University of Virginia Library

Pope's Homer.

“I have, my brave but unfortunate boy, written
several letters, and directed them to you at
different military posts in Canada; but know not
whether either of them has been fortunate enough
to reach you. Mr. Fleming, who departs for
Buffalo to-morrow morning, expects to meet a
young Irish prisoner there, to whom he can safely
confide this letter—he being the son of Fleming's
particular friend.

“The conduct of your late commander is universally
condemned on this side the lines, and is,
I have no doubt, the theme of ridicule on the
other side. But this will afford no consolation to
a generous mind; it will rather be an addition to
the pains of captivity, to reflect that our country
gains neither honor nor profit by our misfortunes.

“But do not despond. A brighter day shall
dissipate these clouds, and bid our drooping laurels
revive. Remember, that

and that the order of Providence is such, that
real good is often the result of apparent evil;
even the misfortune which we now lament, may
yet prove a real and lasting benefit to our country.
Perhaps we are already indebted to it for
the patriotic flame which is now blazing from
Georgia to Maine—from the Illinois to the Atlantic
coast. Every revolving day—almost every
passing hour, is fraught with intelligence that inspires
me with the ardor of youth; and I glory
in the conviction that my young countrymen are
worthy of their patriotic sires. Let this reflection
console you in captivity, and banish unavailing
regret from your bosom. Bear up with manly
fortitude against the hardships of your present
state, and look forward with hope to the future.
By bearing misfortunes well, we acquire that elevation
of soul which teaches us to despise them.

“A more fortunate destiny awaited your cousin
Aylwin; and Hull on the ocean has more than
redeemed what was lost by Hull on the land. On
the very day that your general sailed a captive
from Detroit, his nephew on the ocean covered
the name of Hull with imperishable glory, and
dissolved the charm on which the vaunted omnipotence
of Britain depended. The very hour
that beheld you a desponding captive, heaped on
your cousin Aylwin a full measure of fame.

“You may, perhaps, have heard of the glorious
event to which I allude, although your situation
may have prevented your learning the particulars.

I know not if you are permitted to read
newspapers, or have an opportunity of seeing
those published in the United States. All that
they have yet contained relative to this event,
formed the subject of my last letter: what I shall
now communicate, is the substance of one which
I this morning received from your brother-in-law
Morse, and which contains, besides, the most
pleasing assurances of your sister's health and
happiness, and the general welfare of all your
friends and relatives in that metropolis. These
particulars may be depended upon as correct,
they having been communicated to Morse by Aylwin
himself, who arrived at Boston on the thirty-first
day of last month.

“Presuming that you have heard nothing of
your cousin since he left you at Norfolk, to join
his frigate at Annapolis, I will commence my
brief narrative at the time of his sailing on his
first cruise, which was on the twelfth day of
July.

“The Constitution had been but four days at
sea, when, near Cape May, she fell close in with
a whole British squadron, consisting of one ship
of the line, four frigates, a brig, and a schooner;
the nearest frigate within gun-shot. It was a
dead calm, and the only headway to be made was
by towing. The English attached all their boats
to two frigates, and, by hard rowing, gained fast
on the Constitution, so as to bring some of their
bow guns to bear on her. In this situation they
continued all day, the Constitution occasionally
firing her stern chasers; and it was not until the
next morning that a light breeze enabled her to
escape from an enemy so much superior in force
as to render a contest desperate. The whole

chase lasted sixty hours, and during all that time
the gallant crew of the Constitution remained at
their stations without a murmur.

“Aylwin, on this occasion, as sailing-master,
availed himself of his station to evince his superior
seamanship, and received the highest encomiums
from his commander, for the judicious
management of the Constitution; nay, it has
since been ascertained, that the English commanders
themselves expressed the greatest admiration
of the skill displayed in the manœuvring
and final escape of the American frigate. One
of them actually threatened to hang his own sailing-master
to the yard-arm if he did not lay his
ship along-side the Constitution; swearing that
the opportunity was worth a knighthood to him.

“On arriving in port, after effecting this escape,
Aylwin wrote me a letter, in which he gave a modest
relation of the foregoing circumstances, and
expressed his confidence of the ultimate success
of our little navy. “I feel,” says he, “all possible
conviction, and I can well judge from having
been in the British navy, that they have not a single
frigate of equal force with the Constitution,
but what must, if we fall in with her and go fairly
at it, strike her colors. Thank Heaven, in this
chase, we had no occasion to be brought to the
test; but there was not a countenance on board
that displayed any thing like yielding without an
heroic struggle. There seemed to be a solemn
gloom in each visage, as if sensible of such a too
early misfortune, yet combined with a cast of desperate
resolution. It is not seldom that I have
examined the human face in the hour of battle;
and I never before saw a truer stamp of courage
than was then to be found in every sailor's countenance.”

