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Great Commanders
Edited by James Grant Wilson
[Illustration: Winfield Scott]
GENERAL SCOTT
by
GENERAL MARCUS J. WRIGHT
New York
D. Appleton and Company
1894
Copyright, 1893,
By D. Appleton and Company.
All rights reserved.
The Great Commanders Series.
Edited by General James Grant Wilson.
Admiral Farragut.
By Captain A.T. MAHAN, U.S.N.
General Taylor.
By General O.O. HOWARD, U.S.A.
General Jackson. By JAMES PARTON.
General Greene.
By Captain FRANCIS V. GREENE, U.S.A.
General J.E. Johnston.
By ROBERT M. HUGHES, of Virginia.
General Thomas.
By HENRY COPPER, LL.D.
General Scott.
By General MARCUS J. WRIGHT.
_IN PREPARATION_
General Washington.
By General BRADLEY T. JOHNSON.
General Sherman.
By General MANNING F. FORCE.
General Grant.
By General JAMES GRANT WILSON.
Admiral Porter.
By JAMES R. SOLEY, late Assist. Sec. of Navy.
General Lee.
By General FITZHUGH LEE.
General Hancock.
By General FRANCIS A. WALKER.
General Sheridan.
By General HENRY E. DAVIES.
Each, 12mo, cloth, with Portrait and Maps, $1.50.
New York: D. APPLETON & CO., 1, 2 & 5 Bond St.
PREFACE.
In the preparation of this volume the author has consulted and used
with freedom the following-named works: History of the Mexican War, by
General Cadmus M. Wilcox; Autobiography of General Scott; Life of
General Scott, by Edward D. Mansfield; Life of General Scott, by David
Hunter Strother; Life of General Scott, by J.T. Headley; History of
the Mexican War, by John S. Jenkins; Anecdotes of the Civil War, by
General E.D. Townsend; Sketches of Illustrious Soldiers, by General
James Grant Wilson; Fifty Years' Observation of Men and Things, by
General E.D. Keyes; Reminiscences of Thurlow Weed, and Historical
Register of the United States Army, by F.B. Heitman.
My thanks are due to Mr. David Fitzgerald, Librarian of the War
Department; Mr. Andrew H. Allen, Librarian of the State Department;
and Colonel John B. Brownlow, for many courtesies. I am specially
indebted to Mr. John N. Oliver, of Washington city, for valuable
assistance rendered me.
M.J.W.
WASHINGTON, _August, 1893_.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
Parentage and birth of Scott--Precocity--Enters William and Mary
College--Leaves college and commences the study of law with Judge
Robinson--Attends the trial of Burr at Richmond--Impressment of
American seamen and proclamation of President Jefferson--Joins
the Petersburg troop--Leaves for Charleston--Returns to
Petersburg--Appointed captain of artillery--Trial of General
Wilkinson--Scott sends in his resignation, but withdraws it and
returns to Natchez--Is court-martialed--On staff duty at New
Orleans--Declaration of war with Great Britain--General Wade Hampton
and the Secretary of War--Hull's surrender--Storming of
Queenstown--March to Lewiston--Scott's appeal to the officers and
soldiers--Indians fire on a flag of truce--Incident with a
Caledonian priest--Letter in relation to Irish prisoners sent home
to be tried for treason 1
CHAPTER II.
Scott ordered to Philadelphia--Appointed adjutant general with the
rank of colonel--Becomes chief of staff to General Dearborn--Death
of General Pike--Leads the advance on Fort Niagara--Anecdote
of Scott and a British colonel--Commands the expedition to
Burlington Heights--March for Sackett's Harbor--Meets a force at
Cornwall--Retreat of Wilkinson--Scott appointed brigadier
general--Attack on and surrender of Fort Erie--Battle of
Chippewa--Lundy's Lane and wounding of Scott--Retreat 23
CHAPTER III.
Is received and entertained by prominent civilians and military men
in Europe--Marries Miss Mayo--Offspring--Thanks of Congress--Thanks
of the Virginia Legislature voted, and also a sword--Controversy
with General Andrew Jackson and correspondence--Prepares general
regulations for the army and militia--Controversy with General
Gaines and the War Department about rank--In command of the Eastern
Division--War with the Sac and Fox Indians--Black Hawk--Cholera
breaks out among the troops 41
CHAPTER IV.
Troubles in South Carolina growing out of the tariff acts
apprehended, and General Scott sent South--Action of the
nullifiers--Instructions in case of an outbreak--Action of the South
Carolina Legislature 60
CHAPTER V.
Events that led to the war in Florida--Treaty of Camp Moultrie and its
stipulations--Complaints of Indians and whites--Treaty of Payne's
Landing--Objections of the Indians to complying with the latter
treaty--Councils and talks with the Seminoles--Assiola--Murder
of mail carrier Dalton--Murder of Charley Amanthla--Dade's
massacre--Murder of General Thompson and others--General
Clinch--Depredations by the Indians on the whites and by
the latter on the Indians--Volunteers--Military departments
of Gaines and Scott 72
CHAPTER VI.
