CHAPTER XV. THE SECOND INVASION OF NEW YORK.
Fight at La Colle Mill—Ship-building—Yeo's Attack on Oswego—Affairs at Charlotte and Poultneyville—Fight at Sandy Creek—Izard's Failure on the Niagara—Expedition against Michilimackinac—Prevost's Advance into New York—Its Purpose—Battle of Plattsburg.
In February General Wilkinson had removed his army from French Mills to Plattsburg, on Lake Champlain, and a month later he added one more to the futile invasions of Canada. At the head of four thousand men, he crossed the border, March 30th, met a party of British at Odelltown, with whom skirmishing was carried on for three miles along the road, and found the enemy seriously in his path at La Colle Mill, on the Sorel, four miles from Rouse's Point, where about two hundred men were posted in a stone mill and a block-house, on either side of La Colie Creek.
Wilkinson brought up two pieces of artillery and planted them within two hundred yards of the stone mill. Then he disposed his forces in such a way as nearly to surround it and cut off the retreat of the enemy when his guns should knock the walls of the mill about their heads. But though the guns were served with great skill and rapidity for two hours, the walls would n't budge, and it did not occur to the enemy to attempt a retreat. On the contrary, from their secure position they used their rifles so effectively that Wilkinson's men suffered severely. Captain McPherson, commanding the battery, was wounded in the chin, but tied it up with his handkerchief and remained at his post till another shot broke his thigh, when he was borne off. His successor, Lieutenant Larrabee, was soon shot through the lungs, when he also was borne to the rear; and Lieutenant Sheldon then kept the battery in play till the close of the fight.
Major Hancock, commanding the enemy, having received reënforcements that swelled the number of his men to about a thousand, ordered a sortie, to capture the battery. His troops suddenly burst from the mill, and made a rush for the guns. But this subjected them to a fire from the American infantry, by which they suffered heavily, and they were obliged to return to the mill and the blockhouse. A second and more desperate sortie had the same result, and the enemy then shut themselves up in the house and defied all attempts to drive them out. As the condition of the roads prevented him from bringing up heavier artillery, Wilkinson gave up the expedition and returned through mud, snow, and rain to Plattsburg. The affair had cost him a hundred and fifty-four men, and inflicted on the enemy a loss of sixty-one. The General asked for a court-martial, and was tried and acquitted; but this ended his military career. General George Izard succeeded to his command.
Both belligerents were still building ships for service on Lake Ontario. The British had a large one on the stocks at Kingston, and the Americans an equally large one at Sackett's Harbor. All sorts of insignificant affairs took place during the spring and summer along the shores of this lake and Lake Champlain, effecting nothing, but keeping the people in a state of alarm.
On one occasion three boats approached Sackett's Harbor, carrying two barrels of powder, with which it was intended to blow up the new vessel on the stocks. But they were discovered and fired at, whereupon the crews hastily threw the powder overboard, fearing it would be exploded by a bullet, and pulled away.
Finding that he could not destroy the new ship, Sir James Yeo determined to render her useless by capturing the guns, rigging, and stores intended for her, which were at Oswego. Accordingly he organized an expedition of about three thousand men, the troops being commanded by General Drummond, and sailed for that place early in May. The fort at Oswego, an old affair, in a dilapidated condition, was on one side of the river, and the village-on the other. Lieutenant-Colonel Mitchell, commanding at the fort, saw the approaching expedition early in the morning of May 5th. As his force was too small to be divided, he sent a large number of tents across the river, and had them pitched in front of the village. This convinced the enemy that there was a heavy force on that side of the river, and he confined his attention to the fort.
The ships bombarded the work, and a force attempted to land by means of boats. But Colonel Mitchell sent a few men down the shore with one old gun, and as soon as they came within range it made such havoc among the boats' crews that they pulled back to the fleet. One of the boats, sixty feet long, propelled by three sails and thirty-six oars, was so shattered that it was abandoned and drifted ashore.
The next day the fleet returned to the attack, and this time succeeded in landing about two thousand men. Colonel Mitchell, who had been reenforced by a small body of militia, gradually retired before the invaders, making a gallant resistance as long as it was of any use, and then retreated to a point several miles up the river, whither most of the stores had been removed, and destroyed the bridges behind him. The enemy raised and carried away the schooner Growler, which, as it contained some of the guns for the new vessel, the Americans had sunk on the approach of the expedition; burned the barracks, took whatever he could find that was movable, and on the 7th sailed away. The action had cost him two hundred and thirty-five men, killed, wounded, or drowned. The Americans had lost sixty-nine.
