&c. and escaped.] My father's house was about a quarter of a mile from the White Plains and Tarrytown road and a half mile from the Post road. The brook where André was taken was called Clark's Kill. At the capture of Young's house a party of the British diverged easterly from the Sprain road and made their ad- -vance by a hollow which crosses the West (White) Plains road about one hundred yards east of the Sprain (?) Allaires road, and so took Colonel Thompson in flank. Thompson's out- -guard was at Irendahl Allaires on the east side of the Sprain road about half a mile south of Youngs. This outpost was eight or ten in number - a sergeant's guard and supposed at first they could defend themselves, but were surrounded and all taken but one who escaped on snow shoes across the fields. Thompson had 80 or 100 snow shoes, and was urged either to put them on his men and move against the enemy, or to fall back upon the advancing
- Hufeland Index Page 156 -
relief guard or draw his force within the house, but he declined to adopt any of these suggestions, and drew up his troops in front and on the right of the house towards the Hammonds. Captain Roberts was killed at the first fire. He was a brave man, very much beloved by the neighboring inhabitants and his death much lamented. Colonel Norton in his advance left his artillery about two miles south of Youngs' on a rising ground near James Sniffen's a little to the west of the Sprain road. His object in this as was said at the time, was to secure a safe retreat in case they sustained a repulse at Youngs. Norton retreated, as he had advanced by the Sprain Allaire and Tuckeyhoe roads leaving some of the wounded Americans in some houses on the road, but where in particular I don't know.