The British threatened to destroy stores near the village and made one or two attempts to do so, landing in force upon at least one occasion. General Lincoln marched through on his way to Kingsbridge; Colonel Luddington commanded five hundred militia here; "Light-Horse Harry" Lee had a brush with some of Dunop's Yagers, -- we might go on indefinitely wath such details, none of them particularly important. Here Van Courtlandt's river guard made a rendezvous, and the yeomen of the neighbourhood tried to guard the crosswavs and peppered the British boats when thev ventured near the shore. On one memorable night, fire-ships ascending the river attacked and drove awav a number of British vessels that had anchored off the Tarrvtown shore, and set fire to one of the tenders. On Sunday, the 15th of July, 1781, two sloops were going down the Hudson, loaded with powder and arms for the American army, when several British war-ships with their tenders were discovered approaching from an opposite direction. In order to avoid an embarrassing meeting, the supply vessels put into Tarrytown; but the enemy, who were looking for just such game, were not to be eluded, and pursued them so

In the Land of Ininij;- 235

closely that in a short time the\' were cornered beyond any apparent possibility of escape. The troops in the neighbourhood at that time consisted of a sergeant's guard of French infantry and a troop of dragoons commanded by Colonel Sheldon, whose regiment lay at Dobbs Ferry. These soldiers, dismounting, worked with great spirit in assisting to unload the stores from the sloops, but were soon subjected to a galling fire from the British frigates. Under cover of this cannonading, two gunboats and four barges crept in to destroy the sloo]is; but the Americans on board, though greatly inferior in number, had no idea of abandoning their task.