ter quarters, captain Lacey sent in his resignation to the coun cil of safety, accompanied by a detailed statement of his reasons for a procedure so little congenial with his wishes and original views; but which existing circumstances, in his opinion, imperiously required him to adopt. His connexions, who were generally inimical to the revolution, hearing of his resignation, and the reasons which induced it, seized the occasion to urge him to abandon the pursuit of arms, and the cause in which he was engaged: but he was too warmly devoted to both, to listen to their entreaties, or to be a passive spectator of the contest.

The legislature of Pennsylvania, under the new constitution, was in session at Philadelphia, during the ensuing winter, and was busily engaged in acts to organize the government. Among others, a militia law was passed on the 17th of March, 1777, by which an important tribunal was established in each county, composed of a lieutenant and four sublieutenants, with the rank of colonel and lieutenant-colonels, respectively. These officers were to hold courts, to class and district the militia, to organize them into regiments and companies, to hold the elections for officers, to call out the classes, find substitutes in the places of delinquents, and to assess and cause the assessments on delinquents to be collected, and paid into the state treasury; with other extensive duties enumerated in the act. Mr. Lacey was appointed one of the sublieutenants of Bucks county, on the 22d of March, 1777; and having acquired some knowledge of military affairs, during the campaign of 1776, was one of the most active and efficient in the prosecution of the business. Having succeeded in organizing the militia of Bucks, Mr. Lacey carried in the returns of the officers, when he was complimented by the executive council, as being the first who had complied with the requisitions of the law. The militia of the district in which Mr. Lacey resided, chose him for their lieutenant colonel, and as the appointment did not interfere with his duties of sublieutenant, he was commissioned a lieutenant colonel on the 6th of May, 1777, and continued to act in both capacities.

When the British army got possession of Philadelphia, after the battle of Brandywine, a draft was made on the militia of Bucks county, for the purpose of relieving those whose term of service was about to expire; and lieutenant colonel Lacey, ever anxious and ready for active employment, solicited and obtained the command of a regiment, from the officer whose turn it was to take the field. Having collected between three and four hundred men, he marched from Newtown, and joined general Potter's brigade, at Whitemarsh, in the beginning of November, 1777. Whilst on this tour of

duty, he was engaged in frequent skirmishes with parties of the enemy, particularly in one of some severity near the Gulf mills, on Schuylkill, from which he had a narrow escape, in consequence of his perseverance in rallying and encouraging the troops, in the face of a superior force. General Washington, in his orders the next day, expressly complimented colonel Lacey's regiment, for its good conduct on the occasion. After this affair, colonel Lacey commanded a detachment of militia on the eastern side of the Schuylkill, until the close of the campaign. His active exertions in suppressing intercourse with the British, and breaking up the iniquitous traffic of their adherents, had by this time so strongly excited the hatred of the tories and disaffected, that they menaced him with personal vengeance: but a spirit so determined, and devoted to the service, was not to be influenced by such considerations. Their threats were despised, and their denunciations disregarded.

About the time when colonel Lacey was preparing to retire, at the close of this tour of duty, he received the appointment of brigadier general, dated the 9th of January, 1778, and was ordered immediately to relieve general Potter. His commission was enclosed in the following letter from the secretary of the executive council:

“SIR,

"Lancaster, January 9, 1778.

"Enclosed is a commission authorising you to act as a brigadier general of the militia of this state. I congratulate you on this appointment, which, at the same time that it does you honor, in acknowledging your merit as an officer, affords a reasonable hope for benefit to the public, by calling you into the field in an important station. I sincerely wish you success, and am with great respect,

"Your very humble servant,

"TY. MATLACK, Secretary. "To brigadier general Lacey, at Camp."

General Lacey was not yet twenty-three years of age, when he was invested with this important and very arduous com mand. On receiving the appointment, the responsibilities of which might have shaken the resolution of a more experienced officer, he repaired to his post, and had a most harrassing duty to perform, on the lines, while the British army occupied Philadelphia. The utmost vigilance was required, to cut off the intercourse of the tories with the city, and also to watch the movements of the enemy's parties, who denounced vengeance against the new general, and declared they would have him, dead or alive. He was incessantly employed in this service, until the middle of May, at the head of a fluctuating

body of militia, whose force sometimes amounted to five hundred men, but was frequently reduced to less than half that number. On the 1st of May, owing to the misconduct of the officer commanding the scouts, his camp was surprised, near the Billet. (now village of Hatborough,) by a strong detachment of the British, consisting, according to their own account, "of four hundred light infantry, three hundred rangers, and a party of light dragoons," under the command of colonel Abercrombie. He was assailed on all sides, about daylight, and was, for a short time, in a most perilous situation. He, however, determined on a bold expedient, and forming his little band with all possible despatch, he fought his way through the enemy, with the loss of twenty six killed, and an inconsiderable number of wounded and prisoners. The wounded, in this affair, were treated with the most wanton and shameful cruelty, by the British. Some of them were thrown into buckwheat-straw, and the straw set on fire while they were yet alive; and others who had been disabled by musket balls, were afterwards deliberately hacked and mangled with cutlasses and bayonets, for the mere purpose as it would seem, of venting the rage and chagrin of the barbarians, at not hav ing succeeded more completely in the object of their expedition. The militia behaved with great firmness, on this occasion, which enabled their commander to extricate them from their dangerous position, with a comparatively moderate loss. A letter from council to general Lacey, dated May 16, says, "your conduct is highly approved, and your men have justly acquired great reputation by their bravery."

