every thing on board. Nevertheless, the Americans pressed on to Detroit, and on the 12th of July, crossed the river to Sandwich. 11. Hull, hearing that Mackinaw had been taken by the British, soon returned to Detroit. From this place he sent Major Van Horne to meet Major Brush, who had reached the river Raisin with reinforcements. But Tecumtha laid an ambush for Van Horne's forces and defeated them near Brownstown. Colonel Miller with another detachment attacked and routed the savages with great loss, and then returned to Detroit. Rouge R. Huron R H BrownsT. Detroito Sandwich St. Clair CANADA Ft. Malden LAKE ERIE Perry's Victory Put in Bay Maumee Bay Ft.Meigs PortageR. South Bass I. Bay Sandusky LowerSandusky 12. General Brock, governor of Canada, now took command of the British at Malden. On the 16th of August, he advanced to the siege of Detroit. The Americans in their trenches were eager for battle. When the British were within five hundred yards, Hull hoisted a white flag over the fort. Then followed a surrender, the most shameful in the history of the United States. mand became prisoners of war. was surrendered to the British. All the forces under Hull's comThe whole of Michigan Territory Hull was afterward court-martialed and sentenced to be shot; but the President pardoned him. 13. About the time of the fall of Detroit, Fort Dearborn, on the present site of Chicago, was surrendered to an army of Indians. The garrison capitulated on condition of retiring without molestation. But the savages, finding that the whisky in the fort had been destroyed, fell upon the retreating soldiers, killed some, and distributed the rest as captives. 14. On the 19th of August, the frigate Constitution, commanded by Captain Isaac Hull, overtook the British Guerriere off the coast of Massachusetts. The vessels manoeuvred for awhile, the Constitution closing with her antagonist, until at half-pistol shot she poured in a broadside, sweeping the decks of the Guerriere and deciding the contest. On the following morning, the Guerriere, being unmanageable, was blown up; and Hull returned to port with his prisoners and spoils. 15. On the 18th of October, the American Wasp, under Captain Jones, fell in with a fleet of British merchantmen off the coast of Virginia. The squadron was under protection of the Frolic, commanded by Captain Whinyates. A terrible engagement ensued, lasting for three-quarters of an hour. Finally the American crew boarded the Frolic and struck the British flag. Soon afterward the Poictiers, a British seventy-four gun ship, bore down upon the scene, captured the Wasp, and retook the wreck of the Frolic. LAKE ONTARIO 16. On the 25th of the month, Commodore Decatur, commanding the frigate United States, captured the British Macedonian, a short distance west of the Canary Islands. The loss of the enemy in killed and wounded amounted to more than a hundred men. On the 12th of December, the Essex, commanded by Captain Porter, captured the Nocton, a British packet, having on board fifty-five thousand dollars in specie. On the 29th of December, the Constitution, under command of Commodore Bainbridge, met the Java, on the coast of Brazil. A furious battle ensued, continuing for two hours. The Java was reduced to a wreck before the flag was struck. The crew and passengers, numbering upward of four hundred, were transferred to the Constitution, and the hull was burned at sea. The news of these victories roused the enthusiasm of the people. ewark Ft Niagara Battery Lewiston To Burlingtoms Lundy's Lane Battle Niagara Falls Chippewa Chippewa C Tuscarora Cr Battery oy Manchester Goatl Battle of Chippewa z Scott'sCamp Lyon's Cr MILES 4 Streets Cr.. Halfway Or. Ft.Schlosser GRAND Ft.Erie ERIE THE NIAGARA FRONTIER, 1812. 16 17. On the 13th of October, a thousand men, commanded by General Stephen Van Rensselaer, crossed the Niagara River to capture Queenstown. They were resisted at the water's edge; but the British batteries on the heights were finally carried. The enemy's forces, returning to the charge, were a second time repulsed. General Brock fell mortally wounded. The Americans entrenched themselves, and waited for reinforcements. None came; and after losing a hundred and sixty men, they were then obliged to surrender. General Van Rensselaer resigned his command, and was succeeded by General Alexander Smyth. 18. The Americans now rallied at Black Rock, a few miles north of Buffalo. From this point, on the 28th of November, a company was sent across to the Canada shore; but General Smyth ordered the advance party to return. A few days afterward, another crossing was planned; but the Americans were again commanded to return to winter quarters. The militia became mutinous. Smyth was charged with cowardice and deposed from his command. In the autumn of 1812, Madison was reëlected President; the choice for Vice-President fell on Elbridge Gerry, of Massachusetts. RECAPITULATION. Previous services of Madison.-The Non-intercourse Act takes the place of the embargo.-Promised repeal of the Orders in Council.-Bonaparte makes a decree. And then revokes it.-Obstinacy of Great Britain.-Third census.-Tecumtha and the Prophet.-Harrison purchases lands.-Tecumtha refuses to ratify.Harrison marches up the Wabash.-Is attacked by night.-And routs the savages.-Fight of the President and the Little Belt.-The twelfth Congress.-British vessels are embargoed.-Louisiana is admitted.-War declared against England.