operations, in that Quarter. It is a proof of the Spirit, and

resources, of the Country.

Alex'r Scammell, Adjt. General.

[No. 3318.]

Difficulties in Maintaining Extreme Frontier Posts During the

Winter.

Poughkeepsie, Oct'r 30th 1780.

D'r Sir, Your Letter of the 17th Inst. reach'd me, on my Pursuit after Sir John Johnson, ab't 14 miles above Fort Herkimer. Gansevoort's & Weissenfels' Regt. did not reach Albany until the Enemy were driven out of the Country & those to the northw'd had recross'd the Lakes returned as far as the neighborhood of Ticonderoga.

The Inhab'ts on the northern Frontiers, from the easy access the Enemy had among them, were greatly distress'd & Colo. Gansevoort, before my return to Albany from the west'd by the advice of Genl. Ten Broeck, marched his Regiment to cover that part of the Country & prevent its being abandoned. Weissenfels marched to Schenectady; the Levies incorporated into it & whose times expire ab't the middle of Dec'r, were immediately to march to Fort Herkimer to keep open the Communication with Fort Schuyler. The Regt. itself will remain at Schenectady until a competent supply of Provision can be procured for the garrison of Fort Schuyler during the winter and to escort it up. A very inconsiderable part of the Supplies for this Service is as yet provided and unless particular Attention is paid to this Business, as the Season for water transportation in the course of a m'th will be over & it will be impossible to forw'd it by land, the Post must in the course of the winter be abandoned. The news

Papers will give you a pretty just account of the late Progress of the Enemy on the Frontiers, except as to the Devastations committed by them which it might not be so prudent to publish. They have destroyed at least 200 Dwellings & 150,000 bushels of wheat, with a proportion of other Grain & Forage; though by the rapid Pursuit after them, a considerable Tract of Country which would [have] shared the same Fate, was saved.

I shall be happy in rendering you every assistance in my Power in the execution of your important Command; but believe me, Sir, the distresses of this State are such that unless those which have experienced less of the war make greater Exertions than they have lately done, there will great Difficulties in maintain'g even your Post. I find Weissenfels Regt. exceed'gly Deficient in point of Clothing for the Climate to which they are destined. I should have been glad, therefore, if some other Regt. better provided, could have been ordered for that Duty, especially as I find from this consideration & because the Troops of this State conceive it a hardship to be obliged perpetually to garrison that Post, it is become extremely disagreable to them. If the Direction of this matter does not lie with you, I shall be obliged by your communicating this Sentiment to his Excellency, the Commander in Chief. I remain with great Respect &c. &c. Geo: Clinton.

The hon'ble Major Genl. Heath.

[No. 3319.]

General Ten Broeck Countermands Orders to His Brigade.

Albany 30th Oct'r 1780.

Sir, I wrote your Excellency yesterday, since which I have Received accounts which seem to Contradict those of Col. Van

Woert sent you. The Enemy had not Landed but are Still near Skeensborough; whether they will come into the Country is uncertain. I have Countermanded the Orders Issued in Consequence of Col. Van Woert's Information, and directed the whole Brigade to be ready to march at the Shortest notice. I Remain, your Excellency's most Humble Servant

His Excellency George Clinton.

Ab'm Ten Broeck.

[No. 3320.]

THE LATEST RAID OF THE ENEMY.

Severe Losses Incurred-Governor Clinton Forwards a Detailed Report to the Commander-in-Chief.

Pokeepsie, Oct'r 30th 1780.

Dear Sir, My last Letter was dated at Albany & communicated the disagreable Intelligence of the Destruction of Schoharie & Part of Balls Town, ab't 12 miles No. E't of Schenectady, since which I have not been able to write to your Excellency. As I then proposed, I immediately left Albany in order to take the necessary measures for check'g further Incursions of the Enemy. On my arrival at Schenectady I was advised that the diff't Parties of the Enemy at Schoharie & Balls Town had left those Places; the former moving towards the Mohawk River & the latter shaping their course towards Sacondaga. Genl. Van Rensselaer who had arrived at Schenectady before me at the head of ab't four or five hundred Militia & with orders to act according to Emergencies on receiving this Intelligence, immediately moved up the River in hopes of being able to gain their Front, but this proved impracticable as their route was much shorter & their Troops more enured to march'g; they reached

the River at the confluence of the Schoharie Kill ab't six miles ahead of him, & recommenced in that fertile Country their Devastations by burn'g the Houses & with marks of the greatest barbarity, destroy'g every Thing in their way.

Under these Circumstances I was exceedingly perplexed. The militia under Genl. Rensselaer were inferior in number to that of the Enemy. The few I had with me were too far in the rear to sustain them & not much could be expected from the militia of the Country, through which the Enemy passed, their whole attention being engaged in the preservation of their Families & the Levies were necessarily very much dispersed at the diff't Posts to cover the frontier Settlements ag't the Incursions of small Parties. Genl. Rensselaer, however, continued to move on & being soon after joined by Colo. DuBois with between 3 & 400 Levies & 60 of the Oneida Indians, pursued the Enemy with vigor; he came up with them and attacked them at Fox Mills (26 miles from where the Enemy first struck the River) about Sunset. After a considerable Resistance they gave way & fled w'th Precipitation, leaving behind them their Baggage, Provisions & a brass three Pounder with its ammunition.

The night came on too soon for us to avail ourselves of all the advantages which we had Reason to promise outselves from this action. The Enemy took advantage of passing the River at a Ford a little above where they again collected & renewed their march up the River with great celerity & it became necessary for our Troops, who had marched upw'ds of 30 miles without halting, to retire from the ground to refresh themselves. The Pursuit was, however, renewed early in the morning & the Enemy so closely pushed as to prevent their doing any farther mischief.

The morning after the action, I arrived with the militia under my immediate Command: but they were so beat out with fatigue, having marched at least 50 miles in less than 24 Hours, as to be unable to proceed any farther. I, therefore, left them & put myself at the head of the advanced Troops & continued the pursuit till within ab't 15 miles of Oneida, & if we cou'd possibly have procured Provission to have enabled us to have persisted one or two Days longer, there is little Doubt but we might have succeeded at least so far as to have scattered their main Body & made many Prisoners, but there was no supplies, but such as I was oblidged to take from the Inhabitants on our Route & these was inadequate & the Collection of them attended with Delay, nor could the Pack Horses with the small Quantities procured in this disagreeable manner, overtake us in so rapid a march through a perfect wilderness. I was, therefore, oblidged tho' reluctantly to return, most of the Troops having been near two Days utterly destitute & unable to proceed. Sir John, Brandt & Butler, immediately after the action at Fox Mills, left their Troops & with a Party of Indians on Horseback, struck across the Country & went towards Oneida, taking their wounded with them. We discovered where they joined their main body again near the waters of the Susquehanna ab't six miles on this side where we quitted the pursuit. Brandt was wounded through the foot.

The Enemy's Force under Sir John, from the best account I have been able to collect, amounted to 750 picked Troops from the 10th & 34th British Regts, Hessian Yaugers, Sir John's Corps, Butler's Rangers & Brandt's Corps of Indians & Tories & the Party that appeared at Balls-Town, of ab't 200 chiefly British & by some acc'ts it appears they intend'd to form a junction at