and a deep morafs covered his left, and he had 200 horfe to guard his right. The defign being ripened for execution, General Provost made fuch difpofitions and movements on the borders of the river, between Savannah and Ebenezer, as were fufficient to attract and take up the attention of General Lincoln, during its profecution. The colonel, in the mean time, having divided his force in two parts, advanced one, with two pieces of cannon, towards Briar Creek, with an apparent view of attacking the enemy, where they were invulnerable, in front. The other divifion of his force, confifting of the second battalion of the 71ft regiment, three companies of grenadiers, fome light infantry and horse, amounting in the whole to about 900 men, he led himself a circuitous march of about 50 miles, in order to get round, or to crofs Briar Creek, and thereby turning the right, to fall unexpectedly upon the rear of the enemy.

The fuccefs of the enterprize was infured by the injudicious conduct of the American General, Afhe, who in the moment of peril, had detached his light horfe upon fome unprofitable expedition, and thereby laid himself open to furprize, and left the only weak part of his camp expofed and uncovered. The furprize was accordingly as March 3d. complete as could have been wifhed. The Americans

1779.

fo trifling as not to deferve mention. By this defeat, the province was again cleared of the enemy; and although the general did not think it prudent to advance his pofts far upwards, yet thofe which he retained were freed from infults, his communications were opened with the back country, the loyalists, both in Carolina and Georgia, were encouraged to join the army, and his force being collected, was ready to act upon any immediate fervice which might offer.

Such continued, pretty nearly, the fituation of the two fmall hoftile armies until the latter end of April. Separated by a river, which neither of them could venture to pafs in the face of the other, they were both fecure in their posts, and each covered his refpective province. A movement at that time made by General Lincoln, prefented, however, a new face of affairs, and opened a way for confequences, which he evidently did not apprehend, and which he undoubtedly would not have hazarded if he had. In order to protect either a meeting, or an election, of delegates for the province of Georgia, which was appointed to be held at Augufta in the beginning of May, he quitted his situation on the lower part of the river, which efTown, as well as to cover the province fectually enabled him to fecure Charles in general, and marched with the best part of his army towards that place. Indeed it did not appear eafy to suppose, that this measure was liable to any dangerous confequences. The freshes were then out, which feemed to render the river in itself a fufficient rampart; but the deep fwamps on the other fide seemed ut. terly impassable; or if these could even be evaded, the general appearance of the flat flooded country along the coaft, every where interfected with rivers and creeks, feemed to forbid all military operations at that feafon on that fide. But Lincoln did not truft entirely to natural difficulties; he befides left, under the conduct of General Moultrie, a body eltimated at about 1500 men, and compofed chiefly of the provincial militia, to guard the paffes of the river and fwamps.

This movement infpired General Provoft with an idea of attempting to penetrate into Carolina. He confidered, that offenfive operations were neceffary to fupport and increase the reputation of the British arms in that quarter; that his force was already confiderably in

creafed by the acceffion of loyalifts from that province as well as Georgia, from whence there was reafon to hope, that his appearance in the country might in duce great bodies of the well affected to declare, in his favour; and, in any cafe, it would be the fure means of obliging Lincoln to abandon his defign, and would at the fame time afford an opportunity of procuring a plentiful fupply of provifions, which he wanted.

Under the influence of thefe confider rations, he paffed the river in different parts near the end of April, with a force, which, fo far as can be gathered, may be estimated at 3000 men. Moultrie's militia were truck with fuch a panick, at feeing the British troops traverfing at country, and emerging from fwamps which they deemed impaffable, that they made but a weak refiftance in defending the feveral ftrong paffes which might have effectually checked their progress; and at length, as the country became more practicable, gave way on all fides, and retired towards Charles Town.

The facility with which the army had triumphed over the extraordinary natu ral impedimens of the country, together! with the feeble refiftance of the enemy, ferved to extend the views of the gene, ral to objects of greater moment, than, thofe which had operated in engaging him to undertake the expedition. The loyalifts, in the eagerness of their hopes, and wishes, which no failure or difappointment could ever flacken or damp, failed not to improve this difpofition, which was fo favouable to them. They affured the general, as a matter of un

doubted certainty, that Charles Town would furrender without refiftance, at his first appearance. The object was fo important, and the temptation fo great,; that inclination and duty must have been equally urgent to its acquifition. Nor did it feem well in the power of a commander, in a matter of fo much confe quence to the ftate, to have flighted the information of thofe, who had the bestmeans of knowing both the state of the place and the difpofition of the people; it would be no eafy matter afterwards to fhew that it deferved no credit, and that the design was utterly impracticable. General Provoft, notwithstanding, did not think it fitting entirely to rely upon his own opinion, and therefore called all the field officers of his army to confultation upon the fubject, who unanimouf ly concurred in their advice for his advancing directly to Charles Town. The conduct of General Lincoln ferved greatly to strengthen this opinion, who was fo pofitively perfuaded, that General Provoft intended nothing more than to forage the country, that it was not until fome days after the British forces had paffed the river, that he could be induced to return to the defence of the capital. But when he was at length convinced of the real danger of that city, he immediately detached a body of infantry, mounted on horseback, for the greater expedition, to its defence, and collecting. the militia of the upper country, returned with his whole force, to act as cir cumftances might offer for its relief. [To be continued.]

