BATTLE OF MONMOUTH--PATRIOTS RECEIVE AID FROM FRANCE--RECAPTURE OF
FORT AT STONY POINT BY GEN. ANTHONY WAYNE--WASHINGTON AT
MORRISTOWN--SURRENDER OF CHARLESTON, S. C., TO THE BRITISH--TREASON
OF BENEDICT ARNOLD--1778-1780
[Illustration: Molly Pitcher]
General Howe had spent a pleasant winter and spring holding
Philadelphia, but he had done nothing in the way of military service. He
was now ordered home and Sir Henry Clinton took his place and was told
to leave the city. While Washington was in doubt as to what move
Clinton would make, messengers came from England with offers of peace
for the colonies. They offered a large bribe to General Joseph Reed, a
member of Congress. His scornful answer was, "I am not worth purchasing,
but such as I am, the King of Great Britain is not rich enough to do
it!" This was the spirit that won freedom for America.
In June (1778), General Clinton withdrew his army from Philadelphia and
Washington marched his troops out of Valley Forge and followed him. Near
Monmouth, New Jersey, Washington decided to make an attack. He sent
General Charles Lee (who, by this time, had been released by the
British) with six thousand men to start the battle, while he brought up
the main division. General Lee, who never would take orders from
Washington, commanded his men to retreat. Immediately Washington heard
of this disobedience, he galloped forward, sternly ordered Lee to the
rear, and with hot words rallied the men, stopped the retreat and saved
the day. His presence and the courage he displayed ended the disorder
and put new life into the men. An officer, who saw him at the time, said
his anger was splendid and he "swore like an angel from heaven."
Washington spent the night upon the field, his head pillowed on the
roots of a tree. At daybreak he arose to renew the attack, but the enemy
had learned one of his own tricks and, as Washington himself put it,
"had stolen off in the night as silent as the grave." It was at this
battle of Monmouth that Molly Pitcher became a heroine. She had been
carrying water to the men in action. At one gun, six men had been
killed, the last one her husband. As he fell, she seized the ramrod from
his hand and took his place. Washington was proud of her courage and
gave her the rank and pay of her husband.
The love and respect in which the army held Washington were increased by
his magnificent daring and splendid generalship in this battle. Congress
thanked him "for his great good conduct." General Charles Lee, who had
always been disrespectful to Washington and who had tried his best to
harm him, was court-martialed for insubordination (disobedience) and
deprived of his command. (Charles Lee was not connected with the Lees of
Virginia.) General Lee was really a brilliant soldier, but he was ruined
by his own jealous disposition. Washington treated him and all other
enemies with the kindness of a great mind and a true heart.
After the Battle of Monmouth, Clinton took up his quarters in New York
and Washington remained in New Jersey. Soon he received word that the
French King had sent a fleet of eighteen ships and four thousand
soldiers to help the colonists. The Americans were very glad of this,
thinking that the British fleet would now be destroyed; but the attack
of the French (August, 1778) was unsuccessful and they sailed away
without having done much good.
We have spoken several times of the Tories who sided with the British.
When the war broke out, the patriot settlers in the Wyoming Valley,
Pennsylvania, decided they would join in the defense of the country and
they drove all the Tories out of the Valley. Just after the Battle of
Monmouth (June 28, 1778), while all the fighting men were away, these
Tories got together seven hundred Indians and attacked the women and
children. Before Washington could send aid, the whole Valley was laid
waste. All the homes were burned. Hundreds were killed by the Indians
and many more died trying to reach places of safety. This was followed
by night attacks in different places, when sentinels were surprised and
murdered by Indians and Tories. Indeed, all through the war, the most
cruel enemies the patriots had were their Tory neighbors.
