{GEORGE III. 1776–1777}
Affairs of Ireland..... Debates on America, &c.
Prorogation of Parliament..... Sentiments of Foreign Powers,
&c. Evacuation of Boston by the British..... Mission of
Indian Chiefs..... Affairs of Canada..... Unsuccessful
Attack on Sullivan’s Island..... Affairs in Virginia.....
Declaration of Independence by Congress..... Expedition
against New York..... Defeat of the Americans on Long
Island..... Conference on Staten Island..... Capture of New
York..... Capture of Fort Washington..... Capture of Fort
Lee, and Retreat of Washington..... Expedition against Rhode
Island..... Successes of General Carleton..... Measures of
Congress..... Defection of the Colonists, &c. Meeting
of Parliament..... Debates on America..... Attempt to fire
His Majesty’s Dock-yard at Portsmouth.
AFFAIRS OF IRELAND.
After the Christinas recess, the first important measure of parliament
related to Ireland. Addresses from America had been sent to the people
of that country, and they soon produced their intended effects among
them; especially among the people of Dublin, and the Protestant
dissenters. This was first seen in the acts of the sheriffs and
common-council of that city. After voting thanks to Lord Howard, on his
resignation, and to those peers who had supported the constitution, and,
in opposition to a weak and wicked administration, protested against the
American restraining acts in imitation of the city of London, they sent
over a strong petition and remonstrance to the king. This was opposed by
the lord mayor and aldermen, and the common-council then resolved that
whoever refused to consent to a dutiful petition, tending to undeceive
the king, and by which the effusion of one drop of blood of the subjects
of Great Britain might be prevented, was an enemy to the constitution.
The Irish parliament was not behindhand with the common-council in
exhibiting sympathy for the cause of the Americans. Soon after it
assembled, which was on the 10th of October, the members rejected a
money-bill transmitted from England, upon the plea that it had been
altered in council. On the 23rd of November, still more unequivocal
symptoms of a refractory spirit appeared in the Irish parliament. Lord
Harcourt, the lord-lieutenant, having proposed to the commons to send
out of the kingdom 4000 men, for the American service, and accept
in their stead an equal number of foreign Protestant troops, to be
maintained at the expense of the British crown, they reluctantly
conceded to the first proposition, and absolutely refused to admit the
foreign substitutes.
These embarrassing matters were brought before the English parliament.
On the 15th of February, Mr. Thomas Townshend moved for a committee of
inquiry, on the allegation that the lord-lieutenant had made an offer
of the public money without consulting the British house of commons, and
had thereby been guilty of a breach of privilege. Ministers were in
a dilemma. Taken by surprise no two of them agreed in their modes of
defence, or took the same ground in warding off the attack. Thus while
one asserted that the Irish speaker had misunderstood the viceroy’s
message, which only meant that his majesty would pay the 4000
foreigners, another contended that when the Irish establishment was
increased, the king had engaged to pay 12,000 troops in that country,
except in case of invasion or rebellion in England, and that the present
demand not being within these exceptions, his majesty should, therefore,
be absolved from his promise. But whatever ground ministers took it was
clear that they or the viceroy of Ireland had been at fault, and had
not Lord Harcourt been popular both with “the king’s friends” and the
opposition, it is probable that he would have been censured by the
house. The motion was, however, quashed by a large majority, and another
motion on the same subject was equally unavailing.
DEBATES ON AMERICA, ETC.
On the 20th of February, Mr. Fox made a motion for a committee to
inquire into the causes of the ill-success of our arms in North America,
and the defection of the Canadians. In a speech of considerable power,
Fox maintained that the ultimate design of government was to overthrow
the constitution. He chiefly confined himself to an inquiry whether the
proceedings of ministers had produced the desired effects. To this end
he pursued a detail of ministerial operations beginning with the Boston
Port Bill, in the course of which he endeavoured to show that folly
existed in the cabinet, and that their plans were conceived in ignorance
and executed in imbecility. At the same time he inveighed against the
disgraceful servility of parliament, and concluded by remarking that
none would object to inquiry but those who were culpable themselves.
Unable to resist his reasoning, ministers attempted to elude it, but
their arguments rather weakened than strengthened their cause. Lord
North, indeed, candidly admitted that some of his plans had miscarried;
arguing, in extenuation of their failure, that it was impossible to
foresee every event. He concluded by saying that he was ready to resign,
whenever the house should withdraw its confidence. There was no danger,
however, of this extremity; for, though excited by the speech of the
mover, several friends of government joined in calling for an inquiry,
the motion was negatived by a majority of two hundred and forty against
one hundred and four.
On the 29th of February, copies of treaties lately-entered into with
the Landgrave of Hesse-Cassel, the Duke of Brunswick, and the Hereditary
Prince of Hesse Darmstadt, for the hire of troops, to the amount of
about 17,000 men, for the American service, were laid before the house
of commons. Lord North moved to refer these compacts to a committee; on
doing which he dilated on the fairness of the terms, and dwelt on the
advantages of employing foreign troops. By the opposition, however,
Great Britain was represented as disgraced in the sight of all Europe,
by applying to the petty states of Germany for succours against her own
subjects. They complained also, that the troops had been obtained at an
immoderately high price; £7 10s. levy-money being paid for every man.
The princes, likewise, it was said, who let them out like slaves, or
beasts of draught, were to be subsidised besides; the Landgrave of
Hesse-Cassel, who furnished 13,000 men, being guaranteed £10,281 per
annum, and the Hereditary Prince of Hesse, who furnished 688 men, £6000
annually. Moreover, it was objected that the King of England had ensured
the dominions of these princes against foreign attacks, while their
troops were employed in America. Finally, the opposition argued that it
was injudicious and dangerous to hire men who had nothing to do with the
quarrel in question. Lord Irnham, in opposing ministers, made a good use
of the weapons of ridicule. He remarked:—“I shall say little as to the
feelings of those princes who can sell their subjects for such purposes.
We have read of the humourist Sancho’s wish,—‘that, if he were a
prince, all his subjects should be blackamoors, as he could, by the sale
of them, easily turn them into ready money;’ but that wish, however it
may appear ridiculous and unbecoming a sovereign, is much more innocent
than a prince’s availing himself of his vassals for the purpose of
sacrificing them in such destructive war, where he has the additional
crime of making them destroy much better and nobler beings than
themselves.” Other members maintained that these German soldiers,
on arriving in America, would be induced to accept lands from the
colonists, join the banner of independence, and fight against the
monarch who purchased their services. But argument was of no avail: the
question for referring the treaties to a committee was carried by two
hundred and forty-two to eighty-eight, and subsequently for agreeing to
the report by one hundred and twenty to forty-eight. One amendment was
carried on the motion of Colonel Barrè, namely, for an address to his
majesty to equip the German troops with British manufactures.
In the house of lords the whole strength of the opposition was arrayed
against the treaties. The Duke of Richmond moved an address not only
to countermand all foreign troops, but to forego hostilities. His grace
observed, in his speech, that ever since the year 1702, the German
princes had been rising in their demands; that the present bargain was
harder than any former one; and that the cost of the mercenaries
engaged would not be less than one million and a half annually. He then
animadverted on the large proportion of officers employed, and pointed
out the danger of keeping so many foreigners under their own generals.
He took occasion, also, to speak again of the unseen, overruling
influence which had for so many years pervaded all our councils, though
it was manifest to all that this influence proceeded from the king
himself. After a long and animated speech, the Duke of Richmond was
followed by other noble lords who enforced his sentiments. It was stated
that neither Marlborough’s campaign of 1704, which saved the German
empire, nor the campaign by which the Earl of Chatham had obtained
Canada, had cost so much money as that of Boston during the last year.
It was also urged that the nation was incapable of bearing new taxes or
of supporting the war in America; and that, if to the American war were
added a rupture with France and Spain, and the whole house of Bourbon,
the ruin of England was inevitable. The population of America was
likewise pompously displayed, and the termination of all connexion
between England and her colonies predicted. On their part ministers
supported their measures by tracing the history of the colonies, and
exhibiting their uniform disposition to factious resistance. Lord
Temple, who had again differed with his brother-in-law the Earl of
Chatham, strongly reprobated the intemperance of the opposition.
He remarked:—“The next easterly wind will convey to America every
expression used in this debate; and I would not that the nakedness
and weakness of my country should stand confirmed by the sanction and
authority of such testimony. It is time to act, and not to talk; for
the die is cast, the sword is drawn, and the scabbard thrown away. Past
experience certainly will not justify confidence in ministers; but I
would not, by declaring our utter inability to reduce the colonists,
furnish a golden bridge for an ignominious, ruinous, and disgraceful
peace. I have heard the war called unjust: but who in this house have a
right to call it so? Not those who voted for the Declaratory Act: those
only who denied our right of taxation; and how very few were they! I
cannot approve of recalling troops, and publishing the terms to which
you will yield, until there is reasonable assurance of their not being
rejected. When the happy moment for conciliation shall arrive, I hope
ministers will seize it: I wish them success: at least at such a crisis
I will not hang on the wheels of government, rendering that which
already is but too difficult more impracticable.” Upon a division, the
Duke of Richmond’s motion was negatived by one hundred to thirty-two;
but the proposed address was entered on the journals, with the names of
ten peers protesting against its rejection.
Despite this “vast and invincible majority,” as it was called by Burke,
on the 14th of March the Duke of Grafton moved for an address beseeching
his majesty that a proclamation might be issued, declaring that if the
revolted colonies, within a reasonable time, before or after the
arrival of the troops in America, should present a petition to the
commander-in-chief, or to the commissioners appointed under the late
act, setting forth what they considered to be their just rights and real
grievances, hostilities should be suspended, and the said petition be
referred to parliament for consideration. In making this motion, the
Duke of Grafton asserted that both France and Spain were arming, and
that two French gentlemen had already been to America, and had had
conferences with Washington and with congress. These assertions,
however, were treated by ministers as chimerical, and Lord Weymouth,
secretary for foreign affairs, assured the house that there never was a
time when Great Britain had less to fear from foreign powers, and that
every courier brought assurances of the pacific intentions and friendly
feelings from all the courts of Europe. After a long debate, in which
old arguments were reiterated on both sides of the house, the duke’s
motion was negatived, by a majority of ninety-one against thirty-one.
