Newspaper Page Text
SOUTHERN
RECORDER.
VOL. II.
MILLEDGEVILLE, TUESDAY, JUNE 19, 1821.
No. 19.
PUBLISHED WEEKLY,
• (ON TUESDAYS)
JiY S. GRAXTLAXD ff R• M- ORME,
kT THREE DOLLARS* IN ADVANCE, OR FOUR
DOLLARS AT THE EXPIRATION OP THE
TEAR.
O' Advertisement* conspicuously inserted at
• tie customary rate*.
i ■ ...."BBBgBBgilJ—U-A
marched on to Nottingham, and on their
arrival found that our Flotilla, whicti
they expected to tind there, had moved
higher up the river. There seemed to
be here some hesitation on the part of
the commander, with regard to the fur
ther movements of the army, but at 8
o’clock on the 23d, they moved on tow
ards Marlborough, distant !l) miles.—
During the day they heard several heu-
vy explosions, which proceeded from the
destruction ot the Flotilla by Com. Bar
ney, to prevent its falling into the hands
of the enemy. They remained at Marl
borough through the night, and until 2
o’clock on the following day. They then
moved on, the avowed object being the
City of Washington. On coming to the
meeting of the Washington and Alexan
dria roads, to deceive our commander,
they took the direction of Alexandria,
and bivouaced for the night at the wood
yard. The whole of this march is des
cribed with a particularly, which gives
CAPTUKE OF WASHINGTON.
FROM THE BOSTON DAILY ADVERTISER.
We have seen at the Boston Athen®.
iftn, a work just published in London,
entitled a Narrative of the Campaigns of
the. British Army, at Washington and
New-Orleans, in the'years 1814 $ 1815;
by an Officer who served in the Expedi
tion. The Narrative begins with some
account of events in the South of France
—some description of the places occupi
ed by tbe British army, and the sailing
of the expedition from tbe Garonne od
the 2d of June.
The force of the expedition is thus
described :—“ Tbe land army is compos- jit astrdng degree of interest, but we can
ed of three battallions of infantry, the not give room for the whole narrative.
4th, 44th and 05th regiments ; the two From this point, however, we copy the
former mustering each about 800 bayo- author’s account of the capture of Wash-
nets, the last not more than 600. In ad- ington, as this is the first particular ac*
dition to these, there are two officers count by the enemy, which we have seen
of engineers, a Brigade of artillery, a dc-1 of this memorable exploit,
tachment of sappers and miners, and a I “ Having started on tbe 24th, at an
party of artillery drivers, with a due pro- early hour, our march was for some
portion of officers belonging to the medi- time, both cool and agreeable. The
cal and commissariat departments. The road, if road it might be culled, wound for
•whole together cannot be computed at the first five miles through the heart of
more than2500 men, if indeed it amounts an immense forest, and being, in every
to so great a number ; and is under the sense of the word a bye-path, was corn-
command of Major General Ross, a very pletely overshadowed by projecting bran-
gallant and experienced leader.” ches of trees, so closely interwoven as
The fleet consisted of eleven or twelve to prevent a single sunbeam from making
(hips of war, with several store ships its way, even at noon, wilhin the arch,
and transports. The squadron touched We continued to move on, therefore,
at St. Michaels and Bermuda, of each of long after the sun had risen, without be-
wbich places the author gives some de- ing sensible that there was not a cloud
«cription. At Bermuda they were join- in the sky to screen us from his infill
ed by Sir Alexander Cochrane, in an 80 ence ; whilst a heavy moisture contiuu-
gdn ship, who took command of the ally emitted from the grass and weeds on
fleet, and the 21st regiment of Fusileers, I both sides of us, produced a coolness,
of 900 meo, making their whole force which, had it been less confined, woutd
3400 men, besides a corps of blacks have been extremely pleasant. So far
tnd the marines. I then, we proceeded without experienc-
On the 14th of August they arrived ing any other inconvenience than what
off Cape Charles, and on the 18th at the was produqpd bj the damp and foetid at-
mouth of the Patuxent. On thi3 day they mosphere which we breathed; but no
began to sail up this river, the hanks of sooner had we began to emerge from the
which are described by the author as woods, and to enter the open country
extremely beautiful. After they had than an overpowering change was per
proceeded a few miles up the river, a jeeived. The sun, from which we bad
telegraph from the Admiral gave orders I been hitherto defended, now beat upon
for the troops to be in readiness to land I us in full force ; and the dust rising in
At a moment’s notice. Every thing was I thick masses from under our feet, with-
prepared ; provisions for three days out a breath of air to disperse it, flew di-
,were cooked and given to each man—the rectly into our faces, occasioning the
srms and accoutrements were handed j greatest inconvenience both to the eyes
out, and the cartouch boxes supplied and respiration. 1 have stated this to
with fresh ammunition.—The fleet con-(you, at length, because 1 do not recol-
tinued to move on until 10 leagues from] lect a period of my life when I suffered (occupied by the American forces and the
the bay, when the ships of the line began more severely from heat and fatigue ‘;
to touch the ground, and in a little while and as a journey of a few miles, qnder
after the frigates could proceed no far- such circumstances, teMs more than one
ther. By this time the sun was set and of thrice the distance in a cool day, and
it began to grow dark. The soldiers bfe- along a firm wintry road, you cannot iron
ing shifted to the smaller vessels, all rC- der that before many hours had elapsed,
mained quiet for the night. As soon as numbers of men began to fall behind,
the dawn began to appear on the 19th all from absolute inability to keep up.
