occasion were never forgotten nor forgiven. The name of Tryon will ever be held in detestation by all lovers of justice and humanity. He had already, while governor of North Carolina, been named by the Indians, The Great Wolf, and in his marauding expeditions during the earlier years of the war for Independence, his conduct confirmed the judgment of the Red Men. shall meet him again. We The Americans did not always act upon the defensive: they were sometimes the aggressors. Toward the close of May [May 22, 1777], Colonel Meigs, with one hundred and seventy men, crossed Long Island Sound in whaleboats, from Guilford, Connecticut, and at two o'clock in the morning of the 23d of that month, attacked a British provision post at Sagg Harbor, near the eastern extremity of Long Island. They burned a dozen vessels, and the storehouses and contents, secured ninety prisoners, and reached Guilford at two o'clock the next day, without losing a man of their own party. For this exploit, Congress voted thanks to Colonel Meigs and his men, and a sword to the commander. A little later in the season, an equally bold exploit was performed on Rhode Island. On a dark night in July [July 10], Colonel William Barton, with a company of picked men, crossed Narraganset Bay in whale-boats, in the midst of the British fleet, stole cautiously to the quarters of General Prescott,' the British commander on Rhode Island, seized him while in bed, and carried him in triumph across the bay to Warwick. There a carriage was in waiting for him, and at sunrise he was under a strong guard at Providence. From thence he was sent to the headquarters of Washington, at Middlebrook, on the Raritan,' and was exchanged, in April, the next year, for General Charles Lee. For Colonel Barton's bravery, on that occasion, Congress voted him an elegant sword, and he was promoted to the rank and pay of a colonel in the continental army. The American commander-in-chief continued his head quarters at Morristown until near the last of May. During the spring he had inoculated a large portion of his troops for the small-pox; and when the leaves put forth, a fair degree of health prevailed in his camp, and his army had increased by recruits, to almost ten thousand men. He was prepared for action, offensive and defensive; but the movements of the British perplexed him. Burgoyne was assembling an army at St. John, on the Sorel, and vicinity, preparatory to an invasion of New York, by way of Lake Champlain, to achieve that darling object of the British ministry, the occupation of the country on the Hudson.* 1 Page 240. Prescott's quarters were at a house yet [1856] standing, a short distance above Newport, and about a mile from the bay. While on his way, his escort stopped at Lebanon, Connecticut, to dine. Prescott was a morose, haughty, and violent-tempered man. At the table, a dish of succotash (beans and corn) was brought to him. Not being accustomed to such food, he regarded it as an insult, and taking the dish from the hands of the hostess, he strewed its contents upon the floor. Her husband being informed of it, flogged the general severely, with a horsewhip. Note 4, page 248; also page 288. The common practice of vaccination at the present day was then unknown in this country. Indeed, the attention of Jenner, the father of the practice, had then just been turned to the subject. It was practiced here a year after the close of the war. Page 240. Page 283. But whether Howe was preparing to co-operate with Burgoyne, or to make another attempt to seize Philadelphia,' Washington could not determine. He prepared for both events by stationing Arnold with a strong detachment on the west side of the Delaware, concentrating a large force on the Hudson, and moving the main body of his army to Middlebrook, within ten miles of the British camp at New Brunswick. Washington was not kept in suspense a great while. On the 12th of June [1777], Howe passed over from New York, where he made his head quarters during the winter, concentrated the main body of his army at New Brunswick, and tried to draw Washington into an engagement by a feigned movement [June 14] toward the Delaware. The chief, perceiving the meaning of this movement, and aware of his comparative strength, wisely remained in his strong position at Middlebrook until Howe suddenly retreated [June 19], sent some of his troops over to Staten Island [June 22], and appeared to be evacuating New Jersey. This movement perplexed Washington. He was fairly deceived; and ordering strong detachments in pursuit, he advanced several miles in the same direction, with his whole army. Ilowe suddenly changed front [June 25], and attempted to gain the rear of the Americans; but, after Stirling's brigade had maintained a severe skirmish with a corps under Cornwallis [June 26], the Americans regained their camp without much loss. Five days afterward [June 30], the whole British army crossed over to Staten Island, and left New Jersey in the complete possession of the patriots. 