with so much care at Washington, invited the Canadian people to become open traitors to their country; and visited, upon them that refused, all the horrors and calamities of war.' On the 12th of June the boats of the Narcissus 42, containing about 40 men, under the command of lieutenant Cririe, first of that ship, and of lieutenant P. Savage, of the marines, were despatched up York river, in the Chesapeake, to cut out the United States' schooner Surveyor, mounting six 12-pound carronades. Captain S. Travis, her commander, had furnished each of his men with two muskets. They held their fire until the British were within pistol-shot; but the latter pushed on, and finally carried the vessel by boarding, with the loss of three men killed, and six wounded. Captain Travis had five men wounded. His crew amounted to 16;† and so gallant was their conduct, as well as that of their commander, in the opinion of lieutenant Cririe, that that officer returned captain Travers his sword, accompanied by a letter, not less complimentary to him than creditable to the writer. Mr. Thomson has added, "a tender" to the boats of the frigate; and declares that the force of the British was "nine times superior"§ to that on board the Surveyor. Lieutenant Cririe's letter would Vol. I. App. No. 4. American Nav. Mon. p. 219 have set this matter right, and conferved am honor upon the British commanding officer: either of which reasons would suffice to prevent its appearance in the pages of the “Sketches of the War." None of the other historians have noticed the action. Admiral Warren, who had left the Chesapeake for Bermuda, returned to his command early in June; bringing with him, according to newspaper-account, a detachment of battalion marines, 1800 strong; 300 of the 102d regiment; 250 of the Independent Foreigners, or Canadian chasseurs; and 300 of the royal marine-artillery: total 2650 meu. On the 18th of June H. M.S. Junon, of 46 guns, anchored in Hampton roads; and captain Sanders despatched his boats to capture or destroy any vessels that might be found at the entrance of James's river. Commodore John Cassin, the naval commanding-officer at Norfolk, observing this, directed the 15 gun-boats at that station to be manned with an additional number of seamen and marines from the Constellation frigate, then moored at the navy-yard, also with 50 infantry from Craney Island; and, under the command of captain Tarbin, to attempt the capture or destruction of the Junon. It was not till about 4 P.M. on the 20th, that this formidable flotilla, armed with upwards of 30 guns, half of which were long 32 and 24 pounders, and manned with, at least, 500 men, commenced its attack upon the Junon, then lying becalmed. Captain Sanders warmly returned their fire with his long eighteens ; hoping that they would soon venture to approach within reach of his carronades. This the gunboats carefully avoided; and, between them and the frigate, a distant cannonade, very slightly injurious to either party, was maintained for about three quarters of an hour, A breeze now sprang up; which enabled the Barrosa, of 42, and the Laurestinus, of 28 guns, lying about five miles off, to get under weigh, in the hope to have a share in the amusement. The Junon, also, was at this time under sail, using her best efforts to give a more serious complexion to the contest ; but commodore Cassin, who, as he assures us, was in his boat during the whole of the action, considering that the flotilla had done enough to entitle him to display both his fighting, and his literary qualifications, in an official letter, very prudently ordered the 15 gun-boats to make the best of their way back to Norfolk. Commodore Cassin's letter will afford a richer treat, when it is known, that the Junon, so" severely handled" as to be placed " upon a deep careen, with a number of boats and stages round her," received only one or two shots in her hull, and sustained no other loss than one App. No. 12. man killed. Three of the gun-boats are stated to have received damage; one man is also acknowledged to have been killed, and two men wounded. The Barrosa, a 42-gun frigate, is under 950, "a razee" from 1640 to 1700 tons ;* yet the American commodore could discover no difference between those two classes of ships. Mr. Thomson is the only editor who has recorded this gun-boat exploit. He declares the Junon was "much shattered;" that the Americans had 15 guns, the British, 150 and upwards;" that "captain Tarbell's conduct, as well as that of lieutenants Gardner, Henly, and others, received the fullest approbation of the surFounding garrisons, and of the citizens of Norfolk."t The appearance of the two frigates and sloop in Hampton roads soon brought to Norfolk and its vicinity as many as 10000 militia; and the works, recently constructed there, were all manned, ready for defending that important post. At Hampton, also, a militia force had assembled; and batteries were erecting, in case that town should prove the object of attack. ' On the 20th of June, 13 sail of British ships, consisting of three 74s, a 64 armée en flute, four frigates, and five sloops, transports, and tenders, lay at anchor; the nearest within seven, the furthest off within thirteen, miles * James's Nav. Occurr. p. 31. Sketches of the War, p. 214. A of Craney Island. An assemblage of boats at the sterns of several of the ships, on the afternoon of that day, gave no very unequivocal notice to the people on shore, that some expedition was on foot. Accordingly, "Craney Island being rather weakly manned,”* the commanding officer at Norfolk sent 150 of the Constellation's seamen and marines, to a battery of 18-pounders on the north-west, and about 480 Virginia militia,† exclusive of officers, to reinforce a detachment of artillery, stationed with two 24 and four 6-pounders on the west, side of the island. Captain Tarbell's 15 gunboats were also moored in the best position for contributing to the defence of the post. a J 1 After two days' parade of boats and bustle among the British ships, a division of 17 or 18 boats, at day-light on the morning of the 22d, departed with about 800 men, under majorgeneral Beckwith, round the point of Nansemond river, and landed them at a place called Pig's point, near to the narrow inlet separating the main from Craney Island. Owing to some error in the arrangements, unexpected obstacles presented themselves. An attack from that quarter being therefore considered hopeless, and the position itself not tenable, the troops, in the course of the day, re-embarked, and returned to the squadron, App. No. 12 + Sketches of the War, p. 213. |