special interest in Mr. Miller, in spite of his deism, from the first of his acquaintance with him. In his prayer, all the interest he felt in the members of the company, many of whom were his neighbors; in Captain Miller, as a promising family relative of his most intimate Christian friends; and in the great public occasion, as a patriot, was poured out with the most becoming solemnity, affection, and fervency. The effect was almost overpowering. It is fresh in the memory of those present, to this day.

Captain Miller's company, with the great body of volunteers raised in that region, was ordered to Burlington, which was expected to be the theatre of war for that campaign. The fatigue of the march, and an accident which proved almost fatal to Mr. Miller, are described in the following letter to his wife.

"Camp at Burlington, June 13th, 1813. "DEAR LUCY:-I am now at this place, after a fatiguing march. My feet are worn all out, and my body is very sore. On our march from Bennington to this place, I met with an accident, which almost deprived me of life. The last day of our march, my feet and ankles being very lame, I hired a passage in a wagon, with four or five of my brother officers. Capt. Clark and myself got into the hind part of the wagon, and, while fixing the seat, the horses started, and threw me out. I fell on the back part of my head, and they have since informed me that I lay as if dead for fifteen or twenty minutes. They put me into the wagon, and carried me five or six miles, before I came to my senses. My head is still very sore. Ensign Dake was in the wagon, and paid the strictest attention to me.

"I have not much news of consequence to write. We expected the British in at Burlington every hour. There were about a thousand men came in yesterday and today from Bennington and Windsor, and we are ready to meet them with any force they can bring against us. I have nothing more to write, but to subscribe myself your ever-loving husband, WM. MILLER."

On his arrival at Burlington, Mr. Miller was transferred from the volunteers of the State of Vermont to

the regular army of the United States. He first took the rank of lieutenant, and was immediately ordered back to Rutland County, to attend to the recruiting service, as the following "General Order" will show.

"Encampment, Burlington, June 13th, 1813. "SIR, You are hereby commanded to repair to the County of Rutland, and there attend to the recruiting service for the 30th Regt. Infantry in U. S. Army. You will govern yourself by the laws of the United States, and return to this post when commanded.

"MASON ORMSBIE, Maj. Inf'ry. "To Lieut. W. MILLER, U. S. Army."

Such a transfer is considered honorable in the military sense; and the change of service, which allowed Mr. Miller to enjoy the comforts of home and the attention of friends, while suffering from his late accident, must have been very acceptable. But there were reasons for the arrangement which bear most favorably on his reputation. The army was in great want of men who could be relied upon, under the dangers which threatened from the enemy in the direction of Canada; and there were few men who could accomplish so much, in bringing them into the service, as Mr. Miller. He was very generally known, and highly respected, in the region assigned him; he was warmly devoted to the service, so that his example had a powerful effect; and the returns, which official documents fully exhibit, demonstrate the wisdom of directing his efficiency to this department of the service.

He was employed in raising recruits till 1814; but this period of comparative repose was of short duration. He was thus remanded to head-quarters:

"Cantonment, Burlington, July 7th, 1813. "Lieut. W. MILLER, at Poultney. -You are hereby commanded to join your regt. at Burlington immediately, and report yourself to the commanding officer.

"ELIAS FASSET, Col. 30th Inf'ry."

Soon after his return to Burlington, in July of 1813, Mr. Miller was called to suffer another of the dangers

of army life, which, on many accounts, is quite as serious as those of the battle-field. The army fever, which broke out among the troops at Burlington, has already been referred to. So alarming were its ravages, that the great body of the army, quartered in or near the town, was removed several miles into the more elevated country, east of the lake. A change from the humid atmosphere and bad water of one locality, which aggravated, if they did not cause the distemper, to the salubrious air and pure water of the other locality, could not fail of producing a happy effect. But those who were too feeble to be removed, and those who could obtain suitable accommodations in the town, remained. Mr. Miller was among these.

