted. A few days only had

elapsed when information was received that Great Britain had prohibited

neutrals, except upon most injurious conditions, from trading with

France or her allies, comprising nearly every maritime nation of Europe.

This was followed in a few weeks by a decree issued by Buonaparte, at

Milan, declaring that every neutral vessel which should submit to be

visited by a British ship, or comply with the terms demanded, should be

confiscated, if afterwards found in his ports, or taken by his cruisers.

Thus, at the date of the embargo, were orders and decrees in existence

rendering liable to capture almost every American vessel sailing on

the ocean. In the New England states, the embargo, withholding the

merchant from a career in which he had been highly prosperous, and in

which he imagined that he might still be favored by fortune, occasioned

discontent and clamor. The federalists, more numerous there than in any

other part of the Union, pronounced it a measure unwise and oppressive.

These representations, and the distress which the people endured,

induced a zealous opposition to the measures of the government.

The president, in his message on the opening of the tenth congress,

stated the continued disregard shown by the belligerent nations to

neutral rights, so destructive to the American commerce; and referred

it to the wisdom of congress to decide on the course best adapted

to such a state of things. ‘With the Barbary powers,’ he said, ‘we

continue in harmony, with the exception of an unjustifiable proceeding

of the dey of Algiers towards our consul to that regency,’ the

character and circumstances of which he laid before congress. ‘With our

Indian neighbors the public peace has been steadily maintained. From

a conviction that we consider them as a part of ourselves, and cherish

with sincerity their rights and interests, the attachment of the

Indian tribes is gaining strength daily, is extending from the nearer

to the more remote, and will amply requite us for the justice and

friendship practised towards them. Husbandry and household manufacture

are advancing among them, more rapidly with the southern than northern

tribes, from circumstances of soil and climate; and one of the two

great divisions of the Cherokee nation has now under consideration to

solicit the friendship of the United States, and to be identified with

us in laws and government in such progressive manner as we shall think

best.’

Mr. Jefferson, following and confirming the example of Washington,

determined not to continue in office for a longer term than eight years.

‘Never did a prisoner,’ says the president of the American republic,

‘released from his chains, feel such relief as I shall on shaking off

the shackles of power. Nature intended me for the tranquil pursuits

of science, by rendering them my supreme delight. But the enormities

of the times in which I have lived have forced me to take a part

in resisting them, and to commit myself on the boisterous ocean of

political passions. I thank God for the opportunity of retiring from

them without censure, and carrying with me the most consoling proofs of

public approbation. I leave every thing in the hands of men so able to

take care of them, that if we are destined to meet misfortunes it will

be because no human wisdom could avert them.’

ADMINISTRATION OF MR. MADISON.

Mr. Jefferson was succeeded in the presidency by Mr. Madison. One of

the first acts of congress under the new president was to repeal the

embargo; but at the same time to prohibit all intercourse with France

and England.

In the non-intercourse law a provision was inserted, that if either

nation should revoke her hostile edicts, and the president should

announce that fact by proclamation, then the law should cease to be

in force in regard to the nation so revoking. On the 23d of April,

Mr. Erskine, minister plenipotentiary from his Britannic majesty to

the United States, pledged his court to repeal its anti-neutral decrees

by the 10th of June; and, in consequence of an arrangement now made

with the British minister, the president proclaimed that commercial

intercourse would be renewed on that day; but this arrangement was

disavowed by the ministry; and, in October, Mr. Erskine was replaced

by Mr. Jackson, who soon giving offence to the American government,

all farther intercourse with him was refused, and he was recalled.

The Rambouillet decree, alleged to be designed to retaliate the act of

congress which forbade French vessels to enter the ports of the United

States, was issued by Buonaparte on the 23d of March. By this decree,

all American vessels and cargoes, arriving in any of the ports of

France, or of countries occupied by French troops, were ordered to be

seized and condemned.

On the 1st of May congress passed an act, excluding British and French

armed vessels from the waters of the United States; but providing, that

if either of the above nations should modify its edicts before the 3d

of March, 1811, so that they should cease to violate neutral commerce,

of which fact the president was to give notice by proclamation, and the

other nation should not, within three months after, pursue a similar

course, commercial intercourse with the first might be renewed, but not

with the other.

In August the French government assured Mr. Armstrong, the American

envoy at Paris, that the Berlin and Milan decrees were revoked,

the revocation to take effect on the first day of November ensuing.

Confiding in this assurance, the president, on the second day of

November, issued his proclamation, declaring that unrestrained commerce

with France was allowed, but that all intercourse with Great Britain

was prohibited.

Great Britain, having previously expressed a willingness to repeal her

orders whenever France should repeal her decrees, was now called upon

by the American envoy to fulfil that engagement. The British ministry

objected, however, that the French decrees could not be considered

as repealed, a letter from the minister of state not being, for that

purpose, a document of sufficient authority; and still persisted to

enforce the orders in council. For this purpose British ships of war

were stationed before the principal harbors of the United States. All

American merchantmen, departing or returning, were boarded, searched,

and many of them sent to British ports as legal prizes. The contempt in

which the British officers held the republican navy, in one instance,

led to an action. Commodore Rogers, in the President frigate, met in

the evening a vessel on the coast of Virginia; he hailed; but, instead

of receiving an answer, was hailed in turn, and a shot was fired, which

struck the main-mast of the President. The fire was instantly returned

by the commodore, and continued for a few minutes, when, finding

his antagonist was of inferior force, and that her guns were almost

silenced, he desisted. On hailing again, an answer was given, that

the ship was the British sloop of war Little Belt, of eighteen guns.

Thirty-two of her men were killed and wounded, and the ship was much

disabled.

For several years the Indian tribes residing near the sources of the

Mississippi had occupied themselves in murdering and robbing the white

settlers in their vicinity. At length, the frontier inhabitants being

seriously alarmed by their hostile indications, in the autumn of 1811

governor Harrison resolved to move towards the Prophet’s town, on the

Wabash, with a body of Kentucky and Indiana militia, and the fourth

United States regiment, under colonel Boyd, to demand satisfaction of

the Indians, and to put a stop to their threatened hostilities. His

expedition was made early in November. On his approach within a few

miles of the Prophet’s town, the principal chiefs came out with offers

of peace and submission, and requested the governor to encamp for the

night; but this was only a treacherous artifice. At four in the morning

the camp was furiously assailed, and a bloody contest ensued; the

Indians were however repulsed. The loss on the part of the Americans

was sixty-two killed, and one hundred and twenty-six wounded, and a

still greater number on the side of the Indians. Governor Harrison,

having destroyed the Prophet’s town, and established forts, returned

to Vincennes.

In November reparation was made by the British for the attack on the

Chesapeake. Mr. Foster, the British envoy, informed the secretary of

the United States, that he was instructed to repeat to the American

government the prompt disavowal made by his majesty, on being apprized

of the unauthorized act of the officer in command of his naval forces

on the coast of America, whose recall from a highly important and

honorable command immediately ensued, as a mark of his majesty’s

disapprobation; that he was authorized to offer, in addition to that

disavowal on the part of his royal highness, the immediate restoration,

as far as circumstances would admit, of the men who, in consequence of

admiral Berkeley’s orders, were forcibly taken out of the Chesapeake,

to the vessel from which they were taken; or, if that ship were no

longer in commission, to such seaport of the United States as the

American government may name for the purpose: and that he was also

authorized to offer to the American government a suitable pecuniary

provision for the sufferers, in consequence of the attack on the

Chesapeake, including the families of those seamen who fell in the

action, and of the wounded survivors. The president acceded to these

propositions; and the officer commanding the Chesapeake, then lying

in the harbor of Boston, was instructed to receive the men who were

to be restored to that ship. The British envoy, however, could give

no assurance that his government was disposed to make a satisfactory

arrangement of the subject of impressment, or to repeal the orders in

council. These orders, on the contrary, continued to be enforced with

rigor; and, on the restoration of a free commerce with France, a large

number of American vessels, laden with rich cargoes, and destined to

her ports, fell into the power of British cruisers, which, since 1803,

had captured nine hundred American vessels.

Early in November, 1811, president Madison summoned the congress. His

message indicating an apprehension of hostilities with Great Britain,

the committee of foreign relations in the house of representatives

reported resolutions for filling up the ranks of the army; for raising

an additional force of ten thousand men; for authorizing the president

to accept the services of fifty thousand volunteers, and for ordering

out the militia when he should judge it necessary; for repairing the

navy; and for authorizing the arming of merchantmen in self-defence. A

bill from the senate, for raising twenty-five thousand men, after much

discussion, was also agreed to by the house.

The American congress, although continuing the preparations for war,

still cherished the hope that a change of policy in Europe would render

unnecessary an appeal to arms till May in the following year. Towards

the close of that season, the Hornet arrived from London, bringing

information that no prospect existed of a favorable change. On the

1st of June, the president sent a message to congress, recounting

the wrongs received from Great Britain, and submitting the question,

whether the United States should continue to endure them, or resort

to war. The message was considered with closed doors. On the 18th,

an act was passed, declaring war against Great Britain; and the next

day a proclamation was issued. Against this declaration, however,

the representatives belonging to the federal party presented a solemn

protest, which was written with great ability.

At the time of the declaration of war, general Hull was also governor

of the Michigan territory, of which Detroit is the capital. On the

12th of July, with two thousand regulars and volunteers, he crossed

the river dividing the United States from Canada, apparently intending

to attack Malden, and thence to proceed to Montreal. Information was,

however, received, that Mackinaw, an American post above Detroit, had

surrendered to a large body of British and Indians, who were rushing

down the river in numbers sufficient to overwhelm the American forces.

Panic-struck, general Hull hastened back to Detroit. General Brock,

the commander at Malden, pursued him, and erected batteries opposite

Detroit. The next day, meeting with no resistance, general Brock

resolved to march directly forward and assault the fort. The American

troops awaited the approach of the enemy, and anticipated victory; but,

to their dismay, general Hull opened a correspondence, which ended in

the surrender of the army, and of the territory of Michigan. An event

so disgraceful, occurring in a quarter where success was confidently

anticipated, caused the greatest mortification and amazement throughout

the Union.

