PARKER, ISAAC, an eminent lawyer, was born in Boston, and graduated at

Harvard college in 1786. He studied law in the office of judge Tudor,

and commenced practice at Castine, in Maine, then an integral part

of Massachusetts. Removing to Portland, he was sent for one term to

congress as a representative from Cumberland county. He also held for

a short time the office of United States’ marshal for that district.

In 1806, he was appointed by governor Strong associate judge of the

supreme court of Massachusetts, and soon after took up his residence at

Boston. In 1814, he was appointed chief justice of the supreme court,

and held that office till his sudden death, in July, 1830, at the age

of sixty-three years. He was distinguished for urbanity, and his legal

opinions are very highly respected.

PARSONS, THEOPHILUS, a distinguished lawyer, was born at Byefield,

Massachusetts, in 1750, and graduated at Harvard college, in 1769.

He studied, and pursued the practice of the law, for some years,

in Falmouth now Portland; but when that town was destroyed by the

British, he retired to the house of his father in Newbury. About a

year afterwards he opened an office in Newburyport. He soon rose to the

highest rank in his profession, and made immense acquisitions in legal

knowledge. His professional services were sought for in all directions,

and after thirty-five years of extensive practice, he was appointed

chief justice of the supreme court of Massachusetts. In 1780, he was

a member of the convention which formed the constitution of the state,

and of the convention which accepted the federal constitution. He was

a powerful speaker, without a rival in knowledge of law, and surpassed

by few in his acquaintance with science and classical literature. He

continued in the seat of chief justice till his death, in 1813.

PENN, WILLIAM, the founder and legislator of Pennsylvania, whom

Montesquieu denominates the modern Lycurgus, was the son of admiral

Penn; was born, in 1644, in London; and was educated at Christ church,

Oxford. At college he imbibed the principles of Quakerism, which, a

few years afterwards he publicly professed. He was, in consequence,

twice turned out of doors by his father. In 1668, he began to preach in

public, and to write in defence of the doctrines which he had embraced.

For this he was thrice imprisoned, and once brought to trial. It was

during his first imprisonment that he wrote No Cross, No Crown. In

1677, he visited Holland and Germany, to propagate Quakerism. In March,

1680–81, he obtained from Charles II. a grant of that territory which

now bears the name of Pennsylvania; in 1682, he embarked for his new

colony; and in the following year he founded Philadelphia. He returned

to England in 1684. So much was he in favor with James II., that,

after the revolution, he was more than once arrested on suspicion of

plotting to restore the exiled monarch; but he at length succeeded

in establishing his innocence. The rest of his life was passed in

tranquillity. He died July 30, 1718. His works have been collected in

two folio volumes.

PERRY, OLIVER HAZARD, a naval officer of distinction, was born at

Kingston, Rhode Island, in August, 1785. He entered the navy of the

United States as a midshipman, and in 1812, was advanced to the office

of master commandant. In the following year he was appointed to the

command of the squadron on lake Erie. On the tenth of September, he

achieved a complete victory over the enemy under commodore Barclay,

after an action of three hours, and captured the whole squadron. He

commanded the Java in the expedition to the Mediterranean, under

commodore Decatur. He died in the West Indies, in 1820.

PETERS, RICHARD, an eminent judge, was born in June, 1744, and received

his education in the city of Philadelphia. He adopted the profession of

the law, and soon obtained an extensive practice. At the commencement

of hostilities with the mother country, Mr. Peters joined the side of

the colonies, and in 1776, was appointed by congress secretary of the

board of war. His exertions in this department were highly meritorious

and useful, and on resigning the post, in 1781, he was elected a member

of congress, and assisted in closing the business of the war. On the

organization of the new government, Mr. Peters was appointed judge of

the district court of Pennsylvania, and performed the duties of this

office for thirty-six years. During this time he was engaged in several

objects of public improvement, and issued several valuable publications

in relation to agriculture. As a judge, he possessed powers of a high

order, and his decisions on admiralty law form the ground work of this

branch of our jurisprudence. Their principles were not only sanctioned

by our own courts, but were simultaneously adopted by lord Stowell,

the distinguished maritime judge of Great Britain. Judge Peters died

in August, 1828.

PICKERING, TIMOTHY, a statesman, was born in Salem, in 1746, and

was graduated at Harvard college, in 1763. He took an active part in

the popular cause, and, in organizing the provisional government of

Massachusetts, in 1775, was appointed a judge of the court of common

pleas for Essex, and sole judge of the maritime court for the middle

district. During the war, he was appointed adjutant-general, and

subsequently a member of the board of war. From 1790 to 1798, at

different intervals, he was employed on various negotiations with the

Indians. He was successively postmaster-general, secretary of war, and

secretary of state. From the last office he was removed by president

Adams, in 1800. From 1803 to 1811, he was a senator in congress from

his native state, and from 1814 to 1817, a representative in that body.

In public life he was distinguished for firmness, energy, activity and

disinterestedness. He died in Salem, in 1829.

PIKE, ZEBULON MONTGOMERY, brigadier-general, was born at Lamberton, New

Jersey, on the fifth of January, 1779. After the purchase of Louisiana,

he was appointed by Mr. Jefferson, in 1805, to explore the sources of

the Mississippi. On his return, he was sent on a similar expedition

to the interior of Louisiana, and on the Rio del Norte was seized by a

Spanish force, and deprived of his papers. He returned in 1807. During

the late war, he was made brigadier-general, and commanded the land

forces in the attack upon York, in Upper Canada, on the twenty-seventh

of April, 1813. In the explosion of the British magazine, he was struck

by a large stone, and died in a few hours. When the British standard

was brought to him, he caused it to be placed under his head, and thus

died at the age of thirty-four.

PINCKNEY, CHARLES COTESWORTH, a distinguished officer of the

revolutionary army, was born in South Carolina, received his education

in England, and studied law in the Temple. On returning to his native

province, in 1769, he devoted himself to the successful practice of his

profession. On the commencement of hostilities, he renounced law for

the study of military tactics, and was soon promoted to the command

of the first regiment of Carolina infantry. He was subsequently

aid-de-camp to Washington, and in this capacity at the battles of

Brandywine and Germantown. On the surrender of Charleston, he was

taken prisoner, and remained so till all opportunity of gaining

fresh reputation in the field had passed. He was a member of the

convention which formed the federal constitution, and in 1796 was

appointed minister to France. When preparations were making for war on

account of the expected French invasion, Mr. Pinckney was nominated a

major-general, but he soon had an opportunity of retiring to the quiet

of private life. He was afterwards president of the Cincinnati society

of the United States. He died in 1825.

PINKNEY, WILLIAM, an eloquent lawyer and statesman, was born in

Maryland, in 1764, and prepared himself for the bar, under the

instruction of judge Chase. He was admitted to practice in 1786, and

soon gave indications of possessing superior powers. He was a member of

the convention of Maryland, which ratified the federal constitution. In

1796 he was appointed one of the commissioners under the British treaty.

The state of Maryland also employed him to procure a settlement of its

claims on the bank of England, and he recovered for it the sum of eight

hundred thousand dollars. This detained him in England till the year

1804, when he returned and resumed his professional labors. In 1806,

he was sent as envoy extraordinary to London, and in 1808, received the

authority of minister plenipotentiary. He returned to the United States

in 1811, and soon after was appointed attorney-general. This office he

held till 1814. During the incursion of the British into Maryland, he

commanded a battalion, and was wounded in the battle of Bladensburgh,

in August, 1814. He was afterwards representative in congress, minister

plenipotentiary to Russia, envoy to Naples, and in 1819, senator in

congress. In the last office he continued till his death, in 1822.

PINKNEY, EDWARD COATE, son of the foregoing, was born in London, in

1802, passed his infancy in England, and was placed as a student in

Baltimore college at the age of ten or eleven. He entered the navy as

a midshipman, and continued in the service for several years. On the

death of his father, he quitted the navy and devoted himself to the

practice of the law. He published, in 1825, a volume of poems, which

possess much beauty. He died in 1828.

PREBLE, EDWARD, a distinguished naval officer, was born at Falmouth,

in Maine, in 1761, and entered the navy as a midshipman, in 1779.

He soon rose to the rank of lieutenant, and during the revolutionary

war distinguished himself by capturing a British vessel at Penobscot.

In 1798, he was appointed to the command of the brig Pickering, and

soon after to the Essex. He commanded, in 1803, a fleet sent against

the Barbary powers, and repeatedly attacked Tripoli with considerable

success. In 1804, he returned to the United States, and died in 1807.

PUTNAM, ISRAEL, an officer in the army of the revolution, was born in

Salem, Massachusetts, 1718. He received but a meagre education, and

removing to Connecticut, engaged in agriculture. In the French war he

commanded a company, and was engaged in several contests with the enemy.

In 1756, he fell into an ambuscade of savages, and was exposed to the

most cruel tortures. He obtained his release in 1759, and returned

to his farm. Soon after the battle of Lexington he joined the army

at Cambridge, was appointed major-general, and distinguished himself

at Bunker’s hill. In 1776, he was sent to complete the fortifications

at New York, and afterwards to fortify Philadelphia. In the winter

of 1777, he was stationed with a small body at Princeton, and in the

spring appointed to a command in the Highlands, where he remained most

of the time till the close of 1779, when he was disabled by an attack

of paralysis. He died in 1790. He was brave, energetic, and one of the

most efficient officers of the revolution.

QUINCY, JOSIAH, a distinguished lawyer and patriot, was born in Boston,

in 1743, and was graduated at Harvard college. He soon became eminent

in the practice of law, and distinguished by his active exertions in

the popular cause. His powers of eloquence were of a very high order.

In 1774, he took a voyage to Europe for the benefit of his health, and

to advance the interests of the colonies. He died on his return, on the

25th of April, 1775, the day the vessel reached the harbor of cape Ann.

RAMSAY, DAVID, an historian, was born in Pennsylvania, in 1749, was

educated at Princeton college, and commenced the study of medicine.

After practising a short time in Maryland, he removed to Charleston,

South Carolina, in 1773, and soon rose to an extensive practice. He

took an active and early part in the cause of the colonies, and was for

some time a surgeon in the revolutionary army. In 1782, he was chosen

to a seat in congress. He wrote a History of the Revolution in South

Carolina; a History of the American Revolution; a Life of Washington; a

History of South Carolina; and a History of the United States. He died

in 1815.

RANDOLPH, EDMUND, governor of Virginia, was educated to the law. After

seeing a little military service in the suite of Washington, he applied

himself to his professional pursuits. He succeeded Patrick Henry to the

gubernatorial chair of Virginia, and occupied it from 1786 to 1788. In

1790, he received from Washington the appointment of attorney-general

of the United States; and in 1794, he succeeded Mr. Jefferson as

secretary of state. In consequence of some difficulties with the

administration, he resigned in August, 1795. He died in Frederic

county, Virginia, in September, 1813.

REED, JOSEPH, a patriot of the revolution, was graduated at the

college in New Jersey, in 1757. While a member of congress, in 1778,

the British commissioner endeavored to procure his influence to bring

about a reconciliation between the colonies and the mother country;

he rejected their offers with the reply,――‘That he was not worth

purchasing; but such as he was, the king of Great Britain was not rich

enough to buy him.’ In 1778, he was chosen president of Pennsylvania,

and retained that office till his death, in 1781.

REEVE, TAPPING, an eminent lawyer, was born at Brook-Haven, in 1744,

and was graduated at Princeton college. He established himself as a

lawyer in Litchfield, Connecticut, where he founded the law school, of

which, for nearly thirty years, he was the principal instructer. He was

for many years judge of the supreme court of that state, and some time

chief justice. His legal attainments were of a high order, and as a man

he possessed the esteem and respect of the community.

RITTENHOUSE, DAVID, a celebrated mathematician, was born in

Pennsylvania, in 1732. During his early life he was employed in

agriculture, but as his constitution was feeble, he became a clock

and mathematical instrument maker. In 1770, he removed to Philadelphia,

and practised his trade. He was elected a member, and for some time

president of the Philosophical society, and one of the commissioners

employed to determine the boundary line between Pennsylvania and

Virginia, and between New York and Massachusetts. He was treasurer

of Pennsylvania from 1777 to 1789, and from 1792 to 1795, director of

the United States mint. His death took place in 1796. His mathematical

talents were of the highest order.

RUSH, BENJAMIN, an eminent physician, was born, in 1745, at Bristol,

in Pennsylvania; was educated at Princeton college, and took his degree

at Edinburgh, was chosen, in 1776, a member of congress, and signed

the declaration of independence; was professor of medicine and clinical

practice at the Pennsylvanian university; and died in 1813. He was

one of the greatest and best men who have adorned his country. Among

his works are Essays, literary, moral, and philosophical; Medical

Inquiries and Observations; and a History of the Yellow Fever.

