" Iu the summer of the year 1780, and for some time preceding and following, on the southern and eastern sides of the hill, and along the rich valley which lies at its base, was quartered a division of the American army under the command of Gen. Putnam. Disaffection and treachery prevailed on every side ; men there were who from fear or from other base causes, refused to take part on the side of virtue and patriotism, and remaiued as neutrals, wavering between each part)', and acting as their personal safety seemed most to require. Many, calling themselves Whigs, were constantly endeavoring by covert means to blast the hopes and discourage the gallant few who were struggling at the side of liberty, by giving to their enemies that information of their situation and prospects which they had obtained by the most abject treachery. To destroy these evils required the greatest vigilance and severity on the part of the American commander. Early one mornimg, in the month of August, a party of the militia, three in number, brought a young man by the name of Palmer, whom they had taken on suspicion of his being a spy and having enlisting orders from Tryon, the British general then commanding iu New York. The enormity of his offence was such that if proved, it demanded the most vigorous punishment. A court martial was therefore immediately convened, and from the circumstances given to the court by those who arrested him, and the evidence of many of the country people, who gave an unfavorable account of his conduct, he was convicted and sentenced to be executed as a spy.