THE DEATH OF ISAAC BROCK.
At this moment Colonel Macdonell, excited and eager to participate,
reached the foot of the mountain at the head of the supports for which
the General had despatched him. These consisted of about thirty of
Heward's flank company of militia and thirty of the 49th--almost
breathless and much exhausted, having run most of the way. Brock's small
force--those actually at his side--were Chisholm's and Cameron's
companies of the Toronto and York volunteers--a mere handful of perhaps
eighty all told. These, together with Macdonell's men, who were at the
foot of the hill on the right, now numbered less than 190 of all ranks.
For an instant there was a pause. Brock spoke hurriedly to his aide.
"If Williams and Macdonell can but outflank the Americans on the summit
and scale the mountain in rear of the redan on the right, nothing can
prevent our driving them out. Our place is here."
"But, General," interposed his aide, who worshipped his commanding
officer, "I pray you, let me lead, or at least do take proper
precautions. If you are wounded, think what may befall us."
"Master Glegg," hurriedly replied Brock, "I must remain at the head of
these men. Duty and desire compel me. Should I fall, there are others
not less competent."
A half smile, a touch of the arm, and the two men separated. A long
separation.
* * * * *
Deceived by the scarlet uniforms of the militia flank companies, Wool
believed that the attacking party was composed exclusively of regulars,
so steady was their advance. His own force now consisted of 500 men,
over 300 of whom were regulars. Notwithstanding his much greater
strength and vastly superior position, being protected by artificial
brush-shelters and logs, and the withering fire with which he met the
dogged progress of the British, his flanks, pressed by Williams and
Macdonell, began to shrink. The moment was a critical one for our hero.
The supreme effort must be made.
Glancing below, Brock, even at that instant, for a fleeting moment was
conscious of the beauty of the country spread beneath him. Almost as far
as eye could reach extended an immense, partly pastoral plain, studded
with villages, groves, winding streams, cultivated farms, orchards,
vineyards and meadows. In places a dense forest, decorated with autumn's
mellow tints, and furrowed by the black gorge of the Niagara, stretched
to the horizon. Across all, shadows of racing clouds gave emphasis to
the brilliant flood of sunshine. No fairer scene ever greeted the eye of
man. The entire landscape breathed peace. Above it, however, in detached
masses, hung lurid billows--the smoke of battle.... The serene vision
faded, and in its place, in brutal contrast, came cruel, imperious bugle
calls, the metallic rattle of fire-arms, the deep thunder of artillery,
the curdling cry of wounded men.
Isaac's senses were insulted by the carnage of war.
* * * * *
He now noticed that the supports, led by his plucky aide at the foot of
the hill, were flagging. He shouted back, "Push on, York Volunteers!"
Our hero's robust figure was a conspicuous object for the American
riflemen. While telling his men to take advantage of every bit of
shelter, he paid little attention to himself. His uniform, his position
at the head of his men, his loud words of command, stamped him a man of
mark, a soldier of distinction, a special target for Wool's
sharpshooters.
* * * * *
So far he had escaped the hail of shot by a miracle. Picking his
footsteps--it was treadmill work--he sprang forward, urging on his men
by word and gesture.
* * * * *
A deflected bullet struck the wrist of his sword arm. The wound was
slight. He again waved his sword, smiling his indifference and still
speaking words of encouragement.
* * * * *
They were getting at close quarters now. The redan was less than fifty
yards above.
He was calling to those nearest him to hold their fire a moment, to
prepare to rush the enemy and use their bayonets, when, from a thorn
thicket, an Ohio scout, Wilklow by name, one of Moseley's riflemen,
stepped forward, and, singling out his victim, deliberately aimed at the
General. Several of the 49th, noticing the man's movement, fired--but
too late. The rifleman's bullet entered our hero's right breast, tore
through his body on the left side, close to his heart, leaving a gaping
wound.
* * * * *
[Illustration: BROCK'S COAT, WORN AT QUEENSTON HEIGHTS]
Brock sank slowly to the ground, quite sensible of his grievous fate. A
grenadier, horribly mutilated, fell across him. To those who ran to aid
our hero, anxious to know the nature of his injury, he murmured a few
broken sentences and--turned to die.
He tried to frame messages to loved ones, and then, more audibly, as he
gallantly strove to raise his head to give emphasis to his last
faltering words--the same Isaac Brock, unmindful of self and still
mindful of duty--he said, "My fall must not be noticed, nor impede my
brave companions from advancing to victory."
And with a sigh--expired.
* * * * *
Thus died General Sir Isaac Brock, defender and saviour of Upper Canada.
Died the death he would have selected, the most splendid death of
all--that of the hero in the hour of victory, fighting for King and
country, for you and me, and with his face to the foe.
* * * * *
Our hero had passed his _last_ milestone.
* * * * *
For a brief space the body of Isaac Brock rested where it had fallen,
about one hundred yards west of the road that leads through Queenston,
and a little eastward of an aged thorn bush.
* * * * *
Above the dead soldier's head, clouds, sunshine and rustling foliage;
beneath it, fallen forest leaves, moist and fragrant. About the
motionless body swayed tussocks of tall grass and the trampled heads of
wild-flowers. The shouts of the regulars, the clamor of the militia, the
shrill war-cry of the Mohawks, and the organ notes of battle, were his
requiem. Then the corpse was hurriedly borne by a few grief-stricken men
of the 49th to a house in the village, occupied by Laura Secord--the
future heroine of Lundy's Lane--where, concealed by blankets--owing to
the presence of the enemy--it was allowed to remain for some hours,
unvisited.
