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.
General Scott had, a short time previous to the events just narrated,
complained to the War Department of disobedience of orders on the part
of General Jesup, who had written a letter to the Globe newspaper in
Washington charging that Scott's conduct had been destructive of the
best interests of the country. Mr. Francis P. Blair, the editor to
whom the letter was addressed, showed it to President Jackson, who
indorsed on it an order to the Secretary of War to recall General
Scott to Washington, and that an inquiry be held as to his delay in
prosecuting the Creek War and the failure of the Florida campaign. On
Scott's arrival in Washington he asked for a court of inquiry, which
was ordered on October 3d, composed of Major-General Alexander Macomb
and Brigadier-Generals Henry Atkinson and Hugh Brady, with Colonel
Cooper, General Macomb's aid-de-camp, as judge advocate. The court
assembled at Frederick, Md., and was delayed some time by the absence
of witnesses. General Scott addressed the court in his own defense.
The finding was unanimous that the plan of the Seminole campaign was
well devised, and prosecuted with energy, steadiness, and ability; and
as to the Creek campaign, the court decided that the plan of the
campaign as adopted by General Scott was well calculated to lead to
successful results, and that it was prosecuted by him, as far as
practicable, with zeal and ability until he was recalled from the
command. This was not only a full vindication, but a compliment to him
expressed in the broadest sense.
He now addressed a letter to Secretary of War Joel R. Poinsett, asking
the immediate direction of affairs in Florida, as this was a part of
the geographical division to which he had been assigned, and a large
number of the troops of his command had been ordered there; and that
he was senior in rank to General Jesup, then commanding there. The
members of Congress from his native State made a unanimous appeal to
the Secretary of War seconding his application, but the application
was denied.
Some citizens of Florida made complaints of the nonsuccess of the
army, and severely censured General Scott. In fact, complaints of this
nature were made against every officer who commanded in Florida,
except General Zachary Taylor. It has been seen that the court of
inquiry fully vindicated General Scott's course in the management of
the war in Florida. The campaign, however, vindicated itself.
Considering the scarcity of all the means at hand, it is remarkable
how much was accomplished with so little loss of life.
When General Scott undertook this campaign Florida was a _terra
incognita_. The greater part of it had scarcely been visited by the
whites, and very little was known of the settlements of the Seminoles.
They were known by their approaches to the white settlements, and when
the war broke out by their plunders and devastations. It was not known
where their hiding places were, and this could only be determined by
pursuing them. At the time of General Scott's assignment to the
command all the information tended to locating them on the waters of
the Ouithlacoochee and the St. John's Rivers; and accordingly against
this portion of the country the movement of the army was directed.
It was not only the want of ordnance, clothing, and subsistence, but
the geographical peculiarity of Florida--with its marshes, thickets,
hammocks, everglades, and impenetrable swamps--that made this campaign
almost fruitless, and which for years baffled all efforts of the
Government to subdue this small but brave and desperate tribe of
Indians.
In Congress General Scott's campaign in Florida was defended by some
of the ablest men in the country. Richard Biddle, of Pennsylvania, in
1837, when the House of Representatives was engaged in a debate on
appropriations for carrying on the war in Florida, said: "It would be
recollected by all that after the war in Florida had assumed a
formidable aspect Major-General Scott was called to the command. An
officer of his rank and standing was not likely to seek a service in
which, amid infinite toil and vexation, there would be no opportunity
for the display of military talent on a scale at all commensurate with
that in which his past fame had been acquired. Yet he entered on it
with the alacrity, zeal, and devotion to duty by which he had ever
been distinguished....
"When the late General Brown, writing from the field of Chippewa, said
that General Scott merited the highest praises which a grateful
country could bestow, was there a single bosom throughout the wide
republic that did not respond to the sentiment? I, for one at least,
can never forget the thrill of enthusiasm, boy as I then was, which
mingled with my own devout thankfulness to God that the cloud which
seemed to have settled on our arms was at length dispelled. On that
plain it was established that Americans could be trained to meet and
to beat in the open field, without breastworks, the regulars of
Britain....
