```"This is the sacred fane wherein assembled
````The fearless champions on the side of Right;
```Men at whose Declaration empires trembled,
````Moved by the truth's immortal might.=
```"Here stood the patriot--one union folding
````The Eastern, Northern, Southern sage and seer,
```Within that living bond which, truth upholding,
````Proclaims each man his fellow's peer.=
```"Here rose the anthem which all nations, hearing,
````In loud response the echoes backward hurled;
```Reverberating still the ceaseless cheering,
````Our continent repeats it to the world.=
```"This is the hallowed spot where first unfurling *
````Fair Freedom spread her blazing scroll of light;
```Here, from oppression's throne the tyrant hurling,
````She stood supreme in majesty and might!"
`````George W. Dewey.=
[Illustration: 9279]
ROM Carpenters' Hall I went up Chestnut Street to the venerable State
House, situated upon its southern side, between Fifth and Sixth Streets.
* Hallowed by so many patriotic associations, it has become a Caaba to
every American when first visiting the city of Penn. It is cherished by
the people of Pennsylvania because of the memories of colonial times,
immediately antecedent to the Revolution, which embalm it; and it is
cherished by the people of the whole Union as the most revered relic
of the war for independence, because it contains the hall wherein the
Declaration of that independence was discussed, and adopted in council,
and signed, and sent forth to the world.
[Illustration: 8279]
Being used for public business, this edifice, unlike Carpenters' Hall,
is free from the desecrations of mammon, and the Hall of Independence is
kept closed, except when curious visitors seek entrance, or some special
occasion opens its doors to the public. **
Nothing now remains of the old furniture of the hall except two antique
mahogany chairs, covered with red leather, one of which was used by
Hancock as president, and the other by Charles Thomson as secretary of
Congress, when the Declaration of Independence was adopted. On the
walls hang two fine paintings; one a full-length portrait, life size, of
William Penn, by the late Henry Inman, and the other a portrait,
* The erection of this edifice was begun in 1729, and completed, in
1734. The two wings were added in 1739-40, and it was then one of the
largest and most costly edifices for civil purposes in America. Previous
to its erection, the annual sessions of the Legislature of Pennsylvania
were held at private houses. The first purchase of grounds for the
building included only about half the depth to Walnut Street. In 1760
the other half square was purchased, and the whole space inclosed by
a heavy brick wall. John Vaughan, who came from England to reside in
Philadelphia, planted the grounds with elm-trees and shrubbery in 1783.
Afterward the brick wall was removed, and the present neat iron railing
erected in its place. The cost of the main building of the State House
and its steeple was about $28,000. The style of the architecture
was directed by Dr. John Kearsly, Senior, the same amateur who gave
architectural character to Christ Church. The glass and lead sashes cost
$850. The glazing was done by Thomas Godfrey, afterward celebrated as
the inventor of the quadrant.
** It was made the hall of audience for La Fayette in 1824, when, as the
"nation's guest," he visited Philadelphia. The room had been materially
altered by the removal of wainscoting and other architectural ornaments,
yet its general features were sufficiently preserved to awaken in the
bosom of the veteran the liveliest emotions. In that hall John Hancock
signed the commission of the marquis as major general in the Continental
army; and there, during the struggle, the young hero was frequently
greeted by the supreme legislature as a public benefactor. It was there
that he shared the honors (not on the same day) with Washington, of a
grateful reception by Congress, after the capture of Cornwallis; and
there he took leave of that body, for the last time during the war, and
returned to France. In that room the body of the late ex-president, John
Quincy Adams, lay in state while on its progress to the family vault at
Quincy.
[[[Picture of the Treaty Tree.--Statue of Washington.--Liberty
Bell.--Its History.]]]
{272}same size, of La Fayette, taken from life by the late Thomas Sully.
The former is a superb picture, and exhibits, in the back-ground, a
representation of the Treaty Tree.
[Illustration: 9280]
Upon the floor stands a statue of Washington, upon a high pedestal,
wrought in wood by Mr. Rush, of Philadelphia. Near it is a piece of
stone, said to be a part of the door-step of the balcony in the rear of
the State House, upon which John Nixon stood and read the Declaration
of Independence to the people * for the first time, on the 8th of July,
1776.
These compose the _souvenirs_ of Independence Hall.
I ascended to the steeple, where hangs, in silent grandeur, the "Liberty
Bell."
