The Campaign of 1776 around New York and Brooklyn Part 28

Brigadier Lord Stirling to command the front of our lines next Hudson's River and to command the reserve within the lines, and when either of the other Brigade Generals have the command of the Advance Lines Lord Stirling is to have command of his post in his absence.

Each Brigadier General to a.s.sign the Alarm Posts to the several Regiments under their command.

[No. 3.]

GENERAL ORDERS

HEAD-QUARTERS LONG ISLAND Aug. 29, 1776.

Parole, SULLIVAN, } Countersign, GREEN. }

As the sick are an enc.u.mbrance to the Army, & Troops are expected this afternoon from the flying camp in Jersey, under Genl Mercer, who is himself arrived & room & cover is wanted for the troops, the commanding Officers of Regt's are immediately to have such sick removed. They are to take their Arms & Accoutrements & be conducted by an Officer to the Genl Hospital, as a rendezvous & then to cross to-gether under the directions of the Person appointed there, taking general Directions from Dr Morgan. As the above Forces under Genl Mercer are expected this afternoon, the General proposes to relieve a proportionate Number of Regiments & make a change in the situation of them.

The Commanding Officers of Regiments are therefore to parade their men with their Arms, Accoutrements, and Knapsacks, at 7 oClock, at the Head of their Encampments & there wait for Orders.[232]

[From MS. Order Book of Col. Wm. Douglas.]

[Footnote 232: The series of Washington's general orders in Force's Archives does not contain this order of August 29th, which throws light on the preparations made for the retreat. It is found, abridged, in both Col. Little's and Capt. Dougla.s.s's order books; in Col.

Douglas's book it appears in the above form. Original in the possession of Benjamin Douglas, Esq., Middletown, Conn.]

HEAD-QUARTERS, NEW YORK, August 31, 1776.

(Parole, HARLEM.) (Countersign, FLUSHING.)

... Both officers and soldiers are informed that the retreat from _Long-Island_ was made by the unanimous advice of all the General Officers, not from any doubts of the spirit of the troops, but because they found the troops very much fatigued with hard duty, and divided into many detachments, while the enemy had their main body on the Island, and capable of receiving a.s.sistance from the shipping. In these circ.u.mstances it was thought unsafe to transport the whole of an Army on an Island, or to engage them with a part, and therefore unequal numbers; whereas now our whole Army is collected together, without water intervening, while the enemy can receive little a.s.sistance from their ships. Their Army is, and must be, divided into many bodies, and fatigued with keeping up a communication with their ships; whereas ours is connected and can act together. They must effect a landing under so many disadvantages, that if officers and soldiers are vigilant, and alert to prevent surprise, and add spirit when they approach, there is no doubt of our success....

[Force, 5th Series, Vol. I., p. 1248.]

[No. 4.]

GEN. WASHINGTON TO THE Ma.s.sACHUSETTS a.s.sEMBLY

HEAD-QUARTERS, Colonel Roger Morris's House, ten miles from } New York, September 19, 1776. }

GENTLEMEN: I was honoured the night before last with your favor of the 13th instant, and at the same time that I conceive your anxiety to have been great, by reason of the vague and uncertain accounts you received respecting the attack on _Long Island_, give me leave to a.s.sure you that the situation of our affairs, and the important concerns which have surrounded me, and which are daily pressing on me, have prevented me from transmitting, in many instances, the intelligence I otherwise should have conveyed.

In respect to the attack and retreat from _Long Island_, the publick papers will furnish you with accounts nearly true. I shall only add, that in the former we lost about eight hundred men; more than three-fourths of which were taken prisoners. This misfortune happened in great measure, by two detachments of our people who were posted in two roads leading through a wood, in order to intercept the enemy in their march, suffering a surprise, and making a precipitate retreat, which enabled the enemy to lead a great part of their force against the troops commanded by Lord _Stirling_, which formed a third detachment, who behaved with great bravery and resolution, charging the enemy and maintaining their posts from about seven or eight o'clock in the morning till two in the afternoon, when they were obliged to attempt a retreat, being surrounded and overpowered by numbers on all sides, and in which many of them were taken. One battalion (_Smallwood's_ of _Maryland_) lost two hundred and fifty-nine men, and the general damage fell upon the regiments from _Pennsylvania_, _Delaware_ and _Maryland_, and Colonel _Huntington's_, of _Connecticut_.

