158 NATURAL AND CIVIL 



had surrendered, and it was too late to afford 

 him any assistance. He found the town of 

 Kingston or Esopus deserted ; if he could not 

 obtain victory, he was determined to have re- 

 venge : Ke doomed the deserted village to the 

 flames ; the v^^hole, by his order, was reduced 

 to ashes, and not one house was suffered to re- 

 m':iin. While the British troops were thus imi- 

 tating the measures and manners of the most 

 sav^ige barbarians, they had too much reason to 

 expect that a captivated army would be treated 

 with severity ; and they were astonished to find 

 that nothing like insult, ridicule, or revenge, 

 was to be seen in any part of tlie American army. 

 The number of troops, who on this occasion 

 laid down their arms, by Burgoyne's hccount, 

 was five thousand seven hundred and ninety one. 

 The sick and wounded left in the hospital, were 

 stated at five hundred and twenty eight ; and 

 the loss in battles, by sickness and desertion, 

 after the sixth of July, were computed at two 

 thousand nine hundred and thaly three. The 

 whole amount of these numbers, being nine 

 thousand two hundred and fifty two, it is probable 

 were not stated too high ; for by every acr 

 count, the royal army, when it left Canada, was 

 full ten thousand strong. A fine train of brass 

 artillery, amounting to forty two pieces of dif- 

 ferent sorts and sizes, besides the small arms 

 and ammunition, fell also into tlic hands of the 

 Americans. And so reduced was the British 

 army with respect to provisions, that they had 

 not bread or flour ;" nor salt meat only for one 

 day. The number of men that had joined Gate's 

 army, was about thirteen thousand ; of these 



