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tremely critical. In his rear Toronto had fallen, the lake on his left flank presented no prospect of succour, and an enemy twice his strength, with a formidable train of artillery, threatened him in front. Unfortunately as he was situated he saw that he must hazard a battle. While still undecided what course to pursue, he despatched Lieutenant-Colonel Harvey to reconnoitre the enemy's position. This officer soon ascertained that the American pickets were few and negligent, and their line of encampment long and broken. He accordingly proposed a night-attack to Vincent, who at once gave his consent, hoping to accomplish by surprise, what his small force and want of ammunition must hinder him from effecting in the open field. Towards midnight the British force, consisting of the 49th regiment and a part of the 8th, and mustering altogether only seven hundred and four bayonets, moved silently forward to attack the American camp, distant about six miles. Arrived in its neighbourhood Vincent intrusted the command of the assault to Harvey, who speedily succeeded in surprising and capturing the enemy's outlying pickets, without alarming his main body. This duty performed, the little band pushed swiftly yet regularly down upon the centre of the hostile camp, where in a few minutes all was confusion and dismay. The Americans were driven from their tents and scattered in all directions by the charges of the British, who fearing, however, to expose their small numbers to view retired ere the day dawned, with Brigadiers Chandler and Winder, one hundred and twenty other prisoners, and four captured guns.

The British did not, however, achieve this brilliant success without loss. One officer and twenty-two men were killed, and twelve officers and one hundred and eighty men wounded and missing. But the loss of the enemy was also severe, aside from the injurious effects a night attack, so well executed, had on the spirits of his This was soon evinced by the rapid retreat he made the same morning to Forty Mile Creek, ten miles from the scene of action, where he halted on meeting General Lewis advancing to his assistance with a strong detachment.

men.

Meantime, Commodore Yeo had exerted himself so effectually, that the British fleet on Lake Ontario became stronger than the American, and Chauncey had retired to Sackett's Harbour. This gratifying event enabled a communication to be at once established with Vincent's little army. On the 3d of June Yeo sailed with his squadron for the head of the lake, having two hundred and eighty men of the 8th regiment on board, with some much-needed clothing and provisions. At daylight on the 8th the fleet was off Forty Mile

Creek, when the Commodore summoned Lewis to surrender. This he refused to do, but shortly after hurriedly retreated to Fort George, leaving his tents standing, and his provisions and wounded behind; all of which were soon taken possession of by the advanced guard of Vincent's force. Twelve large boats, carrying baggage, were also captured by one of the vessels of the fleet.

The tide of fortune had now completely turned against Dearborn, who was soon cooped up in Fort George and its vicinity. Sickness, battle, and desertion had wasted away the large force he had brought into Canada to less than five thousand men. His own health, also, became more and more feeble. Still, it was strange to see his army hemmed in and intimidated by a force scarcely onethird its number. Nor was this owing to the physical inferiority of the men who composed it. Nearly all the defeats of the American army may be traced to its want of discipline, and the incapacity of

its leaders.

But Dearborn's reverses had not yet terminated. On the 28th of June he despatched Colonel Boerstler with a detachment of nearly six hundred men, including fifty cavalry and two field-guns, to dislodge a British picket posted at a stone house at Beaver Dam, a place between Queenston and the village of Thorold on the Welland Canal. By some means, Mrs Secord, of Chippewa, whose husband had been wounded at the battle of Queenston, and her house plundered and destroyed by the Americans, learned the object of this movement, and walked nineteen miles by a circuitous route, to avoid the American posts, to Beaver Dam, to apprise the officer commanding there of the danger which threatened him. Thus warned, Lieutenant Fitzgibbon lost no time in communicating with Captain Ker, who was at the head of two hundred Indians in the neighbourhood, and also with Major De Haren, commanding a body of troops to the rear. Boerstler's march was soon checked by the Indians, aided by thirty-four men of the 104th, who lined the woods along the road. After a smart skirmish of two hours' duration, the Americans began to retreat, but were attacked in another direction by twenty militia, who were accidently passing. At this crisis Lieutenant Fitzgibbon summoned Boerstler to surrender, and to his great astonishment the latter consented. The lieutenant was quite at a loss to know what to do with his prisoners, who were double the number of the British and Indians; but luckily Major De Haren came up in time to take charge of them. This affair entirely ruined Dearborn's military reputation, and he was soon after superseded in his command by Major-General Wilkinson.

Its want of success on this occasion still further dispirited the American army, and enabled Vincent to establish his outposts closer to its position. By the 1st of July the British pickets occupied a line extending from Twelve Mile Creek to Queenston, thus restricting the enemy to the small angle formed by the river and lake, at the apex of which stood Fort George. The American army by sickness and casualties had been reduced to four thousand men of all arms, who were now so completely dispirited as to permit themselves to be held in close blockade by a force barely half their number.

The favourable condition of the British army on the Niagara frontier soon enabled it to resume offensive operations. From Chippewa a descent was made at daybreak, 4th of July, on Fort Schlosser, at the opposite side of the river, under the direction of Colonel Clark of the militia, which resulted in the capture of the American guard, a large quantity of provisions, one brass six-pounder, a gun-boat, fifty stand of arms, and some stores. Seven days afterwards Colonel Bishopp crossed over to Black Rock, three miles below Buffalo, with two hundred and forty regulars and militia, took the enemy completely by surprise, and destroyed his barracks, dockyard, a vessel lying there, and captured a considerable quantity of stores, seven guns, and two hundred stand of arms. The alarm, however, rapidly spread, and General Porter at once drew together a strong body of American regulars, militia, and Seneca Indians, from whose fire the British suffered severely in their retreat. The gallant Bishopp was mortally wounded, thirteen men killed, and a considerable number severely injured.

