USA > New York > New York City > The Memorial History of the City of New York: From Its First Settlement to the Year 1892, Volume III > Part 31
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On October 20 General Dearborn superseded General Izard in command of the military district of New-York. That day the British ships again appeared in the Sound, near the city, and committed some petty depredations, and again Commodore Lewis took up his flotilla from the bay. The British had already withdrawn on his arrival. Evacuation Day was celebrated this year with unusual animation, the veterans taking a leading part. They dined, after performing the duties of the day, at the old Revolutionary hostelry, Fraunces'
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NEW-YORK IN THE SECOND WAR WITH GREAT BRITAIN 277
Tavern. This was the last military parade of the year. General Morton's brigade and Major Warner's squadron were reviewed on the Battery by Generals Dearborn, Stevens, and Morton. There was a public dinner by the common council, and subscription dinners at Tammany Hall and Washington Hall.
General Harrison arrived in the city after his successful campaign on November 28. When, in October, resolutions were introduced in the common council for the gift of a sword and the presentation of the freedom of the city to Gene- ral Harrison, they were defeated by the Federalists, by a vote of twelve to five, for some political reason not now easy to understand. An election had since taken place, which had resulted in an equal division of the board of alder- men and assist- PRESIDENT WASHINGTON'S DESK.1 ants between the Federalists and Republicans. Mayor Clinton had a casting-vote, and, as has been stated, was a Federalist. So was Re- corder Josiah Ogden Hoffman. Governor Tompkins received General Harrison with great distinction. The State Republican committee en- tertained him with a grand dinner at Tammany Hall. Colonel Rutgers presided. The military dignitaries were present, but the mayor was not. The Federalists, not to be outdone, gave a dinner to Commodore Bainbridge, in honor of his victory in the Constitution over the Java. General Stevens gave the first volunteer toast, "The President and Congress at sea. May the message and reports from them be in the spirit of the Constitution."" The Republicans retorted with a dinner to Commodore Perry on January 14, 1814. The board was not, however, graced by high officials, civil or military. Governor Tompkins was busy at Albany, and the army officers were convened there also for the court martial of General Hull.
In December, 1813, Don Thomas Stoughton, Spanish consul at New-
1 Used by General Washington in Federal Hall, Wall street, and now to be seen in the Governors Room, City Hall, New-York. EDITOR.
" It may be as well to note here that General Stevens, in offering this toast, intentionally per-
petrated a pun, the point of which lay in the fact that the President and Congress were the re- spective names of two United States frigates which had succeeded in running the blockade. See page 270. EDITOR.
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York, received official notice that Admiral Warren had, on December 2, declared that after the 6th no vessels should be permitted to leave Long Island Sound. The bays and ports on the Long Island shore of the Sound were all occupied, but no molestation was given to the inhabitants. This ended the career of the New-York privateers. As New-York depended on this coastwise trade for supplies in food and clothing, the close blockade, at a time of year when land transportation was difficult, was excessively annoying.
Governor Tompkins, who had presided over the affairs of New-York since 1807, arranged at Albany, during the winter of 1813-1814, with Colonel Winfield Scott the plans of a campaign for the relief of the border in the spring of 1814. Scott was made brigadier-general in the United States army. Taking command of the troops at Plattsburg, Scott moved to the Niagara, while General Brown went to Sackett's Harbor. Western New-York was then a wilderness. Arrived at Buf- falo, Scott formed a camp of instruction. Toward the end of June, General Brown arrived at Buffalo, and a plan being con- certed, the troops crossed the Niagara River from Black Rock on July 3, and, landing in two columns, one below and one above Fort Erie, invested the place, which at once surrendered. On the 4th Scott marched on Chippewa. General Riall did not await his arrival, but, tak- ing the initiative, moved his army forward and attacked the Ameri- cans on the plain of Chippewa early in the morning of July 5. By able generalship and a skilful tactical movement at the critical moment, Scott gained a complete victory, the British retreating across the river.
James Madison
On the 7th the American army crossed Chippewa Creek and marched on Fort George. This place General Brown found too strong for re- duction, except by siege-guns, and marched his forces back to Queens- town. On the 25th, learning that the enemy had sent a force across to Lewiston, Scott was sent forward on the road to the falls to threaten the forts and force their return. Not far from Table Rock, British
- officers were seen on horseback, and soon after the enemy was met in Lundy's Lane in superior force. Scott held his ground, capturing General Riall and his staff, until he was reinforced at dusk by General Brown. Notwithstanding the darkness, the action continued hotly. Generals Brown and Scott both being wounded, General Eleazar W.
