Life of General Lafayette; . with Cornwallis commenced,the reserve under Greene hurried forward to supporttheir countrymen; but Gen. Greene did not reachthe ground till the route was complete. He, how-ever, did excellent service in checking the enemy,and covering the retreat of the Americans. When Knyphausen found Cornwallis was engagedwith the Americans, he made preparations to crossChadds Ford in earnest. The troops under Wayneand Maxwell made a vigorous resistance, till it wasperceived that the other body of the American armyhad given way; and then, resistance being no longerof any utility,
Life of General Lafayette; . with Cornwallis commenced,the reserve under Greene hurried forward to supporttheir countrymen; but Gen. Greene did not reachthe ground till the route was complete. He, how-ever, did excellent service in checking the enemy,and covering the retreat of the Americans. When Knyphausen found Cornwallis was engagedwith the Americans, he made preparations to crossChadds Ford in earnest. The troops under Wayneand Maxwell made a vigorous resistance, till it wasperceived that the other body of the American armyhad given way; and then, resistance being no longerof any utility, the defence of the ford was aban-doned, and the whole army retreated that night toChester, and on the day following to Philadelphia. The station of Lafayette in this engagement waswith the portion of the army under the command ofSterling, Sullivan, and Stephen. Although some ofthe regiments behaved badly and broke early, others,particularly some Virginia and Pennsylvania regi-ments, behaved with a firmness which would have. LIFE OF LAFAYETTE. 31 done high honour to veterans. So well did theycover the retreat of their comrades, that very httledamage was sustained except in the actual engage-ment ; and this was so large as to do great credit tothe courage even of those who were deficient indiscipline. The American troops, after breaking, were severaltimes rallied. In this service the French officers,and Lafayette particularly, were of vast a disregard of life which amounted almost toa fault, he exposed himself in rallying the troops,and encouraging them by his example; and not-withstanding he received a wound in the leg, hecontinued at his post, cheering the troops by hisconduct as a soldier, and by his voice as a general,as long as resistance could be of any service. TheBaron St. Ovary, Capt. de Fleury, and Count Pu-laski also distinguished themselves in the engagement The British troops engaged in this battle couldnot have been much less than eighteen thousandvete
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1840, booksubjectlafayet, bookyear1847
