Our County and Its People: A Descriptive Work on Erie County, New York (Volume 1), Part 28

Author: Truman C. White
Publication date: 1898
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1017

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1 On this subject Turner, who personally talked with many who participated in the flight, wrote as follows: "An ox sled would come along bearing wounded soldiers, whose companions had pressed the slow team into their service; another with the family of a settler, a few house- hold goods that had been hustled upon it, and one, two or three wearied females from Buffalo, who had begged the privilege of a ride and the rest that it afforded; then a remnant of some dis- persed corps of militia, hugging as booty, as spoils of the vanquished, the arms they had neg- Jected to use; then squads and families of Indians, on foot and on ponies, the squaw with her papoose upon her back, and a bevy of juvenile Senecas in her train; and all this is but a stinted programme of the scene that was presented. Bread, meats and drinks soon vanished from the log taverns on the routes, and fleeing settlers divided their scanty stores with the almost fam- ished that came from the frontiers."

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hotel, but he showed her his orders to burn everything except a house "occupied by an old woman and two girls," and the hotel was burned. The torch was also applied to the house in which the body of Mrs. Lovejoy still remained and it was soon in ashes. Among the prisoners taken was Benjamin Hodge, jr., who was kept through the war, and David Eddy, of Hamburg. Learning that valuable stores belonging to merchants and others were secreted in Hodge's tavern, on the hill, the British commander sent a squad of men to burn it. Mr. Hodge and Keep, the Cold Spring blacksmith, were there, but fled as the soldiers approached. When ordered to halt Mr. Hodge obeyed and doubtless thereby saved his life. Keep continued on the run and was shot and killed. The hotel was then ruthlessly burned.

At this juncture a detachment of mounted men was seen crossing Scajaquada Creek, and the British hurriedly mounted and rode away down the hill. The horsemen were Canadian volunteers under Adju- tant Tottman. As the latter galloped up beside the rear of the British he was instantly shot and killed. Following Tottman's troops was William Hodge, who had returned on the previous day and found his hotel untouched. He now beheld it burning to the ground. This was the last building destroyed in the village.

A day or two later citizens assembled and gathered the dead and laid them in Reese's shop; they were over forty in number. It was a ghastly sight, most of the bodies having been stripped, tomahawked and scalped. Those not soon taken away by friends were placed in a large grave in the old Franklin Square burial ground and covered tem- porarily with boards, so that they might be examined by relatives and taken away. Quiet again settled down over the village.

The remainder of that winter witnessed much distress in Erie county and near by territory, especially along the frontier. In the interior the fugitive farmers and tradesmen soon returned to their homes and generally escaped severe suffering; their homes were left to them and in most cases were provided with life's necessaries. At Buffalo it was not so. A detachment of regulars was stationed there, which gave the returning inhabitants a measure of confidence, and the task of rebuild- ing on the ruins began. William Hodge and his family returned on the 6th of January, and Mr. Pomeroy, the landlord, soon followed him. The latter erected the first building amid the ruins on the site of his former hotel, and Mr. Hodge the second. Holden Allen, father of Capt. Levi Allen, occupied Mrs. St. John's cottage and entertained the

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many who came to see the ruins. Frequent rumors reached the place of another attack by the British, and several times the inhabitants packed their goods for flight. Twice a squad of British crossed the river, but were driven back by soldiers and citizens. Those who were suffering for food were supplied from the army commissary. Harris's Hill was made a sort of meeting place for the merchants and other busi- ness men; thither the Salisbury brothers had moved the Gazette print- ing office and on the 18th of January a number of their paper was pub- lished there. Root & Boardman opened their law office, according to their advertisement, "next door east of Harris' tavern and fourteen miles from Buffalo ruins." Zenas Barker also established the county clerk's office there, while the nearest post-office was at Williamsville.

Prompt measures for relief of the sufferers on the western frontier were adopted by the public authorities and people of less unfortunate districts. The Legislature voted $40,000, besides $5,000 to the Tus- carora Indians, and $5,000 to those residents in Canada who were forced to leave on account of their fealty to the United States. Besides these appropriations, the city of Albany voted $1,000; the city of New York, $3,000; the citizens of Canandaigua appointed a relief committee who raised a considerable sum and sent solicitations for aid to points eastward, from all of which contributions came. With this aid the people on the frontier passed the cheerless winter.

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CHAPTER XVII.

CAMPAIGN OF 1814.