He then adds, that (being in haste)
this account is an exact duplicate of one he had
just written to a particular friend—probably to
yourself.

“On the fifteenth of August, the day before
your general's unfortunate capitulation, captain
Hull again put to sea, and in four days after (for
it seems that this ship cannot be a longer period
on the ocean without encountering some important
event) fell in with the Guerriere, an English
frigate, mounting forty-nine carriage guns, and
manned with above three hundred men. After
exchanging some long shot by way of compliment,
(to use your cousin's expression) the two
ships engaged in a close and obstinate contest for
ten minutes, when the mizen-mast of the Guerriere
was shot away by the board; and in ten minutes
more, his bowsprit was in the mizzen chains
of the Constitution. Our brave tars made immediate
preparations to board, but her two other
masts falling at that moment, it was thought unnecessary.
In fifteen minutes from the commencement
of close action, the enemy fired his lee gun,
in token of submission.

“Captain Dacres, who commanded the Guerriere,
was wounded in the action; and besides
losing so fine a ship, had fifteen of his brave associates
killed in the battle, and sixty-four wounded.
In addition to this, upwards of twenty, who
were stationed in the tops, were carried overboard
with the masts. On board of the Constitution
there were but seven killed, and as many
more wounded. The Guerriere was so completely
riddled, that captain Hull thought it best to set
her on fire, after removing the prisoners, and
blow her up.

“The number nineteen seems to have been an
unfortunate one for the Guerriere. On the nineteenth
of July, six years since, she was captured
from the French, by the English frigate Blanche,
after a contest of forty-five minutes; and on the
nineteenth of August last, she was sent to the bottom
after a much shorter struggle. Captain Daeres
is the son of the late admiral Dacres, and
was made post captain in the year eighteen hundred
and six.

“Aylwin received a slight wound from a musket
ball. The style in which he brought his
ship into action, and the manner in which he manœuvred
her throughout the battle, has procured
him the applause of captain Hull and all on board.
Since their return to port, he has been appointed
an acting lieutenant, which is the second instance
in our navy of promotion from the grade of sailing-master.

“Now, if you envy your cousin Aylwin, I will
not chide you; for I know that you are not susceptible
of a wish to pluck a single leaf from his
laurel chaplet, merely because your own brows
are not yet decorated with one. Your turn will
yet come—I know it will; and I do not flatter
you in asserting that you earned a few sprigs at
Maguago, where your conduct was highly approved
by colonel Miller, who was pleased to say, in
a letter to a friend of mine, that “ensign Willoughby
would make a hero, worthy his gallant
father.”

“If all I have yet written is not a sufficient
balm for your wounded spirits, I will again call
your attention to the exhilirating theme of American
patriotism, in instances of which your native

state (for so you choose to call Ohio) stands
unrivalled, though not alone.

“About two thousand volunteers, completely
armed and equipped, and furnished with thirty
days' provisions, have mounted their war-horses,
and are at Urbana, destined to protect our frontiers
from savage barbarity, until relieved by the
army now on their march thither. They are composed
of the most respectable and useful citizens
the state of Ohio can boast. Our quota of drafted
militia are now organized, and will in a few
days be ready to take the field, when Ohio will
present, for the service of the nation, seven thousand
as brave and hardy soldiers as ever pulled a
trigger. A company is also organized in Cincinnatti,
and completely armed, consisting of such
citizens as are legally exempt from military duty
on account of age, official situations, and invalidity,
including ministers of the gospel of different
denominations. Their object is the defence of
the adjacent frontier in case of emergency.

“Our neighbors in Kentucky are not much behind
us. When the news of the fall of Detroit
reached Lexington, instead of deploring the loss,
the citizens immediately set about repairing it.
An immense number of volunteers immediately
came forward, among whom were several members
of congress, and shouldered their muskets
in their country's cause. Four hundred regulars,
and eighteen hundred volunteers, have marched
from that state to the general rendezvous at Urbana.
They are (to use the language of my informant)
“some of the best stuff in Kentucky”—
they seem indignant at the late news, anxious to
wipe off the stain from the American name; and
all of them are eager and determined to march under

the banner of Harrison, who has taken the
command of the western army. Three complete
regiments of infantry, one regiment of cavalry, and
five hundred mounted riflemen, are also on their
way to take the same route. Colonel James
Smith, distinguished for his services during the
Indian war and revolution; who was one of the
Black Boys of the Sliding Hill expedition, in the
state of Pennsylvania; and who is now eighty
years of age, has gone to join the army under general
Harrison. He has gone to fight the battles
of his country; not by paper declarations, or
oral wailings; no—the report of his gun is to
give to the enemy the first warning of his injured
feelings. The greatest enthusiasm prevails
throughout the whole western country: almost
every man has volunteered his services; and, if
we may judge from appearances, it will not be
long before these “back-woods-men” wipe away
the stain upon the American arms, by the ignominious
surrender of Detroit, and the whole
Northwestern army.

