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you

like to know how the declaration of war was worded? Here is the text

of the bill that passed both houses and was signed by the president:

"Be it enacted that war be, and the same is hereby declared, to exist between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the dependencies thereof, and the

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United States of America and their territories; and that the President of the United States is authorized to use the whole land and naval force of the United States to carry the same into effect, and to issue to private armed vessels of the United States commissions, or letters of marque and general reprisal, in such form as he shall think proper, and under the seal of the United States, against the vessels, goods and effects of the gov ernment of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the subjects thereof." It is a sad fact that almost on the day we declared war England suspended the Orders of Council, so far as they affected this country. Had there been an Atlantic cable in those days, the war would not have taken place; but, as it was, the news did not reach this country in time to stop the hostilities that had begun.

You must not make the mistake of supposing that all the American people favored the war, although a large majority did. In many places there were illuminations, and New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore passed resolutions. approving of the conduct of the government. In Baltimore a paper opposed to the war was mobbed. Indeed the riot was so violent in that city that several were killed, and General Richard Henry Lee, who commanded the military that put it down, received injuries from which he

never recovered.

New England bitterly opposed the war, and the shipping in Boston hung their flags at half mast on the receipt of the news. The legislatures of Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Jersey protested against it, but the general enthusiasm swept away all opposition. Our regular army numbered six thousand men, but an increase was ordered to twenty-five thousand, in addition to the call for fifty thousand volunteers. At the same time, the states were asked to summon one hundred thousand militia for the defense of the coasts and harbors. A national loan of eleven millions was authorized, and Henry Dearborn of Massachusetts was appointed the first major-general and commanderin-chief of the army. He had gone with Arnold to Quebec in 1775, and had served in the campaign which ended in the capture of Burgoyne. Thomas Pinckney was made a major-general, the principal brigadiers being James Wilkinson, William Hull, Joseph Bloomfield and Wade Hampton. The last named was a son of the Revolutionary officer and father of the Confederate general of the same name.

Great Britain had been engaged so continuously in war that she was fully armed and equipped for the struggle. Her navy at that time numbered no less than a thousand and thirty-six vessels, of which two hundred and fifty-four were ships-of-the-line,

and not one carried less than seventy guns of large caliber. At the different stations on the American coast there were eighty-five English war vessels ready for action. Her navy was manned by one hundred and forty-four thousand sailors. Our country, with its puny navy of twenty large war vessels and a few gun-boats, might well shrink from meeting her enemy on the ocean. She had about concluded not to do so, when Captains Stewart and Bainbridge persuaded the authorities to do the best they could to combat the prodigious naval power of Great Britain.

The opening battle of the war was a shameful disgrace to American arms. General William Hull, who had served with distinction in the Revolution, was governor of Michigan Territory, and when war was declared was marching with some two thousand troops against the Indians. Being authorized to use his discretion, he decided to invade Canada, then divided into two provinces-Upper and Lower Canada. He crossed the border on the 12th of July to Sandwich, with the avowed purpose of capturing Malden, which ought to have been done with little difficulty. But Hull did nothing, while the forces opposed to him were rapidly increasing in number and strength. Fort Mackinaw, one of the strongest posts in the north-west, standing on an island near the Straits of Mackinaw, was surprised and taken by an allied force of British and Indians. Receiving intelligence that Major Brush, sent forward by Governor Meigs, of Ohio, was approaching with re-enforcements and supplies, Hull dispatched Major Thomas B. Van Horne with a detachment to conduct him to Detroit. Tecumseh, with the help of some British troops, had cut the lines of communication, and when near Brownstown laid an ambush for Van Horne's force, into which it marched and received a severe repulse.

Meanwhile, General Brock, the British commander-in-chief in Canada, reached Malden with a strong force. Lieutenant-colonel Miller was sent by Hull to re-open communication with the base of supplies at Raisin River. The Indians tried to lead him also into an ambuscade, but he routed them and drove them to their boats. The English lost fifty men and the Indians more than a hundred.

Still Hull did nothing, and learning that Brock was at Malden, he recrossed the river to Detroit. This retreat was made on the 7th of August, and two days later, General Brock followed him, appearing before Detroit at the head of seven hundred British soldiers and six hundred Indians. He demanded the instant surrender of the place.

