GENERAL HISTORY. 



[IS7 



under tlie pietext of retaliation 

 lor a wanton destruction com- 

 mitted by the army of the United 

 States in Upper Canada, when no 

 destruction was committed which 

 wasnotunautl]orized,and promptly 

 shown to be so." The proclama- 

 tion then calls upon all officers to 

 be alert and vigilant in providing 

 the means ot" defence, and autho- 

 rizes them to call in for the de- 

 fence of threatened places, portions 

 of militia most convenient thereto, 

 whether thej' be or be not parts of 

 the fjuotas detached for the service 

 of the United States under requi- 

 sitions of the general govern- 

 ment. 



Resuming the narrative of events, 

 we have next to notice an attack 

 upon a body of American militia 

 posted at Bel lair, by Sir Peter 

 Parker, captain of his Majesty's 

 ship Menelaus lying in tlie Chesa- 

 peak. From information received 

 of their number and position. Sir 

 Peter landed about 120 men on 

 the night of August 30th, and 

 marching at their head up the 

 country, found the enemy drawn 

 up in line before their camp in the 

 midst of woods, and in much 

 greatej' force than had been re- 

 presented. He did not, however, 

 hesitate to attack, but as he was 

 animating his men, he received a 

 mortal wound. The other officers 

 gallantly continued the combat, 

 and forced the enemy to full re- 

 treat ; but the inequality of tiieir 

 numbers rendered it expedient to 

 fall back to the beach, carrying 

 with them their wounded. Besides 

 the death of their brave com- 

 mander, the assailing party in- 

 curred a loss of 41 killed and 

 wounded. 



'i'he approach of the tquiuox 



rendering it unsafe for the British 

 fleet to proceed immediately to sea 

 out of the Chesapeak, and act ac- 

 cording to a concerted plan of fur- 

 ther operations, it was agreed be- 

 tween Admiral Cochrane and Ge- 

 neral Ross, to employ the interme- 

 diate time in an attempt upon the 

 important maritime town of Baiti- > 

 more, which had been thrown into 

 the utmost alarm by the fate of the 

 neighbouring capital. TheAdmiral 

 accordingly sailed up the bay, and 

 on Sept. 11, anchored oft' the mouth 

 of the Patapsco river, on the north 

 side of which, round a kind of 

 bason, Baltimore is situated. On 

 the following day the troops were 

 disembarked at the distance of 

 about 13 miles from the town ; the 

 approach to which is through a 

 peninsula formed by the Patapsco 

 and Black rivers. An entrenchment 

 extended across this neck of land, 

 which the Americans were dili- 

 gently employed in completing, 

 when they precipitately abandoned 

 the work on the approach of the 

 British forces. Two miles beyond 

 this post the advance of the British 

 were engaged with the enemy's rifle 

 men covered by the surrounding 

 woods, and at this spot Gen. Ross re- 

 ceived a mortal wound in his breast. 

 He immediately sent for tlie second 

 in command, Col.Brooke, and alter 

 giving him bis instructions, and 

 recommending his young family to 

 the protection of his coimtry, ex- 

 claiming " My dear wife ! " he 

 dropt senseless. "Thus (saysCol. 

 Brooke) fell, at an early age, one 

 of the brightest ornaments of his 

 profession ; one who, eitlier at the 

 head of a regiment, a brigade, or 

 corpSjhadalikedisplayed the talents 

 of command ; who was not Icbs he- 

 loved in his [nivatt,lhan entlmsiab" 



