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‘*jf the* The tvT.bld j
cost about 150001. The lire works 1
Cost 40001.. A thanksgiving ‘servir*
was performed in St. Paul's Church;
where 3eats were provided for 6000
persons. :
The celebrated, Gen. Kosciusko
has returned to Poland* The Em
peror Alexander wishes to revive the
Polish throne—one of his brothers
to be King.
The I'renqh Government has been
officially notified by the British of
the blockade of the whole coast of the
, TJniied States.
Cobv r a letter from Captain Perry to
the Secretary ,6f the Navy, dated.
Gir>rj!jeto\rn, September 9, 1814.
SlP—The Battery’ under mv di
rection at the Indian Head, was of
too small calibre to make much im
pression on the enemy as they de
<eeende(| the Potomac on the sth inst.
A single 19 pounder which arrived
only thirty minutes before the firing
began, ill supplied with ammunition,
xvas the only gun that could be of
much service.
The field pieces poundersJ tin
ker the direction of that excellent
Officer Major Peter, of the George
town, and capt. Birch of the Wash
ington volunteers, and captain Lew
is of Geiieral Srewari*s brigade, kept
tip a very spirited ‘.ire. These offi
cers, ‘together with Captains Smll
«nd Davidson* and their brave men, :
behaved in the handsomest manner, j
<ind rendered all the service their
limited means afforded. , v - j
The ammunition of the 18- poun
der and several of the sixes lacing ex» 1
pend?d ; and the fire of the enemy
from two frigates, two sloops of War,
two bombs, one rocket ship and sev r
em) sin dier vessels, being very hea
vy ; it was thought advisable by
General Stewart. Major Peter and
myself to retire a short distance in
the rear. Phis was done in good
order, after sustaining their lire for
more than hour. General Stew
art and Col. Beall, were- much expos*
cd during the whole time of the
it would be presump
tion . in me to speak- in co rumen
* daiion of ibyse yeterans—l can
not, however, avoid expressing nW
admiration oT their conduct. The
few seamen (ot the GueriiereJ un
der the imrhediate command oP Lt.
Head of the Java, exhibited their
usual braver)*. Indeed,in the whole
of this itff.iir everv officer and man
did Ins duiv. Major Stewart of
the 3,6 th regiment of infantry was
constantly with me and rendered all
the assistance in his power..
The advantageous position we oc
cupied prevented the enemy from
doing ms much »njury. Only one
was. wotmded.
1 Ini ye the hpnor to- be, very res
ncctfulfv, Vour most ob’t servant.
o. H. perky:.
JHon. W, Jonks,
Secretary oj’ the Navy.
&ofy of letter from Com . Rodgers to
the Secretary of the Navy, dated
Baltimore, §4pu 9. 1814.
. SIR-—ln pursuance of your instruc
tions, I have to inform you, that on
The 3d inst. I proceeded dowu the
Potomac with three small fire vessels
tinder the protection of 4 barges or
cutters, manned with about sixty sea
imen, armed with muskets, destined
against two of the enemy’s frigates
*nd a bomb-ship',- which lay about
£ 1-2 m.iles below Alexandria.
At 9 A. M. in\«clvance of the fire
vessels in my gig, finding no colors
displayed at Alexandria, but -a Swe
dish Emdgn on board a schooner— 1
being near the wharves, I hailed ahd
ordered the American flag to be
hoisted ; after seeing the flag hoisted
Xdirected the fire vessels (which
were conducted by Lieut. Newcomb,
U’e'iC. Forrest, and Sailing Master
IU <ageJ-to proceed on to fee object
sii I have no doubt, would
lu.-c succeeded ip destroying two at
and of iheKenemy*B ships had not the
v u and failed them some time before Sc
lculary alter they had reached
the uppermost ships within the range
of musket shot. At this- time per
ceiving the whole of the euemy**
barges in motion, I directed Lieut.
