ships were on the departure. Every exertion was therefore made to get off St. Augustine in time to fall in with them, but without effect, as fresh gales prevailed from the south-west, which increased until the 19th of July, when, by the violence of the tempest, they were compelled to run before the wind.

On the 13th of August, the Essex captured the Alert sloop of war, after an action of eight minutes. The Alert, which was said to have been sent out for the purpose of taking the Hornet, ran down on the weather quarter of the Essex, and gave three cheers, at the commencement of the action. When she struck her colours she had only three men wounded, but she had seven feet water in her hold, and was much cut to pieces. The Essex received not the slightest injury.

Being much embarrassed with his prisoners, who amounted, including those of the Alert, to 500, captain Porter concluded an arrangement with the captain of the Alert, for despatching that vessel as a cartel to carry the prisoners to a British port. Her guns were accordingly thrown overboard, and she was entrusted to the command of a lieutenant of the Essex, with orders to proceed to St. John's, Newfoundland. The commander of the British naval forces at that place, in a letter to the American secretary of the navy, strongly protests against this practice of immediately despatching captured vessels as cartels; "nevertheless, as a proof of respect for the liberality with which the captain of the Essex has acted, in more than one instance, towards the British subjects who have fallen into his hands," and through a desire to fulfil the engagements entered into by a British officer, he consented to the proposed exchange. The Alert is now in the American service.

On the afternoon of the 30th of August, a British frigate was perceived standing for the Essex under a press of sail. Porter was instantly prepared for action, and stood towards the frigate, and at the approach of night a light was hoisted for the purpose of preventing a separation. At nine a signal was made by the enemy, consisting of two flashes and one blue light, apparently about four miles distant. The Essex continued to stand for the point where the signal was seen until midnight, when, not getting sight of the enemy, she was hove to until daylight, on the presumption that the other had done the same, or at least would keep in the neighbourhood; but to the surprise and mortification of all on board, in the morning the coast was clear.

On the 4th of September, off the tail of St. George's bank, two ships of war were discovered to the southward, and a brig to the northward, the latter in chase of an American merchant

brought about the disaster at Queenstown, the refusal of the militia to cross the lines.

Preparatory to the intended invasion, two parties were sent over, the one for the purpose of capturing a guard and destroying a bridge, below fort Erie, the other to spike the cannon in the enemy's batteries and some light artillery in the neighbourhood. The first party made some prisoners, but failed to destroy the bridge. The second, after rendering unserviceable the light artillery, separated by some misapprehension, and a part of them returned with the boats, leaving behind four officers, and 60 men. This small body, however, advanced to the batteries, attacked and took two of them in succession, spiked the cannon, and took a number of prisoners. They then retreated down the Niagara, where they found two boats, on board of which thirty of the privates, three officers, and all the prisoners embarked, leaving behind a captain and 30 men, who were captured by the British before the boats could return,

Meanwhile, as soon as day began to appear, all the troops in the neighbourhood were marched to the place of embarkation, A part of the detachment which had passed to the opposite shore having now returned and excited apprehensions for the residue, about 350 men under colonel Winder put off in boats for their relief, and a part of this force had landed, when a superior force with a piece of artillery appeared. A retreat was then ordered, which was effected with a loss of six killed and twenty-two wounded.

The general embarkation now commenced; but there not being a greater number of boats than would hold 1500 men, a council of officers was held, at which it was determined, that as positive orders had been received not to cross with less than 3000 men, it was inexpedient to make the attempt until a sufficient number of boats could be procured for the whole number to embark at once; dependence being still placed on the volunteering of the militia, it was thought that the actual number of volunteers could not be determined without an embarkation, The boats were accordingly moved a short distance up the river, and the troops disembarked.

An additional number of boats being procured, another embarkation took place on the morning of the first of December, but still no attempt was made to cross. After remaining in the boats a few hours, the troops were ordered to be withdrawn, and huts to be built for their winter-quarters.

Nothing could exceed the mortification of the troops on this occasion, nor indeed the disgust felt generally throughout the country. Proclamations had been issued by general

a remarkably fast sailer. The favour of the moon enabling them to chase by night as well as by day, the chase was continued for three days, without intermission, and under various circumstances, but by unremitted exertions the Argus was enabled to elude the pursuit. Pressed on all sides by the number of the enemy, and the baffling and unsettled state of the weather, she was at one time within musket shot of a 74, and at another nearly surrounded. While in this perilous situation she actually captured and manned one of her prizes.

9. The United States was still more fortunate. On the 25th of October, off the Western islands, about two weeks after being separated from the squadron, she fell in with and captured, after an action of an hour and a half, the British frigate Macedonian, of the same class and strength with the Guerriere. The Macedonian, being to windward, had the advantage of choosing her distance, which was so great that for the first half hour the United States could not use her carronades, and at no time were they within musket or grape shot. To this circumstance, and a heavy swell which prevailed, is ascribed the great length of the action. In this contest, the superiority of the American gunnery was strikingly obvious. On board the Macedonian there were 36 killed and 68 wounded; she also lost her mizen mast, fore and main-top-masts, and main yard, and was much cut up in her hull. On board the United States there were only five killed and seven wounded; the damage sustained by the ship was not so much as to render her return to port necessary.

