HOWE HEARS OF THE AFFAIR AT TRENTON—CORNWALLIS SENT BACK TO THE
JERSEYS—RECONNOITERING EXPEDITION OF REED—HIS EXPLOITS—WASHINGTON IN
PERIL AT TRENTON—REINFORCED BY TROOPS UNDER CADWALADER AND
MIFFLIN—POSITION OF HIS MEN—CORNWALLIS AT TRENTON—REPULSED AT THE
ASSUNPINK—THE AMERICAN CAMP MENACED—NIGHT MARCH OF WASHINGTON—AFFAIR AT
PRINCETON—DEATH OF MERCER—ROUT OF BRITISH TROOPS—PURSUED BY
WASHINGTON—CORNWALLIS AT PRINCETON—BAFFLED AND PERPLEXED—WASHINGTON AT
MORRISTOWN—HIS SYSTEM OF ANNOYANCE—THE TABLES TURNED UPON THE ENEMY.
General Howe was taking his ease in winter quarters at New York, waiting
for the freezing of the Delaware to pursue his triumphant march to
Philadelphia, when tidings were brought him of the surprise and capture
of the Hessians at Trenton. “That three old established regiments of a
people who made war their profession, should lay down their arms to a
ragged and undisciplined militia, and that with scarcely any loss on
either side,” was a matter of amazement. He instantly stopped Lord
Cornwallis, who was on the point of embarking for England, and sent him
back in all haste to resume the command in the Jerseys.
The ice in the Delaware impeded the crossing of the American troops, and
gave the British time to draw in their scattered cantonments and
assemble their whole force at Princeton. While his troops were yet
crossing, Washington sent out Colonel Reed to reconnoitre the position
and movements of the enemy and obtain information. Six of the
Philadelphia light-horse, spirited young fellows, but who had never seen
service, volunteered to accompany Reed. They patrolled the country to
the very vicinity of Princeton, but could collect no information from
the inhabitants; who were harassed, terrified, and bewildered by the
ravaging marches to and fro of friend and enemy.
Emerging from a wood almost within view of Princeton, they caught sight,
from a rising ground, of two or three red coats passing from time to
time from a barn to a dwelling house. Here must be an outpost. Keeping
the barn in a line with the house so as to cover their approach, they
dashed up to the latter without being discovered, and surrounded it.
Twelve British dragoons were within, who, though well armed, were so
panic-stricken that they surrendered without making defence. A
commissary, also, was taken; the sergeant of the dragoons alone escaped.
Colonel Reed and his six cavaliers returned in triumph to head-quarters.
Important information was obtained from their prisoners. Lord Cornwallis
had joined General Grant the day before at Princeton, with a
reinforcement of chosen troops. They had now seven or eight thousand
men, and were pressing waggons for a march upon Trenton.[163]
Cadwalader, stationed at Crosswicks, about seven miles distant, between
Bordentown and Trenton, sent intelligence to the same purport, received
by him from a young gentleman who had escaped from Princeton.
Word, too, was brought from other quarters, that General Howe was on the
march with a thousand light troops, with which he had landed at Amboy.
The situation of Washington was growing critical. The enemy were
beginning to advance their large pickets towards Trenton. Every thing
indicated an approaching attack. The force with him was small; to
retreat across the river, would destroy the dawn of hope awakened in the
bosoms of the Jersey militia by the late exploit; but to make a stand
without reinforcements was impossible. In this emergency, he called to
his aid General Cadwalader from Crosswicks, and General Mifflin from
Bordentown, with their collective forces, amounting to about three
thousand six hundred men. He did it with reluctance, for it seemed like
involving them in the common danger, but the exigency of the case
admitted of no alternative. They promptly answered to his call, and
marching in the night, joined him on the 1st of January.
Washington chose a position for his main body on the east side of the
Assunpink. There was a narrow stone bridge across it, where the water
was very deep; the same bridge over which part of Rahl’s brigade had
escaped in the recent affair. He planted his artillery so as to command
the bridge and the fords. His advance guard was stationed about three
miles off in a wood, having in front a stream called Shabbakong Creek.
Early on the morning of the 2d, came certain word that Cornwallis was
approaching with all his force. Strong parties were sent out under
General Greene, who skirmished with the enemy and harassed them in their
advance. By twelve o’clock they reached the Shabbakong, and halted for a
time on its northern bank. Then crossing it, and moving forward with
rapidity, they drove the advance guard out of the woods, and pushed on
until they reached a high ground near the town. Here Hand’s corps of
several battalions was drawn up, and held them for a time in check. All
the parties in advance ultimately retreated to the main body, on the
east side of the Assunpink, and found some difficulty in crowding across
the narrow bridge.
From all these checks and delays, it was nearly sunset before Cornwallis
with the head of his army entered Trenton. His rear-guard under General
Leslie rested at Maiden Head, about six miles distant, and nearly half
way between Trenton and Princeton. Forming his troops into columns, he
now made repeated attempts to cross the Assunpink at the bridge and the
fords, but was as often repulsed by the artillery. For a part of the
time Washington, mounted on a white horse, stationed himself at the
south end of the bridge, issuing his orders. Each time the enemy was
repulsed there was a shout along the American lines. At length they drew
off, came to a halt, and lighted their camp fires. The Americans did the
same, using the neighboring fences for the purpose. Sir William Erskine,
who was with Cornwallis, urged him, it is said, to attack Washington
that evening in his camp; but his lordship declined; he felt sure of the
game which had so often escaped him; he had at length, he thought, got
Washington into a situation from which he could not escape, but where he
might make a desperate stand, and he was willing to give his wearied
troops a night’s repose to prepare them for the closing struggle. He
would be sure, he said, to “bag the fox in the morning.”