These surprises, alike rapidly and skilfully executed, alarmed the Americans, and kept them so sharply on the alert, that nothing else was accomplished against their positions, on the Niagara frontier, during the remainder of July. For the greater part of August, also, the two armies remained inactive within a short distance of each other. Towards the latter part of the month Sir George Prevost arrived from Kingston, and, on the 24th, made a demonstration against the enemy at Fort George, in order to draw him out and ascertain his strength. But the Americans kept under cover of their intrenchments, and it was not deemed advisable to attack them there, their number being yet superior by two to one to Vincent's army. Still, the Canadians had become so accustomed to see brilliant victories won against large odds, that they felt extremely dissatisfied something was not done by Prevost on this occasion. His popularity as a civil governor, however, remained unabated. Meanwhile, Commodore Yeo was not idle, and sweeping the lake

with his fleet, supplied Vincent's army with abundance of stores and provisions. All this time Chauncey remained at Sackett's Harbour waiting the equipment of his new ship, the Pike. During the earlier part of July, Yeo fitted out an expedition of boats to destroy this vessel, and would probably have succeeded, but for the escape of two deserters, who apprised the enemy of his purpose. Towards the end of the month the American fleet, now much superior to the British, again appeared on the lake, and with a body of troops on board stood towards Burlington Heights, the principal depot of Vincent's army, with the view of destroying the stores collected there. This design was frustrated by a rapid movement of the Glengarry corps from Toronto, which was thus left defenceless. Chauncey accordingly proceeded thither, and on the 23d July landed there a body of troops without opposition, who set fire to the barracks and public store-houses, liberated the prisoners in jail, ill-treated some of the inhabitants, and retired with the few stores they could find. Chauncey then returned to Niagara, off which Yeo appeared on the 8th of August with his six ships. The American fleet, consisting of fourteen vessels, and much superior to the British fleet also in guns and men, stood out to attack him, but not being able to get the weather gauge, retired under cover of the shore batteries after giving a single broadside. During the night two of Chauncey's schooners were lost in a squall. Next day the fleets again manoeuvred to get the weather gauge. On the 10th this advantage rested with Yeo, who, aided by a good breeze, bore down to attack the enemy. Chauncey declined the battle, however, and retired to Niagara, leaving two fine schooners to be captured by the British Commodore, who now returned to Kingston without having sustained the loss

of a man.

While these events were transpiring on Lake Ontario, Harrison was steadily prosecuting his preparations in Ohio for the recovery of Michigan, while Captain Perry exerted himself in fitting out a fleet, in order to obtain the command of Lake Erie, of which the Canadians as yet had the control. Proctor and Tecumseh endeavoured to capture Fort Meigs by surprise on one of the last days of July, but withdrew on finding the garrison on the alert. The British and their Indian allies next made a dash at Fort Stephenson, on the Sandusky River, which Proctor, after a brisk cannonade, endeavoured to carry by storm on the 2d of August, but was repulsed with serious loss. Three officers and fifty-two men were killed or captured, and forty-one wounded. Proctor, finding his guns were not sufficiently heavy to overpower the fire of the garrison, and

dreading the advance of Harrison to its succour, retreated to Amherstburg.*

Whilst the tide of ruthless invasion thus broke with checkered fortunes along the frontier of Upper Canada, important successes were achieved against the enemy on the boundaries of the Lower Province. The old fortifications on the Isle-aux-Noix, where Lake Champlain narrows into the Richelieu River, had been repaired, a garrison placed there under Major Taylor, and three gun-boats sent thither from Quebec. On the 3d of June an armed vessel was observed from this post, and her capture immediately resolved upon. No sailors were to be had, so Taylor manned the gun-boats with his soldiers, who promptly proceeded to attack the enemy, while another detachment was directed to push down on each side of the river, and open a cross fire from land. Meanwhile, another vessel hove in sight, and bore up to assist her consort. Both were compelled to strike their colours after a smart action, when they proved to be the American vessels Growler and Eagle, of eleven guns and fifty men each, under the command of Lieutenant Smith, as commodore. In this action the British had only three men wounded; the loss of the Americans was also trifling. The Eagle had been so much injured during the engagement as to make it necessary to run her ashore to prevent her from sinking.t

This was a most important success, and it was immediately de termined to follow it up, by striking a blow against the naval and military depots of the enemy on Lake Champlain. The Eagle was easily got off, refitted, and named the Broke, while the other captured vessel was named the Shannon, and also put in order, as well as the three gun-boats, for an expedition up the lake. But the difficulty was to man this little squadron, as no seaman could be spared from the fleet on Lake Ontario. Fortunately, at this juncture Captain Everard, of the brig of war Wasp, lying at Quebec, volunteered his services, and manned the Broke and Shannon with his crew.

Sufficient batteaux having been procured, and every preparation completed, the little fleet, with nine hundred regular troops on board under Colonel Murray, sailed from Isle-aux-Noix on the 29th of July. On the 31st the expedition arrived at Plattsburg, where a landing was effected without opposition, a considerable body of American militia, under Brigadier Moore, retiring without firing a shot. A large quantity of military stores was promptly sent on * Major Croghan's Despatch to Harrison, 5th August 1813. Christie, vol. ii. pp. 89, 90. Prevost's General Order, Kingston, 3d September 1813. + Taylor's Despatch to Stovin, 3d June 1813.

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