186] ANNUAL REGISTER, 18J4. 



tiestruction of. which, with their 

 carriages, was completed by the 

 captors. The populous and com- 

 mercial town of Alexandria, si- 

 tuated higher on the same river, 

 thus lost its sole protection; and 

 Capt. Gordon having no obstacle 

 to his advance against it, buoyed 

 llie channel, and placed his ship- 

 ping in such a position as to en- 

 force compiiatice with the terms 

 which he had resolved to insist 

 upon. The common-council of 

 Alexandria in the mean time hav- 

 ing assembled, unanimously con- 

 curred in a resolution, stating, 

 that the forts for the defence of 

 the district having been blown up 

 by their own men, and abandoned 

 without resistance, and the town 

 being left without troops or means 

 of resistance to the hostile force 

 now in sight, they have with re- 

 luctance been compelled to autho- 

 rize an arrangement with the 

 enemy, by which it has been sti- 

 pulated, that during their couti- 

 nuance before the town they are 

 not to be molested. The condi- 

 tions proposed by Capt. Gordon, 

 and acceded to by the corporation 

 of Alexandria, imported that the 

 town, with the exception of public 

 works, should not be destroyed, 

 nor the inhabitants in any manner 

 molested, on compliance witii the 

 following articles — that all naval 

 and ordnance stores, public and 

 private, be given up ; that pos- 

 session is immediately to be taken 

 of all thesliipping, the furniture of 

 which must be sent on board by 

 their owners ; that the sunk vessels 

 are to be delivered in the state 

 they were in on the iOth : .that 

 merchandize of every description 

 must be instantly delivered up, 

 iiichidiiig all such as has been re- 



moved froin the town since the 

 19th ; and that refreshments are 

 to be supplied to the British squa- 

 dron at the market-price. This 

 capitulation was signed on the 

 29th, an^ the whole of the cap- 

 tured vessels which were sea- 

 worthy, being 21 in number, were 

 fitted and loaded by the 21st. 

 Capt. Gordon being now informed, 

 that great preparations were mak- 

 ing by the Americans to oppose 

 his return, determined to quit 

 Alexandria, without waiting to 

 destroy the remaining stores which 

 he had not the means of bringing 

 away. Contrary winds impeded 

 the progress of the squadron down 

 the river, and the grounding of 

 one of the ships afforded the 

 enemy an opportunity of attempt- 

 ing its destruction, and raising 

 batteries to command the channel. 

 The skill and gallantry of the dif- 

 ferent commanders, however, ena- 

 bled Capt. Gordon to bring back 

 in safety all his ships and prizes, 

 and he was at anchor in the Chesa- 

 peak on Sept. 9th. 



The result of this expedition, 

 with that of the enterprize against 

 the capital of the United States, 

 appear to have been particularly 

 galling to the President, who, on 

 Sept. 8th, issued a proclamation, 

 in which he speaks of the devas- 

 tation at Washington, and the 

 plunder at Alexandria, as mea- 

 sures of extreme and barbarous 

 severity. He further states, that 

 " it appears, by a direct commu- 

 nication from -the British com- 

 mander on the American station, 

 to be his avowed purpose to em- 

 ploy the force under his direction 

 in destroying and laying waste 

 such towns and districts upon the 

 coast as may be found assailable. 