“The citizens of Albany, in the state of New-York,
immediately on hearing of the surrender
of general Hull, commenced a subscription for
raising a regiment of volunteers. Very liberal
subscriptions were made for the comfort and convenience
of those who might offer their services.
A regiment of volunteers is also raising in the
city of Baltimore, and fifteen thousand dollars
have already been subscribed for the purpose of
furnishing the men with every thing necessary for
their comfort. Fifteen hundred men are immediately
to march from Virginia, to rendezvous at
Point Pleasant, on the Ohio. The LADIES of
Richmond volunteered their services to make

tents, knapsacks, &c. for the soldiers, and in a
few days all things were ready.

“In short, our newspapers are filled with instances
of loyalty and zeal, which promise that
the war will produce much heroism, and secure a
final triumph over the enemy. Towns and districts
are turning out hundreds and thousands of
volunteers; citizens, exempted by age or otherwise
from military duty, are forming themselves
into corps, for defence of the country, committees
of public safety, correspondence, &c. Camps
are forming near the Canada lines, for the purpose
of invading that country. At or near Niagara
there are at least four thousand troops, and
large numbers at Greenbush: to both these stations
considerable numbers are yet expected.
The New-England people will, notwithstanding
the insinuations to the contrary, do their duty;
the people of Canada are discontented, oppressed,
and sullenly silent; privateering increases
with general and astonishing activity; warlike
stores, ammunition, &c. are forwarded to the different
posts and depots in great quantities; and,
to sum up all, the nation is rapidly assuming that
armed attitude which leaves nothing to fear—every
thing to hope.

“One instance more of genuine patriotism,
and I have done with that subject for the present.
I know that it will please you, for the patriot is a
particular friend of yours, the old gentleman who
last winter performed an essential piece of service
for you in Norfolk, and for whom you have
so often expressed the warmest esteem and gratitude.
It seems that he has been solicited by some
of his children, who reside in the interior of Virginia,
to remove higher up the country, in order

to be out of the reach of danger in case of invasion
of the sea-board by the enemy. In his answer
he thus expresses himself—“I feel none of
those alarms which some of our citizens do, to
induce me to move away and leave our houses
behind us, instead of staying at home in order to
be ready with our guns upon our shoulders, to
turn out and protect our property. God forbid
that I should be so base as to move off in time of
danger, and leave others behind me to fight my
country's cause. No! let me die an honorable
death rather than give up one inch of ground to
the enemies of my country. I may move, but I
hope no faster than I am forced. I was once
young, and am now near sixty, and never did I
see a real friend to his country suffer; for the Lord
will provide for them; so I have recommended
old and young to stand ready, and dispute every
inch of ground with the enemies of our country,
and to despise every man, without respect to age,
who shall move away, and expect others to do
that duty which his country demands, and in
which he ought to participate.”

“I shall extend this letter to a mammoth size,
at the rate I go on; I will therefore conclude with
a brief narrative of a few “war events” that
have transpired since “the conquest of Sandwich.”

“On Sunday morning, the nineteenth of July
last, the English sailors on lake Ontario, having
a mind to divert themselves a little on the Sabbath,
in what they thought a defenceless port,
made an attack on Sacket's Harbor, not expecting,
I presume, to find a single gun mounted at
that place.

“Early in the morning, an English squadron
of five sail was discovered beating up for the
harbor, consisting of the Royal George, carrying
twenty-four guns; the Prince-Regent, of twenty-two;
the Earl Moira, of twenty; the Seneca, of
eighteen; and another whose name and force I
have forgotten. The troops were immediately
called to arms, and expresses sent to call in the
neighboring detachments and volunteers, who arrived
in the course of the day to the amount of
nearly three thousand. Soon after sun-rise, the
Prince-Regent brought to and captured the custom-house
boat, about seven miles from the harbor,
on her return from Gravelly Point. The
boat's crew were liberated and set on shore, with
a message to colonel Bellinger, the commandant
at the Harbor, demanding the surrender of the
brig Oneida, and the late British schooner Nelson,
seized for a breach of the revenue laws, and
fitting for a privateer; and declaring, that in case
of a refusal to surrender the vessels, the squadron
would burn the village, or lay the inhabitants
under contribution. Soon after this, captain
Woolsey left the harbor in the Oneida, and ran
down within a league of the squadron; when he
returned, and moored his vessel on a line with a
battery which had been recently erected, with
springs on his cables. Captain Woolsey being
the most experienced engineer present, left the
Oneida under the command of a lieutenant, and
went on shore and took the command of a thirty-two
pounder, mounted the day before on the battery,
the other guns of which consisted of nine-pounders.

