USA > Connecticut > Connecticut as a colony and as a state; or, One of the original thirteen, Volume III > Part 4
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25
The figures were paper, and the co-operation never came to pass. Hull, by the incapacity of the commander-in-chief Dearborn, plus that of the civil administration supposed to be directing the war, was left at Detroit with less than a thou-
70
CONNECTICUT AS A STATE
sand men, without supplies, hundreds of miles from possible help, with the command of Lake Erie in the hands of the British, and Hull's communication with the rest of the army in their hands also. To remain there inactive was to be starved out; to abandon the place and try to fight his way to the main army was to give up the very post he was commis- sioned to maintain; to leave part of it there and try to open communications with the rest was to fail with the latter (as he did) and imperil the former. The government, in a word, had left him cooped up in a trap, from which escape was ab- solutely impossible, and lifted not a finger to make it no trap or help him out of it.
The inevitable result occurred. Isaac Brock, a resolute and unscrupulous English officer of high military abilities, came down upon his victim with nearly double his forces, including a mass of Indians. This assault was made possible by Dearborn, with incredible meanness, cowardice, and folly, having made an armistice with Brock not to include Hull's army! Brock now demanded Hull's surrender; threatening, if it was refused and a fight was made, the letting loose of Indian massacre on the whole Territory far and wide, and the butchery of the inhabitants of Detroit when captured. The history of English use of Indians in the Revolution proved this no idle threat. If Hull could by any possi- bility have won not a single engagement or a dozen of them, but the campaign-if he could have even faintly hoped to hold the place and avoid ultimate surrender-it would have been his duty to fight to the last gasp; and we believe he would have done so. But that was simply out of all hope : Napoleon himself could not have done it. It was in fact a year before the one thing took place, that might have saved him, the control of Lake Erie by the United States; and
71
CONNECTICUT AS COLONY AND STATE
when it did, the British commandant of Detroit evacuated it at once without even waiting for the approach of the United States forces.
Hull, then, had an alternative worse than death to a brave man with a reputation to lose. He could save that reputation by making an absolutely hopeless fight; at the cost of wan- tonly sacrificing many good soldiers' lives, and bringing the unspeakable horrors of Indian butchery and torture on many hundreds of Michigan families. A meaner man would have chosen this part. Or he could save all this useless bloodshed, anguish, and desolation, by doing at once what he must do in a few weeks in any event; but ruining his career and repute. He chose the better part, with a courage incomparably higher than that of a mere fighter : and to his last day, shamed and cursed as a coward and sometimes as a traitor, he never regretted it, and declared that in the same situation he would do the same again. Sometime, the moral elevation of a man who cared more for mercy and the welfare of others than for his own good name in the mouths of the unthinking, will be appreciated, and the Brock stamp of man will not shine quite so brightly. With the fall of Detroit, the whole Northwest lapsed to the British. That was the price paid for going to war in a reckless hurry, under a peace administration, with nothing ready, with incompetent civil and military heads. But it was easier and more satisfactory to blame the victim of their own laches than themselves, and of course the heads of the administration would shift their own derelictions on the minor scape-goat.
There was a roar of wrath, and Hull was court-martialed for treason. The court-martial was a disgrace to decency. The president of it was that very Dearborn whose incapacity and sluggishness, to say nothing worse, had not only left Hull
72
From a painting by Gilbert Stuart.
CONNECTICUT AS A STATE
to his fate but let an overwhelming force down upon him; whose own character and conduct were the things really on trial before it, and who would be condemned by Hull's acquit- tal. Hull was acquitted of treason, but found guilty of cow- ardice and sentenced to be shot, in place of Dearborn who should have been shot if any one was to be. Madison remit- ted the sentence, but ordered his name to be stricken from the rolls of the army.
The old hero retired to Newton and spent the rest of his life there, uncomplaining, serene, justified of his own con- science and trusting that future generations would justify him likewise. With all who have any right to judge, they have done so. His famous grandson, James Freeman Clarke, has done it thoroughly in a volume not of sophistry, but of unan- swerable demonstration; and even Henry Adams in his his- tory practically admits the facts.
The fortunes of war, which had proven so disastrous to the Americans on land, were to be recompensed by their vic- tories upon the seas; in the supplanting of the acknowledged mistress of the oceanic area, the sons of Connecticut were to play an important part.
