we have stated in connection with the appropriate events, the causes of this war which had accumulated during the last five years at a rapid rate. the seizure and captures of american vessels by great britain amounted to 917; by france to 558. upwards of 6,000 cases of impressments were recorded in the american department of state; and in all these our flag had been violated. it was estimated that about as many more had been made, of which no official information had been received. the americans were averse to war and had long borne these injuries in the hope that a settlement might be reached by negotiation; but they insisted on the inviolability of our flag, and the right of naturalization. on the commencement of hostilities 2,500 of these impressed sailors, claiming to be american citizens, refused to fight against america, and were imprisoned by the english government, where most of them were kept to the close of the war.
aug. 24—the english government, however, had the magnanimity, when news arrived of the declaration of war by the united states, to allow all american vessels then in their ports six weeks to dispose of their lading and to depart undisturbed.
the great success of the war on the american side was on the sea, where it was much more seriously detrimental and mortifying to the english than victories on the land would have been. the land forces were generally inefficiently conducted, though the close of the war was signalized by the victory of gen. jackson, at new orleans, which was extremely gratifying to american pride.
july 12—gen. hull, with 1,800 troops, invades canada.
aug. 8—after various mishaps, hull retreats to detroit.
” 9—col. miller defeats tecumseh and a body of british troops at maguaga.
” 15—ft. dearborn (now chicago) was abandoned by its small garrison, by the orders of hull. during their retreat they were attacked, and most of them massacred by the indians.
” 16—gen. hull surrendered detroit and all the military forces and stores in the territory to the british. he was afterward sentenced[621] to death by a court-martial, but pardoned by the president, though degraded from all military command.
” 19—the u. s. frigate constitution, capt. hull, does great honor to the american arms by the capture of the english frigate guerriere. this vessel had challenged the american vessels in a contemptuous way. she had 79 killed and wounded, the constitution only 13. there were 10 impressed american seamen on the guerriere.
sept. 7—the u. s. frigate essex captures the alert in 8 minutes.
oct. 13—in another invasion of canada by gen. van rensselaer, though much gallantry was displayed, an unexpected british reinforcement obliged the surrender of 700 men after 160 had been killed and wounded.
” 18—the u. s. sloop of war wasp captures the british sloop of war frolic, which was the strongest vessel. the frolic had 100 killed and wounded, the wasp but 10. both were captured by a british 74 pounder the same day.
” 25—capt. decatur, of the frigate united states, captures the macedonian, a british frigate. british loss 104, american only 7.
nov. 22—the u. s. brig vixen is captured by the english frigate southampton. both were afterward shipwrecked.
a presidential election in this month secured the re-election of madison.
dec. 29—the u. s. frigate constitution, commodore bainbridge, captures the british frigate java, off the coast of brazil. american loss 44, british 151. these naval victories with so little loss produced much exultation in america, and much surprise and mortification in england. the americans were able seamen, and had long burned to avenge the insults and contempt of the english navy. americans are capable of extraordinary vigor when thoroughly aroused. the operations on land had been much interfered with by the strenuous and almost treasonable opposition of the anti-war party, and this continued to be an embarrassment during nearly its whole course. the general disfavor with which this violent opposition was regarded, however, and the sympathy felt for the president, so embarrassed, procured his re-election.
1813.
military operations this year were, in part, more creditable and encouraging. the regular force amounted to about 55,000 men; an act had been passed authorizing the construction of four 74 gun ships, and six forty-fours; and for an increase of the navy on the lakes.
jan. 22—a disastrous enterprise at frenchtown (now monroe, mich.) results in the loss of nearly 900 american troops under winchester. the wounded were left by gen. proctor, the british commander, to be massacred by the indians.
[622]
” 23—geo. clymer, of pa., signer of the declaration of independence, died.
” 26—an act of congress authorizes the president to borrow $16,000,000.
” 27—he is authorized to issue treasury notes to the amount of $5,000,000.
feb. 24—the hornet captures the british brig peacock, on the coast of south america.
the delaware and chesapeake bays are blockaded by the british about this time.
mar. 4—madison is inaugurated for his second term.
” 8—the emperor of russia having offered his services as mediator between the united states and england, the president appoints commissioners to treat for peace.
apr. 10—the british attack lewiston, del., but are repulsed after having bombarded it several days.
” 27—americans under gen. pike, capture york, upper canada, with a large quantity of stores. gen. pike is killed.
may 1—the british gen. proctor besieges gen. harrison in fort meigs.
” 5—gen. clay coming to his assistance proctor retreats. col. dudley, making a sortie from ft. meigs, is drawn into an ambuscade and loses 650 men. he is himself mortally wounded.
the british admiral cockburn barbarously ravages the shores of chesapeake bay.
