USA > Delaware > History of the state of Delaware, Volume I > Part 15
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The attack of General Ross on Baltimore caused still further alarm, and when the news reached Wilmington of his defeat the utmost relief was felt and the greatest rejoicing ensued as is evidenced by the following extract from the American Watchman of September 15, 1814, a semi-weekly newspaper published in Wilmington at that time :
"GOOD NEWS! GLORIOUS NEWS !! "
"It is with expressible joy that we present to our readers the following cheer- ing intelligence. The hired, blood thirsty myrmidons, the off-scourings of the earth, and the refuse of creation, sent by Great Britian to burn, pillage, lay waste and destroy, by the favor of Heaven and the valor of American soldiers, have been defeated at Baltimore and have been forced to make a disgraceful retreat to their floating dungeons."
A constant fear prevailed lest the British should invade the Delaware Bay and River, and to guard against this the mer- chants of Philadelphia combined with the substantial people of Delaware in raising considerable money to provide for still further defence. There was the most cheerful cooperation between the two states, and Delaware throughout the war con-
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tributed her fair proportion both of means and men for up- holding the American cause and the prosecution of the war.
It was during this war that Pea Patch Island was selected by the Government as an advantageous point for the building of a fort for the defence of the Delaware River, and at the re- quest of the General Government action was promptly taken by the State of Delaware to cede that island to the Govern- ment. Delaware also had her part in the military operations on the Canadian frontier. Colonel James Gibson rendered distinguished service in this war; he was a native of South Milford, Sussex County, and during the engagement at Fort Erie on September 14, 1814 received injuries of which he died on the following day. He had been a captain in the regular service for four years and on February 21st, preceding his death, was promoted to the rank of Colonel aad attached to the Fourth Rifles. He had participated in nearly all of the land engagements preceding his death.
In the engagement at Fort George in the early part of June, 1813, which was one of the hottest fights of the war, Captain Thomas Stockton, of Delaware, rendered conspicuous service ; six of his company were killed and seven wounded but he es- caped unharmed. He was afterwards promoted to the rank of Major. Captain Stockton was a son of General John Stock- ton, who for many years resided on what is now known as the Colonel Andrews farm in New Castle Hundred on the Hares Corner Road about two miles from Wilmington. General Stockton was for many years a prominent citizen of New Castle County. Captain Thomas Stockton after the war resided in New Castle, and in 1844 became Governor of the State. In 1846, during his term as Governor, he died at his home in New Castle.
Delaware contributed three distinguished officers to the naval service in the war of 1812: Commodore Thomas Mac- donough, the hero of Lake Champlain, was born in St. Georges Hundred, New Castle County, this State, on December 31, 1783, on the farm on which his father and grandfather lived
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before him. He received an appointment from John Adams, President, in 1800, as midshipman in the navy through the intercession of Henry Latimer, then a United States Senator from Delaware. For his gallant services in the bombardment of Tripoli, August 3, 1804, he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant. His services in the Mediterranean showed his superiors the spirit that was in him.
At the beginning of the war of 1812 he was ordered to join the frigate "Constellation " as First Lieutenant, and a few months later was ordered by President Madison to take com- mand of the vessels on Lake Champlain. It was on Septem- ber 11, 1814, that the engagement on Lake Champlain in which the great victory achieved by Macdonough took place. This was the turning-point in the war. This victory had an important effect upon the negotiations for peace which were being carried on at this time between the American Commis- sion and the English Government. Macdonough modestly sent to his superior officer the simple message :
"The Almighty has been pleased to grant us a signal victory on Lake Cham- plain."
To which the Secretary of the Navy replied :
"Tis not alone the brilliancy of your victory in a Naval view, but its import- ance and beneficial results that will fix the attention and command the gratitude of your admiring country.
"Accept, sir, the assurance of the high respect and warm approbation of the President of the United States which I am commanded to present, and my sincere congratulations."
Commodore Macdonough won by this victory a place in the hearts and esteem of his countrymen second to none. The whole country did him homage. The State of Delaware, the State of his birth, by resolutions of its General Assembly had his portrait painted, which still graces the walls of the State Capitol, and presented to him a silver service, still in posses- sion of his family, in recognition of the distinguished services which he rendered to his country in this war.