It was only three days after the surrender of Detroit that the nephew of the unfortunate commander covered the name with a glory more than equal to its unjust disgrace, and dis- pelled once for all the cloud of terror which paralyzed the energies of American administrators. The real service which the Southern hot-heads did was the last thing they intended, and in some ways the very reverse. They did not glorify themselves on land; they did not conquer Canada; they dis- credited and injured the country by the imbecile conduct of the operations they had initiated. But they did an immense service unwillingly by unlocking the energies of the American
73
CONNECTICUT AS COLONY AND STATE
Navy, and proving it the superior, ship for ship and man for man, of any on earth. So far was this from being in their thoughts that Isaac Hull with the Constitution fought the Guerrière in disobedience of orders, and if he had been beaten would probably have been shot.
The result of this victory, and of others which followed, was actually to make American seamen contemptuous of Brit- ish seamanship, fighting power, and even courage; and it needed some sharp lessons to tame down their over-confi- dence. But it was a good and valuable change from the ancient cringing terror. It first raised America from subordi- nation to full manhood, and the American national character to full self-reliance. The nation justly felt itself a sharer in the credit; for it was not alone Hull's superb seamanship, but the superior intellectual alertness, skill, training, and energy of the American seamen and gunners which won the victory. But, as said, in one respect the South did the reverse of what it meant. The whole vitality of the navy was predom- inantly of the North. The embargo had been an attempted crushing of the commercial section for the sake of the agri- cultural, of New England and New York for the South and West. The war was against New England's wish, and was to glorify the Southern land forces. In fact nearly all the glory was won by the arm which they disliked, and largely the section which opposed the war; and the war would have ended in irreparable loss but for the work of the very States whose political magnates were fighting it tooth and nail.
A hardy son of Connecticut, Captain Israel Chauncey, who had spent his early life in the merchant service, became the pioneer in the defense of the Great Lakes. By the gallantry of the force under his command, the Americans were enabled to retard the enemy's progress on Lake Ontario, also to cap-
74
From an old print.
CAPTURE OF THE GUERRIERE BY THE CONSTITUTION.
CONNECTICUT AS A STATE
ture a schooner having on board twelve thousand dollars in specie.
The serenity and peace of Connecticut was undisturbed at the opening of the second year of the war. The territory within her boundaries had not been ravaged by the enemy, nor had any damage been done on her seacoast. Her com- mercial intercourse with foreign nations had suffered, how- ever; there was also an accumulated surplus of her manu- factured products.
In accordance with the act passed by her General Assembly, a State corps was organized, under the command of Na- thaniel Terry as brigadier-general. In consisted of two reg- iments of infantry, with ten companies each, the colonels of which were Timothy Shepard and Elihu Sanford; one regi- ment of cavalry with four companies, under Major David Deming; and four companies of artillery, of which Major William Stanley was the ranking officer.
The State militia, besides the two independent compa- nies of the Governor's foot-guards, was composed of four divisions. The first of these comprised the first and second brigades, under Major-General Solornon Cowles. The first brigade, composed of the first, eighteenth, nineteenth, and twenty-second regiments of infantry, with the first regiment of cavalry, was commanded by Brigadier-General Moses Tryon, Jr. The sixth, fifteenth, twenty-third, and twenty- fourth regiments of infantry, with the seventh regiment of cavalry, constituted the seventh brigade, under Brigadier- General Levi Lusk.
The second division, commanded by Major-General John Hubbard, was formed of the second and fourth brigades. The second brigade consisted of the second, sev- enth, tenth, twenty-seventh, and thirty-second regiments of
75
CONNECTICUT AS COLONY AND STATE
infantry, the second regiment of cavalry, and the first bat- talion of artillery; and had for its commander Brigadier- General James Merriman, who was afterwards superseded by Hezekiah Howe. The fourth, ninth, and twenty-eighth regiments of infantry, with the fourth regiment of cavalry, made the fourth brigade; and its brigadier-general was Matthias Nicoll. On his retirement, Enoch Foote was ap- pointed to fill the vacancy.
