University of Virginia Library

Montgomery.

“Good news, my dear Willoughby! Detroit,
Sandwich, Malden—all that Hull and you lost,
and all that you might have taken—is now in possession
of the Americans. Tecumseh is slain,
Proctor fled, and the British army captured, with
all their camp equipage and their leader's private
baggage. Harrison is the hero who has achieved
all this, by the valor of the brave troops under his
command. I have just conversed with an officer
who served as a volunteer in this brilliant affair,
and he has furnished me with the following particulars:

“As soon as Harrison was informed of our victory
on the lake, he concentrated his whole army
at the mouth of Portage river, near Sandusky Bay,
at which place he was joined, on Friday, the
seventeenth of September, by the venerable governor
of Kentucky (his excellency Isaac Shelby)
with four thousand well mounted volunteers. This
grey-headed veteran, now upwards of sixty-years
old, volunteered to serve under Harrison during
his intended expedition to Malden. Harrison
gratefully accepted the patriotic proposal, and

requested him to retain the command of his own
volunteers which should constitute the right wing
of the invading army. The works at Fort Meigs
being now reduced (as mentioned in my letter
dated the eighteenth of August) general M`Arthur
marched from that post with his brigade, and joined
the main body also.

“On Tuesday, the twenty-first ultimo, the army
began to embark on board the squadron, and in
the course of the week were all transported to a
cluster of islands within twelve miles of Malden;
where, on the Monday following, they were again
received by the American flotilla, consisting of
sixteen vessels of war and upwards of one hundred
boats. In the afternoon of the same day the
troops were all landed in good order, on the enemy's
shore, three miles below Malden. Colonel
R. M. Johnson, (who had signalized himself during
the siege of Fort Meigs) had been previously
ordered to proceed with his regiment to Detroit
by land, where he arrived on Wednesday, the
twenty-ninth.

“As soon as general Proctor was informed of
the approach of the American army, an event
which he expected after the battle on the lake, he
prepared to abandon Malden—and accordingly,
set fire to the fort, destroyed all the public property,
and retreated with his army along the
banks of the Thames, towards the interior of Upper
Canada, accompanied by Tecumseh, with his
red forces. The ruins of the fort, barracks, and
other public buildings, were still smoking when
the American army entered Malden, and a number
of females came out to meet the general as he
approached the town, and implored his protection.
It was not Cockburn to whom they thus

appealed. The violated females of Hampton
passed in rapid review through the hero's mind,
and he exclaimed—“Yes, fair suppliants, I will
protect you with my life; instant death shall be
his fate who presumes to treat one of you with
disrespect. I have come to conquer—not to oppress;
to disarm assassins—not to assail the
peaceful. You may rely upon our protection.”
Thus having secured the hearts of the ladies, the
men were easily prevailed upon to receive their
new masters. The inhabitants received every
indulgence that could be granted or wished.

“The next day the Americans proceeded to
Sandwich, crossed the river, and entered Detroit,
which had been left by the British in possession
of the Indians, who now fled with the greatest precipitation.
Here they were received by the distressed
inhabitants with the most rapturous acclamations
of joy, and Harrison was hailed by them
as the angel of their deliverance. They had been
subjected to the caprice of tyrants of the worst
kind; their property had been at the disposal of
the British and Indians, and a word, or even a
look, would sometimes forfeit it. The bare mention
of a rumor unfavorable to the British cause,
or the slightest interference in favor of their unfortunate
countrymen in captivity, subjected them
to imprisonment in the guard-house or the dungeon—to
banishment from their homes, or to severities
of even a worse nature. No wonder,
then, that when the American troops landed, they
hailed them as their deliverers.

“M`Arthur's brigade first crossed the river,
and there were, at that time, about six hundred
Indians encamped at the back of the town, employed
in cooking victuals and jerking beef, all of

which they left in their haste to escape, and thus
the Americans were furnished with a supply of
provisions that lasted several days.

