GENERAL HISTORY. 



[191 



should suffer death in consequence 

 of executing the law of nations 

 upon the first 23 confined as Bri- 

 tish subjects, double the number 

 of the confined American officers 

 should immediately be selected for 

 retaliation ; and moreover that the 

 commanders of his majesty's ar- 

 mies and fleets had received orders 

 to prosecute the war with unmi- 

 tigated severity against all the ci- 

 ties, towns, and villages of the 

 United States in case their govern- 



ment should persist in their inten- 

 tion of retaliation. In this dreadful 

 slate of mutual menace, affairs were 

 at that time remaining ; and should 

 the threats on each side be brought 

 to effect, scenes of blood will en- 

 sue, worthy only of the times of 

 barbarism. 



Of the other maritime events of 

 the American war in this year, re- 

 lations are given in our chapter ap- 

 propriated to naval occurrences. 