A number of hazardous enterprizes in the vicinity of the enemy's outposts, requiring great address and dexterity in the execution, were undertaken by general Lacey, at the request of general Washington; and were performed, for the most part, with entire success, and always to the satisfaction of the latter. A most unpleasant duty was also imposed, by the comander in chief, upon general Lacey, to be performed amongst his neighbours and relations; which was, the derangement of their grist mills, and the destruction of grain, forage, and other private property, with a view to distress the enemy, and prevent him from drawing supplies from that part of the country. This painful service was executed, reluctantly, indeed, but with such rigid impartiality in all cases, that some of his connexions could hardly ever forgive him for it; notwithstanding he had acted under the peremptory orders of general Washington, who believed that the safety and best interests of the republic required the measure.

After the British had evacuated Philadelphia, general Lacey was elected a member of the general assembly, from the county

The year

of Bucks, and took his seat in November, 1778. following he was elected to council, of which he was a member for the three succeeding years. In August, 1780, general Washington being apprehensive that the enemy intended to aim another blow at Pennsylvania, general Lacey was ordered to Trenton, in New-Jersey, with a brigade of militia from the counties of Bucks and Berks; and by a correspondence with the president of council, he appears to have been in almost continual service until October, 1781, when the militia were discharged, and the thanks of the council voted to them and their commander.

During this command general Lacey married a daughter of colonel Thomas Reynolds, of New-Jersey, and shortly af terwards removed to that state and settled at the village of New-Mills, in Burlington county, where he became largely concerned in iron works. He was, for many years, an active and useful citizen of his adopted state, having been a judge and justice of the county where he resided, and also a member of the legislature. In the latter part of his life he was much afflicted with gout, to which disease he fell a victim, on the 17th of February, 1814, aged 59 years.

General Lacey is represented by all who knew him and served with him in the revolution, as having been an officer of a remarkable fine, martial appearance, and of the most determined and enterprizing character. All his letters, written under every difficulty and pressure of the times, breathe the most ardent spirit of patriotism and inflexible devotion to the cause of his country's liberty and independence.

LAURENS, HENRY, was born in Charleston, South Carolina, in the year 1724. He took an early part in opposing the arbitrary claims of Great Britain, at the commencement of the American revolution. When the provincial congress of Carolina met in June, 1775, he was appointed its president; in which capacity he drew up a form of association, to be signed by all the friends of liberty, which indicated a most determined spirit. Being a member of the general congress, after the resignation of Hancock, he was appointed president of that illustrious body, in November, 1777. In 1780, he was deputed to solicit a loan from Holland, and to negotiate at reaty with the United Netherlands; but on his pasage, he was captured by a British vessel, on the banks of Newfoundland. He threw his papers overboard, but they were recovered by a sailor. Being sent to England, he was committed to the tower, on the 6th of October, as a state prisoner, upon a charge of high treason. Here he was confined more than year, and was treated with great severity, being denied. for the most part, all intercourse with his friends, and forbidden the use of

pen, ink, and paper. His capture occasioned no small embarrassment to the ministry. They dared not condemn him as a rebel, through fear of retaliation; and they were unwilling to release him, lest he should accomplish the object of his mission. The discoveries found in his papers, led to a war with Great Britain and Holland, and Mr. Adams was appointed in his place to carry on the negotiation with the United Provinces.

Many propositions were then made to him, which were repelled with indignation. At length, news being received that his eldest son, a youth of such uncommon talents, exalted sentiments, and prepossessing manners and appearance, that a romantic interest is still attached to his name, had been appointed the special minister of congress to the French court, and was there urging the suit of his country, with winning eloquence, the father was requested to write to his son, and urge his return to America; it being farther hinted, that, as he was held a prisoner, in the light of a rebel, his life should depend upon compliance. "My son is of age," replied the heroic father of an heroic son, "and has a will of his own. I know him to be a man of honor. He loves me dearly, and would lay down his life to save mine; but I am sure that he would not sacrifice his honor to save my life, and I applaud him.” This veteran was, not many months after, released, with a request from lord Shelburne that he would pass to the continent and assist in negotiating a peace between Great Britain and the free United States of America, and France their ally.

Towards the close of the year 1781, his sufferings, which had, by that time, become well known, excited the utmost sympathy for himself, but kindled the warmest indignation against the authors of his cruel confinement. Every attempt to draw concessions from this inflexible patriot having proved more than useless, his enlargement was resolved upon, but difficulties arose as to the mode of effecting it. Pursuing the same high-minded course which he had at first adopted, and influenced by the noblest feelings of the heart, he obstinately refused his consent to any act which might imply a confession that he was a British subject, for as such he had been committed on a charge of high treason. It was finally proposed to take bail for his appearance at the court of king's bench, and when the words of the recognizance, our sovereign lord the king," were read to Mr. Laurens, he distinctly replied in open court, "not my sovereign!" With this declaration, he, with Messrs. Oswald and Anderson, as his securities, were bound for his appearance at the next court of king's bench for Easter term, and for not departing without leave of the court, upon which he was immediately discharg