and Cass, on the 14th of August, with three hundred and fifty men, were dispatched on the service.

On the same day General Brock, with a reinforcement of British troops, arrived at Malden. Sir George Prevost, Governor-general of Canada, had previously sent Colonel Baynes, his adjutant-general, with a letter directed to General Dearborn, at Albany, desiring a suspension of hostilities, pretending (inasmuch as the Orders in Council had been revoked) that the war must necessarily cease. Major General Sheafe, at the same time, marched with a considerable force from Montreal to Kingston, and from thence embarked for the head of Lake Ontario-there landed, and collecting the militia and savages on his route, marched to the relief of Malden. General Brock, apprised of Sir George Prevost's intentions, and calculating on his success, left his post also on the Niagara, and resorted thither. An armistice was signed on the 8th of August, 1812,* between General Dearborn and Adjutant General Baynes, for suspending hostilities on the Canadian frontier, excluding, however, from its operation, the forces commanded by General Hull, and making no stipulations, requiring the British troops on the Niagara to remain in the positions they occupied. It is then apparent, that before the armistice was signed, all the British forces in Canada were put in motion, with a view to be concentrated at the only point where the invasion of the upper province had actually been made.

Sir George Prevost, in a letter addressed to General Brock, a few days afterward, (August 30th,) says: "I consider it fortunate that I have been able to prosecute this object of the Government (the armistice) without interfering with your operations at Detroit. I have sent you men, money, and stores of all kinds."

Whatever, therefore, might have been the result of a battle in defence of Detroit, or of a siege, it is pretty certain that the latter must, eventually, have fallen.

We have already remarked, that intelligence had been received at Detroit, from General Hall, that no succor from that quarter need be expected. Letters had also been received from General Hall, and also from General Porter, stating that the Britisk had moved from their stations on the Niagara, and from the eastern part of the province, and were crossing Lake Erie and Ontario, for Malten. Having received no intelligence of the suspension of hostilities, and no letters whatever from General Dearborn, or the secretary of war, this information excited his surprise; and the arrival of General Brock with reinforcements at Malden, served to increase the mystery.

The fall of Mackinaw had thrown the door wide open for British emissaries, to go forth among the northwestern tribes; and the probable fate of Chicago (from whence, however, no intelligence had been re

This document is not to be found on the files of the war department. It is, however, well ascertained to have been dated on the eighth, as stated in the text.

ceived,) conspired to place the army of General Hull in a perilous situa

tion.

General Brock, we have already observed, reached Fort Malden on the 14th of August. On the next day he proceeded to Sandwich, opposite Detroit, and immediately addressed to General Hull the following

note :

SIR:

The power, at my disposal, authorizes me to require of you the immediate surrender of Detroit. It is far from my inclination to join in a war of extermination; but you must be aware, that the numerous body of Indians, who have attached themselves to my troops, will be beyond my control the moment the contest commences. You will find me disposed to enter into such conditions as will satisfy the most scrupulous sense of honor. Lieutenant Colonel McDonnell, and Major Gregg, are fully authorized to conclude any arrangements that may prevent the unnecessary effusion of blood.

I have the honor to be

I have no other reply to make, than to inform you that I am prepared to meet any force which may be at your disposal, and any consequences, which may result from any exertion of it you may think proper to make.

I am, etc.

His excellency, Major General BROCK, etc.

WILLIAM HULL, Brigadier General.

The British immediately opened their batteries. The fire was returned with but little effect on either side. Next morning the British were seen landing their troops at Spring Wells, a little below the town, under cover of their ships. They had no sooner landed, than they advanced in close column toward the fort, twelve deep. The fort being separated from the town by an open space of two hundred yards, they were enabled to proceed thus far, before its guns could be brought to bear upon them.

vance.

