"THE BATTLE OF THE KEGS."Gallants attend, and hear a friend"'Twas early day, as poets say,Trill forth harmonious ditty;Just when the sun was rising,Strange things I'll tell, which late befellA soldier stood on log of wood,In Philadelphia city.And saw a thing surprising."As in amaze he stood to gaze(The truth can't be denied, sir),He spied a score of kegs, or more,Come floating down the tide, sir."A sailor, too, in jerkin blue,The strange appearance viewing,First d—d his eyes, in great surprise,Then said, 'Some mischief's brewing.'"These kegs, I'm told, the rebels hold,Pack'd up like pickled herring;And they've come down t' attack the townIn this new way of ferry'ng.'"The soldier flew, the sailor too,And, scared almost to death, sir,Wore out their shoes to spread the news,And ran till out of breath, sir."Now up and down, throughout the town,Most frantic scenes were acted;And some ran here, and others there,Like men almost distracted."Some fire cried, which some denied,But said the earth had quaked;And girls and boys, with hideous noise,Ran through the streets half naked."Sir William* he, snug as a flea,Lay all this time a snoring;Nor dream'd of harm as he lay warmIn bed with Mrs. L... ngt"Now, in a fright, he starts upright,Awaked by such a clatter;He rubs both eyes, and boldly cries,'For God's sake, what's the matter?'"At his bed-side he then espiedSir Erskine, at command, sir;Upon one foot he had one boot,And t'other in his hand, sir."'Arise! arise!' Sir Erskine cries;'The rebels—more's the pity—Without a boat, are all afloat,And ranged before the city.'"The motley crew, in vessels new,With Satan for their guide, sir,Pack'd up in bazs, or wooden kegs,Come driving down the tide, sir."' Therefore prepare for bloody war;These kegs must all be routed; 'Or surely we despised shall be,And British courage doubted.'"The royal band now ready stand,All ranged in dread array, sir,With stomach stout to see it out,And make a bloody day, sir."The cannons roar from shore to shore;The small-arms loud did rattle;Since wars began I'm sure no manE'er saw so strange a battle."The rebel dales, the rebel vales,With rebel trees surrounded,The distant woods, the hills and floods.With rebel echoes sounded."The fish below swam to and fro,Attack'd from every quarter;Why sure (thought they), the devil's to pay'Mong folk above the water."The kegs, 'tis said, though strongly madeOf rebel staves and hoops, sir,Could not oppose their powerful foes,The conq'ring British troops, sir."From morn to night, these men of mightDisplay'd amazing courage,And when the sun was fairly down.Retired to sup their porridge."A hundred men, with each a pen,Or more, upon my word, sir,It is most true, would be too few,Their valor to record, sir."Such feats did they perform that dayAgainst these wicked kegs, sir,That, years to come, if they get home,They'll make their boasts and brags, sir."
* This was a musical instrument invented by Dr. Franklin. He saw, in London, a musical instrument, consisting of tumblers, and played by passing a wet finger around their rims. The glasses were arranged on a table, and tuned by putting water in them until they gave the notes required. Franklin was charmed by the sweet tones, and, after many trials, succeeded in constructing an instrument of a different form, and much superior. His glasses were made in the shape of a hemisphere, with an open neck or socket in the middle, for the purpose of being fixed on an iron spindle. They were then arranged, one after another, on this spindle; the largest at one end, and gradually diminishing in size to the smallest at the other end The tones depended on the size of the glasses. The spindle, with its series of glasses, was fixed horizontally in a case, and turned by a wheel attached to its large end, upon the principle of a common spinning-w-heel. The performer sat in front of the instrument, and the tones were brought out by applying a wet finger to the exterior surface of the glasses as they turned round. It became quite a popular instrument. A Miss Cecilia Davies acquired great skill in playing upon it, and, with her sister, performed in various cities in Europe. She performed in the presence of the imperial court of Vienna at the celebration of the nuptials of the Duke of Parma and the Archduchess of Austria. Metastasio composed an ode for the occasion, expressly designed to be sung by her sister, and accompanied by the armonica.—Sparks's Life of Franklin, page 264.
Alarm during the MischianzaFete.—Boldness of Americans.—Interesting Places near Philadelphia.
On the night of the Mischianza, while the enemy were enjoying the festivities of thefete, Colonel Allen M'Lane, father of one of our ministers to the court of St. James, devised a stratagem to break them up. At ten o'clock he reached theabatisin front of the British works with one hundred and fifty men, in four divisions, supported by Clow's dragoons. They carried camp-kettles filled with combustibles, and at a given signal they fired the whole line ofabatis. The British beat the long alarm roll, and the assailants were attacked and pursued by the strong guard along the lines. The officers at thefetemanaged to keep the ladies ignorant of the cause of the tumult without. M'Lane and his associates escaped to the hills of the Wissahicon, and bent their way toward Valley Forge. This was the last time the British felt the annoyance of the patriots while in Philadelphia; for they soon afterward evacuated the city, crossed the Delaware, and marched for New York. We shall overtake them on the plains of Monmouth.
