of the people and the courage of the soldiers. Indignation was also
aroused by the cruelties reported of Burgoyne’s Indian allies. A most
pathetic story was told of one Jenny McRea, murdered by Indians near
Fort Edward. Her family were Loyalists; she herself was engaged to be
married to a Loyalist officer. She was dressed to receive her lover,
when a party of Indians burst into the house, carried off the whole
family to the woods, and there murdered, scalped, and mangled them in
the most horrible manner. Such, at least, was the story as told in a
letter of remonstrance from Gates to Burgoyne. Burgoyne, in his reply,
gave, however, a different account. According to his version, the
murder was committed by two Indians sent by the young lady’s lover to
conduct her for safety to the British camp. They quarrelled on the way
respecting the division of the promised reward, and settled the dispute
by killing the girl. Even this correction hardly lessened the effect
of the story or diminished the detestation so naturally felt at the
employment of such barbarous allies.
The artful Arnold, while on his march for the relief of Fort Schuyler,
had sent into St. Leger’s camp a very exaggerated account of his
numbers. The Indians, who had suffered severely in the battle with
Herkimer, and who had glutted their vengeance by the murder of
prisoners, seized with a sudden panic, deserted in large numbers.
On August 22d, two days before Arnold’s arrival, St. Leger himself
precipitately retired, leaving his tents standing and the greater part
of his stores and baggage to fall into Arnold’s hands. On returning to
Gates’ camp, Arnold received the command of the left wing.
These checks were not without their effect on the Six Nations.
Burgoyne’s Indians began to desert him--an example which the Canadians
soon followed. The Onondagas and some of the Mohawks joined the
Americans. Through the influence of the missionary Kirkland, the
Oneidas had all along been favorably disposed. It was only the more
western clans, the Cayugas, Tuscaroras, and Senecas, which adhered
firmly during the war to the British side.
The American army being now about six thousand strong, besides
detached parties of militia under General Lincoln, which hung upon
the British rear, Gates left his island camp, and presently occupied
Behmus’ Heights, a spur from the hills on the west side of the Hudson,
jutting close upon the river. By untiring efforts, Burgoyne had brought
forward thirty days’ provisions, and, having thrown a bridge of boats
over the Hudson, he crossed to Saratoga. With advanced parties in
front to repair the roads and bridges, his army slowly descended the
Hudson--the Germans on the left, by a road close along the river; the
British, covered by light infantry, provincials, and Indians, by the
high ground on the right.
Gates’ camp on the brow of Behmus’[90] Heights formed a segment of a
circle, convex toward the enemy. A deep intrenchment extended to the
river on the right, covered not only by strong batteries, but by an
abrupt and thickly wooded ravine descending to the river. From the head
of this ravine, toward the left, the ground was level and partially
cleared, some trees being felled and others girdled. The defences here
consisted of a breastwork of logs. On the extreme left, a distance
of three-quarters of a mile from the river, was a knoll, a little in
the rear, crowned by strong batteries, and there was another battery
to the left of the centre. Between the two armies were two more deep
ravines, both wooded. An alarm being given about noon of September 19th
that the enemy was approaching the left of the encampment, Morgan was
sent forward with his riflemen. Having forced a picket, his men, in
the ardor of pursuit, fell unexpectedly upon a strong British column,
and were thrown into temporary confusion. Cilley’s and Scammell’s New
Hampshire regiments were ordered out to reinforce him. Hale’s regiment
of New Hampshire, Van Courtlandt’s and Henry Livingston’s of New York,
and two regiments of Connecticut militia were successively led to
the field, with orders to extend to the left and support the points
where they perceived the greatest pressure. About three o’clock the
action became general, and till nightfall the fire of musketry was
incessant. The British had four field-pieces; the ground occupied by
the Americans, a thick wood on the borders of an open field, did not
admit the use of artillery. On the opposite side of this field, on a
rising ground, in a thin pine wood, the British troops were drawn up.
Whenever they advanced into the open field, the fire of the American
marksmen drove them back in disorder; but when the Americans followed
into the open ground the British would rally, charge, and force them to
fall back. The field was thus lost and won a dozen times in the course
of the day. At every charge the British artillery fell into possession
of the Americans, but the ground would not allow them to carry off the
pieces, nor could they be kept long enough to be turned on the enemy.
Late in the afternoon, the British left being reinforced from the
German column, General Learned was ordered out with four regiments of
Massachusetts and another of New York. Something decisive might now
have occurred, but the approach of night broke off the contest, and
the Americans withdrew to their camp, leaving the field in possession
of the British. They encamped upon it, and claimed the victory; but,
if not a drawn battle, it was one of those victories equivalent to a
defeat. The British loss was upward of five hundred, the American less
than three hundred. To have held their ground in the circumstances in
which the armies stood was justly esteemed by the Americans a decided
triumph.
In anticipation of an action, Gates had ordered the detached corps to
join him. Stark, with the victors of Bennington, had arrived in camp
the day before. Their term of service, however, expired that day; and
satisfied with laurels already won, in spite of all attempts to detain
them, they marched off the very morning of the battle. In consideration
of his courage and good conduct at Bennington, Congress overlooked the
insubordination of Stark, which, in a resolution just before, they had
pointedly condemned, and he was presently elected a brigadier. Howe and
McDougall about the same time were chosen major-generals.
Before receiving Gates’ orders to join the main body, a party of
Lincoln’s militia, led by Colonel Brown, had surprised the posts at the
outlet of Lake George on September 17th, and had taken three hundred
prisoners, also several armed vessels and a fleet of bateaux employed
in transporting provisions up the lake. Uniting with another party
under Colonel Johnson, they approached Ticonderoga and beleaguered
it for four days. Burgoyne’s communications thus entirely cut off,
his situation became very alarming, and he began to intrench. His
difficulties increased every moment. Provisions were diminishing,
forage was exhausted, the horses were perishing. To retreat with the
enemy in his rear was as difficult as to advance.
A change of circumstances not less remarkable had taken place in the
American camp. Gates’ army was increasing every day. The battle of
Behmus’ Heights was sounded through the country as a great victory,
and, the harvest being now over, the militia marched in from all
sides to complete the overthrow of the invaders. Lincoln, with the
greater part of his militia, having joined the army on September 22d,
he received the command of the right wing. Arnold, on some quarrel
or jealousy on the part of Gates, had been deprived, since the late
battle, of his command of the left wing, which Gates assumed in person.
Gates was neither more able nor more trustworthy than Schuyler; but
the soldiers believed him so, and zeal, alacrity, and obedience had
succeeded to doubts, distrust, and insubordination. Yet Gates was not
without his difficulties. The supply of ammunition was very short, and
the late change in the commissariat department, taking place in the
midst of the campaign, made the feeding of the troops a matter of no
little anxiety.
[Illustration: BEHMUS’ OR BEMIS’ HEIGHTS
Disposition of troops, October 7th]
There was still one hope for Burgoyne. A letter in cipher, brought
by a trusty messenger from Clinton, at New York, informed him of an
intended diversion up the Hudson; and, could he maintain his present
position, he might yet be relieved. But his troops, on short allowance
of provisions, were already suffering severely, and it was necessary
either to retreat or to find relief in another battle. To make a
reconnaissance of the American lines, he drew out fifteen hundred
picked men on October 7th and formed them less than a mile from the
American camp. The two camps, indeed, were hardly cannon-shot apart.
As soon as Burgoyne’s position was discovered his left was furiously
assailed by Poor’s New Hampshire brigade. The attack extended rapidly
to the right, where Morgan’s riflemen manœuvred to cut off the British
from their camp. Gates did not appear on the field any more than in
the former battle; but Arnold, though without any regular command,
took, as usual, a leading part. He seemed under the impulse of some
extraordinary excitement, riding at full speed, issuing orders, and
cheering on the men. To avoid being cut off from the camp, the British
right was already retreating, when the left, pressed and overwhelmed by
superior numbers, began to give way. The gallant Fraser was mortally
wounded, picked off by the American marksmen; six pieces of artillery
were abandoned; and only by the greatest efforts did the British troops
regain their camp. The Americans followed close upon them, and, through
a shower of grape and musketry, assaulted the right of the British
works. Arnold forced an entrance; but he was wounded, his horse was
shot under him as he rode into one of the sally-ports, and his column
was driven back. Colonel Brooks, at the head of Jackson’s regiment
of Massachusetts, was more successful. He turned the intrenchments
of a German brigade, forced them from the ground at the point of the
bayonet, captured their camp equipage and artillery, and, what was
of still more importance, and a great relief to the American army,
an ample supply of ammunition. The repeated attempts of the British
to dislodge him all failed, and he remained at night in possession
of the works. Darkness at length put an end to the fighting; but the
Americans slept on their arms, prepared to renew it the next morning.
The advantages they had gained were decisive. The British had lost four
hundred men in killed, wounded, and prisoners; artillery, ammunition,
and tents had been captured; and the possession of a part of the works
by the Americans would enable them to renew the attack the next day
with every chance of success. For the safety of the British army a
change of position was indispensable; and, while the Americans slept,
the British general, with skill and intrepidity, order and silence,
drew back his discomfited troops to some high grounds in the rear,
where the British army appeared the next morning (October 8th) drawn up
in order of battle. That day was spent in skirmishes. While attempting
to reconnoitre, General Lincoln was severely wounded and disabled from
further service. Fraser was buried on a hill he had designated, amid
showers of balls from the American lines. The Baroness de Riedesel,
who followed the camp with her young children, and whose quarters were
turned into a sort of hospital for the wounded officers, has left a
pathetic account of the horrors of that day and of the retreat that
followed.
To avoid being surrounded, Burgoyne was obliged to abandon his new
position, and, with the loss of his hospitals and numerous sick and
wounded, to fall back to Saratoga on October 9th. The distance was
only six miles; but the rain fell in torrents, the roads were almost
impassable, the bridge over the Fishkill had been broken down by the
Americans, and this retrograde movement consumed an entire day. The
same obstacles prevented, however, any serious annoyance from the
American troops. During this retreat, the better to cover the movements
of the army, General Schuyler’s house at Saratoga and extensive
saw-mills were set on fire and destroyed. A body of artificers, sent
forward under a strong escort to repair the bridge toward Fort Edward,
found that road and the ford across the Hudson already occupied by the
Americans. The fleet of bateaux, loaded with the British supplies and
provisions, was assailed from the left bank of the river, and many of
the boats were taken. The lading of the others was only saved by a most
laborious and difficult transportation, under a sharp American fire, up
the steep river-bank to the heights occupied by the British army. Even
the camp itself was not safe; grape and rifle balls fell in the midst
of it.
Burgoyne’s situation was truly deplorable. He had heard nothing further
from New York, and his effective force was now reduced to four thousand
men, surrounded by an enemy three times as numerous, flushed with
success, and rapidly increasing. All the fords and passes toward Lake
George were occupied and covered by intrenchments, and, even should
the baggage and artillery be abandoned, there was no hope of forcing
a passage. An account of the provisions on hand (October 13th) showed
only three days’ supply. The troops, exhausted with hunger and fatigue,
and conscious of their hopeless situation, could not be depended on,
especially should the camp be attacked. A council of war, to which not
field officers only, but all the captains commandant were summoned,
advised to open a treaty of capitulation.
Gates demanded, at first, an unconditional surrender; but to that
Burgoyne would not submit. The American commander was the less precise
about terms, and very eager to hasten matters, lest he too might be
attacked in the rear. He knew, though Burgoyne did not, that the
intended diversion from New York, delayed for some time to await the
arrival of forces from Europe, had at length been successfully made,
and that all the American posts in the Highlands had fallen into the
hands of the British. Should Burgoyne continue to hold out, this new
enemy might even make a push on Albany.
