;i24 



^\)t Jarmcr's iltontt)lij faigitor. 



(= 



lie |)oint of bieakiii},', jiskc-d il any of us knew 

 iner son, who was killt-d iit the hiilth; of lliili- 

 bertoii, a Col. Fr.incis. Seveial ol' us infoiiuiMl 

 her that we had senn him uller he was (h;a(l. 

 fehe then infinin-d ahont his |iooki-t-hool<, and it 

 any of hi:^ |ia|>i-is were safe, as some related to 

 jiis e.-cates, and if any of llie soldiers had got his 

 ^vatoh; if she ronhl bnt ohtain that in renifin- 

 lirani-e of her dear, dear son, she shonlil Ih.- ha|i- 

 j)y. C.'i|p|. Ferfjiison, of oin- ref.'iinenl, who was 

 of the paiiv, ti.ld Inr, as to tile Colonel's papers 

 pnil |iocket"-hook, he wasfearfnl they were either 

 J St or destroyed; hnt |iidlini; a watch li-otii his 

 ji'oli, said, 'there, ;:imd woman, if that can make 

 jnu hajipv, take il, and Gurl lil.'ss you.' We 

 ,'were all I'l.iicli sin-prised, as nnacqnaimed ihat he 

 |thad made a pnri-liase of it funn a drnmlioy. 

 lOn seeiii;.' it, it is impossihie to desi-rihe the joy 

 jand urief dial was depicted in hei comitenani-e ; 

 II never in all my life lielieM siirli a streiijrth of 

 'passion ; she kissed it, looked imnttcrahle i;rali- 

 tiide at Capt. rmunsoii, then kissed it airain ; 

 her feeliiijis were iiiexpressihle ; she knew not 

 how to express or show them; she would repay 

 I is Uinilne.ss liy kindness, hut could only soh her 

 |l.iaiiks; our leeliiiiis were lifted up to an iiiex- 

 pressihle heliiht; ^ve primiised to seanth after 

 the papers, and I hclieve al that nioiiielit, could 

 hav.' Iiiizarded lifi' iiscit to procure ihem." 



Thishook was'l'homas Anliiney's, from wliicli 

 our correspoiiileiil li;id exiraeled the accounls of 

 ithe two haltlesaiid convenliun at r«aratOL'a, the 

 aiilhiir a youuL: iliicer all the while in the cam- 

 pai-nof i777ahout the persons of Gen. Biirf-oyne 

 .and the oilier general olBcersof his;-,rmy. VVith 

 the perusal of these volimies and that of Gen. 

 Iiiiirgoyne, borrowed linin our correspondent, we 

 have lieen biiihly interested. After sliowiii!: us 

 the hook, Mr. Francis exhibited the identical 

 AValch by the chapter of iicc^idents so icmarkably 



returned in the aged ilierofthe deceased Col. 



Francis: lb* (extract houitliebo;ik ill another 

 !place shows that the British offictM-s knew sonie- 

 Ihilii.' about the pajiers of Col. Francis taken Ironi 

 bis perscni afi.'r he had lalleii. It is highly proh- 

 lable that their examination opened to them that 

 knowledge of his character wliic-h induced them 

 lo eiilosize the " rebel colonel" as an intelligent 

 brave man. The watch is of pure silver exterior 



ilie (iice marked with numerals siiidliir to that 



of many patent lever gold watidies of the pre.sent 

 (lay: it was without doubt considered as of first 

 'rate eleL'auce at the time it was worn by the ow ti- 

 ler. As ihe properly ■■f the only son, an infant 

 ! of two moiiilisal ihelinji' of his death, the waicli, 

 ' with the circumstances under wbiidi it returned, 



■ is a precious keepsake, worthy the utteiitiou ol 

 1 those W'lio value theacis of our revolutionary an- 

 ^ cestors. ^ 



i Cnmriiuuicated Inr the Mcinthly Visitor. 



'■ Extracts from -'hiburei/'s Letters upon the Campaign 



of 1777. 



A British Officer's Narrative. 



' SCENES AFTEIl A BLOODY ACTION— B UBIAL OF 

 THE DEAU— DESERTION OK IXDIA.NS, &C. 



j Frecm'in's Fiirm, <kl. C>, 1777. 



' We have gained liill<; more by our victory, ihaii 



■ honor; the '"AunMicans working with incessani 

 labor to streiiL'then their left ; their right is al- 

 ready iinallackahle. Iu>^tea<l of a dishi'arteiied 

 and flying enemy, wn have to encounter a lin- 

 tiierous, anil as we lately experienced, a resolute 



! one, eiUially ilisposed to maintain llieir ground 

 ai» oiir.>'elves, .-iiid cummandeil li/l Generals whose 

 ! adivili/ leaves no adrnnliiires nnimproveil. 



