Two officers only escaped—­Brigade-Major Ricketts and Lieut.  Erskine.  Almost all the principal Europeans were slaughtered, and only one, Mr. Williams, is known to have survived:  he was sent to the court of Ashantee.  The most melancholy feature in this affair is, that the officer who had charge of the ammunition, neglected to keep the troops properly provided with powder, for had the supply been sufficiently prompt, it is believed that the Ashantees never could have succeeded in their advance movement, or, indeed, that they never would have attempted it, so great was our superiority over them in loading and firing.  It is to be feared, that great blame is attached to the management in this part of the arrangement for the necessities of the battle, for when Major Ricketts opened the three last kegs supplied to the troops for ammunition, he found, to his consternation, that they were filled with macaroni! although, when the Ashantees plundered our camp the day after the battle, they discovered ten kegs of ball-cartridges, amongst a great quantity of valuable booty.  But, however lamentable this negligence was, it should be suffered to pass into oblivion.  The officer upon whom it is charged, perished with his brave companions; and, like them, he is placed for judgment before a higher tribunal:  it is, therefore, unnecessary, as it would be cruel, to pain his friends and relatives by registering his name, to mark a military error, which might have been caused by the unexampled confusion of the scene in which he was called upon to act so responsible a part.

Shortly after this disastrous event, the late King of Ashantee, Osay Tootoo Quamina, died.  He just lived long enough to receive the intelligence of a triumph which inspired the Ashantees with the most extravagant hopes, and led them to prosecute the war with sanguinary violence.  Osay Aquatoo (the Orange[21]), the brother of the deceased king, had no sooner succeeded to the vacant throne, than he resolved to follow up the advantages of the war with vigour.  He believed that the death of an officer of such estimation as Sir Charles McCarthy, must have thrown the ranks of the British soldiers into confusion and despair, and, taking it for granted, that a military demonstration, on his part, would be sufficient to complete the successes which had opened so successfully under his predecessor, he departed from his capital to take the command of the army, which was then advancing on Cape Coast.  On this occasion, agreeably to the superstitious usage of the natives, the head of the late king was carried into the files of the Ashantees, as a charm to protect them in the battle, and an incentive to the performance of valorous deeds.  When the King had made some progress towards the encampment, he sent a sarcastic message to the Commander-in-chief, who was then at Affatoo, within ten miles of Cape Coast, which abundantly shewed the confidence by which he was animated.  His message was to the effect, that he had learned,