Jacob Brown's And Electus Backus's Collaboration

Jacob Brown

"[Jacob Brown]...was residing at his home in Brownsville on the Black River a few miles from Sackett's Harbor had been requested by General Dearborn and urged by Colonel Macomb to assume chief command in that region. He was unwilling to interfere with his esteemed friend, Colonel Backus, and agreed to take command only in the event of actual invasion. He went to headquarters frequently to advise with Backus concerning preparations for defense, and it was understood between them that if the enemy should threaten the post, Brown was to call the neighboring militia to the Harbor and take chief command." [Source]

A Canadian's View Of General Henry Dearborn

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From The War of 1812: A History....,  By Gilbert Auchinleck:

"We have already shown that General Dearborn was (if we may so express it) his own master, and almost unfettered by instructions, during the entire autumn of 1812. He had ample time, with adequate means to prepare an army of five or six thousand strong, whom, if it had been only to keep them healthy, it would have been better to put in motion. The English Generals had many greater difficulties to contend with, in defending Canada, than the Americans to conquer it."

General Henry Dearborn blog post

Pre-War Deaths At Fort Adams

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From the American state papers: ...(investigation as to why so many soldiers were dying at Fort Adams):

Previous to the embarkation, 3 companies, of the 6th infantry, under the command of Major Pike, were ordered to the garrison of Orleans, and between the 1st and 12th of September, the army embarked, and, making some delay nearly opposite the city, owing, I think, very probably, to a defect in one of the artillery boats, proceeded, on the 23d, up the river, under the command of Major Backus, of the light dragoons.  I had been taken sick...followed the army...the General being ill in Orleans.

...two hospitals were established, one at Point Coupee, and one at Fort Adams, where the weakest of the men were left.... .

A description of Fort Adams and the Natchez, Mississippi, area, from Cuming's Tour To The Western Country (1807-1809):

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The Entire Want Of Preparation

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Mr. Henry Adams in his second volume of the " History of the United States" devotes two chapters to the events connected with the surrender of Detroit in 1812, in which he shows the entire want of preparation with which President and congress, under the influence of Henry Clay and others, rushed into a conflict with the veterans of England on land, and her thousand war-ships on the ocean; and the imbecility of the war
department, of its chief Dr. Eustis, and the poor organization of the small army which was scattered over an immense territory on garrison duty, while new regiments not yet raised were relied upon for the conquest of Canada. He says, " The senior major-general and commander-in-chief was Henry Dearborn, the other major-general was Thomas Pinckney. The brigadiers were James Wilkinson, Wade Hampton, Joseph Bloomfield, James Winchester, and William Hull."

The Cause Of Many Errors

Source - Chauncey Was Not The Cause Of Many Errors

See another post from his journal here.

From the Journal of Major Isaac Roach, 1812-1824, published in The Pennsylvania magazine of history and biography, Volume 17:

We had now assembled about 6000 men, aided by Commodore [Isaac] Chauncey's fleet, and they were about 3000, and their fleet not on the Lake. We now had the experiment to repeat, of sending superannuated men of the Revolution to command. As the failure of the aged Patroon, General Van Rensselaer, lost us everything in 1812, so was the age and infirmity of General Dearborn the cause of many errors.

Young Zachary Taylor

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It was soon after the affair of the Chesapeake and Leopard...that young Taylor, only eighteen years of age, applied for a commission in the army... .  At an early age he had associated himself with one of the volunteer corps of Kentucky, and obtained a high reputation for aptitude military science, which was his favorite study.

In 1808, the last year of Mr Jefferson's second administration, and while Gen. Henry Dearborn was Secretary of War, Zachary Taylor received the appointment of Lieutenant in the 7th infantry and his military career in the regular service of the United States.

Mr. Rogers Who Was A British Soldier

Among the Letters Received By the Adjutant General, 1805 - 1821, was a letter to Secretary of War Henry Dearborn from William Rogers (and also one to President James Madison), who had served in the British military, and wanted an appointment in the U.S. Military in 1811.  His siblings lived in the United States and he had married a Quaker woman.

Harrisburgh, Pennsylvania  30 April 1811

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"Being in London in 1797 I entered into the British Military Service in a Battalion of Infantry...".

His Loss Will Be Severely Felt

Fort Pike In Louisiana

From the Official letters of the military:

Source

[Excerpted]

HEADQUARTERS, YORK, UPPER CANADA,
April 28th, 1813.

SIR,

The enemy was repulsed by a far less number than their own; and as soon as general Pike landed with 7 or 800 men, and the remainder of the troops were pushing for the shore, the enemy retreated to their works...when the head of the columns was within about sixty rods of the enemy, a tremendous explosion occurred from a huge magazine prepared for the purpose, which discharged such immense quantities of stone, as to produce a most unfortunate effect on our troops. I have not yet been able to collect the returns of our killed and wounded, but our loss by the explosion, must, I fear, exceed 100; and among them, I have to lament the loss of the brave and excellent officer, brigadier general Pike, who received such a contusion from a large stone, as terminated his valuable life within a few hours. His loss will be severely felt. 