The Americans under Better Conditions-The Situation-Erie County-Changes in Local Militia-Arrival on the Frontier of Winfield Scott-General Porter's Com- mand-A More Vigorous Military System Inaugurated-Execution of Deserters- Rebuilding of Buffalo-Beginning of Public and Private Business-Military Opera- tions in Progress-Capture of Fort Erie-The Enemy Pursued-The Battle of Chip- pewa-Failure of Co-operation of Chauncey's Fleet-General Brown's Plans to At- tack the British-Battle of Lundy's Lane-Heroism of the American Troops-Im- portant Results of the American Victory-Ripley's Flight to Black Rock-Siege of Fort Erie-A Memorable Sortie-The British Defeated-General Izard Arrives on the Frontier-Close of the Campaign-Treaty of Peace.

The campaign of 1814 was conducted with more vigor and judgment by the Americans, and the capture of Canada and supremacy on the ocean continued as the main factors of the war. Troops began to arrive on the frontier, and under the command of new officers rigid discipline and general efficiency were inaugurated. The Canadian frontier was under the immediate command of Major Riall, who had his headquarters on Queenston Heights, and the British 100th Regi- ment was stationed along the river from Chippewa to Fort Erie. The enemy under General Drummond at Kingston was prepared to move against Sackett's Harbor. The pickets had been taken from Fort George, while Fort Niagara was materially strengthened. Williams- ville continued as the rendezvous of American troops, and regulars and volunteers began to arrive at that place and at Buffalo. Many changes were made in the local militia. In Lieutenant Colonel War- ren's regiment, the 48th, Ezekiel Cook was commissioned first major, and Ezra Knott as second major; Lyman Blackmar, Peter Lewis, Frederick Richmond, Luther Colvin, Benjamin I. Clough, Timothy Fuller and James M. Stevens as captains; Thomas Holmes, Aaron Salisbury, Dennis Riley, Moses Baker, William Austin, Oliver Alger, Micah B. Crook and Elihu Rice as lieutenants; and John Holmes, Otis Wheelock, Lathrop Francis, Sumner Warren, George Hamilton, Cal- vin Doolittle, Giles Briggs and Asa Warren as ensigns.

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On the 10th of April there arrived at Chippewa a man whose deeds on the frontier were soon to give him military renown and greatly ad- vance the American cause. This was Winfield Scott, who was then thirty years old and a model soldier in every respect. A few weeks later Major-Gen. Jacob Brown, who had already shown excellent qual- ities at the foot of Lake Ontario, and had been rapidly promoted to the highest rank, arrived on the frontier and assumed the chief command. His forces consisted of two brigades, commanded respectively by Scott and Col. Eleazer W. Ripley, to each of which was attached a small body of artillery. There was also a small troop of cavalry. These commands were under excellent discipline and in high spirits. There were also about 1,100 volunteers gathered from Pennsylvania and New York, and about 600 Indians who had been inspired to action by the eloquence of Red Jacket. These volunteers and Indians were under chief command of Gen. Peter B. Porter. Towards the last of May Scott removed his headquarters to Buffalo and his troops went into camp amid the ruins. They were kept under constant drill and disci- pline was enforced to the utmost. Deserters were mercilessly pun- ished, four of them having been shot in Buffalo on the 4th of June. The execution took place at what is the corner of Maryland and Sixth streets, and was long remembered as a strikingly tragic scene. There were five deserters under sentence of death, but when the fire of the squad was made, only four of the victims fell beside their coffins, while the fifth, a young man of twenty-one years, sprang to his feet, wrenched the cords from his arms and tore the bandage from his eyes. When the soldiers advanced towards him, he supposed his last moments had come, and fell fainting to the ground. He was carried away and his life spared. The muskets of the soldiers who fired at him had been loaded with blank cartridges, the reason for which has never been made public.

Buffalo was rising from its ashes. From the early part of the year the more enterprising of the citizens began to study the situation and make preparations to return to their former vocations. The energetic Ralph M. Pomeroy, the popular landlord, whose rebuilding of his hotel is mentioned in the last chapter, made the following announcement in the Gazette of February 22:

BUFFALO PHOENIX .- R. M. Pomeroy begs leave to inform the public, and his old customers in particular, that he is again erecting his tavern among the ruins of Buf- falo. He calculates by the first of March to be prepared to receive and wait on

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Company. . . . Come on then, men of New York ; let not snow or rain deter you ; come in companies, half companies, pairs or singly; ride to the place if the distance be too far and pay me dollars, half dollars, shillings, and six-pennys.

