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

F >> Ferdinand Brock Tupper >> The Life and Correspondence of Sir Isaac Brock

Pages:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30

I wish you to comprehend clearly the sentiments of Sir James
upon this essential point; because, although I entertain great
respect for the personal character of Mr. Elliott, yet I
should be unwilling to place entire dependance in an affair
of such manifest importance, upon a judgment biased and
prejudiced as his is known to be in every thing that regards
the Indians. To act with due prudence, he participates in and
feels too keenly the grievous wrongs they have suffered.
Should you, therefore, perceive the smallest indication to
depart from the line so strongly marked by his excellency for
the government of the Indian officers, you will, without
creating suspicion of an intention of controlling their
measures, offer friendly advice, and even have recourse to
written protests to deter them from persevering in any act
that may have a tendency to irritate and expose the two
nations to endless controversy. All this you of course will do
as coming from yourself, and you will be very regular in
reporting circumstantially every occurrence that may come to
your knowledge, to enable me to conform strictly with the
instructions of the commander-in-chief.

_Colonel Baynes[33] to Brigadier Brock, at Fort George_.

QUEBEC, March 4, 1811.

Sir James desires me to tell you that he had fully intended
writing to you himself by this day's post, but, from the
arrival of the January mail and the departure of the Halifax
courier to-morrow, he finds himself so much occupied that he
has deputed me to explain to you the cause of his not
announcing to you by his own pen the resolution he finds
himself under the necessity of adopting, of returning to
England early in the summer. I think it probable that he will
leave this by the July fleet; indeed, the extremely weak and
debilitated state of his health will not admit of his
deferring his departure longer, lest it might involve him in
inconveniences attendant upon an equinoctial or fall passage.
It is with the deepest regret I observe that his strength is
visibly sinking under his disease, although the latter does
not appear to have increased in violence; on the contrary, for
this fortnight past he seems in better spirits and to suffer
less pain: the first probably arises from the prospect of his
being speedily relieved from the weight and anxiety of his
public charge, for, with regard to himself, his mind is most
perfectly made up, and resigned to a very speedy termination
of all his sufferings; and his anxiety has been latterly much
excited from the apprehension of his becoming too ill to be
able to undertake the voyage, and being obliged to linger out
the short remnant of his life in this country.

I assure you he is very far from being indifferent in regard
to forwarding your wishes; but from the necessity of his
retiring himself, and even without waiting for leave to do so,
he feels it the more indispensably necessary to leave this
country in the best state of security he can, and that, under
existing circumstances, he cannot attend to your request for
leave. He desires me to say, that he regrets extremely the
disappointment you may experience, and he requests that you
will do him the favor to accept, as a legacy and mark of his
very sincere regard, his favorite horse Alfred, and that he is
induced to send him to you, not only from wishing to secure to
his old favorite a kind and careful master, but from the
conviction that the whole continent of America could not
furnish you with so safe and excellent a horse. Alfred is ten
years old, but being a high bred horse, and latterly but very
little worked, he may be considered as still perfectly fresh.
Sir James will give him up to Heriot, whenever you fix the
mode of his being forwarded to you.

I have requested Sir James to allow me to accompany him home,
a duty I should feel a most grateful pleasure in performing;
but with a kind regard to what he thinks more to my interest,
he will not accede to my wishes, but insists on my remaining
here, as he thinks that my appointment will be considered
permanent. Kempt goes home, his private affairs requiring his
presence, and having strong ground to hope that he will be
able to resign his staff for an active brigade; although his
senior in years and length of service, I must still wait a
long time before I can direct my ambition to so desirable an
object.

You will have seen by Sir James' speech, the very complete
triumph his firmness and energy have obtained over the
factious cabal of their most contemptible assembly. Bedard
will be shortly released--that fellow alone of the whole gang
has nerve, and does not want ability or inclination to do
mischief whenever opportunity offers; the rest, old Papineau
and the blustering B----, are all white-livered runagates to a
man; but when Sir James' back is turned, they will rally and
commence the same bullying attack on his successor, who, I
trust, will follow his example.

