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June 4.

not exceed 7292 at the opening of the campaign. Soon after this movement was effected, the British marched from Brunswick, and extended their van as far as Somerset court-house, but in a few days returned to their former station.

The great object of the campaign, on the side of New York, seems to have been, that sir William Howe should penetrate through the Jersies to the Delaware, to clear those provinces of the provincial troops, and reduce the inhabitants to such a state of subjection, that a safe and open communication between the army and the city of New York, might be established. The single movement which the American general had now made, however, effectually prevented the accomplishment of this design, or indeed of any thing else of consequence. His camp, winding along the course of the hills, was strongly intrenched, fortified, and well covered with artillery. He commanded a view of the British encampment on the hills of Brunswick, and a great part of the intermediate country towards that place and Amboy. His army also increased daily in numbers. Several bodies of the New England troops under generals Gates, Parsons, and Arnold, advanced to the borders of the North River, where they were ready to pass over to the Jersies, whenever there was occasion; whilst the Jersey militia collected with the greatest alacrity from all quarters; so that whatever position the royal army could take, it was still watched on all sides by its enemies. A mistake, fortunate for the Americans, made the militia assemble in great force on this emergency. Signals had been agreed upon, and beacons erected on high places, to give instantaneous notice of the approach of the British. A few hours before the royal army began to march, the signal of alarm, on the foundation of a false report, had been made. The farmers, resolved to try the effects of resistance, in preference to a second submission, with arms in their hands, ran to the place of rendezvous from considerable distances. They had set out at least twelve hours before the British, and on their appearance were collected in formidable numbers. General Howe left no means untried to induce his rival to quit the strong position he had taken. He pushed on detatchments, and made feints as if he intended to pass him, and cross the Delaware. This manoeuvre proving ineffectual, he advanced in front of general Washington's lines, where he continued for four days exploring the approaches to his camp, and accurately examining the situation of his posts; hoping to find some unguarded place, upon which an attack might be made with some

probability of success; or that chance, inadvertence, impatience, or error, might occasion some movement or circumstance, which might lead to a general engagement. All these hopes, however, were frustrated. General Washington knew the value of his situation; and as he could neither be provoked, nor surprised in such a manner as to oblige him to quit the advantages he derived from it, so he had too much penetration and foresight to lose them by circumvention or artifice; and he had too long profited by this cautious conduct, of never committing the fortune of America to the hazard of a single battle, to depart from it on this occasion, when it was not even demanded by any urgent necessity.

General Howe now found it necessary to change his measures. On the 19th of June, he suddenJune 19. ly retreated with some apparent marks of precipitation; and withdrawing his troops from Brunswick, took the road, with his whole army, towards Amboy. The apparently retreating British, were pursued by large detachments of the Americans, commanded by generals Maxwell, lord Stirling and Conway, who gained some trifling advantages; whilst some excesses, committed by the soldiers during their retreat, inflamed the provincials still more with a desire of retaliation and revenge. In this, and the former retreat to Brunswick, farm houses were burnt and destroyed, nor did they spare those buildings which were dedicated to the Deity. At last, general Washington himself, with the whole army, left his strong camp on the hills, and advanced to Quibbletown, to be near at hand for the support of his advanced parties. This was no sooner perceived by the British comJune 24. mander, than he marched back from Amboy with the utmost expedition, hoping to cut off some of the American detachments, or bring on a general engagement near Quibbletown; or if neither of these could be accomplished, it was intended, that lord Cornwallis, with his division, should take a considerable circuit, and thus gain possession of some strong passes, which would oblige the American general to quit the advantageous ground he had taken. In all this, however, he was frustrated, through the skill and vigilance of his rival. General Washington no sooner perceived the real intent of the enemy, than he withdrew his army from the plains, and with the utmost expedition regained his strong camp, securing the pass. es, at the same time, so effectually, that nothing could be attempted against them. Lord Cornwallis, indeed, fell in with lord Sterling, who had posted himself in a

strong situation with about 3000 troops, who seemed inclined to dispute his passage. These were broken, however, in a very short time, with the loss of a few men and three brass field pieces; but the neighborhood of the woods prevented the pursuit from being continued with any effeet.

Gen. Howe being now convinced that it would be impossible to induce general Washington to quit his strong position, and hazard a general engagement; and suspecting that it would be too hazardous to attempt passing the Delaware, whilst the country was in arms, and the American army in full force in his rear, determined to make an attempt on Philadelphia by sea; which must be attended by these manifest advantages, that it would be impossible for general Washington to know where the storm was to fall. He must, therefore, keep his post, and the king's army would make a considerable progress, before he could be in a condition to oppose them; and such a progress would not leave him that choice of posts from which he had hitherto derived such advantage. In order more effectually to deceive and perplex general Washington, the British general ordered some transports, with a ship cut down to act as a floating battery, up the North River, a little before the embarkation was completed; a feint which succeeded so far as to induce the American general to detatch a considerable body of his army across that river.

Whilst the preparations necessary for this expedition were going forward, the Americans found means to make amends for the capture of general Lee by that of general Prescot, who was seized in his quarters in Rhode Island, together with his aid de camp, in much the same manner as general Lee had been. This was exceedingly mortifying to the general himself, as he had not long before set a price upon general Árnold, by offering a sum of money to any one that apprehended him; which the latter answered by setting a lower price upon general Prescot: the latter was, however, exchanged in the following year for general Lee. The month of July was far advanced before the preparations for the expedition against Philadelphia were completed; and it was the 23d before the fleet was able to sail from SandyHook. The force employed in this expedition, consisted of 36 battalions of British and Hessians, a regiment of light horse, and a body of loyalists raised at New York. The remainder of these, with 17 battalions, and another body of light horse, were stationed at New York, under sir Henry Clinton. Seven battal

July 23.

ions were stationed at Rhode Island. After a week's sailing, those forces, amounting in all to about 16,000 men, arrived at the mouth of the Delaware; but there having received intelligence, that the navigation of the river was so effectually obstructed, that no possibility of forcing a passage remained; or more probably, that general Washington had marched within a short distance of Philadelphia; it was resolved to proceed farther southward, to Chesapeak Bay in Maryland, from whence the distance to Philadelphia was not very great, and where the provincial army would find less advantage from the nature of the country than in the Jersies. The navigation from Delaware to Chesapeak took up the best part of the month of August, and that up the bay itself was extremely difficult and tedious. At last, having sailed up the river Elk, as far as Aug. 25. was practicable, the troops were landed without opposition at Turkey Point, and set forward on their intended expedition.

END OF VOL. 1.

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