officers and men, on board of every vessel, behaved with the utmost coolness, and are extremely anxious to meet the enemy on the open Lake; and, as Lake; and, as long as I have the honor to command such officers and men, I can have no doubt of the result.-I think I can say, with great propriety, that we have now the command of the Lake; and that we can transport troops and stores, to any part of it, without any risk of an attack from the enemy. Although the whole of his naval force was not collected at Kingston, yet, the force, at the different batteries, would more than counterbalance the vessels that were absent; it was thought, by all the officers in the squadron, that the enemy had more than 30 guns, mounted at Kingston, and from 1000 to 1500 men.

The Royal George, protected by this force, was driven into the inner harbor, under the protection of the musquetry, by the Oneida, and 4 small schooners, fitted out as gun-boats.

I have the honor to be, &c.

The Hon. P. Hamilton.

ISAAC CHAUNCEY.

THE WASP AND FROLIC.

Copy of a letter from Captain Jones, late of the U. States' sloop of war Wasp, to the Secretary of the Navy, dated

New-York, 24th Nov. 1812.

SIR-I here avail myself of the first opportunity, of informing you of the occurrences of our cruise, which terminated in the capture of the Wasp, on the 18th of Oct. by the Poictiers, 74 guns, while a wreck, from damages received in an engagement with the British sloop of war Frolic, of 22 guns; sixteen of them 32lb, carronades, and four 12 pounders, on the main deck, and two 12 pounders, carronades, on the top-gallant forecastle, making her superior in force to us, by four 12 pounders. The Frolic had struck to us, and was taken possession of, about two hours before our surrendering to the Poitiers.

We had left the Delaware, on the 13th-the 16th, had a heavy gale, in which we lost our jib-boom, and two men. Half past eleven, on the night of the 17th, in the lat. of 37° north, lon. 65° west, we saw several sail, two of them appearing very large; we stood from them, for some time; then shortened sail and steered, the remainder of the night, the course we had perceived them on. At day day-light, on Sunday the 18th, we saw them ahead-gave chase, and soon discovered them to be a convoy, of six sail, under the protection of a sloop of war; four of their large ships mounting from 16 to 18 guns. At 32 minutes past 11, A. M. we engaged the sloop of war, having first received her fire, at the distance of 50 or 60 yards, which space we gradually lessened, until we laid her on board, after a well supported fire of forty-three minutes; and, although so near, while loading the last broadside, that our rammers were shoved against the side of the enemy, our men exhibited the same alacrity, which they had done during the whole of the action. They immediately surrendered, upon our gaining their forecastle, so that no loss was sustained, on either side, after boarding.

Our main top-mast was shot away, between 4 and 5 minutes after the commencement of the firing, and falling, together with the main topsail yard, across the larboard fore and fore topsail braces, rendered our head yards unmanageable the remainder of the action; at 8 minutes, the gaft and mizen top-gallant mast came down; and, at twenty minutes from the beginning of the action, every brace, and most of the rigging, was shot away. A few minutes after separating from the Frolic, both her masts fell upon deck; the main mast going close by the deck, and the fore mast twelve or fifteen feet above it. The courage and exertions of the officers and crew, fully answered my expectations and wishes: Lieut. Biddle's active conduct, contributed much to our success, by the exact attention paid to every department, during the engagement-and the animating example he afforded the crew, by his intrepidity. Lieutenants Rodgers, Booth, and Mr. Rapp, shewed, by the incessant fire from their divisions, that they were not to be surpassed in resolution

or skill. Mr. Knight, and every other officer, acted with a courage and promptitude, highly honorable; and, I trust, have given assurance, that they may be relied on, whenever their services may be required. I could not ascertain the exact loss of the enemy, as many of the dead lay buried under the masts and spars, that had fallen upon deck, which two hours exertion had not sufficiently removed. Mr. Biddle, who had charge of the Frolic, states, that, from what he saw, and from information from the officers, the number killed must have been about thirty, and that of the wounded, about forty or fifty. Of the killed, is her first Lieutenant, and sailing master; of the wounded, Captain Whinyates, and the second Lieutenant. We had five killed, and five wounded, as per list; the wounded are recovering. Lieut. Claxton, who was confined by sickness, left his bed a little previous to the engagement; and, though too weak to be at his division, remained upon deck, and showed, by his composed manner of noting its incidents, that we had lost, by his illness, the services of a brave officer.

