the enemy were approaching about noon; and about four o'clock, they attacked his outpofts, in confiderable force, and with no fmall warmth. As he was perfuaded that they would not venture a ferious attack, excepting under the impreffion that only a rear guard were left on that fide of the river, he accordingly used all means that might encourage that opinion of his weakness. The ftratagem feems to have taken, for about fun-fet, a body of troops, with artillery, began to form in his front; upon which he immediately ordered the army to advance in two lines upon the enemy. The attack was begun with great spirit by the first line; and there being nothing but militia oppofed to the light infantry on the right, the action was foon over on that fide. But Col. Dundafs's brigade on the left, confifting of the 43d, 76th, and 80th regiments, meeting the Penfylvania line, with a detachment of de la Fayette's continentals, and two fix pounders, under the conduct of General Wayne, a fhort, but very warm action enfued; in which, however, the Americans were repulfed, and ob. liged to abandon their cannon. The darkness prevented any purfuit, and the British army paffed the river in the night. The Americans reprefent the ardour of their troops to be fo high that it could not be reftrained by their commanders. This circumftance, while it flattered national vanity, ferved another purpofe. It alone could juftify coming to a clofe engagement with fuch a difparity of force. They likewife, to remove the impreffion of the repulfe they had received, at tributed the hafty paffage of the river in the night, to the dread entertained of their united force, the reft of the army, they fay, being coming up with the utmost expedition to fupport the van, and on the next day to renew the action. De la Fayette gives great praise to the American commanders, as well as to the officers and troops in general which were engaged. The British general, finding no place, upon examination, on the fouth fide of the river, which could anfwer the purpose propofed by a permament poft, and having received Sir Henry Clinton's con fent for retaining his whole force, on the grounds which we have already feen, returned with the army, in Auguft, to that peninfula which lies between the great rivers of James and York, and compofes one of the richest and most beautiful parts of Virginia. York Town lies on the river of that name, on the narrowest part of the peninfula, where it is about five miles over; Gloucester Point, is on the north, and oppofite fide; and projects fo far into the river, that the distance between both is not much above a mile. They entirely command the navigation of the river, which is fo deep at this place, as to admit fhips of great fize and burthen. Lord Cornwallis applied with the utmoft diligence and induftry to fortify thefe pofts, and to render them equally refpectable by land, and to the water; his force amounting, in the whole, to fomething about 7000 excellent troops. During thefe tranfactions, Washington was playing a game of great addrefs on the fide of New York. The The marauding parties from that city and its dependencies, had long been exceedingly diligent and fuccefsful in intercepting the American pofts and difpatches,, by which means fome ufeful knowledge was undoubtedly obtained, with respect to their internal affairs, as many of these letters were written by their principal commanders, by men in high office, and officers of all ranks in the army. These were published with great parade and triumph in the New York and British public papers, as proofs of the poverty, weakness, and difunion, which prevailed among the Americans; and if the originals did not go all the lengths that were wifhed, it was even fuppofed that a little was fometimes added, to fill up the measure. It will be eafily fuppofed, that nothing could be more diftreffing to individuals, and perhaps in fome inftances prejudicial, than this open expofure of their moft confidential communications, upon ftate and government affairs, The publication of their own private affairs and family fecrets, would have been alone fufficiently grievous. It would feem, although deftitute of any pofitive proof, that thefe mortifications fuggefted to General Washington the idea of turning the tables on the British commanders; and deriving public advantage from this fource of public and private vexation and prejudice. He wrote letters to the fouthern commanders and others, informing them of his total inability to extricate or relieve Virginia, by any other poffible means, than by a direct attack, in concert with the French He troops, upon New York. held out the difficulties of this enterprize, and fhewed his doubts of its fuccefs; but feemed to adopt it merely from the neceffity of the measure, and as the laft refort for the prefervation of Virginia. He likewife ftated, that in the late conference which he had held with the Count de Rochambeau, it was abfolutely determined upon; and that it had fince received a farther confirmation, from the approbation of the defign which had been