1845. Jackson Odell. September 12th. Colonel Norton with the expedition against Young's house advanced by the Sprain road and continued their march on the road passing from the Methodist Church to the Four Corners. At the house of Mr. Van Dahl Allaire, about half a mile from Young's, he encountered an out post, surrounded, and took it. The enemy's cavalry, from the depth of the snow, not being ab…

The Grenadiers and De Lancey's horse charged, simultaneously, and the Americans were routed. De Lancey pursued as far as the first hill, about a quarter of a mile from Young's. There was a spring of water nearly opposite Young's on the East side of and the road where many wounded crawled for water and died. The British returned I think by the Sprain road. My father was at Youngs House at the time …

This man's name was James Foskey. Captain Colonel Cushing's party on the retreat from Morrisania passed up the Sprain road to Mc Chain's where it terminated, and then took to the fields when in order to gain the Saw Mill river road, they had to pass some long sloping ground, near called Van Tassel's Hill or Van Tassel's slope, favorable to a cavalry charge [margin: Van Tassel] [page break] which …