252 Naval War of 1812 



tented himself with keeping a sharp watch on Lam- 

 bert, and on the night of January i8th the latter 

 deserted his position, and made a very skilful and 

 rapid retreat, leaving eighty wounded men and four- 

 teen pieces of cannon behind him. 52 A few strag- 

 glers were captured on land, and, while the troops 

 were embarking, a number of barges, with over a 

 hundred prisoners, were cut out by some American 

 seamen in row-boats; but the bulk of the army 

 reached the transports unmolested. At the same 

 time, a squadron of vessels, which had been un- 

 successfully bombarding Fort Saint-Philip for a 

 week or two, and had been finally driven off 

 when the fort got a mortar large enough to reach 

 them with, also returned; and the whole fleet set 

 sail for Mobile. The object was to capture Fort 

 Boyer, which contained less than four hundred men, 

 and, though formidable on its sea-front, 53 was in- 



6 * Letter of General Jackson, Jan. igth, and of General 

 Lambert, Jan. 28th. 



53 "Toward the sea its fortifications are respectable enough ; 

 but on the land side it is little better than a block-house. The 

 ramparts being composed of sand and not more than three feet 

 in thickness, and faced with plank, are barely cannon-proof; 

 while a sand hill, rising within pistol-shot of the ditch, com- 

 pletely commands it. Within, again, it is as much wanting 

 in accommodation as it is in strength. There are no bomb- 

 proof barracks, nor any hole or arch under which men might 

 find protection from shells ; indeed, so deficient is it in com- 

 mon lodging-rooms, that great part of the garrison sleep in 