” 27—ft. george, at niagara, surrenders to the americans, and sir geo. prevost is repulsed from sacketts harbor, n. y., by gen. brown.
june 1—the u. s. frigate chesapeake captured by the british frigate shannon. american loss 133; british loss about half as many. capt. lawrence of the chesapeake is mortally wounded.
” 6—gens. chandler and winder surprised in the night by the enemy they were going to attack. the two generals are taken prisoners, but their troops repulse the enemy and retire.
” 23—col. boerstler, in command of an american force of 600 men, is surrounded by a superior force at beaver dams and compelled to surrender.
” 25—admiral cockburn, failing in his attack on the american forces at craney island, va., lands at hampton and commits many outrages.
july 31—american com. chauncy lands at york, u. c., captures and destroys stores, and the british do the same at plattsburg, on lake champlain.
aug. 2—gen. proctor with 1,000 british and indians attacks col. croghan with 160 men, at ft. stephenson, lower sandusky, o., and is repulsed with a loss of 150.
about this time the american frigate essex, capt. porter, cruising in the pacific ocean, captured 12 armed british whalers.
[623]
” 13—the american sloop-of-war argus, cruising in the english channel, captured 21 british merchantmen, but was herself captured by the pelican after a severe engagement.
” 30—tecumseh had stirred up the creek indians to war, and they attacked ft. mims, which they set on fire and captured, massacring all but 20 out of 400 men, women and children.
sept. 3—the american brig enterprise captures the boxer on the coast of maine.
” 10—perry’s victory on lake erie. he captures the whole fleet (6 vessels) of the enemy. his laconic dispatch to gen. harrison was, “we have met the enemy, and they are ours.”
oct. 5—battle of the thames (upper canada). gen. harrison, commanding the americans, defeated the british and indians, under gen. proctor and tecumseh. the latter was slain. the british lost about 600 in killed, wounded and prisoners; the americans 17 killed and 30 wounded.
” ”—commodore chauncy captures 5 british vessels on lake ontario.
nov. 2—gen. coffee attacks the creek indians at tallushatches, ala. 200 warriors are killed.
” 9—gen. jackson defeats the indians at talladega, ala., killing 290 of them. two other battles with the indians occurred this month, and one in dec. in which they were defeated with great slaughter, and little loss to the americans. yet so spirited and resolute were they as to require to be almost exterminated before they would make peace.
” 11—1,200 americans, under gen. boyd, engage 2,000 british, under lt. col. morrison, and are repulsed with a loss of 339. british loss 180.
dec. 10—ft. george, at niagara, evacuated and the town of newark burned by the americans.
” 19—ft. niagara is taken by the british and indians who massacre the garrison. youngstown, lewistown, the tuscarora indian village, and manchester, all in n. y., are burned, in retaliation of the destruction of newark.
” 30—the british burn black rock, buffalo, three vessels of perry’s fleet, and large quantities of provisions. gen. proctor justifies it as a proper retaliation. the burning of newark was barbarous, but was avenged tenfold. naturalized irishmen, taken by the british in our armies this year, were sent to england to be tried for treason. an equal number of english officers were imprisoned by the american government and notice given to the governor of canada that they should receive the same treatment and fate as our irish soldiers. this had its effect, and the latter remained simply prisoners of war. this claim, and corresponding action on the part of the english government, which was one of[624] the principal causes of the war, was, from this time, practically relinquished. in december an embargo was laid by congress on american goods and provisions, to prevent their being employed to supply the british blockading force and armies. it produced great discontent in new england, where a large part of the people were dependent on commerce, and were thrown into great distress. there was much factious, and even seditious, opposition to the government.
1814.
the army operations had been unsuccessful in canada during the last of the campaign, owing, it was thought, to the inefficiency of the commanders, and perhaps partly to the want of experience of their subalterns. changes, that were proved much for the better, were made, and the campaign of this year, in this quarter, showed a more honorable record. since the commencement of the war till this year, the english government had been carrying on an immense european war, which was closed by the abdication of bonaparte and his banishment to the island of elba. they prepared for a more vigorous effort in america, by sending considerable armies of the veterans of wellington, who had conquered in europe. they had received, the impression that the opposition to the war and the republican party, would co?perate with them, and that they might re-establish their dominion over their former colonies.
but they did not comprehend american character. party politics have always been conducted in a bitter and hostile spirit, but that hostility has not been directed against their institutions. extreme attachment to these, and jealous care to preserve all rights guaranteed by the constitution, has always led the opposition to a close and sharp criticism of all measures of the party in power differing from their own interpretation of constitutional rights. when these institutions are really in danger all parties unite in a defense, the obstinacy and vigor of which carries everything before it. it stops at no obstacles, hesitates before no sacrifices, and counts no odds. this became apparent to the british during the summer, dispelled forever their dream of conquest, and led to a peace at the close of the campaign. the british sent 14,000 troops to canada this spring, which was supported, in july and august, by a large reinforcement. a strong naval force, with a large body of troops, was sent to invade the heart of the country and capture washington. after failing in maintaining their ground here, they were directed against the gulf coast and the mississippi river, ending in their decisive defeat by gen. jackson, at new orleans, jan. 8th, 1815, nine days before the treaty of peace, signed at ghent, in belgium, dec. 24, was known in america.
mar. 24—a loan of $25,000,000 authorized by congress.
