first gain the northern frontier. The British fucceeded, and cut Greene off from the upper fords; and Lord Cornwallis being affured, that the lower were impracticable, and that the country could not afford any number of boats, at all fufficient for the paffage of Greene's army, thought he could not now efcape without a decifive blow, and accordingly purfued him with the utmoft expedition. This was, however, impeded by great and numerous difficulties. The intelligence to be obtained, was not only extremely defective, but feems to have been intendedly delufive; the want of light troops was now feverely felt; and the enemy by their abundance of them, were enabled to break down all the bridges in the line of march, and to throw numberlefs other impediments in the way of Feb. 15th. the army. Upon their arrival at Boyd's Ferry, they difcovered to their inexpreffible grief and vexation, that all their toil and exertions had been vain, and that all their hopes were fruftrated. The enemy had been furnished with boats fufficient, (in direct contradiction to all the intelligence received by the British general) to convey their whole army and baggage, on the preceding day and night, over the ri ver. Nothing ever exceeded, except the vigour and perfeverance with which they were encountered and furmounted, the hardships, and difficulties, which the army endured in this long courfe of march, from Salisbury to the Dan, and then in the purfuit of Greene to Boyd's Ferry. Their wants and diftreffes were not lefs than their toils and fatigues. They traversed a coun try, which was alternately a wild and inhofpitable foreft, or inhabited by a people, who were at least highly adverfe, however they might venture, or not, to be hoftile. When to thefe we add all the poffible incommodities, incident to bad roads, heavy rains, want of cover, and the continual wading through numberiefs deep creeks and rivers in the depth of winter, we fhall ftill form only very faint and inadequate ideas of the fufferings which they endured. The army being in no condition to venture the invafion of fo power ful a province as Virginia, in the prefent circumftances, and North Carolina being in a ftate of the utmoft diforder and confufion, Lord Cornwallis, after giving the troops a day's reft, led them by eafy marches to Hillsborough, where he erected the royal ftandard, and iffued a proclamation, inviting all loyal fubjects to repair to it, and to take an active part in affifting him to reftore order and conftitutional government in the colony. During thefe tranfactions, Colonel Balfour, who commanded at Charles-Town, equipped a small force for an expedition to Cape Fear River, not only to co-operate with Lord Cornwallis by a diverfion on that fide, and by gaining poffeffion of Wilmington, but likewife to make that way a conveyance for the furnishing his army with thofe neceffary fupplies, which, in the prefent fate of the war, could fcarcely be done in any other manner. Major Craig, with about 300 land forces, was difpatched upon this fervice towards the latter end of January; and the men were were convoyed and fupported by Capt. Barclay, in the Blonde frigate, with the Otter and Delight floops of war; the marine force and the troops, being equally partakers in the fortune of the enterprize. Capt. Barclay landed all the marines, in order to fupply the weakness of the land force, about nine miles fhort of Wilmington; the inhabitants fent a deputation to propose terms, which were not liftened to; and the town being abandoned by its defenfive force, confifting of about 150 men, was taken without refiftance. The inhabitants delivered up their arms, were admitted to parole, and fecured in their property. The British commanders being informed, that feveral veffels loaded with provifions, ammunition, and the effects of those who were in arms, as well as of fome Spaniards and French, who had lately fettled at Cape Fear, had efcaped up the north-east branch of that river, purfued them both by land and water; four or five were accordingly taken, and fome others burnt by the enemy. The batteries being clofed in, and the works repaired or completed, Wilmington was made a poft of fome fort of ftrength, and continued for fome little time to be of import ance. Lord Cornwallis being informed, that a confiderable number of loyalifts inhabited the country between the Haw and the Deep, rivers, he dispatched Col. Tarleton with the cavalry, and a small body of infantry, to prevent any interruption in their affembling or moving. But it happened moft unluckily, that a part of the enemy's light troops had entered the country on one fide, at the very time that the British detachment entered it on another; and that they fell in with a body of about 200 of thefe people, who, under the conduct of a Colonel Pyle, were on their way to join the royalarmy at Hillsborough. These unfortunate royalifts, who had notice of Tarleton's approach, miftaking the enemy for his detachment, and not being yet apprchenfive of the wiles and circumvention of