| Notes |
- MILLER, James, soldier, born in Peterborough, New Hampshire, 25 April,1776; died in Temple, New Hampshire, 7 July, 1851. He was educated for the law, but in 1808 entered the United States army as major of the 4th infantry, and was lieutenant-colonel in 1810. He commanded at the battle of Brownstown, 9 August, 1812, was brevetted colonel for gallantry in that action, fought at Fort George, 27 May, 1813, and was colonel of the 21st infantry at Chippewa and Lundy's Lane. In the latter affair the success of the Americans depended on the capture of a British battery. "Can you take it ?" asked General Winfield Scott."I will try, sir," he said, and with great gallantry led his command to the assault, captured the battery, and decided the fortune of theday. For this service he was brevetted brigadier-general, and received a gold medal from congress. He was governor of Arkansas in 1819-'25,and collector of the port of Salem, Massachusetts, in 1825-'49.-Hisson,
The Granite monthly: a New Hampshire magazine devoted to history ..., Volume 3 edited by Henry Harrison Metcalf, John Norris McClintock Concord, NH 1880
pages 7-12 re Miller Mansion
."..... He was what might be called a many sided man. and all that he was he owed to himself. " Blood will 'tell" is an old adage and a true one. The brave Scotch-Irish blood that coursed in this man's veins may account fo'r his ambition and energy, and this was the only legacy that he had. The rest he won himself.
It was during the early days of the Revolution, in the adjoining town of Peterborough, that James Miller first saw the light. He was the third of four brothers, and his earlier years were passed, with the exception of a few weeks' schooling, in tilling the paternal acres. But he was destined for something more than a tiller of the ground. The dream came to him one day while he was at work in the field hoeing a very hard row of potatoes. Surely there was some easier way of earning a living than this, he thought. His limited education seemed a drawback, but this he resolved to amend. It was uphill work at first, but the young man had a stout heart and a good head, and he persevered. He finished an academical course at Amherst, and spent a few months in college. Then he selected the law as a profession, and after being admitted to the bar, settled at Greenfield, where he was also postmaster and captain of an artillery company. It was while serving in this latter vocation that he first developed a taste for military life.
In 1808, after five years practice of law, Miller entered the United States army, having secured a major's commission, the highest then held by any one in the state. He thus had ample time to become versed in military life before the opening of the war of 1812. In that contest few distinguished themselves with the valor and success that this lawyer bred soldier did. It found him at the beginning a simple colonel; at its close he wore the epaulets of a brigadier, and had obtained a universal reputation as a chivalrous hero. We have not space to speak of all his exploits. He participated in several battles, but it was at Lundy's Lane that he won his enduring fame. A more severely contested battle never was fought
on American soil. It began about five o'clock in the afternoon, and lasted until midnight. The cataract of Niagara, which was near the battlefield, had its thunder drowned by the din of arms. At intervals the moon shone brightly, but often her light was obscured. Eight thousand combatants contested the field in the hot July air. Against a superior force the Americans contended with various success. Generals Brown and Scott were both wounded, and General Ripley (also a New Hampshire worthy) took the command. With his experienced eye, that skillful officer could see no hope of victory unless a certain battery, which commanded the battle-field, could be taken. Colonel Miller was selected to lead the desperate charge. "Can you storm that battery, and silence it?" asked the commander. "I'll try, sir," was the colonel's laconic answer, which afterwards became the motto of his regiment.
A braver charge was never made. The Light Brigade at Balaklava did no more gallant fighting than Colonel Miller and the twenty-first regiment of infantry did in the moonlight of that fearful night. They seized the battery at the point of the bayonet, after the most determined fighting. Three times the British rallied for its recapture, and three times were they repulsed. At midnight Colonel Miller and his men held possession of the place, and the foe had retired. The battle of Lundy's Lane was over.
Such was the man who was master of this mansion for forty years. He could not have selected a more charming location for a home. It was just the place where a soldier, wearied with war's rude alarum, might find peace for his troubled soul. And here he rested, but not long.