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COMMODORE THOMAS MACDONOUGH. 1783-1825.
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Some of those historians whose function it is to explain every- thing, may eventually be able to tell us why Delaware has said so little in praise of Macdonough. To this day his name is less known to the general public than Perry's, although in the navy his memory as an officer and a man stands higher than that of Perry. Rhode Island's laudations of her son who triumphed on Lake Erie have exceeded Delaware's eulogies of the gallant seaman who won the greater triumph of Lake Champlain in a ratio of several times sixteen to one. It is a safe assertion that of all the men in the United States who take the slightest interest in their country's history, there is not one who does not know that Perry was born in Rhode Island, while there are many intelligent readers who do not know that Macdonough was born in Delaware. However, James Macdonough, the grandsire, settled in Delaware before George Washington was born, and Thomas Macdonough, the sire, after practicing medicine in his native colony, fought for independence under George Washington. After the Revolu- tion, Colonel Macdonough sat on the bench in Common Pleas and Orphan's Court, and died in 1795, at which time Thomas the younger, born in 1783, had not yet begun his teens.
Scarcely anything is known of the Commodore's boyhood, but research has discovered that he was for a time clerk in a store at Middletown. His professional career begins with his appointment as a midshipman on February 5, 1800. A cruise in the West Indies showed him the smooth and the rough side of sea life, for he earned some prize money and caught the yellow fever. In 1803 he was one of the midshipmen of the " Philadelphia," the ill-fated vessel which ran on the Tripol- itan reefs, and gave Decatur a chance for his immortal bon- fire. The " Philadelphia " recaptured an American brig which a Moorish corsair had siezed, and young Macdonough was ordered to take the prize into Morocco. A midshipman natur- ally regarded such an appointment with pleasure, as it showed that his captain regarded him as trustworthy ; but in Mac- donough's case, this cruise was a rare specimen of " midship-
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man's luck." It meant that Macdonough was the only officer on the "Philadelphia " who escaped capture; it transferred him to the " Enterprise," Decatur's famous schooner ; it gained him Decatur's favor ; it gave him a chance to cruise, to fight, and to climb the ladder of fame, while Bainbridge, Porter, Jones, Biddle and the others were behind the walls of the Basha's prison. Macdonough was one of the party that burned the " Philadelphia," and in the subsequent attacks on Tripoli, he did his share of the fighting. The Mediterranean, with pirates on the water and bandits on the shore, was full of dan- gers, and on an evening walk Captain Decatur and Midship- man Macdonough were attacked by these men. It was a bad night's work for the ruffians, for the Americans drove them off, and Macdonough chased one of the three until the man jumped from a roof and died in consequence. An incident of this kind would not be forgotten by Decatur, and we may be sure that he was ready to say a good word for Tom Mac- donough whenever the midshipman wanted a friend.
After the Tripolitan war, Macdonough served along our coast in the enforcement of the Embargo, Mr. Jefferson's pet measure for suspending our commerce with foreign nations. The law was one of the most unpopular measures ever passed, and nowhere was its unpopularity better understood than in the navy. On the other hand, the Embargo led some excel- lent seamen to ship on board our cruisers, and the constant vigilance necessary in the enforcement of a law which all New England hated and feared, developed the qualities of an officer. The navy of that day was small, the pay was scanty, and offi- cers frequently sought furloughs in order to cruise in the mer- chant service. Macdonough, while in command of the mer- chant brig " Gallion," stopped at Liverpool, and was impressed by an English press gang, despite his protest that he was a lieutenant in the American navy. He was carried on board a British frigate, but made his escape, knocking down a cor- poral who sought to intercept him. So far as known, Mac- donough is the only renowned officer of the American navy
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who was ever impressed by the British. Porter was impressed, but it was before he had entered the navy. Bainbridge, Stewart, Lawrence, the unfortunate Barron, and most of our commanders had trouble with the British over the impress- ment of their men, but Macdonough knew by personal exper- ience the brutality of the press gangs. His captivity, brief as it was, exposed him to the danger of the gag and the cat-of- nine-tails, and it is a highly probable tradition which repre- sents him as saying that he would pay off the score. On a former occasion, Macdonough, at great risk to himself, had rescued an impressed American from a British boat. Now he had, like Caesar, private as well as public wrongs to remember.
