“The governor-general of the Canadas, Sir George Prevost, having collected all the disposable force of Lower Canada, with a view of conquering the country as far as Ticonderoga, entered the territory of the United States on the 1st of the month, and occupied the village of Champlain—there avowed his intentions, and issued orders and proclamations, tending to dissuade the people from their allegiance, and inviting them to furnish his army with provisions. He immediately began to impress the wagons and teams in the vicinity, and loaded them with his baggage and stores, indicating preparations for an attack on this place. My fine brigade was broken up to form a division ordered to the westward, which consequently left me in the command of a garrison of convalescents and the recruits of the new regiments—all in the greatest confusion, as well as the ordnance and stores, and the works in no state of defence.

“To create an emulation and zeal among the officers and men, in completing the works, I divided them into detachments, and placed them near the several forts—declaring, in orders, that each detachment was the garrison of its own work, and bound to defend it to the last extremity. The enemy advanced cautiously, and by short marches, and our soldiers worked day and night; so that, by the time he made his appearance before the place, we were prepared to receive him. Finding, on examining the returns of the garrison, that our force did not exceed fifteen hundred men for duty, and well-informed that the enemy had as many thousand, I called on General Mooers, of the New York militia, and arranged with him plans for bringing forth the militia en masse.

“The inhabitants of the village fled with their families and effects, except a few worthy citizens and some boys, who formed themselves into a party, received rifles, and were exceedingly useful. General Mooers arrived with seven hundred militia and advanced seven miles on the Beekmantown road, to watch the motions of the enemy, and to skirmish with him as he advanced—also to obstruct the roads with fallen trees, and to break up the bridges. On the lake road, at Dead-Creek Bridge, I posted two hundred men, under Captain Sproul, of the 13th regiment, with orders to abattis the woods, to place obstructions in the road, and to fortify himself; to this party I added two field-pieces. In advance of that position was Lieutenant-Colonel Appling, with one hundred and ten riflemen, watching the movements of the enemy and procuring intelligence. It was ascertained that before daylight, on the 6th, the enemy would advance in two columns, on the two roads before mentioned, dividing at Sampson’s, a little below Chazy village. The column on the Beekmantown road proceeded most rapidly; the militia skirmished with their advanced parties, and, except a few brave men, fell back most precipitately in the greatest disorder, notwithstanding the British troops did not design to fire on them, except by their flankers and advanced patroles.

“Finding the enemy’s columns had penetrated within a mile of Plattsburgh, I dispatched my aid-de-camp, Lieutenant Root, to bring off the detachment at Dead-Creek, and to inform Lieutenant-Colonel Appling that I wished him to fall on the enemy’s right flank; the Colonel fortunately arrived just in time to save his retreat, and to fall in with the head of a column debouching from the woods; here he poured in a destructive fire from his riflemen at rest, and continued to annoy the column until he formed a junction with Major Wool. The field-pieces did considerable execution among the enemy’s columns. So undaunted, however, was the enemy, that he never deployed in his whole march, always pressing on in a column. Finding that every road around us was full of troops, crowding in on all sides, I ordered the field-pieces to retire across the bridge and form a battery for its protection, and to cover the retreat of the infantry, which was accordingly done, and the parties of Appling and Wool, as well as that of Sproul, retired alternately, keeping up a brisk fire until they got under cover of the works. The enemy’s light troops occupied the houses near the bridge, and kept up a constant firing from the windows and balconies, and annoyed us much. I ordered them to be driven out with hot shot, which soon fired the houses and obliged these sharp-shooters to retire. The whole day, until it was too late to see, the enemy’s light troops endeavored to drive our guards from the bridge, but they suffered dearly for their perseverance.

“Our troops being now all on the south side of the Saranac, I directed the planks to be taken off the bridges, and piled up in form of breastworks, to cover our parties intended for disputing the passage, which afterwards enabled us to hold the bridges against very superior numbers. From the 7th to the 11th, the enemy was employed in getting his battering train and erecting his batteries and approaches, and constantly skirmishing at the bridges and fords. By this time the militia of New York and volunteers from Vermont were pouring in from all quarters. I advised General Mooers to keep his force along the Saranac, to prevent the enemy crossing the river, and to send a strong body in his rear to harass him day and night, and keep him in continual alarm. The militia behaved with great spirit after the first day, and the volunteers from Vermont were exceedingly serviceable.

“Our regular troops, notwithstanding the constant skirmishing, and repeated endeavors of the enemy to cross the river, kept at their work, day and night, strengthening their defences, and evinced a determination to hold out to the last extremity. It was reported that the enemy only awaited the arrival of his flotilla to make a general attack. About eight, on the morning of the 11th, as was expected, the flotilla appeared in sight, round Cumberland Head, and at nine, bore down and engaged our flotilla, at anchor in the bay off this town. At the same instant, the batteries were opened on us, and continued throwing bomb-shells, shrapnells, balls and congreve rockets until sunset, when the bombardment ceased; every battery of the enemy being silenced by the superiority of our fire. The naval engagement lasted two hours, in full view of both armies. Three efforts were made by the enemy to pass the river at the commencement of the cannonade and bombardment, with a view of assaulting the works, and had prepared for that purpose an immense number of scaling ladders; one attempt was made to cross at the village bridge; another at the upper bridge; and a third, at a ford, about three miles from the works. At the two first he was repulsed by the regulars; at the ford, by the brave volunteers and militia—where he suffered severely in killed, wounded and prisoners, a considerable body having passed the stream, but were either killed, taken, or driven back. The woods at this place were very favorable to the operations of our militia; a whole company of the 76th regiment was here destroyed—the three lieutenants and twenty-seven men prisoners; the captain and the rest killed. I cannot forego the pleasure of here stating the gallant conduct of Captain McGlassin, of the 15th regiment, who was ordered to ford the river and attack a party constructing a battery on the right of the enemy’s line, within five hundred yards of Fort Brown—which he handsomely executed, at midnight, with fifty men; drove off the working party consisting of one hundred and fifty, and defeated a covering party of the same number, killing one officer and six men in the charge and wounding many. At dusk, the enemy withdrew his artillery from the batteries, and raised the siege; and at nine, under cover of the night, sent off all the heavy baggage he could find transport for, and also his artillery. At two the next morning, the whole army precipitately retreated, leaving the sick and wounded to our generosity; and the governor left a note with a surgeon, requesting the humane attention of the commanding general.

“Vast quantities of provision were left behind and destroyed; also, an immense quantity of bomb-shells, cannon-balls, grape-shot, ammunition, flints, &c. &c.; intrenching tools of all sorts, also tents and marquees. A great quantity has been found in the ponds and creeks, and buried in the ground, and a vast quantity carried off by the inhabitants. Such was the precipitance of his retreat, that he arrived at Chazy, a distance of eight miles, before we had discovered his departure. The light troops, volunteers and militia, pursued immediately on learning his flight; and some of the mounted men made prisoners, five dragoons of the 19th, and several others of the rear guard. A continued fall of rain, and a violent storm, prevented further pursuit. Upwards of three hundred deserters have come in, and many are hourly arriving. The loss of the enemy in killed, wounded, prisoners and deserters, since his first appearance, cannot fall short of two thousand five hundred, including many officers, among whom is Colonel Wellington, of the Buffs. Killed and wounded on the American side; thirty-seven killed, sixty-six wounded—missing, twenty; making one hundred and twenty-three. The whole force under Sir George Prevost amounted to fourteen thousand. The conduct of the officers, non-commissioned officers and soldiers of my command, during this trying occasion, cannot be represented in too high terms.

“I have the honor, &c.

“Alex. Macomb.”