The American Military

by Brad D. Lookingbill

  Introduction

  Lydia Bacon waited nervously at Fort Detroit – a square, 2-acre earth-and-wood structure equipped with 40 guns. Her husband, Lieutenant Josiah Bacon, served as the quartermaster for an American regiment operating along the border with Canada. On the morning of August 16, 1812, she arose from her bed after hearing the sounds of cannon fire. She discovered that British troops and ships were massing on the Detroit River.

  Like other women on the post, Bacon joined in the defense of Fort Detroit. She watched in horror, as a solid shot knock down a chimney at the troop quarters. While she made powder bags and treated wounded soldiers, a 24-pound shot entered the room in which she toiled. She saw the cannonball hit two officers standing next to her. It then passed through the wall to enter another room. In the blink of an eye, it took off legs and left bodies writhing on the floor. Moments later, she saw another cannonball soar into the makeshift hospital. It hit a patient, instantly severing his head from his torso. The same blow killed an attendant, since the shrapnel ripped open his flesh. Though beset with “grief and mortification,” she expressed relief upon discovering that her husband survived the deadly siege.

  With the walls crumbling, Bacon and her compatriots decided to seek shelter in a root-house. “Never shall I forget my sensations as I crossed the parade ground to gain this place of safety,” she recalled. She was filled with anxiety but refused to panic. Peering from the doorway, she caught a glimpse of more cannonballs in air.

  Running low on ammunition and fearing the worst, Americans raised a white flag over the parapet. Immediately, the cannons on both sides of the river ceased to roar. The blue-clad soldiers marched onto the parade ground. They stacked their arms and lowered their colors from the flagstaff. After the redcoats secured the compound, they hoisted the banner of the British Empire. Their band played “God Save the King.”

  Figure 4.1 Plan of Fort Detroit, January 26, 1812. Miscellaneous Collection, F 775, Box MU 2102, Archives of Ontario

  Bacon experienced the puzzling war with “a thousand emotions,” while she marched with her husband to a British vessel on the river. Although women and men often occupied separate spheres, both became prisoners of war in Canada. Along the northern border of the United States, America's first declared war impacted families as well as soldiers. On the high seas, American merchantmen found themselves trapped by the powerful navies fighting the Napoleonic Wars. Furthermore, Anglo-American discord paralleled the rise of Indian militancy west of the Appalachian Mountains. With the republic developing across space and through time, the American people became entangled with the countervailing forces shaping the Atlantic world.

  Unfortunately, conflicting visions of power and liberty produced a trans-Atlantic struggle that nearly destroyed U.S. sovereignty. Expansionists desired to seize and to secure additional territory while putting an end to British influence upon Native American communities. In addition, a number of voices wanted policymakers in Washington D.C. to defend the principles of free trade and sailors' rights from threats abroad. Many stressed the ideological issues that had long defined the struggle for nationhood, which included upholding the prestige of republican institutions as well as preserving the vitality of maritime commerce. Refusing to become “colonists and vassals” again, American leaders dared to challenge the British lion.

  The generation that confronted the British lion in 1812 considered their struggle nothing less than a second war for independence. Although the U.S. contained less than 8 million people, the citizen soldiers and sailors tried in vain to match the strength of His Majesty's military. Americans turned their eyes toward Canada, where their armed forces battled against a distracted enemy. They also invaded Indian homelands near the Gulf of Mexico. With the blessings of Congress, the Madison administration directed the Army and the Navy to fight a limited war. The rewards seemed to outweigh the risks, as long as the bulk of British ships and troops stayed in the European theater.

  War Hawks

  During the first decade of the nineteenth century, the friction between the U.S. and Great Britain pushed them to the brink of war. British impressments of American sailors, encouragement of Indian unrest, and attacks on commercial shipping outraged members of Congress. Frustrated by the Orders in Council, the Madison administration reapplied the principle of non-intercourse and embargoed all trade with the British Empire. As relations with London deteriorated rapidly in 1812, Washington D.C. began to focus on the politics of national defense.

