THE ARMY. WlNFIELD ScOTT ; GENE R AL-IN-C H i E F AN ACCOUNT ORGANIZATION OF THE ARMY OF THE UNITED STATES; WITH BIOGRAPHIES OF DISTINGUISHED OFFICERS OF ALL GRADES. BY FAYETTE ROBINSON, LATE AN OFFICER OP THE ARMY. &frt2*Sfx autjjmtfc ftovtrafts. IN TWO VOLS. -VOL. I. PHILADELPHIA: PUBLISHED BY E. H. BUTLER & CO 1848. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1847, by E. H. BUTLER & Co., in the Clerk s Office of the District Court of the United States in and for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. NOTICE. The PORTRAITS in tliis work are from Paintings, Drawings, and Daguerreotypes obtained by the Publishers, at a considerable expense of time and money. They are essentially a part of the work, and, as such, are pro tected from infringement by the copy-right. This Notice is made, as an impression exists in the minds of some, that all illustrations are common property, and unprotected by the copy-right of the work which they illustrate , and that, consequently, any one has a right to copy at pleasure. E. H. BUTLER & CO. Pkiladelpkia, Nov. 20, 1847. E. B. MEARS, STEREOTYPKR, Hart s Buildings, N. E. corner of Sixth and Chesnut. ^ SMITH AND PETERS, PRINTERS, Vcink .in Building*, Sixth street below Arch, Philadelphia. TO THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES, THESE RECORDS OF THEIR FAITHFUL SERVANTS, THE MEN AND OFFICERS OF THE ARMY, ARE INSCRIBED BY THE AUTHOR. M181335 PREFACE. I HAVE written this book to fill a vacuum in the history of our country to preserve if possible the me mory of the services of many distinguished men, the achievements of whom were apt in the general annals of the United States to be overlooked. Ever having thought that any individual who perfectly performed all the duties of his office was entitled to the highest commendation his country could confer on him, I have sought to do justice to a large class of our citi zens with whom I have passed no small portion of my early manhood, because I believe, though the least pre tending, they are among the most meritorious, and at the same time the most neglected of the community. A prominent feature of this book is a description of the separate arms of the line and corps of the staff, nothing similar to which has as yet been printed. Viil PREFACE. It was my design to write a complete military his tory of the nation, treating the subject chronologically ; but I determined subsequently to adopt the form of an essay, with biographical sketches, believing that I could thus more fully express my own ideas. Besides, though there be now in the line of the regular army no officer who fought either at New Orleans, the battle of the Thames, and many other battle-fields, the sepa ration of the regular and permanent military establish ment from the volunteer service, made a natural division of the whole subject, which was the history of the nation s defence. In another book I have purposed a history of the volunteers of the United States in the Indian disturbances previous to, during, and subsequent to the war of 1812-15, which would connect many who have sealed their devotion to their country with their blood in other contests, with those the details of whose services have scarcely yet grown familiar to the public ear. For this reason therefore it is that I have not touched on the conduct of the volunteers in Florida or in Mexico, and have scarcely adverted to the extra regiments recently authorized by Congress. An ac count of them would have made the book too volumi- PREFACE. IX nous, and made it difficult for me to preserve the distinction between corps and armies which I have sought to maintain. The recent achievements of our army in front of the city of Mexico have caused some interruption in my plan. The first volume had already been stereotyped, and the second nearly concluded, when the accounts of those battles were received. I have therefore been obliged in the sketch of General Worth to treat of things which more properly had been contained in me history of the brilliant career of the general-in- chief. I think the illustrations of this book will attract much attention; they have all been made from undoubted authorities, the majority after daguerreo types by Mr. Clarke (late Anthony Edwards & Co.), of New York, and Mr. Root, of Philadelphia. A few have been taken from pencil sketches by distinguished artists and officers of the army. The collection is believed to be one of the most perfect yet presented to the public. The engravings have been made by Messrs. Croome and Brightly, and certainly will not detract from the high reputation they have acquired. I will add here, that the annals of our own army X PREFACE. show it to be second in efficiency to none in the world, and that I have wished to present it to my country men in that point of view. In the glorious scenes I have sought to describe I have had -iio participation ; and in the whole book have written of others, not of myself. F. R. CONTENTS. BOOK I. ORGANIZATION OF THE ARMY. CHAPTER I. Prejudice against a standing army Peaceful influence of the revolutionary army in the formation of the constitution War with France War with England Florida war Origin of present army, Page 21 CHAPTER II. Strength of the army at the commencement of Florida war Increase Line and staff Series of reports and official com munication Organization of regiments and companies Adjutant-general s department, 27 CHAPTER III. Brevet rank Its origin Effect in the English service Dis pute about it, 34 CHAPTER IV. Inspectors-general Their duty and rank Acting inspectors- general Brigade inspectors Division inspectors Medical staff Its grades Duties Peculiarity of appointment. 39 Xii CONTENTS. CHAPTER V. Pay department Its officers Manner of payment of enlisted men of officers Pay of a major-general Of all other grades of men, &c. 44 CHAPTER VI. Quartermaster s department Duties and organization Me thod of accountability Commissary-general of purchases Commissary-general of subsistence, 53 CHAPTER VII. Corps of engineers Organization and duties Military aca demy Its origin Necessity for such a school Effect on the whole army Course of study at the academy Corps of topographical engineers, ------ 60 CHAPTER VIII. Ordnance department Duties of this corps Mountain howit zer and rocket men Sappers, miners, and poritonniers Volunteer staff, 81 CHAPTER IX. General officers Routine of rank Mode of promotion Bre vet lieutenants, officers with two commissions Manner of appointment, 85 CHAPTER X. Rigid system of control But one offence in the army Differ ence of rules as respects officers and men Government of the army Rules and articles of war, 90 CHAPTER XI. Routine of duty in camp and garrison Guard-mounting Parade and police Company kitchens, rations, &c. Bread Guard duty Sentinels Parole and countersign Conduct of sentinels on post Respect due them. 96 CONTENTS. Xlll BOOK II. THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF OF THE ARMY. CHAPTER I. Louisiana Increase of army War of 1812- 15 Secretary of war Major-generals Conflict of rank Brevet-rank again, 105 CHAPTER II. Extraction of General Scott Early education Study of the law Proposed removal to South Carolina Service as a pri vate dragoon Appointment in the army Ordered to New Orleans Trial Return to Virginia, - - - 110 CHAPTER III. The Battle of Queenstown British policy General Van Rens- selaer General Wool General Kearney, &c. General Brock His death General Wadsworth Indian force Surrender of the American force by Colonel Scott Conflict with the Indians while a prisoner, &c., - 124 CHAPTER IV. Capture of York Death of Pike General Dearborn Colonel Porter Capture of Fort George Anecdotes Incompetent generals Scott s promotion Scott joins Wilkinson Official documents Chrystler s field Errors of the campaign, 141 CHAPTER V. Camp of instruction at Buffalo Opening of the campaign- Battle of Chippewa Force of each army Loss on each side Burlington Heights Battle of Niagara Scott wounded Respective loss of the Americans and British American army retires to Black Rock, 156 CONTENTS. CHAPTER VI. Scott s wounds Princeton Treaty of peace Scott declines the office of secretary of war Visits England Vote of thanks by congress Testimonials from state legislatures Controversy with Jackson Address at West-Point on the death of Jackson Dispute concerning brevet rank, 171 CHAPTER VII. Removal of the Indians Indian relics Saukees and Foxes Early history of these tribes Enmity of the whites towards the Indians Outrages Black Hawk The Saukee war The cholera Scott s humanity Treaties with the In dians, 184 CHAPTER VIII. Scott arrives in New York South Carolina and Nullification Action of the Southern States Scott in Charleston Extract from Leigh Settlement of difficulties, - - - 199 CHAPTER IX. Seminoles Their origin First hostilities Osceola, his con duct Massacre of Dade and his companions Battle of Ouithlagoochie Scott takes the command Difficulties of the service Sickness Scott superseded Court of inquiry Scott s defence Finding of the court, - - 206 CHAPTER X. Disturbances in Canada Sympathizers Burning of the Caro line The Barcelona Maine boundary Scott proceeds to the Maine frontier Official documents Scott succeeds to the chief command of the army, - 223 CHAPTER XI. The Cherokees Origin Gold Georgia and the Cherokees Scott s orders His proclamation Its good effects His promptness and humanity Vaccination Ross, - 239 CONTENTS. XV CHAPTER XII. General Scott spoken of for the presidency Harrisburg con vention Promotion to the command of the army Letter on slavery, to T. P. Atkinson, of Danville, Virginia Enforce ment of discipline, 249 CHAPTER XIII. War with Mexico Correspondence with the secretary of war Scott assigned to command Siege and capture of Vera Cruz Colonel Hitchcock Battle of Cerro Gordo Advance on the city of Mexico Battles before Mexico Armistice, 255 BOOK III GENERAL OFFICERS OF THE ARMY. CHAPTER I. GAINES. Games s parentage His early life Elected lieutenant of rifle men Appointed to command in the army Arrest of Burr Burr s trial Gaines in the practice of law Returns to the army, 285 CHAPTER II. Descent of the St. Lawrence Battle of Chrysler s Field, 296 CHAPTER III. Capture of Fort Erie Retreat of Ripley British attack Fort Erie Defence Gaines a brevet major-general Sortie from Fort Erie The siege raised Compliments to Gaines from congress, and from Virginia, Tennessee, and Alabama Gaines assigned to command in the south, - - 305 XVI CONTENTS. CHAPTER IV. Difficulties with respect to Florida General Jackson takes command of the southern division General Gaines assigned to the command of West Florida Instructions to Gaines Jackson s operations Arbuthnot and Ambrister Capture of Pensacola Termination of the Florida war Sketch of Generals Gibson and Arbuckle, .... 308 CHAPTER V. Gaines commands the western department Black Hawk war Florida war Ouithlagoochie Unsuccessful negotiation Capture of Osceola General Clinch, - - - 317 CHAPTER VI. Mexican war General Gaines s action in calling out volun teers His services Finding of the court General Gaines ordered to New York, 324 ILLUSTRATIONS. 1. General SCOTT (Frontispiece). 2. General BROWN Page 26 3. Major BARBOUR 4. Colonel THAYER 5. Colonel TOTTEN 6. General MACOMB 7. General TOWSON 8. Commodore CONNER VOLUME I. 9. Colonel HITCHCOCK . 266 10. President SANTA ANNA 274 65 11. General SMITH . 279 70 12. General GAINES . 285 75 13. General GIBSON . 313 106 14. General ARBUCKLE . 315 169 15. General CLINCH . 322 262 16. General BROOKE 326 VOLUME II. 17. General TAYLOR (Frontispiece). 27. 18. Colonel CROSS Page 25 28. 19. Captain WALKER 31 29. 20. Lieutenant BLAKE 45 30. 21. Major McCALL . 40 31. 22. Colonel MAY . 48 32. 23. Don MARIANO ARISTA 56 33. 24. Colonel CHILDS . 61 34. 25. General WOOL . 93 35. 26. General TWIGGS .117 36. VOL. I. 2 General KEARNY Colonel FREMONT Major BOONE Major RINGGOLD Colonel BANKHEAD General JONES Colonel PAYNE Colonel CROGHAN General WORTH 129 145 159 177 182 191 197 208 226 Don MARIANO PAREDES 330 BOOK I. ORGANIZATION They had a strong force of men at armes and foote, with many brave knights. FROISSART CHAPTER I* Prejudice against a standing army Peaceful influence of the revolutionary army in the formation of the constitution War with France War with England Florida war Origin of present army. THE founders of our country and authors of the organic laws of the land we live in, bequeathed to the people of the United States a prejudice against a military establishment, deep-seated and universal. The memory of the colonial regime, uneffaced by the many years of subsequent prosperity, the recollection of that " step mother s grasp," have kept this feeling vivid as when triumph first made a halo around the eagle of America. Let no one, however, fancy that on this account " the republic" is disposed to forget its soldiers. For the history of the past shows conclusively, that those who in times of war and danger have stepped forward to defend her, have always received the highest honors in seasons of safety and peace. The profession of arms has always been looked upon as a high and honorable career, illustrated by the stern and more than Roman virtue of Washington, the philosophy of Hamilton and Marshall, the amenity of Monroe, and the chivalric daring of Jackson. When w r e look back at the long array of names that have added dignity both to the cuirass and toga, we shall be satisfied that there is a deep sympathy in the American people with its soldiers, whom it honors as gallant men, because it is brave; as it placed at Washington s feet the insignia of command, because it was virtuous ; and esteemed Marshall one of 22 ORGANIZATION OF THE ARMY. its brightest ornaments, because the great heart of the nation was pure. For a long series of years, when Europe bristled with bayonets, w T hen the first object that arrested the atten tion of the traveller in any other land was the sentinel, it was the proud boast of the United States that they had no army and needed none. Strong in their posi tion and natural advantages, while the world was convulsed with the fall of thrones and dynasties, and when every ship that crossed the ocean brought news of a battle lost and nation overthrown, they prospered in power and wealth. While France sought the unat tainable, the subjection of Europe, star after star was added to the Union, and that princely domain which the French statesmen before the revolution had seen torn from the realm of their king, passed peacefully but for ever beneath the sway of those forlorn states w r hich the un fortunate Louis XVI. had so condescendingly patronized. The world could not understand this paradox. Amazed at this peaceful conquest, statesmen foretold the coming of a day, when, at the breath of danger, the power of the new confederacy would pass away as rapidly as it had risen, and predicted enervation and impotence for that people which throve by what ruined others, and had found beneath the shadow of the palm of peace that aggrandizement they sought amid the alarms of war. They were mistaken. When the French emperor was, like Prometheus, doomed to his chain and rock at Elba, by the behest of that prince who assumed the baton of " grand marshal of Europe," the veterans of the Peninsular campaigns landed on our shores, antici pating an easy victory. They were met by a people warlike as the dragon s brood, and after a long war, retired bearing with them as their only trophies the REVOLUTIONARY ARMY. 23 plunder of the village of Washington, and the recollec tions of Queenstown and Lundy s Lane, of Forts Erie and Stephenson, of Baltimore and New Orleans. Soon after General Washington laid down his com mand and made to his companions in arms that farewell address, which terminated his connection with the participants in his glory, the army of the confede racy was nearly all disbanded. The officers who had won the liberty of their country, and the admiration not only of the nation but of the world, separated, and the Spartan band was diffused through the territory of Thirteen Republics. They were lost amid the prime val shadows of their forests, and opened pathways through the unexplored wilderness of the prairies. When difficulties which might have been foreseen arose, when the old confederacy found its many arms like those of Briareus, except that no trunk supported them, no one mind directed them ; When the present was dark, and the future was spread Like a chaplet of thorns round its slumberless head ; they remembered their Union under the guidance of their honored chief, and imparted to the people a desire for an imitation of that band. It cannot be doubted that to the influence of those bronzed and scarred war riors the institution of the present government is to be attributed. All ties of kindred fade into insignificance compared with that which unites men who have ridden boot to boot, or, shoulder to shoulder, have resisted the charging squadron. The general upon whose head the snows of sixty New England winters had fallen, and the stalwart captain whose cheek was bronzed by the sun of Carolina and Virginia met as brothers; when statesmen convened to discuss that civil pact, educated 24 ORGANIZATION OF THE ARMY. and virtuous men recognised the right of those who had won that liberty to perpetuate which the congress was assembled, to utter first their opinions in relation to what was the " captive of their bow and spear." By virtue of this condescension, honorable to the statesman as the soldier, do we recognise the voices of Colonels Hamil ton, and Marshall, and Monroe, Generals Lee and Sum- ner, in the deliberations of the convention which formed the American constitution. The Father of the first American liberty, was the first chief magistrate of the Union ; and the warring kings and populace of the old world respected the land made holy by his rule, as the petty tyrants and oligarchs of Greece honored the oracle at Delphi. The ambitious French republic, which hoped for all things, but feared and respected nothing else, did homage to the virtues which La Fayette and Rochambeau had worshipped, and at whose command thousands of the brave grenadiers of France had fought. These were too numerous to be heedlessly trampled on ; they had borne to every hamlet in France, the glory of that name which was become a watchword of humanity. French ambition, which had planted the republican eagle over the throne of the suc cessor of St. Peter, shrunk from the idea of arraying it against the flag of the nation over the destinies of which Washington presided. The first consul was wise. A people true to them selves cannot be conquered ; and had Bonaparte arrayed himself against the republic, though then in but the infancy of its strength, the records of his career might have been far more brief than history now presents them. The elder Adams succeeded Washington. The grad ual encroachments of the French government (God for give it for assuming the style and title of republic !) con- REDUCTION OF THE ARMY. 25 verted into enemies a nation of friends. The Oxford army was raised without difficulty or even effort. The old soldiers of the revolutionary war came from their quiet homes, and with them, not unfrequently, a group of boys who had imbibed from those they most loved a patriotic fervor, anxious to raise once more the old war- cry, and sing the old songs of independence. That army never took the field, but with Washington at its head, with Wayne, Lee, and Knox as his subordi nates, it must have triumphed. The war with France was essentially a war of paper, with the exception of the two brilliant naval victories won by that other and honored arm of the nation s defence. They were the connecting link between the victories of Paul Jones and the glory won before Tri poli, and not the least of that series of triumphs which have made the marine of the United States so great a favorite. The Oxford army was disbanded, and the men and officers who composed it were again lost in the bosom of the people. When, as has already been said, the British troops invaded America, they were beaten back by the army raised subsequent to 1808, and the Ameri can flag was borne into Canada farther than the cross of St. George into the United States. When peace was secured, the mass of the army was again disbanded ; and, following the example of the men of the revolu tion, returned to the homes whence they came to per petuate the memory of its services, and to revive, when any emergency arrived, the spirit of their countrymen, and direct their energies to the sphere where they might be needed, for the defence of the soil. Peace came with the year 1815, and the army was partially disbanded. In 1821 a yet greater reduction 26 ORGANIZATION OF THE ARMY. was made, which left the defence of a nation, the terri tory of which reached from the Madawasca to the mouth of the Sabine, along the shores of the Atlantic and the Mexican sea, and along the great lakes to the Pacific, to four regiments of artillery and seven of foot, with a proportionate staff. To command all of this were retained but four officers above the grade of colo nel. It will be seen that this army contained neither horse, light artillery, or riflemen, three corps which in all the previous history of the nation had been more conspicuous than the others only because the nature of the country had afforded them greater opportunities, but which were absolutely necessary to the perfect organization of even the skeleton of an army. Of this force, Major-General Brown was the chief, with Generals Winfield Scott and Edmund Pendleton Gaines as brigadier-generals. It is not too much to say that three braver or worthier soldiers never drew their swords, or merited more the applause and appro bation they have received from their countrymen. A long period of peace ensued, only interrupted by the occasional forays of the Indians on the frontier, until the war with the Seminoles and Mickasukies in Florida occurred. The events of this harassing contest made it obvious that an increase of the army was abso lutely necessary. At this point the history of the pre sent army commences. JACOB BROWN, The First General-in-Chief. CHAPTER II. Strength of the army at the commencement of Florida war Increase Line and staff Series of reports and official com munication Organization of regiments and companies Adjutant-general s department. WHEN the Florida war broke out in 1834, the army of the United States consisted of the staff, one regiment of dragoons, four of artillery, and seven of in fantry, commanded by a major-general and two briga diers. The staff was composed of many branches, each of which to the civilian may need some explanation. Since then the number of regiments of the army of the United States has received but little permanent in crease, but one regiment of dragoons, one of infantry, and one of mounted riflemen having been added to it. The staff, however, has been quadrupled. All officers of both line and staff hold their commis sion from the president, by and with the advice of the senate, which is in every case consulted before the com mission issues, except in the instance of cadets of the military academy w r hom the president is authorized to appoint second-lieutenants by brevet, if there be no vacancies in the grade of second-lieutenant. This brevet, however, it will be seen hereafter is j*ot a commission. The staff and line of the army are distinct, yet united. The former have high functions and important duties which contribute to the well-being of the whole, but have no command. The latter are distinctly offi cers who belong to corps. A more plausible distinction would be to call the officers of the army, officers of 28 ORGANIZATION OF THE ARMY. corps and of regiments ; they are not, however, thus dis tinguished. Officers of the line owe to each other a re gular accountability, the colonel being responsible to the general, the lieutenant-colonel to the colonel, and the ma jor to his colonel. Here the direct system ceases, the cap tain reporting to his colonel through the adjutant, and the subalterns, or two grades of lieutenants receiving their orders directly from the captain of their troop, battery, or company. Each regiment is an integer, the staff officers of which are accountable to their colonel alone, who makes his reports to the general of his brigade, through its peculiar staff. The brigadier in a similar manner reports to the general-in-chief through the adju tant-general of the army. Every regiment is a miniature army. It has all the constituents of the largest body of troops ; its colonel, a commander of the right and left wings, its adjutant, who is to the colonel what the adjutant-general is to the chief of the whole army. Its quartermaster, commis sary, and a surgeon attached to it, form the department of the surgeon-general. It is calculated to act alone, or to be fused into brigades and divisions. In a word, a regiment is a unit of which larger bodies are composed, and battalions, grand divisions, and companies the frac tions. Each regiment should consist of two battalions, each battalion of two grand divisions, and each grand division of two companies. The divisions may be carried yet farther, each company (of infantry) being composed of two platoons, each platoon of two sections. The tactics of the American army contemplate three ranks, but in point of fact there are but two ; so that the company of infantry in the field may be thus described : two men make a file ; four men two files ; eight men a half section, COMPANY OFFICERS. 29 commanded by a corporal ; sixteen a section, the proper chief of which is a sergeaet; thirty-two a platoon, commanded by a subaltern officer, and the company sixty-four, at the head of which is the captain, called in the German, Prussian, and, it is believed, Russian ser vice, Ritt-master. It is true companies sometimes con sist of larger numbers, but sickness, guard duty, pri soners, and the police, rarely permit any captain to command more than sixty-four men. The author, as commander of a troop of dragoons, has borne on his muster-roll but thirty-two rank and file, while his was the strongest of four troops commanded by a lieutenant- colonel. By the term rank and file are meant enlisted men, from the fact that commissioned officers, when the com pany moves to the right or left, march with the captain on the left or right of the front rank, and subalterns on the reverse side of the rear rank. A commissioned officer, except the captain or officer acting as such, can never be placed in the rank or line of the enlisted men. Each company of infantry or foot soldiers and all other arms are assimilated to this consists of one cap tain, one first and one second lieutenant, four sergeants, four corporals, and a number of privates which should never be less than fifty, even in times of profound peace.* The captain is the head of a company. He has charge of its records, of the muster-rolls, made out at the expiration of every other month of the year, begin ning with the 28th or 29th of February ; of the register of the enlistments, and consequent expiration of service of every non-commissioned officer and private of his com pany. He in the American army is the custodian of the * In a company of artillery there are two of each of the grades of subalterns. 30 ORGANIZATION OF THE ARMY. arms and apparel of the troop, and of a large amount of property intended to replace them on the occurrence of many contingencies. He is the chief of his men, bound to counsel and advise them, and, in many instances which unfortunately will occur, practically bound to protect their rights witrThis own sword. An officer who while in command of his company would see his men oppressed by either senior or junior, is altogether unworthy of his commission, and in the American army could not hold his rank one week. To assist him in the discharge of these many and laborious functions, he has subalterns of the two grades. Each of these are chiefs of platoons, technically, though it is believed that the theory of platoon officers is by no means eliminated by practice. Such at least was not the case but a few years since. Each platoon being sub divided into sections, a sergeant should command one of the latter, whose command, again divided, would require a corporal for each subdivision. Many of these, however, are simply theoretical ; and rarely, if ever, are the gradations of command carried lower than that ot captain, to whom every member of the company is di rectly and immediately responsible. It must, however, be remembered that the soldier is as rigidly bound to obey the orders of the non-commis sioned officer as of the major-general. The universal rule admitted in the service is, that the last order must be obeyed. If a general should give a private an order at meridian, any corporal might give a contrary order five minutes afterwards (being responsible for the same), which the private would be bound to obey. Even under these circumstances, disobedience of the corporal s order would be a military offence punishable by sentence of a court-martial. NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICERS. 31 Besides the colonel, there are three other officers, a lieutenant-colonel and two majors, called field-officers. Were all the officers of a regiment present, and all the companies united, the lieutenant-colonel would command the right wing or right half, and the major the left wing or left half of a regiment. Such, however, is rarely the case, the colonel commanding his whole regiment di rectly, and the field-officers junior to the colonel occu pying to him the same position relatively which the subalterns of a company do to the captain. In the army of the United States, the adjutant is a lieutenant, either temporarily or permanently separated from his company, according to the arm or corps, an aid or means of communication between the command ing officer and the regiment. The quartermaster, com missary, surgeons, &c., are officers detached from their several staffs, and assigned to duty with the regiment. They occasionally have rank in the regiments with which they serve, and also a higher rank of a peculiar kind, called brevet rank; of which, more anon. Usually on duty at every garrison is an ordnance ser geant, a veteran and tried soldier, promoted after long service in the line, to a sergeantcy in the staff. This grade is well paid, treated with much consideration, and as a body is worthy of the position it occupies. In addition to the enlisted men of the companies of every regiment are the non-commissioned staff, com posed of the sergeant-major or sub-adjutant, the quar termaster sergeant, and the principal musician. The first two are enlisted men promoted for good conduct from the first sergeants of companies, and though not promoted of right to commissions, have not unfrequently at the instance of their colonels received that compliment. The first sergeant of every company has direct inter- 32 ORGANIZATION OF THE ARMY. course with the men which compose it, and is the medium of communication of all orders between the adjutant and colonel and all the members of his com pany, whether commissioned or enlisted. Such is the line of the army, at present consisting of two regiments of dragoons, one of mounted riflemen, four of artillery, and eight of infantry, permanent, and not to be disbanded ex cept by an act of congress. During the session of the congress of 1846-47, ten additional regiments were authorized, having rank and command, but not promo tion with the veteran regiments. Of these one was equipped as dragoons, one as foot riflemen and volti- geurs, and the other eight as infantry. The staff consists of the adjutant-general s depart ment ; the inspector-general s ; the quartermaster s ; the commissary-general s ; the surgeon-general s ; the engineers ; the topographical engineers ; ordnance ; pay department, and the purchasing department, the func tions of each of which are as distinct as possible, yet defined by the customs of the service far more than by positive law or order. The duties of the adjutant-general are of the most important character. It is the medium of communica tion between the commander-in-chief and general-in- chief, and officers of all grades. No order affecting the discipline of the whole army is valid, unless signed by the adjutant-general, or, in case of his absence from duty, by some officer authorized to act ad interim. To his office are made returns of the numerical force of every detachment of the whole army. Of the presence and absence of officers, of their health, posi tion, and the hundred minute circumstances which are compressed in the sphere of no other department. He is the direct recipient of all reports from commanding ADJUTANT-GENERAL. 33 officers, and his office is the ultimate receptacle of every document of a general nature emanating from the whole army. To him all official despatches, reports of marches, reconnoissances, records of court martials, &c., are sent, so that it is by far more easy to define what is not than what is his duty. The adjutant-general has the direction of the recruit ing service, a duty become onerous indeed, now that the regular term of enlistment is suffered to be varied from by persons willing to serve only through the war. Originally the term of enlistment was for five years, but subsequently was reduced to three. In 1838 the law again restored the old term of five years. At the head of this department is an officer holding the rank of colonel of cavalry, subordinate to whom are several juniors with the rank of major of the same arm. There are also many other members of this branch of the staff, who have the brevet rank of captain, retaining commissions as subalterns of regiments. As this is the first occasion we have had to refer to the question of brevet rank, it may be well to explain what it is and what is its effect. VOL. I. 3 CHAPTER III. Brevet rank Its origin Effect, in the English service Dis pute about it. BREVET RANK is an imitation of a species of military rank which exists in the British army, and there owes its existence to the exertion of the sovereign authority. When the source of all honor, the king, pleases to pro mote any officer, though there be no vacancy or oppor tunity to make one, into which the object of favor can be advanced, the monarch has but to issue \\\sfiat, and the officer is promoted. Consequently there may exist in that service a regiment with ten companies, but with eleven or more officers of any one grade. Any officer thus promoted is said to be breveted, a phrase derived through the French from the Latin word brevis, signi fying short. In the British service the breveted officer has all the privileges of those who have been promoted in the regu lar w r ay, commanding and taking precedence according to his brevet on all occasions. It is, however, held that a brevet officer cannot sell out this royal favor, but if anxious to leave the service, must content himself with disposing of the commission he held in the line of his regi ment, according to its proper organization. The reason of this is obvious. Brevets are rarely conferred in Eng land, and only on occasion of great events and national rejoicings, when the oldest and most faithful officers are thus honored. To reward them the government vio- BREVET RANK. 35 lates the rules it has laid down to define the organi zation of its military forces, but does not permit the temporary evil to be perpetuated, as it would were the brevets transferable. There is no limit to the number of brevets thus conferred, which are in fact commissions. In the army of the United States the case is different. The president here is the mere executive, and not the fountain of honor, which exists only in the wall of the people as declared by positive law. The president cannot issue a commission to any officer, except to fill a vacancy in a regiment or company already organized. For instance, if there were fifty regiments or corps of the line in service, there would be fifty colonels, and though a man should be found with the valor of Ney and the military skill of Turenne, he could not be pro moted without a gross and great assumption of power by the president. Were the government disposed to reward him, it could only do so by the means of a brevet. For this there is in the law of the country no authority except that clause of the rules and articles of war which says, that a brevet shall not hereafter be conferred without the advice and consent of the senate. The first brevet conferred in the army of the United States, was on the present Major-General Taylor, during the war of 1812, for his gallant defence of Fort Harrison. He, then a captain, received the brevet of major, and from this well- earned rank was drawn a precedent which has been pro ductive of more trouble than any other one event which has occurred in the army.* Before the war was over, many brevets had been con- * Brevets were previously conferred in the revolutionary army, but by the exclusive authority of General Washingt( ton. 86 ORGANIZATION OF THE ARMY. ferred, in every instance, it is believed, on gallant and meritorious men. The army was then a young one ; there was but little knowledge of the theory of military rank, and its members were satisfied when they learned that a brevet commission conferred the right to com mand in Europe, that it should do so here. They did not analyze the origin of that power of w r hich they were the representatives ; nor did they appreciate the differ ence between an officer who held his commission by virtue of an exercise of royal will and themselves, who existed in consequence and by authority of law. When, however, matured by service, they had begun to understand their position, captains doubted the right of their juniors in the line to command them by virtue of a brevet. The old colonel, who had served long, naturally hesitated in yielding obedience to his lieutenant- colonel, who had by the chances of war become a briga dier-general by brevet. The dispute was long and angry, and finally the rules and articles of war were revised, without, however, set tling anything except that on boards, courts of inquiry, and courts martial, brevet rank took effect; in which the whole army at once acquiesced. A clause which said something about brevet rank taking effect when troops of two corps met, was not so easily understood, and, as the case might be, was sometimes interpreted in one manner, sometimes in another. An anecdote which tells the story of a dispute which occurred at a post on one of the northern lakes, will illustrate the difficulties which originated in consequence of this abnormal rank. At the post referred to, was a battalion of infantry, composed of four companies, commanded of course by the highest officer in commission, on duty, who chanced BREVET RANK. 37 to be a captain. One of the junior captains, however, happened to have received for gallantry and good con duct on many occasions, during the war, the brevet of major. The captain in command was also an officer of reputation, second in merit to none in the army. His subsequent career has fully sustained the promise of his youth and almost boyhood. It is remarkable, also, that the two officers referred to are essentially the Bay ards of the service, and occupy in the roll of the arm) now, almost the same relative position they then held to each other. A court-martial was ordered to convene at the post. As has been before stated, it had been set tled already, that on duty of this kind, brevet rank took effect. It may be asked what reason is there that it should be observed on one species of duty, if not on all ? The brevet major, however, presided at the court, with his commanding officer below him, as the next member. The question was a novel one, and the major, in the course of familiar conversation, probably at the garrison mess, expressed some doubts as to whether, during the session of the court, he should obey the orders of his command ing officer. In every garrison, as in every other coterie, there is always some ill-natured person, anxious to make mischief; and this familiar chit-chat w r as at once reported to the person whom it most concerned. The command ing officer was a soldier essentially, who \vould not listen to any coquetting about rank or its privileges, and at once despatched an order to his junior, which it was necessary at once for him to obey, or assume an attitude which, if he \vere not sustained in it, placed him in the position of mutiny. It need not be said that he did not hesitate, but obeyed the order. A subseqent reference to the matter, led to personal conflict and long subse quent apparent hostility. This mask is now thrown 38 ORGANIZATION OF THE ARMY. aside ; they are said to be firm friends, and all who know them, must be aware that two such brave and gallant gentlemen must love each other. According to the interpretation of this brevet rank, a captain might march at the head of his company, with his subalterns in their places. If one of these officers chanced to have a brevet of captain older than his su perior s commission, and the command were joined, or in the words of the regulations, " chanced to meet" a detachment of another regiment, the captain would be commanded by a member of his own company. So with a regiment or any other body of troops. It once occurred in Florida, previous to the war, that the gallant Gen. D. L. Clinch, while colonel of the regiment in garrison there, found that his lieutenant-colonel, Brooke, held a brevet of brigadier-general, which, if the iniquitous system were carried out, would, in case one company of militia had been mustered into service, have placed him in command of the territory. Two admirable officers and accomplished men were thus arrayed in an antagonism W 7 hich must have led to difficulty, had not their strong good sense and mutual respect prevented it. A more recent conflict will be remembered by all, which caused the gallant Worth to resign his commission, and thereby lose all participation in the battles of Palo Alto and La Resaca. The president of the United States then decided that brevet rank was invalid against a positive commission, which settled the matter during the present administration and war. It is, however, sure, that with a new president, the old res vexata will be again revived, and, in consequence of the many bre vets made in the course of the Mexican war, will be discussed with as much acrimony as ever. CHAPTER IV. Inspectors-general Their duty and rank Actjng inspectors- general Brigade inspectors Division inspectors Medical staff Its grades Duties Peculiarity of appointment. THE next branch of the staff in dignity, and the only other one whose functions are purely military, is that of the Inspectors- General. This is the smallest of all the departments of the service, being composed of but two officers, each of whom has the rank of colonel of cavalry. It is their duty to make frequent visits to the various military posts and corps d armce, to make inspections of the personnel and materiel of the army, to report on the condition and efficiency of the other staff corps, and to inquire into the discipline and drill of the forces. They may report on anything the character, moral and physical, of officers, nature of defences, health of posts, and the countless minutiae which make up the sum of the service. Their reports being the result of individ- nal examination, are of course only valuable as such, in proportion to the estimate placed on the character and standing of the inspectors-general. These officers are attached to the person of the gen- eral-in-chief, and there is little doubt that, in theory, the senior inspector-general is the chief of the staff of the army, though seniority of date of other colonels, and the high commission of the quartermaster-general, would frequently postpone their precedence to other staff-officers. 40 ORGANIZATION OF THE ARMY. The inspectors-general are, however, rarely in the field permanently, belonging to the whole army, not to any corps d armee, and being required so frequently to attend to duties in such widely different parts of the country. In their absence it is usual to detail or detach temporarily, some field-officer to discharge their duties to a particular army. The officer so detailed is almost always made chief of staff; such at least has been the case with the acting inspectors-general of each of the four armies sent under Generals Scott, Taylor, Wool, and Kearney, to Mexico and California. This system of inspection formerly existed in detail in the whole service, brigade-majors and inspectors, and division inspectors, occupying to their brigades and divi sions a similar position to that of the inspectors-general and officers acting as such to the army, and its great de tachments. From the circumstance, however, that the military forces of the United States have for many years been much separated, and that a whole regiment has rarely been united for any long time, these officers be came useless and for many years have been discontinued. In the interim the duty of inspection has been confided to the inspectors-general of the whole army, and the generals and other officers commanding military depart ments and territorial divisions. Next in dignity is the medical staff, consisting of but three grades: the Surgeon-General, Surgeons, and Assistant Surgeons ; the latter of whom replaced the old surgeon s mates who existed during the revolution ary war and the war of 1812, when this important arm of the public service was modelled in imitation of that of the navy. No one of the departments of the staff of the army has more important or more arduous duties to perform MEDICAL STAFF. 41 than this ; and no one who has ever served, will recol lect the medical staff but with feelings of the utmost kindness. It need not be said that this staff has exclu sive charge of the sick and hospitals, of medical sup plies, &c. It is also called on to watch over the condi tion of the subsistence of the army, to see that the commissariat issue rations of good quality, and that when they pass to the kitchens of the troops, they be properly prepared. It should be consulted in the loca tion of all military posts, and suggestions from it, in re lation to the police of camps and garrisons, should be punctually attended to. The condition of public wells, the opening and closing of streams and water-courses, it should not neglect. The two most rigid disciplinari ans, perhaps, in the army, always kept up a direct and cordial intercourse with the surgeons of their commands; and it is not unlikely to this circumstance much of the great efficiency of them is to be attributed. No one commander has ever suffered himself to be estranged from his surgeon without inflicting a great injury on the public service. The quota of medical officers to a full regiment is a surgeon and two assistants. When a regiment is sub divided and stationed at different posts, there should be at least one to every detachment, and, if possible, two ; for doctors, like other men, are liable to all the maladies which flesh is heir to. Connected with the medical army, are a small num ber of enlisted men who have rank as sergeants, and are called hospital stewards. These are in fact apothe caries, have immediate charge of hospitals and of the execution of the surgeon s orders within the hospital, of which he not only has charge in a medical point of view, but is the military chief, in as absolute a sense a? 42 ORGANIZATION Oi- THE AIIMV. a captain is of the quarters of his company. The many other attendants needed in the hospital are supplied either by detail, as all other of the exigencies of service are, or are men assigned to the duty for their peculiar fitness, at the request of the medical officer or officers. In point of talent and efficiency, both as surgeons and military men, the medical staff of the army is second to none in the world ; and has not only contributed to the comfort of the establishment to which it is attached, but also to the cause of humanity, by its general devo tion to science. The surgeon-general, surgeons, and assistant surgeons of course have no command, but an assimilated rank has been assigned them, as follows : The surgeon-general has precedence, according to date, with colonels of cavalry, the surgeon with majors, assistant surgeons who have served more than five years, with captains, and all others with first lieutenants of cavalry. The pay and rations of these officers are graduated according to their length of service, surgeons after ten years receiving increased allowances, and assistant surgeons after five. This staff is liable to no duty but what is strictly its object, with the exception that its members are fre quently placed on boards of survey, commissions, &c., where medical principles are required to enter into the circumstances of the affair in question. As has been said, all officers hold their commissions from the president, " by and with the advice and consent of the senate." The executive may make a general of the veriest poltroon, but something more is required for a surgeon. Before a young man can receive the com mission of assistant surgeon, he must pass an examina tion by a board of old surgeons, who, actuated by esprit de corps, so rigidly scrutinize his pretensions, that, to MEDICAL STAFF. 43 their honor be it said, it is believed, since the passage of the law requiring this test, not one incapable member has entered the staff . To this regulation a retrospective effect has been given, by requiring all assistant surgeons, before their promotion to be surgeons, to pass yet another examina tion. This latter scrutiny has forced from the service the few incompetent men who previously had, by means of political influence, without being prepared, obtained commissions in the medical staff. This regulation was established during the administration of John Quincy Adams, and has been a lasting benefit, not only to the medical staff, but to the whole army, inasmuch as it has saved thousands of brave men from the knives and nos trums of professional bunglers. It is sometimes regret ted that all the officers of the army are not similarly examined, especially as commissions now are not re stricted by rule or practice to cadets of the military academy. CHAPTER V. Pay department Its officers Manner of payment of enlisted men Of officers Pay of a major-general Of all other grades of men, &c. THE Pay Department of the army may be appropri ately referred to next. It consists of a colonel who is the Paymaster-General, and a number of Paymasters who have no command, but rank and precedence as majors. They are strictly officers of the bureau men of papers yet among them are found some of the best soldiers in the army. The functions and duties of this branch of the staff will probably be best understood by the non- professional from a description of a payment. On the 28th or 29th of February, and on the last day of every alternate month, the men and officers of every regiment and detachment of the army are paraded for muster and inspection. They appear in full uniform, with knapsacks or valises, and all their trappings. The regiment, squadron, or battalion having passed in review, is wheeled into open column, and the colonel or mustering officer, whoever he be, after examining the field and staff, advances to the front of the company at its head. The commander of the company then opens his roll, previously prepared, and beginning with the name of the person next in rank to himself, calls slowly arid distinctly every name it contains. Each officer answers to his name, dropping, as he replies, the point of his sword, and the enlisted men, if of horse, sheathing their sabres, and if of foot bringing their muskets or SUTLERS. 45 rifles to the order. Each company is then similarly gone through, and those men who from sickness or other reason were unable to attend, he visits personally, either at the hospital or elsewhere. His duty requires him to see every man at his post, and the absentees are reported, on detached service, absent without leave, &c. Fair copies of this roll are then made, one of which is retained in the office of the adjutant, the bureau of the regiment, and the other sent to the head-quarters of the army, after having been carefully examined and certified by the commandant of the company and the mustering officer. When the paymaster arrives at the post with his clerks, he computes the pay due every enlisted man according to this roll, on which are recorded the monthly pay and all stoppages by sentence of court martial from broken equipments, extra issues of clothing, &c., and setting down the amount in a separate column, noti fies the commanding officer when he is ready to pay the troops of his camp or garrison. The men are then marched to the spot where the payment is to be made. There they find their captain, and usually the other officers of their company or troop. With them is also an individual known as the Sutler, to whom, as his name has not occurred before, a para graph may appropriately be devoted. The great majority of the military posts of the United States are in lonely places, beyond the pale of civiliza tion, where the thousand luxuries of life would be unat tainable, unless it were made the duty of some one to minister to the comforts of life by providing them. Even when stationed in large cities, the soldier would be unable to obtain what he requires, being paid only at long intervals of time, unless some peculiar arrangement 4G ORGANIZATION OF THE ARMY. in his behalf were made. It is therefore the custom of the service to issue to some suitable person the appointment of sutler. This is a mere privilege, without rank, pay, or emolument, other than that derived from the profits of his business. It is the duty of the sutler to keep on hand all goods required by soldiers, and, on frontier posts, such miscellaneous articles as he may be asked for. The sutler is therefore a tradesman, following the C5 camp, and there is always one attached to every regi ment. Not unfrequently the number is increased, so That there shall be one to every two or more companies or troops. The sutlers are the only persons permitted to sell to the men of the bodies of troops to which they are respectively attached. This is a monopoly, and, without care, would ex pose the sutler to great temptation and the men to much extortion, there being no competition to keep his prices within bounds. To check this, the following course is adopted : When an invoice of goods is received at any post, the commanding officer orders the three officers next in rank to himself to convene as a council of admi nistration, examine the articles and affix to each a rea sonable price. Even with this check, the sutler realizes large profits, and more than one fortune has been fre quently amassed within a very short time. The appoint ment is frequently conferred on disbanded officers of the old army, and (certainly in one instance) on the widows of officers who have died without leaving an adequate provision for them. Sutlers are frequently complained of as exorbitant and unreasonable in their charges ; but it is the opinion of a majority of those who have served, that they are more sinned against than sinning. r To resume the subject of the paymaster s duties. The 47 paymaster having seated himself at the head of the table, the commander of the troop or squadron places himself on his right, while the sutler, with his books, occupies the left hand. The men are then called in, according to their rank, if non-commissioned officers, and alpha betically, if privates. The amount of pay due each is stated by the captain from one roll, compared with the calculations of the paymaster from the other. By the regulations of the army, the sutler is prohibited from crediting any man beyond the half of his monthly pay, or, if he does so, it is at his own risk. The sutler s bill, if within these limits, is paid, and the rest of the money is handed over to the soldier, who forthwith signs a receipt in full to the United States, up to the date of the roll on which he is paid. In this sketch of payment, no mention is made of commissioned officers, who draw their pay on accounts made out by themselves, and certified to on honor. The monthly pay of the army is as follows : A major-general commanding in chief receives as pay two hundred dollars per month. This is manifestly insuffi cient for an officer who has so many and so great expenses ; but it is by no means the sum of this officer s emoluments. The government is bound to supply sustenance to every one in its employment ; and in the military service of Europe, this was long done technically in kind. In other words, a quantum of food was issued to every member of the military establishment. To enlisted men, this is yet done. After a time, however, officers ceased to draw this provision, but received its value en lieu. At length, extra rations were issued, increasing in num ber as the officer rose in rank ; until now, in the Ameri can army, a major-general is entitled to receive fifteen rations, or the subsistence of fifteen men per day. By 48 ORGANIZATION OF THE ARMY. statute, these rations are commuted at twenty cents each ; making an increase, in the substantial pay of the officer, of three dollars per day, or ninety dollars per month of thirty days. A general officer is required of course to be mounted ; and as he should be prepared for every exigency of ser vice, more than one horse is required to enable him to attend to his duty. The law allows him to draw forage for seven, at eight dollars per month, each ; making a farther increase of fifty-six dollars per month. The general, if he please, may draw this forage in kind from the quartermas ter, either for a part or the whole of his cattle ; in which case, he is not entitled to the commutation. This can scarcely be considered an emolument, as no officer can draw forage for horses, unless he certify that he has actu ally had them in service. A major-general is entitled to four servants, for whom he is entitled to draw seven dollars each per month ; one ration, worth six dollars ; and t\vo dollars and fifty cents, the value of a soldier s clothing ; in all fifteen dollars and fifty cents. The pay and emoluments of a major-general are, therefore, per month of thirty days : Pay proper, $200 per month. Subsistence, 90 " Forage, 56 Servants hire, 28 " subsistence, - - - 24 " " clothing, &c., 10 " " Total, .... . - . $408 There are some other emoluments also, among which are fuel, stationery, and when on duty without troops a commutation for quarters, which generally is large and liberal. PAY AND ALLOWANCES. 49 Under certain circumstances the subsistence of the major-general (not that of his servants) is doubled, making his monthly pay and emoluments worth four hundred and sixty-six dollars. This system pervades the whole army, every com missioned officer, with but two exceptions, receiving his pay and emoluments in this form. The object of the adoption of this complex method, is probably the sim plification of the accounts of the various departments of the army, which, from the annual appropriation, receive one sum for subsistence, another for pay, forage, and other wants and necessaries. A brigadier-general receives per month one hun dred and four dollars of pay proper, twelve rations, worth per month seventy-two dollars; forage for five horses, worth forty dollars ; pay, &c., for three servants, worth together forty-six dollars and fifty cents. The sum of the pay and emoluments of this grade, therefore, are per month : Pay proper, $ 104 00 Subsistence, 72 00 Forage, 24 00 Servants, &c., 46 50 Total, $246 50 This officer, like all others, has emoluments, which vary in different regions and latitudes. He very gene rally receives what are called double rations, which increase the sum total by seventy-two dollars per month. The following table gives succinctly the pay of the whole army, by which the reader can easily ascertain VOL. L 4- ORGANIZATION OT" THE ARMY. the remuneration of every individual in the service. It as derived from an official source and is correct : Pay. Rations. Horses. Servants Major-general, $200 15 3 4 Brigadier-general, ... 104 12 3 3 Colonel of cavalry, 90 632 Lieutenant-colonel of cavalry, -15 5 3 2 Major of cavalry, 60 432 Captain of cavalry, - 50 4 2 1 Lieutenant, - 33.335- 421 Colonel of artillery and infantry, 15 632 Lieutenant-colonel of do. - 60 532 Major, 50 , 4 3 2 Captain, 40 4 1 First Lieutenant, 30 4 1 Second Lieutenant, 25 4 1 All staff- officers receive dragoon pay, with the excep tion that they have forage for a smaller number of horses. The surgeon-general receives the fixed salary of two thousand five hundred dollars per annum, as does also the paymaster-general. Surgeons of ten years service and more receive sixty dollars per month, eight rations, forage for one horse, and pay, &c., for two servants. Surgeons of less than ten years service, the same pay and rations, excepting that they receive but four rations. Assistant surgeons of less than five years service receive fifty dollars per month, four rations, forage for one horse, and pay for one servant; assistant surgeons of more than five years, the same pay proper, eight rations, one horse, and pay for one servant. The quartermaster-general has the rank of brigadier, and all the pay and allowances. He also receives double rations permanently. The adjutant-general and commissary-general have the rank, pay, and emolu PAY OF ENLISTED MEN. 51 ments of colonels of cavalry. They also receive double rations, or did so till very recently. Certain officers receive under certain circumstances higher pay. Every major-general has two aides-de-camp, taken from the subalterns of the line, who in addition to their pay in line receive twenty-four dollars per month and forage for two horses, if they do not belong to the cavalry ; in which case there is obviously no necessity for this last addition. Aides-de-camp to a brigadier-gene ral have an additional pay of twenty dollars per month, and also forage for two horses. There is in every regiment an adjutant, who is a sub altern and aide of the colonel, who receives in addition to his lineal pay, ten dollars ; if of an infantry or artillery regiment, he also receives forage for one horse. It fre quently happens that an officer of the commissariat cannot be spared, in which case it is usual to assign the duties of each to a subaltern, who receives, as extra pay for them, twenty dollars per month. There were formerly assistant quartermasters selected from the subalterns, who received extra pay while acting- These officers, however, are now commissioned with the brevet rank of captains of cavalry, the pay of which grade they receive. There are officers of the adjutant-general s and quartermaster s department, and commissariat, who have the rank and pay of majors, lieutenant-colonels, and captains of cavalry. T he following is the several pay of all grades of enlisted men : Per month Sergeant-major of dragoons or other cavalry, - - $17 Quartermaster s sergeant, 17 Chief bugler, 17 First sergeant of company, - - - - - -16 Sergeant, 13 52 ORGANIZATION OF THE ARMY. Per month. Corporal, 10 Farrier, --------- 11 Bugler, 10 Private, --------- 8 Sergeant-major of infantry and artillery, - - - 1 7 Quartermaster s sergeant, 17 Principal musician, -17 First sergeant, - 16 Sergeant, - 13 Corporal, ---- Artificer of artillery, 11 Musician, --------- 8 Private, 7 Hospital stewards of posts of more than four companies receive eighteen dollars per month ; of less than four com panies sixteen dollars. The veteran sergeants, known as ordnance sergeants, separate from companies, receive, in addition to the pay of a sergeant in the line (thirteen dollars), five dollars, the sum of which is eighteen dollars. There are a few other adjuncts of pay worth men tioning. Any officer of or below the rank of captain commanding his company is entitled to draw ten dollars per month extra, for the responsibility of clothing, &c. Every officer of or below the rank of colonel is en titled to charge on his pay-roll an extra ration for every five years service in the army. Thus a colonel who had been twenty-five years in the service would charge for five rations, or one dollar extra per day. General offi cers are specially exempted from making use of this emolument, which, however, applies to all other grades. The laws of the country require that all payments be made in specie; and for many years, if this rule has been varied from, it has been at the request or with the con sent of the officer or soldier. CHAPTER VI. Quartermaster s department Duties and organization Me thod of accountability Commissary-general of purchases Commissary-general of subsistence. THE next department of the staff is that of the Quar termaster-General. Were its employes ever mustered together they would present an array comprising per sons of every age, sex, and condition, second in num ber only to the line itself. It is not too much to say that much, in fact, all the efficiency of any army must depend on the good order of the quartermaster s de partment, and the activity and efficiency of its members. Its duties are multiform and various ; it has to do with every person in the army, and every person must once a day at least have recourse to it. The framers of the present organization of the army seem to have been duly aware of the importance of this corps, when to the chiefs of the other staffs, the rank of colonel was uniformly assigned, while the quartermaster- general was made a brigadier, and but a few years afterwards fortified, as far as could be done in that man ner, by the brevet of major-general. In the department of the quartermaster-general connected with the regular army are, one brigadier, two colonels, two lieutenant- colonels, and four majors, besides twenty-eight captains and many subalterns, who, though permanently attached to the department, retain their rank in the line. The following are a few of the duties of the office of the quartermaster-general and his officers : 54 ORGANIZATION OF THE ARMY. The department derives its name from the fact that it is required to provide and take charge of the quarters for the several corps of the army. It is the duty of the department to provide houses or tents, as the case may be, for officers and men, stables, storehouses, and every thing in the shape of shelter or equipage which it be longs to no other branch of the staff to furnish. Being charged with the provision for troops when stationary, it has followed that when on the march the department has likewise been called upon to extend its surveillance over them, and to provide, when such is deemed advisable, for their transportation in vessels, steamboats, and by railroad. This is generally done by special contract for each spe cial requisition, though now the department owns, or has permanently employed, a large number of transport steamers and sailing-vessels, between the ports of the United States and those towns and cities of Mexico, which have been captured or have surrendered to the Ameri can arms. Once charged with the moving of troops, the depart ment soon saw thrown on it the purchase and charge of the horses and vehicles used in the transportation of supplies, arms, ordnance, &c., for the army. Having begun to purchase, it was forced to go at once into the market and purchase horses for the artillery and dra goons, spades, axes, harness, horse furniture, camp equipage of all kinds, forage, medicine for the veterinary department, to take charge of the erection of quarters, and in fine of everything required by the army, which is comprised neither within the province of the medical and ordnance bureaus or of the commissariat. The quartermasters are depositaries of the funds required for all the incidental expenses of the army, which can only be obtained from them in the following QUARTERMASTER S DEPARTMENT Ot> manner. The officer who needs funds for any purposes,, makes a written statement of the sum he needs, and for what purpose ; which is called a requisition. This is submitted to the chief of the military force to which the quartermaster is attached. If the commander approve,, he orders the sum of money to be supplied. The responsibility then rests on the commander for the propriety, and on the other officer for the correctness of the expenditure of the funds. The same system is adopted in relation to all other issues, viz : of tents > horses, forage, &c. The quartermaster-general is entitled to no command , and the custom of the service is for him not to exercise any, even though he hold a commission higher than any other officer at the post at which he serve. It may be doubted, however, if all officers with commissions wilt not be entitled to command persons of lower grades until congress shall by some enactment provide against such a crisis. This will apply to all the departments of the staff except the medical, the officers of which are commissioned, not as subalterns, captains, and field- officers, but as assistant surgeons and surgeons, with a relative rank, specifically stated to be for certain pur poses only. At Washington city, in the bureau of the quartermas ter-general, are kept the documents relating to all such expenses, and the returns from the whole army are made to this office. Every officer who has charge of public property, makes to it a quarterly statement, exhibiting the condition of the property, how it has been expended^ and from whom received. By an admirable system of receipts and invoices, the whole is made to appear at once, and the amount of the accountability of every officer is easily ascertained. The highest credit is due 56 ORGANIZATION OF THE ARMY. to the accomplished chief of this staff, who has brought the experience of many years of distinguished service to bear on details which might seem unimportant, but contribute in the highest degree to the efficiency, not only of the persons over whom he has immediate control, but of the whole service. The commissary-general of purchases was, to all intents and purposes, an officer of this department, charged with the purchase of clothing for the whole army. Since the decease of the late distinguished incumbent of that office, its functions have been confided to officers of the quartermaster s department. The commissary-general of subsistence is charged with the provision of food for the army, and with all the accounts connected with it. His purchases are generally made by contract, for what he needs to be delivered at the stations where they are consumed, or at general depots, whence they are transported by the quarter master s department. The rations of officers have been stated to be com muted at twenty cents. The ration in kind is : Bread or flour, 18 oz. : pork, 12 oz., or, three times a week, 20 oz. of fresh beef. To every hundred men is issued 6 Ibs. of coffee, 12 Ibs. of sugar, 10 Ibs. of rice, or an equivalent of beans or peas ; 12 Ibs. of candles, and 4 Ibs. of soap. Four quarts of vinegar and two of salt are also issued to every hundred men. As the system of accountability of the departments of the quartermasters and commissary-generals has been referred to, it may not be improper to examine it par ticularly and at length. The quartermaster-general is required to make to the secretary of \var annual estimates of the sums which will be required for his department during the next year, and QUARTERMASTER S DEPARTMENT. 57 also a statement of the transactions of his department during the past twelve months of the year. To enable him to do this, full accounts are required from all the agents of the department ; similar returns are demanded from all officers having in their charge property of the department of any kind. A similar system is pursued in the subsistence department, except when variations are necessarily required by the nature of the supplies it furnishes. So perfect is this system, that a written voucher shows what becomes of every strop and spur-leather issued by the one, and pound of flour by the other. If worn out in service, a board of survey attests it ; if spoiled by age, a similar board testifies to the fact. The compli cation of these accounts is immense ; but no simpler plan, which w r ould at the same time protect the interests of the government and the soldier, has as yet been devised. As before stated, the clothing of the army is now received directly from the quartermaster s department by captains or commanders of companies, and is issued by them to the men. The allowance for the five years service is thus apportioned : FIRST YEAR. 1 Cap complete, 2 Cotton Shirts, 1 Forage Cap and letter, 2 Flannel Shirts, 1 Coat, 2 pairs Drawers, 1 pair Epaulettes, 4 do. Boots, 1 do. Shoulder-straps, 4 do. Stockings, 1 Aiguillette, 1 Leather Stock, 1 Wool Jacket, 1 Great Coat, 2 pairs Wool Overalls, 1 Fatigue Frock, 1 Cotton Jacket, 1 Blanket. 3 pairs Cotton Overalls, 58 ORGANIZATION OF THE ARMY. SECOND YEAR. 1 Wool Jacket, 2 Flannel Shirts, 2 pairs Wool Overalls, 1 pair Drawers, 1 Cotton Jacket, 4 pairs Boots, 3 pairs Cotton Overalls, 4 do. Stockings. 2 Cotton Shirts, THIRD YEAR. 1 Cap complete, 2 Cotton Shirts, 1 Coat, 2 Flannel do., 1 pair Epaulettes, 1 pair Drawers, 1 do. Shoulder-straps, 4 do. Boots, 1 Wool Jacket, 4 do. Stockings, 2 do. Overalls, 1 Stock, 1 Cotton Jacket, 1 Fatigue Frock, 3 pairs Cotton Overalls, 1 Blanket. FOURTH YEAR. 1 Wool Jacket, 2 Flannel Shirts, 2 pairs Wool Overalls, 1 pair Drawers, 1 Cotton Jacket, 4 pairs Boots, 3 pairs Cotton Overalls, 4 do. Stockings. 2 Cotton Shirts, FIFTH YEAR. 1 Coat, 2 Cotton Shirts, 1 pair Epaulettes, 2 Flannel Shirts, 1 do. Shoulder-straps, 1 pair Drawers, 2 pairs Wool Overalls, 4 pairs Stockings, 1 Wool Jacket, 4 do. Boots, 3 pairs Cotton Overalls, 1 Blanket. Artillery and infantry (not dragoons and ordnance) allowed caps complete the third year. Dragoons allowed coats the first and third years ; ordnance the first year, and artillery and infantry, the first, third, and fifth years. Dragoons and ordnance (not artillery and infantry) allowed wool jackets the fifth year. Artillery and infantry (not dragoons and ordnance) allowed cot ton jackets the fourth year. Dragoons only are allowed fatigue frocks. Of course, if a man does not require the whole of this clothing he is not required to take it, and the value QUARTERMASTER S DEPARTMENT. 59 at which the articles- he does not draw are assessed, is credited to him on the pay-rolls of his company. If careless of his clothing, extra articles are issued to him, and he is charged with them. Nearly similar is the accountability of property of all other kinds, though made to the ordnance recruiting service, the chief of which is the adjutant-general, &c. The above are all the semi-military departments ; the rest being more properly designated corps, or bodies of officers without enlisted men. They are the military and topographical engineers and the ordnance ; the latter of whom have, however, charge of a small number of enlisted artificers, who are not in the strictest sense sol diers. To the military engineers will be devoted the next chapter. CHAPTER VII. Corps of engineers Organization and duties Military aca demy its origin Necessity for such a school Effect on the whole army Course of study at the academy Corps of topographical engineers. THE corps of Military Engineers embraces a host of officers of high talent, grown up under the care of the government, and worthy of the admiration bestowed upon them. It was to establish this corps, to provide for the defence of the nation, to foster a body of scien tific men, capable of meeting the trained veterans of Europe, when there seemed imminent danger that our young republic would be called on to oppose them, that General Washington urged the establishment of the academy at West Point. Had this institution done no thing else than provide this invaluable corps of officers for the country s service, it would have returned a full equivalent for all the money expended on it. This corps has charge of the preservation of the works of defence now existing, and of the construction of new ones at such points as may be designated. Its officers have the direction of working-parties employed in the construc tion of parallels of attack and defence in the field, and of the means used to overcome all resistance by field or permanent works of the enemy. The storming parties thrown forward to attack posts or other military posi tions, should either be led or act by the advice of officers of engineers. It has charge also of the erection of tern- MILITARY ACADEMY. 