No. 410. The Niagara Campaign.

OBV. MAJOR GENERAL WINFIELD SCOTT. Bust of General Scott, facing the right.

REV. A serpent, entwined in a wreath of laurel and palm, is swallowing its tail-emblem of immortality through glory and victory. RESOLUTION OF CONGRESS NOVEMBER 3, 1814. BATTLES OF CHIPPEWA JULY 5, 1814. NIAGARA JULY 25, 1814.

By Furst.

No. 124. The Mexican Campaign.

OBV. In a pendant: MAJOR GENERAL WINFIELD SCOTT. Undraped bust of General Scott, facing the left. Fifteen stars on each side. Exergue: RESOLUTION OF CONGRESS MARCH 9, 1818.

By S. Ellis and C. C. Wright.

REV. Six crowns of laurel and oak intertwined; in each the name of one of the Mexican victories of General Scott: VERA VRUZ. CERRO GORDO. CONTRERAS. SAN ANTONIO & CHURU BUSCO. MOLINO DEL REY. CHAPULTEPEC. In the center is the taking of the capital. CITY OF MEXICO, which General Scott is observing on horseback.

By Humphries and C. C. Wright.

No. 427. The Mexican Campaign presented by Commonwealth of Virginia).

OBV. A bust of General Scott, resting upon a branch of laurel and of oak, is placed upon a pedestal. supported upon each side by an eagle, behind which, projecting at

either side, are several colors and various other military emblems. The pedestal bears the inscription: THE COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA PRESENTS THIS MEDAL TO MAJOR-GENERAL WINFIELD SCOTT, AS A MEMORIAL OF HER ADMIRATION FOR THE GREAT AND DISTINGUISHED SERVICES OF HER SON WHILST COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF THE AMERICAN ARMIES IN THE WAR WITH MEXICO, 1847.

REV. A column upon two stands of colors, entwined by a branch of laurel. A wreath formed of oak branches encloses the designs and inscriptions, and is held at the bottom by a shield bearing the coat of arms of the State of Virginia. Upon the top of the column an eagle, with outstretched wings and carrying a branch of laurel in its beak, has alighted. The cap of the column bears the date 1848, and just below is the word MEXICO. The leaves of the laurel branch surrounding the column bear the names of the several battles during the campaign which the recipient commanded, viz.: CHAPULTEPEC, DEL REY. CHURUBUSCO, CONTRERAS, CERRO GORDO, VERA CRI Z; and upon the base of the column is the date 1812. On the right background a party is bombarding before the walls of the City of Mexico, another party is storming a fort upon the brow of a hill; on the left background troops are advancing upon a fort, and to their left a besieging party is opening fire upon the city be fore them. Legend: FECIT QUOD COGITAVIT. Exergue. FROM VIRGINA.

By C C. Wright.

WINFIELD SCOTT

1786-Born in Dinwiddie County, near Petersburg, Va. 1805-06-Attended William and Mary College, Williamsburg, Va.

Studied law and for some time engaged in practice. 1308-Appointed captain of light artillery, U.S. Army.

Served in Louisiana under Gen. James Wilkinson, but resigned on account of differences with him. 1811-12--Staff duties, under Brig. Gen. Wade Hampton, in New Orleans.

1812-Lieutenant colonel of the 2d Artillery Regiment; taken prisoner at Queenstown, N.Y., by the British; exchanged as a prisoner of war.

1813-Promoted to colonel; leading the 2d Artillery he captured Fort George and defeated the British at Upholds Creek.

Became adjutant general under Major General
Dearborn.

1811-Promoted to brigadier general and joined General

Brown at Niagara. Initiated vigorous drill training
and military discipline. Distinguished himself at
Chippewa. In his official battle report, General
Brown stated:

"Brigadier General Scott is entitled to the high-
est praise our country can bestow: to him, more
than any other man, I am indebted for the victory
of the 5th of July."

On July 25 at Lundy's Lane (Niagara), with a small force under him at that time, he faced the entire British-Canadian Army; had two horses shot out from under him; was wounded in the side and then was disabled by a shot which shattered his left shoulder.

