The War of 1812 in the Champlain Valley

10. The British Occupation of Plattsburgh

10 THE BRITISH OCCUPATION OF PLAITSBURGH When Izard marched out of the North Country on August 29, his command devolved upon General Macomb, who experienced a brief panic when he realized the threat he faced. He knew that a huge British army was poised just north of the border, but estimates of its size ranged from seven thousand to fourteen thousand. He immediately asked Eleazer Williams for intelligence reports every ten hours. He summarized his situation as "everything in a state of disorganization - works unfinished & a garrison of a few efficient men and a sick list of one thousand.... Happen what will you may rely that the garrison will do its utmost."1 Actually, dysentery, diarrhea, and typhus had reappeared in Izard's army during August, and he left 921 sick men under the care ofDr. Mann at Plattsburgh when he departed. Consequently, Macomb was able to count on only nineteen hundred effective regulars to stem the horde of veterans of the war in Europe. As soon as Izard's protection was withdrawn at the border, the inhabitants were subjected to small forays from Canada. Marauding Indians irritated and frightened Americans more than the threat ofa large British army. For example, a single drunken Indian appeared at Pliny Moore's door in search of rum and money. Then he tried to pUt his hand into the pocket ofSi· las Hubbell, the lawyer. Such incidents, Moore protested to General Brisbane , were a nuisance, especially disturbing to women and children. Julius C. Hubbell also complained about rampaging Indians, especially a band of 300 who terrorized Chazy, took old spelling books out of the schoolhouse, and pulled and ate onions in his garden.2 The expected invasion began on August 31 when Brisbane crossed the border with one wing of the army and camped on the north bank of the 161 162 THE WAR OF 1812 IN THE CHAMPLAIN VALLEY Great Chazy River. The rest of the army and Prevost himself entered New York next day. In a proclamation aimed at detaching Americans from their government, Prevost promised "the peaceable and unoffending inhabitants" that they could expect "kind usage and generous treatment." Then he denounced his real enemy: "It is against the government of the United States, by whom this unjust and unprovoked war has been declared, and against those who support it, either openly or secretly, that the arms of his majesty are directed." His promise of redress for any violence to persons and property was kept in the main, and looting and illegal seizures were kept at a minimum.3 Panic spread throughout the Champlain Valley, and Dr. Beaumont sardonically described the scene in Plattsburgh: The people are all frighten'd nearly out-out, did I say? rather into their wits- if they have any - moving everything off-under the expectation that all will be burnt or destroyed - poor souls, many of them, love & uphold the British -censure & condemn our own Government - complaining they have no protection - neither will they take up arms to defend themselvesIndeed I pity their depravity- but dont care much for their losses- if they should maintain any.4 At the last minute, an unaccountable change of command occurred on the British side as well. On September 1, Captain George Downie, arrived at Isle-aux-Noix to take command from Captain Pring, who had been in charge for more than a year. Downie had been serving on Lake Ontario under Yeo, and the only explanation for the shift seems to be Yeo's incompatibility with Pring. Prevost was determined not to make a decisive move before the fleet was ready, and he was deeply irritated that, with all summer to prepare, the ships were not finished. He was aware that the Confiance was far from complete, but he began to write the commander daily to hasten preparations, after his army was already in the United States. Yet the Confiance was not put into the water until August 25, and when Downie first saw her, she still lacked much of her equipment, including items such as locks for the guns, which appeared unobtainable. Nevertheless, in order to insure Prevost's supply line as he moved south, Pring with some gunboats occupied Isle La Motte on September 3. He paroled the militia he found there and installed a battery of three long eighteenpound guns opposite the mouth of the Little Chazy River, where army supplies were to be landed. Pring then waited on the island for the rest of the...