General Brock

“ We very naturally ask ourselves who these troops were for whose welfare General Brock was always so solicitous. There were of course some British regular troops in Canada, noticeably the Forty-ninth, Brock's own regiment, but during the earlier stages of the war, and while Brock lived, the men of the Province, militia and yeomanry, had to be [Pg 54] relied upon mainly; these chiefly were the men of the York, Glengarry, Norfolk and other militia regiments; every loyal man capable of bearing arms in the Province turned out to fight, or to help those who fought. ”

“ Sending messengers to bid General Sheaffe hurry the troops from Fort George, and other runners to bring up the troops from Chippewa behind the Americans on Queenston Heights, Brock charged up the hill amid shriek of bombs and clatter of sharpshooters. He had dismounted and was scrambling over a stone wall. "Follow me, boys!" he shouted to the British grenadiers; then at the foot of the hill, waving his sword: "Now take a breath; you will need it! Come on! come on!" and he led the rush of two hundred men in scarlet coats to dislodge the Americans. A shot pierced his wrist. ”

“ The long grim guns on Fort Detroit and Hull's field-pieces pointed their black muzzles at the column. Up and down, in front of his men, rode Isaac Brock.
Now this was more than some flesh and blood could stand. Spurring his horse, acting Quartermaster-General Nichol reined up alongside his beloved commander. "General," he said, saluting his leader, while the soldiers' faces expressed dumb approval, "forgive me, but I cannot forbear entreating you not to expose yourself. If we lose you, we lose all. I pray you, allow the troops to advance, led by their own officers." ”

“ Brock spoke hurriedly to his aide.
"If Williams and Macdonell can but outflank the Americans on the summit and scale the mountain in rear of the redan on the right, nothing can prevent our driving them out. Our place is here."
"But, General," interposed his aide, who worshipped his commanding officer, "I pray you, let me lead, or at least do take proper precautions. If you are wounded, think what may befall us."
"Master Glegg," hurriedly replied Brock, "I must remain at the head of these men. Duty and desire compel me. Should I fall, there are others not less competent." ”

“ Brock at York had received word of war from the House of Astor in New York, earlier even than some of the United States commanders were apprised of it. He was a man of action, and he was for action, and that at once. He believed that often the best defence is attack, and he chafed under the restraint, anything but wise under these circumstances, of Sir George Prevost, who daily adjured him not to strike the first blow. This continued for three weeks after war was declared. Meanwhile General Hull was marching through Ohio and Michigan to Detroit, from thence to attack Canada! ”

“ The Americans would, however, have remained masters of the field, had not General Brock returned with his detachment. Brock was a brave soldier, and hearing that the troops whom he had left behind, were in a dangerous position, he immediately attacked the Americans with but a single company. In this attack he found a glorious and memorable death. The Americans kept the heights as long as possible; their ammunition, however, being nearly exhausted, General Van Rensselaer sent orders to the militia to advance. The general himself hastened to the opposite shore to accelerate their movements ”

“ It is singular that the writer should have forgotten, that only five pages before, he had stated [28] that "on the receipt of the intelligence of the American declaration of war, Major-General Brock, who commanded the troops in the Upper Province immediately despatched discretionary orders to the British officer in charge of Fort St. Joseph's, to act either offensively or otherwise against the enemy at Michilimachinac, as he should find advisable." ”

“ At a time when almost every British soldier was busy fighting Napoleon in Europe, upon General Brock fell the responsibility of upholding Britain's honour in America. He was "the man behind the gun"—the undismayed man—when the integrity of British America was threatened by a determined enemy.
His success can be measured by the fact that it is only since the war of 1812-14 that the British flag has been properly respected in the western hemisphere. It is also a fact that after the capture of Detroit the Union Jack became more firmly rooted in the affections of the Canadian people than ever. ”

“ General Brock, only the flank companies were present, with a small body of militia, together about 300 men. In fact, four companies of the 49th were at Kingston, 160 miles distant, and the remaining four battalion companies were, we believe, at Fort Erie, 27 or 28 miles from Queenstown; and therefore, the assertion that the "famous invincibles" yielded to far Inferior numbers, is something worse than ridiculous. ”

“ It is often said, that we throw away by the pen what we gain by the sword. Had General Brock been less prodigal of his valuable life, and survived the Queenstown battle, he would have made the 13th of October a still more 'memorable' day, by crossing the river and carrying Fort Niagara, which, at that precise time, was nearly stripped of its garrison. Instead of doing this, and thus putting an end to the campaign upon the Niagara frontier, Major-General Sheaffe, General Brock's successor, allowed himself to be persuaded to sign an armistice. ”

“ The heroic militia of Upper Canada, more particularly, had knit themselves to his person; and it is yet to be ascertained whether the desire to avenge his death can compensate the many embarrassments it will occasion. It is indeed true that the spirit, and even the abilities, of a distinguished man often carry their influence beyond the grave; and the present event furnishes its own example, for it is certain, notwithstanding General Brock was cut off early in the action, that he had already given an impulse to his little army, which contributed to accomplish the victory when he was no more. ”

“ Brothers,—The Americans have long threatened to strike us, and in the beginning of the summer they declared war against us, and lately they recommenced hostility by invading the country at Queenstown. In this contest, which, with the help of God, terminated in our favor, your much lamented commander and friend, General Brock, his aide-de-camp, Colonel M'Donell, and several warriors, have fallen. ”

