sequence of their behaviour at Brandywine, had promised that all promotions should go in the regiment, and accordingly they now took place. The Queen's Rangers had been originally raised in Connecticut, and the vicinity of New-York, by Colonel Rogers, for the duties which their name implies, and which were detailed in his commission; at one period they mustered above four hundred men, all Americans, and all Loyalists. Hardships and neglect had much reduced their numbers, when the command of them was given to Colonel French, and afterwards to Major Weymess, to whom Major Simcoe succeeded; their officers also had undergone a material change; many gentlemen of the southern colonies who had joined Lord Dunmore, and distinguished themselves under his orders, were appointed to supersede those who were not thought competent to the commissions they had hitherto borne; to these were added some volunteers from the army, the whole consisting of young men, active, full of love of the service, emulous to distinguish themselves in it, and looking forward to obtain, through their actions, the honor of being enrolled with the British army. The Provincial corps, now forming, were raised on the supposed influence which their officers had among their loyal countrymen, and were understood to be native American Loyalists; added to an equal chance among these, a greater resource was opened to the Queen's Rangers, in the exclusive privilege of enlisting old country-men (as Europeans were termed in America), and deserters from the rebel army; so that could the officers to whom the Commander in Chief delegated the inspection of the Provincial corps have executed their orders, the Queen's Rangers, however dangerously and incessantly employed, would never have been in want of recruits; at the same time, the original Loyalists, and those of this description, who were from time to time enlisted, forming the gross of the corps, were the source from whence it derived its value and its discipline; they were men who had already been exiled for their attachment to the British government, and who now acted upon the firmest principles in its defence; on the contrary, the people they had to oppose, however characterised by the enemies of Great Britain, had never been considered by them as engaged in an honourable cause, or fighting for the freedom of their country; they estimated them not by their words, but by an intimate observance of their actions, and to civil desecration, experience had taught them to add military contempt. . . . A light corps, augmented as that of the Queen's Rangers was, and employed on the duties of an outpost, had no opportunity of being instructed in the general discipline of the army, nor indeed was it very necessary: the most important duties, those of vigilance, activity, and patience of fatigue, were best learnt in the field; a few motions of the manual exercise were thought sufficient; they were carefully instructed in those of firing, but above all, attention was paid to inculcate the use of the bayonet, and a total reliance on that weapon. The divisions being fully officered, and weak in numbers, was of the greatest utility, and in many trying situations was the preservation of the corps; two files in the centre, and two on each flank, were directed to be composed of trained soldiers, without regard to their size or appearance. It was explained, that no rotation, except in ordinary duties, should take place among light troops, but that those officers would be selected for any service who appeared to be most capable of executing it it was also enforced by example, that no service was to be measured by the numbers employed on it, but by its own importance, and that five men, in critical situations or employment, was a more honourable command than an hundred on common duties. Serjeants guards were in a manner abolished, a circumstance to which in a great measure may be attributed, that no centinel or guard of the Queen's Rangers was ever surprised; the vigilance of a gentleman and an officer being transcendantly superior to that of any non-commissioned officer whatsoever. It was observed, that regularity in messing, and cleanliness in every respect, conduced to the health of the soldier; and from the numbers that each regiment brought into the field, superior officers would in general form the best estimate of the attention of a corps to its interior œconomy; and to enforce the performance of these duties in the strongest manner, it was declared in public orders, "that to such only when in the field, the commanding officer would entrust the duties of it, who should execute with spirit what belongs to the interior œconomy of the regiment when in quarters." Lieutenant-Colonel [John Graves] Simcoe, A Journal of the Operations of the Queen's Rangers, from the End of the Year 1777, to the Conclusion of the late American War (Exeter, [1787]), 1–5 passim. 