ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS LETTER OF COLONEL ISRAEL KEITH (Long private letter to a friend, but an important historical letter describing the retreat after the BATTLE OF LONG ISLAND under Washington. A contemporary account, the value of which cannot be over-estimated, and naturally very scarce, as the details are of a personal nature such as are rarely found.) DEAR CHUM: KINGSBRIDGE, 26th Sept. 1776. I take the conclusion to be this-Our Generals were out-General'd— our works were very strong & numerous; but they were made upon the supposition that the Enemy would attack us in front, as at Bunker Hill. It was just the reverse-and everybody wonders we did not know better at first. Having given up Long Island it follows of Course that we must retreat from New York, Governor's Island and Powles Hook; for our first retreat brought us under the fire of our own fortifications, that we had made on Long Island and so on. But when you consider the very fine Retreat that G. Washington has made from all these places, your opinion of him must be great as everWe had Eight or Ten Thousand men upon Long Island, when he had determin'd to leave it-not boats sufficient to bring a Quarter off at one time-If the Enemy (who were nigh enough to converse with us) should perceive the retreat, all was lost-If it should even be mistrusted in our Army, what Confusion! In these circumstances General Washington collects all the flat-bottom'd boats in one place-Gives out that he intended to transport a vast number of Troops on to the Island immediately-Thus his real design was unsuspected in all places where the boats were taken from-when it became dark, the next thing was to get off a part at a time with all their baggage, without having the others thinking it a Retreat from the Island -He orders one Brigadier to march to the Boats, & caus'd it to be circulated that they were going to flank the Enemy-They go off in high Spirits Having got all things on board they set out, and are landed in York-The Boats go back leaving them, some crying, and some cursingAnother Brigade is brought off in the same way. Thus it went on very well till it came to the last, who somehow or other had found out the matter; and such distress and confusion were hardly ever seen—Every one praying for God's sake to take him into the Boat-But it was silenc'd by the activity of some Officers; and all got clear, except some few out Sentries which could not be call'd in without sacrificing the whole. The next thing was to make a Retreat from the City, in which our Salvation was concern'd-To do this General Orders came out, giving the reasons of the first retreat, & making it appear that it was done for the safety of the Troops, concluding that the City was now very strong, and might be held by resolute Troops in spite of all opposition, and that it was the General's Intent to hold it at all events-Thus things being a little settled, & the men in some measure recover'd from their disorder, the General sends out one Regt after another towards Kingsbridge, as there were too many to act with advantage in the City; taking care at the same time to send great quantities of Stores both by Sea and Land for their use. Thus it went on for about three weeks, everybody being uncertain whether the City was to be evacuated or not—At last the British Troops landed, & took a few men, some Baggage, Waggons &c-Col. Knox, Mr. Leonard1 and Doct" Eustis 2 ran thro' a brisk fire and came off. If you ask why the Enemy did not land on York before-God Almighty forbad 'em! All this retrograde motion had damp'd the Spirits of our men considerably; but the Enemy presuming too much took it into their heads to follow us up to Kingsbridge, & coming a little too near some of our old Hunters, Riflemen, &c about Seven Hundred of 'em got kill'd & wounded, in an Engagement wherein we had Seventeen Killed and forty wounded. Although you have heard of these things before, yet they were not in a Letter from me, and that is my excuse for writing them-I find if I 1 Chaplain Abiel Leonard. 2 William Eustis, afterward an army surgeon, Secretary of War, Governor of Massachusetts, and Minister to Holland. don't write upon public matters I can write nothing-The Army is no place for Sentiments. You can't think (chum) what a ferocious look I begin to put on-I can almost stare a common man out of countenance. But the sight of the friend he holds dear above all, would soften the looks and brighten the eyes of Your most affectionate ISRAEL KEITH. P. S.-I am in hopes to be with you some time this winter on a short Visit; if God spare me-Save a Bottle of Porter and Two long Pipes. MR. J. P. PALMER. LIEUT.-GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN TO MRS. GEN. E. H. STOUGHTON. No such letter by General Sheridan has ever before been printed. It is a precious relic of the great soldier, and by its very reticence-note the sentence, "when it was necessary that we should win I took it from the Color-bearer and it led the troops to victory"—speaks the more plainly the character of the man. MY DEAR MRS. STOUGHTON CHICAGO, Mar. 22d, 1873. When last in your house in New York, enjoying your hospitality, I saw the flag of the Star of the West draped with evergreens, and under its union the words FIVE FORKS written in beautiful flowers. I cannot express to you, Madam, the emotions and many thoughts crowding each other which this delicate representation of interesting National Events created. I thought perhaps that it would not be inappropriate to let you replace the flowers which fade, by the battle flag of "Five Forks," and then you could drape together the first and last flags fired upon in the great struggle for our National existence. My proposition was most gratefully accepted, and I send you by express to-day the Flag. It has always been very dear to me, but this only serves to increase the pleasure I have in giving it to you. The flag was new when I left Winchester in the Shenandoah Valley, February 27th, 1864, and from that date commenced its active service. It took the place of its old and faded comrade of Opequan, Fisher's Hill and Cedar Creek. At Waynesboro the remnant of General Early's Army of the Shenandoah surrendered to it-at the crossing of the James River by my command on the 25th of March 1865 it was lowered to Mr. Lincoln as he passed through the bridge over which we were crossing. When General Grant passed through the gate to Mr. McLean's house, to receive the surrender of General Lee at Appomattox Court House, it was lowered to him; it has never been lowered in salute or otherwise to anyone else. At Five Forks when it was necessary that we should win I took it from the Color-bearer and it led the troops to victory. The bullet hole in the White was received then. At Jettersville it stood in front of Lee's Army to oppose its further progress until the arrival of the Army of the Potomac. At Sailors' Creek Ewell and his corps surrendered to it. On the morning of the 9th of April 1865 it stood opposite the White flag which the Army of Northern Virginia raised in token of surrender, and while I was advancing to meet the envoys representing the enemies flag, it was fired upon by a brigade of South Carolina troops, receiving the last shot from the Army of Northern Virginia. I am dear Madam Very respectfully your ob'd't servt. P. H. SHERIDAN, Lt.-General. THE DUTCHMAN'S FIRESIDE CHAPTER XXVI WHICH MAY BE SKIPPED OVER BY THE GENTLE READER, AS IT CONTAINS NOT A SINGLE BLOODY ADVENTURE C ATALINA was received with a welcome kindness by Mrs. Aubineau, the lady with whom she had been invited to spend the winter, and who appeared struck with the improvement of her person since she left boarding-school two or three years before. Our heroine was glad to see Mrs. Aubineau again, having a vivid recollection of her pleasing manners and matronly kindness. The husband of this lady was a son of one of the Huguenots driven by the bigotry or policy of Louis the Fourteenth to this land of liberty— liberty of action, liberty of speech and liberty of conscience. These emigrants constituted a portion of the best educated, most enlightened, polite and wealthy of the early inhabitants of New-York. They laid the foundation of families which still exist in good reputation, and from some of them have descended men who are for ever associated with the history of our country. The father of Mr. Aubineau had occupied a dignified situation under the Dutch government while it held possession of NewYork; but lost it when the province was assigned to the Duke of York, whose hungry retainers were portioned off in the new world, there not being loaves and fishes enough in the old to satisfy them all. Both father and son cherished some little resentment on this occasion; and when a legislative body was established, one or other being generally a member, they never failed to be found voting and acting with the popular side, in opposition to the governor. They joined the old Dutch party in all their measures, which were generally favorable to the rights of the colony, and attained to great consideration and respect among them. Notwithstanding his politics, Mr. Aubineau the younger married a handsome English woman; not a descendant merely of English parents, but a real native, born and educated in London. Her father came over with an appointment, being a younger brother with a younger brother's |