The American force was judiciously disposed of to prevent their adThe militia and volunteers occupied the town, and were posted behind pickets, from whence they could annoy the enemy exceedingly. The 4th United States regimem was in the fort, and two twenty-four pounders, charged with grape-sho were advantageously posted on an eminence, and could sweep the enemy's line as he advanced. All was now silent expectation. The daring fo moved forward, apparently regardless of danger. The hearts of the Americans beat high "in anticipation of victory; no sound of discontent was heard; no appearance of cowardice or disaffection seen; every individual was at his post, and expected a proud day for his country and himself."* At this very mo

* Colonel Cass's Letter, September 10th.

ment, when it was thought that the British were deliberately advancing to their own destruction-when the artillery were already pointed, and lighted matches were standing at their side, an order was issued by the commanding general not to fire; the troops were ordered also to withdraw into the fort, and stack their arms; and to the astonishment of every one, a white flag, in token of submission, was suspended from its walls. "This order was received by the men with a universal burst of indignation. Even the women," says Colonel Cass, "were ashamed of an act so disgraceful to the arms of their country; and all felt as was proper and decorous, except the man, in whose hands were the reins of authority."

A surrender of the whole garrison, together with the Territory of Michigan, at discretion, followed. The detachment under Colonels McArthur and Cass, and the party commanded by Captain Brush, were included in the capitulation. An order had been issued the day before, requiring the return of McArthur and Cass's detachment; and they had approached already so near as to discover the movements of the enemy, expecting the next moment would announce the conflict, and that they should participate in its glory or disgrace. They were much surprised, however, at the silence which reigned; and when they heard that the garrison had surrendered, that surprise was mingled with rage, anguish, and almost with despair.

"was

"Such," says General Armstrong, in his notices of the late war, the termination of the first American expedition, the details of which have in them so little to flatter, and so much to mortify, the pride of the American arms. Nor must it be forgotten that this catastrophe, however disgraceful in itself, or disastrous in its consequences, was not the result of those occurrences which, in the affairs of nations and individuals, are denominated accidents, which sometimes triumph alike over the precautions of wisdom and the efforts of valor. We have seen that the army, in its march from the place of its rendezvous to that of its destination, was neither melted by heat, nor frozen by cold; neither persecuted by storms, nor crippled by enemies; neither wasted by disease, nor exhausted by famine; but that, on the 5th of July, it arrived at Detroit in unimpaired health and spirits. From its friends it received a cordial welcome; obtained supplies, and a considerable addition to its force; and in its subsequent descent upon Canada, was scarcely less fortunate, as it found. the British colonists indifferent, if not repugnant, to the war; the Indian tribes, though secretly hostile, cautious and calculating; and the fortress at Malden, which alone sustained the enemy's interest in that section of the country, wholly indefensible. When, at last, important changes had been wrought in this state of things by the fall of Mackinaw the defeat of Van Horne-the obstruction of our communication with Ohio-the altered tone and temper of the British and savage population, and the doubts and misgivings which could not but prevail in our ranks; when, in a word, fortune appeared to have decidedly taken part

with the enemy against us, it was but to lead him into indiscretions, which, had they been seen and punished, would have promptly reinstated our ascendency, and accomplished the principal objects of the campaign. Like other advantages, these were permitted to escape, probably without notice, and certainly without improvement, leaving us the necessary reflection, that our disasters were of our own making; and the necessary consequence of ignorance, which knew not what to do; of a self-sufficiency, refusing to be instructed; and of a cowardice that, in its terrors, lost all sense of national interest, personal dignity, and professional duty." (See note 3.)

The learned historian (afterward secretary of war himself,) might have added, that the general of the northwestern army was driven "like a lamb to the slaughter;" neglected by those who should have contributed to his aid, abandoned by his friends, traduced by his enemies, and at last sacrificed on the altar of unchastened ambition.

Of the merits or demerits of General Hull, it is not our intention here to speak. The period has not yet arrived, when the truth can be told with impunity. "Other times, and other men, must do justice to his character."

