Part 206

Constitution and the Guerriere.

Mr. DAWSON rose and said:--Mr. Speaker, I take this early moment to present to you a resolution which I feel pleasure and pride in believing will meet the general approbation, not only of this House, but of the nation.

The President of the United States, in his Message, which was read on yesterday, has, in terms eloquent and appropriate, made mention of an engagement which has taken place between an American frigate and one of His Britannic Majesty's, which has rendered to the officers and crew of our frigate that justice which they so justly merited; an engagement in which American tars have proven to the world, that when commanded by officers of skill, valor, and fidelity, they are capable of contending with, and of vanquishing, those of any nation on the earth, upon any element--even on that element where British skill has so justly acquired so much celebrity, and that the American flag, when authorized by the constituted authorities of our country, will command respect on the high road of nations. Far, very far be it from me to boast--it ill becomes an individual or a nation, and is never the concomitant of true courage; but on the present occasion it seems to me proper that we should express our sentiments--our feelings, and thereby the feelings of the nation. I shall, therefore, without further comment, offer you the following resolution, observing that the facts stated have been ascertained at the proper department, and the proofs are on my table:

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the President of the United States be, and he is hereby, requested to present, in the name of Congress, to Captain Isaac Hull, a gold medal, with suitable emblems and devices; and that the sum of ---- thousand dollars be, and the same is hereby, appropriated, to be distributed as prize money to the officers and crew of the United States' frigate the Constitution, of forty-four guns, according to the provisions of the act for the better government of the Navy of the United States; in testimony of the high sense entertained by Congress of the gallantry, good conduct, and services of Captain Hull, the officers, and crew, of the said frigate Constitution, in attacking, vanquishing, and capturing the British frigate the Guerriere, mounting fifty-four carriage guns, thereby exhibiting an example highly honorable to the American character, and instructive to our rising Navy.

Some conversation passed on the proper mode of disposing of this subject, in the course of which

Mr. SEYBERT suggested the propriety of also giving some distinctive or medals to the crew of the Constitution, who he thought were too generally overlooked in such cases.

Mr. WRIGHT approved the spirit of the resolution, but hoped the other officers would receive swords, and the men suitable rewards; and confidently hoped a gold medal would be voted to the nearest relative of Lieutenant William Bush of the marines, a young gentleman from his district, who fell gallantly fighting in that action, covered with wounds and glory; he, therefore, for that purpose, moved that the resolution be referred to a select committee.

The resolution was eventually ordered to lie on the table till a committee should be appointed to whom it should be referred.

FRIDAY, November 6.

Several other members, to wit: from New Jersey, GEORGE C. MAXWELL; from Massachusetts, EZEKIEL BACON; from Connecticut, LEWIS B. STURGES; and from Pennsylvania, JAMES MILNOR, appeared, and took their seats.

GEORGE POINDEXTER, the Delegate from the Mississippi Territory, also appeared, and took his seat.

MONDAY, November 9.

Several other members, to wit: from Massachusetts, SAMUEL TAGGART; from Connecticut, BENJAMIN TALLMADGE; from New York, EBENEZER SAGE, and THOMAS R. GOLD; from Pennsylvania, ROGER DAVIS; from Delaware, HENRY M. RIDGELY; and from Virginia, JOHN TALIAFERRO, appeared, and took their seats.

Encouragement to Privateers.

Mr. MITCHILL presented a petition of sundry owners and agents of privateers in the city of New York, praying for a reduction of the duties on prizes and prize goods; that prize property, on condemnation, may be delivered to them to be disposed of and distributed; that the time necessary to procure condemnations may be shortened; that the fees of the officers of prize courts may be limited to a certain sum, and that prize owners and their agents be authorized to order prizes arrived in one port to any other port, at their discretion, at any time before the actual libelling of such prizes.

Exemption of Soldiers from Arrest for Debt.

Mr. BACON stated that, under the present law, exempting from arrest of privates in the Army of the United States in certain cases of debt, frauds had been, and more extensively might be, committed; inasmuch as a soldier who was tired of the service, by giving his bond for a feigned debt for an amount greater than twenty dollars, could procure himself to be arrested and kept out of service, &c. Mr. B. further illustrated the evasions to which the present law is liable, and concluded by moving the following resolution:

Resolved, That the Committee on Military Affairs be instructed to inquire into the expediency of providing by law for exempting altogether from liability to arrest, or being taken in execution for debt, of any non-commissioned officer, musician, or private, belonging to the Army of the United States, or to any volunteer corps, when called into service pursuant to to law.

The resolution was agreed to.

TUESDAY, November 10.

Another member, to wit, from Virginia, JAMES BRECKENRIDGE, appeared, and took his seat.

Mounted Troops.

