of October, and General Hopkins commenced his march on the fifteenth
instant. The route pursued by the latter lay through a pleasant
champaign country, and his force was strong enough to set all
opposition at defiance. But the men were totally undisciplined
and unaccustomed to restraint; and on the fourth day out refused
to proceed any further. The remonstrances and entreaties of the
general produced no effect, and he was compelled to follow his
refractory troops, in their retrograde march to Fort Harrison.
Colonel Russell, however, continued his course to the Illinois river.
Though disappointed in not meeting General Hopkins, he persevered in
his enterprise, and destroyed one of the principal villages of the
Peorias, called Pamitaris’ town, together with their winter stock of
provisions. The Indians were pursued into a swamp in the vicinity
where they had fled for shelter,--Colonel Russell and his men wading
for several miles up to their waists in water,--and upwards of twenty
of them were killed on the bank of the river. After the destruction
of the town, the detachment returned to Fort Harrison, where they
arrived on the twenty-first of October.
In November, General Hopkins made a more successful foray. Leaving
Fort Harrison on the eleventh instant, at the head of about twelve
hundred men, he proceeded up the Wabash, and destroyed the Prophet’s
town, and a large Kickapoo village near it, with the store of corn
provided by the savages for the coming winter. The Winnebago towns on
Ponce Passu creek were also destroyed by a detachment under Colonel
Butler.
About the same time, Lieutenant Colonel Campbell, of the 19th
infantry, was dispatched from Greenville, with a party of six hundred
men, against the Indian towns on the Mississinewa river, one of
the tributaries of the Wabash. On the seventeenth of November, he
surprised a village inhabited by Delawares and Miamis, captured
thirty-seven prisoners, and killed eight of the enemy’s warriors. The
town, and two others in the neighborhood, were then burned, and the
party encamped for the night. Just before daylight, the next morning,
they were attacked by a party of Indians three hundred strong. A
desperate contest was kept up for nearly an hour, when the enemy
were driven off by a charge of cavalry, leaving forty of their best
and bravest warriors dead on the field. The Americans lost eight men
killed, and about thirty wounded. Another attack was anticipated,
as Tecumseh was understood to be in the vicinity with four or five
hundred warriors, but reïnforcements soon coming up from Greenville,
the detachment completed the destruction of the towns on the river,
and returned without molestation.
These repeated incursions had the desired effect. Frequent
hostilities afterwards arose and engagements took place, but these
were confined to small parties of volunteers and similar bands of
savages; exempted from the irruptions of the Indians, the border
settlements continued to enjoy, for a long period, a degree of
tranquillity which they had never before witnessed.
[Sidenote: DISPOSITION OF THE TROOPS.]
After the return of the troops sent out by General Harrison, from
Fort Wayne, it was his intention to advance towards Detroit, and
recover the territory occupied by the British forces, as soon as he
found his means adequate to the object. His plans were temporarily
disarranged by the arrival of Brigadier General Winchester, who had
originally been designated for the command of the northwestern army,
with large reïnforcements from Ohio and Kentucky. General Harrison
accordingly relinquished the command, and set out on his return to
Indiana territory, accompanied by a considerable force of mounted men
with which he designed to break up the Indian towns in that quarter.
It subsequently appeared, that President Madison was ignorant of his
brevet appointment, and of the general desire of the western people
that he should be placed in command, at the time the orders to
General Winchester were issued. General Harrison had not proceeded
far on his return, when he was overtaken by an express bearing a
commission as brigadier general in the regular army, together with
instructions requiring him to take command of the forces on the
northwestern frontier.
General Harrison returned to Fort Wayne, and resumed the command, on
the twenty-third of September. Arrived here, he learned that General
Winchester had marched on the previous day, for Fort Defiance, on his
way to the Rapids of the Maumee, the place fixed upon for the general
rendezvous preparatory to the contemplated movement for the recovery
of Michigan, with four hundred regulars, a brigade of Kentucky
militia, and a troop of horse,--in all two thousand men. He then
proceeded to Fort St. Mary’s to make further preparations for the
campaign, and dispatched Colonel Jennings down the Au Glaize, with
a detachment, having in charge a quantity of supplies for General
Winchester, whose men had but a limited stock of provisions.
The march of General Winchester was impeded, not only by the natural
obstacles of the wet and marshy country through which he was
compelled to pass, but also by a series of annoying skirmishes with
the advanced parties of a force lying in and near Fort Defiance,
consisting of two hundred British regulars and one thousand savages,
which was destined for the capture of Fort Wayne. Making his way
through the numerous difficulties that retarded his progress, and
forcing the enemy to retire down the river as he advanced, he reached
Fort Defiance on the thirteenth of September, where he was joined
by the detachment under Colonel Jennings. While on his way, he had
sent an express to General Harrison, informing him of the situation
of his troops, and the harassing warfare kept up with the enemy. The
latter arrived at the fort on the third of October, with additional
reïnforcements, but returned again, on the ensuing day, to the
settled country, to bring the remainder of the troops, composing the
centre and right wing of his army, into the field. General Winchester
remained at Fort Defiance in command of the left wing.
Before leaving the fort, General Harrison directed General Tupper to
proceed down the river with the Ohio mounted men, about one thousand
strong, and drive the enemy from the Rapids. The command of General
Tupper consisted of raw and inexperienced militia, and, though he
made every effort, he was unable to comply with the orders he had
received. In consequence of some misunderstanding between himself and
General Winchester, he soon after returned with the Ohio cavalry,
to Urbanna, whence he was ordered forward, with the centre of the
northwestern army, which was composed of one regiment of regulars,
and the Ohio volunteers and militia, to Fort M’Arthur. About the same
time, the right wing, consisting of the Pennsylvania and Virginia
brigades, under Generals Crooks and Leftwich, was advanced to
Sandusky.
On his arrival at Fort M’Arthur, General Tupper organized another
expedition to proceed to the Rapids. He left the fort on the tenth
of November, with six hundred men, carrying five days’ rations
in their knapsacks. On the evening of the thirteenth instant, he
arrived within thirteen miles of the Rapids, and sent an officer
in advance to reconnoitre. It was ascertained that Fort Maumee, and
the settlement, were still occupied by the British and their savage
allies, and their boats and vessels were discovered in the stream
below. General Tupper made several unavailing attempts to cross
the river, and then endeavored to decoy the enemy over. In this he
was more successful; a large party of Indians crossed the river,
whom he attacked and routed; but, on account of the failure of his
provisions, he was soon obliged to return to Fort M’Arthur without
accomplishing the object of the expedition. On the thirteenth of
December, he conducted another detachment to the Rapids, between
fifteen hundred and two thousand strong. On this occasion he
encountered about three hundred British regulars and seven hundred
Indians, on the right bank of the stream, a few miles above the
Rapids. These he attacked and completely routed. The enemy left one
hundred of their number on the field, and many were killed while
attempting to swim across the river. Shortly after this affair, the
British evacuated the post and retired to Malden and Detroit.
