Diary of Reverend Enos Hitchcock, June 9, 1777

Went fishing up east Crick—News from Canada—by two Frenchmen, Burgoine¹ arrived 10th of May without Troops—yt. many of the Soldiers had died— the Hessians uneasy—500 French imprisoned for refusing to enlist—300 at Isle la Noix, 200 St Johns, a Reinforsment of 4000 expected—cloudy A. M. cleared of P. M.

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¹ John Burgoyne, Colonel Sixteenth Dragoons, Major-General in the army and Lieutenant-General in America, commanded the expedition from Canada and finally surrendered at Saratoga his splendid little army. A brilliant and superficial officer, popular in court circles,— having made a successful dash of cavalry in Portugal,— he was sent to America, where so many military reputations acquired in Europe have been wrecked. He had neither the breadth of intelligence nor the character required for an important campaign. By comparison with the home government, he succeeded in Canada and New York, in that their conduct of the campaign was worse than his management. See Rogers, Hadden’s Journal, pp. lxxx., 387.

SOURCE: Amos Perry, The Town Records of Rhode Island, Publications of the Rhode Island Historical Society, New Series, Vol. 7 (1899), pp. 111-2