Memoirs Of Aaron Burr, Volume 1, Matthew L. Davis [book club suggestions .txt] 📗

Forces, And Draw A Line Across, Which Will Hem Us

In And Totally Cut Off All Communication, After Which They Will Have

Their Own Fun_.

 

 

These Virginia Gentlemen Lodged In A House With Several King'S

Officers. They Hold Us In The Utmost Contempt. Talk Of Forcing All Our

Lines Without Firing A Gun. The Bayonet Is Their Pride. They Have

Forgot Bunker'S Hill.

 

 

Your Nephew,

 

 

A. Burr.

Chapter VII (He Writes To Burr) Pg 77

From Colonel M. Ogden.

 

 

Ticonderoga, August 11Th, 1776.

 

 

Dear Burr,

 

 

I Yesterday Received Yours Of July 29Th And August 2D. The Others I

Made Mention Of In The Letter To Mrs. Ogden That I Sent To You

Unsealed. In My Last You Had A Very Particular Account Of The Numbers,

Force, Names, &C., Of Our Navy On The Lake. As To Our Leaving

Crownpoint For This Place, The Field-Officers Knew Nothing Of It Till

It Was Concluded On By The Generals, Schuyler, Gates, And Arnold.

 

 

General Arnold Is Taking A Very Active Part, I Mean In The Command Of

The Fleet. He Will Sail Himself In A Few Days. He Says He Will Pay A

Visit To St. Johns. I Wish He May Be As Prudent As He Is Brave. Well,

Now Have At You For News. Last Evening The Flag Of Truce Returned,

Bringing A Letter Directed To _George Washington, Esq_., And A Truly

Ridiculous Copy Of A General Order, Which You Will See At General

Washington'S By The Time You Receive This. But There Is One Part Of It

In Which I Think They, In Some Measure, Accuse Us Justly. I Mean That

Of Assassinating, As They Term It With Too Much Truth,

Brigadier-General Gordon. He Was Shot By The Whitcomb I Mentioned In

My Last, Who Had Been Sent There As A Spy. The Act, Though Villainous,

Was Brave, And A Peculiar Kind Of Bravery, That, I Believe, Whitcomb

Alone Is Possessed Of. He Shot Gordon Near By Their Advanced Sentinel;

And, Notwithstanding A Most Diligent Search Was Made, He Avoided Them

By Mere Dint Of Skulking.

 

 

I Shall Have The Honour To Command The New-Jersey Redoubt, Which I Am

Now Building With The Regiment Alone. It Is Situated On The Right Of

The Whole, By The Water'S Edge. It Is To Mount Two Eighteen-Pounders,

Two Twelve, And Four Nine-Pounders. In This I Expect To Do Honour To

New-Jersey. I Yesterday Received A Letter From Colonel Dayton, Dated

The 28Th Of July, At The German Flats. He Informs Me That He Is To

Take The Command At Fort Stanwix.

 

 

Should There Be Any Thing To Be Had In New-York In The Clothing Way,

Should Be Glad If You Will Lay Some Aside, No Matter What--Either

Small-Clothes, Shirts, Stockings, Or Any Thing Of The Kind. My Best

Compliments To General Putnam. If You Will Let Robert Or Sawyer Have

The Perusal Of This, They Would Learn The News Of This Army. Paper Is

So Scarce, That One Letter Must Serve Both, Unless Something

Particular.

 

 

Yours Sincerely,

 

 

Matt. Ogden.

Chapter VII Pg 78

At This Time Major-General Greene Had The Command On Long Island, But

His Health Was So Bad That It Became Necessary For Him To Resign It.

The Commander-In-Chief Ordered General Putnam To Assume The Command.

Major Burr Was His Aid-De-Camp. The Landing Of The British Had Been

Previously Effected On The 22D Of August, 1776, Without Opposition,

Near Utrecht And Gravesend, On The Southwest End Of The Island.

Chapter VII Pg 79

The

American Troops, Less Than 12,000, Were Encamped On The North Of

Brooklyn Heights. The British Force, Including Hessians, Was More Than

20,000 Strong. The Armies Were Separated By A Range Of Hills, At That

Time Covered With Wood, Called The Heights Of Gowannus. Major Burr

Immediately Commenced An Inspection Of The Troops, And Made To The

General A Most Unfavourable Report, Both As To Their Means Of Defence

And Their Discipline. The Major Proposed, However, Several Enterprises

For Beating Up The Quarters Of The Enemy. To All Which General Putnam

Replied, That His Orders Were Not To Make Any Attack, But To Act On

The Defensive Only.

 

 

On The 27Th The Action Was Fought. The Loss Of The Americans, In

Killed, Wounded, And Prisoners, Was About 1000. That Of The British,

Less Than 350. The Americans Were Driven Within The Works Which They

Had Thrown Up. Major Burr, Previous To The Action, Had Expressed To

General Putnam The Opinion That A Battle Ought Not To Be Risked; And

That Much Was To Be Gained By Placing The Troops In A Position Where

The Navy Of The Enemy Would Not Be So Serviceable To Them.

