Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1904-07-26

soon be upon them, and they might
expect CORVALLIS with his whole force
at any time. He drew of his troops
therefore, and, leaving strong party
to break down the bridge over Stony
brook and impede the advance Of the
English as much as possible, he push.
ed on toward Pluckamin and Morris.
town, officers and men thoroughly sat.
fsfed with their brilliant achievements.
Early in the morning the pickets OF
CORVALLIS army discovered that
something was wrong In the American
camp. The guard had been with
drawn. the fires had been allowed to
die away and the place was as still al
death. A few adventurous spirits,
cautiously crossing the bridge, found
that the guns mounted in front Of It
were only "quakers" and that the
whole camp was empty-the army had
decamped silently and stolen away be-
fore their eyes! My Lord CORVALLIS,
rudely disturbed from those rosy
dreams Of conquest with which q
mocking spirit had beguiled his slum-
Der, would not credit the first report
Of his astonished officers, but investi-
cation showed him that the "old fox"
was gone and he would not be bagged
that mOrning-nor on any other morn
ing, either! But where had he gone?
For time the perplexed and chagrin-
ed commander could not ascertain.
The Americans had vanished-disap-
peared-leaving absolutely no trace be-
hind them, and 1t was not until he
heard the heavy booming Of cannon
from the northeast, borne upon the
frosty air Of the cold morning about
sunrise, that he OWNED the brilliant
plan Of his willy antagonist and dis
covered his whereabouts. He had been
Outfought, Outmaneuvered, outfianked
and outgeneraled! The disgusted Brit
ish We're sent back over the familiar
road to Princeton, now in hotter haste
than before. His rear guard menaced,
perhaps overwhelmed, his stores and
supplies in danger, CORVALLIS pushed
on for life this time. The English
officer conceived healthy respect for
Washington at this juncture which
did not leave him thereafter.
The little distance between Trenton
and Princeton on the direct road was
passed in remarkably short time by
the now thoroughly aroused and
anxious British. A little party under
command Of Seymour and Kelly
which had been assiduously engaged
in breaking down the bridge over
Stony brook was observed and driven
away by two fieldpieces, which had
been halted and unlimbered on COM
manding hill and which opened-fir
while the troops advanced on a run;
but the damage had been doDS and the
bridge was already impossible. After
a futile attempt to repair 1t. in which
much time was lost, the indefatigable
earl sent his troops through tho Icy
water of the turbulent stream. which
rose breast high upon the eager men,
and the hasty pursuit was once more
resumed. A mile or so beyond the
bridge the whole army was brought to
q stand by sudden discharge from a
heavy gun. which did some execution;
it was mounted in breastwork some
distance ahead.
The army was halted, men We're sent
ahead to recOnnoiter and strong col
umn deployed to storm what was sup
posed to be heavy battery. When
the storining party reached the works
there was no one there. 4 lone thirty
two FOUNDER, too unwieldly to accom-
pany the rapid march of the Amert-
cans. had been left behind, and Philip
Wilton had volunteered to remain. att
er Seymour's party had passed. and fur
ther delay the British by firing it ut
theJ. army as soou aS they came In
range. These delays had given Wash
ington so much OF a start that Corn
wallis, despairing of ever overtaking
him, finally gave up the pursuit and
pushed ON in great anxiety to New
Brunswick, to save, If possible, his
which he had the satisfac-
ton in the end Of finding intact.
To complete this brief res&lme Of one
of the remarkable campaigns OF his
tory, Washington strongly fortified
himself on Corvallis flank ut Norris
town. menacing each of the three de-
pots held by the British outside New
York; Putnam advanced from Phila-
delphia to Trenton with the militia,
and Heath moved down to the high
lands of the Hudson. The country
people of New Jersey rose and cut OF
scattered detachments Of the British In
every direction, until the whole OF the
field was eventually abandoned by
them, except AmbOy, Newark and New
Brunswick. The world witnessed the
singular spectacle Of large, well ap-
pointed army Of veteran soldiery un'
der able leaders shut up IN practically
one spot, New York and few nearby
villages, and held there inexorably by a
phantom army which never was more
than half the size of that it held In
check. The results Of the six months
campaign were to be seen in the pos
session of the city Of New York by the
British army. That army, which had
won practically all the battles IN
which it had engaged, which had fol-
lowed the Americans through SIX
months OF disastrous defeat and re-
t-eat and had overrun two colonies,
now had nothing to show for all It's
efforts but the ground upon wilch II
stood! And this was the result Of the
genius, the courage, the audacity ol
Il.