A COUNCIL OF WAK AT FOBT RICHMOND. 2? 



heart than Lord Howe's. The narrow creek, winding its way through 

 the meadow, far down below, reflected the silvery sheen of the great 

 moon ; the little town of Richmond, hushed in the deep silence of 

 night, suggested only that peace which knows naught of war ; while 

 near and far the dark, rich, foliage of the deep woodland, amongst 

 which nestled myriads of wild birds, stood in marked contrast to the 

 starry canopy above. Why they were going over to the fort at that 

 hour no one really knew ; perhaps they were attracted by the unlim- 

 ited fascination that surrounded the scene. 



Suddenly the group halted and listened most attentively. The 

 sweet bugle notes of the " assembly " were wafted on the air from 

 the British camp over at New Dorp. "What could it mean ? " To 

 horse !" exclaimed Lord Howe, and in a few seconds each one sat in 

 his saddle and was hastening down the hillside. Farther and farther 

 they rode, until the last sound of the prancing horses faintly died 



away. 



***** * * 



On arrival at headquarters at New Dorp, Lord Howe found the 

 entire command in a state of great excitement, and under arms pre- 

 paratory for movement at a moment's notice. Shortly after sun- 

 down, when attention had been centred upon the departure of the 

 commander and a number of his officers, a squad of grenadiers had 

 "run the guard," and at a late hour, when it Avas thought the family 

 living in the farm-house (near the Elm tree light), were asleep, they 

 attempted to raid the premises and carry away whatever might be 

 of use to a soldier. But as the farmer and his sons had made a 

 practice of watching their property throughout the night, they fired 

 upon the invaders and wounded two of them. The report of the 

 guns and the shrieks of the suffering men, coming from the direction 

 of the shore, led the temporary commander, General Percy, to be- 

 lieve that an attack was being made by General Hugh Mercer, and 

 immediate preparations for resistance were made. The real cause, 

 however, was soon discovered, and the men returned to their quar- 

 ters for the remainder of the night. 



On the following day General Kuyphausen began preparations 

 for the expedition. He selected his Hessians chiefly, as they be- 

 longed to the infantry branch of the service. A battalion of Light 

 Horse, numbering about five hundred, and a field battery of six ten- 



