This gallant officer, whose fate so closely resembles that of the
chivalric, ardent, and romantic Montgomery, was bred in a camp, lived
a soldier’s life, and died a soldier’s death.
“Brief brave, and glorious, was his young career!”
Like Sidney before the walls of Zutphen, he perished in the hour of
victory, when he had just plucked the coronal of his fame; like him,
too, rejoicing that his death was for the honor of his country.
General Pike was descended from a family of soldiers. One of his
ancestors, Captain John Pike, was highly distinguished, according to
the traditionary accounts, in the early Indian wars of the colony.
His father, Major Zebulon Pike, entered the army of the United
States as a captain of infantry, in 1792, having served, with high
credit, in the levies of the previous year, and was promoted to
the rank of major in 1800. His son, the hero of this sketch, was
born at Lamberton, New Jersey, the residence of the family for many
generations, on the fifth day of January, 1779. While he was yet a
child, his father removed to Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and thence
to Easton. In his boyhood, he was remarkable both for his spirit and
bravery, and his thoughtful and studious habits. He enjoyed but few
advantages, and obtained a knowledge only of the ordinary branches of
an English education.
At an early age, he accompanied his father to the western frontiers
of the Union, and served for some time as a cadet in his company.
On the third of March, 1799, he received a commission as ensign
in the 2nd infantry, and on the twenty-fourth of April, 1800, was
promoted to a first lieutenancy in the same regiment. During the
year 1800, he was transferred to the 1st infantry. Unlike most of
the young officers around him, who contented themselves with going
through the customary routine of barrack duty, he devoted all his
leisure time to reading and study. Without the aid of an instructor,
he became tolerably well acquainted with the French, Latin, and
Spanish languages, and made considerable proficiency in mathematics
and general science. He was not indifferently versed in polite
literature, though much could not have been expected from him in this
respect, as his reading and studies were very desultory in their
character. He possessed an inquiring mind, habits of investigation
and reflection, and was a nice observer of men and things; he
was likewise patient and assiduous in his efforts to improve his
mind,--but all these good qualities did not make up for the absence
of a regular system.
In March, 1801, Pike was married to Miss Clarissa Brown, of
Cincinnati. He was tenderly and devotedly attached to his wife, and
had several children by her, only one of whom, a daughter, survived
him.
[Sidenote: EXPEDITION UP THE MISSISSIPPI.]
After the purchase of Louisiana from France, Mr. Jefferson projected
several expeditions of discovery in the territory newly acquired.
Captain Lewis and Lieutenant Clarke were selected to ascend the
Missouri, to cross the mountains, and trace the Columbia river to its
mouth; and about the same time, Lieutenant Pike was ordered by his
commanding officer, General Wilkinson, to conduct an expedition to
the sources of the Mississippi. On the ninth of August, 1805, he left
St. Louis in a keel boat, seventy feet long, with provisions for four
months; his whole party consisting of one sergeant, one corporal,
and seventeen private soldiers. There was not a scientific man
attached to the expedition; his men were totally unacquainted with
the country; and Pike himself was required to perform the duties, as
he remarks in the Preface to his published Narrative, “of astronomer,
surveyor, commanding officer, clerk, spy, guide, and hunter.”
He was absent on this expedition nearly nine months. He visited
a great number of Indian tribes, attended several councils, made
treaties with them, and purchased valuable tracts of land. On the
sixteenth of October he erected a stockade, and established a winter
station for his men, two hundred and thirty-three miles above the
falls of St. Anthony. He was determined to pursue his explorations
still further, and accordingly commenced his preparations as soon
as practicable. While he remained at the encampment, its tedious
monotony was relieved by the excitement of the chase. In December,
he continued his journey in canoes and on foot--his men drawing
their baggage on sleds over the frozen snow. After visiting Sandy,
Leech, and Red Cedar lakes, and making his surveys and examinations,
he returned to his stockade, where he had left his sergeant, and
invalid soldiers, on the eighteenth of February, 1806. He was
compelled to wait here till the breaking up of the ice in the spring,
when he descended the river to St. Louis, arriving there on the
thirtieth of April.
General Wilkinson was so well pleased with the manner in which
Lieutenant Pike had conducted the expedition up the Mississippi, that
within four months after his return, he selected him to undertake
a similar enterprise. On the fifteenth of July, 1806, he embarked
at St. Louis, with his party, consisting of one lieutenant, one
sergeant, two corporals, sixteen privates, and an interpreter,
together with forty Osage captives, who had recently been recovered
from their enemies, the Potowatomies. Dr. Robinson, a professional
gentleman, accompanied the expedition as a volunteer.
