USA > New York > New York City > History of the city of New York : its origin, rise, and progress Vol. III > Part 35
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As before recorded, the sortie from Fort Erie was on the 17th ; General Izard, with his troops from Plattsburg, reached that post soon after-
wards, but no further military movements of importance occurred Sept. 17. on the Niagara frontier. Commodore Chauncey had remained blockaded at Sackett's Harbor until his flag-ship Superior was completed-about the middle of June- when Sir James Yeo prudently withdrew his blockading
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vessels. In July Chauncey's squadron crossed Lake Ontario, and from the 9th of August for six weeks blockaded Sir James Yeo in Kingston Harbor, vainly manœuvering to draw him out for combat. Finally a British frigate, pierced for one hundred and twelve guns, was completed at Kingston, and Chauncey retired to Sackett's Harbor to prepare for an attack, which the enemy never attempted.
Simultaneously with these important events in New York, a powerful expedition was preparing to move upon New Orleans. It was only a few years since the vast territory of the Lower Mississippi had been pur- chased from France, and its chief city was assailable from so many points that it seemed impossible to secure it by ordinary fortifications against a hostile attack. While General Jackson was defending Mobile, Edward Livingston of New York was stirring New Orleans into action. His knowledge of the people and of the situation was complete, his judgment cool, and his influence electrical. At a meeting of the citizens on the
15th his polished oratory excited the mixed, indolent population Sept. 15. of the city to a high pitch of loyalty to America, and a series of resolutions which he offered were adopted by acclamation. There was no other man upon the spot at all qualified for the comprehensive work to be performed; he furnished Jackson with information and maps dur- ing the interval until he could come from Mobile with troops, and, hence- forward, was his interpreter of the French language, his military secretary, and his confidential adviser upon all subjects.
Information that Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane was approaching with thirteen ships of the line and transports bearing ten thousand troops hastened Jackson's march to defenseless New Orleans. His journey, how- ever, was not a feat to be performed with celerity, and the enemy would have arrived and entered the city without opposition before him, but for a singular and unexpected detention of ten days at Fayal.
It has been observed, that naval operations upon the ocean were by no means confined to national vessels. Privateers harassed the commerce of Great Britain and carried into every quarter of the globe proofs of Ameri- can skill and seamanship. The terror they inspired was intense. Their achievements were marvelous. They were swift-sailing vessels, rarely captured by the adversary ; and, being authorized and encouraged by government, their services were conspicuous. Their owners secured large fortunes, and the contest terminated much sooner because of their exploits. The New-Yorkers sent out one splendid privateer of seventeen guns and one hundred and fifty men, which, during a single cruise, was chased by. no less than seventeen armed British ships and escaped them all ; and she brought into port goods valued at three hundred thousand dollars, with a
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CAPTAIN SAMUEL CHESTER REID.
large amount of specie. Another successful private-armed cruiser was the General Armstrong, of only seven guns, built by Rensselaer Havens, Thomas Farmer, Thomas Jenkins, and other New York merchants ; she sustained a fierce battle off the coast of South America in the spring of 1813 with the British sloop of war Coquette, mounting twenty-seven guns, and her commander, Guy R. Champlin, was voted a handsome sword by the stockholders for his gallantry. The romantic career of the General Armstrong would form a chapter of itself. But the thrilling event with which her history closed was of great moment to two nations, as it saved the city of New Orleans from capture. This vessel was com- manded, in 1814, by Captain Samuel Chester Reid, then only thirty years of age-a young naval officer of merit who served as midshipman under Commodore Thomas Truxton. He was the idol of his men, generous to a fault, but vigorous as a ruler ; and in all emergencies preserved their con- fidence through his quickness of per- ception, maturity of judgment, and coolness in action. He was tall, re- markably well formed, with much personal beauty, and manners capti- vating and courtly. He had recently married in New York City the ac- Captain Samuel Chester Reid. [From a miniature in possession of the Countess Di Cesnola.] complished daughter of Nathan Jen- nings, of Fairfield, Connecticut, who shared the hardships and glory of Trenton under Washington. He parted from his bride on the 9th of Sep- tember, little dreaming of the brilliant part he was within three weeks to perform in the great drama of war.
