1812. British or ders in council repealed. July. timore. Printing office destroyed. the revocation of the orders in council; that the blockading of enemies' ports without an adequate force was but a retaliation for the same conduct on the part of the French; and that the French government was considered the first and the greatest aggressor on neutral rights.1 Four days after the declaration of war, the decrees of Berlin and Milan having been officially revoked, the British orders in council were repealed.2 Great outrages were committed at Baltimore. The editors of Mob at Bal- the Federal Republican, a newspaper printed in that city, having published strictures on the declaration of war, a mob had assembled at night, torn down their office, and destroyed their printing materials. The paper was afterwards established at Georgetown, and a house was engaged in Baltimore from which the papers were to be distributed. Mr. Hanson, one of the editors, with general Henry Lee, general Lingan, and many others, having provided arms and ammunition, they determined, if attacked, to defend themselves in the exercise of their rights. In the evening of the 27th of July, a mob collected, and assailed the house, principally with stones. While they were forcing the door, several muskets were fired, by which two persons were killed, and several wounded. On the arrival of the military, a compromise was effected. The persons within the house surrendered, on a promise of safety in the prison. On the following night the mob reassembled, broke open the gaol, killed general Lingan, bruised and mangled 11 others, 8 of whom, supposed to be dead, were thrown in a heap in front of the gaol. Some of the ringleaders were tried; but they escaped punishment.3 House assailed. General Lingan killed. Surrender of gen. Hull. Frigate Guerriere taken. Act of congress respecting militia. On the 15th of August, general Hull, who had passed into Canada with about 2000 men, surrendered to the British. Captain Isaac Hull, of the United States frigate Constitution, after an action of 30 minutes, captured the British frigate Guerriere, commanded by captain Dacres. The loss of the Guerriere was 15 killed, 64 wounded, and 21 missing; of the Constitution, 7 killed, and 7 wounded.5 Congress passed an act to authorize a detachment from the militia of the United States, which was approved by the president on the 12th of April. By this act the president of the United 1 The bill for declaring war passed in the house of representatives, 79 to 49; and in the senate, 19 to 17. 2 The French decrees were revoked in April. 3 The funeral obsequies of general Lingan were attended at Georgetown by 3000 persons. 4 Niles' Register, iii. 13, 14. Account of the arms, ammunition, &c. at Detroit on the day of the surrender of that place to the British forces by brigadier general Hull, ib. 93. 5 Ibid. iii. 28, 251, Hull's and Dacres' Accounts. States was authorized to require of the executives of the several 1812. states and territories, to take effectual measures to organize, arm, and equip, according to law, and hold in readiness to march at a moment's warning, their respective proportions of 100,000 militia, officers included. It was farther enacted, that the detachment of militia shall be officered out of the present militia officers, or others, at the option and discretion of the constitutional authority in the respective states and territories; the president of the United States apportioning the general officers among the respective states and territories, as he may deem proper; and the commissioned officers of the militia, when called into actual service, shall be entitled to the same pay, rations, and emoluments, as the officers of the army of the United States. the gover nors for Upon the declaration of war, the few regular troops then in President the service of the United States were sent off on an expedition calls upon into Upper Canada. To man the fortresses on the maritime frontier, the president called upon the governors of states for militia to militia, to be placed under officers of his own appointment. under U. S. be placed Governor Strong of Massachusetts, governor Griswold of Con- officers; necticut, and governor Jones of Rhode Island, upon whom these requisitions were severally made, resisted the demand, on the the demand twofold ground, that neither of the constitutional exigencies had resisted. arisen, and that the militia could not be compelled to serve under any other than their own officers, with the exception of the president himself, when personally in the field. As the enemy invaded neither of those states during this year, the militia remained unemployed; but, from a view of the exposed and de- Connectifenceless condition of Connecticut, the legislature of that state ordered a corps of regular troops to be raised, and also a corps her own deof voluntary exempts, the organization of which was effected the fence. following winter.1 cut raises troops for Defeat at General Van Rensselaer, with about 1000 