was offered as the only reason for continuing the war, in the summer of 1812, after the British revoked their o in council, and proposed a cessation of hostilities; and yet, before the declaration, and before the British orders were repealed, even in May, 1811, when the Envoy from Great Britain to the United States gave assurance that the orders of 1807 would be withdrawn, on authentic and official notice of a revocation of the French edicts of a previous date, and that the blockade declared in May, 1810, would also thereupon cease; the American Secretary of State wrote the Envoy in reply, "That the President had received the information with great satisfaction, as it had been a material obstacle to an accommodation; and that such repeal of the British orders would be immediately followed by a repeal of the act for the non-importation of goods from England, then in force." So material was this obstacle in the way of adjusting the controversy between Great Britain and the United States, at that time, that had it been removed six weeks sooner than it was, and before the declaration of war, it appears highly probable, that this calamity might have been avoided. The sole difficulty of impressment would not have been thought to justify a war, even by the warmest friends of the administration. For though all the precise terms proposed by the American executive on that subject, were not agreeable to the British administration, it was disposed to make an arrangement, favorable practically to the security of bona fide American seamen. And the American Envoys, in 1808, had formed an article relating to impressments, in the treaty they signed at that time with Great Britain, by which, in their opinion, the rights of American seamen would be substantially secured.

The invasion of Canada was renewed in the spring of 1813: Twenty five hundred troops, under Major General Dearborn, embarked at Sacket's harbor, in eight armed vessels, commanded by Commodore Chauncey; and crossing the lake, attacked Little York in the province of Upper Canada, on the 27th of April. The American troops had been some time collecting and preparing for this object; and had a better prospect of success than the detachments which entered Canada the year before. The British force at York and vicinity was comparatively small, though aided by several hundred Indians. After some severe fighting, the town was taken by the Americans, but the British General, commanding there, escaped with a great part of the regular troops. More than two hundred British and Canadians were killed; and a large number made

prisoners, with two hundred Indians. The loss of the United States troops was also great; many being killed or mortally wounded by the explosion of the British military magazine in the town. There were valuable and extensive military stores taken at Little York; which had been collected there, to be forwarded to Niagara river, and to Detroit. These were immediately transported to Sacket's Harbor; and in a few days after, another expedition against Canada was projected, with a large force. On the 27th of May, General Dearborn, with about seven thousand troops, landed at Newark; when the small British force there retreated about thirty miles to join a larger body of Canadians, at a place called Forty-Mile Creek, after destroying a great part of the stores. The first of June, a force was ordered, under command of a Brigadier General, of two thousand men, to proceed to Forty-Mile Creek where the British and Canadians were collected: and three days later, a second Brigadier General, with more American troops, was ordered to proceed for his support. The British retired several miles, on the approach of the American troops, and then prepared to defend themselves if attacked.

General Winder, who commanded the first body of the United States troops, proceeded within about ten miles of the enemy; and the other detachment, under Brigadier General Chandler, followed soon after. Early the following morning, before daylight, and when quite unprepared * they were attacked by the enemy, the two Brigadier Generals were taken, besides a number of the men, and many were killed and wounded. The British troops soon retired; for they were not so numerous as the Americans; and Generals Lewis and Boyd hastened the following day to support them, from the distance of thirty miles.

In this expedition nearly one thousand of the United States troops were killed, wounded, or taken prisoners. Lewis and Boyd behaved with great spirit and bravery; and when a British naval force appeared near the FortyMile Creek, where the former was in command, and summoned him to surrender, he refused in the spirit of a brave officer. Soon after, however, he judged it expedient to return to Fort George-and thence, when American vessels could be provided, to return to Sacket's Harbor-a portion of the army remained some time at Fort George, under

* In one account it was stated, that the commanding officers of the United States expected the attack.

General Boyd, with a view to be a check on the enemy, and to prevent a concentration of their forces; which it was believed they contemplated previous to an attack on the United States side of the lake. The naval force of the United States on lake Ontario was increased at this period, and able to act with effect in preventing, for sometime, an invasion of the United States territory. The army under Governor Harrison, in the west, was able to accomplish little more than to defend the frontiers from the British and

Indians in that quarter. No attempt was made by him for invading Canada at this time; and it would have been highly imprudent in the existing state of the army.

The village of Havre-de-Grace, situated near the mouth. of the Susquehanna river, consisting of nearly one hundred dwelling houses, was attacked by the British, in boats and barges, from ships of war near the coast, and burnt in May, 1813. There was no military force in the vicinity to defend it. The towns on the Atlantic coast in most places were not sufficiently protected: It appeared to be the great object to have a sufficient force to invade and conquer the British provinces in Canada.