The General Armstrong prepared for sea in the early part of that exciting month -September-when the city of New York was like a vast beehive, with its workmen on the fortifications, and was manned Sept. 9. by ninety men including officers. The first lieutenant of Captain Reid was Frederick A. Worth, brother of the famous General Worth ; the sec- ond lieutenant was Alexander O. Williams, also of New York, and a most promising young officer ; the third lieutenant was Robert Johnson, and the quartermaster was Bazilla Hammond. At nine o'clock on the evening of the 9th the vessel spread her sails and glided from Sandy Hook, effectually running the blockade. Nothing of moment occurred
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until she reached Fayal, one of the Azores, belonging to Portugal, where about noon of the 26th she anchored for the purpose of obtaining water.
Captain Reid dined with John B. Dabney, the American consul, Sept. 26. who politely ordered the water sent to the vessel at once, as she was to proceed on her voyage in the morning. Just before sunset Reid, accompanied by the consul and some other gentlemen, returned to the General Armstrong, and, as they stood talking upon the deck, a British sail appeared ; before dark six war-vessels, the squadron of Commodore Lloyd, anchored in the roads. The flag-ship Plantagenet, the frigate Rota, and the brig Carnation together mounted one hundred and thirty-six guns. Not much chance apparently for the little New York brigantine of seven guns. The British force numbered over two thousand men, who, it would seem, might easily overpower ninety. The British vessels were so placed that Reid could not escape from the port ; but the consul told him there was not the slightest danger of his being molested as long as he remained at anchor in neutral waters. Commodore Lloyd, however, in defiance of neutrality laws and the usages of civilized nations, no sooner discovered the saucy General Armstrong than he resolved upon her capture ; as he was on his way with reinforcements for the conquest of New Orleans, to join Admiral Cochrane awaiting him at Jamaica, he very naturally thought the swift-sailing privateer would be extremely useful to the expedition.
The light of the full moon enabled Reid to see the movements of the fleet distinctly, and when boats were launched and arms passed into them, he suspected the truth and advised his visitors to go on shore. He then gave secret orders to clear his deck for action, without noise or com- motion, while he moved his vessel a little nearer to the castle. About eight o'clock four boats containing one hundred and sixty men were seen approaching rapidly, as if sure of their game. Reid hailed them three or four times, receiving no answer. As they came alongside and attempted to board the General Armstrong he gave the word to his marines to fire, and a fierce and desperate struggle ensued, followed by the shrieks and groans of the wounded and dying; in a few moments the enemy staggered back appalled, and cried for quarter, and the boats pulled off in a sinking condition, with great loss.
It was presently apparent that the squadron was preparing for a more formidable attack. The governor of Fayal sent a message to Commodore Lloyd forbidding any further hostilities, as the General Armstrong was under the guns of the castle, and entitled to Portuguese protection. But the answer came, that if any attempt was made to shield the vessel the guns of the fleet would be turned upon the town. The inhabitants were
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intensely excited, and crowded the shore in breathless anxiety. Three hours passed. There lay the little privateer, with her tall tapering spars, resting on the moonlit waters as quiet and as peaceful as an over-wearied child. Not a movement was to be seen, nor a sound heard upon her decks. She seemed deserted. And yet she was entirely ready to receive the enemy, and her men were lying concealed. At midnight fourteen boats, with about five hundred men, took their stations under covert of a small reef of rocks from which they approached in solid column in a direct line. Captain Reid hailed the boats as before, and receiving no answer, opened a destructive fire from which they recoiled for the moment, then rallied and with cheers returned the fire, and quickly reached the General Armstrong ; the attempt to board her was made upon every side at the same instant, the men led on by the officers with a shout of " No quarters !" which could be distinctly heard above the oaths and cries and the din of musketry by the people of Fayal, who were spectators of the frightful midnight scene. The defense was without parallel for gallantry in ancient or modern history. With the skill and might of knights of old, Reid and his well-disciplined men drove back England's best and bravest troops with terrible slaughter. The action lasted forty minutes. The enemy made frequent and repeated attempts to gain the decks, but were repulsed every time at every point. Reid lost the services of all his lieutenants about the middle of the action ; Williams was killed and Worth and Johnson wounded; but by his own cool and intrepid conduct a most remarkable victory was secured. He was left-handed, and fought with both hands - using his right to fire pistols which the powder-boys handed him, and his left in keeping off assaulters with a cutlass. The termination was a total defeat of the British. Three of their boats were sunk. But one poor, solitary officer escaped death, in a boat that contained fifty souls. Some of the boats were left without a single man to row them ; others with only three or four. The most that any one returned with was ten. Four boats floated ashore full of dead bodies. The water of the bay was crimsoned with blood; and the deck of the General Armstrong was slippery with human gore. The British had lost over three hundred in killed and wounded. "But to the surprise of mankind," wrote an English officer, "the Americans had but two killed and seven wounded !"
