Jfeffers
k'....
Richard Nugent, Editor The whole art ov Government consists in the art of being honest. Jefferson. and Publisher
VOL. I. STRO UDSBURG, MONROE COUNTY, PA., FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 1840, No 44.
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POETRY.
Hymn to the IVortli Star.
The sad and solemn Night
3 1 is yet her multitude of cheerful fires;
The glorious host of light
"Walk the dark hemisphere till she retires ;
All through her silent watches, gliding slow,
Her constellations come, and round the heavens, and go.
Day, too, hath many a star
To grace his gorgeous reign, as bright as they;
Through the blue fields afar,
Unseen, they follow in his flaming way.
Many a bright lingerer, as the eve grows dim,
Tells what a radiant troop arose and set with him.
And thou dost see them rise,
Star of the Pole ! and thou dost sec them set.
Alone, in thy cold skies,
Thou keep'st thy old, unmoving station yet,
Nor join'st the dances of that glittering train,
Nor dip'st thy virgin orb in the blue western main.
There, at Morn's rosy birth,
Thou lookest meekly through the kindling air ;
And Eve, that round the earth
Chases the Day, beholds thee watching there ;
There Noontide finds thee, and the hour that calls
The shapes of polar flame to scale heaven's azure walls.
Alike, beneath thine eye.
The deeds of darkness and of light are done;
High towards the star-lit sky
Towns blaze the smoke oQjattle blots the sun
The night-storm on a thousand hills is loud
And the strong wind of day doth mingle sea and cloud.
On thy unaltering blaze
The half-wrecked mariner, his compass lost,
Fixes hi steady gaze,
And steers, undoubting, to the friendly coast; '
And they who stray in perilous wastes, by night,
Are glad when thou dost shine to guide their footsteps right.
And, therefore, bards of old,
Sages, and hermits of the solemn wood,
Did in thy beams behold
A beauteous type of that unchanging good,
That bright, eternal beacon, by who&e ray
The voyager of time should shape his heedful way.
Revolutionary Memorials.
(concluded.)
I cannot say, that my sensations on recogni
sing my former sergeant were altogether agree
able. The mvsterious manner in which he
With came and went, the success with which he
had thrown a veil over his own movement, and
'he recollection that I was the guest of a man,
who probably entertained no sense of honour,
Mther public or private, excited in me a vague
.rid undefined alarm, which I found it impossi
ble on the instant to conceal. I started and
he movement was not lost upon Champe. He
xamined my face closely; and a light appcar
ng to burst in all at once upon his memory, he
rin forward towards the spot where I sat.
' Welcome, welcome, Captain Cameron," said
4:a thousand times welcome to my roof; you
chaved well to me while 1 was under your com
: jand, and deserve more of hospitality than I pos
.!ss the power to "offer; but what I do possess is
very much at your service, and heartily glad am
1 , that accident should have thus brought us to
other again. You have doubtless looked upon
me, as a two-fold traitor and I cannot blame you
vou have. Yet 1 should wish to stand well in if
your'estimationtooand therefore 1 will, if you
please, give a faithful narrative of the causes
which led both to my arrival in New York, and
to my abandonment of the British army on the
shores of the Chesapeake. But I will not en
ter upon the subject now. You are tired with
your day's travel; you stand in need of food and
rest. Eat and drink, I pray you, and sleep
j.undly; and to-morrow, if you are so disposed,
J wiil try to put my own character straight in
t io estimation ;! the only ijniishoiuceroi wuose
Pi .mrl nmninn T nm r'fi-.t nno " 'Vho.ra U'P.rft SO
! inch frankness and apparent sincerity in this,
t-iat I could not resist it, so I sat down to sup-
er with a mind perfectly at ease; and having
atcti heartily, I soon afterwards retired to rest,
on a clean pallctwhich was spread for me on
tie floor. Sleep was not slow in visiting my
eyelids; nor did I awake until long after the
un tZA risen on the morrow, end the hardy
,:nd active settlers, io whose kindness I was jn-
sbtjid, had gone through a considerable portion
i f their day's labour, X found my host the next
r iorning, tho same open hospitable and candid
man that he had shown himself on first recog
nizing me. He made no allusion, indeed, du
ring breakfast, to what had fallen from him over
night: but when he heard me talk, of getting my
horses ready, he begged to have a few minutes'
conversation with me. His wife, for such my
hostess was, immediately withdrew, under the
pretext of attending to her household affairs,
upon which he took a seat beside me and be-
ffan:-
"I trust you will believe me when I sav, that
nothing can be a matter ot more perlect indif
ference to me than the estimation in which
may be held by the individuals composing Ar-
nold's legion; lor tne whole ot whom, lrom their
commanding officer downwards, I entertain the
most sovereign contempt. But you are a Briton
born. I found you to be an honourable and a
right-minded man: and though 1 believe that you
erred in drawing your sword against the liber
ties of America, I still respect you so much,
that 1 would not willingly rank as a traitor in
your eyes. I have therefore resolved to tell
you a tale, which I should not think it worth
while to tell to any other man, unless I knew
him to be genuine American in his principles
and feelings.
