CHAPTER XX
THE ARMISTICE
General Brock lost no time in making preparations to return to the Niagara frontier, where he hoped to strike another sudden blow. He dismissed the militia of Michigan to their homes, placed the volunteers on parole, and sent General Hull with a thousand of his regular troops in boats to Fort Erie, en route to Montreal as prisoners of war. After issuing a proclamation to the inhabitants of the Michigan territory, by which their private property was secured and their laws and religion confirmed, he set out on his return journey on August 18th. On his voyage down Lake Erie in the schooner Chippewa he was met by the Lady Prevost, whose commander gave him the first intelligence of the armistice unfortunately concluded with General Dearborn.
General Brock could not conceal his regret and mortification, as the armistice prevented an attack on Sacketts Harbour which he had contemplated. At that place vessels were being fitted out whose construction would immensely strengthen the enemy's position on Lake Ontario, of which it was of the first importance to hold the mastery. He had given orders to Colonel Procter who was left in command at Detroit, to send a detachment of the 41st to join with the Indians in an expedition against Fort Wayne, a supply post in the Miami country. Brock was now compelled to write and request him on account of the armistice to postpone the attack, and also to keep the Indians back from predatory excursions on their own account. On August 25th General Brock arrived at Fort George, and on the 27th at York, where he was received in triumph. Addresses of welcome and letters of congratulation were showered upon him. One[[1]] wrote: "There is something so fabulous in the report of a handful of troops supported by a few raw militia leaving their strong post to invade an enemy of double the number in his own fortress and making them all prisoners without the loss of a man, that it seems to me the people of England will be incredulous until they see the exterminating boaster a prisoner in London. I shall hardly sleep until I have the satisfaction of hearing particulars of the wonderful excursion, for it must not be called a campaign. The veni, vidi, vici is again the faithful report. Your good fortune in one instance is singular, for if your zeal had been thwarted by such adverse winds as frequently occur on the lake, the armistice might have intercepted your career."
Answer to address
In answer to the address from the people of York, General Brock said with characteristic simplicity: "Gentlemen, I cannot but feel highly gratified by this expression of esteem for myself; but in justice to the brave men at whose head I marched against the enemy, I must beg leave to direct your attention to them as the proper objects of your gratitude. It was a confidence founded on their loyalty, zeal and valour that determined me to adopt the plan of operations which led to so fortunate a termination. Allow me to congratulate you gentlemen at having sent out from among yourselves a portion of that gallant band, and that at such a period a spirit has manifested itself on which you may confidently repose your hopes of future security."
It was by such unassuming, sincere words that Brock endeared himself to the people of Canada. The victory he had won had an immediate moral effect. It has been well said that it was as if an electric shock had passed through the country, awing the disaffected and animating the timid and wavering. The success at Detroit caused the Six Nation Indians on the Grand River to drop their policy of neutrality and to take an active part on the British side. If General Brock's hands had not been tied, he would doubtless have swept the frontier from Sandusky to St. Regis.
A letter from John Lovett, secretary to General Van Rensselaer, describes the arrival of the prisoners from Detroit on their way to Fort George, and shows the feeling that prevailed in the enemy's camp. "Yesterday the first we saw was a guard of about fifty men passing with some wagons on the opposite shore. It was the victorious Brock returning to Fort George. He sent over Colonel Macdonell, his aide-de-camp, and Major Evans, two strapping lads in scarlet and gold, to make a communication to General Van Rensselaer. This part of the country now thinks their whole salvation rests upon our little raw army. I think I know the fact that after Brock had taken Hull he expressed his determination to return and take Niagara. I think his mind is altered by the armistice, but he can take Niagara any hour he pleases. Yes, my friend, we cannot defend Niagara one hour, and as for our present camp, I now write with an eye on a single gun on yon hill in Queenston which would rout us all in three minutes. The Ohio officers' prisoners were also last evening with us, and say that the Indians with Brock are the finest fellows they ever saw. They are commanded by the prophet's brother Tecumseh. He is hourly expected at Fort George, and it is said the tawny host is to follow. Well, be it so, one thing our friends may be assured of, we are not scared yet. We shall never be 'Hulled.' Our general is thoughtful but firm."[[2]]
Lovett's letter