Military Occurrences

A. FULL AND CORRECT ACCOUNT OF THE MILITARY OCCURRENCES OF LHC THE LATE WAR 973.3 BETWEEN J29 GREAT BRITAIN AND THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA; WITH AN APPENDIX, AND PLATES. BY WILLIAM JAMES, AUTHOR OF " A FULL AND CORRECT ACCOUNT OF THE CHIEF NAVAL OCCURRENCES, &C." .ellterum alterius auxilio eget. SALLUST. IN TWO VOLUMES. VOL. II. Unbolt : PRINTED FOR THE AUTHOR: SOLD BY BLACK, KINGSBURY, PARBURY, AND ALLEN, LEADENHALL-STREET; - JAMES M. RICHARDSON, CORNHILL ; JOHN BOOTH, DUKE STREET / PoRTLAN D -PLACE ;. AND ALL OTHER BOOKSELLERS. 1818. .44 '1) 1" 1'.:41. 3 1111 MILITARY OCCURRENCES, .c. 4. CHAPTER XI. British force on the Niagara in October, 1813 — A ttack upon the piquets—Effects of the surrender of the right division—Major-general Vincent's retreat to Burlington— His orders from the commander-in-clarf to retire upon Kingston— Fortunate contravention of those orders—General Harrison's arrival at, and departure from Fort- George Association of some Upper Canada militia after being disembodied—Their gallant attack upon, and capture of, a band of plunder-. ing traitors—General M'Clure's shameful con , duct towards the Canadian inhabitants—Colonel Murray's gallant behaviour Its effect upon general M'Clure—A Canadian winter—Night- conflagration of Newark by the Americians- M'Clure's abandonment of Fort-George, and flight across the river=–Arrival of lieutenant- general DruMmond—Assault upon, and capture of Fort-Niagara — Canadian prisoners found there Retaliatory destruction of LeWistown, VOL. Jr. MILITARY OCCURRENCES BETWEEN GREAT BRITAIN AND AMERICA. 3 Youngstown,Illanchester ,and Tuscarora—Attack consisting of 1100 men, with the great general upon Bufaloe and Black Rock, and destruction Vincent, at their head, fled into the woods." Of those ifillagei—Americaii resentment against The British are declared to have sustained a general 31' Clure—Rernarks upon the campaign ; loss of 32 in killed only, and the Americans of also upon the burning of Newark, and the four killed and wounded. * This is the way the measures pursued in retaliation. " literary gentlemen" of the United States contrive to fill their " histories." Colonel, or HAVING brought the campaign of 1813 to a doctor Chapin (for he professes, and is equally close upon the northern,; and north-western, mischievous in, both characters) had lately Canadian frontiers, the operations along both escaped from the British, t and, for that exploit, shores of the Niagara come,- next, to be detailed. been promoted ; probably by the secretary at war Major-general Vincent, who again commanded,' himself, as he was known to have been in the in the absence of general De Rottenburg, the neighbourhood of the Niagara, while the Mont- centre-division, had received, since the middle real expedition was preparing. of September, a reinforcement of the 100th On the 9th of October intelligence of the regiment; in order to counter-balance the disaster that had befallen the right division, reduction his force would sustain in the reached the head-quarters of the centre-division; departure of the 49th and 104th regiments, and caused general Vincent, after destroying already noticed.• The general's head-quarters considerable quantities of stores, , provisions ; were at the Cross Roads; and the piquets of his and Indian goods, to retreat, with his troops; advanced corps, which was commanded by colonel towards Burlington Heights : where colonel Murray, occasionally showed themselves• in the Proctor joined him with the small remnant of town of Newark. From the American accounts his division. As soon as general Vincent and only we learn, that, on the 6th of October, "about his troops had got well on their way to 500 militia-volunteers and about 150 Indians, Burlington, major-general M'Clure, with the commanded by colonel Chapin," attacked the whole of his force, numbering 27000 0 men, be- piquet-guard of the_ British ; and, " after an sides Indians, marched a few miles along the hour and a half's bard-fighting," drove it upon road, and back. This was not ', without an the main-body ; when "the whole British army, object ; for we .Were afterwards 'told; that * See Vol. I. p. 261. ?,'Ctikt * Hist. of the War, p. 158. + See Vol. I. p. 218. B 2 4 MILITARY OCCURRENCES BETWEEN GREAT BRITAIN AND AMERICA. 