A volley of musketry was, at the same time, fired upon those who had not ventured.

The officer who succeeded Short, exasperated at being thus treated by a few boys, formed his broken column, and again rushed to the ditch, where he, and those who dared to follow him, met with the same fate as their fellow soldiers. The small arms were again played on them—the whole British force was thrown into confusion; and, in spite of the exertions of their officers, fled to the woods, almost panic struck, whither they were soon followed by the Indians. Thus were these men, confident of success, and detestable in the intended use of victory, most signally chastised, under Providence, by a force scarce a tenth of their numbers. Terror indescribable took possession of the assailants, and they retreated towards their boats, scarcely daring to cast their eyes towards the fatal spot, while they were followed by their allies in sullen silence.

If this gallant defence deserves the applause of the brave, the subsequent conduct of the besieged deserves the praise of every friend of humanity. The scene which now ensued, deserves to be denominated sublime. The little band, forgetting in a moment that they had been assailed by merciless foes, who sought to massacre them, without regarding the laws of honourable war, now felt only the desire of relieving wounded men, and of administering comfort to the wretched. Had they been friends, had they been brothers, they could not have experienced a more tender solicitude.

The whole night was occupied in endeavouring to as suage their sufferings; provisions and buckets of water were handed over the pickets, and an opening was made, by which many of the sufferers were taken in, who were immediately supplied with surgical aid; and this, although a firing was kept up with small arms by the enemy, until some time in the night. The loss of the garrison amounted to one killed and seven wounded; that of the enemy, it is supposed, to be at least two hundred. Upwards of fifty were found in and about the ditch. It was discovered next morning, that the enemy had hastily retreated, leaving a boat, and a considerable quantity of military stores.

Upwards of seventy stand of arms were taken, besides a quantity of ammunition. The Americans were engaged during the day, in burying the dead with the honours of war, and providing for the wounded.

This exploit called forth the admiration of every party in the United States. Croghan, together with his companions, Captain Hunter, and Lieutenants Johnson, Bayley, and Meeks, of the seventeenth; Anthony, of the twentyfourth; and ensigns Ship and Duncan, of the seventeenth, together with the other officers and volunteers, were highly complimented by the general. They afterwards received the thanks of Congress. Croghan was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-colonel, and presented with an elegant sword by the ladies of Chilicothe.

Soon after this affair, Tecumseh raised the siege of fort Meigs, and followed Proctor to Detroit; all hope was now given up by the enemy of reducing these forts, until they could gain the ascendency on the lake.

The utmost exertions had been made in the meanwhile by Captain Perry, to complete the naval armament on Lake Erie. By the 4th of August, the fleet was completed; but several of the vessels were with difficulty got over the bar, on which there are but five feet water. He sailed in quest of the enemy, but not meeting him, returned on the 8th, and after receiving a reinforcement of sailors, brought by Captain Elliot, sailed again on the 12th, and on the 15th anchored in the bay of Sandusky. Here, after taking in about twenty volunteer marines, he again went in quest of the enemy; and after cruising off Malden, returned to Put-in-bay, a distance of thirty miles.

His fleet consisted of the brig Lawrence, of 20 guns; the Niagara, Captain Elliot, of twenty; the Caledonia, Lieutenant Turner, three; the schooner Ariel, of four the Scorpion, of two; the Somers of two, and two swivels the sloop Trippe, and schooners Tygress and Porcupine, of one gun each; making a fleet of nine vessels and fiftyfour guns., On the morning of the 10th of September, the enemy was discovered bearing down upon the American squadron, which immediately got under weigh, and stood out to meet him.

Superiority was decidedly in favour of the British; the

Americans had three more vessels, but this was much more than counterbalanced by the size of those of the enemy, and the number of their guns. Their fleet consisted of the Detroit, Captain Barclay, of nineteen guns, and two howitzers; the Queen Charlotte, of seventeen guns, Captain Finnis; the schooner Lady Provost, Lieutenant Buchan, of thirteen guns, and two howitzers; the brig Hunter, of ten guns; the sloop Little Belt, of three; and the schooner Chippewa, of one gun and two swivels; in all, six vessels and sixty-three guns.

When the Americans stood out, the British fleet had the weather gage; but the wind soon after changed, and brought the American fleet to windward. The line of battle was formed at eleven, and fifteen minutes before twelve, the enemy's flag ship, the Queen Charlotte, opened her fire upon the Lawrence, which she sustained for ten minutes, before she could approach near enough for her carronades to return. She therefore bore up, making signals for the other vessels to hasten to her support, and about twelve, brought her guns to bear upon the enemy.

