and Prescott's Massachusetts were
ready behind breastworks to resist any attempt on the part of the
enemy to cross. Here the British wasted five days in collecting their
stores, while the Americans kept a sufficient force to meet them at
the causeway and vicinity. Among other regiments which relieved each
other at this point were Nixon's, Varnum's, Malcom's, Graham's, and
Ritzema's.

[Footnote 207: "Frog's Neck and Point is a kind of island; there are
two passages to the main which are fordable at low water, at both of
which we have thrown up works, which will give some annoyance should
they attempt to come off by either of these ways."--_Tilghman to
William Duer_, October 13th, 1776. _MS. Letter._ On hearing that they
had landed on the Neck, Duer replied from the Convention at Peekskill,
on the 15th: "There appears to me an actual fatality attending all
their measures. One would have naturally imagined from the Traitors
they have among them, who are capable of giving them the most minute
description of the Grounds in the county of Westchester, that they
would have landed much farther to the Eastward. Had they pushed their
imaginations to discover the worst place, they could not have
succeeded better than they have done."--_MS. Letter._]

* * * * *

During and for some time before these movements an interesting
correspondence was carried on between Washington's headquarters and a
committee of the New York Convention, a portion of which may be
introduced in this connection. It gives us a glimpse of the deep
interest and anxiety felt in the Convention in matters affecting the
protection of the State, and the internal difficulties that had to be
encountered. The correspondence was conducted mainly between
Lieutenant Tilghman for headquarters and Hon. William Duer for the
Convention.[208] Thus, on September 20th, the latter writes to
Tilghman as follows:

[Footnote 208: The Convention's Committee on Correspondence consisted
of William Duer, R.R. Livingston, Egbert Benson, and two others.
Nearly all of Tilghman's letters to the committee have been published
either in Force or in the Proceedings of the N.Y. Provincial Congress.
Of Duer's replies, however, but few are in print, the originals being
in the possession of Oswald Tilghman, Esq., of Easton, Talbot County,
Md., to whom the writer is under obligations for the favor of quoting
the extracts given in the text. (See biographical sketch