Lord Chatham’s motion was seconded by lord Camden, who affirmed that

‘whenever oppression begins, resistance becomes lawful and right;’ and

it was ably supported by the marquis of Rockingham and lord Shelburne;

but, like all other motions opposed to the views of the ministry,

it was lost by a large majority. The administration declared their

determination never to relax in their measures of coercion, until

America was forced into obedience. This, however, did not prevent

lord Chatham from presenting to the house, soon afterwards, a bill,

containing his favorite plan ‘for settling the troubles, and for

asserting the supreme legislative authority and superintending power of

Great Britain over the colonies.’ Though this bill, as it contained a

direct avowal of the supreme authority of parliament over the colonies,

in all cases except that of taxation, could never have received the

assent of the Americans, yet, as it expressly denied the parliamentary

power of taxing the colonies, without the consent of their assemblies,

and made other concessions, it was rejected by a large majority on its

first reading.[110]

On the 20th of February, lord North astonished both his friends and

opponents, by introducing into the house of commons a proposition of

a conciliatory nature. This was at first opposed from all quarters,

but those who usually acted with the minister were finally persuaded

to join him in this measure. But it did not prevent Mr. Burke and

Mr. Hartley from presenting to the house their respective plans

of reconciliation. They were of course rejected by the ministerial

majority.

While most of the colonies afforded sufficient occupation for the

watchfulness of the British government, those of New England called

forth the most vigorous efforts of the royalists, both by sea and

land. The naval forces were frequently engaged in destroying armed

American vessels, congress having fitted out several, which were very

successful in capturing store ships sent with supplies of provisions

and ammunition for the royal army. At Gloucester, the Falcon sloop of

war, having chased an American vessel into the harbor, despatched three

boats, with about forty men, to bring her off, when the party were so

warmly received by the militia who had collected on the shore, that the

captain thought it necessary to send a reinforcement, and to commence

cannonading the town. A very smart action ensued, which was kept up for

several hours, but resulted in the complete defeat of the assailants,

leaving upwards of thirty prisoners in the hands of the Americans.

This repulse excited the British to deeds of revenge upon several of

the defenceless towns on the coast, and to declare that many of them

should be reduced to ashes, unless the inhabitants consented to an

unconditional compliance with all their demands.

Another occurrence also tended to mutual exasperation. In compliance

with a resolution of the provincial congress to prevent tories from

conveying out their effects, the inhabitants of Falmouth, in the

north-eastern part of Massachusetts, had obstructed the loading of a

mast ship. The destruction of the town was therefore determined on, as

an example of vindictive punishment. Captain Mowat, detached for that

purpose with armed vessels by admiral Greaves, arrived off the place on

the evening of the 17th of October, and gave notice to the inhabitants

that he would allow them two hours ‘to remove the human species.’ The

next day, captain Mowat commenced a furious cannonade and bombardment;

and a great number of people, standing on the heights, were spectators

of the conflagration, which reduced many of them to penury and despair.

More than four hundred houses and stores were burnt. Newport, Rhode

Island, being threatened with a similar attack, was compelled to

stipulate for a weekly supply to avert it.

Warlike operations were not confined to the sea-ports. Their success in

the reduction of Ticonderoga and Crown Point stimulated the Americans

to more extensive operations in the north; and the movements of Sir G.

Carleton, the governor of Canada, appeared to call for them, congress

having reason to believe that a formidable invasion was intended from

that quarter. The management of military affairs in this department

had been committed to the generals Schuyler and Montgomery. On the 10th

of September, about one thousand American troops effected a landing

at St. John’s, the first British port in Canada, lying one hundred

and fifteen miles only to the northward of Ticonderoga, but found it

advisable to retreat to Isle aux Noix, twelve miles south of St. John’s.

An extremely bad state of health soon after inducing general Schuyler

to retire to Ticonderoga, the command devolved on general Montgomery.

That enterprising officer in a few days returned to the vicinity of

St. John’s, and opened a battery against it; and the reduction of fort

Chamblee, by a small detachment, giving him possession of six tons of

gunpowder, enabled him to prosecute the siege of St. John’s with vigor.

General Carleton advanced against him with about eight hundred men; but,

in attempting to cross the St. Lawrence, with the intention of landing

at Langueil, he was attacked by colonel Warner, at the head of three

hundred Green Mountain boys, and compelled to retire with precipitancy.

This repulse induced the garrison of St. John’s to surrender, on

honorable terms of capitulation.

While Montgomery was prosecuting the siege of St. John’s, colonel Ethan

Allen, who had been despatched on a service necessary to that object,

hearing that Montreal was in a defenceless state, attempted its capture

without the knowledge of his superior in command; he was, however,

with a part of his detachment, taken prisoner, and, to the disgrace of

general Carleton, loaded with irons, and in that state sent to England.

After the capture of St. John’s, Montgomery directed his attention

to Montreal, with different success. On his approach, the few British

troops there repaired on board the shipping, in hopes of escaping down

the river; but general Prescot, and several officers, with about one

hundred and twenty privates, were intercepted, and made prisoners on

capitulation; eleven sail of vessels, with all their contents, fell

into the hands of the provincials. Governor Carleton was secretly

conveyed away in a boat with muffled paddles, and arrived safely

at Quebec. General Montgomery, leaving some troops in Montreal, and

sending detachments into different parts of the province to encourage

the Canadians and to forward provisions, advanced with his little army

to Quebec, where he found, to his surprise, that a body of American

troops had arrived before.

General Washington, foreseeing that the whole force of Canada would

be concentrated about Montreal, had projected an expedition against

Quebec in a different direction from that of Montgomery. His plan was

to send out a detachment from his camp before Boston, to march by way

of Kennebec river; and, passing through the dreary wilderness lying

between the settled parts of the province of Maine and the St. Lawrence,

to penetrate into Canada about ninety miles below Montreal. This

extraordinary and most arduous enterprise was committed to colonel

Arnold, who, with one thousand one hundred men, consisting of New

England infantry, some volunteers, a company of artillery, and three

companies of riflemen, commenced his march on the 13th of September. It

is almost impossible to conceive the labor, hardships, and difficulties

which this detachment had to encounter in their progress up the rapid

stream of the Kennebec, frequently interrupted by falls, where they

were obliged to land and carry the boats upon their shoulders, until

they surmounted them, through a country wholly uninhabited, with a

scanty supply of provisions, the season cold and rainy, and the men

daily dropping down with fatigue, sickness and hunger.

Arnold was indefatigable in his endeavors to alleviate the distresses

of his men, but to procure provisions for them was not in his power.

They were at one time reduced to so great an extremity of hunger, that

the dogs belonging to the army were killed and eaten, and many of the

soldiers devoured their leather cartouch boxes. Arnold and his party

at length arrived at Point Levi, opposite the town of Quebec: but in

consequence of information the British had received, by the treachery

of the Indian to whom Arnold had intrusted a letter to general Schuyler,

the boats which he expected to find there to transport his troops

across the river had been removed, and the enemy were no longer in a

state to be surprised. Arnold, however, was not to be deterred from

attempting something against the town; he calculated strongly upon the

defection of the inhabitants: and having supplied himself with canoes,

he crossed the river in the night, and gained possession of the heights

of Abraham. Here, though he had no artillery, and scarcely half the

number of men that composed the garrison of the town, he made a bold

experiment to try the loyalty of the enemy’s troops, by sending a flag

to summon them to surrender. But no message would be admitted, and

Arnold found himself compelled to retire to more comfortable quarters,

where he awaited the arrival of general Montgomery.

Illustration: Voyage up the Kennebec.

General Carleton, who, as we have already stated, had arrived at

Quebec, had taken the best measures for its defence, and was prepared

to receive him. In a few days the American general opened a six-gun

battery within about seven hundred yards of the walls; but his

artillery was too light to make a breach, and he could do nothing more

than amuse the enemy, and conceal his real purpose. After continuing a

siege nearly a month, he resolved on a desperate attempt to carry the

place by escalade. To distract the garrison, two feigned attacks were

made on the upper town by two divisions of the army under majors Brown

and Livingston, while two real attacks on opposite sides of the lower

town were made by two other divisions under Montgomery and Arnold.

Early in the morning of the last day in the year, the signal was given,

and the several divisions moved to the assault in the midst of a heavy

fall of snow, which covered the assailants from the sight of the enemy.

Montgomery, at the head of the New York troops, advanced along the St.

Lawrence, by Aunce de Mere, under cape Diamond.

The first barrier to be surmounted on that side was defended by a

battery, in which were mounted a few pieces of artillery, in front of

which were a blockhouse and picket. The guard at the blockhouse, after

giving a random fire, threw away their arms and fled to the barrier,

and for a time the battery itself was deserted. Enormous piles of

ice impeded the progress of the Americans, who, pressing forward in a

narrow defile, reached at length the blockhouse and picket. Montgomery,

who was in front, assisted in cutting down or pulling up the pickets,

and advanced boldly and rapidly at the head of about two hundred men,

to force the barrier. By this time one or two persons had ventured to

return to the battery, and, seizing a slow match, discharged one of the

guns. Casual as this fire appeared, it was fatal to general Montgomery

and to two valuable young officers near his person, who, together with

his orderly sergeant and a private, were killed on the spot. Colonel

Campbell, on whom the command devolved, precipitately retired with the

remainder of the division.

In the mean time, colonel Arnold, at the head of about three hundred

and fifty men, made a desperate attack on the opposite side. Advancing

with the utmost intrepidity along the St. Charles, through a narrow

path, exposed to an incessant fire of grape-shot and musketry, as he

approached the first barrier at the Saut des Matelots, he received a

musket ball in the leg, which shattered the bone, and he was carried

off to the camp. Captain Morgan, who commanded a company of Virginia

riflemen, rushed forward to the batteries at their head, and received

a discharge of grape-shot, which killed one man only. A few rifles were

immediately fired into the embrasures, and the barricade was mounted;

the battery was instantly deserted, but the captain of the guard, with

the greater part of his men, fell into the hands of the Americans.

Morgan formed his men, but from the darkness of the night and total

ignorance of the situation of the town, it was judged unadvisable to

proceed. He was soon joined by lieutenant-colonel Green and majors

Bigelow and Meigs, with several fragments of companies, amounting

collectively to about two hundred men. At daylight this gallant party

was again formed; but after a bloody and desperate engagement, in which

they sustained the force of the whole garrison three hours, they were

compelled to surrender themselves prisoners of war.[111]

After this brave but disastrous assault, the commander of the American

troops did not muster more than four hundred effective men: in the

hope, however, of receiving reinforcements, they maintained a position

at a short distance from Quebec; and, although the garrison was very

superior in numbers, the bravery the colonists had evinced, and the

mixed character of his own troops, disinclined general Carleton from

leaving his ramparts to attack the Americans.

In the end of May and beginning of June, generals Howe, Burgoyne,

and Clinton, with reinforcements from Britain, arrived at Boston.

The British general, in common with his troops, resolved on active

operations; but every movement which they made was watched with an

attentive eye by zealous Americans in Boston, who found means to

penetrate every design before it was carried into execution, and to

transmit secret intelligence to the American head-quarters. About the

middle of June, it was suspected that general Gage intended to cross

the river Charles, on the north side of Boston, and take possession of

Breed’s or Bunker’s hill, in the vicinity of Charlestown.

On the night of the 16th of June, upwards of one thousand Americans,

under colonel William Prescot, were ordered to proceed to this eminence,

and to intrench themselves upon it. The movement was not without

difficulty and danger; for British vessels of war were lying both in

the Medford and Charles, on each side of the narrow peninsula. But

the provincials marched to the place in profound silence; and, about

midnight, began their operations. They labored with such assiduity,

that before the dawn of day they had thrown up a breastwork, nearly

across the peninsula, and constructed a small redoubt on their right.

About four in the morning of the 17th of June, the American works

were observed by the captain of the Lively sloop of war, lying in the

river Charles, who instantly began a heavy fire upon them, and was soon

joined by the other ships, and by the battery on Copp’s hill at Boston.

The Americans steadily continued their labors under a furious cannonade

and an incessant shower of balls and bombs; but so harmless was this

fearful noise that they lost only one man in the course of the morning.

As in this post the Americans overlooked Boston, it was necessary to

dislodge them; and, for this purpose, soon after mid-day, a detachment

of British troops, under the command of generals Howe and Pigot,

crossed the river in boats, and landed near the point of the peninsula;

but, on observing the formidable position of the Americans, they waited

for a reinforcement, which soon arrived. Meanwhile the steeples and the

roofs of the houses in Boston, the eminences in the adjacent country,

and the ships in the rivers, were crowded with anxious spectators,

agitated by different hopes and fears according to their different

attachments and interests. The main body of the American army encamped

beyond Charlestown neck were looking on; and generals Clinton and

Burgoyne, and other British officers of high rank, took their station

in the battery on Copp’s hill to view the approaching conflict.