The main defences of the Highlands, Forts Clinton and Montgomery, on
the west bank of the Hudson, separated from each other by a small
stream, and too high to be battered from the water, were surrounded
by steep and rugged hills which made the approach to them on the land
side very difficult. To stop the ascent of the enemy’s ships, frames
of timber, with projecting beams shod with iron, had been sunk in the
channel. A boom, formed of great trees fastened together, extended
from bank to bank, and in front of this boom was stretched a huge iron
chain. Above these impediments several armed vessels were moored. On an
island a few miles higher up, and near the eastern bank of the river,
was Fort Constitution, with another boom and chain. Near the entrance
of the Highlands, and below the other posts, Fort Independence
occupied a high point of land on the east bank of the river. It was at
Peekskill, just below Fort Independence, that the commanding officer in
the Highlands usually had his headquarters. The two brigades sent to
the Northern army, and other detachments which Washington had himself
been obliged to draw from the Highlands, had so weakened the regular
garrison that Washington became much alarmed for the safety of that
important post. The remainder of the New York militia, not under arms
in the Northern Department, had been called out by Governor Clinton to
supply the place of the detached regulars; other militia had been sent
from Connecticut; but, as no signs of immediate attack appeared, and
as the harvest demanded their services at home, Putnam allowed most of
them to return. Half the New York militia were ordered back again by
Clinton, but before they had mustered the posts were lost. Putnam was
at Peekskill with the main body of the garrison, which amounted in the
whole to not more than two thousand men. While a party of the enemy
amused him with the idea that Fort Independence was their object, a
stronger party landed lower down, on the other side of the river, and,
pushing inland through the defiles of the Highlands, approached Forts
Clinton and Montgomery, of which the entire garrison did not exceed six
hundred men. Before assistance could be sent by Putnam--indeed, before
he knew of the attack--the forts, much too extensive to be defended by
so small a force, were both taken on October 5th. Governor Clinton,
who commanded, his brother, General James Clinton, and a part of the
garrison availed themselves of the knowledge of the ground and escaped
across the river, but the Americans suffered a loss of two hundred
and fifty in killed and prisoners. Fort Constitution was immediately
evacuated by the few troops that held it, and two new Continental
frigates, with some other vessels, were set on fire to prevent
their falling into the hands of the enemy. Even Peekskill and Fort
Independence were abandoned, the stores being conveyed to Fishkill,
whither Putnam retired with his forces. The booms and chains were
removed, so that ships could pass up; and a British detachment under
Tryon burned Continental Village, a new settlement on the east side of
the river, where many public stores were deposited.
[Illustration: DISPOSITION OF TROOPS FROM OCTOBER 11TH TILL THE
SURRENDER, OCTOBER 17TH]
Informed of these movements, and very anxious to have Burgoyne’s
army out of the way, Gates agreed, on October 16th, that the British
troops should march out of their camp with the honors of war, should
lay down their arms, and be conducted to Boston, there to embark for
England, under an engagement not to serve against the United States
till exchanged. Having heard from a deserter of the advance of Clinton,
Burgoyne hesitated to ratify the treaty; but, on consideration and
consultation with his officers, he did not choose to run the risk of
breaking it. The prisoners included in this capitulation were five
thousand six hundred and forty-two; the previous losses of the army
amounted to near four thousand more. The arms, artillery, baggage, and
camp equipage became the property of the captors. The German regiments
contrived to save their colors by cutting them from the staves, rolling
them up, and packing them away with Madame de Riedesel’s baggage.
As soon as the garrison of Ticonderoga heard of the surrender, they
hastily destroyed what they could and retired to Canada. Putnam no
sooner heard of it than he sent pressing despatches for assistance. The
British had proceeded as high up as Esopus, which they burned about
the very time that Burgoyne was capitulating. Putnam had been already
joined by some three thousand militia, to which a large detachment from
Gates’ army was soon added. As it was now too late to succor Burgoyne,
having dismantled the forts in the Highlands, the British returned to
New York, carrying with them sixty-seven pieces of heavy artillery and
a large quantity of provisions and ammunition. Before their departure
they burned every house within their reach--a piece of malice ascribed
to Tryon and his Tories.
The capture of a whole British army,[91] lately the object of so
much terror, produced, especially in New England, an exultation
proportionate to the recent alarm. The military reputation of Gates,
elevated to a very high pitch, rivalled even the fame of Washington,
dimmed as it was by the loss of Philadelphia, which, meanwhile, had
fallen into the enemy’s hands. The youthful Wilkinson, who had acted
during the campaign as deputy adjutant-general of the American army,
and whose _Memoirs_ contain the best account of its movements, being
sent to Congress with news of the surrender, was henceforth honored
with a brevet commission as brigadier-general; which, however, he
speedily resigned when he found a remonstrance against this irregular
advancement sent to Congress by forty-seven colonels of the line. The
investigation into Schuyler’s conduct resulted, a year afterward,
in his acquittal with the highest honor. He insisted, however, on
resigning his commission, though strongly urged by Congress to retain
it. But he did not relinquish the service of his country, in which
he continued as active as ever, being presently chosen a member of
Congress.
SYNOPSIS OF THE PRINCIPAL EVENTS, CHIEFLY MILITARY, BETWEEN THE BATTLE
OF SARATOGA, 1777, AND THE BATTLE OF YORKTOWN, 1781
1777. Congress adopts the Articles of Confederation. Stars and Stripes
adopted. British evacuate New York. British occupy Philadelphia.
American winter-quarters at Valley Forge, in December.
1778. France recognizes the independence of the United States. The
British evacuate Philadelphia. The battle of Monmouth. France
declares war against England. The Wyoming Valley Massacre. Battle of
Rhode Island. The British enter Savannah. General George Rogers Clark
conquers the “Old Northwest.”
1779. Storming of Stony Point by the Americans. Paul Jones, in the _Bon
Homme Richard_, is victorious over the British frigate _Serapis_. The
British win the engagement of Brier Creek. Spain declares war against
Great Britain. Congress guaranties the Floridas to Spain if she takes
them from Great Britain, provided the United States should have free
navigation on the Mississippi.
1780. Lincoln surrenders to Clinton at Charleston. Defeat of Gates by
Cornwallis in the first battle of Camden. Treason of Benedict Arnold.
Capture and execution of André. The British are defeated at King’s
Mountain.
1781. American victory at Cowpens. The ratification of the Articles
of Confederation by the several states completed. Greene is defeated
by Cornwallis at Guilford Court-House. The British are victorious at
Hobkirk’s Hill (second battle of Camden). New London burned by Arnold.
Battle of Eutaw Springs. Washington and Rochambeau, aided by the French
fleet under Count de Grasse, besiege Cornwallis in Yorktown. Surrender
of Cornwallis.
IX
YORKTOWN AND THE SURRENDER OF CORNWALLIS (1781)
The year 1781 opened with small promise of a speedy ending of the
American struggle for independence. New York remained in the hands
of the English. Cornwallis was confident of success in the South.
But Greene’s brilliant campaigning and Lafayette’s strategy left
Cornwallis with a wearied army devoid of any fruits of victory,
and, finally returning to the seaboard, he settled himself at
Yorktown. Washington, before New York, had watched the Southern
campaigns closely. Word came from the Count de Grasse that the
French fleet under his command was ready to leave the West Indies
and join in operations in Virginia. Washington at once planned a
new campaign, destined to prove of peculiar brilliancy. He was
joined by Rochambeau’s French army from Newport. Clinton, the
British commander in New York, was tricked into believing that
the city was to be closely besieged. But the American and French
armies, six thousand strong, passed by New York in a race through
Princeton and Philadelphia to Chesapeake Bay, which they reached
on September 5th, the day that De Grasse entered with his fleet to
join the other French fleet which had been set free from Newport.
De Grasse maintained his command of Chesapeake Bay in spite of the
futile attack of Admiral Graves and the British fleet. If Rodney,
who had sailed for England, had been in Graves’ place the outcome
might have been different. A defeat of De Grasse would have meant
British control of the water and a support for Cornwallis, which
would have saved his army and ruined Washington’s plans. Yorktown
affords one of the striking illustrations in Captain Mahan’s
_Influence of Sea Power upon History_.--EDITOR.
I
The allied American and French armies joined Lafayette at Williamsburg,
Virginia, September 25, 1781, and on the 27th there was a besieging
army there of sixteen thousand men, under the chief command of
Washington, assisted by Rochambeau. The British force, about half
as numerous, were mostly behind intrenchments at Yorktown. On the
arrival of Washington and Rochambeau at Williamsburg, they proceeded
to the _Ville de Paris_, De Grasse’s flag-ship, to congratulate the
admiral on his victory over the British admiral Graves on the 5th,
which had prevented British relief of Yorktown by sea, and to make
specific arrangements for the future. Preparations for the siege
were immediately begun. The allied armies marched from Williamsburg
(September 28th), driving in the British outposts as they approached
Yorktown, and taking possession of abandoned works. The allies formed
a semicircular line about two miles from the British intrenchments,
each wing resting on the York River, and on the 30th the place was
completely invested. The British at Gloucester, opposite, were
imprisoned by French dragoons under the Duke de Lauzun, Virginia
militia, led by General Weedon, and eight hundred French marines. Only
once did the imprisoned troops attempt to escape from that point.
Tarleton’s legion sallied out, but were soon driven back by De Lauzun’s
cavalry, who made Tarleton’s horse a prisoner and came near capturing
his owner.
[Illustration: SIEGE OF YORKTOWN]
In the besieging lines before Yorktown the French troops occupied the
left, the West India troops of St. Simon being on the extreme flank.
The Americans were on the right; and the French artillery, with the
quarters of the two commanders, occupied the centre. The American
artillery, commanded by General Knox, was with the right. The fleet
of De Grasse was in Lynn Haven Bay to beat off any vessels that might
attempt to relieve Cornwallis. On the night of October 6th heavy
ordnance was brought up from the French ships, and trenches were begun
at six hundred yards from the British works. The first parallel was
completed before the morning of the 7th, under the direction of General
Lincoln; and on the afternoon of the 9th several batteries and redoubts
were finished, and a general discharge of heavy guns was opened by the
Americans on the right. Early on the morning of the 10th the French
opened several batteries on the left. That evening the same troops
hurled red-hot balls upon British vessels in the river, which caused
the destruction by fire of several of them--one a forty-four-gun ship.
The allies began the second parallel on the night of the 11th, which
the British did not discover until daylight came, when they brought
several heavy guns to bear upon the diggers. On the 14th it was
determined to storm two of the redoubts which were most annoying, as
they commanded the trenches. One on the right, near the York River,
was garrisoned by forty-five men; the other, on the left, was manned
by about one hundred and twenty men. The capture of the former was
intrusted to Americans led by Lieutenant-Colonel Alexander Hamilton,
and that of the latter to French grenadiers led by Count Deuxponts.
At a given signal Hamilton advanced in two columns--one led by Major
Fish, the other by Lieutenant-Colonel Gimat, Lafayette’s aide, while
Lieutenant-Colonel John Laurens, with eighty men, proceeded to turn the
redoubt to intercept a retreat of the garrison. So agile and furious
was the assault that the redoubt was carried in a few minutes, with
little loss on either side. Laurens was among the first to enter the
redoubt and make the commander, Major Campbell, a prisoner. The life of
every man who ceased to resist was spared.
Meanwhile the French, after a severe struggle, in which they lost about
one hundred men in killed and wounded, captured the other redoubt.
Washington, with Knox and some others, had watched the movements with
intense anxiety, and when the commander-in-chief saw both redoubts
in possession of his troops he turned and said to Knox, “The work is
done, and well done.” That night both redoubts were included in the
second parallel. The situation of Cornwallis was now critical. He was
surrounded by a superior force, his works were crumbling, and he saw
that when the second parallel of the besiegers should be completed and
the cannon on their batteries mounted his post at Yorktown would become
untenable, and he resolved to attempt an escape by abandoning the
place, his baggage, and his sick, cross the York River, disperse the
allies who environed Gloucester, and by rapid marches gain the forks
of the Rappahannock and Potomac, and, forcing his way by weight of
numbers through Maryland and Pennsylvania, join Clinton at New York.
