further service.
Causes of thefailurt of the Montreal Expedition, Among
others of less consequence the following may be assign-
ed as the principal causes of the failure. Early in the
season, under the administration of General Dearborn, the
public stores at Sackett's Harbour, the sinews of the cam-
paign, were injudiciously exposed and lost, and the only op-
portune season for the expedition wasted in useless and inef-
ficient operations on the Niagara frontier. From the 20th of
August, the period when General Wilkinson assumed the
command, seventy-six davs were suffered to elapse before
the final sailing of the flotilte. This delay, as it enabled the
1813. HllSTORY OF THE LATi: VV AU. 2S5
eiu'iiiy lo strengthen tlieir posts on tlie river, aiul prepare for
fjcrence, and as it rendered the descent of the St. Lawrence at
so late a period difficult, very much hazarded the success of the
enterprise. Changing the commander in chief at a critical
period of the campaign, without accjuiring any additional tal-
ents, had an unfavourable inlluence upon its result. The es-
tablishment of the war department at Sackelt's Harbour,
a measure in itself unusual, and very questionable as to its le-
gality, was attended with no beneficial consequences to the
expedition. The appropriate duties of that office are, to re-
ceive from the supreme executive his orders, which, in affairs
of importance, proceed from the united wisdom of the cabinet,
and transmit them for execution to the commanding generals.
His office gives the secretary no command in the army. In
the present case, the important and hazardous measure of
proceeding against Montreal, leaving the strongly fortified
posts of the enemy at Kingston and Prescott in the rear, was
taken in pursuance of his advice, without the aid of the Pres-
ident or the cabinet, and contrary to the opinion of the com-
mander in chief. No justifiable or even palliative excuse has
ever been rendered for General Hampton's refusing to join
the expedition on the St. Lawrence. In a country abounding
with provisions and the means of transportation, there^could
be no difficulty in efliecting a movement of sixty miles in the
course of the autumn. His fears of meeting Sir George
Prevost in his march were probably groundless, and if the
enemy had come out in force to attack him from Montreal, it
would of course have left that city unguarded, and ensured
the success of the ultimate object. From this combination
of injudicious and inetficient measures, the campaign of 1813
closed without eflecting the cjipture of Montreal.
Defenceless situation of Fortfieorge, Previous to Genei-al
Wilkinson's leavingfort George, General M'Clureh^d been or-
dered in w^ith the New- York militia for the- defence of the Nia-
gara frontier. The British were then in considerable force in
the neighbourhood. General M'Clure strdngjy urged the expe-
34
266 HISTORY OF lllE LATE WAR. Chap. 12.
diency of a joint attack by the militia and regular forces, be-
fore the latter proceeded on the Montreal expedition. Suc-
cess was considered as certain. The frontier would then be
safe, and the fears of the neighbouring inhabitants quieted.
In the opinion of General Wilkinson, the advanced state of
th« season did not admit of the delay necessary for that ob-
ject- He left fort George on the 2d of October, with all the
United States troops, except eight hundred under the com-
mand of Colonel Scott, and with orders for these to follow as
soon as the safety of that frontier would admit. On the 12th
of October, the British troops near fort George commenced a
retrograde movement towards th« head of the lake, and estab-
lished themselves at Burlington heights ; General M'Clure
with the militia, commenced a pursuit: on the 2d day of his
march, h'.^ received an express from Colonel Scott, informing
him that he should immediately leave fort George for Sack-
ett's Harbour; this intelligence obliged him to relinquish the
pursuit, and return for the defence of the fort. General
M'Clure's force at this time, consisted of one thousand militia
engaged until the 9th of December^ and two hundred and
fifty Indians. The general used every exertion ro strike a
blow^ at the enemy before the term of service of his militia
should expire. On the first of November, General Harrison
arrived at fort George, with M- Arthur's brigade from the
west. Immediately on i-eceiving intelligence of Proctor^s
defeat, the secretary at war ordered General Harrison, with
all his disposable force, to proceed to Sackett's Harbour, to
join in the grand expedition. On his arrival at fort George,
General M'Clure used every exertion to accomplish an expe-
dition against the British at Burlington, during the stay of this
brigade at the fort. But General Harrison's orders were
peremptory; Chauncey was in the river waiting for him, and
the lateness of the season admitted of no delay.
