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Laura Florian letter
Jan. 9, 1815
The enemy have now been nearly a month in this quarter. They entered by the lakes in barges built for the purpose and attacked half a dozen gunboats at the Bay of St. Louis - A most noble resistance was made but the inequality of number was so great 200 against 2500 that their making any at all may be considered an act of desperation - They were all young men who had never yet had an opportunity of standing fire and now when their courage was first put to the test were firmly determined not to cede even to a superior enemy or sell their lives as dearly as possible - the last gunboat which surrendered was commanded by a Cpt. Jones who behaved like a perfect hero with one arm fractured and a wound in his breast he still disputed ever inch of plank calling on his men to fight until overpowered by numbers and loss o blood he sank and was necessitated and ordered the flag to be lowered - The consternation and distress spread in Town by this fatal news you may readily conceive - We are still ignorant of the names of those who fell in the engagement as the flag of trace sent with proper attendance for the wounded has been detained - Mrs. Dr. Claiborne whom you may remember in Natchez behaved most courageously on the occasion - She had been some time at the Bay for her health, for she had been there four years her decline her appearance you would suppose her slightest breath would annihilate [?] her very existence and now while the cannon balls were whistling around her ears unconscious or rather insensible to the danger she was carrying cartridges to those who were firing from the shores - a dead calm succeeded this first storm which however continued in our apprehension when the week following we were once more aroused by the news of the British having entered by a bayou