of November 16th by Ensign Drummond. I requested your endeavours to procure from M2 Arnold some information of the disaffected subjects in this province, his private and public transactions here could not fail to give him a perfect knowledge of them. He may depend upon my not making use of his name but as he shall permit. I have presumptive proofs against some of them, but none that would justify making an example nor am I able to procure such with every effort in my power to make."

Extract. Sir Henry Clinton to Gen'l Haldimand, 8th May, 1781. “I received yours of the 7th February, but the letters you mention to have sent me by Ensign Drummond of the 16th November have not reached me, nor has that gentleman as yet made his appearance here."

Extract.-Gen'l Haldimand to Sir Henry Clinton, June 6, 1781. 66 Ensign Drummond went on board a vessel which came here to a Mr Pagan, who has always been suspected of favoring the rebels. His ships from hence have always been taken. I permitted the last to sail upon condition that my dispatches addressed to Gen' Robertson should be safely delivered, if so, I requested she might be allowed to return in the Spring, which I now earnestly recall. I sent duplicates by Ensign Prentice of the 84th Regt who sailed at the same time in another small vessel. They had the strongest injunctions to throw overboard the dispatches in case of necessity, which I make no doubt they observed. One of my letters was to request you would procure from Arnold some information of the disaffected persons in this Province of whom he must have a thorough knowledge. It would be of infinite use, as the secrecy of the Jesuits baffles all my endeavours to discover them."

Extract. Sir Henry Clinton to Gen'l Haldimand, New York, July 23d, 1781. "Those letters in cypher you mentioned as having been sent by Ensigns Drummond and Prentice have never reached me, nor have I heard of those Gentlemen being taken. I am therefore apprehensive that some worse misfortune may have befallen them."

Memorandum, New York, 26th July, 1781. (In Gen'l Arnold's handwriting.) "Lieut General de Reidesel will be so good as to acquaint General Haldimand that General Arnold having had all his papers taken can only remember one suspected person in Canada-a Jesuit at Montreal, whose name is Pierre, & the only one of that sect there. He is a very sensible shrewd man."

Extract.-General James Robertson to General Haldimand, Oct. 31, 1781, New York. (Received 14 May, 1782, by Gen'l Haldimand at Quebec.) "General Arnold says Pire Floquet is an inveterate enemy. Jacob Rove no better and indeed the gross of the Boston leaders little better. He had no friendly aids from any of the Noblesse."

Extract.-Sir Henry Clinton to General Haldimand, Nov. 12, 1781. "General Arnold says Monsieur du Calvert Pire Floquet, Mess Hay, Cord, Freeman and Watts were friends to the Rebels."

Extract.-General Haldimand to Sir Henry Clinton, Quebec, Nov. 15, 1781. "I have lately had the mortification to learn that the principal channels I have used to convey dispatches & procure Intelligence are almost entirely broken up, owing to the Imprudence of recruiting parties of the Corps of Loyalists & discoveries by Emisaries & the desertion of Rebel prisoners enlarged upon Parole. This will make our intercourse still less frequent than it is & I have to request your Excellency should you have any matters of importance to communicate to me that you will send duplicates by way of Niagara or to strike upon Carleton Island for though more tedious it is, at present, the most certain route."

1 We have here a positive confirmation of the statement which has been often made, that Arnold violated the confidence which had been reposed in him by persons residing within the British line, while he was in the service of Congress.

AN ACCOUNT OF THE BATTLE OF PRINCETON.

FROM THE PENNSYLVANIA EVENING POST, Jan. 16, 1777.

Extract of a letter from an officer of distinction in General Washington's Army, dated Pluckemin, Jan. 5, 1777.

