MEMOIR OF ZEBULON MONTGOMERY PIKE. BY ELLIOTT COUES. (continued 2)

In contradiction to this statement it will be sufficient to give the following facts:

[Firstly]—That the regimental paymaster had in his hands funds to pay the whole regiment up to the 31st. And [that] within three days of the period when the troops moved, three companies were paid previous to the march and the balance so soon as the troops halted a sufficient time to give the officers an opportunity to adjust the rolls and prepare the accounts of the recruits.

Secondly—That those funds were received by the regimental paymaster from the district paymaster, Mr. Eakins, who was then at Albany, and not from Mr. Gallatin whom, it is believed, did not arrive till after the regiment moved from Greenbush.

These facts can be corroborated by every officer of the 15th Infantry, who one and all deem the paragraph published in the Herald a base calumny, a direct attack on their honor as soldiers, and declare that the author, whoever he may be, has asserted gross untruths. As for myself, I have had the honor to serve in the army from the rank of volunteer to the station I now hold, during the Administration of Gen. Washington, Mr. Adams, Mr. Jefferson, and Mr. Madison, and can affirm that I have known some troops under the three first to have been upward of a year without a payment, and under the latter for eight months. This was owing to the dispersed state of our troops on the western frontiers. But never did I hear of a corps shewing a disposition to refuse to do their duty, because they had not received their pay; nor do I believe the American army has been disgraced by an instance of the kind since the Revolutionary War. But ask any man of consideration, what time it requires to organize an army, or a corps of new recruits—if, owing to the want of a knowledge of the officers to forms of returns, accounts, etc., it will not be some time before a new corps can be as well equipt, or appear as much like soldiers, as an old one? Every soldier will reply that it will require two years at least to teach both officers and men to reap the same benefit from the same supplies as old soldiers. And although at this time the 15th regiment has been as regularly supplied as any other corps with clothing, pay, arms, and accoutrements, even to watch coats to protect the centinel against the winter storms, yet were there an old regiment laying by their side, who had received the same supplies, they would most indubitably be better equipped and make themselves more comfortable, having the saving of two or more years' supplies on hand. But whether ill or well supplied, the soldiers and officers have too just a sense of the duty they owe their country and their own honor, ever to refuse to march against the enemy. And the colonel begs leave to assure the author of the above paragraph, that he hopes he will forbear any future attempt to injure his reputation by praising an action which, if true, must have forever tarnished the small claim he now has to a military character.

[Signed] Z. M. Pike, Colonel 15th U. S. Infantry.

Colonel Pike seldom had occasion to make proclamations of a politico-military character. But one such which he issued while he was in command of a district may be here cited. It is not dated, in the printed form before me, but was no doubt given out in Jan., 1813, as it appears in Niles' Register for the week ending Jan. 30th, III. No. 22, p. 344:

To all whom it may concern. The state of hostility which exists between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the United States makes it necessary that the intercourse which may take place between this country and the adjacent province of Canada should be regulated on the principles which govern belligerent nations. I have had it in charge from the commanding general, Chandler [John Chandler, of New Hampshire, d. 1841] that no person should be permitted to pass in or out of Canada without his permission, or, in his absence, the permission of the commandant of the district of Champlain. This order has been communicated to the commanding officer on the lines, and will be strenuously enforced.

Some members of the community have been found so void of all sense of honor, love of country, or any other principle which has governed the virtuous of all nations and ages, as to hold correspondence with and give intelligence to our enemies. It therefore becomes my duty to put the laws in full force. The two following sections of the rules and articles of war, which are equally binding on the citizen and the soldier, are published for the information of the public, that no one may plead ignorance, as from this time henceforward they shall be enforced with the greatest severity.

"Art. 56. Whosoever shall relieve the enemy with money, victuals, or ammunition, or shall knowingly harbor or protect an enemy shall suffer death, or such other punishment as shall be ordered by the sentence of a court-martial.

"Art. 57. Whosoever shall be convicted of holding correspondence with, or giving intelligence to, the enemy, either directly or indirectly, shall suffer death, or such other punishment as shall be ordered by the sentence of a court-martial."

[Signed] Z. M. Pike, Col. 15th Regt. Inf. Commanding West Lake Champlain.

During the winter of 1812-13, when the 15th regiment was stationed on the northern frontier, in view of the operations to be undertaken against the posts of the enemy on the lakes, great confidence in this well-disciplined and zealous body of troops was felt by General Henry Dearborn, formerly secretary of war, and then the senior major-general of the army, in immediate command. As we have just seen, General Pike was in charge of a military district on Lake Champlain; his command was then of about 2,500 men. Various desultory demonstrations against the enemy had proved futile, in some cases fatuous and disgraceful. The War Department determined upon a more consistent and apparently feasible plan of concerted operations, which had in view the reduction of all the British posts on the St. Lawrence river and Lake Ontario. The capture of Kingston (site of old Fort Frontenac) was a measure of first importance. The garrison was supposed to be small, and lulled in a sense of security, owing to the rigors of the season and the numerical insignificance of our troops at Sackett's Harbor; nor was Kingston likely to be re-enforced from below, as the British forces were menaced on the Lower St. Lawrence by Pike's troops on Lake Champlain. It was proposed to transport these in sleighs to the foot of Lake Ontario with such promptitude that the movement could not be counteracted. General Dearborn also proposed to concentrate other forces at Sackett's Harbor, to which place his headquarters at Albany were to be moved at once. This was in Feb., 1813. But while these measures were pending, Sir George Prevost, Governor-General of the Canadas, prorogued the Parliament then in session, and moved to Kingston with re-enforcements for that place. According to General Dearborn's dispatches of Mar. 3d from Sackett's Harbor, this demonstration seemed so alarming that operations against Kingston were suspended in favor of others which had regard to the safety of Sackett's Harbor; though it appears in General Armstrong's History of the War that Sir George Prevost had executed a clever ruse with few troops, and "countervailed his antagonist only by dexterous and well-timed reports," Whiting's Pike, p. 290 seq.

The proposed attack on Kingston over the ice having been abandoned, the Secretary of War's alternative plan of reducing in succession the several posts on and about Lake Ontario engaged General Dearborn's attention. The Secretary indicated the order in which the successive attacks were to be made, viz.: Kingston and York on Lake Ontario; George and Erie on the Niagara river. But this sequence was not strictly regarded by General Dearborn, who determined to attack Kingston last instead of first; considering the rotation of the assaults to be of minor consequence, in view of the main features of a campaign which had for its object the reduction of all the posts named in the order of the Secretary. The general commanding, on consultation with Commodore Isaac Chauncey, concluded to make York the initial point of attack; George to come next, and then Kingston.

The prospect held out by this plan of the campaign was certainly very promising. It had all such probabilities in its favor as could be commanded by those who control only one side of the current of events. The force that could and would be brought to bear on each point of attack was ample, and left as little to hazard as prudence would suggest. The plan was founded on the best principles of strategy, and highly creditable to the generalship which dictated it. Had it been carried out with the spirit and perseverance with which it was commenced, there was every reasonable prospect of a successful issue. The causes of its failure were obvious: delays, without proper objects, after the capture of Fort George; and a change of command, wholly unnecessary and inexpedient, which led to the waste of nearly an entire season of inactivity (Whiting, p. 297).

As noted by this military critic and historian, General Dearborn was relieved from command early in July, 1813, his successor being enjoined to rest on his arms, except in the event of certain improbable contingencies which never arose, until the arrival of General Wilkinson, who did not reach Fort George until September, or resume operations until Oct. 1st; so that "nearly three months were utterly wasted by a body of 4,000 troops."

But I have digressed from the attack on Fort York, with which alone are we here concerned.

In the latter part of April, 1813, the navigation of Lake Ontario was open, and no molestation was apprehended, as it was known that Sir James Yeo's fleet was not operative. Agreeably with the plan of the campaign above briefly noted, therefore, General Dearborn embarked on board Commodore Chauncey's fleet, with about 1,700 troops, under the immediate command of Brigadier-General Pike, Apr. 25th. On the morning of the 27th the fleet reached York harbor, where it was intended to debark for the assault on Fort York. This military post defended the place which had been known as Toronto till 1793, and was then called York till 1834, when it resumed its aboriginal name.