RUTLEDGE, EDWARD, an eminent lawyer, and a signer of the declaration

of independence, was born in Charleston, South Carolina, in 1749. His

legal education was completed in England, and in 1773 he returned to

his native country, and entered upon the duties of his profession. In

1774, he was appointed a delegate to the congress at Philadelphia, and

took an active part in the discussions of the day. After a successful

practice of his profession for seventeen years, in 1798 he relinquished

his station at the bar, and was elected chief magistrate of South

Carolina. He died in 1800.

SAINT CLAIR, ARTHUR, born at Edinburgh, was a lieutenant under

general Wolfe, and afterwards settled in Pennsylvania, and became a

naturalized citizen. On the commencement of the revolution, he embraced

the cause of the American army, and in February, 1777, was appointed

major-general. He served with distinction, and in 1783, was elected

president of the Cincinnati society of his adopted state. In 1785, he

was elected a delegate to congress, and in 1787, was chosen president

of that body. He was afterwards governor of the North-west territory,

and in 1790, commanded an army against the Miami Indians. He resigned

his commission of major-general in 1792. His latter years were passed

in poverty. He died in 1818.

SANDS, ROBERT C., a man of letters, was born in the city of New York,

on the eleventh of May, 1799. He was graduated at Columbia college, in

1815, and soon after commenced the study of law, in the office of David

B. Ogden, a distinguished advocate of New York. In 1817, he published

the Bridal of Vaumond, an irregular metrical romance, after the

fashion which Scott had made so popular. Subsequently, in conjunction

with his friend the Rev. J. W. Eastburn, he wrote the poem Yamoyden,

which appeared in New York in 1820, and acquired for the authors a

high reputation. In the same year he was admitted to the bar, and

opened an office in the city of New York. In 1822 and 1823, he wrote

many articles for the Literary Review, a monthly periodical, then

published in New York, which received great increase of reputation from

his contributions. Shortly after this he was engaged in a burlesque

publication, entitled the St. Tammany Magazine. In May, 1824, the

Atlantic Magazine was established in New York, and placed under his

care; at the end of six months he gave up this work, but subsequently

resumed its charge, when it changed its name and character, and

appeared as the New York Review. During the same period, he assisted

in editing various compilations on legal subjects. Having now become an

author by profession, and looking to his pen for support, he became the

assistant editor of the New York Commercial Advertiser, and remained in

this situation to the close of his life. While engaged in the laborious

and incessant duties of a daily journal, Mr. Sands prosecuted various

other literary undertakings with much success. He was one of the chief

contributors to the Talisman, in which he was assisted by his friends

Bryant and Verplanck. He edited a new Life of Paul Jones, and wrote

two stories in the Tales of Glauber Spa. His death occurred suddenly,

in the thirty-fourth year of his age. His collected works have been

recently published, in two volumes octavo.

SCHUYLER, PHILIP, an officer in the revolutionary army, was appointed

major-general in 1775, and was dispatched to the fortifications in the

north of New York, to prepare for the invasion of Canada. He afterwards

fell under some suspicion, and was superseded in the chief command by

general Gates. He was a member of congress before the adoption of the

present constitution, and afterwards twice a senator. He died in 1804,

in the seventy-third year of his age.

SEDGWICK, THEODORE, was born at Hartford, in 1746, was educated at Yale

college, and removing to Massachusetts, pursued the study of the law.

He embarked with spirit in the cause of the popular party before the

revolution, held a seat several years in the state legislature, and was

a member of congress under the old confederation. He was a member of

the Massachusetts convention to decide on the adoption of the federal

constitution, was a representative and senator to congress, and in 1802

was appointed judge of the supreme judicial court of Massachusetts. In

this office he remained till his death, in 1813.

SEWALL, SAMUEL, chief justice of Massachusetts, was born at Boston,

in 1757, and, after graduating at Harvard college, entered on the

profession of the law. He soon became eminent; in 1797, was elected a

member of congress, and in 1800, was placed on the bench of the supreme

judicial court. In 1813, he was appointed chief justice, but died

suddenly in the following year. He was a lawyer of ability and learning,

and highly popular.

SHERMAN, ROGER, a signer of the declaration of independence, was

born at Newton, Massachusetts, in 1721, and with only a common

school education, rose to distinction as a lawyer and statesman. His

early life was passed in the occupation of a shoemaker. Removing to

Connecticut, in 1743, he was admitted to the bar in 1754, and soon

became distinguished as a counsellor. In 1761, he removed to New Haven,

four years after was appointed a judge of the county court, and in

1776, advanced to the bench of the superior court. He was a delegate to

the celebrated congress of 1774, and was a member of that body for the

space of nineteen years. He was a member of the convention that formed

the constitution of the United States. He died in 1793.

SHIPPEN, WILLIAM, an eminent physician, was born in Pennsylvania,

and was graduated at Princeton college in 1754. His medical studies

were completed at Edinburgh, and on his return, in 1764, he began at

Philadelphia the first course of lectures on anatomy ever delivered

in the country. He assisted in establishing the medical school of

that city, and was appointed one of its professors. In 1777, he was

appointed director general of the medical department in the army. He

died in 1808.

SMITH, JOHN, one of the early settlers of Virginia, was born in

Lincolnshire, in 1579. After passing through a variety of wonderful

adventures, he resolved to visit North America; and having, with a

number of other persons, procured a charter of South Virginia, he

came over thither in 1607. Being taken prisoner by the Indians, and

condemned to death, his life was saved by the daughter of the savage

chief, the celebrated Pocahontas. He published an account of several

of his voyages to Virginia, a history of that colony, and an account

of his own life. He died at London, in 1631.

SMITH, JAMES, a signer of the declaration of independence, was a native

of Ireland, removed with his father to this country at an early age,

and established himself in the practice of law at York, in Pennsylvania.

He was a delegate from York county to the continental congress. His

death took place in 1806.

STANDISH, MILES, the first captain at Plymouth, New England, was born

at Lancashire, in 1584, and accompanied Mr. Robinson’s congregation

to Plymouth, in 1620. His services in the wars with the Indians were

highly useful, and many of his exploits were daring and extraordinary.

He died in 1656.

STARK, JOHN, a general in the army of the revolution, was born in

Londonderry, New Hampshire, in 1728. During the French war, he was

captain of a company of rangers in the provincial service, in 1755,

and was with lord Howe when that general was killed, in storming the

French lines at Ticonderoga, in 1758. On receiving the report of the

battle of Lexington, he was engaged at work in his saw-mill; and,

fired with indignation, seized his musket, and immediately proceeded

to Cambridge. He was at the battles of Bunker’s hill and of Trenton,

and achieved a glorious victory at Bennington. He rose to the rank

of brigadier-general, and was distinguished throughout the war for

enterprise and courage. He died in 1822.

STEUBEN, FREDERICK WILLIAM AUGUSTUS, BARON DE, was a Prussian officer,

aid-de-camp to Frederick the Great, and lieutenant-general in the army

of that distinguished commander. He arrived in America in 1777, and

immediately offered his services to the continental congress. In 1778,

he was appointed inspector general, with the rank of major-general, and

rendered the most efficient services in the establishment of a regular

system of discipline. During the war he was exceedingly active and

useful, and after the peace he retired to a farm in the vicinity of New

York, where, with the assistance of books and friends, he passed his

time as agreeably as a frequent want of funds would permit. The state

of New York afterwards gave him a tract of sixteen thousand acres in

the county of Oneida, and the general government made him a grant of

two thousand five hundred dollars per annum. He died in 1795, and at

his own request was wrapped in his cloak, placed in a plain coffin, and

hid in the earth, without a stone to tell where he was laid.

STRONG, CALEB, governor of Massachusetts, was born at Northampton, in

1744, and graduated at Harvard college. He pursued the profession of

the law, and established himself in his native town. Taking an early

and active part in the revolutionary movements, he was appointed,

in 1775, one of the committee of safety, and in the following year

a member of the state legislature. He was a member of the convention

which formed the constitution of the state, and of that which formed

the constitution of the United States. Subsequently he was senator to

congress, and for eleven years, at different periods, chief magistrate

of Massachusetts. He died in 1820.

STUART, GILBERT, a celebrated painter, was born in Newport, Rhode

Island, in 1755. Soon after becoming of age, he went to England,

where he became the pupil of Mr. West. He soon rose to eminence as a

portrait painter, and obtained a high reputation both in England and

Ireland. In 1794, he returned to his native country, chiefly residing

in Philadelphia and Washington, in the practice of his profession, till

about the year 1801, when he removed to Boston. Here he remained till

his death, in 1828. Mr. Stuart was not only one of the first painters

of his time, but was also a very extraordinary man out of his

profession.

SULLIVAN, JOHN, an officer in the army of the revolution, was born

in Maine, and established himself in the profession of law in New

Hampshire. Turning his attention to military affairs, he received, in

1772, the commission of major, and, in 1775, that of brigadier-general.

The next year he was sent to Canada, and on the death of general Thomas,

the command of the army devolved on him. In this year he was promoted

to the rank of major-general, and was soon after captured by the

British, in the battle on Long island. He commanded a division of the

army at the battles of Trenton, Brandywine, and Germantown; and was

the sole commander of an expedition to the island of Newport, which

failed through want of co-operation from the French fleet. In 1779, he

commanded an expedition against the Indians. He was afterwards a member

of congress, and for three years president of New Hampshire. In 1789,

he was appointed a judge of the district court, and continued in that

office till his death, in 1795.

SULLIVAN, JAMES, was born at Berwick, Maine, in 1744, and after

passing the early part of his life in agricultural pursuits, adopted

the profession of the law. He took an early part in the revolutionary

struggle, and in 1775, was chosen a member of the provincial congress.

In 1776, he was appointed a judge of the superior court. He was

subsequently a member of congress, a member of the executive council,

judge of probate, and in 1790, was appointed attorney-general. In 1807,

he was elected governor of Massachusetts, and again in the following

year, in the December of which he died. He was the author of a History

of Land Titles, a History of the District of Maine, and an Essay on

Banks. His rank at the bar was in the very first class, and in his

private character he was distinguished for piety, patriotism, and

integrity.

THOMAS, ISAIAH, a distinguished printer, was born in Boston, in 1749,

and at a very early age was bound apprentice to the craft, in which he

afterwards became so famous. In 1770, he published the Massachusetts

Spy in Boston. Five years afterwards he was obliged to remove it to

Worcester. He afterwards entered extensively into the publishing and

bookselling business, having at one time sixteen presses in operation,

and eight bookstores at different places. He was the founder and

president of the American Antiquarian society, and the author of a

valuable History of Printing. He died in 1831.

THORNTON, MATTHEW, was born in Ireland, in 1714, and when about

two or three years old his father emigrated to America, and finally

settled in Worcester, Massachusetts. Young Thornton pursued the

study of medicine, and commenced the practice of his profession in

Londonderry, New Hampshire. In 1776, he was chosen a delegate to

the continental congress, and affixed his name to the declaration of

independence. He was afterwards chief justice of the court of common

pleas, and judge of the superior court of his adopted state. He died

in 1803.

TILGHMAN, WILLIAM, an eminent jurist, was born, in 1756, in Talbot

county, on the eastern shore of Maryland. In 1772, he began the study

of law in Philadelphia, but was not admitted to the practice of the

profession till 1783. In 1788, and for some successive years, he was

elected a representative to the legislature of Maryland. In 1793, he

returned to Philadelphia, and pursued the practice of the law in that

city till 1801, when he was appointed chief judge of the circuit court

of the United States for the third circuit. After the abolition of

this court, he resumed his profession, and continued it till 1805, when

he was appointed president of the courts of common pleas in the first

district of Pennsylvania. In the following year he was commissioned as

chief justice of the supreme court of that state. He died in 1827.

TOMPKINS, DANIEL D., vice-president of the United States, was born

in June, 1774, graduated at Columbia college, in 1795, and settled in

New York in the profession of the law. He distinguished himself in the

party struggles of 1799–1801, and in 1807 was elected governor of the

state. During the late war, he was active and efficient in the cause

of the administration and the dominant party. In 1817, he was elected

vice-president. He died at Staten island, in June, 1825.

TRUMBULL, JOHN, the author of McFingal, was born in Connecticut,

in 1750, and was educated at Yale college, where he entered at a

very early age. In 1772, he published the first part of his poem,

The Progress of Dullness. In the following year, he was admitted to

the bar in Connecticut, and, removing to Boston, continued his legal

studies in the office of John Adams. He returned to his native state in

1774, and commenced practice at New Haven. The first part of McFingal

was published at Philadelphia, in 1775; the poem was completed and

published in 1782, at Hartford, where the author at that time lived.

