On November 9, 1861, General Scott sailed for Europe in the steamer Arago for Havre to join his wife, who was in Paris. Mr. Thurlow Weed, a thorough loyalist and prominent politician, was a passenger on the same ship. He and General Scott had been on terms of intimacy for over thirty years. During the passage over the general gave Mr. Weed the true version of how he came near being made a prisoner in 1814. After apologizing in advance for the question about to be put and receiving permission to propound it, Mr. Weed said: "General, did anything remarkable happen to you on the morning of the battle of Chippewa?" The general answered: "Yes, something did happen to me--something very remarkable. I will now for the third time in my life repeat the story: "The fourth day of July, 1814, was one of extreme heat. On that day my brigade skirmished with a British force commanded by General Riall from an early hour in the morning till late in the afternoon. We had driven the enemy down the river some twelve miles to Street's Creek, near Chippewa, where we encamped for the night, our army occupying the west, while that of the enemy was encamped on the east side of the creek. After our tents had been pitched I noticed a flag borne by a man in a peasant's dress approaching my marquee. He brought a letter from a lady who occupied a large mansion on the opposite side of the creek, informing me that she was the wife of a member of Parliament who was then in Quebec; that her children, servants, and a young lady friend were alone with her in the house; that General Riall had placed a sentinel before her door; and that she ventured, with great doubts of the propriety of the request, to ask that I would place a sentinel upon the bridge to protect her against stragglers from our camp. I assured the messenger that the lady's request should be complied with. Early the next morning the same messenger, bearing a white flag, reappeared with a note from the same lady, thanking me for the protection she had enjoyed, adding that, in acknowledgment for my civilities, she begged that I would, with such members of my staff as I chose to bring with me, accept the hospitalities of her house at a breakfast which had been prepared with considerable attention and was quite ready. Acting upon an impulse which I never have been able to analyze or comprehend, I called my two aids, Lieutenants Worth and Watts, and returned with the messenger.