The major-general of the third division was William Williams. It included the third and fifth brigades. The third, under Brigadier-General Jirah Isham, had for its subordinate organizations the third, eighth, twentieth, thirtieth, and thirty-third regiments of infantry, and the third regiment of cavalry. The fifth brigade embraced the fifth, eleventh, twelfth, and twenty-first regiments of infantry, and the fifth regiment of cavalry, and was under the command of Brigadier-General David Holmes.
The fourth division, commanded by Major-General Au- gustine Taylor, consisted of the sixth and eighth brigades. The brigadier-general of the sixth was David Thompson. It included the fourteenth, seventeenth, twenty-fifth, and thirty-fifth regiments of infantry, also the sixth regiment of cavalry. The commander of the eighth, Brigadier-General Ephraim Hinman, was succeeded by Gerrit Smith. It was composed of the eighth, thirteenth, sixteenth, twenty-sixth, and twenty-ninth regiments of infantry, with the eighth reg- iment of cavalry.
The position maintained by Governor Griswold in ref- erence to the militia was adopted in a modified form by his successor. Connecticut, however, had at her command a force of about fifteen thousand men, fully equipped and of- ficered, to resist any invasion of her territory.
76
CONNECTICUT AS A STATE
In the spring of 1813, a formidable British fleet, under the command of Sir Thomas Hardy, passed through Long Island Sound. They raised their flag on Block Island, cruised along the coast, and established a blockade. On the first day of June, Commodore Decatur's squadron, con- sisting of the frigates United States and Macedonian with the sloop-of-war Hornet, on arriving at the entrance of Long Island Sound, was chased by the enemy into New London harbor. The British fleet was strengthened by the arrival of reinforcements. In anticipation of an attack on New London, six hundred of the Connecticut militia were summoned to the neighborhood to protect the coast. The threatened at- tack was deferred, but was the cause of great consternation among the inhabitants of the city; the bank's specie, also the non-combatants, being removed to Norwich. The British blockade of New London was so effectual that Decatur was obliged to lighten his ships; removing them as far as possible up the Thames, out of reach of the enemy, he erected land intrenchments, from which he could observe the manœuvres of his opponent in the harbor.
In the fall of 1813 an American schooner was fitted out as a torpedo vessel. On being sent into the Sound, she was captured by the British, her crew effecting their escape. She was in the possession of the enemy about three hours, when she exploded, causing great alarm in their ranks. One lieutenant and ten men were killed, while many others were badly wounded. This caused the blockade to be more vig- orously enforced.
Commodore Decatur, restless under this inactivity, made several unsuccessful attempts to effect his escape. He selected the night of Dec. 12 for a final effort, keeping his plans secret. It was dark and dreary; the outlook was favorable
77
CONNECTICUT AS COLONY AND STATE
for the success of the enterprise; but at the mouth of the harbor blue lights made their appearance, thus notifying the enemy. Decatur was forced to relinquish the undertaking. He then made a complaint to Congress, claiming that resident Federalists were the offenders. Though no evidence was pro- duced to substantiate the charges, the party was stigmatized with the opprobrious epithet of "blue-light" Federalists.
The frigates of the American squadron were dismantled, and left at the head of navigation on the Thames, the sloop- of-war remained in New London harbor. Decatur and his men, in April 1814, proceeded overland to New York. The fleet was not released until November, 1814, when it ran the blockade.
There were several spirited adventures at different times during the year 1813. A sloop or schooner would be pursued into one of the many harbors; but the attacking British ves- sels or barges would be repulsed by a hasty gathering of lands- men.
In April 1814, a body of British sailors and marines num- bering about two hundred ascended the Connecticut, landing first at Pettepaug Point, about six miles above Saybrook. After destroying the shipping they proceeded later to Brock- way's Ferry, and demolished the vessels gathered at that point. After thus amusing themselves for about twenty- four hours, they retreated, being unsuccessfully pursued by the militia, aided by a detachment of marines from the Amer- ican squadron. The amount of damage committed by these raiders approximated $200,000.
The coast trade of the State suffered serious loss from the operations of a British privateer named the Liverpool Packet, which cruised through the Sound. Her victorious career was brought to an end by a flotilla of thirteen gunboats, com-
78
CONNECTICUT AS A STATE
manded by Commodore Lewis, who convoyed over fifty ves- sels that were detained at Saybrook harbor. Owing to his gallant defense, they were able to proceed on their eastern journey, making a successful escape to New London.