That he was afterward arrested, tried for treason, unofficer-like conduct, and cowardice-acquitted of the first, convicted of the last, sentenced to be shot, and recommended to mercy on account of his revolutionary services and advanced age-and the sentence afterward remitted by the president, our readers need not be told.

The force he commanded, and the means of resistance within his power at the time of his surrender; and the force of his adversary, and his means of annoyance, are all differently stated. By estimating his force on the 16th of August, including McArthur and Cass's detachment, at one thousand effective men; and that of his victor, at about the same number, including militia and Indians, we should render, probably, each substantial justice. That General Hull, with ordinary skill and enterprise, might at one time have succeeded in his attack upon Canada, we can readily believe; that he might have succeeded in the defence of Detroit at the time he surrendered, may also, without credulity, be supposed; and had he been sustained by a naval force on Lake Erie, or by an army on the Niagara frontier-or in other words, had he not been deserted by the Government, its officers, and his country, "the standard of the Union might have waved in triumph over the territory of Canada ;” and had his force been, in fact, the "vanguard of a much greater," as he had a right to expect, he might, in the language of his proclamation, have "broken down all opposition."

Napoleon used to say, that "there was but one step from the sublime to the ridiculous." History informs us, that in the lives of princes there is but one step from the palace to the tomb; and every day's observation lessens the difference between the victor and the vanquished. (See note 4.)

The sensation produced by the fall of Detroit-with the surrender by Hull of the Territory of Michigan, and the whole of the northwestern army-throughout the United States, and especially throughout the west, can hardly be conceived. At first it was scarcely believed, the event being improbable, and therefore unexpected. Notwithstanding some doubts had been entertained in relation to General Hull's ability to subdue the country he had invaded, there were none as to his ability to defend himself. Never were a people more deeply, more universally chagrined. Its effect, too, politically, was tremendous. A large portion of the community was opposed to the war; and the failure of the first military expedition was supposed, and pretended by many, to be ominous of its results. Some imputed it to treachery in its commander; some to his want of skill and enterprise; some to the effects of cowardice; some to the improvidence of General Dearborn; and some arraigned even the administration itself. A victim, therefore, became necessary; a victim was found—and, like the scape-goat of old, General Hull bore into the wilderness, the crimes and the follies of all, who had thus participated in their country's disgrace and our public disasters.

The American people, however, soon recovered from their chagrin. The public spirit was immediately aroused to action, and efforts, scarcely surpassed in the most enthusiastic periods of the Revolution, shortly thereafter followed as of course.

NOTE 1.

"The whole population of Michigan," says Governor Hull, "of which Detroit was the capital, was between four and five thousand souls; their settlements were on the Miami of Lake Erie, the river Raisin, Eros Rouge, the Detroit river, Lake St. Clair, and the Isle of Mackinaw. The greater part were Canadians. They were miserable farmers, paid little attention to agriculture, and depended principally on hunting, fishing, and trading with the Indians for support. The produce of the territory, in the substantial articles of living, was by no means sufficient for the subsistence of the inhabitants. They were supplied with pork, beef, flour, and corn, principally from the States of Ohio, NewYork, and Pennsylvania."

NOTE II.

Governor Hull's proclamation has been a subject of much comment, both in this country and in Europe. Our commissioners at Ghent, in 1814, it is said, declared to the British plenipotentiaries, that "it was unauthorized, and disapproved of by the American government." The records, however, of the war department, show the fact to be otherwise. On the first of August, 1812, the secretary, in reply to General Hull, says: "Your letters of the 13th and 14th, together with your proclamation, have been received. Your operations are approved of by the president." The proclamation, in fact, was well written-appropriate to the occasion, and contained nothing of which an American ought to have been ashamed. Had success attended the expedition, it would have been considered as a model for such proclamations. In that event, as many, we have no doubt, would have aspired to its authorship, as afterward did to the honor of killing Brock or Tecumseh.