General Van Rensselaer, of the New York militia, had the command of

the troops which were called the army of the centre. His head-quarters

were at Lewistown, on the river Niagara, and on the opposite side was

Queenstown, a fortified British post. The militia displaying great

eagerness to be led against the enemy, the general determined to cross

the river at the head of about one thousand men; though successful

at first, he was compelled, after a long and obstinate engagement, to

surrender. General Brock, the British commander, fell in rallying his

troops.

The army of the north, which was under the immediate command of general

Dearborn, was stationed at Greenbush, near Albany, and at Plattsburgh,

on lake Champlain. From the latter post, a detachment marched a short

distance into Canada, surprised a small body of British and Indians,

and destroyed a considerable quantity of public stores. Other movements

were anxiously expected by the people; but, after the misfortunes of

Detroit and Niagara, the general deemed it inexpedient to engage in any

important enterprise.

While, on land, defeat attended the arms of the republic, on the ocean

we gained victories, which compensated our loss, and gained us immortal

glory. On the 19th of August, captain Hull, commanding the Constitution,

of forty-four guns, fell in with the British frigate Le Guerriere.

She advanced towards the Constitution, firing broadsides at intervals;

the American reserved her fire till she had approached within half

pistol-shot, when a tremendous cannonade was directed upon her, and

in thirty minutes, every mast and nearly every spar being shot away,

captain Dacres struck his flag. Of the crew, fifty were killed and

sixty-four wounded; while the Constitution had only seven killed and

seven wounded. The Guerriere received so much injury, that it was

thought to be impossible to get her into port, and she was burned.

Captain Hull, on his return to the United States, was welcomed with

enthusiasm by his grateful and admiring countrymen. The vast difference

in the number of killed and wounded certainly evinced great skill,

as well as bravery, on the part of the American seamen. But this was

the first only of a series of naval victories. On the 18th of October,

captain Jones, in the Wasp, of eighteen guns, captured the Frolic, of

twenty-two, after a bloody conflict of three-quarters of an hour. In

this action the Americans obtained a victory over a superior force; and,

on their part, but eight were killed and wounded, while on that of the

enemy about eighty. The Wasp was unfortunately captured, soon after her

victory, by a British ship of the line. On the 25th, the frigate United

States, commanded by captain Decatur, captured the British frigate

Macedonian. In this instance, also, the disparity of loss was

astonishingly great: on the part of the enemy, a hundred and four were

killed and wounded; on that of the Americans, but eleven. The United

States brought her prize safely to New York. A most desperate action

was fought on the 29th of December, between the Constitution, of

forty-four guns, then commanded by captain Bainbridge, and the British

frigate Java, of thirty-eight. The combat continued more than three

hours; nor did the Java strike till she was reduced to a mere wreck.

Of her crew, a hundred and sixty-one were killed and wounded, while of

that of the Constitution there were only thirty-four.

These naval victories were peculiarly gratifying to the feelings of

the Americans; they were gained in the midst of disasters on land, and

by that class of citizens whose rights had been violated; they were

gained over a nation whom long continued success had taught to consider

themselves lords of the sea, and who had confidently affirmed that the

whole American navy would soon be swept from the ocean. Many British

merchantmen were also captured, both by the American navy and by

privateers, which issued from almost every port, and were remarkably

successful. The number of prizes made during the first seven months of

the war exceeded five hundred.

At the commencement of the session of congress held in the autumn of

1812, the president, in his message, stated that immediately after the

declaration of war, he communicated to the British government the terms

on which its progress might be arrested; that these terms were, the

repeal of the orders in council, the discharge of American seamen, and

the abandonment of the practice of impressment; and that the ministry

had declined to accede to his offers. He also stated that, at an early

period of the war, he had received official information of the repeal

of the orders in council; that two propositions for an armistice had

been made to him, both of which he had rejected, as they could not

have been accepted without conceding to Great Britain the right of

impressment. The rejection of these propositions was approved by the

national representatives, who, far from abandoning the ground they had

taken, adopted more vigorous measures for the prosecution of the war.

While the war was proceeding in America, a friendly power abroad

interposed for its termination. Soon after the spring session of

congress, an offer was communicated from the emperor of Russia of his

mediation, as the common friend of the United States and Great Britain,

for the purpose of facilitating a peace between them. The offer was

immediately accepted by the American government, and provision made

for the contemplated negotiation. Albert Gallatin, James A. Bayard,

and John Quincy Adams, were appointed commissioners, and invested

with the requisite powers to conclude a treaty of peace with persons

clothed with like powers on the part of Great Britain. They were also

authorized to enter into such conventional regulations of the commerce

between the two countries as might be mutually advantageous. The two

first-named envoys proceeded to join their colleague at St. Petersburgh,

where he then was as resident minister from the United States. A

commission was also given to the envoys, authorizing them to conclude a

treaty of commerce with Russia, with a view to strengthen the amicable

relations, and improve the beneficial intercourse, between the two

countries.

On the 24th of May, congress was convened by proclamation of the

president. Laws were enacted, imposing a direct tax of three millions

of dollars; authorizing the collection of various internal duties;

providing for a loan of seven and a half millions of dollars; and

prohibiting the merchant vessels of the United States from sailing

under British licenses. Near the close of the session, a committee

appointed to inquire into the subject made a long report upon the

spirit and manner in which the war had been conducted by the British.

The scene of the campaign of 1813 was principally in the north, towards

Canada. Brigadier-general Winchester, of the United States army, and

nearly five hundred men, officers and soldiers, were made prisoners

at Frenchtown, by a division of the British army from Detroit, with

their Indian allies, under colonel Proctor. Colonel Proctor leaving

the wounded Americans without a guard, the Indians returned, and deeds

of horror followed. The wounded officers were dragged from the houses,

killed, and scalped in the streets. The buildings were set on fire.

Some who attempted to escape were forced back into the flames, while

others were put to death by the tomahawk, and left shockingly mangled

in the highway. The infamy of this butchery does not fall upon the

perpetrators alone, but extends to those who were able, and were bound

by a solemn engagement, to restrain them. The battle and massacre at

Frenchtown clothed Kentucky and Ohio in mourning. Other volunteers,

indignant at the treachery and cruelty of their foes, hastened to

the aid of Harrison. He marched to the rapids of the Miami, where he

erected a fort, which he called fort Meigs, in honor of the governor of

Ohio. On the 1st of May it was invested by a large number of Indians,

and by a party of British troops from Malden, the whole commanded by

colonel Proctor. An unsuccessful attempt to raise the siege was made

by general Clay, at the head of twelve hundred Kentuckians; but the

fort continued to be defended with bravery and skill. The Indians,

unaccustomed to sieges, became weary and discontented; and, on the 8th

of May, they deserted their allies. The British, despairing of success,

then made a precipitate retreat.

On the northern frontier a body of troops had been assembled, under the

command of general Dearborn, at Sackett’s Harbor, and great exertions

were made by commodore Chauncey to build and equip a squadron on lake

Ontario, sufficiently powerful to contend with that of the British. By

the 25th of April the naval preparations were so far completed, that

the general and seventeen thousand troops were conveyed across the

lake to the attack of York, the capital of Upper Canada. On the 27th,

an advanced party, commanded by brigadier-general Pike, who was born in

a camp, and bred a soldier from his birth, landed, although opposed at

the water’s edge by a superior force. After a short but severe conflict,

the British were driven to their fortifications. The rest of the troops

having landed, the whole party pressed forward, carried the first

battery by assault, and were moving towards the main works, when the

English magazine blew up, with a tremendous explosion, hurling upon the

advancing troops immense quantities of stone and timber. Numbers were

killed; the gallant Pike received a mortal wound; the troops halted for

a moment, but, recovering from the shock, again pressed forward, and

soon gained possession of the town. Of the British troops, one hundred

were killed, nearly three hundred were wounded, and the same number

made prisoners.

The object of the expedition attained, the squadron and troops returned

to Sackett’s Harbor, and subsequently sailed to fort George, situated

at the head of the lake. After a warm engagement, the British abandoned

the fort, and retired to the heights at the head of Burlington bay.

While the greater part of the American army was thus employed, the

British made an attack upon the important post of Sackett’s Harbor. On

the 27th of May, their squadron appeared before the town. Alarm guns

instantly assembled the citizens of the neighborhood. General Brown’s

force amounted to about one thousand men; a slight breastwork was

hastily thrown up at the only place where the British could land, and

behind this he placed the militia, the regulars, under colonel Backus,

forming a second line. On the morning of the 29th, one thousand British

troops landed from the squadron, and advanced towards the breastwork;

the militia gave way, but by the bravery of the regulars, under the

skilful arrangement of general Brown, the British were repulsed, and

re-embarked so hastily as to leave behind most of their wounded.

The sea-coast was harassed by predatory warfare, carried on by large

detachments from the powerful navy of Great Britain. One squadron,

stationed in Delaware bay, captured and burnt every merchant vessel

which came within its reach, while a more powerful squadron, commanded

by admiral Cockburn, destroyed the farm-houses and gentlemen’s

seats along the shore of Chesapeake bay. Frenchtown, Havre-de-Grace,

Fredericktown, and Georgetown were sacked and burnt. Norfolk was

saved from a similar fate by the determined bravery of a small force

stationed on Craney island, in the harbor. A furious attack was made

upon Hampton, which, notwithstanding the gallant resistance of its

small garrison, was captured.