On the 7th of March sufferers from the burning of the village and the destruction of property were publicly notified to meet at the house of A. P. Harris (this was the Harris tavern) and prove their losses. The local committee of investigation appointed to appraise losses con- sisted of Charles Townsend, Samuel Tupper, Ebenezer Walden, Jonas Harrison, Heman B. Potter, Seth Grosvenor, Joseph Landon, and Ebenezer Johnson.

The progress made in the village up to about the 1st of April is in- dicated in the following paragraph, from the Gazette of the 5th of that month :

Buffalo village which once adorned the shores of Erie and was prostrated by the enemy, is now rising again ; several buildings are already raised and made habitable; contracts for twenty or thirty more are made and many of them are in considerable forwardness. A brick company has been organized by an association of most en- terprising and public-spirited citizens, with sufficient capital for the purpose of ren- dering the brick so reasonable that the principal streets are built up of that article. All that is required to re-establish Buffalo in its former prosperity are ample remu- neration from government, and peace; peace, if not obtained by negotiation, must be obtained by a vigorous prosecution of the war. Buffalo has its charms-the situa- tion, the prospect and the general health of the inhabitants, to which we may add the activity and enterprise of the trade, the public spirit of the citizens and the state of society, all conspire to render it a chosen spot for the man of business or pleasure.

The post-office was reopened at first in Judge Granger's house and soon afterward was removed into the village. The Gazette still remained at Harris's Tavern and in it appeared a notice calling for laborers to work in the brickyard above mentioned. The directors of the company were Ebenezer Walden, Charles Townsend, Samuel Tupper, Benjamin Caryl and Seth Grosvenor.

Holden Allen, who had leased the St. John dwelling, as noted in the last chapter, and opened it for the entertainment of guests, erected a row of rough shanties some 200 feet long, extending southward from the cottage, without floors and fitted with rude bunks containing straw, to increase his temporary accommodations.

On the 25th of April Eli Hart had opened his store near his old stand. Mr. Hart had saved some of his goods from the flames of the 30th of December, and carried them to Williamsville. Seth Grosvenor an- nounced in April that he had " once more established himself in Buf-

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falo where the printing office of the Salisburys stood," and offered dry goods for sale. Heman B. Potter came back and located his office in the house of Frederick Miller. Dr. Ebenezer Johnson also returned in April.

The Gazette of May 3 stated that the " greatest activity and enter- prise continues in Buffalo in building up and improving the place." The county clerk's office was removed to Mr. Miller's house and the collector's office was brought from Batavia. By the 20th of May twenty-three houses were erected, most of them occupied by families; three taverns were open; four stores, twelve groceries and other shops, three offices and about thirty shanties. The arrival of Scott and his troops made the trade of these few business places extremely active.

The Gazette of June 7 gave notice that the judges of the Court of Common Pleas had opened the house of John Brunson as a temporary court house. That building stood on the site of the old Academy of Music; it was then a wooden tavern and was afterwards known as the Farmer's Hotel. Before the close of June Juba Storrs opened his store in the house of Mrs. Adkins, where also Andrews & Hopkins began cabinet making.

War preparations went rapidly forward and rumors of immediate movements were rife. Fort Erie was then garrisoned by 150 British troops, while the main body of the enemy was at Chippewa, about eighteen miles farther down the river. By the 1st of July the Ameri- can forces were ready for active operations. On the 2d Brown, Scott and Porter reconnoitered Fort Erie and laid plans for its capture. Rip- ley, with part of his troops, was to embark in boats at Buffalo in the night and land a mile above the fort on the lake shore. Scott, with his brigade was to cross from Black Rock and land a mile below the fort, after which both brigades would co operate. Ripley's force was delayed by fog and his pilot's mistake and did not land until several hours after the appointed time. Scott crossed promptly and invested the fort. The story of what followed in connection with the capture of the work, is told in the following sketch from the Gazette; it is cor- rect in its statements and possesses peculiar interest from the fact that it was written at the time:

In pursuance of orders the army passed the Niagara River on Sunday morning last. The brigade of Gen. Scott, and the artillery corps of Major Hindman, landed nearly a mile below Fort Erie, between two and three o'clock, while Gen. Ripley, with his brigade, made the shore, about the same distance above.

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The enemy was perfectly unapprised of these movements. Gen. Scott led the van, and was on shore before the enemy's pickets, stationed at this point, fired a gun. The guard discharged their guns and retreated.