History need scarcely glance at Macdonough's passing quar- rels with the Navy Department or his unfriendly relations with General Dearborn, for such things must be. Jealousies, wranglings, questions of rank and dignity, will continue so long as there are wars and rumors of war. Macdonough, in 1812, took command of Lake Champlain. Like Perry on Lake Erie, like Chauncey on Lake Ontario, he had virtually to build a fleet in a forest. Yet he eclipsed Chauncey by fighting a decisive battle, and he surpassed Perry by conquer- ing a superior force. After Cooper and Roosevelt told the story of Lake Champlain and its victory, there was little left to tell. The British were superior in number of men, in the tonnage of their vessels, and in their battery ; but Macdonough had additional resources in his cool pre-arrangements and his quickness of adaptation. He so adjusted his anchors that he could turn his vessels and bring fresh guns to bear on the enemy. Quietly and with prayer he awaited the conflict, and a bloody fight of two hours and a half ended in his triumph. The details of the combat cannot here be given, but it is rarely an easy task to conquer British seamen, and Macdonough is one of the few who ever did beat them when the odds were on their side. His success on the water practically meant that a commander, though with inferior forces, can take a long step towards victory if he secures the best position and forces the
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enemy to expose himself to the broadsides of the defensive fleet. It also meant and effected a land victory, for the British soldiers retreated from an inferior American force. They were not beaten, and probably could not have been beaten by troops so few in comparison to their own, but naval ascendancy was essential to the proposed invasion, and with Macdonough in command of the lake, the British army had nothing to do but fall back to a place of safety.
Perry's victory antedated Macdonough's, and to this day outranks it in the popular judgment, yet the essential differ- ence is that Perry won because he used his superiority and Macdonough because he overcame the enemy's superiority. The celebrity of the former contest is also in no slight degree due to the long and bitter quarrel between Perry and Elliott. In his report Perry praised Elliott's services, then Elliott of- fended Perry and Perry declared that Elliott ought to be court-martialed. Protests, appeals to the government, and duels among partisans of the rival heroes followed. The con- troversy lasted after Perry and Elliott were both dead, and was in full blast thirty-nine years after the fight. It was sev- eral degrees worse than the Sampson-Schley dispute, and almost as bad as the Warren and Fitz-John Porter cases com- bined. All this oratory and printer's ink kept the battle of Lake Erie before the public mind, nor, indeed, could the pub- lic forget what was as inevitable as the head of King Charles the First in Mr. Dick's manuscripts. Many are history's ironies, and one is that Macdonough's fame has been partly obscured by facts creditable to him. He won his victory, he did not get into an endless broil with his second in command, he did not exchange Billingsgate with a wrathful brother offi- cer, and so his victory, standing entirely on its own merits, lacks the borrowed lustre of Lake Erie. It is a safe prediction that when 1912 brings forth a new brood of centennial speeches and essays, the well-nigh unanimous verdict will place Macdonough ahead of Perry.
Macdonough's after-life was that of a judicious officer, and
:
HOSTI MAJORI
CELERRIME
VIRTUS
IN
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JONES
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RAPUIT
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INTER WASP NAV. AMERI. ET FROLIC NAV. ANG. DIE XVIII OCT. MDCCCXII.
THE COMMODORE JONES' MEDAL STRUCK BY VOTE OF THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES, A. D. 1812.
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his private character was that of a courteous gentleman and a devout Christian. His courage was disease-proof as well as bullet-proof, for in 1825 he retained command of the " Constitu- tion " after he had worn away to a skeleton. It is noteworthy that Perry died of fever in a foreign port, and that Mac- donough died of consumption while on a homebound cruise.
Delaware may well be proud of the man Roosevelt counts as our greatest naval officer down to Farragut. Roosevelt's phrase is so strong that a student thinks of two other great names, Paul Jones and Edward Preble.
Captain Jacob Jones was in command of the United States sloop of war "Wasp " when on October 18, 1812 it gained a signal victory over the British sloop of war "Frolic." Cap- tain Jones was a native of Smyrna, in this State, being born there in March, 1768. After graduating in medicine he aban- doned his profession, entered the navy as midshipman, was afterwards promoted to a lieutenancy, and was an officer on the frigate " Philadelphia " at Tripoli in 1803. He afterwards was made Commodore. He died in Philadelphia in 1850. The services rendered by Commodore Jones in the war of 1812 were of much importance and merited the regard of the Amer- ican people.