61 porary bridges in the field, of permanent ones when required, of the placing of abattis, of the thousand impediments thrown in the way of the enemy. How well this corps performs its duty, how valuable its services are, will be remembered by all who have read the despatches which record the defence of Fort Brown, the storming of Monterey, and the siege of Vera Cruz. In fact, it is not too much to say, that but for its valuable aid, the powerful fortress would not as now have been beneath the folds of our flag. At Cerro Gordo it rendered great service, and the persons of its members often have borne manifest tokens of the way in which they exposed themselves. Under the new organization, this corps was commanded by the French general Ber nard, the high talents of whom afterwards made him the minister of war of the king of the French, and was also illustrated by the science of others of not less skill. It has now not deteriorated, but continues in every grade to maintain its reputation. The corps numbers about forty-five officers, viz : a colonel, two lieutenant-colonels, four majors, and about forty captains, first, second, and brevet second lieutenants. Attached to the corps of engineers, may appropri ately be considered the Military Academy, from the fact that this important institution is placed under the charge of the chief of the corps of military engineers, who, ex officio, is its inspector. All who have served in the army, whether pupils of this institution or appointed from civil life, have learned to look upon the academy as one of the prides of the service to which it has added so much eclat. The military school owes its origin to him who has conferred so many boons on the nation, but who, amid all his prodigality, bequeathed it nothing more valuable in its sphere. General Washington, dur- 62 ORGANIZATION OF THE ARMY. ing the long perils of the revolutionary war, had wit nessed the utter dependence of the country on the foreign officers who were in its service. He was aware O that, with the exception of the French, German, and a few English and Irish officers who bore the commission of the continental congress, scarcely one member of the military establishment could throw up a breastwork with angles properly calculated, or erect a stockade. The nation was dependent on strangers not only for its officers of engineers and artillery, but in a great de gree for the chiefs of its infantry. And the demands of these officers, the vast sums of arrearages paid them, it is not too much to say, have made them cost far more to the nation than the countless able and scientific men, natives of our own soil, since educated by the academy. Striking and brilliant, too, as was the exhibition of young and chivalric men, leaving home and the luxury of courts for a warfare in the wilderness, it was not on that account that they were employed. No people ever received volunteers or employed auxiliaries, except be cause it needed physical strength to accomplish what it had courage to dare. This was not the case in America. A spirited people sprung at once to arms. More armed men hurried to the flag of the disjointed confederacy than it had means to keep in the field without pay. The soldiers of the nation, however, were young. They had previously marched only against the Indians on forays on w r hich it was fancied tactics were unavailable, and so rapid had been their growth that the mass of the popu lation drawn along the Atlantic shore, for half a century had not heard the gun of an enemy. They did not, by any means, need the physical aid of the volunteers, but required their instruction, and therefore were they em ployed. The services of Lafayette, who had no mili- MILITARY ACADEMY. 63 tary experience, were received on different grounds, but lor this was it that Steuben, Kosciusko, De Kalb, and hosts of others were honored with high rank. Thanks to the courage and valor of the people, and in a great degree to the officers we have referred to, the nation triumphed in the first great contest the world had witnessed for the abstract idea of liberty ; and he, on the mind of whom the teaching of no experience was lost, conceived the idea of the establishment of this institu tion, to which not the least of the triumphs of the Mexi can war must be attributed. The military academy is not only a collegiate insti tution, but a corps of troops, amply able to perform all the duty required from it as custodian of an old post honored for its revolutionary associations, and a vast amount of public property. It is also a model school of tactics and drill. Even w r ere no sciences taught there, it would be necessary, as a normal school of military exercises ; for all who look at the militia and volunteers of the country must be aw r are how impossible it is to establish uniformity of drill and manoeuvre from the study of a book. It would be as easy, from the study of the elaborate descriptions of Richardson, to conceive how Sir Charles Grandison looked when he was annoyed, as to imagine from the text of Baron Steuben, the king s order, and the army tactics, how a soldier should order arms. The variations from the standard of the army, will in an instant enable any one to distinguish the mili tiaman or volunteer from the man of the regular service, and by similar but minor variations, the dragoon from the foot or artillery soldier. The uninitiated tell us that drill is a small matter, that any intelligent man can comprehend it; such may be the case, but very many do not. It is no trifle. The 64 ORGANIZATION OF THE ARMY. variation of five feet, ay, or of three in the distance of a company, when the Mexican lancers charged at Palo Alto on the fifth foot would have led to the ruin of that veteran regiment ; and at Waterloo, and a hundred of the battles and skirmishes of the Peninsula, similar re sults would have been produced by such an error. Important, however, as tactics are, they are insignifi cant compared with other of the arts of war. The science of strategy is essentially, as an admirable writer of our own country has recently said, the science of progress. The mechanic arts, the sciences, the occult principles unfolded by chemistry, and the hidden pro perties of numbers and space, have all been made to minister to it. With as much propriety might it have been said after the great discovery of Bacon, which changed the ruffianly leader of steel-clad men-at-arms into an accomplished soldier, that the military man should neglect the science which led to the new disco very, as that, in this the nineteenth century, the military world should subside into neglect of the newly disco vered physical forces, which have revolutionized other arts, and may work wonders in the science of war. Steam, magnetism, the galvanic battery, and com pressed air, may be made hereafter munitions of war, and new machines may be invented compared with which the dread artillery will be as insignificant as the feeble weapon which overthrew the Philistine. These circumstances make the cultivation of science from a military point of view peculiarly the duty of the nation, and a sufficient reason for the maintenance of the mili tary academy. The course of study at this institution is of the most comprehensive character, embracing not only the myste ries of number and the empirical sciences, but moral PHILLIP N. BARBOUR, Late of Third Infantry. Major by Brevet. COURSE OP STUDY* 65 and ethical theory, and those modern languages most necessary to the military man. In this point of view only is it deficient in the extent of its course, which comprises but little of the humanities. There is no mas ter of Latin and Greek, nor is the subject of general literature attended to as it should be. If the student reads the history of Polybius it is not in the original, nor does he often study Jo mini except through the medium of a bald translation. More than one of the acute minds who direct the management of the military academy have suggested the addition of the dead, and a more thorough study of modern tongues, but so far without success. There are difficulties in the way, for within the present course so much is crowded that additional studies would trench on the hours appropriated to mili tary duty, and that otii modicum peculiarly necessary to the student of mathematical lore. The present course comprises four years, during which the student passes through the hands of professors of the following subjects: Military and civil engineering, natural philosophy, mathematics, chemistry, geology and mineralogy, geogra phy, history and moral philosophy, French language, drawing, practical engineering, the school of tactics and strategy, equitation, the use of the sword and sabre, &c. He is also made familiar with the manipulation as well as theory, not only of the minor manufac tures and contrivances of all arms of his profession which he may not on an emergency find ready made in his storeroom or magazine, but of the theory of the con struction of bridges, roads, &c. These subjects are taught to all ; so that it is believed the officer of dragoons, foot artillery, or engineers, graduated at the academy, may generally, whenever the public service requires, be VOL. T. 5 66 ORGANIZATION OF THE ARMY. transferred to any other corps than his own and credita bly perform the duties required of him. What has been the character of the military academy and the influence it has exerted abroad, may be gathered from the following tribute to it by an English journal by no means disposed to praise America or American insti tutions, unless the conspicuousness of merit extorts the tribute of admiration : " Austria, Prussia, France, educate their officers, and promote them according to their capabilities. England barters the command of her regiments to any man, capa ble or incapable, who has served the requisite time and can command the requisite amount of money and inter est. Even the great republic of America jealous and niggardly though she be of a standing army yet has wisely resolved that the few troops she has shall be well and sldlfully officered ; that nothing shall be lost through exalted stupidity or authoritative ignorance. England forgetting that her most illustrious general was taught in France still risks the fortunes and lives of her soldiers on blind bravery and stolid impetuosity ; whilst the officers who were trained at West Point, raise the stars and stripes of the Union on the towers of San Juan d Ulloa, and advance the glories of the Anglo-Saxon race through a territory comprising thirty degrees of latitude." This tribute is from the London Times, which, before the battles of Palo Alto and La Resaca, predicted defeat to our arms, which sneered at the possibility of the capture of Vera Cruz by General Scott, but which now claims the skill of our officers and their success as a consequence of the indomitable valor of the " Anglo- Saxon race." It has long been the fashion to decry this institution, in many places where it might have been expected the BRAVERY OF THE STUDENTS. 67 intimations of common sense would been heard. Men who seemed to think that a battle was but a dog-fight, where human beings rushed together and shot and hacked each other to pieces, have decried the military academy, and hooted at the idea of "its wasp-waisted lieutenants^^ being fit for war. That cry is forever hushed. The battles of Okee Chobee, Pilaklaklaha, the defence of Fort Fanning, and the unhappy massacre of Dade s command, where every officer was a graduate, and every officer died with a wound in his breast, the battles in Mexico, where Ringgold, Inge, Page, Ridgely fought, and more than one of them died, have silenced it. Wherever the flag of the country has been borne, the cadets have signalized themselves. On the slopes of the Pacific, the pure and gallant Johnston died, knightly and in harness, at the head of his squadron. On the llano of Taos is buried the brave and accom plished Burgwin, one of the most elegant men of the nation, who is mourned by all who knew him ; and amid the burning sands of the tierra caliente, fell Vinton, the beau-ideal of the Christian soldier. Were there no other instances of sacrifice on the altar of country, by the good and pure, these names and that of the gallant Bar- bour would rescue the profession they adopted and the institution which educated them, from the aspersions of the bigot and the misrepresentations of the intriguer. The author writes warmly of the benefits and services of the military academy. He has reason to do so, having reaped its benefits. He is not, however, one of its eleves, though it has been his privilege, as an officer of the army, to be connected with many who were. As common steel, by attrition, receives the properties of the magnet, the leaven of the military academy has been imparted to the whole mass of the army. 68 ORGANIZATION OF THE ARMY. In building up the reputation of this academy, no one has been more conspicuous than Colonel SYLVANUS THAYER. This officer entered the service as a second lieutenant of engineers, on the 23d of February, 1808, from the military academy, of which he was one of the first graduates. Colonel Totten, Colonel Bomford, and himself are, it is believed, the oldest graduates of the school, now in the army ; two of them, the first and last, having graduated in 1808, and the second in 1805. In 1815, Lieutenant Thayer had become a major, and been assigned to the harbor of Norfolk, Virginia, then menaced with attack, and commanded by the distin guished General Taylor, of the militia of Virginia, the only general officer not commissioned by the United States, who was during the war intrusted with a separate command. Important as was his charge, the result showed that it could not have been confided to a more suitable person. The war in this part of the Union has been generally neglected, though but few events occurred which merited higher commendation ; and, when the British fleet was repulsed, it was attributed almost entirely to the supe riority of the defences, which enabled the detachment of sailors and volunteers to resist w r ith success troops carefully selected for this expedition. The enemy were on this account so much exaspe rated, that they burned Hampton, committed outrages of all kinds, unworthy the rudest of their own and the common ancestors of the people with whom they were at war. For meritorious services, then and afterwards, the brevet of major was conferred on Captain Thayer, with rank from the 20th of February, 1813. In 1817, after the July examination, Major Thayer COLONEL THAYER. 69 became the superintendent of the military academy, and this post he occupied until 1833, when he was succeeded by Colonel De Russy. During that time, at least half of the cadets who now are in the army, graduated ; and it is but necessary to hear them speak of him, to know how good a man and how well qualified he was. Kind in his manners, parental in his conduct, he seemed to be perfectly aware how far the benevolence of the in structor and the strict discipline of the commandant were capable of fusion. Previously cadets had been but quasi soldiers, and scarcely students. Facilities for study were, it is true, afforded, but there was no com pulsion. One cadet might pass through every term, and yet be scarcely qualified for the higher corps, while another could, if he pleased, make great progress in the higher strategetic arts. It was his task to establish a sys tem, which, while it did not restrict the ambitious, would force even the dilatory to make an effort sufficient at least to make them competent officers. A ripe scholar himself, he introduced into the acade my the analytic mathematics pursued with so much success in the French schools of a similar character, and caused them to be considered an indispensable part of education. Previously military engineering in America had been but an art ; it is attributed to him and the aca demy that it has been extended at least pari passu, if not farther than in Europe, and is become a science. So undeniably great were the advantages of this aca demy, that rectors and regents of other institutions began to look to it for professors. The academy then began to fulfil one of its great objects, to increase not only the military, but the scientific knowledge of the people, who established and supported it. One of the officers who grew up under the eye of 70 ORGANIZATION OF THE ARMY. Colonel Thayer, in a recent public address (since printed), thus speaks of the importance of the services of this distinguished officer, and of the good that has resulted from it : " They (cadets and pupils of the military academy) have been regularly introduced into the principal univer sities and academies. The entire system of teaching, and the entire knowledge of the country has been raised up ; and this is chiefly the direct result of the instruc tions here. Who shall estimate the importance of such an intellectual revolution } Who shall say how wide round the earth, how far down the depths of future time shall penetrate and radiate the lights thus kindled here ? Who shall count dollars against such inestima ble values ? Who will give back to the empire of dark ness this knowledge, this growth, this expansion of American mind, for - all the wealth of Ormus, or of Ind V " As he says, they have Americanized science, and car ried everywhere throughout the length and breadth of the nation, European art adapted to our wants, and with it the memory of him by the almost prescience of whom it was introduced into the only national academy. To show how well Colonel Thayer discharged his duty, it is sufficient to refer to those of his pupils, who have con tributed to the instruction of their country in a positive manner. * DENNIS H. MAHAN, of the Class of 1824, has pub lished important Treatises on Military and Civil Engi neering. EDWARD H. COURTNEY, of the Class of 1821, has published a complete work on Mechanics, and Mechan ical Philosophy. * Mansfield s Address. SVLVANUS TH&YER, Lieutenant-Colonel of the Corps of Engineers, Colonel by Brevel. COLONEL THAYER. 71 W. H. BARTLETT, of the Class of 1826. A com plete Treatise on Optics. ALBERT E. CHURCH, of the Class of 1828. A com plete Treatise on the Differential and Integral Calculus. ROSWELL PARK, of the Class of 1831, has published a Text Book on Universal Knowledge. EDWARD D. MANSFIELD, of the Class of 1819, has published a Work on Constitutional Law. FRANCIS H. SMITH, of the Class of 1833, has pub lished an Arithmetic, and a Work on Analytical Geom etry. PROFESSOR MATHER has written valuable Reports on Geology, Mineralogy, &c., &c. PROFESSOR BAILY is also a writer of reputation, on the subject of Natural Science, &c. The above is but a small number of many of his pupils who have distinguished themselves. In the church, at the bar, as statesmen, as merchants and manufacturers, his pupils will be found ; and in his own words, never had man so much occasion to be proud of his eleves. The first class regularly graduated at the academy under his charge, contained the name of Samuel Ring- gold ; and he may be considered the first offering of the institution under its present organization, to the coun try. A member of the class which entered in 1831, was the lamented Captain Johnston, who fell by Kearney s side on the llanos of California : he may be called the last contribution of the veteran superintendent a super intendent who could produce such soldiers needs no other eulogy than the statement of the fact and of their services. Clay, McKee, Ridgley, McKavett, and others of the dead, he contributed to form for the service of the coun- 72 ORGANIZATION OF THE ARMY. try ; of the living, a large portion of the officers in fact as well as commission, who lifted their country s flag before Mexico, and planted it on the battlements of Monterey. During the administration of General Jackson, Colo nel Thayer relinquished command of the military acade my. He is now in Boston, where he has been for some time, on duty. Colonel Thayer became a lieutenant-colonel by bre vet on the 3d of March, 1823, and ten years after, a colonel by brevet. On the 7th of July, 1838, when General Gratiot left the army, he became lieutenant- colonel by seniority of the engineer corps. Previous to his leaving the military academy, the corps of cadets requested Colonel Thayer to sit for his portrait, which w r as taken by the distinguished Mr. Weir, long connected with the institution as professor of draw ing. The portrait is now at the academy, and is one of those relics which first attract the eye of the stranger. So popular has Colonel Thayer become with a large number of gentlemen collected from every part of our country, that there are very few persons within its limits who will not look with interest at his countenance, which, at the same time that it is marked with great soldierly resolution, bears the closest and most distinct traces of the qualities which made him essentially the man for his position. At the same time that so much good is to be attribu ted to Colonel Thayer, he derived valuable assistance from an almost unequalled corps of professors. This, however, ultimately redounds to his credit, because, vir tually charged with the selection of his subordinates, he had the tact to select them well. Professor Davies books became text books in almost every college in the COLONEL TOTTEN. 73 nation. Mahan s works on the science of engineering, and Weir s admirable works on several of the mysteries of his art, are palpable tokens that their reputations are not merely a name, but the acquisition of high talent conjoined to ceaseless perseverance. A portion of the system of the academy which proba bly has not a little contributed to its high stand and suc cess, is the custom of selecting the professors and instructors from the old cadets. This has superinduced fellow-feeling and sympathy between the two great ele ments of the school, and destroyed the gene and uncom fortable feeling which too often divide them. This is necessary, for the cadet of to-day is an officer to-morrow. The instructor may often return to the line of the army, and the previous chances of war may make him the infe rior in rank of his old pupil. The very object of the academy, however, renders this necessary. Cadets are formed into officers ; and though there are many grades in the military service, socially all its members are equal. All these peculiarities of the academy are to be attributed to the era of Colonel Thayer s appointment to the posf of superintendent, which may be considered the second founding of the institution. The chief engineer of the army is Colonel JOSEPH G. TOTTEN, an old officer, who dates from February 23, 1808. Previous to this time, however, Colonel Totten had been graduated at the military academy, and ap pointed to the army on the 1st of July, 1805. He, how ever, soon resigned. In 1810 he became a first lieuten ant, and, in 1812, a captain. For meritorious services, on the 6th of June, 1812, he received the brevet of major. On the occasion of the capture of General Scott, while a colonel, Captain Totten had been his companion, and shared the peril of the famous attempt to communicate 74 ORGANIZATION OF THE ARMY. with the British commander at a season when even a white flagwas no protection. Captain Totten, on this occasion, had been Scott s adviser ; and by his advice, the Ameri can troops were posted in the strong position which enabled them so long to defy the superior British force. His services, on this occasion, richly entitled him to the brevet he received. Colonel Totten shared <he captivity of Colonel Scott, and was exchanged with him. Major Totten was also at Plattsburg, as chief engineer of Gene ral Macomb s army, where he was indefatigable in throw ing up defences, &c., and rendered such services that he was thanked in general orders, mentioned with the high est commendation in the official report, and received the brevet of lieutenant-colonel. After the peace, Colonel Totten remained in service, and, by the resignation of General Swift, became major of the corps in 1818. In 1824, the brevet of colonel was conferred on him. In 18.28, he was promoted to the lieutenant-colonelcy of the corps, and, when General Gratiot left the service, in 1838, was appointed to his present rank of chief engi neer. At the siege of Vera Cruz, Colonel Totten acted as chief engineer, and was complimented in orders and sent home with despatches. Those who, from long study, are capable of forming an adequate opinion of such things, consider the works thrown up by Colonel Totten, in front of that powerful city and the castle of San Juan, as above all criticism and commendation. Art was carried to its utmost limit ; and it was proved that, during the long season of peace which had existed in the United States, its officers had not been idle, but had made the experience of the armies of Europe their own. The city was encompassed like Laocoon in the serpentine folds of the engineer; and the leader of armies, from the eminences prepared for CHARLES G. TOTTEN, Colonel of Engineers. COLONEL ABERT. 75 him, was able to place his hand on his conquest. Colo nel Totten is a native of Connecticut ; and, though more than sixty years of age, pursues his scientific studies with unremitting diligence. The regulations of the army assign to the corps the charge of all surveys for the defence of the Atlantic and western frontier ; reconnoissances of routes and of the enemy s positions; the surveys for military roads; and, in the absence of military engineer officers, all the duties of the latter. They are also charged with the direction of civil works, authorized by congress, and not specially as signed to another department. They are required pointedly to be treated with all military respect, though strictly debarred from command. Their situation in the army is altogether similar to that of the surgeons, having but assimilated rank, except in their corps. The corps of military engineers have duties more extended than these. They have charge of the selec tion of sites, formation of plans, estimates, c., for defences of all kinds, and may be assigned to the charge of marine works, such as light-houses, break waters, &c., by orders of the president. Engineer offi cers may be assigned to command by the president, but are otherwise debarred from exercising it. The regula tions do not seem to contemplate that the topographical corps shall ever exercise command. These appear to be the chief differences between their relative positions in the army. The chief of the corps of topographical engineers is Colonel JOHN J. ABERT, an old officer, having been ap pointed a brevet major of this corps on its organization, on the 22d of November, 1814. For many years this corps had a most anomalous organization, containing several 76 ORGANIZATION OF THE ARMY. majors and captains, who, however, were not commis sioned, but held their appointments by brevet ; on the 28th of July, 1838, however, it was placed on an equal footing with the other staff corps, and Major Abert was placed at its head as colonel. There are few more competent men in the army than this officer, who, though his duties are not of a kind to attract attention, has made himself to be felt and appreciated throughout the army. It is difficult to distinguish the Engineers from the Topographical Engineers. The former are the construc tors of permanent works, while to the latter are confided surveys, reconnoissances, military examinations, &c., of all kinds. So closely are the two connected, that the difference can scarcely be explained to a clerical reader. It is a corps of high rank and of great talent, and the bureau is the recipient of a host of surveys, which pro bably embrace more real valuable knowledge in relation to our national resources than is to be found anywhere else. The number of officers is about equal to that of the military engineers. It has previously been stated, that the various departments of the staff are closely linked together, so that it is nearly impossible to separate them. The quartermaster s department and the two engineer corps are especially united, so that it is almost impossible for one to act without the other. The following table contains a list of the military posts of the eastern division of the army, and of the states in which they are situated : Fort Niagara, ^ Slacks, On the Niagara and Lakes, N.Y. Plattsburg Barracks, J Fort Adams, Providence, R. I. TOPOGRAPHICAL ENGINEERS. 77 Fort Wolcott, Fort Trumbull, West Point, Fort Columbus, Fort Hamilton, Fort Lafayettte, Fort Mifflin, Carlisle Barracks, Fort Sullivan, Fort Preble, Fort Constitution, Fort Independence, Fort McHenry, Fort Washington, Fort Monroe, Fort Johnson, Fort Caswell, Fort Macon, Fort Moultrie, Castle Pinckney, Augusta Arsenal, Oglethorpe Barracks, Fort Marion, Fort Wilkins, Fort Brady, Fort Mackinac, Fort Gratiot, Detroit Barracks, Conn. N. Y. New York Harbor, N. Y. Below Philadelphia, Pa. Carlisle, Pa. Maine, do. Portsmouth, N. H. Boston, Mass. Baltimore, Md. Annapolis, " Mouth of James River, Va. Coast of North Carolina. N. C. Charleston Harbor, S. C. Augusta, Ga. Savannah, " St. Augustine, Florida. On the Lakes and Detroit River. The most of these have been constructed by contract, and few or no quartermasters have been employed in superintending the labors of erection, which have been confided to officers of engineers. In the west, however, the case is different. The following posts now occupied by troops have been constructed by the united labors of the quartermaster s department and engineers : Key West, . Fort Brooke, . Fort Pickens, Fort McRee, . Fort Morgan, Fort Pike, . Fort Wood, Fort Jackson, . do. New Orleans Barracks, do Florida East. do. Florida West. do. Mobile, Ala. . La. } do> Near New Orleans. 78 ORGANIZATION OF THE ARMY. Baton Rouge Barracks, La. Fort Towson, . Indian Ter., on Red river. Fort Washita, . . do. on the False Washita. Fort Smith, . . do. on the Arkansas river Fort Gibson, . . do. on the Grand river. Fort Scott, . . do. Fort Leavenworth, . do. on the Missouri. Jefferson Barracks, Mo., near St. Louis. Fort Atkinson, i Fort Crawford, V on the upper Miss, and its tributaries. Fort Snelling, \ Besides these are several tiers of old posts which have been gradually abandoned as civilization advanced, but all monuments of the efficiency of these two corps, and generally erected by the labor of soldiers. Of this kind were Fort Coffee and Fort Wayne, west of Arkansas, Fort Osage in Missouri, the old post of Council Bluffs, Fort Des Moines, at the mouth of the Des Moines river, and many others. In many in stances it has been necessary for the topographical engineer to precede the former corps, to open his communications between post and post, and prepare a road over which supplies of all kinds might be carried. Though the arsenals are only ordnance posts, they are under the same regulations, substantially, as other military stations of the United States ; they are under the peculiar control of officers of that department, and members of other corps are rarely stationed at them. The following are the arsenals and ordnance depots of the United States : Kennebeck, Augusta, Me. Watertown, Massachusetts. Champlain, Vergennes, Vt. Watervliet, New York. Rome, do. Allegheny, Pittsburg, Pa. Frankfort, Pennsylvania. Pikeville, ...... Maryland. Washington, D. of Columbia. EUROPEAN AND AMERICAN SYSTEMS. 79 Bellona, Chesterfield Co., Va. St. Louis, .."... Missouri. Baton Rouge, ..... Louisiana. Mount Vernon, .... Alabama. Detroit, Michigan. North Carolina, .... Fayetteville, N. C. Apalachicola, Florida. Little Rock, ..... Arkansas. The communication with many of these always calls for the services of the quartermaster, and gene rally for those of the topographical engineer. The defences of the western frontier call for the attention of the two corps of engineers constantly, and the most superficial examination of the vast line of frontier along which they are thrown, w T ill satisfy the most superficial that there should be no idlers in the staff of the army. It will be observed that this system of staff corps is peculiar to the army of the United States. In the British army there is no quartermaster s corps, but an officer of each regiment, usually a lieutenant or ensign, who performs the duties of barrack and forage master, and of transport agent. The quartermaster-general seems, from many of the orders of the Duke of Wel lington, merely to be charged with the function of placing the troops in position in garrison and action. In the French service the mariscal-de-camp seems to perform similar duties ; and there is also in the Prussian army a functionary who has a similar charge, and a most unpronounceable name. To the department of commissary-general of sub sistence the European armies have nothing similar, they being fed by contract from day to day, or supported by a commutation paid them in money. In an enemy s country the right of free quarters is universally recog nised, and it is believed that never until the present 80 ORGANIZATION OF THE ARMY. war with Mexico has any nation transported its com missariat supplies into a country capable of supporting it. The two engineer corps have also in this country a more extended establishment than in other armies. They are here a corps with permanent promotion, and their officers may rise to the highest rank in the army. The very fact that to one of these corps is assigned the direction of the military academy, will always give it great dignity in our service. The ordnance corps is also of more dignity in the United States than in Europe, in the services of almost all the nations of which its duties are performed by officers of artillery. CHAPTER VIII. Ordnance department Duties of this corps Mountain howit zer and rocket men Sappers, miners, and pontonniers Volunteer staff. THE last of the staff corps is the Ordnance ; it con tains about the same number of officers as the corps of engineers, and has as its chief a colonel. It has charge of the two great arsenals of the nation, at Harper s Ferry, in Virginia, and at Springfield, in Connecticut, and of the various arsenals and depots at which arms are stowed throughout the United States. The duties of this corps are numerous and arduous, and require talent of a high order and a peculiar mili tary education, which should comprise a thorough acquaintance with the practical details of the different arms of the line and of the staff. It has not been the custom of the United States to have its cannon of any calibre manufactured at arsenals (though they could doubtless be obtained thus at less cost), but by contracts from private foundries. The durability of the gun and the safety of the men to whom it is to be intrusted, require that particular atten tion should be paid to the fusion of the metal and the ingredients of the peculiar alloy of which ordnance is cast. To be sure that these matters are properly at tended to, it has always been made a stipulation in con tracts, that artillery should be prepared under the in spection of an officer of this corps. It will be readily perceived that this is a high and important duty. VOL. I. 6 82 ORGANIZATION OF THE ARMY. In a similar manner, powder and the ingredients of which it is made, have been purchased by officers of ordnance ; and the tests to which this combustible is submitted, and its preservation after being purchased, comprise another important branch of their duty. The small arms which have been manufactured in such large numbers and of such admirable quality at the arsenals of the nation, are, except those in the hands of the line or the army, or apportioned annually to the several states, committed to them. The defence of the nation must always rest in the hands of the militia or volunteers, and as the mass of this force always will be of infantry, it is important that the arms should always be kept in perfect order and ready for use. This is done by the ordnance corps. The examination of any armory in the country will exhibit the great attention paid to this branch of their duty. Cannon need only shelter and paint to keep them in order, while the fogs and even the imperceptible oxydization by the atmosphere would make the most beautiful small arms useless. There are, it is believed, no weapons in the world in more beautiful order or a higher state of efficiency, than those confided to this corps. The manufacture of shot and shells, and the prepara tion of them, of fuses, portfires, percussion caps, accou trements, rockets of various kinds, signal lights, car tridges, &c., all belong to this corps ; every year of the officer s service in which must be a continuation of his apprenticeship in the laboratory of chemical and mecha nical science. When an army is in the field, the ordnance officers have charge of its heavy guns and of all those field and siege-pieces which are attached to no particular corps of artillery. Assisted by the other corps, they have VOLUNTEER STAFF. 83 charge of the mounting of these guns, and of their trans portation and preservation from the effects of the weather, of ammunition for them and the other guns of the army, over and above what is usually issued to the artillery for immediate service. In a similar manner, they have charge of ammunition for small arms, powder for mining operations, ordnance tools, portable forges for the artil lery, and ordnance wagons. From this corps there has recently been formed a company of mountain howitzer and rocket men, which, though a young corps in the service, have already earned much honor in the operations of the army, subsequent to the capture of Vera Cruz. Partially connected with the ordnance, but also hav ing some relation to the quartermaster s department and the engineer corps, is the company of sappers, miners, and pontonniers. They were, it is believed, first used in the trenches in front of Vera Cruz, and, under the able direction of their gallant captain,* since dead of disease contracted there, contributed not a little to the success of that ever-memorable siege. We have now described the staff of the army, and explained as fully as possible the functions of its various departments and corps. It is formed, we may here say, not so much with reference to the present strength of the army, as with a view to the force the government may be called to keep in the field. The events of the pre sent war have rendered its increase absolutely neces sary, and therefore a large number of surgeons, quarter masters, and commissaries of all grades, have been appointed for duty with the volunteers. Though, how ever it be possible to obtain from the body of the people officers of these departments, which, after all, are but * Alexander Swift, captain engineer corps, U. S. A. 84 ORGANIZATION OF THE ARMY. semi-military engineers of both corps, and ordnance officers cannot be thus had, and the government wisely has prepared a staff ample enough to equip and direct the operations of any force which, in the possibility of events, might be called for. Thus armed, offensively and defensively, it is believed the nation will long be able to resist ah 1 its enemies, and triumph everywhere as it has done in Mexico. CHAPTER IX. General officers Routine of rank Mode of promotion Bre vet lieutenants, officers with two commissions Manner of appointment. THE general officers of the army proper are, two Ma jor-Generals and four Brigadier-Generals, each of the two former of whom are allowed two aides-de-camp while commanding in chief, of any rank they please to designate, and a military secretary. These officers, with one or more taken from the departments of the adjutant- general, with a quartermaster-general, commissary-gene ral and the senior officers of the medical department, engineers, pay, and ordnance corps, constitute their personal staff or military family. Each brigadier-general has also a similar staff, except that the officers compo sing it are of lower rank, being, besides their aides- de camp, the chiefs of the staffs attached to their respective brigades. A brigade of the American army consists of two or more regiments (three is the number designated for those composed of volunteers) and every two brigades are considered to make up a division, the appropriate com mand of a major-general. The roster, or routine of rank of the army, therefore, is as follows : Major-General in chief, Major- General, Brigadier- General, Colonel, Lieutenant-Colonel, Major, 86 ORGANIZATION OF THE ARMY. Captain, First Lieutenant, Second Lieutenant, Brevet Second Lieutenant. The last is the lowest grade of officers in the service recognised as within the line of promotion. It will be obvious to all that, though officers would not serve without pay, few competent men would be willing to devote their lives to the service for the modi cum of pay allowed the lower grades. They submit to the servitude and subjection of the life of the subaltern, under the expectation that the time will come when long service will reap its rewards, and they will enjoy the pri vileges and honors of the highest rank if health and life continue so long. This hope would be vain enough were it not that some recognised rule existed, according to which vacancies created by death and the other casualties of war were filled. This rule is seniority or length of service. All vacancies are filled by the officers highest in rank on the grade next below that of the officer removed. Annexed, however, to this rule, are a few conditions, which will be best understood by a statement of the custom of the service in such cases. All vacancies to the grade of captain, inclusive, are made by regiments. Thus, if a vacancy occur in the list of captains in the sixth infantry, the first lieutenant highest in rank in the same regiment w r ould be promoted, the senior second lieutenant would fill the vacancy in the first lieutenantcy, and the new vacancy would be filled by an appoint ment. The reason of this is obvious. The regiment is a unit, of which the ten companies are fractions, and properly enough, the promotion is made from the body in which the vacancy to be filled occurred. But were MODE OF PROMOTION. 87 this rule extended throughout, it would follow, that one regiment might be commanded by a person compara tively a youth, while all the captains and some of the subalterns of another would be graybeards. It has, therefore, been provided, that all the vacancies, after the rank of captain, shall be filled by seniority of the arm. Thus, if a vacancy occurred in the colonelcy of the eighth infantry, the senior lieutenant-colonel of all the eight regiments of infantry would be promoted, and in his place the senior major, and next the senior captain. This system brings about frequent communication between regiments, and makes one corps of the arm acquainted with the merits of the officers of all the rest of its series. It prevents isolation and an excessive esprit de corps, which might be as injurious as a total absence of it. Promotions in artillery riflemen, mounted riflemen and the cavalry, are made in a similar manner, by regiments, to the grade of captain, and by arms between it and the colonelcies. But there is a point where promotion by seniority should receive some check. Hardy as soldiers, from exercise and the temperate life they usually lead, be come, age presses on them, and they grow sometimes superannuated. Therefore it was that congress wisely provided that, after the grade of colonel, the commis sions of brigadier and major-generals shall be filled by selection from all the colonels of the line and staff of the army. Were it not so, a colonel bed-ridden might be assigned to an important command, as brigadier, and the general-in-chief might be a superannuated dotard. During the last few years, an attempt was made to postpone or overslaugh several officers in the line of promotion ; but that provision which requires all ap pointments to be made by and with the consent of 88 ORGANIZATION OF THE ARMY. the senate, produced delay, and enabled those who love the army, to defeat this unjust attempt. A similar ma noeuvre in relation to the navy, was also signally foiled. The laws providing for the establishment of the several regiments and corps declare that each regiment shall be composed of a given number of companies, that each company shall consist of a captain, one or more first and a given number of second lieutenants, with the organization of non-commissioned officers, musicians, and privates. To command this force were assigned a colonel, lieutenant-colonel, and major, to wfyom recently a junior major has been added. The number of young officers who left the Military Academy every year made it obvious that all would not find vacancies for them, at least in time of peace, and the president of the United States was authorized to attach them as brevet second- lieutenants to any regiment the exigencies of the service might make desirable, with the understanding that they were to receive the commissions in the lowest grade as they happened vacant according to their standing at the Military Academy, being always promoted into the arm to w r hich they were assigned, but not necessarily into the regiment. These officers are called supernumerary lieutenants, because they are over and above the number of officers allowed by law to every company, not because they are more than are required. This will be peculiarly appa rent when we remember the number of staff-officers taken from among the subalterns. Among these are aides-de-camp, the adjutants of infantry and artillery regi ments and officers of the quartermaster s department, and the commissariat, with the brevet rank of captain. All of the above, though permanently separated from their companies and troops, retain their commissions in MANNER OF APPOINTMENT. by the line. The apparent purpose is to allow the govern ment to test in a wide sphere the business capacities of an officer before he is permanently separated from his line, and placed in such a position, that if found incom petent, he must be retained to the disadvantage of the ser vice, be disbanded with injustice to himself, or replaced in the line to the injury of others, who, promoted by his vacancy, have thereby acquired vested rights. The regular details for guard duty, police, outposts, pickets, &c., in active service weigh heavily on all grades, and especially on subalterns. All the officers of a com pany are rarely fit for duty. As before observed, officers will occasionally suffer from ill health, must sometimes be absent on their own affairs, all of which circumstances make this supernumerary lieutenant by no means a super numerary officer. The usual manner in which officers are appointed, is by letter from the adjutant- general, notifying them of their appointment by and with the consent of the senate. The commission soon follows this letter. Their subse quent appointments or promotions to new commissions are by a similar letter, with the additional clause that if approved of by the senate the commission will be sent at a future day. It is scarcely necessary to say that the senate might at any time fail to approve of a promo tion, and thereby overslaugh or postpone any officer. Though it have the right to do so, its policy may be doubted, as any circumstance which renders an officer unfit for promotion would certainly come within the pro vince of a court martial, which tribunal the author be lieves of all others most apt to be correct in its decisions. The experience of the army since its establishment has shown that these bodies have rarely spared the guilty, and never, it is believed, punished the innocent. CHAPTER X. Rigid system of control But one offence in the army Differ ence of rules as respects officers and men Government of the army Rules and articles of war. THE system of control in the army of the United States is the most arbitrary in the world, and is neces sarily so. American citizens, grown up in jealousy of their rights and privileges, prompt to defend them with the right arm and with their voice, would make the army one scene of struggle and one great debating society. The question of abstract right and wrong is therefore never mentioned or even thought of by military men, who restrict their researches altogether to discovering what the rules and articles of war and the customs of the service permit and forbid. They are directed against overt acts exclusively, and recognise no rights but the indulgences permitted by themselves. There is, in the military code, no justification or excuse admitted. A man who violates an article of war, or an order, can plead nothing in extenuation. An example of this, which is peculiarly striking, is the fact, that though the rules of war forbid any one to offer personal violence to subordinates, if the colonel were to strike the lieutenant, and the latter returned a blow for a blow, he would most certainly become liable to a court-martial, for mutinous conduct if not for mu tiny. Whether, under these circumstances, any subal tern would ever be arraigned, is a different matter ; cer- GOVERNMENT OF THE ARMY. 91 tain it is, no court could be convened which would not manage to bring before itself or another the officer really to blame. There is therefore in the army but one offence, " dis obedience of orders," and but one rule of conduct, passive obedience, the same which has existed cer tainly from the time of the good centurion and that Roman slain for winning a victory in violation of orders, to the present time. Officers are also held liable to the observance of the moral decencies of life, and are pun ishable for violating them, as " conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman." A similar rule is applied to enlisted men, though in a more restricted sense ; charges against them being termed merely violations of such an article of war, disobedience of officers, and conduct unbecoming a soldier. This has been thought by many ill advised ; for there is no reason why the same high standard of gentlemanly bearing should not be proposed as well to the humblest sentinel in the rank and file as to the major-general commanding the army. The government of the army rests on, besides the strict code known as the rules and articles of war, and printed in another part of this volume, a parental autho rity. Every captain is a kind of father to his men, w T hom it is his duty to protect, to restrain, and it may be, to punish, within the bounds of a reasonable discre tion. As punishments for slight violations of duty, it is usual to award extra guard duty, and such minor penal ties as come within the compass of those things which, even without the commission of any offence, an officer might command any one to perform. The rules and articles of war, it will be seen, award to the great majority of offences the punishment of death, which, though subsequently forbidden to be in- 92 ORGANIZATION OF THE ARMY. flicted, except during war, constitutes a criterion, the consequences of which are important in the regulation of the discipline of the army. The law provides two courts for the punishment of military crimes, one of which is known as a regimental and the other as a gene ral court martial. The second is for the punishment of those offences of which death, in time of war, is made the penalty, and may inflict any penalty except it and corporal punishment by stripes, (exclusively appropriated to desertion). Imprisonment for a given period, or dur ing the term of service, forfeiture of pay for a time, or in toto, the ball and chain, irons, hard labor, solitary confinement, and from time to time other punishments scarcely in consonance with the spirit of the age, are those most usually inflicted. The following is the organization of this court : it holds its session by virtue of the order of the President of the United States, the general-in-chief, or a general or colonel commanding a separate department. It can be convened by no officer of less rank, and should consist of thirteen members with a commissioned officer as judge advocate, the duty of whom it is to superintend both the interests of the United States, technically the prosecutor, and that of the prisoner. Sometimes a less number than thirteen officers are convened, but in that case the rescript for the court must state that a greater number cannot be convened without manifest injury to the service." Such a court in time of war may inflict the punishment of death by shooting, for any offence made capital bylaw, and in time of peace may punish desertion by stripes. It alone can try a commissioned officer, in which case its members must be higher in rank than the person ar- REGIMENTAL COURT MARTIAL. 93 raigned, or at least not liable to be promoted by the forfeiture of his commission. In its procedures the forms of the civil law are fol lowed. The evidence of the witnesses is recorded by the judge advocate, and subsequently signed by them. No witness is suffered to remain in court while another is being examined, and when the case is terminated the court with closed doors deliberate on the verdict and sentence, which the members are sworn not to disclose until published by proper authority, and not to reveal the vote of any particular member of the court unless called upon to do so by a due court of law. When an officer has been tried, if the sentence ex tend to loss of commission, the president of the United States alone has power to approve of the sentence, and the record is forwarded to him in person in an envelope under cover to the adjutant-general of the army. The usual punishments inflicted on officers, are suspension from rank, pay, and command, or from rank and com mand for a given time, cashiering and dismission from the service. The difference between the two last is, that an officer cashiered becomes disabled from serving the United States in any civil or military capacity what ever. The records of a court martial are certified to by its president and judge advocate. A regimental court martial is convened by order of the commanding officer of the regiment, and must con sist of three officers. It is authorized to try only enlisted men, and them for offences not capital. It can inflict no punishment, the duration of which is more than one month, and can sentence the soldier to lose not more than one month s pay. The junior member of a regi mental court is its recorder, and the documents it puts 94 ORGANIZATION OF THE ARMY. forth are sent to the colonel through the adjutant. A colonel may order a regimental court martial at any post at which a portion of his regiment is serving, providing they are not under the command of an officer of another corps. Where two corps, as horse and foot, are serving at one post, its commander may order what is termed a garrison court martial, the jurisdiction of which is iden tical with that of a regimental court. There is yet one other court convened by military authority, which is called a court of inquiry. This body is not unfrequently convened by request of an offi cer, to report and place on record the facts of any event which might subsequently become matter of contro versy. If an officer to whom a large sum of money had been confided were to lose it by shipwreck, the enemy, or other wise^ it would be to his interest to establish the facts. If an officer in suppressing mutiny were to slay a junior or an enlisted man, the custom of the service would prescribe that he should request the convening of a court of inquiry to report the facts. The usual number of persons assembled for this purpose is three, one of whom is also the recorder ; and it is understood that they are bound by no rules of evidence, but report simply the equitable facts of the case, as they can best ascertain them. Any officer in command of a depart ment, may order a court of inquiry, at the request oftlie officer or man interested. The reason of the proviso is obvious, as this right, intended for the protection of the officer, might be distorted into the greatest source of oppression. There are also convened boards of survey, &c., the object of which, however, is perfectly ministerial, being called only to report on the condition of ordnance PUNISHMENT BY STRIPES. 95 stores, quarter property, commissariat supplies, cavalry and artillery horses, &c. In every post is a guard-house, a shelter for the sen tinels not on duty, and made use of also as a prison. The commander of the guard is, in small corps, the superintendent of all punishments inflicted by courts martial. In larger bodies, this disagreeable duty is confided to a provost-marshal. Stripes are usually in flicted at parade, in presence of the whole command, and at the time of the promulgation of the finding of tne court. This humiliating punishment is rare in the army; but, when inflicted, regard is had to true hu manity, and it is administered with a severity sufficient to make it fulfil its true object, to become a warning to misdoers. CHAPTER XL Routine of duty in camp and garrison Guard-mounting Parade and police Company kitchens, rations, &c. Bread Guard duty Sentinels Parole and countersign Conduct of sentinels on post Respect due them. IT is a general impression, that when not on the march or in action, the majority of every army lead an idle life. This is a great mistake. Troops in garrison have many things to attend to, none of which can be neglected without manifest injury to public property or to discipline. To maintain the latter, it is asserted that every mo ment of the soldier s time is at the disposal of the country; and, to prevent this from becoming a mere theory, roll-calls are frequently held, to be absent from which is a military offence, and punishable as such by sentence of a regimental court martial, or, more fre quently, at the discretion of the commanding officer of the company or troop. It would obviously enough be a matter of great Jabor, and consume much time, were the great roll of a regiment called at once. It is there fore usual for each company to parade separately and answer by itself to the roll, the first sergeant of each receiving the reply of each enlisted man, as his name is called; the officers reporting in person their presence. The first roll-call is usually at dawn, and, according to it, the daily or morning report of each company is made, and the report of " present," " absent," " sick," &o., handed in to regimental head-quarters. This call PARADES AND CEREMONIES. 97 is at the first beat, or the reveilkj at which hour the morning gun is fired. Twenty-five minutes afterwards, when the quarters of the men shall have been put in police, is sounded, in mounted regiments, the stable-call, or signal to attend to the dressing, food and water of the horses of the regi ment. At seven o clock, or afterwards, as the season of the year may be, the call for breakfast is beat or blown, at which time there is another roll-call. The intervening period between reveille and breakfast-call, is fully occu pied in preparation for the morning parade, which takes place at troop, or nine o clock, A. M. ; arms are bright ened, boots blacked, metal ornaments cleaned, and uni forms brushed, during this time. Half an hour before breakfast is usually blown or beat the sick call, attended only by orderly sergeants of companies and persons anxious to consult the medical officers of the regiment. At the morning parade, conducted with great form and a most imposing ceremony, the national flag is hoisted, as the music beats down the line. The cere mony over, the officers advance and salute their com mander, by uncovering, and the companies separately are marched to their quarters and dismissed, to replace their full uniforms by the simpler dress known as the fatigue. The ceremony of guard-mounting then takes place, at which time the various out-posts, camp-guards, &c., are inspected, and, under charge of their respective officers, marched to their stations. At the same time the police party, charged with keeping the garrison or camp in order, commence their duties, and the party previously in charge is relieved. VOL. I. 7 98 ORGANIZATION OF THE ARMY, Every change of guard, &c., in the army, is con ducted with appropriate ceremonies, the minutice of which would scarcely interest the general reader. At noon the first sergeant s call is sounded or beat, at which time these non-commissioned officers repair to the adjutant s office and receive all orders of a general nature, which it is their duty to report at once, whether they be written or verbal, to the officers of their com panies. One o clock is the hour for dinner, when there is another roll-call. Discipline would require that the officers should dine at the same time in their appropriate mess. Each company in garrison receives its rations usually through one of its sergeants. The provisions are prepared by cooks detailed from the company in the mess-room. The ration is ample and sufficient, far better in quantity than is enjoyed by laboring men generally. The quartermaster s department issues fuel and a few bucket-like utensils of iron, called camp-kettles ; but not plates, knives, or any of the other similar necessaries of civilized life. The soldier from his peculium is not, however, called on to make an expenditure for these necessaries, which are purchased from what is called the company fund. This is obtained in the following manner : The ration of flour to each enlisted man is twenty ounces weight. It has been found that in every well- regulated bakery, 33J per centum weight is gained in the preparation of bread from chemical action, and the addition of yeast, water, and other ingredients. When, therefore, a company draws from the commissariat a hundred pounds of flour, it is handed at once to the garrison bakehouse, superintended by the same body RATIONS, ETC. 99 which affixes a price on the sutler s goods, who return to the company a hundred pounds of bread, and convert the 33 J per cent., either by the sale of bread or flour, into a fund which is expended in the purchase of books, subscription to journals, provision for children attached to the regiment, purchase of the minor comforts of life for the troops, &c. The rest of the ration is kept by the companies them selves ; and being more than sufficient for their comfort, a surplus is returned to the commissary, who pays cash for it, expended afterwards for the comfort of the company. The post fund receives no little increase monthly by a tax of so much per man levied on the sutler in consideration of his exclusive privilege of vending mer chandise to the troops. These funds being derived from the rations of the enlisted men, they alone receive benefit from them. There is another roll-call at retreat or sunset, when the flag is struck, and then at about nine o clock, P. M., or tattoo, soon after which, at a given signal (taps), all lights are extinguished and the men required to be in their quarters. At retreat there is usually another pa rade, similar to that of the morning, when orders, &c., are made known to the whole command. The intervening time is occupied by drills, police, &c. There never was a garrison so perfect in order and discipline that something could not be added to its com fort by the judicious application of labor. When it is recollected that the great majority of the military posts of the country are in the Indian territory beyond the pale of civilization, where the wear and tear of buildings must be repaired by the hands of those who inhabit them, it will be seen that the grass rarely has time to grow in the soldier s pathway. 100 ORGANIZATION OF THE ARMY. No small part of the comfort of every post will be found to depend on the condition of the company gar dens, which at some seasons of the year will occupy all the time of the command which is unoccupied by strictly military duty. The guard duty of the army is onerous enough, and it with the other regular details will occupy one-tenth portion of the strength of a regiment. A man who has passed eight hours of the twenty-four on his feet, and has been permitted during the other sixteen only to enjoy such rest as he could take in full uniform and marching order, has a fair excuse for rest the next day. Every regiment mounts one or more guards, varying in number in proportion to its strength, the men of which are divided into three reliefs or portions, each of which is on post for two hours and in the guard house or tent for four, after which it returns to duty again. The sentinels are posted wherever the commanding officer may think fit, and are ordered by day and night to protect all property from theft or wanton injury. They are also or dered to prevent all egress and ingress by unauthorized persons between tattoo and reveille. The sentinel on post knows no one unless possessed of the countersign, or watchword, announced every day by the adjutant in a sealed note, and imparted only to those persons by rank or duty entitled to pass to or fro unquestioned. Any one who has authority to pass thus, will either be placed in possession of the countersign, or accompanied in person by one who is. Yet another pass-word is given out to limit yet farther communi cation with the guard. This is called the parole. Guards and sentinels while on duty are bound to respect officers, to all of whom they pay the military compliment of a salute ; to the commanding officers and SENTINELS. 101 all having the rank of field-officers and generals they present arms ; to company officers they simply carry , not pausing in their walk. All bodies of troops, colors, &c., marching by they acknowledge with a salute. Medical officers receive the same compliments as offi cers of the grades with which they have assimilated rank. It is a matter of military conduct long established, that a sentinel is supreme on his post, and should be in terfered with by no one, except his superiors in his own guard, the officer of the day, or the commander of the garrison. No one else is competent to give him any command ; and in case his orders are violated, he may legally enforce obedience with the loaded weapon he carries, or in any other manner. The foregoing is an account of the organization and routine of duty in the army, and may aptly terminate this first book. BOOK II. THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF, Paltnan qui meruit ferat. ALEXANDER MACOMB. Late General in-Chief I* J f CHAPTER I. Louisiana Increase of army War of 18 12- 15 Secretary O f war Major-generals Conflict of rank Brevet-rank again. As previously stated, though the army of the United States had been partially disbanded, after the termina tion of the brief war with France, it had never ceased to exist. At the time of the acquisition of Louisiana, by Mr. Jefferson, it had been found necessary to garri son the forts of this vast territory, at least with a few troops attached to the country, until the new acquisition should have been filled up with persons born American citizens. The wisdom of this policy was afterwards fully experienced, at the time of that series of dark cabals known, if not in the history, at least in the legends of the country, as Burr s conspiracy. The army, at the time of the first apprehended difficulties with Great Britain, had also been increased, but always by a few regiments at a time; so that it was not thought necessary to establish the office of general-in-chief. The president was therefore in fact, as in law, the head of the military establishment of the United States ; and the troops of every section of the country were commanded by generals who, without regard to rank, were as independent of each other as, in the British ser vice, a major-general commanding in Canada is of a lieutenant-general at the head of the army in Ireland. On this system, the whole of the campaigns of the 106 THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF. last war were fought, it would be wrong to say con ducted, for there was everywhere absent the evidence of a master mind, which should have directed the gene ral plan of operations. We shall see that there is evi dence only that one plan was ever traced ; and this was not fought in consequence of the ratification of peace. After the reduction of the army in 1821, it was seen that even the limited establishment then retained, should be commanded by a military man rather than a civilian. There are many and cardinal objections to the secretary of war commanding the army. Not the least of these is, that if he attend to the many other functions of his high office, the estimates, the communication with, and government of, the Indian tribes, he has quite suffi cient to occupy his time. The command of the army also embraces many matters of detail, depending on the customs of service, which of course cannot be known to a mere civilian. General Brown had earned this high trust by his con duct of the campaign of 1814 ; and moreover, at the time of his appointment (May, 1821), was the senior general of the service. After his death, on the twenty- ninth of February, 1828, the command was confided to General Alexander Macomb, who, by his uniform gal lantry throughout the war, and especially at Plattsburg, had merited his very enviable reputation. From 1828, until June 25, 1841, the day of his death, this com mission was held by General Macomb. He was suc ceeded by the present distinguished general-in-chief, WINFIELD SCOTT, on whom Mr.Tyler conferred the com mand on the 25th of July, following. The reduction of 1821 retained in the service but three other officers with the rank of general, two of BREVET GENERALS. 107 whom (Generals Gaines and Jesup) have been in com mission without interruption since. On the appoint ment of General Scott to the head of the army, the rank of brigadier-general was conferred on the senior inspec tor-general, John E. Wool, who, in addition to the rank of his commission, that of colonel, had held from April 29, 1826, the brevet of the grade to which he was ap pointed. General Jesup had been appointed quarter master-general with the rank of brigadier, May 8, 1818, and had received the brevet of brigadier-general ten years afterwards, as was the custom of that day. General Gaines received his brevet as major-general for the de fence of Fort Erie. It is dated August 15, 1814. When the war with Mexico broke out, the president was authorized to appoint another major-general and two more brigadiers from the army proper. He con ferred the first on General Taylor, who, for his conduct in Florida, and at Palo Alto and La Resaca, had earned, while yet a colonel, the successive brevets of brigadier and major-general. The two brigades were conferred on Colonels David E. Twiggs, of the second, and Stephen Watts Kearney, of the first dragoons. It may not here be improper again to refer briefly to the subject of brevet rank. If it be held to confer command, General Gaines, with his brevet dating back to August 15, 1814, must be declared senior to General Taylor, and General Worth, a colonel in the army, with the brevet of major-general gallantly won in front of Monterey, the senior both of Wool, Kearney, and Twiggs. Nor would the matter rest here. A crowd of colonels of the staff and line would arise like the shadows in Macbeth s hall, with ghosts of old service, and claim command over their military superiors. Long precedent would be offered for these; and 108 THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF. many brevets, conferred by the will of the executive alone (for until recently the consent of the senate was not required to a brevet), would supersede full commis sions given with all the requisitions and conditions of the law. Besides the above, who hold full commissions as generals, are the following officers with both regimental and army rank arranged, with precedence according to the first. Hugh Brady, - - Colonel 2d infantry, July 6, 1812. George Gibson, - - Colonel staff, April 18, 1818. Matthew Arbuckle, - Colonel 7th infantry, March 16, 1820. Nathan Towson, - - Colonel staff, May 8, 1822. Roger Jones, - Colonel staff, March 7, 1825. George M. Brooke, - Colonel 5th infantry, July 15, 1831. W. J. Worth, - - Colonel 8th infantry, July 7, 1838. All of these officers have a brevet rank, the conse quence of which will be striking. If it have effect, they must be arranged thus : W. J. Worth, - Major-general by brevet, September, 1846. Hugh Brady, - - Brevet brigadier-general, July 6, 1822. George M. Brooke, " " September 17, 1824. George Gibson, - " " " April 29, 1826. Matthew Arbuckle, " " March 16, 1830. Roger Jones, - " " " June 7, 1832. Nathan Towson, - " " " June 30, 1834. The consequence further would be that Brigadier- Generals John E. Wool, David E. Twiggs, and Stephen W. Kearney, with full commissions, would be compelled to take rank below one of the youngest colonels of the infantry, and below General Brady. Those generals would in that case be reduced below all the brevet brigadier-generals in the army, with the exception of Wool, who has a brevet which would give him rank, according to this theory, from April 29, 1826. BREVET RANK. 109 This whole theory seems based upon a misconcep tion. Brevet rank is an imitation of the English service, where it has never been acknowledged in the body of a regiment. Now in the English army there is no com mission above that of colonel, the subsequent grades of major-general, lieutenant-general, general, and field- marshal being always conferred by brevet. Under these circumstances, of course, brevet rank has effect, there being no lineal rank to conflict with it, the acceptance of any brevet above the commission of colonel, being a promotion and vacating the prior commission. It is worth while here say, that the commission of colonel in England is not a technical command, but rather to be considered an emolument conferred on general officers. In one instance it has been held by a princess of the blood. The annals of the army show more dispute to have arisen in consequence of this brevet rank, than all other matters in dispute. It seems to have had the property of transmuting the calmest and best-tempered men into hectoring and quarrelsome Bobadils. It is much to be regretted that congress did not accede to a petition made several years ago by General Scott, and by a de claratory act define it in one of the only ways by which this question can be terminated by declaring either that brevets do not confer command, or are commis sions. CHAPTER II. Extraction of General Scott Early education Study of the law Proposed removal to South Carolina Service as a pri vate dragoon Appointment in the army Ordered to New Orleans Trial Return to Virginia. FOR two generations, the ancestors of Winfield Scott have been bom in Virginia. His father was the grand son of a Scottish gentleman, who, after the sad affair of 1745, when the hopes of the Stuarts were fatally wrecked, emigrated to America and established himself on an estate near Petersburg, w r here the present general was born. He was a second son, having an elder bro ther James, who commanded one of the Virginia regi ments stationed at Norfolk during the war of 1812. The mother of General Scott was named Ann Mason, a member of an old Virginia family celebrated both be fore and since the revolution. The father of General Scott was a planter and died young, leaving the charge of the education of his sons to his widow, a task she ful filled ably until her death in 1803. Winfield Scott was then at that most critical period of life, the age of seven teen. He gave promise of what he has since become. He was brave, bold, and buoyant, partaking of that fiery and ambitious nature which characterized the state in which he was born. He was at school with the celebrated Ogilvie, of Richmond, for some time, preparing himself for the bar, it is said, and under the tuition of that able master, who taught almost every one who since has become distin guished in Virginia, and laid the foundation of the scholar ship for \\hich he has since been remarkable. Many SCOTT S EARLY LIFE. Ill who are now living in Richmond remember General Scott at that day, and add to the admiration of high talent and renown he has acquired, the tribute of personal friendship won only by the qualities of the heart. From the high school at Richmond, which was not a chartered institution but a private enterprise, Win- field Scott went to the university of William and Mary, that alma mater of Jefferson, Madison, and all the worthies of Virginia. This institution, then under the control of Bishop Madison, a man of no small reputation in his own state, was in the height of its prosperity and considered to offer greater advantages than any other college in the United States. By many illustrious men, not the least of whom is Scott, this idea is shown to be well founded. He there studied law, and in the office of David Robertson (well known in the legal literature of Virginia and the Union as the reporter of Burr s trial), who had been the tutor of his mother s brothers, completed his studies, and was admitted to the bar in 1806. Scott was without fortune, and, anxious to advance himself as rapidly as possible, determined to avoid the competition he knew awaited him at home from the many able lawyers the bar of Virginia then comprised, who from fortune and extraneous circumstances might be enabled to excel him. He determined to establish himself in Charleston, South Carolina, and for that pur pose made a trip thither in 1807. The year that inter vened he passed in the office of his friend, Watkins Leigh, who has since received from his native state every honor it could heap on him. Though Mr. Leigh was some years the senior of General Scott, an intimacy begun in boyhood was then matured into a friendship firm as one based on mutual respect must ever be. 112 THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF SCOTT. During the fall of the year 1807 he went to South Carolina, where he would have remained, but for a cir cumstance which, though regretted at the time, has doubtless been the source of all his subsequent fortunes. The law of South Carolina required that all persons admitted to practise law should have resided a year pre viously within the commonwealth. A bill was intro duced into both the state senate and house of representa tives, to exempt General Scott from this proviso. It passed one house, but failed in the other. Had it passed, it is more than probable that he would not have been conspicuous as the champion of his country, and that the talent which made him the pacificator of South Caro lina would have been exerted with that of his two dis tinguished countrymen,* Calhoun and Preston, as a vindicator of nullification. Who can say what in this case would have been the result ? Previous to his departure for South Carolina, he had volunteered as a member of a troop of horse from Peters burg, called out by Mr. Jefferson to enforce his procla mation excluding British vessels from the harbors of the United States. This troop was stationed on the shores of Linhaven Bay during the short time it was in ser vice. The tour of duty was soon over, and was not re markable for anything except that Watkins Leigh and Winfield Scott served in it as full privates, and may be considered as fair specimens of that spirit which has ever induced the little town of Petersburg to boast that it was the cockade of the Union. This was the period when the national spirit was roused into fury by the attack on the Chesapeake frigate ; and in all the discussions which took place in Eastern * Both are Virginians. SCOTT S FIRST COMMISSION. 