During the greater part of the war, a guard was kept up in the village. For a considerable time this was done by the militia of the town. The object was, not so much to watch the prisoners, as to detect sailors and stragglers, who would leave their vessels off the beach and come through the village, on their way to New-York, for the purpose of escaping being taken by the press-gang, who were coasting on the waters, in and about the city. The guard detailed for duty consisted usually of seven, of whom two were sent out on patrol. Several amusing anecdotes occurred relative to this guard, but we have not room to narrate them.

In 1781, a regiment of new recruits, under Colonel Hewlett, raised chiefly in Queens County, came to Flatbush and were billetted on the inhabitants. After these, a regiment who had been taken prisoners in the West-Indies, From Waldeck in Germany, commanded by Colonel De Horn, were sent to the place, and billetted upon the inhabitants to a certain extent. They were obliged to find them quarters, but not provisions. The officers had their own rooms, and the soldiers generally occupied the kitchens of the houses. This regiment behaved well; no depredations were committed by them. We cannot refrain from giving an account of one of them. His name was Raymond. He w as desirous of joining the American army; for this purpose he deserted, and at great risk, got on board of an American merchant ship,—unfortunately for poor Raymond, this ship was soon captured by the British, and the deserter was sent back to Flatbush to his regiment. A court-martial was held upon his case, and he was sentenced to pass through the gantlet, as it was called, ten times, and each time to be whipped. He was prepared with bare back accordingly, and the regiment being arranged in open file, poor Raymond passed with a file of soldiers before him to prevent his going faster than such a gait, through the long line, while every man on either side was required to give him a cut with a whip. At the end of each turn, a sergeant passed through the line with a fresh supply of whips, and every soldier drew from the bunch a new rod, with which more severely to punish Raymond. This was enacted ten times,— and one would have supposed that at the end of it, Raymond would have fallen down dead. His back, as might have been supposed, was dreadfully lacerated, almost every whip drawing blood; but as if by a miracle, the poor fellow survived, and eventually got well. But all this whipping did not drive out of him a love to the American cause. He determined again to desert; but before doing so, wished to revenge himself by killing his Colonel. But his associates would not agree with him in this undertaking. He however, with some few others, eventually deserted and got safely within the American lines, and on visiting Philadelphia and making his story known, he was treated with such signal attention, as almost to compensate him for his past trials and sufferings.

Among others who were billetted in Flatbush, were the soldiers who had fought in Canada, in the French war. Of these nothing particular is told. For accommodating