1777.

26th April.

27th.

CHAP lected at Danbury. They landed two hours before XXXI. midnight, and reached their place of destination at day-break. The enemy, taken unawares, and unprepared for refiftance, evacuated the town without oppofition, and the British set fire to the ftores, the conflagration of which was not completed till the enfuing morning. During this interval, the Americans had collected a force from various quarters, and, under the command of general Arnold, intrenched themselves at the town of Ridgefield, to oppose the British force in their retreat. Though this refiftance was unexpected, the entrenchments were carried with great fpirit; Arnold's horse was shot under him, and, while extricating himself, he was attacked with fixed bayonet by a foldier, whom he difpatched with a piftol. The English troops formed in an oblong fquare, and rested on their arms.

28th.

THE enemy, confiderably reinforced during the night, affailed them in the morning in every direction, from houses and walls, and took poffeffion of a ftone bridge, and the ground commanding a país beyond it, where, with the advantage of fome field artillery, they prefented a formidable front. The English were, however, enabled to avoid this pafs, by fording the river three miles further up, but fkirmishes were continued till they arrived within half a mile of the fhipping. The detachment was now almost exhausted with fatigue; three days and nights paffed without repose, and several, unable to profecute their march, had dropped on the road, when the Americans were seen in two diftinct bodies, pofted to oppofe their reembarkation. General Erfkine, at the head of four hundred men, felected from this enfeebled troop, attacked and put to flight, with confiderable flaughter,

0

The effects destroyed were 1,600 barrels of pork and beef, 600 barrels of flour, upwards of 2,00 barrels of wheat, rye, and Indian corn, a very confiderable quantity of military cloathing, and 2,000 tents; a lofs which, from their fearcity, was feverely felt by the American s. In their return, the troops deftroyed about 70 barrels of flour, and 112 hogfheads of rum.

the

XXXI

the oppofing columns, whofe panic prevented them CHA P. from rallying and ufing their means of annoyance during the remaining march and embarkation.

THIS expedition resembles, in many particulars, the affair of Lexington: the fuccefs with which it was attended, did not compenfate for two hundred men and ten officers, killed and wounded. The lofs of the enemy was much more confiderable; and general Woofter, a veteran, who at the age of seventy, exerted himself with a degree of fpirit and alacrity more confiftent with the meridian of youth, was numbered among the flain.

1777.

SEVERAL other flight enterprizes took place, at- And other tended with different degrees of fuccefs, but of fo places. little importance, in a general view, that it is only 12th and neceffary to mention the names without entering into 19th April particulars, refpecting Bondwick, Woodbridge, and May. Pifcataway.

and 8th

expedition

THE Americans were in fome measure revenged for 24th May. their loffes at Peek's Kill and Danbury, by the prof- American perous iffue of an expedition to Sagg's harbour in to Sagg's Long Island, conducted by colonel Meigs, at the head harbour. of a hundred and feventy men, who, notwithstanding a confiderable refiftance, burned twelve brigs and floops, deftroved a large quantity of forage and other neceffaries, killed fix men, and with ninety prifoners returned without lofs. The celerity of this expedition was remarkable; for, befide the labour accomplished, the party traversed a space of ninety miles by land and water, and returned within twenty-five hours.

of recruit

ing their

ALTHOUGH, congrefs had, in compliance with the Difficulty fuggeftion of general Washington, voted a permanent army, they did not find the expected facility in raising army troops. Those employed in recruiting, through vanity or ignorance, made false reports of their fuccefs; the new levies could not, by the most urgent remonftrances, be prevailed on to quit, in the inclement feafon of winter, their domeftic comforts, for the fake of performing an uncertain fervice in the camp. The luxuries

EE 3

XXXI.

1777.

CHAP. luxuries enjoyed in the British lines, joined to the temp tations of a large bounty offered by the general, occafioned many defertions, and infpired fears of more. General Washington, though animated with hopes of ultimate fuccefs, thought it neceffary to caution the congrefs, a body to whom fuch an injunction would appear entirely fuperfluous, to conceal the numbers of their army from the public: Nothing but a good face," he faid, "and false appearances, have enabled us hitherto to deceive the enemy refpecting our ftrength.'

9th June. Movement of Washington.