In 1819 he went to Arkansas as the first governor of that territory, where he remained four years. Returning to Temple, he was the next year elected to Congress from his district. At the same time he received the appointment of Collector of Customs for the district of Salem and Beverly, Mass. He accepted the collectorship, which he retained until 1849, when his youngest son took his place, and the hero retired to private life. He did not long survive. Paralysis had already shattered his powerful frame and on the yth of July, 1851, New Hampshire's most dashing soldier, and one of her greatest men, breathed his last in the atms of his mourning children.
General Miller was one of the bravest men who ever lived. But boisterous, reckless soldier that he was, he was one of the kindest of men. He had a heart as tender as a woman's, and was a devotee at the shrine of home. His letters to his wife while on the frontier, show him to have been a husband worthy of Alcestis. Every missive breathes a spirit of manly tenderness and devotion that is rare among men. Each one is a gem that should be set in silver, for, aside from other considerations, they have no small historic value. No better accounts have been given of the battles of Fort Erie, Chippewa, and Lundy's Lane than was written by this brave soldier and loving husband from the very scene of carnage, home to his wife.
The general was twice married. His first wife was Martha Ferguson, of Peterborough, who died young, two years after her marriage, in 1805. Miss Ruth Flint, his second wife, he married in 1808. She was the dearly beloved Ruth whom he addressed so affectionately while absent in his campaigns, and she now rests beside him in the beautiful cemetery of Harmony Grove, Salem, Mass.
He had children by both wives, sons and daughters. Several of them are still living. Two daughters, the Misses Rebecca and Augusta Miller, live at the old homestead.
Though no longer young, they are still beautiful and entertaining, and their hospitality is not stinted. They have inherited their father's large ability and goodness. The estate of two hundred acres is managed hy them, and managed well. The arable land is under a high state of cultivation.
Nice Jersey stock feed in the pastures. In the stables are some valuable horses, among which is a very handsome pony, a cross of the Morgan with an Indian mustang. The mother was an animal much prized by General Miller, who obtained it in Arkansas, and the younger shares to an equal degree the favor of his mistresses, who have refused large prices for him in times past....."
also from another book - Memoirs of the generals, commodores, and other commanders who distinguished ... By Thomas Wyatt Philadelphia MDCCCXLVIII
pages 113-128
"GEN. JAMES MILLER.
James Miller, late Brigadier-General in the United States army, was born in the town of Peterborough, Hillsborough county, New Hampshire, April 25th, 1776. His grandfather, Samuel Miller, came from the North of Ireland, about the year 1720, and settled in Londonderry, New Hampshire, accompanied by his wife, (whose maiden name was Mary Shearer,) and their eldest child. They had seven children; five sons, Matthew, James, William, Samuel and John; and two daughters, Mary and Jane; all of whom, except Matthew, the eldest, were born in America. The four younger sons subsequently removed from Londonderry to Peterborough and settled on a tract of wild land, which, as tradition states, had been purchased for them, and paid for in linen cloth and thread manufactured by their mother, a woman of great energy and industry. The purchase comprised an extent of four hundred acres, and includes some of the best land in Peterborough. The eldest son, Matthew, remained in Londonderry with his parents.
Of the four who went to Peterborough, James, the father of General Miller, was the twin brother of William, and for many years they improved their land in common and divided the produce. He married Catherine Gragg, the first child baptized in Peterborough. She was the daughter of Hugh Gragg, who also came to America from the north of Ireland, and settled in Groton, Massachusetts, but subsequently removed to Peterborough, when his daughter Catherine was a child of about eight or nine years of age. James Miller and his wife, Catherine Gragg, had four sons, Hugh, Samuel, James and Jacob; and three daughters, Jane, Mary and Catherine: of these, James, the subject of this memoir, was the third son. His earlier years were spent at home with his parents. Although he was of a robust constitution, and had a muscular and powerful frame, he was never a very valuable assistant in the agricultural labors of the farm, if we may be allowed to judge from the appellation by which he is said to have been familiarly designated in the family, and perhaps in the neighborhood, that of " lazy Jem." The facilities for education in that part of the country were at that period very limited, but they were then, as now, free to all so far as the town or district schools were concerned. He attended one of these, such portions of the year as it was kept open; and it so happened that his earliest military as well as literary instruction was received there. One of the persons employed for a time as teacher of the school, had been a sergeant in the army of the Revolution, and had still so much of his former military taste remaining, as to render it quite as much a matter of pride and gratification to him to drill the boys (provided with wooden guns for the purpose) in the manual and company movements, at intervals between school hours and on holidays, as it was to preside over their literary progress in doors. He was, withal, a strict disciplinarian, and the event now to be related would not, in all probability, have happened during his administration. In the time of one of his successors in the school, the boys, incited perhaps by traditionary accounts of similar schoolboy doings in the old country, determined to gain a holiday, which had been refused them, by " barring out" the master and holding adverse possession of the school-house until their demand was complied with.