” 27—gen. jackson’s defeat of the indians at great horseshoe bend, ala. this battle accomplished the subjection of the creek indians. jackson had fought them on the 21st, 24th and 27th of[625] jan., when they came near defeating him, but notwithstanding their fierce and obstinate bravery, he conquered each time, and finally, nearly exterminated them.
” 28—the brilliant career of the u. s. frigate essex, in the pacific ocean, is terminated by its capture, at valparaiso, chili, by the british frigate phebe and another sloop of war.
” 30—gen. wilkinson is repulsed in an advance into canada, at la colle, and is afterwards tried by court martial. gen. brown is given the command of the niagara frontier, and gen. izard of northern n. y.
april 21—the u. s. sloop of war frolic captured by the british frigate orpheus.
” 27—the u. s. sloop of war peacock captures the british brig-of-war epervier with $118,000 specie on board.
may 7—a british force captures and destroys the american fort at oswego, n. y., and carries off several guns.
” 29—the americans capture a british force at sandy creek, n. y.
june 9—the u. s. sloop of war rattlesnake captured by a british 50 gun ship.
” 12—the u. s. sloop syren captured by a british 74.
” 28—the u. s. sloop of war wasp captures the british sloop of war reindeer, in the british channel.
july 3—gen. brown captures ft. erie, near niagara, u. c.
” 5—battle of chippewa, canada. gens. brown, scott, and ripley, with about 3,000 men, were opposed by the british gen. riall with an equal number of the veterans of waterloo. gen. scott attacked them with such prudence and valor as to conquer a largely superior force before gen. ripley could come up to his aid. it was a splendid test of american mettle. loss of the british 514, of scott 328. the british fall back to ft. george.
” 11—the british make a descent on the coast of maine.
” 25—gen. scott engages a british force of seven times his number, and holds his ground for some hours when gen. ripley comes to his aid, and they drive the british from the field; but having only 1,600 men left, while the british have 5,000, they retire next day. the british lost 878, the americans 860.
aug. 4—americans besieged in ft. erie.
” 8—first meeting of the u. s. and english commissioners to treat for peace, who arranged the terms at the close of this year. the english were very high in their demands till the failure of their much vaunted veteran troops.
” 9—the british make an unsuccessful attack on stonington, conn. a treaty is made with the creek indians.
” 15—the british repulsed from ft. erie with the loss of 962 men. the americans lost 84.
[626]
” 20—a british force landed from the fleet in the chesapeake, marches on washington.
” 24—the battle of bladensburg, near washington. the americans, much inferior in numbers, were defeated. the british, under gen. ross, entered washington the same day. they destroyed much private property, as well as public stores, buildings and documents.
not deeming it prudent to remain, the british retreated from washington to their vessels, leaving the people greatly exasperated at conduct unworthy of the army of a civilized nation.
” 27—alexandria, va., delivers up the public stores and shipping there and much merchandise as a ransom from plunder and burning.
sept. 1—the u. s. sloop of war wasp captures the british sloop avon. after taking three other prizes in european waters, she disappeared and was never again heard of—supposed to have foundered at sea. the british gen. prevost advances toward plattsburg, n. y., with 12,000 veteran troops.
” 11—the battle of plattsburg. com. mcdonough, american, with 4 vessels, 10 gun boats and 850 men, captures the british com. downie’s fleet of 4 vessels, 12 gun boats and 1,000 men. a simultaneous attack by prevost on plattsburg miscarried by the failure of the fleet and panic of the soldiers. they return, in disorder, to canada.
” 12—the british who had captured washington, appear near baltimore and land a force which repulses the baltimore militia, and, next day advances toward the city; but the attack seems so formidable to them that they retreat in the night to their vessels and depart. the british admiral could not reduce ft. m’henry so as to co-operate in an attack on the city by water. the patriotic song, “the star spangled banner,” was written during this bombardment of fort m’henry. gen. ross, the british commander, was killed soon after the landing of the troops.
about this time various attacks are made at different places on the coast of new england, and the british pretend, by proclamation, to take possession of all of maine east of the penobscot river and annex it to new brunswick.