Five days later a British squadron appeared before Charlotte, at the mouth of Genesee River. The village was guarded by sixty men, with one field-piece. Word was sent to General Peter B. Porter, who arrived on the morning of the 13th, just in time to refuse a demand for the surrender of the place. Two gunboats then entered the river and bombarded the town for an hour and a half, throwing in shells, rockets, and round shot. The women and children were removed, a militia force of three hundred and fifty men was collected, and dispositions were made to capture the boats if they should venture farther up the river. A second demand for a surrender, with a threat to land twelve hundred men and destroy the village, was refused by Porter, and on the 15th the boats bombarded the place again for some hours, and then withdrew. In the evening the squadron sent a force on shore at Poultneyville, where some stores were captured; but a small body of militia under General John Swift soon appeared and drove the enemy precipitately back to their boats.
As Sir James Yeo was blockading Sackett's Harbor for the special purpose of preventing the armament of the new vessel from being carried in, the wits of the Americans were taxed to get the guns and cables there. Transportation all the way by land would have been tedious and costly. The task was assigned to Captain Woolsey, of the navy. He caused a story to be circulated, in a way that made it sure to reach the vigilant enemy, that the guns were to be transported by way of Oneida Lake. They were on nineteen boats, and on the 28th of May he ran the rapids and arrived at Oswego with them at dusk. The plan was, to coast along down the lake as far as Sandy Creek, eight miles from Sackett's Harbor, run up the creek, and thence carry them overland. Accompanied by a hundred and twenty riflemen, under Major Appling, the flotilla went down the lake by night as far as Big Salmon River, and in the morning one boat was missing. At this point a body of Oneida Indians joined the expedition, and at noon on the 29th it reached Sandy Creek. The missing boat had gone on to Sackett's Harbor, where—perhaps purposely—it fell into the hands of the blockaders, to whom its crew told the whole story of Woolsey's flotilla. Sir James at once sent a force, in two gunboats and four smaller craft, to capture it. This expedition sailed up Sandy Creek on the morning of the 30th, thinking to make sure prize of the flotilla and its cargo of guns and cables. But Major Appling had placed his riflemen in ambush along the bank, and near the flotilla was Captain Melville with a company of light artillery and two six-pounders. The enemy's gunboats opened fire on the flotilla as fast as they came within gunshot, and a party of troops was landed. As soon as they were within range of Appling's rifles, he poured in a deadly fire upon their flank and rear, while at the same time the artillery played upon them in front. In ten minutes the British lost eighteen men killed and fifty wounded, when the whole force surrendered. The captured boats mounted seven guns, and there were a hundred and sixty-five prisoners. The Americans had two men wounded. The Indians took no active part in the fight.
This affair inflicted so serious a loss upon the British fleet that it returned to Kingston, and remained there till another ship and more men could be obtained. The Americans arrived safely at Sackett's Harbor with their guns, and the new frigate, the Mohawk, was launched on the 11th of June. Chauncey's squadron then consisted of nine vessels, mounting two hundred and fifty-one guns.
Early in August, General Izard, being ordered to relieve General Brown in the command on the Niagara frontier, marched from Plattsburg with about four thousand troops, leaving General Alexander Macomb in command there with twelve hundred, including the invalids. After his arrival at Buffalo, Izard crossed the Niagara with about eight thousand men, and set forward to attack Drummond on the Chippewa. But the British commander, after one sharp skirmish, withdrew his forces to Fort George and Burlington Heights. Izard, who lacked the energy to follow, persuaded himself, in spite of the almanac, that the season was far advanced, and retired to Black Rock.
Another American expedition on the upper lakes was not more satisfactory or creditable in its result. It was intended for the re-capture of Michilimackinac, the first place taken by the British during the war. The garrison was strengthened in April, 1814, and three months later a detachment sent out from it captured the American post at Prairie du Chien.
The naval portion of the expedition was entrusted to Commander Arthur St. Clair, who had five vessels which had formed part of Perry's fleet. He took on board five hundred regular troops and about the same number of militia, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Croghan, who had made the gallant defence of Fort Stephenson the year before, sailed on the 12th of July, and arrived at Michilimackinac on the 26th. There was a difference of opinion as to the best mode of attack; St. Clair was unwilling to attempt it first with his vessels, because the fort was so far above the water that it could send a plunging fire upon their decks.
