onel
Little's regiments, that understand that business, are desired to
voluntarily turn out every day, and they shall be excused from all
other duty, and allowed one half a pint of rum a day." Two guns fired
from Cobble Hill were to be the signal that the enemy had landed on
Long Island.]

REDOUBT AT THE MILL.--Near the corner of the present Degraw and Bond
streets, a small battery or breastwork, in the form of a right angle,
mounting one gun, was thrown up to cover the narrow passage over a
mill-dam which here crossed Gowanus Creek. It stood at the extremity
of a long low sand-hill, and the dam connected this point with a
tongue of land on the opposite side, on which two mills were built,
known as the upper or yellow, and lower mills. The upper mill was
immediately opposite the redoubt, and it was here that the Port Road
came down to the edge of the creek.

RED HOOK--FORT DEFIANCE.--This work, already referred to, was
originally a single water battery, mounting four eighteen-pounders,
_en barbette_, to prevent the passage of ships east of Governor's
Island, as well as to keep the enemy from landing at the southern
extremity of the peninsula. Washington speaks of it in May as being "a
small, but exceedingly strong" fort. Lieutenant Samuel Shaw, of Knox's
artillery, who was stationed there most of the summer, states that it
was named "Fort Defiance," and subsequently strengthened by additional
works, which, from the Hessian map and the Stiles draft, appear to
have consisted of a second and larger redoubt connected with the first
by an intrenchment or inclosed way.[45] On the 5th of July, Greene
wrote to Washington that he regarded Red Hook as "a post of vast
importance," and proposed stationing a considerable force there
permanently, as in that case the commanding officer would be "more
industrious to have every thing in readiness, and obstinate in
defence" when the attack came; and on the 8th we find the order for
"Col. Varnum's regiment to remove their encampment to Red Hook, and do
the duty of that post."

[Footnote 45: "Our fort [Defiance] is much strengthened by new works
and more troops, and it is in so good a posture of defence, that it
would be almost impossible to take it either by attack or surprise. To
guard against the latter, each man is every other night on
duty."--_Memoir of Samuel Shaw_, p. 17.]

FORT STIRLING.--The first work laid out on Long Island, as we have
seen, was Fort Stirling, which, in co