USA > New York > Franklin County > A history of St. Lawrence and Franklin counties, New York : from the earliest period to the present time > Part 75
USA > New York > St Lawrence County > A history of St. Lawrence and Franklin counties, New York : from the earliest period to the present time > Part 75
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While the expedition lay at the narrows near Hamilton, on the 8th, a council of war was held, Generals Wilkinson, Lewis, Boyd, Covington, Porter, and Swartwout, being present, in which the commander-in-chief stated that his force consisted of 7,000 men, and that he expected to meet 4,000 more under Gen. Hampden, at St. Regis; that his provisions amounted to ten day's bread and twenty day's meat; that from the best of his information the enemy's force was 600 under Colonel Murray, troops of the line at Coteau de Lac, strongly fortified with artillery; 200 on the island opposite, with two pieces of artillery, and about the same number on the south shore, with two pieces of artillery; 200 or 300 men of the British line of artillery, but without ammunition, at the Cedars; at Montreal 200 sailors and 400 mariners, with the militia, numbers unknown ; no fortifications at that city or in advance of it; 2,500 regular troops ex- pected daily from Quebec; the militia on the line reported at 20,000 men, Canadians chiefly. 'This information was procured by colonel Swift, who employed a secret agent for the purpose. Under these circumstances Major General Wilkinson submitted to the council the following propo- sition, viz: Shall the army proceed with all possible rapidity to the at- tack of Montreal? The above information was given by a confidential agent of reputed integrity, who left Montreal on the 3d instant; it was added, that two British armed vessels, with sixty bateaux with troops, had arrived at Prescott this morning, and that four hundred were the last evening at Cornwall, about thirty-three miles below this point. With these facts before them, the question was asked, "shall we proceed to attack Montreal?" to which Lewis, Boyd, Brown, and Swartwout, de- cided in the affirmative, and Covington and Porter expressed strong ap- prehensions from want of proper pilots, &c., but saw no other alternative.
A body of 300 provincial militia had, the evening before the arrival of the main army, been driven by Forsyth from a block house, with two 6 pound cannon, and this he had burned. On the evening of the 8th, the passage of the cavalry to the north shore was accomplished, and on the 9th at 6 A. M., the 2d brigade with two companies of the 2d artillery, the riflecorps and cavalry commenced their march by land to Williamsburgh, and in the afternoon the flotilla moved down the river. Very early in the morning, the enemy in the rear had a slight skirmish with the rifle- men, in which we had one man killed, and the enemy retired. The object of Gen. Brown's being sent forward with a part of the army, was to clear the shore of any annoyances which the enemy might have erect- ed, opposite the rapids and narrow defiles of the river. The flotilla passed down 11 miles, and came to for the night, and the army encamped on ground selected by Gen. Boyd, guards were posted, and all remained quiet for the night. The enemy continued to follow up the rear, and on arriving at Hamilton availed themselves of the opportunity to send to that village a peremptory demand for the restoration of some merchan- dise that had been captured under the following circumstances:
In October, 1813, some six or eight bateaux laden with merchandise, and owned in Kingston and Toronto, were passing along up the river, under the Canadian shore, and were moored for the night, not far from opposite the head of Ogden's island, when they were surprised, while most of the crews were sleeping, and captured without resistance. This expedition was planned and executed mostly under the direction of Ben-
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jamin Richards, of Hamilton, acting under a letter of marque, and as- sisted by a volunteer party of citizens. A part of the captured goods were stored in a warehouse in the village, and the cloths and lighter articles were taken to Madrid (Columbia village) and in other parts of the town for greater security. Soon after Gen. Wilkinson with his army had passed, Col. Morrison of the army which hung upon the rear of the Americans, stopped at the village, landed a part of his force, and de- manded a surrender of the merchandise. No resistance could of course be offered or attempted, and he was proceeding to take what might be found of the property. While engaged in this, he heard a cannonade below, which made him impatient of delay, and he hastily spiked a 6 pound iron cannon which he found in the village, and ordered the goods and building in which they were to be set on fire. The day was beautifully dry and sunny, and the building, if burned, must have con- sumed a considerable part of the village. The principal citizens begged of the commanding officer of the enemy to consider this, and succeeded in getting the order countermanded under the stipulation that all the goods in the village which had been captured should be the next day landed on the Canada shore.