Review of the army by General Gaines--Arrival of General Gaines at
Fort King--Lieutenant Izard mortally wounded--Correspondence
between General Gaines and Clinch--General Scott ordered to command
in Florida--Disadvantages under which he labored--Preparations for
movements--Commencement of hostilities against the Indians 103
CHAPTER VII.
Scott prefers complaint against General Jesup--Court of inquiry
ordered by the President--Scott fully exonerated by the
court--Complaints of citizens--Difficulties of the campaign--Speech
in Congress of Hon. Richard Biddle--Scott declines an invitation to
a dinner in New York city--Resolutions of the subscribers--Scott is
ordered to take charge of and remove the Cherokee Indians--Orders
issued to troops and address to the Indians--Origin of the Cherokee
Indian troubles--Collision threatened between Maine and
New Brunswick, and Scott sent there--Correspondence with
Lieutenant-Governor Harvey--Seizure of Navy Island by Van
Rensselaer--Governor Marcy 122
CHAPTER VIII.
Annexation of Texas--Causes that led to annexation--Message of the
President--General Scott's letters regarding William Henry
Harrison--Efforts to reduce General Scott's pay--Letter to T.P.
Atkinson on the slavery question--Battle of Palo Alto, and of Resaca
de la Palma, Monterey, and Buena Vista--"The hasty plate of
Soup"--Scott's opinion of General Taylor--Scott ordered to
Mexico--Proposal to revive the grade of lieutenant general,
and to appoint Thomas H. Benton--Scott reaches the Brazos
Santiago--Confidential dispatch from Scott to Taylor--Co-operation
of the navy--Letters to the Secretary of War as to places of
rendezvous--Arrival and landing at Vera Cruz, and its investment,
siege, and capture--Letter to foreign consuls--Terms of
surrender--Orders of General Scott after the surrender 149
CHAPTER IX.
General Santa Anna arrives at Cerro Gordo--Engagement at
Atalaya--General Orders No. 111--Reports from Jalapa--Report of
engagement at Cerro Gordo--Occupation of Perote--Account of a
Mexican historian--General Santa Anna's letter to General
Arroya--Delay of the Government in sending re-enforcements--Danger
of communications with Vera Cruz--Troops intended for Scott ordered
to General Taylor--Colonel Childs appointed governor of
Jalapa--Occupation of Puebla--Arrival of re-enforcements--Number of
Scott's force 175
CHAPTER X.
Movement toward the City of Mexico--The Duke of Wellington's
comments--Movements of Santa Anna--A commission meets General Worth to
treat for terms--Worth enters Puebla--Civil administration of the city
not interfered with--Scott arrives at Puebla--Scott's address to the
Mexicans after the battle of Cerro Gordo--Contreras--Reconnoissance
of the _pedregal_--Defeat of the Mexicans at Contreras--Battle of
Churubusco--Arrival of Nicholas P. Trist, commissioner--General Scott
meets a deputation proposing an armistice--He addresses a
communication to the head of the Mexican Government--Appointment of a
commission to meet Mr. Trist--Major Lally--Meeting of Mr. Trist with
the Mexican commissioners--Failure to agree--Armistice violated by the
Mexicans and notice from General Scott--Santa Anna's insolent
note--The latter calls a meeting of his principal officers--Molino del
Rey--Chapultepec--Losses on both sides 195
CHAPTER XI.
General Quitman's movements to San Antonio and Coyoacan--Movements of
General Pillow--General reconnoissance by Scott--Chapultepec--Scott
announces his line of attack--Surrender of the Mexican General
Bravo--Preparations to move on the capital--Entry of General
Scott into the City of Mexico--General Quitman made Military
Governor--General Scott's orders--Movements of Santa Anna--General
Lane--American and Mexican deserters--Orders as to collection of
duties and civil government 223
CHAPTER XII.
Scott's care for the welfare of his army--Account of the money
levied on Mexico--Last note to the Secretary of War while commander
in chief in Mexico--Army asylums--Treaty of peace--Scott turns over
the army to General William O. Butler--Scott and Worth--Court of
inquiry on Worth--The "Leonidas" and "Tampico" letters--Revised
paragraph 650--Army regulations--General Worth demands a court of
inquiry and prefers charges against Scott--Correspondence--General
belief as to Scott's removal command--The trial--Return home of
General Scott 254
CHAPTER XIII.
General Taylor nominated for the presidency--Thanks of Congress to
Scott, and a gold medal voted--Movement to revive and confer upon
Scott the brevet rank of lieutenant general--Scott's views as to the
annexation of Canada--Candidate for President in 1852 and
defeated--Scott's diplomatic mission to Canada in 1859--Mutterings
of civil war--Letters and notes to President Buchanan--Arrives in
Washington, December 12, 1861--Note to the Secretary of
War--"Wayward sisters" letter--Events preceding inauguration of Mr.
