USA > Connecticut > The history of Connecticut, from the first settlement of the colony to the adoption of the present constitution, vol. II > Part 24
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274
HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
On the other hand, the British army was much superior in numbers, and all the furnishings of a campaign. On the 12th of August, General Howe was reinforced by two fleets of transports under convoy of Commodore Hotham .*
On the 14th, the troops that had been stationed in South Carolina arrived in good order ; and about the same time a few regiments reached his camp from Florida and the West Indies. His army now numbered at least twenty-two thou- sand effective men. On the 22d, he effected a landing at a point between Utrecht and Gravesend, near Staten Island, under cover of the fleet.
The American works erected by General Greene extended across a small peninsula, with the East river on the left, a marsh running down to the water side on the right, and the bay and Governor's Island in the rear. Within these works General Sullivan lay encamped with a strong force, a few miles from Utrecht. From the point of land that forms the east side of the Narrows, a thickly-wooded hill stretches to the north-east for a distance of some five or six miles, terminating near Jamaica. This hill was crossed by two roads which had been made through deep. and narrow ravines ; a third road followed the shore round the western base of these hills ; and a fourth penetrated inland.+ In each of these passes the Americans had taken the precau- tion to place a guard of eight hundred men. General Put- nam now took command in consequence of the sudden illness of General Greene. He was entirely unacquainted with the situation of the works, as well as of the different passes and roads in the vicinity ; and the confusion and want of discipline among the troops was at this time noto- rious. Under these circumstances, his experience availed him little, as he was unable to exercise it.
Lord Cornwallis, with the reserve and some other troops, attempted to cross the hill through one of these passes, but finding it in possession of the Americans he quietly with- drew.
* Gordon, ii. 96. + Hildreth, iii. 148.
# Sparks' Life of Washington, 177
275
BATTLE ON LONG ISLAND.
[1776.]
On the 25th, General Heister, with two brigades of Hes- sians from Staten Island, joined the British forces. He was at once stationed at Flatbush.
The British army now occupied the plain on the opposite side of the hill, extending in a line from the Narrows to Flat- bush. General Grant commanded the left wing near the coast ; Heister, the centre, composed of Hessians ; and Clin- ton, with Earl Percy and Cornwallis, the right.
About three o'clock on the morning of the 27th of August, a report was brought into the American camp that the British were in motion on the road leading along the coast from the Narrows. A detachment under Lord Sterling was immedi- ately ordered out to meet them ; while Sullivan was sent to the heights above Flatbush, on the middle road. In the meantime, General Clinton led his division by a circuit into the Jamaica road, which was not guarded, and gained the rear of Sullivan. Before this was accomplished, reinforce- ments had been sent from the camp to support both Sullivan and Sterling .* General Grant, in order to divert the atten- tion of the Americans from the main point of attack, had advanced along the west road. The guard, consisting exclusively of Pennsylvanians and New Yorkers, without waiting to fire a gun, fled to General Parsons with the intelli- gence that the enemy were advancing in great numbers. As it was now day-light, Parsons saw the position of the British, and immediately rallied as many of the fugitives as he could, and posted them on the height about half a mile from the enemy. Though the number of the guard thus summarily gathered did not exceed twenty, they caused the advancing columns to halt until Lord Sterling came up with fifteen hundred troops and took possession of the hill about two miles from the camp.t A fierce action now com- menced between Grant and Sterling. The force of the latter consisted of the two battalions of Colonel Miles, and the regiments of Colonels Atlee, Smallwood, and Hatch. They behaved with great bravery, charging the enemy and
* Sparks' Life of Washington. + Gordon, ii. 90.
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276
HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
maintaining their position from about eight o'clock in the morning until two in the afternoon. They were finally compelled to give way. In their retreat they were met by some British troops, and many of them were taken prison- ers, including their commander. Some, however, succeeded in breaking through the lines and escaping, among whom was General Parsons .*
General Sullivan, with the regiments on the heights above Flatbush, being attacked by Heister on one side and Clinton on the other, after making an obstinate resistance for three hours, was obliged to surrender. As the grounds were broken and covered with wood, many of the troops escaped and returned to Brooklyn ; but by far the greater part of the survivors were taken prisoners. After the battle was over, General Howe encamped his army in front of the American lines, intending to carry them with the cooperation of the fleet.t
About five thousand Americans were engaged in this bat- tle, who were opposed by about fifteen thousand of the ene- my, well provided with artillery. New Jersey, Pennsylva- nia, Delaware, and Maryland, doubtless furnished a majority of the troops under Sullivan and Sterling, who were in actual service during the battle, though Connecticut was honorably represented on that disastrous field. General Parsons was there, as we have seen, and fought with his usual courage ; Huntington's regiment sustained a high character in the action, and suffered a heavy loss there.} Colonel Douglass also, with his regiment, was in the thickest of the fight.
