, and known as Chesapeake bay, or gulf, or
river. It forms the eastern boundary of Virginia. Flowing into it from
the west the river Potomac bounds the State on the north, while a vast
marsh, known by the unattractive name of the Dismal Swamp, separates it
on the south from North Carolina. Between the Potomac and the Dismal
Swamp several other rivers and creeks are to be found. The largest is
James river, with Portsmouth and Gosport near the mouth. Running into
it on the north is Hampton creek, on which stands the town of Hampton,
and a little to the north of it again is York river and York Town, which
was to become the scene of operations of a character most disastrous to
the royal cause. York Town stands on an elbow of York river, between it
and James river. Some way up James river is the town of Richmond, the
capital of the State of Virginia. The country was, at the time of which
I am speaking, as densely populated and as well cultivated as any part
of the province of North America. The Dismal Swamp is an exception to
the fertility of the surrounding country. It is a vast quagmire,
composed of vegetable matter and the decayed roots of trees and plants.
On the surface appear in rich luxuriance every species of aquatic
plants, from the delicate green moss to the tall cypress. It covers, I
was told, an area of a thousand square miles, and is forty miles long
and twenty-five broad, having, however, in the centre, a lake of some
size fringed to the very borders with dense masses of trees which extend
even into the water itself. The water is perfectly level with the
banks, and sometimes overflows them. Altogether, from its uninhabitable
and impassable character, and the sombre appearance of its vegetable
productions, it well deserves the name given to it.

The last day of the year 1780 had now arrived. Captain Symonds sent for
me and informed me that I had had the honour of being selected for some
important duty, and that he could fully rely on my carrying it out with
my usual zeal, energy, and discretion. I bowed, and replied that I was
always anxious to do my duty; but my heart, I confess, did beat rather
quickly and anxiously in consequence of the possibility I at once saw of
realising the hopes I had so long entertained, I need not, however,
again revert to that subject.

"Some intelligent pilots are required to conduct the men-of-war and
transports up James river, as also some guides are wanted for the