men, crossed the Nov. river Niagara, and attacked the British at Queenstown; and, Queensthough successful at first, was compelled, after a long and obsti- town. nate engagement, to surrender. His loss was 60 killed, and about 100 wounded. General Brock, the British commander, was killed. The Frolic, a British sloop of war, was captured, after a se- British vesvere engagement, by the Wasp, commanded by captain Jones. sels taken. Commodore Decatur, of the United States frigate, fell in with the British frigate Macedonian, commanded by captain Carden, off the Western Islands, and, after an action of an hour and a half, captured her. The loss of the Macedonian was, 36 killed 1 By the death of governor Griswold, the organization of the several corps devolved upon lieutenant governor Smith. 1812. and 68 wounded; of the United States, 7 killed and 5 wounded. The United States frigate Constitution, commanded by commodore Bainbridge, after an action of nearly two hours, captured the British frigate Java. The American loss was, 9 killed and 25 wounded; the British, 60 killed and 101 wounded. The American privateer schooner Dolphin, of 2 guns, commanded by captain Endicott, captured a British ship of 14 guns and 18 men. An act of congress was passed for the admission of Louisiana into the Union, and to extend the laws of the United States to that state. Louisiana. Ohio. Pittsfield. S. Carolina. Rochester. Antiquarian Foreign missions. Columbus, the seat of government of the state of Ohio, and the town of Madison in that state, were laid out. The United States government purchased 14 acres of land at Pittsfield in Massachusetts, on which to erect barracks for the troops, with a hospital. The commencement of South Carolina College was held at Columbia, the new capital. The legislature of South Carolina passed an act to establish Free Schools throughout the state. Hamilton College, at Clinton in the state of New York, was incoporated. The origin of the settlement of Rochester in New York is assigned to this year. A mill lot in the centre of a village on the west side of Genesee river, purchased hy Nathaniel Rochester and others ten years before, had remained unoccupied till this year. The purchasers now surveyed it into village lots, and gave it the family name of the senior proprietor, "Rochester." The first bridge at this place was finished this year. A post office was established in the village. The first merchant's store was opened.1 The seat of government of Pennsylvania was removed to Harrisburg. The American Antiquarian Society was incorporated by the legislature of Massachusetts. The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions was incorporated. Five missionaries were ordained at Salem, Massachusetts, with a view of preaching the gospel in Asia. These were the first American missionaries, destined to foreign parts. A Theological Institution was formed at Princeton, N. Jersey. 1 Account of Rochester, annexed to a Directory for the Village of Rochester, 1827. "We have seen our village," says the writer," from a log hut or two in the deep and lonely forest, rise like the work of magic, in a few years, to the form of a busy and populous city. We have seen the forest yielding to the fruitful field, and the fruitful field to streets crowded with commerce, and wharves covered with the merchandise of every nation. From a few adven turous settlers, braving the hardships and dangers of an untried wilderness, we now see a multitude of people enjoying all the necessaries and luxuries of life." The New England Journal of Medicine and Surgery, a peri- 1812. odical work, was begun at Boston. George Clinton, vice president of the United States, died at Deaths. Washington; Roger Griswold, governor of Connecticut, at Norwich, aged 50;2 Joel Barlow, in Poland, aged 54;3 Hugh White, the first settler of Whitestown, aged 80 years; Joseph Buckminster, in his 61st year; and Joseph Stevens Buckminster, aged 28.5 1 The epitaph of Mr. Clinton furnishes an outline of his character and history: "He was a soldier and statesman of the revolution. Eminent in council, he filled with unexampled usefulness, purity, and ability, among many other offices, those of governor of his native state, and of Vice President of the United States." 2 Roger Griswold, LL.D. the son of governor Matthew Griswold, of highly respected memory, was born at Lyme, and educated at Yale College, where he was graduated in 1780. He was admitted to the bar in 1783. In 1794 he was chosen a representative to congress, and was one of the most distinguished members of that body for several years. In 1807, having resigned his seat in congress, he was appointed a judge of the supreme court of Connecticut. In 1809 he was chosen lieutenant governor, and in 1811, governor of the state. He was regarded as one of the first men in the nation, in talents, political knowledge, and force of eloquence. He possessed a vigorous understanding, was acute and powerful in argumentation, and distinguished by his integrity, public spirit, and graceful manners. 