On the 4th of August the troops were landed on the north side of the island, to attack the fort in the rear. But Lieutenant-Colonel McDonall, who commanded it, had drawn out his entire garrison, and taken up a strong position in the path of the Americans. His men were behind a small ridge which formed a natural breastwork, the ground in front was perfectly clear, and two field-pieces commanded it. On each of their flanks was a thick wood, and in these woods McDonall posted a force of Indians. Croghan advanced with his militia in front, and attempted to turn the British left. But a volley from the Indians in the woods, whom he had not discovered, killed Major Holmes, wounded Captain Desha, and threw the American right wing into confusion. Croghan then attacked the enemy's centre, and drove him from his breastwork into the woods in his rear. But beyond this point it seemed impossible to accomplish anything, and the Americans soon withdrew from the field and reembarked. They had lost thirteen men killed, fifty-two wounded, and two missing. The British loss is unknown.
But while these insignificant actions were taking place along the whole length of the lakes, a serious danger threatened the country at the eastern extremity of that line, and was averted by a brilliant victory.
The British troops at the foot of Lake Champlain had been heavily reenforced by veterans from the armies that had conquered Napoleon, and Sir George Prevost, who had been ordered to make an invasion of New York by the route taken by Burgoyne in 1777, seized the opportunity when the Americans at Plattsburg were weakened by the absence of Izard and the four thousand men he had taken with him to the Niagara frontier.
The object of the movement was, to capture and hold a portion of the State of New York; so that when the pending peace negotiations were brought to a close, it might be stipulated that all territory should remain with the party in whose possession it then was, and this would give the English complete control of the St. Lawrence and Lake Champlain, if not of Lake Ontario also. In accordance with this purpose, Prevost issued a proclamation to the inhabitants of that sparsely settled region, calling upon them to renounce allegiance to the United States, renew their allegiance to Great Britain, and furnish his troops subsistence. Had his forces been victorious, he would have claimed that this had been done, and the English would then probably have been successful in their purpose to "change the boundary of New York."
General Alexander Macomb, who had been left in command at Plattsburg on the departure of General Izard, and had been told by that officer that he must expect to be driven out or made a prisoner by the enemy, had made up his mind to falsify the prediction, and exhibited wonderful energy in putting the place into a defensible condition.
Saranac River, after running parallel with the shore of Lake Champlain for a short distance, turns sharply to the east and flows into Cumberland or Plattsburg Bay. On the peninsula thus enclosed, which is about half a mile wide, the Americans constructed three redoubts and two block-houses, one of them being at the mouth of the river. The north bank is about thirty feet high; and the south bank, which was the one occupied by the Americans, about fifty. Macomb had fifteen hundred regulars, and two thousand militia.
Prevost, with fourteen thousand troops, began his advance on the 29th of August, crossed the border on the 1st of September, and thenceforth found his march impeded somewhat by felled trees and broken bridges. He was in no great hurry, however, as he was in advance of the fleet, commanded by Commodore George Downie, on whose cooperation he relied. He impressed the horses of farmers along the route for the transportation of his artillery and supplies, and arrived before Plattsburg on the 6th. The advance of his right column was assaulted by a small body of riflemen under Major John E. Wool, who inflicted some loss and drove it back upon the main body. Wool fell back, was joined by Captain Leonard's battery, made another stand, inflicted more loss with the artillery, and again fell back slowly till he crossed the Saranac, destroying the bridge behind him. The enemy's left column, approaching by a road nearer the lake, was annoyed by skirmishers under Lieutenant-Colonel Appling, and by the American gun-boats. Both bridges were destroyed, and when the enemy's riflemen posted themselves in several houses on the north bank, these were set on fire by hot shot.
But the British fleet had not yet come up, and Prevost, while waiting for it, spent several days in erecting batteries and perfecting his preparations for a serious assault. The fleet appeared on the morning of the nth, and the General gave orders for an immediate advance.
His men attempted to ford the river at three places—where the two bridges had been, and at a point farther up, known as Pike's Cantonment —their movements being covered by a heavy fire from the British batteries. The troops that actually advanced to the assault numbered eight thousand, and they carried an immense number of scaling-ladders, to enable them to climb the high bank and afterward surmount the American works.