[Illustration: 8280]
It is four feet in diameter at the lip, and three inches thick at the
heaviest part. Its tone is destroyed by a crack, which extends from the
lip to the crown, passing directly through the names of the persons who
cast it. An attempt was made to restore the tone by sawing the crack
wider, but without success; the melody of the "glory-breathed tone" that
thrilled the hearts of the people on the birth-day of the nation could
not be reawakened. The history of this bell is interesting. In 1752,
a bell for the State House was imported from England. On the first
trial-ringing, after its arrival, it was cracked. It was recast by Pass
and Stow, of Philadelphia, in 1753, under the direction of Isaac Norris,
Esq., the then speaker of the Colonial Assembly.
And that is the bell, "the greatest in English America," which now
hangs in the old State House steeple and claims our reverence. **
Upon fillets around its crown, cast there twenty-three years before the
Continental Congress met in the State House, are the words of Holy Writ,
"_Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants
thereof_." *** How prophetic! Beneath that very bell the representatives
of the thirteen colonies "proclaimed liberty." Ay, and when the debates
were ended, and the result was announced, on the 4th of July, 1776, the
iron tongue of that very bell first "proclaimed liberty throughout all
the land, unto all the inhabitants thereof," by ringing out the joyful
annunciation for more than two hours, its glorious melody floating clear
and musical as the voice of an angel
* Watson says that Captain Hopkins, of the navy, read the Declaration
on that occasion, but testimony appears to predominate in favor of the
claims of John Nixon to that honor.
** When the British army approached Philadelphia, in 1777, this bell,
was taken down and carried to a place of safety. Already the ancient
steeple, on account of decay, had been taken down, and a simple belfry
put in its place. The present steeple is quite modern.
*** Leviticus, xxv., 10.
[[[Independence not Early nor generally Desired, except by a
Few.--Patrick Henry's Prediction.]]]
{273}above the discordant chorus of booming cannon, the roll of drums,
and the mingled acclamations of the people.=
```"That old bell is still seen by the patriot's eye,
```And he blesses it ever, when journeying by;
```Long years have pass'd o'er it, and yet every soul
```Will thrill, in the night, to its wonderful roll;
```For it speaks in its belfry, when kiss'd by the blast,
```Like a glory-breathed tone from the mystical past.
```Long years' shall roll o'er it, and yet every chime
```Shall unceasingly tell of an era sublime;
```Oh yes! if the flame on our altars should pale,
````Let its voice but be heard, and the freemen shall start,
```To rekindle the fire, while he sees on the gale
````All the stars and the stripes of the flag of his heart."
`````William Ross Wallace.=
Here, upon this dusty beam, leaning against the old "Liberty Bell," let
us sit a while, and peruse that brilliant page in our history, whereon
is written the record of the _Declaration of our Independence._
It is now impossible to determine the precise time when aspirations for
political independence first became a prevailing sentiment among the
people of the colonies. The thought, no doubt, was cherished in many
minds years before it found expression; but it was not a subject for
public discussion more than a few months before it was brought before
Congress by Richard Henry Lee, of Virginia. A few men, among whom were
Dr. Franklin, Samuel Adams, Patrick Henry, Richard Henry Lee, Timothy
Dwight, and Thomas Paine, seem to have had an early impression that
political independence was the only cure for the evils under which
the colonies groaned; yet these ideas, when expressed, met with little
favor, even among the most ardent patriots. * English writers declare
that, from the beginning, the colonies aimed at political independence;
and Chalmers asserts that there were documents among the Board of
Trade to prove that such had been the desire and intent of the colonies
through every administration, from the time of the Revolution in
England, in 1688. As early as 1773, according to Mr. Wirt, Patrick
Henry, speaking of Great Britain, said, "She _will_ drive us to
extremities; no accommodation _will_ take place; hostilities _will soon_
commence; and a desperate and bloody touch it will be." This, Mr. Wirt
asserts, was said in the presence of Colonel Samuel Overton, who at once
asked Mr. Henry if he thought the colonies sufficiently strong to oppose
successfully the fleets and armies of Great Britain. "I will be candid
with you," replied Mr. Henry; "I doubt whether we _shall_ be able,
_alone_, to cope with so powerful a nation; but," continued he, rising
from his chair with great animation, "where is France? where is Spain?