About a fortnight after this Mr. Hartley presented the form of another
address in the commons, which was conceived in a better spirit, but it
shared the same fate as that of the Duke of Grafton. On the 10th of May
Mr. Sawbridge, who had succeeded Wilkes as lord mayor, made a similar
motion, for placing the Americans in the same situation as the Irish.
During the debates on this motion, Mr. Temple Luttrel, a younger brother
of the colonel, uttered very violent language; declaring that the
king’s speech was a sanguinary parole, and the ministry an infernal
administration: quoting the well-known observation of the philosopher
Thales; “that of all wild beasts, the worst was a tyrant, and of all
tame ones, a flatterer.” The motion was negatived, as was also a motion
subsequently made by General Conway, for inspecting the powers vested in
his majesty’s commissioners proceeding to America.
PROROGATION OF PARLIAMENT.
On the 23rd of May, at the moment when his majesty was expected in the
house of lords to prorogue parliament, Mr. Hartley moved in the commons,
an address, praying that parliament might not be prorogued, but continue
sitting by adjournments during the summer, in order that they might be
ready to receive information concerning the proceedings in America,
and to provide for contingencies. This motion was, however, negatived
without a division, and soon after the commons were summoned to the
upper house for the purpose of prorogation. In his speech the king said
that no alteration had taken place, or was likely to take place, in his
relations with foreign courts. He represented the country as engaged
in a great national cause, attended with great difficulty and with much
expense. As, however, the essential rights and interests of the empire
were deeply concerned in the issue of it, and could have no safety or
security but in that constitutional subordination for which they
were contending, he felt convinced, he said, that no price would be
considered too high in order to obtain the wished-for objects. He still
hoped his rebellious subjects might be awakened to a sense of their
errors, and make a voluntary submission; but if not, he trusted to
effect this object by a full exertion of the forces with which he had
been entrusted by parliament.
SENTIMENTS OF FOREIGN POWERS, ETC.
Notwithstanding the declarations of the secretary of state for foreign
affairs, and likewise of his majesty, that there was nothing to fear
from foreign powers, it is evident that at this very period there was
much to fear from those quarters. France and Spain both smarted under
the disgrace of the late wars, and burned for revenge, whence there was
every reason to apprehend that the armaments they were preparing, under
various pretences, would ultimately be employed against England. Then
again, Frederic of Prussia entertained strong feelings of resentment
against us, for the manner in which he had been treated during the late
war, and the Czarina of Russia had absolutely refused her promised aid.
Moreover the naval superiority of Great Britain had excited the envy of
almost every other state; and they longed to see it diminished. It does
not appear, indeed, that any foreign potentate looked with an approving
or an unjaundiced eye upon the part taken by Britain, except the
Emperor of Austria, and as this part was in strict accordance with the
monarchical principles of the Austrian court, his aid might fairly be
expected. These well-known sentiments of foreign powers had doubtless
the effect of stimulating the Americans in their factious opposition to
their mother country, and England ought to have been warned by them. But
England itself was like a divided house upon this subject. The Americans
in fact were more encouraged by the people of England in their rebellion
than by the hostile sentiments of foreign powers. Recent pages fully
prove that they had their advocates in parliament,—men who not only
justified their proceedings, but likewise exhibited to them in their
speeches “the nakedness of the land,” in strange, unjustifiable, and
hyperbolical language. Like the false spies among the Hebrews, they
spread an evil report of their country’s resources, and hence held it
forth to the contempt of the colonists. In this they were also aided by
the political writers of the day. The press teemed with publications in
favour of the colonists, and every breeze wafted them across the mighty
waters to add fuel to the flames. One of the most conspicuous of these
writers was Dr. Price, whose work entitled, “Observations on the Nature
of Civil Liberty, &c.;” sought to depreciate the British government, and
extolled the spirit which gave rise to the American revolution. Powerful
pens, as that of Dr. Johnson, were, it is true, employed on the other
side of the question,—but sentiments in accordance with the feelings
of an individual or a whole people will ever maintain a preponderating
influence. Moreover, it must be confessed that those writers who took
the part of government often wrote in an illiberal and unenlightened
spirit, so that their emanations had an equally powerful effect in
confirming the Americans in their views and designs, as those which
proceeded from the pens of their advocates. From every party, in
truth, and on every hand, the colonists received encouragement in their
hostility to the British crown.
EVACUATION OF BOSTON BY THE BRITISH.
While the British parliament was indulging in oratorical debate, and
political writers were dipping their pens in gall, the Americans had
been actively engaged with the sword. During the winter, both the
British army in Boston, and the blockading army of the Americans, by
which that town was surrounded, had undergone many miseries. Washington,
however, was active in keeping up the flagging spirits of his
troops, and they were further revived by the constant arrival of
provision-waggons, ammunition, artillery, and reinforcements. At length
Washington was induced to commence offensive operations. Ploughed Hill,
Cobble Hill, and Lechemeres Point were successively occupied during
the month of December, and the approaches of the American troops were
carried within half-a-mile of the British works on Bunker’s Hill.
Congress recommended an immediate assault upon Boston; but Washington
asked for more time, to complete his approaches and make his
preparations. This was allowed him, and in the month of January a
council of war was held in the camp—some of the members of congress
being present—when it was resolved, that the British troops should be
attacked before any reinforcements should arrive. At the same time it
was resolved that thirteen regiments of militia should be required from
Massachusets and the neighbouring colonies, that the attempt might be
made with good prospect of success. These regiments were supplied early
in February, but Washington was compelled to forego an immediate attack
from the state of the weather. It was then exceedingly mild, and he
wanted ice to enable him to pass the river. But this was not long
wanting. About the middle of February the cold became intense, and the
ice was sufficiently strong to bear the troops. Still the attack was
delayed. Another council of war was held, and it was unanimously’
resolved, that the attempt was too hazardous. Soon after, however,
Washington received intelligence that a part of the British troops in
the town was expected at New York, and from various appearances among
them he conceived that there was an intention of evacuating Boston.
He now resolved to commence the attack. On the 2nd of March he began a
heavy bombardment and cannonade on the town and on the British lines,
which was continued for two days. On the night of the 4th of March
Washington took a more decisive step. The heights of Dorchester
commanded the shipping in the harbour and nearly the whole town, and yet
Lord Howe had taken no more care to occupy this hill than General
Gage had taken to occupy Bunker’s Hill. In the midst of the roar of
artillery, therefore, Washington dispatched General Thomas, with
2000 troops and 300 labourers, to take possession of the heights of
Dorchester; and at the break of day the British beheld the hill occupied
and strongly fortified. They had scarcely recovered from their surprise
when Thomas began to cannonade the town and the ships of war, his
labourers still working with ardour, in order to render his position
still more formidable. General Howe saw that he must either dislodge
Thomas, or evacuate Boston, and he sent Lord Percy with 3000 men to
effect his dislodgement. Percy embarked in transports, and fell down to
the castle in order to proceed up the river to a low strip of land at
the foot of Dorchester Hill; but a storm arose, and he was compelled to
return to the harbour. It was providential for the British troops
that this storm arose; for the heights of Dorchester are almost
perpendicular, and the force was hence insufficient to accomplish
the enterprise. And the task was soon rendered more difficult. While
Washington still kept up a terrible fire, more men were sent to the
heights; and Thomas, on the advice of Colonel Mifflin, chained together
a number of hogsheads filled with sand and stones, which were to be
rolled down the hill, should General Howe renew the attempt, upon his
advancing columns. The British commander, however, became sensible of
the madness of such an attempt, and resolved to evacuate the town. An
intimation was sent to Washington that Boston would be spared from the
flames if the troops were suffered to embark without molestation. This
notice determined Washington to refrain from hostilities, and in ten
days, on the 17th of March, the British troops quitted the cradle of
the revolution, and set sail for Halifax, in Nova Scotia. Before they
departed the British troops destroyed Castle William, but they
left their barracks uninjured, with a large quantity of cannon and
ammunition, of which Washington was in want. This was a great blunder;
for if they could not have been carried away they should have been
destroyed. And this was not the only blunder committed. In sailing
away, Howe left no cruizer in Boston Bay to warn the ships expected from
England that the place was not in our possession; and a few days after,
when Washington had taken up his quarters in the town, several of our
store-ships sailed into the harbour, and fell into the hands of the
Americans, before they discovered that Boston was lost to King George.
Howe’s negligence was even still more disastrous in its consequences
than this; for Lieutenant-colonel Archibald Campbell sailed into the
harbour with seven hundred fresh troops from England, and he was taken,
and became the subject for severe and brutal retaliation. The loyalists
who remained in Boston became also the objects of vengeance; they
were tried as the betrayers of their country, and their effects were
confiscated, while the very estates of the emigrants were seized, and
passed into the hands of the victors. It was a proud triumph for the
Americans. Congress, elated by it, passed a vote of thanks to Washington
and his army for their acquisition of Boston, and directed a gold medal
to be struck in commemoration of the event.
{GEORGE III. 1776–1777}
MISSION OF INDIAN CHIEFS.
Untutored as the savage is, many a lesson may be gathered from his lips
and his conduct. Before Boston was evacuated by the British troops, the
Oneidas and some other Indian tribes had sent to the provincial
assembly a deputation of their chiefs, on a mission which displayed
much practical humanity and good feeling. The purport of this mission
is disclosed in the address of these chiefs to the assembly. It reads
thus:—“Brothers, we have heard of the unhappy differences and great
contention between you and Old England. We wonder greatly and are
troubled in our minds. Brothers, possess your minds in peace respecting
us Indians. We cannot intermeddle in this dispute between brethren:
the quarrel seems to us so unnatural; and we bear an equal affection to
both. Should the great king apply to us for aid we shall deny him: if
the colonies apply we shall refuse. We Indians cannot find or recollect,
in the traditions of our ancestors, a case similar to this. Brothers, if
it were an alien that had struck you we should look into the matter. We
hope, through the wise government and good pleasure of the Great Spirit,
your distresses may be soon removed, and the dark clouds dispersed.
