General Lincoln, in the mean time, desirous of annoying the retreating army of his adversary as much as possible, broke up his encampment at Dorchester on the 4th of June, and moved towards Stono ferry. The apparent strength of the enemy's position, however, determined him to delay an attack, until something should turn up to his advantage; and this occurred in about a fortnight afterwards. Lieutenant Colonel Prevost was detached to Savannah with a part of the forces, and their transportation made it necessary to break up the bridge of boats. Lieutenant Colonel Maitland was now left at the ferry with about 600 men; and General Lincoln determined upon making his attack. To divert the attention of Prevost from his design, he directed General Moultrie with the militia from Charleston to take possession of James' Island, and John's Island, while he himself advanced on the 20th to the attack, the North Carolina militia under Brigadier General Butler on his right, and the continentals under General Sumner on his left; Colonel Malmedy and Lieutenant Colonel Henderson covered the flanks with light troops, while the cavalry and Virginia militia under General Mason formed the reserve. This order of battle was such as to do great honour to the military skill of General Lincoln ; for instead of placing, as was usual, his best troops on the right, thereby exposing them to the weakest wing of his adversary, he brought his regulars into combat with the Highlanders, who composed the right of Colonel Maitland. General Lincoln's approach being announced by the enemy's pickets, two companies of the 71st came out to their support. These being charged by the light flanking companies under Lieu

tenant Colonel Henderson, in close action, and with great vigour, were forced to retreat with very considerable loss, only nine of them having got safely within their lines. Encouraged by this success, Lincoln moved on with ardour to the enemy's intrenchments, giving positive orders that their fire should not be returned, but that the contest should depend wholly on the bayonet. The enemy suffered Lincoln's troops to advance within sixty yards of the abbatis, where a tremendous fire from their artillery and small arms was opened upon them. In despite of General Lincoln's orders, this fire was returned, and a warm and vigorous action continued for an hour and an half, during which the Americans obtained a manifest advantage. But General Moultrie having failed to make the contemplated diversion on John's Island, General Prevost was enabled at the critical moment of the action to send a considerable reinforcement to the aid of Lieutenant Colonel Maitland: the whole garrison immediately sallied out; Lincoln renewed the charge with increased vigour, drove back the enemy's left, and having succeeded in stopping the fire of his troops, was bravely pushing on with the bayonet, when the enemy's reinforcements appeared. This compelled him to change his determination, and order an immediate retreat. Some confusion necessarily ensued, of which Maitland took advantage, advancing with his whole force upon the retreating army. The American cavalry were now ordered up to the charge, but having executed one or two movements with great gallantry, they were forced to give way, when Mason's Virginia brigade moved up and covered the retreat in the most handsome style.

General Lincoln's loss in this action amounted to about 300 killed, wounded and missing; among the killed were several officers of high rank, and much respected. The enemy's loss in killed and wounded was about 170. The action was bravely fought on both sides; and had not the failure of General Moultrie, on the one hand, and the disobedience of orders in returning the fire of the enemy, on the other, deranged the whole plan of General Lincoln, his success would have been certain. Prevost retired immediately after this battle to Savannah, leaving a part of his forces under Lieutenant Colonel Maitland. at Beaufort in the island of Port Royal.

The inhabitants of South Carolina suffered immense losses by the enemy during their invasion of the state. Upwards of 3,000 slaves were carried off by them and sold in the West Indies; and scarcely a plantation within their reach escaped pillage and devastation. The British, however, are not wholly chargeable with this unwarrantable plunder of private property. To the tories and refugees who had joined their army, the greater part of the depredations committed must be ascribed.

While these things were going on in South Carolina and Georgia, Sir Henry Clinton, under the hope of effectually destroying all resistance in the south, planned an expedition, with the advice of Sir George Collier, who now commanded the British naval force at New-York, against Virginia. Two thousand troops for this purpose were placed under the command of Brigadier General Matthews, and conducted by Sir George Collier himself, the fleet sailed from New-York on the 5th of May, and anchored in Hampton Roads on the 9th, on the 10th, Sir George

having shifted his flag to one of the frigates, left the heavy ships in the roads, and proceeded with the smaller ships and transports into Elizabeth river. The principal defence of this river was a small fort on the west side, called fort Nelson, completely exposed to a land attack, and calculated only to defend the channel of the river. This fort was garrisoned by about 150 men under Major Matthews; and the enemy's troops having landed three miles below the fort, there was nothing to prevent their carrying the fort by storm. The Major, therefore, rightly judging this to be the intention of the enemy, very prudently evacuated the fort during the night of the 10th, and escaped with his little garrison to the Great Swamp. Thus was a free passage left both by land and water to the British forces, which moved up on the morning of the 11th, and took possession of the desolated town of Norfolk, and of Portsmouth, at the latter of which Brigadier General Matthews established his head quarters. From this place detachments were sent to Gosport, Suffolk, and the neighbouring places, where considerable destruction was made of vessels, provisions, and naval stores.

The enemy remained in the Elizabeth river only about two weeks, but during that short period they destroyed and carried off upwards of 3000 hogsheads of tobacco, 130 vessels of various denominations, and an immense quantity of stores. Nor was their destruction confined to publick property: almost every house in Suffolk was burned, and every dwelling on their various routes shared the same fate; and before any force could be collected to send against them, they had left the Chesapeake and returned to New York. The royalists had made such representations to Şir

George Collier of the desire of the Virginians to return to their allegiance, that he endeavoured to persuade Sir Henry Clinton to maintain a force at Portsmouth for the purpose of serving as a rallying point to the tories and disaffected Americans, but Sir Henry very wisely determined to withdraw his troops, knowing that at such a distance from succour, a small reverse of fortune, would throw him into the power of the enemy.

Let us now for a time take a view of the movements of the armies in the North.