a trifle, my dearest love; the ball touched neither bone nor nerve, and I have escaped with the obligation of lying on my back for some time, which puts me much out of humor. I hope that you will feel no anxiety; this event ought, on the contrary, rather to reassure you, since I am incapacitated from appearing on the field for some time. I have resolved to take great care of myself; be convinced of this, my love. This affair, will, I fear, be attended with bad consequences for Amer. ica. We will endeavor, if possible, to repair the evil. You must have received many letters from me, unless the English be equally ill-disposed towards my epistles as towards my legs. I have not yet received one letter, and I am most impatient to hear from you, Adieu; I am forbidden to write longer."

66

Under date of October 1st, 1777, he says:

"I wrote to you, my dearest love, the 12th of September; the twelfth was the day after the eleventh, and I have a little tale to relate to you concerning that eleventh day. To render my action more meritori. ous, I might tell you that prudent reflections induced me to remain for some weeks in my bed, safe sheltered from all danger; but I must acknowledge that I was encouraged to take this measure by a slight wound, which I met with I know not how, for I did not, in truth, expose myself to peril. It was the first conflict at which I had been present, so you see how very rare engagements are. It will be the last of this campaign, or, in all probability, at least, the last great battle; and if anything should occur, you see that I could not myself be present. My first occupation was to write to you the day after that affair; I told you that it was a mere trifle, and I was right; all I fear is that you should not have received my letter. As general Howe is giving, in the meantime, rather pompous details of his American exploits to the king his master, if he should write word that I am wounded, he may also write word that I am killed, which would not cost him any. thing; but I hope that my friends, and you especially, will not give faith to the reports of those persons who last year dared to publish that General Washington, and all the general officers of his army, being in a boat together, had been upset, and every individual drowned, But let us speak about the wound: it is only a flesh-wound, and has neither touched bone nor nerve. The surgeons are astonished at the rapidity with which it heals; they are in an ecstacy of joy each time they dress it, and pretend it is the finest thing in the world: for my part I think it most disagreeable, painful, and wearisome; but tastes often differ: if a man, however, wished to be wounded for his amusement only, he should come and examine how I have been struck, that he might be struck precisely in the same manner. This, my dearest love, is what I pompously style my wound, to give myself airs, and render myself interesting.

"I must now give you your lesson, as wife of an American general officer. They will say to you, 'They have been beaten : you must answer,That is true; but when two armies of equal number meet in the field, old soldiers have naturally the advantage over new ones; they have, besides, had the pleasure of killing a great many of the enemy, many more than they have lost,' They will afterwards add

“All that is very well; but Philadelphia is taken, the capital of America, the rampart of liberty! You must politely answer, 'You are all great fools! Philadelphia is a poor forlorn town, exposed on every side, whose harbor was already closed; though the residence of Congress lent it, I know not why, some degree of celebrity. This is the famous city which, be it added, we will, sooner or later, make them yield back to us.' If they continue to persecute you with questions, you may send them about their business in terms which the Viscount de Noailles will teach you, for I cannot lose time by talking to you of politics.

"Be perfectly at ease about my wound; all the faculty in America are engaged in my service. I have a friend, who has spoken to them in such a manner that I am certain of being well attended to; that friend is General Washington. This excellent man, whose talents and virtues I admired, and whom I have learnt to revere as I know him better, has now become my intimate friend: his affectionate interest in me instantly won my heart. I am established in his house, and we live together like two attached brothers, with mutual confi. dence and cordiality. This friendship renders me as happy as I can possibly be in this country. When he sent his best surgeon to me, he told him to take charge of me as if I were his son, because he loved me with the same affection. Having heard that I wished to rejoin the army too soon, he wrote me a letter full of tenderness, in which he requested me to attend to the perfect restoration of my health. I give you these details, my dearest love, that you may feel quite certain of the care that is taken of me. Amongst the French officers, who have all expressed the warmest interest for me, M. de Gimat, my aid-de-camp, has followed me about like my shadow, both before and since the battle, and has given me every possible proof of attachment. You may thus feel quite secure on this account, both for the present and for the future.

"I am at present in the solitude of Bethlehem, which the Abbe Ray. nal has described so minutely. This establishment is a very interesting one; the fraternity lead an agreeable and very tranquil life; we will talk over all this on my return; and I intend to weary those I love, yourself, of course, in the first place, by the relation of my adventures, for you know that I was always a great prattler.

"You must become a prattler also, my love, and say many things for me to Henriette-my poor little Henriette! embrace her a thousand times-talk of me to her, but do not tell her ail I deserve to suffer; my punishment will be, not to be recognized by her on my arrival ; that is the penance Henriette will impose on me."

From Bethlehem, also, Lafayette wrote to the Governor of the Windward islands, M. de Bouille, and proposed to him to make a descent upon the English West India islands, under American colors. That general approved of the project, and forwarded the proposition to the French court, but it was not accepted. He also wrote to Count de Maurepas, proposing a more important enterprise, in which he

would assist with some American forces, an attack upon the English factories in the Isle of France. The French minis. ter, from motives consistent with the neutral pretext of his government at that time, did not adopt the project; but spoke publicly in praise of it, and expressed, ever after, a great partiality for Lafayette. "He will end one day" said he, smiling, "by unfurnishing the palace of Versailles to serve the American cause; for when he has taken any thing into his head, it is impossible to resist him."