“Colonel Johnson having now arrived with
his regiment, Harrison determined to pursue the
retreating enemy up the river Thames; notwithstanding
he was then four days' march in advance.
He accordingly directed M`Arthur to
occupy Detroit with his brigade, and on Saturday,
the second of October, commenced the pursuit,
and marched thirty miles before he halted. The
patriotic Shelby led on his own brave mounted
volunteers; and the gallant Desha headed a brigade
of infantry. Colonel Ball and major Wood,
who had both been promoted for their bravery in
the defence of Fort Meigs, were also engaged in
the present pursuit. Supported by such men,
could Harrison do less than conquer? But these
were not all. Perry, the hero of Erie, volunteered
his services as aid to the commander in chief, and
so did general Cass, who was once a colonel in
Hull's army. John Speed Smith and John
Chambers, esquires, also volunteered their services
for the same purpose. Captain Todd and
lieutenant O'Fallon were the general's regular
aids-de-camp.

“On Tuesday, the fifth, after some successful
skirmishes with the savages, who opposed their
advance, the eager Americans overtook their retreating
enemy, whose progress had been retarded
by the baggage of their chief, who was so over-loaded
with plunder that his carriage proceeded
very heavily along. Finding himself reduced to the
alternative of yielding or fighting, Proctor chose
the latter, as thereby he might possibly preserve
his pilfered booty, or at least save his own dear

person from captivity. For after his treatment
of the Americans in his power, he felt that he had
no right to expect mercy from them, should the
scale be turned against him.

“He was now about four miles ahead of Harrison,
and had made a stand, in a very advantageous
position, on an open field, approachable only
by a narrow plain between the river and a swamp.
Notwithstanding the fatigue which his army had
endured in forced marches, Harrison determined
to make an immediate attack. Knowing that
the American back-woods-men ride better in the
woods than any other people—that a rifle or musket
is no impediment to them, and that they can
fire as accurately on horseback as on foot, he determined
to assail the enemy in a manner entirely
new, and, of course, to them entirely unexpected.
Having, therefore, arranged the mounted infantry
in suitable columns for making a galloping charge,
he ordered them to advance, receive the enemy's
fire, and then break his line, while the foot were
to follow, and support them in the conflict.

“As they emerged from the wood, in front of
the British line, a general discharge of musketry
assailed them, which caused many of the horses
to recoil, and a temporary disorder was produced.
Another fire was received, and the noble animals
gained confidence, were soon put in motion, and
in a few moments the British line was pierced by
upwards of one thousand horsemen, armed with
muskets, who dashed through with irresistible
speed, striking down or trampling under foot all
opponents; and having killed and wounded upwards
of fifty in the charge, instantly formed in
the rear, wheeled to the right about, and renewed
the attack. Such a panic did this novel mode of

modern warfare strike into the astonished Englishmen,
that all resistance was abandoned, and
four hundred and seventy-two soldiers threw
down their arms, and surrendered themselves
prisoners of war, together with three colonels and
two majors.

“Proctor instantly perceived that the day was
lost; and (trembling for the fate which his barbarities
merited) thought only of effecting his own
escape and the preservation of his private baggage.
He therefore left his followers to their
fate, and fled in his carriage, under a strong escort
of dragoons.

“Not so Tecumseh, who headed about twelve
hundred Indians on the left. His line had been
assailed in a similar mode, by two columns under
colonel Johnson, and still remained unbroken.
He disdained to fly or yield like his trembling
allies, and having posted his warriors in the best
possible positions to repulse an attack, firmly
maintained his ground. Johnson then ordered
his columns to dismount, and charge on foot, when
a most desperate and sanguinary conflict took
place; Tecumsch's line was broken, and his undaunted
band were charged front and rear. The
Indians, however, were not dismayed, but quickly
collecting their principal strength upon the right,
they made an attempt to penetrate the line of
infantry under the gallant Desha. At that moment
the venerable Shelby pressed forward with
a regiment to the support of his friend, and the
Indians were compelled to fall back.

