The Virginia gazette — Williamsburg, Va., 1777-01-17 00:00:00, page 2

si ] thmk Goqnpnt ! fear npt. ! [be no
*re:zl cause s-ctr seat. ! know our htuation
well, and can see the wav out of it,
WVhile our army was collected, Howc
si dared not risk a bazkfsimud it is no cfledit
' td him that he d'sic'c si Pcd from the. White
'Pkflssns, "find Wa'ltesi'd :: mean opportuffifct to
'3 qavage the defencelcss jerseysct: bin ! is
'simmsiqdssixjo us, that, with an hhndful
"of men,_ 'wc sustained an orderly retreat
sm- near an hundred miles, brought off
oulsamtnmuuon, all our held plcces the
sictreatest part of our (tores, and had suur
. q ,
nvers to pass. None can by that ()ur'sire
treat was preciLitate, for we were near
. three weeks "m performing it, that the
,.mmry mighrcthssvcte time to come in.
Twice we marched back to meet the ene
-t'ema'mcd--out till dark. The
. sssi ' f fear was not seen in our camp and
sihfif '
o't same of the c'owardly and disassect
Fsizl'e'lfinhabitants spread false'alarms through
35th sicssduntry, the Jerf'esiYS had never been
Ltsiifvasedsi Once more we are again 'dol
F'Ie'cte , and sscollect'mg; ottrpew army at
'ct'both ends of the cuntinentsiis recruiting
si'si'fast, and we'shall be able to open the nekt
'sisssscctieimp'aign' with 60,ooo men, well armed
, Land 'ciotfied. This is our'situation, add
who will may know it. Byperseveranc'e,
Ysszfid'fortitude, we have the prospect of a
glorious issue; by cowardice, and submis
' lion, the sad choice ofa variety os evils
'cta ravzged country---adepopulated city-——
!habitations without safety, and flavery
'Wisithbut' hsiope---our homes turned into
sib'an'ac'ks And bawdy-houses sor Hefflans,
'a'nd asi f't'lture race to provide For whose
v fathetsis wesishall doubt of. Look on this
'"ctu'rq," and weep overit! and if there
Zlet remains one thoughtless wretch who
? elietzesit not. let him suffrrit unlamented.
jsiwsilsiL'L ( A M 5 5 U a a, _7an. 17.
:Eftract of a letter from Frederlcklburg,
* si datffl the 14th in/iant..
..ssGZuNILEMAN from Baltimore in
sisnsix'ms, that Congress bad received a
siesisiasser !!er eneral w ashingmn, acquaint
it; : hessnsio qbnttle soughtlast Friday week
lsissc-siv. cen 's'rsienton and Prssincetoo; that, as
lssiCIsi'Zct-Zsilf qbstsimate engzzgement, the enemy
;' war xfsssscsij, and we pursued, leaving the
sssif'isi'dsid am] wounded on the field ; that. we
"had visit; the whole of the 4oth regiment,
' and goo others; that the loss was great
-si(_>n both sides. Among our {lain, general
_'Mercer and a Pennsylvania colonel are
mentioned . ' '
ct By a grntleman srom Baltimore, we
_ have the following particulars of the above
engttgemcnt, viz. That general VVash
ington; on the gd insiant, haxingordered
cttw brigndes to march from Trenton to
ssPrinCeton, they were attacked, about three
_miles from Trcn'sion, hy Howe's main
body, whereupon they kept up a retreat—
siing fire tiH they rejoined our main body in
that place, but in crossmg & hridge in the
town had about too of the German batta
flion killed and wounded. General Mifflin,
*wlm had under him 1800 of the Philadel—
ssphia militia, immediately took posscflion of
_thc heights commandmg mld bndge, and
repuised the enemy with much ]olZ—s. The
'dnemy then retired, and entered at the
west end of Trcnton; but general Wash
ington, being in poss—sshon of the heighcs,
(rpsienedtwo bsirssttcries upon them, anddrove
them out with loss,. A gentleman who
arrived in Pn'siladclplfia the day after the
;ngssegement , in passing through Trenton,
bn Friday absmt 12 u'clock, saw a num—
ber of' the British troops in the strects kil—
lm! and wounded, although neither of the
armies wcrc 'sihcn in or near the town; and
when he :.zsiz-rivu'. at anwure tarry, he
he.:znl a hisiu'sssi'y c.:unrmndivgss-ctshe above
;]ccouvdf cumc by two private letters, es
tcthzsi 4: 'zlizzshmt, from Philsildelphin.