As to the retreat from the Island, it was effected without loss of men, and with but very little baggage. A few heavy cannon were left, not being moveable on account of the ground's being soft and miry through the rains that had fallen.

The enemy's loss in killed we could never ascertain; but have many reasons to believe that it was pretty considerable, and exceeded ours a good deal. The retreat from thence was absolutely necessary, the enemy having landed the main body of their army there to attack us in front, while their ships of war were to cut off the communication with the city, from whence resources of men, provisions, &c., were to be drawn....

I have the honour to be, &c., GO. WASHINGTON.

To the Hon. _Jeremiah Powell_, Esq., President, &c.

[Force, 5th Series, Vol. II., p. 399.]

[No. 5.]

BRIG. GEN. PARSONS TO JOHN ADAMS

PHILADELPHIA

LONG ISLAND 29 Aug 1776.

... Before this reaches you the account of the battle of Tuesday last will arrive--'tis impossible to be particular in a narrative of the matter as many are yet missing, who we hope may come in. In the night of the 26th nine Regiments of the English troops perhaps about 2500 with Field artillery &c pa.s.sed the Western road near the Narrows from the flat land, for our lines. We had a guard of 400 or 500 men posted in the wood, who about three o'clock Tuesday morning gave notice of the enemy's approach, a body of about 1500. We immediately marched down to oppose the progress of the enemy. We took possession of a hill about two miles from camp and detached Col Atlee with a Reg't of Delaware [Penn.] to meet them further on the road; in about 60 rods he drew up & received the enemy's fire & gave them a well directed fire from his Reg't, which did great execution & then retreated to the hill; from thence I was ordered with Col Atlee & part of his Reg't & Lt Col Clark with Col Huntington's Reg't to cover the left flank of our main body.

This we executed though our number did at no time exceed 300 men & we were attacked three several times by two Regiments ye 44th & 23d and repulsed them in every attack with considerable loss. The number of dead we had collected together & the heap the enemy had made we supposed amounted to about 60. We had 12 or 14 wounded prisoners who we caused to be dress'd & their wounds put in the best state our situation would admit. About 10 o'clock we found a large body of the enemy had advanced on the other roads near our lines, but a constant fire was kept up on the enemy till about 12, when we found them fast advancing on our rear to cut off our retreat. Our little main body advanced boldly up to the enemy in the rear & broke through their lines and secured the retreat of most of the party; but it fared still harder with my little party who had three times repulsed the enemy in front and once in the rear; we had no notice of the retreat of the main body till it was too late for us to join them, the enemy having cut off our retreat on three sides & the main body having broke through the enemy's lines on the other side and left them between us.

We had no alternative left but force through one line into a thick wood, which we attempted & effected with part of our men, the other part with Col. Clark being before sent into the wood. When we had made our way into the wood, I was accidentally parted from Col. Atlee & most of the men whom I have never seen since. I came in with 7 men yesterday morning much fatigued. Our loss is impossible to be ascertained. In my party a Lt. Col. Parry was killed and one wounded.

Our loss in killed & wounded is inconsiderable, but many are missing among whom are General Sullivan & Lord Sterling. Colonels Miles, Atlee, Johnson, Lt. Col. Clark Maj. Wells & several other officers of distinction are yet missing. I think the trial of that day far from being any discouragement, but in general our soldiers behaved with firmness.

I am sir, with esteem & Regard Yr. Humble Svt.

SAM'L H. PARSONS.

MORRISANIA Oct. 8, 1776.

