the walls. A British officer rode up to enquire the cause. A communication passed between the commanding generals, which ended in the capitulation submitted to you. In entering into this capitulation, the general took counsel from his own feelings only. Not an officer was consulted. Not one anticipated a surrender till he saw the white flag displayed. Even the women were indignant at so shameful a degradation of the American character, and all felt as they should have felt, but he who held in his hands the reins of authority. Our morning report of that morning made our effective men present fit for duty 1060, without including the detachment before alluded to, and without including 300 of the Michigan militia on duty. About dark on Sunday evening the detachment sent to escort the provisions received orders from general Hull to return with as much expedition as possible. About ten o'clock the next day they arrived within sight of Detroit. Had a firing been heard, or any resistance visible, they would have imme diately advanced and attacked the rear of the enemy. The situation in which this detachment was placed, although the result of accident, was the best for annoying the enemy and cutting off his retreat that could have been selected. With his raw troops enclosed between two fires and no hopes of succour, it is hazarding little to say, that very few would have escaped. I have been informed by colonel Findley, who saw the return of the quarter master general the day after the surrender, that their whole force of every description, white, red and black, was 1030. They had twenty-nine platoons, twelve in a platoon, of men dressed in uniform. Many of these were evidently Canadian militia. The rest of their militia increased their white force to about seven hundred men. The number of their Indians could not be ascertained with any degree of precision; not many were visible. And in the event of an attack upon the town and fort, it was a species of force which could have afforded no material advantage to the enemy. In endeavouring to appreciate the motives and to investigate the causes which led to an event so unexpected and dishonourable, it is impossible to find any solution in the relative strength of the contending parties, or in the measures of resistance in our power. That we were far superior to the enemy; that upon any ordinary principles of calculation, we could have defeated them, the wounded and indignant feelings of every man there will testify. A few days before the surrender, I was informed by general Hull, we had 400 rounds of 24 pound shot fixed, and about 100,000 cartridges made. We surrendered with the fort 40 barrels of powder and 2500 stand of arms. The state of our provisions has not been generally understood. On the day of the surrender we had fifteen days of provisions of every kind on hand. Of meat there was plenty in the country, and arrangements had been made for purchasing and grinding the flour. It was calculated we could readily procure three month's provisions, independent of 150 barrels of flour, and 1300 head of cattle which had been forwarded from the state of Ohio, which remained at the river Raisin under captain Brush, within reach of the army. But had we been totally destitute of provisions, our duty and our interest undoubtedly was to fight. The enemy invited us to meet him in the field. By defeating him the whole country would have been open to us, and the object of our expedition gloriously and successfully obtained. If we had been defeated we had nothing to do but to retreat to the fort, and make the best defence which circumstances and our situation rendered practicable. But basely to surrender without firing a gun-tamely to submit without raising a bayonet-disgracefully to pass in review before an enemy as inferior in the quality as in the number of his forces, were circumstances, which excited feelings of indignation more easily felt than described. To see the whole of our men flushed with the hope of victory, eagerly awaiting the approaching contest; to see them afterwards dispirited, hopeless and desponding, at least 500 shedding tears, because they were not allowed to meet their country's foe, and to fight their country's battles, excited sensations, which no American has ever before had cause to feel, and which, I trust in God, will never again be felt, while one man remains to defend the standard of the union. I am expressly authorized to state, that colonel M'Arthur and colonel Findley, and lieutenant colonel Miller, view this transac tion in the light which I do. They know and feel, that no circumstance in our situation, none in that of the enemy, can excuse a capitulation so dishonourable and unjustifiable. This too is the universal sentiment among the troops; and I shall be surprised to learn, that there is one man, who thinks it was necessary to sheath his sword, or lay down his musket. I was informed by general Hull the morning after the capitulation, that the British forces consisted of 1800 regulars, and that he surrendered to prevent the effusion of human blood. That he magnified their regular force nearly five fold, there can be no doubt. Whether the philanthropic reason assigned by him is a sufficient justification for surrendering a fortified town, an army and a territory, is for the government to determine. Confident I am, that had the courage and conduct of the general been equal to the spirit and zeal of the troops, the event would have been as brilliant and successful as it now is disastrous and dishonourable. I have the honour to be yours, &c. LEWIS CASS, Col. 3d reg. Ohio volunteers. SIR, ATTACK ON FORT HARRISON. FORT HARRISON, September 10, 1812. On Thursday evening, the 3d instant, after retreat beating, four guns were heard to fire in the direction, where two young men (citizens who resided here) were making hay, about 400 yards distant from the fort. I was immediately impressed with the idea that they were killed by Indians, as the Miamies or Waes had that day informed me that the Prophet's party would soon be here for the purpose of commencing hostilities; and that they had been directed to leave this place, which they were about to do. I did not think it prudent to send out at that late hour of the night to see what became of them; and their not coming in, convinced me that I was right in my conjecture. I waited until 8 o'clock next morning, to find them, when I sent out a corporal, with a small party to find them, if it could be done without running too much risk of being drawn into an ambuscade. He soon sent back to inform me that he had found them both killed, and wished to know my further orders. I sent the cart and oxen, and had them brought in and buried; they had been each shot with two balls, scalped and cut in the most shocking manner. Late in the evening of the 4th instant, Joseph Lenar and between 30 and 40 Indians arrived from Prophet's town with a white flag, among whom were about 10 women, and the men were composed of the chiefs of the different tribes that compose the Prophet's party. A Shawnee