The true signification of the Iroquois word which has settled in the form Toronto, after long fluctuation of all its vowels, is uncertain, or at any rate, is still questioned. It is now most frequently translated "trees in the water," or by some equivalent phrase, with reference to the formerly wooded, long, low spit of land which still encompasses the harbor of Ontario's metropolis. Irrespective of its etymology, the various connotations of Toronto in successive historical periods are to be carefully discriminated. If we turn to old maps, we see that the present Georgian bay of Lake Huron was Toronto bay; the present Lake Simcoe was Toronto lake; present Severn river and the Humber were each of them Toronto river. In the seventeenth century, Toronto was the official designation of a region between Lake Simcoe and the Georgian bay—the country of the Hurons, on the large peninsula which intervenes between Lake Huron and Lake Ontario. The comparatively narrow neck of this peninsula offered, by means of Humber river and certain portages, a convenient way to pass between these two great lakes—it was, in fact, an Indian thoroughfare. The mouth of the Humber consequently became an Indian rendezvous, and the name of the whole region thus became best known in connection with the locality of the present city. As the southern terminus of this highway, on Lake Ontario, offered an eligible site for a trading-post, advantage was taken of such an opportunity to cut off trade from Chouagen (Oswego) by planting the original establishment of the Whites near the mouth of the Humber. Such was the French Fort Rouillé, built in 1749, and named in compliment to Antoine Louis Rouillé, Comte de Jouy, then colonial minister. This post was destroyed in 1756, to prevent it from falling into the hands of the English. It became better known as Fort Toronto than it had been by its proper French name, and later on passed into history as Old Fort Toronto, in distinction from the two other establishments to which the name was successively bequeathed. Fort Rouillé, by whatever name called, was never lost sight of entirely. Lossing's Field Book of the War of 1812, New York, 1868, p. 593, has a cut which shows its appearance when it had been to some extent renovated in 1812-13. The exact site is now marked by a monument, lying alongside which is an inscribed stone. These memorials are pointed out to visitors, on the lake shore, in the southwest corner of the present Exposition grounds, on the western side of the city of Toronto. After the abandonment of old Fort Rouillé the region round about remained for nearly half a century a wild whose solitude may have been only relieved by the lodges of a few Misisagas—those Indians of Ojibwa affinities who had become members of the Iroquois confederation in 1746, three years before the fort was built. In 1791, Upper and Lower Canada were instituted by parliamentary measures which Pitt guided to success; the latter was practically the province of Quebec; the former became the province of Ontario, the refuge and future home of the United Empire Loyalists. For the capital of Ontario, a site was to be chosen in then unbroken wilds. The first provincial Parliament of the new province of Upper Canada was held in May, 1793, at Newark, the present town of Niagara, where the river of that name enters Lake Ontario. But this place was ineligible; the river became an international boundary; the guns of the United States Fort Niagara could be trained upon Newark; and in August of the same year the seat of government of the new province was transferred to the new site which had been surveyed to that end by Bouchette, and selected for the purpose by General and Governor John Graves Simcoe (b. Feb. 25th, 1752, d. Oct. 6th, 1806). To this place Simcoe gave the name of York, after the duke, second son of George III. The evolution of this embryo of future greatness was slow; for many years "Little York," or "Muddy York," as it was styled by some in derision, had but a few hundred inhabitants; its maintenance was mainly due to the United Loyalists already mentioned. In April, 1813, the works by which York was defended, and which General Pike carried by assault, were those called Fort York; later they were known as Fort Toronto, or "the Fort at Toronto." The town which Simcoe had christened York did not resume the original designation of the locality till 1834, when it was incorporated as the city of Toronto.

This magnificent metropolis, which so admirably illustrates the effect of American momentum upon English stability, is situated upon the north side of Lake Ontario, 39 miles northeast of Hamilton (which occupies the fond du lac) and 310 miles west-southwest of Montreal; at the observatory the position is calculated to be in latitude 43° 39´ 35´´ N. and longitude 79° 23´ 39´´ W. of the Greenwich meridian. The city extends westward from the vicinity of the Don in the direction of the Humber, across the small stream known as Garrison creek. It thus has several miles of lake front on the south, at the bay or harbor of Toronto, partly shut off from the lake by low land which was once a peninsula, and some small islands, with an entrance only from the west; but the peninsula has been artificially cut off from the mainland. At its end stood a blockhouse, in a position known as Gibraltar point; another blockhouse stood at the mouth of the Don, on the left or east bank of that river. One now drives a few blocks from any hotel in the heart of the city to "old" Fort York, at present dismantled, but very much in evidence still of the scene of General Pike's victory and mortal hurt. The visitor will be warned off the premises by the functionary who has these disjecta membra in charge, as Lossing had been before I was; but may nevertheless keep on the main street or road through the frowning earthworks, and will presently find himself on Garrison Common. This is the large level piece of ground, the middle of the lake front of which is occupied by the present barracks, or "new fort." At points included within the present garrison and parade ground were the positions of two outer defenses of old Fort York, respectively called at that time the Western and the Half Moon battery; these were the first and second obstacles for Pike to surmount in advancing upon the main defenses of York. Crossing Garrison Common in a few minutes we enter the Exposition grounds, at the further corner of which, to the left, and directly upon the lake shore, stand the Rouillé monument and inscribed cairn already mentioned, together with a historical cabin; a pier juts into the lake close by these objects. The direct distance between the Rouillé monument and old Fort York is about 6,000 feet—little over a mile by the road; the present barracks are nearly midway between those two places. Old Fort York occupies a position about the mouth of Garrison creek, between Front Street and the water's edge, at the foot of Tecumseh Street, and close to Queen's Wharf, in the midst of railroad tracks, freight houses, and depots. The magazine, which was exploded at the cost of many American and some British lives, stood in a depression at or near the mouth of the creek, with its top nearly on a level with higher ground on either hand; it is said that its existence was not suspected by the enemy. It was a comparatively large structure of its kind, solidly built of heavy stone masonry, and contained a great quantity of powder, shot, and shell. All the positions here in mention may be inspected in a leisurely drive of an hour. Those who have not been over the ground, or have not a city map at hand, will be helped to a clear understanding of the situation by the diagram given in Lossing, p. 590; together with the sketches there given of York, of Fort York, of the magazine which was blown up by General Sheaffe's order, and of the Western battery whose explosion was accidental. Of the latter, the picture represents the remains as they were in 1860.

The conflicting accounts of uninformed, unconsciously biased, or willfully mendacious writers have shrouded in obscurity the clear and intelligible relation which can be given of the battle of York. Especially have the two explosions which occurred during the assault been confounded and falsified in history. It is necessary, at the outset, to dissociate in mind these two catastrophes, namely: (1) The accidental explosion of a portable magazine at the Western battery during the advance of the Americans upon the main works. (2) The intentional explosion of the fixed magazine during the retreat of the British from the main works. The latter was somewhat premature, owing to overmuch zeal of the soldier who had been ordered to fire the train; but it was premeditated.

A diligent comparison of many different descriptions of the battle of York has satisfied me that the account in Whiting, Pike's most formal biographer, leaves much to be desired, and that Lossing's relation is decidedly preferable in most particulars. The latter gives, on the whole, the clearest and truest picture which any modern historian has painted. Lossing consulted the official reports of the commanders, both British and American; the accounts given by Thompson, Perkins, James, Auchinleck, Armstrong, Christy, Ingersoll, and others; Whiting's Biography of Pike; Hough's County histories; Roger's Canadian History; Smith's Canada; Cooper's Naval History; Niles' Register; the Portfolio; the Analectic Magazine; he had some manuscripts of actors in the scene, besides various verbal relations; and he went over the ground in person. In the following sketch I shall lean more heavily upon Lossing than upon Whiting; but for numerous particulars shall refer back of both to contemporaneous records and official reports, on both sides. I shall also adduce a certain obscure author, P. Finan, who is among those who witnessed the fight, and who describes what he saw in his little-known Journal of a Voyage to Quebec in the Year 1825, with Recollections of Canada during the late American War in the Years 1812-13, Newry, printed by Alexander Peacock, 1828. H. A. Fay's Collection of Official Documents, etc., 1 vol., 8vo, New York, 1817, gives General Dearborn's and Commodore Chauncey's reports to the Secretary of War and of the Navy, respectively, and the terms of the capitulation after the capture. Brannan's Official Letters, etc., 1 vol., 8vo, Washington, 1823, gives in full Pike's vigorous and rigorous brigade order, pp. 144-146; the reports said of Dearborn and of Chauncey; and various other items. These and many other materials are also contained in earlier form in Niles' Weekly Register, IV. Mar.-Sept., 1813. What here follows is derived mainly from the sources I have thus indicated, but also includes a certified copy of the most important one of the original Sheaffe documents in the Archives of Ontario at Ottawa.

General Pike's brigade order for the attack on York appears as follows in Niles' Register, IV. pp. 229, 230:

Sackett's Harbor, April 25, 1813.

