THE THIRD CAMPAIGN. 183 reduced her to a sinking condition, and compelled her to strike her colors. He was promoted, and appointed to the command of the Chesapeake, at Boston. Capt. Broke, of the Shannon, one of the blockaders of that port, challenged the Chesapeake. The challenge was accepted. The Ches1813. I June. apeake was rendered helpless in the action by damage to her rigging. Lawrence was mortally wounded. His last orders were: "Don't give up the ship; fight her till she sinks." Broke boarded her, took her, and carried her as a prize to Halifax. 46. A British attempt on Norfolk was foiled by the fortifications of Craney Island, and by the determination of sailors from the Constitution and of the Virginia militia. A descent was made upon Hampton, which was plundered. Rapine and outrage were extended along the shores of Chesapeake Bay. 47. The bloody war with the Creeks began in this summer and continued through the next. During the same period, a proposal of mediation between the United States and England was offered by Russia. THE THIRD CAMPAIGN. 48. The overthrow and dethronement of Bonaparte enabled the British to increase their energy in America. The United States had gained little, and had lost much by the war. The attempt to conquer Canada had been twice unsuccessful. The war vessels could scarcely venture out of port. The foreign trade of the country was destroyed. The taxes were heavily augmented; and the ability to pay taxes was diminished. The merchants, the ship-owners, and the Federal party had always opposed hostilities. Their dissatisfaction, especially in New England, was now heightened by past failures, by present distress, and by growing perils. THE CREEK WAR. 49. The Creek War must be noticed at this point, as it is closely connected with the later events of the war with Great Britain. The Indian war broke out during the previous summer, and was continued while military operations along the northern line were interrupted by the severity of winter. The Creeks had been aroused by a second visit from Tecumseh, after the fall of Detroit. The Creeks were divided. Those west of the Chattahoochee put on the war-paint. Those east of that river sought the protection of the United States. The war was waged without mercy on either side. 50. Fort Mimms, on the Alabama River, was taken by Weathersford, a fearless and powerful chief of the Creeks. Those found within the fort were massacred. They were not unavenged. Overwhelming forces were collected, and the hostile Creeks were assailed from several quarters at once. General Andrew Jackson held the chief commmand.* He advanced from Tennessee. Tal'lasehatch'e was taken and 1813. 9 Nov. destroyed. Every warrior was slain. At Tal'lade'ga, a thousand Creeks were routed, and two hundred and ten of them slain, in a quarter of an hour. General Floyd, from Georgia, burnt Autoss'e, and slew two hundred Indians. General Claiborne and some 24 Nov. Choctaws under Pushmataha (push'-mat-a-haw), 23 Dec. came from Mississippi, defeated Weathersford, † and destroyed Eccanachaca (ek-kan-a-chah ka), or "The Holy Ground," a town recently built by the Creek chief. The * General Andrew Jackson (1767–1845) and his widowed mother were driven from their home at the Waxhaws, in South Carolina, by the brutality of Tarleton's cavalry, in 1780. Boy as he was, he joined the army, and was taken prisoner the next year. He removed to Tennessee. After two terms as President, he returned, in 1837, to "The Hermitage," his home near Nashville. + William Weathersford, or Weatherford, was a half-breed, the son of Charles Weathersford, a Georgian, long resident among the Creeks. When Weathersford came to deliver himself up, an altercation with "the Big Warrior" attracted Jackson to the door of his tent. Weathersford said: "General Jackson, I am not afraid of you; I fear no man, for I am a Creek warrior. I have nothing to request for myself; you can kill me if you desire; but send for the women and children of the war party who are starving in the woods." The crowd cried, "Kill him! kill him!" General Jackson sternly rebuked them, saying: "Any man who could kill as brave a man as this, would rob the dead." Weathersford died in 1826, greatly respected. prophets had declared that no white man could approach it without sure destruction. Weathersford escaped by forcing his horse over a precipice and plunging into the river below. 1814. 27 March. 51. Tohope'ka, or "The Horseshoe" of the Tallapoosa River, was a fortified camp, occupied by twelve hundred Indians. Jackson assailed them next spring with twice their number. The assault was begun in the rear, and the village was set on fire. The breastwork of logs across the neck of land on the front was stormed. Those who endeavored to escape were shot down. Those who sought refuge in the brushy undergrowth were burnt out and killed by the Tennessee riflemen. Nearly half the Indians were slaughtered. The Creeks begged for peace. They were ordered to give up Weathersford. One evening, as the sun went down, Weathersford rode into Jackson's camp, on the gray horse which had saved him at "The Holy Ground." All the lands of the Upper Creeks, except a tract of 150,000 acres, were ceded to the United States by the treaty of Fort Jackson, which closed the Indian hostilities for a time. LUNDY'S LANE. 52. The third campaign in the North was a third attempt to conquer Canada. General Brown was the American commander-in-chief on the St. Lawrence. He crossed the Niagara, and took Fort Erie. General Scott was sent forward to meet General Riall, who was coming to its relief. They met at Chip'pewa (-way). The British were pressed back. Riall was joined by General Drummond, and Scott. encountered the combined forces at Lundy's Lane,* a 1814. 25 July. road between the Niagara and Lake Ontario. The actual battle began a little before sunset, and was prolonged till midnight. The thunders of the Falls of Niagara blended with the roar of the cannon and the rattle of musketry. The smoke of bat * The battle of Lundy's Lane has also the names of Niagara and Bridgewater. tle was lighted up by the moonlight and the flashes of the guns. The British were pushed from the field; but they returned and reoccupied the ground. The Americans fell back to Fort Erie, which was besieged. When winter came, the fort was abandoned and blown up. THE BATTLES OF PLATTSBURG. 53. Gratifying successes were achieved, on land and water, at the eastern end of the line of operations. A descent on Canada, in that quarter, had failed in the spring. Towards the fall of the year, Sir George Prevost (pre-vō'), Governor of the province, invaded New York by way of Lake Champlain. General Macomb (mak-koom') commanded the American land forces at Plattsburg, and Commodore McDonough the 1814. II Sept. flotilla on the lake. Both were attacked on the same day. Both attacks failed. Downie, the British commodore, was killed early in the action between the fleets. His flag-ship surrendered, and another vessel was taken. Macomb repulsed every effort of the enemy to cross the Saranac, and the land force withdrew when the fleet was defeated. CAPTURE OF WASHINGTON. 54. The blockade of the seaboard was maintained. Admiral Cochrane was ordered "to destroy the coast-towns and ravage the country." He entered the Chesapeake, conveying a land force under General Ross. One part of the fleet sailed up the Potomac ; the other continued to ascend the bay. Ross landed and marched on Washington. No effectual resistance was made to his progress, though the President appeared in person on the field of Bladensburg. Washington was occupied. The unfinished capitol and the public buildings were burnt. Next night the invaders withdrew. Alexandria was plundered 1814. 24 Aug. by the fleet. Baltimore was next threatened. General Ross was killed, and the attack was frustrated.* THE BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS. 55. The movements against Washington and Baltimore were designed to conceal operations in the Gulf of Mexico. * Fort McHenry, at the mouth of the Patapsco, was bombarded by the guns of the fleet. "The Star-Spangled Banner" was composed during this bombardment, by Francis S. Key, who was detained on board of one of the British ships. A handsome monument was erected to the memory of those who had fallen in defence of the city. |