war, fuffered themselves, without the smallest effort, to be enclosed and furrounded; when, without refiftance, and, it is faid, crying out for quarter, a number of them were moft inhumanly put to the fword! In the mean time, Lord Cornwallis having received intelligence, that Greene being reinforced in Virginia had repaffed the Dan, he thought it necessary to collect his force by recalling Tarleton; and forage and provifions growing fcarce in the neighbourhood of Hillsborough, and the pofition being too diftant to afford countenance and protection to the well affected upon the advance of the enemy, he thought it expedient to make a movement to the Haw River, which he paffed, and encamped near Allemance Creek; having pushed Tarleton a few miles forward towards the Deep River, with the cavalry, the light company of the guards, and 150 of Webster's brigade. Greene's light troops foon made their appearance; upon which Tarleton received orders to move forward, and, with proper precaution, to make what discovery discovery he could of the motions and defigns of the enemy. Tarleton had not March 2d. advanced far when he fell in with a confiderable corps of the enemy, whom he inftantly attacked, and foon routed; but being ignorant of their force, how they were fupported, and grown circumfpect from experience, he with great prudence reftrained his ardour, and defifted from the purfuit. He foon learned from the prifoners, that thofe he had defeated were the corps called Lee's legion, with three or four hundred Back Mountain men, and fome militia, under a Colonel Prefton. He likewife difcóvered through the fame intelligence, that Greene, with a part of his army, was at no great diftance. It appeared afterwards, though it does not feem to have been then known to the British general, that Greene had yet only received a part of the reinforcements he expected; and that a more confiderable body were then on their way to join him from Virginia. This induced him to fall fuddenly back to Thompfon's Houfe, near Boyd's Ford, on the Reedy Fork. It is remarkable, and deferving of particular notice, that although this part of the country, where the army now was, was confidered and diftinguifhed, as being peculiarly and zealously attached to the British caufe and intereft; and yet, that Lord Cornwallis fhould have had occafion pathetically to complain, that his fituation was amongft timid friends, and adjoining to inveterate rebels; and, that between them, he had been totally deftitute of information; by which means, he loft a very favourable opportunity of attacking the rebel army. 6th. Though Greene had thus fallen back with his main body, he left his light troops and militia to forage and occupy the country in the front of the British army; and thofe, in defiance of repeated examples, which might well have ferved to keep them conftantly alert and upon their guard, feeming totally to forget the fort of enemy, to whofe eye and obfervation they were expofed, were difperfed, and pofted carelessly at feveral plantations, confulting only their convenience, and the facility of fubfiftance. This fituation induced Lord Cornwallis to put the army fuddenly in motion; with a view, not only of beating up their quarters, and driving them in upon the army, but of attacking Greene himself, if any fair opportunity fhould offer. He completely fucceeded in the first part of his defign; and at Weitzell's Mill, on the Reedy Fork, where they ventured to make a ftand, the Back Mountain men, and fome Virginia militia, fuffered confiderably; and the fecond part only failed, through Greene's making a timely and precipitate retreat over the Haw River. The vicinity of the fords on the Dan, which lay in the rear of the enemy, and the extreme difficulty of fubfifting the army, in the intermediate exhausted country, rendered it in vain for the British general to purfue them over the Haw, under any hope of being able to force them to action. He thought therefore, the most eligi ble courfe which he could in the prefent prefent ftate of things purfue, was, by effectually covering their country, to afford the friends of the royal caufe time and encouragement to affemble, and to join the army; keeping an eye at the fame time to Cape Fear River; the communication with which it would foon become indifpenfibly neceffary to opeu, through the grievous diftreffes of the army, which were now become nearly infupportable, under the want of fupplies of every fpecies. He was, however, determined to fight the enemy in the mean time, if their army at all approached, under a full conviction, that nothing less than a clear and decided fuperiority in arms, could anfwer the great purpose and end of their exceedingly toilfome and arduous winter campaign, which was to draw forth into action, the fuppofed numerous loyalists who inhabited that province. In purfuance of this plan, the army encamped, on the 13th of March, at the Quaker Meetinghoufe, within the forks of the Deep River. On the following day, Lord Cornwallis was informed, that