Part 28
At this juncture Sir Isaac Brock arrived. He had for days suspected this invasion, and on the preceding evening he called his staff together and gave to each the necessary instructions. Agreeable to his usual custom he rose before daylight, and hearing the cannonade, awoke Major Glegg, and called for his horse Alfred, which Sir James Craig had presented to him. He then galloped eagerly from Fort George to the scene of action, and with two Aides-de-Camp passed up the hill at full gallop in front of the light company, under a heavy fire of artillery and musketry from the American shore. On reaching the 18-pounder battery at the top of the hill, they dismounted and took a view of passing events, which at that moment appeared highly favourable. But in a few minutes a firing was heard, which proceeded from a strong detachment of American regulars under Captain Wool, who, as just stated, had succeeded in gaining the brow of the heights in rear of the battery, by a fisherman’s path up the rocks, which being reported as impossible, was not guarded. Sir Isaac Brock and his Aides-de-Camp had not even time to remount, but were obliged to retire precipitately with the twelve men stationed in the battery, which was quickly occupied by the enemy. Captain Wool having sent forward about 150 regulars, Captain Williams’ detachment of about 100 men advanced to meet them, personally directed by the General, who, observing the enemy waver, ordered a charge, which was promptly executed; but as the Americans gave way, the result was not equal to his expectations. Captain Wool sent a reinforcement to his regulars, notwithstanding which, the whole was driven to the edge of the bank. Here some of the American officers were on the point of hoisting a white flag with an intention to surrender, when Captain Wool tore it off and reanimated his dispirited troops. They now opened a heavy fire of musketry, and, conspicuous from his cross, his height, and the enthusiasm with which he animated his little band, the British Commander was soon singled out, and he fell about an hour after his arrival.
The fatal bullet entered his right breast, and passed through his left side. He had but that instant said, “_Push on the York Volunteers!_” and he lived only long enough to request that his fall might not be noticed, or prevent the advance of his brave troops, adding a wish which could not be distinctly understood, that some token of remembrance should be transmitted to his sister. He died unmarried, and on the same day, a week previously, he had completed his 43rd year. The lifeless corpse was immediately conveyed into a house close by, where it remained until the afternoon, unperceived by the enemy. His Provincial Aide-de-Camp, Lieutenant Colonel McDonell, of the militia, and the Attorney General of Upper Canada, a fine promising young man, was mortally wounded soon after his chief, and died the next day, at the early age of twenty-five years. Although one bullet had passed through his body, and he was wounded in four places, yet he survived twenty hours, and during a period of excruciating agony his thoughts and words were constantly occupied with lamentations for his deceased commander and friend. He fell, while gallantly charging up the hill, with 190 men, chiefly York Volunteers, by which charge the enemy was compelled to spike the 18-pounder in the battery there.
THE BATTLE OF QUEENSTON HEIGHTS.
At this time, about two in the afternoon, the whole British and Indian force thus assembled was about 1000 men, of whom 600 were regulars. In numbers the Americans were about equal--courage they had, but they wanted the confidence and discipline of British Soldiers. After carefully reconnoitering, General Sheaffe, who had arrived from Fort George, and who had now assumed the command, commenced the attack by an advance of his left flank, composed of the light company of the 41st, under Lieutenant McIntyre, supported by a body of militia and Indians. After a volley, the bayonet was resorted to, and the American right driven in. The main body now advanced under cover of the fire from the two 3-pounders, and after a short conflict forced the Americans over the first ridge of the heights to the road loading from Queenston to the Falls. The fight was maintained on both sides with courage truly heroic. The British regulars and militia charged in rapid succession, until they succeeded in turning the left flank of the enemy’s column, which rested on the summit of the hill. The Americans who attempted to escape into the woods were quickly driven back by the Indians; and many cut off in their return to the main body, and terrified by the sight of these exasperated warriors, flung themselves wildly over the cliffs, and endeavoured to cling to the bushes which grew upon them; but some, losing their hold, were dashed frightfully on the rocks beneath; while others, who reached the river, perished in their attempts to swim across it. The event of the day no longer appeared doubtful.
