to show their abilities in executing some extraordinary exploit. Verplank's point was the word; "shall the Light Infanty get all the honour, and we do nothing!" said they. Accordingly, we sat off, full tilt, to take Verplank's point; we marched directly for the Peekskill, and arrived near there early in the day. We there received information that the British at Verplank's point were reinforced, and advancing to attack us. We were quite knocked on the head by this news. However, we put ourselves in as good a condition as our circumstances would admit, and waited their approach; they were afraid of us, or we of them, or both, for we did not come in contact that time. And thus ended the taking of Verplank's point, and our honourable expectations.
We then fell back and encamped, but soon after we broke up our encampment and fell back to Robinson's farm, just below West-point, on the eastern side of the river; here we lay the rest of the season, employed in building two strong bomb-proof redoubts, on two hills near the river. Sometime, late in the fall, the British evacuated all their works and retired to New-York. A large detachment (of which I was one) was sent to Verplank's point to level the British works. We were occupied in this business nearly two weeks, working and starving by day, and at night having to lie in the woods without tents. Some of our men got some pease which had been left there by the British, but one might as well have boiled gravel stones soft. Some affirmed that they had seen them growing where the British soldiers had dropt them after they had passed through them. After we had finished levelling these works we returned to camp.
While lying at, or near the Peekskill, a man belonging to the Cavalry was executed for desertion to the enemy, and as none of the corps to which he belonged were there, no troops were paraded, as was customary on such occasions, except a small guard. The ground on which the gallows was erected was literally covered with pebble stones. A Brigade-Major attended the execution; his duty on these occasions being the same as the High-Sheriff's in civil matters. He had, somewhere, procured a raggamuffin fellow for an executioner, to preserve
