USA > New York > Livingston County > A history of Livingston County, New York: > Part 25
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 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51
War was declared on the 18th of June, 1812,* and on the morning of the 13th of October of the same year, about 230 men, under command of Colonel Solomon Van Rensselaer, crossed the Niagara river from Lewiston to drive the British from Queenstown Heights. Colonel Van Rensselaer was severely
* The war ended Feb. 15, 1815.
306
HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY.
wounded before the little force moved from the Canada shore. Though General Wadsworth was charged with the duty of superintending the moving of the troops, and was entitled by his rank to command the force, he promptly requested Captains Wool and Ogilvie, officers of the regular army, who had seen service, to direct the movements, and they resolutely pushed up the hill, assaulted the entrenchments and drove the enemy out. As the Americans entered the works, General Brock came up from the direction of Fort George, with a force double their number, and attempted to drive them out. The battery that had just been taken by our troops, was so efficiently worked, however, that the British were driven back in confusion, and General Brock, among others, was killed. Reinforcements were at once ordered from Lewiston, but the reluctance of the undisciplined militia, fully 1,500 in number, to cross the river and take part in defending the heights, (on the general plea that they had volunteered to defend the "lines," and not to invade foreign territory,) so delayed the work of preparation that an additional force of regu- lar soldiers of the enemy, sent from Fort George, under General Sheaffe, arrived, and the Indians also collected from Chippewa, and by the middle of the afternoon, after an obstinate fight, had re-taken the entrenchments and either killed or made prisoners all who had so gallantly and successfully stormed the heights in the morning. Had our forces been sus- tained as they should have been, by their companions who stood passive on the opposite side of the river, they might have held the advantage so brilliantly won. General Van Rensselaer, who had crossed to the American side to urge the militia to cross, on finding that they would not do so, despatched a letter to Gen- eral Wadsworth, who was in command, informing
·
307
HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY.
him of the predicament, and leaving the course to be pursued to his judgment, assuring him that if he thought best to retreat, that boats would be furnished and fire opened on the pursuers ; indeed, every meas- ure would be taken to render the retreat as safe as possible. The note, however, reached General Wads- worth too late. He was already engaged with Gen- eral Sheaffe when the despatch was placed in his hands .*
The indisposition of the militia to respond to the call of their officers so displeased General Van Rens- selaer that he quit the service and returned to Albany. He was succeeded by General Alexander Smyth, who "took command of the American forces on the fron- tier." The surrender at Queenstown had depressed the spirits of the army as well as of the whole country. On taking command General Smyth planned a descent upon Canada. Many of the New York militia had shown an unwillingness to cross the Niagara river, and, to stimulate their patriotism and encourage en- listments, for a "month's duty," he issued, on the 10th of November, 1812, a flaming proclamation from his "Camp near Buffalo." In view of the utter fail- ure of this enterprise, and of his total want of military skill, the manifesto reads like the vaporings of a mas- ter of comedy. The call, addressed "To the Men of New York," opens with a brief review of military
* General Van Rensselaer says of General Wadsworth, in his account of the battle of Queenstown, "General Wadsworth, a brave and meritorious officer, was requested to superintend the moving of the troops;" and in his letter of resignation he mentions as distinguished in this battle, General Wadsworth and his aid, Major Spencer.
In the battle of Queenstown, when the ammunition ran low, Major Spencer, (Wm. H. Spencer,) serving as aid to General Wadsworth. got off his horse, ran along among the wounded and dead, gathered the cartridges from their pouches into his hat, and distributed them to the advancing soldiers with the encouraging injunction, " Here, boys, are more balls. Now give it to 'em !"
308
HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY.
operations, followed by a sharp criticism of the course of his predecessors in command. It continued thus: "In a few days the troops under my command will plant the American standard in Canada. They are men accustomed to obedience, silence and steadiness. They will conquer or they will die." Referring to the "ruthless deeds" of the officers of the British King, he proceeds, " Where I command, the vanquished and the peaceful man, the child, the maid, and the matron, shall be secure from wrong." "The present is the hour of renown. * * * You desire your share of fame? Then seize the present moment. If you do not you will regret it. Advance, then, to our aid. I will wait for you a few days." "Come in companies, half companies, pairs or singly. I will organize you for a short tour. Ride to this place, if the distance is far, and send back your horses."
