It was four o'clock on the ensuing morning that the division ascended Chatterton Hill, upon the borders of Whiteplains, after having marched the whole night. The instant he reached the summit, Heath noticed many successive flashes of light, proceeding apparently from the other side of a field across which he was marching. A captain with a party of men was ordered out to ascertain the cause of this appearance, but the officer returned and reported that he was unable to make any discovery. This phenomenon remained a mystery, until the return of Colonel Haslet's detachment from Mamaroneck. It was then ascertained that the transient lights which had alarmed the American general proceeded from Heathcote Hill, seven or eight miles distant. They were, in fact, the flashes of the muskets discharged by the Queen's Rangers, when attacked by the main body of the Americans; the ocular

Chapter I

BEFORE THE BATTLE OF WHITEPLAINS 27

deception being caused by the height of the ground and the darkness of the night. During this day, General Heath moved his division and took post on the strong grounds which lay north of the Court House, and commanded the road to Connecticut. His men were immediately set to work in throwing up field works for the protection of his camp. In the course of the succeed-ing night, he was joined by the division of Sullivan. The whole American army was now assembled at Whiteplains, with the exception of the divisions commanded by Lee and Lincoln, which still maintained their position at Milesquare on the west bank of the Bronx, between Valentine's Hill and Kings-bridge, from whence they watched the movements of the Royal forces, and covered and secured "the heavy baggage and military stores, which, in consequence of the difficulty of obtaining wagons, could be but slowly removed to a place of safety." After their successful skirmish on Pelham Heights, Colonel Glover's men were eager for another enterprise, and on the 22nd he complied with their wishes by allowing a corporal and two privates to reconnoitre.