4 6 general M'Clure, with the New York militia, volunteers, and Indians, succeeded in driving store. This abandonment of territory so soon the British army from the vicinity of Fort- following up the affair at the Moravian village, George, and pursued them as far as the Twelve- what would the Indians have thought of us 9— ln short, it will not bear reflection. riiile Creek."' Major-general Proctor's discomfiture reached Towards the end of October, among other the head quarters of the" commander in chief sacrifices caused by the dread of general about the middle of October ; and orders were Harrison's zeal and promptitude, two companies instantly forwarded to major-general Vincent, of the 100th regiment, which had been stationed directing him to commence upon his retreat at Charlotteville, in the London district of without delay, and to evacuate all the British Upper Canada, were ordered to evacuate that posts beyond Kingston, Some delay did for- post, and join the main body of the centre- tunately take place, owing chiefly to counter- division of the army at Burlington, distant 60 orders, not from head-quarters ;. and a council miles. Orders were at the same time issued, to disembody and . of war, summoned at Burlington Heights, came disarm the militia. The officer to the noble resolution of not moving a step who had this duty to perform, having ascertained to the rear, in the present conjuncture of affairs that a large body of traitors and Americans had on the peninsula. Fatal, indeed, would have been plundering the houses of the inhabitants, been the retreat. There was still a consider- while the latter were away in the service of their able number of sick, both at Burlington country, left a supply of arms and ammunition Heights and at York ; and, considering the with some of the militia officers and privates. season of the year, and the state of the roads, These, in number 45, immediately formed them- the whole of them must have been left to the selves into an association ; and marched,with lieu- protection of the enemy. Nor, for the same tenant-colonel Bostwick, of the Oxford militia, reason, could the ordnance, ordnance-stores, at their head, against the marauders; whom baggage, and provisions, have followed the they fortunately fell in with on the Lake Erie army ; and yet the garrison of Kingston, upon shore, about nine miles from Dover. An engage- which place the troops were directed to retire, ment ensued ; in which several of the gang were had, at this time, scarcely a_week's provision in killed and wounded, and 18 taken prisoners. These 18 * History of the War, p. 158. • were afterwards tried at Ancaster for high treason ; and all, except three, convicted. GREAT BRITAIN AND AMERICA. 7 7 6 MILITARY OCCURRENCES BETWEEN These atrocities were represented to major. Eight of the 15, so convicted, underwent the general Vincent, and he was strongly urged to penalty of the law. The remaining seven were allow a small regular and Indian force to be respited, to await the prince regent's final deci- marched against general McClure.. Colonel sion ; and have since been transported. How Murray finally gained his point ; and, taking highly, and yet how justly, this well-planned with him 379 rank and file of the 100th regi. and well-executed enterprise was appreciated by ment, abOut volunteers, and 70 of the western the president of Upper Canada, will be seen in '20 the general orders which he caused to. be issued Indians, led by colonel Elliot, moved forward on the road towards the Forty-mile Creek ; beyond upon the occasion." which point he had been ordered not to proceed. About theist of: November general Harrison The advance of this small detachment soon arrived at Fort-George, with about 1700 of reached the ears of general McClure, who had his troops ;, who, agreeably to Mr.. Secretary Armstrong's orders, were immediately quar- taken post at the Twenty-mile Creek, and who now retreated, in haste, to a position somewhat tered upon the inhabitants of Newark. In the nearer to Fort-George. Colonel Murray obtained course of November, both general Harrison fresh permission to extend his march to the and colonel Scott, with their respective corps, embarked on board commodore Chauncey's Twenty-mile Creek, and subsequently to the Twelve-mile Creek. These movements had fleet for Sackett's Harbor ; leaving general driven the American general and his men to McClure, with his '2700 militia, and a few Fort-George ; and then commenced a scene of regular troops, in charge of Fort-George. devastation and horror, of which no adequate General McClure, . now having the entire com• mand to himself, and being disappointed, idea can be formed, except by such as had the notwithstanding all the intrigues of his friend misery to be spectators. How, then, shall we Wilcocks, in his endeavours " to secure the hope to succeed in describing it ? friendship and co-operation of the inhabitants," The winter of 1813, according to general began sending the most obstinate of the latter Wilkinson, set in earlier than usual. Lambert, across to the American side, and then set about in his account of the climate of Lower Canada, pillaging and destroying the farm-houses and says that Fahrenheit's thermometer is sometimes barns in the neighbourhood of Fort-George. 36 degrees below 0, and that the mean of the * App.

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