that lay between us & then
they played on us most furiously with their artillery to keep us from
meeting their people in the hollow & in short the shot & shells came
like hail. I lay right in the heaviest of their fire, with my men by a
fence & had two wounded there & were soon ordered to another post
further on the line of battle up to which the enemy soon came as they
did for a long way in lengths. We gave them a heavy fire which made
them retreat but they soon returned when a most furious fire followed
which continued for a few minutes when their numbers were increased so
amazingly that we were obliged to retreat which we did thro' a most
furious fire from the enemy for half a mile for so far there was
nothing to cover us from it.... I have lost but 4 out of my reg't &
can hear of only 10 or 12 wounded. We are all now within our line &
the enemy are posted on a number of the neighboring hills & we
expected they would have come on this morning when we should have had
an engagement with both armies but they don't yet move & it is now
about 12 o'clock.

[Originals in possession of Mrs. O.P. Hubbard, New York.]

[No. 18.]

COL. GOLD S. SILLIMAN TO REV. MR. FISH

STONINGTON, CONN.

NEW YORK Sepr: 6th, 1776.

DEAR SIR Your Favour of the 1st Instt: I have this Morning
received and am much obliged to you for it; in Order to answer your
Inquiries I must necessarily give you some Account of our out Lines on
Long Island before we left it, about 8 or Nine Miles below this Town
is that Strait of Water commonly called the Narrows, from the upper
end of it on the Long Island side a Bay puts into the Island on a
Course about Northeasterly and runs into the Land about Two miles;
from the Head of this Bay we had a line of Forts & Redoubts all
connected by Breast Works and some part of it picketed, up
Northeasterly and Northerly to a Bay on the Northwesterly part of the
Island rather above the City; The British Troops landed below the Bay
at the Narrows and marched to Flat Bush a Place on the Island about 6
or 7 miles from this city and 3 miles beyond our Lines, flat Bush
stands near the Westerly Side of a large Plain which is 4 or 5 miles
over and this plain is surrounded from the Southwest to the Northeast
with a larg Ridge of Hills covered with Woods. through this Ridge
there are three roads into the Country, toward New York two of them;
and one out to a place called Bedford; At each of these passes which
were from