USA > New York > Genesee County > History of the Genesee country (western New York) comprising the counties of Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Chemung, Erie, Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Niagara, Ontario, Orleans, Schuyler, Steuben, Wayne, Wyoming and Yates, Volume I > Part 32
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the mauling he was getting by exclaiming, "Off villian, you fired like a squaw!" "We kill you now!" retorted the old Indian, and both lifted up their tomahawks and knives. Scott backed against the staircase and grasped an officer's sword, which had been stacked with others against the wall. Lifting this high he stood ready for the attack. If Scott had known the legend of the stone coats, he might have touched the blade to his lips, thereby proving to the Indians that he was indeed one of the invincible host, and the red skins would have shrunk away. Instead they sought to dispatch him. Scott poised his sword, knowing that he could kill one of his assailants, but feared the other might rush in and tomahawk him. As the combatants manoeuvered, a British officer rushed in from the street, summoning the guard while he seized the elder man, Chief Jacobs, and put his pistol to the head of his companion; the sentinels hearing the call led off the Indians at the point of the bayonet. It is said that the younger of these Indians was a son of Joseph Brant. The officer who interfered was Cap- tain Coffin of General Sheaffe's staff. The Indians were particu- larly angry at Scott, who had not only escaped their fire, but whose troops had done them great damage, and soon afterward they massacred a number of American soldiers, an incident which the British deplored, for they had ordered the prisoners well treated.
The brave Brock was buried with military honors, in which Scott, Wadsworth and Wool participated, after which they were paraded through Canada as trophies of the victory." Shortly afterward the prisoners were sent to Quebec and thence to Boston, where Scott and his colleagues were exchanged. As the boat was about to sail from Quebec, Scott, being in the cabin, heard a com- motion and hastening on deck found a number of British officers mustering the prisoners. Each was questioned, and such as by admission or by dialect and accent were found to be Irishmen were separated from the rest. The purpose was to place them on board a British frigate alongside and send them to England, to be tried for high treason for fighting against their own country. Twenty-three men had thus been adjudged Irishmen when Scott reached the deck, and forty more of the same nationality awaited separation. All were dejected at the thought of being subjected to so infamous a fate. Scott, desiring to protect his men, advised
6 Spencer's History of the United States, Vol. 3, p. 170.
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them to answer no more questions, but remain absolutely silent, thus preventing a test by accent, explaining what naturalization meant, the allegiance which it entailed and the protection which the United States guaranteed its nationals. Though Scott was or- dered below, he stood his ground, and threatened that if any of the prisoners were harmed to retaliate, man for man. The Irish- men were nevertheless put in irons and sent to England. Scott, immediately upon being exchanged, wrote the war department re- porting the incident. His letter reflects one of the contentions of the American people so well, that it is given in full below: Sir :
I think it my duty to lay before the department that, on the arrival at Quebec of the American prisoners of war surrendered at Queenston they were mustered and examined by British offi- cers appointed to that duty, and every native born of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland sequestered, and sent on board a ship of war then in the harbor. The vessel in a few days thereafter sailed for England with these persons on board. Be- tween fifteen and twenty persons were thus taken from us, natives of Ireland, several of whom were known by their platoon officers to be naturalized citizens of the United States, and others long residents within the same.7 One in particular whose name has escaped me, besides having complied with all the conditions of our naturalization laws, was represented by his officers to have left a wife and five children, all of them born within the state of New York.
I distinctly understood, as well from the officers who came on board the prison-ship for the above purpose, as from others with whom I remonstrated on this subject, that it was the determina- tion of the British government, as expressed through Sir George Provost, to punish every man whom it might subject to its power, found in arms against the British king contrary to his native allegiance.