The ocean was the theatre of sanguinary conflicts. Captain Lawrence,

in the sloop of war Hornet, on the 23d of February, met the British

brig Peacock, and a fierce combat ensued. In less than fifteen minutes

the Peacock struck her colors, displaying at the same time a signal

of distress. The victors hastened to the relief of the vanquished;

the same strength which had been exerted to conquer was equally ready

to save; but the Peacock sunk before all her crew could be removed,

carrying down nine British seamen, and three brave and generous

Americans. On his return to the United States, captain Lawrence

was promoted to the command of the frigate Chesapeake, then in the

harbor of Boston. For several weeks the British frigate Shannon, of

superior force, had been cruising before the port; and captain Broke,

her commander, had announced his wish to meet, in single combat,

an American frigate. Inflamed by this challenge, captain Lawrence,

although his crew was just enlisted, set sail on the 1st of June

to seek the Shannon. Towards evening of the same day they met, and

instantly engaged, with unexampled fury. In a very few minutes, and

in quick succession, the sailing master of the Chesapeake was killed,

captain Lawrence and three lieutenants were severely wounded, her

rigging was so cut to pieces that she fell on board the Shannon,

captain Lawrence received a second and mortal wound, and was carried

below; at this instant, captain Broke, at the head of his marines,

gallantly boarded the Chesapeake, when resistance ceased, and the

American flag was struck by the British. Of the crew of the Shannon

twenty-four were killed and fifty-six wounded. Of that of the

Chesapeake, forty-eight were killed and nearly one hundred wounded.

The youthful and intrepid Lawrence was lamented, with sorrow deep,

sincere, and lasting.[146]

The next encounter at sea was between the American brig Argus and the

British brig Pelican, in which the latter was victorious. Soon after,

the American brig Enterprise, commanded by lieutenant Burrows, captured

the British brig Boxer, commanded by captain Blyth. Both commanders

were killed in the action, and were buried, each by the other’s side,

in Portland.

While each nation was busily employed in equipping a squadron on lake

Erie, general Clay remained inactive at fort Meigs. About the last of

July, a large number of British and Indians appeared before the fort,

hoping to entice the garrison to a general action in the field. After

waiting a few days without succeeding, they decamped, and proceeded to

fort Stephenson, on the river Sandusky. This fort was little more than

a picketing, surrounded by a ditch, and the garrison consisted of but

one hundred and sixty men, who were commanded by major Croghan, a youth

of twenty-one. The force of the assailants was estimated at about four

hundred in uniform, and as many Indians; they were repulsed, and their

loss in killed, wounded, and prisoners, is supposed to have exceeded

one hundred and fifty; those of the remainder who were not able to

escape were taken off during the night by the Indians. The whole loss

of major Croghan during the siege was one killed and seven slightly

wounded. About three the next morning the British sailed down the

river, leaving behind them a boat containing clothing and considerable

military stores.

By the exertions of commodore Perry, an American squadron had been

fitted out on lake Erie early in September. It consisted of nine small

vessels, in all carrying fifty-four guns. A British squadron had also

been built and equipped, under the superintendence of commodore Barclay.

It consisted of six vessels, mounting sixty-three guns. Commodore Perry,

immediately sailing, offered battle to his adversary, and on the 10th

of September the British commander left the harbor of Malden to accept

the offer. In a few hours the wind shifted, giving the Americans the

advantage. Perry, forming the line of battle, hoisted his flag, on

which were inscribed the words of the dying Lawrence, ‘Don’t give up

the ship.’ Loud huzzas from all the vessels proclaimed the animation

which this motto inspired. About noon the firing commenced; and

after a short action two of the British vessels surrendered, and the

rest of the American squadron now joining in the battle, the victory

was rendered decisive and complete. The British loss was forty-one

killed, and ninety-four wounded. The American loss was twenty-seven

killed, and ninety-six wounded, of which number twenty-one were killed

and sixty-two wounded on board the flagship Lawrence, whose whole

complement of able-bodied men before the action was about one hundred.

The commodore gave intelligence of the victory to general Harrison in

these words: ‘We have met the enemy, and they are ours. Two ships, two

brigs, one schooner, and one sloop.’

The Americans were now masters of the lake; but the territory of

Michigan was still in the possession of colonel Proctor. The next

movements were against the British and Indians at Detroit and Malden.

General Harrison had previously assembled a portion of the Ohio militia

on the Sandusky river; and on the 7th of September four thousand

from Kentucky, the flower of the state, with governor Shelby at their

head, arrived at his camp. With the co-operation of the fleet, it was

determined to proceed at once to Malden. On the 27th the troops were

received on board, and reached Malden on the same day; but the British

had, in the mean time, destroyed the fort and public stores, and had

retreated along the Thames towards the Moravian villages, together

with Tecumseh’s Indians, amounting to twelve or fifteen hundred.

It was now resolved to proceed in pursuit of Proctor. On the 5th

of October a severe battle was fought between the two armies at the

river Thames, and the British army was taken by the Americans. In this

battle Tecumseh was killed, and the Indians fled. The British loss

was nineteen regulars killed, and fifty wounded, and about six hundred

prisoners. The American loss, in killed and wounded, amounted to

upwards of fifty. Proctor made his escape down the Thames.

On the 29th of September the Americans took possession of Detroit,

which, on the approach of Harrison’s army, had been abandoned by

the British. Preparations were now made for subduing Upper Canada,

and taking Montreal; but owing to the difficulties attending the

concentration of the troops, and perhaps also to the want of vigor

in the commanders, that project was abandoned, and the army under

Wilkinson, marching to French Mills, there encamped for the winter.

This abortive issue of the campaign occasioned murmurs throughout the

nation, and the causes which led to it have never been fully developed.

The severest censure fell upon general Armstrong, who was secretary

of war, and upon general Hampton. The latter soon after resigned his

commission in the army, and general Izard was selected to command the

post at Plattsburgh.

Major-general Harrison, commander-in-chief of the eighth military

district in the United States, issued a proclamation, stating, that

the enemy having been driven from the territory of Michigan, and a

part of the army under his command having taken possession of it, it

became necessary that the civil government of the territory should

be re-established, and the former officers resume the exercise of

their authority. He therefore proclaimed, that all appointments and

commissions which have been derived from British officers were at an

end; that the citizens were restored to all the rights and privileges

which they enjoyed previously to the capitulation made by general Hull

on the 15th of August, 1812; and, until the will of the government

should be known, directed that all persons having civil offices in the

territory of Michigan, at the period of the capitulation of Detroit,

should resume the exercise of the powers appertaining to their offices

respectively.

The United States squadron, chased by commodore Hardy with a

superior naval force, had taken refuge in the harbor of New London,

where the decayed and feeble state of the fortifications afforded a

precarious defence. The menacing appearance of the British squadron

at the entrance of the harbor, and the strong probability that the

town would be destroyed in the conflict, which had been long expected,

produced among the inhabitants the greatest consternation. In this

moment of alarm, the major-general of the third division, and the

brigadier-general of the third brigade, considered themselves justified,

at the earnest entreaty of the citizens, in summoning the militia

to their assistance. Governor Smith, of Connecticut, approved this

proceeding, and immediately forwarded supplies, and adopted measures of

defence. ‘On this occasion,’ said the governor to the legislature, ‘I

could not hesitate as to the course which it became my duty to pursue.

The government of Connecticut, the last to invite hostilities, should

be the first to repel aggression.’

The Indians at the southern extremity of the Union had imbibed the same

hostile spirit as those at the north-western. They had been visited

by Tecumseh, and by his eloquence had been persuaded that the Great

Spirit required them to unite and attempt the extirpation of the whites.

In the fall of 1812, a cruel war was carried on by the Creeks and

Seminoles against the frontier inhabitants of Georgia. General Jackson,

at the head of two thousand five hundred volunteers from Tennessee,

marched into the country of the Indians. Overawed by his presence,

they desisted for a time from hostility; but, after his return, their

animosity burst forth with increased and fatal violence. Dreading their

cruelty, about three hundred men, women, and children, sought safety

in fort Mimms, in the Tensaw settlement. Although frequent warnings of

an intended attack had been given them, yet, at noonday, on the 30th

of August, they were surprised by a party of six hundred Indians, who,

with axes, cut their way into the fort, and drove the people into the

houses which it inclosed. To these they set fire. Many persons were

burnt, and many killed by the tomahawk. Only seventeen escaped to carry

the horrid tidings to the neighboring stations. The whites resolved on

vengeance.

Again general Jackson, at the head of three thousand five hundred

militia of Tennessee, marched into the southern wilderness. A

detachment under general Coffee encountering at Tallushatchie a

body of Indians, a sanguinary conflict ensued. The latter fought with

desperation, neither giving nor receiving quarter, until nearly every

warrior had perished. Yet still was the spirit of the Creeks unsubdued,

and their faith in victory unshaken. With no little sagacity and skill

they selected and fortified another position on the Tallapoosa, called

by themselves Tohopeka, and by the whites Horseshoe Bend. Here nearly

a thousand warriors, animated with a fierce and determined resolution,

were collected. Three thousand men, commanded by general Jackson,

marched to attack this post. To prevent escape, a detachment under

general Coffee encircled the Bend. The main body advanced to the

fortress; and for a few minutes the opposing forces were engaged muzzle

to muzzle at the port-holes; but at length the troops, leaping over the

walls, mingled in furious combat with the savages. When the Indians,

fleeing to the river, beheld the troops on the opposite bank, they

returned and fought with increased fury and desperation. Six hundred

warriors were killed; four only yielded themselves prisoners; the

remaining three hundred escaped. Of the whites, fifty-five were killed,

and one hundred and forty-six wounded.

It was deemed probable that further resistance would be made by the

Indians at a place called the Hickory-ground; but on general Jackson’s

arriving thither in April, 1814, the principal chiefs came out to meet

him, and among them was Wetherford, a half-blood, distinguished equally

for his talents and cruelty. ‘I am in your power,’ said he; ‘do with

me what you please. I have done the white people all the harm I could.

I have fought them, and fought them bravely. There was a time when I

had a choice; I have none now, even hope is ended. Once I could animate

my warriors; but I cannot animate the dead. They can no longer hear

my voice; their bones are at Tallushatchie, Talladega, Emuckfaw, and

Tohopeka. While there was a chance of success I never supplicated peace;

but my people are gone, and I now ask it for my nation and myself.’

Peace was concluded, and general Jackson and his troops enjoyed an

honorable but short repose.