By resolution of November 3, 1814, for his service at Chippewa and Niagara, the Congress gave him

a vote of thanks and a gold medal. Breveted a major general September 14.

1815-Sent on mission to France to study military methods.

1816-Formulated the first basic U.S. drill regulations for field exercises and maneuvers of infantry.

1818, 1821, 1824, 1826-Headed Board of Tactics for the U.S. Army.

1832-Commanded in the Black Hawk War. 1835-Campaigned against the Creek and Seminole. Indians.

Sent to settle a boundary dispute between Maine and Canada.

1841-Promoted to major general and Commander in Chief of the Army.

1817-In the war with Mexico, he led an expedition which captured the fortress at Vera Cruz on March 26; won the battles at the mountain pass of Cerro Gordo, April 18, Contreras, August 19; Churubusco, August 20; Molino del Rey, September 8; Chapultepec, September 13; and captured Mexico City, September 14, raising the American flag over the palace there and paving the way for negotiation of a peace treaty. For these brilliant campaigns by resolution of March 9, 18-48, the Congress gave him a vote of thanks and a gold medal. 1850-Honorary degree of LL.D. from Columbia College, New York.

1852-Whig candidate for President; was defeated by Franklin Pierce.

1855 Was made lieutenant general by brevet, February

28.

1861-Honorary degree from Harvard College, Cambridge; retired from the Army.

1866-Died at West Point, N.Y., May 29; interment in the National Cemetery, West Point.

OBV. MAJOR GENERAL EDMUND P. GAINES. Bust of General Gaines, facing the right.

REV. RESOLUTION OF CONGRESS NOVEMBER 3. 1814. A winged Victory, standing on a British shield, holds a palm branch in her left hand, and places with her right a crown of laurel upon a cannon standing upright in the ground, and forming the center of a trophy of the enemy's arms; on the cannon is the inscription ERIE. Exergue: BATTLE OF ERIE AUG. 15. 1814.

By Furst.

EDMUND PENDLETON GAINES

1777-Born in Culpeper County, Va.

1799-Appointed 2d lieutenant, 6th Infantry, U.S. Army. 1802-1st lieutenant.

1804 Military Collector of Customs at Mobile, Ala. 1807-Captain. Arrested Aaron Burr and served as a

witness against him, when he was tried in Richmond, Va., for conspiracy. 1812-Promoted to major, and then to lieutenant colonel. 1813-As a colonel, he covered the retreat at Chrysler's Field; adjutant general in command of Fort Erie.

1814 Serving as a brigadier general, he greatly distinguished himself by defending Fort Erie against the British on August 15; was badly wounded on the 28th of the same month.

Breveted major general, September 14.

For his gallantry and good conduct, and for "repelling with great slaughter the attack of a British veteran army, superior in numbers (at Fort Erie)," the Congress gave him a vote of thanks and a gold medal, by resolution of November 3, 1814.

Was commander of the Southern Military District. 1817 Served as a commissioner to deal with the Creek Indians in the South. Fought in the Creek and Seminole Indian Wars, under Gen. Andrew Jackson.

1832-Was successful in engagement against the Black

Hawk Indians, while serving as commander of the
Eastern Department of the U.S. Army.

1835-Commanded an expedition in the Florida War.
1846 Was in command of the Western Department of
the Army; later reassigned to the Eastern
Department.

1849-Died in New Orleans, June 6.

OBV. MAJOR GENERAL PETER B. PORTER. Bust of General Porter, in uniform, facing the right.

REV. RESOLUTION OF CONGRESS NOVEMBER 3. 1814. A winged Victory, holding in her right hand a palm branch and a wreath of laurel, and in her left three standards, upon which are written: ERIE CHIPPEWA NIAGARA. She dictates to the muse of History, who is seated on the ground, writing. Exergue: BATTLES OF CHIPPEWA JULY 5. 1814. NIAGARA JULY 25. 1814. ERIE SEP. 17. 1814.

By Furst.

PETER BUEL PORTER

1773-Born in Salisbury, Conn. 1791-Graduated from Yale College. 1793-Attended Litchfield (Connecticut) Law School; was admitted to the bar; and commenced practice in Canandaigua, N.Y.

1797-1804 Clerk of Ontario County; member of the New York State Legislature.

