action; they alfo claimed the advantage in the engagement, though our people affirm that they did this without any ground. However it must be allowed to have been a confiderable advantage to the Americans, to know that they could engage the best troops in Britain in the open field, and with equal, if not inferior numbers, withstand them, and even in the conclufion make them glad to retreat with confiderable lofs. It had often been faid that our officers and men, defired nothing fo much as to have an opportu nity of engaging the provincials in the open field, when they were fully affured that they could fight them at any odds whatsoever. The time was now arrived when they might eafily have made the experiment, and verified this declaration to the world. The Americans, inftead of being much more numerous than our men, do not appear to have had equal numbers engaged in this action; and yet they not only flood their ground, but obliged their enemies to retreat with fach precipitation, as had all the external marks of a flight. From all accounts that can be depended upon, it cannot as yet be made appear, that General Washington had more troops in his whole army, than Sir Henry Clinton had in his; it must therefore proceed from other causes than fupe. riority of numbers, that the colonists had any. advan. tage in this action. There were fome particular things, that were much against them. The behaviour of one of their own generals appears to have been much to blame, and tended much to have interrupted their march From what principle he acted, is best known to himself, but it is fufficiently evident that he difobeyed the orders of his commander in chief, by ordering ördering his detachment to retreat, when there was vifibly no occafion; for that fame corps under another commander, recovered their station, and fupported it till their enemies fled in the night, and got out of their reach. The Americans themselves affirm, that they would have obtained a complete and decifive victory, if it had not been from the conduct and difobedience of General Lee. That, officer had, fome time before, by an exchange, obtained a release from his long confinement at New York; and we have already obferved that he was appointed to take the command of that detachment, which was ordered to harrafs the British army, and to interrupt its march. It appears from General Washington's account of the action, that had General Lee obeyed his orders, and not retired after the firft fire, that the British troops would have been more severely handled ; for as these very fame troops rallied and fupported their ftation after they had retreated, provided they had stood their ground at first, the action would have been more fharp and bloody: General Washington Tays, that being informed, that if once the British army gained the high and strong country of MiddleTown, no attempt could afterwards be made upon them, with the fmalleft profpect of fuccefs, he accordingly determined to fall upon their rear, immediately upon their departure from the ftrong grounds in the neighbourhood of Freehold, on which they had encamped during the night of the twenty-feventh. He communicated the intention to General Lee, with orders to make his difpofition for the attack, and to keep the troops lying upon their arms in conftant pre L11 paration; paration; which he also practifed himself in the main body. Having received an exprefs at five in the morning, that the British army had begun their march, he immediately difpatched an order to General Lee to attack them, acquainting him at the fame time, that he was marching directly to fupport him, and that for the greater expedition, he should cause his men to difencumber themfelves of that part of the baggage which they carried upon their backs. To his great furprize and mortification however, when he had marched about five miles, he met the whole advanced corps retreating, which they informed him Was by the order of General Lee, without their making the smallest oppofition, excepting the fingle fire of one detachment, to repulfe the British Light Horfe. General Washington found the rear of the retreating troops hard preffed by our forces; but by forming them anew, under the brave and fpirited exertion of their officers, he foon checked the advance of the British forces; and having by this means gained time to plant fome batteries of cannon, and to bring up fresh forces, the engagement hung in an equal poize for fome time. In this this fituation (he continues) the enemy finding themselves warmly oppofed in front, made an attempt to turn his left flank; but were bravely repulfed by fome detached parties of infantry. A fimilar attempt upon the sight was made, and they were repulfed by General Green, who afterwards, in conjunction with General Waine, took fuch pofts, and kept up fo fevere and well-directed a fire, as compelled the British forces to retire behind a defile, where the first stand had been made, in the beginning of the action. In that fitua tion, in which their flanks were fecured by thick woods and moraffes, and their front only affailable through a narrow defile, he notwithstanding made difpofitions for attacking; but the darkness came on so fast, as not to afford time for furmounting the impediments in their way. The main body, however, Jay all night upon their arms, in the place of action, as the detached parties did in their feveral posts which they had been ordered to take, under a full determination of attacking the British army when the day appeared; but the British forces retreated in fuch profound filence in the night, that the most advanced pofts, and thofe very near them, knew nothing of their departure until the morning. Our account of this action is not only imperfect, but contrary to that which General Washington has given; but we may gather from the circumftances of both, that the British troops were far from being victorious on this occafion. It would have been much to their intereft as well as their honour, now, that they had the Americans in the open field, where they had long profeffed to wish to have them, to have fhewn their abfolute fuperiority, by defeating this army, which would have tended much to have brought the colonists to the terms of the Commiffioners, who were now waiting to bring the Americans to fome temper, with regard to their ideas of reconciliation. Nothing could be more unfortunate than this affair, to the defigns of the Commiffioners: Their threaten. ings were now despised, and the boasted valour of the British forces confidered only in a common point of light. The best troops in the English army had now been made to retreat, before men, to whom they had long long given the names of a rabble, cowards, and poltroons. This was not likely to operate favourably in behalf of the wishes of the Commiffioners. It is plain from all circumftances, that our troops had a fair opportunity to exert all their valour, feeing the very guards and the invincible grenadiers had just as much duty in this action as they were able to perform; and yet fo far were the colonifts from giving ground or running away, that they lay all night upon their arms waiting to renew the action in the morning, when our brave men flipt away filently in the night, and got beyond the reach of danger. It was undoubtedly wife and prudent in Sir Henry Clinton to take the meafures which he adopted to fave his army; for it does not appear that, fuppofe he had engaged with all his forces, and stood a general action to the end, he would have had any hopes of any other fort of victory, than would have ruined him. The Americans were determined to have stood to the utmost, and from what happened during the time of this action, it appears, what might have been the iffue, provided it had been general. General Clinton had forfeen this from the beginning, and endeavoured to guard against the fatal confequences he perceived would follow a rash and general engagement. Both he and Sir William Howe had perceived, fince the affair of German Town, that without greater reinforcements than they had reafon to expect from Britain, that a general action would be very dangerous. They found they had to encounter a General, who was not easily to be circumvented, and whofe troops had now by experience, both learned the art of war, and had acquired that mecha |