The Medallic History of the United States of America 1776-1876 Part 60

_July 5 and 25, and September 17, 1814._

Major General Peter B. Porter. [Rx]. Resolution of Congress November 3. 1814.

MAJOR-GENERAL PETER BUEL PORTER.

[_Victories of Chippewa, Niagara, and Erie._]

MAJOR GENERAL PETER B. (_Buel_) PORTER. Bust of General Porter, in uniform, facing the right. FuRST. F. (_fecit_).

RESOLUTION OF CONGRESS NOVEMBER 3. 1814. A winged Victory, holding in her right hand a palm branch and a wreath of laurel, and in her left three standards, upon which are written: "ERIE" "CHIPPEWA" "NIAGARA."

She dictates to the muse of History, who is seated on the ground, writing. Exergue: BATTLES OF CHIPPEWA. JULY 5. 1814. NIAGARA. JULY 25.

1814. ERIE. SEP. (_September_) 17. 1814. FuRST. F. (_fecit_).

PETER BUEL PORTER was born in Salisbury, Connecticut, August 14, 1773.

He was graduated at Yale College, New Haven, in 1791; and studied law and commenced practice in Canandaigua, New York, in 1795. He was a member of Congress, 1809-1813; a major-general of New York volunteers, 1813; and distinguished himself at the battles of Chippewa, Niagara, and Erie, for which Congress gave him a vote of thanks and a gold medal.[97] He was again a member of Congress, 1815-1816; was appointed a United States commissioner for determining the north-western boundary, 1816; and was secretary of War in 1828-1829. He died at Niagara Falls, March 20, 1844.

[Footnote 97: The resolution of Congress voting this medal, and the official reports of the battles of Chippewa, Niagara, and Erie, are given under No.

39, page 203.]

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ORIGINAL DOc.u.mENTS. (p. 216)

_Brigadier-General P. B. Porter to Major-General Jacob Brown._

To Jacob BROWN, Esq., Fort Erie, September 22d, 1814.

Major-General commanding.

Sir: In executing the duty you have imposed on me, of reporting the conduct of the officers and men composing the left column, which you were pleased to place under my command, in the sortie of the 17th instant, the pleasure I derive in representing to you the admirable conduct of the whole, is deeply chastened by sorrow for the loss of many brave and distinguished men.

Being obliged, from the nature of the ground, to act on foot, it was impossible that my own personal observation should reach to every officer. Some part of this report must therefore rest upon the information of others.

It is the business of this communication to speak of the conduct of individuals; yet you will permit me to premise, although well known to yourself already, that the object of the left column was to penetrate by a circuitous route between the enemy's batteries, where one-third of his force was always kept on duty, and his main camp, and that it was sub-divided into three divisions: the advance of 200 riflemen, and a few Indians, commanded by Colonel Gibson, and two columns moving parallel to, and 30 yards distant from, each other. The right column was commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Wood, headed by 400 infantry, under Major Brooke, of the 23d, and followed by 500 volunteers and militia, being parts of Lieutenant-Colonels Dobbin's, M'Burney's, and Fleming's regiments, and was intended to attack the batteries.

The left column of 500 militia was commanded by Brigadier-General Davis, and comprised the commands of Lieutenant-Colonels Hopkins, Churchhill and Crosby, and was intended to hold in check any reinforcements from the enemy's camp; or both columns (circ.u.mstances requiring it, which frequently happened) to co-operate in the same object.

After carrying by storm, in the handsomest style, a strong block house, in rear of the third battery, making its garrison prisoners, destroying the three 24-pounders and their carriages in the third battery, and blowing up the enemy's magazine, and after co-operating with General Miller in taking the second battery, the gallant leaders of the three divisions all fell nearly at the same time; Colonel Gibson, at the second battery, and General Davis and Lieutenant-Colonel Wood in an a.s.sault upon the first.

