cotton ginTHE COTTON GIN, INVENTED IN 1793.A machine which does the workof more than 1,000 men.
THE COTTON GIN, INVENTED IN 1793.A machine which does the workof more than 1,000 men.
Although war was not declared, it prevailed on the ocean during the latter half of 1798. Congress convened, abolished the treaties with France, strengthened the navy, and ordered it to attack French vessels wherever found. Several engagements took place, in all of which the French men-of-war were whipped "to a standstill." The most important of the naval battles was between theConstitution, under Commodore Truxton, and the French frigateL'Insurgente, in which the latter was captured. A messenger was sent to Mount Vernon, carrying the appointment of Washington as commander-in-chief of the American army. He found the great man in the harvest field; but when Washington donned his spectacles and read the paper, he replied that he was then as always ready to serve his country in whatever capacity he could. He accepted with the understanding that he was not to be called into the field until actual hostilities took place on the land, and that Alexander Hamilton should until then be the commander-in-chief.
Doubtless a destructive war would have resulted, but for the fact that Napoleon Bonaparte, as a stepping-stone to his marvelous career, overturned the French government and installed himself as emperor. He saw the folly of a war with the United States, when he was certain soon to be embroiled with more powerful neighbors near home. He offered fair terms of peace to our country in 1799, and they were accepted.
THE ALIEN AND SEDITION LAWS.
One of the gravest mistakes made by the Federalists in Congress was the passage of the Alien and Sedition Laws. Irritated by the mischief-making of foreigners, a law was enacted which permitted the President to arrest any alien in the country whose presence he considered dangerous. The acts under which this was to be done were known as the Alien Laws. The most detested measure, however, was that which authorized the arrest of any person who should speak evil of the government, and was known as the Sedition Law. There were arrests and punishments under its provisions, and the majority of the people were bitterly hostile to it. It was unquestionably a direct invasion of the liberty of speech. The claim that no editor, public speaker, or private citizen should be allowed to condemn an action of the government which he disproved was unbearable, but it was in direct line with the Federal policy of a powerful central government, and as directly opposed to Republican principles. The feeling became so intense that at the next presidential election the Federal party was defeated and never afterward gained control of the government.
REMOVAL OF THE NATIONAL CAPITAL TO WASHINGTON.
The census of 1800 showed that the population of the country had increased to 5,308,483. In that year, the national capital was removed from Philadelphia to the straggling, partly built village of Washington, standing in the woods, and without any of the structures that have made it one of the most attractive cities in the world.
The presidential election of 1800 was an exciting one. Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr, both Republicans, received 73 electoral votes, while John Adams, Federalist had 65; Charles C. Pinckney, Federalist, 64; John Jay, Federalist 1. The vote between the leaders being a tie, the election was thrown into the House of Representatives, where, after thirty-eight ballots, Jefferson was elected, with Burr, the next highest candidate, Vice-President. The preceding election, as will be remembered, gave a President and Vice-President of different political parties, always an undesirable thing, and this fact, added to the difficulties of the election just over, led to the adoption in 1804 of the Twelfth Amendment to the Constitution, which requires the electors to vote separately for the President and Vice-President.
THOMAS JEFFERSON.
jeffersonTHOMAS JEFFERSON.(1743-1826.)Two terms, 1801-1809.
THOMAS JEFFERSON.(1743-1826.)Two terms, 1801-1809.
Thomas Jefferson, third President of the United States, was born at Shadwell, Albemarle County, Virginia, April 2, 1743. His father, a wealthy planter, died when his son was fourteen years old, and he entered William and Mary College, where he was the most assiduous student in the institution. Jefferson was as fond as Washington of athletic sports, and, though he was of less massive build, he attained the same stature, six feet two inches. In college, he was an awkward, freckle-faced, sandy haired youth, who, but for his superior mental attainments, would have commanded little respect. Except for his fondness for hunting and horseback riding, he never could have acquired the physique which allowed him to spend ten, twelve, and sixteen hours of every twenty-four in hard study.
Jefferson was undoubtedly the most learned of all our Presidents. He was not only a fine mathematician, but a master of Latin, Greek, French, Spanish, and Italian. He was an exquisite performer on the violin, and it was said of him, by one of the most noted European musicians, that he never heard an amateur play the king of instruments as well as the slim Virginian.
Jefferson married a wealthy lady and named his attractive home Monticello. His great ability caused his election to the Virginia Legislature while a young man, and he was soon afterward sent to Congress. Lacking the gifts of oratory, he had no superior as a writer of fine, classical, forceful English. Among the many excellent laws he secured for Virginia was the separation of Church and State. He was the author of a parliamentary manual for the government of the United States Senate, which is still an authority, and of our present system of decimal currency; but the reader does not need to be reminded that his fame will go down to posterity chiefly as the writer of the Declaration of Independence; but Jefferson felt almost equally proud of the fact that he was founder of the University of Virginia, which, abandoning the old system, introduced the "free system of independent schools." He also proposed for his State a comprehensive system of free public schools.
Although wealthy, he went almost to the extreme of simplicity. His dress was as plain as that of the Quakers; he wore leathern shoestrings instead of the fashionable silver buckles; and strove to keep his birthday a secret, because some of his friends wished to celebrate it. He was opposed to all pomp, ceremony, and titles. He is universally regarded as the founder of the Democracy of the present day, and was undeniably one of the greatest Presidents we have had.
WELCOME LEGISLATION.