"You remember under what circumstances
it was that I arrived at New York. 1 came to
you as a deserter; bearing on mv name the full
load of obloquy which attaches to that charac
ter, and exposed to all the dangers which attend
the career of one who has once betrayed a trust
which he had sworn to hold sacred. Sir, I
was no deserter. Mine was a deed unusual
I allow, and most suspicious in its colouring;
but performed not only under the sanction of
General Washington but at his positive desire.
Listen, and I will tell you all.
"You will be at no lo3s to imagine that the
discovery of Arnold's treason, accompanied as
it was by the seizure of one of the partners in
his crime, created a great sensation throughout
our army, bo deep, indeed was the leeling ot
disquiet and distrust, that no man seemed to be
be aware on whom reliance might be placed;
that no man would have ventured to become
surety for the faith of his own brother. That
the General shared in this uneasiness all ranks
acknowledged but the extent to which the feel
ing on his part was carried, remained a secret
to all, till to me, and to me alone, it was com
municated. I will tell you how thia befel, at
least how I myself came to be honoured with
Washington's confidence.
"While Arnold and your commander-in-chief
were carryingon their infamous correspondence,
our army under the temporary orders of Gen.
Greene, occupied a position as you doubtless
recollect, in the vicinity of Tappan. Lee's le
gion, of which I was sergeant-major held the
outposts; and 1 think you will allow that a corps
belter qualified to perform such service has rare
ly been embodied. Well, I had gone through
the ordinary routine of my business; I had as
certained that the guards were planted that
the patroles were told off, and that the horses
and accoutrements of the men not immediately
on duty were in order; when, about nine o'clock
one night, I received a message from Major
Lee, that he desired to see me on particular
business. 1 repaired to his quarters without
delay, and found him evidently labouring under
1 ill n . -r-r
a consmeraoie degree oi excitement, lie was
walking up and down the apartment with a short
and irregular step, and he no sooner caught the
sound of my foot within the threshold, than he
desired me, without stopping, to bolt the door.
I did so, and then he turned towards me.
"Champe, said he, 'you scarcely need that 1
should tell you, that n there be a man in my
legion, in whom, more than all the rest, I am
disposed to place reliance, it is yourself I
have watched you ever since you joined the
corps. I have found you uniformly brave, dis
creet, orderly, sagacious, full of ambition, yet
of ambition of the most legitimate kind, and I
know that you feel yourself to be on the high
road to promotion. I am going to put all your
good qualities to the test; and 1 ask lrom tou no
pledges to secrecy, because I am confident that
none such are needed.
"What reply could I make to such an address?
I merely bowed, thanked my officer, and assur
ed htm, that whatever man could do for him, or
for America, I would at least attempt.
"Aye" continued he, "I knew all that. If I
desire you to storm a battery of cannon, you
will do it, even if you go alone. If I say to
you, that your country requires you to undergo
all manner of hardships, you will endure them.
But the business on which I ant about to em
ploy you is different from both of these, Champe,
you must desert you must go over to the ene
my."
'I started as well I might, but before I could
interpose a word, he went on "Hear me out,
and then say whether you are willing to accom
plish the wishes of the commander-in-chief or
not. For 1 tell you, in the outset, that I am but
a medium of communication between Washing
ton and yourself; and you know as well as I,
that Washington is incapable of requiring at
any man's hands, services which shall so much
as appear to imply a dereliction of honour."
