deep in many places) into the harbour between the town and the castle, so that it cannot be heard and regarded by any who have no suspicion of what is carrying on especially as there is a continued cannonade on both sides. Many of the carts make three trips some four; for a vast quantitiy of materials have been colJected, especially chandeliers and facsines. By ten o'clock at night the troops have raised two forts, one upon each hill, sufficient to defend them from small arms and grape shot. The night is remarkably mild, a finer for working could not have 'been sellected out of the three hundred and sixty-five. They continue working with the utmost spirit, till relieved the Tuesday morning (March 5.) about three. It is so hazy below the height that the men cannot be seen, though it is a bright moon-light night, above on the hills. It is some time after day break before the ministerialists in Boston can clearly discern the ner erected forts. They loom to great advantage, and are thought to be much larger than is really the case. General Howe is astonished upon seeing what has been done; seratches his, head and is heard to say, "I know not what I shall do; the rebels have done more in one night, than my whole army would have done in months." The admiral informs him, that if the Americans possess those heights he cannot keep one of his majesty's ships in the harbour. A council of war determines to attempt dislodging them.

General Washington has settled his plan of defence and offence. Boston is so surrounded on every land side by neighbouring hills, that nothing can take place on the wharves or next to the water, but it may be noted by the help of glasses. Proper signals having been agreed on, by means of the hills, which are in view one of another, intelligence can be conveyed instantly from Dorchester heights to Ruxbury, and from Roxbury to Cambridge and so the reverse. This mode of communicating information is the speediest and safest. General, Washington's plan is, in case any number of the enemy leave Boston to attack the heights and are defeated, to communicate such defeat by the proper signal, when 4000 provincials are to cross over from Cambridge side, and attempt the town in the confusion that the regulars will be under. The boats are prepared, and the men paraded ready to embark. General Sullivan commands the first division, and general Green the second. Gen. Heath objected to the command when offered, and remains in perfect safety with, the troops left in Cambridge. The whole force which the commander in chief now has, including all the militia, is not much short of 20,000.

A

All is hurry and bustle in Boston. General Howe órders the ladders in town to be cut to ten feet lengths, that they may be fit for scaling. A large body of troops are to embark on board the transports, and to proceed down the harbour, with a view of landing in the hollow between the furtherest of the two fortified hills and the castle. The men are observed by one, at whose door they are drawn up before embarking, to look in general, pale and dejected; and are heard to say, "It will be another Bunker's Hill affair, or worse"--they have adopted the prevailing mistake of Bunker's for Breed's Hill. Some show great resolution and boast of what they will do with the rebels. When these troops, amounting to about 2,000, and designed to be under the command of lord Percy, are upon the wharves, and passing in the boats to the transports, the Americans expect they are intended for an immediate attack, clap their hands for joy, and wish them to come on. General Washington happens at that instant to be on one of the heights; thinks with his men,; and says to those who are at hand," Remember it is the fifth of March, and avenge the death of your brethren." It is instantly asked by such as are not near enough to hear," What says the general?" His words are given in answer. They fly from man to man through all the troops upon the spot, and add fuel to the martial fire already kindled, and burning with uncommon intenseness. The surrounding hills and elevations about Boston, affording a secure view of the ground on which the contending parties are expected to engage, are alive with the numerous spectators that throng them. A more interesting and bloody scene is apprehended to be just upon commencing, than what presented at Charlestown. They wait, as do the troops, officers and privates, the morning through; and till far into the afternoon, when they are convinced of the tide's being so far ebbed, that no attack can be made by general Howe on the Tuesday, which indeed is not his intention, for he is preparing to do it on the Wednesday. The transports go down in the evening toward the castle, a floating battery is also towed down, but the wind is unfavorable, and before they reach their destination blows up. fresh, and forces three of the vessels ashore on Governor's Island. A storm succeeds at night, such as few remember ever to have heard; and toward morning it rains excessively hard.

[March 6.] The design of general Howe was hereby frustrated, and a deal of bloodshed providentially prevented. A council of war, was called in the morning, and agreed to evacuate the town as soon as possible. The time that had been gained by the Americans for strengthening their works, before any attempt could be now made upon them, took away all hope of

success;

success; which would have been more precarious than expected by reason of colonel Mifflin's having advised to, and provided a large number of barrels, filled with stones, gravel and sand, that were placed round the works, to be rolled down and break the lines of any hostile advancing troops, when ascending the hills. He is entitled to much praise for all his exertions, and particu larly for his conduct on this occasion. There was a full supply of teams and other requisites for the service; and though the men were for a while without cover, and suffered from the rain and cold, yet before Thursday evening he had a number of barracks up; they having been framed beforehand, and brought upon the ground on Monday night. [March 7.] There was a general hurry and confusion in Boston; both troops and tories were as busy as possible in preparing to quit the town, and to carry off all they could of their military stores and valuable effects. The number of transports and vessels was short of what were wanted. In the beginning of last November, gen. Howe received a letter from lord Dartmouth, advising to the evacuation of Boston, and the remeval of his troops to New-York. He excused himself by pleading he had not sufficient shipping. He was now obliged to evacuate with fewer.