This agreement was fulfilled, but the portions which had been sent back to the Grass river were still in the hands of the captors. Some barracks belonging to the village of Hamilton, and which had been used by detachments of troops, were burned.
In January following, Capt. Reuben Sherwood, an active loyalist, of daring courage, who was well acquainted with the country, having acted as a surveyor, and who often appeared without disguise or concealinent on the south shore of the St. Lawrence, crossed the river near Point Iroquois, with the design of recovering the remainder of the merchan- dise. He arrived late in the evening with a company of provincial militia, posted guards in the village to prevent resistance, pressed a number of teams with their drivers, and proceeded to Columbia village, where he succeeded in recovering, without difficulty, the greater part of what had been deposited in that place, which had not been purloined. The party engaged in this incursion returned about day light, decked out with ribbons and streamers of brilliant colors, which formed a part of their capture, and recrossed the St. Lawrence, without the loss of a man. Scandal relates that a party was hastily rallied to pursue and recover the goods, but that a quantity of shrub, a very agreeable mixed liquor, was left in a conspicuous place, which had its designed effect, and that the pursuing party were thus disarmed. This incursion, from the boldness with which it was conceived and executed, created a general feeling of insecurity among the inhabitants, and convinced them that the state of war was a reality; that they were at any moment liable to an unexpected and unwelcome visit from the enemy, and that their lives and property were alike at the mercy of the British. From this time forward, there was nothing attempted that might provoke retaliation, or invite an unceremonious visit from Canada.
To return from this digression : on the morning of Nov. 10, informa- tion was received that the enemy had collected at or near the foot of the Long saut, determined to oppose the passage of the flotilla. To dis- lodge these, Gen. Brown was sent forward, and about noon was engaged by a party of the enemy near a block house on the saut, erected to har- rass the flotilla in its descent. At the same time the enemy were ob- served in the rear, who commenced a cannonade, which obliged the general to order two 18 pounders to be run on shore, and formed in
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battery, which soon compelled them to retire up the river. These oper- ations had so far wasted the day, that the pilots were afraid to enter the saut, and they came to anchor opposite the premises of John Chrysler, about nine miles above the head of the Long saut rapid. At 4 P. M., a party of 50 men under Capt. Burbank, fell in with a party of the enemy in a grove about a mile in the rear of the camp, who were dispersed by a few volleys, losing one man and killing two. A few minutes after this, a small body of mounted men appeared in the road near the river, who were fired upon by our rear guard of gun boats, and dispersed. At 5 o'clock, a body of men appeared at the same place, with two 6 pound- ers, and opened a fire on our gun boats, which was returned, and kept up for some minutes. Gen. Boyd advanced against these, who retired. As it was considered important to hear from Gen. Brown, whether the passage was clear before committing himself to the saut, from which there was no retreat, the American flotilla fell down a short distance, and came to under Cook's point,* about a mile below Chrysler's.
Before giving an account of the battle that ensued, it may be well to describe the topography of the country. The Canada shore is here very level with the, exception of three or four ravines, caused by rivulets, which would afford no obstacle to the crossing of troops, but would hinder the passage of artillery. With the exception of a narrow strip of woods, between Chrysler's farm and Cook's point, the country was cleared. Parallel with the river, and a mile distant, lays an ash swamp, which forbade the march of troops. The current of the river at the point is very strong, 'the channel being but 1,300 yards over, and very deep, so that it would have been difficult for boats to retain a position, except near the shore. During the whole voyage, and especially at the time of the battle, Gen. Wilkinson was very ill, and much of the time confined to his cabin. Word having been received about 10 o'clock, that Brown had dislodged the enemy, and was proceeding down, orders were issued for the flotilla to sail, when eight of the enemy's gun boats appeared in the rear, and commenced a smart fire upon the rear guard of gun boats. Several shots were directed at the flotilla, but none took effect. A large row galley, carrying a 32 pound carronade, was the most formidable in the enemy's line. The following is an extract from Gen. Wilkinson's official account of the events of the 11th of November:
" A variety of reports of their movements and counter movements were brought to me in succession, which convinced me of their deter- mination to hazard an attack, when it could be done to the greatest ad- vantage; and therefore I resolved to anticipate them. Directions were accordingly sent by that distinguished officer, Col. Swift, of the engineers,
4 to Brig. Gen. Boyd, to throw the detachments of his command assigned to him in the order of the preceding day, and composed of his own, Covington's and Swartwout's brigades, into three columns, to march upon the enemy, outflank them, if possible, and take their artillery. The action soon after commenced with the advanced body of the enemy, and became extremely sharp and galling, and with occasional pauses, not sus- tained with great vivacity in open space and fair combat, for upwards of
* The river at this place is very narrow, and in the following summer, a small fort of earth and timber having the shape of the annexed plan was erected. It enclosed a quarter of an acre, and was built under Lieut Ingles, from whom it received the name of Ingle's fort. It has since been levelled.
