LIFE OF GEORGE WASHINGTON.
PEOPLE’S EDITION.
VOL. IV.
[Illustration:
LIFE OF WASHINGTON.
WASHINGTON
_From the Bust by G. Ceracchi taken from life (now in possession of
Gouverneur Kimble Esq. Cold Spring.)_
]
LIFE
OF
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
BY
WASHINGTON IRVING.
IN FIVE VOLS.
VOL. IV.
NEW YORK
G. P. PUTNAM’S SONS
27 AND 29 WEST 23D STREET
1884
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1857, by
G. P. PUTNAM AND CO.,
in the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States for
the Southern District of New York.
[Illustration]
CONTENTS OF VOLUME IV.
CHAPTER I.
PAGE
Sufferings of the Army at Morristown.—Rigorous Winter.—Derangement
of the Currency.—Confusion in the Commissariat.—Impressment of
Supplies.—Patriotic Conduct of the People of New Jersey.—The Bay
of New York Frozen over.—Lord Stirling’s Expedition against
Staten Island.—Knyphausen’s Incursion into the
Jerseys.—Caldwell’s Church at Elizabethtown burnt.—Character of
its Pastor.—Foray into Westchester County.—Burning of Young’s
House in the Valley of the Neperan 1
CHAPTER II.
Arnold in Command of Philadelphia.—Unpopular Measures.—Arnold’s
Style of Living.—His Schemes and Speculations.—His Collisions
with the Executive Council.—His Land Project.—Charges sent
against him to Congress.—His Address to the Public.—Charges
referred to a Court-martial.—His Marriage.—Verdict of the
Court-martial.—Arnold reprimanded.—Obtains Leave of Absence from
the Army 11
CHAPTER III.
South Carolina threatened.—Its Condition and Population.—Stormy
Voyage of Sir Henry Clinton.—Loss of Horses.—Character of
Lieutenant-colonel Tarleton.—Fleet arrives at Tybee.—Sir Henry
Clinton advances upon Charleston.—Lincoln prepares for
Defense.—Commodore Whipple.—Governor Rutledge.—Forebodings of
Washington.—Embarkation of British Troops at New
York.—Washington sends De Kalb with Reinforcements.—His Hopeful
Letter to Steuben 25
CHAPTER IV.
Evils of the Continental Currency.—Military Reforms proposed by
Washington.—Congress Jealous of Military Power.—Committee of
Three sent to confer with Washington.—Losses by Depreciation of
the Currency to be made good to the Troops.—Arrival of
Lafayette.—Scheme for a Combined Attack upon New York.—Arnold
has Debts and Difficulties.—His Proposals to the French
Minister.—Anxious to return to the Army.—Mutiny of the
Connecticut Troops.—Washington writes to Reed for Aid from
Pennsylvania.—Good Effects of his Letter 35
CHAPTER V.
Siege of Charleston continued.—British Ships enter the
Harbor.—British Troops march from Savannah.—Tarleton and his
Dragoons.—His Brush with Colonel Washington.—Charleston
reinforced by Woodford.—Tarleton’s Exploits at Monk’s Corner.—At
Laneau’s Ferry.—Sir Henry Clinton reinforced.—Charleston
capitulates.—Affair of Tarleton and Buford on the Waxhaw.—Sir
Henry Clinton embarks for New York 49
CHAPTER VI.
Knyphausen marauds the Jerseys.—Sacking of Connecticut
Farms.—Murder of Mrs. Caldwell.—Arrival and Movements of Sir
Henry Clinton.—Springfield burnt.—The Jerseys evacuated 64
CHAPTER VII.
Washington applies to the State Legislatures for
Aid.—Subscriptions of the Ladies of Philadelphia.—Gates
appointed to command the Southern Department.—French Fleet
arrives at Newport.—Preparation for a Combined Movement against
New York.—Arnold obtains Command at West Point.—Greene resigns
the Office of Quartermaster-general 77
CHAPTER VIII.
