But to return to the advance of our troops. No sooner did the enemy see the steady and undaunted forward movement of part of the 4th, with the whole of the gallant 85th Regiment,--commanded by two fine, brave, dashing fellows, Colonel Thornton and Major Brown,--attempt to pass the bridge over the river Potomac, “which they had left to allow the Britishers to cross, that they might take them all prisoners” (the Americans having destroyed all the others), than they opened a most destructive fire from their heavy batteries of 24-pounders, which they had thrown up to enfilade it, and which were commanded by a brave old fellow of the United States’ Navy, Commodore Barney, who was wounded and taken prisoner, and whose flotilla of gun-boats we had previously destroyed at Pig Point, in the river Patuxent. He, however, made his escape with seven or eight hundred seamen, joined the American army, and was of great service in working and firing the guns in their field batteries, which were supported by a very heavy fusilade of musketry. The round and grape shot from the heavy guns in battery made fearful gaps in the ranks of the advancing column, but, nothing daunted, they gave three cheers, and rushed on in the most daring manner, which the enemy observing, it created a panic amongst them, and they gave way, declaring, I was informed, “that it was of no use their staying there to be shot, for the Britishers did not mind being killed at all.” So off they went, and never stopped until they got on the other side of Washington. The whole of the narrative of the attack on Washington and Baltimore has been so ably and faithfully described by the gallant author of the “Subaltern,” that I shall confine myself to our naval affairs, but I thought the above anecdotes, which are not mentioned in his work, were worth preserving to show the character of the natives. After having been twelve days and nights in an open boat, I was not sorry to return to my ship, but the moment the troops were re-embarked, a difficult navigation down the river precluded all idea of rest. The fag to officers and men of every description, during the whole of the operations in the Patuxent, was very harassing, and the labour of getting up to Baltimore without pilots, feeling our way with the lead, whilst boats on each bow and one a-head were sounding also, gave little time for respite. The heat of the weather too was very great, the thermometer varying only from 79° to 82° in the shade, during most of our severest services, which added much to the exhaustion.