An Extract from the Address of the House of Assembly, at the opening of the Session, 30th Jan. 1815, to His Excellency Sir George Prevost, p. 176.
An Extract from the Address of the House of Assembly, at the opening of the Session, 30th Jan. 1815, to His Excellency Sir George Prevost, p. 176.
"The operations contemplated on the shores of Lake Champlain, we are led to believe, by our confidence in your Excellency's judgment, were planned in consequence of wise combinations, and our proximity to the scene of action has enabled us to acquire a perfect conviction, that they were frustrated by causes beyond your Excellency's control. We are equally convinced that the failure of our naval means rendered necessary at the very onset, an immediate abandonment of the enterprize.
"The protecting hand of His Majesty's government has been agreeably felt in the reinforcements received by your Excellency, for the diminution of the pressure of the war on the inhabitants of this province. The testimony which your Excellency is pleased to bear to the zeal and alacrity with which their services have been rendered, cannot but be moreflattering to their feelings and demands through their representatives, their warmest acknowledgments. It is under your Excellency's wise and just administration that their character and conduct have been justly appreciated; and whatever merit their services may be entitled to, a large portion of it is unquestionably due to your Excellency, whose well founded confidence in them, has enabled them, by those services, to testify their faithful, loyal, and patriotic adherence to His Majesty: of which, under your Excellency's administration, they hope many opportunities, during a long time to come, will be afforded them to give additional proofs."
Extract from an Address from the House of Assembly of Lower Canada, to Sir Geo. Prevost, 20th March, 1815.
"We take this opportunity of repeating the expression of our sentiments of gratitude to your Excellency, for having, by your prudence, by the wisdom of your measures, and by your ability, preserved to the empire these important provinces, and for the paternal solicitude with which your Excellency has watched over the welfare of His Majesty's subjects, and to pray your Excellency to rest assured, that those benefits will ever remain deeply engraven on the hearts of the Canadians."
Extract from the Resolutions of the House of Assembly of Lower Canada, 21st March, 1815.
"According to order, the resolutions of the Committee of the whole House, to consider whether it would be expedient to give to his Excellency the Governor-in-Chief, some mark of gratitude for his distinguished services in this province, were reported to the House, agreed to, and ordered to be engrossed.
"The said resolutions are as follows:
"Resolved,
"That this House entertains the highest veneration and respect, for the character of his Excellency Sir GeorgePrevost, Governor-in-Chief, whose administration, under circumstances of peculiar novelty and difficulty, stands highly distinguished for energy, wisdom, and ability.
"Resolved,
"That this House, representing the people of this province, anxiously desirous of expressing their gratitude to his Excellency, for having, under Providence, rescued us from the danger of subjugation to our late foe, have, and do hereby, give and grant a service of plate not exceeding five thousand pounds, sterling, to his Excellency, as a testimonial of the high sense this House entertains of his Excellency's distinguished talents, wisdom, and abilities.
"Resolved,
"That for the better carrying into execution the object this House has in view, for the purchase of the service of plate for his Excellency, the Speaker of this House be authorized to give directions to such persons, in England, as may be best able to execute the same, and that when so completed, the said service be presented to his Excellency the Governor-in-Chief, in the name and on the behalf of the Commons of His Majesty's province of Lower Canada.
"Resolved,
"That an humble address be presented to his Excellency the Governor-in-Chief, to communicate the above resolutions, humbly praying that his Excellency will be graciously pleased to advance a sum not exceeding five thousand pounds sterling, to the order of the Speaker of this House, for the object stated in the above resolutions; and that this House doth engage, and hereby pledges itself to make good the said advance the next ensuing session of this provincial parliament."
Extract from the Speech of the Speaker of the House of Assembly, on presenting the Money Bills to the Governor-in-Chief, 23rd March, 1815.
Extract from the Speech of the Speaker of the House of Assembly, on presenting the Money Bills to the Governor-in-Chief, 23rd March, 1815.