It was the declared intention of the British to lay waste the whole

American coast, from Maine to Georgia. Of this intention demonstration

was made by their descent upon Pettipauge, and the destruction which

followed in that harbor. Early in April, a number of British barges,

supposed to contain about two hundred and twenty men, entered the mouth

of Connecticut river, passed up seven or eight miles, and came on shore

at a part of Saybrook called Pettipauge, where they destroyed about

twenty-five vessels. Guards of militia were placed without delay at

nearly all the vulnerable points on the seaboard, and where troops

could not be stationed patrols of videttes were constantly maintained.

On the 25th of April, admiral Cochrane declared, in addition to the

ports and places blockaded by admiral Warren, all the remaining ports,

harbors, bays, creeks, rivers, inlets, outlets, islands, and sea-coasts

of the United States, from Black Point, on Long Island sound, to the

northern and eastern boundaries between the United States and the

British province of New Brunswick, to be in a state of strict and

rigorous blockade. On the other hand, the president of the United

States issued a proclamation, declaring that the blockade proclaimed

by the British of the whole Atlantic coast of the United States, nearly

two thousand miles in extent, being incapable of execution by any

adequate force actually stationed for the purpose, formed no lawful

prohibition or obstacle to such neutral and friendly vessels as may

choose to visit and trade with the United States; and strictly ordered

and instructed all the public armed vessels of the United States, and

all private armed vessels commissioned as privateers, or with letters

of marque and reprisal, not to interrupt, detain, or molest any vessels

belonging to neutral powers, bound to any port or place within the

jurisdiction of the United States; but, on the contrary, to render all

such vessels all the aid and kind offices which they might need or

require.

The pacification in Europe offered to the British a large disposable

force, both naval and military, and with it the means of giving to the

war in America a character of new and increased activity and extent.

The friends of the administration anticipated a severer conflict, and

prepared for greater sacrifices and greater sufferings. Its opposers,

where difficulties thickened and danger pressed, were encouraged to

make more vigorous efforts to wrest the reins of authority from men

who, they asserted, had shown themselves incompetent to hold them. The

president deemed it advisable to strengthen the line of the Atlantic,

and therefore called on the executive of several states to organize

and hold in readiness for immediate service a corps of ninety-three

thousand five hundred men.

The hostile movements on the northern frontier were now becoming

vigorous and interesting. In the beginning of July, general Brown, who

had been assiduously employed in disciplining his troops, crossed the

Niagara with about three thousand men, and took possession, without

opposition, of fort Erie. In a strong position at Chippewa, a few miles

distant, was intrenched an equal number of British troops, commanded

by general Riall. On the 4th, general Brown approached their works; and

the next day, on the plains of Chippewa, an obstinate and sanguinary

battle was fought, which compelled the British to retire to their

intrenchments. In this action, which was fought with great judgment

and coolness on both sides, the loss of the Americans was about

four hundred men, that of the British was upwards of five hundred.

Soon afterwards, general Riall, abandoning his works, retired to the

heights of Burlington. Here lieutenant-general Drummond, with a large

reinforcement, joined him, and assuming the command, led back the

army towards the American camp. On the 25th was fought the battle of

Bridgewater, which began at four in the afternoon and continued until

midnight. After a desperate conflict the British troops were withdrawn,

and the Americans left in possession of the field.

The loss on both sides was severe, and nearly equal. Generals Brown

and Scott having both been severely wounded, the command devolved upon

general Ripley. He remained a few hours upon the hill, collected the

wounded, and then returned unmolested to the camp. This battle was

fought near the cataract of Niagara, whose roar was silenced by the

thunder of cannon and the din of arms, but was distinctly heard during

the pauses of the fight. The American general found his force so much

weakened, that he deemed it prudent again to occupy fort Erie. On the

4th of August it was invested by general Drummond with five thousand

troops. In the night between the 14th and 15th, the besiegers made

a daring assault upon the fort, which was repelled with conspicuous

gallantry by the garrison, the former losing more than nine hundred

men, the latter but eighty-four. The siege was still continued. On the

2d of September, general Brown, having recovered from his wounds, threw

himself into the fort, and took command of the garrison. For their

fate great anxiety was felt by the nation, which was, however, in some

degree, removed by the march from Plattsburgh of five thousand men to

their relief. After an hour of close fighting they entered the fort,

having killed, wounded, and taken one thousand of the British. The loss

of the Americans was also considerable, amounting to more than five

hundred. On the 21st of September, the forty-ninth day of the siege,

general Drummond withdrew his forces.

The march of the troops from Plattsburgh having left that post

almost defenceless, the enemy determined to attack it by land, and,

at the same time, to attempt the destruction of the American flotilla

on lake Champlain. On the 3d of September, Sir George Prevost, the

governor-general of Canada, at the head of fourteen thousand men,

entered the territories of the United States. On the 6th they arrived

at Plattsburgh. It is situated near lake Champlain, on the northern

bank of the small river Saranac. On their approach, the American troops,

who were posted on the opposite bank, tore up the planks of the bridges,

with which they formed slight breastworks, and prepared to dispute the

passage of the stream. The British employed themselves for several days

in erecting batteries, while the American forces were daily augmented

by the arrival of volunteers and militia. Early in the morning of the

11th, the British squadron, commanded by commodore Downe, appeared off

the harbor of Plattsburgh, where that of the United States, commanded

by commodore M’Donough, lay at anchor prepared for battle. At nine

o’clock the action commenced. Seldom has there been a more furious

encounter than the bosom of this transparent and peaceful lake was now

called to witness. During the naval conflict the British on land began

a heavy cannonade upon the American lines, and attempted at different

places to cross the Saranac; but as often as the British advanced into

the water they were repelled by a destructive fire from the militia.

At half-past eleven the shout of victory heard along the American lines

announced the result of the battle on the lake. Thus deprived of naval

aid, in the afternoon the British withdrew to their intrenchments, and

in the night they commenced a precipitate retreat. Upon the lake the

American loss was one hundred and ten; the British, one hundred and

ninety-four, besides prisoners. On land, the American loss was one

hundred and nineteen; that of the British has been estimated as high

as two thousand five hundred.

The inhabitants of the middle and southern states, anticipating a great

augmentation of the English force, and uncertain where the blow would

fall, made exertions to place every exposed position in a posture of

defence. About the middle of August, a British squadron of between

fifty and sixty sail arrived in the Chesapeake, with troops destined

for the attack of Washington, the capital of the United States.

A body of five thousand of them having landed, an action was fought

at Bladensburg, six miles from Washington. General Winder commanded

the whole American force; commodore Barney the flotilla. The British

were commanded by major-general Ross and rear-admiral Cockburn. The

Americans were repulsed, and the British advanced towards the capital.

A body of militia had been assembled in this emergency; but the

president and heads of departments, on reviewing the force brought out

for defence, despaired of success, and dispersed. General Ross, at the

head of about seven hundred men, took possession of Washington, and

burned the capitol, or senate-house, the president’s house, and public

offices, the arsenal, the navy yard, and the bridge over the Potomac.

The loss of the British in this expedition was nearly a thousand men,

in killed, wounded, and missing; the loss of the Americans was ten

or twelve killed, and thirty or forty wounded. Commodore Barney’s

horse was killed under him, and himself wounded in the thigh and taken

prisoner; but he was parolled on the field of battle for his bravery.

The capture of Washington reflected no credit upon those by whom it

ought to have been defended; but the destruction of the national

edifices was still more disgraceful to the character of the invaders.

The whole civilized world exclaimed against the act, as a violation

of the rules of modern warfare. The capitals of most of the European

kingdoms had lately been in the power of an enemy; but in no instance

had the conqueror been guilty of similar conduct. The act was also as

impolitic as it was barbarous; it naturally excited an indignant spirit

throughout the republic, and led its inhabitants to vie with each other

in exerting all their faculties to overcome the ravagers of their

country.

After the capture of Washington, the British army re-embarked on board

the fleet in the Patuxent, and admiral Cockburn moved down that river,

and proceeded up the Chesapeake. On the 29th of August the corporation

of Alexandria submitted to articles of capitulation, and the city

was delivered up to the British. On the 11th of September the British

admiral appeared at the mouth of the Patapsco, fourteen miles from

Baltimore, with a fleet of ships of war and transports amounting to

fifty sail. The next day six thousand troops were landed at North point,

and commenced their march towards the city. In this march, when the

foremost ranks were harassed by a brisk fire from a wood, major-general

Ross was mortally wounded. A battle was fought on this day. The

American forces, the militia, and the inhabitants of Baltimore, made a

gallant defence, but were compelled to retreat; the British, however,

abandoning the attempt to get possession of the city, retired to their

shipping during the night of the 13th of September.

On the ocean, the Essex, commanded by captain Porter, after a bloody

combat, struck to a British frigate and sloop of war, whose united

force was much superior. The American sloop Peacock captured the

Epervier, of equal force. The sloop Wasp, commanded by captain Blakely,

captured the Reindeer, and afterwards, in the same cruise, sunk the

Avon, both of superior force. She made several other prizes, but never

returned into port; she probably foundered at sea.

The closing scene of this unnecessary and disgraceful war, the more

detestable when contemplated as a series of human sacrifices for the

preservation of a commercial system, was creditable to the genius and

bravery of the American republic. The operations of the British in

Louisiana were commenced by a small expedition, the naval part under

the command of captain Percy, and the troops under colonel Nicholls.

They landed and took forcible possession of Pensacola, and were aided

by the Spaniards in all their proceedings; they collected all the

Indians that would resort to their standard; and colonel Nicholls then

sent an officer to the piratical establishment at Barataria to enlist

the chief, Lafitte, and his followers in their cause; the most liberal

and tempting offers were made them.

