CONTENTS

[CHAPTER IX]
The Winter of 1812-1813—Bainbridge's Squadron: Actions Between
"Constitution" and "Java," "Hornet" and "Peacock"—Increasing
Pressure on Atlantic Coast
Page
Bainbridge's squadron sails[1]
His plans for the cruise[2]
The "Essex" fails to join[3]
Proceedings of "Constitution" and "Hornet"[3]
Action between "Constitution" and "Java"[4]
The "Constitution" returns to the United States[7]
Proceedings of the "Hornet"[7]
Action between the "Hornet" and "Peacock"[8]
The "Hornet" returns[9]
The Chesapeake and Delaware blockaded[9]
Subsequent extension of blockade to the whole coast south of Newport[10]
Three periods into which the War of 1812 divides[10]
Difficulty of American frigates in getting to sea[11]
Difficulty of manning the navy[12]
Cruise of the "Chesapeake"[13]
Gradual suppression of American commerce[14]
Increasing stringency of the commercial blockade[15]
British occupation of Delaware and Chesapeake Bays[16]
Diminution of the coasting trade, and increase of land carriage[17]
Effects upon prices[18]
Abandoned condition of the western Atlantic[20]
Diminution in number of prizes taken by Americans[20]
Estimate of relative captures by the two belligerents[21]
Relative captures no indication of relative immunity[23]
American deprivation makes for the prosperity of Halifax and Canada[23]
The blockade the chief offensive maritime operation of Great Britain, in 1813[24]
No opposition longer possible to the American Navy[25]
Strength of the British blockading divisions[25]
Escape possible only by evasion[25]
The brunt of the British naval operations falls upon the Chesapeake and Delaware[26]
[CHAPTER X]
Campaign of 1813 on the Lake Frontier, To the Battle of Lake Erie
The British naval service on the lakes under Warren's supervision[28]
Sir James Yeo appointed to the local command[29]
Appoints Captain Barclay to take charge of British vessels on Lake Erie[29]
The Americans now superior on Ontario[29]
Montreal the true American objective[29]
Dearborn ordered to concentrate effort upon Lake Ontario[30]
Chauncey's first plan, to capture Kingston[30]
Dearborn and Chauncey ordered to proceed first against Kingston, then Toronto, then Niagara[31]
Dearborn's objections[32]
His reports obtain change of plan from the Government[33]
Chauncey's new plan[33]
The expedition leaves Sackett's Harbor[36]
Capture of Toronto[36]
Chauncey's anxiety for Sackett's Harbor[37]
Capture of Fort George, and British retreat from Niagara[38]
Effects of the American occupation of the Niagara peninsula[40]
American naval vessels escape from Black Rock to Erie[41]
British attack upon Sackett's Harbor[42]
Premature firing of the naval yard and vessels[45]
Consequent delay in Chauncey's preparations[45]
Yeo takes the lake with his squadron[46]
American reverse at Stony Creek[46]
The army retreats upon Fort George[47]
The British re-occupy the peninsula, except Fort George[47]
Dearborn is relieved from command[48]
Paralysis of the American forces at Niagara[48]
Yeo in temporary control of Lake Ontario[49]
Chauncey sails to contest control[51]
Characteristics of the ensuing naval campaign[52]
Predominant idea of Chauncey and Yeo[52]
Relative powers of the two squadrons[53]
Their encounter of August 10, 1813[56]
Chauncey's extreme caution[59]
The engagement of September 11[60]
Expediency of a "general chase" under the conditions[61]
[CHAPTER XI]
The Campaign of 1813 on the Lakes and Northern Frontier—The Battle
of Lake Erie
The American Navy on Lake Erie[62]
Perry's eagerness for active operations[63]
Coincidence of events on Lakes Erie and Ontario[64]
Inferiority of Perry's crews in numbers and quality[64]
Professional contrast between Chauncey and Perry[65]
Personal difficulty. Perry applies to be detached[66]
The Navy Department refuses[67]
Position of the American army on the Maumee[67]
Procter's attack upon Fort Meigs[68]
Procter and Barclay plan attack on Erie[69]
Re-enforcements of troops refused them[69]
Barclay blockades Erie[70]
Barclay visits Long Point[71]