"Superior to prejudices which had but too generally prevailed, your Excellency has derived from the devotion of that brave and loyal, yet unjustly calumniated people, resources sufficient for disconcerting the plans of conquest, devised by a foe at once numerous and elate with confidence. Reinforcements were subsequently received; and the blood of the sons of Canada has flowed mingled with that of the brave soldiers sent to its defence. Multiplied proofs of the efficacious and powerful protection of the mother country, and of the inviolable loyalty of the people of this province, strengthen their claim to the preservation and free exercise of all the benefits which are secured to them by their existing constitution and laws."
Addresses to Sir Geo. Prevost, from the Inhabitants of Quebec and Montreal, 31st March.
To His Excellency Sir George Prevost, Bart. Captain-General and Governor-in-Chief, in and over the Provinces of Lower Canada, &c. &c. &c.
To His Excellency Sir George Prevost, Bart. Captain-General and Governor-in-Chief, in and over the Provinces of Lower Canada, &c. &c. &c.
"May it please your Excellency,
"We the inhabitants of the city of Quebec, most respectfully approach your Excellency, at the moment of your departure for England, to express the sentiments which we entertain, of a most profound regard for your Excellency's person and character, and a lively gratitude for the benefits, which, in common with our fellow subjects throughout the province, we have derived from your Excellency's administration.
"At the period of your Excellency's arrival in this country, on the eve of a war with America, you found the majority of its inhabitants irritated by the unfortunate effects of misunderstandings of a long duration. Your Excellency, consultingonly the general welfare by a strict adherence to justice and a well-timed confidence, soon allayed every discontent, and rallied the whole population for the common defence. Under the happy influence of harmony thus restored, the militia was assembled and trained, and an exhausted treasury replenished. The additional means which you thereby derived from the colony committed to your particular care, enabled your Excellency to extend the handful of British troops at your disposal, to the most distant parts of the Upper Province, where the long meditated attacks of the enemy were met at the onset, and his forces repeatedly overthrown with disgrace—the happy precursor of the fate which awaited all his attempts on this province.
"If the smallness of the regular army with which your Excellency was left to withstand the whole efforts of the United States for two years, and the insufficiency of the naval force on the Lakes, have exposed His Majesty's arms to some reverses, it is nevertheless, true, that under the auspices of your Excellency, the British arms have acquired new laurels, amidst circumstances of extraordinary difficulty, unprecedented in European warfare; the name of the people of this country has been rendered illustrious, and a vast extent of territory protected from the ravages of war and preserved to the empire.
"Your Excellency's name and services will ever be held in veneration and grateful remembrance by the inhabitants of Quebec. The whole province has assured you of its gratitude; and the imperishable evidences of your Excellency's merits, though they could not appease, will easily overcome your enemies.
"May your Excellency's voyage be prosperous, and its results correspond with your wishes. The citizens of Quebec will hail the day of your Excellency's return to your government, rewarded with the full approbation of a gracious Prince, as one of the happiest in the annals of Canada.
[Signed by 1420 persons.]"Quebec, 31st March, 1815."
To which his Excellency was pleased to return the following Answer:
To the Inhabitants of the City of Quebec.
"Gentlemen,
"I thank you for those sentiments of kindness which now, as at all times, I have had the gratification to receive from the inhabitants of the city of Quebec. It is at the moment of separation that such expressions appeal most forcibly to the heart.
"If under the authority which His Majesty has deemed proper to place in my hands, you have been prosperous and happy, the objects of all my exertions, and my most earnest solicitude has been attained.
"The time I have spent in your society has taught me at once to appreciate its worth, and to regret the loss of it; and, be assured, the testimony of regard you have now given me, will be treasured up among recollections the most grateful to my feelings."
On Monday last, at twelve o'clock, the Address of the Citizens of Montreal was presented to his Excellency Sir George Prevost, by their Deputies, J. M. Mondelêt and John M'Donald, Esquires, which Address is as follows:
To his Excellency Sir George Prevost, Bart. Captain-General and Governor-in-Chief, in and over the Province of Lower Canada, Upper Canada, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and their Dependencies, Vice-Admiral of the same, Lieutenant-General and Commander of all His Majesty's Forces in the said Provinces, and in the Islands of Newfoundland, Prince Edward, Cape Breton, and Bermuda, &c. &c. &c.