This call was promptly responded to in Western New York. A company of about thirty was raised in the village of Dansville, under command of Wil- liam B. Rochester as captain. Sparta and Groveland united in raising a company of about the same num- ber. James Rosebrugh was captain and Timothy Kennedy lieutenant. When they were ready to march the weather was cold, and the frozen ground was cov- ered with snow. The volunteers marched on foot to Buffalo, where they were at once mustered in as infantry. Soon after, on a cold winter night, the army was marched down to the river at Black Rock, and placed in boats, which lay in large numbers under the shore. After some hours' delay, expecting any mo- ment to receive orders to move across and support the advance force that had already been sent over, the sound of a bugle was heard from the Canada side of the river, followed soon after with the announcement that the expedition, of which so much had been prom-
309
HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY.
ised, had been abandoned. Smyth himself remained on the American side. Orders shortly came that the volunteers should return to their homes, and the reg- ulars to winter quarters. General Porter, who strenuously urged that the army should cross over, published Smyth as a coward. The army was indig- nant, and the country felt disgraced. Smyth, who was promptly relieved of his command by the Gov- ernment without trial, and excluded from the regular army, made his way to his home in Virginia on horse- back, accompanied by his aid, to escape being mobbed by the soldiers and populace. An officer who had served with him met him on the road near Geneseo, and says, "Smyth looked as if the d-1 had sent his compliments to the braggart. He travelled under the constant apprehension of being attacked." In passing the Benway farm in Groveland, he sighted a hawk on a tree several rods from the road, and, pull- ing a pistol from its holster, brought down the game without stopping his horse. He spent the night at Stout's tavern in Dansville, where he had an oppor- tunity to observe many a silent evidence of the popu- lar prejudice against him.
These two failures caused much depression of spirits throughout the country, and also a long and bitter discussion. The militia were much blamed by some for not promptly crossing the river and aiding Gene- ral Wadsworth in the battle of Queenstown. But while some condemned them without measure, others justified their course. General Wadsworth himself, though blaming them for not performing their duty, was prompt to defend them against the wholesale aspersions of Eastern journals. In a letter to General Van Rensselaer he wrote, "I do not now say where the regulars or militia were who were not there to be counted off and afterward surrendered. It is clear
.
310
HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY.
they were not where they ought to have been. It is Major Spencer's, as it is my opinion, that the whole force surrendered by me, or, rather, which was em- bodied, did not exceed, including officers, 400 men. I am conscious that on the 13th and on every other day during the campaign, I did, or endeavored to do my duty. With this I shall rest satisfied, however editors may estimate my services. I am aware the militia have faults, but they have merit too, and of that merit they ought not to be deprived unless it is intended to render them useless in future."*
General Wadsworth was made prisoner at Queens- town and placed on parole. He went to Geneseo, and while there, and before his exchange, General Smyth's fiasco occurred. He was impatient to return to the service. He writes in December, while still on parole, that "the epidemic, which originated on the lines, has been spread through the country by the returning volunteers, and is proving fatal to many of the inhab- itants. I am not well and not without apprehension that the epidemic may lay claim to me, but not, I hope, until I am exchanged and can see General Smyth punished for his impudence and folly."
Turner, in his "Phelps and Gorham Purchase," says: " All the long delay of action, all the waste of time and neglect of opportunities that the militia had witnessed ; and lastly, the errors of the commanding General in reference to the crossing place and the
* Accompanying the letter were certificates from Colonel (Winfield) Scott and Lieutenant Israel Turner, 13th U. S. Inf. The former certifies that the number of troops under his command, formed in two divisions in the 13th, did not exceed 130, exclusive of (17) officers, at the time the retreat was ordered. There were 253 militia infantry and rifles embodied. These certif- icates General Wadsworth requested General Van Rensselaer not to publish, adding, " Too much has already been published. We did not lug politics into the camp, and I do not see why we should be lugged into the political discus sions of the day." - ·
311
HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY.