where is Holland? the natural enemies of Great Britain. Where will
they be all this while? Do you suppose they will stand by, idle and
indifferent spectators to the contest? Will Louis XVI. be asleep all
this time? Believe me, _no!_ When Louis XVI. shall be satisfied, by
our serious opposition and our _Declaration of Independence_, that all
prospect of a reconciliation is gone, then, and not till then, will he
furnish us with arms, ammunition, and clothing; and not with them only,
but he will send his fleets and armies to fight our battles for us; he
will
* Says Dr. Dwight, "I urged, in conversation with several gentlemen
of great respectability, firm Whigs, and my intimate friends, the
importance, and even the necessity, of a declaration of independence
on the part of the colonies, and alleged for this measure the very same
arguments which afterward were generally considered as decisive,
but found them disposed to give me and my arguments a hostile and
contemptuous, instead of a cordial reception. Yet, at this time, all the
resentment and enthusiasm awakened by the odious measures of Parliament,
by the peculiarly obnoxious conduct of the British agents in this
country, and by the recent battles of Lexington and Breed's Hill,
were at the highest pitch. These gentlemen may be considered as
representatives of the great body of the thinking men in this country.
A few may perhaps, be excepted, but none of these durst at that time
openly declare their opinions to the public. For myself, I regarded the
die as cast, and the hopes of reconciliation as vanished, and believed
that the colonists would never be able to defend themselves unless they
renounced their dependence on Great Britain." Dwight's Travels in New
England, i., 150.
[[[Testimony of Washington and others concerning the Loyalty of the
Colonies.--Paine's Common Sense.--]]]
{274}form a treaty with us, offensive and defensive, against our unnatural
mother. Spain and Holland will join the confederation! Our independence
will be established! and we shall take our stand among the nations of
the earth!" How literally these predictions were soon fulfilled the pen
of history has already recorded.
Dr. Franklin talked of total political emancipation as early as 1774;
and yet Jay, Madison, Richard Penn, and others positively assert that,
until after the meeting of the second Congress in 1775, there was no
serious thought of independence entertained. Washington, in a letter to
his early friend, Captain Mackenzie, written in October, 1774, said,
in reply to an intimation of that officer that the province of
Massachusetts was seeking independency, "Give me leave to add, and I
think I can announce it as a fact, that it is not the wish or interest
of that government, or any other upon this continent, separately or
collectively, to set up for independence."
Although smarting under the lash of ministerial aggressions upon their
rights, the colonists, prompted by the pride of political and social
birth-right, as children of Great Britain, maintained a loyal spirit,
and a separation from the British empire was a proposition too startling
to be readily embraced, or even favorably received by the great mass of
the people, who regarded "Old England" with filial reverence. But
when Britain sent fleets and armies hither to coerce submission to her
injustice; "to plunder our seas, ravage our coasts, burn our towns,
harass our people, and eat out their substance when king, Lords,
and Commons became totally "deaf to the voice of justice and of
consanguinity," the colonies were obliged to "acquiesce in the necessity
which compelled them to dissolve the political bands which connected
them with the parent state, and to assume among the powers of the
earth the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of
nature's God entitled them."
"The lightning of the Crusades was in the people's hearts, and it needed
but a single electric touch to make it blaze forth upon the world,"
says James, in writing of an earlier disruption of political systems.