The plan was carried into effect by those who, from residing at a distance from the school-house usually remained at noontime, (while the master and another portion of the scholars were temporarily absent,) aided by such as they had persuaded to stay with them and take part in the conspiracy. The door was accordingly shut and barricaded by those in the plot, but a window, which (in the scarcity of glass and window-frame, incident to a new settlement) was fitted only with a wooden shutter, could not be closed against the "executive" and "conservatives," without at the same time excluding daylight; a deprivation to which the young conspirators felt a distaste very similar to that attributed by Homer to the Grecian Ajax. It was, besides, highly desirable that an avenue for negotiations between the parties should be kept open, through which, at the proper time, the terms of an accommodation might be settled. The defence of this important and assailable point was committed to young Miller, although one of the youngest of this juvenile band: and when at the exhortation of the master, (who, after all, was possibly at heart as little averse to a holiday as any of his pupils,) an assault on the fortress was made by the advocates of " law and order," so resolutely did he maintain his post, that the storming party, headed by an older cousin of the young defender, were effectually kept at bay. A parley was now held, and the demand for a holiday having been acceded to on the part of the teacher, coupled with a stipulation for the entire immunity from punishment of all concerned, the door was once more opened and the affair terminated in a manner agreeable, doubtless, to all concerned, since all shared alike in the indulgence obtained.
He continued to attend the town schools during a portion of each season, until the autumn of his eighteenth year, when, desirous of greater facilities for education than his native town afforded, he left home for the purpose of attending the academy at that time established in Amherst, New Hampshire, some twenty-five miles distant from Peterborough. His outfit on the occasion was neither very splendid nor extensive; consisting of a bundle of clothes, not at all burdensome to carry. and the sum of one dollar and twenty-five cents in money.
The " credit system" was, in those days almost a matter of necessity, and although he had no personal acquaintance in Amherst, except with one or two of the students at the academy, he found no difficulty in making an arrangement for his board in the family of one of the townspeople, and his tuition at the institution. He remained at the academy for several months, and then left for the purpose of recruiting his finances and paying off arrearages by teaching; and having done so, was enabled himself to go to school again, and then open a new account with his lioardiiig house and learning. He went on in this manner, alternately pupil and teacher, receiving knowledge by instalments, and disbursing it very fairly as it accumulated, until after years (when, having spent a short portion of the time as a student at Williams College.) he was qualified to commence the study of law, which he pursued in the office of the late James Wilson, Esquire, then of Peterborough, and latterly of Keene, New Hampshire, a gentleman at that time of extensive and successful practice in the law Having completed the requisite term as a law student, he was admitted to practice in the state court, at the spring term for Hillsborough County, 1M)3.
