The Life and Correspondence of Sir Isaac Brock by Ferdinand Brock Tupper

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Lieut.-General Sir J.C. Sherbrooke has informed me that one of
the transports, with part of the Royals on board, has been
captured by the United States frigate the Essex; that she has
been ransomed and the officers and troops allowed to proceed,
upon condition that they are not to serve against America
until regularly exchanged. The vessel and troops had arrived
at Halifax, and will shortly be sent hither.

_Major-General Brock to Sir George Prevost._

YORK, August 4, 1812.

I have the honor to enclose a statement made by me yesterday
to his majesty's executive council, which will fully apprize
your excellency of my situation. The council adjourned for
deliberation, and I have no doubt will recommend the
prorogation of the assembly and proclamation declaring martial
law, but doubts occurred in contemplation of such an event,
which I take the liberty to submit to your excellency, and
request the aid of your experience and superior judgment.

1.--In the event of declaring martial law, can I, without the
sign manual, approve and carry into effect the sentence of a
general court martial?

2.--Can I put upon a general court martial, after martial law
is proclaimed, any person not a commissioned officer in his
majesty's regular forces? In other words, can officers of
militia sit in conjunction with those of the line?

_Sir George Prevost to Major-General Brock_.

MONTREAL, August 12, 1812.

Your letter of the 4th instant, enclosing the proceedings of
the executive council of the 3d.; Captain Glegg's letter of
the 5th instant, transmitting copies of letters from Colonel
Proctor to you of 26th and 30th July, with the correspondence
between Brigadier-General Hull and Lieut.-Colonel St. George,
and the intercepted correspondence of the former, together
with your letter to Colonel Baynes, of the 4th instant, were
all delivered to me on my arrival at this place yesterday. The
information they contain is highly interesting, and I lose no
time in dispatching to you Brigade Major Shekleton, as the
bearer of this letter, and for the purpose of receiving
whatever communication you may have to make in return. Being
fully aware of the necessity of affording you such
reinforcements as the exigencies of the service in other parts
of the two provinces would permit, I had, previous to the
receipt of your letter, made arrangements for that purpose.

Major Ormsby, with three companies of the 49th regiment,
protecting a considerable supply of ordnance and ordnance
stores, left La Chine on the 6th instant for Kingston and Fort
George, taking with him L2,500 for the payment of the regular
and militia forces. Major Heathcote, with one company of the
49th regiment, about 110 men of the Newfoundland regiment, and
50 picked Veterans, are to leave La Chine on the 13th instant.
With this detachment, an additional supply of ordnance stores
and camp equipage for 500 men will be forwarded for Upper
Canada; and as soon as a sufficiency of bateaux can again be
collected at La Chine, Colonel Vincent is under orders to
proceed to Kingston with the remainder of the 49th regiment,
and a subaltern of the royal artillery and ten gunners, with
two 3-pounders.

When these reinforcements reach you, they will, I trust,
enable you successfully to resist the internal, as well as
external, enemies opposed to you, and materially aid the able
measures you have adopted for the defence of Upper Canada.

With regard to the queries you have submitted to me on the
subject of martial law, I have to observe, that it has not
fallen within my experience to see martial law proclaimed,
except in those places where it has been declared under the
authority of a provincial legislature, which of course
regulated the mode in which it was to be executed. As the
martial law which you purpose declaring is founded on the
king's commission, and upon the extreme case of invasion
alluded to in it, I am inclined to think that whatever power
is necessary for carrying the measure into effect, must have
been intended to be given you by the commission, and
consequently, that the power of assembling courts martial and
of carrying their sentence into execution, is included in the
authority for declaring martial law. The officers of militia
becoming themselves subject to martial law when it is
declared, I conceive they may sit upon courts martial with
officers of his majesty's regular forces; but upon both these
points I desire not to be understood as speaking
decisively--extreme cases must be met by measures which, on
ordinary occasions, would not perhaps be justified. Your
situation is such as to warrant your resorting to any step
which, in your judgment, the public safety may require. I
should therefore think, that after taking the best opinions
you can obtain from the first law characters you have about
you respecting the doubts you entertain on this subject, you
need not hesitate to determine upon that line of conduct which
you shall think will best promote the good of the service,
trusting, if you do err, to the absolute necessity of the
measures you may adopt, as your justification for them to his
majesty's government.

