Some Account of the Public Life of the Late Lieutenant-General Sir George Prevost, Bart.: Particularly of His Services in the Canadas, Including a Reply to the Strictures on His Military Character, Contained in an Article in the Quarterly ReviewBrenton, E. B.
History
Some Account of the Public Life of the Late Lieutenant-General Sir George Prevost, Bart.: Particularly of His Services in the Canadas, Including a Reply to the Strictures on His Military Character, Contained in an Article in the Quarterly Review
Brenton, E. B.
Prevost, George, 1767-1816; United States -- History -- War of 1812
On the 18th October, the very day on which this last despatch was dated,
General de Rottenburg informed Sir George Prevost, by letter, that the
Staff-Adjutant's account, by which he had been induced to give the
directions to General Vincent to retreat to York, preparatory to falling
back on Kingston, was false and scandalous. As soon as it was thus
ascertained at head-quarters at Montreal, what the real nature of General
Procter's disaster was, the Commander of the forces having also reason to
believe, from the information transmitted to him by General de Rottenburg,
that the enemy had designs upon York from Sackett's Harbour, instructions,
dated the 29th October, were sent to that officer, directing him to
prevent General Vincent's further retreat, and to order him to occupy both
Burlington and York with the force under his command. The orders, which
were accordingly sent from General de Rottenburg to General Vincent to that
effect on the 1st November, were received by him on the 4th, and he in
consequence remained in the position he then occupied at Burlington
Heights, which undoubtedly led afterwards to the recovery of the Niagara
frontier.
From the above correspondence it incontrovertibly appears, that the orders
transmitted from the Commander of the forces, through General de Rottenburg
to Major-General Vincent, were the real and only cause of that officer's
_not retreating_ to York, and of his continuing to hold his position at
Burlington; which, as appears by his own letter of the 27th October, before
referred to, he was preparing to leave on the 1st November.
Sir George Prevost's orders to General Vincent, to fall back upon Kingston,
had not reached him on the 23rd October; previous to which, his orders to
retreat had been discretionary. On the 27th he was preparing to obey them,
and on the 4th of November he received orders to remain where he was.
There cannot, therefore, be a doubt of the gross incorrectness of all the
Reviewer's statements,[69] of the repeated peremptory orders to retreat;
of the advice which the firmness of General Procter and others had induced
them to give General Vincent to disobey those orders, and of his being
persuaded upon their responsibility to adopt it.
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