Germantown, Whitemarsh, Barren Hill, and Valley Forge, lying within a short distance of Philadelphia, are all intimately connected, in their Revolutionary history, with the city, particularly in relation to its possession and final evacuation by the British in 1777—8. We will proceed to these interesting localities, after considering, for a moment, the patriotism of thewomenof Philadelphia, which beamed out, clear as Hesperus, at the darkest hour of the struggle for freedom."
In the summer of 1780 the distress of the American army was very great, on account of the scarcity of clothing, and the inadequate means possessed by the commissary depart-
** He is represented by some as Sir William Erskine.
** Sir William Howe.
*** The wife of a Boston refugee, who was then a commissary of prisoners in Philadelphia, being second only to Cunningham in cruelty, while others speak of him as an honorable man.
Patriotism of the Philadelphia Women.—Mrs. Reed and Mrs. Bache.—De Chastellux's Visit to Mrs. Bache.
ment to afford a supply. The generous sympathies of the ladies of Philadelphia were aroused, and they formed an association for the purpose of affording relief to the poor soldiers.
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Never was the energy of genuine sympathy more nobly exercised than by the patriotic women who joined hands in this holy endeavor. Mrs. Esther Reed, the wife of General Joseph Reed, though feeble in health, and surrounded by family cares, entered with hearty zeal into the service, and was, by the united voice of her associates, placed at the head of the society. * Mrs. Sarah Bache, daughter of Dr. Franklin, was also a conspicuous actor in the formation of the association, and in carrying out its plans.
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All classes became interested, and the result was glorious. "All ranks of society seemed to have joined in the liberal effort, from Phillis, the colored woman, with her humble seven shillings and sixpence, to the Marchioness De La Fayette, who contributed one hundred guineas in specie, ** and the Countess De Luzerne, who gave six thousand dollars in Continental paper. *** Those who had no money to contribute gave the service of their hands in plying the needle, and in almost every house the good work went on.
It was charity in its genuine form, and from its purest source—the voluntary outpourings from the heart. It was not stimulated by the excitements of our day—neither fancy fairs or bazars; but the American women met, and, seeing the necessity that asked interposition, relieved it. They solicited money and other contributions directly and for a precise and avowed object. They labored with their needles, and sacrificed their trinkets and jewelry." **** The Marquis De Chastellux, who was in Philadelphia while these efforts were in progress, was delighted with the event. In describing a visit to several of the American ladies, he says, "We began by Mrs. Bache. She merits all the anxiety we had to see her, for she is the daughter of Mr. Franklin. Simple in her manners, like her respectable father, she possesses his benevolence. She conducted us into a room filled with work, lately finished by the ladies of Philadelphia. This work consisted neither of embroidered tambour waistcoats, nor net-work edgings, nor of gold and silver brocade—it was a quantity of shirts for the soldiers of Pennsylvania. The ladies bought the linen from their own private purses, and took a pleasure in cutting them out and sewing them themselves. On each shirt was the name of the married or unmarried lady who made it, and they amounted to twenty-two hundred." (v) The results of this effort
* Mrs. Reed was a daughter of Dennis de Berdt, a London merchant, and for some time agent for the colonies. De Berdt's house was the resort of many Americans in England, among whom was Joseph Reed, who afterward became his daughter's husband. They were married in London in 1780. Her father became a bankrupt, and died soon afterward. Esther accompanied her husband to America immediately after her marriage. The Revolution soon broke out, and, as Mr. Reed was an active participator in its earliest hostile scenes, the young wife and mother was kept, almost from her first residence in America, in a state of excitement and alarm. Fragile in body, and of nervous temperament, her health suffered; and, a few months after she became an active member of the association of ladies for the relief of the American army, she went down into the grave. She died on the 18th of September, 1780, aged thirty-four years.
** La Fayette contributed this sum in the name of his wife. In his letter to Mrs. Reed inclosing the amount, he remarked, "Without presuming to break in upon the rules of your respected association, may I most humbly present myself as her embassador to the confederate ladies, and solicit in her name that Mrs. President be pleased to accept her offering."
M. De Marbois, the French secretary of legation, in a letter to Mrs. Reed on the occasion, said, "You have been chosen, madam, for that important duty, because, among them all, you are the best patriot, the most zealous and active, and most attached to the interests of your country."