113 Virginia, Scott participated, siding with the democratic party of that day. He was a warm advocate of the embargo law, which w r as enacted in December of 1807, and of the non-intercourse law, which did not pass until March, 1808. During this session of congress a bill was introduced, increasing the army, but a skeleton of which had been retained since the disbandment of the Oxford forces; and Scott applied for one of the commissions. The anxiety for war in the country had, however, somewhat subsided ; and, as the bill did not pass at once, he de voted himself to his practice, which had begun already to promise him fame and emolument. The bill passed, however, about the end of April, and, though but twenty-two years old, he received a captaincy of light artillery. Many prominent men seem to have foreseen Scott s future success, and to have been aware of his merit; among whom were the Hon. Spencer Roane, then or afterwards president of the Virginia court of appeals, and W. B. Giles, a distinguished citizen of Virginia, who subsequently became governor of the state and a senator of the United States. General Scott s first commission was dated May 3d, 1808 ; and, with the exception of Generals Arbuckle, Brady and Gaines, and Colonels Many, Walbach, Whist ler and Totten, he has been in the service longer than any other now in commission. The 3d of May is a common date among the old officers of the army ; but General Scott, it is believed, was always senior in rank to the several distinguished generals, among whom are Gib son and Jesup, who were first appointed on the same day. The war, which had seemed so imminent, still did not come. The people of the United States seemed to VOL. I. 8 114 THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF SCOTT. forget they had a country, in the intensity of their sym pathy either with France or England. In large sections of the republic there existed a party so completely Anti- Gallican, that it opposed the war, not because it disap proved of it either on abstract principles or on the ground of policy, but because the declaration by the United States would be a powerful assistance to that French emperor whom it so much detested. It is not improbable that the war never would have occurred had not Great Britain, with most inconceivable arro gance, ventured to reassert her already antiquated usur pation of the practice of impressment of persons born her subjects, wherever she might find them. To make this outrage yet more intolerable, it was not confined to these only, but, in many instances, Americans, who had never seen England, were forced to serve under a flag they had discarded, against nations with whom their country was at peace. During the discussions which preceded the \var more immediately, Scott did not participate, from the fact that he bore the military commission of his country. He had, however, been bred in the JefTersonian school of politics (no man in Virginia ever professed any other), and supported warmly Mr. Jefferson and his successor, Mr. Madison. Immediately on his appointment, Captain Scott pro ceeded to recruit his company, which he did in Rich mond and the villages about it. As the new territory acquired by the United States in the purchase of Louisi ana was supposed to be peculiarly liable to invasion by Britain, no small portion of new levies were ordered thither, among which was Captain Scott s company of flying artillery. This apprehension was well founded. No one who has studied the policy of Great Britain can ENGLAND AND THE MISSISSIPPI. 115 doubt that nothing but the demonstrations made by the United States against Canada diverted England from such a scheme in the first year of the war, and that if General Jackson had failed in repulsing Packenham, the sale by Napoleon would have been disregarded, and Louisiana either been returned to the Bourbons or retained as an English dependency. Diis aliter placuit ; and this circumstance, in addition to its peculiar brilliancy, has contributed to make the campaign of General Jack son at New Orleans one of the most important which have ever ministered to the progress of humanity. The keen and astute English politicians had not been insensible to the vast commercial importance of the mouth of the Mississippi. They were aware of the value of that mighty river for which their fathers had waged a war of a century, and longed to strike one blow for its recovery from the grasp of their offspring, of whom they had become jealous. They knew it was destined ultimately to become the home of the greater portion of the race which spoke their tongue. It is by no means unlikely that the United States were driven to hostility to afford an excuse for seizing that territory and changing into subsidiaries a nation of rivals. Luckily, however, the people of the United States saw this, and the homely maxim of forewarned forearmed w r as brilli antly illustrated. The letters of General Scott at this period, carefully treasured up by many friends, exhibit a mind inquir ing even beyond his age, looking deeply and seeing dis tinctly far into the resources of this country. He saw in it the germ of great prosperity, and while aware that in its forests were hidden twenty rivals of his idolized native state, he saw the elements of the future irresistible power of the Union. 116 THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF SCOTT. Captain Scott was ordered to Louisiana in the year 1809, as has been stated, holding his first commission, that of captain ; and there made his debut in actual ser vice. The army unfortunately was not then what it is now ; and he had to live familiarly with many, of whom, under other circumstances, he certainly would not have made associates. The military academy had then been but a short time in operation, and in spite of the pre sence of the gallant Gaines, the sturdy Arbuckle, Many, and even at that time the veteran Walbach, the morale. of the army was at as low an ebb as the tone of edu cation, and the mass looked with jealousy on any one with greater acquirements than themselves. Petty dif ficulties soon occurred, in which General Wilkinson had so little dignity as to suffer himself to be involved. The origin of these difficulties was curious. Time has so obscured the motives and conduct of Colonel Aaron Burr, in relation to his Mexican scheme, that very many are now found who believe that wild as it was, there was no treason meditated against the United States. Such, however, was not the general opinion of the day; and Scott, who had been a spectator of his trial at Rich mond, a pupil of David Robertson, who reported it, and a friend of Hay, the district attorney, who had prosecuted Burr, was familiar with all its details, and had formed the most unfavorable opinion in relation to him, Wilkinson, and it is said other persons, who subse quently obtained high rank, but had been more than suspected of having shared the peril of this secret. General Wilkinson then commanded in New Orleans ; and having become satisfied that Scott possessed a cool head, a ready pen, a strong arm, and great resolution, sought to make him his friend. He failed to do so, and having yet further compromised himself, sought by a GENERAL WILKINSON. 117 series of petty annoyances to force the young captain from the service. A blunder of the general, not the only one he ever committed, soon brought the difficulty to a climax. In the middle of the summer of 1809, the troops were encamped below New Orleans, near the river. It is scarcely necessary to say what were the consequences of this step. The only firm land to be found there, is a nar row strip immediately on the bank, which is checkered by sluggish bayous, communicating with the marshes which constitute the greater part of the delta. Violent fevers occurred which carried off more than half of the army, and forced the general to remove the remainder to Natchez, where the hills first approach the Mississippi. General Wilkinson was at once relieved by General Hampton, and ordered to Washington that his conduct might be investigated. The general s conduct on this and other occasions was the subject of very general remark, and as he was not in command, was censured with much freedom. Captain Scott, who was then but twenty-three years of age, participated in these strictures, which some mischief- maker reported to the general. Officers of rank, from the nature of things, have a kind of fellow feeling for each other ; and it was not difficult to induce General Hampton to order a court martial to try a captain of artillery, who had dared to scrutinize the conduct of a general officer. General Wilkinson had not as yet left Louisiana for Washington, and the conviction of Cap tain Scott was probably intended to be a kind of endorsement of his own character. Just then it needed some such certificate. The charges against Captain Scott were two, and an additional charge : 118 THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF SCOTT. The first was, conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman ; the specification or allegation on which this charge was based, was that Captain Scott had, in Sep tember and October, 1809, withheld from his men their P a y- The second charge was also unofficerlike conduct, and the specification stated that Scott had behaved disre spectfully to his superior officer, in violation of the sixth article of war.* To support this there was no evi dence. The third or additional charge was unofficerlike and ungentlemanly conduct. Its specification alleged that at a dinner-table Captain Scott had stated that Colonel Burr and General Wilkinson were both traitors, and that the latter was a liar and scoundrel. The finding and sentence of the court will best explain tiie idea they took of the matter. 1 . Guilty of the first specification of the first charge, and pronounce his conduct unofficer-like. (Not ungen tlemanly.) 2. " The court acquit the prisoner of the second charge and specification. 3. " The court find the prisoner guilty of the first specification of the additional charge, but not guilty of the second specification; and pronounce his conduct unofficer-like ; and sentence him to be suspended from all rank, pay, and emoluments, for the space of twelve months. But the court have no hesitation in acquitting the prisoner of all fraudulent intentions in detaining tfic. pay of his men. The court adjourned. * * The court met pursuant to adjournment, and * See Appendix. FINDING OF THE COURT. 119 recommended to the general the remission of nine months of Captain Scott s suspension. (Signed,) H. RUSSELL, Colonel of the 7th infantry, president. WILLIAM KING, Lieutenant of infantry, judge advocate." It will also be remembered that this court was con vened by Scott s opponents, of old officers to try one who, recently appointed to a company without having submitted to the probation of a lieutenancy, was thought an intruder. The circumstances of the charge which relates to his company s pay may need some explanation. Captain Scott was an inexperienced officer, and little familiar with the routine of the army. He had recruited his company in the interior of Virginia, and while there, previous to his going southward, had received several hundred dol lars for their service. The system of army accounta bility is peculiar. Not unfrequently the returns of men who have been twenty years in the service are sent back for informality, and some of the receipts taken by the young captain, though they would have been satisfactory vouchers in any court of Christendom, would not satisfy the second auditor. The amount thus unaccounted for was less than fifty dollars. The court, however, by acquitting him of all fraudulent intention, have placed the matter in its true light. On one charge he was found guilty, and suspended from command for a year. This trial took place at Washington, near Natchez, where such an interpretation was placed on the whole affair, that the citizens of the town and neighborhood almost immediately offered him a public dinner, which 120 THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF SCOTT. he accepted. General Hampton remitted no portion of Scott s sentence, and he therefore returned to Virginia. Wilkinson was unfortunate as a man and as a gene ral ; and, perhaps, aggravated by the comparison people would make of his wretched campaign in 1813, and his ignoble repulse in 1814, with the triumphs of Scott at Niagara, &c., published, immediately after the war, an account of this court martial, which otherwise would have slept amid the records of an obscure frontier post. The blow recoiled on himself, and recalled public atten tion to scenes and recollections it would have been far better for his fame had he left undisturbed. While in Virginia, Scott was invited by his old friend, Mr. Leigh, to make his house his home, and, by his advice, prosecuted the study of the theory of his pro fession. This year of study probably contributed, more than anything else, to make Scott what he afterwards became, one of the most thorough tacticians of the day, by inspiring a taste for researches into the profundities of the military art, which have been prosecuted in all his moments of leisure, for thirty-five years. The result of this application has given him a position certainly second to that of no one of the great military men of the age. The danger of hostilities had again become immi nent, and Captain Scott was afraid that war would be de clared before his sentence had expired. This, however, was not the case, his sentence expiring in 1811, while war was not declared until June 18th, 1812 ; long pre vious to which, Captain Scott had been returned to duty. He was in the interim the judge advocate of the court martial which tried an officer of rank ; and, in his management pf the case, showed that he had not forgotten his first profession, the law. The people of SURRENDER OF HULL. 121 the United States had lost all patience at the many indig nities offered by Great Britain, and had by no means for gotten their hostile intentions. Previous to the positive declaration of war, General Hull had been assigned to the command of the territory of Michigan, with an army intended and prepared to invade Canada. Gene ral William Henry Harrison had also been authorized to raise a body of two regiments of mounted men, which he did without difficulty, from the state of Kentucky and the territories north of the Ohio river. Hull with his forces arrived at Detroit on the 30th of June, and on the 12th of July crossed the river of Detroit for the purpose of conquering Canada. After issuing a proclamation like nothing the world had previ ously seen (Ampudia had not then written), he suffered a month to pass by in inactivity, and on the 14th of Au gust surrendered to General Brock one of the best equipped armies the country had as yet put in the field. Under these unhappy auspices the war began. They were not sufficient, however, to daunt the popular mind, which had gone into the strife with great deliberation, and nerved itself for a stern conflict. Preparations were continued, and within thirty days a large force was col lected on the Niagara frontier. We next find General Scott a lieutenant-colonel in the regiment of Izard, the second artillery. The army had been largely increased, and the expectation formed of Scott had been so high that the intermediate grade of major had been entirely overleaped. He was stationed with two other companies of the same regiment, one of which was commanded by the present General Towson, at Black Rock, to protect the navy yard recently estab lished there. The late Commodore Elliot, then a lieutenant of the 122 THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF SCOTT. navy, was in command on that portion of Ontario at this time, and arranged an expedition to cut out two well armed brigs, which were stationed under the guns of the British Fort Erie. He applied to Colonel Scott for assis tance in his enterprise, a request at once acceded to. Captain Towson was sent with his company on the 8th of October, 1812. About dawn on the morning of the 9th the attack was made with entire success, Elliot in person carrying one of the brigs, the Adams, and the other, called the Caledonia, being captured by Towson. With Elliot was Isaac Roach, then a lieutenant, and since the mayor of Philadelphia. From some reason unexplained, in bringing their prizes off the Adams become involved in the intricacies of the channel and got on shore, on what is called Squaw Island, within range of Fort Erie, where it was impossible to get her off. Elliot therefore resolved to desert her, which he did after having under a heavy fire secured his prisoners. The enemy made an attempt with boats to retake the prize, but were foiled by Colo nel Scott, who on this occasion rendered his first active service. The brig remained as a trophy until she was burned afterwards by orders of General Smythe. The Caledonia was with Commodore Perry in his victory on Lake Erie. By the month of October, 1812, Major-General Van Rensselaer had collected together two thousand eight hundred of the militia of New York. The success of the enterprise against the vessels was important in the fact that it infused confidence into the minds of the mili tia, and they insisted either on being led against the enemy or being sent home. Besides the militia, the general was at the head of four hundred and fifty regulars, commanded by Colonels Fenwick and Chrystie and Major Mullany, who had recently been sent to his head-quarters from QUEENSTOWN. 123 Niagara with their troops, to participate in an expedition against Queenstown heights, planned to gratify the enthu siasm of the troops. This expedition should never have been made, and its results were, that nearly five hundred regulars, whose services were then much needed, were sacrificed to the undisciplined ardor and insubordination of the militia. The affair was, however, so important in its conse- ouences, that, without impropriety, a separate chapter may be appropriated to it. CHAPTER III. The Battle of Queenstown British policy General Van Rens- selaer General Wool General Kearney, &c. General Brock His death General Wadsworth Indian force Surrender of the American force by Colonel Scott Conflict with the Indians while a prisoner, &c. THE village of Queenstown, then insignificant in commercial importance, had assumed some relative value, from being situated on an eminence or cote, which commanded the narrowest portion of the Niagara river, which expanded into a lagoon above Lewistown, and below Fort Grey. On this eminence the English forces had erected a strong battery, which not only commanded the river, but was further valuable, inasmuch as it would form a point d appui, whence, in the contemplated in vasion of Canada, the various operations might conve niently radiate. This scheme of invasion was always in the minds of the rulers of both countries, each of whom saw distinctly that it were far better the war should be carried on in the enemy s country than on their own soil. On the part of the American statesmen, it was peculiarly wise ; for the whole policy of Great Britain, striking at Michigan, Louisiana, arid Alabama (the sparse population of which had not been born under our flag), showed a disposition, not " by lawful and just means to injure the United States, but to make conquests for its king." The first demonstration made by the United States forces, since Hull s disgraceful surrender, was against the strong position of Queenstown. BATTLE OF QUEENSTOWN. 125 The plan of the general-in-command was correct enough ; at least it merits no particular censure, except that he opposed to British veterans a force the mass of which was undisciplined, and threw his best troops in the advance, thus depriving himself of all support in case they were defeated. His plan was to throw across the river two columns of troops, the combined strength of which was about six hundred, commanded, the one by Lieutenant-Colonel Chrystie, of the army, and the other by Colonel Solomon Van Rensselaer, of the New York militia. Two detachments, mentioned in the pre vious chapter, and commanded by Colonel Fenwick and Major Mullany, of the army, were ordered to follow the first, and afterwards act according to circumstances. This last direction, though frequently given, is by mili tary critics considered to denote that, in the mind of the general, there is no fixed plan of operations, and that chance is confided in as one of the elements of war. On the evening of the 12th of October, these arrange ments having been made previously, Colonel Scott arrived with his command. He had effected a forced march, through mud and rain, and reached Schlosser, near the Falls and eight miles from Lewistown, to join in the contemplated attack. He had proceeded at once to the general s head-quarters, and volunteered his services with his command. The general declined them, alleging that his arrangements were already made. The probable reason, however, was, that Colonel Scott s place on the register would have made him senior to one of the officers appointed to lead the columns already designated. Colonel Scott, however, obtained permis sion for himself to cross the river and act as circum stances might require. Such was the activity he dis played, that, at four o clock, A. M., on the morning of 126 THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF SCOTT. the 13th, he was at Lewistown, with his command, which he had brought from Schlosser by another forced march* General Van Rensselaer had collected no boats, and Scott was, therefore, compelled to restrict his operations to placing his guns in battery on the New York shore. They were most efficiently served by his juniors, Cap tains Barker and Towson. General Van Rensselaer, in the interim, proceeded to send across the river the columns above referred to, in detachments, the number of boats being altogether inadequate to transport the whole at once. The leader of the second column, Lieutenant-Colonel Chrystie, be came involved in the currents with his boat, the pilot of which seems to have been inadequate to his task ; and after an attempt to land, was forced to return with a wound, as a token of his valor, to the American shore. The first troops which landed were two companies of the thirteenth regiment, which, in spite of the heavy fire of the British battery, kept their ground against the only opponents yet sent against them, the flank compa nies of the forty-ninth regiment and the Canadian militia from York. The two companies of the thirteenth, though numbering only about one hundred men, still advanced resolutely and firmly in the face of the fire of the battery, which was concentrated on them. In the course of a few minutes every commissioned officer was killed or wounded, and finally Colonel Van Rensselaer was forced by a fourth wound to retire. He, before doing so, ordered all who could move to storm the battery, an order promptly executed by General Wool, then a captain, and his juniors, among whom were the present General Kearney, first lieutenant of the thirteenth foot, and Thomas B. Randolph, of the BATTLE OF QUEENSTOWN. 127 second artillery. The last named officer is now lieu tenant-colonel of the Virginia regiment of twelve com panies, now in service in Mexico. They, with others, rushed up the hill, took the battery, in which were an eighteen-pounder and two mortars half way up the ascent, the very peak of which they soon gained. The enemy at once retreated and were driven to a strong stone building on the river s bank, where they were joined by General Brock, himself a host, who, having received the surrender of Hull s army, was come to assume the command of the Niagara frontier. This was his last service, for he fell here at the head of his troops, whom he was leading to the charge of the Americans, somewhat dispersed by the eagerness of the pursuit. He fell by a musket shot, fired, it is said, in this irregu lar contest, by a soldier, who but a few years since was a sergeant of the third regiment of United States infantry. With General Brock fell his secretary, Colonel McDo nald, and the British troops were a second time routed. Colonel Chrystie and Colonel Van Rensselaer having both been wounded, Colonel Scott was permitted to cross the river with his adjutant, Lieutenant Roach, and assume the command of all the troops engaged, who, without any officer to lead them, had not prosecuted the advan tages they had won. One of the first persons he met after doing so was General Wadsworth, of the New York militia, a member of the influential family owning the Genesee-Flats. Though General Wadsworth had crossed without orders, Scott proposed to restrict his own command to the regulars. This, with the true chivalry of the soldier, and the self-sacrificing spirit of a patriot, Wadsworth would not consent to, but insisted on the lieutenant-colonel s assuming the command. "You, sir, know best professionally what should be 128 THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF SCOTT. done. I am here for the honor of my country and the New York militia." There is not a doubt that Scott was entitled to the command, yet it is notorious that scarcely an officer of militia in the United States would have recog nised the fact ; and the forbearance of Wadsworth is entitled to full approbation. Scott assumed command, and Wadsworth took care that the militia obeyed him, exposing himself in every part of the field with an auda city especially commendable, as but little eclat could be acquired by an officer serving under the orders of one who was by two grades his junior. This was the com mencement of an intimacy between two brave men, scarcely to be appreciated but by others like them. Scott s forces, when he arrived, consisted of about three hundred and fifty regulars, and about two hundred and fifty state troops, commanded immediately by Colo nel Stranahan of New York and General Wadsworth ; these were posted by Captain Totten (now Colonel Tot- ten of the engineers), in a strong and advantageous posi tion. Scott sought for a time to stand on the defensive, to secure the control of the ferry at Lewistown, across which he expected the whole of the militia stationed there to pass. The cannonade of the morning had informed the British garrison of Fort George of what was going on, and they immediately proposed to participate in the day s adventures. A large Indian force also joined them, it having been previously embodied for the purpose of co-operating in the invasion of New York. The British government, though boasting of humanity and civilization, could not resist the temptation of inflicting all the evils of savage warfare on its enemies. Five hundred Indians had joined the portion of the 49th previously engaged, and a new battle was begun. In BATTLE OF QUEENSTOWN. 129 the interim Colonel Chrystie, though severely wounded, had led reinforcements to the Canada shore, where he found that Scott had already routed his enemy. In a letter written and published subsequently, he bore testi mony to the valor there displayed by Colonel Scott. Anxious to keep open his communication with Lewis- town, Colonel Scott resumed the position designated by Captain Totten, and maintained it against many attempts made by the British, who had already been reinforced, to drive him from it. At one period the American out posts were driven in and a general defeat seemed immi nent. Just then Colonel Scott, who had been temporarily in the rear, where he was endeavoring to unspike a gun, returned to the front and rallied the whole line which drove the British p&le-m&le from the field, with a heavy loss of killed and wounded. The cheer which the Amer ican forces gave at this crisis, is said to have been a fair specimen of those fearful yells which have so much astonished and terrified the Mexican army. At last the British column headed by Major-General Sheaffe arrived from Fort George, leaving the superiority of forces north of the river decidedly with the British. No troops could fight better than the militia who crossed over with General Wadsworth ; but those at Lewistown were suddenly seized with constitutional scruples and refused to move. General Van Rensse- laer besought them not to see their countrymen on the other side of the river sacrificed. It was, however, in vain, and not one company moved. This fact was com municated to Scott, and decided him to adopt the course he ultimately pursued. The British forces on the field must have amounted then to at least thirteen hundred men, to oppose whom Scott had but three hundred and fifty. The militia had refused to succor them, and there VOL. I. 9 130 THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF SCOTT, was not a possibility of retreat, from the fact that the boats provided were insufficient even to pass over this small force, except by detachments. Colonel Scott de termined to fight the matter out, or at least not to surrender until resistance had become more hopeless than it seemed as yet. He appealed to his men, and asked who would stand by him, in a resistance which he saw was necessary to wipe out the stain left on the nation by Hull s surrender. Since the birth of the nation, American regulars have never disappointed their officers, who have never called on them to fly. The volunteers with Scott now equalled them in staunchness, and every voice of the whole com mand expressed willingness to abide by him. General Sheaffe was a brave but prudent officer, and manoeuvred with great circumspection, satisfied, by what had al ready occurred, that he was to anticipate no easy conquest. He finally surrounded the American command, and gave the signal for attack. Against such odds of the best British regulars, the Americans, after a stout resistance, were forced to yield the ground, from which they made their way bypassing down an almost perpendicular hill, where they were forced to support themselves by the bushes, to the river bank. There Scott called around him his officers, and it became manifest that he must surrender. After several persons, who had been sent with a flag to treat, had been shot by the Indians, the commanding officer determined to go himself. Fastening a white hand kerchief to his sword, he set out, accompanied by Cap tains Totten and Gibson, the one now chief of ordnance, and the other commissary-general of the army, to ask a parley. After a personal conflict with a party of six Indians, from the hands of \vhom they were rescued by BATTLE OF QUEENSTOWN. 131 the timely arrival of an English officer, they were con ducted to the presence of General SheafFe, to whom the American force was surrendered as prisoners of war. The force which had been under Colonel Scott s orders, and which he surrendered, were one hundred and thirty- nine regulars, and one hundred and fifty-four militia, rank and file. After Scott had surrendered, in terms which included all American troops north of the river, he learned that a large body of the militia from Lewistown had crossed over, probably after the repulse of the first attack by General SheafFe, but, speedily becoming panic-stricken, had hidden in the brushwood of the precipitous bank. They were of course surrendered, seemingly having crossed over only for the purpose of swelling the Eng lish triumph. Had they crossed when the Americans had possession of their strong position, the result might have been otherwise. A fatality seemed, however, to attend all the operations of the American forces, in the early part of this war ; and the absurd conduct of the mass of the militia, everywhere on the Atlantic coast and the lakes, contributed not a little to this state of things. The tall, soldierly form of Colonel Scott, his brilliant uniform, and the careless manner in which he exposed himself to the Indians and British marksmen, who, how ever much they complained of the American rifle, never hesitated to pick off officers, won the admiration of all who had witnessed the fight, whether American or English. The loss of the American forces may be estimated as follows : surrendered by Scott, two hundred and ninety-three ; killed, one hundred ; captured with Major Mullany (who by the ignorance of his pilot was taken 132 THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF SCOTT. under the enemy s batteries), two hundred ; militia found on the British side after the fight, which they had not fought, four hundred. The whole affair was strange. The militia had forced General Van Rensselaer to attack the enemy sooner than just preparation admitted, yet when called on to redeem their promise, refused to do so. The general had in the first instance rejected the service of Scott, who subsequently was the savior of the national honor ; and after having refused from constitutional scruples to cross the river to fight, the militia in some number did so to surrender. All was lost except honor, which in this case had cost a peculiarly high price. It cannot be doubted that, but for the brilliancy of the service of the young lieutenant- colonel, the whole nation would have felt discouraged. Far different was the result the government was taught that the safest and therefore the cheapest plan it could adopt, was to fill up the regiments authorized and march them against the enemy, and by care and time transform its volunteers, as it has been satisfactorily shown can be done by time and discipline, into troops capable of con tending triumphantly with the proven veterans of any other nation. This is the date of the new army s service. Here Totten, Chrystie, Wool, and their companions laid the foundation of their reputations, and impressed on the American mind the fact, that the homely blue jackets of our own soldiers covered as brave hearts as beat be neath the scarlet of the royal guards. Wadsworth and Colonel Van Rensselaer also merited the applause they received, and wiped out, by the ser vices of their commands, a stigma which might other wise have affected all the militia forces. After the surrender occurred one of those circum- BATTLE OF QUEENSTOWN. 133 stances which, on the principle that great actions display character while small events betray it, will show that Scott was not merely an actor supported by pride and ambition only, but really a brave man, with a quick hand and ready wit. The prisoners after the surrender were marched to the village of Niagara, where the officers were placed in a small inn, and a sentinel posted at the door with orders to permit none to pass out, but not to intrude otherwise on them. Colonel Scott after some time received a message that some one wished to speak to the tall American, and immediately proceeded to the hall of the house to ascertain who wished to see him. His visiters proved to be two of the party of Indians who had attacked him while bearing the flag of truce. One of them Scott recognised at once, by his tall stature, as a chief known as Captain Jacobs ; the other, though a son of the celebrated Brant, had less fame, but was a powerful and muscular man. In a jargon in which might be traced a confusion of Indian and the two European languages spoken in Canada, they questioned Colonel Scott as to whether he was wounded or not, and informed him they had frequently fired at him. The chief at length became angry, and seized the colonel to turn him around in order that he might examine his back. Any one who has ever looked into the wild fiery eye of the general, may readily conceive how he felt at this familiarity. With one effort of his muscular arm he threw the Indian to the other side of the hall, and at the same time said, "Go, villain; you shot like a squaw!" The taunt, and what had previously occurred, lashed the chief into a fury, and he rushed upon Scott with his knife drawn. His companion followed his example. The idea of asking for assistance did not enter the 134 THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF SCOTT. mind of Colonel Scott ; and had retreat been possible, he would have died before he would have moved one step. Fortune always favors the brave ; and Scott saw within his grasp the swords of his captive companions. With a soldier s eye he selected the longest, which chanced to be a heavy dragoon sabre, which probably had been worn by one of the volunteer officers. The heavy steel scabbard fell from it immediately, and with one step to the side, Scott placed himself in such a posi tion that he was enabled to keep the point at Jacobs breast, at the same time that he was in guard towards his companion. Jacobs life was in the power of Scott, who seemed nothing loath to take it. At the same time it seemed not improbable that Scott would scarcely be able to foil the other, in spite of his occupying a position which rendered it impossible for them to attack him in the rear. At this moment Captain Coffin, a nephew of the well known admiral Sir Isaac Coffin, and an aide of General SheafTe, entered on a visit of courtesy to the prisoners, and, amazed at what he saw, called loudly for the guard. At the same moment he placed a pistol at Jacobs head and seized Brant by the arm. The sentinels came in immediately on being called for. In the whole affair there had been no noise ; and they dragged off the two Indians, who most cordially cursed all white men and all the laws of war. The Indians could not be induced to forgive Colonel Scott the slaughter of their people, a very large propor tion of whom were killed in the first attack, in which General Sheaffe commanded. So violent was this feel ing that it was necessary to provide a guard to protect Colonel Scott, even when he went from his prison on a visit to the British officers who had extended civilities to him. BATTLE OF QUEENSTOWN. 135 After the surrender, the body of General Brock was buried beneath a bastion at Fort St. George, with all the honors due his high rank and great fame. England had produced few men who were more highly estimated ; so much so, that it was long a matter of discussion whether he or the afterwards world-renowned Welling ton should be assigned to the command in Spain. Wellington, from family influence, was the successful aspi rant, and by his brilliant achievements proved that once at least patronage had supported a person worthy of the boon at stake. He is now a duke, and one of the most influential men in the world, while the body of his rival rests in an obscure village of a colony, already nearly forgotten by the country for which he died. If fortune be not blind, her freaks are often most whimsical. At the request of Colonel Scott, the commander of Fort Niagara, opposite to Fort St. George, fired minute- guns during the funeral ceremony. This compliment is said to have sensibly touched the hearts of the British officers, and to have induced a tone of good feeling towards Scott, from which he was afterwards able to extract much advantage, both to the United States and to Great Britain. The prisoners taken at Queenstown were at once despatched to Quebec ; and, having been subsequently exchanged, were sent in a cartel to Boston. Before sailing, however, a difficulty occurred, which placed Scott in a most enviable light before the nation, and served to illustrate more highly the peculiar strength of character which has always enabled him to act so quickly, yet so prudently, in emergencies. Colonel Scott sate in the cabin of the vessel, whence he was induced to come in consequence of a noise and angry dispute on deck. He found a number of English 136 THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF SCOTT. officers parading the prisoners and seeking to secure all whom they fancied born British subjects, for the purpose of sending them as prisoners to England, to be tried for high treason, as having been taken in arms against the king. About twenty- three had been selected, when Scott reached the deck ; and he was aware there were many others similarly situated among the troops, all of whom seemed to suffer much distress at the idea of the fate which awaited them. Scott understood the matter at once, and bade the men answer no questions, in order that their accent might not be made evidence against them. They obeyed him to the letter, standing mute as statues, in spite of angry threats from the British officers. Scott was ordered to go below, but he too seemed to have become petrified. He told the men who had already been selected that they might assure themselves the government would protect them, or that, if mal-treat- ed, they would be fully avenged. He pledged himself personally to them, that if they suffered, retaliation would be made, even if he were driven to the necessity of re fusing quarter in battle. He was unarmed, of course ; but yet contrived to resist all the interruptions of the Bri tish officers, which were many and frequent. The persons who had been selected, were ironed immediately, by order of Sir George Provost, who had planned the whole affair, placed on board a frigate, and sent to England. Immediately on arriving at Boston, Scott proceeded to the seat of government, where all the formalities of his exchange were completed. The president was informed personally by him of what had occurred, and Scott, at his request, reduced the whole statement to writing, in the following distinct and concise terms. It is, as Captain Mansfield states, the basis of the whole controversy, which afterwards LETTER TO THE SECRETARY OF WAR. 137 assumed great importance, and may, without impro priety, be introduced here. " SIR, I think it my duty to lay before the department that, on the arrival at Quebec of the American prisoners of war surrendered at Queenstown, they were mustered and examined by British officers appointed to that duty, and every native-born of the United Kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland sequestered, and sent on board a ship of war then in the harbor. The vessel, in a few days thereafter, sailed for England, with these persons on board. Between fifteen and twenty persons were thus taken from us, natives of Ireland, several of whom were known by their platoon officers to be naturalized citizens of the United States, and others to have been long residents within the same. One in particular, whose name has escaped me, besides having complied with all the conditions of our naturalization laws, was represented to have left a wife and five children, all of them born within the state of New York. I distinctly understood, as well from the officers who came on board the prison-ship for the above purposes, as from others with whom I remonstrated on this sub ject, that it was the determination of the British govern ment, as expressed through Sir George Provost, to punish every man whom it might subject to its power, found in arms against the British king, contrary to his native allegiance. I have the honor to be, sir, Your most obedient servant, W. SCOTT, Lieutenant- Colonel U. S. ZdJlrtilhry" The following were the names of the men, as after wards published in the American State Papers : 138 THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF SCOTT. Henry Kelly, Henry Blaney, George M Common, John Dolton, Michael Condin, John Clark, Peter Burr, Andrew .Doyle, John McGowan, James Gill, John Ful- sum, Patrick McBraharty, Matthew Mooney, Patrick Karns, John Fitzgerald, John Wiley, John Donelley, John Currey, Nathan Shaley, Edward M Garrigan, John Dinnue, John Williams, George Johnson. This report was, on the same day, sent to both the senate and house, both of which soon passed the bill vesting the president of the United States with the power of retaliation. Two months afterwards Colonel Scott captured Fort George, filled with prisoners, from whom he selected twenty-three, who were sent to the United States as hostages for the Irishmen who were imprisoned in Eng land. Every person thus selected w r as an Englishman, in order that if the British government persisted in its brutality, one Irishman might not be made to avenge another. This strange conduct of Great Britain was based on one of those ideas, which, though flagrantly untenable, with true insular obstinacy she has never been induced to abandon. In the beginning of the war she had uni formly held that persons born her subjects could not renounce their allegiance, and had under this pretext, proceeded to imprison seamen taken under the Ameri can flag. When the Nautilus was captured, six of her seamen were thus ironed and sent to England to be tried as TRAITORS. Commodore Rogers heard of this, and immediately imprisoned twelve Englishmen, among them an officer, as security for the first. They were closely confined until information was received of, the discharge of the American prisoners. Repeated other instances occurred, which are reported in extenso in the HOSTAGES FOR HOSTAGES. 139 state papers and journals of the day. The consequence of this firmness of the government was good. Not one prisoner was executed in England. Had the govern ment temporized, hecatombs would have fallen. This action of the American generals and of con gress, in due course of time, was known in England. The Earl of Bathurst, one of the royal ministers, imme diately addressed a letter to Sir George Provost, which was communicated to the American general in command. The letter was inserted of course in the American state papers, where it stands a record of the solemn fact that the laws of decency and humanity are obligatory even on nations, and that in this, the nineteenth century, no nation dare offend them, for fear, riot of foreign enemies, but lest outrage should arouse the indignant feelings of its own people. Lord Bathurst, in his communication, had ordered forty-six officers and non-commissioned officers to be set aside as hostages for the hostages, a duty Sir George Provost cheerfully obeyed. This action was communi cated at once to Mr. Madison, who, far from being intimidated, ordered forty-six British commissioned officers to be set aside as hostages for the American offi cers and non-commissioned officers, with a reiterated notice that if one American were executed an English man would die in atonement. It was said in the army at that day, if the hostages should unfortunately be called on to suffer, they would be allowed all the advan tages of their relative rank. The forty-six English offi cers were selected from the prisoners made at the Thames by General Harrison, and the captures made by Scott subsequently. This was the end of the affair in fact, though a few other hostages were made on either side during 1813. The campaign of 1814 was in favor of the 140 THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF SCOTT. American arms almost universally, and Great Britain never dared to execute her threats. It may be presumed that the last of this absurd pretension has been heard, and that England will scarcely dare again to insult the spirit of the age by advancing it. Absurd as it seems to us, it found advocates in America ; and even on the floor of congress one person was found hardy enough to resist the wave of public opinion, and to maintain that Great Britain had right on her side in this question. CHAPTER IV. Capture of York Death of Pike General Dearborn Colonel Porter Capture of Fort George Anecdotes Incompetent generals Scott s promotion Scott joins Wilkinson Official documents Chrystler s field Errors of the campaign. IN 1813, York, in Canada, was captured by the brave and accomplished Pike. The victory was a brilliant one ; and without any drawback, except that the nation was called on to deplore the death of the conqueror. Imme diately after this event, Scott joined the army at Fort Niagara, as chief of the staff of Major-General Dear born, with the rank of colonel. He always, however, commanded his own regiment (he was still in the line) in battle. His services in the organization of the new regiments were at this time confessed by all to have been invaluable. Nearly opposite to Fort Niagara, was Fort George, the defence of the Niagara on the British side. General Dearborn, finding himself at the head of about five thousand men of all arms, determined, with the co operation of the naval forces, to carry this position. On the 27th of May, all the arrangements were completed, and the army, in six divisions of boats, crossed over from a point about three miles east of Fort Niagara. The first division of boats contained the storming-party, the command of which Scott had claimed. In the second was a field-train, under Colonel Moses Porter ; 142 THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF SCOTT. after which came the brigades of Winder, Chandler, Boyd, and the reserve, commanded by the then Colonel Alexander Macomb. The schooners and boats, commanded by Chauncey, were ordered to anchor near the shore, to cover the dis embarkation of the troops, and, by their fire, render the woods, which approached near the shore, untenable by the enemy. The afterwards distinguished 0. H. Perry, of the navy, volunteered to superintend the debarkation, though he had only arrived from Lake Erie on the eve ning of the 26th. This was an arduous service, and an important one, in which Perry displayed great gallantry, which won then and afterwards high commendation from Scott. The crossing of the river began at three o clock, A. M., and six hours were consumed before Scott landed on the hostile shore. He effected this in good order, half way between the village of Niagara and the embouchure of the river into Lake Ontario. Imme diately in front of the beach, was a low but steep bank, which sheltered his men from the fire of the enemy, formed on its summit. This Scott immediately assaulted with his favorite weapon, the bayonet, and after being first repulsed and knocked dow r n, succeeded in obtain ing possession of the crest. After a contest of about fifteen minutes, of most severe bayonet-work, on the brink of a ravine somewhat in advance, the enemy were totally routed. Porter had by this time arrived with his guns, and Boyd with his brigade, both of whom parti cipated in the close of this contest, virtually decided before they could extricate themselves from the surf, which was very high. Scott, having pursued the enemy as far as the village, was there reinforced by the sixth regiment U. S. foot, commanded by Colonel James Miller. BOYD STOPS PURSUIT. 143 Many prisoners, who had been taken at the village, informed Scott that the garrison of Fort George pur posed to blow up the works, so as to render them unte nable, after having abandoned them. He immediately sent forward two companies to save the works, ordnance, and stores. When they had reached the works, one of the magazines blew up, and Colonel Scott was struck from his horse by a mass of timber, which severely in jured him. He, however, saw the gate forced, and with his own hand pulled down the enemy s flag, which was yet waving above the fort. His attention having been recalled to the danger, he ran from the probability of other explosions. By his orders Captains Hindman and Stockman snatched away matches which had been applied to the two other magazines. All this occupied but a few minutes, and Scott im mediately set off in a pursuit of the routed enemy. This was maintained for five miles, in spite of two orders sent him by the mouths of aids-de-camp, one of whom was his present favorite, General Worth, the other a Mr. Vanderventer. To them he said, " Your general does not know that I have the enemy in my power, and in seventy minutes shall capture his whole force." Gene ral Boyd, however, came in person to arrest the pursuit, when Scott was already in the midst of the stragglers. Colonel Burn had in the interim arrived with one troop of dragoons; and with another, which was then crossing, would have insured success to the pursuit. Colonel Burn, though Scott s senior, volunteered to serve under him. There seemed throughout the whole war, with the exception of the battle of New Orleans, to be always some one prepared to interfere and prevent the reaping of the full fruits of victory. Scott had won the victory in this case, and Boyd only interfered to do harm after 144 THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF SCOTT. the strife was ovej. Thus ended the battle and capture of Fort George, a brilliant achievement, with important results. The American loss was seventeen killed, and forty-five wounded ; that of the British ninety killed, one hundred and sixty wounded, and one hundred prisoners. When Scott was captured, a year before, he had supped with his captor, General Sheaffe, and while at table was asked if he had ever seen the Falls. He re plied, only from the American side. An officer of rank who sat near him rejoined, " Before you can enjoy that pleasure, Colonel Scott, you must win a battle." Scott turned sharply to him and said, " If you sought to in sult me, sir, courtesy dictated that you should first have returned me my sword." General SheafFe immediate ly rebuked the Englishman, and the matter dropped. Among the first prisoners taken at Fort George was this colonel, also badly wounded. Scott, being unable to get his own horse from the boats, borrowed that of his pri soner, and gave orders that the officer should be treated with all respect. The horse was returned to him, and he was carefully treated and permitted to return to England on parole, at a time when there were no exchanges effected . When he parted with Scott, the English officer said, "I owe you an apology, sir ; you can now view the Falls wherever you please." This anecdote in its commencement illustrates the feeling of the British officers to America at the begin ning of the war, and also the frank chivalry of the true soldier in its close. Not all the triumphs of the war could entirely eradicate it, and vent to such feelings of spleen was given from time to time until peace. On one occasion, an American officer of infinite wit, who had the habit of saying what he pleased on all occa- ANECDOTE. 145 sions, and feared nothing, was a prisoner in the castle of Quebec. Dining one day at the garrison mess, he was startled by the toast of " The President of the Uni ted States, dead or alive." (This was after the battle of Bladensburg and the burning of Washington.) He was not a man to lose his presence of mind ; and much to the surprise of other American officers, also prisoners, arose and in handsome terms returned thanks for the compli ment done his country. It had become his duty to offer another toast, which he called on his countrymen to drink. His ROYAL HIGHNESS THE PRINCE REGENT, DRUNK OR SOBER. The British officers now looked sur prised they had received a Roland for an Oliver. The matter was terminated by the president of the mess sending to his quarters the saucy Englishman who had cast the first jeer. Many other instances of this kind might be mentioned, depending generally on the best of all authority, that of the men whose valor took the point from such jests. Records of them and other similar taunts will, however, be found recorded in more than one printed military memoir. Among others parti cularly redolent with abuse of this kind may be men tioned The Subaltern in America," the author of which shared the disgrace of the rout after the attack on New Orleans. Only two days after the capture of Fort George, a body of British troops, under the immediate command of Sir George Provost, landed at Sackett s Harbor, with the intention of destroying the many naval stores, and the new ship, the General Pike, then being constructed under the superintendence of Henry Ecford, and half completed. The peculiar state of the winds and wea ther, however, delayed their progress for some time, during which a large force of militia was collected to VOL. I. 10 146 THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF SCOTT. reinforce the small garrison of regular soldiers stationed there. The militia were commanded by General Jacob Brown, a Quaker farmer, with enough of the old Adam in his composition, as events showed, to rout the enemy and foil all his plans. So far the American arms had been successful during the campaign. Some events, however, occurred, of not so pleasant a character, which, though Scott did not participate directly in them, it is necessary to refer to ; because his history, more than that of any other individual, is a chronicle of the war. On the 1st of June, General Winder, with his brigade, was advanced to Stoney-creek, where he was joined by General Chandler at the head of another corps. The object was to capture the British corps commanded by General Vincent, which Scott had driven from Fort George. Winder and Chandler bore the commission of generals, but no one who looks attentively at their military history will pretend to call them soldiers. The consequence was, Vincent, grown up in a correct school, dashed into the centre of their line of battle on the morn ing of the 6th, and managed to capture both generals, neither of whom had taken care to see that the outposts were attentive to their duty or commanded by officers familiar even with the routine of what was required of them. General Vincent at last was driven back, but the American troops were without any leader of rank, and a council of war was called, which, as such bodies always do, advised a retreat. This does not end the catalogue of blunders ; for, but a few days afterwards, a Colonel Boerstler was detached to attack a British post, the Globe House, about seventeen miles from Fort George. Boerstler was finally surrounded and forced to surrender, the force against which he marched proving thrice as large as his own. SCOTT S PROMOTION. 147 A succession of incompetent men commanded the army during the two last months of summer and the first of autumn. Dearborn, Lewis, Boyd, and Scott s old enemy, Wilkinson, suffered the army to remain inactive. The foraging, by some strange perversion of military ideas, was confided to the adjutant-general, who exhibited all the talent of a partisan officer without any opportunity having occurred for him to advance his reputation more than he already had done. During July of this year (1813), Scott was promoted to the command of the second artillery, which, consist ing of twenty companies, w r as in fact a brigade. For this command he resigned the adjutant-generalcy, rightly thinking no brevet or order-rank equivalent to the com mand of eighteen hundred fighting men. In the latter part of September he commanded the land troops, Com modore Chauncey commanding the naval forces, in an expedition against Burlington Heights, at the head of Ontario, where there was said to be a depot of British provisions and stores. After a descent on Burlington Heights neither provisions or stores were found, and York (now Toronto) was visited with more success. Colonel Scott landed with the soldiers and marines and burned the storehouses and barracks, securing also possession of eleven armed boats and many pieces of cannon. An expedition was next arranged against Kingston and Montreal, the first of which was thought the most important post on the British side of the lakes, while the latter was the chief seat of the commerce of Lower Canada. If the plans had succeeded, Canada must have became the property of the United States. The western province would have been cut ofF from all supplies, and all the lower province except Quebec 148 THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF SCOTT. would have fallen into the American hands as a conse quence of the capture of Montreal. With an eye to these operations, all the troops of General Wilkinson s division were ordered to concen trate at Sackett s Harbor, early in October, with whom General Hampton also received orders to co-operate, from the Chautauque, in New York. Wilkinson, to carry this plan into effect, embarked with his command, previously stationed on the Niagara, October 2d. As General Scott had captured Fort George, and pulled down the colors with his own hands, the defence of it was confided to him ; to effect which he had his own and a portion of a regiment of New York militia, com manded by a Colonel Swift. This work the Americans sought to enlarge, under the direction of the now Colo nel Totten ; but, when Wilkinson and Chauncey left, one whole face was untouched, leaving no impediment be tween the American and the superior British force. To correct this, all the garrison, including its commander, worked night and day, and had already gotten things into good order, when the enemy broke up his camp and marched after Wilkinson. Scott s orders authorized him, on the occurrence of such an emergency, to place Fort George under the orders of General McClure, of the New York militia, stationed on the other side of the Niagara river, and, with the regulars, to join Wilkinson in time to participate in his attempts on the lower province. To enable him to do so, the fleet was to be sent up to embark the gar rison at the mouth of the Niagara. The following docu ments, the one an official despatch, and the other written to the secretary in December, of that year, when Scott was in Washington, will best explain the occurrences of that period. OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS. 149 "FORT GEORGE, October llth. 1813. " Within the last five minutes I had the honor to re ceive your despatch, by the Lady of the Lake, Captain Mix. The enemy has treated me with neglect. He conti nued in his old position until Saturday last (the 9th inst.), when he took up his retreat on Burlington Heights, and has abandoned tJie whole peninsula. Two causes are assigned for this precipitous movement, the succor of Proctor, who is reported to be entirely defeated, if not taken ; the other, the safety of Kingston, endangered by your movement. We have had from the enemy many deserters, most of whom concur in the latter supposition. The British burnt everything in store in this neigh borhood ; three thousand blankets, many hundred stand of arms ; also the blankets in the men s packs, and every article of clothing not in actual use. They are supposed to have reached Burlington Heights last evening, from the rate of their march the night be fore. I have information of their having passed < The Forty, by several inhabitants who have come down. They add to what was stated by the deserters, that two officers of the 41st had joined General Vincent, from Proctor s army, with information that Proctor was de feated, eighteen miles this side of Maiden. I cannot get particulars. From the same sources of intelligence, it appears that the 49th, a part of the 100th, and the voltigeurs. moved from this neighborhood the day after our flotilla left this, the 3d inst. ; but, with what destination, is not certainly known. It was first reported (I mean in the British camp) that these regiments had marched to support Proctor, who, 150 THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF SCOTT. it is said, wrote that he would be compelled to surrender, if not supported.* I am pretty sure, however, that they are gone below. The movement of our army below seems to have been known in the British lines as early as the 3d inst., toge ther with the immediate objects in view. Hence I have no difficulty in concluding, that all the movements of the enemy will concentrate at Kingston. * * * * I had made this morning an arrangement, on application to General McClure, to be relieved in the command of this post, on the morning of the 13th inst., with an intention of taking up my line of march for Sackett s Harbor, according to the discretion allowed me in the instructions I had the honor to receive from you at this place. My situation has become truly insup portable, without the possibility of an attack at this post, and without the possibility of reaching you time enough to share in the glory of impending operations below. I am nevertheless flattered with the assurance that trans ports will be forwarded for my removal ; and to favor that impression, I propose taking up my line of march on the morning of the 13th, for the mouth of Genesee river, and there await the arrival of the vessels you are good enough to promise me. By this movement, Cap tain Mix thinks, with me, that I shall hasten my arrival at Sackett s Harbor five, possibly ten, days. Captain Camp (the quartermaster) has a sufficient number of wagons to take me thither. I can easily make that place by the evening of the 15th. I hope I shall have your * Proctor was defeated, and the British and Indian force in the north-west routed, on the 5th of October, 1813. The rumor which Scott speaks of was six days after the event, and was no doubt brought in either by officers or Indians, from thti defeated army. OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS. 151 approbation, and everything is arranged with Brigadier McClure. ******** I have, by working night and day, greatly improved the defences of this post, and nearly filled up the idea of the engineer. I flatter myself that I have also improved the garrison in dis cipline." * * * * "GEORGETOWN, December 31, 1813. " At your desire, I have the honor to make the follow ing report: I left Fort George on the 13th of October last, by order of Major-General Wilkinson, with the whole of the regular troops of the garrison, and was re lieved by Brigadier- General McClure, with a body of the New York detached militia. Fort George, as a field-work, might be considered as complete at that period. It was garnished with ten pieces of artillery (which number might easily have been increased from the spare ordnance of the opposite fort), and with an ample supply of field-ammunition, &c., as the enclosed receipt for those articles will exhibit. Fort Niagara, on the 14th of October, was under the immediate command of Captain Leonard, of the 1st artillery, who, besides his own company, had Captain Read s, of the same regiment, together with such of General McClure s brigade as had refused to cross the river. Lieutenant-Colonels Fleming, Bloom, and Dob bins, of the militia, had successively been in command of this fort, by order of the brigadier-general ; but I think neither of these was present at the above period, Major-General Wilkinson, in his order to me for the removal of the regular troops on that frontier, excepted the two companies of the 1st artillery, then at Fort Niagara. And under the supposition that I should meet water transportation for my detachment at the mouth of Genesee river, I had his orders to take with 152 THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF SCOTT. me the whole of the convalescents left in the different hospitals by the regiments which had accompanied him. This order I complied with. 1 * Scott could not as he expected embark at the mouth of the river Genesee, where Wilkinson had promised to provide transportation. He received a letter from Chauncey, stating that he was willing and anxious to fulfil his promise, but that the general would not dis pense with the presence of the fleet even for four days. Scott therefore undertook to march on Sackett s Harbor by way of Rochester, Canandaigua, and Utica, in the middle of a rainy season, and over roads only made by the successive tracks of wagons which had gone in the same direction. General Armstrong, then secretary of war, was at that time on his wild-goose chase in the north, and authorized Scott to confide his column to Major Hind- man, and .proceed alone to the army wherever he could overtake it. Scott reported accordingly to Wil kinson on the evening of November 6th, at or near Ogdensburg, just as Wilkinson was passing the strongest fort of the British, Wellington, the fire of which Scott received in the boat to the command of which he was assigned. Scott was not at the drawn battle of Chrystler s Field, being then engaged in the descent of the St. Lawrence with a battalion of Macomb s corps d elite, to which he had been appointed on the 7th of November. At the very moment when the American general was blundering over Chrystler s Field, standing on the defen sive when his men should be using the bayonet, Scott was achieving a new triumph in front of Loop-Hole * American State Papers, Military Affairs, vol. i. pp. 482-3. ERRORS OF THE CAMPAIGN. 153 creek, where he routed the British, capturing many pri soners. On the next day he landed at Fort Matilda, \vhich commanded a gorge in the St. Lawrence, carried it, and captured an officer and many men. Wilkinson said that he came to conquer Canada and had troops enough to do so. At Chrystler s Field, how ever, he stood on the defensive ; and, though he beat back the enemy, the many brave men who died there won nothing for the nation. On the 12th of November, when Scott was in ad vance of the troops who had fought the battle of Chrys tler s Field and beat back the British (their general would suffer them to do no more), a retreat was ordered, to the utter disgust of the nation. It has been said by those who know, that with a regiment of dragoons and a flying battery Scott could have entered Montreal. The opportunity, however, was lost. As an excuse for this sad blunder, it was said that Hampton would not join Wilkinson at St. Regis, for fear of a want of forage, and Wilkinson would not go down the St. Lawrence because Hampton refused to join him. The people, however, were ashamed of them, and the next campaign was confided to other and younger men. The army after the battle at Chrystler s Field retreated to French Mills or Salmon river, where has been built a village called Covington, after the gallant general killed there, who had but a few hours previously been promoted from a dragoon regiment to the brigade at the head of which he was mortally wounded. Mansfield in his life of Scott thus describes the errors of this campaign : " In the plan of this campaign there was no want of foresight or sagacity. The capture of Kingston, the main point in the plan, would have destroyed the 154 THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF SCOTT. strongest point of defence, and depot of stores, on the line of the St. Lawrence and the lakes, from Quebec to Detroit. Montreal would then have fallen at any mo ment the American commander chose. In the departure from the first object, and deciding on a descent on Montreal, there was yet an important, and, in the event of success, probably decisive move ment to be accomplished. The fall of Montreal would have given the Americans the command of the heart of the Canadas, and, with the comparatively small regular force of the British, they would have kept it and com manded the line of the St. Lawrence.* Such was not, however, to be the result. There was enough of individual valor, of skill, of daring, and of enterprise, to have secured success to a competent com mander, or victory to the boldness of an ardent leader. But, by a series of unnecessary delays and inexplicable blunders on the part of chiefs, these noble gifts of infe riors were rendered useless to their country, and una vailable to themselves. Amidst the disasters of the campaign, there was one benefit. The touchstone of experience had been applied to the temper of the army, and it was now easy to select the pure metal from the dross. It was a hard school of adversity ; but many brave and highly-gifted young men were trained by its teachings to become accomplished and efficient officers. On the other hand, it detected the emptiness and unfitness of many a fop, both young and old, who had been seduced into the service by the * "The plan of the secretary of war, as shown by the official cor respondence, appears to have been that stated in the text. It seems, however, that General Wilkinson differed from the secre tary in opinion, and finally adopted his own scheme, which was the descent of the St. Lawrence, as he attempted it." ERRORS OF THE CAMPAIGN. 155 glitter of uniform and the pomp of military parade. They were made to learn and feel their incompetency to endure the duties or the frowns of war. An elegant writer* has well remarked, that the rude winter gales of Canada swept from our ranks the painted insects, which were fit only to spread their glittering wings in the sum mer sun ; but, at the same time, roused and invigorated the eagle-spirits, who, during the calm, cower in soli tude and silence, but, as the tempest rises, come forth from obscurity to stem the storm, and sport themselves in the gale." * " Substantially quoted from a biography of Scott, in the Ana- lectic Magazine." CHAPTER V. Camp of instruction at Buffalo Opening of the campaign Battle of Chippewa Force of each army Loss on each side Burlington Heights Battle of Niagara Scott wounded Respective loss of the Americans and British American army retires to Black Rock. THE campaign of 1813 had a brilliant commence ment, but terminated with shame and a precipitate retreat. The pride of the army was crushed ; the people had ceased to respect it ; and it was found most difficult to fill up the levies authorized to be made. In attempting to create a military spirit to replace that which had been lost, Scott passed the winter at Albany, New York, by advice of the president arranging such a system with Governor Tomkins, as would prevent pri vate soldiers hereafter from discussing political questions on the eve of battle. On the 9th of March he was appointed brigadier- general, and immediately reported to Major-General Brown, who had again advanced from French Mills towards Canada. So high was Scott s reputation as a tactician, that on the 24th of March his senior pro ceeded to Sackett s Harbor, to afford Scott an opportu nity to establish a normal camp, and to instruct the officers in their duties. The army which was rapidly being assembled at Buffalo, was composed of Scott s and Ripley s brigades, and Hindman s battalion of the second (Scott s old regiment), and a brigade of militia commanded by General Porter. CAMPAIGN OPENS. 157 The brigade of Scott consisted, according to Mans field, of the 9th, llth, and 25th regiments of the line (one battalion each), a detachment of the 22d, and a company of artillery, commanded by Captain Towson. General Ripley commanded the 1st, 21st, and 23d regi ments of the line. General Porter commanded the Canadian volunteers, the New York and Pennsylvania volunteers, among whom, however, was a company of men which had marched on foot from Petersburg, Virgi nia, to participate in the perils of this campaign. The troops were drilled incessantly, the officers being united in squads, platoons, and companies as they pro gressed, to enable them to teach and exemplify to the men what they had learned. Battalions and regiments were formed, and finally the whole line was drilled under the immediate inspection of the commander. This practice was first adopted in the French army under the empire, and subsequently introduced in our service. It has in both countries led to the most important results. At Buffalo every detail of the service was attended to, from the column of attack to the mode of saluting under the personal inspection of the general. In the interval the country complained of the inactivity of the army ; but in the spring of 1814 it resumed its activity, and then became apparent the good effects of Scott s course. When General Brown in June returned to Buffalo, he saw his new levies converted into veterans, and all buoyant with hope and confidence as to the result of the campaign which was about to open. The first movement was on the 3d of July, when Scott crossed the river below Fort Erie, and Ripley above. With Scott j was Hindman s command. Scott and Colonel Camp, a volunteer, had landed before the enemy fired a shot. 158 THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF SCOTT. Fort Erie at once surrendered,* and preparations were made to attack General Riall, who was encamped at Chippewa. On the 4th General Scott advanced towards the village, driving before him the Marquis of Tweedale, colonel of the British 100th foot, who at nightfall crossed the Chippewa and took refuge in the camp of General Riall. General Scott halted at Street s creek, two miles from Chippewa, directly in front of the British camp, between which and his position was a level plain two miles wide, bounded on the east by the Niagara river, along which ran the Chippewa road ; on the w r est was a primeval forest, between which and the road were the Chippewa and Street s creek ; on the other side of the former lay the British army, between a heavy bat tery and a block-house, the fires of which crossed each other in front. Scott s brigade was on Street s creek, in the promontory formed by it and the Niagara. The British determined to anticipate General Brown s attack. The day was long and hot, and the plain was dusty. Far in the distance was heard the gradual murmur of the Niagara, a meet accompaniment to the sounds of strife, which were soon to arise from the champions of two great nations. The battle began between the Canadian militia and Indians, and the troops on the left of the Ameri can line. * Porter s militia brigade, with whom were a few friendly Indians of the Six-Nations, soon drove the enemy from the wood which they had occupied, into the village of Chippewa. Here, supported by their main force, the skirmishers rallied, and in turn drove Porter back, until, when the British regulars ad- * The British garrison of Fort Erie consisted of one hundred and seventy men, and seven officers of the 8th and 100th foot, com manded by Major Bushe, all of whom became prisoners. BATTLE OF CHIPPEWA. 