A cannonade was kept up on both sides until dark; but with little damage
to the Americans. When night closed in, the two camps lay, in sight of
each other’s fires, ruminating the bloody action of the following day.
It was the most gloomy and anxious night that had yet closed in on the
American army, throughout its series of perils and disasters; for there
was no concealing the impending danger. But what must have been the
feelings of the commander-in-chief, as he anxiously patrolled his camp,
and considered his desperate position? A small stream, fordable in
several places, was all that separated his raw, inexperienced army, from
an enemy vastly superior in numbers and discipline, and stung to action
by the mortification of a late defeat. A general action with them must
be ruinous; but how was he to retreat? Behind him was the Delaware,
impassable from floating ice. Granting even (a thing not to be hoped)
that a retreat across it could be effected, the consequences would be
equally fatal. The Jerseys would be left in possession of the enemy,
endangering the immediate capture of Philadelphia, and sinking the
public mind into despondency.
In this darkest of moments a gleam of hope flashed upon his mind: a bold
expedient suggested itself. Almost the whole of the enemy’s force must
by this time be drawn out of Princeton, and advancing by detachments
toward Trenton, while their baggage and principal stores must remain
weakly guarded at Brunswick. Was it not possible by a rapid night march
along the Quaker road, a different road from that on which General
Leslie with the rear-guard was resting, to get past that force
undiscovered, come by surprise upon those left at Princeton, capture or
destroy what stores were left there, and then push on to Brunswick? This
would save the army from being cut off; would avoid the appearance of a
defeat; and might draw the enemy away from Trenton, while some fortunate
stroke might give additional reputation to the American arms. Even
should the enemy march on to Philadelphia, it could not in any case be
prevented; while a counterblow in the Jerseys would be of great
consolation.
Such was the plan which Washington revolved in his mind on the gloomy
banks of the Assunpink, and which he laid before his officers in a
council of war, held after nightfall, at the quarters of General Mercer.
It met with instant concurrence, being of that hardy, adventurous kind,
which seems congenial with the American character. One formidable
difficulty presented itself. The weather was unusually mild; there was a
thaw, by which the roads might be rendered deep and miry, and almost
impassable. Fortunately, or rather providentially, as Washington was
prone to consider it, the wind veered to the north in the course of the
evening; the weather became intensely cold, and in two hours the roads
were once more hard and frost-bound. In the mean time, the baggage of
the army was silently removed to Burlington, and every other preparation
was made for a rapid march. To deceive the enemy, men were employed to
dig trenches near the bridge within hearing of the British sentries,
with orders to continue noisily at work until daybreak; others were to
go the rounds; relieve guards at the bridge and fords; keep up the camp
fires, and maintain all the appearance of a regular encampment. At
daybreak they were to hasten after the army.
In the dead of the night, the army drew quietly out of the encampment
and began its march. General Mercer, mounted on a favorite gray horse,
was in the advance with the remnant of his flying camp, now but about
three hundred and fifty men, principally relics of the brave Delaware
and Maryland regiments, with some of the Pennsylvania militia. Among the
latter were youths belonging to the best families in Philadelphia. The
main body followed, under Washington’s immediate command.
The Quaker road was a complete roundabout, joining the main road about
two miles from Princeton, where Washington expected to arrive before
daybreak. The road, however, was new and rugged; cut through woods,
where the stumps of trees broke the wheels of some of the baggage
trains, and retarded the march of the troops; so that it was near
sunrise of a bright, frosty morning, when Washington reached the bridge
over Stony Brook, about three miles from Princeton. After crossing the
bridge, he led his troops along the bank of the brook to the edge of a
wood, where a by-road led off on the right through low grounds, and was
said by the guides to be a short cut to Princeton, and less exposed to
view. By this road Washington defiled with the main body, ordering
Mercer to continue along the brook with his brigade, until he should
arrive at the main road, where he was to secure, and, if possible,
destroy a bridge over which it passes; so as to intercept any fugitives
from Princeton, and check any retrograde movements of the British troops
which might have advanced towards Trenton.
Hitherto the movements of the Americans had been undiscovered by the
enemy. Three regiments of the latter, the 17th, 40th, and 55th, with
three troops of dragoons, had been quartered all night in Princeton,
under marching orders to join Lord Cornwallis in the morning. The 17th
regiment, under Colonel Mawhood, was already on the march; the 55th
regiment was preparing to follow. Mawhood had crossed the bridge by
which the old or main road to Trenton passes over Stony Brook, and was
proceeding through a wood beyond, when, as he attained the summit of a
hill about sunrise, the glittering of arms betrayed to him the movement
of Mercer’s troops to the left, who were filing along the Quaker road to
secure the bridge, as they had been ordered.
The woods prevented him from seeing their number. He supposed them to be
some broken portion of the American army flying before Lord Cornwallis.
With this idea, he faced about and made a retrograde movement, to
intercept them or hold them in check; while messengers spurred off at
all speed, to hasten forward the regiments still lingering at Princeton,
so as completely to surround them.
The woods concealed him until he had recrossed the bridge of Stony
Brook, when he came in full sight of the van of Mercer’s brigade. Both
parties pushed to get possession of a rising ground on the right near
the house of a Mr. Clark, of the peaceful Society of Friends. The
Americans being nearest, reached it first, and formed behind a hedge
fence which extended along a slope in front of the house; whence, being
chiefly armed with rifles, they opened a destructive fire. It was
returned with great spirit by the enemy. At the first discharge Mercer
was dismounted, “his gallant gray” being crippled by a musket ball in
the leg. One of his colonels, also, was mortally wounded and carried to
the rear. Availing themselves of the confusion thus occasioned, the
British charged with the bayonet; the American riflemen having no weapon
of the kind, were thrown into disorder and retreated. Mercer, who was on
foot, endeavored to rally them, when a blow from the butt end of a
musket felled him to the ground. He rose and defended himself with his
sword, but was surrounded, bayoneted repeatedly, and left for dead.
