Madison's Administration.—War of 1812.
James Madison.
War Threatened with England.
THE new President had been a member of the Continental Congress, a delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1787, and Secretary of State under Jefferson. He owed his election to the Democratic party, whose sympathy with France and hostility to Great Britain were well known. On the 1st of March the embargo act was repealed by Congress, and another measure adopted by which American ships were allowed to go abroad, but were forbidden to trade with Great Britain. Mr. Erskine, the British minister, now gave notice that by the 10th of June the "orders in council," so far as they affected the United States, should be repealed.
2. In the following spring Bonaparte issued a decree for the seizure of all American vessels that might approach the ports of France. But in November the decree was reversed, and all restrictions on the commerce of the United States were removed. But the government of Great Britain adhered to its former measures, and sent ships of war to enforce the "orders in council."
3. The affairs of the two nations were fast approaching a crisis. The government of the United States had fallen completely under control of the party which sympathized with France. The American people, smarting under the insults of Great Britain, had adopted the motto of Free Trade and Sailors' Rights, and had made up their minds to fight; the sentiment was that war was preferable to national disgrace.
4. In the spring of 1810 the third census of the United States was completed. The population had increased to seven million two hundred and forty thousand souls. The States now numbered seventeen; and several new Territories were preparing for admission into the Union. The rapid march of civilization westward had aroused the jealousy of the Red men, and Indiana Territory was afflicted with an Indian war.
Gen. Harrison in Indiana.
5. Tecumtha, chief of the Shawnees—a brave and sagacious warrior—and his brother, called the Prophet, were the leaders of the revolt. Their plan was to unite all the nations of the Northwest Territory in a final effort to beat back the whites. When, in September of 1809, Governor Harrison met the chiefs of several tribes at Fort Wayne, and purchased three million acres of land, Tecumtha refused to sign the treaty, and threatened death to those who did. In 1810 he visited the nations of Tennessee and exhorted them to join his confederacy.
6. Governor Harrison stood firm, sent for soldiers, and mustered the militia of the Territory. The Indians began to prowl through the Wabash Valley, murdering and stealing. The governor then advanced to Terre Haute, built Fort Harrison, and hastened toward the town of the Prophet, at the mouth of the Tippecanoe. When within a few miles of this place, Harrison was met by Indian ambassadors, who asked for a conference on the following day. Their request was granted; and the American army encamped for the night. The place selected was a piece of high ground covered with oaks.
Battle of Tippecanoe.
7. Before daybreak on the morning of November 7th, 1811, the savages, seven hundred strong, crept through the marshes, surrounded Harrison's position, and burst upon the camp. But the American militia fought in the darkness, held the Indians in check until daylight, and then routed them in several vigorous charges. On the next day, the Americans burned the Prophet's town, and soon afterwards returned to Vincennes. Such was the success of the campaign that the Indians were overawed, the peace of the white settlements secured, and the way made easy for the organization and admission of the State of Indiana into the Union five years afterwards.
Western Battle-fields located relatively to Present Cities.
8. Meanwhile, Great Britain and the United States had come into conflict on the ocean. On the 16th of May, Commodore Rodgers, commanding the frigate President, hailed a vessel off the coast of Virginia. Instead of a polite answer, he received a cannon-ball in the mainmast. Rodgers responded with a broadside, silencing the enemy's guns. In the morning—for it was already dark—the hostile ship was found to be the British sloop-of-war Little Belt.
9. On the 4th of November, 1811, the twelfth Congress of the United States assembled. Many of the members still hoped for peace; and the winter passed without decisive measures. On the 4th of April, 1812, an act was passed laying an embargo for ninety days on all British vessels within the harbors of the United States. But Great Britain would not recede from her hostile attitude. Before the actual outbreak of hostilities, Louisiana, the eighteenth State, was, on the 8th of April, admitted into the Union. Her population had already reached seventy-seven thousand.
Declaration of War.
10. On the 19th of June a declaration of war was made against Great Britain. Vigorous preparations for the conflict were made by Congress. It was ordered to raise twenty-five thousand regular troops and fifty thousand volunteers. The several States were requested to call out a hundred thousand militia. A national loan of eleven million dollars was authorized. Henry Dearborn, of Massachusetts, was chosen commander-in-chief of the army.