Proceeding up the Missouri river to the Osage country, Lieutenant
Pike restored the captives to their friends, and then made his way
to the Pawnee towns, with whom he partially succeeded in cultivating
friendly relations. His efforts, however, were in a great measure
frustrated, by their proximity to the Spanish settlers of New Mexico,
a large body of whom had lately visited their country.
Having fulfilled the duties required of him in the Indian country,
Lieutenant Pike proceeded to obey his further instructions, to
explore the territory lying on the headwaters of the Arkansas and
Red rivers. After leaving the Indian neighborhood, he and his party
encountered the severest hardships and fatigues. On reaching the
Arkansas, he directed Lieutenant Wilkinson to descend the river to
the military post on its lower waters, with seven men of the party.
He then held on his way with the remainder of his command, and, at
length, after days and weeks of toil and suffering--he and his men
being compelled for a portion of the time to carry seventy pounds
each on their backs--he arrived on what he supposed to be the bank of
the Red river, but which proved to be the Rio Grande.
[Sidenote: TAKEN PRISONER TO CHIHUAHUA.]
While encamped in the vicinity of the river, he was visited by a
detachment of Spanish and Mexican lancers, by whom he was conducted
to Santa Fé. The Spaniards were at that time extremely inimical
towards the people of the United States, and it was probably supposed
that Pike was connected with the expedition of Colonel Burr. He was
treated with great respect, however, but was carefully watched,
and shortly afterwards sent, with his party, to Chihuahua, the
residence of the Captain-general of the Internal Provinces, under
a strong escort. All his papers, with the exception of his private
journal, were here taken from him, and he was then permitted to
return home, accompanied by an escort, by way of San Antonio and
Nacogdoches,--though he was forbidden to take any notes, or make any
observations, on the route. He evaded this prohibition, by making
his memoranda on small scraps of paper, which were concealed in the
gunbarrels of his men. On the first of July, 1807, the long and
arduous expedition terminated, by the arrival of himself and party at
Natchitoches.
On his return to the United States, Pike found himself promoted to
the rank of captain. His conduct received the express approbation of
the Secretary of War, and his zeal, perseverance, and intelligence,
elicited a high, but richly deserved encomium, from a committee of
Congress. He subsequently prepared a Narrative of his Expedition,
abounding in interesting and useful information, and accompanied with
valuable maps and charts, which was published in 1810.
In 1809, Pike was raised to a majority in the 6th infantry, and, in
1810, was appointed lieutenant colonel of the 4th infantry. Being
engaged on detached service at the southwest, he was not present at
the battle of Tippecanoe, in November, 1811, in which his regiment
bore so prominent a part. While holding the rank of lieutenant
colonel, he was appointed deputy quartermaster general, the duties of
which office he discharged with commendable fidelity and punctuality.
On the twentieth day of May, 1812, Colonel Pike was present at a
numerous meeting of the citizens of Philadelphia, held in the State
House yard, the object of which was to embolden the government
to declare war against Great Britain. He took no part in the
proceedings, but was not an uninterested spectator. His whole soul
was in his profession; his heart glowed with the noble ambition of
the soldier; and he gladly welcomed these expressions of the popular
will, as the certain indications that he would soon be summoned to
the field. He panted for action, for glory and fame. His ardent wish
was soon gratified, by the declaration of war in June following,
and on the increase of the army, in July, he was promoted to the
colonelcy of the 15th infantry.
Shortly after receiving his new commission, Colonel Pike proceeded
to the Champlain frontier, where he was stationed for some months,
under the immediate orders of General Dearborn, with a command
consisting of twenty-five hundred men. He found the troops in great
need of discipline, and labored earnestly and indefatigably to
correct the difficulty. No regular system of tactics had then been
adopted; some officers adhering to that of “Old Steuben,” in vogue
during the revolution, and others adopting the more modern French
system. Pike was active in his temperament, enthusiastic, ambitious
to excel, and, perhaps, too fond of innovations. He felt himself
at liberty to choose for himself, and therefore drilled his own
regiment in three ranks, according to the French mode; the rear rank
being provided with short guns and long pikes. They made a bristling
appearance in the charge, but were not very serviceable, and soon
became known in the army as “Pike’s regiment of _pikes_.” After his
death the short guns and pikes were no longer used.
One of the innovations introduced by Pike, was that of drilling
his men with snow shoes, in anticipation of a winter campaign in
Canada; and there are many amusing anecdotes related of the singular
appearance presented by his men when going through their manœuvres
and evolutions on parade.
[Sidenote: INCURSION INTO CANADA.]