While general Howe waited for this reinforcement, the Americans

received an accession of strength, under generals Warren and Pomeroy,

who crossed Charlestown neck under a brisk cannonade from the shipping

in the rivers, to join their countrymen and take part in the battle.

By their arrival the provincial force was increased to fifteen hundred

at least. The Americans also took advantage of general Howe’s halt to

strengthen part of their position, by pulling down some rail-fences,

forming the stakes into two parallel lines at a short distance from

each other, and filling the interval with hay.

The British detachment, consisting of upwards of two thousand men,

advanced towards the American line. The light infantry, commanded

by general Howe, was on the right; the grenadiers, under general

Pigot, on the left. They began the attack by a brisk cannonade from

some field-pieces and howitzers, the troops proceeding slowly, and

sometimes halting, to give time to the artillery to produce some

effect. On advancing, the left set fire to Charlestown, a thriving town,

containing about three hundred wooden houses, besides other buildings,

and entirely consumed it. The rising flames added not a little to the

grandeur and solemnity of the scene.

Secure behind their intrenchments, the Americans reserved their fire,

and silently waited the approach of the British, till within fifty or

sixty yards, when they poured upon them an incessant and well directed

discharge of musketry. The British returned the fire for some time,

without attempting to advance; but the discharge from the American line

was so close and so destructive, that the troops at length gave way,

and fell back towards the landing place. By the vigorous exertions of

their officers, however, they were again brought to the charge; and the

Americans, again reserving their fire till the troops were very near,

directed it against them with the same deadly aim as before. Many fell:

at one time, general Howe, for a few seconds, was left alone, every

officer and soldier near him having been killed or wounded. The troops

gave way a second time; but at that critical moment Sir Henry Clinton

arrived from Boston, and was very active in leading them back to a

third and more successful attack, in which they entered the American

lines with fixed bayonets. The colonists had nearly exhausted their

powder, and hence their fire had slackened. Being mostly armed with

old rusty muskets, and ill provided with bayonets, they were unprepared

for a close encounter. They therefore retreated; and, in passing

Charlestown neck, were exposed to the fire of the Glasgow sloop of war,

and two floating batteries, from which they sustained their greatest

loss.

Illustration: Battle of Bunker’s Hill.

The British troops had suffered so severely in the engagement, that no

pursuit was ordered; and, indeed, a pursuit could have served no good

purpose, as the main body of the American army was at a small distance

beyond the neck, and the royal troops were in no condition to encounter

it. They were protected merely by the ships of war and floating

batteries in the rivers Charles and Medford. The battle lasted about

an hour, during the greater part of which time there was an incessant

blaze of musketry from the American line.

This was a severe battle; and, considering the numbers engaged,

extremely destructive to the British; for nearly one half of the

detachment fell. According to the return made by general Gage, they

lost one thousand and fifty-four men; two hundred and twenty-six of

whom were slain on the field, and eight hundred and twenty-eight

wounded. Nineteen commissioned officers were killed, and seventy

wounded; among the former was major Pitcairn, whose inconsiderate

conduct at Lexington had occasioned the first shedding of blood.

Among the killed on the side of the Americans were several lamented

officers; but the death of general Warren was particularly regretted.

By profession this gentleman was a physician of unsullied reputation.

He did every thing in his power to prevent a rupture; but when an

appeal to arms became unavoidable he joined the colonial standard.

After the engagement the British intrenched themselves on Bunker’s

hill, the scene of action; and the Americans on Prospect hill, at a

small distance in front of them. The colonists had been driven from

their intrenchments; the royal troops had suffered severely in the

battle, and neither party was forward to renew the conflict. Each

fortified his post, and stood on the defensive.

On the 2d of July, general Washington, accompanied by general Lee and

several other officers of rank, arrived at Cambridge, the head-quarters

of the provincial army. On his journey he had everywhere been received

with much respect, and escorted by companies of gentlemen, who

volunteered their services on the occasion.

The existence of armed vessels in the service of the colonies has

already been adverted to. From the peculiar situation of Massachusetts,

it was perceived that important advantages might be gained by employing

armed vessels on the coasts, to prevent the British from collecting

provisions from any places accessible to them, and to capture the

enemy’s ships loaded with military stores. Before the subject of a

naval armament was taken up by congress, it appears that not only

Massachusetts, but Rhode Island and Connecticut had each of them

two vessels, at least, fitted, armed, and equipped by the colonial

authorities. Subsequently, the general court of Massachusetts passed

an act for encouraging the fitting out of armed vessels to defend the

sea-coast of America, and for erecting a court to try and condemn all

vessels that should be found infesting the same. Shortly afterwards, a

committee of congress, appointed to devise ways and means for fitting

out a naval armament, brought in their report, which was adopted. It

was resolved to fit out for sea thirteen ships, five of thirty-two guns,

five of twenty-eight, and three of twenty-four guns; a committee was

nominated, with full powers to carry the report into execution with all

possible expedition, and Ezekiel Hopkins was appointed commander. Thus

commenced the American navy. The advantages that had been anticipated

from armed vessels were soon experienced. Captain Manly, of Marblehead,

one of the first who put to sea, on the 29th of November took an

ordnance brig from Woolwich, containing, besides a large brass mortar,

several pieces of fine brass cannon, a large quantity of small arms and

ammunition, with all kinds of tools, utensils, and machines, necessary

for camps and artillery; and, nine days after, three ships, from London,

Glasgow, and Liverpool, with various stores for the British army. A

brig, with fifteen thousand pounds of powder, was captured by a vessel

fitted out by the council of safety of South Carolina. The supplies

obtained by these means were of vast importance to the American army,

which was in very great want of ammunition and military stores.

Among other measures tending to promote the general welfare, congress

resolved that a line of posts should be appointed from Falmouth, in New

England, to Savannah, in Georgia; and Benjamin Franklin was unanimously

chosen postmaster-general. They also directed the establishment of an

hospital, adequate to the necessities of an army consisting of twenty

thousand men; and Dr. Church was appointed director and physician of

the establishment.[112]

General Washington, on his first arrival in camp, found the materials

for a good army; but they were in the crudest state. The troops having

been raised by different colonial governments, no uniformity existed

among the regiments; and imbued with the spirit of that very liberty

for which they were preparing to fight, and unaccustomed to discipline,

they neither felt an inclination to be subject to military rules, nor

realized the importance of being so. The difficulty of establishing

subordination was greatly increased by the shortness of the terms

of enlistment, some of which were to expire in November, and none to

continue longer than December. Various causes operated to lead congress

to the almost fatal plan of temporary military establishments. Among

the most important of these were a prospect of accommodation with the

parent state, and the want of experience in the management of war upon

an extensive scale.

The fear of accumulating expenses which the resources of the country

could not discharge, had a further influence to deter the American

government from the adoption of permanent military establishments;

for, although the recommendations of congress, and the regulations of

state conventions, had, in the day of enthusiasm, the force of law,

yet the ruling power thought it inexpedient to attempt to raise large

sums by direct taxes, at a time when the commerce of the country was

annihilated, and the cultivators of the ground were subjected to heavy

services in the field of war. The only recourse was to a paper medium,

without funds for its redemption, or for the support of its credit,

and therefore of necessity subject to depreciation, and, in its nature,

capable of only a temporary currency; congress, therefore, was justly

afraid of the expense of a permanent army. Jealousy of a standing army

had also a powerful influence upon the military arrangements of America.

Indeed this spirit early insinuated itself into the legislative bodies

of the colonies, and was displayed in many of their measures: an

indication of this feeling appears in the address presented by the

provincial assembly of New York to general Washington, while on his

journey to the American camp. ‘We have the fullest assurance,’ say they,

‘that whenever this important contest shall be decided, by that fondest

wish of each American soul, an accommodation with our mother country,

you will cheerfully resign the important deposit committed to your

hands, and reassume the character of our worthiest citizen.’

The want of subordination was by no means the only difficulty with

which the commander-in-chief had to contend; he soon made the alarming

discovery, that there was no more powder than would furnish each man

with nine cartridges. Although this dangerous deficiency was carefully

concealed from the enemy, yet the want of bayonets, which was very

considerable, could not be kept secret. The army was also so destitute

of tents as to be unavoidably lodged in barracks, a circumstance

extremely unfavorable to sudden movements, to health, and to discipline.

There was no commissary-general, and therefore no systematic

arrangement for obtaining provisions; and a supply of clothes was

rendered peculiarly difficult by the non-importation agreements. Added

to this there was a total want of engineers, and a great deficiency of

working tools.

The general, happily qualified at once to meet difficulties and to

remove them, took immediate care to organize the troops, to fit them

for actual service, and to make arrangements for the necessary supplies.

Next to these objects, he considered the re-enlistment of the army

the most interesting. To this essential point he had early solicited

the attention of congress, assuring that body that he must despair of

the liberties of his country, unless he were furnished with an army

that should stand by him until the conclusion of their enterprise.

Congress at length resolved to raise a standing army, to consist of

about seventy-five thousand men, to serve for the term of three years,

or during the war; and that it should be composed of eighty-eight

battalions, to be raised in the colonies, according to their respective

abilities. Recruiting orders were accordingly issued; but the progress

in raising recruits was by no means proportioned to the public

exigencies. On the last day of December, when all the old troops

not engaged on the new establishments were disbanded, there had been

enlisted for the army of 1776 no more than nine thousand six hundred

and fifty men. An earnest recommendation of general Washington to

congress to try the influence of a bounty was not acceded to until

late in January; but during the winter the number of recruits was

considerably augmented. ‘The history of the winter campaign,’ says the

biographer of Washington, ‘is a history of continued and successive

struggles on the part of the American general, under the vexations and

difficulties imposed by the want of arms, ammunition, and permanent

troops, on a person in an uncommon degree solicitous to prove himself,

by some grand and useful achievement, worthy of the high station to

which the voice of his country had called him.’

In the space of time between the disbanding the old army and the

constitution of an effective force from the new recruits, the lines

were often in a defenceless state; the English must have known the

fact, and no adequate reason can be assigned why an attack was not made.

‘It is not,’ says general Washington in his communications to congress,

‘in the pages of history to furnish a case like ours. To maintain a

post within musket shot of the enemy, for six months together, without

ammunition, and, at the same time, to disband one army and recruit

another, within that distance of twenty odd British regiments, is

more, probably, than ever was attempted. But if we succeed as well

in the last as we have heretofore in the first, I shall think it

the most fortunate event of my whole life.’ Such a measure, with

the organization and discipline of the men, will be supposed to have

employed every active power of the general; yet this did not satisfy

his mind. He knew that congress anxiously contemplated more decisive

steps, and that the country looked for events of greater magnitude.

The public was ignorant of his actual situation, and conceived his

means for offensive operations to be much greater than they were and

they expected from him the capture or expulsion of the British army

in Boston. He felt the importance of securing the confidence of his

countrymen by some brilliant action, and was fully sensible that his

own reputation was liable to suffer if he confined himself solely to

measures of defence.

To publish to his anxious country the state of his army, would be to

acquaint the enemy with his weakness, and to hazard his destruction.

The firmness and patriotism of general Washington were displayed, in

making the good of his country an object of higher consideration than

the applause of those who were incapable of forming a correct opinion

of the propriety of his measures. While he resolutely rejected every

measure which in his calm and deliberate judgment he did not approve,

he daily pondered the practicability of a successful attack upon Boston.

As a preparatory step, he took possession of Plowed hill, Cobble hill,

and Lechmere’s point, and erected fortifications upon them. These posts

brought him within half a mile of the enemy’s works on Bunker’s hill;

and, by his artillery, he drove the British floating batteries from

their stations in Charles river. He erected floating batteries to watch

the movements of his enemy, and to aid in any offensive operations

that circumstances might warrant. He took the opinion of his general

officers a second time respecting the meditated attack; they again

unanimously gave their opinion in opposition to the measure, and this

opinion was immediately communicated to congress. Congress appeared

still to favor the attempt, and, that an apprehension of danger to the

town of Boston might not have an undue influence upon the operations

of the army, resolved, ‘That if general Washington and his council

of war should be of opinion that a successful attack might be made

on the troops in Boston, he should make it in any manner he might

think expedient, notwithstanding the town, and property therein, might

thereby be destroyed.’