Lincoln--Preparation for the defense of Washington--Scott's
loyalty--Battle of Bull Run--Scott and McClellan--Free navigation
of the Mississippi River--Retirement of General Scott and
affecting incidents connected therewith--Message of President
Lincoln--McClellan on Scott--Mount Vernon--Scott sails for
Europe--Anecdote of the day preceding the battle of Chippewa--The
Confederate cruiser Nashville--Incident between Scott and
Grant--Soldiers' Home--Last days of Scott--His opinion of
noncombatants--General Wilson's tribute 289
INDEX 337
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
FACING PAGE
Portrait of Winfield Scott _Frontispiece_
The Niagara Frontier 12
Battle of Chippewa 32
Siege of Vera Cruz 170
Route from Vera Cruz to Mexico 198
Operations of the American Army in the Valley of Mexico 226
GENERAL SCOTT.
CHAPTER I.
Parentage and birth of Scott--Precocity--Enters William and Mary
College--Leaves college and commences the study of law with Judge
Robinson--Attends the trial of Burr at Richmond--Impressment of
American seamen and proclamation of President Jefferson--Joins
the Petersburg troop--Leaves for Charleston--Returns to
Petersburg--Appointed captain of artillery--Trial of General
Wilkinson--Scott sends in his resignation, but withdraws it and
returns to Natchez--Is court-martialed--On staff duty at New
Orleans--Declaration of war with Great Britain--General Wade Hampton
and the Secretary of War--Hull's surrender--Storming of
Queenstown--March to Lewiston--Scott's appeal to the officers and
soldiers--Indians fire on a flag of truce--Incident with a Caledonian
priest--Letter in relation to Irish prisoners sent home to be tried
for treason.
Winfield Scott was born at Laurel Branch, the estate of his father,
fourteen miles from Petersburg, Dinwiddie County, Virginia, June 13,
1786. His grandfather, James Scott, was a Scotchman of the Clan
Buccleuch, and a follower of the Pretender to the throne of England,
who, escaping from the defeat at Culloden, made his way to Virginia in
1746, where he settled. William, the son of this James, married Ann
Mason, a native of Dinwiddie County and a neighbor of the Scott
family. Winfield Scott was the issue of this marriage. There were an
elder brother and two daughters. James Scott died at an early age,
when Winfield was but six years old. William, the father of Winfield,
was a lieutenant and afterward captain in a Virginia company which
served in the Revolutionary army. Eleven years after the father's
death the mother died, leaving Winfield, at seventeen years old, to
make his own way in the world.
At the death of his father, Winfield, being but six years old, was
left to the charge of his mother, to whom he was devotedly attached.
It is a well-warranted tradition of the county in which the Scott
family resided, that the mother of General Scott was a woman of
superior mind and great force of character. In acknowledging the
inspiration from the lessons of that admirable parent for whatever of
success he achieved, he was not unlike Andrew Jackson and the majority
of the great men of the world. He wrote of her in his mature age as
follows: "And if, in my now protracted career, I have achieved
anything worthy of being written, anything that my countrymen are
likely to honor in the next century, it is from the lessons of that
admirable parent that I derived the inspiration."
In his seventh year he was ordered on a Sunday morning to get ready
for church. Disobeying the order, he ran off and concealed himself,
but was pursued, captured, and returned to his mother, who at once
sent for a switch. The switch was a limb from a Lombardy poplar, and
the precocious little truant, seeing this, quoted a verse from St.
Matthew which was from a lesson he had but recently read to his
mother. The quotation was as follows: "Every tree that bringeth not
forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire." The quotation
was so apt that the punishment was withheld, but the offender was not
spared a very wholesome lesson.
General Scott's mother, Ann, was the daughter of Daniel Mason and
Elizabeth Winfield, his wife, who was the daughter of John Winfield, a
man of high standing and large wealth. From his mother's family he
acquired his baptismal name of Winfield. John Winfield survived his
daughter, and dying intestate, in 1774, Winfield Mason acquired by
descent as the eldest male heir (the law of primogeniture then being
the law of Virginia) the whole of a landed estate and a portion of the
personal property. The principal part of this large inheritance was
devised to Winfield Scott, but, the devisee having married again and
had issue, the will was abrogated. The wife of Winfield Mason was the
daughter of Dr. James Greenway, a near neighbor. He was born in
England, near the borders of Scotland, and inherited his father's
trade, that of a weaver. He was ambitious and studious, and giving all
of his spare time to study, he became familiar with the Greek, Latin,
French, and Italian languages. After his immigration to Virginia he
prepared himself for the practice of medicine, and soon acquired a
large and lucrative practice. He devoted much of his time to botany,
and left a _hortus siccus_ of forty folio volumes, in which he
described the more interesting plants of Virginia and North Carolina.
He was honored by memberships in several of the learned European
societies, and was a correspondent of the celebrated Swedish
naturalist Linnæus. He acquired such a knowledge of music as enabled
him to become teacher to his own children.
James Hargrave, a Quaker, was one of young Scott's earliest teachers.