Newcomb, who commanded the van
vyssel, after giving her a proper di
rection, to set fire to hep ;.aud after
Air. Ramage came up, gave him
The. same orders ; the vessel under
charge of Rent. Forrest was fired by
ihg pilot without orders, some dis- -
tnpec above the others*
Ot tlie enemy’s boats, some
c^nployed in towing oft* the fire-ves
sels, and the rest In pursuit of our
four cutters, my own gig, and a small
boat with thruo.oars without a rud
der ; they did not however, venture
to come within musket shot, aUho”
their force and numbers wtre more
rhtoO treble ours, bm continued at a
distance, firing their great guns’ for
dOor So minutes, and theb retired to
their ships again*
On the 4th msi I had another fire- J
vessel prepli ed, hnt it being culm, I /
ordered L cut. New conib and the
tear VJLCT&, ( to tvith use of
l ‘ £. I
the fetflairtiOff of la : yara, •
having an 18 poun&ev in ger, to
attack the bomb ship, which in the anx
‘etvofthe enemy to get below ihetera
?vira**y forts erecting by my gallant
ssociutes Capis. Porter ami Perry
had been left exposed to attack. At
sun-set, just as I was about to give
.orders to attack the bomb, I discov
ered one oftbe enemy’s frigates be
hind the point forming the entrance
of Washington’s reach) which neces
sarily obliged me to relinquish this
determination* and give orders to
proceed across, 16 the Virginia shore
to haul up the boats and place the
lighter in a situation to be defended
against the enemy’s barges.
Having reeonnoitered the enemy
on returning to the Lighter at <J P.
M. seized a man under suspicious
circumstances, on the Beach near to
a small boat, about a mile above the
enemy’s uppermost ship, that again
induced me to change my position to
the opposite side of the river, where
after getting the cutters hauled up,
placing the lighter in an advantage
ous position,and.my musket men
on the top of a cliff overtaking the
river, I was at 11 P Ml attacked by
all the enemy’s barges, but which,
by the cool intrepidity of Lieut.
Newcomb, having charge of the
lighter, assisted by Lieut. Forrest
Sailing Master Rani age, M, Mate
Stockton and Midshipman Whitlock
and 45 seamen with muskets, the en
emy was not only repulsed but in less
than 20 minutes thrown into the ut
most confusion and driven back to
his ships,and I have sufficient reason
to believe with great loss, altho’.the
only injury sustained on our r part was
one man wounded on board the ligh
ter. ;( V ‘V ‘ ‘
The enemy thus repulsed and
no prospect of doing hint further in
jury in this way, as his rearmost
ship was not more than a mile dis
tant,, I had the lighter shifted further
up, and at 7 A. Mr a fire vessel
brought down for the purpose af as
sailing him in conjuction with the
battery at the White House, under
the command of captain Porter—.bnt
in this I was again disappointed, as
that excellent officer, after Using evt
ry possible exertion, was not able in
so short a time as had been afforded
him to erect a work sufficiently
strong, ; to check the enemy any
length of time ; otherwise, con
ceived I should have found no diffi
culty* in effecting his distraction.
- At the time the enemy silenced
the battery, the fire ship, under?
full sail was about a mile above his I
Uppermost vessels, when I found
my self under the necessity ~<>f order- j
dering her to be set on fire and at
the same time,our boats to retire to
prevent their being taken possession
of by his numerous barges.
1 Although I did not succeed in the
of any of the 1
vessels, I am nevertheless convinced,
thar. the expedition • was in many, j
pptnts of view attended with good
effect, consequently I feel it a duty
to recommend to your notice the of
ficers and seamen engaged in the
same ; as, in two of the fire vessels,
lieut, Newc%mb and S. Master Ra
vage manifested so much, zeal, as to
continue on board, steering them,
until they were enveloped in flames’
& obliged to jump ovei board to avoid
sharing the fate of th>e vessels them
selves. lam also Indebted to the
.exertions ot Lt. forrest, who volun
teered his services and although ve
ry much indisposed at the time af
forded all the-assistance in his pow
er. ; _
Permit me at the same time to re
commend to your attention Mr.
Stockton, Masters Mate, who not on
ly rendered me essential service as
an acting Aid-de-camp, bu'Tin eve- ‘
ry other situatibn manifested a zeal
and intrepidity not to be shaken : al
so, Midshipman Whitlock, whose 1
conduct in every part of the service
1 highly approve. Mr. Thomas
Herbert a young gentleman of Alex
andria, and Mr. Perry, Pilot, who
volunteered their services, also de
serve well of their country.,
1 he conduct of the seamen for en
ergy and patriotism, was not even
excelled by that of their officers.
At the time I took possession of
Alexandria, there were »500 pounds
of fresh btef lying on the wharfs rea
dy to be delivered to the boats of the
enemy’s ships, which were then only
2 1-2 or 3 miles below the Town,
and I mention this to shew the state
that place uasiivat the time.
In justice to Major Kemper, com.
mao ding a detachment of the militia
of Ccn Huugerford’s it is
but proper I mention, that on taking
possession of Alexandria lui immedi
ately marched his detachment to my
assistance and which at odte secured
the town against any force tiie ehemy
could send back.
The quantity of flour the-enemy
was enabled to t ike from Alexandra
1 found mi enquiry to be no! move
than between Ujand 16,000 ban v is.
