y, headed a large expedition to regain lost ground; but he only
succeeded in building forts in north-western Ohio and waging a
defensive war against the raids of Tecumseh and the British general,
Proctor, Brock's successor.

At Niagara, no move was made until the late autumn, when two American
generals in succession--Van Rensselaer and Smyth--tried to lead a
motley array of militia and regulars across the river. Brock met the
first detachment and was killed in a skirmish, but his men were able to
annihilate the main attack, on the brink of the river, while several
thousand American militia, {222} refusing, on constitutional grounds,
to serve outside the jurisdiction of their state, watched safely from
the eastern bank. The second effort in November, under General Smyth,
proved an even worse fiasco. Meanwhile General Dearborn, the supreme
commander, tried to invade near Lake Champlain; but, after he had
marched his troops to the Canadian border, the militia refused to leave
the soil of the United States, and so the campaign had to be abandoned.
The military efforts of the United States were, as the Canadian
historian phrases it, "beneath criticism."

The only redeeming feature of the year was the record of the little
American navy and the success of the privateers, who rushed to prey
upon British commerce. Upwards of two hundred British vessels were
captured, while all but about seventy American ships reached home
safely. The British sent squadrons of cruisers, but were unable to
begin a blockade. Their aim was to capture American men-of-war as
rapidly as possible, to prevent their doing damage, so they
unhesitatingly attacked American vessels whenever they met them,
regardless of slight differences in size or gun-power. The British
sea-captain of the day had a hearty contempt for Americans, and never
dreamed that their navy could be any more dangerous than the {223}
French. To the unlimited delight of the American public, and the
stupefaction of England, five American cruisers in succession captured
or sank five British in the autumn of 1812, utilizing superior weight
of broadside and more accurate gunnery with merciless severity. These
blows did no actual damage to a navy which comprised several hundred
frigates and sloops, but the moral effect was great. It had been
proved that Americans, after all, could fight.

In 1813 there was a change in administrative officers. Doctor Eustis
was replaced in the W