The Irish standard., 1897-09-25
The BURNING OF NEW LONDON
His Native State Devastated by
Tories and HessianS.
SLAUGHTER AT FORT GRlsw0LD
Commander of Garrison Killed
After the Surrender.

The student in reading of the "civil'-
ized'' warfare waged against the pa
triots little more than a century ago
by England, if names were not men
toned, would imagine that he was read
ing of a conflict which the most fero-
cious and barbarous tribe that has ap-
maared in ancient and modern times
was waging against some nation unac-
customed to the art Of war, says the
Irish World. The wars waged by the
Goths and Vandals come in for large
share Of denunciation at the hands of
British historians, but they were, even
in that period of dawning civilization,
not more savage nor destructive than
the British and their hirelings, both
white and red (Tories and Indians), in
times when England claimed to be the
most civilized nation on earth.
There is hardly one page of history
devoted to the American revolution on
which there does not appear some van
dal act committed by England. In scan-
ming that chapter devoted to the period
of 1775-1781 we find therein numerous
mention Of massacres, burning and
sacking of American towns, and other
cruelties inflicted upon those sterling
patriots by English generals and SOL
diers. Cruelties which, according to
Lord George Germaine, British secre-
tary for the Colonies, "were ably
planned and executed, and which met
with the appreciation of His Majesty
George Ill"
But the most ignoble and atrocious
performance of England's soldiers dur
ing the six years of our successful strug-
gle for American independence, was the
burning of New London, Conn, and the
terrible massacre of Fort Griswold by
the traitor Benedict Arnold, who, after
his treachery to the American cause,
was given command of English ships
and soldiers to wage war on the brave
men who were striving to throw off the
accursek yoke of England.
When Arnold was detected in his
treason to surrender West Point into the
hands of the English and before he
could be captured and after joining the
English, by whom he was received with
open arms, he was In December, 1880,
placed in command of an English squad
ron. On Dec. Is, 1880, the traitor left
New York with nearly fifty vessels and
900 troops, principally Tories (the ances-
tors of those clamoring for an arbitra-
tion treaty with the mother country"),
for the purpose of carrying on a plum
dering warfare in Virginia On tho 3Oth
his fleet entered Hampton Roads. Anx-
ice Of his royal purchaser, and favored
by the capture of some small American
vessels, he pushed up the James river
to seize and destroy the public stores at
Richmond.
On Jan. S, 1881, Arnold took posses
sion of Richmond and sent Silncoe to
proceed to Westham, small town near
Richmond, and destroy the cannon
foundry and magazine there. Within
short space of time the English SOL
diers performed this work, and on their
departure the foundry was desolation.
The night of Jan. is memorable in the
history of Virginia. The enemy OBJ
tanned a considerable quantity of rum,
and a large portion of them spent the
night in drunken revelry.
At the time of which we write Thom-
as Jefferson, the author of the Declar
alton of Independence, was governor of
Virginia. At the approach oe Arnold.
Jefferson proceeded to the camp IF Bar
on Steuben, near Manchester to solicit
aid. While there some of the citizens
waited on him to tender an offer from
Arnold to spare the town, provided Brit
ish vessels were permitted to come uD
unmolested and carry off vast quanti-
ties of merchandise. The sterling pa
triots promptly rejected this Infamous
proposal, and Arnold gave the order to
apply the torch.
Quite a number of public and private
buildings, together with great guam
tity of tobacco, were burned. Arnold
finding no more plunder or objects on
which to pour out his wrath-the ire of
a most vindictiSe heart toward those
whom he had foully wronged--.withdrew
from the burned and sacked town and
re-embarked, to proceed to commit other
depredations upon the towns of Virginia.
Arnold after his many cruel deeds in
the South, decided that his native state
would be good place to help along
the cause of England. At daybreak on
the morning Of Sept. 6, 1881. British
feet, consisting OF twenty-four sail,