Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: Peyton, wounded. Thirteen non-commisBioned officers and sixty privates fell. i The opposing enemy was severely handled; and the leading officer of one of the columns, with several others, was killed. The action closed with the day, in our defeat. CHAPTER IV. "Washington advances to meet the enemy.—The armies separated by a tempest.—Sir Win. Howe moves toward Philadelphia.—Narrow escape of Hamilton and Lee. Washington retired during the night to Chester ; whence he decamped the next morning. Taking the route to Philadelphia and crossing the Schuylkill, he moved up that river, halted one day at Germantown, then recrossed it near Swedesford, and gained the Lancaster road. On the 15th he advanced to meet the enemy, who, after three days' repose on the field of battle, quitted the Brandy- wine, pointing his march to the upper fords of the Schuylkill. A violent storm, accompanied by a deluge of rain, stopped the renewal of battle on the following day, near the Warren tavern on the road from Philadelphia to Lancaster; for which the two armies were arrayed, and in which the van troops were engaged. Separated by the tempest, the American general exerted himself to replenish his ammunition, destroyed by the fall of water, from the insecurity of our cartouch boxes and artillery tumbrels ;f while the British general pursued his route across the Schuylkill, directing his course to the American metropolis. Contiguous to the enemy's route lay some mills stored with flour, for the use of the American army.Their destruction was deemed necessary by the commander-in-chief; and his aid-de-camp, Lieutenant-Colonel Hamilton, attended by Captain Lee,f with a small party of his troopof horse, were dispatched in front of the enemy, with the order of execution. The mill, or mills, stood on the... --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.