The Pennsylvania packet, or, The general advertiser — Lancaster, Pa.;Philadelphia, Pa., 1778-01-07 00:00:00, page 2

From the LONDON M.AGAztN E, for .foil 1777.
Extraft of a letter from New Fork.
THE writer, after a proper introduction to his
friend, apologizes for not lending him the his
tory of the campaign ; but adds, that the informati
on ie has Cent would be better even for the Minister
than the exa&eft detail of every fkirntifh we have
had with thefc perverse raggamuffins,* who plague
us while they can't oppose us, and whom we can't
subdue, though we beat them.
" In a word, then," continues he, " the chapter
of the Helens is worth the attention of the Minister
ve fe by verse. You will easily imagine, that, dis
feting as we do in language, manners and ideas,
English and Heffrons did not coalesce into one corps;
not but that there was great Communication and con
stant voting, especially among the principal officers;
but these were ra her national civilities than person
rl kindnefOs, and our younger people hardly kept
up any communication with them at all. They ra
ther affected to despise the thriftinefs of the Hessian
pro lence, as a f>merhing bale and sordid. The
H ffian, naturally fierce, was not backward to re
turn the disdain, and aftded to confider the volatile
fyirit with which our voungfte r s went to war, as un
fol lierly, and ta ked of them elves as the body on
wh>m the success of the war was to depend. What
eve hsfi re been the eff &s, the prudence and good
fene or Sir Wiiliam Howe turned these vauntings
in fi ft t good aceunt. He in^u^ed the forward-
Dels f the foreigners; Ihey were refused no Service,
a doe applied fo 1 almost all; Knipbaufen had a
fair e aia r give his name 10 the fort, and Howe
couk net unibt that he had confirm d the good tern
pe of the whole foreign a r my; but it excited pride
and arrogance, inftad of grati ude, in this bo< rih
1O!1 of p- ple. I hey b,an to complain that more
than their Crare was put un;n thm, and in a manner
claimed a fort of choice where, and when, and how,
tkylh uld betmp'oyed. They had, 1 deed, from
the beginning considered themselves pretty much as
a free quarters in an enemy's country; and it is nt
cafi f r •,ou to conceive the quantity of plunder that
t' ey had cohered; theii very men were feme of
t'en, a< it were, rich, and they took excellent care
o' w'w they had got : i he unthrifty manner of our
F'P e 'eft them firm expUed to a thoufa^d incon
veni^ncics that the H^Alins were Dangers to.
From the very nnfet 4 they had got a whim that
they were to hav p ^a.^^ of land, in the very
firft province thaqwas echoed. Whether this
was a recruiting tale, or e;her a hope of lands
was real y fuggefteflfes some fey) to Hei'ffer, l ean
ndr tell; burin the firft province
we got. was absurd: tH^ou will not wonder that
it made them eager to get into the Jerseys.
They no former f and themselves difappoicted of
their immediate settlements, than they considered
the country as an object o' vengeance The country
was certainly ravaged at a high rate; it is incon
ceivable the terror they railed in the Americans, who
tremb'ed at the very name of an HTi?n. Ina word,
the rebellion seemed crushed. There was no rebel
army in the field; literally speaking, none. Wafh
ingion was fled to Philadelphia, where he had a lew
hundreds, scarce fufficient to awe his personal ere
mies; many of whom he imprudently put io prison,
white oth-rs fled to us, and their caufo so hopeless,
that they had no pretence to claim more than their
pardon, and that was all the preudeft of them met.
They lived in our quarters hated by us as rebels,
and defrifed by their countrymen as defeiters.
Here you fee as in triumph without an enemy,
makers of a delightful country. And now we had
Liure to ffiew our ill humours, and they broke out
without management. The general antipathy be
tween us and the foreigners appealed without a mask;
they assumed the merit of all that was done. They
c< ft lered the country as their right. The increase
of their pander was their only care; they would not
move without it. It was in vain that Howe exhaust
ed hie temper in reasoning: Unhickhy at the mo
ment an irremediable mifehief fell out, just at a bad
rick, “ want of pay." The regular pay of the
Heffims had been, as in reafen one should think it
might have been, left to their own master, who had,
however, not provided for it: “ But want of pay
rod good difeipine" are incompatible. Howe could
do nothing but (hew bis conftaocy by bearing with
what he could not remedy. The example of bad
difciobne naturally extended itfelf to the English.
We began ourselves to feel the inconvenience of a
' _-— -. — r ._, .
