razer was severely wounded by a musket ball while spiking a gun
on the second battery. Riddle, after the first battery was
carried, descended into the enemy's magazine, and after securing
(with the assistance of quarter master Greene of the volunteers,
whose good conduct deserves much praise) a quantity of fixed
ammunition, blew up the magazine, and suffered severely by the
explosion. I must solicit, through you, Sir, the attention of the
general government to these meritorious young men. Captain Bigger
is an excellent officer, and rendered me much assistance, but was
dangerously wounded. The other young gentlemen are citizens, and
deserve much credit for their activity, and for having
voluntarily encountered danger. My aid-de-camp, Major Dox, was
confined at Buffalo by sickness.

On the whole, Sir, I can say of the regular troops attached (p. 218)
to the left column, of the veteran volunteers of Lieutenant-Colonel
Dobbin's regiment, that every man did his duty, and their conduct
on this occasion reflects a new lustre on their former brilliant
achievements. To the militia, the compliment is justly due, and I
could pay them no greater one, than to say, that they were not
surpassed by the heroes of Chippewa and Niagara in steadiness and
bravery.

The studied intricacy of the enemy's defences, consisting not
only of the breastwork connecting their batteries, but of
successive lines of entrenchments for a hundred yards in the
rear, covering the batteries and enfilading each other, and the
whole obstructed by abatis, brush and felled timber, was
calculated to produce confusion among the assailants, and led to
several contests at the point of the bayonet. But by our double
columns, any temporary irregularity in the one, was always
corrected by the other. Our success would probably have been more
complete but for the rain which unfortunately set in soon after
we commenced our march, which rendered the fire of many of our
muskets useless, and by obscuring the sun, led to several unlucky
mistakes. As an instance of this, a body of 50 prisoners who had
surrendered, were ordered to the fort in charge of a subaltern
and 14 volunteers; the officer mistaking the direction, conducted
them towards the British camp in the route by which we had
advance