3 Joel Barlow, LL.D. was born at Reading in Connecticut, and graduated at Yale College in 1778. He served a short time in the army of the revolution as a volunteer, and afterward as chaplain of a regiment. At the close of the war, he turned his attention to the law, but in 1788 relinquished that profession, and embarked for England as agent for a land company; and not long after went to France, where he soon rendered himself conspicuous and popular by his zeal in the cause of the revolution. In 1795, he was appointed American consul at Algiers, and negotiated a treaty with that government and with Tripoli. In 1797, he resigned his station, and resided in Paris until 1805, when he returned to the United States, and settled at Georgetown. In 1811, he was appointed minister to France. In the autumn of the next year, he was invited by the emperor to a conference at Wilna, in Poland, and on his way thither, died at Zarnowica, a village near Cracow, on the 22d of December. The principal publications of Mr. Barlow are: The Vision of Columbus, a Poem in nine books, 1787; Advice to the Privileged Orders, 1791; the Conspiracy of Kings, 1792; the Columbiad, 1808. 4 In 1784 Judge White removed with his family from Middletown in Connecticut to Sedaghquata, now Whitesborough village, which till that time had been wild land. He was the first who dared to overleap the German settlements on the Mohawk, and to encounter the hardships and dangers of the western wilderness. During the first four years, the progress of settlements around him was slow and discouraging. In 1788 the town of German Flats was divided, and a new town was established, which, in honour of this enterprising man, was called "Whitestown." It then contained less than 200 inhabitants, and included all that part of the state of New York which now constitutes 19 counties. These counties, according to the census of 1810, contained 280,319 inhabitants. Throughout the long journey of life judge White was distinguished for integrity. Utica Patriot, Obituary Notice of Hugh White. Spafford. 5 The Rev. Dr. Buckminster was pastor of a church in Portsmouth; the Rev. J. S. Buckminster, of the church in Brattle Square, Boston. Biographical sketches of the former are in the Panoplist (New Series) v. 105–111; à Memoir of the latter (his son) is prefixed to a volume of his Sermons. Inauguration. April. Emperor of Russia offers his which is accepted. Commis pointed. 1813. JAMES MADISON was inaugurated President of the United States, and Elbridge Gerry, Vice President. While the war was prosecuted with vigour in America, a friendly power abroad interposed for its termination. Soon after the spring session of congress, an offer was communicated from the emperor mediation; of Russia, of his mediation, as the common friend of the United States and Great Britain, for the purpose of facilitating a peace between them. The offer was immediately accepted by the American government, and provision made for the contemplated negotiation. Albert Gallatin, James A. Bayard, and John Quinsioners ap- cy Adams were appointed commissioners, and invested with the requisite powers to conclude a treaty of peace with persons clothed with like powers on the part of Great Britain. They were also authorized to enter into such conventional regulations of the commerce between the two countries, as might be mutually advantageous. The two first named envoys proceeded to join their colleague at St. Petersburg, where he then was as resident minister from the United States. A commission was also given to the envoys, authorizing them to conclude a treaty of commerce with Russia, with a view to strengthen the amicable relations, and improve the beneficial intercourse, between the two countries.1 July 20. recom mended. The president, apprehensive that it was the purpose of the of exports enemy to combine with the blockade of our ports, special licenses to neutral vessels, or to British vessels in neutral disguises, by which they might draw supplies from our country, whilst its general commerce was obstructed, recommended to the consideration of congress the expediency of an immediate and effectual prohibition of exports, limited to a convenient day in their next session, and removable in the mean time in the event of a cessation of the blockade of our ports.2 Nov. 16. Admiral Warren, commander of the British ships and vessels the Ameri- on the American and West India station, having previously incan ports. stituted a blockade of the Chesapeak, the Delaware, and the ports and harbours of New York, Charleston, Port Royal, Savannah, and the river Mississippi, now declared, that not only these ports still continued in a state of rigorous blockade, but that he had also ordered a designated part of Long Island Sound, together with all the ports, harbours, creeks, and entrances of the East and North rivers of New York, and all the ports, har bours, rivers, and creeks on the sea coasts of East and West 1 American State Papers, 1811-1815. 2 Ibid. v. 493. |