The citizens of Stonington were kept in constant alarm by the nearness of the enemy's fleet; though Governor Smith was petitioned over and over again for help, only a small guard of militia was sent to their aid. On Aug. 9, 1814, the Ramillies, seventy-four guns, Pactolus, forty-four guns, brig Dispatch, twenty-two guns, and the bomb-ship Terror, with several harges and launches, commanded by Sir Thomas Hardy, entered the harbor. Anchoring his little squadron within two miles of the town, he displayed a flag of truce. Thereupon several of the residents were deputized to open communication with the enemy. Acting under instructions from his superior officer, Commodore Hardy in a nonchalant manner informed them it was his intention to destroy the town, giving them one hour to remove their women and children before he began firing. The citizens were horri- fied at this message. The situation was appalling, for the town was in a defenseless condition; but, nowise daunted, preparations were begun to give battle to the enemy. The bombardment was begun at eight o'clock in the evening. The bomb-ship Terror and the barges rained shells and rock- ets upon the village, to ignite the buildings. The Stoning- ton volunteers took possession of the extremity of the penin- sula on which the borough now stands. Erecting a sort of redoubt, they placed within it two cannons, a six and an eighteen pounder. With these they hurled solid balls at their assailants, sinking one of the barges and compelling the re- treat of the bomb-ship with her remaining consorts to the flag-ship, which was unable, on account of insufficient depth
79
CONNECTICUT AS COLONY AND STATE
of water, to approach within less than a mile and a half of the town.
The British war vessels, at sunrise on Aug. 10, again bombarded the town. The Stonington volunteers were joined by a number of their neighbors from Mystic, under com- mand of Captain Jeremiah Holmes; who being a good gun- ner handled the eighteen-pounder with such effect that the brig-of-war Dispatch was obliged to cut her cables, to avoid being sunk. At this critical moment the ammunition gave out. The town seemed at the mercy of the invaders ; some of the timid citizens advocated a surrender, but the redoubtable captain thundered "No." Pointing to the ensign, he shouted, "That flag shall never come down while I am alive." To prevent some coward hauling it down, he nailed it to the staff. The timely arrival of a supply of ammunition from New London gave the valiant captain an opportunity to double- shot his cannon; he was thus able to keep the British at bay until the arrival of a competent force of militia under General Isham. The British fleet continued to bombard the town until noon of Aug. 12, when it departed, having but little success to boast of from the expedition. Not a single life was lost in the village. One person was severely wounded, be- tween fifty and sixty slightly disabled, and about forty build- ings more or less injured. It was not, however, until the dawn of peace that the Connecticut coast was freed from its hostile neighbors. On March 11, 1815, the British fleet, saluting the colors at Fort Trumbull, left Long Island Sound, having maintained a successful blockade for over two years.
The naval victories of Commodore Chauncey on Lake Ontario, with those of Commodore McDonough on Lake Champlain, were important factors in the military events of the war. The latter officer, though a native of Delaware,
80
CONNECTICUT AS A STATE
was an adopted son of Connecticut, having married a fair daughter of one of the influential families of Middletown. In consequence of this he made that city his place of res- idence; his death occurred at sea.
Commodore Decatur was not a native citizen, but de- scended from a Rhode Island family, and was held in high admiration by his many friends in Connecticut. After his disastrous battle, while in command of the frigate President, he returned to New London, where he received a warm and hearty welcome. He subsequently made his residence in the suburbs of Washington, occupying the sumptuous mansion erected by Connecticut's most noted diplomat and littérateur, Joel Barlow. From here Decatur started, on the morning of that lamentable day in which his life was sacrificed in a duel.
