I flatter myself that I have also improved the garrison in discipline. I must apologize for the haste in which this is written, but captain Mix proposes to sail immediately, and I fear to detain him a moment. I think I shall certainly be at the mouth of the Genessee by the 15th instant. Major general Wilkinson. I have the honour to be. &c. Extract of a letter from colonel Clark, to brigadier general Parker. CAMP, CHAZY-LANDING, October 15th, 1813. It is with great pleasure I can inform you of a successful attack upon the enemy at Massequoi bay, on the morning of the 12th instant. At this time I had only the riflemen with me, the artillery moving slow and the militia protecting their rear. We proceeded to the village (Massequoi) and arrived within 15 rods of the enemy before we were discovered. We found them drawn up under major Powell, in a manner that would have annoyed us much had we attacked them by water, but wholly unprepared to defend themselves on the land side; they commenced a fire on the left flank, but in ten minutes after the first attack they laid down their arms and surrendered themselves prisoners of war. Understanding that a force of 200 men, under colonel Lock, was marching to attack us, I despatched captain Finch, with his company, to reconnoitre them and ascertain their course. He proceeded with such promptness and ability as to surprise and capture the advanced guard, consisting of cavalry, excepting one man who escaped, and, giving the information, the enemy retreated. The prisoners were then put on board our boats and sent to Burlington. Our whole force engaged was 102-the number of prisoners taken is 101, their killed 9, and wounded 14. I am, sir, with great respect, &c. ISAAC CLARK, Brig. gen. Parker, commanding at Burlington, Vt. ADDRESS To the inhabitants of the Upper Province of Canada. Brigadier general M'Clure, commanding on the Niagara frontier, finds the Upper Province deserted by the British army and abandoned by its government. In the peculiar situation of the inhabitants, it is essential to their security that some regulations should be established for their government, while the American army has the power of enforcing them. The general regrets to say, that illegal, unauthorized, and forbidden pillage has been committed by a few, who are lost to all honour, and insensible of the obligations of a soldier. To arrest such practices, to afford all the protection in his power, and to ensure safety to the property and persons of the inhabitants, who are now under his controul, the general has issued this address. The employment of the Indians has been a source of extreme regret to the general. But finding them called out by the government of the United States, and expecting to attack an army who had long employed them in scenes of atrocity and outrage, at which humanity shudders, he was driven to the only alternative left him, of using the same weapon against our enemies which they had used against ourselves; that the British army had abandoned their encampments and fled before the American force, does not weaken the necessity which he was under of employing the Indians before he knew the enemy had absconded. At the same time, it is due to them to say, that the Indians have con ducted themselves far better than could have been expected, if the example of British officers and British savages be a criterion. Not a single individual has been scalped or tomahawked by them, no prisoner of war has been burnt, the dead have not been thrown into the public highways, women and children have not been massacred, nor has private property been destroyed, except in cases where the former conduct of the owners required exemplary retaliation. The property which they have plundered, has, in cases where it was possible, been restored by the inhabitants of the United States; and when the necessity for their employment ceased to exist, the Indians were sent to the American side of the river, beyond the reach of temptation, to wait until circumstances justified another call upon them. The relation of these facts is due to the honour of our government, to the reputation of the general, and to the merits of the Indians. From it, also, the inhabitants of Canada may learn what they may expect from American forbearance and clemency. To insure that forbearance, the inhabitants have an easy duty to perform; let them be perfectly neutral, let them abstain from communications with the British army and remain at home, quietly pursuing their avocations. Those who conduct differently will incur the penalties of rigorous martial law. The character of our free republican government, and the nature of our institutions, will justify your expectation of security and protection. All civil magistrates will continue to exercise the functions of their offices merely as conservators of the peace. As far as they are able, they will preserve order and quiet among the inhabitants. The existing laws of the province, so far as they regard the public peace, and not interfering with the regulations of the army, will be considered in force until other measures are taken. The magistrates are particularly required to give information at head quarters of all violence committed by American troops on citizens, unless they are authorized by a written order. enjoins the inhabitants to submit to their magistrates, and those The general who refuse obedience must be reported to head quarters. The brigadier general invites all the inhabitants who are disposed to be peaceable, orderly, and neutral, to return to their homes and their business. He cannot promise complete security, but he engages, as far as his power extends, to protect the innocent, the unfortunate and the distressed. GEO. M'CLURE, Commanding Niagara Frontier. HEAD QUARTERS, FORT GEORGE, Oct. 16th, 1813. A PROCLAMATION BY GENERAL HARRISON. An armistice having been concluded between the United States and the tribes of Indians called Miamies, Pattaw atamies, Eel River, Weas, Ottoways, Chippeways and Wyandots, to continue