The checks thus received by the forces under Generals Wilkinson and Hampton, from Lieut.-Colonel Morrison, and Lieut.-Colonel De Salaberry, were, without doubt, no inconsiderable causes of their repulse in the attempt upon Lower Canada; but it was also the duty of the Reviewer to have noticed the prompt and judicious measures adopted by Sir George Prevost, as soon as he had ascertained that General Wilkinson was descending the St. Lawrence to attack Montreal, for the defence of that place, by calling out the whole militia of the district, and by collecting all his disposable force at La Chine, where he commanded in person. The formidable defences which he had prepared both at Coteau du Lac, and at the Cedars, together with the imposing force of militia which had been assembled at a very short notice, must have convinced General Wilkinson that he could not hope to make any impression upon a people who shewed so much zeal and alacrity in defending themselves, and who were commanded by one who possessed their entire confidence and affection. Under these circumstances, and from the opposition already experienced to his attempt, the American Commander resolved to abandon it as impracticable, more particularly as he found himself without support from General Hampton, who had retired towards Lake Champlain.
In detailing the events of the campaign of 1814, the Reviewer has again not scrupled, in his account of Captain Pring's expedition to Vergennes, to distort the truth, for the purpose of attaching the blame of this failure to Sir George Prevost. So far from the Commander of the forces refusing to Captain Pring the assistance of the troops stationed at Isle aux Noix, as the Reviewer asserts,[72] a strong detachment of the marines then in garrison at that post, was embarked on board of his squadron, and the despatch to Lord Bathurst from Sir George Prevost, of the 18th of May, 1814,[73] proves that this expedition was planned and directed by the Commander of the forces, and probably failed from the circumstance alone of Captain Pring being prevented by baffling winds for four days from reaching his destination, before the enemy had time to mature their preparations for defence.
A similar degree of incorrectness prevails in the Reviewer's statements with regard to the force retained by Sir George Prevost in Lower Canada. That Lower Canada, in the middle of April, 1814,[74] had nothing to dread, may be confidently denied. On the 22d and 30th March, two attempts had been made by General Wilkinson to penetrate into that Province by the Montreal frontier, and in the latter instance, in considerable force. Though he was repulsed in both cases, and in the latter with severe loss, he still continued to keep a considerable body of men on the frontier line, from which he did not withdraw until towards the middle of May.[75] Sackett's Harbour, instead of being weakly garrisoned, had been strengthened by two regiments from General Wilkinson's army, besides other reinforcements; and our fleet on Lake Ontario was so far from being at that period ready for sea, that it was not until the 14th of April, that the two ships, which were to constitute its principal strength, had been launched, nor was our squadron in a situation to take the Lake until the beginning of May. The only reinforcements which, up to this period in 1814, and even until the beginning of June, had arrived in Lower Canada, were the 2d battalion of the 8th regiment, which the foresight of the Commander of the forces had induced him to draw in the depth of winter by land from New Brunswick, whence they arrived in the month of March, together with 200 picked seamen from Admiral Griffiths for the fleet on Lake Ontario, without a single accident. This regiment is enumerated by the Reviewer amongst his nine regular regiments of infantry, with three squadrons of dragoons, six strong battalions of militia, and a numerous division of artillery, the whole of which he has untruly asserted, were crowded together in inactivity at Chambly, behind a strong frontier, without an enemy to oppose them;[76] adding, that although reinforcements were daily arriving or expected, not a man was sent to strengthen the inadequate force on the Niagara frontier, until the middle of July, when only two of the Peninsular regiments were reluctantly yielded for that service. Of the nine regular regiments of infantry, of which the Reviewer speaks, one was De Meuron's foreign corps, another the Canadian Fencibles, a third a battalion of Marines, a fourth the Canadian Voltigeurs, militia-men, subject to militia law, and whose force at the utmost was 450 men. Of the real regular regiments, viz. the 8th, 13th, 16th, 49th, and 70th, the 16th did not arrive until June, together with two companies of artillery. This regiment was almost immediately stationed at Montreal, where it remained the whole of July, and in August was despatched to Upper Canada. The 70th garrisoned Quebec, with a portion of artillery, and a small corps, composed of the recruits of the other regiments in the Province. The 13th was in advance at St. John, and La Cole Mill, and the battalion of marines garrisoned Isle aux Noix. Of the six battalions of embodied militia, one was at La Prairie, and another, if not two of the others, at different parts of the frontier; the Voltigeurs were also in advance, and part of the Canadian fencibles were at Coteau du Lac. From