USA > New York > Genesee County > Our county and its people : a descriptive and biographical record of Genesee County, New York, v. 1 > Part 15
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May 2? the troops were taken to a spot a short distance west of the mouth of the Niagara, where a landing was effected under cover of the guns of the fleet. Under the leadership of Colonel Scott and the dashing young Perry, and in the face of a terrific fire the brave Amer icans ascended the bluff which skirts the shore at that point, and the British retreated a short distance. After spiking their guns and de- stroying their ammunition, the enemy abandoned the fort and retreated to Beaver Dams, where they had a stock of supplies.
While the victory at Fort George was being accomplished, the garri- son at Fort Erie opened a brisk cannonade upon Black Rock; but the following morning the British exploded their guns and magazine, de- stroyed their stores, and abandoned the fort, which was immediately occupied by the Americans under Colonel Preston. Within a brief time the enemy hal destroyed everything else that could be of value to the Americans and which was located near the river on the Canadian side, leaving the latter in full possession of the entire Niagara frontier.
By midsummer General Dearborn's operations had progressed so little and met with such small suecess that he was superseded, on July 6, by Major-General Wilkinson. Meanwhile five vessels which had been quietly fitted out at the mouth of Seajaquada creek sailed away, on June 15, and joined Perry's fleet at Erie.
In June General Dearborn had withdrawn the regular soldiers frem Buffalo and Black Rock, leaving a large quantity of stores practically unprotected. Realizing his error, probably, he stationed ten artillery. men in the block house at Black Rock and issued a call for five hun- dred militia from neighboring counties. A few days before Dearborn relinquished command about three hundred of these militiamen arrived and were posted in the warehouses at Black Rock, under command of Major Parmenio Adams of Genesee county. Before the work of gar- risoning this point was completed, however, a British expedition of about four hundred men under Colonel Bishopp started to attack the place. On the afternoon of July 10 this force left its headquarters at Lundy's Lane, rowed up the river and at daylight of the 11th landed a mile below the mouth of the Seajaquada. Soon the forces under Major
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Adams learned of the advance of the enemy, and fled precipitately, without firing a gun or making the slightest show of resistance. The British at once occupied the camp which the American militia had abandoned, and small detachments started out to capture officers and prominent citizens at their homes. General Porter managed to escape just before the British reached his home, but left his arms and part of his clothing. As he was approaching the village he met a body of one hundred regulars under Captain Cummings, whom he ordered to sta- tion themselves near by and await reinforcements. At Black Rock fifty citizens placed themselves under Captain Bull and went to reinforce Cummings's command. About one hundred of Adams's retreating mili- tia, who had been kept together by Lieutenant Phineas Staunton, rallied for the recapture of the position. Chief Farmer's Brother of the Sen- ecas also gathered a band of his warriors together and joined the American forces, Volunteers came in from other places in the neigh- borhood, all eager to make the attack upon the unsuspecting British. who believed they had effected a victory whose results would be per- manent.
At eight o'clock the assault was ordered. The surprise of the enemy was complete. Colonel Bishopp fell from his horse badly wounded, and his men became demoralized. When the American regulars pressed forward the entire British force fled in confusion to the bank of the river. The militia, which had fled in fright a few hours before. now fought like veterans, springing to their work with the utmost enthu- siasm and bravery. The forest resounded with the war-whoops of the Senecas engaged in the fight. After retreating as far as Black Rock the enemy embarked in boats found there, but the pursuing Americans kept up a strong fire on the craft, mortally wounding the gallant Colo- nel Bishopp, who died five days later. The boat in which he lay was the last to leave the shore, and immediately after he fell it signalled its surrender. The entire British loss during this expedition in killed, wounded and missing has been variously estimated at from seventy to one hundred. The Americans lost three killed and five wounded. The British did not destroy more than one- third of the valuable naval stores at Black Rock, destined for the use of Perry, nor did they succeed in reaching the military stores at Buffalo.