These people, however, showed a decided preference for the American

cause; they deceived the English by delay; conveyed intelligence

of their designs to the governor at New Orleans, and offered their

services to defend the country. Disappointed in securing their aid,

the expedition proceeded to the attack of fort Bowyer, on Mobile point,

commanded by major Lawrence, with one hundred and thirty men. The

result, however, was a loss to the besiegers of more than two hundred

men; the commodore’s ship was so disabled that they set fire to

her, and she blew up, and the remaining three vessels, shattered and

filled with wounded men, returned to Pensacola. While the British thus

sheltered in this place, where they were busily occupied in bringing

over the Indians to join them, general Jackson formed an expedition

of about four thousand men, regulars and militia, to dislodge them.

He summoned the town, was refused entrance by the Spanish governor,

and his flag of truce was fired upon; the British soldiers being in

the forts, where their flag had been hoisted, in conjunction with the

Spanish, the day before the American forces appeared. Preparations

were immediately made to carry the place; one battery having been taken

by storm, with slight loss on either side, the governor surrendered,

the English having previously retired on board their ships. The forts

below, which commanded the passage, were blown up, and this enabled the

English fleet to put to sea.

General Jackson then evacuated the Spanish territory, and marched

his troops back to Mobile and New Orleans, which he reached on the

second day of December. Having reviewed a corps of volunteers the

day of his arrival, he immediately proceeded to visit every post

in the neighborhood, to give orders for adding fortifications, and

establishing defensive works and outposts in every spot where the

enemy might be expected, as there was the greatest uncertainty where

a landing would be made; he mingled with the citizens, and infused

into the greater part his own spirit and energy. By his presence and

exhortations they were animated to exertions of which before they were

not supposed to be capable. All who could wield a spade, or carry a

musket, were either put to work upon the fortifications, or trained in

the art of defending them. The Mississippi, upon the eastern bank of

which New Orleans stands, flows to the ocean in several channels; one,

leaving the main stream above the city, runs east of it, and forms in

its course lake Pontchartrain and lake Borgne. Early in December, the

British entered this channel, with a force of about eight thousand

men, a part of whom had just left the shores of the Chesapeake, the

remainder having arrived direct from England.

A small squadron of gun-boats, under lieutenant Jones, was despatched

to oppose their passage into the lake. These were met by a superior

force, and after a spirited conflict, in which the killed and wounded

of the British exceeded the whole number of the Americans, they were

compelled to surrender. The loss of the gun-boats left no means of

watching the movements of the enemy, or of ascertaining where the

landing would be made. Orders were given for increased vigilance at

every post; the people of color were formed into a battalion; the offer

of the Baratarians to volunteer, on condition of a pardon for previous

offences, if they conducted themselves with bravery and fidelity, was

accepted. General Jackson, after applying to the legislature to suspend

the act of _habeas corpus_, and finding that they were consuming

these extreme moments in discussion, proclaimed martial law, and from

that moment his means became more commensurate with the weight of

responsibility he had to sustain.

On the 22d the British, having landed, took a position near the main

channel of the river, about eight miles below the city. In the evening

of the 23d, general Jackson made a sudden and furious attack upon their

camp. They were thrown into disorder; but they soon rallied, and fought

with a bravery at least equal to that of the assailants. Satisfied with

the advantage first gained, he withdrew his troops, fortified a strong

position four miles below New Orleans, and supported it by batteries

erected on the west bank of the river. On the 28th of December, and

the 1st of January, vigorous but unsuccessful attacks were made upon

these fortifications by the English. In the mean time both armies had

received reinforcements; and general Sir E. Packenham, the British

commander, resolved to exert all his strength in a combined attack

upon the American positions on both sides of the river. With almost

incredible industry, he caused a canal, leading from a creek emptying

itself into lake Borgne to the main channel of the Mississippi, to

be dug, that he might remove a part of his boats and artillery to

that river. On the 7th of January, from the movements observed in the

British camp, a speedy attack was anticipated. This was made early on

the 8th. The British troops, formed in a close column of about sixty

men in front, the men shouldering their muskets, all carrying fascines,

and some with ladders, advanced towards the American fortifications,

from whence an incessant fire was kept up on the column, which

continued to advance, until the musketry of the troops of Tennessee

and Kentucky, joined with the fire of the artillery, began to make an

impression on it which soon threw it into confusion.

For some time the British officers succeeded in animating the courage

of their troops, making them advance obliquely to the left, to avoid

the fire of a battery, every discharge from which opened the column,

and mowed down whole files, which were almost instantaneously replaced

by new troops coming up close after the first; but these also shared

the same fate, until at last, after twenty-five minutes’ continual

firing, through which a few platoons advanced to the edge of the ditch,

the column entirely broke, and part of the troops dispersed, and ran

to take shelter among the bushes on the right. The rest retired to the

ditch where they had been when first perceived, four hundred yards from

the American lines. There the officers with some difficulty rallied

their troops, and again drew them up for a second attack, the soldiers

having laid down their knapsacks at the edge of the ditch, that they

might be less encumbered. And now, for the second time, the column,

recruited with the troops that formed the rear, advanced. Again it was

received with the same galling fire of musketry and artillery, till it

at last broke again, and retired in the utmost confusion. In vain did

the officers now endeavor, as before, to revive the courage of their

men; to no purpose did they strike them with the flat of their swords,

to force them to advance; they were insensible of every thing but

danger, and saw nothing but death, which had struck so many of their

comrades.

The attack had hardly begun, when the British commander-in-chief,

Sir Edward Packenham, fell a victim to his own intrepidity, while

endeavoring to animate his troops with ardor for the assault. Soon

after his fall, two other generals, Keane and Gibbs, were carried off

the field of battle, dangerously wounded. A great number of officers

of rank had fallen; the ground over which the column had marched was

strewed with the dead and wounded. Such slaughter on their side, with

scarcely any loss on the American, spread consternation through the

British ranks, as they were now convinced of the impossibility of

carrying the lines, and saw that even to advance was certain death.

Some of the British troops had penetrated into the wood towards the

extremity of the American line, to make a false attack, or to ascertain

whether a real one were practicable. These the troops under general

Coffee no sooner perceived, than they opened on them a brisk fire with

their rifles, which made them retire. The greater part of those who,

on the column’s being repulsed, had taken shelter in the thickets, only

escaped the batteries to be killed by the musketry. During the whole

hour that the attack lasted, the American fire did not slacken for

a single moment. By half after eight in the morning, the fire of the

musketry had ceased. The whole plain on the left, as also the side of

the river, from the road to the edge of the water, was covered with the

British soldiers who had fallen. About four hundred wounded prisoners

were taken, and at least double that number of wounded men escaped into

the British camp; and a space of ground, extending from the ditch of

the American lines to that on which the enemy drew up his troops, two

hundred and fifty yards in length, by about two hundred in breadth,

was literally covered with men, either dead or severely wounded.[147]

Perhaps a greater disparity of loss never occurred; that of the British

in killed, wounded, and prisoners, in this attack, which was not

made with sufficient judgment, and which, besides, was embarrassed by

unforeseen circumstances, was upwards of two thousand men; the killed

and wounded of the Americans was only _thirteen_.

The events of the day on the west side of the river present a striking

instance of the uncertainty of military operations. There the Americans

were thrice the number of their brave assailants, and were protected by

intrenchments; but they ingloriously fled. They were closely pursued,

until the British party, receiving intelligence of the defeat of the

main army, withdrew from pursuit, and recrossed the river. They then

returned and resumed possession of their intrenchments. General Lambert,

upon whom the command of the British army had devolved, having lost all

hopes of success, prepared to return to his shipping. In his retreat

he was not molested; general Jackson wisely resolving to hazard nothing

that he had gained in attempting to gain still more.

The Americans naturally indulged in great joy for this signal victory.

Te Deum was sung at New Orleans, and every demonstration of gratitude

manifested by the inhabitants of the Union generally. The state of

Louisiana passed votes of thanks to several of the officers concerned

in the defence, and omitted general Jackson, in consequence of his

having set aside the action of the civil authorities and proclaimed

martial law.

Although the results of the war had been honorable to the American

arms, a large portion of the inhabitants of the New England states

were unceasingly opposed to the measures of the administration. The

governor of Massachusetts convoked the general court of that state;

the legislature of Connecticut was about to hold its usual semi-annual

session; and the legislature of Rhode Island also assembled. When

these several bodies met, what should be done in this unexampled state

of affairs became a subject of most solemn deliberation. To insure

unity of views and concert in action, the legislature of Massachusetts

proposed a ‘conference,’ by delegates from the legislatures of the

New England states, and of any other states that might accede to the

measure. Their resolution for this purpose, and the circular letter

accompanying it, show, that the duty proposed to be assigned to these

delegates was merely to devise and recommend to the states measures for

their security and defence, and such measures as were ‘not repugnant to

their federal obligations as members of the Union.’

The proposition was readily assented to by several states, and the

delegates appointed in pursuance of it met at Hartford, on the 15th

of December following. The convention recommended, 1. That the states

they represent take measures to protect their citizens from ‘forcible

draughts, conscriptions, or impressments, not authorized by the

constitution of the United States.’ 2. That an earnest application be

made to the government of the United States, requesting their consent

to some arrangement, whereby the states separately, or in concert,

may take upon themselves the defence of their territory against the

enemy, and that a reasonable portion of the taxes collected within the

states be appropriated to this object. 3. That the several governors be

authorized by law to employ the military force under their command in

assisting any state requesting it, to repel the invasions of the public

enemy. 4. That several amendments of the constitution of the United

States, calculated in their view to prevent a recurrence of the evils

of which they complain, be proposed by the states they represent for

adoption either by the states’ legislatures, or by a convention chosen

by the people of each state. Lastly, That if the application of these

states to the government of the United States should be unsuccessful,

and peace should not be concluded, and the defence of these states

be still neglected, it would, in their opinion, be expedient for

the legislatures of the several states to appoint delegates to

another convention, to meet at Boston, in June, with such powers and

instructions as the exigency of a crisis so momentous may require.