inadequate preparations for crossing, did not dampen the ardor or patriotism of the men of Western New York. In fact, we have it upon the authority of General Van Rensselaer himself that he brought on the conflict because the temper of these men would not brook further delay." * *
* "They soon realized the fatal omission to supply boats for cross- ing, and this, in itself, was a most untoward beginning of the day's work." And after graphically portray- ing the scenes of that attempt to cross the river under a heavy fire, he says, " It is amid the clash, the smoke, the excitement of battle, that courage rises and enner- vates ; it sinks even with the brave, when they are surrounded by the dead and the dying, and are in a state of inaction. Still the militia pressed forward and endeavored to cross. When they refused to do so it was under the deliberate conviction, induced by all they had seen of that fatal morning's work, that all was lost ; that with the vastly inadequate means of crossing a sufficient force could not be landed at one time, to insure a conquest, and only enough for suc- cessive sacrifices. In no case, in all the annals of battles, have undisciplined militia continued to stand firm, and press on when there was so much to discour- age; so little to hope for." * "Too long have the surviving men of Western New York, and the memories of the dead, been allowed to rest under censures mainly undeserved." * * * "Those of them who crossed the river and bravely fought, have had but little credit for it," and "who gallantly strived for laurels in a conflict so illy arranged and provided for."
From about the 1st of December, 1812, to the mid- dle of March, 1813, a disease, spoken of by General Wadsworth in the letter just quoted, and known to physicians as typhoid pneumonia, prevailed in West-
312
HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY.
ern New York as an epidemic, and malignant in form. The late Dr. Lyman N. Cook, of Dansville, who had good opportunity, professionally, for judging of its severity, says : "I doubt its ever having been more malignant or fatal at any time or place. The cold chill, which suddenly came on, was of such severity and duration that it was generally denominated the 'Cold Plague,' and many cases terminated fatally without reaction being restored. The fatality was about the same as in cholera-one in three-but as fatal cases leave a stronger and more lasting impres- sion on the mind than cases of recovery, I presume the rate of mortality is generally believed to have been greater." Such, indeed, is the impression. The pioneers refer to the "epidemic" as usually proving fatal. There is scarcely a burying ground in the country that is not strewn with the graves of its victims. The disease originated in the Brit- ish army in Canada, and passed into the Amer- ican army in camp on the Niagara frontier. Hospital accommodations were then so poor that where patients were in a condition to be removed, they were allowed to return to their homes, and while the medical profession did not hold that the disease was contagious, yet, as it broke out in the settlements so soon after its appearance in the army and the return of the sick soldiers, the conviction fastened itself upon the minds of the pioneers that it was communicated in this way, which is probably true. It rapidly spread over the United States, arriving in Florida in about three years. This disease, which "has repeatedly prevailed in different portions of the United States, as an epidemic, often of wide extent, and, in its earlier visitations producing an amount of mortality truly appalling," is described as "a state of congestion or inflammation, more or less intense, of the lungs,
·
313
HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY.
accompanied by that impairment of the sensorial pow- ers and morbid condition of the circulation and of the organism generally, which characterize the more grave forms of typhus fever. Instances are known in which the patient was found dead, or died within three or four hours after being apparently well .* Of the cough, which usually came on within the first twenty - four hours, and the "remarkable pink-colored suffu- sion of the whole face," (common symptoms of the disease ) an early settler says: "Swollen-faced, rose colored patients would be found barking in every house throughout the settlement-calomel and hem- lock for sweating, the usual remedies, were in constant demand. Some got well, but many died. Though long years have passed away since the horrors of the epidemic were a present thing, yet the general features of the disease are so clearly fixed in my recollection that I feel safe in asserting that the spotted fever, which has so recently prevailed in this region, is iden- tical with epidemic or cold plague." In this view some medical authorities concur, though it is authori- tatively held that the two diseases are totally different. One is inflammation of the lungs; the other inflam- mation of the covering of the brain and spinal cord, the only resemblance being that both are epidemic.