Mawhood pursued the broken and retreating troops to the brow of the
rising ground, on which Clark’s house was situated, when he beheld a
large force emerging from a wood and advancing to the rescue. It was a
body of Pennsylvania militia, which Washington, on hearing the firing,
had detached to the support of Mercer. Mawhood instantly ceased pursuit,
drew up his artillery, and by a heavy discharge brought the militia to a
stand.
At this moment Washington himself arrived at the scene of action, having
galloped from the by-road in advance of his troops. From a rising ground
he beheld Mercer’s troops retreating in confusion, and the detachment of
militia checked by Mawhood’s artillery. Every thing was at peril.
Putting spurs to his horse he dashed past the hesitating militia, waving
his hat and cheering them on. His commanding figure and white horse,
made him a conspicuous object for the enemy’s marksmen; but he heeded it
not. Galloping forward under the fire of Mawhood’s battery, he called
upon Mercer’s broken brigade. The Pennsylvanians rallied at the sound of
his voice, and caught fire from his example. At the same time the 7th
Virginia regiment emerged from the wood, and moved forward with loud
cheers, while a fire of grape-shot was opened by Captain Moulder of the
American artillery, from the brow of a ridge to the south.
Colonel Mawhood, who a moment before had thought his triumph secure,
found himself assailed on every side, and separated from the other
British regiments. He fought, however, with great bravery, and for a
short time the action was desperate. Washington was in the midst of it;
equally endangered by the random fire of his own men, and the artillery
and musketry of the enemy. His aide-de-camp, Colonel Fitzgerald, a young
and ardent Irishman, losing sight of him in the heat of the fight when
enveloped in dust and smoke, dropped the bridle on the neck of his horse
and drew his hat over his eyes; giving him up for lost. When he saw him,
however, emerge from the cloud, waving his hat, and beheld the enemy
giving way, he spurred up to his side. “Thank God,” cried he, “your
excellency is safe!” “Away, my dear colonel, and bring up the troops,”
was the reply, “the day is our own!” It was one of those occasions in
which the latent fire of Washington’s character blazed forth.
Mawhood, by this time, had forced his way, at the point of the bayonet,
through gathering foes, though with heavy loss, back to the main road,
and was in full retreat towards Trenton to join Cornwallis. Washington
detached Major Kelly with a party of Pennsylvania troops, to destroy the
bridge at Stony Brook, over which Mawhood had retreated, so as to impede
the advance of General Leslie from Maiden Head.
In the mean time the 55th regiment, which had been on the left and
nearer Princeton, had been encountered by the American advance guard
under General St. Clair, and after some sharp fighting in a ravine had
given way, and was retreating across fields and along a by-road to
Brunswick. The remaining regiment, the 40th, had not been able to come
up in time for the action; a part of it fled toward Brunswick; the
residue took refuge in the college at Princeton, recently occupied by
them as barracks. Artillery was now brought to bear on the college, and
a few shot compelled those within to surrender.
In this brief but brilliant action, about one hundred of the British
were left dead on the field, and nearly three hundred taken prisoners,
fourteen of whom were officers. Among the slain was Captain Leslie, son
of the Earl of Leven. His death was greatly lamented by his captured
companions.
The loss of the Americans was about twenty-five or thirty men and
several officers. Among the latter was Colonel Haslet, who had
distinguished himself throughout the campaign, by being among the
foremost in services of danger. He was indeed a gallant officer, and
gallantly seconded by his Delaware troops.
A greater loss was that of General Mercer. He was said to be either dead
or dying, in the house of Mr. Clark, whither he had been conveyed by his
aide-de-camp, Major Armstrong, who found him, after the retreat of
Mawhood’s troops, lying on the field gashed with several wounds, and
insensible from cold and loss of blood. Washington would have ridden
back from Princeton to visit him, and have him conveyed to a place of
greater security; but was assured, that, if alive, he was too
desperately wounded to bear removal; in the mean time he was in good
hands, being faithfully attended to by his aide-de-camp, Major
Armstrong, and treated with the utmost care and kindness by Mr. Clark’s
family.[164]
Under these circumstances Washington felt compelled to leave his old
companion in arms to his fate. Indeed, he was called away by the
exigencies of his command, having to pursue the routed regiments which
were making a headlong retreat to Brunswick. In this pursuit he took the
lead at the head of a detachment of cavalry. At Kingston, however, three
miles to the north-east of Princeton, he pulled up, restrained his
ardor, and held a council of war on horseback. Should he keep on to
Brunswick or not? The capture of the British stores and baggage would
make his triumph complete; but, on the other hand, his troops were
excessively fatigued by their rapid march all night and hard fight in
the morning. All of them had been one night without sleep, and some of
them two, and many were half-starved. They were without blankets, thinly
clad, some of them barefooted, and this in freezing weather. Cornwallis
would be upon them before they could reach Brunswick. His rear-guard,
under General Leslie, had been quartered but six miles from Princeton,
and the retreating troops must have roused them. Under these
considerations, it was determined to discontinue the pursuit and push
for Morristown. There they would be in a mountainous country, heavily
wooded, in an abundant neighborhood, and on the flank of the enemy, with
various defiles by which they might change their position according to
his movements.