Another Delawarean who served in the United States Navy during this war was James Biddle, who was a Lieutenant under Jacob Jones when the " Wasp " captured the " Frolic." Lieutenant Biddle by reason of meritorious conduct was pro- moted to a higher rank and rendered distinguished services later in the war.
Two years after the war had been declared Russia offered her mediation between England and the United States in the interest of peace. James A. Bayard and Albert Gallatin were appointed Commissioners to conclude a peace upon the terms set forth in the declaration of war ; they proceeded directly to St. Petersburg, but nothing was accomplished there owing to the unsettled condition of affairs throughout Europe. After- wards John Quincy Adams, Henry Clay and Jonathan Rus-
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sell were sent as additional Commissioners from the United States, and they joined Mr. Bayard and Mr. Gallatin at Got- tenburg, the place first selected for the negotiations.
The negotiations were transferred from Gottenburg to Ghent. After prolonged discussions which continued for several months, in which more than once it seemed as if the war must proceed, the Treaty of Ghent was executed December 24, 1814, two weeks before the battle of New Orleans. The Treaty was ratified February 17, 1815, and put an end to the war, which began two years and eight months before. The Treaty of Ghent is remarkable for omitting to provide for some important interests involved in the war. Upon the question of "impressment of seamen," the main cause of the war, the treaty was silent, but altogether the peace declared was an honorable one. If the United States gained no terri- tory it yielded none, and there is no question but that the spirit of the country as demonstrated in the war of 1812, en- tirely changed the temper of England toward this country, and led to a lasting peace between the two nations.
The part taken by James A. Bayard in the negotiations for peace was most important. At the conclusion of the treaty the President offered Mr. Bayard the appointment of Envoy at St. Petersburg, but he declined, holding that he did not desire to serve the administration of his political opponents. Late in the spring of 1815 he proceeded homeward, but dur- ing his official visit abroad he had contracted a disease which resulted in his death a few days after his arrival at his home in Wilmington.
The census taken in 1810 showed a total population of 72,674 with the three Counties almost equally divided as re- gards population. The population of New Castle County was 24,429, Kent 20,495, and Sussex 27,750. Under the appor- tionment at that time this population entitled Delaware to two Representatives in the lower House of Congress. At the election held in October, 1813, Daniel Rodney, Federalist, of Lewes, was elected Governor and served the full constitutional term.
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In the autumn of 1816 John Clark of New Castle County was elected Governor over Maneen Bull of Sussex County. Mr. Clark was the candidate of the Federalist party and Mr. Bull his opponent was the Democrat nominee. The nominees of the Federalists for Representatives in Congress were Louis McLane and Caleb Rodney, and their opponents on the Demo- cratic ticket were Willard Hall and Caesar A. Rodney. Mc- Lane the Federalist and Hall the Democrat were elected, Mr. Hall's majority over Caesar A. Rodney was one vote. There was a serious split in the Federalist party in this campaign, Thomas Clayton of Kent County and Thomas Cooper of Sussex running as independent candidates for Congress. This defec- tion in the Federalist ranks resulted in the defeat of Caleb Rodney, the regular Federalist nominee for Congress. John Clark occupied the office as Governor for three years.
When the admission of Missouri as a State was proposed about 1820, a violent discussion arose as to whether it should be free or slave, and the question excited much interest all over the country. In the General Assembly of Delaware the question of the power of Congress to prohibit slavery in the Territories was referred to a Committee, whose report favored the idea of Congress regulating the Territories in whatever way was thought best at the time of their admission as States. This report was followed by a resolution setting forth that in the opinion of the General Assembly the future introduction of slaves into the Territories of the United States and into such new states as may hereafter be admitted into the Union ought to be prohibited by Congress.
At a large public meeting held in Wilmington, presided over by James Booth, Caesar A. Rodney, a leading Democratic statesman of that time, announced himself in favor of Congress prohibiting the further extension of slavery, and the meeting adopted resolutions to that effect. This expression of opinion did not meet with the favor of Nicholas Van Dyke and Outer- bridge Horsey who were then the United States Senators from Delaware. They, in conjunction with Louis McLane, a
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Federalist and one of the Representatives in the lower House of Congress from Delaware, joined in an open letter express- ing regret that they could not consistently with a conscien- tious discharge of their duty favor the sentiment expressed in the resolutions of the General Assembly, and affirmed that in their opinion Congress did not possess the power to pro- hibit the introduction of slavery into the Territories of the United States.