was in motion. A gun brig had taken Yet in spite of all this, there was that in
her station within 150 yards of the vil- to-day’s march which rendered it infinite-
Jage of Benedict, under cover of which ly more interesting than any we had per-
the troops were landed. The whole formed since the landing. We had learn-
was completed without accident, by 3 cd from various quarters, that the enemy
o’clock in the afternoon. Every pre- was concentrating his forces, for the
paration was made to resist any attack, purpose of hazarding a battle in defence
but none was made. The afternoon of his capital. The truth of these ru-
was devoted to a distribution of the force, moursweha' 1 no cause to doubt, confirm-
which was divided into three brigades, ed as they were by what we had ourselves
The whole number of men landed, in- witnessed only the evening before, and
cludin" sailors to drag the artillery, and the aspect of various fields on each side
persons of every description, amounted of the high road (which we had regained)
to 4500 men. No artillery was landed where smoking ashes, bundles of straw,
except one six pounder, and two small and remnants of broken victuals were
three pounders, for want of horses to scattered about, indicated that cnnsidera-
dra _ t hem. There was not a horse in ble bodies of troops had passed the night
11)8°army except those of the General in this neighborhood. The appearance
and the staff officers. Orders, however, of the road itself likewise, imprinted as
were given to take all the horses they it was, with fresh marks of many feet
.could find and during the march, 50 or and hoofs, proved that these troops could
60 were taken, and a cavalry corps was be no great way before us ; whilst our
formed The army was posted on a very proximity to Washington, being dis-
Li.rht at a distance of two miles from tanl from it not more than ten or twelve
the river and the most cautious arrange- miles, all tended to assure us that we
inents were made, to guard against sur- should at least sec an American army be-
; _... ise The troops were tinder arms on fore dark.
ihe 20th an hoar before day light, but “ It was now that we experienced the
♦her”remained on the ground until 4 o’- great usefulness of our badly mounted
clock in the afternoon. troopers, or as they were called by the
I c . , he ,t, e . in (j me it was rumoured that private soldiers cossncks; J he country,
the American Flotilla was the object of from being extremely close, had become
eight and sent out in different directions
to reconnoitre, two of them generally
taking post at every suspicious corner,
that one might give notice to the column,
while the other watched the motion* of
the enemy.
“ It so happened that these precau
tions were unnecessary, for whatever
might be the strength of the Americans
in cavalry, their General did not think
fit to employ it in harrassing our march.
But the very knowledge that they could
not be attacked without having time to
make ready, gave to the soldiers a de
gree of steady confidence, which they
would otherwise have wnoted ; and the
want of which, had the case been differ
ent, might have been productive of dis
order, at a time when good order was of
vilal importance.
We had now proceeded about nine
miles, during the lust part of which the
sun’s rays had beat continually upon us,
and we had inhaled almost as great a
quantity of dust as of air. Numbers of
men had already fallen to the rear, and
many more could with difficulty keep
up ; consequently, if we pushed on much
further without resting, the chances
were that at least one half ol the army
would be left behind. To prevent this,
and to give time for the stragglers to o-
vertake the column, u halt was deter
mined upon, and being led forward to a
spot of ground, well wooded and water- 1
ed by a stream which crossed the road,
the troops were ordered to refresh them
selves. Perhaps no halt ever arrived
more seasonably than this, or bid fair to
be productive of more beneficial effects ;
and yet so oppressive was the heat, that
we had not resumed our inaiCh above an
hour, when the banks by the way side
were again covered with stragglers; some
of the finest and stoutest men, in the ar
my, being literally unable to go.
