served in several engagements, and
who desires his discharge only in consequence of the loss of a
limb, which unfits him for further service. His dutiful
conduct is reported to me to be equal to his bravery; and he
retires from the army with my good opinion and that of all
whom I have heard speak of him.

(Signed,) G. WASHINGTON.

From among other testimonials to Mr. Kemp's worth and conduct, which formed
to her dying day, the pride and solace of his aged mother, I select the
following, given by Col. Samuel Smith, the late Mayor of Baltimore, and
the gallant defender of Fort Mifflin against the six days' attacks of the
British.

"Andrew Kemp has served with me three times; the last nearly
four months. He was discharged from the army last month, in
consequence of the loss of his leg and other bodily
infirmities. I have always found his conduct exemplary. He
came to me with high recommendations from officers whom he had
previously served with, and fully realized what they had
prepared me to expect from him.

(Signed,) SAMUEL SMITH.
_September 3, 1778."_

This brave fellow fell a victim to his benevolent daring, during the
prevalence of the yellow fever in this city, in 1798. Upon the death of his
mother, the certificates of character which I have transcribed, and a
number of his letters, of various dates, written while he was in the army,
passed into the hands of the veteran, to whom in my former article, I
referred, but whose name I am not _yet_ at liberty to mention. From among
them, I make two selections--the first a letter to his mother, who then
resided in Chester County.

_Camp, June 13th; 1788._

My Dear Mother,--You must be very uneasy not hearing from me
so long, and the only wonder is that I am alive to give any
account of myself. After my escape from Philadelphia, last
November, I wrote to you, but whether you received my letter
or not I cannot tell, for I have never heard a word of you
since. We have had a dreadful time of it through the winter at
Valley Forge. Sometimes for a week at a time with nothing but
frozen potatoes, and even worse off still for clothing;
sometimes the men obliged to sleep by turns for want of
blankets to cover the whole, and the rest keeping watch by the
fires. There is hardly a man w