"Sir, the result of that day was due not merely to the gallantry of
General Scott upon the field. It must in part be ascribed to the
patient, anxious, and indefatigable drudgery, the consummate skill as
a tactician, with which he labored night and day, at the camp near
Buffalo, to prepare his brigade for the career on which it was about
to enter. After a brief interval he again led that brigade to the
glorious victory of Bridgewater. He bears now upon his body the wounds
of that day. It had ever been the characteristic of this officer to
seek the post of danger--not to have it thrust upon him. In the years
preceding that to which I have specially referred--in 1812 and
1813--the eminent services he rendered were in the positions which
properly belonged to others, but into which he was led by
irrepressible ardor and jealousy of honor.
"Since the peace with Great Britain the talents of General Scott have
ever been at the command of his country. His pen and his sword have
alike been put in requisition to meet the varied exigencies of the
service. When the difficulties with the Western Indians swelled into
importance, General Scott was dispatched to the scene of hostility.
There rose up before him then, in the ravages of a frightful
pestilence, a form of danger infinitely more appalling than the perils
of the field. How he bore himself in this emergency, how faithfully he
became the nurse and the physician of those from whom terror and
loathing had driven all other aid, can not be forgotten by a just and
grateful country....
"Mr. Chairman, I believe that a signal atonement to General Scott will
one day be extorted from the justice of the House. We owe it to him;
but we owe it still more to the country. What officer can feel secure
in the face of that great example of triumphant injustice? Who can
place before himself the anticipation of establishing higher claims
upon the gratitude of the country than General Scott? Yet he was
sacrificed. His past services went for nothing. Sir, you may raise new
regiments and issue new commissions, but you can not without such
atonement restore the high moral tone which befits the depositories of
the national honor. I fondly wish that the highest and lowest in the
country's service might be taught to regard this House as the jealous
guardian of his rights, against caprice, or fanaticism, or outrage
from whatever quarter. I would have him know that in running up the
national flag at the very moment our daily labors commence, we do not
go through an idle form. On whatever distant service he may be
sent--whether urging his way amid tumbling icebergs toward the pole,
or fainting in the unwholesome heat of Florida--I would enable him as
he looks up to that flag to gather hope and strength. It should impart
to him a proud feeling of confidence and security. He should know that
the same emblem of majesty and justice floats over the council of the
nation, and that in its untarnished luster we have all a common
interest and a common sympathy. Then, sir, and not before, will you
have an army or a navy worthy to sustain and to perpetuate the glory
of former days."
Soon after the decision of the court of inquiry exonerating him from
blame or censure General Scott was tendered a public dinner in New
York from leading members of both political parties. He accepted the
invitation, but it was subsequently postponed until about the middle
of May, and before that time it was altogether declined, for reasons
expressed in a note of which a copy follows:
"GENTLEMEN: Early last month I accepted the invitation to a
public dinner which you and other friends did me the honor to tender
me. In a few days the embarrassments of this great emporium became
such that I begged the compliment might be indefinitely postponed.
You, however, were so kind as to hold me to my engagement, and to
appoint a day for the meeting, which is now near at hand. In the
meantime the difficulties in the commercial world have gone on
augmenting, and many of my friends, here and elsewhere, have been
whelmed under the general calamity of the times. Feeling deeply for
the losses and anxieties of all, no public honor could now be
enjoyed by me. I must therefore, under the circumstances, positively
but most respectfully withdraw my acceptance of your invitation.
"I have the honor to remain, gentlemen, with the greatest esteem,
your friend and servant,
"WINFIELD SCOTT."
The subscribers to the dinner, on receipt of General Scott's letter,
called a meeting, Cornelius W. Lawrence in the chair, and unanimously
adopted the resolutions which follow:
"_Resolved_, That in the decision of General Scott to withdraw, for
the reasons assigned, his acceptance of the public dinner designed to
testify to him our high appreciation both of his private and public
character, we find new evidence of his sympathy with all that regards
the public welfare, and of his habitual oblivion of self where the
feelings and interests of others are concerned.
"_Resolved_, That we rejoice with the joy of friends in the result, so
honorable to General Scott, of the recent court of inquiry instituted
to investigate his military conduct as commander in chief in Alabama
and Florida, and that the President of the United States (Mr. Van
Buren), in approving its proceedings, acted in gratifying unison with
the general sentiments of the nation."
General Scott also received invitations from Richmond, Va., and
Elizabeth, N.J., both of which places had been his former homes.