“ The hour of noon was approaching,
when a heavy cloud of dust, apparently
not more than two or three miles distant,
attracted our attention. From whence
it originated there was little difficulty in
guessing, nor did many minutes expire,
before surmise was changed to certainty;
for on turning a sudden angle of the road,
and passing a small plantation, which
obstructed the vision towards the left,
the British and American armies became
visible to one another. The position
occupied by the latter, was one of great
strength, audcowmandiugatlitude. They
were drawn up ^ three tines upon the
brow of a hill, having their front arid left
flank covered by a branch of the Polo
mac, and their right resting upon a thick
wood and a deep ravine. This river
which may be about the breadth of the
Isis at Oxford, flowed between the heights
little town of Bladenshurg. 'Across it
was thrown a narrow bridge, extending
from the chief street in that town to the
continuation of the road which passed
through the very centre of their position
and its right bank, (the bank above which
they were drawn up,) was covered with
a narrow stripe of willows and large
trees, whilst the left was altogether bare
low and exposed. Such was the gene
ral aspect of their position as at the first
glance it presented itself, of which I must
endeavor to give a more detailed account
that my description of the battle may be
in some degree intelligible.”
The ot'derof march was conduct-1 hedges, frequently separated one Afield
in the most cautious manner* us well from another. 1 his was exactly the
he bivouac for the night, after ad- ground on which cavalry could act with
nn |. si* miles. This march, advantage, because they might he mam-
. __0piers were at length given, open on every side to a considerable ex-
and the march began towards Netting-1 tent, although thick groves, instead of
Jiam
«d
as — .j eg
y. aDC1 h^hort ia‘ described as extremely I bush behind these groves, totally unper-
thougn * - men havi been s0 ceived> ilnd W hen an opportunity offered,
fatiguing, board ghjp T h e Lharge the column, before it had time to
.{^states that a greater number of prepare for their reception. There
author { of the ranks an d fell wera one or two places, indeed, where
roendroPP reco u ecta X o have ob- such events were confidently anticipat-
bekind.tH" , • any march of ed ; whole rows of paling having been
.erved u» the I emnsum, m ny ^ Ued u() from the sides of lhe road, and
three t,me *J? ied be9id e« their arms, open spaces left, through rthich several
however, c cartridge, a knapsack, | squadrons of horse might gallop, and the
•«*» r °uianket^and a change of clothes, consequence was that every mau held
with a W»* ei ;’ . h provision8 f or three his breath in expectation, and prepared
haversacK, ^ 0 p Kater> Their j himself to form a square in a moment.
“"ii^ot 6 disturbed during the It was here, 1 say, that the mounted dri-
bivouac was “ violent and copious (vers became particularly useful. They
lMghL excepioy ^ | were divided into small parties of six or (mess would permit! to regain their pU
In the mean time our column continti
ed to advance in the same order which
it had hitherto preserved. The road
conducted us for about 2 miles in a direc
tion parallel with the river, and of con
sequence with .the enemy’s line ; when
it suddenly turned and led directly to
wards the town of Bladenshurg. Being
of course ignorant whether this town
might not be tilled with American troops,
the main body paused here till the ad
vanced guard should reconnoitre. The
result proved that no opposition was in
tended in that quarter, and that the whole
ofthe enemy’s army had been withdrawn
to the opposite side of the stream
whereupon the army ivas again pbt in
motion, and in a short time arrived ill the
streets of Bladenshurg, and within range
of the enemy's artillery. Immediately
on our reaching this point, several ol
their guns opened upon us and kept up
a quick and well directed cannonade,
from which, ns ive were again command
ed to halt, the men were directed to
shelter themselves as much as possible
behind the houses. The object of this
halt, it was conjectured, was to give the
general an opportunity of examining the
American line, and of trying the depth
of the river, because at present there
appeared to be but one practicable mode
of attack, by crossing the bridge and ta
king the enemy directly in front. To
do so, however, exposed as the bridge
was, must be attended with bloody con
sequences, nor could Ihe delay of a few
minutes produce any mischief which the
discovery of a ford would uot amply
compensate.