Evacuation. The troops from the west embarked on the
IGlhof November, and again left the Niagara frontier to the
si^ftn^fe of ih(^ militia. Th^ir terra* of service were now
U13. HISTORY OF THE LATE WAR. 2G7
nearly expiring, and the British were in the neighbourhood
waiting for that event to make an attack. Every iiiducement
was held out to the militia to prolong their term of service,
until others should arrive. Appeals to their patriotism and
humanity were made, from a view of the exposed situation
of the frontier ; and to their interest, from the ofier of a bounty
and an increase of wages. But these appeals were made in
vain ; scarcely a man renewed his engagements ; the new
drafts had not yet arrived; and on the lOlh of December,
General M'Clure found himself at fort George with only
sixty effective men, in view of a much superior enemy, per-
fectly acquainted with his weakness. No alternative pre-
sented, but the immediate evacuation of the fort.
Burning of Ntwark, On the 10th of December, the val-
uable stores were transjwrted across the river to fort Niagara,
fort George blown up, and the adjacent village of Newark
burned. This last act was considered as an unnecessary
and wanton piece of cruelty. General M'Clure justified
himself under the following order from the war department;,
during its establishment atSackett's Harbour.
"War Department, October 4, ISIS.
" Sir,
" Understanding that the defence of the post commmit-
ted to your charge may render it proper to destroy the town
of Newark, you are hereby directed to apprise the inhabit-
ants of this circumstance, and invite them to remove them-
.^elves and their effects to some place of greater safety.
"JOHN ARMSTRONG.
" Brigadier General M'Clure, }
" or oflBcer commanding at fort Georg-e." (^
No event more disreputable to the American cause, or more
injurious in its consequences, could have happened. Five
hundred innocent and peaceful inhabitants were in a moment
rendered houseless, and compelled, in the midst of a Cana-
dian winter, to seek a shelter and subsistence from the charity
2«18 HISTORY OF THE I.Al'E WAl^. Chap. U,
of their friends. Wherever these unhappy suflerers wandered.
ihe eyedroptatearof pity over their misfortunes, and the coun-
tenance hghtened with the fire of revenge against the authors
of their calamity. Whatever friends or advocates the cause of
the United States mii^ht have had in Canada before this
event, it had none afterwards. The only ground of justifi-
cation ever assumed, was that it was a necessary measure of
defence, to prevent the British army from finding a shelter
during the winter, on the borders of the river, whence they
might annoy the inhabitants on the right bank. But this
object could not be obtained as long as Qucenston and the
settlements above were suffered to remain. This measure
induced a most heavy and calamitous retaliation, and was
made use of by the British to justify all their wanton acts of
cruelty, during the war, whether before or after the event.
Much altercation took place upon the question, who should
bear the odium of this transaction. The secretary of state,
unacquainted with the transactions of the war department,
during its absence from the seat of government, disavowed
the act to the British authorities, and declared it to be an
unauthorized measure of the commanding general. M'Clure
considered himself as fully justified by Armstrong's letter,
while the latter claimed, that the letter was only a conditional
authority, and that the case in which it was to be exercised
fiad not occurred. It is evident from the letter, that the
scheme of burning Newark originated with the war depart-
ment; and it cannot be denied, that an authority issuing from
that source to the commanding general on a particular sta-
tion, and by him executed, cannot be disavowed to the
enemy ; they have a right to consider it as the act of the
government, although, as in this case, it was unknown to the
President until after the event. The letter likewise proves
that it was discretionary with General M'Clure to do it, or not,
as his judgment should direct; the facts clearly show, that no
gjood, but much evil and dishonour resulted to tho United
States from the transaction; and that it was an injudicious
1813. HISTORY OF THK LATC WAIi. 26^
exercise of a discretionory authority, improj)crly given by
the war department, during its unfortunate exc\u-bion to Sack-
ett's Harbour.
Capture of Fort Magnra. General M'Clure on the 10th
of December, passed over to Niagara, gave the necessary
instructions for the defence of that post, and retired to Buffalo.