man, that spoke good English, informed me that old Lenar intended to speak to me next morning, and try to get something to eat. At retreat beating I examined the men's arms, and found them all in good order, and completed their cartridges to 16 rounds per man. As I had not been able to mount a guard of more than 6 privates and 2 non-commissioned officers, for some time past, and sometimes part of them every other day, from the unhealthiness of the company, I had not conceived my force adequate to the defence of this post, should it be vigorously attacked, for some time past. As I had just recovered from a very severe attack of the fever, I was not able to be up much through the night. After tatoo, I cautioned the guards to be vigilant, and ordered one of the non-commissioned officers (as the sentinels could not see every part of the garrison) to walk round the inside during the whole night, to prevent the Indians taking any advantage of us, provided they had any intention of attacking us. About 11 o'clock I was awakened by the firing of the sentinels. I sprang up, ran out, and ordered the men to their posts, when my orderly sergeant, who had charge of the block house, called out that the Indians had fired the lower block house, which contained the property of the contractor, which was deposited in the lower part, the upper part having been assigned to a corporal and 10 privates, as an alarm post; the guns had began to fire pretty smartly from both sides. I directed the buckets to be got ready and water brought from the well, and the fire extinguished immediately, as it was hardly perceivable at that time; but from debility or some other cause the men were very slow in executing my orders; the word appeared to throw them all into confusion; and by the time they had got the water, and broke open the door, the fire had communicated to a quantity of whiskey; and in spite of every exertion we could make use of, in less than a moment, it ascended to the roof, and baffled every effort we could make to extinguish it. As that block house adjoined the barracks that make part of the fortifications, most of the men immediately gave themselves up for lost, and I had the greatest difficulty in getting any of my orders executed; and, sir, from the raging of the fire, the yell ing and howling of several hundred Indians, the cries of 9 women and children who had taken shelter in the fort, and the desponding of so many of the men (which was worse than all,) I can assure you that my feelings were unpleasant. Indeed there were not more than 10 or 15 men able to do a great deal, the others being either sick or convalescent, and to add to our misfortunes, two of the stoutest men of the fort, and that I had every confidence in, jumped the picket and left us. But my presence of mind did not for a moment forsake me. I saw by throwing off part of the roof that joined the block house that was on fire, and keeping the end perfectly wet, the whole row of buildings might be saved, and leave only an entrance of 18 or 20 feet for the Indians to enter, after the house was consumed; and that a temporary breast_work might be erected to prevent even their entering there. I convinced the men that this could be accomplished, and it appeared to inspire them with new life, and never did men act with more firmness or desperation: those that were able, (while the others kept up a fire from the other block house and the two bastions,) mounted the roofs of the houses, with doctor Clarke at their head, (who acted with the greatest firmness and presence of mind the whole time the attack lasted, which was 8 hours under a shower of bullets,) and in a moment threw off as much of the roof as was necessary. This was done with the loss of one man only, and two wounded, neither of them dangerously; the man that was killed was a little deranged, and did not get off the house as soon as directed, or he would not have been hurt; and although the barracks were several times in a blaze, the men used such exertions that they kept it under; and before day-light, raised a temporary breast-work as high as a man's head, although the Indians contínued to pour in a heavy fire of ball, and an innumerable quantity of arrows, during the whole time the attack lasted, in every part of the parade. I had but one other man killed, nor any other wounded inside the fort, and he lost his life by being too anxious: he got into one of the gallies in the bastions and fired over the pickets, and called to his comrades that he had killed an Indian, and neglecting to stoop down, in an instant he was shot dead. One of the men that jumped the picket returned an hour before day, and running towards the gate, begged for God's sake it might be opened. I suspected it to be a stratagem of the Indians to get in. As I did not recollect the voice, I directed the men in the bastion where I happened to be, to shoot him, let him be who he would, and one of them fired at him, but fortunately he ran up to the other bastion, where they knew his voice, and doctor Clarke directed him to lie down close to the pickets behind an empty barrel that happened to be there, and at day-light I had him let in. His arm was broke in a most shocking manner, which he says was done by the Indians, and which I suppose was the cause of his returning. The other man they caught about 120 yards from the garrison, and cut him all to pieces. After keeping up a constant fire, until about 6 o'clock the next morning, which we began to return with some effect after day-light, they removed out of the reach of our guns. A party of them drove up the horses that belonged to the citizens here, and as they could not catch them very readily, shot the whole of them in' our sight, as well as a number of their hogs. They drove off the cattle, which amounted to 65 head, with the public oxen. I had the vacancy filled up before night (which was occasioned by the burning of the block house) with a strong row of pickets, which I got by pulling down the guard house. We lost the whole of our provisions, but must make out to live upon green corn until we can get a supply, which I hope will not be long. I believe the whole of the Miamies or Waes, were with the Prophet's party, as one chief gave his orders in that language, which resembled Stone-eater's voice, and I believe Negro-legs was there likewise. A Frenchman here understands their different languages, and several of the Waes that have been frequently here, were recognized by the soldiers next morning. The Indians suffered smartly, but were so numerous as to take off all that were shot: they continued with us until the next morning, but made no further attempt on the fort, nor have we seen any thing more of them since. His excellency gov. Harrison. I have the honour to be yours, &c. SIR, FORT MADISON, September 10, 1812. On the 5th instant, this garrison was attacked by a numerous body of Indians. They began by their usual mode of sneaking up. One man, who had liberty to go outside upon a necessary occasion, was killed, tomahawked and scalped within twenty-five |