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THE SECOND WAR WITH ENGLAND.
[Illustration: Com. Porter in the Bay of Novaheevah.]
THE SECOND WAR
WITH
ENGLAND.
BY J. T. HEADLEY,
AUTHOR OF "NAPOLEON AND HIS MARSHALS," "WASHINGTON AND HIS GENERALS,"
"THE OLD GUARD," "SCOTT AND JACKSON," ETC. ETC.
IN TWO VOLUMES.
VOL. II.
NEW YORK:
CHARLES SCRIBNER, 145 NASSAU STREET.
1853.
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1853, by
CHARLES SCRIBNER,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for
the Southern District of New York.
C. W. BENEDICT,
STEREOTYPER AND PRINTER,
12 Spruce Street, N. Y.
CONTENTS OF VOL. II.
CHAPTER I.
THE CREEK WAR.
Jackson's first service -- Is appointed commander-in-chief
of the Tennessee forces -- Co-operation of other states --
Jackson enters the Creek nation -- Difficulties of his
position -- General Coffee's expedition -- Relieves Fort
Talladega -- Battle of -- Stormy condition of his army --
Quells a mutiny -- Abandoned by his troops -- Quells a
second mutiny -- His boldness -- A third mutiny suppressed
-- Left with but a hundred followers -- Clairborne's
movements -- Arrival of reinforcements -- Makes a diversion
in favor of General Floyd -- Battle of Nutessee -- Battle of
Emuckfaw -- Ambuscade of the Indians -- Gallantry of General
Coffee -- Battle of the "Horse Shoe" -- The war ended --
Jackson's character, 11
CHAPTER II.
Cruise of Commodore Porter in the Essex -- Arrival at
Valparaiso -- Capture of British whalers and letters of
marque -- Essex Junior -- Marquesas Islands -- Description
of the natives -- Madison Island -- War with the Happahs --
Invades the Typee territory -- Tedious march -- Beautiful
prospect -- Fights the natives and burns down their towns --
Sails for Valparaiso -- Blockaded by two English ships --
Attempts to escape -- Is attacked by both vessels -- His
gallant defence -- His surrender -- Returns home on parole
-- Insolence of an English Officer -- Porter escapes in an
open boat and lands on Long Island -- Enthusiastic reception
in New York, 45
CHAPTER III.
Plan of the third Campaign -- Attack on Sackett's Harbor --
Attack on Oswego -- Woolsey transports guns to Sackett's
Harbor -- Capture of the detachment sent against him --
Expedition against Mackinaw -- Death of Captain Holmes --
Complete failure of the expedition, 67
CHAPTER IV.
Brown takes command of the army at Niagara -- Crosses the
river into Canada -- Battle of Chippewa -- Brilliant charge
of the Americans -- Desperate battle of Niagara -- Conduct
of Ripley -- The army ordered to Fort Erie -- General Gaines
takes command, 74
CHAPTER V.
Siege of Fort Erie -- Assault and repulse of the British --
Brown takes command -- Resolves to destroy the enemy's works
by a sortie -- Opposed by his officers -- The sortie --
Anecdote of General Porter -- Retreat of Drummond -- Conduct
of Izard, 101
CHAPTER VI.
British plan of invading our sea ports -- Arrival of
reinforcements -- Barney's flotilla -- Landing of the enemy
under Ross -- Doubt and alarm of the inhabitants -- Advance
of the British -- Destruction of the Navy Yard -- Battle of
Bladensburg -- Flight of the President and his Cabinet --
Burning and sacking of Washington -- Mrs. Madison's conduct
during the day and night -- Cockburn's brutality -- Sudden
explosion -- A hurricane -- Flight of the British -- State
of the army -- Character of this outrage -- Rejoicings in
England -- Mortification of our ambassadors at Ghent --
Mistake of the English -- Parker's expedition -- Colonel
Reed's defence -- The English army advance on Baltimore --
Death of Ross -- Bombardment of Fort McHenry -- "The star
spangled banner" -- Retreat of the British, and joy of the
citizens of Baltimore, 114
CHAPTER VII.
Macomb at Plattsburg -- American and English fleets on Lake
Champlain -- Advance of Prevost -- Indifference of Governor
Chittenden -- Rev. Mr. Wooster -- Macdonough -- The two
battles -- Funeral of the officers -- British invasion of
Maine -- McArthur's expedition, 147
CHAPTER VIII.
The Navy in 1814 -- Cruise of Captain Morris in the Adams --
Narrow escapes -- The Wasp and Reindeer -- Cruise of the
Wasp -- Sinks the Avon -- Mysterious fate of the Wasp -- The
Peacock captures the Epervier -- Lieutenant Nicholson, 165
CHAPTER IX.
Third Session of the XIIIth Congress -- State of the
Treasury -- The President's Message -- Dallas appointed
Secretary of the Treasury -- His scheme and that of Eppes
for the relief of the country -- Our Commissioners at Ghent
-- Progress of the negotiations -- English protocol -- Its
effect on Congress and the nation -- Effect of its
publication on the English Parliament, 174
CHAPTER X.
HARTFORD CONVENTION.
Attitude of New England -- Governor Strong -- Views and
purposes of the Federalists -- Anxiety of Madison --
Prudence of Colonel Jesup -- Result of the Convention --
Fears of the People -- Fate of the Federalists, 191
CHAPTER XI.
General Jackson appointed Major-General -- Hostility of
Spain -- Gallant defence of Fort Bowyer -- Seizure of
Pensacola -- Jackson at New Orleans -- Approach and landing
of the British -- Jackson proclaims martial law -- Night
attack on the British -- Jackson entrenches himself -- First
attack of the British -- Second attack -- Final assault --
The battle and the victory -- Jackson fined by Judge Hall --
Arrival of the Treaty of Peace -- Great rejoicings --
Delegates of the Hartford Convention -- Remarks on the
treaty, 199
CHAPTER XII.