The Florida War was brought to a close by the defeat of the Indians by
Colonel Zachary Taylor, in the decisive battle of Okechobee, for
which he received the brevet of Brigadier General, and in 1838 was
appointed to the chief command in Florida. Taylor was succeeded by
Brigadier-General Armistead, and in 1842 General Worth succeeded to
the command and made a treaty with Sam Jones and Billy Bowlegs,
allowing them to remain and possess a large tract of land.
In the spring of 1836 General Scott was ordered to take charge of and
superintend the removal of the Cherokee Indians to the reservation
which had been set apart for them by treaty west of the Mississippi
River. Great opposition to removal was expected from the Indians, and
much fear felt by the inhabitants contiguous to their settlements.
General Scott, however, by his kindness and generosity, won the
confidence of the Indians, and was not compelled to resort to any act
of violence. Twenty-four thousand five hundred and ninety-four were
removed, two hundred and thirty-six having lost their lives on the
steamboat Monmouth. Only seven hundred and forty-four remained east of
the Mississippi River. The Cherokees occupied territory in the States
of Georgia, North Carolina, Alabama, and Tennessee. Many of their
leaders were well educated and were men of ability, and some of them
were wealthy, owning fine farms and negro slaves. General Scott in his
Memoirs says: "The North Carolinians and Tennesseeans were kindly
disposed toward their red brethren. The Alabamians much less so. The
great difficulty was with the Georgians (more than half the army),
between whom and the Cherokees there had been feuds and wars for many
generations. The reciprocal hatred of the two races was probably never
surpassed. Almost every Georgian on leaving home, as well as after
arrival at New Echota--the center of the most populous district of the
Indian Territory--vowed never to return without having killed at least
one Indian."
General Scott arrived at the Cherokee agency, a small village on the
Hiawassee River in Tennessee, in the early part of May, 1838. He
published and circulated two addresses--one to the troops and the
other to the Indians--but had them circulated together.
Following is the address to the troops:
"HEADQUARTERS, EASTERN DIVISION,
"CHEROKEE AGENCY, _May 17, 1838_.
"Considering the number and temper of the mass to be removed,
together with the extent and fastnesses of the country occupied, it
will readily occur that simple indiscretions, acts of harshness, and
cruelty on the part of our troops may lead, step by step, to delays,
to impatience, and exasperation, and in the end to a general war and
carnage--a result in the case of these particular Indians, utterly
abhorrent to the generous sympathies of the whole American people.
Every possible kindness compatible with the necessity of removal
must therefore be shown by the troops; and if in the ranks a
despicable individual should be found capable of inflicting a wanton
injury or insult on any Cherokee man, woman, or child, it is hereby
made the special duty of the nearest good officer or man instantly
to interpose, and to seize and consign the guilty wretch to the
severest penalty of the laws. The major general is fully persuaded
that this injunction will not be neglected by the brave men under
his command, who can not be otherwise than jealous of their own
honor and that of their country.
"By early and persevering acts of kindness and humanity, it is
impossible to doubt that the Indians will soon be induced to confide
in the army, and, instead of fleeing to the mountains and forests,
flock to us for food and clothing. If, however, through false
apprehensions, individuals or a party here and there should seek to
hide themselves, they must be pursued and invited to surrender, but
not fired upon, unless they should make a stand to resist. Even in
such cases mild remedies may sometimes better succeed than violence;
and it can not be doubted, if we get possession of the women and
children first, or first capture the men, that in either case the
outstanding members of the same families will readily come in on the
assurance of forgiveness and kind treatment.
"Every captured man, as well as those who surrender themselves, must
be disarmed, with the assurance that their weapons will be carefully
preserved and restored at or beyond the Mississippi. In either case
the men will be guarded and escorted, except it may be where their
women and children are safely secured as hostages; but in general,
families in our possession will not be separated, unless it be to
send men as runners to invite others to come in.
"It may happen that Indians will be found too sick, in the opinion
of the nearest surgeon, to be removed to one of the depots indicated
above. In every such case one or more of the family or the friends
of the sick person will be left in attendance, with ample
subsistence and remedies, and the remainder of the family removed
by the troops. Infants, superannuated persons, lunatics, and women
in helpless condition, will all, in the removal, require peculiar
attention, which the brave and humane will seek to adapt to the
necessities of the several cases."
Following is the address to the Indians:
"_Major-General Scott, of the United States Army, sends to the
Cherokee people remaining in North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, and
Alabama this_
"ADDRESS.
