The National Register.
London, England, 1812-10-25 00:00:00

660

WMP.II•II.,
his :Britannic 111.4jest4 Ps forces in litiper Cat:silt, and by which the t;
troops hate lr'ectue prisruters of war. Mv present situation hlrhi:!s
the from the ;styli Atha csettes which lease. led to tlns I:llfm's
tunent event. I will, lea-ever, generally ob-erve, that after the Fur- f
re,thr 11€ .Thnost eft ry tribe and natio% of It:dial:it,
exsesting part of the NI smies and I)elawar s, north from beesid
Lake ift>l:3 iisv.a4 the Mississini, south from thy.
Obio anti Wieoirill, arid east !r .:u eve: y •part of Olt ter Canatta, :,rd
froni the inicrinede ne omit: y, i.ntted in (wen I cstility, tinder tat'
filEih standard, aistinst. the rirsey I coronitni, (tower) to the mos:
wsleteto essoirencc.; of :4 I,tr,; to-tilt:to nt them to remain neutral ; eve;
the O•tawa frsui ::tench, who for,:led the ts
*Washiret ..rn the last stn:yer, tit 4yhose A.ilendship I kiniw ton le:s1
great confiJetise, are eneone the hostile tr.hrt, at 41 several of Corot ;
(hiring:St:she: fea:11::s. Amon? the vast nu•rhsr of Chief:- who les!
...he 1! ).tilt: hands, Tecumseh, Marpelt, Los,as. \Valk-in-the-Water,
Sol.- : "g, Re. are censilercd the prineipek. This numerous asson-
IftsZt (1 Savages, under the entire irifito tine and dirsction etf the 116.
I 1
contreneser, enabled him totally to (:baths! the only :
twisn velis h I hall with my count:)'. 114 e commtenicatioa hsel beso
ull Lett from tlse siPtllolnel:lS in 11,0 Stme of Ohio, two hund•cet
miles throtr4ll a tvil.lertiesE, by the fatigues of the army, which I I
marched to the It-metier on the titer Detrol. The holy of the lake
bein; cestmanded h) the :It high armed ships, aial the sh•res and rivers
by gtunhesns, the army was totally deprived of all communication
b'y wa'er. Ott this exters-ve read it depended far transportation of !
plovisions, y stores, medicine. clothing, and evert. other sup-
on pack-14orses. All its Apet,niont: !ATI e suecessfuf until i:s ar- I
rival at- Detroit, and it: a few d4)s it pasred,iato the er,en-ty's country,
and all ovesiticu seemed to fail befote it.
One month it remained in posse:;sion of this cot:l.:fly, aril was fel
frrm its rest.urees. lit cliff:,ent diresthots detacitn:ents penetrated
sixty miles in the settled pert of the provlnce, and the inhehitents,
seemed satisfvd 4sit:i the I. flange of situatioo, which apotarrel to hs
tskitag place; 'lse militia from A htltsrstintor were dud), &selling, ;1
and the whole conorts under the contrite! of the arny, was a, king
prote,:titz. Tice Itidiens tencrally, in the tact instance, appeared
to lx neutralized, an denrmined to take no p-ut in the contest. The
hat of Anther: tburg was eighteen miles L'ctow toy th,satoisnrilt.
Not a .ist,6le eatinsan or msrtar was on wheels-saleable- to tarry before
that place. I cousultod my officers, whether it. was espe,.lietit to
mike an attetatit on it with the bayonet :done, without cannon, to
make a bseacla i.o tits first instance. The council I ev.led was of t
opinion it was nut. The greatest industry was c;r:...rtc4l in toaklog
peeper:lto-et, and it was not until the 7th of Austust, thetswo twenty.
and three %Vele prOVAICti. 1.2 was then
my intention to hare proceeded on the esterpr:ze. While the (+sta-
ll° suf ae army were:delayed by ill s..c preparations, the clouds of
adversty had .Irecit for some time, and scented still this Lly to be ga-
tluri 4; routed me. The surrenticr of Michilimackinac ot entsi the
northern hive of Indians, and they were swarming down in ever.), di-
tccoiots. Rsitiforcements from Niagara Ins; arrived at ssaniterstburg
soda the ctennuand of Colonel Proctor. The desertion ut the militia
ceased. besides the reinforcements that cattle by water. I received
information of a very tantsiderahls f:rce under the command cf Msj..r
Cluttoltres, en the tivcr Le French, with four a:lei-pieces, and col-
letting the militia on his route, evidently destined. for A tilitetstltu:g ;
and in addition to this com'eitsition, andincrtase of force, contrary to
all may expectations, the Wyandots, Chinpewas, Ottowas, Polio-
watAtmes. filunsees, Delawascs, Sec. with whom I lisd the most
friendly iims.course, at on passed over to Aullicrsthisg, tied ac-
cepted the tctuallawk and scalping-knife. Tlhre bits.; now .a vast
number of Indians at the British lost, they were seeit-to the river
Huron, Brownstown, and Maituetteo, to intercept me communication.
To open this co.ornuoiettrion, I detached Major Ventior: e, .1 the
Ohio Volmacers, with •2t}l: men, to proceed as tar as the river Raisin,
under an expectation he would tneet Captain Brush, tsith 150 men,
volunteers from ti:c State of Una, and a eituanity of lirovisions for tyre
army. An ambuscade teas twined at Brownstown, and Major V au-
hoitte's detachment defeated and returned to camp without eilecting
the object of the es peril

In my letter of the ith inst. you have the particulars of that t rp2o-
- with a return of the k;:leci alit wounded. Undtr this suiliFeii
and unexpected change of thii :•AS, and having received an express fir to
General commanding cppitite the British shore r.n the Niagara
river, by %vine!' it appeared that there w...s no prospect of any co-
/Tel ation front that quarter, and the two senior Lfliccrs of the artillery
halving stated to mean opinion that it would be difficult, if not impos-
Slide to pass the Turkey River and Ri. r Aux Cannartl, with the
2-17;ustiniteris, and that they cottkl not be transpcitecl by water, as the
Durns Charlotte, which carricd eigliteeit 21-pounders, lay in the River
etroit, at...,ve the ntouth" of the River Aux Cannard ; and as it
appeare'd nt.cessary to open the communication to the
Rtisia and thu I tOund myself compelled to suspend
the operations against. Anthersttttg, toot concentrate the main tiger
of Me army at 13:troit.

Se then states the failure of the attcmpt to *elicit the communica-
tiQn itects.ei y for the supply of the troops, atui that in cohsrquence
the was rot proviLl,4:s atruniwitioat, and the sickness of 144 army •
tor pet d hitrt to kurt