arms and returning to their allegiance. It was alf recommended to them to move beyond the South river; and they were affured, that a body of British troops fhould be ready to protect them whenever they defired it. These propofitions were rejected with difdain; aud they even delivered up two of Sir Henry Clinton's meffengers to the congrefs. Jofeph Reed, Efq. prefident of the ftate of Pennsylvania, afterwards repaired to them at Prince-town, and an accommodation took place: fuch of them as had ferved out their full terms were permitted to return to their own homes, and others again joined the American army, upon receiving fatisfactory affurances that their grievances fhould be redreffed. Lord Cornwallis now began to make very vigorous exertions, in order to penetrate into North Carolina. On the 11th of January his Lordship's army was in motion, and advancing towards that province; but was fomewhat delayed by an attempt made by the Americans, under General Morgan, to make themselves mafters of the valuable district of Ninety-fix. In order to prevent this, Lord Cornwallis detached Lieutenant Colonel Tarleton, with three hundred cavalry, three hundred light infantry, the seventh regiment, the first battalion of the feventy-firft regiment, and two three-pounders, to oppofe the progrefs of Morgan, not doubting but that he would be able to perform this fervice effectually. The British troops came up with the Americans under General Morgan on the 17th of January. The Americans were drawn up in an open wood, and having been lately joined by fome militia, were more numerous than the British troops under Lieutenant Colonel Tarleton; but the latter were fo much better difciplined, that they had the utmost confidence of obtaining a speedy victory. The attack was begun by the first line of infantry, confifting of the feventh regiment and a corps of light infantry, with a troop of cavalry placed on each flank. The first battalion of the seventy-first and the remainder of the cavalry formed the reserve. The American line foon gave way, andtheir militia quitted the field; upon which the royal troops, fuppofing the victory already gained, engaged with ardour in the purfuit, and were thereby thrown into fome diforder. General Morgan's corps, who were fuppofed to have been routed, then immediately faced about and threw in a heavy fire upon the king's troops, which occafioned the utmost confufion amongst them; and they were at length totally defeated by the Americans. Four hundred of the British infantry were either killed, wounded, or taken prifoners: the lofs of the cavalry was much less confiderable; but the two three-pounders fell into the hands of the Americans, together with the colours of the feventh regiment; and all the detachment of royal artillery were either killed or wounded in defence defence of their colours. Lieutenant-colonel Tarleton, however, made another effort; having affembled about fifty of his cavalry, he charged and repulfed Colonel Washington's horfe, retook his baggage, and killed the Americans who were appointed to guard it. He then retreated to Hamilton's ford, near the mouth of Bullock's creek, carrying with him part of his baggage, and deftroying the remainder. This defeat of the troops under Tarleton was a fevere stroke to Lord Cornwallis, as the lofs of his light infantry was a great disadvantage to him. The day after that event, he employed in collecting the remains of Tarleton's corps, and endeavouring to form a junction with General Leflie, who had been ordered to march towards him with a body of British troops from Wynnefborough. Confiderable exertions were then made by part of the army, without baggage, to retake the prisoners in the hands of the Americans, and to intercept General Morgan's corps on its retreat to the Catawba. But that American officer, after his defeat of Tarleton, had made forced marches up into the country, and croffed the Catawba the evening before a great rain, which fwelled the river to fuch a degree, as to prevent the royal army from croffing for several days; during which time the British prisoners were got over the Yadkin; whence they proceeded to Dan River, which they also paffed, and on the 14th of February had reached Court-house in the province of Virginia. Lord Cornwallis employed a halt of two days in collecting fome flour, and in destroying fuperfluous baggage and all his waggons excepting those laden with hofpital ftores, falt, and ammunition, and four reserved empty in readiness for fick or wounded. Being thus freed from all unneceffary incumbrances, he marched through North Carolina with great rapidity, and penetrated to the remoteft extremities of that province on the banks of the Dan. His progrefs was fometimes impeded by parties of the militia, and some skirmishes enfued, but he met with no very confiderable oppofition. On the 1ft of February, the king's troops croffed the Catawba at M'Cowan's Ford, where General Davidfon, with a party of American militia, was posted, in order to oppose their paffage; but he falling by the firft discharge, the royal troops made good their landing, and the militia retreated. When Lord Cornwallis arrived at Hillsborough, he erected the king's standard, and invited, by proclamation, all loyal fubjects to repair to it, and to ftand forth and take an active part in affifting his Lordship to reftore order and government. He had been taught to believe that the king's friends were numerous in that part of the country: but the event did not confirm the truth of the representations that had been given. The VOL. I, royalists 4 C royalifts were but few in number, and fome of them too timid to join the king's standard. There were, indeed, about two hundred who were proceeding to Hillsborough, under Colonel Pyle, in order to avow their attachment to the royal caufe; but they were met accidentally, and furrounded by a detachment from the American army, by whom a number of them are faid to have been killed when they were begging for quarter, without making the leaft refiftance. Mean while General Greene was marching with great expedition with the troops under his command, in order to form a junction with other corps of American troops, that he might thereby be enabled to put an effectual stop to the progrefs of Lord Cornwallis. In other places fome confiderable advantages were obtained by the royal arms. On the 4th of January, fome fhips of war with a number of tranfports, on board which was a large body of troops under the command of Brigadier-general Arnold, arrived at Weftover, about one hundred and forty miles from the Capes of Virginia, where the troops immediately landed and marched to Richmond; which they reached without oppofition, the militia that was collected having retreated on their approach. Lieutenant-colonel Simcoe marched from hence with a detachment of British troops to Weitham, where they destroyed one of the finest founderies for cannon in America, and a large quantity of ftores and cannon. General