him directly, Eustis icily replied: âYou are too well acquainted with service to require to be informed that all communications respecting your command should be directed to that officer.â 16
Despite the bluster, the defeat had shaken Smyth, and he faced the same problems Van Rensselaer hadâthe lack of enthusiasm that permeatedthe ranks of the New Yorkers. Smyth tried to bolster morale by issuing a proclamation that blamed the defeat on Van Rensselaer and the officers he had disposed of and assured that within days regular troops under his command would âplant the American standard in Canada.â But, he acknowledged, success would depend on the militiamen pitching in. âThe present is the hour of renown,â Smyth declared. âHave you not a wish for fame? ⦠Then seize the present moment; if you do not you will regret it and say: âThe valiant have bled in vain, the friends of my country fell and I was not there.â
âAdvance, then, to our aid. I will wait for a few days. I cannot give you the day of my departure, but come on. Come in companies, half companies, pairs or singly. I will organize you for a short tour.â 17
The New Yorkers were in no mood to credit Smythâs bluster. All about the Army of the Center was cracking at the seams. Having not been paid for weeks, two regular regiments mutinied. Hundreds of militiamen refused to obey orders until their barrack conditions were improved. Dysentery and pneumonia were rampant in the ranks. There was a desperate shortage of meat rations, and winter clothing was entirely lacking while temperatures were dropping rapidly. Manyâmilitia and regulars bothâwere barefoot. A group of barrack lawyers declared themselves spokesmen for the Men of New York and responded to Smythâs appeal in writing. âGo, General, if you will. Should you ever reach the walls of Quebec ⦠and when you fall, the men of New York will lament that folly has found new victims.â 18
Realizing he could not take the offensive immediately, Smyth agreed to an indefinite extension of the armistice with the understanding that it could be cancelled by either party on thirty hour.â notice. The American general then settled into writing more reports full of fiery pronouncements and drafting bold plans for definitive actions while Sheaffe turned his more practically inclined mind toward calling up more militia and strengthening the defences running across the breadth of the peninsula. 19 It was a strange way to carry on a war, but the armistice suited each manâs purpose, and, as Smyth did not report its existence to Washington, President Madison remained unaware that the war on the Canadian front was effectively at a standstill.
ELEVEN
Opportunities for Usefulness
FALL 1812
T he British government was even less aware of events in North America, for the most recent communiqué from Governor Sir George Prevost had reported only Hullâs surrender. Late summer had been a period of reorganization as Sir Henry Bathurst took the reins of secretary for war and the colonies, but by mid-September the man responsible for prosecution of both the war against France and this undesired conflict with America, in addition to most matters of colonial administration, had taken his desk at the War and Colonial Office. Despite being one of the worldâs two most powerful nations and undisputed master of a far-flung empire, Britain had a distinctly small bureaucracy. Most offices directly serving the cabinet were clustered in cramped quarters between St. Jamesâs Park and the Thames, making them convenient to the Houses of Parliament. The War and Colonial Office occupied a humble seventeenth-century house at No. 14 Downing Street, close to St. Jamesâs Park and just a few doors from the prime ministerâs No. 10 residence. Although prestigiously situated, the house was shabbily constructed, not only dark and drafty but usually
Despite the bluster, the defeat had shaken Smyth, and he faced the same problems Van Rensselaer hadâthe lack of enthusiasm that permeatedthe ranks of the New Yorkers. Smyth tried to bolster morale by issuing a proclamation that blamed the defeat on Van Rensselaer and the officers he had disposed of and assured that within days regular troops under his command would âplant the American standard in Canada.â But, he acknowledged, success would depend on the militiamen pitching in. âThe present is the hour of renown,â Smyth declared. âHave you not a wish for fame? ⦠Then seize the present moment; if you do not you will regret it and say: âThe valiant have bled in vain, the friends of my country fell and I was not there.â
âAdvance, then, to our aid. I will wait for a few days. I cannot give you the day of my departure, but come on. Come in companies, half companies, pairs or singly. I will organize you for a short tour.â 17
The New Yorkers were in no mood to credit Smythâs bluster. All about the Army of the Center was cracking at the seams. Having not been paid for weeks, two regular regiments mutinied. Hundreds of militiamen refused to obey orders until their barrack conditions were improved. Dysentery and pneumonia were rampant in the ranks. There was a desperate shortage of meat rations, and winter clothing was entirely lacking while temperatures were dropping rapidly. Manyâmilitia and regulars bothâwere barefoot. A group of barrack lawyers declared themselves spokesmen for the Men of New York and responded to Smythâs appeal in writing. âGo, General, if you will. Should you ever reach the walls of Quebec ⦠and when you fall, the men of New York will lament that folly has found new victims.â 18
Realizing he could not take the offensive immediately, Smyth agreed to an indefinite extension of the armistice with the understanding that it could be cancelled by either party on thirty hour.â notice. The American general then settled into writing more reports full of fiery pronouncements and drafting bold plans for definitive actions while Sheaffe turned his more practically inclined mind toward calling up more militia and strengthening the defences running across the breadth of the peninsula. 19 It was a strange way to carry on a war, but the armistice suited each manâs purpose, and, as Smyth did not report its existence to Washington, President Madison remained unaware that the war on the Canadian front was effectively at a standstill.
ELEVEN
Opportunities for Usefulness
FALL 1812
T he British government was even less aware of events in North America, for the most recent communiqué from Governor Sir George Prevost had reported only Hullâs surrender. Late summer had been a period of reorganization as Sir Henry Bathurst took the reins of secretary for war and the colonies, but by mid-September the man responsible for prosecution of both the war against France and this undesired conflict with America, in addition to most matters of colonial administration, had taken his desk at the War and Colonial Office. Despite being one of the worldâs two most powerful nations and undisputed master of a far-flung empire, Britain had a distinctly small bureaucracy. Most offices directly serving the cabinet were clustered in cramped quarters between St. Jamesâs Park and the Thames, making them convenient to the Houses of Parliament. The War and Colonial Office occupied a humble seventeenth-century house at No. 14 Downing Street, close to St. Jamesâs Park and just a few doors from the prime ministerâs No. 10 residence. Although prestigiously situated, the house was shabbily constructed, not only dark and drafty but usually
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