It will be remembered that about a year before Colonel Scott was for a
short time a prisoner at Queenstown. Dining one evening with General
Sheaffe and several other British officers, one of them asked him if
he had ever seen the falls of Niagara. He replied, "Yes, from the
American side." To this the officer replied, "You must have the glory
of a successful fight before you can view the cataract in all its
grandeur." Scott replied, "If it be your purpose to insult me, sir,
honor should have prompted you first to return my sword." General
Sheaffe rebuked the officer, and the matter ended.
This same colonel was severely wounded and captured at Fort George.
Colonel Scott showed him every attention and had his wants promptly
supplied. On visiting him one day the British officer said to him: "I
have long owed you an apology, sir. You have overwhelmed me with
kindness. You now, sir, at your leisure, can view the falls in all
their glory."
Within two days, after the capture of Fort George a body of some nine
hundred British troops under command of Sir George Prevost, Governor
General of Canada, landed at Sackett's Harbor, New York, for the
purpose of destroying the stores and a vessel there on the stocks.
General Jacob Brown, who subsequently came to the command of the
United States army, hastily gathered a body of militia, attacked and
drove the enemy back to their vessels, and saved the stores. On June
6th, General Winder, with about eight hundred men, had been
re-enforced at Stoney Creek by a small force under General Chandler.
They were in pursuit of the British forces who had escaped from Fort
George under command of General Vincent. He determined not to await
the attack of the Americans, but to attack himself. He moved out at
night and attacked the center of the American line, which he succeeded
in breaking, and captured both Generals Winder and Chandler; but the
enemy was at last driven back, and a council of war decided on a
retreat. Coming close on this disaster, Colonel Charles G. Boerstler,
with a command of six hundred men, had been sent forward to capture
the Stone House, seventeen miles from Fort George. The British force
was much larger than Boerstler's, and on June 24th he was completely
surrounded and forced to surrender. For some three months the main
body of the army had remained inactive. Colonel Scott during the
happening of the occurrences just related had been engaged in foraging
expeditions for the supply of the army. These expeditions also
resulted in combats between the opposing forces, in all of which Scott
was successful. In July, 1813, he resigned the office of adjutant
general and was assigned to the command of twenty companies, or what
was known as a double regiment.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account