The administration of Jefferson proved among the most important in the history of our country. Congress promptly abolished the tax on distilled spirits and a number of other manufactures, a step which enabled the President to dismiss a large number of revenue collectors, whose unwelcome duties had entailed considerable expense upon the country. The obnoxious Sedition Law was repealed, and the Alien Law so modified that it was shorn of its disagreeable features.
ADMISSION OF OHIO.
In the year 1800, a line was run through the Northwest Territory from the mouth of the Great Miami to Fort Recovery and thence to Canada. Three years afterward, the territory thus defined was admitted to the Union as the State of Ohio. The Indiana Territory included the portion west of the line named, with Vincennes as the capital. The Mississippi Territory was organized so as to extend from the western boundaries of Georgia to the Mississippi.
The punishment administered to France in 1798 naturally gave that country a respect for the United States, and in 1802 our relations with her became quite friendly. Bonaparte, having established a truce with the nations around him, found time to give some attention to the American republic. He seemed to believe he could establish a French colonial empire, not only in the West Indies, but in the immense province of Louisiana. Had Bonaparte succeeded, he would have acquired control of the Mississippi and the Gulf of Mexico. Nothing would have pleased England more than to see so serious a check placed upon our growth, and nothing would have displeased our countrymen more than to be shut off from the Father of Waters and the right to emigrate westward. They were ready to go to war before submitting to such deprivation.
PURCHASE OF LOUISIANA.
No one was more keenly alive to the situation than Jefferson. He carefully instructed our envoy at Paris to make the strongest possible representations to the French ruler of the grave mistake of the course he had in mind, which must inevitably result in an alliance with Great Britain in sweeping France from the seas and driving her from the West Indies. Bonaparte was too wise not to perceive that this was no empty threat, and that his visionary French empire in the West would prove an element of weakness rather than strength. Nothing was plainer than the truth that the stronger the United States became, the more dangerous would it be for his traditional enemy, England. He, therefore, proposed to sell Louisiana to the United States.
This was the very thing for which Jefferson had been skillfully working from the first. The bargain was speedily completed. On April 30, 1803, Louisiana came into our possession for the sum of $11,250,000, we agreeing at the same time to pay certain debts due from France to American citizens, amounting to $3,750,000, so that the total cost of Louisiana was $15,000,000.
It must not be forgotten that the Territory of Louisiana, as purchased by us, was vastly more extensive than is the present State of that name. It included the area from which have been carved the States of Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Minnesota, Iowa, the Dakotas, Montana, part of Kansas, Wyoming and Colorado, and the Territory of Oklahoma, the whole area being 1,171,931 square miles, as against 827,844, which was all the territory occupied previous to 1803. Peaceable possession was taken on the 20th of December following. The governorship of the Territory was offered to Lafayette, and declined by him, but he received a grant of 12,000 acres within its limits.
SLAVE TRADE ABOLISHED.
At the time of the adoption of the Constitution, it was agreed that the slave trade should be permitted for twenty years. It was abolished, therefore, in 1808, and the penalty for engaging in it was made punishable with death. At the time of the purchase of Louisiana, it was believed that it included Texas, but the United States gave up this claim in 1819 to Spain in return for the cession of Florida.
It seems incredible, but it was true, that for twenty years we had been paying a large tribute to Algiers on condition that she would not molest our commerce. Other nations did the same, because it was more convenient than keeping a navy in those far-off waters. A treaty with Morocco had been signed, in 1787, under which we also paid her tribute. The people of the Barbary States naturally waxed insolent, and when we were slow in sending our tribute they imposed a heavy penalty, which we meekly paid.
WAR WITH TRIPOLI.
One of the most disgusted men was Captain William Bainbridge, when obliged to carry the tribute in 1800 to the Dey of Algiers, who informed him that the Americans were his slaves, and must do as he ordered. The indignant officer expressed the hope that the next tribute he delivered would be from the mouths of his cannon. The following year the ruler of Tripoli became ruffled because we did not send him as much tribute as he thought he was entitled to, and actually declared war against us.
The flurry of 1798 with France had caused a considerable increase in our navy, which was furnished with plenty of daring officers, who afterward made names for themselves. They eagerly welcomed a war of that nature which of necessity was a naval one. The operations were confined to the Mediterranean, on whose shore are the Barbary States.
The first real fight took place in August, 1801, between theEnterprise, a vessel of twelve guns, and a Tripolitan vessel of fourteen guns. It occurred off Malta, and lasted for two hours, when the Tripolitan hauled down his flag. Thereupon the Americans left their guns and were cheering, when the enemy treacherously fired a broadside into theEnterprise. Nothing loth, Lieutenant Sterrett renewed the battle with such vigor that in a few minutes the flag was lowered a second time, only to renew the fighting when the enemy saw an advantage.
Thoroughly exasperated, Lieutenant Sterrett now determined to complete the business. The vessel was raked fore and aft, the mizzen-mast torn away, the hull knocked to splinters, and fifty men killed and wounded. Then the American officer caught sight of the captain leaping up and down on the deck, shrieking and flinging his arms about, as evidence that he was ready to surrender in earnest. He threw his own flag overboard, but Lieutenant Sterrett demanded that his arms and ammunition should follow, the remainder of the masts cut away, and the ship dismantled. That being done, Sterrett allowed him to rig a jury mast and told him to carry his compliments to the Dey.