\ The dav afU'r oni late i-iigag nt, 1 had as 



I unpleasant a duly as can fill to the lot of an olli- 

 cer, to comuiaiul the party sent out to bury the 

 , dead, ami bring in tlic^ woiindi-d; and as we en- 

 I ciimped mi the ground where the three British 

 j reginieiits had bi^eii engaged, they were \v\\ 



■ mrineroiis. You that are pleased to complinieni 

 Mil' mi niv liuu.aiiily will think what I iiiiisi have 

 felt, on seeing liCtcM'u to sixteen or twenty bnrieil 



' ill one hole. I observed a litlle more decencv 



Ihau some parties had di;iie, who left head", leg- 



• and arms above ground. No other (lisli^nclioii i- 



I lo otficei (U- Mvldlcr 



panl 



ihaii that theollicers ai'' 

 put 111 a boh' by themselves. Our army abound- 

 ed with \oiiiig Officers in the suliabern line, iiiiil 

 ill the course of this mipleasani duly, three o' 

 the '.iOib regiment irere interreil losrelher, Ihe a-^e i<J 

 Iheddest not exceeding 17. This friendly olfico to 



the dead, though it greatly affects the feeling.--, 

 was iioihing to the scene in briiigtng ni tli"- 

 wonnded ; the one were past all pain, the otliei 

 ill the mo^t exiM-ucialiiig torments sending toitli 

 dreadful groans. They had retiiained out all 

 night, and Iroin the lo.<s of blood and v\ant ol 

 nourishment, were upon the point of expiring; 

 with faiiitness. t?onie of them begged that thej 

 might lay anil die ; olhers a:;aiii, were insensible ; 

 some upon the least iiiovement were put in the 

 most horrid toi tui-e.«, and all had near a mile lo 

 be eonveyeil to llin hospitals ; olher.-i, at their last 

 gasp, who I'or tlu^ wain ot' onr timely assistance, 

 must have inevitably expired. 'J'liese poor crea- 

 tures, peiishing with cold and weltering in their 

 blood, displayed such ii scene, it must be u bean 

 of adamant that could not be atlected at it, to u 

 degree of weakness. 



In the Course of the late aciion Lieut. Ilervey, 

 of tlir 02d, a youth of Hi, ami nephew to the 

 Adjutant General of the .satr.e name, received 

 several wounds, and wa.s repeatedly ordered oft 

 the field by Col. Ansirnlher ; but his heroic ar- 

 dor would not allow him to quit the battle, while 

 be could stand and see his brave lads fiiihting 

 beside bini. A ball striking one of his legs, his 

 removal became iibsolutely necessary, and while 

 they were conveying him away, another wound- 

 ed him mortally. In this situation the surgeon 

 recoinmeiided him a powerful dose of opium, to 

 avoid a seven or eight hours' life of most extpii- 

 site torture ; this lie immediately consented to, 

 when the Colonel entered the tent with Major 

 Harnage who were both wounded ; — they asked 

 if he had any affiiiis they could settle for him ? 

 His reply was that being a minor, every thing 

 was already adjusted ; but he had one request 

 which he had just life enongli to utter : "Tell 

 my uncle I died like a soldier." Where will you 

 find in ancient Rome heroisin superior.' 



Beyond the ground where we defeated the en- 

 emy, all is hostile and dangerous in an alarming 

 degree; il would s.;eiii as if we bad conquered 

 only to preserve onr reputation, fin- wc have 

 reaped little advantage from onr invincible ef- 

 forts; the only sjitisfiiction resulting on our part, 

 is the consciouslic.-s of having acquitted ourselves 

 like men, with a determination that the honor 

 anil renown of the British arms should remain 

 imsnllied. Tlie nature of the country is pecu- 

 liarly imtavorable to military operations, it being 

 difticult to reconnoitre lire enemy, and to obtain 

 any intelligence to be relied on: the roads, the 

 situation of the enemy, the grounds for piocui- 

 iiig foi.-ige, of which the army is in great want, 

 and all parties are in qucsl of, are often attended 

 with the utmost danger, and require great bodies 

 to cover llii.'iii. 



The expectation of plunder which had induc- 

 ed the Indians that remained to accompany us 

 thus far, beginning now to fiiil, and seeing they 

 have nothing but hardships and warfare, they 

 are daily decreasing. They were of vast service 

 in foraging and scouting parties ; il being suited 

 to their manners. They will not stand a regular 

 engagement, either liom motiws I i'oririei ly as- 

 siffiied, or from fear: but 1 am led to believe the 

 hitter is the case, from the observation I have 

 made of them in our late encounter with the en- 

 emy. The Indians were riiniiing from wood to 

 wood; iiiiil just as our regiment bad formed on 

 the skirls of one, several of them came up, and 

 by their signs, were conversing about the .severe 

 fire on our right. Soon alter the enemy allack- 

 ed lis, and the very first fire the Indians ran oil 

 through the wood. 



As to the Canadians, little was lo be depended 

 on their adherence, being easily dispirited, with 

 an incliiiaiioii to quit as soon as there wasanap- 

 [learaiice of danger; nor was the fidelity of the 

 I'rovincials lo be relied on who had joined our 

 ariiiy; as they withdrew, on perceiving the re- 

 sistance of the .Viiii-rieaiis would be more formi- 

 dable lliali had bi-en expected. 



The desertion of the liiiliaiis, Canadians and 

 Provini'ials, at a lime when their services were 

 most required was exreediiigly morlilyiug; and 

 however it may prove, lliis instance will show 

 I'lUure commanders wli-il litlle dependence is to 

 be placed u|ion siii-li .-iiiviliaries. 



