Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1852-08-14

not until he knew that we had now one army I'll
to cope with the best troops of Britain. He had re
cciyed them from Gen. Brown raw recruits; he
gave them back to him veterans in discipline: he
had taken them in hand mere crowd, "a moi
with uniforms on , they left him an inyincbe host
filled with martial skill and confidence, and soon
to sweep before them with the bayonet (that
manifest test of the soldier) Wellington's old
re-eaters of the Spanish peninsula, that had never
before given back.
THE NIAGARA CROSsED-FoRT ERIE TAKEN-BAT
TIE OF CHIPPEWA.
All was now ready for action. At the end OF
June Gen. Brown returned to Buffalo, and on the
3D. of July Scott and Ripley were sent across the
Niagara with their brigades to take Fort Erie 1t
surrendered its ITO men, while the rest of our
army passed over; and now preparations were at
once made to attack without delay the British
army, which, 2,l00 strong, lay, under Gen. Rial,
on the Chippewa below. Early on the 4th Scott
moved forward in advance. He was soon met by
the Marquis of Tweeddale, who for sixteen miles
kept up running fight with him, but could make
no stand. By nightfall he was driven across the
Chippewa, and at its bridge rejoined Rial while
Scott took up his quarters for the night on Streets
creek, two miles above. The space between is the
plain of Chippewa, midway on which occurred the
next days bloody battle. East of the plain runs
the Niagara; west of it stretched wood, bordering
irregularly the battle-ground. On the 9th the chief
part of the day had been consumed in skirmishes
between our light troops and Indians with those Of
the enemy, when Gen. RIAL chose, about four in
the afternoon to anticipate attack on him in his
lines by passing the bridge of the Chippewa and adj
vancng to offer battle in the middle of the plain
Nothing could be fairer than the ground; and
though he outnumbered us by some 200 men, he
really supposed to have at least that advantage
over him, but that he was more than compensated
by the superiority of his troops, who were mainly
veterans that had fought under Wellington. Gen.
Brown had been at the wood near the centre of the
plain directing some of the movements of the Skin
mishers, when he saw Rail thus pass the bridge,
display his columns and come forward in order of
battle. He Immediately FASTENED back towards
SCOTS position, beyond the bridge of the upper
stream. He met him about to cross into the plain
merely to give his men little drill, for he had yet
received no order to engage. As they met Gen.
Brown simply said to him, "The enemy is advanc-
ing-you will have fight" and passed on to the
rear to order up Ripley's brigade.
The few words just recited were all the orders and
all the instructions that he thought it necessary
(such was his confidence in Scott) to give him. The
latter advanced to pass the bridge, now within point
blank range of the enemys battery of nine guns.
His troops crossed it steadily, though not without
loss, under that severe fire, and, depoying as they
advanced, marched coolly up to the encounter. The
artillery of Capt Towson was thrown off to the right
fank along the Chippewa road, to just the point
where the opposing columns would meet in charge,
so that it would not only play upon the enemy all
the while, but, when the decisive shock came, rake
him dreadfully from the flank. The enemy's artil- !
lery, the contrary, though stronger was far less
judiciously posted, in such manner that the adj /
Al 1af+ Qarl
threw them between their batteries and our columns
and thus compelled their cannon to become useless
against our line So much for the artillery posi-
tons Those Of the infantry were on our side
equally well disposed. The enemy came on in an
unbroken line, which outfanked us and hedinto
the wood on our left To remedy this, Leaven-
worth's battalion obhqued to the right, McNeips
to the left, with an interval between them while
Jesups battalion was obqued still more to the left
so as to meet the enemy's right wing in the wood,
and there hold it in check. At the point where
this was done the wood projected more into the plain
than in Jesups rear SO that the enemys line ont
of the wood was shorter than ours; and as their
line in the plain continued to advance while that in
the wood could not the former was presently at the
critical moment when it came into contact with our
centre under Mcneil, outfanked by it in turn
These advantages had been at once seen and seized
by superiority of generalship and that rapidity and
precision of maneuvre to which his men had
now been brought, 50 to be able Gas they should)
to execute an important movement almost soon
as their general had conceived ii. But this was
not ALL still more decisive evolution at hand.
The movements just described had brought the
adverse lines to exactly that point at which that ter
rble stratagem called the "movement en- potcace'
"a sort of double sidelong attack can be employed
FIN it, when you are within charging distance of the
enemy, your TANKS are suddenly pushed forward
and your line thrown into the shape of the rafters
of rather fat-roofed house, while the enemy line
occupies, in regard to it, the position which the
seepers have to the rafters The effect of this is to
converge the fire Of your line upon his centre and
cut it in two; to finish which operation, you then
charge upon him, (the two angles of your line
moving upon the same point on which their double
FIRE was just now poured and the bayonet ends
what the balls began. This movement, when well
executed, inevitably breaks your adyersary's line,
and is fatal no troops can stand it. Scott now
put it in practice The opposing lines had advanced
upon each other, firing hating re-loading and ad-
yancing again by turns, until now they within
eighty yards of each other. Then Scott gave the
word for the evolution en- potence. To add to its
effect, he had moment before ridden over TO
Towson's artillery, (Which he perceived was, from
the smoke and the enemy's advance, firing too much
to the rght,) and told that able gunner where next
to pour his balls; and his next raking discharge
was accordingly very destructive a moment after,
the infantry made its manGuyre No sooner was
its double fire poured in than Scott called out to
McNeil's battalion, The enemy say We are only