communicated by the French naval commander, who had not been present at the conference. If any thing could raife a fuf. picion of the integrity of thefe letters, it was their being more clear, full, and explicit, than feemed abfolutely neceffary, and their containing matters of a more nice and delicate nature, than it might be fuppofed fo prudent and cautious a commander, would have trufted to a conveyance which experience had already fhewn to be extremely hazardous. Thefe letters were intercepted, as were others of the fame nature, and which it is now evident were calculated for the fame purpose, from the French commanders to the French refident at Philadel phia. It will not be fuppofed but that thefe letters, with the farther confirmation which they received from the fubfequent movements and preparations made by the French and American armies, must have greatly influenced the conduct of the commander in chief at New York; particularly with refpect to his defire of recalling a confiderable part of the troops from Virginia; as like 1 likewife in preventing his forming any fufpicion of the real designs of the enemy. The French forces under the Count de Rochambeau, being on their way from Rhode Island, Gen. Washington, in the beginning of July, broke up his camp at New Windfor, and paffed the North River to meet them. Their junction took place at the White Plains, on the eaftern, or New England fide of the river; and to carry on the deception in view, the combined armies encamped at Philipfburg, in a fituation to overawe King's-Bridge and the adjoining pofts, and even to alarm the island of New York. In the remainder of that month, and during the greater part of the following, they continued to beat up, and alarm, the British outpofts, on all fides. A body of 5000 French and Americans took poft near King's-Bridge in the night, where they continued for 48 hours, with every demonftra tion of an intended attack. In the mean time the two commanders, accompanied by the principal officers of both armies, and attended by the engineers, reconnoitred the island of New York closely on both fides from the oppofite fhores; and to render appearances the more ferious, took plans of all the works under the fire of their batteries. Whilft a report of the expected daily arrival of the Count de Graffe was fedulously propagated; and to give it full confirmation, when they had received advices from that commander of the time at which he hoped to arrive at the Chesapeak, the French troops advanced towards Sandy Hook, and the coafts oppofite Staten Island, with an apparent view of seconding the operations of the fleet, in forcing the one, and feizing upon the other. This deception was carried fo far, as to the efta-, blifhment of a bakery near the mouth of the Rariton, and juft within the Hook. After thefe deceptions had been fuccefsfully practifed, and New, York with its dependencies kept in a continued ftate of alarm for about fix weeks, Washington fuddenly pafied Aug. 19th. the Croton, and foon afterwards the North River; when he took fuch a pofition, as feemed ftill to indicate that Staten Island was the immediate object. The curtain was now, however, to be drawn up, and every thing being in readiness, the combined army marched directly across the Jerfies for Trenton upon the Delaware; this movement being confidered at New York only as a feint, until they had already paffed that river. It does not however appear, that the force at New York was fufficient to enable Sir Henry Clinton to interrupt their march with any confiderable effect; at leaft, without perhaps rifking too much. The allied armies marched through Philadelphia on the 3d and 4th of September; where fuch courtefies as might be expected, were exchanged between the French commanders and the Congrefs. From thence they marched to the head of the river Elk, at the bottom of the Chesapeak. There they found all the tranfports and craft that could be collected, in readiness to facilitate their progrefs to Virginia; but thefe could be in no degree adequate to the purpose, after after the continued deftruction which the American commerce in that bay had fo long undergone. As fome confolation for the imminent danger which threatened the British power in Virginia, and fome return for the deceptions fo fuccefsfully practiced by the enemy, their departure from the confines of New York was fpeedily followed by a fuccefsful expedition to Connecticut, which was attended with no fmall lofs and ruin to the Americans. The trading town of New London, on the River Thames, was the object of this enterprize; and its conduct, with a fufficient land and marine force, was committed to General Arnold, who was himself a native of that province. The embarkation having paffed over from the Long Island fhore in the night, the troops were landed in two detachments, Sept. 6th. on each fide of the harbour, in the morning; that on the Groten fide being commanded by Lieutenant Col. Eyre, and that on the New London fide by the General. Mr. Arnold met with no great trouble on his fide; Fort Trumbull, and