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render, he must have had a very exalted opinion of the prowess of his own soldiers, or a very mistaken one of the ability of those, who were commanded by the American general.”*

Brigadier-general Hull was afterwards exchanged for 30 British prisoners; and his trial commenced at Albany on the 5th of January, and ended on the 8th of March, 1814. The particulars may not be uninteresting, and are therefore extracted from the pages of Mr. O'Connor's book:

"Three charges were presented against him; to wit, treason against the United States; cowardice; and neglect of duty, and unofficer-like conduct-to all which he pleaded Not Guilty.The general having protested against the competency of the court to try the first charge, the court declined making any formal decision on it ; but yet gave an opinion that nothing appeared to them which could justify the charge.

"The court acquitted him of that part of the third specification, which charges him with having forbidden the American artillery to fire on the enemy, on their march towards the said Fort-Detroit, and found him guilty of the first, second part of the third, and the fourth specifications. On the third charge, the court found the accused guilty of neglect of duty, in omitting seasonably to inspect, train, exercise, and order the troops under his command, or cause

* Sketches of the War, p. 32.

the same to be done. They also found him guilty of part of the fourth and fifth specifications, and the whole of the sixth and seventh; and acquitted him of the second and third, and part of the fourth and fifth specifications.

The court sentenced the said brigadiergeneral William Hull, to be shot to death, twothirds of the court concurring in the sentence; but, in consideration of his revolutionary services, and his advanced age, recommended him to the mercy of the president of the United States. The president approved the sentence, remitted the execution, and ordered the name of general Hull to be erased from the list of the army. It is an undoubted fact, that most of general Hull's lenient judges had, during the war, either run from, or been beaten by, a British force, much inferior to theirs. As their best excuse, we can only suppose, that the sentence of death was understood to be a mere form to save appearances; in short, that the president of the United States had pledged himself not to confirm it.

The chagrin felt at Washington, when news arrived of the total failure of this the first attempt at invasion, was in proportion to the sanguine hopes entertained of its success. To what a pitch of extravagance those hopes had been carried, cannot better appear than in two speeches

* History of the War, page 215.

delivered upon the floor of congress, in the summer of 1812. Dr. Eustis, the secretary at war of the United States, said:" We can take the Canadas without soldiers; we have only to send officers into the provinces, and the people, disaffected towards their own government, will rally round our standard.” The honorable Henry Clay seconded his friend, thus:" It is absurd to suppose we shall not succeed in our enterprize against the enemy's provinces. We have the Canadas as much under our command as she (Great Britain) has the ocean; and the way to conquer her on the ocean is to drive her from the land. I am not for stopping at Quebec, or any where else; but I would take the whole continent from them, and ask them no favors. Her fleets cannot then rendezvous at Halifax as now; and, having no place of resort in the north, cannot infest our coast as they have lately done. It is as easy to conquer them on the land, as their whole navy would conquer ours on the ocean. We must take the continent from them. I wish never to see a peace till we do. God has given us the power and the means: we are to blame if we do not use them. If we get the continent, she must allow us the freedom of the sea." This is the gentleman who, afterwards, in the character of a commissioner, — and it stands as a record of his unblushing apostacy,signed the treaty of peace.

Upon major-general Brock's arrival at FortGeorge, he first heard of that most impolitic armistice, which, grounded on a letter from sir George Prevost to major-general Dearborn, had been concluded between the latter and colonel Baynes, sir George's adjutant-general. It provided that neither party should act offensively before the decision of the American government was taken on the subject. To the circumstance of the despatch announcing the event, not having reached the gallant Brock, before he had finished the business at Detroit, may the safety of the Canadas, in a great measure, be attributed. The armistice was already sufficiently injurious. It paralized the efforts of that active officer; who had resolved, and would doubtless have succeeded, in sweeping the American forces from the whole Niagara line. It enabled the Americans to recover from their consternation, to fortify and strengthen their own, and to accumulate the means of annoyance along the whole of our frontier. It sent nearly 800 of our Indian allies, in disgust, to their homes. It admitted the free transport of the enemy's ordnance-stores and provisions, by Lake Ontario; which gave increased facility to all his subsequent operation in that quarter.

CHAPTER III.

Termination of sir G. Prevost's armistice-State of the American army on the Niagara-frontier -Capture of the Detroit and CaledoniaAmerican plan of invasion developed-Its derangement-False intelligence of a deserterArdor of the American troops-Attack on Queenstown resolved upon-First attempt at crossing the river foiled-Success of second attempt-Gallant resistance of the British-Arrival of mutual reinforcements-Death of general Brock-Surrender of the American armyAltered behaviour of the American troops at Lewistown-American misrepresentation exposed -Bombardment between Fort-George and FortNiagara-Brief sketch of general Brock's life and character.

IT is now time to attend to the operations of the British and American forces confronting each other along the Niagara-line. The president of the United States, as might have been expected, refused to ratify the armistice which had been agreed upon between sir George Prevost, through his adjutant-general colonel Baynes, and major-general Dearborn ;

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