1:09-13-Moved to Buffalo, N.Y.; elected to the House of Representatives, 11th and 12th Congresses; served as Chairman of the Committee of Foreign Relations.

1813-14 Raised and commanded a Pennsylvania and New York volunteers militia which was incorporated with Indians of the Six Nations. 1814 Was commissioned a major general, in command of New York militia.

Presented a gold medal under joint resolution of Congress dated November 3, 1814, for gallantry and good conduct in the several conflicts of Chippewa, Lundy's Lane (Niagara), and Erie.

1815-16 Served in the House of Representatives, 14th Congress; resigned; appointed Secretary of State of New York. 1816-22-Served as International Boundary Commissioner under the Treaty of Ghent to determine the boundary between the United States and Canada. 1817-Unsuccessful candidate for Governor of New York State.

1824-30-Regent of the University of the State of New York.

1828-29-Appointed Secretary of War in the Cabinet of President John Quincy Adams.

1840 Served as a Whig presidential elector.

OBV. MAJOR GENERAL JACOB BROWN. Bust of General Brown, facing the right.

REV. RESOLUTION OF CONGRESS NOVEMBER 3, 1814. In the center of a trophy, composed of the enemy's arms and flags, are the Roman fasces, emblem of the strength and of the union of America. The fasces are surrounded by a crown of laurel, from which hang three shields, each bearing the name of one of the three victories: NIAGARA ERIE CHIPPEWA. At the foot of the trophy the American eagle, with outspread wings, holds in its talons a British standard. Exergue: BATTLES OF CHIPPEWA. JULY 5. 1814. NIAGARA. JULY 25. 1814. ERIE. SEP. 17. 1814. By Furst.

THE NIAGARA CAMPAIGNS

Following a series of unsuccessful campaigns against the British in Canada, a group of relatively young generals was selected to spearhead a new invasion of Canada in 1814. Heading the American Northern Army was Maj. Gen. Jacob Brown, with his brigade commanders: Winfield Scott, Eleazer Wheelock Ripley, Peter Buel Porter, James Miller, and Edmund Pendleton Gaines. The American forces numbered about 3,500 men. The British forces, approximately equal in number, were under the command of Lt. Gen. Sir Gordon Drummond; 1,000 of them were stationed at York and about 2,600 were strung out along the Niagara under Maj. Gen. Phineas Riall.

The action in the Niagara campaigns centered about York (now Toronto) and Burlington Heights on the north and western shores of Lake Ontario, and along Lake Niagara. On the west bank of the Niagara (proceeding south is Fort George, Queenstown, Lundy's Lane, Chippewa, and

Fort Erie; on its east bank (also proceeding south) is Fort Niagara, Fort Schlosser, Black Rose, and Buffalo. Brown commenced his campaign on July 3, 1813, by moving his troops across the Niagara to invest Fort Erie. which surrendered on the afternoon of that day. Brown then proceeded north, up the Niagara. Riall, gathering his forces, proceeded south, along the west coast of the Niagara and halted, 14 miles above Fort Erie, at Chippewa Here, on July 4, the British and American forces engaged in battle. The effectiveness of artillery and superior maneuvering of the Americans compelled Riall to withdraw in confusion; his forces retreated to Fort George and Burlington Heights. British losses were 500 men; the Americans, 300.

Three weeks following their defeat at Chippewa, the British forces were reformed under the personal direction and command of General Drummond. He sent troops across the Niagara to Fort Schlosser to seize the American ammunition and supply depot. Hoping to draw the British away from Fort Schlosser, Brown ordered an attack on Riall who had moved his forces to Lundy's Lane, a few miles north of Chippewa. On the 25th of July, 1814, Riall's and Brown's forces met and engaged in a savage combat which extended into the night and continued the next day. Brown and Scott were both severely wounded and had to be evacuated from the field; the American command passed to Ripley. Riall, himself wounded, was captured Both sides claimed victory; losses on both sides were al most 30 percent. On July 26, the Americans withdrew to Fort Erie.

Placed under the command of Gen. Edmund P. Gaines, the fortifications of Fort Erie had been greatly improved by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers after its capture by the