In the morning a small Indian force was crossed over. The fort was approached on the right and left, and the Indians skirted the woods in the rear. Gen. Brown now demanded a surrender of the garrison, and gave the commander two hours for consideration. In the mean time, a battery of long eighteens was planted in a posi- tion to command the fort. The enemy surrendered as prisoners of war-marched out of the fort at six o'clock, stacked their arms-and were immediately sent over the river to the American shore. There were upwards of one hundred and seventy prisoners, of the Eighth and One Hundredth regiments, among which were seven officers. Major Burke commanded the fort. The schooners Tigress and Porcupine assisted in crossing the troops, and lay all day within cannon shot of the fort. Capt. Camp, of the Quartermaster General's Department, volunteered on the expedition, and crossed in the boat with Gen. Scott. During the morning the enemy fired two or three cannon from the fort, which killed one man and wounded two or three others. We learn the enemy had one killed. There were several pieces of ordnance in the garrison and some military stores.

This almost bloodless capture of Fort Erie inspirited the Americans and in some measure prepared them for the more sanguinary opera- tions of the next few days.

The campaign was now prosecuted with vigor. Scott with his first brigade marched on the 4th from near Fort Erie and proceeded to Black Creek, a few miles above Chippewa. Ripley was also ordered to advance, but did not move until afternoon of the same day. Scott met the enemy's outposts and skirmishing took place nearly all the way down the river. That night Scott's forces went into camp on the south side of Street's Creek and in the morning the two opposing armies were only two miles apart. The British forces were still under immediate command of General Riall. About noon Scott was joined by Porter with his volunteers and Indians. Meanwhile the British also received considerable reinforcements.

Operations began at daybreak on the 5th with petty attacks on the American pickets, the purpose of which was chiefly to divert attention while the British attacked the center. This plan did not succeed. The American commander felt sure of his position and strength, gradually drew in the pickets and the British were thus led on to general action. The Indians behaved with gallantry under Porter, Red Jacket and Captain Pollard, and the British were soon forced back towards Chip- pewa with considerable loss. Porter's command followed, but on reaching the edge of the forest he encountered the main body of the

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enemy, and his men, most of whom were unaccustomed to the battle- field, became disconcerted and broke in confusion.

General Brown, who was quickly apprised of these operations by the rapid firing, now discovered at a distance a cloud of dust which her- alded the oncoming of the British, and rode on to General Scott and ordered him to bring his brigade into the field for action. At the same moment he sent his adjutant-general to Ripley, who was then in the rear, ordering him to march his brigade by the left through the wood and fall on the enemy's right flank, cutting him off from retreat; but the celerity with which Scott brought his troops into action prevented Ripley's force from participating in the ensuing struggle. The Amer- ican commander accompanied Scott's brigade into the field and took his position on the left in front of the British right flank; from there he posted a battery of artillery opposite the center and directed further movements. The enemy came promptly into the field and were in- stantly attacked by Scott's troops, which persistently advanced under a desperate fire. He crossed Street's Creek in face of a heavy can- nonade and the battle raged along the whole line. Several times the British line was broken and again closed. Finally a flank move- ment and a furious charge was made by Major McNeill with the regiment of Colonel Campbell; this, with a hot fire upon the enemy's center, forced it to give way. The whole British force now broke and fled to the intrenchments below Chippewa Creek, destroying the bridge and thus preventing pursuit by the victorious Americans. The enemy was hard pressed on the retreat and suffered severely.

This battle, though an insignificant one in comparison with the great engagements of a later war, was nevertheless an important one at that time and place and exerted a large influence upon the closing scenes of the war. The American loss was 61 killed, 255 wounded, and 19 missing; the British loss was 604, of whom 236 were killed. A gentle shower fell on that hot July evening, mitigating the horrors of the bloody field. The succeeding few days were spent in burying the dead.

