Page:The Hessians and the other German auxiliaries of Great Britain in the revolutionary war.djvu/172

 154 Frau von Riedesel was an eye-witness of the battle of the 19th of September, trembling at every shot for the safety of her husband. Three wounded officers were brought into the house where she lodged, and one of them, the nephew of people who had been kind to her in England, died, a few days later, in the next room to hers, while undergoing an operation. The baroness could hear his last sighs through the thin partition.

The condition of the army was fast becoming serious. Provisions were scarce, wine and coffee terribly dear. Uniforms and clothing were torn on the bushes, and soaked with camping on the damp ground, and new ones were not to be had at any price. The American camp, supposed to contain twelve thousand men, was so near that the drums and the shouts of the soldiers could be distinctly heard. The woods were so thick, however, that it could not be seen. The English had constructed a bridge of boats across the Hudson, and scouts were sent out to try to see the American camp from the other side of the river, but in this they were not successful.

A letter written in cipher arrived from Sir Henry Clinton on the 21st of September, dated on the 10th of that month. Clinton announced his intention of attacking Fort Montgomery, on the Hudson, in ten days. Burgoyne immediately sent back the messenger with a letter enclosed in a silver bullet, which was