Brothers, as we have declared for peace, we desire you will not apply to
our Indian brethren for assistance. Let us Indians be all of one mind,
and you white people settle the disputes between yourselves.” But
notwithstanding this wise policy of these Indian chiefs, many of the
savage tribes bordering on the great lakes and rivers were induced by
British agents to wield the tomahawk in behalf of “the great king,”
and committed ravages which brought a stain upon the fair fame of Great
Britain.
AFFAIRS OF CANADA.
At the close of the session of the British parliament good news had
arrived from Canada. Congress had voted nine regiments for service in
that colony, and General Schuyler was ordered to prepare a number of
batteaux to transport these troops down the lakes and the Sorel to
the scene of action. At this juncture news arrived of the death of
Montgomery, and the critical situation of Arnold. This news urged
congress to renewed exertions. They did all they could to hasten their
reinforcements, and called upon the provincial conventions to collect
all the money they could for the use of the army in Canada. Men and
specie were, however, not easily procured; and, moreover, had the
troops been ready on the instant, they could not have marched during the
winter, as the ground was covered with snow, and the lakes all frozen
over. On the opening of spring, however, by the 1st of April, the force
in Canada was raised to 1,800 men. But coined money was not forthcoming
for their use, and Arnold issued a proclamation, making the paper-money
of congress current, under promise of redeeming it with specie in four
months, and threatening all who refused this paper in exchange for their
commodities or labour with destruction. The French Canadians had no
faith in the paper-money, or in the promises of Arnold, and the troops,
therefore, were under the necessity of helping themselves to what they
wanted. This was fatal to the American cause in Canada. The Canadians
were told that the troops were come to liberate them from tyranny and
oppression, but they concluded that they had only come to plunder
them. Added to this, the New Englanders laughed at the Catholic church
ceremonies, and insulted some of the priests, whence they insured
universal hatred and vengeance. The situation of Arnold was a critical
one, and it was rendered more so by the appearance of the small-pox
among his troops, which greatly thinned his ranks. Still Arnold resolved
to persevere. He again set up his battery before the walls of Quebec,
hoping to take it before it should be relieved by reinforcements from
England. Before, however, he could make any impression, General Wooster
arrived as his superior in command; and, taking offence, he retired to
Montreal, there to assume a separate command. Many of the Americans also
left the army and returned home, under the pretence that the period of
their engagement was expired. General Thomas arrived on the 1st of
May, and the force then amounted to 2000 men. Had these troops been
effective, and had the magazines been well stored, Thomas might have had
some chance of success, but such was not the case; and to complete his
dilemma, the river St. Lawrence began to open below, and intelligence
arrived that English ships of war were daily expected. Thomas therefore
resolved to make a precipitate retreat, and he began to remove the sick
to the Three Rivers, and to embark his artillery and stores in boats and
canoes. Before these operations were completed, however, three English
ships which had forced their way through the ice arrived before Quebec,
and these vessels instantly threw on shore two companies of the 29th
regiment, with some marines and sailors. Struck with consternation,
the Americans began to fly in all directions, and General Carleton then
sallied out in pursuit of them. Notwithstanding, the enemy retreated
so precipitately that Carleton could do nothing more than capture their
artillery and stores, about a hundred fugitives, and nearly all their
sick, who had been left behind. Many, however, were afterwards found
concealed and starving in the woods; and Carleton, as humane as he was
brave, treated the whole of the prisoners with great humanity. The
rest of the troops crossed the St. Lawrence, and formed at the forts of
Chamblée and St. John, on the Sorel, where General Thomas died of the
small-pox.
Thus successful, General Carleton dispatched Captain Forster to a strong
fort, called the Cedars, situate thirty miles west of Montreal, and
which was garrisoned by four hundred Americans. This fort surrendered,
on condition that the garrison should be preserved from the ferocity of
the Indians. In the attack on this fort one Indian, on the side of the
English, was slain, and this excited the passions of the red men to
revenge. On the day after the surrender of the Cedars Forster heard
that a party of the enemy were marching from another point to secure the
fort, and he ordered one hundred Indians to place themselves in ambush
on both sides of the road in a wood through which the enemy must
pass. This stratagem was completely successful. All the Americans were
captured, and when the Indians had brought them to the front of the fort
they prepared to put them to death, in atonement for the blood of their
tribe which had been shed. This was an ancient custom, and it was with
difficulty that Captain Forster induced them to dispense with it: it
was only effected by conciliating them with presents. From the Cedars,
Forster proceeded to Vaudreuil, about six miles northward. Arnold made
an attempt to dislodge him, but was obliged to retreat, and return to
St. Anne’s, on the island of Montreal. Being encumbered with prisoners,
Forster judged it expedient to release them; Arnold promising to
return an equal number of royal troops within two months. This compact,
however, was shamefully violated by congress, under pretence that
Forster had treated the prisoners taken at the Cedars in a barbarous
manner—a pretence which was utterly unfounded. In the meantime General
Carleton being reinforced by more troops from England, repaired to
Three Rivers, about midway between Quebec and Montreal. Imagining that
Carleton had only sent a detachment, General Sullivan, who had succeeded
to the command of the troops on the death of Thomas, ordered General
Thomson and Colonel St. Clair to cross the St. Lawrence, and to make a
night attack on the forces of the English. These two officers did not
arrive at Three Rivers till the day dawned, and as soon as they were
seen the alarm was given all along the bank, and a fire was opened
upon them from some ships. They landed from their boats, and in their
confusion ran into a broad morass, where they were attacked in front by
General Fraser, and in their rear by General Nesbit; while Major Grant
took possession of a bridge, which rendered their escape over the river
Des Loups impracticable. Many were killed and wounded, and General
Thompson, with Colonel Irvine, and about two hundred men, were taken
prisoners. The rest fell back in disorder across a bog into a wood on
their left, and on the next day crossed the bridge which Major Grant had
occupied, and which was by some mistake now left unguarded, whence they
reached their boats, and escaped to their main body at Sorel. General
Carleton embarked the mass of his forces and pursued them by water;
but when he arrived at Sorel he found that place evacuated, and the
batteries dismantled. General Burgoyne, who had arrived with the last
reinforcements from England, was charged with the pursuit of Sullivan,
while Carleton himself recrossed the St. Lawrence to look after Arnold.
That officer, however, glad to make his escape from Canada, embarked his
men, crossed over the river at Long Isle, and joined Sullivan at
Fort St. John, on the Sorel. The two American generals did not deem
themselves safe at this fort, and they therefore set fire to it, as well
as that of Chamblée, and continued their retreat up the river. They
were followed by Burgoyne; but when that general reached the head of the
Sorel, and saw the lake beyond it well supplied with armed vessels,
he desisted from the pursuit, and rejoined General Carleton. By these
events, Canada was entirely freed from the American arms; and General
Carleton commenced preparations for the recovery of Ticonderoga, and the
dominion of the lakes Champlain and St. George, now held by the enemy.
The American generals, Sullivan and Arnold, threw themselves upon the
isle Aux Noix, where they were secure from the enemy, but where many of
their men perished of fever.
UNSUCCESSFUL ATTACK ON SULLIVAN’S ISLAND.
While success attended the British arms in Canada, an expedition sent
against the southern states totally failed. Governor Martin had been
strenuously exerting himself to recover his lost province of North
Carolina, by means of a body of Highlanders, who had recently emigrated
to America, and another body of resolute men, called “Regulators,”
who lived principally by the chase. These two bodies were commanded by
Colonels Mac Donald and Mac Leod. They were embodied at Cross Creek, but
having attempted to open their way to Wilmington, where they expected
some regular troops were to be landed, they were circumvented by
a superior insurgent force, and beaten. Mac Leod, with most of his
Highland followers, were slain, and Mac Donald, with some of the
“Regulators,” were taken prisoners; while the rest fled, and returned to
their old hunter life in the back country. The attempt which was made by
Governor Martin, indeed, seems altogether to have been premature; but he
appears to have been induced to make it from the delay of the arrival of
General Clinton and his troops, who were destined for this service.
No second attempt could be made to erect the royal standard in the
Carolinas, till Clinton arrived from England, and then it was found to
be too late. He reached Cape Fear in the month of May, and immediately
took the command of some troops which had previously been conveyed to
those coasts by Sir Robert Parker. The general’s instructions were to
endeavour, by proclamations and other means, to induce the Carolinas
to return to their allegiance; to gain information as to the temper
and disposition of those provinces; and if he found the royalists
sufficiently numerous to take up arms, to leave a part of his
forces with them, and then to repair to New York to meet the
commander-in-chief, General Howe. Clinton found no encouragement, and
met with no signs of co-operation; and he, together with Parker, tired
of doing nothing, resolved to go beyond their commission, by capturing
or destroying Charleston, the capital of South Carolina, the trade of
which town supplied the two colonies with the nerve of war. To this
end they sailed from Cape Fear on the 4th of June, and arriving off
Charleston they took possession of Long Island, where there were many
royalists, but who had previously been disarmed. Near Charleston,
however, and covering-its harbour, was another island, called Sullivan’s
Island, in which there were armed insurgents and formidable batteries.
There was a projecting point of land, also, called Hadrell’s Point,
which almost touched this island, and on which General Lee, an
Englishman, and rival of Washington, in the American service, was posted
with a large force of regular troops and militiamen, and some artillery.
Notwithstanding these formidable appearances, however, Clinton
persevered in his design of taking this island. He constructed two
batteries on Long Island, answering to those of the enemy, and to
co-operate with the floating-batteries destined to cover the landing
of the troops. The event was most disastrous. On the 28th of June the
fleet, under Parker, anchored in front of the American fort, and opened
a tremendous fire upon it; while Clinton seconded the efforts of the
admiral by firing from the batteries on Long Island. In the midst of
the roar of cannon the troops embarked in the rear of some floating
batteries in boats and some small craft; but they had scarcely left
the beach when they were ordered to return to their encampment on Long
Island. Meanwhile the ships continued their firing upon the fort, which
was responded to with equal vigour by the Americans. The roar of cannon
ceased not till long after night-fall, and then the British fleet
exhibited a sad and desolating spectacle; for while the fire of the
ships made but comparatively little impression upon the fort, the
fire from the fort did fearful execution upon the fleet. The following
description of this day of carnage is from the pen of Burke. He
says:—“Whilst the continued thunder from the ships seemed sufficient
to shake the firmness of the bravest enemy, and daunt the courage of
the most veteran soldier, the return made by the fort could not fail
of calling for the respect as well as of highly incommoding the British
seamen. In the midst of that dreadful roar of artillery, they stuck with
the greatest constancy and firmness to their guns; fired deliberately
and slowly, and took a cool and effective aim. The ships suffered
accordingly: they were torn to pieces, and the slaughter was dreadful.
