USA > New York > Erie County > Sardinia > History of the original town of Concord : being the present towns of Concord, Collins, N. Collins, and Sardinia, Erie County, New York > Part 7
USA > New York > Erie County > Collins > History of the original town of Concord : being the present towns of Concord, Collins, N. Collins, and Sardinia, Erie County, New York > Part 7
USA > New York > Erie County > Concord > History of the original town of Concord : being the present towns of Concord, Collins, N. Collins, and Sardinia, Erie County, New York > Part 7
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Early in March, Capt. Oliver Hazard Perry, of the United States Navy, a young man twenty-six years of age, of hand- some features and gallant bearing, arrived in Buffalo from the East, and after a brief stay, went forward to Erie to superin- tend the fitting out of a naval armament there. During the Winter, the Government had purchased a number of merchant vessels, for the purpose of converting them into men-of-war, and the construction of several new ones had been begun. Erie, from its comparatively secure harbor, had been selected as the naval headquarters.
Five vessels, however, were fitted out in Scajaquada creek, and for several months Perry flitted back and forth between the two places, urging forward the work.
In the fore part of April, soldiers began to arrive on the frontier. On the 17th of that month, Major-General Lewis and Brigadier-General Boyd arrived in Buffalo to assume com- mand according to their respective ranks. General Dearborn took command on the whole northern frontier. The British force on the other side of the Niagara was very weak.
The campaign in the north was commenced by an expedi- tion from Sacket's Harbor, under General Dearborn and Commodore Chauncy, by which York (now Toronto) was cap- tured by a dashing attack, the gallant General Pike being killed by the explosion of the enemy's magazine. This triumph pre- vented the sending of re-enforcements to the British forts on
67
AMERICANS OCCUPY FORT GEORGE.
the Niagara, and when our fleet appeared off Fort George, about the 25th of May, it was immediately evacuated. The Americans, under General Lewis, crossed and occupied it.
The same day, the commander at Fort Erie received orders under which he kept up a heavy cannonade on Black Rock until the following morning, when he blew up his magazines, destroyed his stores, and dismissed his men. All other public stores, barracks, and magazines, from Chippewa to Point Abino, were likewise destroyed. Lieutenant-Colonel Preston, the commandant at Black Rock, immediately crossed over and took possession. So at length the Americans had obtained possession of the Canadian side of the Niagara, and it would not seem that it need to have been difficult to retain it.
But the lack of success in this respect, and in fact the greater part of the disasters of the war of 1812, were attributable no doubt to the blundering of the Government, the weakness of the Commanders, to loose dicipline and to the excessive short term of service of the drafted men and volunteers. As a gen- eral rule, if a volunteer of 1812 stayed on the line three months he thought he had done something wonderful.
In the fore part of 1813, the inhabitants on the upper part of Cazenova creek combined and built a stockade of consider- able magnitude, on the farm of Arthur Humphrey, in Holland. About the same time Captain Bemis' barn, in Hamburg, was surrounded by a similar stockade. There was also a block- house built in that vicinity. Job Palmer's barn, in Boston, was likewise stockaded, and there may have been other fortifica- tions of the kind in the county.
On the 23d of June, 1813, a force of Americans started up the river from Fort George. It consisted of four or five hun- dred regular infantry, twenty regular dragoons and Chapin's company of forty-four mounted riflemen, the whole under Lieutenant-Colonel Bærstler. On the 24th, when nine miles west of Queenston at a place called Beaver Dams, it was attacked by a force of British and Indians. After some skir mishing and marching, accompanied with slight loss, the assail_ ants sent a flag to Colonel Bærstler, and on the mere statement of the bearer that the British regular force was double the American, besides 700 Indians, that officer surrendered his
68
SIX NATION INDIANS ENROLLED.
whole command. Chapin and his Erie county volunteers were sent to the head of Lake Ontario (now Hamilton), whence the Colonel, two officers and twenty-six privates were ordered to Kingston by water, under guard of a Lieutenant and fifteen men. They were all in two boats. When about twenty miles out on Lake Ontario Chapin and his comrades arose, captured the guard and rowed them to Fort George and delivered them as prisoners to the commandant. The British men-of-war still commanded the lake. About the 15th of June the five vessels which had been fitted up in Scajaquada creek, stole out of Black Rock and joined Perry at Erie.
