1777. in action bravely contending for the independency of the

United States.

The lofs of the royal army, including the wounded and a few prifoners, amounted by their own acknowledgment, to 535: but the flain scarcely exceeded 70. Among these however were fome distinguished officers, particularly gen. Agnew, and lieut. col. Bird. They fuffered probably more than they allowed *. The battle, by gen. Knox's watch, held two hours and forty mi

nutes.

General Washington is of opinion, that the Americans retreated at an inftant when victory was declaring in their favor. The royal army was indeed completely furprised; and appearances in the beginning were evidently on the fide of the former. But it is faid, that a certain colonel, not being fufficiently experienced, inftead of preffing with fixed bayonet on the enemy whom he had driven, kept ordering his men, as they advanced, to load and fire, by which they expended their ammunition: and that, inftead of halting on the ground till furnished afresh, he ordered his regiment to retreat. This retrograde`manœuvre enabled and encouraged the enemy to recover themselves, while the other Americans, who were advancing, were difheartened and difconcerted by the retreating regiment, not knowing the occafion of fuch retreat. It is admitted however, that the colonel behaved boldly, by keeping himself in the rear next to the enemy.

* When the royal army quitted German-town, the Americans found in one of the chimney hearths, fome papers torn to pieces, and obferving figures upon them, certain officers attempted putting them together, and found them to be the returns of the killed and wounded at German-town battle, amounting to about eight hundred.

Gen. Stephen was guilty of un-officer-like behaviour in 1777 the retreat, owing to inattention or want of judgment; which might occafion a whisper to be circulated unfavorable to gen. Greene. But upon gen. Reed's asking - the commander in chief whether he was diffatisfied with Greene's conduct, he candidly anfwered, "No, not at all; the fault lay with ourselves;" referring to the column with which he was, and their stopping to attack Chew's stone house. Several caufes might co-operate to effect the precipitate retreat of the American army. And yet had that column advanced without delay, leaving only a fufficient corps with a couple of field pieces to guard the house, the obftacles to fuccefs that afterward offered, might have been removed or prevented, and Howe's army have been totally defeated, unless the fuperiority of their difcipline and bravery could have hindered.

A general, who was in the action, wrote fome time after to his correfpondent-" At German-town, fortune Smiled on our arms for hours. The enemy were broke, dispersed and flying on all quarters: we were in poffeffion of their whole encampment, together with their artillery park, &c.-A wind-mill attack was made on a house into which fix light companies had thrown themselves to avoid our bayonets-this gave time to the enemy to rally our troops were deceived by this attack; taking it for fomething formidable, they fell back to affift in, what they deemed, a serious matter.-The enemy finding themselves no further purfued, and believing it to be a retreat, followed.-Confufion enfued, and we ran away from the arms of victory ready to receive us."

Let us turn our attention for a moment to South Carolina. The fucceffes of the preceding year had

1777. humbled the Cherokees most completely. The Carolinians had built, held and continued to occupy Fort Rutledge at Seneca quietly and unoppofed. The Indians, finding themselves thus vanquished, fued in the most fubmiffive terms for peace. A treaty between them and South Carolina took place, at which commiffioners from Georgia attended, who concurred in and figned the articles of pacification on the 20th of May. By this treaty the Cherokees ceded a confiderable part of their land to South Carolina. By the eighth and laft article, it is agreed-"The hatchet fhall be for ever buried, and there shall be an univerfal peace and friendship reestablished between South Carolina, including the Catawba and Georgia on the one part, and the Cherokee nation on the other; there fhall be a general oblivion of inju ries; the contracting parties fhall use their utmost endeavours to maintain the peace and friendship now reestablished, and the Cherokees fhall, at all times, apprehend and deliver to the commanding officer at Fort Rutledge, every perfon, white or red, who, in their nation or fettlements, fhall by any means endeavour to inftigate a war by the Cherokee nation, or hoftility, or robbery, by any of their people, against or upon any of the American ftates, or subjects thereof."

Before we refume the narrative of military operations, let me mention that the New York convention, authorized for that purpose the 26th of last April, have established the conftitution of that ftate. When this was done, the freeholders chofe for their governor, general George Clinton, a gentleman excellently well qualified to be at the head of the ftate, at fo interefting and perplexed a period. His namefake, Sir Henry, made an

incursion into Jersey, from the 12th to the 16th of Sep- 17776 tember, chiefly to collect cattle. He brought away 400 head, including 20 milch cows, 400 fheep and a few horfes; in effecting it, he had 8 rank and file killed, 17 wounded, together with a lieutenant, 9 miffing befide a drummer, and 5 taken prisoners, by the different parties of Americans that oppofed him. The expedition contributes nothing toward fubduing the country. The lofs of the inhabitants will be the lefs felt, on account of the uncommonly good crops of Indian corn, with which they have been this year favored. It is furprising to find that country in fo good order already. The harvest has been truly plentiful. Left it fhould be forgotten, let me mention that moft of the damage which the college-building at Princeton fuftained, must be charged to the American troops; who destroyed also the leaden pipes of the organ (which had been spared by the royal army) in order to fupply themselves with a few bullets to fire at the enemy.

Now let us return to the northern department.

3.

Lieut. col. St. Leger, whom gen. Burgoyne had early fent off toward the Mohawk river, after combating allthe difficulties, natural and artificial, which offered on his way, invested Fort Stanwix, now Fort Schuyler, on the third of Auguft It was in fo poor a ftate of de- Aug. fence, that an immediate attempt to drive off the enemy and relieve it, was abfolutely neceffary. Gen. Herkimer, a leading perfon in Tryon county, marched with more than 800 militia on this fervice. St. Leger had with him about 700 Indian warriors, who with their wives, children, other men and women, made up near 1400. He detached Sir John Johnfon, with fome troops and

6.

1777. the Indians, to lie in ambush in the woods, and inter-. cept the militia. Herkimer fell into the fnare, and was Aug. furprised; but several of the chief Indians fell by the first fire he gave them; foon after. which the battle was a scene of confufion beyond any thing the Indians had ever feen. The white people, confifting of the militia and Sir John Johnson's tory troops, as his own corps is called, got together in parties of twenty or thirty, fo that they could not fire; but pulled, and hauled, drew their knives and ftabbed each other. The Indians, who confifted of Shawanefe, Delawares, Senecas and others, after a while conjectured, from their own lofs and the confufion which prevailed, that both Sir John's people and Herkimer's intended to deftroy them: at length fome. of their chiefs told the young warriors, that it was a plot of the white people to draw them into a scrape and cut them off; and then ordered them to kill all white. people whatever. It is thought, that near as many of Sir John's tory party were killed by the Indians as by. the militia. A number of Herkimer's run off: about a hundred were fo furrounded that they could not get away; but they poffeffed themselves of an advantageous poft behind logs, &c. where they continued fighting the Indians with great bravery, till Sir John drew off his men, fearing that the garrifon would fally out and fall upon him near upon feventy of the hundred by this mean escaped. Two hundred and fifty men, under lieut. col. Willet, fallied out about that time, and routed two of the Indian and tory encampments, deftroying their provifion, and carrying off kettles, blankets, muskets, tomahawks, fpears, clothing, deer fkins, a variety of Indian affairs, and five colours; which on their return.