* * * * *
Later in the day Major Glegg, Brock's faithful aide--the brave
Macdonell, in extreme agony, lay dying of his wounds--hastened to the
spot, and finding the body of his lamented friend undisturbed, conveyed
it to Niagara, "where it was bedewed by weeping friends whose hearts
were agonized with bitterest sorrow."
[Illustration: BATTLE OF QUEENSTON. From an old Sketch]
SUPPLEMENT
AFTER BROCK'S DEATH.
The "Story of Isaac Brock" would be incomplete without an epitome of the
events that terminated the Battle of Queenston Heights and resulted in
an overwhelming victory for the British.
General Brock was killed in action at about half-past seven on the
morning of October 13th, 1812. His body was removed from Government
House, Niagara, to a cavalier bastion at Fort George, for final
sepulture. This bastion was selected by Major Glegg, it being the one
which Brock's own genius had lately suggested--the one from which the
range of an observer's vision covered the principal points of
approach--and had just been finished under his daily superintendence.
After he fell, the handful of men who were with him, overcome by his
tragic end, overwhelmed by superior numbers and a hurricane of buckshot
and bullets, wavered, and though Dennis attempted to rally them, fell
back and retreated to the far end of Queenston village. Here, about two
hours later, Colonel Macdonell, Brock's aide, collected and reformed the
scattered units, and made another bold dash to rescale the heights and
retake the redan. A detailed account of the incidents that followed in
dramatic succession would fill a book.
With the cry of "Revenge the General!" from the men of the 49th,
Macdonell, on Brock's charger, led the forlorn attack, supported by
Dennis. At the same moment, Williams, with his detachment, emerged from
the thicket, shouting to his men, "Feel firmly to the right, my lads;
advance steadily, charge them home, and they cannot stand you." The two
detachments then combined, and Macdonell ordering a general advance,
they once more breasted the ascent.
The enemy, over four hundred strong, but without proper formation, fired
an independent volley at the British as they approached to within thirty
yards of the redoubt. This was responded to with vigour, and grenadiers
and volunteers, in response to brave Macdonell's repeated calls, charged
fiercely on Wool's men, now huddled in disorder around the
eighteen-pounder. Some of them started to run towards the river bank.
One American officer, Ogilvie, of the 13th regulars, thinking the
situation hopeless, raised his handkerchief on his sword-point in token
of surrender. Wool, a soldier of different calibre, tore it down, and a
company of United States infantry coming at that moment to his
assistance, he rallied his men.
The momentary advantage gained by Macdonell's small band of heroes was
lost, and in the exchange of shots that followed, Macdonell's
horse--Brock's charger--was killed under him while he--his uniform torn
with bullets--was thrown from the saddle as the animal plunged in its
death struggle--receiving several ghastly bullet wounds, from which he
died the following day, after enduring much agony. Williams, a moment
later, fell desperately wounded; Dennis, suffering from a severe head
wound, at first refused to quit the field, but Cameron having removed
the sorely-stricken Macdonell, and Williams having recovered
consciousness and escaped, the dispirited men fell back, retreated down
the mountain at Parrott's Tavern, retiring upon Vrooman's battery. Here
they awaited, unmolested, until two in the afternoon, the arrival of
reinforcements from Fort George. The fight, though short, had been
furious and deadly. Americans and British alike were glad to take
breath.
Meanwhile, unobserved, young Brant, with 120 Mohawk Indians, had scaled
the mountain, east of St. David's, outflanking the Americans, and hemmed
them in until Captains Derenzy, of the 41st, and Holcroft, of the
Artillery, arrived with the car-brigade from Fort George and trained two
field-guns and a howitzer upon the landing. Merritt, with a troop of
mounted infantry, at the same time reached the village by the Queenston
road. This movement, which was a ruse, deceived the enemy, who at once
redisposed his troops in readiness for an attack from this new quarter.
The American commander was ignorant of the fact that General
Sheaffe--with four companies of the 41st, 308 strong, the same number of
militia, and a company of negro troops from Niagara, refugee slaves from
the United States--was at that moment approaching his rear in the rear
of the Indians. The British advanced in crescent-shaped formation,
hidden by mountain and bush, and were shortly joined by a few more
regulars and by two flank companies of the 2nd regiment of militia from
Chippewa. Indeed, many persons of all ranks of life, even veterans
exempt by age, seized their muskets and joined the column to repel the
invaders, "unappalled" by Dearborn's threats of conquest or by the death
of their "beloved hero, Isaac Brock." By this movement the British
escaped the enfilading fire of the Lewiston batteries, the steep ascent
of the heights in the teeth of the enemy's field-works, and compelled
him to change front. The British of all ranks numbered less than one
thousand.
[Illustration: PLAN OF BATTLE OF QUEENSTON]
The United States troops, which had been heavily reinforced, consisted
at this time of about one thousand fighting men, on and about the
mountain. This number was slowly supplemented by fresh arrivals from
Lewiston, encouraged when they saw the American flag planted on the
redan. The wounded were sent across the river. Nearly all of the new
arrivals were regulars. Colonel Winfield Scott, of Mexican fame, a tried
soldier, six feet four in his stockings, was now in command, supported
by a second field-piece and many sharp-shooters. Van Rensselaer,
narrowly escaping capture, had retreated by boat to Lewiston, ostensibly
to bring over more troops. Finding the conditions unfavourable, he did
not do so, but sent over General Wadsworth, as a vicarious sacrifice, to
take command. The gun in the redan had been unspiked, and the summit
strongly entrenched, but as Scott's men betrayed strange lukewarmness,
orders were given "to shoot any man leaving his post."
