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corner of Crown, now Liberty street, and Nassau street. The reader may have noticed the tall pile of building with little porthole windows tier above tier. In that place, crowds of American prisoners were incarcerated, pined, sickened, and died. During the suffocating heat of summer, when my school-room windows were all open, and I could not catch a cooling breeze, I saw opposite to me every narrow aperture of those stone walls filled with human heads, face above face, seeking a portion of the external air. What must have been the atmosphere within? Andros's description of the prison ship tells us. Child as I was, this spectacle sunk deep in my heart. I can see the picture now.

In Rivington's Gazette, may be seen several controversial letters between the commissaries of prisoners, Sprout and Skinner, respecting the treatment of prisoners.

CHAPTER XI.

City of New York from 1776 to 1780-Battle of MonmouthIndian Hostilities on the Mohawk-Massacre at Cherry Valley.

THE Walton House in the city of New York, is now No. 326 Pearl street. This family mansion was, in its time, a thing to wonder and It was erected in 1754 by William Walton, a prosperous gaze at. English merchant, who resided in Hanover Square, (now part of Pearl street,) and this splendid dwelling was built out of town. It was bequeathed by the founder, who died a bachelor, to his nephew William, who was one of the king's or governour's council before the revolution; and it still remains family property. Built of bricks imported from Holland, and ornamented by brown stone water-tables, lintels, and jambs, it stands a monument of ancient English architecture. The staircase in the ample hall, the carved work in various parts without and within, (I presume all imported,) give it an air of aristocratick grandeur which our modern palaces are deficient in. During the war of the revolution, the commanders of the British army and navy occupied the Kennedy House, now a part of No. 1 Broadway, the Beekman House in Hanover Square, the Verplank House in Wall street, and others; but the Walton House was the residence of its hospitable owner.

In Gaine's Gazette of December, 1776, the repetition of the word rebel, in every paragraph, becomes ludicrous. Of Washington's force he says, "such a miserable set of ragged creatures were never scraped together before, as those who form the rebel army in Pennsylvania." Rivington had advertised, "price one shilling, The Battle of Brooklyn, a farce in two acts, as it was performed on Long Island, on Tuesday, the 27th of August, 1776, by the representatives of the Tyrants of AMERICA, assembled at Philadelphia."

The rebel army was supposed to be annihilated. Their great General Lee, was safe in the old City Hall, in Wall street, with sentinels in his apartment, and before its door. He was confined in one of those dungeon-like places which had been crowded with the victims of the negro plot. The English army was cantoned on the banks of the Delaware, ready to cross when the ice made a bridge. General Washington had secured the boats, and had

feeble detachments, under the command of Lord Stirling, stationed at the passes down the river, towards Philadelphia. The troops, now fortunately commanded by Sullivan instead of Lee, joined the commander-in-chief; but most of them were unfit for action. Those under Gates, likewise arrived; but their term of service had expired, (owing to the short enlistments, so fatally adopted by their general,) and only by the great exertions of Washington, were a part of them persuaded to re-enlist for six weeks. Gates pleaded sickness, and left head-quarters to recruit for himself in Philadelphia. With this shadow of an army, the commander-inchief meditated the blow that was to save Philadelphia, and per haps the continent. He had, however, with him, "good men and true," Greene, Knox, Sullivan, Stirling, Cadwalader, and other native Americans, to whom we must add the good old Scotch physician, General Mercer.

Sir William Howe affected to treat Lee as a deserter, and threatened to try him as such; but Washington, having in his power the field-officers taken at Trenton, and others, let Howe understand that as Lee was treated they must be treated, and offered to exchange a certain number of them for him. In the meantime, as the garrison of New York had been weakened by the troops thrown into New Jersey, Washington ordered General Heath, with such militia as could be commanded, to make a movement on to the British line at Kingsbridge. Heath invested Fort Independence, summonned the garrison to surrender, and then, (perhaps very prudently, considering the kind of force he had,) as they refused, marched away again.

1778

On the 28th of June, 1778, occurred the memorable battle of Monmouth, which, although occurring in New Jersey, is too intimately connected with the history of New York, to be passed over in silence. For the following account, I am indebted to Mr. Stone.*

"No sooner had Great Britain been apprized of the alliance between France and her revolted colonies, than it was determined to evacuate Philadelphia, and concentrate the royal army at New York. Accordingly, on the 18th of June, the British troops crossed the Delaware into New Jersey, and commenced their march for New York, ascending the east bank of the river to Allentown, and thence taking the lower road leading through Monmouth to Sandy Hook. General Washington, anticipating this movement, had previously detached a division of the army under General Maxwell, to impede the enemy's march. It was known that General Gates was approaching with the army from the north, and the enemy's

