CHAPTER LIV.

THIRD AMERICAN INVASION OF UPPER CANADA, AT AND NEAR FORT ERIE, ON THE NIAGARA RIVER, UNDER GENERAL SMYTH--HIS ADDRESS TO HIS SOLDIERS--THE LUDICROUS AND DISGRACEFUL FAILURE OF HIS EXPEDITION--THREE AMERICAN EXPEDITIONS REPELLED IN 1812 BY THE SPARTAN BANDS OF CANADIAN VOLUNTEERS, ASSISTED BY A FEW REGIMENTS OF ENGLISH SOLDIERS.

Such was the result of the second invasion of Canada--the first invasion on the Niagara frontier by the American "Grand Army of the Centre."

The Americans, after recovering in some measure from their disastrous defeat at Queenston, commenced gigantic preparations for assembling another army near Buffalo, for a second descent on the Niagara frontier, under the command of General Smyth, with an army which, according to the latest accounts of the American reports themselves, was 8,000 strong, with fifteen pieces of field ordnance--sustained in the rear by a populous and fertile country, and the facility afforded by good roads to draw the supplies for his army and to bring into the field a formidable artillery. So confident was General Smyth himself of a successful result of his expedition, that he boasted on the 10th of November "that in a few days the troops under his command would plant the American standard in Canada," and issued an order to the commandant of Fort Niagara to save the buildings at Fort George and the adjacent town of Newark (Niagara), as they would be required for winter quarters for the "Army of the Centre."

It was a difficult if not doubtful task for General Sheaffe and the regular and militia officers under his command to provide for the defence of the country against such formidable odds; for up to the time at which the American general had violated the terms of the armistice not a single British soldier had arrived to reinforce the little Canadian army; and "after the conflict at Queenston, the militia, which constituted the majority of the British force, had been permitted to return home to secure the remainder of their harvest." (Thompson.)

"However, on the first alarm being given of the hostile movements of the American army, those already harassed but loyal Canadian militiamen promptly returned to their posts, fully determined to dispute every inch of ground while a man was left to defend it."--(Ib). Nor were these volunteer Loyalists intimidated by General Smyth's extended columns of cavalry and infantry with which he lined the American shore, his marching and countermarching of countless battalions, and all the pomp of war and parade of martial bombast with which the fertile mind of General Smyth hoped to terrify the apparently defenceless Canadians; to which he added a flaming proclamation, not excelled in pomposity and brag by that of General Hull issued to Canadians three months before. We give this proclamation, as we have done that of General Hull, in a note.

This proclamation, ridiculous as it is, and appealing to the lowest mercenary as well as better motives of democratic Americans, produced a considerable effect in Pennsylvania, and caused an accession of some 2,000 volunteers to General Smyth's already large forces; but when the crisis of action arrived, this grandiloquent General Smyth was not to be found on the field of action; and of the twenty boats which were provided to convey across the river the first instalment of invaders of Canada, fourteen boats were sunk or driven back, and only six boats reached the Canadian shore and gained a temporary hold, but some of them were driven back with loss before the next morning, and the remainder were taken prisoners. The next day General Smyth promised to do very great things; but we will narrate these doings and the results in the words of the American writer Lossing, in his Field Book of the War of 1812. Lossing says:

"November 27th .--It was sunrise when the troops began to embark, and so tardy were the movements that it was late in the afternoon when all was ready. General Smyth did not make his appearance, and all the movements were under the direction of his subordinates. A number of boats had been left to strand upon the shore, and became filled with water, snow, and ice; and as hour after hour passed by, dreariness and disappointment fell upon the spirits of the shivering troops. Meanwhile the enemy had collected on the opposite [British] shore, and were watching every movement. At length, when all seemed ready and impatience had yielded to hope, an order came from the commanding general 'to disembark and dine.' The wearied and worried troops were deeply exasperated by this order, and nothing but the most positive assurances that the undertaking would be immediately resumed kept them from open mutiny. The different regiments retired sullenly to their respective quarters, and General Porter, with his dispirited New York volunteers, marched in disgust to Buffalo.

