upon the ground and his hand cut with a sword. On recovering his feet he saw himself surrounded by twenty or thirty men, shouting to him to surrender. He very coolly told them to surrender, and declared if they fired a gun he would have the whole put to the sword. In the mean time a company of American riflemen coming up, fired upon the English. After a short fight the whole were killed or taken prisoners. Having accomplished his work, Brown retired in good order within the fort. Drummond, weakened by nearly one-fourth of his force, and the labors of so long a time being destroyed, raised the siege and retired behind the Chippewa. Oct. 14. General Izard, who was to fall on his rear, did not reach Lewistown till the 5th of October. At length, forming a junction with Brown's troops, he moved forward, and sat down before Drummond encamped, behind the Chippewa. His army, six thousand strong, was deemed sufficiently large to capture the enemy, and this event was confidently expected to crown the Canadian campaign. But after some faint demonstrations, not worth recording, he seven days after retired to Black Rock, preparatory to winter quarters. Although pressed by the Secretary of War to attack the enemy, he declined, and having spent the summer in grumbling, went sullenly into winter quarters, thus Oct, 21. IZARD AND MACOMB. 113 closing the list of inefficient commanders, which threatened for awhile never to become complete. While Izard was thus ending a military career in which he had gathered no laurels, Macomb, whom he had left at Plattsburgh, doomed as he said to destruction, had crowned himself with honor, and shed lustre on the American arms. CHAPTER VI. British plan of invading our sea ports-Arrival of reinforcements-Barney's flotilla-Landing of the enemy under Ross-Doubt and alarm of the inhabitantsAdvance of the British-Destruction of the Navy Yard-Battle of BladensburgFlight of the President and his Cabinet-Burning and sacking of WashingtonMrs. Madison's conduct during the day and night-Cockburn's brutality-Sudden explosion-A hurricane- Flight of the British--State of the army-Character of this outrage-Rejoicings in England-Mortification of our ambassadors at Ghent-Mistake of the English-Parker's expedition-Colonel Reed's defenceThe English army advance on Baltimore-Death of Ross-Bombardment of Fort McHenry-" "The star spangled banner"-Retreat of the British, and joy of the citizens of Baltimore. BUT while these events were passing around Niagara-in the interval between the assault on Fort Erie by Drummond and the successful sortie of Brown-a calamity overtook the country, which fortunately resulted in producing more harmony of feeling among the people, and strengthened materially the administration. Washington was taken and sacked by the enemy. The overthrow of Napoleon and his banishment to Elba, enabled England to send over more than 30,000 troops, which were DESIGNS OF THE ENEMY. 115 soon on our sea-board or in the British Provinces. New England no longer remained excluded from the blockade, and the whole Atlantic sea-board was locked up by British cruisers. The Constitution, the year previous, after a cruise in which she captured but a single war schooner and a few merchantmen, was chased into Marble Head, from whence she escaped to Boston. The blockading of our other large ships, and the destruction of the Essex about the same time in the Bay of Valparaiso, had left us without a frigate at sea. twenty-eight guns, was the largest cruiser we had afloat. Hitherto the enemy had been content with blockading our sea-ports, and making descents on small towns in their neighborhood, but as the summer advanced, rumors arrived of the preparation of a large force, destined to strike a heavy blow at some of our most important cities. To meet this new danger the President addressed a circular letter to the States, calling on them to hold in readiness 93,500 militia. Fearing that Washington or Baltimore might be the points at which the enemy would first strike, the tenth military district was erected, as mentioned before, and General Winder, recently released by exchange, given the command of it. The whole sea-board was in a state of alarmeven Massachusetts caught the infection, and prepa rations were immediately made to defend her seaports and protect her coast. The militia of the dif ferent States were called out-Governor Barbour, of Virginia, garrisoned Norfolk, the intrenching tools were busy night and day around Baltimore, Providence voted money for fortifications, Portland shipmasters formed themselves into a company of sea fencibles, and gun-boats were collected in New York and all the great northern ports. The notes of alarm and preparation rang along the coast from Maine to Louisiana, and before the mysterious shadow of the gigantic coming evil, party animosities sunk into insignificance. Released from her Continental struggle, England, with her fleets that had conquered at Aboukir, Trafalgar, and Copenhagen, and her troops fresh from the fields of Spain, had resolved to fall upon us in her power, and crushing city after city, leave us at length without a seaport, from the Merrimack to the Mississippi. Even the brilliant victories of Chippewa and Lundy's Lane could not dispel the terror inspired by this gathering of her energies. But the first serious demonstration was made in the Chesapeake. To act against the fleet a flotilla was placed there under the charge of Captain Barney, a bold and skillful officer. Constantly on the alert, he would dash suddenly out of the Patuxent River, and roughly handling the light vessels of the |