the Delaware a few days before the arrival of D'Estaing' [July 8, 1778], and found safety in the waters of Amboy or Raritan Bay, into which the heavy French vessels could not enter over the bar that stretches northward from Sandy Hook toward the Narrows. A little earlier than this, there had been a change in the command of the British army. Sir Henry Clinton,' a more efficient officer than Howe, had succeeded him as generalin-chief, toward the close of May, and on the 18th of June, he withdrew his whole army from Philadelphia. With eleven thousand men, and an immense baggage and provision train, he started for New York, by the way of New Brunswick and Amboy. Washington, suspecting some important movement, was on the alert, and breaking up his encampment at Valley Forge, he pursued Clinton with more than equal force. By adroit movements, detachments of the American army so intercepted Clinton's march, as to compel him to change his course in the direction of Sandy Hook, while New Jersey militia continually harassed his flanks and rear. Finally, a general engagement took place [June 28, 1778] on the plains of Monmouth, in the present village of Freehold, in New Jersey. GENERAL CLINTON. The 28th of June, 1778, a day memorable in the annals of Freedom, was the Christian Sabbath. The sky was cloudless over the plains of Monmouth," when the morning dawned, and the sun came up with all the fervor of the summer solstice. It was the sultriest day of the year-one of the warmest ever known. On that calm Sabbath morning, in the midst of paradisal beauty, twenty thousand men girded on the implements of hellish war, to maim and destroy each other-to sully the green grass and the fragrant flowers with human blood. Nature was smiling in her summer garments, and in earth and air there was fullness of love and harmony. Man, alone, was the discordant note in the universal melody. He, alone, the proud "lord of creation," disturbed the chaste worship of the hour, which ascended audibly from the groves, the streams, the meadows, and the woodlands. The two armies began to prepare for action at about one o'clock in the morning, and at day-break they were in motion. Before nine, detachments met 1 Silas Deane [page 266] returned to America in D'Estaing's flag-ship, and Gerard, the first French minister to the United States, came in the same vessel. Congress was now in session in Philadelphia, having returned from York [page 274] on the 30th of June, twelve days after the British had left for New York. 2 Henry Clinton was a son of George Clinton, governor of the province of New York in 1743, and a grandson of the Earl of Lincoln. After the war he was made governor of Gibraltar [1795], and died there the same year. Arnold was yet quite lame from the effects of a severe wound in the leg, which he received in the battle on Bemis's Heights [page 278], and at his solicitation, Washington left him in command of a corps at Philadelphia, with the powers of a military governor. Washington crossed the Delaware in pursuit of Clinton, with a little more than 12,000 men. Washington was anxious to attack Clinton when he was in the vicinity of Allentown, but Lee and others overruled his opinions, in a council of war. Greene, La Fayette, and Wayne agreed with the chief, and supported by these able officers, he resolved on a general engagement. The battle of Monmouth was fought in the immediate vicinity of the present village of Freehold, New Jersey, chiefly within the space of two miles north-west of the town. in deadly conflict, and from that hour until dark, on that long summer day, the retreat of his division. The fugitives were met by the approaching main body, under Washington,' and being speedily checked and restored to order by the chief, they were led to action, and the battle became general. Many fell under the excessive heat of the day, and when night came, both parties were glad to rest. The Americans slept on their arms during the night, with the intention of renewing the battle at dawn, but when light appeared, the British camp was deserted. Clinton had silently withdrawn [June 29], and was far on his way toward Sandy Hook. Washington did not follow, but marching to New Brunswick, and thence to the Hudson River, he proceeded to White Plains," where he remained until late in autumn. Then he crossed into New Jersey, and made his winter quarters at Middlebrook, on the Raritan, where he was 1 Page 248. This command was first given to La Fayette, but when Lee, who had opposed the measure in council, signified his readiness to lead it, it was given to him, as he was the senior officer. "Washington was greatly irritated when he met the fugitives, and riding up to Lee, he