"You are aware, of course, of the distressing
consequences of Arnold's treason of the anx
iety and misgivings which it has occasioned
throughout the army; and of the peril into which
it has brought the life of the English Major An
dre. You cannot, however, know, till I inform
you, how the General is affected by it. I have
had with him to-day a long and deeply interest
ing interview, in which he showed me some
letters from and of New York, both
of whom represent the plot as widely extended,
and both unite in accusing General , of all
men living, of a participation in it. Now Wash
ington's confidence in General has been
heretofore unbounded. If any thing be due,
morever, to the universal consent of all ranks,
General deserves that confidence; yet so
thoroughly has it been shaken by the treachery
of Arnold, that he can no longer experience a
moment's repose. This, he told me with a
flushed cheek, and a choking voice; and he ad
ded, that to clear up his doubts, it was necessa
ry that some trusty person should pass to New
York, should hold verbal intercourse with his
informants, and sift the whole affair to the bot
tom. But he does not intend that the services
of his agent shall end here. If Arnold could bo
seized and brought back to camp, not only
might Andre's life be saved, but there would be
effected such an example, as would for ever de
ter all American officers from playing, under
any circumstances, the part of traitors. Hav
ing thus opened his plans, he did me again the
houour to say, that he was sure I could find
among my gallant fellows the very person of
whose services he stood in need. I lelt high
ly flattered by such an announcement, and I did
not for one moment hesitate as to my answer.
I accepted the proposal, and, Champe, I named
you as the man. Are you ready to earn immor
tal honour for yourself and your fellow-soldiers,
and to do the most important services to your
country, by carrying through this delicate and
hazardous scheme for your General?"
" You and I, Captain Cameron, have not
seen a great deal of one another, yet you will,
perhaps, believe me when I say that there are
not many men who hold bodily danger more
lightly than the individual who now addresses
you. Of ambition, likewise, I admit that I al
ways had my share ; I strove hard for a com
mission, and I was pretty sure that, on the first
vacancy, I should get one. It was not, there
fore, from any disinclination to face the hazards
of the exploit that I felt reluctant to accede to
this proposal. But the idea of desertion of
committing, or seeing to commit, an act which
must necessarily throw down the fabric of an
honourable name, which I had so long labored
to erect that did, indeed, startle me. I thanked
the Major for the opinion he entertained of me
I repeated my readiness to attempt any thing
which should not imply disgrace but I begged
respectfully to decline a service, the very first
act in obedience to which must place me in
a light the most dristressing to my own feel
ings, and the most odious- to others. I could
not even feign to be a traitor. The Major,
however, had made up his mind that I, and 1
alone, should carry through this business. He
pointed out that even desertion, perpetrated at
the requst of the General-in-chief was not dis
graceful that if it did bring on the head of an
individual temporary shame, the mind, capable
of reflection, would not balance between the
accomplishment of a great public good and the
endurance of a slight personal evil; and that tho
cloud, however dark for the moment, would
make the contrast the more striking, when the
truth came to be disclosed, and a full burst of
glory should follow. But I own to you that
the argument which weighed most with me,
was his appeal to my 'esprit du corps.' What
will our comrades say, after this gallant exploit
shall have been performed, when they come to
be told, that it was proposed to one of their own
number, and by him rejected? I could not
hold out against this consideration so I told
the Major, that, relying on his honor to see my
fame vindicated in the event of any untoward
accident befalling to myself, I would give my
self up to his guidance, and obey such instruc
tions as he might furnish. These were soon
explained. I was directed to wait upon
and with letters which were handed to
me: I was cautioned not to let the one know
that the other had any communication with our
camp: and above all, I was told that no per
sonal injury should be done to Arnold, inasmuch
as it was his capture, not his life, that was
sought. " If, therefore, 'continued the Major'
you find that you cannot seize him unhurt, do
not seize him at all; and if the choice be be
tween his escape and his slaughter, let him go.
To kill him, would give the enemy an excuse
for alleging all sorts of falsehoods against us.
But if you can bring him alive to head-quarters,
so that he may bo tried by a court-martial,
and publicly executed, you willjat once further
tho ends of justice, on an atrocious traitor, and
strike a salutary terror into tho minds of his as
sociates." "Being thus forewarned as to tho course
which it behoved me to follow, I proceeded to
arrange with tho Major the best mode of car
rying his device into operation. No written
document could be given for the purpose of
forwarding my progress be3'ond the lines, be
cause such a proceduro would unavoidably come
to the enemy's knowledge and defeat the whole
project. Neither was it possible to remove out
of the way any portion of the numerous posts
and patroles that lay between the quarters of
our cavalry and the neutral ground. There
seemed nothing, therefore, but to dare the worst,
and putting myself under the guidance of for
tune, to act as if I really were a deserter from
the cause which I had conscientiously espoused.