_Colonel J.A. Vesey to Brigadier Brock._

HAMPTON COURT PARK, April 9, 1811.

I am bound to Sicily in about a fortnight, as a
brigadier-general on the staff there, and I am told that Lord
William Bentinck, who is destined to command the forces in
that island, will be the bearer of instructions to insist upon
the command of the Sicilian army likewise.

I thank you much for the interesting details of local
politics, both military and civil, which your letter contains,
for I feel a more than common wish to know what passes in
Canada, although I am certainly not partial to that
country--quite the reverse. It is a pity that the 49th should
be detained there so long, as it will interfere materially
with the promotion of your officers. I fear you will have
passed a lonely winter at Fort George, notwithstanding the
addition of my friend Murray and his nice little wife to your
society. Pray remember me kindly to them and to my old
friend, St. George. Mrs. Vesey has charged me to call her to
your recollection in the kindest manner; she and my six
children are as well as possible, and a very nice little group
they are, all as healthy as can be. I wish I had a daughter
old enough for you, as I would give her to you with pleasure.
You should be married, particularly as fate seems to detain
you so long in Canada--but pray do not marry there.

_Colonel Vesey to Brigadier Brock._

HAMPTON COURT PARK, May 9, 1811.

I received a few days ago your letter of the 22d February, for
which I thank you very much. I am very much obliged to you for
taking so much trouble about my grant of land, respecting
which I have not taken any steps whatever here, neither shall
I so long as Lord Liverpool continues to direct the affairs of
the colonial department, for he is not friendly to me, but I
will reserve my claims for a more favorable moment. I am not
the less thankful for your friendship on the occasion.

I quite feel for you, my good friend, when I think of the
stupid and uninteresting time you must have passed in Upper
Canada--with your ardour for professional employment in the
field, it must have been very painful. I did not think Sir
James (Craig) would have detained you so long against your
will. Had you returned to Europe, there is little doubt but
that you would immediately have been employed in Portugal,
and, as that service has turned out so very creditable, I
regret very much that you had not deserted from Canada. I take
it for granted that you will not stay there long, and should
the fortune of war bring us again upon duty in the same
country, I need not say how I shall hail the event with joy.
If you come to England, I would wish you to call upon the Duke
of Kent,[34] who has a high respect for you, and will be happy
to see you.

It seems determined that the Duke of York shall return to the
command of the army; it would have taken place ere now, but
for some ill-natured remarks inserted in some of the
newspapers, produced by an over zeal on the part of his
friends. Sir David (Dundas) will not be much regretted, and it
surely is time that at his advanced period of life he should
be relieved from the cares of office.

I am rejoiced to find that you live so comfortably with my
friend Murray and his nice little wife. Mrs. Vesey and myself
took a great fancy to her the morning she called here, on
their way to Portsmouth.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 31: Peter Carey Tupper, Esq., a native of Guernsey, British
consul for Valencia at this time, and afterwards for Catalonia. He
distinguished himself from 1808 to 1814, in encouraging the Spaniards to
resist the invasion of Napoleon; and his name occurs repeatedly in the
Duke of Wellington's Dispatches, recently published, as also in the
first and fourth volumes of Napoleon's Peninsular War. He died in Madrid
in 1825, in the prime of life. His youngest brother was British consul
for Caraccas, and afterwards for Riga.]

[Footnote 32: The present General Sir James Kempt, G.C.B., &c,
afterwards governor-general of British America, and subsequently
master-general of the ordnance in Earl Grey's administration.]

[Footnote 33: Owing to the communication by post between Lower and Upper
Canada being so slow at this period, we observe that many of Colonel
Baynes' letters to Brigadier Brock, at Fort George, were transmitted
through the United States. There was only a post once a fortnight
between Montreal and Kingston, and in Upper Canada the post office was
scarcely established.]

[Footnote 34: The father of her present Majesty, Queen Victoria.]

CHAPTER V.

