A Journal of the operations of the Queen's Rangers from the end of ... 1777 to the conclusion of the late American War. L.P

Front matter

SIMCOE'S MILITARY JOURNAL. A HISTORY OF THE OPERATIONS OF A PARTISAN CORPS, CALLED THE QUEEN'S RANGERS, COMMANDED BY LIEUT. G/)L. J. G. SIMCOE, > DURING THE WAR OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION ; illustrated by ten engraved plans of ACTIONS, ice. NOW FIRST PUBLISHED, WITH A MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR AND OTHER ADDITIONS. NEW-YORK: BARTLETT & WELFORD. 1844. [Entered according to the Act of Congress, in^he year 1843, by Baetlett & Welford, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Southern District of New-York. WILLIAM VAN NORDKN, PRINT. 49 Liberty-st., New York.

Preface

. The military journal of Lt. Col. Simcoe, now first published, was privately printed by the author in 1787, for distribution among a few of his personal friends. The production has hitherto, it would seem, entirely escaped the attention of those who are curious in the history of our Revolutionary War. As a record of some interesting particulars and local occurrences of that memorable struggle, and as a well written docu mentary illustration of the times and the circumstan ces of the American Rebellion, it deserves circulation and favour. The fortunate procurement of a copy of the work in London enables the publishers to present it in an edition securing its preservation and facilita tincr a general knowledge of its contents. A memoir of so much of the author's life as is not exhibited in his journal, it is thought, will interest the reader and increase the permanent value of the vol ume. Accordingly such a memoir has been prepared from available and authentic materials, and, by way of

PREFACE.

. introduction, may serve to fill out the history of the commander of the Queen's Rangers, presenting also a few facts concerning the corps not otherwise appear ing. Not to extend that portion of the publication too far, however, various relevant quotations from different sources, interesting essentially, and expletive in their character, are thrown into the appendix in ad dition to what the journalist has given in that form himself. New York, December, 1843. In the church of St. Andrew, town of Cotterstock, North amptonshire, England, is erected a white marble monument bearing this epitaph : — " To the memory of John Simcoe, Esq., late commander of his Majesty's ship Pembroke, who died in the royal ser vice, upon the important expedition against Quebec, in North America, in the year 1759, aged 45 years.

He spent the greatest part of his life in the service of his king and country, preferring the good of both to all private views. He was an officer esteemed for his great abilities in naval and military affairs, of unquestioned bravery, and unweari ed diligence. He was an indulgent husband, a tender pa rent, and sincere friend ; generous, humane and benevolent to all ; so that his loss to the public, as well as to his friends, cannot be too much regretted. This monument was, in honour to his memory, erected by his disconsolate wife, Catharine Simcoe, 1760." Captain Simcoe, of the navy, was a native of Northamp tonshire, and, after a life most honourably employed in the service of his country, closed his career in the profession which seemed to promise him much renown and advance ment, leaving a widow and two infant sons, the eldest of whom was John Graves Simcoe, the subject of this memoir, then about seven years of age.

Though bred in the navy, and highly esteemed as an ex cellent officer, Captain Simcoe was peculiarly partial to the military service, and is said to have left behind him a valuable treatise on tactics in that profession. The most striking A VI MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR. occurrence of his life arose however, it is said, from an accident, improved in a manner peculiar to genius and extensive professional knowledge. The story is that he was taken prisoner by the French, in America, and carried up the river St. Lawrence. As his character was little known, he was watched only to prevent his escape ; but, from his observations in the voyage to Quebec, and the little incidental information he was able to obtain, he constructed a chart of that river, and carried up General Wolfe to his famous attack upon the Canadian capital.

He was promoted to a cap taincy in 1743,* at the age of twenty-nine. Upon the trial of Admiral Byng in 1756-7, he served as a member of the court martial convened for that purposes and was then aged forty-two years. The widowed mother with her two sons, soon after their father's death, removed to Exeter, and our author received the first part of his education at the free grammar school of that town. His younger brother was unfortunately drowned in his childhood. The earliest years of the young soldier were rather solid than brilliant, though he possessed both spirit and emulation, and was in the foremost rank among his fellows. But though a school-boy, his acquisitions in some departments of knowledge were of a superior kind. At an early age he had read Homer in Pope's translation ; and in his boyish days acted with his companions the scenes of the Illiad.