DEAR SIR

Your's of the 2d inst I rec'd last night, for which I am obliged to you. If any information I can give will contribute to your satisfaction or my country's good I am happy in furnishing what falls in my observation. I agree fully with you that you were in the dark as to some facts relative to the transactions on Long Island & am fully satisfied you still remain so, or you could not suppose the surprise there was in the day time. To give you a clear idea of the matter, I must trouble you with a description of that part of the country where the enemy landed, and encamped, and the intervening lands between that and our lines. From the point of land which forms the east side of the Narrows, runs a ridge of hills about N.E. in length about 5 or 6 miles, covered with a thick wood which terminate in a small rising land near Jamaica; through these hills are three pa.s.ses only, one near the Narrows, one on the road called the Flatbush Road & one called the Bedford Road, being a cross road from Bedford to Flatbush which lies on the southerly side of these hills; these pa.s.ses are through the mountains or hills easily defensible being very narrow and the lands high & mountainous on each side. These are the only roads which can be pa.s.sed from the south side the hill to our lines, except a road leading around the easterly end of the hills to Jamaica.

On each of these roads were placed a guard of 800 men, and east of them in the wood was placed Col Miles with his Battalion to watch the motion of the enemy on that part, with orders to keep a party constantly reconnoitering to and across the Jamaica road. The sentinels were so placed as to keep a constant communication between the three guards on the three roads. South of these hills lies a large plain extending from the North River easterly to Rockaway Bay perhaps 5 miles & southerly to the sound bounded on the south by the sound and on the north by the hills. Those hills were from two to three miles and a half from our lines. The enemy landed on this plain & extended their camp from the River to Flatbush perhaps 3 or 4 miles. On the day of the surprise I was on duty, and at the first dawn of day the guards from the West road near the Narrows, came to my quarters & informed me the enemy were advancing in great numbers by that road. I soon found it true & that the whole guard had fled without firing a gun; these (by way of retaliation I must tell you) were all New Yorkers & Pennsylvanians; I found by fair daylight the enemy were through the wood & descending the hill on the North side, on which with 20 of my fugitive guard being all I could collect, I took post on a height in their front at about half a mile's distance--which halted their column & gave time for Lord Sterling with his forces to come up; thus much for the West road--On the East next Jamaica Col. Miles suffered the enemy to march not less than 6 miles till they came near two miles in rear of the guards before he discovered & gave notice of their approach. This also was in the night & the guard kept by Pennsylvanians altogether--the New England & New Jersey troops being in the other two roads through which the enemy did not attempt to pa.s.s.

We were surprised--our princ.i.p.al barrier lost by that surprise, but as far as the cover of the night is an excuse we have it.--The landing of the troops could not be prevented at the distance of 6 or 7 miles from our lines; on a plain under the cannon of the ships, just in with the sh.o.r.e. Our unequal numbers would not admit attacking them on the plain when landed.

When our princ.i.p.al barrier was lost, our numbers so much inferior to the enemy, they not disposed to storm our lines, but set down to make regular approaches to us--were part of the reasons which induced a retreat from thence and a consequent abandoning New York--. Our sentinels & guards in my opinion were well posted, they might have been better, too great security I thought prevailed with some leading officers, but I still am of opinion, if our guards on the West road & Col. Miles on East End of the hills had done their duty, the enemy would not have pa.s.sed those important heights, without such very great loss as would have obliged them to abandon any further enterprise on the Island....

I am sir Your Most Humble Sv't SAM'L H. PARSONS.

[Originals in possession of Hon. Charles Francis Adams.]

[No. 6.]

BRIG. GEN. SCOTT TO JOHN JAY

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.

NEW YORK Sept. 6, 1776.

DEAR SIR:

I received your letter about half an hour ago by the messengers of the honorable convention, in which you inform me that they are anxious to be informed of any transactions at this place that may be of use to the State, or otherwise of importance. My duty would have directed me to execute this task before the receipt of your letter, had I been possessed of the means of conveyance. I shall do it now as far as the want of good pen and ink, as scarce as almost every other necessary article, will permit.