*** Equal to nearly one hundred dollars in specie.
**** Mrs. Ellet's Women of the Revolution, i., 53. Life and Correspondence of President Reed.
* (v) Travels in North America, i., 197. The marquis, in his account of his social intercourse in Philadelphia, mentions a visit to Mr. Huntington, the President of Congress. "We found him,'' he says, "in his cabinet, lighted by a single candle. This simplicity reminded me of that of the Fabricius's and the Philopemens.
Mr. Huntington is an upright man, and espouses no party." Mr. Duponceau relates that Mr. Huntington and himself often breakfasted together on whortleberries and milk. On one of these occasions Mr. H. said, "What now, Mr. Duponceau, would the princes of Europe say, could they see the first magistrate of this great eountry at his frugal repast?"—Watson, i., 424.
Contributions of Clothing for the Soldiers.—Germantown.—James Logan.—Speech of Logan, the Indian Chief.
were great and timely. The aggregate amount of contributions in the city and county of Philadelphia was estimated at seven thousand five hundred dollars in specie value. Added to this was a princely donation from Robert Morris of the contents of a ship fully laden with military stores and clothing, which had unexpectedly arrived. * During the cold winter that followed, hundreds of poor soldiers in Washington's camp had occasion to bless the women of Philadelphia for their labor of love.
On the morning of the 29th of November, I left Philadelphia for Germantown, about six miles distant, accompanied by Mr. Agnew, who journeyed with me to Whitemarsh, Barren Hill, Valley Forge, and Paoli. It was a delightful morning, the air a little frosty. The road from the city to its ancient suburban village passes through a pleasant, undulating country, and was swarming with vehicles of every kind a greater portion of the way. The village of Germantown extends along a fine Macadamized road for nearly three miles, having no lateral streets, and, though so near a great commercial city, few places in the United States present more striking appearances of antiquity. Twenty or thirty of the low, steep-roofed, substantial stone houses, with quaint pent-eaves and ponderous cornices, built by the early inhabitants, yet remain, and produce a picturesque feature in the midst of the more elegant modern mansions of a later generation. ** It was first laid out and a settlement commenced under a grant to Francis Daniel Pastorius in 1684. He purchased six thousand acres from William Penn, and the whole was settled by Germans. James Logan, the confidential secretary of Penn, had a favorite country house upon a hill at the southern end of the village, which is still called Logan's Hill. ***
* De Chastellux, speaking of Robert Morris, says, "It is scarcely to be credited that, amid the disasters of America, Mr. Morris, the inhabitant of a town just emancipated from the hands of the English, should possess a fortune of eight millions. It is, however, in the most critical times that great fortunes are acquired. The fortunate return of several ships, the still more successful cruises of his privateers, have increased his riches beyond his expectations, if not beyond his wishes." Morris lost as many as one hundred and fifty vessels, most of them without insurance, during the war; but, as many escaped, and made immense profits, his losses were made up to him. In a letter to a friend in England, Mr. Morris remarked that, notwithstanding he lost immense sums, he came out of the difficulties, at the peace, "about even." Among the numerous clerks employed by Mr. Morris was James Rees, who entered his serviee in 1776. then a lad in his thirteenth year. Mr. Rees died at his residence in Geneva, New York, on the 24th ol March, 1851, at the age of eighty-seven years.
** Mr. Watson says (p. 19, vol. ii.), "Many of the old houses in Germantown are plastered on the inside with clay and straw mixed, and over it is laid a thin lime plaster. In a house ninety years of age, taken down, the grass in the clay appeared as green as when first cut. Oldmixon describes Germantown in 1700 as composed of one street, a mile in length, lined on each side, in front of the houses, with 'blooming peach-trees.'"
*** James Logan was the Indian's friend, and, in remembrance of him, Shikellimus named his son Logan. Shikellimus was a Cayuga chief, and one of the converts to Christianity under the preaching of the Moravians. Logan beeame a chief among the Mingoes, and dwelt in the present Mifflin county, in Pennsylvania. He was a friend of the whites, but suffered dreadfully at their hands. His whole family were murdered on the Ohio, a little below Wheeling, by a band of white men who feigned friendship, in the spring of 1774. In the autumn of that year his consent was asked to a treaty with Lord Dunmore. On that occasion he made the following speech to the white messenger, which Mr. Jefferson has preserved: I appeal to any white man to say, if ever he entered Logan's cabin hungry, and he gave him no meat; if he ever came cold and naked, and he clothed him not. During the course of the last long and bloody war. Logan remained idle in his cabin, an advocate for peace. Such was my love for the whites, that my countrymen pointed as they passed, and said, 'Logan is the friend of the while men.' I had even thought to have lived with you, but for the injuries of one man. Colonel Cresap, * the last spring, in cold blood, and unprovoked, murdered all the relations of Logan, not even sparing my women and children. This called on me for revenge. I have sought it. I have killed many. I have fully glutted my vengeance. For my country I rejoice at the beams of peaee. But do not harbor a thought that mine is the joy of fear. Logan never felt fear. He will not turn on his heel to save his life. Who is there to mourn for Logan? Not one!"—Notes on Virginia.