Meffrs. PRINTERS,

Wethersfield, August 18, 1787.

tended with dreadful effects occurs, the curiofity of the publick is excited, and it is proper it fhould be grati-,

fied; fuch an event occurred on Wednefday the 15th inftant, in the tremendous hurricane which paffed near the north line of the parish of Stepney in this town. Too much gratitude cannot be expreffed by the inhabitants to that BEING, who has his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, that it paffed in a line, where the leaft poffible damage fhould be fuftained-half a mile to the northward, or to the fouthward, its courfe

large number of families-a mile and an half in either direction, it would have fwept the center of the town, on the north, or the center of the parish on the fouth-in either cafe, I have no doubt, hundreds of lives would have been loft-in the former, perhaps thoufands.

I was myfelf an eye witness of but a fmall part of the whirlwind,and that near the time of its difappearance, and at the diftance of almoft two miles from the line of paffage-I was, however, as foon as poffible, on the ground, and spent molt

of the next day, in traverfing for fome miles the scene of defolation, making observations, and collecting the best poffible information from those who were near or faved from its fury. That my information may be as accurate as poffible, I have delayed giving you the account until this day-whether it be exactly fo, I dare not pronounce in regard to other towns adjacent-I can only fay it is the best I can procure..

On the day I mentioned, the wind was very fresh from the fouthward; at about twelve at noon an unusually black cloud appeared to be ranged from the weftern to fomewhat paft the northern point, its upper edge was indented and formed irregular columns, fomething refembling pyramids, which reached to within about 35 degrees of the zeniththe appearance of this cloud, I took notice, was different from the common thunder cloud, being one continued sheet, fingly defined at the edges, and not a congeries it did, however, produce a peal or two of thunder, and a little rain this happened I think between the hours of one and two o'clock P. M. At about three o'clock P. M. the whirl. wind was feen to approach near the western boundary of Stepney parish-a violent agitation in the clouds had in deed been before obferved in the western quarter; but now from a rifing ground, it difplayed itself in its full extent, replete with undefcribable horrour. Ablack column from the earth to the cloud, of about thirty rods diameter, fo thick that the eye could not pervade it, whirled with amazing velocity and a moft tremendous roar-it appeared luminous and agnited, and was charged with broken pieces of fences, and huge limbs of trees, which were continually crashing against each other in the air, or tumbling to the ground. This appearance continued but a few moments, when the column inftantly divided horizontally at a fmall diftance from the earth-the upper part appearing to rife, while the lower part exhibited the appearance which a huge bo. dy of thick smoke would do were it dafhed by a ftrong vertical wind, fpreading itself to the extent of fixty or eighty rods. At once you might obferve it, at a small distance forward, apparently burit from the ground, like the thicket smoke, fpread the above diftance on its furface, then whirl and contract itself to the fize of the column I have defcribed; but in no inftance did the cloud appear to ftoop towards the earth. In this

manner it appeared, with longer shorter intervals of the compact column, during the whole fpace in which I have been able to collect accurate informa tion; with this exception only, that in the eaftermoft part of the observed space, for a confiderable distance, it was not feen to be luminous or ignited; though each defcribed its bursting from the earth, as giving them the idea of fire, which they really fuppofed, until after it was past, confuming every thing in its way. It moved in a direction, when first noticed, fomewhat to the northward of east, but foon changed to nearly eaft. In this direction, and almost instantaneously after it was obferved, it arrived at the houfe of Mr. Wait Robbins, who was himself abfent, as were two of his children; his wife, four children, an infant of five months old, a labourer and a ' female negro fervant, made up what of the family were at home, the labourer was at this time in the barn-All observed it nearly at the fame time and attempted their escape from the buildings-Mrs. Robbins, with her babe in her arms, and two little boys and the labourer, fled to the distance of about thirty five yards, where the labourer past her a few paces, and was overtaken by the whirlwind, thrown over a fence into a garden and efcaped with little hurtNear the place where the labourer past them, the two little boys were found, amidft the rubbish of the demolished buildings-the oldeft, about ten years of age, lifeless the other it is feared mortally wounded-Mrs. Robbins, with her babe still in her arms, is fuppofed to be hurled by the violence of the whirlwind more than twenty yards back towards the house, for there fhe was found dead, with her babe lying a few paces diftant, wounded, but not badly-The servant with the other two children fled a different course; they were all wounded but likely to recover.-The houfe unroofed -the garret floor gone chimney thrown down below the garret, and what is left ftanding of the house is thattered beyond, I believe, the poffibility of repair-a corn houfe-cyder mill houfe a building for preffing hay, and a large barn ftored with grain, hay and flax, all levelled with the ground-That part of the orchard of very large trees, which ftood in its range, and near the barn, totally destroyed-every tree either torn up by the roots, or twisted off near the ground, one only excepted, which is stript of its branches,———And