Sheaffe's men having rested after their forced tramp, a few spherical
case-shot by Holcroft drove out the American riflemen. His gunners had
at last silenced the Lewiston batteries, and finding the river range,
sunk almost every boat that attempted to cross. The Indians were now
ordered to drive in the enemy's pickets slowly. Scouting the woods, they
routed his outposts.
About four p.m. Captain Bullock, with two flank companies of militia and
150 men of the 41st, advanced, and after firing a volley in the face of
a dense smoke, charged the enemy's right, which broke in great
confusion. A general advance was ordered, and, with wild warwhoops by
the Indians and white men, the heights were rushed, Wadsworth's
veterans were stampeded, the redan retaken at the point of the bayonet,
and Scott's command forced to the scarp of the cliff overhanging the
river.
The American soldiers, to quote United States historians, now "fled like
sheep," and scuttled off in all directions. Some raced headlong down the
main road, seeking shelter under the muzzles of Holcroft's guns; some
sought refuge in the houses; others raced to the landing only to find
the boats no longer there. Not a few, hot pressed by Brant's avenging
Mohawks, threw themselves over the precipice, preferring suicide to the
redman's tomahawk. Others plunged into the Niagara, essaying to swim its
irresistible eddies, only to be blown out of the green water by
Holcroft's grapeshot or sucked down by the river's silent whirlpools.
One boat, with fifty struggling refugees, sank with its entire crew. Two
others similarly laden were beached below the village, with only one
dozen out of one hundred souls still living. The river presented a
shocking scene. On the face of the water men, many maimed and wounded,
fought and struggled for survival. This pitiful spectacle was actually
taking place under the eyes of several thousands of American soldiers on
the Lewiston bank, who, almost impossible to believe, and to their
lasting disgrace, refused to join, or attempt even to succour, their
comrades--deaf to all entreaty--allowing them to perish. Every room and
shack at Queenston was an improvised hospital or morgue, filled with the
mangled bodies of the quick and dead.
Cruikshank says 120 wounded United States officers and men were taken,
of whom thirty died at hospital in Queenston and Niagara, while 140 more
were ferried across to Lewiston. Lossing, the American historian,
solemnly records the "fact" that "less than 600 American troops of all
ranks ever landed at Queenston," and that "of these only 300 were
overpowered"--some of the United States histories of the colonial wars
need drastic revision--yet 958 American soldiers were taken prisoners by
the British; "captured by a force," so officially wrote Colonel Van
Rensselaer, after the battle, "amounting to only about _one-third_ of
the united number of the American troops." Captain Gist, of the U.S.
army, placed their own killed at 400.
Among those who, when defeat was certain, fled to the water's edge,
after fighting valiantly, was Colonel Winfield Scott, General
Wadsworth, and other United States officers. Pursued by the Indians,
they lowered themselves from shrub to shrub. When escape was hopeless,
Scott tied the white cravat of his comrade, Totten, on his sword point,
and with another officer, Gibson, was hurrying to present this flag of
truce, when two Indians confronted them on the narrow trail. Jacobs,
Brant's powerful follower, wrenched Scott's sword away, hatchets were
drawn, and had not a British grenadier sergeant rushed forward, Winfield
Scott would have fared badly.
General Van Rensselaer's defeat was complete and disastrous. His chagrin
at his failure "to appal the minds of the Canadians" was so great that
ten days later he resigned his command.
The account between Canada and the United States at sundown on that day
stood as follows: Total American force engaged, 1,600. Killed and
wounded, or sent back across the river, during the fight, 500.
Prisoners, 73 officers, including two generals and five colonels,
together with 852 rank and file. Total loss, 1,425 men, besides the
colours of the New York regiment, one six-pounder, 815 carbines and
bayonets, and 5,950 rounds of ball and buckshot.
The total British force engaged was 1,000. Of these 800 were regulars
and militia, and 200 Indians. Killed, 14, including one major-general
and one aide. Wounded and missing, 96. Total American loss, 1,425. Total
British loss, 110. _The next day the British General, Sheaffe, Isaac
Brock's successor, signed another armistice. The second armistice within
a period of nine weeks!_
Such is the story of the Battle of Queenston Heights.
SUBSEQUENT EVENTS OF THE CAMPAIGN OF 1812.
After Van Rensselaer resigned his command in favour of Brigadier-General
Smyth, the effect of the British victory upon the United States troops
at Lewiston was beyond belief. While the British soldiers were, with
characteristic indifference, hard at work at Fort George cutting wood
and threshing straw, the American soldiers across the river, according
to their own historians, were deserting by the hundreds. Of General
Tannehill's brigade of 1,414 of all ranks, 1,147 deserted within a few
days. Twenty of these were officers.
Had the British been allowed to profit by this demoralization of the
enemy and followed up their brilliant successes, they could, as Brock
predicted, have swept the frontier from Chippewa to Sackett's Harbour,
and probably prevented a continuance of the two years' war. The
Sheaffe-Prevost inexcusable thirty days' truce was the very respite the
enemy had prayed for. More men and more munitions were hurriedly
despatched to all the United States frontier forts, and renewed courage
imparted to some of the commanders and their hesitating brigades. The
first to waken up after the expiration of this, to the Americans,
merciful truce, was General Dearborn, who, with 2,000 men, attacked
Odelltown, only to be driven back to Lake Champlain by de Salaberry.