Cruise of the Constitution -- Action with the Cyane and
Levant -- Chased by a British fleet -- England's views of
neutral rights and the law of nations -- Her honor and
integrity at a discount -- Singular escape of the
Constitution -- Recapture of the Levant under the guns of a
neutral port -- Lampoons on the English squadron for its
contemptible conduct -- Decatur -- Capture of the President
-- The Hornet captures the Penguin -- Chased by a ship of
the line -- Narrow escape -- Cruise of the Peacock -- Review
of the American Navy -- Its future destiny, 236
CHAPTER XIII.
PRIVATEERS.
Character and daring of our privateers -- Skill of American
seamen -- Acts of Congress relative to privateering -- Names
of ships -- Gallant action of the Nonsuch -- Success of the
Dolphin -- Cruise of the Comet -- Narrow escape of the
Governor Tompkins -- Desperate action of the Globe with two
brigs -- The Decatur takes a British sloop of war -- Action
of the Neufchatel with the crew of the Endymion -- Desperate
defence of Captain Reed against the crews of British
squadron -- The Chasseur captures a British schooner of war
-- Character of the commanders of privateers -- Anecdote, 258
CHAPTER XIV.
DARTMOOR PRISON.
Impressed Americans made prisoners of war -- Treatment of
prisoners -- Prison Ships -- Dartmoor prison -- Neglect of
American prisoners -- Their sufferings -- Fourth of July in
Dartmoor -- Brutal attack of the French prisoners -- Fresh
arrivals -- Joy at the news of our naval victories --
Sufferings of the prisoners in winter -- American Government
allows them three cents per diem -- Moral effect of this
notice of Government -- Napoleon's downfall -- Increased
allowance of Government -- Industry of prisoners -- Attempts
to escape -- Extraordinary adventure of a lieutenant of a
privateer -- Number of prisoners increased -- A riot to
obtain bread -- Dartmoor massacre -- Messrs. King and
L'Arpent appointed commissioners to investigate it --
Decision -- The end, 279
Tax-tables, 301
Index, 313
HISTORY OF THE SECOND WAR WITH ENGLAND.
CHAPTER I.
THE CREEK WAR.
Jackson's first service -- Is appointed commander in-chief
of the Tennessee forces -- Co-operation of other states --
Jackson enters the Creek nation -- Difficulties of his
position -- General Coffee's expedition -- Relieves Fort
Talladega -- Battle of -- Stormy condition of his army --
Quells a mutiny -- Abandoned by his troops -- Quells a
second mutiny -- His boldness -- A third mutiny suppressed
-- Left with but a hundred followers -- Clairborne's
movements -- Arrival of reinforcements -- Makes a diversion
in favor of General Floyd -- Battle of Nutessee -- Battle of
Emuckfaw -- Ambuscade of the Indians -- Gallantry of General
Coffee -- Battle of the "Horse Shoe" -- The war ended --
Jackson's character.
Allusion has been made to Jackson's campaign against the Creeks, but I
purposely omitted an account of its progress, preferring to go back
and make a continuous narrative. Although embracing a portion of two
years, it composed a single expedition, and forms a whole which loses
much of its interest by being contemplated in parts. After the
cowardly surrender of General Hull, at Detroit, in the commencement of
the war, Jackson offered his services to the government, and
solicited the post which was assigned to Winchester. Disappointed in
this, he repaired, at the order of the Secretary of War, to Natchez,
to assist Wilkinson, then stationed there, to repel the attacks of the
enemy should they advance up the Mississippi. But no danger from an
attack in that quarter appearing, he was directed to disband his
troops. Refusing to do this, on account of the number of sick in camp,
many of them sons of his neighbors and friends, he became involved in
a quarrel both with Wilkinson and his own officers. He, however,
carried out his measures and led his men back in safety to their
homes.
[Sidenote: 1813.]
Here he remained idle till the massacre at Fort Mimms, the news of
which, together with the rising of the Indians all along our southern
frontier, burst like a sudden thunder-clap on the neighboring States.
Georgia, Tennessee, North and South Carolina, flew at once to arms. On
the 17th of September a mass meeting assembled at Nashville, which
with one voice nominated Jackson commander-in-chief of the troops of
the State. Ten days after, the nomination was confirmed by the
Legislature, and 200,000 dollars voted to carry on the war. Jackson
immediately issued a stirring appeal to the people, in which, after
describing the state of things, he urged them to assemble to his
standard with all speed, saying, "Already are large bodies of the
hostile Creeks marching to your borders, with their scalping-knives
unsheathed to butcher your women and children: time is not to be lost.
We must hasten to the frontier, or we shall find it drenched in the
blood of our citizens." At this time he was suffering from a disabled
arm which had been mutilated in an encounter with Benton, and was
unable to be present at Fayetteville, the rendezvous, on the 4th of
October; but he sent an address to be read to the troops, and rules
regulating the police of the camp. Although too feeble to take the
field, he, three days after, with his arm in a sling, put himself at
the head of the army. The next evening, a dispatch arrived from
Colonel Coffee, who had been previously sent forward with a large
detachment to Huntsville, thirty-two miles distant, stating that a
body of nearly a thousand Indians were on their way to ravage the
frontiers of Georgia, and another party approaching Tennessee. The day
after came a second express confirming the report. By nine o'clock the
following morning, Jackson put his army of twenty-five hundred men in
motion, and at eight in the evening reached Huntsville, making the
thirty-two miles in eleven hours. Finding that the rumor was without
foundation, he proceeded leisurely to Ditto's Landing, where Col.
Coffee with his regiment was encamped. Here he paused to wait for
supplies, and survey his position.
