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the savages, in Georgia and the back parts of this state." The general began his march, [April 23.] leaving at Blackswamp and Purysburgh, the 5th and part of the 2d regiment of South-Carolina, and about 800 militia under gen. Moultrie. When the American army was 160 miles up the Savannah gen Prevost availed himself of that moment, and crossed over to Pu rysburgh with 2400 men; he had beside a considerable body of In-. dians. The first night after entering Carolina, he made a forced march in hope of attacking Moultrie at Black-swamp, but was three hours too late. The latter had changed his quarters, and being joined by col. M'Intosh's party, which had made a timely retreat form Purysburgh, took post at Tullyfinny bridge, to pre vent the further incursion of the British, and to keep between them and Charleston. Gen. Lincoln, en information of these movements, [May 1.] immediately detached 300 chosen conti nental troops to reinforce Moultrie, lest he should be mistaken in his idea, that Prevost only intended a feint to divert him from his general plan; in pursuit of which he crossed the Savannah near Augusta, and marched for three days down the country toward the capital of Georgia. But being informed by Moultrie's letters of the 4th and 5th, that his number of men was greatly diminished by the desertion of the militia, and that he was oblig ed to retire before the enemy, Lincoln re-crossed the river and country, as fast as possible, to come up with Prevost. Moultrie had no cavalry to check the advancing foe; who met with scarce any other interruption in their march, than the destruction of all the bridges by the retreating Americans. The absence of the main army under Lincoln, the retreat of Moultrie, the plunder ing and devastations of the invaders, and above all the dread of the royal auxiliaries, the Indians, diffused a general panic a mong the inhabitants and induced many to apply to the British for protection. The facility with which their army proceeded through the country, added to the repeated suggestions of the friends, to royal governmeat, who positively assured Prevost, that Charleston would certainly surrender at his approach, in duced him to change his original plan, and push for that place! Had he designed it at first and continued his march with the same rapidity he began it, he would probably have carried the town by a coup-de-main; but he halted two or three days; when advanced more than half the distance. In this interval the lieut. governor and the council made the greatest exertions to fortify it on the land side. All the houses in the suburbs were burnt? Lines and abbatis were in a few days carried from Ashley to Cooper rivers. Cannon were mounted at proper intervals

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across the whole extent of Charleston neck. The militia of

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the vicinity were summoned to the defence of the place; and they generally obeyed. General Moultrie's retreating army, governor Rutledge's militia from Orangeburgh, and the detachment of chosen continental troops under colonel Harris, which marched near forty miles a day for four days successively, all reached Charleston on the 9th and 10th of May. -.

[May 11.] Nine hundred of the British army, their main body and baggage being left on the south side of Ashley river, crossed the ferry, and soon appeared before the town. The same day count Pulaski's legionary corps of infantry crossed Cooper river to Charleston. They had scarcely arrived two hours when he led 80 of them out of the lines, and stationed them in a valley behind a small breast-work, with the view of drawing the British into an ambuscade. He advanced a mile beyond his infantry, and joined a party of regular horse and mounted militia volunteers, and with that force engaged the British cavalry for a while, and then retreated to his infantry, who from an eagerness to engage had quitted their breast-work, and so rendered abortive the advantages of the intended ambuscade, and were by superior numbers compelled to retreat. Pulaski, however, by discovering the greatest intrepidity, and by successful personal rencounters with individuals of the British cavalry, had a considerable influence in dispelling the general panic, and in introducing military sentiments into the minds of the citizens. Major Huger, a distinguished officer, while commanding a party without the lines, was killed at night, through mistake, by his Countrymen. That the town might not be carried by surprise or a sudden assault, tar barrels were lighted up in front of the works. Its defence rested on the exertions of 3300 men, the greater part of whom were militia, wholly unacquainted with military operations. General Lincoln was marching with all expedition for its relief, but his timely arrival was dubious, and the crisis extremely hazardous; a proposition was therefore made by the civil authority to gen. Prevost-"That South-Carolina would remain in a state of neutrality till the close of the war, and then follow the fate of its neighbors, on condition the royal army would withdraw." The British commander rejected this advantageous offer, alledging that he did not come in a legislative capacity; and insisted, "that as the garrison was in arms, they should surrender prisoners of war." Upon this they prepared for sustaining an immediate assault, but Prevost, fearing the consequences, declined making it. Some days after, he took an express coming from Lincoln; upon reading it, and discovering the movements and intentions of the latter, he cried out aloud, that he expected to be between two fires, and precipitate

ly quitted his ground, re-crossed Ashley river, and to avoid Lin coln's army, now in his rear, filed off from the main land to the island on the sea-coast. Both armies encamped within 30 miles of Charleston, watching each other's motions till the 20th of June, when a part of the British army entrenched at Stono ferry, was attacked. By a pre-concerted plan, a feint was to have been made from James-Island, with a body of militia from Charleston, at the moment when gen. Lincoln began the attack from the main; but from mismanagement they did not reach their place of destination till several hours after the action. The American army consisted of about 1200 men, only half continentals, who were posted on the left, while the North and SouthCarolina militia occupied the right. Col. Malmedy led a corps of light-infantry on the right, and lieut. col. Henderson on the left. The Virginia militia and the cayalry formed a corps of reserve. The British force consisted of 6 or 700 men. They had redoubts, with a line of communication, and field-pices advantageously posted in the intervals, and the whole secured with an abatis. That they might be harassed, or lulled into security,, they were alarmed by small parties for several nights preceding the action. When the attack was made, two companies of the 71st regiment sallied out to support the pickets. Henderson ordered his light-infantry to charge them, on which they instantly retreated; only nine of them got safe within their lines. All the men at the British field-pieces between their redoubts, were either killed or wounded. The attack, was continued for an hour and twenty minutes, and the assailants had manifestly the advantage; but the appearance of a reinforcement, to prevent which the feint from James-Island was intended, made a retreat necessary. The whole garrison sallied out on the Ame ricans; their light troops, however, so effectually retarded the British, that they not only retreated with regularity, but brought off their wounded with safety. Lincoln lost in killed and wounded, 146, beside 155 missing. This attack accelerated the retreat of the enemy, who with great assiduity and fatigue, passed over from island to island, until they arrived at Beaufort, from whence they had an open and free conimunication, with Georgia by water, whither most of them went, leaving a sufficient garrison under colonel Maitland.