North Carolina.—Difficulties of its Invasion.—Character of the
People and Country.—Sumter, his Character and Story.—Rocky
Mount.—Hanging Rock.—Slow Advance of De Kalb.—Gates takes
Command.—Desolate March.—Battle of Camden.—Flight of
Gates.—Sumter surprised by Tarleton at the Waxhaws.—Washington’s
Opinion of Militia.—His Letter to Gates 90
CHAPTER IX.
Treason of Arnold.—His Correspondence with the Enemy.—His
Negotiations with André.—Parting Scene with Washington.—Midnight
Conference on the Banks of the Hudson.—Return of André by
Land.—Circumstances of his Capture 110
CHAPTER X.
Interview of Washington with the French Officers at Hartford.—Plan
of Attack disconcerted.—Washington’s Return.—Scenes at Arnold’s
Head-quarters in the Highlands.—Tidings of André’s
Capture.—Flight of Arnold.—Letters from the
Traitor.—Washington’s Precautions.—Situation of Mrs. Arnold 135
CHAPTER XI.
André’s Conduct as a Prisoner.—His Conversations with Colonel
Tallmadge.—Story of Nathan Hale.—André’s Prison at
Tappan.—Correspondence on his Behalf.—His
Trial.—Execution.—Reward of the Captors.—Reward of Arnold.—His
Proclamation.—After Fortunes of Mrs. Arnold 146
CHAPTER XII.
Greene takes Command at West Point.—Insidious Attempts to shake
the Confidence of Washington in his Officers.—Plan to entrap
Arnold.—Character of Sergeant Champe.—Court of Inquiry into the
Conduct of Gates.—Greene appointed to the Southern
Department.—Washington’s Instructions to him.—Incursions from
Canada.—Mohawk Valley ravaged.—State of the Army.—Reforms
adopted. Enlistment for the War.—Half Pay 175
CHAPTER XIII.
The Marquis Lafayette and his Light infantry.—Proposes a Brilliant
Stroke.—Preparations for an Attack on the British Posts on New
York Island.—Visit of the Marquis of Chastellux to the American
Camp.—Washington at Head-quarters.—Attack on the British Posts
given up.—Stark forages Westchester County.—Exploit of Tallmadge
on Long Island 185
CHAPTER XIV.
Rigorous Measures of Cornwallis in South Carolina.—Ferguson sent
to Scour the Mountain Country between the Catawba and the
Yadkin.—Cornwallis in a Hornet’s Nest.—Movements of
Ferguson.—Mountain Men and Fierce Men from Kentucky.—Battle of
King’s Mountain.—Retrograde March of Cornwallis 194
CHAPTER XV.
Marion.—His Character.—Bye Names.—Haunts.—Tarleton in quest of
Him.—Sumter on the West Side of the Santee.—His Affair with
Tarleton at Black Stock Hill.—Gates at Hillsborough.—His
Domestic Misfortunes.—Arrival of Greene.—His Considerate
Conduct.—Gates retires to his Estate.—Condition of the
Army.—Stratagem of Colonel Washington at Clermont.—Morgan
detached to the District of Ninety Six.—Greene posts himself on
the Pedee 207
CHAPTER XVI.
Hostile Embarkations to the South.—Arnold in Command.—Necessitous
State of the Country.—Washington urges a Foreign Loan.—Mission
of Colonel Laurens to France to seek Aid in Men and
Money.—Grievances of the Pennsylvania Line.—Mutiny.—Negotiations
with the Mutineers.—Articles of Accommodation.—Policy doubted by
Washington.—Rigorous Course adopted by him with other
Malcontents.—Successful.—Ratification of the Articles of
Confederation of the States 220
CHAPTER XVII.
Expedition of Arnold into Virginia.—Buccaneering Ravages.—Checked
by Steuben.—Arnold at Portsmouth.—Congress resolves to form
Heads of Departments.—Hamilton suggested by Sullivan for
Department of Finance.—High Opinion of him expressed by
Washington.—Misunderstanding between Hamilton and the Commander
in chief 237
CHAPTER XVIII.
