When the com-manding officer approached the hostile camp, he concealed his detachment behind a stone wall, and in order to draw the enemy toward his ambuscade, sent forward the corporal and two soldiers who had distinguished themselves during the preceding day. This time, they went directly in the rear of the Hessian camp, but the bold intrusion was presently dis-covered and the adventurers became fugitives. When the pursuers had approached sufficiently near, the Massachusetts scouts suddenly attacked and drove them back to their grounds in great confusion, killing or wounding eight or ten, and taking three prisoners. One of the killed was a mounted officer, whose horse was taken and brought off. The only loss sustained by Glover's men, was one private, belonging to Colonel Baldwin's regiment, who was mortally wounded. The American commander-in-chief arrived at Whiteplains some time in the afternoon of the 23rd, and established his headquarters on the main street of the village, near the Presbyterian Church. A few hours afterward, the three regi-ments commanded by Colonels Tyler, Huntingdon and Throop of General Parson's brigade, and Heath's division, moved and took post at the head of King Street, between Rye Pond and "The Duke's Trees." During the night of the 23rd, several of the enemy's ships of war, that had lain off Teller's Point, fell down and an-chored near the left bank of the river, between Dobbs Ferry

Chapter I

BEFORE THE BATTLE OF WHITEPLAINS 29

and the Philipse Manor House, for the purpose of prevent-ing the Americans from bringing their stores from below by water, and from removing those that had been landed at the last two places. On the 24th, General Lee issued orders for the march of the whole corps under his command, to commence at seven o'clock the next morning. A quantity of Continental stores had been deposited at Dobbs Ferry, which could not be removed in consequence of one of the enemy's vessels of war having anchored close in to the landing.