this statement, made out from documents, the authenticity of which cannot be doubted, it will appear that the troops under Sir George Prevost in the Lower Province, which were barely adequate to its defence, in lieu of being all assembled at Chambly, were stationed in different parts of the Province, where their services were most required, and that they did not at any time, collectively form the camp of instruction of which the Reviewer speaks. Previous even to the 1st of May, when the Reviewer has stated that Sir James Yeo was ready with his fleet for any operation, no part of this force could, consistently with the safety of Lower Canada, have been despatched for the reinforcement of General Drummond. Still less could a sufficient portion of it have been spared, to have enabled that officer, with any prospect of success, to attempt an attack on Sackett's Harbour. General Drummond was, in fact, aware that, from the period of the first attack on that place, in May, 1813, the enemy had been indefatigable in fortifying it, and that it was at all times guarded by a large body of regular troops and militia, together with a number of able and experienced seamen. Nothing, therefore, short of the full co-operation of a superior fleet, and a large body of troops, could have afforded him a well-grounded expectation of succeeding. General Drummond well knew that, up to May, 1814, and for some time afterwards, no force of this description could be spared from the Lower Province. However desirable he might have thought it, to destroy the naval depôt at Sackett's Harbour, he knew that no adequate means were within his power, or that of the Commander of the forces; and until, by fresh reinforcements from England, those means should be acquired, he was obliged to content himself with operations compatible with his resources. We accordingly find that, as soon as the fleet was in readiness to take the Lake, General Drummond, in consequence of the previous communication which had taken place between Sir George Prevost and himself, undertook the expedition against Oswego, which terminated in the capture of that place, together with a quantity of stores, provisions, and ordnance, most of which being designed for the squadron at Sackett's Harbour, must have materially delayed its equipment. Of this enterprise the Reviewer has thought proper to say nothing, because he knew that it might in a great degree be attributed to the measures of Sir George Prevost. For a similar reason he has altogether omitted to notice the extraordinary and energetic measures which had been adopted by the Commander of the forces, for relieving Michilimachinac, and affording to that garrison an important reinforcement of troops, seamen, and provisions, under the command of an able and experienced officer, who afterwards gave ample proofs of his courage and talents in his successful defence of that post against a powerful attack of the enemy. The reinforcement of that distant position, whilst the enemy were in possession of the whole of the Michigan territory, and by a route never before attempted, reflected the greatest credit upon the Commander of the forces who directed, and upon Lieutenant Colonel M'Douall, who executed, this arduous enterprise, which was highly important in its consequences as respected our Indian allies, and the safety of the Upper Province. Independently of this reinforcement to the troops in Upper Canada, we shall find that Sir George Prevost continued mindful of Lieutenant-General Drummond's situation, and desirous of assisting him, as soon as the means of doing so were placed within his power. It has been already shewn, that out of the force which the Commander of the forces possessed for the defence of Lower Canada, and of which the Reviewer has given so incorrect a statement, the 2nd battalion of the 8th arrived from New Brunswick in March, and the 16th with two companies of artillery in June. It was not until the month of July that the next reinforcements, consisting of the 90th regiment, from the West Indies, and the 6th and 82nd from the army under the Duke of Wellington, reached Montreal. These three regiments were immediately sent forward to the Niagara frontier. The despatch to the Secretary of State, announcing the arrival of these troops, sufficiently and satisfactorily explained the reasons which had hitherto prevented Sir George Prevost from strengthening General Drummond's force in the Upper Province. In the beginning of June, and previously to the arrival of these reinforcements, Sir James Yeo had retired into port after blockading Sackett's Harbour; and from that period, until October, the enemy had the ascendancy on Lake Ontario. Our operations in Upper Canada were, therefore, necessarily confined to the defensive; and although the superior numbers of the enemy gave them at times an advantage over us, and occasioned a considerable loss of valuable lives, the efforts made by the Commander of the forces, to supply these losses, enabled General Drummond successfully to maintain the contest, and to prevent the Americans from gaining any permanent footing in the Province. Upon the arrival of the Nova Scotia Fencibles, a battalion of the Royals, and the 97th regiment towards the end of July, the latter regiment was immediately sent to Kingston, and Sir George Prevost continued to make every exertion to reinforce the army on the Niagara frontier.
