"Mrs. Murray," says Dr. Thacher in his military journal,
"treated them with cake and wine, and they were induced to tarry two
hours or more, Governor Tryon frequently joking her about her American
friends. By this happy incident, General Putnam, by continuing his
march, escaped a rencounter with a greatly superior force, which must
have proved fatal to his whole party. Ten minutes, it is said, would
have been sufficient for the enemy to have secured the road at the
turn and entirely cut off General Putnam's retreat. It has since
become almost a common saying among our officers, that Mrs. Murray
saved this part of the American army."

* * * * *

Of the Kip's Bay affair there is but one criticism to be made--it was
an ungovernable panic. Beginning with a retreat from the water-line,
it grew into a fright and a run for safer ground. Panics are often
inexplicable. The best troops as well as the poorest have been known
to fly from the merest shadow of danger. In this case, so far as the
_beginning_ of the rout is concerned, probably the militiamen did no
worse than Washington's best men would have done. A retreat from the
ship's fire could not have been avoided, though, with better troops,
the subsequent rout could have been checked and the enemy retarded.

The incident was especially unfortunate at that time, as it served to
increase existing jealousies between the troops from the different
States, and so far impair the morale of the army. It excites a smile
to-day to read that men from New York, Pennsylvania, and Maryland
charged New Englanders generally with provincialism and cowardice, and
that the charge was resented; but such was the fact. The feeling
between them grew to such an extent that Washington was obliged to
issue orders condemning its indulgence. The Kip's Bay panic offered a
favorable opportunity for emphasizing these charges, and the
Connecticut and Massachusetts runaways came in for their full share of
uncomplimentary epithets. The Connecticut men were remembered
particularly, "dastards" and "cowards" being the terms which greeted
their ears. All this of course could not but be ruinous to the
discipline of the army, and it was an alarming fact to be dealt
with.[189] The men south of New England were not without reason in
making their harsh criticisms, for many of the New England regiments,
the militia in particular, came upon the ground with an inferior
military organizat