Filing off to the left, therefore, from Kingston, and breaking down the
bridges behind him, Washington took the narrow road by Rocky Hill to
Pluckamin. His troops were so exhausted, that many in the course of the
march would lie down in the woods on the frozen ground and fall asleep,
and were with difficulty roused and cheered forward. At Pluckamin he
halted for a time, to allow them a little repose and refreshment. While
they are taking breath we will cast our eyes back to the camp of
Cornwallis, to see what was the effect upon him of this masterly
movement of Washington.
His lordship had retired to rest at Trenton with the sportsman’s vaunt
that he would “bag the fox in the morning.” Nothing could surpass his
surprise and chagrin, when at daybreak the expiring watchfires and
deserted camp of the Americans told him that the prize had once more
evaded his grasp; that the general whose military skill he had decried
had out-generalled him.
For a time he could not learn whither the army, which had stolen away so
silently, had directed its stealthy march. By sunrise, however, there
was the booming of cannon, like the rumbling of distant thunder, in the
direction of Princeton. The idea flashed upon him that Washington had
not merely escaped, but was about to make a dash at the British
magazines at Brunswick. Alarmed for the safety of his military stores,
his lordship forthwith broke up his camp, and made a rapid march towards
Princeton. As he arrived in sight of the bridge over Stony Brook, he
beheld Major Kelly and his party busy in its destruction. A distant
discharge of round shot from his field-pieces drove them away, but the
bridge was already broken. It would take time to repair it for the
passage of the artillery; so Cornwallis in his impatience urged his
troops breast-high through the turbulent and icy stream, and again
pushed forward. He was brought to a stand by the discharge of a
thirty-two pounder from a distant breastwork. Supposing the Americans to
be there in force, and prepared to make resistance, he sent out some
horsemen to reconnoitre, and advanced to storm the battery. There was no
one there. The thirty-two pounder had been left behind by the Americans,
as too unwieldy, and a match had been applied to it by some lingerer of
Washington’s rear-guard.
Without further delay Cornwallis hurried forward, eager to save his
magazines. Crossing the bridge at Kingston, he kept on along the
Brunswick road, supposing Washington still before him. The latter had
got far in the advance, during the delays caused by the broken bridge at
Stony Brook, and the discharge of the thirty-two pounder; and the
alteration of his course at Kingston had carried him completely out of
the way of Cornwallis. His lordship reached Brunswick towards evening,
and endeavored to console himself, by the safety of the military stores,
for being so completely foiled and out-manœuvred.
Washington, in the mean time, was all on the alert; the lion part of his
nature was aroused; and while his weary troops were in a manner panting
upon the ground around him, he was despatching missives and calling out
aid to enable him to follow up his successes. In a letter to Putnam,
written from Pluckamin during the halt, he says: “The enemy appear to be
panic-struck. I am in hopes of driving them out of the Jerseys. March
the troops under your command to Crosswicks, and keep a strict watch
upon the enemy in this quarter. Keep as many spies out as you think
proper. A number of horsemen in the dress of the country must be kept
constantly going backwards and forwards for this purpose. If you
discover any motion of the enemy of consequence, let me be informed
thereof as soon as possible, by express.”
To General Heath, also, who was stationed in the Highlands of the
Hudson, he wrote at the same hurried moment. “The enemy are in great
consternation; and as the panic affords us a favorable opportunity to
drive them out of the Jerseys, it has been determined in council that
you should move down towards New York with a considerable force, as if
you had a design upon the city. That being an object of great
importance, the enemy will be reduced to the necessity of withdrawing a
considerable part of their force from the Jerseys, if not the whole, to
secure the city.”
These letters despatched, he continued forward to Morristown, where at
length he came to a halt from his incessant and harassing marchings.
There he learnt that General Mercer was still alive. He immediately sent
his own nephew, Major George Lewis, under the protection of a flag, to
attend upon him. Mercer had indeed been kindly nursed by a daughter of
Mr. Clark and a negro woman, who had not been frightened from their home
by the storm of battle which raged around it. At the time that the
troops of Cornwallis approached, Major Armstrong was binding up Mercer’s
wounds. The latter insisted on his leaving him in the kind hands of Mr.
Clark’s household, and rejoining the army. Lewis found him languishing
in great pain; he had been treated with respect by the enemy, and great
tenderness by the benevolent family who had sheltered him. He expired in
the arms of Major Lewis on the 12th of January, in the fifty-sixth year
of his age. Dr. Benjamin Rush, afterwards celebrated as a physician, was
with him when he died.
He was upright, intelligent and brave; esteemed as a soldier and beloved
as a man, and by none more so than by Washington. His career as a
general had been brief; but long enough to secure him a lasting renown.
His name remains one of the consecrated names of the Revolution.
From Morristown, Washington again wrote to General Heath, repeating his
former orders. To Major-general Lincoln, also, who was just arrived at
Peekskill, and had command of the Massachusetts militia, he writes on
the 7th, “General Heath will communicate mine of this date to you, by
which you will find that the greater part of your troops are to move
down towards New York, to draw the attention of the enemy to that
quarter; and if they do not throw a considerable body back again, you
may, in all probability, carry the city, or at least blockade them in
it. * * * * Be as expeditious as possible in moving forward, for the
sooner a panic-struck enemy is followed the better. If we can oblige
them to evacuate the Jerseys, we must drive them to the utmost distress;
for they have depended upon the supplies from that State for their
winter’s support.”