With promptness on the part of those co-operating with him, he saw
that the hostile Creeks could be crushed with one blow; for on the
west of their settlements were six hundred Mississippi volunteers and
the 3d regiment of regular infantry, six hundred strong, under Colonel
Russel; on the east were twenty-five hundred Georgia militia,
commanded by General Floyd; while from the north, five thousand
volunteers and militia--twenty-five hundred from East Tennessee, under
Generals Cocke and White, and the same number from the western section
of the State--were moving down on the devoted tribes. This army of
five thousand Tennesseans was under his own command, the western half
of which he led in person. There were, besides this formidable array,
a few posts held by small detachments, and a few hundred friendly
Indians, most of them Cherokees. When these separate armies should
close around the hostile settlements, encircling them in a girdle of
fire, it was universally believed that the war would be over.
While Jackson remained at Ditto's Landing, waiting anxiously for the
supplies which Generals Cocke and White had promised to forward, he
dispatched General Coffee, with six hundred picked men, to destroy
Blackwarrior town, a hundred miles south.
At length, being urged by the earnest appeals of friendly Indians, who
were in daily danger of being cut off by the Creeks, he, on the 19th,
started for Thompson's Creek, where he had ordered the provisions,
which he supposed were near at hand, to be stopped. Cutting his way
through the heavy forests, and dragging his artillery over steep
mountains, he at length, after a painful march of two days, reached
the place of depot but no provisions had arrived. Instead of supplies,
came a letter from General White, who was at Lookout Mountain in the
Cherokee country, stating that no flour could be spared from that
post. His position was now becoming painful and critical. Standing in
the centre of the wilderness, on the borders of the enemy's country,
with his little band around him, he saw no alternative but to retreat,
unless he ran the risk of starving in the forest. But to abandon his
design, would leave the friendly Indians at the mercy of their
enemies, an act not only cruel in the extreme, and utterly repugnant
to his nature, but which would furnish a fatal example to the other
friendly tribes, whose alliance it was of the highest importance to
secure. Prudence would have dictated a retreat, but Jackson had never
yet turned his back voluntarily on a foe, and he resolved, at all
hazards, to proceed. Sending off expresses to Generals Cocke and
White, and to the Governors of Tennessee and Georgia, and the American
agents in the Choctaw and Cherokee nations, he issued a stirring
address to his troops, in which he promised them that the "order to
charge would be the signal for victory." In urging on them the
importance of coolness, and presence of mind, in every emergency, even
in "retreat," he adds,
"Your general laments that he has been compelled, even incidentally,
to _hint_ at a retreat, when speaking to freemen and to soldiers.
Never, until you forget all that is due to yourselves and your
country, will you have any practical understanding of that word. Shall
an enemy, wholly unacquainted with military evolutions, and who rely
more for victory on their grim visages, and hideous yells, than upon
their bravery or their weapons--shall such an enemy ever drive before
them, the well-trained youths of our country, whose bosoms pant for
glory, and a desire to avenge the wrongs they have received? Your
general will not live to behold such a spectacle; rather would he rush
into the thickest of the enemy, and submit himself to their
scalping-knives; but he has no fear of such a result. He knows the
valor of the men he commands, and how certainly that valor, regulated
as it will be, will lead to victory."
Cut off from supplies, locked up in the wilderness, through which
swarmed thousands of savages eagerly watching his advance, with only
six days' rations of meat and two of flour, he issued this bold and
confident address, and then gave orders for the army to march.
Arriving at Ten Islands, he erected Fort Strother, to serve as a
depot, and to cover his retreat. In a letter to Governor Blount, from
this place, he says,--
"Indeed, sir, we have been wretchedly supplied,--scarcely two rations
in succession have been regularly drawn, yet we are not despondent.
While we can procure an ear of corn apiece, or anything that will
answer as a substitute for it, we shall continue our exertions to
accomplish the object for which we were sent."
Here, being informed that General White was only twenty-five miles
distant up the river, he sent him a despatch to hasten, at once, to
the fort. In the mean time, General Coffee, who had returned
successful from his southern expedition, was sent to attack a large
body of Indians at Tallushatchee, some thirty miles distant. With nine
hundred men, this gallant officer advanced, and succeeded in
completely surrounding them; and though the savages fought desperately
to the last, but few escaped. A hundred and eighty warriors lay
stretched around the ashes of their dwellings. Among the slain, was a
mother, on whose bosom her infant boy was found, struggling in vain to
draw nourishment from the lifeless breast. When he was brought to
camp, Jackson endeavored to persuade some of the female captives to
take care of him, but they all refused, saying, "His relations are
all dead, kill him too." He then ordered some sugar to be given him,
and sent him to Huntsville, where he could be properly cared for. He
afterwards adopted him, gave him a good education, and placed him at a
saddler's to learn a trade. The latter was accustomed to spend every
Sunday at the Hermitage, with his adopted father, who was strongly
attached to him. But he always pined for the free, wild life of his
race. The close air of the shop and the drudgery of an apprentice did
not agree with him, and he soon after sickened. He was then taken home
to the Hermitage, where he lingered some time, and died.
At length, on the 7th of November, an Indian runner arrived in camp,
stating that Fort Talladega, about thirty miles distant, was
surrounded by the hostile Red-sticks, and if he did not hurry to its
relief, the friendly Indians, who had taken refuge in it must be
massacred. The runner had scarcely finished his message when the order
to march was issued, and in a few minutes the columns were in motion.
It was midnight, and through the dim cathedrals of nature, lighted
only by the stars of heaven, Jackson led his two thousand men towards
the Talladega. Eight hundred of these were mounted riflemen, who
presented a picturesque appearance, as they wound slowly along the
rough forest path underneath the autumnal woods, each with unceasing
watchfulness, piercing the surrounding gloom, and every hand grasping
a trusty rifle. Their heavy tramp frightened the wild beasts from
their lairs, and awoke strange echoes in the solitude. Now straining
up steep ascents, and now swimming deep rivers, the fearless and
gallant band pressed forward. In three columns, so as to prevent the
confusion that might arise from a sudden surprise, it forced its
difficult way through the forest, and at night arrived within six
miles of the besieged fort. Here Jackson halted, and sent forward two
friendly Indians and a white man, to reconnoitre. About eleven o'clock
they returned, and reported the enemy in great force, and within a
quarter of a mile of the fort. No time was to be lost, and though the
troops had been without sleep, and constantly on the strain for
twenty-four hours, another night, and a battle, lay between them and
repose.