“By this time, the enemy had arrived within
gun-shot; the Royal George, as flag-ship, ahead;

and firing was commenced from the thirty-two
pounder. This was returned by the squadron,
which stood off and on—and a brisk cannonading
was reciprocally continued for more than two
hours, all our guns being well manned and served—and
it was plainly discovered that the Royal
George and Prince Regent were much injured.
At this time, as the flag-ship was wearing, to give
another broadside, a ball from the thirty-two
pounder was seen to strike and rake her completely;
after which the squadron fired but a few
guns, and bore away for Kingston—our brave citizens
giving three hearty cheers, and greeting
the ears of his majesty's faithful subjects with
the well-remembered tune of Yankee Doodle from
all the music at the post—not a man being hurt
on our side. One of our shot carried away the
fore-top-gallant-mast of the Prince Regent.

“The officers, detached troops, volunteers,
and citizens, universally displayed a degree of
firmness, intrepidity, and patriotism, on the occasion,
worthy the Champions of Freedom.

“The action was maintained within point-blank
shot. Most of the enemy's balls struck the rocks
below the battery, and one thirty-two pound shot
was picked up by our citizens, it having lodged
near the breast-work.

“Sacket's Harbor, however, has since been
better fortified, and has become the naval depot
of lake Ontario. Captain Chauncey, late commandant
of the naval force in the harbor of New-York,
has been appointed to create, equip, and
man a considerable squadron on that lake, of
which he is to have the command.

“On the fifteenth of August last, the day before
you became a prisoner. Fort Chicago, (commonly

called Fort Dearborn) situated at the head
of the Illinois, near lake Michigan, was evacuated
by the American garrison, who were nearly all
massacred, after leaving the fort, by the Indians,
who were besieging it. This fort was commanded
by captain Heald, who had, a few days before,
received orders from general Hull to evacuate the
post, and proceed with his corps to Detroit, after
disposing of the public property as he should
think best. But before he could leave the fort,
he found himself compelled to capitulate with the
savages who surrounded it; and the terms agreed
to by both parties were, that the Indians should
spare the lives of the garrison, who were to have
as much of the arms, ammunition, provisions, &c.
as they could carry away. Captain Wells, who
had come from Fort Wayne to conduct the garrison
to that place, at night ordered a quantity of
powder and balls to be thrown into the Chicago
river, to prevent its falling into the hands of the
Indians; which, when they discovered in the
morning, so incensed them, that they fired upon the
garrison about a mile from the fort, and a terrible
slaughter ensued. Three women and nine children
were among the slain; captain Wells had
his breast cut open, and his heart roasted and eaten
by the chiefs present. Captain Heald, the
commandant of the garrison, and his lady, were
both wounded; the former through both his
thighs, and the latter by a rifle ball in her
wrist, and another through the same arm. Their
lives were saved by Mr. Burnet, a trader, who
was among the Indians: he claimed them as
friends, and offered to purchase their ransom.
Captain Heald and his lady are now at St. Josephs,
with Mr. Burnet. There were no British
officers or troops in this engagement.

“Fort Harrison, commanded by captain Taylor,
was attacked on the night of the fourth instant,
by a numerous body of Indians, who attempted
to make a breach by firing the block-house;
but by great exertions the fire was extinguished;
and after a severe contest, which lasted
the whole night, the Indians were dispersed, and
relinquished the attack. There is every reason
to believe that the fort has since been relieved,
as a respectable force has been sent for that
purpose. Captain Taylor has been brevetted a
major for his gallant defence of the fort.

“Fort Bellevue, on the Mississippi, was also
attacked about the same time, and gallantly and
successfully defended by lieutenants Hamilton
and Vasques.

“I will confess that I am not altogether without
apprehensions for the safety of the settlers on
the southern borders of Erie. The English are
at present complete masters of the lake, and the
movements of the savages on the Canadian side
are suspicious, to say the least of them. The invitations
and lures held out to the Indians on this
side, and the removal into Canada of the Sandusky
tribe, has excited considerable apprehensions,
especially in the citizens of Erie. But I
hope for the best.