One of the very common, most lamentable and mortifying evils of war, is the absolute dependence of the poor soldier on those whose avarice or profligacy rob him of all the comforts, and often of the necessaries, which his country may provide for him. The medical department of the army too often furnishes this form of the horrors of war. When a mere reckless pretender to the title of his profession, who has become disqualified for any station in civil society, obtains a place in this department, the life of a soldier is thought as little of as the life of a dog. It would be far more desirable to face the cannon of the enemy, than to fall into such hands. How many of the brave soldiers at Burlington, who found so undesirable an end, were indebted to official aid for that result, is unknown. Happy were those who could provide for themselves. Mr. Miller was thus favored. His fever bore a greater resemblance to the common bilious fever than to the prevailing epidemic. But the same potations, dealt out so profanely by the bloated official to the dying around him, were prescribed for the young officer from Poultney. He knew the danger, and sternly refused to take the stuff. He immediately put himself under the care of one of the resident physicians of the village, Dr. Littlefield, whose name is still remembered in the family of Mr. Miller with sentiments of affectionate gratitude.

At the time now referred to, Burlington appeared

much more like a camp than like a place devoted to the peaceful pursuits of commerce and learning. As it was the most important United States settlement on the shores of Lake Champlain, it was generally expected that the English forces would be concentrated here, for its conquest or destruction. The regular routine of college exercises was suspended, and the halls of learning were appropriated to the sick and dying officers of the army. To enjoy such accommodations was esteemed a great favor. But these rooms were so much crowded, and such was the want of proper aid, that the air within every part of the building, occupied was like a pestilential solvent for everything that passed into it. In one of these rooms, Mr. Miller was confined for several days after he was taken sick. As soon, however, as the tidings of his sickness reached Poultney, his wife resolved to place herself at his bed-side with as little delay as possible. An anxious and hurried ride, in an open wagon, brought her to witness such a scene of suffering and death as she had not before known. She found her husband quite as comfortable as she expected; but on entering his apartment, she saw that the prospect of help for him, and of escape for herself, was about equally dark. But what could she do? He could not be taken home; she was among strangers, and all that the generosity of the inhabitants could furnish, which was nobly brought forward, was needed to meet the common demand. Most providentially, there was another of her own sex on the premises, who, although she had devoted her ample stock of bedding, and other conveniences for the sick room, to the common benefit of those who occupied the college, could still sympathize with a wife and mother in such affliction, and cheerfully make the sacrifice that was needed to meet the case. This noble-hearted woman was Mrs. Cushman, whose husband had charge of the college boarding-house. She invited Mrs. Miller into her spacious and airy parlor; she brought forward her unsoiled bed-linen, and other things on which the comfort of the sick so much depends, and generously devoted them, the parlor, and its ample appendages, to the use of her afflicted visitor. But little time was needed to put all in order for the

removal of the patient to this most inviting apartment. All the circumstances of the change combined to make its effects the most desirable. The fear of burdening Mrs. Cushman was the greatest difficulty in the way of feeling themselves at home. In the comparative quiet of this apartment, with the skilful attention of Dr. Littlefield, and the constant attention of his wife, Mr. Miller exhibited the most gratifying indications of recovery. But as hope became strong in reference to him, there were reasons for alarm about Mrs. Miller.

The fatigue of the journey to Burlington, the anxiety she felt for her husband, the constant care and labor required to make him comfortable, had prostrated her so far, that she became peculiarly exposed to the infection of the pestilence. She was permitted only to rejoice in her husband's improvement before the usual premonitions of the dreaded malady appeared in her own system. As it was no longer indispensable that she should continue at Burlington, she resolved to fly from the infected region, and run the risk of a failure in reaching home. Although her husband was afflicted by the thought of her leaving him, he was much more afflicted by the fear that she might be prostrated, and fall into unkind hands, on the journey; or even become helpless on the highway, and die, as his grandfather Phelps had, by the same disease, only a few months before. However, she ordered the lad who accompanied her to get the carriage ready, and bidding Mr. Miller farewell, she took the road towards Poultney, which leads through the hilly country above the almost level slope which borders the lake; and after a moderate ride of two days, she arrived home, in much better health than when she left Burlington. Although the sun was very hot-for this was in August — the pure, invigorating air of the mountains had restored the tone of her naturally vigorous constitution, and the alarming symptoms disappeared without medical aid. Mr. Miller was immediately informed of the beneficial effects of her journey, which had as good an effect on him as the best medicine could have; and his health soon became so much improved, that he could resume the post of duty.

As the enemy did not make their appearance in the