HISTORY

Not in the Report

American officers seemed to have been extremely sensitive during the War of 1812 . . . if not downright petty. This was mostly due to the fact that promotions were the result of only positive reports and not being mentioned was considered to be a form of negative report.

Winfield Scott, for all his good qualities, probably takes the prize for being over sensitive. After the battle of Chippewa, Scott wrote a letter complaining about Gen. Brown's lack of appreciation for his troop's efforts even before Brown wrote his report on the battle.

Brown didn't help his case either by ignoring several key participants, like Maj. Henry Leavenworth's 9th Infantry, who he left completely out of his report on the Battle of Lindy's Lane. Brown missed most of the early morning action, but should have noted Leavenworth's combining the 11th, 9th and 22nd regiments into a single fighting force. Not to mention he was the single unwounded officer in the entire 1st brigade. Perhaps this counted against him.