On the 4th June, 1811, Brigadier Brock was promoted, and appointed by
the prince regent to serve from that day as a major-general on the staff
of North America. On the 19th of the same month, Sir James Craig
embarked on board his majesty's ship Amelia for England, leaving Mr.
Dunn in charge of the government of the Lower Province, and
Lieut.-General Drummond in command of the forces in the Canadas,
consisting of 445 artillery, 3,783 regular troops, and 1,226 Fencibles;
in all, 5,454 men. He seemed disgusted with the cares of a government,
in which he had experienced only crosses and mortification, as his
administration was decidedly unpopular among the great mass of the
French Canadians. His health had long been wasting away with a dropsy
and other infirmities, and he doubted whether he should live to reach
England, where he however survived several months, and met with a most
gracious reception from his immediate superiors. Sir James Craig had
been from his youth in the service of his country,[35] and he owed to
merit alone his rank and consideration in the army. He was corpulent in
person, and rather below the middle stature; his features were strong
and regular, his aspect was severe and imposing, his deportment, manly
and dignified; in society he was polite, frank, and affable. He is said
to have been positive in his opinions, and therefore prompt and decisive
in his measures. To a clear and comprehensive judgment, he united the
best qualities of the heart, and though hasty in temper, he was easily
reconciled to those who might involuntarily have incurred his
resentment. In fine, he seems to have possessed all the sterling and
undisguised virtues that distinguish the soldier, and some of the
qualities that constitute the able statesman. Although many differed
widely in opinion with respect to his government, yet few could deny him
the merit of disinterestedness and integrity in the discharge of his
public duties. He may have erred in the performance of the important and
complicated functions of his post, but he was guided by sincerity; and
it is due to his memory to add, that the objects of his administration,
however erroneous the means he pursued for their attainment, were the
concord, the happiness, and the prosperity of the people whom he
governed for nearly four years.[36]

_Major-General Vesey to Major-General Brock_.

PORTSMOUTH, June 10, 1811.

I congratulate you on your promotion, and you may return me
the compliment. I did not expect to appear in the same brevet
with you as a major-general; it has so happened, however, and
I am not at all sorry to go out to Sicily as major-general
instead of a brigadier. You have such a lot of generals in
Canada at present, that it is impossible to continue them all
upon the staff. Your wish will be to come home, I dare say,
and very glad I should be if you were in England at present,
while all the arrangements are making. It may perhaps be your
fate to go to the Mediterranean, but the Peninsula is the most
direct road to the honor of the Bath, and as you are an
ambitious man, that is the station you would prefer--so should
I, but I have been advised not to solicit for it, but to go
where I was ordered; therefore, am I proceeding. I need not
say how rejoiced I should be if you were of the party.

The return of the duke of York to the head of the army gives
general satisfaction to all military people, and indeed to
most others I fancy: his old worn-out predecessor has long
been superannuated. I still retain my appointment of deputy
barrack master-general in Nova Scotia, to the astonishment of
every body, because I suppose they do not like to take it from
me _par force_, without giving me something in lieu of it. I
have told the treasury that I would not give it up upon any
other terms than for my lieutenant-colonelcy, but that they
had the power of taking it from me if they chose to do me that
injustice: I suppose they will as soon as my back is turned.
Lord William Bentinck is expected down to-day; he goes to
Sicily in the Caledonia, with Sir Edward Pellew. As it is
possible you may have left Canada, I shall enclose this letter
to our friend Bruyeres; bid him read it and forward it if you
are yet in that country.

_Colonel Baynes to Major-General Brock, at Montreal_.

QUEBEC, August 3, 1811.