Likewise, the flame of desire for absolute independence glowed in every
patriot bosom at the beginning of 1776, and the vigorous paragraphs of
_Common Sense_, * and kindred publications, laboring with the voice of
impassioned oratory
* This was the title of a pamphlet written by Thomas Paine, and
published about the commencement of 1776. It is said to have been
prepared at the suggestion of Dr. Rush, of Philadelphia. It was the
earliest and most powerful appeal in behalf of independence, and
probably did more to fix that idea firmly in the public mind than any
other instrumentality. After giving many and weighty reasons why the
Americans should seek independence, he said, "It matters little, now,
what the King of England either says or does. He hath wickedly broken
through every moral and human obligation, trampled nature and conscience
beneath his feet, and by a steady and constitutional spirit of insolence
and cruelty procured for himself a universal hatred. It is now the
interest of America to provide for herself.... Independence is the only
_bond_ that will tic and keep us together. We shall then see our object,
and our ears will be legally shut against the schemes of an intriguing,
as well as cruel, enemy. Wc shall then, too, be on a proper footing to
treat with Great Britain; for there is reason to conclude that the pride
of that court will be less hurt by treating with the American States
for terms of peace, than with those whom she denominates "rebellious
subjects" for terms of accommodation. It is our delaying it that
encourages her to hope for conquest, and our backwardness tends only to
prolong the war.... O ye that love mankind! ye that dare oppose not only
the tyranny, but the tyrant, stand forth! Every spot of the Old World is
overrun with oppression. Freedom hath been hunted round the globe. Asia
and Africa hath long expelled her; Europe regards her like a stranger,
and England hath given her warning to depart. Oh! receive the fugitive,
and prepare, in time, an asylum for mankind." Such were the trumpet
tones of "Common Sense" which aroused the people to action. So highly
was its influence esteemed, that the Legislature of Pennsylvania voted
the author $2500. Washington, writing to Joseph Reed from Cambridge, on
the 31st of January, 1776, said, "A few more of such flaming arguments
as were exhibited at Falmouth and Norfolk [two towns burned by the
British], added to the sound doctrine and unanswerable reasoning
contained in the pamphlet "Common Sense," will not leave numbers at a
loss to decide" upon the propriety of a separation. Again, writing to
the same gentleman two months afterward, he said, "By private letters
which I have lately received from Virginia, I find that "Common Sense"
is working a powerful change there in the minds of many men."
* "Common Sense" was the signature which Paine usually affixed to his
earlier political writings. Paine also wrote a series of political
pamphlets called "The Crisis," which were admirably adapted to the state
of the times, and which did much toward keeping alive the spirit of
determined rebellion against the unjust government of Great Britain.
They were put forth at different times, from the close of 1776 until the
end of the war. The first number was published in December, 1776. Paine
was then in Washington's camp.
* The pamphlet was read to every corporal's guard, and its strong and
truthful language had a powerful effect in the army and among the people
at large. * The second "Crisis" was published in January, 1777. It was
addressed to Lord Howe, ** and ridiculed his proclamations, &c. The
third number was published at Philadelphia on the 19th of April, 1777.
This was devoted to an examination of events since the Declaration of
Independence, and a reiteration of arguments in favor of that measure.
In September, immediately after the battle on the Brandywine, the fourth
"Crisis" was published. It was a cheering trumpet-blast for the army.
In March, 1778, the fifth "Crisis" was published at Lancaster, in
Pennsylvania. It consisted of a letter to Sir William Howe, and an
address to the inhabitants of America. The sixth "Crisis," consisting of
a letter to the British commissioners (Carlisle, Clinton, and Eden),
was published at Philadelphia, in October, 1778. The seventh number
was published at Philadelphia, on the 21st of November, 1778. It was
addressed to the people of England. The eighth "Crisis," which was a
second address to the people of England, was published in March, 1780;
in June following the ninth number was published; and in October of the
same year, a long discussion on the subject of taxes, called "A Crisis
extraordinary," was published. *** The last three numbers were written
at the instigation of Robert Morris, the financier, with the knowledge
and approval of Washington. Two others were published during the
war; one discussed general topics, the other, published in May, 1782,
considered "The present State of News."
* When the first number of the "Crisis" reached England, it was seized
and ordered to be burned near Westminster Hall by the common hangman.
A large concourse of people assembled; the fire was put out by the
populace, and dead dogs and cats were thrown on the ashes. Acts of
Parliament were then cast upon the heap, and consumed. Sir Richard
Steele wrote a political pamphlet called "The Crisis," in 1714, for
which he was expelled from his seat in the House of Commons.
* A portion of North Carolina made a much earlier and very important
movement toward independence, of which I shall hereafter write in
detail. I refer to the Mecklenberg Convention, in May, 1775.
** Bradford, p. 104.
*** After its adoption, the Convention proceeded to the establishment
of a regular independent government, a course which Congress shortly
afterward recommended to all the states.
**** The Assembly directed the oath of allegiance thereafter to be in
the name of the Colony of Rhode Island, instead of to the King of Great
Britain.
* Among other equally strong paragraphs was the following: "I have as
little superstition in me as any man living, but my secret opinion has
ever been, and still is, that God Almighty will not give up a people to
military destruction, or leave them unsupportedly to perish, who had so
earnestly and repeatedly sought to avoid the calamities of war by every
decent method which wisdom could invent. Neither have I so much of the
infidel in me as to suppose that He has relinquished the government of
the world, and given us up to the care of devils; and as I do not, I can
not see on what grounds the King of Great Britain can look up to heaven
for help against us: a common murderer, a highwayman, or a house-breaker
has as good a pretense as he."
