bor of Townsend. It
was an extraordinary and impressive spectacle. The shores of the
harbor were covered with unbroken forests, save at the lower end where
a little hamlet of scarce five hundred people gave a touch of
civilization to the wild scene. But the water looked as though the
commerce of a dozen cities had centred there. On the placid bosom of
the little bay floated forty-four vessels. The tread of men about the
capstans, the hoarse shouts of command, the monotonous songs of the
sailors, the creaking of cordage, and the flapping of sails gave an
unwonted turbulence to the air which seldom bore a sound other than
the voices of birds or the occasional blows of a woodman's axe.
Nineteen vessels-of-war and twenty-five transports imparted to the
harbor of Townsend an air of life and bustle to which it had been a
stranger, and which it has never since experienced.

The weather was clear, and the wind fair; so that two days after
leaving Townsend the fleet appeared before the works of the enemy.
Standing on the quarter-deck of the "Warren," the commodore and the
general eagerly scanned the enemy's defences, and after a careful
examination were forced to admit that the works they had to carry were
no mean specimens of the art of fortification. The river's banks rose
almost perpendicularly from the water-side, and on their crest were
perched the enemy's batteries, while on a high and precipitous hill
was built a fort or citadel. In the river were anchored the four armed
vessels.

Two days were spent by the Americans in reconnoitring the enemy's
works; and on the 28th of July the work of disembarking the troops
began, under a heavy fire from the enemy's batteries. The "Warren" and
one of the sloops-of-war endeavored to cover the landing party by
attacking the batteries; and a spirited cannonade followed, in which
the American flag-ship suffered seriously. At last all the militia,
together with three hundred marines, were put on shore, and at once
assaulted the batteries. They were opposed by about an equal number of
well-drilled Scotch regulars, and the battle raged fiercely; the
men-of-war in the river covering the advance of the troops by a
spirited and well-directed fire. More than once the curving line of
men rushed against the fiery front of the British ramparts, and
recoiled, shattered by the deadly volleys of the Scotch veterans. Here
and there, in the grass and weeds, the forms of dead men began to be
seen. The