  Speaker of the House Henry Clay of Kentucky rose in prominence due in large meas­ure to his advocacy of national defense. Clay and his allies earned the scorn of fellow Republican John Randolph of Virginia, who called them the “War Hawks.” They included Richard Mentor Johnson of Kentucky, Felix Grundy of Tennessee, and John C. Calhoun of South Carolina. Anxious to promote continental ambitions, they spoke with passion about defending the American republic against the aggression of the European powers.

  During Madison's bid for re-election in 1812, prominent “War Hawks” lobbied the administration to abandon negotiations with the British Empire. They wanted to crush Indian resistance in the northwest while liberating Canada and the Great Lakes from Royal control. Along the Mississippi River, stories circulated about British arms and supplies found at Indian campsites. After the Battle of Tippecanoe, Tecumseh headed to Canada and donned a British uniform. Moreover, a handful of southern politicians wanted to strike Florida, which Britain's ally, Spain, loosely governed. For years, fugitive slaves sought freedom by crossing the border from Georgia and the Mississippi Territory into the Spanish colony. Westerners and southerners in Congress demanded military action against British and Spanish forces in the borderlands, whereas politicians from New England tended to oppose a belligerent policy.

  Madison delivered a political bombshell to Congress on March 9, 1812, when he claimed the existence of a British plot to encourage the New England states to secede from the U.S. John Henry, an immigrant fur trader, received a commission from Sir James Craig, the Governor General of Canada, to gather information about Federalist sentiments and machinations. Thanks to the intrigue of French operatives, his intelligence reports ended up in American hands. Madison arranged for Secretary of State James Monroe to purchase them for $50,000. They rehashed arguments that appeared in Federalist newspapers, although the president insisted that Henry amounted to a British agent attempting to foment secession. He considered Henry's reports the “formal proof of the cooperation between the Eastern Junto and the British cabinet.”

  After heated debate in Washington D.C., Congress expanded the Army's force structure. New legislation authorized the enlistment of up 35,603 men for five-year terms. Another 15,000 soldiers were permitted to volunteer for an 18-month enlistment. Furthermore, the federal government directed state governors to ready as many as 80,000 militiamen for emergency use by the commander-in-chief. While approximately 5,000 had joined the federal volunteer regiments by June, only 6,744 officers and enlisted personnel served in the regular units. Reliant upon large numbers of amateurs in arms, Secretary of War William Eustis failed to recognize the inherent weaknesses of the militia system.

  At the same time, the Navy Department under Secretary Paul Hamilton lacked the fleet strength to counter the Royal Navy. The American fleet consisted of five frigates, seven brigs, three sloops, and 62 coastal gunboats. Approximately 4,000 men served on naval crews, even though many lacked experience at sea. The Marine Corps numbered close to 1,800 men, including seasoned veterans of the Barbary Wars. Instead of undertaking a shipbuilding program, Congress merely authorized the repair of frigates not in use. All serviceable warships concentrated in the port of New York, but most stood little chance against British broadsides. Madison eventually asked William Jones to replace Hamilton, who was seldom sober.

  Madison sent a fiery speech to Congress on June 1, 1812, which reviewed “the conduct of Great Britain toward the United States.” Given the custom of the House and the Senate, a clerk
read it to the assembled body. He drew particular attention “to the warfare just renewed by the savages on one of our extensive frontiers – a warfare which is known to spare neither age nor sex and to be distinguished by features peculiarly shocking to humanity.” Greeted by cheers from the “War Hawks,” he blamed the Indian insurgency on “constant intercourse with British traders and garrisons” along the northern border. British officials pressured their “red brothers” to rise up and to attack the American people, or so the president believed.

  Most of all, Madison refused to tolerate the imposition of the Orders in Council any longer. His call for war denounced the “series of hostile acts” committed by the Royal Navy, adding that “our seafaring citizens” suffered molestations almost daily. Moreover, British ships plundered U.S. vessels freighted with trade goods or coerced them to return to the Atlantic seaboard. “We behold,” concluded the commander-in-chief, “a state of war against the United States.” Accordingly, he asked Congress to “oppose force to force” in defense of American rights, interests, and honor.

  Over the next two weeks, Congress debated a declaration of war. Dividing along partisan lines, the House under Clay's leadership voted for war on June 4. With a great deal of political posturing, the Senate approved the declaration on June 18 by a margin of six votes. “Mr. Madison's War,” as critics referred to the conflict, began the following day with a presidential proclamation that “war exists” between Great Britain and the United States.

