Colonel Pearson. At twilight Pearson was the woods, held the British right wing in check, and Scott pressed forward, alternately advancing, halting and firing, until he was within eighty paces of the enemy. He then threw M'Niel's battalion obliquely upon the British right, calling out, loudly, "The enemy say that we are good at long shot, but can not stand the cold iron! I call upon the Eleventh instantly to give the lie to that slander! Charge!" The Both armies were in motion early on the order was promptly obeyed, and Leavenworth's morning of the 5th. Almost the whole of that corps made a similar attack at the same time long, hot summer day was spent by the bellig- upon the British left. These were sustained by erents in reconnoitring and skirmishing. Fi-Towson's artillery. The movement was SO nally Brigadier-General Peter B. Porter, with quick, powerful, and effective that the British militia, volunteers, and friendly Indians, cleared army broke and fled in confusion. Jesup also the woods on Chippewa plains and drove the routed the left wing, and the whole line of the fugitives back to the British lines. There he enemy was driven from the field of action to the found the whole British column in order of intrenchments beyond the Chippewa, hotly purmarch. Thus supported, the fugitives turned sued by Scott. upon Porter. Some of his command were awed by the formidable array of British regulars, and fled toward Street's Creek in confusion. Such was the activity of Scott in this battle that it was all over before the arrival of the reserve. Scott's force actually in conflict did not It was now between four and five o'clock in exceed fourteen hundred men, while that of Rithe afternoon. Scott was advancing toward all was about twenty-four hundred. Both parStreet's Creek bridge, for the purpose of cross-ties suffered severely; and the plain of Chippeing and drilling his men on the open plain beyond. He was met by General Brown riding in haste from the direction of Chippewa, who said, in passing, "The enemy is advancing; you'll have a fight." He gave no instructions, but left the whole matter in the hands of Scott, while he pushed on to bring up the reserve. wa, after the battle, was strewn with the dead and dying. One of the American flags, borne in the conflict, and yet preserved, attests the abundance of bullets in the air during that hot conflict. At twilight the survivors of both armies sunk to rest within the respective lines. The battle of Chippewa gave immense moral strength to the American army, and the soldiers seemed eager to follow wherever Scott might lead. Accordingly, two days after that conflict he moved forward, crossed the Chippewa at the mouth of Lyon's Creek, and menaced the British right wing so seriously that Riall broke up his camp and fell back, first to Queenston, and finally in the direction of Burlington Heights, near the present city of Hamilton. A cloud of dust in the direction of Chippewa announced the approach of the foe; and when Scott and his brigade reached Street's Creek bridge Riall had displayed his forces in battle order on the plain, supported by a battery of nine cannon, arranged within point-blank shot of the Americans. Scott did not hesitate a moment. He moved forward and crossed the bridge in the face of a heavy fire. The battalions under Majors Leavenworth and M'Niel At the close of 1813, the whole Niagara frontwere immediately formed in front of the enemy, ier, from Buffalo to the mouth of the river, had while another battalion, under Major Jesup, passed into the hands of the British. General obliqued in column to the left, to keep the right Brown now determined to dispossess them. For flank of the British in check. Towson's battery this purpose he pressed forward to Queenston, took a position on the right of the Americans, intending to retake Fort George, and capture which rested on the Niagara River. Fort Mississaga, lately erected at the mouth of The action soon became general. Jesup, in the river. The illness of Chauncey made him hesitate, for he needed his co-operation; and he | vision of the foe. It soon passed away, the sun concluded to attack Riall, then at Burlington went down, the twilight faded, and night fell Heights. He finally determined to draw the enemy from that strong point by retreating up the Niagara and taking position at Chippewa. cers. Toward the evening of the twenty-fifth of July, Brown was startled by the false intelligence that a thousand British troops had crossed the river, from Queenston to Lewiston, with the probable intention of capturing his stores at Schlosser. To recall them, he immediately ordered an attack on Forts George and Mississaga; and within twenty minutes after his command was issued Scott and thirteen hundred of his men were in motion. Just above Niagara Falls they discovered a few mounted British offiSupposing a considerable detachment to be near, Scott sent word to General Brown, and then dashed through a piece of woods to reconnoitre. To his great astonishment he there found a larger force than he had encountered at Chippewa, drawn up in