He. removed to the town of Greenfield, adjoining Peterborough, and continued the practice of the law there until, in the year, 1808, he received from President Jefferson an appointment as major, in the Fourth Regiment of United States Infantry, the highest appointment made from New Hampshire under the act of Congress for increasing the army. He was in a great measure indebted, for this appointment, to the favorable opinion and influence of the late Governor Pierce of New Hampshire, himself a distinguished officer in the revolutionary army. James Miller had previously held a commission under the state government, as captain of artillery. His commission as major of the Fourth Regiment of United States Infantry, bears date the 3d of March, 1809, taking rank from 8th of July, 1808. In June, he joined his regiment, then commanded by Col. John P. Boyd, at Fort Independence, in Boston harbor, in the spring of 1809, where he remained (with the exception of a short interval, spent on duty at Springfield, Massachusetts, and on a march from there with a detachment of troops to Newport, Rhode Island,) until the spring of 1811, when he embarked with the fourth regiment, for Philadelphia-having shortly before been commissioned as lieutenant-colonel of the fiftieth regiment. The troops arrived at Philadelphia, on the 16th of May, and on the following day proceeded on their march to Pittsburgh, where they arrived on the 21st of June. In consequence of hostile indications on the part of the Northwestern Indians, prompted by the master spirit Tecumseh, government had determined on a military expedition into the Indian country, and Colonel Miller was, with his regiment, ordered to prepare with all possible dispatch to proceed to Vincennes and join the forces under General Harrison. The first steamboat ever launched on the western waters was then on the stocks at Pittsburgh, and of course afforded matter for much observation and comment. On the 2d of August, the troops embarked in keel boots for Vincennes. They reached Newport, Kentucky, the distance of five hundred and twenty miles, in seven days, and there landed aud remained until the 30th of the same month, when they again embarked and descended the river to Jeffersonville, Indiana, in order to meet General Harrison.
At the request of General Harrison, Colonel Boyd, then in command of the regiment, left the expedition and went with General Harrison across the country to Vincennes, leaving Colonel Miller in command of the troops, with orders to proceed by water.
They descended about three hundred miles to the farther Wabash, and then made their way up that river one hundred and seventy miles more to Vincennes.
The ascending the Wabash was at that time exceedingly toilsome and harassing; the river was very low, and they had eleven large boats from fifty to seventy-five feet long to pass over the bars and shallows of the river, which were of verv frequent occurrence. It sometimes required the united efforts of an hundred men to lift or drag a single boat over a rocky shallow. On the 17th of September, the day of the great solar eclipse, they were engaged in passing the grand rapids of the Wabash.
To encourage and animate the men, Colonel Miller himself frequently went into the water to assist at the boats, as did every other officer, and for several successive days, had not the opportunity of a change of dry clothes. It was to this exposure and fatigue that Colonel Miller was probably indebted for the severe illness with which he was subsequently attacked.
The boats, with the troops, reached Vincennes on the 19th and there joined the militia under General Harrison. The combined force immediately commenced drilling for Iudian warfare, and on the 27th of September, marched for the Prophet's town, in the vicinity of the Tippecanoe ground. On the 2d of October, the army reached the spot, seventy miles from Vincennes, where they halted to build Fort Harrison, which was subsequently so bravely and successfully defended against the Indians by Lieutenant, now Major-General Zachary Taylor. The next day after his arrival at this place, Colonel Miller was seized with a violent bilious fever, which at once completely prostrated him, from the effects of which, and the treatment and exposure which he necessarily had to undergo, he has never entirely recovered.
Until the fort was built, he was sheltered in a tent, with a bearskin and blankets for bedding. The weather for the first few days was very warm, and then suddenly changed to cold, with snow and rain; to hasten salivation, the physicians applied mercury very freely externally, as well as administering it internally, with blisters on the neck and limbs.
He had never been confined by sickness for a single day in his life before. He received the kindest attention from General Harrison, Colonel Boyd, and other officers, particularly from Colonel Davis, of the Kentucky dragoons, who was afterwards killed at Tippecanoe.