Major-General Van Rensselaer, commanding the American army, perceiving his reinforcements embarking very slowly, recrossed the river to accelerate their movements; but, to his utter astonishment, he found that at the very moment when their services were most required, the ardour of the unengaged troops had entirely subsided. He rode in all directions through the camp, urging his men by every consideration, to pass over. Lieutenant-Colonel Bloome, who had been wounded in the action and recrossed the river, together with Judge Peck, who happened to be in Lewiston at the time, mounted their horses and rode through the camp, exhorting the companies to proceed, but all in vain. Crowds of the United States militia remained on the American bank of the river, to which they had not been marched in any order, but ran as a mob; not one of them would cross. They had seen the wounded recrossing, they had seen the Indians; and they had seen the “Green Tigers,” as they called the 49th, from their green facings, and were panic struck. There were those to be found in the American ranks who, at this critical juncture, could talk of the Constitution, and the right of the militia to refuse crossing the imaginary line which separates the two countries. General Van Rensselaer having found that it was impossible to urge a single man to cross the river to reinforce the army on the Heights, and that army having nearly expended its ammunition, boats were immediately sent to cover their retreat; but a desultory fire which was maintained upon the ferry from a battery on the bank at the lower end of Queenston, completely dispersed the boats, and many of the boatmen relanded and fled in dismay. Brigadier-General Wadsworth was, therefore, compelled, after a vigorous conflict had been maintained for some time upon both sides, to surrender himself, all his officers, and 900 men, between three and four o’clock in the afternoon. The loss of the British army was 16 killed and 69 wounded; while that on the side of the Americans was not less than 900 men, made prisoners, and one gun and two colours taken, and 90 killed and about 100 wounded. But amongst the killed of the British army, the government and the country had to deplore the loss of one of their bravest and most zealous Generals, in Sir Isaac Brock, and one whose memory will long live in the warmest affections of every Canadian and British subject. The country had also to deplore the loss of the eminent services and talents of Lieutenant-Colonel McDonell, whose gallantry and merit rendered him worthy of his chief.
The gratitude of the people of Canada to the memory of Brock was manifested in an enduring form. They desired to perpetuate the memory of the hero who had been the instrument of their deliverance, and they were not slow in executing their design; and whilst his noble deeds were still fresh in the memory of all, the Provincial Legislature erected a lofty column on the Queenston Heights, near the spot where he fell. The height of the monument, from the base to the summit, was 135 feet; and from the level of the Niagara River, which runs nearly under it, 485 feet. The monument was a Tuscan column, on rustic pedestal with a pedestal for a statue; the diameter of the base of the column was 17½ feet and the abacus of the capital was surmounted by an iron railing. The centre shaft, containing the spiral staircase, was 10 feet in diameter.
On Good Friday, the 17th of April, 1840, a vagabond of the name of Lett, introduced a quantity of gunpowder into the monument with the fiendish purpose of destroying it, and the explosion, effected by a train, caused so much damage us to render the column altogether irreparable. Lett had been compelled to fly into the United States for his share in the rebellion of 1837, and well knowing the feeling of attachment to the name and memory of General Brock, which pervaded all classes of Canadians, he sought to gratify his malicious and vindictive spirit, and at the same time to wound and insult the people of Canada by this atrocious deed.
He afterward met with some meed of his deserts in the State Prison at Auburn, New York.