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two and a half hours, the adverse lines alternately yielding and advanc- ing. It is impossible to say with accuracy what was our number on the field, because it consisted of indefinite detachments taken from the boats to render safe the passage of the saut. Gens. Covington and Swartwout voluntarily took part in the action, at the head of detachments from their respective brigades, and exhibited the same courage that was displayed by Brig. Gen. Boyd, who happened to be the senior officer on the ground. Our force engaged might have reached 1,600 or 1,700 men, but actually did not exceed 1,800; that of the enemy was estimated from 1,200 to 2,000, but did not probably amount to more than 1,500 or 1,600, consist- ing, as I am informed, of detachments from the 49th, 84th and 104th regiments of the line, with three companies of the Voltigeur and Glen- gary corps, and the militia of the country, who were not included in the estimate.
It would be presumptuous in me to attempt to give a detailed account of the affair, which certainly reflects high honor on the valor of the American soldier, as no examples can be produced of undisciplined men with inexperienced officers, braving a fire of two hours and a half, with- out quitting the field, or yielding to their antagonist. The information is derived from officers in my confidence, who took active parts in this conflict; for though I was enabled to order the attack, it was my hard fortune not to be able to lead the troops I commanded. The disease with which I was assailed on the 2d of September, on my journey to Fort George, having, with a few short intervals of convalescence, preyed on me ever since, and at the moment of this action, I was confined to my bed, and emanciated almost to a skeleton, unable to set on my horse, or move ten paces without assistance. I must, however, be par- doned for trespassing on your time a few remarks in relation to the affair.
The objects of the British and American commanders were precisely opposed; the last being bound by the instructions of his government, and the most solemn obligations of duty, to precipitate his designs on the St. Lawrence by every practicable means; because this being effect- ed, one of the greatest difficulties opposed to the American arms, would be surmounted; and the first, by duties equally imperious, to retard and if possible, prevent such descent. He is to be counted victorious who effected his purpose! The British commander having failed to gain either of his objects, can lay no claim to the honors of the day. The battle fluctuated, and seemed at different times inclined to the contend- ing corps. The front of the enemy were at first forced back more than a mile, and though they never regained the ground they lost, their stand was permanent and their courage resolute. Amidst these charges and near the close of the contest, we lost a field piece by the fall of an officer who was serving it, with the same coolness as if he had been at a parade or a review. This was Lieut. Smith, of the light artillery, who, in point of merit, stood at the head of his grade. The enemy having halted and our troops being again formed into battalion, front to front, we resumed our position on the bank of the river, and the infantry being much fatigued, the whole were reembarked and proceeded down the river without any further annoyance from the enemy or their gun boats, while the dragoons with five pieces of light artillery, marched down the Canada shore without molestation.
It is due to his rank, to his worth, and his services, that I should make particular mention of Brig. Gen. Covington, whoreceived a mortal wound directly through the body, while animating his men and leading them to the charge. He fell where he fought, at the head of his men, and sur-
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vived but two days. The next morning the flotilla passed through the saut, and joined that excellent officer, Brig. Gen. Brown, at Barnhart's, near Cornwall, where he had been instructed to take post and await my arrival. And where I confidently expected to hear of Major General Hampton's arrival on the opposite shore. But immediately after I halted, Col. Atkinson, the inspector general of the division under Major Gen. Hampton, waited on me with a letter from that officer, in which to my unspeakable regret and surprise, he declined the junction ordered, and informed me he was marching towards lake Champlain by way of co- operating in the proposed attack upon Montreal. This letter, together with a copy of that to which it is an answer, was immediately transmit- ted to a council of war, composed of my general officers and the colonel commanding the elite, the chief engineer and the adjutant general, who unanimously gave it as their opinion, that the attack upon Montreal should be abandoned for the present season, and the army near Corn- wall should be immediately crossed to the American shore for taking up winter quarters, and that this place afforded an eligible position for such quarters.
