The National Register.
London, England, 1811-10-27 00:00:00

AMERICA.

(PROM THE BOSTON INDEPENDENT CHRONICLE, SEPT. 12.)
" Yesterday we were present at the Court of Inquiry on the
tonuuct of Commodore Rodgers, in chastising the insolence of
Captain Bingham, of the Little Belt, and we are happy to state,
that the examinati(o, as far as it has progressed, is such as per-
fectly to gratify every friend to the reputation and independence
of the country, and to the gallant Officer who so promptly and
efficierftly supported the honour of the. flag. We understand the
inquiry is to proceed, until every Officer on board the vessel at
the time of the action is xamined ; every Officer yet before the
board has confirmed the statements of the Commodore in every
particular, as far as came within their means of knowledge ; and
there is not a doubt existing, that the result of the examination
will furnish to the world, the most complete, unequivocal, and
Unshat!owed testimony of the scrupulous correctness of the de-
meanour of the A-17 erican Commodore, and his minute and rigid
fidelity in the account of the transaction."
New YORK, SE PT. 12.—The National latelligencer Of the 7th
states, itn.t the Court of Inquiry is not held at the demand of
Mr. Foster, but at the very earnest request of Captain Rodgers.
The Spaniards so far from yielding the Flori.!as to Mr. Madi-
son's kind Levitation, are fortifying D dphin Island on the Mo-
bile, to prevent any attacks on Mobile town. If Spain is over
run by the" Canibilk," it is probable the Floridas will afford a
Safe asylum 1 r the many thousands of the armed patriots of
that unhappy country.
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MORE ALGERINE ROBBERY AND IMPRESSMENTS.
NEW BEDFORD, SEP F. 6. Che ship Hercules. Capt. S. ow,
of chi- port, owned by Messrs Wedton How.and, Humphrey
Hathaway, Preh Nwift, jun. and Capt. Sn .w. ai of this town,
and nat,v' American citizens, with a cargo of American produce,
Wholly owned by the owner* of the slip, couststing ut tobacco,

, REGISTER.

C 73

rice, cotton, and logwood, a part of which was taken it; here,
and the remainder at the Southward, sailed from Charlestime,
S. C. about the 20th of February last hound to St. Petersburgh.
On the ltith April last, she was taken by a Danish privateer, ea:-
lied into Copenhagen, and after a detention of five days, was
liberated, and proceeded on her voyage. About the 'first of
June last, she was captured by a French privateer and carried,
tnto Dantzic, where her cargo was immediately discharged and
her provisions, stores, &c. taken on board the privateer, to fit
her for another cruise. The people were turned on shore
without any thing to ear or drink, and were preserved from ex•
treme distress and famishing by the charitable assistance of some
friends of Capt. Snow at Hamburgh, and St. Petershurgh. Four
of the sailors, viz. Seth Randall, Robert Leslie, Thomas Best,
and Joseph Vaughan, were inipresaed and marched to Antwerp.
Tne ship and cargo were valued at about 00,000 certs. and were
mostly insured at a premium of 20 per cent. Here is then
another precious and striking evidence of the repeal of the
Berlin and Milan decrees with a vengeance!
The English papers are red-hot on the subject of the Little
Belt. Even The Morning Chronicle, the great speaking trumptt
of opposition, dzclares it to be " impossible to submit to this in-
sult.' The same Paper lays the blame of the situation of affairs
on the English Ministers in refusing to ratifY Mr. Erskine's ar-
rangement. On this subject a Ministerial Paper says, . Nothing
can he more absurd than to charge Ministers with the refusa
to ratify Erskine's arrangement; as it is well known. that the
non•ratification was the sole act of the King, who felt himself
personally insulted by an impertinent remark of the President of
the United States, in the letter which accompanied that arrange-
ment. •

