VIII. 1776. CHAPTER disregard of that order and subordination necessary to the well-doing of an army, and which had been inculcated before, as well as the nature of our military establishment would admit of, our condition becomes still more alarming; and, with the deepest concern, I am obliged to confess my want of confidence in the generality of the troops. Necessity of a permanent standing ar my. Number of troops fit for duty. "All these circumstances fully confirm the opinion I ever entertained, and which I more than once in my letters took the liberty of mentioning to Congress, that no dependence could be put in a militia or other troops than those enlisted and embodied for a longer period than our regulations heretofore have prescribed. I am persuaded, and as fully convinced as I am of any one fact that has happened, that our liberties must of necessity be greatly hazarded if not entirely lost, if their defence is left to any but a permanent standing army; I mean, one to exist during the war. Nor would the expense, incident to the support of such a body of troops, as would be competent to almost every exigency, far exceed that, which is daily incurred by calling in succor and new enlistments, which, when effected, are not attended with any good consequences. Men, who have been free and subject to no control, cannot be reduced to order in an instant; and the privileges and exemptions, which they claim and will have, influence the conduct of others; and the aid derived from them is nearly counterbalanced by the disorder, irregularity, and confusion they occasion." He added, that, by the last returns, the number of troops fit for duty was less than twenty thousand, and that many had since deserted. One thousand men were immediately ordered to join him from the Flying Camp, then in New Jersey under General Mercer. A bounty of ten dollars had been offered to each soldier, that would enlist into the Continental service; but this produced little effect, as the bounty to the militia was in some instances double that amount. "Till of late," he observes, "I had no doubt of defending New York; nor should I have yet, VIII. 1776. if the men would do their duty; but this I despair of. CHAPTER It is painful to give such unfavorable accounts; but it would be criminal to conceal the truth at so critical a juncture. Every power I possess shall be exerted to serve the cause; and my first wish is, that, whatever may be the event, the Congress will do me the justice to think so." In such a situation a more gloomy or discouraging prospect could hardly be imagined. No trials, however, in a good cause, could depress the mind or unnerve the energy of Washington. CHAPTER IX. 1776. General to be unfolded. Preparations for evacuat. CHAPTER IX. New York evacuated, and the British take Possession of the City. The WHEN General Howe had taken possession of Long Is land, his plans began to be unfolded. The fleet came into the harbor, and an armed vessel passed up the East River; but there were no indications of an attack on the city. It was obvious, indeed, that he designed to take New York by encompassing it on the land side, and to refrain from a cannonade and bombardment, by which the city might be injured, and rendered less fit for the accommodation of his troops in the winter, and less valuable as a place to be held during the war. Such being clearly the aim of the British commander, the attention of Washington was next drawn to the best mode of evacuating the city. As a preparatory step he removed beyond Kingsbridge ing the city. the stores and baggage least wanted. In a council of general officers there was a difference of opinion as to a total evacuation. All agreed, that the town would not be tenable, if it should be bombarded; and it was manifest, that this might be done at any moment. Some were for destroying the city at once, and leaving it a waste, from which the enemy could derive no benefit. As IX. 1776. an argument for this procedure, it was said two thirds of CHAPTER the property belonged to Tories. Others thought the position should be maintained at every hazard, till the army was absolutely driven out. A middle course was taken. It was resolved so to dispose the troops, as to be prepared to resist any attack on the upper parts of the Island, and retreat with the remainder whenever it should become necessary. Nine thousand men were to be stationed at Mount Washington, Kingsbridge, and the smaller posts in the vicinity of those places, five thousand to continue in the city, and the residue to occupy the intermediate space, ready to support either of these divisions. The sick, amounting to one quarter of the whole army, were to be removed to the Jersey side of the Hudson. While these arrangements were in progress, the enemy were not idle, although probably less active than they would otherwise have been, in consequence of an interview between Lord Howe and a committee of Congress at Staten Island, solicited by the former in the hope of suggesting some plan of reconciliation conformable to the terms of his commission. This attempt proving abortive, the operations commenced in earnest. Four ships sailed into the East River, and anchored about a mile above the city. The next day six others followed. Parties of British troops landed on Buchanan's Island, and a cannonade was opened upon a battery at Horen's Hook. British ships enter East River. troops land York Island. Sept. 15. On the 15th of September in the morning, three men- British of-war ascended Hudson's River as high as Bloomingdale, on New with the view of dividing the attention of the Americans, by making a feint on that side. At the same time General Howe embarked a strong division of his army, commanded by General Clinton, consisting of British and Hessians, at the head of Newtown Bay on Long Island. About eleven o'clock, these troops, having come into the East River, began to land at Kip's Bay, under the fire of two forty-gun ships and three frigates. Batteries had Americans been erected there; but the men were driven from them their posts. by the firing from the ships. General Washington was driven from IX. 1776. CHAPTER now at Haerlem, whither he had gone the night before, on account of the movements of the enemy at Montresor's Island; and, hearing the sound of the guns, he hastened with all despatch to the place of landing. To his inexpressible chagrin he found the troops, that had been posted on the lines, precipitately retreating without firing a shot, although not more than sixty or seventy of the enemy were in sight; and also two brigades, which had been ordered to their support, flying in the greatest confusion, in spite of every effort of their officers to rally and form them. It is said, that no incident of the war caused Washington to be so much excited, as he appeared on this occasion. He rode hastily towards the enemy, till his own person was in danger, hoping to encourage the men by his example, or rouse them to a sense of shame for their cowardice. But all his exertions were fruitless. The troops, being eight regiments in all, fled to the main body on Haerlem Plains. New York evacuated ican troops. Α The division in New York, under the command of by the Amer- General Putnam, retreated with difficulty, and with considerable loss. Fifteen men only were known to be killed, but more than three hundred were taken prisoners. Nearly all the heavy cannon, and a considerable quantity of baggage, stores, and provisions, were left behind. prompt and judicious manœuvre on the part of the British general, by stretching his army across the island from Kip's Bay to Hudson's River, would have cut off the rear of the retreating division. But this was not effected, nor were the Americans pursued with much vigor in their retreat. General Washington drew all his forces together on Haerlem within the lines on the Heights of Haerlem, where they Head quarters Heights. encamped the same night. Head-quarters were fixed at Morris's House, a mile and a half south from Mount Washington, on which was situate the fort of that name. After sending a small detachment to take possession of the city, General Howe encamped with the larger part of his army near the American lines, his right resting on the East River, and his left on the Hudson, supported at each extreme by the ships in those rivers. |