We were very much surprised on Thursday last by the arrival of
the Racoon, sloop of war, from Jamaica, with the duke of
Manchester on board, who is come with the view of visiting the
lions of Canada previous to his return to England; he is gone,
attended by General Drummond, to see the falls of Montmorenci,
and the general desires me to let you know that his grace
intends leaving this in the stage on Tuesday morning for
Montreal. The duke has no attendant except a Colonel Gold,
_ci-devant militaire_; he appears to be very affable, and
perfectly _sans facon_; he particularly requested that no
compliments or ceremony of any kind might be shown him, and
that he might be permitted to indulge his fancy by going about
as he pleased. His grace is not likely to have many volunteer
aides-de-camp, for he treated those who formed his suite
yesterday to a walk of half a dozen hours in the sun at
mid-day round the works, the towers, plains, &c.; and from
which he did not appear to experience the slightest
inconvenience, being in the habit, we are told, of taking
similar rambles even in the West Indies. The duke will pay you
but a very short visit, being limited for time, and anxious to
make his tour as extensive as possible. He seems to like a
glass of Madeira, and would match any of the Canadian tribe in
smoking cigars; he walks about with one in his mouth at all
hours in the day. He begs you will have the kindness to secure
for him a boat and a good Canadian crew to proceed to
Kingston, and to facilitate his progress from that place,
inasmuch as it may be in your power to do so. I apprehend that
the movement of the troops may very materially interfere with
him, but the duke will not object to embarking with any of the
detachments if no other vessel can be spared.

_Colonel Baynes to Major-General Brock, at William Henry, Sorel_.

QUEBEC, August 12, 1811.

I have to acknowledge and thank you for your letter of the 8th
instant. I regret much that you did not find it convenient to
remain at Montreal to receive the duke of Manchester, as I
think you would have felt gratified; and if you could have
reconciled to your own feelings the want of due preparation
for the reception of so great a personage, I am sure, from
the specimen we had of his grace here, that he would have been
perfectly satisfied, and happy to have shared your fare. He
does not appear to be a lady's man--perhaps a little too much
the contrary, and I am confident that a dinner with a few
gentlemen, and an invitation to smoke, would suit his taste in
preference to a formal fete. On an excursion to the Chaudiere,
of which Mrs. Drummond and other ladies formed part, his grace
appeared to be very little at his ease until he effected his
escape out of the frigate's barge into one of the small boats
that was in attendance with his _compagnon de voyage_ and the
commander of the sloop, when, with the aid of his favorite
cigar, he appeared to be perfectly happy. I mention these
traits in order that you may be prepared to receive him or not
on his return, as you think best. I am sure he would prefer
William Henry to sleep at in preference to Montreal.

* * * * *

After an inter-regnum of nearly three months, Sir George Prevost arrived
at Quebec in September, and assumed the government of Lower Canada,
having succeeded Sir James Craig in the chief command of the British
North American provinces. The known mildness of his character, and the
popularity of his administration in Nova Scotia, from which he had been
just promoted, afforded a hope that his government of Lower Canada would
prove more auspicious to the internal union of the people than that of
his predecessor. Sir George Prevost had moreover the advantage of
being, we believe, a Canadian born, and, as his name indicates, his
family was doubtless of French origin, a circumstance which the French
Canadians could not fail to appreciate. Soon after his arrival,
Major-General Brock, in addition to the command of the troops, was
appointed president and administrator of the government in Upper Canada,
to which office he succeeded on the 9th October, 1811, in place of
Lieut.-Governor Gore, who returned to England on leave. At the close of
the year, his royal highness the duke of York expressed at length every
inclination to gratify Major-General Brock's wishes for more active
employment in Europe, and Sir George Prevost was authorized to replace
him by another officer; but when the permission reached Canada, early in
1812, a war with the United States was evidently near at hand, and
Major-General Brock, with such a prospect, was retained both by honor
and inclination in the country.

_Lieut.-General Drummond[37] to Major-General Brock_.

QUEBEC, August 31, 1811.

I have just been favored with your kind letter, and return
many thanks for your friendly congratulations. Under present
circumstances, it must be the wish of every military person
to seek active employment; I should most willingly sacrifice
many domestic comforts to obtain it, but I fear the rank I
have just attained will interfere with my prospects. I have
often regretted, during my residence in this country, that we
have been so much separated, which has deprived me of the
opportunity of cultivating your friendship, which I shall ever
feel anxious to possess; and be assured it will always afford
me the most sincere satisfaction to renew an acquaintance with
one for whom I have so great a regard. Captain Glegg's
appointment will be in general orders to-day. Captain and Mrs.
Fulton arrived this morning: I have not seen him yet. I
understand Sir George Prevost was to embark three days after
the Hunter sailed. I shall probably embark in the Melamphus,
for Halifax, and from thence in the packet for England: should
you have any commands, I shall be happy to charge myself with
them. Mrs. Drummond unites with me in sincere wishes for your
health and happiness.