The war against the Tripolitans was very similar to that against the Spaniards in 1898. TheEnterprisehad not lost a man, although the Americans inflicted severe loss on the enemy. In July, 1802, theConstellation, in a fight with nine Tripolitan gunboats, drove five ashore, the rest escaping by fleeing into the harbor. More than once a Tripolitan vessel was destroyed, with all on board, without the loss of a man on our side.
But the war was not to be brought to a close without an American disaster. In 1803 the fine frigatePhiladelphia, while chasing a blockade-runner, ran upon a reef in the harbor of Tripoli, and, being helpless, a fleet of the enemy's gunboats swarmed around her and compelled Captain Bainbridge and his crew to surrender. The frigate was floated off at high tide and the enemy refitted her.
A GALLANT EXPLOIT.
One night in February, 1804, theIntrepid, a small vessel under the command of Lieutenant Stephen Decatur, one of the bravest of American naval officers, approached thePhiladelphia, as she lay at anchor, and, being hailed, replied, through a native whom he had impressed into service, that he was a merchantman who had lost his anchors. The Tripolitans allowed the vessel to come alongside without any suspicion on their part. Suddenly a score of Americans sprang up and leaped through the port-holes of the frigate. It took them but a few minutes to clear the deck, when the vessel was fired in several places and the men safely withdrew. ThePhiladelphiaburned to the water's edge.
Early in August, Commodore Preble bombarded the town of Tripoli from his mortar boats. During a fight with the gunboats James Decatur, a brother of Stephen, received the surrender of one he was fighting, and stepped on the deck to take possession. As he did so, the captain shot him dead. Stephen had just destroyed a gunboat when he learned of this treacherous occurrence and dashed after the craft, which he boarded. Recognizing the captain from his immense size, he attacked him, and, in a desperate personal encounter, in which he narrowly escaped death himself, killed the Moor.
THE BOMB KETCH.
The Americans fixed up theIntrepidas a bomb ketch, storing a hundred barrels of powder and missiles and a hundred and fifty shells on deck. Under command of Captain Richard Somers, and accompanied by twelve men, the vessel ran slowly into the harbor one dark night. The intention was to fire a slow-match and then for the officer and men to withdraw in boats. Captain Somers was discovered by the enemy, and in some unknown way the ketch was blown up with all on board, and without doing any material harm to the shipping and fortifications in the harbor.
Commodore Preble was superseded in November by Commodore Barron, who arrived with thePresidentandConstellation. This gave the Americans ten vessels, carrying 264 guns. Hostilities were pressed with so much vigor that the Dey of Tripoli became anxious to make peace before the terrible fleet from the West destroyed him and his people. Accordingly, a treaty was signed on the 3d of June by which the Tripolitans were given $60,000 for the prisoners in their hands, and the payment of tribute to them was ended.
EXPEDITION OF LEWIS AND CLARK.
In those comparatively modern days the vast region west of the Mississippi was almost unknown. President Jefferson recommended a congressional appropriation for the exploration of the country. The appropriation being made, a party of thirty men left the Mississippi, May 14, 1804, under command of Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. Both had had a good deal of experience in the Indian country, and they ascended the Missouri in a flotilla for 2,600 miles. To the three streams which form the Missouri they gave the names of Jefferson, Gallatin, and Madison. A detachment was then left in charge of the boats, and the remainder, riding the horses they had captured and tamed, made their way across the mountains. They discovered the two streams which bear their names, and traced the Columbia to its outlet in the Pacific Ocean.
The expedition was absent for two years, and its report on returning added much to our geographical knowledge of the section. They were the first party of white men to cross the continent north of Mexico. Captain Lewis was appointed governor of Missouri Territory in 1806, and was acting as such when he committed suicide in 1809. Captain Clark was also governor of Missouri Territory, and afterward superintendent of Indian affairs. He died in St. Louis in 1838.
THE BURR AND HAMILTON DUEL.
No one read the wicked character of Aaron Burr more unerringly than Alexander Hamilton. He saw that he was ready to ruin his country for the sake of gratifying an insatiate ambition. Hamilton was always outspoken in expressing his opinions; and the hostility between the two became so bitter that Burr challenged Hamilton to a duel. Although the latter had had a son killed through the barbarous code within the preceding year, he was foolish enough to accept the challenge, and the duel was fought at Weehawken, New Jersey, July 12, 1804. Hamilton fired in the air, but Burr aimed straight for his antagonist and inflicted a wound from which he died the next day.
Although Burr presided in the Senate after the duel, the whole country was shocked by the occurrence, and his friends fell away from him. In 1804, when Jefferson was re-elected to the presidency, George Clinton took the place of Burr as Vice-President. Burr then engaged in a plot to form a new empire in the southwest, the precise nature of which is uncertain. He found a few to join with him, but it came to naught, and in 1807 he was tried at Richmond, Virginia, on the charge of treason, but acquitted. He spent some years in wandering over Europe, and then returned to resume the practice of law in New York. He died in obscurity and poverty on Staten Island in 1836.
steamDEVELOPMENT OF STEAM NAVIGATIONFOLLOWING FULTON'S DISCOVERY.
DEVELOPMENT OF STEAM NAVIGATIONFOLLOWING FULTON'S DISCOVERY.