[Sidenote: WINTER CAMPAIGN.]
In the meantime, General Harrison, whose headquarters were
established at Franklinton, had labored unceasingly, in connection
with Governor Meigs, to complete his preparations for the projected
winter campaign. It was designed that the army should advance, in
three divisions, from Fort Defiance, Fort M’Arthur, and Sandusky, to
the Rapids of the Maumee, where they were to receive their supplies
of ordnance and provisions. A feint was then to be made upon Detroit,
when the troops were to cross the river and invest Fort Malden.
The army under the orders of General Harrison nominally consisted
of ten thousand men. But little over six thousand of these were
effective, and many of the latter number were undisciplined and
inexperienced. All were poorly clothed and worse fed. The efforts
of the commanding general were unwearied and untiring, but he
encountered obstacles and difficulties at every step. The army
rendered an important service in holding the Indians in check, yet
they were unable to move forward, and General Harrison was warmly
censured, by those who were unacquainted with the real state of
things, for his inactivity. A simple statement of the position of
affairs on this frontier will be his best defence.--The enemy had
the command on Lake Erie, and it seemed almost impossible to furnish
the troops in this remote region with the supplies that they needed,
and without which it would have been mere fool-hardiness to advance.
It was necessary to transport the ordnance and heavy stores over the
Alleghanies, and down the Ohio, and thence they were hauled, over
land, hundreds of miles, along blazed forest paths and miserable
trails, across half-frozen swamps and through trackless forests, to
the banks of the Maumee.
Against such embarrassments, General Harrison struggled almost
hopelessly, yet as it proved in the sequel, successfully,
notwithstanding that his plans were frequently thwarted, and his
measures disconcerted, by the War Department. In January, 1813, Dr.
Eustis was succeeded by General Armstrong as Secretary of War. The
latter had imbibed strong prejudices against a militia force, and
entertained a marked dislike towards General Harrison, who,--though
possessing the confidence of Madison himself,--never knew what it
was to be cordially sustained by the executive officers of the
government, while he remained in service.
[Sidenote: DIFFICULTIES AND EMBARRASSMENTS.]
While General Harrison was busily engaged in distributing the
supplies, and organizing the reïnforcements, as they arrived, an
event took place, which, it has been truly said, “clothed Kentucky
in mourning.”--The left wing of the army, under General Winchester,
remained at Fort Defiance, on the site of which they constructed
a new fort, named, after the general in command, Fort Winchester,
till November. Having constructed a number of pirogues, for the
transportation of their baggage, they moved down the river about six
miles, to camp No. 3, where they were delayed until the eighth of
January, 1813--suffering greatly, in the meantime, for the want of
clothing and provisions. Orders were then issued for the advance.
The weather was exceedingly inclement, the river blocked up with
ice, and the ground covered with snow to the depth of twenty-seven
inches;--yet the brave Kentuckians, of whom General Winchester’s
command was almost exclusively composed, harnessed themselves to
sleighs on which they placed their baggage, and performed the weary
march of twenty-seven miles, to the Rapids, in two days. Immediately
after his arrival at this point, the general received a message from
the inhabitants of Frenchtown, a small village situated on the left
bank, and near the mouth, of the river Raisin, informing him that
a large body of British and Indians were about to make a descent
on that place, and urgently entreating him to hasten to their
assistance.
Sickness, and the expiration of the terms of service of the
volunteers, had reduced the strength of his column to but little
over eight hundred men; and General Winchester hesitated to place
any portion of this small command, within a single day’s march,--as
the Detroit river was then frozen over,--of the British forces
concentrated at Malden. His officers, however, unanimously, and
earnestly, advised a compliance with the request; and, impelled by
motives of humanity, without waiting to communicate with General
Harrison, and, indeed, contrary to his own better judgment, he
detached Colonels Lewis and Allen, with about five hundred men, on
the seventeenth of January, instructing them to proceed to Presque
Isle, and there await his arrival with the remainder of the column.
At Presque Isle, Colonel Lewis, who had been placed in command of the
detachment, learned that an advanced party of British and Indians
were already in possession of Frenchtown. He therefore determined
to hasten forward and attack them. The march was resumed, through
the ice and snow, and at three o’clock in the afternoon of the
eighteenth instant, he arrived on the southern bank of the river,
opposite to the village in which the enemy, about five hundred in
number, under the command of Major Reynolds, were posted. The stream
being bridged with ice, Colonel Lewis formed Irishmen for action,
and advanced steadily to the further shore. A warm contest ensued,
which was terminated only by the darkness. The enemy were forced from
their position, and driven nearly two miles into the woods, under a
continual charge. Colonel Lewis had twelve men killed and fifty-five
wounded. The enemy’s loss was supposed to be far more severe, as
fifteen Indian warriors were found on the field,--though it could
never be ascertained with certainty.
Colonel Lewis was joined on the twentieth instant by General
Winchester, with two hundred and fifty men,--the latter having
previously advised General Harrison, then at Lower Sandusky, of
the advance to Frenchtown. General Harrison received the dispatch
of General Winchester on the nineteenth of January, and, though
deeply chagrined at this interference with the general plan of his
operations, he set out immediately for the Rapids. His inspector
general, Captain Hart, was dispatched to General Winchester, with
orders to maintain the position to which he had advanced at all
hazards. On the twenty-third instant, a reïnforcement of three
hundred men, under Major Cotgreves, took up the line of march for
Frenchtown, and on the same day General Harrison followed, with
another corps, three hundred and sixty strong.
[Sidenote: MASSACRE ON THE RAISIN.]
It was all too late! The catastrophe which General Harrison feared
had already occurred;--the blow had been struck that desolated
so many homes, and widowed so many hearts, in the fair state of
Kentucky.--Early in the morning of the twenty-second, General
Winchester was attacked by an overwhelming force of British and
Indians, numbering at least fifteen hundred men, with six pieces
of artillery, under Colonel Proctor and the chiefs Round-Head and
Split-Log. His men maintained a stout resistance--fighting bravely
for hours, exposed to a most murderous fire. At length, after one
half their number were either killed or wounded, the remainder--a
sadly diminished band--surrendered themselves prisoners of war, upon
the pledge of the British commander to protect them from Indian
violence.