[March 8.] A flag was sent out from the select men, acquainting general Washington with the intention of the troops, and that general Howe was disposed to leave the town standing, provided he could retire uninterrupted by the country. General Washington brought himself under no obligation; but expressed himself in words which admitted of a favorable construction, and intimated his good wishes for the town's-people. He was ata loss to know where it was that general Howe intended going; and though inclined to believe it was Halifax, yet to guard against the evil of a mistake, while the British were preparing to be gone, he sent off the riflemen by land to New-York, to assist in securing that city.

[March 9.] General Howe issued a proclamation, ordering all woollen and linen goods to be delivered to Crean Brush, esq. be they in whose hands they might. [March 10.] Sundry shops belonging to persons in the country, were broke open and all the goods, of whatever sort or kind, taken by the said Brush and put on board ship to be conveyed away. The next day shops were stripped by him of all their goods, though the owners were in town. [March 12.] There was a licentious plundering of shops, stores and dwelling-houses, by soldiers and sailors, carrying destruction wherever they went: what they could not carry away they destroyed. The next day the same scenes were renewed though expressly forbid in orders, and the

guilty threatened with death, if detected in that or firing a house. March 14.] The streets were barricaded in different parts of the town, and dispositions made, as though the troops would soon take there departure. Stores &c. were plundered by sailors from the ships of war, led by their officers under pretence of orders from the admiral. [March 15.] Proclamation was made by the crier for every inhabitants to keep to his house from eleven o'clock in the morning till night, lest they should ennoy the troops in their intended embarkation; but the wind coming about to east, they mostly returned to their barracks again.--March 16.] The troops waiting only for a fair wind to embark, had little else to study but mischief, which they practised to a great degree, by breaking open stores and tossing the contents, being private proverty, into the dock; destroying the furniture of every house they could get into, and otherwise committing every kind of wantonness, which disappointed malice could suggest.

[March 17.] A breast work was discovered, to be thrown up by the Americans at Nook's Hill on Dorchester peninsula, which from its proximity, had an entire command of Boston Neck and the south end of the town-a work which the king's .troops had most fearfully dreaded. Inconsequence of it, they began to embark at four o'clock in the morning, and were all on board and under sail before ten.* When it was certain that they were quite gone, search was made, for fear of what might be, and fires were discovered in several houses so circumstanced as to intimate a design of setting them on fire, which was happily frustrated. Nothing but prevailing prejudice will impute such design to any other than some unprincipled privates: though an officer of rank was strongly suspected of having plundered under an official character, and of having connived at the rascally conduct of smaller villains. What so hastened the British upon a sight of the works at Nook's Hill, was probably an apprehension, that the Americans would possess themselves of Noddle's Island, and by erecting batteries at both places, enclose the harbor with the fire of their cannon. When the king's troops withdrew from Charlestown, they left centries standing as usual with their firelocks shouldered; but it was soon suspected what regiment they belonged to, and that they were only effigies set there by the flying enemy. It appears by one of the orderly books which was left behind, that their force was 7575, exclusive of the staff; so that with the marines and sailors, Howe might have been

Most of the above from March the 6th, is taken from the manufcript journal of a gentleman who continued in Bofton, while in the hand of the Brit. ifh generals,

considered

considered as 10,000 strong, had it not been for the mutual jea Jousies which took place between the army and navy.

The difficulties which the troops were under, from being so unexpectedly obliged to evacuate Boston, were much increased by the numbers who were under the necessity of removing withi them. Many who were disaffected to the American cause had fled there with their families for safety: besides these, there were not a few of the old inhabitants, who concluded it was far nore prudent for them to withdraw than remain. Both together, with their families, made up' some hundreds, and with their ef fects encumbered the transports; to which must be added the plunder taken from the town, consisting of furniture and various other articles of a bulky nature. The suddenness of the evacua tion prevented an application to Halifax for a supply of shipping to lessen the embarrassments. When the fleet got down to King and Nantasket roads, they remained there several days, and du ring that period, burnt the blockhouse and barracks on CastleIsland, blowed up and demolished the fortifications; but they did not undertake to carry off the cannon, and only attempted rendering them unserviceable, which was affected as to several

General Washington was soon acquainted with the evacuation of the town, when measures were taken to preserve the peace and order of it, by placing guards and giving directions as to the admission of persons into it. The day of evacuating being the Sabbath, was in favor of regularity. On the Monday [Mar. 18.] his excellency sent off five regiments under gen. Heath. After marching about a hundred miles, they embarked and went from New-London through the Sound to New-York by water. The rest, excepting a few which were left in Boston, took the same. route, when the fleet put to sea, the American army was welt supplied with flour, while in the neighbourhood. of Boston, with out any particular interruption, owing to capt. Wallace's ha ving been ordered to cruise about Rhode-Island, instead of New London. Consequently the flour for the army always got safe from New-York or elsewhere to New-London, from thence to Norwich, and then by land to the place of destination.-About a week after the evacuation, the British fleet sailed as was soon known, for Halifax; but commodore Banks was left with two or three men of war to protect the vessels that should arrive from Great-Britain or Ireland; some of which will undoubtedly be taken notwithstanding such precaution. It was but three day before the evacuation, that capt. Manly took a transpart of 400 tons burthen, laden with pease, potatoes, pork, sourcrout and ten packages of medicine.

When