** Paine also wrote a poetical Epistle to Lord Howe, of which the
following is the closing stanza:
"Since, then, no hopes to civilize remain,
And mild philosophy has preach'd in vain,
One pray'r is left, which dreads no proud reply,
That he who made you breathe will make you die."
***This was written in March, but was not published until Autumn.
[[[First public Movements favorable to Independence.--Paine's
Crisis.--The Ministry order it to be Burned.--The Result.]]]
{275}at every public gathering of the people, uncapped the volcano, and
its brilliant coruscations were seen and hailed with a shout throughout
our broad land.
The colonial assemblies soon began to move in the matter. North Carolina
was the first to take the bold progressive step toward independence.
By a vote of a convention held on the 22d of April, 1776, the
representatives of that state in the Continental Congress were
authorized "to concur with those in the other colonies in declaring
independence." * Massachusetts took a similar step. On the 10th, the
General Assembly requested the people of that colony, at the then
approaching election of new representatives, to give them instructions
on the subject of independence. ** Pursuant to this request, the people
of Boston, in town meeting assembled on the 23d, instructed their
representatives to use their best endeavors to have their delegates in
Congress "advised that, in case Congress should think it necessary, for
the safety of the united colonies, to declare themselves independent of
Great Britain, the inhabitants of that colony, with their lives and the
_remnants_ of their fortunes, would most cheerfully support them in the
measure." The Convention of Virginia passed a similar resolution on the
17th of May, *** but going further, by instructing their representatives
to _propose_ a declaration of independence. So, also, did the Assembly
of Rhode Island, during its session in that month. **** On the 8th
of June the New York delegates asked for special instructions on that
subject; but the Provincial Assembly, deeming itself incompetent to
instruct without the previous sanction of the people, did no more than
to recommend them to signify their sentiments at the new election just
at hand. The Assembly of
[[[Timidity in the State Legislatures.--State Governments
Recommended.--Lee's Resolution for Independence.]]]
{276}Connecticut, on the 14th of June, instructed the delegates from
that colony to give their assent to a declaration of independence;
on the 15th the New Hampshire Provincial Congress issued similar
instructions, and on the 21st, the new delegates from New Jersey were
instructed to act in the matter as their judgments should dictate.
In the Pennsylvania Assembly, several months previously, the subject of
[[November, 1775]] independence had been hinted at. The Conservatives
were alarmed, and procured the adoption of instructions to their
delegates adverse to such an idea. In June these restrictions were
removed, but the delegates were neither instructed nor officially
permitted to concur with the other colonies in a declaration of
independence. The Convention of Maryland, by a resolution adopted
about the last of May, positively forbade their delegates voting for
independence. Georgia, South Carolina, and Delaware took no action on
the subject, and their delegates were left free to vote as they pleased.
Thus stimulated by affirmative action in various colonies, the
desire for independence became a living principle in the hall of the
Continental Congress, and that principle found utterance, albeit with
timorous voice. Congress resolved, "That it be recommended to the
several assemblies and conventions of the united colonies, where [[May
10, 1776]] no government sufficient to the exigencies of their affairs
hath hitherto been established, to adopt such a government as shall, in
the opinions of the representatives of the people, best conduce to the
happiness and safety of their constituents in particular, and America
in general." * This was certainly a bold step, yet not sufficiently
positive and comprehensive as a basis of energetic action in favor
of independence. The hearts of a majority in Congress yearned with an
irrepressible zeal for the consummation of an event which they knew to
be inevitable, yet there seemed to be no one courageous enough in that
assembly to step forth and take the momentous responsibility of lifting
the knife that should sever the cord which bound the American colonies
to the British throne. The royal government would mark that man as an
arch rebel, and all its energies would be brought to bear to quench his
spirit or to hang him on a gibbet.