Boats for the passage of the river were prepared and a part of the
troops passed over, when a furious storm suddenly arose and made
any further attempts to cross too hazardous to be undertaken. The
troops were brought back, and Cornwallis lost hope. After that the
bombardment of his lines was continuous, severe, and destructive,
and on the 17th he offered to make terms for surrender. On the
following day Lieutenant-Colonel de Laurens and Viscount de Noailles
(a kinsman of Madame Lafayette), as commissioners of the allies, met
Lieutenant-Colonel Dundas and Major Ross, of the British army, at the
house of the Widow Moore to arrange terms for capitulation. They were
made similar to those demanded of Lincoln at Charleston eighteen months
before. The capitulation was duly signed, October 19, 1781, and late on
the afternoon of the same day Cornwallis, his army, and public property
were surrendered to the allies.[92]
For the siege of Yorktown the French provided thirty-seven ships of the
line, and the Americans nine. The Americans furnished nine thousand
land troops (of whom fifty-five hundred were regulars), and the French
seven thousand. Among the prisoners were two battalions of Anspachers,
amounting to ten hundred and twenty-seven men, and two regiments of
Hessians, numbering eight hundred and seventy-five. The flag of the
Anspachers was given to Washington by the Congress.
The news of the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown spread great joy
throughout the colonies, especially at Philadelphia, the seat of the
national government. Washington sent Lieutenant-Colonel Tilghman to
Congress with the news. He rode express to Philadelphia to carry the
despatches of the chief announcing the joyful event. He entered the
city at midnight, October 23d, and knocked so violently at the door
of Thomas McKean, the president of Congress, that a watchman was
disposed to arrest him. Soon the glad tidings spread over the city. The
watchman, proclaiming the hour and giving the usual cry, “All’s well,”
added, “and Cornwallis is taken!” Thousands of citizens rushed from
their beds, half dressed, and filled the streets. The old State-house
bell, that had clearly proclaimed independence, now rang out tones of
gladness. Lights were seen moving in every house. The first blush of
morning was greeted with the booming of cannon, and at an early hour
the Congress assembled and with quick-beating hearts heard Charles
Thomson read the despatch from Washington. At its conclusion it was
resolved to go in a body to the Lutheran church, at 2 P.M., and “return
thanks to the Almighty God for crowning the allied armies of the United
States and France with success.”[93]
II
THE RESULTS OF YORKTOWN
_By Claude Halstead Van Tyne, Ph.D._
The surrender of Cornwallis came at the right time to produce a great
political effect in England. The war had assumed such tremendous
proportions that accumulated disaster seemed to threaten the ruin of
Great Britain. From India came news of Hyder Ali’s temporary successes,
and of the presence of a strong French armament which demanded that
England yield every claim except to Bengal. That Warren Hastings and
Sir Eyre Coote would yet save the British Empire there, the politicians
could not foresee. Spain had already driven the British forces from
Florida, and in the spring of 1782 Minorca fell before her repeated
assaults and Gibraltar was fearfully beset. De Grasse’s successes
during the winter in the West Indies left only Jamaica, Barbadoes,
and Antigua in British hands. St. Eustatius, too, was recaptured, and
it was not until the middle of April that Rodney regained England’s
naval supremacy by a famous victory near Marie-Galante.[94] England
had not a friend in Europe, and was beset at home by violent agitation
in Ireland, to which she was obliged to yield an independent Irish
Parliament.[95] Rodney’s victory and the successful repulsion of the
Spaniards from Gibraltar, in the summer of 1782, came too late to save
the North ministry.
The negotiations between the English and American peace envoys dragged
on. Congress had instructed the commissioners not to make terms
without the approval of the French court, but the commissioners became
suspicious of Vergennes, broke their instructions, and dealt directly
and solely with the British envoys. Boundaries, fishery questions,
treatment of the American loyalists, and settlement of American debts
to British subjects were settled one after another, and, November
30, 1782, a provisional treaty was signed. The definitive treaty was
delayed until September 3, 1783, after France and England had agreed
upon terms of peace.[96]
America awaited the outcome almost with lethargy. After Yorktown the
country relapsed into indifference, and Washington was left helpless
to do anything to assure victory. He could only wait and hope that
the enemy was as exhausted as America. Disorganization was seen
everywhere--in politics, in finance, and in the army. Peace came like
a stroke of good-fortune rather than a prize that was won. Congress
(January 14, 1784) could barely assemble a quorum to ratify the
treaty.[97]
During the war many had feared that British victory would mean the
overthrow in England of constitutional liberty. The defeat, therefore,
of the king’s purpose in America seemed a victory for liberalism in
England as well as in America. Personal government was overthrown, and
no British king has gained such power since. The dangers to freedom of
speech and of the press were ended. Corruption and daring disregard
of public law received a great blow. The ancient course of English
constitutional development was resumed. England never, it is true,
yielded to her colonies what America had demanded in 1775, but she did
learn to handle the affairs of her colonies with greater diplomacy, and
she does not allow them now to get into such an unsympathetic state.
Great Britain herself was not so near ruin as she seemed; she was still
to be the mother of nations, and the English race was not weakened,
though the empire was broken. In political, social, and intellectual
spirit England and America continued to be much the same. English
notions of private and public law still persisted in independent
America. The large influence which the Anglo-Saxon race had long
had upon the world’s destiny was not left with either America or
England alone, but with them both. America only continued England’s
“manifest destiny” in America, pushing her language, modes of political
and intellectual activity, and her social customs westward and
southward--driving back Latin civilization in the same resistless way
as before the Revolution.
For America much good came out of the Revolution. Americans had acted
together in a great crisis, and Washington’s efforts in the army to
banish provincial distinctions did much to create fellow-feeling
which would make real union possible. With laws and governments alike,
and the same predominant language, together with common political and
economic interests, future unity seemed assured.
The republican form of government was now given a strong foothold in
America. Frederick the Great asserted that the new republic could
not endure, because “a republican government had never been known to
exist for any length of time where the territory was not limited and
concentrated”; yet America, within a century, was to make it a success
over a region three times as great as the territory for which Frederick
foretold failure.[98]
SYNOPSIS OF THE PRINCIPAL EVENTS, CHIEFLY MILITARY, BETWEEN THE BATTLE
OF YORKTOWN, 1781, AND THE BATTLES ON THE LAKES, 1813 AND 1814
1782. Holland recognizes the independence of the United States. The
British evacuate Savannah and Charleston. Signing of the preliminary
treaty of peace with Great Britain.
1783. Peace of Versailles between Great Britain, the United States,
France, and Spain. Great Britain acknowledges the independence of the
United States, restores Florida and Minorca to Spain, and cedes Tobago
to France. Evacuation of New York by the British.
1785. Disputes between the United States and Spain over the navigation
of the Mississippi and the boundaries of the Floridas.
1786. Outbreak of Shays’ Rebellion in Massachusetts.
1787. Suppression of Shays’ Rebellion. Framing of the Constitution of
the United States at Philadelphia. Congress undertakes the government
of the Northwest Territory.
1788. The Constitution ratified by a majority of the States.
1789. George Washington elected first President of the United States.
The Continental Congress is superseded by the first Congress under the
Constitution. Beginning of the French Revolution.
1790. Rhode Island (the last of the original thirteen States) ratifies
the Constitution. Harmar’s unsuccessful expedition against the Indians
of the Northwest Territory.
1791. Admission of Vermont into the Union. Defeat of St. Clair by the
Miami Indians. Insurrection of the blacks in Hayti against the French.
Canada is divided into Upper and Lower Canada.
1792. Admission of Kentucky into the Union.
1793. Beginning of Washington’s second administration. Execution of
Louis XVI. and Marie Antoinette. Napoleon Bonaparte commands the French
artillery at the recapture of Toulon from the English.
1794. Whiskey Insurrection in Pennsylvania. The Miami Indians defeated
by Gen. Anthony Wayne near Maumee Rapids, Ohio.
1796. Admission of Tennessee into the Union. John Adams elected
President. Bonaparte becomes the conspicuous figure in European warfare.
1797. Trouble between France and the United States. The _Constellation_
captures _L’Insurgente_.
1798. Passage of the Alien and Sedition laws in the United States.
1799. Death of Washington.
1800. The seat of government of the United States is removed from
Philadelphia to Washington. Thomas Jefferson elected President.
Retrocession of Louisiana to France by Spain.
1801. War between Tripoli and the United States.
1802. Admission of Ohio into the Union.
1803. The Louisiana Purchase is negotiated with France.
1804. Thomas Jefferson re-elected President. Decatur captures and burns
the frigate _Philadelphia_ at Tripoli. Lewis and Clark Expedition,
1804–1806. Napoleon proclaimed Emperor of France.
1805. Peace between the United States and Tripoli.
1806. The _Leander_, a British naval vessel, fires into an American
coaster off Sandy Hook. Great Britain issues an “Order in Council”
declaring the coast of Europe from the Elbe to Brest under blockade.
Napoleon issues Berlin Decree. Culmination of Aaron Burr’s conspiracy
and his arrest.
1807. Congress prohibits the importation of slaves. The British
man-of-war _Leopard_ fires upon the American frigate _Chesapeake_
and takes four seamen claimed as British subjects. Aaron Burr tried
for conspiracy and treason, and acquitted. Another British “Order in
Council” forbids neutral nations to deal with France. Napoleon’s Milan
decree forbidding trade with England. American Embargo Act, prohibiting
foreign commerce.
1808. James Madison elected President. Embargo Act repealed.
Non-intercourse Act passed, forbidding commerce with Great Britain and
France.
1809. Recall of British minister asked by American government.
1810. Napoleon orders sale of captured American vessels, worth with
their cargoes $8,000,000.
1811. General Harrison defeats Tecumseh at Tippecanoe. Fight between
the United States frigate _President_ and the British sloop-of-war
_Little Belt_.
1812. Admission of Louisiana into the Union. The United States
declares war against Great Britain. The Americans, under Hull, invade
Canada. Surrender of Hull at Detroit. The _Constitution_ captures the
_Guerrière_; the _Wasp_ takes the _Frolic_; the _United States_, the
_Macedonian_; and the _Constitution_, the _Java_. James Madison
re-elected President. General Smyth makes a futile attempt to invade
Canada.
1813. The British are victorious at Frenchtown. The _Hornet_ captures
the _Peacock_. The Americans take York (Toronto), and the British
are repulsed at Sackett’s Harbor. Capture of the _Chesapeake_ by the
_Shannon_. The _Boxer_ taken by the _Enterprise_. Commodore Perry wins
the battle of Lake Erie.
1814. General Jackson defeats the Creek Indians. The _Essex_ surrenders
to the _Phœbe_ and the _Cherub_. The Americans are victorious at
Chippewa and Lundy’s Lane. Battle of Lake Champlain. In Europe the
year was chiefly notable for the entry of the Allies into Paris, the
abdication of Napoleon, and his withdrawal to Elba.
X
THE BATTLE OF LAKE ERIE, 1813
The opening of the nineteenth century brought years of humiliation,
in which American ideals of a neutral commerce, to be unrestricted
except by incidents of actual war, collided with the passions of
two nations engaged in a death-grapple between “the elephant and
the whale”--the French army and the English navy. The established
principles of international law were set aside, and fifteen hundred
American merchantmen were made prize under a series of iniquitous
Orders in Council and Decrees. American sailors were seized by
British cruisers on the high seas, even on a duly commissioned
American man-of-war. President Jefferson discovered that great
nations at war are not moved by ideals of permanent self-interest,
and that the rights and the friendship of little powers are not
trump-cards.
Then the country entered into the War of 1812 at the inopportune
moment when the snows of Russia were about to overwhelm Napoleon.
In the war the Americans held a talisman which could sway even
proud Albion: the victories of American cruisers, combined with the
heroism of the privateers, convinced the English that, after all,
David was a likely youth, whose sling might disturb the peace of
the nations; and they agreed, in the Peace of Ghent, in 1814, to
terms highly favorable to the United States. From that time down
to the Civil War the United States had the respect of all European
nations.
