Experience soon proved that, unfortunately, pride of opinion is sometimes stronger than love of country. A large minority of the citizens of this, and the adjacent states, were loud in their denunciations of the war; and if they did not afford direct aid to the foe, they weakened the hands, and discouraged the hearts of those who were to contend with the enemy; and furnished grounds of scru. ple, by which the timorous and faint-hearted justified their cowardice. Under such adverse influences, officers of known spirit, and tried courage, faltered in meeting the foe, and surrendered to a force inferior to their own.

The first considerable action of the war was disgraceful to our boasted prowess. General Hull, deputed to carry aggressive war into Canada, and to take the British post at Malden, seemed panic-struck at the approach of the enemy. Forgetting his former renown, as a brave soldier, he returned to Detroit without striking a blow; and on the 16th of August, 1812, surrendered his whole force, consisting of about 2000 troops, occupying a strongly fortified garrison, together with the whole territory of Michigan, to General Brock, whose entire army consisted of only 700 British troops, and 600 Indians.

General Van Rensselaer, with his command, was stationed at Lewiston, below the Falls. His troops, (principally militia,) often urged him to give them an opportunity of displaying their prowess by facing the enemy. Determining not to remain inactive, ne despatched his aid-de-camp, Lieutenant Colonel Van Rensselaer, a brave and meritorious, but somewhat rash officer, with about 225 men, to attack the British post of Queenstown, on the opposite shore of the Niagara river.

The attack was successful at the outset, and but for the shameful cowardice of the troops remaining upon the American shore, would undoubtedly have terminated in a brilliant victory.

Such were the pretended constitutional scruples of the remaining troops as to the propriety of crossing over to the enemy's territory, that when ordered to reinforce Lieutenant Colonel Van Rensselaer, they preferred to see their brethren in arms cut to pieces, rather than move to their relief; and thus nearly the whole force which had crossed the river, were either killed, or taken prisoners.

General Van Rensselaer, disgusted with his army, soon after resigned his commission, and was succeeded by General Alexander Smyth, of Virginia.

This officer appears to have been a mere braggart, for after issuing a proclamation, announcing the wonderful deeds he intended to perform, he finally ordered his troops into winter quarters, without accomplishing any thing.

In January, 1813, occurred the battle of the River Raisin, in Michigan, one of the most sanguinary contests of the war. In this conflict, the British General, Proctor, acquired lasting infamy from his inhumanity to the American troops, who had surrendered; giving them up to the savages for torture and massacre, in violation of his solemn pledge to General Winchester, the American commander.

In February, 1813, Captain Forsyth, commander of the American forces at Ogdensburg, crossed the St. Lawrence, in pursuit of some prisoners whom the English had taken from his vicinity, and succeeded in capturing some military stores and about fifty prisoners. In revenge for this act, the British, on the 22d of February, 1813, crossed the St. Lawrence with a considerable force, and took Ogdensburg. Forsyth, however, with his forces, made good their retreat.

On the 27th of April, 1813, General Dearborne made a successful attack upon York, now Toronto, (Canada West), aided by the squadron of Commodore Chauncey. After a short resistance, it was captured, together with a large quantity of military stores. The force detailed for this service, consisted of about 1700 troops, under the command of General Z. M. Pike.

The enemy, in their retreat, laid a train of combustibles to their magazine, with the fiendish design of thus destroying the invaders. The scheme was, in part, successful; and the brave and noble hearted Pike was killed, by the explosion, at the head of his troops, in the moment of triumph. The troops faltered for a moment, but rallied instantly, and drove the foe from the field. The British lost in this action,in killed, wounded, and prisoners, about 750. The Americans, about 300.

Early in May, 1813, the Americans evacuated the tort at York. They removed to Four mile creek, a short distance below Fort Niagara, and, in connection with a force of 100 men, who were landed from two armed schooners despatched to cooperate with them, took possession of some military stores, at that place, belonging to the enemy, and then proceeded in safety to Fort Niagara.

