Page:Cassell's Illustrated History of England vol 5.djvu/200

186 general Clinton, escaped across the river; lieutenant-colonels Livingstone and Bruyn, and majors Hamilton and Logan, were taken prisoners. The Americans lost three hundred killed, wounded, and prisoners, but chiefly prisoners. The loss of the English consisted of only one hundred and forty killed and wounded. Amongst the slain was one of the very few Poles fighting on our side, count Grabowski. Major Sill and Captain Stuart also fell at the storming. The whole affair was of that extraordinary brilliancy as showed that such soldiers, conducted by able generals, and sent in sufficient force by an able government, would have been invincible. It was dark by the time the forts were taken, but the Americans soon threw light enough on the scene by setting fire to several vessels which were moored close under the guns of the forts. These blew up, and were totally destroyed. Had the English seen disposed to risk the attempt to save them, they were prevented by several strong booms and chains thrown across the river. These they afterwards broke through, and, on the 13th of October, at the very moment that Burgoyne was making his first overtures for surrender, the English troops under general Vaughan ascended, in small frigates, as far as Esopus Creek, only thirty miles overland to Saratoga. So near had even the dilatoriness and stupor of the British government yet left the union of the armies!



The British ships destroyed a number of vessels on the river. At Fort Constitution, a very strong place, the garrison fled precipitately, leaving their artillery behind them; and at a place called Continental Village, having a barracks of one thousand five hundred men, and great storehouses, governor Tryon and his New York loyalists too well imitated the cruelty of the New Englanders, by setting fire to and destroying the whole. But Burgoyne having now surrendered, and Gates being at liberty to send down strong reinforcements to co-operate with Putnam, the English vessels and troops were recalled, and returned to New York.

Such was the campaign of 1777; equally remarkable for the valour of the British troops, and for their misfortunes, for the imbecility of their government, and the incapacity or rashness of their commanders, who, like Burgoyne, who had ignored the warnings of the well-informed, to his destruction, followed the dictates of routine. Burgoyne committed two capital errors: one in not keeping up an unbroken connection with the fleet on the lakes, so as at any time to secure his retreat; and the other, in advancing so far without a prospect of Sir William Howe's co-operation.