The War of 1812 seemed designed by Providence to teach the
Americans that free institutions do not of themselves create
trained soldiers or efficient officers. The field of land war was
strewn with the dead reputations of commanding officers, and the
nation underwent the deep humiliation of the destruction of the
national capital, but the magnificent conduct of the American
navy on the lakes and on the ocean showed what Americans could do
in a disciplined service with men properly armed and supplied.
Upon England especially the lesson that, ship against ship, the
Americans were their equals as navigators and fighting-men was
never lost. The naval victories, combined with the defeat of
the British by Jackson in the closing days of the war, left on
the minds of the Americans the impression of a second national
success.--Prof. Albert Bushnell Hart, in _National Ideals_.
Oliver Hazard Perry, the hero of Lake Erie, inherited from his father
a fearless, high-strung disposition, and early in life showed his
longing for adventure. The elder Perry was a seaman from the time he
could lift a handspike, and fought in the Revolutionary days, first
as a privateersman on a Boston letter-of-marque, and afterward as
a volunteer on board the frigate _Trumbull_ and the sloop-of-war
_Mifflin_. He was captured and imprisoned for eight long months in the
famous Jersey prison-ship, where he succeeded in braving the dangers of
disease, starvation, and hardship, and at last regained his liberty.
Once more he became a privateersman, but ill-fortune followed him. He
was captured in the English Channel, and confined for eighteen months
in a British prison, whence he again escaped and made his way to the
island of St. Thomas. From thence he sailed to Charleston, South
Carolina, where he arrived about the time that peace was concluded.
After that Perry found employment in the East Indian trade until 1798,
when he was appointed to the command of the U.S.S. _General Greene_. He
was the head of a large family, having married in 1783, the oldest of
his children being Oliver Hazard. Of the four other sons, three of them
also entered the navy and served with distinction.
Oliver Hazard as a boy was not physically strong; he grew tall at
an early age, and his strength was not in keeping with his inches.
Nevertheless, he declared himself positively in favor of taking up the
sea as a profession, and in April of 1799, after his father had been
in command of the _General Greene_ for one year, to his delight young
Perry received his midshipman’s warrant and joined the same ship.
The young midshipman made several cruises with his father to the West
Indies; his health and strength increased with the life in the open
air; he showed capacity and courage, and participated in the action
that resulted in the reduction of Jacmel in connection with the land
attack of the celebrated General Toussaint’s army. This was the last
active service of the _General Greene_; she was sold and broken up,
and upon the reduction of the navy in 1801 the elder Perry left the
service. In 1803 his son returned from a cruise in the Mediterranean
and was promoted to an acting lieutenancy.
In our naval history of this time the recurrence of various names,
and the references made over and over again to the same actions and
occurrences, are easily accountable when we think of the small number
of vessels the United States possessed and the surprisingly few
officers on the pay-rolls. The high feeling of _esprit de corps_ that
existed among them came from the fact that they each had a chance to
prove their courage and fidelity. There was a high standard set for
them to reach.
Oliver Hazard Perry went through the same school that, luckily
for us, graduated so many fine officers and sailors--that of the
Tripolitan war. After he returned to America, at the conclusion of
peace with Tripoli, he served in various capacities along the coast,
proving himself an efficient leader upon more than one occasion. The
first service upon which the young officer was employed after the
commencement of the war with England was taking charge of a flotilla of
gunboats stationed at Newport.
As this service was neither arduous nor calculated to bring chances
for active employment in the way of fighting, time hung on his hands,
and Perry chafed greatly under his enforced retirement. At last he
petitioned the government to place him in active service, stating
plainly his desire to be attached to the naval forces that were then
gathering under the command of Commodore Chauncey on the lakes.
His request was granted, to his great joy, and he set out with all
despatch.
It was at an early period of the war that the government had seen
the immense importance of gaining the command of the western lakes,
and in October of 1812 Commodore Chauncey had been ordered to take
seven hundred seamen and one hundred and fifty marines and proceed
by forced marches to Lake Ontario. There had been sent ahead of him
a large number of ship-builders and carpenters, and great activity
was displayed in building and outfitting a fleet which might give to
the United States the possession of Lake Ontario. There was no great
opposition made to the American arms by the British on this lake, but
the unfortunate surrender of General Hull had placed the English in
undisputed possession of Lake Erie.
In March, 1813, Captain Perry having been despatched to the port of
Erie, arrived there to find a fleet of ten sail being prepared to take
the waters against the British fleet under Commodore Barclay--an old
and experienced leader, a hero of the days of Nelson and the _Victory_.
Before Perry’s arrival a brilliant little action had taken place in
October of the previous year. Two British vessels, the _Detroit_ and
the _Caledonia_, came down the lake and anchored under the guns of the
British Fort Erie on the Canadian side. At that time Lieutenant Elliott
was superintending the naval affairs on Lake Erie, and, the news having
been brought to him of the arrival of the English vessels on the
opposite side, he immediately determined to make a night attack and
cut them out. For a long time a body of seamen had been tramping their
toilsome march from the Hudson River to the lakes, and Elliott, hearing
that they were but some thirty miles away, despatched a messenger to
hasten them forward; at the same time he began to prepare two small
boats for the expedition. About twelve o’clock the wearied seamen,
footsore and hungry, arrived, and then it was discovered that in the
whole draft there were but twenty pistols, and no cutlasses, pikes, or
battle-axes. But Elliott was not dismayed. Applying to General Smyth,
who was in command of the regulars, for arms and assistance, he was
supplied with a few muskets and pistols, and about fifty soldiers were
detached to aid him.
Late in the afternoon Elliott had picked out his crews and manned the
two boats, putting about fifty men in each; but he did not stir until
one o’clock on the following morning, when in the pitch darkness he
set out from the mouth of Buffalo Creek, with a long pull ahead. The
wind was not strong enough to make good use of the sails, and the poor
sailors were so weary that those who were not rowing lay sleeping,
huddled together on their arms, and displaying great listlessness and
little desire for fighting. At three o’clock Elliott was alongside the
British vessels. It was a complete surprise; in ten minutes he had
full possession of them and had secured the crews as prisoners. But
after making every exertion to get under sail, he found to his bitter
disappointment that the wind was unfortunately so light that the rapid
current made them gather an increasing sternway every instant. Another
unfortunate circumstance was that he would have to pass the British
fort below and quite close to hand, for he was on the Canadian shore.
As the vessels came in sight of the British battery, the latter opened
a heavy fire of round and grape, and several pieces of flying artillery
stationed in the woods took up the chorus.
The _Caledonia_, being a smaller vessel, succeeded in getting out of
the current, and was beached in as safe a position as possible under
one of the American batteries at Black Rock, across the river; but
Elliott was compelled to drop his anchor at the distance of about four
hundred yards from two of the British batteries. He was almost at their
mercy, and in the extremity he tried the effect of a ruse, or, better,
made a threat that we must believe he never intended carrying into
effect.
Observing an officer standing on the top of an earthwork, he hailed him
at the top of his voice:
“Heigh, there, Mr. John Bull! if you fire another gun at me I’ll bring
up all my prisoners, and you can use them for targets!” he shouted.
The answer was the simultaneous discharge of all of the Englishman’s
guns. But not a single prisoner was brought on deck to share the fate
of the Americans, who felt the effect of the fire, and who now began
to make strenuous efforts to return it. Elliott brought all of the
guns on one side of his ship, and replied briskly, until he suddenly
discovered that all of his ammunition was expended. Now there was but
one chance left: to cut the cable, drift down the river out of the
reach of the heavy batteries, and make a stand against the flying
artillery with small arms. This was accordingly done, but as the sails
were raised the fact was ascertained that the pilot had taken French
leave. No one else knew the channel, and, swinging about, the vessel
drifted astern for some ten minutes; then, fortunately striking a
cross-current, she brought up on the shore of Squaw Island, near the
American side. Elliott sent a boat to the mainland with the prisoners
first. It experienced great difficulty in making the passage, being
almost swamped once or twice, and it did not return. Affairs had
reached a crisis, but with the aid of a smaller boat, and by the
exercise of great care, the remainder of the prisoners and the crew
succeeded in getting on shore at about eight o’clock in the morning.
At about eleven o’clock a company of British regulars rowed over from
the Canadian shore to Squaw Island and boarded the _Detroit_, their
intention being to destroy her and burn up the munitions with which she
was laden. Seeing their purpose, Major Cyrenus Chapin, a good Yankee
from Massachusetts, called for volunteers to return to the island,
and, despite the difficulties ahead, almost every man signified his
willingness to go. Quickly making his selection, Major Chapin succeeded
in landing with about thirty men at his back, and drove off the English
before they had managed to start the flames. About three o’clock a
second attempt was made, but it was easily repulsed.
The _Detroit_ mounted six long six-pounders, and her crew numbered
some sixty men. She was worth saving, but so badly was she grounded on
the island that it was impossible to get her off, and, after taking
her stores out, Elliott set her on fire to get rid of her. The little
_Caledonia_ was quite a valuable capture, aside from her armament, as
she had on board a cargo of furs whose value has been estimated at one
hundred and fifty thousand dollars.
But to return to the condition of affairs upon the arrival of Captain
Perry. The fleet that in a few weeks he had under his command consisted
of the brig _Lawrence_, of twenty guns, to which he attached his flag;
the _Niagara_, of twenty guns, in command of Elliott; and the schooners
_Caledonia_ and _Ariel_, of three and four guns respectively. There
were, besides, six smaller vessels, carrying from one to two guns each;
in all, Perry’s fleet mounted fifty-five guns. The British fleet, under
command of Barclay, consisted of the _Detroit_ (named after the one
that was wrecked), the _Queen Charlotte_, and the _Lady Prevost_. They
mounted nineteen, seventeen, and thirteen guns, in the order named. The
brig _Hunter_ carried ten guns; the sloop _Little Belt_, three; and the
schooner _Chippeway_, one gun; in all, Barclay had sixty-three guns,
not counting several swivels--that is, more than eight guns to the good.
The morning of September 10th dawned fine and clear. Perry, with his
fleet anchored about him, lay in the quiet waters of Put-in Bay. A
light breeze was blowing from the south. Very early a number of sail
were seen out on the lake beyond the point, and soon the strangers
were discovered to be the British fleet. Everything depended now
upon the speed with which the Americans could prepare for action.
In twelve minutes every vessel was under way and sailing out to
meet the on-comers; the _Lawrence_ led the line. As the two fleets
approached, the British concentrated the fire of their long and heavy
guns upon her. She came on in silence; at her peak was flying a huge
motto-flag--plain to view were the words of the brave commander of the
_Chesapeake_, “Don’t give up the ship.”
The responsibility that rested upon the young commander’s shoulders
was great; his position was most precarious. This was the first action
between the fleets of the two hostile countries; it was a battle for
the dominion of the lakes; defeat meant that the English could land
at any time an expeditionary force at any point they chose along the
shores of our natural northern barrier. The _Lawrence_ had slipped
quite a way ahead of the others, and Perry found that he would have to
close, in order to return the English fire, as at the long distance he
was surely being ripped to pieces.
Signalling the rest of the fleet to follow him, he made all sail
and bore down upon the English; but, to quote from the account in
the _Naval Temple_, printed in the year 1816, “Every brace and
bowline of the _Lawrence_ being shot away, she became unmanageable,
notwithstanding the great exertion of the sailing-master. In this
situation she sustained the action within canister distance upward of
two hours, until every gun was rendered useless and the greater part of
her crew either killed or wounded.”
