From among other testimonials to Mr. Kemp's worth and conduct, which formed
to her dying day, the pride and solace of his aged mother, I select the
following, given by Col. Samuel Smith, the late Mayor of Baltimore, and
the gallant defender of Fort Mifflin against the six days' attacks of the
British.
"Andrew Kemp has served with me three times; the last nearly
four months. He was discharged from the army last month, in
consequence of the loss of his leg and other bodily
infirmities. I have always found his conduct exemplary. He
came to me with high recommendations from officers whom he had
previously served with, and fully realized what they had
prepared me to expect from him.
(Signed,) SAMUEL SMITH.
_September 3, 1778."_
This brave fellow fell a victim to his benevolent daring, during the
prevalence of the yellow fever in this city, in 1798. Upon the death of his
mother, the certificates of character which I have transcribed, and a
number of his letters, of various dates, written while he was in the army,
passed into the hands of the veteran, to whom in my former article, I
referred, but whose name I am not _yet_ at liberty to mention. From among
them, I make two selections--the first a letter to his mother, who then
resided in Chester County.
_Camp, June 13th; 1788._
My Dear Mother,--You must be very uneasy not hearing from me
so long, and the only wonder is that I am alive to give any
account of myself. After my escape from Philadelphia, last
November, I wrote to you, but whether you received my letter
or not I cannot tell, for I have never heard a word of you
since. We have had a dreadful time of it through the winter at
Valley Forge. Sometimes for a week at a time with nothing but
frozen potatoes, and even worse off still for clothing;
sometimes the men obliged to sleep by turns for want of
blankets to cover the whole, and the rest keeping watch by the
fires. There is hardly a man whose feet have not been frost
bitten. I have been laid by nearly the whole time on account
of my leg, from which I suffered very much; and Doctor Le
Brean insisted upon taking it off, but I would not suffer him;
for which I have great reason to be joyful, for it is now
nearly as well as ever, except a little stiffness,
particularly after marching. But our distress from want of
food and comfortable raiment, was nothing compared to the
grumbling of some of the men, and I am sorry to say, of some
of the officers. I really thought we should have a meeting
once or twice; but we weathered through without it. Some hard
things are said since about some of the officers, but the
whole talk of the army is now about General Reed. There have
been a good many attempts to conceal it from the men, but it
has pretty much leaked out. This spring, it seems, King George
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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