THE TOWN OF YONKERS. 623 



corps to the heights, advanced to the road, and arrived, without heing perceived, 

 within tin yards of the Indians. They had been intent upon the attack of 

 Emmerick'a corps and the Legion; they now gave a yell, and fired upon the 

 grenadier company, wounding four of t.hein, and Lieut. Col. Simcoe. They were 

 driven from the fences; and Lieut. Col. Tarleton, with the cavalry, got among 

 them, and pursued them rapidly down Cortlandt's ridge. That active officer had 

 a narrow escape ; in striking at one of the fugitives, he lost his balance and fell 

 from his horse; luckily, the Indian had no bayonet, and his musket had been 

 discharged. Lieut. Col. Simcoe joined the batallion and seized the heights. A 

 captain of the rebel light infantry, and a few of his men were taken; but a body 

 of them, under Major Stewart, who afterwards was distinguished at Stony Point, 

 left the Indians and fled. 



"Though this ambuscade, its greater part, failed, it was of consequence. 

 Near forty of the Indians were killed, or desperately wounded ; among others, 

 Nimham, a chieftain, who had been in England, and his son ; and it was reported 

 to have stopped a larger number of them, who were excellent marksmen, from 

 joining General Washington's army. The Indian Doctor was taken ; and he said 

 that when Nimham saw the grenadiers close in his rear, he called out to his peo- 

 ple to fly, 'that he himself was old, and would die there.' He wounded Lieut. 

 Col. Simcoe, and was killed by "Wright, his orderly Hussar. The Indians fought 

 most gallantly ; they pulled more than one of the cavalry from their horses. 

 French, an active youth, bugle-horn to the Hussars, struck at an Indian, but 

 missed his blow, the man dragged him from his horse, and was searching for his 

 knife to stab him, when, loosening French's hand, he luckily drew out a pocket- 

 pistol and shot the Indian through the head, in which situation he was found. 

 One man of the Legion cavalry was killed, and one of them, and two of the Hus- 

 sars, wounded. " a 



The scene of this conflict lies on the land of the late Frederick Brown, 

 now occupied. by his widow. The struggle commenced in the second 

 field west of Brown's house, and close by the present road leading to 

 Devaux's. The opening in the Cortlandt woods still goes by the name 

 of Indian Field. Here the dead were buried. The Indians, according 

 to the British account, led down the ridge across the present aqueduct, 

 to what is called Indian Bridge ; which then, as now, crossed Tippett's 

 brook. On gaining the western bank, they secreted themselves amid 

 the rocks and bushes; here the cavalry pursued them; but being unable 

 to scale the rocks, called upon the fugitives to surrender ; promising them 

 as a condition for so doing, life and protection. Upon this, three ven- 

 tured to throw themselves upon the mercy of the British soldier, and were 

 immediately drawn out by the bridge and cut to pieces. Notwithstanding 

 the strictest search that could be made for the remainder, four managed 

 to escape to the American lines beyond the Croton. One of the survi- 



o See Simcoe's Military Journal, published by Bartlett & Welford. 1ST. Y., to which work we 

 rtier our readers for an engraved plan of the above mentioned action. 