The pledge was basely violated. Another, and still darker feature,
was added to the worse than brutal warfare waged on the part of
the English government. On the day after the engagement, Colonel
Proctor returned to Detroit, leaving between fifty and sixty wounded
prisoners at Frenchtown, who were cruelly butchered by his savage
associates,--a half-breed, who held a high commission in the Royal
service, boasting, in the presence of the British officers, that
the Indians were “_excellent doctors_”! The houses in which the
unfortunate victims perished were set on fire, and their bodies
consumed. Other prisoners, not wounded, were murdered in cold blood;
the rites of sepulture were denied to their remains, and those of
their comrades who had fallen in the action; and their bones were
left to whiten in the wintry storm that howled its requiem above
their resting place. Some perished by the way side, on the march to
Detroit, from the inclemency of the weather; others sank beneath
the tomahawk of the savage. The survivors,--few in number,--to the
lasting dishonor of a nation whose sovereign rewarded the officer,
who connived at, or tolerated these abuses, with the commission of a
brigadier general, were stripped and plundered, and subjected to the
grossest indignities and outrages.
[Sidenote: BRUTAL CONDUCT OF THE ENEMY.]
General Harrison was three miles in advance of the Rapids,
hurrying rapidly on with his reïnforcements, when he received the
intelligence of this sad disaster. Selecting a picked corps of one
hundred and seventy men, he detached them to the assistance of
the fugitives, but few of whom made their escape from the field
of battle, in consequence of the great depth of snow. He also
dispatched a surgeon, with two companions, provided with money,
under a flag of truce, to attend the sick and wounded prisoners of
General Winchester’s command. One of the party was murdered by the
Indians, and the others were robbed, and otherwise inhumanly treated,
by both British and savages. After suffering for several months in
confinement, having been transferred from one dungeon to another,
they were finally set at liberty in Quebec.
Had General Harrison consulted his first impulses, he would have
hastened forward with his whole disposable force, to avenge the
massacre at Frenchtown. Doubtless, it would have been better, had
he done so--_provided he could have been successful_, which is not
entirely free from doubt--and he would then have escaped the censure
bestowed on his conduct, undeserved and ungenerous though it was.
But the roads, miserable as they were in the most favorable weather,
were covered with three feet of snow, and almost impracticable for
artillery; it was not then known that Proctor had himself retired;
the force of the enemy was greatly exaggerated; and the unanimous
advice of his officers counselled him to fall back without delay.
It might be improper to call him a bold man,--because he did not
court danger unnecessarily. Yet he did not lack bravery; he was not
timid; nor was his courage like “fire in a flint which will not
show without knocking.” He was firm, resolute, and unflinching,
when occasion required,--he was only not rash, not reckless. He was
responsible for the success, or failure, of the whole campaign; the
security of the entire frontier depended on his army alone,--the only
barrier against the swooping torrent of Indian warriors who wanted
but the opportunity to precipitate themselves on the defenceless
settlements, in terror and blood.
In conformity with the advice of his officers, General Harrison fell
back to Carrying river, about midway between the Sandusky and Maumee,
on the twenty-third of January, in order to effect a junction with
the troops in the rear, and to cover the transportation of artillery,
and other stores, from Upper Sandusky. Having been reïnforced by two
Ohio regiments, promptly dispatched to his assistance by Governor
Meigs, he again advanced, in the month of February, to the Rapids, at
the foot of which, and nearly opposite Fort Maumee, he commenced the
construction of a fort, named, in honor of the governor, Fort Meigs.
The advance of General Winchester to Frenchtown, and the consequent
defeat and surrender of his command, entirely deranged the plans
of General Harrison for the winter campaign. The term of service
of a large portion of his militia force shortly after expired, and
it became necessary to call out new levies before anything further
could be attempted. He therefore returned to the interior of Ohio, to
procure additional troops from that state, and Kentucky. In neither
was there any lack of patriotism exhibited,--but, in the latter,
where there was scarcely a family that did not mourn the loss of
some near friend or relative, one general outcry was raised, for
vengeance upon the perpetrators of that bloody massacre on the banks
of the Raisin.
The legislature of Kentucky, at its winter session, authorized
Governor Shelby, who had been elected the year previous, to take
command in person of three thousand militia; and Colonel Richard M.
Johnson, also of that state, was empowered by the War Department to
raise a regiment of mounted men--which troops were designed for the
reïnforcement of General Harrison in the spring.
[Sidenote: SIEGE OF FORT MEIGS.]
Early in April, General Harrison, now promoted to the rank of major
general by brevet, and appointed to the command of the eighth
military district, learned that extensive preparations were being
made by General Proctor and Tecumseh, for a combined attack on Fort
Meigs. He immediately returned to the fort, and, in connection
with the engineer officers, Captains Wood and Gratiot, labored
indefatigably, night and day, to put it in a more favorable posture
of defence. The fort was an octagon, containing about nine acres,
and was situated on the rising ground overlooking the river bottom.
At each corner there was a strong block-house, “with cannon planted
so as to rake each front and command every elevated point near the
fort”; the block-houses were connected by strong picketings fifteen
feet high, against which a breastwork of clayey earth was thrown up,
on either side. There were several long batteries also constructed,
which were well garnished with cannon. The means of defence were
ample, with the exception of the garrison, which consisted of only
twelve hundred men, the greater part of whom were volunteers. The
regulars were the 19th infantry, under Lieutenant Colonel Miller; and
the volunteers present, composed the Pennsylvania brigade commanded
by General Crooks. The term of service of the Pennsylvanians had
expired, but they generously volunteered to remain and defend the
fort. All were animated by the best spirit, and determined on holding
the work as long as it proved tenable; and, when their defences
failed, to sell their lives dearly.
On the twenty-eighth of April, one of the patrolling parties reported
that the enemy were ascending the river from the lake, and that
they were in great force about three miles below. A few British and
Indians were also discovered on the opposite bank of the river, who
were driven off by the fire of an eighteen-pounder gun. A brigade of
Kentucky militia, twelve hundred strong, under General Green Clay,
were, at this time, approaching the fort from Cincinnati, and a
dispatch was now sent to quicken their march.