"CHEROKEES: The President of the United States has sent me
with a powerful army to cause you, in obedience of the treaty of
1835, to join that part of your people who are already established
in prosperity on the other side of the Mississippi. Unhappily, the
two years which were allowed for the purpose you have suffered to
pass away without following and without making any preparation to
follow, and now, or by the time that this solemn address shall reach
your distant settlements, the emigration must be commenced in haste,
but, I hope, without disorder. I have no power by granting a further
delay to correct the error that you have committed. The full moon of
May is already on the wane, and before another shall have passed
away every Cherokee man, woman, and child in those States must be in
motion to join their brethren in the far West.
"My friends, this is no sudden determination on the part of the
President, whom you and I must now obey. By the treaty the
emigration was to have been completed on or before the 23d of this
month, and the President has constantly kept you warned during the
two years allowed, through all his officers and agents in this
country, that the treaty would be enforced.
"I am come to carry out that determination. My troops already occupy
many positions in the country that you are to abandon, and thousands
and thousands are approaching from every quarter to render
assistance and escape alike hopeless. All those troops, regular and
militia, are your friends. Receive them, and confide in them as
such. Obey them when they tell you that you can remain no longer in
this country. Soldiers are as kind-hearted as brave, and the desire
of every one of us is to execute our painful duty in mercy. We are
commanded by the President to act toward you in that spirit, and
such is also the wish of the whole people of America.
"Chiefs, headmen, and warriors, will you then by resistance compel
us to resort to arms? God forbid! Or will you by flight seek to hide
yourselves in mountains and forests, and thus oblige us to hunt you
down? Remember, that in pursuit it may be impossible to avoid
conflicts. The blood of the white man or the blood of the red man
may be spilt, and if spilt, however accidentally, if may be
impossible for the discreet and humane among you or among us to
prevent a general war and carnage. Think of this, my Cherokee
brethren! I am an old warrior, and have been present at many a scene
of slaughter; but spare me, I beseech you, the horror of witnessing
the destruction of the Cherokees.
"Do not, I invite you, even wait for the close approach of the
troops; but make such preparations for emigration as you can, and
hasten to this place, to Ross's Landing, or to Gunter's Landing,
where you will be received in kindness by officers selected for the
purpose. You will find food for all, and clothing for the destitute,
at either of those places, and thence at your ease and in comfort be
transported to your new homes according to the terms of the treaty.
"This is the address of a warrior to warriors. May his entreaties be
kindly received, and may the God of both prosper the Americans and
Cherokees, and preserve them long in peace and friendship with each
other. WINFIELD SCOTT."
There was some delay in bringing in the mountain Indians of North
Carolina, but the Indians of Tennessee and Alabama were readily
collected for emigration. General Scott remained with the Georgians,
and followed up his printed addresses by suggestions which proved to
be invaluable.
In a short time the Indians, excepting a few parties, were collected
at the place of rendezvous. The camp selected was twelve miles in
length, with a breadth of four miles. It was well shaded by large
forest trees, and had a large number of springs furnishing an
abundance of the best of water.
The sick were placed in hospitals, and attended by good physicians and
furnished with everything necessary for their comfort. General Scott
rode through the camps daily, and saw that every attention was given
to the Indians which they required, and he made inquiries and gave
special attention to the care of the sick and to the women and
children. At length he placed the matter of the emigration of the
Indians in the hands of the Cherokee authorities, having won the
entire confidence and regard of the Indians, and he ordered all of the
volunteers to their homes, except one company which he retained as a
police force, and one regiment of regulars which it was thought
necessary to retain to meet any unforeseen contingencies that might
arise. Two other regular regiments were ordered off, one to Florida
and the other to the Canada frontier. The company of volunteers
retained was from Tennessee, and of it General Scott said: "The
company of volunteers (Tennesseeans) were a body of respectable
citizens, and under their judicious commander, Captain Robertson, of
great value as a police force." The Cherokees were at this time
receiving large sums of money from the Government in the way of
damages and indemnities, and a number of gamblers and confidence men
sought to enter their camps. They were, however, kept out by the
vigilance of the Tennessee company.
