apparently with a view of penetrating into the lower province. The intelligence I continued to receive from different quarters, of these movements of the enemy, and of the extent of the preparations they were making, induced me to repair to this place, where I arrived on the 25th ultimo. On reaching Montreal, I learnt, that MajorGeneral Hampton, with about 5,000 regular troops of infantry, and some artillery and cavalry, had, after approaching close to the frontier line, near Odel Town, and overpowering one of our small picquets in that neighbourhood, suddenly moved with his whole force to the westward, and was encamped at a place called the Four corners, near the Chateaugay river.

Measures had been, in the mean time, taken by Major-General Sir Roger Sheaffe, commanding in this district, to resist the advance of the enemy, by moving the whole of the troops under his command nearer to the frontier line, and by calling out about three thousand of the sedentary militia. I thought it necessary to increase this latter force to nearly 8,000, by embody ing the whole of the sedentary militia upon the frontier, this being in addition to the six battalions of incorporated militia, amounting to 5,000 men: and it is with peculiar satisfaction I have to report to your lordship, that his Majesty's Canadian subjects have a second time answered the call, to arm in defence of their country, with a zeal and alacrity beyond all praise, and which manifests in the strongest manner their loyalty to their sovereign, and their cheerful obedience to his cominands. The

force now assembled by the enemy at different points, for the purpose of invading these provinces is greater than at any other period during the war. Major-General Harrison has under him at Sandusky, on the frontier of the Michigan territory, about 8,000 men, ready to avail himself of the absolute command lately obtained by their navy on Lake Erie, to advance upon Detroit and Amberstburg. Major-General Wilkinsön commands at Fort George and Niagara, with a force amounting to nearly 6,500 men; and MajorGeneral Hampton with a force under his command, which by the last accounts had been considerably increased, and amounting probably to about 8.000 men, is on this frontier. I have reason to think, that the whole of the above free, amounting to 26.000 men, consists of regular troops; and is exclusive of 10,000 militia, which either have, or are in readiness to join them.

In consequence of my solicitation to Admiral Sir J. Warren, in June last, for a further supply of seamen for the lake service, the crews of two sloops of war were ordered by him to be sent from Halifax to Quebec; and I have the satisfaction to acquaint your lordship that they have arrived, and that part of them have been sent to join Captain Pring at Isle au Noix, for the service of Lake Champlain, and the remainder have poceeded to Lake Ontario. It cannot be too much regretted, that my letter to Sir J. Warren upon this subject, which I dispatched in June last, in duplicate, was so long in reaching him, as not to be acted upon until more than

two months afterwards; as, had this reinforcement arrived a few weeks earlier, it might have averted the melancholy fate which has attended our squadron on Lake Erie. A full confirmation of this disaster has reached me, through the medium of the American prints, which contain Commodore Perry's official account of the action, the only one which I have as yet received, or which I can expect to receive of it for a great length of time, in consequence of the dangerous situation of Captain Barclay, and of the death, wounds, or captivity of all the officers serving under him.

Under this misfortune, it is matter of great consolation to discover, even from the confession of the enemy, that the victory was at one period our own, and was only wrested from us by the unfortunate loss of the services of Captain Barclay, and of almost every other officer of the squadron; leaving a crew without competent control or command, totally unable to extricate themselves from the difficulties by which they were surrounded. On the 23d ult. the date of the last letter from MajorGeneral Proctor, he was still at Sandwich, but he will be obliged to retire towards the head of Lake Ontario. I trust he will be enabled to make the enemy pay dearly for any attempt to press upon him, in his retreat to that position.

Commodore Sir James Yeo sailed with his squadron from Kingston, on the 19th ultimo, convoying transports with stores, provisions, ordnance, &c. for the centre division of the army; and arrived with them at the head of the lake, on the 25th. The enemy's fleet

on the 28th, under Commodore Chauncey, made their appearance, when Sir James Yeo endeavoured to bring them to a general action; but having the advantage of the wind, they were enabled to choose their own distance, and to prevent our ships from closing with them; the consequence was, that about fifteen minutes after the engagement began, the Wolfe lost her main and mizen top-masts, which rendered her so perfectly unma- ' nageable on the wind, that after continuing the action for upwards of three hours, Sir James was obliged to put away before the severe gale then blowing, and get toanchorage off Burlington Heights, whither the enemy, notwithstanding the advantage they had thus gained, did not think fit to follow him. The fore-top-mast of the Royal George went over as the squadron anchored, but none of the other vessels were in any respect materially injured; and our loss in men must have been trifling, as Sir James, in his letter to me, does not mention it. The enemy's squadron appeared to have suffer ed in their sails and rigging, although they kept on the lake, in the two following days, whilst our fleet was refitting.

I have just learned that Ccmmodore Chauncey sailed on the 1st instant from Niagara, having under convoy a flotilla of small craft and batteaux, filled with a proportion of the regular regiments from Fort George, where they have been relieved by militia, the whole being evidently destined for Sackett's Harbour. Early on the following day, Sir James Yeo was apprized. of this movement, and his ships being refitted, our squadron immie

diately

diately got under weigh, with a strong breeze from the south-west; which has, I most devoutly pray, enabled them, before this, to overtake the American fleet, and, by a successful general action, to efface the misfortune of our Lake Erie marine.

COLONIAL DEPARTMENT.

Downing street, Dec. 21. Dispatches, of which the following are copies and extracts, have been this day received by Earl Bathurst from Lieut-General Sir George Prevost, Bart.

Head-quarters, Montreal,

Oct. 30.

My Lord,-On the 8th inst. I had the honour to report to your lordship that Major-General Hampton had occupied, with a considerable force of regulars and militia, a position on the Chateauguay river, near the settlement of the Four Corners.