"November 28th .--Smyth now called a council of officers. They could not agree. The best of them urged the necessity of crossing in force at once, before the (Canadian) enemy could make formidable preparations for their reception. The General decided otherwise; and doubt and despondency brooded over the camp that night. The ensuing Sabbath brought no relief. Preparations for another embarkation were indeed in progress, while the (Canadian) enemy, too, was busy in opposing labour. It was evident to every spectator of judgment that the invasion must be attempted at another point of the river, when, towards evening, to the astonishment of all, the General issued an order perfectly characteristic of the man--for the troops to be ready at eight (November 30) o'clock the next morning for embarkation. 'The General will be on board,' he pompously proclaimed. 'Neither rain, snow, or frost will prevent the embarkation,' he said. 'The cavalry will soon scour the fields from Black Rock to the bridge, and suffer no idle spectators. While embarking, the bands will play martial airs; Yankee Doodle will be the signal to get under way. * * The landing will be effected in despite of cannon. The whole army has seen that cannon is to be but little dreaded. * * Hearts of war! to-morrow will be memorable in the annals of the United States.'

"'To-morrow' came, but not the promised achievement. All the officers disapproved of the time and manner of the proposed embarkation, and expressed their opinions freely. At General Porter's quarters a change was agreed upon. Porter deferred the embarkation until Tuesday morning, the 1st of December, an hour or two before daylight, and to make the landing-place a little below the upper end of Grand Island. Winder suggested the propriety of making a descent directly upon Chippewa, 'the key of the country.' This Smyth consented to attempt, intending as he said, if successful, to march down to Queenston, and lay siege to Fort George. Orders were accordingly given for a general rendezvous at the Navy Yard, at three o'clock on Tuesday morning, and that the troops should be collected in the woods near by on Monday, where they should build fires, and await the signal for gathering on the shore of the river. The hour arrived, but when day dawned only fifteen hundred were embarked. Tannehill's Pennsylvania Brigade were not present. Before their arrival rumours had reached the camp that they, too, like Van Rensellaer's militia at Lewiston, had raised a constitutional question about being led out of their State. Yet their scruples seem to have been overcome at this time, and they would have invaded Canada cheerfully under other auspices. But distrust of their leader, created by the events of the last forty-eight hours, had demoralized nearly the whole army. They had made so much noise in embarkation that the startled Canadian had sounded his alarm bugle and discharged signal guns from Fort Erie to Chippewa. Tannehill's Pennsylvanians had not appeared, and many other troops lingered upon the shore, loth to embark. In this dilemma Smyth hastily called a Council of the regular officers, utterly excluding those of the volunteers from the conference; and the first intimation of the result of that Council was an order from the commanding general, sent to General Porter, who was on a boat with the pilot, a fourth of a mile from shore, in the van of the impatient flotilla, directing the whole army to debark, and repair to their quarters. This was accompanied by a declaration that the invasion of Canada was abandoned at present, pleading in bar of just censure, that his orders from his superiors were, not to attempt it with less than 3,000 men. The regulars were ordered into winter quarters, and the volunteers were dismissed to their homes.

"The troops, without order or restraint, discharged their muskets in all directions, and a scene of insubordination and utter confusion followed. At least a thousand of the volunteers had come from their homes in response to his invitation, and the promise that they should be led into Canada by a victor [without personal danger, and with the promise of plunder and glory]. They had implicit confidence in his ability and in the sincerity of his great words, and in proportion to their faith and zeal were now their disappointment and resentment. Unwilling to have their errand to the frontier fruitless of all but disgrace, the volunteers earnestly requested permission to be led into Canada under General Porter, promising the commanding general the speedy capture of Fort Erie if he would furnish them with four pieces of artillery. But Smyth evaded their request, and the volunteers were sent home uttering imprecations against the man whom they considered a mere blusterer without courage, and a conceited deceiver without honour. They felt themselves betrayed, and the inhabitants in the vicinity sympathized with them. Their indignation was greatly increased by the ill-timed and ungenerous charges made by Smyth in his report to General Dearborn against General Porter, in whom the volunteers had the greatest confidence. General Smyth's person was for some time in danger. He was compelled to double the guards around his tent, and to move it from place to place to avoid continual insults. He was several times fired at when he ventured out of his marquee. Porter openly attributed the abandonment of the invasion of Canada to the cowardice of Smyth." * *

"Thus ended the melodrama of Smyth's invasion of Canada. The whole affair was disgraceful and humiliating. 'What wretched work Smyth and Porter have made of it!' wrote General Wadsworth to General Van Rensellaer from his home at Genesee at the close of the year. 'I wish those who are disposed to find so much fault could know the state of the militia since the day you gave up the command. It has been "confusion worse confounded."' The day that saw Smyth's failure was indeed 'memorable in the annals of the United States,' as well as in his own private history. Confidence in his military ability was destroyed; and three months afterwards he was 'disbanded,' as the Army Register says; in other words, he was deposed without a trial, and excluded from the army."