General Howe had, in October, succeeded general Gage in the command of

the British army, and through the winter confined himself to measures

of defence. The inability of the American general to accomplish the

great object of the campaign, repeatedly pointed out by congress, was

doubtless a source of extreme mortification to him; but he indulged

the hope of success in some military operations during the winter that

would correspond with the high expectations of his country, and procure

him honor in his exalted station of commander-in-chief of the American

army. Early in January he summoned a council of war, in which it was

resolved, ‘That a vigorous attempt ought to be made on the ministerial

troops in Boston, before they can be reinforced in the spring, if the

means can be provided, and a favorable opportunity shall offer.’

It was not, however, till the middle of February, that the ice became

sufficiently strong for general Washington to march his forces upon it

into Boston; he was then inclined to risk a general assault upon the

British posts, although he had not powder to make any extensive use of

his artillery; but his general officers in council voted against the

attempt, and in their decision he reluctantly acquiesced. By the end

of the month the stock of powder was considerably increased, and the

regular army amounted to fourteen thousand men, which was reinforced

by six thousand of the militia of Massachusetts. General Washington

now resolved to take possession of the heights of Dorchester, in the

prospect that this movement would bring on a general engagement with

the enemy under favorable circumstances; or, should this expectation

fail, that from this position he would be enabled to annoy the ships

in the harbor, and the troops in the town. To mask the design, a severe

cannonade and bombardment were opened on the British works and lines

for several nights in succession. As soon as the firing began on the

night of the 4th of March, a strong detachment marched from Roxbury

over the neck of land connecting Roxbury with Dorchester heights, and,

without discovery, took possession of the heights. General Ward, who

commanded the division of the army in Roxbury, had fortunately provided

fascines before the resolution passed to fortify the place; these were

of great use, as the ground was deeply frozen; and, in the course of

the night, the party, by uncommon exertions, erected works sufficient

for their defence.

When the British discovered these works, nothing could exceed their

astonishment. Their only alternative was either to abandon the town,

or to dislodge the provincials. General Howe, with his usual spirit,

chose the latter part of the alternative, and took measures for the

embarkation on that very evening of five regiments, with the light

infantry and grenadiers, on the important but most hazardous service.

The transports fell down in the evening towards the castle with the

troops, amounting to about two thousand men; but a tremendous storm at

night rendered the execution of the design absolutely impracticable.

A council of war was called the next morning, which agreed to evacuate

the town as soon as possible. A fortnight elapsed before that measure

was effected. Meanwhile, the Americans strengthened and extended their

works; and on the morning of the 17th of March the king’s troops, with

those Americans who were attached to the royal cause, began to embark;

before ten, all of them were under sail. As the rear embarked, general

Washington marched triumphantly into Boston, where he was joyfully

received as a deliverer.

The issue of the campaign was highly gratifying to all classes;

and the gratulation of his fellow-citizens upon the repossession

of the metropolis of Massachusetts, was more pleasing to the

commander-in-chief than would have been the honors of a triumph.

Congress, to express the public approbation of the military

achievements of their general, resolved, ‘That the thanks of congress,

in their own name, and in the name of the thirteen united colonies, be

presented to his excellency general Washington, and the officers and

soldiers under his command, for their wise and spirited conduct in the

siege and acquisition of Boston; and that a medal of gold be struck,

in commemoration of this great event, and presented to his excellency.’

In his letter, informing congress that he had executed their order,

and communicated to the army the vote of thanks, he says, ‘They were,

indeed, at first, a band of undisciplined husbandmen; but it is, under

God, to their bravery and attention to their duty, that I am indebted

for that success which has procured me the only reward I wish to

receive――the affection and esteem of my countrymen.’

Although Halifax was mentioned as the destined place of the British

armament, general Washington apprehended that New York was their object.

On this supposition, he detached several brigades of his army to that

city, before the evacuation of Boston; and as soon as the necessary

arrangements were made in the latter city, he followed with the main

body of his army to New York, where he arrived on the 14th of April.

The situation of New York was highly favorable for an invading army,

supported by a superior naval force; and general Washington doubted the

practicability of a successful defence; but the importance of the place,

the wishes of congress, the opinion of his general officers, and the

expectation of his country, induced him to make the attempt; and the

resolution being formed, he called into action all the resources in

his power to effect it, and, with unremitted diligence, pushed on his

works. Hulks were sunk in the North and East rivers; forts were erected

on the most commanding situations on their banks; and works were

raised to defend the narrow passage between Long and York islands. The

passes in the Highlands, bordering on the Hudson, became an object of

early and solicitous attention. The command of this river was equally

important to the American and the British general. By its possession,

the Americans easily conveyed supplies of provision and ammunition to

the northern army, and secured an intercourse between the southern and

northern colonies essential to the success of the war. If the river

were in the hands of the British, this necessary communication would be

interrupted, and an intercourse between the Atlantic and Canada opened

to them. General Washington ordered the passes to be fortified, and

made their security an object of primary importance through every

period of his command.

While these operations were carrying on in New England, general Arnold,

under all his discouragements, continued the blockade of Quebec; but,

in the month of May, in a council of war, it was unanimously determined,

that the troops were in no condition to risk an assault, and the

army was removed to a more defensible position. The Canadians at this

juncture receiving considerable reinforcements, the Americans were

compelled to relinquish one post after another, and by the 18th of June

they had evacuated Canada.

In Virginia, the zeal and activity which had been excited by the

spirited enterprise of Patrick Henry still continued to manifest

themselves in various parts of the colony. The governor’s family,

alarmed by the threatening march of Mr. Henry towards Williamsburgh,

had already taken refuge on board the Fowey man-of-war; and only a few

weeks elapsed before lord Dunmore himself adopted the same means of

personal safety. Soon after fixing his residence on board the Fowey,

his lordship required the house of burgesses to attend him there; but

instead of obeying the requisition, they passed sundry resolutions,

in which they declared that his lordship’s message was ‘a high breach

of the rights and privileges of the house,’ and that his conduct gave

them reason to fear ‘that a dangerous attack was meditated against

the unhappy people of the colony.’ On the 24th of July the colonial

convention met; they appointed a committee of safety, passed an

ordinance for regulating the militia, and for raising a regular force

of two regiments, the command of which was given to Patrick Henry, who

was also made the commander of all the forces raised, and to be raised,

for the defence of the colony. The ships of war belonging to his

majesty, which had been cruising in James and York rivers during the

whole summer, had committed many petty acts of depredation and plunder

along the shores, which the people now eagerly desired to resent, and

an opportunity of gratification soon offered.

The captain of the Otter sloop of war, on the 2d of September,

ventured upon one of his plundering expeditions in a tender, and was

driven on shore near Hampton by a violent tempest. The crew left the

vessel on the shore, and made their escape in the night, and next

morning the people boarded and set fire to her. This naturally roused

captain Squire’s resentment, and he threatened instant destruction to

the town; but the committee of safety at Williamsburgh, having heard of

the affair, detached colonel Woodford with three companies to repel the

attack, which was so effectually done, that the assailants were soon

glad to make a precipitate flight, with considerable loss. This affair

produced a proclamation from his lordship, (who continued to hold his

head-quarters on board one of the ships,) in which he not only declared

martial law, but freedom to all the slaves who would join his standard.

By this means he soon collected a crew well suited to his designs; and

having fortified himself at the great bridge, near Norfolk, continued

for some time to commit such acts of wanton barbarity and contemptible

depredations, as to disgust even those who had until now continued

friendly to the cause of the king.

The committee of safety finding themselves called upon to put a stop

to his lordship’s savage warfare, despatched colonel Woodford to drive

him from his hold. Having arrived within cannon shot of lord Dunmore’s

position, the Americans halted, and threw up some hasty intrenchments.

His lordship, hearing that the provincials amounted only to three

hundred men, badly armed, conceived the design of surprising them; and

for this purpose captain Leslie, with the regulars and slaves, crossed

the bridge before daylight, and entered the camp of the provincials,

just as they were parading under arms. Captain Fordyce advanced to the

attack of the grenadiers, and was among the first that fell. The whole

number of grenadiers were either killed, wounded, or made prisoners,

and the rest of the royal party were obliged to make a rapid retreat.

Disappointed in their hopes, the governor’s party abandoned their works

the following night, and retired to their shipping, leaving Woodford,

who was now joined by colonel Howe from North Carolina, the complete

command of Norfolk. After continuing to assail the coasts of Virginia

for a considerable time, but almost everywhere unsuccessfully,[113]

lord Dunmore was at length compelled to abandon his hostile designs

against the colonists. Some of his ships were driven upon that

coast, where the wretched fugitives were made prisoners by their own

fellow-citizens, and immured in dungeons. To escape a similar fate,

Dunmore burnt the ships of least value; and the miserable remains

of soldiers and loyalists, assailed at once by tempests, famine, and

disease, sought refuge in Florida, Bermudas, and the West Indies.

Notwithstanding the extent to which hostilities had been carried, a

large portion of the colonists had hitherto continued to entertain

some hope of an amicable termination of the dispute; and it is evident,

from the transactions we are about to record, that many felt sincerely

desirous not to frustrate such a result. The want of more regular and

stable governments had for some time been felt in those colonies where

royal governments had hitherto existed; and in the autumn of 1775,

New Hampshire applied to congress for their advice and direction on

this subject. In November, congress advised the convention of that

colony to call a full and free representation of the people; when the

representatives, if they thought it necessary, should establish such

a form of government as, in their judgment, would best promote the

happiness of the people, and most effectually secure peace and good

order during the continuance of the dispute between Great Britain

and the colonies. On this question the members of congress were not

unanimous. It was viewed by some as a step necessarily leading to

independence; and by some of its advocates it was probably intended

as such. To render the resolution less exceptionable, the duration of

the government was limited to the continuance of the dispute with the

parent country. Soon afterwards similar directions and advice were

given to South Carolina and Virginia.

The last hopes of the colonists for reconciliation rested on the

success of their second petition to the king; and the answer of their

sovereign to this application was expected with extreme solicitude.

Information, however, was soon received from Mr. Penn, who was

intrusted with the petition, that no answer would be given. This

intelligence was followed by that of great additional preparations to

subdue the ‘American rebels.’ The king, in his speech at the opening

of parliament in October, not only accused the colonists of revolt,

hostility, and rebellion, but stated that the rebellious war carried

on by them was for the purpose of establishing an independent empire.

To prevent this he declared that the most decisive and vigorous

measures were necessary; that he had consequently increased his naval

establishment, had augmented his land forces, and had also taken

measures to procure the aid of foreign troops. He at the same time

stated his intention of appointing certain persons with authority to

grant pardons to individuals, and to receive the submission of whole

colonies disposed to return to their allegiance. Large majorities in

both houses assured the king of their firm support in his measures

for reducing the colonists to obedience. The addresses, however, in

answer to the speech, were opposed with great ability. The project of

employing foreign troops to destroy American subjects was reprobated by

the minority in the strongest terms. The plans of the ministry, however,

were not only approved by parliament, but by a majority of the nation.

The idea of making the colonists share their burdens could not easily

be relinquished by the people of Great Britain; and national pride

would not permit them to yield the point of supremacy. War was now

therefore to be waged against the colonies, and a force sent out

sufficiently powerful to compel submission, even without a struggle.

For these purposes the aid of parliament was requisite; and about the

last of December an act was passed, prohibiting all trade and commerce

with the colonies, and authorizing the capture and condemnation, not

only of all American vessels with their cargoes, but all other vessels

found trading in any port or place in the colonies, as if the same were

the vessels and effects of open enemies; and the vessels and property

thus taken were vested in the captors, and the crews were to be treated,

not as prisoners, but as slaves.

The passing of this act shut the door against the application of the

colonies for a reconciliation. The last petition of congress to the

king had, indeed, been laid before parliament, but both houses refused

to hear it, or even to treat upon any proposition coming from such an

unlawful assembly, or from those who were then in arms against their

lawful sovereign. In the house of lords, on the motion of the duke of

Richmond, Mr. Penn was examined on American affairs. He stated, among

other things, that the colonists were desirous of reconciliation, and

did not aim at independence; that they were disposed to conform to

the acts regulating their trade, but not to taxation; and that on this

point a spirit of resistance was universal. After this examination

the duke of Richmond moved a resolution, declaring that the petition

of congress to the king was a ground for a reconciliation of the

differences between the two countries. This motion was negatived, after

a warm debate, by eighty-six to thirty-three. These proceedings of the

king and parliament, with the employment of sixteen thousand foreign

mercenaries, convinced the leading men in each colony that the sword

alone must decide the contest, and that the colonists must now declare

themselves totally independent of Great Britain.