The day after the battle of Brandywine, Gen. Washington, having rallied his forces at Chester, retired in good order and encamped near Germantown. Undismayed by the result of the recent engagement, he, on the 17th September, recrossed the Schuylkill, "with the firm intent (he says, in a letter to the President of Congress, dated near Pottsgrove, Sept. 25th,) of giving the enemy battle, whereever I shall meet them; and accordingly (to continue his own account) I advanced as far as the Warren Tavern upon the Lancaster road, near which place the two armies were on the point of coming to a general engagement, but were prevented by a most violent flood of rain, which continued all the day and the following night." The ammunition of the Americans was completely ruined, and before it could be replenished the enemy marched from their position, and crossed the river.

After taking possession of Philadelphia, Gen. Howe encamped with the larger part of his army, at Germantown. A detachment of it was stationed on the left bank of the Delaware in New Jersey. The British forces being thus divided, Gen. Washington formed the plan of attacking Howe by surprise. The American army was at Shipping Creek, about fourteen miles from the British encampment. Washington marched on the 3d of October, and on the morning of the 4th, commenced the attack which is known in history as the battle of Germantown. At first the attack was successful; "and had it not been for a thick fog (says Washington) which rendered it so dark at times, that we were not able to distinguish friend from foe at the. distance of thirty yards, we should, I believe, have made a decisive and glorious day of it. But Providence designed it otherwise; for, after we had driven the enemy a mile or two, after they were in the utmost confusion, and flying be.

fore us in most places, after we were upon the point, as it appeared to every body, of grasping a complete victory, our own troops took fright, and fled with precipitation and disorder. How to account for this I know not; unless, as I before observed, the fog represented their own friends to them for a reinforcement of the enemy, as we attacked in different quarters at the same time, and were about closing the wings of our army when this happened."

But the following circumstance is now generally believed to have contributed greatly to this disastrous turn of affairs; Six companies of the 40th British regiment, commanded by Colonel Musgrove, had taken possession of Chew's house, a strong stone building, and baffled every effort to dislodge them, and retarded for some time the advance of the second line of the Americans, designed to support the centre, “and during this delay, (says Mr. Sparks,) Sullivan's division, which had been closely engaged in front, having mostly expended their ammunition, began to retreat, and falling back on the American line, threw it into disorder."

Gen. Washington regarded the result of this battle rather as "unfortunate than injurious." The loss of men was not great, although several valuable officers fell in the engage

ment.

The enemy gained nothing, and the courage and ardor of the American army were increased. Soon after, Washington established himself at the celebrated encampment of Whitemarsh, fourteen miles from Philadelphia. The surrender of Burgoyne at Saratoga, was a joyous event to the armies and the friends of liberty. Minor operations along the Delaware, about the same time, were interesting. The fort at Red Bank, (Fort Mercer,) defended by Colonel Greene, was attacked by sixteen hundred Hessians, under Count Donop. They were repulsed with great slaughter, Count Donop was wounded and taken prisoner, and soon after died, exclaiming to Monsieur Duplessis, a French officer who attended him: "This is finishing a noble career early. I die a victim of my own ambition, and the avarice of my sovereign." Fort Mifflin, attacked by land and water, was bravely defended. Two or three of the enemy's vessels were destroyed. But on the night of the 15th of November, the fort was evacuated, "after a defence (says Washington) which does credit to the American arms, and will ever reflect the highest honor upon the officers and

men of the garrison." In this defence, Major Fleury, a French officer, the friend of Lafayette, greatly distinguished himself and was wounded. He was promoted to the rank of Lieut. Colonel. Fort Mercer was also evacuated on the 20th of November, on the approach of Lord Cornwallis, who had crossed the river from Chester with a detachment supposed to be about two thousand men, and formed a junction with troops lately arrived from New York, and some that had been landed before at Billingsport.

CHAPTER VI.

Lafayette returns to head-quarters-Domestic anxiety and correspondence-Difficulty of communication with France-Situation and feelings-Desire for a command-Gen. Washington's letter on the subject-Success merited and won-Battle of Gloucester---Decision of Congress-Lafayette's character appreciated-Letter of Patrick Henry-The army in winter quarters-Its great sufferings at Whitemarsh and Valley Forge--Lafayette the soldier's friend--His zeal and humanity-His habits-Solicits the alliance of France -Advocates the American cause and character-Letter to the Duke D'Ayen.

WHILE the most important of these events were occurring, Lafayette remained at Bethlehem. But, unable to restrain his desire for employment, he repaired before his wound had healed, to head-quarters, at Whitemarsh, as ap. pears from the date of his letters, about the 20th of October. He experienced much anxiety at this time, of a domestic nature, being almost totally deprived of intelligence from his friends and family in France. In a letter to Madame Lafayette, dated October 29th, 1777, he says: “I have no resource left me, my love, but to write and write again, without even hoping that my letters will ever reach you, Alluding to a domestic event, about which he felt natural solicitude: "I shall find (he writes) my poor little Henriette very amusing on my return. I hope she will deliver a long sermon of reproof, and that she will speak to me with all the frankness of friendship. * * * * * Embrace her, my love-may I say embrace them?-for me! But I will not dwell upon all I suffer from this painful uncertainty."