Colonel Reed was ordered to send out rangers and bodies of militia to
scour the country, waylay foraging parties, cut off supplies, and keep
the cantonments of the enemy in a state of siege. “I would not suffer a
man to stir beyond their lines,” writes Washington, “nor suffer them to
have the least communication with the country.”
The expedition under General Heath toward New York, from which much had
been anticipated by Washington, proved a failure. It moved in three
divisions, by different routes, but all arriving nearly at the same time
at the enemy’s outposts at King’s Bridge. There was some skirmishing,
but the great feature of the expedition was a pompous and peremptory
summons of Fort Independence to surrender. “Twenty minutes only can be
allowed,” said Heath, “for the garrison to give their answer, and,
should it be in the negative, they must abide the consequences.” The
garrison made no answer but an occasional cannonade. Heath failed to
follow up his summons by corresponding deeds. He hovered and skirmished
for some days about the outposts and Spyt den Duivel Creek, and then
retired before a threatened snow storm, and the report of an enemy’s
fleet from Rhode Island, with troops under Lord Percy, who might land in
Westchester, and take the besieging force in rear.
Washington, while he spoke of Heath’s failure with indulgence in his
despatches to government, could not but give him a rebuke in a private
letter. “Your summons,” writes he, “as you did not attempt to fulfil
your threats, was not only idle, but farcical; and will not fail of
turning the laugh exceedingly upon us. These things I mention to you as
a friend, for you will perceive they have composed no part of my public
letter.”
But though disappointed in this part of his plan, Washington, having
received reinforcements of militia, continued, with his scanty army, to
carry on his system of annoyance. The situation of Cornwallis, who, but
a short time before, traversed the Jerseys so triumphantly, became daily
more and more irksome. Spies were in his camp, to give notice of every
movement, and foes without to take advantage of it; so that not a
foraging party could sally forth without being waylaid. By degrees he
drew in his troops which were posted about the country, and collected
them at New Brunswick and Amboy, so as to have a communication by water
with New York, whence he was now compelled to draw nearly all his
supplies; “presenting,” to use the words of Hamilton, “the extraordinary
spectacle of a powerful army, straitened within narrow limits by the
phantom of a military force, and never permitted to transgress those
limits with impunity.”
In fact, the recent operations in the Jerseys had suddenly changed the
whole aspect of the war, and given a triumphant close to what had been a
disastrous campaign.
The troops, which for months had been driven from post to post,
apparently an undisciplined rabble, had all at once turned upon their
pursuers, and astounded them by brilliant stratagems and daring
exploits. The commander, whose cautious policy had been sneered at by
enemies, and regarded with impatience by misjudging friends, had all at
once shown that he possessed enterprise, as well as circumspection,
energy as well as endurance, and that beneath his wary coldness lurked a
fire to break forth at the proper moment. This year’s campaign, the most
critical one of the war, and especially the part of it which occurred in
the Jerseys, was the ordeal that made his great qualities fully
appreciated by his countrymen, and gained for him from the statesmen and
generals of Europe the appellation of the AMERICAN FABIUS.
END OF VOL. II.
-----
Footnote 1:
Mrs. Adams to John Adams, 1775.
Footnote 2:
Walpole to the Hon. W. S. Conway.
Footnote 3:
The Rev. William Emerson.
Footnote 4:
In after years distinguished as a historical painter.
Footnote 5:
Graydon’s Memoirs, p. 138.
Footnote 6:
Thacher’s Military Journal, p. 37.
Footnote 7:
Letter to the President of Congress, Aug. 4.
Footnote 8:
Reed to Thomas Bradford. Life and Correspondence, vol. i. p. 118.
Footnote 9:
Arnold to Mass. Comm. of Safety. Am. Arch. ii. 557.
Footnote 10:
Force’s Am. Archives, ii. 1649.
Footnote 11:
Am. Archives, 4th Series, iii. 17.
Footnote 12:
Life of Reed, vol. i. 119.
Footnote 13:
Am. Archives, 4th Series, iii. 754.
Footnote 14:
Am. Archives, III. 800.
Footnote 15:
Remembrancer, ii. 51.
Footnote 16:
Gov. Trumbull to Washington. Sparks’ Corresp. of the Rev., i. 27.
Footnote 17:
Holmes’s Annals, ii. 220.
Footnote 18:
Letter of P. Jones.
Footnote 19:
Letter from Gen. Greene to Gov. Cooke.
Footnote 20:
Letter to the President of Congress.
Footnote 21:
Am. Archives, iii. 1145.
Footnote 22:
See Life of Gerry, 109.
Footnote 23:
Life of Dr. Belknap, p. 96. The doctor was present at the above-cited
conversation.
Footnote 24:
Thacher’s Military Journal, p. 50.
Footnote 25:
Letter to William Palfrey. Sparks, iii. 158.
Footnote 26:
Washington to the President of Congress, Nov. 8.
Footnote 27:
Greene to Dep. Gov. Ward. Am. Arch. 4th Series, iii. 1145.
Footnote 28:
Washington to the President of Congress, Nov. 19th.
Footnote 29:
Letter Book of Gen. Thomas. MS.
Footnote 30:
See Letter of Gen. Greene to Samuel Ward. Am. Arch. 4th Series, vol.
iv.
Footnote 31:
Sparks. Washington’s Writings, vol. iii. p. 194.
