Colonel Ludington, meanwhile, was busy elsewhere, in another department of his public duties, of which we shall speak hereafter. At first commissioned to serve in Westchester County, then ordered to the Highlands, he seems to have been permitted to remain in Westchester and lower Dutchess counties, where some strong hand was sorely needed. But on September 15 came news of the battle of the Brandywine, in which the Stars and Stripes was first unfurled in battle, but in which the Americans were defeated. The news was ominous of the fall of Philadelphia and of the martyrdom of Valley Forge, and it caused some consternation along the Hudson. Clinton at once ordered eleven New York militia regiments to reinforce the Highlands, among them Colonel Ludington’s, which was to proceed at once to Peekskill to serve under General Putnam. For the first time Ludington seems to have had some difficulty in complying with orders, for, on September 29, we find Clinton writing to him, as well as to the other colonels of militia, expressing surprise at the circumstance that, although he had ordered the whole of the regiments to reinforce the garrisons, not more than 300 men of six regiments had responded; and adding a peremptory command that one half of each regiment should go into service immediately for one month, and then be relieved by the other half.
There was indeed cause for these preparations, for the British were at last actually beginning their advance up the Hudson in aid of the hard-pressed Burgoyne, though all too late to save him. At the beginning of October the British fleet appeared in the Hudson, and on October 4 a landing was made at Tarrytown. Of what occurred there, we have two contemporary accounts. One was given in the New York “Journal” of May 11, 1778, by one of the garrison of Fort Montgomery, which, as we shall see, was presently captured by the British. “On Saturday night,” says that narrator, “we had advice that a large number of ships, brigs, armed vessels, &c., had arrived at Tarrytown, where they had landed a considerable body of men, supposed to be about one thousand, and had advanced toward the plains. Colonel Lutlington being posted there with about five hundred militia, they sent in a flag to him requiring him to lay down his arms and surrender himself and men prisoners of war. Whilst he was parleying with the flag they endeavored to surround him, which he perceiving ordered his men to retreat. The British then returned to their shipping, and the next morning we had advice of their being under sail, and coming up as far as King’s Ferry.” The “Colonel Lutlington” referred to was, of course, Henry Ludington. By “the plains” it is to be supposed White Plains was meant, that village being distant from Tarrytown about seven miles.
The second account, much more circumstantial and authoritative, is that of Colonel Ludington himself in his report to General Putnam. He was at that time stationed at Wright’s Mills, between Tarrytown and White Plains, guarding the inhabitants from the depredations of Tory and Indian marauders. He wrote to General Putnam as follows:
Sir. I must acquaint you of my yousage in this place. I find the militia was to join and I have not had the assistance of one man. you must well Remember you ordered Capt Dean and Capt Stephens. Stephens I never have seen. Dean I showed your order and Rote a few days ago Begging him to assist me scouting. I have inclosed his answer to me. You must not depend too much upon my little party, if I am to gard the inhabitants I must be Reinforced speadily or shall be obliged to post my men in some Better place of Security
and am Sir Your obedient Humble Servant
Henry Ludington
3 oclock october 4th 1777
at Rites mills
P. S. I beleive the inhabitants are entirely stript where they go.
Honoured Sir: in haste I am to acquaint you that they came up Last night with 2 frigets and five or six Royale and tenders and about 40 flat Bottommed boats and landed about 3 thousand men under the command of governor Tryon. They immediately took the heights above Tarrytown and from thence kept the Heights until they thought they had got above our party. But Luckily we had got above them and paused at mr Youngses where we thought Best to move towards them where we were in open view of them and found them vastly superior to us in numbers and moved off to Rights mills, Having no asistance more than our Little party belonging to our Regiment. I found on our Retreat before we got back to Youngses they had sent forward a flag, But found that was in view of trapping us as they had flanking parties who we discovered in order to surround us. But after clearing the Regiment I rode Back and met the flag within a quarter of a mile of their main body. The purport of his errand was that governor Tryon Had sent him to acquaint me that if we would give up our arms and submit they would show us mersy or otherways they were determined to take us and strip the contre (country). Sent in answer that as Long as we had a man alive I was determined to oppose them and they might come on as soon as they pleased. We have not lost a man and the last move of the enemy was from Youngses towards the plains.