-Hull marches to Lake Erie.-Invades Canada.-Van Horne's defeat.-Miller's victory.-Hull's surrender.-He is convicted of cowardice.-Capture of Fort Dearborn.-The Constitution captures the Guerriere.-The Wasp, the Frolic.The Poictiers, the Wasp.-The United States, the Macedonian.-The Essex, the Nocton. And the Constitution, the Java.-Van Rensselaer moves against Queenstown.-Carries the batteries.-Death of Brock.-The Americans surrender.Smyth succeeds Van Rensselaer.--The Americans at Black Rock.-Madison reëlected. IN CHAPTER XLVIII. WAR OF 1812.-CONTINUED. the beginning of 1813, the American army was organized in three divisions: THE ARMY OF THE NORTH, under General Wade Hampton; THE ARMY OF THE CENTRE, under the commander-in-chief; THE ARMY OF THE WEST, under General Winchester, who was soon superseded by General Harrison. Early in January, the latter division moved toward Lake Erie to regain the ground lost by Hull. On the 10th of the month, the American advance reached the rapids of the Maumee, thirty miles from Winchester's camp. A detachment then pressed forward to Frenchtown, on the river Raisin, captured the town, and on the 20th of the month, were joined by Winchester with the main division. 2. Two days afterward the Americans were assaulted by a thousand five hundred British and Indians under General Proctor. A severe battle was fought. General Winchester, having been taken by the enemy, advised his forces to capitulate. The American wounded were left to the mercy of the savages, who at once began and completed their work of butchery. The rest of the prisoners were dragged away through untold sufferings to Detroit, where they were afterward ransomed. 3. General Harrison now built Fort Meigs, on the Maumee. Here he was besieged by two thousand British and savages, led by Proctor and Tecumtha. Meanwhile, General Clay, with twelve hundred Kentuckians, advanced to the relief of the fort. In a few days the Indians deserted in large numbers, and Proctor, becoming alarmed, abandoned the siege, and retreated to Malden. 4. Late in July, Proctor and Tecumtha with nearly four thousand men again besieged Fort Meigs. Failing to draw out the garrison, the British general filed off with half his forces and attacked Fort Stephenson, at Lower Sandusky. This place was defended by a hundred and sixty men under Colonel Croghan, a stripling but twenty-one years of age. On the 2d of August, the British advanced to storm the fort. Having crowded into the trench, they were swept away almost to a man. The repulse was complete. Proctor now raised the siege at Fort Meigs and returned to Malden. 5. At this time, Lake Erie was commanded by a British squadron of six vessels. The work of recovering these waters was entrusted to Commodore Oliver H. Perry. His antagonist, Commodore Barclay, was a veteran from Europe. With great energy Perry directed the construction of nine ships, and was soon afloat. On the 10th of September, the two fleets met near Put-in Bay. The battle was begun by the American squadron, Perry's flag-ship, the Lawrence, leading the attack. His principal antagonist was the Detroit, under command of Barclay. The British guns had the wider range, and were better served. In a short time, the Lawrence was ruined; and Barclay's flag-ship was almost a wreck. 6. Perceiving how the battle stood, Perry seized his banner, got overboard into an open boat, and transferred his flag to the Niagara. With this powerful vessel he bore down upon the enemy's line, drove right through the midst, discharging terrible broadsides right and left. In fifteen minutes the British fleet was helpless. Perry returned to the hull of the Lawrence, and there received the surrender. And then he sent to General Harrison this despatch: "WE HAVE MET THE ENEMY, AND THEY ARE OURS." 7. For the Americans the way was now opened to Canada. On the 27th of September, Harrison's army was landed near Malden. The British retreated to the river Thames, and there faced about to fight. The battle-field extended from the river to a swamp. Here, on the 5th of October, the British were attacked by Generals Harrison and Shelby. In the beginning of the battle, Proctor fled. The British regulars were broken by the Kentuckians under Colonel Richard M. Johnson. The Americans wheeled against the fifteen hundred Indians, who lay hidden in the swamp. Tecumtha had staked all on the issue. For awhile his war-whoop sounded above the din of the conflict. Presently his voice was heard no longer; for the great chieftain had fallen. The savages, appalled by the death of their leader, fled in despair. So ended the campaign in the West. All that Hull had lost was regained. 8. Meanwhile, the Creeks of Alabama had taken up arms. In the latter part of August, Fort Mims, forty miles north of Mobile, was surprised by the savages, who murdered nearly four hundred people. The governors of Tennessee, Georgia, and Mississippi made immediate preparation for invading the country of the Creeks. The Tennesseeans, under General Jackson, were first to the rescue. Nine hundred men, led by General Coffee, reached the Indian town of Tallushatchee, burned it, and left not an Indian alive. On the 8th of November, a battle was fought at Talladega, and the savages were defeated with severe losses. Another fight occurred at Autosse, on the Tallapoosa, and again the Indians were routed. 9. During the winter, Jackson's troops became mutinous and |