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

Johns Town. In the diff't Skirmishes, a considerable number of the Enemy were killed; the exact amount I am not able to ascertain. We have taken ab't 40 Prisoners, recovered most of those they had taken from us at Schoharie & other Places, with the negroes, Cattle & Plunder. Our principal Loss is Colo. Brown of the Bay Levies; he by false Intelligence, was led into the fire of the whole body of the Enemy, & fell with 39 of his & the militia & Levies of this State & two made Prisoners.

The account I formerly transmitted your Excellency respecting the Enemy to the northw'd was as far as I have since been able to learn, nearly true. The little Post & garrison of Fort Ann appear to me to have been surrendered thro' Treachery or Cowardice. Capt. Chipman the command'g officer of Fort George, having on the first alarm sent out his whole garrison (supposing the Enemy to consist of only ab't 30 Indians & Tories only) except 14 men, obtained a very honorable Capitulation before he could be induced to surrender.

The Losses we have sustained by these diff't Incursions of the Enemy will be most severely felt; they have destroyed on a moderate Computation, 200 Dwellings & 150,000 bushels of wheat with a proportion of other grain & forage. The Enemy to the northw'd continue in the neighborhood of Crown Point & the Inhabitants in consequence of their apprehensions of Danger are removing from the northern Parts of the State. Colo. Gansevoort by the advice of Genl. Ten Broeck marched to cover that part of the Country & Colo. Weissenfels march'd to Schenectady where his Regt. will continue to escort a suff't supply of Provisions to Fort Schuyler, a very inconsiderable Part of which is as yet provided & unless particular attention is paid to this Business (as the Season for water Transportation in the course

of a month 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 Levies incorporated in this Regt. whose Times expire ab't the middle of December, were immediately to march to Fort Herkimer to keep open the communication of Fort Schuyler with the Country. This Regim't with the others of this State are so exceed'gly destitute in point of Clothing (notwithstand'g every attempt of the state to supply them) that I could have wished some other Regt. better provided ag't the severe Climate had been ordered to garrison that Post especially as I find from this consideration & because the Troops of this State conceive it an hardship constantly to garrison it, this Duty is become extremely disagreable to them.

I forgot to mention that when we arrived at Fort Herkeimer, a Letter was dispatched to Major Hughs commdg. at Fort Schuyler, giving him an acc't of the Force & Route of the Enemy & of their Boats lying at Onondaga Lake, that he might, if he found it consistent with the safety of his garrison, send out a small Party to annoy the Enemy on their march. By his Letter to Colo. Malcom, I find he dispatched a Party of sixty men for this Purpose, with orders to use the utmost precaution ag't surprise or any thing that might prevent their returning to the Fort. Since my Return from Albany, a Report prevails that this Party were ambushed by the Enemy & defeated: but from Major Hugh's cautious orders & as I have no official acc'ts, I do not credit it. I have the Honor &c.

[G. C.]

P. S. The Enemy bro't with them two brass mortars for 43 shells which they concealed on their Route from Schoharie. From some discoveries we are in hopes of find'g them.

[To General Washington.]