Publisher's Synopsis
Excerpt from Valley Forge: Proceedings on the Occasion of the Centennial Celebration of the Occupation of Valley Forge by the Continental Army, Under George Washington, June 19, 1878
Let coats-trimmed with blue, make a magnificent display. They are perfectly equipped, and look-well fed-and hearty. Behind. Them are more cavalry. No, these must be officers. The first one 18 splendidly mounted and wears the uniform of' a general, He is a stout man, with gray hair and a pleasant countenance, in spite of the squint of an eye which disfigu'res it. A whisper goes through the bystanders, -it is lord-cornwallis himself. A brilliant staff in various uniforms followshim and five men in civilian's dress. A glance of recognition follows these last like a wave along the street, for theyare Joseph Galloway, Enoch Story, Tench Coxe, and the two Allens, - father and son, - Tories, who have only dared to return home behind British bayonets. Llong lines of_ red coats; follow till the Fourth, the Fortieth, and the Fifty-fifth Regiments have passed But who are these in dark blue that come behind the grenadiers Breeches of yellow leather, leggings of black, and tall, pointed hats of brass complete their uniform. They wear moustaches, and have a fierce foreign look, and their unfamiliar music; seems to a child in that crowd to cry Plunder! Plunder! Plunder as it times their rapid march. These are the Hessian mers cenaries whom Washington surprised and thrashed _so well at Christmas in '76. And nowgrenadiers and yagers, horse, foot, and artillery that rumbles along making the windows rattle, have all passed by. The Fifteenth Regiment is drawn up on High Street, near Fifth; the Forty-second Highlanders in Chestnut below Third;-and the artillery is parked in the State House yard. 'all the afternoon the streets are full, wagons with luggage lumbering along, officers in scarlet riding to and fro, aides and orderlies seeking quarters for their differ ent officers. Yonder swarthy, haughty-looking man dismount ing at Norris's door is my Lord Rawdon. Lord Cornwallis is quartered at Peter Reeves's in Spruce, and Knyp hausen at Henry Lisle's, nearer to Dock Street, on the east. The younger officers are well bestowed, for Dr. F ran'klin's house has been taken by a Certain clever Captain Andre. The time for the. Evening parade comes, and the well-equipped regi ments are drawn up in line, while slowly to thestrains of mar tial music the sun sinks in autumnal splendor in the west. The streets are soon in shadow, but still noisy with the tramping of. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