On his retreat General Riall fled down the borders of the river to Queenston, placed a part of his troops in Fort George and made his headquarters near the lake twenty miles to the westward. General Drummond was deeply mortified over this defeat of his veterans by what hedeemed a raw body of the despised Americans, and resolved to wipe out the disgrace. He drew most of his troops from Burlington Bay,

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Toronto, Kingston and Prescott, for the purpose of organizing an army that would drive the invaders out of Canada. With a force about one- third greater than that of General Brown, Drummond now pressed for- ward to meet the Americans. In the mean time Brown had moved for- ward to Queenston. He anticipated finding Chauncey's fleet on Niagara River, ready for co-operation with the land movements, but at that time the fleet was blockaded at Sackett's Harbor and the commodore was ill in bed. Brown wrote Chauncey on the 13th as follows:

All accounts agree that the force of the enemy in Kingston is very light. Meet me on the lake shore north of Fort George with your fleet, and we will be able, I have no doubt, to settle a plan of operations that will break the power of the enemy in Upper Canada, and that in the course of a short time. I doubt not my ability to meet the enemy in the field, and to march in any direction over his country, your fleet carrying for me the necessary supplies. We can threaten Fort George and Niagara, and carry Burlington Heights and York, and proceed directly to Kingston and carry that place. For God's sake let me see you.

When it became apparent that there was no hope of naval co-opera- tion General Brown fell back to Chippewa for supplies, intending to then march across the country to Burlington Heights and meet the enemy, who had, in the mean time, been strongly reinforced. Riall then turned back and took a position at Fifteen-mile Creek, only thir- teen miles from Brown's camp. The latter now contemplated an ad- vance on Fort George, and called a council of officers to consult on the movement. A majority advised an immediate attack on Riall (not knowing of his having been reinforced); the minority favored an in- vestment of St. George. Generals Porter and Ripley were ordered to reconnoiter the enemy's position." On the 20th the military works at Queenston were blown up and the Americans advanced toward Fort George. At this time Brown received intelligence of Riall's reinforce- ments, and again returned and occupied Queenston on the 22d.

Having now abandoned all hope of co-operation by Chauncey and the fleet, Brown ordered a retreat to Chippewa, hoping to thus draw Riall to the 'Niagara, or failing in that, to relieve himself of baggage and march against Riall by' way of Queenston and fight him wherever he could find him. The army camped on the north side of the Chippewa on the 24th. Here Scott was restive and begged the general to permit him to lead the brigade in search of Riall. This request he again made in the morning of the 25th and was vexed at its refusal. He was des- tined to meet the British sooner than he anticipated.

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Early that day news came from Lewiston that the British, in con siderable numbers; were at Queenston and on the Heights, and that five of the enemy's fleet had arrived and their boats were going up the river. A few minutes later a second courier brought information that the enemy, 1,000 strong, was landing at Lewiston. The fact was that General Drummond had arrived in person with reinforcements from Kingston, and landed at Fort Niagara and disembarked at Queens- ton, while at the same time Riall's troops had been put in motion. Early on the morning of the 25th a large part of the forces under Lieutenant Colonel Pearson occupied a commanding position on an eminence in and near Lundy's Lane, a highway leading westward towards the head of the lake from the road along the river. Of this movement Brown probably had not learned, and to defeat the oncom- ing of Drummond, before noted, determined to attack him at Queens- ton. It was late in the afternoon when he ordered the forward move- ment. He was soon informed that a large body of the enemy had been seen at Niagara Falls; but he failed to realize the significance of this report, still believing it was Drummond and the troops going up the river to capture the stores of supplies at Schlosser. For the pur- pose of recalling the enemy, he determined to menace the forts at the . mouth of the river, and accordingly, about four o'clock ordered Scott to march rapidly upon them with Towson's artillery and all the mounted men at his command. Scott was moving within twenty minutes, crossed the Chippewa between five and six o'clock, fully be- lieving that a large body of the enemy was on the other side of the Niagara instead of directly in his front. Scott's forces numbered about 1,200. He soon learned the truth. The two commands of Riall and Scott met and fought the memorable battle of Lundy's Lane. The British greatly outnumbered the Americans, but Scott saw that to re- treat would be fatal and he heroically accepted the only alternative. Waiting only to dispatch intelligence to his commander, he began the attack. General Brown, apprised by the report of musketry and can- non of the contest that had commenced, ordered the second brigade under Ripley to follow him, and, accompanied by his personal staff, hastened to the field of battle. Meeting on the way the messenger dispatched by General Scott, he ordered him to continue his route to camp and bring up the whole force. General Brown, perceiving that Scott's brigade was much exhausted by severe action, as soon as Ripley's brigade reached the field, interposed a new line between the

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Our County and Its People: A Descriptive Work on Erie County, New York (Volume 1), Part 28

Author: Truman C. White Publication date: 1898 Publisher: Number of Pages: 1017

Author: Truman C. White
Publication date: 1898
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1017