In the account which is given of the 
battle of Bridgewater, fought on the 25th 
| July, 1814, it is stated that the first regi¬ 
ment, “ after a discharge or two gave way, 
and retreated some distance before it 
could be rallied, though it is believed that 
the officers exerted themselves to shorten 
that distance.” An impression has been 
made on the public mind by this and oth¬ 
er similar misstatements, that the regi¬ 
ment deserted the post which had been 
assigned to it by General Brown and fail¬ 
ed in discharging the duties required of 
it by that officer. To remove this errone¬ 
ous impression, I will briefly state the 
facts attending the entrance of the first 
regiment into the field of action and de¬ 
scribe its conduct after it became enga¬ 
ged. On the day of the battle the regi¬ 
ment landed in Canada after a long and 
fatiguing march from the banks of the 
Missouri. It had not joined the army 
previous to the commencement of the bat¬ 
tle, but was about two miles in the rear 
when the firing commenced. Without 
waiting for, or receiving any orders from 
General Brown, it was immediately put 
in motion by Lieutenant Col. Nicholas, 
and marched with all possible expedition, 
to what we supposed to be the scene of 
contest. When we arrived at the Ame¬ 
rican camps,we found that General Ripley 
had advanced with his brigade, and with¬ 
out halting we continued to press forward. 
It was twilight when we reached the field, 
and we advanced to within a short dis¬ 
tance of the enemy’s battery before we 
met with any general officer,or authorized 
aid, to instruct us how we should join in 
the action. Ignorant of the situation of 
either of the armies, unapprized of the 
position of Ripley’s brigade to which we 
were attached, and with which it was ne¬ 
cessary to co-operate; discovering that 
we v/ere directly in front of the batteries 
which began to play very briskly upon us, 
at not more than two hundred yards dis¬ 
tance, a short retrogade movement was 
made by the regiment, in obedience to a 
distinct order from Lieut. Col. Nicholas. 
After a full examination of all the facts 
connected with this order, it was pro¬ 
nounced by a court martial held upon Col. j 
