The American army under
Brigadier Alexander Macomb, just 32 and the American fleet under the command of
Lieutenant Thomas Macdonough only 30 years old, prevailed. When the
British army was unable to penetrate Macomb's defense on the 6th of September, a
land battle ensued that lasted until the Royal Naval fleet arrived on the 11th.
Then a coordinated land and lake attack by the British took
place with ferocity. It lasted all morning. But
the British navy commander Downie, unfamiliar with the winds
of Cumberland Bay, was unable to take advantage of his superior
guns while the encircling movement of the Army became lost and
delayed in the dense woods.
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