Time, however, was still requisite, to convince the great mass of the

American people of the necessity of a complete separation from their

parent country, and the establishment of independent governments. The

ablest pens were employed throughout America, in the winter of 1775–6,

on this momentous subject. The propriety and necessity of the measure

was enforced in the numerous gazettes, and in pamphlets. Among the

latter, ‘Common Sense,’ from the popular pen of Thomas Paine, produced

a wonderful effect in the different colonies in favor of independence.

Influential individuals in every colony urged it as a step absolutely

necessary to preserve the rights and liberties, as well as to secure

the happiness and prosperity of America.[114]

When the prohibitory act reached America, congress, justly viewing

it as a declaration of war, directed reprisals to be made, both by

public and private armed vessels, against the ships and goods of the

inhabitants of Great Britain, found on the high seas, or between high

and low water mark. They also burst the shackles of commercial monopoly,

which had so long kept them in bondage, and opened their ports to all

the world, except the dominions of Great Britain. In this state of

things, it was preposterous for the colonists any longer to consider

themselves as holding or exercising the powers of government under the

authority of Great Britain. Congress, therefore, on the 10th of May,

recommended to the assemblies and conventions of the colonies where no

sufficient government had been established, ‘to adopt such government

as should, in the opinion of the representatives of the people,

best conduce to the happiness and safety of their constituents in

particular, and America in general.’ They also declared it necessary,

that the exercise of every kind of authority under the crown should

be suppressed, and that all the powers of government should be

exercised ‘under the authority of the people of the colonies, for the

preservation of internal peace, virtue, and good order, as well as

for the defence of their lives, liberties, and properties, against the

hostile invasions and cruel depredations of their enemies.’ This was a

preliminary step to a general declaration of independence. Some of the

colonial assemblies and conventions about the same time began to

express their opinions on this great question. On the 22d of April,

the convention of North Carolina empowered their delegates in congress

‘to concur with those in the other colonies in declaring independency.’

This, it is believed, was the first direct public act of any colonial

assembly or convention in favor of the measure.[115] The convention of

Virginia soon afterwards expressed itself still more decidedly. After

full deliberation, the following resolutions were passed unanimously:――

‘That the delegates appointed to represent this colony in general

congress be instructed to propose to that respectable body, to

_declare the United Colonies free and independent states_, absolved

from all allegiance to or dependence upon the crown or parliament

of Great Britain; and that they give the assent of this colony to

such declaration, and to whatever measures may be thought proper

and necessary by the congress for forming foreign alliances, and a

confederation of the colonies, at such time and in the manner as to

them shall seem best: provided that the power of forming governments

for, and the regulations of, the internal concerns of each colony, be

left to the respective colonial legislatures.

‘That a committee be appointed to prepare a declaration of rights, and

such a plan of government as will be most likely to maintain peace and

order in this colony, and secure substantial and equal liberty to the

people.’[116]

Early in the year the British government had prepared a considerable

expedition to reduce the southern colonies to obedience. The command

was intrusted to Sir Peter Parker and earl Cornwallis. On the 3d of

May, admiral Parker, with twenty sail, arrived at cape Fear. They found

general Clinton ready to co-operate with them. He had left New York,

and proceeded to Virginia, where he had an interview with lord Dunmore;

but finding nothing could be effected in that colony, he repaired to

cape Fear, to await the arrival of the armament from England. Meanwhile,

the Carolinians had been making great exertions. In Charleston the

utmost energy and activity was evinced. The citizens pulled down

the valuable storehouses on the wharves, barricadoed the streets,

and constructed lines of defence along the shore. Abandoning their

commercial pursuits, they engaged in incessant labor, and prepared

for bloody conflicts. The troops, amounting to between five and six

thousand men, were stationed in the most advantageous positions. Amidst

all this bustle and preparation, lead was so extremely scarce, that

the windows of Charleston were stripped of their weights, in order to

procure a small supply of that necessary article for bullets.

Early in June, the armament, consisting of between forty and fifty

vessels, appeared off Charleston bay, and thirty-six of the transports

passed the bar, and anchored about three miles from Sullivan’s island.

Some hundreds of the troops landed on Long island, which lies on the

west of Sullivan’s island, and which is separated from it by a narrow

channel, often fordable. On the 10th of the month, the Bristol, a

fifty-gun ship, having taken out her guns, got safely over the bar; and

on the 25th, the Experiment, a ship of equal force, arrived, and next

day passed in the same way. On the part of the British every thing was

now ready for action. Sir Henry Clinton had nearly three thousand men

under his command. The naval force, under Sir Peter Parker, consisted

of the Bristol and Experiment, of fifty guns; the Active, Acteon,

Solebay, and Syren frigates; the Friendship, of twenty-two, and the

Sphinx, of twenty guns; the Ranger sloop, and Thunder bomb. On the

forenoon of the 28th of June, this fleet advanced against the fort on

Sullivan’s island, which was defended by colonel Moultrie, with about

three hundred and fifty regular troops, and some militia. The Thunder

bomb began the battle. The Active, Bristol, Experiment, and Solebay,

followed boldly to the attack, and a terrible cannonade ensued. The

fort returned the fire of the ships slowly, but with deliberate and

deadly aim; and the contest was carried on during the whole day with

unabating fury. The Sphinx, Acteon, and Syren were ordered to attack

the western extremity of the fort, which was in a very unfinished

state; but, as they proceeded for that purpose, they got entangled with

a shoal, called the Middle-ground. Two of them ran foul of each other:

the Acteon stuck fast; the Sphinx and Syren got off; but, fortunately

for the Americans, that part of the attack completely failed.

It was designed that Sir Henry Clinton, with his corps, should

co-operate with the naval operations by passing the narrow channel

which separates Long island from Sullivan’s island, and assail the fort

by land; but this the general found impracticable, for the channel,

though commonly fordable, was at that time, by a long prevalence

of easterly winds, deeper than usual; and even had the channel been

fordable, the British troops would have found the passage an arduous

enterprise; for colonel Thomson, with a strong detachment of riflemen,

regulars, and militia, was posted on the east end of Sullivan’s island

to oppose any attack made in that quarter. The engagement, which began

about eleven o’clock in the forenoon, continued with unabated fury

till seven in the evening, when the fire slackened, and about nine

entirely ceased on both sides. During the night all the ships, except

the Acteon, which was aground, removed about two miles from the island.

Next morning the fort fired a few shots at the Acteon, and she at

first returned them; but, in a short time, her crew set her on fire

and abandoned her. She blew up shortly afterwards. In this obstinate

engagement both parties fought with great gallantry. The loss of the

British was very considerable, upwards of sixty being killed, and one

hundred and sixty wounded; while the garrison lost only ten men killed,

and twenty-two wounded.

Illustration: Attack on Fort Moultrie.

Although the Americans were raw troops, yet they behaved with

the steady intrepidity of veterans. One circumstance may serve to

illustrate the cool but enthusiastic courage which pervaded their

ranks. In the course of the engagement the flag-staff of the fort was

shot away; but sergeant Jasper leaped down upon the beach, snatched

up the flag, fastened it to a sponge-staff, and, while the ships were

incessantly directing their broadsides upon the fort, he mounted the

merlon and deliberately replaced the flag. The fate of this expedition

contributed greatly to establish the popular government it was intended

to destroy, while the news of it spread rapidly through the continent,

and exercised an equally unfavorable influence on the royal cause:

the advocates of the irresistibility of British fleets and armies were

mortified and silenced; and the brave defence of fort Moultrie saved

the southern states from the horrors of war for several years.

In South Carolina the government look advantage of the hour of success

to conciliate their opponents in the province. The adherents of royal

power, who, for a considerable time, had been closely imprisoned, on

promising fidelity to their country, were set at freedom and restored

to all the privileges of citizens. The repulse of the British was

also attended with another advantage, that of leaving the Americans

at liberty to turn their undivided force against the Indians, who

had attacked the western frontier of the southern states with all the

fury and carnage of savage warfare. In 1775, when the breach between

Great Britain and her colonies was daily becoming wider, one Stuart,

the agent employed in conducting the intercourse between the British

authorities and the Cherokees and Creeks, used all his influence

to attach the savages to the royal cause, and to inspire them with

jealousy and hatred of the Americans.

He found little difficulty in persuading them that the Americans,

without provocation, had taken up arms against Britain, and were

the means of preventing them from receiving their yearly supplies

of arms, ammunition, and clothing, from the British government. The

Americans had endeavored to conciliate the good will of the Indians,

but their scanty presents were unsatisfactory, and the savages

resolved to take up the hatchet. Deeming the appearance of the British

fleet in Charleston bay a fit opportunity, the Cherokees invaded the

western frontier of the province, marking their track with murder and

devastation. The speedy retreat of the British left the savages exposed

to the vengeance of the Americans, who, in separate divisions, entered

their country at different points, from Virginia and Georgia, defeated

their warriors, burned their villages, laid waste their corn-fields,

and incapacitated the Cherokees for a considerable time from giving the

settlers further annoyance. Thus, in the south, the Americans triumphed

both over the British and the Indians.

On the 7th of June, the great question of independence was brought

directly before congress, by Richard Henry Lee, one of the delegates

from Virginia. He submitted a resolution, declaring ‘that the United

Colonies are, and ought to be, free and independent states; that they

are absolved from all allegiance to the British crown; and that all

political connection between them and the state of Great Britain is,

and ought to be, totally dissolved.’ The resolution was postponed until

the next day, and every member enjoined to attend, to take the same

into consideration. On the 8th it was debated in committee of the

whole house. No question of greater magnitude was ever presented to

the consideration of a deliberative body, or debated with more energy,

eloquence, and ability. On the 10th it was adopted in committee, by

a bare majority. The delegates from Pennsylvania and Maryland were

instructed to oppose it, and the delegates from some of the other

colonies were without special instructions on the subject. To give time

for greater unanimity, the resolution was postponed in the house until

the 1st of July. In the mean time, a committee was appointed to prepare

a declaration of independence. During this interval measures were taken

to procure the assent of all the colonies.

On the day appointed, the resolution relating to independence was

resumed in the general congress, referred to a committee of the

whole house, and assented to by all the colonies, except Pennsylvania

and Delaware. The committee appointed to prepare a declaration of

independence selected Mr. Adams and Mr. Jefferson as a sub-committee,

and the original draft was made by Mr. Jefferson. This draft, without

any amendment by the committee, was reported to congress, and, after

undergoing several amendments, received their sanction.

The course of time has now brought us to the decisive hour when a

new empire, of a character the most extraordinary, springs into being.

The world has known no rest since this grand confederacy took her rank

among the nations of the earth; her example infused a power into the

principles of liberty which for nearly two centuries had been dormant;

although in another hemisphere, it has exercised more influence on

the state of the public mind in Europe than did the great struggle in

the days of the commonwealth; and the world will know rest no more,

till, under whatever form, the great lessons of freedom which American

history enforces, have been listened to, and embodied in action, by

every nation of the globe.

FROM THE CAMPAIGN OF 1776 TO THAT OF 1779.

General Washington, after compelling the British to abandon Boston,

had made every possible preparation for the defence of New York, where

he had fixed his head-quarters. To second his exertions, the congress

instituted a flying camp, to consist of an intermediate corps, between

regular soldiers and militia; and called for ten thousand men from

the states of Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Delaware, to be in constant

service to the first day of the ensuing December; and for thirteen

thousand eight hundred of the common militia from Massachusetts,

Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey. The command of the naval force

destined to operate against New York was given to admiral Howe, while

his brother, Sir William, was intrusted with the command of the army;

and, in addition to their military powers, the brothers were appointed

commissioners for restoring peace to the colonies. General Howe, after

waiting two months at Halifax for expected reinforcements from England,

sailed with the force which he had previously commanded in Boston;

and, directing his course towards New York, arrived on the 25th of

June off Sandy Hook. Admiral lord Howe, with part of the reinforcement

from England, arrived at Halifax soon after his brother’s departure,

and, without dropping anchor, followed, and joined him on the 12th of

July at Staten island. General Clinton arrived there about the same

time with the troops brought back from the expedition of Charleston

and South Carolina; commodore Hotham also appeared there with the

reinforcement under his escort; and in a short time the British army

amounted to about twenty-four thousand men, English, Hessians, and

Waldeckers.

The royal commissioners, before they commenced military operations,

attempted to effect a reunion between the colonies and Great Britain.