To guard against such attacks, and to be ready to meet the British at
any point, Washington distributed his troops in a long line of camps and
got ready to defend the country from Boston to Philadelphia. The Hudson
River was guarded by a fortress at West Point. In order to call the
militia out, he arranged a system of signals. On a high hill overlooking
the British camp, sentries kept constant watch. If the enemy moved,
warning was to be given by firing a big gun. When the gun boomed, fires
were to be lighted on the hills within hearing. As soon as these were
seen from more distant hills, other fires were to be lighted, until
every hilltop blazed and all the countryside was roused and men warned
to hurry to their rallying places.
Though General Clinton had a great army, he did not offer battle. He
carried on an annoying form of warfare by sending out small bodies of
men to distant places, to attack and destroy. In this way he plundered
and burned villages on the shores of the Chesapeake and in New England
and captured valuable stores.
[Illustration: "Mad Anthony" Wayne]
While these things were happening, Washington planned to recapture the
fort at Stony Point on the Hudson, which had been taken by Sir Henry
Clinton, May 31, 1779. His plan was entrusted to General Wayne, called
"Mad Anthony" Wayne because of his dashing bravery. Wayne took a small
body of light-armed, fearless men, marched through the mountains and at
midnight on July 16, stormed the fort and captured it. This feat was so
well done that it is considered one of the great events of the war.
Congress thanked Washington for the victory and gave Wayne a medal for
his courage and success.
The swift and daring young scout, "Light Horse Harry" Lee, was with this
expedition. After it was over, he asked permission to lead an attack on
the garrison of Paulus Hook (now Jersey City), right under the guns of
New York. Washington, who always admired courageous deeds, allowed him
to make the attempt. Lee surprised the fort at night, captured a number
of prisoners and made a successful retreat while the guns from the
battleships were sounding the alarm. These two daring attacks increased
the confidence and spirit of the Americans and gave the British more
respect for them. Still, it was tiresome for the troops to remain month
after month in camp, wondering what the enemy would do next.
Washington had more serious troubles. Congress was slow and often unwise
in its acts. The people grew tired of the war, because business was
suffering and the farms were neglected, and nothing seemed to be gained
by it. Officers resigned from the army and men deserted. Washington was
laughed at by the Tories and criticized by his friends. But he was
patient and said, "We must not despair! The game is yet in our hands; to
play it well is all we have to do."
Washington's greatness is shown not only by his skill in action, but by
the patience with which he could wait. He simply would not be
discouraged. Under such trials, he became "the best among the great."
The winter came and Washington took part of his army into a camp of log
huts at Morristown, New Jersey. The sad story of Valley Forge was
repeated here and the winter (1779-1780) was the coldest ever known in
the colonies.
When the war broke out, there was, of course, no American money.
Congress had put out some paper money called "Continental Currency," but
it was worth so little that it took a great deal of it to buy anything.
Washington was obliged to ask the states to give the army grain and
cattle. New Jersey, where a part of the army was stationed, was very
generous and the women knitted socks and made clothes for the soldiers.
The British went on surprising and killing small garrisons and
plundering the country. In December, 1779, General Clinton sailed, with
General Cornwallis and a strong army, to attack Charleston, South
Carolina. They landed at Savannah, Georgia, and marched overland.
Washington dared not go to the help of the Southern troops and leave the
Hudson unguarded against the British army from Canada, which might
descend upon it. General Benjamin Lincoln and Commander Whipple were,
therefore, left alone to defend Charleston, which they did bravely,
though it was bombarded on all sides by the British. They held out until
their guns were destroyed and their provisions gone. The people were
frightened into submission and on May 12, 1780, the city of Charleston
surrendered, and Lincoln and his army became prisoners of war.
Considering South Carolina conquered, General Clinton went back to New
York, leaving Lord Cornwallis in command, with orders to subdue North
Carolina and Virginia.
After their success in the South, the British made an attempt to capture
Washington's headquarters at Morristown. The patriots of New Jersey
rallied to the help of the army and drove off the British, who withdrew,
burning houses and killing people as they went. Soon after this, the
Americans were encouraged by the arrival (July 10, 1780) of a large
French force under Count de Rochambeau (ro-sham-bo), who came to help
them.