PROVIDENCE, SE PT. s.—The brig Ruth. from Lisbon, arrived
here, was tired at and bri•ught to by a lir itish sloop of war; and
when within a short distance, a musket was fired, the ball of
which passed very near the man at the helm.
l'he brig Telegraph, arrisrPd hue from Charlestown, was
fired at and brought to off Block Island, and dvtained all iiiklrt
by the British frieate Guerriere; the Commander of which in-
quired of Captain Bishop whether Commodore Rodgers was
hung : and , receiving an answer in the negative, he informed
Captain B. that unkss the Commodore should he hung soon,
that was the last bag of cotton he should be suffered to kin
from Charlestown, and that he expected 18 ships of war from
England eve y hour, with orders to capture every American
vessel they found on the ocean.
QUINTESSENCE OF AUDACITY.

We have just received from our C:e respondents in Philadel-
phia, a later containing a fresh instance of the shocking inso-
lence of Bonaparte's Ci.itiffs in thi' Piiited States. It ceps thu
climax of French arrogance and turpitude.—( Baltimore Puper.)
" PHILADELPHIA, Ave, 30.—As the news of the day, 1 sit
down to inform you ot one of the most atrocious pieces of French
impudence that perhaps has happened since time days of Genet.
Some time since arrived here a schooner, called No. 5, belong-
ing, as is pretended, to the Emperor of France, entering an a
plea of distress—she was-put into the hands of time carpenter,
and her crew turned over to time brig Diligente, then in port. It
was soon discovered that No. .5 was the schooner Exchange, he-
longing to Mr.M‘Fadon, and Mr.G reetham of your town, seized
some time since in France, and fitted out without condemnation.
On that plea she was seized, and this day Judge Peters gave
the parties their first hearing. The Frenchmen employed
lawyer to appear for them ; hut soon after time business com-
menced, the French Consul handed the .11.dge a paper, in form
of a protest, against the libellants and the Court, saying, " that
if they condemned the schooner, his master wool.: look to them
(the Court) for indemnification, &c."—Judge Peters tre..ted it
with becoming indignation, as an insult to time Court ; and sisal,
that he had never seen or heard of any thing like it since the
days of Genet. Dallas, the attorney or time district, coniiitg in,
he (Peters) !voided it to him, and told him be might do with it
what he pleased ; but it ..,Imoirld not go on the tiles of the Court.
It is supposed the paper will be handed to the Presideei at
Washington, and then we shell see how tar French ieflta tee
will go. lam in hopes of gettin a copy of the protest, whets
you will see it, and a more correct statement in the papers."

FIRST CONDRMNATION IJFDER BLIONAPARTR'S AMERICAN
NON-IMPORTATION DECREE.
At a late Session of the United Stat. s District Court, far the
Stzte t); C.,linecticur, i i rpont, Edwards, Dist:ict Judge, sit-
ting at New Haven, juignient of condeninati in waspassei: up.ri
thy: Iffig Br,thers, and h?t cargo, for an aikg, d viohitisin
of the Nan-Iniportation Law, on tiir Following opinion of
Edwards
•' That thy- President's Proclamation was conclusive evidence
that the Berlin and Milan Decrees were revokvii
'miming of the Act of Congress; and toati whatever might oc
his private opinim on the question iil fact, wAttlier thoic De-