We have seen that Virginia instructed her representatives in Congress
to _propose_ independence; she had a delegate equal to the task. In the
midst of the doubt, and dread, and hesitation which for twenty days had
brooded over the national assembly, Richard Henry Lee ** arose, and,
with his clear, musical voice, read aloud the resolution,
"That these united colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and
independent states; and that all political connection between us and
the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved." John
Adams immediately seconded the resolution. To shield them from the royal
ire, Congress directed its secretary to omit the names of its mover
and seconder, in the Journals. The record says, "Certain resolutions
respecting independency being moved and seconded, _Resolved_, that the
consideration of them be deferred until to-morrow morning; and that the
members he enjoined to attend punctually at ten o'clock, in order
to take the same into their consideration." The resolution was not
considered until three days afterward, when it was resolved to "postpone
its further consideration [[June 10]] until the first day of July next;
and, in the mean while, that no time be lost, in case Congress agree
thereto, that a committee be appointed to prepare a declaration to that
effect." This committee was appointed on the 11th, and consisted of
Thomas Jefferson, of Virginia; John Adams, of Massachusetts; Benjamin
Franklin, of Pennsylvania; Roger Sherman, of Connecticut; and Robert R.
Livingston, of New York.[[June 7, 1776.]] On the evening of
* John Adams, Edward Rutledge, and Richard Henry Lee were appointed
a committee to prepare a preamble to this resolution. See Journals of
Congress, ii., 158. In this preamble it was declared "irreconcilable
to reason and a good conscience for the colonists to take the oaths
required lor the support of the government under the crown of Great
Britain/' It was also declared necessary that all royal power should
be suppressed, and "all the powers of government exerted under the
authority of the people of the colonies, for the preservation of
internal peace, virtue, and good order, as well as for the defense of
their lives, liberties, and properties, against the hostile invasions
and civil depredations of their enemies."--Journals, ii., 166.
** A portrait of Mr. Lee will be found among those in the frontispiece
to this volume, and a sketch of his life, with those of the other
signers, in the Appendix.
[[[Absence of R. H. Lee.--Jefferson's Draft of the Declaration.--Reasons
why he was Chosen to Write it.]]]
{277}the 10th, Mr. Lee received intelligence by express that his wife
was seriously ill, and he was compelled to ask leave of absence for
a short time. He left Philadelphia the next morning, and this fact
accounts for the omission of his name in the formation of the committee
on that day. Mr. Jefferson was appointed chairman of the committee,
and to him his colleagues assigned the task of preparing the draft of a
declaration to be presented to Congress. * It was drawn with care, and
was unanimously adopted by the committee, after a few verbal alterations
by Adams and Franklin.
On the 1st of July, pursuant to agreement, Mr. Lee's motion was brought
up in the committee of the whole House, Benjamin Harrison, of Virginia
(father of the late President Harrison), in the chair. The draft of a
declaration of independence was reported at the same time, and for
three consecutive days it was debated by paragraphs seriatim. Many
alterations, omissions, and amendments were made. The following is
a copy of that original draft, before any amendments were made in
committee of the whole. The passages omitted by Congress are printed in
italics, and the substitutions are given in notes at the bottom of the
page. **
"_A Declaration by the Representatives of the United States of America,
in general Congress assembled._
When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people
to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another,
and to assume, among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal
station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them,
a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should
declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal;
that they are endowed by their Creator with inherent and inalienable **
rights; that among these are
* Mr. Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence at his lodgings,
in the house of Mrs. Clymer, on the southwest corner of Seventh and High
Streets, Philadelphia.--See Watson's Annals, ii., 309. John Adams, in
his autobiography, gives the following reasons why Mr. Jefferson was
chosen to write the Declaration: "Mr. Jefferson had been now about a
year a member of Congress, but had attended his duty in the House a
very small part of the time, and when there had never spoken in public.
During the whole time I sat with him in Congress, I never heard him
utter three sentences together. "It will naturally be inquired how it
happened that he was appointed on a committee of such importance.
There were more reasons than one. Mr. Jefferson had the reputation of a
masterly pen; he had been chosen a delegate in Virginia in consequence
of a very handsome public paper which he had written for the House of
Burgesses, which had given him the character of a fine writer. Another
reason was, that Mr. Richard Henry Lee was not beloved by the most of
his colleagues from Virginia, and Mr. Jefferson was sent up to rival
and supplant him. This could be done only by the pen, for Mr. Jefferson
could stand no competition with him, or any one else, in elocution
and public debate. "The committee had several meetings, in which were
proposed the articles of which the Declaration was to consist, and
minutes made of them. The committee then appointed Mr. Jefferson and
me to draw them up in form, and clothe them in a proper dress. The
sub-committee met, and considered the minutes, making such observations
on them as then occurred, when Mr. Jefferson desired me to take them
to my lodgings, and make the draft. This I declined, and gave
several reasons for so doing: "1. That he was a Virginian, and I a
Massachusettensian. 2. That he was a Southern man, and I a Northern
one. 3. That I had been so obnoxious for my early and constant zeal in
promoting the measure, that every draft of mine would undergo a more
severe scrutiny and criticism in Congress than one of his composition.