On the 18th he issued an address to the neighbouring inhab-
itants, calling upon them to assemble for the defence of fort
Niagara, and staling that he had received information that it
would be attacked the next day. The general remained at
Buffalo ; and the inhabitants seeing no example set them by
the author of the address, remained at home. The garrison
at Niagara consisted of 370 regulars, under the command of
Captain Leonard. At three o'clock in the morning of the
19th the British and Indians, after several days' prcj)aration
in view of the Americans, crossed the river at the Five Miles
Meadows, to the amount of twelve hundred ; and a detach-
ment, under Colonel Murray, proceeded to attack the fort.
Notwithstanding appearances had for some days past
clearly indicated the object of attack, the commanding general
was at Buffalo, secure in his quarters, thirty miles from the
scene of action, the immediate command of the fort being left
in charge of a man wholly incompetent, who at this critical
moment, had gone to his residence three miles in the rear,
the gates of the fort left open, and unguarded, and the gam-
son wholly unprepared ; the result was as might be expected,
the garrison was completely surprised ; sixty-five killed, many
of them after they had surrendered, and the residue made
prisoners ; twenty-seven pieces of ordnance, and large quan-
tities of ammunition and military stores, taken.
Desolation of the Niagara Frontier, At the same time
another detachment of the British proceeded to Lewis-
town, which was taken without opposition, and the in-
habitants put to ffight. The Indians now plundered,
burned, and massacred without restraint. The towns ot
Niagara and Lcwistown, and the village of friendly Indians
270 HISTORY OF THE LATE WAR. Chap. 12,
at Tuscarora, were laid in ashes. Governor Tompkins,
on being informed of the removal of the regular troops from
the Niagara frontier, on the 27th of November, gave orders
for the assembling of sufficient bodies of militia to supply the
places of those under General M'Clure. But owing to the
delays incident to such operations, they failed of arriving
until after the capture of Niagara, and the destruction of the
frontier below the falls. On the 26th of December, General
Hall, commanding the western division of militia, had assem-
bled at Buffalo and Black-Rock, two thousand of his division.
On the night of the 29th, at 12 o'clock, the enemy were dis-
covered approaching the American shore, near those places
in great force. The militia were ordered out to oppose their
landing, but the main body fled at the approach of the enemy,
without firing a gun. Colonel Blackesley's regiment, with
other detached corps, amounting in the whole to six hundred,
regularly formed in line, and commenced a destructive fire on
the enemy, as they approached the shore. They continued
the contest until their associates had all fled, and further op-
position appeared useless. The flourishing villages of Black
Rock and Buffalo, and the neighbouring settlements were
deserted, and fell a prey to the British and Indians. General
Hall retired with the remains of his dispersed militia, to
Eleven Mile creek, where he was able to collect only about
three hundred; with these he preserved a show of resistance,
to cover the flying inhabitants, and check the advances of
the enemy. All the flourishing villages and settlements on
the Niagara, between the lakes, and to a considerable dis-
tance in the rear were laid in ashes; the Indians were let loose
upon the flying inhabitants, and hundreds of them were over-
taken and massacred. The frontier presented one scene of
universal desolation.* The miserable inhafbitants who es-
caped the Indian tomahawk, fled to the interior, without shelter
or means of support, in the depth of winter, and subsisted on
* Oeneral Hall's letter to Governor Tompkins, Jannarv 6, 1834.
1813. lUSl^ORY OF THE LATE WAK.
271
the charity of their friends. More than two hundred houses,
with an immense value of property, were pillaged and de-
stroyed, and the wretched inhabitants and owners reduced to
poverty. General Hall retired to Batavia, fifty miles in the
rear of Niagara, where he was enabled to collect eighteen
hundred militia for the ]:)rotection of the public stores, and the
defence of those settlements which had escaped desolation.