After the first monument had remained in the dilapidated condition, to which it was reduced, for some years, a new and beautiful column was a short time ago raised on its site. It is thus described: “Upon the solid rock is built a foundation 40 feet square and 10 feet thick of massive stone; upon this, the structure stands in a grooved plinth or sub-basement 38 feet square and 27 feet in height, and has an eastern entrance by a massive oak door and bronze pateras, forming two galleries to the interior 114 feet in extent, round the inner pedestal on the North and South sides of which, in vaults under the ground floor, are deposited the remains of General Brock, and those of his Aide-de-Camp, Colonel McDonell, in massive stone sarcophagi. On the exterior angles of the sub-basement are placed lions rampant 7 feet in height, supporting shields with the armorial bearings of the hero: The column is of the Roman composite order, 95 feet in height, a fluted shaft, 10 feet diameter at the base; the loftiest column known of this style; the lower part enriched with laurel leaves, and the flutes terminating on the base with palms.”
The height from the ground to the top of the statue is 190 feet, exceeding that of any monumental column, ancient or modern, known, with the exception of that on Fish-street Hill, London, England, by Sir Christopher Wren, architect, in commemoration of the great fire of 1666, 202 feet high, which exceeds it in height by 12 feet.”
QUESNOY, BATTLE OF.--Fought, September 11th, 1773, between the French and British, in which the British were defeated, with some loss. Taken by the Austrians in 1793, but recovered by the French the following year. It surrendered to Prince Frederick of the Netherlands, after the battle of Waterloo.
QUIBERON BAY.--A British force landed here in 1736, and was repulsed. In this Bay Admiral Hawke gained a complete victory over the French, under Conflans. This most perilous and important action defeated the French invasion, November 10th 1758. Taken by some French regiments in pay of the British, July 3rd, 1795; but on July 21st, retaken by the French Republicans. About 900 of the troops and near 1500 Royalist inhabitants effected their escape on board the ships.
R.
RAMILIES, BATTLE OF.--Between the English and Allies, commanded by Marlborough, on the one side, and the French, commanded by the Elector of Bavaria and the Marshal de Villeroy. The French, having no confidence in their Commander, were soon seized with a panic, and a general rout ensued. About 4000 of the Allied army were slain. Fought on Whitsunday, May 26th, 1706.
“The year following the victory of Blenheim was, for the most part, wasted in the struggles of Marlborough with his enemies at home, and with the dilatory and uncertain course of the allies of England abroad. He succeeded in forcing the French lines in Flanders; but the fruits of this great achievement were snatched from him by the constant backwardness of the Dutch Generals, who opposed every measure which was urged by him. So grieved was he by their continual opposition, that on one occasion, when the opportunity of a brilliant success was thus lost, he exclaimed, “I feel at this moment ten years older than I was four years ago.” In fact, towards the end of what he had hoped to make a glorious campaign, but which through this opposition had been lost in disputes, he fell seriously ill, and was obliged to retire for a time from active employment.
Meanwhile, the Imperial government had begun to show signs of jealousy and uneasiness that this great General should be employed in Flanders, and in the defence of Holland, instead of recovering the Austrian possessions on the Rhine, and liberating Lorraine. Pressing applications were made that the Duke, instead of prosecuting the war in Belgium, would return to the Moselle, and co-operate with the Imperial forces in that quarter. Taking his departure from the army at the end of October, 1705, Marlborough set out for Vienna, which he reached on the 12th of November. Here the Emperor Joseph created him a Prince of the Empire, and conferred on him the lordship of Mindelheim. But which gave him far more satisfaction, he succeeded in reconciling all differences, and in cementing the alliance, which seemed in danger of dissolution, between Austria, Prussia, and the Netherlands, against the ambitious designs of France. He then returned to the Hague, which he reached on the 11th of December, proceeding thence to London, which he reached early in the new year.
On the 25th of April, 1706, he again arrived at the Hague for the active duties of the approaching campaign. This year’s warfare began at an earlier period than the previous ones, for the French General, with commendable zeal and activity, took the field in the spring, forced the German lines on the Motter, reduced Dreisenheim and Hagenau, and threatened the Palatinate. The Duke, therefore, left the Hague on the 9th May, the Dutch being now anxious to retain him with them, and offering him uncontrolled power over their forces. Accompanied by Overkirk, he passed through Rimemont, and reached Maestricht on the 12th. Here he reviewed the Dutch troops, and began to take measures for an attack on Namur. But Villeroy received orders from Paris rather to risk a battle than to give up this important place. Hence, in the third week in May, the two armies began to approach each other.
