But, I hope, by the blessing of God and good friends we shall pay them a visit on their island. For that end, we are preparing fourteen fire-ships to go into their fleet, some of which are ready charged and fitted to sail and I hope soon to have them all fixed. We are preparing clievaux-de-frisc, at which we make great dispatch by the help of ships, which are to be sunk; a scheme of mine which you may be assured is very simple, a plan of which I send you. The two ships' sterns lie towards each other, about seventy feet apart. Three large logs, which reach from ship to ship, are fastened to them. The two ships and logs stop the river two hundred and eighty feet. The ships are to be sunk, and, when hauled down on one side, the picks will be raised to a proper height, and they must inevitably stop the river if the enemy will let us sink them.

These well-laid plans miscarried. The fire-ships did not accomplish what had been anticipated and a submarine engine, prepared by " an ingenious Connecticut man" failed to explode at the desired time and place. Its interior clockwork being badly timed, it merely

I/O The Hudson River

"blew up a vast column of water" without doing any damage to the enemy's vessels. It had, however, the effect of astonishing the British and affording General Putnam great amusement. More than that, before the obstructions were in place in the channel two British war-ships left their anchorage and, taking advantage of a brisk breeze, sailed past the forts and ascended the river. They were fired upon by the shore batteries and replied sharply with a broadside, but did not linger or turn back. Where they were bound, whether to land troops at some point on the mainland, to attack the forts in the Highlands, or to harass the inhabitants of the villages along the river, could only be conjectured.