it not very strange, that those invincible troops, who were to destroy and lay waste all this country with their fleets and army, are so fond of islands and peninsulas, and dare not put their feet on the main? But, I hope, by the blessing of God and good friends we shall pay them a visit on their island. For that end, we are preparing fourteen fire-ships to go into their fleet, some of which are ready charged and fitted to sail^ and I hope soon to have them all fixed. We are preparing che- vaux-de-frise, at which we make great dispatch by the help of ships, which are to be sunk; a scheme of mine which you may be assured is very simple, a plan of which I send you. The two ships' sterns lie towards each other, about seventy feet apart. Three large logs, which reach from ship to ship, are fastened to them. The two ships and logs stop the river two hundred and eighty feet. The, ships are to be sunk, and, when hauled down on one side, the picks will be raised to a proper height, and they must inevitably stop the river if the enemy will let us sink them. These well-laid plans miscarried. The fire-ships did not accomplish what had been anticipated and a sub- marine engine, prepared by "an ingenious Connecticut man" failed to explode at the desired time and place. Its interior clockwork being badly timed, it merely Digitized by Microsoft® I70 The Hudson River "blew up a vast column of water" without doing any damage to the enemy's vessels. It had, however, the effect of astonishing the British and affording General Putnam great amusement. More than that, before the obstructions were in place in the channel two British war-ships left their anchorage and, taking advantage of a brisk breeze, sailed past the forts and ascended the river. They were fired upon by the shore batteries and replied sharply with a broadside, but did not linger or turn back. Where they were bound, whether to land troops at some point on the mainland, to attack the forts in the Highlands, or to harass the inhabitants of the villages along the river, could only be conjectured. Washington sent a message to General Mifflin, at High Bridge, urging him to be alert, and an express also warned the New York convention, sitting at White Plains. George Clinton was at New Windsor above the Highlands, and his brother, James, at Fort Constitu- tion. They were first warned of the British approach by the captains of two river sloops who had seen the exchange of fire between the frigates and the forts and had fled from the scene of danger as fast as possible. The following day Washington's messenger arrived, only to find that his orders had been anticipated and that the most energetic measures for the defence of the river were already under way. The arrival of Lord Howe, Admiral of the British Digitized by Microsoft® The Island and the River in 1776 171 fleet, filled with consternation those whose sympathies were enlisted with the American cause. It. was un- derstood that affairs were approaching a crisis and that the long anticipated attack would no longer be deferred. Lord Howe's proclamation, offering pardon to those who had deviated from their allegiance to the Crown, seemed to indicate a pacific purpose. It was followed almost immediately by an attempt to negotiate with General Washington, with a view to the restoration of peace, but these measures, as the student of history knows, were unsuccessful. Having called attention to the means by which the Americans endeavoured to protect the city and river from the British encroachment during the spring and summer of 1776, we may now proceed to describe briefly the disposition of the opposing forces after the disastrous battle of Long Island, in September of that year, and especially to indicate the ground upon which was fought the important engagement of Harlem Heights. After Washington's remarkable retreat with his beaten army across the East River, the city of New York was in a turmoil. On the part of some of the troops there were threats of reducing it to ashes, while others protested vehemently against such drastic meas- ures. Acting upon the theory that the enemy would follow his recent successes by further aggression, the Commander-in-chief ordered that all of the sick and Digitized by Microsoft® 172 The Hudson River wounded should be removed to Orange, in New Jersey, while surplus stores and baggage were to be trans- ported to Dobbs Ferry. Desertions were the scandal of the day. Two thirds of the Connecticut troops were smitten with an irresistible attack of nostalgia, that nothing but a sight of their own firesides could remedy- Still the