More than thirty editions of this work have been printed. In 1789, he

was appointed state attorney for the county of Hartford, and in 1801,

was appointed a judge of the superior court of errors, and held this

appointment till 1819. In 1820, a collection of his poems was published

in two volumes 8vo. In 1825, he removed to Detroit, where he died, in

May, 1831.

TRUXTON, THOMAS, a naval officer, was born on Long island, in 1755.

In 1775, he commanded a vessel, and distinguished himself by his

depredations on British commerce during the revolution. He subsequently

engaged in commerce, till the year 1794, when he was appointed to

the frigate Constitution. In 1799, he captured the French frigate

L’Insurgente; and in the following year he obtained a victory over the

La Vengeance. On the close of the French war he retired from the navy,

and died at Philadelphia, in 1822.

TUDOR, WILLIAM, a man of letters, was born in the state of

Massachusetts, and was graduated at Harvard college in 1796. He soon

after visited Europe, and passed several years there. After having

been some time a member of the legislature of his native state, he was

appointed, in 1823, consul at Lima, and for the ports of Peru. In 1827,

he was appointed charge d’affaires of the United States at the court of

Brazil. He died at Rio de Janeiro, in 1830. Mr. Tudor was the founder,

and for two years the sole editor of the North American Review. He was

the author of Letters on the Eastern States, and a Life of James Otis,

and left a number of volumes in manuscript, nearly prepared for the

press.

TYLER, ROYAL, a lawyer and miscellaneous writer, was born in Boston,

and graduated at Harvard college, in 1776. In 1790, he removed his

residence to Vermont, and soon distinguished himself in his profession

of law. For six years he was an associate judge of the supreme court

of that state, and for six years more chief justice. He was the author

of several dramatic pieces of considerable merit; a novel called The

Algerine Captive; and numerous pieces in prose and verse published

in the Farmer’s Museum, when edited by Dennie. In addition to these,

he published two volumes, entitled Vermont Reports. He died at

Brattleboro’, in 1825.

WALN, ROBERT, a miscellaneous writer, was born in Philadelphia, and was

liberally educated, but adopted no profession. He was the author of The

Hermit in Philadelphia, a satire; The American Bards, a satire; Sisyphi

Opus, or Touches at the Times; a History of China; some of the lives in

the Biography of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence; a Life

of Lafayette; and an account of the Quaker hospital at Frankford, near

Philadelphia. He died in 1824, at the age of thirty-one.

WARREN, JOSEPH, a patriot of the revolution, was born in Roxbury,

near Boston, in 1741, and was graduated at Harvard college, in 1759.

He pursued the profession of medicine, and soon after commencing the

practice, distinguished himself by his successful treatment of the

small pox. Early engaging in politics, he obtained great influence, and

rendered efficient service by his writings and addresses. He was twice

elected to deliver the oration in commemoration of the massacre on the

fifth of March. In June, 1775, the provincial congress of Massachusetts,

of which he was at this time president, made him a major-general of

their forces. At the battle of Bunker’s hill he fought as a volunteer,

and was slain within a few yards of the breast-work, as he was among

the last slowly retiring from it. He was a man of the most generous and

intrepid spirit, much elegance of manners, and of commanding eloquence.

His loss was deeply felt and regretted. In 1776, his remains were

removed from the battle ground, and interred in Boston.

WARREN, JAMES, was born at Plymouth, in 1726, and was graduated at

Harvard college, in 1745. He took an early and active part in the

cause of the colonies against the aggressions of the mother country,

was a member of the general court, proposed the establishment of

committees of correspondence, and, after the death of general Warren,

was appointed president of the provincial congress. He was afterwards

appointed a major-general of the militia. On the adoption of the

constitution of Massachusetts, he was for many years speaker of the

house of representatives. He died at Plymouth, in 1808.

WASHINGTON, GEORGE, was born in 1732, in the county of Fairfax, in

Virginia, where his father was possessed of great landed property. He

was educated under the care of a private tutor, and paid much attention

to the study of mathematics and engineering. He was first employed

officially by general Dinwiddie, in 1753, in remonstrating to the

French commander on the Ohio, for the infraction of the treaty between

the two nations. He subsequently negotiated a treaty of amity with

the Indians on the back settlements, and for his honorable services

received the thanks of the British government. In the unfortunate

expedition of general Braddock, he served as aid-de-camp; and on the

fall of that brave but rash commander, he conducted the retreat to the

corps under colonel Dunbar, in a manner that displayed great military

talent. He retired from the service with the rank of colonel; but

while engaged in agriculture at his favorite seat of Mount Vernon, he

was elected senator in the national council for Frederic county, and

afterwards for Fairfax. At the commencement of the revolutionary war,

he was selected as the most proper person to take the chief command

of the provincial troops. From the moment of taking upon himself

this important office, in June 1775, he employed the great powers of

his mind to his favorite object, and by his prudence, his valor, and

presence of mind, he deserved and obtained the confidence and gratitude

of his country, and finally triumphed over all opposition. The record

of his services is the history of the whole war. He joined the army at

Cambridge in July, 1775. On the evacuation of Boston, in March, 1776,

he proceeded to New York. The battle of Long island was fought on the

27th of August, and the battle of White Plains on the 28th of October.

On the 25th of December he crossed the Delaware, and soon gained the

victories at Trenton and Princeton. The battle of Brandywine was fought

on September 11th, 1777; of Germantown, October 4th; of Monmouth,

February 28th, 1778. In 1779 and 1780, he continued in the vicinity of

New York, and closed the important military operations of the war by

the capture of Cornwallis, at Yorktown, in 1781. When the independence

of his country was established by the treaty of peace, Washington

resigned his high office to the congress, and, followed by the applause

and the grateful admiration of his fellow-citizens, retired into

private life. His high character and services naturally entitled him

to the highest gifts his country could bestow, and on the organization

of the government he was called upon to be the first president of

the states which he had preserved and established. It was a period of

great difficulty and danger. The unsubdued spirit of liberty had been

roused and kindled by the revolution of France, and many Americans

were eager that the freedom and equality which they themselves enjoyed,

should be extended to the subjects of the French monarch. Washington

anticipated the plans of the factious, and by prudence and firmness

subdued insurrection, and silenced discontent, till the parties which

the intrigues of Genet, the French envoy, had roused to rebellion, were

convinced of the wildness of their measures and of the wisdom of their

governor. The president completed, in 1796, the business of his office,

by signing a commercial treaty with Great Britain, and then voluntarily

resigned his power, at a moment when all hands and all hearts were

united, again to confer upon him the sovereignty of the country.

Restored to the peaceful retirement of Mount Vernon, he devoted himself

to the pursuits of agriculture; and though he accepted the command

of the army in 1798, it was merely to unite the affections of his

fellow-citizens to the general good, and was one more sacrifice to

his high sense of duty. He died after a short illness, on the 14th of

December, 1799. He was buried with the honors due to the noble founder

of a happy and prosperous republic. History furnishes no parallel to

the character of Washington. He stands on an unapproached eminence;

distinguished almost beyond humanity for self-command, intrepidity,

soundness of judgment, rectitude of purpose, and deep, ever-active

piety.

WASHINGTON, BUSHROD, an eminent judge, was born in Westmoreland county,

Virginia, and was educated at William and Mary’s college. He pursued

the study of the law in the office of Mr. Wilson, of Philadelphia, and

commenced its practice with great success in his native county. In 1781,

he was a member of the house of delegates of Virginia. He afterwards

removed to Alexandria, and thence to Richmond, where he published two

volumes of the decisions of the supreme court of Virginia. In 1798,

he was appointed an associate justice of the supreme court of the

United States, and continued to hold this situation till his death,

in November, 1829. He was the favorite nephew of president Washington,

and was the devisee of Mount Vernon.

WAYNE, ANTHONY, major-general, was born, in 1745, in Chester county,

Pennsylvania. He entered the army as colonel, in 1775, served under

Gates at Ticonderoga, and was promoted to the rank of brigadier-general.

He was engaged in the battles of Brandywine, Germantown, and Monmouth;

in 1779, captured the fortress at Stony Point, and rendered other

important services during the war. In 1787, he was a member of the

Pennsylvanian convention which ratified the constitution of the United

States. In 1792, he succeeded St. Clair in the command of the western

army, and gained a complete victory at the battle of the Miamis, in

1794. He died at Presque isle, in 1796.

WEST, BENJAMIN, an eminent painter, was born, in 1738, at Springfield,

near Philadelphia, of Quaker parents. At the age of seven years he

began to manifest his pictorial talents, by sketching with pen and ink

an infant sleeping in a cradle. From some Indians he obtained red and

yellow, and his mother gave him a piece of indigo; and as camel’s hair

pencils were wanting, he supplied the want by clipping the fur of the

cat. Improving as he advanced in years, he became a portrait painter of

considerable repute, and produced some meritorious historical pictures.

In his twenty-second year he visited Italy, where he remained for some

time. In 1763 he settled in England, where he soon acquired reputation.

Among his patrons was archbishop Drummond, of York, by whose means

he was introduced to George the Third, who immediately gave him a

commission to paint the Death of Regulus, and continued ever afterwards

to employ him. In 1791, he was chosen president of the Royal academy.

Among his last, and perhaps his best works, are, Death on the Pale

Horse, and Christ healing the Sick. He died March 18, 1820.

WHITNEY, ELI, inventor of the cotton-gin, was born at Westborough

Massachusetts, in 1765. He received a liberal education, and displayed

at an early age great mechanical genius. While a student of law, he

invented the cotton-gin, a machine for separating the seed from the

cotton, an invention of vast importance to the cotton growing states.

It has been worth to them a hundred millions of dollars. In 1798,

he commenced the manufacture of firearms, for the United States. In

perseverance and inventive power, he has scarcely a parallel among

mechanicians. He died in 1825.

WILKINSON, JEMIMA, a bold and artful religious impostor, was born

in Cumberland, Rhode Island, about the year 1753. Recovering suddenly

from an apparent suspension of life, in 1773, she gave out that she

had been raised from the dead, and laid claim to supernatural power

and authority. Making a few proselytes, she removed with them to the

neighborhood of Crooked lake, in New York, where she died in 1819.

WILLIAMS, ROGER, one of the founders of Rhode Island, was born in

Wales, in 1599, and received his education at Oxford. He was, for some

time, a minister of the established church, but dissenting, he removed,

in 1631, to New England, and preached till 1636, at Salem and Plymouth.

Being banished from the colony on account of his religious opinions,

he removed with several others to Rhode Island, and laid the foundation

of Providence. They there established the first society in which was

enjoyed perfect liberty of conscience. For several years, Williams was

president of the colony. He died in 1683.

WILLIAMS, OTHO HOLLAND, an officer in the American army, was born

in Maryland, in 1748, served in various capacities during the

revolutionary war, and fought at the battles of Guilford, Hobkirk’s

hill, and the Eutaws. Before the disbanding of the army, he was made

brigadier-general. For several years he was collector at Baltimore.

He died in 1794.

WILSON, JAMES, a signer of the declaration of American independence,

was born in Scotland, about the year 1742. He was well educated,

and after completing his studies, emigrated to America. Settling at

Philadelphia, he received an offer to enter the office of Mr. John

Dickinson, and pursue the study of the law. He soon distinguished

himself, and was appointed a delegate to the continental congress,

where he continued from 1775 to 1777. He was a member of the

conventions which framed the constitution of Pennsylvania, and that of

the United States, and in 1789, was appointed one of the judges of the

supreme court of the United States. In 1797, he was made professor of

law in the university of Pennsylvania, and in this capacity delivered a

course of lectures, afterwards published in three volumes 8vo. He died

in 1798.

WINDER, WILLIAM H., an officer in the army, was born in Maryland, in

1775, was educated for the bar, and pursued his profession in Baltimore

with great success. In 1812, he received a colonel’s commission, was

promoted to the rank of brigadier-general, and served with reputation

during the war with Great Britain. He commanded the troops at the

battle of Bladensburg. On the declaration of peace, he resumed the

practice of his profession. He died in 1824.

WISTAR, CASPAR, a celebrated physician, was born in Philadelphia,

in 1761. He studied medicine under Dr. John Redman, and completed his

professional course at the schools in London and Edinburgh. Returning

in 1787 to his native city, he soon distinguished himself in his

profession, and in 1789, was elected professor of chemistry in the

college of Philadelphia. In 1792, he became adjunct professor of

anatomy, mid-wifery, and surgery, with Dr. Shippen; and on the decease

of that gentleman, in 1808, sole professor. His acquirements in

professional knowledge were very extensive, and he obtained much

popularity as a lecturer. He died in 1818. His chief work is a valuable

System of Anatomy, in two volumes.

