The New-Jersey gazette — Burlington [N.J.], 1778-09-09 00:00:00, page 2

Captain Earle, in the (loop Rutledge, arrived here
in io days from Cape Francois, informs, that the
last arrival there brought advice, that four fail of the
line, and four frigates, had been ordered by the
French Court to fail immediately from Brest, to re
inforce the Count d'Eftaign. —Capt. Earle tailed in
company with the brig True American, Capt. Buf
fington, of 12 guns, belonging to Salem, who, three
days after (he came out, had a smart engagement
with a Jamaica privateer, which narrowly escaped
being taken by the True American. The Rutledge
left Capt. Buffington, in lat. 28, long. 72, all well
on board.
BOSTO N, Aug. 24.
A vessel just arrived at an eastern port from Marti
nico reports, that a British fleet of 14 men of war
failed from Spithead on the 22d of June ; and about
the fame time 13 French men of war failed from Ca
diz. By this vessel we have a confirmation of the ac
count, that the Spanish court had acknowledged the
independence of the United States; and that Hol
land was in readiness to do the fame.
On Wednesday last arrived a prize brigantine with
100 bags of cotton, wool, and redwood, captured by
the General Starks privateer of New-London.
Aug. 27. The French (hip Theodore, Capt. Bow
doin, bound from hence to Virginia, foundered on the
13th inst. about yoleagues from Cape Cod, when the
hands, 23 in number, took to their boats, one of which
with 8 hands on board, 'tis feared is loft, the others
with great difficulty got to Cape Cod the beginning of
last week, and the hands have since come to town.
Last Saturday afternoon arrived in this port, the
C^far, of 74 guns, commanded by Monsieur ,
one of the fleet under the command of his Excellency
the Count d'Eftaign, in the service of his Most Chrifti
ay Majesty, our faithful ally, who with the above fleet
left Rhode-Ifland about 16 days ago, in pursuit of the
English tyrant's fleet, commanded by Lord Howe,
which appeared off that place; but in a severe gale
separated from them. She met with one of the Bri
tish (hips of 64 guns, when a severe engagement en
sued, in which the Captain loft his right arm, aLieu
tenant his leg; 13 were killed and 29 wounded. The
British (hip, 'tis said, (truck to her, and would have
been brought into port, had not two more British
flips hove in fight, and greatly overhauled them, they
being both damaged. Nineteen on board the British
(hip were seen to be thrown overboard during the En
gagement.
PHILADELPHI A, September 3.
Yesterday at noon Lyons, Ford and Wilson, late
Lieutenants, and John Lawrence, late Gunner, in
'the navy of this State, were taken from the jail to
one of the gallies lying off Market-Street wharf, where
the two former were (hot agreeable to their sentence,
but the two latter reprieved. The number of spec
tators were very great; and it is hoped the melan
choly scene will have a proper effe^ upon the profli
A very good melaffes may also be made of pumpi
ons, by'baking them until foft, then expressing the
juice and boiling it as above; and also of cider made
of good sweet apples : In both cases the second drain
ing is necessary to make it of the best quality.
If these hints, from one who has had some little ex
perience, may put others upon making the trial, and
furnifhing thy next year's Almanack with a more
clear and practical method in one or all of these
branches of manufacturing this ufeful commodity,
and in the mean time encourage my countrymen to
supply themselves with a substitute for the foreign
melaffes, that may atone in some measure for the
present scarcity, and perhaps save the importation of
so much made by the iron band ofJlavery, in future,
the aim of thy correspondent will be aufwered.
DULCIS.
run through a good apple mill well wedged up, unless
a mill with round rollers, made for the purpose, can
be had, which is the best, as the Stalks may be run
through that a second time ; keep a large tub under
the nuts or rollers, with a coarse linen cloth tied over
it to separate the pure juice from the broken Stalks;
the liquor thus drained Should immediately be put
over a good fire in a brass or copper kettle, tome fay
iron is as good, Skim it clean as long as any fkum
arises ; after which, and the liquor boils, it mould be
stirred frequently, and when boiled away to near one
third, drain it through a flannel, or if that cannot be
come at, a coarfeifh Strong linen cloth will do, then
immediately hang it over the fire again, and boil it
until of a proper thickness, which may be known by
cooling a little in a bowl. It is obferveable, when
near done, a rich yellowish froth appears on the top,
resembling that which sometimes is seen in warm
weather on good melaffes ; and in this last boiling it
Should be almof t constantly stirred with a wooden
stick, to preventits burning. The time it requires to
evaporate to a perfect melaffes depends a little upon
the ripeness of the juice 'when the stalk is cut, and the
briskness of the fire ; if the juice is in maturity, and
the liquor is kept in a constant good boil, about se
ven or eight hours actual boiling has been found fuf
ficient, otherwise a longer time is neceflary. The
process may be expedited and much helped by haying
Several kettles on at once; and when partly boiled
and Drained as above directed, put the whole into
one that will contain and finish it off; this makes
room for more frefhjuice, and prevents burning the
kettles or the melaffes.
