Holmes and Kipp promised quarter to the Americans if they surrendered, but the answer returned was probably irritating, for Holmes drew his pistol and pointed it at Mosier, who at once gave a command that meant certain death to the Colonel and the pistol was dropped, while Kipp satisfied his anger and dis-appointment by abusing some of the privates whom he recognized, particularly a colored man, who shortly before, had been a prisoner under him at Morrisania. When he called him a "black rascal," John Patterson rushed out from his place in the square and thrust his bayonet into the captain's hip, dodging his furious sword cut and getting back to his place in safety, only to be sharply reprimanded by his own officer.--It was said that the captain's seat in the saddle was painful for some time. Finding argument unprofitable, the British made two or three more efforts to break up the small but immovable body opposed to them, but found it more and more difficult to approach. After spending more than an hour in a fruitless endeavor to make an impression on the much smaller body of Americans they turned about and sullenly rode away. The accounts brought down to us of the ending of this affair differ. Some claim that after a number of assaults by the enemy, the Americans fired a volley that threw the British into confusion, during which the former escaped.

MOSIER'S FIGHT WITH REFUGEES 71

None of the local accounts however mention any such firing and simply say that the British withdrew. A volley from twenty six guns at short range would certainly have killed and wounded many of the attacking party, but no such record appears. These accounts say that the body of Strang was taken to one of the nearby farm houses1 and was sent for by the British under a flag of truce the next day.