General Butler, with a body of North Carolina militia, together with the expected reinforcements from Virginia, had all joined Greene; this was accom panied with a very exaggerated reprefentation of his force, which was ftated at no less than nine or ten thousand men; and intelligence, which was confiderably nearer the truth, that he was in full march to attack the British army. On the fame evening he received authentic intelligence, that Greene had advanced to VOL. XXIV. Guildford, which was only about twelve miles from the British camp. Lord Cornwallis being now pretty well perfuaded that the enemy intended to venture an engage ment, thought it neceffary to fend the waggons and baggage, under a ftronger efcort than he could well fpare, to Bell's Mill, which was confiderably lower down on the Deep River, in the heart of the well-affected country; and on the following morn March 15. ing, at day-break, he marched with the remainder of the army, either to meet the enemy on the way, or to attack them in their encampment. About four miles from Guildford, the advanced guard, under Col. Tarleton, fell in with Col. Lee's legion, and those other light troops whom they had before engaged. Thefe Tarleton again attacked and routed; and the army continuing its march, foon difcovered the enemy drawn up in order of battle, upon a rifing ground, about a mile and a half from Guildford courthoufe. The light troops who had been defeated, having been feveral days entirely detached from Greene's army, the prifoners now taken could give no manner of account, of the order, numbers, or difpofition of the enemy; and the country people, who were examined as to the nature of the ground, whether from ftupidity or defign, were fo exceedingly inaccurate, if not unintelligible in their defcriptions, as to afford very little fatisfaction upon the fubject. Indeed the difficulty of procuring intelligence, and the little reliance to be placed upon that [E] which which was obtained, feem to be among the diftinguishing features of the war in this province. Under thefe embarraffing circumftances, the British General was obliged to adapt his difpofitions and measures, principally, to the apparent face of the country and difpofition of the enemy. The country in general prefented a wilderness, covered with tall woods, which were rendered intricate by fhrubs and thick underbrush; but which was interspersed here and there, by a few fcattered plantations and cleared fields. In the space immediately between the head of the column and the enemy, was a confiderable plantation, one large field of which, was on the left hand of the line of March, and two others, with a wood, of about two hundred yards broad, lying between them, was on the right of it; and beyond thefe fields, the wood continued for feveral miles to the right. In the front, beyond the plantation, was another wood, of about a mile in depth; and its back opened into an extenfive space of cleared ground which furrcunded Guildford courthoufe. The woods on the right and left, were reported to be impracticable for cannon; the enemy's first line appeared drawn up on the skirts of that in the front. The wood on the right, appearing to be fomewhat more open than its oppofite, induced Lord Cornwallis to direct his attack against the enemy's left wing; and the artillery were brought up the road to cannonade their center, whilft he was making his difpofitions in the following order. On the right, the Heffian regiment of Bofe, with the 71ft British, were led by Major-general Leflie, and fupported by the first battalion of guards. On the left, the 23d and 33d regiments, were led by Col. Webster, and fupported by the grenadiers, and the fecond battalion of guards, under the conduct of Brigadier-General O'Hara. The German yagers, with the light infantry of the guards, remained in the wood, on the left of the guns; and the cavalry, under Col. Tarleton, were drawn up in the road, in readiness to act as circumftances might require. Gen. Greene's army was drawn up in three lines; the front line, which was only in fight, was compofed of the two North Carolina brigades of militia, under their own Generals Butler and Eaton. The fecond line, drawn up at a proper diftance in the wood, was compofed of two brigades of Virginia militia, commanded by the Generals Stephens and Lawfon. But the hope and main ftrength of the army, was placed in the third line, which confifted of two brigades of Virginia and Maryland continental (or regular) troops, under the conduct of Gen. Huger and Col. Williams. Col. Washington, with his dragoons, a detachment of continental light infantry, and Lynch's regiment of riflemen, formed a feparate corps to cover the right flank; and Col. Lee, with his legion, a detachment of light infantry, and Campbell's riflemen, were appointed to cover the left. It is probable that Greene's whole force did not fall much, if any thing, fhort of 6000 men; and it seems as probable, from the long fervice they had gone through, and the confequent thinness of the batta |