Mr. RICHARD M. JOHNSON observed that he had draughted a resolution for the consideration of the House, the object of which was to authorize an expedition of mounted volunteers against the several Indian tribes hostile to the United States. He said the people of the United States had the power and the will to break up and to extirpate those hostile savages, to desolate their country, or compel them to surrender at discretion, as the Miamies had done lately when they beheld the strong arm of the Government uplifted and ready to fall upon them heavily. And it was the imperious duty of Congress so to organize this power, and so to direct this will, as to make it effectual and most destructive to the enemy in the line of its operation. Mr. J. said a winter campaign of mounted men well selected, well organized, and well conducted for sixty days, would close an Indian war, which was restrained on their part by no ties of religion, by no rules of morality, by no suggestions of mercy, by no principles of humanity. Sir, said he, you well know that we cannot so guard any part of our extended line of frontier as to prevent entirely the incursions of savages, so long as they have a place of safety or hiding place upon our borders; by reason of which a few desperate savages, well armed with their rifles, tomahawks, and scalping knives, and paid for the scalps of our citizens, may travel in the night, watch their place of assassination undiscovered, and fall upon our infant settlements thus exposed and massacre them without distinction of age or sex, and not leave even an infant to lisp the sad tale of sorrow to the passing stranger. Such has been the fact in many places on our frontier since the battle of Tippecanoe; and such was the melancholy fact near the Ohio river, in Indiana, when upwards of twenty persons were horribly murdered in cold blood, without the opportunity of resistance; the most of these unfortunate victims were women and children, whose heads were roasted by the fire, and in this cruel mode tortured to death, and under circumstances which would blacken and dye with deeper disgrace the most infamous and abandoned set of beings on earth. Since the defeat of Braddock, Mr. J. observed, the conflict with the Indians had always been an unequal one, and the United States had never carried on such a campaign against them as would bring them to their reason. He observed, that a winter campaign of mounted men would place us on an equality in our contest with the Indians; and he pledged himself for the efficacy of such an expedition, if sanctioned and authorized by Congress, and left to the Executive of Kentucky, so far as the forces were taken from that State. On such a campaign they must meet us in battle, or surrender at discretion; they could not avoid our search nor evade our pursuit--the season would furnish certain means of discovery; their strongholds would be broken up; their squaws and children would fall into our hands, and remain sure pledges against savage ferocity and barbarity. Nothing do they so much fear as to have their squaws taken prisoners. Their winter quarters would be discovered and their stock of winter provisions would be destroyed; and once since the Revolution the friend of his country would enjoy the satisfaction of seeing our savage enemies humbled in the dust and solely at our mercy, notwithstanding all the arts of British intrigue to the contrary. On the contrary, we want no additional evidence, no train of reasoning, nor a particular detail of facts, to convince us that any other kind of force, and at any other period, will only give us a partial remedy. Upon any other principle we give the savage foe every advantage. When threatened and pursued by a force sufficient to chastise them, no warriors can be found--they scatter through the woods like the wild beasts of the forest. Send a small party, and they are immediately surrounded and cut off by superior numbers. In fact, sir, they will not meet at their own doors and firesides equal numbers in honorable combat--they must always have some great and decided advantage. In the several attacks made upon Fort Wayne, Fort Harrison, and Bellevue--at which places our officers and soldiers acted with a firmness and gallantry deserving the highest praises of their country--the Indians retreated at the approach of assistance, and could not be found. We witnessed the same scene when our army penetrated their country from Fort Wayne, who burnt their towns and destroyed their crops. In short, sir, late in the spring, in the summer, and in the fall, every thicket, every swamp--nay, every brush-heap surrounded with weeds furnishes a hiding place; and it is in vain to search after Indians at such a time, if they are not disposed to be seen. Mr. J. said, with this imperfect picture before us, which, however, contained undeniable facts, Congress could not reconcile it to its duty not to take such steps as would speedily terminate the war with the savages. Such steps had been taken as to produce much temporary distress among the Pottawatamies and other tribes, and the destruction of their villages and crops would employ many of their warriors in procuring subsistence for their squaws and children, which consequently gave a correspondent relief to our frontier settlements; that a winter campaign well conducted was indispensable to complete the work which was begun with so much zeal, but which could not produce all the benefit that might be expected from a regular authorized expedition; for it would be recollected that the mounted men had gone out suddenly upon the spur of the occasion, without compensation, with a view to relieve the frontiers from the disasters of Hull's humiliating surrender; and in such voluntary associations many men would consider themselves under less obligations than if employed by the Government, although the party with whom he had the honor to act served beyond the time for which they enrolled themselves, and never quitted the service until honorably discharged. Mr. J. observed, if the savages are unmindful of the many acts of benevolence, of justice and friendship exercised towards them by the United States; if British influence, or British gold, or any other consideration, could induce them to continue the savage practice of imbruing their hands alike in the blood of the warrior in the field, and the infant in its mother's arms; if they will be bound by no obligation however sacred; by no treaty, however solemnly made; by no dictate of nature, no matter how self-evident; the United States are absolved from all acts of further forbearance; and we are called upon by every feeling of duty and honor to disarm them of their fury and put them beyond the power of injury. Mr. J. said he had not intended to trouble the House with so many preliminary remarks, but he had seen in his place the Chairman of the committee to whom the resolution was to be referred, and he was anxious that the design and object of the motion should be known, that the committee might act with despatch if it met with their views:

Resolved, That the select committee to whom was referred so much of the President's Message as relates to military affairs, be instructed to inquire into the expediency of authorizing an expedition of mounted volunteers against the Indian tribes hostile to the United States.

The resolution was agreed to nem. con., without debate.

THURSDAY, November 12.

Another member, to wit, from Kentucky, SAMUEL MCKEE, appeared and took his seat.

FRIDAY, November 13.