ossing the
Niagara went into winter quarters at Black Rock and Ontario. There were
no more military operations during the war between Lakes Erie and
Ontario.

THE ARMY OF THE NORTH.

General Wilkinson was so inefficient with the Army of the North that he
was superseded by General Izard, who advanced with his force to the aid
of General Brown at Fort Erie. This left Plattsburg uncovered, and the
British decided to attack it by land, and to destroy at the same time
the American flotilla on Lake Champlain.

Sir George Prevost, at the head of an army of 14,000 men, entered
American territory on the 3d of September, and three days later reached
Plattsburg. The garrison withdrew to the south side of the Saranac, and
prepared to dispute the passage of the stream. Commodore Downie appeared
off the harbor of Plattsburg, with the British squadron, September 11th.
The American squadron, under Commodore Macdonough, was in the harbor,
and consisted of two less barges than the enemy, 86 guns, and 820 men,
while the English commander had 95 guns and more than a thousand men.

During the battle which followed the British land forces made repeated
attempts to cross the Saranac, but were defeated in every instance. The
battle on the water lasted less than three hours, during which Commodore
Downie was killed, his vessel sunk, and the remainder sunk or captured.
The destruction of the British squadron was complete, and the land
forces withdrew during the night. England was so dissatisfied with the
action of Sir George Prevost that he was dismissed from command. No more
serious fighting took place in that section during the war.

PUNISHMENT OF THE CREEK INDIANS.

Mention has been made of the massacre at Fort Mimms in Alabama by the
Creeks, August 30, 1813. Tennessee acted with prompt vigor. General
Jackson at the head of 5,000 men marched into the Creek country and
punished the Indians with merciless rigor. After repeated defeats, the
Creeks made a stand at the Great Horseshoe Bend of the Tallapoosa River.
There a thousand warriors gathered, with their wives and children,
prepared to fight to the last. The desperate battle was fought March 27,
1814, and at its close 600 Indians were killed and the remainder
scattered. The spirit of the Creeks was crushed, and General Jackson's
exploit made him the most popular military leader in the Southwest.

Matters looked gloomy for the Americans at the beginning of 1814.
England sent a for