ization, had rewarded him with success in the two operations for which he had already obtained distinction, the defence of Ogdensburg and of Sackett's Harbor. Brown was fortunate in the assistance of three brigade commanders, Winfield Scott, Edmund P. Gaines, and E. W. Ripley; the first two trained officers of merit, - Scott, indeed, being a man of very uncommon merit, — and the third making up in sound judgment what he lacked in experience. All were men of resolution and unmistakable gallantry, and the subordinate officers included several of great promise. The want of discipline hitherto shown in the ranks was corrected by the establishment of a camp of instruction under Scott, which raised the little army to a degree of excellence hitherto unknown on the frontier.

During the winter, large ships had been built on Lake Ontario by both sides; but the enemy, more favorably situated for procuring supplies, succeeded in getting ready first. For the time, no coöperation could be expected from Commodore Chauncey, and early in July General Brown started alone on his projected invasion, with between three and four thousand men, in three brigades: the regulars under Scott and Ripley, and the volunteers under Porter. Fort Erie, held by a small garrison, surrendered without a blow. After an advance of a few miles, on the 5th of July, the enemy was encountered, under General Riall, in a secure position behind the Chippewa River. Riall advanced from his position and crossed the river to meet a demonstration made by the volunteer brigade; but, as the latter fell back, Scott made an impetuous charge, which drove the enemy across the river again, and inflicted a heavy loss. Riall then immediately retreated to Lake Ontario, uncovering the Niagara frontier on the Canada side, with the exception of Fort George.

Brown remained here three weeks, vainly endeavoring to get supplies and aid from the fleet. At the end of that time a large body of men, under General Drummond, had come to Riall's assistance, and the combined force. advanced to the Niagara. Late on the afternoon of the 25th, Scott, leading the American advance, fell in with the enemy, strongly posted on an eminence at Lundy's Lane, near the falls, with a battery in position. In approaching this position, Scott suffered severe loss; but a regiment which he had sent, under Major Jesup, to turn the enemy's left penetrated to the rear and captured a number of prisoners, among whom was General Riall. Soon after dark, Brown came up with the main army, and Colonel James Miller, being ordered to storm the enemy's battery, carried it by assault in a charge of great gallantry. The hilltop which Miller had carried was held by Ripley, supported by Porter and Jesup, against three determined assaults of the enemy's whole force, greatly superior in numbers. During these attacks, Scott, with the remains of his brigade, took the assailants in flank, and the latter finally desisted and left the Americans in position. Brown and Scott were both wounded, and Ripley, who was left in command, being unable to bring off the captured guns, retired to the camp without them, and the enemy was thus enabled to recover them.

The superiority of the British force made it prudent for the army to return to Fort Erie, of which Gaines was ordered to take command. The fort was warmly attacked by Drummond on the 15th of August, but Gaines repelled his assaults successfully, and Drummond, after having lost nearly one fourth of his troops, gave up the attempt and began a regular investment. Matters thus remained for a month, the besiegers constantly advancing their lines and erecting strong works. At length, Brown, who had in the mean while recovered from his wounds and resumed the command, conceived the audacious plan of raising the siege by a sortie. On the 17th of September he carried out the plan with brilliant success. Thé enemy's advance works were surprised, carried, and blown up before the main army could reach the ground, and Brown withdrew to the fort, taking with him a large number of prisoners. Drummond thereupon abandoned the siege and drew off his forces beyond the Chippewa.

All that had been gained in the summer campaign was lost by Izard in the fall. This officer, who had come from Plattsburg some time before with 4,000 of his best troops, took the place of Brown and his depleted army. Although superior to Drummond in force, Izard delayed action until the enemy had retreated from his exposed position; then, without striking a blow, he destroyed Fort Erie and withdrew to the New York side. This was the last movement of importance on the Niagara frontier.

The "Essex," under Captain David Porter, having set out in the autumn of 1812 for a cruise in the Pacific with the "Constitution" and "Hornet," but having failed to meet her consorts on the coast of Brazil, as had been intended, proceeded on her cruise alone. This cruise lasted eighteen months, during which the "Essex" was cut off from communication with the United States, and depended on her prizes for supplies. At this time the Pacific was filled with American and English whalers, the former of which were unarmed, while the latter, being commissioned as privateers, carried small but formidable batteries. The enemy had no naval vessels in that quarter. Had the "Essex" not made her cruise, the English privateers would undoubtedly have destroyed the American whaling trade in the Pacific. As it was, the "Essex" not only prevented this result, but inflicted a like injury upon the enemy.

In the course of the cruise, Porter captured thirteen fine vessels, a few of which were sent to make the best of their way to the United States, while the remainder were fitted out as cruisers, forming a squadron under Porter's command. Considerable time was spent during the autumn of 1813 at the Marquesas Islands, where Porter took an active part in the wars of the native tribes. Returning, finally, to Valparaiso with his ship and her tender, the "Essex Junior" (one of the captured prizes), Porter met the enemy's frigate "Phoebe" and the sloop "Cherub," commanded by Captain Hillyar. A battle ensued on the 28th of March, 1814, in which, after a resistance almost unparalleled for stubbornness and tenacity, the "Essex" was defeated and destroyed.

In the year 1814 occurred several minor actions. The sloop "Peacock," under Captain Warrington, captured the enemy's brig "Epervier," off the coast of Florida, in April. The "Wasp," a new sloop-of-war, which had been named after the first "Wasp," the captor of the "Frolic," cruised to the English Channel, where she destroyed several prizes. Her first battle was with the sloop "Reindeer," which she captured and burned. Early in September the "Wasp" had another action with the sloop "Avon," which was defeated, and which sank soon after the action. After this engagement, a despatch was received from the "Wasp" by a prize which she had subsequently captured, but this was the last that was ever heard of her.

By this time the English fleet on the coast of America had been so largely reinforced that it was able to maintain an effective blockade of all the principal ports of the United States, and very few American cruisers were able to get to sea, and these only with the utmost difficulty. Privateers were still actively cruising in great numbers, and their prizes during the war amounted, altogether, to over 1,400. About 300 more were taken by vessels of the navy. Considering the disparity in naval force between the two belligerents, this result is remarkable.

In the spring of 1814, the government of Great Britain, which, as far as it had exerted itself in the war at all, had made it hitherto a defensive war, was in a position to pursue an aggressive policy, its armies being no longer required, since the abdication of Napoleon, for operations on the Continent. Detachments of veteran troops were sent to America, and invasions were

From a print in Description of the Genesee Country, Albany, 1798.

planned from Canada and at points on the seaboard. Late in the spring, Sir James L. Yeo, with a British squadron, was cruising on Lake Ontario, and descending upon Oswego, captured the fort and the stores and provisions that were contained in it. The first of the armies of invasion, numbering about 12,000 men, was commanded by Sir George Prevost, and starting from Montreal, crossed the frontier early in September. The withdrawal of Izard with 4,000 of his picked troops to the Niagara, left the west

shore of Lake Champlain guarded only by a small force at Plattsburg under General Alexander Macomb, which was presently increased somewhat by militia from New York and Vermont. The advance of the British was supported by a fleet on the lake, consisting of the frigate "Confiance," carrying a heavy battery of thirty long 24-pounders, the brig "Linnet," and the sloops "Chubb" and "Finch." To oppose this fleet, a force had been created by Commodore Macdonough, consisting of the flagship "Saratoga," the brig

* After Stuart's picture, owned by his descendants, and now hanging in the Century Club, N. Y., whence, through the interposition of Dr. Edward Eggleston, permission was kindly granted by Mr. A. R. Macdonough to make a negative.