During the succeeding few weeks several minor engagements took place. August 12 Perry and his little fleet left Erie, reaching Put-in Bay on the 15th, where a plan of campaign was arranged with General
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Harrison. On September 10 occurred his memorable battle with the British fleet under Captain Robert H. Barclay, after which he sent to General Harrison the historic dispatch: " We have met the enemy and they are ours."
This remarkable naval victory gave the Americans undisputed con- trol of Lake Erie, and inspired the entire country. Other successes followed during the balance of the year, and the feeling of discourage- ment which had pervaded many sections of the country gave way to general expressions of joy.' But while success rewarded the valor of American arms elsewhere, the campaign along the Niagara frontier was wretchedly managed during the ensuing few months. General Wil- kinson unwisely withdrew the main body of his troops to the lower end of Lake Ontario, though strongly advised not to do so by General Porter and other officers. Porter, Chapin and McClure offered to raise a thousand men to aid him in making a sally from Fort George; or, if provided with artillery, they offered to invade the enemy's country and conquer the British. Wilkinson's stubborn refusal to see the wisdom of either of these suggestions was the beginning of the mismanagement which marked operations on the frontier from that time until the spring following.
When Wilkinson left Fort George he turned over the command of that post to General McClure, who now had one thousand militia, sixty regulars and two hundred and fifty Indians. The terms of enlistment of volunteers and militia were rapidly expiring. He endeavored to retain them by offering small bounties, but they declined to remain in the service. Soon after the news came that Generals Drummond and Riall had arrived on the peninsula with reinforcements from Kingston, and that a body of troops under Colonel Murray was moving on Fort George. Upon being apprised of this movement McClure determined to abandon his post and post his garrison in Fort Niagara. Before do- ing so, however, he notified the inhabitants of the village of Newark that he intended to burn that place, which he did a few hours after notice had been given. Of the one hundred and fifty houses in that village but one was left standing, and a large number of women and children were driven from their homes to face the blasts of a severe winter with no other protection than that afforded by the clothing they
"The people were becom og more and morea unit in opinion concerning the righteousne -- of the war on the part of the Government, and its beneficial effects in developing the internal re- sources of the country: at a dem meeting the ability of a free government to protect nach against a powerful ive."-Lisens.
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wore and could carry with them. This cruel and totally unnecessary act was roundly condemned by many of McClure's officers, but it had been sanctioned by the War Department. '
After abandoning Fort George and making an attempt to destroy it by explosion, McClure stationed one hundred and fifty regulars in Fort Niagara, and on December 1? proceeded to Buffalo, whither he called two hundred additional regulars from Canandaigua. Soon after Col- onel Murray, with five hundred British soldiers and Indians, occupied the ground which the Americans had abandoned.
General MeClure's unwise and unnecessary aet in devastating New- ark was justly censured by those who believed in honorable warfare, and particularly, as an imprudent measure, by those who felt confident of the retributive blow that soon was to follow.
Soon after the British had taken possession of Fort George, the awful work of devastation on the part of themselves and their Indian allies began, in retaliation for the burning of the village of Newark. About sunrise of December 19 a party of Indians who had left the main body reached Lewiston, where a small force was stationed under com- mand of Major Bennett. The Americans retreated with the loss of half a dozen men. Among those killed in the indiscriminate slaughter that followed the attack was Dr. Alvord, one of the pioneer physicians of Batavia. As soon as the assault began the inhabitants of that part of the frontier began a retreat eastward. With them went the Tus- carora Indians, whose village was in that vicinity. The invaders met with no formidable resistance, except upon Lewiston Heights, as they attempted to advance to Niagara Falls. Here Major Mallory and a small body of volunteers, who had been stationed at Schlosser, drove the enemy down the hill; but the lost ground was soon recovered, and there was a fine show of resistance all the way to the month of Tona- wanda creek.