To his Excellency Sir George Prevost, Bart. Captain-General and Governor-in-Chief, in and over the Province of Lower Canada, Upper Canada, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and their Dependencies, Vice-Admiral of the same, Lieutenant-General and Commander of all His Majesty's Forces in the said Provinces, and in the Islands of Newfoundland, Prince Edward, Cape Breton, and Bermuda, &c. &c. &c.
"May it please your Excellency,
"We His Majesty's dutiful and loyal subjects, inhabitants of the city of Montreal and the neighbouring Parishes,have learnt with extreme regret that your Excellency is unexpectedly about to leave this province.
"We hasten, before your Excellency separates yourself from us, to convey to your Excellency the expression of our sorrow for your departure, of our gratitude for the benefits conferred on us, in common with our fellow subjects, by your Excellency's administration, and our ardent wish that your Excellency's absence from this province may be of short duration.
"These sentiments are naturally produced in our minds by the recollection of the public and private virtues which have been displayed by your Excellency in your exalted station, and by the advantages we have experienced from your Excellency's wisdom and justice in peace, and your protecting care in war.
"In your Excellency's civil administration, we have seen conspicuously evinced an anxious desire to dispense equal justice to His Majesty's subjects, to obliterate unjust and impolitic distinctions between the inhabitants of this province, of different origin, and to unite them as members of one community with the same rights and interests, for the promotion of their common welfare. Influenced by this wise and just policy, your Excellency has been enabled to form a correct estimate of the character and disposition of the population of Canada: and, by reposing in the loyalty and bravery of His Majesty's Canadian subjects that confidence which they fully merited, your Excellency has afforded practical evidence of their devoted attachment to His Majesty's government, and their capacity to yield it effectual support.
"While exposed to the pressure of the late unjust and unprovoked war waged by the United States of America against His Majesty, we experienced the security derived from your Excellency's indefatigable exertions for the defence of this Province, and have reason to ascribe its preservation, as well as that of the Upper Province, to the judicious distributionand arrangement of the Public Force made by your Excellency, by which the attempts of the enemy were frustrated, and the honourable character, with the rights and advantages of British subjects has been secured to the Inhabitants of the Canadas.
"Having the greatest confidence in the skill and judgment of your Excellency, and being fully convinced of the ability and prudence with which your Excellency has discharged the military as well as civil duties of your high office, we anticipate, from the investigation for which your Excellency is preparing, a result honourable to your Excellency's character, by which your well-earned reputation will be confirmed, the voice of calumny and detraction silenced, and your Excellency's merits conclusively established. We persuade ourselves also that the important services rendered in this country by your Excellency to His Majesty's Government will be duly appreciated by His Royal Highness the Prince Regent, of whose discernment and justice we have had so many proofs, and will procure for your Excellency deserved approbation, and the high rewards reserved for distinguished merit.
"We shall not cease to take the warmest interest in the fortunes of your Excellency; and in expressing our ardent wishes for your prosperity and that of your family, we join in the general sentiment of the country, whose affection and unalterable attachment your Excellency will carry with you, and whose greatest felicity would be experienced in the speedy return of your Excellency to resume the reins of Government."
(Signed by 1510 persons.)
His Excellency was pleased to make the following answer:
To the Inhabitants of the City of Montreal, and the neighbouring Parishes.
"Gentlemen,
"The alacrity with which you have hastened to prevent the distance of your residence from being an obstacle to the expression of your kind wishes on my sudden and unexpected departure, gives to them all the additional value of eager sincerity.
"Your good will is to me a most acceptable offering: and as I am now content if your good opinion of my services during my Administration is proportioned to my desire to promote your welfare, so shall I ever be ambitious that your estimate of my exertions may be found as correct as the favourable judgment which I early formed of His Majesty's subjects in Canada, which experience has now fully justified."
Letter from M. de Salaberry to Sir George Prevost.