4. And lastly, and that would be reason enough, if there were no other,
I had a great opinion of the elegance of his pen, and none at all of my
own. I therefore insisted that no hesitation should be made on his part.
He accordingly took the minutes, and in a day or two produced to me his
draft."
** On the 8th of July, four days after the amended Declaration was
adopted, Mr. Jefferson wrote the following letter, and sent it, with
the original draft, to Mr. Lee:" "Philadelphia, July 8, 1776. "Dear
Sir,--For news, I refer you to your brother, who writes on that head. I
inclose you a copy of the Declaration of Independence, as agreed to by
the House, and also as originally framed; you will judge whether it
is the better or the worse for the critics. I shall return to Virginia
after the 11th of August. I wish my successor may be certain to come
before that time: in that case, I shall hope to see you, and not Wythe,
in convention, that the business of government, which is of everlasting
concern, may receive your aid. Adieu, and believe me to be your friend
and servant, Thomas Jefferson. "To Richard Henry Lee, Esq."
[[[Original Draft of the Declaration of Independence, and Amendments.]]]
life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that, to secure these
rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers
from the consent of the governed; that, whenever any form of government
becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to
alter or _to_ abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its
foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form,
as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness.
Prudence, indeed, will dictate, that governments, long established,
should not be changed for light and transient causes. And, accordingly,
all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer,
while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the
forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and
usurpations, _begun at a distinguished period,_ and pursuing invariably
the same object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute
despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such
government, and to provide new guards for their future security. Such
has been the patient sufferance of these colonies; and such is now the
necessity which constrains them to _expunge_ ** their former systems
of government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is
a history of _unremitting_ ** injuries and usurpations; among which
appears no solitary fact to contradict the uniform tenor of the rest;
but _all_ have-, *** in direct object, the establishment of an absolute
tyranny over these states. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a
candid world; _for the truth of which we pledge a faith yet unsullied by
falsehood._
He has refused his assent to laws the most wholesome and necessary for
the public good.
He has forbidden his governors to pass laws of immediate and pressing
importance, unless suspended in their operation till his assent should
be obtained; and when so suspended, he has _neglected utterly_ **** to
attend to them.
He has refused to pass other laws for the accommodation of large
districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right
of representation in the Legislature; a right inestimable to them, and
formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual,
uncomfortable, and distant from the repository of their public records,
for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his
measures.
He has dissolved representative houses repeatedly _and continually_, for
opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused, for a long time after such dissolutions, to cause
others to be elected, whereby the legislative powers, incapable of
annihilation, have returned to the people at large for their exercise,
the state remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of
invasion from without and convulsions within.
He has endeavored to prevent the population of these states: for that
purpose obstructing the laws for naturalization of foreigners; refusing
to pass others to encourage their migrations hither; and raising the
conditions of new appropriations of lands.
_He has suffered the administration of justice totally to cease in
some of these states_, (v) refusing his assent to laws for establishing
judiciary powers.
He has made _our_ judges dependent on his will alone, for the tenure of
their offices and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of new offices _by a self assumed power_, and
sent hither swarms of officers to harass our people and eat out their
substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, standing armies _and ships of
war,_ without the consent of our Legislatures.
He has affected to render the military independent of, and superior to,
the civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to
our constitutions, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his assent to
their acts of pretended legislation:
For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us;
* Altar
** Utterly neglected
*** Repeated
* (v) He has obstructed the administration of justice, by
*** Having
[[[Original Draft of the Declaration of Independence, and Amendments.]]]