WOLCOTT, OLIVER, governor of Connecticut, was born in 1727, and

received his education at Yale college. He served as captain in

the French war, and studied medicine, though he never practised. He

was a delegate to the congress of 1776, signed the declaration of

independence, and the articles of confederation, and remained a member

till 1785. In 1785, he was elected deputy-governor, and was re-elected

till 1796, when he was made governor. He died in 1797.

WYTHE, GEORGE, a signer of the declaration of independence, was born

in Virginia, in 1726. His early course was dissipated, but at the age

of thirty he reformed, turned his attention to literature, studied law,

and commenced its practice. At the breaking out of the revolution, he

was a distinguished leader of the popular party. He was for some time

speaker of the house of burgesses, and in 1775, was elected a member of

congress. He was one of the committee to revise the laws of Virginia,

in 1776, and had a principal share in preparing the code adopted in

1779. Soon after, he was appointed one of the three judges of the high

court of chancery, and subsequently, sole counsellor. He was a member

of the convention of Virginia to consider the constitution of the

United States. His death, which was attributed to poison, took place

in 1806.

CHAPTER XX.――HISTORY.

DISCOVERY AND COLONIZATION.

IT is a singular fact that the science and energy of Italian navigators

opened the new world to Europe, though adventurers from other countries

derived the benefit of their discoveries, and established colonies

on its shores. Columbus, Cabot, Verazzani, and Americo Vespucci, were

all Italians; and though the latter gave his name to a hemisphere, he

acquired no particular advantage for himself or his native country.

The exploits of Columbus had excited a spirit of enterprise among the

English merchants, and a commission was granted by Henry VII. to John

Cabot and his three sons, giving them full liberty to sail to all parts

of the east, west and north; to discover countries of the heathen; to

occupy all countries they could subdue, and set up the king’s banners

in them; to exercise jurisdiction over them, and pay to the king one

fifth part of all their gains. A small fleet was thus equipped, with

about three hundred men. Cabot sailed north-west a few weeks, till his

course was arrested by icebergs; he then steered south, subsequently

changed his course, and again resumed it, till further prosecution of

the voyage was finally abandoned in consequence of a mutiny which broke

out on board. It is doubtful whether he ever landed in the new world.

From this voyage, the English derived their claims to the territory

which they subsequently acquired in this continent. For a period of

sixty successive years, the English monarchs gave themselves no further

trouble about the progress of discoveries in America.

During this time, France and Spain were on the alert. In a voyage

patronized by Francis I., the Florentine navigator Verazzano discovered

and described with considerable accuracy the coast of Florida. In a

second voyage, undertaken in the following year, he landed with some

of his crew, was killed by the savages, and devoured in the presence

of his companions. This melancholy event for a time damped the spirit

of discovery, and it was not till after a lapse of ten years that any

other French expedition was fitted out to America. In 1534, Jacques

Cartier was supplied with two ships under the direction of the

vice-admiral of France, and discovered the Baye des Chaleurs and the

gulf of St. Lawrence. In the following spring a larger expedition

was equipped under the same direction, and they proceeded direct to

Newfoundland. They sailed up the river of Canada three hundred leagues,

formed alliances with the natives, built a fort, and wintered in the

country. This colony was afterwards broken up, and for fifty years the

French made no effort to establish themselves in Canada.

To trace the course of Spanish discovery――in the year 1528, Pamphilo

de Narvaez received from Charles V. of Spain, a grant of all the

lands extending from the river of Palms to the cape of Florida, with a

commission to conquer and govern all the provinces within these limits.

Landing at Florida, he marched to Apalache, and lost many of his troops

in encounters with the natives. Being forced to direct his course

towards the sea, and sailing to the westward, he was lost in a violent

storm, and the enterprise frustrated. Calamitous as was the issue of

this expedition, it did not deter others from pursuing the same course.

In May, 1539, Fernando de Soto sailed from Havana on an exploring

expedition, and landed on the western coast of Florida. Of nine hundred

men engaged in this voyage, but three hundred and eleven survived it;

the remainder perished in battles with the natives. Poverty and ruin

involved all who were concerned in it. Soto died at the confluence of

the Guacoya and Mississippi; and to prevent the Indians from obtaining

a knowledge of his death, his body was deposited in a hollowed oak and

sunk in the river.

About the year 1562, a party of Huguenots, under the command of

Ribault, sailed with a view of colonizing Florida. After a favorable

voyage, he arrived at the entrance of a river which he called May,

from the month in which he reached the coast. Here he erected a fort,

and then sailed for France to bring out a reinforcement. Two years

afterwards a fresh expedition was fitted out, under M. René Laudonniere,

who arrived in the river May in the latter part of June. He proved

incompetent to manage the affairs of the new colony, and he was on the

point of leaving for Europe, when a new expedition under the command

of Ribault entered the river. That officer superseded Laudonniere only,

however, to experience more melancholy disasters. Scarcely a week had

passed after his arrival, when eight Spanish ships were seen in the

river. After a variety of misfortunes which befell Laudonniere, he

escaped with some of his followers in a French shallop, and finally

reached in a miserable condition the port of Bristol. A more tragic

end awaited Ribault. His vessels were dashed to pieces during a storm,

and their crews with great difficulty succeeded in reaching the shore.

They directed their steps towards the fort, and found it to their great

surprise in the hands of their inveterate enemies, the Spaniards. It

was determined to open a parley, and the Spanish commander pledged his

honor that they should be unharmed. Notwithstanding this pledge they

were inhumanly massacred, and their dead bodies treated with the most

shocking indignities. A number of the mangled limbs of the victims

were then suspended to a tree, to which was attached the following

inscription: ‘Not because they are Frenchmen, but because they are

heretics and enemies of God.’

This outrage was fully avenged by Dominique de Gourgues, who devoted

himself and his fortune to effect a signal retribution. Finding means

to equip three small vessels, he crossed the Atlantic, sailed along the

coast of Florida, and landed at a river about fifteen leagues distant

from the May. The Spaniards to the number of four hundred were well

stationed in different fortresses; they were all slain or taken captive.

The surviving prisoners were led away, and were hung on the boughs

of the same trees from which the Frenchmen had before been suspended.

Gourgues attached to them the retaliatory label――‘I do not this as

to Spaniards, nor as to mariners, but as to traitors, robbers, and

murderers.’ Thus terminated the attempts of the French Protestants to

colonize Florida.

In 1578, Sir Walter Raleigh, in conjunction with his half-brother and

kindred spirit, Sir Humphry Gilbert, projected the establishment of a

colony in that quarter of America which the Cabots had visited in the

reign of Henry VII.; and a patent for this purpose was procured without

difficulty in favor of Gilbert, from Elizabeth. As this is the first

charter to a colony granted by the crown of England, the articles in

it merit particular attention, as they unfold the ideas of that age

with respect to the nature of such settlements. Elizabeth authorizes

him to discover and take possession of all remote and barbarous lands,

unoccupied by any Christian prince or people; invests in him the full

right of property in the soil of those countries whereof he shall take

possession; empowers him, his heirs and assigns, to dispose of whatever

portion of those lands he shall judge meet, to persons settled there,

in fee simple, according to the laws of England; and ordains, that

all the lands granted to Gilbert shall hold of the crown of England by

homage, on payment of the fifth part of the gold or silver ore found

there. The charter also gave Gilbert, his heirs and assigns, full power

to convict, punish, pardon, govern, and rule, by their good discretion

and policy, as well in causes capital or criminal as civil, both marine

and other, all persons who shall, from time to time, settle within the

said countries; and declared, that all who settled there should have

and enjoy all the privileges of free denizens and natives of England,

any law, custom, or usage to the contrary notwithstanding. And, finally,

it prohibited all persons from attempting to settle within two hundred

leagues of any place which Sir Humphry Gilbert, or his associates,

shall have occupied during the space of six years.

Invested with these extraordinary powers, Gilbert began to collect

associates, and to prepare for embarkation. The first equipment,

however, of Sir Humphry, may be said to have failed, even before it

set out. Being composed in a great measure of ‘voluntary men of diverse

dispositions,’ there was a great falling off when it came to the point,

and Sir Humphry was at last obliged to set out with only a few of his

own tried friends. He encountered the most adverse weather, and was

obliged to return, ‘with the loss of a tall ship, and, more to his

grief, of a valiant gentleman, Miles Morgan.’ This was a severe blow,

as Sir Humphry had embarked a large portion of his property in this

undertaking. However, his determination continued unshaken; and by the

aid of Sir George Peckham, Sir Walter Raleigh, and other persons of

distinction, he was enabled to equip another expedition, with which,

in the year 1583, he again put to sea.

On the 30th of July, Gilbert discovered land in about fifty-one

degrees north latitude; but, finding nothing but bare rocks, he shaped

his course to the southward, and on the 3d of August arrived at St.

John’s harbor, at Newfoundland. There were at that time in the harbor

thirty-six vessels, belonging to various nations, and they refused

him entrance; but, on sending his boat with the assurance that he

had no ill design, and that he had a commission from queen Elizabeth,

they submitted, and he sailed into the port. Having pitched his tent

on shore in sight of all the shipping, and being attended by his own

people, he summoned the merchants and masters of vessels to be present

at the ceremony of his taking possession of the island. When assembled

his commission was read and interpreted to the foreigners. A turf and

twig was then delivered to him; and proclamation was immediately made,

that, by virtue of his commission from the queen, he took possession of

the harbor of St. John, and two hundred leagues every way around it, for

the crown of England.

This formal possession, in consequence of the discovery by the Cabots,

is considered the foundation of the right and title of the crown of

England to the territory of Newfoundland, and to the fishery on its

banks. Gilbert, intending to bring the southern parts of the country

within his patent, the term of which had now nearly expired, hastened

to make further discoveries before his return to England. He therefore

embarked from St. John’s harbor with his little fleet, and sailed

for the isle of Sable by the way of cape Breton. After spending eight

days in the navigation from cape Race towards cape Breton, the ship

Admiral was cast away on some shoals before any discovery of land, and

nearly one hundred persons perished; among these was Stephen Parmenius

Budeius, a learned Hungarian, who had accompanied the adventurers, to

record their discoveries and exploits. Two days after this disaster,

no land yet appearing, the waters being shallow, the coast unknown,

the navigation dangerous, and the provisions scanty, it was resolved

to return to England. Changing their course accordingly, they passed

in sight of cape Race on the 2d of September; but when they had

sailed more than three hundred leagues on their way home, the frigate,

commanded by Sir Humphry Gilbert himself, foundered in a violent storm,

at midnight, and every soul on board perished.

VIRGINIA, FROM ITS SETTLEMENT TO 1756.

Terrible as was the fate of Gilbert and his associates, the ardor of

Raleigh was not daunted, nor his energies depressed. High in favor

with Elizabeth, he found no difficulty in procuring a patent similar

to that which had been granted to his unfortunate brother. Prompt in

the execution, as intrepid in the projection of his plans, he speedily

equipped two small vessels, under Amadas and Barlow, to obtain further

information of the coasts, the soil, and the inhabitants of the regions

he designed to colonize. Approaching America by the gulf of Florida,

they touched first at the island of Ocakoke, which runs parallel to

the greater part of North Carolina, and then at Roanoke, near the mouth

of Albemarle sound. In both they had some intercourse with the natives,

whom they found to be savages, with all the characteristic qualities of

uncivilized life――bravery, aversion to labor, hospitality, a propensity

to admire and a willingness to exchange their rude productions for

English commodities, especially for iron, or any of the useful metals

of which they were destitute. After spending a few weeks in this

traffic, and in visiting some parts of the adjacent continent, Amadas

and Barlow returned to England, and gave a most fervid description of

the country they had been sent to explore.

Delighted with the prospect of possessing a territory so far superior

to any hitherto visited by her subjects, Elizabeth was pleased to honor

both the newly discovered country and herself, by bestowing upon it the

title of Virginia.