Brigade Order. When the debarkation shall take place on the enemy's shore, Major Forsyth's light troops, formed in four platoons, shall be first landed. They will advance a small distance from the shore, and form the chain to cover the landing of the troops. They will not fire unless they discover the approach of a body of the enemy, but will make prisoners of every person who may be passing, and send them to the general. They will be followed by the regimental platoons of the first brigade, with two pieces of Brooks' artillery, one on the right and one on the left flank, covered by their musketry, and the small detachments of riflemen of the 15th and 16th Infantry. Then will be landed the three platoons of the reserve of the first brigade, under Major Swan.[M-17] Then Major Eustis, with his train of artillery, covered by his own musketry. Then Colonel M'Clure's volunteers, in four platoons, followed by the 21st regiment, in six platoons. When the troops shall move in column, either to meet the enemy or take a position, it will be in the following order, viz.: First, Forsyth's riflemen, with proper front and flank guards; the regiments of the first brigade, with their pieces; then three platoons of reserve; Major Eustis' train of artillery; volunteer corps; 21st regiment; each corps sending out proper flank guards. When the enemy shall be discovered in front, the riflemen will form the chain, and maintain their ground until they have the signal (the preparative) or receive orders to retire, at which they will retreat with the greatest velocity, and form equally on the two flanks of the regiments of the first brigade, and then renew their fire. The three reserve platoons of this line under the orders of Major Swan, 100 yards in the rear of the colors, ready to support any part which may show an unsteady countenance. Major Eustis and his train will form in the rear of this reserve, ready to act where circumstances may dictate.

The second line will be composed of the 21st Infantry in six platoons, flanked by Colonel M'Clure's volunteers, equally divided as light troops. The whole under the orders of Colonel Ripley.[M-18]

It is expected that every corps will be mindful of the honor of the American arms, and the disgraces which have recently tarnished our arms; and endeavor, by a cool and determined discharge of their duty, to support the one and wipe off the other. The riflemen in front will maintain their ground at all hazards, until ordered to retire, as will every corps of the army. With an assurance of being duly supported, should the commanding general find it prudent to withdraw the front line, he will give orders to retire by the heads of platoons, covered by the riflemen; and the second line will advance by the heads of platoons, pass the intervals, and form the line, call in the light troops, and renew the action. But the general may find it proper to bring up the second line on one or both flanks, to charge in columns, or perform a variety of manœuvres which it would be impossible to foresee. But as a general rule, whatever may be the directions of lines at the commencement of the action, the corps will form as before directed. If they then advance in line, it may be in parallel eschelons of platoons, or otherwise, as the ground or circumstances may dictate.

No man will load until ordered, except the light troops in front until within a short distance of the enemy, and then charge bayonets; thus letting the enemy see that we can meet them in their own weapons. Any man firing or quitting his post without orders, must be put to instant death, as an example may be necessary. Platoon officers will pay the greatest attention to the coolness and aim of their men in the fire; their regularity and dressing in the charge. Courage and bravery in the field do not more distinguish the soldier than humanity after victory; and whatever examples the savage allies of our enemies may have given us, the general confidently hopes that the blood of an unresisting or yielding enemy will never stain the weapons of the soldiers of his column.

The unoffending citizens of Canada are many of them our own countrymen, and the poor Canadians have been forced into the war. Their property must therefore be held sacred, and any soldier who shall so far neglect the honor of his profession as to be guilty of plundering the inhabitants, shall, if convicted, be punished with death. But the commanding general assures the troops that, should they capture a large quantity of public stores, he will use his best endeavors to procure them a reward from his government.

This order shall be read at the head of each corps and every field officer shall carry a copy, in order that he may at any moment refer to it; and give explanations to his subordinates.

All those found in arms in the enemy's country, shall be treated as enemies; but those who are peaceably following the pursuits of their various avocations, friends—and their property respected.

By order of Brigadier-general Z. M. Pike. Charles G. Jones,[M-19] Assistant aid-de-camp.

Of quite another character than the foregoing order is the next word which reaches us from General Pike—probably from the last letter he ever wrote. It is always the soldier, but now the son and not the officer who speaks, in this letter addressed to his father. The extract is undated and unsigned, but was penned at Brownsville, near Sackett's Harbor, on the day before the expedition sailed from the latter place. I cite from Niles' Register of Saturday, July 10th, 1813, p. 304, these affecting passages:

"I embark to-morrow in the fleet at Sackett's Harbor, at the head of a column of 1,500 choice troops, on a secret expedition. If success attends my steps, honor and glory await my name—if defeat, still shall it be said we died like brave men, and conferred honor, even in death, on the American name.

"Should I be the happy mortal destined to turn the scale of war, will you not rejoice, O my father? May Heaven be propitious, and smile on the cause of my country. But if we are destined to fall, may my fall be like Wolfe's—to sleep in the arms of victory."

His aspiration was answered, for he turned the scale of war; his dream of glory came true, for he fell asleep, like Wolfe, in the arms of victory!

Commodore Isaac Chauncey's fleet, which conveyed the American troops from Sackett's Harbor to York, consisted of 14 vessels: the Madison, flagship; Oneida, Fair American, Hamilton, Governor Tompkins, Conquest, Asp, Pert, Julia, Growler, Ontario, Scourge, Lady of the Lake, and the transport Raven.

On that fateful 27th of April, 1813, about seven o'clock in the morning, when this fleet had reached York, the intention was to land the troops at old Fort Rouillé, whence the advance to the assault of Fort York would have been only about a mile, along the lake front, over the level ground of present Garrison Common. But a strong east wind drove the boats "a considerable distance" leeward, to some wooded point in the direction of the Humber. Exactly how far this was does not appear; but there is evidence that it was not more than some fraction of a mile—probably not as far west of Fort Rouillé as the latter was west of Fort York. General Dearborn says, "about a mile and a half" from Fort York, which would be about half a mile west of Fort Rouillé; and the place called Grenadier Point has been named in this connection. Doubtless the whole of the troops were not landed at precisely the same spot. General Dearborn remained with the fleet, which was to bombard York after landing the troops under the command of General Pike. The former's official report to Hon. John Armstrong, Secretary of War, dated Headquarters, York, Upper Canada, Apr. 28th, 1813, includes this passage (Brannan, p. 149):

I had been induced to confide the immediate command of the troops in action to General Pike, from a conviction that he fully expected it, and would be much mortified at being deprived of the honor, which he highly appreciated.

As rendered in Niles' Register, IV. p. 179, it is to the same effect, but somewhat differently worded:

To the general I had been induced to confide the immediate attack, from a knowledge that it was his wish and that he would have been mortified had it not been given to him.

We will hear from Pike himself once more before he falls. It is before any landing has been effected. Forsyth's boats are nearing the shore; they are fired upon from the woods, but have not yet answered a shot. Pike is standing on the deck of the flagship, surrounded by his staff, straining his eager eyes impatiently at the boats, which he sees have been driven beyond the intended point of debarkation. "'By God! I can't stay here any longer!' and addressing himself to his staff—'Come, jump into the boat!' which we immediately did, the commodore having reserved a boat specially for him and his suite; the little coxswain was ordered immediately to steer for the middle of the fray, and the balls whistled gloriously around; probably their number was owing to seeing so many officers in one boat; but we laughed at their clumsy efforts as we pressed forward with well-pulled oars."[M-20]

The first troops which effected a landing were Forsyth's[M-21] Rifles, conveyed in two boats. Their debarkation was promptly resisted by a choice body of light troops from Fort York, consisting of a company of Glengary Fencibles, with some Indians, under Major Givens. From an advantageous position in the woods which had been taken up, the enemy opened a galling fire as our troops left the boats. Concerning this opening engagement I cite Whiting, pp. 300-303:

The riflemen were formed on the bank as promptly as possible, when the boats returned to the fleet for other troops. In the meantime, this gallant little band, assisted by some few other troops that were thrown on shore in other boats, sustained the brunt of the combat. The numbers in this initial struggle were about equal, and it became a fair and close fight, to be turned either way as re-enforcements should happen to arrive. The British light troops were choice men, and commanded by a brave officer.

Forsyth's men were undisciplined, but had seen some desultory service on the Ogdensburg frontier, and had unbounded confidence in their leader, who was rather an extraordinary man, and regarded as a most promising partisan officer. He had peculiar notions as to the manner of training men. The common rules of discipline were looked upon by him with the utmost contempt. All he seemed to require of those under him was, that they should be good marksmen, and ready to follow him....

At the time of this expedition, Major Forsyth was a fat man, probably weighing some 200 pounds. The uniform of his men was green, and, at the time he landed, he wore a broad-skirted coat of that color, which was unbuttoned and thrown back, displaying a white vest spread over his ample chest, that afforded a mark for an enemy equal to the chalked circle of a common infantry target. He had on his head a broad-brimmed black hat. Soon after the landing, the armorer of his regiment, a favorite of both himself and his men, was killed. The skill of this man was such as enabled him to give the rifle its most deadly character; and the efficiency of the regiment was consequently supposed, both by officers and men, to depend much upon him. When he fell, every man felt as if a deed had been perpetrated by the enemy that demanded revenge; and the whole detachment, from Major Forsyth down to the most indifferent marksman, entered into the combat with a fierce spirit of retaliation that, no doubt, contributed much to the obstinacy of the stand they made, and the unusual loss sustained by the enemy immediately opposed to them.