When the army moved from Fort Harrison, on the 29th of October, Colonel Miller had so far recovered as to be able to walk a few steps with the assistance of a cane, but was utterly unable to accompany the troops. For fifteen days he had been unable to move from his hard bed without being lifted, a tent his only shelter; and the weather suddenly changed from warm to cold, sufficiently to allow the snow to remain on the ground for two days at a time. His regret at being compelled to remain behind, is thus expressed in a letter written some time after :-"I reflected that I had sailed, marched, and rowed in boats, more than two thousand miles in search of, and with the expectation of acquiring, in common with my brothers in arms, some military fame: to be brought to the ' right about' and obliged to halt within a few miles of the scene of action and consequent honor acquired by the glorious victory obtained-I thought my lot a hard one." From the 4th day of May to the 18th of November, he had slept in a house but two nights. Colonel Miller was left in command of Fort Harrison, with the invalids of the army, and although thus debarred from participating in the battle which ensued, and resulted in the victory of Tippecanoe, he was fortunately able to be of essential service after the battle. For when apprised of the result, by express from General Harrison, he dispatched boats up the river, with hay in them for the reception of the wounded, and fresh provisions for the troops, to a point where the army would be likely to strike the river, on their return to Fort Harrison.
When the army left Fort Harrison, on its return to Vincennes, in the following November, although still an invalid. Colonel Miller requested to accompany them, and he was sent in command of the troops and boats, by way of the river: although it was considered the most easy way of traveling, be Buffered much from exposure on the journey. He spent the following winter at Vincennes, and during that time became an inmate in the house and family of General Harrison, who with the most affectionate kindness urged this hospitality upon him. In May, IS 12, he received orders to proceed with the fourth regiment to Dayton, Ohio, and from thence marched to Detroit, having joined General Hull at Urbana.
The communication with the state of Ohio being completely blocked up, thereby preventing the transportation of supplies of provisions for General Hull's army, he saw it necessary to turn his attention to that point, and accordingly detached from the army a part of the regular troops, numbering about six hundred men, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel James Miller, of the fourth regiment United States infantry, for this object. Colonel Miller was permitted to take two field pieces with the detachment, one six pounder and one five and a half inch howitzer, with their appendages and ammunition.
The detachment having drawn two days' provisions, being organized and everything prepared for the march, General Wayne was chosen to lead the spies to reconnoitre the country ; these were volunteer citizens of Detroit well acquainted with the route.
At five o'clock P.M., on the 8th of August, 1S12, the troops being ready to march, and drawn up in line in the main street of Detroit, Colonel Miller rode to the centre and in front of the line, and addressed the troops in the following words :-" Soldiers, we are going to meet the enemy and to beat them! The blood of your brethren, spilt by savage hands on the 5th, must be avenged by their chastisement, and by the chastisement of the enemy who employs them, more savage than they ! I shall lead you-I trust that no man will disgrace himself or me-every man who is seen to leave the ranks, to give way, or fall back without orders, shall instantly be put to death. My brave soldiers! you have once faced the enemy in a hard conflict, and beaten them, and gained glory to yourselves and honor to your country! Let this opportunity be improved to add another victory to that of Tippecanoe, and new glory to that which you gained on the Wabash. Soldiers, if there are any now in the ranks of this detachment, who are afraid to meet the enemy, they are now permitted to fall out and stay behind." At which the words, " I'll not stay," ran through the ranks with a "huzza."
The detachment then moved off in order and high spirits, and exhibited so much ardor to engage in the conflict, that the anxious citizens felt perfect confidence in the success of the enterprise. The detachment arrived at the river Rou^e, six miles from Detroit, about sunset. There being no bridge and the water very deep, they were conveyed over in scows, and as two only were within reach, it was ten o'clock before the whole Had crossed over. The weather being somewhat rainy and very dark, it was determined to encamp there for the night. They therefore stationed their guards and picquets, and permitted the men to rest on their arms till daylight. Accordingly, at daybreak, they commenced their march, with Colonel Miller at the head of a column of cavalry, accompanied by his aids in the road and in a line with the heads of the columns of musketrv. In this order the detachment marched from the encampment, near the river Rouge, on the moming of the 9th. They proceeded through the white settlement, which was about five miles, and entered the woods.
The country, from the river Rouge to Rrownstown, is generally flat, and lies a little aliove the surface of the river Detroit Indian huts and fields are interspersed through the woods; at that time the fields were covered with corn, which was grown to seven and eight feet high.
