St. Mary's gazette., 1863-12-17

+ahn LAM And TIE FIRSTWAR
II la alludine to the achirv.rae,,fs ef the
harylani troops during the Revolutionary
struggle, We made special mention of their
desperate aelf sscrifire at the battle of the
= Yellaa Mills" The question has been
asked ussipcre than once when ard ssAere
z .Af IL ess2Tsa I q r sralasst "a
source they dn) We are not surprised that
'h's csnHict has escaped all notice. To
satisfy the curiosity of our cnquirers, We
slhjoin IN authentic account of the aghs.
II secured near Brooklyn:
About break Of day, Stirling took his
position a'lvantagsously upon the snu,mi,
of the hills. and was joined by the troops
drlycn IN by the advancing columns Of the
enemy. For several hours a severe eau.
nonade was kept up on both sides. and
Stirling was repeatedly attacked by the
hrigades under C,rnwallis and tirant, who
were 30 often Rallantly repnlsed.
length ihe left wing of the americas. farce
having been completely turned By Clinton.
and the eenfre under Sauivaa. broken at
the first attack Of Gen. De Hei.ter. the
position of Strings brigade oG the righ,
became periloas in tke extreme. The
pssse's ts fie .Amsriean lines at Brooklyn
were 10 the possession uf 40 oyerpcwerinc
British force-two strong brigades were
sssailing hiiH in front. and in his rear Law
an extensive marsh. fraver.ed fy deep
and Dangerous creek. eighty yards iu
width at IT'S mouth; u-ar its head. ut the
Yellow. Mills. the osly bridge, whirh
might have afforded the brigade a safe rr-
treat. had been burned d ,wn Ly New
England regiment under ca. Ward, in its
very kasty retreat. althmlgh covered by
the American batteries. The only hope
o. safety therefore far the gallant troops.
Who still naiasain"d the battle AID held
the enemy nc bay. was !" surrender. ar ta
crsss shis dangerous marsh aud crack mt
its mouth. where no one had ever been
known to cross b-fare. -
Colapel Sma'lwood having arrived from
New York. aud learned the perilous s;fua-
tion Of hi, battalion. applied 10 Cen. W,sl,-.
ingson sof' Ssnfe regiments 70 cnver thtir
retreat. Alter a A"nent's hesitation, as
10 the rru.irnce Of risking more troops up.
on lost battle. unwilling to abandon these
brave men to their fate. he despatched him
with New England regiment. Captain
Thomas independent company, which had
just arrived from New York. and two
field pieces. to take a position on the
banks Of the stream aud protect the rem
nant Of the brigade in the attempt to
swim it
The scene If the conflict was within a
mile Of the American liEes, aud willis,
Smallwooi WAS fastening to their aid, Stir
ling prepared to make a last effort 20
check the advance Of the enemy aud give
time to portion "f his cnmu,and to make
good its r-fr-at. For this purpose hc ss-
lccsed four hundred m~n froa, the Mary
land battaliua. under Major Gist, placed
himself At their head. and havizg ordered
all the other troops TO make the best of
their way through the creek, advanced
against carnwzliis' brigade. As they
drew cut between the two bodies of the
enemy. it was sh"ngh, by the lockers ON
from the camp. il,a, they were about To
surrender, but as with fixed bsyonets they
rushed to The charge upon the overwhel
ing force opposed TO them. fear and So.
row filled every heart, and Washington
himself wrnng his hsnis. exclaiming,
''Good Gtd. what brave fcllnws I must
this dav leIse" Five times this little band
charged upon the powerful f,arc-s of Corn
wallis; and each time driven back. again
gathered their energies fur fi,.rcer as
ssult. until at last upon the sixth. the
heary c"lnmns Of The british reeled under
tie repeated shocks aud beganto give way
Ia confusisn. ID