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{Frontispiece: WASHINGTON AS A SURVEYOR}
_History of the American Revolution_.
THE STUDENT'S LIFE OF WASHINGTON;
CONDENSED FROM THE LARGER WORK OF WASHINGTON IRVING.
FOR YOUNG PERSONS AND FOR THE USE OF SCHOOLS.
WITH ILLUSTRATIONS.
NEW YORK:
G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS,
182 FIFTH AVENUE.
1876.
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1870, by
G. P. PUTNAM & SONS,
in the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington.
PUBLISHER'S NOTE.
In condensing into one compact volume Mr. Irving's elaborate Life of
Washington, care has been taken to retain, not only all the important
facts connected with Washington's career, but also those circumstances
and incidents which may be supposed to contribute to a full estimate
of his character in all its aspects. Nor have any portion of the great
events connected with the era in which he filled so grand and
controlling a part been unduly neglected or subordinated. The work, in
its present abbreviated form, still presents a continuous and complete
record of American history during the period of Washington's official
life. Mr. Irving's language, as a rule, has been retained; but in
cases where a variation from his sentences has been necessary, in
order to secure the requisite brevity, the paragraphs are enclosed in
brackets.
CONTENTS.
I. Birth of Washington.--His Boyhood, . . . . . . . . . . . 1
II. Washington's Youth.--First Surveying Expedition, . . . . 5
III. Rival Claims of the English and the French.--Preparations
for Hostilities, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
IV. Washington's Mission to the French Commander, . . . . . 19
V. Military Expedition to the Frontier, . . . . . . . . . . 30
VI. Misfortunes.--Capitulation of Fort Necessity, . . . . . 39
VII. A Campaign under General Braddock, . . . . . . . . . . . 48
VIII. Braddock's Advance.--His Defeat, . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
IX. Washington in Command.--Panics on the Frontier, . . . . 68
X. Frontier Service, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
XI. Operations against the French.--Washington's Marriage, . 85
XII. Campaigns in the North.--Washington at Mount Vernon, . . 94
XIII. Colonial Discontents, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
XIV. Expedition to the Ohio.--Tea Tax, . . . . . . . . . . . 112
XV. The First General Congress, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
XVI. Military Measures.--Affairs at Lexington, . . . . . . . 125
XVII. Capture of Ticonderoga and Crown Point.--Washington
appointed Commander-in-Chief, . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
XVIII. Battle of Bunker Hill, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
XIX. Washington on his Way to the Camp, . . . . . . . . . . . 148
XX. Siege of Boston, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
XXI. Projects for the Invasion of Canada, . . . . . . . . . . 158
XXII. War along the Coast.--Progress of the Siege, . . . . . . 168
XXIII. Affairs in Canada, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
XXIV. Incidents of the Camp.--Arnold before Quebec, . . . . . 177
XXV. Washington's Perplexities.--New York in Danger, . . . . 183
XXVI. Attack on Quebec.--Affairs in New York, . . . . . . . . 188
XXVII. Movements before Boston.--Its Evacuation, . . . . . . . 196
XXVIII. Reverses in Canada.--The Highlands.--Close of the
Invasion of Canada, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
XXIX. The Army in New York, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
XXX. Proceedings of Lord Howe.--Gates and Schuyler, . . . . . 222
XXXI. The War in the South.--Affairs in the Highlands, . . . . 229
XXXII. Battle of Long Island.--Retreat, . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
XXXIII. Retreat from New York Island, . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
XXXIV. Retreat through Westchester County.--Battle of White
Plains, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
XXXV. Washington at Peekskill.--The Northern Army, . . . . . . 271
XXXVI. Capture of Fort Washington and Garrison.--Retreat
through New Jersey, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
XXXVII. Retreat across the Delaware.--Battle of Trenton, . . . . 286
XXXVIII. Washington recrosses the Delaware.--Battle of Princeton, 297
XXXIX. The Army at Morristown.--Attack on Peekskill, . . . . . 308
XL. The Northern Army.--British Expedition to Connecticut, . 316
XLI. The Highlands.--Movements of the Army, . . . . . . . . . 327
XLII. Invasion from Canada, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 334
XLIII. Exploits and Movements.--Howe in the Chesapeake, . . . . 345
XLIV. Advance of Burgoyne.--Battle of Oriskany.--Battle of
Bennington, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 354
