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force, Gen. Putnam had only a force of one hundred and fifty men, with two iron field pieces, without horses or dragropes. Having planted his cannon on an eminence, he fired until the enemy's horse (supported by infantry) were about to charge; he then ordered his men to shelter themselves in a neighbouring swamp, inaccessible to the enemy's cavalry, and putting spurs to his horse, he plunged down a steep precipice of about 100 rude stone steps or stairs which had been constructed for the accommodation of foot passengers. The British dragoons, who were but a sword's length from him, not daring to follow, stopped, and before they could gain the valley, Putnam was far beyond their reach.

General Putnam was much distinguished, both in the French and revolutionary wars, for his bravery, and a spirit of daring enterprise. He also rendered himself famous by a noted exploit in a wolf's den. When he removed to Pomfret, Conn., that part of the country was much infested with wolves. In his immediate vicinity, a she-wolf committed considerable depredations for seve ral years. After many unsuccessful attempts were made to destroy this ferocious animal, Putnam and his neighbours tracked her to her den, and endeavoured by fire and smoke, dogs, &c., to expel her from her habitation. These means proving ineffectual, Putnam at length came to the hazardous resolution of attacking the wolf in her den. With a torch in one hand and his gun in the other, he crawled a considerable distance into a subterraneous cavity, and discovered the wolf by the glare of her eyeballs, evidently on the point of springing at him. Putnam fired: upon this he was drawn out of the cave by his neighbours, by means of a rope he had attached to one of his legs. Putnam again descended, and find ing the wolf dead, took hold of her ears, and the people above, with much exultation, dragged them out together.

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76. Storming of Stony Point.

The reduction of this place, July 15, 1779, was one of the boldest enterprises which occurred in the revolutionary war. Stony Point is 40 miles north of New York on the Hudson.

"At this time Stony Point was in the condition of a real fortress; it was furnished with a select garrison of more than 600 men, and had stores in abundance, and defensive preparations which were formidable. Fortified. as it was, General Washington ventured an attempt to reduce it. The enterprise was committed to General Wayne, who, with a strong detachment of active infantry, set out towards the place at noon. His march of fourteen miles over high mountains, through deep morasses, and difficult defiles, was accomplished by eight o'clock in the evening.

"At a distance of a mile from the point, General Wayne halted, and formed his men into two columns, putting himself at the head of the right. Both columns were directed to march in order and silence, with unloaded muskets and fixed bayonets. At midnight they arrived under the walls of the fort."

"An unexpected obstacle now presented itself: the deep morass which covered the works, was at this time overflowed by the tide. The English opened a tremendous fire of musketry, and cannon loaded with grape shot but neither the inundated morass, nor a double palisade, nor the storm of fire that poured upon them, could arrest the impetuosity of the Americans; they opened their way with the bayonet, prostrated whatever opposed them, scaled the fort, and the two columns met in the centre of the works. The English lost upwards of six hundred men in killed and prisoners. The conquerors abstained from pillage, and from all disorder; a conduct the more worthy, as they had still present in mind the ravages and butcheries which their enemies had so recently committed, in Virginia and

* Goodrich.

Connecticut. Humanity imparted new effulgence to the victory which valour had obtained."*

77. Battle of Camden.

On the 16th of August, 1780, Earl Cornwallis, who commanded the British troops, obtained a signal victory over the Americans under General Gates, at Camden. "The action began at break of day, in a situation very advantageous for the British troops, but very unfavourable to the Americans. The latter were much more numerous; but the ground on which both armies stood was narrowed by swamps on the right and left, so that the Americans could not avail themselves properly of their superior numbers.

There seems to have been some want of generalship on the part of Gates, in suffering himself to be surprised in so disadvantageous a position. But this circumstance was the effect of accident; for both armies set out with a design of attacking each other, precisely at the same time, at ten o'clock the preceding evening, and met together before day light, at the place where the action happened.

The attack was made by the British troops, with great vigour, and in a few minutes the action was general along the whole line. It was at this time a dead calm, with a little haziness in the air, which prevented the smoke from rising and occasioned so thick a darkness, that it was difficult to see the effect of a heavy and well supported fire on both sides. The British troops either kept up a constant fire, or made use of bayonets, as opportunities offered; and after an obstinate resistance of three quarters of an hour, threw the Americans into total confusion, and forced them to give way in all quar

ters.

The continental troops behaved remarkably well, but the militia were soon broken, leaving the former to op

Botta's Revolution.

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