A COUNCIL OF WAR AT FORT RICHMOND. 23 



to-day, but slightly changed) contained a group of prisoners whose 

 only crime was their outspoken hope of freedom ! The Court House 

 was utilized by British officers, and St. Andrew's Church, made more 

 sacred by the pious love of good Queene Anne, furnished a resting 

 place for the sick and disabled of the King's army. 



But while the village was sleeping, the fort on Richmond Hill 

 knew no slumber. It was one of the main signal stations of Lord 

 Howe's army, and the fate of that great legion of men depended in 

 no small degree upon the vigilance of the sentry while pacing to and 



Mil 





FOET RICHMOND. 



fro along the rugged embankment. So unsettled were the minds of 

 the troops that the gunners slept at their posts alongside the guns, 

 while Simcoe's mounted rangers kept their horses under the saddle 

 and wore their full equipments throughout the night. Tory spies 

 constantly kept the British commander posted upon the movement 

 of the Continental troops, and too often even their plans were made 

 known to the anxious royalists. There were four ten-pound cannons 

 in the fort, and they belonged to the field artillery. 



The old fort is located on the brow of a steep hill, now almost 

 hidden by trees, while back of it there is a large field of level land. 

 It was here that Lord Howe and his generals would turn to make 



