The Connecticut courant, and the weekly intelligencer — Hartford [Conn.], 1779-09-28 00:00:00, page 1

LONDON, May if
Some account of the very incerfting examindti
of Lord Corn wallis, and General Gray, ref
,eaiv% at the Bar cf the House of Com
mons on Tuefdy, May 6.
I^HE House haying formed itfelf into
a Committee, the Earl of Cornwallis
at four o'ch ck was defied to attend, and
being conducted within the Dar by the fer
jeant, his Lordlhip profefßd fanim^nts of
refpett and veneration for General Sir W.
Howe, and declared his readiness, to an
swer all questions put to him that were not
matter of opinion.
To follow the noble Lord through
the whole of his examination, which
laded near four hours, would be rather
difficult co us, as well as irksome and
tedious to the public. His Lordship's
three firft anf&ers to Gen. Howe's questi
ons went to few, that America was bet
ter calculated than any country he ever
saw for a defenfiveVar, that from the great
number of woods with which it abounds,
the King's troops were continually liable
to ambufeades, and that it is a matter of
extreme difficulty ever to get any the least
information from the inhabitants for mi
litary purposes. His Lordship also ad
mired that it was almost impossible at a^y
time to gain any good intelligence of the
enemy's force from a reconnoitre.
The noble Lord now went into a great
variety of matter, and in his answers fully
exculpated Sir William Howe from all
suspicion of a want of judgment, negleft,
or fopinenefs. Being interrogated particu.
larly as to the General not having attack
ed the Rebels lines at Brooklyn, on Long
island, in August, 1776; his Lordihip
readily answered, that he had never heard
it suggested that it was possible to carry
them by assault, and he was lure (and it
was so thought at the time) that if the
General had attempted it, and succeeded
at the attack, it must have cost him more
men than it would have been worth, for
any purpose it would have answered. Be
ing asked how many troops the enemy
might have, his Lordihip thought about
6000 or 8000, but declined answering
what force the British troops were in, in
timating that it was a matter that more
properly belonged to the General who
commanded them, and was a circurnftance
very easily learned from his return of the
different corps.
Governor Pownal willed to know if Sir
Henry Clinton (had he been left at liber
ty) might not have got behind the Rebel
lines; but his Lordship answered, that
from his pofitijn, he was little enabled to
judge of that, as hedid not know whether
their lines were complete.
Hh Lordlhip was then interrogated in
order to exonerate Sir W. Howe from all
blame as to his conduct in the Jerfies,
TUESDAY, smAffif 23, %$
CONNECTICUT COURANT,
AND THB
WEEKLY INTELLIGENCER.
HA R TFO RD: Printed by HUDSON and GOODWIN, near the Great-Bridged
and in particular ^to the unfortunate
loss of the Hefiians it Trenton. The no
ble Lord declared, that it had been neces
sary for the General to extend his chain of
cantonments to that distance, that he had
himlelt indeed advised it, and that the fa
tal accident that afterwards happened, was
not in human prudence to forefee, and
therefore not to be guarded against
As to the General having declined to
attack Mr. Wallington at White Plains,
the noble Lord defended it with force and
energy. The Rebels, he said, were too
strong ; andthe Britiffi troops not prepar
ed for the. purpose of attacking the ene
my, or making any ute of a victory by pe
netrating up the country. In the firft
place, they had no mtans of baking their
flour, the only thing the men had to live
on, but a more insurmountable obstacle
were the heavy rains that fell at that time.
Col. Onflow wifhtd to know if the gun
powder had been wetted, and whether the
rain was in our faces, or the faces of the
enemy ? To this his Lordship replied,
that he did not think the attack was desis
ted from on account rs the rain being in
the aces of either, b ¥f becaufe that the
rain had prevented ui from using our ar
tillery. The Hon. Member, however,
willed much to put another question,
which was, Whether a considerable force,
particularly of grenadiers had not been
ordered to begin the attack, whether they
did not actually begin it, and were after
wards ordered off ? To this the noble Lord
replied, that the officer who commanded
that corps was then in the house, and
could answer the question much tetter
than he could. Upon this Cob Barre re
marked, that it was a little extraordinary,
after a particular corps had commenced an
attack, and had succeeded therein, that
they Should be withdrawn, and wished the
noble Lord would inform the Committee
the realon thereof. Lord Cornwallis an
swered, that if any thing could induce him
to explain it, it would be the great desire
he had to oblige the Right Hon. Member,
but he thought himfelf bound to be silent
on that head from political reafons^ The
Colonel, not fatisfied with this, put seve
ral other questions to his Lordlhip, in or
der to get at the matter he was filming for,
and the noble Lord having said, that he
was not averse from being communicative
on that head from any account of Englifo
politics, the Colonel caught hold of the ex
pression, and desired his Lordihip to tell
the Committee the real cause ofhis objec
tion ; but I will put a simple question
(continued the Right Hon. Member) to
the noble Lord-Dip not the Hessian
TROOPS REFUSE TO ATTACK ? “ I must
do these troops (replied his Lordihip) th®
justice to fay, that they in general behaved
extremely well, and that the brigade of
fH ^
Lofburg much distinguished themselves irt
the service of his Majesty. But I must!
decline explaining why the attack wo not
made, though, were I to impart the reafora
I must give the Right Hon. Member mV
honor that it would fully fatitfy him#
Col. Barre answered (somewhat warmly)
that he knew the reason long before his
Lordihip came from America, but he
wanted it to come properly before the
House..
Another point much handled was Grt
neral Howe's forbearing to cross the Do
laware, when at the Jerfefa, and going to
Chufapeak Bay in preference, which step
his Lordihip fully justified, with many rea*
fens for ics having been adopted. The
noble Lord here took an opportunity of
preventing any imputation being cast ora
Lord Howe, from any fuppefed inability
in him to transport the troops, and said,
that the noble Admiral did not stand
higher in the efleem of the teamen than he
did in that of the soldiers § and in anfwer*
ing to a question put by Admiral Keppels
whether Lord Howe had not employed
the most fkdful persons he could obtain to
found the Delaware, and find a fit place
' for landing, his Lordihip replied that the
noble Admiral had to hit knowledge done
so.
The Earl Cornwallis was asked, Wka^
bad consequences might have been ex
pe&ed if Gen. Howe had attacked Mr^
Washington at White Plains ? But hi,
Lordihip declined resolving the interrogfa
tor, as it wo, he Gid, a question of op^
n '° n °
Upon defending the General's etpedl4
tion to Philadelphia, his Lordffiip waA
asked by Mr. Commiffianer Eden, Whe*
ther be did net know that Sir Henry Clin,
ton, the second in command, had coa^
demned the propriety of futh a movfc
ment ? This question too the noble Lord
declined answering any farther, than thafl
he never knew Sir William Ho^e had!
ever asked Sir Henry Clinton's opinion
about the matter.
The noble Lord was asked, Whether^
in case we could possess ourselves of an,
town, the inhabitants could be found nu,
merous, and loyal enough to take up afms*
and defend that town, while his Majelb's
troops penetrated up the country ? Bu^
this his Lordihip waved as a question of
opinion.' The fame objection was also
given by the noble Lord to the following
interrogatories---If, during the Whole of
the American war, there ever have been a
period of it, when the British troops were
to be thought adequate to the reducing
the rebels by force of arms ? Or, whether
they would be so by the reinforcement in
tended to be sent from hence the ending
campaign ? His Lo r d£hip also refufed to
answer. Whether Gen. Howe had or had
NuMßiß,6ty