It was four o'clock of a cool November morning, when the three columns
again moved forward. Advancing with the utmost caution and quietness
to within a mile of the Indian encampment, they halted, and formed in
order of battle. Two hundred and fifty of the cavalry, under
Lieut.-Col. Dyer, were left in the rear of the centre to act as a
reserve, while the remaining four hundred and fifty were ordered to
push forward to the right and left on either side, until the heads of
their columns met beyond the hostile encampment, and thus completely
encircle it. The two brigades of Hall and Roberts, occupying the right
and left, were directed to advance, while the ring of cavalry was
steadily to contract, so as to shut in every savage and prevent
escape. At eight o'clock, Colonel Carroll boldly charged the position
in front of him, and carried it; he then retreated, in order to draw
the Indians in pursuit. They charged after him with such terrific
whoops and screams, that a portion of General Roberts' brigade, on
whom they were rushing with uplifted tomahawks, broke and fled. This
made a chasm in the line, which Jackson immediately ordered Colonel
Bradley to fill with his regiment, that for some reason, known only to
the latter, had lagged behind, to the great detriment of the order of
battle. But not only had he proved a laggard in the approach, but he
refused to fill the chasm, as ordered by his commander, and the latter
was compelled to dismount his reserve and hurry them forward. As these
steadily and firmly advanced, and poured in their volleys, the
panic-stricken militia recovered their courage and resumed their
places in the line. In the mean time, the encircling cavalry came
galloping, with loud hurrahs, towards the centre. The next moment the
forest rang with the sharp reports of their rifles. In fifteen minutes
the battle was over, and the terrified savages were wildly skirting
the inner edge of this circle of fire, seeking, in vain, an avenue to
the open forest beyond. Turned back at every step, they fell like the
autumn leaves which the wind shook around them. At length they
discovered a gap, made by the neglect of Colonel Bradley and the delay
of a portion of the cavalry, which had taken too wide a circuit, and
poured like a torrent that has suddenly found vent, through it. The
mounted riflemen wheeled and streamed after; and the quick, sharp
reports of their pieces, and the receding yells rising from the
forest, told how fiercely they pressed on the flying traces of the
foe. The savages made straight for the mountains, three miles distant,
fighting as they went. The moment they bounded up the steep acclivity
they were safe, and the wearied horsemen turned again to the camp.
Their way back was easily tracked by the swarthy forms that lay
stretched on the leaves, showing where the flight and pursuit had
swept. Of the thousand and more who had composed the force of the
enemy, more than half were killed or wounded. Three hundred were left
dead on the spot where they had first fought. The loss of the
Americans in killed and wounded, was ninety-five.
The friendly Indians, who had been so long shut up without a drop of
water, in momentary expectation of being massacred, listened to the
uproar without, with beating hearts; but when the battle was over,
they rushed forth with the most frantic cries of joy, and leaped and
shouted around their deliverers in all the wildness of savage delight.
They crowded around Jackson as if he had been their deity, toward whom
they could not show too much reverence.
The refusal of General White to march to Fort Strother, left the
feeble garrison of the latter in a perilous state. If it should fall,
Jackson's whole line of retreat would be cut off; and he, therefore,
with deep pain, was compelled to stop in his victorious progress, and
return to the fort. On his arrival, he found that no supplies had
reached it, and that the soldiers, half-starved, were bordering on
mutiny. General Cocke, from the first, seemed resolved to withhold all
aid from Jackson, lest he himself should be eclipsed in the campaign.
[Sidenote: Nov. 11.] This officer directed his movements against the
Hillabee towns. General White, with the mounted men, succeeded in
destroying the place, killing and capturing three hundred and sixteen
warriors.
[Sidenote: Nov. 18.]
Jackson, however, endeavored to keep alive the spirits and courage of
his troops, and distributed all his private stores to the feeble and
wounded. Having nothing left for himself and staff, he repaired to the
bullock-pen, and from the offals cut tripe, on which he and they lived
for days, in the vain hope of receiving the long-promised supplies.
One day, as he sat at the foot of a tree, thinking of the hard
condition of his men, and planning how he might find some relief from
the increasing difficulties that pressed so hard upon him, one of the
soldiers, observing that he was eating something, approached, and
asked for a portion. Jackson looked up with a pleasant smile, and
said, "I will, most cheerfully, divide with you what I have;" and
taking some acorns from his pocket, he handed them to the astonished
and mortified soldier. His solicitude for the army did not expend
itself in words, for he shared with the meanest soldier his privations
and his wants, while many of his subordinate officers possessed
abundance. He let the latter enjoy the rations to which they were
legally entitled, but himself scorned to sit down to a well-supplied
table, while the army was perishing with want.
This state of things, of course, could not last long. The soldiers
believed themselves neglected by the State for whose safety they were
fighting; else why this protracted refusal to send them provisions?
The incipient discontent was fed and aggravated by several of the
officers, who were getting tired of the campaign, and wished to return
home, till at last it broke out into open revolt. The militia
regiments, _en masse_, had resolved to leave. Jackson received the
communication with grief and indignation. He felt for his poor,
half-starved men, but all his passionate nature was roused at this
deliberate defiance of his authority. The militia, however, did not
regard his expostulations or threats, and they fixed on a morning to
commence their march. But as they drew out to take their departure,
they found, to their astonishment, the volunteers paraded across the
path, with Jackson at their head. He ordered them to return to their
position, or they should answer for their disobedience with their
lives. They obeyed; but the volunteers, indignant that they had been
made the instrument of quelling the revolt, and anxious as the others
were to get away, resolved next morning to depart themselves. To their
surprise, however, they saw the militia drawn up in the same position
they had occupied the day before, to arrest the first forward movement
that was made. This was a dangerous game to play with armed men, and
would not bear a second trial.