Before we proceed to the consideration of the much misrepresented affair of Plattsburg, the orders under which Sir George Prevost acted, and the plan of operations proposed upon the arrival of the reinforcements from the Duke of Wellington's army, it will be necessary to expose the perverted statement with which the Quarterly Reviewer has introduced his account of this expedition. "In June and July," he says, "a numerous fleet arrived in the St. Lawrence from Bourdeaux, with the flower of the Duke of Wellington's army."[77] Now connecting this paragraph with the one that follows soon afterwards—"that the Peninsular troops were suffered to ascend no higher than the ill-fated camp of Chambly, where they were detained during the whole month of August"[78]—it is evident that the Reviewer meant his readers to believe that the brigades, under Generals Robinson, Brisbane, Power, and Kempt, had arrived in Canada in June and July, so as to enable Sir George Prevost to assemble them for any service at Chambly by the beginning of August, and yet that he kept them the whole of that month unemployed. It appears, however, from Sir George Prevost's despatches to Lord Bathurst, dated 28th June, 1814, that the only part of the Duke of Wellington's army, which arrived in June, were the 6th and 82nd regiments. The transports having those regiments on board passed Quebec for Montreal, about the 26th of that month, but did not reach the latter place until the first or second week in July, from whence they were immediately pushed forward to reinforce Lieutenant-General Drummond on the Niagara frontier. The brigade under Major-General Power, which was accompanied by Major-General Brisbane, did not arrive at Quebec until late in July; indeed so late, that Sir George Prevost, in his despatch to Lord Bathurst announcing their arrival, states, that they would scarcely be able to arrive at Montreal, with every exertion, before the 20th of August. The two last brigades, under Generals Kempt and Robinson, arrived still later; and Sir George Prevost's despatch of the 5th August, 1814, announcing their approach to Quebec, stated that it would be impossible, with every exertion, to collect the whole force, viz. all the brigades in the neighbourhood of Montreal, before the end of that month. In fact, it was not until towards the end of August, that two of the brigades above mentioned were assembled at Chambly, and in the neighbourhood; the other brigade, under Major-General Kempt, being stationed partly at Montreal, and partly in advance towards Kingston, in order to be in readiness for the service for which it was designed, whenever our ascendancy on Lake Ontario should be required.
In his next observations, the Reviewer has confounded both dates and facts, in order to make it appear that Sir George Prevost knew not how to dispose of the succours which had reached him; with which, in the Reviewer's opinion,[79] he ought instantly to have made a rapid movement towards Lake Ontario, for the purpose of attacking Sackett's Harbour; an attempt which, it is stated, should have been made whilst Sir James Yeo was blockading that place, instead of wasting some of the most valuable months of the summer in the camp at Chambly:[80] and further, that the march of General Izzard to Sackett's Harbour, with 3,000 or 4,000 regular troops, was a proof that the American Government felt (although our Commander did not), that all objects on the frontier were insignificant, in comparison with the protection of the numerous squadron which was blockaded in their ports on Lake Ontario.
Unfortunately for the Reviewer's consistency, he had previously stated, that in consequence of Commodore Chauncey having prepared two new frigates for sea, Sir James Yeo discontinued his blockade of Sackett's Harbour, and retired to Kingston, to await the equipment of the St. Lawrence, and that during the months of August and September, Chauncey held the Lake.