At the lower bridge, the fire from the forts and block-houses drove them back. At the upper bridge, they were prevented from landing by a steady fire of musketry. At Pike's Cantonment, where the river was easily fordable, there was only militia to dispute the passage. Yet several attempts to cross were repelled; and when finally a body of regulars succeeded in crossing, the militia rallied and drove it back again with heavy loss. At this point of time the issue of the battle had been decided by the action on the water.
The American flotilla, commanded by Lieutenant Thomas Macdonough, was drawn up in line to await the attack, in such manner that the British ships could not enter the bay without being exposed to a broadside fire. Macdonough's vessels were all stationed with their prows to the north, the Eagle, of twenty guns, at the head of the line; then the Saratoga, flag-ship, of twenty-six guns; then the Ticonderoga, of seventeen; and lastly the Preble, of seven, which was so near a shoal that the enemy could not pass around her. Macdonough also had ten galleys or gun-boats, which he placed inside of his line, opposite the intervals between the larger vessels. The British flotilla also consisted of four large vessels—carrying respectively thirty-seven, sixteen, eleven, and eleven guns—and twelve gun-boats. The total American force was fourteen vessels, with eighty-six guns and eight hundred and fifty men; the total British force, sixteen vessels, with ninety-five guns and one thousand and fifty men.
The peculiar thing in Macdonough's preparations, and the one perhaps which secured him the victory, was an arrangement by which he made it possible to turn his flag-ship almost instantly so as to bring her broadside to bear on any point. He did this by laying a kedge anchor broad off each of her bows, and carrying the hawsers to the quarters. Thus by winding in one or the other of the hawsers the stern of the ship could be swung one way or the other, while the cable of the main anchor kept her bow in one place.
The English line bore down upon the American in fine style, the first two vessels firing as they approached. The flag-ship Confiance did not open fire till she had dropped anchor within a quarter of a mile of her foe.
The Eagle, at the head of the American line, began firing in a wild way, without orders, before her shot could reach the enemy. The excitement was soon felt through the fleet, and was shared by a young cock which had escaped from his coop on the deck of the Saratoga. In response to the boom of the cannon, he flew upon a gun-slide, flapped his wings, and crowed loudly. The sailors burst into a hearty laugh, and gave three cheers. Then a long gun, sighted by Macdonough himself, was fired, and as the shot raked the deck of the Confiance, the whole line opened and the battle became general. The first broadside from the Confiance disabled forty men on the Saratoga; for fifteen minutes everything was ablaze, and the roar was continuous. Then the vessel at the head of the British line struck her colors.
The enemy's shot cut away the Eagle's springs—ropes fastened either to the anchor or to the cable, and passed to the quarter, in order to sway the ship to one side or the other and bring the guns to bear on any desired point. Her commander, Lieutenant Henley, then cut his cable, sheeted home the topsails, ran down behind the Saratoga, and took a position between her and the Ticonderoga, anchoring by the stern, which brought the fresh guns of his larboard battery to bear on the enemy, when they were served with good effect.
The Preble was attacked by the enemy's gunboats, and driven from her position; but they were stopped by the next in line, which they vainly tried to board. Every gun of the starboard battery—-the side nearest the enemy—on the American flag-ship was disabled. Then Macdonough proceeded to "wind ship," that is, to turn the vessel completely round by winding at the hawsers attached to the kedges. This was accomplished without accident, and his gunners, springing to the larboard battery, poured out fresh broadsides that made dreadful havoc with the Confiance. The commander of that vessel attempted to copy Macdonough's manoeuvre, for her battery on the side presented to the enemy was also nearly used up, but failed, and two hours and a quarter after the fight began her colors came down. The remaining British vessels also surrendered, and the victory was complete.
When the tremendous cheer that burst from the sailors of the American fleet announced this news, to friend and foe on shore, Sir George Prevost—who from the first had relied more upon the fleet than upon his army—gave up his whole plan, and made all haste to return to Canada.
In this bloody battle—which defeated what is known as the second invasion of New York, and preserved our territory intact—the American fleet suffered a loss of fifty two men killed and fifty-eight wounded. The British, according to their official report, lost fifty-seven killed, including Commodore Downie, and seventy-two wounded; Macdonough reported their loss at eighty-four killed and a hundred and ten wounded. The British galleys, before the Americans could take possession of them, drifted out into the lake, and escaped.