NEW-YORK IN THE SECOND WAR WITH GREAT BRITAIN 279
Ripley took the command, repulsing every assault until the British withdrew, and an hour later he was at Chippewa with the entire American force and all the wounded. Soon after he withdrew to Buffalo, and the troops were posted at Fort Erie. General Drummond now took command of the British troops, and, after busy preparation, marched on Fort Erie, which he attempted to storm. The assaulting columns were all repulsed with heavy loss. A siege was then begun by regular approaches, but the works were surprised by a sortie of the Americans, the guns dismounted, and the magazine exploded after a sanguinary struggle. On September 21, General Drummond raised the siege and withdrew beyond the line of the Chippewa. In October Fort Erie was dismantled, and the Ameri- cans recrossed the Niagara to the United States side.
Meanwhile, interesting events had occurred at the eastern end of the American line. In February, Gen- eral James Wilkinson, whose army lay at French Mills, moved it to Plattsburg on Lake Champlain, whence, on March 3, he marched into D.T. Madison Canada with four thousand men. He found his progress blocked by a small force strongly posted on the Sorel in a stone mill and blockhouse. Finding it impossible to dis- lodge them except by heavy guns, which the condition of the roads prevented his bringing up, General Wilkinson abandoned the expe- dition and returned to Plattsburg. This aggressive movement was replied to by a series of petty attacks. In May Sir James Yeo, with his fleet, and General Drummond made a concerted movement on the dilapidated works at Oswego. The fort was gallantly defended, but at last abandoned. The British, finding that the strength of the village of Oswego on the opposite shore of the river was not what they had expected, withdrew. A few days after a British squadron threatened Charlotte, at the mouth of the Genesee River. General Porter removed the women and children and called in the militia, whereupon the ships bombarded the town, after which they withdrew. In May also two British gunboats, attempting to capture a flotilla on which were the guns destined for a new war vessel building in Sackett's Harbor, fell into a snare and were captured, and the guns safely taken in. They were for the Mohawk, which, launched on June 11, 1814, brought up the number of Chauncey's squadron to
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nine vessels, carrying two hundred and fifty-one guns. In August General Izard, who had succeeded Wilkinson in command, marched from Plattsburg to the Niagara River, which he crossed with about eight thousand men to attack General Drum- mond on the Chippewa. After a skirmish Drum- mond withdrew to Fort George and Burlington Heights, and Izard, un- enterprising, retired on Black Rock.
The British govern- ment in November, 1813, driven to the wall by the second offer of me- diation by their great ally, the Emperor of Russia, made proposals to James Monroe, then FULTON THE FIRST.1 secretary of state, to treat directly with the United States, and commissioners were ap- pointed to meet the American commissioners at Ghent. There seems little doubt that these negotiations were retarded on the British side, while one great effort was made to rectify their Canadian frontier by the conquest of that strip of land which Clinton had secured for the State of New-York, and which lay along the waters of Champlain.
The British plan of operations was essentially that pursued by Bur- goyne in 1777 (then known as the king's plan). The British army in Canada was reinforced by veterans of the Peninsular war, and Sir George Prevost was ordered to pursue Burgoyne's route. Taking ad- vantage of the absence of Izard on his Niagara expedition, Prevost issued a proclamation to the American settlers near Lake Champlain, calling on them to renounce allegiance to the United States; and on September 1 he crossed the border on what has been called the sec- ond invasion of New-York. Like Burgoyne, he found his march im- peded by felled trees, choked streams, and broken bridges. Moving
1 Notable among the defenses provided for the city was a steam war-vessel, planned by Robert Fulton, and called Fulton the First. Her keel was laid in June, 1814, and she was launched with great public rejoicings on October 29. Her ma- chinery was then put aboard, under Fulton's per- sonal directions, and it was as a result of over- exertion in connection with this labor that the inventor died in February, 1815. In May the machinery was tested, and on July 4 a success-
ful trip was made to the ocean and back. Not till September, however, was her armament com- pleted, and then war had long ceased. She was a structure resting upon two boats and keels, sepa- rated from end to end by a channel fifteen feet wide and sixty-six feet long. One of these boats con- tained the boiler, the other the machinery. The paddle-wheel was placed in the space between. With her full armament on board, she attained a speed of five and a half miles an hour. EDITOR.