In October the movement west began. General Scott accompanied them to
the junction of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. General Scott gives
credit for services and aid rendered him to his acting inspector
general, Major Matthew Mountjoy Payne; Captain Robert Anderson, acting
adjutant general (later the commander of Fort Sumter, and a brigadier
general); Lieutenant Erastus Darwin Keyes, aid-de-camp, afterward
major general, United States volunteers; Lieutenant Francis Taylor,
commissary; Captains Page and Abner Reviere Hetzel, quartermasters;
Lieutenant Henry L. Scott, Fourth Infantry, then aid-de-camp and
inspector general; Major H.B. Shaw, aid-de-camp, Tennessee volunteers;
Colonel William Lindsay, Second Artillery; Colonel William S. Foster,
Fourth Infantry; and Colonel Ichabod Bennett Crane, First Artillery.
Generals Worth and Floyd rendered important service in this campaign,
and their names should not be omitted.
It may be necessary, for a better understanding of the Cherokee Indian
difficulties, to add something more to what has been written. The
chief troubles which had arisen were in Georgia, and many
complications arose between the Indians and the whites. In a case
decided by the Supreme Court of the United States, the opinion being
rendered by Chief-Justice John Marshall, the status of these Indians
was thus defined: "Their relation is that of a nation claiming and
receiving the protection of one more powerful; not that of individuals
abandoning their national character and submitting as subjects to the
laws of a master."
Regarding the acts of Congress to regulate trade with the Indians the
Chief Justice said: "All these acts, and especially that of 1802,
which is still in force, manifestly consider the several Indian
nations as distinct political communities, having territorial
boundaries, within which their authority is exclusive, and having a
right to all the lands within those boundaries, which is not only
acknowledged but guaranteed by the United States." By one of the
treaties made by the United States Government with this tribe of
Indians, it was enacted and agreed that "the United States solemnly
guarantee to the Cherokee nation all their lands not hereby ceded,"
and, "that the Cherokee nation may be led to a greater degree of
civilization, and to become herdsmen and cultivators, instead of
remaining in a state of hunting, the United States will from time to
time furnish gratuitously the said nation with useful instruments of
husbandry." Acting under this treaty, a greater portion of the
Cherokees had become both cultivators and herdsmen, and rivaled their
white neighbors in both.
The trouble which arose in Georgia was from the fact that she claimed
the right to extend her criminal jurisdiction over these Indians, and
that the United States was bound to extinguish the Indian titles
within her borders. This claim of Georgia, persistently pressed,
caused the United States Government in 1802 to agree to purchase the
Indian lands, and remove them to some other territory. The Indians
resisted this action on the faith of treaties. Eventually a treaty was
made with a portion of the Cherokees by which they were to relinquish
their lands and accept lands across the Mississippi River. Many of the
Indians resisted and never ratified this treaty, yet the Government
insisted upon carrying out the treaty. General Scott received his
orders on April 10, 1838, and first established his headquarters at a
small village called Calhoun, on the Hiawassee River, in East
Tennessee. Colonel Lindsay, an officer of merit and who enjoyed the
full confidence of General Scott, was in immediate command of that
territory, had established posts in many of the settlements, and had
arranged to have the mountain passes well guarded.
Referring to these matters, the National Intelligencer of September
27, 1838, said: "The manner in which this gallant officer [Scott] has
acquitted himself within the last year upon the Canada frontier, and
lately among the Cherokees, has excited the universal admiration and
gratitude of the whole nation. Owing to his great popularity in the
North, his thorough knowledge of the laws of his own country, as well
as of those which govern nations, united to his discretion, his great
tact and experience, he has saved the country from a ruinous war with
Great Britain. And by his masterly skill and energy among the
Cherokees, united to his noble generosity and humanity, he has not
only effected what everybody supposed could not be done without the
most heartrending scenes of butchery and bloodshed, but he has
effected it by obtaining the esteem and confidence of the poor
Cherokees themselves. They look upon him as a benefactor and friend,
and one who has saved them from entire destruction. All the Cherokees
were collected for emigration without bloodshed or violence, and all
would have been on their way to the West before the middle of July,
had not humanity induced General Scott to stop the movement until the
1st of September. Three thousand had been sent off in the first half
of June by the superintendent, before the general took upon himself
the responsibility of stopping the emigration, from feelings which
must do everlasting honor to his heart. An approval of his course had
been sent on by the War Department, before his report giving
information that he had stopped the emigration had reached the seat of
Government. In the early part of January last the President had asked
Congress for enlarged powers, to enable him to maintain our neutral
obligations to England--that is, to tranquilize the Canadian
frontiers. Before the bill passed Congress, General Scott had finished
the work and effected all its objects. These, too, he effected by
flying from one end of the frontier to the other in the dead of
winter, and during the severest and coldest period of it. He returns
to Washington, and is immediately ordered to the Cherokee nation, to
take charge of the very difficult and hazardous task to his own fame
of removing those savages from their native land. Some of his best
friends regretted most sincerely that he had been ordered on this
service, and, knowing the disposition of the world to cavil and
complain without cause, had great apprehension that he would lose a
portion of the popularity he had acquired by his distinguished success
on the Canadian frontier. But behold the manner in which this last
work has been performed! There is so much of noble generosity of
character about Scott, independent of his skill and bravery as a
soldier, that his life has really been one of romantic beauty and
interest."