159 vanced, the American irregulars, in spite of all Porter s gallant efforts, broke and fled. Not having anticipated a fight so soon, Scott had taken his men out in their sky- blue fatigue jackets for drill; he saw a dust rise on the edge of the plain. General Brown then rode up and said, "The enemy advance you will have a fight;" thus laconic were the orders to Scott. When he arrived at the bridge over Street s creek, he first saw the enemy displayed in the plain before him. Their force consisted of the 100th regiment, commanded by Lord Tweedale, the royals, by Colonel Gordon, and the eighth foot. They had also with them a detachment of the royal artil lery, a part of the nineteenth light dragoons, and a numerous force of Canadians and Indians. They had over and above this a heavy battery, within point-blank range of the American force. Under a heavy fire Scott passed the bridge ; Majors Leavenworth and McNeil, both of whom subsequently became generals, had taken position in front of the British left and centre. Major Jesup, now quartermaster-general and a major-general, obliqued to the left and dashed immediately at the enemy. Towson s battery occupied a position immedi ately on the left of the Chippewa road. The British line was continuous, that is, within intervals, yet they outflanked the American left. Scott, therefore, com manded his troops to take ground to the right by enlarging the intervals between the battalions of Leaven- worth and McNeil, a difficult manoeuvre, executed under the enemy s heavy fire with the precision of the parade. The action had become general ; Jesup having en tered the wood, held in check the enemy s whole right wing, while the left continued to advance along the plain, which there widened considerably. The conse quence was, that there were two battles, and the enemy 160 THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF SCOTT. made a new flank. General Scott was not at this time more than fifty yards from the enemy, and took advan tage of the interval between Leaven worth s and McNeil s battalions to throw forward the left of the llth, McNeil s, so as to flank the enemy obliquely. Scott then rode up to McNeil s and called to it to charge. The enemy," he said, " say we are good at long shot, but cannot stand cold iron. I call on the llth to give the lie to the slan der CHARGE !" Every man in this regiment had seen at least one campaign ; and giving one cheer, the vete ran soldiers sprang forward, their major leading them. Leavenworth saw what was going on, and also charged, while Towson fired into the British masses with great rapidity. The effect was, that this wing of the British army broke and fled precipitately. Jesup, at almost the same time, finding the other British wing pressing closely on him, brought his men to a support and advanced. The fire of the enemy in the interim was fearful. In a few minutes he coolly halted, and delivered a fire so deadly, that his opponents also retreated. The whole army, headed by Scott, pursued them hotly till within half musket shot of Chippewa bridge, in their entrench ments beyond which they took refuge. This action placed Scott s military skill in a promi nent position, and the credit of the victory was every where attributed to him. His advance of the flank of the llth had enabled him to outreach that of one British wing, and not only strike his flank but double around a portion of the rear. In extending the intervals between his battalions, he seems distinctly to have meditated this. It was also by his command that Towson had given an oblique direction to his guns. The enemy in their ad vance masked their own battery, so that it had no choice but to remain idle or fire on the battery of Towson, BATTLE OF CHIPPEWA. 161 which it did, dismounting one of his guns and having one of their own dismounted by a shot from the Ameri can battery. Immediately before McNeil and Leavenworth made the final charge, Scott rode up to Towson s command, by which he was received with the full military salute given with as much precision as if they had been on the drill ground. " Fire more to the left, captain ;" Towson obeyed, and delivered that fearful fire which opened a way for the American charge into the British line. General Brown had sought to bring up Ripley s bri gade, to the support of Scott. The 21st regiment was thrown forward, but arrived too late. The battle was won, and all they could do was to join in the pursuit. This was a victory worth something. The English troops, which were routed there, were picked men ; the royal regiment, or royal Scots, being one of the oldest in the world, formed at the time of the consolida tion of the kingdoms of._England and Scotland, out of the body-guards of the Scottish king. They had served everywhere with distinction. The 100th foot was a favorite corps ; the artillery was a portion of pro bably the best corps in the world. The 8th foot was also a veteran and celebrated regiment. They were, how ever, beaten badly, by troops at whose appearance the British officers sneered. It is said that the Canadian militia went into action under the impression that Scott s brigade were militia from Buffalo, and had imparted this idea to the British regulars. An officer taken prisoner in front of the bridge across the Chippewa, is reported to have said to his captors, If these be your militia, God keep the regulars from us." Few strangers who visit the cataract of Niagara, omit to look upon the battle-field, which, though on the other VOL. I. 11 162 THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF SCOTT. side of the lake, and beneath the British flag, is the pro perty of the United States, won by the blood and valor of her sons. It is one of our battle-fields. At nightfall each army retired to its camp ; the British general to account for his defeat, the American to communicate to his country the tidings which were to restore to the army the confidence of the nation. The British acknowledged that they were beaten, a thing rarely done by them on the few occasions when such had been the case. They said, however, that the numerical force of the Americans was the greatest. Their own official reports, notwithstanding, prove the contrary. Colonel Gordon led four hundred of the royal Scots into action. Of the 8th, there was one battalion of four hun dred men. The Marquis of Tweedale commanded two battalions of his own 100th regiment ; and the force of dragoons, artillery, and Canadian militia, mustered to gether five hundred men. The total, therefore, was about twenty-one hundred men, of whom one hundred and thirty-eight were killed, three hundred and nineteen wounded, and forty-six taken prisoners. The three battalions of American infantry numbered about fourteen hundred, including the detachment of the twenty-second. Porter s corps numbered about five hun dred ; making the total American force nineteen hundred men. General Ripley s troops did not fire a shot, and Porter s men were not rallied after the advance of the British regulars. Only one company of Hindman s bat talion of the 2d artillery was engaged. The American loss was sixty killed, and two hundred and forty-eight wounded. The inequality of numbers was so slight that the two armies, for all practical purposes, may be con sidered equal. The British general chose his field, was gallantly met by the Americans, and beaten, beyond the possibility of cavil or dispute. BURLINGTON HEIGHTS. 163 This victory was as necessary to the public mind as was that of Washington at Trenton. It proved that there was no excuse for an American force being de feated by equal numbers ; and that with competent men, who knew their duty, commanding in the various grades, they could not be beaten. They had fought at Chippewa with no holiday sol diers, but with men grown gray in India and Spain, and witnesses of many a bloody fight. The English people everywhere recognised this defeat, and the minds of their rulers from this time became every day more dis posed for peace. For this victory Scott received the brevet of major- general, and his aide-de-camp, Worth, that of captain ; McNeil, Leavenworth, and Jesup became lieutenant- colonels, Towson a major, and other officers were remembered. Only two days afterwards the American army crossed the Chippewa, driving the enemy before them. Scott s brigade led the advance. In the fall of 1813, a new fort, called Messassauga, was built by the British near the mouth of the Niagara. After General Riall had reinforced the garrison of this and of Fort George, he retired to the head of Ontario, near Burlington Heights. To obtain possession of these de fences was a part of General Brown s plan, which must precede any ulterior operations. To effect it he needed heavy ordnance, which could not be transported in conse quence of the temporary predominance of the British on the lake, attributed to the illness of Captain Chauncey. He was, therefore, forced to relinquish his designs on the two first posts, and resolved to attack Burlington Heights. To draw the enemy from his strong position he feigned to retreat, crossed the Chippewa, and encamped between 164 THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF SCOTT. it and the Falls. If the British should not be deceived by this movement, it was purposed to allow the army to rest on the 25th, and on the 26th to detach Scott s bri gade up the Queenstown road to force Riall to a fight wherever he might find him. At about two o clock in the afternoon, when the whole army was reposing, General Brown received a note from the commander of a militia regiment, occupying one or two strong posi tions on the New York side, stating that the enemy had sent a thousand men from Queenstown to Lewiston. Brown fancied at once that the motive of this movement was to capture the American magazines at Schlosser, and cut off the communication with Buffalo. He immedi ately determined to teach the enemy a lesson by attack ing the British posts at the embouchure of the Niagara. Scott s brigade was in motion in an almost incredibly short space of time, and on this occasion was composed of four battalions, one of which was commanded by Colo nel Brady of the 22 d infantry, and the others by Majors McNeil, Jesup, and Leavenworth ; together with Tow- son s artillery and a detachment of the 1st dragoons and of volunteer horse, commanded by Captain Harris. The strength of the whole was thirteen hundred men. Imme diately above the Falls, General Scott discovered a party of British officers, mounted, and evidently come out to reconnoitre. He soon after discovered that the enemy were in force before him, being hidden from view only by a strip of timber. He saw at once that his orders to attack the British forts, had been given him on the suppo sition that the American magazines at Schlosser were menaced. He therefore immediately sent Adjutant- General Jones to General Brown with the news, and dashed through the wood just below a dwelling then made famous as Forsythe s house. He found drawn up in front BATTLE OF NIAGARA. 16-5 of him on Lundy s Lane, a larger force than he had defeated before at Chippewa. He now saw that he was in a difficult position. To stand still was out of the question, for the heavy British fire would at once have killed off his whole brigade. It was impossible also to retreat, as in that case a panic would probably be created in Ripley s brigade, immediately be hind him, though at a distance which would not allow it immediately to participate in a fight. He determined at once to begin the battle, leading the British general by his boldness to think that Brown with all his forces was there ; thus taking from him the advantage of his numbers, and stripping him of the prestige of making the first attack. He met with brilliant success, and kept at bay the ene my s whole line until General Brown actually arrived. Scott in the meantime kept Brown informed of the state of affairs, having by a second staff-officer communicated to him the fact, that the enemy were before him in in creased force. Indeed, on the previous night, Sir Gor don Drummond, a lieutenant-general, had arrived with large reinforcements at the mouth of the Niagara. This circumstance Brown was entirely ignorant of. Riall had ascertained it, however, and in obedience to orders had marched down the road to meet him. This was the route Scott intended to take in his contemplated attack on the posts at the mouth of the river. Riall had, it is true, marched by Queenstown, but had not landed on the American side, and had already been joined by two or more battalions landed with Sir Gordon Drummond at the mouth of the river from the fleet. After the commencement of the battle, the others successively arrived. About forty minutes before sunset of a day, the exact counterpart of that on which the battle of Chippewa had been fought, the action began. The rays 166 THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF SCOTT. of the setting sun fell distinctly on the spray cast up by the Falls, and was refracted into a glorious rainbow, one arm of which rested on the American column. The roar of the cataract was mingled with the roll of the drum and volleys of musketry. The British line opened its fire at the distance of one hundred and fifty paces. It numbered about eighteen hundred strong, and was posted in Lundy s Lane, which ran along a ridge nearly perpendicular to the line of the river. The left was about two hundred yards from the river, between which and it intervened a thicket. Major Jesup, supported by Colonel Brady, was ordered by Scott to turn the ene my s flank by taking possession of this opening, which they did, while the other battalions and Towson s artil lery formed line to the front. The cavalry was reserved. An attempt to outflank the American left was at once repelled by Major McNeil, but not without, great loss. While the lines were hotly engaged with each other, Brady had resumed his proper place, as also had Jesup, who, after outflanking the British left, had charged through it and formed line again on his position. In this manoeuvre he had captured Major-General Riall and many other officers. The British general surrendered his sword to Major Ketchum of the 25th infantry, who not only died in the service himself, but left two mem bers of his family who have since been commissioned. When darkness had rendered all things indistinct, the action still raged. At nine o clock, General Brown arrived, and found that the enemy s right and left were routed, and that the centre alone was able to keep posi tion. Battalions of Drummond s reinforcements con tinued to arrive ; and Brown insisted on Scott s informing him personally of all that had occurred. Of the new troops he had brought into the field, BATTLE OF NIAGARA. 167 General Brown determined to form a new line, and make of Scott s brigade a reserve. To do this with safety, it was necessary to carry the enemy s battery, which, strongly posted, was the key of his whole position. Turning to Colonel Miller, the general asked him if he could carry that battery ?" I can try, sir,"* was the brief and soldierly reply. He rushed up the hill, and did carry it. This secured the battle. This battery became the subsequent object of both combatants ; and frequent attempts by the British to retake it, were re pulsed. One of them Scott repelled in person. General Brown was wounded, and sought to turn over the com mand to Scott. He also had been twice wounded, and, exhausted by loss of blood, was disabled. General Brown continued to command. After the capture of the battery, the army of General Brown changed its position, being drawn up across the lane, with the Niagara behind it. Ripley was in the centre, with Scott and Porter on the right and left re spectively. The British continued to attempt to recap ture the battery and crest of the hill, but each time failed. At eleven o clock, Scott was wounded in the left shoulder, immediately after a successful attack on the British line, which compelled it yet further to retire. His aides-de-camp, Lieutenants Worth and Smith, were both wounded by his side. The loss on each side was about equal, the Ameri cans having one hundred and seventy-one killed, five hundred and seventy- two wounded, and one hundred and seventeen taken prisoners ; total, eight hundred and sixty. The British los!: eighty-four killed, five hundred and fifty- * These words were afterwards borne on the colors and buttons of his regiment. 168 THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF SCOTT. nine wounded, and two hundred and thirty-five taken prisoners ; total, eight hundred and seventy-eight. At a late hour of the day, General Brown was forced by his wounds to retire ; and, in the absence of Scott, confided the command to General Ripley, with ofders to bring the dead, wounded, and artillery from the field. The want of drag-ropes and horses, however, rendered it impossible to bring off the guns, which the British were on the next day able to regain. The battle had been fought by night, and when morn ing came, the hostile armies had scarcely begun to repose or shaken off the delirium of battle. Charge after charge, and volley after volley, had been given by night ; and, as an admirable writer states, "For a time the faint beams of the moon struggled with the smoke, and gave a little light to the combatants; but it was but little. The moon itself became obscured, and no light, save the rapid flashes of musket and cannon, pierced the heavy clouds." This battle is called by the British general, in his report, the battle of "Lundy s Lane." In the United States, it is called " Bridgewater." Its true name should be that of " Niagara." Its field is another of our con quests, which, whatever the political condition of Canada may be, is indissolubly connected with the United States. Our army then went to Chippewa, and took posses sion of the enemy s works. A report having been cir culated that Sir Gordon Drummond, at the head of heavy reinforcements, was again advancing, the Ameri can army proceeded to Black Rock, where, after ordering the old Fort Erie to be repaired, General Brown, who had again assumed the direction of affairs, assigned the command to Brigadier- General Gaines. NATHAN TOWSON, Paymaster-General, Brigadier- General by Brevet. GENERAL TOWSON. 169 IN almost all of Scott s exploits and battles on the lakes, pepetual reference has been made to Captain Tow- son, who, with his artillery, figures not unfrequently with more distinctness than men of far higher rank. This gallant officer is a native of Maryland, and entered the service on the 12th of March, 1812, as a captain of the 2d artillery ; the colonel of which, it will be remembered, Scott soon became. After serving through the war with great distinction, and receiving the brevet of major, for capturing the British brig Caledo nia under the guns of Fort Erie, on the 5th of October, 1812, he received a second brevet, of lieutenant-colonel, for gallantry at Chippewa, from the date of that battle, July 5, 1814. The first of these brevets is but one month junior to that conferred on General Taylor for the defence of Fort Harrison, and, next to it, the oldest in the army. General Towson was also at the battle of Stoney Creek, and did distinguished service at the defence of Fort Erie. His participation in the latter action will be related in the biography of General Gaines. The conduct of Towson s battery at the battle of Chip pewa, when thrown forward by General Brown, with Scott s brigade, to bring the British to action, was one of the most distinguished pieces of artillery service during the whole war. It attracted as much attention and won as high compliments from English as American officers. At this battle, Towson, with four guns, held in check an artillery force much superior in number, and belonging to a corps (the royal artillery) considered usually to have no superior, if it has any equal. There is no doubt that Captain Towson, on that day, richly merited the 170 THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF SCOTT. brevet conferred on him, and contributed, in no small degree, to the glory and success of the battle. On the reorganization of the staff of the army, sub sequent to the reduction of 1821, Lieutenant- Colonel Towson was appointed to the head of the pay- depart ment, with the rank of colonel of cavalry, and the date of May 8th, 1822. On the 30th of June, 1834, Colonel Towson was honored with the brevet of brigadier-general. Since his appointment to the pay department, General Towson has been almost constantly confined to his bu reau, the business of which has been directed with an accuracy and fidelity reflecting as much credit on his business faculties as his earlier career did on his military reputation. His services, throughout the war of 1812-15, won him the reputation of being one of the most brilliant artillery officers of the army ; and his services will not suffer in comparison with those of the many younger men who have become celebrated during the Mexican war. CHAPTER VI. Scott s wounds Princeton Treaty of peace Scott declines the office of secretary of war Visits England Vote of thanks by congress Testimonials from state legislatures Controversy with Jackson Address at West-Point on the death of Jackson Dispute concerning brevet rank. SCOTT was severely wounded at Niagara, and was taken from the field of battle in the most intense pain. He had, soon after the action began, been struck by a spent ball in the side, and at a later hour by a musket- ball, which passed through his shoulder. He remained in great agony at Buffalo and Williamsville for several weeks, and was then removed to the house of his friend, Mr. Brisbane, of Batavia. Care and repose did much, and after a further delay, he was able to bear the motion of a litter, in which he was borne on the shoulders of men to the residence of the late Honorable John Nicho las, of Geneva, where he was nursed with unremitting care. The high reputation of the surgeons of Philadelphia made him most anxious to place himself under the direc tion of the late Dr. Physic and Dr. Chapman, the latter of whom was linked to Scott s regard more closely by that masonry of love which unites together most of the sons of that state in which both Dr. Chapman and General Scott were born. This feeling in their case was the more close, as they had been neighbors at home. At this time, however, (September, 1814), Baltimore was supposed to be menaced with another attack, and it was 172 THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF SCOTT. thought most advisable that Scott should assume the nominal command of the troops intended for its defence, and he therefore proceeded with his aide-de-camp, Worth, to that city. His whole journey was like a royal progress, and he was received with every demonstration of respect. He chanced to pass through Princeton on the day of the annual commencement. He w r as placed at once in bed to obtain rest to enable him to support the journey to Philadelphia. It became known, how r ever, that he was in the city, and the faculty immediately sent a deputation to invite his presence. He was carried to the church in which the ceremonies were being held, pale, thin, with his bandaged arm in a sling, and the military frock loosely thrown over his shoulders. He was received by persons of every age, sex, and condition, with the homage he merited. The valedictory address was delivered on this occa sion be a gentleman of high talent, and its subject was, " the public duties of a good citizen in peace and war." At the end of his address, the speaker, catching enthu siasm from the moment and occasion, turned to the wounded soldier and made him the personification of his ideal. The audience were enchanted, and the sol dier and scholar both shared in the applause thus evoked. The president and trustees conferred on Scott the honorary diploma of Master of Arts ; not a mere idle compliment, but one, the right to which he had earned by patient study of two professions. At Philadelphia Governor Snyder received him at the head of a division of militia, whence, after a short delay, he proceeded to Baltimore. At this city, Dr. Gibson, since professor of surgery in the University of Pennsylvania, finally operated on and healed the wound. TREATY OF PEACE. 173 On the 16th of October, he assumed command of the military district known as the Tenth, the head-quarters of which were at Washington. It will be remembered that at this time there was no commander or general-in- chief, other than the president and his delegate, the secre tary of war. At Washington and Baltimore, in feeble health, but actively engaged in the details of his com mand, he passed the winter of 1814-15. Though he had at that time many seniors, he received the high compliment of being requested to furnish the plan trace of the general campaign for the summer of 1815. On the 8th of January the battle of New Orleans was fought, and soon after (February, 1815), news of the treaty of peace was received at Washington. When we look at facts, the treaty of peace must be consi dered to have been made when the British commander led his troops from the breastwork in front of New Or leans. None who have studied the later military history of Great Britain, can doubt (judging from her conduct after the revolutionary war, in retaining possession of posts clearly ceded by the treaty to the United States, her conduct in relation to Malta, and her conquests in India) that if the attack on that city had succeeded, as the heritor of the French rights, by authority of some secret treaty with an obsolete Spanish Bourbon, or any other pretext, the British ministry would have kept possession of the mouth of the Mississippi. It happened, however, otherwise. Each campaign, except that of Hull, had left the sum of operations in favor of the Americans ; and Great Britain was amply content to withdraw from interference with the affairs of the United States. After the treaty of peace, General Scott was offered the office of secretary of war. He declined this high trust, because he thought himself too young for it. He 174 THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF SCOTT. was then requested to take it ad interim, until Mr. Crawford, minister at Paris, who was subsequently ap pointed, should arrive. This he also declined, adding that Generals Jackson and Brown were both his seniors, and that he would not expose them to the necessity either of resigning or of serving under the orders of a junior. At this time, the secretary of war was de facto the commander of the army. After other duties of im portance, he went to Europe, under orders, to gather professional information, and to improve his health, which, from the dangerous nature of his wounds, yet continued feeble. It has also been said that he was charged with diplo matic duties of no small importance, in relation to the revolutions, then at their height, in more than one of the colonies of Spain. He was also instructed to ascertain the opinions of Great Britain in relation to Cuba. This subject engrossed much of the attention of Mr. Madison, the cabinet, and the people. When w r e remember that at that time Great Britain had not manumitted her slaves in the West Indies, and that the re-establishment of her influence in America was a prominent point in her policy, we cannot wonder at it, nor at the feeling which long afterwards induced the convention of the congress at Panama, and made Mr. Monroe publish his celebrated declaration, that, for the future, American affairs were to be interfered with by no European prince or potentate. While in Europe, his tall and soldierly form con tributed to exalt the high estimate already placed on him in consequence of his military achievements. The British officers whom he had met in battle, in a time of peace hastened to welcome him ; and even from the gray-haired soldiers of other wars, he received atten- SUMMARY. 175 lion. Among others who gave him evidence of the fame he won, were La Fayette, Kosciusko, and more than one of the marshals of the French empire. Scott studied intently while in Europe, and brought home a fund of information, the good effects of which can yet be traced in the army. On his return General Scott was assigned to the command of the Atlantic coast, which he exercised until his promotion to the head of the army, with the exception of a few years service in the north-west and special duty in Florida. In March, 1817, he married his present accomplished wife, the daughter of Colonel John Mayo, of Henrico county, Virginia. General Scott s military history to this time may be thus summed up : at the age of twenty-two he entered the army as a captain of light artillery. In the spring of 1812 he became a lieutenant-colonel, overleaping the grade of major, at the unanimous instance of the whole delegation in congress from his state. On the 2d of March, 1813, at the instance of his superior officers, he became a full colonel of a double regiment, and on the 9th of March, 1814, a full brigadier-general. Within four months after that date, the battle of Chippewa took place, and at the demand of the whole nation Mr. Madison ap pointed Scott a major-general. It is worth while to state that Mr. Madison, highly as he estimated Scott, objected to his promotion in the first instance to a lieu tenant-colonelcy over all the majors in the service, and again to his being assigned at the age of twenty-six to the command of a double regiment. His merit, however, overweighed the objection to his youth. He was promoted to the highest rank of the service, and the nation has endorsed the propriety of the act. When the war was nearly over, on the 3d of Novem- 176 THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF SCOTT. ber, 1814, congress passed a vote of thanks to Scott, not only for his conduct at Queenstown, Chippewa, and Niagara, but throughout the war. He alone has thus been honored. The resolution also authorized the president to cause a gold medal to be struck and presented to him as a token and evidence of this respect. During the admin istration of Colonel Monroe, the medal was presented with the following ceremonies : President Monroe } s Address. " General Scott : Your conduct in the late war mer ited and obtained, in a high degree, the approbation of congress and your country. In the battles of Chippewa and Niagara, in Upper Canada, in the campaign of 1814, your daring enterprise and gallantry in action were eminently conspicuous. In rendering justice to you, I recur with pleasure to the report made of those actions by the military com mander, the most competent judge of your merit. In the battle of Chippewa, he says, you are entitled to the highest praise your country can bestow ; and that we are indebted to you, more than to any other person, for the victory obtained in it. In the battle of Niagara you commenced the ac tion, and your gallantry in several severe encounters, until disabled by severe wounds, was equally distin guished. As a testimonial of the high sense entertained by congress of your merit in those actions, I have the pleasure to present you this medal." Major-General Scott s Reply. " With a deep sense of the additional obligation now contracted, I accept, at the hands of the venerable chief magistrate of the Union, this classic token of the 177 highest reward that a freeman can receive THE RE CORDED APPROBATION OF HIS COUNTRY. If, in the resolve of congress, or in your address, sir, my individual services have been over-estimated, not so the achievements of that gallant body of officers and men, whom in battle it was my good fortune to command, and of whom I am, on this interesting occa sion, the honored representative. Very many of those generous spirits breathed their last on the fields which their valor assisted to win ; and of the number that happily survive, there is not one, I dare affirm, who will not be ready in peace, as in war, to devote himself to the liberties and the glory of the country. And you, sir, whom I have the honor officially to address for the last time; you who bled in the first, and powerfully contributed to the second War of Inde pendence ; you who have toiled fifty years to rear and to establish the liberties of this great republic permit an humble actor in a much shorter period of its history, to mingle his prayers with those of millions, for the happy but distant termination of a life, of which, as yet, others have enjoyed the distinguished benefits, whilst the cares have been all your own." This medal became one of Scott s most precious trophies, and was deposited for safe keeping in the City Bank of New York, where sometime afterwards were his head-quarters. While there the bank was entered by false keys and robbed of bullion, coin, &c., to a large amount, which had been kept in the same safe with this token of a nation s gratitude. When the offi cers of the bank entered in the morning, they were sur prised to find all other valuables abstracted, and the VOL. I. 12 178 THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF SCOTT. medal of massive and pure gold remaining. The rob ber was soon arrested, convicted, and imprisoned. Not long after while returning to West Point, the purse of General Scott was abstracted from his pocket. The escroc was arrested and also convicted. While in the prison he was taunted by the bank robber with his want of soul. " I robbed the bank, it is true ; I knew the value of the medal, but could not take the tribute of the nation to a soldier who had bled for her." The anec dote is striking Til ri*est pas vraisemblable, tfest vrai. The legislature of Virginia, February 14th, 1816, also voted to him " a sword of state" and the thanks of his native commonwealth. This resolution the Hon. W. C. Nicholas communicated to him in a letter fre quently printed, to which General Scott made the fol lowing reply : "NEW YORK, June 26th, 1816. Sir : I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your Excellency s letter of the 31st ultimo, covering certain resolutions of the general assembly of Virginia, approbatory of my military conduct during the late war, in general, but more particularly in the campaign of 1814, in which my gallant associates in arms are included. I am most sensibly alive to the good opinion of my countrymen of Virginia a state to which I am proud to owe my birth, and whatever of zeal or patriotism I may be supposed to have shown in the late common struggle of the Union. That my humble exertions have attracted the notice and received the approbation of the general assembly of Virginia, is to me a proud distinction one that will bind me still more strongly to those to whom I was before allied by common interests, principles, and nativity. I beg your excellency to accept my best acknow- TESTIMONIALS TO SCOTT. 179 ledgments, for the very kind and flattering terms in which you have been pleased to communicate the sentiments of the legislature, and believe me to be, With the highest respect and consideration, Your Excellency s Obedient and humble servant, WINFIELD SCOTT." "His Excellency WILSON C. NICHOLAS. This sword was not presented until 1825, when General Scott in person received it from the late Hon. James Pleasants, then governor of Virginia. Governor Pleasants had been one of Scott s early friends, and it was a scene of equal pleasure to each of the two princi pal actors. It was the privilege of the author of this book to hear the address of that honored and venerable old man, grown gray in the service of his country, and the reply of the sturdy soldier who had performed but half the duty he has since paid to his country. The touching beauty of General Scott s reply will be appre ciated by all who read it : " Sir : In the part which it was my lot to bear in the late war, I should have deemed myself as still unfortu nate, whatever success I might have obtained, or what ever honors might have been accorded to me elsewhere, if I had failed to win the approbation of my native state. But from this I have been happily spared Virginia, with parental kindness, has deemed me one of her sons who endeavored well in the second great triumph of our free institutions. The law which gave my name to a county; the thanks voted by the general assembly ; and this sword which I now have the honor to receive at your hands, in the presence of the executive council, are the precious 180 THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF SCOTT. evidences of that partiality. Sir they are appreciated by me in the spirit in which they are bestowed, as incul cating the first lesson of a citizen-soldier, that, as liberty is the greatest of blessings, so should he ever hold him self armed in her defence, and ready to sacrifice his life in her cause !" This sword was of the richest kind, mounted in solid gold, and rich as a gift from the Old Dominion should be. Its hilt glittered with gems, and etched on its blade was the proud device, Sic semper tyrannis, which none of her children loved more than Scott. Its intrinsic value was to be estimated by thousands. Yet the wealth " of Ophir or of farthest Ind" would not have made it more precious in the eyes of the recipient. New York also presented him with a sword by the honored hands of Governor Tompkins, which was received by him in the hall of its greatest city, on the 25th of November (Evacuation Day), 1816. In 1815, Scott was elected a member of the " State Society of Cincinnati" of Pennsylvania. His name was meet to be mingled with those of the heroes of the old war. In 1817 General Scott became involved in a contro versy of a personal character with General Jackson. As it was terminated with equal honor to both of these brave men, it is far more pleasant to pass over it than to chro nicle its details. It is sufficient to say that it was ter minated to the satisfaction of Jackson, who certainly was not pliant in his disposition, and of Scott, like Bayard, sans peuf et sans reproche. It originated in miscon struction of duty and of each other, and has long been forgotten except by those who, without an eye to the pleasant things of life, remember only its deformities. 181 When General Jackson died, they were and had for years been friends. General Scott, then commander of the army, received the news while presiding at the examination of the cadets at West-Point. He rose at once and made the following address, to which criticism can add nothing, nor can it abstract aught : " Ex-President Jackson died at the Hermitage on the 8th inst. The information is not official, but sufficiently authentic to prompt the step I am about to take. An event of much moment to the nation has occurred. A great man has fallen. General Jackson is dead a great general and great patriot who had filled the highest political stations in the gift of his countrymen. He is dead. This is not the place, nor am I the individual to pronounce a fit eulogy on the illustrious deceased. Na tional honors will doubtless be prescribed by the presi dent of the United States ; but in the mean time, and in harmony with the feelings of all who hear me, and par ticularly with those of the authorities of this institution, I deem it proper to suspend the examination of the cadets for the day, and to wait the orders of the execu tive of the United States on the subject." The tenor of Scott s life for a number of years after the war, was even and uninterrupted. Like the storm- birds, which come only on the wings of the wind when the elements are in commotion, and disappear when nature resumes its quiet, is the soldier s career. In seasons of danger his name is in the mouth of every one; in times of peace he is forgotten. Yet Scott was .not idle. The country, it is true, had emerged with credit from a war, but the contest had sufficed to show that many and radical defects existed in the Ameri can military system. To the correction of these he 182 THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF SCOTT. devoted his time and attention. The detail of the ser vice, tactics, and the more exalted art of strategy, within the compass of which are all other arts and sciences, he liad carefully studied, especially the last two, as most became him as a general officer. In 1821 Scott, by authority of the government, put forth a system of military discipline, known as the general regulations of the army, embracing the whole routine of an army in peace or war. He had previously, as president of a mixed commission, pre pared a system of infantry tactics similar to the one used by him in his camp at Buffalo in 1813-14. Another board, of which he was president, ordered this to be published in 1825. In 1826 he contributed to the preparation of the system of tactics for all arms, used in the army until recently, when the great advancement of the art of war required that the system should be modified. These books were intended originally for the militia. The present system of infantry tactics, believed to be the most perfect in the world, was formed by General Scott^ in obedience to a resolution of Congress. It is on the basis of the French books prepared by the most brilliant men of all grades of that scientific arid highly educated army. General Scott had, about 1828, a long controversy with Major- General Gaines in relation to brevet rank, which had never been defined at the time of his promo tion to the command of the army. The head and front of this dispute may be thus defined : After the death of Major-General Brown, who, on the reorganization of the army, had been appointed major-general, Mr. Adams, then president, appointed General Alexander Macomb to the vacant commission. General Scott, it will be remembered, after the battle of Cbippewa,. had been DISPUTE CONCERNING RANK. 183 breveted major-general, and consequently had thus acquired a date senior to both Macomb and General Gaines. He maintained that this brevet commission gave him rank, and therefore command and seniority over General Macomb. The president did not, however, sustain his position, and Scott petitioned congress to enact a statute declaring what the law was. He maintained that since the first establishment of brevet rank it had always been held to give command precisely as other rank did, except in the body of the regiment. That he held the highest rank known in the army (there being no gewral-in-chief other than the president), from the fact that his brevet was senior to Macomb s commission or Gaines brevet. The ques tion, it will readily be seen, hinges on the fact, whether brevet confers rank. The denial of the existence of the grade of general-in- chief was absolutely true, and the justice of Scott s demands was a corollary of the first positions, if they were sustained. Congress did not pass the statute, and it came to be admitted that bre vets did not confer command, and only rank in certain cases. Scott, who had previously offered the resigna tion of his commission, when he saw that public opinion had decided against him, withdrew this resignation ; and, by General Eaton, then secretary of war under the administration of General Jackson, reported to Gene ral Macomb, and was assigned to the command of the eastern frontier. His antagonist in this question, Gaines, was assigned to that of the western. Previous to this controversy, General Scott had a second time visited Europe, and made a tour of England, France, Belgium, and Germany. Until 1832 nothing worthy of mention occurred. CHAPTER VII. Removal of the Indians Indian relics Saukees and Foxes Early history of these tribes Enmity of the whites towards the Indians Outrages Black Hawk The Saukee war The cholera Scott s humanity Treaties with the Indians. THE policy of the government of the United States has been gradually to remove the Indian tribes westward- as the colonization of the vast territories of the Union progressed. The United States have evinced a fixed policy in this matter, and have sought always to remove the Indians, peaceably if possible, but forcibly when they were refractory. For a long series of years, both during the British regime and subsequently, the aborigi nes (for such they are, as far as we know) were vexed with constant wars, and were only received as friends when they became utterly subservient. Instances pecu liarly striking, of this character, will be found in the history of the colonization of Virginia and New England. The only apparent variation will be found in the early annals of Pennsylvania ; and it may be doubted if its colonizer, who bought a kingdom for a few yards of ca lico and red cloth, deserves more credit than the Pilgrims of New England or the Cavaliers in the south ; the first of whom thought it a duty to exterminate infidels and pagans, while the second, in the spirit of old chivalry, were ready to seek out danger, wherever it could be found. Many wise men have doubted the propriety of this system, and have thought that it would have been REMOVAL OF THE INDIANS. 185 far better to leave the Indian races unmolested, and wait until, by the graddal course of attrition and intercourse, the weaker race had become amalgamated with the stronger. To such a state of things there was no impe diment ; the history, not only of the French and Spanish colonies, but of more than one of the states of this con federacy, proving that there existed no repugnance be tween the Caucasian and the Cis- Atlantic race. That this is the case, is made peculiarly apparent by the history of the French colonies. This pliant nation, acting on the principle of suaviter in modo^fortiter in re, have never been engaged in any serious contest with the Indian races. The French colonists, coming to America, assimilated themselves with the occupants of the soil, and made such an impression, that even now, when for nearly a century the French flag has waved over no portion of the country on this side of the Mis sissippi, tribes which formerly lived there, though fre quently without a single member (of the full blood) speaking English, have hundreds familiar with the French. This policy of the United States was inhumane to the Indians of the eastern portion of the continent, and also most materially affected the condition of the races in the great valley of the Mississippi, and the plateau which is on both sides of its upper portion. It is an opinion generally received, that the North American Indians have little attachment to locality ; in other words, are not susceptible of that love of country which is so car dinal a quality in ourselves. A thousand facts refute this assertion. Did Powhatan, did Opechangeno, and a hundred chiefs of the great confederacy of Ouasahun- canoc, as they called the country between the Delaware and the Santee, love their country ? They have left a 186 THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF SCOTT. memorial of their attachment by the legends of strife on the banks of every stream of that country of rivers," and in hundreds of families sprung from them, members of which are diffused through every grade of society, almost in the whole Union. Did King Philip love his country? Why, after his death, was it thought neces sary to consign his family to slavery beyond the seas ? Did the Seminoles love home ? And of what spoke the loud, indignant, but powerless cry of the Cherokees, when exiled only a few years since, but of a deep attachment to the land of their birth? The error is great. The white man does not love his home (for rarely in America are two generations of the same name buried in the same spot) ; but it is not true of the Indian. Even now it is a matter of every- day occurrence (Mr. Jefferson records many such) for descendants of tribes, now mingled with other races, and whose very names have disappeared, when chance directs them to the national capital, to turn aside from the direct route, the recollection of which they seem almost miraculously to keep, to do homage to the spot made holy by the graves of their fathers. The preservation of the memory of the dead, and this attachment to home, are their characteristics. Every Englishman s home is a castle ; and the feeling which makes it so is in the highest degree commendable. It does not, however, exceed that sentiment which makes the old home of every In dian race to them a Holy Land. The greatest outrage which can be inflicted on any Indian people is to sepa rate them from this spot. This is a principle of the human heart ; and the vio lation of it has caused every Indian war which has taken place since the establishment of the government. The cause of the many conflicts of St. Clair and Wayne ; of all INDIAN OR AZTEC RELICS. 187 the horrors of " the dark and bloody ground," was not the enmity and natural depravity of the Indian, but the cupidity of the whites ; and that one perpetual war has not been waged against the United States, must be traced to an impression of the superiority of the European races, which is universal in the minds of all Indians, and is probably based on some half-forgotten myth of other days. The Incas of Peru, the Montezuma, and the old kings of the realm of Quiche, all were under the influ ence of this feeling of inferiority. Occasionally they have gone to war with one or the other of the three great powers of this continent, Great Britain in her colonies, Spain, and the United States, but only when two were arrayed against each other. For a long period of time, the Sauks and Foxes, or, as they call themselves, Sukees, had been established on the Rock river, in the present state of Illinois. There they dwelt when the French colonists, led by Father Hennepin, entered the present state of Missouri (then a part of Louisiana), by way of the St. Lawrence and great Lakes, and there they had remained during the whole time of the British predominance. The mass of the nation had moved westward ; one band had gone northward, into Canada; but, in 1830, a large band yet remained in the old home of their fathers. In this section of country are many memorials which connect the North American Indian, either as an origina tor or destroyer, with a civilization, of which we have as positive evidence as of that Pelasgic and Hetruscan art, which like it, have left as tokens of its existence only ruins. Far up on Rock river, in Wisconsin, are the ruins of a mighty city, the walls of which may yet be traced, proving incontestably that it was built by a peo ple acquainted with the mechanic arts and with the science 188 THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF SCOTT. of defensive fortification. Salient and re-entering 1 angles O O may be distinctly traced there, as in the works of Van- ban and Cohorn, though they are not constructed ac cording to the precise rules of any old world system. The people of the country, catching the idea from the Canadian population, tell you that this is an old French work, and connect with it some long story about the Sieur La Salle and his companions. The idea is, how ever, absurd. No European ever laid one of the un baked bricks, or one of the stones of which the walls are built. Its very size is a contradiction of this. It is competent to contain all the European troops landed in America since its conquest and discovery by the whites ; and nature herself has proved its age, by that of oaks two hundred and fifty or three hundred years old grown on its walls, since they were deserted and levelled with the ground. Around these scenes lived the Sauks in a country which, though with a rigid climate, was of sur passing fertility, and abounded with game and all the necessaries of their existence. In 1830 their village was near the mouth of the river, and the countless graves around it were proofs of the justice of their. title to the soil. A treaty made in 1804 with the chiefs of the Sauks, provided for the cession of this peninsula to the United States, with the proviso, that so long as it belonged to them, the Indians should have the privilege of hunting and inhabiting it. An ambiguous condition, by which the Indian, ignorant of separate states, understood that the per petual usufruct was his ; and the government, that when a new state was erected, including in its limits this pen insula, it was no longer bound to protect the Indians in the enjoyment of this promise. The government, in ad- BLACK HAWK. 189 dition to this, had guarantied to the Indians that these lands should not be intruded on by squatters. Several prohibitory laws by congress, however, did not keep back the vagabond whites of the frontier, and a gradual encroachment on the Saukees produced great ill-feeling on their part. It is a sad thing, yet undenia ble, that along the whole western frontier the universal feeling towards the Indians is enmity. Clamors from the people on this side of the Rock river finally induced the government to order the sale of the lands, and in 1829 the field on which stood a portion of the Saukee village, opposite to Rock Island, was sold at auction. Black Hawk, the chief of the band, became enraged, but at the instance of persons who had influence over him, was persuaded to remain quiet, under the impression that the tribe would not be molested unless it had distinctly and positively sold the village. The great and moving mind of the Saukee nation at that time was Black Hawk. He had acquired a reputa tion and the respect of the people he governed by feats worthy of the most powerful days of his tribe, and the admiration of the whites by conduct assimilated to their ideas and standard. He was a fit man to become the champion of an oppressed people. This is scarcely the place for a sketch of his early career, and of the pecu liar deeds by means of which he acquired this influence. His subsequent career is, however, a leaf of the history of the United States. In 1831 , the Indians as usual planted the corn which, with the exception of a few roots and succulent plants, is their only crop, and expected to harvest it, as they had done for generations. Scarcely, however, had it been planted, when the settlers ploughed it up, and other minor trespasses were committed. With a forbearance 190 THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF SCOTT. rare in an Indian (for with this people a blow follows quickly, and sometimes precedes a word), Black Haw r k calmly remonstrated, and then gave the whites notice to leave his village. On about the 20th of May, a number of the whites complained to Governor Reynolds, of Illinois, that Black Hawk had threatened them, and that the Indi ans were depredating on the property of the whites. This property was the soil on W 7 hich for generations back the Saukee nation had dwelt. The governor immediately called out seven hundred mounted men to remove the Saukees, a circumstance he communicated on the 28th of the same month to Major- General Gaines, then commanding the western frontier, and who had established his head-quarters at Memphis, Tennessee. General Gaines ordered immediately six companies of infantry to move from Jefferson Barracks, and four others from the post at Prairie du Chien, to Rock Island, for the purpose of pacifying the frontier. Of this body of men General Gaines assumed the com mand, and after a conference with Black Hawk and the other chiefs who had become exasperated, without any good results, occupied the Saukee village on the 26th of June, without any resistance. On the previous day the governor of Illinois and General J. Duncan of the militia of that state, had joined him with a force of six teen hundred men. On the 30th of June, General Gaines and the governor concluded a capitulation, by which the Saukees agree to move beyond the Missis sippi. The Saukees were not left unmolested in the homes to which they moved. A series of petty outrages were committed on them, doubtless not by the steady and reputable people of the state, but by numbers of despe radoes who had been attracted, as vultures are to their COMMENCEMENT OF HOSTILITIES. 191 garbage, by an idea that an Indian war would afford them an opportunity of indulging in that red-handed outrage which so much pleased them. The Indians also behaved badly, and in spite of the iterated orders and persuasions of the late General Atkinson, who com manded Fort Armstrong, at the mouth of the river, persisted in returning to the Illinois side, for the purpose, as they stated, of raising a crop on the lands of the Winne- bagoes, who were established on the south side of the Chippewa, a stream tributary to the Mississippi, above Rock river. Black Hawk was a very intelligent man, but at that time, like most of his race, much as he feared the whites, was ignorant of their power and resources. It is not impossible that he wished to array against the United States a confederacy of all the Indian tribes of the north-west. Finding them unprepared to join him, he sought to recross the river. The Indians had encamped at a point on Rock river, above its mouth. A large body of Illinois militia, commanded by a Major Still- man, had proceeded from Dixon s ferry on a scouting expedition to a point higher up, where Sycamore creek meets the river. Black Hawk, who was above, hearing of this advance, sent out three young men with a white flag to meet them, one of whom was captured by Still- man s party and inhumanly shot. Another party of five Indians was also badly treated, two of the number having been shot. The volunteers continued to advance, until, after having crossed the Sycamore, they met Black Hawk at the head of his warriors, very naturally anxious to avenge the murder of his envoys. The command of Stillman having violated a fundamental rule of war, which should be especially observed towards a savage people, behaved only less disgracefully on the field of 192 THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF SCOTT. battle, because their conduct injured no one but them selves. They retreated at the first attack, leaving twelve men killed ; and being pursued by the Indians, were totally routed. This partial success was most injurious to the Indians, who, as is the wont of the red man, looked on it as an augury of victory, and could no longer be restrained. The people of Illinois were greatly alarmed, and the governor at once called out an additional force of two thousand militia. After a series of engagements, the general result of which was favorable to the whites, the place of retreat of the Indians on the Wisconsin river was penetrated, and they were driven from it. One large band sought to go down the river in boats, but were overtaken, and forced to surrender. Black Hawk, at the head of the mass of the nation, sought to escape beyond the Mississippi, which he wished to cross at the mouth of the Iowa. General Atkinson hotly pursued them, at the head of a large force of regulars and mili tia, and totally defeated them, at the battle of the Bad Axe," the translation of the Indian name of the place. Black Hawk escaped, but was subsequently surrendered to the Indian agent by two of the members of his party. This was the end of the Black Hawk war. The chief and two others of the tribe were taken, as prison ers, to the seat of government. After being for a short time imprisoned in Fortress Monroe, at the mouth of James river, they were suffered to return to the tribe, but sank into the insignificance which seems the portion of the unsuccessful. Black Hawk has been dead some years. Immediately after the defeat of Stillman s party, it was supposed that the Potawatamies, Kickapoos, Win- nebagoes, and other kindred tribes, seduced by this first THE CHOLERA. 193 success, would unite with the Saukees, and that a gene ral frontier war would be the consequence. Under this impression, Major- General Scott was ordered to the scene, to prevent it, if possible ; if not, to conduct the operations of the American army. In obedience to this order, General Scott started from Buffalo, New York, with nearly one thousand men. As it was thought advisable that this force should be on the spot at as early a date as possible, the troops were placed on steamboats to be sent to Chicago, from which point they were to co-operate with the regular and vo lunteer force, commanded by General Atkinson. They were doomed, however, to meet a deadlier force than that of the Indian ; to contend with an enemy against which the warrior s arms and the devices of science were alike unavailing ; to see men who had breasted the battle, and whose brows were bronzed by the expo sure of a lifetime, droop and die as the Assyrian of old did at the breath of the destroying angel. The Asiatic cholera, which, after devastating the old world, had been brought into America, appeared on board of the trans ports, when the voyage was nearly accomplished ; and the boat floated on the calm bosom of the lake, in the midst of an atmosphere seemingly uncontaminated by anything that could support contagion. The origin, progress, and disappearance of this dis ease is sufficient, almost, to induce mankind to believe that God Almighty sends in his wrath scourges to punish the world for its sins ; -sometimes in the shape of disease and contagion, and occasionally as Attila and Alaric came to avenge on one generation the sins of its fathers, come these bolts from heaven. The annals of the world record the appearance of this scourge, first beneath the sultry sun of India and the countries VOL. I. 13 194 THE GF.NERAL-IN-CHIEF SCOTT. beyond that land. Gradually but rapidly passing north ward and westward, not the snows of Siberia or the deserts of Arabia have been able to restrain it. Mos cow, St. Petersburg, Vienna, Prague, Constantinople, Venice, even Rome itself, made holy by the residence of the vicegerent of St. Peter, were visited by the pre sence of this scourge. Germany, France, even the ice bound shores of Scandinavia, were visited by it, and from England it passed into the United States through Canada and the British colonies north of it. It swept through our land, and only paused when it reached those climates which science, in its vanity, had foretold would be devastated by it. The Havana, the various ports of the Antilles and South America, where pestilence ever rages 7 it spared. Science was at fault. The diagnostics of the medical art could afford to its nature no clue, yet the cholera was everywhere. The first case occurred in the city of New York, when a gentle west wind was blowing, and the air was balmy and seemingly uncon- taminated as on the morning of creation. So was it at Philadelphia, at Baltimore, at Richmond, and all the ports of the Atlantic coast. Pittsburgh, Louisville, St. Louis, and New Orleans, have records of the same nature. It passed through the land sparing neither the rich nor the poor. It decimated the lowly and the hum ble. The priest at the altar, the laborer in the fields, and the lonely scholar, alike were stricken by it. Even the soldier, amid the perils of his profession, shrunk from a foe against which art was powerless and science vain. It disappeared miraculously, as it had come, and when its traces were no longer seen, the people breathed as if the burden of ages were removed from them. The date of the appearance of the cholera in America was on or about the 5th of June, 1832. It was brought THE CHOLERA, 195 in an emigrant ship from Liverpool to Quebec. In a few days it was at Montreal, in a week at Kingston and Toronto. Early in July General Scott sailed from Buffalo for Chicago with his force, nearly a thousand strong, in four boats. On the 8th of July, while in the centre of lake Erie, with the pure water around him and a vast and primeval prairie on each side of the lake, the cholera made its appearance. On the 10th, the steamer Sheldon Thompson arrived at Chicago, with General Scott and his personal staff, and two hundred and twenty-five officers and men. In less than a week the boat left, but during that time one offi cer and fifty-two men had died. It left eighty others sick at Chicago. Major Twiggs (the present general), of the 4th infantry, was on board of the steamer Henry Clay with a large command. In this boat the officers, in pro portion, suffered most. The captains who had stood the test of every climate of our wide extended country ; the subalterns, in the buoyancy of youth and health ; and the medical staff, by the side of the men, paid tribute to the destroyer. The men were landed near Fort Gratiot, at the foot of Lake Huron, not far from Detroit, and suffered to such a degree that all discipline was destroyed. From these and the other boats the men deserted in masses, and the dead bodies of those who left their colors were strewn for miles along the road. A traveller reported that near Detroit he passed six, in all the agonies of this fearful disease, dying beneath one tree. The sufferers died in the camp and in the wilder ness alone and unattended, without the eye of any com rade to watch over or relieve their sufferings. The few survivors were strewn over the country, avoided by the people as the harbingers of pestilence, and seeking in vain some place where the scourge had not been felt, 196 THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF SCOTT. An officer, since dead of a crushed constitution, which he attributed to the sufferings of this march, stated, that of all his company, which was full, but himself, a ser geant, his drummer boys, and laundresses, remained. In this season of sorrow and distress, though he was ill, Scott exposed himself by attendance on every grade. He passed from the quarters of the field-officer to the lowly couch of the private on his mission of mercy, so that not one man who shared in the sorrows of that sad march can think of the general but as a benefactor. These occurrences detained him some days at Chicago ; and when he was able to leave, of the nine hundred and fifty men who had left Buffalo, but four hundred answered to their names. This remnant he placed under the command of the late General Eustis, and hastened across the prairies to join General Atkinson. He found this officer at Prairie du Chien, the day after the battle of the Bad Axe. This battle, it will be remembered, occurred August 2d. The routed Indians were brought in prisoners, and with them the members of the other band of the Sau- kees and the Winnebagoes, both of which had doubt less given aid and comfort to Black Hawk. About the 15th of August the cholera broke out in General Atkin son s army, which was stationed at Rock Island, whither Scott had come from Prairie du Chien. Again General Scott was called on to minister to the comfort of his men. He himself suffered under many of the symptoms of the disease, yet day and night he was with the sick. The whole camp was become a hospital ; and those who were not its victims suffered with apprehension, not less than the many who were stricken by it. On the 8th day of September many had died, but the infection had disappeared. TREATIES WITH THE INDIANS. 197 About the middle of September he instituted negotia tions for the final settlement of all difficulties, and a council was held at Rock Island, at which General Scott and Governor Reynolds represented the United States, and chiefs were present from the Saukees, Win- nebagoes, Sioux, and Menomenies. The Saukees and Foxes, two tribes united into one, were the leaders of this council, and exerted great influ ence over the other tribes ; with each of whom, however, it was no rare thing for them to be at war. They were not numerous; by their comparative cultivation, how ever, and their courage, they had acquired this influence. After the defeat of Black Hawk, a chief (Keokuck) who previously had acquired and lost much influence, yet who still was reputed one of the bravest and most pru dent of the tribe, at the instance of General Scott, was restored to power. The conference was long; the Indians displayed themselves in all their pride, and the American general took occasion to exhibit that " pomp and pride of war," which none understand better than he. The result was important, both to the red and to the white man. The wonted oratory of the Indian was displayed, and at last a series of treaties were formed, which acquired for the United States the undisputed title of a large territory, and, however painful the circumstance may have been to the Indians, contributed to their interests by removing them from the contamination of contact with the frontier whites. The speech of Scott, to whom Governor Reynolds on this occasion yielded \heparole, has been faithfully and fully reported, and maintains the idea already enter tained of his good sense arid talent. The first treaty concluded was with the Saukees and 198 THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF SCOTT. Foxes, who ceded to the United States about six millions of acres, the mass of the present state of Iowa, and one of the most valuable regions of the Union, in considera tion for a reservation of four hundred square miles on the Iowa, to themselves, and an annuity for thirty years of twenty thousand dollars, the payment of the debts of the tribe, and a few provisions of minor importance. Another treaty was made with the Winnebagoes, by which they ceded to the United States five millions of acres east of the Mississippi and north of the Illinois, comprehending a large portion of the present Wiscon sin, in consideration of a territory north of the Wiscon sin river and Lake Winnebago. A similar annuity was also granted to the Winnebagoes and to both bodies a full hunting-ground. The conduct of General Scott in the making of this treaty won him the love of the Indians, who since that time have ever spoken of as the " good tall war-chief." He was more their friend than they were aware of. He removed them forever from British influence and ren dered it almost impossible for either of these tribes ever to be arrayed against the United States to benefit a power which, without assisting would have used them as it ever has all small peoples, for the advancement of its own selfish ends. After the termination of the coun cil, the troops returned to their several stations. We next find Scott in a more trying scene. CHAPTER VIII. Scott arrives in New York South Carolina and Nullification Action of the Southern States Scott in Charleston Extract from Leigh Settlement of difficulties. GENERAL SCOTT arrived in New York, in October, 1832, after the fatigues of this harassing campaign. Body and mind both required rest, but \vithin a day or two the general was ordered to Washington on duty of a confidential character. This was the era of South Carolina nullification, and the command of that depart ment was confided to him. Never was soldier intrusted with a more delicate command, or with one which imposed more responsibility or higher duties. Even now the events are too recent to be carelessly hand led, and too important to be made the subject of discussion. What were his opinions none can tell ; he was, however, emphatically a man of the south, and it needed no ghost to tell that a collision be tween the state and federal authorities, would be tanta mount to a severance of the .Union. , True great object of Scott was to prevent this, and he had brilliant success in his efforts. The wisest and best men of the nation have held contrary opinions on the right and wrong of this move ment of South Carolina ; where the minds of such men as Webster and Calhoun, Van Buren and Tazewell, Leigh and Clay cannot agree, it scarcely becomes a mere recorder of military events to hazard an opinion. A mere statement of affairs as they occurred is all that 200 THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF SCOTT. should be expected in this book, and all that its author is able to present. On the 15th of May, 1828, the tariff act was passed by congress, which imposed on foreign goods a higher duty than any previous act, avowedly for the protection of American manufactures. All the agricultural states of the sea-board opposed it, while the manufacturing states of the east and the new ones in the west approved of it. The opponents of the measure objected to it on two accounts: first, because it opposed a bar to importa tions and as a consequence diminished exportation of raw material ; and secondly, that the heaviest duties were imposed on articles consumed by the south almost ex clusively. If this were the case, as they maintained, the tariff was unconstitutional because the taxes it imposed were unequal. For four years afterwards great excitement was main tained in Virginia, and all the states south of it. In South Carolina the dispute in bitterness equalled that of the old contest between the federalists and republicans. In that state matters reached a crisis which must have led to collision and war, had it not been for the modera tion of the public servants, the modification of the tariff, and the interference as a peacemaker of the common wealth of Virginia. Twenty-eight days after the passage of the act, the people of Colleton district announced to their fellow-citi zens the doctrine of the propriety of open resistance to all unconstitutional bills passed by the federal legisla ture. Another address, passed at the same time, called on the governor of the state to convene the legislature immediately. This Governor Taylor refused, alleging that when public opinion was thus excited, there was no room for calm deliberation. NULLIFICATION. 201 The Hon. George McDuffie then threw his high talent into the scale of this feeling, and at a public din ner at Columbia, on the 19th of June, suggested the propriety of the imposition of a state duty on northern manufactures. The people became highly excited in South Carolina, and a large party sprung up in almost every state of the Union, sympathizing in the movement. Even as far north as Philadelphia, a journal, called the "Examiner," edited by Condy Raguet, was published as an open advocate, if not of the course of the state of South Carolina, of "the right to nullify an unconstitu tional enactment." The grand jury of Wilkes county, Georgia, presented to the judge, W. H. Crawford, the tariff of 1828, and recommended to the legislature and their representatives, the adoption of such measures as would lead to its repeal. This doctrine was not a new one, being based unde niably on the resolutions of Virginia of 1798, and of Kentucky of nearly the same date, avowedly written by Mr. Jefferson. The remedy was maintained to be peace ful ; and, if bloodshed ensued, the responsibility rested not on the nullifiers, but on those who resisted them in the exercise of their peaceful and constitutional rights. Mr. Preston, Waddy Thompson, Mr. Holmes, and William Hamilton threw themselves also into the arena, and the excitement increased. Two letters, however, oppor tunely published by the venerable James Madison, for a time allayed the feeling. On the 30th July, 1830, the master mind of the whole south, Mr. Calhoun, declared in favor of the right and policy of nullification. These opinions were not, however, unopposed, even in South Carolina, where many eminent individuals took a prominent stand against them. 202 THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF SCOTT. A convention of the people of South Carolina was, however, called by an enactment of the legislature, in October, 1832, to take into consideration the acts of congress in relation to the tariff, and to obtain redress. This convention met at Columbia on the 19th of Novem ber, 1832, and enacted an ordinance nullifying the obnoxious laws, quoad hoc arresting the authority of the courts, and placing all officers under oath to obey only the ordinance and laws to enforce it. It pronounced the tariff act of 1828 (which had been slightly modified in 1832) unconstitutional, no law, and void," not binding on the state or its citizens. It forbade the collection of duties imposed by it, though the importer were willing to pay ; forbade appeal to the supreme court ; and declared that if the federal government attempted to enforce the tariff, South Carolina would consider the Union dissolved, and organize a separate government. Many of the states denounced this legislation, and the president of the United States published a proclama tion in opposition to it, which became the subject of angry controversy, and which, with the strong good sense which characterized him, he subsequently explained away, if he did not absolutely revoke it. The president and cabinet, however, took steps to enforce the revenue laws, and for that purpose ordered General Scott to assume command of the department, the head-quarters of which were at Charleston. General Scott arrived at Charleston on the 28th of November, only two days after the passage of the ordi nance. The excitement in Charleston was intense ; the two parties were nearly equal, and ready to commence hostilities. Volunteers were organized, not only in South Carolina, but the neighboring states and country around seemed on the verge of civil war. SCOTT IN SOUTH CAROLINA. 