Villeroy and the Elector of Bavaria passed the Dyle, and approached Tirlemont. Their combined forces amounted to about 62,000 men. The Duke, with his English, joined the Dutch at Bilsen on the 20th of May, and on the 22nd he had intelligence of the arrival of the Danish contingent, which raised the strength of his army to about 60,000 men. His first desire, now, was to learn the position of the enemy, and how best to come in contact with them. The field of battle ultimately proved to be in an elevated part of the plain of Brabant, lying between Maestricht, Louvain, and Namur. The village of Ramilies itself is but a few miles to the east of Wavre, the position of Marshal Blucher on the morning of the day of Waterloo.
On the 23rd of May, then, in 1706, the English, Dutch, and Danish army, commencing their march early in the morning, came in sight, about eight o’clock, of the Franco-Bavarian outposts. A fog for some time made everything obscure, but about ten o’clock the two armies stood in presence of each other. The French commander had formed his order of battle with the skill which experience generally gives; but he was opposed by a greater commander, whose eye speedily detected the weaknesses of his position.
The French and Bavarians were drawn up on ground which, by its nature, gave their order of battle a concave form. Thus the attacking enemy would have the advantage of being able to bring his men more rapidly from one side to the other, as required. The left wing of the French, also, though strongly posted, was in a position from which it could not easily move. Marlborough, therefore, was not long in forming his plan, which was, to turn the enemy’s right wing; to seize an elevated position in the rear of that wing, and from that position to outflank the whole army.
He therefore began a feigned attack, by his own right wing, upon the left of the French. Villeroy immediately met this, as Marlborough intended, by sending for fresh troops from his centre, and by weakening his right. Pausing in his apparent attack, Marlborough promptly moved to the left all the infantry that were out of sight of the French, and fell upon the enemy’s right wing, which was posted in Tavieres.
The attack succeeded, and Tavieres was carried. Villeroy, finding out his mistake, hurried his squadron of dragoons to the succour of his right wing; but these squadrons were met by the Danish cavalry emerging from Tavieres, and they were all cut to pieces, or driven into the Mehaigne.
And now Ramilies itself, in the centre, became the object of attack. The Duke ordered up from his own right wing every available squadron, and exposed himself much in leading the attack. He was, at one moment, thrown from his horse, and in danger of being made prisoner. While he was remounting, a cannon-ball killed his equerry, Captain Bingfield, who was assisting him.
But now the allied cavalry had reached the height of Ottomond, in the rear of the French position, and the success of the attack was secured. The French were in utter confusion in all parts of the field, and Ramilies itself was carried. There remained only the left wing of Villeroy’s army; and this, attacked now by the reserves on Marlborough’s right, and by the victorious troops which had cleared Ramilies, gave way as evening drew on, rushed in crowds down the descent behind their position, and fled for Judoigne. The cannon and baggage fell into the hands of the victors, who pursued the flying French and Bavarians until two o’clock in the morning. The allied army did not halt in its pursuit till past midnight, when it had advanced to Meldert, five leagues from the field of battle, and two from Louvian.
This battle cost the Franco-Bavarian army 13,000 men, in killed, wounded, and prisoners: among whom were the Princes of Soubise and Rohan, and a son of Marshal Tallard. The spoils of the day consisted of 80 colours and standards taken from the French; nearly all their artillery, and all the baggage which was in the field. The loss of the Allies was 1066 killed, and 2567 wounded. The vast difference between this, and the loss sustained at Blenheim, shows that the victory of Ramilies was gained by the Duke’s masterly manœuvres; and was not owing merely to the courage of the soldiers.