He found his pupil to be a lad of easy excitement and greatly inclined
to be belligerent. He tried very hard to tone him down and teach him
to govern his temper. On one occasion young Scott, being in Petersburg
and passing on a crowded street, found his Quaker teacher, who was a
non-combatant, engaged in a dispute with a noted bully. Hargrave was
the county surveyor, and this fellow charged him with running a false
dividing line. When Scott heard the charge he felled the bully to the
ground with one blow of his fist. He recovered and advanced on Scott,
when Hargrave placed himself between them and received the blow
intended for Scott; but the bully was again knocked to the ground by
the strong arm of Scott. Many years afterward (in 1816) Scott met his
Quaker friend and former teacher, who said to him: "Friend Winfield, I
always told thee not to fight; but as thou wouldst fight, I am glad
that thou wert not beaten."
His next instructor was James Ogilvie, a Scotchman, who was a man of
extraordinary endowments and culture. Scott spent a year under his
tutelage at Richmond, and entered, in 1805, William and Mary College.
Here he gave special attention to the study of civil and international
law, besides chemistry, natural and experimental philosophy, and
common law. At about the age of nineteen he left William and Mary
College and entered the law office of Judge David Robinson in
Petersburg as a student.
Robinson had emigrated from Scotland to Virginia at the request of
Scott's grandfather, who employed him as a private tutor in his
family. There were two other students in Mr. Robinson's office with
Scott--Thomas Ruffin and John F. May. Ruffin became Chief Justice of
the Supreme Court of North Carolina, and May the leading lawyer in
southern Virginia. After he had received his license to practice he
rode the circuit, and was engaged in a number of causes. He was
present at the celebrated trial of Aaron Burr for treason, and was
greatly impressed with Luther Martin, John Wickham, Benjamin Botts,
and William Wirt, the leading lawyers in the case. Here he also met
Commodore Truxton, General Andrew Jackson, Washington Irving, John
Randolph, Littleton W. Tazewell, William B. Giles, John Taylor of
Caroline, and other distinguished persons.
Aaron Burr was a native of Newark, N.J., and was the grandson of the
celebrated Jonathan Edwards. He graduated at Princeton in September,
1772, and studied law, but in 1775 joined the American army near
Boston. Accompanied Colonel Benedict Arnold in the expedition to
Quebec, and acquired such reputation that he was made a major;
afterward joined General Washington's staff, and subsequently was an
aid to General Putnam. Promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel, he
commanded a detachment which defeated the British at Hackensack, and
distinguished himself at Monmouth. Burr became Vice-President on the
election of Jefferson as President, and was involved in a quarrel with
Alexander Hamilton, and killed him in a duel at Weehawken, N.J., July
7, 1804. This affair was fatal to his future prospects. In 1805 he
floated in a boat from Pittsburg to New Orleans. His purpose was
supposed to be to collect an army and conquer Mexico and Texas, and
establish a government of which he should be the head. He purchased a
large tract of land on the Wachita River, and made other arrangements
looking to the consummation of his object. Colonel Burr was arrested
and tried for treason in Richmond in 1807, but was acquitted. He died
on Staten Island, September 14, 1836.
In May, 1807, the British frigate Leopard boarded the Chesapeake in
Virginia waters and forcibly carried off some of her crew, who were
claimed as British subjects. Mr. Jefferson, President of the United
States, at once issued a proclamation prohibiting all British war
vessels from entering our harbors. Great excitement was produced
throughout the entire country. The day after the issuance of the
President's proclamation the Petersburg (Va.) troop of cavalry
tendered its services to the Government, and young Scott, riding
twenty-five miles distant from Petersburg, enlisted as a member. He
was placed in a detached camp near Lynn Haven Bay, opposite where the
British squadron was at anchor. Sir Thomas Hardy was the ranking
officer in command of several line of battle ships. Learning that an
expedition from the squadron had gone out on an excursion, Scott, in
charge of a small detachment, was sent to intercept them. He succeeded
in capturing two midshipmen and six sailors, and brought them into
camp. The capture was not approved by the authorities, and the
prisoners were ordered to be released, and restored to Admiral Sir
Thomas Hardy.
The prospect of a war with Great Britain had abated, and the affair of
the Chesapeake being in train of settlement, Scott left Virginia in
October, 1807, and proceeded to Charleston, S.C., with a view of
engaging in the practice of law. The law of that State required a
residence of twelve months before admission to the bar. Scott went to
Columbia, where the Legislature was in session, and applied for a
special act permitting him to practice. The application failed for
want of time. He then proceeded to Charleston, with a view of office
practice until he could be qualified for the usual practice in the
courts; but the prospect of war being again imminent, he went to
Washington, and on the application and recommendation of Hon. William
B. Giles, of Virginia, President Jefferson promised him a captain's
commission in the event of hostilities. No act of war occurring, he
returned in March, 1808, to Petersburg, and resumed the practice of
law in that circuit; but his life as a lawyer came suddenly to a close
in the succeeding month of May, when he received from the President
his commission as captain of artillery. He recruited his company in
Petersburg and Richmond, and embarked from Norfolk to New Orleans,
February 4, 1809.
