CAPTURE OF TICONDEROGA AND CROWN POINT.--WASHINGTON APPOINTED
COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF.
At the eastward, the march of the Revolution went on with accelerated
speed. Thirty thousand men had been deemed necessary for the defence
of the country. The provincial Congress of Massachusetts resolved to
raise thirteen thousand six hundred, as its quota. Circular letters
also were issued by the committee of safety, urging the towns to
enlist troops with all speed, and calling for military aid from the
other New England provinces.
Their appeals were promptly answered. Bodies of militia and parties of
volunteers from New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Connecticut hastened
to join the minute men of Massachusetts in forming a camp in the
neighborhood of Boston. The command of the camp was given to General
Artemas Ward, already mentioned. He was a native of Shrewsbury, in
Massachusetts, and a veteran of the seven years' war--having served as
lieutenant-colonel under Abercrombie.
As affairs were now drawing to a crisis and war was considered
inevitable, some bold spirits in Connecticut conceived a project for
the outset. This was the surprisal of the old forts of Ticonderoga and
Crown Point, already famous in the French war. Their situation on Lake
Champlain gave them the command of the main route to Canada; so that
the possession of them would be all-important in case of hostilities.
They were feebly garrisoned and negligently guarded, and abundantly
furnished with artillery and military stores, so much needed by the
patriot army. This scheme was set on foot in the purlieus, as it were,
of the provincial Legislature of Connecticut, then in session. It was
not openly sanctioned by that body, but secretly favored, and money
lent from the treasury to those engaged in it. Sixteen men were thus
enlisted in Connecticut, a greater number in Massachusetts, but the
greatest accession of force was from what was called the "New
Hampshire Grants." This was a region forming the present State of
Vermont. It had long been a disputed territory, claimed by New York
and New Hampshire. The settlers had resisted the attempts of New York
to eject them, and formed themselves into an association called "The
Green Mountain Boys," with Ethan Allen at their head. He and his
lieutenants, Seth Warner and Remember Baker, were outlawed by the
Legislature of New York, and Allen was becoming a kind of Robin Hood
among the mountains when the present crisis changed the relative
position of things as if by magic. Boundary feuds were forgotten amid
the great questions of colonial rights. Ethan Allen at once stepped
forward, a patriot, and volunteered with his Green Mountain Boys to
serve in the popular cause. Thus reinforced, the party, now two
hundred and seventy strong, pushed forward to Castleton, a place
within a few miles of the head of Lake Champlain. Here a council of
war was held on the 2d of May. Ethan Allen was placed at the head of
the expedition. [At this juncture Benedict Arnold, afterwards so sadly
renowned, arrived at Castleton. He too had conceived the project of
surprising Ticonderoga and Crown Point; his plan had been approved by
the Massachusetts committee of safety, and he had received a colonel's
commission. He claimed the right to command the expedition, but the
Green Mountain Boys would follow no leader but Allen. Arnold was fain
to acquiesce. The party arrived at Shoreham, opposite Ticonderoga, on
the night of the 9th of May. The boats were few, and by day-break a
part of the force only had crossed. Allen announced his intention to
make a dash at the fort at once, before the garrison should wake.]
They mounted the hill briskly but in silence, guided by a boy from the
neighborhood. The day dawned as Allen arrived at a sally port. A
sentry pulled trigger on him, but his piece missed fire. He retreated
through a covered way. Allen and his men followed. Another sentry was
struck down by Allen, and begged for quarter. It was granted on
condition of his leading the way instantly to the quarters of the
commandant, Captain Delaplace, who was yet in bed. Being arrived
there, Allen thundered at the door, and demanded a surrender of the
fort. By this time his followers had formed into two lines on the
parade-ground, and given three hearty cheers. The commandant appeared
at his door half-dressed. He gazed at Allen in bewildered
astonishment. "By whose authority do you act?" exclaimed he. "In the
name of the great Jehovah, and the Continental Congress!" replied
Allen with a flourish of his sword and an oath which we do not care to
subjoin. There was no disputing the point. The garrison, like the
commander, had been startled from sleep, and made prisoners as they
rushed forth in their confusion. A surrender accordingly took place. A
great supply of military and naval stores, so important in the present
crisis, was found in the fortress.
Colonel Seth Warner was now sent with a detachment against Crown
Point, which surrendered on the 12th of May without firing a gun; the
whole garrison being a sergeant and twelve men. Here were taken upward
of a hundred cannon. [A plan was also concerted to surprise St. John's
on the Sorel River, the frontier post of Canada. It was led by Arnold
and was eminently successful; a king's sloop of seventy tons, with two
brass six-pounders, four bateaux, and many valuable stores were
captured. The approach of troops from Montreal rendered it necessary
to abandon the post.]
Thus a partisan band, unpractised in the art of war, had, by a series
of daring exploits and almost without the loss of a man, won for the
patriots the command of Lakes George and Champlain, and thrown open
the great highway to Canada.
The second General Congress assembled at Philadelphia on the 10th of
May. Peyton Randolph was again elected as president; but being obliged
to return and occupy his place as speaker of the Virginia Assembly,
John Hancock, of Massachusetts, was elevated to the chair.
