Lieut.-Colonel John Bird, Ensign Anthony Frederick, and five rank and file of the regiment were killed; Captains George Goldfrap and Harry Ditmas, Lieutenant George Thomas, Ensign Henry Ball, two serjeants, and forty-two rank and file wounded. In alluding to the death of Lieut.-Colonel Bird, General Sir William Howe spoke of it as an event 'much to be lamented, he being an officer of experience and approved merit.' General Washington formed a fortified camp at _Whitemarsh_; and early in December the British army advanced with the view of inducing the Americans to quit their lines and offer battle, or of finding a vulnerable part in their fortified camp. Several skirmishes occurred, in which the British troops evinced their native intrepidity and firmness, and were victorious in every instance; but the defences of the American camp were found too strong to be attacked, and the army marched into winter quarters at Philadelphia. [Sidenote: 1778] After passing the winter at the capital of Pennsylvania, the regiment furnished several parties, in the spring of 1778, to range the country, and open communications for bringing in supplies. The regiment also shared in the fatigues and difficulties of the march of the army from Philadelphia to New York, under Lieut.-General Sir Henry Clinton, rendered necessary by the French monarch having united with the revolted British provinces, and thus changed the character of the war. As the army pursued its journey, crossing rivers, and traversing a wild and woody country, the enemy menaced the flanks and rear with an attack in force; and on the 28th of June, some sharp fighting took place, near _Freehold_ in New Jersey, when the grenadier company of the FIFTEENTH distinguished itself, and the enemy was repulsed. Captain Cathcart, of the regiment, was wounded; and also Captain Ditmas, who was attached to the second grenadier battalion. The army afterwards continued its route, and arrived at New York in July. A powerful French armament menacing the British possessions in the West Indies, the FIFTEENTH, and several other corps, sailed from North America, early in November, for Barbadoes, under Major-General Grant. While the regiment was at sea, its colonel, Major-General the Earl of Cavan, died at Dublin, and was succeeded by Major-General William Fawcett, deputy adjutant-general to the forces.