addressed him with much warmth of language, and directed him to assist in restoring order. Lee promptly obeyed, but the sting of Washington's words rankled in his bosom, and on that day, after the battle, he addressed an offensive letter to the chief. Lee was arrested and tried by a courtmartial, on the charges of disobedience of orders, misbehavior before the enemy, and disrespect to the commander-in-chief. He was found guilty, and was suspended from command for one year. He never entered the army again, and died in obscurity, in Philadelphia, in October, 1782. He was brave, but bad in manners and morals, profane in language, and a contemner of religion. It is believed that he was willing to have Washington lose the battle of Monmouth, because he (Lee), was opposed to it, and at the same time was seeking to rise to the chief command upon the ruins of Washington's reputation. We have already alluded to the conspiracy toward that end, on page 285. The hottest of the battle occurred a short distance from the Freehold Presbyterian Church yet [1867] standing. Near it is a board, with an inscription, showing the burial-spot of Colonel Monckton, of the British army, who was killed in the battle. This expression is used respecting troops who sleep with all their accoutrements on, and their weapons by their side, ready for action in a moment. The British left about three hundred killed on the field of battle. They also left a large number of the sick and wounded to the mercy of the Americans. The Americans lost in killed, wounded, and missing, two hundred and twentyeight. Many of the missing afterward rejoined the army. They had less than seventy killed. In his dispatch to the Secretary of War, General Clinton said, "I took advantage of the moonlight to rejoin General Knyphausen," &c. As, according to an almanac of that year, the moon was quite new, and set two hours before Clinton's march, this boast of leaving in the moonlight occasioned much merriment. Trumbull, in his M Fingal, alluding to this, says, 6 "He forms his camp with great parade, While evening spreads the world in shade, Then still, like some endanger'd spark, Steals off on tiptoe in the dark; Yet writes his king, in boasting tone, How grand he march'd by light of moon! Go on, great general, nor regard The scoffs of every scribbling bard, Page 305. "Who sings how gods, that fearful night, encamped in the spring and summer of the previous year.' Clinton's shattered forces went on board the British fleet at Sandy Hook, and proceeded to New York, where the head quarters of the royal army continued until the close of the war. And when D'Estaing appeared off Sandy Hook, the British fleet was safe in Raritan Bay. As we have already mentioned, the bar from Sandy Hook to Staten Island would not allow the heavy French vessels to pass, and D'Estaing therefore relinquished his design of attacking Howe's fleet, and on the solicitation of Washington, he proceeded to Newport, to assist the Americans in an attempt to drive the British from Rhode Island." General Sullivan had been sent to supersede General Spencer in command there; and Washington also dispatched La Fayette, with two continental regiments (accompanied by General Greene, then quartermaster general), to aid in the expdition. John Hancock' came at the head of Massachusetts militia, and similar troops gathered at Tiverton, from Connecticut and Rhode Island. On the 9th of August, [1778], the whole American force crossed from Tiverton to the north end of Rhode Island, and the British guards fled to the camp of General Pigot, at Newport. COUNT D'ESTAING. Several ships of war came from England at about this time, to reinforce the British fleet at New York, and a few days after D'Estaing sailed for Newport, a large squadron under Howe, proceeded to the relief of Pigot. It appeared off Rhode Island on the same day [Aug. 9] when the Americans landed on the northern end of it. D'Estaing, who was then within the harbor, went out to meet Howe, but before they came to an engagement, a terrible storm arose [Aug. 12], and scattered and disabled both fleets." The French squadron returned to Newport [August 20], and immediately sailed for Boston to be repaired. The Americans had then advanced almost to Newport, with every prospect of making a successful siege. They had been promised four thousand land troops from the French fleet. These were denied them; and refusing to listen to entreaties or remonstrances, D'Estaing sailed for Boston and abandoned the Americans. The latter hastily withdrew to the north end of the island 1 3 Page 261. Page 272. 2 Page 350. 