The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1851-02-01

hcrnci called the
MASSACRE or PAOLL
Washington, having decided upon Adopt
ing the oAensye,roachod Philadelphia
ho received reiniprcements, aud took the
route along the Lancaster road 10 meet Lord
Howe, Meanwhile, Gen, Wayne, with his
division awaited IN silence at raoli for rein
iorcomonis 10 be- forwarded under Major
smallwood, aud imprudontly believing him-
self secure from attack, had not taken all the
precautions necessary at- such critical mo-
mcuk Outhe niglt,gf 90 goth Of scrIem-
bcr, l777, Major General Grey cautiously
he'd a band Of British aud llessians, witl Gx-
cd bayonets, into the camp of Waynct small
force, and commenced most terrific slaugh-
ter, The Americans we're completely taken
10y sutpfscttc m0't dr them WctG III s00Ud
slumbcr, from which they only awokc hy the
loud yclls Of the rcmonclcss llc-sians, Ia
find CORY bed A. there was resistance
indeed, in the hurry, confusion, darkness, aud
dsmay, there cOdid be no dcfcnsc-thc cries
of the halEnakcd, uuarmcd men, for mercy
and quarter were perfectly unhccdcd by
men whose desire was determination, Wayne,
with some cavalry, galopcd 10 the rescue,
aud rndcayorcd tn stem the torrent, and ulti-
mntcly succeeded IN drawingot the remnants
Of Nj, hrirndc. That night ",lccp had been
murdered" cnc tually, and morning dawncd
on q multitude Of corp.c., ha'hcd in blood;
the c1rih covered with clotcd gorc--hcrc
aud there horses and rider. together
PROSTATE, and in zone rod burial blcnt"
while the butchers riotcd in the success, of
Slaughter TINT Ind cost them so lit1r. At
least one hundred and f0y were mn,-arrcd
on the spot aud all the camp cquippagc, fell
into the hand. of the British.
Much blame was attached to Cen Wayne,
for allowing hiu,clr to be- surprised in this
manner, aud hc demanded a court-martinl,
which acquitted him honorably
A neat marble monument has been erected
on the ground, 10 the memory octhc uniortu-
nate patriots who icll on hi. melancholy goth
Of September, i777.
Many accounts have been given OF this dis
a,trous affair, all Of which tend TO screen our
hero from blame But regard for truth
constraios us 10 state that Anthony Wayne
was not only gallant soldier bat gallant
man, aud instead Of watching over the safety
of the troops committed 10 his care, hc was
fulfilling an affair of eallantry, at some dis
tancc from the camp, at the time Of the as-
saulL Historians have treated him with un-
usual lcnity, for hi. noble conduct immcdi-
atcly af)crwards,at the battle of Germantown;
and, indrrfi, hr HCvTT fUrFavU himself f1r tf1y
dcrclictiou of duty,dnl it burst from his heart
in the midst of his onset at the storming of
Stony Point, when he erie Il out To his men--
"REMEMpTn PAoLI, BOYS "
-IAi. n..aA.ae.l..al- .lr--,-+,,
rousc to such pitch offrcnzy both General
WAYNE and his soldiers, that in the battle of
Germantown, fought shortly ailrr, he and
they signalzcd themselves in such a manner
as to reflect credit on themselves.
But the next explicit of gallantry aud prov
css, which shed lustrc on the fame Of our
revolutionary army, but especially on that of
General Wayne and his compatriots from
Pennsylvania, was the storming of Stony
Point, always admitted to be one of the most,
brilliant that ever graccd the annals of war
To Gen. Wayne, who commanded the light
infantry of the ARMY, the execution of. this
comp de maine was intrustcd. Secrecy was
deemed 50 much more essential to success
than numbers, that is was thought unadyisa-
Bile To- add 10 the iurrr already in the lines
One brigade was ordered to commence its
march, so as to reach the scene of action in
time TO cover those troops engaged in the at
tack, in case of any unlocked for disaster; and
Major Lee, of the light dragons, who had
been cmincntly useful in obtaining the intel
ligencc which led to the enterprise, was asso-
.ciated with Gen Wayne, at least as far as
| could be employed in such service.
The night of the 10th of July, 1879, was
/ fixed upon for the ASSAULT and it being sus-
pectcd that. the English. garrison would be
more on their guard towards day, twelve o.
clock was the hour chosen for the attack
Wayne and his comrades in arms, who had
suffered at Paoli, had they died previous to
the attack, would like Queen Anne, have
been found to have the word PAoLI written
! on their hearts.
Stony Point is commanding hill, project
ing far into thr Hudson, which washes three
iburths of its base. The remaining fourth is,
in great measure, covered by deep marsh
commencing near the river on the upper side
and continuing into it below Over this
marsh there is but one crossng-place, but at
its junction with the river is sandy beach,
passabe at low tide On the summit of this
hill was erected the fort, which was furnish
cd with quito a complement of heavy pieces
of ordnance. Several breastworks were ad-
yanced in front of the principal work, and a
BON half way down the hill, were two rows
OF abbattis. The batteries were calculated to
command the beach and crossing-piace of the
marsh, and to rake and rnfiiatlc any column
which might be advancing froil, any point
towards the fort. In addition to these defen-
ces were several vessels in the river. manned
I and armed to defend all apprlaches to the