*Life of Brant, Vol. I. pp. 343 to 346.

motions were no sooner ascertained, than General Wayne was despatched, with one thousand chosen men, to strengthen the lines. The Marquis de Lafayette was directed to take command of the whole force thus sent in advance, while Washington himself moved rapidly forward with the main army. It was his design to bring on a general, and, if possible, decisive engagement. The result of his movements for that object was the battle of Monmouth, fought on the 28th of June. The dispositions for this engagement were admirably arranged on the night of the 27th, the position of the enemy being such as to afford the best advantages for an attack upon his rear the moment he should get in motion. Such being the intentions of the commander-in-chief, they were communicated to General Lee, who was ordered to make his dispositions accordingly, and to keep his troops lying upon their arms to be in readiness at the shortest notice. At five in the morning of the 28th, the front of the enemy was observed to be in motion, and orders were instantly despatched to General Lee to move on and attack, "unless there should be very powerful reasons to the contrary." Lee was also advised that Washington was himself advancing to support him. After marching about five miles, to the great surprise and mortification' of the commander-in-chief, he met the whole advanced corps retreating, by the orders of Lee, without having made any opposition, except one fire given by a party under Colonel Butler, on their being charged by the enemy's cavalry, who were repulsed.'* Lee was sharply rebuked, and placed in arrest. Hurrying to the rear of the retreating corps, which the commanderin-chief found closely pressed by the enemy, he arrested their flight, re-formed them, and with the aid of some well served pieces of artillery, at once checked the enemy's advance, and gained time for making such dispositions as the emergency of the case required. The battle soon became general, and was obstinately contested at various points through the whole day, until dark-Sir Henry Clinton and General Washington heading their respective armies in person. By the misconduct of Lee, however, and an errour of General Scott in the morning, advantages had been lost which entirely disconcerted the views of the commander-in-chief, and deprived the American arms of a victory which was all but certain. Still, the fortunes of the day were so far recovered, that, from being the pursued, 'the Americans drove the enemy back over the ground they had followed, and recovered the field of battle, and possessed themselves of their dead; but, as they retreated behind a morass very difficult to pass, and had both flanks secured with thick woods,

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* Letter of Washington to the President of Congress, July 1, 1778.

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it was found impracticable for the Americans, fainting with fatigue, heat, and want of water, to do any thing more that night."

"Both armies encamped in the field, and lay upon their arms; Washington himself sleeping in his cloak under a tree in the midst of his soldiers. His intention was to renew and end the battle on the following morning, not doubting as to the issue. Indeed, the result of that day's fight was justly considered a victory by the American officers, and but for the conduct of Lee in the morning, it would almost beyond question have been decisive. But the purpose of the commander-in-chief to renew the engagement was frustrated by a silent midnight retreat of the enemy-so silent, indeed, that his departure was not known until the morning. A variety of circumstances concurred to render a pursuit by the Americans unadvisable; among the principal of which were, the extreme heat of the weather, the fatigue of the army, from its march through a deep sandy country, almost entirely destitute of water, and the distance the enemy had gained by his midnight march. A pursuit, it was believed, would answer no valuable purpose, and would certainly be fatal to numbers of the men, several of whom had perished of heat on the preceding day. The American commander thereupon drew off his army to the Hudson, crossed over, and once more established his head-quarters at White Plains. Meantime, Sir Henry Clinton proceeded to Sandy Hook, and thence passed his troops over to New York. The loss of the Americans in this battle was eight officers and sixty-one privates killed, and one hundred and sixty wounded. That of the enemy was three hundred and sixty-eight in killed, wounded, and missing, and about one hundred taken prisoners. One thousand of their men deserted on their march. Both parties claimed the victory, which was in fact won by neither. The advantages, in the earlier part of the day, were in favour of the British; in the after part, of the Americans. The stealthy retreat of the former, moreover, covered by the darkness, left no doubt as to which army was best prepared to renew the conflict with the return of daylight."

The Indian hostilities on the Mohawk are among the important transactions of this year, for the particulars of which, I am again indebted to Mr. Stone, whose language I have, as on other occasions, borrowed, with little or no variation.

* Letter of Washington 'to his brother, John Augustine Washington, July 4th, 1778

↑ In a letter to General Gansevoort from Colonel Willett, who was on a visit to head-quarters at the time of the battle of Monmouth, the colonel says: "I have had the pleasure of seeing the American army, under the great General Washington, triumph over the haughty British, in the battle of Monmouth. The action was grand, and ended gloriously.”—Manuscript letter of Col. Willett.

Stone's Life of Brant, Vol. I. pp. 362 to 368.

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