It is easy to imagine the feelings of Perry at this moment. The smaller
vessels of his fleet had not come within firing distance; there was
absolutely nothing for him to do on board the flag-ship except to lower
his flag. Yet there was one forlorn-hope that occurred to the young
commander, and without hesitation he called away the only boat capable
of floating; taking his flag, he quitted the _Lawrence_ and rowed off
for the _Niagara_. The most wonderful accounts of hair-breadth escapes
could not equal that of Perry upon this occasion. Why his boat was not
swamped, or its crew and commander killed, cannot be explained. Three
of the British ships fired broadsides at him at pistol-shot distance as
he passed by them in succession; and, although the water boiled about
him, and the balls whistled but a few inches overhead, he reached the
_Niagara_ in safety.
[Illustration: THE TWO SQUADRONS JUST BEFORE THE BATTLE
In this diagram and the following, A is the British squadron, and
its vessels are designated by Roman numerals: I, _Chippeway_; II,
_Detroit_; III, _Hunter_; IV, _Queen Charlotte_; V, _Lady Prevost_;
VI, _Little Belt_. B is the American squadron, and the vessels
are designated by Arabic numerals: 1, _Scorpion_; 2, _Ariel_; 3,
_Lawrence_; 4, _Caledonia_; 5, _Niagara_; 6, _Somers_; 7, _Porcupine_;
8, _Tigress_; 9, _Trippe_.
The diagrams were furnished to Benson J. Lossing by Commodore Stephen
Champlin, of the United States Navy, the commander of the _Scorpion_ in
the battle.]
There are but a few parallel cases to this, of a commander leaving one
ship and transferring his flag to another in the heat of action.
The Duke of York upon one occasion shifted his flag, in the battle of
Solebay; and in the battle of Texel, fought on August 11, 1673, the
English Admiral Sprague shifted his flag from the _Royal Prince_ to the
_St. George_; and the Dutch Admiral Van Tromp shifted his flag from
the _Golden Lion_ to the _Comet_, owing to the former vessel being
practically destroyed by a concentrated fire. This does not detract
from the gallantry of Perry’s achievement. The danger he faced was
great, and he was probably closer to the enemy’s vessels than any of
the commanders above mentioned.
[Illustration: THE FIRST POSITION IN THE BATTLE]
Perry’s younger brother, who was but a midshipman, was one of the seven
other men in the boat. They left on board the _Lawrence_ not above a
half-score of able-bodied men to look after the numerous wounded. Owing
to the opinions of many of the contemporary writers, who gave way to
an intense feeling of partisanship, some bitterness was occasioned and
sides were taken in regard to the actions of Master Commandant Elliott
and his superior officer; but, looking back at it from this day, we
can see little reason for any feeling of jealousy. It is hard to point
the finger at any one on the American side in this action and say that
he did not do his duty. As Perry reached the side of the _Niagara_
the wind died away until it was almost calm; the smaller vessels, the
sloops and schooners--the _Somers_, the _Scorpion_, the _Tigress_, the
_Ohio_, and the _Porcupine_--were seen to be well astern. Upon Perry
setting foot on deck, Elliott congratulated him upon the way he had
left his ship, and volunteered to bring up the boats to windward, if
he could be spared. Upon receiving permission, he jumped into the boat
in which Perry had rowed from the _Lawrence_ and set out to bring up
all the forces. Every effort was made to form a front of battle, and
the little gunboats, urged on by sweeps and oars, were soon engaged in
a race for glory. In the mean time, however, the English had slackened
their fire as they saw the big flag lowered from the _Lawrence’s_
mast-head; they supposed that the latter had struck, and set up a
tremendous cheering. This was hushed as they caught sight of the flash
of oars and realized what was going forward. In a few minutes, out
of the thick smoke came the _Niagara_, breaking their line and firing
her broadsides with such good execution that great confusion followed
throughout the fleet. Two of their larger brigs, the _Queen Charlotte_
and _Detroit_, ran afoul of each other, and the _Niagara_, giving
signal for close action, ran across the bow of one ship and the stern
of the other, raking them both with fearful effect; then, squaring away
and running astern of the _Lady Prevost_, she got in another raking
fire, and, sheering off, made for the _Hunter_. Now the little one-gun
and two-gun vessels of the American fleet were giving good accounts of
themselves.
[Illustration: From a painting by Carlton T. Chapman
BATTLE OF LAKE ERIE]
Although their crews were exposed to full view and stood waist-high
above the bulwarks, they did no dodging; their shots were well
directed, and they raked the Englishmen fore and aft, carrying away all
the masts of the _Detroit_ and the mizzen-mast of the _Queen Charlotte_.
A few minutes after 3 P.M. a white flag at the end of a boarding-pike
was lifted above the bulwarks of the _Hunter_. At sight of this the
_Chippeway_ and _Little Belt_ crowded all sail and tried to escape,
but in less than a quarter of an hour they were captured and brought
back by the _Trippe_ and _Scorpion_, under the commands of Lieutenant
Thomas Holdup and Sailing-Master Stephen Champlin. With a ringing cheer
the word went through the line that the British had surrendered. The
sovereignty of Lake Erie belonged to America. The question of supremacy
was settled.
The events of the day had been most dramatic. This fight amid the
wooded shores and extending arms of the bay was viewed from shore by
hundreds of anxious Americans. The bright sunlight and calm surface
of the lake, the enshrouding fog of smoke that from shore hid all but
the spurts of flame and the topmasts and occasionally the flags of the
vessels engaged, all had combined to make a drama of the most exciting
and awe-inspiring interest. Nor was the last act to be a letting-down.
Perry determined to receive the surrender of the defeated enemy
nowhere else but on the deck of his old flag-ship that was slowly
drifting up into the now intermingled fleets.
[Illustration: THE SECOND POSITION IN THE BATTLE]
Once more he lowered his broad pennant and rowed out for the crippled
_Lawrence_. He was received on board with three feeble cheers,
the wounded joining in, and a number of men crawling up from the
slaughter-pen of a cockpit, begrimed and bloody.
On board the _Lawrence_ there had been left but one surgeon, Usher
Parsons. He came on deck red to the elbows from his work below, and the
terrible execution done by the concentrated English fire was evident
to the English officers as they stepped on board the flag-ship. Dead
men lay everywhere. A whole gun’s crew were littered about alongside of
their wrecked piece. From below came the mournful howling of a dog. The
cockpit had been above the water’s surface, owing to the _Lawrence’s_
shallow draught, and here was a frightful sight. The wounded had been
killed outright or wounded again as they lay on the surgeon’s table.
Twice had Perry called away the surgeon’s aids to help work ship, and
once his hail of “Can any wounded men below there pull a rope?” was
answered by three or four brave, mangled fellows crawling up on deck to
try to do their duty. All this was apparent to the English officers as
they stepped over the bodies of the dead and went aft to where Perry
stood with his arms folded, no vainglorious expression on his face,
but one of sadness for the deeds that had been done that day. Each of
the English officers in turn presented his sword, and in reply Perry
bowed and requested that the side-arms should be retained. As soon as
the formalities had been gone through with, Perry tore off the back of
an old letter he took from his pocket, and, using his stiff hat for
a writing-desk, scribbled the historic message which a detractor has
charged he cribbed from Julius Caesar: “We have met the enemy and they
are ours:--two ships, two brigs, one schooner, and one sloop.”
Calling away a small boat, he sent Midshipman Forrest with the report
to Gen. William Henry Harrison.
A computation has been made by one historian of the number of guns
directed against the _Lawrence_ in the early part of the action. The
English had heavier armaments and more long guns; they could fight at
a distance where the chubby carronade was useless. The _Lawrence_ had
but seven guns whose shots could reach her opponents, while the British
poured into her the concentrated fire of thirty-two. This accounts for
the frightful carnage.
[Illustration: POSITIONS AT THE CLOSE OF THE BATTLE]
When the _Lawrence_ was being shot through and through, and there
were but three guns that could reply to the enemy’s fire, Lieutenant
Yarnell, disfigured by a bad wound across his face from a splinter,
came up to where Perry was standing. “The officers of my division
have all been cut down,” he said. “Can I have others?” Perry looked
about him and sent three of his aid to help Yarnell, but in less than
a quarter of an hour the lieutenant returned again. His words were
almost the same as before, but he had a fresh wound in his shoulder.
“Those officers,” he said, “have been cut down also.”
“There are no more,” Perry replied. “Do your best without them.”
Three times was Yarnell wounded, and three times after his wounds had
been hurriedly dressed he returned to his post.
Dulany Forrest, the midshipman whom Perry sent with the despatch to
General Harrison, had a most remarkable escape. He was a brave lad who
had faced death before; he had seen the splinters fly in the action
between the _Constitution_ and the _Java_. Forrest was standing close
to Captain Perry when a grape-shot that had glanced from the side of a
port struck the mast, and, again deflected, caught the midshipman in
the chest. He fell, gasping, at Perry’s feet.
“Are you badly hurt, lad?” asked the latter, anxiously, as he raised
the midshipman on his knee.
“No, sir; not much,” the latter answered, as he caught his breath. “But
this is my shot, I think.” And with that he extracted the half-spent
ball from his clothing and slipped it into his pocket.
Midshipman Henry Laub was killed in the cockpit just after having had a
dressing applied to his shattered right arm. A Narragansett Indian who
served as a gunner in the forward division of the _Lawrence_ was killed
in the same manner.
A summary of the losses on both sides shows that, despite the
death-list of the _Lawrence_, the English loss was more severe. On
board the American flag-ship, twenty-two were killed and sixty-one were
wounded; on board the _Niagara_, two killed and twenty-five wounded;
the _Ariel_ had one killed and three wounded; the _Scorpion_, two
killed; the _Caledonia_, three wounded; and the _Somers_ and _Trippe_
each showed but two wounded men apiece. In all, twenty-seven were
killed and ninety-six wounded on the American side. The comparison of
the loss of the rest of the fleet and that suffered by the _Lawrence_
makes a remarkable showing. The English lost forty-one killed and
ninety-four wounded altogether. A number of Canadian Indians were found
on board the English vessels. They had been engaged as marksmen, but
the first shot had taken all the fight out of them, and they had hidden
and skulked for safety.
Perry’s treatment of the prisoners was magnanimous. Everything that
would tend to relieve the sufferings of the wounded was done, and
relief was distributed impartially among the sufferers on both sides.
The result of this action was a restoration of practical peace along
the frontier of the lake. The British evacuated Detroit and Michigan,
and the dreaded invasion of the Indians that the settlers had feared so
long was headed off.
Perry, who held but a commission of master commandant, despite his
high-acting rank, was promoted at once to a captaincy, the date of his
commission bearing the date of his victory. He was given the command
of the frigate _Java_, a new forty-four-gun ship then fitting out at
Baltimore. Gold medals were awarded to him and to Elliott by Congress,
and silver medals to each of the commissioned officers. A silver medal
also was given to the nearest male relative of Lieutenant Brooks, of
the marines, and swords to the nearest male relatives of Midshipmen
Laub, Claxton, and Clark. Three months’ extra pay was voted to all the
officers, seamen, and marines, and, in addition, Congress gave $225,000
in prize-money, to be divided among the American forces engaged in
the action. This sum was distributed in the following proportions:
Commodore Chauncey, who was in command on the lakes, $12,750; Perry and
Elliott, $7140 each--besides which Congress voted Perry an additional
$5000; the commanders of gunboats, lieutenants, sailing-masters, and
lieutenants of marines received $2295 each; midshipmen, $811; petty
officers, $447 per capita; and marines and sailors, $209 apiece.
No money, however, could repay the brave men for the service they had
rendered the country. To-day the dwellers along the shores of Lake Erie
preserve the anniversary of the battle as an occasion for rejoicing.
While the naval actions at sea reflected honor and glory to their
commanders and credit to the service, the winning of Lake Erie averted
a national catastrophe.[99]
XI
THE BATTLE OF LAKE CHAMPLAIN, 1814
The first Thomas Macdonough was a major in the Continental Army,
and his three sons also possessed desires for entering the service
of their country. The oldest had been a midshipman under Commodore
Truxton, but, being wounded in the action between the _Constellation_
and the _L’Insurgente_, he had to retire from the navy owing to the
amputation of his leg. But his younger brother, Thomas Macdonough, Jr.,
succeeded him, and he has rendered his name and that of Lake Champlain
inseparable; but his fearlessness and bravery were shown on many
occasions long before he was ordered to the lakes.