* It has been satisfactorily demonstrated that Logan was mistaken in the name of the leader of those who slew his friends. This subject is noticed more in detail in a subsequent chapter.
Officers of Government at Germantown.—Chew's House.—Destructive Effects of War.—Benjamin Chew.
In various ways the history of Germantown is intimately connected with that of Philadelphia, particularly at the time of the Revolution. It was then the residence of several men distinguished in the annals of the war; and in 1793, when the yellow fever was raging in Philadelphia, the officers of both the state and federal governments resided there for a short time.
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President Washington occupied the mansion of the Perot family, where General Howe had his quarters at one time. Jefferson, who was secretary of state, occupied the building afterward the Bank of Germantown; and other officers of the general government were in private houses. The trustees of the Academy agreed to rent that edifice "to the Congress of the United States, at their next session, for the sum of three hundred dollars." The whole building was only eighty feet long and fifty wide, yet it was considered sufficiently large to accommodate the representatives of the nation at that time.
We proceeded to the north end of the village, and reined up at the entrance gate of "Chew's House," the most noted and attractive relic of the Revolution now in Germantown. It stands back several rods from the street, on the cast side, and is surrounded by noble trees and shrubbery in profusion. The house is a spacious stone edifice with ample wings. In various parts of the grounds were the mutilated remains of several fine marble statues and vases, some standing, others lying upon the ground. They are evidences of the refined taste of its distinguished owner, Chief-justice Chew, * and at the same time melancholy mementoes of the destructive character of war. These fine specimens of sculpture were all perfect before the conflict known as the Battle of Germantown occurred; they were battered, broken, and cast down by the cannon-balls hurled on that occasion. We passed an hour with the venerable present owner of the mansion, the widow of a son of Chief-justice Chew. She received us with much courtesy, and seemed to take pleasure in leading us to various parts of the grounds. The walls of the large room on the south are covered with old paintings, chiefly family portraits, many of them by eminent artists, and possessing much merit. Mrs. Chew showed me several mementoes of the battle, among which are the scars seen at the head of the great stair-case, which were made by the passage of a cannon-ball through the house. In the stable we saw the old doors of the mansion, completely riddled by musket-balls. Mrs. Chew informed us that the house was so much injured, that four or five carpenters were employed a whole winter in repairing it.
The battle of Germantown was fought on the morning of the 4th of October, 1777. DefeatedSeptember 11, 1777on the banks of the Brandywine, (a) Washington retreated, with his whole army, back to Philadelphia, and encamped at Germantown. As soon as his
* Benjamin Chew was born in Maryland, November 20th, 1722. He studied law first with Andrew Hamilton, and afterward in London. He went to Philadelphia in 1754, where he held the respective offices of recorder of the city, register of wills, attorney general, and finally beeame chief justice of Pennsylvania. His course was doubtful when the Revolution broke out, and he was claimed by both parties. After the promulgation of the Declaration of Independence, he took a decided stand against the Whigs, and retired to private life. In 1777 he refused to sign a parole, and was sent a prisoner to Fredericksburg, Virginia. In 1790 he was appointed president of the High Court of Errors and Appeals, and held that office until the abolition of the tribunal in 1806. He died on the 20th of January, 1810, aged nearly eighty-eight years. His father was the Honorable Samuel Chew, of Delaware, a member of the society of Friends, who was a judge and a physician.
Maneuvers of the two Armies on the Schuylkill.—The British Army at Germantown.—Preparations to Attack it
soldiers were rested and refreshed, * he recrossed the Schuylkill, and marched toSeptember 16oppose the army of Howe, then pressing on toward Philadelphia. The two armies met near the Warren Tavern, on the Lancaster road, within twenty miles of the city. Washington made preparations to attack the left wing of the enemy, and an engagement was about to take place a little north of the Goshen meeting-house, when a violent storm of rain came on suddenly, wet the powder of both parties, and prevented a conflict.
