bearing a note from Sir Henry Clinton to General Burgoyne: "Here we are (Fort Montgomery — Oct. 8th) and no- thing between us and Gates. I sincerely hope this little success of ours will facilitate your operations." The resolute postman did not escape the penalty of his mis- sion ; he was tried as a spy and sentenced to be hanged. The Governor pressed forward with what force he could hastily get together to protect Kingston if pos- sible, as that was then the seat of the State Legislature. He saw here and there at villages and hamlets, and even single residences on the river shore, marauding parties of British at work, their motions b)eing marked by fiaities and depredation, but he could not move rapidly enough to intercept them. When General Vaughan and his force landed from their vessels, a little body of about a hundred and fifty militia opposed them at Kingston, but these valiant defenders were soon overcome and put to flight. The invaders then marched to the village, whence the people and officials had for the most part fled at their ap- proach, and set fire to it at a number of points, having sacked it. A great quantity of stores collected there and nearly all of the principal dwellings and public buildings were consumed. An entertaining story is told by Lossing of the fright of some Dutchmen who were working in the Digitized by Microsoft® Rondout and Kingston 463 flats near Rondout and did not know of the ap- proach of the British till one of Vaughan's two attack- ing columns was actually upon them. They fled for their lives across the shallow water and into the fields on the other side, whence the labourers had very re- cently made their escape, leaving their farming imple- ments on the ground. One of the Dutchmen, in running blindly forward, stepped upon the teeth of a rake, whereupon, according to the time-honoured cus- tom of rakes when their teeth are stepped on, the handle sprang up and rapped him on the head. That was too much for overwrought nerves. Thinking that the enemy had overtaken him, the fugitive fell upon his knees, shouting, " I gifs up — I gifs up! Hurrah for KingShorge!" According to an estimate made by Sharpe, there stood in Kingston, after the conflagration, the stone walls of above forty of the strongly built Dutch houses, though the woodwork was entirely consumed. Among this number was the old Senate House, the roof and interior of which were absolutely destroyed, though the walls were uninjured. In common with several other fire- washed shells of the same class, it was afterwards repaired and occupied. The Hasbrouck mansion was similarly preserved, as were also the old academy building, the Schoonmaker mansion, and the Beekman house. It has been stated that Vaughan with great reluct- ance gave the order to burn the church, deciding to do Digitized by Microsoft® 464 The Hudson River it only as a matter of military duty. Whether this is or is not true, there is no doubt that to most Ameri- cans the burning of Kingston has always seemed a wanton act of barbarity on the part of troops' flushed with recent victory and unrestrained by authority. The smoke and flame spread consternation among the inhabitants of other villages, and fugitives from the destroyed town sought asylum among the hills and in remote places. The spectacle of Kingston burning must have moved with rage and pity the stout hearts of Putnam and Clinton, on opposite sides of the river, witnesses to a calamity they were powerless to avert. Clinton had used the utmost dispatch, but was two hours too late to interpose an effort to save the town. It is recorded that he had the spy, he of the silver bullet, brought forward and hanged to the limb of an apple tree in sight of Kingston, an act which we can hardly conceive to have afforded any satisfaction to one of his disposition and character. At Rhinebeck, Tivoli, and elsewhere the destruction was repeated on a smaller scale. Here a mansion and there a barn or a hay-rick added a flame to the general conflagration. The intention of the enemy was evi- dently to advance to Albany, which seemed doomed to share the fate of Kingston, and there to effect that conjunction with Burgoyne which was the object of the expedition. But Burgoyne was in no condition to co-operate with any army. The diversion had come too late. Almost Digitized by Microsoft® Rondout and Kinofston 465 simultaneously with the movements of Clinton and his subordinates on the Hudson, the forces of Burgoyne and Gates were in mortal conflict, and the decisive victory of the latter put a sudden end to Vaughan's advance.