99

66

THE American general founded his flattering ex- ́ pectations on the increafing attachment of the troops; their progress in military difcipline; the favour refulting to the caufe from a protracted ftruggle, in which not to be defeated was to conquer; the hopes of effectual affiftance from France; and the certainty that congress, confidering the army their fole refource, would no longer be reftrained by a mean and rigid policy, from affording encouragement, and imparting all requifite powers. Congrefs had now learned to excite emulation, and recompenfe fervice by rewards and honorary notices. Funeral obfequies, and pofthumous memorials, were decreed to Warren, Mercer, and Wooster: the exertions of general Arnold at Danbury procured him fome promotion, and the public donation of a caparisoned charger; and the exploit of colonel Meigs was acknowledged by the gift of an elegant fword.

THE advance of fpring enabled congrefs to aug. ment general Washington's army to feven thoufand two hundred and feventy-two men; a fmall number compared to the British force, but fufficiently cheering to the enterprizing fupporter of American independence, who, with lefs then half that number, had baffled and checked the very army which now opposed him, and raised the fortunes of his country from their

This letter is dated 21ft May 1777. See Washington's Letters, vol. ii. p. 77. And for the other facts in the above paragraph, the fame vol, p. 46. 53. 67, 87.

lowest

XXXI.

1777.

lowest ebb. He removed from his encampment at cHA P. Morristown to Middlebrook, extending his camp along feveral hills, which he ftrongly fortified with entrenchments and artillery. He had the additional advantages of perceiving, from his pofition, every movement of the British on the Brunfwick Hills, of drawing fupplies from a plentiful country in his rear, and of effecting, if neceffary, a fecure retreat over Hudfon river or the Delaware.

Motion of

SIR WILLIAM Howe, who had hitherto neglected 12th June. the obvious policy of attempting fome enterprize the British against the foe, under pretence that " the green forage army. was not on the ground ', at length led forth his troops as far as Somerfet court houfe, but without a decided plan of operation. He might, if his opponent's pofition was deemed unaffailable, have feized one of the communications from which the American drew his fupplies, and afterward rifked a further attempt, or retired: but he made no effectual exertion, his troops carried with them victuals for only a few days, and fpeedily returned to Brunfwick, burning feveral dwel- 19th June,` ling houfes in their retreat, and continually harassed and infulted by the American light troops.

makes a

feigned re

DEEMING it impoflible to force general Wafhing- Howe ton's strong pofition, and failing in every attempt to provoke him to quit it, general Howe endeavoured to treat. lure him by a ftratagem equally well conceived and executed, though unfuccefsful in its refult. He first relinquished Brunswick, and returned to Amboy, a manoeuvre which deceived the Americans, and induced them to dispatch large bodies under the command of 22d June. generals Maxwell and Conway, and lord Sterling, to pursue him in his fuppofed retreat. The English general furthered the deception, by throwing a bridge across the channel to Staten Island, over which he paffed his heavy cannon, and a small number of men. The purfuit was followed with great eagerness; and

XXXI.

1777.

Action near Quibble Town.

CHA P. general Washington, deluded by appearances, removed to Quibble Town, to co-operate with his other detachments. The British commander, confidering this the moment of fuccefs, marched back his army by differ ent routes, hoping to bring Washington to an engagement, to cut off his advanced parties, or, at leaft, to fecure fome paffes in the mountains. For the last purpose, lord Cornwallis was dispatched with a confiderable body; he fell in with a detachment of three thoufand men, under general Maxwell and lord Sterling, ftrongly fituated, and well provided with artillery, put them to the rout, and purfued them to Weftfield; but general Washington fruftrated his fcheme, by regaining his ftation on the hills, and fecuring the paffes.

26th.

23th.

Howe evacuates the

Jerfeys.

Capture of general Prefcott.

On this difappointment, Sir William Howe returned to Amboy, and croffing over with his whole force to Staten Island evacuated the Jerfeys.

DURING the fufpenfion of hoftilities, which ensued from this event, a gallant and well-concerted enterprize procured the Americans the means of exchanging, for general Lee, an officer of equal rank. The head quarters of general Prefcott, governor of Rhode Ifland, were on the Weft, near Narranganfet Bay, a quarter of a mile from the sea, where he lay in culpable negligence, a mile diftant from any body of troops, without patroles on the fhore, and depending only on a guard-fhip in the bay for fecurity. Lieutenant-colonel Barton, apprized of these circumftances, set out from 20th July. Providence, with fome officers and men, in two boats, proceeded across the bay unperceived, landed about midnight, furprized the centinel, feized the general in bed, and, without giving him time to put on his clothes, hurried him and his aid-de-camp on board, and effected his retreat unmolefted, and, till out of reach, undiscovered.

The Bri

ALL the operations of general Howe had not hitherto tended to remove or qualify the difadvantafor the De- geous impreffions occafioned by his tardy commence

tish army embarks

laware.

ment