ware, and the following day accounts were received that it had sailed eastward; from this time until the 22d August, Washington continued in the utmost perplexity, marching and countermarching his army, according to the various reported views of the enemy. At length it was ascertained that they had entered the Chesapeake. The moment this intelligence was received, Washington marched his troops, amounting to about eleven thousand, to Pennsylvania. By this time the royal army had landed at the head of Elk, and was on its march towards Brandywine; but the difficulty of obtaining horses, and other means of transporting the army, made the progress of Sir William necessarily slow, and it was not until the 8d of September that he had advanced within striking distance of the Americans. Washington had in the mean time taken a position upon Redclay-neck, about half way between Wilmington and Christiana; but upon the approach of the royal army, it was deemed advisable to change this position, and return to the east side of the Brandywine, whilst the army crossed Cladsford, in order to take possession of the heights beyond! General Washington, supposing that the enemy would attempt to cross at Chadsford, posted the main strength of his army at that place, and sent General Maxwell with one thousand men to occupy the opposite hill, upon which a slight breastwork was thrown up on the night of the 10th.

In this situation let us leave them for a moment to relate some circumstances which occurred before the departure of the royal army from Staten Island. Lieutenant Colonel Barton of a militia regiment belonging to Rhode Island, with some other officers

and volunteers to the number of forty, formed a design of surprising General Prescott in his quarters, about five miles from Newport. For this purpose they passed over from Warwick Neck to Rhode Island on the night of the 10th of July, and proceeded with such secrecy and despatch that they executed their project, and returned to the continent with the General and one of his aids before any alarm was excited among the enemy. Colonel Barton was rewarded by Congress for this spirited enterprise, with an elegant sword. Another expedition remains to be told which was planned by General Sullivan, in conjunction with Colonel Ogden, to stop the enemy's incursions into the Jerseys, in which they were constantly carrying off the inhabitants, their cattle and provisions. It was determined that Colonel Ogden with his own and Colonel Dayton's regiments, should pass up the Freshkill Creek and attack the rear of the British detachment that were encamped near the Ferry, consisting of about one hundred and fifty men under Colonel Lawrence; while the General himself with a corps of a thousand men, selected from Smallwood's and De Borre's brigades, should march to Elizabethtown Point and thence cross over. Unfortunately either the plan was not correctly understood between the two commanders, or General Sullivan did not execute his part of it as agreed upon. Colonel Ogden was informed that two regiments would be posted on the neck of land which separated the enemy's encampment from the rest of the island, so as to cut off their retreat, and commenced his attack on the morning of the 22d of August, under that impression. He soon succeeded in compelling Colonel Lawrence to retreat, but con

trary to his expectations there was no force on the neck to oppose his flight; General Sullivan having, upon landing from Elizabethtown Point, made an unnecessary march of several miles, instead of waiting for communications with Colonel Ogden. One mistake too often leads to another, and this was peculiarly the case in the present expedition; for the Colonel having made one hundred and thirty prisoners, and possessed himself of one of the enemy's vessels, put them on board, under the care of one not very well qualified for the duty, and ordered them to Elizabethtown: those who had been left in charge of the boats which brought over General Sullivan's corps, supposing from the numerous red coats on board, that the vessel was still an enemy, made their escape. General Sullivan's division in the mean time, having destroyed a few stores and vessels of the enemy, proceeded to join Colonel Ogden, who having no previous notice of his approach, was for some time in doubt whether to receive him as an enemy or friend. The flight of his boats too, created such a delay in getting his men back again to Elizabethtown Point, that his rear guard of a hundred men were overtaken by the enemy, and compelled, after a brave and obstinate resistance of some time, to surrender as prisoners of war. Majors Stewart and Tillard, who commanded there, thus fell into the hands of the enemy. The whole loss of the Americans in the course of the day amounted to nearly two hundred killed, wounded and prisoners; and the only advantage gained by the expedition was the capture of about one hundred and thirty prisoners, twenty or thirty tories, and some records and papers of the Quakers, which being afterwards sent to Congress,

To our

made the subject of a report, in the following terms: "That the several testimonies which have been published since the commencement of the present contest between Great Britain and America, and the uniform tenor of the conduct and conversation of a number of persons of considerable wealth, who profess themselves to belong to the society of people commonly called Quakers, render it certain and notorious, that those persons are with much rancour and bitterness disaffected to the American cause; that as these persons will have it in their power, so there is no doubt it will be their inclination, to communicate intelligence to the enemy, and in various other ways to injure the counsels and arms of America; that when the enemy in the month of December, 1775, were bending their progress towards the city of Philadelphia, a certain seditious publication, addressed friends and brethren in religious profession, in these and the adjacent provinces, signed John Pemberton, in and on behalf of the meeting of sufferings, held at Philadelphia, for Pennsylvania and New Jersey, the 26th of the 12th month, 1776, was published, and as your committee is credibly informed, circulated amongst many members of the society called Quakers throughout the different States; that as the seditious paper aforesaid, originated in the city of Philadelphia, and as the persons whose names are undermentioned, have uniformly manifested a disposition highly inimical to the cause of America, therefore, Resolved, that it be earnestly recommended to the supreme executive council of the State of Pennsylvania, forthwith to apprehend and secure the persons of Joshua Fisher, Abel James, John James, James Pemberton, Israel Pemberton, John Pember

ton, Henry Drinker, Samuel Pleasants, Thomas Wharton, sen. Thomas Fisher, and Samuel Fisher, sons of Joshua, together with all such papers in their possession, as may be of a political nature. And whereas there is strong reason to apprehend that these persons maintain a correspondence and conversation highly prejudicial to the publick safety, not only in this State, but in the several States of America, Resolved that it be recommended to the executive power of the respective States, forthwith to apprehend and secure all persons, as well among the people called Quakers as others, who have in their general conduct and conversation evidenced a disposition inimical to the cause of America; and that the persons so seized, be confined in such places and treated in such manner as shall be consistent with their respective characters and security of their persons; that the records and papers of the meetings of sufferings in the respective States, be forthwith secured and carefully examined, and that such parts of them as may be of a political nature, be forthwith transmitted to Congress."

The unsuccessful issue of this expedition excited considerable prejudice against General Sullivan, in so much that General Washington was directed by Congress to institute a Court of Inquiry into his conduct. The result of the Court was honourable to the General; but there seems to be little doubt, that this was owing rather to the mode in which the inquiry war conducted, than to the non-existence of testimony against him. He was certainly guilty of two egregious errours, to say no more; for it is evident, if Colonel Ogden had been properly supported in the first place, the whole British detachment, against which