I have the honor to be sir,
Your most obedient servant,
W. SCOTT, Lieut .- Col. U. S. 2d Artillery.8
7 There were 23 persons and their names are given in "American State Papers," Vol. 3, p. 632.
8 This letter was written from Washington at the suggestion of the President to whom Scott had related the incident.
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Two months later, at the battle of Fort George (May 27, 1813), Scott having made a large number of prisoners, he selected twenty-three of the number to be confined to abide the fate of the men sent to England.º
General Van Rensselaer retired after the battle of Queenston and was succeeded by General Smyth, whose headquarters were at Buffalo. Upon assuming command of the "Central Army" he issued a proclamation, full of flowery conceit, which has been compared to a comic opera soldier's braggadocio. Among the militia officers was Peter B. Porter, a clear-headed, able soldier, who had great ability as a strategist. Porter brought together a new militia composed of recruits from all over the Genesee Coun- try, the men of the first army being discharged and sent home as disgraced soldiers. Porter drilled 2,000 of these men and saw that they were properly equipped. Smyth kept up his bombastic and grandiloquent proclamations until it remained for him to make good. As a first task, he set forth to spike the cannon of a troublesome battery near Fort Erie. Smyth was ready for the raid but suddenly a signal sounded in the enemy's camp and it was found that the British were well aware what was about to be attempted. The attack was declared off. The next day, how- ever, a new attempt was made and a detachment crossed over and made for the battery while another marched against the bridge over the Chippewa River. The guns were spiked by a lot of scared men, who, hearing a bugle call, turned and ran post haste for the boats and left their comrades of the bridge-wrecking ex- pedition without means of escape. These men were captured.
Porter was still anxious to press the invasion, but Smyth commanded him to hold back, causing the militia to protest furi- ously. They began to call for Van Rensselaer and shout derisive things about Smyth, he was hooted and ridiculed whenever he appeared. Porter even called him a coward and challenged him to a duel. The two met on the field of honor, exchanged shots, and then fell on each other's necks and embraced.
The first Niagara campaign was a failure and reflected small credit upon American arms and American generalship. This nearly all critical historians agree upon. What was the matter? Were our men lacking in moral courage and physical prow-
9 Mansfield's Life of Scott, p. 58.
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ess? Not at all. The trouble was politics. In Albany the Gov- ernor, Danial D. Tompkins, was seeking reelection. His strong- est opponent was Stephen Van Rensselaer. To get Van Rensse- laer out of the way, he made him a general and gave him an important post. This honor could scarcely be refused by a patriot, and was not. Van Rensselaer did his best, but he was not by nature a military strategist. Tompkins received credit for mag- nanimous action in appointing a rival to a position of command- ing influence, and this was expressed in his reelection. Van Rens- selaer was ruined politically. In civil life, however, he served with great ability and his countrymen benefited much by his business acumen. One of his notable accomplishments was the founding of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute at Troy.
Alexander Smyth, though a dismal failure when it came to planning battles, was also a man of real merit in civil life. After his collapse on the Niagara he was dismissed from the army by President Madison and retired to Virginia. Though assailed, he fought back with vigor in the press, his native state, Virginia, remained loyal to him and sent him to congress, where he had an honored career. In the west there was some vigorous action under General William Henry Harrison, who was particularly success- ful against the hostile Indians. On the northern New York bor- der there was some spirited action, notably an affair near Ogdens- burg, in which our militia attacked a detachment of British mov- ing down the river and defeated them. In retaliation, our men were set upon by reinforcements and compelled to retire, the British attempting the destruction of Ogdensburg. They were repulsed by General Brown, who commanded that post (Octo- ber 2, 1812). Major Young, who commanded a detachment at French Mills, on the St. Lawrence frontier, about this time at- tacked the British troops at the St. Regis Indian village and with- out loss took forty prisoners and killed five soldiers. There was also a foray on the Champlain border under Colonel Pike, result- ing in the surprise of a body of British and Indians and the de- struction of a large quantity of stores. The army there under General Dearborn went into winter quarters at Plattsburg two days before Christmas.
