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1778. right and rode forward to reconnoitre. From the obfervations Lee made, and the intelligence he obtained,. he concluded that the forces he faw were no other than the enemy's covering party, and entertained hopes of an interval between them and the main body, fufficient to afford him the opportunity of cutting them off. That he might perfect this business, Wayne was appointed to command 700 men, to whom were attached two pieces of artillery. Wayne was to attack the covering party in the rear, faintly so as to halt them, but not with vigor left that should occafion their retreating with celerity to the main body, or drawing from it fo powerful a reinforcement as to defeat the principal defign. Mean time Lee was to endeavour, by a fhort road leading to the left, to gain the front of the party. While marching on this road, one of gen. Washington's fuite came up to procure intelligence. Lee with a fixed firm tone of voice and countenance which fuggefted confidence of fuccefs, defired him to inform his excellency, that the enemy did not appear well to understand the roads; that the route he was on cut off two miles; that the rear of the enemy was compofed of 1500 or 2000; that he expected to fall in with them, and had great certainty of cutting them off; and that gen. Wayne and col. Butler were amusing them with a few loofe fhot while he was performing the route. Wayne's command was advanced to the right and drawn up. The enemy appeared just in the edge of a wood upon an eminence with their light dragoons. A few of the American light horsemen were advanced upon the right, at a very confiderable diftance. One of Lee's aids de camp obferved the queen's light dragoons parading as though they meant to charge

thefe American light-horsemen, who had no officer of 1778, eminence to head them; he therefore rode up to and advised them to let the British dragoons come as near as could be done with fafety, and then to retreat off to where gen. Wayne was, and let him receive them. The British horfe purfued till they came near the general, when receiving a fire from col. Butler's regiment posted on the skirt of a wood, they wheeled and gallopped off in great hafte to their own body: as they were retiring, the two pieces of artillery fired a few fhot at them. Wayne then advanced, and encouraged his men to follow on, and charge the enemy with bayonets. The aid rode back to Lee, who immediately fent him forward to Wayne, with orders that he should only feign an attack, and not push on too precipitately, as that would fubvert his plan, and disappoint his intentions. Lieut, col. Ofwald, who commanded the artillery, fuppofed that the enemy were retreating, and fo paffed the morafs in front over a causeway into a grain field, and began to cannonade. This happened after ten o'clock. About the fame time a part of Lee's troops iffued out of a wood, on the left of and about a mile below the Court-house, in fmall columns, and in an oblique direction with respect to the royal forces, rather toward their right and within cannon shot. Thefe were drawn up ready to face the Americans, with their right near a wood; and their left on open ground covered by their cavalry and forming an obtuse angle with the Court-house. The cavalry filed off to the left, as if with defign to attempt fomething on the right of Lee's troops, which occafioned an order to the marquis de la Fayette to wheel his column by his right, and to gain and attack the enemy's left flank.

1778. Lee having alfo ordered to the right the three regiments in Wayne's detachment, Weffon's, Stewart's and Living→ fton's, rode toward Ofwald's artillery and reconnoitred the enemy, who appeared in full view marching back again toward the Court-house, and in greater numbers than was expected, fo that Lee faid, he believed he was mistaken in their strength.

Let us now advert to the manoeuvres of Sir Henry Clinton. Soon after he had begun with his column to follow gen. Knyphaufen, reconnoitring parties of the Jerfey militia appeared on his left flank. The queen's rangers fell in with, and difperfed fome detachments among the woods in the fame quarter. His rear guard having defcended from the heights above Freehold into the plain, fome American columns appeared likewise defcending into it, and began the cannonade on his rear, which was returned by a fuperior fire. At this inftant, intelligence was brought to Sir Henry, that the enemy were difcovered marching in force on both his flanks. He conjectured, that the object of the Americans was the baggage, which at that juncture was engaged in defiles that continued for miles. He conceived that the only means of parrying the apprehended blow was by facing about, attacking the corps which haraffed his rear, and preffing it fo hard, as to oblige the detachments to return from his flanks to its affiftance. Thinking that the meafure might poffibly draw on a general action, he fent for a brigade of British, and the 17th light dragoons from Knyphausen's divifion, and at the fame time gave directions, that on their arrival they fhould take a pofition for covering his right flank. He then made a

difpofition and advanced in a direction toward the right 1778. of the Americans.

This happened while Lee was reconnoitring. The American column to the left of him under gen. Scott,

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quitted the wood, croffed a morafs, and formed in the plain field about a hundred yards in front of Maxwell; who expected an opportunity to form his brigade, by Scott's moving to the right as there was a vacancy be tween the latter and the troops with Lee. These were at that moment moving to the right, and every step they gained came nearer to the royal forces, who were alfo pushing to the right of the Americans. Lee's difcernment led him immediately to fend off one of his aids, with orders to Scott, whom he supposed to be in the wood on the other fide of the morafs, to halt his column in the wood, and continue there till further orders that there might be no poffible misconception, another aid was speedily dispatched with fimilar orders. Before these could be delivered, Scott had miftaken the movements on his right for a retreat; and apprehended danger to his own column in cafe of its remaining where he was, notwithstanding his detachment, and Maxwell's brigade with the other troops to the left made full twothirds of Lee's whole command, and though the enemy appeared to bend their courfe from the left to the right of the Americans. Under fuch apprehenfion, Scott recroffed the morafs, re-entered the wood, and retreated: Maxwell and the others did the like of course. When the first aid reached that part of the wood to which he had been directed, and found that Scott had marched off the ground, he rode back: while returning, he met the fecond aid, and acquainted him with what had taken

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1778. place: upon their coming to Lee, and communicating. their information, the general discovered much furprise, and expreffed his difapprobation of Scott's conduct in ftrong terms; but immediately upon the intelligence, directed a light horfe officer to carry orders to the marquis de la Fayette to retreat to the Court-house. A general retreat now commenced on the right, till the troops reached Freehold and a neighbouring wood. When these were quitted, the British purfued as far as the village, where they halted. Mean while the Americans marched on and paffed the next morafs in front of Carr's house, about half a mile from the village. The retreats and advances which took place were attended with cannonadings on each fide. The halt of the British, on account of the intense heat of the weather, and their having fuffered feverely from fatigue, admitted of the Americans halting alfo for a confiderable space, which heat and fatigue had rendered equally neceffary for them. But upon the advance of the British from Freehold, and Lee's difcerning that the position he at first meant to occupy with the design of receiving the enemy and baffling their attack, was not suitable; the whole of of his command, Scott, Maxwell, and the others having now joined the corps which before formed the right, were ordered to retreat from the neighbourhood of Carr's house toward a wood and eminence behind the morafs they had croffed in the morning, which had been pointed out to him as a desirable and proper fpot. Before they had wholly left the ground about Carr's house, the Britifh cavalry made a fudden and rapid charge upon fome parties of the American horfe, who were in the rear reconnoitring. It was expected they would have attempted

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