” 17—a sortie is made from ft. erie and the works of the enemy surprised and taken with a loss to him of 1,000 men in killed, wounded and prisoners.
thus, in the midst of ravages and alarms on the coast, the destruction of our commerce, the stagnation of business, the financial difficulties of the government that almost amounted to bankruptcy, and the complaints of the peace party, (which produced much alarm by the calling of a convention of the new england states, in december of this year, at hartford, conn.,) the[627] honor of the united states was preserved. the formidable armies in canada had been baffled and defeated, the capture of washington followed immediately by the withdrawal of the invaders, and a strong point made which had its effect in substantially gaining the cause that had brought on the war, for the americans, in the treaty negotiations in progress. the british now turned their attention to the mississippi river and the coast of the gulf of mexico.
nov. 7—gen. jackson takes pensacola from the british, who were laboring to raise the indians to war again.
dec. 15—a british fleet captures the flotilla on lake borgne, la.
” 22—12,000 british troops land below new orleans, and repulse the americans.
” 24—the treaty of peace is signed at ghent, but is not known in america until feb. following.
1815.
jan. 8—gen. jackson, with only 6,000 men, had intrenched himself in front of the british, who now made an assault on his position. they were repulsed with great slaughter, losing their general, packingham, and near 2,000 men. jackson lost but 7 killed and 6 wounded. the british retreated to their vessels.
” 15—the u. s. frigate president captured by four english vessels.
feb. 18—ft. bowyer, near pensacola, fla., invested by the british fleet. it surrenders on the 21st.
” 17—the treaty of peace which arrived at new york on the 11th by the british sloop of war favorite, ratified by the american government and peace proclaimed.
” 24—congress authorizes the loan of $18,400,000, and the issue of treasury notes to the amount of $25,000,000.
” 28—the naval war was continued some time longer. the u. s. frigate constitution captures two british vessels of war, the frigate cyane and the sloop levant, off the island of madeira. in march the u. s. frigate hornet captured the british brig penguin, on the coast of brazil.
the british government, elated by their triumph over bonaparte, their large army accustomed to conquer in europe, and the fleets set free from the blockade of the continent, thought to make an easy conquest of america. but all their attempts were defeated. had peace been made a little later the americans might have obtained much better terms.
this war had been waged under many difficulties by the american administration. the country and its institutions, were new, and there was no such reserved fund of wealth and credit, as is always found in an old and well organized state. they depended largely on commerce, which was almost destroyed by the great[628] naval force of great britain, and the embargo policy. our navy was gallant and successful; but the government lacked the means, and the unanimous support of the people, requisite to increase it to the necessary strength. the administration did not act with the vigor and efficiency calculated to bring all sections and classes to its support, and the people had not yet the experience and knowledge of the value and strength of their own institutions needful to inspire confidence, so that they were critical and difficult to please, and this spirit impaired the efficiency of nearly all government measures. what they undertook could be only imperfectly done. the old soldiers of the revolution were dead or unfit by age for good service, and time was necessary to train others and ascertain who had the necessary military capacity for conducting operations with success. yet, under all these great difficulties, the united states came out of the war with the respect of the world, such as it had never before enjoyed. it became formidable to europe as a great and vigorous power with which it was not safe to trifle.
this was still more clear when the government declared war on the dey of algiers, one of the pirate princes of the north of africa, which, for hundreds of years, had made war on the commerce of all nations almost with impunity. having violated their treaty with us, the president sent out an adequate naval force
june 17-19—which captured two algerine vessels of war, and threatened algiers. the dey, intimidated, immediately made peace, giving liberty to all prisoners without ransom, and full satisfaction for the injuries done to our commerce. no european nation had before so humbled these pirates, and it at once raised the credit of our government, and gained us respect and esteem.
june 30—the last hostile act at sea took place in the straits of sunda, in the east indies, where the u. s. brig of war peacock captured the nautilus, a british sloop of war. thus the three american vessels at sea when the war closed, each came home crowned with laurels. the british vessels captured during the war numbered 1,750—the american 1,683. the spirit and energy of the americans, under all their embarrassments, gave an unmistakable indication of the future greatness and power of the united states.
1816.
the last two years’ experience had taught the government and the people many important lessons by which they hastened to profit. the coast was fortified, the navy increased, manufactures and commerce encouraged, and the best measures that the wisdom of the times could suggest, employed to restore the finances. the violently factious opposition of parties was much moderated by the confidence gained to our government and institutions,[629] and the evident folly of excessive fears. the second u.s. bank was chartered for 20 years, with a capital of $35,000,000.
nov. 5—governeur morris, an eminent and excellent american statesman died.
dec. 11—indiana admitted into the union as a state. james monroe was, this autumn, elected president.