 

 

On The 28Th, The British Advanced In Column To Within 500 Or 600 Yards

Of The American Works. General Robinson, Who Commanded A Portion Of

The Enemy, Represents, In His Parliamentary Examination, That They

Approached Much Nearer. The American Troops Were Formed In Line To

Receive Them; But Gave Such Indications Of Alarm, That Major Burr Rode

To General Putnam, And Informed Him That He Had No Hope The Men Would

Stand More Than A Single Fire Before They Retreated. No Attack,

However, Was Made. Burr Continued To Urge Upon General Putnam And

Mifflin (The Latter Of Whom Came Over On That Day From New-York) The

Necessity Of A Retreat. During The Night Of The 28Th, General Mifflin

Went The Rounds, And Observed The Forwardness Of The Enemy'S

Batteries, And, On The Morning Of The 29Th, Pressed Upon General

Washington An Immediate Retreat. A Council Was Held, And The Opinion

Of Mifflin Unanimously Adopted. The Embarcation Of The Troops Was

Committed To General Mcdougall. He Was At Brooklyn Ferry By Eight

O'Clock. In The Early Part Of The Night, The Weather Was Very

Unfavourable; But About Eleven O'Clock Every Thing Was Propitious. A

Thick Fog Ensued, And Continued Until The Whole Army, 9000 In Number,

With All The Field Artillery, Ordnance, &C., Were Safely Landed In

New-York. Major Burr Was At Brooklyn. Here General Mcdougall Had An

Opportunity Of Noticing His Efficiency. His Reputation For Talents And

Intrepidity Had Previously Reached The Ears Of The General. From This

Night, The 29Th Of August, 1776, Until Major Burr Retired From The

Army, He Possessed The Entire Confidence And Esteem Of General

Mcdougall. Subsequent Events, As Will Hereafter Appear, Tended To

Strengthen And Confirm The Correctness Of Those Prepossessions, Thus

Formed In The Hour Of Peril, And In The Midst Of The Most Appalling

Dangers.

 

 

The Situation Of General Washington, After Retreating From Long

Island, Was Very Distressing. The Defeat Which The Americans Had

Experienced Produced Consternation And Alarm In The Ranks Of A Raw,

Inexperienced, And Undisciplined Army.

Chapter VII Pg 80

In Addition To Other

Discouraging Circumstances, Within A Few Days After The Retreat,

Nearly One Fourth Of The Troops Were On The Sick-List. Colonel Glover

Says That The Commander-In-Chief Divided His Army, Posting 12,000 At

Kingsbridge, 6500 At Harlem, And 4500 In The City Of New-York.

 

 

On Sunday, The 15Th Of September, 1776, General Howe, As

Commander-In-Chief Of The British Forces, Landed On Manhattan

(New-York) Island. General Washington Had Previously Made The

Necessary Arrangements, And Given Orders For The Troops To Evacuate

The City And Retire To Harlem, Distant About Seven Miles. The Descent

Of The British Created An Alarm In The American Ranks, And Produced No

Inconsiderable Degree Of Confusion In The Retreat. By Some

Unaccountable Mismanagement, General Silliman'S Brigade Was Left In

New-York, And Conducted By General Knox To A Small Fort Then In The

Suburbs, And Known As Bunker'S Hill. Major Burr Having Been

Despatched, At His Own Request, With A Few Dragoons, By General

Putnam, To Pick Up The Stragglers, Discovered The Error Which Had Been

Committed, And Galloping Up To The Fort, Inquired Who Commanded.

General Knox Presented Himself. Major Burr Desired Him To Retreat

Immediately, Or The Whole Brigade Would Be Cut Off And Sacrificed.

General Knox Replied, That A Retreat, Thus In The Face Of The Enemy,

Was Impracticable, And That He Intended To Defend The Fort. Burr

Remarked, That It Was Not Bomb-Proof; That It Was Destitute Of Water;

And That He Could Take It With A Single Howitzer; And Then, Addressing

Himself To The Men, Said, That If They Remained There, One Half Of

Them Would Be Killed Or Wounded, And The Other Half Hung, Like Dogs,

Before Night; But, If They Would Place Themselves Under His Command,

He Would Conduct Them In Safety To Harlem. Burr'S Character For

Intrepidity And Military Skill Was Already So Well Established, That

They Determined To Follow Him. In The Retreat They Had Some

Skirmishing, But Met With Very Little Loss In Effecting Their Union

With The Main Body Of The Army. The Following Documents, Furnished By

Officers In Silliman'S Brigade, Contain The Details.

Chapter VII (Samuel Rowland To Commodore Richard V. Morris. Fairfield, (Conn.)) Pg 81

29Th January, 1814.

 

 

Sir,

 

 

In Answer To The Inquiries Relating To The Evacuation Of New-York, In

1776, I Can Only Observe, But Few Persons Who Were Present, And

Eyewitnesses Of The Event, Are Now Living In This Part Of The Country.

I Find, However,