On the 27th of May, 1813, Fort George, which stood on the Canada side of the Niagara river, opposite Fort Niagara, was taken by the Americans. On the night [of the 6th of June following, the British fell upon the American camp, but were repulsed. At this time the army was 6,000 strong, under command of Generals Lewis, Chandler, Boyd and Winder, who were with their brigades, and Colonels Scott and Mc-
* Watson's Lectures on the Principles and Practice of Physic, p, 602. Prof. Samuel Henry Dickson calls the disease, Pneumonia Typhoides.
314
HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY.
Comb with their regiments, while Commodore Chaun- cey, Capt. Perry and other naval officers were present. The capture of Fort George was the first extensive military operation of the war.
After the capture of Fort George, General Dear- born, commanding the American army, landed, and the next day ordered the British General Vincent and his flying troops to be pursued, when it was too late. Generals Winder and Chandler were sent in pursuit, but were assaulted at Forty Mile Creek on the 3d of June by Lieutenant Colonel Harvey, and both Generals were taken. As soon as Dearborn was informed of this disaster he sent forward General Morgan Lewis with more troops to join Colonel James Burn and bring Vincent to action, which Lewis was well disposed to do. Delays occurred, and at last, on the 23d of June, the final mishap of our campaign in Canada that sum- mer occurred. Colonel Charles Boerstler, then lately promoted to the command of the 14th Regt. of Infan- try, was permitted to take 600 men to a considerable distance, contrary to obvious injunctions of prudence, 600 men out of reach of support, to destroy a British lodgment. On the 24th of June he arrived to within a short distance of the Beaver Dams, and seventeen miles from Dearborn at Fort George, when, as he was about toattack a stone house in which Colonel Bishopp was entrenched, he was suddenly beset by between 500 and 600 Indians on one side, and a small party of English under Lieutenant Fitz Gibbon on the other. After a long fight, Boerstler, alarmed by the threats of the savages, and deluded by offers of capitulation, out of reach of succor, and with only a hopeless strug- gle before him, surrendered his whole command with tears in his eyes.
Congress had been in session a month when this event occurred, the climax of continual tidings of
.
315
HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY.
mismanagement. Such was the feeling of impatience aroused by these disasters that a committee of Con- gress waited on President Madison with the request that General Dearborn be removed from a command which so far had been so unfortunate. The President assented to this request, and another general was appointed to the command of the American forces.
In September, 1813, the independent artillery com- pany of Geneseo, under command of Captain John Peirce, about 60 strong, volunteered for three months' service. When the order came to move, private John Haynes of Lakeville was engaged in clearing a piece of new ground; the other members were likewise engaged in their ordinary avocations. They were sent to Lewiston heights and there assigned to guard duty in Major General Wadsworth's division. They took out a brass six pounder. All the members, save one who came from Groveland, were from the village and town of Geneseo. Their lieutenant was John Gray. Their first term of service was without special incident, save that in common with other militiamen they refused to cross the Niagara river. Captain Peirce had been placed in charge of a battalion, and the men, after the end of their term, without being formally mustered out, returned to their homes.
In September, 1814, the company again volunteered as minute men, and were ordered to the Canada fron- tier and there detailed for garrison duty at Fort George, near Lewiston. When the British crossed the river to retake Fort Niagara, a band of Indians and a company of British regulars attempted to cap- ture this company. Unable to withstand the attack of this force, which proved to be much greater than their own, the men were ordered to save themselves. Fach therefore made his best speed. Looking around soon after starting, private Haynes saw the enemy
316
HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY.
close upon their rear, and the men striking back with their swords. A private soldier named Jones, and another named Hubbard, were never heard of after this retreat. In the same melee private Timothy Orton was killed by the roadside a hundred yards east of Lewiston village. Mr. Haynes had been ordered by the lieutenant commanding to get away as best he could, but, encumbered with knapsack, sword and musket, he could not readily mount his horse. "Hand me your musket," said the officer. This done, Haynes mounted, and as he did so the cannon passed him, the horses being pushed to the top of their speed. In crossing a ditch one of the horses stumbled, and a few feet farther up, being forced up the steep bank, they both fell. Some one called out, "For God's sake, go, they are coming !" He looked back and saw the enemy in full force close upon them ; so severing the traces he left the cannon and brought off the horses.