Never did British valour shine more conspicuous, nor never did our
marine, in an engagement of the same nature with any foreign enemy,
experience as rude an encounter. The springs of the Bristol’s cable
being cut by the shot, she lay for some time exposed in such a manner as
to be most dreadfully raked. The brave Captain Morris, after receiving a
number of wounds, which would have sufficiently justified a gallant man
in retiring from his station, still, with a noble obstinacy, disdained
to quit his duty, until his arm, being at length shot off, he was
carried away in a condition which did not afford a possibility of
recovery. It is said, that the quarter-deck of the Bristol was at one
time cleared of every person but the commodore, who stood alone, a
spectacle of intrepidity and firmness, which has seldom been equalled,
never exceeded.” When the firing ceased the Bristol and Experiment,
ships of fifty guns each, were left almost wrecks upon the water,
but the frigates had not suffered so severely. It was expected by the
Americans that most of them would be unable to pass the bar; but,
with the exception of the Actæon frigate, which got aground at the
commencement of the action, all dropped down with the tide beyond the
reach of the guns in the fort. It is clear that Admiral Parker did all
that could have been done to effect his object, but skill and valour
were of no avail. The fortress was built of palmetto-wood, and therefore
it was little damaged; the shot which struck it being buried in its soft
materials. Then again, the bombs that were thrown into the fort were
instantly swallowed up in a morass that was constructed in the middle,
and therefore failed in their design. While the English ships, indeed,
were swept of their men, the loss of the garrison did not exceed ten men
killed and about twenty wounded. The Americans themselves accounted for
their victory by the strength of the fort; the care they had taken
to secure its approaches; the courage and skill displayed by Colonel
Moultrie, who commanded in the fort; and the presence of Lee on the
projecting point opposite the island. On the other hand, the English
attributed their defeat to the non-co-operation of the army, which
appears to have been declined by Parker, he having full confidence in
the powers of the fleet. But whatever may have been the cause of the
result, it is certain that by the repluse of this armament the southern
states obtained a long respite from the horrors of war, and that it had
the effect of raising the depressed spirits of the colonists: by it the
spell which had long attached itself to the British navy was broken.
After the disaster General Clinton set sail in the Solby frigate with
his troops to join General Howe, but the rest of the ships remained at
Long Island to refit.
AFFAIRS IN VIRGINIA.
During these events Lord Dunmore had been making a last effort to
retrieve the king’s affairs in Virginia. With the consent of General
Howe he sent Mr. Connelly, a native of Pennsylvania, to induce the
people in the back and inland parts of the colony, together with several
of the Indian tribes, to take up arms for government. Connelly had
already reached the back-settlements, but soon after his arrival he was
recognized by a tradesman to whom he was known, who denounced him to one
of the nearest revolutionary committees. Connelly was seized with all
his papers, and sent to Philadelphia, where he was put in irons and
treated with the utmost severity. The scheme of Lord Dunmore was
developed by his papers, and the whole was in consequence frustrated.
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE BY CONGRESS.
It required no prophetic eye to foresee that at no very distant period,
notwithstanding the sentiments of loyalty expressed in their papers by
congress, they would, nevertheless, take one vast stride in the march of
revolution and proclaim their independence. As early as the 15th of
May the congress, in their sitting at Philadelphia, resolved:—“That it
should be recommended to all the various assemblies and conventions in
the United States of America, where no form of government adequate to
the exigencies of affairs had yet been adopted, to establish such a
constitution as should be most conducive to the public welfare and
security.” This resolution was published in the newspapers, with a
preamble, stating that as the king and parliament of Great Britain had
excluded the inhabitants of the colonies from the protection of their
mother country, it behoved them to abolish the power and constitution
which had been derived from thence. By this measure of congress the
mask was at length thrown off, and many Americans now stepped forward
to claim the honour of having been the originator of the grand idea.
The glory is, however, generally attributed by Americans to Benjamin
Franklin;—the man who, while in England, strove with all his might, and
in the depth of guile, to make the Earl of Chatham, and all the great
orators of opposition, believe that the wish was furthest from his
thought;—that he earnestly desired to preserve the connexion of the
colonies with his “dear old mother country.” While at the same time,
however, that American writers attribute the origin of the grand idea to
Benjamin Franklin, they admit that it was the pen of an English writer
that rendered the most effective service in this particular—a pen
that was wielded by the infidel, Thomas Paine! Originally a Quaker and
stay-maker in Norfolk, Paine first made himself known as a political
writer by the publication of a pamphlet. This pamphlet recommended
him to the notice of Franklin, who advised the poor author to try
his fortune in America, now affording a wide field for the talents of
adventurers. Paine accordingly settled at Philadelphia in 1774, where
he became first a contributor to newspapers and periodicals, and then
editor of the “Philadelphia Magazine.” By this time the public mind had
been prepared by various productions issued from the press, to entertain
thoughts of independence. Paine turned his wit to this subject, and in
1776 he brought out his famous pamphlet, called “Common Sense,” which
contained bolder sentiments than any written by all the other various
pamphleteers. His production met with unparalleled success. Copies were
distributed throughout the colonies, and “Common Sense” became literally
the study of the whole American world. It was even read, admired, and
eulogised in England by men of sense and talent: Burke calls it
“that celebrated pamphlet which prepared the minds of the people for
independence.” Its chief merit, however, seems to have consisted
in rough, sarcastic wit, which was well calculated to flatter the
prejudices as well as to inflame the resentment of the American people.
The effects it produced were wonderful. Multitudes were brought over by
it to the cause of independence, who but a few months before would have
regarded the proposition with abhorrence. As for the writer he at once
gained by it the topmost pinnacle of the temple of popularity. The
legislature of Pennsylvania voted him £500; the university of the same
province conferred on him the degree of Master of Arts; he was elected
member of the American Philosophical Society, founded by Franklin; and
he was subsequently made clerk to the committee of foreign affairs,
while he was consulted by all members of government and congress as an
oracle.
The recommendation of congress to the various assemblies and conventions
in the United States of America met with all due attention, and many
prepared for the organization of a new government. Thus the convention
of New York appointed a committee to take the resolution into
consideration, and on the 27th of May this committee presented a report,
replete with democratic principle, and going the whole length which
the recommendation involved. The men of the hot south, however, the
Virginians, went to work in a less roundabout manner than those of the
other states. The convention of that colony, which met at Williamsburg
on the 6th of May, instructed their delegates at congress to propose to
that body an immediate declaration of independence. Accordingly, on the
7th of June, Richard Henry Lee, one of their delegates, moved that the
congress should forthwith declare:—“That these united colonies are,
and of right ought to be, free and independent states; that they
are absolved from all allegiance to the British crown, and that all
political connexion between them and the state of Great Britain is and
ought to be totally dissolved; and that measures should immediately
be taken for procuring the assistance of foreign powers, and a
confederation be formed for binding the colonies more closely together.”
Vehement debates followed this proposition, its principal supporter
being John Adams, and its chief opposer John Dickenson. On the question
being put, six delegates voted in the affirmative, and an equal number
in the negative; the delegates from Pennsylvania being equally divided.
The debate, therefore, was resumed on the following day, when Dickenson
relinquished his opposition, and by his vote decided the contest.
Congress now assumed the title of “Representatives of the United
States of America,” and on the 4th of July they published a definite
declaration, or act of independence. This declaration was drawn up
by Jefferson, and slightly altered first by Franklin and Adams, and
afterwards by the whole committee to whom it was submitted. As passed by
congress it commenced with asserting that all men were originally
equal, and that all people have an unalienable right to choose their own
government. It then set forth that the history of the present King of
Great Britain had been a history of injuries and usurpations, having
for their direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over
America. The sins of the monarch—for it was against the king himself
that congress chiefly aimed their blows—were set forth in eighteen
separate clauses, and it must be confessed that if the monarch was so
great a sinner as he was represented to be in these clauses, then the
summing up of the act of independence was justifiable. This summing up
declared,—“That a prince marked by every act which may define a tyrant,
is unfit to be the ruler of a free people: consequently, congress,
in the name and by the authority of the good people of America,
had solemnly published and declared that the colonies were free and
independent states, absolved from allegiance to the British crown; that
all political connexion between them and Great Britain was broken;
and they, as free and independent states, had full power to levy war,
conclude peace, contract alliances, and establish commerce.” But though
the people of England were not calumniated by congress in such bold
and unwarrantable language as their monarch, they nevertheless were
condemned by the act of independence. A clause in it with reference
to the British people, reads thus:—“Nor have we been wanting in
attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to
time of attempts made by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable
jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of an
emigration and settlement here; we have appealed to their native justice
and magnanimity; and we have conjured them by the ties of our common
kindred to disavow those usurpations which interrupted our connexion
and correspondence. But they have been deaf to the voice of justice
and consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity which
pronounces our separation, and hold them as we hold the rest of mankind,
enemies in war, in peace, friends. We, therefore, the representatives of
the United States of America, in general congress assembled, appealing
to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentional
do, in the name and by the authority of the good people of these
colonies, solemnly publish and declare, that these united colonies are,
and of right ought to be, free and independent states; that they
are absolved from all allegiance to the British crown, and that all
political connexion between them and the state of Great Britain is and
ought to be totally dissolved; and that as free and independent states,
they have full power to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances,
establish commerce, and to do all other acts and things which
independent states may of right do. And for the support of this
declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine
Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes,
and our sacred honour.”