It was the intention of General Proctor, who commanded the British
force, which consisted of between nine and ten hundred regulars
and Canadian militia and twelve hundred Indians, to make a dash at
the American works, and carry them, before the garrison could be
reïnforced. The wary foresight of General Harrison frustrated his
design. Disappointed in his original purpose, the British commander
sat down deliberately before the fort, and began his preparations for
a regular investment. The light troops, and a part of the Indians,
were thrown across the river, with directions to occupy the most
favorable positions for annoying the garrison, while General Proctor
superintended the erection of batteries on the left bank. The fire
from the fort prevented the speedy completion of the batteries, as
the enemy were obliged to perform most of the work under cover of the
night. A warm fire was kept up on the garrison by their skirmishers,
but it produced little effect. No inconvenience, of especial
importance, was felt by the Americans, except the want of water; the
well in the fort not being completed, it was necessary to procure it
from the river, after nightfall, which was attended with considerable
risk, as bands of Indians were constantly lying in wait to intercept
stragglers.
[Sidenote: FORTUNATE ESCAPE.]
General Proctor completed his batteries, and mounted his guns, on
the first of May, and immediately opened a vigorous fire from one
twenty-four, one twelve, and one six-pounder, and one howitzer.
The guns in the fort were effectively served, in return. The enemy
produced no sensible impression, although General Harrison made a
fortunate escape. During the cannonade, he was seated on a bench
attentively watching the play of the guns, when a ball came plunging
down into the fort close beside him. With Napoleon at Montereau,
he might have said, “The bullet which is to kill me, is not yet
cast!”--The bench on which he was sitting, was shivered in pieces,
but he himself received no injury.
An additional battery was opened, on the third instant, at a distance
of two hundred and fifty yards from the fort, on the south side
of the river. On this a mortar was planted, from which a number
of shells were thrown. The Americans turned their guns upon it,
however; and their fire told so well, that it was soon silenced.
After the opening of the fire from the mortar battery, the garrison
was for the first time summoned to surrender. General Proctor assured
the American commander, in his summons, with the most bare-faced
effrontery, that he was actuated solely by the desire of sparing the
effusion of blood; that successful resistance was out of the question
against so numerous a force; and that a prompt surrender could alone
save the garrison from the horrors of Indian warfare. The reply of
General Harrison was such as became him:--while he had the honor to
command an American fort, he said, it should never be surrendered,
and, least of all, to General Proctor and the savage hordes with whom
he fraternized.
The enemy now pressed the siege with increased zeal, and the garrison
suffered far more than they had previously done, from the fire of the
Indians on the right bank of the river, who climbed the tall forest
trees, and, sheltered by the intertwining branches, rained their
rifle balls upon the heads of the American troops. A brisk fire was
maintained on both sides, till the morning of the fifth instant, when
a small party from the brigade of General Clay, then descending the
river from Fort Defiance, arrived at Fort Meigs, with the information
that the column to which they belonged was rapidly approaching.
General Harrison’s decision was soon taken: be resolved on making an
effort that day to raise the siege, and, having matured his plans,
dispatched a messenger to General Clay, with orders to land eight
hundred of his men on the left bank of the river and destroy the
enemy’s batteries, while a sortie should be made from the fort upon
those on the other side. The remainder of General Clay’s brigade were
directed to descend the right bank of the stream to the fort.
[Sidenote: APPROACH OF REINFORCEMENTS.]
General Harrison’s plan was a skilful one, and would have
been attended with complete success, had it not been for the
“superabundant bravery” of the Kentuckians. In compliance with his
orders, General Clay detached eight hundred of his best troops,
under Colonel Dudley, who landed his men in good order, and advanced
boldly upon the enemy’s batteries, in three columns. The British
were surprised at the suddenness of the attack, and abandoned their
guns almost instantly, leaving them in possession of the victors.
Unfortunately, the American officers lost all control over their
men. Animated by a burning thirst for vengeance, they refused to
obey the orders of General Harrison, directing them to spike the
cannon and retire across the river, but eagerly pursued the fugitive
artillerists, or engaged in a straggling contest with the Indians
who now made their appearance. The consequence was what might have
been foreseen. The enemy rallied, and being joined by a reïnforcement
from the main camp about two miles below, and a strong body of Indian
warriors under Tecumseh, who had just arrived, they became, in turn,
the aggressors. Colonel Dudley exerted himself to the utmost, to
draw off his men in safety, and lost his life in the attempt. The
Americans fought bravely; but they lacked discipline, as they wanted
discretion. But one hundred and fifty men of the command succeeded
in crossing the river and reaching the fort; the remainder being
killed, wounded, or taken prisoners.
The sortie on the right bank of the river was made by a detachment of
three hundred and fifty men, headed by Lieutenant Colonel Miller, of
the 19th infantry. Imitating the intrepid conduct of their leader,
they dashed upon the batteries, and drove out the artillerists and
their supporting party, at the point of the bayonet. After spiking
the cannon and destroying the carriages, Lieutenant Colonel Miller
returned with forty-two prisoners. While in the act of retiring, the
enemy rallied and pressed upon him; but he gallantly held them at bay
till he reached the fort,--having accomplished the object for which
his command was detached, in a short time, and with comparatively
trifling loss.
Meanwhile the remainder of General Clay’s command encountered the
Indians on the right bank of the river, where they landed, and routed
them with great ease. Incautiously advancing too far, they came very
near being drawn into an ambush, from which they were timely rescued
by General Harrison, who dispatched a troop of horse to cover their
retreat into the fort.
[Sidenote: RETREAT OF PROCTOR.]
On the sixth a tacit suspension of hostilities took place, which
continued during that and the two following days. After the sortie,
the Indian warriors, in accordance with their custom, began
to return, in large numbers, to their villages,--the eloquent
remonstrances of Tecumseh proving powerless to detain them. General
Proctor now feared that the Americans would soon turn upon him,
and he well knew that he had but little to hope from the outraged
Kentuckians, should the fortune of war place him in their power.
He therefore decided to abandon the attempt on the fort, and on the
evening of the ninth instant commenced embarking his ordnance and
stores. A warm fire from the American guns checked the movement
for the time; but, early in the morning of the tenth, he made a
precipitate retreat down the river with his whole command.
The Americans lost two hundred and seventy men, killed and wounded,
during the siege. That of the enemy was probably about one hundred.
