At

Many incidents occurred on these occasions. Williamsburg a picquet guard of the 80th was posted at a point on the high road where two roads branched off; on one side of the road was a tavern with a piazza in front, on the other a ditch from which the earth had been thrown out, forming a parapet and serving as a fence to the college garden. At the fork where the picquet was posted, the ground was covered with trees except where they had been cleared away to form the road. As usual at out-picquets, a large fire was made, round which the soldiers not on duty as sentinels were lying. It had begun to rain, and the lieutenant in command of the 80th ordered the men to stand to their arms, and had just moved them to the shelter afforded by the piazza, when a volley was fired in the direction of the blazing fire from the brushwood under the trees— a company of young men, students at the university, composing a volunteer corps, having managed to creep into the thicket unobserved. The lieutenant, with great presence of mind moved his picquet across the road, leaping the ditch and forming them behind the parapet, he fired in the direction from whence the shots came, but whether any of the young men suffered is unknown, but not a British soldier, not even any of the sentinels, who manfully kept their posts, were hurt.

While a British column was crossing a road which ran into the main one, two carriages, each with four

horses and outriders, happened to come in contact with it, a gentleman jumped out of the leading carriage, and mounting an outrider's horse, dashed into the wood; a shot or two was fired after him by the troops, but he escaped. A lady remained in the carriage seemingly much agitated. The carriages were detained until the arrival of the General. When the General came up he immediately recognized the lady, having become acquainted with her when detained as a prisoner of war on parole in this part of the country. On asking her who the gentleman was, she replied, "He is my husband-we are just married." The General said, "It

was foolish in him to run the risk he did by trying to escape, for it was not possible that he could long do so." "And if you get him," she said, "what will be done to him ?" "Madam," said the General, he shall be sent immediately back to you, that you may enjoy the honeymoon." As soon as the column had passed, the carriages were allowed to proceed, not a horse being touched, although our artillery horses had not recovered from the effects of the sea voyage.

The army being again collected, we sailed up James River, and landed at City Point. The enemy did not offer much opposition, although they appeared in considerable number; next day we moved through Blanford to Petersburgh (25th April). At the last-named place, the enemy made some show of resistance, but

could not withstand the intrepidity of the light infantry, and fled in all directions, cutting down the bridge on the Apamattoe River to prevent pursuit. They were commanded by Baron Steuben and General Mahlenburg. We found a great quantity of tobacco in the warehouses of Petersburgh; it was the staple commodity with which they procured warlike stores. Orders were given to roll the hogsheads out of the storehouses, and they were burnt, as we had no means of carrying them away -many thousands were thus consumed.

*

Brigadier Arnold moved to Osborne's on James River, with two field-pieces and a small detachment, and took a fleet at that place, a State ship of war, and another armed vessel, with a number of merchant ships loaded with tobacco. The enemy had set fire to several of their vessels before abandoning them, but the troops succeeded in extinguishing the flames in most of them -the Brigadier displaying much activity and intrepidity on the occasion.

After making some other excursions in the neighbourhood, destroying stores of arms, and burning barracks, we received orders to march to Bermuda Hundreds, opposite City Point, where we embarked on the 2d May, and on the 5th and 6th dropped down the river. Some of the vessels had got as far down as Hay

* Petersburgh, a post town of Virginia, on the south-east bank of the Appamato River, twenty miles south of Richmond.

Island, when despatches were received from Lord Cornwallis, which occasioned our immediate return. After relanding we made a forced march in the night, and again took possession of Petersburgh (on the 10th May). During our absence, an aide-de-camp and several staffofficers of the Marquis la Fayette had arrived from the northward with a detachment of continental troops, by whom our motions were closely watched. The Major-General was by this time so unwell that a carriage was obtained for him, and he was lodged in the house of Mrs. Boland. The Marquis la Fayette brought some field-pieces to the opposite banks of the river, and cannonaded us, directing his fire principally against Mrs. Boland's house, in which the General lay dangerously ill. A cannon-ball passed through his bed-chamber, but no further damage was done than killing a black woman, a slave of Mrs. Boland's. General Phillips expired on the 12th May, and was buried at Petersburgh.

CHAPTER THE FOURTH.

Lord Cornwallis' movements after the retreat from CharlotteThe Cowpens-Battle of Guildford-Second Battle of Camden-Lord Cornwallis' force joins the corps at Petersburgh after the death of General Phillips.

THE bar at Charlestown proved a great impediment to the troops under General Leslie, and the badness of the roads, owing to the rains, retarded very much his movements after landing. Lord Cornwallis, who, as stated in the last chapter, had retreated from Charlotte after Major Ferguson was killed, and taken up a position at Winsborough to await the arrival of Leslie, was consequently unable to attempt re-entering North Carolina until the 15th January. Finding then that Leslie was approaching, he left the defence of Camden, to Lord Rawdon, and prepared to move. General Gates had by this time replaced General Green in the command of the American army, and Colonel Morgan, an active officer, intrusted with the light troops, was pushing forward in the direction of the British posts. Lord Cornwallis directed LieutenantColonel Tarleton, with his legion, a battalion of the 71st