A lingering feeling of attachment to the mother country, struggling
with the growing spirit of self-government, was manifested in the
proceedings of this remarkable body. Many of those most active in
vindicating colonial rights, and Washington among the number, still
indulged the hope of an eventual reconciliation, while few
entertained, or at least avowed the idea of complete independence. A
second "humble and dutiful" petition to the king was moved, but met
with strong opposition. John Adams condemned it as an imbecile
measure, calculated to embarrass the proceedings of Congress. He was
for prompt and vigorous action. Other members concurred with him.
A federal union was formed, leaving to each colony the right of
regulating its internal affairs according to its own individual
constitution, but vesting in Congress the power of making peace or
war; of entering into treaties and alliances; of regulating general
commerce; in a word, of legislating on all such matters as regarded
the security and welfare of the whole community. The executive power
was to be vested in a council of twelve, chosen by Congress from among
its own members, and to hold office for a limited time. Such colonies
as had not sent delegates to Congress might yet become members of the
confederacy by agreeing to its conditions. Georgia, which had hitherto
hesitated, soon joined the league, which thus extended from Nova
Scotia to Florida.
Congress lost no time in exercising their federated powers. In virtue
of them, they ordered the enlistment of troops, the construction of
forts in various parts of the colonies, the provision of arms,
ammunition, and military stores; while to defray the expense of these,
and other measures, avowedly of self-defence, they authorized the
emission of notes to the amount of three millions of dollars, bearing
the inscription of "The United Colonies;" the faith of the confederacy
being pledged for their redemption.
The public sense of Washington's military talents and experience, was
evinced in his being chairman of all the committees appointed for
military affairs. Most of the rules and regulations for the army, and
the measures for defence, were devised by him.
The situation of the New England army, actually besieging Boston,
became an early and absorbing consideration. It was without munitions
of war, without arms, clothing, or pay; in fact, without legislative
countenance or encouragement. Unless sanctioned and assisted by
Congress, there was danger of its dissolution. All this was the
subject of much discussion out of doors. The disposition to uphold the
army was general; but the difficult question was, who should be
commander-in-chief? [There was a southern party in Congress who were
urgent for the appointment of a southern general to command, and "so
many of our stanchest men," says Adams, "were in the plan, that we
could carry nothing without it." On the other hand Hancock himself had
an ambition to be appointed to the command. The opinion, however,
evidently inclined in favor of Washington. Adams, rising in his place
one day, urged upon Congress that they should adopt the army at
Cambridge, and appoint a general. He then proceeded to advance the
name of Washington. The subject was postponed to a future day. On the
15th of June, the army was regularly adopted by Congress, and the pay
of the commander-in-chief fixed at five hundred dollars a month.]
In this stage of the business Mr. Johnson, of Maryland, rose and
nominated Washington for the station of commander-in-chief. The
election was by ballot, and was unanimous. It was formally announced
to him by the president on the following day, when he had taken his
seat in Congress. Rising in his place, he briefly expressed his high
and grateful sense of the honor conferred on him and his sincere
devotion to the cause. "But," added he, "lest some unlucky event
should happen unfavorable to my reputation, I beg it may be remembered
by every gentleman in the room, that I this day declare with the
utmost sincerity I do not think myself equal the command I am honored
with. As to pay, I beg leave to assure the Congress that, as no
pecuniary consideration could have tempted me to accept this arduous
employment, at the expense of my domestic ease and happiness, I do not
wish to make any profit of it. I will keep an exact account of my
expenses. Those, I doubt not, they will discharge, and that is all I
desire."
Four major-generals were to be appointed. General Ward was elected the
second in command, and Lee the third. The other two major-generals
were Philip Schuyler, of New York, and Israel Putnam, of Connecticut.
Eight brigadier-generals were likewise appointed; Seth Pomeroy,
Richard Montgomery, David Wooster, William Heath, Joseph Spencer, John
Thomas, John Sullivan, and Nathaniel Greene.
At Washington's express request, his old friend, Major Horatio Gates,
then absent at his estate in Virginia, was appointed adjutant-general,
with the rank of brigadier.
In this momentous change in his condition, which suddenly altered all
his course of life, and called him immediately to the camp,
Washington's thoughts recurred to Mount Vernon and its rural delights,
so dear to his heart, whence he was to be again exiled. His chief
concern, however, was on account of the distress it might cause to his
wife. His letter to her on the subject is written in a tone of manly
tenderness. "You may believe me," writes he, "when I assure you, in
the most solemn manner, that, so far from seeking this appointment, I
have used every endeavor in my power to avoid it, not only from my
unwillingness to part with you and the family, but from a
consciousness of its being a trust too great for my capacity; and I
should enjoy more real happiness in one month with you at home than I
have the most distant prospect of finding abroad if my stay were to be
seven times seven years. But as it has been a kind of destiny that has
thrown me upon this service, I shall hope that my undertaking it is
designed to answer some good purpose...."
On the 20th of June he received his commission from the president of
Congress. The following day was fixed upon for his departure for the
army. He reviewed previously, at the request of their officers,
several militia companies of horse and foot. Every one was anxious to
see the new commander, and rarely has the public _beau ideal_ of a
commander been so fully answered. He was now in the vigor of his days,
forty-three years of age, stately in person, noble in his demeanor,
calm and dignified in his deportment; as he sat his horse, with manly
grace, his military presence delighted every eye, and wherever he went
the air rang with acclamations.