XLV. Battle of the Brandywine.--Fall of Philadelphia, . . . . 368
XLVI. The Northern Invasion.--Fall of the Highland
Forts.--Defeat and Surrender of Burgoyne, . . . . . . 380
XLVII. Battle of Germantown.--Hostilities on the Delaware, . . 399
XLVIII. The Army on the Schuylkill.--At Valley Forge.--The
Conway Cabal, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 414
XLIX. Exploits of Lee and Lafayette.--British Commissioners, . 426
L. Evacuation of Philadelphia.--Battle of Monmouth
Court House, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 438
LI. Arrival of a French Fleet.--Massacre at Wyoming
Valley.--Capture of Savannah, . . . . . . . . . . . . 450
LII. Washington in Philadelphia.--Indian Warfare.--Capture of
Stony Point.--Ravages in Connecticut.--Repulse at
Savannah, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 464
LIII. Army at Morristown.--Arnold in Philadelphia.--Charleston
Besieged, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 477
LIV. Discontents in the Army.--Fall of Charleston, . . . . . 489
LV. Marauds in the Jerseys.--The French Fleet at Newport, . 499
LVI. Battle of Camden, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 507
LVII. The Treason of Arnold.--Trial and Execution of André, . 515
LVIII. Plan to entrap Arnold.--Projects against New York, . . . 535
LIX. The War in the South.--Battle of King's Mountain, . . . 540
LX. Hostilities in the South.--Mutiny, . . . . . . . . . . . 550
LXI. Battle of the Cowpens.--Battle of Guilford Court-house, 557
LXII. The War in Virginia.--Demonstrations against New York, . 576
LXIII. Ravages in Virginia.--Operations in Carolina.--Attack on
New London, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 586
LXIV. Operations before Yorktown.--Greene in the South, . . . 602
LXV. Siege and Surrender of Yorktown, . . . . . . . . . . . . 610
LXVI. Dissolution of the Combined Armies.--Discontents in the
Army, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 615
LXVII. News of Peace.--Washington's Farewell to the Army, and
Resignation of his Commission, . . . . . . . . . . . . 621
LXVIII. Washington at Mount Vernon, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 629
LXIX. The Constitutional Convention.--Washington elected
President, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 634
LXX. Organization of the New Government, . . . . . . . . . . 643
LXXI. Financial Difficulties.--Party Jealousies.--Operations
against the Indians, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 651
LXXII. Tour Southward.--Defeat of St. Clair.--Dissensions in
the Cabinet, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 662
LXXIII. Washington's Second Term.--Difficulties with the French
Ambassador, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 673
LXXIV. Neutrality.--Whiskey Insurrection.--Wayne's Success
against the Indians, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 684
LXXV. Jay's Treaty.--Party Claims.--Difficulties with
France.--Farewell Address, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 693
LXXVI. Washington's Retirement and Death, . . . . . . . . . . . 708
WASHINGTON AND THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION.
CHAPTER I.
BIRTH OF WASHINGTON.--HIS BOYHOOD.
The Washington family is of an ancient English stock, the genealogy of
which has been traced up to the century immediately succeeding the
Conquest. Among the knights and barons who served under the Count
Palatine, Bishop of Durham, to whom William the Conqueror had granted
that important See, was WILLIAM DE HERTBURN. At that period surnames
were commonly derived from castles or estates; and de Hertburn, in
1183, in exchanging the village of Hertburn for the manor of
Wessyngton, assumed the name of DE WESSYNGTON. From this period the
family has been traced through successive generations, until the name,
first dropping the _de_, varied from Wessyngton to Wassington,
Wasshington, and finally to Washington. The head of the family to
which our Washington immediately belongs sprang from Lawrence
Washington, Esq., of Gray's Inn. He was mayor of Northampton, and
received a grant of the manor of Sulgrave from Henry VIII. [Sir
William Washington of Packington, was his direct descendant. The
Washingtons were attached to the Stuart dynasty. Lieut.-Col. James
Washington perished in defence of that cause. Sir Henry Washington,
son of Sir William, distinguished himself under Prince Rupert, in
1643, at the storming of Bristol; and still more, in 1646, in the
defence of Worcester against the arms of Fairfax. We hear little of
the Washingtons after the death of Charles I. England, during the
protectorate, was an uncomfortable residence for those who had adhered
to the Stuarts, and many sought refuge in other lands. Among many who
emigrated to the western wilds were John and Andrew Washington,
great-grandsons of the grantee of Sulgrave.]