As respects the manner of my re
ception t,y the cit<z£*ns of AlexanC* ,
when l luiidv'd and look possessive
o‘. vjua place, l sIuJJ, iutgraj yaiu
hereafter in a sMfflSfe cfirmmuulo
tion.
With great respect, I have the
honor to be, sir, votir ob*t servant*
JOHN RODGERS.
The hon. W. J>vs,
Secretary of the Navy,
CAPTAIN PORTER’S LETTER.
Copy of a letter front Capt % Porter to
The Secretary of the Navy , dated
Washington, Sept, 7, 1814.
Slß—Agreeable to jrour orders
of the 31st ult. I proceeded with
the detachment of Sailors St Marines
under my com maud, to the White
. House on the west bank of the Poto
mac, there to erect batteries and at
tempt the destruction of the enemy's
ships on their passage down the riv
er. Capt. Creighton. Lt. Clack and
several other navy officers, as well as
Mr. Augustus Monroe, Mr. Ferdi
nand Fairfax, and several other citi
zens Sc officers of Militia Sc Volun
teer companies, hearing of my desti
nation, volunteered their services on
the occasion, and ably supported me
thro* the arduous and fatiguing en
terprise. By proceeding my men I
arrived in company with the Hon.
Secretary of State and Gens. Hun
gerford and Young, on the evening
of the first instant, on the spot fixed
on, where I founds few militia be
longing to General liungerford’s ar- <
, my, clearing away the trees to make ]
roorrt for mountiugouj* cannon, which |
had not vet arrived, but which had
been seen on their way down, con
sisting of three long eighteens and
two twelves. Generals liungerford.
and Young.had. received orders to
with me to detach men on
my requisition, and make such dis*
position of their forces as would cf
lectnally protect me m the rear in
the event of the landing ;
the positions were to occupy
were also allotted to them by mutual
agreement, when the enemy sho’d at
tempt to pass, as it was believed that
concealed by the thick woods on the
high bank they would be, enabled to
clear the enemy’s decks with their
musketry, and in a great measure
divert his, fire from our battery.* At
the moment of my arrival, one of
the enemy’s vessels of war a brig of
IS guns wasscen coming up, Gen.
Hungerford and his men took their
position in the woods ;• and two small
four pounders that instant arriving,
I cadsed them planted oh the
edge of the bank, and on the enemy
arriving abreast of us we opened a
brisk fire on him; having a fine
breeze he was enabled to pass us*
but could fire only one broadside as
he crossed the fire of our field pie
ces and musketry ; the militia con
tinued following him up along the
bank and greatly annoyed” him by
their well directed fire. In this af
fair we had only one man wounded,
and we belieyed our elevated, posi-:
tion rendered breast works useless,
as ,it was remarked that none hut the
enemy’s grape passed over us, his
round shot went into the bank below.
No men could have shown more
zeal on the occasion than those com
posing the army and if they commit
ted any errors which) gave rise to
confusion, they proceeded from an
over desire to injure the enemy. Os
the conduct of the sailors and ma
rines,, f deem it Unnecessary to
say any thing; their conduct on
such occasions has ever been uni
form. The'evening of our arrival
two 18 pounders reached our posi- j
tion, and next morning one of the |
Bomb Ships and 2 barges, j
one carrying a long two and thirtyy|
the other a mortar, commenced)
their operations upon us, the first i
throwing shells- in front, beyond the j
reach of our shot; the other flank--j
inguson our right ; Several shells j
fell near and burst over our battery, j
and although the firing lasted all dsy *
without intermission, it hadnoothiit* :
effect thanfto accustom the militia to .
the danger. l(n the afternoon I took
an IS pounder to a more advanced
point, about a mile distant, and com
menced a fire on the Bomb Ship,
which did so much execution as to
; draw on me the fiire of all their ves
sels, including a schooner and an 18,
gun brig which had dropped; down
that day* On the 3d the enemy l
was rt »nforced from above by ano
ther, bomb. ship and a sloop of.war
fitted up as a rocket ship. The lat
ter anchoring within reach of our bat-4
tery, we,were enabled to play with
great effect and compelled her
change her position. All this day
.and the succeeding night the enemy
kept up a brisk* fire on us of shot;
sheßs and rorkets, in the course
of the day iht ir prizes from Alex
andria anchored above them, and
out of reach of our cannon, she
work of our battery went on ; five
light field pieces from four to six
•pounders arrived and were planted, J
.and we httd every hope of soon re- ‘
jCviving some long thirty two pourp
/s from Washington; wc built a
furnace for hot shot, and time only
; pea red, necessary to make our
dues formidable- ‘1 he while of
the 4Ui ti.ti til an intend srt v.a
%est tip tiy and dan j
he had once attempted landing at j
night, it was supposed with an inten- j
tion of spiking the guns of our baite- (
ry, but were repulsed by the picket j
“guard. My former plan of annoy ing
him by advancing guns was adopted
to better effect than before. The
rocket ship laying'close in shore was
much cut up by a twelve pounder
and two sixes carried to a point ;
scarcely a shot missed his hull ad
for one ‘hour we drew to this point.
the fire of all the enemy’s Torch.