Your letters of the 26th, 28th and 29th July, with the several
enclosures and papers accompanying them, were received by me
shortly previous to my leaving Quebec; the last containing
Captain Roberts' official account of the capture of Fort
Michilimakinack. Great credit is certainly due to that
officer for the zeal and promptitude with which he has
performed this service; at the same time I must confess, my
mind has been very much relieved by finding that the capture
took place at a period subsequent to Brigadier-General Hull's
invasion of the province, as, had it been prior to it, it
would not only have been in violation of Captain Roberts'
orders, but have afforded a just ground for the subsequent
conduct of the enemy, which, I now plainly perceive, no
forbearance on your part would have prevented. The capture of
this place will, I hope, enable the Indian tribes in that
quarter to co-operate with you in your present movements
against the enemy, by threatening his flanks, a diversion
which would greatly alarm him, and probably have the effect of
compelling him to retreat across the river.

I send you enclosed a copy of the official repeal of the
orders in council, which I received last night by express from
Quebec. Although I much doubt whether this step on the part of
our government will have any effect upon that of the United
States, the circulation of the paper evincing their
conciliatory disposition may tend to increase and strengthen
the divisions which subsist amongst the people upon the
subject of the war. I therefore recommend to you to have a
number of copies struck off and distributed.

Colonel Baynes is still absent upon his mission to the enemy's
camp. Your letter to him of the 29th ultimo was received at
the same time with those I have last acknowledged. Colonel
Lethbridge I have directed to return to Montreal.

The issue of army bills has taken place at Quebec, and I hope
to be able shortly to send you a supply of them.

* * * * *

We have previously alluded (page 206) to that part of the preceding
letter which relates to the capture of Michilimakinack. This capture
appears to have been effected _contrary_ to Sir George Prevost's orders,
as Fort St. Joseph being nearly 350 miles from Detroit and Sandwich, and
as the expedition left the fort only four days after Hull's invasion, it
was scarcely possible that Captain Roberts was then aware of that
circumstance. Neither in his letter to the adjutant-general, announcing
the capture, does he excuse himself by stating that he had heard of the
invasion. In his dispatch to Earl Bathurst, written exactly a fortnight
after the preceding letter, and dated Montreal, August 26, Sir George
Prevost, in communicating the surrender of Detroit, expressed himself in
very altered language, as he said:

"In these measures he[60] was most opportunely aided by the
fortunate surrender of Fort Michilimakinack, which, giving
spirit and confidence to the Indian tribes in its
neighbourhood, part of whom assisted in its capture,
determined them to advance upon the rear and flanks of the
American army, as soon as they heard that it had entered the
province."

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 58: This order strikes us as an unmilitary interference on the
part of Sir George Prevost with Major-General Brock's authority, Captain
Roberts being under the immediate command of the latter general.]

[Footnote 59: See Captain Roberts' Dispatch, Appendix A, Sec. 1, No. 2.]

[Footnote 60: Major-General Brock.]

CHAPTER XI.