It was General Scott's intention to accompany the Indian emigration
farther west, but receiving information that the Canadian insurgents
were making renewed attempts on the Canadas, he was directed to
proceed at once to that frontier.
Passing through the States of Kentucky and Ohio, accompanied by
Captain Robert Anderson, he called upon their respective governors and
arranged for the calling out of volunteers should they be needed, and
also gave proper instructions to the United States marshals and
district attorneys for such duties as they might be called upon to
perform. He passed on rapidly to Cleveland, Sandusky, and Detroit, and
met great assemblages of excited citizens, and, by his appeals and
reasoning with them, prevailed upon them to desist from any acts in
violation of the neutrality with Great Britain. Pending these
important services, he learned of the trouble which had arisen between
the State of Maine and the British colony or province of New
Brunswick, and at once made haste for Washington. On his arrival at
the capital, after reporting to the President, he was called before
the committees on foreign affairs of both Houses of Congress, before
whom he urged and succeeded in securing the passage of two bills--one
authorizing the President to call out the militia for six months and
to accept the service of fifty thousand volunteers, and the other to
place to his credit ten millions of dollars. On taking leave of the
President he said to him: "Mr. President, if you want war, I need only
look on in silence. The Maine people will make it for you fast and hot
enough. I know them. But if peace be your wish, I can give no
assurance of success. The difficulties in its way will be formidable."
The President replied, "Peace with honor"; and the general, who fully
reciprocated the President's feeling, took his leave, accompanied by
Captain Robert Anderson and Lieutenant E.D. Keyes, his aid-de-camp. He
left with general instructions, but in certain events he was to act on
his own judgment without restriction. Arriving in Boston, he met
Governor Edward Everett, and arranged for calling out the militia and
accepting volunteers if needed.
Governor Everett introduced him to his executive council with the
following address: "General, I take great pleasure in introducing you
to the members of the Executive Council of Massachusetts. I need not
say that you are already known to them by reputation. They are
familiar with your fame as it is recorded in some of the arduous and
honorable fields of the country's struggles. We rejoice in meeting you
on this occasion. Charged as you are with a most momentous mission by
the President of the United States, we are sure you are intrusted
with a duty most grateful to your feelings--that of averting an appeal
to arms. We place unlimited reliance on your spirit, energy, and
discretion. Should you unhappily fail in your efforts, under the
instructions of the President, to restore harmony, we know that you
are equally prepared for a still more responsible duty. Should that
unhappy event occur, I beg you to depend on the firm support of
Massachusetts." He was then given a reception by the Legislature, and
received on its behalf by Robert C. Winthrop.
From Boston he proceeded at once to Portland, where he found the
people greatly excited, and demanding the immediate seizure and
occupation of the disputed territory. At the capital, Augusta, where
he next proceeded, he found the same excitement with the same demands.
The Legislature was in session, and a large majority of its members
were for war. The strip of disputed land was valuable chiefly for ship
timber. Some British subjects had entered the territory and cut some
of the timber, and the Governor of Maine sent an agent with a posse to
drive them off. The British seized and imprisoned the agent, and much
angry correspondence followed between the authorities of both sides.
