USA > New York > New York City > History of the city of New York : its origin, rise, and progress Vol. III > Part 34
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Neither Ripley, nor General Peter B. Porter with his militia, partici- pated in the action, but their gallantry in other directions elicited the warmest praise from Brown. The victory was important in its results, as it gave an impetus to enlistments throughout the country, and won gen- uine respect from the enemy. Not over three thousand men were be- lieved to have been engaged - seventeen hundred British, and thirteen hundred Americans ; the former lost six hundred and four, and the latter three hundred and thirty-eight.1
The British commander fell back to Fort George, with also a fortified post upon strong ground some twelve miles up Lake Ontario. Brown was confident of being able to cripple British power in Upper Canada if he could have the co-operation of the fleet, and sent a messenger to Chauncey in hot haste, who returned on the 23d with a letter from Gaines, in command of Sackett's Harbor, stating that Chauncey was sick with fever, and his fleet blockaded. Scott immediately sought permis- sion to lead his brigade in search of the enemy, and was vexed when Brown, although anxious to draw on a conflict, declined to divide July 25. his forces. News came the next day that the British were rein- forced and about to strike for the American supplies at Lewiston. Scott was ordered with some thirteen hundred men to hasten down the road towards the Falls and create a diversion. Late in the afternoon while passing a narrow strip of woods, he was suddenly confronted by the main body of the enemy, whom he supposed to be in quite another locality. Scott saw the situation at a glance ; to advance was impossible, to retreat was ex- tre mely hazardous. He instantly decide to attack, and impress the enemy with the conviction that the whole American army was at hand. Then followed that sanguinary battle of Lundy's Lane, which has few parallels in history in its wealth of gallant deeds.2 It was fought be-
1 Niles Register, VI. 389 ; Lossing, 810 ; Holmes Annals, 11. 464.
2 This battle, fought near the great Falls of Niagara, is sometimes called the battle of Niagara ; the sharpest of the struggle occurred in Lundy's Lane, hence the name which has attained the widest celebrity. It is also called the battle of Bridgewater.
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THE BATTLE OF NIAGARA, OR LUNDY'S LANE.
tween sunset and midnight, in the darkness - its smoke mingling with the spray of the cataract, and its musketry and artillery blending with the ceaseless roar of the mighty Niagara. Scott sent a messenger to Brown, that he was about to engage the whole British army, and reinforcements came swiftly. It was perceived that the key of the enemy's position was a battery upon an eminence, and Brown, turning to the gallant Colonel James Miller, ordered him to storm and capture it. The reply has passed into history " I'll try, sir." It was one of the most perilous charges ever attempted, but Miller and his brave band calmly marched up to the mouth of the blazing cannon, and took them. The exploit elicited uni- versal admiration: "It was the most desperate thing we ever saw or heard of," said the British officers who were made prisoners. "You have im- mortalized yourself!" exclaimed Brown the moment he met Miller after- ward. "My dear fellow, my heart ached for you when I gave you the order, but I knew that it was the only thing that would save us." Brown was twice severely wounded, but he kept his saddle until the victory was won; his gallant aid, Ambrose Spencer of New York, was killed. Scott was exposed to death in every part of the field, and had two horses shot under him. He was spared until the final struggle, when he received a severe wound. He was subsequently carried on the shoulders of gentle- men from town to town to the house of a friend in Geneva, where he remained until able to journey to his home in the east.
The Americans fell back on Fort Erie and strengthened the position. During the month of August the British prosecuted a siege with deter- mined vigor. Gaines was ordered to the chief command, and with Ripley, Porter, Towson, and other brave officers, made a handsome defense. A shell falling through the roof finally disabled Gaines, and Brown hastened from Batavia, with shattered health and unhealed wounds, to resume com- mand. He presently planned a sortie from the fort, which for boldness of conception, and the ability with which it was conducted, has never been excelled by any event on the same scale in military Sept. 17. history. It accomplished its design; the British advanced works were captured and destroyed, and Fort Erie saved, with Buffalo and the public stores on the frontiers - and possibly all Western New York. The British loss, in killed and wounded and prisoners, was about one thou- sand; they finally fled in the utmost confusion. The heroes were all honored, individually and collectively, and medals with suitable devices were given to each of the general officers by Congress. Governor Tomp- kins, in the name of the State of New York presented General Brown with an elegant sword. Mayor De Witt Clinton, at the head of the corporation of the city, presented him the honorary privilege of the free-
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
dom of the city, in a gold box, requested his portrait for the gallery in the City Hall, and tendered the thanks of New York City to the officers and men under his command.