Lord Howe announced his pacific powers to the principal magistrates of

the several colonies. He promised pardon to all who, in the late times,

had deviated from their allegiance, on condition of their speedily

returning to their duty; and, in case of their compliance, encouraged

their expectation of the future favor of their sovereign. In his

declaration, he observed, ‘that the commissioners were authorized, in

his majesty’s name, to declare any province, colony, county, district,

or town, to be at peace with his majesty; that due consideration should

be had to the meritorious services of any who should aid or assist in

restoring the public tranquillity; that their dutiful representations

should be received, pardons granted, and suitable encouragement to

such as would promote the measures of legal government and peace,

in pursuance of his majesty’s most gracious purposes.’ These pacific

proposals were regarded by the Americans as only an attempt to sow

dissensions among them, and were never for a moment seriously regarded

by any of the patriotic party. The British forces waited so long

to receive accessions from Halifax, the Carolinas, the West Indies,

and Europe, that the month of August was far advanced before they

commenced the campaign. The commanders, having resolved to make their

first attempt on Long island, landed their troops, estimated at about

twenty-four thousand men, at Gravesend bay, to the right of the Narrows.

The Americans, to the amount of fifteen thousand, under major-general

Sullivan, were posted on a peninsula between Mill creek, a little above

Red Hook, and an elbow of East river, called Whaaleboght bay. Here they

had erected strong fortifications, which were separated from New York

by East river, at the distance of a mile. A line of intrenchment from

the Mill creek inclosed a large space of ground, on which stood the

American camp, near the village of Brooklyn. This line was secured by

abatis, and flanked by strong redoubts. The armies were separated by a

range of hills, covered with a thick wood, which intersects the country

from west to east, terminating on the east near Jamaica. Through

these hills there were three roads; one near the Narrows, a second

by the Flatbush road, and a third by the Bedford road; these were the

only passes from the south side of the hills to the American lines,

excepting a road which led to Jamaica round the easterly end of the

hills; and general Putnam, agreeably to the instructions of general

Washington, had detached a considerable part of his men to occupy them.

On the 26th, the main body of British troops, with a large detachment

of Germans, landed under cover of the ships, on the south-western

extremity of Long island, and advancing in three divisions, took post

upon the south skirt of the wood; general Grant upon their left, near

the coast; the German general, de Heister, in the centre, at Flatbush;

and general Clinton upon their right, at Flatland. Only the range of

hills now separated the two armies, and the different posts of the

British were distant from the American camp from four to six miles.

In the evening, general Clinton, without beat of drum, marched with

the infantry of his division, a party of light-horse, and fourteen

field-pieces, to gain the defile on the Jamaica road. During the night

he surprised an American party stationed here to give the alarm of an

approaching enemy, and, undiscovered by Sullivan, seized the pass. At

daybreak he passed the heights, and descended into the plain on the

side of Brooklyn. Early in the morning, general de Heister, at Flatbush,

and general Grant, upon the west coast, opened a cannonade upon the

American troops, and began to ascend the hill; but they moved very

slowly, as their object was to draw the attention of the American

commander from his left, and give general Clinton opportunity to gain

the rear of the American troops stationed on the heights. General

Putnam, in the apprehension that the serious attack would be made by

de Heister and Grant, sent detachments to reinforce general Sullivan

and lord Sterling at the defiles, through which those divisions of the

enemy were approaching.

When general Clinton had passed the left flank of the Americans,

about eight o’clock in the morning of the 27th, de Heister and Grant

vigorously ascended the hill; the troops which opposed them bravely

maintained their ground, until they learned their perilous situation

from the British columns which were gaining their rear. As soon as

the American left discovered the progress of general Clinton, they

attempted to return to the camp at Brooklyn, but their flight was

stopped by the front of the British column. In the mean time, the

Germans pushed forward from Flatbush, and the troops in the American

centre, under the immediate command of general Sullivan, having also

discovered that their flank was turned, and that the enemy was gaining

their rear, in haste retreated towards Brooklyn. Clinton’s columns

continuing to advance, intercepted them; they were attacked in front

and rear, and alternately driven by the British on the Germans, and

by the Germans on the British. Desperate as their situation was, some

regiments broke through the enemy’s columns and regained the fortified

camp; but most of the detachments upon the American left and centre

were either killed or taken prisoners. The detachment on the American

right, under lord Sterling, maintained a severe conflict with general

Grant for six hours, until the van of general Clinton’s division,

having crossed the whole island, gained their rear.

Lord Sterling perceived his danger, and found that his troops could

be saved only by an immediate retreat over a creek near the cove. He

gave orders to this purpose; and, to facilitate their execution, he in

person attacked lord Cornwallis, who, by this time having gained the

coast, had posted a small corps in a house, just above the place where

the American troops must pass the creek. The attack was bravely made

with four hundred men; but his lordship being reinforced from his own

column, and general Grant attacking lord Sterling in the rear, this

brave band was overpowered by numbers, and those who survived were

compelled to surrender themselves prisoners of war; but this spirited

assault gave opportunity for a large proportion of the detachment to

escape. General Washington passed over to Brooklyn in the heat of the

action; but, unable to rescue his men from their perilous situation,

was constrained to be the inactive spectator of the slaughter of

his best troops. The loss of the Americans on this occasion, for the

number engaged, was great; general Washington stated it at a thousand

men; but his returns probably included only the regular regiments.

General Howe, in an official letter, made the prisoners amount to one

thousand and ninety-seven. Among these were major-general Sullivan,

and brigadier-generals Sterling and Woodhull. The amount of the killed

was never with precision ascertained. The British loss, as stated by

general Howe, was twenty-one officers, and three hundred and forty-six

privates killed, wounded, and taken prisoners.

The British now encamped in front of the American lines, and on the

succeeding night broke ground within six hundred yards of a redoubt

on the left. In this critical state of the American army on Long

island,――in front a numerous and victorious enemy with a formidable

train of artillery, the fleet indicating an intention to force a

passage into East river to make some attempt on New York, the troops

lying without shelter from heavy rains, fatigued and dispirited,――it

was determined to withdraw from the island; and this difficult movement

was effected with great skill and judgment, and with complete success.

The defeat of the 27th made a most unfavorable impression upon the

army. A great proportion of the troops lost their confidence in their

officers, and in themselves. Before this unfortunate event, they met

the enemy in the spirit of freemen fighting for their highest interests,

and under the persuasion that their thorough use of arms rendered them

equal to the disciplined battalions which they were to oppose. But

on this occasion, by evolutions which they did not comprehend, they

found themselves encompassed with difficulties from which their utmost

exertions could not extricate them, and involved in dangers from which

their bravery could not deliver them; and entertaining a high opinion

of the adroitness of the enemy, in every movement they apprehended

a fatal snare.[117] No sooner had the British secured the possession

of Long island, than they made dispositions to attack New York. It

was a serious question whether that place was defensible against so

formidable an enemy; and general Washington called a council of general

officers, to decide whether it should be evacuated without delay, or

longer defended. The general officers, in compliance with the views of

congress, were very averse from the abandonment of the city; and it was

resolved, contrary to the individual opinion of Washington, to endeavor

to defend the city.

The army was accordingly arranged into three divisions, one of which,

consisting of five thousand men, was to remain in New York; another,

amounting to nine thousand, was to be stationed at King’s Bridge; and

the residue of the army was to occupy the intermediate space, so as to

support either extreme. The unexpected movements of the British soon

evinced the correctness of the opinion of the general-in-chief; and in

a second council it was determined, by a large majority, that it had

become not only prudent, but necessary, to withdraw the army from New

York. Several English ships of war passed up North river on the one

side of York island, and East river on the other side; Sir Henry

Clinton embarked at Long island, at the head of four thousand men,

proceeded through Newtown bay, crossed East river, and landed, under

cover of the ships, at Kipp’s bay, about three miles above New York.

Works of considerable strength had been thrown up at this place, to

oppose the landing of the enemy; but they were immediately abandoned by

the troops stationed in them, who, terrified at the fire of the ships,

fled precipitately toward their main body, and communicated their panic

to a detachment marching to their support. General Washington, to his

extreme mortification, met this whole party retreating in the utmost

disorder, and exerted himself to rally them; but, on the appearance of

a small corps of the British, they again broke, and fled in confusion.

Nothing was now left him but to withdraw the few remaining troops from

New York, and to secure the posts on the heights. The retreat from New

York was effected with a very inconsiderable loss of men; but all the

heavy artillery, and a large portion of the baggage, provisions, and

military stores, were unavoidably abandoned.

The British, taking possession of New York, stationed a few troops in

the capital; but the main body of their army was on York island, at no

great distance from the American lines. The day after the retreat from

New York, a considerable body of the British appearing in the plains

between the two camps, the general ordered colonel Knowlton, with a

corps of rangers, and major Leitch, with three companies of a Virginia

regiment, to get in their rear, while he amused them by making apparent

dispositions to attack their front. The plan succeeded; and a skirmish

ensued, in which the Americans charged the enemy with great intrepidity,

and gained considerable advantage; but the principal benefit of this

action was its influence in reviving the depressed spirits of the whole

army. The armies did not long retain their position on York island. The

British frigates having passed up North river under a fire from fort

Washington and the post opposite to it on the Jersey shore, general

Howe embarked a great part of his army in flat-bottomed boats, and,

passing through Hellgate into the sound, landed at Frog’s neck.

The object of the British general was, either to force Washington out

of his present lines, or to inclose him in them. Aware of this design,

general Washington moved a part of his troops from York island to join

those at King’s Bridge, and detached some regiments to West Chester.

A council of war was now called, and the system of evacuating and

retreating was adopted, with the exception of fort Washington, for

the defence of which nearly three thousand men were assigned. After

a halt of six days the royal army advanced, not without considerable

opposition, along the coast of Long Island sound, by New Rochelle,

to White Plains, where the Americans took a strong position behind

intrenchments. This post was maintained for several days, till the

British having received considerable reinforcements, general Washington

withdrew to the heights of North Castle, about five miles from White

Plains, where, whether from the strength of his position, or from the

British general having other objects in view, no attempt at attack was

made.

Immediately on leaving White Plains, general Howe directed his

attention to fort Washington and fort Lee, as their possession would

secure the navigation of the Hudson, and facilitate the invasion of

New Jersey. On the 15th of November, general Howe, being in readiness

for the assault, summoned the garrison to surrender. Colonel Magaw,

the commanding officer, in spirited language, replied, that he should

defend his works to extremity. On the succeeding morning the British

made the assault in four separate divisions; and having, after a brave

and obstinate resistance, surmounted the outworks, again summoned the

garrison to surrender. His ammunition being nearly expended, and his

force incompetent to repel the numbers which were ready on every side

to assail him, colonel Magaw surrendered himself and his garrison,

consisting of two thousand men, prisoners of war. The enemy lost in

the assault about eight hundred men, mostly Germans.

The conquest of fort Washington made the evacuation of fort Lee

necessary. Orders were therefore issued to remove the ammunition and

stores in it; but, before much progress had been made in this business,

lord Cornwallis crossed the Hudson, with a number of battalions, with

the intention to inclose the garrison between the Hackensack and North

rivers. This movement made a precipitate retreat indispensable, which

was happily effected with little loss of men; but the greater part of

the artillery, stores, and baggage was left for the enemy. The loss

at fort Washington was heavy. The regiments captured in it were some

of the best troops in the army. The tents, camp-kettles, and stores,

lost at this place and at fort Lee, could not, during the campaign,

be replaced, and for the want of them the men suffered extremely. This

loss was unnecessarily sustained, as those posts ought, unquestionably,

to have been evacuated before general Howe was in a situation to invest

them; and this event was the more to be deplored, as the American force

was daily diminished by the expiration of the soldiers’ term of

enlistment, and by the desertion of the militia.

These successes encouraged the British to pursue the remaining American

force, with the prospect of annihilating it. General Washington, who

had taken post at Newark, on the south side of the Passaic, finding

himself unable to make any real opposition, withdrew from that place as

the enemy crossed the Passaic, and retreated to Brunswick, on the

Rariton; and lord Cornwallis on the same day entered Newark. The

retreat was still continued from Brunswick to Princeton; from Princeton

to Trenton; and from Trenton to the Pennsylvania side of the Delaware.

