s were within a few yards of the English battery. It
was now night and extremely dark. During the darkness some
extraordinary incidents occurred. The British having, for a moment,
been thrust back, some of the British guns remained for a few minutes
in the enemy's hands. They were, however, not only quickly recovered,
but the two pieces, a six pounder and a five and a half inch howitzer,
which the enemy had brought up, were captured by the British, together
with several tumbrils; and in limbering up the British guns, at one
period, one of the enemy's six-pounders was put, by mistake, upon a
British limber, and one of the British six-pounders was limbered on one
of the enemy's. So that although American guns had been captured, yet
as the Americans had captured one of the British guns, the British only
gained, by the dark transaction, one gun. It was now 9 o'clock, and
there was a short intermission of firing. Apparently the combatants
sank to rest from pure exhaustion. It was a terrible repose. The din of
battle had ceased, to be succeeded by the monotonous roar of the Great
Falls. The moon had risen and at intervals glanced out of the angry
blackish looking clouds, to reveal the pale faces of the dead, with
still unrelaxed features, and some even yet, as it were, in an attitude
of defiance. The field of strife was one sea of blood, and the groans
of the wounded and the dying sent a shudder through the boldest.
Occasionally the flash of a gun or a few bright flashes of musketry
revealed more strikingly than even the moon's pale rays, the living,
the dying, and the dead. Short as was the respite, the enemy was not
idle while it lasted. Brown was busily employed in bringing up the
whole of his remaining force, and he afterwards renewed the attack with
fresh troops, to be everywhere repulsed, with equal gallantry and
success. Drummond had not neglected to bring up Riall's wing which had
been previously ordered to retire. He placed them in a second line,
with the exception of the Royal Scots, with which he prolonged his
front line, on the right, where he was apprehensive of being outflanked
by the enemy. The enemy's efforts to carry the hill were continued
until about midnight, when he had suffered so severely from the
superior steadiness and discipline of the British that he gave up the
contest and retreated with great precipitation to his camp, beyond the
Chippewa, which he abandoned on the following day, throwing the
great