The cavalry, on the ground that the country yielded no forage for
their horses, were permitted to retire to the neighborhood of
Huntsville, where they promised to wait the orders of their commander.
In the mean time, Jackson hearing that provisions were on the way,
made an effort to allay the excited, angry feelings that existed in
the army, and so, on the 14th of November, invited all the field and
platoon officers to his quarters, and after informing them that
abundant supplies were close at hand, addressed them in a kind and
sympathizing manner, told them how deeply he felt for their
sufferings, and concluded by promising, if provisions did not arrive
within two days, to lead them back himself to Tennessee. But this kind
and conciliatory speech produced no effect on a portion of the army,
and the first regiment of volunteers insisted on abandoning the fort.
Permission to leave was granted, and Jackson, with chagrin and
anguish, saw the men whom he refused to abandon at Natchez, forsake
him in the heart of the forest, surrounded by hostile savages.
The two days expiring without the arrival of provisions, he was
compelled to fulfill his promise to the army, and preparations were
made for departure. In the midst of the breaking up of the camp, he
sat down and wrote a letter to Colonel Pope, the contractor, which
exhibits how deeply he felt, not merely this abandonment of him, but
the failure of the expedition. He says in conclusion:
"I cannot express the torture of my feelings, when I reflect that a
campaign so auspiciously begun, and which might be so soon and so
gloriously terminated, is likely to be rendered abortive for the want
of supplies. For God's sake, prevent so great an evil."
As the baggage-wagons were loaded up, and the men fell into marching
order, the palpable evidence of the failure of the project on which
he had so deeply set his heart, and the disgrace that awaited his
army, became so painful, that he could not endure the sight, and he
exclaimed in mingled grief and shame,
"If only two men will remain with me, I will never abandon the post."
"You have one, General!" exclaimed Captain Gordon, of the spies, who
stood beside him.
The gallant captain immediately began to beat up for volunteers, and
it was not long before a hundred and nine brave fellows surrounded
their general, swearing to stand by him to the last.
The latter then put himself at the head of the militia, telling them
he should order them back, if they met provisions near by. They had
gone but ten or twelve miles, when they met a hundred and fifty beeves
on their way to the fort. The men fell to, and in a short time were
gorging themselves with half roasted meat. Invigorated by their
gluttonous repast, most of them consented to return. One company,
however, quietly resumed its journey homeward. When Jackson was
informed of it, he sprang into his saddle, and galloping a quarter of
a mile ahead, where General Coffee with his staff and a few soldiers
had halted, ordered them to form across the road, and fire on the
first man that attempted to pass. As the mutineers came up and saw
that living barrier before them, and in front of it the stern and
decided face of their commander, they wheeled about, and retraced
their steps. Jackson then dismounted and began to mingle among the
men, to allay their excitement, and conciliate their feelings. While
he was thus endeavoring to reduce to cheerful obedience this
refractory company, he was told, to his utter amazement, that the
other portion of the army had changed their mind, and the whole
brigade was drawn up in column, and on the point of marching homeward.
He immediately walked up in front of it, snatched a musket from the
hands of a soldier, and resting it across the neck of his horse, swore
he would shoot the first man who attempted to move. The soldiers stood
and looked in sullen silence at that resolute face, undecided whether
to advance or not, when General Coffee and his staff galloped up.
These, together with the faithful companies, Jackson ordered to form
behind him, and fire when he did. Not a word was uttered for some
time, as the two parties thus stood face to face, and gazed on each
other. At length a murmur rang along the column--rebellion was
crushed, and the mutineers consented to return. Discontent, however,
prevailed, and the volunteers looked anxiously forward to the 10th of
December, the time when they supposed the term of their enlistment
expired. They had originally enlisted for twelve months, and counting
in the time they had been disbanded, after their return from Natchez,
the year would be completed on that date. But Jackson refused to allow
the time they were not in actual service. Letters passed between the
officers and himself, and every effort was made on his part to allay
the excitement, and convince the troops of the justice of his demands.
He appealed to their patriotism, their courage, and honor, and finally
told them if the General Government gave permission for their
discharge, he would discharge them, otherwise they should walk over
his dead body before they stirred a foot, until the twelve months'
actual service was accomplished. [Sidenote: Dec.] Anticipating
trouble, he wrote home for reinforcements, and sent off officers for
recruits.
In the mean time, the 10th of December drew near, and every heart was
filled with anxiety for the result. A portion of the army was resolved
to _take_ their discharge, whether granted or not. It was not a sudden
impulse, created by want and suffering, but a well-considered and
settled determination, grounded on what they considered their rights.
The thing had been long discussed, and many of the officers had given
their decided opinion that the time of the men actually expired on the
10th. Jackson knew that his troops were brave, and when backed by the
consciousness of right, would be resolute and firm. But he had made up
his mind to prevent mutiny, though he was compelled to sacrifice a
whole regiment in doing it.
At length, on the evening of the 9th, Gen. Hall entered the tent of
Jackson, and informed him that his whole brigade was in a state of
revolt. The latter immediately issued an order stating the fact, and
calling on all the officers to aid in quelling it. He then directed
the two guns he had with him, to be placed, one in front and the other
in the rear, and the militia on the rising ground in advance, to check
any movement in that direction, and waited the result. The brigade
assembled, and were soon in marching order. Jackson then rode slowly
along the line, and addressed the soldiers. He reminded them of their
former good conduct, spoke of the love and esteem he had always borne
them, of the reinforcements on the way, saying, also, that he expected
every day, the decision of the government, on the question of their
discharge, and wound up by telling them emphatically, that he had done
with entreaty,--go they should not, and if they persisted, he would
settle the matter in a very few minutes. He demanded an immediate and
explicit answer. They persisted. He repeated his demand, and still
receiving no answer, he ordered the artillerists to prepare their
matches, and at the word "Fire!" to pour their volleys of grape-shot
into the closely crowded ranks. There he sat, gazing sternly down the
line, while the few moments of grace allowed them, were passing
rapidly away. The men knew it was no idle threat. He had never been
known to break his word, and that sooner than swerve one hair from his
purpose, he would drench that field in blood. Alarmed, they began to
whisper one to another, "Let us go back." The contagion of fear
spread, and soon the officers advanced, and promised, on behalf of the
men, that they would return to their quarters.