now the fcene was awfully tremendous, as observed by many at a small distance, boards, bricks, timber and whole trees filling the space from the earth to an amazing height, and whirling in horrid agitation; the fenfation was rendered painfully keen by the reflection, that eight perfons were involved in the centre of this deftruction.-And here as we proceed, humanity would drop a tear over the diftreffes of this devoted family, and fend up a tribute of praise that a tingle life was spared.

The violence of the whirlwind threw down a low wall of roughly fquared ftone, which was near the house, some of which stones were estimated to weigh feveral hundreds-carried many of the large apple trees from ten to twenty rods distance, and one, if the tree be not mistaken, little fhort of half a mile brick and ftone were found thrown to the diftance of forty rods, and boards from twelve to fixteen feet long, a mile and an half, as were fheaves of grain and flax-two of Mrs. Robbins' gowns were found in Glaftenbury, at the diftance of about three miles-other articles of clothing at a mile and an half, a trunk containing clothing is not yet found, articles of furniture lying amidst the rubbish, or carried to a distance-thattered and broken. In its progrefs it fwept the ground, and carried defolation nearly complete, fcarce the finalleft veftige of fence left, the posts and rails carried the extent of miles, and a large post broken into fmall pieces-corn fields entirely ruined-fcarce a large tree left ftanding in its courfe, fome carried forty rods. In the meadow; of the hay that was mowed, and a field of peas, amounting to feveral cartloads, not an handful left, nor to be found; in paffing the river, it hurled a floop afhore on its beam ends. It now proceeded through the meadow, to the town of Glaftenbury, and unroofed a large brick houfe of Mr. The odore Hale, threw down the gable ends to the plate-nearly demolished an old houfe of his, and entirely demolished one of his barns, and unroofed the other; it alfo entirely demolished a barn of Mr. Wm. Motely and did confiderable damage to feveral other buildings, and entirely deftroyed the orchards in its range; but providentially no lives were loft, and only two perfons flightly woundedIt then proceeded to Eastbury and unroofed a barn of a Mr. Andrus-marking its way thither with nearly the fame derution-it then proceed to Bolton and

Coventry, in both, I hear, it has done damage, but learn not the particulars, beyond which towns, I can obtain no account. I have, however, obtained good information of its rife; it was in the parish of New Britain, fomewhat to the weftward of Mr. Elnathan Smith's, whose barn it unroofed, and carried part of the roof two miles-It proceeded through the parish of Newington, entered the limits of this town, demolished a fmall barn and unroofed the house of a Mr. Rockwell, marking all its progrefs with the fame horrible deftruction of corn fields, fences and trees, until it arrived at the spot, where I began my account. Near this place, it removed a barn of Mr. Afa Robbins' from its foundation, but did no other effential.damage, as his buildings were out of the range of its violence. A lad on horfe back happened to be more expofed, and was hurled from his horfe and carried to fome diftance, but received no effential hurt-the horfe was tumbled through a confiderable extent and had his legs bra ken-fome other cattle were deftroyed:

It is remarkable, that about fifty eight or nine years ago, a violent hurricane, as I have undoubted information, paffed nearly in the fame line with this, their centers being only about 33 yards diftant. I should have noticed that the width of confiderable damage, though not of its greateft violence, was greater than I have defcribed, being in fome places, at leaft, half a mile and that the whirlwind was attended with neither thunder nor rain, except a few large drops falling from its fkirts,

The Philofopher will undoubtedly take notice that this hurricane is of a fort fomewhat fingular, partaking in part of the nature of the Typho and the Prefter, but of neither wholly, nor of a uniform mixture of both.-The man of ferioufnefs will confider that the voice of fuch providences is the voice of God, awfully denouncing his anger, and calling to confideration. I am, Gentlemen, with respect, your humble Servant,

J. LEWIS.

P. S. Iough, perhaps, to have mentioned, that in Mr. Robbins' corn houfe, there were three ox ploughs, two of which are not found, and the fhare of the third carried forty rods, and alfo the circumftance of a swamp white oak tree, of more than two feet in diameter, being torn up by the roots, with a weight of two or three tons of earth, and carried the distance of eight or ten yards from