This reverse was followed in the last days of November by an attack by
General Smyth, with 400 of his 4,300 men, upon a four-gun battery,
defended by sixty-five men, above Garden Island, on the Niagara River.
Elated with his success, he took for his rallying cry, "The cannon lost
at Detroit--or death!" and again crossed the river with thirty-two boats
and 900 men, and descended upon Fort Erie. Meanwhile, Colonel Bisshopp
had retaken the fort, with its American captors, and with a handful of
regulars and militia awaited "annihilation." As Smyth's flotilla
advanced, Bisshopp poured in a hot fire, sinking two boats. This
reception did not accord with Smyth's views of the ethics of war, and
forgetting all about the "lost guns," and disliking, upon reflection,
the idea of "death," he at once turned tail. At Buffalo he was publicly
pelted by the populace, and for his cowardice was dismissed the service
by the United States Senate without the formality of a trial.
Dearborn--strange to say--having for the time lost his taste for
fighting, went into winter quarters, and Canada, in universal mourning
for Brock, but still confident and undaunted, rested on her arms. The
year 1812 closed without further incident.
The period thus ended had been a momentous one. Brilliant reputations
had been made and lost. The blood of many patriots had flowed freely,
but, as regarded Canada, not in vain, for, in the words of the American
historian, Schouler, "the war had impressed upon the people of the
Republic the fact that Canada could not be carried by dash, nor pierced
by an army officered by political generals and the invincibles of
peace."
THE CAMPAIGN OF 1813.
Though it would be quite natural to suppose that the story of Isaac
Brock would end with his death and the victory of Queenston Heights, it
is well to remember that the _influence of his triumphs only ceased with
the close of the war_ and the Treaty of Ghent, in December, 1814. Hence
a _résumé_ of the events that occurred during 1813 and 1814 is
necessary, if a just valuation of our hero's achievements is desired.
Between July, 1812 and November 5th, 1814, "twelve distinct invasions of
Canada by superior forces of the enemy were defeated." Out of fifty-six
military and naval engagements between the British and U.S. forces,
thirty-six were won by the British. Though the victories of 1812 were
the direct factors that brought about a change in the national destiny
of Canada, "Queenston Heights was not the culminating feat of arms." As
a result of brooding over these disasters that had befallen the "Grand
Army of the West," and the "national disgrace" of overwhelming defeat,
the people of the United States, as a whole, independent of politics,
"were now"--so write American chroniclers--"compelled to become
belligerents."
In consequence of this national thirst for revenge, Generals Harrison
and Winchester started to look for trouble in January, 1813, and--were
rewarded. Strongly stockaded at Frenchtown, on the Raisin River, with a
seasoned army, they invited attack. Colonel Procter, with 500 soldiers
and 800 Indians under Roundhead, accepted the challenge, and making a
furious attack upon Winchester before daybreak, took the General and 405
of his "Grand Army" prisoners. Brockville was then raided, and fifty-two
citizens kidnapped by the U.S. soldiers. During the next two years raids
of this nature were of frequent occurrence, first by one belligerent,
then by the other, and with varying success. Major Macdonald's capture
of Ogdensburg, when he took eleven guns and 500 U.S. soldiers, was the
next big win for Canada.
In April, to balance the account, General Pike descended upon York. The
capital of Upper Canada at that time had a population of only 1,000, and
was weakly garrisoned. While the enemy was advancing upon the small fort
to the west of the village, a powder magazine exploded, killing many on
both sides. General Sheaffe, thoroughly alarmed at the prospect,
destroyed his stores, and, after 300 of his force had been captured,
retreated with the remainder to Kingston--for which he was severely
censured--and York surrendered. Then Procter, inflated by his victory at
Frenchtown, and overrating his military skill, attacked Fort Meigs, on
the Maumee River, was badly repulsed, and hopelessly lost all prestige.
This defeat of the British was followed by Dearborn's assault upon Fort
George. With 7,000 men behind him, aided by the guns of Chauncey's fleet
at the river mouth, he captured the time-worn fortification, and the
Niagara frontier--despite the dogged resistance of General Vincent, who
had to retreat with the crippled remnant of his 1,400 men--was at last
in the possession of the enemy. This win was made more complete by
General Prevost's belated and, of course, futile attack upon Sackett's
Harbour. When assured success stared him in the face, his flaccid nature
suggested retreat, and what might have been a signal victory became a
disgraceful failure. The position of affairs at this time was admirably
summed up in a letter written by Quartermaster Nichol. "Alas! we are no
longer commanded by Isaac Brock.... Confidence seems to have vanished
from the land, and gloomy despondency in those who are at our head has
taken its place." Brock's courage, judgment, military skill and personal
magnetism were never so much needed.
To offset these reverses, the brilliant victory of the British ship
_Shannon_ over the American war vessel _Chesapeake_, in a naval duel
fought outside Boston harbour, somewhat restored British complacence.