BALTIMORE, August 25.
gate and thoughtless, who do not seriously comfider
that the crime of desertion is attended with the
dreadful consequences of wilful perjury.
Extract of a letter from General Waihington to Congress,
dated Head Quarters, White Plains, Sept. 1, 1778.
"SI R,—l do myfelf the honour of transmitting to
you a copy of a letter I this minute received from
General Sullivan. I congratulate Congress on the
repulse of the enemy."
Head Quarters , Aug. 20,012 the north end of Rhode- Island.
" Dear General,
"A retreat to the north end of the island having
been deemed advifeable, (from our great diminution
of numbers) by the determination of a council of war,
held the 28th instant, I last evening gave the necessary
orders for, and effected a well timed and regular re
treat, without losing any part of my baggage, (lores
or heavy ordnance. The enemy was apprized of the
movement some time in the night—they had, I sup
pose, concluded that I had retreated in confufion and
with precipitation, and no doubt with an expectation
of my having crossed part of my army, and that the
remainder would become an easy victory. In this be
lief they advanced in two columns, on the east and
weft roads, and vigorously attacked Colonels Living
ston and Laurens, whose corps were disposed between
the two roads in front of the army; they were warm
ly received by those two gentlemen, whom I rein
forced occasionally, to prevent the contest's being too
unequal, though at the fame time they were directed
to retreat regularly and at their leisure. They llrid
ly complied with the order, for I scarcely remember
any thing of the kind more regular. The enemy were
naturally led on te the neighbourhood—they took post
on commanding ground in our front, and immediate
ly attempted to turn our right flank. To prevent this,
I detached considerable bodies of infantry. Our ar
tillery was well served, did great execution, and con
tributed not a little to the honour of the day—fkir
mifning prevailed during the day, and the success of
it was determined by a warm action which lasted near
an hour. The enemy were obliged to retire in great
disorder, leaving us in full possession of the field of ac
tion. Our loss in killed and wounded is not yet as
certained by returns, but is very considerable—among
the latter I have the mortification to find many va
luable officers, whose names and rank Shall be trans
mitted to your Excellency in my next. The loss of
the enemy must be great. Two of the enemy's fri
gates endeavoured to enfilade our lines, but did us
no injury. I shall make it my business to inform your
Excellency as soon as poffibie of such corps and offi
cers who had an opportunity of distinguishing them
selves 'in the action ; for my whole army only seemed
to want an opportunity of doing themselves and coun
try honour. lam sorry l cannot at present be more
particular. I am, dear General,
Your Excellency's most obedient
And verv humble servant,
JOHN SULLIVAN."
His Excellency General Washington.
Publfhed by order of Congress,
Charles Thomson, Sec.
Sept. 8. Sunday afternoon Major Morris, Aid de
Camp to General Sullivan, arrived in town with the
following letter from the General:
Letter from the Honourable Major-General Sullivan
to the President of Congress, dated Head-bar
ters, liroerton, August 31, 1778.
" Esteemed Sir,
UPON the Count D'Eftaign's finding himfelf un
der a necessity of going to Boston to repair the
loss he sustained in the late gale of wind, I thought it
best to carry on my approaches with as much vigour
as possible against Newport, that no time might be loft
in making the attack upon the return of his fleet, or
any part of it to co-operate with us. I had sent ex
presses to the Count to hasten his return, which I had
no doubt would at least bring part of his fleet to us in
a few days. Our batteries played upon the enemy's
works for several days with apparent good success, as
the enemy's fire from the out-works visibly grew
weaker, and they began to abandon some of those next
us ; and on the 27th we found they had removed their
cannon from all the out-works except one. The town
of Newport is defended by two lines, supported by
Several redoubts connected with the lines. The firft
of these lines extends from a large pond called Eafton
Pond, near to Tomminy Hill, and then turns off to
the water, on the north of Windmill Hill: this line
was defended by five redoubts in front. The second
line is more than a quarter of a mile within this, and
extends from the sea to the north Side of the island,
terminating at the north battery : on the south, at the
entrance by Eafton's Beach, where this line termi
nates, is a redoubt which commands the pass, and has
another redoubt about twenty rods on the north.