A notable event of Jefferson's administrations was the first voyage of a steamboat up the Hudson. This was theClermont, the invention of Robert Fulton, who was born in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, in 1765. This boat was slightly over one hundred feet in length and about twenty feet broad, with side paddle-wheels and a sheet-iron boiler brought from England. There was general ridicule of the idea of moving boats by steam against a current, and the craft was called "Fulton's Folly." The crowd which gathered on the wharf in New York, August 1, 1807, indulged in jests which were not hushed until the craft moved slowly but smoothly up stream. Heading against the current, she made the voyage to Albany in thirty-two hours. She met with some mishaps, but after a time made regular trips between that city and New York, at the rate of five miles an hour.
OCEAN STEAMERS.
fultonROBERT FULTON.
ROBERT FULTON.
This incident marked an epoch in the history of the West, where the first steamboat was built in 1811. Within a few years, they were plying on all the important rivers, greatly assisting emigration and the development of the country. The first steamer to cross the Atlantic was theSavannahin 1819. The screw propeller was introduced by the great Swedish inventor, John Ericsson, in 1836. Really successful ocean navigation began in 1838, when theSiriusandGreat Westernmade the voyage from England to the United States.
OPPRESSIVE COURSE OF ENGLAND.
The devastating war raging between England and France was destructive to American commerce and interests. The star of the wonderful Napoleon Bonaparte was rapidly in the ascendant, and his marvelous military genius seemed to threaten the "equilibrium of the world." England had no love for the United States and played havoc with our shipping. Her privateers infested our coasts, like swarms of locusts. Because of her immense naval superiority, she pestered us almost beyond bearing. She stopped our vessels off-shore, followed them into rivers and harbors, overhauled the crews, and in many cases took sailors away under the plea that they were English deserters. Her claim was that "once a British subject, always a British subject;" no sworn allegiance to any other government could release the claim of England upon him.
Our vessels were prohibited from carrying imports from the West Indies to France, but evaded the law by bringing imports to this country and then reshipping them to France. England peremptorily ordered the practice to stop and declared that all vessels thus engaged should be lawful prizes to her ships. This action caused general indignation in this country and thousands of citizens clamored for war.
Jefferson never lost his self-poise. While a thorough patriot, he knew the meaning of war. He sent a message to Congress on the subject in January, 1806, and the question was one of earnest and prolonged discussion, ending in the adoption of a resolution to prohibit certain articles of British manufacture.
But matters rapidly grew worse. In May following England declared the coast of Europe, from the Elbe in Germany to Brest in France, in a state of blockade. Bonaparte retaliated with the famous Berlin Decree, which blockaded the British Islands. In the spring of 1807 the British shipLeanderfired into a coasting vessel and killed one of the men. The President issued a proclamation forbidding theLeanderand the two ships in her company from entering any of the waters of the United States; calling upon all officers to apprehend the captain of theLeanderon a charge of murder; prohibiting all communication between the shore and the ships, and warning all citizens from giving them aid under penalty of the law. Envoys were sent to England to adjust the trouble, but their efforts came to naught.
THE AFFAIR OF THE LEOPARD AND CHESAPEAKE.
Matters were in this tense state when the most glaring outrage of all was perpetrated. The British ship-of-warLeopard, of fifty guns, was cruising off the capes of Virginia, hunting for the American frigateChesapeake, which she claimed had a number of English deserters on board. TheChesapeakewas hailed, and the English captain asked permission to send dispatches on board. Such courtesies were common, and Captain James Barron, the American commander, willingly complied with the request. When the boat arrived, a letter was presented to Captain Barron, containing the orders of the British admiral to search theChesapeakefor a number of deserters, who were mentioned by name. Captain Barron sent word that he had no knowledge of any deserters, and refused to submit. Thereupon theLeopardfired several broadsides into theChesapeake, which, being entirely unprepared for battle, was obliged to strike her flag, three men having been killed and eighteen wounded. Four men were then selected from the crew of theChesapeake, three of whom were negroes, all declared to be deserters, and taken on board theLeopard.
The country was thrown into a tumult of excitement, and the President, by proclamation, closed all American harbors and waters against the British navy, prohibited any intercourse with such vessels, and sent a special minister to England to demand satisfaction. Congress was called together, and a hundred thousand men in the different States were ordered to hold themselves in readiness for service. The action of the captain of theLeanderwas disavowed, reparation offered, and the offending admiral was recalled, but the reparation promised was never made, and Great Britain refused to give up the right of search.
THE EMBARGO ACT.
Although the action of England was anything but satisfactory, it averted war for the time. In December, Congress passed the Embargo Act, which forbade all American vessels to leave the coast of the United States. The belief was that by thus suspending commerce with England and France, the two countries would be forced to respect our neutrality. The real sufferers, however, were ourselves; New England and New York, whose shipping business was ruined, denounced the act in unmeasured terms. Thus the administration of Jefferson, which had brought so much material prosperity to the country and was so prolific in beneficent events, closed amid clouds and threatened disaster.
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION OF 1808.
In the presidential election of 1808, the electoral vote was as follows: James Madison, of Virginia, Republican, 122; Charles C. Pinckney, of South Carolina, Federalist, 47; George Clinton, of New York, Republican, 6. For Vice-President, George Clinton, Republican, 113; Rufus King, of New York, Federalist, 47; John Langdon, of New Hampshire, 9; James Madison, 3; James Monroe, 3. Vacancy, 1. Thus Madison and Clinton became respectively President and Vice-President.