The Queen Charlotte and other British vessels, this year as last, hovered along the lake shore and occasionally sent a boat's crew ashore to depredate on the inhabitants of Hamburg and Evans.
In the early part of July, a skirmish took place near Fort George, in which an American Lieutenant and ten men were captured, who were never heard of more, and were supposed to have been slain by the savages. Then General Boyd accepted the services of the warriors of the Six Nations. Those then enrolled numbered 400, and there were 550 in the service in all.
General Dearborn had withdrawn all the regular soldiers from Buffalo and Black Rock, leaving a large amount of public stores entirely undefended. Being advised, however, of the danger of a raid, he ordered ten artillerists to be stationed at the block- house at Black Rock, and called for 500 militia from the neighboring counties. Between a hundred and fifty and two hundred of these arrived at the threatened point early in July, and were stationed at the warehouses at Black Rock, being under the command of Maj. Parmenio Adams, of Genesee County. They had three pieces of field artillery and near by was a battery of four heavy guns. Nearly a hundred recruits for the regular infantry and dragoons on their way to Dear- born's headquarters, under Captain Cummings, were ordered to stop at Buffalo. Judge Granger was directed to engage as many Seneca warriors as he could, and General Porter who was then staying at his residence at Black Rock, was requested to take command of the whole. By the 10th of July Judge Granger had received such positive information of an immediate
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GENERAL PORTER'S ESCAPE. 69
attack, accompanied by special threats against himself, that he invited some Indians to come to his house north of the Scajaquada creek. Thirty-seven of them arrived at II o'clock that (Saturday) night under the lead of Farmer's Brother. As they were not all armed, and as the Judge was confident that the enemy would be over the next day, he sent to the village and got a full supply of arms and ammunition for his braves that night. The British headquarters were at Lundy's Lane, close by the Falls, where their expedition was fitted out. The commander was Lieutenant-Colonel Bishop. He had under him a part of the forty-first regiment of the British army, and a detachment of Canadian militia, commanded by Colonel Clark. They took boat at Chippewa, on the night of the 10th, and after rowing against the current in the darkness several hours, landed just after daylight a mile below the mouth of the Scajaquada. Forming his men, Colonel Bishop led them rapidly up the river bank. There was a single sentinel at the Scajaquada bridge ; he flung away his musket, dodged into the woods, and took a bee-line for Williamsville. Major Adams' men attempted no resistance, but fled. General Porter had barely time to escape from his house, and without his arms. The victors, supposing no resistance would be made, set to work burning the block-houses and barracks, while the officers ordered breakfast at General Porter's. But a storm was gather- ing. When the militia first began to retreat, a messenger was sent to Buffalo, on whose arrival, Captain Cummings mustered his recruits and marched towards the scene of action. On his way he met General Porter, who ordered him to proceed to a piece of open ground not far from the site of the reservoir, and await re-enforcements.
Taking a horse, sword and other equipments from one of Cumming's dragoons, the general galloped down to the village, where he found everything in confusion ; the women and children in a state of terror, and the men in the streets with arms in their hands, but doubtful whether to fight or flee. Being assured there was a chance of success, forty or fifty of them formed ranks under Captain Bull, the commander of the Buffalo volunteer company, and marched to join Cummings. About a hundred of the retreating militia had been kept
70
FARMER'S BROTHER AND HIS WARRIORS.
together by Lieutenant Phineas Staunton, the adjutant of the battalion. Meanwhile, Major King, of the regular army, who was accidentally at Black Rock, on seeing the sudden retreat of the militia, hurried through the woods to Judge Granger's (who lived beyond Cold Springs, on Main street), whence the alarm was speedily carried to the scattered inhabitants of " Buffalo Plains." Farmer's Brother at once gathered his war- riors and made them a little speech, telling them that they must now go and fight the red-coats; that their country was invaded ; that they had a common interest with the people of the United States, and they must show their friendship for their American brethren by deeds, not words. The old chief- tain then led his little band to join his friend, General Porter. Volunteers, too, came hurrying to the village from the Plains and Cold Springs, until about thirty were gathered, who were placed under the command of Capt. William Hull, of the militia.
General Porter now felt able to cope with the enemy. Bringing together his forces, numbering but about three hun- dred all told, at the open ground before-mentioned, he made his dispositions for an attack. As the foe held a strong position at Major Adams' encampment, Porter determined to attack him on three sides at once, to prevent the destructive use of artillery on a column in front.
