Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 32.djvu/35

 Causes of the War. 23

" In more than one instance one-half of the American force was beaten under the eyes of the other, which could not be induced to move till it was time to run away."

" General Hull, Governor of Michigan, surrendered an army of 2,500 Americans to a force of 600 British and 600 Indians at De- troit." This illustrates the lukewarmness of the Northerners even on their own ground.

After the disgraceful surrender of Hull, of Michigan, General William Henry Harrison, of Virginia, took command on the north- western frontier, and by vigorous efforts defended that line and brought the defence to a successful conclusion in the battle of Tip- pecanoe.

The efforts of Colonel Scott, of Virginia, were rendered ineffect- ual by the incompetence of his subordinates and the lack of mar- tial spirit in his troops recruited in the Northern States, hence in the campaigns of 1813 and 1814 little was accomplished.

While New England was on the point of secession and making her own peace with England, though the war was waged for her benefit ; and while she refused to furnish troops, or indeed to allow her militia to serve, the South, owing to her very great distance from the scene of land hostilities, had no opportunity to face the public enemy, but when the chance was at last given, the South took energetic and noble advantage of it.

THE BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS.

The temporary cessation of the Napoleonic wars and the ban- ishment of Bonaparte to Elba gave England the opportunity to land at the mouth of the Mississippi a force stated at 12,000 men, consisting of veterans of Wellington's Peninsular campaigns. These British veteran troops, who, under the leadership of Wellington, had just performed the exploit of driving from the Spanish penin- sula the hitherto invincible legions of France, led by the great mar- shals of Napoleon ; these British veterans were entitled to be con- sidered among the finest soldiery then in the world. But the Brit- ish government was wofully mistaken if they thought that the manhood of the country was assembled on the Canadian frontier, and that the conspicuous lack of military ardor there displayed by both officers and men was characteristic of all the American people.

By landing a force of veteran troops at New Orleans the English indeed took the United States by surprise. But Andrew Jackson,