been towards the success of military operations intended against Louisiana, as that will sufficiently appear from the bare inspection of the map. I will, therefore, merely observe that the point of the Mobile commands the passes at the entrance of the bay, and consequently the navigation of the rivers which empty into it; that on the eastern side it commands the species of archipelago which extends in a parallel direction as far as the passes Mariana and Christiana; that from its situation advancing into the gulf, it must ever afford to those who hold it, the means of exercising an almost exclusive control over the navigation of the coast of West Florida; and that its imity to Pensacola secures to it a prompt and easy communication with that town.

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This point, forming the extremity of a peninsula, joined to the continent by an isthmus four miles wide, between the river and bay of Bonsecours and the bay Perdido, extends in an east and west direction, inclining a little towards the south, for the space of twenty-nine miles in length, from the mouth of the Perdido. A large oblong lake, called Borgne, occupies the greater portion of its interior towards the east, which, independently of the narrow neck of land formed by the two bays, affords in several points the facility of cutting off all communication with the continent. The breadth of the peninsula decreases as it extends towards the west, so that three miles from the point it is only half a mile wide. This part affords another means of defence, of which the British availed themselves when they encamped on the peninsula during their last attack; I mean a ditch or

coulée, communicating with a lagoon, the whole occupying upwards of half the breadth of the peninsula. Some briars and stunted fir trees and live oaks grow here and there on a soil almost entirely formed of sand and shells, which mixture gives it a very firm consistency. Within two miles of the point vegetation ceases almost entirely, and the soil becomes a succession of downs, ditches, ravines, and hillocks of sand, arid and moving in some places, and in others as hard as beaten ground. These ditches are from four to eight feet deep, forming several sinuosities, where one sees here and there a few tufts of grass. It is nearly at the extremity of this tongue of land, on the point rounding towards the northeast, that fort Bowyer is situated. The part that is nearest the shore is the angle of the north curtain and the semicircular battery facing the pass, and opening a little at the distance of fifty yards, contiguous to a bluff which skirts the peninsula on both sides, nearly in its whole length.

Fort Bowyer is a redoubt formed on the sea side, by a semi-circular battery of four hundred feet in development, flanked with two curtains sixty feet in length, and joined to a bastion whose capital line passes through the centre of the circular battery. This bastion has but thirty-five feet in its gorge, with two flanks, each capable of receiving but one piece of artillery, and fifty feet in length on its front and rear aspects.

Its interior dimensions are one hundred and eighty feet in length from the summit of the bastion to the parapet of the circular battery, and two hun

dred feet for the length of the cord of the arc descri. bed by the battery. The receding angles formed by

the curtains with the flanks of the bastion and those of the battery, considerably diminish the dimensions of this fort, the superficies of which may be estimated at twenty-two thousand feet.

The circular parts and the flanks which join it to the curtains, have a parapet fifteen feet thick at the summit, and in all the rest of the perimeter of the fort, the parapet does not exceed the thickness of three feet above the platforms; a fosse twenty feet wide surrounds the fort, and a very insufficient glacis without a covered way completes the fortification. The interior front of the parapet is formed of pine, a resinous wood which a single shell would be sufficient to set on fire. The fort is destitute of casemates (the only shelter from bombs) even for the sick, the ammunition or provisions. To these inconveniencies may be added the bad situation of the fort, commanded by several mounds of sand, as above described, at the distance of from two to three hundred yards. On the summit of those mounds it would be very easy to mount pieces of artillery, whose slanting fire would command the inside of the fort.

From the first information of the preparations making by the British at Pensacola, until the 12th of September, on which day four large vessels were discovered in the offing, the garrison of the fort had been constantly employed in putting the fortifications in a condition to resist the enemy. Major Lawrence now ordered all the men of the garrison to enter within the fort, and to keep themselves in readiness

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for action. From that moment the garrison passed each night under arms, every man at his post.

Before I enter on the particulars of the events posterior to the 12th, it may be proper to give a statement of the strength of the garrison, and of the means of defence.

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The garrison consisted of one hundred and thirty men including officers, and the whole artillery of the fort was twenty pieces of cannon, distributed in the following manner: two twenty-fours, six twelves, eight nines, and four fours; the twenty-fours and twelves being alone mounted coast carriages, and all the others on Spanish carriages little fit for service. One nine-pounder and three fours were mounted on the bastion, all the rest on the circular battery and its flanks. Those guns in the rear bastion and on the flanks, were on temporary platforms, and the men exposed from their knees upwards.

On the 12th of September, the sentinel stationed towards lake Borgne, reported that on the morning of that day the enemy had landed six hundred Indians or Spaniards, and one hundred and thirty marines, and on the evening of the same day, two English sloops of war, with two brigs, came to anchor on the coast, within six miles east of the fort.

On the 13th, the enemy sent reconnoitring parties towards the back of the fort, who approached to within three quarters of a mile of it. At half after twelve, the enemy approached within the distance of seven hundred yards, whence they threw against the fort three shells and one cannon ball. The shells

did no injury, having exploded in the air; but the ball, which was a twelve pound shot, struck a piece of timber that crowned the rampart of the curtain, part of which it carried away and then rebounded. The fort returned a few shots in the direction of the smoke of the enemy's guns, they being covered by the mounds of sand.

Meanwhile, the enemy, under cover of those mounds, retired a mile and a half behind the fort, and appeared to be employed in raising intrenchments. Three discharges of cannon were once more sufficient to disperse them. In the afternoon, several light boats having attempted to sound the channel nearest the point, were forced, by the balls and grape-shot fired against them, to return to their ships.

On the 14th, at six in the morning, the enemy still continued at the same distance, apparently employed in some works of fortification; the ships likewise remained at the same anchorage.

On the 15th of September, a day ever memorable for the garrison of fort Bowyer, the enemy by his movements gave early indications of his intention to attack; for by break of day, a very active communication was perceived between the ships and the troops on shore.

Towards noon, the wind having slackened to a light breeze from the southeast, the ships weighed anchor and stood out to sea: at two o'clock they tacked and bore down against the fort before the wind in line of battle, in the channel, the foremost ship being the Hermes, on board of which was the commodore, captain Percy.