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

Footnote Pg 111

 

 

3. James Monroe, Late President Of The United States, Then Aid To Lord

Stirling.

Chapter IX Pg 111

 

 

 

Colonel Burr Was A Rigid Disciplinarian, And In The Performance Of His

Duty Made No Difference Between Those Officers Who Were His Friends

And Those Who Were Not; Yet He Never Failed To Adopt The Most Delicate

And Gentlemanly Course, Where, In His Opinion, Rigour Became

Necessary. There Are Many Documents Tending To Establish This Fact,

Such As The Following:--

 

 

Camp, April 10Th, 1778.

 

 

My Lord,

 

 

In My Weekly Returns, Your Lordship May Have Observed That Captain Tom

Has Been Returned--_Absent Without Leave_. As He Had Been Long From

The Regiment, And No Reasons Had Been Assigned To Me For His

Extraordinary Absence, I Thought Myself In Duty Bound To Make Such

Report. Upon His Return To Camp, He Has Accounted For His Conduct In A

Manner More Satisfactory Than I Feared He Could.

 

 

Unwilling To Deal Too Severely With A Valuable Officer, And Conscious

Of The Impropriety Of Passing Any Seeming Neglect In Entire Silence, I

Refer Him To Your Lordship As The Proper Judge Of His Conduct And

Excuses.

 

 

My Lord, You Are Acquainted With The Character Of Captain Tom. You

Have Often Heard Me Mention Him With Respect. Should His Absence

Appear, In Any Degree, To Have Arisen From Inattention, I Hope Your

Lordship Will Treat It With All The Delicacy Which The Conduct Of A

Man Of Feeling And Of Spirit Can Desire.

 

 

I Have The Honour To Be,

 

 

Your Lordship'S Most Obedient Servant,

 

 

A. Burr.

Chapter IX Pg 112

From Colonel Malcolm.

 

 

Yorktown, June 16Th, 1778.

 

 

My Dear Sir,

 

 

I Have Just Now Met With Captain Kearsley, Which Enables Me To Let You

Know That I Am Here, Sent By General Gates To Congress On A Variety Of

Business.

 

 

I Have Consented To Do Duty As Adjutant-General To The Northern Army,

On Conditions Of Holding My Regiment, And That It Should Come To The

Northward. The First Agreed To; The Last According To Events.

 

 

None Of The Sixteen Additional Regiments Stand On The New

Establishment. Of The Strongest, If Ours Comes Within That

Description, It Will Be One. _As General Washington Writes General

Gates That He Cannot Conveniently Spare You At This Time_, I Recommend

Your Sending Three Or Four Officers To The State Of New-York On The

Recruiting Service. You Know Who Will Answer Best, And Who Can Be Best

Spared; And To Recruit For The Regiment At Large, I Think I Can

Provide You With Some Men.

 

 

As I Have Not Time Either To Pass Through, Come, Or To Write Any Other

Of The Officers, Do Tell Them How I Am Circumstanced, And Offer Them

My Best Respects. I Am Happy To Hear That Major Pawling Is Better. I

Shall Write From Peekskill Very Soon, And Beg To Hear From You.

 

 

I Ever Am, Very Sincerely, Affectionately Yours,

 

 

W. Malcolm.

Chapter IX Pg 113

By The Preceding Letter It Appears That "General Washington Had

Written To General Gates That He Could Not Conveniently Spare Colonel

Burr." The Reason Is Obvious. It Was At The Very Moment When Sir Henry

Clinton Was About To Evacuate Philadelphia, And To Retreat Through

New-Jersey. The Commander-In-Chief Was Unwilling At Such A Crisis To

Part With An Efficient And Gallant Officer. On The 18Th Of June, Sir

Henry Clinton, With His Forces, Left The City, Proceeded To Gloucester

Point, Three Miles Down The River, And Crossed The Delaware Into

New-Jersey. That Day He Marched As Far As Haddonfield. The Americans

Crossed The Delaware At Corriel'S Ferry, And Halted, After A

Distressing March From Heat And Rain, Within Five Miles Of Princeton.

During The Preceding Winter General Lee Had Been Exchanged, And Joined

The Army At Valley Forge.

 

 

The Enemy'S Force Was Now Estimated At Between 9000 And 10,000, Rank

And File. The Americans At 10,600, Exclusive Of Maxwell'S Brigade,

About 1200, And About 1200 Militia. On The 24Th Of June, 1778, The

Commander-In-Chief Propounded To The General Officers The Question,

"Will It Be Advisable To Hazard A General Action?" The Answer Was,

"Not Advisable; But A Detachment Of 1500 To Be Immediately Sent To

Act, As Occasion May Serve, On The Enemy'S Left Flank And Rear, In

Conjunction With The Other Continental Troops And Militia Already

Hanging About Them, And The Main Body To Preserve A Relative Position,

To Act As Circumstances May Require." Signed By Lee, Stirling, Greene,

Fayette, Steuben, Poor, Paterson, Woodford, Scott, Portail, Knox.