NEW-YORK IN THE SECOND WAR WITH GREAT BRITAIN 281
References
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HISTORY OF NEW-YORK
slowly, while waiting the arrival of the fleet on Lake Champlain, under Commodore George Downie, he reached Plattsburg on the 6th. Plattsburg was held by General Macomb with a force of fifteen hun- dred men. The fleet arrived on the 11th at the foot of the lake, and eight thousand men advanced to the assault. The attempt to ford was made at three places, but repulsed at each. The success of the American resistance was, however, determined by a naval battle, one of the most celebrated in our history, and curious in the annals of marine encounters from its peculiar features.
The fleet which Commodore Downie brought to enter the bay was materially greater than that of Captain Thomas McDonough, who commanded the American squad- ron. Downie's chief reliance was on his flag-ship, the Confiance, which carried a frigate armament of thirty long twenty-fours on a heavy-gun deck. The British flo- tilla consisted of sixteen vessels, with ninety-five guns, and one thousand and fifty men ; the American, of fourteen vessels, with eighty-six guns, and eight hundred and fifty men. McDonough had determined to fight at anchor, and so placed his ships that the British could only win a passage by forcing it under a broadside fire. His flag- ship, the Saratoga, he ingeniously Tobias Tear. - 1 arranged so that, by a kedge-anchor and hawsers on the quarters, he could bring her broadside to bear in any desired direction while her bow remained stationary. The English advanced in steady line, and a terrible broadside fire was opened on either side, that of the Con- fiance sweeping the Saratoga's deck, and for a moment checking her response till the dead and wounded were sent below. McDonough's ingenious arrangement enabled him to cripple his heavier antagonist, the Confiance, who clung closely to him until, after a fight of over two hours, the British colors came down. Commodore Downie had fallen early in the action. The victory was complete. General Prevost gave up his plan of campaign, and returned hastily to Canada. Thus ended
1 Colonel Tobias Lear, who died in 1816, was for several years private secretary to Washington in New-York and elsewhere, and filled various diplo-
matic positions. His portrait is copied from a miniature in the possession of a granddaughter. He was related to Mrs. Washington. EDITOR.
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NEW-YORK IN THE SECOND WAR WITH GREAT BRITAIN
the second invasion of New-York State. Her northern frontier was once more secure, nor was it again disturbed during this war.
The city of New-York, which had been anxious since the beginning of the year, began to breathe again more freely. The common council tendered to Captain McDonough the usual honors of the free- dom of the city and the addition of his portrait to their gallery; on September 26, and on October 10, complimented General Brown in the same manner for his victory on the Chippewa; and on November 21 extended similar honors to General Macomb for his services on the frontier in command " of a small army acting in concert with a body of militia hastily assembled from the State and Vermont."
Privateering, as has been stated, was always a favorite profession in the city of New-York. Of the two hundred and fifty-one commis- sions in the entire war, New-York sent out fifty-five,-a number only, and that but slightly, exceeded by Baltimore. They were similar if not alike in size and armament, fast sailers, and carried an eighteen- pound gun mounted in swivel on deck. The most celebrated of those which sailed from New-York were the Governor Tompkins, which took the Mary Ann off the Madeira Islands with a cargo valued at sixty thousand dollars. Soon after this capture she chased a large vessel, which proved to be a British frigate. The little vessel was severely handled, but by the use of her sweeps got away. A still more notable affair was the capture, by the General Armstrong of New-York, of the Queen, armed with sixteen guns, and carrying a cargo valued at three hundred and fifty thousand dollars. On an- other occasion the Armstrong engaged, off Surinam, what she sup- posed to be an English privateer, but turned out to be an English frigate carrying twenty guns. After an action of three quarters of an hour, the Armstrong got away. In July, the Yankee, a fishing-smack, was fitted out in New-York harbor to capture the British sloop of war Eagle. A calf, a sheep, a goose, and three fishermen were placed on deck, while below lay forty men with muskets. Overhauled by the Eagle, and ordered to report to the commodore, at the signal- word " Lawrence!" the men concealed rose together, fired, and at one volley killed three of the enemy, and drove the rest below. The sloop of war struck without firing a gun, and was taken up to New-York, where the people were crowded on the Battery celebrating inde- pendence. Little wonder that the British people, exasperated to madness, demanded the annihilation of the American navy, and that English newspapers urged that American merchantmen should be compelled to exhibit in large letters on their mainsails : "Licensed to carry guns pursuant to a British act of Parliament"; and this only to protect them against the pirates of the Mediterranean or the la- drones of China.