When the advanced guard had arrived at the farther edge of this wood, the spies advanced into the Indian opening. they were fired upon by a party of ten Indians, who were on horseback, and had concealed themselves behind the house of the celebrated chief, Walk-in-lhe-trater.
The spies fell back. A citizen from Detroit, who accompanied them, was killed, and fell from his horse. The guard ad\anced quickly towards the house, and the Indians immediately fled without receiving much injury, though the guard fired upon them while they were uncovered by the house The Indians bore away as a trophy, the citizen's scalp whom they had shot; and the facility with which the scalp was taken, was astonishing. There scarcely appeared to have been time for the Indian to reach the spot where the man fell, before the guard arrived and found the scalp taken off, and the Indian gone. When the firing was heard by the columns, the order was given by Colonel Miller to march on with haste, but only some scattered Indians were discovered, who had been sent out by the British to watch the movements of the Americans, and to give information of their approach towards Brownstown, where the enemy, as it appeared afterwards, then lay in ambush to receive them. The position which the enemy had chosen, lay in an open oak wood, just at the declivity of a rising ground, over which the Americans had to pass. He had thrown up a breastwork of trees, logs, &c., behind which he lay concealed in force, and in order of battle. His works were thrown up in form of a courtine with two flanks. The line of the courtine lay across the road and perpendicularly to it. The banks formed an angle with the courtine of about one hundred and twenty. The courtine was lined with British regular troops, two deep of the forty-first regiment of foot, under the command of Major Muer of that regiment, who had long been in command at Malden. The flank of the courtine, on the enemy's right, and American left, was lined with Canadian militia and Indians, commanded by Walk-in-thervater and Marpot. Most of the militia were dressed and painted like their "brethren in arms," the savages. The left flank of the courtine was lined entirely by savages, under the command of the celebrated Indian warrior Tecumseh, of the Shawnoese nation.
The number of the British regulars and militia amounted to about three hundred; about two hundred regulars. The Indians amounted to four hundred and fifty, making the enemy's forces about seven hundred and fifty men. The position and strength of the enemy were entirely unknown to Colonel Miller and to the army at this time.
At twelve o'clock M. the detachment arrived at a large opening which contained four or five Indian houses, gardens, and orchards, and the army halted to take some refreshment, and to hury the man who had been killed; there they lay one hour. The village was deserted, and nothing of any consequence left in the houses.
At one P. M., the troops resumed their march, and soon reached the woods, near Brownstown, where some guns were heard by them. In a few seconds a volley was heard from Captain Snelling's advance guard, and another instantly returned from a great number of pieces. The troops, by this time, were in preparation for battle, when Colonel Miller rode towards the centre at full speed, halted, and with a firm voice ordered the columns to " form the line of battle," which was executed with that order, promptness and zeal, which he had expected; after the first volleys, the firing became incessant in front. Captain Snelling stood his ground till the lines were formed, and moved to his relief. He stood within pistol shot of the enemy's breastworks in a shower of balls from the regular troops in his front, who showed themselves after the first fire, and set up the Indian yell.
When the first line appeared before the breastwork, they received the fire of the whole front and a part of the flanks. At this instant, Colonel Miller discovered that the enemy outflanked him, when the second line and flank guards were brought upon the flanks of the front line of the enemy.
The savages, in unison with the British troops, set up a horrid yell, and a severe conflict ensued.
The incessant firing of individual pieces soon changed to volleys, and while silence prevailed for an instant, the discharge of the six pounder burst upon the ear. At this instant, Colonel Miller was thrown from his horse which took fright at the discharge. He was supposed to be shot; those near him flew to his aid; the savages who saw him fall sprang over the breastwork to take his scalp, but were repulsed. Colonel Miller instantly remounted and returned to continue his orders. The fire from the Indians, who were screened by their breastworks, was deadly.
Another discharge of grape from the six pounder, caused the British line to yield, then to break, and the troops to fly in disorder! Tecumseh, and some Indians under his command, who had leaped over the breastwork in the full assurance of victory, were driven back at the point of the bayonet. The British and some Indians fled directly down the river, and were pursued by Colonel Miller, and that part of the troops which had opposed them. Tecumseh, with his Indians, fled directly from the river westwardly, into the wilderness, and were pursued. After the British had retreated about one mile, they came to an opening, of about half a mile in diameter; here they attempted to rally again, but on the approach of the Americans they again broke and. fled into the woods down the river. Colonel Miller immediately ordered the troops to follow in further pursuit of the British.
