At an early hour on the 13th the troops were roused from their lairs,
and forming upon the ground, waited till daylight should appear. A
heavy rain had come on about midnight, and now fell with so much
violence, that some precautions were necessary, in order to prevent the
firelocks from being rendered useless by wet. Such of the men as were
fortunate enough to possess leathern cases, wrapped them round the
locks of their muskets, whilst the rest held them in the best manner
they could, under their elbows; no man thinking of himself, but only
how he could best keep his arms in a serviceable condition.
As soon as the first glimmering of dawn could be discerned, we moved to
the road, and took up our wonted order of march; but before we pushed
forward, the troops were desired to lighten themselves still further,
by throwing off their blankets, which were to be left under a slender
guard till their return. This was accordingly done; and being now
unencumbered, except by a knapsack almost empty, every man felt his
spirits heightened in proportion to the diminution of his load. The
grief of soldiers is seldom of long duration, and though I will not
exactly say that poor Ross was already forgotten, the success of
yesterday had reconciled at least the privates to the guidance of their
new leader; nor was any other issue anticipated than what would have
attended the excursion had he still been its mainspring and director.
The country through which we passed resembled, in every particular,
that already described. Wood and cultivation succeeded each other at
intervals, though the former surpassed the latter in tenfold extent;
but instead of deserted villages and empty houses, which had met us on
the way to Washington, we found most of the inhabitants remaining
peaceably in their homes, and relying upon the assurance of protection
given to them in our proclamations. Nor had they cause to repent of
that confidence. In no instance were they insulted, plundered, or
ill-treated; whereas every house which was abandoned fell a prey to the
scouts and reconnoitring parties.
But our march to-day was not so rapid as our motions generally were.
The Americans had at last adopted an expedient which, if carried to its
proper length, might have entirely stopped our progress. In most of the
woods they had felled trees, and thrown them across the road; but as
these abattis were without defenders, we experienced no other
inconvenience than what arose from loss of time; being obliged to halt
on all such occasions till the pioneers had removed the obstacle. So
great, however, was even this hinderance, that we did not come in sight
of the main army of the Americans till evening, although the distance
travelled could not exceed ten miles.
It now appeared that the corps which we had beaten yesterday was only a
detachment, and not a large one, from the force collected for the
defence of Baltimore; and that the account given by the volunteer
troopers was in every respect correct. Upon a ridge of hills, which
concealed the town itself from observation, stood the grand army,
consisting of twenty thousand men. Not trusting to his superiority in
numbers, their General had there entrenched them in the most formidable
manner, having covered the whole face of the heights with breastworks,
thrown back his left so as to rest it upon a strong fort erected for
the protection of the river, and constructed a chain of field redoubts
which covered his right and commanded the entire ascent. Along the side
of the hill were likewise _flèches_ and other projecting works, from
which a cross fire might be kept up; and there were mounted throughout
this commanding position no less than one hundred pieces of cannon.
It would be absurd to suppose that the sight of preparations so warlike
did not in some degree damp the ardour of our leader; at least it would
have been madness to storm such works without pausing to consider how
it might best be attempted. The whole of the country within cannon-shot
was cleared from wood, and laid out in grass and corn-fields;
consequently there was no cover to shelter an attacking army from any
part of the deadly fire which would be immediately poured upon it. The
most prudent plan, therefore, was to wait till dark; and then, assisted
by the frigates and bombs, which he hoped were by this time ready to
co-operate, to try the fortune of a battle.
Having resolved thus to act, Colonel Brook halted his army; and,
secured against surprise by a well-connected line of piquets, the
troops were permitted to light fires and to cook their provisions. But
though the rain still fell in torrents, no shelter could be obtained;
and as even their blankets were no longer at hand, with which to form
gipsy-tents, this was the reverse of an agreeable bivouac to the whole
army.
Darkness had now come on, and as yet no intelligence had arrived from
the shipping. To assail such a position, however, without the aid of
the fleet, was deemed impracticable; at least our chance of success
would be greatly diminished without their co-operation. As the left of
the American army extended to a fort built upon the very brink of the
river, it was clear that could the ships be brought to bear upon that
point, and the fort be silenced by their fire, that flank of the
position would be turned. This once effected, there would be no
difficulty in pushing a column within their works; and as soldiers
entrenched always place more reliance upon the strength of their
entrenchments than upon their own personal exertions, the very sight of
our people on a level with them would in all probability decide the
contest. At all events, as the column was to advance under cover of
night, it might easily push forward and crown the hill above the enemy,
before any effectual opposition could be offered; by which means they
would be enclosed between two fires, and lose the advantage which their
present elevated situation bestowed. All, however, depended upon the
ability of the fleet to lend their assistance; for without silencing
the fort, this flank could scarcely be assailed with any chance of
success, and, therefore, the whole plan of operations must be changed.
