Daily National Intelligencer

ALARM AT PULTENEYVILLE.

From the Ontario (Canandaigua) Messenger of May 24.

General Porter has received a letter from General Smith, communicating the particulars of the late visit of the enemy to that place, of which the following is a summary.

On Saturday evening (15th) the British squadron was discovered making towards Pulteneyville, and information sent to General Swift, who repaired thither in the course of the succeeding night with 130 volunteers and militia.

On Sunday a flag was sent on shore demanding a peaceable surrender of all public property, and threatening an immediate destruction of the village (which is on the margin of the lake) in case of refusal. General Swift returned for answer that he should oppose any attempt to land, by all the means in his power. Soon after the return of the flag, General Swift was induced by the pressing solicitations and intreaties of the inhabitants of the town, to permit one of its citizens to go to the enemy with a flag and offer the surrender of the property contained in a store house at the water's edge, consisting of about 100 barrels of flour considerably damaged, on condition that the commanding officer would stipulate not to take any other nor molest the inhabitants. Before the return of the flag, the enemy sent their gun-boats with several hundred men on shore, who took possession of the flour in the store, and were proceeding to further depredations. General Swift, whose force was too inferior to justify an open attack, (and which, if attempted, must have exposed his men to the guns of the whole fleet) commenced a fire upon them, from an adjacent wood, which wounded several and became so harrassing as to induce them to re-embark, when they commenced a cannonade from the fleet upon the town, which was continued for some time, but with no other injury than a few shot holes through the houses. 300 barrels of good flour had been removed back from the store house a few days before, leaving the damaged flour which was the only booty obtained by the enemy. The 300 barrels of flour were deposited about a mile back of the town, of which the enemy were apprised by some prisoners they took. But they chose to forego the plunder of it rather than trust themselves in the woods with General Swift and his riflemen.