Prevosth Proclamahon, At length even the humanity of
Governor Prevost began to relent, and on the 12th of Jan-
uary 1814, he issued a proclamation, stating, "That it will
hardly be credited by those who shall hereafter read it in the
page of history, that in the enlightened era of the 19th cen-
tury, and in the inclemency of a Canadian \?intef, the troops
of a nation, calling itself civilized and Christian, had wantonly,
and without a shadow of a pretext, forced four hundred
women and children to quit their dwellings, and to be the
mournful spectators of the conflagration of all that belonged
to them. Yet such was ihe fate of Newark, on the 10th of
December, a day which the inhabitants of Upper Canada can
never forget, and the recollection of which cannot but nerve
their arms, when opposed to their vindictive foe. On the
night of that day, the American troops, under Brigadier Gen-
eral M'Clure, being about to evacuate fort George, which they
could no longer retain, by an act of inhumanity disgraceful to
themselves, and to the nation to which they belong, set fire to
upwards of one hundred and fifty houses, composing the beau-
tiful village of Newark, and burning them to the ground,
leaving without covering or siielter, those innocent, unfortu-
nate, and distressed inhabitants, whom that officer by his
proclamation had engaged to protect. His Excellency would
have ill-consulted the honour of his country, and the justice
due to his Majesty's injured and insulted subjects, had he
permitted an act of such needless cruelty to pass unpunished,
or had he failed to visit whenever the opportunity arrived,
upon the inhabitants of the neighbouring American frontier,
the calamities thus inflicted on their owii. The opportunity
272 HlSTOrvY OF THE LATE WAU. Chap. .t2,
has occurred, and a full measure of retaliation has taken
place ; such as it is hoped will teach the enemy to respect in
future the laws of wor, and recall him to a sense of what is
due to himself, as well as to us. In the further prosecution of
the contest to which so extraordinary a character has been
given, his Excellency must be guided by the course of con-
duct which the enemy shall hereafter pursue. Lamenting the
necessity imposed uj)on him, of retaliating upon the subjects
of America the miseries inflicted on the inhabitants of New-
ark, it is not his intention to pursue further a system of warfare
so revolting to his own feelings, and so little congenial to the
British character, unless the future measures of the enemy
should compel him to resort to it. To those possessions of
the enemy along 'the whole line of frontier which have hith-
erto remained undisturbed, and which are now at the mercy
of the troops under his command, his Excellency has deter-
mined to extend the same forbearance, and the same freedom
from rapine and plunder which they have hitherto experi-
enced; and from this determination, the future conduct of the
American government shall alone induce him to depart."
The scene of conflagration here terminated ; neither party
seemed disposed to renew a course of warfare which tended
only to the destruction of unoffending individuals. The burn-
ing of Newark, it was readily foreseen, would induce such a
system of retaliation as has been described, and expose the
unprotected American frontier to destruction. It excited a
high degree of indignation against the commanding general.
He apprehended himself to have been shot at several times at
Buffalo, and retired to Batavia to avoid the resentment of the
frontier inhabitants.
CHAPTER XUl.
«
Presidential Election — Inaugural Address. — Meeting of the IJlh Cou-
gress. — Message. — Treasury Report. — Report of Committee of Ways
and Means. — Direct Taxes and Internal Duties. — Mr. Webster's
Resolutions on the suppression of the French Decree of 28th
of April, 1811 ; Report of the Secretarj^ of State thereon. — Report of
the Committee of Foreign Relations. — Massacliusetls"' Remonstrance
against the War. — British Licenses prohibited. — Report of the Com-
mittee on British Outrages. — Retaliation. — British Claim of Natural
Allegiance. — American Claim. — Proceedings with Prisoners. — Report
of the Secretary of State on Allegiance. — Second Session of the 13tb
Congress. — Message. — Confidential Communication, recommending^
an Embargo. — Report of (.'ommittee of Foreign Relations.— Embargo
laid.— Message, and Report thereon, recommending the Repeal of
the Embargo. — Treasury Report. — Expenditures for 1813. — Esti-
mates for 1814. — Bounty increased. — Steam Frigate built. — Luau
Bill passed. — Close of the Session.
Presidential Election^ Maixh 4th, 1813. The meeting of
electors of President and Vice-President for the presidential
term commencing the 4th of March, 1813, was held in the
several states agreeably to law, on jhe 1st Wednesday of
December, 1812. De Witt Clinton, of New- York, was the
candidate opposed to Mr. Madison; and was selected by the
peace party, on the ground of his being opposed to the war.
Mr. Madison united the votes of Vermont, New-Hampshire,
Pennsylvania, and all the states south and west of Maryland.
On the 10th of February, the two houses of Congress met in
convention, and counted the votes ; when the result appeared
to be one hundred and twenty-eight for Mr. Madison, and
eighty-nine for Mr. Clinton. For Vice-President, one hun-
dred and thirty-one for Mr. Gerry, and eighty-six for Mr.