203 Scott immediately prepared his posts for the collision which seemed inevitable ; reinforced the garrisons, ob tained supplies, and showed conclusively, that, as a true soldier and servant of the Union, he was prepared to defend its laws as long as the government lasted. He also sought to mollify the feelings of the people, and to superinduce deliberation. He had such influence that the leading men of the nullification party determined that, although the time fixed for resistance by the ordi nance was the first of February, no positive step would be taken before the -adjournment of congress. In the meantime, when but a few days would have made the crisis irretrievable, a mediator appeared. The legislature of the state of Virginia, the governor of which certainly, and the mass of the people, it is be lieved, sympathized with South Carolina, passed a series of resolutions : one of which requested congress to re peal or modify the tariff; another requested South Caro lina to reconsider her legislation; and a third authorized the appointment of a commissioner to represent the opinions of Virginia to South Carolina. Her representa tives at Washington w r ere her senators, Littleton Walter Tazewell and John Tyler. The commissioner was Ben jamin Watkins Leigh. He had high success in his mission. The congress of the United States passed the " compromise act," introduced by Mr. Clay. South Carolina repealed her ordinance, and peace was restored to the Union. Mr. Leigh saw Scott in the midst of his onerous duties, and thus speaks of him :* " I was at Charleston when he (Scott) arrived and * This letter was written on Scott s return, after a temporary absence. 204 THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF SCOTT. assumed the command, which he did without any parade or fuss. No one who had an opportunity of observing on the spot the excitement that existed, can have an adequate conception of the delicacy of the trust. Gene ral Scott had a large acquaintance with the people of Charleston ; he was their friend ; but his situation was such that many, the great majority of them, looked upon him as a public enemy. What his orders were, I can not undertake to tell you, nor have I any means of knowing but from his conduct, which, I take it for granted, conformed with them. He thought, as I thought, that the first drop of blood shed in civil war, in civil war between the United States and one of the states, w r ould prove an immedicable wound, which would end in a change of our institutions. He w T as resolved, if it was possible, to prevent a resort to arms ; and no thing could have been more judicious than his conduct. Far from being prone to take offence, he kept his temper under the strictest guard, and was most careful to avoid giving occasion for offence ; yet he held himself ready to act, if it should become necessary, and he let that be distinctly understood. He sought the society of the leading nujlifiers, and was in their society as much as they would let him be ; but he took care never to say a word to them on the subject of political differences. He treated them as a friend. From the beginning to the end, his conduct was as conciliatory as it was firm and sincere, evincing that he knew his duty and was resolved to perform it, and yet that his principal object and pur pose was peace. He was perfectly successful, when the least imprudence might have resulted in. a serious col lision." The great merit of Scott consisted in his moderation. A less prudent man would have involved the nation in PACIFICATION. 205 civil war. He left South Carolina with the recorded approval of his course by the secretary of war, and with the good feeling of the nullifiers. This, added to his conduct in the Saukee war, earned for him the title of " the great pacificator ;" an appellation to which we shall hereafter see him acquire new right. In the course of this controversy many incidents occurred, which contribute much to the high character of the service. The conduct of the army and navy in this crisis can not be too highly commended. Each maintained its ancient reputation, and merited the greatest applause. This is peculiarly worthy of approbation, as the freaks of a drunken soldier or the wild inebriety of a sailor might have brought about a contest, the result of which would have been civil war. Civilians, too, exhibited instances of rare forbear ance. No one who looks at the history of the times, can doubt but that the South Carolinians were resolved to carry out all their plans. They believed they were right, and were prepared to risk all they possessed on the result of the contest. The officers of the army and navy, prone as they are to resent any insult, by common consent agreed to yield the pas to all ; and, except on the 22d of February, that national holiday, forbore from all demonstrations that they were the servants of the whole Union. Then, the national salute, the brilliant rockets, and the loud roll of drum and musketry, recalled to Charleston that a whole nation heard similar sounds. The crisis passed by. It is believed a similar one cannot occur again, and it is better to suffer the past to be forgotten. CHAPTER IX. Seminoles Their origin First hostilities Osceola, his con duct Massacre of Bade and his companions Battle of Ouithlagoochie Scott takes the command Difficulties of the service Sickness Scott superseded Court of inquiry Scott s defence Finding of the court. THE interest of every part of the military history of the nation will be found to be concentrated in the career of General Scott. Therefore it is that in the present part of this work it will be found most convenient to refer to the origin of the Florida war. The Indians whom De Soto and the Spanish conquerors found in Florida had long been extinct, or existed only as a bro ken band called the Mickasukees, or in fusion with the other Indians who subsequently had invaded the penin sula. The new comers were an abrasion from the great Creek or Muscogee race, and were called in their own language, Seminole, or the lost people. Originally out laws and refugees from the great and powerful race who had been long in the mountains of Georgia and Alabama, they had been joined in their new homes by many of the more adventurous portion of the people, and by countless runaway slaves from the civilized portion of Florida, Georgia, and AL.bama. They had also esta blished some degree of intercourse with the old and abo riginal Mickasukees. Unlike most of the Indians of the continent, who exhibit the greatest distaste to the African races, the Muscogees have ever shown a disposition to assimilate with them. The number of persons of mixed African SEMINOLE HOSTILITIES, 207 and Indian blood has long been large, and in the course of the Florida war some of its most influential leaders were negroes. All who have visited the Creek nation, either in the east or west, will bear testimony to the very apparent presence of African blood in the majority of the people. For a long time the colonization of Florida was slow, and the Indians were in undisputed possession of the shores of its beautiful lakes and bays and fertile ham mocks. The peculiar institutions of the country, and the impression of its unhealthiness, were sufficient to divert all emigrants but those who had been born under the influence of a similar climate, or had no objections to establish themselves in a country where slavery was one of the conditions of society. At last, however, the Seminoles began to feel themselves pressed upon, and prepared for hostility. The first overt act was the attack and murder of the mail carrier, about six miles from Fort Brooke, on Hillsborough Bay, one arm of the great Gulf of Espiritu Santo, or Tampa Bay. This occurred on the llth of August, 1835. The body of the mail carrier was thrown into a lagoon, and the mail carried off so completely that no traces of it could be found afterwards. This latter cir cumstance may induce us to believe that on the com mencement of hostilities, though the Indians may have murdered a mail rider, they would not have carried off a mail. This was at first supposed to be but an isolated out rage. It was soon, however, discovered that the Semi noles and Creeks in Florida meditated a hostile move ment against the United States. Before the autumn had passed away, many other outrages had been committed, and in plain English an Indian war existed in the terri- 208 THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF SCOTT. tory. The whites, in turn, became indignant against the Seminoles, and threatened them with utter destruc tion. OSCEOLA, or Asse-yahola, called by the settlers Powell, was one of the leading and most influential chiefs of the Seminoles at this time. He was a half- blood, his father being a white and his mother a Mus- cogee woman. It may be proper to state here one peculiarity of the Indian mode of counting genealogies which is strange, yet not without a foundation in justice. The children are always traced by their mothers instead of their fathers. For instance, the children of a chief s daughter succeed to the chiefdom in preference to those of a son. The reason assigned is that the children re puted to belong to the real son, may not be the chief s grandchildren, but that the children of a chief s daughter, if she be really his child, must be the chief s grand children. For this reason, though a half-blood, it is probable that Powell succeeded to some hereditary influ ence over the many Creeks in Florida. He was, it seems, always a man of influence, but of a proud, gloomy, and morose nature. He had on more than one occasion expressed himself in relation to the rights of his people : declared that the country belonged to the In dians ; that the Seminoles needed no agent ; and bade General Thompson, who was with them as agent, begone from among them. For this very natural burst of rage, he was most imprudently arrested and con fined. After his release his manner appeared changed, and he signed a subsequent treaty with great ap parent satisfaction. He also rendered some services to the whites by arresting more than one desperado, who had taken refuge among the Indians. This was, how ever, but a ruse, for in a short time he threw off the BATTLE OF OUITHLAGOOCHIE. 209 mask, murdered his rival, Charley Mathla, a friend of the whites, and after forcing the followers of the latter to join him, and making a treaty of alliance with the Mickasukees, between whom and the Florida Creeks there had for some time been a feud, he began hostilities against the whites. On the 28th of December, Gen eral Thompson, the agent, and Lieutenants Constantine Smith, Erastus Brooks, and two other persons, were shot within two hundred and fifty yards of Fort King, by a party of Indians, at the head of which was Osceola. On the 22d of December, 1835, Major Dade left Tampa Bay, with a force of one hundred and twelve officers and men, to reinforce Fort King, which is near the centre of the peninsula. After marching sixty-five miles in five days, at the end of each of which the com mand was forced to entrench itself; on the morning of the 27th he was attacked by an enemy hidden in the thickets, with so fearful a fire, that most of the officers and men were wounded or killed. After a desperate contest, the whole party but three were slain. The latter only escaped by artifice. The officers killed were Major Dade, who fell at the first volley, Captain G. W. Gardiner, Captain Frazier, Lieutenants Bassinger, Keayes, Mudge, and Henderson, and the surgeon, Dr. Gatlin. They did not die without resistance, however, but slew, according to the account of the Indians them selves, great numbers. But three days after, General Duncan L. Clinch, at the head of about two hundred regulars and a volunteer force, marched towards the Ouithlagoochie, where he found the Indians collected. After crossing the river, on the last day of the year 1835, he was attacked by Osceola. Clinch and his regulars beat back the attack most gallantly ; and had it not been that the volunteers, VOL. I. U 210 THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF SCOTT. except a very few, refused to cross the river, it is proba ble the war would have been ended. Powell fought like a devil in front of his men, firing rapidly and wiping out his rifle at every discharge, as he would have done in the chase. His voice during the pursuit was heard often loudly, but in vain, seeking to rally his defeated warriors. These events belong more properly to the general history of the country, and are but items in the history of the territory through the winter of 1835-36. The territory was devastated, and nearly the whole country was visited with fire and sword. The suburbs even of St. Augustine and of Jonesborough were unsafe, and the many beautiful plantations on either side of the St. John s were ravaged. This magnificent stream, by means of which the extensive lakes on the eastern side of the peninsula are drained, is one of the grandest water courses in the world. Were it not for a narrow bar at its mouth, a frigate from the sea might beat up it for eighty or one hundred miles. It had already begun to bear on its bosom vessels freighted with a valuable commerce, and every day arrivals from the states immediately north of the territory through which it ran, brought new emi grants to its shores. The vast and primeval forests which fringed it, rose from a virgin soil, and sheltered beneath them countless deciduous plants, the flowers of which well entitled the peninsula to its name. The lakes which fed it with water were broad, deep, and navigable, with glades on their shores in which the orange and other tropical fruits grew spontaneously. Over the old Spanish plantations, begun as long ago as the days of the Captains-General, the Indians wandered, and the deserted quintas of the planters were filled with howling savages. SCOTT TAKES COMMAND. 211 Of this country, when matters were at the worst, General Scott was ordered to assume the command on the 20th of January, 1836. At four P. M. he saw the secretary of war, and was requested to say when he would be ready to set out. His answer was, that night. His instructions could not, however, be prepared before the next day. It seemed not improbable that many of the principal Muscogees or Creeks would join the Semi- noles ; and the orders of General Scott, received on the 21st, were based on such a contingency. One month was consumed in the voyage and in necessary delays, before he reached Picolata, an estate on the St. John s, directly west of St. Augustine, and where, subsequently, the general hospital of the Florida army was established. At this place, on the 22d of February, he published his orders, assuming the command, &c. The army was formed into three columns, of which General Clinch was to command the one west of the St. John s ; that east of the river was to be commanded by Brigadier- Gene ral Eustis, and the other, with head-quarters at Tampa Bay, was to be commanded by Colonel Lindsay. To increase each of these columns, militia were drafted from the adjoining states. At the end of the year 1835, the adjutant-general reported the number of regular troops in Florida to be twelve thousand, including officers of all grades and men. The war at this time became connected with the views of the abolitionists and their opponents, in conse quence of the fact that a large number of fugitive slaves were known to be among the Seminoles, whom their masters wished to reclaim, and because it was ap prehended that the slaves taken in their forays from the plantations of the whites, would be conveyed to Havana and there sold in the slave markets and barra- 212 THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEFSCOTT. cones. For this reason also a naval force was ordered to be kept between Cape Florida and the north shore of Cuba. Communication, however, did take place in spite of the naval co-operation as lately as the winter of 1838 and 1839, when several officers of the army saw in the Plaza Vieja of Havana, persons evidently of the blood of the North American Indians, and heard them speak ing the Muscogee language. The reports of various battles also showed the presence of a large body of negroes, and it was subse quently ascertained that at Dade s massacre a party of sixty negroes were present, well armed and mounted, and in the massacre and slaughter of the wounded, exhibi ted more ferocity than the Indians ; they also aroused universally, in the minds of the whites, more ferocity than the latter. Acting on information which came from such a source as to make it seem authentic, all the columns previously mentioned, each of which had before been reinforced by volunteers, moved towards the Withlagoo- chie, where they were in fancy sure of finding the ene my in force. Though from time to time small parties of Indians were met, they uniformly retreated after the delivery of a single volley, and in a country unex plored as Florida at that time was, defied pursuit. The columns moved through the country where the Indians were known to have been, without either discovering them or their retreat. On the 5th of April all the divisions had returned to Tampa Bay, in consequence both of famine and sickness. No one can form an idea of the peculi arities of Florida, without having seen it. Wagons be came really what CaBsar called them, impedimenta, and beasts of burden are required not only to transport the food of the army, but their own forage. The men, but SICKNESS OF THE TROOPS. 213 recently drawn from more temperate climates, sunk under the influence of the hot wind and the difficulties of the Florida hammocks. The columns therefore returned one after another; and when the general discovered that the main purpose had not been realized, he organized six smaller columns which were to explore the whole country occupied by the Indians, and if possible ascertain their haunts. At the head of one of these General Scott went to Dade s battle ground, crossed theOcklewaha, and ultimately proceeded as far as Volusia, on the St. John s. The other columns were commanded by General Eustis, Colonel Smith of Louisiana (at present brevet brigadier-general of the army), Major Reed of Florida, and Colonel Lindsay ; all, however, were unsuccessful, with the exception of small skirmishes with the Indians, whom of course they uniformly routed. In the course of one month, the time consumed by these operations, four hundred (one third) of the regu lars were attacked with a peculiar and distressing fever of bilious character, the best conceivable defence of the country. Provisions had failed, and nothing had been gained except the certainty that the war was to be a long one, and the enemy literally to be pursued into swamps and wildernesses, scarcely ever penetrated by the foot of man. The people of Florida, though perfectly aware of this, were unjust enough to censure the general who, for the first time in his whole career, had met with a check, which, even in this case, was caused by the dis ease of his command. The subsequent history of this war justified all the arrangements of Scott. When a serious impression was first made on the power of the Seminoles, by Colonel Taylor, and their power was ulti mately crushed by Colonel Worth, it was by a rigid ad- 214 THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF SCOTT. herence to Scott s plans, and by availing themselves of a thorough knowledge of the country, to which the marches of his six columns had in no small degree contributed. Now, when almost every officer of rank in the army has commanded in Florida, when all have undergone the or deal of its marches and climate, who can appear before the bar of public opinion and allege that he has done better ? General Taylor at Okee-chobee defeated the Seminoles, and exhibited a military talent not second to that subse quently displayed by him in Mexico. He first found them, however, which Scott could not do. The reason why, will easily be understood. Florida was a wilder ness. On the greater part of it, the white man had never stood, and long before the war began, the Indians exhibited a fixed determination not to permit it to be known. Even the officers who for years had been sta tioned at Fort King and Tampa, had rarely penetrated more than a few miles from their posts. They were in fact maintained as much to keep in order the hybrid Minorcan, Spanish, and American population, as to hold the Indians in check. The peninsula, with its depen dency, West Florida, almost as large as the state of New York, contained, it is true, a mass of rich and fertile lands, and many deep and navigable streams ; its woods teemed with game, and its rivers abounded with fowl and fish, but the greater part of the soil offered small temp tations to the settler. The people of the peninsula knew little of the Seininoles, who revealed themselves first by their outrages. The vast Payahokee or Everglades, a region which almost recalls the fabulous chaos, was scarcely known to exist ; and even now, there are num berless islets amid its recesses altogether unexplored. The information upon which General Scott based his operations was incorrect, though it seemed well founded^ 215 and could be rectified by no diligence on his part. General Scott s connexion with this war was brief; and a more full description of the country will more properly consort with the plan marked out in the sketch of other officers. Before he left the command of Florida, General Scott informed the secretary of war, in a report written April 30th, that, though aware the Seminoles were not nume rically great, a force of twenty-four hundred foot and six hundred horse would be required to subdue them. He also called for two steamboats and a number of barges. A much larger force than this was ultimately required to overpower them. On the 20th day of May, 1836 (some difficulties hav ing ensued among the Creeks in Georgia and Alabama), General Scott left St. Augustine for a new scene. He proceeded there, to organize his commissariat and to receive volunteers. By the first of July, the war (which had threatened much) was virtually concluded, five hundred hostiles having been captured. He soon after turned over the command to General Jesup, who, on the 12th, wrote that of thirteen hundred other hostile Creeks, nine hundred were in his possession. On the 9th of July, " Scott gave up the command, under extraordinary circumstances." He was in fact superseded. General Scott had written to Washington to complain of disobedience of orders by General Jesup. This was as W 7 ell known in the army as the disobedience had been, and of course came to the knowledge of General Jesup, if Scott did not in person communicate it to him. General Jesup wrote also to Washington ; not, however, to the secretary, but to Mr. Blair, the well-known editor of the Globe, in which, after stating substantially that he considered Scott s course ruinous 216 THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF SCOTT. to the best interests of the United States, he requested that the letter might be shown to the president. There were also some minor matters referred to, which showed conclusively that the letter was never intended to be made public. The letter was shown to the president, who retained it, and subsequently sent it to the war department, with an order that General Scott should be recalled, and an inquiry be had into the delay in prose cuting the Creek war, and the failure of the Florida campaign. Scott at once proceeded to Washington and demanded a court of inquiry. Instead of finding a criminal, the administration had called up an accuser. The court was ordered, with General Macomb as its president, Generals Brady and Atkinson as members, to assemble at Fre derick, in Maryland, an out-of-the-way place, which enabled the government to direct the prosecution, yet it was thought would prevent the mass of the people from being cognizant of what was going on. It may be mentioned here, that a fundamental rule of military law was violated. It is a principle that the officer who prefers a charge, shall not order the court to investigate or try an officer charged with it. The execu tive was in this case the prosecutor ; and if investigation were needed, it should have been made by the authority of a higher power, the representatives of the people and states. This violation of military etiquette, if not of law, was, however, ineffective, from the character of the three brave men who were to investigate the charges. After a long and elaborate inquiry, which Scott insisted on, the minute examination of many witnesses, and the reading of an elaborate defence by General Scott, the court pronounced the Seminole campaign to be well devised, and to have been ably, steadily, and 217 prudently prosecuted." The Creek war, as prosecuted by Major-General Scott, was well calculated to lead to successful results, and was prosecuted by him with ability until he was recalled. Scott s defence was eloquent, and in its style a model. It has previously been published at length, and therefore only its most striking portions need be repeated. He began as follows : << Mr. President, and Gentlemen of the Court: When a Doge of Genoa, for some imaginary offence imputed by Louis 14th, was torn from his government and compelled to visit France, in order to debase him self before that inflated monarch, he was asked, in the palace, what struck him with the greatest wonder amid the blaze of magnificence in his view. < To find myself here P was the reply of the indignant Lescaro. And so, Mr. President, unable, as I am, to remember one blun der in my recent operations, or a single duty neglected, I may say, that to find myself in the presence of this honorable court, while the army I but recently com manded is still in pursuit of the enemy, fills me with equal grief and astonishment. And whence this great and humiliating transition? It is, sir, by the fiat of one, who, from his exalted sta tion, and yet more from his unequalled popularity, has never, with his high displeasure, struck a functionary of this government, no matter what the office of the individual, humble or elevated, who was not from the moment withered hi the general confidence of the American people. Yes, sir, it is my misfortune to lie under the displeasure of that most distinguished person age. The president of the United States has said, < Let General Scott be recalled from the command of the army 218 THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF SCOTT. in the field, and submit his conduct in the Seminole and Creek campaigns to a court for investigation. And lo ! I stand here to vindicate that conduct, which must again be judged in the last resort, by him who first condemned it without trial or inquiry. Be it so. I shall not suppli cate this court, nor the authority that has to review the 4 opinion here given. On the contrary, I shall proceed at once to challenge your justice to render me that honorable discharge from all blame or censure which the recorded evidence imperiously demands." His collation of evidence, his arrangement of inci dents, and the graphic description of the country and the occurrences of his campaign, demonstrated that he had thoroughly studied and not yet forgotten his old profession, and that he who could thus eloquently speak in his own defence would have been a mighty advocate for another. He closed thus : " Mr. President, and Gentlemen of the Court: I am exhausted, but should do equal wrong to justice and to my own feelings, not to return to each and every one of you my hearty thanks for the patience and impartiality you have all shown, including the judge-advocate, in this long investigation. Every material fact which has been given in evi dence that could by mere possibility affect your judg ments to my prejudice, and I recollect but few of that character, will be found carefully embodied, or specifi cally referred to in this summary. Much, I know, has been wholly omitted on the other side. These declara tions, I am confident, no examinations will be able to controvert ; and here I may add, that there is not an im portant circumstance in all my recent conduct in the field, which was not duly reported at the earliest mo- FINDING OF THE COURT. 219 raentj and with my own hand, for the information of government. With, then, this overwhelming mass of evidence in my favor, permit me again to ask, by what strange fatality do I find myself here ? It is for this court, with the approbation of the president of the Uni ted States, to bid me depart with honor ; and that that decision may be without the further alloy of suspense, in which I have now but too long been held, under cir cumstances which, perhaps, could not have been con trolled, I will ask that it be speedily rendered." The finding of the court was altogether in support of Scott. The charge recoiled on those who advanced it, and the occurrence in subsequent discussions in con gress was used as a lash on those who had sought to rend thus rudely the laurels from the brow, made historical at Lundy s Lane and Chippewa. The court thus ex pressed itself: " The court, after a careful review of the great mass of testimony taken in the foregoing investigation (the Florida campaign), finds that Major-General Scott was amply clothed with authority to create the means of pro secuting the Seminole war to a successful issue ; but is of opinion that, at the time he was invested with the command, the season was too far advanced for him to collect, appoint, and put in motion his forces, until a day too late to accomplish the object. It appears that, after using great diligence and energy, he was not in a condition to take the field and enter the enemy s strong holds before the 28th of March, and then without suffi cient means for transporting the necessary supplies to enable him to remain there long enough to seek out the scattered forces of the enemy. The court, therefore, ascribe the failure of the cam paign to the want of time to operate, the insalubrity of 220 THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF SCOTT. the climate after the middle of April, the impervious swamps and hammocks that abound in the country then occupied by the enemy, affording him cover and retreat at every step, and absence of all knowledge, by the general or any part of his forces, of the topography of the country, together with the difficulty of obtaining, in time, the means of transporting supplies for the army. The court is further of opinion, from the testimony of many officers of rank and intelligence who served in the campaign, that Major- General Scott was zealous and indefatigable in the discharge of his duties, and that his plan of campaign was well devised, and prosecuted with energy, steadiness, and ability." On the charge of delay in opening and prosecuting the Creek campaign, the finding of the court was also clear and satisfactory : " Upon a careful examination of the abundant testi mony taken in the foregoing case, the court is of opinion that no delay, which it was practicable to have avoided, was made by Major-General Scott in opening the cam paign against the Creek Indians. On the contrary, it appears that he took the earliest measures to provide arms, munitions, and provisions for his forces, who were found almost wholly destitute ; and as soon as arms could be put into the hands of the volunteers, they were, in succession, detached and placed in positions to pre vent the enemy from retiring upon Florida, whence they could move against the main body of the enemy, as soon as equipped for offensive operations. From the testimony of the governor of Georgia, of Major-General Sanford, commander of the Georgia vo lunteers, and many other witnesses of high rank and standing, who were acquainted with the topography of the country, and the position and strength of the enemy, SCOTT CLAIMS COMMAND. 221 the court is of opinion that the plan of campaign adopted by General Scott was well calculated to lead to success ful results, and that it was prosecuted by him, as far as practicable, with zeal and ability, until recalled from the command." The "sober second-thought" of the nation has since done justice to Scott; and the prolixity of the Florida war has by it been attributed to the fact that a Camerilla, without military knowledge, a thousand miles from the scene of operations, dared to prescribe plans to, and to supersede a tried and tested soldier. Mr. Van Buren had, on the 4th of March, become presi dent of the United States, and approved the proceedings and finding of the court, which was held in January and February, 1837 ; and the people of various sections of the country offered to General Scott the most gratifying testimonials of approbation. The people of the city of New York, of Elizabethtown, New Jersey (where General Scott had long been stationed), and of Rich mond, Virginia, his home, offered him public dinners ; all of which he declined. General Scott then addressed a letter to Mr. Poinsett, claiming the command as a right, inasmuch as nearly all the troops of his division were employed there, and on the ground that he was the senior of General Jesup. The senators and members of congress from Virginia, of which state both General Jesup and himself were citi zens, urged that the command should be conferred on him. So strong was public opinion throughout the Union, on the subject, that the Richmond Enquirer, then as now a devoted advocate of the administration, urged the propriety of this course. The president and cabinet did not, however, do so, retaining control of a mere border war, which should have been permitted to 222 THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF SCOTT. remain exclusively under the control of the command ing officer of the army. A fairer or more appropriate opportunity to refer to a disposition, some time since, to fritter away the duties of the senior officer of the army, cannot be found than the present. Though it be unde niable that the president is commander-in-chief of the army, it is to be understood that he is so in a technical sense, to sign commissions, &c., and that the founders of the government never meditated that he would inter fere in the details of command. It would have been as appropriate for the cabinet to have posted a sentinel on the picket of Fort Fanning, or detail a corporal s guard to escort a subaltern from Wakassassa to Wahahoutie, as it was to dictate to General Macomb which of his juniors he should send to Florida. The interference of the delegations from Virginia, New Jersey, and New York, can only be justified on the ground that they sought to correct what the nation has since pronounced o f as an act of injustice to a brave soldier. Scott had no further connexion with the Florida war. Even if we admit that his conduct failed, the circum stances affect his reputation no more than would the fact that in a personal contest he were overcome by a more wily and active, though less muscular, opponent. Giants are not to be measured with pigmies, but in com parison with adversaries worthy of them. CHAPTER X. Disturbances in Canada Sympathizers Burning cf the Caro lineThe Barcelona Maine boundary Scott proceeds to the Maine frontier Official documents Scott succeeds to the chief command of the army. IN 1814 General Scott left Canada, wounded, but a conqueror rich in the possession of the esteem and regard of his countrymen. Years had since passed ; age had, if possible, matured his judgment and in creased his reputation among his countrymen. The same administration which but a few months before had refused to permit him to return to Florida, after a long council ordered him northward, on the 4th of January, 1838. In the year 1837, Canada became much excited by political discussions. The lower province, as that part nearest the mouth of the St. Lawrence is called, and which is the seat of the original French population, broke out in flagrant rebellion, with which a portion of the upper province sympathized. The population on the northern boundary of Vermont, New York, Ohio, and Michigan entered deeply into the feelings of the Canadians ; so that when things reached a crisis, no imaginary line drawn in the centre of a lake, over the bosom of which steamboats were constantly plying, could restrain the population on either side of it. The days had gone when no Burgundian knight would pass the pennon which separated the great duchy from France ; and it may be 224 THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF SCOTT. doubted if any feeling of chivalry, or the command of any king or duke, would ever have restrained the im petuous and impulsive American from going anywhere he pleased. Some have stated that one-fourth of the population along the frontier were enrolled as sympathizers. This is probably an exaggeration ; but whether it be or not, one thing is certain, the Canadian rebels, insurgents, traitors, or pirates, as the British government may please to call them, had many affiliated societies in the United States, the members of which were numerous enough to be able to affect in no slight degree the security of the British power in North America. The fact is, this power is as insecure as possible. The great Lord Coke, two or three centuries since, stated that corporations have no souls, and cannot therefore be im- pleaded in chancery, which affects only the conscience. Corporations have other soulless qualities, not the least inhuman of which is the certainty that the power which created them has no reason to expect they will maintain allegiance longer than interest dictates. The true con trolling power of Canada, therefore, is the British Hud son s Bay Company, which will turn any away that its interest shall dictate. The people of Canada knew this. Men who have left a country voluntarily, rarely have any deep love to it ; otherwise they would sooner be crushed , like the old Greek priest, by the falling temple than be saved by flying from its ruins. The question therefore on one side of the lakes was based on nationality and interest, on the other by the enthusiasm of a love of liberty and the feeling so peculiarly American, that people should obey law, not because it is right or wrong, but because it is law. Great Britain, at this crisis, reinforced her garrisons BURNING OF THE CAROLINE. 225 and appealed to the feeling of loyalty. This was useless, because those who could be thus influenced would not revolt. The president also caused to be reinforced the garrisons of the United States, and appealed to the popu lar love of law to induce the frontier-men to remain neu tral. This also, was useless, for those who would violate neutrality would not care for the president s pro clamation. Each power should have strewn troops along its whole frontier, if it wished to prevent an outbreak : the British, to keep back the sympathizers ; the American, to restrain the people, if such was its wish or interest. The people of the United States are all armed ; and even the muskets which belonged to the state were surreptitiously taken to afford arms to the cause. After some time spent in preparation, a person named Van Rensselaer, at the head of some hundred men, crossed the river from Schlosser, a village a few miles above the Falls, and took possession of Navy Island, belonging to Canada, but near our shore. It is difficult to say what were the motives of this enterprise, unless it was intended by the patriots as a throwing down of the gauntlet, and a signal for action by the numerous associations affiliated with the patriots through out Canada. The impression prevails, that besides the regular troops, the British government could depend on the mass of the permanently embodied militia, which were generally commanded by officers of the army. Between Schlosser and Navy Island, a small steam boat, called the Caroline, was employed to run by Van Rensselaer ; against which, after she had been thus em ployed but a few hours, the British fitted out an expedition under the command of a captain of the royal navy, which proceeded at night and burned the boat while secured to the wharf at Schlosser. On board this boat were no VOL. I. 15 THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF SCOTT. patriots, but merely a few idle people. In the contest one person was killed and one or two wounded. The boat was then cut loose and run over the falls, with several wounded men, it has been said, and was believed, in her. This outrage excited the whole American people, and made what the patriots most desired, their cause popular among people of the better classes along the whole line. This occurred December 29th, 1837, and was reported at Washington, January 4th, 1838. A council was immediately held, and General Scott was instructed to proceed to the scene of his old glory and assume the command of the American forces. At this time there was no garrison on the whole fron tier nearer than Detroit, whence it could not be spared ; and Scott was therefore alone. He had, however, received full powers to call for militia and volunteers, to require the assistance of marshals and custom-house officers, and had ample authority to act should neu trality be again infringed upon. On his route from Philadelphia, New York, and Albany, he had gotten possession of a force of unattached recruits, and from the latter place was attended by Governor Marcy, (now secretary of war. ) By addresses and personal exertions along the whole frontier, General Scott succeeded, to a great degree, in allaying the excitement. He persuaded the people to trust the settlement of the Caroline affair to the national government, and not to interfere between Great Britain and her colonies. An affair afterwards occurred, how ever, which was more threatening than this ; in which Scott was a conspicuous actor. In January, 1838, a steamboat, called the Barcelona, was cut out of the ice in Buffalo, it was known, for the use of the patriots, and immediately started for Navy THE BARCELONA, 227 Island. This, General Scott sought to prevent; and, accordingly, had taken steps to have the boat seized by civil process, the instant any overt act, which would jus tify such a course, should be committed within the waters of the United States. He determined, however, on another course, and immediately hired the boat, by an agent, for the use of the United States, and sent her back to Buffalo, intending to employ her on Lake Erie. The Canadian authorities, who were aware that the patriots had employed the Barcelona, lay in wait to destroy her, w T ith three armed schooners and land bat teries, as she passed from the channel between Grand Island, within the state of New York, and the main shore. General Scott and the governor stood watching the event. The boat was just visible, and the British were evidently awaiting the result. The battery on the American shores was pointed on the British vessels and guns, and the bombardiers, with burning portfires, stood ready for action. This was on the 16th of January. Scott, to an English officer who chanced to be on the American side, then repeated the statement contained in the following note, written the day before : "To the Commanding Officer of the armed British vessels in the Niagara. Head-Quarters, Eastern Division U. S. Army, ) two miles below Black Rock, January 15th, 1838. j SIR: With his excellency the governor of New York, who has troops at hand, we are here to enforce the neutrality of the United States, and to protect our own soil or waters from violation. The proper civil officers are also present, to arrest, if practicable, the leaders of the expedition on foot against Upper Canada. 228 THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF SCOTT. Under these circumstances, it gives me pain to per ceive the armed vessels mentioned anchored in our waters, with the probable intention to fire upon that ex pedition moving in the same waters. Unless the expedition should first attack, in which case we shall interfere, we shall be obliged to consider a discharge of shot or shell from or into our waters, from the armed schooners of her majesty, as an act seriously compromitting the neutrality of the two nations. I hope, therefore, that no such unpleasant incident may occur. I have the honor to remain, &c. &c., WINFIELD SCOTT." The troops on duty were militia, called out by the governor, but which had not as yet been mustered into the service of the United States. The officer returned, the boat passed up along the British vessels, which did not fire. On the previous day, the patriots landed on the American shore, where Van Rensselaer and a few of the prominent men were immediately arrested by the civil authorities. This ended* Scott s services on this occasion. The people of the country did honor to him for his services, and he retired to his permanent head quarters. There, however, he was not permitted to remain long; almost immediately being despatched to another scene, the Cherokee nation. Before treating of this, however, it may not be inap propriate to refer to the events which occurred in the subsequent year, 1839, in relation to the boundary of Maine so far as General Scott was connected with it. The occurrences in the vicinity of the Falls made a great impression on the popular mind in the United States, and a strong disposition to take offence extended MAINE BOUNDARY. 229 from the Atlantic coast to the frontier of the west. About Detroit the high personal character of General Brady, and on Lake Erie the great exertions of General Worth, effected the maintenance of peace ; but in each instance it was with difficulty. There was another source of difficulty which was not dissimilar in character. The boundary between the British province of New Brunswick and the state of Maine had never been pre cisely adjusted. The line denned by the treaty was purely geographical, and had been agreed on at a time when the geography and character of the region were but little understood. Each authority claimed for itself an extent which its next-door neighbor was not dis posed to allow, and which acquired more importance from the fact, that if the American claim were allowed, the British authorities would lose exclusive control of streams to which they attached much importance ; and if the British claim were sustained, the people of Maine would be excluded entirely from a region, in which they were carrying on, even while it was a " de- bateable land," a most profitable business. This trade was the nucleus of the affair, and to secure at least present possession of it, large parties both from Maine and New Brunswick took the field. Every woodman in America travels not with the axe alone, but with the rifle ; and this circumstance, which has made the Royal Americans one of the best regiments in the English ser vice, also prepared thousands of men not less calculated to meet them, in the American republic. General Scott, who had returned to his head-quarters, heard of the state of things; and, aware that there must be collision unless the government interfered, proceeded at once to Wash ington. He arrived a day and a half in advance of the mail. 230 THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF SCOTT. The crisis was indeed imminent, and politicians fore told a general war as a consequence of collision between the two great representatives of the Anglo-Saxon race. The president, Mr. Van Buren, prudent and wary as he was, felt constrained to inform congress that he foresaw the possibility of an invasion of the territory of the United States, and stated that under such circumstances he would call out the militia to repel the invaders. Con gress for once acted promptly, and within five days autho rized the president to call out the militia and to accept the services of fifty thousand volunteers ; it also made an appropriation of ten millions of dollars. The bills authorizing the levy of these men and the appropriation of money, it is well understood were drawn by General Scott. Within eight days after he had reported himself at Washington, he was at the capital of Maine ; on his passage through Boston, he received gratifying testimo nials of the state of feeling towards him in New Eng land, to which he replied in the manner he is always able to adopt, so as to adapt matter to the occasion. General Scott proceeded to the Maine frontier in obedience to orders emanating directly from the presi dent. The government of the United States had no other high official on this frontier. The newspapers of the day teemed with accounts of General Scott s move ments and exertions. The press of Great Britain, the only representative of the people of that empire, which certainly had no occasion to love one who had defeated its chosen generals on many battle-fields, was filled with his praises. The president of the United States, in his annual message in 1839, the secretaries of war and state, said nothing of General Scott s distinguished services. The people of this nation, however, think for themselves ; and it is not, therefore, so much a duty on us as a mat- PROSPECT OF WAR. 231 ler of choice, to refer to what General Scott did on this occasion. In the winter of 1838-39, the state of Maine sent an agent to the territory in dispute, to drive from it certain persons who it was said were destroying timber and injuring the intrinsic value of the lands. Some difficulty having been anticipated, the land agent was accompanied with a civil posse to enforce his autho rity. The British officials, however, seized and im prisoned, not only the agent, but the posse, on a charge of infringing on British sovereignty. The people of Maine became much enraged at this circumstance. A long correspondence ensued, which led to no beneficial results. The British authorities soon released their prisoners ; a circumstance, however, which did not by any means satisfy the people of Maine. The legislature of this state appropriated eight hundred thousand dollars, and placed eight thousand volunteers under control of the governor, to enable him to sustain the state in the course it had adopted. A large portion of these troops were raised, or rather, immediately took the field; and there is not the slightest doubt that they would, if unmolested, not only have taken possession of the disputed territory, but have conquered all New Brunswick. Sir John Harvey, the British governor, had taken steps in oppo sition. The British troops were marching to the scene of difficulty ; and it became obvious that unless some thing unexpected intervened, there must be war. Scott arrived at the capital of Maine on the 6th of March, 1839. Volunteer regiments and companies were rapidly being collected, and as he passed them all hailed him as the general who was to lead them to victory. On this occasion he came as a peace-maker. 232 THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF SCOTT. Scott was emphatically the man for the crisis. During the war of 1812-13-14, Sir John Harvey and he had been the respective adjutants-general of the British and American forces on the Niagara, and had otherwise been brought together. Many courtesies had passed between them, and they knew how to approach each other. Both of them \vere soldiers, but neither loved war. They knew it to be a great evil, and wished to avoid it. A correspondence was immediately instituted by General Scott, who had, in a short time, by his manly and soldier-like qualities, won the respect of the very distinguished governor of Maine (Fairfield), and of the legislature, then in session. Through his influ ence, intercourse between the two governors, previously interrupted, w r as renewed, and in a short time all diffi culty was removed by a satisfactory and full settlement, which was approved of by the Maine legislature on the 20th of March, and subsequently by Sir John Harvey, the representative of the British crown. This was of course subject to the decision afterwards made by the plenipotentiaries of both countries, Lord Ashburton and Mr. Webster. A short time previously, Mr. Van Buren had sent to the senate the following message. At first it seemed calculated to remove all difficulty ; but, on inspection, it appeared that the very clause of the memorandum it enclosed (by virtue of which Mr. Forsyth claimed the credit of peace-maker), which provided for the non- molestation of the forces of Maine, justified the presence of those of New Brunswick. This was the head and front of the whole affair. It is, therefore, obvious enough that the true pacifi cator in this difficult matter was General Scott, who OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS. 233 thereby acquired fresh rights to the title already referred to as peculiarly his. "WASHINGTON, February 27, 1839. To the Senate of the United States: I transmit to congress copies of various other docu ments received from the governor of Maine, relating to the dispute between that state and the province of New Brunswick, which formed the subject of my message of the 26th instant, and also a copy of a memorandum signed by the secretary of state of the United States and her Britannic majesty s envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary near the United States, of the terms upon which it is believed all collision can be avoided on the frontier, consistently with and respecting the claims on either side. As the British minister acts without specific authority from his government, it will be observed that this memorandum has but the force of recommendation on the provincial authorities and on the government of the state. M. VAN BUREN." "MEMORANDUM. Her majesty s authorities consider it to have been understood and agreed upon by the two governments, that the territory in dispute between Great Britain and the United States, on the northeastern frontier, should remain exclusively under British jurisdiction until the final settlement of the boundary question. The United States government have not understood the above agreement in the same sense, but consider, on the contrary, that there has been no agreement whatever for the exercise, by Great Britain, of exclusive jurisdic tion over the disputed territory, or any portion thereof, but a mutual understanding that, pending the negotia- 234 THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF SCOTT. tion, the jurisdiction then exercised by either party over small portions of the territory in dispute, should not be enlarged, but be continued merely for the preservation of local tranquillity and the public property, both for- ! bearing as far as practicable to exert any authority, and, when any should be exercised by either, placing upon , the conduct of each other the most favorable construc tion. A complete understanding upon the question, thus placed at issue, of present jurisdiction, can only be ar rived at by friendly discussion between the governments of the United States and Great Britain ; and as it is con fidently hoped that there will be an early settlement of the question, this subordinate point of difference can be of but little moment. In the mean time, the governor of the province of New Brunswick and the government of the state of Maine, will act as follows : Her majesty s officers will not seek to expel, by military force, the armed party which has been sent by Maine into the district bordering on the Aroostook river ; but the government of Maine will, voluntarily, and without needless delay, withdraw be yond the bounds of the disputed territory any armed force now within them ; and if future necessity should arise for dispersing notorious trespassers, or protecting public property from depredation by armed force, the operation shall be conducted by concert, jointly or separately, ac cording to agreements between the governments of Maine and New Brunswick. The civil officers in the service respectively of New Brunswick and Maine, who have been taken into custo dy by the opposite parties, shall be released. Nothing in this memorandum shall be construed to fortify or to weaken, in any respect whatever, the claim OFFICIAL CORRESPONDENCE. 235 of either party to the ultimate possession of the disputed territory. The minister plenipotentiary of her Britannic majes ty having no specific authority to make any arrange ment on the subject, the undersigned can only recom mend, as they now earnestly do, to the governments of New Brunswick and Maine, to regulate their future pro ceedings according to the terms herein set forth, until the final settlement of the territorial dispute, or until the governments of the United States and Great Britain shall come to some definite conclusion on the subor dinate point upon which they are now at issue. JOHN FORSYTH, Secretary of State of the United States of North America. H. S. FOX, H. B. M. Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary. WASHINGTON, February 27, 1839." The following is the important correspondence be tween Sir John Harvey and General Scott. Chance has much to do in the affairs of nations, and figures in this denouement. When Scott reached the north he had in his possession an unanswered letter of Sir John s, received while he was on other duty, which enabled him to commence the correspondence, the results of which were so important. The following was the purely offi cial part of this correspondence : " Head-Quarters, Eastern Division U.S. Army, j Augusta, Me., March 21, 1839. j The undersigned, a major-general in the army of the United States, being specially charged with main taining the peace and safety of their entire northern and eastern frontiers, having cause to apprehend a collision of arms between the proximate forces of New Brunswick 236 THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF SCOTT. and the state of Maine on the disputed territory, which is claimed by both, has the honor, in the sincere desire of the United States to preserve the relations of peace and amity with Great Britain relations which might be much endangered by such untoward collision to invite from his excellency Major-General Sir John Harvey, lieutenant-governor, &c. &c., a general declaration to this effect : That it is not the intention of the lieutenant-gover nor of her Britannic majesty s province of New Bruns wick, under the expected renewal of negotiations be tween the cabinets of London and Washington on the subject of the said disputed territory, without renewed instructions to that effect from his government, to seek to take military possession of that territory, or to seek, by military force, to expel therefrom the armed civil posse or the troops of Maine. Should the undersigned have the honor to be favored with such declaration or assurance, to be by him commu nicated to his excellency the governor of the state of Maine, the undersigned does not in the least doubt that he would be immediately and fully authorized by the governor of Maine to communicate to his excellency the lieutentant-governor of New Brunswick a corresponding pacific declaration to this effect : That, in the hope of a speedy and satisfactory settle ment, by negotiation, between the governments of the United States and Great Britain, of the principal or boundary question between the state of Maine and the province of New Brunswick, it is not the intention of the governor of Maine, without renewed instructions from the legislature of the state, to attempt to disturb by arms the said province in the possession of the Mada- waska settlements, or to attempt to interrupt the usual OFFICIAL CORRESPONDENCE. 237 communications between that province and her majesty s upper provinces ; and that he is willing, in the mean time, to leave the questions of possession and jurisdic tion as they at present stand, that is, Great Britain holding, in fact, possession of a part of the said terri tory, and the government of Maine denying her right to such possession ; and the state of Maine holding, in fact, possession of another portion of the same territory, to which her right is denied by Great Britain. With this understanding the governor of Maine will, without unnecessary delay, withdraw the military force of the state from the said disputed territory ; leaving only, under a land agent, a small civil posse, armed or unarmed, to protect the timber recently cut, and to pre vent future depredations. Reciprocal assurances of the foregoing friendly cha racter having been, through the undersigned, inter changed, all danger of collision between the immediate parties to the controversy will be at once removed, and time allowed to the United States and Great Britain to settle amicably the great question of limits. The undersigned has much pleasure in renewing to his excellency Major- General Sir John Harvey, the assurances of his ancient high consideration and respect. WINFIELD SCOTT." " The undersigned, Major-General Sir John Harvey, lieutenant-governor of her Britannic majesty s province of New Brunswick, having received a proposition from Major-General Winfield Scott, of the United States army, of which the foregoing is a copy, hereby, on his part, signifies his concurrence and acquiescence therein. " Sir John Harvey renews with great pleasure to 238 THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF SCOTT. Major-General Scott the assurances of his warmest per sonal consideration, regard, and respect. J. HARVEY. Government House, Frederickton, ) New Brunswick, March 23, 1839." j " Executive Department, j Augusta, March 25, 1839. j The undersigned, governor of Maine, in considera tion of the foregoing, the exigency for calling out the troops of Maine having ceased, has no hesitation in sig nifying his entire acquiescence in the proposition of Major-General Scott. The undersigned has the honor to tender to Major- General Scott the assurance of his high respect and esteem. JOHN FAIRFIELD." Sir John added also a private letter which, however, has been published. This perilous crisis having been overcome, Scott again returned to his head-quarters. Thence, on the death of General Macomb, he was called to Washington to assume command of the army of the nation. CHAPTER XI. The Cherokees Origin Gold Georgia and the Cherokees Scott s orders His proclamation Its good effects His promptness and humanity Vaccination Ross, IN the interval between the disturbances on the Niagara frontier and in Maine, General Scott was called on to discharge a duty, which probably was more pain ful to him than any event which has occurred in all his public service. This was the removal of the Cherokees. When the states of North and South Carolina and Georgia were colonized, the emigrants found almost on the shores of the Atlantic a large and powerful Indian race, which had already made much progress in the path of civilization, and the members of which called themselves Chelloche. In many respects they differed from the tribes around them, not the least of which was in the fact that they were fire-worshippers, looking on the sun as the great source of light, heat, and life, and worshipping it with a veneration which recalls the days of the old Magi. They acknowledged no kindred with any other people on the continent, and had many cus toms and habits, which could not be connected with those of any other race. During the war of the revolution, by the policy of General Washington, they and the Chactas and Chick- asas were kept in a state of neutrality, and the mass of the nation was rather friendly to the colonies than other wise. That they were so is a matter of peculiar con- 240 THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF SCOTT. gratulation ; for none can doubt that if the many war riors of this powerful people and its allies had sided with the English, the fortune of war might have awarded a far different result to the great southern campaign, and history have recorded as much misfortune as it has prosperity for the whole war. The Indians began gradually to withdraw before the advance of civilization, and the Cherokees yielded up most of their domain to the whites. Repeated treaties, however, secured to them the ground which they inhabited and cultivated, and which occupied a portion of the present states of North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama. Within the last twenty-five years gold has been dis covered in that portion of their country which is within the state of Georgia. The advance of civilization from the east, and the gradual settlement of Tennessee and Kentucky, had forced them no longer to depend on the chase, but to cultivate the soil. Their white neighbors were by no means the best specimens of their color, not a few of them being refugees, et id omne genus, bound to no home, nomads in disposition and Arabs in character. The Cherokees on the other hand loved their mountain homes, and dearly cherished the glassy streams and quiet valleys, in the midst of which the present generation had grown up. Restricted within their boundaries by the knowledge that elsewhere they would be looked upon and hunted as intruders, they had turned their attention to agriculture, and become in fact a pastoral people. Their whole country had become a western Arcadia, and their orchards and fields were far better cultivated than those of their neighbors, by whom they were greatly coveted. The discovery of gold, however, excited the whole po* pulation of Georgia, which began to dream of the wealth of Peru and Mexico. Before, however this el dorado could GEORGIA AND THE CHEROKEES. 241 be seized upon, the Cherokees must obviously be re moved. The supreme court of the United States, years before, had declared, by the lips of the great chief jus tice, what was the situation of the Cherokees. They had, according to his eloquent exposition, rights which could not be invaded by the United States or the sepa rate states. They were as wards of the nation, under the pupilage of the president ; and this sovereignty over their soil had been recognised by a hundred treaties with the ante-revolutionary governors of Virginia, Georgia, and the Carolinas, and the United States. As a nation, they had even protected the struggling colonies. These treaties distinctly called them a nation, and treated with them in all the forms of diplomatic intercourse. The Che rokees claimed that, if these rights had ever existed, they had not, and could not, lose them, and called on the government to protect them against an extension of the laws of Georgia over themselves and their country. " In 1802, the United States formed a compact with Georgia," says Mr. Mansfield, "that the general go vernment would purchase the lands of the Indians, and remove them as soon as it could be peaceably accom plished." Georgia was at that time even more sparsely populated than now, and had no disposition to extend her authority over the persons of a nation, the members of which were almost as numerous as her own citizens. The state, however, claimed that the United States was bound to extinguish the Cherokee title ; why, or on what grounds, no man out of Georgia ever understood. The Cherokees, on the other hand, maintained, that to a sale there must be two parties, the grantor and grantee ; that if the United States were under obligations to pur chase, they were not to sell ; that the stipulations with Georgia contemplated a peaceable removal, and that to VOL. I. 16 242 THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF SCOTT. employ the great force of the nation against them would be cowardly. They refused positively to sell. The govern ment of the United States could not deny that the Chero- kees had justice on their side, but yet hoped by time and negotiation to effect their removal. This was the crisis when the scheme of removing the Indians beyond the Mississippi originated. The pure and good men who originated this plan, seem to have had no motive other than the good of the nations of aborigines. It was likely, however, to be too profitable a job for the hosts of speculators not to be popular, and in a short time was the settled policy of the United States. A long controversy ensued, in the course of which the Indians of Georgia became much worried, and finally a kind of treaty was concluded with the Cherokee chiefs. The United States claimed that it was legal, though the great mass of the Cherokee people maintained that it had never been ratified by the competent authority. The facts were these: The Cherokces have several chiefs who are mere judges, and not competent to bind the people without their consent in general council. By means of bribes, flatteries, and cajolements, these chiefs had been induced to give their assent. The majority of the tribe, however, positively refused to approve of their action. The great republic of the United States, never theless, prepared to ratify the action of an oligarchy without authority, said the Cherokees, who, in their own affairs, must necessarily speak correctly. This treaty the United States resolved to enforce. On the 10th of April, 1838, General Scott received orders to assume the command of the troops and direct the emigration. After a short consultation with the chief of the war department, he proceeded to Georgia. It is a blessed thing for the consciences and honor ADDRESS TO THE CHEROKEES. 243 of soldiers, that their duty is to obey. That the respon sibility of enforcing this treaty no more rests on Gene ral Scott, than the charge of kidnapping rests on him who, having snatched a drowning man from the whirl pool, is forced by the current to a different landing from the one each would have adopted. This duty cannot but have been most ungrateful to Scott, who, grown up in a country where kindly feelings towards the Indians are universal, was now called on to act with more severity than his kind heart would have dictated. The condition of the Cherokees has been already referred to ; and to appreciate the cruelty of their fate, it must be remembered that the mass of the nation had long been civilized, and that its people were as well educated and as cultivated as the laboring classes of any state of the confederacy. Their grounds were better tilled, their herds were of better blood, their laws were better administered, than were those of many of the coun ties of Georgia which surrounded them. These people General Scott was called on to remove, and he had no discretion but to enforce his orders with a stern will, which also was the dictation of humanity. The treaty thus attempted to be enforced, had been made in 1835, and required all the Cherokees on this side of the Mississippi to remove beyond it to a country set aside for them, between the Canadian river and the boun dary of Arkansas. Many, at various intervals between the treaty and 1838, had emigrated ; but about fifteen thou sand yet remained amid their mountain homes. These were the persons against whom General Scott was to act with five regiments of the army and any number of volunteers he might find necessary. The following address to the Cherokee people has been reprinted several times in Europe, and has always 244 THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF SCOTT. been commended, not less for its peculiar eloquence and almost poetic pathos, than for the deep statesman-like policy it manifests. It was circulated in handbills, both in English and Cherokee, and was of a character to penetrate at once the hearts of the people to whom it was directed. "MAJOR- GENERAL SCOTT, of the United States Army, sends to the Cherokee people remaining in North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, and Alabama, this ADDRESS. Cherokees : The president of the United States has sent me, with a powerful army, to cause you, in obedi ence to the treaty of 1835, to join that part of your people who are already established in prosperity on the other si de of the Mississippi. Unhappily, the two years which were allowed for the purpose, you have suffered to pass away without following, and without making any preparation to follow ; and now, or by the time that this solemn address shall reach your distant settlements, the emigration must be commenced in haste, but, I hope, without disorder. I have no power, by granting a fur ther delay, to correct the error that you have committed. The full moon of May is already on the wane ; and before another shall have passed away, every Cherokee man, woman, and child, in those states, must be in motion to join their brethren in the far west. My Friends: This is no sudden determination on the part of the president, whom you and I must now obey. By the treaty, the emigration was to have been completed on or before the 23d of this month ; and the president has constantly kept you warned, during the ADDRESS TO THE CHEROKEES. 245 two years allowed, through all his officers and agents in this country, that the treaty would be enforced. I am come to carry out that determination. My troops already occupy many positions in the country that you are to abandon, and thousands and thousands are approaching from every quarter, to render resistance and escape alike hopeless. All those troops, regular and militia, are your friends. Receive them and confide in them as such. Obey them when they tell you that you can remain no longer in this country. Soldiers are as kind-hearted as brave, and the desire of every one of us is to execute our painful duty in mercy. We are commanded by the president to act towards you in that spirit, and such is also the wish of the whole people of America. Chiefs, head men, and warriors will you then, by resistance, compel us to resort to arms ? God forbid ! Or will you, by flight, seek to hide yourselves in moun tains and forests, and thus oblige us to hunt you down ? Remember, that in pursuit, it may be impossible to avoid conflicts. The blood of the white man, or the blood of the red man, may be spilt ; and if spilt, however accidentally, it may be impossible for the discreet and humane among you, or among us, to prevent a general war and carnage. Think of this, my Cherokee brethren ! I am an old warrior, and have been present at many a scene of slaughter ; but spare me, I beseech you, the horror of witnessing the destruction of the Cherokees. Do not, I invite you, even wait for the close approach of the troops ; but make such preparations for emigration as you can, and hasten to this place, to Ross s Landing, or to Gunter s Landing, where you will all be received in kindness by officers selected for the purpose. You will find food for all, and clothing for the destitute, at 246 THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF SCOTT. either of those places, and thence at your ease, and in comfort, be transported to your new homes according to the terms of the treaty. This is the address of a war rior to warriors. May his entreaties be kindly received, and may the great God of both, prosper the Americans and Cherokees, and preserve them long in peace and friendship with each other. WINFIELD SCOTT." This address was accompanied by one to the troops, enjoining on them forbearance and humanity towards a people bowed down by sufferings and misfortune. Many bands at once came forward, and all doubtless would have done so, but for the fact that their powerful and intellectual chief Ross was at Washington, seeking, if not to avoid the emigration, to postpone it. General Scott was therefore compelled to use a mild force, and by a rapid extension of his troops surrounded all the Georgia Indians. Between this time (May 26th) and the 15th of June all were collected, and the Georgia brigade was at once discharged. Mr. Mansfield states that by this rapid action in Georgia, and subsequently in other states, one million of dollars were saved to the United States. This sum may with more accuracy be extended to two million five hundred thousand dollars. The Indians in the other states were collected before the 15th of July, and all the volunteers but a single company discharged. With the exception of a party of three or four Indians in North Carolina, shot by a sad necessity in consequence of an unprovoked attack on a party of United States troops, several of whom were killed, not one life was lost. The orders General Scott had received extended to the collecting of the Cherokees only, and then to turn SCOTT RETURNS TO HIS HEAD-QUARTERS. 