“ But in this conjecture we were al
together mistaken ; for without allow ing
time to the column to close its ranks, or
to be formed by some of tbe many strag
glers who were hurrying, as fast as wea-
ces, the order to halt was countermand
ed, and the word given to attack, and we
immediately pushed on al double quick
time towards the head of the bridge.—
While we were moving qlongthc street,
a continued lire wrs kept up, with some
execution, from tflose guns which stood
te the left of the road ; but it was not
till the bridge was covered with our peo
ple that the two gun battery upon the
road itself began to play. Then indeed,
it also opened, and with tremendous ef
fect ; for at the first discharge, almost
an entire company was swept down ; but
whether it was, that the guns had been
previously laid with measured exactness,
or that the nerves of the gunners became
afterwards unsteady, the succeeding dis
charges were much less fatal. The ri
flemen likewise now galled us from the
wooded bank, with a running tire of mus
ketry ; and it was not without trampling
upon many of their dead and dying com
rades, that the light brigade established
itself on the opposite side of the stream.”
“ When once there, however, every
thing else appeared easy. Wheeling off
to the right aud left of the road, they
dashed into the thicket and quickly clear
ed it ofthe American skirmishers, who
falling back with precipitation upon the
first line; threw it into'disorder before it
hud fired a shot. The consequence was,
thatour troops had scarcely shown them
selves when the whole of that line gave
way, and fled in the greatest confusion,
leaving the two guns upon the road iu
possession of the victors.
But here it must be confessed that the
light brigade was guilty of imprudence.
Instead of pausing till the rest ofthe ar
my came up, they lightened themselves
by throwing away their knapsacks and
haversacks ; and extending their ranks
so as to show an equal front with the e-
neuiy, pushed on to the attack of the se
cond line. The Americans, however,
saw their weakness, and stood firm, and
having the whole of their artillery, with
the exception of those captured on the
road, and the greater pari of their infin
ity in this line, they first checked the
ardour of the assailants by a heavy lire,
and then, in their turn advanced to re
cover the ground which was lost. A-
gainst this charge, the extended order of
the British troops would not permit them
to offer an effectual resistance, and they
were accordingly borne back to the very
thicket upon the river’s brink, where
they maintained themselves with deter
mined obstancyi'repelling all attempts to
drive them through it ; ami frequently
following to within a short distance of the
cannon’s mdulh, such parts of the ene
my’s line as gave way.
“ In this state the action continued till
the second brigade had likewise crossed
and formed upon the right bank of the
river ; when the 44th regiment moving
to the right, and driving in the skirmish
ers, debouched upon the left flauk ofthe
Americans and completely turned it. —
In that quarter, therefore, the battle
was won ; because the rieW militia-men
who were stationed there 33 being the
least assailable point, when once broken
could not be rallied. But oqjheir right
the enemy still kept their ground with
much resolution ; nor was it till Ihe ani
val of the 4th regiment, and advance of
the British forces in firm array, to the
charge, that they begau to waver.—
Then, indeed, seeing their left in full
flight, and the 4?ith getting in their Fear,
they' lost all order, and dispersed, lea
ving clouds of riflemen to cover their re
treat, and hastened to conceal tliem-
elves in the woods, where it Would
have been in vain to follow them, The
rout was now general throughout the
whole line. The reserve which ought
to have supported the main body fled, as
scon as those in its l’rbnt began to give
way ; tind (he cavalry, instead of char
ging the British troops, now scattered in
pursuit, turned their horses heads and
the slightest resistance—and the left of
the main body was broken within half an
hour after it was seriously engaged. Of
the suitors however, it would be injui-
tice.net to speak iu tbe terms which
their conduct merits. They were em
ployed as gunners, and not only did they
serve their guns with a quickness and
precisiou which astonished their assail
ants, but they stood still till some of them
were Actually bayoneted, with fusees in
their hands, nor was it till their leader
wAs wounded and taken, and they saw
themselves deserted on all sides by the
soldiers, that they quitted the field.—
With respect tot he British army again
no |ine of distinction cun be drawn. All
did their duty, and none more gallantly
than the rest.”
»*####*
” Our troops being worn down by
fatigue, and of course as ignorant of the
country as the Americans were tbe re
verse, the pursuit could not be continued
to any distance. Neither was it attended
with much slaughter. Diving into the
recesses ofthe forest, and covering them
selves with riflemen, the enemy wore
quickly beyond our reach ; and having
cavalry to secure even the high
road, ton of the lightest of their guns
were carried off in their flight. The
defeat, however, wAs absolute, and the
army which* had been collected for the
defence of Washington, was Scattered be-
yowl the possibility of at least a re-unioh;
md as the distance from Bladenshurg to
that city does not exceed four miles,
there appeared to be no further obsta
cle in the way to prevent its immediate
capture.
