A council of war was held at King's Bridge ; the Albany post road was ordered to be put in good order by Colonel Drake's regiment of Westchester militia,* and everything put in train for the retreat of the main army from the island of New York to the main. On the 18th the Westchester Militia Regiment at the causeway was being relieved, when the enemy opened fire from the embrasures of the heavy earthwork opposite the village. Heath ordered a brigade to advance to the support of the party at the bridge, the general himself leading, but before he arrived at the bridge he found that the entire British army were moving toward the head of the creek. Washington just then arrived on the field and ordered him to fall back and form his division for action farther west, and in such position as to also protect the main army at King's Bridge should the enemy laud another force at Morrisania. For some unaccountable reason Howe did not press on towards King's Bridge, but followed a route which corresponds to the present road leading from Throgg's Neck to Pelham Bridge, and being well provided with boats, he crossed Pelham Bay and that evening the head of his column was at New Rochelle, where he was joined by the Hessian reinforcements.* Had he pushed directly for the Harlem River and Spuyten Duyvil Creek he would have been able to cut off part, if not the whole, of the American army. Soldiers of our last war and military men generally may regard this small fight at the old Westchester Bridge as a mere skirmish and hardly worth recording, but it was the Lexington of Westchester and a son of the soil should always regard the prosaic old causeway and the ruined foundations of the old mill still to be seen on that historic spot, with sentiments of reverence and patriotism.