“By the light occasioned by the flash of the gun I could perceive a body of them...”

“By the light occasioned by the flash of the gun I could perceive a body of them...”. . , Fleche #1 was situated on this hill, and mounted a brass 12-pounder cannon (one which fired a 12-pound ball) under the command of Lieutenant William Horndon, of the Royal Artillery. Horndon was unaware that the shots from Major Murfree’s Light Infantry, who were firing in the center and approaching from the west, were a diversion for the two other American columns advancing around both flanks. Lt. Horndon later described his experience at a British court-martial:, … I heard a great firing of musketry … and consequently opened with the twelve-pounder … By the light occasioned by the flash of the gun I could perceive a body of them [the American Light Infantry] coming through the water upon our left. I attempted to bring the gun to bear upon them, but could not effect it, the embrasure being too confined., Meanwhile, a 3-pounder cannon located near the front of the present museum fired 69 rounds at the secondary column of Americans attacking around the north side of the peninsula, but it was too late to halt the Light Infantry’s rapid advance. The main column – 700 men wading through Haverstraw Bay on the south and led by Wayne himself – had already outflanked Horndon’s 12-pounder, and was ascending the rocky slope toward the Upper Works.