This gallant officer, whose fate so closely resembles that of the chivalric, ardent, and romantic Montgomery, was bred in a camp, lived a soldier’s life, and died a soldier’s death.

“Brief brave, and glorious, was his young career!”

Like Sidney before the walls of Zutphen, he perished in the hour of victory, when he had just plucked the coronal of his fame; like him, too, rejoicing that his death was for the honor of his country.

General Pike was descended from a family of soldiers. One of his ancestors, Captain John Pike, was highly distinguished, according to the traditionary accounts, in the early Indian wars of the colony. His father, Major Zebulon Pike, entered the army of the United States as a captain of infantry, in 1792, having served, with high credit, in the levies of the previous year, and was promoted to the rank of major in 1800. His son, the hero of this sketch, was born at Lamberton, New Jersey, the residence of the family for many generations, on the fifth day of January, 1779. While he was yet a child, his father removed to Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and thence to Easton. In his boyhood, he was remarkable both for his spirit and bravery, and his thoughtful and studious habits. He enjoyed but few advantages, and obtained a knowledge only of the ordinary branches of an English education.

At an early age, he accompanied his father to the western frontiers of the Union, and served for some time as a cadet in his company. On the third of March, 1799, he received a commission as ensign in the 2nd infantry, and on the twenty-fourth of April, 1800, was promoted to a first lieutenancy in the same regiment. During the year 1800, he was transferred to the 1st infantry. Unlike most of the young officers around him, who contented themselves with going through the customary routine of barrack duty, he devoted all his leisure time to reading and study. Without the aid of an instructor, he became tolerably well acquainted with the French, Latin, and Spanish languages, and made considerable proficiency in mathematics and general science. He was not indifferently versed in polite literature, though much could not have been expected from him in this respect, as his reading and studies were very desultory in their character. He possessed an inquiring mind, habits of investigation and reflection, and was a nice observer of men and things; he was likewise patient and assiduous in his efforts to improve his mind,—but all these good qualities did not make up for the absence of a regular system.

In March, 1801, Pike was married to Miss Clarissa Brown, of Cincinnati. He was tenderly and devotedly attached to his wife, and had several children by her, only one of whom, a daughter, survived him.

After the purchase of Louisiana from France, Mr. Jefferson projected several expeditions of discovery in the territory newly acquired. Captain Lewis and Lieutenant Clarke were selected to ascend the Missouri, to cross the mountains, and trace the Columbia river to its mouth; and about the same time, Lieutenant Pike was ordered by his commanding officer, General Wilkinson, to conduct an expedition to the sources of the Mississippi. On the ninth of August, 1805, he left St. Louis in a keel boat, seventy feet long, with provisions for four months; his whole party consisting of one sergeant, one corporal, and seventeen private soldiers. There was not a scientific man attached to the expedition; his men were totally unacquainted with the country; and Pike himself was required to perform the duties, as he remarks in the Preface to his published Narrative, “of astronomer, surveyor, commanding officer, clerk, spy, guide, and hunter.”

He was absent on this expedition nearly nine months. He visited a great number of Indian tribes, attended several councils, made treaties with them, and purchased valuable tracts of land. On the sixteenth of October he erected a stockade, and established a winter station for his men, two hundred and thirty-three miles above the falls of St. Anthony. He was determined to pursue his explorations still further, and accordingly commenced his preparations as soon as practicable. While he remained at the encampment, its tedious monotony was relieved by the excitement of the chase. In December, he continued his journey in canoes and on foot—his men drawing their baggage on sleds over the frozen snow. After visiting Sandy, Leech, and Red Cedar lakes, and making his surveys and examinations, he returned to his stockade, where he had left his sergeant, and invalid soldiers, on the eighteenth of February, 1806. He was compelled to wait here till the breaking up of the ice in the spring, when he descended the river to St. Louis, arriving there on the thirtieth of April.

General Wilkinson was so well pleased with the manner in which Lieutenant Pike had conducted the expedition up the Mississippi, that within four months after his return, he selected him to undertake a similar enterprise. On the fifteenth of July, 1806, he embarked at St. Louis, with his party, consisting of one lieutenant, one sergeant, two corporals, sixteen privates, and an interpreter, together with forty Osage captives, who had recently been recovered from their enemies, the Potowatomies. Dr. Robinson, a professional gentleman, accompanied the expedition as a volunteer.