2 Washington now watched the movements of his enemy with great anxiety and the utmost vigilance. It was evident that some bold stroke was about to be attempted by the British. On the 12th of July, Burgoyne, who had been moving steadily up Lake Champlain, with a powerful army, consisting of about seven thousand British and German troops, and a large body of Canadians and Indians, took possession of Crown Point and Ticonderoga, and spread terror over the whole North. At the same time the British fleet at New York took such a position as induced the belief that it was about to pass up the Hudson and co-operate with the victorious invader. Finally, Howe left General Clinton in command at New York, and embarking on board the fleet with eighteen thousand troops [July 23], he sailed for the Delaware. When Washington comprehended this movement, he left a strong force on the Hudson, and with the main body of his troops pushed forward to Philadelphia. There he was saluted by a powerful ally, in the person of a stripling, less than twenty years of age. He was a wealthy French nobleman, who, several months before, while at a dinner with the Duke of Gloucester, first heard of the struggle of the Americans, their Declaration of Independence, and the preparations made to crush them. His young soul was fired with aspirations to give them his aid; and quitting the army, he hurried to Paris. Although he had just married a young and beautiful girl, and a bright career was opened for him in his own 3 2 Page 234. 1 Page 261. The duke was the brother of the king of England, and at the time in question, was dining with some French officers, in the old town of Mentz, in Germany. country, he left all, and hastened to America in a vessel fitted out at his He offered his services to the Continental own expense. GENERAL LA FAYETTE. The British fleet, with the army under Sir William Howe,' did not go up the Delaware, as was anticipated, but ascended Chesapeake Bay, and at its head, near the village of Elkton, in Maryland, the land forces disembarked [Aug. 25], and marched toward Philadelphia. Washington had advanced beyond the Brandywine Creek, and took post a few miles from Wilmington. Howe's superior force compelled him to fall back to the east side of the Brandy At night the shattered and defeated battalions of patriots retreated to Chester, and the following day [Sept. 12] to Philadelphia. Many brave men were killed or disabled on that sanguinary field. La Fayette was severely wounded; and the patriots lost full twelve hundred men, killed, wounded, and He was born on the 6th of September, 1757. He married the daughter of the Duke de Noailles, a beautiful heiress, at the age of eighteen years. He first landed on the coast of South Carolina, in Winyaw Bay, near Georgetown, and made a land journey to Philadelphia. His application was not received at first, by the Continental Congress; but when his true character and designs were known, they gave him a major-general's commission. He was afterward an active patriot in his own country in many perilous scenes. He visited America in 1824-5 [page 453], and died in 1834, at the age of seventy-seven years. The Baron de Kalb [page 316] and eleven other French and Polish officers, came to America in La Fayette's vessel. After the battle near Brooklyn [page 254], the king conferred the honor of knighthood upon General William Howe, the commander-in-chief of the British forces in America. The ceremony was performed by several of his officers, at his quarters in the Beekman House, Turtle Bay, East River. 3 Page 259. This was (and is yet) a Quaker meeting-house, situated a few miles from Chad's Ford, on the road from Jefferis's Ford (where Howe and Cornwallis crossed) to Wilmington. A bullet passed through his leg. He was conveyed to Bethlehem, in Pennsylvania, where made prisoners. The British lost almost eight hundred. Washington failed of success more on account of false intelligence, by which he was kept in ignorance of the approach of the British on his left, than by want of skill or force.' Washington did not remain idle in the Federal capital, but as soon as the troops were rested, he crossed the Schuylkill, and proceeded to confront Howe, who was making slow marches toward Philadelphia. They met [Sept. 16] twenty miles west of that city, and some skirmishing ensued; but a heavy rain prevented a general battle, and the Americans withdrew toward Reading. General Wayne, in the mean while, was hanging upon the rear of the enemy with about fifteen hundred men. On the night of the 20th, he was surprised by a party of British and Hessians, under General Grey, near the Paoli Tavern, and lost about three hundred of his party. With the remainder he joined Washington, then near Valley Forge, and vigilantly watching the movements of Howe. As these indicated the intention of the British commander to attempt the seizure of a large quantity of ammunition and military stores which the Americans had collected at Reading, Washington abandoned Philadelphia, and took position at Pottsgrove, thirty-five miles distant, to protect those indispensable materials for his army. Howe crossed the Schuylkill [Sept. 23, 1777], near Norristown, and marched to the Federal city3 [Sept. 26], without opposition. Congress fled at his approach, first to Lancaster [Sept. 27], and then to York, where it assembled on the 30th, and continued its session until the following summer. The main body of the British army was encamped at Germantown, four miles from Philadelphia, and Howe prepared to make the latter place his winter quarters.1 Upon opposite sides of the Delaware, a few miles below Philadelphia, were two forts of considerable strength (Mifflin and