Page:The Hessians and the other German auxiliaries of Great Britain in the revolutionary war.djvu/237



In November, 1776, when Sir William Howe seemed to be carrying everything before him, he detached some seven thousand men, of whom about one half were Hessians, to occupy Newport. This corps landed without opposition, and spent three years in Rhode Island, lying, during the larger part of the time, inactive, and suffering during the last years from scarcity of flour and of wood. There is little doubt that the men could have been better employed elsewhere. With six thousand, or even with four thousand more soldiers at his command, Clinton might have acted more promptly and efficiently than he did for the assistance of Burgoyne. We may well suppose, however, that Sir William Howe, having taken possession of Newport when he thought he had no better use for his troops, was afraid of losing prestige if he abandoned the town. He drew some regiments from the garrison in the summer of 1777, before the opening of the campaign.

On the whole, I do not think that the service in Rhode Island could have been very trying to the soldiers. If flour was scarce, meat was plenty. The inhabitants were shy at first, and shut up their families. On Shelter Island, when the strangers approached, the country people ran away; believing, says one, that the