Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1906-01-18
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zoo, III buls place slute tu1s tuuLHllS5 ue Ell
gagged me to give you myself the account Of
the little advantage OF that small part Of
the troops under his command. / have
nothing mora to say to your excellency
about our business on this side, because
he is writing himself. should have been
very glad, il circumstances had permitted
me- to be useful to him upon greater
scale.
4 with the most tender affection and
highest respect, have the honor to be
LA FAYETTE.
i II must tell. too, that the rifiemen had
been the whole day running before my
horse, without eating of taking any rest.
81 have just now certain assurance that
two British officers, besides those spoke
you Of haye died this morning Of their
wounds in an house; this and some other
circumstances let me believe that their
lost may be greater than told to your ex-
cellency. NJ
i 1.-THE news Of this action was extremely
gratifying to General Washington, because
| it encouraged the militia by an example Of
4 their usefulness to the service and was a
proof that they had soldierly qualities
worthy to be compared with those of older
troops Injured to waran encouragement
greatly needed to stimulate enlistments,
which was tagging; and, besides this, it was
in accord with the policy Of the commander
in-chief at that time-namely to annoy and
embarrass the enemy at every point, to cut
off their supplies, to attack their foraging
parties, and, in general, to make their &C.
cupation Of the country as uncomfortable as
possible" "a
4 Gen. Greene in his report to Washington
i said: ssThe Marquis, with about four
hundred militia and the rife corps, attacked
enemy's pickets last evening, killed about
twenty, wounded many more, and took
about twenty prisoners. The Marquis is
charmed with the spirited behavior Of the
militia and rifle corps;they drove the enemy
about half a mile, and kept the ground
until dark. The enemy's pockets consisted
Of about three hundred, and were re-inforc-
! ed during the skirmish. The Marquis is
determined to be in the way of danger. ~
As pertinent to the subject, the following
facts in reference to Lafayette are Of interest
in connection with the skirmish. Marquis
deLafayette was born September 6, 1857, was
married when be was seventeen, and the
+I,av ~ &x.,<, baervo !, x,oe <,a,,xx,
years old. When but nineteen years Of age
he became interested in the struggle Of the
colonies for liberty. THE enthusiasm
which impelled Lafayette thus to espouse
the cause Of the American people arose from
his ardent love Of freedom" ~ In De-
cember 1776 he sought an interview with
Silas Deane, American Commissioner to
France, and there and then entered into an
agreements with Mr.. Deane TO fight for
American independence. On account Of
his rank and influence. notwithstanding his
youth, Mr.. Deane contracted with him to
be made Major General in the Continen-
tai army, his commission to bear date Of
Dec. Z, 1776. (m)
& Owing TO his youth and his great rank.
every influence was exerted to have him re-
main in France, and as the Americans had
no ships at their command in France,
he did not leave his native country for
America until the following spring. We
had no vessels then and Lafayette, out Of
his own fortune, bought and equipped a
ship which he called La Victoire The Vic
tory and having escaped from France into
Spain, sailed Sunday, April 20, TIT and
arrived in South Carolina on Juue 18Th.
From South Carolina to Philadelphia, he
travelled by carriage and when that broke
down, the rest Of the journey was made on
horseback On July 81, he appeared before
the Foreign Relations Committee of Con :
gress, and on account Of his youth and Of
the opposition Of certain Of the American
generals be was turned down and Silas Deans
agreement was ignored The next day he was
presented to Washington, and his admira tion
for the Communicating Chief was so great,
that be relinquished his right to COM
mand, and volunteered to serve without
pay or emoluments Of any kind. This offer
was Immediately accepted by Washington,
and be appointed Lafayette one Of his aide
de-camps, and made him member Of his
official family.
These facts were laid before Congress by
Washington, and Lafayette's generous
offer, together with the great sacrifices the
young marquis had made, completely won
the hearts Of Congress, and resolution was
passed July 81, 1777, accepting his services,
and giving him commission with the rank
Of Maior-generaL (m)(p)
It was impracsicable to place Lafayette
Immediately at the head Of fighting force.
It would haye been unjust to the American