until the pleasure of the government of the former shall be known-I do hereby make known the same to all whom it may concern. This armistice is preparatory to a general council to be held with these different tribes, and until its termination they have been permitted to retire to their hunting grounds, and there to remain unmolested, if they behave themselves peaceably. They have surrendered into our hands hostages from each tribe, and have agreed immediately to restore all our prisoners in their possession, and to unite with us in the chastisement of any Indians, who may commit any aggression upon our frontiers. Under these circumstances, I exhort all citizens living upon the frontiers to respect the terms of said armistice, and neither to engage in nor countenance any expedition against their persons or property: leaving to the government, with whom the consultation has left it, to pursue such course, with respect to the Indians, as they may think most compatible with sound policy and the best interests of the country. Done at Detroit, this 16th October, 1813. WILLIAM H. HARRISON. October 18th, 1813. SIR, The fortune of war having placed the private property of the officers and several families of the right division of the British army in Upper Canada, in your power; as also letters, papers and vouchers of the greatest consequence to individuals, without being of any to the cause of the captors; I do myself the honour of applying to you in their behalf, hoping that agreeably to the custom of war, you will avail yourself of this favourable opportunity to alleviate private feelings, by causing the said property and documents to be restored. I must also intreat that every consideration in your power be shown for private families, not of the army. I trust that with the same view you will permit the bearer hereof to ascertain the fate of individuals, and that you will facilitate the retreat of any families that may unfortunately have been interrupted in the attempt. Maj. Gen. W. H. Harrison, I have the honour to be, &c. commanding U. S. Army. Extracts of a letter from general Wilkinson to the Secretary of War, dated "GRENADIER ISLAND, October 28th, 1813. "I send you this by an extra aid-de-camp, captain Nourse, to relieve the anxiety to which you must be subject, in the impending eventful moment." 'The extent of the injuries to our craft, the clothing and arms of the men, and to our provisions on the passage from Sackett's Harbor to this place, greatly exceeded our apprehensions, and has subjected us to the necessity of furnishing a supply of clothing, and of making repairs and equipments to our flotilla generally. In fact, all our hopes have been very nearly blasted; but thanks to the same Providence which placed us in jeopardy, we are surmounting our difficulties, and, God willing, I shall pass Prescott on the night of the 1st or 2d proximo, if some unforeseen obstacle does not present to forbid me. I shall expect to hear from you at Morrisville, where colonel Swift is to meet me, and to guard against chance shots, I wish wagons would be held in readiness to receive our powder aud field ammunition, at a suitable distance above Prescott." "I keep up the delusion here; and the enemy, about sixteen hundred strong, exclusive of five hundred militia, are in daily expectation of a visit at Kingston, yet they have taken post, I understand, at Cornwall and the Coteau de Lac. No matter: once passed Prescott, and our bayonets and sabres shall remove all impediments." "The inexorable winds and rains continue to oppose and embarrass our movements; but I am seizing on every moment's interval to slip into the St. Lawrence corps and detachments, as they can be got ready. Our rendezvous will be in Bush creek, about twenty miles below, and nearly opposite to Gananoqui, which position menaces a descent on the opposite shore. I shall sail from that position at 4 o'clock of the morning, and will pass Prescott about the same time the ensuing morning." "We have had such a fluctuation of sick and well, between this place and Sackett's Harbor, that it is impossible to say in what force we shall move; but I calculate on 6000 combatants, exclusive of Scott and Randolph,* neither of whom will, I fear, be up in season, notwithstanding all my arrangements and exertions to accelerate their march: they are both under provisional orders from Ogdensburg." DEAR GENERAL, mo. WAR DEPARTMENT, DENMARK, I I this moment received your despatch by captain Nourse. rejoice that your difficulties are so far surmounted, as to enable you to say, with assurance, when you will pass Prescott. I should have met you there; but bad roads, worse weather, and a considerable degree of illness, admonished me against receding further from a point where my engagements call me, about the 1st proxiThe resolution of treading back my steps, was taken at Antwerp, and communicated in a letter from that place, by major Lush. I wrote a single line to you to-day, giving the fortunate issue of Harrison's business, and his arrival at Fort George with M'Arthur's brigade. If Vincent be within the peninsula, Harrison will root him out. It remains with you to sweep the rest of the line before you. Montreal taken, what are Prescott and Kingston? Give Hampton timely notice of your approach, and of the place and hour of junction. Major General Wilkinson, Yours sincerely, ONG JOHN ARMSTRONG. Extracts of a letter from general Wilkinson to the Secretary of War, dated “GRENADIER ISLAND, November 1st, 1813. "You will perceive from the duplicate under cover (letter of the 28th of October) what were my calculations four days since: but the winds, and waves, and rains, still prevail, and we have made several fruitless attempts to turn Stony Point, one of them at great peril to 3,000 men, whom I seasonably remanded to the harbor, without the loss of a life. Our sick, one hundred and ninety-six in number, have not fared as well: they were embarked in stout, comfortable vessels, and sailed, the day before * Scott and Randolph both joined. |