MADISON'S ADMINISTRATION.--WAR OF 1812.
[Illustration: James Madison.]
[Sidenote: =War Threatened with England.=]
The new President had been a member of the Continental Congress, a
delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1787, and Secretary of
State under Jefferson. He owed his election to the Democratic party,
whose sympathy with France and hostility to Great Britain were well
known. On the 1st of March the embargo act was repealed by Congress,
and another measure adopted by which American ships were allowed to go
abroad, but were forbidden to trade with Great Britain. Mr. Erskine,
the British minister, now gave notice that by the 10th of June the
"orders in council," so far as they affected the United States, should
be repealed.
2. In the following spring Bonaparte issued a decree for the seizure of
all American vessels that might approach the ports of France. But in
November the decree was reversed, and all restrictions on the commerce
of the United States were removed. But the government of Great Britain
adhered to its former measures, and sent ships of war to enforce the
"orders in council."
3. The affairs of the two nations were fast approaching a crisis. The
government of the United States had fallen completely under control of
the party which sympathized with France. The American people, smarting
under the insults of Great Britain, had adopted the motto of FREE
TRADE AND SAILORS' RIGHTS, and had made up their minds to fight; the
sentiment was that war was preferable to national disgrace.
4. In the spring of 1810 the third census of the United States was
completed. The population had increased to seven million two hundred
and forty thousand souls. The States now numbered seventeen; and
several new Territories were preparing for admission into the Union.
The rapid march of civilization westward had aroused the jealousy of
the Red men, and Indiana Territory was afflicted with an Indian war.
[Sidenote: =Gen. Harrison in Indiana.=]
5. Tecumtha, chief of the Shawnees--a brave and sagacious warrior--and
his brother, called the Prophet, were the leaders of the revolt. Their
plan was to unite all the nations of the Northwest Territory in a final
effort to beat back the whites. When, in September of 1809, Governor
Harrison met the chiefs of several tribes at Fort Wayne, and purchased
three million acres of land, Tecumtha refused to sign the treaty, and
threatened death to those who did. In 1810 he visited the nations of
Tennessee and exhorted them to join his confederacy.
6. Governor Harrison stood firm, sent for soldiers, and mustered the
militia of the Territory. The Indians began to prowl through the
Wabash Valley, murdering and stealing. The governor then advanced to
Terre Haute, built Fort Harrison, and hastened toward the town of the
Prophet, at the mouth of the Tippecanoe. When within a few miles of
this place, Harrison was met by Indian ambassadors, who asked for a
conference on the following day. Their request was granted; and the
American army encamped for the night. The place selected was a piece of
high ground covered with oaks.
[Sidenote: Battle of Tippecanoe.]
7. Before daybreak on the morning of November 7th, 1811, the savages,
seven hundred strong, crept through the marshes, surrounded Harrison's
position, and burst upon the camp. But the American militia fought in
the darkness, held the Indians in check until daylight, and then routed
them in several vigorous charges. On the next day, the Americans burned
the Prophet's town, and soon afterwards returned to Vincennes. Such
was the success of the campaign that the Indians were overawed, the
peace of the white settlements secured, and the way made easy for the
organization and admission of the State of Indiana into the Union five
years afterwards.
[Illustration: Western Battle-fields located relatively to Present
Cities.]
8. Meanwhile, Great Britain and the United States had come into
conflict on the ocean. On the 16th of May, Commodore Rodgers,
commanding the frigate _President_, hailed a vessel off the coast of
Virginia. Instead of a polite answer, he received a cannon-ball in the
mainmast. Rodgers responded with a broadside, silencing the enemy's
guns. In the morning--for it was already dark--the hostile ship was
found to be the British sloop-of-war _Little Belt_.
9. On the 4th of November, 1811, the twelfth Congress of the United
States assembled. Many of the members still hoped for peace; and the
winter passed without decisive measures. On the 4th of April, 1812,
an act was passed laying an embargo for ninety days on all British
vessels within the harbors of the United States. But Great Britain
would not recede from her hostile attitude. Before the actual outbreak
of hostilities, Louisiana, the eighteenth State, was, on the 8th of
April, admitted into the Union. Her population had already reached
seventy-seven thousand.
[Sidenote: Declaration of War.]
10. On the 19th of June a declaration of war was made against Great
Britain. Vigorous preparations for the conflict were made by Congress.
It was ordered to raise twenty-five thousand regular troops and
fifty thousand volunteers. The several States were requested to call
out a hundred thousand militia. A national loan of eleven million
dollars was authorized. Henry Dearborn, of Massachusetts, was chosen
commander-in-chief of the army.