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crces were or were not still in farce, it was incompetent for
him, in his judicial cApaci:y, to enquire into that question ; the
President of the United' States, to whom the decision thereof
belonged, baying, on his responsibility, already, by proclamation,
settled that point."
We learn from Washington, that the British-sloop of war Tar-
tarus, having entered Hampton-Roads, and not complied with
the conditions )f• our Nun-Intercourse Law, the Collector of
Norfolk, on Friday, the 20th ult. required from Commodore
Potter, commanding on the Norfolk station, the aid of the naval
force subject to his order, to compel her to leave our waters.
The Commodore accordingly forthwith proceeded to Hamp-
ton-Roads with an intention of driving her from that place with
gun-boats. No. 68 and 69, manned from the crew of the Essex;
the brig Nautilus, Lieutenant Sinclair, and the boats of the fri-
gate Essex, armed, and under the command of Lieuts. Downes,
Wilmore, Wilson, and Finch. On the arrival of these boats at
the place of her anchorage, Commodore Porter was informed
by a pilot (employed for the purpose of saving her anchor) that
the Tartarus had, in consequence of a letter received by the
Commander from Norfolk, cut her cable, and gone to sea in the
night. There is no doubt from the activity and zeal displayed
by the Officers and seamen, that had she remained, she would
have severely suffered for her hardihood and imprudence in set-
ting the laws at defiance. We need not remind our readers that
this is the vessel which the other day captured the American
ships Dryad and Betiey, on our coast, in utter disregard and
disgraceful violation of our neutrality, and of national law.

I 'OR l UG .4 L.

PRIVATE LETTER FROM AN OFFICER OF TIIE 77TH

REGIM ENT.

" Cazo de Moyendo, Portugal, Sept. 30.
" On joining my regiment on the evening of the 24th, I found
it not far fron• Ciudad Rodrigo, blockading that place, and I
just joined in time, for the next morning we took up a position
on the hills above the village at three o'clock, expecting the
enemy, and about eight we saw them make their appearance in
very great force, principally cavalry. Our brigade, with the
exception of the sth regiment, were posted on a hill in advance.
The enemy took a direction to our lot, where the sth regiment
had been all night, and were then with a couple of guns of the
Portuguese artillery. As we were in this position, Lord el-
lington came riding up, and immediately saw the point the ene-
my meant to attack, where the sth regiment and guns were
posted, and directly ordered us off to its support. Shortly after
we got there, the enemy charged our guns ; they had at the
same time five field-pieces and a howitzer playing from an op-
posite hill on us. The greater part of our regiment had never
seen a shot fired: they behaved most nobly. We remained till
the enemy came within about twenty yards of us—the front rank
kneeling—their bayonets pointed towards the cavalry; we and
the sth in two squares; when the rear ranks gave them such a
volley, that they tumbled down the hill in great style. Two
squadrons of the 11th dragoons, and one of the German hussars,
charged after them, and cut them up terribly. The Germans
gave no quarter The enemy Charged us several times. They
had 20 regiments of cavalry, amounting to about 4000 men ; we
bad not more than 500 cavalry and 600 infantry to oppose them.
As the enemy advanced, their numbers looked terrific, and we
expected the two regiments would have been cut to atoms, but
their bravery overcame every peril. The enemy's artillery kept
constantly playing, and every shot fell amongst us; and so many
narrow escapes of our Officers are almost incredible. Colonel
Bromhead was very near being shot twice. A shell fell under
Colonel Dunkin's horse, and covered him with dirt, without
hurting him or his horse. Our Major had a portmanteau knock-
ed frim the rear of his saddle by one of the enemy's nine-pound-
ers, within half a foot of his back; he coolly turned round, and
said, "there was nearly an end of poor Jack." Our Adjutant
and his horse were knocked down by a shell, but neither were
hurt, though a number of our cavalry galloped over them. We
had not one Officer killed or wounded, which to me was asto-
nishing; we had 26 men killed and wounded, and the sth regi-
ment I believe about as many. I don't exactly know how many
the dragoons lost, but the whole behaved most gallantly ; the
dragoons we could see fighting two and three at a time of the
enemy.
46 To describe Lord Wellington is impossible : his coolness,
his decision, in the midst of a hot fire from the enemy, were
eminently -conspicuous : he has the eye of a hawk;—he was
close in our rear, and exclaimed, " well done the 77th,"when
he saw our men behave so well. After the action, we were very
complimented by our General of Division (Picton).
regiment did behave uncommonly well. We
aU the next day, and marched all the. night of

THE NATIONAL REGISTER.

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