Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1856-11-21

: about him, when to our great 10Y he made his
appearance al my house, on his way to Join
his family.
He told me that be had found the British
fleet, at the mouth of the Potomac, preparing
for the expedition against Baltimore He was
courteously received by Admiral Cochrane
and the officers of the army as well as the
navy. But when he made known his business
his apple ation was received so cOldly that he
feared it would fail. General Ross and Al
miral Cockburn, who accompanied the expe.
! dition to w ashington-particularly the latter
spoke of DR.. Beanes in very harsh terms
and seemed at frst not disposed TO release him
1t however happened, fortunately, that Mr.
/ Skinner carried letters from the wounded
| British officers left at Bladensburg, and in
theso letters to their friends on board the
| feet, they all spoke Of the humanity and
! kindness with which they had been treated
after they had fallen into our hands And
after good deal Of conversation, and strong
representations from Mr.. Key as TO the char
acter and standing of DR.. Beanes, and of the
deep interest which the com mu nifty in which he
lived took in his fate, General Ross said that
DR.. Beanes deserved much more punishment
than he had received; but that ne felt him.
self bound to make a return for the kindness
which had been shown to his wounded officers,
whom he had been compelled to leave at Bla.
dcnsburg; and upon that ground, and that
only, he would release him. But Mr. Key
was at the same time informed that neither
he, or any one else, would be permitted 10
leave the feet for some days: and must be
detained until the attack on Baltimore, which
was then about to be made, was over. But
he was assured that they would make him
and Mr.. Skinner comfortable as possible
while they detained them Admiral Coch-
rane, with whom they di1ed on the day Of
their arrival, apologized for not aecommoda-
| ting them with his own ship, saying that it
was crowded already with officers of the army,
but they would be we'll taken care of in the
frigate Surprise, commanded by his son, Tbos
Cochrane And to this frigate they were ac-
cordingly transferred.
Mr.. Key had an interview with DR. Beanes
before General Ross consented to release him
L do not recOllcct whether he was on board
the Admiral's ship or the Surprise, but be-
lievo it was the former. He found him in the
forward part of the snip, among the sailors
aud soldiers; he had not a charge Of clothes
from the tiuie he was seized; was constantly
treated with indignity By those around him.
lie was treated as cuprit, ard net as pris-
oner of war. And this harsh and humiliating
treatment continued until he was placed n
board the Cartel -
Something must have passed when the off
cers were quartercd at his house, on the march
to Warrington, which, in the judgment of
General Ross, bound him not b take up arms
against the English forces until the troops
had re-embarked 1t is impossible, on any
other ground, to account for the manner in
which he was spoken of and treated But
whatever General Ross and the other officers
may have thought, am quite sure that DR.
Deares did not think he was In any way
pledged to abstain from active hOstilities
against the public enemy. And when he
msdc prisoners Of the stragglcrs, he dill not
think himself prisoner on parole, nor sup
pose himself to be violating any obligation he
had incurred. For be was gentleman of un
taruished character, and nice sense Of honor
and incapable of doing anything that could
have justified such treatment. Mr. Key i'm
puted the ill-usage he had received 70 Ad-
miral Cockburn, who, ii is still remembered,
while he commanded in the Chesapeake. car
ried on hostilities in a vindictiVe temper as.
sailing and piundering defencslesS villages,
or cOuntenancing such proceedings by those
under bis command.
Mr.. Key and Mr Skinner continued on
board of the Surprise, where they were very
kindly treated by Sir Thomas Cochrane, until
the feet reached the Patapsco, and prepara-
tiOns were making for landing the troops
Admiral Cochrane then shifted his flag to the
frigatc in order that he might be able to move
further up the river, and superintend in per-
son the attack by water, on the fort And
Mr.. Key and Mr.. Skinner were then sent on
board their own vessel, with a guard of sailors
or marines, to prevent them from landing
They were permitted to take Dr. Beanes with
them and they thought themselves fortunate
in being anchored in a position which ena-
bled them to see distinctly the flag of Fort
McHenry from the deck Of the vessel He
proceeded, them with much animation to de.
scribe the scene on the night of the lombard
ment He and Mr.. Skinner remained on deck
during the night watching every SHE'LL from
the moment il was fired, until it fell, and lis.
tening with breathleSs interest, to hear if an
explosion followed
While the bombardment continued it was
sufficient proof that the fert had not surren.
dered But IL suddenly ceased, some time
before day-aDd as they had no communica-
tion with any one Of the enemy's ships, they
did not know whether the fort had surren-
dered or the attack upon it been abandoned
They paced the deck for the residue of the
night in painful suspense, watching with in
tense anxiety for the return of day, and look.
ing every few minutes at their watches to see
how long they must wait for it !; and as soon
as it dawned, and before it was light enough
| to see objects at a distance, their glasses were
turned to the fort, uncertain whether they
should see there the stars and stripes or the
hag of the enemy. At length the light came,
and they saw that " our flag was still there. -
And as the day advanced they discovered,
from the movements of the boats between the
shore and the fats that the troops had been
roughly handled, and that many wounded
men ad been carried to the ships At length
he was informed that the attack on Baltimore
had failed, that the British army was re en-
barking, and that he and Mr.. Skinner and
DR.. Beanes would be permitted to leave them
and go where they pleased, as soon as the
troops were on board and the feet ready to
sail
He told me that under the excitement Of
| the time, he had written a song, and handed
me printed copy of % The Star Spangled
Banner When l read it and expressed my
| admiration, L asked him how he found time,
in the scenes be had been passing through, to
compose such song He said he commenced
it on the deck Of their vessel, in tbs feryOr of
the moment when he saw the enemy hastily
retreating to their ships, and looked at the
| flag he had watched for so anxiously as the
morning opened that he had written some
lines or brief notes that would aid him in call
ing them to mind, upon the back of a letter
which he happened to have in his pocket; and
for some of the lines. as he proceeded, he was
| obliged to rely altogether on his memory; and