182. "The Lords of the Main" (1780) BY JOSEPH STANSBURY Stansbury was the ablest and most effective of the loyalist verse writers. He came to Philadelphia in 1767, and remained till 1778, when he went with the British to New York. The piece suggests the confidence of the British in their navy. — Bibliography: Tyler, Literary History of the Revolution, II, 80–96. — For other extracts on the navy, see No. 177 above and Nos. 194, 204 below. WHEN Faction, in league with the treacherous Gaul, WHEN Began to look big and paraded in state; A meeting was held at Credulity Hall, And Echo proclaim'd their Ally good and great! Such wonders are plann'd; No less than the bold British Lion to chain ! French, Congo and Spaniard, Have at you Though party-contention a while may perplex, In defiance of Hell we'll chastise the offence. 'Tis then that in arms United we rush on the foe with disdain : It only presages Fresh triumphs to Britons, as Lords of the Main. Then Britons, strike home- make sure of your blow: The chase is in view; never mind a lee-shore. With vengeance o'ertake the confederate foe: Hawke, Russell and Blake, With ardour like your's we defy France and Spain ! They're deaf to all reason: Once more let them feel we are Lords of the Main. Nor are we alone in the noble career; The Soldier partakes of the generous flame : Between us we share the rich harvest of fame. Their names never die, Of heroes by sea and by land what a train ! The World shall confess him 'The Lord of those men who are Lords of the Main.' LIBERTY. [Joseph Stansbury], The Lords of the Main, published in Rivington's Royal Gazette, Feb. 16, 1780; reprinted in The Loyal Verses of Joseph Stansbury and Doctor Jonathan Odell (edited by Winthrop Sargent, Albany, 1860), 61-62. 183. The Experiences of a British Spy (1780) BY MAJOR JOHN ANDRÉ The André episode is one of the most painful in the whole war. André, a British officer of high character and standing, was persuaded to meet Benedict Arnold in disguise. Washington justly held him to be a spy, and he suffered the penalty of death. Bibliography: Winsor, Narrative and Critical History, VI, 447-468; Isaac N. Arnold, Life of Benedict Arnold; Channing and Hart, Guide, § 138. SIR, A. MAJOR ANDRÉ TO GENERAL WASHINGTON WHAT Salem, 24 September, 1780. /HAT I have as yet said concerning myself was in the justifiable attempt to be extricated; I am too little accustomed to duplicity to have succeeded. I beg your Excellency will be persuaded, that no alteration in the temper of my mind, or apprehension for my safety, induces me to take the step of addressing you, but that it is to rescue myself from an imputation of having assumed a mean character for treacherous purposes or self-interest; a conduct incompatible with the principles that actuate me, as well as with my condition in life. It is to vindicate my fame that I speak, and not to solicit security. The person in your possession is Major John André, adjutant-general to the British army. The influence of one commander in the army of his adversary is an advantage taken in war. A correspondence for this purpose I held; as confidential (in the present instance) with his Excellency Sir Henry Clinton. To favor it, I agreed to meet upon ground not within the posts of either army, a person who was to give me intelligence; I came up in the Vulture man of war for this effect, and was fetched by a boat from the ship to the beach. Being there, I was told that the approach of day would prevent my return, and that I must be concealed until the next night. I was in my regimentals, and had fairly risked my person. Against my stipulation, my intention, and without my knowledge beforehand, I was conducted within one of your posts. Your Excellency may conceive my sensation on this occasion, and will imagine how much more must I have been affected by a refusal to reconduct me back the next night as I had been brought. Thus become a prisoner, I had to concert my escape. I quitted my uniform, and was passed another way in the night, without the American posts, to neutral ground, and informed I was beyond all armed parties and left to press for New York. I was taken at Tarrytown by some volunteers. Thus, as I have had the honor to relate, was I betrayed (being adjutant-general of the British army) into the vile condition of an enemy in disguise within your posts. Having avowed myself a British officer, I have nothing to reveal but what relates to myself, which is true on the honor of an officer and a gentleman. The request I have to make to your Excellency, and I am conscious I address myself well, is, that in any rigor policy may dictate, a decency of conduct towards me may mark, that though unfortunate I am branded with nothing dishonorable, as no motive could be mine but the service of my King, and as I was involuntarily an impostor. |