This was the prelude to another victory on land. Vincent, after being
bombarded out of Fort George, slowly retreated with his broken command
towards Burlington, cleverly flirting with the enemy, and drawing him
farther and farther inland, finally reforming his wearied men near Stony
Creek, sixteen miles from the lake's head. Here the enemy, 3,000 strong,
went into camp. It was here that FitzGibbon--General Brock's old-time
sergeant-major and faithful _protégé_--now in command of a company of
the 49th, disguised as a settler, penetrated the enemy's camp, and was
convinced a night attack would be successful. While the advance guard of
the enemy was driving in the British decoy pickets, 800 of Vincent's
force, under Harvey, surprised and charged them in the darkness,
capturing two American generals, 120 prisoners, and four cannon, without
the loss of a man.
Sheaffe was now transferred to Montreal, and De Rottenberg assumed
military command in Upper Canada. Three weeks later an American, Colonel
Boerstler, was ordered to surprise a small party of British at Beaver
Dams (now Thorold). Lieutenant FitzGibbon, in command, was informed of
the proposed attack. An heroic woman--Laura Secord--the wife of a
wounded militiaman at Queenston, and to whose house Brock's body was
borne after he fell, learned of the pending surprise by overhearing a
conversation between some American officers. Her resolution was soon
formed. Despite the fact that twenty miles through gloomy forest, filled
with hostile Indians, lay between her home and the British camp, she
tramped the distance unattended, though not unmolested, and reached the
Stone House in time to warn the plucky grenadier. The wily Irishman at
once despatched a party of Caughnawaga Indians to divert the enemy's
attention. Advancing with a few soldiers, and finding Boerstler and his
force drawn up in an opening of the woods, uncertain what to do, he
boldly ordered that officer to surrender with his entire command of 540
soldiers, though he had but forty-seven men to enforce the conditions.
His demand was instantly complied with.
To equalize in part this game of international see-saw, Chauncey again
visited York with fourteen ships, mounting 114 guns, and plundered the
defenceless capital.
On Lake Erie, Perry, with nine ships and a total broadside of 936 pounds
of metal, defeated Barclay's six Canadian ships, with a total broadside
of 459 pounds. These facts must be taken into impartial consideration in
weighing the issue. In the west, Procter, still suffering from the shock
received at Fort Meigs, with 407 troops and 800 Indians, retreated up
the Thames valley, neglecting to burn his bridges in his retreat, with
General Harrison and an army of 3,500 men in hot pursuit. The American
general brought him to bay at Moraviantown, and in the frozen swamps the
dispirited British, having lost all confidence in their fleeing
commander, surrendered or escaped. It was here that the gallant and
high-minded Tecumseh met his death, under distressing circumstances. The
story was circulated that, mortified at Procter's proposed flight, the
Shawanese chief was only restrained from shooting that officer by the
interference of Colonel Elliott. For his conduct and the unexplained
disaster at Moraviantown, Procter was court-martialed, severely
condemned, and suspended from his command for six months.
[Illustration: TAKING OF NIAGARA, MAY 27TH, 1813. From an old Print]
The defeat of Procter was counterbalanced, however, by Colonel de
Salaberry's dramatic victory over General Hampton. With 350 French
Canadian Voltigeurs he hypnotized 3,500 United States troops at
Chateauguay. When the fight was hottest the gallant Frenchman ordered
his buglers to sound the advance, an alarming fanfare, accompanied by
discharges of musketry from various points of the surrounding forest,
and the enemy, thinking he was about to be attacked and flanked by
superior numbers, was seized with panic, stampeded, and never halted in
his retreat until he had placed twenty-five miles of country between him
and the "French devils." After this, occurred the historic battle of
Chrysler's Farm, on the St. Lawrence, when 2,000 U.S. regulars under
General Boyd, with six field-guns, were routed, with a loss of 102
killed and 237 wounded, by a force composed of 380 regulars, militia and
Indians, under Colonel Morrison, and driven back into American
territory.
In the second week of December, General McClure evacuated Fort George,
but before doing so burned 149 of the public buildings and private
houses in Newark and Queenston, by order of John Armstrong, U.S.
Secretary of War, compelling 400 women and children to seek shelter in
the woods, with the thermometer ranging around zero. Even Lossing, the
American historian, condemned this as "a wanton act, contrary to the
usages of war, and leaving a stain upon the American character." The
outrage brought its own punishment within the week. Colonel Murray, with
550 soldiers, captured the United States Fort Niagara, killing
sixty-five men and taking 344 prisoners, and before the close of the
year, with his heart on fire, the British general, Riall, crossed the
river with 500 Indians and sacked Lewiston, Youngstown, Tuscarora and
Manchester, only desisting from his excusable incendiarism when he had
burned Buffalo and laid Black Rock in ashes. January 1st, 1814, was
ushered in with the Cross of St. George floating over the battered
ramparts of the American Fort Niagara.
Thus ended the year of our Lord 1813, for ever memorable in North
American history as a twelve months of almost incessant warfare, famous
for its records of conspicuous courage, much military incompetence, and
great and lamentable carnage. A year, notwithstanding its sheaf of
blunders, that should be canonized by all true Canadians, for it was a
year that emphasized in an astounding manner the pluck and bull-dog
tenacity of the Canadian militiaman, disclosing his deep love for
country that resisted unto death the lawless attacks of a wanton
invader.
THE CAMPAIGN OF 1814.
In March, 1814, General Wilkinson again undertook the forlorn hope of
capturing Canada, leading 5,000 men against 350 British, under Hancock,
at Lacolle, on Lake Champlain. After five hours of red-hot fighting, he
was compelled to fall back on Plattsburg. A month later Admiral Sir
James Yeo and General Drummond, with 750 men, landed under the batteries
at Oswego, and in the teeth of a sustained fire of cannon and musketry,
"gathered in" that historic town and sixty prisoners.