* Gordon, ii. 100. + Sparks, 178.
# Hinman, 89, 110. The following is a list of the names of the officers in Colonel Huntington's regiment, who were prisoners with the enemy, who sent a flag of truce for their baggage and money, viz : Captains Brewster and Bissell ; Lieutenants Gillett, Gay, Olcott, and Makepeace ; Ensigns Bradford, Chapman, Lyman, Hinman, and Higgins ; Doctor Holmes ; Adjutant Hopkins, and Colonel Clark. These, however, were not all. There were missing from this regiment after the action, six captains, six lieutenants, twenty-one sergeants, two drummers, and one hundred and twenty-six rank and file.
277
DEFEAT OF THE AMERICANS.
[1776.]
Besides several hundred killed and missing, one thousand Americans were taken prisoners-among whom were Gene- ral Sullivan, Lord Sterling, three colonels, four lieutenant- colonels, three majors, eighteen captains, forty-three lieuten- ants, eleven ensigns, three surgeons, and an adjutant. The British had only sixty-one killed, and about two hundred and fifty wounded ; the Hessians had two killed and twenty-six wounded.
This victory was hailed with enthusiasm by the British king and ministry, who appear to have imagined that the Americans were effectually conquered. General Howe was at once created a knight of the bath, and several other officers were promoted for their gallantry on the occa- sion.
Apprehending that it was the design of General Howe to transport a part of his army across the sound, form an encampment at Kingsbridge, and thus put New York in jeopardy, a council of war was called. Matters of grave import were long and earnestly debated ; and it was at last unanimously resolved to withdraw the troops from Long Island. Boats were collected and other preparations were made without delay. On the morning of the 30th, the whole army, amounting to nine thousand men, the military stores, cattle, horses, carts, nearly all the provisions, and the artil- lery, except a few heavy cannon, were safely landed in New York. This retreat had been conducted in such a masterly manner under the personal supervision of Washington, that the last boat was crossing the river before they were discov- ered by the enemy .*
In about an hour after the American works had been
* Sparks' Life of Washington, p. 178, 179 ; Gordon, ii. 101, 102, 103. Colo- nel Glover, of Marblehead, Massachusetts, many of whose men had been bred to the fishing business, took command of the vessels and flat-bottomed boats, while the embarkation of the troops was committed to the superintendence of General McDougal. So intense was the anxiety of Washington, that for forty-eight hours he did not close his eyes, and rarely dismounted from his horse. A provi- dential fog favored the retreat. "The enemy were so near that they were heard at work with their pick-axes and shovels."
278
HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
abandoned, the fog cleared off, and the enemy were seen to take possession of them.
The situation of General Washington after the evacuation of Long Island, was truly distressing. In consequence of their recent repulse, the troops were disheartened, and their minds filled with apprehensions and despair. Many of them were intractable, and impatient to return. Great numbers went off-by companies at a time, by half regiments, and in some instances almost whole ones. Within nine days after the evacuation, the number of the sick, by the returns, formed one quarter of the whole army .* Whole battalions ran away from Powls' Hook and Bergen Heights at the firing of a broadside from a ship that was not near enough to do them any harm. To add to the threaten- ing ills that wait upon fear and disorder, the greatest distrust prevailed between the troops representing the different colo- nies. Mutual accusations, taunts, and boastings, found abundant employment in the camp. It was evident that some new steps must be taken to divert the attention of the men from these bickerings, or else all hope of an organized resistance must be abandoned.
