John Nettles.
Sworn
Q. Have you been in the 41st Regiment, and when were you discharged?
A. I have been in the 41st sixteen years, I was discharged on the 26th
May last.
Q. Were you on the 22d January, 1813, at River Raisin, and had you any
share in the action?
A. I was there; I was not in the action, but was driving a King’s horse
and sleigh with spare ammunition for each gun - I was stationed within fifty
or sixty yards in rear of the guns.
Q. How far were you stationed from the place where the wounded were?
A. About four hundred yards.
Q. Did you at any time during the action go where the wounded were?
A. No, I did not.
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Q. Do you know if there was a ravine in front of the enemy.
A. There was a ravine, rather inclining to the left.
Q. Were you in rear of the ravine, and how far?
A. I was, as far as I can judge, about two hundred yards in rear.
Q. How long did you continue there?
A. I cannot exactly tell, it was the best part of the time the action lasted.
Q. While you were there, had you in charge a horse and sled with ammunition?
A. Yes.
Q. Did you see Lieutenant Bender at any time, and how long after the action
began?
A. I saw him about twelve o’clock, at the side of the ravine, and I asked
him which was the nearest way to our troops under arms, and to the ammunition
works.
Q. Did he tell you to bring the sleigh there?
A. He told me to come along, and he would show me the way; he went along in
front of the horse, walking as hard as he could.
Q. State what took place afterwards.
A. After we had crossed to the ravine, there was a Militia man shot when we
passed the ravine, we turned to the right, we took down a railing
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and Mr. Bender assisted me to let the horse and sleigh through, we got up to
the place where the troops were and there we continued until I was ordered
home.
Q. Where did you find the troops?
A. Behind some old log houses, sheltered from the enemy’s fire.
Q. How long was it before the enemy surrendered, that you came up with the
sled?
A. About three hours.
Q. Were the houses you have mentioned, to the right, or to the left of the
enemy?
A. To the right.
Q. Did you see General Proctor there when you arrived?
A. Yes.
Q. Was the ammunition taken out of the sled, when you arrived where the troops
were?
A. It was in about the course of an hour after we arrived.
Q. When Lieutenant Bender first met you, did he ask you if you had any ammunition?
A. No, he did not.
Q. Was the ammunition in a magazine, such as is commonly used for ammunition?
A. No, it was in a quarter cask, hooped with a head to it, it was full of ball
cartridges.
Q. Did Lieutenant Bender appear anxious to ar-
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rive as soon as possible at the place where the troops were?
A. Yes.
Q. In going to where the troops were, were you exposed to a heavy fire?
A. Yes.
Q. Did Lieutenant Bender appear to you to be the least afraid, or did he shelter
himself from the fire?
A. Not in the least that I observed.
Q. Did he go in front of the horse and sled?
A. In front during the whole time.
Q. What time did it take you to go from the place where you met Lieutenant
Bender, to the place where the troops were?
A. About three quarters of an hour, as near as I can guess.
Q. Was Lieutenant Bender exposed to the whole of the fire of the enemy, during
that time?
A. Yes, he was.
Q. Did he act as a brave officer?
A. He did act in a manner becoming both an officer and a gentleman.
Q. In going to where the troops were, did you pass a bridge that was on the
Ravine?
A. Yes.
Q. Supposing yourself to be where the enemy
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were, would that bridge be to your right or to your left?
A. It would be to my right.
Q. Did you drive the horse and sled the whole of time?
A. Yes.
Q. Could Lieutenant Bender have put himself under shelter, during any part
of that time without you seeing him?
A. No.
Q. Before you saw Lieutenant Bender, did you see Captain Tallon any where,
and if so, where?
A. No.
Q. When you first saw Lieutenant Bender, did he appear to you to be coming
from the ravine?
A. No.
Q. From what place did it appear that Mr. Bender came?
A. He appeared to have come from the place where the engagement had been, he
appeared to me to have been in search of me.
Q. Did you see in the rear any man not wounded?
A. No, none at all.
Q. In going to where the troops were, did you make a halt for any other purpose
than making a passage for the sled?
A. No.
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Q. Did General Proctor see you arrive with the sled, and did he say any thing
to you, and what?
A. Yes, he saw me, but said nothing.
Q. Where was the ammunition put, when taken out?
A. I cannot tell.
Q. Were not the whole of the troops under cover, when you arrived?
A. Scattering about and under cover too.
Q. Was the horse a tractable, or ungovernable horse?
A. Very wild and fractious.
Q. Had it not been for that circumstance, would you not have arrived much sooner?
A. Not much as we had a fence to take down.
Cross Examined.
Q. Do you know that in the action of 22d January, the troops were ordered to
charge the enemy behind the picketing?
A. No.
Q. Did you advance at any time across the ravine with the sled under your charge,
except when you crossed it by the bridge?
A. No.
Q. When you were going with the sled, did you pass the front of the ravine?
A. Yes.
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Q. Did you pass over that part of the ground in front where there was a picketing?
A. Yes.
Q. Did you pass along in a line with the picketing?
A. Yes.
Q. Did you see any wounded men in your way, besides the one you have mentioned?
A. No.
Q. You stated that you was [sic] stationed in front of the ravine, how could
you be so, without passing the ravine?
A. I did pass the ravine once, over a small bridge.
Q. What part of the troops were stationed in front of the place where you were
stationed?
A. There were some men of all descriptions, Indians, Militia and 41st Regiment.
Q. How was the ammunition for the guns packed?
A. In square boxes.
Q. At what time of day did you take your station, two hundred yards in the
rear of the ravine?
A. At the commencement of the action? [sic]
Q. Where were the guns, when you were two hundred yards in the rear of the
ravine?
A. One was near the Surgeon, and the remainder close by the American Garrison.
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Q. Did you see Captain Mockler during the action on that day?
A. No, not at all.
Q. At what time of day did the enemy bring out the white flag?
A. About three o’clock.
Q. Was there any other sled with the army except the one you had?
A. Not at the time I went where the troops were.
Q. Where had you been before you took your situation in rear of the ravine?
A. I was fifty or sixty yards in rear of the guns.
Q. Was there any other man of the 41st who had charge of a horse and sled,
besides yourself, that day?
A. There was an inhabitant, a hired man, he went to the field, but returned
before I got to the field.
Q. What distance was it from where you met Lieutenant Bender, to where General
Proctor was?
A. About half a mile, as near as I can judge.
Q. Was your horse wounded at all during the action?
A. No.
Q. What was on the other sled?
A. I do not know.
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Q. Was there a field magazine on the other sled?
A. I do not know.
Q. Was the other horse wounded?
A. He was wounded in the fore foot.
Q. Were you at any time absent from the horse and sled?
A. No.
Q. When you were going to the barns with Lieutenant Bender, from how far were
the enemy firing?
A. Within a quarter of a mile, within musket shot.
Q. At what distance were the great guns from the garrison?
A. About a quarter of a mile, as far as I can judge.
Q. Were the enemy firing at you when you passed the picketing?
A. They fired from the cross-railing, when we made the gap for the horse and
sled to get through.
Q. Where did you leave the guns when you went with Lieutenant Bender to the
field?
A. I left them in the field, when I was ordered back to the gap where the ammunition
was left before the action, the gap was quite in the rear of the field.
Q. Did you see the guns to which you were at-
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tached, after you were ordered back to the gap for ammunition?
A. No. |