Proceeding up the Missouri river to the Osage country, Lieutenant Pike restored the captives to their friends, and then made his way to the Pawnee towns, with whom he partially succeeded in cultivating friendly relations. His efforts, however, were in a great measure frustrated, by their proximity to the Spanish settlers of New Mexico, a large body of whom had lately visited their country.

Having fulfilled the duties required of him in the Indian country, Lieutenant Pike proceeded to obey his further instructions, to explore the territory lying on the headwaters of the Arkansas and Red rivers. After leaving the Indian neighborhood, he and his party encountered the severest hardships and fatigues. On reaching the Arkansas, he directed Lieutenant Wilkinson to descend the river to the military post on its lower waters, with seven men of the party. He then held on his way with the remainder of his command, and, at length, after days and weeks of toil and suffering—he and his men being compelled for a portion of the time to carry seventy pounds each on their backs—he arrived on what he supposed to be the bank of the Red river, but which proved to be the Rio Grande.

While encamped in the vicinity of the river, he was visited by a detachment of Spanish and Mexican lancers, by whom he was conducted to Santa Fé. The Spaniards were at that time extremely inimical towards the people of the United States, and it was probably supposed that Pike was connected with the expedition of Colonel Burr. He was treated with great respect, however, but was carefully watched, and shortly afterwards sent, with his party, to Chihuahua, the residence of the Captain-general of the Internal Provinces, under a strong escort. All his papers, with the exception of his private journal, were here taken from him, and he was then permitted to return home, accompanied by an escort, by way of San Antonio and Nacogdoches,—though he was forbidden to take any notes, or make any observations, on the route. He evaded this prohibition, by making his memoranda on small scraps of paper, which were concealed in the gunbarrels of his men. On the first of July, 1807, the long and arduous expedition terminated, by the arrival of himself and party at Natchitoches.

On his return to the United States, Pike found himself promoted to the rank of captain. His conduct received the express approbation of the Secretary of War, and his zeal, perseverance, and intelligence, elicited a high, but richly deserved encomium, from a committee of Congress. He subsequently prepared a Narrative of his Expedition, abounding in interesting and useful information, and accompanied with valuable maps and charts, which was published in 1810.

In 1809, Pike was raised to a majority in the 6th infantry, and, in 1810, was appointed lieutenant colonel of the 4th infantry. Being engaged on detached service at the southwest, he was not present at the battle of Tippecanoe, in November, 1811, in which his regiment bore so prominent a part. While holding the rank of lieutenant colonel, he was appointed deputy quartermaster general, the duties of which office he discharged with commendable fidelity and punctuality.

On the twentieth day of May, 1812, Colonel Pike was present at a numerous meeting of the citizens of Philadelphia, held in the State House yard, the object of which was to embolden the government to declare war against Great Britain. He took no part in the proceedings, but was not an uninterested spectator. His whole soul was in his profession; his heart glowed with the noble ambition of the soldier; and he gladly welcomed these expressions of the popular will, as the certain indications that he would soon be summoned to the field. He panted for action, for glory and fame. His ardent wish was soon gratified, by the declaration of war in June following, and on the increase of the army, in July, he was promoted to the colonelcy of the 15th infantry.

Shortly after receiving his new commission, Colonel Pike proceeded to the Champlain frontier, where he was stationed for some months, under the immediate orders of General Dearborn, with a command consisting of twenty-five hundred men. He found the troops in great need of discipline, and labored earnestly and indefatigably to correct the difficulty. No regular system of tactics had then been adopted; some officers adhering to that of “Old Steuben,” in vogue during the revolution, and others adopting the more modern French system. Pike was active in his temperament, enthusiastic, ambitious to excel, and, perhaps, too fond of innovations. He felt himself at liberty to choose for himself, and therefore drilled his own regiment in three ranks, according to the French mode; the rear rank being provided with short guns and long pikes. They made a bristling appearance in the charge, but were not very serviceable, and soon became known in the army as “Pike’s regiment of pikes.” After his death the short guns and pikes were no longer used.

One of the innovations introduced by Pike, was that of drilling his men with snow shoes, in anticipation of a winter campaign in Canada; and there are many amusing anecdotes related of the singular appearance presented by his men when going through their manœuvres and evolutions on parade.