In October, 1812, Colonel Pike made a successful incursion into
Canada, with his regiment; the northern army being then stationed
near the frontier, in the town of Champlain. On the nineteenth
instant, he surprised a body of British and Indians stationed at a
blockhouse, destroyed a large quantity of public stores, and returned
to camp without sustaining much loss. In the winter of 1813, he
was assigned to the command of a brigade, and was ordered from
Plattsburg to Sacketts Harbor, in consequence of a report that Sir
George Prevost designed to attack that post.[32]
At the opening of the campaign of 1813, Pike was promoted to the
rank of brigadier general, and accompanied General Dearborn in his
expedition against York. It was the great fault committed by our
generals in the war of 1812, that no permanent lodgment was made on
the Canada shore, between Kingston and Montreal. Had this been done,
the two provinces would have been effectually detached, and the upper
one must of necessity have submitted to the authority of the United
States. The instructions issued from the War Department to General
Dearborn, in the spring of 1813, specified Kingston and York, Forts
George and Erie, as suitable points of attack. It was, of course,
designed that an attempt should be first made on Kingston; but the
commanding general was deceived by a false report as to its strength,
intended by the enemy to produce that effect, and therefore selected
York, the capital of Upper Canada, now known as Toronto.
Pike was constantly employed at Sacketts Harbor, in drilling the men
intended for the expedition, which was to be a secret one,--it being
understood that he was to have the actual command of the forces,
though General Dearborn decided to accompany him. The troops, to
the number of about seventeen hundred men, were embarked on board
Commodore Chauncey’s fleet, on the twenty-third of April, 1813,
and set sail on the twenty-fifth instant. On the morning of the
twenty-seventh, they hove in sight of York, and the landing instantly
commenced, in the small boats, under the direction of General Pike,
who had previously made all the necessary arrangements, and issued
the most precise orders, which were directed to be read at the head
of every corps.
[Sidenote: EXPEDITION AGAINST YORK.]
It was originally designed that the debarkation should take place
on the open shore, near the ruins of old Fort Toronto, about two
miles above York; but the prevalence of a strong east wind forced
the boats on a part of the coast fringed with trees and underbrush,
which afforded an excellent cover to the enemy’s sharpshooters. Major
Forsyth led the descent with his rifle corps. His men cheered lustily
as their boats skimmed over the blue waters, and rapidly neared the
beach. The alarm had already been communicated to General Sheaffe,
the commandant of the garrison at York; a strong body of grenadiers,
with the Glengary fencibles, were paraded on the shore to oppose the
landing; a still larger force of regulars and militia, at least seven
hundred strong, were observed in the rear; and there were five or six
hundred Indians scattered through the woods in detached parties.
As Major Forsyth approached the shore, a heavy fire of musketry and
rifles was poured on his command. He at once ordered his men to rest
a few seconds on their oars, and return the enemy’s fire. General
Pike was at this moment standing on the deck of his ship, intently
surveying the scene with his glass. Observing what he thought a
cowardly pause on the part of the advance, he exclaimed to his staff,
“I can stay here no longer,--come, jump into the boat!” As he spoke,
he leaped into the boat, followed by his officers, gave the order to
make way, and pushed into the thickest of the fire.
Meantime, Major Forsyth and his men had gallantly driven the enemy
from the bank, and effected a landing. They then sheltered themselves
behind the trees and bushes, and opened a lively fire. The first
volley of the enemy had killed their armorer, the best shot in the
corps, and they now made the woods ring with the shrill report of
their pieces, and their loud shouts for vengeance.
General Pike soon landed, with Major King’s infantry, the light
artillery under Major Eustis, the volunteer corps of Colonel
McClure, and Lieutenant Riddle’s rifles. The general placed himself
at the head of the platoon first formed, and ordering the rest to
follow, dashed up the bank under a fierce shower of bullets from
the grenadiers. His noble example inspired his men with confidence.
Willing hearts found ready hands. At the word they sprang forward
with the utmost vivacity and firmness, and charged impetuously upon
the enemy, who almost immediately broke, and retired in disorder
towards their works in the town. At the same instant, Forsyth’s
bugles pealed forth their merry notes of victory. The effect on the
Indians was electrical; they gave a loud yell and fled in every
direction; but the Glengary fencibles still maintained an irregular
fire. A fresh body of grenadiers now issued from the wood, and made
a dash at Major King’s regiment; at first, the latter faltered under
the terrible crash of the bayonet, but they speedily rallied,
returned the charge with a will, and drove the enemy from the field.
All the troops having landed, they were formed in order of attack,
and led on by General Pike in person, against the enemy’s works.
Advancing through the wood, they came within range of a twenty-four
pounder gun planted in one of the batteries. The battery was stormed
and cleaned in an instant. A second work was soon after entered,
which had previously been abandoned. The assailants then moved
forward, in columns, upon the principal intrenchment, whither the
enemy had retreated. On approaching it, the barracks appeared to have
been evacuated. Suspecting some trick, General Pike ordered a halt,
and sent Lieutenant Riddle forward to reconnoitre.
[Sidenote: EXPLOSION OF THE MAGAZINE.]