11. The war was begun by General William Hull, governor of Michigan
Territory. On the 1st of June he marched from Dayton with fifteen
hundred men. For a full month the army toiled through the forests to
the western extremity of Lake Erie. Arriving at the Maumee, Hull sent
his baggage to Detroit. But the British at Malden were on the alert,
and captured Hull's boat with everything on board. Nevertheless, the
Americans pressed on to Detroit, and on the 12th of July crossed the
river to Sandwich.
12. Hull, hearing that Mackinaw had been taken by the British, soon
returned to Detroit. From this place he sent Major Van Horne to meet
Major Brush, who had reached the river Raisin with reinforcements.
But Tecumtha laid an ambush for Van Horne's forces and defeated them
near Brownstown. Colonel Miller, with another detachment, attacked and
routed the savages with great loss, and then returned to Detroit.
[Sidenote: The Surrender of Detroit.]
[Illustration: Engagement of the Wasp and the Frolic.]
13. General Brock, governor of Canada, now took command of the British
at Malden. On the 16th of August he advanced to the siege of Detroit.
The Americans in their trenches were eager for battle. When the British
were within five hundred yards, Hull _hoisted a white flag over the
fort_. Then followed a surrender, the most shameful in the history of
the United States. All the forces under Hull's command became prisoners
of war. The whole of Michigan Territory was surrendered to the British.
Hull was afterward court-martialed and sentenced to be shot; but the
President pardoned him.
14. About the time of the fall of Detroit, Fort Dearborn, on the
present site of Chicago, was surrendered to an army of Indians. The
garrison capitulated on condition of retiring without molestation.
But the savages fell upon the retreating soldiers, killed some, and
distributed the rest as captives.
[Sidenote: The War at Sea.]
15. On the 19th of August the frigate _Constitution_, commanded by
Captain Isaac Hull, overtook the British _Guerriere_ off the coast of
Massachusetts. The vessels maneuvered for a while, the _Constitution_
closing with her antagonist, until at half pistol-shot she poured in
a broadside, sweeping the decks of the _Guerriere_ and deciding the
contest. On the following morning, the _Guerriere_, being unmanageable,
was blown up; and Hull returned to port with his prisoners and spoils.
16. On the 18th of October the American _Wasp_, under Captain Jones,
fell in with a fleet of British merchantmen off the coast of Virginia.
The squadron was under protection of the _Frolic_, commanded by Captain
Whinyates. A terrible engagement ensued, lasting for three quarters of
an hour. Finally, the American crew boarded the _Frolic_ and struck the
British flag. Soon afterwards the _Poictiers_, a British seventy-four
gun ship, bore down upon the scene, captured the _Wasp_, and retook the
wreck of the _Frolic_.
17. On the 25th of the month Commodore Decatur, commanding the frigate
_United States_, captured the British _Macedonian_, a short distance
west of the Canary Islands. The loss of the enemy in killed and
wounded amounted to more than a hundred men. On the 12th of December
the _Essex_, commanded by Captain Porter, captured the _Nocton_, a
British packet, having on board fifty-five thousand dollars in specie.
On the 29th of December the _Constitution_, under command of Commodore
Bainbridge, met the _Java_ on the coast of Brazil. A furious battle
ensued, continuing for two hours. The _Java_ was reduced to a wreck
before the flag was struck. The crew and passengers, numbering upward
of four hundred, were transferred to the _Constitution_, and the hull
was burned at sea. The news of these victories roused the enthusiasm of
the people.
[Sidenote: Van Rensselaer at Queenstown.]
18. On the 13th of October a thousand men, commanded by General Stephen
Van Rensselaer, crossed the Niagara River to capture Queenstown.
They were resisted at the water's edge; but the British batteries on
the heights were finally carried. The enemy's forces, returning to
the charge, were a second time repulsed. The Americans intrenched
themselves, and waited for reinforcements. None came; and, after losing
a hundred and sixty men, they were then obliged to surrender. General
Van Rensselaer resigned his command, and was succeeded by General
Alexander Smyth.
19. The Americans now rallied at Black Rock, a few miles north of
Buffalo. From this point, on the 28th of November, a company was sent
across to the Canada shore, but General Smyth ordered the advance party
to return. A few days afterward, another crossing was planned, with
the same results. The militia became mutinous. Smyth was charged with
cowardice and deposed from his command. In the autumn of 1812 Madison
was reelected President; the choice for Vice-president fell on Elbridge
Gerry, of Massachusetts.