In October, 1812, Colonel Pike made a successful incursion into Canada, with his regiment; the northern army being then stationed near the frontier, in the town of Champlain. On the nineteenth instant, he surprised a body of British and Indians stationed at a blockhouse, destroyed a large quantity of public stores, and returned to camp without sustaining much loss. In the winter of 1813, he was assigned to the command of a brigade, and was ordered from Plattsburg to Sacketts Harbor, in consequence of a report that Sir George Prevost designed to attack that post.⁠[32]⁠

At the opening of the campaign of 1813, Pike was promoted to the rank of brigadier general, and accompanied General Dearborn in his expedition against York. It was the great fault committed by our generals in the war of 1812, that no permanent lodgment was made on the Canada shore, between Kingston and Montreal. Had this been done, the two provinces would have been effectually detached, and the upper one must of necessity have submitted to the authority of the United States. The instructions issued from the War Department to General Dearborn, in the spring of 1813, specified Kingston and York, Forts George and Erie, as suitable points of attack. It was, of course, designed that an attempt should be first made on Kingston; but the commanding general was deceived by a false report as to its strength, intended by the enemy to produce that effect, and therefore selected York, the capital of Upper Canada, now known as Toronto.

Pike was constantly employed at Sacketts Harbor, in drilling the men intended for the expedition, which was to be a secret one,—it being understood that he was to have the actual command of the forces, though General Dearborn decided to accompany him. The troops, to the number of about seventeen hundred men, were embarked on board Commodore Chauncey’s fleet, on the twenty-third of April, 1813, and set sail on the twenty-fifth instant. On the morning of the twenty-seventh, they hove in sight of York, and the landing instantly commenced, in the small boats, under the direction of General Pike, who had previously made all the necessary arrangements, and issued the most precise orders, which were directed to be read at the head of every corps.

It was originally designed that the debarkation should take place on the open shore, near the ruins of old Fort Toronto, about two miles above York; but the prevalence of a strong east wind forced the boats on a part of the coast fringed with trees and underbrush, which afforded an excellent cover to the enemy’s sharpshooters. Major Forsyth led the descent with his rifle corps. His men cheered lustily as their boats skimmed over the blue waters, and rapidly neared the beach. The alarm had already been communicated to General Sheaffe, the commandant of the garrison at York; a strong body of grenadiers, with the Glengary fencibles, were paraded on the shore to oppose the landing; a still larger force of regulars and militia, at least seven hundred strong, were observed in the rear; and there were five or six hundred Indians scattered through the woods in detached parties.

As Major Forsyth approached the shore, a heavy fire of musketry and rifles was poured on his command. He at once ordered his men to rest a few seconds on their oars, and return the enemy’s fire. General Pike was at this moment standing on the deck of his ship, intently surveying the scene with his glass. Observing what he thought a cowardly pause on the part of the advance, he exclaimed to his staff, “I can stay here no longer,—come, jump into the boat!” As he spoke, he leaped into the boat, followed by his officers, gave the order to make way, and pushed into the thickest of the fire.

Meantime, Major Forsyth and his men had gallantly driven the enemy from the bank, and effected a landing. They then sheltered themselves behind the trees and bushes, and opened a lively fire. The first volley of the enemy had killed their armorer, the best shot in the corps, and they now made the woods ring with the shrill report of their pieces, and their loud shouts for vengeance.

General Pike soon landed, with Major King’s infantry, the light artillery under Major Eustis, the volunteer corps of Colonel McClure, and Lieutenant Riddle’s rifles. The general placed himself at the head of the platoon first formed, and ordering the rest to follow, dashed up the bank under a fierce shower of bullets from the grenadiers. His noble example inspired his men with confidence. Willing hearts found ready hands. At the word they sprang forward with the utmost vivacity and firmness, and charged impetuously upon the enemy, who almost immediately broke, and retired in disorder towards their works in the town. At the same instant, Forsyth’s bugles pealed forth their merry notes of victory. The effect on the Indians was electrical; they gave a loud yell and fled in every direction; but the Glengary fencibles still maintained an irregular fire. A fresh body of grenadiers now issued from the wood, and made a dash at Major King’s regiment; at first, the latter faltered under the terrible crash of the bayonet, but they speedily rallied, returned the charge with a will, and drove the enemy from the field.

All the troops having landed, they were formed in order of attack, and led on by General Pike in person, against the enemy’s works. Advancing through the wood, they came within range of a twenty-four pounder gun planted in one of the batteries. The battery was stormed and cleaned in an instant. A second work was soon after entered, which had previously been abandoned. The assailants then moved forward, in columns, upon the principal intrenchment, whither the enemy had retreated. On approaching it, the barracks appeared to have been evacuated. Suspecting some trick, General Pike ordered a halt, and sent Lieutenant Riddle forward to reconnoitre.