The statement seems almost incredible, but such was the fact. "God deliver us from our enemies, if this is the way they fight," continued the same writer, who was an eyewitness of the battle. At daybreak Sept. 27. the Carnation opened a heavy fire upon the General Armstrong, which was promptly returned, and with such severity that the British
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brig retired for repairs. The town of Fayal was in peril, several of the inhabitants having been wounded by the guns of the Carnation, and a number of houses damaged. Captain Reid, seeing no hope of saving his vessel, scuttled her and went ashore. The British completed her destruc- tion by setting her on fire. Commodore Lloyd then ordered the governor of Fayal to deliver up the Americans as prisoners, and met with an un- qualified refusal. He threatened to land five hundred troops and take them by force. Reid and his men retired to an old Gothic convent, knocked away the adjoining drawbridge, and determined to defend them- selves to the last.
But the British commander wisely abstained from an attempt to carry his threat into execution. He had lost the flower of his officers and men, and numbers of the injured were dying from hour to hour. "For three days after the action we were employed in burying the dead that washed on shore in the surf," wrote an Englishman. Two British sloops of war, the Thais and Calypso, coming into port, were sent to convey fifty of the wounded to England, but were not permitted to take a single letter from any person. The fleet was detained for burials and repairs ten days, and, upon reaching Jamaica, Lloyd was severely censured for his folly by the Admiral. Nothing had been gained, and the extent of the injury to the British cause was incalculable.
The spirited defense of the General Armstrong produced a great sen- sation throughout America, and was mentioned in England with wonder and admiration, as the " essence of heroism." Probably no one conflict of the war placed the American character in so proud a view. In addi- tion to the glory won by the skill and bravery of the resistance, Reid and his gallant associates were properly accredited with the salvation of New Orleans.1 When the powerful and well-appointed British fleet completed its preparation at Jamaica, it sailed for the great emporium of the wealth and treasure of the Southwest. An easy conquest of Louisiana was ex- pected. Sixty sail appeared near the mouth of the Mississippi early in December. But Jackson had already reached and fortified New Orleans, to the great disappointment of the British, and his clanging proclama- tions were bringing together all classes of the mixed population to repel the invaders. A short and decisive campaign followed. The host of veteran soldiers, fresh from the battle-fields of Europe, struggled an entire month in vain to fulfill their errand. The 8th of January, 1815, will
1 Schaffner's History of America, Div. IV., Chap. XXIII., p. 378 ; Coggeshall's History of American Privateers, p. 370 ; American State Papers, XIV. ; Naval Affairs, p. 493 ; Letter from Consul Dabney to Secretary of State, October 5, 1814 ; Letter to William Cobbett, Esq., containing an English account of the battle ; Cobbett's Weekly Register, December 10, 1814 ; Lossing's Field Book of the War of 1812, p. 1004.
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long be memorable in the annals of America. It was the day of Jack- son's great victory over the immense British army ; and with a loss of only seven killed and six wounded.1 The British suffered in every way. They were obliged to fight upon an open level plain, while the Americans were thoroughly protected by breastworks. Seven hundred perished, in- cluding their commander-in-chief, and the most experienced and bravest of their officers. Their loss altogether was upwards of three thousand.