Whilst Major-General Brock impatiently lingered on the Niagara frontier,
so as to give time to the legislature to assemble at York, he dispatched
Colonel Proctor, of the 41st regiment, with such reinforcements as could
be spared, to assume the command at Amherstburg. General Hull, after
crossing to Sandwich, remained for some time inactive, under pretext of
making preparations for the reduction of Amherstburg, or Malden, as the
Americans called it, which lay but eighteen miles below him, and was not
in a condition to withstand a regular siege. During the delay, three
detachments of his army were on three successive days beaten back by a
small number of the 41st regiment and a few Indians. Michilimakinack had
fallen since the invasion, and the Indians from that quarter were
flocking to the British standard. Our naval force being superior on the
lake, Colonel Proctor pushed over to Brownstown, an American village,
about 25 miles from Detroit, and nearly opposite to Amherstburg, a small
detachment of the 41st regiment, and some Indians under the celebrated
Tecumseh, who, with 70 of the latter, awaited in ambush near that
village a party of 200 Americans, under Major Van Home, on their
march[61] from Detroit to the River Raisin, (40 miles south of Detroit,)
to meet a detachment of volunteers from Ohio, with a convoy of
provisions for Hull's army. The Indians, firing suddenly, killed 20,
including 5 officers, and wounded about the same number of the
Americans, who hastily retreated, and were pursued seven miles by the
warriors alone, not a British soldier being engaged. In this affair,
General Hull's dispatches and the correspondence of his troops fell into
the hands of Tecumseh, and it was partly the desponding nature of their
contents which afterwards induced Major-General Brock to attempt the
capture of the American army. Foiled in the reduction of Fort
Amherstburg; disappointed in his hope of a general insurrection of the
Canadians; and, "above all, dismayed at the report of General Brock's
resolution to advance against him,"[62] Hull's schemes of conquest
vanished; and he who, less than a month before, had landed in Canada
boastful of his strength and with threats of extermination, now saw no
other alternative than a hasty return to Detroit, under the pretence of
concentrating his forces; and after re-opening his communication with
the rivers Raisin and Miami, through which he received his supplies, of
resuming offensive operations. Accordingly, on the 7th and 8th of August
the American army re-crossed the river, with the exception of a garrison
of 250 men left in charge of a small fortification they had thrown up on
the British side, a little below Detroit, and which they evacuated and
destroyed before the arrival of Major-General Brock.[63] On the 9th of
August, a body of 600 Americans, sent to dislodge the British from
Brownstown and to open a communication with the Rivers Raisin and Miami,
was met by the white troops and Indians under Captain Muir, of the 41st,
at Maguaga, between Brownstown and Detroit, but, after a severe
conflict, Captain Muir was compelled to retreat.

From the moment that Major-General Brock heard of the invasion of the
western district, he determined on proceeding thither in person after he
had met the legislature and dispatched the public business. Having
expressed a wish of being accompanied by such of the militia as might
voluntarily offer their services, 500, principally the sons of veteran
soldiers who had settled in the province, cheerfully came forward for
that purpose. The threatening attitude, however, of the enemy on the
Niagara frontier, obliged the general to content himself with half this
number; and he left York on the 6th of August for Burlington Bay, whence
he proceeded by land for Long Point, on Lake Erie. In passing the
Mohawks' village, on the Grand River, or Ouse, he desired the Indians
there to tell him who were, and who were not, his friends; and at a
council held on the 7th of August, they promised that about 60 of their
number should follow him on the ensuing Monday, the 10th. At Long Point,
a few regulars and nearly 300 militia embarked with him on the 8th of
the same month in boats of every description, collected among the
neighbouring farmers, who usually employed them for transporting their
corn and flour. The distance from Long Point to Amherstburg is about 200
miles along the shore, which in many parts is a high precipitous bank of
red clay, with scarcely a creek for shelter. The little flotilla
encountered heavy rain and tempestuous weather, but nothing could for a
moment retard its progress, or diminish the confidence of the men in
their indefatigable leader. Among his general orders from the
commencement of hostilities, the only one relating to this voyage is the
following, which, from the singularity of the circumstances attending
it, is thought worthy of being preserved:

G.O. Head Quarters, Pointe au Prince, Aug. 12, 1812.

It is Major-General Brock's intention, should the wind
continue fair, to proceed during the night; officers
commanding boats will therefore pay attention to the order of
sailing, as directed yesterday; the greatest care and
attention will be required to prevent the boats from
separating or falling behind. A great part of the banks of
the lake, where the boats will this day pass, is much more
dangerous and difficult of access than any we have passed; the
boats will, therefore, not land except in the most extreme
necessity, and then great care must be taken to choose the
best place for beaching.

The troops being now in the neighbourhood of the enemy, every
precaution must be taken to guard against surprise. By Order.

J.B. GLEGG, Aide-de-Camp.

After five days and nights of incessant exertion, the little squadron
reached Amherstburg[64] shortly before midnight on the 13th, and in a
rough sketch in the handwriting of Major-General Brock, he observed: "In
no instance have I seen troops who would have endured the fatigues of a
long journey in boats, during extremely bad weather, with greater
cheerfulness and constancy; and it is but justice to this little band to
add, that their conduct throughout excited my admiration."