This declaration went forth to the world as the unanimous act of
congress and of the whole American people. Nevertheless, several
delegates, among whom was Mr. Dickenson, refused to sign the paper, and
it is well known that there were many among the American people, and men
of great influence and talent, who dissented from the act. Washington
himself conceived that congress was going too far, although he still
continued at the head of their army to fight their battles. But there
was now no alternative but to fight or be considered a renegade. The
great body of the nation was in favour of the measure of congress,
and were prepared to stand by its consequences. And in this they were
encouraged by the inherent power which they possessed; by the physical
advantages which their country presented; and by the difficulties which
Great Britain, split into factions, and with a divided parliament,
must encounter in carrying on a war in such a far distant country. The
Americans also appear to have been encouraged, even at this early stage
of their rebellion, by foreign powers. It is an indisputable fact,
indeed, that their sole reliance was not upon “native swords and native
ranks.” Secret agents had been sent to America from powers clandestinely
inimical to the British nation; and American agents had been sent
secretly to the courts of Paris, Madrid, Naples, the Hague, and St.
Petersburgh. The Americans, moreover, drew encouragement from the hope
that there might be a rebellion in Ireland, if not in England itself. To
ensure such a consummation in Ireland, they even sent addresses to the
Irish people which were well calculated to lead to it. How artfully
these addresses were worded may be seen from the following extract of
one, in which the Americans expressed their regret that they had been
compelled to include Ireland with Great Britain in their non-importation
agreements. It states:—“Your parliament had done us no wrong. You had
ever been friendly to the rights of mankind, and we acknowledge with
pleasure and gratitude that your nation has produced patriots who have
nobly distinguished themselves in the cause of humanity and America. On
the other hand we were not ignorant that the labour and manufactures of
Ireland, like those of the silkworm, were of little moment to herself,
but served only to give luxury to those who neither toil nor spin. We
perceived that if we continued our commerce with you, our agreement not
to import from Britain must be fruitless. Compelled to behold
thousands of our countrymen imprisoned; and men, women, and children in
promiscuous and unmerited misery—when we found all faith at an end,
and sacred treaties turned into tricks of state—when we perceived our
friends and kinsmen massacred, our habitations plundered, our houses
in flames, and their once happy inhabitants fed only by the hand of
charity—who can blame us for endeavouring to restrain the progress of
the desolation? Who can censure us for repelling the barbarous band?
Who in such circumstances would not obey the great, the universal, the
divine law of self-preservation? Though vilified as wanting spirit, we
are determined to behave like men; though insulted and abused, we wish
for reconciliation; though defamed as seditious, we are ready to obey
the laws: and though charged with rebellion, we will cheerfully bleed
in defence of our sovereign in a righteous cause. What more can we
say? What more can we offer? We know that you are not without your
grievances. We sympathize with you in your distress, and are pleased to
find that the design of subjugating us has persuaded the administration
to dispense to Ireland some vagrant rays of ministerial sunshine. Even
the tender mercies of government have long been cruel towards you. In
the fat pastures of Ireland many hungry parricides have fed and grown
strong to labour in her destruction. We hope the patient abiding of the
meek may not always be forgotten.” The Americans could scarcely have
spoken plainer than this, and the Irish people could not fail rightly to
interpret their language as an incitement to join in that sin which the
sacred penman has likened to the sin of witchcraft—rebellion.
{GEORGE III. 1776–1777}
EXPEDITION AGAINST NEW YORK.
It has been seen that when General Howe evacuated Boston he set sail for
Halifax. He remained at Halifax till the 11th of June, when he sailed
for New York, and arrived near the end of the month offf Sandy Hook. He
expected to meet his brother, Lord Howe, with the main body of the fleet
and the new army, together with Sir Peter Parker with his squadron, and
General Clinton with his troops. These parties, however, were still far
away, and he therefore landed at Staten Island, where he was joined by
Mr. Tryon, the expelled governor of New York, and a body of loyalists
who had taken refuge with him in an armed vessel. Shortly after he was
joined by his brother, Admiral Lord Howe, and subsequently by Sir Peter
Parker and his squadron, when their united forces amounted to nearly
30,000 men, British and foreign.
Anterior to this, and as early as the month of April, General Washington
had left Boston for New York, and at this moment his army were throwing
up strong entrenchments at that city and on Long Island, to close the
river Hudson against the English fleet. The main body of his forces were
with Washington at New York; General Sullivan, with a strong force, was
at the western extremity of Long Island, just opposite the city; while
the rest of the forces mainly occupied different posts on York Island.
The total number of Washington’s army appears to have exceeded 30,000;
but sickness prevailed in his camp to such an extent that at one time
nearly a fourth part of his forces were unfit for action. Added to this
embarrassment, many of the inhabitants were disaffected to the American
cause, and even a part of his own guards entered into a conspiracy
to seize his person, and deliver him to the enemy. This conspiracy,
however, was discovered, and several engaged in it were executed, and
Washington, thus relieved from danger, earnestly pressed forward the
defences of the city. He had with him a large train of artillery and an
abundant supply of military stores.
Before proceeding to extremities, Lord Howe sent ashore by a flag,
circular letters, acquainting the Americans with his powers, both civil
and military, and enclosing a declaration granting pardons to all such
as were willing to return to their duty; promising that any colony,
town, post, or place that submitted instantly should be exempted from
the provisions of the acts of parliament prohibiting their trade, etc.;
and giving assurances that the meritorious services of all persons who
should aid and assist in restoring tranquillity would be duly rewarded.
Washington forwarded these papers to congress, by whom they were
published in the newspapers, with a comment calculated to destroy their
effects. At the same time Lord Howe opened a direct communication with
Washington; but that general taking offence at the letter being simply
directed to “George Washington, Esq.,” raised a cavil on that ground,
to prevent a conference which would have been embarrassing to him at so
critical a period. It was in vain that Adjutant-general Paterson, the
bearer of the letter, protested that no disrespect was intended, and
that Lord Howe and his brother, the general, could not depart from the
rules laid down for them: Washington rejected the letter, and refused
to let it lie on his table, which refusal was highly approved of by
congress. As a last resource, the British admiral entered into a
correspondence on the subject with Dr. Franklin, with whom he had been
on intimate terms in England; but the first letter which his lordship
received from that philosopher convinced him of the inutility of any
further efforts at negociation, and he prepared for the decision of the
sword.
{GEORGE III. 1776–1777}
DEFEAT OF THE AMERICANS ON LONG ISLAND.
Having at length been joined by Clinton and by nearly all the forces he
expected, General Howe, on the morning of the 22nd of August, commenced
operations. He first threw forward a division of 4000 men under
Clinton, who landed in Gravesend Bay, Long Island, without opposition;
their disembarkation being covered by three frigates and two bombs.
This division was soon followed by the rest of the British army and the
artillery; and upon their landing, Sullivan’s advanced guard set fire
to all the houses and granaries and fled to the woody heights, through
which the English must pass. Washington had previously reinforced the
army of Sullivan, and calculating that Long Island must be held, he
threw over more reinforcements from New York, until the mass of his army
was concentrated on that spot. By his direction, the Americans to the
number of 15,000 were posted on a peninsula towards that end of the
island which faces the city of New York, and is not more than a mile
from it. They were commanded by Generals Sullivan, Putnam, and Lord
Stirling, and their object was to occupy these heights, and to defend
the defiles which led through the hills against the English. A severe
contest ensued; but the British right, under Sir Henry Clinton, having
outflanked the left of the enemy, while the Hessians, under General De
Heister, vigorously attacked the centre, the Americans were routed. Lord
Stirling, who commanded the right wing, finding that the English had
penetrated to the rear, gave orders for a retreat, and to secure it,
boldly attacked the division under Lord Cornwallis; but being assailed
in his course by General Grant, he was repulsed and taken prisoner. The
dispersed troops fled to the fortified lines and camp at Brooklyn; but
they left 2000 slain on the field, or drowned in a morass into which
they were driven at Gowan’s Cove; and about half that number, with
Generals Sullivan and Udell, with ten other field-officers were taken
prisoners. The loss of the British was comparatively trifling: seventy
were slain and about 200 wounded. The ardour of the British troops was
such that they followed the fugitives almost to the foot of their works,
and they were with difficulty prevented from making an assault on their
lines. Had they been permitted it seems clear that they might have
easily carried them; but General Howe, conceiving that the lines must
become his by regular approaches without much sacrifice of life, he
ordered them back to a hollow out of the reach of the fire of the enemy.
By this order the troops which had fled were saved. Washington, who had
passed over from New York during the battle, in the midst of his extreme
anguish at the fate of so many of his troops and the critical situation
of the remainder, suddenly saw a gleam of hope bursting through the
surrounding gloom. On that night the British army encamped in front of
the American lines, and on the following morning the British general
commenced his regular approaches; breaking ground about six hundred
yards from one of the redoubts. But while the troops were digging their
trenches on one side, Washington was smuggling his forces out on the
other, and ferrying them over East River to the city of New York. His
masterly retreat was effected by night in such order, secrecy, and
silence that the English were not aware of it till the rising sun showed
them that the enemy was out of the reach of danger: But for this the
half of Washington’s army which he had exposed on Long Island would have
been lost, and the war might have been virtually ended. But even after
his escape Washington found himself in no very enviable position. A
superior and victorious force was in front of him, while all around him
the country was hostile to his cause. The success of the British arms
indeed, caused the anti-revolutionists to lift up their heads on every
hand, and in great numbers.
CONFERENCE ON STATEN ISLAND.
Almost immediately after the victory on Long Island, Lord Howe made
another attempt to open a negociation. General Sullivan was despatched
by him on parole with a verbal message to congress, importing that
though he could not at present treat with them as an authorized body, he
was desirous of conferring with them as private gentlemen at any place
they would appoint. He had, he said, in conjunction with General Howe,
full powers to compromise the dispute between Great Britain and America
on terms mutually honourable and advantageous—that he wished a compact
to be made when as yet no decisive blow was struck and neither party
could allege being compelled to enter into an agreement—that in case
congress were disposed to treat, many things yet unasked might be
granted them—and that, if upon the conference there should arise good
ground for an accommodation, this might lead to an acknowledgment of its
authority, as otherwise the compact could not be settled. Congress was
embarrassed by this message. They felt that the admiral could have no
offers to make which they could accept; and yet if they declined the
conference the people might entertain a different opinion, and they
might incur their vengeance if they refused to hear the message. Under
these circumstances, while in their reply to Lord Howe they remarked
that they could not, as the representatives of the free and independent
States of America, send any of their members to confer with his lordship
in their private characters, they would nevertheless send a committee
of their body to know whether he had any authority to treat with persons
authorised by congress, and to hear such propositions as he might have
to make. The members appointed for this conference were Franklin, Adams,
and Routledge; three of the bitterest enemies of Great Britain.