4 Page 231. The people of Rhode Island had suffered dreadfully from the brutality of the British troops. There had been some amelioration of their condition since the capture of Prescott [page 271], and under the rule of Pigot, the present commander. When success seemed possible, thousands of volunteers flocked to the standards of Sullivan and La Fayette. John Hancock was appointed a general of some of these volunteers. But his term of service was short. Like Dr. Franklin [page 193], Hancock was better fitted for a statesman than a soldier. Very old people on Rhode Island, who remembered this gale, spoke of it to the writer in 1850, as "the great storm." So violent was the wind, that it brought spray from the ocean a mile distant, and encrusted the windows of the town with salt. excuse. This conduct was warmly censured by the American commanders, because it had no valid It deprived them of a victory just within their grasp. Congress, however, afraid to offend the French, uttered not a word of blame. The matter was passed over, but not forgotten. Once again [page 305], the same admiral abandoned the Americans. D'Estaing was a native of Auvergne, France. He became involved in the French Revolution, in 1792, and in the spring of 1793, he was guillotined. The guillotine was an instrument for cutting off the head, invented by M. Guillotine, who was eventually beheaded by it himself. [August 28], pursued by the British, and a severe engagement took place [August 29] at Quaker Hill. Sullivan repulsed the British, and on the night of the 30th, withdrew his whole army to the main, near Bristol, in time to avoid an interception by Sir Henry Clinton, who had just arrived with four thousand troops, in light vessels.' The Americans lost in this expedition, thirty killed, and one hundred and seventy-two wounded and missing. The British loss was about two hundred and twenty. 4 While these events were transpiring on the sea-board, a dreadful tragedy was enacted in the interior, when the Wyoming, Mohawk, Schoharie, and Cherry Valleys, were made the theaters of terrible scenes of blood and devastation. Tories from distant Niagara,2 and savages upon the head waters of the Susquehanna, gathered at Tioga early in June; and at the beginning of July, eleven hundred of these white and dusky savages, under the general command of Colonel John Butler, entered [July 2, 1778] the lovely valley of Wyoming, in northern Pennsylvania. Most of the strong men were then away on distant duty, and families and homes found defenders only in aged men, tender youths, resolute women, and a few trained soldiers. These, about four hundred strong, under Colonel Zebulon Butler, marched up the valley [July 4], to drive back the invaders. But they were terribly smitten by the foc, and a large portion of them were slain or made prisoners. A few escaped to Forty Fort, near Wilkesbarre, wherein families, for miles around, had sought safety. Uncertain of their fate-for the invaders were sweeping like a dark storm down the Susquehanna-the night of the battle-day was a terrible one for the people in the fort. But their agony of suspense was ended the following morning, when the leader of the invaders, contrary to the expectations of those who knew him, agreed upon humane terms of surrender. The gates of the fort were thrown open, and most of the families returned to their homes in fancied security. They were doomed to terrible disappointment and woe. Brant, the great Indian When Clinton was assured of the security of Rhode Island, he detached General Grey on a marauding expedition upon the southern shores of Massachusetts, and among the adjacent islands, and then returned to New York. Grey burned about seventy vessels in Buzzard's Bay, near New Bedford, and in that vicinity destroyed property valued at more than three hundred and twentythree thousand dollars. He then went to Martha's Vineyard [page 57], and carried away, for the army in New York, about three hundred oxen, and ten thousand sheep. On the first of October, Clinton sent a successful expedition to capture American stores at Little Egg Harbor, on the New Jersey coast. Page 200. Note 2, page 278. 