These favorable circumstances not only encouraged the enterprising

spirit of Raleigh, but, by their effect on public opinion, assisted

him in his arrangements to form a permanent settlement; and he was

soon enabled to dispatch seven ships, under the command of Sir Richard

Grenville, one of the most valorous spirits of the age, with Ralph

Lane, as governor of the colony, accompanied by Heriot, a mathematician

of celebrity, and some other men of science. Sailing from Plymouth on

the 9th of April, they proceeded to Virginia by the way of the West

Indies, and, having narrowly escaped shipwreck at cape Fear, anchored

at Wocokon, on the 26th of June. From this island Grenville went to

the continent, accompanied by several gentlemen, and discovered various

Indian towns. He then proceeded to cape Hatteras, where he was visited

by Granganimo, the prince seen by Amadas and Barlow the preceding

year; and having viewed the island of Roanoke, he embarked for England,

leaving one hundred and seven persons under the government of Mr. Lane,

to form a plantation, and to commence the first English colony ever

planted in America.

The chief employment of this party, during their year’s residence in

the new world, consisted in obtaining a more correct and extensive

knowledge of the country; a pursuit in which the persevering abilities

of Heriot were exercised with peculiar advantage. His unremitting

endeavors to instruct the savages, and diligent inquiries into their

habits and character, by adding to the stock of human knowledge,

rendered the expedition not wholly unproductive of benefit to mankind.

He endeavored to avail himself of the admiration expressed by the

savages for the guns, the clock, the telescopes, and other implements

that attested the superiority of the colonists, in order to lead their

minds to the great source of all sense and science. But, unfortunately,

the majority of the colonists were much less distinguished by piety

or prudence, than by a vehement impatience to acquire sudden wealth;

their first pursuit was gold; and, eagerly listening to the agreeable

fictions of the natives, the adventurers consumed their time, and

endured amazing hardships, in pursuit of a phantom, to the utter

neglect of the means of providing for their future subsistence.

The stock of provisions brought from England was exhausted; and the

colony, reduced to the utmost distress, was preparing to disperse into

different districts of the country in quest of food, when Sir Francis

Drake appeared with his fleet, returning from a successful expedition

against the Spaniards in the West Indies. A scheme which he formed, of

furnishing Lane and his associates with such supplies as might enable

them to remain with comfort in their station, was disappointed by a

sudden storm, in which the vessel he had destined for their service

was dashed to pieces; and as he could not supply them with another, at

their joint request, as they were worn out with fatigue and famine, he

carried them home to England.

Had the Virginia adventurers, however, remained but a little time

longer at their plantation, they would have received supplies from

home; for, a few days after their departure, a ship, sent by Sir Walter

Raleigh to their relief, arrived at Hatteras, and made diligent search

for them, but, not finding them, returned to England. Within a few

days after this ship had left the coast, Sir Richard Grenville arrived

at Virginia with three new vessels laden with provisions. Searching

in vain for the colony that he planted, but yet unwilling to lose

possession of the country, he left fifty of his crew to keep possession

of the island of Roanoke, and returned to England. This was, indeed,

but an inauspicious commencement for English attempts at transatlantic

colonization; but, though its immediate results did not realize

the high expectations which had been formed, its consequences were

indirectly very beneficial. It gave Heriot opportunity to describe its

soil, climate, productions, and the manners of its inhabitants, with a

degree of accuracy which merits no inconsiderable praise, when compared

with the childish and marvellous tales published by several of the

early visitants of the new world.

Another consequence of this abortive colony is important enough to

entitle it to a place in history. Lane and his associates, by their

constant intercourse with the Indians, had acquired a relish for

their favorite enjoyment of smoking tobacco; to the use of which, the

credulity of that people not only ascribed a thousand imaginary virtues,

but their superstition considered the plant itself as a gracious gift

of the gods, for the solace of human kind, and the most acceptable

offering which man can present to heaven. They brought with them a

specimen of this new commodity to England, and taught their countrymen

the method of using it; which Raleigh and some young men of fashion

fondly adopted. From its being deemed a fashionable acquirement,

and from the favorable opinion of its salutary qualities entertained

by several physicians, the practice of smoking spread rapidly among

the English; and by a singular caprice of the human species, no less

inexplicable than unexampled, it has become almost as universal as the

demands of those appetites originally implanted in our nature.

Illustration: Virginian Colony.

Amidst all the discouraging circumstances with which the settlement

of Virginia was attended, Raleigh still remained devotedly attached

to the object; and early in the year 1587, equipped another company of

adventurers, incorporated by the title of the Borough of Raleigh, in

Virginia. John White was constituted governor, in whom, with a council

of twelve persons, the legislative power was vested. They were directed

to plant at the bay of Chesapeak, and to erect a fort there. This

expedition sailed from Plymouth on the 8th of May, and about the 16th

of July fell in with the Virginian coast. Arriving at Hatteras on the

22d of July, the governor, with a select party, proceeded to Roanoke,

and landed at that part of the island where the men were left the year

preceding; but discovered no signs of them, excepting the bones of one

man, who had been slain by the savages. The next day the governor and

several of his company went to the north end of the island, where Lane

had erected his fort, and had built several decent dwelling houses,

hoping to obtain some intelligence of his fellow countrymen; but, on

coming to the place, and finding the fort razed, and all the houses,

though standing unhurt, overgrown with weeds and vines, and deer

feeding within them, they returned, in despair of ever seeing the

objects of their research alive. Orders were given the same day for

the repair of the houses, and for the erection of new cottages; and

all the colony, consisting of one hundred and seventeen persons, soon

after landed, and commenced a second plantation.

Before the close of the month of August, the governor was compelled

to sail to England for supplies; but war in Europe interfered with the

expectation of the colonists, and it was not till 1590 that another

expedition reached Virginia. They beheld a scene similarly dreadful

with that which had been before presented. The houses were demolished,

though still surrounded by a palisade, and a great part of the stores

was found buried in the earth; but, as no trace was ever found of this

unfortunate colony, there is every reason to apprehend that they must

have miserably perished. Thus after a period of one hundred and six

years from the time that Cabot discovered North America, in the service

of Henry VII., not a single Englishman remained in the new world.

In the last year of Elizabeth a new impulse was given to the spirit

of emigration by Bartholomew Gosnold. He sailed in a small bark from

Falmouth, steering directly west, and was the first Englishman who

came in a direct course to this part of America. He anchored at a

point which he called cape Cod. Attempting a settlement on an island

which they named Elizabeth, they built a fort and storehouse, but

shortly abandoned their design and returned to England. Two vessels

were afterwards fitted out by the merchants of Bristol, to examine the

discoveries of Gosnold, and ascertain the correctness of his statements.

They were also subsequently confirmed by a similar expedition equipped

and despatched by lord Arundel.

An association of able and influential men was now formed to attempt

a settlement, and a petition for leave was favorably received by king

James. But as the extent as well as value of the American continent

began now to be better known, a grant of the whole of such a vast

region to any one body of men, however respectable, appeared to him

an act of impolitic and profuse liberality. For this reason he divided

that portion of North America, which stretches from the thirty-fourth

to the fifty-fifth degree of latitude, into two districts nearly equal;

the one called the first or south colony of Virginia, the other, the

second or north colony. He authorized Sir Thomas Gates, Sir George

Summers, Richard Hakluyt, and their associates, mostly resident in

London, to settle any part of the former which they should choose,

and vested in them a right of property to the land extending along the

coast fifty miles on each side of the place of their first habitation,

and reaching into the interior country a hundred miles. The latter

district he allotted, as the place of settlement to sundry knights,

gentlemen, and merchants of Bristol, Plymouth, and other parts of

the west of England, with a similar grant of territory. The supreme

government of the colonies that were to be settled, was vested

in a council, resident in England, named by the king, with laws

and ordinances given under his sign manual; and the subordinate

jurisdiction was committed to a council, resident in America, which was

also nominated by the king and to act conformably to his instructions.

The charter, while it thus restricted the emigrants in the important

article of internal regulation, secured to them and their descendants

all the rights of denizens, in the same manner as if they had remained

or had been born in England; and granted them the privilege of holding

their lands in America by the freest and least burdensome tenure. The

king permitted whatever was necessary for the sustenance or commerce

of the new colonies to be exported from England, during the space of

seven years, without paying any duty; and, as a farther incitement to

industry, he granted them liberty of trade with other nations; and

appropriated the duty to be levied on foreign commodities, as a fund

for the benefit of the colonies, for the period of twenty-one years.

He also granted them liberty of coining for their own use, of repelling

enemies, and of detaining ships that should trade there without their

permission.

We may regard the colonies of North and South Virginia, or Virginia and

New England, as they were subsequently denominated, as forming, from

this period, the subject of two distinct and continuous histories; that

of the former, being earliest in point of time, will continue to occupy

our attention during the remainder of this division.

The proprietors of the royal patent lost no time in carrying their

plans into effect. It cannot, however, be said, that they commenced

their operations on a scale at all worthy of the magnitude of the

undertaking, as their fleet consisted only of three ships, conveying

one hundred emigrants; and, although some persons of rank were among

the number of proprietors, their pecuniary resources were but scanty.

The charge of this embarkation was committed to Christopher Newport,

already famous for his skill in western navigation. He sailed from the

Thames on the 20th of December, 1606, having, in a sealed box, the

royal instructions, and the names of the intended colonial council,

with orders not to break the seal till twenty-four hours after the

expedition had effected a landing; to which singular policy, may be

attributed the dissensions which soon commenced among the leaders, and

which continued to distract them during a voyage long and disastrous.

Captain Newport had designed to land at Roanoke; but fortunately, being

driven by a storm to the northward, he stood into the spacious bay of

Chesapeak, that grand reservoir into which are poured almost countless

tributaries, which not only fertilize the country through which they

flow, but open to it a commercial intercourse which can scarcely be

said to be surpassed in any portion of the globe. The promontory on the

south of the bay was named cape Henry, in honor of the prince of Wales;

and that on the north, cape Charles, after the then duke of York. At

night the box, containing the sealed instructions, was opened, in which

Bartholomew Gosnold, John Smith, Edward Wingfield, Christopher Newport,

John Ratcliffe, John Martin, and George Kendall, were constituted the

council of government, with power to elect a president from among their

number. The adventurers were employed in seeking a place for settlement

until the thirteenth of May, when they took possession of a peninsula,

on the north side of the river Powhatan, called by the emigrants James

river, about forty miles from its mouth.

To make room for their projected town, they commenced clearing away

the forest, which had for centuries afforded shelter and food to the

natives. The members of the council, while they adhered to their orders

in the choice of their president, on the most frivolous pretences

excluded from a seat, among them, the individual, who was probably

of all others the best fitted for the office, captain Smith,[98]

though nominated by the same instrument from which they derived

their authority. His superior talents, and the fame he had previously

acquired in war, excited their envy, while possibly they induced him

to assume, that a greater deference was due to his opinion than his

coadjutors were willing to admit. At length, however, by the prudent

exhortations of Mr. Hunt, their chaplain, the animosities which had

arisen were composed, Smith was admitted into the council, and they

all turned their undivided attention to the government of the colony.

In honor of their monarch, they called the town, the erection of which

they now commenced, Jamestown. Thus was formed the first permanent

colony of the English in America.

The vicinity of the settlement was a vast wilderness, though a

luxuriant one, inhabited by a race of Indian savages, possessing

both the virtues and the vices peculiar to their state. At first,

they treated the colonists with kindness; but misunderstandings,

from various causes, ere long interrupted the peace, and annoyed

the proceedings of the English. Nor was the hostility of the natives

the only occasion of discomfort; the extreme heat of the summer, and

the intense cold of the succeeding winter, were alike fatal to the

colonists. From May to September, fifty persons died, among whom

was Bartholomew Gosnold, a member of the council. The storehouse at

Jamestown accidentally taking fire, the town, thatched with reeds,

burned with such violence, that the fortifications, arms, apparel,

bedding, and a great quantity of private goods and provision, were

consumed.

These distresses naturally led them to reflect upon their situation;

and having become sensible of their injustice to Smith, his personal

talents and activity were, in their adversity, appealed to with that

regard and deference which, in prosperous times, are yielded only to

vested authority and official station. From some unaccountable jealousy

on the part of the governor, the fort had been left in an unprotected

state, but, by the advice of Smith, it was now put into a state to

defend them against the attacks of the Indians. To procure provisions

and explore the country, he made frequent and distant excursions into

the wilderness. In one of these, he seized an Indian idol, made with

skins stuffed with moss, for the redemption of which as much corn

was brought him as he required. Some tribes he gained by caresses

and presents, and procured from them a supply of provisions; others

he attacked with open force, and defeating them on every occasion,

whatever their superiority in numbers might be, compelled them to

impart to him some portion of their winter stores. As the recompense

of all his toils and dangers, he saw abundance and contentment

re-established in the colony, and hoped that he should be able to

maintain them in that happy state, until the arrival of ships from

England in the spring. But in the midst of his energetic measures,

while exploring the source of the river Chickahominy, he was surprised

and attacked by a party of Indians. He defended himself bravely

until his companions were killed, when he took to flight; but running

incautiously, he sunk up to his shoulders in a swamp, and was taken

prisoner.

