The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1824-05-07 00:00:00

DEFEAT OF THE BRITISH TROOPS BY
7HE ASHANTEES.

lllatest? hopes may belt
enertained as to the personai
safety of Sir C. 111`C'artliy. there can no longer be any rea-
sonable doubts felt as to the certainty of a battle having
taken place, and of its disastrous result to ourselves. We
subjoin an extract of a letter, written at sea, by the Captain
of the Elizabeth, who carried the tidings to Barbadoes.
and who states a variety of circumstances corroborative of
the action having been fought. The fate of Sir Charles is
still involved in mystery, and in that mystery there is still
hope, however slender, to console his friends and relatives.
Some of the accounts of this disastrous affair mention,
that the hostility of the Ashantees was instigated by the
intrigues of the Dutch Authorities. It is more than
suspected that the latter treacherously advised the Africans
of the position of the British troops, which led to the un-
expected attack of Sir C. WCarthy's division. The Da-
nish Authorities conducted themselves with good faith,
and with the most amicable disposition towards us.
The following is the extract from the letter of Captain
Bunney :
k.XTRACT or A LETTER TOON THE PIASTER OF 'TRW
ELIZABETH, DATED AT SEA. mazes 4.
" I soled front Cape Coast (*Tole nu the 4th of February
You will have heard perhaps that Sir C. 31*('Inhy, and all the
white merchants. with the Cape Coast Castle natives, had marched
into the Bush, to tight the Ashantees. On the Vat of Jar.nary the
Ashatitees came down ten thousand strong. Sir Charles, with the
merchants and native'', amounted in number to about six thousand
men, who were completely muted, after a hard battle, and all..the
merchants, with Sir Charles, either killed or taken prisoners, or at
least they had not been heard of when I sailed, which was four.
teen days after the engagement, which took place about twenty
males from Cape CORSI. Indeed, many of the merchants were seen
lying dead, by the natives of cape Coast Castle who escaped, with
; astir heads severed from theirbodies. Their heads were no doubt
. I sent in triumph to the King of Ashantee. They are In a great
fright at Cape Coast Castle. Sir Charles went out into the Rush
lon the 21Ith December, and he divided his force into three pmts.
Major Chisholm had all the 'Wine. Sir Charles's force consisted
Principally of merchants and inhabitants of Cape ('oat Castle :
and a Captain in the army commanded the remainder. The
Ashantees, knowing that Sir Charles was the weakest. attacked
him, although Major Chisholm wilt not more than 15 miles from
hiw; but he knew nothing of the engagement till it was over, when
he returned to defend the Castle. There was another force of
natives going out in a day or two after I sailed, under Captain
Laing, and some more merchants and officers ; but, without they
get a force from England, depend upon it the Gold Coast must be
abandoned."

PIRACIC AND MranEa.—Mr. Sanderson, one Philadelphia
Correspondent, communicates the following:—
" 31erchantit'oftee-house. Philadelphia,
April 11, Noon.
"Captain 3liercken, from Havanna'', informs me, that on the
27th of March, two men arrived at the Consuls' Office as Doran_
nab, who /awed that the French brig Auguste, Captain —,
front Havre bound to Guatimala, with a cargo valued at from
3 to 400,004 francs, and some specie, was boarded by an English
brig of war, who informed him the pirates were known to be the
south side of the island. The Captain thinking it most prudent,
ran down the old Ealiania t•hanrel, where they fell in with, and
were chased hy„ an armed brig and schooner for two days. Of
(libacro, near Matanms, the schooner gave up the chace, but the
brig being a faster sailer, came tip under the American flag, which
she changed to the French, and tired a volley of musketry, which By the death of the Bis*s of Chichester and Bath
killed two men. They then hoisted a black flag, boarded the brig, , and Wells, much valuable preferment is likely to be at the
of Ministers, exclusive of the two Sees. 1)octor
where they contmeured very rudely to 'watch and demand dispoul
money. &c. Two Frenchmen, fearing the danger. ran below
Blomfield is to be raised to the Bishopric of Chester, the
with the pirates in pursuit, when the two sailors seized their wounded
Captain, and embarked in a small boat alongside, and made towards present Bishop of Chester being translated to Bath and
I
the land which lay but a short distance from them. They had not Wells. Doctor Carr, Dean of Hereford, is confidently
proceeded far before they Were discovered, and a fire opened on I oken of u the new Bishop of Chichester, in which case
them which luckily did no injury. In a short time they reached the Living of Brighton will become vacant. The valuable
Puerto Escondetto, a small port three leagues to leeward of Ma- .
Itec.tory of St. Giles-in-the-Fields, in the gift of the King,
tanzirt where they were hospitably received by Dr. Ihmingo San-
tebaner, who sent the two men to Havannah. The Captain lies is also vacated by the death of Bishop Buckner, while that
dangerously ill, having received a cut or fracture on the had which i of Bishopsgate will liktw:se fall to the Crown, by the pro-
destroyedPirate is motion M. its present Rector, Doctor Blomfield.
one eye, and a musket-ball under the arm. The
a hermaphrodite brig, mounting one gun amidships and five curs co
EYEATII OF TOE LAM' OF Tilt La Ti Ma.ll NNDIIAIe.
on each side, sails fast, is painted black, and crew composed uf all
Wednesday, after a v:ry short illness, departed this life
nations.
(From the Kew Redfbrd clfcreory.l the widow of the late Right Hon. Wm. Wyndham, at en
Captain Clark, who arrived here on Tuesday front the coast oil advanced age. Her memory will for ever live in the recol-
Japan..tak-4. that Capt. Frederick Collin. (fumwrly of Nantucket) levier' of those few friends who, admitted to her secluded
were capable of truly appreciating her exalted vie
the English ship Syren„ while off the Pelew Islands, about the I circle,
last of March, 11h13, getting refreshments. antlered
about .tut a To the world it is l to
of the natives to be on hoard his ship just as he had filed away ID • early necessary announce the
leave the coast—the natives rose upon him, killed two men, wounded, death of a woman worthy to be selected the companion of
the Captain, mate, and boat-steerer. and several of his people. The such ft man as the finely accomplished, the truly virtuous
crew being so suddenly attacked, Mew to the shrouds; they then and noble-minded Wm. IVvnilham. Mourned as she will
rallied, and succeeded in clearing the deck. Ile finally got off, be in the hearts of those who loved her, still snore deeply
after having had his miser shrouds cut away, and other damage
- will her loss be deplored by those who existed by her un-
done to his rigging. The natives seized the whale spades, broke
off the handler, which gave them a very powerful missile weapon. bounded benevolence.
Capt. Coffin stated that the cook defended his cards alone, and It is a fact that clueing Capt. Parry's last Voyage of Die-
drove off every attack with Foiling water. coeerv, the truth of which can be ascertained, that the only
two watches which performed well, and could be relied ea
during the whole of that trying voyage, belonged to Mr.
Fisher, surgeon of the Heels, and Mr. Skcoch, surgeon of
the Fury, which watches were made by Mr. ‘Vestwood,
No. 0, Princes-street, Leicester-rquare. Th:s eireanns.
stance has induced several other officers to supply tAsm-
eelce with watches from the nine maker, to take with dkaa
of the present expedition.