2 "Although some persons condemn nie for having endeavoured to con- "ciliate his Majesty's rebellious subjects, by talking every means to pre- " vent the destruction of the country instead of irritating them by a con- "trary mode of proceeding; yet am I, from many reasons, satisfied, in " my own mind, that I acted, in that particular, for the benefit of the "King's service." -- (General Howe's Speech before a CommiUee of tJie Hou»e of Commons, Apvil 29, 1779.)

the occupation of the City of New York, by the Royal Army -- which was successfully accomplished, later in the day -- the Phcenix, of forty-four guns, and commanded by Captain Hyde Parker, the Eoebuck, of forty-four guns, and commanded by Captain Hammond, and the Tartar, of twenty-eight guns, commanded by Captain Ommany, each with a tender, had been moved up the Hudson-river, as far as Bloomingdale;''' and they had remained at anchor, at that place after the Royal Army had occupied that City, covering the left flank of the lines and very effectually closing the navigation of the lower portion of the river, to the Americans. But, about eight o'clock, on the morning of Wednesday, the ninth of October, they got under way and stood, with an easy southerly breeze, up the river. The Americans, with great labor and outlay of means, had constructed a chevauxde-frise, for the protection of the navigation, above Fort AVashingtou audit was hoped it would have intercepted the further passage of the ships while the batteries, at Fort AVashington and Fort Lee, and the galleys, which had been stationed behind the chevuuxde -/rise, played on them; but, "to the surprise and " mortification" of General Washington and his command, they passed all the obstructions, "without the " least difficulty, and without receiving any apparent " damage from our forts,* though they kept up a " heavy fire from both sides of the river." *