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the next camp, obtained a two wheel tumbril, which had been conftructed by the artificers of the artillery, fomething fimilar to the carriage ufed for the mail upon the great roads in England.

4. Major Ackland commanded the British grenadiers, who were attached to General Frafer's body of the army, and con. fequently were always the most advanced poft. Their fituations were often fo alert, that no perfon flept out of his clothes.

5. In one of these fituations, a tent in which the Major and his lady were afleep, fuddenly took fire. An orderly ferjeant of the grenadiers, with great hazard of fuffocation, dragged out the first perfon he caught hold of. It proved to be the Major.

6. It happened, that in the fame inftant, not knowing what fhe did, and perhaps not perfectly awake, providentially made her efcape, by creeping under the walls of the back part of

the tent.

7. The first object fhe faw, upon the recovery of her fenfes, was the Major on the other fide, and in the fame inftant again in the fire, in fearch of her. The ferjeant again faved him, but not without the Major's being feverely burnt in his face and other parts of his body. Every thing they had in the tent was confumed.

8. This accident happened a little time before the army paffed the Hudson. It neither altered the refolution nor the cheerfulnefs of Lady Harriet; and the continued her progress a partaker of the fatigues of the advanced body. The next call upon her fortitude was of a different nature, and more dif treffing, as of longer fufpenfe.

9. On the march of the 19th of September, the grenadiers being liable to action at every step, fhe had been directed by the Major to follow the artillery and baggage, which were not expofed. At the time the action began, the found herself near a fmall uninhabited hut, where fhe alighted.

10. When it was found the action was becoming general and bloody, the furgeons of the hospital took poffeffion of the hut, ss the most convenient place for the first care of the wounded. Thus was this Lady in heating of one continued fire of cannon and mufquetry for four hours together, with the prefumption from the poft of her husband at the head of the grenadiers, that he was in the mofl expofed part of the action.

11. She had three female companions, the baronefs of Reid. efel, and the wives of two British officers, Major Harnage and Lieutenant Reynell; but in the event their prefence ferved

but little for comfort. Major Harnage was foon brought to the furgeons, very badly wounded; and a little time after came intelligence that Lieutenant Reynell was shot dead. Imagination will want no helps to figure the ftate of the whole group.

12. From the date of that action to the 7th of October, Lady Harriet, with her ufual ferenity, flood preparitory for new trials; and it was her lot that their feverity increafed with their numbers. She was again expofed to the hearing of the whole action, and at last received the shock of her individual misfortune, mixed with the intelligence of the general calamiity; the troops were defeated, and Major Ackland defparately wounded, was a prifoner.

13. The day of the 8th was paffed by this Lady, and her companions in common anxiety-not a tent nor a fhed being ftanding, except what belonged to the hofpital, their refuge was among the wounded and dying.

14. During a halt of the army, in the retreat of the 8th of October, I received a meffage from Lady Harriet, fubmitting to my decifion a propofal of paffing to the American camp, and requesting GeneralGates's permiffion to attend her husband.

15. Tho I was ready to believe, for I had experienced, that patience and fortitude, in a fupreme degree, were to be found, as well as every other virtue, under the moft tender forms, I was astonished at this propofal.

16. After fo long an agitation of the fpirits, exhausted not only for want of reft, but want of food, drenched in rains for twelve hours together, that a woman should be capable of fuch an undertaking as delivering herself to the enemy, probably in the night and uncertain what hands fhe might first fall into, appeared an effort above human nature.

15. The affiftance I was enabled to give was fmall indeed. I had not even a cup of wine to offer her; but a was told fhe had found, from fome kind and fortunate hand, a little rum and dirty water. All I could furnish to her was an open boat and a few lines, written on dirty wet paper, to General Gates, recommending her to his protection.

18. Mr. Brudenell, the chaplain, who had officiated at the funeral of General Farfer, readily undertook to accompany her, and with one female fei vaut and the Major's valet, who had then in his fhoulder a ball received in the late action, the row. ed down the river to meet the enemy. But her diftreffes were yet at an end.

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19. The night was advanced before the boat reached the enemy's out poft, and the centinel would not let it pafs, nor even come on fhore, In vain Mr. Brudenell offered the flag of truce, and reprefented the ftate of the extraordinary paffenger. The guard, apprehenfive of treachery, and punctilious to their orders threatened to fire into the boat, if it firred before day.light.

20. Her anxiety and fuffering were thus protracted thro feven or eight dark and cold hours: and her reflections upon that firft reception could not give her very encouraging ideas of the treatment fhe was afterwards to expect. But it is dat to justice at the clofe of this adventure to fay, that he was received and accommodated by General Gates, with all the ho manity and refpect, that her rank, her merits and her fortunes deferved.

21. Let fuch as are affected by these circumftances of alarm, hardship and danger, recollect, that the fubject of them was s woman; of a moft tender and delicate frame; of the getlet manners accustomed to all the foft elegances and refined enjoyment that attend high birth and fortune, and far advanced in a ftate in which the tender cares always due to her fex be come indifpenfably neceffary. Her mind alone was formd for fuch trials.