James Madison—The Embargo and the Non-Intercourse Acts—Revival of the Latter Against England—TheLittle Beltand thePresident—Population of the United States in 1810—Battle of Tippecanoe—Declaration of War Against England—Comparative Strength of the Two Nations on the Ocean—Unpopularity of the War in New England—Preparations Made by the Government—Cowardly Surrender of Detroit—Presidential Election of 1812—Admission of Louisiana and Indiana—New National Bank Chartered—Second Attempt to Invade Canada—Battle of Queenstown Heights—Inefficiency of the American Forces in 1812—Brilliant Work of the Navy—TheConstitutionand theGuerrière—TheWaspand theFrolic—TheUnited Statesand theMacedonian—TheConstitutionand theJava—Reorganization and Strengthening of the Army—Operations in the West—Gallant Defense of Fort Stephenson—American Invasion of Ohio and Victory of the Thames—Indian Massacre at Fort Mimms—Capture of York (Toronto)—Defeat of the Enemy at Sackett's Harbor—Failure of the American Invasion of Canada—TheHornetandPeacock—Capture of theChesapeake—"Don't Give Up the Ship"—Captain Decatur Blockaded at New London—Capture of theArgusby the Enemy—Cruise of theEssex—The Glorious Victory of Commodore Perry on Lake Erie—Success of the American Arms in Canada—Battle of the Chippewa—Of Lundy's Lane—Decisive Defeat of the Enemy's Attack on Plattsburg—Punishment of the Creek Indians for the Massacre at Fort Mimms—Vigorous Action by the National Government—Burning of Washington by the British—The Hartford Convention.
JAMES MADISON.
James Madison, the fourth President of the United States, was born at Port Conway, Virginia, March 16, 1751, and died June 28, 1836. He received the best educational facilities and graduated from Princeton College at the age of twenty. He devoted himself so closely to study that he permanently injured his health. In 1776, he was elected a member of the Virginia Legislature, and was offered the mission to France, after the return of Jefferson, but declined it. Again he had the chance of becoming Jefferson's successor, when the latter resigned as secretary of State, but refused through fear of causing differences in Washington's cabinet. He was a Federalist at first, but changed his views and became an earnest Republican. Jefferson made him his secretary of State, and he served throughout both administrations. He was a cultured gentleman, an ardent friend of Jefferson, and carried out his policy when he became President.
THE NON-INTERCOURSE ACT.
Just before the close of Jefferson's last term, Congress repealed the Embargo Act and passed the Non-Intercourse Act, which forbade all trade with England. This was in 1809, and the law was abrogated in the following year. Our relations with England, however, continued to grow more irritating, until it became clear that war was at hand. Congress gave notice that if either Great Britain or France would repeal their offensive decrees, the Non-Intercourse Act would be revived against the other. Bonaparte immediately announced that he revoked his decrees, but instead of doing so, he enforced them more rigidly than before, thus accomplishing what he sought, that of arraying the United States against Great Britain. The Non-Intercourse Law was revived against Great Britain, whose conduct became more exasperating than ever. Our whole coast was under surveillance, and many of our merchant vessels were captured without any excuse whatever.
madisonJAMES MADISON. (1751-1836.)Two terms, 1809-1817.
JAMES MADISON. (1751-1836.)Two terms, 1809-1817.
In the dusk of early evening, May 16, 1811, the British sloopLittle Belt, while occupied in holding up American vessels, hailed the frigatePresidentoff the coast of Virginia. Deeming the reply of the American not sufficiently respectful, theLittle Beltfired a shot at thePresident, which instantly let fly with a broadside, followed by several others, that killed eleven men and wounded twenty-one. The incident added to the angry excitement in both countries and brought war nearer.
BATTLE OF TIPPECANOE.
The population of the United States in 1810 was 7,239,881, somewhat more than a third of Great Britain and Ireland. Our growth in the West was rapid. There was a continual stream of emigration thither, and the Indians, seeing how rapidly their hunting grounds were passing from them; combined to resist the invasion. This was done under the leadership of Tecumseh, the ablest Indian that ever lived. In this course he was incited by British agents, who, knowing that war was coming, were anxious to do the Americans all the harm they could. The outrages of the red men became so numerous that General William Henry Harrison, governor of the Northwest Territory, gathered a large, force and marched against them. Near the present city of Lafayette, while encamped at a place called Tippecanoe, he was furiously assailed (Nov. 7, 1811) by the Indians. Tecumseh was absent at the time, and the battle was brought on, against his orders, by his brother, called "The Prophet." The loss was severe on both sides, but the Indians were decisively defeated.
By this time the American people were clamoring more loudly than ever for war with England. The congressional candidates were obliged to declare whether they favored or opposed the war. Those who opposed it were beaten at the polls. Congress, which had been making preparations for some time for hostilities, declared war against England, June 18, 1812. It is a regrettable fact that we could not know that almost on the same day England suspended the Orders of Council, so far as they affected this country. Had the Atlantic cable been in existence at the time, there would have been no war.
ENGLAND'S OVERWHELMING NAVAL STRENGTH.
England had been fighting so continuously with her neighbors that her strength on the ocean was overwhelming when compared with ours. She had 1,036 vessels, of which 254 were ships-of-the-line, not one of which carried less than seventy-four guns. This immense navy was manned by 144,000 men. The American navy numbered 12 vessels, besides a few gunboats of little value. Indeed, the relative strength of the warring nations was so disproportionate that the intention of the United States at first was not to attempt a conflict on the ocean. Captains Bainbridge and Stewart, however, persuaded the government to allow our little navy to try its hand.