247 them over to civil agents. Several bands had already moved westward, but the march was interrupted by an unusually dry season, which induced the general on his own responsibility to suspend the further progress. He did so, the chiefs of the nation signing a promise when the season became more propitious to produce all their people. This obligation they rigidly fulfilled.. Three of the regiments of regular troops were then returned to the northern frontier and to the Canada lines, and two retained to protect the emigrants. The Cherokees were distributed in vast camps near the Hiwassee and carefully attended to. Medical at tendance, provisions, &c., were procured for them, and under General Scott s personal superintendence. The roads to the drinking-places were closed to them by guards. Aware of the havoc made by small-pox and varioloid among the Indians of the West, he managed to overcome their prejudices against vaccination, and to introduce it generally. The effect of this has already been experienced, those maladies having since decimated tribes which surround the new homes of the Chero kees, but spared that people. General Scott was in the principal camp when the delegation of Ross returned from Washington, with orders from the president to transfer to him the charge of the emigration, the cost of which was to come from the five millions of dollars, secured them by the treaty of .1815, in addition to their new lands. General Scott then relinquished the control, after adjusting a difficulty between the chief and the people, as to what the former was to receive per capita, and when the month of Octo ber came, the march was resumed. General Scott fol lowed them to Nashville, when the order to proceed 248 THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF SCOTT. again to the northern frontier reached him. What oc curred there, has already been recounted. In this affair, General Scott again added to the jus tice of the appellation conferred on him, " The Paci ficator." CHAPTER XII. General Scott spoken of for the presidency Harrisburg con ventionPromotion to the command of the army Letter on slavery, to T. P. Atkinson, of Danville, Virginia Enforce ment of discipline. IN the year 1839, General Scott was become one of the most conspicuous men of the nation, and was looked upon as one of the persons most likely to be supported by a great political party for the chief magistracy of the confederacy. Though a soldier, he did not consider himself, as was once by a portion of the Union sought to be maintained, disfranchized from the enjoyment of his civil rights ; and therefore, although no partisan or demagogue, expressed his opinions on suitable occa sions, boldly and distinctly. As to mere party ques tions, he has habitually said nothing, though all who are aware of his history must know that, from his long and frequent service, under the orders of each party, he must have been aware of almost all the abuses of power by either. At the great convention of the whigs, at Harris- burg, in 1839, he was a prominent candidate. His own wishes, however, were enlisted in favor of Mr. Clay; after him, for General Harrison. Under the influence of this feeling, he wrote several letters, the purport of which was, that his name should not be used, if there was a chance of the success of the nomination of either of the other two. 250 THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF SCOTT. The result is now well known ; and none more cheer fully acquiesced in it than General Scott. General Har rison died, and was succeeded by Mr. Tyler, who, on the death of General Macomb, on the 25th of June, 1841, appointed General Scott to the command of the army. When General Harrison died, public attention was again turned to General Scott as a candidate. Mr. Clay, however, was selected, and was defeated. The following letter from General Scott, on the subject of slavery, is curious. It is a full exposition of his views on this momentous subject ; and shows a rare strength of mind, in not only abandoning the prejudices in which he was educated, but in avowing them contrary to the sentiments of the population of his native state, still, amid all the changes of a soldier s life, the home of his choice. { WASHINGTON, February 9, 1843. Dear Sir : I have been waiting for an evening s lei sure to answer your letter before me, and, after an unrea sonable delay, am at last obliged to reply in the midst of official occupations. That I ever have been named in connexion with the presidency of the United States, has not, I can assure you, the son of an ancient neighbor and friend, been by any contrivance or desire of mine ; and certainly I shall never be in the field for that high office unless placed there by a regular nomination. Not, then, being a can didate, and seeing no near prospect of being made one, I ought, perhaps, to decline troubling you or others with my humble opinions on great principles of state rights and federal administration ; but as I cannot plead igno rance of the partiality of a few friends in several parts of the Union, who may, by possibility, in a certain event, succeed in bringing me within the field from which a SCOTT AND SLAVERY. 251 whig candidate is to be selected, I prefer to err on the side of frankness and candor, rather than, by silence, to allow any stranger unwittingly to commit himself to my support. Your inquiries open the whole question of domestic slavery, which has, in different forms, for a number of years, agitated congress and the country. Premising that you are the first person who has interrogated me on the subject, I give you the basis of what would be my reply in greater detail, if time allowed and the contingency alluded to above were less remote. In boyhood, at William and Mary college, and in common with most, if not all my companions, I became deeply impressed with the views given by Mr. Jefferson, in his < Notes on Virginia, and by Judge Tucker, in the. Appendix to his edition of Blackstone s Commentaries, in favor of a gradual emancipation of slaves. That ap pendix I have not seen in thirty odd years, and in the same period have read scarcely anything on the subject ; but my early impressions are fresh and unchanged. Hence, if I had had the honor of a seat in the Virginia legislature in the winter of 1831-32, when a bill was brought forward to carry out those views, I should cer tainly have given it my hearty support. I suppose I scarcely need say that, in my opinion, congress has no color of authority, under the constitu tion, for touching the relation of master and slave within a state. I hold the opposite opinion in respect to the District of Columbia. Here, with the consent of the owners, or on the payment of < just compensation, congress may legislate at its discretion. But my conviction is equally strong that, unless it be step by step with the legislatures of Virginia and Maryland, it would be dangerous to both 252 THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF SCOTT. races in those states to touch the relation between mas ter and slave in this district. I have from the first been of opinion that congress was bound by the constitution to receive, to refer, and to report upon petitions relating to domestic slavery as in the case of all other petitions ; but I have not failed to see and to regret the unavoidable irritation which the former have produced in the southern states, with the consequent peril to the two colors, whereby the adoption of any plan of emancipation has everywhere among us been greatly retarded. I own, myself, no slave ; but never have attached blame to masters for not liberating their slaves well knowing that liberation, without the means of sending them in comfort to some position favorable to the pur suit of happiness, would, in most cases, be highly inju rious to all around, as well as to the manumitted families themselves unless the operation were general and under the auspices of prudent legislation. But I am persuaded that it is a high moral obligation of masters and slave- holding states to employ all means, not incompatible with the safety of both colors, to meliorate slavery even to extermination. It is gratifying to know that general melioration has been great, and is still progressive, notwithstanding the disturbing causes alluded to above. The more direct process of emancipation may, no doubt, be earlier com menced and quickened in some communities than in others. Each, I do not question, has the right to judge for itself, both as to time and means, and I consider interference or aid from without, except on invitation from authority within, to be as hurtful to the sure pro gress of melioration, as it may be fatal to the lives of vast multitudes of all ages, sexes, and colors. The work of SCOTT AND SLAVERY. 253 liberating cannot be forced without such horrid results. Christian philanthropy is ever mild and considerate. Hence all violence ought to be deprecated by the friends of religion and humanity. Their persuasions cannot fail at the right time to free the master from the slave, and the slave from the master ; perhaps before the latter shall have found out and acknowledged that the relation between the parties had long been mutually prejudicial to their worldly interests. There is no evil without, in the order of Providence, some compensating benefit. The bleeding African was torn from his savage home by his ferocious neighbors, sold into slavery, and cast upon this continent. Here, in the mild south, the race has wonderfully multiplied, compared with anything ever known in barbarous life. The descendants of a few thousands have become many millions ; and all, from the first, made acquainted with the arts of civilization, and, above all, brought under the light of the Gospel. From the promise made to Abraham, some two thousand years had elapsed before the advent of our Saviour, and the Israelites, the chosen people of God, were, for wise purposes, suffered to remain in bondage longer than Africans have been on our shore. This race has already experienced the resulting compensations alluded to ; and, as the white missionary has never been able to penetrate the dark regions of Africa, or to establish himself in its interior, it may be within the scheme of Providence that the great work of spreading the Gospel over that vast continent, with all the arts and comforts of civilization, is to be finally accomplished by the black man restored from American bondage. A foothold there has already been gained for him, and in such a scheme centuries are but as seconds to Him who moves worlds ajs man moves a finger. 254 THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF SCOTT. I do but suggest the remedies and consolations of slavery, to inspire patience, hope, and charity on all sides. The mighty subject calls for the exercise of all man s wisdom and virtue, and these may not suffice without aid from a higher source. It is in the foregoing manner, my dear sir, that I have long been in the habit, in conversation, of ex pressing myself, all over our common country, on the question of negro slavery, and I must say that I have found but very few persons to differ with me, however opposite their geographical positions. Such are the views or opinions which you seek. I cannot suppress or mutilate them, although now liable to be more generally known. Do with them what you please. I neither court nor shun publicity. I remain, very truly, yours, WINFIELD SCOTT. T. P. ATKINSON, Esq., Danville, Virginia." A period of tranquillity ensued, after the removal of the Cherokees, uninterrupted, except by the Maine disturbances of 1839, until the Mexican war began. During this time, General Scott assiduously attended to the duties of his post, and virtually remodelled the army. The mass of the officers were humane, and not disposed to oppress their men, but rather to pro tect them. In so large a body, however, there were a few who required to be taught that they dared not. This Scott did by his orders, in relation to personal vio lence extended in certain regiments towards the men. His orders on this subject are models ; and contribute not less to a demonstration of his knowledge of the true theory of discipline, than to proof of the justness and kindness of his heart. CHAPTER XIII. Wai with Mexico Correspondence with the secretary of war- Scott assigned to command Siege and capture of Vera Cruz Colonel Hitchcock Battle of Cerro Gordo Advance on the city of Mexico Battles before Mexico Armistice. THE war with Mexico has, it is believed, been long inevitable ; and the government of the United States had, on the frontier of Texas, established an army of observation, with reference to the contingencies which subsequently took place. When the war actually began, Major-General Scott was most anxious to assume the command, and applied for it distinctly, on more than one occasion. A correspondence ensued, in the course of which the secretary of war was pleased to construe into an affront, a letter written by General Scott ob viously without intending to be discourteous. If Gene ral Scott had wished to express himself plainly to the secretary, none who know him can doubt that he would have done so at all risks. It must be remembered that the secretary is the head of the department of war, with control over the civil affairs of that department and of the bureau of Indian affairs. He has no military con nexion with the army, being without rank, and therefore protected by no precedence with the command of the army. Though military officers are bound to respect him in his sphere, he has no authority over them, except when he acts by command of the president. To avoid the obvious difficulty of the command being deposited in the hands of a civilian, the office of general-in-chief 256 THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF SCOTT. was created, and conferred on General Brown, the senior officer, because he was so. No one can pretend that the secretary can assume command of even a single company. If so, a major-general can be guilty of no insubordination towards him. If such a thing were possible, if a general were guilty of insubordination, he should be tried. There certainly must be somewhere authority to convene a tri bunal competent to try even the senior general of the service. The department did not choose to do this ; it retained him at Washington ; and the thousand venial souls of the nation were encouraged to seek for favor by jeers hurled against him who had breasted the iron hail of many a battle-field, and served his country in many an emergency, with the head, heart, and hand. The circumstances of this case were as follows : each item of which is proved by documentary evidence. Immediately on the advance of the Mexican army being known at Washington, General Scott applied for the command of the forces to operate against it. It will be remembered that at that time General Taylor, high as his rank has since become, was, by the most liberal construction of the rights conferred by his commission, entitled only to the command of two regiments. The government proposed to send to Texas at least eight, four times the command of a brigadier. Scott had a right to the command; no one else except General Gaines had any pretext for claiming it. There was no disposition to displace General Taylor, whom General Scott highly esteemed. He wished to allow General Taylor to win all the glory he knew he could and would, and did not wish to meet the Mexican generals except at the head of such an army as his rank entitled him to. He therefore sug- SCOTT S PLAN. 257 gested to the secretary of war, with whom he had been previously associated, to be permitted during the sum mer to arrange a plan to prepare the volunteers for ser vice, and then, at the head of the new army, join General Taylor s regulars, which, of course, he would command. This plan was not received as kindly as it was given, and the original order or intention was coun termanded. It may here be stated that many military men think, that as commander-in-chief of the army and responsible for the operations of the whole, General Scott could, at any time, of his own will, have assumed command of General Taylor s, or any other army, with out exceeding his lawful authority. Under the influence of this injustice, he wrote to the president a frank, free, but respectful letter, stating his opinions of the proper mode of conducting the war, and stating in relation to himself, the following opinions, each of which is undeniably true. " Not an advantageous step can be taken in a forward march without the confidence that all is well behind. If insecure in that quarter, no general can put his whole heart and mind into the work to be done in front. I am, therefore, not a little alarmed, nay, crippled in my energies, by the knowledge of the impatience in question, and I beg to say, I fear no other danger. My intentions have been, after making all prelimi nary arrangements here, to pass down the Ohio and Mississippi, to see, or to assure myself by correspon dence, that the volunteers, on whom we are mostly to rely in the prosecution of the existing war, are rapidly- assembling for the service ; to learn the probable time of their readiness to advance upon Mexico ; to ascertain if their supplies of every kind are in place, or are likely to be in place in sufficient time ; to hasten one and the VOL. 1. 17 ! THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF SCOTT, other; to harmonize the movements of volunteers, and to modify their routes (if necessary), so that all, or at least a sufficient number, shall arrive at the indicated points in the Mexican frontier at the best periods, and, as far as practicable, about the same time. All that I have sketched I deem not only useful to success, but indis pensable. As a soldier I make this assertion without the fear of contradiction from any Iwnest and candid soldier. Against the ad captandum condemnation of all other persons, whoever may be designated for the high com mand in question, there can be no reliance (in his absence) other than the active, candid, and steady sup port of his government. If I cannot have that sure basis to rest upon, it will be infinitely better for the country (not to speak of my personal security), that some other commander of the new army against Mexico should be selected. No matter who he may be, he shall at least be judged and supported by me, in this office and everywhere else, as I would desire, if person ally in that command, to be myself judged and supported. My explicit meaning is, that I do not desire to place myself in the most perilous of all positions afire, upon my rear from Washington, and the fire in front from the Mexicans." Nothing in the above can be denied, nor can it now be asserted that the good of the country was the principle which animated the president s subordinates in this conduct towards Scott. They remembered Chippewa and Niagara, and foresaw that the setting sur> of the life of Scott would be as brilliant as its morning. The evidence of this is, that after it had been determined that a man who while an officer of the army of no high rank had remained on the recruiting service while his SCOTT ASSIGNED TO COMMAND. 259 regiment was in front of the enemy, should be made a lieutenant-general, General Scott was assigned to com mand. In this matter there are two currents: Mr. Polk was desirous of acting fairly and honorably towards a servant of the nation, second only to himself, but was overruled by underlings and intriguers. The government determined to attempt the capture of Vera Cruz and the castle of Ulloa ; and, after care fully canvassing the merits of all officers of rank (it may be for the purpose intimated above), confided this command to that soldier to whom, in all its times of difficulty, for more than the quarter of a century, the nation has turned. During the brilliant events of the war on the Rio Grande, General Scott had been in Washington ; not, however, inactive. Though in name and in fact occupying the highest place on the army list, he had been toiling diligently to prepare materiel and personnel for the armies ; at the head of which, men who were captains and subalterns when he occupied almost as high a rank as he does now, had won fame and glory. Tay lor, Wool, and Kearney, each had felt the benefit of his arrangements, while he and the gallant old Gaines were doomed to inactivity. At last, he received the follow ing order : "WAR DEPARTMENT, WASHINGTON, j November 23, 1846. j Sir: The president, several days since, communi cated in person to you his orders to repair to Mexico, to take the command of the forces there assembled, and par ticularly to organize and set on foot an expedition to operate on the Gulf coast, if, on arriving at the theatre of action, you shall deem it to be practicable. It is not proposed to control your operations by definite and 260 THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF SCOTT. positive instructions, but you are left to prosecute them as your judgment, under a full view of all the circum stances, shall dictate. The work is before you, and the means provided, or to be provided, for accomplishing it, are committed to you, in the full confidence that you will use them to the best advantage. The objects which it is desirable to obtain have been indicated ; and it is hoped that you will have the requi site force to accomplish them. Of this you must be the judge, when preparations are made, and the time for action arrived. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, W. L. MARCY, Secretary of War. General WINFIELD SCOTT." This order General Scott obeyed with his habitual promptness, leaving Washington on the 24th of Novem ber, and sailing from New York on the 30th. Within O one month he was at Matamoras and assumed command of the whole army in Mexico by virtue of his commis sion. After all that had been said and done, all the comments of a few interested journals, he saw at a glance that the force collected there was altogether inadequate even for the investment of Vera Cruz and its depend encies, probably, next to Gibraltar, the strongest place in the world. Such stress had been laid on the capture of this strong place, that to fail in it would have been at once to sacrifice all the advantages previously acquired. It was not only necessary in a positive sense, to enable the government to control the intercourse between Mexico and Europe, but to give the lie to jeers which had been frequently uttered on both sides of the Atlantic. The first act of General Scott was therefore to collect THE FLEET AND CONVOY. 261 all the regulars which could be spared by General Tay lor, with confidence that the troops, then reported as being on the march, would certainly replace them. He therefore withdrew from Saltillo, General Taylor s head quarters, Worth s brigade, numbering about six hundred men, but troops second to none in the world, and com manded by officers, each of whom, from the general to the junior subaltern, knew his duty. All the troops from the Rio Grande, except the stated garrisons, were then put in motion towards Vera Cruz, and ordered to rendezvous at the island of Lobos, about forty leagues (Sp.) northward of the object of his expe dition. This is a small barren island, but a mile in cir cumference, and scarcely affording a resting-place for the troops soon collected there. On the 15th of Feb ruary there were collected, however, in good order and health, one regiment of volunteers from South Carolina, ten companies of the two regiments from Pennsylvania, one regiment from North Carolina, one from New York, and nine companies from Louisiana and Mississippi. Besides these, there were four hundred regulars com manded by Colonel Gates. A large naval force was also awaiting the concentration of Scott s army, under the command of Commodore David S. Conner. Unforeseen delays ensued, so that on the 7th of March only, General Scott was able to concentrate his whole army, amounting to twelve thousand men of all arms. It was admirably equipped with all the engines and materiel necessary to attack, with success, so strong a place as Vera Cruz. The whole force was embarked in a fleet of transports and a convoy, amounting together to nearly one hundred keels, and proceeded to Cape Antonio Lizardo. After a careful reconnoissance with 2(52 THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF SCOTT. Commodore Conner, it was determined to disembark on the beach west of the island of Sacrificios. Commodore Conner conducted in person the disem barkation, which was made on the 9th of March ; and rarely has this delicate piece of duty been more ably managed. The anchorage on the beach was narrow and contracted ; and, to avoid crowding it with many vessels, he recommended that the troops should be transferred from the steamboats and other vessels to the ships of war. All preparations relative to assigning men and officers to the separate boats, had been previously made ; and, at eleven, A. M., the frigates, with a few trans ports selected for the purpose, got under way. The general-in-chief was on board the steamboat Massachusetts. The weather was peculiarly favorable ; the wind was from the southeast, and the sea smooth and glassy, and the vessels dropped from Sacrificios to the beach selected (about three hours sail), without difficulty or obstacle, and anchored, each precisely on the spot indicated for them severally. The steamers of light draught and a few gunboats were then ordered to allign themselves as close as possible to the surf, to cover the landing. The boats then received their quotas of troops, and formed one continuous line. When all was ready, a signal-gun was fired from the vessel on board of which General Scott was, and, with a cheer, the longline gave way for the shore. Immediately before sunset, Major-Gene- ral Worth landed with his brigade, the corps d elite of the service. It was composed of the 2d and 3d artillery, the 4th, 5th, 6th, and 8th infantry; to which were at tached Williams company of Kentucky, and Blanchard s, of Louisiana volunteers ; the first to the 6th, and second to the 5th infantry. The volunteer brigade followed next; and, finally, DAVID CONNER, Post Captain U. S. Navy. LANDING OF WORTH. 263 Twiggs, with the reserve, composed of the 1st and 4th artillery, the riflemen, the 1st, 2d, 3d, and 7th infantry, were landed at daylight. On the 10th, the whole force was on shore, including the heavy artillery. All lay on their arms that night, on a soil that, since the surrender of the castle and city of Vera Cruz by the Spaniards, had never been pressed by an invader s foot. Commodore Conner superintended the debarkation in person ; and, when Worth s line pulled ashore, was seen in a boat of the smallest size, in the midst of the surf, directing the operation. This was the true service done by the navy, and the credit is due to Commodore Con ner. Its success was unprecedented ; all having been so directed that not one accident or mistake occurred, and not one life was lost. On the morning of the 10th General Scott landed in person. He commanded a force of eleven thousand regulars of the army and volunteers. The officers and men of that veteran and gallant corps, the marines, hav ing volunteered to serve on shore, were received by him with cheerfulness. They, under the command of Cap tain Calvin Edson, since dead, \vere attached tempora rily to the 3d artillery. Mr. Kendall, of the New Orleans Picayune thus graphically describes the debarka tion on the shore : " A more stirring spectacle has probably never been witnessed in America. In the first line there were no !ess than seventy heavy surf-boats, containing nearly four thousand regulars, and all of them expected to meet an enemy before they struck the shore. Notwithstanding this, every man was anxious to be first they plunged into the water waist-deep as they reached the shore the " stars and stripes" were in stantly floating a rush was made for the sand-hills, and 264 THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF SCOTT. amid loud shouts they pressed onward. Three long and loud cheers rose from their comrades still on board, awaiting to be embarked, and meanwhile the tops and every portion of the foreign vessels were crowded with spectators of the scene. Not one who witnessed it will ever forget the landing. Why the Mexicans did not oppose us is a greater mystery than ever, considering their great advantages at the time, and that they have since opposed every step of our advance." General Scott immediately began to extend his forces around the city. Worth with his regulars succeeded in occupying the post of honor on the right of the city s walls, by eleven o clock of the morning of the 10th. The line of circumvallation lay along a range of high sand-hills surrounding the city at a distance of about four thousand paces from the walls, commanding the whole city. General Patterson advanced to take posi tion on his right, but soon came on the enemy in a chap- paral or thicket. A brisk engagement ensued, which after a fire of twenty minutes terminated with the retreat of the Mexicans, who lost a few men. These were the first shots fired in front of Vera Cruz, with the exception of an affair of posts on the night of the 9th, and a few shot fired by a steamer at the castle after the landing of the troops. The advance of General Patterson s column was the brigade of General Pillow, who commanded in this affair. This officer immediately advanced again, and before he had proceeded a mile came up with the ene my, who in the interim had rallied. The fire of the enemy was heavy, but he was immediately dispersed by a brisk charge of a portion of the 1st Pennsylvania regiment, which had but two of its men wounded. At sunset General Pillow had reached the highest point of the range of hills, and there erected the national standard COMMODORE PERRY. 265 borne by one of the Tennessee regiments. The city and castle in the meantime kept up a perpetual fire of shot and shells, principally against the right of the line (Worth s), but with little injury. On the llth General Twiggs with the reserve occu pied the right of the whole line. This was the most ardu ous portion of the operation, the guns being required to be carried over sand-hills, in the loose soil of which the wheels would sink to the boxes. They were often dragged by main force and carried over impediments seemingly insurmountable. The place was then com pletely invested, and may be said to have been in a state of siege and blockade, the squadron sealing up all ap proach from the shore. The events of this siege were important, but are of little interest of themselves. Thirteen days after the planting of the mortars, effected on the 13th, the city and castle surrendered. On the 18th, at night, the work in the trenches was begun, and the labor continued during the 19th, 20th, and 21st. At two o clock on that day a summons for the city to surrender was made. The governor-general, Morales, was pleased, General Scott says, contrary to the express terms of his communication, to include it as surrendering also the castle. He refused the surrender, and consequently fire was opened on the city. In the meantime Commodore Perry had arrived with orders to take command of the naval forces. A large naval battery was immediately landed, and on the morn ing of the 24th also opened its fire. After an incessant cannonading on the 26th, the enemy beat a parley. After two or three days discussion, frequently inter rupted, the city and castle were surrendered, the garri sons marching out and laying down their arms. Thus fell the Gibraltar of the new world. 266 THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF SCOTT. Conspicuous among the brilliant officers who accom panied General Scott in this campaign, was Lieutenant- Colonel Ethan Allen Hitchcock, of the 3d regiment of infantry. He is a native of the state of Vermont, em phatically one of its children, being a grandson of the distinguished hero of Ticonderoga, Ethan Allen. Colonel Hitchcock was graduated at the military academy in 1817, and was immediately appointed a third lieutenant in the artillery corps, with rank from July 17th, 1817. That was a time of peace ; promotion was slow, and distinction in the army was not to be acquired with the sword. In due course, however, Lieutenant Hitchcock became a captain and was assigned to the command of the corps of cadets at West Point, one of the highest compliments which can be bestowed on a soldier in our army. The officer to whom this high charge is confided should have every essential of a sol dier. He should look one, for he will be the model according to which the future leaders of the armies of the nation will be formed. He must be a gentleman, with the manners of a man of the world, and in this respect worthy to be imitated by gentlemen. He should not be a mere man of the sword, but a scholar, and capable of appreciating all the sciences which make a part of the art of war. The commandant of cadets should be a rigid disciplinarian, and possessed also of those qualities which are calculated to command respect. For a number of years Captain Hitchcock exercised this command to the satisfaction of all ; and it is certain that when the cadets were commanded by him, and the institution was under the superintendence of Colonel Thayer, it was in its palmiest days. This was also the season during which the opposition against it was most trying, and double care and attention was necessary to ETHAN ALLEN HITCHCOCK, Lieu tenant- Colonel 3d Infantry, Acting Inspector General. COLONEL HITCHCOCK. 267 soothe prejudice, to counteract opposition to what has since been the savior of the honor of the nation s arms. The tall, soldier-like form of Captain Hitchcock was well calculated to inspire respect, and the amenity of his manner the confidence of all ; so that, though the strictest disciplinarian who ever commanded the corps, he was by far the most popular. Becoming weary, however, of inactivity, when a part of the army was in the field against the Seminoles, Captain Hitchcock sought active service ; and, when the 8th regiment of infantry was formed, was appointed to the majority, with rank from the 7th of July, 1838. The regiment was under the command of General Worth, who had also, previous to Hitchcock, held command of the cadets. The lieutenant-colonel was the present co lonel, Newman S. Clark, of the 6th infantry, to which he was promoted by seniority, on" the promotion of General Taylor. Colonel Clark had been breveted for gallantry at Niagara. The 8th infantry proceeded to the Canada frontier, at that time in great turmoil, and, after a long inarch west ward, was sent to Florida. Major Hitchcock participated in all the service of his regiment in the peninsula, until the termination of the war. He was subsequently as signed to important duty in the Indian department, which took him to the Cherokee nation (west), then the scene of much confusion, in consequence of the disputes be tween the old and new settlers. He had, in 1837-38, been on duty in the same department, at St. Louis, Missouri. On the 31st of January, 1842, Major Hitchcock be came lieutenant-colonel of his present regiment. When General Scott assumed the command of the army in Mexico, Lieutenant-Colonel Hitchcock was im- 268 THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF SCOTT. mediately selected by him as the chief of his staff, and assigned to duty as inspector-general, one of the officers of that department (Colonel Churchill) being on duty with General Taylor, and the senior, Colonel Croghan, having been placed by the department on special duty, subsequent to the battle of Monterey. The duties of inspector-general, in such an army as General Scott s, the large majority of which was irregu lar, and commanded in every grade by officers ignorant of all the details of service, were most onerous. The systematizing of reports, the production of unity of action, in so large a body, make the functions of this officer, to such a corps d^armee^ not unlike the action of the heart in maintaining the circulation of blood through the human frame. These duties were admirably per formed by Colonel Hitchcock ; and the utmost praise has been bestowed on him by his superiors and all who have come in contact with him. The numerous letter- writers who have accompanied the army, have been peculiarly munificent in their praises of him. It is true that their opinions, per se, w ith a few exceptions, are value less ; but, it will be remembered, they always reflect the ideas of the community among whom they are. After the capture of the city of Vera Cruz and the victory of Cerro Gordo, Colonel Hitchcock was called on to receive the paroles of the Mexican officers, and to make provision for the host of prisoners of all grades. This laborious duty he performed with his characteristic courtesy, to the satisfaction even of the prisoners. Colo nel Hitchcock is still with the army ; and, if he receive his deserts, has a brilliant future before him. He is a soldier and a scholar; well informed, not only in his profession and the sciences, but in general literature, and writes with ease and eloquence. His official reports CAPITULATION OF VERA CRUZ. 269 are concise and distinct, at the same time that they are as far removed as possible from a mere barren chronicle of marches and countermarches. Colonel Hitchcock is not over forty^six or forty-seven years of age, if he is so old. He is now the fifth lieutenant-colonel in rank of his arm. In effecting the capture of Vera Cruz, many brave men were killed and wounded. In extending the line of invest ment, Captain Alburtis, of the 2d infantry, was killed, and subsequently Captain John R. Vinton, of the 3d artil lery, an officer of high reputation. In the naval bat tery, Midshipman Shubrick, a young officer of high merit, was killed. Various minor affairs took place outside of the line of defences ; in one of which, Brevet Brigadier-General Persifor Smith highly distinguished himself; and, in another, Colonel Harney, at the head of a small body of dragoons and other cavalry, routed a large Mexican mounted force. Previous to opening his fire, General Scott had sent passports to the various foreign consuls, and also safe guards for their houses, &c. Subsequently, when the American artillery devastated the city, a correspondence ensued, the purport of which was a cessation of fire, so as to permit them, with their families, to withdraw then. As the enemy might therefrom draw great aid and com fort, General Scott refused to accede to the request. The terms of the capitulation were magnanimous. General Scott might have required an unconditional surrender. The generous Worth, however, declared that, under the circumstances, the army of the United States could afford to be generous. The following terms were conceded, creditable both to the victors and the conquered : 270 THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF SCOTT. 1. The whole garrison, or garrisons, to be surren dered to the arms of the United States, as prisoners of war, the 29th inst., at ten o clock, A. M. ; the garri sons to be permitted to march out with all the honors of war, and to lay down their arms to such officers as may be appointed by the general- in-chief of the United States armies, and at a point to be agreed upon by the commissioners. 2. Mexican officers shall preserve their arms and private effects, including horses and horse furniture, and to be allowed, regular and irregular officers, as also the rank and file, five days to retire to their respective homes, on parole, as hereinafter prescribed. 3. Coincident with the surrender, as stipulated in article 1, the Mexican flags of the various forts and sta tions shall be struck, saluted by their own batteries ; and, immediately thereafter, Forts Santiago and Conception, and the castle of San Juan de Ulloa, occupied by the forces of the United States. 4. The rank and file of the regular portion of the prisoners to be disposed of after surrender and parole, as their general-in-chief may desire, and the irregular to be permitted to return to their homes. The officers, in respect to all arms and descriptions of force, giving the usual parole, that the said rank and file, as well as them selves, shall not serve again till duly exchanged, 5. All the materiel of war, and all public property of every description found in the city, the castle of San Juan de Ulloa and their dependencies, to belong to the United States ; but the armament of the same (not injured or destroyed in the further prosecution of the actual war) may be considered as liable to be restored to Mexico by a definite treaty of peace. CEREMONIES OP SURRENDER. 271 6. The sick and wounded Mexicans to be allowed to remain in the city, with such medical officers and attend ants, and officers of the army as may be necessary to their care and treatment. 7. Absolute protection is solemnly guarantied to persons in the city, and property, and it is clearly under stood that no private building or property is to be taken or used by the forces of the United States, without pre vious arrangement with the owners, and for a fair equiva lent. 8. Absolute freedom of religious worship and cere monies is solemnly guarantied. General Worth presided over the surrender, in full uniform, with all the pomp which so well becomes him. The Mexican eagle was struck at the appointed time, saluted by its own batteries, while the American forces stood calmly by in mute and dignified forbearance. Then an American march was heard, the various bands struck up the national airs, and far off the brazen trumpets of the American cavalry took up the echo. The conquering troops marched in with colors flying, to the sound of full choirs of drums, and the starry flag was run up over the bulwarks of the Mexican republic. The troops gave one long cheer, and from all the bands was heard "the Star-Spangled Banner." It was a proud day ; he by whose talent this great achievement had been effected, felt it in the secret places of his own heart, and gave vent to his feelings in the following official letter, which made the bosoms, even of those of his countrymen who loved him least, glow with pride that a portion of the glory of this achieve ment was reflected on them : 272 THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF SCOTT. "HEAD-QUARTERS OF THE ARMY. | VERA CRUZ, March 29. 1847 . j Sir : The flag of the United States of America floats triumphantly over the walls of this city and the castle of San Juan d Ulloa. Our troops have garrisoned both since ten o clock : it is now noon. Brigadier- General Worth is in com mand of the two places. Articles of capitulation were signed and exchanged at a late hour night before last. I enclose a copy of the document. I have heretofore reported the principal incidents of the siege up to the 25th instant. Nothing of striking interest occurred till early in the morning of the next day, when I received overtures from General Landero. on whom General Morales had devolved the principal command. A terrible storm of wind and sand made it difficult to communicate with the city, and impossible to refer to Commodore Perry. I was obliged to entertain the proposition alone, or to continue the fire upon a place that had shown a disposition to surrender ; for the loss of a day, or perhaps several, could not be per mitted. The accompanying papers will show the pro ceedings and results. Yesterday, after the norther had abated, and the com missioners appointed by me early the morning before had again met those appointed by General Landero, Commo dore Perry sent ashore his second in command, Captain Aulick, as a commissioner on the part of the navy. Although not included in my specific arrangement made with the Mexican commander, I did not hesitate, with proper courtesy, to desire that Captain Aulick might be duly introduced and allowed to participate in the discus sions and acts of the commissioners who had been recipro- 273 cally accredited. Hence the preamble to his signature. The original American commissioners were, Brevet Brigadier-General Worth, Brigadier-General Pillow, and Colonel Totten. Four more able or judicious officers could not have been desired. I have to add but little more. The remaining details of the siege ; the able co-operation of the United States squadron, successively under the command of Commo dores Conner and Perry ; the admirable conduct of the whole army, regulars and volunteers I should be happy to dwell upon as they deserve ; but the steamer Princeton, with Commodore Conner on board, is under way, and I have commenced organizing an advance into the interior. This may be delayed a few days, waiting the arrival of additional means of transportation. In the meantime, a joint operation, by land and water, will be made upon Alvarado. No lateral expedition, however, shall interfere with the grand movement towards the capital. In consideration of the great services of Colonel Totten, in the siege that has just terminated most suc cessfully, and the importance of his presence at Wash ington, as the head of the engineer bureau, I intrust this despatch to his personal care, and beg to commend him to the very favorable consideration of the department. I have the honor to remain, sir, with high respect, your most obedient servant, WINFIELD SCOTT. Hon. W. L. MARCY, Secretary of War." After the surrender of Vera Cruz, General Scott did not suffer the advantage he had gained to be lost, but advanced at once towards the capital. He previously, however, addressed a proclamation to the Mexican peo ple, which had the most advantageous effect. VOL. f. IS S74 THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF SCOTT. The advance towards the capital was made with the brigade of General Twiggs leading, and Worth and Patterson following afterwards. On the 17th of April he reached the famous pass of Cerro Gordo, or Broad Mountain naturally strong, and fortified to the best of the ability of the Mexican engi neers. This position was occupied by General Santa Anna and an army of twenty thousand men. General Scott was at the head of twelve thousand. Santa Anna had but two months before been routed at Buena Vista by General Taylor, and forced to retreat across the desert to San Luis. In the interim, however, he had taken possession of this strong position with a force thought amply sufficient to retain it. Cerro Gordo is a strong defile in a table land or plain between El Rio Grande de la Plan and the northern branch of the Cha- colacas, into which the first enters, and is about two- thirds of the distance from Vera Cruz to Jalapa. The order of General Scott on the occasion of this battle is a model, but has been too often printed to be curious at present. It breathes distinctly the greatest confidence in his success, and is in the highest degree complimentary to the men he commanded. General Twiggs was ordered to turn the left of the enemy s position, and was also instructed to intercept his retreat, by occupying the national road in his rear. General Shields was ordered to report to him with two of his regiments, and the third was to expect other orders during the day. General Worth was also to follow this movement. General Pillow was ordered to attack the enemy s batteries as soon as he should hear firing on his right (the enemy s left), or sooner if circumstances favored. He was, after having pierced the line, to attack either the right or left wing of the Mexican force. DON ANTONIO LOPEZ DE SANTA ANNA. CERRO GORDO. 275 General Scott did not doubt the success of these movements, all of which were prosperous, General Pillow only having experienced any check. This was probably effected by force of circumstances, for that general at Vera Cruz and elsewhere had exhibited undoubted courage. The army was then ordered to pursue the enemy towards Jalapa. General Scott, on the 18th, attacked the enemy s po sitions and carried them, winning a victory hitherto un precedented. It would have opened his way directly to the capital, had the forces promised him arrived. Three thousand men were captured, with their officers, and five Mexican generals : Pinzon, Jarrera, La Vega, Nor- riega, and Obando. Vasquez, a general of reputation, was killed, and a vast quantity of artillery, arms, &c., were captured. The American loss was great. General Shields was shot through the body, yet recovered. Major Sumner, an old and veteran officer, was shot on the forehead, but was not killed. Lieutenant-Colonel Johnson was also wounded. Captain Mason, of the rifles, also lost his leg, of which wound he has since died ; and Lieuten ant Ewell, of the rifles, was mortally wounded. Gene ral Pillow also was wounded. General Twiggs, Colonel Harney, Major Loring, and Colonel Plympton distin guished themselves, and General Worth maintained his reputation. The Mexican army fled, with Santa Anna and Cana- lizo, " the Lion of Mexico," at its head ; narrowly es caping the pursuit of Twiggs s command. Santa Anna s state coach was taken, and subsequently was used to convey an old officer who had been wounded (Major Sumner), who, probably, during thirty years service, had never before marched with an army but at the head 276 THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF SCOTT. of his command. So hasty was the retreat, that even the artificial leg of the Mexican lieutenant-general was cap tured. The order which General Scott had given was obeyed to the letter, except that the brigade of volunteers, com manded by General Pillow, was repulsed. The batteries, however, which had beaten them back, were taken sub sequently by the advance under General Twiggs. The mind of General Scott, with a military second-sight, had foreseen all the events of the battle and the rout, and all his anticipations were realized. On the 19th of April, General Scott made his report to the war department, that he had not transportation for his spoils, and consequently would be forced to destroy them. He had taken three thousand prisoners, forty- three pieces of the beautiful artillery of Seville and To ledo, five thousand muskets, five generals, and all the materiel of an army. There could be no repulse so strong as this to the government, which had sent its soldiers to war without providing the means of reaping the results of victory. The men who but a few months before had scoffed at the general, by whose genius this triumph had been real ized, were forced to acknowledge that he was the great leader of the age. By a strange perversion, however, of all the better feelings of humanity, they yet refused to confess their error. The world, however, saw it. The victory of Cerro Gordo had important results. On the 19th Jalapa was entered, and on the 22d General Worth seized on the fortress of Perote, in which fifty- four pieces of brass and iron cannon and mortars, with a vast amount of shot and shells, were taken. On the 15th of May, General Worth, almost without resistance, entered Puebla, in spite of the predictions of ADVANCE TO MEXICO. the English and French press, which promised certain defeat to any American army which should approach the more densely populated parts of the country. The army was long delayed at Puebla, and its com munication with the sea-board interrupted by the fre quent attacks of guerilla forces, which no prudence could avoid. On the 22d of August General Scott occupied with the advance of the army the archi-episcopal palace of Tacubaya, after having defeated the enemy in two pitched battles. On the 14th of August, while the army was on the advance, Lieutenant-Colonel Duncan proceeded to re connoitre the enemy s position, and satisfied General Scott that a communication could be opened between Chalcoa and San Augustino, and consequently a strong column was thrown forward with Worth s division in the advance, and Quitman, Pillow and Twiggs following, the object of which was to commence an altogether new line of operations on the southern and western side of the city, which would make useless the powerful works thrown up by Santa Anna at Peiion and Mexicalzingo, between lakes Chalco and Xochimilco and the lake of Tezcuco, on which the city of Mexico is built. On the 15th, when General Worth had reached the hacienda of San Gregorio, General Scott ordered a halt, having learned that the enemy was in force in front of Twiggs, between Chalcoa and San Francisco, at the head of lake Chalco, near to which the road from Rio Frio passes. The enemy were, however, promptly dis persed by a few shots from Twiggs heavy artillery. On the 17th instant Worth again advanced, and on the next day, at 8 o clock, A. M., saw the turrets of the Mexican capital. No enemy showed himself, and, but that huge masses of rock had been placed in the road, 278 THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF SCOTT. and ditches dug at intervals, the progress of his column was altogether unobstructed. When he first saw the city, however, an attack was made on him by the enemy, most advantageously posted, which, however, was in a short time checked and driven in by a light battery of the 2d artillery, commanded by Major Gait, and attached to the 1st brigade of Worth s division. The enemy soon rallied, but were driven in again without any loss to the Americans. On the 18th General Scott reached San Augustino, and immediately dispatched Worth by the main road towards the city of Mexico. A reconnoissance by Ma jors Turnbull and Smith, of the engineer and topo graphical corps, was immediately ordered, with an escort of Blake s and Thornton s dragoons. The party became, however, exposed to the fire of an 18-pounder of a masked battery, the first shot from which killed Captain Thornton. Colonel Garland with his brigade was then ordered to take position in front of the enemy s batteries at San Augustino, while two other regiments under Colonel Stark, with the battery of Colonel Duncan, took posi tion behind it. A reconnoissance was then had under cover of a strong party, which after a skirmish, reported that it was practicable to turn San Antonio and occupy the village of San Angelo ; at San Antonio Santa Anna had made the defences on which he chiefly relied. The Mexicans were in a position tat Contreras, an old Spanish post, and a council having been called by General Scott, it was unanimous in advising an attack on the next morning. Near Contreras was the hacienda of Buvera, in which General Worth established his head-quarters, and whence he could discover the enemy indefatigably working at their intrenchments at San Anto- PERSIFOR F. SMITH, Colonel Mounted Rifles, Brigadier -General by Brevet J,JI J . J? Llf J BATTLES NEAR MEXICO. 279 nio ; at noon they opened their fire with shot and shell with an accuracy which would have done credit to any gunners in the world. They paused at nightfall, but on the 19th opened again on his position and would soon have rendered it untenable but for a powerful diversion. At nine A. M., the 2d division (Twiggs s) and Pil low s were ordered to advance, and soon after noon were within reach of the heavy guns of Contreras. The 1st brigade of Twiggs s, under General P. F. Smith, was ordered to attack the front, while Colonel Bennet Riley was detached to occupy the rear and cut off reinforce ments known to be advancing under General Valencia. The riflemen under a heavy fire advanced and drove in the pickets, assisted by the howitzer battery and Captain John Magruder s twelve-pounders, which, though admi rably worked, could not keep pace with the enemy s eighteens and thirty-twos. At three P. M., Twiggs ordered Cadwalader with a brigade of volunteers to support Riley, heavy reinforcements being seen advanc ing, and General Pearce was sent to support General Smith. At this crisis Scott arrived. Valencia was advancing with his infantry marching to the front, and in the rear and on the flanks regiments of lancers and other cavalry. It was an imposing sight, well calculated to arouse General Scott to the utmost pitch, and recall to his mind the tactics of the Niagara cam paign. The work before him was evidently to be done with his favorite weapon, the prince of arms, the bayonet. He at once sent forward General Shields to support Riley and Cadwalader in preventing, if possible, the junction of Valencia with the troops in position at San Antonia. This was the most interesting point of the engage ment, and Riley bore the brunt of it squadron after squadron dashed against his own regiment, the 3d in- !*( THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF SCOTT. fantry, and were broken to pieces against its sides at last night came, and then there was a pause in the battle. At 8 P. M., General Scott returned to San Augus tine, but not until eleven did Worth and Pillow return, worn out and exhausted. The Mexicans had fought well had done what till now they had not achieved during the war, kept their position and the American troops lay on their arms in the midst of a pitiless rain. At dawn on the 20th, General Worth, with a part of his division, moved forward to reinforce Twiggs, all cavils about brevet rank being forgotten in the great anxiety to drive back Valencia. This affair was a quick one, the Mexicans being utterly routed after a short but eager contest with the bayonet. But a few cannon shots and rolls of musketry were heard by the rest of the army, so that though horses were seen on retreat to the city, none for a long time thought this formidable opposition had been overcome. The enemy in this affair lost fifteen guns, fifteen hundred prisoners, and left seven hundred on the field, among whom were many officers of high rank and civil functionaries of im portance. Among the prisoners were Generals Blanco, Garcia Conde, Mendoza, and the ex-president Salas. This battle placed the defences at Contreras com pletely in the power of General Scott. He immediately ordered General Worth to fall back on San Antonio, capture it, and then advance to the capital by the great road, while General Twiggs advanced by way of San Angelo and Cahoyacam. Twiggs had scarcely passed the village of San Angelo when he encountered a very strong work, and almost at the same time Worth s guns were heard. The ..enemy had abandoned San Antonio and occupied another work thrown up around a strong convent, which was on the BATTLES NEAR MEXICO. 281 north of a stream crossed only by a difficult bridge. At this point the two divisions \vere near each other, and a general action ensued. General Worth charged across the bridge, drove the enemy from the defences with a decision which recalls the famous contest of Lodi, while Shields with his volun teers attacked a hacienda farther on, which had been fortified, and the Mexican army was finally routed and driven in confusion into the city, Santa Anna leading the rout. Thus ended the battles before Mexico ; the name of no minor place should be given them. They ended in the destruction of the fourth army which the Mexican republic had created within eighteen months, and in placing the magnanimous nation at the feet of the con queror. It was the greatest battle ever fought on this side of the Atlantic, if we except the almost Mithridatic hordes said to have been commanded by Bolivar, Hidalgo, and Morelos. The Mexicans fought in sight of their houses and temples, and numbered certainly not less than twenty-five thousand men trenched and well supplied. General Scott was at the head of six thousand, wearied with a long march and almost exhausted. The Mexican loss was immense, including in killed and wounded, thirteen generals and six thousand men. The American loss in killed and wounded was more than a thousand, and among the latter was the general- in- chief. After this battle General Worth slept with the ad vance, and on the next day proceeded to Tacubaya, where he found the general-in- chief installed in the archi-episcopal palace. General Scott, at the instance of Santa Anna, through the British legation, immediately 282 THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF SCOTT. proposed terms to the Mexican government, and an armistice was joyfully consented to. Thus ended the first campaign of General Scott in Mexico. Words cannot make its importance more evi dent than a simple recapitulation of a few lines will. What has he done ? Within five months he has landed on an enemy s coast the largest army ever equipped by the United States, without the loss of a man ; captured the second fortress of the world with a loss of less than one hundred men, while the enemy had thousands killed and an army disorganized; stormed a position which, in his vanity, the Napoleon of the New W r orld considered impregnable, taking three thousand men and five generals prisoners, and after three days incessant fighting crushed the Mexican army. Truly to him belongs the name of " the great pacificator." Such is the Major- General of the army, the biography of whom thus sketched is long, because it embraces a large portion of the history of the American army. He is its beau ideal, the idol of the men and officers of his command, who obey him with absolute mental and per sonal submission, because the annals of his long career satisfy them that he is one of those who act by the golden rule, and an honor to their profession. He holds a rank second to that of no living man, and is worthy of it.* * The details of General Scott s transactions after the battles in front of Mexico, will be given in detail in the sketch of General Worth. BOOK III. GENERAL OFFICERS Paucisqve imparts. EDMUND PENDLETON GAINES, Brigadier-General, Major- General by Brevet. CHAPTER I. GAINES. Games s parentage His early life Elected lieutenant of rifle menAppointed to command in the army Arrest of Burr Burr s trial Gaines in the practice of law Returns to the army. THOUGH the chances of war have made General Tay lor the superior of General Gaines, the circumstance is of such recent occurrence, and all have become so accustomed to join together the names of Winfield Scott and Edmund Pendleton Gaines, that it seems more appropriate to refer next to this distinguished veteran. The third officer in rank in the army is Major-General EDMUND PENDLETON GAINES, the best representative liv ing of the old army of the revolution, and of the forces which established the predominance of the whites beyond the mountains. Though not a participator in the victo ries and defeats of those wars, General Gaines entered the army so long ago, that he was the associate of those who had gone through all their vicissitudes. General Gaines is, therefore, one of the oldest officers of the army, and one of the only four who connect the present military establishment with that of the last century. The author has been permitted, by a friend in the army, to extract from a table of the length of service of the older officers, the following items : 288 GENERAL OFFICERS. GAINES. forced to emigrate. Among the latter was James Gaines, who soon removed to Sullivan county, in Tennes see. His circumstances had gradually became worse, and the education of his children soon became limited to the poor facilities afforded by the common school system of North Carolina, bad enough now, but at that time inconceivably worse. It is evident, however, that his mother, who seems to have been a woman of rare talent, did not neglect the intellectual culture of her children. Of all the officers of the army of the present day, few write or express themselves orally with more facility than General Gaines. All familiar with the his tory of mental development must be aware this is a faculty to be acquired only in early youth or manhood. The greater part of his early life was, however, passed in the forest with the axe, or at the plough. Often since clad in the insignia of his high rank, almost every step to which was earned on a battle-field, the old soldier has taken occasion to express the frequent source of self gratulation, in the fact that he had matured his frame to every exigency of service, by hard work in his youth. At that time, under the tuition of an early friend named Ralph Mitchel, at the name of whom his eye still lights up with kindness, he learned enough of the science of mathematics to become an accurate surveyor. It is strange that besides General Washington so many of the distinguished officers of the army have chosen this profession. On the whole, however, it cannot be won dered at; for the same principles, the analysis of number and space, are the object of the consideration of each. Sullivan county, Tennessee, from which has since been formed Johnson county, though now near the centre of the Atlantic States, but a few years ago was not far removed from the Indian country. When Gaines made ELECTED LIEUTENANT. 239 it his home, it was in the midst of warring tribes (the Creeks and Cherokees), who, whenever they made peace w r ith each other, immediately commenced hostilities on the United States. This state of things continued for many years, and made it necessary for the laborer to take ever with him the rifle, as the companion of the hoe and the axe, and to suspend " his best friend on the frontier" across the handle of his plough. At those times he acquired a skill in the use of this genuine American arm, which was conspicuous long after in the army. He now began to think of arms as a profession, and occupied his leisure hours in the study of history, which, in consequence of a well selected, though small supply of books, brought by his family from Virginia, he was enabled to do to some extent. The first fruits of this evidence, that he " Had heard of battles, and longed To follow to the field some warlike lord," was his election to the lieutenantcy of a corps of volun teer riflemen, commanded by Captain 0. Cloud. The Indians had now, however, before the advance of the whites, begun to dwindle into insignificance, and the Sullivan riflemen were never called into service. He, in the meantime, began to occupy his leisure time in the study of the law. In the interim the Hon. W. C. C. Claiborne, a member of Congress from the state of his adoption, had recommended him for appointment in the army, and on the 10th of January, 1799, he was ap pointed an ensign in the 10th regiment of foot. In the fall of that year he was promoted to a second lieuten ancy in the 6th infantry, and placed on the recruiting service. In 1800 the 6th infantry was disbanded, and Lieutenant Gaines was attached to the 4th infantry, the VOL. I. 19 290 GENERAL OFFICERS. GAINES. colonel of which was Thomas Butler. From this period his actual service dates. During the year 1801, Colonel Butler was ordered to select the subaltern of his regiment best calculated to make a topographical survey of the country between Nashville and Natchez, for the location of a military road to connect the province of Louisiana with the western portion of Tennessee. This duty was assigned to Lieutenant Gaines, who, by the care of his old friend Ralph Mitchel, had acquired a mathematical knowledge rare in the army at that day. Many now may be dis posed to sneer at the survey of a few hundred miles length, as containing in itself nothing arduous. It is, however, a mistake. Even at this time the country is one of the most difficult in the world, and then was a wilderness inhabited only by Indians and banditti. The service was long and arduous, occupying his time until the winter of 1803-4. In the meantime he was for a short time recalled to survey the line of the Choctaw reserve, which was riot, however, of great length. This was the original United States survey, and the basis of the military road by which all passed upward from Lou isiana until it was made almost useless by the introduc tion of steam navigation. Though Louisiana had previously been purchased from Spain in 1804, that government persisted in a refusal to withdraw her troops from Mobile and Baton Rouge, and to surrender the country between the Iberville, the Island of Orleans, the Mississippi, and the Perdido, as part of Louisiana. The president adhering to the temporizing policy which characterized the connexion of the United States with foreign nations for a long time, instead of declaring war, contented himself with appointing a mil itary collector of the customs for the port of Mobile. ARREST OF BURR. 291 Lieutenant Gaines had in 1802 become a first lieutenant, and was selected for this office. He accepted it, in the confident belief that from the position at which he was stationed, Fort Stoddert, thirty miles north of Mobile, he would ultimately be called on to occupy the territory in dispute. There he remained until 1806, command ing Fort Stoddert ; he received in commendam to his already numerous and seemingly incompatible offices, the appointment of deputy of the post office depart ment. He was authorized at this time to suspend all postmasters whom he had reason to suspect were con cerned in the plans of the celebrated Colonel Aaron Burr, and to call on the commanders, whatever might be their rank, of the various garrisons of the United States in the south, for aid in the correct discharge of his duty as collector, not of one post but of a district, and to protect the mail and express riders through the wilderness of six hundred miles, which intervened be tween Louisiana and the frontier of Georgia. While in this responsible station he received the proclamation of the president, authorizing all civil and military officers of the United States to use their utmost diligence to arrest Colonel Burr, whose conduct, long and attentively watched, had become such as to justify the executive in assuming this responsibility. Gaines had long been in the confidence of the government, and had seen enough to permit him to entertain not the slightest doubt of the propriety of this course and of Burr s guilt. He therefore resolved to arrest him, and on the first opportunity did so. The arrest of Burr was made with the great decision and positiveness which Captain Gaines was in the habit of displaying in every item of his duty. It was, however, made with due regard to the elevated position Colonel 292 GENERAL OFFICERS. GAINES. Burr had occupied, and the delicacy with which one soldier arrests another. He was kept securely for seve ral weeks, when, under the charge of one of the purest men in the country, Major Nicholas Perkins, the illus trious prisoner was taken to Richmond, Virginia, where the venue was laid for trial. It will be remembered that Captain Gaines arrested Burr by virtue of a procla mation of the president, and consequently was not in terfered with by any of his military superiors, many of whom certainly had the inclination to do so. It is an undeniable fact that Colonel Burr had acquired an influ ence over hundreds of military men, the majority of whom were disbanded, while others still were enrolled on the army register. These, corrupted by a dissolute life, many of them poor and needy, waited only his signal to strike in support of his designs, the mystery which covers which has not yet and cannot now be cleared away. As far as conjecture went, the officers of the southern army (and few had a better opportunity of judging) thought, that his designs were directed not against the Spanish possessions, but territories claimed by Mexico ; and that, had he succeeded, the territory of the United States would have been dismembered. Only by this supposition can we account for the pious horror at his designs, evinced by those who since have incontesta- bly aided, some with comfort and advice, and others vi et armis, in the Texan revolution, and now recommend the dismemberment of Mexico. Mr. Jefferson, on being informed of the activity of Captain Gaines in this important matter, appointed him marshal of the United States ; and, it was by this autho rity that Captain Gaines summoned General Wilkinson, at the head of his army, and various other persons, to attend the trial at Richmond. With them, in May, BURR S TRIAL. 293 1807, Captain Gaines sailed from New Orleans in a United States man-of-war, and arrived in Virginia on the 5th of May, 1809. The events of that trial were momentous, though bloodless. Rarely has there been made a greater col lection of illustrious men. John Marshall was on the bench, while in the bar was the subsequently illustri ous William Wirt, even then a man of distinction ; Gene ral Jackson and Commodore Truxtun were there as wit nesses, and as spectators Spencer, Roane, the present General Scott, and the venerable Chancellor Wythe. The district attorney of the United States, George Hay, though cut off in his early youth, lived long enough to earn for himself an honorable fame ; the attorney-gene ral of the United States, Caesar A. Rodney, joined in the prosecution, and the distinguished men of all the west were collected to give testimony against the first and the last person accused of treason against the Uni ted States, and his confederates. The accused, too, a man of note, was accompanied by his daughter, the accomplished Theodosia Alston, on whom he seems to have squandered all the purity of his heart ; the story of the trial of Lord Russel and the devotion of his Rachel were recalled to the memory of every one.* There also was Blannerhasset, around whose name the genius of Wirt has cast its own ideality ; and many more who in another association would have been con spicuous. Every member of the grand jury to whom the bill of indictment was referred, was a man of distinction. * The untimely and lamentable fate of this lady, her death, and the fearful scenes of every character she was subjected to, impress upon us the truth of the remark of La Harpe, that " not even the events of the wildest romance surpass the occurrences of daily life which either happen or become known to the humblest individual." 294 GENERAL OFFICERS. GAINES. Three of them subsequently became chief magistrates of Virginia and senators of the United States. Others had won for themselves illustrious names, which even now, amid the jarring of parties, attract the regard of men of every phase of political creed. The jury empaneled to try the accused, were men of repute carefully gleaned from a population which Mr. Burke, before the revolu tion, had pronounced the freest and most intelligent in the world. Burr s counsel were second to no men in the nation ; and their able and brilliant defence did not a little con tribute to the fame which has ever since hung around the names of Luther Martin, John Wickham, and Edmond Randolph ; the last of whom was already illustrious. The grand jurors were men of note. The trial commenced ; and, though convincing every one of Burr s guilt, and damning him eternally in public opinion, the judge was constrained to rule out a large por tion of the evidence, and the jury, on the remnant, acquit ted him. Perhaps it is as well that such was the case. Martyrs have been made of worse men, and had he paid the penalty of his offences, his name might have been a war-cry to defeat the success of those democratic princi ples, more necessary at that time than at any other, to the well-being of the United States. In the course of the trial, some events occurred which it may not be unimportant to refer to. The coun sel for the prisoner thought it his duty to refer in terms of great harshness to the conduct of General Gaines, in the circumstances of the arrest, and to his personal cha racter. Acting according to the precepts of that sublime ode of Horace " Integer vitse scelerisque purue,- 7 &c., the young captain stood firm and erect, and careless of GAINES RETURNS SOUTH, ETC. 295 all imputations unjustly cast upon him. He knew he had done his duty, that was his consolation. He had, however, been trained in a strict school, and been taught that the first obligation of a soldier, after obedience and allegiance, is respect to the civil authority. The events of this trial were important to General Gaines, who is satisfied that from that day to the present he has experienced from certain high quarters an ani mosity not to be accounted for, but on the grounds of enmity at his participation in the unveiling of the de signs and foiling the plans of their great accomplice. After the trial, Burr sank into insignificance and con tempt, and Captain Gaines returned to the south. The lat ter was now nearly thirty years of age. The career of a soldier in time of peace had few allurements to him ; and, as the chances of war seemed far removed, he resolved to resign and engage in the practice of the law, for which he had long been preparing himself. After much procras tination, in consequence of the dissuasions of his many friends, a leave of. absence was granted him in 1810, by General Hampton, with the understanding that if the prospect of war should at the end of twelve months seem- less distinct, he was to have permission to resign ; if not, that he was to remain in a service where, entirely by his own exertions, though unfriended, he had won so high a reputation. He did not go home, but to the then territory of Mississippi, in Baldwin county, above the Yazoo river, where he immediately commenced the practice of the law. In 1811 the crisis of war and peace came, before Gaines had attended his second circuit. He at once returned to his regiment and the army, with which from this time his name is identified, and of which he became one of the most distinguished ornaments. CHAPTER II. GAINES ( Continued. ) Descent of the St. Lawrence Battle of Chrystler s Field. THE early part of the war Captain Games passed in the northeast, and participated in the various expeditions made against the allied British and Indian forces. The events of this part of his career are difficult to be traced ; suffice it to say, that after receiving in rapid succession the promotion of major, lieutenant-colonel, and colonel, and performing the responsible duties of adjutant- gene ral, he found himself at Chrystler s Field, on the llth of November, 1813, in command of the 25th regiment, to which he had been promoted during a painful illness, which deprived him of any participation in the battle of the Thames and triumphs of the army of General Har rison. It will be remembered that after the departure of the American troops from Fort George, the British had also abandoned the neighborhood and concentrated at King ston, believed by them to be the object of General Wil kinson. The latter, under these circumstances, fixed on French creek as the best place for the debarkation of his troops after they should have entered the St. Lawrence. The plan succeeded. General Brown, of the army of the United States, was ordered to assume command of the advance at this place. On the 1st of November, a British fleet made its appearance near French creek and DESCENT OF THE ST. LAWRENCE. 