318 HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY. [1777. 



letter, earnestly requested a reinforcement of Continental troops. 

 In consequence of the representations of this officer, Col. Angel, 

 of Rhode Island, with his regiment, was ordered to Red Bank, 

 and Lieut. Col. John Greene, of Virginia, with about 200 men, 

 to Fort Mifflin. Previous to the arrival of these reinforcements, 

 the effective force at Fort Mifflin was reduced to 156 men, and 

 that at Red Bank did not much exceed 200.^ 



In order to prevent Gen. Howe from obtaining supplies for his 

 army in the well-cultivated district west of the Schuylkill, Gen. 

 Potter with 600 militia was ordered to scour the country between 

 that river and Chester. Congress had also adopted a resolution 

 subjecting to martial law and death all who should furnish pro- 

 visions or certain enumerated articles, and who should be taken 

 within thirty miles of any place occupied by the British troops.^ 



A battery was erected at Webb's, now Penrose's Ferry, near 

 the mouth of the Schuylkill, but this was soon silenced by the 

 galleys under Commodore Hazlewood. On the night of the 10th 

 of October a party of over 100 men crossed over at the ferry, 

 and threw up a redoubt opposite and within two musket-shots of 

 the block-house on Fort Island. As soon as discovered on the 

 morning of the 11th Commodore Hazlewood ordered three gal- 

 leys to attack this hastily-built redoubt, and also one of the 

 floating batteries to play on it, which they did so warmly that 

 the enemy dared not fire a shot. 



" After about two hours the enemy held out a flag, and the 

 soldiers appeared on the bank with their muskets clubbed." 

 When the Commodore and Col. Bradford, who with several boats 

 went off to take the prisoners on board, had succeeded in securing 

 about fifty of them. Col. Smith, who was in the block-house, 

 seeing some British soldiers coming from the house of Adam 

 Guyer, imprudently fired two shots at them, which caused the 

 balance of those who had surrendered to run off, take possession 

 of their battery again, and fire on their captors. It was at first 

 supposed that the soldiers coming from Guyer's were mere strag- 

 glers, but it afterwards turned out that the British were there 

 in force, and had just arrived to reinforce the party at the 

 redoubt. The prisoners captured were one lieutenant, one 

 ensign, and fifty-six privates.^ 



The reinforcement sent to the enemy's redoubt Avas large, but 

 the galleys and floating battery renewed their attack upon it in 

 the afternoon. Failing to make much impression that day, on 

 the morning of the 12th a party of about 150 men were landed 

 from the fort on Province Island, with the intention of taking 

 the redoubt under the fire of the three galleys and the floating 



> Marshall's Life of Washington, i. 173. ^ lb. i. 172. 



* Penna. Archives, v. 663. 



