ans. On
Sept. 14, a squadron of four British sloops-of-war appeared off
Mobile, and opened fire upon Fort Bowyer, which guarded the entrance
to Mobile Bay. The attack was vigorous, and the defence determined. A
British land expedition moved upon the fort from the landward side;
and the little garrison found itself surrounded by enemies, many of
whom were Indians, whose savage assistance the British had accepted
from the very opening of the war. A small force, only, defended the
fort. Percy, the British admiral, knew the weakness of the garrison;
and, thinking of the ninety-two guns he could bring to bear against
the twenty worked by the Americans, announced proudly, that he would
give the garrison just twenty minutes to surrender. The twenty minutes
passed quickly, and still the fort responded savagely to the fire of
its assailants. The flag of the British ship "Hermes" was shot away;
and soon after, a round shot cut her cable, and she drifted upon a
sand-bank, and lay helpless, and exposed to a raking fire. Her
captain, having set her afire, abandoned her; and she soon blew up.
The other vessels kept up the attack gallantly for a time. The
flagstaff of the fort was shot away; but the flag soon re-appeared,
waving from a sponge-staff. The Americans then redoubled their fire,
which soon told so severely upon the British ships that they were
forced to withdraw. In the mean time, the assault of the Indians and
troops had been checked, and the forces driven back in disorder, thus
leaving the victory to the Americans.

It is not within the province of this work to treat of the military
operations that led up to the battle of New Orleans. But the last
months of 1814 witnessed a series of naval incidents trivial in
themselves, but deriving importance from their connection with Gen.
Jackson's great victory. Over certain incidents in the preparations of
the Americans for repelling the invasion hangs a shade of romance.

To the southward of the quaint, rambling, rose-covered city of New
Orleans, the tawny flood of the Mississippi winds towards the gulf in
huge serpentine curves. The shores between which it flows rise scarce
higher than the surface of the river itself; and a slight increase in
the volume of water, or a strong wind, will serve to turn the whole
region into a great, watery marsh. From the mouth of the great river,
the whole coast of Louisiana, extending north and west, is a grassy
sea, a vast expanse of marsh-gras