Cornwallis prepares to invade North Carolina.—Tarleton sent
against Morgan.—Battle at Cowpens.—Morgan pushes for the Catawba
with Spoils and Prisoners.—Cornwallis endeavors to intercept
him.—The Rising of the River.—Cornwallis at Ramsour’s Mills 248
CHAPTER XIX.
Greene joins Morgan on the Catawba.—Adopts the Fabian
Policy.—Movement of Cornwallis to cross the Catawba.—Affair at
McGowan’s Ford.—Militia surprised by Tarleton at Tarrant’s
Tavern.—Cornwallis checked by the Rising of the Yadkin.—Contest
of Skill and Speed of the Two Armies in a March to the Banks of
the Dan 261
CHAPTER XX.
Cornwallis takes post at Hillsborough.—His Proclamation.—Greene
recrosses the Dan.—Country scoured by Lee and Pickens.—Affair
with Colonel Pyle.—Maneuvers of Cornwallis to bring Greene to
Action.—Battle of Guilford Court-house.—Greene retreats to
Troublesome Creek.—Cornwallis marches toward Cape Fear.—Greene
pursues him.—Is brought to a Stand at Deep River.—Determines to
Face About and carry the War into South Carolina.—Cornwallis
marches for Virginia 273
CHAPTER XXI.
Arnold at Portsmouth in Virginia.—Expedition sent against
him.—Instructions to Lafayette.—Washington at
Newport.—Consultations with De Rochambeau.—Sailing of the French
Fleet.—Pursued by the English.—Expedition of Lafayette to
Virginia.—Engagement between the English and French
Fleets.—Failure of the Expedition against Arnold.—Letter of
Washington to Colonel Laurens.—Measure to reinforce
Greene.—General Phillips in Command at Portsmouth.—Marauds the
Country.—Checked by Lafayette.—Mount Vernon menaced.—Death of
Phillips 297
CHAPTER XXII.
Inefficient State of the Army.—Maraud of Delancey.—Death of
Colonel Greene.—Arrival of the Count de Barras.—French Naval
Force expected.—Interview of Washington and De Rochambeau at
Weathersfield.—Plan of Combined Operations.—Financial
Arrangement of Robert Morris.—Scheme to attack the Works on New
York Island and capture Delancey’s Corps.—Encampments of
American and French Armies in Westchester County.—Reconnoitering
Expeditions 314
CHAPTER XXIII.
Movements and Counter-movements of Cornwallis and Lafayette in
Virginia.—Tarleton and his Troopers scour the Country.—A Dash at
the State Legislature.—Attempt to Surprise the Governor at
Monticello.—Retreat of Jefferson to Carter’s Mountain.—Steuben
outwitted by Simcoe.—Lafayette joined by Wayne and Steuben.—Acts
on the Aggressive.—Desperate Melée of Macpherson and
Simcoe.—Cornwallis pursued to Jamestown Island.—Mad Anthony in a
Morass.—His Impetuous Valor.—Alertness of
Lafayette.—Washington’s Opinion of the Virginia Campaign 330
CHAPTER XXIV.
Greene’s Retrograde Operation in South Carolina.—Appears before
Camden.—Affair at Hobkirk’s Hill.—Rawdon abandons Camden.—Rapid
Successes of the Americans.—Greene’s Attack on the Fortress of
Ninety Six.—Operations against Lord Rawdon.—Greene on the High
Hills of Santee.—Sumter scours the Lower Country.—Dash of
Colonel Wade Hampton at the Gates of Charleston.—Exploits of Lee
and Hampton.—Of Captain Armstrong at Quimby Bridge.—Action in
the Neighborhood.—End of the Campaign 341
CHAPTER XXV.
Washington disappointed as to Reinforcements.—French Armament
destined for the Chesapeake.—Attempts on New York
postponed.—March of the Armies to the Chesapeake.—Stratagems to
deceive the Enemy.—Arnold ravages New London.—Washington at
Philadelphia.—March of the Two Armies through the
City.—Cornwallis at Yorktown.—Preparations to proceed against
Him.—Visit to Mount Vernon 354
CHAPTER XXVI.