To and fro, like a pendulum, swayed the scene of action--to-day east,
to-morrow west. Colonel Campbell and 500 American soldiers, with nothing
better to do, made a bonfire of Port Dover, the incident being
officially described by the U.S. War Department as "an error of
judgment." Then General Brown, backed by an army of 6,000 U.S. veterans,
swooped down like "a wolf on the fold" on Fort George, and annexed it
and the garrison of 170 men. The British general, Riall, still
possessing the fighting mania, and some 1,800 men, locked horns with
General Brown and 3,000 of his veterans, and the Battle of Chippewa
added another victory to the American record. The enemy then pillaged
St. David's, while Riall--both sides having suffered heavily--retreated
to the head of Lundy's Lane, a narrow roadway close to the Falls of
Niagara, and stood at bay.
Three weeks elapsed, when General Drummond, realizing Riall's danger,
hastened from York to his assistance, reaching Lundy's Lane with 800 men
at the moment that General Brown, with his reinforced army of over 4,000
men, was within 600 yards of the British outposts. A moment later the
contest was on, the bloodiest and probably the most brilliant battle of
the whole campaign. It was a bitterly contested fight for seven hours--a
death struggle for the survival of the fittest. During the first three
hours the British force numbered only 1,640, until reinforced by 1,200
additional combatants. All through the long hours of the black night the
battle waged furiously. Charge succeeded charge, followed by the screams
of the mutilated and the dead silence of the stricken. Over all boomed
the muffled thunders of Niagara. The big guns, almost mouth to mouth,
roared crimson destruction. Though bayonets were crossed, and the
fighting was hand to hand and desperate, and sand and grass grew ghastly
and slippery with the sheen of blood in the fitful moonlight, the
British, notwithstanding the advantage in weight and numbers of the
enemy, held their ground. When day was breaking, and the American
general found his casualties exceeded one thousand, he withdrew his
shattered army of invaders to Fort Erie. The British loss was 84 killed
and 557 wounded. Lundy's Lane has been likened to the storming of St.
Sebastian or the deathly duel at Quatre Bras. Both invaders and
defenders exhibited heroism--worthy, in the case of the enemy, of a
higher cause. General Drummond was wounded, and a son of General Hull,
of Detroit notoriety, was among the killed.
[Illustration: CENOTAPH, QUEENSTON HEIGHTS]
Though the battle of Lundy's Lane, fought on July 25th, was the last
great engagement in 1814, and practically ended the war, the campaign
was not destined to close without an exhibition of constitutional
timidity on the part of Prevost, the man with the liquid backbone. With
11,000 seasoned veterans who had campaigned under Wellington, he
advanced, September 14th, on Plattsburg, garrisoned by only 4,000
Americans, and when victory smiled in his face, he actually ordered the
retreat. Overcome with humiliation, his officers broke their swords,
declaring they "could never serve again," and sullenly retraced their
steps to the frontier. This was the crowning episode that destroyed
Prevost's reputation. Death rescued him from the disgrace of
court-martial.
How clear-cut and free from blemish, in contrast with that of many of
his contemporaries, stands out the brilliant record of Isaac Brock.
The Treaty of Ghent--while satisfactory to the people of Canada,
bringing as it did a cessation of hostilities, permanent peace, and
recognition of their rights--was received with mixed satisfaction by
both political parties in the United States, after the first flush of
excitement had passed away. "What," the citizens asked each other,
"have we gained by a war into which the country was dragged by President
Madison in defence of free-trade and sailors' rights, and in opposition
to paper blockades?"
In the articles of peace, these vexed questions (as related in Chapters
VIII. and XIV.)--questions which, as we have seen, were advanced by the
United States Government as the _real cause for war_, were _not even
mentioned_. Some worthy Americans, having suffered from the fighting
qualities of the Canadian loyalists, publicly stated that the
"declaration of peace had delivered them from great peril." In some of
the States "the universal joy was so great," writes Gay, in his Life of
Madison, "that Republicans and Democrats forgot their differences and
hates and wept and laughed by turns in each others' arms, and kissed
each other like women."
Another United States historian (Johnston) writes that "peace secured
not _one_ of the objects for which war had been declared, for, though
Britain put a stop to the irritating ... practice of searching American
vessels flying an American flag, she was not bound by the terms of the
treaty to do so." In the words of another recorder (Taylor), "Britain
ceased the practice of search, not on account of war, nor of the treaty,
but because the necessity of doing so had passed away--the European war
being over."
WHAT OF CANADA?
Canada, young as she was in the arts of peace and cruel practices of
war, while honouring the memory of her heroes who had fallen in the
splendid struggle against invasion, wasted no time in idle tears. The
very atmosphere of her high northern latitude, the breath of life that
rose from lake and forest, prairie and mountain, was fast developing a
race of men with bodies enduring as iron and minds as highly tempered as
steel. She drew another and a deeper breath, and, forecasting her
destiny, with shoulders squared and fixed resolve, made ready to create
an empire of industrial greatness which, under Providence, was to rank
second to none.
The influence of Brock's life, achievements and death upon the Canadian
people was more far-reaching than boy, or even man, would suppose. It
aroused in the people not only the questionable human desire to avenge
his death, but an unexpressed resolve to emulate his high manliness, his
fixity of purpose, and his well-ordered courage in defence of the right.