Perry's squadron crosses the bar at Erie[72]
Procter attacks Fort Stephenson, and is repulsed[73]
Barclay retires to Malden[74]
Perry in control of the lake[74]
Destitution of provisions in the British camp and fleet[75]
Barclay goes out to fight[76]
Composition and armament of the two squadrons[76]
Controversy about the battle[78]
Dispositions of the two commanders[80]
Opening of the battle[81]
Examination of the controversy between Perry and Elliott[82]
Progress of the engagement[88]
Second stage of the battle[89]
The British surrender[94]
Meritorious conduct of Captain Barclay[94]
Question of credit on the American side[95]
Comparison of the campaigns on Erie and on Ontario[99]
Effect of the battle on the fate of the Northwest[99]
Its bearing upon the peace negotiations of the following year[100]
Influence of control of the water illustrated on the lakes[101]
[CHAPTER XII]
The Campaign of 1813 on the Lakes and Northern Frontier, After
the Battle of Lake Erie
Perry's victory promptly followed up[102]
General Harrison lands his army at Malden[103]
Recovery of Detroit. Battle of the Thames, October 5, 1813[103]
The Indians fall away from the British[103]
Harrison's army transferred to Niagara[104]
Perry detached from the lake service[104]
Changed American plan of campaign on Ontario[104]
General James Wilkinson replaces Dearborn[104]
The Government designates Kingston as the objective[105]
The embarkation begins at Niagara under cover of the navy[106]
Yeo's squadron appears in the neighborhood[106]
Encounter between the two squadrons, September 28, 1813[107]
Criticism of Chauncey's management[108]
Wilkinson's troops reach Sackett's Harbor[110]
The British re-enforce Kingston[110]
New change of American plan. The army to be directed on Montreal[111]
Intended junction with the troops from Lake Champlain, under General Hampton[111]
Wilkinson's army assembled within the mouth of the St. Lawrence[114]
It proceeds down the river[114]
Pursuit by a British detachment[114]
American reverse at Chrystler's Farm[115]
Hampton fails to join Wilkinson, and returns to Plattsburg[116]
The expedition abandoned. Wilkinson goes into winter quarters at French Mills[116]
Chauncey returns to Sackett's Harbor from the St. Lawrence[117]
Transports Harrison's division from Niagara to Sackett's Harbor[117]
Fleets lay up for the winter[117]
Disastrous close of the campaign upon the Niagara[118]
Americans evacuate Fort George and the peninsula[120]
They burn Newark[120]
Act disavowed by the American Government[120]
Sir Gordon Drummond in command in Upper Canada[120]
The British, under General Riall, cross the Niagara and capture Fort Niagara[121]
Lewiston, Youngstown, and Manchester burned in retaliation for Newark[121]
Buffalo burned, and three naval vessels at Black Rock[121]
General failure of the campaign about Lake Ontario[122]
Discussion of the causes[123]
[CHAPTER XIII]
Seaboard Maritime Operations, 1813
United States on the defensive on the seaboard[126]
British reasons for partially relaxing severity of blockade[127]
Reasons do not apply to armed vessels or coasting trade[127]
American Navy powerless to protect commerce[127]
To destroy that of the enemy its principal mission[128]
Cruises of the "President" and "Congress"[128]
Efficacy of the British convoy system[130]
Its chief failure is near ports of arrival[131]
This dictates the orders to Captain Lawrence[131]
Importance of the service[132]
Imperfect preparation of the "Chesapeake"[132]
Efficiency of the "Shannon." Broke's professional merit[133]
His challenge to Lawrence. Not received[134]
The "Chesapeake" sails, purposely to fight[135]
Account of the action[136]
The "Chesapeake" captured[140]
Analysis of the engagement[141]
Decatur fails to get to sea with a squadron[148]
Driven to take refuge in New London[148]
Frigates confined there for the war[149]
Particular anxiety of the British Government about American frigates[150]
Expectations of the Admiralty and the country from Warren's fleet[151]
