titled to the benefits of the cartel; and the menace of retaliation alone prevented their proceeding to the last extremity against him. During the royal fucceffes in the Jerfeys, General Clinton, with two brigades of British and two of Heffian troops, with a fquadron of men of war, was detached to the attack of Rhode Island-which being in no condition of defence, was abandoned to them without refiftance. It was taken poffeffion of by General Clinton on the very day that General Washington croffed the Delawar.

The affairs of America were now in the opinion of many verging to a crisis; for, though it might reasonably be expected that the firft operations of fo great a force as that now employed by Great Britain would be fuccefsful in a certain degree, it could fcarcely be imagined that such a series of difafters could happen in so short a time. But the event of the campaign, though now in appearance brought very near to a termination, fhewed in a ftriking manner the caprice of fortune, and the folly of those who in a hazardous and dangerous war rely on a conftant and uninterrupted tide of fuccefs. When General Washington retreated across the Delawar, he trembled for the fate of America; and talked of retiring for fafety with the remains of his army to the receffès of the Alleghahany mountains, expecting to have been immediately followed by the British forces. For, though

the

the boats were by a timely precaution removed to the Pennsylvanian fhore, the neighbourhood fupplied ample materials, which art and industry might foon have conftructed into rafts and flotillas fufficient for the transportation of the troops. But it was remarked by men of difcernment, that nothing of the vaft or decifive appeared in the plans of the English General, and the troops now in the full career of fuccefs were ordered into winter cantonments, forming an extenfive chain from Brunfwick to the Delawar, and down the banks of that river for many miles, fo as to compofe a front at the end of the line looking over to Pennsylvania. General Washington having perfect information of this difpofition exclaimed in the spirit of a vigilant and fagacious commander, " Now is the time to clip the wings of the enemy while they are so spread."

Very early in the morning of the 26th December (1776), a day purposely felected on the suppofition that the preceding feftivity might favor the project of furprife, General Washington croffed the Delawar, not without extreme difficulty from the quantity of ice in the river, nine miles above Trenton, and immediately began his march in the midft of a storm of fnow and hail at the head of his troops, which exceeded not three thoufand in number, and reached Trenton by day-break. Here about one thoufand fix hundred men were ftationed, chiefly Heffians, under the command of

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Colonel Rahl, who, being unfufpicious of danger, were thrown into confufion at the first attack. lonel Rahl himself being mortally wounded, the diforder increased, and abandoning their artillery, they attempted to make their retreat to Prince-town; but finding this impracticable, and being now overpowered, and nearly furrounded, the three regiments of Rahl, Lofsberg, and Knyphaufen, laid down their arms, and furrendered themselves prisoners of war, the remainder of the troops efcaping with difficulty by way of Bordentown. In the evening General Washington repaffed the Delawar, carrying with him the prifoners, their artillery, and colors, and entered the city of Philadelphia in triumph. The charm was now diffolved; and it being found by experience that the Europeans were not invincible, great numbers of the Americans, who had deferted their colors, again repaired to the standard of their commander, who foon found himself at the head of a confiderable army, in a condition once more to cross the Delawar; and Lord Cornwallis, who was actually at New York in his way to England, found himself under a neceffity of returning to the defence of the Jerfeys.

The English General, approaching the American army ftrongly posted near the town of Trenton, made immediate difpofitions for an attack; but in the dead of night (January 2, 1777), General Washington filently withdrew his troops, leav

ing fires burning in his camp, and the ufual patroles, in order to deceive the enemy; and by a circuitous march arrived by fun-rife at Prince-town. Here the fourth brigade of British troops, confifting of the feventeenth, fortieth, and fifty-fifth regiments, were pofted under the command of Colonel Mawhood, who had just begun his march in order to join Lord Cornwallis, when he fell in with the van-guard of the American army. Though engaged with a far fuperior force, the Colonel, at the head of his own corps, with extraordinary gallantry fought his way through the thickeft ranks of the enemy-the other regiments making separate retreats by different roads they fuffered however very feverely in this unequal conflict, and were in a great measure difabled for future fervice. General Washington diftinguished himself on this occafion by fignal exertions of perfonal valor. On this difafter, Lord Cornwallis, finding himself out-manoeuvred by his antagonift, abandoned his Camp at Trenton, and retired with precipitation to Brunswick. The licentious ravages of the foldiery, particularly of the German mercenaries, during the time they were in poffeffion of the Jerfeys, had excited the utmoft refentment and deteftation of the inhabitants; and the fortune of war now feeming to run againft them, the whole country rose in arms: the Militia collected in large bodies, and the British troops were every where attacked with fuccess—at Woodbridge,

at Elizabeth-town, at Newark; and the royal troops retained only the two pofts of Brunswick and Amboy, both holding an open communication with New York by fea,-In the detail of military operations, the civil transactions which took place during the campaign must not be suffered to escape our attention.

On the 19th of September (1776), the Commiffioners of the Crown, Lord Howe and the General, caufed a proclamation to be published, promifing in his Majefty's name a revifion of all fuch inftructions as might be conftrued to lay an improper reftraint on the freedom of legislation in the Colonies, and alfo to concur in the revifal of fuch Acts by the operation of which they might think themfelves aggrieved. Though it was impoffible to conjecture what was really meant by a promise fo vague, had a declaration of this nature been made with good faith at an earlier period of the difpute, it might doubtless have been attended with happy effects; but when a civil war had actually commenced, to indulge the moft diftant idea that the Americans would lay down their arms on the mere promise of a revision of the Acts of that government whose authority they had renounced, was an idle and puerile expectation.

In the month of October the inhabitants of the city and ifland of New York, then in the poffeffion of the English, prefented a petition to the Commiffioners,