The autumn months of 1812 were marked by a series of bril- liant naval affairs, most creditable to our country. Captain Jones in command of the sloop-of-war Wasp, encountered the British
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sloop Frolic, and in a spirited exchange delivered such an accu- rate gun fire and effective ramming that the Frolic was left with not more than twenty men living out of 120. The American cas- ualties were five killed and wounded. Jones' victory was short lived for later a British seventy-four hove in sight and took both victor and prize to Bermuda. After the prisoners were ex- changed, Jones and his men received a congressional award of $25,000 and Jones was given command of the Macedonian, a Brit- ish frigate, just captured by Decatur, commanding the frigate United States, in a well executed series of manoeuvers. It was a plain case of seamanship and good gunnery. Another stirring naval victory was added to the list before the year closed, in the capture of the British frigate Java by the Constitution, com- manded by Captain Bainbridge (December 29, 1812). American failures on land were somewhat counterbalanced by these naval victories, and Great Britain began to have an awakening as to the prowess of the Americans upon the sea. The London Times in describing the British naval losses said :
“* * * It is the first time we have ever heard that the striking of the English flag on the high seas to anything like an equal force should be regarded by Englishmen with complacency and satisfaction. It is not merely that an English frigate has been taken, after what we are free to confess may be called a brave resistance, but that it has been taken by a new enemy, an enemy unaccustomed to such triumphs, and likely to be rendered insolent and confident by them. He must be a weak politician who does not see how important the first triumph is in giving a tone and character to the war. Never before in the history of the world did an English frigate strike to an American, and though we cannot say that Captain Dacres, under all circum- stances is punishable for this act, yet we do say that there are commanders in the English navy who would a thousand times rather have gone down with their colors flying than to have set their brother-officers so fatal an example."10
And William James, a bitterly partisan historian, was com- pelled to say: "There is no question that our vanity received a wound in the loss of the Guerriere. But poignant as were the national feelings, reflecting men hailed the 19th of August, 1812,
10 Lossing's Field Book of the War of 1812, 448.
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as the commencement of an era of renovation to the navy of England."11
The war continued with many thrilling events, developing new leaders of great ability, and retiring those who were not able to grasp the complexities of military tactics. It is not our pur- pose to review the episodes on all fronts or to describe in detail the stirring battles at sea, in which our navy made a name for itself that won the respect of the world. We may touch upon some of these things as we proceed, but our purpose is rather to deal with the drama as seen and experienced in the Genesee region and its adjacent territory.
When the year 1813 opened, the army of the United States numbered 95,000 men, and congress provided for many additional line officers, six major-generals and six brigadier-generals. It was also provided that the navy should only receive native born and naturalized citizens of our country. Thus a nation of eight million souls girded its loins for war to the finish. New England still was faint hearted, but from New York and Albany to Ni- agara the state of New York was ablaze with patriotic zeal. The north and west too were determined to muster their men and see through the fight for freedom of the seas and the recognition of American rights and American shipping. The scene of the mili- tary campaigns during the year took in the far flung northern frontier from Champlain to Michigan. The Army of the West was under Gen. W. H. Harrison, whose headquarters were at Frank- linton, Ohio; the Army of the North was in command of General Hampton on the shores of Lake Champlain and the Army of the Center, which took in the Genesee Country and the Niagara fron- tier, was under the command of General Dearborn. The west had its adventures with the British and their savage allies; there was a massacre at Frenchtown, January 22; the siege of Fort Meigs and finally the defeat of the British General Proctor at Fort Stev- enson, by Major Croghan, a youth of 21 years. This battle, on July 20, caused Proctor to retire to Malden, Canada, and gave the Americans a chance to gain a real control of Lake Erie and its contiguous waters.
On the northern frontier trouble broke out early in February. Major Forsyth, the commander of the Ogdensburg contingent,
11 Ibid. Vide, Naval Occurrences, James, p. 116.
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crossed the St. Lawrence with his riflemen and volunteers and surprised the British guard at Elizabethtown, taking fifty-two prisoners and a quantity of military stores. It was a small but successful raid. The joys of victory were short lived, however, for on Washington's birthday, Sir George Provost, of the post at Prescott, directed an assault on Ogdensburg, followed that night by a raid of 500 regulars and militia under Major McDonnal. The small American force was compelled to retire, but in doing so it set fire to its stores, the barracks, two schooners and two gun boats. The American forces fought bravely in this affair and refused to surrender when the demand was made, retiring in good order. So elated were the British that when the news reached the British commander at Niagara, he sent a message to the American commander, Colonel McFeeley, on our side of the river, informing him that in honor of the occasion a salute would be fired at Fort George. McFeeley, with the characteristic wit of his race, expressed great satisfaction over the idea of a salute, for, as he informed the British officer, it would supplement his own salute to be fired that day in jubilation over the capture of the British frigate, Java, by Captain Hull, commanding the Con- stitution, an American frigate of equal rating. Meanwhile, at Sackett's Harbor, General Pike, a brave and enterprising officer, was busily occupied in training the new recruits who were arriv- ing there in numbers. This work of disciplining an effective army was a difficult one and required great patience. There was in- spiration in it, however, for our men could see the great efforts being made by Commodore Chauncey to build a fleet capable of giving battle to the British on Lake Ontario.