During the summer of 1814, the British being in possession of Fort Niagara, parties of Indians from that stronghold occasionally ventured out and attacked inhabitants who had returned to their homes. In these expeditions the Indians-and frequently the British, too-inflicted great damage upon the inhabitants of that region. Terror reigned in
1 The Secretary of War, then at Sackett's Harbor, addressed General MeClure, "or officer commanding at Fort George," as follows, under date of October 4, 1-13: " Understanding that the defence of the post committed to your charge may render it proper to destroy the town of New- ark, you are hereby directed to apprise the inhabitants of this circumstance, and invite them to remove themselves and their effects to some place of greater safety. JOHN ARMSTRONG."
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all the territory west of the Genesee. Anticipating a further march of the invading force, and an attack upon Batavia, where there were an arsenal and considerable military stores, General Hall soon collected a force from General Wadsworth's brigade, and a number of volunteers from Genesee county, and established headquarters at Batavia. On Christmas day, a considerable force having been organized and armed, the troops started to march to Buffalo. There he found a disorganized and confused body of troops, and all were in consternation and dismay. These were organized with the force already under his command and preparations for resisting the enemy were made at once.
'About midnight of December 29 news was received at Buffalo that a British force had crossed the Niagara river near the head of Grand Island, fired on a patrol of mounted men, and taken possession of a battery located upon the site of the lower village of Black Rock. Gen- eral Hall at once ordered out the troops at Buffalo, but believing that the attack at Black Rock was intended simply to draw off the main force at Buffalo, in order to enable the enemy successfully to attack that place, he decided not to proceed against the British. Colonels Warren and Churchill, who were in command at Black Rock in the absence of General Hopkins, were ordered by General Hall to attack the enemy, dislodge them from their position they had taken and drive them from their boats. The attack was hastily prepared and made under cover of intense darkness, but failed to accomplish its purpose. The attacking force was dispersed; whereupon the main body of troops at Buffalo was ordered to proceed toward Black Rock. A small corps of men headed by Colonel Chapin and Major Adams made a second as- sault upon the battery, but this force, too, was dispersed. These two failures foreshadowed what was to come, The story of the events of the morning of December 30 is told in the following extract from an official dispatch from General Hall to Governor Tompkins:
As the day dawned I discovered a detachment of the enemy's boats crossing to our shore, and bending their course toward the rear of Gen. Porter's house. I im- mediately or dered Col. Blakeslie to attack the enemy's force at the water's edge. I became satisfied as to the disposition and object of the enemy. Their left wing, composed of about one thousand regulars, militia, and Indians, had been landed be - low the creek, under the cover of the night. With their centre, consisting of four hundred royal Scots, commanded by Col. Gordon, the battle was commenced. The right, which was purposely weak, was landed near the main battery, merely to divert our force; the whole under the immediate command of Lieut. Col. Drummond, and led on by Maj. Gen. Riall. They were attacked by four field pieces in the battery at
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the water's edge, at the same time the battery from the other side of the river opened a heavy fire upon us, of shells, hot shot and ball. The whole force now opposed to the enemy was, at most, not over six hundred men, the remainder having fled, in spite of the exertions of their officers. These few but brave men, disputed every inch of ground, with the steady coolness of veterans, at the expense of many valu- able lives. The defection of the militia, by reason of the ground on which they must act, left the forces engaged, exposed to the enemy's fire in front and flank. After standing their ground for half an hour, opposed by an overwhelming force and nearly surrounded, a retreat became necessary to their safety, and was accordingly ordered. I then made every effort to rally the troops, with a view to attack their columns as they entered the village of Buffalo, but all in vain. Deserted by my principal force, I fell back that night to Eleven Mile creek, and was forced to leave the flourishing villages of Black Rock and Buffalo a prey to the enemy, which they have pillaged and laid in ashes. They have gained but little plunder from the stores; the chief loss has fallen upon individuals.