_Colonel Baynes to Major-General Brock_.

QUEBEC, October 7, 1811.

I have a letter from Thornton of the 2d of August; the party
arrived at Deal on the 27th of July. Sir James (Craig) bore
the passage remarkably well, and he has received the most
flattering and satisfactory assurances that his conduct, civil
and military, has met with the most unqualified approbation.
Kempt has experienced a very honorable reception: the duke
told him he would give him a _carte blanche_ as to his future
destination; he has requested to have a brigade under Lord
Wellington, and was preparing to go to the Peninsula. Thornton
does not allude to the probability of its effecting his
present post, as he says Kempt writes to you at length, and
will tell you of himself. Ellice[38] has found great
difficulty in effecting an exchange. Dalrymple, Sir Hew's
eldest son, had no objection till he found that the duke set
his face against the continued exchange of that post, and that
he would not permit it to be made a mere stepping stone for
the brevet rank. He in consequence declined it, and Ellice is
on the hunt for a lazy married major of dragoons, who has no
objection to obtain it as a fixture. Thornton has been
appointed to a regiment, but he neglects to mention the
number, although he enters into a long explanation respecting
it, viz. that it is of two battalions, the second in Portugal
and the first in the East Indies, but, by a recent regulation,
the senior lieutenant-colonel has the option of remaining in
command of the second in Portugal if he chooses. Thornton has
obtained leave to go, in the first instance, to his corps in
Portugal, so as to endeavour to persuade his senior that India
is a more desirable quarter: if he fails in his rhetoric, he
expects shortly to travel that route himself.

The following paragraph is copied verbatim from Thornton's letter; he
is connected with Torrens and in habits of familiar intimacy, so that I
am inclined to think he draws his inference from that quarter: "Pray
give a hint in private to Generals Brock and Sheaffe, that if the former
were to ask for a brigade at home, or on European service, and the
latter to be put on the staff in Canada, I am almost certain they would
succeed."

_Lieut.-Colonel Torrens to Major-General Brock_.

HORSE GUARDS, October 17, 1811.

I have had the pleasure of receiving your letter of the 6th of
July, and I beg you will be convinced that I should derive
much satisfaction from the power of complying with your wishes
as far as my situation might enable me to facilitate the
accomplishment of the object you have expressed of returning
to England.

I have made known your wishes to the commander-in-chief, and
his royal highness has expressed every inclination to comply
with them. But until another officer shall join the station,
you will be readily aware of the difficulty his royal highness
would have in withdrawing you, by leave of absence or
otherwise, during the present state of public affairs with the
American government.

Should you wish, however, to quit the Canadian staff with a
view to serve in Europe, his royal highness will not object to
your return to this country, under the arrangement of your
being immediately succeeded by another officer. And as
Major-General Sheaffe is on the spot, and has strong claims to
employment on the staff, his royal highness will have no
objection to furnish Sir George Prevost with an authority to
employ that officer in your room, provided he has not yet left
Canada.

I trust this arrangement may be acceptable to you. An official
communication to the effect of this note will be made to Sir
George Prevost.

_Colonel Baynes to Major-General Brock_.

QUEBEC, November 21, 1811.

We fortunately received yesterday the last batch of recruits
for the 41st regiment, as from the present state of the
weather and appearance of the river, I fear their situation
would have been very desperate. They have, poor devils, been
sixteen weeks and four days on their passage, and have
suffered much from dysentery. Four men have died, and several
are sick; but as the former detachment recovered fast when
landed and taken care of, I doubt not that these will also:
they amount to three hundred, and are in general very fine
young men. What a noble battalion they will make when brought
together; and the officers say that about 200 more were left
at the depot, for want of room in the transport.

Pages:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30