Footnote 32:
Thomas Walker, a merchant of Montreal, who, accused of traitorous
dealings with the Americans, had been thrown into prison during
Prescott’s sway, and his country-house burnt down, undertook a journey
to Philadelphia in the depth of winter, when he understood the general
was a captive there, trusting to obtain satisfaction for his
ill-treatment. To his great surprise, he found Mr. Prescott lodged in
the best tavern of the place, walking or riding at large through
Philadelphia and Bucks counties, feasting with gentlemen of the first
rank in the province, and keeping a levée for the reception of the
grandees. In consequence of which unaccountable phenomena, and the
little prospect of his obtaining any adequate redress in the present
unsettled state of public affairs, Mr. Walker has returned to
Montreal.—_Am. Archives, 4th Series_ vol. iv. 1178.
Footnote 33:
Graydon’s Memoirs, p. 154.
Footnote 34:
Letters of Mr. Adams, vol. i. p. 85.
Footnote 35:
Adams’s Letters, vol. ii. p. 80. Adams adds, that they made him “low
bows and scrapes”—a kind of homage never paid by an Indian warrior.
Footnote 36:
From memoranda written at an advanced age, by the late Hon. Israel
Trask; who, when but ten years old, was in the camp at Cambridge with
his father, who was a lieutenant.
Footnote 37:
Lee to Rich. Henry Lee. Am. Archives, 4th Series, iv. 248.
Footnote 38:
Washington to Gov. Cooke. Sparks, iii. 227.
Footnote 39:
Greene to Henry Ward.
Footnote 40:
Letter of Washington to the President of Congress. Dec. 31.
Footnote 41:
Am. Archives, 4th Series, iii. 1281.
Footnote 42:
Adams to Washington, Corr. of Rev., i. 113.
Footnote 43:
Montgomery to Schuyler, Dec. 5.
Footnote 44:
Life of John Lamb, p. 125.
Footnote 45:
Civil War in America, vol. i. p. 112.
Footnote 46:
See Arnold’s Letter. Remembrancer, ii. 368.
Footnote 47:
Remembrancer, vol. iii.
Footnote 48:
Am. Archives, 5th Series, iv. 941.
Footnote 49:
Fred. Rhinelander to Peter Van Schaack, Feb. 23.
Footnote 50:
Am. Archives, v. 425.
Footnote 51:
Fred. Rhinelander to Peter Van Schaack.
Footnote 52:
Am. Archives, 4th Series, v. 425.
Footnote 53:
Oration of the Hon. Edward Everett at Dorchester, July 4th, 1855.
Footnote 54:
Remembrancer, vol. iii. p. 108.
Footnote 55:
Letter to John A. Washington, Am. Arch. 4th Series, v, 560.
Footnote 56:
Frothingham, Siege of Boston, 310.
Footnote 57:
Iron balls, with four sharp points, to wound the feet of men or
horses.
Footnote 58:
Lee’s Memoirs, p. 162.
Footnote 59:
Thacher’s Mil. Journal, p. 50.
Footnote 60:
Barrow’s Life of Earl Howe, p. 400.
Footnote 61:
Force’s Am. Archives, 4th Series, v. 562.
Footnote 62:
Force’s Am. Archives, 4th Series, vol. v. 792.
Footnote 63:
Remembrancer, vol. iii. p. 85.
Footnote 64:
Letter to the President of Congress, 5th May.
Footnote 65:
Carleton to Lord George Germaine, May 14.
Footnote 66:
General Thomas to Washington, May 8th.
Footnote 67:
Washington to Schuyler, May 17.
Footnote 68:
Washington to Schuyler, May 21.
Footnote 69:
The following statement of the batteries at New York, we find dated
May 22d.
_The Grand Battery_, on the south part of the town.
_Fort George_, immediately above it.
_White Hall Battery_, on the left of the Grand Battery.
_Oyster Battery_, behind General Washington’s head-quarters.
_Grenadier Battery_, near the Brew House on the North River.
_Jersey Battery_, on the left of the Grenadier Battery.
_Bayard’s Hill Redoubt_, on Bayard’s Hill.
_Spencer’s Redoubt_, on the hill where his brigade is encamped.
_Waterbury’s Battery_ (fascines), on a wharf below this hill.
_Badlam’s Redoubt_, on a hill near the Jews’ burying ground.
Footnote 70:
Arnold to the Commis. of Cong. 27th May.
Footnote 71:
Washington to the President of Congress, July 12, 1776.
Footnote 72:
Am. Archives, 5th Series, vi. 1177.
Footnote 73:
Washington to the President of Congress, June 28.
Footnote 74:
As a specimen of the reports which circulated throughout the country,
concerning this conspiracy, we give an extract from a letter, written
from Wethersfield, in Connecticut, 9th of July, 1776, by the Reverend
John Marsh.
“You have heard of the infernal plot that has been discovered. About
ten days before any of the conspirators were taken up, a woman went to
the general and desired a private audience. He granted it to her, and
she let him know that his life was in danger, and gave him such an
account of the conspiracy as gained his confidence. He opened the
matter to a few friends, on whom he could depend. A strict watch was
kept night and day, until a favorable opportunity occurred; when the
general went to bed as usual, arose about two o’clock, told his lady
he was a going, with some of the Provincial Congress, to order some
tories seized—desired she would make herself easy, and go to sleep. He
went off without any of his aides-de-camp, except the captain of his
life-guard, was joined by a number of chosen men, with lanterns, and
proper instruments to break open houses, and before six o’clock next
morning, had forty men under guard at the City Hall, among whom was
the mayor of the city, several merchants, and five or six of his own
life-guard. Upon examination, one Forbes confessed that the plan was
to assassinate the general, and as many of the superior officers as
they could, and to blow up the magazine upon the appearance of the
enemy’s fleet, and to go off in boats prepared for that purpose to
join the enemy. Thos. Hickey, who has been executed, went from this
place. He came from Ireland a few years ago. What will be done with
the mayor is uncertain. He can’t be tried by court-martial, and, it is
said, there is no law of that colony by which he can be condemned. May
he have his deserts.”
