He and his men were the last to gain
the Heights, barely escaping the British as they tried to hem them in,
and reaching the rendezvous long after dark.
It was a current rumor in camp, later, that his escape was not
altogether due to celerity of movement, nimble as he was, but to the
clever ruse of a fair Quakeress, Mrs. Murray (mother of Lindley Murray,
the renowned grammarian), who, being known to the British officers,
invited them in, as they filed past her door, to refresh themselves with
cake and wine. Being fatigued with their labors, and considering the
Americans as good as captured by their clever flanking movement, they
accepted the invitation gladly and remained enjoying her hospitality
about two hours, or just long enough for Putnam and his men to slip out
of the trap and scamper along the North River roads to the rendezvous.
Their joy at their escape when (as Major Humphreys, who was with them,
said) they had been given up for lost by their friends, was tempered
next day by the death of Colonel Knowlton, who had been sent out with
his rangers to reconnoiter the enemy.
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