General Scott soon determined that the only mode of settlement was to
prohibit or have an agreement on both sides to leave the territory
unoccupied by either party until the matters in dispute could be
arranged between the governments of the United States and Great
Britain, taking the matter out of the jurisdiction of the State of
Maine and the province of New Brunswick. Previous to Scott's arrival
in Maine the Legislature of that State had passed an act placing
eight hundred thousand dollars at the disposal of the Governor and
authorizing the calling out of eight thousand troops. Some of these
troops had been organized and moved near the disputed territory, and
others were held ready to move when ordered. British troops, both
regulars and militia, had also been moved forward. Everything
indicated a war. On February 27, 1839, President Van Buren had sent a
message to Congress transmitting various documents received from the
Governor of Maine, and a copy of a memorandum signed by the Secretary
of State of the United States and the British Minister to the United
States, which, it was hoped, would prevent a collision of arms. Mr.
H.B. Fox, the British Minister, had acted without specific authority
from his Government, and the memorandum therefore had only the force
of a recommendation. All correspondence had for some time ceased
between the governors of Maine and New Brunswick.
The Governor of New Brunswick, John Harvey, had been an adjutant
general of one of the armies of Canada in the campaign of 1813, and
was well known to General Scott. Scott, it will be remembered, was an
adjutant general in this campaign, and he and Colonel Harvey had
frequent correspondence, and it was so conducted as to create a
feeling of respect on both sides. At one time in the campaign
mentioned, when Scott was on a reconnoitering expedition, his party
came upon Harvey, and a gun in the hands of a soldier near Scott was
leveled on him. Scott caught the gun, and said, "Hold! he is our
prisoner," but Colonel Harvey made a rapid turn and escaped.
On General Scott's arrival in Maine he had with him a private letter
from Sir John Harvey, the Colonel Harvey just mentioned, then Governor
General of New Brunswick. It is proper to mention here, as additional
reason for good feeling between General Scott and Sir John Harvey,
that at one time in the War of 1813 an American soldier under Scott's
command had come into possession of the uniform coat of a British
staff officer, and in one of the pockets was found the miniature of a
young lady. The portmanteau from which the coat and miniature were
taken was marked "Lieutenant-Colonel Harvey." Scott purchased these
articles from the soldier and sent them to Colonel Harvey. The picture
was that of his young bride, then in England.
Governor Fairfield, of Maine, had on March 12th sent a message to the
Legislature objecting to the terms of the memorandum, but recommending
that, when fully satisfied that the Lieutenant Governor of New
Brunswick had abandoned all idea of occupying the disputed territory
with a military force, or of attempting the expulsion of citizens of
Maine, he [the Governor] be authorized to withdraw the military force,
leaving the land agent with a posse of armed or unarmed men, as the
case might require, sufficient to drive out or arrest trespassers. The
Legislature on March 20th passed resolutions in accordance with these
recommendations. The message of the Governor of Maine and the
resolutions of the Legislature required the lieutenant governor to
make the advance.
General Scott, after the action of the Legislature above mentioned,
sent a reply to Harvey's private letter, which he had held unanswered
so long. This elicited a friendly reply, and other letters of the
same character quickly followed on either side. A line of couriers
was established between them to facilitate correspondence. Governor
Harvey took the first step, and made the concessions which were
necessary to appease the authorities of Maine, but the Governor did
not feel authorized to withdraw the troops from the disputed territory
unless authorized by the Legislature. General Scott mingled freely
with members of the Legislature, urging pacific measures, and on March
20th resolutions were passed; and Scott having his memorandum with Sir
John Harvey with all concessions to restore tranquillity, the Governor
of Maine added his approval, and the question was transferred to the
authorities of the United States and Great Britain, which resulted in
a satisfactory settlement to both nations of this unhappy affair.
An uprising, confined chiefly to the French inhabitants of Upper
Canada, occurred in 1837, in which they demanded a separation from the
British Government, and they enlisted many sympathizers among citizens
of the United States, especially among those living on the Canadian
boundary. Organizations of sympathizers with the Canadians were
secretly formed by American citizens to such an extent that the
President of the United States issued a proclamation enjoining its
citizens to observe neutrality. This did not quiet the excitement, but
rather tended to increase it. Matters were brought to a crisis by the
action of a certain Van Rensselaer, who had been dismissed from the
Military Academy at West Point, and who styled himself "Colonel" Van
Rensselaer. He organized a party of Americans reckless like himself,
and took forcible possession of a small British island opposite to
Fort Schlosser, on the American side, and known as Navy Island. This
island was a short distance above the falls of Niagara. Young Van
Rensselaer engaged a small steamboat called the Caroline to ferry
parties from Navy Island, which he occupied, to Schlosser on the
American shore.
