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presented the true cause of the present distress to be the short term of enlistment.

322. This declaration, and the imminent danger of Philadelphia, roused the Americans to exert themselves to obtain reinforcements for general Washington's army. An exploit of that general did more to animate them in the cause, than all the declarations of congress. As the royal army extended in different cantonments for a great way, general Washington saw the practicability of making an attempt on some of those divisions which lay nearest to Philadelphia. These happened to be the Hessians, who lay in three divisions, the last only twenty miles from that city. On the night of the 25th of December, 1776, having collected a considerable force, he set out with an intent to surprise that body of the enemy which lay at Trenton.

323. His army was divided into three bodies; one of which he ordered to cross the Delaware at Trenton ferry, a little below the town; the second at Bordentown, where the second division of Hessians was placed; while himself, with the third, directed his course to a ferry some miles above Trenton, which he intended to have passed at midnight, and make the attack at break of day; but various impediments so obstructed his plans, that it was eight in the morning before he reached the place of his destination. The enemy did not perceive his approach till they were suddenly attacked. Colonel Rahl, their commander, was mortally wounded, his troops were entirely broken, their artillery seized, and about one thousand taken prisoners. After this gallant exploit, general Washington returned into Pennsylvania.

324. This action, though to appearance of no very decisive nature, was what turned the fortune of war in favor of America. It lessened the apprehensions which the Americans had of the Hessians, at the same time that it equally abated the confidence which the British had till now put in them; it also raised the desponding hopes of the Americans, and gave a new spring to all their operations. Reinforcements now came in from all quarters, and general Washington soon found himself in a condition once more to repass the Delaware, and take up his quarters in Trenton, where he was emboldened to take his station, notwithstanding accounts were received of the advance of Cornwallis, who shortly made his appearance; and on the evening of his arrival, the little town of Trenton contained the two hostile armies, separated only by a small creek, which was fordable in many places.

325. This was indeed the crisis of the American revolution; and had his lordship made an immediate attack, in pursuance of what is reported to have been the advice of Sir William Erskine, general Washington's defeat would have been inevi table; but a night's delay turned the fortune of the war, and produced an enterprise, the magnitude and glory of which can only be equalled by its success.

326. A council of war having been called, general Washington stated the calamitous situation to which his army was reduced, and after hearing the various opinions of his officers, finally proposed a circuitous march to Princeton, as the means of avoiding the imputation of a retreat, and the danger of a battle, with forces so inferior and in a situation so ineligible. The idea was unanimously approved, and as soon as it was dark, the necessary measures were effected for accomplishing it. A line of fires was kindled, which served to give light to the Americans, while it obscured them from the observation of the enemy; the weather, which had been for some time warm and foggy, suddenly changed to a hard frost, and rendered the road, which had been deep and heavy, smooth and firm as a pavement. The Americans considered this as a providential interposition in their favor.

327. At break of day, general Washington was discovered by a party of British troops consisting of three regiments, under the command of colonel Mawhood, near Princeton, on their march to Trenton. With these the centre of the Americans engaged, and after killing sixty, wounding many, and taking three hundred prisoners, obliged the rest to make a precipitate retreat; some towards Trenton, and others to Brunswick. The loss of the Americans, as to numbers, was inconsiderable, but the fall of general Mercer was sensibly felt.

328. The British, astonished and discouraged at the success and spirit of these repeated enterprises, abandoned Trenton and Princeton, and retreated to Brunswick; while the Americans triumphantly retired to Morristown. General Washington omitted no opportunity of recovering what had been lost; and by dividing his army into small parties, which could be called into general action at a few hours' notice, he almost entirely covered the country with it, and took possession of the most important places.

329. Thus ended the campaign of 1776, with no other real advantage to the British, than the acquisition of New-York and a few fortresses in the neighborhood, where the troops were constrained to act with as much circumspection, as if they had

been besieged by a victorious army, instead of being themselves the conquerors.

330. The British in New-York began, in 1777, to carry on a kind of predatory war, by sending out parties to destroy magazines, make incursions, and take or destroy such forts as lay on the banks of rivers accessible to their shipping: in this they were generally successful; the American magazines at Peek'skill, a place about fifty miles distant from New-York, were destroyed; the town of Danbury in Connecticut was burned, and that of Ridgefield in the same province was taken possession of.

331. The British, as they were returning from this last expedition, were harassed by generals Arnold, Wooster, and Sullivan; but they made good their retreat, in spite of all opposition, with the loss of only seventy killed and wounded. On the American side the loss was much greater: general Wooster was killed, and Arnold was in the most imminent danger. On the other hand, the Americans destroyed the stores at Sagg-harbor, in the east end of Long-Island, and made prisoners of all who defended the place.