It being thought that on the breaking out of hostilities the British
would at once endeavor to invade Louisiana, a military force was sent
to New Orleans under the command of General James Wilkinson. The
discipline of the army became greatly impaired, and much sickness and
many deaths occurred in this command. General Wilkinson was ordered to
Washington for an investigation into his conduct as commanding
officer, and General Wade Hampton succeeded to the command. The camp
below New Orleans was broken up in June, 1809, and the troops were
transferred to and encamped near Natchez.
General Wilkinson was charged with complicity with Aaron Burr, and
with being in the pay of the Spanish Government, and was tried by
court-martial; and although he was acquitted, there were many persons
who believed him guilty, and among these was Captain Scott, who was
present, as heretofore mentioned, at the trial of Burr, and
participated in the strong feeling which it produced throughout the
country.
The apparent lull in the war feeling having produced the impression
that there would be no hostile movements, Captain Scott forwarded his
resignation and sailed for Virginia, intending to re-engage in the
practice of the law. Before his resignation had been accepted he
received information that grave charges would be preferred against him
should he return to the army at Natchez. This determined him to return
at once to his post and meet the charges. Scott had openly given it as
his opinion that General Wilkinson was equally guilty with Colonel
Burr. Soon after his return he was arrested and tried by a
court-martial at Washington, near Natchez, in January, 1810. The first
charge was for "conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman," and
the specification was "in withholding at sundry times men's money
placed in his possession for their payment for the months of September
and October." Another charge was "ungentlemanly and unofficerlike
conduct," the specification being "In saying, between the 1st of
December and the 1st of January, 1809-'10, at a public table in
Washington, Mississippi Territory, that 'he never saw but two
traitors--General Wilkinson and Burr--and that General Wilkinson was a
liar and a scoundrel.'" This charge was based on the sixth article of
war, which says: "Any officer who shall behave himself with contempt
and disrespect toward his commanding officer shall be punished,
according to the nature of the offense, by the judgment of a
court-martial."
Captain Scott's defense to this charge was that General Wilkinson was
not, at the time the words were charged to have been spoken, his
commanding officer, that place being filled by General Wade Hampton.
General Scott, in his Memoirs, says that some of Wilkinson's partisans
had heard him say in an excited conversation that he knew, soon after
Burr's trial, from his friends Mr. Randolph and Mr. Tazewell and
others, members of the grand jury, who found the bill of indictment
against Burr, that nothing but the influence of Mr. Jefferson had
saved Wilkinson from being included in the same indictment, and that
he believed Wilkinson to have been equally a traitor with Burr. He
admits that the expression of that belief was not only imprudent, but
no doubt at that time blamable. But this was not the declaration on
which he was to be tried. This was uttered in New Orleans, the
headquarters of General Wilkinson. The utterance on which he was
tried, as will be seen, was made in Washington, Mississippi Territory,
when General Wade Hampton was his commanding officer.
The finding of the Court on this charge was guilty, and that his
conduct was unofficerlike. The facts in regard to the charge of
retaining money belonging to the men of his command were, that prior
to his departure for New Orleans he had recruited his company in
Virginia, and, being remote from a paymaster or quartermaster, a sum
of four hundred dollars was placed in his hands to be used in
recruiting. Some of his vouchers were technically irregular, and at
the time of his trial about fifty dollars was not covered by formal
vouchers. This was the finding of the Court, but it expressly
acquitted him of all fraudulent intentions. General Wilkinson nursed
his wrath, and after the close of the war published an attack on
General Scott. His own failure in the campaign of 1813, and especially
his defeat at La Cale Mills, compared with Scott's brilliant campaign
on the Niagara frontier in the following spring, may have induced this
attack.
Captain Scott returned to Virginia after the trial, and under the
advice of his friend, the distinguished lawyer and statesman, Benjamin
Watkins Leigh, he devoted himself to the study of military works and
of English attack. During the time mentioned he wrote a letter to
Lewis Edwards, Esq., at Washington City, of which he following is a
copy:
"PETERSBURG, _June, 1811_.
"DEAR SIR: I believe we have very little village news to
give you, nor do I know what would please you in that way. Of
myself--that person who has so large a space in every man's own
imagination, and so small a one in the imagination of every other--I
can say but little; perhaps less would please you more. Since my
return to Virginia my time has been passed in easy transitions from
pleasure, to study, from study to pleasure; in my gayety forgetting
the student, in the student forgetting my gayety.[A] I have
generally been in the office of my friend Mr. Leigh, though not
unmindful of the studies connected with my present profession; but
you will easily conceive my military ardor has suffered abatement.
Indeed, it is my design, as soon as circumstances will permit, to
throw the feather out of my cap and resume it in my hand. Yet,
should war come at last, my enthusiasm will be rekindled, and then
who knows but that I may yet write my history with my sword?
"Yours truly,
"WINFIELD SCOTT."
[Footnote A: "If idle, be not solitary; if solitary, be not idle." An
apothegm of Burton paraphrased by Johnson, "My Motto."]
Scott rejoined the army at Baton Rouge, La., in 1811, and was soon
appointed Judge Advocate on the trial of a colonel charged with gross
negligence in discipline and administration. By dilatory pleas this
officer had several times escaped justice, but on this trial he was
found guilty and censured. In the winter of 1811-'12 Scott was
frequently on staff duty with General Wade Hampton at New Orleans, and
while there saw the first steam vessel that ever floated on the
Mississippi.