Such was the third and last American invasion of Upper Canada in 1812. Three large American armies defeated--two of them taken prisoners by less than one-third their number of Canadian volunteers, aided by a few hundred regular soldiers and as many Indians, who, notwithstanding the abuse of them by the American generals, never murdered a woman or child during the year, or killed a prisoner, and who were no more "savages" than the men who maligned them.

The Spartan bands of Canadian Loyalist volunteers, aided by a few hundred English soldiers and civilized Indians, repelled the Persian thousands of democratic American invaders, and maintained the virgin soil of Canada unpolluted by the foot of the plundering invader.

FOOTNOTES:

"General Smyth to the Soldiers of the Army of the Centre.

"Companions in arms!--The time is come when you will cross the stream of Niagara to conquer Canada, and to secure the peace of the Canadian frontier.

"You will enter a country that is to be one of the United States. You are to arrive among a people who are to become your fellow-citizens. It is not against them that we come to make war. It is against that Government which holds them as vassals.

"You will make this war as little as possible distressful to the Canadian population. If they are peaceable, they are to be secure in their persons; and in their property as far as our imperious necessities will allow.

"Provided that, plundering is absolutely forbidden. Any soldier who quits his rank to plunder on the field of battle, will be punished in the most exemplary manner.

"But your just rights as soldiers will be maintained; whatever is booty by the usages of war, you shall have. All horses belonging to the artillery and cavalry; all waggons and teams in the public service, will be sold for the benefit of the captors. Public stores will be secured for the service of the United States. The Government will, with justice, pay you the value.

"The horses drawing the light artillery of the enemy are wanted for the service of the United States. I will order $200 for each to be paid to the party who may take them. I will also order $40 to be paid for the arms and spoils of each savage warrior who shall be killed.

"Soldiers!--You are amply provided for war. You are superior in number to the enemy. Your personal strength and activity are greater. Your weapons are longer. The regular soldiers of the enemy are really old, whose best years have been spent in the sickly climate of the West Indies. They will not be able to stand before you--you who charge with the bayonet. You have seen Indians, such as those hired by the English to murder women and children, and kill and scalp the wounded. You have seen their dances and grimaces, and heard their yells. Can you fear them? No; you hold them in the utmost contempt.

"Volunteers!--Disloyal and traitorous men have endeavoured to dissuade you from your duty. Sometimes they say, if you enter Canada you will be held to service for five years. At others they say that you will not be furnished with supplies. At other times they say that if you are wounded, the Government will not provide for you by pensions. The just and generous course pursued by Government towards the volunteers who fought at Tippecanoe, furnishes an answer to that objection. The others are too absurd to deserve any.

"Volunteers!--I esteem your generous and patriotic motives. You have made sacrifices on the altar of your country. You will not suffer the enemies of your fame to mislead you from the path of duty and honour, and deprive you of the esteem of a grateful country. You will show the eternal infamy that awaits the man who, having come in sight of the enemy, basely shrinks in the moment of trial.

"Soldiers of every corps!--It is in your power to retrieve the honour of your country, and to cover yourselves with glory. Every man who performs a gallant action shall have his name made known to the nation. Rewards and honours await the brave. Infamy and contempt are reserved for cowards.

"Companions in arms!--You come to vanquish a valiant foe; I know the choice you will make. Come on, my heroes! And when you attack the enemy's batteries, let your rallying word be 'The cannon lost at Detroit, or death.'

(Signed) "ALEXANDER SMYTH, "Brigadier-General Commanding. "Camp near Buffalo, 17th Nov., 1812."]

Mr. Lossing adds, in a note, that "General Smyth petitioned the House of Representatives to reinstate him in the army. That body referred the petition to the Secretary of War--the General's executioner. Of course, its prayer was not answered. In that petition Smyth asked the privilege of 'dying for his country.' This phrase was the subject of much ridicule. At a public celebration of Washington's birthday, in 1814, at Georgetown, in the District of Columbia, the following sentiment was offered during the presentation of toasts: 'General Smyth's petition to Congress to die for his country; may it be ordered that the prayer of said petition be granted.'

"A wag wrote on a panel of one of the doors of the House of Representatives:

"'All hail, great chief, who quailed before A Bishop on Niag'ra's shore; But looks on Death with dauntless eye, And begs for leave to bleed and die, "'Oh my!'"]