Through the efforts of Henry Clay, Missouri was admitted as a slave State in 1821, but under what was known as the Missouri Compromise. Under that compromise slavery was prohibited in all other Territories west of the Mississippi and north of latitude 36' 30" constituting the southern boundary of the State of Missouri.
Henry Molleston was elected Governor in November, 1819, but died before his term of office began. The duties of the place then devolved upon Jacob Stout, Speaker of the Senate, who served from January, 1820, to January, 1821.
At the election in October, 1820, John Collins, Democrat, was elected Governor, and Caesar A. Rodney, Democrat, and Louis McLane, Federalist, were elected to Congress. John Collins died during his term as Governor, April 15, 1822. At his death Caleb Rodney, Speaker of the Senate, succeeded and acted as Governor until January, 1823. At the election in October, 1822, the contest between the Federalist and Democratic parties was carried on with great activity and bitterness. Joseph Haslet, the Democratic candidate, was elected by a majority of only 22 votes over James Booth who headed the Federalist ticket. Two Federalists, Daniel Rod- ney and Louis McLane were elected to Congress. The legis- lature in 1823 for the first time had a decided Democratic majority. Caesar A. Rodney who had represented Delaware in the United States Senate from the 4th of March, 1822, re- signed early the next year in order to accept the position of Minister to Buenos Ayres.
The term of Nicholas Van Dyke, the other United States
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Senator from Delaware, expired on the 4th of March, 1823, so that the duty devolved upon the Legislature of 1823 to elect two senators. The contest between rival candidates be- came very warm, the outcome of which was that no one was elected at that session. Nine candidates were put in nomina- tion and ten ballots taken without effecting a choice. Gov- ernor Haslet died after serving five months of his second term as Governor, and Charles Thomas, Speaker of the Senate, acted as Governor until January following. At the fall elec- tion in 1823 Samuel Paynter, of Sussex County, the Fed- eralist candidate, was elected Governor by a majority of 199 over David Hazzard, and both branches of the Legislature had a decided Federalist majority. At the session of the Legislature in January following Nicholas Van Dyke was re- elected United States Senator to succeed himself, and John M. Clayton was elected to fill the vacancy caused by the resigna- tion of Caesar A. Rodney. This was the beginning of John M. Clayton's national career.
The census in 1820 showed a total population in Delaware of 72,749. This showed an increase in the state for ten years of only 75. The population of Sussex County, which by the census of 1810, was 27,750, had decreased to 24,057, a differ- ence of 3,693, while the population of New Castle County had increased from 24,429 in 1810 to 27,899 in 1820, a difference of 3,470, and Kent County showed an increase from 20,495 in 1810 to 20,793 in 1820, a difference of 298.
General Lafayette, who served so nobly in the cause of lib- erty at the battle of Brandywine, visited this country again for the first time in 1824. His tour through the twenty-four states, which then comprised the Union, was a triumphal one. He reached Wilmington on Wednesday, October 6, 1824. A committee of prominent citizens of New Castle County, com- posed as follows, met him at the Pennsylvania State line, and constituted his escort during the time he remained in Dela- ware : Louis McLane, William P. Brobson, Col. Samuel B. Davis, Victor du Pont, James R. Black, James Rogers, John
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Sellers, John Gordon, David C. Wilson, John Merritt, Henry Whitely, Dr. Arnold Naudain and Peter Caverly.
The committee was accompanied by a troop of horsemen and by a procession of about two hundred civilians. Louis McLane acted as spokesman for the Delaware delegation. A wooden arch containing the words " Delaware Welcomes La- fayette " was erected across the Philadelphia turnpike at the point where Pennsylvania and Delaware meet ; it was hand- somely ornamented with flowers and was festooned with a revolutionary flag and supported a portrait of Washington. The painted inscription has been preserved, and is now among the collections of the Historical Society of Delaware. The procession that accompanied the General from the State line to Wilmington grew in numbers as it approached the city.
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