After a part of the brigade was over the bridge, Colonel
Barber, aid to General Washington, rode up, and said that the orders
of the commander-in-chief were that he should halt. Colonel Burr
remonstrated. He said his men, in their present position, were exposed
to the fire of the enemy, and that his whole brigade must now cross
the bridge before they could halt with any safety. Colonel Barber
repeated that the orders of General Washington were peremptory that he
should halt, which was accordingly done, and the brigade, in their
divided state, suffered severely. Lieutenant-colonel Dummer was
killed; Colonel Burr's horse was shot under him; and those who had
crossed the bridge were compelled to retreat.
The movements and the firing of the armies continued until dark. The
Americans remained on the battle-ground, with an intention of renewing
the attack in the morning. Burr's uniform practice was, when near an
enemy, to be up at night, visiting his own pickets, and taking the
necessary precautions for avoiding a surprise. The night preceding the
action Colonel Burr was thus engaged, as it was known that the British
would move at dawn of day, if not before, and General Washington had
given orders to Lee, who was in the advance, to commence the attack as
soon as they did move. The weather was intensely hot. Notwithstanding
the fatigue which Colonel Burr had undergone during the night of the
27th and the succeeding day, yet he remained up the night of the 28th
also.
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