The first night on which the Caroline began her voyages the British
fitted out an expedition to capture her. Instead of making a descent
on Navy Island within British territory, they boarded the steamer at
Schlosser, on the American side, and thus violated our territory. The
boat at the time of this invasion was filled with people, many of whom
were there for idle curiosity, including a number of boys. In the
_mêlée_ of capture one American citizen was killed and several others
wounded. They cut the boat from its moorings, set it on fire, and it
drifted down the cataract. It was reported and generally believed that
when the vessel went over the cataract it had a small number of
wounded Americans on board.
The publication of this affair created the greatest excitement from
one end of the country to the other. This occurred on December 29,
1837, but the news did not reach Washington until January 4th. On the
evening of that day General Scott was to dine with President Van Buren
and a number of other distinguished gentlemen. The entire party had
arrived, but the President failed to appear. After a time he came in
and spoke inaudibly to Henry Clay, one of the guests, and then said to
General Scott: "Blood has been shed; you must go with all speed to the
Niagara frontier. The Secretary of War is now engaged in making out
your instructions." General Scott left at once, and passing through
Albany, met William L. Marcy, the Governor of New York, who with his
adjutant general (McDonald) accompanied him to the scene of the
troubles. The United States troops at this time were all either in
Florida or on the Western frontiers. General Scott, in passing through
New York, had ordered some small detachments of army recruits to
follow him. Governor Marcy was with him ready to answer his
requisitions for militia, and he had the aid of the officers
commanding on Lake Erie and the Detroit frontier and on the Niagara,
Lake Ontario, and St. Lawrence. All United States marshals and other
civil officers of the Government were ordered to support and aid him.
He passed from one place to another, going where his services could be
needed, exhorting the people to observe the neutrality proclamation of
the President; and where he found them obstinate and determined, he
notified them in terms which could not be mistaken that any attempt to
violate this proclamation would be met by resistance from the
Government, which would promptly overpower them.
Pending these troubles, a steamer called the Barcelona was taken from
the harbor of Buffalo in January, 1838, and passed down the river,
with a view to aid the insurgents on Navy Island. Scott, on learning
of this, sent an agent who made terms to employ the Barcelona for the
service of the Government. The vessel then proceeded back to Buffalo,
where it was intended to use her on Lake Erie; but the Canadian
authorities had determined to destroy her. As the vessel passed near
Grand Island, within the jurisdiction of the United States, some
armed British schooners had taken position, aided by land batteries,
to open fire on her. This was on January 16th. General Scott and
Governor Marcy stood on the river bank watching events. Batteries on
the American side were put in preparation to return the fire of the
British.
The day before the event just mentioned, Scott had written and
dispatched a note "To the Commanding Officer of the Armed British
Vessels in the Niagara":
"HEADQUARTERS, EASTERN DIVISION, U.S. ARMY,
"TWO MILES BELOW BLACK ROCK, _January 15, 1838_.
"SIR: With his Excellency, Governor Marcy, of New York, who
has troops at hand, we are here to enforce the neutrality of the
United States and to protect our own soil or waters from violation.
The proper civil officers are also present to arrest, if
practicable, the leaders of the expedition on foot against Upper
Canada. Under these circumstances, it gives me pain to perceive the
armed vessels mentioned, anchored in our waters, with the probable
intention to fire upon that expedition moving in the same waters.
Unless the expedition should first attack--in which case we shall
interfere--we shall be obliged to consider a discharge of shot or
shell from or into our waters, from the armed schooners of her
Majesty, as an act seriously compromising the neutrality of the two
nations. I hope, therefore, that no such unpleasant incident may
occur.
"I have the honor to remain, etc.
"WINFIELD SCOTT."
The next morning, January 16th, the same information was given by
General Scott to a British officer who called on him at his quarters.
The Barcelona moved up the river, and Scott had his cannon pointed and
his matches in readiness for firing. Scott stood on the highest point
in full uniform and in view of the other shore. The vessel passed up
unmolested, and doubtless by this act of Scott a war was averted.
In the meantime Van Rensselaer with his adherents had evacuated Navy
Island and landed some miles below, where they were arrested by
General Scott's orders. Thus ended a disturbance which might have
resulted in war, and it can not be gainsaid that its peaceful
settlement was due to the wisdom, firmness, and prudence of General
Scott.