Despite the seeming hopelessness of such a struggle, it had some advantages for the Americans. In the first place, it was easier for them to find the enemy than for the latter to find them, because of the disproportion between the number of their vessels. More important, however, than all was the fact that our navy contained no politicians. The men were brave sailors, and marvelously skillful in handling guns. With these conditions they were sure to win glory on the ocean.
Still another fact must be mentioned, for it will explain many of the incidents recorded in the following pages. England had been triumphant so long on the ocean that she had become unduly confident and careless. She held the surrounding nations in light esteem, and had good warrant for doing so. Naturally this led her greatly to underestimate the insignificant American navy. When such a mistake is made the consequences are sure to be disastrous to the one committing the blunder.
Truth compels the statement that in every war in which our country has been engaged since the Revolution, the disasters have been mainly due to the politicians. They have the "pull," as it is called, with the government, and secure the appointment of men as leaders who are totally lacking in military skill. When defeat has followed defeat, with exasperating regularity, the government gradually awakes to the fact that the most criminal thing it can do is to place a politician in charge of a body of brave men, or to appoint a callow youth to the same position, merely because his father was a good soldier and has become a politician.
THE WAR UNPOPULAR IN SOME SECTIONS.
Moreover, it must be remembered that our country was by no means a unit in favoring the second war with England. It was popular in most of the Middle States and the South, but bitterly opposed in New England. When the news reached Boston of the declaration of war, the shipping hung their flags at half-mast. Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Jersey, through their Legislatures, protested against it, but, as in the Revolution, the general enthusiasm swept away all opposition.
An increase of the regular army was ordered to 25,000 men, in addition to the call for 50,000 volunteers, while the States were asked to summon 100,000 militia, to be used in defense of the coast and harbors. The government authorized a loan of $11,000,000, and Henry Dearborn, of Massachusetts, was made the first major-general and commander-in-chief of the army, while the principal brigadiers were James Wilkinson, William Hull, Joseph Bloomfield, and Wade Hampton, the last being father of the general of the same name who became famous as a Confederate leader in the War for the Union.
A SHAMEFUL SURRENDER.
The opening battle of the war was one of the most shameful affairs that ever befell the American arms. General William Hull, who had made a creditable record in the Revolution, was governor of Michigan Territory. He was ordered to cross the river from Detroit, which was his home, and invade Canada. He showed great timidity, and learning that a British force, under General Brock, was advancing against him, he recrossed the river and returned to Detroit, before which General Brock appeared, on the 12th of August, at the head of 700 British soldiers and 600 Indians. In demanding the surrender of the post, he frightened Hull, whose daughter and her children were with him, by telling him he would be unable to restrain the ferocity of his Indians, if the Americans made a defense.
The soldiers were brave and eager to fight, but, to their inexpressible disgust, the siege had been pressed but a short time when Hull ran up a white flag and surrendered, August 16th. With the submission of Detroit went the whole territory northwest of Ohio.
The country was angered and humiliated by the act. Twenty-five men were given in exchange for Hull, and he was placed on trial, charged with treason, cowardice, and conduct unbecoming an officer. He was convicted on the last two charges and sentenced to be shot. In recognition of his services in the Revolution, however, the President pardoned him, and he died, without ever having gained the respect of his countrymen, in 1825.
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION OF 1812.
Before proceeding with the history of the war, a few incidents not connected with it should be recorded. In the presidential election of 1812, the electoral vote was: for President, James Madison, Republican, 128; De Witt Clinton, of New York, Federalist, 89. For Vice-President, Elbridge Gerry, of Massachusetts, Republican, 131; Jared Ingersoll, of Pennsylvania, Federalist, 86. Vacancy, 1. Thus Madison and Gerry were elected.
Louisiana was admitted as a State in 1812, being a part of the immense territory of that name purchased from France in 1803. Indiana was admitted in 1816, and was the second of the five States carved out of the old Northwest Territory. It will be recalled that the United States Bank was chartered in 1791 for twenty years. Its charter, therefore, expired in 1811. In 1816, Congress chartered a new bank, on the same plan and for the same length of time. The public money was to be deposited in it or its branches, except when the secretary of the treasury choose to order its deposit elsewhere.
BATTLE OF QUEENSTOWN HEIGHTS.
Returning to the history of the war, it has to be said that the second attempt to invade Canada was more disastrous if possible than the first, and more disgraceful to American arms. The troops on the Niagara frontier were mainly New York militia, with a few regulars and recruits from other States, all under the command of Stephen Van Rensselaer. Resolved to capture the Heights of Queenstown, he sent two columns across the river on the morning of October 13, 1812. They were led by Colonel Solomon Van Rensselaer, cousin of the general and a brave officer. The engagement was a brisk one, the colonel being wounded early in the fight, but his troops gallantly charged the Heights and captured the fortress. General Brock was reinforced and attacked the Americans, but was repulsed, Brock being killed. The fierceness of the battle is shown by that fact that the three commanders who succeeded Brock were either killed or severely wounded.
Under the attack of superior forces, the Americans had managed to hold their ground and they now began to intrench. Meanwhile, the 1,200 New York militia on the other side of the river had become frightened by the sounds of battle, and when called upon to cross refused to do so, on the cowardly plea that they had enlisted to defend only their State. Lieutenant-Colonel Winfield Scott had taken command of the brigade and was engaged in intrenching, when the enemy, again reinforced, drove his troops, after two attacks, to the river, where they were hemmed in and compelled to surrender. The American loss in killed and wounded was fully a thousand. General Van Rensselaer was so disgusted with the conduct of his militia that he resigned his command, and was succeeded by General Alexander Smyth, of Virginia, whose conduct led to the general conviction that he was mentally about as near to being an idiot as it is possible for a man to be and still retain a little ground for being thought otherwise.
