fire of the Indians, and put them to immediate flight. M'Arthur encamped for the night within two miles of Aux Canards, and on the following morning returned to the army, with colonel Cass, and one hundred men, by whom he was then joined.

Between this time and the beginning of August, no event took place, which could afford the American troops an opportunity of displaying their true character. The inclemency of the weather was very unfavourable to the operations of an army. Sudden transitions from extreme heat, to intense cold, followed by violent storms of rain and hail, rendered them both sickly and discontented. They had been all enamoured of an expedition, which promised them so much honour and renown, and when they landed on the Canadian shore, they were filled with such assurances of conquest, as made their impatience for achievement almost ungovernable. The tardiness, which now seemed inseparable from the conduct of their commander, dispirited them, and destroyed whatever of confidence they might have reposed in him before. The result of a council of war, however, which it was found necessary to convoke, revived all their desires, and a spirit, no less active than that, with which they had set out, pervaded the whole encampment. In two days more, by proper exertions, every arrangement would be completed for the investment of fort Malden. At the end of that time the heavy cannon might be ready; if they should not, the council recommended an attempt with the bayonet. The British garrison had been constantly deserted by the embodied Canadian militia, and a vigorous attack upon it, however gallant the defence, could not but be attended with ultimate success. The deliberations of the council corresponded with the opinions of the general, and the day was appointed on which the assault was to take place. The cannon were well mounted, and embarked on floating batteries the ammunition was already placed in waggons provided for its conveyance; the troops were animated by the prospect of a combat, and not at all doubtful of a certain and brilliant victory.

A company of volunteers from Ohio, under command of captain Brush, had arrived at the river Raisin, with a quantity of provisions for the army. Although the troops were already supplied for many days, these provisions might be

necessary in the event of conquest. The distance from Detroit, to the point at which they had arrived was thirtysix miles, and their march was liable to be intercepted, by scouting parties from the enemy. Major Vanhorne was therefore despatched, with one hundred and fifty men, to meet, and escort them to their destination. He had nearly reached Brownstown, on his second day's march, when he was attacked in front, and on both flanks, by a very superior force, regulars and Indians. A warm engagement followed. To the Americans, the odds were fearful; but their resistance was obstinate. A retreat became indispensable, but to succeed in it, the exercise of great judgment was necessary. The volunteers had confidence in that of their commander, and he brought them off, with the loss of nineteen killed and missing, and nine wounded. Among the former were captains M'Culloch, Bostler and Gilcrease, who fought with that gallantry, which has never failed to distinguish the citizens of the state to which they belonged; among the latter was captain Ulry, since dead, whose conduct was no less noble than that of his companions.

Major Vanhorne had scarcely been sent from Sandwich, when a change of measures was adopted by the general, in opposition to the wishes and entreaties of all his officers. The enterprise against Malden was abandoned, and he announced his intention of evacuating Canada, and of posting himself at fort Detroit. The promulgation of his intentions, was attended by an order to break up the encampment, and to recross the river in the night. Consternation and dismay were visible in the countenance of every, the meanest soldier; their confidence was destroyed, and they considered their commander as timid, and irresolute. The presence of their own officers, on whose capabilities they implicitly relied, alone prevented one universal burst of indignation. ReJuctantly, and with much murmuring, they obeyed the order; and at day break of the morning of the eighth, they found themselves garrisoned at Detroit. Here, the intelligence of the late skirmish was received.

The communication, which had been opened by the army, between Raisin, and their present post, was shut up by the savages. It was indispensably necessary that it should be again opened, or the provisions at that river

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could never reach the garrison, which, in a few weeks, would be in want of rations.

To lieutenant-colonel James Miller, the command of a strong detachment, was for this purpose assigned. He immediately took up his line of march with three hundred regulars, and two hundred militia. The regulars were of the fourth regiment, which had acquired imperishable renown under the gallant colonel Boyd, at Tippecanoe. The British and Indians, anticipated the return of the detachment which they had driven back, and calculated that it would be largely reinforced. Their own body was therefore increased to a number, competent, as they supposed, to drive off, or perhaps to capture them. They were seven hundred and fifty strong, and might be reinforced during an engagement, from Malden, opposite to which was the village of Brownstown, which they had taken possession of a few days before. They fortified the ground at a place called Maguaga, nearly four miles from Brownstown, by felling trees and erecting breastworks. Behind these, they intended to conceal themselves, until the Americans should attain the point, at which they might deal out to them what measure of destruction they pleased. The Indians were commanded by their great leader, Tecumseh; the united force by major Muir, of the British army.