A son Excellence Sir George Prevost, &c. &c.
Qu'il plaise à votre Excellence,
Me permettre d'écrire, puisque je ne peux sortir. J'en suis empêché par une maladie opîniâtre et apparemment dangereuse, puisqu'encore hier j'ai tombé sans connaissance sur le plancher. Je suis bien peiné d'être privé par les accidens d'aller vous rendre mes respects, avant que vous vous laissiez.
Sir George, vous portez pour vous justifier—Quoi! une justification de vous! Qui pouvait s'y attendre? Mais s'il en faut une, la voici d'un mot:Le Canada est encore a l'Angleterre.Cela repond à tout. Le résultat est tout, il est frappant, il est grand. Voilàun fait, celui-là: on ne peut le nier. Devant lui doivent disparaitre les vaines paroles, les accusations sophistiques; sous lui doivent succomber les efforts de la malveillance, l'envie, les passions haineuses;mais le mérite et la vertu sont sujets à la persécution. Vous en triompherez glorieusement: j'ôse vous le prédire avec assûrance, et je la souhaite du profond de mon cœur, comme je souhaite aussi tous les bonheurs pour vous, Sir George, et pour ce qui vous est chér. Avec ces vrais sentimens, et ceux du plus grand respect, j'ai l'honneur de me souscrire,
Mon Général,De votre Excellence,Le trés-humble, très-obéissantEt très devoué serviteur,L. deSalaberry, Col. M. Quebec.A Beauport, 28 Mars, 1815.
P. S. Oui, les Canadas sont encore à l'Angleterre, mais n'y serraient plus sans un effort perséverant de prudence, d'activité, de patience courageuse, et d'habilité consommée, dans un commandement et un genre de guerre aussi difficiles, dont la conduite éxige un art tant particulier. Voilà ce qu'avoueront tous ceux qui ont de vraies connaissances de la nature de ces pays de situations si extraordinaires, à des prodigieuses distances, à travers des forêts immenses.
Ce ne sont pas des guerresd'Europe, où sous un beau ciel et dans des riches plaines cultivées, toutes les parties d'armées se touchent, où sont toujours à-portée, de se donner la main, dans des localités rapprochées et dont les communications sont si faciles. Daignez, mon Général, traiter mes reflexions avec indulgence, puis qu'elles viennent d'un vieux et loyal soldat, qui a commencé à faire la guerre il y a précisement quarante ans cette année.
Extract from Christie's Memoirs of the Administration of the Colonial Government of Lower Canada, by Sir James Henry Craig, and Sir George Prevost.
Extract from Christie's Memoirs of the Administration of the Colonial Government of Lower Canada, by Sir James Henry Craig, and Sir George Prevost.
"The administration of the Civil Government of Lower Canada under Sir George Prevost, was mild, equitable, and unquestionably popular among the entire mass of the Canadian population, in whose loyalty from the commencement, he placed the most implicit confidence. To their fidelity, and to the prudent and conciliating policy of this Governor, Great Britain is indebted for the preservation of the Canadas, unavoidably left destitute of money and troops at the outset of hostilities with America, by reason of the urgent demands of the war in Spain. The Provincial Legislature, by giving a currency to Army Bills and guaranteeing their redemption, effectually removed all apprehensions of a deficiency in the financial resources of the Colonial Government. The organization of a respectable force of embodied Militia, and the power delegated to the Governor, of turning out the whole of the effective male population of the Province, in cases of emergency, enabled him to withstand the efforts of the United States, during two successive campaigns, with scarcely any other resources than those derived from the Colony. They who had been partial to the preceding Administration, and who probably may have been instrumental in the arbitrary measures with which it is reproached, were, as might be expected, adverse to the policy of the present Governor, and spared no pains to represent in England the affairs of the Colony in the falsest colours. The disappointments experienced at Sackett's Harbour and Plattsburg, gave occasion to his enemies to discredit his military character: but whatever may have been his capacity as a general, (which weleave to the judgment of military men) it must be admitted, that as a civil governor, at the head of a people irritated by arbitrary measures under the preceding Administration, he judiciously explored his way through a period of unprecedented embarrassments and danger, without a recurrence to Martial Law, or the least exertion of arbitrary power. His manners are represented by those who were familiarly acquainted with him as unassuming and social. His public speeches or addresses partook of even classical elegance. His smooth and easy temper placed him beyond the ordinary passions of men in power, and though aware of the intrigues of unprincipled and implacable enemies labouring at his destruction, and loaded with the obloquy of the press, he is known to have harboured no resentment against the former, and to have reasoned with that coolness and unconcern with respect to the latter, which can only spring from a virtuous and ingenuous mind."