I am, &c.

JAMES JONES.

The Hon. P. HAMILTON, Sec. Navý.

EXPEDITION AGAINST THE INDIANS.

Detailed Account of Col. NEWMAN'S EXPEDITION AGAINST THE FLORIDA INDIANS.

New-Hope, St. John's, 19th Oct. 1812.

DEAR SIR-I have now the honor of transmitting to your excellency, an account of the several engagements which have taken place, between the Lotchaway and Alligator Indians, and the detachment of Georgia volunteers, under my command. As the object of this expedition, and the views of the persons engaged in it, have been

misconstrued, and mis-statements, relative to its protraction, circulated, I ask the indulgence of your excellency, to detail every transaction, from its commencement to its termination. I arrived upon St. John's, in obedience to your orders, about the 15th of August, with the whole of my detachment, consisting of about 250, (with officers) and with few on the sick report. I immediately waited on Col. Smith, before Augustine, and received orders, dated the 21st of August, to proceed immediately against the hostile Indians, within the province of E. Florida, and destroy their towns, provisions, and settlements. I then returned to the detachment, upon the St. John's, and made every preparation to comply with my orders, by dispatching parties to procure horses, from the few inhabitants that had not fled from the province, in preparing packs and provisions, and taking every step, which I deemed necessary, to ensure success to the enterprize. In consequence of the sickness of myself, and nearly one half the detachment, the period of our marching was delayed, until the 24th September; and, when just upon the eve of departing, an express arrived from Col. Smith, informing me, that his provision waggons and escort were attacked by a body of negroes and Indians, and ordering me to join him immediately, with 90 men, and bring all the horses and carriages I could command, for the removal of his baggage, field pieces, and sick; he having only 70 men fit for duty. I marched to the relief of the Colonel, with 130 men and 25 horses, and assisted him in removing to the block-house, upon Davis's creek. This service delayed, for a few days, our expedition to the nation; and when the detachment assembled again upon the St. John's, and were about to commence their march, the men had but six or seven days to serve. About this time, I received a letter from Col. Smith, advising me to propose to the detachment, an extension of their service for 15 or 20 days longer, as the time for which they were engaged was deemed insufficient to effect the object of the expedition. I accordingly assembled the detachment, and, after stating the necessity of a tender of further service, proposed that the men should volunteer for three weeks longer-when

84 men, including officers, stepped out, and were enrolled,. which, with the addition of 23 volunteer militia, sent to my aid, by Col. Smith, and 9 patriots, under the command of Capt. Cone, made my whole force amount to 117. With this small body, provided with 4 days provisions, and 12 horses, I was determined to proceed to the nation, and give those merciless savages, at least, one battle; and I was emboldened in this determination, by the strong expectation of being succored by a body of cavalry, from St. Mary's; and which, it has since appeared, did assemble at Colerain, but proceeded no further. On the evening of the 24th September, we left the St. John's, marching in Indian file; Capt. Humphrey's company of riflemen in front, Lieut. Fanuir's company in the centre, and Captain Coleman's company, with Cone's detachment, under the command of Lieut. Broadnax, in the rear; a small party marched in the front of the main body, and another in the rear. Our encampments, at night, (there being three companies) was in the form of a triangle, with the baggage in the centre; the men, with their clothes on, lying with their feet pointing outwards, and their firelocks in their arms. In case of an attack, the officers were instructed to bring up their companies, upon the right and left of the company fronting the enemy, and attend to the Indian mode of fighting, until ordered to charge. In case of meeting the enemy upon our march, Humphreys' company was instructed to file off to the right; Fort's company, to advance, and form to the front, in single rank, and Coleman's company to file off to the left-the whole, then, to advance, in form of a crescent, and endeavor to encircle the enemy. On the morning, of the 4th day of our march, when we were within 6 or 7 miles of the Lotchaway towns, our advanced party discovered a body of Indians, marching along the path, meeting us, and, at the same moment, they appeared to have discovered us. As soon as I was informed of it, I lost no time in giving the necessary directions for the companies to advance, and obey the instructions which had been previously given to them. As soon as Fort's company (at the head of which I had placed myself) had advanced to its proper