THE LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF MAJOR-GENERAL SIR ISAAC BROCK, K. B. "What booteth it to have been rich alive? But sleeps in dust, dead and inglorious?" SPENCER'S "Ruins of Time." EDITED BY HIS NEPHEW, FERDINAND BROCK TUPPER, Esq. SECOND EDITION, CONSIDERABLY ENLARGED. LONDON: SIMPKIN, MARSHALL & Co. GUERNSEY REDSTONE. T847. THE first edition of this Memoir was compiled in a very few weeks, amid other avocations, and while attending the sick bed of my father, who died shortly before its completion; and owing to this want of preparation, as well as to the difficulty of obtaining materials after the lapse of so many years, and at so great a distance from the scene of Sir Isaac Brock's principal labours, I candidly confess that it did not satisfy my own mind. But its publication having happily drawn forth much valuable matter, which in a few years would otherwise have been lost, it will be seen, from a very cursory perusal of this volume, that it is a great improvement on its predecessor, as several errors, topographical and others, arising from the cause just mentioned, have been correctedmany additional letters from Sir Isaac Brock are introduced, while a few others to him of little interest are omitted-and some new and graphic anecdotes and incidents are interwoven in the course of the narrative.* Part of the new matter may, however, appear to the general reader as uninteresting and superfluous; but, conceiving that every detail, relating to the progress of a colony from its infant state, possesses a local and statistical value, I have thought such data worthy of being preserved. To Colonel *The additional matter in this volume amounts to about one-third of the first edition. 268728 Fitzgibbon, who served many years in the 49th, as well as to Chief Justice Robinson, of Upper Canada, who was an officer in the militia of that province during the war, I cannot sufficiently express my obligation for the very kind and handsome manner in which they complied with my request, and have come forward to my assistance. The first edition met with greater favor, particularly in Canada, than I anticipated; but having anxiously striven to amend this volume-having consulted every authority which could amplify or elucidate my subject, I submit my present work to the public with fewer apprehensions of inaccuracy or mis-statement. And I may add, that I have undertaken this edition because I felt it due to Sir Isaac Brock, and, above all, because I conceived that the people of Upper Canada, who have continued to evince an attachment for him which is as honorable to themselves as to its object, and who have raised a lofty column in stone to his memory, had a right to expect the erection of a literary monument, which should contain a faithful record of the services of him who died in their defence. This record was the more wanting" considering the character of the distinguished chief who fell on the British side at the Queenstown battle, of him who undoubtedly was 'the best officer that headed their troops throughout the war'"*-because the Quarterly Review for July, 1822-in a very able article on the Canadian Campaigns, which has since served as a guide to the historian, and the materials for which, I have been credibly informed, were partly furnished by Major-General Procter or his relatives -has ascribed to that officer the chief merit of the capture of Detroit and the American army, (see pages 308 and 442,) and has dismissed Sir Isaac Brock's services with the meagre narration of scarcely a page and a half, his fall being mentioned without eliciting a single expression either of encomium or regret * James' Military Occurrences. London, 1818. although one would suppose that the reviewer would have delighted to seize so fitting a theme for graceful lament and generous praise-while General Procter's subsequent operations occupy no less than ten or eleven pages; the entire context, moreover, leading the reader to suppose that General Procter, and not General Brock, was "the hero of Upper Canada," by which term the latter is still fondly and honorably remembered in that province. In consequence, Sir Isaac Brock's character, gallantry, and exertions, are not sufficiently known or appreciated on this side of the Atlantic; but, happily, the Canadian people have in some measure repaired this cruel injustice-this want of common candour and generosity-by awarding to their hero that meed of fame which another sought to withhold, and which his deeds and untimely death should have secured to him. In conclusion, I may be pardoned the addition of my regret that this Memoir was not undertaken many years ago by an officer, who, from having served on the personal staff of the general, both at Detroit and Queenstown, and long enjoyed his esteem and friendship, was in every way more qualified for the task than myself, especially as my editorial labours have been unaided by any notes or memoranda of Sir Isaac Brock, who unfortunately was not in the habit of committing to paper any private details of his life or services, with the exception of a few lines relative to the expedition to Detroit; and this regret will doubtless be shared by the reader on seeing the following extract of a letter, now before me, from that officer to Mr. William Brock, dated Fort Niagara, American Territory, 30th December, 1813: "When I am allowed to enjoy a little leisure, I shall not be unmindful of your request, and will send some anecdotes of the public and private life of my much lamented friend, which will do honor to his memory. At one time, I had thoughts of writing the first campaign, and prepared a preface, which I intended * |