332. As this method of making war answered no essential purpose, the British resolved to make an attempt on Philadelphia. It was first proposed to pass through New-Jersey to that city; but the impolitic conduct of the British, in countenancing the devastation of their plundering parties, had created universal abhorrence; from the large reinforcements which had joined general Washington, who had strongly posted himself, they concluded it to be impracticable. Many stratagems were used to draw him from his situation, but without success; it was therefore determined to make the attempt by sea.

333. While the preparations were going forward for this enterprise, the Americans found means to capture general Prescot and one of his aids, who were seized in their quarters, much in the same manner as general Lee had been.

334. The month of July, 1777, was far advanced before the preparations for the expedition against Philadelphia were completed, and it was the twenty-third before the fleet was able to sail from Sandy-Hook. The force employed in this expedition consisted of thirty-six battalions of British and Hessians, a regiment of light-horse, and a body of royalists raised at NewYork. The remainder of the forces, consisting of seventeen battalions, and another body of light-horse, had been stationed at New-York under Sir Henry Clinton; and seven battalions at Rhode Island.

335. After they arrived at the mouth of the Delaware, they received certain intelligence that the navigation of the river was so obstructed it would be impossible to force a passage; it was therefore resolved to proceed farther southward to Chesapeake bay, from whence the distance to Philadelphia was not very great, and where the American army would find less advantage from the nature of the country, than in New-Jersey.

336. The navigation from the Delaware to the Chesapeake took up the best part of the month of August, and that up the bay was difficult and tedious. After having sailed up the river Elk as far as possible, the troops were landed without opposition, and moved towards Philadelphia.

337. On the news of their arrival in the Chesapeake, general Washington left New-Jersey, and fled to the relief of the city; and, in the beginning of September, met the royal army at Brandywine creek, about mid-way between the head of Elk and Philadelphia. General Washington practised his former method of skirmishing, and harassing the army on its march: but as this was found insufficient to stop its course, he retired to that side of the creek next to Philadelphia, with an intent to dispute the passage. A general engagement commenced on the eleventh of September, 1777, in which the Americans were defeated; and, perhaps, the night saved them from total destruction. They lost, in this engagement, about one thousand killed and wounded, besides three hundred who were taken prisoners.

338. The loss of this battle proved the loss of Philadelphia. General Washington retired towards Lancaster, about sixty miles from Philadelphia. But though he could not prevent the loss of that city, he still adhered to his original plan of distressing the royal party, by laying ambushes, and cutting off detached parties; in this, he was not so successful as formerly; for one of his own detachments, which lay in ambush in the woods, was surprised, and entirely defeated, with the loss of three hundred killed and wounded; besides seventy or eighty taken prisoners, and all their arms and baggage.

339. General Howe finding the Americans would not venture another battle, even for the sake of their capital, took peaceable possession of it on the 26th of September. His first care was to cut off, by strong batteries, the communication between the upper and lower parts of the river; this was executed, notwithstanding the opposition of some American armed vessels; one of which, carrying thirty-six guns, was taken. His next task was to open a communication with the sca; and

this was a work of no small difficulty. A vast number of batteries and forts had been erected, and machines formed like chevaux de frize had been sunk in the river, to prevent its navigation.

340. As the fleet had been sent round to the Delaware in order to co-operate with the army, this work was effected; nor did the Americans give much opposition, well knowing that all places of this kind were now untenable. General Washington, however, took advantage of the royal army being divided, to attack the principal division of it, that lay at Germantown in the neighborhood of Philadelphia.

341. In this he met with little success; for though he reached the place of destination by three o'clock in the morning, the patrols had time to call the troops to arms. The Americans made a very resolute attack; but were received with so much bravery, that they were compelled to abandon the attempt, after having upwards of two hundred killed, five hundred wounded, and four hundred made prisoners; among whom were fifty-four officers. On the side of the British the loss amounted to four hundred and thirty wounded and prisoners, and seventy killed; among the last, were general Agnew and colonel Bird, with some other officers.

342. There still remained two strong forts to be reduced on the Delaware. These were Mud Island and Red Bank. The various obstructions which the Americans had thrown in the way, rendered it necessary to bring up the Augusta, a ship of the line, and the Merlin frigate, to the attack of Mud Island; but during the heat of the action, both grounded. The Ameri cans observing this, sent down four fire-ships, and directed the whole fire from their galleys against them; but the courage and skill of the British seamen, prevented the former from taking effect during the engagement the Augusta and Merlin took fire, and were burned; the other ships withdrew.

343. The Americans, encouraged by this, proceeded to throw new obstructions in the way; but the British general erected batteries within gun-shot of the fort by land, and brought up three ships of the line, mounted with heavy cannon; while the Vigilant, mounted with 24 pounders, made her way to a position from which she might enfilade the works on Mud Island. This gave the British such an advantage, that the post was no longer tenable.

344. Colonel Smith, who had with great gallantry defended the fort from the latter end of September to the 11th of November, 1777, being wounded, was removed to the main ;

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