Early in the year (January, 1780), Washington had had the unpleasant
duty laid upon him by Congress of rebuking General Benedict Arnold, who,
though he was very brave and fought gallantly, had been guilty of
several unwise acts. Washington greatly admired General Arnold and made
his reproof so gentle that it was almost a compliment. But being called
to account at all was more than Arnold could bear. He felt hurt, too,
that Congress had promoted others and had only blame for him. This so
enraged him that he proved false to the trust Washington had placed in
him and false to his country.
After his rebuke, feeling that he had been treated unfairly, Arnold
began writing letters to Major John André, a popular young British
officer, in which he offered to betray the fortress of the Hudson. At
Arnold's own request, Washington gave him command of West Point and an
important part in a plan to attack the British with the help of the
French. Washington had gone to consult with the French commander in
Newport (R. I.), when Major André and General Arnold met. At dead of
night, September 21, 1780, they went to a house in the forest to make
arrangements for the betrayal of West Point. With letters and plans of
the fort hidden in his boots, Major André rode back alone to New York.
He was caught and searched by three young farmers, who were guarding
their cattle against the outlaws who overran the neighborhood. They
found the letters and knew he was a spy. André begged them to release
him and made them all kinds of offers if they would, but they marched
him off ten miles to the nearest fort.
[Illustration: A Messenger came to Benedict Arnold]
General Washington came back from Newport two days earlier than he was
expected. Lafayette, Count Rochambeau and Hamilton rode with him and
they planned to go at once to West Point. Arnold was living with his
family in a house several miles from the fort and Washington sent word
they would have breakfast with him. This was the very day for the fort
to be given up and the sudden return of Washington frightened Arnold.
Just before his guests arrived, a messenger brought word of André's
capture. Hastily bidding his wife good-by, he flung himself on his horse
and galloped away. After breakfast, Washington went on with Rochambeau
to the fort. No salute welcomed them. General Arnold was not there and
apparently they were not expected. While wondering at his absence,
Washington had no thought of treachery. Then Hamilton brought him the
dreadful news. "Whom can we trust now?" was all he said. Hamilton rode
hard after Arnold, but he escaped to the British ship which was lying in
the river.
Major André endeared himself to everybody by his charming manners,
intelligence and bravery. The young officers loved him and the British
made every effort to save him, but honorably refused to give up General
Arnold in exchange for him. Washington treated André with the greatest
kindness, but justice to America required that this fine young officer
should die and he suffered the shameful death of a spy (October 2,
1780). His body was later sent to England and he was buried in
Westminster Abbey. General Arnold was made an officer in the British
army, but nobody trusted him, and the men hated his command. Twenty
years afterward (1801), he died, poor and broken-hearted, in a foreign
land. It is said that, on his death-bed, he called for his old American
uniform and asked to be allowed to die in it. "God forgive me," he
cried, "for ever putting on another!"
Count Rochambeau had told a pretty story about his journey from Newport
with General Washington. One evening, as they passed through a large
town, the people came out to greet their General. Throngs of children
carrying torches crowded about him, touching his hands and calling him
"Father." He was very kind and gentle to all these people, but the
patriotism of the children pleased him most. He said Great Britain
could never conquer a country whose children were taught to be loyal.
Another French officer said of Washington's horses, "They are as good as
they are beautiful, and all perfectly trained. He trains them all
himself. He leaps the highest barriers and rides very fast." At one
time, early in the war, when the Virginia riflemen first came north,
some Marblehead (Mass.) fishermen laughed at their fringed hunting
shirts and a fight followed. Washington heard of it, jumped on his horse
and galloped into camp. His colored servant was going to let down some
bars for him, but he leaped over them and dashed into the midst of the
fight. He seized the two biggest riflemen and shook them, commanding
peace.
Washington, as usual, was prevented, through lack of men and supplies,
from giving the British a blow. Months passed without much being done,
except dashing skirmishes now and then. The two camps watched each
other, wondering what the other would do.
[Illustration]