There are a number of small works interspersed be
tween the lines, which render an attack extremely ha
zardous on the land fide, without a naval force to co
operate with it. I however Should have attempted
carrying the works by storm as soon as I found they
had withdrawn their cannon from their out-works,
had I not found to my great furprize that the volun
teers, which composed great part of my army, had
returned, and reduced my numbers to little more than
that of the enemy ; between two and three thousand
returned in the course of 24 hours, and others were
bill going off, upon a supposition that nothing could
be done before the return of the fleet. Under these
circumstances, and the apprehension of the arrival of
an English Sleet with a reinforcement to relieve the
gai rifon, I sent away all the heavy artfries that could
be spared from the army to the main ; also a large
party was detached to get the works in repair on the
north end of the island, to throw up some additional
ones, and put in good repair the batteries at Tiverton
and Bristol, to Secure a retreat in case of necessity. On
the 28th a Council was called, in which it was unani
mously determined to remove to the north end of the
island, fortify our camp, secure our communication
with the main, and hold our ground on the island till
we could know whether the French fleet would soon
return to our assistance. On the evening of the 28th
we moved with our stores and baggage, which had
not been previously sent forward, and about two in
the morning encamped on Bull's Hill, with our light
extending to the weft road, and left to the east road ;
the banking and covering parties hill further cowards
the water on right and left: One regiment was
posted in a redoubt advanced of the right of the firft
line ; Colonel Henry B. Livingston with a light corps,
confiding of Colonel Jackson's detachment and a de
tachment from the army, was stationed in the east
road: Another light corps under command of Col.
Laurens, Col. Fleury, and Major Talbot, was posted
on the weft road. These corps were posted near three
miles in front ; in the rear of those was the picket of
the army, commanded by Col. Wade. The enemy,
having received intelligence of our movement, came
out early in the morning with nearly their whole
force, in two columns, advanced in the two roads,
and attacked our light corps ; they made a brave re
sistance, and were supported for some time by the
picket. I ordered a regiment to Support Col. Li
vingston, another to Col. Laurens, and at the fame
time sent them orders to retire to the main army in the
best order they could : They kept up a retreating fire
upon the enemy, and retired in excellent order to
the main army. The enemy advanced on cur left
very near, but were repulsed by General Glover:
They then retired to Quaker Hill. The Hessian co
lumn formed on a chain of hills running northward
from Quaker Hill. Our army was drawn up, the
firfi line in front of the works on Bull's Hill, the Se
cond in rear of the hill, and the reserve near a creek
and near half a mile in rear ofthe firft line. The dis
tance between those hills is about one mile. The
ground between the hills is meadow-land, interspers
ed with trees and small copse of wood. The enemy
began a cannonade upon us about nine in the morn
ing, which was returned with double force. Skir
mishing continued between the advanced parties un
til near ten o'clock, when the enemy's two Ships of
war and some small armed vessels having gained our
right flank and began a fire, the enemy bent their
whole force that way, and endeavoured to turn our
right under cover of the Ships fire, and to take the
advanced redoubt on the right: They were twice
driven back in great confufion ; but a third trial was
made with greater numbers and with more resoluti
on, which, had it not been for the timely aid sent
forward, would have succeeded. A Sharp conflict of
near an hour ensued, in which the cannon from both
armies, placed on the hills, played briskly in Support
of their own party. The enemy were at length rout
ed, and fled in great confufion to the hill, where they
firft formed, and where they had artillery and some
works to cover them, leaving their dead and wound
ed in considerable numbers behind them. It was im
possible to afeertain the number of dead on the field,,
as it could not be approached by either party with
out being exposed to the cannon of the other army.
Our party recovered about twenty of their wounded
and took near sixty prisoners, according to the best ac
counts 1 have been able to colled ; amongst the pri
soners is a Lieutenant of grenadiers. The number of
their dead I have not been able to afeertain, but know
them to be very considerable An officer informs me
that in one place he counted sixty of their dead. Cel.
Campbell came out the next day to gain permission to
view the field ofa&ion, to Search for his nephew, who
was killed by his fide, whose body he could not get
off, as they were closely pursued. The firing of ar
tillery continued through the day ; the musketry with
intermission fix hours. The heat of the a&ion con
tinued near an hour, which must have ended in the
ruin ofthe British army, had net their redoubts on
the hill covered them from further pursuit. We were
about to attack them in their lines, but the men's
having had no rest the night before, and nothing to
eat either that night or the day of the action, and
having been in constant action through most of the
day, it was not thought advifeable, especially as their
portion was exceedingly Strong, and their numbers
fully equal, if not superior, to ours. Not more than
fifteen hundred of my troops have ever been in acti
on before. I Should before have taken possession ofthe
hill they occupied and fortified it, but it is no defence
against an enemy coming from the south part of the
island, though exceedingly good against an enemy ad
vancing from the north end towards the town, and
had been fortified by the enemy for that purpose.
I have the pleasure to inform Congress that no
troops could possibly Show more Spirit than those of
ours which were engaged. Col. Livingston, and al!
the officers of the light troops, behaved with remark
able Spirit: Colonels Laurens, Fleury, and Major
Talbot, with the officers ofthat corps, behaved with
great gallantry. The brigades ®f the firft line, Var
num's, Glover's, Cornell's and Green's behaved with
great firmnefs. Major-General Green, who com
manded in the attack on the right, did himfelf the
highest honour by the judgment and bravery exhibit-