The effect of these proceedings upon the public mind in the aggrieved

states was alike seasonable and salutary. The very proposal to call

a convention, and the confidence reposed in the men delegated to that

trust, served greatly to allay the passions, and to inspire confidence

and hope. Nor was the influence of this body upon the national councils

less perceptible. Within three weeks after the adjournment of the

convention and the publication of their report, an act passed both

houses of the national legislature, and received the signature of the

president, authorizing and requiring him to ‘receive into the service

of the United States any corps of troops which may have been or may

be raised, organized, and officered, under the authority of any of the

states,’ to be ‘employed in the state raising the same, or an adjoining

state, and not elsewhere, except with the consent of the executive of

the state raising the same.’ Before the commissioners who were sent to

confer with the government could reach Washington, a bill passed the

senate, providing for the payment of the troops and militia already

called into service under the authority of the states. The arrival of

the treaty of peace at this juncture rendered all farther proceedings

unnecessary.

During the preceding year the British government had declined to treat

under the mediation of Russia, and a direct negotiation had been agreed

on. Ghent was ultimately determined as the place of meeting; and in

the autumn of 1814 the commissioners prosecuted their labors, but at

first with very doubtful success. By the 24th of December a treaty

was agreed upon and signed by the plenipotentiaries of the respective

powers at Ghent; and in February of the following year it received the

ratification of the president.[148]

While the people of the United States were rejoicing at the return of

peace, their attention was called to a new scene of war. By a message

from the president to the house of representatives, with a report

of the secretary of state, it appeared that the dey of Algiers had

violently, and without just cause, obliged the consul of the United

States, and all the American citizens in Algiers, to leave that

place, in violation of the treaty then subsisting between the two

nations; that he had exacted from the consul, under pain of immediate

imprisonment, a large sum of money, to which he had no just claim;

and that these acts of violence and outrage had been followed by the

capture of at least one American vessel, and by the seizure of an

American citizen on board of a neutral vessel; that the captured

persons were yet held in captivity, with the exception of two of them,

who had been ransomed; that every effort to obtain the release of the

others had proved abortive; and that there was some reason to believe

they were held by the dey as means by which he calculated to extort

from the United States a degrading treaty. The president observed, that

the considerations which rendered it unnecessary and unimportant to

commence hostile operations on the part of the United States were now

terminated by the peace with Great Britain, which opened the prospect

of an active and valuable trade of their citizens within the range of

the Algerine cruisers; and recommended to congress the consideration

of an act declaring the existence of a state of war between the United

States and the dey of Algiers, and of such provisions as might be

requisite for the prosecution of it to a successful issue. A committee

of congress, to whom was referred a bill ‘for the protection of the

commerce of the United States against the Algerine cruisers,’ after a

statement of facts, concluded their report by expressing their united

opinion, ‘that the dey of Algiers considers his treaty with the United

States as at an end, and is waging war with them;’ and in March war was

declared against the Algerines.

An expedition was immediately ordered to the Mediterranean, under

the command of commodore Bainbridge. The squadron in advance on that

service, under commodore Decatur, lost not a moment after its arrival

in the Mediterranean in seeking the naval force of the enemy, then

cruising in that sea, and succeeded in capturing two of his ships,

one of them commanded by the Algerine admiral. The American commander,

after this demonstration of skill and prowess, hastened to the port

of Algiers, where he readily obtained peace, in the stipulated terms

of which the rights and honor of the United States were particularly

consulted by a perpetual relinquishment, on the part of the dey,

of all pretensions to tribute from them. The impressions thus made,

strengthened by subsequent transactions with the regencies of Tunis

and Tripoli, by the appearance of the larger force which followed under

commodore Bainbridge, and by the judicious precautionary arrangements

left by him in that quarter, afforded a reasonable prospect of future

security for the valuable portion of American commerce which passes

within reach of the Barbary cruisers.

President Madison, in his message to the congress of 1816, having

adverted to the peace of Europe and to that of the United States with

Great Britain, said, he had the ‘satisfaction to state, generally, that

they remained in amity with foreign powers.’ He proceeded to say, that

the posture of affairs with Algiers at that moment was not known; but

that the dey had found a pretext for complaining of a violation of the

last treaty, and presenting as the alternative war or a renewal of the

former treaty, which stipulated, among other things, an annual tribute.

‘The answer,’ says the president, ‘with an explicit declaration that

the United States preferred war to tribute, required his recognition

and observance of the treaty last made, which abolishes tribute, and

the slavery of our captured citizens. The result of the answer had

not been received. Should he renew his warfare on our commerce, we

rely on the protection it will find in our naval force actually in the

Mediterranean. With the other Barbary states our affairs have undergone

no change. With reference to the aborigines of our own country,’ he

continues, ‘the Indian tribes within our limits appear also disposed

to remain in peace. From several of them purchases of lands have been

made, particularly favorable to the wishes and security of our frontier

settlements as well as to the general interests of the nation. In some

instances, the titles, though not supported by due proof, and clashing

those of one tribe with the claims of another, have been extinguished

by double purchases, the benevolent policy of the United States

preferring the augmented expense to the hazard of doing injustice, or

to the enforcement of justice against a feeble and untutored people,

by means involving or threatening an effusion of blood. I am happy

to add that the tranquillity which has been restored among the tribes

themselves, as well as between them and our own population, will

favor the resumption of the work of civilization, which had made

an encouraging progress among some tribes; and that the facility is

increasing for extending that divided and individual ownership, which

exists now in movable property only, to the soil itself; and of thus

establishing, in the culture and improvement of it, the true foundation

for a transit from the habits of a savage to the arts and comforts of

social life.’

The doubtful state of the relations between the United States and the

dey of Algiers, to which the president alluded in his message, arose

either from a strong impulse of the love of extortion in the dey, or

from the influence of some foreign personages; the rising differences

were, however, settled by the prudent management of the American consul,

Mr. Shaler, and peace has not since been broken on the part of the

Algerines.

Among the incidents of domestic interest which indicate the rapid

growth and increasing prosperity of the republic, we may notice

the formation of the territory of Indiana into a state, and its

admission into the Union; the progress of canals in various states;

the institution of a national bank; and the arrival of many thousand

emigrants, chiefly from Great Britain. Treaties were, during this year,

negotiated with the Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Cherokee Indians, ceding

large portions of their respective territories to the United States,

and acknowledging their tribes to be under the protection of the

republic.

ADMINISTRATION OF JAMES MONROE.

The term of Mr. Madison’s administration having expired in the year

1817, James Monroe was inaugurated president, and Daniel D. Tompkins

vice-president. In his speech to congress on his inauguration, the

president expresses sentiments in which every true friend to the human

race will fully concur. ‘It is particularly gratifying to me,’ says

Mr. Monroe, ‘to enter on the discharge of these official duties at a

time when the United States are blessed with peace. It is a state most

consistent with their prosperity and happiness. It will be my sincere

desire to preserve it, so far as depends on the executive, on just

principles, with all nations, claiming nothing unreasonable of any,

and rendering to each what is its due.’

During this year the republic received another accession by the

erection of the territory of Mississippi into a state, and its

admission into the Union. By the act of admission it is provided, that

the public lands, while belonging to the United States, and for five

years from the day of sale, shall be exempted from all taxes; that

lands belonging to the citizens of the United States residing without

the state shall never be taxed higher than lands belonging to persons

residing within the state; and that the river Mississippi, and the

navigable rivers and waters leading into it, or into the gulf of Mexico,

shall be common highways, and forever free of toll or duty to all the

citizens of the United States. In return for this concession, congress

provided, that, after paying a debt to Georgia and indemnifying certain

claimants, five per cent. of the net proceeds of the public lands lying

within the state shall be devoted to the making of roads and canals for

the benefit of the state.

In the summer of this year an expedition was undertaken against East

Florida by persons claiming to act under the authority of some of the

revolted Spanish colonies. The leader of this expedition styled himself

‘Citizen Gregor M‘Gregor, brigadier-general of the armies of the united

provinces of New Grenada and Venezuela, and general-in-chief, employed

to liberate the provinces of both the Floridas, commissioned by the

supreme governments of Mexico and South America.’ The persons that

combined for this purpose took possession of Amelia island, at the

mouth of St. Mary’s river, near the boundary of the state of Georgia.

The president, apprized of this transaction, ordered an expedition,

consisting of naval and land forces, to repel the invaders, and to

occupy the island. A squadron, under the command of J. D. Henley,

with troops under the command of James Banhead, arrived off Amelia

island on the 22d of December, and the next day took possession of it,

hoisting the American flag at Fernandina. The president, in a message

to congress relative to the capture, observed: ‘In expelling these

adventurers from these posts it was not intended to make any conquest

from Spain, or to injure, in any degree, the cause of the colonies.’

The real reason of the measure seems to have been, that the invasion

interfered with endeavors which were then making on the part of the

United States to obtain the cession of the Floridas from the Spaniards.

In the following year the Union received the accession of another state,

that of Illinois. At the time of its admission, the government of the

United States granted to the state one section or thirty-sixth part of

every township for the support of schools, and three per cent. of the

net proceeds of the United States’ lands lying within the state for the

encouragement of learning, of which one-sixth part must be exclusively

bestowed on a college or university. The constitution happily provides

that no more slaves shall be introduced into the state. In 1819,

the Alabama territory was admitted as a state into the Union; and

the Arkansaw territory was, by an act of congress, erected into a

territorial government. In the following year the district of Maine

was separated from Massachusetts, formed into a distinct state, and

admitted into the Union.

During this year the American congress did themselves honor by

providing more effectually against carrying on the slave-trade. The

enactment declared, that if any citizen of the United States, being

of the ship’s company of any foreign ship or vessel engaged in the

slave-trade, or any person whatever being of the crew or ship’s company

of any ship or vessel owned by, or navigated for, any citizens of

the United States, shall on foreign shore seize any negro or mulatto,

not held to service or labor by the laws either of the states or

territories of the United States, with intent to make him a slave, or

shall decoy or forcibly bring or receive him on board with such intent,

he shall be adjudged a pirate, and on conviction shall suffer death.