297 attacked the Americans, but were soon beaten off by the 18-pounders of Captains McPherson and Fanning. The attack was repeated on the next day with no better suc cess ; and on the 6th the army embarked, and landed again in the evening not far above the British Fort Prescott. As this work commanded the river, the army passed around its rear, and the flotilla of boats, under the cover of night and a dense fog, had nearly passed the front unobserved, when the weather suddenly becoming clear, it was fired on. The firing induced General Brown, who was in the rear, to halt until the night became darker. When the moon had set, Wilkinson attempted again to proceed, but was fired on and sub jected to a cannonade of three hours duration. A mes senger was immediately despatched to General Hampton, informing him of what had happened and calling for his co-operation. The enemy had now found out the design of the American army, and by troops posted at advantageous points, sought to interrupt it. On the 7th, Macomb, with his corps tf elite, was thrown forward to remove all obstacles, and being attacked at the rapids, beat the enemy. On the 8th the flotilla arrived at Hamilton, when Brown was ordered forward to reinforce Maconib and assume command of the advance. The British troops at Kingston, now relieved from fear of an attack, pushed after the American army. An inexcusable mis take was here committed in not leaving a corps of fifteen hundred or two thousand men to hold them in check, even though nothing was attempted against Kingston. On the 10th, General Covington s horse and four pieces of artillery were ordered to clear the way as far as Le Long Saut, a rapid eight miles below. The march of the army was deferred until the next day. 298 GENERAL OFFICERS. GAINES. On the morning of the 10th, Brown, with all his troops except the 2d dragoons, and two guns, continued to advance. The dragoons, commanded by General Boyd, together with men from all the other brigades, were ordered to hold the enemy in check while the rest of the command, barely sufficient to navigate the flotilla, proceeded on. General Brown s command consisted of Macomb s artillery, a few companies of Scott s, a few of the light artillery, the rifles, and the 6th, 15th, and 2d regi ments. In a very short time it was engaged both with a force on shore under cover of a block-house, which was carried by Major Forsythe and the rifles, and with the British galleys, which were also forced to retreat. It was now nearly night, and the passage of the saut was delayed until the llth. At ten o clock on the morning of the llth, just as the flotilla was about to proceed, and when Boyd s divi sion, composed of his own, Swartwout s, and Coving- ton s brigade, was about to march, the enemy were reported to be advancing rapidly in column of attack. General Wilkinson and General Lewis being both ill, Boyd immediately faced about and attacked the enemy s column. The British galleys at the same time carne down the stream to attack the flotilla. Boyd at once ordered a part of Swartwout s brigade, under Colonel Ripley, to begin the action, which was done by his passing through a skirt of wood into Chrystler s Field. Scarcely had he done so, when he found himself in front of the 89th and Glengary British regiments, whom Ripley immediately charged. The enemy were driven at once ; and having been rallied, were a second time routed and forced to take refuge with the whole line. Covington had advanced upon the right with his 299 brigade and made a resolute charge on the British artil lery ; just as success became sure he fell mortally wounded. His brigade unfortunately halted, then be came confused, and finally fell back in disorder. One wing of the British army was now wheeled into column for the purpose of capturing a few American guns, left unprotected by the retreat of Covington s command. Colonel Walbach,* the adjutant-general, attempted at this crisis a charge, which from the broken nature of the ground, cut up with fences, failed. This circumstance is especially to be regretted, as only on this occasion during the war (except the anomalous, but suc cessful charge of Colonel Johnson at the Thames) were dragoons used as battle-pieces. The American army was in danger of being routed, when Ripley threw himself in front of the artillery and beat back the British. Rip- ley had, however, expended his ammunition and was forced to retire, when the enemy advanced and captured one gun. The others were brought off by Captain Armstrong Irvine. The regiment of Colonel Gaines was active and efficient during the day. As soon as the American army retired towards its boats for the pur pose of embarking, and as the British threatened to molest it, Colonel Gaines was ordered to hold him in check. Flushed with his success at capturing the Ame rican gun, the commander of the 89th pressed closely on the retiring army, until he met the 25th. The 25th stood firm as a rock, and beat back the 89th with much loss. Colonel Morrison was, after repeated charges, forced to retire ; and the 25th slowly left the field, after hav- * This gallant officer has not only been since 1799 in the Ameri can army, but was previously for ten years in the Prussian dra goons, and during the greater part of the time in the presence of the enemy. He is now alive, and colonel of the 4th artillery. 300 GENERAL OFFICERS. GAINES. ing converted a rout into a drawn battle. There were in the British army few better soldiers than Colo nel, Morrison, one of the peninsular veterans. Struck with the bearing of his young antagonist (Gaines was but thirty-three), he sent him the next day his card, with the intimation that one who could fight so well must be a gentleman, and that should they ever meet under more peaceful auspices, he should claim him as an old friend. The army, on the same day, proceeded on its route, and General Brown passed the rapids and joined the advance near the village of Barhardt. At this place news was received which put an end to this expe dition, which was directed against Montreal. On the 9th of March, 1814, Colonel Gaines was appointed a brigadier-general. On the same day Colonel Scott was also appointed a brigadier-general. CHAPTER III. GAINES. (Continued.) Capture of Fort Erie Retreat of Ripley British attack Fort Erie Defence Gaines a brevet major-general Sortie from Fort Erie The siege raised Compliments to Gaines from congress, and from Virginia, Tennessee, and Alabama Gaines assigned to command in the south. THE summer of 1814 was well advanced before active hostilities were commenced by either of the antago nists. In the interim an army had been prepared for victory at the camp of Buffalo. The British were not only in possession of their own shore, but of Fort Nia gara in the state of New York. The American army on this frontier was composed of two brigades, one com manded by Scott, the other by Ripley, also become a brigadier. The two composed Brown s division. There was also a force of volunteers and Indians under Gene rals Porter and Swift, (New York militia.) The enemy, too, had been reinforced. The first operations of the American army it were obvious was to secure the posses sion of Niagara, and capture Fort Erie, which at that time was commanded by Captain Buck, at the head of one hundred and seventy men. General Scott, with the 1st infantry and a detachment of artillery under Major Hen derson, crossed therefore to the Canada side, below Fort Erie, while General Ripley with the second brigade, crossed above. A party of Indians, friendly to the United States, also got in rear of the fort, which, thus 302 GENERAL OFFICERS. GAINES. surrounded, immediately surrendered without firing a shot. The battle of Chippewa has already been described in the sketch of another distinguished general, and also all that occurred until after the battle of Niagara. That portion of the American army under Ripley retreated towards Fort Erie. This retreat for a long time subjected Ripley to severe animadversion. The British under General Drummond, though in pursuit, took good care not to overtake the Americans, who, if they retreated, did so in re markably slow time. The enemy, however, had been reinforced by a whole brigade under General De Watte- ville, and immediately invested Fort Erie, which not long before had been so weak a post as to be confided to a captain and two companies. This post lay about one hundred yards from the lake shore, on a plain about fifteen feet above the level of the water, and could be considered but a feeble redoubt. By the 7th of August a new line of defences had been thrown up, and the enemy were taught by the gunnery of the garrison to keep at a respectful distance. From this time an incessant cannonade had been kept up. Be fore the defences had been completed General Gaines arrived, and as the senior officer assumed the command. On the night of the 14th, both General Gaines and Ripley perceived an unsual activity in the British camp, which induced them at once to take steps to defeat an attack. General Drummond had determined to attack three sides of the fort at once. General Gaines was therefore under the necessity of dividing his force so as to repel each of these demonstrations. The main fort and bas tions were assigned to Captain Williams of the artillery, ATTACK ON FORT ERIE. 303 while a detached battery was entrusted to Captain Dou glass of the corps of engineers. The curtain was com manded by Captains Biddle and Fanning, supported by Porter s troops and the rifles ; Major Hindman had charge of all the artillery. The brigade of General Scott, who had been severely wounded on the battle field of Chippewa, was commanded by Lieutenant-Colo nel Aspinwall, and defended the right while Ripley stood on the left. The attack was introduced by a prelude of rapid discharges of shot and shell, which lasted for some hours. A shot having fallen in one of the magazines, it ex ploded with a fearful report, and for a moment the enemy thought they were successful. The garrison, however, immediately cheered loudly, and amid the smoke which covered everything, Captain Williams discharged all his heavy guns. At half-past two in the morning, when the darkness was intense, the right column of the enemy, thirteen hundred strong, commanded by Lieutenant- Colonel Fisher, was heard on the right of the garrison occupied by Scott s brigade, which, with Towson s guns, was ready to receive them. The battery occupied by the latter was assailed with ladders, and all the rest of the line with the bayonet when almost beneath the works a fearful fire was opened on them, and they were driven back. Again being rallied by Fisher, they were led to the attack, but again were routed. The key to the whole work was thought to be Towson s battery, to get possession of which Fisher attempted to turn the abattis, which extended far into the lake, by wading. In this he failed, losing in the water by drowning, &c., about two hundred men. When Fisher was engaged with the garrison, the British left column, commanded by Colonel Scott, passed along the lake shore, while Colonel Drumrnond advanced to the attack of the front or cur- 304 GENERAL OFFICERS. GAINES. tain. Scott was checked by Douglass s battery, and the volunteers of Boughton, from New York, and Harding from Pennsylvania, the 9th infantry under Captain Fos ter, and one gun. This was the weak point, and many of the volunteers have now to tell how the general en couraged them by his presence, and told them how to aim to prevent their fire from being lost. It was not lost, for after approaching within one hundred and fifty feet, the attacking column recoiled. Colonel Drum- mond, under the very heavy fire from Williams s battery, advanced to the attack of the front. He was at the head of eight hundred picked men, such as on such occasions the British army is in the habit of producing, and would have won the admiration of every soldier. Applying his ladders, the parapet was mounted. His officers called out to their line, extended to the lake, to cease firing. This deceived Douglass, who sup posed the order to be given within the fort, and to relate to himself. He and the infantry on the line obeyed ; and Colonel Scott, who had rallied his men, repulsed on the left, approached that side simultane ously. The deception was, however, useless, for both columns were repulsed, the scaling-ladders were thrown back, and Colonel Scott killed. Drummond made re peated efforts with no greater success, being repulsed by Hindman s guns, and Trimble s infantry. The artillery of Douglass, after the death of Colonel Scott, was so directed as to prevent communication between his column and Drummond s. The latter was a brave man. Though thrice repulsed with heavy loss, he would not renounce his undertaking. Amid the darkness of the coming day and the smoke of the long cannonade, he once more reached the ditch, which was passed, and the parapet scaled. At this time DEFENCE OF FORT ERIE. 305 he cried out to his men, who rapidly followed him, Give the Yankees no quarter. This order was obeyed. After the most bloody carnage which ever occurred on this continent, during which Captain Williams was mortally, and Lieutenants Watmough and McDonough severely wounded, the latter asked for quarter, it was refused. Seizing a gun-rammer, he used it with all the effect his expiring strength permitted, and was shot down by Colonel Drummond in person. At this instant Drum- mond, too, fell dead, with a ball in his breast. The enemy still retained their position, and though charged repeatedly by the general at the head of the reserve, stood firm. Everywhere else they had been repulsed, and large reinforcements arriving, they were gradually being forced over the rampart. Fresh reinforcements were received by the British, and though Douglass s guns enfiladed their position, and Lieutenant Fanning directed his artillery on them, the affair was not then settled. At this crisis a magazine which was in the bastion exploded, and all the enemy who were in that platform were blown up. This terminated the assault, and the enemy retreated to their works. The British were routed, leaving on the field two hundred and twenty-two killed, among whom were Colonels Scott and Drummond, and other officers of rank ; one hundred and seventy-four wounded, and one hundred and eighty-two prisoners a total loss of five hundred and eighty- two. The official report of General Drummond acknowledged a total loss, including those of Fischer s column drowned in the lake, of nine hundred and five, of whom fifty-seven were killed. The officers of the American adjutant and inspector-general s depart ments knew better from personal observation. The Ame rican loss was seventeen killed, fifty-six wounded, and eleven prisoners. But one of the latter was an officer, VOL. I. 20 306 GENERAL OFFICERS. GAINES. Lieutenant Fountain, who had been forced over the bastion when Colonel Drummond was killed. The enemy remained in his trenches, and showed no disposition to try another assault with the bayonet. Having been reinforced by two regiments, his batteries were enlarged, and a perpetual bombardment kept up until late in August. On the 28th of August a shell exploded within the American lines, a fragment of which severely wounded General Gaines, and compelled him to relinquish the command to General Ripley and retire to Buffalo. For this gallant defence, never surpassed and rarely equalled, General Gaines received the most unbounded applause. The British columns had been far more numerous than his garrison, and their officers sure of success. His conduct on this occasion will bear the most rigid scrutiny, and merits all the commendation bestowed on it. For his good conduct he received the compliment of a brevet of major-general, the command of which grade he has exercised with few interruptions ever since. The siege of the fort was continued until the 17th of September, when General Brown made his brilliant attack, which resulted in the destruction of the enemy s works. The sortie on that occasion was headed by General Ripley, and by its brilliant success effaced all memory of his retreat, which, as before stated, had been much censured. General Izard, about the middle of October, having arrived in front of the works, the siege was raised, and Fort Erie was subsequently left under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Hindman. The fort being ultimately destroyed, late in the season the garri son were withdrawn to the United States shore. General Gaines did not participate farther in the COMPLIMENTS TO GAINES. 307 events of the war, which was soon after terminated by peace. After the termination of the war, General Gaines re ceived high compliments from congress and the states of Virginia, Tennessee, and Alabama ; each of which pre sented him with a sword. A medal was struck in honor of him, by authority of the nation, referring to the defence of Fort Erie. On the reduction of the war establishment, he was retained in service, with his old rank, and, after a brief furlough, assigned to command in the south, where the Florida Indians and negroes yet continued to harass the frontier of Georgia. CHAPTER IV. GA1NES (Continued.) Difficulties with respect to Florida General Jackson takes command of the southern division General Gaines assigned to the command of West Florida Instructions to Gaines Jackson s operations Arbuthnot and Ambrister Capture of Pensacola Termination of the Florida war Sketch of Generals Gibson and Arbuckle. THE territory of Florida, it will be remembered, had been discovered by the companions of Columbus, one of whom, De Soto, had landed near the present city of St. Augustine, and passed thence far beyond the Missis sippi. The Spanish empire yet retained the nominal command of this peninsula ; though, shorn of its power by the encroachment of Napoleon, it was unable to exercise more control over it than over the rest of its vast empire. During the war with the United States, terminated in fact by the battle of New Orleans, Great Britain had taken advantage of the feeble condition of Spain to harass the southern frontier of the United States; and, after the ratification of peace, seemed by no means dis posed to relinquish the advantages afforded by the bay of Pensacola and the disguise of a neutral flag, and bands of Indians over whom Spain exercised but a nominal control. The man appointed to the command of this frontier, was one emphatically qualified to per form this duty well. The general who had dared, at the beck of necessity, to disregard the form of law of CONDITION OF FLORIDA. 309 his own country, was not likely to shrink from the tech nicalities of the statutes of another realm. Major-General Andrew Jackson was assigned to the command of the southern division of the army of the United States, and, early in 1816, repaired to New Orleans to station his troops so as to repel the incur sions of the hostile Indians and whites beyond our fron tier, yet clearly amenable to the United States, as their hostilities and outrages were committed within their borders. In October, 1816, General Jackson returned to his head-quarters at Nashville, Tennessee, where he was busied in perfecting the police of the army and the discipline of his own department. Many tribes of Indians were crowded into the pro vince of Florida, intermingled with whom were abra sions from many of the northern races. Adventurers, refugees from the French, Spanish, and English colonies, and from the United States, were within its limits, and also a vast number of runaway slaves, from states as far north as North Carolina and Virginia. All of these were restrained from inroads into the United States by a mere line of longitude, never run and never denned. This (1817) was the era of the South American and Mex ican revolutions ; and the whole southern portion of the New World was convulsed by the efforts of nations long enslaved, to throw off the shackles of oppression and prejudice. The reaction of the nations which at this crisis started into being, was fearful ; and palpable wrong was not unfrequently confounded with palpable right, merely because the two had previously been inculcated by the same authority. One of the officers of the Co lombian naval service (Commodore Aury) at this time took possession of Amelia Island, which undoubtedly belonged to Florida, but which came within the jurisdic- 310 GENERAL OFFICERS. GAINES. tion of the United States, as it was made the centre of a horde of brigands, who outraged the sovereignty of the Union, and whom Spain could not or would not expel. This state of things had, to a great degree, existed during the late war. It will be remembered by all familiar with the general history of the late war, that a Colonel Nichols had been driven from Pensacola by General Jackson, previous to the battle of New Orleans. This worthy, long after the proclamation of peace, established a fort near the present city of St. Mark s, around which he collected a band of fugitives of all nations and countries, who long outraged the law of nations and of humanity, until their fort was destroyed by Colonel Clinch, January 10th, 1816. This, for a time, terminated the war in West Florida. To the command of West Florida General Gaines had been assigned after the conclusion of peace. On the 30th of October, 1817, he received a letter from the war department, authorizing him to call a detachment of Georgia militia into service, and stating " that the assurance of an additional force, the president flatters himself, will have the effect at least of restraining the Seminoles from committing farther depredations* and inducing them to make reparation for the murders they have committed; should they, however, persevere in their refusal to make such reparation, it is the wish of the president that you should not, on that account, pass the line, and make an attack upon them within the limits of Florida, until you shall have received further instruc tions from this department. You are authorized to remove the Indians still remaining on the lands ceded by the treaty made by General Jackson with the Creeks. 5 Various outrages, however, were committed subse quently, the crowning one of which was the massacre of INSTRUCTIONS TO GAINES. 311 a party of United States soldiers, commanded by Lieu tenant Scott, while on the way to the mouth of the Apalachicola from Fort Scott, a stockade on the Flint, above its junction with the Chattahoochee. This took place in November, about the 15th. Before the new r s of this outrage, however, reached Washington, the secretary of war had written on the 2d of December, to General Gaines, thus: "The state of our negotiations with Spain, and the temper manifested by the principal European powers, make it impolitic, in the opinion of the president, to move a force at this time into the Spanish possessions, for the mere purpose of chastising the Seminoles for depredations which have heretofore been committed by them." A second letter, dated December 9th, instructed General Gaines to exercise his own discretion, should the Indians cross into the United States, as to whether he should cross the line and attack them. A third letter authorized him, if the Seminoles per- sisted in outrages on the United States, to cross the line and attack them. Under these circumstances he was required immediately to notify the department. In obedience to these orders, General Gaines called into service from Georgia a large reinforcement of militia, and as the wont then was, to draft for a short period, before they had become accustomed to the routine of camp, it became necessary to call out a second thousand to replace them. In the meantime General Jackson was ordered to assume command of this country, which lay in fact within his department. The secretary of war on the 16th of June wrote to General Gaines, who previ ously had been sent to Amelia Island, that the dignity of the United States required that the Seminoles should 312 GENERAL OFFICERS. GAINES. be exemplarily punished, and that if necessary the war was to be carried on within Florida. That as soon as it was ascertained he had gone to Amelia Island, and as it was uncertain how long he might be retained there, General Jackson had been ordered to assume command in West Florida. It will be remembered that General Jack son was a major-general with a full commission, senior to General Gaines s brevet. General Gaines was thus removed to the extreme east of Florida and Georgia. The island of Amelia was afterwards captured by a combined naval and military force. The troops of this expedition were commanded by the present Colonel Bankhead, under orders of General Gaines. The naval forces were under the orders of Commodore Henly. The peculiar nature of General Gaines s instructions was such as to retain him in inactivity. A reference to this campaign will hereafter be found more fully explained in the life of Brigadier- General Twiggs. After the capture of Saint Mark s by General, then Major Twiggs, Alexander Arbuthnot was taken prisoner, and about the same time two chiefs notorious for their outrages were taken by means of a ruse de guerre by Captain M Keever of the navy and Colonel Gibson, who were cruising with a mixed force before the Apalachicola river. These chiefs, one of whom, Hillisihajo, had been long known by his outrages, and the other, Hornotlimot orHornot Henrico, had been recognised at the massacre of the party of Lieutenant Scott, were immediately hung. After the capture of Arbuthnot, the army proceeded southward, and at another town of the hostile Creeks cap tured Robert C. Ambrister, who had been a subaltern in the Royal Colonial Marines (negro), commanded by the infamous Nichols of Mobile and New Orleans noto riety. GEORGE GIBSON, Colonel of Staff; Brigadier- General by Brevet. GENERAL GIBSON. 313 Conspicuous throughout the whole of this war, was the present General Gibson, then a colonel and quarter master-general of the division of the army which Gene ral Jackson commanded. His services, on many occa sions, were complimented by General Jackson ; and, in the cruise he made with Captain McKeever, of the navy, at the mouth of the St. Mark s river, which empties into Apalachicola bay, he got possession of Francis Hillisi- hajo and Hornotlimot, or Henrico, the two great leaders of the Seminoles in their outrages on the United States. These two brigands, as before mentioned, were hung summarily by the authority of the two commanders of the army and naval expedition. Colonel Gibson was appointed in the army on the 3d of May, 1808, and became, on the 18th of April, 1818, during the Seminole difficulty, commissary-general of the army. He had held the rank of colonel two years pre vious, and, on the 29th of April, 1826, became brigadier- general by brevet. He has long been at Washington, and is considered one of the most efficient, and, at the same time, one of the most popular officers of the army. General Gibson was at Queenstown, and participated in the dangers of Scott s expedition, when he was attacked by the Indians, while proceeding to surrender his com mand after that gallant affair. He is a native of Penn sylvania, and a brother of the distinguished chief justice of that state. On the 26th of April, at Saint Mark s, after the dis charge of the volunteers, a court martial was convened by General Jackson, of which General Gaines was presi dent, and the distinguished Colonel King a member, with five other officers, the junior of whom was a cap tain in the service, for the trial of Arbuthnot and Am- brister. There was not the slightest doubt that they 314 GENERAL OFFICERS. GAINES. were guilty as charged, of a violation of the law of nations, and of every other law, and the court accord ingly sentenced the first to be hung and the second to be shot. The court recommended, however, that the first should be treated with mercy, and the punishment commuted to stripes and confinement. It is necessary that a distinction should be made in relation to the finding of the court, and the conduct of the commanding general who approved of that part of the finding which pleased him, but disapproved of the recommendation. Arbuthnot was hung, and Ambrister was shot, on the day of the finding of the sentence. Many may disapprove of the conduct of General Jack son, but none could find fault with the court. A little more time might have been allowed to those who had violated every law. This, however, was not done. On the 10th of May, General Jackson, after having left strong garrisons at St. Mark s, Fort Scott, and Fort Gadsden, crossed the Apalachicola, and, on the 22d, arrived at Escambia, not far above Pensacola. On the 24th. he entered the city. On the 25th, the Barrancas, to which the governor and garrison had retired, was invested, and bombarded until the 27th, when it sur rendered. The authorities were immediately shipped to the Havana. This expedition was unimportant, except in its events. General Gaines accompanied General Jackson in this expedition, which was in no respect cal culated to afford any exhibition of talent or valor. The soldier who had defeated the picked veterans of the Peninsula, could do nothing worthy of his reputation when arrayed against a hybrid race of Spaniards and Indians. It must, however, be acknowledged by all who analyze this campaign, that the credit of the ar- MATTHEW ARBUCKLE, Colonel 7th Infantry, Brigadier-General by Brevet. GENERAL ARBUCKLE. 315 rarigements is due in a great degree to General Gaines, while all censure has been appropriated to others by their own declarations. After the departure of General Jackson, General Gaines assumed the command, and, in obedience to instructions from General Jackson, he bombarded St. Augustine, which also surrendered. This was the ter mination of the Florida war, about the 25th of August. Among the distinguished officers who served dur ing this war, was General Matthew Arbuckle, colonel of the 7th infantry. This gallant old officer is one of the few who, having entered the service before the beginning of the present century, yet remain in it. Appointed at an early age, he served during the whole of the last war with Great Britain, in the south and west, having been at Mobile at the time of the attack upon it, and accompanied Generals Jackson and Gaines in the Seminole campaign. During it, he was a lieu tenant-colonel ; and, on the 16th of March, 1820, was promoted to the command of his present regiment. Ten years afterwards, he received the brevet of briga dier-general. For the last thirty years, General Arbuckle has occupied the important command of the department in which is Fort Gibson, and the superintendence of the many powerful tribes of Indians within it. By his firmness, he has maintained them always in peace, and has acquired a paramount influence over them. No officer of the army has probably been trusted with more important and confidential duties, or has more ably discharged them. General Arbuckle is the son of the distinguished officer of the same name who, before the revolution, defeated Logan near the mouth of the Kanawha, and 316 GENERAL OFFICERS. GAINES. who has been so frequently referred to by Mr. Jefferson, in his " Notes on Virginia." General Arbuckle is now about seventy-five or se venty-six years of age, and is a native of the county of Botetourt, in Virginia. CHAPTER V. GAINES (Continued. ) Gaines commands the western department Black Hawk war Florida war Ouithlagoochie Unsuccessful negotiation Capture of Osceola General Clinch. THE military establishment of the United States, in 1821, was very much reduced. General Jackson had resigned his commission in 1818, and but three general officers, besides the quartermaster-general, were retained in the service. General Gaines commanded the western department. His eye was directed to every part of his wide command, and he ever exhibited the same prompt ness to defend the rights of the most valueless frontier settlement, which he would have displayed towards the populous cities of the north or south. In the summer of 1832, when the outrages of the Saukees and the border whites first became known, he acted with promptness and decision, and entered Black Hawk s town with the same energy, which actuated him when he captured Saint Augustine. Superseded after wards, he retired calmly ; and it is the duty of the annal ist to state, that those for whom he made way, accom plished less with a greater expenditure of blood. He returned to his station only to leave it, when again sum moned to defend another portion of his country. The origin of the Florida war, even now, is hidden in mystery. It is difficult to believe that the Indians meditated hostility to the government, but on the other 318 GENERAL OFFICERS. GAINES. hand it is far more probable that they were driven into it by the aggressions of the whites. The existence of the Indians as a half-recognised government, had been too great an inducement for malecontent negroes to escape to be resisted, and frequent collisions had occurred during every year since the flags were changed. The older members of the tribes who had been defeated by Gaines and Jackson had died away, and in % the course of sixteen years a new generation had grown up pre serving the animosity, but unmindful of the experience of their fathers. The stories of the old Indian war had been preserved also by the whites, and its wild excite ment was remembered, while its sad teachings were for gotten. On the 10th of July, a party of Seminoles went into the territory of the whites in pursuit of game, the chase of which began on their side of the line. Their hunt was successful, and they made a new ap pointment for the fifth day afterwards. It was kept, but several of the party were taken and severely outraged by the whites. An Indian never forgets or forgives. The vengeance was not long hoarded, however, for other Indians came up ; a collision ensued, in the course of which three whites were wounded and one Indian killed. The origin of this war, and the massacre of Major Dade s command, have been fully explained in another book. It remains for us now only to refer to the parti cipation in it of General Gaines. Dade s massacre, it will be remembered, occurred on the 24th of December, 1835, and produced a thrill of horror throughout the whole land not yet effaced. On the evening of the same day, General Thompson, the Seminole agent, and three lieutenants of the army, as BATTLE OF THE OUITHLAGOOCHIE. 319 mentioned previously, were shot while in sight of the pickets of Fort King, from which they most imprudently had wandered. Osceola, afterwards so famous, and extolled almost into the hero-world by people who knew little of his real character, which, after all, was but that of a drunken Indian desperado, was the leader of this party. The insolence of the act was only equal to its daring, for within Fort King at the time was General D. L. Clinch with two hundred regulars, and General Call with five hun dred volunteers. With this force General Clinch im mediately left the fort, and having crossed the Ouithla- goochie with a portion of his command, the residue having exhibited some tardiness, was attacked by the Indians. He ultimately beat them off with the severe loss of sixty-three killed and wounded. The force of the In dians in this battle was but little more numerous than Clinch s, the mass of whom, however, refused to cross the river. The battle, nevertheless, was by no means decisive, and small parties of Indians overran the whole territory, carrying devastation into every neighborhood. Even in the immediate vicinity of St. Augustine, sugar plan tations were ravaged, machinery destroyed, and slaves carried off, to the amount in all of nearly one hundred thousand dollars. While this was being done, General Gaines, who had received information, had been busy making prepara tions, and on the 13th of January, 1836, landed at Fort Brooke, on Tampa Bay, and with the reinforcements he had brought found himself at the head of twelve hun dred men. He immediately proceeded towards Fort King, which was menaced by a large force, and arrived there on the 2d of February, without, how r ever, meet- 320 GENERAL OFFICERS. GAINES. ing the enemy. This was a campaign by no means to the taste of the general, who set out to search for them in a long detour through the whole country north of Fort Brooke and west of Fort King. On the 27th of February, as he was crossing the Ouithlagoochie, the Indians attacked him in force, but after a sharp conflict of nearly an hour, retired with much loss. On the next day, when the attempt to cross the river was renewed, the enemy again came to the assault but were again beaten back, with the loss to General Gaines s command*of the gallant James Izard, a lieu tenant of the 1st dragoons, serving in the staff of the general, who by his daring and gallantry seemed to challenge his fate. General Gaines now threw up a breastwork for the purpose of defending himself to the last extremity. Provisions were nearly exhausted, and there was some danger that the army would be forced, encumbered as it was with many wounded, to make the hazardous attempt to cut its way through. On the 20th, however, the enemy made another attack, and advanced boldly to storm the breastwork. They were resisted with great resolution, the officers and men firing almost incessantly on them. In this attack, General Gaines was wounded in the mouth \vith a spent ball, which, though doing no serious injury, occasioned him great pain. He continued on the field, however, exercising his command, until the Seminoles again retired. Before they did so, however, they attempted a ruse, which had nearly succeeded, but for an accident which could not have been foreseen. The front of the breast work for some distance was covered with the tall wiry grass peculiar to the prairies of Florida, which, at that season of the year, was dry as tinder. This the enemy UNSUCCESSFUL NEGOTIATION. 321 set fire to, with the intention of driving the Americans from their defences. In a few minutes, everything was covered by a dense smoke, and the works were obviously in danger of being untenable. The wind fortunately changed, and the fire was swept over the ground occu pied by the Seminoles, burning their provisions and exposing them to the American fire. Soon after, Gene ral Clinch arrived with reinforcements, and General Gaines was enabled to resume active operations. The Indian loss in these affairs was very severe, and General Gaines lost, in killed and severely wounded, thirty-two officers and men. On the 5th of March, a messenger reached General Gaines, stating that Osceola wished to meet him in council ; a request to which the general acceded at once. Osceola and other chiefs came in on the next day, and proposed the Ouithlagoochie as the boundary between the whites and themselves. This proposition General Gaines was not authorized to accede to, and he informed the chiefs that he could do nothing but require them to lay down their arms, and remain south of the river until the United States was ready to send them to the country assigned them, west of the Mississippi. The council terminated in nothing satisfactory; and, shortly after, the intelligence that General Scott had been assigned to the command of Florida, having reached him, General Gaines relinquished the direction of affairs to a junior, and the troops proceeded to Fort Drane, where they arrived on the llth. General Gaines resumed his old head-quarters. The participation of General Scott in the Florida war has already been given. He was succeeded by General Jesup, who accomplished little except the capture of Osceola, who, having come into the general s camp, was VOL. I. 21 322 GENERAL OFFICERS. GAINES. retained a prisoner and sent from Florida to Sullivan s Island, in the harbor of Charleston, where he died after a short confinement. The circumstances of the capture of Osceola, and the fact that he was retained in confine ment by the express authority of the president, induce a belief that in this affair General Jesup obeyed orders. |;In this and the previous Indian campaigns of General Jackson after the termination of the war of 1812-15, constant mention has been made of General Clinch, who, on more than one occasion, had done distinguished ser vice. A full sketch of the career of this officer would comprise a history of Florida from the beginning of Nichols s operations to the present time ; but scarcely comes within the compass of our plan, as he has long since left the service. General Clinch is a native of Georgia, and was appointed in the army during the last war, an officer of one of the regiments intended to be raised in that sec tion of country. As, however, it was, from the nature of the population of the country, almost impossible to recruit men like General Twiggs and other efficient offi cers of that wing of the army, he did but little active service. After the ratification of peace, however, he was retained in service. He w r as a lieutenant-colonel by brevet on the 10th of July, 1836, when he destroyed the negro fort on the Apalachicola, with a skill and promptness which won for him the greatest praise, and served through the whole of the subsequent campaigns with Jackson and Gaines. We have already, in the sketches of Generals Scott and Gaines, seen how distin guished a part he played in their operations in Florida. In 1836, General Clinch resigned his commission for private reasons, and established himself in Georgia. He had long been stationed in Florida, where he had become DUNCAN L. CLINCH, Late Colonel 4th Infantry, Brigadier-General by Brevet. GENERAL CLINCH. 323 the proprietor of an extensive plantation, which for years after it had been devastated by the enemy preserved marks of wonderful beauty and fertility. General Clinch is yet in the vigor of life, and would bring to high ramV were it conferred on him, what alone can make it valu able to the nation, experience and courage. CHAPTER VI. G A.INES . ( Continued. ) Mexican war General Gaines s action in calling out volun teers His services Finding of the court General Games ordered to New York. GENERAL GAINES, after this campaign, was relieved from all duty in Florida, which was considered to belong to General Scott s department. It subsequently was made a separate command, to which almost all the gene rals and brevet generals of that day were assigned. The tenor of his life for some years was uninterrupted, except by the frequent tours of inspection he made to the remote parts on the Indian frontier. His command was always maintained in the strictest discipline, and the returns of the whole division made with the utmost exactitude. During this period of his life he eliminated the sys tem of defence, and the centralization of resources, which has attracted so much attention, and which, though now scarcely calculated for the condition of the country, ulti mately must be adopted or imitated. His head-quarters were subsequently changed to St. Louis, and again to New Orleans, where, at the com mencement of the Mexican war, he was stationed. When the Mexican war began, General Gaines heard with much anxiety of the demonstrations made by the other republic against General Taylor, and immediately GENERAL BROOKE. 325 called out a very large force of volunteers when he heard of the imminent danger of the American forces. The battles of Palo Alto and La Resaca were, however, fought and won, and the government repudiated Gene ral Gaines s action, and ordered him at once to Washing ton, appointing to his command General George M. Brooke, a distinguished soldier who had been in the army since 1808, and had served long in the southern department. While yet a lieutenant-colonel in the line, this officer had earned the successive brevets of colonel and brigadier- general, and had served with a distinction second to none in the army. General Brooke entered the service in 1808, as a first lieutenant of infantry. At the defence of Fort Erie, already described in this book, Brooke, now a major, was conspicuous, and received the brevet of lieutenant- colonel for his gallantry there displayed. He accom panied General Gaines to the south, and, according to the custom of the service, after holding the grade of brevet colonel for ten years, was, on the 17th of Sep tember, 1824, made brigadier-general by brevet. During the battle of Niagara, an incident occurred which, though often subsequently told, WHS not made the subject of approbation by the government. The greater part of the battle, it is known, was fought at night, and, as it grew darker, it was almost impossible to ascertain the position of the enemy with sufficient accuracy to fire at them. Under these circum stances, Captain Brooke performed a piece of service daring as it w r as peculiar. Taking a lantern, wrapped in cloth, he proceeded to the enemy s position, and, climbing a gnarled tree, fastened it in the line of fire. After having uncovered it, he dropped to the ground. 326 GENERAL OFFICERS. GAINES. and, on his hands and knees, escaped to the American position. He was long stationed in Florida as lieutenant-colo nel of the regiment of Colonel (brevet Brigadier-General) D. L. Clinch, and was honored by having his name assigned to the beautiful post built immediately at the mouth of the Hillsborough river, on the bay of the same name, above its coniiuence with Tampa, or Espiritu Santo. While in Florida he acquired great influence over the Seminoles, and it was considered by many would have had much authority in terminating that unhappy contest. On the 15th of July, 1841, however, General Brooke, having become colonel of the 5th foot, had been trans ferred to the upper lakes ; and, even when his regiment was ordered south, he was left in command of a geogra phical department, probably because his high rank by brevet would have brought him into conflict with almost any one who could have been ordered thither. He now commands in New Orleans; and, by his unceasing dili gence in ministering to the wants of his superiors, has won the commendation both of the army and the go vernment. General Brooke is a member of a family of soldiers. One of his cousins, the Honorable Henry Brooke, was an officer of distinction in the Virginia line of the revo lutionary army, and is now borne on the half-pay list of that army. Since, as one of the justices of the court of appeals of Virginia, he has won great celebrity. The lamented Lieutenant Frank Brooke, of the 6th infantry, killed at the battle of Okee-Chobee, was also a near re lative of the general, who has several other kinsmen in the military and naval service of the country. General Brooke was born and educated in Virginia, COURT OF INQUIRY. 327 and, during the early portion of his life, was pupil of the now well known Thomas Ritchie, senior editor of the Washington Union. Though he has been nearly forty years in the service, General Brooke is still hale and strong, with much more yet to do before he lays down his honors. Such was the man appointed to succeed General Games. It is a matter of congratulation to him that his place was filled by a veteran worthy to do so. Not content with depriving Gaines of command, the government issued orders for a court of inquiry, which convened at Fortress Monroe on the 20th of July, 1846, to investigate the facts of his requisition, undenied, not contradicted, and therefore no subjects of inquiry. The court made the following report, in relation to the facts and circumstances : " FACTS. *##*##*. General Gaines learned, at New Orleans, about the 1st of May, 1846., that a Mexican army, of superior force to the army under General Taylor, was advancing to invade Texas, and that actual w r ar was impending. He was informed officially from General Taylor of his situation, and what auxiliary force of volunteers he had called from the states, viz., four regiments from Louisi ana, and four regiments from Texas ; and he was re quested by General Taylor to aid the governor of Loui siana in equipping and forwarding the troops of that state. On the receipt of this information, General Gaines wrote to the governors of Mississippi, Alabama, Ten nessee, Kentucky, and Missouri, advising them to antici pate a call from the president of the United States, for volunteers, and to make preparations to raise the troops. It was not, however, in form, a requisition on them to 328 GENERAL OFFICERS.- GAINES. send forward troops before they were called for by the president." The court also found that, between the 3d and 31st of May, various volunteers were mustered into service, and supplied with public stores, and also that "when General Gaines was relieved from command of the western division, and ordered to repair to Washington city, and, in execution of said order, had arrived at Mobile on the 12th of June, he was then and there in formed, by the governor of Alabama, that much disorder prevailed among the regiments of volunteers assembled at that point by the president of the United States ; for which reason the governor applied to General Gaines to receive into the service of the United States, for the proper government of those volunteers, Brigadier-Gene ral Smith, whom the governor had commissioned to command them, and his staff. Whereupon, General Gaines did receive and muster into service various per sons as officers of the general staff. The order of General Gaines published in this case, directed that it should remain in force till final instruc tions should be received from the proper authorities at Washington ; and further directed General Smith to organize the volunteers, and as soon as the said organi zation should be completed, to proceed with them with out delay to the seat of war. The appointment by General Gaines of certain vol unteers and others to staff offices, as shown in the official documents sent as evidence to the court, not being stated in the order appointing the court, as one of the matters into which it is directed to inquire, it is not considered in this statement of facts, nor in the opinion of the court. The facts and circumstances, however, are set forth in COURT OF INQUIRY. 329 the evidence for the information of the department of war.* In regard to issues of public stores by order of Gen eral Gaines, the court find that he ordered the issue of ordnance and ordnance stores to arm and equip all the volunteers called out by him ; also, when necessary, for those called out by General Taylor; also, that he ordered the quartermaster s department to furnish camp equipage and quartermaster s supplies ; also, he ordered the commissaries to furnish subsistence to all volunteers arriving at the general rendezvous for muster, and to issue to them previous to the muster. The court also find an issue by order of General Gaines of two pieces of field artillery, and twenty-five rounds of ammunition to two private gentlemen and planters in the parish of West Baton Rouge, for the pro tection of the parish against the slave population, on condition of the return of the guns when called for." The court of course found that for all this General Gaines had no authority, other than the necessity of the case in his opinion, and censured his conduct ; at the same time that they complimented him thus : " Having now reported their finding and opinion, the court recommend to the favorable consideration of the president the good and patriotic motives, and the public zeal, by which, as the court believe, General Gaines was actuated in all these transactions, and there fore they recommend that no further proceedings be had in this case." * Much stress was laid on the fact that General Gaines had ap pointed staff officers of the Alabama volunteers. He had, how ever, a precedent, General Jackson having, according to his own report of the operations in Florida against the hostile Indians and Spaniards, appointed several persons officers of the regular army. Vide State Papers^ 1818. 330 GENERAL OFFICERS. GAINES. The necessity of the case was the only reason ever assigned by General Gaines for his action in this case, and public opinion now fully approves of his course. The finding of the court was approved of, and Sec retary Marcy published it to the army, August 18, 1846. At this time there is little doubt that the administra tion, through the means of Santa Anna, expected an immediate peace. Such, however, was not the case. Subsequent events have made it certain, that had the levies made by General Gaines been sent to General Taylor, peace would have been conquered. This mistake of the administration cannot, however, now be corrected. It has again directed attention to General Gaines, whose course was too far in advance of the pas of the administration, in both military knowledge and acquain tance with Mexico, to be approved. None can deny now that every man he called for should have been sent to Mexico. Since the adjournment of the court, General Gaines has commanded the eastern department, to which he was immediately assigned. His head-quarters are in the city of New York. APPENDIX. ARTICLES OF WAR. AN ACT FOR ESTABLISHING RULES AND ARTICLES FOR THE GOV ERNMENT OF THE ARMIES OF THE UNITED STATES .* SECTION 1. . . .Be it enacted by the Senate and House Rules and am of Representatives of the United States of America in armies ^7 the L 6 Congress assembled, That, from and after the passing Slates are to be of this act, the following shall be the rules and articles {^JJjJlng rf by which the armies of the United States shall be this act. governed : ARTICLE 1. . . .Every officer now in the army of Every officer to the United States shall, in six months from the passing Jj|^ r J^ J^y! of this act, and every officer who shall hereafter be ap- lations. pointed shall, before he enters on the duties of his office, subscribe these rules and regulations. ART. 2. . . .It is earnestly recommended to all offi- ^Sf cers and soldiers diligently to attend Divine service ; to attend Divine and all officers who shall behave indecently or irreve- service, and be- ,, ~. . . . i .,,... have decently & rently at any place of Divine worship shall, if com- reverently, un- missioned officers, be brought before a General Court- de . r Pn of re - T,, . . , , . ,. , , , . j j primand, fine, Martial, there to be publicly and severely reprimanded & c . by the president ; if non-commissioned officers or sol diers, every person so offending shall, for his first of fence, forfeit one-sixth of a dollar, to be deducted out of his next pay ; for the second offence, he shall not only forfeit a like sum, but be confined twenty-four hours ; and for every like offence shall suffer and pay in like manner ; which money, so forfeited, shall be applied, by the captain or senior officer of the troop or company, to the use of the sick soldiers of the company or troop to which the offender belongs. ART. 3. . . .Any non-commissioned officer or soldier Reprimand, who shall use any profane oath or execration, shall u"hi o- & profane incur the penalties expressed in the foregoing article ; oaths or execra- and a commissioned officer shall forfeit and pay for tions &C- each and every such offence, one dollar, to be applied as in the preceding article. * These rules and articles, with the exceptions indicated by the notes, annexed to articles 20, 65, and 87, remain unaltered, and in force at present. 332 ARTICLES OF WAR. Chaplains ab- ART. 4. . . .Every Chaplain commissioned in the selves except" arm 7 r armies of the United States, who shall absent &c., liable to himself from the duties assigned him (excepting in fine or discharge, ca ses of sickness or leave of absence), shall, on con viction thereof before a court-martial, be fined not ex ceeding one month s pay, besides the loss of his pay during his absence ; or be discharged, as the said court- martial shall judge proper. Officers using ART. 5. . . .Any officer or soldier who shall use con- woVd Pt aainst tem P tuous or disrespectful words against the President the President, V. of the United States, against the Vice President there- ^e^&c tobe of a S ainst the Congress of the United-States, or against cashieredj &c. ; the Chief Magistrate or Legislature of any of the United and non-commis- States, in which he may be quartered, if a commissioned sioned officers & . 1,1, i -11 soldiers to suffer omcer, shall be cashiered, or otherwise punished, as a punishment by court-martial shall direct ; if a non-commissioned offi- court-martial. cer or soldier, he shall suffer such punishment as shall be inflicted on him by the sentence of a court-martial. diers ^blhavin ART. 6. . . .Any officer or soldier who shall behave with disrespect himself with contempt or disrespect towards his com- officers C T n bf manding officer, shall be punished, according to the punished by the nature of hisoffence, by the judgment of a court-martial. coSmartrnf. & ART " 7 ^ fficer r soldier wh sha11 be S in Death &c for exc ^ te cause or J om m > anv mutiny, or sedition, in beginning or ex- any troop or company in the service of the United cuing mutiny, g tateg) or m any par ty, post, detachment, or guard, shall suffer death, or such other punishment as by a court-martial shall be inflicted. ART. 8 ... .Any officer, non-commissioned officer, Officers or sol- or so }dier, who, being present at any mutiny or sedi- diers, present at . , a mutiny, & not tion, does not use his utmost endeavor to suppress the endeavoring to same, or coming to the knowledge of any intended suppress it, &c.. . , . , . . " . /._ to be punished mutiny, does not, without delay, give mlormation with death or thereof to his commanding officer, shall be punished by the sentence of a court-martial with death, or other wise, according to the nature of his offence. Officers or sol- ART. 9. .. .Any officer or soldier who shall strike diers striking a his superior officer, or drawer lift up any weapon, or surTer^death or ^ er anv violence against him, being in the execution other punishm t, of his office, on any pretence whatsoever, or shall dis- &c> obey any lawful command of his superior officer, shall suffer death, or such other punishment as shall, ac cording to the nature of his offence, be inflicted upon him by the sentence of a court-martial. Non-pnmmis- ART. 10. . . .Every non-commissioned officer or sol- sioned officers & dier, who shall enlist himself in the service of the ARTICLES OF WAR, 333 United States, shall, at the time of his so enlisting, or soldiers to have _ . , -i i i r l, tu6 8T11C1CS IOF within six days afterwards, have the Articles tor the the government government of the armies of the United States read to of the armies , ,. j , . , read to them, and him, and shall, by the officer who enlisted him, or by ta keaiioath,&c. the commanding officer of the troop or company into which he was enlisted, be taken before the next justice of the peace, or chief magistrate of any city or town corporate, not being an officer of the army, or where recourse cannot be had to the civil magistrate, before the judge-advocate, and in his presence, shall take the following oath or affirmation : " I, A. B., do solemnly Form of oath. swear or affirm (as the case may be), that I will bear true allegiance to the United States of America, and that I will serve them honestly and faithfully against all their enemies or opposers whatsoever ; and observe and obey the orders of the President of the United States, and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to the Rules and Articles for the govern ment of the armies of the United States." Which justice, magistrate, or judge -advocate, is to give the t j h ^ v " a^ertifi- officer a certificate, signifying that the man enlisted did cate that the oath take the said oath or affirmation. was laken> ART. 11 ... .After a non-commissioned officer, or Non-commiss d soldier, shall have been duly enlisted and sworn, he ^s noT to S be shall not be dismissed the service, without a discharge dismissed the ser in writing ; and no discharge granted to him shall be ^ sufficient, which is not signed by a field officer of the tin regiment to which he belongs, or commanding officer, ge,, where no field officer of the regiment is present ; and signed by a field no discharge shall be given to a non-commissioned offi- officer, &c. cer or soldier, before his term of service has expired, fcc. befor^fhe but by order of the President, the Secretary of War, term of . service the commanding officer of a department, or the sen- b^orde^o the tence of a general court-martial; nor shall a commis- President, &c. sioned officer be discharged the service, but by order fic^uTu? "be of the President of the United States, or by sentence discharged, &c. of a general court-martial. ART. 12 ---- Every Colonel or other officer com- Colonels, &c., manding a regiment, troop, or company, and actually S^regim^i u, quartered with it, may give furloughs to non-commis- &c., may give sioned officers or soldiers, in such numbers, and for so commfifoned 9 1 long a time, as he shall judge to be most consistent officers or sol- with the good of the service ; and a Captain, or other dierp ; &c - inferior officer, commanding a troop or company, or in connna nd g, &c! any garrison, fort, or barrack, of the United States, may give fur- (his field officer being absent,) may give furloughs to S^-ionS non-commissioned officers or soldiers, for a time not fleers or soldiers 334 ARTICLES OF WAR. for 20 days m 6 exceeding twenty days in six months, but not to more months, but not, , & c . than two persons to be absent at the same time, ex cepting some extraordinary occasion should require it. At every muster ART. 13 .... At every muster, the commanding offi- the commanding cer of each regiment, troop or company, there present, gfvefto the C com- sha11 S ive to the Commissary of Musters, or other offi- missary of mus- cer who musters the said regiment, troop, or company, &c S , Bigiiif?Sg certificates signed by himself, signifying how long such how long officers officers, as shall not appear at the said muster, have have a b P e P e e n a abslnt been absent > and the reason of their absence. In like and the reason manner, the commanding officer of every troop or com pany, shall give certificates, signifying the reasons of ficers ni of "troops the absence f tne non-commissioned officers and pri or companies to vate soldiers; which reasons, and time of absence, of Ve the er ar?sen t ce sha11 be inserted in the muster-rolls, opposite the names of privates, &c. of the respective absent officers and soldiers. The The certificates, certificates shall, together with the muster-rolls, be re- ted to b the C De- mitted b Y tne commissary of Musters, or other officer partm t of War, mustering, to the Department of War, as speedily as the distance of the place will admit. Officers con- ART. 14 Every officer who shall be convicted victed of having before a general court-martial, of having signed a false signed false cer- .,, , . , , c . , . tificates. &c., to certificate, relating to the absence of either officer or be cashiered. private soldier, or relative to his or their pay, shall be cashiered. Officers making ART. 15 .... Every officer who shall knowingly make sfgn1ng US false Or a ^ se muster f man or horse, and every officer or muster-rolls, &c. Commissary of Musters, who shall willingly sign, and be disabled re t d o direct > or allow the signing of muster-rolls, wherein hold any office, such false muster is contained, shall, upon proof made thereof, by two witnesses, before a general court- martial, be cashiered, and shall be thereby utterly dis abled to have or hold any office or employment in the service of the United States. Q ART. 16. ... Any Commissary of Musters, or other of musters, &c., officer, who shall be convicted of having taken money, ha^niottey or or otber tmn g> by way of gratification, on mustering other grati fica- any regiment, troop, or company, or on signing muster- in 011 or Tnin r ~ r 1Is sha11 be dis P laced ffiom his office and sha11 be muster-rolls, to thereby utterly disabled to have or hold any office or be displaced, &c. employment in the service of the United States. Officers muster- ART. 17. ... Any officer who shall presume to muster Sie P rs r who are a P ersOn as a S ldier wh is nOt a S ldier shal1 bt> not such, deemed deemed guilty of having made a false muster, and shall rnusler,!/ 3186 suffer accordingly. Officers making ART. 18. ... Every officer who shall knowingly make fc>iso returns to a false return to the Department of War, or to any of ARTICLES Oi- WAR. 385 his superior officers, authorized to call for such returns, the Department of the state of the regiment, troop, or company, or gam- e cas ^i ere ^ l son, under his command; or of the arms, ammunition, clothing, or other stores thereunto belonging, shall, on conviction thereof before a court-martial, be cashiered. ART. 19. .. .The commanding officer of every regi- Command goffi- ment, troop, or independent company, or garrison, of cersotregim nts, the United States, shall, in the beginning of every the beginning of month, remit, through the proper channels, to the De- every month, to r -, Tr f. , . the Department partment or War, an exact return ol the regiment, O f\var, an exact troop, independent company, or garrison, under his return of the re- command, specifying the names of the officers then |i^ g the^iarnes absent from their posts, with the reasons for and the of officers absent, time of their absence. And any officer who shall be convicted of having, through neglect or design, omit- Officers neglect- ted sending such returns, shall be punished, according Jufng t( f he? un to the nature of his crime, by the judgment of a gene- ished, &c. ral court-martial. ART. 20.... All officers and soldiers who have re- Officers and sol - ceived pay, or have been duly enlisted in the service d j- e j S s co . nvic t ed of the United States, and shall be convicted of having to suffer death deserted the same, shall suffer death, or such other or othe / P ul "sh- i i. c i i ,t ment, &c. punishment as, by sentence of a court-martial, shall be inflicted.* ART. 21 ---- Any non -commissioned officer or soldier Non-commiss d who shall, without leave from his commanding officer, officers or sol- absent himself from his troop, company, or detach- fheSselv^itS? ment, shall, upon being convicted thereof, be punished ut leave, to be according to the nature of his offence, at the discretion P umshed > &c - of a court-martial. ART. 22 ---- No non-commissioned officer or soldier Non-commiss d shall enlist himself in any other regiment, troop, or s "ot^to "en- company, without a regular discharge from the regi- list in any other ment, troop, or company, in which he last served, on wfth^ut Veo-Jlar the penalty of being reputed a deserter, and suffering discharge, &c. accordingly. And in case any officer shall knowingly Officers know- receive and entertain such non-commissioned officer or d ngly rec ^ lvul S soldier, or shall not, after his being discovered to be a not giving not tee deserter, immediately confine him, and give notice & c -> to be casn " thereof to the corps in which he last served, the said ^ officer shall, by a court-martial, be cashiered. ART. 23 ---- Any officer or soldier who shall be con- Officers or sol- victed of having advised or persuaded any other officer oth^rs 1 "^"^ or soldier to desert the service of the United States, to suffer death shall suffer death, or such other punishment as shall be me inflicted upon him by the sentence of a court-martial. * Modified by act of 28th May, 1830. 336 ARTICLES OF WAR. Officers or sol- ART. 24 No officer or soldier shall use any re- prSchfulOTpn* P roac hful or provoking speeches or gestures to another, yoking speeches upon pain, if an officer, of being put in arrest; if a arrest? o^cou- soldier > confined, and of asking pardon of the party of- fined, &c. fended, in the presence of his commanding officer. Officers & sol- ART. 25 No officer or soldier shall send a chal- Jlnd" OT SeS len e to another officer or soldier, to fight a duel, or challenges, on accept a challenge if sent, upon pain, if a commissioned cashiered, or SP officer of being cashiered ; if a non-commissioned offi- suffering corpo- cer or soldier, of suffering corporeal punishment, at the real punishment, discretion of a court-martial. Officers com- ART. 26. ... If any commissioned or non-commis- Kwin^^uf- sioned offi cer commanding a guard, shall knowingly or fering persons to willingly suffer any person whatsoever to go forth to duetto be fi un U fight a duel) he shaU be P unished as a challenger ; and ished as challen- a ^ seconds, promoters, and carriers of challenges, in gers ; and se- order to duels, shall be deemed principals, and be pun- conds, &c., to be - , , ,. , , , . , ,; . , , ~ deemed princi- ished accordingly. And it shall be the duty of every pals, &c. officer commanding an army, regiment, company, post, commanding C an or detachment, who is knowing to a challenge being army, regiment, given or accepted by any officer, non-commissioned offi- a C <tkaUenjn?*be- cer or soldier, under his command, or has reason to be ing given", &c., lieve the same to be the case, immediately to arrest and A1U&W* have brin * t0 trlal SUch ffeilderS power to quell ART. 27. ... All officers, of what condition soever, quarrels, frays, have power to part and quell all quarrels, frays, and disorders, though the persons concerned should belong to another regiment, troop, or company ; and either to order officers into arrest, or non-commissioned officers or soldiers into confinement, until their proper superior Whoever re- ~ . i i , fuses to obey,&c. officers shall be acquainted therewith; and whosoever to be punished, shall refuse to obey such officer (though of an inferior rank), or shall draw his sword upon him, shall be pun ished at the discretion of a general court-martial. Officers or sol- ART, 28. . . . Any officer or soldier who shall upbraid aiHnher Pb for d re? anotner for refusing a challenge, shall himself be pun- fusing a chal- ished as a challenger ; and all officers and soldiers are i^hed t as b6 chal" ^ ere by discharged from any disgrace or opinion of dis- fengers, &c. advantage which might arise from their having refused to accept of challenges, as they will only have acted in obedience to the laws, and done their duty as good sol diers who subject themselves to discipline. Sutlers not per- ART. 29. ... No sutler shall be permitted to sell any quor^ &c Barter ^ md ^ ^ ( l uors or victuals, or to keep their houses or y at night, nor shops open for the entertainment of soldiers, after nine re f ei5e e nor g on at ni S^ l i or before the beating of the reveille, or upon Sundays during Sundays, during divine service or sermon, on the peu- Divine service. a i ty O f 5 e j ng dismissed from all future sutling. ARTICLES OF WAR. 337 ART. 30 All officers commanding in the field, Command s of- _ . . . r i TT j o ficers to see that forts, barracks, or garrisons, of the United States, are sut i ers supp iy hereby required to see that the persons permitted to the soldiers with sutle shall supply the soldiers with good and wholesome ^ s i < ns&c. Pr provisions, or other articles, at a reasonable price, as they shall be answerable for their neglect. ART. 31. ... No officer commanding in any of the Officers com- garrisons, forts, or barracks, of the United States, shall JSjfJSS, 85 ^ exact exorbitant prices for houses or stalls, let out to not to exact ex- sutlers, or connive at the like exactions in others ; nor f^ b^dges 1 "^^ 8 by his own authority, and for his private advantage, lay let out to sutlers, any duty or imposition upon, or be interested in, the ""[h^saf^oFvi 6 ^ sale of any victuals, liquors, or other necessaries of tuals, liquors,&c. life brought into the garrison, fort, or barracks, for the use of the soldiers, on the penalty of being discharged from the service. ART. 32. . . . Every officer commanding in quarters, Command g of- garnsons, or on the march, shall keep good order, and, ^ s or j er) Te- to the utmost of his power, redress all abuses or dis- dress abuses , and orders which may be committed by any officer or sol- made^tK^ar- dier under his command ; if upon complaint made to ties injured, &c. him of officers or soldiers beating or otherwise ill- treating any person, or disturbing fairs or markets, or of committing any kind of riots, to the disquieting of the citizens of the United States, he, the said com mander, who shall refuse or omit to see justice done to the offender or offenders, and reparation made to the party or parties injured, as far as part of the offender s pay shall enable him or them, shall, upon proof thereof, be cashiered, or otherwise punished, as a general court- martial shall direct. ART. 33. ... When any commissioned officer or sol- When any com- j i n i_ j r i / i missioned officer dier shall be accused of a capital crime, or of having or soldier is ac- used violence, or committed any offence against the cused . of a ca P ~ person, or property of any citizen of any of the United ving^ommh- States, such as is punishable by the known laws of the ted an Y offence land, the commanding officer and officers of every regi- X or property ment, troop, or company, to which the person or per- f citizens, &c., sons so accused shall belong, are hereby required, upon ^SS^SS^ln application duly made by, or in behalf of the party or required upon parties injured, to use their utmost endeavors to deliver ^Sfthe ir^ut- over such accused person or persons to the civil magis- most endeavors trate, and likewise to be aiding and assisting to the offi- SJ^JJjficiS cers of justice in apprehending and securing the person magistrate, &c. or persons so accused, in order to bring him or them to trial. If any commanding officer or officers shall wil- If any comm g fully neglect, or shall refuse, upon the application afore- $> r7fu"es MH]. to deliver over such accused person or persons to thp to deliver over VOL. T. I? 338 ARTICLES OF WAR. the accused, &c. civil magistrates, or to be aiding and assisting to the offi- he is to be cash- c . . iered. cers justice in apprehending such person or persons, the officer or officers so offending shall be cashiered. f , li an l offi ,<l er ART. 34. . . .If any officer shall think himself wronged think himself .