* * * # e *
As it was not the intention of the
British government to attempt permanent
conquest in this part of America, and as
the General was well aware that, with a
handful of men, he could not pretend to
establish himself for any length of time
in the enemy’s capital, he determined to
lay it under contribution, and to return
quietly to thn shipping. Nor was there
any thing unworthy of a British officer,
in this determination. By all the cus
toms of war, whatever public property
may chauce to be in ft captured town,
becomes confessedly the just spoil ofthe
conqueror ; and in thus proposing to ac
cept a certain sum of money in lieu of
that property, he was showing mercy, ra
ther than severity, to the vanquished.—
It is true, that if they chose 10 reject his
terms, he aod his army would besleprived
of their booty ; bccaute, without some
more Convenient inode of transporting it
than we possessed, even the portable
part of the property itself could not be
removed. But, on the other hand, there
was no difficulty in destroying it, & thus,
though we should gain noihing, the A
mericAn government would lose prrtba-
bly a much greater amount than if they
had agreed to purchase its preservation
by tfie money demanded.
“ Such being the intention of General
Ross, he did not march the troops imme
diately into the city, but halted them up
on a plain in its immediate vicinity,
whilst a flag oftruce was sent in with the
terms. But whatever his proposal might
have been, it ivas not so much as heard ;
for scarcely had the parly bearing the
flag entered the street, than they were
tired upon from the windows of the
houses and the horse of the General him
self, who accompanied them, was killed.
Vouwill easily believe that conduct so
unjustifiable, so direct a breach of the
law of nations, roused the indignation of
every individual, from the General him
self down to the private soldier. All
thoughts of accommodation were instantly
laid aside, the trobps advanced forthwith
into the town, aud having first put to the
sword all who were found in the boose
from which the shots were fired ami re
duced it to ashes, they proceeded with
out a moment’s delay, to born add de-
galloped off, leaving them in undisputed stroy every thing in the most distant de-
possession ofthe field, and of ted out of
the twenty pieces of artillery.
“ This bailie, by which (lie fate ofthe
American Capital was decided, began a-
lioul orte in the afternoon, and lasted till
four. The loss on the part of the Eng
lish wAs severe ; out of two-thirds ofthe
army which were engaged, upwards of
live hundred men were killed and wound
ed ; and what rendered it doubly severe
was that among these were numbered *c
veral. officers of rank and distinction.—
Colonel Thornton, who commanded the
light brigade ; Lieut. Colonel Wood com
manding lhe 85th regiment, and Major
Brown, who had led the advanced guard
were all severely wounded, and Gen.
Ross himself, had a horse shot under him.
On the. side ofthe Americans the slaugh
ter was not so great. Being in posses
sion of a strong position, they were of
course less exposed in defending than the
others in storming it; and bad ihey con
ducted themselves with coolness & reso
lution, it is not-conceivable how (he day
could have been won. But the fact is,
that with the exception of a party of sai
lors from the gun boat!, under the com
mand of Commodore Barney, no troops
could behave worse than they did. The
skirmishers were driven in as soon as ut-
, tacked ; tUe first fine gave wav without
gre^,connected with government. In
this general devastation were included
the Senate house, the President's palace,
an extensive dock and arsenal, barracks
for iwo or three thousand men, several
large stone houses filled with naval and
military stores, some hundreds of cannon
of different descriptions, it nearly twen
ty thousand stand of small arms. There
were also twb or three public rope walks
which shared the same fate, a fine frigate
pierced for six gnns, aud just ready to be
launched, several gun brigs and armed
schooners, with a variety of gtln boats
and dtmll craft. Thfc powder magazines
were of course set on tire, and explod
ed with a tremendous orash, throwing
down many houses in their vicinity
partly by pieces of the walls striking
them, and partly by the concussion ofthe
air, while quantities of shot, shells, and
their breeching. Many, however,
being mounted, could not he thus deel
with ; these were spiked, uad havief
their trunnions knocked*off, were after*
wards cast into the bed of the river-
“ All this was as it should be, and hafl
the arm of vengeance been extended no
farther, there would not have been'roogh
given for as much as a whisper of disap*
probation. But unfortunately it did hot
stop here ; a noble library end several
printing offices, and all the national ar*
chives, wero likewise committed to tklft
flames, which though no doubt the pro*
party of the government, might better
have been spared. It is not bowevet
my intention to join the ont-cFy which,
will probably be raised against what they
will term at once, barbarous and unprofi*
table. Far from it, I cannot help admi
ring the forbearance and humanity of thqi
British troops, since, irritated as they
had every right to be, they spared as far
as was possible, all private property, not
9 single house in the place being plun*
dered or destroyed, except that from
which the General’s horse was killed $
& those which were accidentally thrown
down by the explosion of the powder
magazines.