Soon after their landing at Amherstburg, the attention of the troops was
suddenly roused by a straggling fire of musketry, which in a few minutes
became general, and appeared to proceed from an island in the Detroit
river. Colonel Elliott, the superintendent of the Indians, quickly
explained that the firing arose from the Indians attached to the
British cause, who thus expressed their joy at the arrival of the
reinforcement under their white father. Major-General Brock, aware of
his scarcity of the munitions of war, sent Colonel Elliott to stop this
waste of powder, saying: "Do, pray, Elliott, fully explain my wishes and
motives, and tell the Indians that I will speak to them to-morrow on
this subject." His request was promptly attended to, and Colonel Elliott
returned in about half an hour with the Shawanee chief, Tecumseh, or
Tecumpthe, already mentioned. Captain Glegg,[65] the aide-de-camp, being
present, had an opportunity of closely observing the traits of that
extraordinary man, and we are indebted to him for the following graphic
particulars: "Tecumseh's appearance was very prepossessing; his figure
light and finely proportioned; his age I imagined to be about five and
thirty;[66] in height, five feet nine or ten inches; his complexion,
light copper; countenance, oval, with bright hazle eyes, beaming
cheerfulness, energy, and decision. Three small silver crowns, or
coronets, were suspended from the lower cartilage of his aquiline nose;
and a large silver medallion of George the Third, which I believe his
ancestor had received from Lord Dorchester, when governor-general of
Canada, was attached to a mixed coloured wampum string, and hung round
his neck. His dress consisted of a plain, neat uniform, tanned deer
skin jacket, with long trousers of the same material, the seams of both
being covered with neatly cut fringe; and he had on his feet leather
mocassins, much ornamented with work made from the dyed quills of the
porcupine.

"The first and usual salutation of shaking hands being over, an allusion
was made to the late firing of musketry, and Tecumseh at once approved
of the reason given by Major-General Brock for its discontinuance. It
being late, the parties soon separated, with an understanding that a
council would be held the following morning. This accordingly took
place, and was attended by about a thousand Indians, whose equipment
generally might be considered very imposing. The council was opened by
General Brock, who informed the Indians that he was ordered by their
great father to come to their assistance, and, with their aid, to drive
the Americans from Fort Detroit. His speech was highly applauded, and
Tecumseh was unanimously called upon to speak in reply. He commenced
with expressions of joy, that their father beyond the great salt lake
(meaning the king of England) had at length awoke from his long sleep,
and permitted his warriors to come to the assistance of his red
children, who had never ceased to remain steady in their friendship, and
were now all ready to shed their last drop of blood in their great
father's service. After some speeches from other chiefs, and replies
thereto, the council broke up. General Brock, having quickly discovered
the superior sagacity and intrepidity of Tecumseh, and his influence
over the Indians, and not deeming it prudent to develop before so mixed
an assemblage the views which were at that moment uppermost in his
thoughts, and intended to be carried so quickly into execution, directed
Colonel Elliott to inform this Shawanee chief that he wished to see him,
accompanied by a few of the oldest chiefs, at Colonel Elliott's
quarters. There the general, through the medium of interpreters,
communicated his views, and explained the manner in which he intended to
carry into execution his operations against Fort Detroit. The chiefs
listened with the most apparent eagerness, and expressed their unanimous
assent to the proposed plan, assuring General Brock that their
co-operation, as pointed out, might be depended on. On General Brock
asking whether the Shawanee Indians could be induced to refrain from
drinking spirits, Tecumseh assured him that his warriors might be relied
on, adding, that before leaving their country on the Wabash river, they
had promised him not to taste that pernicious liquor until they had
humbled the "big knives," meaning the Americans. In reply to this
assurance, General Brock briefly said: 'If this resolution be persevered
in, you must conquer.'"

In a general order on the 14th of August, at Amherstburg, in announcing
his arrival in the western district, Major-General Brock observed: "The
major-general cannot avoid expressing his surprise at the numerous
desertions which have occurred from the ranks of the militia, to which
circumstance the long stay of the enemy on this side of the river must
in a great measure be ascribed. He is willing to believe that their
conduct proceeded from an anxiety to get in their harvest, and not from
any predeliction for the principles or government of the United States."