Early on the 21st the American army crossed the line of separation between Lower Canada and the United States, surprised a small party of Indian warriors, and drove in a picquet of sedentary militia, posted at the junction of the Outard and Chateauguay rivers, where it encamped, and proceeded in establishing a road of communication with its last position, for the purpose of bringing forward its artillery.

Major-General Hampton, having completed his arrangements on the 24th, commenced on the following day his operations against

of the light infantry company of the Canadian fencibles, and two companies of voltigeurs, on the north side of the river, made so excellent a disposition of his little band, that he checked the advance of the enemy's principal column, led by Major-General Hampton in person, and accompanied by Brigadier-General Izard; whilst the American light brigade, under Colonel M'Carty, was in like manner repulsed in its progress on the south side of the river, by the spirited advance of the right flank company of the third battalion of the embodied militia, under Capt. Daly, supported by Capt. Bruyer's company of Chateauguay chasseurs. Captains Daly and Bruyers being both wounded, and their companies having sustained some loss, their position was immediately taken up by a flank company of the first battalion of embodied militia; the enemy rallied, and repeatedly returned to the attack, which terminated only with the day, in his complete disgrace and defeat ; being foiled at all points by a handful of men, who by their determined bravery maintained their position, and screened from insult the working parties, who continued their labours unconcerned.

Having fortunately arrived at the scene of action shortly after its

commencement,

commencement, I witnessed the conduct of the troops on this glorious occasion, and it was a great satisfaction to me to render on the spot that praise which had become so justly their due. I thanked Major-General De Watteville for the wise measures taken by him for the defence of his position, the advance; and Lieut.-Colonel De Salaberry, for the judgment displayed by him in the choice of his ground, and the bravery and skill with which he maintained it; Į acknowledged the highest praise to belong to the officers and men engaged that morning, for their gallantry and steadiness; and I called upon all the troops in advance for a continuance of that zeal, steadiness, and discipline, and of that patient endurance of hardships and privations which they have hitherto evinced; and I particularly noticed the able support Lieut.-Colonel De Salaberry received from Captain Ferguson, in command of the light company of the Canadian Fencibles, and from Captain J. B. Duchesnay and Captain J. Duchesnay, and Adjutant Hebden of the voltigeurs, and also from Adjutant O'Sullivan, of the sedentary militia, and from Capt. La Motte, belonging to the Indian warriors.

Almost the whole of the British troops being pushed forward for the defence of Upper Canada, that of the lower province must depend, in a great degree, on the valour and continued exertions of its incorporated battalions and its sedentary militia, until the 70th regiment, and the two batalions of marines, daily expected, anive. It is, therefore, highly satisfactory to to your lordship, that there

tate

Return of killed, wounded, and missing.

Total-5 rank and five killed; 2 captains, serjeant, 13 rank and file, wounded; 4 rank and file missing.

Head-quarters, Montreal,

Oct. 30, 1813. My Lord,-Since I had the honour of addressing your lordship in my dispatch of the 22d of Sep: tember last, I have received the enclosed communication from Mag jor-General Proctor. I have, however, been informed from other quarters, that he commenced his retreat from Sandwich on the 24th

of that month, having previously dismantled the posts of Amherts burg and Detroit, and totally destroyed the public buildings and stores of every description. That on the 5th of October following, when within a few miles of a strong position, which it was his intenon to take up at the Moravian village on the river Thames, he was attacked by so overwhelming a force, under Major-General Harrison, that the small numbers he had with him, consisting of not more than 450 regular troops, were anable to withstand it, and consequently compelled to disperse; that he had afterwards rallied the remains of his division, and retired apon Aucaster, on the Grand river, without being pursued by the eneroy, and where he had collected the scattered remains of his force, amounding to about 200 men, and had with it, subsequently, reached Burlington-heights, the headquarters of Major-General Vincent. Tecumseth, at the head of 1200 Indian warriors, accompanied our little army on its retreat from Sandwich, and the prophet, as well as bis brother Tecumseth, were of the most essential service, in arresting the further progress of the Americans; but as to the extent of our loss on this occasion, or the particulars of this disastrous affair, I am, as yet, ignorant; MajorGeneral Proctor having signified to Major-General De Rottenberg, commanding in the Upper Provinces, that he had sent a flag of truce to General Harrison, to as certain the fate of the officers and solliers who were missing, and requesting his indulgence for a few days until its return, in order to make his official report. I also

understand, that the enemy, so far from attempting to improve the advantage they had gained, by pur-1 sting our troops on their retreat to the Grand river, had retired to Sand wich, followed by Tecumseth and his warriors, who had much hara-sed them on their march. Five' or six hundred Indians, belonging to the eighth division, are reported to have joined the centre.

I regret to say, that I am still without any official account of Captain Barclay's action on Lake Erie, the result of which has led to our relinquishment of the Michigan territory, excepting Michilimackanac, and our abandonment of the posts in Upper Canada beyond the Grand river.

I have the honour to be. &c.
GEORGE PREVOST.

London Gazette Extraordinary, Monday, October 18.

WAR DEPARTMENT.

Downing-street, Oct. 18.

Captain the Earl of March arrived this morning with a dispatch from Field-Marshal the Marquis of Wellington, addressed to Earl Bathurst, one of his Majesty's principal secretaries of state, of which the following is a copy :

Lexara, Oct. 9.

My Lord, having deemed it expedient to cross the Bidassoa with the left of the army, I have the pleasure to inform your lordship that that object was effected on the 7th instant.

Lieutenant-General Sir Thomas Graham directed the 1st and 5th divisions, and the 1st Portuguese brigade,