“ While the third brigade was thu*
employed, tike rest ofthe army having
recalled its stragglers and removed tha
wounded into Bladenshurg, began itft
march toward Washington. Though that
battle Was ended by four o’clock, the sum
was set before the different regiments
were in a condition to move, conse
quently this short journey was perfor*
tned io the dark. The work of destruc
tion had also began in tire city before
they quitted their ground, and the bla
zing of the houses, ships and stores, the
ruport of exploding magazines, and the
crushing of falling roofs, informed them
as they proceeded ol what Was going for
ward. Yotl can conceive nothing tiuer
than the sight which met them as they
drew near to the town. The sky was
brilliantly illuminated with the different
conflagrations, and a dark red light was
thrown upon the rOad sufficient to permit
each man to view distinctly his comrade’s
face. Except the bunting of St. Sebas
tians, 1 do not recollect to have witnes
sed at any period of my fife, a scene mora
striking and sublime.
” Having Advanced as far as the plain*
Where the reserve had previously paus
ed, the first and second brigades baited,
and forming into close column, passed
the night in bivouac. At first this was
agreeable enough, because the air was
mild, and weariness made sip for What
was Wanting in comibrt. But towards
morning, a violent storm of rain accom
panied with thunder and lightning came
on, which disturbed the reht of all whd
were exposed to it. Yet in spite ofthe
disagreeablenesS of getting wet, 1 cannot
say that 1 felt disposed to grumble at thtb
interruption, for it Appeared that what K
had before considered as superlatively
sublime, Still wanted this to render it
complete. The flashes Of lightning
seemed to vie in brilliancy with the flames
which burst from the roofs of burning
houses, whltk the thunder drowned tha
noise of crumbling walls, and was only
interrupted py tbe occasional roar of can
non, and the etplosion of large depots of
gunpowder, as they one by one explo
ded.
“ I need scarcely obierVe that the con
sternation of the inhabitants was com
plete, and that to them this was a night
of terror. So confident had they been
of tbe success of their troops that few of
them had dreamt of quitting their housea
or abandoning * nor wqj if, till
the fugitives from thebattU} began to rusts
in, filling every place wijh dismay, that
tbe President himself, thought of provi
ding for his safety.” ~ ,
# * » tT* • * «
“ When the detachment sent to drs-
troy Mr. Madison’s house entered the
dining parlour, they found a dinuer table
spread, and covers laid for forty guests.
Several kinds of wine, in handsome cut
glass decanters were cooling on the side
board—plate holders stood by the fire
place, filled with dishes and plates :
knives, forks and spoons were arranged
for immediate use ; in short every thing
was ready for the entertainment of a cere
monious party. Such were the arrange
ments of the dining room, whilst in the
kitchen were others answerable to them
every respect. Spits loaded with
joints of various sorts turned before the
fire ; pots saucepans, and other culinary
utensils stood upon the grate, and all the
other requisites for an elegant and sub
stantial repast were exactly in a state
which indicated that they had been preci
pitately and lately abandoned.
Y ou will readily imagine that these
—. - prepartions were beheld by a party or
hand grenades, which could not other-] hungry soldiers with no indifferent eye.
vise be rendered useless, were thrown] An elegant dinner, though considerably
into the river. In destroying the can- overdressed, was a lniui* A .ki-k sui
non, a method was adopted which 1 hail
never before witnessed, and which as it
was both effectual and expeditious I can
not avoid relating. One gun of ruther a
small calibre, was pitched upon as the exe
cutioner of the rest • and being loaded
with ball
, the others,
overdressed, was a luxury to which few
of them, ut least for Some time had
been accustomed - aud which after (hu
dangers aod fatigues of the day seemed
particularly inviting. They sat dewq te
it, p.ot indeed intbe most order
but with countenances diet
and turned to the muzzles off have disgraced a praty of
t At v»as fired tfius beat cm*, mic feast j and having