Effects of the blockade of New London on local coasting[152]
Evidence of the closeness of the whole blockade south of New London[153]
Conditions at New York[154]
British operations in the upper Chesapeake, 1813[156]
Conditions in Delaware Bay[158]
American precautions in Chesapeake and Delaware[159]
Circumspect conduct of the British vessels in the Chesapeake[161]
Warren brings a detachment of troops from Bermuda[162]
Rencounters in and near Hampton Roads[163]
British attack upon Craney Island. Fails[164]
Attack upon Hampton. Ineffective[166]
Further movements of the British in the Chesapeake[167]
Movement of licensed vessels in Chesapeake Bay during these operations[170]
Consequent recommendation of President to prohibit all exports during the blockade[173]
Rejected by Senate. Enforced in Chesapeake by executive order[174]
Glaring necessity for such action[175]
Embargo law passed in December, 1813[176]
Main British fleet quits the Chesapeake. Its failure in direct military operation[177]
Efficacy of the blockade[177]
Characteristics of the different sections of the United States, as affecting their suffering from blockade[178]
Statistical evidences of its effects[181]
Prices of great staples: flour and sugar[184]
Dependence of Eastern and Southern States upon coasting, greater than that of Middle States[186]
Captain Hull's reports on Eastern coasting[187]
Action between the "Boxer" and "Enterprise"[188]
Intermission of Eastern blockade during winter[192]
Its resumption in increased vigor in 1814[192]
Undefended conditions of the American coast[193]
Conditions of Southern coasting trade[195]
British blockade severs the mutual intercourse of the different sections of the United States[198]
Remarks of Representative Pearson, of North Carolina[199]
Message of the Governor of Pennsylvania[200]
Rigors of the blockade shown by figures[201]
Momentary importance of the North Carolina coast[203]
Advocacy of an internal navigation system[204]
Evidence of privation in the rebound of prices and shipping movement after peace[205]
Exposition of conditions, in a contemporary letter by a naval officer[207]
The experiences of the War of 1812 now largely forgotten[208]
Lessons to be deduced[208]
Pressure upon the British Government exerted, even by the puny contemporary American Navy[209]
Advantage of the American position[211]
Opinions of Presidents Washington and Adams as to the international advantage of a navy[212]
Policy of President Jefferson[213]
[CHAPTER XIV]
Maritime Operations External to the Waters of the United States,
1813-1814
Commerce destruction the one offensive maritime resort left open to the United States[215]
Respective objects of privateers and of naval vessels[216]
The approaches to the British islands the most fruitful field for operations against commerce[216]
Cruise of the "Argus"[217]
Capture of the "Argus" by the "Pelican"[217]
Significance of the cruise of the "Argus"[219]
Great number of captures by American cruisers[220]
Comparatively few American merchant ships captured at sea[221]
Shows the large scale on which British commerce throve, and the disappearance of American shipping[221]
Control of British Navy shown by American practice of destroying prizes[222]
Successes of the privateers "Scourge" and "Rattlesnake" in the North Sea[223]
The "Leo" and "Lion" off coast of Portugal[224]
British army in southern France incommoded by cruisers off Cape Finisterre[224]
American cruises based on French ports[225]
The privateer "Yankee" on the gold-coast of Africa[226]
Action between the American privateer "Globe" and two British packets, off Madeira[227]
Captures in the same neighborhood by privateers "Governor Tompkins" and "America"[228]
The West Indies as a field for warfare on commerce[229]
Activity there of American cruisers[230]
Stringency of the Convoy Act in the West Indies. Papers captured there by the "Constitution"[230]
Indirect effects of the warfare on commerce[231]
Cruise in the West Indies of the naval brigs "Rattlesnake" and "Enterprise"[232]