11. The war was begun by General William Hull, governor of Michigan Territory. On the 1st of June he marched from Dayton with fifteen hundred men. For a full month the army toiled through the forests to the western extremity of Lake Erie. Arriving at the Maumee, Hull sent his baggage to Detroit. But the British at Malden were on the alert, and captured Hull's boat with everything on board. Nevertheless, the Americans pressed on to Detroit, and on the 12th of July crossed the river to Sandwich.
12. Hull, hearing that Mackinaw had been taken by the British, soon returned to Detroit. From this place he sent Major Van Horne to meet Major Brush, who had reached the river Raisin with reinforcements. But Tecumtha laid an ambush for Van Horne's forces and defeated them near Brownstown. Colonel Miller, with another detachment, attacked and routed the savages with great loss, and then returned to Detroit.
Engagement of the Wasp and the Frolic.
The Surrender of Detroit.
13. General Brock, governor of Canada, now took command of the British at Malden. On the 16th of August he advanced to the siege of Detroit. The Americans in their trenches were eager for battle. When the British were within five hundred yards, Hull hoisted a white flag over the fort. Then followed a surrender, the most shameful in the history of the United States. All the forces under Hull's command became prisoners of war. The whole of Michigan Territory was surrendered to the British. Hull was afterward court-martialed and sentenced to be shot; but the President pardoned him.
14. About the time of the fall of Detroit, Fort Dearborn, on the present site of Chicago, was surrendered to an army of Indians. The garrison capitulated on condition of retiring without molestation. But the savages fell upon the retreating soldiers, killed some, and distributed the rest as captives.
The War at Sea.
15. On the 19th of August the frigate Constitution, commanded by Captain Isaac Hull, overtook the British Guerriere off the coast of Massachusetts. The vessels maneuvered for a while, the Constitution closing with her antagonist, until at half pistol-shot she poured in a broadside, sweeping the decks of the Guerriere and deciding the contest. On the following morning, the Guerriere, being unmanageable, was blown up; and Hull returned to port with his prisoners and spoils.
16. On the 18th of October the American Wasp, under Captain Jones, fell in with a fleet of British merchantmen off the coast of Virginia. The squadron was under protection of the Frolic, commanded by Captain Whinyates. A terrible engagement ensued, lasting for three quarters of an hour. Finally, the American crew boarded the Frolic and struck the British flag. Soon afterwards the Poictiers, a British seventy-four gun ship, bore down upon the scene, captured the Wasp, and retook the wreck of the Frolic.
17. On the 25th of the month Commodore Decatur, commanding the frigate United States, captured the British Macedonian, a short distance west of the Canary Islands. The loss of the enemy in killed and wounded amounted to more than a hundred men. On the 12th of December the Essex, commanded by Captain Porter, captured the Nocton, a British packet, having on board fifty-five thousand dollars in specie. On the 29th of December the Constitution, under command of Commodore Bainbridge, met the Java on the coast of Brazil. A furious battle ensued, continuing for two hours. The Java was reduced to a wreck before the flag was struck. The crew and passengers, numbering upward of four hundred, were transferred to the Constitution, and the hull was burned at sea. The news of these victories roused the enthusiasm of the people.
Van Rensselaer at Queenstown.
18. On the 13th of October a thousand men, commanded by General Stephen Van Rensselaer, crossed the Niagara River to capture Queenstown. They were resisted at the water's edge; but the British batteries on the heights were finally carried. The enemy's forces, returning to the charge, were a second time repulsed. The Americans intrenched themselves, and waited for reinforcements. None came; and, after losing a hundred and sixty men, they were then obliged to surrender. General Van Rensselaer resigned his command, and was succeeded by General Alexander Smyth.
19. The Americans now rallied at Black Rock, a few miles north of Buffalo. From this point, on the 28th of November, a company was sent across to the Canada shore, but General Smyth ordered the advance party to return. A few days afterward, another crossing was planned, with the same results. The militia became mutinous. Smyth was charged with cowardice and deposed from his command. In the autumn of 1812 Madison was reelected President; the choice for Vice-president fell on Elbridge Gerry, of Massachusetts.