Pike draws a lively and striking picture of the manners, morals, customs, and politics of the people of New Spain, whom he characterized as surprisingly brave, and in hospitality, generosity, and sobriety unsurpassed by any other people, but as lacking in patriotism, enterprise, and independence of soul.
The subsequent career of Captain Pike was short and brilliant. He received the thanks of the Government, had his zeal, perseverance, and intelligence formally recognized by a committee of the House of Representatives, rose to be major, lieutenant-colonel, and deputy-quartermaster-general in rapid succession; in the reorganization of the army in 1812 was made colonel, and in the following year was appointed brigadier-general a few weeks before his death, at the capture of York (Toronto), Canada.
The day before he left for the attack on York (Toronto), General Pike wrote to his father: “I embark to-morrow in the fleet at Sackett’s Harbor at the head of 1,500 choice troops, on a secret expedition. Should I be the happy mortal destined to turn the scale of war, will you not rejoice, oh my father? May Heaven be propitious, and smile on the cause of my country. But if I am destined to fall, may my fall be like Wolfe’s—to sleep in the arms of victory.” His wish was prophetic.
The orders issued to his troops indicate the high professional honor which ever characterized Pike’s life. In part they ran thus: “It is expected that every corps will be mindful of the honor of American arms and the disgraces which have recently tarnished our arms, and endeavor, by a cool and determined discharge of their duty, to support the one and wipe out the other. The property of the unoffending citizens of Canada,” he continues, “must be held sacred; and any soldier who shall so far neglect the honor of his profession as to be guilty of plundering the inhabitants, shall, if convicted, be punished with death. Courage and bravery in the field do not more distinguish the soldier than humanity after victory; and whatever examples the savage allies of our enemies may have given us, the general confidently hopes that the blood of an unresisting enemy will never stain the weapon of any soldier of his column.”
Owing to the sickness of General Dearborn, Pike took command of the land forces, and on April 27, 1813, carried the outer battery by assault, and having silenced the fire of the main work was awaiting a white flag when the main magazine was exploded. Pike, who had a minute before assisted in making a wounded soldier comfortable, was fatally injured, but his martial spirit impelled him to yet encourage his troops. A soldier to the last, he smiled as the standard of the enemy was handed to him, and, putting it under his head, died serenely.
Laboring under the disadvantage of insufficient instruction in youth, Pike supplemented his deficiencies by assiduous application, and his journal shows him studying French and other languages in the interludes of his desperate journeys in the Northwest and Southwest. Simple-minded and warm-hearted, he won the devotion of his men without relaxing soldierly habits or impairing discipline. He was intelligent, indefatigable, brave, capable of great endurance, fertile in expedients and never distrustful of his own capabilities or of the ultimate success of his undertakings. His early death precluded judgment as to his qualities as a general, but certainly he had the power of origination, organization, and administration which are essentials to military success.
It should be recorded of his explorations that, taking into consideration his small force, and almost inadequate means, no other man ever contributed to the geographical knowledge of the United States an amount comparable to that which the world owes to the heroic efforts and indomitable perseverance of Zebulon Montgomery Pike.
[1] He obtained his captaincy in August, 1806.