“My old friend and fellow-soldier, Dearborn,
the hero of your temple-scene at Ellen's masquerade,
who, you know, was last winter appointed
a major-general in the army, has actually taken
the field against his old enemies. If the English
still remember Saratoga, the name of Dearborn
will strike a panic in their hearts. I believe his
head-quarters are at Albany.

“Our friend Brown, the quaker, has been promoted
from a colonel to a brigadier-general, and
with about five hundred militia, is entrusted with
the defence of Ogdensburgh, on the St. Lawrence.

“Harrison, the hero of the Wabash, has been
appointed a major-general, and, as I have before
mentioned, has taken the command of the Northwestern
army. By the last accounts from the
westward, he was proceeding rapidly towards
Fort Wayne, which was said to be besieged by
the Indians; and vast numbers of volunteers
were marching from different parts to reinforce
him—so that it may be fairly calculated, that in
a short time he will have ten thousand men under
his command; men who are thirsting to redeem
the tarnished honor of the American arms. If
our western troops are properly furnished with
provisions and the munitions of war, you may
soon expect to hear of the American standard being
again reared in Upper Canada, by a force
which shall bear down all opposition.

“General Bloomfield has a considerable force
at Plattsburgh, on our northern frontier; and the
continual marching of troops to reinforce him,
seem to indicate an intention of making a descent
upon Canada from that quarter.

“The unfortunate inhabitants of Richmond
have been again visited with a distressing calamity.
On Wednesday, the sixteenth instant, the
powder-mills were blown up with a most terrible
explosion, and the mangled remains of fifteen unfortunate
beings, employed in the buildings, were
scattered in almost every direction—legs broken,
sculls fractured, carcases almost cut in two,
arms torn off, were scattered about in horrible

profusion. One corpse was thrown a hundred
yards, into the trunk of a tree; an arm and hand
driven three or four hundred yards from the scene
of wo.

“While these events have been taking place
on land, others of not less interest have occurred
on the turbulent domains of Neptune.

“On the twenty-third of June last, two days
after leaving port, commodore Rodgers, in the frigate
President, had a running fight with the English
frigate Belvidere. In this affair, which lasted
more than three hours, the Belvidere had two
men killed, and twenty-two wounded, but finally
escaped after lightening, by throwing overboard
her boats, casks, spars, and, it is believed, some
of her guns.

“The President received a considerable number
of shot in her sails and rigging, but was not
materially injured. The chase was continued
till midnight, when it was relinquished as hopeless,
and the President hove to for the squadron
to come up. Early in the chase, one of the President's
chase-guns, on that side for a considerable
time. The President had three killed and
nineteen wounded, most of the latter slightly; of
the wounded, sixteen were by the bursting of the
gun. It was by the same gun commodore Rodgers
had his leg fractured, but has recovered.

“While I am on this subject, I cannot refrain
from mentioning an instance of juvenile heroism
in a young midshipman on board the President;
who, though scarcely thirteen years of age, conducted
himself, through the whole of this affair,
like a veteran hero. A twenty-four pound shot

from the Belvidere wounded him in the left hip,
carried away his pistols and dirk, broke three of
his ribs, and so shattered his arm as to render immediate
amputation necessary; the whole of
which he bore with the calmness of a stoic. The
same shot killed three men, and wounded two
others. Eight days afterwards a sail was descried,
supposed to be an enemy; when, notwithstanding
the severity of the youngster's wounds,
he flew upon deck, and reported himself fit for
duty, requesting that his name might be struck
from the doctor's books; which request, however,
was not complied with. His name is Nathaniel
Lawrence Montgomery, cousin to
captain James Lawrence, of the Hornet, and son
of Dr. Thomas W. Montgomery, a physician of
high standing in the city of New-York, who has
three sons, all in the navy. What patriot would
not be a father? One of his sons is a surgeon on
board the Essex, captain Porter: and this reminds
me of another event, which is the last I
will trouble you with at this time.

“On the thirteenth of August, his Britannic
majesty's sloop of war Alert commenced an action
with the Essex, and in eight minutes struck
her colors, with seven feet water in her hold,
and much cut to pieces, with three men wounded.

“The Dey of Algiers has declared war against
the United States; and here I close my budget of
news. If its perusal will tend to lighten in the
least the weight of “the captive's chain,” I shall
think that the hour I have been writing has not
been mispent. Heaven bless you, and restore
you speedily to your country and friends. Farewell.