On the 27th of May, a descent was made, by Commodore Chauncey, upon Fort George, which surrendered, after a short contest. The American loss in killed and wounded, was 150: the British, in killed, wounded, and prisoners, 386, beside 507 militia men, released on their parole.

On the 23d of June, General Dearborne sent Lieutenant Colonel Boerstler with 570 men, to Beaver Dam, to disperse a body of the enemy. When within about two miles of that place, he was attacked by the foe, who, in ambuscade, had awaited his approach. After a short contest, he succeeded in driving them into an open field, and sent an express to General Dearborne for reinforcements; but before they could arrive, he was surrounded by a superior force, and compelled to surrender.

During the period occupied by these enterprises, the enemy were not idle. About the last of May, Commodore Chauncey's fleet having left Sackett's Harbor, for Fort George, Sir George Prevost made a descent upon the town, with 1000 troops, but was repulsed with considerable loss. On the 19th of June, the British landed and burned the village of Sodus, where some

military stores were deposited. On the following day, they made an unsuccessful attempt to land at Oswego. On the 2d of July, they again attacked Sackett's Harbor, but with no better success than before. On the 11th, they crossed over to Black Rock, and succeeded in capturing some stores.

Meantime, both parties were seeking to secure the exclusive control of Lake Erie. Commodore Perry, by extraordinary exertion, had built and equipped an American squadron of nine vessels, carrying fifty-four guns; and Commodore Barclay had prepared a British squadron of six vessels, mounting sixty-three guns.

The two squadrons met on the 10th of September, 1813, near the western extremity of the lake. Owing to a calm at the commencement of the action, the Lawrence, Commodore Perry's flag-ship, was exposed to almost the whole fire of the enemy, and soon disabled.

At this juncture, when the foe were ready to triumph, Perry, with four of his men, leaped into a boat, flag in hand, and a gentle breeze springing up at the time, brought the Niagara, to which he had transferred his flag, into action. Through the exertions of Captain Elliot, her commander, the remainder of the vessels were brought up, and the Niagara led the way through the enemy's line, supported by the rest of the squadron, pouring successive broadsides into five of their vessels. In a short time, the entire fleet of the enemy surrendered.

Commodore Perry communicated to General Harrison the following intelligence of his victory: "We have met the enemy, and they are ours."

This victory resulted in the evacuation of Detroit, by the Brit-ish army, which was pursued and overtaken by General Harrison, on the river Thames, about eighty miles from Detroit. At this point was fought, on the 5th of October, the battle of the Thames, one of the most brilliant of the campaign. At this battle, Tecumseh was killed, and the Indian force dispersed.

Preparations were now made by the American army for an attack on Montreal; and for this purpose, the divisions, commanded by Generals Wilkinson and Hampton, were ordered to form a junction on the St. Lawrence. General Wilkinson moved down the river with his troops, early in November, and on the 19th of that month, a severe, but indecisive action was fought at Williamsburgh. Both parties claimed the victory. The American loss in killed and wounded was about 300; the British, about 200. Owing to some misunderstanding, the junction of the two divisions was not effected, and soon after, they went into winter quarters.

In December, General McClure, commanding at Fort George, hearing of the approach of a large British force, dismantled

and abandoned the fort, having previously burned the Canadian village of Newark, now called Niagara.

On the 19th of this month, the British crossed the river and carried Fort Niagara by storm; and to revenge the burning of Newark, they proceeded to burn Lewistown, Youngstown, Manchester, now called Niagara Falls' Village, and the Tuscarora Indian village. On the 30th, they crossed again, and burned Black Rock and Buffalo. These villages were only guarded by small bodies of militia, who could oppose no effectual resistance to the marauders.

