The Montreal Herald of April 29, 1815, blames Sir George Prevost for having suppressed, in his general order, much of the preceding letter from Lord Bathurst, and remarks: "We repeat that the said letter was not published to the army or to the public, a part of which the latter ought to have known, because the sentiments expressed by the prince are those of the loyal people of Upper Canada, who would be glad to have seen them soon after the official letter arrived in Canada." The following was substituted for this letter in a general order of the late commander-in-chief, dated the 10th March, 1813, said to have been published to the army at the time of its date:
'His royal highness is fully aware of the severe loss which his majesty's service has experienced in the death of Major-General Sir Isaac Brock.'
"But we have been told that even the said general order was not known to some regiments of the right division, until it appeared in the Quebec Gazette of the 20th instant." And "considering the character of the distinguished chief who fell on the British side at the Queenstown battle,"[100] we certainly do not think that Lord Bathurst intended his dispatch, relative to that officer's death, should have been thus mutilated or suppressed in the Canadas.
The Canadian boat songs are well known for their plaintive and soothing effect, and a very beautiful one was composed on the death of Major-General Brock. The writer of this memoir, while sailing one evening in the straits of Canso, in British North America—the beautiful and picturesque scenery of which greatly increased the effect of the words—remembers to have heard it sung by a Canadian boatman, and he then thought that he had never listened to vocal sounds more truly descriptive of melancholy and regret. Even the young in Canada invoked the Muse in expression of their sympathy, and the following lines were indited by Miss Ann Bruyeres, described as "an extraordinary child of thirteen years old," the daughter of the general's friend, Lieut.-Colonel. Bruyeres, of the Royal Engineers, (see page [213],) and who died not long after him in consequence of disease contracted in the field:
As Fame alighted on the mountain's[101] crest,
She loudly blew her trumpet's mighty blast;
Ere she repeated Victory's notes, she cast
A look around, and stopped: of power bereft,
Her bosom heaved, her breath she drew with pain,
Her favorite Brock lay slaughtered on the plain!
Glory threw on his grave a laurel wreath,
And Fame proclaims "a hero sleeps beneath."
As if to complete the double allusion to Fame in the preceding lines, singularly enough the mournful intelligence of Sir Isaac Brock's death was brought from Quebec to Guernsey by the ship FAME, belonging to that island, on the 24th November, two days before it was known in London.
Sir Isaac Brock, after lying in state at the government house, where his body was bedewed with the tears of many affectionate friends, was interred on the 16th of October, with his provincial aide-de-camp, at Fort George. His surviving aide-de-camp, Major Glegg, recollecting the decided aversion of the general to every thing that bore the appearance of ostentatious display, endeavoured to clothe the distressing ceremony with all his "native simplicity." But at the same time there were military honors that could not be avoided, and the following was the order of the mournful procession,[102] "of which," wrote Major Glegg, "I enclose a plan; but no pen can describe the real scenes of that mournful day. A more solemn and affecting spectacle was perhaps never witnessed. As every arrangement connected with that afflicting ceremony fell to my lot, a second attack being hourly expected, and the minds of all being fully occupied with the duties of their respective stations, I anxiously endeavoured to perform this last tribute of affection in a manner corresponding with the elevated virtues of my departed patron. Conceiving that an interment in every respect military would be the most appropriate to the character of our dear friend, I made choice of a cavalier bastion in Fort George, which his aspiring genius had lately suggested, and which had been just finished under his daily superintendence."
Fort Major Campbell.
Sixty Men of the 41st Regiment, commanded by a Subaltern.
Sixty of the Militia, commanded by a Captain.
Two Six-Pounders—firing minute guns.
Remaining Corps and Detachments of the Garrison, with about 200
Indians, in reversed order, forming a street through which the
Procession passed, extending from the government house to the
garrison.
Band of the 41st Regiment.
Drums, covered with black cloth, and muffled.
Late General's Horse, fully caparisoned, led by four Grooms.
Servants of the General.
The General's Body Servant.
Surgeon Muirhead. Doctor Kerr.
Doctor Moore. Staff Surgeon Thom.
Reverend Mr. Addison.
(The Body of Lieut.-Colonel M'Donell, P.A.D.C.)
Capt. A. Cameron. Lieut. Jarvis.
Lieut. Robinson. Lieut. Ridout.
J. Edwards, Esq. Capt. Crooks.
Supporter, Supporter,
Mr. Dickson. Captain Cameron.
Chief Mourner,
Mr. M'Donell.
(The Body of Major-General Brock.)
Supporter, Supporter,
Mr. James Coffin, D.A.C.G. Captain Williams, 49th Regt.
Capt. Vigoreaux, R.E. Major Merritt, L.H. Lin. Mil.
Capt. Derenzy, 41st Regt. Lieut.-Col. Clark, Lin. Mil.
Capt. Dennis, 49th Regt. Lieut.-Col. Butler.
Capt. Holcroft, R.A. Colonel Claus,
Supporter, Supporter,
Brigade-Major Evans. Captain Glegg, A.D.C.
Chief Mourners.
Major-General Sheaffe. Lieut.-Colonel Myers, D.Q.M.G.
Ensign Coffin, A.D.C. Lieut. Fowler, A.D.Q.M.G.
The Civil Staff.
Friends of the Deceased.
Inhabitants.[103]
Such was the esteem in which Sir Isaac Brock was held by the enemies of his country, for he had or could have no personal enemies, that Major-General Van Rensselaer, in a letter of condolence, informed Major-General Sheaffe that immediately after the funeral solemnities were over on the British side, a compliment of minute guns would be paid to the hero's memory on theirs!!! Accordingly, the cannon at Fort Niagara were fired, "as a mark of respect due to a brave enemy." How much is it then to be regretted that we should ever come into collision with those who possess the same origin and the same language as ourselves, and who, by this generous feeling and conduct, proved that they are a liberal, as they undoubtedly are a gallant, people; and may the future rivalry of both powers be, not for the unnatural destruction of each other, but for the benefit of mankind. No words can better express the favorable opinion entertained by the Americans of the deceased than the language of their president, Madison, who, alluding to the battle of Queenstown in his annual message to congress, observed: "Our loss has been considerable, and is deeply to be lamented. That of the enemy, less ascertained, will be the more felt, as it includes amongst the killed the commanding general, who was also the governor of the province."