Brigadier-General Davis, although a militia officer of little experience, conducted on this occasion with all the coolness and bravery of a veteran, and fell while advancing upon the enemy's entrenchments. His loss as a citizen as well as a soldier, will be severely felt in the patriotic county of Genesee. Colonel Gibson fully sustained the high military reputation which he had before so justly acquired. You know how exalted an opinion I have always entertained of Lieutenant-Colonel Wood of the engineers.

His conduct on this day was what it uniformly has been, on every similar occasion, an exhibition of military skill, acute judgment, and heroic valour. Of the other regular officers, (p. 217) Lieutenant-Colonel M'Donald and Major Brooke, senior in command, will report to you in relation to their respective divisions.

Permit me, however, to say of these two officers, that, much as was left to them by the fall of their distinguished leaders, they were able to sustain their parts in the most admirable manner, and they richly deserve the notice of the government.

Of the militia, I regret that the limits of a report will not permit me even to name all of those who on this occasion established claims to the grat.i.tude of their fellow citizens; much less to particularize individual merit. Lieutenant-Colonels Hopkins, M'Burney, Churchhill and Crosby, and Majors Lee, Marcle, Wilson, Lawrence, Burr, Dunham, Kellogg and Ganson, are ent.i.tled to the highest praise for their gallant conduct, their steady and persevering exertions. Lieutenant-Colonel Dobbin being prevented by severe indisposition from taking the field, Major Hall, a.s.sistant inspector general, volunteered his services to join Major Lee in the command of the volunteer regiment; and Major Lee and every other officer speak in the highest terms of the gallant and good conduct of this young officer.

Captain Fleming, who commanded the Indians, was, as he always is, in the front of the battle. There is not a more intrepid soldier in the army. I should be ungrateful were I to omit the names of Captains Knapp and Hull of the volunteers, and Captain Parker and Lieutenant Chatfield of the militia, by whose intrepidity I was, during the action, extricated from the most unpleasant situation.

Captains Richardson, Buel and Kennedy, Lieutenants Parkhurst and Brown, and Adjutants Dobbin, Bates and Robinson, particularly distinguished themselves. The patriotic conduct of Captain Elliot, with twenty young gentlemen, who volunteered from Batavia, and of Major Hubbard, with fourteen men exempted by age from military duty, should not be omitted. They were conspicuous during the action.

You will excuse me if I shall seem partial in speaking of my own family, consisting of my brigade major, Frazer, my volunteer aid-de-camp Riddle (both first lieutenants in the 15th infantry), Captain Bigger, of the Canadian volunteers, Messrs. Williams and Delapierre, volunteer aids for the day, all of whom, except Mr.

Williams, were wounded.

Lieutenants Frazer and Riddle were engaged for the most of the preceding day with fatigue parties, cutting roads for the advance of the column through the swamp, and falling timber to the rear, and within 150 yards of the enemy's right; which service they executed with so much address as to avoid discovery; and on the succeeding day they conducted the two columns to the attack.

Frazer was severely wounded by a musket ball while spiking a gun on the second battery. Riddle, after the first battery was carried, descended into the enemy's magazine, and after securing (with the a.s.sistance of quarter master Greene of the volunteers, whose good conduct deserves much praise) a quant.i.ty of fixed ammunition, blew up the magazine, and suffered severely by the explosion. I must solicit, through you, Sir, the attention of the general government to these meritorious young men. Captain Bigger is an excellent officer, and rendered me much a.s.sistance, but was dangerously wounded. The other young gentlemen are citizens, and deserve much credit for their activity, and for having voluntarily encountered danger. My aid-de-camp, Major Dox, was confined at Buffalo by sickness.

On the whole, Sir, I can say of the regular troops attached (p. 218) to the left column, of the veteran volunteers of Lieutenant-Colonel Dobbin's regiment, that every man did his duty, and their conduct on this occasion reflects a new l.u.s.tre on their former brilliant achievements. To the militia, the compliment is justly due, and I could pay them no greater one, than to say, that they were not surpa.s.sed by the heroes of Chippewa and Niagara in steadiness and bravery.