The United States troops at and near the south west part of lake Ontario at Fort Niagara, Lewistown, including those at Sacket's harbor, at the northeast, and those at Fort George on the Canadian borders, were about ten thousand; about seven thousand of which were on and near Niagara river. General Boyd, who retained possession of Fort George for some time, had frequent skirmishes with the British; and on two occasions the contests were very serious and extensive, and great numbers of the American troops were killed or taken. One of these was at a place called Beaver-dam, by a detachment under command of a Colonel; and the other by a still larger force, under General Boyd. During all this period, no progress was made in the conquest of Canada: but defeat and disaster were the consequences of the invasion; and yet on several occasions the officers behaved with great promptitude and bravery. The British followed up their successes, and invaded the territory of the United States. They took possession of Fort Niagara, and remained there several weeks; and at that time the naval force of the enemy on the lake was superior to the American squadron. Several boats belonging to the United States fell into the hands of the British. The loss was sustained by the United States troops, including the surrender of General Hull at Detroit, in August, 1812, and in the battles of Little York, Queenstown,

Fort George, Forty-Mile Creek, and Beaver-dam, all before the close of July, 1813, was estimated at 8500, killed, wounded, or taken. These were all employed in the proposed invasion of Canada. The expenses of these several armaments were very great; and increased the public debt to a vast amount. After war was declared, it was necessary to prepare for the protection of the people on the frontiers of the United States, and to prevent the enemy in Canada from penetrating far into the national territories. But this great sacrifice of life and vast increase of the public debt, for the purpose of conquering the British provinces on the northwest of the United States, served to render the war policy very doubtful, and exposed its authors to severe. and heavy censures.

At the extra session in June, 1813, agreeably to a resolution of the House of Representatives, offered by a member from New Hampshire, (Mr. Webster,) the President was requested to lay before Congress the correspondence of the French and American minister, respecting the manner and the time of the repeal of the French decrees of Berlin and Milan. The resolution was opposed for many days, but was at length adopted; the correspondence was submitted to the House, and some time after published. It served to show that the suspicions were well founded, which had been expressed by many, more than a year before the' declaration of war, of collusion on the part of the Emperor of France and his ministers on that memorable occasion: that either no decree, for revoking the obnoxious edicts, was passed at the time it was pretended; or that, if actually adopted, was not put in operation; and could therefore be no warrant for the American government to demand thereupon, a repeal of the orders of the British administration. Indeed, there was just cause to doubt the existence of any order of the Emperor for such revocation, having been made at the early date declared by the French minister; and many believed that no such order was made as intimated. And this view of the subject furnished proof sufficient to satisfy the most incredulous, that the nation had been seduced into war, by the duplicity of a foreign despot, or by an unjustifiable disposition to retain his friendship. War would not have been declared solely on account of the impressment, though that was one of the principal reasons for resorting to war, and for continuing it after it had been declared and had there been satisfactory evidence of the revocation of the French edicts in 1811, when it was so intimated, the obnoxious orders of the British government

would have been withdrawn, and the calamities and expenses of war with a powerful maritime nation, would have been prevented.

Soon after the resolution above mentioned was adopted, and a message received from the President, with numerous documents requested by the House, a report was made by the Committee of Foreign Relations, approbatory of the grounds of the war taken by the President-but the report was disapproved by the majority of the House of Representatives. At this extra session, July, 1813, several nominations of persons to be foreign Envoys, were negatived by the Senate. That body also rejected the bill for an embargo, which had passed the House on recommendation of the executive. They indirectly advised the President whom to nominate; which he justly and feelingly opposed; though their right to reject his nominations was undoubted.

*

The British troops in Canada, in the latter part of the summer of 1813, after having made a successful defence of that province, and obliged the United States forces to retire from the places previously taken by them, engaged in offensive operations, and attacked several towns within the State of New York and Vermont, situated on lake Champlain. And on this lake, as well as on Ontario, they had prepared a naval force fully equal, if not superior to that of the United States on those waters. Plattsburg and Burlington were attacked by the enemy the first of August. They did not land at Burlington; but meeting a heavy fire from the United States troops stationed there, as well as from some armed vessels then in the harbor, they retired without doing any damage. At Plattsburg, on the west side of lake Champlain, they made a more formidable assault; they effected a landing and burnt several public buildings; but did not destroy dwelling houses or private property. The attack was made by a naval armament, consisting of two sloops of war, three rowgallies, two gunboats and fortythree batteaux, with 1300 men. The attack on Burlington was considered a bold measure on the part of the British, so well defended as it was by several armed vessels as well as by a large body of land troops. The commander of the vessels in the service of the United States, on the lake at that time, was not well supplied with experienced officers, to enable him to act with so great effect as had been anticipated.

* There were then at Burlington about 4500 men, under command of Major General Hampton.