The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1904-07-26

4 I1IIlr0n, answered the demand IN the
same manner. a. few minutes after
4 the flags had returned, the enemy
commenced a very heavy firing, which
was answered by our army. The dusk
of the evening, together with the
smoke, and the rushing in Of the
enemy, made it impossible for MS to
distinguish friend, from foe. This
confusion, gave us an opportunity Of
escaping, through the enemy over the
! breaSt-WOrk Many escaped to the
waters side, and got on board a ScOw,
and pushed off. Before she had got
our rOW-gallieS, into which we all got,
and crossed the river. We arrived
safe at New Windsor, where in a few
days after, we were joined by some
more of our army, who had escaped
| from the forts. BY our returns, we
had lost, killed and taken prisoners,
about three hundred men. The enemy,
as we afterwards understood, had one
thousand or eleven hundred killed,
among whom were eighteen captains,
and one or two field officers, besides a.
great number Of wounded.
At the opening of the next cam
paign, General Clinton's brigade, con-
SlouCus VI uWO ACk lAuCHuo 41OAl 4NCW
York, one from New England, and one
had a Chaplain. was, therefore,
constituted Chaplain to the brigade,
| by General Clinton, and, soon after,
commissioned as such BY Congress.
AT the close of the campaign,
| General ClintOn's brigade was ordered
| to take winter-q in Albany.
While we remained there, a message
came from our troops, which lay at
Canajoharie, to General Clinton, re-
questing, to let me go and spend a lit
tie time with them. To this the
General consented, and went. When
got there, they asked me to preach
and wished / would dwell little more
on politics than / commonly did"
He went with the troops on Sull.-
vans campaign against the Indians in
the Genesee country. In the course Of
his narrative he says:
We lay here on the Fourth of July,
and the officers insisted on my preach
ing, which / did from these words
This day shall be a memorial unto
you throughout your generations On
this occasion, the soldiers behaved
with the most decency that 1 ever
knew them to, during the war. Some
of them usually absented themselves
from worship on Lords day, and the
only punishment they were subjected
to, was the digging up of StumpS,
which, in some Instances, had good
effect.
Our troops, both officers and pri-
- al iY,ar1o finr1t
naming so inactive, fearing the cam
paign would fall through, The Cen
eral informed me, that he had received /
orders to move, and that he should do
it on the next Monday. He requested !
me not to mention it, till after Service
the next day, which was Sunday. / |
preached to them from these words
Being ready to depart on the morrow
But here, must not forget to
mention a circumstance, peculiarly |
pleasing to me- Two or three young
soldiers were Under great distress Of |
mind concerning their souls, and, fire. |
quehtly, came to see and converse
with me''
He was with Washington's army on
the Yorktown campaign, being or
dered away so suddenly that he had
no time to procurea change OF linen,
but as they marched through Newark
an old lady who had been a member Of
his church in New York, furnished
him with what was needful for the
campaign. Ordered to remain at
Baltimore with one Of General Clin-
tons aids, who was taken sick, he did
not reach the army again till the
British had capitulated.
On the return through New Jersey
he preached at Hopewell the funeral
sermon of his friend, and the pastor
of the church, the Rev. Benjamin
Miller, He says;
Zone circumstance made it very
striking to me. 1t had been pri-
vate agreement between Mr.. Miller
and myself, that the survivor OF us, If
he had word of the death, should
preach the funeral sermon Of the
other.
81 On my return to the army, we en-
cafnped at Newburgh, and erected
some hutS, and a place for public wor-
ship, on Lords day We had three
services day, and preached in rota-
tion one from each brigade"
Mr.. Gano is said to have acted as
chaplain on the occasion Of Washing
toms farewell to his officers at New
burgh. There is also a tradition that
the General, being convinced that a
burial in water is the only true hap
tism, was immersed by Chaplain Gano.
But this story, like that of Washing
tons taking the bread and wine with
the Presbyterian Church at Morris
town, fails to command the full con-
fidence of historical critics.
He concludes thus the account OF
his army service:
The next spring the British eyac-
uated New York; and General Wash
4 ington entered the city with his army.
| The army was soon after diSbanded,
and we poor ruined Workers returned
to our disfgured homes.
He continues:
My home needed some repairs, and
| wanted some new furniture; for the
enemy plundered a great many arti-
Giles. We collected Of our church,
about thirty seven members, out OF
upwards of two hundred. Some were
dead, and Others scattered into almost
every part Of the union. Some had
turned farmers but the most OF these
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