The results of the battle of Ramilies were very great. Louvain instantly surrendered; Brussels received the Duke with open arms on the 28th. Mechlin, Alost, and Lierre, quickly followed. All Brabant was gained by this one victory. Nor was this all. Flanders caught the infection. Ghent opened its gates on the 1st of June; and Antwerp surrendered a few days afterwards. Ostend fell on the 6th of July; and in its harbour were taken two men-of-war, and 45 smaller vessels.”
RATHMINES, BATTLE OF.--_In Ireland._--Colonel Jones, Governor of Dublin Castle, made a sally, August 2nd, 1649, and routed the Marquis of Ormond, killed 4000 men and took 2517 prisoners, with their cannon, baggage and ammunition. This battle, and other successes, completely discomfited the rebels in this part of Ireland.
RAVENNA, BATTLE OF.--Fought, April 11th, 1512, between the French, under the great Gaston de Foix, Duke of Nemours, and nephew of Louis XII, and the Spanish and Papal armies. De Foix, gained this memorable battle, but perished in the moment of victory, and the French fortunes in Italy were thus closed. The confederate army was cut to pieces. The Duke had performed prodigies of valor, but being too eager in his pursuit of the Spaniards, who were retiring in good order, he was slain.
REVOLUTION.--The Great Revolution which overturned the old Monarchy of France occurred at the close of the last century. The 2nd, the one here described sent Charles X into exile and was somewhat like that of 1848 which also exiled Louis Philippe.
SECOND FRENCH REVOLUTION.
“The political history of 1830 commenced on March 2nd, by a speech from the throne, announcing war against Algiers for the insults offered to the French flag, and a wish for a reconciliation with the Bragazana family.
This caused great dissatisfaction; the funds fell, the Chamber of Deputies were against the measure, and on the 19th were convoked till August 3rd, and several fires took place, evidently the work of incendiaries.
On the 25th July, Polignac addressed a report to the king on “legitimate power,” and which formed the ground-work of three memorable ordinances, which were signed on that day by Charles, and countersigned by the ministers.
The first ordinance abolished the freedom of the press; the second dissolved the Chamber of Deputies; and the third abrogated the most important rights of the elective franchise.
On the publication of the _Moniteur_ on the following morning, all Paris was astounded by the mystifying report of the ministers of Charles X and the king’s arbitrary decrees. The _Rentes_ fell, and the bank stopped payment.
All work was now abandoned, every manufactory closed, and detachments of artisans with large sticks traversed the streets. Troops of gendarmes patrolled the streets at full gallop to disperse the accumulating crowds. The people were silent; and at an early hour the shops were closed. Early on the 27th, troops of the royal guard and soldiers of the line came pouring in. The people looked sullen and determined. The chief points of rendezvous were the Palais Royal, the Palais de Justice, and the Bourse. Here were simultaneous cries of “_Viva la Charte!_”--“Down with the absolute king!” but no conversation--no exchange of words with each other. The King was at the Tuilleries. In the Place Carousel there was a station of several thousands of the military, including the lancers of the royal guard, with a great number of cannon. At the Place Vendome a strong guard of infantry was stationed around the column, to guard the ensigns of royalty upon it from being defaced. Crowds of people assembled, and several skirmishes took place.
On Wednesday morning, July 28th, the shops of Paris were closely shut, and the windows fastened and barred, as if the inhabitants of the city were in mourning for the dead, or in apprehension of approaching calamity. The tocsin sounded, and the people flocked in from the fauxbourgs and different quarters of the city. That determined enemy to oppression, the press, had been at work during the night. Handbills were profusely distributed, containing vehement philippics against the king and his ministers, and summoning every man to arm for his country, and to aid in ejecting the Bourbons. Placards were constantly posted up and eagerly read. During the preceding night an organisation of the people had been arranged. All the arms that could be found at the theatres, and remaining in the shops of armourers that had not been visited the evening before, were seized and distributed. Every other kind of property, however, was respected.