On May 20, 1812, Captain Scott embarked at New Orleans for Washington
_via_ Baltimore, accompanying General Hampton and Lieutenant Charles
K. Gardner. As the vessel on which they had taken passage entered near
the Capes of Virginia it passed a British frigate lying off the bar.
In a short time they met a Hampton pilot boat going out to sea. This
was on June 29th, and this pilot boat bore dispatches to Mr.
Mansfield, the British Minister at Washington, announcing that
Congress had two days before declared war against Great Britain. The
vessel bearing Captain Scott and his companions went aground about
sixteen miles from Baltimore, and he and some others undertook the
remainder of the journey on foot. At the end of the fourth mile they
passed an enthusiastic militia meeting which had just received a copy
of the declaration of war. Scott, having on a uniform, was made the
hero of the occasion, and was chosen to read the declaration to the
meeting. He was here offered a seat in a double gig to Baltimore, but
the driver, who had become intoxicated, overturned the gig twice, when
Scott took the reins and drove the latter part of the journey. On his
arrival at Baltimore he received the pleasing intelligence that he had
been appointed a lieutenant colonel in the United States army. He was
then in his twenty-sixth year.
He went with General Hampton to Washington, where the general asked
him to accompany him on an official visit to the Secretary of War. An
unpleasant correspondence had a short time previously occurred between
the general and the secretary, yet he felt it his duty to make the
call. On General Hampton's name being announced to the secretary the
latter appeared at the door and extended his hand, while General
Hampton simply bowed and crossed his hands behind him. A conversation
on official matters was held, at first formal and cold, but gradually
terminating in one of a friendly character. When General Hampton rose
to leave he extended to the secretary both of his hands; but it was
now the latter's turn, and he bowed and placed his hands behind him.
General Hampton sent a challenge to mortal combat, but mutual friends
settled the matter without bloodshed, by requiring that Hampton should
on the next morning present himself at the secretary's door with both
hands extended in the presence of the same persons who witnessed the
former meeting. Colonel Scott was now ordered to Philadelphia to
mobilize his regiment and organize a camp of instruction. On his own
solicitation, he was soon afterward ordered to report to
Brigadier-General Alexander Smyth, near Buffalo, N.Y.
[Illustration: The
NIAGARA FRONTIER]
The Congress of the United States made formal declaration of war
against Great Britain and its dependencies June 18, 1812. In the month
previous General William Hull had been appointed to the command of the
northwestern army, intended for the invasion of Canada. This army
arrived on the Maumee River on May 30th, and marching northward
subsequently crossed over at Detroit. High hopes were entertained of
the success of this expedition, and the bitterest disappointment and
chagrin were manifested throughout the country when it was learned
that Hull had surrendered his entire command to the British General
Brock on August 14th. The regiment to which Colonel Scott was assigned
was the Second Artillery. Colonel George Izard and he arrived on the
Niagara frontier with the companies of Nathan Towson and James Nelson
Barker. He was posted at Black Rock for the protection of the navy
yard there established.
An expedition had been planned by Lieutenant Elliott, of the navy, for
the capture or destruction of two armed British brigs which were lying
under the guns of Fort Erie. On October 8th Colonel Scott detached
Captain Towson and a portion of his company to report to Elliott. On
the morning of the 9th the Adams was taken by Elliott and Lieutenant
Isaac Roach, and the Caledonia was captured by Captain Towson. In
passing down the river the Adams drifted into the British channel and
ran aground under the British guns. The enemy endeavored to recapture
her, but were successfully resisted by Colonel Scott. This was his
first experience under fire, and he was complimented for his skill and
gallantry. The Caledonia was afterward a part of Commodore Perry's
fleet on Lake Erie. The Adams, having drifted aground, was burned to
prevent recapture.
The northwestern army at this time consisted of about ten thousand
troops. General Henry Dearborn held command near Plattsburg and
Greenbush, and was the commanding officer of all the forces on the
northern frontier. A portion of his army was camped at Lewistown under
the command of General Stephen Van Rensselaer, of New York. General
Alexander Smyth was at Buffalo with some fifteen hundred regular
troops. Besides these, there were small detachments at Ogdensburg,
Sackett's Harbor, and Black Rock.
General Van Rensselaer conceived the plan of making a bold and sudden
move into Canada, with a view of capturing Jamestown, and there
establishing winter quarters. The affair of the capture of the two
English brigs with fifty men had roused great enthusiasm, and the
country was anxious for some success of arms to alleviate the
depression occasioned by Hull's surrender. General Van Rensselaer
confided the immediate command of the expedition to his relative,
Colonel Solomon Van Rensselaer, an officer of coolness and courage,
who, with three hundred militia and three hundred regulars, under
Colonel Chrystie, on October 13th began crossing the river.
