of Lundy's Lane, for the
possession of which the armies hitherto had principally contended,
General Drummond had now planted his artillery, as it appeared to form
the key to the position. On this quarter, therefore, the enemy for a
length of time directed his whole efforts; and notwithstanding the
carnage was truly appalling, no visible impression had yet been made.
Still on this part of the field did the whirlwind of the conflict rage
with awful and destructive fury; columns of the enemy, not unlike the
undulating surge of the adjacent cataract, rushed to the charge in close
and impetuous succession.

"In this fearful and tremendous stage of the contest, the British
forces, both regulars and militia, finding themselves pressed by an
overwhelming force, simultaneously closed round the guns, apparently
determined to contest their possession with the last drop of British
blood on the ground, fully assured of their importance to a favourable
termination of the engagement--in short both armies appeared to be
roused to a state of desperation for victory.

"The enemy at length succeeded to make a slight turn on the left of the
British position; at which period, General Riall, who commanded that
division of the army, was severely wounded in the arm, and having passed
to the rear for the purpose of having his wound dressed, on his return
to resume the command, was intercepted by a column of the enemy and made
prisoner of war.

"It was long before this crisis of the engagement that the curtain of
night had enveloped the scene; but instead of this circumstance abating
the fury of war, which had now completely drenched the field with the
blood of the combatants, the rage of battle appeared only to increase as
the night advanced. Still did the enemy continue to direct his strongest
force against the crest of the British position; but his repeated
charges were as often received and repelled by the regular, fencible,
and militia forces engaged, with that intrepid gallantry for which the
British army was ever characterized. Charges were made in such rapid
succession and with such determined vigour that often were the British
artillerymen assailed in the very act of springing and charging their
guns; and often were the muzzles of the guns of the contending armies
hauled up and levelled within a few yards of each other. The havoc of
lives on both sides, under such circumstances, may be better conceived
than described.

"The battle