Behold again the wildwood shade,
The mountain steep, the checkered glade,
And hoary rocks and bubbling rills,
And pointed waves and distant hills.

_Robert C. Sands._

* * *

The capture of Fort Clinton and Fort Montgomery was two years before
Mad Anthony's successful assault on Stony Point. Early in the history
of the Revolution, the British Government thought that it would be
possible to cut off the eastern from the middle and southern Colonies
by capturing and garrisoning commanding points along the Hudson and
Lake Champlain. It was therefore decided in London, in the spring of
1777, to have Sir Henry Clinton approach from the south and Burgoyne
from the north. Reinforcements, however, arrived late from England and
it was September before Clinton transported his troops, about 4,000
in number, in warships and flat-boats up the river. Governor George
Clinton was in charge of Fort Montgomery, and his brother James of
Fort Clinton, while General Putnam, with about 2,000 men, had his
headquarters at Peekskill. In addition to these forts, a chain was
stretched across the Hudson from Anthony's Nose to a point near the
present railroad bridge, to obstruct the British fleet. General
Putnam, however, became convinced that Sir Henry Clinton proposed
to attack Fort Independence. Most of the troops were accordingly
withdrawn from Forts Montgomery and Clinton, when Sir Henry Clinton,
taking advantage of a morning fog, crossed with 2,000 men at King's
Ferry. Guided by a sympathizer of the British cause, who knew the