Cornwallis aroused to his Danger.—His Retreat to the Carolinas cut
off.—Strengthens his Works.—Action between the French and
British Fleets.—Washington and De Rochambeau visit the French
Fleet.—Operations before Yorktown 372
CHAPTER XXVII.
Greene on the High Hills of Santee.—The Enemy harassed.—Greene
marches against Stuart.—Battle near Eutaw Springs 386
CHAPTER XXVIII.
Siege and Surrender of Yorktown 396
CHAPTER XXIX.
Dissolution of the Combined Armies.—Washington at Eltham.—Death of
John Parke Custis.—Washington at Mount Vernon.—Correspondence
about the Next Campaign.—Lafayette sails for France.—Washington
stimulates Congress to Military Preparations.—Project to
surprise and carry off Prince William Henry from New York.—The
Case of Captain Asgill 413
CHAPTER XXX.
Washington continues his Precautions.—Sir Gay Carleton brings
Pacific News.—Discontents of the Army.—Extraordinary Letter from
Colonel Nicola.—Indignant Reply of Washington.—Joint Letter of
Sir Guy Carleton and Admiral Digby.—Junction of the Allied
Armies on the Hudson.—Contemplated Reduction of the Army 426
CHAPTER XXXI.
Discontents of the Army at Newburg.—Memorial of the Officers to
Congress.—Anonymous Papers circulated in the Camp.—Meeting of
Officers called.—Address of Washington.—Resolutions in
Consequence.—Letters of Washington to the President.—His Opinion
of the Anonymous Addresses and their Author 434
CHAPTER XXXII.
News of Peace.—Letter of Washington in Behalf of the
Army.—Cessation of Hostilities proclaimed.—Order of the
Cincinnati formed.—Letter of Washington to the State
Governors.—Mutiny in the Pennsylvania Line.—Letter of Washington
on the Subject.—Tour to the Northern Posts 449
CHAPTER XXXIII.
The Army to be discharged.—Parting Address of
Washington.—Evacuation of New York.—Parting Scene of Washington
with his Officers at New York.—Washington resigns his Commission
to Congress.—Retires to Mount Vernon 465
CHAPTER XXXIV.
Washington at Mount Vernon.—A Soldier’s Repose.—Plans of Domestic
Life.—Kind Offer of the Council of Pennsylvania.—Historical
Applications.—News of Jacob Van Braam.—Opening of
Spring.—Agricultural Life resumed.—Recollections of the
Fairfaxes.—Meeting of the Order of Cincinnati.—Tour of
Washington and Dr. Craik to the West.—Ideas of Internal
Improvement.—Parting with Lafayette 477
CHAPTER XXXV.
Scheme of Inland Navigation.—Shares of Stock offered to
Washington.—Declined.—Rural Improvements.—The Tax of
Letter-writing.—The Tax of Sitting for Likenesses.—Ornamental
Gardening.—Management of the Estate.—Domestic Life.—Visit of Mr.
Watson.—Reverential Awe inspired by Washington.—Irksome to
him.—Instances of his Festive Gayety.—Of his Laughing.—Passion
for Hunting revived.—Death of General Greene.—His
Character.—Washington’s Regrets and Encomiums.—Letters to the
French Noblemen 493
CHAPTER XXXVI.
Washington doubts the Solidity of the
Confederation.—Correspondence with John Jay on the Subject.—Plan
of a Convention of all the States to revise the Federal
System.—Washington heads the Virginia Delegation.—Insurrection
in Massachusetts.—The Convention.—A Federal Constitution
organized.—Ratified 516
CHAPTER XXXVII.
Washington talked of for the Presidency.—His Letters on the
Subject expressing his Reluctance.—His Election.—His Progress to
the Seat of Government.—His Reception at New York.—The
Inauguration 534
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
LIFE OF WASHINGTON.
CHAPTER I.