As if to try this resolute man to the utmost, and drive him to
despair, no sooner was one evil averted than another overtook him. He
had, by his boldness, quelled the mutiny; but he now began again to
feel the horrors of famine. Supplies did not arrive; or in such scanty
proportion, that he was compelled, at last, to discharge the troops,
and, notwithstanding all the distressing scenes through which he had
passed to retain them, see them take up their line of march for home,
leaving him, with only a hundred devoted followers, shut up in the
forest.
[Sidenote: Dec. 23.]
While these things were passing, General Clairborne, with his
volunteers, passed up the east side of the Alabama, and piercing to
the towns above the Cahawba, gave battle to the Indians under their
great leader, Weathersford, and defeated them, with the loss of but
one man killed and seven wounded. Destroying their villages, he
returned to Fort Clairborne. [Sidenote: 1814.] Jackson remained idle
till the middle of January, when he was gladdened by the arrival of
eight hundred recruits. Not deeming these, however, sufficient to
penetrate into the heart of the Creek country, he resolved to make a
diversion in favor of General Floyd, who was advancing from the east.
[Sidenote: Dec. 29.] This officer, leaving his encampment on the
Chattahouche, and advancing into the Indian territory along the
southern bank of the Talapoosa River, came on the morning of the 29th
upon the town of Autossee, where a large number of Indians were
assembled. Having marched since one o'clock in the morning, he took
the savages by surprise. They however rallied and fought desperately,
retreating only before the fire of the artillery. Two towns, within
sight of each other, were soon in flames. Several hundred of the enemy
were killed and wounded, while the loss of the Americans was but
sixty-five. Among the wounded was General Floyd, who was struck by a
shot while gallantly leading on his command. Hearing that a large
number of Indians were encamped on the Emuckfaw Creek, where it
empties into the Tallapoosa River, Jackson marched thither, and on the
evening of the 21st of January, arrived within a short distance of
their encampment. The Indians were aware of his approach, and resolved
to anticipate his attack. To prevent a surprise, however, Jackson had
ordered a circle of watch-fires to be built around his little band.
The men stood to their arms all night; and just before daylight a wild
yell, which always precedes an attack, went up from the forest, and
the next moment the savages charged down on the camp. But, the instant
the light of the watch-fires fell on their tawny bodies they were
swept with such a destructive volley, that they again took shelter in
the darkness. At length, daylight appeared, when General Coffee
ordered a charge, which cleared the field. He was then directed to
advance on the encampment with four hundred men, and carry it by
storm. On his approach, however, he found it too strong for his force,
and retired. Jackson, attacked in return, was compelled to charge
repeatedly, before the savages finally took to flight. Many of their
bravest warriors fell in this short conflict; while, on the American
side, several valuable officers were badly wounded, among them General
Coffee, who, from the commencement to the close, was in the thickest
of the fight.
Notwithstanding his victory, Jackson prudently determined to retreat.
He had gained his object; for in drawing the attention of the Indians
to his own force, he had diverted it from that under Gen. Floyd.
Besides, his horses had been without forage for two days, and would
soon break down. He, therefore, buried the dead on the field where
they had fallen; and, on the 23d, began to retrace his footsteps.
Judging from the quietness of the Indians since the battle, he
suspected they were lurking in ambush ahead. Remembering also what an
excellent place there was for a surprise at the ford of Enotochopeo,
he sent men in advance to reconnoitre, who discovered another ford
some six hundred yards farther down the stream. Reaching this just at
evening, he encamped there all night, and the next morning commenced
crossing. He expected an attack while in the middle of the stream,
and, therefore, had his rear formed in order of battle. His
anticipations proved correct; for no sooner had a part of the army
reached the opposite bank, than an alarm-gun was heard in the rear. In
an instant, all was in commotion. The next moment, the forest
resounded with the war-whoop and yells of the savages, as they came
rushing on in great numbers. As they crowded on the militia, the
latter, with their officers, gave way in affright, and poured
pell-mell down the bank. Jackson was standing on the shore
superintending the crossing of his two pieces of artillery, when his
broken ranks came tumbling about him. Foremost among the fugitives was
Captain Stump; and, Jackson, enraged at the shameful disorder, aimed a
desperate blow at him with his sword, fully intending to cut him down.
One glance of his eye revealed the whole extent of the danger. But
for Gen. Carroll, who, with Capt. Quarles and twenty-five men, stood
nobly at bay, beating back with their deliberate volleys the hordes of
savages, the entire rear of the army would have been massacred. But,
over the din and tumult, Jackson's voice rang clear and steady as a
bugle-note, as he rapidly issued his orders. The gallant and intrepid
Coffee, roused by the tumult, raised himself from the litter on which
he lay wounded, and casting one glance on the panic, and another upon
the little band that stood like a rock embedded in the farther bank,
leaped to the ground, and with one bound landed in his saddle. The
next moment, his shout of encouragement broke on the ears of his
companions as he dashed forward to the conflict. Jackson looked up in
surprise as that pale face galloped up the bank, and then his rage at
the cowardice of the men gave way to the joy of the true hero when
another hero moves to his side, and he shouted, "We shall whip them
yet, my men! _the dead have risen, and come to aid us_." The company
of artillery followed, leaving Lieutenant Armstrong and a few men to
drag up the cannon. When one of the guns, at length, reached the top
of the bank, the rammer and picker were nowhere to be found. A man
instantly wrenched the bayonet from his musket, and rammed home the
cartridge with the stock, and picked it with his ramrod. Lieutenant
Armstrong fell beside his piece; but as he lay upon the ground, he
cried out, "My brave fellows, some of you must fall; but save the
cannon." Such heroism is always contagious; and the men soon rallied,
and charging home on the savages, turned them in flight on every side.
