A council was held, and the opinion
of Mifflin unanimously adopted. The embarcation of the troops was
committed to General McDOUGALL. He was at Brooklyn Ferry by eight
o'clock. In the early part of the night, the weather was very
unfavourable; but about eleven o'clock every thing was propitious. A
thick fog ensued, and continued until the whole army, 9000 in number,
with all the field artillery, ordnance, &c., were safely landed in
New-York. Major Burr was at Brooklyn. Here General McDOUGALL had an
opportunity of noticing his efficiency. His reputation for talents and
intrepidity had previously reached the ears of the general. From this
night, the 29th of August, 1776, until Major Burr retired from the
army, he possessed the entire confidence and esteem of General
McDOUGALL. Subsequent events, as will hereafter appear, tended to
strengthen and confirm the correctness of those prepossessions, thus
formed in the hour of peril, and in the midst of the most appalling
dangers.
The situation of General Washington, after retreating from Long
Island, was very distressing. The defeat which the Americans had
experienced produced consternation and alarm in the ranks of a raw,
inexperienced, and undisciplined army. In addition to other
discouraging circumstances, within a few days after the retreat,
nearly one fourth of the troops were on the sick-list. Colonel Glover
says that the commander-in-chief divided his army, posting 12,000 at
Kingsbridge, 6500 at Harlem, and 4500 in the city of New-York.
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