[Letter authored by General Dearborn]

Portrait of Stephen Van Rensselaer

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From The War of 1812 website:

"Despite being an anti-war Federalist, a political rival publicly suggested that Van Rensselaer be named a major general in the New York militia. Van Rensselaer knew his reputation would be at stake if he refused, and so he reluctantly became the leader of over six thousand men that were expected to conduct a successful invasion of Canada. Luckily, he had a family ally who was also a capable commander; his cousin, Solomon Van Rensselaer."

From the Historic Lewiston website:

"Why the Americans Lost the Battle of Queenston, in the words of the losing American Major General, Stephen Van Rensselaer written the day after the historic War of 1812 battle [to General Dearborn]."  Apparently it was a career-ending loss for General Stephen Van Rensselaer.

CT Letters By Smith And Griswold

The letter from Lieut.-Gov. John Cotton Smith is a valuable missing link in the correspondence between State-authorities and the General Government, on the subject of Secretary of War Dearborn's requisition for troops of the militia of Connecticut, to be ordered into the service of the United States, on the breaking out of the War of 1812.

But more important and interesting, in the same connection, is the following draft of a letter written by Gov. Griswold, on the 4th of Aug., 1812, to Secretary Dearborn, which, it is believed, has never appeared in print, and was, perhaps, never sent.  Being found among the family-papers, it is put on record here as an additional tribute to his memory.

Source

I have Griswolds in my family tree (the Governor is not in my direct line).

Capture Of Fort George Engraving

Source: Cassier's Magazine

Battle of Fort George.

The American Army's Three Divisions

In the beginning of 1813, the American Army was organized in three divisions.  

First, the Army of the North under General Wade Hampton, which was to act in the country around Lake Champlain; second the Army of the Center, under General Henry Dearborn, which was to conduct operations on Lake Ontario and the Niagara frontier; third, the Army of the West commanded by General Winchester for a short time, and subsequently by General Harrison.  [Source]

General Alexander Smyth

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Was appointed President Jefferson colonel of a United States regiment, which he commanded at the until 1811, when he was ordered to Washington prepare a discipline for the army. Was inspector general in 1812 and ordered to the Canadian frontier, where he failed in an invasion Canada and left the army. 

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He [General Smyth]...petitioned Congress to reinstate him, declaring in his memorial that he asked the privilege of "dying for his country." The phrase was ridiculed by his enemies. At a public celebration at Georgetown D.C. on Washington's birthday in 1814, the following toast was offered: "General Smyth's petition to Congress to 'die for his country'--May it be ordered that the prayer of said petitioner be granted." [Source]

There was a duel between General Smyth and General Porter.

Smyth County, Virginia, was named after the General.

Captain Weeks' Company Payroll

From A List Of Pensioners Of The War Of 1812:

PAYROLL OF A COMPANY OF INFANTRY COMMANDED BY CAPTAIN JOHN W. WEEKS, OF THE ELEVENTH REGIMENT OF THE UNITED STATES, FOR THE MONTHS OF JANUARY AND FEBRUARY, 1813

Two items of interest:

Henry Alden, private, deserted from the Fourth Regiment April 23, 1809, and delivered himself to Lieutenant Green, Dec. 26, 1812

And

Job Barnet, private, died Jan. 12, 1813

My Kingdom For A Horse

From The military heroes of the war of 1812: with a narrative of the war :

The University of Indiana library's online exhibit has a letter by Henry Dearborn "to John Langdon, D. Commissary, General of Purchases. Gives explicit instructions for the purchase of horses for the army."

Commentary from Kentucky about the effect of war on horses and horse racing:
Q: What hurdles — pardon the pun — did horse racing overcome to become dominant in the Southeast United States?
 A: War, corruption, religion and geography. The War of 1812 decimated equine herds, and social reformers essentially shut down racing in the North and East. But Lexington kept its track open.

There is a Society of the Military Horse message board here with a few War of 1812 references.  Here's an archaeology picture of a double horse burial at Fort Meigs.

General Henry Dearborn

 Henry Dearborn (1751-1829), who was born in New Hampshire, also fought in the Revolutionary War*.  

*Dearborn volunteered for service in Benedict Arnold's expedition to Quebec. In the battle, in which Montgomery was killed and Arnold seriously wounded, Dearborn was taken prisoner and confined for a time at Quebec. [Source]  It was thought that General Dearborn was past his prime in the War of 1812.

Portrait Source  

A guide to Henry Dearborn's papers found here, including:

Dearborn Historical Commission
Dearborn, MI
Papers and Microfilm: 1761-1826, 2 feet and 92 microfilm reels.
The collection covers Henry Dearborn’s career as officer in the American Revolution and the War of 1812, as secretary of war (1801-1809), collector of the Port of Boston (1809-1812), and minister to Portugal (1822-1824). 

Reenactment Of The Battle Of Stoney Creek

The Battle of Stoney Creek, 6 June 1813, will be reenacted on June 2 and 3, 2012, near present day Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.  A YouTube clip from a previous reenactment.