The first thing General Smyth did was to issue a proclamation of so bombastic a character that his friends were humiliated. He made several starts toward Canada, but in each instance recalled his troops, and acted so inexplicably that the militia were on the point of revolting, when he was deprived of his command. This closed the military operations for the year 1812, and the story is enough to crimson the cheek of every American with shame.
BRILLIANT WORK OF THE AMERICAN NAVY.
On the ocean, however, the record was brilliant and as astonishing to friends as to enemies. Hardly had the news of the declaration of war reached New York, when Commodore John Rodgers put to sea in thePresident, the same vessel that had taught theLittle Belther severe lesson. Some time later Rodgers sighted the frigateBelvideraand gave chase. He killed a number of the crew, but the vessel managed to escape. Continuing his cruise, he captured a number of merchantmen and retook an American prize. The luckiest ship in the American navy was said to be theConstitution, afterward popularly known as "Old Ironsides." Under command of Captain Isaac Hull, nephew of the disgraced general of Detroit, she engaged the sloop-of-warGuerrièreoff the coast of Massachusetts. The battle was a desperate one, but extraordinary marksmanship prevailed, and the enemy were compelled to strike their flag after a loss of 79 killed and wounded, while that of the Americans was 7 killed and 7 wounded.
The victory caused deep chagrin in England and corresponding rejoicing in the United States. Congress gave Captain Hull a gold medal and distributed $50,000 among his crew.
In October, the sloop-of-warWasp, Captain Jacob Jones, met the British brigFrolicoff Cape Hatteras. Since the vessels were of precisely the same strength, the contest could not have been a more perfect test of the bravery and efficiency of the ships of England and our own country. As respects bravery, it was equal, for the men on both sides fought with a courage that could not have been surpassed. When the crew of theWaspboarded theFrolic, they found no one on deck except the man at the wheel and two wounded officers. The vessels were so damaged that on the same day the British shipPoicterscaptured both.
During the same month (October 25th), Commodore Stephen Decatur, in command of the frigateUnited States, encountered the British frigateMacedonianoff the Island of Madeira, and captured her after a battle of two hours, in which he lost twelve men, while that of the enemy was more than a hundred. TheMacedonianwas so shattered that only with the greatest difficulty was she brought into New London.
The command of theConstitutionwas now turned over to Bainbridge, who sighted the frigateJavaoff the coast of Brazil, December 29th. In the terrific battle that followed he lost 34 men, but killed 120 of the enemy, tore out every mast, and burst her hull with round shot. TheJavawas blown up, and the prisoners and wounded were taken to Boston, where Bainbridge received a right royal welcome.
war and peaceTHE ARTS OF PEACE AND THE ART OF WAR.
THE ARTS OF PEACE AND THE ART OF WAR.
This ends the history of the first half-year of the war of 1812. While everything went wrong on land, the ocean showed only a succession of brilliant victories. England, chagrined and humiliated, declared that her flag had been disgraced "by a piece of striped bunting flying at the mast-heads of a few fir-built frigates, manned by a handful of outlaws."
REORGANIZATION OF THE ARMY.
Congress took measures for strengthening and reorganizing the army. The pay and bounty of the soldiers were increased; the President was empowered to raise twenty additional regiments of infantry, to borrow money, and to issue treasury notes, and provisions were made for adding four ships-of-the-line, six frigates, and as many vessels of war on the Great Lakes as might be needed. The army was organized into three divisions: the Army of the North, under General Wade Hampton, to act in the country about Lake Champlain; the Army of the Centre, under the commander-in-chief, General Henry Dearborn, to act on the Niagara frontier and Lake Ontario; and the Army of the East, under General Winchester, who soon after was superseded by General William Henry Harrison.
IN THE WEST.
The last-named officer did his utmost to drive the British out of Detroit. His troops were volunteers, brave but undisciplined, and displayed their most effective work in scattered fighting and against the Indians; but their success was not decisive. When the swamps and lakes of the Northwest were sufficiently frozen to bear their weight, Harrison repeated his attempts to expel the British from Detroit. His advance, under General Winchester, was attacked on the River Raisin by the British, led by General Proctor. Winchester was as prompt as General Hull in surrendering. Proctor allowed his Indians to massacre the wounded prisoners, most of whom were Kentuckians. Thereafter, when the Kentucky troops rushed into battle they raised the war-cry, "Remember the Raisin!"
The disaster to Winchester caused Harrison to fall back to Fort Meigs, which stood near the site of the present town of Defiance. There, in the spring of 1813, he was besieged by Proctor. A force of Kentuckians relieved him, after severe loss, and Proctor retreated. Some months later he again advanced against Fort Meigs, but was repulsed, and marched to Fort Stephenson, where Fremont now stands.
The besiegers consisted of 3,000 British and Indians, while the garrison numbered only 160, under the command of Major George Croghan, only twenty years of age. When Proctor ordered the youth to surrender he threatened that, in case of resistance, every prisoner would be tomahawked. Major Croghan replied that when the surrender took place there would not be a single man left to tomahawk. Although Croghan had but a single cannon, he made so gallant a defense that his assailants were repulsed, and Proctor, fearing the approach of Harrison, withdrew from the neighborhood.