A treaty for the cession of the Floridas was concluded at Washington,

February 22, 1819, between Spain and the United States. In the year

1821, it was reluctantly ratified by the king of Spain, and possession

was taken of those provinces according to the terms of the treaty. On

the 1st of July, general Jackson, who had been appointed governor of

the Floridas, issued a proclamation, declaring ‘that the government

heretofore exercised over the said provinces under the authority

of Spain has ceased, and that that of the United States of America

is established over the same; that the inhabitants thereof will

be incorporated in the union of the United States, as soon as may

be consistent with the principles of the federal constitution, and

admitted to the enjoyment of all the privileges, rights, and immunities

of the citizens of the United States; that in the mean time they shall

be maintained and protected in the free enjoyment of their liberty,

property, and the religion they profess; that all laws and municipal

regulations which were in existence at the cessation of the late

government remain in full force, and all civil officers charged

with their execution,’ with certain exceptions and limitations,

‘are continued in their functions.’ On the 7th of July, the colonel

commandant, Don Jose Gallava, commissioner on the part of his Catholic

majesty, made to major-general Jackson, the commissioner of the

United States, a delivery of the keys of the town of Pensacola, of the

archives, documents, and other articles, mentioned in the inventories,

declaring that he releases from their oath of allegiance to Spain

the citizens and inhabitants of West Florida who may choose to remain

under the dominion of the United States. On the same day, colonel

Joseph Coppinger, governor of East Florida, issued a proclamation

to the inhabitants, announcing that, on the 10th day of this month,

‘possession will be given to colonel Robert Butler, the commissioner

legally authorized by the United States.’ The American authorities were

accordingly put in possession of the Floridas.

During this year Missouri was admitted as a state into the Union,

forming the eleventh state added to the thirteen confederated states

which signed the declaration of independence, making the present number

of the United States twenty-four. The proposition for the admission of

this state, which was brought forward in the session of 1819, produced

vehement discussion in the congress, and excited an intense interest

throughout the whole Union. The inhabitants of Missouri, the territory

having been considered as a part of Louisiana, had derived from their

connection with the Spaniards and French the custom, which they deemed

equivalent to the right, of possessing slaves; it was proposed, however,

in admitting the territory to the privileges of a state, to prevent

the increase and to insure the ultimate abolition of slavery, by

the insertion of the following clause: ‘Provided, that the further

introduction of slavery or involuntary servitude be prohibited, except

for the punishment of crimes whereof the party shall have been duly

convicted; and that all the children born within the said state after

the admission thereof into the Union shall be free at the age of

twenty-five years.’ Judging from the previous views and measures of

the general government, in similar and analogous cases, it could hardly

have been conjectured, that the result of proposing such a limited and

qualified restriction would be doubtful. The house of representatives,

after a short but animated debate, refused to pass the bill without

the restriction; but the senate refused to pass the bill with it;

consequently the bill itself was lost, and Missouri still continued

under her former territorial government.

Such was the rapidity with which the several proceedings passed

in the two houses of congress, that it was scarcely known beyond

its walls that such a question was agitated, before it was decided.

When, however, it came to be generally known what principles had been

advanced, what votes had been given, with what ardor and vehemence

the advocates of slavery had urged their demands, not merely upon

the justice, the reason, and good sense of congress, but upon their

interests, their prejudices, and their fears, by how slender a majority

a measure had been checked, which, in the estimation of many of

the best friends of American liberty, would have been productive

of incalculable and interminable mischiefs, it excited a feeling

of universal surprise and alarm. It is instructive to observe that

many of the staunchest advocates of liberal ideas, who delighted

in appropriating to themselves exclusively the name of republicans,

suffered their jealousy of the interference of the congress in the

internal government of an individual state to engage them on the

side of the perpetuators of slavery. Jefferson, who prided himself

in being the devoted friend of liberty, thus expresses himself: ‘The

real question, as seen in the states afflicted with this unfortunate

population, is, are our slaves to be presented with freedom and a

dagger? For, if congress has the power to regulate the conditions of

the inhabitants of the states within the states, it will be but another

exercise of that power to declare that all shall be free. Are we then

to see again Athenian and Lacedemonian confederacies? to wage another

Peloponnesian war to settle the ascendency between them? Or is this

the tocsin of merely a servile war? That remains to be seen; but not,

I hope, by you or me. Surely they will parley awhile, and give us

time to get out of the way.’[149] The consequence of this combination

was the passing of the bill for the admission of Missouri in the next

session of the congress, without the restricting clause.

No circumstances of particular interest in the transactions of the

general government occurred till the year 1824, when articles of a

convention between the United States of America and Great Britain for

the suppression of the African slave-trade were subscribed at London

by plenipotentiaries appointed for that purpose. By the first article,

the commanders and commissioned officers of each of the two high

contracting parties, duly authorized by their respective governments

to cruise on the coasts of Africa, America, and the West Indies,

for the suppression of the slave-trade, are empowered, under certain

restrictions, to detain, examine, capture, and deliver over for

trial and adjudication by some competent tribunal, any ship or vessel

concerned in the illicit traffic of slaves, and carrying the flag of

the other.

In the spring of this year a convention was also concluded between

the United States of America and the emperor of Russia. By the third

article of this convention it was agreed, ‘that, hereafter, there

shall not be formed by the citizens of the United States, or under

the authority of the said states, any establishment upon the northern

[north-west] coast of America, nor in any of the islands adjacent, to

the north of fifty-four degrees and forty minutes of north latitude;

and that, in the same manner, there shall be none formed by Russian

subjects, or under the authority of Russia, south of the same parallel.’

This year is signalized in American history by the visit of the

venerable la Fayette, on the express invitation of congress. He

arrived in the harbor of New York on the 13th of August, and proceeded

to the residence of the vice-president at Staten island. A committee

of the corporation of the city of New York, and a great number of

distinguished citizens, proceeded to Staten island to welcome him to

their capital. A splendid escort of steam-boats, decorated with the

flags of every nation, and bearing thousands of citizens, brought him

to the view of assembled multitudes at New York, who manifested their

joy at beholding him, by acclamations and by tears. At the city hall

the officers of the city and many citizens were presented to him; and

he was welcomed by an address from the mayor. While he was at New York,

deputations from Philadelphia, Baltimore, New Haven, and from many

other cities, arrived with invitations for him to visit them. After

remaining a few days at New York, he proceeded to Boston, where he met

with the same cordial reception. The general soon after returned to New

York, visited Albany and the towns on Hudson’s river, and afterwards

passed through the intermediate states to Virginia. He returned to

Washington during the session of congress, and remained there several

weeks. Congress voted him the sum of two hundred thousand dollars, and

a township of land, as a remuneration, in part, of his services during

the war of the revolution, and as a testimony of their gratitude.

In the year 1825, John Quincy Adams was inaugurated president of the

United States, and John C. Calhoun, vice-president. In his speech to

congress the president took a retrospective view to the epoch of the

confederation. ‘The year of jubilee since the first formation of our

union,’ observed Mr. Adams, ‘has just elapsed; that of the declaration

of our independence is at hand. Since that period, a population of

four millions has multiplied to twelve. A territory bounded by the

Mississippi has been extended from sea to sea. New states have been

admitted to the Union, in numbers nearly equal to those of the first

confederation. Treaties of peace, amity, and commerce, have been

concluded with the principal dominions of the earth. The people of

other nations, inhabitants of regions acquired, not by conquest, but

by compact, have been united with us in the participation of our rights

and duties, of our burdens and blessings.’ Having noticed the progress

of agriculture and of settlements, of commerce and arts, of liberty and

law, Mr. Adams thus sketches the features of the administration of the

preceding president: ‘In his career of eight years, the internal taxes

have been repealed; sixty millions of public debt have been discharged;

provision has been made for the comfort and relief of the aged and

indigent among the surviving warriors of the revolution; the regular

armed force has been reduced, and the constitution revised and

perfected; the accountability for the expenditure of public moneys

has been made more effective; the Floridas have been peaceably

acquired, and our boundary has been extended to the Pacific ocean;

the independence of the southern nations of this hemisphere has

been recognised, and recommended, by example and by counsel, to the

potentates of Europe; progress has been made in the defence of the

country, by fortifications and the increase of the navy; towards the

effectual suppression of the African traffic in slaves; in alluring

the aboriginal hunters of our land to the cultivation of the soil

and of the mind; in exploring the interior regions of the Union; and

in preparing, by scientific researches and surveys, for the further

application of our national resources to the internal improvement of

our country. In this brief outline of the promise and performance of my

predecessor, the line of duty for his successor is clearly delineated.

To pursue to their consummation those purposes of improvement in our

common condition instituted or recommended by him, will embrace the

whole sphere of my obligations.’

The transactions between the United States and the Indian tribes have

occasioned considerable discussion among the philanthropists of both

the new and the old world; we shall, therefore, notice the treaties

which were formed somewhat particularly. In February, a treaty was

concluded with the Creek nation of Indians. The commissioners on

the part of the United States represented to the Creeks, that it

is the policy and wish of the general government, that the several

Indian tribes within the limits of any of the states of the Union

should remove to territory to be designated on the west side of the

Mississippi river, as well for the better protection and security of

the said tribes, and their improvement in civilization, as for the

purpose of enabling the United States, in this instance, to comply with

a compact entered into with the state of Georgia, on the 24th of April,

1802. The chiefs of the Creek towns assented to the reasonableness of

the proposition, and expressed a willingness to emigrate beyond the

Mississippi, those of Tokaubatchee excepted. The Creeks accordingly,

by the first article of the treaty, ceded to the United States all

the lands within the boundaries of the state of Georgia now occupied

by them, or to which they have title or claim, lying within certain

described boundaries; and by the second it was agreed, that the United

States will give in exchange for the lands hereby acquired the like

quantity, acre for acre, westward of the Mississippi, on the Arkansas

river. Other stipulations favorable to the equitable claims of the

emigrating parties were made; particularly that a deputation may be

sent to explore the territory herein offered them in exchange; and

if the same be not acceptable to them, then they may select any other

territory west of the Mississippi, on Red, Canadian, Arkansas, or

Missouri rivers, the territory occupied by the Cherokees and Choctaws

excepted; and if the territory to be selected shall be in the occupancy

of other Indian tribes, then the United States will extinguish the

title of such occupants for the benefit of the said emigrants.