Although the defence of the fort was attended by no brilliant
successes, the savages were thereby prevented from making their
hostile incursions into the settlements.
At the opening of the season, General Harrison became convinced that
the command of Lake Erie would be decisive of the campaign, and
that without it a column could not be supplied with the ordnance
and heavy stores necessary for a march on Detroit, or Malden. He
therefore recommended the construction of a fleet, and Captain Perry
was detailed for this service. While the naval preparations were in
progress, General Harrison left Fort Meigs in charge of General Clay,
and repaired to Franklinton, where the new regiments from Ohio and
Kentucky were ordered to rendezvous. At this place, also, he received
into the service a large body of Indian warriors, belonging to the
friendly tribes in the state of Ohio, and the territories of Indiana
and Illinois, who could not be induced to remain neutral, especially
as they had recently been attacked by the hostile Indians; but,
unlike the British officers, whose conduct throughout contrasts so
unfavorably with his, he pledged them to spare their prisoners, and
to refrain from injuring defenceless women and children.
During the summer months, while General Harrison necessarily remained
inactive, the British made several threatening movements upon Fort
Meigs, Fort Stephenson, (at Lower Sandusky,) Cleveland and Erie.
Towards the latter part of July, General Proctor again made his
appearance before Fort Meigs, with between three and four thousand
troops, including his Indian allies. General Clay was well prepared
for his reception, and on discovering this, he retired down the
river. Accompanied by about five hundred regulars and militia, and
seven or eight hundred savages, he proceeded to Fort Stephenson, then
garrisoned by Major Croghan, with one hundred and sixty men, and
a single six-pounder gun. The fort was invested, and the garrison
summoned to surrender; the usual threat in regard to the ferocity
of the Indians being added, with a view of terrifying the garrison.
Nowise intimidated by the superior force of the enemy, the gallant
Croghan replied that, “when the fort should be taken, there would be
none left to massacre,--as it would not be given up while a man was
able to fight.”
[Sidenote: PERRY’S VICTORY.]
The breaking day was spreading its warm bright flush over the
surrounding scenery, on the second of August when the enemy opened a
vigorous fire from three six-pounders planted on the shore during the
night, and two six-pounders and a howitzer in their gunboats lying
in the Sandusky. The fire was kept up all day, though with trifling
effect, and just before sunset, an assaulting column of three
hundred and fifty men, led by Lieutenant Colonel Short, advanced to
the storm,--several feints being made, at the same time, to draw
the attention of the besieged from the real point of attack. Major
Croghan was not to be deceived; loading his six-pounder to its utmost
capacity, with grape and slugs, he placed it at a masked porthole in
a blockhouse at the northwestern angle of the work, so as to rake the
ditch. This proved to be the point assailed. Enveloped in smoke, the
assailants advanced rapidly up the glacis. When within twenty paces
of the ditch, a volley of musketry caused them to stagger. Rallied by
their commander, the foremost files sprang with him into the ditch.
At the instant, the charge of the six-pounder was poured in upon
them, strewing its fiery pathway with the dying and the dead. The
head of the column was completely cut off, and the remainder fled
in confusion, leaving behind them their fallen leader, and a great
number of their comrades.
General Proctor made no further effort to reduce the fort. Retreating
in haste to his boats, he retired down the river to the lake, and
thence to Malden,--having lost, in this fruitless attempt, one
hundred and fifty men, either killed or wounded. The Americans had
but one man killed and seven wounded.
After weeks and months of incessant toil, Commodore Perry finally got
his fleet in readiness. On the fourth of August he crossed the bar at
Erie with his squadron,--consisting of three brigs, five schooners,
and one sloop, carrying fifty-four guns,--and sailed in quest of the
enemy. On the tenth of September, off Put-in Bay, he encountered the
British squadron, under Captain Barclay, consisting of two ships, one
brig, two schooners, and one sloop, carrying, in all, sixty-three
guns. A desperate engagement, of three hours’ duration, terminated
in the surrender of the hostile fleet. This well-fought action was
the prelude to one equally glorious, and removed the only obstacle to
the advance of the northwestern army into Canada.
Commodore Perry immediately returned to Put-in Bay, to coöperate with
the land forces in an expedition already projected. General Harrison
soon concentrated all his disposable troops, among whom were between
three and four thousand Kentucky volunteers, under Governor Shelby,
at this point. The regiment of mounted men commanded by Colonel R.
M. Johnson, one thousand strong, was ordered to proceed to Detroit
by land; and the remainder of the army embarked on the vessels of
Commodore Perry, in which they were transported to the islands in the
vicinity of Malden. On the twenty-seventh of September they effected
a landing on the Canada shore, about three miles below that post.
The hour of reckoning had come for General Proctor and the savage
banditti whom he had gathered round him. Strong in his position
at Malden, and in the men and means necessary for its defence, he
yet lacked the courage to maintain it. The earnest exhortations of
Tecumseh and the other Indian chiefs, who entreated him to remain
firm, failed to reässure him. He felt that a cause which had been
sullied by so much of dishonor, was, indeed, hopeless; and he
feared, as well he might, to meet the awakened wrath of the kinsmen
and friends of the brave men who perished on the Raisin. Under his
orders, the fort was dismantled and blown up, and the navy yard,
barracks, and store-houses were burned. He then retreated hastily
towards the river Thames, or La Tranchée, with his whole force,
taking with him large stores of private property, which he had
plundered from American prisoners, and the citizens of Detroit.
[Sidenote: PURSUIT OF PROCTOR.]
General Harrison followed the flying Proctor on the twenty-eighth,
moving forward with as much rapidity as was possible. Many of the
Kentuckians were mounted men, but they had been obliged to leave
their horses on the American shore. The enemy had taken away
everything of the kind, except a single horse, on which Governor
Shelby was mounted; who, though in his sixty-third year, pressed
forward with all the ardor and enthusiasm of twenty-one. The army
reached Sandwich on the twenty-ninth instant, and General Harrison
sent a detachment across the river to take possession of Detroit,
then occupied by hostile Indians. On the thirtieth, Colonel Johnson
joined the army with his regiment, and preparations were at once made
for continuing the pursuit of General Proctor,--who, on arriving
at the Thames, had proceeded up the valley of the river, with the
intention of making his way to the British posts about the head of
Lake Ontario.