In the meanwhile, General Pike, ever as humane and generous, as he
was brave, had aided in removing a wounded British soldier with his
own hands to a place of safety, and then sat down on the stump of a
tree with one of the enemy’s sergeants who had been taken prisoner.
He was busily employed in examining him, with the assistance of his
aids, when the hill-side was suddenly convulsed as if with the throes
of an earthquake. The magazine in the main work of the enemy exploded
with a deafening roar. Huge volumes of smoke darkened the air;
vast columns of flame shot up towards the sky; and large masses of
fragments were thrown into the air, where they hung suspended for a
moment, and then descended with a sharp hissing sound, crushing into
the earth both friends and foes within a circuit of three hundred
yards.[33] The magazine was constructed of stone, and one of the
heaviest masses fell upon the group gathered about General Pike. All,
except one of the aids, were mortally wounded,--the general himself
receiving a severe contusion on the breast.
The American troops for an instant recoiled before this terrible
catastrophe; but they were quickly reformed by Colonel Pearce, of
the 16th infantry, who now assumed the command, and his subordinate
officers; the lively strains of martial music soon reïnspired them;
and they were again led forward to the attack, rending the air,
as they advanced, with their loud hurrahs. As they filed past the
suffering, but heroic Pike, whose breast and sides were literally
crushed in, he said, “Push on, my brave fellows, and avenge your
general!”--They instantly dashed on with redoubled zeal; though the
plume of their gallant leader was no longer to be seen, his influence
was still upon them; and in a few hours the victory was completed,
by the capture of the town and fort; General Sheaffe making a
precipitate retreat with his regulars, in the direction of Kingston.
The public buildings and barracks were destroyed, and the military
stores removed; and the place was then abandoned. The enemy lost
about two hundred men in killed and wounded, and nearly three hundred
were taken prisoners. The loss of the Americans was three hundred and
twenty killed and wounded, principally caused by the explosion of the
magazine. Between thirty and forty of the enemy were also killed and
wounded by the explosion.
[Sidenote: HIS DEATH.]
After the advance of the troops, Pike was taken up by some of his
men, under the direction of the surgeons, to be conveyed on board
the ship. As they reached the shore of the lake, a loud prolonged
shout was heard, evidently proceeding from his brigade. The cheering
sound revived the dying hero. Like Wolfe upon the plains of Abraham,
he turned his head with an inquiring look. This was noticed by a
sergeant beside him, who instantly cried, “The British union jack
is coming down, general--the stars are going up!” Pike struggled
to speak, but the effort was vain; he heaved a deep sigh, and a
glad smile lighted up his fine features. He was then rowed to the
Commodore’s ship and taken on board. He lingered a few hours in great
pain, being unable to articulate a single syllable. Just before he
breathed his last, as his eye was glazing in death, the British
standard was brought to him; he made a sign to have it placed under
his head, and calmly breathed his last.
The personal intrepidity of General Pike was not his only good
quality. He was devotedly attached to his profession, and jealous of
the preservation of its honor,--as was evinced by the orders issued
on the morning of the fatal twenty-seventh of April. Among them
was one, in which he prohibited any molestation of the persons or
property of private citizens, and strictly enjoined upon his troops
that they should refrain from committing outrages of every character,
however much they might be provoked. He was pure-minded, frank and
ingenuous; firm in danger, and resolute in adversity; blameless in
life, and heroic in death,--exemplifying, under circumstances that
required the exhibition of unusual fortitude and resignation, the
truthful sentiment of the Roman poet--
“Dulce, et decorum est, pro patria mori!”
On the day previous to the embarkation at Sacketts Harbor, General
Pike addressed a letter to his father, in which he said: “I embark
to-morrow in the fleet at Sacketts Harbor, at the head of a column
of fifteen hundred choice troops, on a secret expedition. If success
attend my steps, honor and glory await my name; if defeat, still
shall it be said that we died like brave men, and conferred honor,
even in death, on the American name. Should I be the happy mortal
destined to turn the scale of war, will you not rejoice, O my father?
May Heaven be propitious, and smile on the cause of my country! But
if we are destined to fall, may my fall be like Wolfe’s--to sleep in
the arms of victory!”
[Sidenote: HIS CHARACTER.]
The hero’s wish was gratified. The same breeze that fanned his cheek,
and cooled the aching forehead on which the death-damp was rapidly
gathering, unfurled the victorious banner, welcomed, as it shook
its star-gemmed folds above the heads of his brave soldiers, with
a deafening shout that went up like the gush of many waters. He
desired no higher, or greater distinction, in life, than to serve his
country in the tented field--he asked no nobler death than that which
awaited him, in the hour of his proud triumph:--
“He died, as hearts like his should die,--
In the hot clasp of victory!”
[Illustration: WINFIELD SCOTT.]