perfonal valor. His horfe being fhot under him, he with difficulty difengaged himself; and, feeing a foldier at the fame moment with a fixed bayonet advancing towards him, he drew out a pistol and fhot him dead on the fpot. The Americans on their part retaliated by retaliated by an attack on the English poft and magazine at Saggs Harbor, in Long Island, where they deftroyed a large quantity of ftores, and burnt a number of floops and other veffels lying in the harbor, with inconfiderable loss. Lord Cornwallis continued in his ftation at Amboy, watched and ftraitened in a manner which expofed the troops to the hardfhips of a moft fevere and unremitting duty, though lately ftrengthened by a brigade of British, and fome companies of grenadiers and light infantry from Rhode Island. The order for thefe troops was fent by General now SIR WILLIAM Howe (the "blufhing honors" of the Bath having been recently conferred upon him in reward of his fervices) to Lord Percy, in the abfence of General Clinton. His Lordship did not immediately comply, but returned for answer, "that the enemy were collecting a large force near Providence, with which circumstance he fuppofed General Howe to be unacquainted:" adding, “that he thought it his duty to reprefent the danger that might refult from fending away fo large a corps.' General Howe replied, "that Lord Percy knew the confequence of difobedience of orders-trial by

court

court-martial and certain fentence of being broke, and infifted upon his orders being punctually obeyed."

From fome extraordinary and unaccountable negligence, the army at New York were not able to take the field till June, for want of tents and camp equipage; which at length arriving, General Howe paffed over in full force into the Jerseys, with a fixed intention if poffible to bring the American commander to a general action; but on ap proaching his camp at Middlebrook, it was found abfolutely inacceffible, from the nature of its fituation and its artificial defences. Every manoeuvre was practifed by the English General to induce his antagonist to relinquish this advantageous ftation, but in vain. A feint was made of leaving the American army in the rear, and marching directly to the Delawar; but the American FABIUS was not to be deceived. "Had their defign," faid he, in his letter of the 17th of June, "been in the first inftance to cross the Delawar, they would probably have made a straight rapid march towards it, and not have halted as they have done to awaken our attention, and give us time to make every preparation for obstructing them." At length General Howe decamped fuddenly in the night of the 20th, and retreated to Brunswick. On the 22d he fell back to Amboy, being much haraffed in his whole line of march by the advanced parties of the enemy. R 2 General

General Washington himself, quitting his ftrong camp at Middlebrook, moved with his army to Quibble-town, that he might be nearer the royal forces, and might act according to circumstances. The English commander, who had actually thrown a bridge over the channel which separates the continent from Staten Ifland, and part of whose troops had already paffed over, now made a rapid march by different routes back into the Jerseys, in the hope of furprifing General Washington at Quibbletown; but on the firft intelligence of this movement, the American General, penetrating the defign, re-poffeffed himself of his former ftrong pofition at Middlebrook :-and knowing that Lord Cornwallis at the head of a ftrong detached corps was advancing by a circuitous route to the right, he fortified the paffes of the mountains on that fide of his camp; fo that Lord Cornwallis, who had defeated in his march a confiderable body of the enemy under Lord Sterling, and who hoped to have co-operated with General Howe by fecuring the paffes in the rear, was compelled reluctantly to

retire.

The whole plan of attack being thus fruftrated, General Howe came to a fecond and final refolution of evacuating the Jerfeys; and in both his retreats fuch havoc, fpoil, and ruin, were made by the forces under his personal inspection and command, as were well caleulated to obviate the fuf

picion that any fecret partiality to America yet remained in the breast of the English General,

A great part of the fummer had now elapfed, and the primary object of the campaign had proved wholly abortive. In vindication of the conduct of Sir William Howe it was alleged, that to bring the enemy to action was impoffible; and to advance to the Delawar, through a country entirely hoftile, and with fuch a force in his rear, would be no better than madness. But if fo, the war itself was evidently no better than madness, as thefe difficulties were precisely fuch as they had every reason previously to expect. Another project, however, was now to be tried, and preparations were made for a grand naval expedition. On the 23d of July the whole army, leaving only a fufficient force for the defence of New York, embarked on board the flect, and after a long and tedious voyage the troops were landed at Elk Ferry, at the head of Chesapeak Bay. General Washington, who had for many weeks been kept in anxious fufpenfe as to the defination of the British army, upon this intelligence took poffeffion of the heights on the eastern fide of the river Brandywine, which falls into the Delawar below Philadelphia, with an intention to dif pute the paffage. By day-break on the 11th of September the British army advanced in two columns the right, commanded by General Knyphaufen, marching directly to Chadsford; and the

other column, under Lord Cornwallis, taking a circuit to the left, in order to crofs the forks of the Brandywine, and attack the enemy on the right flank. Both were in a confiderable degree fuccefsful; the firft after a fevere conflict forcing the paffage of the ford, and the latter surprising and totally difcomfiting the brigades commanded by Sullivan, which compofed the right wing of the American army. The approach of night prevented the royal army from pursuing its advantages, and the lofs of the Americans did not exceed thirteen hundred men in killed, wounded, and prisoners; to which that of the British bore a very large proportion. The Marquis de la Fayette, a young French nobleman, who had recently entered as a volunteer into the American fervice, and Count Pulawski, a native of Poland, diftinguished themselves by their gallantry on this occafion, General Washington, on the difafter of Brandywine, retreated towards Philadelphia; but on the advance of General Howe, not deeming it expedient fo foon to risk a fecond engagement, he withdrew, and the English army paffed the Schuylkil without oppofition; and on the 26th of September General Howe entered Philadelphia in triumph, the Congress having previously removed their fittings to York-town in Virginia. About the fame time a detached corps of Americans, commanded by General Wayne, was surprised and totally routed by Major General

Grey,