The Life and Correspondence of Sir Isaac Brock, K.B. / Interspersed with notices of the celebrated Indian chief, Tecumseh, and comprising brief memoirs of Daniel De Lisle Brock, Esq., Lieutenant E.W. Tupper, R.N., and Colonel W. De Vic Tupper

by Sir Isaac Brock

"On the retreat of General Schuyler's army from Fort Edward, I commanded the rear guard of the army; and, being two miles in the rear, was attacked by a large body of British troops and Indians at daylight in the morning, in which action were killed and wounded between thirty and forty of my guard. And I received the particular thanks of General Schuyler for my conduct on the occasion.

"I was in the two memorable battles, on the 19th of September and the 7th of October, on Bemis' heights, against General Burgoyne's army, previous to its surrender. In the action of the 19th of September, I commanded a detachment of three hundred men, who fought the principal part of the afternoon, and more than one half of them were killed or wounded.

"On the 7th of October, I likewise commanded a detachment from the brigade which assisted in attacking the enemy on the left of our position, defeated him, followed him to the right of his lines, stormed his entrenchments, and took and held possession of the right of his position, which compelled him to retreat to Saratoga, and there to capitulate.

"After the memorable event of the capitulation of General Burgoyne's army, the regiment to which I belonged was ordered to Pennsylvania, to join the army under the command of General Washington. I remained with the army the winter of 1777, at Valley Forge; and in the spring of 1778, when the British army evacuated Philadelphia, I was in the battle of Monmouth.

"From December, 1778, to May, 1779, I commanded the American posts in advance of the White Plains, near Kingsbridge, during which time I had various skirmishes with the enemy. In May, 1779, the principal part of the British army advanced up the North River to Verplank's and Stoney Point, and I was ordered to retreat before them to West Point.

"I then joined the light infantry, under the command of General Wayne, and was in the memorable attack on Stoney Point, with a separate command of four hundred light infantry.

"For my conduct on this occasion I received the particular thanks of General Wayne, General Washington, and congress.

"In the summer and autumn of 1780, I commanded the advanced posts of the army; and in December of that year, I commanded an expedition against the enemy, stationed at Morrissina, which was successful, and for which I received the thanks of General Washington, in his general orders to the army, and likewise the thanks of congress. General Washington, in his orders, I well remember, made use of these words: 'He thanked me for my judicious arrangements in the plan of operations, and for my intrepidity and valour in the execution.'

"From the conclusion of the revolutionary war I have lived with the respect of my countrymen, and have enjoyed repeated marks of their confidence in the offices which have been bestowed upon me. When I found that the independence, for which I had so often fought, was assailed,—that again my country must appeal to arms to avenge her wrongs, and to protect her rights,—I felt that I might yet do her some service. For though many years had passed since I had fought under her standard, and though my own arm might not have had its wonted strength, yet my spirit was unbroken, and my devotion to her unimpaired. I thought in the field, where there could be but few who had any military experience, what I had learned in the most active scenes of a seven years' war, might be useful. I fondly hoped that in my age, as well as in my youth, I might render services that should deserve the gratitude of my country—that if I fell by the sword of her enemies, my grave would be moistened with the tears of my countrymen; that my descendants would be proud of my name and fame. But how vain is anticipation! I am now accused of crimes which would blast my former honors, and transmit my memory with infamy to posterity. And in that hideous catalogue, there is none from the imputation of which my nature and my feelings have more recoiled than from that of cowardice, to which I am to answer."

"The appearance of General Hull was venerable and prepossessing. Beneath snowy locks, of nearly sixty winters' bleaching, he exhibited a countenance as fresh and blooming as a youth of eighteen. His eloquence was perspicuous and graceful."—American History.