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The storm continued all light, and before dawn the enemy left their position, and moved down the road leading to Swedes Ford. Perceiving this, Washington crossed the Schuylkill above them at Parker's Ford, hoping to be able to confront them while on their passage of the river. Howe did not cross, but wheeled and made a rapid march up the right bank of the stream toward Reading. Supposing Howe's design to be either to turn the right of his army, or to get possession of the American stores deposited at Reading, Washington moved his forces up the river near to Pottsgrove (now Pottstown), twenty miles above Norristown. Howe's march seemed to have been a movement to deceive Washington; for, as soon as the latter moved to Pottsgrove, the former wheeled his army, marched rapidly down the river, crossed it at the Fatland Ford and vicinity (a little above Norristown), and pushed forward to Philadelphia. ** (a) That whole region of country, awed by thea September 18, 1777presence of the British army, was disaffected toward the American cause, and Washington could obtain no reliable information of the enemy's movements. With correct intelligence, he probably would have foiled Howe by skillful maneuvers, and saved Philadelphia. ***
On first taking possession of Philadelphia, Howe stationed the main division of his army at Germantown. Washington encamped near Pennibecker's mill, between Perkiomy and Skippack Creeks, about twenty miles from Philadelphia, where he remained until about the 1st of October, undetermined what movement to make next, when his forces were augmented by the arrival of troops from Peekskill on the Hudson, and a body of American militia. Advised of the weakened state of Howe's army, in consequence of his detaching a portion for the purpose of reducing Billingsport, and Forts Mercer and Mifflin, on the Delaware, the commander-in-ehief conceived a plan for attacking the main division at Germantown. The British line of encampment there crossed the village at right angles, at about the center, the left wing extending westward from the town to the Schuylkill. It was covered in front by the German chasseurs, some mounted, and some on foot. The right extended eastward from the village, and was covered in front by the Queen's Rangers, a light corps under Lieutenant-colonel Simcoe. The center was posted in the town, and guarded by the fortieth regiment, and another battalion of light infantry was stationed about three fourths of a mile in advance.
At a council of officers called by Washington, it was arranged that the divisions of Sullivan and Wayne, flanked by Conway's brigade, were to enter the town by the way of Chestnut Hill, while General Armstrong, **** with the Pennsylvania militia, should fall down
* The condition of the American soldiers was, at that time, deplorable, on account of a want of shoes. Washington, writing to the president of Congress on the 23d of September, says, "At least one thousand men are barefooted, and have performed the marches in that condition."
** It was at this time 'that Washington wrote to Gates and Putnam to send on re-enforcements from the northern armies amid the Highlands. See page 297.
*** On the approach of the British toward the Schuylkill, Congress, then in session in Philadelphia, adjourned to Lancaster, where they assembled on the 27th of September. They adjourned the same day to York, where they met on the 30th, and continued their sittings there until the British evacuated the city the following summer.
**** John Armstrong, a native of Pennsylvania, was a colonel in the provincial forees of that state during the French and Indian wars. He headed an expedition against the Indians at Kiltaning in 1756, which destroyed that settlement, dispersed the savages, and took possession of the stores which the French had sent there for the use of their native allies. For this service the corporation of Philadelphia passed a vote of thanks to Armstrong and his three hundred men, and presented him with a medal and a piece of plate. He was appointed a brigadier general in the Continental army in 1776, and did gallant service in defense of Fort Moultrie, at Charleston, in the summer of that year. He was engaged in the battles of Brandywine and Germantown in the autumn of 1777. Becoming dissatisfied concerning some promotions in the army, he resigned his commission at the close of 1777, and became a member of Congress afterward. He died at Carlisle, March 9, 1795. He was the father of Major John Armstrong, the author of the "Newburg Addresses," whose life and character is noticed on page 106.
Approach of the Americans to Germantown.—Attack on the British Pickets.—Chew's House a Defense.
the Manatawny road by Van Deering's mill, and get upon the enemy s left and rear. The divisions of Greene and Stephen, flanked by M'Dougall's brigade, were to enter by making a circuit by way of the Lime-kiln road, at the market-house, and to attack the enemy s right wing; and the Maryland and Jersey militia, under Generals Smallwood and Forman, were to march by the old York road and fall upon the rear of their right. Lord Stirling, with the brigades of Nash and Maxwell, were to form a reserve corps. *
After dark, on the evening of the 3d of October, Washington, with his army, moved silently from his camp on Metuchen Hill, upon Skippack Creek, toward Germantown. He accompanied the column of Sullivan and Wayne in person. Small parties were sent out to secure every man who might give the enemy notice of his approach, and every precaution was taken to insure complete surprise.