In the middle of March, 1814, President Madison ap- pointed Return Jonathan Meigs, Jr., to succeed Gideon Granger as Postmaster-General. By this act, the office was held continuously from January, 1802, to December, 1823, by sons of Connecticut. The new appointee was born in Middletown, in November 1765. His grandfather's ro- mance has already been told. Graduating from Yale Col- lege before he was twenty, he became a lawyer. With his father he emigrated to Ohio; they were among the first set- tlers at Marietta. Young Meigs soon became conspicuous in public affairs. He also engaged in the Indian warfare of the day. On the organization of the new State he became chief justice, and also received a brevet as colonel in the United States army. He was a United States district judge in Michigan Territory, and Senator from Ohio 1808-10; in the latter year he was elected Governor of that State, which position he held four years. The services performed by him
81
CONNECTICUT AS COLONY AND STATE
during the war of 1812 were of incalculable value. Colonel Meigs died at Marietta, March 29, 1825.
The British burning of the capital, with the emergencies that had arisen in public affairs, caused President Madison to convene a special session of Congress on the 19th of Sep- tember, 1814. A strong necessity existed for filling the ranks of the regular army, and employing the militia of the differ- ent States in a more efficient service. The appointment of James Monroe as Secretary of War, and his advocacy of an increase in the army, caused the United States Senate to pass a bill authorizing the President to call for eighty thousand militia, to be divided in equal quotas between the States, ac- cording to population. Connecticut's allotment was 3,720 men. The House bill, giving the President authority to call out the militia of any State if the Governor refused to do so, was defeated in the Senate. There can be little doubt that it was unconstitutional.
These new measures of the Secretary of War, favoring a draft if the States failed to fill their quotas, were received with great excitement in Connecticut. They were denounced as a scheme of conscription rivaling the daring of Napoleon at the height of his power. The General Assembly, at its October session in 1814, while it authorized extensive pur- chases of munitions of war, empowered the Governor in the event of a conscription to call a special session of that body. The military draft bill was subjected to amendments in both houses of Congress; conference committees were ap- pointed, but finally, four days after the treaty of peace at Ghent, the Senate by a majority of one indefinitely laid the bill on the table.
Some historians have asserted that this bare majority of one saved the country from a dissolution of the Union; that
82
CONNECTICUT AS A STATE
the Eastern portion, rather than submit to a draft, would have seceded. As the news of the treaty would have been received before the draft could have gone into operation, or rather as the administration would not have put it in force with negotiations pending, the question would not have arisen. As to secession, it was much more easily talked of than executed. There was a great deal of heady talk, but any official measures to carry it into effect would have made an immense change in the atmosphere.
Connecticut, according to a letter of the Secretary of War transmitted to the third auditor of the Treasury, relating to militia in service during the War of 1812 (State papers, 2d Session, sixteenth Congress), was credited with having furnished, at various times in the years 1813-14, four gen- erals, nine general staff officers, 70 field officers, 21 regimental staff officers, 72 non-commissioned staff officers, 195 captains, 395 subalterns, 1,438 non-commissioned officers, 363 mu- sicians, and 7,363 privates. Connecticut received from the general government, for the services of these men, the sum of $102,756.07.
The State also furnished nearly 1,600 native citizens for the rank and file of the regular army, besides 156 officers. Prominent among the latter, we may mention Major-General Peter B. Porter, a native of Salisbury. In 1795 he removed to New York State. He resigned his seat in Congress at the beginning of the war; declining a general commission, he afterwards accepted the command of a division composed of New York and Pennsylvania volunteers. He took part in the battles of Chippawa, the most creditable land battle of the war, and Lundy's Lane. At the siege of Fort Erie he led a brilliant sortie. General Porter received a gold medal from Congress, also a sword from the New York
83
CONNECTICUT AS COLONY AND STATE
Legislature, for military services. Though appointed by President Madison in 1815 commander-in-chief of the army, he declined the honor.
Brigadier-General Daniel Bissell, accredited from Con- necticut as a West Point cadet, commanded at a successful affair which took place at Lyons Creek, Upper Canada. Henry Leavenworth, a native of New Haven, a lawyer by profession, became a regular army officer, and was brevet- ted lieutenant-colonel for gallantry displayed at the battle of Chippawa; was wounded, and brevetted colonel for merito- rious services, at Lundy's Lane. After ten years of faithful service in one grade, he was commissioned brigadier-general. Samuel Perkins, son of a Revolutionary captain, was born in Norwich. Early in the nineteenth century he removed to the Western Reserve. After General Hull's disaster at Detroit, Brigadier-General Perkins of the Ohio militia was assigned the duty of protecting the northwestern frontier.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.