The brothers arrived in Virginia in 1657, and purchased lands in
Westmoreland County, on the northern neck, between the Potomac and
Rappahannock rivers. John married a Miss Anna Pope, of the same
county, and took up his residence on Bridges Creek, near where it
falls into the Potomac. He became an extensive planter, and, in
process of time, a magistrate and member of the House of Burgesses.
Having a spark of the old military fire of the family, we find him, as
Colonel Washington, leading the Virginia forces, in co-operation with
those of Maryland, against a band of Seneca Indians, who were ravaging
the settlements along the Potomac.
The estate continued in the family. His grandson Augustine, the father
of our Washington, was born there in 1694. He was twice married; first
(April 20th, 1715), to Jane, daughter of Caleb Butler, Esq., of
Westmoreland County, by whom he had four children, of whom only two,
Lawrence and Augustine, survived the years of childhood; their mother
died November 24th, 1728, and was buried in the family vault. On the
6th of March, 1730, he married in second nuptials, Mary, the daughter
of Colonel Ball, a young and beautiful girl, said to be the belle of
the northern neck. By her he had four sons, George, Samuel, John
Augustine, and Charles; and two daughters, Elizabeth, or Betty, as she
was commonly called, and Mildred, who died in infancy.
George, the eldest, the subject of this biography, was born on the 22d
of February (11th, O. S.), 1732, in the homestead on Bridges Creek.
This house commanded a view over many miles of the Potomac, and the
opposite shore of Maryland. Not a vestige of it remains. Two or three
decayed fig trees, with shrubs and vines, linger about the place, and
here and there a flower grown wild serves "to mark where a garden has
been." Such at least, was the case a few years since; but these may
have likewise passed away. A stone marks the site of the house, and an
inscription denotes its being the birthplace of Washington.
Not long after the birth of George, his father removed to an estate in
Stafford County, opposite Fredericksburg. The house stood on a rising
ground overlooking a meadow which bordered the Rappahannock. This was
the home of George's boyhood; but this, like that in which he was
born, has disappeared.
In those days the means of instruction in Virginia were limited, and
it was the custom among the wealthy planters to send their sons to
England to complete their education. This was done by Augustine
Washington with his eldest son Lawrence. George, as his intellect
dawned, received the rudiments of education in the best establishment
for the purpose that the neighborhood afforded. It was what was
called, in popular parlance, an "old field school-house;" humble
enough in its pretensions, and kept by one of his father's tenants
named Hobby. The instruction doled out by him must have been the
simplest kind, reading, writing, and ciphering, perhaps; but George
had the benefit of mental and moral culture at home, from an excellent
father. When he was about seven or eight years old his brother
Lawrence returned from England, a well-educated and accomplished
youth. There was a difference of fourteen years in their ages, which
may have been one cause of the strong attachment which took place
between them. Lawrence looked down with a protecting eye upon the boy
whose dawning intelligence and perfect rectitude won his regard; while
George looked up to his manly and cultivated brother as a model in
mind and manners.
Lawrence Washington had something of the old military spirit of the
family, and circumstances soon called it into action. Spanish
depredations on British commerce had recently provoked reprisals.