* The Americans.
cr> rw^g teller, wuji it conjej/ct the exceyet ant
deflations committed left winter in New jersey, by
the army under General Henne, /hems what opinion
the Britfb officers entertain of their German aun
iti&ries. It is plainly the efofon of an Eftlfh
officer.
desolated country, and in vain looked for the com
fotts we had found at firft.f
General Howe loon found that the submission of
the country was all feigned ; many who had (worn
allegiance had fled, and thole who remained had no
better intentions. Howe distributed his army with
a view of keeping the province under his long line,
in that light was wife, and did answer its end.
Means were concerted to provide the Hessians with
their pay, and to reduce them to a proper temper.
Arrangements were taken to establish a firmer disci
pline among our own people, in which, however,
opinions differed widely: It was thought unreason
able to be over exa& in an enemy's country, but the
winter printed leifu^e to fettle all this, when fed
denly Washington, with an handful of men, beat up
the quarters at Trenton. The blockheads, whose
heads are full of after wisdom, now condemn Rhollt
for turning out his men; but take my word for i f ,
the contempt the Hessians then had of the enemy was
such, that he would have been branded for a coward
had he done otherwise. Rholl was not an over
pieafint man, but he was a good and a gallant officer,
and it is scandalous to reproach him, as some have
had the impudence to do, not only with raftnefs,
but with the contradictory charge of want of spirit.
By the fame vile reasoning, an accidental ftiot might
have ftijmatized the hero Mawhood, and want of
success might have displaced the never-enough to be
admi ed Harcourt §
Upon this adventure cf Washington's, all our evil
humours grew into rank disorders. My fu=prife is
rather that we keep what we do, than that we have
bad some loss s. Lord Cornwallis has done all that
a good officer can do, but he has infinitely more than
the enemy and the feaion to contend with.
Among other mifehiefs, we are pestered with sto
ries of the wisdom and virtue ot the rebels. I wont
reckon perverseness and refractory spirit r mong their
virtues; and as to wisdom, which they tell us has
created this army of W.-flrn^ton's by magic, the
case is (imply this : His tuft attempt was with an
handful of men; 1 was, I own, a spirited thig; he
happened to succeed; he came ito a c unity of
friends, and one success led to another. The march
of a fuccefsful army always muftihcrcafe it. Phila
delphia is rich, and her own danger made her liberal,
and applied an army that the circumstances of rhe
times not the wisdom of Wafhmgton, had created.
After all, if we could now ad with our whole force,
they could not stand against us, bu the experiment
v uld be just now too dangerous. Would to Gd
we were ail British, and spoke the fame langu ge,
and had the fame heart, the rebels would soon listen
to reason. But remember I tell you our aides must
be new modelled, or we must change them for Bri
tifli, and fend them to take care of yes, if we hope
for success.
Some if the Hessians who came back to 'heir co
lours after the affair at Trenton, to magnify their
own merits, had their mouths full of the offers they
had re efed, of fettlemeots and efbbliihments in
Pennfy vada; they tell wonderful dories 0 the hap
py fixation of their comrades, who, forfonth, had
not the virtue to withftaud temptation. Thole sto
ries, at firft either disregarded or laughed ar, we
have at last in vain endeavoured to put a flop to;
and Heister has been very finceie and active in his
behaviour; and some who really had ben prifeners,
and escaped, have formerly declared how ill they
were treated, and how much the Americans bate the
Hessians; but the truth they tell us is not credited,
while the flattering hopes, luggefted by the lies of
thoe ralcals, who meant no mote than to make ex
cuses for their absence, operate monftrdully: But I
do assure you, of my own knowledge, that there is
sca r cely an instance of an Hessian < fficer deferring,
not of any one of the rank of a field officer; and
perhaps, after all, the Hessian brigades are as full as
one ought to expect after so much Service. It is not
the positive loss, but the doubts and fears that are
created, which do the miichiaf. If we could meet
the enemy to-morrow, in fair campaign and pitched
battle, I have no doubi the Hessians would behave
nrbly."
t ri free cenfeffion this, that the, had pillaged the
whole country.
+ Who commanded at Trenton.
§ He assumed the credit offeizing Gen. Let, which
is realty due to Major Stockton, a Tory : But ne Ame
rican, who Serves them, is to expert any honour,
PROVIDENCE, ( Rhode-IJland) NoJ22.
TH E following very extraordinary letter was
found onboard the Syren frigate, which late
ly fell into our hands at Point Judith.
Copy of a Letter from Copt. Symonds, Commander of
the Cerberus British Frigate, to Rear Admiral Sir
Peter Parker, dated Huguf 15, 1777.
