152 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1813. 



the islands, where a landing was 

 effecled in good order and wiih 

 little loss, although executed in 

 the face of" a corps formed with a 

 field piece in the wood, and under 

 the enfilade of a heavy gun of the 

 enern3''s principal batter}'. The 

 advance was led by the grenadiers 

 of the 100th regiment with un- 

 daunted gallantry, which no obsta- 

 cle could arrest : a narrow cause- 

 way, in many places under water, 

 rot more than four feet wide, and 

 about four hundred paces in length, 

 which connected the island with 

 the main land, was occupied by 

 the enemy in great force with a 

 six-pounder. It was forced and 

 carried in the most spirited manner, 

 and the gun taken before a second 

 discharge could be made from it : a 

 tumbril with a few rounds of am- 

 munition, was found ; but unfortu- 

 nately the artillerymen were still 

 behind, the schooner not having 

 been able to get up in time ; and 

 the troops were exposed to so heavy 

 and galling a fire from a numerous, 

 but almost invisible foe, as to render 

 it impossible to halt for the artillery 

 to come up. At this spot two paths 

 led in opposite directions round the 

 hill. I directed colonel Young of 

 the king's regiment, with half of 

 the detachment, to penetrate by 

 the left, and major Drummond of 

 the lOith, to force the path by the 

 right, which proved to be more 

 open and was less occupied by the 

 enemy. On the left the wood was 

 very thick, and was most obsti- 

 nately maintained by the enemy. 



The gun-boats wnich had cover- 

 ed our landing, afforded material 

 aid, by firing into the woods ; but 

 the American soldier, secure be- 

 hind a tree, was only to be dis- 

 lodged by the bayonet. The spi^ 



rited advance of a section produced 

 the flight of hundreds — from this 

 observation all firing was directed 

 to cease, and the detachment being 

 formed in as regular order as the 

 nature of the ground would admit, 

 pushed forward through the wood 

 upon the enemy, who, although 

 greatly superior in numbers, and 

 supported by field-pieces, and 

 a heavy fire from their fort, 

 fled with precipitation to their 

 block-house, and fort, abandoning 

 one of their guns. The division 

 under colonel Young was joined 

 in the charge by that under major 

 Drummond, which was executed 

 with such spirit and promptness, 

 that many of the enemy fell in 

 their enclosed barracks, which were 

 set on fire by our troops — at this 

 point the further energies of the 

 troops became unavailing. Their 

 block-house and stockaded battery 

 could not be carried by assault, nor 

 reduced by field-pieces, had we 

 been provided with them : the fire 

 of the gun-boats proved inefficient 

 to attain that end — light and ad- 

 verse winds continued, and our 

 larger vessels were still far off. The 

 enemy turned the heavy ordnance 

 of the battery to the interior de- 

 fence of his post. He had set fire 

 to the store-houses in the vicinity 

 of the fort. 



Seeing no object within our 

 reach to attain tliat could compen- 

 sate for the loss we were momen- 

 tarily sustaining from the heavy 

 fire of the enemy's cannon, I di- 

 rected the troops to take up the 

 position on the crest of the hill we 

 had charged from. From this po- 

 sition we were ordered to re-im- 

 bark, which was performed at our 

 leisure, and in perfect order, the 

 enemy not presuming to show a 