“Meanwhile, Johnson was in the hottest of the
fight, and his blood was gushing from him in five
different streams, dying with a crimson hue the
milk-white charger on which he was mounted.

Covered with blood, and faint with pain and
fatigue, he now encountered the redoubtable Teeumseh,
arm to arm.

“The moment the savages beheld their chief
thus engaged, a shower of bullets was poured
upon his assailant, piercing his coat, hat, and accoutrements,
without, however, injuring his person.
Tecumseh levelled his rifle and fired—his
aim was unerring, but as he pulled the trigger his
opponent's horse plunged, and the ball whistled
harmless by him. The desperate warrior now
sprang forward with his tomahawk—his eye
flashed fire, and he seemed to increase in stature,
as he raised his arm, to throw the deadly weapon,
collecting all his energy into one dreadful effort.
At that moment his brave opponent's horse received
a wound, and staggered back, while his
rider drew a pistol and shot Tecumseh through
the head. The victor fainted in the act, and both
fell together, mingling their streaming blood on
the ground.

“But the wounds of the victorious colonel were
not mortal; he was speedily removed from the
scene of slaughter, while major Thompson assumed
the command of his column, and the battle
continued to rage for nearly an hour, when
the savages were put to flight, and the Americans
remained masters of the field. Harrison, who had
been in every part of the action, now gave orders
for the wounded of both armies to receive every
humane attention that situation and circumstances
would permit.

“When Proctor fled from the field of battle, he
was closely pursued by a squadron of horse; but
his superior knowledge of the country, and the
speed of his horses, enabled him to effect his
escape. His baggage, however, which was very
valuable, and all his private papers, fell into the
hands of his pursuers, and were brought to Harrison,
after the battle.

“Among the trophies of this brilliant victory,
were six pieces of brass artillery, three of which
were the same pieces which Dearborn assisted in
taking from Burgoyne, at Saratoga, during the
revolutionary war, and which were surrendered
by Hull at Detroit, at the commencement of the
present. Harrison has also taken two iron twenty-four
pounders, and upwards of five thousand
stand of small arms. The enemy had no standard
in the field, or it would also have been taken.

“Many officers distinguished themselves in
this battle. Colonel R. M. Johnson, I have already
mentioned. Cass and Perry were at every
point where they could be useful. Shelby exhibited
all the vigor of youth, the same ardent zeal
which distinguished him in the revolutionary war,
and the same undaunted bravery which he manifested
at King's Mountain. Though the governor
of an independent state, yet for the good of
his country, he voluntarily placed himself under
the command of an officer far his junior in years,
and was not more remarkable for his courage,
zeal, and activity, than for the promptitude and
cheerfulness with which he obeyed his general's
orders. Major-generals Desha and Henry, and
brigadiers Allen, Caldwell, King, Chiles, and
Trotter, all of the Kentucky volunteers, covered
themselves with laurels. General Adaip and lieutenant-colonel

James Johnson, rendered themselves
conspicuous by their bravery and skill;
as did, also, colonels M`Dowell, and Walker, of
Shelby's staff. Major Wood and previously distinguished
himself at Fort Meigs, and on this occasion
he added new laurels to his brow. Majors
Barry, Crittenden, Payne, and Thompson, were
both zealous and active in the discharge of every
hazardous duty assigned them; while captain
Butler, captain Todd, and lieutenant O'Fallon
were equally emulous in the discharge of theirs.
Harrison has expressed his warmest approbation
of the conduct of Smith and Chambers, the two
gentlemen who volunteered as his aids. In short,
sir, every man did his duty, and every man is entitled
to a share of the glory which was on that
day so brilliantly shed on the American arms.
The fifth of October should hereafter be kept by
Americans as a festival.

“When my informant left Malden, Harrison
was about to embark for Buffalo, with all his disposable
force, and you may expect him at Fort
George by the first of November. Adieu.