General Izzard was despatched to Sackett's Harbour about the end of August, or 1st of September, and consequently the American Government, from the Reviewer's own shewing, could not at that time have any apprehensions for their numerous squadron, blockaded in their Port on Lake Ontario. So far indeed from the American squadron being at this time in danger, Kingston, and Sir James Yeo's numerous squadron, were actually at the period of General Izzard's march to Sackett's Harbour, most rigorously blockaded by Chauncey, and so continued for nearly six weeks afterwards. Sackett's Harbour was in fact only blockaded by Sir James Yeo, from the beginning of May to the beginning of June, at which latter period he relinquished the blockade, and did not make his appearance on the Lake until the middle of October following.
It has been already shewn what Sir George Prevost's force really consisted of, in the Lower Province, during the period of this blockade, and until the month of July, when the first reinforcements from France reached him. These reinforcements were immediately sent to the Upper Province. It is consequently most evident that he did not then possess the means of attacking Sackett's Harbour, and that after the blockade had ceased, tenfold the means he possessed would not have sufficed for the service, without the co-operation of the fleet.[81]
It is in the highest degree improbable, that any man in Sir George Prevost's army, or in the Provinces, possessing a knowledge of these facts, which were within the reach of all, should have thought it possible that on the arrival of the troops from Bourdeaux, Sackett's Harbour was or could be the point of attack, so long as our squadron was not able to take the Lake.
It will, it is apprehended, tend very materially to elucidate the subsequent operations of the war, to state the views which probably influenced His Majesty's Government in sending so large a force from the Duke of Wellington's army to Canada, and the manner in which it was directed to be employed. The circumstances under which the war had been commenced on the part of the Americans, and the refusal of their Government to consider the revocation of the Orders in Council, the ostensible ground of war as a cause for pacification, had justly offended both the Government and people of Great Britain. The efforts, however, which they were called upon to make in Europe, had, until the termination of the contest by the abdication of Buonaparte, prevented the British Government from furnishing any other reinforcements for the army in the Canadas, than such as were barely sufficient, aided by the bravery of the troops, and the talents, zeal, and energy of their Commander, for the defence of the country from the repeated attacks of the enemy. As soon, however, as the peace with France placed a larger force at their disposal, His Majesty's Government resolved to avail themselves of a portion of it, in order to retaliate upon America her unjust aggressions, and to carry the war into such parts of her territory as might prove most assailable. In consequence of this determination, the expeditions to the Chesapeake and the Mississipi were planned; and with the same views three brigades were ordered from Bourdeaux to Canada. The objects contemplated in sending this reinforcement to Canada, will be best understood by a reference to Lord Bathurst's despatch to Sir George Prevost, of the 3d June, 1814, in which it is said, "The object of your operations will be, First, To give immediate protection, secondly, to obtain, if possible, ultimate security, to His Majesty's possessions in America. The entire destruction of Sackett's Harbour, and the naval establishment on Lake Erie and Lake Champlain, come under the first description."—"Should there be any advanced position on that part of our frontier which extends towards Lake Champlain, the occupation of which would materially tend to the security of the Province, you will, if you deem it expedient, expel the enemy from it, and occupy it by detachments of the troops under your command, always, however, taking care not to expose his Majesty's troops to being cut off by too extended a line of advance"—"At the same time, it is by no means the intention of His Majesty's Government to encourage such forward movements into the interior of the American territory, as might commit the safety of the force placed under your command." It must be evident to every person in the least acquainted with the territories of America bordering upon the Canadas, that none of the objects of offensive warfare contemplated in the foregoing despatch could be undertaken without the aid and co-operation of a fleet able to contend with that of the enemy. That His Majesty's Government might be aware of the impossibility of complying with the views and wishes above described, until the naval ascendancy should be secured on Lakes Ontario and Champlain, Sir George Prevost, in his despatch to Lord Bathurst, of the 12th July, before referred to, expresses his opinion on this head, stating that he did not expect from the reports he had received from Sir James Yeo, and the officer commanding our naval forces on the Richelieu, that their fleets would be in readiness before the middle of September.