Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1815-10-07

OF brave citizens, was more like an eff
fusion of feeling warm from the heart,
than concerted military movement
| The result oft we all know, and it af-
forded sincere delight to every patriot.
But the particulars we have never seen
| so accurately described as in the follow
ing conc Sc narrative from the chairman
1 of the Committee of Defence to the Sc
| cretarv of War, of which we have been
| favored with copy for publication.
| National Inieiligencer.
Stonington Borough, August 81, 1915.
| To the Hon. HIM. H. CRAwFoRD, Secrc-
tary IF lva.
SIR---The former Secretary of War
put into my care, as Chairman of the
Committee of Defence, the two 10 poun-
ders, and all the munitions of war, that
was here. belonging to the general gov
ernment, to be used for the defence of
the towp--and ] gave my receipt for the
same.
As there is no military officer here, it
becomes my duty to inform you the use
| we have made of it. That on the 9th of
August last, the Families, ~, the Pac-
| tolus, IA, the Terror bomb-ship, and the
Dispatch 20 gun brig, anchored off the
harbour. Commodore Hardy sent off
other from the shore, when the officer of
| the flag handed me note from Commo-
dore Hardy, informing that one hour was
given the unoffending inhabitants, before
the town would be destroyed.
We returned to the shore, where all
| the male inhabitants were collected,
when i read the note aloud; they all ex-
claimed, they would defend the place to
| the last extremity, and if it was DESTROYED,
they would be buried in the ruins
We repaired 10 a small battery that
| we had hove up-nailed our colors to the
flag staff-others lined the shore With their
! muskets.
At about i'll the evening, they put off
barges anda large launch, carrying from
30 to Id. carronades in their bows, and
opened their fire from their shipping, with
bombs, carcasses, rockets, round, grape,
and canister shot, and sent their boats to
land under cover of their FIRE. We let
them come within small grape distance,
when we opened Our FIRE upon them, from
our two IL Founders with round and grape
shot; they soon retreated out of grape
distance, and attempted landing on the
east side of the village we dragged a
FOUNDER that we had mounted, over, and
met them with grape, and all our muskets
opened their fire on them, so that they
were willing to retreat the second time
They continued their fire till IL at night.
The next morning at o'clock the brig
Dispatch anchored within pistol shot of our
battery, and they sent 5 barges. and 2
large launches to land under cover of their
whole fire (being joined by the Nimrod 20
gun brig) When the boats approached
within grape distance, we opened our fire
upon them with round and grape shot
they retreated and came round the east
side OFT town we checked them with
our six Founder and muskets, till we
dragged over one of our 10 pounders-we
put in round shot, and about 40 or so lib.
OF grape, and placed it in the centre of
their boats as they were rowing up in line,
and hiring on us, we tore one of their bar
ges all in pieces---so that two, one on each
side had to lash her up to keep her from
sinking. They retreated out Of grape dis
lance, and we turned our fire upon the
brig, and expended all our cartridges but
>, which we reserved for the boats, if they
made another attempt to land. We then
lay four hours without being able to annoy
the enemy in the least, except from mus
kets on the brig, while the FIRE of their
whole fieet was directed against our build
ings. After the third express to New
London! some fixed ammunition arrived
we then turned our cannon on the brig.
and she soon cut her cable and drifted
out.
The whole feet then weighed, and an
chOred nearly out OF reach of our shot, and
continued this and the next day to bonn
bard the town.
They set the buildings on fire in more
than 20 places, and we as often put them
out. In 3 days bombardmcnt they sent on
shore 90 tons OF metal, and strange to tell.
wounded only one man, since dead. We
have Pickedup Is tons, including some that
| was taken up out of the water, and the
| two anchors that we got. We took up
and buried four poor fellows that were
hove overheard from the sinking barge.
Since peace, the officers of the Dispatch
| brig have been on shore here they ac-
knowledge they had 81 killed and 50 bad
| wounded and further say, had we con-
tinued our FIRE any longer, they should have
struck, for they were in a sinking conditi
on, for The wind then blew at S. w. di-
rectly into the harbour. Before the am
munition arrived, it shifted round to north,
| and blew out of the harbor-An the shot
suitable for the cannon we have reserved.
We have now more Is pound shot than
was sent us by government. We have
put the two cannon in the arsenal, and
housed all the munitions of war.
Augusta, September 8.
THE hon. I'm. II. Crawford, Secyefory
at zoar, and late minister hienitofenfiarV
10 the court Of france, arrived here on
.