Extract from Bouchette's Topographical Account of Lower Canada, p. 121.
"At a time when the military resources of the Province were so greatly curtailed by the most arduous continental warfare that ever Great Britain was engaged in, it is a matter of surprise that so much could have been effected with such slender means. An enemy, emboldened by possessing an ample force, and inspired by the prospect of obtaining a fertile country, long the object of inordinate desire, could only be successfully opposed by a union of the greatest energy with the most active measures; that such was presented to him is incontrovertible, and the credit of having brought them into action by unceasing perseverance, will attach to the judicious dispositions of the Governor-General, Sir George Prevost, and for his strenuous efforts in turning the enthusiasm of the people into a bulwark stronger, and more impenetrable than entrenchments or fortresses against an invader."
The following Extract from James's Naval Memoirs, p. 411, shewing the opinion of the American Naval Commander, as to the result of the action on Lake Champlain, was intended to form a note to page 175.
The following Extract from James's Naval Memoirs, p. 411, shewing the opinion of the American Naval Commander, as to the result of the action on Lake Champlain, was intended to form a note to page 175.
"Commodore Macdonough, taking Lieutenant Robertson, when presenting his sword, for the British Commanding Officer, spoke to him as follows:—'You owe it, Sir, to the shameful conduct of your gun-boats and cutters, that you are performing this office to me; for, had they done their duty, you must have perceived, from the situation of the Saratoga, that I could hold out no longer: and indeed, nothing induced me to keep up her colours, but seeing, from the united fire of all the rest of my squadron on the Confiance, and her unsupported situation, that she must ultimately surrender.'—Here is an acknowledgment, candid and honourable in the extreme."
Inscription on the Monument erected to the Memory of Sir George Prevost in Winchester Cathedral, p. 177.
Sacred to the MemoryOf Lieutenant-General Sir George Prevost, Baronet,of Belmont, in this County,Governor-General and Commander-in-Chief of the BritishForces in North America;In which command, by his wise and energetic measures,And with a very inferior force,He preserved the Canadas to the British Crown,From the repeated invasions of a powerful Enemy.His Constitution at length sunkUnder incessant bodily and mental exertions,In discharging the duties of that arduous station,And having returned to England,He died shortly afterwards in London, on the 5th Jan. 1816,Aged forty-eight years;Thirty-four of which had been devotedTo the service of his Country.He was interred near the remains of his Father,Major-General Augustin Prevost,At East Barnet, in Middlesex.His Royal Highness the Prince Regent,To evince in an especial manner the sense he entertainedOf his distinguished conduct and services,During a long period of constant active employment,In situations of great trust, both military and civil,Was pleased to ordain,As a lasting memorial of His Majesty's Royal favour,That the names of the Countries,Where his courage and abilities had been most signally displayed,The West Indies and Canada,Should be inscribed on the banners of the supporters,Granted to be borne by his Family and his descendants.In Testimony of his private worth,His piety, integrity, and benevolence,And all those tender, domestic virtuesWhich endeared himTo his Family, his Children, his Friends and Dependants,As well as to prove her unfeigned love, gratitude and respect,Catharine Ann Prevost,His afflicted Widow,caused this Monument to be erected,Anno Domini, 1818.
