direct road to the city, betook himself to that which lies along side the North-River, and marched to the end, where it turns off short to the right, and leads on to another and norrower, that goes to Biooming-dale. By this last road, he avoided every dangerous approach to the enemy, and retreated with safety.. But nothing could have been easier than to have prevented his getting into it. A good body of troops with two field pieces, in about 20 minutes or less, could have taken such a position as would have necessarily cut off Putnam's retreat. Col. Grayson has repeatedly said speaking humorously, "Mrs. Murray saved the Ame rican army." On the day that gen. Howe's forces landed and the following one they made prisoners 354 privates and 17 offi cers. Many think the general was greatly mistaken in landing on the island instead of throwing his army around itabove Kingsbridge, and thereby hemming in the whole body of the Americans at once. Such a manoeuvre they view as having been within the compass of easy practice, considering what a naval and military apparatus he had at his service.

[Sept. 16.] On the Monday there was a tolerable skirmish between two battalions of light infantry and highlanders, and three companies of Hessian riflemen commanded by brigadier Leslie, and detachments from the American army under the command of lieut. col. Knolton, of Connecticut, and major Leich of Virgi nia. The col. received a mortal wound, and the major three balls through his body, but is likely to do well. Their parties behaved with great bravery, and being supplied with fresh troops, beat the enemy fairly from the field. The lost of the Americans except in col. Knolton, a most valuable and gallant officer was inconsiderable; that of the enemy between 80 and 100 wounded, and 15 or 20 killed. This little advantage inspired the Ameri cans prodigiously. They found it required only resolution and good officers to make an enemy, they stood too much in dread of, give way. The men will fight if led on by good officers, and as certainly run away if commanded by scoundrels. Sunday was an instance of the last, and the next day a confirmation of the first assertion. On Sunday, the officers, instead of heading and leading the men on to attack the enemy when landing, were the first to scamper off.

[Sept. 21.] A few day after the British had possessed themselves of New-York, a most terrible fire happened. A thousand houses, near one fourth of the city, were laid in ashes. Trinity church, the public charity school, the rector's house, and a Lutheran

*The board of war.

↑ General Washington's letter to general Gates.

chapel

chapel were among the buildings which were consumed. The loss sustained in houses, &c. by the corporation of Trinity church, is thought, upon a moderate computation, to be more than £.15,600 sterling. The fire broke out at a dram-shop, close in with the water side, on Whitehall-slip, about one o'clock in the morning. The reports spread of its breaking out in several places at the same time, were erroneous. Every thing was very dry, and a brisk southerly wind blew. The flaines soon caught the neighboring houses, spread, raged with inconceivable violence, and made all the subsequent havock. There were few citizens in town; and the fire engines and pumps were out of order. Two regiments went immediately to the place, and many boats full of men were sent from the fleet; to these, under Providence, it was owing that the whole city was not reduced to ashes. A gentleman who was at Bergen (opposite the spot where the fire first broke out) saw it soon after it began, observed its progress, and is persuaded that it was not purposely kindled, but was merely accidental,† and the probable consequence of the sailors having been suffered to go on shore the day before to regale and frolic. The dryness of the materials, the brisk southerly wind, and the covering of the houses (shingles instead of slate or tiles) easily account for its spreading, without calling in the aid of incendiaries.

A brigadier writes concerning the animosity in the American army above noticed-" It has already risen to such a height, that the Pennsylvania and New-England troops would as soon fight each other as the enemy. Officers of all ranks are indiscrimi→ nately treated in a most contemptible manner, and whole colonies traduced and vilified as cheats, knaves, cowards, paltroons, hypocrites, and every term of reproach, for no other reason but because they are situated east of New-York. Every honor is paid to the merit of good men from the south; the merit, if such be possible, from the north, is not acknowledged; but if too apparent to be blasted with falshood, is carefully buried in oblivion. The cowardice or misbehavior of the south, is carefully covered over, the least misconduct in the gentlemen of the north, is published with large comments and aggravations."

Congress have at length adopted a new code for the government of the army. It was become absolutely necessary. "No laws can be too severe for the government of men who live by the sword, and who have this only reply for their ravages quis negat arma tenenti?" This was the language of a gentleman *Mr. Griffiths, of New-York,

The fame was confirmed to me by other gentlemen, while at NewYok, August 1785.

VOL. II.

P

whose

whose concern in the army gave him the best opportunity of procuring certain information; and who said further to a member of congress" Absolute tyranny is essential to the government of an army, and every man who carries arms, from the general officer to the private sentinel, must be content to be a temporary flave, if he would serve his country as a soldier. Almost every villanny and rascality that can disgrace the man, the soldier or the citizen, is daily practised without meeting the punishment they merit. So many of our officers want honor, and so many of our soldiers want virtue, civil, social, and military, that nothing but the severest punishments will keep both from practices which must ruin us. The infamous and cruel ravages, which have been made on the wretched distressed inhabitants of this unfortunate island (New-York) by many of our soldiers, must disgrace and expose our army to detestation. I have heard some tales of woe, occasioned by the robberies of our army, which would extort sighs from the hearts of tygers. Our men are at present only robbers; that they will soon be murderers unless some are hanged, I have little doubt." The difficulty which the army has been under, from the want of almost every necessary, tents, campkettles, blankets and clothes of every kind, may have contributed toward the cause of these complaints. Unless the men can get supplied in a regular way, they will be inclined, notwithstanding the most positive general orders to the contrary, to help them selves, however irregularly; and when once they begin to trespass from necessity, they are tempted to proceed for convenience or pleasure.