The cool indifference of my sailors
to the dangers to which they were
exposed was very remarkable, and
the intrepidity of Captain Griffith of
of the Alexandria Artillery, his offi
cers and men merit the highes eulo
giums, they fought their six poun
ders until their ammunition was ex
pended, and coolly retired with their
guns, when ordered to do so, under
a shower of the enemy’s shot.
We now, as - if by mutual consent,
were employed to make carriages*
two pounders arrived, Carpenters
were employed to make carriages^
; two mortars, a large quantity ot am
munition, and an abundance of shot
and shells reached us , two barges
were equipping and every thing
promised that we should be speedily
put in a proper state for annoying
the enemy. In the evening t.vo fn
gates-anr.hored alone above us, mak
ing his whole force
, ~ ‘ GUN’S.
Two Frigates, carrying, 9(S
Three Bomb .Ships, 80
One Sloop of. War fitted as ?
a Rocket ship* “
One Brig, ■ ,18
One; Schooner, ‘• 1
Two Barges, 2
Total / 173
The guns mounted on the battery,
were three 18 pounders, tv/o 12,
pounders, six G pounders and two
fours. My two mortars were with
out carriages, -as were all my thirty
two’s, Tqr notwithstanding every ef
fort was made by the government at~
Washington to have them made
there as by myself on the spot, they
could hot be completed in-time.
On the morning of the 6th, the
enemy showed a disposition to move.
I advised General llungerfordoftlie.
same, Sc prepared to meet them with
hotshot. About 12 o’clock.the two
frigates got under way with a fair
wind and tide, and stood down torus,
The rocket sloop, bomb ship vessels,
brig, schooner and prizes
in succession, the gun boats endeav
oring to flank us on our right, I
immediately dispatched an officer*to
Gen. Hunger ford, to request him to
take the position agreed Upon in the
woods on the heights, but from the t
distance of his camp and the quick ;
approach of the enemy, he was un- ‘
able to march before the tiring com
menced, and after that period, almost
impossible, as I have understood
from the vast quantities of shot,
shells and rockets which were show
ered over the hills and fell among
jus troops.
As the enemy approached a well
directed fire was kept tip from the
battery with hot and cold shot, and
my brave officers and men stood the ;
broadsides of the ships with unpar- j
railed firmness. I anxiously expect* ;
ed the militia would open their fire \
of musquetry, but was disappointed \
—the cause was not explained until
after the firing ceased. Finding that
the whole of the enemy’s fire was
directed at my force, and that in a
few minutes ail his force would be
brought to bear on me, and
taining no hopes of preventing his
passing ) as same of my men had
already been killed and wounded, I
determined not to make an useless
sacrifice ; and when the enemy was
on the point of. anchoring abreast
the battery, after sustaining his lire j
one hour and a quarter, I directed j
the officersarul men to retire behind
a hill on our left, and be iff readiness
*o charge.the enemy if he should I
land to spike our guns The two
frigates anchored abreast, the bombs, j
sloops and smaller vessels passed I
outside them, all pouring into the j
battdry and neighboring woods a
tremendous fire ofeveiy description
of missive.- In the woods on tho
left, a company of riflemen
Jefferson county, Virginia, under
Captain G. W. f Humphreys, greatly
distinguished themselves by a bvvll
directed fire on the enemyV decks,
as did a company of militia, under \
command of Capt. Gena, who was
posted by me on the right. The
first lost one man killed, and one
sergeant and four privates woun
ded*
[The remainder of Capt. Porter's
lelWr is taken up in awarding to the
several corps placed under his com- )
mand that tribute of praise to waich
their conduct and bravery, both as
.officers and men, enCilied ; them—.j
Jle concludes with observing that
our loss on the occasion, in killed
wounded, was about fiu—liiat uIUC
that ol the enemy would never be
known by us, it must have been con
si dualde* and ibatiic- bad a %«r -«
f>fcda titter (hts& vv'bicU wjvjl a (for
ward s heard to explode* but its ti**
feet was not known.] —Ed. Gaz.