The studied intricacy of the enemy's defences, consisting not only of the breastwork connecting their batteries, but of successive lines of entrenchments for a hundred yards in the rear, covering the batteries and enfilading each other, and the whole obstructed by abatis, brush and felled timber, was calculated to produce confusion among the a.s.sailants, and led to several contests at the point of the bayonet. But by our double columns, any temporary irregularity in the one, was always corrected by the other. Our success would probably have been more complete but for the rain which unfortunately set in soon after we commenced our march, which rendered the fire of many of our muskets useless, and by obscuring the sun, led to several unlucky mistakes. As an instance of this, a body of 50 prisoners who had surrendered, were ordered to the fort in charge of a subaltern and 14 volunteers; the officer mistaking the direction, conducted them towards the British camp in the route by which we had advanced, and they were re-taken with the whole of the guard, excepting the officer and one man, who fought their way back.

Several of our stragglers were made prisoners by the same mistake. But, Sir, notwithstanding these accidents, we have reason to rejoice at our signal success, in inflicting a vastly disproportionate injury on the enemy, and in wholly defeating all his plans of operation against this army.

I have the honour to be, &c.

P. B. PORTER, _Brigadier General commanding Volunteers and Militia_.

No. 41. (p. 219) PLATE XLII.

_July 5 and 25, August 15, and September 17, 1814._

Brig. General Eleazer W. Ripley. [Rx]. Resolution of Congress Novemb. 3. 1814.

BRIGADIER-GENERAL ELEAZER WHEELOCK RIPLEY.

[_Victories of Chippewa, Niagara, and Erie._]

BRIG. (_Brigadier_) GENERAL ELEAZER W. (_Wheelock_) RIPLEY. Bust of General Ripley, in uniform, facing the right FuRST. F. (_fecit_).

RESOLUTION OF CONGRESS NOVEMB. (_November_) 3. 1814. A winged Victory, standing, holds in her right hand a trumpet and a crown of laurel, and with her left is hanging upon a palm tree a s.h.i.+eld on which are the words: "CHIPPEWA" "NIAGARA" "ERIE." Exergue: BATTLES OF CHIPPEWA JULY 5. 1814. NIAGARA JULY 25. 1814. ERIE. AUG. (_August_) 15. SEP.

(_September_) 17 1814. FuRST. F. (_fecit_).[98]

[Footnote 98: The resolution of Congress voting this medal, and the official reports of the battles of Chippewa, Niagara and Erie, are given under No.

39, page 203, and No. 44, page 226.]

ELEAZER WHEELOCK RIPLEY was born in Hanover, New Hamps.h.i.+re, April 15, 1782. He was graduated at Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hamps.h.i.+re, in 1800, and studied law. He was speaker of the Legislature of Ma.s.sachusetts in 1812; a lieutenant-colonel the same year; colonel of the 21st regiment of infantry, 1813; and a brigadier-general, 1814. He distinguished himself at Chippewa, at Niagara, and at Erie, for which services he received the thanks of Congress and a gold medal. He (p. 220) was wounded at Niagara, and again dangerously at Erie; was breveted a major-general, July 25, 1814; resigned in 1820, and settled in Louisiana, which he represented in Congress, 1835-1839. He died at West Feliciana, Louisiana, March 2, 1839.

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ORIGINAL DOc.u.mENTS.

_Brigadier-General E. W. Ripley to Brigadier-General Gaines._

To BRIGADIER-GENERAL GAINES. Fort Erie, August 17th, 1814.

Sir: I take the liberty of reporting you the cause of operations on the left flank of the camp, during the action of the 15th instant.

From indications satisfactory to me, I was persuaded very early of the enemy's design of attacking us in our position. Before any alarm, I caused my brigade to occupy their alarm posts. On the first fire of the picket, Captain Towson opened his artillery upon them from Fort Williams, in a style which does him infinite credit. It was continued with very great effect upon the enemy during the whole action.