ACTION BETWEEN THE PENGUIN AND HORNET, Off Tristran d'Acunha. Tristran d'Acunha is the largest of three islands in the South Atlantic Ocean, very lofty, and about 15 miles in circumference. Though 1500 miles from any inhabited land, man in his boundless passion for war has made its shores resound with the strife and contention of battle. Captain Biddle, of the Hornet, in seeking the President at this Island, fell in with the Penguin, Captain Dickinson; a spirited conflict ensued, which terminated in the surrender of the English vessel: her Captain was mortally wounded. From Captain Biddle to Commodore Decatur, SIR, I have the honor to inform you, that on the morning of the 23d instant, at half-past 10, when about to anchor off the north-end of the island of Tristan d'Acunha, a sail was seen to the southward and eastward, steering to the eastward, the wind fresh from the S.S.W. In a few minutes she had passed on to the westward, so that we could not see her for the land. I immediately made sail to the westward, and shortly after getting sight of her again, perceived her to bear up before the wind. I hove-to for him to come down to us. When she had approached Bb near, I filled the main-top-sail, and continued to yaw the ship while she continued to come down, wearing occasionally, to prevent her passing under our stern. At 1. 40. P.M. being nearly within musket-shot distance, she hauled her wind on the starboard tack, hoisted English colours, and fired a gun. We immediately luffed-to, hoisted our ensign, and gave the enemy a broadside. The action being thus commenced, a quick and well-directed fire was kept up from this ship, the enemy gradually drifting nearer to us; when, at 1.55, he bore up, apparently to run us on board. As soon as I perceived he would certainly fall on board, I called the boarders, so as to be ready to repel any attempt to board us. At the instant, every officer and man repaired to the quarter-deck, where the two vessels were coming in contact, and eagerly pressed me to permit them to board the enemy; but this I would not permit, as it was evident, from the commencement of the action, that our fire was greatly superior, both in quickness and effect. The enemy's bowsprit came in between our main and mizen-rigging, on our starboard-side, affording him an opportunity to board us, if such was his design, but no attempt was made. There was a considerable swell on, and, as the sea lifted us a-head, the enemy's bowsprit carried away our mizenshrouds, stern-davits, and spanker-boom, and he hung upon our larboard-quarter. At this moment an officer called out that they had surrendered. I directed the marines and musketry-men to cease firing; and, while on the taffrail, asking if they had surrendered, I received a wound in the neck. The enemy just then got clear of us, and his foremast and bowsprit being both gene, and perceiving us wearing to give him a fresh broasdside, he again called out that he had surrendered. It was with difficulty I could restrain my crew from firing into him again, as he had certainly fired into us after having surrendered. From the firing of the first gun, to the last time the enemy cried out he had surrendered, was exactly 22 minutes by the watch. She proved to be H. B. M. brig Penguin, mounting sixteen 32-pound carronades, two long 12s, a 12-pound carronade upon the top-gallant-fore-castle, with swivels on the capstan, and in the tops. They acknowledge a loss of 14 killed, and 28 wounded: among the killed is Captain Dickenson, who fell at the close of the action. We received on board, in all, 118 prisoners, four of whom have since died of their wounds. Having removed the prisoners, and taken on board such provisions and stores as would be useful to us, I scuttled the Penguin this morning, before daylight, and she went down: she was completely riddled by our shot, her fore-mast and bowsprit both gone, and her main-mast so crippled as to be incapable of being secured. This ship did not receive a single round shot in her hull, nor any material wound in her spars. * The Hornet's force was 18 32-pound carronades, two long 18pounders, and a complement of 160 men. THE REPULSE OF A BRITISH ARMY, FROM BEFORE NEW ORLEANS. New Orleans, the capital of the State of Louisiana, is situated on the left bank of the Mississippi, 105 miles from its estuary, and is the great mart for the produce of the 'western States of the Union, to which that river* affords the only outlet to the sea: Lake Pontchartrain communicates with the city by the bayou St. John. It is within two weeks sail of the coast of Mexico, and still nearer The area of territory in the United States which contributes to the waters of the Mississippi, or is dependent on it for a communication with the ocean, is 1,344,779 square miles, or 860,658,560 acres ; nearly 28 times the extent of England and Wales, and 11 times that of the whole of Great Britain and Ireland. the islands of the western Archipelago. The army which had occupied Washington made afterwards an unsuccessful attempt on Baltimore, in which General Ross was killed: after a short repose at Jamaica, the force, augmented to full 6000 men, made an attack on New Orleans, under General Pakenham; but were repulsed by the Americans under General Jackson, with the loss of 2454 men killed, wounded, and prisoners; the American army had only 10 men killed, and the same number wounded. General Jackson's Account of the Operations at New Orleans. Camp, 4 miles below New Orleans, Jan. 9, 1815. During the days of the 6th and 7th, the enemy had been actively employed in making preparations for an attack on my lines. With infinite labour they had succeeded on the night of the 7th, in getting their boats across from the lake to the river by widening and deepening the canal on which they had effected their disembarkation. In my encampment every thing was ready for action, when, early on the morning of the 8th, the enemy, after throwing a heavy shower of bombs and Congreve rockets, advanced their columns on my right and left, to storm my entrenchments. I cannot speak sufficiently in praise of the firmness and deliberation with which my whole line received their approach-more could not be expected from veterans inured to war. For an hour, the fire of the small arms was as incessant and severe as can be imagined. The artillery too, directed by officers who displayed equal |