The fort at Detroit was held by the Fourth Regiment, by the Ohio volunteers, and by a part of the Michigan militia. They were so placed behind the pickets that the whole flank of the British force was exposed to their fire. The rest of the militia were posted in the town, and two four-pounders, loaded with grape, were planted on a hill from which they could have fired with great effect on the assailants. Besides, Colonels Cass and McArthur, who were out on an expedition with four hundred men, were on their return to Detroit, and were already close enough to attack the enemy in the rear. Thus, as you can easily see, the position of the Americans was very strong.

General Hull was a timid old man. He dreaded the ferocity of the Indians, whom General Brock assured him he should be unable to restrain in the event of Detroit being

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carried by assault. Indeed, Hull had shown so much hesitation and timidity that his men were dissatisfied, and the field-officers resolved to arrest him. They did not do so, because Cass and McArthur were absent. Where there is such mutual distrust between the leader of an army and those under him, disaster is sure to follow.

The Americans were eager for battle, and those in the trenches outside the fort stood with lighted matches, awaiting the order to fire. The British steadily advanced until within five hundred yards, when both armies were astounded by seeing Hull run up a white flag above the fort. A brief parley followed, and the shameful surrender was completed. Not only the forces in Detroit, but every soldier under the command of Hull was surrendered, and the whole of Michigan Territory was given up to the British. The American officers were so exasperated that they broke their swords, tore off their epaulets and stamped them on the ground.

The detachment under Cass and McArthur, and the troops at the river Raisin, thirty-six miles below Detroit, were included in the capitulation; but Captain Brush, commanding at Raisin, refused to be bound by Hull's agreement, and on being ordered to surrender, broke up his camp and withdrew toward Ohio.

The whole country was humiliated. Thirty prisoners were given in exchange for Hull, who was brought before a court-martial, charged with treason, cowardice and conduct unbecoming an officer. He was convicted on the last two charges and sentenced to be shot, but President Madison, having compassion on one who served so well during the Revolution, pardoned him. He lived under the contempt of his countrymen until his death in 1825. The year before he published a vindication of his conduct, and in 1848 his grandson printed a large volume giving, from official records, an account of the affair. You can not read these two works without feeling sympathy for the disgraced officer, whose dread of the cruelty of the Indians was distressing, partly because his own daughter was in the town with her children.

Nevertheless, it is always the case that no matter how flagrant the misconduct of a military man, and no matter how great the disaster it causes, he and his friends are ready with explanations and proofs that he was not only a skillful general but one of the purest patriots of his time. No explanations can ever be made that will justify the surrender of Detroit, and the time can never come when the act of General Hull can be considered any thing better than cowardice.

Many of you have been in the city of Chicago, now one of the largest and most enterprising cities on our continent. During the war of 1812, and for a considerable number of years after, no city was there at all. When Detroit surrendered, Fort Dearborn stood on the site of the city, and was occupied by Captain Nathan Heald, and fifty regulars. Receiving orders from General Hull to evacuate the fort and join him at Detroit, he attempted to obey, though warned by several scouts and friendly Indians that it was certain death to make the attempt. Afraid of treachery on the part of the large number of Indians around the fort, Captain Heald destroyed during the night the gunpowder, firearms and liquor which he had promised them. The exasperated savages waited till he was well on his way with the fifty soldiers and several families, and then ttacked him. The women fought as bravely as the men. Twenty-six of the regular

troops, all the militia and a number of the women and children were killed. One of the savages leaped into a wagon containing twelve little ones and tomahawked them all. The next day Fort Dearborn was burned to the ground.

Such was the disastrous end of the first attempt to invade Canada, and the second was still worse.

The calamity at Detroit only roused the Americans to fresh efforts. Ten thousand volunteers offered themselves to the government. These were marched toward Michigan under General William Henry Harrison, "Old Tippecanoe," who commanded the

army of the north-west including the detachments that had been Hull's. They were imperfectly disciplined, and, after a few movements against the Indians, went into winter. quarters.

The troops on the Niagara frontier consisted of the New York militia, and a few regulars and recruits from other states under the command of Stephen Van Rensselaer. He determined to capture the Heights of Queenstown, and, on the morning of October 13th, sent two columns across the river. They were under the charge of Colonel Solomon Van Rensselaer, a cousin of the general, and a courageous leader. The Americans received a hot fire at the water's edge, among the wounded being Colonel Van Rensse