* * * * *
It remains for the youth of Canada to proudly cherish the memory of
Isaac Brock, and to never lose an opportunity to follow the example he
set for them by his splendid deeds.
[Illustration: BROCK'S MONUMENT]
APPENDIX.
EXPLANATORY NOTES ON THE ILLUSTRATIONS.
NO. 1. FRONTISPIECE.
_Major-General Sir Isaac Brock._
Reproduction of a copy of the original water-color and chalk drawing in
the possession of Sir Isaac Brock's great-niece, Miss Tupper, of Candee,
Guernsey. Copied for Miss Agnes FitzGibbon, of Toronto, by Alyn
Williams, President of the Miniature Painters' Association of Great
Britain, 1897, and not hitherto published. Adjudged by relatives to be
an exact facsimile of Williams' portrait. Miss FitzGibbon writes that
"the original painting is on similar paper to that on which
Major-General Brock's last general orders are written, the size
corresponding to the space between the watermarks. Dated 1811." Artist
unknown.
NO. 2. FACING PAGE 11.
"_St. Peter's Port, Guernsey, in 18×6._"
By an unknown artist. (An × was frequently used for a "0" at that time.)
The original drawing was found among a number of unframed prints in a
collection obtained by John Naegely, Esq., who presented it to the
Grange Club, Guernsey, in 1870. It now hangs over the mantelpiece in the
club reception room. The original is drawn in very fine pencil and
water-color--a style of art fashionable at that period. Photographed for
Miss Agnes FitzGibbon in 1902. Brock's father's house, where our hero
was born--now converted into a wholesale merchant's warehouse--stands at
the point where two lines, drawn from the spots indicated by a cross (+)
on the margin, would intersect. On the frame above the picture are the
words, "_Guernsey in 18×6_"; below, "_Presented to the Grange Club by
John Naegely, Esq., 9th March, 1870."_
NO. 3. FACING PAGE 27.
_Navy Hall, Remnant of the old "Red Barracks," Niagara, 1797._
Navy Hall consisted of four buildings erected about 1787. One was
altered in 1792 for Governor Simcoe. Another was fitted up for
Parliament when it met at Newark (Niagara), 1792-1797. The building here
shown was afterwards used for troops and called the "Red Barracks." From
a photograph in possession of Miss Carnochan, Niagara.
NO. 4. FACING PAGE 32.
_Colonel James FitzGibbon._
From a photograph in possession of Miss Agnes FitzGibbon, of Toronto,
his granddaughter. Taken by his nephew, Gerald FitzGibbon, 10 Merrion
Square, Dublin. Col. FitzGibbon was a _protégé_ of Brock's. First
private, then the "faithful sergeant-major," then ensign, then adjutant
of the 49th, the "hero of Beaver Dams" in the war of 1812,
Adjutant-General of Canada, 1837, and Military Knight of Windsor, 1851.
NO. 5. FACING PAGE 40.
_Queenston Road, about 1824._
Original water-color painting by Charles W. Jefferys, O.S.A., Toronto,
from a photograph in possession of Miss Carnochan, showing the ruins of
William Lyon Mackenzie's printing office, the _Colonial Advocate_, as it
appeared twelve years after the battle of Queenston Heights.
NO. 6. FACING PAGE 52.
_Ruins of old Powder Magazine, Fort George._
Photograph in possession of Miss Carnochan.
NO. 7. FACING PAGE 64.
_Brock's Cocked Hat._
Water-color sketch by Harry Carter, Toronto, from photograph in
possession of Miss Carnochan. (See foot-note on page 64.) Persons
interested in military matters will observe that the white ostrich
plumes, which show very slightly, are placed under the flaps, only the
white edges appearing. This new style of feather display was, it is
stated, in compliance with an order from the War Office, issued shortly
before Brock's death. Previously the plumes were worn more
conspicuously.
NO. 8. FACING PAGE 75.
_Butler's Barracks (Officers' Quarters), Niagara Common._
View of officers' quarters. From photograph loaned by Miss Carnochan.
NO. 9. FACING PAGE 96.
_Our Hero meets Tecumseh._ "_This is a man_!"
Original black and white drawing by Fergus Kyle, Toronto. See page 97.
NO. 10. FACING PAGE 109.
_Lieut.-Colonel John Macdonell._
Reproduced, by permission, from A.C. Casselman's "Richardson's War of
1812." From a silhouette in possession of John Alexander Macdonell,
K.C., Alexandria, Ontario. Colonel Macdonell, who was provincial
aide-de-camp to Brock, was member of Parliament for Glengarry and
Attorney-General of Upper Canada. Died, October 14th, 1812, from wounds
received at battle of Queenston Heights, aged 27.
NO. 11. FACING PAGE 117.
_Queenston Heights and Brock's Monument._
As it appeared about 1830, excepting that the present monument has been
substituted for the old one. Original water-color painting by C.M.
Manly, A.R.C.A., Toronto, from a photograph in possession of Miss
Carnochan.
NO. 12. FACING PAGE 121.
"_Major-General Brock, 18x6._"
From a vignette photograph loaned by Miss FitzGibbon, Toronto, and now
published for the first time in any Life of Brock. As doubt has been
expressed by some admirers of Brock as to the authenticity of this
portrait, Miss FitzGibbon's written endorsation is here quoted:
"The photograph is from an original miniature portrait of Major-General
(afterwards Sir) Isaac Brock, painted by J. Hudson, 18x6--1806--the date
of General Brock's last visit to England. The miniature is now in
possession of Miss S. Mickle, Toronto."