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The declaration of war found the city of New-York in a poor state of defense, notwithstanding the efforts of the general government. In the year 1798, when war was daily expected with France, the sub- ject of the fortifications received careful study. The opinions of the old officers were obtained and compared. Aaron Burr favored a system of martello towers, but Mangin's plans were essentially adopted. A military command was appointed, with Hamilton at its head. Gov- ernor Jay called a special meeting of the legislature at Albany, which provided the means, and the mayor and citizens of New-York aided in the raising of funds in accordance with the provisions. The war scare over, the same apathy prevailed until the affair of the Leander caused a temporary alarm. In 1807 the city was defenseless, the Narrows and the Hell Gate passage being without a fortification. In the spring of that year the general government, alarmed at the drift of our foreign relations, began a systematic work of harbor fortification, but it had dragged slowly. As the blockade which the British now established became more rigid, the citizens took alarm. In May, 1813, Senator Rufus King presented a memorial from the New-York com- mon council praying that measures might be adopted for their greater security and protection. This petition was referred to the secretary of war, General Armstrong. The common council, in the summer of 1814, issued a public call to a general public meeting to concert mea- sures of defense.
In pursuance of this call, the citizens gathered in the park in front of the City Hall on August 11, 1814. Colonel Rutgers was chosen chair- man, and Oliver Wolcott, Adams's secretary of the treasury, secretary. A committee was appointed, consisting of Drs. Samuel L. Mitchill and William J. McNevin, with Messrs. Wolcott, Richard Riker, Anthony Bleecker, and William Sampson, to draft resolutions. Colonel Willett made a spirited address, at the close of which Riker presented the resolutions, which were unanimously agreed to. They pledged union in arms, a defense to the last extremity, and urged all classes to en -. roll in the militia or the naval service, and to aid in the prosecution of the public works.1
1 New-York Resolutions, August 11, 1814: Resolved, That the citizens here assembled will, to the last extremity, defend their city. Resolved, That we will unite ourselves in arms with our brethren of the country, and on the first approach of the enemy, make it & COMMON CAUSE. Resolved, That humbly confiding in the favor of the Almighty, we hope to prove ourselves not unworthy of that freedom won by the heroes of the Revolution; and trust that the enemy they vanquished will receive from us a similar defest. Resolved, That we highly approve of the measures for public defence which have been devised by the government of the United States, by his excellency the governor of the State, and by the corporation of this City; and that
we will cooperate in carrying the same into effec- tual execution. Resolved, That it be recommended to the citizens generally, to meet, as soon as may be practicable with convenience, in their respec- tive wards, for the purpose of electing discreet and efficient committees to promote the execution of the following objects. 1. To complete the vol- untary enrollment of persons exempted by law from military service. 2. To encourage the en- rollment of seafaring citizens for service in the harbor or as artillerists ; and 3. The enrollment of citizens for voluntary labor on the public works. Resolved, That it be the special duties of the ward committees to provide, under the direction of the corporation of the City, for the relief and protec-
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In August, 1814, a committee of young gentlemen issued an address to the spirited and patriotic young men for the organization of the militia. It was signed by Isaac Merrick, David Ludlow, Stephen Keen, John M. Elliott, George Lovejoy, and S. B. Brega. The purpose was to raise a battalion of volunteer infantry. A part of the plan is curious. "A cheap, neat and becoming uniform is fixed upon, calcu- lated rather to give a soldierly appearance than to attract and please the eye of childhood. It is simply as follows: A blue broadcloth round- about, narrow rolling collar, single-breasted, buttoned in front with bell buttons, a row on each side the collar-will cost about fifteen dollars. Beaver of a straight crown, about nine inches high, helmet front, diminishing gradually towards the back, leaving there only half an inch brim; a waving red plume, the staff of which is supported by a stripe of broad gold lace running from the base or rim of the hat and forming a cockade near the top with a narrow band of lace- will cost at the utmost not more than ten dollars. Cartouch box covered with red morocco, secured round the waist by a belt of the same to which the bayonet's scabbard will be affixed-will cost five dollars" ;- the total cost of the outfit so far being thirty dollars. Yel- low nankeen pantaloons, black handkerchief, boots, together with a musket, completed the equipment. The roll was in the hands of Mr. George Asbridge at No. 9 William street, corner of Beaver street. A reference to Longworth's directory shows that this Asbridge was a printer.