The pursuit was urged with so much rapidity, that the rear of one army

was often within shot of the van of the other.[118] The winter being

now set in, the British army went into quarters, between the Delaware

and the Hackensack. Trenton, the most important post and barrier, was

occupied by a brigade of Hessians, under colonel Rawle. General Howe

now issued a proclamation, in the name of his brother and himself, in

which pardon was offered to all persons who, within the space of sixty

days, should take the oath of allegiance, and submit to the authority

of the British government. The effects of this proclamation were

soon apparent. People from several quarters availed themselves of it,

and threw down their arms. No city or town, indeed, in its corporate

capacity, submitted to the British government; but many families

of fortune and influence discovered an inclination to return to

their allegiance. Many of the yeomanry claimed the benefit of the

commissioners’ proclamation; and the great body of them were too much

taken up with the security of their families and their property, to

make any exertion in the public cause. Another source of mortification

to the Americans was the capture of general Lee, who had imprudently

ventured to lodge at a house three miles distant from his corps.[119]

This was the most gloomy period of the revolutionary war. It was the

crisis of the struggle of the United States for independence. The

American army, reduced in numbers, depressed by defeat, and exhausted

by fatigue, naked, barefoot, and destitute of tents, and even of

utensils with which to dress their scanty provisions, was fleeing

before a triumphant enemy, well appointed and abundantly supplied. A

general spirit of despondency through New Jersey was the consequence

of this disastrous state of public affairs. But in this worst of

times congress stood unmoved; their measures exhibited no symptoms

of confusion or dismay; the public danger only roused them to more

vigorous exertions, that they might give a firmer tone to the public

mind, and animate the citizens of United America to a manly defence

of their independence. Beneath this cloud of adversity, too, general

Washington shone with a brighter lustre than in the day of his highest

prosperity. Not dismayed by all the difficulties which encompassed him,

he accommodated his measures to his situation, and still made the good

of his country the object of his unwearied pursuit. He ever wore the

countenance of composure and confidence, by his own example inspiring

his little band with firmness to struggle with adverse fortune.

While Washington was retreating over the Delaware, the British, under

Sir Pelew Parker and general Clinton, took possession of Rhode Island,

and blocked up commodore Hopkins’ squadron and a number of privateers

at Providence; but this measure was disadvantageous to the British,

as it required the presence of troops which might have been much more

advantageously employed.

The neighborhood of Philadelphia now becoming the seat of war,

congress adjourned to Baltimore; resolving at the same time ‘that

general Washington should be possessed of full powers to order and

direct all things relative to the department and the operations of the

war.’ In this extremity, judicious determinations in the cabinet were

accompanied with vigorous operations in the field. The united exertions

of civil and military officers had by this time brought a considerable

body of militia into their ranks. General Sullivan too, on whom the

command of general Lee’s division devolved on his capture, promptly

obeyed the orders of the commander-in-chief, and at this period joined

him, and general Heath marched a detachment from Peck’s Kill.

The army, with these reinforcements, amounted to seven thousand

men, and general Washington determined to commence active and bold

operations. He had noticed the loose and uncovered state of the winter

quarters of the British army, and contemplated the preservation of

Philadelphia, and the recovery of New Jersey, by sweeping, at one

stroke, all the British cantonments upon the Delaware. The present

position of his forces favored the execution of his plan. The troops

under the immediate command of general Washington, consisting of

about two thousand four hundred men, were ordered to cross the river

at M’Konkey’s ferry, nine miles above Trenton, to attack that post.

General Irvine was directed to cross with his division at Trenton ferry,

to secure the bridge below the town, and prevent the retreat of the

enemy that way. General Cadwallader received orders to pass the river

at Bristol ferry, and assault the post at Burlington. The night of

the twenty-fifth was assigned for the execution of this daring scheme.

It proved to be severely cold, and so much ice was made in the river,

that general Irvine and general Cadwallader, after having strenuously

exerted themselves, found it impracticable to pass their divisions,

and their part of the plan totally failed. The commander-in-chief

was, however, more fortunate, and, though with much difficulty and

considerable loss of time, succeeded in crossing the river, and reached

Trenton by eight o’clock in the morning.

The brave colonel Rawle, the commanding officer, assembled his forces

for the defence of his post; but he was mortally wounded by the first

fire, and his men, in apparent dismay, attempted to file off towards

Princeton. General Washington, perceiving their intention, moved a part

of his troops into this road in their front, and defeated the design.

Their artillery being seized, and the Americans pressing upon them,

they surrendered. Twenty of the Germans were killed, and a thousand

made prisoners. By the failure of general Irvine, a small body of the

enemy stationed in the lower part of the town escaped over the bridge

to Bordentown. Of the American troops, two privates were killed and

two frozen to death, and one officer and three or four privates were

wounded. Could the other divisions have crossed the Delaware, general

Washington’s plan, in its full extent, would probably have succeeded.

Not thinking it prudent to hazard the fruits of this gallant stroke by

more daring attempts, the general the same day recrossed the Delaware

with his prisoners, with six pieces of artillery, a thousand stand of

arms, and some military stores.

This display of enterprise and vigor on the part of the Americans

astonished and perplexed general Howe, and, though in the depth of

winter, he found it necessary to commence active operations. Such was

the reviving influence on the minds of the American soldiers, and such

the skill which the commander-in-chief exercised, that, after several

successful operations following that of Trenton, he not only saved

Philadelphia and Pennsylvania, but recovered the greatest part of the

Jerseys, in defiance of an army vastly superior to his, in discipline,

resources, and numbers. Of all their recent extensive possessions

in the Jerseys, the English retained now only the posts of Brunswick

and Amboy. These successful operations on the part of the Americans

were immediately followed by a proclamation, in the name of general

Washington, absolving all those who had been induced to take the oaths

of allegiance tendered by the British commissioners, and promising

them protection on condition of their subscribing to a form of oath

prescribed by congress. The effects of this proclamation were almost

instantaneous. The inhabitants of the Jerseys, who had conceived a

violent hatred to the British army, on account of their unchecked

course of plundering, instantly renounced their allegiance to Great

Britain, and attached themselves to the cause of America. Several

who were resolved to avenge their wrongs, joined the army under

general Washington, while others rendered equal service to the side

to which they attached themselves, by supplying the American army with

provisions and fuel, and by conveying intelligence of the operations

of the British army.

Before entering on the campaign of 1777, it will be proper briefly to

notice the state of affairs in Canada. The Americans still possessed

Crown Point and Ticonderoga, and were masters of lake Champlain. To

dispossess them of these posts was an arduous and a difficult task,

inasmuch as the British had not a vessel on lake Champlain to oppose

the American fleet. Difficult, however, as it was, general Carleton

resolved to use every effort to procure an adequate naval force, and

at length succeeding in the attainment of his object, he acquired

a decided superiority. On the 11th of October, the British fleet

discovered that of their opponents very advantageously posted off the

island Valicour, with an intention of defending the passage between

that island and the western main. A schooner and some gun-boats, being

considerably ahead of the rest of the fleet, began the engagement,

which was continued for some hours on both sides with great intrepidity.

Brigadier-general Waterbury, in the Washington galley, fought with

undaunted bravery, until nearly all his officers were killed or wounded,

and his vessel greatly injured, when Arnold ordered the remaining

shattered vessels to retire up the lake towards Crown Point, to refit.

Two days afterwards they were overtaken by the British, and the

action was renewed. The Washington galley, crippled in the first

action, was soon obliged to strike and surrender. General Arnold,

having obstinately defended himself with great judgment and gallantry

against a superior force, was at length so closely pressed, that he

was compelled to run on shore his own vessel, the Congress galley,

which, with five gondolas, was abandoned and blown up. Of sixteen

American vessels, eleven were taken or destroyed; of the British, two

gondolas were sunk, and one blown up with sixty men. The loss of men

on each side was supposed to be nearly equal; that of the Americans

was estimated at about a hundred. The British army and fleet now

established themselves at Crown Point, and proceeded to strengthen

the old fortifications, originally erected at this place by the French

in 1756; but they very soon abandoned this station, and retired into

Canada.

Having secured the Hessian prisoners on the Pennsylvania side of the

Delaware, Washington recrossed the river two days after the action, and

took possession of Trenton. Generals Mifflin and Cadwallader, who lay

at Bordentown and Crosswix with three thousand six hundred militia,

were ordered to march up in the night of the 1st of January, to join

the commander-in-chief, whose whole effective force, including this

accession, did not exceed five thousand men. The detachments of the

British army which had been distributed over New Jersey, now assembled

at Princeton, and were joined by the army from Brunswick under lord

Cornwallis. From this position they advanced toward Trenton in great

force, on the morning of the 2d of January; and, after some slight

skirmishing with troops detached to harass and delay their march, the

van of their army reached Trenton about four in the afternoon. On their

approach, general Washington retired across the Assumpinck, a rivulet

that runs through the town, and by some field-pieces, posted on its

opposite banks, compelled them, after attempting to cross in several

places, to fall back out of the reach of his guns. The two armies,

kindling their fires, retained their positions on opposite sides of

the rivulet, and kept up a cannonade until night.

The situation of the American general was at this moment extremely

critical. Nothing but a stream, in many places fordable, separated his

army from an enemy in every respect its superior. If he remained in his

present position, he was certain of being attacked the next morning, at

the hazard of the entire destruction of his little army. If he should

retreat over the Delaware, the ice in that river not being firm enough

to admit a passage upon it, there was danger of great loss, perhaps of

a total defeat; the Jerseys would be in full possession of the enemy;

the public mind would be depressed; recruiting would be discouraged;

and Philadelphia would be within the reach of general Howe. In this

extremity, he boldly determined to abandon the Delaware, and, by a

circuitous march along the left flank of the enemy, fall into their

rear at Princeton. When it was dark, the army, leaving its fires

lighted, and the sentinels on the margin of the creek, decamped with

perfect secrecy. About sunrise two British regiments, that were on

their march to join the rear of the British army at Maidenhead, fell in

with the van of the Americans, conducted by general Mercer, and a very

sharp action ensued. The advanced party of Americans, composed chiefly

of militia, soon gave way, and the few regulars attached to them could

not maintain their ground. General Mercer, while gallantly exerting

himself to rally his broken troops, received a mortal wound.

General Washington, however, who followed close in their rear, now

led on the main body of the army, and attacked the enemy with great

spirit. While he exposed himself to their hottest fire, he was so well

supported by the same troops which had aided him a few days before in

the victory at Trenton, that the British were compelled to give way,

and Washington pressed forward to Princeton. A party of the British

that had taken refuge in the college, after receiving a few discharges

from the American field-pieces, surrendered themselves prisoners of

war; but the principal part of the regiment that was left there, saved

itself by a precipitate retreat to Brunswick. In this action upwards

of a hundred of the British were killed, and nearly three hundred were

taken prisoners. Great was the surprise of lord Cornwallis when the

report of the artillery at Princeton, and the arrival of breathless

messengers, apprized him that the enemy was in his rear. Alarmed by

the danger of his position, he commenced a retreat; and, being harassed

by the militia and the countrymen who had suffered from the outrages

perpetrated by his troops on their advance, he did not deem himself

in safety till he arrived at Brunswick, from whence, by means of the

Rariton, he had communication with New York.

The successes of the American arms at Trenton and at Princeton

were followed by important consequences. The affairs of the United

States before these events, appeared to be desperate. Two thousand

of the regular troops had a right, on the 1st of January, to demand

their discharge. The recruiting service was at an end, and general

despondency prevailed. The triumphs of the British through the previous

parts of the campaign produced a common apprehension, in the citizens

of the middle slates, that any further struggle would be useless,

and that America must eventually return to her allegiance to Great

Britain. Many individuals made their peace with the commissioners, and

took protection from the officers of the crown; and more discovered an

inclination to do it, when opportunity should present itself. General

Howe supposed New Jersey restored to the British government, and

thought the war drawing to a close. But these successes were considered

as great victories, and produced important effects upon the public

mind. The character of the commander-in-chief proportionably rose in

the estimation of the great mass of American people, who now respected

themselves, and confided in their persevering efforts to secure the

great object of contention――the independence of their country. Other

causes had a powerful operation upon the minds of the yeomanry of New

Jersey.

The British commanders tolerated, or at least did not restrain, gross

licentiousness in their army. The inhabitants of the state which they

boasted was restored to the bosom of the parent country, were treated

not as reclaimed friends, but as conquered enemies. The soldiers were

guilty of every species of rapine, and with little discrimination

between those who had opposed or supported the measures of Britain. The

abuse was not limited to the plundering of property. Every indignity

was offered to the persons of the inhabitants, not excepting those

outrages to the female sex which are felt by ingenuous minds with the

keenest anguish, and excite noble spirits to desperate resistance.

These aggravated abuses roused the people of New Jersey to repel that

army to which they had voluntarily submitted, in the expectation of

protection and security. At the dawn of success upon the American arms,

they rose in small bands to oppose their invaders. They scoured the

country, cut off every soldier who straggled from his corps, and in

many instances repelled the foraging parties of the enemy. Early in

this year also the Americans were gratified by the arrival of a vessel

from France at Portsmouth, in New Hampshire, with upwards of eleven

thousand stand of arms, and a thousand barrels of powder; and about

the same time ten thousand stand of arms arrived in another part of

the United States.