SEARCH.
Having waited till it was considered imprudent to wait longer, without
knowing whether he was to be supported, Colonel Brook determined, if
possible, to open a communication with the fleet. That the river could
not be far off we knew, but how to get to it without falling in with
wandering parties of the enemy was the difficulty. The thing, however,
must be done; and as secrecy, and not force, was the main object, it
was resolved to dispatch for the purpose a single officer without an
escort. On this service a particular friend of mine chanced to be
employed. Mounting his horse, he proceeded to the right of the army,
where, having delayed a few minutes till the moon rising gave light
enough through the clouds to distinguish objects, he pushed forward at
a venture, in as straight a line as he could guess at. It was not long
before his progress was stopped by a high hedge. Like knight-errants of
old, he then gave himself up to the guidance of his horse, which taking
him towards the rear, soon brought him into a narrow lane, that
appeared to wind in the direction of the enemy’s fort: this lane he
determined to follow, and holding a cocked pistol in his hand, pushed
on, not perhaps entirely comfortable, but desirous at all hazards of
executing his commission. He had not ridden far, when the sound of
voices through the splashing of the rain arrested his attention.
Pulling up, he listened in silence, and soon discovered that they came
from two American soldiers, whether stragglers or sentinels it was
impossible to divine; but whoever they were, they seemed to be
approaching. It now struck him that his safest course would be to
commence the attack, and having therefore waited till he saw them stop
short, as if they had perceived him, he rode forward, and called out to
them to surrender. The fellows turned and fled, but galloping after
them, he overtook one, at whose head he presented a pistol, and who
instantly threw down his rifle, and yielded himself prisoner; whilst
the other, dashing into a thicket, escaped, probably to tell that he
had been attacked by a whole regiment of British cavalry. Having thus
taken a prisoner, my friend resolved to make him of some use; with this
view he commanded him to lay hold of his thigh, and to guide him
directly to the river, threatening, if he attempted to mislead or
betray him into the hands of the Americans, that he would instantly
blow out his brains. Finding himself completely in my friend’s power,
the fellow could not refuse to obey; and accordingly, the man resting
his hand upon the left thigh of the officer, they proceeded along the
lane for some time, till they came to a part where it branched off in
two directions. My friend here stopped for a moment; and again repeated
his threat, swearing that the instant his conduct became suspicious
should be the last of his life. The soldier assured him that he would
keep his word, and moreover informed him that some of our ships were
almost within gun-shot of the fort; a piece of information which was
quickly confirmed by the sound of firing, and the appearance of shells
in the air. They now struck to the right, and in half an hour gained
the brink of the river: where my friend found a party just landed from
the squadron, and preparing to seek their way towards the camp. By them
he was conducted to the Admiral, from whom he learnt that no effectual
support could be given to the land force; for such was the shallowness
of the river, that none except the very lightest craft could make their
way within six miles of the town; and even these were stopped by
vessels sunk in the channel, and other artificial bars, barely within a
shell’s longest range of the fort. With this unwelcome news he was
accordingly forced to return; and taking his unwilling guide along with
him, he made his way, without any adventure, to our advanced posts;
where, having thanked the fellow for his fidelity, he rewarded it more
effectually by setting him at liberty.
Having brought his report to head-quarters, a council of war was
instantly summoned to deliberate upon what was best to be done. Without
the help of the fleet, it was evident that, adopt what plan of attack
we could, our loss must be such as to counterbalance even success
itself; whilst success, under existing circumstances, was, to say the
least of it, doubtful. And even if we should succeed, what would be
gained by it? We could not remove anything from Baltimore, for want of
proper conveyances. Had the ships been able to reach the town, then,
indeed, the quantity of booty might have repaid the survivors for their
toil, and consoled them for the loss of comrades; but as the case now
stood, we should only fight to give us an opportunity of reacting
/re-enacting?/ the scenes of Washington. To distress an enemy is, no
/doubt,
desirable, but, in the present instance, that distress, even if brought
upon the Americans, would cost us dear; whereas, if we failed, it was
hardly possible to avoid destruction.
MARCH.
Such was the reasoning which influenced the council of war to decide
that all idea of storming the enemy’s lines should be given up. To draw
them from their works would require manoeuvring, and manoeuvring
requires time; but delays were all in their favour, and could not
possibly advantage us. Every hour brought in reinforcements to their
army, whereas ours had no source from which even to recruit its losses;
and it was, therefore, deemed prudent, since we could not fight at
once, to lose no time in returning to the shipping.
About three hours after midnight the troops were accordingly formed
upon the road, and began their retreat, leaving the piquets to deceive
the enemy, and to follow, as a rear-guard. The rain, which had
continued with little interruption since the night before, now ceased,
and the moon shone out bright and clear. We marched along, therefore,
not in the same spirits as if we had been advancing, but feeling no
debasement at having thus relinquished an enterprise so much beyond our
strength.