Sacred to the MemoryOf Lieutenant-General Sir George Prevost, Baronet,of Belmont, in this County,Governor-General and Commander-in-Chief of the BritishForces in North America;In which command, by his wise and energetic measures,And with a very inferior force,He preserved the Canadas to the British Crown,From the repeated invasions of a powerful Enemy.His Constitution at length sunkUnder incessant bodily and mental exertions,In discharging the duties of that arduous station,And having returned to England,He died shortly afterwards in London, on the 5th Jan. 1816,Aged forty-eight years;Thirty-four of which had been devotedTo the service of his Country.He was interred near the remains of his Father,Major-General Augustin Prevost,At East Barnet, in Middlesex.His Royal Highness the Prince Regent,To evince in an especial manner the sense he entertainedOf his distinguished conduct and services,During a long period of constant active employment,In situations of great trust, both military and civil,Was pleased to ordain,As a lasting memorial of His Majesty's Royal favour,That the names of the Countries,Where his courage and abilities had been most signally displayed,The West Indies and Canada,Should be inscribed on the banners of the supporters,Granted to be borne by his Family and his descendants.In Testimony of his private worth,His piety, integrity, and benevolence,And all those tender, domestic virtuesWhich endeared himTo his Family, his Children, his Friends and Dependants,As well as to prove her unfeigned love, gratitude and respect,Catharine Ann Prevost,His afflicted Widow,caused this Monument to be erected,Anno Domini, 1818.
Private Despatch from Sir George Prevost to Earl Bathurst, p. 179.
(Private.)
"Montreal, 21st Sept. 1814.
"My Lord,
"In my despatch from Plattsburg, of the 11th inst. I reported to your Lordship the unfortunate event which induced me to withdraw the troops with which I had advanced into the enemy's territory. My reasons for that measure I can more fully explain to your Lordship in a private communication than it might be proper to do in a public letter.
"Your Lordship must have been aware from my previous despatches, that no offensive operations could be carried on, within the enemy's territory, for the destruction of his Naval Establishments, without naval support. Having ascertained that our flotilla was in every respect equal to the enemy's, and having received from Captain Downie the assurance, not only of his readiness, but of his ability to co-operate with the army, I did not hesitate in advancing to Plattsburg, and confidently relying upon the successful exertions of the squadron, I made my arrangements for the assault of the enemy's works the moment it should appear.
"The disastrous and unlooked for result of the naval contest, by depriving me of the only means by which I could avail myself of any advantage I might gain, rendered a perseverance in the attack of the enemy's position highly imprudent, as well as hazardous. From the state of the roads, each day's delay at Plattsburg rendered my retreat more difficult. The enemy's Militia was raisingen massearound me, desertion increasing, and our supply of provisions scanty.
"Excluded from the use of water communication, and that by roads passing through woods and over swamps,becoming, from the state of the weather, as well as from the obstructions made by the enemy, nearly impassable—under these circumstances, I had to determine whether I should consider my own fame, by gratifying the order of the troops in persevering in the attack, or consult the more substantial interests of my country, by withdrawing the army which was yet uncrippled, for the security of these provinces; in adopting the latter measure, I feel that I have accorded with the views of His Majesty's Government, and that a contrary conduct would have been attended with immediate and imminent danger to this Province.
"The most ample success on shore, after the loss of the fleet, could not have justified the sacrifice I must have made to obtain it. Had I failed, and such an event was possible, after the American army had been cheared by the sight of a naval victory, the destruction of a great part of our troops must have been the consequence, and with the remainder I should have had to make a precipitate and embarrassed retreat, one very different from that which I have made.
"These are considerations which, without doubt, will have their due weight with your Lordship, and induce you, I trust, to view the measures I have adopted as those best calculated to promote, as well the honour of His Majesty's arms, as the safety of this part of his dominions.
"I herewith transmit a comparative state of the force of the two squadrons, in order that your Lordship may be satisfied with my reasons for not discouraging a Naval Engagement, in which, if all had done their duty, I should have had a very different report to make.
"I have the honour to be," &c."The Right Hon. Earl Bathurst."