This supply was, however, in some measure counterbalanced. In the month

of March the British sent out two detachments to destroy the American

stores at Peekskill, on the North river, and at Danbury, in Connecticut.

Both succeeded in their attempt; and although the stores destroyed did

not equal in quantity the report on which the expeditions were planned,

yet their loss was sensibly felt by the Americans in the active season

of the campaign.

Sir William Howe, having in vain attempted to entice or provoke general

Washington to an engagement, had, in June, retired with his army from

the Jerseys to Staten island. After keeping the American general in

long and perplexing suspense concerning his intended operations, he at

length sailed from Sandy Hook with about sixteen thousand men, entered

Chesapeake bay, and on the 24th of August arrived at the head of Elk

river. Generals Grant and Knyphausen having joined him on the 8th of

September with the troops under their command, the whole army moved

onward in two columns toward Philadelphia, the possession of which

was now evidently the object of the British commander. Washington, who

regulated his movements by those of the enemy, had by this time, with

the whole American army excepting the light infantry, which remained on

the lines, taken a position behind Red Clay creek, on the road leading

directly from the enemy’s camp to Philadelphia. The British rapidly

advanced until they were within two miles of the Americans; while

Washington crossed the Brandywine, and took post on a height behind

that river.

At daybreak on the morning of the 11th it was ascertained that Sir

William Howe in person had crossed the Brandywine at the forks, and

was rapidly marching down the north side of the river to attack the

American army. The commander-in-chief now ordered general Sullivan to

form the right wing to oppose the column of Sir William. General Wayne

was directed to remain at Chadd’s ford with the left wing, to dispute

the passage of the river with Knyphausen. General Green, with his

division, was posted as a reserve in the centre between Sullivan and

Wayne, to reinforce either, as circumstances might require. General

Sullivan marched up the river, until he found favorable ground on which

to form his men; his left was near the Brandywine, and both flanks

were covered with thick wood. At half-past four o’clock, when his line

was scarcely formed, the British, under lord Cornwallis, commenced a

spirited attack. The action was for some time severe; but the American

right, which was not properly in order when the assault began, at

length gave way, and exposed the flank of the troops that maintained

their ground to a destructive fire, and continuing to break from the

right, the whole line finally gave way. As soon as the firing began,

general Washington, with general Green’s division, hastened towards the

scene of action, but before his arrival Sullivan was routed, and the

commander-in-chief could only check the pursuit of the enemy, and cover

the retreat of the beaten troops. During these transactions general

Knyphausen assaulted the works erected for the defence of Chadd’s ford,

and soon carried them. General Wayne, by this time learning the fate of

the other divisions, drew off his troops. General Washington retreated

with his whole force that night to Chester. The American loss in this

battle was about three hundred killed and six hundred wounded. Four

hundred were made prisoners, but these chiefly of the wounded.

Perceiving that the enemy were moving into the Lancaster road,

towards the city, general Washington took possession of ground near the

Warren tavern, on the left of the British, and twenty-three miles from

Philadelphia. The protection of his stores at Reading was one object

of this movement. The next morning he was informed of the approach of

the British army. He immediately put his troops in motion to engage the

enemy. The advance of the two hostile armies met and began to skirmish,

when a violent storm came on, which prevented a general engagement,

and rendered the retreat of the Americans absolutely necessary. The

inferiority of the muskets in the hands of the American soldiery,

which had been verified in every action, was strikingly illustrated in

this retreat. The gun-locks being badly made, and the cartridge-boxes

imperfectly constructed, this storm rendered most of the arms unfit for

use; and all the ammunition was damaged. The army was in consequence

extremely exposed, and their danger became the greater, as many of the

soldiers were destitute of bayonets. Fortunately the tempest, which

produced such serious mischief to the Americans, prevented the pursuit

of the British. Washington still continued to make every effort to save

the capital; but Sir William Howe, having secured the command of the

Schuylkill, on the 23d of September, crossed it with his whole army;

on the 26th he advanced to Germantown; and on the succeeding day lord

Cornwallis, at the head of a strong detachment, entered Philadelphia in

triumph.

The American army, reinforced to eight thousand continental troops

and three thousand militia, took a position at Shippack creek, on the

east side of the Schuylkill, about twenty miles from Philadelphia,

and sixteen from Germantown. At the latter place was posted the main

body of the British army. The first object of Sir William Howe was to

subdue the defences, and remove the impediments of the Delaware, that

a communication might be opened with the British shipping. General

Washington made every effort to prevent the execution of his enemy’s

design, in the hope of forcing general Howe out of Philadelphia, by

preventing supplies of provisions from reaching him. Of the attainment

of this important object he had no doubt, could the passage of the

Delaware be rendered impracticable. For this purpose works had been

erected on a bank of mud and sand in the river, near the confluence

of the Schuylkill, and about seven miles below Philadelphia. The

place, from these works, was denominated Fort island, and the works

themselves fort Mifflin. On a neck of land on the opposite shore of

New Jersey, called Red Bank, a fort was constructed and mounted with

heavy artillery, and called fort Mercer. Fort island and Red Bank were

distant from each other half a mile. In the channel of the Delaware,

which ran between them, two ranges of chevaux-de-frise were sunk. These

consisted of large pieces of timber, strongly framed together, and

pointed with iron, and they completely obstructed the passage of ships.

These works were covered by several galleys, floating batteries, and

armed ships.

Sir William Howe having detached a considerable force from Germantown

to operate against the works on the Delaware, general Washington

thought this a favorable opportunity to attack the British army

in their cantonments. The line of the British encampment crossed

the village of Germantown at right angles, near its centre, and its

flanks were strongly covered. The army, having moved from its ground

about seven in the afternoon of the 3d of October, began an attack

about sunrise the next morning. The advance of the column, led by

Sullivan, and accompanied by the commander-in-chief, encountered and

drove in a picket, which presently gave way; and his main body, soon

following, engaged the light infantry and other troops encamped near

the picket, and forced them from their ground. Though closely pursued,

lieutenant-colonel Musgrove, with six companies, took post in a strong

stone house, which lay in the way of the Americans, and severely

galled them by a fire of musketry from the doors and windows. General

Washington immediately ordered a brigade to surround the house; but

colonel Musgrove refused to surrender.

Four pieces of cannon were brought against him, but he sustained the

fire of them until major-general Gray, with the third brigade, and

brigadier-general Agnew, with the fourth, came to his assistance, and

attacked the Americans with great spirit. In the mean time general

Green arrival with his column, and attacked the right wing of the

British. Colonel Matthews routed a party of the British opposed to him;

but being enveloped in a most extraordinary fog, he lost sight of the

brigade to which he belonged, and was taken prisoner with his whole

regiment. At length a part of the right wing of the British attacked

the Americans on the opposite side of the town; and the embarrassments

among the American troops, occasioned by the darkness, gave the English

time to recover from their consternation. Sullivan’s division had

penetrated far into Germantown; but the main body of the American army

now commenced a retreat, and all efforts to rally it proved ineffectual.

In this battle the loss of the Americans in killed, wounded, and

prisoners, was not less than twelve hundred men, while that of the

British did not exceed half that number. The American army encamped

again on Shippack creek, but soon after advanced to White Marsh, while

the royal army removed from Germantown to Philadelphia.

The works in the Delaware now engaged the attention of the British and

American generals. Lord Howe, by continued exertion, having overcome

the obstructions which the Americans had placed in the river at

Billingsport, a joint attack by sea and land was planned against Red

Bank and Fort island. The Augusta, a sixty-four gun ship, the Merlin

frigate, and several small armed vessels, moved up the Delaware to

assault the works on Fort or Mud island. Count Donop crossed into

New Jersey with twelve hundred Germans, and in the evening of the

22d appeared before fort Mercer, on Red Bank. His assault was highly

spirited, and the defence intrepid and obstinate. Colonel Green, the

commandant, whose garrison did not exceed five hundred men, was unable

adequately to map the outworks; but he galled the Germans in their

advance, and on their near approach he quitted them, and retired within

the inner intrenchments. They pressed forward with undaunted bravery,

and the Americans poured upon them a deadly fire. Count Donop was

himself mortally wounded at the head of his gallant corps; the second

in command soon after fell, and the third immediately drew off his

forces. The assailants had four hundred men killed and wounded, while

the garrison, fighting under cover, had only thirty. In the mean time,

fort Mifflin was attacked by the shipping, and by batteries erected

on the Pennsylvania shore. Incessant volleys of bombs and cannon-balls

were discharged upon it. But at ebb tide the Augusta and Merlin

grounded, and were burnt. The garrison supported this tremendous fire

without material injury. The resistance of the forts on the Delaware

far exceeding the expectations of the British commanders, they adopted

measures to overcome it without the hazard of a second assault. They

erected batteries upon Providence island, within five hundred yards of

the American fort. They also brought up their shipping, gun-boats, &c.,

and from the 10th to the 16th of November, battered the American works.

By this time the defences were entirely beaten down, every piece of

cannon was dismounted, and one of the ships approached so near fort

Mifflin as to throw hand-grenades from her tops into it, which killed

the men upon the platform. The brave garrison received orders to quit

the post. Red Bank being no longer useful, its garrison and stores were

also withdrawn on the approach of lord Cornwallis with five thousand

men to invest it.

While these inauspicious operations were carried on in the south, the

northern portion of the country was a theatre of events that more than

counterbalanced them. A principal object of the British in the campaign

of this year, was to open a free communication between New York and

Canada. The British ministry were sanguine in their hopes, that, by

effecting this object, New England, which they considered as the soul

of the confederacy, might be severed from the neighboring states, and

compelled to submission. In prosecution of this design, an army of

British and German troops, amounting to upwards of seven thousand men,

exclusive of artillery, was put under the command of lieutenant-general

Burgoyne, an enterprising and able officer. The plan of operations

consisted of two parts. General Burgoyne with the main body was to

advance by way of lake Champlain, and force his way to Albany, or,

at least, so far as to effect a junction with the royal army from New

York; and lieutenant-colonel St. Leger, with about two hundred British,

a regiment of New York loyalists, raised and commanded by Sir John

Johnson, and a large body of Indians, was to ascend the St. Lawrence

to lake Ontario, and from that quarter to penetrate toward Albany by

the way of the Mohawk river.

General Burgoyne arrived at Quebec in May. In the latter end of June

he advanced with his army to Crown Point, and from thence proceeded

to invest Ticonderoga, which was soon abandoned by the Americans,

under general St. Clair, who, after a distressing march, joined general

Schuyler at fort Edward, on the river Hudson. General Burgoyne, having

with incredible labor and fatigue conducted his army through the

wilderness from Skenesborough, reached fort Edward on the 30th of July.

As he approached that place, general Schuyler, whose forces, even since

the junction of St. Clair, did not exceed four thousand four hundred

men, retired over the Hudson to Saratoga. Early in August St. Leger

invested fort Schuyler, and at first obtained some advantages over

the Americans; but, by stratagem,[120] the Indians were induced to

desert him, and finding himself abandoned by seven or eight hundred of

these important auxiliaries,[121] he decamped in great confusion, and

returned to Montreal, leaving his tents, with most of his artillery

and stores, in the field. While St. Leger was thus unsuccessful at fort

Schuyler, a detachment under colonel Baum, despatched to seize a large

depot in New Hampshire grants, was also defeated by a body of militia

under general Stark.[122] Meanwhile, general Burgoyne, having collected

about thirty days’ provision, and thrown a bridge of boats over the

Hudson, crossed that river on the 13th and 14th of September, and

encamped on the heights and plains of Saratoga. General Gates, who

had recently taken the chief command of the northern department of the

American army, advanced toward the British, and encamped three miles

above Stillwater.

On the night of the 17th, Burgoyne encamped within four miles of

the American army; and about noon on the 19th advanced in full force

against it. The right wing was commanded by general Burgoyne, and

covered by general Frazer and colonel Breyman with the grenadiers

and light infantry, who were posted along some high grounds on the

right. The front and flanks were covered by Indians, provincials, and

Canadians. The left wing and artillery were commanded by major-generals

Phillips and Reidesel, who proceeded along the great road. Colonel

Morgan, who was detached to observe their motions, and to harass them

as they advanced, soon fell in with their pickets in front of their

right wing, attacked them sharply, and drove them in. A strong corps

was brought up to support them, and, after a severe encounter, Morgan

was compelled to give way; but a regiment was ordered to assist him,

and the action became more general. The commanders on both sides

supported and reinforced their respective parties; and about four

o’clock, Arnold, with nine continental regiments and Morgan’s corps,

was completely engaged with the whole right wing of the British army.