Washington accordingly divided the army, and assorted the troops from different sections of the country in such a way that he could look for a more harmonious state of feeling between those who were thus associated, than had before prevailed in the whole army. Forty-five hundred were left in New York, sixty-five hundred were posted at Harlem, and twelve thousand at Kingsbridge. t
On the hills contiguous to these places, forts had been erected which were now garrisoned. The strongest of these was Fort Washington, at Harlem, occupying a high hill that overlooked the North river. Opposite to it on the Jersey shore, was Fort Lee. It soon became evident to Washing- ton, that General Howe intended to interpose his army between the American detachment at New York, and the
* Gordon. + Gordon, ii. 109, 110.
279
CAPTAIN NATHAN HALE.
[1776.]
main body posted at Kingsbridge. He therefore moved his head-quarters to Morrisania, near Fort Washington.
The numbers and position of the British forces at Brook- lyn was now an object of intense interest to Washington. A council of war was held, and it was determined to send an American officer of ability and approved courage, to Long Island, who should make his way into the British camp, and obtain the information that was so much needed. As soon as this course was resolved on, Washington made it known to the young officers of the army. Captain Nathan Hale, of South Coventry, Connecticut, was the only appli- cant for this dangerous commission. At the earnest request of Colonel Knowlton, in whose judgment Washington repos- ed the highest confidence, the generous offer was accepted, and the young hero hastened to prepare himself for the exe- cution of the trust. Washington had an interview with him before his departure, instructed him how to proceed, and with a fatherly solicitude gave him his parting blessing, and commended him to the protection of Heaven. Hale secret- ly hastened to the British camp, noted minutely the number of the enemy, their condition, and what locality they occupied. He was about to set out on his return, when he was unfortunately met by his cousin, Samuel Hale, from New Hampshire, who had deserted the American army and was then in the British service. Samuel, who had before the breaking out of the war paid a visit to Captain Hale's father in Connecticut, recognized his cousin at a glance. Forgetful alike of the ties of blood, and the no less sacred rites of hospitality, the tory-deserter, doubtless through the hope of reward, betrayed his cousin to the British com- mander, who at once caused Captain Hale to be advertised with a minute description of his personal appearance. Finding that he could not pass by the way of Long Island with- out falling into the hands of those who were now on the alert for him, the patriot scholar sought to escape by the way of Kingsbridge, and with such masterly tact did he advance that he was allowed to pass sentry after sentry
280
HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
without detection. He had arrived at the station of the outer guard, when he was suspected, arrested, and brought before General Howe, where it would seem, from the best evidence that can now be gathered, that an informal exam- ination was held that would have resulted in his immediate discharge, had not his false-hearted cousin presented himself, and made oath that he was a captain in the continental army and a spy. This piece of voluntary testimony changed the doom of the young hero, and he was immedi- ately condemned to the gibbet without the sanction of a court-martial. The execution, or rather assassination, was appointed to take place on the following morning. Throughout the night, he was treated with every indignity that the malevolence of his enemies could invent. The ordinary signs by which we recognize in a fellow-mortal the existence of a common humanity, were denied him by the wretches who had him in charge, and by the tory to whom the privi- lege was accorded of murdering him. He earnestly begged that in his last hour the attendance of a clergyman might be allowed to administer to him the consolations of religion. Even this common privilege allotted to felons and accorded to men about to suffer for the crime of high treason, was refused him. He had during the night written some letters to his mother and a few of his more intimate friends. Even these were taken from him and brutally torn in pieces before his eyes. "The rebels," said the perpetrators of this barbar- ous act, "shall not know that they have a man in their army who can die with such firmness." But though in the midst of scornful foes, betrayed by the mercenary coward who should have protected him, and without the poor privilege of wafting home to his heart-broken mother the fragrance of a farewell sigh, his noble spirit did not faint at the sight of the poison that flashed so angrily in his cup. As he ascended the scaffold, his eye beamed with a lofty patriotism, and his face, serenely beautiful, shone with a light that caused his murderers to quail before him, as he exclaimed in tones of warning, " You are shedding the blood of the innocent ; if
281
HALE AND ANDRE.
[1776.]