JngersoU. On the 4th of March, Mr. Madison was inducted
into ofllce with the usual ceremonies, when he delivered a
speech to the citizens assembled on the occasion, in justifica-
35
274 HISTORV OF THE LATE WAR. Chap. 13-
tion of the commencement, nnd continuance of the war; con-
trasting the humane manner in which it had been carried on
by the United States, with the barbarities of the British and
their Indian aUies ; at the same time assuring his fellow-citizens,
that the spirit and resources of the country were amply suffi-
cient to bring it to an honourable issue.
Meeting of Congress, May 24th, 1813. In pursuance of a
law of the last session, the 1 3th Congress convened on the
24th of May. In the choice of a speaker, the votes were
for Mr. Clay, eighty-nine ; for Mr. Pitkin, the peace eandi-
ffate, fifty-four.
Message. On the 25th, the President's message was comramu-
nieatcd, stating that he had recently received a communication
from the emperor of Russia, offering his mediation, as the com-
mon friend of the United States and Great Britain, for the pur»
pose of making peace between them. That this offer was imme-
diately accepted on the part of the United States, and three
envoys appointed, and commissioned with the requisite
powers to conclude a treaty of peace with persons clothed
with like powers on the part of Great Britain; and that the
two envoys who were in the United States at the time of
their appointment, had proceeded to join their colleague
ulready at St. Peters burgh. That the envoys had already re-
c'cived another commission, authorizing them to conclude
with the emperor of Russia a treaty of commerce with a view
fo strengthen the amicable relations, and improve the benefit
t>ial intercourse between the two countries. That the senti-
ments of Great Britain towards the emperor were such as
would produce an acceptance of the mediation, might fairly be
presumed. That no adequate motives could exist for her to
prefer a continuance of the war to the terms on which the
United States were willing to close it. The message further
remarked, that the British cabinet must be sensible, that with
respect to the important question of impressment on which
the war so essentially turns, a search for, or seizure of
British persons or property on board neutral vessels on the
Ji/i3. Ml^ORY OF THE LATE WAK. 2TS
high seas, is not a belligerent right derived from the law of
nations ; and that no visit, search, or use of force for any pur-
pose, on board of vessels of one independent power, can be
sanctioned by the laws or authority of another. It is e(jually
obvious, that for the purpose of preserving to each state its
sea-faring members, by excluding them from the vessels of
the other, a mode heretofore proposed, and now enacted by
the United States as a part of their municipal policy, cannot
for a moment be compared with the mode practised by Great
Britain, without a conviction of its preferences, in as much
as the latter leaves the discrimination between the mariners
of the two nations, to officers exposed to unavoidable bias,
as well as from defect of evidence, to a wrong decision under
circumstances precluding redress, and where a wrong de-
cision, besides the irreparable violation of the rights of per-
sons, might frustrate the plans and prolUs of entire voyages :
whereas the mode adopted by the United States guards, with,
studied fairness and delicacy, against errors in such cases,
and avoids the eifect of casual errors on the safety of naviga-
tion, and the success of mercantile enterprises. If the rea-
sonableness of expectations drawn from these consideralion.s
could guarantee their fulfilment, a just peace could not be
distant; but it becomes the wisdom of the national legi^^latuiv^
to keep in mind the true policy and indispensable obligati<^n
of adapting its measures to the principle that the only course
to a safe and honourable peace, is the vigorous employ-
ment of the resources of war.
Treasury Estimates. The principal object of this session,
was to mature and bring into operation a system of interna!
duties, and direct taxes, for which there w-as not time the last.
Such an additional revenue was deemed to be necessary, as
would, with that already established, pay the ordinary ex-
penses of government, discharge the redeemable portion of
the public debt, and pay the interest on the war loans. Mr.
Gallatin having been appointed one of the envoys on the
Russian mediation, the treasury department was rommitfed to
576 HISTORY OF THE LATE WAR. CnAP.ir
Mr. Jones, the secretary of the navy. On the second of
June, the acting secretary of the treasury presented to the
house of representatives a report on the state of the treasury ;
from which it appeared that the balance in the treasury, on
the 30th of September, 1812, was 2,362,652 6^
Receipts at the treasury from that period to
the 31st of March 1813, were 15,412,416 25
17,775,068 94
The issues from the treasury during the
same period were 15,919,334 41
Leaving a balance in the treasury on the
1st of April, 1813, of g 1,855,734 53
The loan of sixteen millions, authorized by