After following them through the woods for nearly half a mile, they came upon the beach of Lake Erie, and discovered the enemy all in boats, steering towards Malden, and out of reach of their shot. They had concealed their boats at this point, when they came over, for this purpose, if they should be defeated. The troops returned to the battle field, where they met the division which had returned from the pursuit of Tecumseh.
When the troops were formed in line, Colonel Miller rode in front and addressed them in the following words:-" My brave fellows ! you have done well! every man has done his duty. I give you my hearty thanks for your conduct on this day; you have gained my highest esteem; you have gained fresh honor to yourselves, and to the American arms; your fellow soldiers in arms will love you, and your country will reward you. You will return to the field of battle, to collect those who have gloriously fallen; your friendly attentions to your wounded companions are required." Detachments were sent out with wagons to search the woods, and collect all the wounded and dead, and bring them to the ground then occupied by the troops. All the Indian houses, only three or four in number, were prepared to receive them, and the surgeons were industriously employed with them, during the whole night.
The troops encamped on the bank of the river, fronting the woods, the river forming their back. The time from the attack on the vanguard to the time of forming the line on the Indian fields, after the pursuit was finally ended, was two and a half hours. During this sharp conflict the conduct of each individual officer and soldier was so uniformly and strictly military, that the commander was scarcely able to make distinctions in his brief and. modest report to General Hull. The physical powers of almost every man were called into action, and severely tried.
The troops then returned to Detroit, where they were apprised of the declaration of war between England and the United States.
Colonel Miller, on hearing the above news, determined to make an attempt to land on the Canada shore, with the fourth regiment, which he still continued to command, accompanied by Colonel, now General Cass, with a regiment of militia, together with a company of artillery, under Captain Dyson; the whole, under the command of Colonel Miller, embarked at a point about a mile above Detroit, crossed the river and landed on the Canada side without opposition. Colonels Miller and Cass had, on this occasion, the honor of planting with their own hands, on the bank of the Detroit river, the first American flag carried into Canada in the last war. After remaining but a short time in Canada, they re-embarked to the American side. Colonel Miller, it appears by official reports, took an active part in nearly all the principal battles of the western frontier. In a dispatch from General Harrison, at Lower Sandusky, he observes, "the detachment led by that brave officer, Colonel Miller, did not exceed three hundred and fifty men, and it is very certain that they defeated two hundred British regulars, one hundred and fifty militia men, and four or five hundred Indians." Again, in a letter from Major-General Brown to the secretary of war, after the battle of Bridgewater, he says, "to secure the victory, it was necessary to carry this artillery and seize the height; this duty was assigned to Colonel Miller, who advanced steadily and gallantly to his object, and carried the height and the cannon." He also observes, "from the preceding detail, you have evidence of the distinguished gallantry of that brave officer." In the battles of Chippewa, Niagara and Erie, he is alike distinguished. After the battle of Chippewa, Colonel Miller was promoted to the rank of Brigadier-General. Congress presented him with a gold medal (see Plate V.) with the unanimous thanks of that body.
After the close of the war, General Miller retired to his estate at Peterborough, New Hampshire, where he resided for some time, enjoying the sweets of quietude and the pleasures of agricultural pursuits; subsequently he received the appointment of collector of the port at Salem, Massachusetts, where he is now living in the bosom of his family. Although nearly deprived of the powers of articulation by paralysis, he enjoys his other faculties with comfort to himself and happiness to all around him.
The kindness and affability of General Miller made him a favorite in the field, as well as in the domestic circle. Before his affliction, it was indeed difficult to be long in his society without feeling happier as well as wiser. He was blessed with a great cheerfulness of disposition, which diffused its charms on all around him. He lives, commanding universal veneration and attachment from his illustrious services as a soldier, and his social virtues and generous hospitality as a man.