The next day, the American commander was startled by a summons to
surrender; and so resolute a demand seems to have struck him with
dismay, as at the worst he had never contemplated a pursuit into his own
territory.

Head Quarters, Sandwich, Aug. 15, 1812.

The force at my disposal authorizes me to require of you the
immediate surrender of Fort Detroit.[67] It is far from my
inclination to join in a war of extermination; but you must be
aware, that the numerous body of Indians who have attached
themselves to my troops, will be beyond my control the moment
the contest commences. You will find me disposed to enter into
such conditions as will satisfy the most scrupulous sense of
honor. Lieut.-Colonel M'Donell and Major Glegg are fully
authorized to conclude any arrangement that may lead to
prevent the unnecessary effusion of blood.
ISAAC BROCK, Major-General.
Brigadier-General Hull.

Hull refused to see Captain Glegg, who carried the summons, and, after
detaining him upwards of two hours, returned the following answer:

Head Quarters, Detroit, Aug. 15, 1812.

I have received your letter of this date. I have no other
reply to make than to inform you, that I am prepared to meet
any force which may be at your disposal, and any consequences
which may result from any exertion of it you may think proper
to make.
W. HULL, Brigadier-General,
Commanding the N.W. Army of the U.S.

Nothing daunted, and contrary to the advice of some of his officers,
Major-General Brock at once determined on crossing the river, with the
view of attempting, by a sudden and resolute attack, the annihilation of
the enemy's power in that quarter. In the afternoon, a fire was opened
from a battery of five guns, erected opposite to Detroit, under the
direction of Captain Dixon, of the Royal Engineers: this cannonade was
returned from seven 24-pounders, but the British general, perceiving
that little effect was produced by either fire, gave orders that his
should cease. The troops retired to their bivouac and lay on their arms,
with orders to cross the strait, or river, which is here about
three-fourths of a mile in width, on the following morning. Accordingly,
at the first blush of dawn, on Sunday, the 16th of August, when the fire
from the British battery was resumed, 330 regulars and 400 militia were
embarked, with five pieces of light artillery, in boats and canoes of
every description, and soon effected a landing without opposition, near
Springwell, four or five miles below Detroit. About 600 Indians, under
Colonel Elliott, had crossed the river during the night, and were
ordered to be so placed as to take the enemy in flank and rear, should
he attempt to oppose the landing. The white troops marched towards the
fort, while the Indians moved through the woods, and covered the left
flank, the right resting upon the river, and protected by the Queen
Charlotte, colonial vessel of war. The enemy's effective force was
estimated at nearly 2,500 men, and, supported as they were by a
neighbouring fortress, it required no little daring to pursue them on
their own ground with such unequal numbers. Contrary to Major-General
Brock's expectation, the Americans abandoned a favorable position,
strengthened by pickets and two 24-pounders, and retreated into the fort
on the advance of the British, who halted in a ravine within a mile,
and, discovering the weakness of the works on the land side, prepared
for its assault. While the various columns were forming for that
purpose, a flag of truce, borne by Captain Hull, was unexpectedly seen
emerging from the fort,--Lieut.-Colonel M'Donell and Captain Glegg
accompanied him back; and shortly after the British troops marched in
with Major-General Brock at their head, the American general having
assented to a capitulation, by which the Michigan territory, Fort
Detroit, with thirty-three pieces of cannon,[68] the Adams vessel of
war,[69] and about 2,500 troops, including one company of artillery,
some cavalry, and the entire 4th U.S. regiment of infantry, with a stand
of colours, were surrendered to the British arms. An immense quantity of
stores and the military chest were also taken; and as there was a great
deficiency of arms in the Upper Province wherewith to equip the militia,
the 2,500 stand of American became a valuable acquisition. To this
surrender the after preservation of Upper Canada, at least, may in a
great measure be ascribed, as it caused a delay of nearly a whole year
in the meditated invasion,[70] and secured the support of some of the
Indian tribes, who were hesitating as to the side they should espouse.
It was the more fortunate that Major-General Brock acted with so much
promptitude and vigour, because large reinforcements were on their way
to General Hull; and not only would that officer's reverse otherwise
have been spared, but the western districts of Upper Canada would
probably have fallen before the overwhelming numbers which would soon
have been brought against them.

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