le returned on the 5th, without effecting anything.

THE CHESAPEAKE.

By this time the whole fleet was once more collected together;
and crowded the Potomac with their keels. The Diadem being an
old slip and a bad sailer, it was determined to remove from her
the troops which she had formerly carried, to fill her with
American prisoners, and to send her to England. The Menelaus was
likewise dispatched with such officers and soldiers as required
the benefit of their native air to complete the cure of their
wounds; and the rest, getting under weigh on the 6th, stood
directly towards the mouth of the Chesapeake. When we reached
the James River, we anchored, and were joined by an American
schooner bearing a flag of truce. She brought with her Colonel
Thornton, Lieut. Colonel Wood, with the rest of the officers and
men who had been left behind at Bladensburg, and, being under the
guidance of Commodore Barney, that gentleman was enabled to
discharge his trust even to the very letter.

It may readily be supposed that the meeting between friends thus
restored to each other was very agreeable. But there was another
source of comfort which this arrival communicated, of greater
importance than the pleasure bestowed upon individuals. In
Colonel Thornton we felt that we had recovered a dashing and
enterprising officer; one as well calculated to lead a corps of
light troops, and to guide the advance of an army, as any in the
service. On the whole, therefore, the American schooner was as
welcome as if she had been a first-rate man-of-war filled with
reinforcements from England.

The wounded being now sent off, and Colonel Wood among the
number, the remainder of the fleet again set sail, and reached
the mouth of the bay without interruption. Here they were met by
a frigate and two brigs, which spoke to the Admiral, and
apparently communicated some important intelligence; for we
immediately put about and stood once more up the Chesapeake. The
wind, however, blew with great violence, and directly against us.
After beating about, therefore, for some time, without making any
progress, we turned our heads towards the ocean, and flying
between the Capes with amazing velocity, stood out to sea,
directing our course towards the S.S.E., and proceeding at the
rate of seven miles an hour under bare poles. The sea ran
tremendously high, and the sky was dark and dreary; insomuch that
by a landsman the gale might safely be accounted