" WEDNESDAY night, being at anchor to
the Westward of New-London, in Black Point Bay,
a febooner I had taken being at anchor close by m e
aflern, about 1 I o'clock at night we difeovered a line
towing astern, that came from the bows. We im
mediately conjeftured it was some one who had veer
ed himfelf away by it, and began to haul in; we
then found the hands on board the schooner had got
hold on it, and had (taking it for a filhing line) ga
thered in near 150 fathoms, which was buoyed up
by small flicks at stated distances, at the end of which
was fattened a machine, which was too heavi for
one min to haul up, being upwards o f one hundred
weight; the other people of the boat turning out as
sisted them, got it in upon deck, and were unfortu
nately examining it too cu icufly, when it ^nt off
like the found of a gun, blew the (chooner all tc
pieces, and set her in a flame, ki'lcd the three men
that were in the stern, and the fourth who was Hand
ing forward, was blown into the wa*er. I hoide ;
out the boat, and picked him up much hurt. As foo
as he CQU ] d recalled himfelf, he gave me the follows
ig description as near as he c uld remember. It
was two vessels. Shaped like a boat, about 20 inch
long, and a foot broad, secured together at the dis
tance of four feet by two iron bars, one at each end,
and an iron tube or gua barrel in the ce e w co
was loose, (as he had him elf turned t r<und with
his hand ) They Swam one ever the cthe th upper
one keel upwards, the lower fw m p -r, but
was so deep under water as just tok r o e u^r
o^e a few inches above the luriace: T ^ abet irrn
bar hung a flat board, moving on pr-i^c, which
feeined to letve as a rudder; on the ; fii . s e
upper one was a large iron v^heel ah ,ut fix 1- $
diameter, ^vh cgs, which turned r ran in ^ is, and
communicated itfelf to one on the u pei fr,. of the
boat, of lesser diameter; <.pu Gew« ,;o lie ^ c I
on the flat of the under or loaded cffel, ahi c h h I
fkewife communication with the ° els ot thenop^r
boat; it was covered with lead. # d he keel .e±vy
loaded, in order to k:ep it down in the %ter.
“ The fatal curiofiry of the f< troen ( ,e o' w!on
unfortunately was bred to worki gin iron) '^ is
wheel in motion, which he did with greatest G rit
wards and forwards, and during their locking at it,
which was about five minutes from the time G is
being firft putin motion, it bu d. Upon examining
round the (hip after this accident, we found rhe otl c r
part of the line on the larboard fide, buoyed op m
the tame manner, winch I o r ce r ed to be cu: away
immediately, for fear of hauling tip another n: chine,
wh ch I concluded was faft at the end, and might
burst when too near the (hip.
" The mode these villains must bavetaken to have
fwifted the ship, must have been to have rowed off
in the stream a considerable distance ahead of her,
leaving one of their infernals in (bore, and fl^ati g
the other ar the didance of the line, wh ch, from
the quantity we have got on board (near 70 fathom)
and what the man tells me they gathered in the Ichoo
ner, upwards of 150 fathom more, must have been
near 3 00 fathom. They at the length of ths line
put the other in the water, and left it for the tide to
float down, which in this place runs very Rrong.
^ As the ingenuity of these people is singular in
their secret modes of mifehief, f and as I prefime this
is their firft essay, I have thought it indifoe fnly my
duty to return, and give you the earliest information
of tlie citcuniftances, to prevent the like fatal acci
dent happening to any of the advance ships that may
possibly be fwifted in the fame manner, and to f rbid
all seamen from attempting to haul the line, or bring
the v-ffel near the ship, a§ it filled with that ki^d of
combustible that burns, thoorb in the water.
I am, Sir, your most obedient fervent,
J. S YMOND S.
P. S. Having made a model as near as 1 could,
from the description of the man who was saved, and
fending for bim to enquire if the model represented
the machine he saw, he informed me, the large wheel
on the flat of the upper boat was made of wood, with
iron fp&kes sharp at the end, and projected ab tit a a
inch without the gunwale of the boat, in oroer to
flick to the fide in hauling up, and by that means let
the wheels in motion, which in five minutes after it
had been moved by the people, buift; therefore I
very fortunately ordered the other to be cut away,
for had it touched under the hollow of the counter
in hauling up, so as to have set the wheels in motion,
there is no knowing what damage it might have done
both to ship and people."
Dec. I, Wednesday evening Taft Capt. Luce, in
a brig bound from this port to Maryland, in ba'laft,
ran aground in the bay; next morning the vessel was
got, off, but being closely pursued by one of the ene
my's frigates, Capt. Luce was obliged ta run heron
the Naraganfet shore, where he fat tire to her, after
getting out the fails, &c.
Several persons from the Westward inform, that
a detachment of American troops lately made a de
feent on Staten Island, took a number of the enemy
prisoners, drove the remainder off, and took a quaa
tity of baggage, &c.