I acquiesced in these opinions, not from the shortness of the stock of provisions, (which had been reduced by the acts of God), because that of our meat had been increased five days, and our bread had been reduced only two days, and because we could in case of extremity, have lived on the enemy; but, because the loss of the division under Major Gen. Hamilton, weakened my force too sensibly to justify the at- tempt. In all my measures and movements of moment, I have taken the opinion of my general officers, which have been in accord with my own.
I remained on the Canada shore until next day, without seeing or hearing from the " powerful force" of the enemy in our neighborhood, and the same day reached the position with the artillery and infantry. The dragoons have been ordered to Utica and its vicinity, and I expect are fifty or sixty miles on the march. You have under cover a summary abstract of the killed and wounded in the affair of the 11th inst. which shall soon be followed by a particular return, in which a just regard shall be paid to individual merits.
The dead rest in honor, and the wounded bled for their country and deserve its gratitude."
Killed .- Subalterns 3; serjeants 7; corporals 3; musicians 1; privates 88; total 102.
Wounded .- Brigadier general 1; assistant adjutant general 1; aid-de- camp 1; colonel 1; major 1; captains 5; subalterns 6; serjeants 9; corporals 13; musicians 1; privates 198; total 237. Total killed and wounded, 339.
Names of the commissioned officers killed and wounded .- Killed, Lieut. Wm. W. Smith, of the light artillery; Lieutenant David Hunter, of the 12th regiment of infantry; Lieutenant Edward Olmstead, 15th do., do.
Wounded .- Brig. Gen. Leonard Covington, mortally, ( since dead ); Major Talbot Chambers, assistant adjutant general, slightly ; Maj. Darby Noon, aid-de-camp to Brigadier Gen. Swartwout, slightly; Colonel James P. Preston, of the 23d regiment infantry, severely, his right thigh fractured; Major W. Cummings, 8th regiment, severely; Captain Ed- ward Foster, 9th do., slightly; Captain David S. Townsend, do. do., severely, (taken prisoner); Captain Mordecai Myers, 13th do., severely ; Captain John Campbell, do., slightly; Captain John B. Murdoc, 25th do., slightly; Lieut. Wmn. S. Heaton, 11th do., severely; Lieut. John
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Williams, 23d, do., slightly; Lieut. John Lynch, do. severely, (taken prisoner); Lieutenant Peter Pelham, 21st do. severely, ( taken prisoner); Lieutenant James D. Brown, 25th do., slightly; Lieut. Archibald C. Crary, do. do .. severely, in the skirmish the day before the action.
British Official Account of the Battle, dated La Chine, 15th Nov. 1813.
GENERAL ORDERS .- His Excellency the Governor General and Com- mander of the forces, has received from Lieut. Col. Morrison, 89th regi- ment, the official report of the action which took place on the 11th inst., at Chrystler's farm, 20 miles above Cornwall, between the corps of ob- servation, consisting of the 49th and 89th regiments, and a detachment from the garrison at Prescott, under Lieut. Col. Pearson, the whole amounting to about 800 men, and the principal division of the enemy's army, commanded by Major General Boyd. On the day preceding the action, an affair took place in consequence of the corps of observation pressing on the enemy, which after a short conflict, determined in his defeat, the Britishi division occupying that night the ground on which the affair had taken place. On the 11th, Lieut. Col. Morrison continued his pursuit, when the enemy concentrating his force, made a grand effort to relieve himself from so troublesome an opponent, and advanced with his heavy columns of infantry, supported by artillery, his front covered by a numerous body of cavalry and riflemen. Lieut. Col. Morrison fell back gradually, and took up a judicious position, (which he had previously made choice of ), with his little band, his right on the river, consisting of the flank companies of the 49th regiment and a de- tachment of the Canada fencibles, under Lieut. Col. Pearsen, with a six pounder a little advanced, supported by the companies of the 89th regiment, under Captain Barnes; the 49th and 89th regiments formed the main body of reserve extending across the road to a pine wood, occupying a space of seven hundred yards. Major Heriot, with a de- tachment of the Canadian Voltigeurs, and a small band of Indian war- riors under Lieut. Anderson, secured the left flank. The action com- menced about 2 o'clock, P.M., and in half an hour became general, the enemy attempting to turn the left of the British, but were repulsed by the 49th and 89th regiments, which advanced firing by wings and pla- toons.