  Whereas the U.S. officially declared war with the historic vote of Congress, the news reached London soon after the government repealed the controversial Orders in Council. A poor grain harvest in England coincided with a need for provisions to resupply British troops, who battled French armies in Spain. Two days before Congress acted, the British Foreign Secretary decided to relax the naval blockade on American shipping but refused to cease the impressment of naval crews. Unfortunately, the Atlantic crossings delayed communications between officials. Later, Madison admitted that the declaration “would have been stayed” if the news of the revisions to British policy had arrived in Washington D.C. before the congressional vote.

  With the “dogs of war” unleashed, the British dashed any hopes for negotiating peace during 1812. In a meeting at the State Department, Secretary Monroe laid out American terms to the British ambassador, Augustus A. Foster. He even invited him to stay for tea. Instead, London calculated that the declaration of war represented nothing if not a bluff and soon reauthorized “general reprisals” against the ships, goods, and citizens of the U.S.

  On to Canada

  With the British embroiled in the Napoleonic Wars, Americans expected to find a vulnerable foe in Canada. Given the light defenses along the northern border, officials in Washington D.C. believed that a quick victory in the War of 1812 was likely. “Canada was not the end but the means,” Clay predicted, by which the U.S. would force “the redress of injuries.” The Madison administration approved forward thrusts beyond Lake Erie into Upper Canada, across the Niagara River toward York, and along Lake Champlain toward Montreal.

  Madison gave command of U.S. forces in the northwest to General William Hull, the governor of the Michigan Territory. Commanding three regiments of militia, he bought powder, acquired clothing and blankets, and hired armories for repairing weapons. The 4th U.S. Infantry Regiment joined with several militia units on an overland march. They massed close to 1,800 men at the outset of the war, but the sick list grew rapidly. By July 5, 1812, Hull's command had crossed the Black Swamp of northwest Ohio and arrived at Fort Detroit. A week later, he led them across the Detroit River to commence the invasion of Canada.

  Though once a dashing young officer during the American Revolution, the aging Hull appeared slow and timid that summer. Instead of moving directly against the enemy garrison at Fort Malden, he lingered near the river while issuing a proclamation that announced the liberation of Canadians from “tyranny and oppression.” Furthermore, he warned them that anyone “fighting by the side of an Indian” could expect no quarter from American troops. He dispatched small raiding patrols, one of which returned with 200 barrels of flour. While he attempted to strengthen his lines, few Canadians flocked to the American banner.

  Meanwhile, the British government issued warnings to interior posts in Canada about the coming of the Americans. At Fort George, General Isaac Brock sent a small party of British regulars, Canadian militia, and Indian auxiliaries to cut Hull's communications with Ohio. The British commander at Fort Malden, General Henry Procter, ordered his men to conduct ambushes across the Detroit River to counter the offensive. Furthermore, Captain Charles Roberts led another red-clad party from Fort St. Joseph to Fort Mackinac, which fell into British hands without the firing of a shot.

  By August 7, Hull had decided to withdraw from Canada and to return to Fort Detroit. A week later, Brock set up guns and mortars on the east bank and demanded that Hull surrender his garrison on the west side. He reminded the U.S. commander that the Indians would be “beyond my control the moment the contest commences.” The batteries opened fire, while two provincial warships joined in delivering the bombardment. As Brock and Tecumseh slipped across the Detroit River to risk direct action, Hull suddenly surrendered his entire command to the redcoats. Afterward, Hull was court-martialed for neglect of duty and cowardice, but he received a pardon from Madison. The British victory at Fort Detroit resulted in captivity for hundreds of American prisoners, although most militiamen received a parole to return home.

  With the American collapse in the northwest, Indian war parties threatened to capture Fort Dearborn on the Chicago River. Upon orders from Hull, Captain Nathan Heald, the commander, evacuated the outpost on August 15 but marched into an ambush by 500 Potawatomi near Lake Michigan. The next day, Fort Dearborn burned to the ground. Other Indian raids struck Fort Wayne, Fort Harrison, and Fort Madison.