During those same hot August days while Fort Erie was besieged, New York City was in a fearful excitement on her own account. It was well known that her defenses were feeble ; and her young and able-bodied men had gone to the frontiers in such large numbers that few were left for service at home. Secret intelligence suddenly came of a premeditated attack upon the city, and, as if to confirm the story, a powerful British force appeared in the Chesapeake. Mayor De Witt Clinton issued a stirring appeal to the citizens on the 2d of Aug. 2. August, calling upon them to offer their personal services and means to aid in the completion of the unfinished fortifications. On the 9th, in response to a call Aug. 9. signed by Henry Rutgers General Brown's Gold Box. and Oliver Wolcott, an immense throng assembled in the City Hall Park, and chose from the Common Council, Colonel Nicholas Fish, Gideon Tucker, Peter Mesier, George Buckmaster, and John Nitchie, a Committee of Defense, clothed with ample power to direct the efforts of the inhabitants at this critical mo- ment in the business of protection. The work commenced on the heights around Brooklyn the same day, under the direction of General Joseph
G. Swift. Only four days after the meeting in the Park, the Com- Aug. 13 mittee of Defense reported three thousand persons laboring with pickaxes, shovels and spades. Masonic and other societies went in bodies to the task ; the Washington Benevolent Society, an organization opposed to the war, went over with their banner bearing the portrait of Washing- ton, each man with a handkerchief containing a supply of food Aug. 15. for the day; on the 15th the city newspapers were suspended that all hands might work on the fortifications ; two hundred journeymen printers went over together ; two hundred weavers ; a large procession of butchers bearing the flag used by them in the great Federal procession of 1789-on which was an ox prepared for slaughter; numerous manufactur- ing companies with all their men ; and the colored people in crowds. On Aug. 20. the 20th five hundred men went to Harlem Heights to work upon intrenchments there ; and, at the same time, fifteen hundred Irish-
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BURNING OF THE NATIONAL CAPITOL.
men crossed into Brooklyn for the same purpose; school-teachers and their pupils went together to give their aid ; and little boys, too small to handle a spade or pickaxe, carried earth on shingles. It was a scene never to be forgotten. One morning the people of Bushwick, Long Island, appeared, accompanied by their pastor, Rev. John Bassett, who opened the operations with prayer, and remained all day distributing refresh- ments and encouraging the laborers. Citizens from neighboring towns and from New Jersey proffered their services.
The air was thick with alarms. Every day brought fresh accounts of invasions, and depredations committed along the New England coasts. The eastern portion of Maine was taken by the British, and eight hun- dred troops left to hold the conquered region. Stonington, Connecticut, was the theater of a most distressing bombardment for three days. Massa- chusetts was menaced, and her authorities instituted active measures for defense. In Boston every class of citizens, as in New York, volunteered to work on the fortifications. "I remember," said an eyewitness, "the venerable Dr. Lathrop with the deacons and elders of his church each shouldering his shovel and doing yeomen's service in digging, shoveling, and carrying sods in wheelbarrows." So far from finding the New- Englanders attached to the British cause, the marauding parties were amazed at the spirit and execution of the militia who met and drove them from their borders.
Tidings of a portentous character reached the city on the 27th. Wash- ington, the capital of the nation, had been captured by the British, and the torch applied to its public buildings, many of its private dwell- ings, the navy-yard, national shipping, and the great bridge over Aug. 27. the Potomac. With the unfinished Capitol was destroyed the valuable private library of Congress ; the walls of the edifice stood firm, however, and were used in rebuilding. The shell of the President's house likewise stood, like a monument of the Middle Ages, to mark the track of the bar- barian. Mrs. Madison packed as many cabinet papers into trunks as would fill one carriage, and secured some silver plate. A message reached her to fly to a place of safety ; but she insisted upon waiting to take down the large portrait of Washington, by Stuart, and when the process of unscrewing it from the wall was found too slow, she ordered the frame to be broken and the canvas taken out and rolled up. Two gentlemen from New York, Mr. De Peyster and Mr. Jacob Barber, entering at the moment, she consigned the picture to their care. The accumulated docu- ments of the State Department were packed into carts by their custodian, and hastily conveyed across the Potomac some twenty or more miles into the woods of Virginia, where they were safely lodged under a farmer's
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roof. Rome in the worst days of Europe had never experienced any such fate as our national capital, and the effect was instantaneous. Thousands upon thousands who had previously withheld their services hencefor- ward gave the war their firm and steady support. The outrage upon taste and the arts and humanity, instead of crushing or dividing the American people, served to unite all parties against the common enemy. The blow aimed by the British government recoiled upon itself.
