disorder and could not be formed.[J] The Indians pursued them from all quarters, and surrounded, killed, and took the most of them. The enemy again charged on the left with redoubled vigor, but were again forced to retire. Our men lay close behind the picketing, through which they had portholes, and every one having a rest took sight, that his ammunition might not be spent in vain. After a long and bloody contest, the enemy finding they could not, either by stratagem or force, drive us from our fortification, retired to the woods, leaving their dead on the ground, except a party that kept two pieces of cannon in play on our right. A sleigh was seen three or four hundred yards from our lines going towards the right, supposed to be laden with ammunition to supply the cannon. Four or five men rose up and fired at once, and killed the man and wounded the horse. Some Indians who were hid behind houses continued to annoy us with scattering balls. At this time bread from the commissary’s house was handed round among our troops, who sat composedly eating and watching the enemy at the same time. Being thus refreshed, we discovered a white flag advancing toward us; it was generally supposed to be for a cessation of arms that our enemies might carry off their dead, which were numerous, although they had been bearing away both dead and wounded during the action; but how were we surprised and mortified when we heard that Gen. Winchester, with Col. Lewis, had been taken prisoners by the Indians in attempting to rally the right wing, and that Gen. Winchester had surrendered us prisoners of war to Col. Proctor! Major Madison, then the highest in command, did not agree to this until Col. Proctor had promised[K] that the prisoners should be protected from the Indians, the wounded taken care of, the dead collected and buried, and private property respected. It was then with extreme reluctance our troops accepted this proposition; there was scarcely a person that could refrain from shedding tears! Some plead with the officers not to surrender, saying they would rather die on the field! We had only five killed, and twenty-five or thirty wounded, inside of the pickets. The British asked, when they came in, what we had done with our dead, as they saw but few on the ground. A barn being set on fire to drive the Indians from behind it, they concluded that, to conceal our dead, we had thrown them into these flames. One of the houses that the wounded were in, was much shattered by the cannon balls, though only a few struck as low as a man’s head. The bombs flew over. Some bursted fifty feet above the ice, some fell on the ice, and some fell over the river. Notwithstanding all their exertions, their six cannon (which were all said to be six-pounders) did but little damage.