You will readily allow thai it is the highest 

 lest of ,-inecliiiti ill a woman to share with her 

 husband the toils and hardships of the campiiigii, 

 ■ specially .-iiicb an one as tli" present. Wliiil a 

 trial of fortitude the lute nctioii must have been, 



ihrongh a distressing interval of long suspense. 

 The ladies followed the rout of Ihe artillery and 

 baggage, and when the action lieLMii, the Baron- 

 ess Reidesel, Lady Harriet Ackland, and the 

 wives of Major Harnage and Lieut, ijegnell of 

 the tl'^d, entered a small uninhabited hut ; but 

 when the action became general and bloodj, the 

 snigeoiis look possession of it, being the most 

 coiiveiiient for the first care of the wounded, in 

 this situation were these ladies (or four hours to- 

 gether, w hen the comfort they aniirdcd each oth- 

 er was broken by .Major Harnage being brought 

 in to the surgeons deeply wounded I What a 

 lilow iniist the next inlelligenee have been, that 

 inliirmi'd them Lieut. Reyiiell was killed! Mad- 

 ame lie Reidesel and Lady Harriet could atflird 

 but lililc co'isolatioii to their companions, through 

 an anxioiisness they knew not how lo smoiher, 

 lest it might be soon, very soon, their own siiiia- 

 lion. The fears of Lady Ilarriel were doubly 

 increased, having every appreheiisioii not only 

 for her husband, but her brother. Siirromided 

 by the dead and the dying for four long hours, 

 the gi-oans of the wounded, the discharge of 

 iiiiisketiy and all the bustle of arms, — my God ! 

 what a state for women of susceptibility !— un- 

 certain how the battle would terminate, and 

 whether each should clasp again the object of 

 her dearest hopes, for whose sake she had trav- 

 erseil dreary regions, encountered hunger and 

 weariness, and witnessed all the carnage of a 

 disputed field, unanimated by the tumult, and* 

 wilhoiil sharing the glory. 



A long war leaches the most tinwarlike nation 

 the use of arms, anil very frequently puts them 

 in a condition to repair in the end, the losses they 

 sustained in the beginning. Such is the present 

 state of the enemy, who not only now, but be- 

 fore the late action, were strongly recruited ; as 

 powerfid armies of militia spring up in every 

 I'rovince. What a striking advantage there was 

 on ihe side of the Americans in the last engage- 

 ment! but the defect of numbers in our army 

 was niaile up by the courage of the soldiers and 

 the valorous conduct of the generals. 



The nuiiiber of oflicers who have been killed 

 and wounded in the late action, is much gi eater 

 in propoitiou than that of the soldiers, which 

 niu.-,t be attributed to the great execution of the 

 riflemen who directed their fire ai'ainst them in 

 paiiiciilar: in evey interval of smoke, they were 

 sure to lake off some, as the rifiemen had posted 

 themselves in liii;li trees. Some of the prisoners 

 who were taken late ill the day, said it was firm- 

 ly believed, in llie enemy's camp, that Gen. Bur- 

 goyne was killed ; which mistake was occasioned 

 by an aid-de-canip of Gen. I'hillips, Captain 

 Greene, who having the furniiiire of bis saddle 

 laced and embroidered, and being wonniled, fell 

 fiom his horse — the rilleman that woiiniletl him, 

 from that circumstance afiirined it to be Gen. 

 Bmgoyne. 



You would be led to imagine that the Indians 

 and Canadians would have been of great utility 

 against this mode of fighling; bnt the tew who 

 remained of the former could not be brought 

 within somul of ii ritle shot ; and the latter, who 

 formerly were very expert in this service, either 

 (Voni a great change in their milit.-iry characler, 

 or a damp which was thrown upon Ihem by the 

 loss of their best olliccrs, who were under ihe 

 liecessitv of exposing themselves more than was 

 lecpiisile ill order to bring llieui all into .-ii-liou, 

 wereol litlle use. Some ol' I be I'roviiii-ial troops 

 were scr\ iccahle, hut ihe only men we had real- 

 Iv lo depend upon, were the (ieriiiaii Chasseurs; 

 bill their iiumher was very inferior lo the rifle- 

 men of the enemy. 



Our present siltialion is far from being an in- 

 active one ; the armies being so near that not a 

 night passes but there is firm:; and conliiinal at- 

 tacks upon llie advanced piquets, particularly 

 those of the Germans. It seems lo be llie plan 

 of the enemy lo harriiss us by constant aitacks, 

 which lliey arc enabled to do w ilhoiit liitigiling 

 their army, Ironi the great superiority of llieir 

 numbers. 



We are now become so habituated lo file, that 

 ibe soldiers seem to be iiidifli-reiit to it, and eat 

 and sleep when it is very near them : the ollicers 

 rest in their clolhes, and ihe (ield otVners are up 

 freqiienily in the night. The enemy in tioni of 

 our quarter guard within hearing are cutting 

 trees, and making works; and when I have had 

 charge of the quarter guard 1 have been visited 