The Americans resumed the march on the second of October,--the
mounted rifles of Colonel Johnson leading the van. General Harrison
was accompanied by Commodore Perry and General Cass, as volunteer
aids; his whole force consisted of about thirty-five hundred men,
most of whom were Kentuckians.[10] From the highest to the lowest,
all manifested the same eager spirit; every heart throbbed high with
excitement. The time to which they had looked forward with so many
anxious hopes, had arrived: Proctor and Tecumseh,--the marauders of
the one, and the murderers of the other,--were before them!
[Sidenote: PROCTOR AND TECUMSEH.]
General Harrison and his men pressed forward with such rapidity,
that, on the first day of their march, they made twenty-six miles.
On the next, they captured a British officer and eleven men, from
whom they learned that Proctor had not received any intimations of
their approach that he could rely upon. On the fourth instant, they
were detained several hours at Chatham, seventeen miles above Lake
St. Clair, at a deep creek that flowed into the Thames, the bridge
over which had been partly destroyed by the enemy. While the men
were engaged in repairing it, they were fired on by some Indians who
appeared on the opposite bank; but the latter were quickly dispersed
by the artillery of Colonel Wood, and the rifles of Colonel Johnson’s
command. At this place, also, the Americans found two thousand stand
of arms, and a quantity of clothing, which had been abandoned by
Proctor in his flight. After crossing the creek, General Harrison
continued the pursuit for four miles, capturing several pieces
of cannon, and forcing the enemy to destroy three of the vessels
containing their supplies. His men being considerably jaded by the
march, he encamped, late at night, almost within striking distance
of the allied force of British and Indians. On the morning of the
fifth of October, the mounted men, marching from two to three miles
in front of the infantry, discovered the enemy drawn up in order of
battle, across a narrow strip of woodland on the north bank of the
Thames, near the Moravian village.
The nobler aspirations of the soldier,--if, indeed, they ever
existed in the breast of General Proctor,--had long since given
way to cowardice and avarice. His chief anxiety now was, to escape
with his ill-gotten booty. Unwisely incumbered with baggage, his
army was delayed till their pursuers were close upon them. On the
afternoon of the fourth instant, it became evident that he must soon
be overtaken. When he halted for the night, he was still uncertain
what to do. After all was still, at a late hour, Tecumseh and himself
silently descended the river in a boat, and reconnoitred the American
position. The former earnestly advised a night attack, but the latter
dared not risk the encounter, and determined to make one more effort
for escape on the morrow.
What a study would that be for the painter!--Proctor and Tecumseh
on the Thames, at the dead hour of night--no moon to cheer or light
them--the stars gleaming dimly over their heads--and the solemn
stillness unbroken, save by the gentle murmuring of the river, the
low sighing of the breeze, or, it might be, the deep, melodious
notes of the wood thrush, echoing sweetly through the forest; the
red warrior arrayed in all the gorgeous attire of his race, his tall
frame swelling with a manly pride, and his eye blazing like the young
eagle’s, as, in clear ringing tones, he thundered forth his fierce
invectives on the American people, and entreated his companion to
give the signal for a midnight onset; the other shrinking, like a
craven, beside him, and with faltering lips expressing his fears
and doubts,--his fears, lest the vigilance of Harrison had provided
against a surprise, and his doubts as to the issue!
General Proctor persevered in his retreat, on the morning of the
fifth, until he found that it would be absolutely impossible to make
his escape. He then decided to make a stand. Ordering a halt, he
prepared his men for action. His regular troops, about eight hundred
strong, were formed across the road, in two lines, in open order, on
a narrow isthmus covered with thrifty beeches; their left, supported
by the artillery, resting on the river, and their right on a swamp
Tuning parallel to the stream. The Indians, under Tecumseh, to the
number of two thousand, were posted beyond the swamp, their right
thrown forward, and resting on another dense morass,--thus forming
an obtuse angle with the alignment of the regular troops. It was the
intention of the British general, that the Indians should precipitate
themselves upon the left flank of the American troops as soon as the
latter were engaged with the regulars; and the ground highly favored
his purpose. Had he protected his front by an abattis, or even thrown
a few trees horizontally across the road, the result might have been
more doubtful, but, as it was, the action was scarcely contested, so
far as he was concerned, and soon became a complete rout.
[Sidenote: BATTLE OF THE THAMES.]
The original plan of General Harrison, when he saw the advantages of
the enemy’s position, was, to advance upon them with his infantry
regiments; and for this purpose he had formed the division of General
Henry, in three lines, on the right, with the division of General
Desha, _en potence_, on their left. The regulars, but one hundred
and twenty in number, were stationed on the margin of the river, and
instructed, at the favorable moment, to advance upon and seize the
enemy’s guns. But on the return of Colonel Wood, who had been sent
forward to reconnoitre, the fact was disclosed, that General Proctor
had formed his men, as has been mentioned, in open order; whereupon
General Harrison instantly varied his mode of attack, and directed
Colonel Johnson, who had urgently solicited the honor, to charge
upon the British line with his regiment of mounted rifles, while
the infantry should promptly follow the movement.--This order was
certainly an unusual one, in military tactics,--although the regiment
had been carefully drilled to charge upon infantry, especially in
the woods,--and it has been severely criticised, and sometimes
censured. It was, doubtless, unexpected by General Proctor; and for
that reason, if no other, was the best, as it proved to be the most
fortunate, that could have been adopted under the circumstances.[11]
Just before the trumpets sounded the attack, Colonel Johnson
discovered a narrow passage of firm earth leading across the swamp
on his left. He then directed his brother, Lieutenant Colonel James
Johnson, to charge the British line with the first battalion of his
regiment, while he crossed the swamp with the second, and engaged
the Indians. At the signal, the two battalions advanced slowly, in
parallel columns,--the infantry following closely in their rear.
At the first fire, the horses in front of the column led by
Lieutenant Colonel Johnson, recoiled,--but it was corrected in
a moment. The bugles pealed forth their cheering notes; the men
plunged their rowels into their chargers’ sides; and away they all
went, thundering down upon the enemy--an army of avengers--ready to
smite and to slay. Bounding over every obstacle, receiving another
fire almost unharmed, and riding down all who opposed, with fearful
yells they dashed through and through the British columns, showering
their balls on every side. In an instant they turned and delivered a
most effective volley. Stupefied and disconcerted by the suddenness
of the onset, and nearly hemmed in between two walls of fire, the
enemy made no resistance, but threw down their arms, and begged for
quarter. The brave Kentuckians--to their honor be it said--spared
all who surrendered. Proctor himself, accompanied by about forty
regulars and some mounted Indians, made his escape, though hotly
pursued, to Burlington heights, where he was publicly reprimanded for
his cowardly conduct, by the same officer--Sir George Prevost--who
had commended his brutality at Frenchtown. His private carriage and
papers, his sword, and all his plunder, fell into the hands of the
victors.
