col. Bird. They suffered probably more than they allowed.* The battle, by general Knox's watch, held two hours and forty minutes.

General Washington is of opinion that the Americans retreated at an instant when victory was declaring in their favor. The royal army was indeed completely surprised; and appearances in the beginning were evidently on the side of the former. But it is said that a certain colonel, not being sufficiently experienced, instead of pressing with fixed bayonets on the enemy whom he had driven, kept ordering his men, as they advanced, to load and fire, by which they expended their ammunition; and that, instead of halting on the ground till furnished afresh, he ordered his regiment to retreat. This retrogade manoeuvre enabled and encouraged the enemy to recover themselves, while the other Americans, who were advancing, were disheartened and disconcerted by the retreating regiment, not knowing the occasion of such retreat. It is admitted however, that the colonel behaved boldly, by keeping himself in the rear, next to the enemy. Gen. Stephen was guilty of un-officer like behavior in the retreat, owing to inattention or want of judgment, which might occasion a whisper to be circulated unfavorable to gen. Greene. But upon gen. Recd's asking the commander in chief whether he was dissatisfied with Greene's conduct, he candidly answered "No, not at all; the fault lay, with ourselves," referring to the column with which he was, and their stopping to attack Chew's stone house. Several causes might co-operate to effect the precipitate retreat of the American army. And yet had that column advanced without delay, leaving only a sufficient corps, with a couple of field-pieces, to guard the house, the obstacles to success that afterward offered, might have been removed or prevented, and Howe's army have been totally defeated, unless the supeiority of their discipline and bravery could have hindered.

A general who was in the action, wrote some time after to his correspondent-" At German-town fortune smiled on our arms for hours. The enemy were broke, dispersed and flying on all quarters; we were in possession of their whole encampment, together with their artillery park, &c. A wind-mid attack was made on a house into which six light companies had thrown themselves to avoid our bayonets-this gave time to the enemy to rally-our troops were deceived by this attack; taking

When the royal army quitted German-town, the Americans found in one' of the chimney hearths, fome papers torn to pieces, and obferving figures upon them, certain officers attempted putting them together, and found them to be the returns of the killed and wounded at German-town battie, amounting to about Soo.

it

it for something formidable, they fell back to assist in what they deemed a serious matter. The enemy finding themselves no further pursued, and believing it to be a retreat, followed. Confusion ensued, and we ran away from the arms of victory ready to receive us."

Let us turn our attention for a moment to South-Carolina. The successes of the preceding year had humbled the Chero kees most completely. The Carolinians had built, held and continued to occupy Fort Rutledge, at Seneca, quietly and unopposed. The Indians, finding themselves thus vanquished, sued in the most submissive terms for peace, A treaty between them and South-Carolina took place, at which commissioners from Georgia attended, who concurred in and signed the articles: of pacification on the 20th of May. By this treaty the Cherokees ceded a considerable part of their land to South-Carolina.. By the eighth and last article, it is agreed-"The hatchet shall be for ever buried, and there shall be an universal peace and friendship re-established between South-Carolina, including the Catawba and Georgia, on the one part, and the Cherokee na tion on the other; there shall be a general oblivion of injuries; the contracting parties shall use their utmost endeavors to main tain the peace and friendship now re-established, and the Che rokees shall at all times, apprehend and deliver to the commanding officer at Fort Rutledge, every person, white or red, who in their nation or settlements, shall by any means endeavor to in stigate a war by the Cherokee nation, or hostility or robbery by any of their people, against or upon any of the American states, or subjects thereof."

Before we resume the narrative of mitary operations, let me mention that the New-York convention, authorised for that purpose the 20th of last April, have established the constitution of that state. When this was done, the freeholders chose for their governor, gen. George Clinton, a gentleman excellently : well qualified to be at the head of the state at so interesting and perplexed a period. His namesake, Sir Henry, made an incursion into Jersey, from the 12th to the 16th of September, chiefly to collect cattle. He brought away 400 head, including 20 milch cows, 400 sheep and a few horses; in effecting it, he had 8 rank and file killed, 17 wounded, together with a lieutenant, 9 missing, beside a drummer, and 5 taken prisoners by the different parties of Americans that opposed him. The expediti on contributes nothing toward subduing the country. The loss, of the inhabitants will be the less felt on account of the uncom‐-; monly good crops of Indian corn with which they have been this year favored. It is surprising to find that country in so good

order

order already. The harvest has been truly plentiful. Lest it should be forgotten, let me mention that most of the damage which the college building at Princeton sustained, must be charged to the American troops, who destroyed also the leaden pipes for the organ (which had been spared by the royal army) in order to supply themselves with a few bullets to fire at the enemy.

Now let us return to the northern department.