[Sept. 24.] Nearly at the same time, an officer high in rank and much esteemed, communicated his thoughts in these words -"We are now upon the eye of another dissolution of the ar my. Unless some speedy and effectual measures are adopted by congress, our cause will be lost. The few who act upon principles of disinterestedness are, comparatively speaking, no more than a drop in the ocean. As the war must be carried on systematically, you must establish your army upon a permanent footing, and give your officers good pay, that they may be, and support the character of gentlemen, and not be driven, by a scanty allowance, to the low and dirty arts, which many of them practise, to filch the public of more than the difference of pay would amount to. The men must be engaged by a good bounty for the continuance of the war. To depend upon militia is assuredly resting on a broken staff. They cannot brook subordination. It would be cheaper to keep fifty or hundred thousand in constant pay, than depend upon half the number, and supply the other half occasionally by militia. If I was to declare upon oath, whether

the

the militia have been most serviceable or hurtful, upon the whole, I should subscribe to the latter. No man who regards order, rea gularity and ceconomy, or who has any regard for his own honor, character or peace of mind, will risk them upon militia." While the American cause is thus exposed, some gentlemen ob serve with pleasure of the enemy [Sept. 25.] that-"Though they are brave, and furnished with all matters, yet from some causes, they discover very little of the great or vast in their de signs and executions."

It is not strange that there is a number of bad officers in the continental service, when you consider that many were chosen by their own men, who elected them, not from a regard to me rit or any love of discipline, but from the knowledge they had of their being ready to associate with them on the foot of equali ty. It was the case in divers instances, that when a company was forming, the men would choose those for officers who con sented to throw their pay into a joint stock with the privates; from which captains, lieutenants, ensigns, sergeants, corporals, with drummers and privates, drew equal shares. Can it then be wondered at, however mortifying it may prove, that a captain should be tried and broken for stealing his soldiers blankets, or that another officer should be found shaving his men in the face of distinguished characters! Time must and will clear the army of these despicable commission-bearers.

Too many of the regimental surgeons have made a practice of selling recommendations to furloughs and discharges at a less sunt than a shilling a man. Only one of the number supposed to merit the same distinction, was drummed out of the army for such a scandalous conduct. Had all who deserved it, met the like reward, a good reform would have been made: that one is too pitiful a subject to have his name recorded. He charged each man six-pence sterling, and any one was welcome to a cer tificate for that sum. Several of the regimental surgeons had no professional abilities; had never seen an operation of surgery, were unlettered and ignorant to a degree scarcely to be ima gined. Others were amazingly deficient in the article of professional apparatus. From one general return of fifteen regi ments, it appeared that for fifteen surgeons and as many mates,* all the instruments (which were reported to be private property) amounted only to six sets of amputating-two of trepanningfifteen cases of pocket instruments seventy-five crooked and six straight needles-four incision knives for dilating wounds or ou ther purposes and three pair of forceps for extracting bullets. Since the evacuation of New-York, the sick have suffered ve ry much for want of necessaries, and have been in a miserable

situation;

situation; but it appears to have been owing greatly to untoward circumstances, hurry, confusion, and actual want of the requisites for affording relief. The sick have amounted to many thousands, including what have been at different places; and many hundreds, if not some thousands, have been swept off by various diseases. Much censure has been cast upon Dr. Morgan, director-general of the hospital, for the sufferings which the sick have endured, more than is due, as apprehended. The army ought to have been early provided with medicines, instrumets and bandages, by a continental druggist or chosen committee, before the campaign began, instead of having them to procure afterward; and the militia which came late to the field, should have been provided by the different states, before they joined the army.

An unsuccessful attempt was made on the British out-post on Montresor-Island. A large party of Americans, in five flat-bottomed boats, under the command of colonel Jackson, went down Haerlem river to attack it, a little after four in the morning. They had two pieces of cannon with them; the post was guarded by about eighty men. The Brune frigate being at anchor near the island, fired at the boats in the dark, and sunk one of them. The colonel landed, and a skirmish ensued; but several of the officers and men behaved most scandalously; instead of supporting him they pushed off, so that he was obliged to retreat. He was himself wounded, and left two and twenty wounded behind. Major Thomas Henly, brother to the deputy adjutant-general, an intrepid officer, was killed.

General Howe had at length ripened his plan for cutting off gen. Washington's communication with the eastern states, and enclosing him on all sides in his fastnesses on the north end of NewYork island; which ought to have been executed a month back, by a bold and unexpected removal of the troops from LongIsland in the first instance, to Rochelle or the neighborhood.

The greater part of the army, being embarked in flat boats and other small craft, passed through Hell-gate, a passage terrible in name, but no way dangerous at the proper time of tide; entered the Sound [Oct 12.] and landed early in the morning, on Frog's-Neck, in Westchester county, belonging to New-York, upon the side of Connecticut. Gen. Washington's army, fit for duty, 'present and on command at different posts, militia included, was about 19,000. Officers and men were in expectation of active service. The former were out frequently in reconnoi tering parties; the latter were looking out for the arrival of gen. Lee, on his way to the camp. The Americans had no intenti on of quitting their ground upon the island and the neighborhood