cient officers, merely because they happened to belong to their own party; and, the opposition were accused of throwing every impediment which they could, in the way of the, then, administration. Both these accusations were, but quite too well founded. Governor Hull, had served in the war of the revolution, as an aid, and in some minor appointments, perhaps, but, was never made to command, but, to execute, the commands of others. When young, he could have executed what an able general should have ordered him to do; but at the time of his appointment, on this frontier, he was too old, to belong to an army in any situation. All the little military knowledge, he ever had, was antiquated and useless, and even worse than useless, because he relied on it. The higher appointments, made by Mr. Madison, in the army of 1812, were mostly of the same stamp, such as Hull, Pinkney, Dearborn, Winchester, &c. &c. &c. They were too old, and they had not kept pace, with the age, in which they lived. Hence, all they did, was useless. They were directed by Dr. Eustis another worn-out, revolutionary, subaltern officer. Such disasters attended on all the movements, of these worn-out generals, that millions believed them, traitors. We have never, for a moment, believed them to be such, but, they were utterly incompetent for any of the duties of the field, at the time of their appointments. Ohio at the commencement of the war, had so few opposers of the administration in it, that they could not be, even called a party.

Under the aforesaid act of congress, Return J. Meigs, then governor of Ohio, raised three regiments of volunteers, for twelve months. This was in April and May 1812. After electing their officers, at Dayton perhaps, where three regiments had rendezvoused; they were numbered first, second and third. The first, was commanded by Duncan McArthur, its Colonel; the second, by Colonel James Findlay; and the third, by Colonel Lewis Cass. Early in June, these troops marched up the Great Miami, to Staunton, where they were paid off-they then marched over to Urbana, where they were joined by Boyd's, or as it was called, the 4th regiment of regular

troops, who had been in the battle of Tippecanoe, in the autumn before. The latter regiment was commanded by Colonel Miller.

By about the middle of June, this little army, of about twenty-five hundred men, left Urbana, under the command of governor Hull, and proceeding northward, they encamped a short time, about twenty-four miles north of Urbana, and erected a block house, and called it McArthur's block house. This was done by the first regiment. After resting here a short time, they moved forward again, and got into a swamp, and, from nécessity, encamped in it, and erected a block house there, which they called "Necessity." The second regiment, under Findlay, had got ahead of McArthur's regiment, and had encamped, and erected a block house, and called it Fort Findlay. The town of Findlay the shire town of Hancock county, stands, where this block house was erected. After the army reached McArthur's block house, until they struck the Maumee, where Perrysburgh now is, the whole country was covered with a dense forest, which had to be cleared away for the wagons and heavy baggage to pass along, in the rear of the army. These block houses were stations erected where the provisions could be stored, not wanted for immediate use. Like taverns, on our roads, they served as stations for travelers to stop at, as they were passing and repassing between the army, and the settled parts of the country. And as the army moved forward, the first block house, was erected twenty miles north of Urbana, the next in a swamp, some fifteen miles or more further north; and Fort Findlay was about fifteen or twenty miles north of Necessity. From thence through the "black swamp," it is about thirty-six miles, or less, due north, in a right line, to the Maumee, at Perrysburgh. Through this swamp, the army marched, followed by one hundred and six heavy wagons, thirteen of which, stuck fast in the mud and there remained scattered along in the route of the army, and served as guides, to show, where Hull's army had passed along on its march.

The army reached the Maumee on the thirtieth day of June,

only fifteen days after they had left Dayton. Within this time, they had marched one hundred and twenty miles, built block houses, at suitable points on their route; cut their roads through a dense forest; and marched through, about forty miles of swamp, knee deep, at every step, to the men. Doctor Eustis, the secretary of war, had despatched a special messenger, to General Hull, conveying a letter dated the 18th day of June, the same day which the President signed the act declaring war, This messenger, with a letter specially sent to Governor Hull, by the secretary of war, overtook the army in the black swamp, on the 26th day of June. In this letter, the secretary forgot to mention, as a trifling circumstance, the declaration of war, but, hinted that something of that sort, might be expected, soon. Four days after the reception of this letter, General Hull reached the lower end of the rapids, of the Maumee, and passed over the river in boats. He chartered a lake vessel to carry his most valuable baggage and effects, from the Maumee, to Detroit. In this vessel, he put his trunk, containing all his official papers, and a full account of his strength; the names of all his officers, payrolls of his army, and every thing which could be of much value to the enemy, and ordered this vessel off, past Malden, the British garrison, which it must pass, in order to arrive at Detroit. This vessel, thus freighted, under the command of a Lieutenant and thirty men, fell necessarily into the possession of the enemy, at Malden. Any man of sense must have known such would be the result, of such folly.