Sufferings of the Army at Morristown.—Rigorous Winter.—Derangement of
the Currency.—Confusion in the Commissariat.—Impressment of
Supplies.—Patriotic Conduct of the People of New Jersey.—The Bay of
New York Frozen over.—Lord Stirling’s Expedition against Staten
Island—Knyphausen’s Incursion into the Jerseys.—Caldwell’s Church at
Elizabethtown burnt.—Character of its Pastor.—Foray into Westchester
County.—Burning of Young’s House in the Valley of the Neperan.
The dreary encampment at Valley Forge has become proverbial for its
hardships; yet they were scarcely more severe than those suffered by
Washington’s army during the present winter, while hutted among the
heights of Morristown. The winter set in early, and was uncommonly
rigorous. The transportation of supplies was obstructed; the magazines
were exhausted, and the commissaries had neither money nor credit to
enable them to replenish them. For weeks at a time the army was on half
allowance; sometimes without meat, sometimes without bread, sometimes
without both. There was a scarcity, too, of clothing and blankets, so
that the poor soldiers were starving with cold as well as hunger.
Washington wrote to President Reed of Pennsylvania, entreating aid and
supplies from that State to keep his army from disbanding. “We have
never,” said he, “experienced a like extremity at any period of the
war.”[1]
The year 1780 opened upon a famishing camp. “For a fortnight past,”
writes Washington, on the 8th of January, “the troops, both officers and
men, have been almost perishing with want. Yet,” adds he, feelingly,
“they have borne their sufferings with a patience that merits the
approbation, and ought to excite the sympathies of their countrymen.”
The severest trials of the Revolution, in fact, were not in the field,
where there were shouts to excite and laurels to be won; but in the
squalid wretchedness of ill-provided camps, where there was nothing to
cheer and everything to be endured. To suffer was the lot of the
revolutionary soldier.
A rigorous winter had much to do with the actual distresses of the army,
but the root of the evil lay in the derangement of the currency.
Congress had commenced the war without adequate funds, and without the
power of imposing direct taxes. To meet pressing emergencies, it had
emitted paper money, which, for a time, passed currently at par; but
sank in value as further emissions succeeded, and that already in
circulation remained unredeemed. The several States added to the evil by
emitting paper in their separate capacities: thus the country gradually
became flooded with a “Continental currency,” as it was called;
irredeemable, and of no intrinsic value. The consequence was a general
derangement of trade and finance. The Continental currency declined to
such a degree, that forty dollars in paper were equivalent to only one
in specie.
Congress attempted to put a stop to this depreciation, by making paper
money a legal tender, at its nominal value, in the discharge of debts,
however contracted. This opened the door to knavery, and added a new
feature to the evil.
The commissaries now found it difficult to purchase supplies for the
immediate wants of the army, and impossible to provide any stores in
advance. They were left destitute of funds, and the public credit was
prostrated by the accumulating debts suffered to remain uncanceled. The
changes which had taken place in the commissary department added to this
confusion. The commissary-general, instead of receiving, as heretofore,
a commission on expenditures, was to have a fixed salary in paper
currency; and his deputies were to be compensated in like manner,
without the usual allowance of rations and forage. No competent agents
could be procured on such terms; and the derangement produced throughout
the department compelled Colonel Wadsworth, the able and upright
commissary-general, to resign.
In the present emergency Washington was reluctantly compelled, by the
distresses of the army, to call upon the counties of the State for
supplies of grain and cattle, proportioned to their respective
abilities. These supplies were to be brought into the camp within a
certain time; the grain to be measured and the cattle estimated by any
two of the magistrates of the county in conjunction with the commissary,
and certificates to be given by the latter, specifying the quantity of
each and the terms of payment.