Lieut. col. St. Leger, whom gen. Burgoyne had early sent off toward the Mohawk river, after combating all the difficulties, na~ tural and artificial, which offered on his way, invested Fort Stanwix, now Fort Scuyler, on the third of August. It was in so poor a state of defence, that an immediate attempt to drive off the enemy and relieve it, was absolutely necessary. Gen. Herkimer, a leading person in Tryon county, marched with more than 800 militia, on this service. St. Leger had with him about 700 Indian warriors, who with their wives, children, other men and women, made up hear 1400. He detached Sir John Johnson, with some troops and the Indians, to lie in ambush in the woods and intercept the militia. [August 6.] Herkimer fell into the snare, and was surprised; but several of the chief Indians fell by the first fire he gave them; soon after which the battle was a scene of confusion beyond any thing the Indians had ever seen. The white people, consisting of the militia and Sir John Johnson's tory troops, as his own corps is called, got together in parties of twenty or thirty, so that they could not fire, but pulled and hauled, drew their knives and stabbed each other. The Indians, who consisted of Shawanese, Delawares, Senecas, and others, after a while conjectured, from their own loss and the confusion which prevailed, that both Sir John's people and Herkimer's intended to destroy them; at length some of their chiefs told the young warriors, that it was a plot of the white people to draw them into a scrape and cut them off; and then ordered them to kill all white people whatever. It is thought that near as many of Sir John's tory party were killed by the Indians as bythe militia. A number of Herkimer's ran off; about a hundred were so surrounded that they could not get away; but they' possessed themselves of an advantageous post behind logs, &c. where they continued fighting the Indians with great bravery, till Sir John drew off his men, fearing that the garrison would sally out and fall upon him; near upon seventy of the hundred by this mean escaped. Two hundred and fifty men, under licutenant-colonel Willet, sallied out about that time, and routed two of the Indian and tory encampments, destroying their provisions and carrying off kettles, blankets, muskets, tomahawks,

'spears,

spears, clothing, deer skins, a variety of Indian affairs, and five colours; which on their return to the fort were displayed under the continental flag. The loss on the side of the militia was 160 killed, beside the wounded. Gen. Herkimer was among the slain; congress have resolved to honor him with a monument. Many of the principal leaders on the American side, were either killed or wounded, so that all expectation of further attempts to relieve the fort by the assistance of militia, was at an end. The Indians however, were greatly disgusted. St. Leger had brought down with him a number who were neutral, to be spectators of the British conquering the Americans; and had engaged to them and the others, that he and his troops would clear the way for them to Albany. The victory gained had been purchased excceding dear, according to their ideas; for they had more than seventy killed, and among them several of their most distinguish ed and favorite warriors. St. Leger left no mean untried to make the most of his victory. On the 8th he sent a flag to the fort, and endeavored to intimidate the garrison by magnifying his own strength telling them that Burgoyne, after destroying every thing in his way, was at Albany; and declaring that the Indians were determined, if they met with further resistance, to destroy all the men, women and children on the Mohawk river, and as soon as they got into the fort, to kill every man belonging to it. Colonel Gansevoort, the commandant, refused making any answer, or to listen to any proposals unless made in writing. The next day St. Leger tried the same scheme by letter, and receiving for answer, that the colonel being entrusted with the charge of the garrison by the United States of America, he would defend the fort at every hazard, and to the utmost extre mity. It was shrewdly remarked by those who were within, that not half the pains would have been taken to have displayed the force immediately without or the success at a distance, if they were any wise proportionable to the representation. The night before the letter was sent, col. Willet and lieut. Stockwell, a good woodsman (as they stile him who can steer his wished for course through the shady and pathless woods with a degree of certainty and readiness) undertook to attempt conveying intelli gence down into the country, of the danger the fort was in, and of the necessity of relieving it. They left it at night, and crept upon their bellies for near half a mile, ere they could reach the Mohawk river. After passing it, they had to cross the path fron the Indian camp, on which the Indians were continually going forward and backward; for a long time they had the Indian yells sounding in their ears on each side of them. They escaped eve ery danger, and after travelling thirty miles, breakfasted the next

morning

got

morning upon blackberries, and pursued their journey about twenty miles further to German-flats. Gen. Scuyler, upon receiving the information at Stillwater, forwarded a continental brigade under gen. Learned; when to his great satisfaction Arnoid offered to go and conduct the military operations in Tryon county, for the relief of the fort. After Herkimer's battle, à nephew of his, Mr. Jost Cuyler, was taken and secured on suspicion of being a spy. A scheme was laid to make him serviceable to the business going forward. He was brought to Arnold, and it was settled, that if he would go and alarm the enemy, with representations of great numbers being on their march against them, so as to occasion their retreat, he should be liberated, and have his estate, which was very large, secured to him. He undertook it, being well qualified from his acquaintance with the Indian language and manners, and his possessing a good share of subtilty. The mode of procedure was settled in concert with some friendly Indians; by advice of one of their head men, Cuyler's coat was shot though in 'two or three places, that so the tale he had to relate might be the more readily believed. The necessity of aggravating the numbers marching to the relier of Fort Scuyler was apparent, for when gen. Arnold had to German-flats, he was convinced from the intelligence procured of the enemy's strength, that it was much superior to his own; so that on the 21st he wrote to gen. Gates, who arrived at Stillwater and re-assumed the command of the northern department on the 19th, to send him a reinforcement of 1000 light troops. Cuyler proceeded immediately to the Indian camp, informed their warriors that vast numbers were coming against them; that major Butlar was taken, (which was a truth) and that several shot passed though his coat though he got off unhurt. When the Indian camp was thoroughly alarmed, one of the American friendly Indians arrived, an hour or two after Cuyler, with a belt, waited upon the chiefs, and confirmed the intelligence, adding, that the Americans did not want to hurt one of them all they desired was to fall upon the British. An Indian in camp, unknown to Arnold, was secretly prevailed upon to aid the project, by going off unobserved, taking a circuit, and then coming into that part of the camp, where were those Indian's who were most inimical, with a similar story to that of Cuyler's. The Indians were completely frightened, and determined to go off. St. Leger in vain used every art to prevent it. He attempt ed making them drunk with run, and then getting them to after their resolution. Fond as they are of rum, they would not be taken in at this season of apprehending danger. He then would