The regulars and Captain Bull's Buff volunteers formed the center. The Genesee militia, under Staunton, were on the left. Captain Hull's men and the Indians were in the woods on the right front. Farmer's Brother and his braves prepared for action ; they quickly ranged themselves in line with their chiefs, a few yards in front. At eight o'clock the signal for attack was given. The militia, gallantly led on by Staunton, and ashamed of their recent flight, dashed forward against the enemy. A fight of some fifteen or twenty minutes ensued, in which the militia stood up against the British regulars without flinching. The right flank of the Americans came up ; the Indians raised the war-whoop and opened fire. Colonel Bishop was severely wounded, and fell from his horse; his men became demoral- ized, and when the regulars appeared in front, the enemy fled towards the water's edge. The whole American force then pressed forward together, the Indians making the forest resound
71
GENERAL, WILKINSON TAKES COMMAND.
with savage yells. The chief, Young King, and another warrior were wounded. Part of the British wounded were carried off, but part were left on the field.
At the Black Rock landing, the British rallied, but on the approach of the Americans, hastily retreated into some boats which they found there, leaving fifteen prisoners in the hands of their pursuers. Many were killed and wounded after enter- ing the boats, but the chief loss fell on the last one. It contained sixty men and most of the officers, including Colonel Bishop, who, notwithstanding his wounds, had insisted on remaining to the last. The whole American force came up to the bank and opened fire on this boat inflicting terrible injury. Two or three Indians even sprang into the water, siezed the boat by the gun- wale and endeavored to direct it ashore, but were compelled to desist by the fire of their friends in the rear. Captain Saunders, of the British Forty-first, was severely wounded at the water's edge and left a prisoner. Colonel Bishop was pierced with several bullets, receiving wounds of which he died, and several other officers were killed or wounded. The enemy were said at the time to have acknowledged a total loss in killed, wounded and prisoners of nearly a hundred. The Americans lost three killed and seven wounded.
The militia were in the front of the fray throughout, and gallantly retrieved their tarnished reputation. Their good conduct was doubtless due largely to the example of Adjutant Staunton, who also distinguished himself on several other oc- casions in the war of 1812. All accounts speak in high terms of the conduct of the Seneca warriors. Although the numbers engaged in this affair were not large, it was quite an exciting conflict, and is of importance as showing the value of one or two resolute officers, in rallying and inspiriting a body of raw troops, utterly demoralized by less efficient leadership.
Just before this event, General Dearborn had resigned the chief command on the northern frontier, and soon after General Wilkinson was appointed in his place. General Porter and Colonel Chapin gathered up another body of volunteers and went down to Fort George, taking a hundred or so Indians with them.
A plan was concerted to cut off one of the enemy's pickets
72
PERRY AND HARRISON'S SUCCESS.
on the morning of the 17th of August, Chapin and Porter went out west from Fort George for the purpose. A heavy rain re- tarded their progress, so the picket was not captured, but a fight ensued in which the volunteers and Indians captured sixteen prisoners and killed a considerable number of the enemy who were left on the field. Chapin and his volunteers and most of the Indians continued to operate in the vicinity of Fort George until the 7th of September, when they returned to Buffalo.
A few days later came the news of "Perry's Victory " on Lake Erie, which caused great rejoicing among the people. Immediately succeeding Perry's victory, came that of Harrison over Proctor and Tecumseh. It being supposed that the upper peninsula was pretty well cleared of foes, General Wilkinson's forces were nearly all withdrawn to the lower end of Lake Ontario.
The force left behind by Wilkinson, was under the command of Gen. George McClure, of Steuben county, a brigadier- general of the New York militia, who made his headquarters at Fort George. On the 6th of October, Colonel Chapin had an all-day skirmish with some British outposts near Fort George.
On the 24th of October, Harrison and Perry with their vic- torious army and fleet, came down the lake to Buffalo. On the 25th a dinner was given to the two commanders at " Pome- roy's Eagle." The next day Harrison and his army crossed the river and went down to Fort George and thence in a short time to Sackett's Harbor. General McClure was thus left with about a thousand militia, two hundred and fifty Indians and sixty regulars. The terms of the militia were fast expiring, and they would not stay a day longer.
Another draft was ordered about the middle of November of six hundred men from Hopkins' brigade, under Lieutenant Colonel Warren. These marched to Fort George and remained nearly a month.