BATTLE OF THE THAMES.
Perry's great victory on Lake Erie in September, 1813, as related further on, gave the Americans command of that body of water. Harrison's troops were placed on board of Perry's vessels and carried across from Ohio to Canada. They landed near Malden and Proctor fell back to Sandwich, with the Americans following. He continued his retreat to the Thames, where, with the help of Tecumseh, he selected a good battle-ground and awaited the Americans, who attacked him on the 5th of October. Proctor fled early in the battle, but his regulars fought bravely. The 1,500 Indians, under the lead of Tecumseh, displayed unusual heroism, but, when the great Tecumseh fell, they fled in a panic. The American victory was overwhelming and complete.
Tecumseh's irresistible eloquence had roused the Creeks to take the warpath in the South. The danger became so imminent that 500 of the inhabitants took refuge in a stockade known as Fort Mimms, Alabama, thirty-five miles above Mobile. The sentinels, believing there was no danger, were careless, and on August 21, 1813, nearly a thousand Creeks attacked the place, which was surprised and captured after feeble resistance. More than 200 were tomahawked, the negroes being spared to become slaves of the Indians.
CAPTURE OF TORONTO (YORK).
In April of this year, General Dearborn crossed Lake Ontario from Sackett's Harbor to Toronto (then known as York), which was the capital of Upper Canada and the chief depot for the supply of the western garrisons. Under a sharp fire, General Zebulon Pike drove the enemy from the works. The explosion of a magazine in the fort caused the death of General Pike in the moment of victory.
The operations left Sackett's Harbor almost unprotected, and led to an attack by the British admiral, Sir James Yeo, and General Prevost. The commander of the garrison appealed to General Jacob Brown, a militia officer of the neighborhood, who hurriedly gathered a small force and added it to the defenders. In the attack which followed Brown showed great skill, and General Prevost, believing his retreat was about to be cut off, fled in a panic, leaving 300 dead and wounded. In the engagements in that section during the remainder of the year, General Brown was about the only officer who displayed any military ability, his skill eventually placing him at the head of the United States army.
The fighting that followed was mainly in favor of the British, who recaptured York. Eight hundred Americans were made prisoners at Beaver Dams, and, as the autumn approached, the enemy found themselves in command of a powerful squadron.
INCOMPETENT COMMANDERS.
There was much dissatisfaction with General Dearborn, the head of the army. He was in ill-health, never led his troops in person, and missed a good opportunity of capturing Montreal. He was relieved in June and succeeded by General Wilkinson, who arrived at Sackett's Harbor in August. He began preparations for invading Canada, but was so laggard in his movements that the enemy had abundance of time in which to make ready. The St. Lawrence seemed to be fortified at every point, but General Brown, by brave fighting, opened the way for the flotilla.
General Wilkinson reached St. Regis, November 11th, at which point General Wade Hampton was to co-operate with him. But that officer, owing to a lack of provisions, had fallen back to Plattsburg, hoping to keep open his communications with the St. Lawrence. This obliged General Wilkinson to retreat, and Wilkinson, Hampton, and other officers quarreled like so many children.
Disaster and disgrace seemed to follow the American land forces during the first two years of the war, but the fault lay wholly with the officers, who were incompetent, and many times lacking in patriotism. The soldiers were brave, but were comparatively powerless with such poor commanders.
Once again the American navy performed brilliant work, though, unfortunately, the record was marred by a sad disaster. On February 24th, Captain James Lawrence, who had made several minor captures from the enemy, riddled the English brig-of-warPeacock, while in command of theHornet, and, in a fierce engagement of fifteen minutes, compelled her to surrender and hoist a signal of distress. She went down so quickly that several of theHornet'screw, who were giving aid, sank with her, besides thirteen of the enemy. Captain Lawrence treated his prisoners so kindly that, upon reaching New York, they gave him a letter of thanks.
CAPTURE OF THE CHESAPEAKE BY THE SHANNON.
Captain Lawrence's fine work caused him to be promoted to the command of theChesapeake, then refitting at Boston. Captain Broke (afterward Sir Philip, B.V.), commander of theShannon, cruising off Boston, challenged Lawrence to come out and fight him. The American promptly accepted the challenge. It was a piece of unwarrantable recklessness, for theChesapeakewas not yet ready for the sea, and his crew was undisciplined and in a surly mood, because some promised prize money had not been paid them. Moreover, it is said that most of the sailors were under the influence of liquor.
TheChesapeakesailed gaily out of the harbor on the 1st of June, followed by a number of pleasure boats and barges crowded with spectators, while the hills swarmed with people, many with glasses, all anxious to witness the triumph of the gallant young captain. A woeful disappointment awaited them.
The battle was a terrific one. In a short time the rigging of theChesapeakewas so mangled that she became unmanageable, and could not escape a raking fire which did frightful execution. Captain Lawrence was twice wounded, the last time mortally, and was carried below at the time the enemy were preparing to board. He ordered that the colors should not be struck. "Tell the men to fire faster," he cried; "don't give up the ship!"
Boarders swarmed over theChesapeakeand a few minutes later she was captured, the loss of the Americans being 48 killed and 98 wounded, that of the enemy being about half as great. Lawrence lived four days, most of the time delirious, during which he continually repeated the appeal, "Don't give up the ship!" The impressiveness of the circumstances and the words themselves made them the motto of the American navy in many a subsequent engagement.