The engagement began at three o’clock in the afternoon, and continued

till after sunset, when the Americans thought proper to retire, and

leave the British masters of the field of battle. The loss on each

side was nearly equal, six hundred being killed and wounded on the

part of the British, and the same number on the side of the Americans.

No advantages resulted to the British troops from this encounter; while

the conduct of the Americans fully convinced every one ‘that they were

able to sustain an attack in open plains with the intrepidity, the

spirit, and the coolness of veterans. For four hours they maintained

a contest hand to hand; and when they retired, it was not because they

were conquered, but because the approach of night made a retreat to

their camp absolutely necessary.’

Both armies lay some time in sight of each other, each fortifying its

camp in the strongest manner possible. Meanwhile, the difficulties

of the British general were daily increasing; his auxiliary Indians

deserted him soon after the battle of Stillwater; and his army,

reduced to little more than five thousand men, was limited to half the

usual allowance of provisions; the stock of forage also was entirely

exhausted, and his horses were perishing in great numbers; the American

army had become so augmented as to render him diffident of making good

his retreat; and, to aggravate his distress, no intelligence had yet

been received of the approach of general Clinton, or of any diversion

in his favor from New York. In this exigency, general Burgoyne resolved

to examine the possibility of dislodging the Americans from their

posts on the left, by which means he would be enabled to retreat to

the lakes. For this purpose he drew out fifteen hundred men, which he

headed himself, attended by generals Phillips, Reidesel, and Frazer.

This detachment had scarcely formed, within less than half a mile of the

American intrenchments, when a furious attack was made, which, though

bravely resisted, was decidedly to the advantage of the assailants.

General Burgoyne now became convinced that it was impossible to conduct

any further offensive operations, and endeavored to make good his

retreat to fort George.

Artificers were accordingly despatched, under a strong escort, to

repair the bridges, and open the roads, but they were compelled to make

a precipitate retreat. The situation of general Burgoyne becoming every

hour more hazardous, he resolved to attempt a retreat by night to fort

Edward; but even this retrograde movement was rendered impracticable.

While the army was preparing to march, intelligence was received

that the Americans had already possessed themselves of the fort, and

that they were well provided with artillery. No avenue to escape now

appeared. Incessant toil and continual engagements had worn down the

British army; its provisions were nearly exhausted, and there were no

means of procuring a supply; while the American army, which was daily

increasing, was already much greater than the British in point of

numbers, and almost encircled them. In this extremity, the British

general called a council of war; and it was unanimously resolved to

enter into a convention with general Gates. Preliminaries were soon

settled, and the royal army, to the number of five thousand seven

hundred and fifty, surrendered prisoners of war.

The capture of an entire army was justly viewed as an event that must

essentially affect the contest between Great Britain and America; and

while it excited the highest joy among the Americans, it could not

but have a most auspicious influence on their affairs in the cabinet

and in the field. The thanks of congress were voted to general Gates

and his army; and a medal of gold, in commemoration of this splendid

achievement, was ordered to be struck, to be presented to him by the

president, in the name of the United States.

Illustration: Surrender at Saratoga.

General Burgoyne’s surrender is certainly, in a considerable degree, to

be attributed to the want of co-operation both on the part of general

Carleton, in Canada, and of Sir Henry Clinton, at New York. The latter,

indeed, performed a service, which, if effected a little earlier,

might possibly have relieved Burgoyne. With nearly three thousand men,

convoyed by some ships of war under commodore Hotham, he conducted an

expedition up Hudson’s river, in October, against the forts Montgomery

and Clinton. When arrived within a mile of the place of destination,

the troops separated into two columns; the one, consisting of nine

hundred men, under lieutenant Campbell, was destined for the attack on

fort Montgomery; the other, under the immediate command of Sir Henry

Clinton, was to storm the stronger post of fort Clinton. The garrison,

when summoned, having refused to surrender, the assault was made on

both forts at the same instant. These fortresses, which were separated

from each other by a creek only, were commanded by governor Clinton,

a brave and intelligent officer, who made a gallant resistance from

four in the afternoon, when the attack began, until dark; but, the

post having been designed principally to prevent the passing of ships,

the works on the land side were incomplete and untenable, and the

assailants entered them with fixed bayonets. Most of the garrison,

however, effected their escape, undercover of the thick smoke and

darkness.

Having noticed the most important features of the military operations

of the year 1777, it will be proper, before entering on those of the

following years, to afford the reader some information on two very

important points――the progress made by the Americans in their foreign

relations, and the steps which had been taken to consolidate the

general government. In both cases it will be necessary, in order to

give a clear and comprehensive view of the subject, slightly to deviate

from strict chronological order.

The contest between Great Britain and her colonies had not long

commenced, before congress directed their attention to the possibility

of attaining foreign assistance. Towards the close of the year 1775,

a committee was appointed to hold secret correspondence with the

friends of America, both in Europe and other parts of the world.[123]

Early in the year 1776, the committee, seeing little prospect of an

accommodation, and well aware that France would be disposed to make

great sacrifices to reduce the power of Great Britain by the separation

of her North American colonies, sent Silas Deane, as a commercial and

political agent, to the French court.[124] Mr. Deane arrived in Paris

about the 1st of July, and was indefatigable in pursuing the objects

of his mission; and through Dr. Dubourg, a friend to America, was in a

few days introduced to Vergennes. His arrival at Paris was immediately

known in London, and lord Stormont was sent express to Paris to watch

his movements. Mr. Deane stated to the French minister the objects of

his mission, agreeably to his instructions, and in his first conference

he touched upon the subject of forming treaties with the Americans in

case of their declaring themselves independent. The American agent was

favorably received by the French minister, and was asked many questions

in relation to American affairs. Vergennes informed Mr. Deane, that

though the French court estimated highly the importance of American

commerce, yet, considering the good understanding between the courts

of Versailles and London, they could not openly encourage the shipping

of warlike stores; but no obstructions of any kind, he said, would be

given. On the subject of independence, he observed that was an event

in the womb of time, and it would be highly improper for him to say

any thing on that point until it had actually taken place. This first

conference with the French minister ended much to the satisfaction of

the American agent.

As soon as the question of independence was decided in the affirmative,

congress took the subject of foreign affairs into their own hands;

and, on the 11th of June, appointed a committee to prepare a plan of

treaties with foreign powers.[125] In the month of September, congress

appointed Dr. Franklin, Mr. Deane, and Mr. Jefferson, commissioners

to proceed to France.[126] Dr. Franklin and Mr. Lee arrived at Paris

in December, and the objects of their mission were soon made known

to the French court. The court was not yet prepared to acknowledge

the independence of the United States, to form treaties with them, or

openly to espouse the cause of the Americans; to prove, however, his

good wishes towards the United States, the king ordered two millions

of livres to be paid to them by quarterly payments, which should be

augmented as the state of his finances would permit. The most profound

secrecy, in relation to this donation, was enjoined. The course of

policy France intended to pursue, in the contest between Great Britain

and her colonies, was now obvious; and with her views of the subject,

was perhaps, as it regarded herself at least, a very natural as well

as wise course, as she evidently entertained serious doubts whether the

states would be able to form a lasting union among themselves, or to

persevere in maintaining their independence.

Although the court were thus undecided, the cause of the United

States was extremely popular in France, both among the people and the

army, and many French officers sought an opportunity of engaging in

their service. Among these the young marquis de la Fayette was most

conspicuous for his rank, and most distinguished for his ardor and

enthusiasm. At an early period he communicated to the American agents

his wish to join the republican armies. At first they encouraged his

zeal, but learning the disasters which preceded the victory at Trenton,

they, with honorable frankness, communicated the information to him,

and added, that they were so destitute of funds, that they could not

even provide for his passage across the ocean. ‘If your country,’

replied the gallant youth, ‘is indeed reduced to this extremity, it is

at this moment that my departure to join her armies will render her the

most essential service.’ He immediately hired a vessel to convey him to

America, where he arrived in the spring of 1777. He was received with

cordial affection by the people, became the bosom friend of Washington,

solicited permission to serve without pay, and was appointed

major-general in the army.

The disastrous state of American affairs at the close of the year 1776,

induced congress to attend more seriously to the subject of securing

foreign aid; and a new committee was appointed. Some of the members

of this committee were disposed to make great sacrifices to obtain the

aid of France, and were almost prepared to offer her the same monopoly

of American commerce as had been enjoyed by Great Britain.[127] On

the 30th of December, congress came to the resolution of sending

commissioners to the courts of Vienna, Madrid, and Berlin, and to

the grand duke of Tuscany.[128] These commissioners were instructed

to assure the courts, to which they were sent, that the Americans

were determined to maintain their independence, notwithstanding the

suggestions of the British to the contrary.

The success of the arms of the United States by the capture of the

army of general Burgoyne, gave a new aspect to their affairs in France,

and indeed throughout Europe. The American commissioners at Paris now

stood on commanding ground. The French court, aware of the views of the

British ministry in relation to the colonies, no longer hesitated about

accepting the propositions of the American envoys. M. Gerard informed

the American commissioners, on the 16th of December, ‘that after a

long and mature deliberation upon their propositions, his majesty had

determined to recognise the independence of, and to enter into a treaty

of commerce and alliance with, the United States of America; and that

he would not only acknowledge their independence, but actually support

it with all the means in his power; that perhaps he was about to engage

himself in an expensive war upon this account, but that he did not

expect to be reimbursed by them; in fine, the Americans were not to

think that he had entered into this resolution solely with a view of

serving them, since, independently of his real attachment to them and

their cause, it was evidently the interest of France to diminish the

power of England, by severing her colonies from her.’ On the 6th of

February, 1778, a treaty of commerce was signed by Franklin, Deane,

and Lee, on the part of the United States, and by M. Gerard on the part

of France, together with a treaty of defensive alliance, in case war

should be the consequence of this commercial connection. The essential

and direct end of this alliance was, ‘to maintain the liberty,

sovereignty, and independence, absolute and unlimited, of the United

States, as well in matters of government as of commerce.’

Before leaving this subject, it is necessary to state, that as,

previous to the recognition of independence by the court of France, it

was imperative that the intercourse with the American agents should be

conducted indirectly and with the utmost secrecy, the French government

rendered their secret assistance through the agency of M. Beaumarchais,

who appears to have been more desirous of serving himself than the

Americans. The mode in which he converted the gratuitous aid of

the French court into articles of charge in his accounts with the

congress, and especially his retaining in his hands a million of livres

out of the subsidy granted by the French king, are circumstances too

extraordinary to be entirely passed over; but our limits compel us to

refer the reader for the details to that very able work, Pitkin’s Civil

and Political History, and to the volumes of Diplomatic Correspondence

already alluded to.

During the first stages of the revolution, the universal enthusiasm

of the people, directed to one common object, in some measure supplied

the place of a general legislative and executive power. The congress

had hitherto possessed no powers but such as were conferred by the

instructions given by the state legislatures to their respective

delegates; but on the 11th of June, 1776, the day following that

in which the resolution in favor of independence had been adopted,

congress determined to appoint a committee to prepare and digest the

form of a confederation. This committee, on the 12th of July following,

reported a plan of confederacy, consisting of twenty articles, and on

the 22d of the same month it was discussed in committee of the whole

house, and was under consideration until the 20th of August, when an

amended draft was reported. The difficulty in agreeing upon the details

of the system, as well as the gloomy aspect of American affairs at

this period, prevented congress from resuming this subject until April,

1777, when they resolved that two days in each week should be employed

upon it, ‘until it shall be wholly discussed.’ The amended draft was

considered and debated accordingly until the 26th of June, when it was

again postponed to the 2d of October, and was not finally adopted by

congress until the 15th of November. The outlines of the system were,

that the thirteen states formed a confederacy, under the style and name

of ‘the United States of America;’ by which they entered ‘into a firm

league of friendship with each other, for their defence, the security

of their liberties, and their mutual and general welfare, binding

themselves to assist each other against all force offered to or attacks

made upon them, or any of them, on account of religion, sovereignty,

trade, or any other pretence whatever.’ This plan of union was to be

proposed to the legislatures of all the states, and, if approved, they

were advised to authorize their delegates in congress to ratify the

same; this being done, it was to be conclusive. The plan was considered

by the legislatures of the several states in the winter of 1777–8, and

by some was adopted without amendments, by others various amendments

were proposed.