The city of New York and its suburbs became one vast camp, animated by indomitable determination to uphold the national honor, and preserve at all hazards the beautiful commercial metropolis. On the 29th Aug. 29. a requisition was made for twenty thousand militia from New York and New Jersey to be concentrated in and about the city, and the corporation raised the funds to 6 SIX CENTS. 6 meet the necessary expenses, un- The Corporation of the City of New York promise to pay the Bearer on demand,. der a pledge of reimbursement by the general government.
Six Cents.
6
SIX
CENTS
New York, 26th Dec. 1814. By order of the Corporation.
Six Cents.
The scarcity of specie and the drains made on the banks caused
a suspension of specie pay- John! Mintard Aug. 31. ments, which continued un- 6 SIX CENTS. til the first Monday in July, 1817. The want of small change for a The above has the following cut on the back : circulating medium induced the corporation to issue a substitute in small paper bills, signed by FUGIO John Pintard, to the amount of one hundred thousand dollars, which passed current in all pay- ments and facilitated business. BUSINESS, There were further issues from MIND YOUR New York Paper Currency. time to time. The total amount of these small bills was two hundred and forty-five thousand three hundred and fifty-six dollars.
The derangement of financial affairs was such at this juncture that many thought it impossible for the government to maintain its army and navy. In March a twenty-five million loan had been authorized, in addition to former loans ; but less than half that amount had been raised as yet, owing to the exorbitant terms demanded by the money-lenders. The pressure for funds was so great that the Secretary of the Treasury issued stock as well as treasury notes with which to borrow currency, but the banks of New York refused to loan their bills without additional
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NEW YORK CITY IN ARMS.
security. It was understood, however, that if treasury notes endorsed by Governor Tompkins were deposited, the money would be forthcoming. Rufus King immediately waited upon the governor and acquainted him with the fact. "I should be obliged to act on my own responsibility, and should be ruined," replied Tompkins. "Then ruin yourself, if it be- come necessary to save the country, and I pledge you my honor that I will support you in whatever you do," exclaimed King. Oliver Wolcott, president of the Bank of America, and other prominent Federalists, uttered similar sentiments. Tompkins endorsed the notes on his own personal and official security, and a half million was promptly loaned.
Nor was this all. In the bankrupt condition of the treasury, Tompkins was obliged to advance money to keep the cadets at West Point from starving, to sustain the recruiting service in Connecticut, and to pay workmen employed in the manufactory of arms at Springfield.1 He also issued a stirring call to the inhabitants of New York to send arms of every description to the State arsenal, for which they should receive cash. And through his active exertions forty thousand militia were in the field in an incredibly short space of time, not for the defense of New York City only, but of Plattsburg, Sackett's Harbor, and Buffalo. Between six and ten thousand were mustered into actual service in New York City September 2, under Major-generals Morgan Lewis, and Ebenezer
Stevens of Revolutionary distinction. Cadwallader David Colden Sept. 2. was appointed to the command of all the uniformed militia companies of the city and county. He was the grandson of Lieutenant-governor Colden, a man of exceptional learning, and a commercial lawyer, who stood at the head of his profession. He was born in 1769, and his edu- cation, begun in Jamaica, Long Island, during the stormy scenes of the Revolution, was completed in London, in 1785. He was as remarkable for energy and strength of character as his illustrious grandfather - alert in every fiber and alive in every sense; and he also possessed that rare combination of the scholar and the man of affairs which distinguished the Lieutenant-governor through the whole of his long and chequered career.
Each company had its parade-ground, where the citizens who quartered at home were drilled for three and four hours each morning and after- noon. Men of all ages and callings filled the ranks - the old merchant and the young boot-black, the gentleman of leisure and his butcher and baker, the white-haired doctor and the college student, the man of wealth and the industrious mechanic. Nobody stopped to argue about the right or wrong of the " wicked war." A mighty community of soldiers seemed suddenly to have sprung into existence.