The British legation, at Washington city, had sent expresses with the news of war to all their posts on the upper lakes, whereas the first news of the war that our army received, was through a common newspaper, which reached them through the common mail route. The army arrived at Detroit on the 5th of July, and being quite fatigued, after their toilsome. march, they rested several days. On the 2d of July, General Hull received a letter from the Secretary of war, informing him that war was declared. On the 9th he received another letter, from the Secretary, directing him, if consistent with

the safety of his post to take Malden, and extend his conquests around him. Hull, in reply, said that his force was insufficient to make the attempt. On the next day he reiterated the same opinion in another letter to Doctor Eustis, and then on the twelfth of July, without receiving any additional force, and his baggage-wagons had not then yet arrived, only in part; early in the day, he crossed over the river into Canada, and issued a most boastful proclamation, in which he invited the Canadians to join his standard. He continued at Sandwich, where he had landed, three days, reconoitering the country, and collecting provisions. On the 15th a party under Cass attempted to cross the Ducks, a stream, four miles from Malden. They crossed the creek, drove the enemy from the bridge and the ford, and returned again to Sandwich.

On the first of August, General Hull learned that the British had taken Mackinaw on the 17th of July, and were on their way to attack him. Mackinaw was under the command of Lieutenant Hanks, and fifty-six men, who had no knowledge of the war, until they were summoned to surrender the fort, to the enemy. The force which took Mackinaw, amounted to about six hundred soldiers, from Malden, besides Indians. This news of the loss of Mackinaw, filled the mind of General Hull with consternation. He saw nothing to prevent the approach of all the savages of the northwest. By this time, Hull's artillery had reached him and he had provisions sufficient for about fifteen days. On the 7th day of August, Hull issued an order for the army to recross the river into Detroit. This order was so unexpected by the army that it fell upon it like a thunder bolt. All confidence in the commander-in-chief, was lost, in an instant, and the men with difficulty obeyed their own officers. However on the 8th they recrossed the river, and took post at Detroit. On the 14th, General Brock, the British commander-in-chief, took a position opposite Detroit, and began to fortify it by erecting batteries. On the next day he summoned Hull to surrender, which he utterly refused to do, in reply, Brock opened his battaries and threw bombs during

the night, for the purpose of diverting Hull's attention from what Brock was then doing. In the morning it was discovered that the enemy had landed at Springwells. Having thus landed in safety, and without opposition at 10 o'clock A. M., he marched in columns twelve deep, to attack the American garrison. The fort, or as our soldiers used to call it, "the sheep pen," was so situated, that the enemy could approach within two hundred yards of it, before the guns of the garrison could injure them. A detachment of the American force however, was sent out, and judiciously posted to prevent the advance of the enemy. But at the very moment, when every American in the army, except its commander, was ready and anxious to begin the mortal combat, with an enemy of inferior numbers, consisting mostly of either raw militia, or of Indians; what were the emotions of our army, when they were ordered into the fort, and to lay down their arms? They reluctantly obeyed, and a white flag was raised, on the fort. Without shedding a drop of blood-without firing a single gun, the fort, with all its cannon, taken with Burgoyne, at Saratoga, from the British, with a vast amount of powder, lead, cannon balls, and all the munitions of war-all-all were surren dered, unconditionally surrendered, to the enemy. The enemy himself, must have doubted his own senses on that occasion. Let us see, twenty-five hundred men with all their arms; twen ty-five pieces of iron cannon, and eight brass ones; forty barrels of powder, all were surrendered without firing a gun, to about one thousand militia and a few Indians! It was even so done by General Hull, Madison's commander-in-chief of the North Western army.

Colonels McArthur and Cass, with about four hundred of the very best troops, in the army, had been despatched (just at the very moment, they would be most needed) under the pretence of guarding the wagons, with the provisions, which Governor Meigs of Ohio, was forwarding to the army. These troops under McArthur and Cass had marched about forty miles into the country, among the whortleberry hills of