Students of history will recall that Captain Isaac Chauncey had distinguished himself in the war with the Barbary States in Africa. It was he who was ordered by the naval department to take command of Lakes Erie and Ontario and to build the fleets. An experienced officer, older than Perry, his training in the mer- chant marine and his seasoning in construction work as the head of the Brooklyn Navy Yard, had well qualified him for this new and important task. Chauncey brought with him a Scotch ship builder named Eckford, who, with a crew of expert ship carpen- ters, at once began building a fleet. Late in 1812, by purchasing schooners and outfitting them, our one boat, the Oneida, was sup- plemented by the Ontario, Scourge, Fair American and Asp. Eck-
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ford designed two twenty-two gun brigs and immediately set to work to lay the keel of the Madison, designed to carry twenty- four carronades of thirty-two pounds. By the spring of 1813 our building program was well under way, and Sackett's Harbor was a busy place.
Our naval force now numbered two sloops-of-war and eleven schooners, manned by trained crews entertaining no doubt as to their ability to cope with the enemy. They had not long to wait, for the navy department had ordered Chauncey to cooperate with General Dearborn in any operation he might direct. On the 25th of April the flotilla with about 1,600 men sailed out of Sackett's Harbor with York (Toronto) as an objective. This was a vital spot and the capital of Upper Canada. The plan of attack had been devised in principle by General Pike and at his own request he was entrusted with its execution. The voyage was safely made, and on the 27th, at 7 o'clock in the morning, our ships appeared before York. Debarkation began an hour later and in two hours our forces were ashore.
The British soon discovered them ready for an attack, and General Sheaffe, commanding York, hastily collected his forces, consisting of about 900 men, including 100 Indians. These he flung against the landing party but Forsyth, leading his riflemen, made an effective resistance, driving the foe back, making pos- sible the formation of General Pike's troops, who sustained the advance party most ably. Our army, driving the British before them past the works of York, made ready for the assault. The shore batteries were destroyed and our men were within 200 yards of the main fortifications, when a sudden magazine ex- plosion occurred, which filled the air with stones and broken tim- bers. In the havoc which followed 100 Americans and forty British were killed and many seriously wounded. General Pike fell fatally injured. The confusion incident to the explosion gave Sheaffe time to set fire to his stores and to destroy a vessel in stocks. He then retreated, leaving his militia and their supplies behind.
The British regulars were scarcely hurt and were able to make an orderly retreat toward Kingston, but the militia immediately capitulated. Our countrymen were able to seize a vast quantity of stores, amounting to about a half million dollars worth, besides the baggage and military papers of Sheaffe and his regulars.
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The British loss was 90 killed, 200 wounded, 300 made prisoners and 500 militia released on parole.
On May 8th General Dearborn evacuated York, recrossing the lake to bring his wounded and prisoners to Sackett's Harbor. Taking on reinforcements to the number of about 5,000 men, he determined to sail for an attack on Fort George, at the head of the lake on the Niagara. Here he found his landing disputed by the British Colonel Vincent, but the American landing party un- der Scott and Forsyth were not to be driven back. The guns of the fleet covered the landing and soon the brigades of Generals Boyd, Widner and Chandler followed. This powerful display of force caused the enemy to abandon their position and flee, after setting fire to their works and lighting fuses for blowing up their magazines. Fortunately, Captain Hindman, entering the fort, snatched the fuses before any explosion occurred. Thus fell Fort George, on May 27th, a heavy day's work but a successful one. Fort Erie and other fortifications in the neighborhood were also added to the list of conquests. In this event the British lost 108 killed, about 150 wounded and 600 prisoners. The American loss was 39 killed and 108 wounded.