Captain Reid returned to New York in December, traveling by land from Savannah, and was everywhere greeted with enthusiasm and show- ered with flattering honors. At Richmond he was tendered a public dinner by the most brilliant men of Virginia; the Speaker of the House of Burgesses presided, and William Wirt was vice-president. The gov- ernor graced the festive scene with his presence; and the toast and song passed from lip to lip like an electric fire. When the hero retired the president gave the sentiment -" Captain Reid - his valor has shed a blaze of renown upon the character of our seamen, and won for himself a laurel of eternal bloom." In other cities and towns through which he passed Reid was fêted and complimented in the most flattering manner. New York especially seemed touched to the heart, his offi- cers and men being nearly all from among her own people, and on his return home he was welcomed with A.W. Del every demon- stration of grat- Silverware presented to Captain Reid by the Citizens of New York. [In possession of the Countess Di Cesnola. ] itude and affec- tion. The legis- lature voted him the thanks of the State and an elegant sword, which Governor Tompkins presented with an appropriate address, in which he said : "Such heroic conduct confounds the mind with admiration, and the fame of it has resounded to every country. The whole civilized
1 Hunt's Life of Edward Livingston, pp. 201 - 205 ; Baines' History of the French Revolu- tion, Vol. II. p. 409 ; Thompson's Second War, p. 484.
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world has awarded to it the meed of praise." The citizens of New York City gave him a handsome service of plate with suitable inscriptions, consisting of a large solid silver pitcher bearing an emblematical engrav- ing of the action at Fayal, two silver tumblers, a teapot, sugar-bowl, milk-ewer, and bowl.1
As the autumn waned New York City bristled with fortifications. The heights around Brooklyn were covered with military works, com- pletely isolating the town. The heights overlooking Harlem were forti- fied at all points. Fort Richmond was built at the Narrows with other strongholds, and guarded by a brigade of two thousand militia from August to December. The works on Governor's and Bedloe's Islands
1 Samuel Chester Reid was born at Norwich, Connecticut, August 25, 1783, died in New York City, January 28, 1861. He was the only surviving son of a British officer of the Rev- olution, who married Rebecca Chester, only daughter of John Chester, of Groton, Connecti- cut, a direct descendant of the Earl of Chester. Reid was married in New York City in 1813 to the daughter of Captain Nathan Jennings, of Fairfield, Connecticut, a lady distinguished for beauty and talent. Their children were : 1. John Chester Reid, a graduate at West Point, and aid to General Gaines, died unmarried in 1845 ; 2. Anna Johnson Reid, married George N. Sanders ; 3. Washington Reid, an officer of the U. S. Navy, died in Brazil in 1850 ; 4. Samuel C. Reid, a lawyer of distinction, married Josephine, daughter of the Hon. Mr. Rowan, minister to Naples under President Polk, and granddaughter of the celebrated Judge John Rowan, Senator from Kentucky and commissioner to Mexico ; 5. Franklin Reid, died young ; 6. Aaron Bertrand Reid, married Emma, daughter of S. D. Gardner, of Haverstraw ; 7. Mary Isabel Reid, married General Count Louis Palma Di Cesnola ; 8. Louisa Gouverneur Reid, married the editor and poet, Dr. John Savage ; 9. William J. Reid, married Lillie, daughter of the poet, William Henry Burleigh ; 10. George Henry, died young. Captain Reid was subsequently offered a post-captaincy in the navy, which he declined. He was many years port-warden of New York, and he invented and erected the signal-telegraph at the Battery and the Narrows, communicating with Sandy Hook. He was president of the Marine Society, and rendered a great service to our harbor and shipping by the regulation of marine laws. He was also distinguished as the designer of the present arrangement of our national flag. He was the chosen social companion of most of the great men of the period. At his death his remains were escorted to Greenwood Cemetery with every mark of respect and hom- age which the public could bestow. One of the journals of the day describing the funeral ob- sequies, and dwelling upon the details of Reid's long and eventful career, said : "They are, aside from the romantic personal interest which hangs about them, among the most important events in the history of our nation. Reid was, indeed, a man of rare combinations, - the courage of a lion, the venturous spirit of a crusader, the taste of a poet, and the tenderness of a woman ; he belonged to that old school of patriots of whom Paul Jones was the first and himself the last. In the lives of these men are found the most dauntless intrepidity, the most manly generosity, and the purest chivalry. The sea, not as we see it, calm and beautiful, but as it is seen dashing against the clouds rent by thunder and pierced by lightning, the sea, not the blue, the ever free, but the bellowing, bold, bounding ocean, is pictured in such men as Reid. And as the vast procession followed his remains to their final repose in Greenwood, the scenes of our country's triumph passed before each vision. The flags, waving at half-mast, told of the victories on sea and land, and the guns which boomed from the battery recited over again . the terrific fight of the General Armstrong against the midnight attack, in a neutral port, of the British assassin."
