The Benton weekly record. [volume] (Benton, Mont.) 1880-1885, 1880-08-06
A SURPRISED GENEHsA al.

tric officer in our army, Although an Ell
glishmall by birth, and under the half-pa
Of q colonel in the British army, he took
/ decided stand III favor ofsthc colonies. Il
and Gates bought plantations In Virgini;
and became neighbors of Washington PR
Vious to the war. Being soldiers of expe
rience, twas the chief cause of Washing
tons recommendation to them to Congress
as general officers at the time he receive
his own commission. LecWas made ma.
or-general, and Gates adjutant-general
Lee had served in Portugal with Bul
goyne, and participated with him in sever
al engagements on the frontiers Of Spain
particularly at the surprise Of Alcantra
! He was as brave as he Was eccentric, an
in some cases bia eceentrieity borderetl up
on superstition. He never had less thai
| three dogs about him, for he was yer,
fond Of those faithful animals. Wheneye
he rode out on review days he was Away
preceded by these four-footed nrdnt couri
ers; and it finally came to be a iocular say
ing among the officers Lee is coming
for here are his nids-de-canp.H His at
tachment to dogs is said tts aaE ar;ser
from the fact of noble wolf-hous.ts having
saved the life Of an ancestor. Sir Henry
Lee, of Ditchlcy, from the hands of a mid
night assassin. .-5
Lee was warm in his attachments, anC
bitter in his hatred. At times he was joe
ular and droll III the extreme; then again
he was morose and short to his best friend
He was generous to q fault, as his favoritc
aid-de-c0mp, Major Edwards, long after
ward told me. Al that it required to get
along with Lee was to know the nature
and habits of the tnan.
In December, 1776, Washington was III
the neighborhood Of the Delaware, and
Lee was in command near Uacl1ensack:
Washington ordered Lee to Join the main
army as quickly as possible; but the latter
general, from some unaccountablc reasons,
delayed to appear at headquarters. Per
haps / can explain a little the reason, al
though ii may seem scandalum Wagnatun.
It's generally supposed that Lee was a
woman~latcr. In regard to the general
society of women lie WAS Indifferent; nor
was he fayoritc of them, for he was sar-
castle, and at times was not very particular
about his language.
WJiia in ri Nn,k- L., n
formed an attachment or liaison with the
daughter of small inn~keeper; and the
possession Of a man standing go high as
Gen. Lee was to the simple girl like being
elevated to . throne, TO speak plain, she
becatnt tie mistress Of Lee:
Like Sampson rcposing in the arms Of
Deliah he forgot the order of his command
er, and sacrificed 10 pleasure duties that
required his presence elsewhere.
Washington became somewhat irritatcd
at his non-appcarance, for Lord Cornwallis
was advancing, and he needed all aid and
assistance. was dispatched from head
quarters with Il small escort, bearing a
message in writing to General Loe for his
instant advance without any further delay
whatever.
The great difficulty was to lind the
whereabouts Of Lee. 1t was known he
had commenced his march, but what road
he had taken was uncertain. 1t was morn
ing when we left canlp--: bitter cold day
in December, and an icy slect falling,
10 avoid the enemy We took eirct,itou4
by-roads, and about noon We reached a
small farmhouse on the border Of Morris
County Chilled and hungry, | ordered a
halt, for the purpose ofwarming ourselves;
eating something, and feeding our horsea;
We found the inmates Of the farmhouse
taking their own meal in the ol1l-fashioned
kitchen, III the fireplace 4f hfEl. ast1r5ble
fire was blazing.
We were received with cordiality, and
the seven of us were invited to partake OF
their meal, most Of the farmers familyris
ing from the table to give us room. This,
however, declined-for we had brought
our provisions with us-asking only per-
mission to warm ourselves for 4 little
while, and cat 0ur own meal BIZ the fire;
and to bait onr horses I'll was granted
instantly Two br three huge pitchers OF
cider were placed before us. and one of the
farmers sons went out to feed or horses
on belong TO the right cause, sec by
your uniform said the farmer
II hope so,'N answered; for did not
like to be too communicative, rs that part
Of Jersey was thought to be rather attach
cd to the tory cause. lie seemed to divine
my meaning, for he said, II have two sons
in Colonel Ogdcil's regiment. Here | have
to remain neutral, to save my dwelling and
family from destruction. We are all whigs
at heart, down to the youngest child
From the manner in which he spoke
there could be no doubt Of his sincerity
and hoping 70 yet some information out o.
him. I entered into conversation. He in.
quircd particularly about the situation OF
Washington, and what | thought of til,
chances OF our final success.
10 the latter question replied III man.
ner not to admit Of a doubt. Our main de
pendenee WAS on the yeomanly and farm
ers for supplies, and knew it would no
do to speak gloomily toany Of that class,
II am glad TO hear it" he said. "a pa
trolling party Of the British were here tli
morning, and they were boasting Will
great exultation that Washington, with al
his raggad followers, would be in thei
hands before three days
ssWas the party. 1arge?"
.s'Some dozen horsemcn. They said
large body Of Dragons were on the mail
road, under the command of Colonel Har
court; aud from what could gather from
words now and then dropped they wer
looking ont ior General Lee They dis
not say much, thinking ! was listening.
And where is General Lee;a Iin4uire'
atSiously.
My youngest boy, who was out to Pc
ter Van Norst's tavern this morning, say
the stable-boy told him the General ha
been there over night, and was still
there
~ hat time was that this morning."
about nine o'clock
Did General Lee have any escort wit
hims',
asked my boy that question, and h
told me he neither saw or heard OF any,
And British patrol was here thi
morning looking after The General T.
Yes
what infataation.a i could not lnel
ren1arking. You belong 10 Us, for yo
! are on the same side. is there no way b
which can make a nearer ride tothe plac
where Lee il resting than by the mai