" The silent hour of r.Jdnight was chosen for the attempt; he marched five miles up the valley, &, favored by the darkness, Avould infallibly have succeeded in the enterprise, had not his bold and judicious plans been frustrated by the unrestrained impetuosity of his men. The negroes were alarmed by a premature shout, rushed to their arms, & fought with desperation. Being allowed no time to conceal themselves amongst the rocks in their usual mode of fighting, they repeatedly charged with fury, & were repulsed with loss. They once indeed drew the troops into ambush, & displayed no little military skill in retreating to a narrow pass, where they obtained decided advantage

* Maroons probably are meant here. T. W, H.

PAPERS RELATING TO THE CITY OF NEW-YORK. 527

against a superiority of numbers. With stones and branches of trees, hurled from the rocks above, they committed a dreadful carnage, & the action at Bagnals almost assumed the name of a battle. But it was no victory to either party. Attacked, on every side, by a foe whose movements could never be tiaceil or seen, & reduced to the resources of his own mind to extricate himself from a hazardous situation, where he could neither remain with safety, nor retire with honour, Moore displayed a prudent intrepedity which compensated for the inexperience of his men, & the novel difficulties of a savage mode of war. His fears were not without foundation, nor his precautions without effect: for he heard the well-known shell sounding in his rear, far back in the woods, & with timely speed he retreated by another pass, found means to alarm the troops he had left in the vale, & as morning broke, the slaves found themselves swrrounded, cut off from the dark recesses of their forests, & surprised in an open country.