  Among the Indians along the Mississippi River, no one expressed more anger toward the Americans than Black Hawk, a Sauk war leader. He declared to his kinsmen that he had not “discovered one good trait in the character of the Americans that had come to the country!” He met with Robert Dickson, a British trader, who actively recruited Indian war parties to the British side. British Colonel William McKay, moreover, sent the Sauk 10 kegs of gunpowder. Black Hawk received an officer's commission and began to wage war as far south on the Mississippi as St. Louis.

  The British columns and their Indian allies advanced southward to the Maumee River, where they faced Hull's successor, General William Henry Harrison. He responded with a winter campaign to recapture Fort Detroit, but a U.S. detachment fell into enemy hands in the Battle of the River Raisin on January 23, 1813. At Frenchtown, a contingent of Indian warriors massacred more than 50 captured Kentucky militiamen. With the British in control of the Great Lakes, Harrison decided to halt the campaign on the western front and to erect Fort Meigs as a base of operations. Procter's artillery and gunboats fired upon the dirt and log palisades, while Indian auxiliaries moved along the banks of the Maumee. Although eventually driving their foes away, Americans lost more than 200 lives and close to 500 prisoners. Several were beaten to death, as they ran a gauntlet of Indian war clubs and tomahawks. Consequently, Harrison left Fort Meigs under the command of General Green Clay and moved his base to the Sandusky River.

  Figure 4.2 The War of 1812

  Meanwhile, General Stephen Van Rensselaer commanded an invading force of nearly 5,000 regulars and militiamen along the Niagara River. On October 10, 1812, he sent an advance party across the waterway under heavy rain. Three days later, Lieutenant Colonel Winfield Scott of Virginia conducted an assault on enemy dispositions with 300 men and 13 boats. Although they worked their way up the bluffs and attacked Queenston, reinforcements from the New York militia refused to fight on foreign soil. They watched from the east bank of the river, while their outnumbered compatriots began to fall. An observer noted “a considerable number of dead and mangled bodies” ferried back to
the American side. In all likelihood, the sights and the sounds of battle unnerved the ill-prepared units. Moreover, General Alexander Smyth, who commanded U.S. regulars at Buffalo, failed to provide support for Van Rensselaer's operation. Facing more than a 1,000 redcoats along the heights, Scott and his men soon surrendered. In the Battle of Queenston Heights, the British killed 90, wounded 150, and captured 958. Van Rensselaer resigned after the battle, as his troops began deserting in droves. Following several aborted attempts to restart the campaign, Smyth, his successor in overall command, decided to release the militia and to abandon the Niagara.

  Regardless of his previous experience as Thomas Jefferson's Secretary of War, General Henry Dearborn made little progress in conducting military operations against Montreal. When organizing another campaign that November, his command in Albany endured hardships stemming from poor recruitment, low morale, rampant disease, and dithering officers. Once again, the militia in camp refused to leave New York while settling into winter quarters at Plattsburgh. Aside from minor raids along the St. Lawrence River, the troops under Dearborn remained unengaged during the first year of the war.

  In early 1813, John Armstrong became the Secretary of War and persuaded Dearborn to move against Canada. Instead of moving toward Kingston, Dearborn resolved to assail the more vulnerable York. Escorted by Commodore Isaac Chauncey across Lake Ontario, General Zebulon Pike and a force of 1,700 men captured the provincial capital on April 27. However, Pike died in an explosion of a powder magazine. U.S. forces sustained 320 casualties in the operation, but the British counted far fewer losses among their ranks. After looting several private homes, American troops torched the public buildings. A week later, Dearborn ordered them to return to New York.

  Following his parole from British captivity, Scott joined Dearborn in New York that spring. A full colonel now, he assumed command of the 2nd Artillery Regiment and served as adjutant general to Dearborn. On May 27, he personally led an amphibious assault against Fort George on the western side of the Niagara River. The Americans suffered 59 casualties in the ensuing fight, but the British lost 52 dead and 300 wounded. With Fort George in American hands, more clashes followed at Stony Creek and Beaver Dams. Their momentum slowed, however, as Scott recovered from a broken collarbone. Dearborn failed to pursue British forces on the peninsula because of his ailing health, which prompted Armstrong finally to relieve him of his command and to send him into retirement.