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were enlarged and strengthened. Castle Garden was erected at the foot of Broadway ; Fort Gansevoort was built at the bend of the Hudson, foot of Gansevoort Street ; Fort Stevens at Hallet's Point near Hell Gate, with a stone tower on Lawrence Hill in its rear - the Long Island shore opposite was at the same time defended by fortifications at Ben- son's Point-and in the middle of the East River, Mill Rock was crowned with a block-house and battery ; Forts Clinton and Fish were erected to protect McGowan's Pass on the road to Harlem, and Fort Laight on the eminence overlooking Manhattanville. On the bank of the Hudson, near the residence of Viscount Courtenay, afterward Earl of Devon, was a strong stone tower, connected by a line of intrenchments with Fort Laight. Although the city could be approached from several directions, its atti- tude was so defiant that the prospect was not at all encouraging to the enemy.
October brought no relief. Congress quarreled over a project for the removal of the seat of government, and talked about amending the Constitution ; while various proposals to raise the prostrate credit 1814. of the United States engaged attention. George W. Campbell, Secretary of the Treasury since Gallatin's departure for Europe in February, re- signed immediately after reporting the deplorable condition of the national finances ; he was succeeded on the 6th by Alexander Oct. 6. James Dallas, who entered upon the uncertain duties of the important office with courage and vigor. Monroe, as Secretary of War, proposed a conscription system to increase the regular army. This was denounced by Connecticut as unconstitutional, intolerably barbarous and oppressive, and the governor of the State was authorized to call a special Oct 14. session of the legislature to provide for the protection of the citizens should such a bill pass into a law. Discontent all through New England occasioned great alarm at Washington. News came that Massa- chusetts had appropriated a million of dollars toward the support of a State army of ten thousand men, to relieve the militia in service, and to be under the exclusive State control. Next followed a mysterious com- munication to the State Department from a pretended representative of the royal family of the Stuarts, having certain claims to the soil of New York, which revealed the existence of a treasonable committee in Boston preparing to establish the kingdom of New England, with the Duke of Kent, the British Prince Regent's brother, at its head !
Madison lived in terror. William Wirt, who called upon him on the 16th, wrote : "He looks miserably shattered and woe-begone. In short, he looks heart-broken. His mind is full of the New Eng- Oct. 16. land sedition. I denied its probability, or even its possibility." Re-
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searches in Boston failed to exhume any such committee or plot. But the maturing plan of a convention at Hartford was supposed to be a sign that New England seriously contemplated withdrawal from the Union. Intelligence from Ghent came also of a disheartening character. On the 6th of August Lord Gambier, Henry Goulburn, and William Adams had finally appeared for Great Britain ; but their propositions were such that the American diplomatists promptly declined to consider them. It seemed for a time as if all efforts to negotiate a treaty would be fruitless.
Oct. 22. The legislature of New York resolved unanimously that the terms proposed by Great Britain were "extravagant and disgraceful," and voted to furnish a local force of twelve thousand men.
At the expiration of the three months' term of service of the New York militia, a grand muster and review of all the troops that Nov. 30. could be spared from duty took place in the city, and was de- scribed as the finest military spectacle witnessed since the Revolution. The line was formed in Broadway, the right in Franklin Street, and reached out beyond the junction of the Bowery. The column marched through the principal streets headed by Governor Tompkins and a numer- ous staff.1 One of the young officers in the company of riflemen who pa- raded in the procession was Samuel Hanson Cox, afterwards the celebrated pulpit orator and theologian. The statesman and scholar, Theodore Fre- linghuysen, was the captain of a company. Almost every New York family was represented in the army. George Wyllys Benedict, son of Rev. Joel Tyler Benedict, and elder brother of the present Chancellor of the University of the State of New York, was among the soldiers. He was subsequently professor in the University of Vermont, and distin- guished as a naturalist and a jurist.2
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