[page 197]

133.

On September 20^th, General Washington inspected us. On the 24^th, we set off again for 8 miles to Grambon, a domain 18 miles from New York. We relaxed there with the idea of carrying out a siege of New York, but nothing happened. We set about constructing camp barracks and stayed there awhile, but when we were finally settled in, we had to leave again and abandoning the barracks that we had constructed brought us much sorrow.

Den 20ten 7br passierte der General Wassington bey uns seine Musterung. Den 24ten brachen wir alda wiedrum auf 8 Meilen bis Grambon ein Gendelmäns Hoffe 18 Meilen von Ney-Yorck. Alda hatten wir Rastag und auch noch in der Meynung Neu-Yorck zu belagern, welches aber wiedrum zu nichts wurde. Jetzt fingen wir an im Lager Baracken zu bauen und verblieben auch eine Zeit lang alda stille liegen, aber doch da wir am besten eingerichtet, mußten wir wiedrum aufbrechen und unsre Baracken zurücklassen welche wir mit grosser Mühe errichtet hatten.

On October 23^rd, we set off again to travel 15 miles to Danbury, a small town near the mountain in a pleasant region. That is where the province of New England starts[272].

Den 23ten 8br brachen wir wiedrum auf 15 Meilen biß Danbury ein Städtgen am Gebürge in einer angenehmen Gegend. Wir schlugen das Lager gantz nahe dabey. Alda fangt die Profintz Neu-England an.

On the 24^th, we set off again for 10 miles to Newtown, a beautiful little town near the mountain. We made our camp right beside it and had a day of rest.

Den 24ten brachen wir wiedrum auf 10 Meilen bis Neuthaun ein schönes Städtgen am Gebürge. Wir schlugen das Lager gantz nahe dabey und hatten Rastag alda.

On the 26^th, we set off again for 18 miles to Breckneck. Along the way we had passed through a burg, Gatbahr, which is 3[273] miles long. We made camp near Breckneck.

Den26ten brachen wir auf 18 Meilen biß Breckneck. Wir passierten unterwegs einen Flecken mit Namens Gatbahr welcher 3 englische Meilen lang ist. Wir schlugen das Lager bey Breckneck.

On the 27^th, we set off again for 15 miles to Barronsthawern, an inn next to which we made camp, in a forest. In the evening there were all kinds of entertainment in our camp, and we saw the officers and soldiers dance and jump with all the beautiful young American women: this entertainment lasted until nightfall.

Den 27ten brachen wir wiedrum auf 15 Meilen biß Barronsthawern ein Wirthshaus allwo wir das Lager schlugen im Walde. Gegen Abend sahe man alle Lustbahrkeiten in unserem Lager mit Tantzen und Springen der Officirs und Soldaten mit denen schönen americanischen Jungfrauen : Diese Lustbahrkeiten tauerten biß in die dunckle Nacht.

[réclame]

als

https://gallica.bnf.fr/iiif/ark:/12148/btv1b10110846m/f99/pct:50,0,100,100/,700/0/native.jpg

Strasbourg, Médiathèque André Malraux, ms f 15, p. 197.

[agrandir]

Notes

272. As he fails to take into account the different colonies of the American northeast as distinct entities (he does not mention the borders between Rhode Island and Connecticut, for example), Flohr seems to group the four colonies of Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire together under the term New England (as “provinces”). This was a common conception, which corresponds to a geographical and especially cultural reality. Originally, two English companies were in competition for the colonization of North America. The Virginia Company of London was granted a charter including the territories south of Long Island to Cape Fear (the future state of North Carolina), whereas to the Virginia Company of Plymouth fell the territories north of the Hudson Estuary to New France. The term “New England” appeared for the first time in 1620, when Plymouth (modern-day Massachussets) was founded, the second company’s colonies kept the name “Virginia”. Faced with growing tensions with the Indian tribes, Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, New Haven, and Connecticut colonies formed the New England Confederation in 1649. Even if the different attempts to bring the colonies together failed, the economic conditions (livestock farming, exploitation of forests and sea, trading), religious conditions (a very significant Puritan community), political conditions (these colonies did not have a governor appointed by the King of England), and exterior conditions (external trade was dominated by exchanges with Great Britain) contributed to the creation of a distinct regional identity from the southern and “middle” colonies. The Thirteen Colonies of the eighteenth century are generally divided into three groups: New England, the Middle Colonies, and the Southern Colonies.

273. On page 43, it is only 2 miles.