Footnote 75:
Extracts from minutes of the committee, Am. Archives, 4th S. vi. 1112.
Footnote 76:
Governor Tryon, in a letter dated about this time from on board of the
Duchess of Gordon, off Staten Island, writes: “The testimony given by
the inhabitants of the island, of loyalty to his majesty, and
attachment to his government, I flatter myself will be general
throughout the province, as soon as the army gets the main body of the
rebels between them and the sea; which will leave all the back country
open to the command of the king’s friends, and yield a plentiful
resource of provisions for the army, and place them in a better
situation to cut off the rebels’ retreat when forced from their strong
hold.”—_Am. Arch. 5th S._ i. 122.
Footnote 77:
Orderly book, July 9, Sparks, iii 456.
Footnote 78:
Letter of Mr. Dennis de Berdt, to Mr. Joseph Reed. Am. Archives, 5th
Series, i. 372.
Footnote 79:
Col. John Trumbull’s Autobiography, p. 285, Appendix.
Footnote 80:
S. Adams to R. H. Lee. Am. Arch. 5th Series, i. 347.
Footnote 81:
Gov. Trumbull to Mr. William Williams.
Footnote 82:
Life of Reed, vol. i. p. 239.
Footnote 83:
Graydon’s Memoirs, p. 155.
Footnote 84:
Am. Archives, 5th Series, i. 175.
Footnote 85:
Webb to Gov. Trumbull.
Footnote 86:
Am. Archives, 5th Series, i. 192.
Footnote 87:
Am. Archives, 5th Series, i. 513.
Footnote 88:
Am. Archives, 4th Series, v. 1112.
Footnote 89:
Hist. Civil War in America. Dublin, 1779. Annual Register.
Footnote 90:
Am. Archives, 5th Series, i. 155.
Footnote 91:
Orderly Book, Aug. 3, as cited by Sparks. Writings of Washington, vol.
iv. p. 28.
Footnote 92:
Am. Archives, 5th Series, i. 887.
Footnote 93:
General orders, Aug. 8th, show the feverish state of affairs in the
city. “As the movements of the enemy, and intelligence by deserters,
give the utmost reason to believe that the great struggle in which we
are contending for every thing dear to us and our posterity is near at
hand, the general most earnestly recommends the closest attention to
the state of the men’s arms, ammunition, and flints; that if we should
be suddenly called to action, nothing of this kind may be to provide.
And he does most anxiously exhort both officers and soldiers not to be
out of their quarters or encampments, especially in the morning, or
upon the tide of flood.
“A flag in the daytime, or a light at night, in the fort on Bayard’s
Hill, with three guns from the same place fired quick but distinct, is
to be considered as a signal for the troops to repair to their alarm
posts, and prepare for action. And that the alarm may be more
effectually given, the drums are immediately to beat to arms upon the
signal being given from Bayard’s Hill. This order is not to be
considered as countermanding the firing two guns at Fort George, as
formerly ordered. That is also to be done on an alarm, but the flag
will not be hoisted at the old head-quarters in Broadway.”—_Am.
Archives, 5th Series_, i. 912.
Footnote 94:
Heath to Washington, Aug. 17–18.
Footnote 95:
Washington to the President of Congress.
Footnote 96:
Atlee to Col. Rodney. Sparks, iv. 516.
Footnote 97:
Letter from an American officer. Am. Archives, 5th Series, ii. 108.
Footnote 98:
Letter from a Marylander. Idem, 5th Series, i. 1232.
Footnote 99:
General Howe to Lord G. Germaine. Remembrancer, iii. 347.
Footnote 100:
Howe states the prisoners at 1094, and computes the whole American
loss at 3,300.
Footnote 101:
Graydon’s Memoirs, edited by I. S. Littell, p. 167.
Footnote 102:
Hist. Long Island, p. 258.
Footnote 103:
Force’s Am. Archives, 5th Series, ii. 123.
Footnote 104:
Force’s Am. Archives, 5th Series, ii. 168.
Footnote 105:
Life of Reed, i. 231.
Footnote 106:
Civil War, vol, i, p. 190.
Footnote 107:
Franklin’s Writings, v. 103.
Footnote 108:
Report of the Comm. to Cong., Sept. 13, 1776.
Footnote 109:
Letter to the President of Congress.
Footnote 110:
Force’s Am. Archives, 5th Series, ii. 182.
Footnote 111:
Col. Babcock to Gov. Cooke. Am. Archives, 5th Series, ii. 443.
Footnote 112:
Reed to Mrs. Reed.
Footnote 113:
Letter of Col. Babcock to Gov. Cooke.
Footnote 114:
Graydon’s Memoirs, Littell’s ed., p. 174. General Greene, in a letter
to a friend, writes: “We made a miserable, disorderly retreat from New
York, owing to the conduct of the militia, who ran at the appearance
of the enemy’s advanced guard. Fellows’ and Parsons’ brigades ran away
from about fifty men, and left his excellency on the ground, within
eighty yards of the enemy, so vexed at the infamous conduct of his
troops, that he sought death rather than life.”
Footnote 115:
Peabody, Life of Putnam. Sparks’ Am. Biog., vii. 189.
Footnote 116:
Thacher’s Military Journal, p. 70.
Footnote 117:
The portrait of Miss Mary Philipse is still to be seen in the
possession of Frederick Phillips, Esquire, at the Grange, on the
Highlands opposite West Point.
Footnote 118:
Col. Ewing to the Maryland Comm. of Safety.