Wherever a compliance with this call was refused, the articles required
were to be impressed: it was a painful alternative, yet nothing else
could save the army from dissolution or starving. Washington charged his
officers to act with as much tenderness as possible, graduating the
exaction according to the stock of each individual, so that no family
should be deprived of what was necessary to its subsistance. “While your
measures are adapted to the emergency,” writes he to Colonel Matthias
Ogden, “and you consult what you owe to the service, I am persuaded you
will not forget that, as we are compelled by necessity to take the
property of citizens for the support of an army on which their safety
depends, we should be careful to manifest that we have a reverence for
their rights, and wish not to do anything which that necessity, and even
their own good, do not absolutely require.”
To the honor of the magistrates and the people of Jersey, Washington
testifies that his requisitions were punctually complied with, and in
many counties exceeded. Too much praise, indeed, cannot be given to the
people of this State for the patience with which most of them bore these
exactions, and the patriotism with which many of them administered to
the wants of their countrymen in arms. Exhausted as the State was by
repeated drainings, yet, at one time, when deep snows cut off all
distant supplies, Washington’s army was wholly subsisted by it.
“Provisions came in with hearty good-will from the farmers in Medham,
Chatham, Hanover, and other rural places, together with stockings,
shoes, coats, and blankets; while the women met together to knit and sew
for the soldiery.”[2]
As the winter advanced, the cold increased in severity. It was the most
intense ever remembered in the country. The great bay of New York was
frozen over. No supplies could come to the city by water. Provisions
grew scanty and there was such lack of fire-wood, that old transports
were broken up, and uninhabited wooden houses pulled down for fuel. The
safety of the city was endangered. The ships of war, immovably ice-bound
in its harbor, no longer gave it protection. The insular security of the
place was at an end. An army with its heaviest artillery and baggage
might cross the Hudson on the ice. The veteran Knyphausen began to
apprehend an invasion, and took measures accordingly; the seamen of the
ships and transports were landed and formed into companies, and the
inhabitants of the city were embodied, officered, and subjected to
garrison duty.
Washington was aware of the opportunity which offered itself for a
signal _coup de main_, but was not in a condition to profit by it. His
troops, hutted among the heights of Morristown, were half fed, half
clothed, and inferior in number to the garrison of New York. He was
destitute of funds necessary to fit them for the enterprise, and the
quartermaster could not furnish means of transportation.
Still, in the frozen condition of the bay and rivers, some minor blow
might be attempted, sufficient to rouse and cheer the spirits of the
people. With this view, having ascertained that the ice formed a bridge
across the strait between the Jersey shore and Staten Island, he
projected a descent upon the latter by Lord Stirling with twenty-five
hundred men, to surprise and capture a British force of ten or twelve
hundred.
His lordship crossed on the night of the 14th of January, from De Hart’s
Point to the island. His approach was discovered; the troops took refuge
in the works, which were too strongly situated to be attacked; a channel
remaining open through the ice across the bay, a boat was dispatched to
New York for reinforcements.
The projected surprise having thus proved a complete failure, and his
own situation becoming hazardous, Lord Stirling recrossed to the Jersey
shore with a number of prisoners whom he had captured. He was pursued by
a party of cavalry, which he repulsed, and effected a retreat to
Elizabethtown. Some few stragglers fell into the hands of the enemy, and
many of his men were severely frostbitten.
By way of retort, Knyphausen on the 25th of January, sent out two
detachments to harass the American outposts. One crossed to Paulus Hook,
and being joined by part of the garrison of that post, pushed on to
Newark, surprised and captured a company stationed there, set fire to
the academy, and returned without loss.
The other detachment, consisting of one hundred dragoons and between
three and four hundred infantry, under Lieutenant-colonel Boskirk,
crossed from Staten Island to Trembly’s Point, surprised the
picket-guard at Elizabethtown, and captured two majors, two captains,
and forty-two privates. This, likewise, was effected without loss. The
disgraceful part of the expedition was the burning of the town-house, a
church, and a private residence, and the plundering of the inhabitants.