The exulting savages conducted him in triumph through several towns

to Werowocomoco, where Powhatan, their king, resided in state, with

a strong guard of Indians around him. When the prisoner entered the

apartment of the sovereign, all the people gave a shout. The queen

of Appamatuck was appointed to bring him water to wash his hands; and

another person brought a bunch of feathers, instead of a towel, to

dry them. Having feasted him in their best manner, they held a long

consultation, at the conclusion of which, two great stones were brought

before Powhatan. Smith had now reason to consider his career as drawing

to a close; by the united efforts of the attendants, he was forcibly

dragged, his head laid upon one of the stones, and the mighty club

upraised, a few blows from which were to terminate his existence. But a

very unexpected interposition now took place. Pocahontas, the favorite

daughter of Powhatan, was seized with emotions of tender pity, and ran

up to her father, pathetically pleading for the life of the stranger.

When all entreaties were lost on that stern and savage potentate, she

hastened to Smith, snatched his head in her arms, and laid her own on

his, declaring that the first blow must fall upon her. The heart even

of a savage father was at last melted, and Powhatan granted to his

favorite daughter the life of Smith.

It appears at first to have been the intention of the savage monarch to

have detained the captive, and employed him in manufacturing utensils

and ornaments for his majesty’s use; but from some cause he speedily

changed his mind, and in two days after his deliverance, sent him, to

his high gratification, with a guard of twelve of his trusty followers,

to Jamestown, upon condition that he should remit two culverins and a

millstone as his ransom.

After an absence of seven weeks, Smith arrived barely in time to save

the colony from being abandoned. His associates, reduced to the number

of thirty-eight, impatient of farther stay in a country where they had

met with so many discouragements, were preparing to return to England;

and it was not without the utmost difficulty, and alternately employing

persuasion, remonstrance, and even violent interference, that Smith

prevailed with them to relinquish their design. Pocahontas, persevering

in her generous designs, continued to supply the colony with provisions

till a vessel arrived from England with supplies. Having preserved the

settlement during the winter by his active exertions and his careful

management, Smith embraced the earliest opportunity, in the following

summer, to explore the extensive and multifarious ramifications of the

Chesapeak.

In an open barge, with fourteen persons, and but a scanty stock of

provisions, he traversed the whole of that vast extent of water,

from cape Henry, where it meets the ocean, to the river Susquehannah;

trading with some tribes of Indians, and fighting with others. He

discovered and named many small islands, creeks, and inlets; sailed up

many of the great rivers; and explored the inland parts of the country.

During this enterprise, the Susquehannah Indians visited him, and made

him presents. At this early period they had hatchets, and utensils

of iron and brass, which, by their own account, originally came from

the French of Canada. After sailing about three thousand miles, Smith

returned to Jamestown. Having made careful observations during this

excursion of discovery, he drew a map of Chesapeak bay, with its

tributary rivers, annexing to it a description of the countries, and

of the nations inhabiting them, and sent it to the council in England.

The superior abilities of Smith had now been so manifestly subservient

to the general welfare, that they had silenced, at least, the malignity

of envy and faction; and although it was comparatively a short period

since he had been so unjustly calumniated, and deprived of his seat

at the council-board, immediately after his return from his voyage, he

was, by the election of the council and the request of the settlers,

invested with the government, and received letters-patent to be

president of the colony. The wisdom of his administration inspired

confidence, its vigor commanded obedience, and the military exercises,

which he obliged all to perform, struck the Indians with astonishment,

and inspired them with awe.

Under the administration of president Smith, the colony continued to

prosper; as far as it could prosper, under the circumstances of its

organization. Its elements, however, were not of the best description,

and the number of ‘poor gentlemen, tradesmen, serving men, libertines

and such like,’ is represented to have been ten times more fit to spoil

a commonwealth than either to begin or maintain one. They were lazy,

avaricious, and disappointed. The Indians too became suspicious and

troublesome; and the company in England were unjustly discontented with

the management of captain Smith. A new charter was therefore treated

for by the company of South Virginia, and obtained; and among the new

proprietors were many of the most wealthy and influential commoners and

peers of the land. Lord Delaware was appointed governor of Virginia for

life, though he did not accompany the expedition, which was immediately

fitted out. A fleet of nine vessels sailed for the colony, one of which

was wrecked at the Bermudas, and one lost in a violent storm. On board

of this fleet were five hundred emigrants; chiefly young and licentious,

indigent and haughty, who soon involved the colony in anarchy and

confusion.

A systematic design was now meditated against the whole colony by the

sovereign of the country; but it was providentially discovered and

frustrated. Pocahontas, the tutelary friend of Virginia, though but a

child of thirteen years of age, went in a very dark and dreary night to

Jamestown, and, at the hazard of her life, disclosed to the president

a plot of her father to kill him and all the English. This timely

notice put the colony on its guard; and some favorable occurrences soon

after contributed still farther towards its preservation. An Indian,

apparently dead through the effect of a charcoal fire in a close room,

was, on the application of vinegar and aqua vitæ by the president,

reanimated. This supposed miracle, with an explosion of powder, which

killed two or three Indians and scorched and wounded others, excited

such astonishment, mingled with such admiration of English power and

art, that Powhatan and his people came to them with presents of peace;

and the whole country during the remainder of Smith’s administration,

was entirely free from molestation, and the colonists pursued

their plans of improvement, both in agriculture and in some of the

manufactures, with tolerable success. Unhappily, however, the president,

while exerting himself with his usual energy in the concerns of the

settlement, received a dangerous wound from the accidental explosion

of a quantity of gunpowder. Completely disabled by this misfortune, and

destitute of surgical aid, he was compelled to resign his command, and

take his departure (and it was a final one) for England.

The departure of Smith was in every respect inauspicious for the

colony. It was the signal for a general revolt among the Indians. Many

of the colonists were slain, their provisions were wasted by imprudence,

and they were threatened with absolute starvation. There numbers were

reduced from five hundred to about sixty, in the course of half a

year. In this extremity they received unexpected relief from Sir Thomas

Gates and the party which had been wrecked the year before at Bermudas,

and who had been enabled to build two small vessels, and succeed in

reaching Virginia. It was determined to abandon the colony, and sail

for Newfoundland, and every thing was prepared for embarkation, when

lord Delaware, with three ships and a hundred and fifty men, arrived at

the mouth of the river. By the energetic discipline of this nobleman,

the affairs of the colony were soon restored to order. He erected

forts, allotted to each man his respective duty, and appointed the

necessary officers to enforce obedience to his commands. His health

not permitting him to remain in office, he returned to England, leaving

about two hundred people in health and tranquillity.

Not long after his departure, Sir Thomas Dale arrived at Virginia with

three ships and three hundred emigrants. Other additions to the colony

were made within a short interval. New settlements were commenced

farther up the river, and a town was built, and called Henrico, in

honor of prince Henry. In 1612, application was made to the king by

the patentees for a new charter, with increased privileges, and it was

accordingly granted.

It was in the year following the grant of the new charter, that the

marriage of Pocahontas, the famed daughter of Powhatan, was celebrated;

an alliance which secured peace to Virginia many years. Having been

carefully instructed in the Christian religion, it was not long

before she renounced the idolatry of her country, made profession of

Christianity, and was baptized by the name of Rebecca. In some measure

connected with this event, by the influence so powerful an alliance was

calculated to have upon the minds of the natives in the vicinity, was

the treaty which Sir Thomas Dale effected with the Chickahominy tribe

of Indians, a bold and free people, who now voluntarily relinquished

their name, for that of Tassantessus, or Englishmen; and solemnly

engaged to be faithful subjects to king James.

During the interval of tranquillity procured by the alliance with

Powhatan, an important change was made in the state of the colony.

Hitherto no right of private property in land had been established.

The fields that were cleared had been cultivated by the joint labor

of the colonists; their product was carried to the common storehouses,

and distributed weekly to every family, according to its number and

exigencies. However suitable such an arrangement might have been

deemed for the commencement of a colony, experience proved that it was

decidedly opposed to its progress in a more advanced state. In order to

remedy this, Sir Thomas Dale divided a considerable portion of the land

into small lots, and granted one of these to each individual in full

property. From the moment that industry had the certain prospect of a

recompense, it advanced rapidly. The articles of primary necessity were

cultivated with so much attention as secured the means of subsistence;

and such schemes of improvement were formed as prepared the way for the

introduction of opulence into the colony.

The increased industry of the colonists was not long before it found

a new and somewhat singular channel――the cultivation of tobacco;

indeed so inconsiderately and exclusively were their energies directed

to that object at this time, that the most fatal consequences were

rendered almost inevitable. The land which ought to have been reserved

for raising provisions, and even the streets of Jamestown, were

planted with tobacco. Various regulations were framed to restrain

this ill-directed activity; but, from eagerness for present gain,

the planters disregarded every admonition. Tobacco, however, had

many trials to pass through before it reached its present established

station. King James declared himself its open enemy, and drew against

it his royal pen. In the work which he entitled ‘Counterblast to

Tobacco,’ he poured the most bitter reproaches on this ‘vile and

nauseous weed.’ He followed it up by a proclamation to restrain

the disorderly trading in tobacco, as tending to a general and new

corruption of both men’s bodies and minds. Yet tobacco, like other

proscribed objects, throve under persecution, and achieved a final

triumph over all its enemies.

Financially, the colony was now in a flourishing state; politically, it

was badly administered. Its president was captain Argal, a rigid master,

and absurd tyrant. One of his edicts is worth quoting: it ordered ‘That

every person should go to church on Sundays and holidays, or be kept

confined the night succeeding the offence, and be a slave to the colony

for the following week; for the second offence, a slave for a month;

and for the third, a year and a day.’ From the representations made to

him of the misrule of this man, lord Delaware embarked a second time

for America; but died on the voyage, in or near the bay which bears his

name. His death was the signal for renewed outrages on the part of the

colonial tyrant, and the office of captain-general was transferred to

Mr. Yeardley. He arrived in April, and immediately convoked a colonial

assembly, which met at Jamestown on the 19th of June, and was the first

representative legislature which assembled in the transatlantic states.

The full tide of prosperity was now enjoyed by the colony. Its

numbers greatly increased, and its settlements became widely extended.

At peace with the Indians, it reposed in perfect security, and realized

the happiness its fortunate situation and favorable prospects afforded,

without suspecting the sudden and terrible reverse of fortune it was

doomed to experience. Opechankanough, the successor of Powhatan, had

adopted with ardor all the early enmity of his native tribe against

the settlers; and he formed one of those dreadful schemes, so frequent

in Indian annals, of exterminating the whole race at one blow. Such

was the fidelity of his people, and so deep the power of savage

dissimulation, that this dire scheme was matured without the slightest

intimation reaching the English, who neither attended to the movements

of the Indians, nor suspected their machinations; and though surrounded

by a people whom they might have known from experience to be both

artful and vindictive, they neglected those precautions for their own

safety that were requisite in such circumstances.

All the tribes in the vicinity of the English settlements were

successively gained, except those on the eastern shore, from whom,

on account of their peculiar attachment to their new neighbors, every

circumstance that might discover what they intended was carefully

concealed. To each tribe its station was allotted, and the part it was

to act prescribed. On the morning of the day consecrated to vengeance,

each was at the place of rendezvous appointed; and at mid-day, the

moment they had previously fixed for this execrable deed, the Indians,

raising a universal yell, rushed at once on the English in all their

scattered settlements, butchering men, women, and children, with

undistinguishing fury, and every aggravation of brutal outrage and

savage cruelty. In one hour, three hundred and forty-seven persons

were cut off, almost without knowing by whose hands they fell. Indeed,

the universal destruction of the colonists was prevented only by

the consequences of an event, which perhaps appeared but of little

importance in the colony at the time when it took place――the conversion

of an Indian to the Christian faith. On the night before the massacre,

this man was made privy to it by his own brother; but as soon as

his brother left him he revealed the dreadful secret to an English

gentleman in whose house he was residing, who immediately carried the

tidings to Jamestown, and communicated them to some of the nearest

settlers, scarcely in time to prevent the last hour of the perfidious

truce from being the last hour of their lives.

A bloody and exterminating war followed, in which the English were

victorious, but by which they were much reduced in numbers. Famine

came in the train of battle, and made additional devastation. A writ of

_quo warranto_ was issued against the company, under whose rule these

calamities had been suffered. It was brought to trial in the court

of king’s bench, and their charter was vacated. A new commission

was issued for the government of Virginia, in which the republican

tendencies of the previous government were duly restrained.