When the term of Warren's regiment was about to expire, McClure determined to abandon Fort George. In this he was unquestionably justifiable, as his remaining force would have been entirely inadequate to defend it. But he, at the same time, took a step cruel in itself and fraught with woe to the American frontier. He ordered the burning of the
73
CAPTURE OF FORT NIAGARA.
flourishing village of Newark, situated close to the fort and containing about one hundred and fifty houses. The inhabit- ants were turned out in the snow, and the torch applied to every building in the place. McClure moved the remnant of his force across the river, closely pressed by the enraged British, leaving Fort Niagara defended by a hundred and fifty regulars, he called two hundred others from Canandaigua to Buffalo On the morning of December 19th, Fort Niagara was surprised and captured by a small British force through the criminal negligence of its commander, who was at his residence four miles away.
Before leaving Buffalo, McClure called out the men of Gen- esce, Niagara and Chautauqua counties en masse, and on arriving at Batavia, on the 22d of December, he turned over the com- mand to Major General Hall, the commander of this division of militia. That officer who manifested no lack of zeal, sent forward all the troops he could raise and proceeded to Buf- falo himself, on the 25th, leaving McClure to organize and for- ward reinforcements.
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PREPARATIONS FOR DEFENSE.
CHAPTER XII.
BURNING OF BUFFALO.
Number of Troops-The Enemy's Approach-Movements in Defense-Attack and Repulse-Battle of Black Rock-The Retreat-The Flight-Univer- sal Confusion-The Indians-Chapin's Negotiation-Mrs. St. John-The Village in Flames - Murder of Mrs. Lovejoy-The Enemy Retire - The Slain-Calvin Cary-McClure to Blame-The Flight in the Country- The Buffalo Road-The Big Tree Road-Exaggerated Reports-Return of the British-More Burning-The Scene at Reese's-Building Relief.
On the 27th of December, General Hall reviewed the forces at Buffalo and Black Rock, which were thus described in his report. At Buffalo there were a hundred and twenty-nine mounted volunteers under Colonel Broughton, of Ontario county, four hundred and thirty-three Ontario county volun- teers under Colonel Blakeslie, one hundred and thirty-six Buf- falo militia under Colonel Chapin, ninety-seven Canadian vol- unteers under Colonel Mallory, and three hundred and eighty- two Genesee county militia under Major Adams, At Black Rock there were three hundred and eighty-two under Colonel Warren and Churchill, thirty-seven mounted men under Captain Ransom, eighty-three Indians under Colonel Granger, one piece of field artillery under Lieutenant Seeley. The aggregate force at both places according to the report was about seven- teen hundred. Colonel Warren lived in Aurora and his regi- ment was from the south towns of Erie county. On the 29th, there arrived a regiment of Chautauqua county militia under Col- onel McMahan, numbering about three hundred men, bringing the aggregate force to about two thousand.
Besides Seeley's field-piece, there were seven other cannon at the two villages, but none of them mounted on carriages. Several of them were in a battery at the top of the hill over- looking Black Rock, and with them was May Dudley with a part of Warren's regiment ; the rest, with Churchill's detach- ment, were in the Village of Black Rock. About midnight of the 29th, a detachment of the enemy landed a little below
75
GENERAL HALL ORDERS AN ATTACK.
Scajaquada creek. The news was at once carried to Colonels Warren and Churchill at Black Rock, and then to General Hall at Buffalo. The general ordered out his men, but, fearing that the enemy's movement was a feint, and that he would land in force above Buffalo and march down, he did not send any con- siderable force down the river. Colonels Warren and Churchill endeavored to reach Scajaquada creek before the invaders and hold it against them, but the British arrived there first and got possession of the bridge. Warren and Churchill deemed it impracticable to dislodge the enemy in the darkness but deter- mined to take a position at a small run between the village and the bridge, and there oppose his further advance. The enemy did not advance, but in the course of an hour or so Colonel Chapin arrived with a body of mounted men, and delivered General Hall's order that they should immediately make an attack. Chapin led the way, Warren and Churchill followed. All was silent as death. Suddenly from the darkness flashed a volley of musketry almost in the faces of the head of the column. They instantly broke and fled, rushing back through the ranks of Warren's men, who became utterly demoralized without receiving a shot. As the horsemen stampeded through them they broke up, scattering through the woods or retreat- ing toward Buffalo. Warren retired to the main battery to endeavor to rally some of the fugitives: Churchill, with at least part of his men, remained below the village. When General Hall received news of this failure, he ordered Major Adams, with his Genesee militia, to march against the enemy. This movement was equally futile. The general then ordered Colonel Blakeslie, with his Ontario County militia. to advance to the attack. Hall then gathered his remaining forces and started for Black Rock. As he approached that village the day began to dawn, and he discovered the enemy's boats cross- ing the river in the direction of General Porter's house. Blakeslie's command was ordered to meet the approaching force at the water's edge. That force consisted of the Royal Scots under Colonel Gordon, and was estimated at four hun- dred men. The invasion was under the general superintendence of Lieutenant-General Drummond, but the troops were under the immediate command of Major-General Riall. The artillery
76
THE AMERICAN RETREAT.
