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LIFE

O F

GENERAL LEWIS CASS.

CHAPTER I.

Introductory Remarks-Birth of Mr. Cass-His Parentage-Education-He emigrates to Ohio-Enters upon the Practice of the Law-His Success-Volunteers in Defence of the Frontier-War of 1812-Invasion of Canada-Col. Cass' heroic conduct in Canada-Defeats a party of British Soldiers near Malden-Secures an Important Post-Orders of Gen. Hull-Is compelled to give up the advantages of his conquest, and return with the army to Detroit.

The record of the deeds of an individual, who by his own personal effort, the energy of his spirit and the force of his talents, has raised himself to a conspicuous and prominent position among his countrymen, is the best incentive that the young men of our country can have placed before them. The following is a biography of one, who of himself, has risen from the station of the humblest citizen, to that of the first statesman of his country, scarcely less known and celebrated among the Great Powers of Europe, than in his own country, and wherever known commanding attention, esteem and respect.

The pages which follow, are but a brief and unpretending narrative of the most marked events in the life of Lewis Cass, and as such the reader will please receive them.

Lewis Cass was born at Exeter, in New Hampshire, on the 9th of October, 1782. His father, Jonathan Cass was a practical mechanic, and at the commencement of the Revolutionary war was industriously pursuing his occupation in a quiet village of New England. But the first shot which proclaimed hostilities between the mother country and the colonies, awakened his patriotism, and arranging his private affairs as speedily as possible, he joined the

army of patriots on the day after the battle of Lexington and served under Gen. Washington in the most memorable contests of the war. He and his brother Daniel fought side by side at Bunker Hill, one being a sergeant and the other a corporal in the army. Jonathan Cass was at Monmouth, Trenton, Princeton, Germantown and Saratoga. His services were rewarded with a Major's commission in Wayne's army, whose scene of operation was to be in the defence of the western portion of the Union. To that region he removed from his New England home and when further labors in his country's service were no longer required, he settled down to pass the remaining years of his life upon land acquired by his own bravery, on the Muskingum river in Ohio; where he lived for many years and died respected by all, having been permitted to witness the rising greatness of his son Lewis, who at the time of his father's death had been for thirteen years Governor of the Territory of Michigan.

The foundation of Lewis Cass' education was laid at the Exeter Academy, where he received a classical education of a high order Distinguished in his school-boy days for his ardent desire for learning, he applied himself studiously to the acquirement of knowledge, and in a short time was competent to take charge of an academic institution at Wilmington in Delaware. He remained at the head of the Wilmington academy until he determined to accomplish what had for some time been his wish-to make his home in the Great West, where he might grow up with that region of country about which he had obtained information which satisfied him that at no distant time, it would form a very important portion of the American Union.

Accordingly we find him at the age of seventeen, in the year 1799, crossing the Alleghanies on foot, carrying his knapsack and seeking, unaided, and without the help of wealth or power, a new home in the wilderness of Ohio. His steps were directed to Marietta, a small settlement at the mouth of the Muskingum. Here he commenced the study of law and entered upon its practice. At the bar he acquired a reputation which placed him among the eminent lawyers of the west. In the pursuit of his profession he was subjected to all the inconveniences and hardships of the wilderness, being often required to travel on an Indian trail through

dense forests to the places where the courts were held, which in those days were wherever the exigency of the moment fixed them. He was often called to try his powers in opposition to men of established fame in the courts of the state, and the success which is said to have attended his efforts proves that he was able to cope with the able and eloquent lawyers who were then regarded as the leaders of the profession in the North-west. His fame as a lawyer spread through the country and the unfortunate pioneer who became entangled in the meshes of the law, looked upon his release as certain if he could secure the advocacy of Lewis Cass. In the case of impeachment of Judge Brown, one of the presiding Circuit Judges in 1812, Mr. Cass was employed by the Judge to defend him on his trial before the Senate of Ohio. The state had engaged the celebrated Henry Baldwin, of Pittsburgh to prosecute the articles of impeachment. The novelty of the case-the standing and character of all concerned-accusers, court, accused and counsel, created great interest in the trial and attracted a large concourse of people at the Capitol to hear the proceedings. Baldwin was a man of great powers, and when he closed his speech against the accused, the friends of the latter feared that his eloquence and argument had closed the door of hope upon the Judge and secured his conviction. But the young advocate for the defendant rose amid the stillness and breathless anxiety of the mass of human beings who filled the capitol, and in a speech of tremendous power, in which he seemed to concentrate his whole being, swept away the apparently immoveable barrier raised by the eloquent Baldwin against the acquittal of the defendant, and secured the victory for his client.

At the age of twenty-five, Lewis Cass was elected to the Legislature of Ohio, then just admitted as a State. Here he was not less conspicuous for his powers both as a speaker and writer, than for the readiness of perception which characterized his comprehension of subjects brought to his notice. He was placed at the head of important committees, and though the youngest member of the House of Representatives, he was unanimously regarded as the leader of his party, The detection and exposure of the conspiracy of Aaron Burr, brought the young Legislator into more

conspicuous notice, and made his name and patriotism objects of national interest. Ohio was then, in 1806, the scene of Aaron Burr's incipient operations, where he attempted to raise men and means for his expedition. His progress was arrested by the prompt and decisive action of Mr. Cass, who drew up the law which put an end to Burr's designs. The Legislature of Ohio forwarded to President Jefferson an address on the occasion, written by Mr. Cass, which is replete with the noblest sentiments that can animate the bosom of an American citizen, setting forth with the eloquence of a true heart, the inestimable advantages of Unionthe safety which exists only in a reliance upon the patriotism of the people, and their capacity to preserve inviolate the sacred con. tract which binds the states together in the Federal Union. This decisive and energetic act of Mr. Cass was pronounced by Mr. Jefferson to be the first blow given to the dangerous and treasonable schemes of the gifted but disappointed politician who sought to revenge his fancied wrongs, by subverting the good order and government of the people who had honored him, not, it is true, to the extent of his ambition, by bestowing upon him the second office of the Republic.

In March, 1807, President Jefferson appointed Mr. Cass, Marshal of Ohio. In the performance of the duties of this most responsible office, he was engaged until hostilities of the Indians rendered it necessary to take up arms in defence of the inhabitants on the frontier. In the latter part of the year 1811, the Indians instigated by the British officers at Malden, in Canada, to attempt to recover the lands they had ceded to the Americans by treaty, attacked the American camp on the Wabash. This aroused the patriotic inhabitants of Kentucky and Ohio, and they volunteered to march to the defence of the frontier. Mr. Cass was among the foremost who reached Dayton, the place of rendezvous. Here he was by acclamation elected Colonel of the third regiment of Ohio volunteers.

Other influences, however, were at work, which afforded a more extended field of action for the ardent soldier who had so eagerly enrolled his name among the defenders of his country.

In the early part of the year 1812, it was anticipated that the

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