On the ninth, the American troops, though they proceeded with great caution, reached the ground on which the enemy desired to see them, before they discovered their ambuscade. Captain Snelling, commanding the advance, was attacked from it, and sustained a combat until the main body came up, when the British and Indians sprang suddenly from behind the works, formed a line of battle with great celerity, and commenced a brisk fire, accompanied with all the demonstrations of savage war. Sudden and unexpected as was the attack, the intrepid commander of the American force was not the least dismayed; his troops received the shock without shrinking; and with a coolness and sagacity, which are commonly looked for in soldiers of long experience, he as suddenly drew up his men, and after a rapid fire, charged upon the enemy with such unlooked for firmness, as to throw them into complete disorder. The obstinacy of the Indians, however, would not admit of flight; they might not act in concert with the British, and resorting to their own kind of combat,

they were resolved not to abandon the contest. But the British had now recovered from their confusion, and a scene of indescribable horror ensued. Five hundred Indians, led on, and encouraged by the regulars, (many of whom were like themselves almost naked,) frightfully painted, and sending forth such dreadful whooping and yelling, as might have appalled almost any other troops, were fighting on every side of the American detachment; but on every side they were gallantly repulsed. No such means could induce these brave men to forsake their standard, or to disgrace their nation. They saw danger strengthening around them, they knew what kind of destiny awaited their defeat, and they were resolutely determined to repel the foe, or to yield only with their lives. Colonel Miller found himself contending against a force, more than one third superior to his own, but he was animated by the same spirit, which was exhibited by his men. Over such men, headed by such a commander, the enemy could not hope to be victorious. The firmness of the Americans had that effect upon the British and Indians, which it was intended, by their savage noises, should be produced on them. They found that they had no terrours to resort to, which could attain their end, and they began from necessity to give ground. The obstinacy of the detachment, was equal to the determined character of the Indians, and the latter became, first intimidated. The united forces were driven, inch by inch, into Brownstown; and would have been beaten into submission, had not a squadron of boats been ready to receive them, at that place. They made as rapid a retreat across the river, as their oarsmen knew how, and returned to Malden with an inferior force, than that with which they had left it. Their loss, was, in regulars, seven killed and wounded; of Indians they left nearly one hundred on the field. In the stout contest, which the detachment kept up for more than two hours, there were killed fifteen, and wounded between thirty and forty. The officers who principally distinguished themselves, were captain Baker, lieutenants Larabee and Peters, and ensign Whistler. The first of them was shot three different times during the battle; the second lost his left arm; and the three latter were also wounded. Colonel Miller remained at Brownstown until the meridian of the next day, when

he received orders to return to Detroit. The troops were exhausted by so vigorous an engagement, and they would have been unable to proceed further. A fresh detachment would probably be sent upon the same expedition; and colonel Miller, knowing how necessary it was, that his men should be refreshed, was not averse from this order.

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Captain Brush was still waiting at the river Raisin for an escort, when he received a letter from general Hull, of the eleventh of August, in the following words: "The state of the communication between this [Detroit] " and the river Raisin is such, that a sufficient detachment "cannot be sent to bring on the provisions with safety. you will therefore remain at the river Raisin, and in conjunction with the regiment, Le Croix's corps, and your own, protect the provisions and yourselves until "further orders. The detachment sent for the purpose 66 are so fatigued, after a severe and victorious battle, "that it will return here." In a postscript to this letter, it was left to the discretion of captain Brush, on consulting with colonel Anderson, and the bearer of the letter, to proceed by a route on an upper road, crossing the river Huron; on determining on which, immediate notice was to be given at Detroit. Colonels Cass and M'Arthur were despatched, on the evening of the 14th, with three hundred and fifty men, to assist in the transportation of the provisions, through that channel.

On the same day on which the victory at Maguaga was achieved, captain Heald, the commandant at fort Chicago, since called fort Dearborn, received orders to proceed immediately with his command to Detroit, by land. Accordingly on the fifteenth, after delivering to the friendly Indians, in conformity to his instructions, all the goods in the factory, and such provisions as could not be taken away, and destroying the surplus arms and ammunition, he commenced his march with fifty-four regulars, and twelve militia, the whole amount of his force, and was escorted by captain Wells, of fort Wayne, and a few friendly Indians of the Miami tribe, sent thither for that purpose. As the place would now be defenceless, the inhabitants, principally women and children, were directed to accompany the troops. The little party had not proceeded more than one mile and an half, between a high sand-bank, and the lake, when it was discovered that a number of hos