But the British were not asleep. They had long anticipated that the naval forces and the militia would move out from Sack- ett's Harbor, leaving it in a weakened state of defense. This was the case when Dearborn and Chauncey moved against York and Fort George. The British commander, Sir George Prevost, and his associate commander, Sir James Yeo, of the naval forces, brought 700 troops and the naval squadron from their base at Kingston on May 28th. Sackett's Harbor was the objective. Both the Canadians and the British looked to this expedition with high hopes. Every confidence was expressed that Sackett's Harbor would fall, giving the British undisputed control of the lakes, but the enemy had no knowledge that at Presque Isle on Lake Erie Perry was building a fleet that would tell another story ere many months had passed.
The British landed their troops and drove before them the American militia, including the Albany volunteers, in an attempt to cross the peninsula. The peninsula was gained and the march continued against the block house garrisoned by regulars, which marched out and received the British force with such effective fire that the British were driven back with heavy losses, leaving their
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wounded on the field. Lieutenant Chauncey, hearing by mes- senger that our forces had been defeated, prematurely set fire to our stores. Upon learning that the enemy had actually retreated, the fire was extinguished but not until vast damage had been sus- tained. Though the British army was defeated, it had gained an advantage in the destruction of our supplies. General Jacob Brown, to whom the defense had been entrusted, was widely praised for his success and promoted to the rank of brigadier. On the other hand, Sir George Prevost was condemned throughout Canada for his ill success, such being the fortune of war.
After this affair there was some skirmishing on the northern lines, especially at Burlington Heights, Forty Mile Run and Beaver Dams. In the latter place Colonel Boerstler was defeated and surrendered his command of 570 men to the British; the lat- ter in this battle clearly out menoeuvered the Americans. In the south the British had some naval success and contemporary ac- counts tell of the shocking massacres of the American inhabitants, in which the enemy spared neither age nor sex. Washington, Baltimore, Annapolis and other ports were threatened and New York blockaded. These naval events are thoroughly interesting as a part of the general history of the war, but do not especially concern the action in the region about the Genesee Country and the lakes that bound it to the north and to the west.
That the shores of Lake Ontario just north of the mouth of the Genesee should have been the scene of the manoeuvers of British ships bent upon war against America and the destruction of towns and villages from the Niagara to Sackett's Harbor, does not seem to be more than an ill-remembered dream today. Peace now reigns between our country and Canada, a peace of friend- ship and trust. Beginning with 1812, however, war vessels of both nations frequently passed the north shores of the Genesee Country, our own boats even going up the Genesee as far as Han- ford's Landing, according to the best authorities. Indeed, one pioneer, Donald McKenzie, in an address before the Mumford Lyceum in 1843, tells of visiting the mouth of the river in the latter part of 1812 and of hearing the British guns. "The next morning," he wrote, "as we were mounting our horses to return, a messenger arrived with an express stating that a British fleet was approaching the mouth of the river, and requesting Captain Rowe to call out the militia immediately. Returning on our way
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towards the landing, we could hear distinctly the report of every cannon fired by the enemy."
The story goes on to say, "After leaving my wife with the family of my friend Benjamin Fowle at the landing, we hurried as fast as possible to the mouth of the river. But nothing was to be seen of the fleet nor of the few families there. We rode imme- diately to my father-in-law's old log house, standing then on the very site where now stands the United States light house, fastened our horses, and from there, with my brother-in-law, William Hencher, Jr., we went on foot to the beach of the lake. We soon discovered the fleet sailing towards us, from the direction of Braddock's Bay, but not anticipating any danger, we remained on the spot until it approached quite near us. We were shortly saluted with a 24-pounder, which whistled through the bushes near where we stood, and entered the bank of the lake in our rear. This shot was in rather too close proximity to us to be agreeable. I afterwards dug the ball out of the bank and used it for a num- ber of years to grind indigo with in my woolen factory."
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