In the meanwhile, General Pike, ever as humane and generous, as he was brave, had aided in removing a wounded British soldier with his own hands to a place of safety, and then sat down on the stump of a tree with one of the enemy’s sergeants who had been taken prisoner. He was busily employed in examining him, with the assistance of his aids, when the hill-side was suddenly convulsed as if with the throes of an earthquake. The magazine in the main work of the enemy exploded with a deafening roar. Huge volumes of smoke darkened the air; vast columns of flame shot up towards the sky; and large masses of fragments were thrown into the air, where they hung suspended for a moment, and then descended with a sharp hissing sound, crushing into the earth both friends and foes within a circuit of three hundred yards.⁠[33] The magazine was constructed of stone, and one of the heaviest masses fell upon the group gathered about General Pike. All, except one of the aids, were mortally wounded,—the general himself receiving a severe contusion on the breast.

The American troops for an instant recoiled before this terrible catastrophe; but they were quickly reformed by Colonel Pearce, of the 16th infantry, who now assumed the command, and his subordinate officers; the lively strains of martial music soon reïnspired them; and they were again led forward to the attack, rending the air, as they advanced, with their loud hurrahs. As they filed past the suffering, but heroic Pike, whose breast and sides were literally crushed in, he said, “Push on, my brave fellows, and avenge your general!”—They instantly dashed on with redoubled zeal; though the plume of their gallant leader was no longer to be seen, his influence was still upon them; and in a few hours the victory was completed, by the capture of the town and fort; General Sheaffe making a precipitate retreat with his regulars, in the direction of Kingston. The public buildings and barracks were destroyed, and the military stores removed; and the place was then abandoned. The enemy lost about two hundred men in killed and wounded, and nearly three hundred were taken prisoners. The loss of the Americans was three hundred and twenty killed and wounded, principally caused by the explosion of the magazine. Between thirty and forty of the enemy were also killed and wounded by the explosion.

After the advance of the troops, Pike was taken up by some of his men, under the direction of the surgeons, to be conveyed on board the ship. As they reached the shore of the lake, a loud prolonged shout was heard, evidently proceeding from his brigade. The cheering sound revived the dying hero. Like Wolfe upon the plains of Abraham, he turned his head with an inquiring look. This was noticed by a sergeant beside him, who instantly cried, “The British union jack is coming down, general—the stars are going up!” Pike struggled to speak, but the effort was vain; he heaved a deep sigh, and a glad smile lighted up his fine features. He was then rowed to the Commodore’s ship and taken on board. He lingered a few hours in great pain, being unable to articulate a single syllable. Just before he breathed his last, as his eye was glazing in death, the British standard was brought to him; he made a sign to have it placed under his head, and calmly breathed his last.

The personal intrepidity of General Pike was not his only good quality. He was devotedly attached to his profession, and jealous of the preservation of its honor,—as was evinced by the orders issued on the morning of the fatal twenty-seventh of April. Among them was one, in which he prohibited any molestation of the persons or property of private citizens, and strictly enjoined upon his troops that they should refrain from committing outrages of every character, however much they might be provoked. He was pure-minded, frank and ingenuous; firm in danger, and resolute in adversity; blameless in life, and heroic in death,—exemplifying, under circumstances that required the exhibition of unusual fortitude and resignation, the truthful sentiment of the Roman poet⁠—

“Dulce, et decorum est, pro patria mori!”

On the day previous to the embarkation at Sacketts Harbor, General Pike addressed a letter to his father, in which he said: “I embark to-morrow in the fleet at Sacketts Harbor, at the head of a column of fifteen hundred choice troops, on a secret expedition. If success attend my steps, honor and glory await my name; if defeat, still shall it be said that we died like brave men, and conferred honor, even in death, on the American name. Should I be the happy mortal destined to turn the scale of war, will you not rejoice, O my father? May Heaven be propitious, and smile on the cause of my country! But if we are destined to fall, may my fall be like Wolfe’s—to sleep in the arms of victory!”

The hero’s wish was gratified. The same breeze that fanned his cheek, and cooled the aching forehead on which the death-damp was rapidly gathering, unfurled the victorious banner, welcomed, as it shook its star-gemmed folds above the heads of his brave soldiers, with a deafening shout that went up like the gush of many waters. He desired no higher, or greater distinction, in life, than to serve his country in the tented field—he asked no nobler death than that which awaited him, in the hour of his proud triumph:⁠—