History of the Loyalists: Washington Abandons Philadelphia to the British

HISTORY OF THE LOYALISTS WASHINGTON ABANDONS PHILADELPHIA TO THE BRITISH. General Wayne’s Force Attacked at Paoli by General Grey and Dispersed —The Affair Which Americans Term "The Paoli Massacre." BY JAMES HANNAY. CHAPTER XXII.—Continued. HOWE’S TARDY MOVEMENTS. Although Sir William Howe had totally defeated Washington’s army on the 11th of September, he was so tardy in his movements that he did not remove his headquarters until the morning of the l6th, when he marched to Goshen. On the 18th September his headquarters was at Trydeffryn, where he remained until the 21st, when he marched his army to Charlestown. Thus instead of pressing on vigorously and dispersing the American army, Howe halted so long, as to give time to Washington to recruit his army, and obtain reinforcements. Congress immediately after the battle of Brandywine, summoned the militia of Pennsylvania and the adjoining states to join the army, and directed Washington to order 1,500 troops of Putnam's division on the Hudson to march immediately to the Delaware. Washington had taken up his quarters at Germantown immediately after the battle, but on the 15th September he had been so much reinforced, that he felt himself strong enough to re-cross the Schuylkill. It is said by American writers that his intention was again to offer battle. Whatever may have been his design no battle took place, and on the approach of Howe’s army he withdrew towards Reading, and finally retired to Yellow Springs and Warwick, among the range of mountains which extend to Valley Forge. Thus Philadelphia was abandoned, and the way was open for the British general to march into it. Prior to this however a conflict had taken place, which is worthy of notion, not so much from its own intrinsic importance as the illustration which it affords of American methods of dealing with history, especially the history of the revolutionary war. When Washington withdrew from the front of the British and crossed the Schuylkill, with the main body of his army, at Parker’s ford, he left General Wayne with about 1,500 men and four pieces of cannon with directions TO ANNOY THE REAR OF THE BRITISH ARMY which was then posted near Trydeffrin church, and to attempt to cut off General Howe's baggage train. Wayne was to be joined immediately by General Smallwood with 1,150 Maryland militia, and by Colonel Gist with 700 militia. Wayne was encamped two or three miles south-west of the British Hues, in a secluded spot distant from the public roads, and as he thought secure from attack. Notwithstanding the secrecy of his movements, his presence became known to General Howe, and he determined to surprise Wayne, by attacking him with a detachment under General Grey. It is said that some person informed Wayne of the intended attack, and that his men were ordered to sleep on their arms, with their ammunition under their coats. However this may have been, Wayne’s precautions, if they were really taken, did not avail him. With two regiments, a small body of light infantry, and a troop of dragoons, on the night of the 20th September Grey marched his force in two divisions through the weeds and up a narrow defile, and gained Wayne’s left about one o'clock in the morning. His men had been ordered to put no flints in their muskets, so that there might be no danger of any of them going off, and so alarming the enemy. So stealthy was Grey’s approach, and so admirably managed was the whole affair, that the outer sentinels of Wayne’s detachment were secured without the slightest alarm being given. American writers say that the first intimation Wayne had of his danger came from a patrolling officer, who missed the sentinels from their posts. It is stated on the same authority that Wayne then paraded his men, but that he did so in the light of his own camp fires, and thus disclosed their position to the British. It seems more probable that this story was conducted at a later period for the purpose of saving Wayne’s reputation for vigilance. The British immediately attacked with the bayonet and at once SCATTERED WAYNE’S FORCES INTO FRAGMENTS, 150 of them were either killed or wounded in the onslaught, and about 80 taken prisoners, the rest of them escaped in the darkness and fled in the direction of Chester. Besides the loss of men Wayne's cannon were taken, a great number of small arms and light wagons, loaded with baggage and stores. The British loss was small, only four men including a captain of light infantry being killed, and four wounded. General Smallwood with his 1,150 Maryland militia was within a mile of Wayne when the latter's camp was attacked. Some of the British troops in returning from the pursuit of Wayne came across Smallwood’s force, and the latter became so terror stricken that they fled in the utmost confusion without firing a shot, and could not be rallied until a late hour the following day. THEY CALL IT A MASSACRE. This story of the surprise and dispersal of Wayne’s force is taken from American histories, and to the ordinary reader, the enterprise of General Grey and his men seems to be a gallant achievement, worthy of all commendation. That certainly was the opinion of General Howe who in his orders of the day of 22nd September says: "The commander-in-chief desires his particular thanks to Major-General Grey, and to the officers and men of the detachment under his command, that yesterday morning surprised a post of the enemy. Their steadiness in charging with their bayonets without firing a single shot, not only proves their spirit and discipline, but also their evident superiority over the enemy. The gallant charge made at the same time by the detachment of dragoons does them great honor." It is hardly credible yet it is nevertheless a fact that this gallant night attack on Wayne has passed into American histories as "The Paoli Massacre," and that General Grey figures in these same histories as the "no flint general," because of the orders he gave his soldiers to remove the flints from their muskets. The Americans have not been content to merely describe and denounce this occurrence as a massacre in their histories but they have erected a monument on the spot to perpetuate the falsehood and misrepresent the conduct of the British general and his soldiers. The dead bodies of 53 of Wayne’s men were found on the field the morning after the surprise and were interred upon the spot in one grave by the neighboring farmers; 40 years afterwards, in 1817, the republican artillerists of Chester county erected a monument over the remains of those soldiers, which was dedicated on the anniversary of the occurrence it was intended to commemorate. The inscriptions upon it which I copy sufficiently indicate the spirit in which this monument was reared, they are as follows:— THE PAOLI MONUMENT. North side—"The atrocious massacre which this stone commemorates, was perpetrated by British troops under the immediate command of Major General Grey." West side—"Sacred to the memory of the patriots, who on this spot, fell a sacrifice to British barbarity, during the struggle for American independence, on the night of the 20th September, 1777." South side "Here repose the remains of 53 American soldiers who were the victims of cold blooded cruelty in the well - known massacre at Paoli, while under the command of General Anthony Wayne, an officer whose military conduct, bravery, and humanity, were equally conspicuous throughout the revolutionary war." East side-"This memorial in honor of revolutionary patriotism was erected Sept. 20th, 1817, by the republican artillerists in Chester county aided by the contributions of their fellow citizens." One would suppose from reading this farrago of nonsense that General Anthony Wayne and his men were out on a picnic party when they were surprised by General Grey, and that instead of being enemies in arms engaged in an attempt to cut off the British rear guard, they were peaceable citizens. The reader can judge from the misrepresentations in this Paoli affair of the general character of the average American history of the war, especially of those of an earlier date. These books were written without the slightest regard to truth, for the purpose of inflaming the so called patriotism of the American people and perpetuating their hatred of that English nation from which most of them sprung. The shameless audacity of American public man in their speeches has so colored the events of the revolution, that it is now almost impossible to disentangle the truth from the falsehood, or to undo the injury which the cause of Great Britain has suffered from the fact that nearly of those who told the story of the revolution, were enemies of Great Britain and ready to retort to any misrepresentation or falsehood, which would serve their own evil ends. (To be continued).