in battery fired on them as they advanced, and Blakeslie's men opened fire when they landed. They returned it, and a battery on the other side sent shells and balls over their heads among the Americans. For half an hour, the forest and river- side re-echoed with the thunder of artillery and ceaseless rattle of small arms.
All accounts agree that Blakeslie's men did the most of the fighting, and sustained the attack of the Royal Scots with con- siderable firmness. Had all the regiments been kept together. and met the enemy at his landing the result might have been far different.
Meanwhile, the hostile force at Scajaquada creek, consisting of regulars and Indians, moved up the river, easily dispersing Churchill's meagre force, and marched against Blakeslie's right. It is not believed there were then over six hundred men in our ranks, and these thus assailed on two sides were entirely unable to maintain their ground. Large numbers were already scat- tered through the woods toward home, when General Hall ordered a retreat, hoping to make another stand at the edge of Buffalo. This, as might be supposed, was utterly hopeless : once the men got to running, there were few that thought of anything else. In a few moments all were in utter route. A part hurried towards Buffalo ; others rushed along the Guide- board road (North street) to Hodge's tavern, and thence took the Williamsville road, while many fled through the woods without regard to roads of any kind. Fugitives were rushing through Buffalo and striking out for Williamsville, Willink or Hamburgh. The Buffalo volunteers came hurrying up to take care of their families. They declared that the Americans were whipped, that the British were marching on the town, and, most terrible of all, that the Indians were coming. Then all was confusion and dismay. Teams were at a premium ; horses, oxen, sleighs, sleds, wagons, carts-nearly everything that had feet, wheels or runners, were pressed into service. Many who neither had nor could obtain teams, set forth on foot. Men, women and children by the score were seen hastening through the light snow and half-frozen mud in the bitter morning air up Main street, or out Seneca, or up the lake shore.
A crowd of teams and foot-men, and foot-women too, were
77
THE FLAG OF TRUCE.
hurrying up Main street, when suddenly the head of a column stopped and surged back on the rear. "The Indians"" was the cry from the front, "they are coming up the Guide-board road." Back down Main street rolled the tide. Teams were urged to their utmost speed and people on foot did their best to keep up with them. Turning down Seneca street, the crowd sped on, somne going straight to the Indian village and thence across the reservation to Willink, others making for Pratt's ferry and thence up the beach to Hamburg.
There was good reason for the sudden retreat of the Main street fugitives. While the main body of the enemy marched along Niagara street, the Indians on the left pressed up the "Guide-board road" (North street). Here it was that Job Hoysington, a resolute volunteer, said to his comrades, with whom he was retreating, that he would have one more shot at the red-skins, and in spite of remonstrance waited for that pur- pose. He doubtless got a shot at them, but they got a shot at him too, as he was found with a bullet through his brain. His wife waited for her husband's return at their residence at the corner of Main and Utica streets, and finally set out on foot with her children. She was soon overtaken by two cavalrymen, who took two of the little ones on their horses. For a long time she did not hear of them, but at length discovered them, one in Clarence and one in Genesee county. (Many interesting inci- dents of a similar nature might be mentioned, but for want of space they are omitted.)
As the British came up Niagara street, several men, appar- ently without any organization, manned an old twelve-pounder mounted on a pair of trucks at the junction of Main and Niag- ara streets, two or three shots were fired and then it was dis- mounted.
Colonel Chapin then went forward with a white handkerchief tied to his cane, as a flag of truce, asked a halt, which was granted, and began a parley. In a statement published by himself shortly after, he speaks of "attempting a negotiation," claiming that while this was going on the people had a chance to escape.
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