Documentary History of the State of New York, Vol. III

In this last action the maroons exhibited a disgusting instance of their native barbarity. They seized the body of Tacky, & after taking- his head as a trophy, they roasted & ilevoured the heart of their countryman. Encouraged by the disaffected slaves, who continued to flock to the sournl of their shell, and animateil by the hope of a reinforcement from the free negroes, the dispersed rebels soon rallied, & rose again, in various directions, nothing dismayed by their late defeat. Armed with rustic weapons, & with irres stible fury, they issued from their haunts; appeared determined to try the chance of battle; & their secret movements in the woods disconcerted the grave & elaborate tactics of the British troops.

A fight commenced in the morning, & was maintained till the sun was set, & the night fallen; while the soldiers were astonished at their unusual courage & their formidable numbers. The sincerity of history declares that the glory of Jamaica was sullied by the disobedience of her defenders, who were beaten back, & exposed to severe hardships in the centre of a wild & unfrequented country. The calamity was ascribed, without proof perhaps, biit not without probability, to the defection of the militia,* some of whom had secret & tender reasons for desiring to spare the lives of certain slaves opposed to them. A veil of obscurity is, however, drawn over the circumstances of this disgraceful transaction; & all we know is, that Moore instantly assembled the free negroes, put them under experienced officers, & while the militia in the distant parishes ran to arms, he headed the forty-ninth European regiment himself.

In a partial engagement he gainetl some advantage; but as the agility of the barbarians saved them from slaughter, & their woods protected them from pursuit, his victory was neither bloody nor decisive.