He was not slightly versed in modern history, and already devoured with eagerness every tale of war. At about the age of fourteen, he was removed to Eton school and from thence in due course to Merton College, Oxford. But the military ardour of young Simcoe, which so early sparkled, soon blew into a flame, and, at the age of nineteen he obtained an ensign's commission in the 35th regiment, an event probably hastened by the impending hostilities with * Charnock's Biographia Navalis, Vol. 5. t Ibidem, and Beatson's Naval and Military Memoirs, Vol. 3. America. He did not embark from England with his regiment, but he landed at Boston on the memorable day of the battle of Bunker's Hill. He soon afterwards acted as adjutant of the 35th regiment, but it does not appear that he ever was actually appointed to this office ; and at no distant period purchased command of a company in the 40th, which he led at the battle of Brandywine, where he was wounded.

Captain Simcoe was always a soldier in his heart, and attentive to every part of his duty. He already saw that regularity in the interior economy of a soldier's life contri buted to his health, and estimated the attention of the inferior officers by the strength of a company or a regiment in the field. His ambition invariably led him to aspire at com mand ; and even when the army first landed at Staten Island he went to New York to request the command of the Queen's Rangers, a provincial corps then newly raised, which he did not finally obtain until after the battle of Bran dywine, in October, 1777. He knew that common opinion had imprinted on the partisan the most dishonourable stain, and associated the idea with that of dishonesty, rapine, and falsehood. Yet, on the other hand, he also knew that the command of a light corps had been considered as the best source of instruction, as a means of acquiring a habit of self-dependence for resources, and of prompt decision so pe culiarly requisite in trusts of importance.

The corps of Rangers claimed all the attention of the now Major-commandant Simcoe, and contributed greatly to less en his paternal fortune, for though warmly alive to the in terests of others, he was always inattentive to his own. We find in Rivington's Royal Gazette, printed at New York during the presence of the British army in the city, an adver tisement for recruits somewhat significant of the care and expense bestowed upon the equipment of this effective band of partisans. It is as follows : — MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR. "ALL ASPIRING HEROES Have now an opportunity of distinguishing themselves by joining THE QUEEN'S RANGER HUZZARS, Commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Simcoe. Any spirited young man will receive every encourage ment, be immediately mounted on an elegant horse, and fur nished with clothing, accoutrements, &c, to the amount of forty guineas, by applying to Cornet Spencer, at his quarters, No. 1033 Water street, or his rendezvous, Hewitt's Tavern, near the Coffee House, and the defeat at Brandy wine, on Golden Hill.

DCP Whoever brings a Recruit shall instantly receive TWO GUINEAS. Vivant Rex et Regina." The Rangers were disciplined, not for parade, but for active service. They were never to march in slow time ; were directed to fire with precision and steadiness ; to wield the bayonet with force and effect ; to disperse and rally with rapidity. In short, in the instructions for the management of the corps, its commander seems to have anticipated the more modern tactics of the French army . The deeds and adventures of Colonel Simcoe and his Rangers during the War of Independence, need not be told here : his journal of their campaigns is before the reader — " written," it is said, " with the simplicity of Cæsar and Xen ophon." Being stationed with his corps at Gloucester Point, opposite York Town, when the latter place was beseiged by the allied French and American forces, the Queen's Rangers and their commander were included in the surrender of the army of Cornwallis.

Colonel Simcoe, in ill health, equally the result of excessive fatigue from his arduous services, and of vexation at the inglorious fate of his cherished soldiers, was sent away in the Bonetta sloop of war, which, by an article of the capitulation the British reserved to transport their sick and disabled to New York city, to be exchanged as prisoners of war. The famed Queen's Rangers were never, as their enthusiastic leader had fondly hoped, re-as sembled under his command. The officers of the corps were afterwards put on the half-pay list, and their provincial rank was made permanent in the regular British army. The capture at York Town being essentially an end of the war, Colonel Simcoe returned to England greatly exhausted, and his constitution considerably impaired. He was receiv ed with the most gracious attention by the King, by his friends with the most ardent affection, by the companions of his toils and dangers with the sincerest congratulation.