In 1806 he was first-lieutenant of the _Siren_, a little sloop-of-war
in the Mediterranean service. On one occasion when Captain Smith,
the commander of the _Siren_, had gone on shore, young Lieutenant
Macdonough saw a boat from a British frigate lying in the harbor row
up to an American brig a short distance off, and afterward put out
again with one more man in her than she had originally. This looked
suspicious, and Macdonough sent to the brig to ascertain the reason,
with the result that he found that an American had been impressed by
the English captain’s orders. Macdonough quietly lowered his own boat
and put after the heavy cutter, which he soon overhauled. Although
he had but four men with him, he took the man out of the cutter and
brought him on board the _Siren_. When the English captain heard, or
rather saw, what had occurred--it was right under the bow of his
frigate that the affair took place--he waxed wroth, and, calling away
his gig, he rowed to the _Siren_ to demand an explanation.
The following account of the incident is quoted from the life of
Macdonough in Frost’s _Naval Biography_:
“The Englishman desired to know how Macdonough dared to take a man from
one of his Majesty’s boats. The lieutenant, with great politeness,
asked him down into the cabin; this he refused, at the same time
repeating the same demand, with abundance of threats. The Englishman
threw out some threats that he would take the man by force, and said he
would haul the frigate alongside the _Siren_ for that purpose. To this
Macdonough replied that he supposed his ship could sink the _Siren_,
but as long as she could swim he should keep the man. The English
captain said to Macdonough:
“‘You are a very young man, and a very indiscreet young man. Suppose I
had been in the boat--what would you have done?’
“‘I would have taken the man or lost my life.’
“‘What, sir! would you attempt to stop me, if I were now to attempt to
impress men from that brig?’
“‘I would; and to convince yourself I would, you have only to make the
attempt.’
“On this the Englishman went on board his ship, and shortly afterward
was seen bearing down in the direction of the American vessel.
Macdonough ordered his boat manned and armed, got into her himself, and
was in readiness for pursuit. The Englishman took a circuit around the
American brig, and returned again to the frigate. When Captain Smith
came on board he justified the conduct of Macdonough, and declared his
intention to protect the American seaman.”
Although Macdonough was very young, and his rank but that of a
lieutenant, people who knew him were not surprised to hear that he
had been appointed to take command of the little squadron on Lake
Champlain. These vessels were built of green pine, and almost without
exception constructed in a hurried fashion. They had to be of light
draught, and yet, odd to relate, their general model was the same as
that of ships that were expected to meet storms and high seas.
Macdonough was just the man for the place; as in the case of Perry, he
had a superb self-reliance and was eager to meet the enemy.
Lake Champlain and the country that surrounds it were considered
of great importance by the English, and, descending from Canada,
large bodies of troops poured into New York State. But the American
government had, long before the war was fairly started, recognized the
advantage of keeping the water communications on the northern frontier.
The English began to build vessels on the upper part of the lake, and
the small force of ships belonging to the Americans was increased as
fast as possible. It was a race to see which could prepare the better
fleet in the shorter space of time.
In the fall of the year 1814 the English had one fairly sized frigate,
the _Confiance_, mounting thirty-nine guns; a brig, the _Linnet_; a
sloop, _Chubb_, and the sloop _Finch_; besides which they possessed
thirteen large galleys, aggregating eighteen guns. In all, therefore,
the English fleet mounted ninety-five guns. The Americans had the
_Saratoga_, sloop of war, twenty-six guns; the _Eagle_, twenty; the
_Ticonderoga_, seventeen; the _Preble_, seven; and ten galleys carrying
sixteen; their total armament was nine guns less than the British.
By the first week in September Sir George Prevost had organized
his forces and started at the head of fourteen thousand men to the
southward. It was his intention to dislodge General Macomb, who was
stationed at Plattsburg, where considerable fortifications had been
erected. A great deal of the militia force had been drawn down the
State to the city of New York, owing to the fears then entertained
that the British intended making an attack upon the city from their
fleet. It was Sir George’s plan to destroy forever the power of the
Americans upon the lake, and for that reason it was necessary to
capture the naval force which had been for some time under the command
of Macdonough. The English leader arranged a plan with Captain Downie,
who was at the head of the squadron, that simultaneous attacks should
be made by water and land. At eight o’clock on the morning of September
11th news was brought to Lieutenant Macdonough that the enemy was
approaching. As his own vessels were in a good position to repel an
attack, he decided to remain at anchor and await the onslaught in a
line formation. In about an hour the enemy had come within gunshot
distance, and formed a line of his own parallel with that of the
Americans. There was little or no breeze, and consequently small
chance for manœuvring. The _Confiance_ evidently claimed the honor
of exchanging broadsides with the _Saratoga_. The _Linnet_ stopped
opposite the _Eagle_, and the galleys rowed in and began to fire at the
_Ticonderoga_ and the _Preble_.
[Illustration: PLAN OF THE NAVAL ACTION ON LAKE CHAMPLAIN]
Macdonough wrote such a clear and concise account of the action that it
is best to quote from it:
“... The whole force on both sides became engaged, the _Saratoga_
suffering much from the heavy fire of the _Confiance_. I could perceive
at the same time, however, that our fire was very destructive to her.
The _Ticonderoga_, Lieutenant-Commandant Cassin, gallantly sustained
her full share of the action. At half-past ten the _Eagle_, not being
able to bring her guns to bear, cut her cable, and anchored in a more
eligible position, between my ship and the _Ticonderoga_, where she
very much annoyed the enemy, but unfortunately leaving me exposed to a
galling fire from the enemy’s brig.
“Our guns on the starboard side being nearly all dismounted or
unmanageable, a stern-anchor was let go, the bower-cable cut, and
the ship winded with a fresh broadside on the enemy’s ship, which
soon after surrendered. Our broadside was then sprung to bear on the
brig, which struck about fifteen minutes afterward. The sloop which
was opposed to the _Eagle_ had struck some time before, and drifted
down the line. The sloop which was with their galleys had also struck.
Three of their galleys are said to be sunk; the others pulled off. Our
galleys were about obeying with alacrity the signal to follow them,
when all the vessels were reported to me to be in a sinking state. It
then became necessary to annul the signal to the galleys and order
their men to the pumps. I could only look at the enemy’s galleys going
off in a shattered condition, for there was not a mast in either
squadron that could stand to make sail on. The lower rigging, being
nearly all shot away, hung down as though it had just been placed over
the mast-heads.
“The _Saratoga_ had fifty-nine round shot in her hull; the _Confiance_
one hundred and five. The enemy’s shot passed principally just over our
heads, as there were not twenty whole hammocks in the nettings at the
close of the action, which lasted, without intermission, two hours and
twenty minutes.
“The absence and sickness of Lieutenant Raymond Perry left me without
the assistance of that able officer. Much ought fairly to be attributed
to him for his great care and attention in disciplining the ship’s
crew as her first-lieutenant. His place was filled by a gallant young
officer, Lieutenant Peter Gamble, who, I regret to inform you, was
killed early in the action.”
The English had begun the action as if they never doubted the result
being to their advantage, and, before taking up their positions in
the line parallel to Macdonough’s, Downie had sailed upon the waiting
fleet bows on; thus most of his vessels had been severely raked before
they were able to return the fire. As soon as Sir George Prevost saw
the results of the action out on the water, he gave up all idea of
conquest, and began the retreat that left New York free to breathe
again. The frontier was saved. The hills and the shores of the lake had
been crowded with multitudes of farmers, and the two armies encamped on
shore had stopped their own preparations and fighting to watch.
Sir George Prevost had bombarded the American forts from the opposite
side of the River Saranac, and a brigade endeavored to ford the river
with the intention of attacking the rear of General Macomb’s position.
However, they got lost in the woods, and were recalled by a mounted
messenger just in time to hear the cheers and shouts of victory arise
from all about them.
In the battle the _Saratoga_ had twenty-eight men killed and
twenty-nine wounded, more than a quarter of her entire crew; the
_Eagle_ lost thirteen killed and twenty wounded; the _Ticonderoga_,
six killed and six wounded; the _Preble_, two killed; and the galleys,
three killed and three wounded. The _Saratoga_ was hulled fifty-five
times, and had caught on fire twice from the hot shot fired by the
_Confiance_. The latter vessel was reported to have lost forty-one
killed outright and eighty-three wounded. In all, the British loss was
eighty-four killed and one hundred and ten wounded.
Macdonough received substantial testimonials of gratitude from the
country at large, the Legislature of New York giving him one thousand
acres of land, and the State of Vermont two hundred. Besides this, the
corporations of Albany and New York City made him the present of a
valuable lot, and from his old command in the Mediterranean he received
a handsome presentation sword.[100]
SYNOPSIS OF THE PRINCIPAL EVENTS, CHIEFLY MILITARY, IN THE HISTORY OF
THE UNITED STATES, BETWEEN THE BATTLE OF LAKE CHAMPLAIN, 1814, AND THE
WAR WITH MEXICO, 1846–1847
1814. General Jackson seizes Pensacola. The Hartford Convention. Treaty
of Ghent between Great Britain and the United States terminates the war.
1815. Before the news of peace reached this country General Jackson
repulses the British attack on New Orleans, defeating in a bloody
battle veterans who had fought against Napoleon. Escape of Napoleon
from Elba. The “Hundred Days.” Battle of Waterloo. Second abdication of
Napoleon, who is sent to St. Helena. Commodore Decatur imposes terms
upon the Dey of Algiers, and exacts reparation from Tunis and Tripoli.
1816. James Monroe elected President. Indiana admitted into the Union.
1817. Admission of Mississippi into the Union.
1818. Beginning of the Seminole War. Illinois admitted into the Union.
Act passed establishing the flag of the United States. General Jackson
captures Spanish fort, St. Mark’s, Florida.
1819. Treaty between the United States and Spain for the cession of
Florida (formal possession given in 1821). Admission of Alabama into
the Union.
1820. Admission of Maine into the Union. Adoption of the Missouri
Compromise, 1820, 1821. James Monroe re-elected President.
1822. Establishment of the colony of Liberia. The President recommends
recognition of the independence of the South American States and Mexico.
1823. The President announces the “Monroe Doctrine.”
1824. John Quincy Adams elected President.
1825. Corner-stone of Bunker Hill monument laid in presence of
Lafayette.
1827. Parry’s expedition to the Arctic circle, latitude 82° 45´.
1828. Andrew Jackson elected President.
1829. First locomotive tried in the United States, at Honesdale, Pa.
1830. The Webster-Hayne debate in Congress. Establishment of the Mormon
Church.
1831. William Lloyd Garrison begins the publication of the _Liberator_
in Boston.
1832. Black Hawk War. Defeat of the Sacs and the Foxes. Nullification
movement in South Carolina. Andrew Jackson re-elected President.
1833. Henry Clay’s tariff compromise. President Jackson removes the
public funds from the Bank of the United States. Formation of the
American Anti-Slavery Society.
1834. Act of Congress for the formation of Indian Territory.
1835. Outbreak of the Second Seminole War. Revolution in Texas against
Mexican authority. Great fire in New York.
1836. Admission of Arkansas into the Union. Martin Van Buren elected
President. Storming of the Alamo by Santa Anna. Houston defeats the
Mexicans on the San Jacinto. The republic of Texas proclaimed.
1837. Admission of Michigan into the Union. Financial panic throughout
the United States.
1838. Inauguration of transatlantic steam navigation.
1839. Dissolution of the Confederacy of Central America.
1840. William Henry Harrison elected President.
1841. John Tyler succeeds to the Presidency after the death of
President Harrison.
1842. Final termination of the Seminole War. The Ashburton Treaty
between Great Britain and the United States for the settlement of the
Northeastern boundary line concluded. Dorr’s Rebellion in Rhode Island.