- " L .. i i i T rr- / i wronged by his y his Colonel, or the commanding officer of the regi- colonel, &c., and ment, and shall, upon due application being made to upon application , . ,, , , . is refused redress him, be relused redress, he may complain to the (jene- he may ocmplain ra l commanding in the State or Territory where such to the general, . , ,, , . , . , .... who is to exam- regiment shall be stationed, in order to obtain justice ; ine into the com- who is hereby required to examine into said complaint, and take proper measures for redressing the wrong complained of, and transmit, as soon as possible, to the Department of War, a true state of such complaint, If any inferior with the proceedings had thereon. S f himself* ART - 35 - ^ any inferior officer or soldier shall think wronged by his himself wronged by his Captain or other officer, he is to kTKom^la m to com P lain thereof to the commanding officer of the regi- the command g ment, who is hereby required to summon a regimental iment f who r ?s court -martial f r doing justice to the complainant ; from required to sum which regimental court-martial either party may, if he t?ai n &c Urt " niar " thinks himself sti11 aggrieved, appeal to a general court- If the appeal martial. But if upon a second hearing the appeal shall ap- appear vexatious p ear vexatious and groundless, the person so appealing punished,Tc y shall be punished at the discretion of the said court-martial. Commiss d offi- ART. 36. ... Any commissioned officer, storekeeper, cers, store-keep- O r commissary, who shall be convicted at a general edof havingTold court-martial of having sold, without a proper order for without a proper th a t purpose, embezzled, misapplied, or wilfully, or provisions, fdi> through neglect, suffered any of the provisions, forage, age, arms, &c., arms, clothing, ammunition, or other military stores, be- siffeTld^a^yV longing to the United States, to be spoiled, or damaged, them to be spoil- shall, at his own expense, make good the loss or goodthe los "for- damage, and shall, moreover, forfeit all his pay, and be feit pay, &c. dismissed from the service. Non-commiss d ART 37 An ? non-commissioned officer or sol- officers or sol- dier, who shall be convicted at a regimental court- of^havh^^sold martial > of navin g so^i or designedly, or through neg- or wasted ammu- lect, wasted the ammunition delivered out to him, to nition, &c., to be employed in the service of the United States, shall be punished, &c. , j i j- r t. be punished at the discretion of such court. Non-commiss d ART. 38. ... Every non-commissioned officer or sol- officers or sol- dier who shall be convicted, before a court-martial, of **tw5r!SS havin S sold > Iost or s P iled throu g h neglect, his horse, lost, or spoiled arms, clothes, or accoutrements, shall undergo such anns clo tneT&c weekl y stoppages (not exceeding the half of his pay) as toundergoweek- such court-martial shall judge sufficient, for repairing ]y a St 2 ! |f a es f the loss or damage ; and shall suffer confinement, or such other corporeal ounishment as his crime shall deserve. ARTICLES OF WAR 339 ART. 39 ____ Every officer, who shall be convicted Officers convict- ...... , i ed of embezzle- betpre a court-rnartial, of having embezzled, or misap- ment or m j sap _ plied, any money with which he may have been in- plication of mo- trusted, for the payment of the men under his com- "hiL/fo^the Wy- mand, or for enlisting men into the service, or for other ment of men.&c. purposes, if a commissioned officer, shall be cashiered, andcompflKo and compelled to refund the money ; if a non-com- refund ; if non- missioned officer, shall be reduced to the ranks, be put cer^jo^be Z - under stoppages until the money be made good, and duced, &c. suffer such corporeal punishment as such court-martial shall direct. ART. 40. ... Every Captain of a troop, or company, Every captain is charged with the arms, accoutrements, ammunition, of a troop or . ,., ii- i companyaecoun- clothmg, or other warlike stores, belonging to the troop table for arms,ac- or company under his command, which he is to be ac- coutrements, &c. countable for to his Colonel, in case of their being lost, C ompany or spoiled or damaged, not by unavoidable accidents, or troop, &c. on actual service. ART. 41. ... All non-commissioned officers and sol- Non-commiss d diers who shall be found one mile from the camp, with- n*foA one out leave in writing from their commanding officer, mile from camp, shall suffer such punishment as shall be inflicted upon J^gJ* 1 JJ* JJ them by the sentence of a court-martial. suffer puriishm t, ART. 42. ... No officer or soldier shall lie out of his ^ C Q officer or so j. quarters, garrison, or camp, without leave from his su- dier to lie out of perior officer, nipon penalty of being punished according ^[ to the nature of his offence, by the sentence of a court- & c . martial. ART. 43. ... Every non-commisioned officer and sol- Non-commiss d dier shall retire to his quarters or tent at the beating of offic ers and sol- i /. , - , , , , ,, . , diers to retire to the retreat ; in default of which he shall be punished their tents at the according to the nature of his offence. beating of the re- ART. 44 ---- No officer, non-commissioned officer, I NO officer or sol- or soldier, shall fail in repairing, at the time fixed, to dier to fail in re- the place of parade, of exercise, or other rendezvous, pTactTof parade* appointed by his commanding officer, if not prevented if n 9 l prevented by sickness, or some other evident necessity ; or shall noi^leave^Jt be - go from the said place of rendezvous, without leave fore being regu- from his commanding officer, before he shall be regu- & c ly c sed) larly dismissed or relieved, on the penalty of being punished, according to the nature of his offence, by the sentence of a court-martial. | c "J r c d ART. 45. ... Any commissioned officer who shall be drunk on guard, found drunk on his guard, party, or other duty, shall be.*^ 1 ? ^cf^I cashiered. Any non-commissioned officer or soldier so diers, &c., in that offending, shall suffer such corporeal punishment afl^j^,,^ s jjjf shall be inflicted by the sentence of a court-martial. ishment, &c. 340 ARTICLES OF WAR. Sentinels sleep- ART. 46. ... Any sentinel who shall be found sleeping polts^&c.^o suf- u P n his post, or shall leave it before he shall be regu- fer death, &c. larly relieved, shall suffer death, or such other punish ment as shall be inflicted by the sentence of a court- martial. No soldier to ART. 47. . . . No soldier belonging to any regiment, do^his^duty^ for tro P> or company, shall hire another to his duty for him, or be ex- him, or be excused from duty, but in cases of sick- cases of sickness ness disability, or leave of absence ; and every such &c. soldier found guilty of hiring his duty, as also the party so hired to do another s duty, shall be punished at the discretion of a regimental court-martial. Non-commiss d ART. 48. . . . And every non-commissioned officer con- at ffi hiring of^my nivin at such hirin ? of dut ? aforesaid > sha11 be reduced ; to be reduced; & and every commissioned officer, knowing and allowing ceS^nowin ^ such i11 P ractices in the service, shall be punished by allowing it, to be the judgment of a general court-martial, punished, &c. ART 49 Any o ffi cer belonging to the service of Any officer who , . . _ 3 .. , . c ~ occasions false the United States, who, by discharging of fire-arms, alarms in camp, drawing of swords, beating of drums, or by any other deat h, or other means whatsoever, shall occasion false alarms, in camp, punishment. garrison, or quarters, shall suffer death, or such other punishment as shall be ordered by the sentence of a general court-martial. Officers or sol- ART. 50. ... Any officer or soldier, who shall, with- gen^necesshV"^ out ur S ent necessity, or without the leave of his su- leave, quitting perior officer, quit his guard, platoon, or division, shall puuished? &c. ^ be punished, according to the nature of his offence, by the sentence of a court-martial. Officers & sol- ART. 51. ... No officer or soldier shall do violence to diersnottodovi- anv p ers0 n who brings provisions or other necessaries brhtgmg pro & S- to the camp, garrison, or quarters, of the forces of the ions B to camp,&c. United States, employed in any parts out of the said Swes^on^pain States, upon pain of death, or such other punishment of death, &c. as a court-martial shall direct. Officers or sol- ART - 52 - An y officer or soldier who sha11 sbc diers who misbe- have himself before the enemy, run away, or shamefully enemy^run a? abandon any fort, post, or guard, which he or they may way, &c., to suf- be commanded to defend, or speak words inducing others c to do the like > or sha11 cast away his arms &nd ammunl - tion, or who shall quit his post or colors to plunder and pillage ; every such offender, being duly convicted there of, shall suffer death, or such other punishment as shall be ordered by the sentence of a general court-martial. Persons belong- ART. 53 Any person belonging to the armies of ing to the armies the jjrrited States, who shall make known the watch- the w luch-woKl! word to any person who is not entitled to receive it ac- ARTICLES OF WAR. 341 cording to the rules and discipline of war, or shall pre- et, to suffer sume to give a parole or watchword different from what punishment, he received, shall suffer death, or such other punish ment as shall be ordered by the sentence of a general court-martial. ART. 54. .. .All officers and soldiers are to behave Officers and sol- themselves orderly in quarters and on their march; and ord^rly^n^uYr- whosoever shall commit any waste or spoil, either in ters, etc., and walks of trees, parks, warrens, fish-ponds, houses, or ^g^ !! gardens, cornfields, enclosures of meadows, or shall ma- less by order of liciously destroy any property whatsoever belonging to [jjfc^ef^c^to the inhabitants of the United States, unless by order of be punished, etc. the then commander-in-chief of the armies of the said States, shall (besides such penalties as they are liable to by law), be punished according to the nature and de gree of the offence, by the judgment of a regimental or general court-martial. ART. 55. . . . Whosoever, belonging to the armies of Whoever, in for- the United States employed in foreign parts, shall force I ^gjS^? a safe-guard, shall suffer death. to suffer death. ART. 56 Whosoever shall relieve the enemy with Whoever re- , . . iiii i u neves the enemy money, victuals, or ammunition, or shall knowingly nar- w ithmonev vic- bor or protect an enemy, shall suffer death or such other tuals, etc punishment as shall be ordered by the sentence of a^er court-martial. ment, etc. ART. 57 Whosoever shall be convicted of holding Death, or other , ., . . -IT .punishment, etc. correspondence with, or giving intelligence to the f or holding cor- enemy, either directly or indirectly, shall suffer death, responrience or such other punishment as shall be ordered by the sen- iSalligenci 1 ^^ tence of a court-martial. the enemy, etc. ART. 58 All public stores taken in the enemy s Public stores ta- - . , , c ... ken in the ene- camp, towns, forts, or magazines, whether of artillery, my > s cam p, etc., ammunition, clothing, forage, or provisions, shall be se- to be secured for cured for the service of the United States ; for the neglect uf State* 6 of which the commanding officer is to be answerable. ART. 59. ... If any commander of any garrison, for- Death, etc., for tress, or post, shall be compelled, by the officers and Jy,^ 8 ^ a" d soldiers under his command, to give up to the enemy, or garrison, etc., to abandon it, the commissioned officers, non-commis- compelling a jo* u- i-i 11 i- T r commander to stoned officers, or soldiers, who shall be convicted of g i ve up to the having so offended, shall suffer death, or such other pun- enemy, etc. ishment as shall be inflicted upon them by the sentence of a court-martial. ART. 60 All sutlers, and retainers to the camp, and Sutlers and re- all persons whatsoever, serving with the armies of the SjjjJJJ United States in the field, though not enlisted soldiers, are to be subject to orders, according to the rules and discipline of war. 342 ARTICLES OF WAR. Officers having ART. 61. ... Officers having brevets, or commissions missionsof prior f a P rior date to tnose of the regiment in which they date to those of serve, may take place in courts-martial and on detach- whiJhfhey serve ments when composed of different corps, according to may take place, the ranks given them in their brevets or dates of their to C the rankgfven former commissions ; but in the regiment, troop, or com- them, etc. pany, to which such officers belong, they shall do duty and take rank both in courts-martial and on detachments which shall be composed of their own corps, according to the commissions by which they are mustered in the said corps. If, upon march- ART. 62. ... If, upon marches, guards, or in quarters, s, etc., different j./v c , , ,, , . . . corps happen to different corps of the army shall happen to join, or do join, etc., the of- duty together, the officer highest in rank of the line of rank, etc 6 , 8 to tne wm y> marine corps, or militia, by commission, there command, un- on duty or in quarters, shall command the whole, and give orders for what is needful to the service, unless otherwise specially directed by the President of the United States, according to the nature of the case. Engineers not ART. 63. ... The functions of the engineers being he Object "to* generally confined to the most elevated branch of mili- any duty beyond tary science, they are not to assume, nor are they sub- immediat^ Jro- J ect to be ordere d on any duty beyond the line of their fession, except, immediate profession, except by the special order of the President of the United States ; but they are to receive every mark of respect to which their rank in the army may entitle them respectively, and are Jiable to be transferred, at the discretion of the President, from one corps to another, regard being paid to rank. General courts- ART. 64 General courts-martial may consist of any sisYof any num- num er of commissioned officers, from five to thirteen, ber of commis d inclusively ; but they shall not consist of less than thir- <?l3 e /etcf r :[n 5 teen where that number can be convened without mani fest injury to the service. General officers ART. 65*. ...Any general officer commanding an maSd vetc ms?" arm y or c l nel commanding a separate department, appoint General may appoint general courts-martial whenever necessary. Courts-Martial, g u t no sentence of a court-martial shall be carried into etc. No sentence . ., ,. , , . ,. i n i_ of a court martial execution until after the whole proceedings shall have to be carried into been laid before the officer ordering the same, or the offi- cxecution until j- i < \ i v the proceedings cer commanding the troops for the time being ; neither have been laid shall any sentence of a general court-martial, in time OTdering e itfetc r f P eace extending to the loss of life, or the dismission No sentence of a of a commissioned officer, or which shall, either in time M^tiafint^meof of P eace or war res P ect a general officer, be carried into peace, extending execution, until after the whole proceedings shall have * Modified by act of 29th May, 1830, ARTICLES OF WAR. 343 been transmitted to the Secretary of War, to be laid be- to loss of life, etc. fore the President of the United States, for his confir- w iijJ JSJ5S mation or disapproval, and orders in the case. All a general officer, other sentences may be confirmed and executed by the ^xecutlra^lij ntil officer ordering the court to assemble, or the command- the proceedings ing officer for the time being, as the case may be. before ^he pres i 1 ART. 66. . . . Every officer commanding a regiment or dent, etc. corps may appoint, for his own regiment or corps, courts- Officers com- : . . i re r i mand g regimes martial, to consist of three commissioned officers, for the or corps, may trial and punishment of offences not capital, and decide appoint courts- . . -n , 11 rr niartial, etc., for upon their sentences, ror the same purpose, all om- offences not eap- cers commanding any of the garrisons, forts, barracks, ital- ffi or other places where the troops consist of different mand ^g-arr?- " 1 " corps, may assemble courts -martial, to consist of three sons, etc., may commissioned officers, and decide upon their sentences. SarUal le e tc OUrt8 " ART. 67. ... No garrison or regimental court-martial jsjo garrison or shall have the power to try capital cases, or commis- regimental court- sioned officers ; neither shall they inflict a fine not ex- JJ^to try fapl- ceeding one month s pay, nor imprison, nor put to hard tal cases, etc. labor, any non-commissioned officer or soldier, for a longer time than one month. ART. 68. . . .Whenever it may be found convenient and Whenever con- necessary to the public service, the officers of the marines ^-^3 ^f ma- shall be associated with the officers of the land forces, rines shall be as- for the purpose of holding courts-martial and trying of- * ocia ted with of- ,. r , ficers f iiie ia d fenders belonging to either ; and in such cases, the orders force, for holding of the senior officer of either corps, who maybe present, courts martial, and duly authorized, shall be received and obeyed. ART. 69. ... The judge-advocate, or some person de- The Judge-Ad- puted by him, or by the general, or officer commanding p^os^cute hi the the army, detachment, or garrison, shall prosecute in name of the U. the name of the United States, but shall so far consider ISeXmwlf himself as counsel for the prisoner, after the said priso- counsel for the ner shall have made his plea, as to object to any leading P nsoner so far, question to any of the witnesses, or any question to the prisoner, the answer to which might tend to criminate The Judge-ad- himself ; and administer to each member of the court, yocate to admin- before they proceed upon any trial, the following oath, l ^h member of which shall also be taken by all members of the regi- the court, etc. mental and garrison courts-martial. " You, A. B., do swear, that you will well and truly Form of oath, try and determine , according to evidence, the matter now before you, between the United States of America, and the prisoner to be tried, and that you will duly administer justice, according to the provisions of An act estab lishing Rules and Articles for the government of the armies of the United States, without partiality, favor, or affection ; and if any doubt shall arr-~. not explained 344 ARTICLES OF WAR. by said Articles, according to your conscience, the beet of your understanding, and the custom of war in like cases ; and you do further swear that you will not divulge the sentence of the court until it shall be published by the proper authority ; neither will you disclose or dis cover the vote or opinion of any particular member of the court-martial, unless required to give evidence thereof, as a witness, by a court of justice, in a due course of law. So help you God." The President And as soon as the said oath shall have been ad- of the court to . . , , . . , . , ,. administer an ministered to the respective members, the president of oath to Judge- the court shall administer to the judge-advocate, or per son officiating as such, an oath in the following words: Form of Judge- " You, A. B., do swear, thai you will not disclose or a discover the vote or opinion of any particular member of the court-martial, unless required to give evidence thereof, as a witness, by a court of justice, in due course of law ; nor divulge the sentence of the court to any but the proper authority, until it shall be duly disclosed by the same. So help you God." When a prison- ART. 70 When a prisoner, arraigned before a nacy?etc., stands g eneral court-martial, shall, from obstinacy and delibe- mute, etc., the rate design, stand mute, or answer foreign to the pur- c" pose the court may P roceed to trial and Judgment, as if the prisoner had regularly pleaded not guilty. When a mem- ART. 71. ... When a member shall be challenged by her is challenged a prisoner, he must state his cause of challenge, of by a prisoner, he , , , ,, ,. , , ... . , must state the which the court shall, after due deliberation, determine cause, etc. t he relevancy or validity, and decide accordingly ; and no challenge to more than one member at a time, shall be received by the court. Members to be- ART. 72 All the members of a court-martial are to cency ; W and ?he bena ve with decency and calmness ; and in giving their youngest, etc., to votes are to begin with the youngest in commission. VO Witne t sses to ART< 73 - A11 P ersons who S ive evidence before a be examined on court-martial, are to be examined on oath or affirmation, oath - in the following form : Form of oath " You swear, or affirm (as the case may be), the evi- of a witness. dence you shall give in the cause now in hearing shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. So help you God." In cases not ART. 74. ... On the trials of cases not capital, before ^uT^ma -lT courts martia1 tne deposition of witnesses, not in the taken^and^ead^ line or staff of the army, may be taken before some etc., provided the j us ti c e of the peace, and read in evidence; provided accused^e pre- the prosecutor and person accused are present at the sent, etc. taking the same, or are duly notified thereof. ARTICLES OF WAR. 345 ART. 75. ... No officer shall be tried out by a general No officer to be court-martial, nor by officers of an inferior rank, if it eral courtmart f can be avoided. Nor shall any proceedings of trials be et carried on, excepting between the hours of eight in the morning, and three in the afternoon, excepting in cases eight and three, which, in the opinion of the officer appointing the court- uuless etc - martial, require immediate example. ART. 76. ... No person whatsoever shall use any No person to use j c menacing words menacing words, signs or gestures in presence 01 a or gestures etc court-martial, or shall cause any disorder or riot, or in presence of a disturb their proceedings, on the penalty of being pun- co rt etc ished, at the discretion of the said court-martial. ART. 77 ---- Whenever any officer shall be charged with When an officer a cri me , he shall be arrested and confined in his barracks, JiiJjIeSito bl quarters, or tent, and deprived of his sword, by the com- arrested, depriv- manding officer. And any officer who shall leave his con- J;f c f his sword finement before he shall be set at liberty by his comman ding officer, or by a superior officer, shall be cashiered. ART. 78. . . . Non-commissioned officers and soldiers, Non-commiss d charged with crimes, shall be confined until tried by a S s er c S ha a r ged S01 " court-martial, or released by proper authority. with crimes to be ART. 79. . . .No officer or soldier who shall be put in ar- < offiS ,5S so ] rest, shall continue in confinement more than eight days, diers in arrest or until such time as a court-martial can be assembled. " ot to continue XT /r? I- ul confinement ART. 80. ... No officer commanding a guard, or pro- over 8 days, etc. vost marshal, shall refuse to receive or keep any prisoner No fficer com - committed to his charge, by an officer belonging to the el c., ttf refuse to forces of the United States ; provided the officer com- receive a prison- mitting shall, at the same time, deliver an account in er pr<m e eU writing, signed by himself, of the crime with which the said prisoner is charged. ART. 81. ... No officer commanding a guard, or pro- No officer com- vost marshal, shall presume to release any person com- maildi o a g uard j , 1-1 , etc., to release mitted to his charge, without proper authority for so any person corn- doing, nor shall he suffer any person to escape, on the milted to his c , . . , , / . , . charge, etc. penalty of being punished for it by the sentence of a court-martial. ART. 82 ---- Every officer or provost marshal, to whose Officers to whom charge prisoners shall be committed, shall, within P risoners are * .. commuted, to twenty-four hours after such commitment, or as soon as make report, etc. he shall be relieved from his guard, make report in within 24 hours, writing, to the commanding officer, of their names, their crimes, and the names of the officers who com mitted them, on the penalty of being punished for diso bedience or neglect, at the discretion of a court-martial. ART. 83. .. .Any commissioned officer convicted be- Commissioned 346 ARTICLES OF WAR. officers convicted fore a general court-martial of conduct unbecoming an conduct,^tc^dis? ffi cer a d a gentleman, shall be dismissed the service. missed, etc. ART. 84. ... In cases where a court-martial rnay think a ^nun-martial ^ P r P er to sentence a commissioned officer to be sus- suspends an offi- pended from command, they shall have power also to empowered^ "o sus P end n s P a Y and emoluments for the same time, ac- suspend pay, etc. cording to the nature and heinousness of the offence. Where a com- ART. 85 ---- In all cases where a commissioned officer missioned officer ig cashiered for cowardice or fraud, it shall be added in is cashiered for , , , cowardice or the sentence, that the crime, name, and place of abode, fraud, the crime. an( j punishment of the delinquent, be published in the delinquent to be newspapers, in and about the camp, and of the particu- published in the i ar State from which the offender came, or where he spapers, e c. ugua jjy resides ; after which it shall be deemed scanda lous for an officer to associate with him. Where the num- ART. 86. ... The commanding officer of any post or not adulate* to detachment, in which there shall not be a number of form a General officers adequate to form a general court-martial, shall, comma ndmo- of- m cases wmc h require the cognizance of such a court, ficer of the de- report to the commanding officer of the department, tachment, etc.,to wno sna [[ or( j er a cour t to be assembled at the nearest report to tne ... commanding of- post or detachment, and the party accused, with neces- ficer of the de- sar y witnesses, to be transported to the place where partment, etc. . . , , .. , the said court shall be assembled. No person to ART. 87*. ... No person shall be sentenced to suffer deatn but by the concurrence of two-thirds of the mem- concurrence of bers of a general court-rnartial, nor except in the cases m embe 1 !? 8 of^ herein ex P ressl y mentioned ; nor shall more than jifty General court- lashes be inflicted on any offender, at the discretion of more^tlmn fifty a court - mart ^ / an d no officer, non-commissioned lashes to be in- officer, soldier, or follower of the army, shall be tried fllcted - a second time for the same offence. No person Ha- ART. 88 ---- No person shall be liable to be tried and and punishecl by P ums hed by a general court-martial for any offence a General court- which shall appear to have been committed more than [Ec a e commit two y ears before the issuing of the order for such trial, ted more than unless the person, by reason of having absented him- self> or 9Ome other manifest impediment, shall not have been amenable to justice within that period. Every officer au- ART. 89. . . . Every officer authorized to order agene- thonzed to order ra j court-martial, shall have power to pardon or mitigate martial, empow- a y punishment ordered by such court, except the sen- ered to pardon or tence O f death, or of cashiering an officer ; which, in the # So much of these rules and articles as authorizes the infliction of corporeal pun ishment by stripes or lashes, was specially repealed by act of 16th May, 1812. By act of 2d March, 1833, the repealing act was repealed, so far as it applied to the crime of desertion, which of course, revived the punishment by lashes for that of fence. (See page 350, Nos. 3 and 4, of this Appendix.) ARTICLES OF WAR. 347 cases where he has authority (by Article 65) to carry mitigate any pu- them into execution, he may suspend, until the pleasure "xcept^etc CIC * of the President of the United States can be known ; which suspension, together with copies of the proceed ings of the court-martial, the said officer shall immedi ately transmit to the President for his determination. And the Colonel or commanding officer of the regiment J f JJ or garrison, where any regimental or garrison court- garrison,etc.may martial shall be held, may pardon or mitigate any pun- p jj t r e|j tc or miti " ishment ordered by such court to be inflicted. ART. 90. ... Every judge-advocate, or person offici- Judge-advocates ating as such, at any general court-martial, shall trans- expSiHly mit, with as much expedition as the opportunity of time as possible, the and distance of place can admit, the original proceedings i^g? and P senten- and sentence of such court-martial, to the Secretary of ces of General War ; which said original proceedings and sentence shall JJJ BecrS2y of be carefully kept and preserved in the office of said Sec- War, in whose retary, to the end that the persons entitled thereto may be enabled, upon application to the said office, to obtain copies thereof. The party tried by any general court-martial, shall, The party tried upon demand thereof, made by himself, or by any per- nTardaT^Sed son or persons in his behalf, be entitled to a copy of the to a copy of the sentence and proceedings of such court-martial. sentence, etc. ART. 91 In cases where the General or command- Where the Gen- ing officer may order a court of inquiry to examine into der^coumrf ?ri- the nature of any transaction, accusation, or imputation, quiry, etc., the against any officer or soldier, the said court shall con- ^ ^^J sist of one or more officers, not exceeding three, and 3, and a Judge- a judge-advocate, or other suitable person, as a re- ^sworn e tc l corder, to reduce the proceedings and evidence to wri ting, all of whom shall be sworn to the faithful perform ance of their duty. This court shall have the same power to summon witnesses as a court-martial, and to same power as examine them on oath. But they shall not give their gSjSSSSiJ* opinion on the merits of the case, excepting they shall be es, etc., but are thereto especially required. The parties accused shall ^\ n ^ n ^nlesl also be permitted to cross-examine and interrogate the specially requir- witnesses, so as to investigate fully the circumstances ed etc> in the question. ART. 92. ... The proceedings of a court of inquiry p ,. must be authenticated by the signature of the recorder courts of inquiry and the president, and delivered to the commanding of- to be authemi- ficer, and the said proceedings may be admitted as evi- Saturesof iherl- dence by a court-martial, in cases not capital, or ex- corder and pre tending to the dismission of an officer, provided that the may^e tSmitSd circumstances are such that oral testimony cannot be & s evidence by 348 ARTICLES OF WAR. courts-martial m obtained. But as courts of inquiry may be perverted cases not. capi- t ,. , tai, etc., pro- to dishonorable purposes, and may be considered as vided, etc. engines of destruction to military merit, in the hands rypr!lhib > d?ui- ^ wea ^ ar >d envious commandants, they are hereby less direcied by prohibited, unless directed by the President of the the Presid t, etc. j Qr demanded by the accused . Judge-advocate, ART. 93. . . . The judge -advocate, or recorder, shall iS oa?h, a e I""*" administer to the members the following oath : " You shall well and truly examine and inquire, ac- Forra of oath. cor di n g to your evidence, into the matter now before you, without partiality, favor, affection, prejudice, or hope of reward. So help you God." The president of After which the President shall administer to the i5fiiis?eVoa\h. ad ~ judge -advocate, or recorder, the following oath : Form of Judge- " You, A. B., do swear, that you will, according to advocate s oath. y Our best abilities, accurately and impartially record the proceedings of the court, and the evidence to be given in the case in hearing. So help you God." Witness to take The witnesses shall take the same oath as witnesses the oath, etc. sworn before a court-martial. When a com- ART. 94. . . .When any commissioned officer shall die mission d officer O r be killed in the service of the United States, the .jor & of Cl the e regl~ Major of the regiment, or the officer doing the Major s ment, etc. amme- duty in his absence, or in any post or garrison, the alTlTis^flfec^etc^ secon d officer in command, or the Assistant Military makeaninveiito- Agent, shall immediately secure all his effects or equip- it^the War 8 De- age then in camp or <l uarters and sna11 make an in- partment, etc. ventory thereof, and forthwith transmit the same to the office of the Department of War, to the end that his executors or administrators may receive the same. When a non- ART. 95 ---- When any non-commissioned officer of commissioned of- soldier shall die or be killed in the service of the United die" ^tcT ^he States the then commanding officer of the troop or commanding offi- company shall, in the presence of two other commis- is 6 " to tr tak P e et an sioned officers > take an account of what effects he died account of what possessed of, above his arms and accoutrements, and oss-ed of et? transmit tne same to tne office of tne Department of and transmit it to War, which said effects are to be accounted for, and Department of p a [(j to tne representatives of such deceased non-com- War,etc.,and the r . . , ~ ,,. . ,. - , ,, effects to be ac- missioned officer or soldier. And in case any of the of- eounted for, etc. fi cers S o authorized to take care of the effects of de- autho C dzed to erS ceased officers and soldiers, should, before they have take care of the accounted to their representatives for the same, have officers and sol- occasion to leave the regiment or post, by preferment diers, have oc- or otherwise, they shall, before they be permitted to the regim t/etc^ ^ uit the same deposite in the hands of the commanding they are to de- officer, or of the Assistant Military Agent, all the ARTICLES OP WAR. 349 effects of such deceased non-commissioned officers and posite the effects soldiers, in order that the same may be secured for, and Ihe^onunandin^ paid to, their respective representatives. officer, etc. ART. 96.... All officers, conductors, gunners, mat- officers, etc., in trosses, drivers, or other persons whatsoever, receiving ^eers^euf e to pay or hire in the service of the artillery or corps of be governed by engineers of the United States, shall be governed by J^ preceding the aforesaid Rules and Articles, and shall be subject to be tried by courts-martial, in like manner with the officers and soldiers of the other troops in the service of the United States Officers and sol- ART. 97. . . .-The officers and soldiers of any troops, diersofany tr ps, whether militia or others, being mustered and in pay militia,or others, of the United States, shall at all times and in all places et e c" whTn^cthig when joined or acting in conjunction with the regular with regular for- ibrces of the United States, be governed by these Rules bytheserule^smd and Articles of War, and shall be subject to be tried by articles, subject courts-martial, in like manner with the officers and sol- JjitiafSo. ive diers in the regular forces ; save only that such courts- that the courts martial shall be composed entirely of militia officers. ^ o" rnilhia o f- ART. 98. . . . All officers serving by commission from ficers. the authority of any particular State, shall, on all de- tachments, courts martial, or other duty wherein they from the author- may be employed in conjunction with the regular forces il Y of anypartie- of the United States, take rank next after all officers erpploy d In con- of the like grade in said regular forces, notwithstanding junction with the the commissions of such militia or State officers may ta f e ran j{ next be elder than the commissions of the officers of the after all officers regular forces of the United States. ART. 99. . . .All crimes not capital, and all disorders ces, etc. and neglects which officers and soldiers may be guilty ca^ta^ and "all of, to the prejudice of good order and military disci- disorders, etc., pline, though not mentioned in the foregoing Articles IJj c of War, are to be taken cognizance of by a general or ding articles, to regimental court-martial, according to the nature and de- ^ e taken , cogni- c , . zance of by C. gree of the offence, and be punished at their discretion, martial. ART. 100 ____ The President of the United States President to pre- v 11 v -i i T i- i scribe uniform, shall have power to prescribe the uniform of the army. e t c . ART. 101 ---- The foregoing articles are to be read The forego j n g and published once in every six months, to every gar- articles to be read rison, regiment, troop, or company, mustered or to be ^ e ^very^x mustered in the service of the United States, and are months, to every to be duly observed and obeyed by all officers and sol- gjjj"^ 1 regi " diers who are, or shall be, in said service. SEC. 2. ... And be it further enacted, That in time of In time of war, war all persons, not citizens of or owing allegiance to ^ab^uTforlu the United States of America, who shall be found lurk- firntions, or the 350 ARTICLES OF WAR. encampments of ing as spies, in or about the fortifications or encamp- suffer^eatli, etc ments ^ ^ e arm i es f the United States, or any of them, shall suffer death, according to the law and usage of nations, by sentence of a general court-martial. The rules and SEC. 3 And be it further enacted, That the Rules wiiichVhe armies and Regulations by which the armies of the United have been here- States have heretofore been governed, and the resolves to be^i^rrceforth ^ Congress thereunto annexed, and respecting the void, etc., ex- same, shall henceforth be void and of no effect, except cept, etc. go fgj. ag ma y. re i ate to anv transactions under them, prior to the promulgation of this act, at the several posts and garrisons respectively, occupied by any part of the army of the United States. [APPROVED, April 10, 1806.] EXTRACTS FROM ACTS OF CONGRESS. 1. . . .If any non-commissioned officer, musician, or private, shall desert the service of the United States, he shall, in addition to the penalties mentioned in the Rules and Articles of War, be liable to serve for and during such a period as shall, with the time he may have served previous to his desertion, amount to the full term of his enlistment ; and such soldier shall and may be tried by a court- martial, and punished, although the term of his enlistment may have elapsed previous to his being apprehended or tried. Act 16th March, 1802, Sec. 18. 2 No officer or soldier in the army of the United States shall be subject to the punishment of death for desertion in time of peace. Act 29th May, 1830. 3 So much of the " act for establishing Rules and Articles for the govern ment of the armies of the United States," as authorizes the infliction of corporeal punishment by stripes or lashes, shall be, and the same is hereby, repealed. Act Wth May, 1812, Sec. 7. 4 The seventh section of the act entitled " an act making further provision for the army of the United States," passed on the sixteenth of May, one thou sand eight hundred and twelve, shall be, and the same is hereby, repealed, so far as it applies to any enlisted soldier who shall be convicted by a general court-martial of the crime of desertion. Act 2d March, 1833, Sec. 7. 5 Whenever a general officer commanding an army, or a Colonel com manding a separate department, shall be the accuser or prosecutor of any officer in the army of the United States, under his command, the general court-martial for the trial of such officer shall be appointed by the President of the United States. Act 29th May, 1830, Sec. 1. 6 The proceedings and sentence of the said court shall be sent directly to the Secretary of War, to be by him laid before the President, for his confirma tion or approval, or orders in the case. Act 29th May, 1830, Sec. 2. 7 So much of the sixty -fifth article of the first section of " an act for estab lishing Rules and Articles for the government of the armies of the United States," passed on the tenth of April, eighteen hundred and six, as is repugnant hereto, shall be, and the same is hereby, repealed. Act 29th May, 1830, Sec. 3. 8 Whenever a general court-martial shall be ordered, the President of the United States may appoint some fit person to act as judge-advocate, and in cases EXTRACTS FROM ACTS OF CONGRESS. 351 where the President shall not have made such appointment, the Brigadier-Gen eral, or the president of the court, may make the same. Act 16th, March, 1802, Sec. 12. 9 " That it shall be the duty of the Quartermaster s department, in addition to its present duties, to receive from the Purchasing department, and distribute to the army of the United States, all clothing and camp and garrison equipage required for the use of the troops ; and it shall be the duty of the Quartermaster- General, under the direction of the Secretary of War, to prescribe and enforce, under the provisions of this Act, a system of accountability for all clothing and equipage issued to the Army. " That every Captain, or commander of a company, detachment, or recruiting station, or other officer, who shall have received clothing or camp equipage for the use of his command, or for issue to the troops, shall render to the Quarter master-General, at the expiration of each regular quarter of the year, quarterly returns of such supplies, according to the forms which may be prescribed, ac companied by the requisite vouchers for any issues that shall have been made ; which returns and vouchers, after due examination by the Quarter master- Gen eral, shall be transmitted for settlement to the proper office of the Treasury De partment. " That it shall be the duty of all officers charged with the issue of clothing, or other supplies, carefully to preserve the same from waste or damage ; and, in case of deficiency, on final settlement, of any article of supplies, the value thereof shall be charged against the delinquent, and deducted from his monthly pay, unless he shall show, to the satisfaction of the Secretary of War, by one or more depositions setting forth the circumstances of the case, that the said deficiency was occasioned by unavoidable accident, or was lost in actual service, without any fault on his part ; and, in case of damage, he shall also be subject to charge for the damage actually sustained, unless he shall show, in like manner, to the satisfaction of the Secretary of War. that due care and attention were given to the preservation of paid supplies, and that the damage did not result from neglect." [APPROVED, 18th May, 1826.] 10 " That if any person shall sell, exchange, or give, barter or dispose of, any spirituous liquor or wine to an Indian (in the Indian country), such person shall forfeit and pay the sum of five hundred dollars ; and if any person shall introduce, or attempt to introduce, any spirituous liquor or wine into the Indian country, except such supplies as shall be necessary for the officers of the United States and troops of the service, under the direction of the War Department, such person shall forfeit and pay a sum not exceeding three hundred dollars ; and if any superintendent of Indian affairs, Indian agent, or sub-agent, or com manding officer of a military post, has reason to suspect, or is informed, that any white person or Indian is about to introduce, or has introduced, any spirituous liquor or wine into the Indian country, in violation of the provisions of this section, it shall be lawful for such superintendent, Indian agent, or sub-agent, or military officer, agreeably to such regulations as may be established by the President of the United States, to cause the boats, stores, packages and places of deposite of such person to be searched, and if any such spirituous liquor or wine is found, the goods, boats, packages, and peltries of such persons shall be seized and delivered to the proper officer, and shall be proceeded against by libel in the proper court, and forfeited, one half to the use of the informer, and the other half to the use of the United States ; and if such person is a trader, his license shall be revoked and his bond put in suit. And it shall moreover be law ful for any person in the service of the United States, or for any Indian, to take 352 EXTRACTS FROM ACTS OF CONGRESS. and destroy any ardent spirits or wine found in the Indian country, excepting military supplies as mentioned in this section." Act 30th June, 1834, Sec. 20. 11 "That if any person whatever shall, within the limits of the Indian country, set up or continue any distillery for manufacturing ardent spirits, he shall forfeit and pay a penalty of one thousand dollars ; and it shall be the duty of the superintendent of Indian affairs, Indian agent, or sub-agent, within the limits of whose agency the same shall be set up or continued, forthwith to de stroy and break up the same ; and it shall be lawful to employ the military force of the United States in executing that duty." Act 30th June, 1834, Sec. 21. 12 "That the twentieth section of the act to regulate trade and intercourse with the Indian tribes, and to preserve peace on the frontiers, approved June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and thirty-four, be, and the same is hereby so amended, that, in addition to the fines thereby imposed, any person who shall sell, exchange or barter, give, or dispose of, any spirituous liquor or wine to an Indian, in the Indian country, or who shall introduce, or attempt to introduce, any spirituous liquor or wine into the Indian country, except such supplies as may be necessary for the officers of the United States and the troops of the ser vice, under the direction of the War Department, such person, on conviction thereof, before the proper district court of the United States, shall in the former case be subject to imprisonment for a period not exceeding two years, and in the latter case not exceeding one year, as shall be prescribed by the court, ac cording to the extent and criminality of the offence. And in all prosecutions arising under this section, and under the twentieth section of the act to regulate trade and intercourse with the Indian tribes, and to preserve peace on the fron tiers, approved June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and thirty-four, to which this is an amendment, Indians shall be competent witnesses." Act 3d March, 1847, Sec. 2. 13 " That no annuities, or moneys, or goods, shall be paid or distributed to the Indians while they are under the influence of any description of intoxica ting liquor ; nor while there are good and sufficient reasons for the officers or agents, whose duty it may be to make such payments or distribution, for be lieving that there is any species of intoxicating liquor within convenient reach of the Indians ; nor until the chiefs and head men of the tribe shall have pledged themselves to use all their influence, and to make all proper exertions, to pre vent the introduction and sale of such liquor in their country." Act 3d March, 1847, Sec. 3. END OF THE FIRST VOLUME. FLEMING & TIBBINS FRENCH DICTIONARY. An entirely new and complete French and English and English and French Dictionary, adapted to the present state of the two Languages. By Prof. FLEMING, Professor of English in the College of Louis le Grand, and Prof. TIBBINS, author of several lexicographical works : with important additions, by CHARLES PICOT, Esq., Professor of French in the University of Pennsyl vania, and JUDAH DOBSON, Esq., Member of the American Philosophical Society, of the Academy of Natural Sciences, &c. &c. 1400 pages royal 8vo. Price, $4. Ditto, abridged, 724 pages 12mo. Price, $1.25. THIS work has been made on the basis of the ROYAL DICTIONARY ENGLISH AND FRENCH AND FRENCH AND ENGLISH, compiled from the Dictionaries of Johnson, Todd, Ash, Webster, and Richardson, from the last edition of Chambaud, Garner, and J. Descarrieres, the sixth edition of the Academy, the Supplement, to the Academy, the Grammatical Dictionary of La- veaux, the Universal Lexicon of Boiste, and the standard technological works in either language. It contains, 1st, all the words in common use, with a copious selection of terms obsolescent or obsolete, connected with polite literature ; 2d, technical terms, or such as are in general use in the arts, manufactures, and sciences, in naval and military language, in law, trade, and commerce; 3d, terms, geographical, &c. &c., with adjectives or epithets elucidating history; 4th, a literal and figured pronunciation for the use of Americans and English men ; 5th, accurate and discriminating definitions, and, when necessary, with appropriate examples and illustrations tending to fix as well as display the signi fication, import, rank, and character of each individual word; 6th, peculiar constructions, modes of speech, idioms, &c. &c. ; 7th, synonymy ; 8th, the diffi culties of French Grammar presented and resolved in English, as they occur throughout the work. The American edition contains complete tables of the verbs on an entirely new plan, to which the verbs throughout the work are referred, by Professor PICOT, with the addition, in their respective places, of a very great number of terms in the natural sciences, chemistry, medicine, &c. &c., which are not to be found in any other French and English Dictionary, by JUDAH DOBSON, Esq., of Philadelphia. " It unites the knowledge of the best lexicographers of France and England. * Peter S. Duponceau, President of the American Philosophical Society. " The most comprehensive and satisfactory Dictionary of the French and English languages combined." Robley Dunglison, M. D., Professor in the Jefferson Medical College, and Secretary of the American Philosophical Society. " Indispensably necessary to students desirous of understanding the French of the nineteenth century." F. A. Brggy, Professor of French and Spanish in the Philadelphia High School. " The American editor has enriched it with more than five thousand words not in the French copy." Rev. Isaac Leeser. " This Dictionary bears eVftlent marks of superiority to any other that has ever been introduced into this country." Thomas Sherwin, A. M., Principal of the Boston High School. PUBLISHED BY E. H. BUTLER <V, CO., PHILADELPHIA. WALKER-S PROMOTING DICTIONARY. A Critical Pronouncing Dictionary and Expositor of the English Language ; to which is annexed a Key to the Classical Pronunciation of Greek, Latin, and Scripture Proper Names, &c. By JOHN WALKER. Octavo 782 pages. Price : Fine edition, $2.50. Common edition, $1.25. IN offering to the public a new edition of WALKER S DICTIONARY, the pub. lishers do not feel it to be necessary to say anything in reference to the merits of the work itself. It is believed to be regarded very generally, on both sides of the Atlantic, as the best and most convenient standard of the language, for the purpose of immediate reference as that of Richardson is for the purpose of research. All that it seems necessary to say is, that the utmost diligence has been used to make the edition typographically correct. For this purpose, the existing editions, English and American, have been collated, and their mistakes carefully corrected. The errors that have been found, in the course of this collation, are such as almost to stagger belief. These errors appear to have been creeping in for the last half century, each edition repeating the mistakes of its predecessors, and no general recension of the text being made, until much of the value of the work, as a standard of the language, was lost. It has been the aim of the publishers, in the present edition, by a careful revision of pre vious ones, and by a diligent use of the other necessary means, to offer a text as nearly as possible FAULTLESS. NUGENT S FRENCH AND ENGLISH DICTIONARY, A Pocket Dictionary of the two Languages. Tn two parts. 1. French and English 2. English and French. By THOMAS NUGENT, LL. D. 45a pages square 12mo. Price, 63 cents. THIS work contains, besides the words in general use, an alphabetical list of the most usual Christian, Proper, and Geographical Names. The present, which is from the last London edition, has all the new words inserted in MOUTAR- DIER S and LE CLERC S last edition of the NATIONAL FRENCH DICTIONARY, and a comprehensive view of the pronunciation and syntax of the French language. By J. OUISEACT, A.M. LIBRARY OF ENGJJSH LITERATURE. A Selection from the finest passages of the most distinguished English and American Authors, classified and arranged under convenient heads. With numerous authentic Portraits. 2 very thick vols. 8vo., 2382 pages. Price, $4. THIS work is truly a library in itself. It is especially suited to the wants of those who cannot afford to buy many books. They will find in this collection an inexhaustible fund of thought and information; suited to all tastes and all seasons. It is a collection of the most useful and entertaining portions of the works of nearly all the standard authors in the English language. No book ol extracts probably was ever made with more care. The pieces are selected with reference both to excellence of style and correctness of sentiment, and are carefully classified under the convenient heads of Religious, Moral, Didactic, Historical, Narrative, Descriptive, Pathetic, Rhetorical, Dramatic, Sentimental, Lyric. Ludicrous, Odes, Sonnets, Riddles, Epigrams, Songs, Ballads. &c. &c. PUBLISHED BY E. H. BUTLER & CO.. PHILADELPHIA. RICHARDSON S ENGLISH DICTIONARY, A New Dictionary of the English Language, by CHARLES RICHARDSON. i! volumes quarto, 2295 pages. Price, $12. RICHARDSON S ENGLISH DICTIONARY is acknowledged to be the great The saurus of English Philology and Lexicography. Its character as a work of standard authority is so well established, that few scholars or professional men will deem their libraries complete without it. Whatever other dictionaries a gentleman may have, he needs that of RICHARDSON, for its ample chronological quotations from the older authors. These quotations give to any one who will consult them, the key by which he may learn for himself the true meaning and history of words, without relying implicitly upon the dictum of a lexicogra pher. To Authors, Teachers, Professors in Colleges, Divines, Jurists, Physi cians ; to gentlemen, in short, of every description, who wish to form or defend their opinions on original rather than second-hand authority, this work seems to be one of indispensable necessity. There is no profession in which important questions do not arise, depending for their solution upon the precise meaning of some particular word. This meaning can be settled only by usage, and usage is to be ascertained not by the opinions of Johnson, or Walker, or Webster, but by copious quotations from the old standard authors. The work of Richardson, consisting of over two thousand closely printed and compact pages, filled witli pertinent extracts from the very fountain-heads of English literature, furnishes to the thoughtful student an immense storehouse of materials for the formation of original and independent opinions. In addition to this, which is perhaps the most striking feature of the book, the New English Dictionary is believed to be the most complete work extant on English Etymologies. The elaborate preface, setting forth the general princi ples of comparative philology, shows in the strongest light the learning and "considerate diligence" of the author; while, under each word, the careful array of its various forms in the different cognate dialects, gives to the student not only an inspiring confidence in the abilities of his guide, but the means of original research, hitherto requiring numerous and expensive works of refer ence. In fact, the. etymologies and the quotations combined, put it in the power of a mere English scholar to investigate for himself many important points, the truth of which he has been obliged hitherto to take entirely upon trust. " A Dictionary such as perhaps no other language could ever boast. London Quarterly Review. A valuable contribution to the accessible stores of English philology." North, American Review. " It embraces every desideratum in an English Dictionary." Southern Literary Messenger. " Le plus savant, le plus consciencieux, le plus complet des dictionnaires de la langue Anglaise qui aient paru jusqu ici." Courier des Etats Unit. "This Dictionary is a mine of wealth in English literature, and shows on every page the immense erudition of its author." National Gazette. " The most important work which has ever issued from the American press." National Inlelligencer. PUBLISHED BY E. H. BUTLER & CO., PHILADELPHIA DONNEGAN S GREEK LEXICON; 1422 Pages, Royal 8vo. Price $4. A new Greek and English Lexicon, on the plan of the Greek and German Lex icon of Schneider ; the words alphabetically arranged, distinguishing such as are Poetical, of Dialectic variety, or peculiar to certain Writers and Classes of Writers; with Examples, literally translated, selected from the Classical Writers. By JAMES DONNEGAN, M.D., of London: Revised and En larged, by ROBERT B. PATTON, Professor of Ancient Languages in the College of New Jersey ; with the assistance of J. ADDISON ALEXANDER, D. D., of the Theological Seminary at Princeton. 017" The quick sale of so many large editions of this Lexicon, is the best evi dence the publishers could desire of its acceptableness to scholars generally. They take pleasure, however, in publishing extracts from a few, out of many testimoni als, ivhich they have received respecting the merits of this work. From C. C. Felton, Professor of Greek Literature, Harvard University, Cam bridge, Mass. I have, for some time past, been in the habit of consulting frequently the American edition of Donnegan s "Greek and English Lexicon." I have no hesitation in saying, that it is n most valuable addition to the means of acquiring a knowledge of the Greek anffuage and literature ; and that it deserves to be extensively adopted in the schools and colleges of the United States. Its claims upon the confidence of the public are threefold : 1st. The admirable Greek and Ger man Lexicon of Schneider, has been n-ed as a basis by Dr Donnegan. Those who are acquainted with the unrivalled excellence of Schneider, will consider this fact no small recom mendation. 2d. The English compiler is evidently a thorough scholar ; and *;ven in his first edition, produced a work far superior to any before pub lished in England. 3d. The American editor has long stood among the most distinguished men of letters in our country; and is well known, in par ticular, for his masterly knowledge of Greek. He here gives the work a Uiorough revision ; and, in many re spects, renders it a more useful and practical lexicon than it was before. It has evidently been prepared with scrupulous and laborious fidelity. As far as my examination has gone, the typographical execution is very correct. I doubt not it will speedily and generally be adopted ; not only by tyros, but by those in mature life, who are desirous of renewing or re viving the classical studies of youth. With great respect, your obedient servant, C. C. FELTON. Cambridge College. From Calvin E. Stowe, Professor at Dartmouth College, N. H. Since the publication of the second edition of Dr. Donnegan s work, I have had it on my table for occasional reference. It is formed on the basis of Schneider, and possesses many of the characteristic excellencies of its origi nal. The labours of Professor Patton, in preparing the American edition of Donnegan, have made it decidedly su perior to the English ; and it is my earnest hope thn* he real merits of this Lexicon, together with the moderate price for which it is now offered, may put it into the hands of every Greek scholar in the United States. CALVIN E. STOWK Dartmouth College PUBLISHED BY E. H. BUTLER & CO., PHILADELPHIA. COATES S SCHOJH PHYSIOLOGY. First Lines of Physiology: being an Introduction to the Science of Life, written in Popular Language; designed for the use of Common Schools, Academies, and General Readers. By REYNELL COATES, M.D., Author of First Lines of Natural Philosophy. Sixth edition, revised ; with an Appendix. 340 pages 12mo. Price, 75 cts. 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CALEB KIMBER, Wilmington Select Seminary. PUBLISHED BY E. H. BUTLER & CO., PHILADELPHIA. HART S ENGLISH GRAMMAR. An Exposition of the Principles and Usages of the English Language, by JOHN S. HART, A. M., Principal of the Philadelphia High School. 192 pnges 12mo. Price 33 cents. IN the preparation of this work no special attempt has been made at novelty. The author s aim has been chiefly to make a careful and accurate digest of those principles of the language which have been remarked by previous writers, and to state those principles with precision and perspicuity. At the same time, the work is believed to contain many observations that are new, and a satisfactory solution of many difficulties not solved in other works on the subject. Unusual pains have been taken in preparing the parts intended to he committed to memory ; viz., the Rules and the Definitions. 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There has been no attempt to discuss knotty political questions, or to speculate upon abstract theories of government, but simply to present the constitution itself, with such questions and answers as might direct the attention of the learner to its plain and obvious meaning. The constitution provides for the duties and rights of every-day life, and is written in simple language, almost entirely free from technical and professional expressions. Is there any reason why children capable of learning, and teachers capable of teaching, history and geography, might not intelligently study and teach all the material facts ancj provisions of the constitution, as they are here presented?" Author s Preface. "It is a simple, but an accurate synopsis of the rudiments of the federal government } so well adapted to the apprehension of youth, as to leave nothing further to be desired, in the shape of a political manual." Chief Justice Gibson. " In this work the Constitution of the United States is examined and explained in such a manner as to make it plain and intelligible to any youih who is capable of studying the history of his country." Judge Randall. " It ought to be adopted at once in every school district throughout the United States." North American. " As a work for the instruction of the rising generation, il eaiinot be too highly commended." NeaPs Gazette. HART S CLASS BOOK OF PROSE. 384 Pages 12mo. Price, 75 cents. HART S CLASS~~BOTK OF POETRY. 384 Pages 12mo. Price, 75 cents. Consisting of selections from distinguished English and American authors, from Chaucer, to the present day : the whole arranged in chronological order, with biographical and critical remarks. By JOHN S. HART, A. M., Principal of the Philadelphia High School. (Sold separately.) " Better calculated to impart a knowledge of the English language than any works of similar design now extant." Penntylvanian. "Decidedly the best work of the kind that has fallen under onr notice." NeaVs Gazette. " I have never seen a book of selections with which I have been so well pleased." Professor Rhoads. PUBLISHED BY E.. !I BUTLER & CO., PHILADELPHIA SMITH S GRAMMAR, English Grammar on the Productive System : a method of instruction recently adopted in Germany and Switzerland ; designed for Schools and Academies. By ROSWELL C. SMITH, Author of . Introductory Arithmetic, &c. 192 pages 12mo. Price, 34 cents. THE above work was composed, as is indicated by the title, on what is styled in Germany and Switzerland, the Productive System of Instruction. It is in these countries that the subject of Education has been deemed a matter of para mount importance. The art of teaching, particularly, has there been most ably and minutely investigated. To give a brief account of the different systems which have prevailed there, may not be irrelevant on the present occasion, as they assist in forming an opinion of the comparative merits of the Productive System, on which this work is principally based, &c. &c. &c. (Vide Preface of the work.) This work has been before the public several years, and its merits have been well tested. It is introduced into the public schools in the city and county of Philadelphia ; also those of Lancaster, Columbia, Carlisle, and Harrisburg, in Pennsylvania; and in nearly every public school in the states of Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island ; extensively in the states of New York, New Jersey, Maryland. Delaware, Virginia, and all the southern states. It is used almost exclusively in the schools of Ohio, Ken tucky, and Missouri ; anil its circulation in the private schools and academies is believed to be greater than that of any other work on the subject. Notwith standing the many new works that have emanated from the press, on this sub ject, since its first publication, the demand for it has steadily increased ; and it now enjoys the approbation of nearly half the teachers in the United States. The publisher has in his possession hundreds of recommendations, from teach ers, school-directors, and friends of education in different parts of the country ; but the present limits will not permit him to introduce them here. SMITH S INTRODUCTORY ARITHMETIC. An Introduction to the Study of Arithmetic, suited to the wants of beginners. By ROSWELL C. SMITH, Author of English Grammar, &c. 72 pages 12mo. Price, 10 cents. THIS little volume is characterized by the same clearness and simplicity which have given to the Grammar and other books of this author such ail unprecedented popularity. CHURCH S FRENCH SPOKEN. A New System of Teaching French. By EDWARD CHURCH 302 pages small quarto. Price, $1.50. PUBLISHED BY E. H. BUTLER & CO., PHILADELPHIA. HURD S GRAMMATICAL CORRECTOR, A Grammatical Corrector, or Vocabulary of the Common Errors of Speech : being a collection of nearly two thousand barbarisms, cant phrases, collo quialisms, quaint expressions, provincialisms, false p enunciations, per versions, misapplication of terms, and other kindred err >rs of the English Language, peculiar to the different states of the Unit i; the whole ex plained, corrected, and conveniently arranged, for the ise of Schools and Private Individuals. By SETH T. HURD. 124 pages 12i o. Price, 34 cents. VULGARISMS in language, are like weeds in a garden ; they grow apace, and, if n>t checked, will eventually choke and destroy the legitimate vegetation. Hunt s Grammatical Corrector is " happily calculated, not only to check and correct the prevailing inaccuracies of conversation and writing, but to prevent, in an eminent degree, the formation of erroneous habits of speech." FROST S COMPOSITION. Easy Exercises in Composition, designed for the use of beginners. By JOHN FROST, LL.D. 120 pages 12mo. Price, 25 cents. VIRGINIA HOUSEWIFE. The Virginia Housewife, or Methodical Cook; containing nearly five hundred Receipts, with plain practical directions for all ordinary household operations, under the various heads of Soups, Beef, Veal, Lamb, Mutton, Pork, Fish, Poultry, Sauces, Vegetables, Puddings, Cakes, Creams, Preserves, Pickles, Cordials, &c. &c. By Mrs. MARY RANDOLPH. 180 pages 12mo. Price, 50 cents. M CARTNEY S UNITED STATES, The Origin and Progress of the United States ; a Series of Lectures, designed to illustrate the character of American Civilization. By WASHINGTON M CARTNEY, Professor of Mathematics in Lafayette College, Easton, Pa. 404 pages 12mo. Price, $1. " The object of this work is to show, from the history of this country, in what manner the peculiarities of our republic arose. In short, it is a popular narration of the rise and growth of the United States, beginning with the dis covery of America, and reaching up to the present time. An admirable prelimi nary chapter treats of the progressive civilization of mankind. Altogether, the book is a very valuable one." North, American. PUBLISHED BY E. H. BUTLER & CO.. PHILADELPHIA. ANGELL S READING BOOKS. Tills is a series of Spelling and Reading Book?, in Six Numbers; compiled by OLIVER ANGELL, A. M., Principal of the Franklin High School, Providence. T/te numbers composing the series may be briefly described as follows : Angell s Reader, No. 172 pages 12mo. Price, 8 cents. THE arrangement of the lessons in this book is such, tint the child commences reading as soon as he commences putting the lelters together into syllables, the exercise of spelling and reading being simultaneous. The same syllables and words which form the Spelling Lessons, are arranged as Reading Lessons directly opposite, or immediately under the spelling columns. Aiigell s Reader, No. 2136 pages 12mo. Price, 1.4 cents. This is a continuation of the first number, containing Easy Reading Lessons, most of which are pleasing stories, designed to interest the mind of the learner, mid afford instruction. Spelling Lessons, consisting of words from the Reading Lessons, precede every Reading Lesson. Augell s Reader, No. 3 20G pages 12mo Price, 17 cents. This is a gradual advance from the second number, having the reading and Spelling Lessons arranged on the same plan. The Lessons, in each of the num bers, are followed by a set of Questions, to exercise the reader on what he has read. Angeirs Reader, No. 4 2o2 pages 12mo. Price, 30 cents. Also designed as a Reading and Spelling Book, and containing a variety of other useful matter. Augell s Reader, No. 5 296 pages 12mo. Price, 50 cents. A Reading Book for the higher classes in Common Schools, with Spelling Lessons and Definitions adapted to each reading section; with Tables, Mental Arithmetic, &c. Aiigell s Reader, No. 6 504 pages 12mo. Price, 75 cents. Being a selection of pieces in prose and verse ; designed as a Reading Book for the highest classes in Academies and Schools. These six volumes, compiled by OLIVER ANGELL, comprise a series which is undoubtedly more suitable for the purpose for which they are designed, than any previous publications; and they are more popular among those who have the direction of education than any ever prepared in this country. There is a decided advantage in possessing sets of elementary books by the same author, who has pursued a similar plan with each, rising step by step, and who, it is presumed, would be better able to preserve the proper gra dation of style and matter, than several individuals would. This will be found t o be the case in the present series. No matter that appears in one, is inserted in either of the others; so that the six compilations may be used in different classes in the same school. PUBLISHED BY E. H. BUTLER & CO., PHILADELPHIA. KENDALL S URANOGRAPHY. Uranography, or a Description of the Starry Heavens: designed for the use of Schools and Academies; accompanied by an Atlas of the Heavens, showing the places of the principal Stars, Clusters, and Nebula?. By E. OTIS KEN DALL, Professor of Mathematics and Astronomy in the Central High School of Philadelphia, and Member of the American Philosophical Society. The Uranography contains 365 pages 12mo., with nine fine Engravings. The Atlas is in 4to., and contains eighteen large Maps. Price of the Uranography and Atlas, $1.25. A GREAT obstacle to the study of Uranography heretofore has been the diffi culty of transferring to the heavens themselves, the ideas acquired in studying the maps. There was so much in the map that was not in the heavens, that it was extremely difficult for a beginner to conceive the one to be in any respect the representative of the other. A celestial map or globe, crowded with highly- colored pictures of birds, and beasts, and four-footed animals, and creeping things, might well look, to the eye of the uninitiated, more like the show-bill of a menagerie than a picture of the starry heavens. In the present work, how ever, while a faint outline of the old constellations is preserved for the sake of their historical associations, prominence is given in the maps to that which is prominent in the heavens, viz., to the STARS THEMSELVES. This feature of the work is made yet more striking by the introduction of another, of a character altogether novel. Not only are the objects which are not seen in the heavens, excluded from the maps, but the heavens themselves are represented more nearly in their true color. Instead of making, as hereto fore, the stars black and the sky white, the groundwork of the map is here the deep blue of heavenly space, while the stars are a brilliant, spotless white. Such a representation of the subject seems to be the one least likely to confuse the mind of the student, when, from a contemplation of his Celestial Atlas, he turns to contemplate the august scene which it represents. "This work, with its eighteen maps, is abundant, in the hands of a competent teacher, to create pure pleasures which shall be renewed and deepened throug.i life."-jRet>. J. Todd, D. D. " A capital work for schools and academies. 1 Richmond Enquirer. " No text-book on the subject has ever been published at all equal to thib of Professor Kendall s." Watchman of the South. " The author has brought to the work a strong love for, which has led to a deep knowledge of, the science of which he treats; and his position as a teacher enables him to set forth his instruction in an available form." United States Gazette. " We commend this work with warmth and confidence." Philada. Inquirer. " It appears to us that this work supplies a desideratum with the schools, SMI I will much facilitate the study of the wonders of the heavens. " Richmond Compiler. " We know of no work of the same nature equal to this in comprehensiveness and arrangement." North American. PUBLISHED BY E. H. BUTLER & CO., PHILADELPHIA. TAYLOR AND HIS GENERALS. A Biography of Major-General ZACHARY TAYLOR ; with Sketches of the Lives of Major-General WINFIKLD SCOTT, and of Generals WORTH, WOOL, and TWIGGS. and an account of the various Military Operations in Mexico, to the present time. Illustrated by twelve Portraits and Engravings. 326 pages 12mo. Price, 25 cents. Notwithstanding numerous rival publications, no less than SIXTY THOUSAND copies of this work have been sold, in the brief space that it has been before the public. MEXICO AND HER MILITARY CHIEFTAINS. A Sketch of the History of Mexico, from the Revolution of Hidalgo, in 1810, to the present time ; containing Sketches of the Lives of HIDALGO, ITURBIDE, SANTA ANNA, GOMEZ FARIAS, BUSTAMENTK, PAREDES, ALMONTE, ARISTA, ALAMAN, AMPUDIA, HERRERA, and LA VEGA. By FAYETTE ROBINSON. Illustrated by numerous authentic Portraits and Engravings. 343 pages 12mo. Price, in paper, 50 cents ; in muslin, 80 cents. No less than EIGHT THOUSAND copies of this work were called for within two months from the time of its publication. THE ARMY OF THJ^UNITED STATES. An Account of the Organization of the Army of the United States ; with Biographies of distinguished Officers of all grades. By FAYETTE ROBIN SON, late an Officer of the Army. Embellished with thirty-six Portraits. 2 vols. 12mo., 728 pages. Price, $2.50. THIS work is embellished with the following Portraits, taken from Daguer reotypes, sketches from life, and other authentic sources : Major-Genf.rals. GIBSON, Majors. SCOTT, (the General-in-Chief.) P. F. SMITH, RINGGOLD, TAYLOR, ARBUCKLE. McCALL, GAINES, BOONE, WORTH, Colonels. BARB OUR ; and MACOMB, TOT TEN, BROWN. THAYER, Captain WALKER ; HITCHCOCK, Lieutenant BLAKE ; Brigadier-Generals. BANKHEAD, Commodore CONNER, JONES, CHILDS, (United States Navy) ; WOOL, CROGHAN, TWIGGS, CROSS, BROOKE, FREMONT, SANTA ANNA, CLINCH, MAY, ARISTA, KEARNY, PAYNE, PAREDES. TOWSON, PUBLISHED BY E H. BUTLER & CO., PHILADELPHIA. COMSTOCK S HHTTORIA SACRA. Epitome Histories Sacrae, on an improved plan, in two volumes ; the first con taining the original text in the English order, with a literal interlinear trans lation ; the second, containing the original text only, and in the Latin order By ANDREW COMSTOCK, M. D., Author of Elocution, &c. 2 vols. 12mo, 310 pages. Price, $100. COMSTOCK S ELOCUTION. A System of Elocution, with special reference to Gesture, to the Treatment of Stammering and Defective Articulation ; comprising numerous Diagrams and Engraved Figures, illustrative of the subject. By ANDREW COMSTOCK, M. D., Principal of the Vocal and Polyglott Gymnasium. 400 pages I2mo. Price, $1. COMSTOCK S PHONOLOGY. A Treatise on Phonology ; comprising a perfect Alphabet of the English Lan guage, with Exercises. By ANDREW COMSTOCK, M. D., Author of Elocution, &c. 62 pages 12mo. Price, 25 cents. COMSTOCK S PHONETIC READER, The Phonetic Reader; consisting of a Selection of Pieces, Classical and Moral, in Prose and Verse, in both the Old and the New Alphabet : to which is pre fixed a System of Vocal Gymnastics. By ANDREW COMSTOCK, M. D., Principal of the Vocal and Polyglott Gymnasium. 326 pages 12mo. Price, SI. COMSTOCK S PHONETIC SPEAKER. The Phonetic Speaker; consisting of the Principles and Exercises in the Author s System of Elocution, with additions: the whole printed in the New Alphabet only, and illustrated with numerous Engravings. By ANDREW COMSTOCK, M. D., Principal of the Vocal and Polyglott Gymnasium. 390 pages 12mo. Price, $1. THE New Alphabet in which the above works are published, is COMSTOCK S PHONETIC ALPHABET OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE; the only perfect alphabet which has been given to the world. " The author of these works has spent twenty years in the study of the sub jects of which they treat, and is probably the best known and the most success ful practical elocutionist in the country. He was the first to arrange, in tabular and systematic forms, the elements of our language; and most, if not all, of the numerous phonological charts which have appeared, are essentially tran scripts from, though not improvements of, this author s works. In their latest editions, Comstock s books and charts are, beyond question, unsurpassed by anything of their kind which has yet been offered the public." James Henry. Jr., Esq., Superintendent of Common Schools for the county ofHerkimer, New York PUBLISHED BY E. H. BUTLER & CO., PHILADELPHIA. GENERAL LIBRARY -v - - IFORNIA BERKELEY M1SI335 THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY