Virginia Argus. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1796-1816, 1812-09-21
DOMESTIC.
FROM TIE NATIONAL Is4ELrIcENcER.

N'' 'He SVW"~HU " Dts HtiEt'Ut W III
Hull, TO the Secretary Of U'ar.
WAsHINcroN, Sept. 10th, 1912.
SIR,
Having been ordered on to this
place, by Col. MArthur, for the purpose OF
communicating to the government such par
ticulavs resNecting the expedition lately
Commanded by Brig. Gen. Hull, and its dis
astrous result, as might enable them cor
rcctly To appreciate the conduct OF the Of
hccrs and men, and to develope the causes
which produced, SO foul stain upon the ma
tional. character, have the honor to submit
to your consideration, the following state
mcnt: -
When the forces landed in Canada, they
landed with an ardent zeal and stimulated
with the hope of conquest. No enemy APP
peared within view Of us, and madam imme.
date and vigorous attack been made upon
Maiden, it would doubtless have fallen an
easy victory. I know Gen. Hull afterwards
declared, he regretted this attack had not
been made, and he had every reason To be-
lieve success would have crowned his eff
forts. The reason given for delaying our
operations, was tn mount our heavy cannon
and t. afford to the Canadian militia time
and opportunity To quitan obnoxious service
In The Course oftwo weeks, the number of
their militia who were embodied, had de.
creased, by dcsertion, from siX hundred to
one hundred men; and, in the course of
three weeks, the cannon were mounted. the
a,nmdnition fixed, and every preparati n
made FOR an Immediate investment of the
f1r,. At council, at which were present
all n" field officers, and which was held
two vsbefore our preparations were COM
ct, \,
an immediate attempt 10 accomplish the oh
ject of the expedition. Ii by waiting two
days, we could have the service of our hea-
Wy artillery. Is was agreed to wait; if mt,
it vas determined to go without it, aud to at
tempt the place by storm. This opinion APP
peared 20 correspond with the views of the
General, and the day was appointed for
commencing our march. He declared to
me, that he considered himself pledged to
lead the army TO Maiden. The ammunti-
OF was placed in the Wagons; the Cannon
wee embarked Oh board the floating bate
Ties, and every requisite article was prepar-
ed. The spirit and zeal, the ar6Or and ami
nation displayed by the officers and men,
on learning the near accomplishment of heir
wishes, was 4 sure and sacred pledge thai
N the hour "f trial, they would not be found
wanting in their duty TO their country and
themselves. But a change Of measures, in
oppcSI ION so the wishes and opinions of all
the officers, was adopted by the General
The plan of attacking Maiden was aban-
daned and, instead of acting Extensively,
we broke mp our camp, evacuated Canada
and re-crosscd the river in the'night, without
even the shadow OF all enemy tn injure u.s.
We left to the tender mercy OF the enemy,
the miserable Canadians who had joined us,
and the hr2tectioTwe suffered chem, was but
q passport TO vengeance. This fatal and
unaccOu1tablc step disPirted the troops, and
destroyed the little confidence which Sc
ries of tinid, irrssolute and indecsive mea-
sures h4d left in the commanding officer.
About the 10th Of August, the enemy re-
Ceived a re enforcement Of four hundred
men. On the 18Th, the commanding off
GERS of three x me regiments (the fourth
was absc ~ were informed, through a me-
dunn which admitted of no doubt, that the
General mad stated that captulation
Jg14id be necessary. they, on the same dav,
addressed 20 Gov. Meige, OF ONO, letter,
of which thc following IS an extract:
Belle G all the bearer will tell You. Be-
iieve it, however it may astonish YOU, as
much as # toId you by one of US. Even a C
- is talked of by the The
bearer will Gil the vacancy"
Ile doubtful fate Of his letter rendered
il necessary 70 use circumspec.ion in its de-
tall, and therefore these BLANKS were left.
The word capisulation' will fill the first, and
Commanding General the other. As no
enemc was near rs, and as the superiority of
our force was manifest, We could sec no ne
ccssi-y for capita t-Jng, nor any propTiety in
allulng to it, We therefore determined in
the last resort TO incur the respon si5ilitv OF
Giyesting The general OF his command. This
pan was eventually prevented by two OF the
com banding officers of regimcnts beng or
dered upon detachments.
Or the 18Th, the British took a position
opposite to Detroit, and began to throw up
W ,rkS. During that and the TWO following
days, they pursued their object without inter
rupton auI established battery fortwo 49,
pomders and an 8-inch howi,zer. About
sunset on he evening of The l4th, detach-
ment Of $50 men from the regiments com
mandeG by col M'Ar,hur and myself was
ordered 10 march To tic river Raisin, to es-
cort the pro,isiou, which had some time re-
manned there protected by party under the
command ri Capt. Brush.
On saturday, tho 18Th, about o'clock, a
flag OF truce arrived from Sandwich, bear
irg a summons from Gen. Brock, for the sur
render of the town and fort of Detroit, sta
ting, he could NJ longer restrain the fury of
the sagages. 70 TINS an immediate and
spirited refusal was returned. About 4 o.
clock, TIER batteries began to play upon the
town. i'ne fire vas returned and continued
without interruption and with little effect till
dark Their shells were thrown till eleven
O'clock.
At day light, the firing on both sides re-
commenced about The same time the eae-
my beg 90 land troops, ut the Spring wells,
three miles below Detroit, protected by two
Of ,hcir armed vessels. Between 6 and o..
click, they had Effected their landing and
Immediately took up their hne OF march.