The Kansas Indians, by treaty, ceded to the United States all their

lands both within and without the limits of Missouri, excepting a

reservation beyond that state on the Kansas river, about thirty miles

square, including their villages. In consideration of this cession, the

United States agreed to pay three thousand five hundred dollars a year

for twenty years; to furnish the Kansas immediately with three hundred

head of cattle, three hundred hogs, five hundred fowls, three yoke

of oxen, and two carts, and with such farming utensils as the Indian

superintendent may deem necessary; to provide and support a blacksmith

for them; and to employ persons to aid and instruct them in their

agricultural pursuits, as the president may deem expedient. Of the

ceded lands, thirty-six sections on the Big Blue river were to be laid

out under the direction of the president, and sold for the support of

schools among the Kansas. Reservations were also made for the benefit

of certain half-breeds; and other stipulations mutually satisfactory.

It was also agreed, that no private revenge shall be taken by the

Indians for the violation of their rights; but that they shall make

their complaint to the superintendent or other agent, and receive

justice in a due course of law; and it was lastly agreed, that the

Kansas nation shall never dispose of their lands without the consent

of the United States, and that the United States shall always have the

free right of navigation in the waters of the Kansas.

A treaty was also concluded with the Great and Little Osages, at St.

Louis, Missouri. The general principles of this treaty are the same as

those of the treaty with the Kansas. The Indians cede all their lands

in Arkansas and elsewhere, and then reserve a defined territory, west

of the Missouri line, fifty miles square; an agent to be permitted

to reside on the reservation, and the United States to have the right

of free navigation in all the waters on the tract. The United States

pay an annuity of seven thousand dollars for twenty years; furnish

forthwith six hundred head of cattle, six hundred hogs, one thousand

fowls, ten yoke of oxen, six carts, with farming utensils, persons to

teach the Indians agriculture, and a blacksmith, and build a commodious

dwelling-house for each of the four principal chiefs, at his own

village. Reservations were made for the establishment of a fund for the

support of schools for the benefit of the Osage children; and provision

was made for the benefit of the Harmony missionary establishment. The

United States also assume certain debts due from certain chiefs of the

tribes; and agree to deliver at the Osage villages, as soon as may be,

four thousand dollars in merchandise, and two thousand six hundred in

horses and their equipments.

In May a general convention of peace, amity, navigation, and commerce,

between the United States of America and the republic of Colombia, was

signed by the president, at Washington.

The fiftieth anniversary, the jubilee, as it was termed, of

American independence, was observed throughout the states with great

enthusiasm, and was rendered additionally interesting by the remarkable

circumstance that both Adams and Jefferson, eminent men among the

fathers of their country, died on that day.

The opposition to the administration of Mr. Adams gained strength and

development by daily increase, and numerous parties combined for its

support or overthrow in various parts of the country. These parties

were generally of a geographical character, and in the nineteenth

congress it was usually found that the representatives from the

southern, took sides directly opposed to those from the northern and

western states. A resolution was expressed in some quarters to put down

the administration at every hazard, no matter what might be its policy,

its integrity, or its success. The cry of corruption was re-echoed by

office seekers, and the more desperate portion of the oppositionists,

till it began to gain currency with the public, and proved sufficient

to secure the downfall of the administration against which it was

raised.

The Panama mission was a fruitful subject of clamor and opposition. It

was stigmatized as imprudent, unnecessary, at variance with our true

and prevailing policy, and pregnant with peril. Charges of extravagance

in expenditures were next brought against the heads of the government,

and resolutions were introduced in congress, intimating that the

executive patronage was too large, and ought to be diminished. The

assertion of the president of his constitutional authority to appoint,

during the vacation of congress, diplomatic agents to transact the

foreign business of the country, was represented as the assumption of

an undelegated power. Every opportunity was seized to represent the

policy of the federal authorities as tending towards consolidation, and

as indicating a disposition for an expensive and magnificent scheme of

government.

In conformity with the views of the opposition, a nomination for

the next presidency was immediately made, and in October, 1825, the

legislature of Tennessee recommended general Jackson to the suffrages

of the people of the United States for the highest office in their

gift. The nomination he formally accepted, in an address delivered

before both houses of the legislature of that state, in which he

resigned his seat in the senate. In this address he plainly intimated

his dissatisfaction at the result of the late presidential election,

and a willingness to sanction an opposition to the administration on

the ground of its corrupt origin. This same ground had been taken by

the adherents of the vice-president in the discussion of Mr. M’Duffie’s

proposed amendment of the constitution in the first session of the

nineteenth congress. The public mind was irritated and exasperated

by these charges, which were diffused with an industry and zeal to be

paralleled only by their baseness. Accusation and recrimination became

frequent and passionate, and the most bitter and indignant feelings

took place of the tranquillity that had so long reigned in the

political world.

At length the charge of corruption was brought from a responsible

quarter, and an investigation ensued, which resulted in the complete

acquittal of the parties accused. Directly after the adjournment of

the eighteenth congress, a letter appeared, bearing date the 8th of

March, 1825, purporting to relate a conversation with general Jackson,

in which he said that a proposition had been made to him by Mr. Clay’s

friends to secure his election to the presidency, on condition that Mr.

Adams should not continue as secretary of state. This proposition was

said to have been indignantly repelled. A correspondence immediately

ensued on this subject between Mr. Beverly, the author of the letter in

question, and general Jackson, in which an account of the negotiation

alluded to was given at length, and the general disclaimed making any

charge against Mr. Clay, and denied having accused him of being privy

to the communication. Testimony was now produced by Mr. Clay and his

friends, which completely refuted the charge of bargain, and hurled

it with scorn in the teeth of his enemies. It was proved beyond a

question that in voting for Mr. Adams in the house of representatives,

Mr. Clay and his friends had acted with entire consistency, and

that any other course would have indeed laid them open to the charge

of gross and palpable violation of the principles they had always

professed in relation to the election. But the accusation had been made

to answer the purpose for which it was framed, and the opposition to

the administration had found a permanent basis to build upon.

Mr. Adams continued to act on the principles which he had professed

in his inaugural speech, of administering the government without

regard to the distinctions of party. In the distribution of offices he

asked merely as to the qualifications of the candidates, not of their

political opinions. No one suffered by that ruthless policy, which

bears so close a resemblance to the proscription of the Roman emperors;

the one striking at life itself, the other at the means of life.

It is difficult to say which of the two is the more cruel, but they

are surely equally unjust and vindictive. The system which makes the

presidential chair a mere scramble for office, and the chief executive

of the nation a dispenser of loaves and fishes to political adherents,

is too mean, narrow, and contemptible, not to be subversive of all

the best purposes of government, and must end in the subversion of

government itself. The political forum is converted into an arena

of battle, and the first moments of victory are sacred to spoil,

devastation, and rapine. The lust of gold stifles the cry of mercy,

and all the rules of honorable warfare are violated in the fierceness

and vindictiveness of triumph. Office holders should be content with

fulfilling the duties of their respective stations, and not consider

themselves in the light of mere partisans, rewarded for upholding

a particular man or set of men. The people pay them for a different

service. Mr. Adams regarded this subject in its true bearings, and

he acted in it with the stern and fearless integrity which has marked

the whole course of his political life. Regardless of consequences, he

was perhaps often injudicious in the diffusion of executive patronage,

and sometimes furnished the enemy with artillery to be employed in the

destruction of his own citadel.

But however the efforts of the opposition might embarrass the

movements of the administration, they could not retard the rapid

progress of the country in wealth and prosperity. The great works

of internal improvement contemplated by the act of April, 1824, were

prosecuted with great spirit and vigor. Many routes for roads and

canals were surveyed, and a great mass of topographical knowledge was

thus collected at Washington. The attention of the general government

was also directed to many other subjects of internal improvement, such

as the navigation of several important rivers, building lighthouses,

piers, and removing obstructions from bays and harbors. The navigation

of the Mississippi and Ohio was much improved during this year, by the

removal of snags and other impediments from their channels. An impulse

was thus given to the efforts of the state governments, and canals and

roads were laid out in various directions. Manufacturing establishments

flourished with great vigor, and gave proofs of becoming lasting

sources of wealth and employment to the national industry. In the year

ending September 30, 1826, the value of domestic manufactures exported

amounted to five millions eight hundred and fifty-two thousand seven

hundred and thirty-three dollars, of which one million one hundred and

thirty-eight thousand one hundred and twenty-five dollars consisted

of cotton piece goods. The increase of tonnage in the United States

during 1826, was one hundred eleven thousand and seventy-nine tons,

being double the increase of any one of the preceding twelve years. In

conformity with the plan proposed for the settlement of the remaining

tribes of the aborigines on the west of the Mississippi, provision

was made for the removal thither of such Indians as were disposed to

emigrate. Fourteen hundred Shawnees, and about seven hundred Creeks,

removed in this manner to spots selected by themselves. The Cherokees

refused to cede another foot of land, notwithstanding the efforts made

by the general government to procure such a cession of territory as

would satisfy the claims of Georgia. The north-western Indians now gave

hostile indications, and attacked and murdered some American citizens;

but by the prompt measures adopted by governor Cass, the murderers were

given up and tranquillity again restored.

Congress having adjourned without passing any law for the purpose of

meeting the restrictive measures of the British government in respect

to the colonial trade, the president issued a proclamation, dated March

17th, closing the ports of the United States against vessels from the

British colonies, which had been opened by the act of 1822. By this

measure the British restrictions were completely reciprocated, and the

president was sustained in it by public opinion.

A Book of the United States Exhibiting its geography, divisions, constitution, and government ... and presenting a view of the republic generally, and of the individual states; together with a condensed history of the land, from its first discovery to the present time. The biography of about two hundred of the leading men: a description of the principal cities and towns; with statistical tables · 第 32 / 37 章

At this period a presidential election again occurred. From the