This trio waited upon his lordship in Staten Island, on the 11th of
September, and they were received with true English politeness and
urbanity. His lordship commenced the conference by stating that though
he could not treat with them as a committee of congress, yet as his
powers enabled him to confer and consult with any private gentlemen of
influence in the colonies, he would be glad, if they thought proper, to
confer with them in such a character. As their business was only to hear
what his lordship had to say, the trio replied, that he might consider
them in what character he pleased, while they would only consider
themselves in the character given them by congress. The admiral then
said that he and his brother, as commissioners, had delegated power to
grant pardons for the past, and that every favour might be expected from
the British crown if the colonists would return to their allegiance. He
also remarked that the king, ministry, and parliament were disposed
to make government easy to them, and that the obnoxious acts would be
revised in order to put an end to their grievances. These offers and
assurances, however, were despised. The committee replied that if he had
nothing else to propose he had come too late: the petitions of congress
had been despised, independence was now proclaimed, and the new
government formed. Lord Howe then simply expressed his regret at the
evils which must be let loose upon the land, and the trio returned to
Philadelphia.
CAPTURE OF NEW YORK, ETC.
After the victory on Long Island, and while the conference was going
forward on Staten Island, General Howe was engaged in slowly enclosing
Washington on all sides. Apprehensive of the consequences, therefore,
the American general resolved to evacuate the city of New York, and
retire on Kingsbridge, where some strong works had been erected. The
British army had already effected a landing on New York Island without
any loss or difficulty, and Washington retired so precipitately that he
had not sufficient time to carry off all his artillery and stores. By
his retreat General Howe not only took possession of New York, but also
the best part of the island. He had scarcely, however, taken possession
of New York when a dreadful fire broke out in several quarters of the
town. Washington had previously proposed to congress that the city should
be burned, rather than left in the hands of the English, which proposal
had been negatived, but notwithstanding incendiaries were employed to
execute the design. On the night of the 20th, therefore, when most of
the citizens and troops were buried in sleep, these desperadoes began
their work, and, despite the exertions of the soldiers and the
citizens, nearly a third part of the city was consumed to ashes. A few
incendiaries fell a sacrifice to the rage of the soldiers, and many
individuals were arrested on suspicion, but no clue was found to
unravel the mystery, though no doubt can exist that the fearful deed was
committed by order of the American general. The act has been applauded
as one emanating from stern patriotism and self-devotion, but it appears
rather to have proceeded from sheer recklessness and bitter hatred to
the English. The New Englanders were not destroying their own houses
and property, but the houses and property of another people, and a rival
colony, regardless of all the fearful consequences resulting from the
act.
On the retirement of Washington to Kingsbridge, the British troops were
put on board the vessels again, with a view of landing at West Chester,
gaining the rear of the enemy’s encampment, and enclosing him on all
sides within his fortresses. Washington perceived the necessity of
counteracting this project, and, immediately decamping with his whole
force, he took up a strong position, and occupied lines and works which
ran right across York Island; the strongest being at Kingsbridge and
Fort Washington. General Howe, with the main body of his army, marched
up York Island, and encamped in face of Washington’s lines, his lines
also extending quite across the island, and being covered on either
flank by the British ships. While thus situate, on the 16th of
September, there was some skirmishing in the plain that lay between
the two camps, in which the Americans lost Colonel Knowlton and Major
Leitch, two of their best officers. The ill-success of the American
general, by this time, seems to have had a great effect upon the
disposition of his troops. Desertions were frequent, and as the time was
approaching when the period of service for which most of the Americans
had engaged would expire, Washington conceived that he should soon be
left without an army. He saw plainly that the boasts of the sons of
liberty, about flying to arms and fighting for their country without
pay or reward, were not to be depended upon; and he wrote to congress,
urging them to offer the troops good pay, in order that they might be
induced to remain in the camp to fight their battles. Congress voted, in
accordance with his recommendation, a bounty of twenty dollars per man,
and small portions of land to every officer and soldier who should serve
during the whole war. This, however, was not deemed sufficient, and
Washington again wrote to congress, asserting, not only that if the
offer were not raised, both officers and soldiers would leave the
service, but that they would universally, as many were already doing,
join the royal army. Congress again acceded to his wishes: they voted
an increase of pay and bounty-money, and offered other advantages,
immediate or prospective, which made it more profitable for them to
remain in the American service, than to join Lord Howe. By this means
Washington’s troops were kept together, and General Howe was therefore,
compelled to exert himself for victory. Having thrown up intrenchments
to defend his own lines, and the approaches to New York, on the 12th of
October he embarked a considerable part of the royal army, and landed
them at Frog’s-neck, about nine miles in the rear of Washington’s
positions. Some of the ships of war went still higher up the North
River, so as to cut off any retreat to the Jerseys. The only road open
to escape, indeed, was one leading to the New England provinces,
and this, it is thought, might have been secured. Washington now
contemplated deciding the fate of America by a pitched battle, and had
it not been for the remonstrances of General Lee, the deserter, who
had come up from Sullivan Island and the Carolinas, he would thus have
acted. A council of war was called, and it was decided that they must
decamp immediately, and get towards the open country, called the White
Plains. In their retreat there was some skirmishing, in which the
British troops were victorious; but on the 22nd of October, Washington
succeeded in gaining the edge of the White Plains, where he put the
main body of his army in a long line of entrenched camps, extending from
twelve to thirteen miles on different heights, and having the deep river
Brunx in his front. In this position he was attacked by the royal army
on the 28th of October: the troops being divided into two columns; the
left, led by Howe, and the right by Clinton. As they advanced towards
the White Plains Clinton’s column fell in with several bodies of the
enemy, and drove them back in great confusion to their lines. It was
observed, as the troops approached the American lines, that they were
strongest on the flanks, and weakest in the centre. Had an assault been
made on the centre, the absolute destruction of the American army would
have been inevitable; but General Howe, neglecting that point, ordered a
strong detachment of the left wing, under General Mac Dougal, to attack
an eminence on which 4000 men were advantageously posted, probably
for the purpose of covering a retreat, if necessary. This detachment
succeeded in their enterprise; but it then became necessary to preserve
the hill which the troops had gallantly taken possession of, and, in
so doing, the left and right wing of our army were, in a great measure,
severed from one another, so that they could not attack the main
position of the Americans. That night the British troops slept on their
arms, and the next day they encamped, with the left wing on one side of
the Brunx, and the right on the other. On the 30th, having received some
reinforcements, Howe made a disposition to attack the enemy’s lines on
the following morning; but during the night it rained in torrents, and
the faces of the hills became, in consequence, so slippery, that the
attack was postponed till the morrow. In the meantime, however, his
intention was betrayed by a deserter, and before the break of day
Washington evacuated the lines, set fire, in his retreat, to all the
houses on White Plains, crossed the Croton River to North Castle, and
took up a strong position, with the Croton stretching along his front,
and having his rear well defended by woods and heights.
CAPTURE OF FORT WASHINGTON.
Perceiving from the nature of the country that he could not force the
American commander to join battle, General Howe now made a retrograde
movement. Washington had left considerable forces at Fort Washington and
King’s Bridge, in the hope that those positions might be secured, even
though he retreated or were beaten. The force in Fort Washington, and in
the extensive entrenchments round it, consisted of 3000 men, under the
command of the gallant Colonel Macgaw. This post was important to the
royal army, as it secured an intercourse with the Jersey shore, and as
in the hands of the enemy it seriously obstructed the navigation of the
North River. General Howe, therefore, resolved to take it, and on the
15th of November, the garrison was summoned to surrender, on pain of
being put to death by the sword. This summons was unheeded, and on
the following morning it was carried by a furious assault; and all the
garrison who were not slain, were taken prisoners. On the side of the
British, also, there was a great loss; eight hundred being either killed
or wounded.
CAPTURE OF FORT LEE, AND RETREAT OF WASHINGTON.
Immediately after this success, Lord Cornwallis crossed the North River,
and drove the Americans from Fort Lee, which was nearly opposite Fort
Washington, and took all their artillery, provision, and stores. This
advance induced the American general to quit his post on the Croton, and
fall back upon the river Delaware. Cornwallis penetrated to the remotest
parts of East and West Jersey, and on the 24th of November, having
received some reinforcements, he marched for Brunswick. He was now
within two or three marches of the Americans, who fled before him in
dismay; but when he arrived at Brunswick he was ordered to halt. He did
not receive orders to advance till the 16th of December, and then it was
too late for him to overtake the enemy. When he arrived at Princetown
in the afternoon of that day, the last of the Americans had cleared out,
and on pursuing them the next morning he reached Trenton only in time to
see Washington’s last boats crossing the river. At that time the forces
of the American general scarcely amounted to 3000 men, for numbers
of them had deserted, and those that remained were chiefly unsteady
militia. Beyond the Delaware, indeed, Washington’s force lost all
appearance of an army; and the men still continued to desert, though
often brought back forcibly to the camp. Lord Cornwallis now desisted
from the pursuit, and put his division into winter-quarters, between the
Delaware and the Hakensack.
EXPEDITION AGAINST RHODE ISLAND.
While Cornwallis had been advancing through the Jerseys, General Clinton
had been sent, together with the squadron of Sir Peter Parker, to Rhode
Island, where an American squadron had been collected under Commodore
Hopkins. This island was taken without any difficulty, and Hopkins
retired up Providence River, where he remained inactive and useless. The
people of Rhode Island, however, were enthusiastic revolutionists, and
it required a considerable force to keep them in awe; whence, during
three years, a great body of men were left in perfect idleness.