I had ten thousand lives, I would lay them down in defense of my injured, bleeding country."*
The fate of Hale has been likened to that of Andre, and in some particulars they are certainly analagous. Both were young and accomplished, both were scholars of a high order, both were humane and gentle, both were imbued with that lofty chivalry and scorn of danger that is as much an innate gift of the soul as those of eloquence and song. But here the comparison ends. There was a moral elevation, a reli- gious enthusiasm, in the character of the American patriot, that the British man of honor never recognized as the gov- erning motive of his life. The one followed the retreating rainbow that flits in the horizon of a soldier's heaven ; the other, added to the graces of intellectual and social culture, the self-sacrificing spirit of a martyr. The one saw his ideal of glory in the glitter that flashes from the jewels of a diadem representing the pride of feudal ages ; the other saw his, only in the calm light of that liberty that lives in the presence of the King of kings, and is kindled for immortality. The manner of their death, too, affords the same striking points of resemblance, and the same startling contrasts. Both suffered upon the gallows-tree, and both died among strangers. But the one received the benefit of a soldier's trial, in accordance with the rules of a code under which he had been educated-a trial over which the best men of the age presided, and at the result of which the humane Wash- ington shed tears of pity-while the last messages that he sent to his absent friends and the little keepsakes that he left for them, were faithfully kept and religiously transmitted to them ; the other, without the form of a military trial and without a sign of sympathy, was derided as a rebel, the tokens of regard that would have mitigated the blow that was to fall upon his friends, torn in pieces, and his last moments embittered by the insulting offices of a hangman who was a refugee.
How much blame is to be attributed to General Howe for
* Hinman, 82.
282
HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
this act of inhumanity, it is impossible to say. Officially, he must certainly be held responsible for it in all its revolting details ; but from what we know of his generous character as exhibited on many other occasions, we would choose to believe that his worst offense was a too romantic loyalty to his sovereign, and a culpable carelessness in giving over into bloody hands one of the most spotless and precious lives that have ever been sacrificed upon the altar of freedom .*
In person, Captain Hale was handsome, and in manners frank and engaging. He was bold and soldierly in his bear- ing, and fond of the society of refined ladies, and a general favorite with them.t His death caused universal sorrow in Connecticut, and among his large circle of friends through- out the nation, his name still ranks with the few that are described by the most artistic as well as natural of all Ameri- can poets, as " not born to die."
To give the details of what followed in the American camp between the 1st and the 15th of September, is not within the range of such a work as this. Washington was every day made more painfully conscious of the inferiority of his own
* In July, 1775, at the time when young Hale was commissioned as a lieuten- ant, he was Preceptor of the Union Grammar School, in New London. He immediately wrote to the proprietors of the school, asking to be released from his engagement. He was released. The parting scene with his pupils made a strong impression upon their minds. He addressed them in a style almost parental, gave them earnest council, prayed with them, and shaking each by the hand, he bade them individually farewell. Caulkins' New London, 515.
+ Miss Caulkins adds-" Many a fair cheek was wet with bitter tears, and gentle voices uttered deep execrations on his barbarous foes, when tidings of his untimely fate were received."
# President Dwight thus alludes to his untimely fate :
" Thus while fond virtue wish'd in vain to save, HALE, bright and generous, found a hopeless grave. With Genius' living flame his bosom glow'd, And Science charm'd him to her sweet abode. In Worth's fair path his feet had ventur'd far, The pride of peace, the rising grace of war ; In duty firm, in danger calm as even,
To friends unchanging, and sincere to heaven. How short his course !- the prize, how early won ! While weeping Friendship mourns her favorite gone."
283
MRS. MURRAY ENTERTAINING TRYON.
[1776.]
raw troops to the well trained regiments that were now mak- ing ready to advance upon him.
On the 15th, General Howe landed three miles above the city, near Kipp's Bay. The brigades that had been posted to guard this important position were raw troops, who fled with- out making any opposition, leaving Washington unprotected and almost alone, within a few yards of the enemy. Orders were immediately sent to Putnam, who had been left in charge of that part of the army that remained to keep posses- sion of New York, to evacuate the city at once. With as much order as it was possible to observe under such circum- stances, Putnam left behind him the heavy artillery and the more cumbrous of the military stores, and, avoiding the direct thoroughfares to the city, he retreated along the Greenwich road, and thus escaped the enemy .*
Meanwhile, the British generals had repaired to the house of Mr. Robert Murray, a quaker whig, where they spent two good hours over the cake and wine that Mrs. Murray took care to set before them. Governor Tryon, who was blessed with an excellent appetite and loved a pleasant joke, as his gamesome demonstration upon Danbury a few months after sufficiently evinced, had already taken the field, and had a very agreeable conversation with the lady of the house, rallying her about her democratic friends and whigish ten- dencies. She kept these honorable guests so long at her house, that Putnam had time, by using the utmost dispatch, to escape.t Had they taken possession of the heights near which he passed, with a few field-pieces, and marched a fourth part of their regiments to intercept him, they could have easily cut off his retreat.