When the day broke, our piquets, which had withdrawn about an hour
before, rejoined us, and we went on in a body. Marching over the field
where the battle of the 12th had been fought, we beheld the dead
scattered about, and still unburied; but so far different from those
which we had seen at Bladensburg, that they were not stripped, every
man lying as he had fallen. One object, however, struck me as curious.
I saw several men hanging lifeless among the branches of trees, and
learnt that they had been riflemen, who chose, during the battle, to
fix themselves in these elevated situations, for the combined purposes
of securing a good aim and avoiding danger. Whatever might be their
success in the first of these designs, in the last they failed; for our
men soon discovered them, and, considering the thing as unfair, refused
to give them quarter, and shot them on their perches.
Here we paused for about an hour, that the soldiers might collect their
blankets and refresh themselves; when we again moved forward, passing
the wood where the gallant Ross was killed. It was noon, and as yet all
had gone on smoothly with out any check or alarm. So little indeed was
pursuit dreamt of, that the column began to straggle, and to march
without much regard to order; when suddenly the bugle sounded from the
rear, and immediately after some musket shots were heard. In an instant
the men were in their places, and the regiments wheeled into line,
facing towards the enemy. The artillery turned round and advanced to
the front; indeed I have never seen a manoeuvre more coolly or more
steadily performed on a parade in England than this rally. The alarm,
however, turned out to be groundless, being occasioned only by the
sudden appearance of a squadron of horse, which had been sent out by
the American General to track our steps. These endeavoured to charge
the rear-guard, and succeeded in making two prisoners; but a single
Shrapnel checked their farther advance, and sent them back at full
speed to boast of the brave exploit which they had performed.
Seeing that no attack was seriously intended, the army broke once more
into the line of march, and proceeded to a favourable piece of ground,
near the uncompleted position which I have already described, where we
passed the night under little tents made with blankets and ramrods. No
alarm occurring, nor any cause of delay appearing, at daybreak we again
got under arms, and pushed on towards the shipping, which in two hours
were distinguishable.
RE-EMBARKATION.
The infantry now halted upon a narrow neck of land, while the artillery
was lifted into boats, and conveyed on board the fleet. As soon as this
was done, brigade after brigade fell back to the water’s edge and
embarked, till finally all, except the light troops, were got off.
These being left to cover the embarkation, were extended across the
entire space which but a little before contained the whole army; but as
no attempt was made to molest them, they had only the honour of being
the last to quit the shore.
Were I to enter into a review of the military proceedings in this
expedition, I should be condemned to repeat, almost word for word, the
remarks which I ventured to make upon the operations previous to the
capture of Washington. On the present occasion, however, neither
hesitation nor precipitancy was displayed by the British General. He
threw his valuable life away, indeed, by exposing his person
unnecessarily in a trifling skirmish; but who will blame a soldier for
excess of courage, or a leader for excess of alertness? Like other able
men, he was unwilling to trust to the report of his subalterns, when it
was in his power to ascertain what he sought to know by personal
observation; and, like other brave men, he would not be deterred from
prosecuting his design by the apprehension of danger. In the plan of
the expedition here, he displayed both skill and resolution. Instead of
wasting time by an attempt to ascend the river, he chose to land where
he was least likely to meet with immediate opposition; and such was the
celerity of his motions, that, had he lived, the chances are that we
should have fought two battles in one day. But of what a man might have
done, I have nothing to say; let me rather do justice to his successor
and his advisers. Of these latter, there is one whom it would be
improper not to mention by name—I mean Lieutenant Evans,
Deputy-Assistant Quartermaster-General. The whole arrangement of our
troops in order of battle was committed to him; and the judicious
method in which they were drawn up, proved that he was not unworthy of
the trust. With respect to the determination of the council of war, I
choose to be silent. Certain it is, that the number of our forces would
hardly authorise any desperate attempt; yet had the attempt been made,
I have very little doubt that it would have been made successfully.
On the part of the Americans, again, the same blunders were committed
which marked their proceedings during the incursion to Washington, with
this exception, that more science was displayed now than formerly in
the distribution of their forces along their principal position. At
Bladensburg, indeed, there existed no works, and the troops were badly
arranged in an open country: here there were not only fortifications,
but fortifications constructed in a scientific manner, and troops drawn
up in such order, as that, even without their works, many cross fires
would have protected their front. But they neglected numerous
favourable opportunities of harassing both our advance and retreat.
They felled trees, but left no guards to keep them from being removed,
and took no advantage of the delays which their removal created. They
risked a battle with a part of their army, when there was no necessity
for it; in a word, they committed all those errors which men generally
commit who are not soldiers, and yet love war.