Page 47 [47]
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Niagara, the capital of the Province, a salute was
fired from an old cannon, obtained from the ruined
French fort on Isle Royal ;
pairing to the inn, there to touch parting goblets
$ 3)
the loyal company re¬
‘ for the success of the good old cause.
6 - Now I am content—content, I say ; and can go
home, to reflect on this proud day. Our Governor
—the man, of all others—has come, at last. Mine
eye hath seen it. he will
do the best for us,’ cried Colonel Tom Fraser, his
Drink to him, gentlemen ;
face flushed and fiery, and his stout frame drawn
up to its full height, at the head of the table.
“*We do! we do!’ vociferated young Kingsmill,
emptying his glass, and stamping to express joy.
“*Bonhommie’ Tom Fraser then got on his legs,
and shouted a young soldier’s echo to the toast of
his relative.
“The mild and placid countenance of Dr. Solomon
Jones was lighted up by the occasion, and he arose,
and responded to the toast, recounting some of the
services performed by the newly appointed Lieu¬
tenant-Governor in the late war.
“Captain Elijah Bottum, a large, portly person,
having at his side a formidable, basket-hilted clay¬
and gave one of the old war slogans.
“Major Jessup followed, in the same strain, and
proposed a sentiment which was received with vocif¬
erous cheers by the younger portion of the company.
“Captain Dulmage, Captain Campbell, Paymaster
Jones, Commissary Jones, Captain Gideon Adams,
Lieutenant Samuel Adams, Ephraim Webster, Cap¬
tain Markle, Captain Grant, and numerous other
captains and officers, made themselves heard on the
joyful occasion, until finally the meeting broke up.”
€ CHAPTER XI.
THE WAR. OF 1812—INCIDENTS.
ON the 18th day of June, 1812, the United States
declared war against Great Britain, but for some
time previous, the Americans had been collecting
an army at Detroit, which, in the event of hostilities
between the two countries, was to be thrown into
cai
. The invasion took place on the izth of July,
"Generai Hull being the commander ;
was made at Sandwich. The qlgitene army
consisted of about 2,500 men,
Sais Hull was a braggart, and had scarcely
the crossing
with thirty-three
(to he
<a mesa mation, directed to Canadians, in which pro¬
es,” AA
| 2 n ‘of ay most extraordinary character were held
tt eer would accept the rule of abe Republic.
5
Le
EG
33
Advancing upon Amherstburg, he met with a severe
check, and, after several skirmishes, in which he was
badly beaten, he recrossed the river with his army,
with the exception of a small force, left to garrison
a temporary fort in Sandwich.
Brock arrived at Amherstburg on the 13th of
August, and, on the 15th, with a total force of
regulars, militia, and Indians, amounting to 1,300
men, crossed the river, and prepared to assault the
The gallant action was prevented by the
capitulation of the American army, including the
troops in the vicinity, as well as the garrison.
Thus ended the first attempt of the Republicans
to plant the Stars and Stripes on Canadian soil.
On the 13th of October, another army of invasion,
under General Van Ranselaer, crossed the Niagara
frontier, and encountered the Canadian forces,
under General Brock, at Queenston Heights. After
a desperate engagement, in which the noble com¬
mander was killed, nearly one thousand of the
invaders were compelled to surrender, while many
were driven over the precipice into the seething
waters of the Niagara.
When war was declared, eight schooners were in
Ogdensburg harbor, which, on the 29th of June,
attempted to escape to Lake Ontario. Mr. Dunham
Jones, who resided near Maitland, seeing the move¬
town.
would result to the British interests, if this fleet
could be prevented from reaching Lake Ontario,
raised a company of volunteers, pursued them in
just above Brockville. Two of the vessels, the
Island Packet and the Sophia, surrendered without
resistance ; the crews were landed on an island, and
the vessels burned. The remainder of the fleet
steered back to Ogdensburg. The utmost conster¬
nation prevailed in that town, the confusion being
indescribable. All the settlements on Black Lake
and along the St. Lawrence were deserted ; accord¬
ing to Mr. Joseph Rosseel, of Ogdensburg, “ people
were everywhere running through the woods, in
great dismay.”
In afew days, the Prince Regent, a new vessel of
ten guns, came down from Kingston, and anchored
at Prescott, being afterwards joined by the Zar/ of
Moira and Duke of Gloucester, the former of eighteen,
and the latter of ten, guns.
An American schooner, the /u/ia, arrived in Og¬
densburg from the lake. Her armament consisted
of one eighteen and two iron six-pounders. On the
29th of July, she started up the river, reaching
Morristown, opposite Brockville, at 3 P.M., on the
31st, being closely pursued by the Zari of Moira
and the Duke of Gloucester. The British vessels