Upon this occa-sion, the late unfortunate General William Hull was a captain in Webb's regiment, and is said to have distinguished himself for the first time in his military career. When the King's troops had got about half way up the hill, the cannonade, which for more than an hour had been incessantly directed upon McDougall's forces, was suddenly put an end to by the enemy's officers, for the reason, that their own men would become endangered by its continuance. This was the signal for Rahl's cooperation, and that redoubt-able officer soon made his appearance. His troops had been so skillfully concealed upon the height of which he had taken possession, that McDougall was ignorant entirely of there being any considerable force in that quarter. The Hessian colonel's appearance on the extreme right, at this critical moment, took the American general therefore by surprise. The detachment commanded by Spencer and the regiments

52 THE MCDONALD PAPERS under Brooks and Putnam, however, which, stationed on the extreme right, were the first to meet the onset, changed their ground and took post so as to face the new enemy, now ad-vancing from the south. The levies and militia showed, at first, all the signs of a stout resistance. When Rahl's column had approached sufficiently near, they gave him a volley; but at this moment Birch's dragoons suddenly appeared, ad-vancing at speed, with kettledrums beating and trumpets sounding the charge. Panic-struck, by a sight to them so novel and unexpected, the levies and militia instantly fled. The British cavalry having managed to turn the left flank of their antagonists, cut off their retreat to the camp and chased them furiously over the hill in the westerly direction; killing and wounding some and making others prisoners. Notwithstanding the fierceness of the pursuit, it is related that about one hundred of the fugitives, urged by their officers, attempted a rally, after flying about half a mile; and that forming themselves into a solid body, they for a while offered to the horsemen an unavailing resistance; but that after losing many of their number, a few of the survivors surrendered and the rest escaped to the woods.