a redoubt, which were intended to cover the harbour and town, being taken without much difficulty or lofs, and the place in itself being entirely defenceless. and from the opportunity which the fort afforded to the enemy's fhips of efcaping up the river, had directed Colonel Eyre to attack the fort directly, and carry it by a coup de main. But upon his obtaining a good view of it in the neighbourhood of New London, he immediately perceived the deception, and that the fort was in a much more formidable ftate than it had been reprefented; upon which he dispatched an officer to countermand the orders for an attack. The officer was too late, and the attack already commenced. The fort was indeed formidable, the defence answerable, and it required all the valour and impetuofity of the two brave regiments which were engaged, to furmount the difficulties and dangers of the encounter. The attack, notwithftanding the little time for ob-fervation or counfel, was very judiciously conducted. The work was a fquare, with flanks; and the troops advancing on three fides at once, fucceeded in making a lodgment in the ditch; they then, under the cover of a very heavy and conftant fire upon the works, effected a fecond lodgment upon the fraizing, which was a work of the greatest difficulty, as befides the obstinacy of the defence, the height was fo confiderable, that But affairs on the other fide the foldiers could only afcend by were more ferious. Fort Grif-mutual help from each others wold, which the eager and encouraging zeal of the loyalifts had reprefented as very incomplete in its works, and deftitute of any thing like a garrifon, was on the contráry found to be very ftrong, and no less well defended. The general, under the impreffion of the information he had received, fhoulders, and thofe who first afcended, had ftill to filence a nine pounder, which enfiladed the very fpot on which they ftood. The troops at length made their way good with fixed bayonets through the embra fures, notwithstanding the fierce defence made by the garrifon, who now, changing their weapons, weapons, fought defperately hand to hand with long fpears. The 40th and 54th regiments, purchafed the honour, great as it was, which they gained in ftorming this place. Colonel Eyre was wounded in the attack, and the command taken by Major Montgomery, who being killed with a fpear, as he gallantly entered the works, was fucceeded by Major Bromfield, who had the fortune of completing the reduction of the fort. Two commiffioned officers, and 46 men, were killed on the fpot, befides eight miffing, whofe fate may scarcely be confidered as doubtful; eight commiffioned officers, fome of whom died, with 135 non-commiffioned and privates, were wounded. The lofs of the garrifon was proportioned to the obftinacy of their defence. Col. Ladyard, the commander, with moft of his officers, and 85 private men, lay dead in the fort; of 60 who were difabled, much the greater part were mortally wounded; about 70 were made prifoners. The taking of Fort Grifwold, did not prévent 16 of the American fhips from making their efcape up the river; about a dozen others were burnt. The lofs which the Americans fuftained in the deftruction of this place was prodigious. The quantities of naval ftores, of European manufactures, of Eaft-India, and of Weft-India commodities, are reprefented to have been fo immenfe, as almoft to exceed belief. Every thing, on the town fide of the river, was destroyed by fire. Nothing was carried off, excepting fuch small articles of spoil as afforded no trouble in the convey 3 ance. The burning of the town, was faid to be contrary to intention and orders, and was attributed to the great quantity of gun powder lodged in the ftore houfes. The bufinefs was fo haftily conducted, that the barracks and a confiderable magazine of gun-powder at Fort Grifwold, efcaped that deftruction which involved every thing on the other fide of the river. This is not accounted for, but muft undoubtedly have proceeded from a knowledge of fome movements making by the enemy in the adjoining country. In the mean time, Sir Samuel Hood had arrived from the WestIndies off the Chesapeak, on the 25th of Auguft, with 14 fail of the line, fome frigates, and a fire fhip, where he expected to have met Admiral Graves with the fquadron from New York; but being disappointed, he firft dif patched a frigate with intelligence of his arrival to that commander, and afterwards followed himself, with the fquadron, to Sandy Hook, where he arrived on the 28th of the month. We have already feen, that through some misfortune, Sir George Rodney's difpatches had not arrived in time at New York, to give any information of Sir Samuel Hood's deftination to the Chesapeak, which, independent of any other cause, must have fruftrated the design of a junction off that bay; and we have likewife feen, that Mr. Graves's fquadron had received fo much damage by bad weather in a cruize off Bofton, as rendered fome of the fhips incapable of prefent fervice. On the very day of Sir Samuel Hood's arrival at Sandy Hook, the |
