In this central province all the scattered operations of active hostility converged, as it were, to a point. Cornwallis pursued La Fayette for thirty miles, in hopes of preventing his union with General Wayne, but being disappointed in this object, overran the country for sixty miles on the borders of the James River, and destroyed a vast amount of both public and private property; among the former the Virginian laboratory and armoury, in which a large quantity of arms, ammunition, and other stores, greatly needed by the Virginian army, were consumed. Whilst this devastation was going on in one direction, Tarleton was sent to make a dash at the Virginian assembly at Charlottesville and to carry off Jefferson. On his way he met twelve wagons laden with clothing and stores for Greene’s army, all of which he destroyed; he succeeded also in capturing seven members of assembly, but Jefferson, who had been warned of his danger, escaped.[[44]]
Lord Cornwallis, on the return of the detachments, having received orders from Sir Henry Clinton, who was apprehensive that Washington was about to attack New York with the aid of the French fleet, removed his army, towards the end of June, from Richmond to Williamsburg, considerably nearer the sea, and about midway between the great rivers James and York, destroying, as was customary, whatever property lay in his way. La Fayette having now joined Wayne, and being still further strengthened by Baron Steuben’s troops, as well as by such militia as Virginia herself was able to raise, was in so powerful a condition as to render any movements of the British a matter of great caution; nevertheless Cornwallis was active, and his cavalry, mounted on the very horses which the planters had refused to Greene, and which the British had now seized, scoured the country, carrying terror into all quarters.
From Williamsburg, Cornwallis proceeded to Portsmouth, which it was strongly recommended, both in England and by Sir Henry Clinton, should be occupied as a permanent position convenient for naval operations, and for such warfare as, while it was defensive on their part, would be extremely distressing to Virginia. On his way thither, and when just about to cross James River, Cornwallis was attacked, in the afternoon of July 6th, by La Fayette, who erroneously supposed that a portion of the army had crossed the river. General Wayne, who led the advance, seeing on the contrary the whole British army drawn out against him, made an impetuous attack and then suddenly retreated, leaving his cannon behind. The darkness of evening coming on, and Cornwallis suspecting an ambuscade, no pursuit followed, and the British crossed the river in the night.
Arrived at Portsmouth, Cornwallis, on personal examination, not deeming it suitable for the intended purpose, and conceiving that nothing less than offensive war would be effectual in Virginia, selected, in preference, the two posts of York Town, on the river of that name, and Gloucester Point on the opposite side, which he immediately commenced fortifying, his force amounting in the whole to about 7,000.
“The Southern States were very anxious for the personal presence of Washington, but he believed that the South might be most effectually served by striking some decisive blow at New York. The means, however, for such a blow were not so obvious. The superiority of the British naval force still kept the French army idle in Rhode Island. The Southern States, invaded and overrun, were hardly able to defend themselves; while the Eastern States, hitherto so sturdy, seemed now almost exhausted. Recruits for the army came in very slowly. The New York regiments had been detached to defend that state from Tory and Indian invasion. The Pennsylvanian line, and even some drafts from the eastern regiments, had been sent to Virginia. Late in the spring the entire force under Washington’s immediate command fell short of 7,000 men, not equal to the number of loyalists employed at that time in the British service. It was with the utmost difficulty that even this small force was fed. To obtain a supply of provisions, Washington was obliged to send Heath to the Eastern States with a circular-letter and pressing representations.”[[45]]
Washington’s letter obtained some supplies from New England, and Pennsylvania consented to furnish more, on the credit of taxes just imposed; but impressment, after all, continued to be the principal means for feeding the army, and the only money which could be obtained was by selling bills on Benjamin Franklin, which it was hoped the French court would enable him to meet.
About the same time that Cornwallis entered Virginia, Washington received the welcome intelligence from the French admiral, the Count de Grasse, in the West Indies, that he was about to proceed with a powerful fleet to the American coast, on which the French army, which, had lain idle for eleven months in Rhode Island, marched to join Washington; who, breaking up his camp in July, passed the North River to meet them. Their junction took place at the White Plains, on the New England side of the Hudson, and the combined armies encamped at Philipsburg, within twelve miles of King’s Bridge, sufficiently near New York to excite great alarm. The apparent intention of these great movements was an attack on New York, which became confirmed by an intercepted letter from Washington to the French commander, Rochambeau, in which such an attack was spoken of in undisguised terms. But the intentions of Washington, whatever they might have been in the commencement, soon became very different; nevertheless, the object now was to confirm Sir Henry Clinton’s suspicion, that time might be given to carry out the still more formidable plan, of which no idea appeared to exist in the mind of the British commander. It was under the apprehension of this combined attack that Sir Henry Clinton recalled a considerable part of the troops under Lord Cornwallis, from Virginia, immediately afterwards countermanding his recall, being himself reinforced by the arrival of 3,000 Hessians; the same apprehension also rendered it desirable to occupy some strong position in Virginia.
Now, therefore, in the month of July, New York was kept in a state of perpetual alarm. A body of 5,000 French and American troops, on one occasion, took up a position near King’s Bridge, in the night, which they occupied for forty-eight hours, with every appearance of an intended attack. The two commanders, Washington and Rochambeau, attended by their principal officers and engineers, reconnoitered the island of New York; the report of the expected daily arrival of the Count de Grasse was sedulously propagated, and when the precise time of that admiral’s arrival at the Chesapeake was ascertained, the French troops advanced to Sandy Hook and the coasts opposite Staten Island, as if with a view of seconding the operations of the fleet. So far, indeed, was this deception carried, that ovens were erected near the mouth of the Raritan, on Sandy Hook, as if for the supply of the army.
The intention was very different. The object was to strike a blow at Cornwallis in Virginia. Orders, therefore, were sent to La Fayette to take up such a position as would cut off the retreat of the British army into North Carolina, and on August 19th, Washington crossed the river and marched directly into the Jerseys, to Trenton upon the Delaware, this very movement being considered in the first instance merely to conceal his ultimate intentions. So carefully, indeed, had Washington concealed the object he had in view, that the New England troops were ignorant of their destination, and on arriving at Philadelphia and discovering that they had a long southern march before them, showed such signs of dissatisfaction that it appeared necessary to pacify them by a small payment in specie, which could only be done by borrowing from the French military chest. Fortunately, too, at that moment Laurens had arrived from France with a supply of clothing, arms, and ammunition; so that the troops proceeded in good humour, and better clad than usual.
While Washington was preparing for his operations in the South, Greene, whose ardour was ever unabated, having profited by his temporary retirement, during the unhealthy season, among the hills of the Santee, appeared at the beginning of September once more in the field. His former successes had revived the hopes of the North Carolina Whigs, and it was now determined to make one great effort for his support. Measures were accordingly taken for keeping 2,000 militia in the field; he received a number of horses for the use of his cavalry, together with a fresh supply of arms. Three hundred horses, imported by Jefferson to prevent their falling into the hands of the British, were also sent to him from Virginia.