General Scott | Page 8

shore played on the
boats attempting to cross, and there was no artillery with which the
Americans could resist.
Colonel Scott had volunteered his services for the expedition, but they
were declined, for the reason that arrangements had been made for
detachments under Colonel John R. Fenwick and Lieutenant-Colonel
James Robert Mullaney to sustain the assaulting columns. Permission
was, however, given to Colonel Scott to march his regiment to
Lewiston and act as circumstances might require.
He arrived there at 4 A.M. on the 13th. Finding no boats to transport
his command, he placed his guns on the American shore, under the
direction of Captains Towson and Barker. Seeing that a small portion
of the troops had crossed over, and knowing the peril of Van
Rensselaer's little force, he took one piece of artillery into a boat, and,
accompanied by his adjutant, Lieutenant Isaac Roach, Jr., he crossedt to
the Canada shore. Wadsworth at once relinquished the command of the
troops to him, and he soon animated every one with courage and
resolution.
Six feet five inches in height, clad in a new uniform, he became a
conspicuous mark for the enemy. The re-enforcements which had now
crossed over increased the force to about six hundred, of which more
than half were regulars. These were placed under Colonel Scott's
directions in the most commanding positions, where they awaited
further re-enforcements. About this time a body of five hundred Indians
joined the British troops. The British with their Indian allies moved
forward to the assault, but were speedily driven back. A second time
they moved forward, but with the same result. They kept up a desultory
firing, during which a body of Indians moved suddenly out and
surprised an outpost of militia. Scott, who was at this moment engaged

in unspiking a gun, rushed to the front, and, rallying his men, sent the
dusky warriors rapidly in retreat. The British general Sheaffe, who held
the command at Fort George, having heard the firing, at once put his
troops in motion and marched for the scene of the conflict. Sheaffe's
command consisted of eight hundred and fifty men. These, added to the
garrison which the Americans were attacking, was a formidable force
to be met by three hundred men. In the meantime the American troops
had refused to cross the river and were in a state of mutiny. No
entreaties, orders, or threats of Van Rensselaer could avail to move
them. But the three hundred brave fellows, with only one piece of
artillery, stood their ground. General Van Rensselaer, from the
American shore, sent word to Wadsworth to retreat. Colonels John
Chrystie and Scott, of the regulars, and Captains James Mead, Strahan,
and Allen, of the militia, and Captains Ogilvei, Wool, Joseph Gilbert,
Totten, and McChesney, took council of their desperate situation.
Colonel Scott told them that their condition was desperate, but that the
stain of Hull's surrender must be wiped out. "Let us die," he said, "arms
in hand. Our country demands the sacrifice. The example will not be
lost. The blood of the slain will make heroes of the living. Those who
follow will avenge our fall and our country's wrongs. Who dare to
stand?" he exclaimed. A loud ringing shout "All!" came from the whole
line.
General Sheaffe did not move to immediate attack on his arrival. He
marched his troops slowly the entire length of the American line, and
then countermarched.
As resistance was entirely hopeless, the order was given to retire. The
whole line broke in disorder to the river, but there were no boats there
to transport them. Two flags of truce were sent to the enemy, but the
officer who bore them did not return. Colonel Scott then fixed a white
handkerchief on the end of his sword, and, accompanied by Captains
Totten and Gibson, passed under the river bluff and started to ascend
the heights. They were met by Indians, who fired on them and rushed
with tomahawks to assault them. A British officer happily arrived and
conducted them to the quarters of General Sheaffe, and Colonel Scott
made formal surrender of the whole force. The number surrendered,

except some skulking militia who were discovered later, was two
hundred and ninety-three. The American loss in killed, wounded, and
captured was near one thousand men.
General Van Rensselaer was so mortified at the conduct of the militia
that he tendered his resignation. The British general Brock was next
day buried under one of the bastions of Fort George, and Colonel Scott,
then a prisoner, sent orders to have minute guns fired from Fort Niagara
during the funeral ceremonies, which orders were carried out--an act of
chivalry and courtesy which greatly impressed the British.
The American officers who had been captured were lodged in a small
inn at