battle, whereas the day was practically decided
before they came up. Necessarily our guards at the Flatbush Pass knew
that the British were in their rear as soon or sooner than the
Hessians knew it. They therefore turned to meet this unexpected enemy.
What Olney and Henshaw say settles this point. Olney states that
Cornell marched towards the lines on hearing firing in his rear,
leaving Olney to reinforce his pickets in front of the Hessians.
Henshaw writes that, finding the enemy between him and the lines, and
knowing no orders could come to retreat, he marched for camp. Cornell
and Henshaw were old officers, knew the ground thoroughly, and saw at
once that they must retreat. No mention is made of the Hessians.
Lieutenant Olney was in front of the latter some time before he
followed after his regiment. Howe reports that it was the _British_
who took our guns in that part of the field. If there was any such
severe fighting at that pass, as Von Elking makes out, would the
Hessians have lost but two men killed--all that they lost during the
day? There are errors of fact in this writer's account. The most that
the Hessians did was to chase, capture, and sometimes bayonet those of
our soldiers whom the British had already routed. The real fighting of
the day was done by Howe's English troops, and the very best he had,
principally the light infantry, grenadiers, dragoons, and
Highlanders.]

Thus all along the hills, from the Flatbush Pass to the extreme left,
our outer guards were in full retreat! It was a flight and fight to
reach the Brooklyn lines! Ten o'clock--and Miles, Brodhead, Wyllys,
Wills, Johnston, Henshaw, and Cornell, with two thousand men, were
hurrying through the woods, down the slopes and across the fields,
some singly, some in groups, some keeping together in companies, some
in battalions, all aiming for one objective--the camp! Here they
fought the light infantry; there they were charged upon by the
dragoons; those who were intercepted fell into the hands or upon the
bayonets of the Hessians. It was a trying and desperate situation from
which there was no relief and for a long time the woods echoed with
the shouts and cries of the contending parties. But upon the whole the
loss to the Americans up to this time was not heavy, and could
Stirling have been saved, the enemy would have had no great victory to
boast of. Full half of Miles' two battalions reached the lines;
Wyllys' and Chester's suffered but sl