Combat between the privateer "Decatur" and British war schooner "Dominica"[233]
The "Comet" and the British ship "Hibernia"[234]
The "Saucy Jack" and the British ship "Pelham"[235]
The "Saucy Jack" with the bomb-ship "Volcano" and transport "Golden Fleece"[236]
Remarkable seizure by the privateer "Kemp"[237]
The cruises of the privateer "Chasseur"[237]
Combat between the "Chasseur" and the British war schooner "St. Lawrence"[238]
Contrasted motives of the ship of war and the privateer[241]
Relative success of American naval vessels and privateers in the war upon commerce[242]
Cruise of the frigate "Essex"[244]
Arrival in Valparaiso of the "Essex," and of the British ships, "Phœbe" and "Cherub"[247]
Action between the "Essex" and the "Phœbe" and "Cherub"[249]
Cruise of the "Wasp"[253]
Action between the "Reindeer" and "Wasp"[254]
Action between the "Avon" and "Wasp"[256]
Disappearance of the "Wasp"[257]
Cruise of the "Peacock"[258]
Action between "Epervier" and "Peacock"[259]
Further cruise of the "Peacock"[261]
Activity of American cruisers in British waters[262]
Agitation in Great Britain[263]
The effect produced due to the American people severally[265]
Prostration of the Government in the United States, 1814[265]
Determination to accept peace without relinquishment of impressment by Great Britain[266]
Development of privateering[267]
Adaptation of vessels to the pursuit[268]
Practical considerations determining vessels to be employed[269]
Secretary of the Navy recommends squadrons of schooners for action against commerce[270]
Debate in Congress[271]
Recommendation adopted[272]
[CHAPTER XV]
The Niagara Campaign, and Events on the Great Lakes, in 1814
British advantages of position on the Niagara line[274]
Unusual mildness of winter 1813-1814[276]
Effect on operations[276]
British project against the vessels in Put-in Bay[277]
Difficulty of maintaining British garrison at Mackinac[278]
American army abandons cantonments at French Mills[278]
Part goes to Lake Champlain, part to Sackett's Harbor[278]
American project against Kingston[279]
General Brown's mistake as to the Government's purpose[280]
Carries his army to the Niagara frontier[281]
Chauncey's fears for Sackett's Harbor[281]
Wilkinson's expedition to La Colle. Failure[282]
Wilkinson superseded by General Izard[283]
Yeo obtains momentary superiority on Ontario[283]
Importance of Oswego[284]
British capture Oswego, and destroy depots[284]
Yeo blockades Sackett's Harbor[285]
Difficulty of American situation on Ontario[285]
British naval disaster in attempting to intercept convoy from Oswego to Sackett's Harbor[286]
Yeo abandons blockade of Sackett's Harbor[290]
American plan of operations on northern frontier[291]
Brown crosses the Niagara. Surrender of Fort Erie[294]
Advance towards Fort George[294]
Battle of Chippewa[295]
Brown advances to Queenston[298]
Chauncey's failure to co-operate[298]
Consequent anxiety of the Government[299]
Decatur ordered to relieve Chauncey[300]
Chauncey's defence of his conduct[300]
Discussion of his argument[301]
British advantage through his inaction[304]
Leads to the battle of Lundy's Lane[306]
Battle of Lundy's Lane[309]
Value to Americans of the battles of Chippewa and Lundy's Lane[311]
Improvement in the militia through association with Brown's army[312]
Brown unable longer to keep the field. Retires to Fort Erie[314]
British assault upon Fort Erie. Disastrous repulse[314]
British now embarrassed by Chauncey's blockade[315]
American successful sortie from Fort Erie[316]
Drummond abandons the siege, and retires to the Chippewa[317]
Brown unable to follow him[317]
Izard ordered from Lake Champlain to Brown's aid[318]
His march[320]
His corps arrives at the Niagara frontier[321]
Strength of the British position on the Chippewa[322]
Izard's hopelessness[322]
Blows up Fort Erie and retires across the Niagara[323]
Naval and military expedition against Mackinac[324]
Unsuccessful, except in destroying British transports[324]
British capture the American naval schooners "Tigress" and "Scorpion"[325]