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He tried to reach the British pickets at Chestnut Hill before daylight; but the roughness of the roads over which his army marehed prevented, and it was almost sunrise when he emerged from the woods on that elevation. His approach had been discovered at early dawn by the British patrols, who gave the alarm. The troops were soon called to arms, and placed in battle order on Mount Airy, about a mile north of Chew's house in Germantown. At seven o'clock Sullivan's advanced party, drawn chiefly from Conway's brigade, and led by that officer, fell upon the British pickets at Allen's house, at Mount Airy, where they had two six-pounders, and drove them back to the main body near, which consisted chiefly of the fortieth regiment and a battalion of light infantry. Sullivan's main body now left the road, moved to the right through the fields, formed in a lane leading from Allen's house toward the Schuylkill, and joined in the attack with so much vigor and such overwhelming numbers, that the enemy, after a sharp engagement of twenty minutes, gave way, and fell back to the village, closely pursued by the victors. Colonel Musgrave, who commanded the British center, thus furiously attacked, threw himself, with five companies of the fortieth regiment, into Judge Chew's large stone house, pictured on page 314, from which such a severe discharge of musketry was poured upon Woodford's brigade, which was
* Sparks, v., 78.
Scenes at Chew's House.—Remissness of the Militia.—Victory lost to the Americans.
pursuing the flying enemy, that their progress was checked. The fire of the small arms of the patriots upon this refuge was quite ineffectual. General Reed, it is said, proposed to continue the pursuit of the remainder of the enemy, who were then in great confusion, and turning their faces toward Philadelphia; but General Knox, of the artillery, opposed the suggestion, as being against all military rule "to leave an enemy in a fort in the rear. "What!" exclaimed Reed, "call this a fort, and lose the happy moment!" They sought for Conway to decide the point, but he was not to be found. Knox's opinion prevailed, and pursuit was abandoned.
A flag was now sent by a young man * to demand a formal and immediate surrender. The bearer was slain by a bullet when within musket-shot of the house. Cannons were now brought to bear upon the house by the artillery regiment of Maxwell s brigade; but so strong were the walls and so courageous were the inmates, that it was found impossible to dislodge them. Attempts were made to set the house on fire, but without success. ** Many of the Americans were killed in the assault, while scarcely a man of the garrison was wounded. The attempt to dislodge the enemy caused many of the American troops to halt, and brought back Wayne's division, which had advanced far beyond the house. This totally uncovered Sullivan's left flank, which was advancing toward the enemy's left, and disconcerted all their plans.
While this attack on Chew's house was in progress, General Greene had approached the enemy's right wing, and routed the battalion of light infantry and the Queen's Rangers. Turning a little to the right, he fell upon the left flank of the enemy's right wing, and endeavored to enter the village, not doubting that the Pennsylvania militia under Armstrong, upon the right, and the militia of Maryland and New Jersey on the left, commanded by Smallwood and Forman, would execute the orders of the commander-in-chief, by attacking and turning the first left and the second right flank of the British army. Neither of these detachments performed their duty. The former arrived in sight of the German chasseurs, but did not attack them; while the latter appeared too late for co-operation with Greene s movements. The golden opportunity was at that moment lost. The whole British army, as it appeared afterward, astonished at the valor of the assailants and ignorant of their numbers, were on the point of retreating, and had selected Chester, near the Brandywine, as the place of rendezvous; but General Grey, finding his left flank secure, marched with nearly the whole of the left wing, which was under the general command of Knyphausen, to the assistance of the center, then hard pressed in the village, where the Americans were gaining ground every moment. The battle now raged severely In Germantown, and for a while the issue was doubtful. Colonel Matthews, with a detachment of Greene's column, composed of a part of Muhlenberg's and Scott's brigades from the left wing, advanced to the eastward of Chew's house, assailed a party of English, took one hundred and ten prisoners, and drove the remainder before him into the town, whither he followed as far as the market-house. A thick fog, which began to form at daylight, now completely enveloped every thing, and the contending parties were unable to discover the movements of each other. Matthews, with his prisoners, was soon stopped at a breast-work near Lucan's mills. At the same time, the right wing of the enemy, after discovering that they had nothing to fear from the Maryland and New Jersey militia, fell back, and completely surrounded Matthews
* Lieutenant Smith, of Virginia, who was an assistant of Colonel Timothy Pickering in the office of adjutant general.
** Mrs. Chew informed me that, several years after the war, and soon after her marriage, while a young man named White was visiting her father-in-law, the old gentleman, in relating incidents of the battle in Germantown, mentioned the circumstance that a Major White, an aid of General Sullivan, and one of the handsomest men in the Continental army, attempted to fire the house for the purpose of driving out the British. He ran under a window with a fire-brand, where shots from the building could not touch him. He was discovered, and a British soldier, running into the cellar, shot him dead from a basement window. The young man was much affected by the recital, and said to Judge Chew, "That Captain While, sir, was my father." Mrs. Chew pointed out to us the window, near the northwest corner of the house, from which the shot was fired.