The enemy having failed in this attempt, united their utmost efforts in an attack on the right, supported by four pieces of artillery and their cavalry, which was in like manner repulsed, the 49th and 89th regiments having moved up in echellon and formed in line; a charge commenced by the 49th regiment, was not persevered in, in consequence of the enemy's having charged upon the right, and threatened to gain the rear; but their cavalry were so gallantly received by the three companies of the 89th regiment under Captain Barns, and the well directed fire of the artillery under Capt. Jackson, that they were instantly repulsed, and by the rapid pursuit of Capt. Barn's party, a six pounder was captured from the enemy, whose attention was now solely directed to cover the retreat of his beaten forces. In this last effort he was foiled by a judicious movement of the corps under Lieut. Col. Pearson, who continued to pursue the enemy in his flight. [Here Col. Morrison speaks of the merits of Lieut. Cols. Pearson and Plenderleath; Majors Clifford and Heriot, of the militia, and Capt. Jackson; also of Lieut. Col. Harvey; Captains Skinner and Davis, of the staff ; Lieut. Anderson of the Indian depart- ment; and Lieut. Hagerman of the militia.]
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It is with deep regret that Lieut. Col. Morrison transmits a list of casualties, containing the loss of several brave soldiers, but when the unequal contest, and the quadruple loss of the enemy, and the im- portance of this splendid victory are considered, the comparative British loss will appear less than might reasonably be expected.
[The particular returns of the several corps are omitted.]
Total .- 1 captain, 2 drummers, and 19 rank and file, killed; 1 captain, 9 subalterns, 6 serjeants, and 131 rank and file wounded; twelve rank and file missing.
Names of Officers killed and wounded .- 49th regiment, Capt. Nairne, killed; Lieut. Jones, wounded dangerously; Lieut. Clans, wounded, left leg amputated; Lieut. Morton, wounded severely, not dangerously ; Lieut. Richmond, wounded slightly.
89th regiment-Capt. Brown, wounded severely, not dangerously; Ensign Leaden, wounded slightly.
49th flank company-Lieut. Holland, wounded severely.
Canadian Fencibles-Lieut. Delorimiere, wounded dangerously, since dead; Lieut. Armstrong, wounded dangerously.
By his Excellency's command, EDWARD BAYNER, ADJ. GEN., N.A.
The preceding reports were made the subject of severe comments by the American press, generally.
The following account of the battle was prepared by Dr. A. Trow- bridge, of Watertown, N. Y., who was present:
"Night came on and all schemes for meeting or attacking the enemy were changed for making suitable arrangements for the safety of the camp. The troops were marched back and posted on the same ground they occupied the night before. Strong guards were sent out in different directions, the troops were posted in line of battle, and directed to sleep on their arms. The night passed uninterrupted by alarms. It appeared evident from the movements of the enemy that a considerable force was advancing to attack us or pass our rear by land. The morning of the 11th was spent in making the usual preparations for marching. At 10 orders were issued for detachments of Generals Boyd's, Covington's and Swartwont's brigades, with 4 pieces of light artillery, and the re- maining body of dragoons to march to join Gen. Brown, who it was un- derstood had dispersed the enemy and taken a position at Cornwall. The movements had begun when the rear was attacked, the boats were brought to, and Gen. Swartwout sent back to meet the enemy. He dashed into the woods with the 2d regiment infantry, commanded by Col. Ripley, who, after a short skirmish, drove them back to a ravine, where they kept up a sharp fire upon our advancing columns, which charged upon the enemy, killed and wounded several, and took 20 pri- soners. The enemy retreated in a scattered condition, in various direc- tions. The main body of the enemy were now seen advancing in columns on the west extremity of Chrystler's field. They opened a fire of musketry, and from a six pounder which was heavy, and galling upon our troops composed of the 1st regiment and a detachment from the first brigade commanded by Col. Cole. This body was now ordered to flank the enemy's left. This was promptly done under a heavy fire from the enemy. Gen. Covington having been ordered up now took the position just left by Ripley and Coles, nearly in front of the enemy, and within rifle shot distance. The fight now become general and quite stationary.
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