A few days after Orton's death his father and Esquire Fay went out after his remains. He had been buried, but the man who performed this act, at once pointed out the grave, for he immediately recognized a strong family likeness between father and son, and he had also remarked a conspicuous scar on the face of the corpse, made by the kick of a horse, thus leav- ing no doubt as to its identity. The remains were reinterred near Lakeville* a fortnight after the death, in presence of hundreds of sympathising friends and neighbors.
The company took part in the battles of Lundy's Lane and Bridgewater, and fifty who were ordered to Fort Erie, participated in the battle of Chippewa, in the sortie at Fort Erie, -one of the most splendid
* He lies in the burial ground on the hill, a mile north of Upper Lakeville, beside the highway leading from Geneseo. The grave is marked by a stone with this simple inscription : " Timothy Orton, Died Dec. 19, 1813."
317
HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY.
achievements of the war, -and in the action that pre- ceded the blowing up of that fort. On the evening preceding the sortie, General Porter came into the fort to obtain re-inforcements for the party about to storm the enemy's works, which were situated in the swamp near at hand. A muster of the garrison was accordingly ordered. Of the company about 80 were present. Stirring speeches were made, and the Gene- rals said that the British entrenchments were soon to be stormed and they were short of men to carry mus- kets. All who had nerve enough for the duty were therefore asked to volunteer. Although the dragoons were not required to carry muskets, 21 of the com- pany stepped forward. Dr. D. H. Bissell and Judge Gilles were among the first to do so ; and in the order of march, these two men continued on the right of the line, up to the enemy's breastworks. The force marched from the fort to a large oak tree and there halted a moment. One of the Generals here asked if any one present had a full canteen of spirits. Dr. Bissell offered his. Each general and staff officer took a drink, and returned it nearly empty. Five minutes later they were engaged in a deadly conflict with the enemy.
In December, 1813, General Lewis having replaced General Dearborn as commander of the American forces, left Colonel Scott in charge of Fort George, at that time our only foothold in that part of Canada, after nearly two years' fighting. Eager to share the honors of the capture of Montreal, Scott, as permit- ted, left the fort under the command of General Mc- Clure of the New York militia, and joined the force organizing for the Montreal campaign. After Scott's departure, the British Lieut. General Drummond resolved, with 1,200 men, to retake Fort George. Mc- Clure proved no match for Drummond in spirit, if in
318
HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY.
force, or for Colonel Murray who brought on the English advance. After a vaporing proclamation to the Canadians, as if they were a conquered people, the General, on the defeat of one of his scouting par- ties, called a council of war which resolved to aban- don the fort as untenable, although Scott left it well provided with artillery and amunition, with open com- munication to one side of the river, and complete for resistance. The fort was abandoned and dismantled, and McClure, not satisfied with simply abandoning a good position, set fire to the flourishing village of Newark, destroying one hundred and fifty houses and turning more than four hundred women and children out of doors. On crossing the river he saw from Fort Niagara these people taking shelter from the wintry blasts at Queenstown, opposite, and fired red-hot shot at that place to deprive them of shelter there also.
This barbarous conduct inflamed the enemy, and gathered a force of British and Indians, and making due preparations, they attacked Fort Niagara, which, after a feeble resistance of the garrison, surrendered at discretion. Thenceforward, until the close of the war, the British held this fort. After capturing it, which event occurred on the 19th of December, 1813, they, in retaliation for the burning of Newark, laid Youngstown, Lewiston, Manchester (now Niagara Falls), and the Tuscarora Indian village in ashes. On the 30th of December, the little villages of Black Rock and Buffalo * were destroyed in like manner. With
* When the news that Buffalo was burned reached Conesus, through Cap- tain Tyler of Livonia, (who was killed in the war,) two brothers, Joseph Richardson, a cripple, and Jonathan, resolved to take their teams and convey soldiers to the lines. Joseph was killed at Black Rock 'by a ball which passed through his heart. The friends sent to Buffalo for his remains and they were buried in Livonia. Jonathan was taken prisoner, carried to Mon- treal and Halifax, and after six months reached home. On his way to Mon-
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.