Herald of the times. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1830-1846, 1840-07-02
YET ANOTHER CALUMNY.

The par,izons Of the Administration must
be either the most desperate or the most ig-
norant men living. The most ignorant OF
the stories they get up, and swear to, IN de-
fanation Of Gen. Harrison, are reully bclicv'
ed by themselves; the most desperate II
they put them forth, us one cannot help be-
lieving, with knowledge Of their ialslty. and
of the case with which they can be dlsprovcd.
Here ls all instance now, the parallel Of which
can hardly be found in any former political
contest. In the Cleveland Advertiser oi
April "a, appeared the following statement;
"Whcn two small crafts of the enemy
hove in sight of Cleveland harbor, with the
intention OF capturing some American vrsscls
laden with provision and arms then lying IN
the river, Gen. Harrison was urged by The
citizens 10 place his army Of 1900 men ~ am.
bush at the mouth of the nver, and by FALLING
upon the enemy after they had entered the
river. capture them withou, a possibility of
their escape. But did this brave hero! tins
skilfn warrior this hardship enduring chef
profit by the suggestion? We blush IN shame
as an American citizen, that this Hero OF
TippecaDoe, frightened into perfect fever
through fear OF an engagement with The en-
envy, parudrd his men IN several hundred
tents along the bank OF the lake in the most
conspicuous places, exhibiting the appear.
ance Of n vast army. This the British saw.
and after lying oft opposite the town several
hours, and thinking the farce collected too
powerful for them, they drew off. went scve.
raj miles below, landed, killed an OK, md left
doubloon on a stump with note. saying II
: that was not enough for The OK they would
make it up when they called again Evi.
IDENTITY exhibiting mrr:tcd contempt for the
vigilance and efficiency OF Gen. Harrison"
Testimony in abundance was produced to
the editor, again and again, showing that he
was mislnfurmed-th Ger. Harrison was
not present at the time and affair spoken Of,
ard that in other particulars his account was
altogether incorrect but again and again he
persisted in declaring that what he had wri,
ten was true TO the letter, and that he had
sufficient evidence to prove it. Flo was cal
led on for his evidence, but it never came :.
aud finally, to cover him with shame and con.
fusion, Gen. Thomas II. Jesup, Of the U. s.
army, was applied to, and from him was OBJ
tained the annexed real history of tho tran
sac ton:
Washington City June 5ih, ls40.
Sir Your letter of the ith NJ. enclosing
,o1.. .,g
The I'd Of Aprll, was received on the day al
It's date, but the Necessity of searching Tor
md examining papers which had not looked
nj for more than twenty six years has pre-
vented a more prompt reply.
The editor Of the Advertiser is mistaken in
supposing that General Harrison was at
Cleveland with 1900 men when the British
squadron appeared off that place in 1913
tie was not there. ] was the senior and com
manding officer at the time. My force con-
sisted OF one company Of regular troops, one
small company of volunteers from Chilicothe,
and detachment of drafted Ohio militia, in
all about 230 men, one fouit tn Of whom were
sick.
A British descrtcr surrendered to me on
the 18th of June, and npprised me Of the in
tention of the enemy 10 attack the port On
the morning Of the 18th The squadron appear.
cd saw myself only two vessels, tLongh
others were reported to me, aud | aflcrward
ascerialned there were three more in compa.
ny. The decks of those that approached
nearest the shore were covered with troops,
and an attack seemed inevitable.
Cleveland was then one Of the most mpor-
tant depols of the army there were in store
several hundred stands of arms, intended for
the volunteers and Goth regiment Of Infantry,
then recruiting, besides large supplies Of an.
iuiagc and subsistence for the ar
my, and in the Cuyahoga river, aud at the
public boat yard, the transports IN which
several thousand men atterward crossed the
lake. Had the arms aud stores been captur
ed, and the transports destroyed, they could
not, in the then exhausted state of the coun.
try, and the bad condition Of the roads, have
been replaced during the season, and the
campaign would probably have been at an
end. To deter the enemy from landing, or II
he should make the attempt, 10 force upon
him measures OF caution, and consequently of
delay, by which might gain time to rally to
my support the force of the country, | ar.
ranged my small command in the manner to
present the most imposing appearance-for
the measures adopted, whether right or wrong,
| alone om responsible. Fortunately, re;-
haps, for me, os well as for the country, Prov.
iJencc inierposed, aud by severe storm the
enemy was driven iiom the const.
enclose n copy of my report on the occa-
sion to the Secretary of War, duplicate OF
which was sent ul the time to Gen. Harrison.
The original is now OH file IN the war Office.
have the honor to be, sir,
Your obedient servant.
TIL. s. JESUP.
The Hon. in. w. ALLEN,