The National Register.
London, England, 1811-08-25 00:00:00

MOST GALLANT NAVAL ACTION.

The Little Belt,Capt. BINGIIA NI, which has arrived
at Portsmouth, from Halifax, brings an account of a
lost 'glorious and brilliant action; fought by the
'alenti* sloop of war, of 16 guns, Captain FREDE-
IltiCK HICKRY, with the Entreprenante, a French
frigate of 32 guns, on the 20th of July, off Cape.
May, on the coast of America. After an action of

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two houri and a half between these two vessels of •
such unequal force, British skill. and itttrepixlity
triuMphed over every obstacle, and the Frenchman
was obliged to strike his colours. The Atalanta
had hut one man kiVed and four wounded
whilst the loss of the enemy amounted to thirty -
killed and wounded. This glorious achievement
derives additional lustre . from the circumstance
that the Atalanta was not only so greatly inferior
to her atlagonist, but actually short of her comple.
merit of men, in so much that it appears that Cape
tain HICKEY was in • some doubt whither to send
his prize. This action, as brilliant as any which
grace the annals of the Brivibh navy, has happened
most critically off the coast of America, to show
the Americans how little reason they have to boast
of the result of the affair between their ship
President, and the English sloop of war the Little
Belt ; and that had not the disparity of force
been so disproportionate in that case, the event
of the action would -have been far different:
Captain HickE't, the gallant officer who cont.
manded the Atalanta, was appointed to. that
vessel when she was building. at .Berrnuda.—
He had been long a Lieutenant, though a very
young man, being still under. thirty, when,. after
many fruitless applications for promotion, ,he WAS
unexpectedly to him appointed to the vessel he now
commands, by Mr. THOMAS GRENVILLE, a short
time Rrevions to the removal of the Administration
of which Mr. GRENVILLE was a member. Captain
HICKEY has since been employed on the Halifax sta.
tion, and may now, in reward for this most gallant
hievement, very fairly look to a step of promo.
tion and a rotation of duty.

AMERICA.
American Papers to . the ena of the last month
have reached us. Their contents throw no light
whatever on the state of the negotiations carried ori,
by Mr. FOSTER with the Executive. The paper
war continues betvc;een Messrs. MADISON and SMITH,
and to prove the want of talents of the latter, a
Mr. Co'Nix, who is stated to be the Editor of The -
National litelligencer, has come forward and de.
clared, that the official documents produced by Mr.
SMITH, in his first attack on the PRESIDENT, were

his own compositions.
We here insert the most interesting part of Mr.
CALVIN'S address upon the subject :
After a short preface, in which he expresses his
regret at hiving the duty of such an explanation
imposed upon him, he adds—gi I declare, then, to
the American people, that the letter inserted at
page 17 of the pamphlet of Mr. Sut•rmm,. addressed
to General JOHN ARMSTRONG, and the letter inserted• •
at page 23 of the same pamphlet, addressed to Ge-
neral TURREAU, were written by myself, with the
exception of One paragraph in the latter, which I
have understood was written by Mr. MADISON
that they are, without any particular dictation froin
Mr. SMITH, the production of my pen ;—that the
motives and the views connected with the letter to
General TURItEAU, concomitantly declared by Mr.
SMITH, were known to me ;r---that•those motives and
those views involved considerations of a personal
nature, hostile to Mr. MADISON and his Adminis.
tration, more than they embraced .any via* V t)iie

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