The services he had performed being not unknown to his Sove reign he was appointed Lieutenant-Colonel commandant to a corps to be raised in Canada, to which he gave the name of the Queen's Rangers. The profession of a high principle of soldierly honour, of ardent attachment to military life, and the claim of credit for his Rangers, which occur in the Journal of the brave Simcoe, may be considered fully warrantable. Stedman, a British historian of the War of Independence, who himself served during its campaigns, makes frequent and honoura ble mention of the corps and its commander.* Tarleton, who was engaged in the same kind of service, mostly in the southern department, corroborates whatever of Simcoe's narrative comes within the scope of his own historyf of the ' British Legion' which he commanded.

Sir Henry Clinton's letter to Lord George Germaine may be quoted as sufficient authority for the value attached to his services by his supe riors in rank : " Lieut. Col. Simcoe has been at the head of a battalion since October, 1777 ; and since that time has been the per- * History of the American War, 2 Vols. 4to. London, 1794. t History of the Campaigns of 1780 and 1781, in the Southern Provinces, &c, 4to- London, 1787. X MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR. petual advance of the army. The history of the corps un der his command is a series of gallant, skilful, and success ful enterprises against the enemy, without a single reverse. The Queen's Rangers have killed or taken twice their own numbers. Col. Simcoe himself has been thrice wounded ; and I do not scruple to assert, that his successes have been no less the fruit of the most extensive knowledge of his pro fession which study and the experience within his reach could give him, than of the most watchful attention and shining courage.

" Charleston, South Carolina, May 13th, 1780." The leisure of the camp and of winter quarters was by Col. Simcoe filled up with study. Tacitus and Xenophon were his chief companions, and military history claimed a considerable portion of his attention. Few retired scholars read more than the officer on the alert in the advance of the army ; and very few read to a better purpose. He saw with clearness, and comprehended with accuracy, every subject in all its varied bearings, and in its most extended relations. His daily improvements must of consequence have been considerable ; and though his own profession attracted his principal attention there were few subjects of science not familiar to him. A life of tranquillity restored the soldier's mind to its for mer tone, and his constitution to a state of health, which, if not perfect, was apparently so.

Not long after retiring from active service he married a Miss Guillim, a near relation of the lady of Admiral Graves, who had commanded at Bos ton, and who was a distant relation of his own. He was, in 1790, elected a member of Parliament to represent the borough of St. Maws', Cornwall,* and his name appears in the debates on the bill by which the province of Quebec was * The Senator ; or Clarendon's Parliamentary Chronicle, Vol. I. divided into Upper and Lower Canada, and each of them placed under the superintendence of a lieutenant-governor, subject to the authority of the governor-general of British America. Col. Simcoe was appointed lieutenant-governor of Upper Canada, and on his arrival with his family in the province had the country accurately surveyed, and then formed his plans for peopling and improving it.

He first thought of placing the centre of his settlements within the land enclosed by the lakes Ontario, Erie, and Huron, and the Detroit river ; but as the Niagara was to be given up to the United States, he altered his plan. York, on the north-west side of Lake Ontario, had been before determin ed on for the capital, but Governor Simcoe, not approving of that plan, intended to fix it on the banks of the river Thames, between Huron and Ontario. This was also dropped, and York (now Toronto) was made the seat of government. To increase the population was the great and favourite scheme of the new governor, and as he had the allotment of lands vested in him, he was enabled to promote this desirable and useful measure. The families of American officers and soldiers who adhered to the royal cause at the conclusion of the war, obtained grants on the British side of the bounda ry line, as well as many officers and soldiers of the regular forces.

The policy of Governor Simcoe was to draw as many emigrants from the American states as he could, and by means of his mild and disinterested government, to pro mote a love for the national character of Englishmen in those states. To half-pay officers he held out a share of these lands, and he also granted discharges to soldiers serv ing in the regiments then in Canada, who had been a certain number of years in the country, and allotted settlements to them. In the mean time, that the forces might not be incomplete, he proposed enlisting Americans whom he expected to become soon attached to the service. These military settlers he intended to occupy the lands on the frontiers towards the states, and on the banks of the lakes. MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR. The inland parts he set aside for those who had emigrated, and, in case of their not being zealously attached to the ex isting government, the military settlers, from their situation, were to act with vigour against them, or in the event of a war with America, which would be contrary to the interest of both nations, defend the frontiers.

