The enemy soon received reinforcements and besieged the Americans in Fort Erie. Brown, although still suffering from his wound, resumed command and drove his besiegers once more beyond the Chippewa. The Americans evacuated Fort Erie on the 5th of November, and recrossing the Niagara went into winter quarters at Black Rock and Ontario. There were no more military operations during the war between Lakes Erie and Ontario.
THE ARMY OF THE NORTH.
General Wilkinson was so inefficient with the Army of the North that he was superseded by General Izard, who advanced with his force to the aid of General Brown at Fort Erie. This left Plattsburg uncovered, and the British decided to attack it by land, and to destroy at the same time the American flotilla on Lake Champlain.
Sir George Prevost, at the head of an army of 14,000 men, entered American territory on the 3d of September, and three days later reached Plattsburg. The garrison withdrew to the south side of the Saranac, and prepared to dispute the passage of the stream. Commodore Downie appeared off the harbor of Plattsburg, with the British squadron, September 11th. The American squadron, under Commodore Macdonough, was in the harbor, and consisted of two less barges than the enemy, 86 guns, and 820 men, while the English commander had 95 guns and more than a thousand men.
During the battle which followed the British land forces made repeated attempts to cross the Saranac, but were defeated in every instance. The battle on the water lasted less than three hours, during which Commodore Downie was killed, his vessel sunk, and the remainder sunk or captured. The destruction of the British squadron was complete, and the land forces withdrew during the night. England was so dissatisfied with the action of Sir George Prevost that he was dismissed from command. No more serious fighting took place in that section during the war.
PUNISHMENT OF THE CREEK INDIANS.
Mention has been made of the massacre at Fort Mimms in Alabama by the Creeks, August 30, 1813. Tennessee acted with prompt vigor. General Jackson at the head of 5,000 men marched into the Creek country and punished the Indians with merciless rigor. After repeated defeats, the Creeks made a stand at the Great Horseshoe Bend of the Tallapoosa River. There a thousand warriors gathered, with their wives and children, prepared to fight to the last. The desperate battle was fought March 27, 1814, and at its close 600 Indians were killed and the remainder scattered. The spirit of the Creeks was crushed, and General Jackson's exploit made him the most popular military leader in the Southwest.
Matters looked gloomy for the Americans at the beginning of 1814. England sent a formidable force of veterans to Canada, and another to capture Washington, while the main body expected to take New Orleans, with the intention of retaining the city and province of Louisiana upon the conclusion of peace.
PREPARING FOR THE FINAL STRUGGLE.
The American government gathered up her loins for the great struggle. The President was authorized to borrow $25,000,000, and to issue treasury notes to the amount of $5,000,000. Such sums are but bagatelles in these days, but in 1814 the credit of the government was so poor that the notes depreciated one-fifth of their face value. One hundred and twenty-four dollars were offered as a bounty for every recruit, while the pay, rations, and clothing were placed upon a generous scale. An order was issued increasing the regular army to 66,000 men, and an embargo laid with the aim of stopping trade under British licenses was repealed in April.