Taking to the woods in which the British light troops were posted, the riflemen, after their loose manner, placed themselves behind trees, and thus carried on the contest with their more concentrated, better ordered, and, therefore, more exposed opponents. It is said that Major Forsyth continued, throughout the action, to move to and fro, armed only with a light sword, immediately in the rear of his men, pointing out with an earnest solemnity that partook both of sorrow and anger, to one rifleman and another, some one of the enemy, and exclaiming that he was the man who had killed the favorite armorer. This suggestion was almost sure to be fatal to the enemy thus specially branded with the guilt of having taken off the best man of the corps. The British light troops were nearly all left on the ground they first occupied, being too strong to retreat while the landing was only partially made, and too much exposed to stand before such expertness of aim, rendered so fierce and unyielding by one of the chance shots of an opening fight.

The force under Forsyth was soon supported by Major King's[M-22] battalion of the 15th Infantry, consisting of three companies—Captain John Scott's, Captain White Youngs', and that of Captain John Lambert Hoppock, who had been mortally wounded in the boats. When General Pike had landed with the whole body of his troops, the attacking force was represented by the 6th, 15th, 16th, and 21st Infantry, Colonel Maclure's 3d regiment of New York Militia, and several pieces of artillery.

At the first sharp collision, as we have seen, the British were defeated, not without much loss on both sides. On their retreat, the bugles sounded the advance, and the troops pressed forward along the lake shore toward Fort York, which was meanwhile bombarded from the fleet. One of General Pike's staff says: "Our march was by the lake road in sections, but the route was so much intersected by streams and rivulets, the bridges over which had been destroyed by the enemy as they retreated, that we were considerably retarded in our progress. We collected logs, and by severe efforts at length contrived to pass over one field piece and a howitzer, which were placed at the head of our column, in charge of Captain Fanning[M-23] of the 3d Artillery; and thus we proceeded through a spacious wood, as we emerged from which we were saluted by a battery of 24-pounders. The general then ordered one of his aids (Fraser) and a sergeant to proceed to the right of the battery, in order to discover how many men were in the works. We did so, and reported to him the number, and that they were spiking their own guns. The general immediately ordered Captain Walworth of the 16th [sic] with his company of grenadiers to make the assault. Walworth gallantly ordered his men to trail arms and advance at the accelerated pace; but at the moment when they were ordered to recover and charge the enemy, the enemy broke in the utmost confusion, leaving several men wounded on the ground which they abandoned."

This first serious obstacle to Pike's advance was the Western battery already described, p. lxxvii, where the explosion occurred before Captain Walworth[M-24] could carry out the order to charge this work. This accident caused some loss of life to the defenders, but none to the assaulters. Lossing has, concerning it:

The wooden magazine of the battery, that had been carelessly left open, blew up, killing some of the men, and seriously damaging the defences. The dismayed enemy spiked their cannon and fled to the next, or Half Moon battery. Walworth pressed forward, when that, too, was abandoned, and he found nothing within but spiked cannon. Sheaffe and his little army, deserted by the Indians, fled to the garrison near the governor's house, and there opened fire upon the Americans. Pike ordered his troops to halt, and lie flat upon the grass, while Major Eustis,[M-25] with his artillery battery, moved to the front, and soon silenced the great guns of the enemy.

Finan is more circumstantial in describing the casualty which did so much to decide the fate of the day:

While this part of our force was contending with the enemy in the woods, an unfortunate accident occurred in the battery opposed to the fleet which proved a death blow to the little hope that might have been entertained of a successful issue to the proceedings of the day. A gun was aimed at one of the vessels, and the officers, desirous of seeing if the ball would take effect, ascended the bastion: In the meantime the artilleryman, waiting for the word of command to fire, held the match behind him, as is usual under such circumstances; and the traveling magazine, a large wooden chest, containing cartridges for the great guns, being open just at his back, he unfortunately put the match into it and the consequence, as may be supposed, was dreadful indeed! Every man in the battery was blown into the air, and the dissection of the greater part of their bodies was inconceivably shocking! The officers were thrown from the bastion by the shock, but escaped with a few bruises; the cannons were dismounted, and consequently the battery was rendered completely useless.

I was standing at the gate of the garrison when the poor soldiers who escaped the explosion with a little life remaining, were brought in to the hospital, and a more afflicting sight could scarcely be witnessed. Their faces were completely black, resembling those of the blackest Africans; their hair frizzled like theirs, and their clothes scorched and emitting an effluvia so strong as to be perceived long before they reached one. One man in particular presented an awful spectacle: he was brought in a wheelbarrow, and from his appearance I should be inclined to suppose that almost every bone in his body was broken; he was lying in a powerless heap, shaking about with every motion of the barrow, from which his legs hung dangling down, as if only connected with his body by the skin, while his cries and groans were of the most heart-rending description.

Although Spartan valour was evinced by our little party, it proved unavailing against the numbers that pressed them upon all sides; and in consequence of the loss of the battery, and the reduction that had been made in the number of our troops, their ground was no longer tenable; but after nobly and desperately withstanding their enemies for several hours, a retreat towards the garrison became inevitable, although every inch of the ground was obstinately disputed.

It is remarkable that Whiting's relation of the attack has nothing about this marked affair; it is in fact impossible to follow the course of events in his narrative, between the conclusion of the opening engagement and the final explosion of the main magazine. Lossing, having brought our troops to a halt, when they were lying upon the grass, continues with the result of Major Eustis' operations:

The firing from the garrison ceased and the Americans expected every moment to see a white flag displayed from the blockhouse in token of surrender. Lieut. Riddle[M-26] was sent forward to reconnoitre. General Pike, who had just assisted, with his own hands, in removing a wounded soldier to a comfortable place, was sitting upon a stump conversing with a huge British sergeant[M-27] who had been taken prisoner, his staff standing around him. At that moment was felt a sudden tremor of the ground, followed by a tremendous explosion near the British garrison. The enemy, despairing of holding the place, had blown up their powder magazine, situated upon the edge of the water at the mouth of a ravine, near where the buildings of the Great Western Railway stand. The effect was terrible. Fragments of timber, and huge stones of which the magazine walls were built, were scattered in every direction over a space of several hundred yards. When the smoke floated away, the scene was appalling. Fifty-two Americans lay dead, and 180 were wounded. So badly had the affair been managed that 40 of the British also lost their lives by the explosion.[M-28]

General Armstrong states, in his History of the War of 1812, that General Sheaffe said this explosion was accidental, his own soldiers having been involved in its effects. General Whiting repeats this. But both Armstrong and Whiting are clearly in error. If General Sheaffe ever said this, he said what he knew was untrue. His words—such as they may have been—may have referred to the earlier explosion at the Western battery and been mistaken to apply to the main explosion. We have his own reiterated writings, that the magazine was exploded by his order. One of these statements is made in a hurried letter, whose almost illegible handwriting betrays the state of mind to which this gentleman had been reduced. It was written while he was on his retreat to Kingston, and is addressed to his superior officer, Sir George Prevost. The published text before me reads in part as follows (italics editorial):

Haldimand, 30th April.

My Dear Sir George,—I have the mortification of reporting to you that York is in the possession of the enemy, it having on the 27th inst. been attacked by a force too powerful to resist with success. Sixteen vessels of various descriptions full of men, including their new ship the Madison, formed their flotilla. The Grenadiers of the King's suffered first in the action with the enemy (in which Captain W. Neale was killed), and afterwards severely, in connection with other corps, by the accidental explosion of a battery magazine, which at the same time disabled the battery. I caused our grand magazine to be blown up....

I am, my dear Sir George, your very faithfully devoted servant, R. H. Sheaffe.

Another letter from General Sheaffe, dated Kingston, May 5th, when he had become more composed in mind than he seems to have been during his inglorious if not disgraceful flight, gives a more coherent account and many further details. I cite it in full, from the original MS. now in the Department of Archives at Ottawa, as kindly copied and certified for me by Mr. L. P. Sylvain of the Library of Parliament:

Kingston, 5^th May, 1813.

Sir,

I did myself the honour of writing to Your Excellency on my route from York to communicate the mortifying intelligence that the Enemy had obtained possession of that place on the 27^th of April, and I shall now enter into a fuller detail, than I was enabled to do at the date of that letter.