The church destroyed was a Presbyterian place of worship, and its
pastor, the Rev. James Caldwell, had rendered himself an especial object
of hostility to both Briton and tory. He was a zealous patriot; had
served as chaplain to those portions of the American army that
successively occupied the Jerseys; and now officiated in that capacity
in Colonel Elias Dayton’s regiment, beside occasionally acting as
commissary. His church had at times served as hospital to the American
soldiers; or shelter to the hastily assembled militia. Its bell was the
tocsin of alarm; from its pulpit he had many a time stirred up the
patriotism of his countrymen by his ardent, eloquent, and pathetic
appeals, laying beside him his pistols before he commenced. His
popularity in the army, and among the Jersey people, was unbounded. He
was termed by his friends a “rousing gospel preacher,” and by the enemy
a “frantic priest” and a “rebel fire-brand.” On the present occasion,
his church was set on fire by a virulent tory of the neighborhood, who,
as he saw it wrapped in flames, “regretted that the black-coated rebel,
Caldwell, was not in his pulpit.” We shall have occasion to speak of the
fortunes of this pastor and his family hereafter.
Another noted maraud during Knyphausen’s military sway, was in the lower
part of Westchester County, in a hilly region lying between the British
and American lines, which had been the scene of part of the past year’s
campaign. Being often foraged, its inhabitants had become belligerent in
their habits, and quick to retaliate on all marauders.
In this region, about twenty miles from the British outposts, and not
far from White Plains, the Americans had established a post of three
hundred men at a stone building commonly known as Young’s house, from
the name of its owner. It commanded a road which passed from north to
south down along the narrow but fertile valley of the Sawmill River, now
known by its original Indian name of the Neperan. On this road the
garrison of Young’s house kept a vigilant eye, to intercept the convoys
of cattle and provisions which had been collected or plundered by the
enemy, and which passed down this valley toward New York. This post had
long been an annoyance to the enemy, but its distance from the British
lines had hitherto saved it from attack. The country now was covered
with snow; troops could be rapidly transported on sleighs; and it was
determined that Young’s house should be surprised, and this rebel nest
broken up.
On the evening of the 2d of February, an expedition set out for the
purpose from King’s Bridge, led by Lieutenant-colonel Norton, and
consisting of four flank companies of guards, two companies of Hessians,
and a party of Yagers, all in sleighs; besides a body of Yager cavalry,
and a number of mounted Westchester refugees, with two three-pounders.
The snow, being newly fallen, was deep; the sleighs broke their way
through it with difficulty. The troops at length abandoned them and
pushed forward on foot. The cannon were left behind for the same reason.
It was a weary tramp; the snow in many places was more than two feet
deep, and they had to take by-ways and cross-roads to avoid the American
patrols.
The sun rose while they were yet seven miles from Young’s house. To
surprise the post was out of the question; still they kept on. Before
they could reach the house the country had taken the alarm, and the
Westchester yeomanry had armed themselves, and were hastening to aid the
garrison.
The British light infantry and grenadiers invested the mansion; the
cavalry posted themselves on a neighboring eminence, to prevent retreat
or reinforcement, and the house was assailed. It made a brave
resistance, and was aided by some of the yeomanry stationed in an
adjacent orchard. The garrison, however, was overpowered; numbers were
killed, and ninety taken prisoners. The house was sacked and set in
flames; and thus having broken up this stronghold of the country, the
party hastened to effect a safe return to the lines with their
prisoners, some of whom were so badly wounded that they had to be left
at different farm-houses on the road. The detachment reached King’s
Bridge by nine o’clock the same evening, and boasted that, in this
enterprise, they had sustained no other loss than two killed and
twenty-three wounded.
Of the prisoners many were doubtless farmers and farmers’ sons, who had
turned out in defense of their homes, and were now to be transferred to
the horrors of the jail and sugar house in New York. We give this affair
as a specimen of the _petite guerre_ carried on in the southern part of
Westchester County; the NEUTRAL GROUND, as it was called, but subjected,
from its vicinity to the city, to be foraged by the royal forces, and
plundered and insulted by refugees and tories. No part of the Union was
more harried and trampled down by friend and foe, during the Revolution,
than this debatable region and the Jerseys.
[Illustration]