American schooners "Ohio" and "Somers" also captured, off Fort Erie[327]
Loss of the "Caledonia" and "Ariel"[327]
The Erie fleet lays up for the winter, after the British abandon the siege of Fort Erie[328]
[CHAPTER XVI]
Seaboard Operations in 1814. Washington, Baltimore, and Maine
Defensive character of the British northern campaign in 1814[329]
Increase of vigor in their seaboard operations[330]
Warren relieved by Cochrane[330]
Intentions of the British Government[331]
Retaliation for American actions in Canada[333]
Prevost's call upon Cochrane to retaliate[334]
Cochrane's orders to his vessels[334]
Attitude of British officers[335]
Early operations in Chesapeake Bay, 1814[336]
Relations of Barney's flotilla to the British project against Washington[337]
Assembling of the British combined forces in the Chesapeake[340]
Condition of American preparations[342]
British advance. Destruction of Barney's flotilla[344]
Retreat of American forces[345]
American position at Bladensburg[346]
Battle of Bladensburg[347]
Burning of Washington[349]
Capture and ransom of Alexandria by British frigates[350]
Failure of British attempt on Baltimore[351]
British harrying of New England coast[352]
Occupation of Castine, in Maine[353]
Destruction of the American frigate "Adams"[354]
[CHAPTER XVII]
Lake Champlain and New Orleans
Arrival of large British re-enforcements in Canada[355]
Objects of the British northern campaign of 1814[356]
Previous neglect of lake Champlain by both belligerents[357]
Operations on the lake in 1813[358]
British attempt in spring of 1814[361]
Macdonough in control of lake, in summer of 1814[362]
British "Confiance" building to contest control[362]
Instructions of British Government to Prevost[362]
Prevost in August reports approaching readiness to move[363]
Treasonable actions of American citizens about Lake Champlain[364]
Izard, with four thousand troops, leaves Plattsburg for Sackett's Harbor[365]
Consequent destitution of the Champlain frontier[365]
British advance to Plattsburg[366]
Relative positions of American squadron and land forces[367]
Question of distance between squadron and land batteries[368]
Opinions of Izard and Yeo as to the relations of the batteries to the squadron[370]
Proper combination for Prevost[371]
Backward state of "Confiance" upon Downie's taking command[372]
Urgent letters of Prevost to Downie[373]
Downie's expectations in attacking[375]
Macdonough's dispositions[376]
Downie's consequent plan of engagement[377]
Naval battle of Lake Champlain[377]
Decisive character of the American victory[381]
Preoccupation of the British Government with European conditions[382]
Episodical character of the New Orleans expedition[382]
Negotiations of Admiral Cochrane for the co-operation of the Creek Indians[383]
His measures for training them, and preparations for the expedition[384]
Objects of the British ministry[385]
Attack upon Fort Bowyer, Mobile Bay, by a British squadron[386]
Previous occupation of West Florida to the Perdido, by the United States[387]
Pensacola, remaining in Spanish hands, utilized by British[387]
Seized by Jackson, and works destroyed[388]
Arrival of British expedition in Mississippi Sound[388]
Gunboat battle of Lake Borgne[390]
British advance corps reaches the bank of the Mississippi[391]
Night attack by American Navy and Jackson[391]
Sir Edward Pakenham arrives from England[392]
His preliminary movements[392]
Particular danger of Jackson's position[393]
Details of the final day of assault, January 8, 1815[394]
The British withdraw after repulse[396]
Capture of Fort Bowyer, Mobile Bay[397]
Final naval episodes[397]
Sailing of the "President." She grounds on the New York bar[398]
Overtaken, and is captured, by the British blockading division[398]
The "Constitution" captures the "Cyane" and "Levant"[404]
Capture of the British sloop "Penguin" by the "Hornet"[407]
[CHAPTER XVIII]
The Peace Negotiations
Early overtures towards peace by the United States[409]