On the left, Tecumseh and his warriors refused to fly. The advance
of the column headed by Colonel Johnson was retarded by the uneven
character of the ground; his horses floundered in the morass, and
strove in vain to penetrate the dense thickets of underbrush. He soon
found that the charge must fail, and directed his men to dismount
and take cover. Darting from tree to tree, they now pressed upon the
enemy, and after a short, but animated contest, broke through the
line and gained their rear. The Indians quickly rallied in force,
further to the left, and threw their whole weight on the column of
infantry under General Desha. A slight impression was at one time
made, but Governor Shelby immediately restored the line by leading up
another regiment to the support of the wavering column.
[Sidenote: DEATH OF TECUMSEH.]
Still the battle raged with great fury. The voice of Tecumseh was
heard above the din of arms, and his tones rang loud and clear as the
notes of a trumpet, as he called upon his gallant braves to stand
firm to the last. Colonel Johnson, though severely wounded, and a
number of his best officers and soldiers, had already made their way
to the spot where the undaunted chieftain and his bravest warriors
had collected. Here the battle was fiercely fought. In the _mêlée_,
Tecumseh fell, as it is supposed, by the hand of Colonel Johnson.[12]
This determined the contest. On the fall of their leader, the
Indians abandoned the ground, and with an unearthly whoop, like
the wail of lost spirits, disappeared in the forest. It was the
_death-halloo_ for their leader--the most formidable enemy among the
red men with whom the whites have had to contend, since the days of
Pontiac. With him their cause was prostrated--with him perished their
hopes, forever!
The American force actually engaged in this battle, numbered about
twenty-five hundred; the enemy had eight hundred and forty-five
regular troops, and there were two thousand Indians. The former
lost fifty killed and wounded; of the British there were eighteen
killed, twenty-six wounded, and about six hundred made prisoners.
The Americans also captured a large quantity of arms, ammunition,
and provisions, and six pieces of artillery--three of which were
captured in the Revolution, at Saratoga and Yorktown, and had been
surrendered by General Hull. But, what was of vastly more importance,
the territory which had been overrun by the enemy, was recovered,
and the frontiers were rescued from the depredations of the savages.
By the result of this engagement, the hostile Indians were cut off
from their communications with the British posts in Canada, except
the remote one at Mackinaw. Previous to the battle, an armistice
had been entered into with the Ottawas and Chippewas, who agreed to
take up arms against the British, and shortly afterwards a similar
arrangement was entered into with the Miamis and Potowatomies.
[Sidenote: EFFECTS OF THE VICTORY.]
“The victory of Harrison,” said Langdon Cheves, alluding, on the
floor of Congress, to the battle of the Thames, “was such as would
have secured to a Roman general, in the best days of the republic,
the honors of a triumph.” It was the first considerable action in
which the American arms were triumphant, and, in connection with
Perry’s success on Lake Erie, served greatly to revive the drooping
spirits of the American people. The heroes of the two engagements
were toasted and fêted wherever they went; salutes, bonfires,
illuminations, and resolutions of thanks, attested, alike, their
merits, and the gratitude of their countrymen.
Having completed the object of the expedition, and not having orders
to proceed further into the enemy’s country, General Harrison
commenced his retrograde march to Detroit, eighty miles distant, on
the seventh of October, and arrived there on the tenth. The Kentucky
volunteers were soon after conducted to their homes by the venerable
Governor Shelby, and in a few days General Harrison embarked in the
fleet of Commodore Perry, for Buffalo, with the brigade of General
M’Arthur,--General Cass remaining with his brigade at Detroit.
Harrison reached Buffalo on the twenty-fourth of October; the
brigade of General M’Arthur proceeded down Lake Ontario to join the
unsuccessful expedition under General Wilkinson; and there being a
sufficient number of general officers already assigned to that duty,
General Harrison was permitted to return home on a furlough.
While at Buffalo, General Harrison addressed a letter to General
Vincent, the officer commanding the British troops in the Peninsula,
in reply to one he had received from General Proctor, immediately
after the battle of the Thames, requesting the restoration of the
private property and papers captured on that occasion. The letter
entered into a lengthy review of the course of the English government
in employing the savages, the barbarities committed by their allies,
and the cruel manner in which prisoners of war had been treated by
both Indians and British; contrasting with the conduct of the English
and their allies, the kindness and clemency which had distinguished
the American officers and soldiers, during the war. While he declared
that, in future, retaliation would be made for Indian outrages, he
appealed to General Vincent, as a man, to exert his influence in
preventing the commission of such atrocities. “Use, I pray you,
your authority and influence,” said the letter of Harrison, “to
stop the dreadful effusion of innocent blood which proceeds from
the employment of those savage monsters, whose aid, as must now be
discovered, is so little to be depended on when most wanted, and
which can have so trifling an effect on the issue of the war.” The
reply of General Vincent to this letter, so creditable to the heart
of the writer, was evasive, although he pledged himself to join with
General Harrison in attempting to alleviate the calamities to which
the latter had referred.
[Sidenote: DEMONSTRATIONS OF RESPECT.]
This was the last important act of the military service of General
Harrison. Shortly after the letter was written, he returned home, on
a visit to his family, by way of New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore,
and Washington; being received at each place on his route with the
most flattering demonstrations of respect. After spending a few
weeks at the capital, he continued his journey homeward, everywhere
encountering the same unmistakable evidences of esteem and gratitude.
Connected with his stay at Washington, there is an anecdote on
record, which shows that his gallantry towards his fair countrywomen,
was fully equal to that other quality, bearing the same name, that
he had exhibited on the field of battle. At one of the drawing rooms
of Mrs. Madison, a handsome and highly connected lady, one of the
reigning belles at the capital, informed the president that she had
laid her commands on General Harrison to meet her there on that
occasion.--“That he cannot do,” said Mr. Madison, in his usual bland,
but positive tone; “he left Washington this morning, with his horses
and attendants, and must now be some twenty or thirty miles on his
way to the west.”--“Still,” replied the lady, archly, “he must be
here, for I laid my commands on him, and he is too gallant a man to
disobey me!”--“We shall soon see,” returned the president, “whose
orders he obeys.”--After the lapse of a few moments, the question
was settled by the appearance of General Harrison and his suite in
full military costume, and President Madison was for once obliged to
acknowledge that he was mistaken.