DESCRIPTION OF THE MEDAL.
Occasion.-Battles of Chippewa, Niagara, and Erie.
Device.-Bust of General Miller.
Legend.-Brigadier-General James Miller.
Exergue.-I'll try.
Reverse.-Two armies engaged on a hill; troops advancing at a distance.
Legend.-Resolution of Congress, November 3d, 1814.
Exergue.-Battles of Chippewa, July 5th, 1814; Niagara, July 25th, 1814; Erie, September 17th, 1814
and another from the book:
The Granite monthly: a New Hampshire magazine devoted to history ..., Volume 30 edited by Henry Harrison Metcalf, John Norris McClintock Pub. 1901
pages 356-360
"But while the state knew only the fears of war, her men in the northwest were experiencing actual war with all its horrors. Under the influence of the British, the Indians along the Great Lakes had become openly hostile to our government. As early as 1811 it was determined to put an end to these warlike intentions, and Gen. Wm. Henry Harrison .was ordered west for this purpose. Under him, as commander of the Fourth U. S. infantry, was Lieut.-Col. James Miller of Peterborough. His regiment was composed largely of New Hampshire men.
The army moved forward toward a large Indian town, Tippecanoe, where it was met by Indian messengers desiring a peace conference. But the treacherous Indians broke armistice, and on the 7th of November occurred the terrible battle of Tippecanoe. The New Hampshire men were in the thickest of this fight, and had a share in obtaining victory, only at the price of heavy loss of life.
In May, 1812, Colonel Miller with his gallant Fourth regiment, marched to meet General Hull at Detroit, for the purpose of invading Canada. Colonel Miller wrote to his wife, "I had the honor and the gratification as commanding officer, to plant with my own hands the first United States standard on the pleasant banks of Detroit River, in King George's Province of Upper Canada."
In August Colonel Miller was ordered on an exploring expedition across the River Rouge. Turning to his veteran Fourth regiment he said, " My brave soldiers, you will add another victory to that of Tippecanoe. If there is any man in the ranks who fears to meet the enemy, let him fall out and stay behind." A loud shout went up from the entire corps, and "I'll not stay," broke from every lip. At Brownstown his force of 350 men, after a fierce battle, defeated 200 British regulars, i50 militia, and 400 or 500 Indians.
At this time General William Hull was in command of the army stationed at Detroit, and with him were Colonels James Miller, Lewis Cass, and
Duncan McArthur, all three New Hampshire men ; and throughout the entire war, these three names, together with that of General Dearborn, commander-in-chief of the army, stand out most prominently for the highest bravery and honor.
At the cowardly surrender of Detroit by General Hull, Colonel Miller, with his Fourth regiment, was among the prisoners taken by the British. General Hull, in his report of the surrender, wrote, "Before I close this dispatch it is a duty I owe to my associates in command, Colonels McArthur, Cass, and Miller, to express my obligations to them for the prompt and judicious manner in which they have performed their respective duties. If aught has taken place during the campaign which is honorable to the army, these officers are entitled to a large share of it. If this last act should be disapproved, no part of the censure belongs to them." He might well say this, for all these officers had begged him not to surrender, and were very indignant at his course. Thus the campaign of 1812 ended in disaster on the part of the army. But, on the other hand, our gallant little navy had won victory after victory, and had established beyond dispute our superiority in naval warfare. One of the most brilliant of these encounters, and the first decided naval battle, was the famous victory of the American frigate Constitution over the British Guerriere. It was hailed with rejoicing throughout the country, and was made the subject of many somewhat hilarious ballads and songs.
In fact the entire record of the war is made a little less harrowing to our memories when we consider that at that time had developed one of the saving traits of our intense American nature, the ability on all occasions to see and appreciate the humorous trend of affairs. There are scores of variations to the old favorite Yankee Doodle, giving expression to admiration for our heroes or hurling scathing sarcasm against the enemy ; while, at the other extreme, stands the glorious " Star-Spangled Banner." "
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1776 - 1851 (75 years)