I shall begin with our retreat from Long Island. For previous to that event the convention was so near the scene of action that they must have been acquainted with every occurrence. I was summoned to a Council of War at Mr. Philip Livingston's house on Thursday 29th ult. never having had reason to expect a proposition for a retreat till it was mentioned. Upon my arrival at the lines on the Tuesday morning before, and just after the enemy, by beating General Sullivan and Lord Stirling, had gained the heights _which in their nature appear to have been more defensible than the lines were_, it was obvious to me we could not maintain them for any long time should the enemy approach us regularly. _They were unfinished in several places when I arrived there_, and we were obliged hastily to finish them, and you may imagine with very little perfection, particularly across the main road, the most likely for the approach of the enemy's heavy artillery. _In this place three of my battalions_ were placed, the traverse of the line in ground so low, that the rising ground immediately without it, would have put it in the power of a man at 40 yards' distance to _fire under my horse's belly_ whenever he pleased.

You may judge of our situation, subject to almost incessant rains, without baggage or tents and almost without victuals or drink, and in some part of the lines the men were standing up to their middles in water. The enemy were evidently incircling us from water to water with intent to hem us in upon a small neck of land. In this situation they had as perfect a command of the island, except the small neck on which we were posted, as they now have. Thus things stood when the retreat was proposed. As it was suddenly proposed, _I as suddenly objected to it_, from an aversion to giving the enemy a single inch of ground; but _was soon convinced by the unanswerable reasons for it_. They were these. Invested by an enemy of above double our number from water to water, scant in almost every necessary of life and without covering and liable every moment to have the communication between us and the city cut off by the entrance of the frigates into the East River between (late) Governor's Island and Long Island; which General McDougall a.s.sured us from his own nautic experience was very feasible.

In such a situation we should have been reduced to the alternative of desperately attempting to cut our way [through] a vastly superior enemy with the certain loss of a valuable stock of artillery and artillery stores, which the continent has been collecting with great pains; or by famine and fatigue have been made an easy prey to the enemy. In either case the campaign would have ended in the total ruin of our army. The resolution therefore to retreat was unanimous, and tho' formed late in the day was executed the following night with unexpected success. We however lost some of our heavy cannon on the forts at a distance from the water, the softness of the ground occasioned by the rains having rendered it impossible to remove them in so short a time. Almost everything else valuable was saved; and not a dozen men lost in the retreat. The consequence of our retreat was the loss of [late] Govrs Island which is perfectly commanded by the fort on Red Hook. The enemy however from fear or other reasons indulged with the opportunity of two nights to carry off all except some heavy cannon. The garrison was drawn off in the afternoon after our retreat under the fire of the shipping who are now drawn up just behind [late] Govrs Island, and the fire of some cannon from Long Island sh.o.r.e; but with no other loss than that of one man's arm. What our loss on Long Island was I am not able to estimate. I think the hills might have been well maintained with 5000 men. _I fear their natural strength was our bane by lulling us into a state of security_ and enabling the enemy to steal _a march upon us_. I think from the best accounts we must have killed many of the enemy. We are sure that late Colonel and afterwards General Grant who was so bitter against us in Parliament, is among the slain. General Parsons late Col. and promoted to the rank of a general officer escaped from the action and pursuit as by a miracle. I believe him to be a brave man. He is a Connecticut lawyer. He told me that in the action he commanded a party of about 250 men, with orders from Lord Stirling to cover his flank; and that when the enemy gave way, he threw into a heap about thirty of the enemy's dead, and that in advancing a little further he found a heap made by the enemy at least as large as that which he had collected. Lord Stirling had ordered him to maintain his ground till receipt of his orders to retreat. However, finding that no such orders came; and finding the enemy by rallying to increase on his hands, he flew to the place where Lord Stirling was posted, leaving his party on the ground with strict orders to maintain it till his return, but he found his Lordship and his whole body of troops gone.

There can be no doubt but Lord Stirling behaved bravely; but I wish that he had retreated sooner. He would have saved himself and a great number of troops from captivity, but he refused to retreat for want of orders. We miss him much, he was a very active officer. General Sullivan who was also made a prisoner in the action on the heights went some days ago on parole to Congress to endeavor to procure his exchange for Prescot. I have not heard of his return. Two or three days ago the Rose frigate went up between the islands and took shelter, after a severe cannonade from us, behind Blackwell's Island.