PRISONERS MARCH TO WINCHESTER.

67

column, I asked Mrs. Ashley if she could give two or three of us anything to eat. She stared at my uniform, saying "A militiaman, I guess." "No," was my reply. "Continental, mayhap;" to which I also replied in the negative. "O ho!" said she, "I see you are one of the sarpints, one of ould Wallace's men; well now, I have two sons, one was at the catching of Johnny Burgoyne, and the other at that of you; and next year they are both going to catch Clinton at New York; but you shall be treated kindly, my mother came from the ould country."

We soon afterwards arrived at Winchester,* the place of our destination. The officers were lodged in the town on parole, the soldiers were marched several miles off to a cleared spot in the woods, on which stood a few log-huts, some of them occupied by prisoners taken at the Cowpens. The guards who had conducted us were relieved by regiments of militia from the neighbourhood. Crowds of the country people came daily amongst the men, inviting them to their plantations. They were not strictly guarded, and as there was not covering for half their number, it was intimated that we should not object, provided they previously made us aware of their

* Winchester or Fredericktown, a post town of Virginia, situated 32 miles S.W. from the celebrated passage of the Potowmack through the Blue Ridge. It was formerly fortified, but the works have been allowed to crumble into ruins; 62 miles W.N.W. of Washington; 108 miles N.W. of Richmond.

intentions, and gave in the name of the inhabitant; but that otherwise we should consider them in the light of deserters. The huts were few, and there was a prospect of bad weather. Being senior officer, I therefore applied to the commissary of prisoners for permission to send a certain number of men into the town to occupy a church which was little used, to which request he gave his consent. Accordingly, 500 men were brought in, and the huts thus emptied were distributed among the other prisoners. A few days afterwards I got a message from BrigadierGeneral Morgan, who lived near the town, informing me that the soldiers could not be allowed to occupy the church and remain in the town any longer, and that they must return to the huts. I immediately wrote a letter, remonstrating with him, and stating that there was not covering for half of the men at that place, neither had we any money to purchase tools with and erect more, and requesting that the 500 men might be allowed to remain in the town until a statement of their situation could be forwarded to head-quarters. To this I received the following reply:

"SARATOGA, 28th November 1781.

"Sir-I rec. your letter of this day's date, and am realy surprized at the purport of it. two or three days before Christmas our army began to hut at Middle brook, jersey, and had nothing to keep off the inclamency of

LETTER FROM GENERAL MORGAN.

ts

69

the weather till huts were made. You have time enough, this snow won't last long, it will be gone directly, if your men don't know how to work thay must learn, we did not send for them to come among us, neither can we work for them to build them houses, I have been a prisoner as well as thay, and was kept in close goale five month and twelve days; six and thirty officers and there serv in one room, so that when we lay down upon our straw we covered the whole floore, consider this, and your men have nothing to grumble at. Col. Holmes had no Right to bring them to town, thay were ordered to the Barrack, and thare thay ought to have continued, Col. Holmes, tho a commisary of prsoner, is under controul, you have nothing to do but Hut your men as soon as you can, for that must be the case I have sent to Gen1 Washington informing him of all matter and of what I had done, and what I intended to do, and am shure it will meet with his approbation, as he has neaver yet found fault with my conduct, Youl conclude from this that Col. Holmes must obay my orders. The sooner your men hut themselves the better, for thay must not stay in Town much longer. I will try to redress every grevence as well as I can, but this I cant look upon as a grevence; if we had barrack to afford you you should have them, but as we have them not your men must cover themselves, at least I would recommand it to them, or they will suffer.

I have wrote this letter in a plain, rough stile, that

you

might know what you had to depend on, at which I hope

youl not take umbrage. (Signed)

"To Captain Samuel Graham,

a Brittish Officer in

by express."

Winchester.

DAV. MORGAN,

Brigad".-Genl.

I lodged with two brother officers in the house of the colonel commanding the militia who guarded the men, and knowing that General Morgan had come to town about some occurrences connected with the prisoners, I waited upon him, and invited him to dinner. He came, and in the course of conversation he asked the Colonel if he remembered a certain person, a most remarkable rifle shot; the latter said he did. He then told him that having been ordered to seize a height contiguous to the British posts at Saratoga; he no sooner did so than his people were driven from it, but having again re-taken the height, he saw an officer on a grey horse advancing, whom he had before observed, he therefore sent this

I who was such an excellent shot, into a tree, with orders to take aim at that officer, which was certainly done, for he did not re-appear, nor was the height retaken. This was undoubtedly General Frazer, as the story nearly corresponds with the narrative in which General Burgoyne relates the fate of General Frazer; according to that account he fell by a rifle ball. General

GENERAL MORGAN'S ADVENTURES.

71

Morgan also told us that the British still owed him a lash, for in the seven years' war, while quite a youth, he drove a waggon with General Braddock's army, but having committed some gross irregularity, he was tried by a court-martial, and sentenced to receive 500 lashes, of which he had only got 499, as he had counted them himself, and afterwards convinced the drum-major of his mistake.

Major Gordon had remained behind at York, in order to provide for sick and wounded, of whom we had more than 1900 at the time of the surrender; the effectives of all kinds, British and foreign, in the lines at York Town only amounting to 3273, and in Gloucester to 744, including the provincials. Major Gordon's own quarters were fixed at Fredericktown, in Maryland, where the 80th regiment was kept, and soon after his arrival there he visited Winchester. In conjunction with him I made a representation on the subject of our men's rations, as the issue of flour was very irregular, although the men were well supplied with meat. Our joint remonstrances, however, had but little effect, and after staying for two or three days, and making me promise to visit him at Christmas, the major returned to Maryland. According to promise I went to Fredericktown at Christmas, but had not been many days there when orders were given for the Maryland division of British prisoners to march to Lancaster, a town of Pennsylvania, half a mile from