1844. James K. Polk elected President. Invention of the electric
telegraph.
1845. Admission of Florida and Texas into the Union.
1846. Admission of Iowa into the Union. War begins between the United
States and Mexico. The Mexicans defeated at Palo Alto and Resaca de la
Palma. Surrender of Monterey. Occupation of California and New Mexico
by the American forces. Treaty between Great Britain and the United
States for the settlement of the Northwestern boundary-line dispute.
Discovery of anæsthetics by Doctor Norton.
1847. General Taylor defeats Santa Anna at Buena Vista. Occupation of
Vera Cruz. American victories at Pueblo, Contreras, and Churubusco.
Storming of Molino del Rey. Storming of Chapultepec and occupation of
the City of Mexico.
XII
THE RUPTURE WITH MEXICO, 1843–1846
I
THE APPROACH OF WAR
Upon the annexation of Texas (in 1845) Mexico at once severed her
diplomatic relations with the United States. This result had been
foreshadowed by the utterances of Mexican officials dating from the
revival of the question in 1843. The relations, however, of the two
countries had been difficult to adjust from the time when Mexico became
independent in 1821. The most serious friction between them arose
concerning four subjects: claims of the United States citizens on the
government of Mexico; assistance given the Texans by the people of the
United States; violation of Mexican territory by United States troops;
and the annexation of Texas.
* * * * *
The immediate occasion, however, of the breach of diplomatic relations
in 1845 was the annexation of Texas. When rumors of the renewal of the
annexation movement came to the city of Mexico in the summer of 1843,
President Santa Anna gave notice to the United States government, in a
letter dated August 23d, from Secretary of State Bocanegra to Minister
Waddy Thompson, that “the Mexican government will consider equivalent
to a declaration of war against the Mexican Republic the passage of an
act for the incorporation of Texas with the territory of the United
States; the certainty of the fact being sufficient for the immediate
proclamation of war, leaving to the civilized world to determine with
regard to the justice of the cause of the Mexican Nation, in a struggle
which it has been so far from provoking.”[101]
Thompson replied immediately with a sharply resentful letter,
questioning the sources of information of the Mexican authorities as
to the prospect of annexation, but refusing any explanation whatever.
Another letter from Bocanegra to Thompson asserted that the advices of
the Mexican government on the subject were official and reliable, and
sought to justify the attitude of Mexico as follows: “but as it may
happen that ambition and delusion may prevail over public propriety,
that personal views may triumph over sane and just ideas, and that the
vigorous reasoning of Mr. John Quincy Adams and his co-laborers may
be ineffectual, how can it be considered strange and out of the way
that Mexico, under such a supposition, should announce that she will
regard the annexation of Texas as an act of declaration of war?”[102]
Secretary of State Upshur approved the course of Thompson, and
instructed him that, in case he were again addressed in such offensive
language, he should demand either a withdrawal of the letter or a
suitable apology.
On November 3, 1843, Almonte, the Mexican minister at Washington, in
accordance with the instructions of his government, notified Upshur,
in a communication whose terms were hardly less offensive than those
used by Bocanegra to Thompson, that if “the United States should, in
defiance of good faith and of the principles of justice which they
have constantly proclaimed, commit the unheard-of act of violence
(_inaudito atentado_--the expression [says the official translator] is
much stronger than the translation) of appropriating to themselves an
integrant part of the Mexican territory, the undersigned, in the name
of his Nation, and now for them, protests, in the most solemn manner,
against such an aggression; and he moreover declares, by express order
of his Government, that, on sanction being given by the Executive of
the Union to the incorporation of Texas into the United States, he will
consider his mission ended, seeing that, as the Secretary of State will
have learned, the Mexican Government is resolved to declare war so soon
as it receives information of such an act.” On November 8th Upshur
replied, in a restrained and dignified way, repelling both the threats
and insinuations of Almonte’s letter and intimating that the policy of
the United States would not be affected by them.[103] To this Almonte
rejoined, on the 11th, suggesting that Upshur had been misled by an
incorrect translation of the letter of November 3d, and disclaiming any
intention to impute to the authorities of the American Union unworthy
views or designs as to Texas. December 1, 1843, Upshur replied, denying
that he had misunderstood Almonte, and declaring that the United States
regarded Texas as an independent nation and did not feel called on to
consult any other nation in dealing with it.[104]
On the accomplishment of annexation, the threat of Almonte was carried
out. The joint resolution making the offer was approved March 1, 1845,
and on March 6th he demanded his passports. March 28th the United
States minister in Mexico was officially notified that the diplomatic
intercourse between the two countries was at an end.[105] The
expressions of the Mexican papers indicated the most intense popular
excitement in that country, and those of the government treated the
war as already existing.[106] Two decrees were passed by the Mexican
congress and approved by President Herrera, one on June 4th and the
other on June 7th, providing for an increase of the available force in
order to resist annexation.[107] July 20th the “supreme government,”
or executive, recommended to the congress a declaration of war against
the United States from the moment when the government should know that
annexation had been effected or Texas had been invaded.
There can be little question, indeed, that impatience on both sides had
gone beyond the point of safety and was threatening appeal to arms. No
theory of a conspiracy is needed to explain the war with Mexico. While
it was strongly opposed and condemned by a bold and outspoken minority,
the votes in Congress and the utterances of the contemporaneous
journals show that it was essentially a popular movement, both in
Mexico and in the United States. The disagreement reached the verge
of an outbreak in 1837, and the only thing that prevented a conflict
then was that Congress was a bit more conservative than the President;
but neither the aggressiveness of Jackson nor even that of Polk would
have been so likely to end in actual fighting had it not been well
understood that they were backed by sympathetic majorities. On the
Mexican side, at the critical moment, the pacific tendencies of the
executive were overpowered by the angry impulse of the people.
May 28, 1845, General Taylor, who was in command of the troops in the
Southwest, was ordered, in view of the prospect of annexation, to hold
himself in readiness to advance into Texas with the approval of the
Texan authorities, and to defend that republic from any invasion of
which he should be officially informed after Texas had consented to
annexation on the terms offered. June 15th he was ordered to advance,
with the western frontier of Texas for his ultimate destination. There
he was to occupy a convenient point “on or near the Rio Grande,” but
to limit himself to the defence of the territory of Texas unless Mexico
should declare war against the United States. He was subsequently
directed to protect the territory up to the Rio Grande, avoiding,
however, except in case of an outbreak of hostilities, any attack
on posts actually held by Mexicans, but placing at least a part of
his forces west of the Nueces.[108] In July, General Taylor advanced
into Texas, and in August he established his camp on the west bank
of the Nueces, near Corpus Christi.[109] The spot which he selected
could hardly be considered as “near” the Rio Grande, being, in fact,
about one hundred and fifty miles therefrom. The location was chosen
because of its convenience as a temporary base either for defensive or
offensive operations.
The army remained in camp near Corpus Christi several months. The
information Taylor obtained here and reported to Washington indicated
no threatening movement on the part of the Mexicans; but on October 4th
he suggested that, if the United States government meant to insist on
the Rio Grande as the boundary, it would gain an advantage by occupying
points on that river. He therefore suggested an advance to Point Isabel
and Laredo.[110] Meanwhile had come the attempt to renew diplomatic
relations between the United States and Mexico, which ended in failure.
January 13, 1846, when it was known in Washington that Slidell would
probably not be received by the Mexican government, Taylor was ordered
to advance to the Rio Grande.[111]
Up to the time of this movement the Mexican government had neglected
the distinction in the validity of its claims to the territory east
of the Rio Grande. It strenuously asserted the right of Mexico to
the whole of Texas, whatever its limits might be, and declared that
annexation would be tantamount to a declaration of war. From the
Mexican point of view, Taylor invaded Mexico the moment he entered
Texas. But when he advanced to the Rio Grande the distinction was
finally made. April 12, 1846, he was warned by Ampudia, general in
command of the Mexican forces at Matamoras, to retire in twenty-four
hours--not beyond the Sabine, as one might have expected from the
previous attitude of the Mexican government, but beyond the Nueces.[112]
A few days later occurred the first conflict. April 24th a party of
dragoons sent out by Taylor was ambushed on the east side of the
river by a large force of Mexicans, and after a skirmish, in which a
number of men were killed and wounded, was captured.[113] The official
report of this affair reached Washington the evening of Saturday, May
9th.[114] President Polk had already decided, in conformity with the
judgment of all his cabinet except Bancroft, to send to Congress a
message recommending a declaration of war. Now, in formulating the
reasons for the declaration, he asserted that “Mexico has passed the
boundary of the United States, has invaded our territory, and shed
American blood upon the American soil,”[115] and with the unanimous
concurrence of his cabinet he sent the message to Congress, Monday, May
11th.
On the same day a bill providing for the enlistment of fifty thousand
soldiers and the appropriation of ten million dollars, the preamble to
which re-echoed the President’s assertion that war existed by the act
of Mexico itself, passed the House by a vote of 174 to 14.[116]
II
CONQUERING A PEACE (1846–1848)
It was only after Polk felt assured of the refusal to receive
Slidell[117] that he assumed an attitude so aggressive as clearly
to challenge war; and from that time forward it seems to have been
his desire to carry the struggle just far enough to bring Mexico to
the point of conceding a territorial indemnity on the terms which
he had intended to offer through Slidell. In accordance with this
policy he suggested, while the question of Slidell’s reception by
the Paredes government was yet in suspense, that Slidell should be
directed to go on board a United States vessel and wait for further
instructions.[118] The object of this plan was evidently to be able
to resume negotiations, as soon as Mexico had felt the pressure
sufficiently, without the delays incident to a correspondence between
the two capitals. The same considerations influenced, at a later stage
of the war, the appointment of Trist.[119] To this method of pushing on
the conflict, with the sword in one hand and the olive-branch in the
other, Polk applied the peculiar designation of “conquering a peace.”
After the declaration of war by Congress, May 12, 1846, General Scott,
the commander-in-chief of the United States Army, was appointed to
command directly the forces that were to operate against Mexico.
According to a plan of operations which appears to have originated
with President Polk himself, but which was concurred in by Secretary
of War Marcy and by General Scott, New Mexico and California, which
Polk intended to claim by way of indemnity, and Chihuahua, were to be
occupied and held; the United States forces were to be pushed toward
the heart of Mexico in order to force the Mexicans to terms; and the
naval forces in the Gulf and the Pacific were assigned specific duties
in connection with the general scheme.[120]
The plan was in keeping with the main purpose of the war, and was,
on the whole, well adapted to insure success. The northern provinces
were far distant from the city of Mexico; the hold of the central
government upon them was but slight; and, even if its available forces
had been sufficiently strong and effective to send the troops needed
to resist invasion, the difficulties of transportation would have been
hard to overcome. Of course, similar difficulties were experienced
in throwing the United States troops into the interior of northern
Mexico; but such operations were far easier for a strong government
with abundant resources than for one so ill established and so lacking
in means as that of Herrera or Paredes. The population of the north
Mexican provinces was sparse and unenergetic, and could not be relied
on for its defence; the local governments were weak and inefficient;
and in 1846 that of California was disastrously affected by dissensions
between two rival leaders, José Castro and Pio Pico, representing
respectively the northern district and the southern.[121] It was in the
northern district, in the lower valley of the Sacramento River and near
the bay of San Francisco, that the foreign population, including the
Americans, was most numerous.
The plan for a campaign directed at the city of Mexico was gradually
developed as the war went on. The impression of Polk and his advisers
at first was that a vigorous invasion of Mexico would end the war,
without the necessity of pushing it far into the interior; and, since
operations on the coast in the summer were so dangerous, the attack was
made first in the north. The resistance of the Mexicans was, however,
more desperate and prolonged than was expected, and ultimately the
change was made to the shorter and more direct line of advance by way
of Vera Cruz.
[Illustration: MAP ILLUSTRATING THE MEXICAN WAR 1846–1848]
The occupation of New Mexico and California was accomplished speedily
and with little resistance. General Kearny occupied New Mexico in the
summer of 1846, and the occupation of California under Commodore R. F.