“ We have alluded (page 278) to the discomfiture of Sir George Prevost before Sackett's Harbour, that naval arsenal whose destruction Major-General Brock was so unfortunately prevented from undertaking. The governor-general having proceeded in May from Montreal to Kingston with Sir James Yeo, who had just arrived from England to command the British naval forces on the lakes—the squadron on Lake Ontario now consisting of two ships, a brig, and two schooners—the public was on the tiptoe of expectation for some decisive dash on the enemy's flotilla on that lake. ”

“ Although this for the moment checked the advance, the loss so roused the feelings of his troops that in a few hours a second attack was made, and one of our most glorious victories won, the whole force of the enemy being killed, wounded, or captured. This ended the campaign in the west, and still further encouraged our people and made possible the final result of the war. No man was ever so mourned by the Upper Canadians as General Brock. A handsome monument was erected to his memory on the field where he gave up his life for Canada. ”

“ Major-General Le Couteur to Major-General Brock.
LISBON, April 16, 1812.
I am here in consequence of a mistake in orders sent to me by Lord Palmerston, to join the army in Portugal, when his lordship meant Jamaica. On my arrival at Lisbon I found out the mistake, and I hope in a few days to sail for my real destination.
My son, whom you perhaps will remember an infant when you were in Jersey, will have the pleasure to deliver you this letter, if the 104th regiment be in your neighbourhood. He is only seventeen years old; very young to be sent loose on the wide world. ”

“ Brock sent orders to General Sheaffe at Fort George to bring up reënforcements, and at the same time to open an artillery fire on Fort Niagara, on the opposite bank; for the British commander had been all the while of opinion that the movement on Queenstown was but a feint, and that the real attack would be made at the mouth of the river. Without waiting for the reënforcements. Brock placed himself at the head of the troops that had just been driven from the Heights, and the troops in the village, and attempted to recapture the lost position. ”

“ In early August of 1799 the first detachment of this invading army, 10,000 men, left England, under command of Sir Ralph Abercromby. He was to pave the way for the larger allied force under the Duke of York, which would leave as soon as the advance guard had landed in Holland. Brock took his men with Sir Ralph. The 49th was part of the brigade commanded by Major-General John Moore, who, later, fell at Corunna in Spain. ”

“ The fourth brigade, which included the 49th, was under the command of General Moore—Sir John Moore, of Corunna fame. For several weeks the waiting troops were encamped in the sand-hills without canvas and exposed to biting storms. The capture of the city of Horn without resistance hardly prepared our hero and his men for the stout opposition at the battle of Egmont-op-Zee that followed.
Brock's brother, Savery, a paymaster to the brigade, though by virtue of his calling exempt from field service, insisted on joining the fighting line, acting as aide to Sir Ralph Abercrombie. ”

“ Canada was saved! [Pg 111]
It was then that those officers who strongly opposed Brock's determination to attack became suddenly wise after the event and eager to share the honour. The temptation to improve the opportunity, to any man less strong than our hero, would have been irresistible, but there was no display of vainglory, no cheap boasting. The sword of the conquered American general was accepted with manly deference and the consideration due to his rank, and he was told, without solicitation on his part, he could return to the United States on parole. ”

“ No two persons could more sincerely respect and esteem each other than these gallant and high-minded individuals. Sir George Prevost had early evinced his opinion of General Brock's merits and talents, in a private communication to him of the 22d Jan. 1812, several months before the war; and the reply of General Brock to that communication, was sufficient evidence of the sentiments he entertained towards the Commander, under whom he expressed himself to be so desirous of serving. ”

“ Heavy guns had been placed at strategic points on the American shore. Large detachments of troops were sent to the Niagara frontier. Ships which had been held at Ogdensburg, covered by the British guns at Prescott, had been rushed to Sackett’s Harbor. Had there been no armistice, General Brock could have cleared the Fort Niagara district of enemy troops, but now he had, by reason of the delay, to face four times as large an army.
Let us take stock of the situation. On the shores of the Niagara River, there were enough United States troops to have conquered Upper Canada. ”

“ Forbearance in war, where success is probable, strikes us as a positive evil that a very doubtful good may ensue—it is seldom properly appreciated; and the governor-general appears to have seen his error when too late, as in the following year he was himself ignobly foiled in an attack on Sackett's Harbour. We cannot understand why the attack under Sir George Prevost, in May, 1813, was more politic than it would have been in September the year preceding, under Major-General Brock ”

“ I am pleased to note the presence of so many chiefs and warriors of the Six Nations who are here assembled on the basis of one common citizenship with you, to join with our white brethren to pay respect and homage to the late hero, General Sir Isaac Brock, who offered his life as a sacrifice in the cause he so gallantly defended. He was the brave leader who led the white man and Indian in the defence of our country, our flag, and all that pertained to the maintenance of British institutions.
Our act to-day is a noble one. ”

“ Eleven years later he himself was to take a similarly bold and strong course when he sent his message to General Hull commanding the American forces at Detroit, even though his commander-in-chief had instructed him not to attack the enemy. But Brock, after Copenhagen, knew that it sometimes paid to risk all and say: “What men dare, I dare!”
CHAPTER III
Canada: Mutiny in the 49th Brock collected his men and returned to England. At Copenhagen it will be remembered that he had part of the regiment with him on the Ganges, but others had been on different vessels. ”

“ The sentry's challenge caused Brock to look up from the table, littered with plans and despatches. Another figure darkened the doorway.
"This, sir," said Elliott, "is Tecumseh, the Shawanese chief of whom you have heard, and who desires to be presented to you."
The General, who had removed the stains of travel and was in uniform, rose to his full height, bowed, extended his hand and explained in manly fashion the reason for asking that the firing be stopped. The contrast presented by the two men was striking. The old world and the new, face to face—a scene for the brush of an impressionist. ”