Unfortunately, the wind being too light, the remainder of the squadron could not be brought up to her assistance, and she was compelled to contend, for two hours, with two ships of equal force. The contest was, notwithstanding, kept up with unshaken courage, and a degree of coolness which deserves admiration. By this time the brig, which had so long borne the brunt of the whole of the British force, had become entirely unmanageable; every gun was dismounted, and, with the exception of four or five, her whole crew either killed or wounded. Perry now, with admirable presence of mind, and which drew forth the praise of the gallant officer to whom he was opposed, resolved to shift his flag, leaped into his boat, and heroically waving his sword, passed unhurt to the Niagara.

At the moment he reached the Niagara, he saw with anguish the flag of his ship come down; she was utterly unable to make further resistance, and it would have been a wanton waste of the remaining lives to continue the contest; the enemy was not able to take possession of

her. Captain Elliot, seconding the design of the commodore, volunteered to bring up the rest of the fleet; for at this critical moment the wind had providentially increased. Perry now bore down upon the enemy with a fresh ship; and passing ahead of the Detroit, Queen Charlotte, and Lady Provost, poured a destructive broadside into each from his starboard, and from his larboard into the Chippewa and Little Belt. In this manner, cut'ting through the line, he was within pistol shot of the Lady Provost, which received so heavy a fire as to compel her men to run below. At this moment the Caledonia came up, and opened her fire; several others of the squadron were enabled soon after to do the same. For a time, this novel and important combat mingled with indescribable violence and fury.

The issue of a campaign, the mastery of a sea, the glory and renown of two rival nations, matched for the first time in squadron, were the incentives to the contest. But it was not long before the scale turned in favour of Perry, and his ship, the Lawrence, was again enabled to hoist her flag. The Queen Charlotte, having lost her captain and all her principal officers, by some mischance ran foul of the Detroit, and the greater part of the guns of both ships were rendered useless. They were now compelled to sustain, in turn, an incessant fire from the Niagara, and the other vessels of the squadron. The flag of Captain' Barclay was soon after struck, and those of the Queen Charlotte, the Lady Provost, the Hunter, and the Chippewa, came down in succession; the Little Belt attempted to escape, but was pursued by two gun boats and captured.

Thus, after a contest of three hours, was this unparalleled naval victory achieved, in which every vessel of the enemy was captured, the first occurrence of the kind ever recorded. If any thing could heighten this glorious victory, it was the modest and yet sublime manner in which it was announced by the incomparable Perry: WE HAVE MET THE ENEMY, AND THEY ARE OURS. Britain had been beaten in single combat-she was now beaten in squadron, where she had conceived herself invincible. The loss in this bloody affair was very great, in proportion to

the numbers engaged. The Americans had twenty-seven killed, and ninety-six wounded; amongst the first were Lieutenant Brooks, of the marines, and Midshipman Laub; amongst the latter were Lieutenant Yarnell, sailing-master Taylor, purser Hamilton, and Midshipmen Claxton and Swartwout.

cans.

The loss of the British was about two hundred in killed and wounded; and the number of prisoners amounted to six hundred, exceeding the whole number of the AmeriCommodore Barclay, a gallant officer, who had lost an arm at the battle of Trafalgar, was severely wounded, and the loss of officers, on the side of the British, was unusually great. Among the officers particularly spoken of on this occasion, were Captain Elliot, Lieutenants Turner, Edwards, Forest, Clark, and Cummings, besides those already mentioned.

The victory of Commodore Perry left the Americans in peaceable possession of Lake Erie, but Detroit and Malden still remained in possession of the British. The triumph of the American arms seemed to unite conflicting parties; and the kindness extended to the British captives, reflected the brightest glory on our country. But the territory still occupied by the enemy was to be retaken. For the accomplishment of this purpose, Colonel Johnson, with a body of his faithful Kentuckians, were destined to act against, Detroit, and General Harrison was to march against Malden.

Finding Malden untenable, the British general destroyed, and then evacuated it. On the 2d of October, General Harrison, with about 3,500 men, commenced a pursuit, and on the 5th, the enemy was overtaken. Colonel Johnson, who had formed a junction with General Harrison,, was sent forward to reconnoitre the British and Indian forces, gave intelligence that the enemy were prepared for action, at the distance of a few miles. On their left was the river, and their right consisting of Indians, under Tecumseh, rested on a swamp.

The American force consisted of Ohio militia, and four thousand Kentuckians, the flower of their state, commanded by Governor Shelby, who arrived at the camp of General Harrison, on the 7th of September. When the