This full-face vignette is of exceptional interest, all other portraits
of Brock being in profile, and is likely to challenge preconceived
notions.
NO. 13. FACING PAGE 128.
_Powder Magazine, Fort George, Niagara._
This powder magazine was first built in 1796. Reproduced from a
photograph in possession of Miss Carnochan, Niagara.
NO. 14. FACING PAGE 135.
_Brock's Midnight Gallop._
Original water-color painting by Charles W. Jefferys, O.S.A., Toronto.
As a matter of fact, the hour of Brock's gallop from Fort George to
Queenston, as described in Chapter XXV., was not "midnight," but shortly
before daybreak. It is this time, "between the lights," with sky and
atmosphere aglow from the fire of the batteries, that the artist
cleverly depicts.
NO. 15. FACING PAGE 140.
_Battle of Queenston Heights._
Photographed in Guernsey, 1902, from a curious old print, from a sketch
by a brother officer of Brock's--presumably Dennis. (See Explanatory
Note to No. 18.) Loaned by Miss FitzGibbon. Original in possession of
Miss Helen Tupper, Guernsey.
NO. 16. FACING PAGE 156.
_Death of Isaac Brock._
Original water-color sketch by Charles W. Jefferys, O.S.A., Toronto.
Shows our hero falling after being hit by the fatal bullet fired by an
Ohio rifleman, while courageously heading the charge in the attempt to
recapture the redan.
NO. 17. FACING PAGE 159.
_Brock's Coat, worn at Queenston Heights._
From photograph, loaned by Miss FitzGibbon, of the coat worn by Brock at
Queenston Heights, showing the hole made by the entry of the fatal
bullet. Photographed, 1902, from the original in the possession of Miss
Tupper, of Guernsey.
NO. 18. FACING PAGE 161.
_Battle of Queenston._
Facsimile drawing by Harry Carter, Toronto, of an old sketch credited to
Major Dennis (page 161), which appears on an early map of Upper Canada,
published by O.G. Steele--presumably of Buffalo--in 1840. Underneath the
original print are the following words, reproduced _verbatim_:
"BATTLE OF QUEENSTON.
AFTER A SKETCH BY MAJOR DENNIS,
13TH OCT., 1813,
Which ended in a complete victory on the part of the British, having
captured 927 men, killed or wounded about 500, taken 1,400 stand of
arms, a six-pounder, and a stand of colors."
(See, also, Explanatory Note to No. 15.)
NO. 19. FACING PAGE 163.
_Plan of Battle of Queenston._
Reproduced from an historical pamphlet loaned by Mrs. Currie, of
Niagara, showing the plan of battleground, disposition of troops, and
topography of adjacent country.
NO. 20. FACING PAGE 170.
_Taking of Niagara, May 27th, 1813._
From a sketch which appeared in the Philadelphia _Portfolio_, 1817.
Interesting from the fact that it is the only picture known which shows
the churches of St. Mark's and St. Andrew's, Niagara (Newark), Canadian
side, and the lighthouse which, built in 1803, stood on the spot where
Fort Mississauga now stands.
NO. 21. FACING PAGE 172.
_Cenotaph, Queenston Heights._
Erected near the spot where Brock fell. It bears the following
inscription:
"NEAR THIS SPOT
MAJOR-GENERAL
SIR ISAAC BROCK, K.C.B.,
PROVISIONAL LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR OF
UPPER CANADA,
FELL ON 13TH OCTOBER, 1812,
WHILE ADVANCING TO REPEL THE
INVADING ENEMY."
NO. 22. FACING PAGE 174.
_Brock's Monument._
On October 13th, 1824, the remains of Brock and his gallant aide,
Macdonell, were removed from the bastion at Fort George and placed in a
vault beneath the monument which had been erected on Queenston Heights
by the Legislature to commemorate our hero's death. On Good Friday,
April 17th, 1840, this monument was shattered by an explosion of
gunpowder placed within the basement by a rebel of 1837 named Lett. In
1853 the cornerstone of a new monument, as shown at page 174, the cost
of which was borne by the people of Canada, was erected on the same
spot, and on October 13th, forty-one years after the British victory at
Queenston, and the anniversary of Brock's splendid death, the remains of
the two heroes were re-interred and deposited in two massive stone
sarcophagi in the vault of the new monument. On the two oval silver
plates on Brock's coffin was inscribed the following epitaph:
"HERE LIE THE EARTHLY REMAINS OF A BRAVE
AND VIRTUOUS HERO,
MAJOR-GENERAL SIR ISAAC BROCK,
COMMANDER OF THE BRITISH FORCES,
AND PRESIDENT ADMINISTERING
THE GOVERNMENT OF UPPER CANADA,
WHO FELL WHEN GLORIOUSLY ENGAGING THE ENEMIES
OF HIS COUNTRY,
AT THE HEAD OF THE FLANK COMPANIES
OF THE 49TH REGIMENT,
IN THE TOWN OF QUEENSTON,
ON THE MORNING OF THE 13TH OCTOBER, 1812,
AGED 42 YEARS.
J.B. GLEGG, A.D.C."
End of Project Gutenberg's The Story of Isaac Brock, by Walter R. Nursey