its
banks high and woody. The commodore and myself, therefore, agreed
upon the propriety of leaving the boats under a guard of 150
infantry, and I determined to trust to fortune, and the bravery
of my troops, to effect the passage of the river. Below a place
called Chatham, and four miles above Dalson's, is the third
fordable branch of the Thames. The bridge over its mouth had been
taken up by the Indians, as well as at M'Gregor's Mills, one mile
above. Several hundred of the Indians remained to dispute our
passage, and, upon the arrival of the advanced guard, commenced a
heavy fire from the opposite bank of the creek, as well as that
of the river. Believing that the whole force of the enemy was
there, I halted the army formed in order of battle, and brought
up our two six-pounders to cover the party that were ordered to
repair the bridge, and cross the troops. Colonel Johnson's
mounted regiment, being upon the right of the army, had seized
the remains of the bridge at the mills, under a heavy fire from
the Indians. Our loss, upon this occasion, was two killed and
three or four wounded; that of the enemy was ascertained to be
considerably greater. A house near the bridge, containing a very
considerable number of muskets, had been set on fire; but it was
extinguished by our troops, and the arms saved. At the first farm
above the bridge, we found one of the enemy's vessels on fire,
loaded with arms and ordnance stores, and learned that they were
a few miles ahead of us, still on the right bank of the river,
with the great body of Indians. At Bowles's farm, four miles from
the bridge, we halted for the night, found two other vessels, and
a large distillery, filled with ordnance and other valuable
stores, to an immense amount, in flames. It was impossible to put
out the fire; two twenty-four pounders, with their carriages,
were taken, and a large quantity of ball and shells of various
sizes. The army was put in motion early on the morning of the
5th. I pushed on, in advance, with the mounted regiment, and
requested Governor Shelby to follow, as expeditiously as
possible, with the infantry. The governor's zeal, and that of his
men, enabled them to keep up with the cavalry, and by 9 o'clock,
we were at Arnold's mills, having taken, in the course of t