The troops were on the river bank ready to embark an hour before
daylight, but from some mismanagement there was not a sufficient
number of boats to transport the whole, and they were compelled to
cross in detachments. Colonel Chrystie's boat was swept down the river
by the current, and he was wounded. On a second attempt he succeeded
in landing. With about a hundred men Colonel Van Rensselaer led them
up the bank, and halted to await the arrival of the remainder. It was
now daylight, and the little command was in full view of the enemy,
who opened a deadly fire. Every commissioned officer was either killed
or wounded. Finding that the river bank afforded but little
protection, Colonel Van Rensselaer determined to storm the Queenstown
heights. He had now received four wounds, and was compelled to
relinquish the command to Captains Peter Ogilvie, Jr., and John Ellis
Wool. In a very short time the fort was taken and the heights occupied
by the Americans. The enemy took refuge in a stone house, from which
they opened a destructive fire and made two unsuccessful attempts to
recapture the lost ground. General Brock rallied his men and led them
on, but while moving at the head of the Forty-ninth Grenadiers he fell
mortally wounded. General Van Rensselaer recrossed the river and
assumed command, but hastening back to urge forward re-enforcements,
the command fell to General Decius Wadsworth, who, however, did not
assume to control the movements. Two light batteries from the Canada
shore played on the boats attempting to cross, and there was no
artillery with which the Americans could resist.
Colonel Scott had volunteered his services for the expedition, but
they were declined, for the reason that arrangements had been made for
detachments under Colonel John R. Fenwick and Lieutenant-Colonel James
Robert Mullaney to sustain the assaulting columns. Permission was,
however, given to Colonel Scott to march his regiment to Lewiston and
act as circumstances might require.
He arrived there at 4 A.M. on the 13th. Finding no boats to
transport his command, he placed his guns on the American shore, under
the direction of Captains Towson and Barker. Seeing that a small
portion of the troops had crossed over, and knowing the peril of Van
Rensselaer's little force, he took one piece of artillery into a boat,
and, accompanied by his adjutant, Lieutenant Isaac Roach, Jr., he
crossedt to the Canada shore. Wadsworth at once relinquished the
command of the troops to him, and he soon animated every one with
courage and resolution.
Six feet five inches in height, clad in a new uniform, he became a
conspicuous mark for the enemy. The re-enforcements which had now
crossed over increased the force to about six hundred, of which more
than half were regulars. These were placed under Colonel Scott's
directions in the most commanding positions, where they awaited
further re-enforcements. About this time a body of five hundred
Indians joined the British troops. The British with their Indian
allies moved forward to the assault, but were speedily driven back. A
second time they moved forward, but with the same result. They kept up
a desultory firing, during which a body of Indians moved suddenly out
and surprised an outpost of militia. Scott, who was at this moment
engaged in unspiking a gun, rushed to the front, and, rallying his
men, sent the dusky warriors rapidly in retreat. The British general
Sheaffe, who held the command at Fort George, having heard the firing,
at once put his troops in motion and marched for the scene of the
conflict. Sheaffe's command consisted of eight hundred and fifty men.
These, added to the garrison which the Americans were attacking, was a
formidable force to be met by three hundred men. In the meantime the
American troops had refused to cross the river and were in a state of
mutiny. No entreaties, orders, or threats of Van Rensselaer could
avail to move them. But the three hundred brave fellows, with only one
piece of artillery, stood their ground. General Van Rensselaer, from
the American shore, sent word to Wadsworth to retreat. Colonels John
Chrystie and Scott, of the regulars, and Captains James Mead, Strahan,
and Allen, of the militia, and Captains Ogilvei, Wool, Joseph Gilbert,
Totten, and McChesney, took council of their desperate situation.
Colonel Scott told them that their condition was desperate, but that
the stain of Hull's surrender must be wiped out. "Let us die," he
said, "arms in hand. Our country demands the sacrifice. The example
will not be lost. The blood of the slain will make heroes of the
living. Those who follow will avenge our fall and our country's
wrongs. Who dare to stand?" he exclaimed. A loud ringing shout "All!"
came from the whole line.
General Sheaffe did not move to immediate attack on his arrival. He
marched his troops slowly the entire length of the American line, and
then countermarched.
As resistance was entirely hopeless, the order was given to retire.
The whole line broke in disorder to the river, but there were no
boats there to transport them. Two flags of truce were sent to the
enemy, but the officer who bore them did not return. Colonel Scott
then fixed a white handkerchief on the end of his sword, and,
accompanied by Captains Totten and Gibson, passed under the river
bluff and started to ascend the heights. They were met by Indians, who
fired on them and rushed with tomahawks to assault them. A British
officer happily arrived and conducted them to the quarters of General
Sheaffe, and Colonel Scott made formal surrender of the whole force.
The number surrendered, except some skulking militia who were
discovered later, was two hundred and ninety-three. The American loss
in killed, wounded, and captured was near one thousand men.
General Van Rensselaer was so mortified at the conduct of the militia
that he tendered his resignation. The British general Brock was next
day buried under one of the bastions of Fort George, and Colonel
Scott, then a prisoner, sent orders to have minute guns fired from
Fort Niagara during the funeral ceremonies, which orders were carried
out--an act of chivalry and courtesy which greatly impressed the
British.