After burying his dead and caring for the wounded, Jackson resumed his
march; and, four days after, reached Fort Strother in safety. Nearly
one-eighth of his little army had been killed or wounded since he left
the post, and he now dismissed the remainder, who claimed that the
time of their enlistment was expired; and quietly waited till
sufficient reinforcements should arrive for him to undertake a
thorough campaign into the Creek country.
[Sidenote: Jan. 27.]
Four days after this, General Floyd again advancing into the Creek
country, was attacked just before daylight by a large body of Indians,
who rushed on him with terrible impetuosity. Determined on victory,
they advanced within thirty steps of the artillery, and would have
taken it but for the uncommon coolness and bravery of the subordinate
officers. At length a charge of bayonet sent them flying in all
directions. The cavalry then charged, and the horses rushing furiously
forward, to the sound of bugles, completed the terror of the savages,
who disappeared like frightened deer in the surrounding forests,
leaving thirty-seven dead on the field.
Reinforcements soon began to come in to Jackson; for his bravery and
success awakened confidence, and stimulated the ambition of thousands,
who were sure to win distinction under such a leader; and, by March,
he found himself at the head of four thousand militia and volunteers,
and a regiment of regular troops, together with several hundred
friendly Indians. While preparing to advance, mutiny again broke out
in the camp. He determined this time to make an example which should
deter others in future; and a private, being tried and convicted, was
shot. The spectacle was not lost on the soldiers, and nothing more was
heard of a revolt.
Having completed all his arrangements, Jackson, with four thousand
men, advanced, on the 16th of March, into the Creek country. At the
junction of the Cedar Creek with the Coosa River, he established Fort
Williams, and left a garrison. He then continued his march, with some
two thousand five hundred men, towards his previous battle-ground at
Emuckfaw. About five miles below it, in the bend of the Tallapoosa,
the Indians, a thousand strong, had entrenched themselves, determined
to give battle. They were on sacred ground; for all that tract between
the Coosa and Tallapoosa Rivers, known as the "hickory ground," their
prophets had told them the white man could never conquer. This bend
contained about a hundred acres, around which the river wrapped
itself in the form of a horse-shoe, from whence it derived its name.
Across the neck leading to this open plain, the Indians had erected a
breastwork of logs, seven or eight feet high, and pierced it with a
double row of port-holes. Behind it, the ground rose into an
elevation; while still farther back, along the shore, lay the village,
in which were the women and children. Early in the morning of the
25th, Jackson ordered General Coffee to take the mounted riflemen
together with the friendly Indians and cross the river at a ford
below, and stretch around the bend, on the opposite bank from the
village, so as to prevent the fugitives from escaping. He then
advanced in front, and took up his position, and opened on the
breastwork with his light artillery. The cannonade was kept up for two
hours without producing any effect. In the mean time, the friendly
Indians attached to General Coffee's command had swam the river and
loosened a large number of canoes, which they brought back. Captain
Russell's company of spies immediately leaped into them, and, with the
friendly Indians, crossed over and set the village on fire, and with
loud shouts pressed towards the rear of the encampment. The Indians
returned the shout of defiance, and, with a courage and steadiness
they seldom exhibited, repelled every effort to advance.
The troops under Jackson heard the din of the conflict within, and
clamored loudly to be led to the assault. He, however, held them back,
and stood and listened. Discovering, at length, by the incessant
firing in a single place, that the Americans were making no progress,
he ordered the drums to beat the charge. A loud and thrilling shout
rolled along the American line, and, with levelled bayonets, the
excited ranks precipitated themselves on the breastwork. A withering
fire received them, the rifle-balls sweeping like a sudden gust of
sleet, in their very faces. Not an Indian flinched, and many were
pierced through the port-holes; while, in several instances, the
enemy's bullets were welded to the American bayonets. The swarthy
warriors looked grimly through the openings, as though impervious to
death. This, however, was of short duration, and soon the breastwork
was black with men, as they streamed up the sides. Major Montgomery
was the first who planted his foot on the top, but he had scarcely
waved his sword in triumph above his head, when he fell back upon his
companions, dead. A cry of vengeance swelled up from his followers,
and the next moment the troops rolled like a sudden inundation over
the barrier. It then became a hand-to-hand fight. The Indians refused
to yield, and with gleaming knives and tomahawks, and clubbed rifles
and muskets, closed in a death grapple with their foes. Civilization
gave the bold frontiersmen no advantage here--it was a personal
struggle with his swarthy rival for the mastery, where they both
claimed the right of possession. The wild yell of the savage blended
in with the stem curse of the Anglo-Saxon, while high and shrill over
the clangor and clash of arms, arose the shouts of the prophets, as
dancing frantically around their blazing dwellings, they continued
their strange incantations, still crying victory.
At length one was shot in the mouth, as if to give the lie to his
declarations. Pressed in front and rear, many at last turned and fled.
