The Life and Correspondence of Sir Isaac Brock, K.B Part 31

No. 9. Page 343.

To His Royal Highness the Prince Regent of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,

The humble address of the Commons of Upper Canada, in Parliament a.s.sembled,

May it please your Royal Highness,

We, his majesty's most dutiful and loyal subjects the Commons of Upper Canada, in Provincial Parliament a.s.sembled, beg leave to offer to your Royal Highness the homage of our unfeigned attachment to his Majesty's sacred person and government, and of our filial reverence for the great and magnanimous nation of which we have the honor to form a part.

While we pray your Royal Highness to accept of our most cordial congratulations on the splendid achievements of his Majesty's forces, and of those of his allies in various parts of the globe, and in particular on the extraordinary successes which, under Divine Providence, have attended his Majesty's arms in this portion of his dominions; we should do injustice to the memory of our late truly ill.u.s.trious president, Major-General Brock, under whose auspices the latter were during his lifetime princ.i.p.ally achieved, did we omit to accompany them with feelings of the most poignant sorrow for his fall.

He had endeared himself to us by his able, virtuous, and disinterested administration of the civil government, and by the zeal, military talent, and bravery, which characterized and marked his conduct in the field.

To his energy, his prompt.i.tude, and his decision, do we feel ourselves in a great degree indebted, for having at this moment the happiness of enjoying the privileges of his Majesty's subjects. His disinterested and manly conduct aroused the spirit of the country, and called it forth for self-defence against a most insidious foe.

In appreciating, as we do, his talents and eminent services, most deeply do we lament our inability to bestow on them any other reward than our praise. Without revenue for even the ordinary purposes of the government, we have no funds from whence to reward merit, however exalted and deserving.

We derive, however, much pleasure from beholding that the services of our ever-to-be-lamented president and general have been appreciated by your Royal Highness; and while we feelingly regret that he did not survive to enjoy the high honors conferred upon him by your Royal Highness in his Majesty's name, we, with all humility, would beg to suggest that a grant to his family of a portion of his Majesty's most valuable waste lands in this province would be most gratifying to us. It would, we doubt not, be acceptable to them, and it would be the means of perpetuating the connection that had taken place between us, as well as the name of Brock, in a country in defence of which the general so n.o.bly fell!!! and which his exertions had so eminently contributed to save.

That your Royal Highness may long be preserved to fill the exalted station to which you have been called for the advancement of the happiness, honor and glory, of the British nation, is the fervent prayer of his Majesty's faithful subjects, the Commons of Upper Canada.

(Signed) A. M'LEAN, Speaker.

Pa.s.sed the Commons House of a.s.sembly, the Sixth Day of March, One Thousand Eight Hundred and Thirteen.

No. 10. Page 344.

_Anniversary of the Battle of Queenstown, and the re-interment of the late much-lamented Major-General Sir Isaac Brock_.

"There is something so grand and imposing in the spectacle of a nation's homage to departed worth, which calls for the exercise of so many interesting feelings, and which awakens so many sublime contemplations, that we naturally seek to perpetuate the memory of an event so pregnant with instruction, and so honorable to our species. It is a subject that in other and in older countries has frequently exercised the pens, and has called forth all the descriptive powers of the ablest writers.[158] But here it is new; and for the first time, since we became a separate province, have we seen a great public funeral procession of all ranks of people, to the amount of several thousands, bearing the remains of two lamented heroes to their last dwelling on earth, in the vaults of a grand national monument, overtopping the loftiest heights of the most magnificent section of one of the most magnificent countries in the world.

"The 13th of October, being the anniversary of the battle of Queenstown, and of the death of Brock, was judiciously chosen as the most proper day for the removal of the remains of the general, together with those of his gallant aide-de-camp, Lieutenant-Colonel M'Donell, to the vaults prepared for their reception on Queenstown heights.[159]

"The weather was remarkably fine, and before ten o'clock a very large concourse of people, from all parts of the country, had a.s.sembled on the plains of Niagara, in front of Fort George, in a bastion of which the bodies had been deposited for twelve years.[160]

"One hea.r.s.e, covered with black cloth, and drawn by four black horses, each with a leader, contained both the bodies.

Soon after ten, a lane was formed by the 1st and 4th regiments of Lincoln militia, with their right on the gate of Fort George, and their left extending along the road towards Queenstown, the ranks being about forty paces distant from each other: within this line was formed, a guard of honor of the 76th regiment, in parade order, having its left on the fort. As the hea.r.s.e moved slowly from the fort, to the sound of solemn music, a detachment of royal artillery began to fire the salute of nineteen guns, and the guard of honor presented arms.

"On moving forwards in ordinary time, the guard of honor broke into a column of eight divisions, with the right in front, and the procession took the following order:

A Staff Officer.

Subdivision of Grenadiers.

Band of Music.

Right Wing of 76th Regiment.

THE BODY.

Aide-de-Camp to the late Major General Sir ISAAC BROCK.

Chief Mourners.

Relatives of the late Colonel M'DONELL.

Commissioners for the Monument.

Heads of Public Departments of the Civil Government.

Judges.

Members of the Executive Council.

His Excellency and Suite.

Left Wing of the 76th Regiment.

Indian Chiefs of the Five Nations.

Officers of Militia not on duty--junior ranks--First forward, Four deep.

Magistrates and Civilians, With a long Cavalcade of Hors.e.m.e.n, and Carriages of every description.