FOOTNOTES:[99]Captain Watson of the Tweed; Tate of the Nancy; and Higgins of the Betsey.[100]Compte O'Duin's own expression.[101]Gordon, Author of the History of the American Revolution, vol. iii. p. 328, &c.[102]"On the 9th January, 1808, died General Naguês, first Aid-de-Camp, &c. &c. His loss was strongly felt. This General had conciliated the esteem of the public by his inclination to do good, his attention to his duty, and his strict probity. Before he entered into the service of Holland, he had been Governor of St. Lucie, which he had defended as a brave soldier, and where he acquired the affection of the Planters."—Historical Documents and Reflections on the Government of Holland, by Louis Bonaparte, vol. ii. p. 214.[103]From Toulon and Rochefort.[104]A French Squadron was in the West Indies.[105]These addresses are extracted from a work, entitled, "the Canadian Inspector," published at Montreal, in 1815, for the express purpose of noticing and confuting the assertions made by the author of the letters under the signature of Veritas, respecting the measures of Sir George Prevost, in the prosecution of the war. Upon the authority of these letters the Quarterly Reviewer has mainly relied, and has had the boldness to declare, that "no reply was ever attempted to be made to the statements contained in them, or doubt ever expressed in the Provinces of their correctness."—Review, p. 408.[106]Since this work went to press, a positive contradiction to the Reviewer's assertion,that Sir George Prevost attempted to affix a stigma upon the personal character of General Procter, which he was afterwards obliged to abandon, with a declaration of regret that it was ever made, has been received from the Judge-Advocate who officiated at the above trial, and who is now resident in Canada. From this information it appears, that so far from the fifth charge being abandoned, the Judge-Advocate in his reply, although he adverted to the partial failure of the proof in support of that charge, still asserted that there came out in evidence strong grounds for making it. In answer to the Reviewer's misrepresentations as to the delay in assembling the Court-martial, it appears from the same information that such delay was unavoidable. General Procter's letter, in explanation of the retreat of the right division, was not received until late in November, 1813. It was, of course, transmitted to England, that His Majesty's Government might judge of the necessity of an investigation. When General Procter applied for this investigation, he was told that this was the case; and also, what he must have known, that at all events, no such investigation could then take place, as the principal witnesses, both for and against him, were then prisoners in the state of Kentucky. The first orders of the Government for the assembling of the Court-martial were not received in Canada until the 28th of May, 1814. They were immediately notified to General Procter. The officers of the 41st were still prisoners, though they were shortly to be exchanged, but the exigencies of the war gave such employment to all the officers of proper rank to form such a Court-martial, as well as to many material witnesses, that it was impossible, without sacrificing the interests of the service to comply with General Procter's applications for the assembling of the Court.[107]The action was fought on the 11th.
[99]Captain Watson of the Tweed; Tate of the Nancy; and Higgins of the Betsey.
[99]Captain Watson of the Tweed; Tate of the Nancy; and Higgins of the Betsey.
[100]Compte O'Duin's own expression.
[100]Compte O'Duin's own expression.
[101]Gordon, Author of the History of the American Revolution, vol. iii. p. 328, &c.
[101]Gordon, Author of the History of the American Revolution, vol. iii. p. 328, &c.
[102]"On the 9th January, 1808, died General Naguês, first Aid-de-Camp, &c. &c. His loss was strongly felt. This General had conciliated the esteem of the public by his inclination to do good, his attention to his duty, and his strict probity. Before he entered into the service of Holland, he had been Governor of St. Lucie, which he had defended as a brave soldier, and where he acquired the affection of the Planters."—Historical Documents and Reflections on the Government of Holland, by Louis Bonaparte, vol. ii. p. 214.
[102]"On the 9th January, 1808, died General Naguês, first Aid-de-Camp, &c. &c. His loss was strongly felt. This General had conciliated the esteem of the public by his inclination to do good, his attention to his duty, and his strict probity. Before he entered into the service of Holland, he had been Governor of St. Lucie, which he had defended as a brave soldier, and where he acquired the affection of the Planters."—Historical Documents and Reflections on the Government of Holland, by Louis Bonaparte, vol. ii. p. 214.
[103]From Toulon and Rochefort.
[103]From Toulon and Rochefort.