The American officers who had been captured were lodged in a small inn
at the village of Newark and divested of their arms, and a strong
guard was posted at the door. Two Indians, Captain Jacobs and Brant,
sent word that they wished to see the tall American, meaning Colonel
Scott. The alleged object of their visit was to see if Scott had not
been wounded, as he had been fired at several times at close range. On
entering the room, Jacobs seized Scott by the arm and attempted to
turn him around. Scott seized the Indian and threw him against the
wall. Both then drew their knives, and advancing on the prisoner said,
"We kill you now!" The sentinel at the door was not in view, and
Scott, making a spring, seized a sword, which he quickly drew from the
scabbard, and, placing his back against the wall in the narrow hall,
defied his assailants. At this critical moment Captain Coffin, nephew
of General Sheaffe and his aid-de-camp, entered the room and caught
Jacobs by the throat and presented a cocked pistol to his breast. Both
savages now turned on him, and Scott closed in to defend the captain.
At this moment the guard entered, and arrested the two Indians and
conducted them out of the room.
The volunteer officers and men were paroled and sent home, while the
regulars were embarked for Quebec. On the passage to Quebec a priest
of a Caledonian settlement reproached Colonel Scott severely for being
a traitor to George III. Respect for his profession brought out a mild
reply. In 1827, General Scott being at Buffalo on board a Government
steamer, the master of the vessel asked permission to bring into his
cabin a bishop and two priests. The bishop was recognized as the same
prelate who had acted so rudely. General Scott, however, heaped coals
of fire on his head by treating him and his party with the greatest
courtesy.
After a cartel of exchange had been agreed upon, Colonel Scott and the
other regulars, prisoners, were embarked on a vessel for Boston. As
they were about to sail, Colonel Scott's attention was attracted by an
unusual noise on deck. Proceeding from the cabin to the scene of the
disturbance, he found a party of British officers in the act of
separating from the other prisoners such as by confusion or brogue
they judged to be Irishmen. The object was to refuse to parole them,
and send them to England to be tried for high treason. Twenty-three
had been selected and set apart for this purpose.
Colonel Scott learned with indignation that this proceeding was under
the direct orders of Sir George Prevost, the Governor General. He at
once protested, and commanded the remaining men to be silent and
answer no questions. This order was obeyed despite the threats of the
British officers, and none others than the twenty-three were separated
from their comrades. He then addressed the party selected, explaining
the laws of allegiance, and assuring them that the United States
Government would protect them by immediate retaliation, and, if
necessary, by an order to give no quarter hereafter in battle. He was
frequently interrupted by the British officers, but they failed to
silence him. The Irishmen were put in irons, placed on board a
frigate, and sent to England. After Colonel Scott landed in Boston he
proceeded to Washington and was duly exchanged. He at once addressed a
letter to the Secretary of War as follows:
"SIR: I think it my duty to lay before the Department that
on the arrival at Quebec of the American prisoners of war
surrendered at Queenstown they were mustered and examined by British
officers appointed to that duty, and every native-born of the United
Kingdom of Great-Britain and Ireland sequestered and sent on board a
ship of war then in the harbor. The vessel in a few days thereafter
sailed for England with these persons on board. Between fifteen and
twenty persons were thus taken from us, natives of Ireland, several
of whom were known by their platoon officers to be naturalized
citizens of the United States, and others to have been long
residents within the same. One in particular, whose name has escaped
me, besides having complied with all the conditions of our
naturalization laws, was represented by his officers to have left a
wife and five children, all of them born within the State of New
York.
"I distinctly understood, as well from the officers who came on
board the prison ship for the above purposes as from others with
whom I remonstrated on this subject, that it was the determination
of the British Government, as expressed through Sir George Prevost,
to punish every man whom it might subject to its power found in arms
against the British king contrary to his native allegiance. I have
the honor to be, sir,
"Your most obedient servant,
"WINFIELD SCOTT,
"_Lieutenant Colonel, Second U.S. Artillery_."
This report was forwarded by the Secretary of War to both houses of
Congress, and the immediate result was that Congress, on March 3,
1813, passed an act of retaliation. In May, 1813, at the battle of
Fort George, a number of prisoners were captured. Colonel Scott, being
then chief of staff, selected twenty-three to be confined and held as
hostages. He was careful, however, to entirely exclude Irishmen from
the number. Eventually the twenty-three men sent to England were
released, and Scott took great interest in securing their arrearages
of pay and patents for their land bounties.
The doctrine of perpetual allegiance had always been maintained by the
British Government, and examples were numerous of the arrest or
detention of prisoners claimed as British subjects. After this act of
Colonel Scott no other prisoners were set apart by the British to be
tried for treason.
These transactions gave rise to discussion of the question throughout
the country and in both houses of Congress. President Madison, and Mr.
Monroe as Secretary of State, took strong ground against the British
claim. While subsequent treaties were silent on the question, the
right is no longer asserted by Great Britain, and has been recognized
by treaty. Colonel Scott then returned to Washington.