A militia formed of such settlers might, he thought, in those instances, prove nearly as useful as a regular corps. In pursuance of these plans, Col. Simcoe, on all occasions, gave encouragement and assistance to those who applied for lands, or who were already in possession of them. The whole of his conduct, during the time he enjoyed the government of Upper Cana da, was honourable, liberal, and admirably calculated to lay the foundation of private and public prosperity. After remaining five years in this settlement, Governor Simcoe returned to England, to the great regret of all the inhabit ants, who appreciated his many public and private virtues. Governor Simcoe has been charged with unworthy acts towards his American neighbours of the United States. In stigating the savages to hostilities upon our frontiers, that our government might be harrassed with Indian wars ; abet ting the natives in their claim to territory west and north of the Ohio River ; disposing of his military forces, and ar ranging other matters upon the borders of his province with a direct view to a breach of peace between his nation and the American states, are alleged to have been practices pursued in a manner confirming the stories of his hatred to wards the "Yankees," and his desire to repay them for their unpardoned offence of having recently achieved their independence as a people.

Naturally some prejudice would be indulged in by Governor Simcoe towards those with whom he had been actively at war in a civil contest. The cause for such feeling, or proof that it was shown in impro per words and acts, need not now be sought. The Gover nor's kindness and hospitality to some of our official agents, while in his province, it is pleasing to find recorded in the private journal of General Lincoln,* kept by him when des patched as one of the Commissioners of the United States to treat with the Indians in 1793. The following passages are, at this day, somewhat curious and interesting : — " May 25. — Immediately on my arrival at Niagara, Gov ernor Simcoe sent for me ; the other Commissioners were with him ; he showed me my room. We remained with him a number of days ; but knowing that we occupied a large proportion of his house, and that Mrs. Simcoe was absent, and so probably on our account, we contemplated a removal, and of encamping at the landing, six miles from this place.

But when the Governor was informed of our intentions he barred a removal. His politeness and hospitality, of which he has a large share, prevented our executing the designs we had formed."'f " June 24. — The King's birth-day. — At eleven o'clock the Governor had a levee at his house, at which the officers of government, the members of the legislature, the officers of the army, and a number of strangers attended. At one o'clock there was firing from the troops, the battery, and from the ship in the harbour. In the evening there was quite a splendid ball, about twenty well dressed handsome ladies, and about three times that number of gentlemen present. They danced from seven o'clock to eleven. Sup per was then announced, where we found every thing good and in pretty taste. The music and dancing were good, and every thing wras conducted with propriety.

What excited the best feelings of my heart was the ease and affection with which the ladies met each other ; although there were a number present whose mothers sprang from the aborigines of the country. They appeared as well dressed as the com pany in general, and intermixed with them in a manner * Published in the Massachusetts Historical Collections. t The Official Journal of the Commissioners also contains acknowledgments of the Governor's attentive kindness and hospitality. See the Journal, &c, printed in the American State Papers, Indian Affairs, Vol. I. Document No. 40. B MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR. which evinced at once the dignity of their own minds and the good sense of others. These ladies possess great inge nuity and industry, and have great merit ; for the education which they have acquired is owing principally to their own industry, as their father, Sir William Johnson, was dead, and the mother retained the dress and manners of her tribe.

" Governor Simcoe is exceedingly attentive to these pub lic assemblies, and makes it his study to reconcile the in habitants, who have tasted the pleasures of society, to their present situation, in an infant province. He intends the next winter to have concerts and assemblies very frequently. Hereby he at once evinces a regard to the happiness of the people and his knowledge of the world; for while the people are allured to become settlers in this country, from the richness of the soil, and the clemency of the sea sons, it is important to make their situation as flattering as possible." The Duke de la Rochefoucault Liancourt speaks at great length* of Governor Simcoe and his Canadian policy. He says : — " But for this inveterate hatred against the United States, which he too loudly professes, and which carries him too far, General Simcoe appears in the most advantageous light.

He is just, active, enlightened, brave, frank, and possesses the confidence of the country, of the troops, and of all those who join him in the administration of public affairs. To these he attends with the closest application ; he preserves all the old friends of his King, and neglects no means to pro cure him new ones. He unites, in my judgment, all the qualities which his station requires, to maintain the impor tant possession of Canada, if it be possible that England can long retain it. " In his private life, Governor Simcoe is simple, plain and * In his Travels in North America in 1795, &c. London, 1799. 2 Vols. 4to obliging. He lives in a noble and hospitable manner, with out pride ; his mind is enlightened ; his character mild and obliging ; he discourses with much good sense on all sub jects, but his favourite topics are his projects and war, which seem to be the objects of his leading passions.