[104]A French Squadron was in the West Indies.
[104]A French Squadron was in the West Indies.
[105]These addresses are extracted from a work, entitled, "the Canadian Inspector," published at Montreal, in 1815, for the express purpose of noticing and confuting the assertions made by the author of the letters under the signature of Veritas, respecting the measures of Sir George Prevost, in the prosecution of the war. Upon the authority of these letters the Quarterly Reviewer has mainly relied, and has had the boldness to declare, that "no reply was ever attempted to be made to the statements contained in them, or doubt ever expressed in the Provinces of their correctness."—Review, p. 408.
[105]These addresses are extracted from a work, entitled, "the Canadian Inspector," published at Montreal, in 1815, for the express purpose of noticing and confuting the assertions made by the author of the letters under the signature of Veritas, respecting the measures of Sir George Prevost, in the prosecution of the war. Upon the authority of these letters the Quarterly Reviewer has mainly relied, and has had the boldness to declare, that "no reply was ever attempted to be made to the statements contained in them, or doubt ever expressed in the Provinces of their correctness."—Review, p. 408.
[106]Since this work went to press, a positive contradiction to the Reviewer's assertion,that Sir George Prevost attempted to affix a stigma upon the personal character of General Procter, which he was afterwards obliged to abandon, with a declaration of regret that it was ever made, has been received from the Judge-Advocate who officiated at the above trial, and who is now resident in Canada. From this information it appears, that so far from the fifth charge being abandoned, the Judge-Advocate in his reply, although he adverted to the partial failure of the proof in support of that charge, still asserted that there came out in evidence strong grounds for making it. In answer to the Reviewer's misrepresentations as to the delay in assembling the Court-martial, it appears from the same information that such delay was unavoidable. General Procter's letter, in explanation of the retreat of the right division, was not received until late in November, 1813. It was, of course, transmitted to England, that His Majesty's Government might judge of the necessity of an investigation. When General Procter applied for this investigation, he was told that this was the case; and also, what he must have known, that at all events, no such investigation could then take place, as the principal witnesses, both for and against him, were then prisoners in the state of Kentucky. The first orders of the Government for the assembling of the Court-martial were not received in Canada until the 28th of May, 1814. They were immediately notified to General Procter. The officers of the 41st were still prisoners, though they were shortly to be exchanged, but the exigencies of the war gave such employment to all the officers of proper rank to form such a Court-martial, as well as to many material witnesses, that it was impossible, without sacrificing the interests of the service to comply with General Procter's applications for the assembling of the Court.
[106]Since this work went to press, a positive contradiction to the Reviewer's assertion,that Sir George Prevost attempted to affix a stigma upon the personal character of General Procter, which he was afterwards obliged to abandon, with a declaration of regret that it was ever made, has been received from the Judge-Advocate who officiated at the above trial, and who is now resident in Canada. From this information it appears, that so far from the fifth charge being abandoned, the Judge-Advocate in his reply, although he adverted to the partial failure of the proof in support of that charge, still asserted that there came out in evidence strong grounds for making it. In answer to the Reviewer's misrepresentations as to the delay in assembling the Court-martial, it appears from the same information that such delay was unavoidable. General Procter's letter, in explanation of the retreat of the right division, was not received until late in November, 1813. It was, of course, transmitted to England, that His Majesty's Government might judge of the necessity of an investigation. When General Procter applied for this investigation, he was told that this was the case; and also, what he must have known, that at all events, no such investigation could then take place, as the principal witnesses, both for and against him, were then prisoners in the state of Kentucky. The first orders of the Government for the assembling of the Court-martial were not received in Canada until the 28th of May, 1814. They were immediately notified to General Procter. The officers of the 41st were still prisoners, though they were shortly to be exchanged, but the exigencies of the war gave such employment to all the officers of proper rank to form such a Court-martial, as well as to many material witnesses, that it was impossible, without sacrificing the interests of the service to comply with General Procter's applications for the assembling of the Court.
[107]The action was fought on the 11th.
[107]The action was fought on the 11th.