Charles I. on the demise of his predecessor reduced the colony under

the immediate direction of the crown, appointing a governor and council,

and ordering all patents and processes to issue in his own name. His

first appointment of governor elevated Sir George Yeardley to that

office, but he died early, and was succeeded by the despotic Sir John

Harvey, who managed to make himself perfectly odious to the people whom

he was sent to govern. The public mind became finally so much excited,

that even the despotic Charles thought it prudent to recall his minion,

and Sir William Berkeley was appointed to succeed him.

Sir William was as eminent, as his predecessor had been deficient,

in all popular virtues; and he was the bearer of instructions which

directed him to restore the colonial assembly, and invite it to enact

a body of laws for the province. Thus unexpectedly the colonists

were restored to their old system of freedom, and the consequence was

universal gratitude and joy. The king became universally popular, and

during the civil wars, the colony continued faithful to the royal cause.

The next incident of great interest in the history of Virginia, is the

rebellion consequent on the passage of the navigation act; by which

the plan of monopolizing to England the commerce of the colonies was

perfected and reduced into a complete system.

This oppressive system excited great indignation in Virginia, where

the extensive commerce and pre-eminent loyalty of the people rendered

the pressure of the burden more severe, and the infliction of it more

exasperating. The excitement became general, and was worked up to such

a pitch, that nothing was wanting to precipitate the people into the

most desperate acts, but some leader qualified to unite and to direct

their operations. Such a leader they found in Nathaniel Bacon. He was

a lawyer, educated in London, and was appointed a member of the council

a short time after his emigration to Virginia. Young, bold, ambitious,

with an engaging address, and commanding eloquence, he harangued the

colonists upon their grievances; inflamed their resentment against

their rulers; declaimed particularly against the languor with which

the war, then existing with the Indians, had been conducted; and such

was the effect of his representations, that he was elected general by

the people. To give some color of legitimacy to the authority he had

acquired, and perhaps expecting to precipitate matters to the extremity

which his interest required that they should speedily reach, he applied

to the governor for an official confirmation of the popular election,

and offered instantly to march against the common enemy. This Sir

William Berkeley firmly refused, and issued a proclamation commanding

the dispersion of the insurgents. Bacon had advanced too far to

recede; and he hastened, at the head of six hundred armed followers,

to Jamestown, surrounded the house where the governor and council were

assembled, and repeated his demand.

Intimidated by the threats of the enraged multitude, the council

hastily prepared a commission, and, by their entreaties, prevailed

on the governor to sign it. Bacon and his troops then began their

march against the Indians; but no sooner were the council relieved from

their fears, than they declared the commission void, and proclaimed

Bacon a rebel. Enraged at this conduct, he instantly returned, with

all his forces, to Jamestown. The aged governor, unsupported, and

almost abandoned, fled precipitately to Accomack, on the eastern

shore of the colony; collecting those who were well affected towards

his administration, he began to oppose the insurgents, and several

skirmishes were fought, with various success. A party of the insurgents

burned Jamestown, laid waste those districts of the colony which

adhered to the old administration, and confiscated the property of

the loyalists. The governor, in retaliation, seized the estates of many

of the insurgents, and executed several of their leaders. In the midst

of these calamities Bacon sickened and died. Destitute of a leader to

conduct and animate them, their sanguine hopes of success subsided;

all began to desire an accommodation; and after a brief negotiation

with the governor they laid down their arms, on obtaining a promise

of general pardon.

On hearing of the disturbances in Virginia, Charles despatched, though

with no great haste, a fleet with some troops for its pacification.

These did not arrive, however, till they might well have been dispensed

with. With them came colonel Jeffreys, appointed to recall and replace

Sir William Berkeley in the government of the colony. This brave and

benevolent man did not long survive his dismissal, and may justly be

said to have lived and died in the service of Virginia.

A succession of weak and tyrannical rulers followed the recall of Sir

William Berkeley. Notwithstanding the unfavorable circumstances under

which it labored, the colony continued to increase. Tobacco grew in

demand in Europe, and its cultivation gave constant employment to the

planters. The situation of the colony, removed alike from the French

in Canada, and the Spaniards in Florida, saved it from their hostile

incursions, and procured for it a comparative repose.

MASSACHUSETTS.

In the order of time, the settlement of the northern states followed

next after that of Virginia. In the year 1614, captain Smith explored

the coast with much care between Penobscot and cape Cod. He presented

a chart and description of it to Charles, prince of Wales, who was so

well pleased with the country that he called it _New England_; a name

which has since been applied to the provinces east of the Hudson.

In 1620, that country began to be colonized by a body of Puritans; who

had been first driven to Holland, by the mad intolerance of the English

government, and afterwards determined to emigrate to America. They

applied to the Virginia company for a patent, and it was not unwilling

to favor their views. They solicited full freedom of conscience, but

this the king declined granting under the great seal: he promised,

however, not to molest them, so long as they behaved themselves

peaceably.

The first band of these Puritans, consisting of one hundred and one

persons, reached cape Cod at break of day on the 9th of November, 1620.

Observing that they were beyond the limits of the company’s patent,

they had no powers of government derived from authority; and, therefore,

even before landing, they formed themselves into a ‘civil body politic,

under the crown of England, for the purpose of framing just and equal

laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions, and offices,’ to which they

promised all due submission and obedience. Forty-one persons signed

this contract. It contained the elements of those forms of government

peculiar to the new world. Under this system, John Carver was, by

general consent, chosen their first governor, ‘confiding,’ as the

electors say, ‘in his prudence, that he would not adventure upon any

matter of moment without the consent of the rest, or, at least, advice

of such as were known to be the wisest among them.’

Government being thus established, sixteen men, well armed, with a

few others, were sent on shore the same day, to fetch wood and make

discoveries; but they returned at night without having found any

person or habitation. The company, having rested during the Sabbath,

disembarked on Monday, the 13th of November; and soon after proceeded

to explore the interior of the country. In their researches they

discovered heaps of earth, one of which they dug open, but, finding

within implements of war, they concluded these were Indian graves; and

therefore, replacing what they had taken out, they left them inviolate.

In different heaps of sand they also found baskets of corn, a large

quantity of which they carried away in a great kettle, found at

the ruins of an Indian house. This providential discovery gave them

seed for a future harvest, and preserved the infant colony from

famine. On the 6th of December the shallop was sent out with several

of the principal men, to sail round the bay in search of a place for

settlement. During their researches, part of the company travelled

along the shore, where they were surprised by a flight of arrows from

a party of Indians; but, on the discharge of the English muskets, the

Indians instantly disappeared. The shallop, after imminent hazard from

the loss of its rudder and mast in a storm, and from shoals, which it

narrowly escaped, reached a small island on the night of the 8th; here

the company reposed themselves, grateful for their preservation during

the week; and on this island they kept the Sabbath. The day following

they sounded the harbor, and found it fit for shipping; went on shore,

and explored the adjacent land, where they saw various corn-fields and

brooks; and, judging the situation to be convenient for a settlement,

they returned with the welcome intelligence to the ship.

On the 23d, as many of the company as could, with convenience, went on

shore, and felled, and carried timber to the spot appropriated for the

erection of a building for common use. On the 25th, they commenced the

erection of the first house. A platform for their ordnance demanding

the earliest attention, they formed one upon a hill, which commanded

an extensive prospect of the plain beneath, of the expanding bay, and

of the distant ocean. They divided their whole company into nineteen

families; measured out the ground; and assigned to every person by

lot half a pole in breadth, and three poles in length, for houses and

gardens. In grateful remembrance of the Christian friends whom they

found at the last town they left in their native country, they called

their settlement Plymouth. Thus was founded the first British town of

New England.

The climate was found much more severe than the colonists had

anticipated; and they had arrived when winter was nearly one-third

advanced. They had every thing to do, and in this season could do very

little, even of what was indispensable. Their shelter was wretched;

their sufferings were intense; their dangers were not small, and were

rendered painful by an absolute uncertainty of their extent. All these

evils they encountered with resolution, and sustained with fortitude.

To each other they were kind: to the savages they were just: they loved

the truth of the gospel; embraced it in its purity; and obeyed it with

an excellence of life, which added a new wreath to the character of man.

Among the attempts at forming settlements at this time was one of a

character as peculiar as it was undesirable. Captain Wollaston began

a plantation, which he named after himself. One Morton, of Furnival’s

inn, was of this company. He was not left in command, but contrived to

make himself chief, changed the name of mount Wollaston to Merry mount,

set all the servants free, erected a may-pole, and lived a life of

dissipation, until all the stock intended for trade was consumed. He

was charged with furnishing the Indians with guns and ammunition, and

teaching them the use of them. At length, he made himself so obnoxious

to the planters in all parts, that, at their general desire, the people

of New Plymouth seized him by an armed force, and confined him, until

they had opportunity of sending him to England.

The time was now at hand, when the causes which had induced the

voluntary exile of the Leyden congregation, should produce an effect

far more extensive. Applications to the Plymouth company from Puritan

congregations were now becoming frequent; and, in the year 1628,

the council of Plymouth sold to Sir Henry Roswell and others, their

heirs and associates, that part of New England which lies between two

boundaries, one three miles north of the Merrimac, and the other three

miles south of Charles river, from the Atlantic to the South sea.

The same year Mr. Endicot, one of the patentees, came to New England,

and planted himself, with a small colony, in Naumkeag, now Salem. The

following year they were joined by about two hundred others, making

three hundred in the whole, one hundred of whom, however, removed the

same year, and settled themselves, with the consent of Mr. Endicot,

governor of the colony, at Mishawum, now Charlestown. The second Salem

company brought with them a considerable number of cattle, horses,

sheep, and goats; which after a little period, became so numerous as

to supply all the wants of the inhabitants. Powers of government were

granted to these colonists by Charles I., which constituted them a

corporation, by the name of The Governor and Company of Massachusetts

Bay, in New England, with power to elect annually a governor, deputy

governor, and eighteen assistants; four great and general courts were

to be held every year, to consist of the governor, or, in his absence,

the deputy governor, the assistants, or at least six of them, and the

freemen of the company.

The arbitrary proceedings of the British court, in affairs both of

church and state, continued without any abatement, and induced many

gentlemen of wealth and distinction to join the Plymouth company, and

remove to New England. In 1629, many persons of this character, and

among them the distinguished names of Isaac Johnson, John Winthrop,

Thomas Dudley, and Sir Richard Saltonstall, proposed to the company

to remove with their families, on condition that the charter and

government should be transferred to New England. To this the company

assented, and in the course of the next year, John Winthrop, who had

been chosen governor, with about one thousand five hundred persons,

embarked. The fleet consisted of ten sail, one of which was of three

hundred and fifty tons, and, from lady Arabella Johnson, who sailed

in her, was called the Arabella. Among the passengers were a number

of eminent non-conformist ministers. The most highly esteemed was Mr.

Wilson, the son of a dignitary of the church, who, by his connexions

and talents, might have aspired to its highest honors, but chose to

renounce all, in order to suffer with those whom he accounted the

people of God. But the circumstance which threw a greater lustre on

the colony than any other, was the arrival of Mr. John Cotton, the most

esteemed of all the Puritan ministers in England. Becoming an object

of the persecuting fury of Laud, he left Boston in disguise, and spent

some time in London, seeking a proper opportunity to emigrate. There

went out with him Mr. Hooker and Mr. Stone, who were esteemed to make a

glorious triumvirate, and were received in New England with the utmost

exultation. Mr. Cotton was appointed to preach at Boston, now the

principal town in Massachusetts bay, and was mainly employed in drawing

up the ecclesiastical constitution of the colony.

On the arrival of the principal ships of the fleet at Charlestown, the

governor and several of the patentees, having viewed the bottom of the

bay of Massachusetts, and pitched down on the north side of Charles

river, took lodgings in the great house built there the preceding year,

and the rest of the company erected cottages, booths, and tents, about

the town hill. Their place of assembling for divine service was under a

tree. When the fleet had safely arrived, a day of thanksgiving was kept

in all the plantations. Early attention was paid to the great object of

the enterprise. On the 30th of July, a day of solemn prayer and fasting

was kept at Charlestown, when governor Winthrop, deputy governor Dudley,

and Mr. Wilson, first entered into church covenant; and at this time

was laid the foundation of the church of Charlestown, and of the first

church in Boston. On the 27th of August, the congregation kept a fast,

and chose Mr. Wilson their teacher. ‘We used imposition of hands,’ says

governor Winthrop, ‘but with this protestation by all, that it was only

a sign of election and confirmation, not of any intent that Mr. Wilson

should renounce the ministry he received in England.’