1 S
‘ GLORIOUS NEWS* ‘
V* r ASitiXGTTf/> City, Sept. 19*
Copy r>f i letter from Com M'DonnrtngU \<f •
*l»c Secretary of the* Navy, dated
U. S. Ship Saratoga , ojf’ Plattsburgh
Sc'ot. 11.
Slß—The Almighty has l> v*ik
pleased to grant us a signal VIC 1 O
RY on Lake Champlain. in the cap
ture of OXK. KhIGATK, one Bill Qt
and two sloops of war.
I havt the honor to be, very rc#*
pectiuily, ob*t serv't,
i TTMACDONOITGIt,
Hon. ir.v Jones*
Secretary of the Navy*
-ijw >m
Copy of a letter from Gen. Macomb to tlj'v
Secretary of War, dated at fort Morca.i
September 10, 1814. * *
Stn—l have the honor to inform*
• you that the H: itish army consistin t
r «f four brigades, acm of artillery,
a squadron of horse, and a strong*
light corps, amounting in all to
l4.oCoine > n, after investing tills place
on the north of Saranac river sino
the £th inst, broke up their camp and,
raised the siege this morning a t two
oMocki
i hey arc now retreating precipi
• truck, leaving their sick and wound
ed behind.
The enemy opened his batteries
yesterday morning, and cbniinuedf “
the cannonading, bombarding and
rocket fuipg until sun set; by this
* lie clip batteries had completely
tilei'.ced those of, their opponents.
*i he light troops and militia aro
now m full pursuit of the enemy, mr.-
king prisoners in all directions. De
seitcrs arc coming in, so that th©
loss ol the British army in this en*
tei prize* w ill be considerable. /
A hioie detailed report will bf>
made of the siege and circumstances
attending it as early as possible.
The officers and men have all
done their duty./ The artillery auj
eng nice is have performed their’
functions with a zeal and precision
ihighiy creditable to themselves, a.id
honorable to their country.
Our loss is trifling indeed, having
one officer and 15 men killed* *n&
one officer and 50 men wounded.
‘l iifc militia of New York and the.
volunteers of Vermont, have beeib
exceeding serviceable, and have c*
vinced u degree of patriotism and
bravery worthy of themselves and \
the states to which they respective#
ly belong.
iHe strength of the garrison v%
only 15.(X), effective men rank Sc file*
I have the honor to be with
feci respect, your most obedient sent a
v ? nt » > A. MACOMB*
‘a». the Hon Secretary at War.
In addition to the above we lcarsji
that the naval battle was most sab*
gumary ,* that the British lost lo&
killed on, board their largest ‘vessel*,
and that our total loss was 1 lo killed*
and 13v) wounded. Every officer oa
board our commodore's Vessel was*
or wounded, except himself*
The British commodore was killed
the first shot. Gloria Deo ! Glorifc
Patriae.
Minerva Office , Sept* 21st.
The following is a copy of a letter
this moment received from out?
attentive correspondent at VVasii
ington City.
I Washington City , Sept. 18 th
-'Dear Sir—lntelligence has just
reached us, that the British army un~
<ler Sir George Prevost, aided by
| four major generals of experience
; have- on the llth inst. been*coin*
; pjetely defeated with the loss of be*
; tiveep two ?pd three thousand killed*,
wounded and prisoners. fleet
attacked ours at the same moment,
the action terminated in the surren
der of ail their large vessels, some of?
their (tallies made their escape—the*
British Commodore was killed.
Yours faithfully.
GEO SVYEENEY.
A Lucas,Esq.
i he British Generals are Brisbane*
Powers, Packingham, De Bottenbui
and Robinson. , , ‘
Copy of a letter from the Post Master as
Platt s'. Jurg, to the Editor of the Albany Av
gus, dated Sunday morning September UiiW
II “dock. ■ ~ r
SIR—I have the pleasure to an
nounce to 3 ou, that after an action af
two hours this morning, Commodore
M'Dmaugh* our Nasal command
task the whole British force on this
Lake, with the exception ol 5 or 6-
galbes that made, their escape. ‘Th?. *
vescK captured are l frigate of 3*
guns, 2 sloops of 10 guns each and
several gallies—l saw the action
which hak just closed; the battle w&5
in Pluttsburg Bay ; 1 wait with
u*»y the event of the battle now pen-,
(bug <«ii the land, I have strong hopt*. s
there likewise ; but it is very .
and we have to contend with euttu
Stilish regulars, i iVfr shore ofihc
River is lined with our militia and
about 3 or 4000 volunteers from Ver
mont, which the enemy must
can