Arnold, on his arrival at Richmond, found there large quantities of falt, rum, fail-cloth, tobacco, and other merchandife; and that part of thefe commodities which was public property he deftroyed. The British troops afterwards attacked and difperfed fome fmall parties of the Americans, took fome ftores and a few pieces of cannon, and the 20th of the fame month marched into Portfmouth. On the 25th, Captain Barclay, with feveral fhips of war, and a body of troops under the command of Major Craig, arrived in Cape Fear river. The troops landed about nine miles from Wilmington, and on the 28th entered that town. It was understood that their having poffeffion of that town, and being mafters of Cape Fear river, would be productive of very beneficial effects to Lord Cornwallis's army. General Greene having effected a junction about the 10th of March with a continental regiment of what were called eighteen months men, and two large bodies of militia belonging to Virginia and North Carolina, formed a refolution to attack the British troops under the command of Lord Cornwallis. The American army marched from the High Rock Ford on the 12th of the month, and on the 14th arrived at Guildford. Lord Cornwallis, from the information he had received of the motions of the American general, concluded what were his defigns. As they approached approached more nearly to each other, a few skirmishes enfued between fome advanced parties, in which the king's troops had the advantage. On the morning of the 15th, Lord Cornwallis marched with his troops at day-break in order to meet the Americans, or to attack them in their encampment. About four miles from Guildford, the advanced guard of the British army, commanded by Lieutenant-colonel Tarleton, fell in with a corps of the Americans, confifting of Lieutenant-colonel Lee's legion, fome Back Mountain men and Virginian militia, with whom he had a fevere fkirmish, but whom he at length obliged to retreat. The greater part of the country in which the action happened is a wilderness, with a few cleared fields interfperfed. The American army, which was fuperior to the royal in point of numbers, was posted on a rifing ground about a mile and a half from Guildford court-houfe. It was drawn up in three, lines: the front line was compofed of the North Carolinian militia, under the command of the generals Butler and Eaton; the fecond line of Virginian militia, commanded by the generals Stephens and Lawfon, forming two brigades; the third line, confifting of two brigades, one of Virginia and one of Maryland continental troops, commanded by General Huger and Colonel Williams. Lieutenant-colonel Washington, with the dragoons of the first and third regiments, a detachment of light infantry compofed of continental troops, and a regiment of riflemen under Colonel Lynch, formed a corps of obfervation for the fecurity of their right flank. Lieutenantcolonel Lee, with his legion, a detachment of light infantry, and a corps of riflemen under Colonel Campbell, formed a corps of observation for the fecurity of their left flank. The attack on the American army was directed to be made by Lord Cornwallis in the following order: On the right, the regiment of Bofe and the feventy-first regiment, led by Major-general Leslie, and supported by the first battalion of guards; on the left, the twenty-third and thirty-third regiments, led by Lieutenant-colonel Webfter, and fupported by the grenadiers and fecond battalion of guards commanded by Brigadier-general O'Hara; the Yagers and light infantry of the guards remained in a wood on the left of the guns, and the cavalry in the road, ready to act as circumstances might require. About half an hour after one in the afternoon, the action commenced by a cannonade, which lafted about twenty minutes; when the British troops advanced in three columns and attacked the North Carolinian brigades with great vigour, and foon obliged part of thefe troops, who behaved very ill, to quit the field; but the Virginian militia gave them a warm reception, and kept up a heavy fire for a long time, till being beaten back, the action became, general almost every where. The 4 C & American American corps under the lieutenant-colonels Washington and Lee were alfo warmly engaged, and did confiderable execution. Lieutenantcolonel Tarleton had directions to keep his cavalry compact, and not to charge without pofitive orders, excepting to protect any of the corps from the most evident danger of being defeated. The exceffive thicknefs of the woods rendered the British bayonets of little use, and enabled the broken corps of Americans to make frequent ftands with an irregular fire. The fecond battalion of the guards first gained the clear ground near Guildford court-houfe, and found a corps of continental infantry, fuperior in number, formed in an open field on the left of the road. Defirous of fignalizing themselves, they immediately attacked and foon defeated them, taking two fix-pounders: but as they purfued the Americans into the wood with too much ardour, they were thrown into confufion by a heavy fire, and inftantly charged and driven back into the field by Lieutenant-colonel Washington's dragoons, with the lofs of the fix-pounders they had taken. But the American cavalry were afterwards repulfed, and the two fix-pounders again fell into the hands of the British troops. The fpirited exertions of Brigadier-general O'Hara and of Lieutenant-colonel Tarleton, greatly contributed to bring the action to a termination. The British troops having at length broken the fecond Maryland regiment, and turned the left flank of the Americans, got into the rear of the Virginian brigade, and appeared to be gaining their right, which would have encircled the whole of the continental troops, when General Greene thought it prudent to order a retreat. Many of the American militia difperfed in the woods; but the continental troops retreated in good order to Reedy Fork River, and croffed at the Ford about three miles from the field of action, and there halted. When they had collected their stragglers, they retreated to the iron-works, ten miles diftant from Guildford, where they encamped. They loft their artillery and two waggons laden with ammunition. It was a hard fought action, and lafted an hour and an half. Of the British troops, the lofs, as ftated by Lord Cornwallis, was five hundred and thirty-two killed, wounded, and miffing. General Greene, in his account of the action transmitted to the congress, stated the lofs of the continental troops to amount to three hundred and twenty-nine killed, wounded, and miffing; but he made no eftimate of the lofs of the militia. Lieutenant-colonel Stuart was killed in the action; and Lieutenantcolonel Webster, and the captains Schutz, Maynard, and Goodriche, died of the wounds that they received in it. Brigadier-general O'Hara, Brigadier-general Howard, and Lieutenant-colonel Tarleton were alío wounded. Of the Americans the principal officer killed was Majot Anderfon |