The War of 1812 in the Champlain Valley

6. The Tragic First Winter

6 THE TRAGIC FIRST WINTER The fall of 1812, which held out prospects of great American achievements, ended in the lingering whimpers of two tragicomic campaigns on widely separated fronts. They were whimpers only by contrast with the big bang of Hull's surrender of his whole army in August. During the summer, Dearborn, pressed by the War Department to make a diversion at Niagara in Hull's behalf, was far too late to be of help. Even after Hull's surrender he was expected to make a major effort at Niagara and something smaller north of Plattsburgh. Niagara came first. The New York militia assembled at Lewiston under their own commander , Major General Stephen Van Rensselaer. Although he had no military experience, Governor Tompkins in appointing him sought to bring Federalist sentiment behind the war, and to capitalize upon the prestige of a political opponent. Dearborn instructed him to make a safe retreat ifhe were sharply attacked. Most of the regulars concentrated at Buffalo under the inspector general, Brigadier General Alexander Smyth. An arrogant man, Smyth failed to report to his superior at Lewiston and refused repeatedly to attend his councils of officers. Consequently, Van Rensselaer, under pressure from all sides for action, planned and executed an invasion of Canada without any help from Smyth and his 1,650 regulars. The stage was now set for a series of farces on the Niagara front. On October 13, 1812, an American force crossed the Niagara River and seized the heights above the village of Queenston. Van Rensselaer managed to get about eleven hundred of his six thousand-man army across during the day. At an early stage of the battle the British suffered an incalculable loss with the death of their ablest general, Isaac Brock. However, British reinforcements arrived, and during the afternoon the tide of battle changed. Van 87 88 THE WAR OF 1812 IN THE CHAMPLAIN VAu.EY Rensselaer tried to get more men across the river, but the militia from New York and Pennsylvania took refuge in the theory that they were not required to serve outside the country. Consequently, Van Rensselaer stood helplessly by while a force of 900 Americans surrendered in full view across the river. The general asked to resign and Dearborn, full of "mortification" over the defeat, granted him permission. The elimination of unfit generals had now started in the East. The uncooperative Smyth was appointed to command the front, and he boasted that at last the forces were in capable hands. Dearborn urged him to develop harmony between regulars and militia, until then seriously lacking. But Smyth, who was nicknamed "Van Bladder" by his troops, had other ideas. He arranged a short armistice with British Brigadier General Roger Sheaffe, which eventually lasted from October 18 to November 19. Meanwhile he indulged his fondness for bombastic proclamations by an address to his troops which bordered on the burlesque and drew a sharp rebuke from Washington. Choosing first to denounce the "miscarriages" of Hull and Van Rensselaer , he charged that "The commanders were popular men, 'destitute alike of theory and experience' in the art of war." From any general such an address would have seemed peculiar; from Smyth it was ridiculous because ofhis own lack of the qualities of leadership.l Smyth abandoned Fort Niagara, which did not fall to the British only because Sheaffe failed to seize his advantage. The day after the termination ofthe armistice Smyth sent a pointless demand for'the surrender of Fort Erie, to "spare the effusion of blood." At the end of November, he launched an invasion of Canada which he then called off while several thousand of his troops were in boats ready to join their comrades across the river. His troopS almost mutinied, and he was forced to change his quarters frequently because of the propensity of his men to shoot through his tent. Dearborn hastened to grant him permission to visit his family. Madison quietly dropped him from the rolls of the army, and quiet descended upon the Niagara front. Two-thirds of the grand, three-pronged plan to invade Canada and end the war in 1812 had failed. No territory had been gained at Niagara. and an entire army had been lost at Detroit. Only one campaign remained, and Dearborn pushed preparations as fast as he could, simultaneously with the demands of the Niagara front. Beginning in September, regular army units began to arrive in Burlington and Plattsburgh, with the latter place planned as...