Alexandria daily gazette, commercial & political. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1808-1812, 1812-04-11
March 80.
LATEST FROM FLORIDA.

LATEST FR0M FhCEii5A.
By Saturdays mail, and by the arrival
on Saturday evening Of the schooner RI
sing Sun, in two days from Amelia Island,
our accounts from East Fiorida, are brof
down to Thursday noon.-Ihe statement
which we published OF the taking posses
sion Of that Province, in last Fridays
Courier, or TIE authority OF gentleman
from thence, is fully confirmed in all its
particulars by letters which we have
seen, and by information received from
several gentlemen, passengers In the I'll
siag-Sun. Tie American troops remain
ed in quiet possession CT Amelia on Thurs
dav--information was on that day receiv-
ed, that the Reyolutienists, amounting,
| according to report, to about four or five
hundred men, had arrived before the town
Of St. Augustine On Tuesday, that the
commander of that place had shut the
GATES and was determined to hold ont, II
possible, till reinforcements should reach
him from HAVANA, to which place he had
despatched fast sailing vessel with in
tellipence of the revolution. a British
schooner had also sailed from st. Angus
| tine TOr Nassau, With Tie same iniorLila-
lion.
| Opinions we're various At Amelia, whe-
Their the Revoiutionists would or would
| not be able to gain possession OF Angus
tine-it was said that there were three
or four hundred regular Soldiers In the
fortress. and that there were besides ma
nv of the inhabitants who would oppose
! them.-0n the other hand, they and their
| friends, spoke with the greatest confidence
| of success.-in their progress towards st.
| Augustine, the RevelutiOnists took small
fort near ST. Johns, iii which there were
Is guns and about 80 soldiers, but they
| had previously evacuated it, and retreated
| towards st. Augustine.
The most conspicuous leaders among
| the Revoiutionists, were Messrs. MIN
tosh, Ashley, and Cook, Spanish subjects
but not Spaniards by birth; and Messrs'
Eoag. Marshall Of the district of St. Ma
rvs: Clarke, Post Master at st. Nary's,
and Young, a lip-carpenter at that
place, were also active leaders in the
| cause.
Two battaI!ions Of Gen. Floyd's division
OF Georgia Militia, under the command
Of Col. Smythe, Of the U. States army,
were expected at Amelia the day after
the Rising-Sun sailed; when the United
States troops then at that place, consist
ing of one company Of riemen and a
small detachment Of flying artillery and
dismounted cavalry. amounting in all to
bout 500 men, were to proceed on tor St.
Johns, under the orders OF Gen. Ma
thews, who is acting as commander in
chief Of the naval and military forces OF
the U. States in that quarter. and who
has taken possession Of Florida, through
the agency of the Revoutionists, as he
says, under the express orders OF the 60
vernment Of the =. States.
Four gun-boats sailed from Amelia for
st. Johns, or st. Augustine, the BEGIN
ming Of the last week, to cooperate with
the Reyolutionists who had gone against
those places.
A temporary custom-house had been/o-
pened at Amelia-Island, by Mr.. Lewis,
deputy collector at st. Mary's, and seve-
raj small vessels had been cleared out In
ballast coast-wise but it was not the in
tentiOn of Gen. Mathews to allow any OF
the goods lying at that place to be intro
| duced into the q. States until the terms
Of capitulation mentioned in the subjoined