of
victory turn into cries of confusion. In the utmost disorder they make
a tumultuous and precipitate retreat into the woods. Thus, at 2.30
p.m., came the failure of Purdy's flanking movement.

As one may easily imagine, this series of incidents took several
hours.

In the front, General Hampton for about an hour kept his soldiers
ready in momentary expectation of attack by De Salaberry, and of
hearing of Purdy's success. When he heard that the latter had failed,
however, he sent him word to withdraw his column to a shoal four or
five miles above and cross over, and ordered General Izard to retire
his brigade to a position about three miles in the rear, to which
place the baggage had been ordered forward. Hampton thus retired,
leaving De Salaberry master of the field, with scarcely 300 men in
actual action, and no British guns anywhere within seven miles.[43]

Sir George Prevost, with Major-General De Watteville, arrived on the
ground at the close of the engagement and overlooked De Salaberry's
arrangements, thanked him with great praise, and then immediately
wrote an inaccurate despatch to England, in which he claimed the
principal credit for _himself_.[44] That evening De Salaberry wrote to
his father; "I have won a victory mounted on a wooden horse!"[45]

After the battle was over the American firing did not cease, for no
sooner did darkness come on than Purdy's scattered command, moving up
the right bank, commenced a most destructive fire on each other,
mistaking them for the British, and they continued it the greater part
of the night. The final incident took place just as day dawned on the
27th, when about twenty Americans, mistaking some of the Canadian
militia on the left bank for their own people, were compelled by them
to surrender.

That day at dawn McDonell came up in command of Captain Rouville's
Company of Voltigeurs, Captain Levesque's Company of Grenadiers (of
the 5th Battalion Incorporated Militia), and sixty men of the
Beauharnois Division. De Salaberry turned over to McDonell the defence
of the abatis or obstructions in front, and the hero of Ogdensburgh
pushed on to two miles further than before. The day passed in
expectation of a second attack, but no enemy appeared.

Meanwhile, the straggling order which the nature of the swamp and
forest imposed on Purdy's retreat exposed him to rear attacks from the
Indians, which were repeated after dark and caused him loss.[46]

A large quantity of m