Battle of Germantown.—The Americans, deceived, abandon the Field.—Washington's Chagrin.—The Loss.
and his party. This division of the enemy was composed chiefly of the fourth brigade, under General Agnew, and three battalions of the third. The prisoners were rescued; and Matthews, after a desperate defense, and when most of his officers and men were killed and wounded, was compelled to surrender, with his little remnant of about one hundred men. This event enabled two regiments from the enemy's right to march to the relief of Musgrave in Chew's house. These regiments attacked and repulsed a party of Americans who had just entered Germantown in flank. The patriots, unable to discern the numbers of the enemy on account of the intensity of the fog, retired precipitately, leaving a great many of their friends dead and wounded, but taking their artillery with them.
General Grey, now having absolute possession of the village, hastened to the aid of the right wing, which was engaged with the left of Greene's column. Sullivan's division, with a regiment of North Carolinians, commanded by Colonel Armstrong, and assisted by a part of Conway's brigade, having driven the enemy to School-house Lane, in the center of Germantown, found themselves unsupported by other troops, and their ammunition exhausted. They could dimly perceive through the fog that the enemy were collecting in force on the right. At that moment, hearing the cry of a light horseman that the enemy had surrounded them, and perceiving the firing at Chew's house, so far in the rear, the Americans became panic-stricken, and retreated with great precipitation. * The divisions under Greene and Stephen were the last that retreated, and these were covered by Count Tulaski and his legion. The prize of victory was abandoned at the moment when another effort might have secured it. ***
The battle of Germantown, which lasted two hours and forty minutes, was a very severe one, and the loss on both sides was great, considering the numbers engaged and the nature of the conflict. The amount of loss has been variously computed; that of the Americans was estimated by Washington, a fortnight after the battle, *** at about one thousand men in killed, wounded, and missing. **** There were fewer killed on the part of the British, the number probably not exceeding one hundred; while their whole loss, according to Howe s official account of the affair, was, in killed, wounded, and missing, five hundred and thirty-five. (v) Among these were several valuable officers, the most distinguished of whom were General James Agnew (vi) and Lieutenant-colonel Bird. Their remains lie inhumed together,
* Sullivan's letter to Mesheek Weare, president of New Hampshire, in the New York Historical Society; John Eager Howard's letter to Timothy Pickering; Gordon; Boita; Ramsay; Marshall. The latter author was in Woodford's brigade, and describes a portion of this battle from his own observation.
** Washington said, in a letter to the president of Congress, written on the 7th of October, three days after the battle, ''It is with much chagrin and mortification I add, that every account confirms the opinion I at first entertained, that our troops retreated at the instant when victory was declaring herself in our favor. The tumult, disorder, and even despair, which, it seems, had taken place in the British army, were scarcely to be paralleled; and, it is said, so strongly did the idea of a retreat prevail, that Chester was fixed on as a place of rendezvous. I can discover no other cause for not improving this happy opportunity than the extreme haziness of the weather." Writing, at the same time, to Governor Trumbull of Connecticut, Washington said, "But the morning was so excessively foggy, that we could not see the confusion the enemy were in, and the advantage we had gained; and fearing to push too far through a strong village, we retired, after an engagement of two hours, bringing off all our artillery with us. We did not know until after the affair was over how near we were to gaining a complete victory."
*** See letter to his brother, dated October 17th, 1777.
**** According to the report of the Board of War, the Americans lost in killed, 25 Continental officers, commissioned and non-commissioned; wounded, 102, and an equal number missing. The militia officers were 3 killed, 4 wounded, and 11 missing. Of rank and file Continentals, 109 were killed, and 378 wounded; militia, 7 killed, and 19 wounded; artillery officers, 2 killed, and 11 wounded; and matrosses, 6 killed, and 7 wounded. Total of killed, 152; of wounded, 521. Gordon says (ii., 234), "Upward of 400 were made prisoners, among whom were 54 officers." It may here be remarked that the missing men from the army were not necessarily included in the list of the killed, wounded, or prisoners; for many ol those were soldiers who took such opportunities to go home.
* (v) Gordon says that, when the British left Germantown, some torn papers with figures on them were found upon a chimney hearth by the Americans. On putting the pieces together, it was found that they contained the returns of the number and rank of the British killed in the battle. The total was about 800.
