nearly exhausted, and there were no means of procuring a supply. The men bore up bravely; while the courage and constancy of the gentle sex were beyond all praise. "A terrible cannonade," says the Baroness Reidesel, in her interesting narrative, "was commenced by the enemy against the house in which I sought to obtain shelter for myself and children, under the mistaken idea that all the generals were in it. Alas! it contained none but wounded and women. We were at last obliged to resort to the cellar for refuge, and in one corner of this I remained the whole day, my children sleeping on the earth with their heads in my lap, and in the same situation I passed a sleepless night. Eleven cannon balls passed through the house, and we could distinctly hear them roll away. One poor soldier, who was lying on a table, for the purpose of having his leg amputated, was struck by a shot, which carried away his other; his comrades had left him, and when we went to his assistance, we found him in a corner of the room, into which he had crept, more dead than alive, scarcely breathing. My reflections on the danger to which my husband was exposed, now agonized me exceedingly, and the thoughts of my children, and the necessity of struggling for their preservation, alone sustained me." The cellar was filled with terrified women and wounded officers, upon whom the baroness attended with devoted zeal, resigning even her own food to relieve their more pressing wants. One day her husband and General Philips came over to see her, at the imminent risk of their lives; the latter declaring, as he went away, "I would not for ten thousand guineas come again to this place, my heart is almost broken." This sad state of things continued for several days, when, to the baroness's great joy, a cessation of hostilities was agreed upon.
On the morning of the 14th of October, Burgoyne sent the following message to the American commander. "After having fought you twice, Lieutenant-General Burgoyne has waited some days in his present position, determined to try a third conflict against any force you could bring against him. He is apprized of your superiority of numbers, and the disposition of your troops to impede his supplies, and render his retreat a scene of carnage on both sides. In this situation, he is impelled by humanity, and thinks himself justified by established principles and precedents of state and war, to spare the lives of brave men upon honorable terms. Should Major-General Gates be inclined to treat upon that idea, General Burgoyne would propose a cessation of arms during the time necessary to communicate the preliminary terms, by which in any extremity he and his army mean to abide." Two days were spent in discussion and settlement of the terms of a surrender, and on the morning of the 17th of October, the capitulation was formally agreed upon. Gates wished to obtain a surrender, as prisoners of war; but knowing that Clinton was making special efforts on the Hudson, in hope of relieving Burgoyne, he did not think it worth while to be too tenacious on this point. The substance of