si :,i; gentleman also says, that Cungrci}
1-,ss.si'i\ui Lhc lulluwirg account by express,
viz. That general Washington, astcr
defeating the enemy at 'I'renton, Hmt
ssvery same evening detached a large body
ostroops, under the gerȝemls Puumm and
Bliffl'm, whanexc morning attacked a con
siderabh: reinf'orcement, commandul by
Howc himself", advancing tojoin his main
body, near our camp. ' The enemy were
defeated, with csionsiderable lofil on their
side, 740 ofthcm made-prisuncrs, and five
_})lCCCS ot artillery taken ; and the commu
nication was cutoff bethcn them and their
friends in New York, - generuis Putnam
and Mfffliu remaining to watch their mo
tions on dne side, general Head), with
good men, polied at Uic kinsack, to cut
off their retreat that way, and gener.ct-l
MsiDongal, with acorps of 1800, is so
situated as to prevent ,their escaping by
the mssonntains.—-Co]. Cadwailader, ut'the
'Phiia'deiphia miiitia, lost his arm in the
" abovsiectehpsi'agement; but neither of the ac
COunts mention the loss ofgen'eral Merccr,
" and therefore we hope the report is not
true. ' ' '
The Northern post brodght neither mail
j nor psiapers this week, owi'ng to both the
4 rivers Rappahannock and Potowmack be
in ;; frozen up. ct
Death;.) Mr. WLLuAM PEARSON,
osthis city, tanner, asterafew daysillness.
ln him the publick are deprived osa very
vaiuable member of society, his friends of
a worthy and agreeable acquaintance, and
his samily of a tender husband, an affec
tion parent, and a kind and indulgent
master.
Capt. THOMM Tzsss', osthe zd regi
ment,' who was_a worthy young gentle
man, and a gailant officer.
Mr. Puama,
F somect faithful historian, who is well
furnished with authen tickrecords , should
not write the history of the present war,
one of the greatest generals the world ever
saw, may, and will probably, from the
misrepresentation of his enemies, appear
on a level with the most indifferent of the
present age. The world need not be told
that ] am speaking of eneral WAsx-u N 6—
70)! . When he belisisseged general Gnge
in Boston, he was represented by the ene
my, and all Tories, as having an immense
army; whereas the fact was, his army was
scarcely ever double that of the enemy,
and had lines of such vast extent to man
or defend, that, with the great advantage
of the enemy's ships and boats; they ought
to have been able, from their superiour
discipline, to have attacked and carried his
lines, in any part they pleased. Indeed,
had the general's troops been more nume
rous than they really were, yet as they
were saw, undisciplined, badly armed,
and in extreme want of ammunition (in so
much that For a considerable time they had
not in their magaziues more than three or
four rounds a man) it shewed great sorti
tude in such a situation to keep up the siege,
and great military talents to besiege and
keep at bay the greatest generals osEng
land, at the head 0f8000 of the best troops
in the world, aided by a powerful fiee't.
But hF-z abilities appear more conspicuous
when we view him, as soon as he was pos
sessed oscannon, mortars, and nmmtmili
on, making use osthem with such eflica
cy srom Dorchcster neck. On this part
of his operations, I would have. thchistori
an spend some pages. I would have him
minutely reiatc how he took ]mssesiion of
the eminence on that neck, which com
mzxnds Bvsh-n, and how ublv he improved
on the ;uhzmtagc he gained by hisi ground,
forcing general Howe with the fleet and
army to retire with prccipiuuion, as was
clczsin'iv pnch 'a)- the m-my marks of a
pt'ficipitatc Hctpht th." lest bLilin them,
vizsi :1 great number--issc:ansi-s-<,n, ;md sway
ral line moz [ass, \-.hi\ [: were susimd thrown
into the vu'sisi'sicr at my. llupcocls's whals.