Mercer), garrisoned by the Americans. While the British army was marching from the Chesapeake' to Philadelphia, the fleet had sailed around to the Delaware, and had approached to the head of that bay. The forts commanded the river; and chevaux-defrise just below them, completely obstructed it, so that the army in Philadelphia could obtain no supplies from the fleet. The possession of these forts was the Moravian sisters nursed him during his confinement. Count Pulaski began his military career in the American army, on the field of Brandywine, where he commanded a troop of horse, and after the battle he was appointed to the rank of Brigadier. He was slain at Savannah. See note 3, page 350. The building seen in the corner of the map, is a view of the head quarters of Washington, yet [1856] standing, a short distance from Chad's Ford. A B CHEVAUX-DE- "The bodies of fifty-three Americans, found on the field the next morning, were interred in one broad grave; and forty years afterward, the "Republican Artillerists" of Chester county, erected a neat marble monument over them. It stands in the center of an inclosure which contains the ground consecrated by the burial of these patriots. G * Philadelphia, New York, and Washington, have been, respectively, federal cities, or cities where the Federal Congress of the United States assembled. 4 Note 2, page 285. Page 273. Chevaux-de-frise are obstructions placed in river channels to prevent the passage of vessels. They are generally made of a series of heavy timbers, pointed with iron, and secured at an angle in a strong frame filled with stones, as seen in the engraving. Figure A shows the position under water; figure B shows how the timbers are arranged and the stones placed in them. important, and on the 22d of October, they were attached by detachments sent by Howe. Fort Mercer was assailed by two thousand Hessian grenadiers under Count Donop. They were repulsed by the garrison of less than five hundred men, under Lieutenant-Colonel Christopher Greene, of Rhode Island, after losing their commander,' and almost four hundred soldiers. The garrison of Fort Mifflin, under Lieutenant-Colonel Samuel Smith, also made a gallant defense, but after a series of assaults by land and water, it was abandoned [Nov. 16, 1777]. Two days afterward, Fort Mercer was also abandoned, and several British ships sailed up to Philadelphia.3 Schuylkill R ARMSTRONG Chestnut AMERICANS GERMANTOWN AMERICANS CHEW'S HOUSE HESSIANS BRITISH hiladelphi QUEENS RANGERS HOWE'S When Washington was informed of the weakened condition of the British army, by the detachment of these forces to attack the Delaware forts, he resolved to assail the camp at Germantown. He had moved down the Schuylkill to Skippack Creek [Sept. 25], and from that point he marched, silently, on the evening of the 3d of October [1777], toward the camp He reached Chestnut Hill, beyond of the enemy. Germantown, at dawn the following morning, and the attack soon commenced near there. After a severe battle, which continued almost three hours, the patriots were repulsed, with a loss, in killed, wounded, and prisoners, about equal to that at Brandywine. The British lost only about six hundred. On the 19th, Howe broke up his encampment at Germantown, and three weeks afterward, he proceeded to place his whole army in winter quarters in Philadelphia. Washington retired to his camp on Skippack Creek; and on the 29th of November, he prepared to go into winter quarters at White Marsh, fourteen miles from Philadelphia. BATTLE AT GERMANTOWN. Let us now turn for a while from these scenes of conflict and disaster in which the beloved commander-in-chief was personally engaged, to the consideration of important events which were transpiring on the waters and banks of Lake Champlain and the Hudson River. Burgoyne, with more than ten thousand men, invested Ticonderoga on the 2d of July. The fortress was garrisoned by General St. Clair, with only about three thousand men. Upon 1 Page 263. 2 Donop was terribly wounded, and taken to the house of a Quaker near by, where he expired three days afterward. He was buried within the fort. A few years ago his bones were disinterred, and his skull was taken possession of by a New Jersey physician. In the defense of these forts, the Americans lost about three hundred men, and the enemy almost double that number. Washington felt certain of victory at the beginning of the battle. Just as it commenced, a dense fog overspread the country; and through the inexperience of his troops, great confusion, in their movements, was produced. A false rumor caused a panic among the Americans, just as the British were about to fall back, and a general retreat and loss of victory was the result. In Germantown, a strong stone house is yet [1856] standing, which belonged to Judge Chew. This a part of the enemy occupied, and from the windows fired with deadly effect upon the Americans. No blame was attached to Washington for this defeat, when victory seemed easy and certain. On the contrary, Congress, on the receipt of Washington's letter, describing the battle, passed a vote of thanks to him for his "wise and well-concerted attack upon the enemy's army near Germantown;" and "to the officers and soldiers of the army, for their brave exertions on that occasion." A medal was also ordered to be struck, and presented to Washington. |