SUCCESSES OF GENERAL CARLETON.
It has been seen that the American army which had been driven from
Canada, took refuge on the Isle Aux Noix, and that General Carleton was
preparing to follow up his successes. It required vessels to cope
with the American flotilla, and to command the lakes St. George and
Champlain, near which the Isle Aux Noix was situate, and of these the
general was in want. The frame-work of vessels was, indeed, sent for
from England, but it required time before they could arrive, and still
further time to put them together. Still Carleton did not remain idle.
In the emergency he sent detachments from the king’s ships stationed at
Quebec, with volunteers from the transports, and a corps of artillery,
to fell timber, and to occupy a favourable post on the Lake Champlain.
The keel and floor-timbers, also, of the “Inflexible,” a ship of three
hundred tons, which had been laid down at Quebec, were taken to pieces,
carried over to St. John’s, and laid down again at a corner of the lake,
where a little dock-yard was improvised. Moreover, thirty long-boats,
many large batteaux, and a gondola of thirty tons were carried up to
the spot, partly by land, and partly by being dragged up the shoals and
rapids of the river Sorel. In a few weeks, indeed, General Carleton
had a naval force—such as it was—to sweep the Lakes Champlain and St.
George from end to end. But before these preparations were completed,
the Americans had quitted the Isle Aux Noix, and had traversed the lake
for Crown Point. Congress had voted that General Gates should take
the command of these troops, and that Arnold, the hero of the Canada
expedition, should command the squadron of fifteen vessels which were on
the lake. When his preparations were completed, Carleton lost no time in
seeking this squadron, and on the 11th of October he discovered it in
a strong line across the passage between Isle Vallicour and the western
shore of the lake. A warm but indecisive action ensued, which lasted
till night-fall; but Arnold in the course of the night, though
well watched, escaped from the passage, and attempted to make Fort
Ticonderago. On the following morning his squadron was out of sight, but
before noon the British flotilla got up with it again, and brought it
to action a few leagues below Crown-Point. After a running fight of two
hours, Arnold’s headmost vessels succeeded in reaching Crown-Point, and
the narrow part of the lake beyond that fort; but the “Washington” and
“Jersey” were taken, and all the rest were run on shore, and there
burnt by their crews. Crown-Point was immediately abandoned by the
provincials, who ran for their lives to Ticonderoga. This fort was
deemed too strong to be successfully attacked, at so advanced a season
of the year, and Carleton, having strengthened the British fleet so as
to ensure the command of Lake Champlain, evacuated Crown-Point of
which he had taken possession, and returned to Quebec, where he exerted
himself during the winter in making preparation for the next campaign.
At the same time General Burgoyne returned to England.
MEASURES OF CONGRESS.
Although the confidence of many members of congress, that the contest
would soon be over, was shaken, yet as a body they remained firm and
hopeful. At the same time, on the advance of Lord Cornwallis through
the Jerseys, they fled for safety from Philadelphia to Baltimore, in
Maryland. On reassembling here, however, they betrayed no despondency
or any lack of spirit. The hope of obtaining their grand
object,—independence and separation from Great Britain,—seemed to
sustain them in the midst of all their reverses. They now materially
enlarged the powers of Washington. They authorised him to raise sixteen
additional regiments; furnished him with all the money they could, and
promised him a great deal more; and finally conferred upon him, for six
months, a sort of dictatorship. They further voted a loan of 8,000,000
of dollars; they made more paper-money; they threatened all who would
not receive it in payment for goods or labour; and they adopted all
possible means, by force, intimidation, and enticement, to get money
into the treasury, and to inspire courage into the hearts of the people.
As for their committee of correspondence, they laboured ardently to
induce France and Spain openly to espouse their quarrel, and to threaten
England with an invasion, while the flower of its troops were engaged
in America. It was proposed in congress that their commissioners at
Versailles should be authorised to transfer to France the same monopoly
of their trade which had been possessed by Great Britain. This, however,
was relinquished as a measure which would strike a mortal blow at
some of their leading arguments in favour of independence. It was next
proposed that France should be offered a limited monopoly, and, this
failing, it was suggested that France might be gained over by the offer
of an alliance offensive and defensive. The more prudent among them
represented that if France would venture into the war at all, it would
not be by any treaty, or compact, or promises of congress, but out of
her old rivalry and hatred of England. All the assurances she would
want, they said, was an expression of their determination never again
to submit to the mother country, but to persist in their present course,
though all the world should be merely lookers-on. Resolutions were
printed to this effect, and sent all over the union, and then to the
principal courts of Europe, with agents appointed to impress upon
those courts the sincerity of this declaration, and to solicit their
friendship for the United States. The agents chosen for this mission
were Dr. Franklin, Silas Deane, and Mr. Arthur Lee, and what success
attended their negotiations will soon be seen. Though appealing to the
worst passions, and the most selfish feelings of foreign courts
and cabinets, they were, nevertheless, not only listened to with
complacency, but obtained present aid covertly, and had hopes held out
to them of aid openly hereafter.
DEFECTION OF THE COLONISTS, ETC.
Towards the close of this year, clear proofs were given that the
Americans were not wholly unanimous in the cause of independence. The
inhabitants of the city and island of New York, and of Long Island, and
various other places, presented petitions to Lord Howe, declaring that
they acknowledged the supremacy of Great Britain, and praying to
be received into the king’s peace and protection. On the removal
of congress from Philadelphia to Baltimore, the majority of the
Philadelphians also began openly to declare for the royal cause.
Washington detached troops to that city to quell the anti-revolutionary
spirit, but this did not prevent many of its leading men from going
over to, and corresponding with the commissioners. Moreover, most of the
towns of the Jerseys sent deputations to the king’s commissioners, and
expressed their anxiety for a renewed allegiance to the British Crown.
Possibly this may in part be attributed to the success of the royal
arms, but it is evident that the feelings generally arose from genuine
patriotism. Self-preservation may, also, in part, have dictated this
line of policy, for in one particular the advice of Lord Barrington
had been followed with respect to the Indians, and it had produced its
natural consequences. Our establishments for the management of affairs
with these tribes were withdrawn, and then the red men were left to
act as they pleased; and they had a long account to settle with the
Americans. From the earliest period of their emigration the colonists
had laid it down as a principle that the red men were to be treated
like beasts of prey, and they still hunted them down on every opportune
occasion. Hence, as the Indians were accurate accountants in matters of
blood, and held it as a sacred part of their religion, that they were
bound to avenge the death of their kindred; no sooner were our agents
withdrawn, than the Creek and Cherokee Indians resolved to ravage
the back territories of Virginia and the Carolinas, and to carry, if
possible, both fire and the spear into the heart of these colonies. They
were repulsed by the militia of the colonies, but not before they had
taken a terrible revenge for long-endured wrongs; and the day might not
be far distant when they would return with other tribes to extend their
devastations throughout America.
MEETING OF PARLIAMENT.
The British parliament assembled on the 31st of October. In his opening
speech the king declared that nothing would have given him so much
pleasure as to be able to state that the troubles in America were
terminated, and that the colonists had returned to their duty. He
continued:—“But so daring and desperate is the spirit of their leaders,
whose object has always been dominion and power, that they have now
openly renounced allegiance to the crown, and all political connexion
with this country; they have rejected, with circumstances of indignity
and insult, the means of conciliation held out under the authority
of our commission; and have presumed to set up their rebellious
confederacies for independent states. If their treason be suffered to
take root much mischief must grow from it to the safety of my loyal
colonies, to the commerce of my kingdom, and, indeed, to the present
system of all Europe. One great advantage, however, will be derived from
the object of the rebels being openly avowed and clearly understood;—we
shall have unanimity at home, founded in the general conviction of the
justice and necessity of our measures.” His majesty said that he was
happy to inform them that Canada was recovered, and that the success in
the province of New York had been such as to give the strongest hopes
of the most decisive consequences. He then recapitulated, as usual, the
pacific assurances of European powers, although he must himself have had
some doubts at this time of the sincerity of their professions. It is
manifest, indeed, that signs of a rupture had become evident to
the British cabinet, for his majesty added to this part of his
speech,—“That he indulged the hope that all misunderstanding might
be removed, and Europe continue to enjoy the inestimable blessing of
peace.” He also recommended that England should be put in a respectable
state of defence, and urged upon his “faithful commons,” the necessity
of granting ample supplies for the maintenance of the honour of
his crown, and the vindication of the just rights of parliament. He
concluded thus:—“In this arduous contest I can have no other object but
to promote the true interests of all my subjects. No people ever enjoyed
more happiness, or lived under a milder government than those now
revolted in the provinces: the improvements in every art of which they
boast declare it: their numbers, their wealth, their strength by sea and
land, which they think sufficient to enable them to make head against
the whole power of the mother country, are irrefragable proofs of it. My
desire is to restore them to the blessings of law and liberty,
equally enjoyed by every British subject, which they have fatally and
desperately exchanged for all the calamities of war, and the arbitrary
tyranny of their chiefs.”
{GEORGE III. 1776–1777}
DEBATES ON AMERICA.
Addresses which were, as usual, echoes of the speech, were brought
forward in both houses, and they elicited violent debates. In the
commons Lord John Cavendish moved an amendment of greater length than
even the proposed address. This amendment was seconded by the Marquess
of Granby, and in it, and the debates that ensued, it was affirmed that
the disaffection and revolt of the colonists could not have taken place,
if there had not been great faults committed against them. The faults
pointed out were, chiefly, the rejection of petitions and complaints;
the improper instructions given to commissioners for the purpose
of reconciliation; the endeavours made to break down the spirit and
independence of the colonists, by the many acts of parliament passed
during the recent sessions; and the project of extirpating the Americans
by the sword. All these errors were imputed by the opposition to the
want of information, and the too great confidence in ministers, who
though in duty bound to ascertain the temper and disposition of the
Americans, had totally failed for want of that knowledge. An appeal to
the sword was denounced as a most dangerous precedent, and by a strange
perversity of mind the leaders of the American revolution were described
and especially by Wilkes, as men averse to a change of government,
and as being only driven to extremities by an accumulation of neglect,
insult and injury, and by two years of a savage, piratical, and unjust
war, carried on against them by the English people. Wilkes also,
with others on the same side, took umbrage at the word “treason,”
as applicable to the Americans, asserting that what ministers called
“treason,” the Americans denominated “a just resistance and glorious
revolution.” As for the pacific declarations of foreign powers, and
especially the Bourbons, all reliance on them was exposed with sarcasm
and ridicule. Colonel Barré, indeed, declared that a war of the most
serious nature with France and Spain was impending over the country.