The United States arrived off New London with her prize on the 4th of December, and thence proceeded through the sound for New York..

An equal degree of liberality was displayed by commodore Decatur, as on a former occasion by captain Hull. All the property of the officers and men on board the Macedonian was given up; that claimed by captain Carden included a band of music and several casks of wine, which were valued at $ 800, and paid for by the commodore.

While on this subject, we cannot forbear to mention an instance of generosity that occurred on this occasion among the common seamen. In the action with the Macedonian one of the carpenter's crew was killed, and left three children at the mercy of the world and of a worthless mother, who had abandoned them. On the arrival of the two frigates at New York, their grandfather went on board the United States to claim the property and wages of his son, when an enquiry into the circumstances of the family took place, and a plan was agreed upon by

the seamen for the relief of the orphans, by which § 800 were instantly collected for their maintenance and education, to be placed in the hands of suitable trustees for the purpose.

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§ 10. But of all the victories which have been achieved by single vessels, perhaps the most brilliant is that which it has now become our most pleasing task to record. At the time of the declaration of war, the Wasp sloop of war, commanded by captain Jacob Jones, was on her passage from Europe, whither she had carried despatches to our ministers in England and France. She arrived in the Delaware a few weeks after that event, and sailed again on a cruize on the 13th of October. On the 16th she experienced a heavy gale, in which she lost her jibboom and two men. On the evening of the following day, about eleven o'clock, in a clear moon-light evening, being then in the track of vessels passing from Bermuda to Halifax, she found herself near five strange sail, steering eastward. some of them seemed to be ships of war, it was thought better to get farther from them. The Wasp, therefore, hauled her wind, and having reached a few miles to windward, so as to escape or fight as the occasion might require, followed the strange sail through the night. At day-break on Sunday morning, captain Jones found that they were six large merchant ships, under convoy of a sloop of war, which proved to be the Frolic, captain Whinyates, from Honduras to England, with a convoy, strongly armed and manned, having all forty or fifty men, and two of them mounting sixteen guns each. He determined, however, to attack them, and, as there was a heavy swell of the sea, and the weather boisterous, got down his top-gallant yards, close reefed the top-sails, and prepared for action. About 11 o'clock the Frolic showed Spanish colours; and the Wasp immediately displayed the American ensign and pendant. At 32 minutes past 11, the Wasp came down to windward, on her larboard side, within about sixty yards, and hailed. The enemy hauled down the Spanish colours, hoisted the British ensign, and opened a fire of cannon and musketry-this the Wasp instantly returned; and, coming near to the enemy, the action became close and without intermission. In four or five minutes the maintop-mast of the Wasp was shot away, and falling down with the main-top-sail yard across the larboard fore and fore-top-sail braces, rendered her head yards unmanageable during the rest of the action. In two or three minutes more her gaft and mizentop-gallant-mast were shot away. Still she continued a close and constant fire. The sea was so rough that the muzzles of the Wasp's guns were frequently in the water. The Americans, therefore, fired as the ship's side was going down, so that their shot went either on the enemy's deck or below it, while the

General Harrison arrived at Fort Wayne, and resumed the command on the 23d of September. The day previous to his arrival general Winchester had marched for Fort Defiance with 2000 men, consisting of four hundred regulars, a brigade of Kentucky militia, and a troop of horse.

4. In this part of the country, one of the greatest difficulties which an army has to surmount, is that which arises from the difficulty of transporting provisions and stores. At all seasons the route is wet and miry. The country, though somewhat level, is broken by innumerable little runs, which are generally dry, except during or immediately after a heavy rain, when they are frequently impassable until the subsiding of the water, which is generally from twelve to twenty-four hours. Another of the difficulties of transportation arises from the nature of the soil, which being generally a rich loam, free from stones and gravel, in many places a horse will mire for miles full leg deep every step.

To avoid the inconveniences and dangers of delay in traversing this wilderness, each soldier was furnished with provisions for six days, and general Harrison proceeded to Fort St. Mary's, in order to forward a detachment with supplies by the Au Glaise river, which affords a water conveyance for a considerable part of the way. This detachment was placed under the command of colonel Jennings.

The army being now in the centre of a country which presented every facility for the Indian mode of warfare, the utmost vigilance was necessary to prevent a surprise. The troops were formed into three divisions, viz. right and left wings and centre. Near the centre was the baggage, with a strong guard in front and rear. The wings marched about 60 or 100 yards distant from the centre. The front guard, which was generally about 300 strong, marched far enough in advance for their rear to be even with the front baggage guard, and were preceded by a company of spies, 40 in number, who were generally one or two miles in advance. The rear of the spies was covered by the horse.

So great were the obstructions occasioned by the underbrush, &c. on this march, that the army never advanced more than from six to ten miles a-day. They generally halted about three o'clock to lay out and fortify their encampment, which was done by forming round it a breastwork of logs and brush, of four or five feet in height. As soon as it was dark, small fires were kindled at the mouth of each tent, and large fires on the outside, about twenty paces from the breastwork.

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