In the evening of the 26^th of April I received information that many Vessels had been seen from the Highlands to the Eastward of York, soon after daylight the next morning the Enemy's Vessels were discovered lying to not far from the shore of the peninsula in front of the town; they soon afterwards, sixteen in number of various descriptions, made sail with a fresh breeze from the [p. 2] eastward, led by the Ship lately built at Sackett's harbour, and anchored off the point where the french fort [Rouillé] formerly stood; many boats full of troops were soon discovered assembling near the Commander's Ship, apparently with an intention of effecting a landing on the ground off which he was anchored: our troops were ordered into the Ravine in the rear of the Government Garden and fields; Major Givens and the Indians with him were sent forward through the wood to oppose the landing of the Enemy—the Company of Glengary Light Infantry was directed to support them, and the Militia not having arrived at the Ravine, The Grenadiers of the King's Regiment and the small portion of the Royal Newfoundland Fencibles belonging to the Garrison of York were moved on, led by L^t Colonel Heathcote of that corps, commanding the Garrison; this movement was directed to be made within the wood, [p. 3] parallel to the Lake-side, and only so far from it, as not to be discovered by the Enemy's Vessels, several of which were not at a great distance from the shore: Captain Eustace's company of the King's Regiment, and some Militia that were quartered at the east end of the town, and had been left there during the night, lest the Enemy might make some attempt on that flank, were ordered, with the exception of a small party of the Militia, to join these troops—which was soon effected: while these operations were going on Major General Shaw, Adjudant General of Militia led a portion of the Militia on a road at the back of the wood to watch our rear, and to act according to circumstances; by some mistake he led the Glengary company away from the direction assigned to it, to accompany this detachment, so that it came late into action, instead of being near the Indians at its commencement; the movement of the other troops was retarded [p. 4] by the difficulty of the wood, while the Enemy being aided by the wind, rapidly gained the shore under cover of a fire from the commodore's ship and other vessels, and landed in spite of a spirited opposition from major Givens and his small band of Indians; the Enemy was shortly afterwards encountered by our handful of troops, Captain McNeal of the King's Regiment was early killed while gallantly leading his Company which suffered severely: the troops fell back. I succeeded in rallying them several times, and a detachment of the King's with some Militia, whom I had placed near the edge of the wood to protect our left Flank repulsed a column of the Enemy which was advancing along the bank at the Lake side: but our troops could not maintain the contest against the greatly superior and increasing numbers of the Enemy—they retired under cover of our batteries, which were engaged with some of their Vessels, that had begun to beat up towards [p. 5] the harbour, when their troops landed, occasionally firing, and had anchored at a short distance to the westward of the line from the Barracks to Gibraltar Point; from that situation they kept up a heavy fire on our batteries, on the Block House and Barracks, and on the communications between them, some of their Guns being thirty two pounders; to return their fire, we had two complete twelve pounders, and old condemned guns without trunnions (—— eighteen —— pounders) which, after being proved had been stocked and mounted under the direction of Lieut. Ingouville of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment, whom I had appointed Assistant Engineer; a twelve pounder of the same description was added during the Engagement; with these defective means the Enemy was kept at bay for some time, when, by some unfortunate accident, the traveling Magazine at the Western battery blew up and killed and wounded a considerable number of men [italics editorial]; many of them belonging to the [p. 6] Grenadier Company of the King's Regiment, the battery was crippled, the platform being torn up, and one of the eighteen pounders overturned: the Magazine was replaced and the battery restored to some order, but it was evident that our numbers and means of defence were inadequate to the task of maintaining possession of York against the vast superiority of force brought against it, though providentially little mischief had hitherto been done by the long continued cannonade of the Enemy, except to some of the buildings: the troops were withdrawn towards the town, and the grand Magazine was at the same time blown up [italics editorial], the Enemy was so near to it, that he sustained great loss, and was, for a time, driven back by the explosion; some of our own troops were not beyond the reach of fragments of the stone, though they escaped with very little injury; Captain Loring, my aide-de-camp, received a severe contusion, and [p. 7] the horse he rode was killed.

The troops were halted at a ravine not far to the westward of the ship yard, I there consulted with the Superior Officers, and it being too apparent that a further opposition would but render the result more disastrous, some of the Enemy's vessels indicating an intention to move up the harbour, in order to co-operate with their land forces, I ordered the troops of the line to retreat on the road to Kingston, which was effected without any annoyance from the Enemy; when we had proceeded some miles we met the Light Company of the King's Regiment on its march for Fort George, I had sent an express the preceding evening to hasten its movement, but it was at too great a distance to be able to join us at York.

The ship on the stocks and the naval stores were destroyed to prevent the Enemy from getting possession of them. [p. 8] An attempt to set fire to the Gloucester that was fitting out for purposes of transport, proved abortive; she was aground a mere hulk, her repairs not being half finished: I have been informed that the enemy succeeded in getting her off, and putting her into a state to be towed away; a number of shipwrights having arrived from Sackett's harbour with the expectation of employing them in a similar task on our new ship.

The accounts of the number of the Enemy landed vary from eighteen hundred and ninety to three thousand [!], our force consisted of a Bombardier and twelve Gunners of the Royal Artillery to assist whom men were drawn from other corps, two companies of the 8th or King's Regiment, one of them, the Grenadiers, being on its route for Fort George, about a company in number, of the Royal [p. 9] Newfoundland regiment, and one of the Glengary Light Infantry, and about three hundred Militia and Dock Yard men; the quality of some of these troops was of so superior a description, and their general disposition so good, that under less unfavourable circumstances we might have repulsed the Enemy in spite of his numbers, or have made him pay dearly for success; as it was, according to the reports that have reached me, his loss was much greater than ours, a return of which I have the honour of transmitting, except of that of the Militia, of which a return has not yet been received; but I believe it to have been inconsiderable: Donald McLean Esqr Clerk of the House of Assembly gallantly volunteered his services with a musket, and was killed.

[p. 10] Captain Jarvis of the Incorporated Militia, a meritorious Officer, who had a share in the successes at Detroit and Queenston, had been sent with a party of Militia in three batteaux for the Militia Clothing, which had been left on the road from Kingston, he came to me during the action to report his arrival, and soon afterwards he was severely wounded: a few of the Indians (Missasagus & Chipeways) were killed and wounded, among the latter were two chiefs.

Thinking it highly probable that the Enemy would pay an early visit to York, I had remained there long beyond the period I had originally assigned for my departure to fort George, in order to expedite the preparations which the means in my power enabled me to make for the defence of the place; Your [p. 11] Excellency knows that I had intended to place Colonel Myers, Acting Quarter Master General, in the command there, at least for a time; I afterwards learnt that Colonel Young was in movement towards me with the 8th or King's Regt. I then decided to give him the Command to avoid the inconvenience of seperating (sic) the head of a department from me, and being informed that he was to move up by himself as speedily as possible, I was for some time in daily expectation of seeing him; at length, having reason to believe that he was to accompany one of the divisions of his Regiment, I wrote to him both by the land and by the water route to come to me without delay; about the 25th of April I received certain intelligence, of what had been [p. 12] before rumoured, that he was detained at Kingston by a severe illness, and on the 26th I learnt that Colonel Myers was to leave Fort George that day for York, I therefore determined to wait for his arrival, and to leave him in the command until Colonel Young might be in a state to relieve him; it was in the evening of the same day that I heard of the approach of the Enemy: I have thought it proper to enter into this explanation, as Your Excellency may have expected that I had returned to Fort George before the period at which the attack was made on York. I propose remaining here until I shall have received Your Excellency's Commands.

I have the honour to be, With great respect, Your Excellency's Most obedient humble servant [Signed] R. H. Sheaffe. M. Gen. Command.

His Excellency Sir. George Prevost. Bt et. et. et.

Certified a true copy of the original letter in the Department of Archives, Ottawa. [Signed] L. P. Sylvain, Assist. Libr., Nov. 2d, 1894.

Here is the clear and intelligible testimony of the British commanding general to the facts that there were two explosions, one of which was accidental and destructive to his own men, the other designed and executed by his own command. It is believed to have been a little premature, in the confusion of an evacuation that was nothing short of a rout, before the defenders were quite out of reach of its effects; but that they suffered little from what wrought such havoc with the Americans, is incontestable. The ethics of the catastrophe I leave to be discussed by professional military critics; but it seems to me that General Sheaffe was justified in inflicting the utmost possible injury upon the enemy, and that he would have been chargeable with culpable neglect of duty if he had allowed valuable munitions of war to fall into their hands.

Before resuming the main thread of this painful narration I will introduce two accounts, both by eye-witnesses.