This great man hash-cn ny-si'n. r-ss z- -'. yet.
ed by the 'l'orics us :--.L lhc; ItCcth. si; —-i'-* ..,
.5o,ooo men, whereas, in usiuzhssct m- [sins.
never been shpericur to she my n ), "m mz-r
bcsirs since the reinsorccnsscms m'x-nss-ssi'. \'-Z'-h
lord liowe; and yet we sce Hm P-"H'!!-;]_ ss
acting the manwuvrcs us zcnrmi Hsi-wc in \
a mnitcriy "]ZLHUU', zmd ext-ricuiilctz- him
scilctcut olctdiliicnities which nppc'rnd nn- ss
surmounmble, and which must he eviduzt \
to any one acquainted with the lactd, and
the iituntion us the ground on Long [Hand
and New Ygssk, \si\-ssc find he:!) no where:
yielding to an equal nuxsihc 1' (:isi ths enemy,
and we see them to;.spclicd hy lum to
mzzke us.: of every udxzmtuge thcir'ssflcet
afforded them (:nu! 1'n-sihy and great they
were) and every stratagem that the ahicst
genemis could devise, and yet we had they
gained no one advantage over him except
in two in'sitztucesss in which, by a certain
coup de m zin on their part, and by an in—
attention to his opinion on puts, we have
been considerahlciossirs, [mean in the af—
fairs of Long Ifland and Fort Walhington.
And here ! intend no reflection on the
judgment of the general officers whose
opinions may have bet n the foundaticn of
those disasters, for their opinions certainly
proceeded from a spirit of enterprise and
true intrepidity, a spirit which, I trust,
will never be severciy condemned by us,
however it may sail cs success, and which
I hope no missortunes mill ever abate.
' A. B.
by it:: Lxcczlcmsiy i'si 'lsiiusi K Men ny , juu.
e/q; G'ovemour or Clzicf Magi/lrate of
the commomueulth of Virginia :.
A PROCLAMAT10N.
HER EAS the just war into which
the United Statcs of America hete
been sorccd by Great Brisiain is likely to'
be iiill continued by the same violence and
injuihce which have hitherto animated the
enemies of American freedom, and where
as it becomes all persuns to reverence the
providence of (Job, and look up to him as
the supreme disposer of all events, and the
arbiter of the fate of natiom: I do there
fore, by and with the advice OF the Privy
Council, hereby appoint Friday the last
day of February next to be observed as
a day of solemn fasting and humiliation,
to impiore of Almighty God the forgive- ss
ness of the many sins prevailing among all '
ranks, and to beg the countenance and
asiiliance oshis prmidence in the present
tion of this just and necessary war. ] do
also, in the most earnest manner, recom
mend to all the members of this state,
and particularly to the officers civil-ctand
military, the exercise of repentance and
reformation; and farther, do require of
the said officers of the military department
the'ltrict observation of the articles of war
in general., and particuiariy that of the
said articies which forbids prosane s wear
ing and all other immoraiities, of which all
such officers are desired to take notice.
It is also particularly expected that the
leveral mmnters or the Uoipcl, of every
denominalion, do pay due obedience to
this proclamntion, and that they also preach
a sermon suitcd to the occasion, at. their
several churches and places of publick wor—
ship.
GlVEN zmzlcr my hand, this ] 5th day of
janunry, in the _/;'1_si/1' jear of the
commmctsiwem't/z, and in the year of our
LORD ()much 1777.
P-\'l'RH'l—Z lH-'NRY. juninr.
siff T RA Yit', 5) or S'I'ULEN lrom mr.
Ga'Jrz'el A-[uupiu's, in lVilliam/Irurg,
the 2 Ist os Descmsssctsier lust , :\ Llrgc hay mare
about 14 hands high, vuiih hanging mnnc
and swilc'h tail, not brumicd that ] re mem—
bcr. and ifctnutshzlcn wouffl prnluzhly make
to _7amc_ct/fv'zuu. Viss ]wcwr (lcsivc rs LIV.: Fzsiul
mare m mr. Ascsi'vcsi' sn, or 11) me in SufssssiF-sir,
shuii be haudliuu-Jy r-"u m ful.
ctJUL-"zfii CPI-ZAGIL