The colony was now gaining strength from its numbers and organization;

but it had also its trials to contend with, not the least of which was

the sickness arising from the severity of the climate, or, more truly,

from the means of counteracting the injurious tendencies of the climate

not being yet properly understood. Among those who fell an early

sacrifice, none were lamented more than lady Arabella Johnson and her

husband, who had left the abodes of abundance and of social comfort

for the American wilderness, purely from religious principle. As soon

as the severity of the winter was abated sufficiently to admit of

assemblies being convened, the colonists proceeded to enact laws for

their internal regulation. It has been before observed, that those who

so resolutely ventured to cross the ocean, and to brave the hardships

attendant on clearing the American forests, sought rather to establish

churches, than to found a kingdom; it will naturally be supposed,

therefore, that their legislation partook largely of an ecclesiastical

character. Indeed, the history of this colony presents more matter for

the ecclesiastical than the civil historian. At the very first court

of election a law was passed, enacting that none should hereafter be

admitted freemen, or be entitled to any share in the government, or be

capable of being chosen magistrates, or even of serving as jurymen but

such as had been or should hereafter be received into the church as

members. ‘This was a most extraordinary order or law,’ says Hutchinson,

‘and yet it continued in force until the dissolution of the government,

it being repealed in appearance only after the restoration of king

Charles II. Had they been deprived of their civil privileges in England

by an act of parliament, unless they would join in communion with

the churches there, it might very well have been the first in the

roll of grievances. But such were the requisites to qualify for

church-membership here, that the grievance was abundantly greater.’

The baneful influence of the erroneous principles of the union of the

civil and ecclesiastical power, soon became apparent in the persecution

of the most liberally minded man in the colony, Roger Williams. It is

true that he enthusiastically supported some tenets which were deemed

heterodox, and occasioned considerable excitement by inveighing against

the use of the cross in the national flag. In consequence of the spread

of his opinion, some of the troops would not act till the relic of

popery, as they considered it, was cut out of the banner, while others

would not serve under any flag from which it was erased. At length a

compromise was entered into, by which it was agreed that the obnoxious

emblem should be omitted from the banners of the militia, while it

was retained in those of the forts. This, however, was only one of the

errors charged against Williams; it is said that he maintained that

no female should go abroad unless veiled; that unregenerate men ought

neither to pray nor to take oaths; that, indeed, oaths had better

be altogether omitted; that the churches of New England should not

acknowledge or communicate with the hierarchy from which they had

separated; that infants should not be subjects of baptism; that the

magistrate should confine his authority wholly to temporal affairs; and

that James or Charles of England had no right at all to grant away the

lands of the Indians without their consent. For the zealous propagation

of these sentiments, he was deemed worthy of banishment from the

colony of Massachusetts. The order of the court was, that he should be

transported to England; but he escaped the limits of their jurisdiction,

repaired to the Narraganset country, and became the founder of a new

colony.

During the year 1635, no less than three thousand persons arrived in

New England. Among them was Henry Vane, a young man of noble family,

animated with a devotion to the cause of religion and liberty, which

induced him to relinquish all his hopes in England, and settle in an

infant colony which as yet afforded little more than a bare subsistence

to its inhabitants: he was naturally received in New England with high

regard and admiration, and was instantly complimented with the freedom

of the colony. Enforcing his claims to respect by the address and

ability which he showed in conducting business, he was elected governor

in the year subsequent to his arrival, by the universal consent of

the colonists, and with the highest expectations of an advantageous

administration. These hopes, we shall find in the sequel, were by

no means realized. He entered too deeply into polemical theology, to

allow him to devote the energies of his mind to the civil and political

duties which afforded so abundant a field for their exercise.

A brief period elapsed after the expulsion of Roger Williams, before

the repose of the colony was again interrupted by religious dissensions.

The Puritans had transported, with their other religious practices,

that of assembling one evening in the week to converse over the

discourses of the preceding Sabbath; a proceeding well calculated to

keep alive that zeal which arises from the vigorous exercise of private

judgment, but not to promote the subserviency requisite to a quiet

submission to the uniformity of authorized opinions. These meetings

had been originally confined to the brethren; but Mrs. Hutchinson, a

lady of respectable station in life, of considerable native talent,

and of affable manners, deemed it desirable that the sisters should

also exercise a similar privilege. Unfortunately, it was not long

before this lady and her associates discovered that there would be

much more propriety in their instructing their ministers than in the

reverse process, which had hitherto prevailed. They adopted that most

convenient dogma, that good works are no evidence of being a true

Christian, or one of the elect; and that the only testimony to a state

of justification, was the overpowering assurance of the mind, produced

by the immediate influence of the divine Spirit.

The disturbance occasioned by the propagation of these offensive

sentiments, was aggravated by the circumstance of the governor, Mr.

Vane, being their decided advocate. Vehement discussions and bitter

accusations abounded; but the antinomian party, though most zealous,

were least numerous; and at the annual election, Mr. Vane was displaced

by Mr. Winthrop, by a very decided majority. After various measures had

been resorted to, in order to bring the dissentients within the pale of

orthodoxy, a synod was called, which determined that the sentiments of

Mrs. Hutchinson and her followers were grievously erroneous, and, as

they still refused submission, the favorite measure of banishment was

had recourse to. Another accession was thus made to the ‘alluvies,’ as

Mather terms it, of Rhode Island; but not finding that land of liberty

perfectly to her taste Mrs. Hutchinson removed to a Dutch plantation,

where, not long after, she was basely murdered, with many of her family,

by the Indians.

It does not fall within our plan to follow out the details of the

ecclesiastical persecutions that disfigure the early history of New

England. Although themselves fugitives from the terrors of persecution,

the Puritans entertained no particular toleration for the tenets of

those who came to different conclusions. They whipped, banished, and

imprisoned Anabaptists, Quakers and others, whose obstinacy was equal

to their own, and whose power was unfortunately less. Like many other

enthusiasts, they entertained a strong predilection for the phraseology

and manners of the Hebrews, whose laws they ill understood. Lying,

drunkenness and dancing were punished with public whipping; and for a

man to have long hair was considered an abomination, and inconsistent

with the care of the soul.

A more important subject than religious wrangling, is the union formed

by the New England colonists, for mutual defence against the savages,

and for security against the claims and encroachments of the Dutch.

This union, or confederation, was formed in 1643, by the name of The

United Colonies of New England. It had been proposed by the colonies

of Connecticut and New Haven, as early as 1638, but was not finally

completed until five years after. This confederacy, which continued

about forty years, constituted an interesting portion of the political

history of New England. It consisted of the colonies of Massachusetts,

New Plymouth, Connecticut, and New Haven. By the articles of

confederation, as they were called, these colonies entered into a firm

and perpetual league of friendship and amity, for offence and defence,

mutual advice and succor, upon all just occasions, both for preserving

and propagating the truth and liberties of the gospel, and for their

own mutual safety and welfare. Each colony was to retain its own

peculiar jurisdiction and government; and no other plantation or colony

was to be received as a confederate, nor any two of the confederates to

be united into one jurisdiction, without the consent of the rest. The

affairs of the united colonies were to be managed by a legislature, to

consist of two persons, styled commissioners, chosen from each colony.

The commissioners were to meet annually in the colonies, in succession,

and when met, to choose a president, and the determination of any

six to be binding on all. This confederacy, which was declared to

be perpetual, continued without any essential alteration, until the

New England colonies were deprived of their charter by the arbitrary

proceedings of James II. This union evidently served as the basis of

the great confederacy afterwards formed between the thirteen states of

America. An examination of the two systems will prove a similarity not

only in names, but in general principles.

At the termination of the first half century from the arrival of the

emigrants at Plymouth, the New England colonies were calculated to

contain one hundred and twenty towns, and as many thousand inhabitants;

of whom sixteen thousand were capable of bearing arms. The habits

of industry and economy, which had been formed in less happy times,

continued to prevail, and gave a competency to those who had nothing,

and wealth to those who had a competency. The wilderness receded before

these hardy and persevering laborers, and its savage inhabitants found

their game dispersed, and their favorite haunts invaded. This was

the natural consequence of the sales of land, which they were at all

times ready to make to the whites. But this result the Indians did not

foresee; and when they felt it in all its force, the strongest passions

were awakened which could animate the savage breast. A leader only

was wanting to concentrate and direct their exertions, and Philip, of

Pokanoket, sachem of a tribe residing within the boundaries of Plymouth

and Rhode Island, assumed that station. His father was the friend,

but he had ever been the enemy, of the whites; and he exerted all the

arts of intrigue, of which he was master, to induce the Indians, in all

parts of New England, to unite their efforts for their destruction. He

succeeded in forming a confederacy, able to send into action more than

three thousand warriors.

Illustration: Attack on Swanzey.

The English were apprized of the plots of the Indians, and made

preparations to meet their hostilities. They hoped, however, that

the threatened storm would pass by, as others had, and that peace

would be preserved. But the insolence of Philip, and the number of his

adherents, increased daily; and, in June, 1675, some of them entered

the town of Swanzey, in Plymouth, where, after slaughtering the cattle,

and plundering the houses, they fired upon the inhabitants, killing

and wounding several. The troops of that colony marched immediately

to Swanzey, and were soon joined by a detachment from Massachusetts.

The Indians fled, and marked the course of their flight by burning

the buildings, and fixing on poles by the way side, the hands, scalps,

and heads of the whites whom they had killed. The troops pursued, but

unable to overtake them, returned to Swanzey. The whole country was

alarmed, and the number of troops augmented. By this array of force,

Philip was induced to quit his residence at mount Hope, and take post

near a swamp at Pocasset. At that place the English attacked him, but

were repulsed. Sixteen were killed, and the Indians by this success

were made bolder.

Most of the settlements were surrounded by thick forests, and as the

Indians lived intermixed with the whites, the former were acquainted,

of course, with the dwellings of the latter, and all the avenues

to them; could watch their motions, and fall upon them in their

defenceless and unguarded moments. Many were shot dead as they opened

their doors in the morning; many while at work in their fields, and

others while travelling to visit their neighbors, or to places of

worship; their lives were in continual jeopardy; and no one could tell

but that, in the next moment, he should receive his death shot from

his barn, the thicket, or the way side. Whenever the enemy assembled

in force, detachments were sent against them; if weaker than these,

they would retreat; if stronger, assault and harass, or destroy them.

Defenceless villages were suddenly attacked, the houses burned, and the

men, women and children killed, or carried into captivity. Their ruin

was the work of a moment; and when accomplished, its authors vanished.

The colonists found their numbers sensibly diminished, and their

strength impaired; and they began to apprehend even total extinction.

Nothing but a vigorous effort could save them.

The commissioners of the three United Colonies met on the 9th of

September, and it was concluded, that the war was just and necessary;

that it ought to be jointly prosecuted by all the United Colonies;

and that there should be immediately raised 1000 soldiers out of

the colonies, in such proportion as the articles of confederation

established: Massachusetts, 527; Plymouth, 158; Connecticut, 315. At

an adjourned meeting, the commissioners declared the Narragansets to

be deeply accessory in the present bloody outrages of the Indians that

were at open war, and determined that 1000 more soldiers be raised, for

the Narraganset expedition, to obtain satisfaction of those Indians,

or to treat them as enemies. On the 8th of December, the Massachusetts

forces marched from Boston, and were soon joined by those of Plymouth.

The troops from Connecticut joined them on the 18th, at Petaquamscot.

At break of day the next morning they commenced their march, through

a deep snow, toward the enemy, who were about fifteen miles distant in

a swamp, at the edge of which they arrived at one in the afternoon. The

Indians, apprized of an armament intended against them, had fortified

themselves as strongly as possible within the swamp. The English,

without waiting to draw up in order of battle, marched forward in quest

of the enemy’s camp.

The Indian fortress stood on a rising ground in the midst of the

swamp, and was composed of palisades, which were encompassed by a

hedge, nearly a rod thick. It had but one practicable entrance, which

was over a log, or tree four or five feet from the ground; and that

aperture was guarded by a block-house. Falling providentially on this

very part of the fort, the English captains entered it, at the head

of their companies. The two first, with many of their men, were shot

dead at the entrance; four other captains were also killed. When the

troops had effected an entrance, they attacked the Indians, who fought

desperately, and compelled the English to retire out of the fort;

but after a hard-fought battle of three hours, they became masters

of the place, and set fire to the wigwams, to the number of five or

six hundred, and in the conflagration many Indian women and children

perished. The surviving Indians fled into a cedar swamp, at a small

distance; and the English retired to their quarters. Of the English

there were killed and wounded about two hundred and thirty; of the

Indians one thousand are supposed to have perished.

Illustration: Attack on the Indian Fortress.