This disaster was the culmination of a series of events in a badly managed campaign. The efficient forces upon that part of the frontier had been withdrawn and untrained and unorganized militia from West- ern New York assigned to the important duty of defending one of our most vulnerable points. The entire invading force under General Riall was but a little over one thousand, while our force was numerically superior; but the enemy had the advantage of thorough organization and fair discipline.
Though the cowardice and flight of many of the soldiers who partic- ipated in this engagement, not to speak of the panic-stricken ones who fled without making a show of resistance, was a disgrace to American arms, the records show that the untrained soldiers from Genesee county who volunteered their services behaved most admirably. This county complied promptly with the military requisitions made upon it, though the majority of those who so bravely went to the front made greater personal sacrifices than the representatives of most communities who fought in that war. The growing crops, whose failure meant little less than the desolation of many homes, were deserted when the call to arms was issued ; and this meant much in a new country like that west of the Genesee. The absence of the tillers of the soil and the conse- quent neglect of the crops produced unusual distress and suffering among the inhabitants.
The volunteer militia performed valiant service, frequently equal to that of the regulars; but as a rule the work of the men who waited to be drafted was wretched, cowardly. It was the latter class that permitted itself to be so completely routed by General Riall's forces.
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About three o'clock on the afternoon of the 30th, after the invading forces had reduced Buffalo and Black Rock to ashes, the enemy crossed the river from the latter point with the public and private property they had captured. They also took with them about ninety prisoners, about half of whom were from Colonel Blakeslie's troops. More than forty were killed and denuded and their mutilated bodies left upon the snow. Among the Americans slain, the highest officer was Lieutenant- Colonel Boughton of Avon. The enemy lost about thirty killed and sixty wounded; but not an officer was killed, and only two were wound- ed. Had the two thousand Americans been well disciplined and in com- mahd of thoroughly efficient officers in all cases, there is little doubt that the enemy might have been driven back across the river and held at bay, temporarily at least, and much loss and suffering averted. When General Hall reached Williamsville he rallied a few hundred fugitives and called for reinforcements, but this step was taken too late, as there was no more fighting.
The scenes and incidents of that memorable day, December 30, along the principal thoroughfares leading eastward, including the Big Tree road, can never be properly described. In the rush was an indiscrimi- nate mob of militia, citizens, sleighs, ox-sleds, wagons, horsemen and horsewomen, children and infants, all with one thought uppermost in their minds -- to get as far from Buffalo and Black Rock as possible. and with the greatest speed. "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 household 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 dispersed corps of militia, hugging as booty, as spoils of the vanquished, the arms they had neglected 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 famished that came from the frontier." ' The news of the disaster flew faster than the fugitives, and many homes were found deserted.
January 1 a body of the enemy again appeared at Buffalo and burned 1 Turner's History of the Holland Purchase.
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the few remaining houses, excepting one occupied by an aged woman and her two daughters. Just as the work of destruction was completed a detachment of mounted men was seen crossing Seajaquada, and the British hastily mounted and rode down the hill. The Americans fired upon them and Adjutant Tottman, who was in command, was killed
For weeks the frontier remained deserted and desolate. The vil- lages of Buffalo, Black Rock, Niagara Falls, Lewiston and Youngstown and the intervening tenements and farm houses presented one long panorama of ruin.
Batavia, being the principal place at a comparatively safe distance east of Buffalo, became the final rallying point of what was left of the American army, and the headquarters for the homeless refugees from the frontier. The most valuable articles, including the records, of the Land Office, were carried east of the Genesee river. Mr. Ellicott's residence was converted into headquarters for the officers of the army, and his office into a hospital ; barns and sheds were occupied and many private houses were thrown open. Had it not been for the hospitality of the inhabitants of Batavia the condition of the fugitives would have been inestimably worse than it was. The following letter will give some idea of the condition of the country west of Batavia during the period immediately succeeding the disaster on the Niagara frontier:
CANANDAIGUA, 8th Jan., 1814.