1 Hildreth, VI. 519 ; Hammond, I. 378 ; Lossing, 10, 19 ; Randall, 195.
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK
Washington Irving offered his services, and was made the aid and secretary of Governor Tompkins, with the rank of colonel. His name first appears attached to a general order on the 2d, the day of the muster. An incident on a Hudson River steamboat, in which he figured, illus- trates the spirit of the hour. A passenger came on board at Poughkeepsie about midnight, and in the darkness of the cabin proclaimed the news of the fall of Washington City, with a detailed ac- count of the distressing scenes. Some one lifted his head from a pillow, and in a tone of compla- cent disdain, wondered what Jimmy Madison would say now? Irving responded with emphasis : "Let me tell you, sir, it is not a question about 'Jimmy Madison,' or 'Johnny Armstrong.' The pride and honor of the nation are wounded ; the country is insulted and disgraced by this barbar- ous success, and every Cadwallader David Colden. [Elected Mayor of New York City in 1818.] loyal citizen should feel the ignominy, and be ear- nest to avenge it." In relating the circumstance, Irving said, "I could not see the fellow, but I let fly at him in the dark."
Two of the sons of Rufus King were in the army - James Gore King serving as adjutant-general, and John Alsop King, afterwards governor of the State, as lieutenant of a troop of horse. The latter is described in his military capacity as a remarkable disciplinarian. He commanded as fine a troop as ever paraded the streets of New York, composed almost exclu- sively of young men from the leading families. Robert Watts, reputed by his contemporaries as the handsomest man in the city, was a major under King ; he was the son of Hon. John Watts, and brother of George Watts, who so recently distinguished himself at Niagara - another rep- resentative of that soldierly Huguenot race, the De Lanceys. While parading in Park Place one morning the horse of Major Watts ran away, and, to prevent accident, he reined him in the direction of the high fence
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THE SEPTEMBER OF BLOOD.
around City Hall Park, carried him over, subdued him, and returned to his duty - a feat of horsemanship which his superior officer always re- called in after years with wonder and admiration.
The work on the fortifications was prosecuted with redoubled vigor. Hundreds of men worked at night by the light of the moon. The number of days' labor performed by the citizens of New York 1814. alone was computed at one hundred thousand. Commodore Decatur was placed in command of the harbor with a force of picked men ready for action by sea or land.
There was no mistaking the temper of New York. While amid the blackened ruins of the city of Washington the heads of the general gov- ernment railed at each other, and the country was beleaguered upon every side by an enemy of overpowering strength, with the avowed purpose of trampling upon the usages of civilized warfare, New York calmly and cheerfully bore every burden of every kind demanded for the honor and safety of the nation. Of peace there seemed no prospect. The Ameri- can commissioners were at Ghent, but nobody came, at latest accounts, from Great Britain to treat with them. The destruction of the Capitol be- ing accredited to the mismanagement of Secretary Armstrong, he retired from the War Department in disgust. The President invited Governor Tompkins to accept the office of Secretary of State in the emergency, which he declined on the ground that he could serve the nation better as governor of New York; therefore Monroe remained in that office, and also officiated as Secretary of War until the next March. Postmaster-general Gideon Granger, who had during his twelve years in the cabinet greatly improved the postal affairs of America, was superseded by Return Jona- than Meigs, governor of Ohio. Granger took up his abode in New York, and soon gave one thousand acres of land for the benefit of the Erie Canal.
It will be observed that the British government had distributed its enormous wealth of men and money, on land and water, in such a manner as to invade the United States at points far distant from each other simul- taneously. September was marked with blood. Between the 12th
and 15th of the month the British attempted to seize Mobile, but, Sept. 15. through the sleepless sagacity of Jackson, met with a mortifying repulse. On these very same September days Baltimore was assailed, and Fort McHenry bombarded by Ross and Cockburn ; it was during this excit- ing cannonade, between midnight and dawn of the morning of the 14th, that " The Star Spangled Banner," our national lyric, was written Sept. 14. by Francis Scott Key, while anxiously pacing the deck of one of the British vessels, whither he had gone under a flag of truce to solicit the release of certain prisoners, and where he was detained pending
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the attack. Baltimore was successfully defended, which was another humiliating blow to the enemy.
