The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1928-11-08

retreat. That nights work had to
perform with much energy when l
had my right shoulder broken by a
hand spike and subsequently broken
over, which rendered me a perfect
invalid.
Laid Out Seaman.
During the fight had an obstinate
Englishman as seaman who at
tempted to lay train of powder to
the magazine. Without thought, l
laid him out for dead with a hand
spike. He, however, came to and
crawled off before the fight ended.
He and Andrews were ever after
among the missing.
"On the retreat of the barges,
which was about four o'clock of the
fourteenth in the morning, there were
rockets fired from them and immedi-
ately after large fires were made in
front of our army and in the different
points of the Patapsco Rives. AS the
barges passed Fort McHenry, on the
opposite shore as they reiterated, the
fort opened fire on them. During
the forenoon of the fifteenth we were
occupied in cleaning up and prepar-
ing for any further emergency and in
terested in digging out of the hill in
the rear as we'll as the front CT my
battery upwards of twenty 18-pound
shots, with which l loaded all my can
non, having a wish to return the en-
envy their own coin, as well as their
own property. l have many times
regretted l did not preserve the balls
they were so polite to send me.
81 remained at the battery about
ten days, after which l was taken
down seriously i'll with bilious fever,
as we'll as the suffering with my
shoulder, and confined to the bed and
house until Christmas following
Some of the officers and men were
discharged from the navy with three
months extra pay for the clothing
burned and lost in the barges near
Pig Point on the approach of the Brit
ish Army on the day previous to the
battle of Blandensburg.
"Now, my dear Sir, l give you all
the particulars as near as l can recol-
lect them, all of which are facts, hop
ing you may CLEAN something that
may satisfy your wishes and views to
the full extent. | have nothing of my
publications that l can lay my hands
on, having placed on file in Washing
ton many documents to strengthen
my claims as Navel Officer, and when
General Taylor came in power, anc
now when l want them, | find they
have been mislaid at the Treasury
Office, and but few of these documents
l have taken copies of. You will fine
in publication called The Olive
Branch, by Mathew Carey, some in
teresting accounts. Also you will find
in that volume my wound mentioned
Spiked Capital Cannon.
81 will remark that the cannon
took from the front of the Capitol al
the time of the retreat of the army
were four 18-pounders. Two of them
l spiked with rat-tail files, the other
two l took off, as stated in my first
letter to you.
Il will also remark that when, | was
sent from the Lazaretto to take
charge of the siX-gun battery there
were but three days provisions or ra-
lions issued for US. The consequence
was my officers and men were two
days after the battle without rations
and had no alternative but to breach
on a garden directly alongside the
battery, consisting of corn, cabbage
ETC., belonging to Mr.. Freshman, and
his widow has during the last winter
called on me to aid her in securing re-
Enumeration. The unwelcome articles
we had to live on after the battle
caused the death of several of oul
number, as we'll as my severe spell OF
sickness.
(signed) JOHN A. WEBSTER.
"U. S. R. Service