2 4 Zebulon Butler was a native of Connecticut, and was born in 1731. He was in the French and Indian War, and was one of the earlier settlers in Wyoming. In 1778 he was appointed colonel, and was with Sullivan in his memorable expedition against the Senecas [page 304] the following year. He was in active service thoughout the war, and died in Wyoming in 1795, at the age of sixty-four years. All our histories contain horrible statements of the fiend-like character of John Butler, and his unmitigated wickedness on this occasion. They also speak of the "monster Brant" [page 278] as the leader of the Indians, and the instigator of the crimes of which they were guilty. Both of these men were bad enough; but recent investigations clearly demonstrate that Brant was not there at all; and the treaty for surrender, which is still in existance, granted most humane terms to the be sieged, instead of the terrible one reported in our histories. The fugitives who fled over the mountains, and made their way back to their native Connecticut, crossed the Hudson, many of them at Poughkeepsie, where John Holt was publishing a weekly paper. Their fears had magnified events, and their tales of terror were published in Holt's journal, and thus became records for future historians. Among other things, it was related that when the question was asked, on what terms the fort might be surrendered, Colonel John Butler, with more than savage cruelty, replied, The Hatchet! This is wholly untrue, and yet the story is repeated in all our histories. leader, was not there to restrain his savage bands,' and their thirst for blood and plunder soon overcame all their allegiance to their white commander. Before sunset they had scattered over the valley; and when night fell upon the scene, the blaze of more than twenty dwellings cast its lurid glare over the paradise of yesterday. The cries of the murdered went up from almost every house and field; and when the moon arose, the terrified inhabitants were fleeing to the Wilkesbarre mountains, and the dark morasses of the Pocono beyond. In that vast wilderness between the valley and the Delaware, appropriately called the Shades of Death, many women and children, who escaped the hatchet, perished by hunger and fatigue. That " That "Wyoming Massacre," as it has been appropriately called, stands out in bold relief as one of the darkest crimes perpetrated during the War for Independence. In the mean while, Brant' was leading or sending war parties through the country south of the Mohawk River; and the Johnsons' and their Tory adherents were allies of the savages in the Mohawk valley. On the 11th and 12th of November [1778], a party of Tories, under Walter N. Butler, accompanied by Indians, under Brant, fell like lightning upon the settlement of Cherry Valley. Many of the people were killed, or carried into captivity; and for months no eye was closed in security at night, within an area of a hundred miles and more, around this desolated village. Tryon county, as that region of New York was then called, was a "dark and bloody ground" for full four years, and the records of the woes of the people have filled volumes. Our space allows us to mention only the most prominent events of that period. 5 And now, when the year 1778-the fourth year of the war-drew to a close, the British army had accomplished very little more in the way of conquest, than at the end of the second year. The belligerent forces occupied almost the same relative position which they did in the autumn of 1776, while the Americans had gained strength by a knowledge of military tactics, naval operations, chief. The Indians were led by Gi-en-gwa-tah (he who goes in the smoke), a celebrated Seneca 2 Page 278. Note 2, page 278. He was a son of Colonel John Butler, and one of the most brutal of the Tory leaders. In the attack upon the defenseless people at Cherry Valley, on the 10th of November, 1778, he was the most conspicuous for cruelty; in fact, he was the head and front of all the villainy perpetrated there. Thirty-two of the inhabitants, mostly women and children, and sixteen soldiers of the little garrison there, were killed. The whole settlement was then plundered, and every building in the village was fired. Among the prisoners carried into captivity, were the wife and children of Colonel Campbell, who was then absent. One of the children (Judge James S. Campbell of Cherry Valley), then six years of age, still [1867] survives, and during the summer of 1855, after an absence of seventyfive years, he visited the Indian village of Caughnawaga, twelve miles from Montreal, where he resided some time with his captors. Walter Butler was shot by an Oneida Indian, in West Canada Creek, and his body was left to be eaten by wild beasts. See Campbell's Annals of Tryon County, Simm's History of Schoharie County, Stone's Life of Brant, etc. 6 BARON STEUBEN. Among the foreign officers who came to America in 1777, was the Baron Steuben, who joined the Continental army at Valley Forge [page 285]. He was a veteran from the armies of Frederic the Great of Prussia, and a skillful disciplinarian. He was made InspectorGeneral of the army; and the vast advantages of his military instruction were seen on the field of Monmouth [page 287], and in subsequent conflicts. Steuben died at Steubenville, in the interior |