lare; though several rumors bearing at least the guise of
probability have been circulated. The attack on New Orleans was
professedly a secret expedition, so secret indeed that it was not
communicated to the inferior officers and soldiers in the armament
until immediately previous to our quitting Jamaica. To the Americans,
however, it appears to have been long known before. And hence it was
that, instead of taking them unawares, we found them fully prepared
for our reception. _That our failure is to be lamented no one will
deny, since the conquest of New Orleans would have been, beyond all
comparison, the most valuable acquisition that could be made to the
British dominion throughout the whole Western hemisphere. In
possession of that post, we should have kept the entire Southern
trade of the United States in check, and furnished means of commerce
to our own merchants, of incalculable value._

On the 29th of August, 1814, Colonel Edward Nichols, in command of the
land forces quartered in the Spanish capital of Pensacola, issued a
proclamation, from which we quote:

Natives of Louisiana! On you the first call is made to assist in
liberating from a faithless, imbecile government, your paternal soil.
Spaniards, Frenchmen, Italians, and British; whether settled, or
residing for a time in Louisiana, on you also, I call to aid me in
this just cause. The American usurpation in this country must be
abolished, and the lawful owners of the soil put in possession. I am
at the head of a large body of Indians, well armed, disciplined, and
commanded by British officers, a good train of artillery with every
requisite, seconded by the powerful aid of a numerous squadron of
ships. Be assured, your property, your laws, the tranquility and
peace of your country, will be guaranteed to you. Rest assured that
these brave Indians only burn with an ardent desire of satisfaction
for the wrongs they have suffered from the Americans, to join you in
liberating the southern province from their yoke, and drive them into
the limits formerly prescribed by my sovereign. The Indians have
pledged themselves not to injure the persons or properties of any but
enemies to their Spanish or English fathers. A flag, Spanish, French,
or British, over any door, will be a certain protection.

Inhabitants of Kentucky! You have too long borne with grievous
imposition