One of these is contained in an extract of a letter from a field officer in the force which landed at York, name not given, to the War Department, as published in Niles' Register, IV. p. 193. It is explicit regarding both explosions, though loose in statement of numbers killed by each, and in some other respects:

The column of attack consisted of the 6th, 15th, 16th, and 21st regiments of infantry, and a detachment of the light and heavy artillery. Major Forsyth's corps of riflemen, and Lieut. Col. M'Clure's corps of volunteers acted on the flanks. There was a long piece of woods to go through, which offered many obstructions to our heavy ordnance. As was expected, we were there annoyed on our flanks by a part of the British and Indians, with a six-pounder and two howitzers. One of the enemies batteries [the Western] accidentally blew up, by which they lost 50 men of the 8th regiment. A part of our force was detached from our column, as it came into the open ground, who carried the second battery by storm. The troops were halted a few minutes to bring up the heavy artillery to play on the blockhouse. General Sheaffe, despairing of holding the town, ordered fire to be put to the magazine, in which there were 500 barrels of powder, many cart loads of stone, and an immense quantity of iron, shells and shot. The explosion was tremendous. The column was raked from front to rear. General Pike and his three aids, and 250 officers and men were killed or wounded in the column. Notwithstanding this calamity and the discomfiture that might be expected to follow it, the troops gave three cheers, instantly formed the column, and marched on toward the town. General Sheaffe fled and left his papers and baggage behind him.[M-29]

Finan gives a vivid picture of what he saw of the catastrophe. It must be taken with some allowance, perhaps, for the force of the impression which the terrible scene made upon him at the moment, and the subsequent insistence with which his memory dwelt upon such a spectacle; but it can hardly be much overdrawn:

The governor's house, with some smaller buildings, formed a square, at the center battery, and under it the grand magazine, containing a large quantity of powder, was situated. As there were only two or three guns at this battery, and it but a short distance from the garrison, the troops did not remain in it, but retreated to the latter. When the Americans commanded by one of their best generals, Pike, reached this small battery, instead of pressing forward, they halted, and the general sat down on one of the guns; a fatal proceeding—for, in a few minutes, his advance guard, consisting of about 300 men and himself, were blown into the air by the explosion of the grand magazine.

Some time before this horrible circumstance took place, the vessels had commenced firing upon the garrison, which obliged the females, and children, &c. to leave it; we therefore retired into the country, to the house of an officer of the militia, where we remained a short time; but feeling anxious to know the fate of the day, I left the house without the knowledge of my mother, and was proceeding toward the garrison when the explosion took place. I heard the report, and felt a tremendous motion in the earth, resembling the shock of an earthquake; and, looking towards the spot, I saw an immense cloud ascend into the air. I was not aware at the moment what it had been occasioned by, but it had an awfully grand effect; at first it was a great confused mass of smoke, timber, men, earth, &c. but as it rose, in a most majestic manner, it assumed the shape of a vast balloon. When the whole mass had ascended to a considerable height, and the force by which the timber, &c. were impelled upwards became spent, the latter fell from the cloud and spread over the surrounding plain. I stopped to observe the cloud, which preserved its round shape while it remained within my view. I then advanced towards the garrison, but had not proceeded much farther until I discovered our little party collected in a close body between the town and that place, which latter they had been obliged to evacuate.

It is said, "Death loves a shining mark." One of the missiles that hurtled down on that devoted band sought out their heroic leader with fatal effect. A piece of rock fell on General Pike's back, and "broke in upon the very springs of life," to use Whiting's words. A sadly realistic memento of the speedily fatal injury reaches us from one of his aids, who was by his side and was himself gravely wounded. Lieutenant Fraser says, in a private letter he wrote by Pike's special injunction, which appeared in the Aurora, and afterward in Niles' Register, IV. p. 225: "Without the honor of a personal acquaintance, I address you at the particular order of the late General Pike. After he had been mortally wounded, his words were exactly these: '... I am mortally wounded—my ribs and back are stove in—write my friend D... and tell him what you know of the battle—and to comfort my ....' Some things else he said, on which I shall again write you; and many things he said for your ear have escaped me through the severity of my own bruises."

The dying general was carried to a boat at the lake side and conveyed to the Pert, whence he was taken aboard the flagship Madison. Some recorded words of his last moments need not be scanned with critical eye. When those who bore their fallen leader reached the boat the huzza of the troops fell upon his ears. "What does it mean?" he feebly asked. "Victory!" was the reply; "the Union Jack is coming down, General—the Stars and Stripes are going up!" The dying hero's face lighted up with a smile of ecstasy. His spirit lingered a few hours. Before the end came, the British flag was brought to him. He made a sign to place it under his head; and thus he expired.[M-30]

Military history hardly furnishes a closer parallel than that between the death of Pike before York and of Wolfe before Quebec. Each led to the assault; each conquered; each fell in the arms of victory; each is said to have pillowed his head on the stricken colors of the defenders. On the other hand, no contrast could be more obtrusive than that between the fall of Brock before Queenstown Heights and the conduct of his successor, Sheaffe, at York. The latter fled on the heels of disaster across the Don and on toward Kingston; even his personal baggage and papers fell into the hands of his enemy; the very terms of the surrender of York were agreed upon by others, in the absence of its late defender. But it is needless to pursue this subject. General Sheaffe has by none been more severely criticised than by British writers.

When General Pike fell, the command devolved by seniority upon Colonel Pearce,[M-31] of the 16th Infantry, until General Dearborn arrived upon the scene. Lieutenant Riddle's detachment was so near the place of explosion that it escaped the deadly shower; but the Americans scattered in dismay at the catastrophe. They were rallied by Brigade-Major Hunt and Lieutenant-Colonel Mitchell of the 3d Artillery. The column was formed again and led into the captured town without further resistance. Colonel Pearce sent a flag, demanding immediate and unconditional surrender—and surrender it was, with the single stipulation that private property should be respected. As soon as practicable General Dearborn left the fleet for York, where he was in command before night fell. His first dispatch to the Secretary of War appears as follows in the text of Fay's Collection, p. 81, and is substantially the same in Niles' Register, IV. p. 178:

Headquarters, York, Capital of U. C. April 27, 1813—8 o'clock, P. M.

Sir—We are in full possession of this place, after a sharp conflict, in which we lost some brave officers and soldiers. General Sheaffe commanded the British troops, militia, and Indians, in person.—We shall be prepared to sail for the next object of the expedition, the first favourable wind. I have to lament the loss of the brave and active Brig. Gen. Pike.

I am, &c. H. Dearborn.

Hon. J. Armstrong.

The official reports of General Dearborn and of Commodore Chauncey to their respective Secretaries of War and of the Navy appear in full in Niles' Register, IV. pp. 178-180; in Brannan's Official Letters, pp. 146-149, and in Fay's Collection of Official Documents, pp. 81-85. The text of Dearborn's in Niles is in greater part as follows:

Headquarters, York, Capital of Upper Canada, April 28, 1813.

Sir:

After a detention of some days by adverse winds, we arrived at this place yesterday morning, and at eight o'clock commenced landing the troops, about three miles westward from the town, and one mile and a half from the enemy's works. The wind was high and in unfavorable direction for the boats, which prevented the landing of the troops at a clear field, the scite of the ancient French fort Toronto [Rouillé]. It prevented, also, many of the armed vessels from taking positions which would have most effectually covered our landing, but everything that could be done was effected.

The riflemen under Major Forsyth first landed, under a heavy fire from the Indians and other troops. General Sheaffe commanded in person. He had collected his whole force in the woods near the point where the wind compelled our troops to land. His force consisted of 700 regulars and militia, and 100 Indians. Major Forsyth was supported as promptly as possible; but the contest was sharp and severe for nearly half an hour, and the enemy were repulsed by a number far inferior to theirs. As soon as General Pike landed with 700 or 800 men and the remainder of the troops were pushing for the shore, the enemy retreated to their works. Our troops were now formed on the ground originally intended for their landing, advanced through a thick wood, and after carrying one [the Western] battery by assault, were moving in columns toward the main work; when within 60 rods of this, a tremendous explosion took place from a magazine previously prepared, which threw out such immense quantities of stone as most seriously to injure our troops. I have not yet been able to collect the returns of the killed and wounded; but our loss will I fear exceed 100 [see p. xci ]; and among those I have to lament the loss of that brave and excellent officer, Brigadier-General Pike, who received a concussion from a large stone, which terminated his valuable life within a few hours. His loss will be severely felt.

Previously to this explosion the enemy had retired into the town, excepting a party of regulars, to the number of 40, who did not escape the effects of the shock....

General Sheaffe moved off with the regular troops and left the commanding officer of the militia to make the best terms he could. In the mean time all further resistance on the part of the enemy ceased, and the outlines of a capitulation were agreed on....

I have the honor to be, Sir, &c., [Signed] Henry Dearborn.

