August CHAP. of the disasters of the day was due to the incaIV. pacity of Putnam, who, in spite of warning, suffered 1776. himself to be surprised; and having sent Stirling and the flower of the American army " into the most dangerous position into which brave men could have been thrown, neglected to countermand his orders. 27. The day, though so full of sorrow for the Americans, shed little glory on British arms. The Hessians, who received the surrender of Sullivan, Stirling, and more than half the captives, made no boast of having routed disconnected groups of illarmed militia, who were supported only by a few poor cannon, and were destitute of engineers. CHAPTER V. THE RETREAT FROM LONG ISLAND. AUGUST 27-30, 1776. V. 1776. August 27. A BLEAK northeasterly wind sprung up at the CHAP. close of the day. The British army, whose tents had not yet been brought up, slept in front of the lines at Brooklyn, wrapped in their blankets and warmed by fires. Those of the patriot army who in their retreat from the woody heights had left their blankets behind them, and the battalions of Scott's brigade, which had come over in haste, passed the night without shelter, suffering from the cold. The dead of the Americans lay unburied in the forest; the severely wounded languished where they fell, to suffer uncared for, and to die alone; here and there a fugitive who had concealed himself in a thicket or a swamp found his way back to his old companions. The captives were forced to endure coarse revilings and cowardly insults; and, when consigned to the provost-marshal, were huddled together in crowded rooms or prison-ships, cut 1776. August 27. CHAP. off from good air and wholesome food, to know V. the intensest bitterness of bondage, and waste away and die. Sadness prevailed in the American camp; distrust and dejection succeeded the rash presumption of inexperience. The privates began to hold most of their general officers in light esteem; and Washington alone could inspire confidence. He was everywhere in person; and only when it became certain that the British would remain quiet during the night, did he retire for short rest. 28. The next morning, which was Wednesday, was chill, and the sky lowered with clouds. Unable to rely on either of his major-generals, Washington again, at the break of day, renewed the inspection of the American works, which from their great extent left many points exposed. He watched closely the British encampments, which appeared large enough for twenty thousand men; wherever he passed, he encouraged his soldiers to engage in continual skirmishes. During the morning, Mifflin brought over from New York a reënforcement of nearly one thousand men, composed of Glover's regiment of Massachusetts fishermen, and the Pennsylvania regiments of Shee and Magaw, which were "the best disciplined of any in the army." Their arrival was greeted with cheers. They raised the number of the Americans to nine thousand. In the afternoon, rain fell heavily; the lines were at some places so low that men employed in the trenches stood up to their waists in water; provisions could not be regularly served, and whole regiments had nothing to eat but raw pork and bread; but they bore up against all hardships, for V. 1776. their commander-in-chief was always among them, CHAP. exposing himself more than any one to the fury of the storm, restoring order and obedience by August his incessant care, and teaching patience by his 28. example. When the soldiers were ready to sink, the sight of their general calmly and persistently enduring the same hardships with themselves reconciled them to their sufferings. But the physical pains of Washington were his least; it shows how clear was his perception that he alone must watch for his generals and his army, that for eight-and-forty hours he gave no one moment to sleep, and for nearly all that time was on horseback in the lines. The British commander-in-chief, General William Howe, by illegitimate descent an uncle to the king, was of a very different character. Six feet tall, of an uncommonly dark complexion, a coarse frame, and a sluggish mould, he was unresistingly ruled by his sensual nature. He was not much in earnest against the Americans, partly because he was persuaded that they could not be reduced by arms, partly because he professed to be a liberal in politics, partly because he never kindled with zeal for anything. He had had military experience, and had read books on war; but being destitute of swiftness of thought and will, he was formed to carry on war by rule. He would not march till he could move deliberately, with ample means of transportation. On the field of battle he sometimes showed talent as an executive officer; but, except in moments of high excitement, he was lethargic, wanting alertness and sagacity. He hated business, CHAP. and his impatience at being forced to attend to it, August V. joined to a family gloom, made him difficult of 1776. access, and gained and gained him the reputation of being 28. haughty and morose. His indolence was his bane: not wilfully merciless, he permitted his prisoners to suffer from atrocious cruelty; not meaning that his troops should be robbed, he left peculators uncontrolled, and the army and the the hospitals were wronged by contractors. His notions of honor in money matters were not nice; but he was not so much rapacious as insatiable. Disliking to have his personal comforts infringed, he indulged freely in the pleasures of the table; without any delicacy of passion, kept a mistress; and loved to shake off dull indifference by the hazards of the faro-table. His officers were expected to be, in the field, insensible to danger like himself; in their quarters, he was willing they should openly lead a profligate life; and his example led many of the young to their ruin by gaming. He had nothing heroic about him, wanting altogether the quick eye, the instant combination, and the commanding energy of a great warrior. During the day, a party of provincial loyalists, under the command of De Lancey, overtook Woodhull two miles beyond Jamaica; after he had surrendered, his captors struck him on the head with a cutlass, and slashed his arm, inflicting wounds which before many days proved fatal. He and several of the militia who were taken with him are included in Howe's list of the captives of the previous day. All the following night Washington kept an |