When near Bloomingdale, a skirmish took place, in which fifteen Americans were killed, and more than three hundred were taken prisoners. Among the slain was Major James Chapman, of New London, "a man of strength and stature beyond the common standard, and a soldier steady and
* Sparks. + Gordon.
284
HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
brave."* In this skirmish, also, as well as in the fight on the following day, Colonel William Douglas, of Northford, was particularly distinguished. In the action on the 16th, scores of his men fell, both from the shots of the enemy and from the intense heat of the day. Worn with fatigue and parched with thirst, many of them lay down at the first stream to drink, and never rose again-some being overtaken by the enemy and killed, while others died from the excess of water which they drank.t
* Caulkins' New London, 532. Lieut. Richard Chapman, who was slain at Groton fort ; Lieut. Edward Chapman, who was killed in the French war ; Capt. John Chapman, first lieutenant of the ship Oliver Cromwell, and after that was taken, of the Putnam; and Joseph Chapman, also a meritorious officer in the army, were all brothers of the gallant and lamented Major Chapman.
+ Col. Douglas was born in Plainfield, Conn., January 17, 1742. At the early age of sixteen years, he enlisted as a soldier in the old French war ; and previous to the peace of 1759, he was chosen to the post of sergeant. Soon after, he engaged in the sea-faring business, as commander of a merchant ship sailing between New Haven and the West Indies, and was thus engaged when hostilities commenced between the united colonies and Great Britain. He was commissioned as a captain on the 17th of May, 1775, and immediately proceeded to the north with his company, in charge of the provisions and stores for the troops under Montgomery. As he was a good seaman, he was placed in command of the little fleet on Lake Champlain, and did good service in the capture of St. John's and Chamblee. He received a colonel's commission, bearing date June 20, 1776; and as soon as his regiment was raised and equipped, he marched to New York and there joined the continental army. He participated in the disastrous cam- paign on Long Island, and fought with distinguished bravery in the several actions near New York, particularly at Harlem Heights, White Plains, and Phillip's Manor. In the battle of the 15th of September, his clothes were perforated with bullets, and his horse was shot from under him. In this engagement he became so exhausted, that, in connection with subsequent exposures, he lost his voice, and was never afterward able to speak a loud word. From the date of this battle until toward the middle of December, he was so constantly on duty that he rarely slept beneath a roof. He died at his residence in Northford, New Haven County, May 28, 1777, aged 35 years.
Colonel Douglas was not only a brave and useful officer, but a true patriot and christian. The letters written by him to his family and other friends during his several campaigns, evince at once the warmth of his affections and friendships, his self-denying patriotism, and his firm reliance on God. I am indebted to his grandson, the Hon. Benjamin Douglas, of Middletown, for permission to copy the following letter resigning his commission, written about four weeks previous to his decease :
285
COLONEL KNOWLTON.
[1776.]
On the morning of the 16th, Colonel Knowlton, of Ash- ford, Connecticut, went out with a party of volunteer rangers, a large part of whom were from Connecticut, and advanced through the woods to reconnoitre the enemy's lines. As soon as he was discovered, General Howe sent forward two battalions of light-infantry, and a regiment of highlanders, to meet him. A battalion of Hessian grenadiers, and a com- pany of Chasseurs, with two field-pieces, soon followed. When these troops were seen advancing into the open ground, Washington rode forward to the lines that he might learn the object of the movement, and be in a situation to lend his advice should the action of the enemy turn out to be serious. He soon heard a discharge of musketry, and in a few minutes some rangers came up and informed him that a party was engaged in a skirmish with Colonel Knowlton, and that there appeared to be about three hundred of the enemy. Washington forthwith detached three companies of Weedon's Virginia regiment, under Major Leitch, to reinforce Knowl- ton, and attack the enemy in the rear, while their attention was diverted by a movement in front. The feint succeeded admirably. There was a fence at the foot of the hill occu-
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