* (vi)The following account of the death of General Agnew I copied from a manuscript letter of Alexander Andrew, a servant of that officer, written to the wife of the general from Philadelphia, on the 8th of March, 1778. I give it as an illustration of the character and duties of a body-servant of a British officer at that time. This letter, and several written by Agnew himself to his wife at various times, are in the possession of his grandson, Henry A. Martin, M.D., of Roxbury, Massachusetts. From one of these I copied the annexed signature of General Agnew.
* "Philadelphia, 8th March, 1778.
* "Dear Madam,—Though an entire stranger to your ladyship, yet, as I had the honor to wait on your beloved husband for a considerable time, which induced me to take the liberty of writing unto you, which I look upon as a duty of mine to you in memory of a good master, to whom I owe many obligations, is and will be always ready and willing to serve any of his if ever in my power. Dear madam. I came into the army in place of a brother of mine, who was cunning enough to persuade me, young and foolish enough, to go in his place. I joined the 44th in '72, then in Kilkenny, from which time I fancied Colonel Agnew took notice of me, and when the regiment embarked at Cork he took me to be his servant, with whom I had the honor to live very comfortably and happy until the day of his death. Being his principal servant, and the only one he ever would have to wait on him both in public and private, at home and abroad, and in all places wherever his person was exposed, I was there by his side, and an eye-witness to all his sufferings in Boston, in Halifax, Staten Island, Long Island, New York Island, on the expedition to Danberry, in the Jerseys, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and in three pitched battles, viz., 27th August, '76, the 11th of September, and 4th of October, '77, besides a number of skirmishes. On the expedition to Danberry, the general was knocked down by a ball, which left its mark for above a month. At the battle of Brandywine, the general had the misfortune to be grazed by a cannon-ball, but continued to head his brigade. It happened to be the last engaged that night, and, though he was very much indisposed, yet he commanded his gallant troops until they beat off and remained masters of the field. During the action the general remained at the head of the 64th, which regiment suffered more than any of the brigade. The army then proceeded to that unfortunate place called Germantown, the 4th of October being the particular and fatal day of which your ladyship has cause to remember and I have much reason to regret. But to let you know the particulars of that day. [Being between the hours of 9 and 12, as the brigade was following the 3d in an oblique advancing line, the general, with the piquet at their head, entered the town, hurried down the street to the left, but had not rode above 20 or 30 yards, which was to the top of a little rising ground, when a party of the enemy, about 100, rushed out from behind a house about 500 yards in front, the general being then in the street, and even in front of the piquet, and all alone, only me, he wheeled round, and, putting spurs to his horse, and calling to me, he received a whole volley from the enemy. The fatal ball entered the small of his back, near the back seam of his coat, right side, and came out a little below his left breast. Another ball went through and through his right hand. I, at the same instant, received a slight wound in the side, but just got off time enough to prevent his falling, who, with the assistance of two men, took him down, carried him into a house, and laid him on a bed, sent for the doctor, who was near. When he came he could only turn his eyes, and looked steadfastly on me with seeming affection. The doctor and Major Leslie just came in time enough to see him depart this life, which he did without the least struggle or agony, but with great composure, and calmness, and seeming satisfaction, which was about 10 or 15 minutes after he received the ball, and I believe between 10 and 11 o'clock. I then had his body brought to his former quarters, took his gold watch, his purse, in which was four guineas and half a Johannes, which I delivered to Major Leslie as soon as he came home. I then had him genteelly laid out, and decently dressed with some of his clean and best things; had a coffin made the best the place could produce. His corpse was decently interred the next day in the church-yard, attended by a minister and the officers of the 44th regiment.]
* "He during his life, in his good-humors, often told me that he would do better for me than being in the army; but, having no certificate from under his hand, I was ordered to join the regiment, which I am sure I never would have done. With regard to his effects that were present with him, were equally divided among all the servants, every thing being delivered over by Major Leslie to Major Hope. Payne was cook, and came to the general in Boston; but the other man. Seymour, was only part of one campaign, though he received an equal proportion of every thing the same as me. Agen, even a pickt up negro received equal with me, who bore the burden and heat of the day, silver buckles excepted. Colonel Hope gave me them extraordinary as a reward (said he) for your good and faithful services to your master; and them I have, and am ready to part with them, if your ladyship or Captain Robert chuse to send for them. All the rest of the things which was in store has been all lately sold by vandue, ye, even two great-coats made for me and Payne almost a year ago, was sold, with several other things too tedious to mention, such as remains of cloth, stockings, &c.
* "Dear madam, I beg you will excuse this liberty; and if your ladyship please to send me a few lines after the receival of this, I will be under a great obligation to you; and believe me to be, with sincerity and due respect, madam, your most obedient and humble servant.
Letter of General Agnew's Servant to the Lady of that Officer concerning his Death.
in the south burying-ground at Germantown.