battle array in a road called Lundy's Lane. General Riall was there with a large reinforcement under LieutenantGeneral Sir Gordon Drumond, lately arrived at Niagara. He was in a most perilous position. To stand or retreat was equally dangerous, for a heavy fire of cannon and musketry was opened upon him. He therefore resolved to fight, and keep the enemy in check until Brown should bring up the main body of the Americans. This bold resolution deceived Riall, and he did not venture to attack Scott's flank. The latter thus gained an initial advantage, and the British were kept on the defensive. It was just before sunset when the battle began, and Scott's advancing troops were enveloped in a rainbow created by the sunlight upon the mist that rises eternally from the great cataract. It must have presented a strange sight to the upon the scene. The fight was desperate. Scott's forces consisted of four battalions under Colonel Brady, and Majors Jesup, Leavenworth, and M'Neil, with Towson's artillery and Captain Harris's detachment of regular and volunteer cavalry. The enemy were at least eighteen hundred strong, and advantageously posted, chiefly upon a gentle eminence. But at nine o'clock in the evening the advantage was with the Americans. The skill and celerity of Scott's movements astonished the British. Major Jesup had gallantly turned the British left, and by a sudden movement made General Riall (who was wounded) and several other officers prisoners. He then charged back, cut off a portion of the enemy's left wing, and took his position in line. The centre, alone, of the British line now remained firm, posted upon a ridge (the eastern slope of which is now covered by a burial-ground) supported by a battery of nine cannon. General Brown had arrived with the brigade of General Ripley and Porter's volunteers, and proposed to withdraw the wearied troops of Scott and hold them in reserve. But the brave brigadier would listen to nothing of the kind. He had borne the brunt of the battle, and was determined to fight to a decision. The carnage was great and still continued. The British battery on the hill was doing dreadful execution, and it became evident to all that its capture or silence was essential to the success of the Americans. Colonel James Miller, whose bravery was well known, was appointed to the task. "Can you take that battery?" he was asked. "I'll try!" was his curt reply. Scott was well acquainted with the ground, and he led Miller to a fence that bounded one side of the lane, half covered with bushes. Up the slope in the dark, concealed by these bushes, Miller crept cautiously, and when within for the defense of their respective capitals. Acmusket-shot of the battery he chose nine sharp- companied by his aid-de-camp, the late General shooters, each of whom picked his man at the Worth, he passed on to Baltimore, where, under guns, and shot them. Miller's party then rushed the hands of that skillful surgeon, Dr. Gibson, forward, seized the battery, and turned the tide his wounded shoulder healed. At the middle of of war. The enemy rallied with reinforcements October he assumed the command of the Tenth and attempted to recapture the battery. Again Military District, with his head-quarters at there was a desperate conflict. The scene was Washington City; and there and at Baltimore lighted only by the flash of powder from cannon he passed the early part of the winter of 1814and muskets. Every where on that bloody '15. In anticipation of another year of conflict, field, where personal courage or military skill he had commenced, by direction of the Governwas needed, the majestic form of Scott was ment, the preparation of plans of the campaign seen, moving in the gloom, and made visible of 1815, when intelligence of the negotiation of only by the fitful flashes of the guns. At ten a treaty of peace came, and gave joy to the whole o'clock he had been badly wounded in the side. country. Grateful for his services in the field, At eleven he was on foot, two horses having and impressed with the abundance of his exbeen killed under him. Suddenly he was pros-ecutive abilities, the President of the United trated by a ball that passed through his left shoulder, and he was carried from the field. Brown had been wounded and carried off a few minutes earlier. Both fell when the heat of battle was over. It ended at midnight; and over the dead of both nations that strewed the field the awful voice of the great cataract chanted a thundering requiem. On the fall of Brown and Scott General Ripley took chief command. The Americans fell back-first to Chippewa, and then to the ferry opposite Black Rock. Owing to a want of horses, harness, and drag-ropes the captured artillery could not be removed, and it remained the property of the British. General Scott was taken to Buffalo, and thence to Williamsville, eleven miles distant, where he was placed in the charge of good nurses, under the same roof with the wounded General Riall. He suffered intensely; and for a month his recovery was considered doubtful. He was finally conveyed in a litter, first