All that Major Lee could undertake amounted
to this that in case my absence should be
discovered before morning, he would delay pur
suit as Jong as possible. This was the more
important, because it would be necessary for
me to take a tortuous course, and to proceed
with extreme caution in the dark : yet even
this depended so much on accident, that to ef
fect it might lie beyond his reach. Neverthe
less 1 had nothing better to rely upon ; so set
ting our watches together, (and it wa3 then
near eleven o'clock) and receiving from him
three guineas to defray immediate expenses.
I went forth to undertake an enterprize in eve
ry sense more hazardous than any in which I
had been previously employed.
" Having reached the camp, I proceeded
without a moment's delay to roll up my cloak,
to pack my valise, thrusting into it the orderly
book, and to strap both upon my horse, after
which I buckled on my sword and mounted. I
passed through the lines unnoticed; but had not
proceeded half a mile beyond them, when a
mounted patrol, advancing by a cross road, ob
served me, and challenged. 1 made no reply
but plunging the rowels into my horse's
flanks, I gallopped forward. The patrol did
not follow far, yet I felt that my chances of con
cealment were over, and that not all the Ma-
1 1 1 1 1 - Z 4
ior s management couio long ninuer a pursuit
from being instituted. 1 rode on therelore, lull
of anxiety and alarm, for which, as the event
proved, there was good reason. For the patrol
which met me was composed of a part of Lee's
legion ; and the Captain of the day lost no time
in reporting to the Major, in person, all that had
befallon. I have since learned all that passed,
so I can inform you of it.
" Lee had retired to bed as soon a3 I quitted
him, and strove to sleep; but his efforts availed
him nothing. A generous and high-minded
soldier, he could not think of the dangers to
which he had exposed a comrade without hor
ror; and I may say without vanity, that there
was not a man in the legion whom he respect
ed more than myself. He tossed about, there
fore, restless and uncomfortable; and was con
juring up all sorts of direful imageSj when some
one rapped loudly at his door, as it earnest lor
immediate admission. Lee's heart sank within
him as he desired the applicant to enter and
when he heard the officer state, in a hurried
and excited tone, that a dragoon had been met
near the lines, who put spurs to his horse when
challenged, and escaped a conviction of the
truth came fearfully over htm.
Yet he retained his self-possession and de
siring to protract the interval of pursuit as long
as possible, he affected to be very sleepy, and
instead of noticing the communication that had
just been made, complained of being disturbed.
The Captain of the day now repeated his re
port in more pressing language than before, so
that it became impossible to affect ignorance of
his meaning. Another device was according
ly adopted. First, be began to put various ques
tionsthen he ridiculed the idea that any in
dividual from the legion a corps, which dur
ing the whole war, had lost but one man from
desertion would abandon his colours; and last
of all, he desired the officer to return to Camp,
and by personal inspection of the horses to as
certain whether any wero missing. By such
manucouvring as this a little time was gained,
but it was only a little ; for scarce half an
hour had elapsed from the period of my quit
ting tho lines, when Major Leo received the
report of the Captain of the day. That officer,
moreover, n his eagerness to vindicate the
honor of the legion, made quick work with his
inspection, and soon returned to announce,
that the name of the traitor was ascertained.