Hon. Gen. John Armstrong, Secretary of War, Washington.

The "Terms of capitulation entered into on the 27th of April, 1813, for the surrender of the town of York, in Upper Canada, to the Army and Navy of the United States, under the command of Major-General Dearborn and Commodore Chauncey," appear as follows, in Niles' Register, IV. p. 180—omitting the clauses which relate to the disposition of individuals as prisoners of war:

That the troops, regular and militia, at this post, and the naval officers and seamen, shall be surrendered prisoners of war. The troops, regular and militia, to ground their arms immediately, on parade, and the naval officers and seaman to be immediately surrendered.

That all public stores, naval and military, shall be immediately given up to the commanding officers of the army and navy of the United States. That all private property shall be guaranteed to the citizens of the town of York.

That all papers belonging to the civil officers shall be retained by them. That such surgeons as may be procured to attend the wounded of the British regulars and Canadian militia shall not be considered prisoners of war.

These articles bear the signatures of: Lieutenant-Colonel G. E. Mitchell,[M-32] 3d U. S. Artillery; Major S. S. Conner,[M-33] aid-de-camp to General Dearborn; Major William King, 15th U. S. Infantry; Lieutenant Jesse D. Elliott, U. S. Navy; Lieutenant-Colonel W. Chewitt, commanding 3d regiment of York Militia; Major W. Allen (or Allan), of the same; and F. Gaurreau, "lieut. M. Dpt."—the last name perhaps misprinted.

General Pike's body was prepared at York and conveyed to Sackett's Harbor for interment. It was first buried at Fort Tompkins, at a little distance from the shiphouse, together with that of his aid-de-camp, Captain Nicholson,[M-34] who had been mortally wounded by his side. Among the defenses of Sackett's Harbor was one named Fort Pike, which stood on Black River bay. A view of this work, as it was in 1855, is given by Lossing. Madison Barracks was built close by Fort Pike, soon after the war, and in the burying-ground there were deposited the remains of several officers, to whose memories a simple wooden monument was erected in 1819. Lossing figures this, p. 617, as it was when he examined it in July, 1855, "more leaning than the Pisa tower." In 1860 it was rapidly crumbling into dust; the urn which had surmounted it was gone, and the inscription was illegible. A part of the legend on the west panel, copied by Lossing at his previous visit, had been: "In memory of Brigadier General Z. M. Pike, killed at York, U. C. 27th April, 1813."

A tablet to the memory of General Pike has for many years been set in St. Michael's church, at Trenton, N. J. For a description of this object and a copy of the inscription I am indebted to the courteous attentions of the rector, Rev. O. S. Bunting. It consists of a marble slab, about 36 inches high by 20 inches wide, inserted in the outer wall of the church on the east side, the base being about two feet from the ground. On this slab is carved in relief an urn, which occupies the whole surface, as nearly as the shape of an urn can fill a rectangle; and on the urn is engraven the following inscription:

Sacred to the memory of GEN. Z. M. PIKE, of the U. S. Army, who fell in defence of his country on the 27th April A. D. 1813, at York Upper Canada.

On the base is inscribed: "This small tribute of respect is erected by his friend, Z. R." The stone is in a good state of preservation, and its position affords considerable security. Mr. Bunting has no particulars of the erection of the tablet, and does not identify "Z. R."

Upon the fall of York, the press of the whole country teemed with jubilant notices of the auspicious event—the first signal success of our arms after a period of defeat, doubt, and almost despair. The death of Pike was on every tongue, in terms of affection for the man and honor to his name, coupled with expressions of horror and detestation of the manner in which he and so many of his companions had met their fate. The feeling in the latter regard was spontaneous and natural under the circumstances—it appears differently in the cold gray light of history. Among uncounted tributes to Pike's memory, a few may be selected for reproduction in the present biography.

The editor of Niles' Register was in the habit of dedicating a completed volume. The fourth volume, from Mar. to Sept., 1813, is inscribed: "In Testimony of Respect to the Memory of Zebulon Montgomery Pike, Brigadier-General: who fell gloriously before York, in Upper Canada. And James Lawrence, Captain in the Navy: Killed on board the Chesapeake frigate, fighting the Shannon. This volume of the Weekly Register, is dedicated. The former happily expired on the conquered flag of the foe, the latter died exclaiming, 'Don't give up the ship.'"

The same volume prints the following tribute in No. 14, for the week ending June 5th, 1813, pp. 228, 229:

It has been the lot of few men, unassisted by many adventitious circumstances to acquire and possess that high confidence and respect of all classes of his fellow-citizens, the late General Pike so happily enjoyed. Without the splendor of achievement that surrounds the fortunate hero, and commands the applause of the populace, the lamented man forced his way into the public affection by the power of his virtues and strength of his talents alone. Careless of popularity, a great and good name was "buckled on him" by a discriminating people. He was an ægis of the army; and the soldiery looked upon him with admiration and reverence; love, mixed with the fear of offending his nice ideas of right, governing them all. He was a severe disciplinarian; but had the felicity to make his soldiers assured that his strictness had for its object their glory—their ease—their preservation and safety. With a mind conscious of its own rectitude, he was not easily diverted from his purpose; and difficulty only invigorated exertion. To all the sweetness of a familiar friend, he added a strength of remark and pungency of observation, that delighted all around him. Though the camp was his delight, he was fitted for any company; and could make himself agreeable on every proper occasion. His courage was invincible, for it was the result of his reason; and his death is a proof of it. The pride of his countrymen in arms, the pattern for a military life, he fell, at the moment of victory, on the first opportunity that had been afforded to reduce to practice the perfection of his theory—"but he fell like a man." His transcendent qualities were opening to the view; but they were nipped in the bud by the base stratagem of a beaten foe.[M-35] His name is unperishable; and will descend to posterity with the Warrens, Montgomerys and Woosters, of the other war. Though dead, he shall yet speak to the army of the United States. His scheme of tactics and practice of discipline shall be the criterion of the soldier's worth. He has left behind him many accomplished scholars, who, "while memory holds her seat," shall teach his rules to others, and sacredly preserve them as landmarks whereby to govern themselves. The labors of the illustrious dead are not lost. His body has descended to the tomb, and the gallant spirit taken its flight to Him that gave it—but his virtues shall live, and be with us, many generations.

Mr. Niles' eulogy concludes with a dramatic incident which commends itself for insertion here, in further illustration of the strong hold General Pike acquired upon public sentiment:

It may not be amiss, perhaps, to notice a humble mark of respect offered by the managers of the Baltimore theatre, a few evenings ago, to the memory of the general. The house was crowded in consequence of several spectacles designed in honor of the day (the review of the Baltimore brigade). Between the second and third acts of the play the curtain slowly, but unexpectedly, rose to solemn music, and exhibited a lofty obelisk on which was inscribed "Z. M. Pike, Brigadier General—Fell gloriously before York—March [April] 27, 1813." On the left hand of the monument was that elegant actress, Mrs. Green, in character as Columbia, armed, kneeling on one knee, and pensively pointing with her spear to the name of the hero. Her dress was uncommonly splendid and very appropriate to the idea [she] designed to sustain. On the other side was a lady, an elegant figure, dressed in the deepest mourning, gracefully leaning against the pedestal, immovably fixed, "in all the solemn majesty of woe." The curtain being fairly raised, a death-like silence for a considerable time reigned in the house, the music excepted; which did not interrupt the pleasing melancholy by any ill-timed boisterousness: but soon the feelings of the people burst forth in one unanimous expression of applause, such has been rarely witnessed, certainly never surpassed in any country, on a similar occasion.

In the House of Representatives of the national Congress, on Tuesday, July 27th, 1813, the following resolution was submitted by Mr. Nelson:

Resolved, That a committee be appointed to examine and report on the propriety of conferring public honors on the memory of James Lawrence, late of the U. States frigate Chesapeake, and of Zebulon M. Pike, late a brigadier-general in the armies of the U. States, whose distinguished deaths in the service of their country add lustre to the character of the American nation; the propriety of adopting, as the peculiar children of the Republic, the sons of those distinguished heroes; and the propriety of making provision for the support and comfort of the families of these deceased officers.

Among the many measures which were adopted to honor General Pike's name and fame, there is perhaps none more marked than the action of the officers of the regiment of which he was the colonel. We have a glimpse of the hearts that still beat for him in the proceedings recorded in the Register of May 14th, 1814, VI. p. 176:

Burlington, April 29, 1814.