"As the procession pa.s.sed along the lane of militia, the latter wheeled inwards by subdivisions in succession, as soon as its own front was clear, and followed the procession. At a certain distance from Fort George the quick march was taken up, and arms were sloped; the members of the procession then took their carriages, preserving as nearly as possible the order abovementioned, and the whole proceeded on the road to Queenstown. The 2d and 3d regiments of Lincoln militia, in like manner, formed a lane, its left resting on the heights, near the entrance to the monument, and extending along the road towards the village of Queenstown. On reaching the commencement of this lane, the procession resumed its formation, all horses, carriages, &c., keeping in the rear; and when the head of the column approached the monument, it inclined to the right, to allow the body to proceed direct to the entrance. The guard of honor then halted and formed in parade order; the 2d and 3d Lincoln regiments following the procession in like manner as the 1st and 4th.

"The time occupied in moving from the fort to Queenstown, a distance of nearly seven miles, was about three hours, including stoppages. Being arrived opposite the spot where the lamented hero received his mortal wound, the whole procession halted, and remained for a few minutes in solemn pause. It then ascended the heights, and to the spectator who had his station on the summit near the monument, nothing could be finer than the effect of the lengthened column winding slowly up the steep ascent in regular order, surrounded by scenery no where surpa.s.sed for romantic beauty. On the bodies being removed from the hea.r.s.e and deposited in the vault, the guard of honor presented arms, whilst the artillery, (which had been taken from the enemy during the last war,) posted on the heights, fired a salute of nineteen guns. The troops then marched in ordinary time round the monument, and immediately separated to their respective parades.

"All those who were inclined to visit the interior of the vault were then permitted to enter in small parties. The remains of the brave M'Donell lie to the left of those of the general. On the general's coffin, which is otherwise quite plain and covered with black cloth, are two oval plates of silver, each six inches by four, one above the other. On the first is the following inscription:

"Here lie the earthly remains of a brave and virtuous hero, MAJOR-GENERAL SIR ISAAC BROCK:, Commander of the British Forces, and President administering the Government of Upper Canada, who fell, when gloriously engaging the enemies of his country, at the head of the Flank Companies of the 49th Regiment, in the town of Queenstown, on the morning of the 13th of October, 1812, Aged 42 years."

J.B. GLEGG, A.D.C.

And on the second plate the following additional inscription is engraved:

The remains of the late MAJOR-GENERAL SIR ISAAC BROCK, K.B.

removed from Fort George to this vault, on the 13th of October, 1824.

Upon a similar plate, on the lid of the aide-de-camp's coffin, was engraved:

The remains of LIEUT.-COL. JOHN M'DONELL, Provincial Aide-de-Camp to the late MAJOR-GENERAL BROCK, who died on the 14th of October, 1812, of wounds received in action the day before, Aged 25 years.

"Several printed papers, having the following extract from the government dispatches of the day, were handed about:

[See dispatch from Earl Bathurst to Sir George Prevost, page 328.--ED.] "Besides which, on large placards, to the number of several hundreds, copies of the inscription to be placed on the tablet, over the entrance of the monument, were distributed amongst the a.s.sembled mult.i.tudes, and which is as follows:

"The Legislature of Upper Canada has dedicated this Monument to the very eminent civil and military services of the late Sir Isaac Brock, Knight of the Most Hon. Order of the Bath, Provisional Lieutenant-Governor, and Major-General commanding the Forces in this Province, whose remains are deposited in the vault beneath. Having expelled the North Western Army of the United States, achieved its capture, received the surrender of Fort Detroit, and the territory of Michigan, under circ.u.mstances which have rendered his name ill.u.s.trious, he returned to the protection of this frontier; and advancing with his small force to repel a second invasion of the enemy, then in possession of these heights, he fell in action, on the 13th of October, 1812, in the forty-third year of his age, honoured and beloved by the people whom he governed, and deplored by his Sovereign, to whose service his life had been devoted."

REMARKS.

"By the best computation we could make, and avoiding all exaggeration, at the time the procession reached the monument there could not be less than five thousand persons present, many of whom were from the United States. General Brock, indeed, was a man no less esteemed by the enemy than he was admired and almost adored by his friends and soldiery; and we heard several Americans say, who had served against him and saw him fall, that they lamented his death as much as they would have done that of any of their own generals, on account of his humanity, and the great attention he had uniformly shewn to his prisoners.

"His excellency the lieutenant-governor (Major-General Sir Peregrine Maitland, K.C.B.) was in full dress, and, we are happy to say, appeared in good health after his late fatiguing journey of inspection to the Lower Province. The two M'Donells and Captain d.i.c.kinson, of the 2d Glengary regiment, relatives of the deceased Lieut. Colonel M'Donell, in the highland costume, appeared in the procession to great advantage, and seemed to excite much attention.

"But, amongst the a.s.sembled warriors and civilians, none excited a more lively interest than the chiefs of the Indian nations from the Grand River, whose warlike appearance, intrepid aspect, picturesque dress and ornaments, and majestic demeanour, accorded well with the solemn pomp and general character of a military procession--amongst these, young Brant, Bears Foot, and Henry, were distinguished. In our mind we never saw a dress more elegant of its kind, and fit for active service in the woods, than that worn by young Brant, who, with his tomahawk in hand, was a perfect resemblance of all that could be imagined of the accomplished Indian warrior.

"Amongst the numerous gentlemen in the procession, we observed that old veteran, Lieutenant M'Dougall, of his majesty's 8th (the king's) regiment, who, like a brave and loyal man, came from Sandwich to attend the re-interment."--_Upper Canada Gazette_, _October_, 1824.

No. 11.--Page 410.