On the 3d of July, 1814, Generals Scott and Ripley with about 3000 troops, crossed the Niagara river and took Fort Erie, without opposition. The next day, General Brown advanced, with the main body of his forces to Chippeway, about two miles south of the Falls. Here, on the 5th, General Riall, at the head of the British army, advanced to give them battle. The contest was severe, but resulted in favor of the Americans. The enemy lost nearly 500 men; our own troops, 338.

General Riall, after his defeat, withdrew to Queenstown, and afterwards to Burlington Heights. Here he was reinforced by General Drummond, who took the command. The enemy appeared before the camp, just before sunset, on the 25th of July. The American army immediately formed in the order of battle, at Lundy's Lane, about half a mile north west from the Falls; and there, amid the eternal roar of Niagara, the two infuriated hosts continued in deadly conflict, till past mid-' night.

This was the most hotly contested action of the war; General Scott led the advance, and first engaged a body of the enemy, greatly his superior in numbers, for an hour. Both parties were then reinforced, and the action renewed with greater fury than before. The British artillery was so placed upon an eminence, as to rake every part of the American army; and it became evident that the result of the battle depended on the capture of that battery.

General Scott rode up to Colonel Miller and inquired, "can you storm that battery?" "I can try, Sir;" was the laconic reply; and in a few moments, he was seen at the head of his regiment, impetuously charging upon the artillery, his ranks thinned at every step by the cannon balls.

The enemy resisted bravely, but could not withstand the charge. Three times they returned to the attack, but their battery was turned against them with murderous force; and no sooner did they come within its range, than the deadly rifle, wielded with unerring aim, mowed them down by platoons.

General Drummond was himself wounded, and the army driven from the field. The British force engaged in this battle, was nearly one third greater than the American. The loss of the enemy was 878; of the American troops, 858.

Generals Brown and Scott having both been wounded in the battle, the command devolved on General Ripley, who thought it prudent to retire to Fort Erie. Here, on the 4th of August,

he was besieged by General Drummond, at the head of five thousand men. Meanwhile, General Gaines arrived at the fort and took the command, as senior officer. On the 15th, the British made an assault on the fort, but were repulsed with the loss of nearly 1000 men. On the 17th of September, General Brown having recovered and taken the command, a sortie was made from the fort, and the advanced troops of the besiegers defeated.

Soon after, hearing that General Izard was on his way with reinforcements, the enemy raised the siege and returned to Fort George. In November, Fort Erie was abandoned and dismantled by the Americans, who, crossing the river, went into winter quarters, in the neighborhood of the Lakes.

Meantime, events were occurring in the eastern part of the state, which materially hastened the termination of the war. General Wilkinson went into winter quarters at French Mills, now Fort Covington. In the latter part of winter, he broke up his encampment and removed to Plattsburg. On the 30th of March, 1814, he penetrated into Canada, and attacked a body of the enemy at La Colle Mills, on the Sorel river, but was repulsed with some loss, and returned to Plattsburg, where he was soon after superseded in command by General Izard.

Early in September, Sir George Prevost advanced towards Plattsburg with an army of 14,000 men, mostly European veterans, who had served under Wellington. At the same time, Commodore Downie appeared on Lake Champlain with seventeen sail, mounting ninety-five guns, and carrying 1020 men. To oppose this force, General Macomb had only 1500 regular troops, and about 2500 militia; and Commodore McDonough, a squadron of fourteen sail, mounting eighty-six guns, and carrying 820 men.

The two armies engaged in battle on Sunday, the 11th of September. The action between the land forces and the equadrons commenced simultaneously. The British made the greatest exertions to cross the Saranac, but were repulsed at every attempt, with severe loss; and their squadron having been captured, and mostly destroyed, they retreated precipitately, leaving behind them large quantities of military stores. The entire loss of the British, in this action, including killed, wounded, prisoners, and deserters, was estimated at 2500. The remaining battles of the war were fought at the south.

On the 24th of December, 1814, the treaty of Ghent was signed by the commissioners of the two countries, and on the 17th of February, 1815, this treaty was confirmed by the President and Senate.