At a meeting of the Board of Honor of the 15th, or Pike's regiment held on the 24th inst., it was resolved, that the following articles of the constitution governing said Board be carried into effect.—"Article 2d. Each succeeding 27th April, the day on which the immortal Pike fell; the standard will be dressed in mourning; each officer to wear crape, and all unnecessary duties dispensed with during the day, as a token of respect for our departed friend and commander," and that captain Vandalsem, captain Barton, and lieutenant Goodwin be a committee of arrangement for the day.[M-36]

Agreeably to the above resolution, the regiment formed at eleven o'clock a. m. on the grand parade, and proceeded in funeral order through town, to the court house square, and from thence through Pearl street, to the cantonment, where by the request of the commanding officer, lieutenant Goodwin delivered the following pertinent address:

Fellow soldiers—Thus far have we solemnized this day in commemoration of the immortal father of our regiment, our beloved Pike. When our political horizon was darkened by the confusion that pervaded the whole world, he was among the first that advanced to meet our barbarous and unjust enemy. Stimulated by a love of country, and a thirst for glory, he solicited with ardor, the honor of facing the enemy's batteries on all occasions, he panted to invade in the just cause of his country, and lived with the lively hope of perpetuating our freedom and handing it down unpolluted to future generations.

As an officer, the remotest corners of our country are filled with his fame. Let the learned record his deeds, and let us improve the principles he has left imprinted in our minds, and like him live but "for honor and happiness in this life, and fame after death." Nor let us confound him with the list of ordinary heroes. He will compare with [Joseph] Warren and [Richard] Montgomery, for like them he fell at the head of his column, bravely fighting in his country's cause.

With body shattered by an inhuman and unequalled explosion, he smiled in death, while our flag waved triumphant in his sight, and expired without regret, on a pillow purchased with his life.

May the omnipotent hand which directs all things, cause his spirit to hover around our councils in the field, and at all times be with his beloved regiment.

After which the regiment fired three vollies and retired to their quarters.

White Youngs,[M-37] capt 15th inf. President of the Board, pro tem. Danl. E. Burch,[M-38] lt. 15th inf. Secretary of the Board, pro tem.

Within some months, probably, of General Pike's death, a man-of-war was named in his honor. The Register for Aug. 7th, 1813, p. 374, describes it: "The General Pike is a strong, stout, and well built vessel. Length on deck 140 feet, beam 37 feet, burthen about 900 tons—has 14 ports on a side, and carries on the main deck long 24's—has also long 24's on the forecastle and poop, (one each), moving on a circle, and four guns on her top gallant forecastle; in all 34 guns." General A. W. Greely, who interested himself to procure the information, tells me that this frigate, a twin ship with the Madison, was built in 63 days and launched on Lake Ontario, at Sackett's Harbor, where she barely escaped destruction by fire, owing to the mistaken zeal of an officer who applied the torch, supposing the American victory to be a defeat; and that it does not appear that the vessel was ever brought into action.

I have already alluded to the Fort Pike on Lake Ontario. There was another Fort Pike, the name of which still finds place in current gazetteers. This was a military post on Petites Coquilles island, in Orleans parish, Louisiana, 35 miles E. N. E. of New Orleans. While it is not probable that all the counties, towns, etc., called "Pike" were named for our hero, certainly most of them bear his own name, alone or in combination or composition. There is a Pike county in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. There are about 20 Pike townships in different counties of Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. Pike is the name of several small places in Illinois, New York, North Carolina, and Ohio. Pike City is a village in Sierra Co., Cal. Pike Creek is a township of Shannon Co., Mo., and another township, of Morrison Co., Minn., besides designating the stream itself which flows through the latter: see beyond, pp. 104, 123, 316. Pike Five Corners is a hamlet of Wyoming Co., N. Y. Pikeland is a station on the Pickering Valley R. R., in Chester Co., Pa. Pike Mills is a hamlet in Pike township, Potter Co., Pa. Pike rapids are those in the Mississippi, otherwise Knife rapids: see pp. 100, 104, 122. Pike's bay is the gulf at the southern part of Cass lake: see pp. 157, 158, 324. Pike's fork of the Arkansaw river, is present Grape creek: see pp. 463, 482. Pike's island, in the Mississippi at the mouth of the Minnesota river, is historic: see pp. 76, 197, 239. Pike's mountain is the range of bluffs opposite Prairie du Chien: see p. 37. Pike's Peak is not only the famous mountain so called, but a hamlet in Brown Co., Ind., a hamlet in Wayne Co., Mich., and a mining-camp in Deer Lodge Co., Mont. Pike Station is a village in Wayne Co., O. Piketon is a hamlet in Stoddard Co., Mo., and a village in Pike Co., O. Piketon or Pikeville is the capital of Pike Co., Ky. Pikesville or Pikeville is a village in Baltimore Co., Md.; a hamlet in Pike township, Berks Co., Pa.; the capital of Marion Co., Ala.; a post-office of Pike Co., Ind.; a hamlet in Pikeville township, Wayne Co., N. C.; a village in Darke Co., O.; and the capital of Bledsoe Co., Tenn. Some of these places are no doubt named for other persons of the same surname; some are called for the pike, a fish, as is the case with several Pike rivers, creeks, or ponds not included in the above list; and some may refer to a turnpike road, or have yet another implication.

To those of the foregoing geographical and political names which commemorate our hero is to be added the designation of "Pikes" as an epithet of the "Forty-niners" and later emigrants who navigated the great plains with their "prairie schooners." Thus Mr. Prentis, in the address already cited, says, pp. 193, 194:

To these people thus described, and to all who bore to them a family resemblance, and who in 1849 and in subsequent years crossed the Plains to California, came to be applied, by whom I know not, the general name of "Pikes." Various explanations have been given of the origin of the name. The most reasonable one is, that, there are in Missouri and Illinois two large counties named Pike, and separated from each other by the Mississippi river. In 1849 an immense emigration set in from these counties to California. In consequence, the traveler bound for the States, meeting teams, and asking the usual question, "Where are you from?" was answered frequently with, "Pike county" meaning in some cases one Pike county, in some cases the other. This led to the general impression that everybody on the road was from Pike county, or that the inhabitants of Pike had all taken the road. Hence the general name of "Pikes," as applied to emigrants, especially to those traveling from Missouri, and, generally, those migrating from southern Illinois and southern Indiana. Thus the popular song—the only poetry I ever heard of applied to this class of "movers," commences:

Pike County, Ill., and Pike County, Mo., are certainly both named for the general, and I have no doubt that Mr. Prentis' explanation of "Pikes" is correct. With the above doggerel compare the slang phrase noted beyond, p. 454, and duly legended as the head-line of p. 457.

Another curious word, to which Pike has given rise indirectly, is "Peaker," as a designation of persons who came to the vicinity of Pike's Peak. Thus, we read in Colonel Meline's book, p. 89: "Most of the people who have settled on these farms [between Colorado Springs and Denver] were disappointed 'Peakers'—either those who had thrown down the shovel to take up the plough, or those who, with exhausted means, found a long mountain journey still before them after they had reached the Peak."

There is a sameness about the many published portraits of Pike which shows that they were probably all taken from one original painting. Lossing's cut looks a little different from the rest, as it faces the other way, but it is the same picture reversed in copying, no doubt with the camera lucida. There is no mistaking the extremely long, large nose, above the full compressed lips, denoting the forceful character which Pike displayed conspicuously throughout his career, whether in leading a handful of men through an unbroken wilderness, or in heading the columns which assaulted an intrenched foe. The same uniform coat, with its epaulets, its high standing, embroidered collar, unbuttoned across the breast and the flap turned down on one side, appears in all these likenesses. Such are inserted in some of the editions of Pike's work; one of the reproductions forms the frontispiece of an early popular history of the war, and is called "a striking likeness" on the title page. They are all doubtless traceable to the painting which has long hung and still hangs in the historical gallery of Independence Hall at Philadelphia, alongside the portraits of Meriwether Lewis, William Clark, and many other noble men who loved and lived for their country. The painting which hangs in one of the rooms of the Minnesota Historical Society at St. Paul is believed to be a copy of this, though it differs in the introduction of a spirit hand, extended from an invisible arm, holding a wreath over the head—an attempt at symbolism in which the unknown artist has not been very successful. This portrait is dim and much cracked. I am informed by Mr. William M. Maguire of Denver, that a prominent citizen of Colorado has recently executed a bronze bust of Pike, to be placed in Manitou. Facsimiles of Pike's signature are seldom seen in print; Lossing gives one with the portrait on p. 586 of his Field Book. I am not aware that any facsimile of a letter in Pike's handwriting has hitherto been published. That one which is given in the present volume was selected from among many I have examined in the archives of the War Department, both for its intrinsic historical interest, and for the unusually well-formed signature it bears—that of one who died, as he had lived, for his country—of one whose fame that country will never permit to perish.

PIKE'S EXPEDITIONS.

Part I.

THE MISSISSIPPI VOYAGE.