The military districts into which the country was divided during
the war of 1812, were so extensive, that it was very often deemed
necessary to transmit orders directly from the War Department to a
subordinate officer, at the same time forwarding duplicates to the
commander of the district. This practice frequently occasioned, as it
has since done, ill-feeling and dissatisfaction. It was condemned by
General Harrison as being wholly inconsistent with subordination, and
similar views were afterwards taken by some of our most distinguished
officers--among others, Generals Jackson, Scott, and Taylor. Harrison
remonstrated against the practice in earnest terms. The Secretary of
War, General Armstrong, being not well disposed towards him, a sharp
and acrimonious correspondence ensued. President Madison insisted on
continuing the practice, and in the spring of 1814, General Harrison
tendered his resignation. The president was absent from Washington at
the time the letter was received, and the resignation was accepted by
the Secretary.
President Madison sincerely regretted the separation of General
Harrison from the army, and in a letter soon after written to
Governor Shelby, he said, that the resignation “would not have
been accepted, had he been in Washington.” That his confidence in
Harrison was never in the least degree weakened, is evident, from the
fact that he afterwards employed him to conduct several extremely
difficult negotiations with various tribes of Indians.
General Harrison continued to discharge the duties of governor of
the territory of Indiana, until it was admitted into the Union as
a state, in 1816, when he retired to his farm at North Bend, a few
miles below Cincinnati, in Hamilton county, Ohio. In the same year
he was elected a member of the House of Representatives of the
United States. He afterwards represented the district in which he
resided in the State Senate, and in 1824 was chosen a Senator in
Congress. As a legislator, General Harrison was distinguished for his
practical common sense. Though he spoke but rarely, he was considered
an efficient debater. His views on all subjects were regarded
with respect, and those having reference to the reörganization of
the army, and the peculiar interests of the western states and
territories, were listened to with especial deference.
[Sidenote: APPOINTED MINISTER TO COLOMBIA.]
In 1828, at his solicitation, he was appointed by President J. Q.
Adams, Minister Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Colombia. The
distracted condition of the country prevented his accomplishing
anything of importance, though his brief residence there was
signalized by a letter addressed to Bolivar, replete with good
advice, and full of noble and manly sentiments. “To be esteemed
eminently great,” said he, “it is necessary to be eminently good.
The qualities of the hero and the general must be devoted to the
advantage of mankind, before he will be permitted to assume the title
of their benefactor; and the station which he will hold in their
regard and affections, will depend, not upon the number and splendor
of his victories, but upon the results, and the use he may make of
the influence he acquires from them.”--Trite and common-place as
these sentiments may at this day seem to the American reader, had
they but formed the rule of the public conduct of Bolivar, he would
now be remembered only as the Liberator, not as the Dictator.
On the accession of General Jackson to the presidency, in 1829,
as the views of General Harrison in regard to the Panama question
differed from those of the new administration, he was recalled, and
again returned to the avocations of private life. Though he had had
numerous opportunities of amassing wealth in the various offices
which he had filled, he was still in moderate circumstances. In 1834,
on the almost unanimous petition of the citizens of Hamilton county,
he was appointed prothonotary of the county court, the duties of
which he discharged, in person, for several years. In 1836, he was
supported, in some of the states, though with no expectation of being
elected, for the office of President, and received seventy-three of
the electoral votes.
He was still leading a happy and contented life in his retirement at
North Bend,--
“A simple husbandman, in garments gray,”--
when he was nominated as the candidate of the Whig party for the
presidency, in December, 1839. In the following year, he was elected
to the office, over his competitor, Mr. Van Buren, by an overwhelming
majority,--receiving two hundred and thirty-four out of two hundred
and ninety-four electoral votes. On the fourth of March, 1841, he
took the oath of office, and delivered his inaugural address, amid
a large concourse of spectators. Selecting as his cabinet advisers,
some of the most distinguished statesmen of the country, from the
party to which he belonged, he entered on his administration under
the most flattering prospects of success.
[Sidenote: ELECTED PRESIDENT.--HIS DEATH.]
One brief month terminated his earthly career, and marred all the
bright hopes of those who had elevated him to that high station.
Instead of the brilliant _cortège_ that accompanied him on the
occasion of his inauguration, another procession--without the joyous
salvos of artillery, or the lively strains of martial music--but
clothed in the habiliments of mourning, with banners shrouded in
crape, with weeping plumes, with arms reversed, and muffled drums,
followed his remains to the Congressional Cemetery.
A few days after his arrival at Washington, the president caught a
severe cold, which, in connection with the unaccustomed excitement,
and the harassing nature of his new duties, soon prostrated him on a
sick bed. In spite of the utmost efforts of his medical attendants,
he rapidly grew worse. His system had received a fatal shock; and on
the fourth day of April, 1841,--in the same mansion where, nearly
thirty years before, he had attended the gay _soiree_ of Mrs.
Madison--he died, expressing, with his latest breath, as his spirit
gathered its pinions for its eternal flight, his anxious desire, that
the constitution of the country should, in all things, be the guide
of those upon whom his official duties were about to devolve.
General Harrison was simple and frugal in his habits, and, until
his last fatal illness, enjoyed good bodily health. He was tall and
slender in person, and his dark eyes gleamed with intelligence. An
analysis of his character presents few marked, or striking points.
The qualities of his heart were probably more conspicuous than
those of his head. He was liberal and friendly, social and generous
in his disposition. “His heart,” says Governor Metcalfe, “was
expanded, and always in the right place”:--it was brimful of kindly
affections--overflowing with benevolence and love.
He possessed a happy combination of mental faculties; he was a
plain, practical man,--a man, not of pretence, but of action. His
voluminous correspondence, as governor of Indiana Territory, his
speeches in Congress, his official dispatches, and his inaugural
address, indicate a sound judgment, strong good sense, and a
well-cultivated mind. His integrity was of that sterling character
which is proof against temptation. As a soldier, he was usually
successful, because he was not rash or impulsive, but cautious and
prudent. He was patient in adversity, and never easily disconcerted;
he was calm, collected, and resolute--and therefore always fitted
for an emergency, how trying soever it might be. But, what was still
worthier and better, throughout his life, even to the closing hour
of his existence, he was cheered and sustained, by the hopes of the
patriot, and the consolations of the Christian.