"I have been so much engaged with marches and countermarches, that I have not had a moment to write. We left Crosswicks the first inst., about ten o'clock in the morning, and arrived a little after sunset at Trenton, through the worst roads that were ever seen. About eleven o'clock we were alarmed by the approach of the enemy. We only sent out a brigade to amuse them, while we took post on the lower side of the creek, and back in the woods. There was a pretty smart cannonade till dark, when both sides ceased firing. The men ordered to keep their posts, and lie on their A council of war was held, and it was determined to file off to the right, through the woods, and by bye roads, leaving the enemy on the left, and attack Princeton by daylight; about five hundred men, and two pieces of iron cannon, were left to amuse the enemy.

arms.

"Our whole army, with a great train of artillery, marched about one, and you may suppose that we must form a very long line of march. We arrived one hour too late. About seven hundred British troops were prepared to march, to join their main body, part of which lay at Maidenhead. They saw our army about a mile and a half distance, which made a very formidable appearance. They returned to the town, and made ready to receive us; one division of their troops formed in front of a house on the south side of the college, and on the right hand of the road. Gen. Mercer's brigade filed off to the right, and was attacked by the other division. The brigade did not fire till they advanced within forty yards. The enemy received this brigade with charged bayonets. Gen. Mercer was wounded (it is said by a ball fired) but it is a fact he was afterwards wounded in the belly by a bayo

net. Our brigade advanced through the skirts of a wood in front of the enemy, posted on an eminence with two field pieces. Gen. Green ordered me to form as soon as we arrived on a hill about two or three hundred yards distance. Our column was formed from the right by divisions. About fifty light infantry of the enemy posted themselves behind the fence, about an hundred yards distance. And, on our left flank, I despatched Captain Henry, with a body of light infantry, about an hundred, to flank that party. But the first discharge from our field pieces on the left, drove them up to the main body. I immediately rode in front to the column, and ordered the second divisions to double up to the right; the third to the left, and so on alternately. This was done in the face of the enemy, and under a shower of grape shot. About half the first battalion was formed when they broke, fell back upon the column, threw the whole into confusion. I immediately rode round the left and formed a division, joined one man after the other to it; but the fire was so hot that they again broke. Some of the officers behaved very bravely, and exerted themselves to the utmost. Gen. Washington came down and exposed himself very much, but expostulated to no purpose. I just then saw a considerable party of horse moving off to our right, to take advantage of the confusion, but a discharge or two from the cannon immediately dispersed them. I asked the General if it would not be proper to form about an hundred yards in the rear. He desired me to try, which succeeded beyond my expectation. I collected some of the brigade and some New Englandmen, and advanced obliquely to the right, passed a fence, and marched up to the left of the enemy. Two small parties were formed on the left, and advanced at the same time, and bravely pushed up in the face of a heavy fire. The enemy then left their station and inclined to the left, and gave us several heavy fires, in which two were killed and several wounded. I pressed my party forward, huzzaed, and cried out, 'They fly, the day is our own,' and it passed from right to left.

"I fancy the enemy found it impossible to escape, as our troops all began to rally and join in the pursuit. They all dropped their packs and flew with the utmost precipitation, and we pursued with great eagerness. The men were much fatigued for want of rest, provisions, and with marching. We followed about two miles, and then gave over. Many parties are yet out, and, have taken several prisoners. The town surrendered, and about sixty including fourteen officers surrendered. We have taken in the whole about three hundred, about thirty killed and fifty wounded. I have no doubt but others will be brought in. We lost about thirty killed, and thirty wounded. We took three pieces of brass artillery. The troops that lay at Maidenhead returned about the same time we returned from the pursuit. Horses could not be secured to carry off the artillery. Major Proctor made an exchange; he left an iron three-pounder, and brought a brass six-pounder. The enemy proceeded towards Brunswick with the utmost expedition; the British arrived there at about daylight, and the Hessians at twelve yesterday. All was in the greatest confusion, and the British troops left town last evening, and the whole this morning. We marched immediately to Morristown, where we shall be ready to fall down on Elizabethtown, Newark, or Amboy. Gen. M'Dougal is back of Newark, where three Continental regiments, and Jersey militia, altogether two thousand. Gen. Heath has crossed the North River with three brigades. General Putnam is to come up with all the troops he can muster."