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IN

ADVENTURES of GENERAL PUTNAM.

N the month of Auguft, five hundred men were employ. ed, under the orders of the Major's Rogers and Putnam, to watch the motions of the enemy near Ticonderoga. At South Bay they feparated the party into two equal divifions, and Rogers took a pofition on Wood Creek twelve miles diftant from Putnam.

2. Upon being, fome time afterward, difcovered, they formed a re.union and concerted meafures for returning to Fort Edward. Their march thro the woods was in three divifions by FILES, the wright commanded by Rogers, the left by Put. nam and the centre by Captain D'Ell. The first night they encamped on the banks of Clear River, about a mile from old Fort Ann, which had been formerly built by Gen. Nicholson.

3. Next morning, Major Rogers and a British officer, named Irwin, incautiously fuffered themfelves, from a fpirit of falfe emulation, to be engaged in firing at a mark. Nothing could have been more repugnant to the military principles of Putnam than fuch conduct or reprobated by him in more pointed terms.

4. As foon as the heavy dew which had fallen the preceding night would permit, the detachment moved in one body, Putnam being in front, D'Ell in centre and Rogers in the rear, The impervious growth of fhrubs and underbrush that had fprung up, where the land had been partially cleared fome years before, occafioned this change in the order of march.

5. At the moment of moving, the famous French partizan Molang, who had been fent with five lab men to intercept our party, was not more than one mile add an half diftant from them. Having heard the fling, he hatted to lay an ambuf. cade precifely in that part of the wood most favorable to his project, Major Putman was juft emerging from the thicket into the common foreft, when the enemy role, and with difcor dant yells and whoops, commenced an attack upon the right of his divifion.

6. Surprifed, but undifmayed, Putnam halted, returned, the fire and paffed the word for the other divifions to advance for his fupport. D'Ell came, The action though widely fcattered and principally' fought between man and man, foon grew general and intenfely warm. It would be as difficult as ufelefs to defcribe this irregular and ferocious mode of fighting.

7. Major Putnam, perceiving it would be impracticable to crofs the ereek, determined to maintain his ground. Infpired by his example, the officers and men behaved with great bra. very: fometimes they fought aggregately in open view, and femetimes individually under cover; taking aim from behind the bodies of trees and acting in a manner independent of each other,

8. For himself, having difcharged his fuzee feveral times, at length it miffed fire, while the muzzle was preffed againft the treaft of a large and well proportioned favage. This warrior, availing himself of the indefenfible attitude of his adverfary, with a tremenduous war whoop, fprang forward, with his lifted hatchet, and compelled him to furrender; and having difarmed and bound him faft to a tree, returned to the battle.

9. The intrepid eaptains D'Ell and Harman, who now com. manded, were forced to give ground for a little diftance; the lavages conceiving this to be the certain harbinger of victory,

hed impetuoully or, with dreadful and redoubled cries But our two partizans, collecting a handful of brave men, gave the purfuers fo warm a reception as to oblige them, in turn, to retreat a little beyond the fpot at which the action had com. menced. Here they made a stand,

10. This change of ground occafioned the tree to which Putnam was tied to be directly between the fire of the two par ties. Human immagination can hardly figure to itfelf a more deplorable fituation, The balls flew inceffantly from either fide, many ftruck the tree, while fome paffed through the fleeves and fkirts of his coat. In this state of jeopardy, unable to move his body, to flir his limbs, or even to incline his head, he remained more than an hour. So equally balanced and fo obftinate was the fight!

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II. At one moment, while the battle fwerved in favor of the enemy, a youg lavage chofe an odd way of difcovering hie huHe found Putnam bound. He might have difpatched him in a blow. But he loved better to excite the terrors of the prifoner, by hurling a tomahawk at his head-or rather it fhould feem his object was to fee how near he could throw it without touching him-the weapon ftruck in the tree a number of times at a hair's breath distance from the mark.

12. When the Indian had finifhed his amufement, a French Bas-Officer (a much more inveterate favage by nature, though defcended from fo humane and polished a nation) perceiving Pu nam, came up to him, and levelling a fuzee within a foot of his breaft attempted to difcharge it; it miffed fire-ineffe&tu. ally did the intended victim folicit the treatment due to his fit. nation, by repeating that he was a prifoner of war.

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13. The degenerate Frenchman did not understand the language of honor or of nature deaf to their voice and dead to fenfibility, he violently and repeatedly pushed the muzzle of his gun against Putnam's ribs, and finally gave him a cruel blow on the jaw with the butt of his piece. After this daftardly deed he left him.

14. At length the active intrepidity of D'Ell and Harman, feconded by the perfevering valor of their followers, prevailed. They drove from the field the enemy, who left about ninety dead behind them. As they were retiring Putnam was untied by the Indian who had made him prifoner, and whom he afterwards called master.

15. Having been conducted for fome diftance from the place of action he was ftripped of his coat, veft, flockings and fhoes; leaded with as many of the packs of the wounded as could be piled upon him ftrongly pinioned, and his wrifts tied as closely together as they could be pulled with a cord.

16. After he had marched, through no pleasant paths, in

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