Footnote 119:
Am. Archives, 5th Series, vol. ii. 921.
Footnote 120:
Heath’s Memoirs.
Footnote 121:
Am. Archives, 5th Series, ii. 1008.
Footnote 122:
Properly Throck’s Neck, from Throckmorton, the name of the original
proprietor.
Footnote 123:
Am. Archives, 5th Series, ii. 1038.
Footnote 124:
George Clinton to John McKesson, Oct. 31. Am. Archives, 5th Series,
ii. 1312.
Footnote 125:
Tench Tilghman to William Duer, Oct. 31.
Footnote 126:
Am. Archives, 5th Series, iii. 618.
Footnote 127:
Heath’s Memoirs.
Footnote 128:
Civil War in America, vol. i. p. 212.
Footnote 129:
Civil war in America, i. 211.
Footnote 130:
Civil War in America, vol. i. p. 214.
Footnote 131:
W. B. Reed’s Life of Reed, i. 252.
Footnote 132:
Sir William Howe to Lord George Germaine.
Footnote 133:
Heath’s Memoirs, p. 86.
Footnote 134:
Am. Archives, 5th Series, iii. 780.
Footnote 135:
The number of prisoners, as returned by Sir William Howe, was 2,813 of
whom 2,607 were privates. They were marched off to New York at
midnight.
Footnote 136:
Some writers have stated that Cornwallis crossed on the 18th. They
have been misled by a letter of Sir William Howe, which gives that
date. Lord Howe, in a letter to the Secretary of the Admiralty, gives
the date we have stated (the 20th), which is the true one.
Footnote 137:
Memoirs of Reed, i. 255.
Footnote 138:
Am. Archives, 5th Series, iii. 811.
Footnote 139:
We cannot dismiss this painful incident in Washington’s life, without
a prospective note on the subject. Reed was really of too generous and
intelligent a nature not to be aware of the immense value of the
friendship he had put at hazard. He grieved over his mistake,
especially as after events showed more and more the majestic greatness
of Washington’s character. A letter in the following year, in which he
sought to convince Washington of his sincere and devoted attachment,
is really touching in its appeals. We are happy to add, that it
appears to have been successful, and to have restored, in a great
measure, their relations of friendly confidence.
Footnote 140:
Gordon’s Hist. Am. War, ii. p. 129.
Footnote 141:
Am. Archives, 5th Series, iii. 1037.
Footnote 142:
The above scene is given almost literally from General Heath’s
Memoirs.
Footnote 143:
Reed to the President of Congress.
Footnote 144:
Washington to Gov. Trumbull, 14th Dec.
Footnote 145:
Am. Archives, 5th Series, iii. 1121.
Footnote 146:
Am. Archives, 5th Series, iii. 1138.
Footnote 147:
Am. Archives, 5th Series, iii. 1201.
Footnote 148:
Jos. Trumbull to Gov. Trumbull.—_Am. Archives, 5th Series_, iii. 1265.
Footnote 149:
Idem.
Footnote 150:
American Crisis, No. 1.
Footnote 151:
Letter to the President of Congress.
Footnote 152:
Seldom has a name of so few letters been spelled so many ways as that
of this commander. We find it written Rall in the military journals
before us; yet we adhere to the one hitherto adopted by us, apparently
on good authority.
Footnote 153:
Tagebuch eines Hessischen officiers.—MS.
Footnote 154:
Tagebuch des corporals Johannes Reuber.—MS.
Footnote 155:
Washington to Gates. Gates’s papers.
Footnote 156:
Who it was that made this attack upon the outpost is not clearly
ascertained. The Hessian lieutenant who commanded at the picket, says
it was a patrol sent out by Washington, under command of a captain, to
reconnoitre, with strict orders not to engage, but if discovered, to
retire instantly as silently as possible. Colonel Reed, in a
memorandum, says, it was an advance party returning from the Jerseys
to Pennsylvania.—_See Life and Corresp._ vol. i. p. 277.
Footnote 157:
Wilkinson’s Memoirs, vol. i. p. 129.
Footnote 158:
The lieutenant gives the latter number on the authority of Lord
Stirling; but his lordship meant the whole number of men intended for
the three several attacks. The force that actually crossed with
Washington was what we have stated.
Footnote 159:
Journal of Lieut. Piel.
Footnote 160:
Tagebuch des corporals Johannes Reuber. MS.
Footnote 161:
Life and Correspondence of Pres. Reed, vol. i. p. 281.
Footnote 162:
Am. Archives, 5th Series, iii. 1510.
Footnote 163:
Life of Reed, i. 282.
Footnote 164:
See Washington to Col. Reed, Jan. 15.
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TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES
Page Changed from Changed to
87 colonies, who, said he, “carry colonies, who, said he, “carry
the spirt of freedom into the the spirit of freedom into the
124 resentment actuate his conduct a resentment actuate his conduct
degree equal to the destruction to a degree equal to the
destruction
127 the term of enlistment was at an the term of enlistment was at an
end. Scare could the disbanding end. Scarce could the disbanding
201 by this time much improved, and by this time much improved, and
in high spirts, marched out in high spirits, marched out
349 take place; and so great had taken place; and so great had
been the drain on the militia of been the drain on the militia of
408 about in very direction for about in every direction for
assistance. Colonel Reed, on assistance. Colonel Reed, on
whom whom
461 especially sneak of the especially speak of the
scoldings they received from old scoldings they received from old
women women
● Typos fixed; non-standard spelling and dialect retained.
● Used numbers for footnotes, placing them all at the end of the last
chapter.
● Enclosed italics font in _underscores_.