He is acquainted with the military history of all countries ; no hillock catches his eye without exciting in his mind the idea of a fort, which might be constructed on the spot ; and with the construction of this fort he associates the plan of operations for a campaign, especially of that which is to lead him to Philadelphia. " Mrs. Simcoe is a lady of thirty-six years of age. She is timid, and speaks little ; but she is a woman of sense, hand some and amiable, and fulfils all the duties of mother and wife with the most scrupulous exactness. The performance of the latter she carries so far as to be of great assistance to her husband by her talents for drawing, the practice of which confined to maps and plans, enables her to be ex tremely useful to the Governor." An anecdote, related by the Duke, is worth quoting as a curious illustration of Simcoe's wish to gain the favour of the savages : — " The Governor is very anxious to oblige and please the Indians ; his only son, a child four years old, is dressed as an Indian, and called Tioga, which name has been given him by the Mohawks.

This harmless farce may be of use in the intercourse with the Indians." In October, 1794, Colonel Simcoe was promoted to the rank of major-general, and a new field was soon opened for the exercise of his abilities in the Island of St. Domingo, which in 1793 had been taken possession of by the troops from Jamaica, and now required a person of talents to take the command of it, as civil governor and commander in chief, in the room of Sir Adam Williamson. As there was none more deserving of so important a station, Major-General Simcoe was appointed, with the local rank of lieutenant- MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR. general, on the 3d of December, 1796. The nomination of this officer was very acceptable to all ranks in the island, in which he arrived during February of the following year. But the colony was soon deprived of its valued governor, who returned to England in the month of July, in the same year.

Short, however, as was his stay, he did more than any former general, in conciliating the native inhabitants to the British government. On the 3d of October, 1798, he was made a lieutenant general in the British army. In 1801, when the French in vasion of England was threatened, the important command of the town of Plymouth, the county of Devon, &c, was entrusted to him, and from his uncommon exertions in dis cipling the volunteers, and in other preparations, it was thought that the enemy, in any attempt to land in that part of the country, would have received a severe check. The suspected design of France to invade Portugal, in 1806, directed the anxious attention of the British government towards the critical situation of that country, and the first care of the ministry was promptly to provide the only remaining ally of England upon the continent with the as sistance of forces proportioned to the magnitude of the threatened and imminent danger.

Lieutenant-General Sim coe and the Earl of Rosslyn, with their staff, were imme diately sent to join Lord St. Vincent, who was with a fleet in the Tagus, and to open, in conjunction with him, such a communication with the Court of Lisbon, as might at once lead to a full understanding of the extent of the threatened danger, the means of resisting it, and the best mode of co operating for that purpose. General Simcoe was taken ill on the voyage, and his malady increased so rapidly after his arrival, that he was under the necessity of speedily returning to England, where he died a few hours after he landed.* * Annual Register. The appointment to the chief command of the British forces in India had been conferred upon General Simcoe as successor to Lord Lake, and his lady was in London making the necessary preparations for the voyage when she received the melancholy intelligence of his death, shortly after his arrival at Torbay in Devonshire.

Thus died Lieutenant-General John Graves Simcoe at the age of fifty-four years, a soldier, a gentleman, and a scholar. The glory, the titles, and the preferments seeming to await his career in India were by an overruling Provi dence not permitted to be attained by him. Nature made him one of her noblemen, and by inheritance likewise the title was his. Fortune has given him a space moderate in deed in history. But for his untimely end, however, no complaint probably would have been made that he did not reach the goal of his highest ambition as a soldier, to wear his honours in their newest gloss at least, if, in death, he had cast them aside too soon. His country was deprived of an accomplished and skilful officer, and his widow and children of an excellent husband and father. As a military man General Simcoe was often consulted by those high in office, and was a member of every board of general officers ordered by the King after his promotion made him eligible.

In fact few gentlemen in the service were more capable of deciding on professional affairs, whether respecting discipline, or interior economy. He was also highly esteemed by a numerous circle of friends of the first respectability, and his opinion and advice were taken in matters of the most interesting nature, for which he was eminently qualified, by his good sense and knowl edge of the world. B*