[197] The first on the list still lives; the others are dead. Edmund Gates was killed in the battle of Chippewa; and Abiel R. Shed was killed in the sortie of Fort Erie, 1813. One of the most signal sacrifices made by Medford to the cause of the country, in that war, was the death of Lieutenant John Brooks, son of General Brooks, who graduated at Harvard College in 1805, studied medicine with his father, and afterwards joined the army as an officer of marines. The personal beauty of young Brooks was a matter of remark in every company where he appeared. His courage was great; and, by exposing himself in the hottest struggle of the fight, he was instantly killed by a cannon-ball, which struck him near the hip, and mangled him shockingly. This occurred in the famed battle on Lake Erie, Sept. 13, 1813, when Commodore Perry gained his brilliant victory over the English fleet. The remains of Lieutenant Brooks were buried on an island in Lake Erie, and there remained until November, 1817, when they were removed to Fort Shelby, in the city of Detroit, Michigan. The “Detroit Gazette,” of Nov. 7, 1817, has the following notice of the removal:--
Funeral of Lieutenant John Brooks.--On Friday last, the remains of Lieutenant John Brooks, who fell in the battle on Lake Erie, were interred in the new burial-ground, upon the glacis of Fort Shelby, within the Military Reserve of this city. The ceremony was attended with military honors suited to the rank of the deceased. The body was escorted by a military corps, and preceded by the Rev. Messrs. Monteith and Larned. The pall was supported by six Lieutenants, with scarfs. Lieutenant-Colonel Smith, and the officers of the Fifth United States Regiment, followed as mourners, flanked by marshals. Then succeeded Major-General Macomb, Governor Cass, and the civil, judicial, and municipal officers of the territory and city, citizens and strangers, and the non-commissioned officers and soldiers of the army. The funeral service was performed by the Rev. Mr. Larned. The procession was solemn and sublime.These services show the high esteem in which the brave and beautiful young officer was held by his comrades and commanders. The following elegiac lines, composed for the occasion, were written by Captain Whiting, of the Fifth Regiment :--