Admiral Vernon, commander-in-chief in the West Indies, had accordingly
captured Porto Bello, on the Isthmus of Darien. The Spaniards were
preparing to revenge the blow; the French were fitting out ships to
aid them. Troops were embarked in England for another campaign in the
West Indies; a regiment of four battalions was to be raised in the
colonies and sent to join them at Jamaica. There was a sudden outbreak
of military ardor in the province. Lawrence Washington, now twenty-two
years of age, caught the infection. He obtained a captain's commission
in the newly-raised regiment, and embarked with it for the West Indies
in 1740. He served in the joint expeditions of Admiral Vernon and
General Wentworth, and acquired the friendship and confidence of both
of those officers. We have here the secret of that martial spirit so
often cited of George in his boyish days. He had seen his brother
fitted out for the wars. He had heard by letter and otherwise of the
warlike scenes in which he was mingling. All his amusements took a
military turn. He made soldiers of his school-mates; they had their
mimic parades, reviews, and sham fights.
Lawrence Washington returned home in the autumn of 1742. He formed an
attachment to Anne, the eldest daughter of the Honorable William
Fairfax, of Fairfax Comity; his addresses were well received, and they
became engaged. Their nuptials were delayed by the sudden and untimely
death of his father, which took place on the 12th of April, 1743,
after a short but severe attack of gout in the stomach, and when but
forty-nine years of age. George had been absent from home on a visit
during his father's illness, and just returned in time to receive a
parting look of affection.
Augustine Washington left large possessions, distributed by will among
his children. To Lawrence, the estate on the banks of the Potomac,
with other real property, and several shares in iron-works. To
Augustine, the second son by the first marriage, the old homestead and
estate in Westmoreland. The children by the second marriage were
severally well provided for, and George, when he became of age, was to
have the house and lands on the Rappahannock.
In the month of July the marriage of Lawrence with Miss Fairfax took
place. He now settled himself on his estate on the banks of the
Potomac, to which he gave the name of MOUNT VERNON, in honor of the
admiral. Augustine took up his abode at the homestead on Bridges
Creek, and married Anne, daughter and co-heiress of William Aylett,
Esq., of Westmoreland County.
George, now eleven years of age, and the other children of the second
marriage, had been left under the guardianship of their mother, to
whom was intrusted the proceeds of all their property until they
should severally come of age. She proved herself worthy of the trust.
Endowed with plain, direct good sense, thorough conscientiousness, and
prompt decision, she governed her family strictly, but kindly,
exacting deference while she inspired affection. George being her
eldest son, was thought to be her favorite, yet she never gave him
undue preference, and the implicit deference exacted from him in
childhood continued to be habitually observed by him to the day of her
death. He inherited from her a high temper and a spirit of command,
but her early precepts and example taught him to restrain and govern
that temper, and to square his conduct on the exact principles of
equity and justice.
Having no longer the benefit of a father's instructions at home, and
the scope of tuition of Hobby being too limited for the growing wants
of his pupil, George was now sent to reside with Augustine Washington,
at Bridges Creek, and enjoy the benefit of a superior school in that
neighborhood, kept by a Mr. Williams. His education, however, was
plain and practical. He never attempted the learned languages, nor
manifested any inclination for rhetoric or belles-lettres. His object,
or the object of his friends, seems to have been confined to fitting
him for ordinary business. His manuscript school-books still exist,
and are models of neatness and accuracy. Before he was thirteen years
of age he had copied into a volume forms for all kinds of mercantile
and legal papers; bills of exchange, notes of hand, deeds, bonds, and
the like. This early self-tuition gave him throughout life a lawyer's
skill in drafting documents, and a merchant's exactness in keeping
accounts. He was a self-disciplinarian in physical as well as mental
matters, and practised himself in all kinds of athletic exercises,
such as running, leaping, wrestling, pitching quoits, and tossing
bars. His frame, even in infancy, had been large and powerful, and he
now excelled most of his playmates in contests of agility and
strength. Above all, his inherent probity and the principles of
justice on which he regulated all his conduct, even at this early
period of life, were soon appreciated by his school-mates; he was
referred to as an umpire in their disputes, and his decisions were
never reversed. As he had formerly been military chieftain, he was now
legislator of the school; thus displaying in boyhood a type of the
future man.