Castlereagh refuses to entertain the project of abandoning impressment[410]
Russia, in 1812, suggests negotiations for peace under mediation of the Czar[411]
United States accepts, but Great Britain refuses[412]
Great Britain, through the Czar, offers a direct negotiation, 1813[412]
The United States accepts, and names five commissioners[413]
The original instructions to the American Commission, 1813[413]
Reduced, 1814, through pressure of the war[414]
Confident attitude of Great Britain at the opening of the negotiations[415]
Hostile spirit in Great Britain towards the United States[415]
The instructions to the British Commission[416]
The demand on behalf of the Indians[417]
Faulty presentation of it by the British Commission[418]
British claim concerning the Great Lakes and boundaries[419]
Discussion of these propositions[419]
Reasons for British advocacy of the Indians[421]
Final reduction of British demand for the Indians and acceptance by American Commission[423]
Concern of British ministry for the opinion of Europe[424]
News received of the capture of Washington[424]
Sanguine anticipations based upon reports from Cochrane and Ross[424]
The British Government suggests the uti possidetis as the basis of agreement[425]
The American Commission refuse, and offer instead the status ante bellum[426]
News arrives of the British defeat on Lake Champlain[426]
The political instructions to the commanders of the New Orleans expedition, to be communicated for the satisfaction of the continental powers[427]
Urgency of the European situation[428]
Dangerous internal state of France[428]
Consequent wish of the British ministry to withdraw Wellington from Paris[429]
He is pressed to accept the American command[429]
Wellington thus brought into the discussion of terms[430]
He pronounces against the basis of uti possidetis[431]
The British ministry accept his judgment[431]
The status ante bellum accepted by Great Britain[431]
Subsequent rapid conclusion of agreement[432]
Terms of the Treaty[432]
Signed by the commissioners, December 24, 1814[434]
Despatched to America by a British ship of war[435]
Ratified by the United States, February 17, 1815[435]
Gallatin's opinion of the effect of the war upon the people of the United States[436]
[INDEX][439]

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

VOLUME TWO.
[The Chase of the Constitution]Frontispiece
From the painting by S. Salisbury Tuckerman.
[The Quarterdeck of the Java Before the Surrender]Page 6
From a drawing by Henry Reuterdahl.
[The New Carrying Trade]Page 18
From a drawing by Stanley M. Arthurs.
[The Retreat of the British From Sackett's Harbor]Page 44
From a drawing by Henry Reuterdahl.
[The Fleets of Chauncey and Yeo Manœuvring on Lake Champlain]Page 52
From a drawing by Carlton T. Chapman.
[Captain Isaac Chauncey]Page 60
From the engraving by D. Edwin, after the painting by J. Woods.
[Captain Sir James Lucas Yeo]Page 60
From the engraving by H.R. Cook, after the painting by A. Buck.
[Captain Oliver Hazard Perry]Page 66
From the painting by Gilbert Stuart, in the possession of O.H. Perry, Esq.
[Perry Receiving the Surrender of the British at the Battle of Lake Erie]Page 94
From a drawing by Henry Reuterdahl.
[Captain Philip Bowes Vere Broke]Page 134
From the mezzotint by Charles Turner, after the painting by Samuel Lane, in the possession of Lady Saumarez.
[The Capture of the Chesapeake by the Shannon—The Struggle on the Quarterdeck]Page 138
From a drawing by Henry Reuterdahl.
[Captain James Lawrence]Page 140
From the painting by Gilbert Stuart, in the possession of the New Jersey Historical Society, Newark, N.J.
[The Burning of a Privateer Prize]Page 222
From a drawing by Henry Reuterdahl.
[Captain David Porter]Page 244
From the painting by Charles Wilson Peale, in Independence Hall, Philadelphia.
[Captain Thomas Macdonough]Page 360
From the painting by Gilbert Stuart, in the Century Club, New York, by permission of the owner, Rodney Macdonough, Esq.
[The Battle of Lake Champlain]Page 380
From a drawing by Henry Reuterdahl.