This was not accomplished without friction. In May, serious breaches of discipline threatened all that the brigade had achieved. Paid for the first time in many months, tired by the hard drill, and burdened by the memories of the bitter winter at French Mills, some of Scott's men grabbed the chance to blow off steam. Others, more deeply impressed by the suffering and perhaps rebellious of exacting discipline, saw their pay as a means of escape. Unwilling to let his efforts be wasted, Scott reacted with determination. He prohibited gambling and ordered frequent roll calls to identify those who had deserted.
Deserters were to be chased down and "slain on the spot" if they resisted apprehension. Six deserters were apprehended and a court martial ordered one to be branded, to have his ears maimed, and to be drummed out of camp. The others were ordered to be shot. The five condemned men were marched into a square formed on three sides by the soldiers of the brigade. Officers passed out weapons to five firing squads as the convicted were blindfolded and positioned next to their coffins and freshly dug graves. The order to fire was given and all five fell.
Then one stirred. Because of his extreme youth, Private William Fairchild had been, without his knowledge, pardoned by Scott. The brigade commander returned the dazed Fairchild to his company. The drama had the desired effect and acts of discipline were few as preparations for the invasion continued. [17]
While Scott's training accomplishment should not be downplayed, he ignored much that might have been useful. Past operations suggested that many engagements would be fought by loose bodies of soldiers maneuvering over broken ground and in or on the margins of forests. Certainly the army must march through broken and wooded land. There was an art in forming and moving a large body of men, horses, guns, and wagons so that they could deploy and fight if ambushed. Much of the previous fighting was to capture or to defend fortifications. Just to get to Canada, Scott would have to embark his men in scores of boats to cross the Niagara River and perhaps fight a battle upon landing on the enemy shore. It could not have escaped Scott that much of what his army might be expected to do was not to be found in his drill manual. Yet, no evidence exists that Scott exercised his men in any operations except fighting European style, in open terrain.
Scott was committed not only to train his brigade but also to prepare for the upcoming campaign. Hoping to break the stranglehold of the contract system of providing food, Scott had his baker prepare tens of thousands of rations of hard bread. Scott knew that a soldier could carry five or six days of rations of bread in his haversack and even then without meat he could march "more than one hundred miles independent of ovens, wagons or contractors." [18] Scott sent his spies into Upper Canada and by June he had an accurate picture of the British Order of Battle. He set up an armory in Buffalo to repair guns and muskets. And he repeatedly sent requisitions to Brown for uniforms, shoes, weapons, ammunition, medical supplies and all the other items necessary to support the invasion army.
To Prepare an Army Buffalo 1814
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© Copyright 2002 by Rich Barbuto.
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