Page:The Hessians and the other German auxiliaries of Great Britain in the revolutionary war.djvu/95

 Rh “that he came off without being killed or wounded.” The ground was so steep in places that the men had to pull themselves up by the bushes. At last they reached the top, where there was a level space. “Forward, all my grenadiers !” cried Rall. The drums beat, the bugles blew, the men shouted Hurrah! Hessians and Americans were mingled in a mass, all rushing wildly towards the fort.

The outer works were taken, and their defenders driven back to add to the confusion in the main fort. Colonel Rall called one of his captains. “Hohenstein,” said he, “you speak English and French; take a drummer with you, tie a white cloth on a gun-barrel, go to the fort and call for a surrender.” “I did this at once,” writes the captain, “but they kept firing at me and the drummer until we came to the glacis, where the rebels led us off with our eyes bound. They sent me a Colonel, who was second in command, to whom I made the following proposal: He should immediately march out of the fort with the garrison, and they should lay down their arms before General von Knyphausen. All ammunition, provisions, and whatever belonged to Congress should be faithfully made known. On the other hand, I gave him my word that all, from the commanding officer down, should retain their private property. Finally, a white flag should be immediately hoisted, to put a stop to all hostilities. The commander asked for four hours' time to consider, which, however, I refused, and allowed him only half an hour to speak with his officers. When the half-hour was past the commander came himself, and his fate seemed