The resolution adopted for the enrolment of voluntary labor to complete the defenses was responded to with enthusiasm. The me- chanics, who from the days of the Stamp Act had been ardently patriotic, turned out in organized bodies to aid in digging and con- structing the fortifications. Militia companies were raised, and offices for the enlistment of sailors opened. Castle Clinton-later well known as Castle Garden, because applied to purposes of popular amuse- ment-was built at the southwest point of the island. A battery, which was named the North Battery, was thrown up at the foot of Hubert street, and Fort Gansevoort at the foot of Gansevoort street. Fort Columbus was built on Governor's Island, where General Stevens had erected the earthwork and barracks in 1798; and Castle Williams on the same island. On Bedlow's Island a strong star fort was erected (now the site of Bartholdi's noble and gigantic statue of Liberty), and on Ellis Island a circular battery. The Staten Island
tion of the families of such persons as may be absent on public duty, and also, to provide in the best manner practicable, for the protection of such helpless persons and their property, as in case of alarm may be desirous of moving into the country. Resolved, That we will endeavor to pro-
mote concord, and will discountenance all attempts to weaken the patriotic efforts of good citizens. Resolved, That we will endeavor to discover and subject to the animadversion of the laws, all per- sons who shall be concerned in any illicit com- merce or improper intercourse with the enemy.
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shore was commanded by Fort Richmond, a strong construction of stone on the high ground; Fort Tompkins, on a still greater elevation in the rear; and Fort Hudson, nearly on the shore-line below. As the passage at the Narrows is very short, as the name implies, and the channel draws close under the Staten Island highland, these afforded an almost sure defense. On the opposite side, in the upper bay, was Fort Diamond, later Fort Lafayette, a still stronger work built on made ground and commanding the water-line. To- gether these mounted five hundred guns, and amply protected the entrance against any floating armament of the period.
The entrance from the East River to the Sound just west of Hell Gate was com- manded by Fort Stevens on the Long Island shore at Hallett's Point, named after General Stevens, who superintended its construction, and whose country-seat was at Mount Bonaparte, the old Hallett farm being at Hallett's Cove near by. This low stone battery was again com- manded by a round tower on high ground in the rear; opposite, across the stream, whose rapid waters, surging around numer- ous rocks, rendered passage dangerous ex- cept to skilled pilots, was a similar work at Benson's Point. Strong works guarded McGowan's Pass on the Harlem road and the pass on the western side of the island on the Bloomingdale road, a line of block- houses being thrown up between.
In August a requisition was made by Congress for twenty thousand men to be stationed in and about the city. The cor- poration of New-York raised the neces- sary funds, under pledge of reimbursement
Fac-simile of a portion of an original deed in the hand- writing of the Rev. John Livingston of Ancrum, at Lanark, June 27, 1624. He was the father of Robert Livingston. founder of the famous New-York family. This ancient and interesting document is among the archives of Colzium House, Stirlingshire, Scotland. EDITOR
NEW-YORK IN THE SECOND WAR WITH GREAT BRITAIN 287
by the United States. Enlistment proceeded with such speed that by September 1 all the artillery and infantry of the city and county were consolidated and mustered into the United States service, under their own officers, their pay, rations, and regulations being those of the regulars. Governor Tompkins and General Morgan Lewis were the post commanders. The entire detached division was placed under the command of General Stevens.' The seamen enrolled were placed under command of Commodore Decatur, who, on the transfer of Commodore Rodgers to the Guerriere in the spring of 1814, had been assigned to the command of the President,-the United States (his old ship), and the Macedonian, his prize, having been removed up the Thames above New London in April of that year and dismantled. Here he had been joined by Captain James Biddle, who brought down the Hornet from New London, passing the close blockade with consummate skill and safety.
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