Gentlemen :
Niagara county and that part of Genesee which lies west of Batavia are completely depopulated. All the settlements in a section of country forty miles square, and which contained more than twelve thousand souls, are effectually broken up. These facts you are undoubtedly acquainted with; but the distresses they have produced, none but an eye-witness can thoroughly appreciate Our roads are filled with people, many of whom have been reduced from a state of competeney and good pros- pects to the last degree of want and sorrow. So sudden was the blow by which they have been erushed, that no provision could be made either to elude or meet it. The fugitives front Niagara county especially were dispersed under circumstances of so much terror that in some ease, mothers find themselves wandering with strange children, and children are seen accompanied by such as have no other sympathies with them than those of common sufferings. Of the families thus separated, all the members can never again meet in this life; for the same violence which has made them beggars, has forever deprived them of their heads, and others of their branches. Afflictions of the mind so deep as have been allotted to these unhappy people, we cannot cure. They can probably be subdued only by His power who can wipe away all tears. But shall we not endeavor to assuage them? To their bodily wants we can certainly administer. The inhabitants of this village have made large contribu- tions for their relief, in provisions, clothing and money. And we have been ap-
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pointed, among other things, to solicit further relief for them, from our wealthy and liberal minded fellow citizens. In pursuance of this appointment, may we ask you, gentlemen, to interest yourselves particularly in their behalf. We believe that no occasion has ever occurred in our country which presented stronger claims upon in- dividual benevolence, and we humbly trust that whoever is willing to answer these claims will always entitle himself to the precious reward of active charity. We are, gentlemen, with great respect,
WM. SHEPARD, THAD'S CHAPIN, MOSES ATWATER, N. GORHAM, MYRON HOLLEY,
THOMAS BEALS, PHINEAS P. BATES, Committee of Safety and Relief at Canandaigua.
To the Hon. Philip S. Van Rensselaer, Hon. James Kent,
Hon. Ambrose Spencer, Stephen Van Rensselaer, Esq., Elisha Jenkins, Esq., Rev. Timothy Clowes,
Rev. William Neill, Rev. John M. Bradford.
In response to this appeal the State Legislature immediately appro- priated $50,000; the Common Council of Albany, $1,000; the Common Council of New York. $3.000. Liberal subscriptions were also made by residents of New York, Albany, Canandaigua and other localities, including $2,000 by the Holland Land Company and $200 by Joseph Ellicott. The entire relief fund amounted to about $63,000, which did much toward relieving the immediate wants of the sufferers from the war.
As soon as the intelligence of the invasion reached the national cap- ital, President Madison directed General Lewis Cass to proceed to the scene, investigate the causes of the disaster and suggest such measures of relief and defense as should appear necessary. In a letter written by General Cass to the Secretary of War, dated January 12, 1814, the former says:
The fall of Niagara has been owing to the most criminal negligence. The force in it was fully competent to its defence. The commanding officer, Captain Leonard, it is confidently said, was at his own house, three miles from the fort, and all the other officers appear to have rested in as much security as though no enemy was near them. Captains Rogers and Hampton, both of the 24th, had companies in the fort. Both of them were absent from it. Their conduct ought to be strictly inves- tigated. I am also told that Major Wallace of the 5th was in the fort. He escaped
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and is now at Erie. The circumstances attending the destruction of Buffalo you will have learned before this reaches you. But the force of the enemy has been greatly magnified. From the most careful examination I am satisfied that not more than six hundred and fifty men. of regulars, militia and Indians, landed at Black Rock. To oppose these we had from two thousand five hundred to three thousand militia. All except a very few of them behaved in the most cowardly manner. They fled without discharging a musket. The enemy continued on this side of the river until Saturday. All their movements betrayed symptoms of apprehension. A vast quantity of property was left in the town uninjured, and the Ariel, which lies four miles above, is safe. Since the first inst. they have made no movement. They con - tinue to possess Niagara, and will probably retain it until a force competent to its reduction arrives in its vicinity.
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