But the unerring rifle dropped them along the shore; while those who
endeavored to save themselves by swimming, sunk in mid-stream under
the deadly fire of Coffee's mounted men. The greater part, however,
fought and fell, face to face, with their foes. It was a long and
desperate struggle; not a soul asked for quarter, but turned, with a
last look of hate and defiance, on his conqueror. As the ranks grew
thin, it ceased to be a fight, and became a butchery. Driven at last
from the breastwork, the few surviving warriors took refuge in the
brush and timber on the hill. Wishing to spare their lives, Jackson
sent an interpreter to them, offering them pardon; but they proudly
refused it, and fired on the messenger. He then turned his cannon on
the spot, but failing to dislodge them, ordered the grass and brush to
be fired. Driven out by the flames, they ran for the river, but most
of them fell before they reached the water. On every side the crack of
the rifle told how many eyes were on the fugitives. Darkness at last
closed the scene, and still night, broken only by the cries of the
wounded, fell on the forest and river. Nearly eight hundred of the
Indians had fallen, five hundred and fifty-seven of whom lay stark and
stiff around and in that encampment. The loss of the Americans, in
killed and wounded, was about two hundred.[1]
[Footnote 1: An incident occurred after the battle, which presented in
striking contrast the two opposite natures of Jackson. An Indian
warrior, severely wounded, was brought to him, whom he placed at once
in the hands of the surgeon. While under the operation, the bold,
athletic warrior looked up, and asked Jackson in broken English, "Cure
'im, kill 'im again?" The latter replied, "No; on the contrary, he
should be well taken care of." He recovered, and Jackson pleased with
his noble bearing, sent him to his own house in Tennessee, and
afterwards had him taught a trade in Nashville, where he eventually
married and settled down in business. When that terrible ferocity,
which took entire possession of this strange, indomitable man in
battle, subsided away, the most gentle and tender emotions usurped its
place. The tiger and the lamb united in his single person.]
The tired soldier slept on the field of slaughter, around the
smouldering fires of the Indian dwellings. The next morning they sunk
the dead bodies of their companions in the river, to save them from
the scalping-knives of the savages, and then took up their backward
march to Fort William.
The original design of having the three armies from Tennessee,
Georgia, and Mississippi, meet in the centre of the Creek nation, and
thus crush it with one united effort, had never been carried out, and
Jackson now resolved alone to overrun and subdue the country. Issuing
a noble address to his troops, he, on the 7th of April, set out for
the Indian village of Hoithlowalle. But he met with no opposition; the
battle of Tohopeka had completely prostrated the tribe, and the war
was virtually at an end. He, however, scoured the country, the Indians
everywhere fleeing before the terror of his name. On his march, he
sent orders to Colonel Milton, who, with a strong force, was also
advancing into the Creek country, to send him provisions. The latter
returned a cavalier refusal. Jackson then sent a peremptory order, not
only to forward provisions, but to join him at once with his troops.
Colonel Milton, after reading the order, asked the bearer what sort of
a man Jackson was. "One," he replied, "who intends, when he gives an
order, to have it obeyed." The colonel concluded to obey, and soon
effected a junction with his troops. Jackson then resumed his march
along the banks of the Tallapoosa; but he had hardly set the leading
column in motion, when word was brought him that Colonel Milton's
brigade was unable to follow, as the wagon-horses had strayed away
during the night, and could not be found. Jackson immediately sent
him word to detail twenty men to each wagon. The astonished colonel
soon found horses sufficient to draw the wagons.
The enemy, however, did not make a stand, and either fled, or came in
voluntarily to tender their submission. The latter part of April,
General Pinckney arrived at Fort Jackson, and assumed the command, and
General Jackson returned to Tennessee, greeted with acclamations, and
covered with honors. In a few months peace was restored with all the
Southern tribes, and the machinations of England in that quarter
completely frustrated.
There is nothing in the history of our country more remarkable than
this campaign, and nothing illustrates the genius of this nation more
than it and the man who carried it triumphantly through. Rising from a
sick couch, he called the young men of every profession to rally to
the defence of their country. Placing himself at the head of the brave
but undisciplined bands that gathered at his bidding, he boldly
plunged into the untrodden wilderness. Unskilled in the art of war,
never having witnessed a battle since he was a boy, he did not
hesitate to assume the command of an army without discipline, and
without knowledge of the toils and difficulties before it. Yet with it
he crossed broad rivers, climbed pathless mountains, and penetrated
almost impassable swamps filled with crafty savages. More subtle and
more tireless than his foes, he thwarted all their schemes. With
famine on one side and an army in open mutiny on the other, he scorned
to yield to discouragement, and would not be forced by the apparently
insurmountable obstacles that opposed his progress, from his purpose.
By his constancy and more than Roman fortitude, compelling adversity
at length to relent, and quelling his rebellious troops by the terror
of his presence and his indomitable will, he at last, with a smile of
triumph, saw his columns winding over the consecrated grounds of the
savages. Soon his battle-shout was heard rising over the crackling of
burning villages. Kings, prophets, and chieftains fell before him; and
crushing towns, villages, and fortresses under his feet, he at last,
with one terrible blow, paralyzed the nation for ever.
Indian warfare, though exhibiting none of the grand movements of a
well-appointed battle, often calls out equally striking qualities, and
requires more promptness and self-possession, and greater mental
resources in a commander. Especially with such an army as Jackson had
under him, the task he accomplished was Herculean, and reveals a
character of vast strength and executiveness. That single man,
standing up alone in the heart of the wilderness, and boldly facing
his famine-struck and rebellious army, presents a scene partaking far
more of the moral sublime than Cromwell seizing a rebel from the very
midst of his murmuring band.
His gloomy isolation for a whole winter, with only a few devoted
followers, reveals a fixedness of purpose and grandeur of character
that no circumstances can affect. Inferior to the contagion of fear,
unaffected by general discouragement, equal in himself to every
emergency, he moves before us in this campaign the embodiment of the
noblest qualities that distinguish the American race.
Jackson, with his undisciplined, mutinous, and starving army in the
southern wilderness, does not seem to belong to the same race as Hull,
Dearborn, Wilkinson and Izard on the northern frontier. Contrast the
difficulties that surrounded him with those that embarrassed them, and
how pitiful do their apologies and excuses sound. Had he been in
Dearborn's place, the first campaign would have placed Canada in our
possession.