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. Howe 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.

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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

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1 Page 261. 2 Page 234. 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.

Congress, and that body gave him the commission [July 31] of a major-general. Three days afterward [Aug. 3] he was introduced to Washington at a public dinner; and within less than forty days he was gallantly fighting [September 11], as a volunteer, for freedom in America, on the banks of the Brandywine. That young general was the Marquis de LA FAYETTE,' whose name is forever linked with that of Washington and Liberty.

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

wine; and at Chad's Ford, several miles above Wilmington, he made a stand for the defense of Philadelphia. At that point, the Hesians under Knyphausen' attacked the left wing of the Americans [Sept. 11, 1777], commanded by Washington in person; while Howe and Cornwallis, crossing the stream several miles above, fell upon the American right, under General Sullivan, near the Birmingham meeting-house. The contest raged fearfully during the whole day.

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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

1 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 a substantial 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."

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 [1867] standing, a short distance from Chad's Ford.

B

CHEVAUX-DE-
FRISE.

* 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.

* 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.

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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

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.

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 [1867] 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.

Mount Independence, on the opposite side of the lake, was a small fortification and a weak garrison.' These composed the entire force, except some feeble detachments of militia, to oppose the invaders. On the approach of Burgoyne, St. Clair left his outworks, gathered his forces near the fortress, and prepared for an assault; but when, on the evening of the 5th, he saw the scarlet uniforms of the British on the top of Mount Defiance, and a battery of heavy guns planted there,' more than five hundred feet above the fort, he knew resistance would be vain. That evening he sent his ammunition and stores up the lake to Skenesborough, and under cover of the darkness, silently crossed over to Mount Independence, and commenced a retreat to Fort Edward," the headquarters of General Schuyler, who was then in command of the northern army.

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The retreating army would have been beyond the reach of pursuers by dawn, had not their exit been discovered. Contrary to express orders, a building was fired on Mount Independence, and by its light their flight was discovered by the enemy, and a strong party, consisting of the brigade of General Fraser, and two Hessian corps under Riedesel, was immediately sent in pursuit. At dawn, the British flag was waving over Ticonderoga; and a little after sunrise [July 7, 1777], the rear division of the flying Americans, under Colonel Seth Warner,' were overtaken in Hubbardton, Vermont, and a severe engagement followed. The patriots were defeated and dispersed, and the victors returned to Ticonderoga. Before sunset the same evening, a flotilla of British vessels had overtaken and destroyed the Americans' stores which St. Clair had sent up the lake, and also a large quantity at Skenesborough. The fragments of St. Clair's army reached Fort Edward on the 12th, thoroughly dispirited. Disaster had followed disaster in quick succession. Within a week, the Americans had lost almost two hundred pieces of artillery, and a large amount of provisions and military stores.

1

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During the previous years, the Americans constructed a picketed fort, or stockade [note 2, page 183], on that eminence, built about three hundred huts or barracks, dug several wells, and placed batteries at different points. The remains of these are now [1867] everywhere visible on Mount Independence. That eminence received this name because the troops took possession of it on the 4th of July, 1776. Page 250.

2 Arthur St. Clair was a native of Scotland, and came to America with Admiral Boscawen, early in May, 1755. He served under Wolfe [page 201]; and when the Revolution broke out, he entered the American army. He served during the war, and afterward commanded an expedition against the Indians in Ohio, where he was unsuccessful. He died in 1818, at the age of eighty-four years.

This is a hill about 750 feet in height, situated on the south-west side of the outlet of Lake George, opposite Ticonderoga.

With immense labor, Burgoyne opened a road up the northern slope of Mount Defiance, and dragged heavy artillery to the summit. From that point, every ball might be hurled within the fort below without difficulty. The position of that road may yet [1867] be traced by the second growth of trees on its line up the mountain.

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Now Whitehall. It was named after Philip Skene, who settled there in 1764. The narrow part of Lake Champlain, from Ticonderoga to Whitehall, was formerly called Wood Creek (the name of the stream that enters the lake at Whitehall), and also South River. Page 188. Page 232. The Americans lost, in killed, wounded, and missing, a little more than three hundred; the British reported their loss at one hundred and eighty-three.