He asserted that I was the man and that I
had gone off with my arms, accoutrements, ne
cessaries, and even with the orderly-book of the
regiment. Again was Lee's ingenuity taxed
in order to spin out the interview. He would
not believe that I had deserted. I was proba
bly gone off, on some excursion of pleasure a
grave offence, doubtless, and subversive of all
discipline yet not without its examples among
the officers, and entertaining as all did a high
opinion of my honour, it .would never do to act
with such precipitation as to disgrace mo in
the eyes of my comrades. Still the matter
ought to be looked to, and a party must be or
dered for pursuit. This too was done and
and tho Major, desiring to inspect it in person,
gave directions that it should muster in Iron1. 6l
his quarters. The men came but tV.e officer
in command was not the individual whom he
desired to employ. He had another service in
view for him; he must, therefore, givo up the
charge to Cornet Middletown, a youth of a pe
culiarly humane temper, and hence more like
ly than most to deal gently with the fugitive
should he be overtaken. Ton minutes more
were thus gained, at tie conclusion of which
Middloton made his appearance, when written
instructions were handed to him, signed, as the
custom of our army required, by the Major him
self. These required him to follow as far as
a regard to his own safety would permit a de
serter who was supposed to have gone off in
the direction of Paulus' Hook ; to bring him
back a live that he might suffer in the presence
of his comrades: but in the event of his offer
ing resistance, or making any effort to escapo
after he should once bo taken, to put him to
death. The delivery of this the verbal hints
and cautions which the Major judged it right to
throw out the injunctions to take care of the
horse and arms if recovered, and to guard wjII
gainst surprise, sufficed to carry them through
five minutes more so that on the whole 1 had
a full hour, Or perhaps an hour and a quarter's
start. But as if to counterbalance this very in
adequate advantage, a shower of rain fell soon
after I set out, just sufficient, and not more than
sufficient, to make my horse leave a palpable
track along the road. Now, as all our char
gers were shod by the same farrier, and the
shoes made after a peculiar pattern ; a track
once taken up could not, by those who were
acquainted with it, be easily lost; and no set of
fellows throughout the army knew belter than
Lee's dragoons how to track both friend and
foe by their foot prints. "Notwithstanding tho
conviction that the pursuers were already on
my track, I was compelled, so soon as 1 shook
off the patrol that had challenged, to resume a
slow and cautious pace; not only because the
whole country before me swarmed with bands
of irregulars, but because I was every moment
in danger of falling upon one or other of the
posts which were established in front of the
lines, and withdrawn in the morning " when
day began to dawn, therefore, I was yet sev
eral miles to the north of Bergen, and almost
as far, by what is called the near cut, from a
bridge by which the Hackensac is traversed.
A wide and open plain, moreover, was before
me; and to crown all, there eame down upon
the morning air an indistinct clatter, as of hor
ses moving at a brisk trot in the same direction
with myself. I looked around; and sure enough,
on the summit of an eminence which overhangs
the " Three Pigeons," I beheld a strong patrol
of cavalry. There was no possibility of mis
taking their design; so I plunged the spurs into
my horse, and dashing forward, took at a ven
ture, the road to Bergen. "I heard their shouts
in pursuit, for scarce a half a mile diuded us,
and in a still morning sounds extend far. I
guessed, too, that these troopers to whom eve
ry foot of the country was familiar, would not
neglect the near cut to the bridge, yet 1 trusted
in my own ingenuity to baffle them still, and
never for an instant lost courage. Bergen I
gained before they could recover a sight of me,
which an intervening wood had cut off, and
judging that nothing could serve my purpose so
well as to throw them off my trail, 1 rode down
one paved street and up another without hesi
tation. This done, I changed my route, and in
stead of keeping the road to Paulus' Hook, I
turned my face westward, and made for tho
Hudson. Of what followed you are aware.
My horse, my scabbard, and belt, fell into the
hands of the pursuers; I myself escaped, and
threw away my weapon only when I could no
longer retain it in the water.
"Of my arrival in New York, and of what
first befel me there, it is unnecessary that I
should say more, than that being conducted in
to the presence of your commander-in-chief, I
was by him closely examined touching the con
dition and temper of the army which I had
abandoned. Perfectly secure in the persuasion
that the circumstances under which I camo
would shield me from suspicion, I answered
vaguely for I could not endure the thought,
even to myself of doing otherwise, yet I con
trived to make the General fancy that I had
communicated to him, highly important details,
and that I was a person worthy of patronage.
You know, perhaps, how ho urged me to enlist
in your service; and how I evaded the proposi
tion by pleading the dangers to which I should
be exposed, in case any accident should after
wards throw me into the hands of my country
men. The fact, however, was, that my plans
were not yet sufficiently matured to warrant my
taking such a step. Neither would I venture
to take it without the sanction of my own chief;
with whom, unless Major Lee had been deceiv
ed, I knew that means of communication lay
open. I accordingly held out against his en
treaties, and withdrew to the quarters which
were assigned me. But I had other busings
. MlUf 44vll MGUil
Art
represenieu lu nnQ j oponed Qu, ,0 each ex,
actljMh portion of my scheme which 1 knew
l-Val no would bo both able and willing to for
ward. Through one I obtained full and accu
rate information on the subject of the supposed
treason of General , and great was my sat
isfaction at being able to report that the calum
ny has no foundation in truth, with the other'I
deliberated respecting the best means of secu
ring Arnold. Yet I do not deny that when in
telligence reached mo, that Andre's fato was
fixed lhat he had himself, by his manly declay
in hand, and to that I gave mv earnest '",., :nn
. ' . . , attention.
I waited upon Washington s a-;nlSt j founa
ilmm in nvurv resnect si"' . i ".
... - - - I - - r Tllnlf h r! ha