to Batavia, and then to Geneva; and at last, after a lapse of several weeks, he reached Philadelphia, and placed himself under the care of the eminent Drs. Physic and Chapman. Every where upon his journey he received the homage of the people. He halted at Princeton, in New Jersey, at the time of the Annual Commencement at Nassau Hall. The fact was soon communicated to the Faculty, and they sent a deputation to invite him to participate in the ceremonies. He was carried to the Hall, and was placed upon the stage prepared for the exercises. He was received by the audience with the greatest enthusiasm. The men cheered and the ladies waved their handkerchiefs. It was a most grateful ovation for the young and gallant soldier. The orator of the day made a happy allusion to him and his services; and he was complimented on the spot by the presentation of the honorary degree of Master of Arts. The Governor of Pennsylvania marched out of Philadelphia, at the head of the militia, to receive him; and as that city and Baltimore were then (September, 1814) threatened by the British, he was solicited by the delegates in Congress from Pennsylvania and Maryland to take the nominal command of the troops assembled VOL. XXIII.-No. 136.-G G States invited General Scott into his Cabinet as Secretary of War. He modestly declined, on account of his youth; and he also declined acting as Secretary until the arrival of William H. Crawford from Paris, who had been appointed to that place. This he did out of deference to Generals Brown and Jackson, his superior officers; because at that time the Secretary of War was the acting Commander-in-chief of the Army. General Scott was employed in 1815 in the delicate service of reducing the army from a war to a peace footing. This accomplished, and still feeble from the effects of his wounds, he was sent to Europe on a confidential diplomatic mission, the chief object being to ascertain the temper and views of the several courts in relation to the struggles for independence then going on among the Spanish-American colonies. He was so successful that he received from his Government a special letter of thanks. In Europe he was treated with marked attention. His military fame had gone before him. Among others, he received an autograph letter from the venerable Polish patriot Kosciusko, addressed to a mutual friend. "Be pleased," he said, in conclusion, "to convey my compliments to General Scott, and especially for his victories in Canada. I hope the Americans will follow his examplehis courage, his energy, and his virtues." On his return to the United States General Scott was assigned the command of the sea-board, with his head-quarters at New York; and in March, 1817, he married Miss Maria Mayo, of Richmond, Virginia. He then held the commission of Major-General in the Army of the United States. The promotions of General Scott were rapid beyond precedent. In 1809 he was Captain. When, in 1812, he was nominated to the President for a Lieutenant-Colonelcy, Madison objected on the ground of his youth. But the Executive yielded. When Scott's name was presented for Colonel, after the campaign of 1812, Madison made the same objections, but yielded. When, at the close of the campaign of 1813, his name was presented for the commission of Brigadier-General, again the President made the same objections, but again yielded. When the battles of Chippewa and Niagara had been fought, the friends of Scott again presented a Hudson River steamboat. The thief was his name to the President for promotion. Mad- caught, and in the course of the investigation ison replied, with a smile, "Put him down a the robber of the City Bank, who was also in Major-General; I have done with objections to custody, reproached his comrade in crime for his youth." By this appointment he stood at robbing the General. "When I took the monthe head of his profession, in rank, when a little ey," he said, "from the City Bank, I saw and more than twenty-eight years of age. The Con- well knew the value of that medal, as I examgress of the United States had also conferred its ined it with my lantern; but I scorned to take highest honors upon him, by voting him thanks from the soldier what had been given him by the and a gold medal commemorative of his distin- gratitude of his country!" That man was not guished services. This gold medal was present- wholly a criminal. ed to General Scott at the beginning of 1825. Such, in brief outline, is the record of the early Many years ago he deposited it, for safe keep- military services of the distinguished Commanding, in the vault of the City Bank, New York. er-in-chief of the Armies of the United States, That bank was robbed of bullion and other funds who, in 1861, was intrusted with the conduct to the amount of $250,000. Among the bullion of the military operations in defense of the was this medal, but it was left. All else in the Government, the Constitution, and the Laws, trunk had been taken. Some time afterward against a conspiracy of demagogues to overthrow General Scott was robbed of his purse on board them. |