Stockton was completed by January, 1847. The first expeditions against
Mexico from the north under Wool and Doniphan were inconclusive.
The army which was most depended on to force Mexico to terms was that
operating in the east. The campaign in this quarter began with an
advance from Matamoras through Tamaulipas and Nuevo León into Coahuila.
But as it progressed the plan was gradually assimilated, so far as
these states were concerned, to that which had been followed in dealing
with California and New Mexico, and became one of simple occupation;
while the attack was shifted to the south, and the final advance was
made from Vera Cruz direct on the city of Mexico.
In the prosecution of the war, in this part especially, the
administration was much hampered by the character and conduct of the
generals on whom the detailed development and execution of the plan
devolved. The friction thus arising was increased by mutual suspicions
of political motives between President Polk, certain members of his
cabinet, and the generals themselves.
* * * * *
In this war the United States troops, though always outnumbered--in
some cases heavily--and usually with the advantage of position against
them, enjoyed such superiority both in _morale_ and in _matériel_ that
they were almost uniformly victorious. Their victories, however, were
by no means easy; on the contrary, they were obtained only at the
cost of no little bloody fighting and of great loss of men. And, as
is not unusual in like emergencies, there was much complaint of the
extravagance and inefficiency of the quartermaster’s department.[122]
The attack on Mexico began with the advance of Taylor’s army. Two
battles, Palo Alto, on May 8, 1846, and Resaca de la Palma, on the
following day, were required to drive the Mexicans across the Rio
Grande. Taylor then advanced from Matamoras through Tamaulipas into
Nuevo León, and, after defeating the Mexicans in a three days’ battle,
September 21–23, at Monterey, the capital of Nuevo León, he captured
that city. Saltillo, the capital of Coahuila, was occupied by the
United States troops on November 16th, and Victoria, the capital of
Tamaulipas, December 29th.
[Illustration: TAYLOR’S MARCH 1846–1847]
It had long before this become a most important question whether
the campaign should be confined to the occupation and cutting-off
of northern Mexico, or whether the army should be pushed on toward
the city of Mexico. Taylor recommended the first of these two plans;
but when asked his advice as to what should be done further, and
especially whether an expedition should be aimed at the city of Mexico
from near Vera Cruz, he had been hesitating and non-committal in his
answer.[123] Orders issued direct from Washington, September 22,
1846, in connection with the scheme before it was fully developed,
to General Patterson, one of Taylor’s subordinates, drew from Taylor
himself a resentful protest.[124] Finally the plan of capturing Vera
Cruz and marching thence upon the city of Mexico was adopted by Polk
and his cabinet, with a little objection from Buchanan as to advancing
beyond Vera Cruz,[125] and Scott was elected to lead the expedition.
Soon after his appointment, he left Washington, and about the end of
December he reached Matamoras and began to make preparations for the
attack on Vera Cruz. Part of Taylor’s men were drawn away for the
southern campaign, and renewed complaints from him were added to the
general chorus of discord and dissatisfaction.[126]
Information of the shifting of the attack to the south reached Santa
Anna through intercepted despatches, and he at once conceived the
project of a counter-stroke. Advancing northward with an army of more
than twenty thousand men, he came upon Taylor February 23, 1847, with
only about one-fourth that number at Buena Vista, a few miles south of
Saltillo. The American troops gained a brilliant victory,[127] and with
this the serious work of the “army of occupation” was at an end.
[Illustration: GENERAL SCOTT’S ENTRY INTO THE CITY OF MEXICO
(From a print of the time)]
Attention was now centred on the southern campaign. During the month
of February, 1847, Scott’s troops were conveyed by sea from Brazos
Santiago and concentrated on the island of Lobos, about sixty miles
south of Tampico. On March 9th a landing was made without opposition
near Vera Cruz. With the co-operation of the naval forces under
Commodore Conner the city was invested, and, after a brief siege
culminating in a sharp bombardment, was captured, March 29, 1847.[128]
[Illustration: SCOTT’S MARCH to the City of MEXICO]
Next in order was the advance upon the city of Mexico, which began
April 8th. The first resistance was met at Cerro Gordo, where, on
April 17th and 18th, Scott’s army of not more than nine thousand drove
thirteen thousand Mexicans, in disastrous defeat, from a naturally
strong and well-fortified position. Finally there was a series of
battles near the city of Mexico, which culminated in its capture, and
which will be referred to further on.
Meanwhile another effort was made by Polk to negotiate, an idea which
even after the failure of the Slidell mission had been kept steadily in
view.
* * * * *
In answer to the proposition to negotiate which came through Trist, the
American commissioner, Santa Anna contrived to intimate that, if he
were paid ten thousand dollars down and one million on the conclusion
of peace, negotiations should begin at once. After consulting with
several of his officers, in a conference held late in July or early in
August, Scott paid the ten thousand dollars.[129] Still no step was
taken by the Mexicans toward negotiation until they were beaten in the
engagements at Contreras, August 19th and 20th, and Churubusco, August
20, 1847. Then Scott himself proposed an armistice, which was accepted
August 24th. Commissioners were appointed to meet Trist, and the effort
to conclude a treaty began. Whether it could have been accomplished
at that stage of the “conquering” on the basis of his instructions is
uncertain; but Trist’s wavering attitude undoubtedly served to make the
possibility much less. The Mexican commissioners still refused to come
to terms, and submitted counter-propositions which were in conflict
with those instructions, but which Trist referred to the authorities
at Washington.[130] As soon as unofficial news of what Trist had done
was received there, President Polk, without waiting to hear from him
directly, ordered his recall.[131]
In the mean time the armistice had been terminated and the advance of
the United States troops renewed. The victories of Molino del Rey,
September 8th, and Chapultepec, September 13th, opened the way to
the city of Mexico, which was occupied on September 14th.[132] Santa
Anna abdicated, and on November 22d the new government announced to
Trist that it had appointed commissioners to negotiate. Trist had
already received the letter recalling him; but, in spite of this fact,
he listened to the suggestion of the Mexicans that they were not
officially notified of his recall, and were anxious to negotiate on the
terms of his original instructions.
The negotiations terminated with the treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo,
signed February 2, 1848. The boundary agreed upon was to follow the Rio
Grande from its mouth to the line of New Mexico; that line westward and
northward to the first branch of the Gila it should cross; that branch
and the Gila to the Colorado; and the line between Upper and Lower
California thence to the Pacific.[133] For the territory thus ceded by
Mexico the United States was to satisfy the claims of its citizens on
the Mexican government, and to pay in addition thereto fifteen million
dollars. In spite of the fact that Trist’s authority had been withdrawn
before the final negotiations, President Polk submitted the treaty to
the Senate, and after some opposition and suspense it was ratified,
March 10, 1848, by a vote of 38 to 14.
XIII
THE BATTLE OF BUENA VISTA (1847)
After Taylor’s capture of Monterey, the stronghold of northern Mexico,
an armistice terminated hostilities till November 13th, 1846. By that
time Santa Anna--who had returned to Mexico--had mustered a powerful
army at San Luis Potosi, and was expected to march against Monterey.
Taylor, intending to act on the defensive only, proposed to occupy a
line stretching from Saltillo to Tampico, which fort had been evacuated
by the Mexicans; and, in pursuance of this plan, marched on Saltillo
and Victoria, and occupied them without resistance. His plans were
frustrated by a requisition from General Scott depriving him of Worth
and Twiggs’ divisions of regulars. Thus reduced to a force of some
five thousand men--all of whom, except a few dragoons and artillery,
were volunteers--Taylor was compelled to abandon his projected line,
and to content himself with one stretching from Saltillo to the mouth
of the Rio Grande. December, January, and part of February were spent
by the army in awaiting the Mexican attack. It was known that Santa
Anna would advance from San Luis to expel the invaders; his force was
fairly estimated, and the wide disparity, in point of numbers, between
the two armies was not concealed from the troops. Yet there was no
thought of retreating; on the contrary, when Taylor determined to
advance southward from Saltillo, and to occupy Agua Nueva, eighteen
miles nearer the foe, the whole army marched in high spirits. It was
subsequently found that the force under Taylor--including Wool’s
division, which had joined the main army--was too small to hold
Agua Nueva, and a retrograde movement was ordered to the pass of La
Angostura, a narrow defile near the hacienda of Buena Vista. There the
army awaited Santa Anna’s approach.
It was on February 22d--Washington’s birthday--that the Mexican advance
made its appearance, rolling before it clouds of dust. It had suffered
dreadfully on the road from San Luis from cold and want of supplies;
but, allowing for these sources of loss, the army led by Santa Anna
cannot have numbered less than twenty thousand men, including four
thousand cavalry and twenty pieces of artillery; and the sufferings
of the march made the soldiers all the more eager for the battle.
Disappointed in not finding Taylor at Agua Nueva, as he had expected,
Santa Anna proclaimed that he had fled, and ordered the cavalry in
pursuit. The Mexicans had already had one experience of Taylor’s
flights--a second was at hand. When the lancers reached the Angostura,
they found the pass guarded by Washington’s battery of eight pieces,
and very properly halted. The correspondence, since so famous, between
the two generals then took place; and on receipt of Taylor’s laconic
letter Santa Anna commenced the attack.
The advantage of position was all on the side of the United States
army. The pass itself was so narrow that Washington’s battery could
guard it against almost any force; impassable gullies and ravines
flanked it on the west, and on the east the mountains gradually rose to
a height of some two thousand feet. The only spot on which a regular
battle could be fought was a plateau on the east of the pass, which
stretched from the precipitous mountain-slope nearly to the road,
terminating on that side in several ridges and ravines. This plateau
gained, the pass might have been turned; and accordingly Santa Anna’s
first thought was to master it. A strong body of light infantry was
despatched, in the afternoon of the 22d, to climb the mountain-side
which commanded the plateau; but the moment the manœuvre was perceived
a party of Taylor’s riflemen ascended the opposite ridge to keep
them in check. The Mexicans opened fire, and the Kentuckians replied;
and thus, as each body strove to overtop the other, both ridges were
soon covered with smoke. Foiled in his object, Santa Anna awaited the
morning to commence operations in earnest; and Taylor, fearing an
attack on Saltillo, set out to complete the defences of that point
during the night.
At two o’clock in the morning the American pickets were driven in,
and at break of day the Mexican light infantry, on the ridge above
the plateau, led by General Ampudia, commenced charging down into the
ravine which separated them from the Kentuckians. They had received
reinforcements during the night, and were at least eight to one.
Fortunately, General Wool had anticipated the movement, and Lieutenant
O’Brien was ready at the foot of the hill with a piece of cannon. A
very few discharges, well-aimed, sent the Mexicans back to cover. Then
the main army advanced; two columns, under Pacheco and Lombardini,
supported by lancers and a twelve-pounder battery in the rear, marching
directly toward the plateau, and a third moving against the pass. Wool
had disposed the army almost in a line across the plateau from the pass
to the mountain: Washington’s battery being on the right, and O’Brien’s
on the left wing, the infantry and a squadron of dragoons in the
centre, and the volunteer cavalry inclined slightly to the rear on the
right and left. About nine in the morning Pacheco’s column debouched
from a ravine and began to form coolly on a ridge of the plateau.
General Lane hastened forward, skirting the mountains with the Second
Indiana volunteers and O’Brien’s battery, to meet them. At two hundred
yards O’Brien opened with terrific effect; the close columns of the
Mexicans were ploughed by his shot. But the reply was steady and almost
equally effective. Raked on the left by the twelve-pounder battery,
and assailed by a storm of bullets from the masses rising out of the
ravine, the volunteers fell thickly round their colors, and, after
some minutes, the Indiana volunteers could stand it no longer, and
fled in spite of Lane’s efforts to rally them.[134] O’Brien was left
almost alone with his guns. He fired one last discharge, then, hastily
limbering up, followed the flying infantry over the plateau.