| Citation |
RNYG.778.068
29 Jul 1778:21,22 (191)
To the Printer of the Royal Gazette
July 24, 1778.
As I always thought that the account given by the rebels
of their warlike achievements are best answered by neglect,
it is with reluctance I sit down to employ an idle hour in
throwing together some remarks upon the letter of their
General of the 29th of June, a talk I should never have
imposed upon myself, had there not appeared lately in your
paper and in the others, some very silly, and very green
accounts of the affair of the 29th of June, which, if they
are to be regarded as seriously meant, serve as foils to
throw a lustre upon those fables with which Mr. Washington
is pleased to amuse the Congress, and to amaze the fortunate
subjects of the thirteen united states. . . [9 lines in
paragraph l and 2 paragraphs]
The following simple state of facts will prove a very
proper accompaniment to the next Te Deum it may please his
excellency to strike up.
Two months before the British army quitted Philadelphia,
it was generally and certainly known, that there were
positive orders to that effect. . . [40 lines]
On the 28th of June, the rear guard of this half, being
attacked, repulsed the assailants, drove them four miles
before it, and then resumed its way unapproach'd and
uninsulted, either then or during seven or eight days that
the army afterwards remained in the Jerseys. . . yet before
this check the rebel parties had daily fired upon our rear.
The rebel army accustomed to be totally defeated when they
hazarded themselves within reach of the British troops,
naturally exult at having had a view of the army at a less
price;. . . [11 lines on col. 1; the next paragraph is at
the beginning of column 2]
The gentlemen who have been so pleasant as to sing Te Deum
on the 28th of June, would be kind in disclosing the
particular acts of prowess on which they found their merit--
-In what instance did they not shrink as usual from the
glare of the British bayonet? Many of them indeed suffered
by that weapon, but not from want of will to avoid it. Did
any part of their troops, in the various little scrambles of
that day, stand one charge in an accessible situation? What
proportion of the British were hurt by the bayonet, or even
by the musquetry? Indeed our principle enemy were the sun
and the six-pounders--As to the field of battle, Mr.
Washington might equally have had the satisfaction of
singing Te Deum every morning at sun-rise, in the field from
whence our army had marched the night before; And with
regard to loss, the return to Congress is larger than that
of our army; yet the rebel General has omitted the poor
militia men, who it seems were counted as nothing, and were
rather unfairly thrown into danger to fill up a gap. . . [18
lines]
[signed] Volunteer
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