This incursion into South-Carolina added much to the wealth of the officers, soldiers and followers of the camp, and still more to the distresses of the inhabitants. The negroes, allured, with hopes of freedom, repaired in great numbers to the royal army; and to recommend themselves to their new masters, dis covered where their owners had concealed their property,

It is supposed that the British carried out of the state about 2000 slaves, many of whom were shipped off and sold in the WestIndies; but the inhabitants lost upward of 4000, each worth, on an average, about fifty-six pounds sterling. Several hundreds of them died of the camp fever; and numbers laboring under diseases and afraid to return home, perished in the woods. The royal army also plundered the planters of several rice barrels full of plate. They spread over a considerable extent of country, and small parties visited every house, stripping it of whatever was most valuable, and rifling the inhabitants of their money, rings, jewels and other personal ornaments; and yet what was destroyed by the soldiers was supposed to be of more value than what they carried off. The devastations committed by them were so enormous, as that a particular relation of them would scarcely be credited by people at a distance, though the same would be attested by hundreds of eye-witnesses. It will be nearly as difficult to credit another species of depredation which certain Americans have committed upon general Washington's property. His debtors have been discharging in paper Currency (at the rate of a shilling in the pound, through the depreciation) bonds which ought to have been paid him, and would have been realized before he left Virginia, but for his indulgence. Seven thousand pounds sterling would not compensate the losses he might have avoided by remaining at home and attending a little to his own concerns. Alas! what is virtue come to! What a miserable change has four years produced in the temper and disposition of many of the sons of America! It almost surpasses belief.

Sir Henry Clinton dispatched Sir George Collier and general Matthews, with about 2000 men, beside 500 marines, to make a descent upon Virginia. They sailed for Portsmouth, and upon their arrival landed the troops at a distance; then marched and took immediate possession of the town [May 10.] which was defenceless. The remains of Norfolk, on the opposite side of the river, fell of course into their hands. On the approach of the fleet and army the Americans burnt several vessels; others were saved and possessed by the British. The guards were pushed forward 18 miles by night, to Suffolk, where they arrived by dayJight, and proceeded to destroy a magazine of provisions, together with the vessels and naval stores found there. A similar destruction was carried on at Kemp's landing, Gosport, Tanner's Creek, and other places in that quarter; nor were the frigates and armed vessels less active or successful in their service. Within the fortnight that the fleet and army continued upon the coast, the loss of the Americans was prodigious. Above 130 vessels of all sorts, inVOL. II, cluding

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cluding some privateers and ships of force, were destroyed or ta ken by them; 17 prizes were brought away, beside 3000 hogsheads of tobacco, which fell into their possession at Portsmouth Except the house of a widow and the church, they burnt every house in Suffolk; and all the principal houses of gentlemen in their route, shared the same fate. The Virginia assembly re solved, "that the governor be required to remonstrate to the British commander against such a cruel and unprecedented man her of waging war, not authorized by any civilized nation; but a sufficient military force to back it, was wanting: The fleet and army, with their prizes and booty, arrived safe at New York before the expiration of the month. The troops were joined to others going up the North-River to attack the posts of Stony-point and Verplank, where the Americans had begun to construct strong works, for keeping the lower communication open between the eastern and southern states. Gen. Vaughan landed with the greater part on the east side; while the remain der, accompanied by Sir H. Clinton, advanced further up, land ed on the west side, and took possession of Stony-point with out opposition. Directly opposite, the Americans had cons pletely finished a strong fort, which was defended by four pieces of artillery and a garrison of about 70 men. But it was com manded by Stony-point, to the summit of whose rocks cannon and mortars were dragged up during the night. By five in the morning a battery was opened, which poured a storm of fire over on the fort; while Vaughan with his division, making a long circuit through the hills, arrived and closely invested it by land. The garrison finding themselves totally overpowered, surrendered prisoners of war. Sir H. Clinton moving his main body up the North-River, occasioned the American army's moving from their encampment at Middle-Brook, toward West point, for which they were in no small apprehension, the gar rison being few, and the fort not completed. Sir H. Clinton gave immediate direction for perfecting the works of both posts, and particularly for putting Stony-point in the strongest state of defence; for their better support, and with a view to further operations, he encamped his army at Philipsburgh, about half way down the river to New-York island. By the loss of these posts, the Jersey people were obliged to make a circuit of about ninety miles through the mountains, to communicate with the states east of Hudson's-River.

We must here suspend our account of the operations under the direction of Sir Henry, and attend to very different expe ditions.

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