After five days and nights of incessant exertion, the little squadron reached Amherstburg shortly before midnight on August 13th. There is a note in General Brock's handwriting which gives this tribute to the men who accompanied him: "In no instance have I seen troops who would have endured the fatigue of a long journey in boats during extremely bad weather, with greater cheerfulness and constancy; and it is but justice to this little {233} band to add that their conduct throughout excited my admiration." [Sidenote: The armistice] It was well for Canada that no message reached Brock to stop him on the way, for while he was pressing on, the over-cautious and vacillating commander-in-chief, possessed with the idea that the repeal of the orders-in-council would bring a cessation of hostilities, had sent Colonel Baynes to General Dearborn at Albany, with a proposition for an armistice. [1] Sir Thomas Saumarez married, in 1787, Harriet, daughter of William Brock and Judith de Beauvoir. [2] In February, 1815, it was estimated that $5,200,000 had been issued, of which $3,200,000 were bearing interest amounting to $192,000, of which the province paid $60,000. {235} CHAPTER XVIII BROWNSTOWN AND MAGUAGA The garrison at Amherstburg consisted of a subaltern detachment of the Royal Artillery, three hundred men of the 41st, and about the same number of militia. Captain Chambers, with fifty men of the 41st, had been sent to the Moravian town on the river Thames for the purpose of collecting the militia and Indians there, and advancing on the left flank of the enemy. Forty more had been sent to Long Point to collect the militia in that neighbourhood. Sixty of the 41st had just arrived with Colonel Procter at Amherstburg. General Hull, after issuing his futile proclamation, seems to have remained closely in his quarters at Sandwich, evidently afraid to venture too far from Fort Detroit. He had not met with the encouragement he expected from the settlers of Essex and Kent. Although some malcontents had joined his standard, the majority of the inhabitants had remained firm in their allegiance to Great Britain. An advance upon Fort Malden (Amherstburg) had been expected, but three detachments of Americans on three successive days had been foiled in their attempt to cross the river Canard, scarcely four miles from that place. On July 22nd General Hull {236} wrote to Washington: "If Malden were in our possession, I could inarch the army to Niagara or York in a very short time." Sir George Prevost on the 27th of the same month had written to Brock: "The possession of Malden, which I consider means Amherstburg, appears a favourable object with the government of the United States. I sincerely hope you will disappoint them."