Preparations to invade New York by the way of Lake Champlain were in the mean time conducted with great secrecy and address ; it was believed in London that Sir George Prevost would presently shake hands with Ross and Cockburn in the valley of the Hudson, and that the besiegers of Fort Erie would be present at the meeting. A powerful army of fourteen thousand men, commanded by the most experienced officers in the Brit- ish service, made gradual approaches towards Plattsburg, from Montreal,
between the 1st and 5th of September. On the 6th these veterans Sept. 6. marched upon Plattsburg and were severely checked in their plans, after fighting desperately all day; from the 7th to the 11th they were employed in bringing up batteries, trains, and supplies. The final battles,
by land and by water, occurred on the 11th. General Alexander Sept. 11. Macomb commanded the American land forces, General Izard hav- ing been ordered, much against his wishes and his judgment, to Sackett's Harbor, and thence to the relief of General Brown at Fort Erie. Com- modore Macdonough's squadron lay at anchor in Plattsburg Bay, well prepared for battle ; it carried eighty-six guns, and about eight hundred men. At an early hour on the 11th the British squadron, mounting ninety-five guns, with one thousand men, was seen advancing. As the deck of Macdonough's flag-ship Saratoga was cleared for action, her com- mander fell upon his knees, with officers and men around him, and offered an earnest and solemn prayer. It was a few minutes past nine when the enemy's flag-ship Confiance anchored abreast of the Saratoga at a distance of three hundred yards ; and the other vessels took their stations opposite those of the Americans. The engagement then commenced. For two hours the thunder of cannon, the hiss of rockets, the scream of bombs, and the rattle of musketry echoed from shore to shore. Both flag-ships were crippled; but Macdonough displayed a masterpiece of seamanship by winding the Saratoga round and opening a fresh fire from her larboard quarter guns. The Confiance, being unable to effect the same operation, soon surrendered. The British brig and two sloops struck their colors within fifteen minutes. The British galleys, seeing the colors of the larger vessels go down, dropped their ensigns. At a little past noon not one of the sixteen British flags, so proudly floating over Lake Cham- plain when the sun rose, could be seen.
It was a glorious and substantial victory. The loss of the Americans was one hundred and ten, of whom fifty-two were killed. The total British loss was upwards of two hundred. Macdonough, with a more than royal courtesy, declined the swords of the commanders of his prizes.
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THE VICTORY OF MACOMB.
The land-battle was commenced at the same moment with that upon the water, and was conducted by Sir George Prevost in person. Repeated efforts under cover of shot and shell to force a passage of the Saranac River were repulsed by the heroic New-Yorkers under Macomb. Suddenly joy- ful shouts pierced the air and iterated and reiterated along the American lines. Thus was announced to Sir George Prevost the surrender of the squadron; and he withdrew his troops at once from the contest. At Sept. 2. two o'clock the next morning the whole British army took its flight
towards Canada, leaving its sick and wounded with munitions of war and army stores worth nearly a thousand pounds sterling. Sir George Prevost had lost twenty-five hundred men since entering the territory of New York, including deserters and prisoners. Three days after the battle, when it was ascertained that the British were making their way to the St. Lawrence, Macomb disbanded the New York and Vermont militia, who had nobly hurried to his aid. The expedition so boastfully projected cost Great Britain some two and a half million dollars : and its complete failure influenced the British government to think seriously of making peace.
Macomb and Macdonough had won unfading laurels, and they received the plaudits and the homage of all America. In the intense joy with which the news of their success was received, the recent disaster at Washington was for the moment forgotten. Congress voted them the thanks of the nation and gold medals. Their officers of all ranks were individually honored ; every man in the naval conflict, and in the battle upon land, distinguished himself by daring intrepidity so far as he had opportunity. Governor Tompkins, in the name of the State of New York, presented Macomb with a superb sword ; and Mayor De Witt Clinton, in the name of the corporation, presented him with the freedom of the city in a gold box similar in character to that given to General Brown. Macomb's portrait was painted by Sully at the request of the city, and placed in the gallery of distinguished men. New York gave Macdonough two thousand acres of land ; Vermont presented him two hundred acres on the borders of Plattsburg Bay ; and the cities of New York and Albany each gave him a valuable lot. His portrait was painted for the city by John Wesley Jarvis.
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