The whole of his majesty’s speech was, in truth, denounced as false,
insidious, hypocritical, and deceptive;—as holding out law and liberty,
indeed, but holding it out at the point of the sword.
The speech and address were defended by Lord North and Lord George
Germaine. Lord North denied the charge which had been alleged against
him of withholding information; declared that he had always communicated
to the house as much as he could divulge with safety; and indignantly
repelled the charge of hypocrisy advanced against that part of the
king’s speech which stated his desire to restore law and liberty to
the colonists. In his own peculiar quiet way, Lord North hinted to the
opposition, that if they were members of the new American legislature,
they could not have ventured to make so free with the president and
majority of congress, as they were now doing with their sovereign, his
ministers, and the majority of the English parliament. In the
defence, Lord George Germaine remarked that we had been anxious for
reconciliation upon mild and fair terms, and that these terms had been
rejected with scorn by the American leaders. According to their own
statements, he said, of the propositions made by Lord Howe, and the
conference that had taken place on Staten Island, his lordship was as
eager for the restoration of peace, as Franklin, Washington, and the
other leaders were for the continuance of hostilities. He then turned to
the statements made by foreign powers, concerning their friendship for
England. These statements of the princes of the House of Bourbon must be
taken as proofs of their pacific intentions, but if they proved false,
and should incur the folly and the guilt of assisting a rebellion,
Great Britain was prepared to meet them in the field. He pertinently
asked:—“Will the Bourbons, blind to their own interests, wish the
spirit of independence to cross the Atlantic? Can they be exempt from
fear, lest their own colonists should catch fire at the doctrine of the
unlimited rights of mankind, and prefer them to slavery and digging
of gold? And will not great danger arise from the vicinity of powerful
states freed from European control?” Finally, it was urged in defence of
the speech and address, that the only question which called for debate,
was simple in its nature it was, only, whether we chose to resign all
the benefits we derived from our colonies, and which had been purchased
by our best blood and treasures, and by truckling to the defiance and
insult hurled at us by the Americans, cut off those sources of power
and opulence, and submit to a degradation from the rank we held in the
political system of Europe; or, whether we should, by the full exertion
of our power, preserve those advantages, assert our ancient supremacy,
restore the authority of the British Parliament, and bring back
our ungrateful subjects to a sense of their duty. A division on the
amendment answered these questions; it was negatived by a majority of
two hundred and forty-two against eighty-seven, and the original address
was therefore carried.
In the upper house, an amendment was moved by the Marquess of
Rockingham, similar to that of Lord John Cavendish, and was followed
by debates of equal violence. By the Earl of Shelburne the speech was
denounced as a tissue of sophisms, and as a composition of unqualified
absurdity, treachery, cruelty, hypocrisy, and deceit. He attempted to
show, indeed, that all its paragraphs were false, differing only in
this—that some of the falsehoods were fallacious, some specious, and
some notorious. The Duke of Richmond maintained that America was lost
for ever, and he thought that we had better sit down quiet and contented
at the loss, consoling ourselves with the reflection that it had been
no fault of our own, but, solely that of an unjust and imbecile
administration. But even Lord Shelburne did not concur in this opinion:
he never meant, he said, this country to give up its right of commercial
control over America, which was the essential bond of connexion between
the two countries; and he declared that as the national debt was truly
and equitably the debt of every individual in the empire, whether
at home, or in Asia, or America, the Americans ought in some way,
to contribute to its discharge. Lord Sandwich, the first lord of the
Admiralty, more warmly opposed the doctrine of quiescence propounded
by the Duke of Richmond. It was, he said, derogatory to the honour and
destructive to the interests of England; and he declared that he would
hazard every drop of blood, and his last shilling, rather than see his
country set at defiance, bullied, and dictated to, by her undutiful
and ungrateful children; her disobedient and rebellious subjects. The
amendment was negatived by a majority of ninety-one against twenty-six.
Fourteen peers had it entered on the journals, at full length, as a
protest signed by themselves.
On the 16th of November, Lord John Cavendish produced a copy of the
proclamation issued by Lord Howe and his brother, as commissioners,
and proposed that, in conformity to its tenor, the house should resolve
itself into a committee for revising the acts by which the colonists
felt themselves aggrieved. This proposition was seconded by Burke, and
many of the opposition harangued in its favour. Ministers, however,
opposed such a step, on the ground that this inquiry into grievances had
been proffered only to those who should return to their duty, and hence
a disavowal of independence, and an acknowledgment of British supremacy
were requisite, before any measures of reconciliation could be adopted
by Great Britain. On a division the motion was lost by a majority of one
hundred and nine against forty-seven.
After the rejection of the proposition of Lord John Cavendish, many
members of opposition, especially those of the Rockingham party, seceded
from the business of parliament, alleging that it was useless to discuss
or oppose ministerial measures. This conduct, however, was blamed by the
majority of the opposition, who contended that no member of parliament
could, consistently with his duty, desert the interests of his country,
merely because he felt that his party would be outvoted. It was agreed
that no one could infer from thence that his attendance would be
useless, and that a respectable minority, though not able to carry
measures of its own, might, nevertheless, modify injurious laws and
counsels, by exposing their pernicious tendency. Some who held these
opinions made efforts to bring the great orator, Chatham, to the charge
again; but his gout prevented him from coming to the house, and little
could be elicited from him beyond a declaration that his sentiments with
regard to America were the same which he had always professed, and
which stood fully explained in his Provisional Act. At the same time he
expressed his fears that, in a few years, France would set her foot on
English ground. Thus, cleared of its members, the house of commons voted
the army and navy estimates without any display of violent opposition.
The number of seamen voted was 45,000, and £3,205,505 were voted for the
expenses of the navy; exclusive of £4000 for the support of Greenwich
Hospital, and £500,000 to go towards the discharge of the debts of
the navy. The army estimates voted, were about £3,000,000 exclusive
of extras, and some new contracts with German princes, for more German
troops to serve in America. These supplies being granted, on the 13th of
December, both houses adjourned for the Christmas recess.
ATTEMPT TO FIRE HIS MAJESTY’S DOCKYARD AT PORTSMOUTH.
During the recess of parliament, the public mind was agitated by acts of
incendiarism, which seemed at one time to denote that a conspiracy
had been entered into for the destruction of both our shipping and our
arsenals. In 1764, Choiseul, the French minister, had concocted a plan
for such a fearful catastrophe, but having divulged it to Grimaldi, then
prime minister of Spain, through him it was discovered to Lord Rochford,
our ambassador at Madrid, and the scheme therefore failed. Ministers
might have taken warning from this circumstance, and have had the
dock-yards and arsenals watched with sufficient vigilance, as to prevent
so disastrous an event from ever taking place. By this time, however,
they had returned to their old confidence, and on the 7th of December,
a fire broke out in the dock-yard at Portsmouth, which threatened its
total destruction. It was got under by great exertions, and it passed
at first for an accident, but on the 15th of January, one of the
under-clerks of the dock-yard having occasion to move some hemp in the
hemp-room, discovered a machine and combustible materials, which had
evidently been placed there by the hands of an incendiary. Some weeks
before, a sullen, silent man, a painter by trade, and who was known by
the name of John the Painter, had been seen loitering about the yard,
and he was now suspected to be the delinquent. Suspicion fastened
still stronger upon him because he was known to have recently come from
America, and a cry of alarm instantly spread through the country that
American incendiaries had arrived in England, and would spread fire and
destruction on every hand. It was necessary that John the Painter should
be taken, and soon after he was identified at Odiam in Hampshire, where
he had been apprehended for a burglary. John was brought up to London
for examination, but he was so taciturn, and so wise in keeping his
own counsels, that neither the privy-council, nor the lords of the
admiralty, nor other officers who interrogated him, could elicit
anything from him that would tend to his crimination. What authority,
however, failed to perform, that craft brought about. On the suggestion
of Earl Temple, another painter, who had been also in America, was put
into the same ward with John, in order to circumvent and entrap him.
Fellow-feeling caused the taciturn prisoner to open his mouth. His
brother painter pretended to sympathise in his misfortunes, descanted
largely on his travels in America, and professed principles similar to
his own. The travelled painter did all this with such address, that he
finally gathered from John that his real name was Aitken; that he had
entered into many regiments from which he had deserted so soon as he had
received the bounty-money; that he had traversed England through nearly
all its parts, sometimes robbing on the highway, and sometimes filching
and stealing in towns while he worked at his trade: that he went to
America, where he commenced politician and reformer of abuses, and where
he conceived the notion of serving the cause of liberty by burning our
shipping and our principal trading cities and towns; that he then left
America for France, where he had several interviews with Silas Deane,
the agent of congress; that Silas Deane encouraged his project, by
giving him money and promising him rewards commensurate with the service
he should render the American cause; that he then procured a French
passport and came over to Canterbury; and that on leaving Canterbury
he proceeded to Portsmouth, where he began to compound and prepare
his combustibles, after which he went into the dock-yard and made the
attempt of which he was suspected. The manner in which this evidence
was derived was certainly contrary to the spirit of the English law, and
repugnant to the feeling and practice of the present day, but on
this evidence vouched by the travelled painter, John the Painter was
condemned and executed. There was no doubt left on any mind either as
to the culprit’s guilt, or to his connexion with Silas Deane; but before
his death he is said to have confessed to some naval officers, that most
of what his accuser had testified against him, was true—that he had,
indeed, applied to Deane, who had promised him a reward of great price
when his work should be done. Nothing transpired which would inculpate
Choiseul the French minister, but as he was still in office, and as his
animus was well-known, he was thought to have been concerned in this
plot likewise. But it failed; and the circumstance had the effect of
still further exciting the enmity of the English people towards the
Americans.