 

 

Four Days After, Viz., The 28Th Of June, The Battle Of Monmouth Was

Fought. It Was On This Occasion That General Washington Ordered The

Arrest Of General Lee: 1Stly, For Disobedience Of Orders In Not

Attacking The Enemy On The 28Th Of June, Agreeably To Repeated

Instructions; 2Dly, For Misbehaviour Before The Enemy On The Same Day,

By Making An Unnecessary, Disorderly, And Shameful Retreat;

Chapter IX Pg 114

3Dly, For

Disrespect To The Commander-In-Chief, In Two Letters, Dated The 20Th

Of June. On The 12Th Of August The Courtmartial, Of Which Lord

Stirling Was President, Found Lee Guilty, And Sentenced Him To Be

Suspended From Any Command In The Armies Of The United States For The

Term Of Twelve Months. The History Of The Battle Of Monmouth, With All

The Consequences That Followed, Has Long Since Been Given To The World

By The Friends And The Opponents Of The Respective Parties. It Is Only

Necessary To State Here, That Colonel Burr, On That Occasion, Was

Ranked Among The Supporters Of Lee, And Had Himself Real Or Imaginary

Cause Of Complaint Against The Commander-In-Chief.

 

 

In This Action Colonel Burr Commanded A Brigade In The Division Of

Lord Stirling, Composed Of His Own Regiment And Some Pennsylvanians,

Under The Immediate Command Of Lieutenant-Colonel Dummer. Gordon, In

His History Of The American Revolution, Says, "The Check The British

Received Gave Time To Make A Disposition Of The Left Wing And Second

Line Of The Main Army In The Wood, And On The Eminence To Which He Had

Been Directed And Was Retreating. On This Were Placed Some Batteries

Of Cannon By Lord Stirling, Who Commanded The Left Wing, Which Played

Upon The British With Great Effect, And, _Seconded By Parties Of

Infantry Detached To Oppose Them, Effectually Put A Stop To Their

Advance_. The British, Finding Themselves Warmly Opposed In Front,

Attempted To Turn The American Left Flank, But Were Repulsed."

 

 

Shortly After The Action Had Become General, Burr Discovered A

Detachment Of The Enemy Coming From The Borders Of A Wood On The

Southward. He Instantly Put His Brigade In Motion For The Purpose Of

Checking Them. It Was Necessary To Cross A Morass, Over Which A Bridge

Was Thrown. He Ordered Lieutenant-Colonel Dummer To Advance With The

Pennsylvania Detachment, And That He Would Bring Up The Rear With His

Own Regiment. After A Part Of The Brigade Was Over The Bridge, Colonel

Barber, Aid To General Washington, Rode Up, And Said That The Orders

Of The Commander-In-Chief Were That He Should Halt. Colonel Burr

Remonstrated. He Said His Men, In Their Present Position, Were Exposed

To The Fire Of The Enemy, And That His Whole Brigade Must Now Cross

The Bridge Before They Could Halt With Any Safety. Colonel Barber

Repeated That The Orders Of General Washington Were Peremptory That He

Should Halt, Which Was Accordingly Done, And The Brigade, In Their

Divided State, Suffered Severely. Lieutenant-Colonel Dummer Was

Killed; Colonel Burr'S Horse Was Shot Under Him; And Those Who Had

Crossed The Bridge Were Compelled To Retreat.

 

 

The Movements And The Firing Of The Armies Continued Until Dark. The

Americans Remained On The Battle-Ground, With An Intention Of Renewing

The Attack In The Morning. Burr'S Uniform Practice Was, When Near An

Enemy, To Be Up At Night, Visiting His Own Pickets, And Taking The

Necessary Precautions For Avoiding A Surprise. The Night Preceding The

Action Colonel Burr Was Thus Engaged, As It Was Known That The British

Would Move At Dawn Of Day, If Not Before, And General Washington Had

Given Orders To Lee, Who Was In The Advance, To Commence The Attack As

Soon As They Did Move. The Weather Was Intensely Hot.

Chapter IX Pg 115

Notwithstanding

The Fatigue Which Colonel Burr Had Undergone During The Night Of The

27Th And The Succeeding Day, Yet He Remained Up The Night Of The 28Th

Also. Sir Henry Clinton'S Troops Were Employed In Removing Their

Wounded, And Then Marched Away In Such Silence, That, Though General

Poor Lay Near Them, Their Retreat Was Effected Without His Knowledge.

 

 

Exhausted With Fatigue, And Worn Out For The Want Of Repose, On The

29Th, Colonel Burr Lay Down Under The Shade Of Some Trees And Fell

Asleep. When He Awoke, He Was Exposed, And Had Been For Some Time, To

The Rays Of The Sun. He Found