For protecting them, by a mock trial, from punishment for any murders
which they should commit on the inhabitants of these states;
For cutting off our trade with all parts of the world;
For imposing taxes on us without our consent;
For depriving us * of the benefits of trial by jury;
For transporting us beyond the seas to be tried for pretended offenses;
For abolishing the free system of English laws in a neighboring
province, establishing therein an arbitrary government, and enlarging
its boundaries, so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument
for introducing the same absolute rule into these _states;_ **
For taking away our charters, abolishing our most valuable laws, and
altering fundamentally the forms of our governments;
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested
with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated government here, _withdrawing his governors, and_ ***
declaring us out of his _allegiance and_ protection, and waging war
against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burned our towns, and
destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries to
complete the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun
with circumstances of cruelty and perfidy **** unworthy the head of a
civilized nation.
He has endeavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers
the merciless Indian savages, whose known rule of warfare is an
undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes, and conditions
_of existence; he has excited treasonable insurrections of our
fellow-citizens with the allurements of forfeiture and confiscation of
our property._
He has constrained _others_ (v) taken captive on the high seas, to bear
arms against their country, to become the executioners of their friends
and brethren, or to fall themselves by their hands.
He has waged cruel war against human nature itself violating its most
sacred rights of life and liberty in the persons of a distant people,
who never offended him, captivating and carrying them into slavery in
another hemisphere, or to incur miserable death in their transportation
thither. This piratical warfare, the opprobrium of infidel powers, is
the warfare of the Christian King of Great Britain. Determined to keep
open a market where men should be bought and sold, he has prostituted
his negative for suppressing every legislative attempt to prohibit or
to restrain this execrable commerce. And that this assemblage of horrors
might want no fact of distinguished dye, he is now exciting those very
people to rise in arms among us, and to purchase that liberty of which
he has deprived them by murdering the people upon whom he obtruded them:
thus paying off former crimes committed against the liberties of one
people with crimes which he urges them to commit against the lives of
another. (vi)
In every stage of these oppressions we have petitioned for redress in
the most humble terms: our repeated petitions have been answered only
by repeated injury. A prince whose character is thus marked by every act
which may define a tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler
* In many cases
** Colonies
*** By
**** Scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally
* (v) Our fellow-citizens
* (vi) It has been asserted that this paragraph was expunged because it
was not palatable to those delegates who were slaveholders, and that it
was stricken out lest it should cause them to cast a negative vote on
the question. There is no proof that such selfish motives actuated any
member of that assembly. It was a sacred regard for truth which caused
it to be stricken out. No such charge as the paragraph contained
could justly be made against George III., then under arraignment. The
slave-trade was begun and carried on long before the reign of any of
his house, and it is not known that he ever gave his assent to any thing
relating to slavery, except to abolish it, and to declare the trade a
piracy. By a resolution offered by Charles F. Mercer, of Virginia, and
adopted by Congress in 1817, the slave-trade was declared "a piracy."
Mr. Jefferson was the first American statesman, and probably the first
writer of modern times, who denounced that infamous traffic as "a
piratical warfare."--See Life of Richard Henry Lee, i., 176.
[[[Original Draft of the Declaration of Independence, and
Amendments.--The Debaters.]]]
{280}of a _people who mean to be free.' * Future ages will scarce
believe that the hardiness of one man adventured, within the short
compass of twelve years only, to build a foundation, so broad and
undisguised, for tyranny over a people fostered and fixed in principles
of freedom._
Nor have we been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have
warned them, from time to time, of attempts by their Legislature to
extend a ** jurisdiction over _these our states._ *** We have reminded
them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here, _no one
of which could warrant so strange a pretension; that these were effected
at the expense of our own blood and treasure, unassisted by the wealth
or the strength of Great Britain; that in constituting, indeed, our
severed forms of government, we had adopted one common king, thereby
laying a foundation for perpetual league and amity with them; but that
submission to their Parliament was no part of our Constitution, nor
ever in idea, if history may be credited; and_ we **** appealed to their
native justice and magnanimity, _as well as to_ (v) the ties of our
common kindred, to disavow these usurpations, which _were likely to_
(vi) interrupt our connection and correspondence. They too have been
deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity; _and when occasions
have been given them, by the regular course of their laws, of removing
from their councils the disturbers of our harmony, they have, by their
free election, re-established them in power. At this very time, too,
they are permitting their chief magistrate to send over, not only
soldiers of our common blood, but [Scotch (vii) and] foreign mercenaries
to invade and destroy us. These facts have given the last stab to
agonizing affection, and manly spirit bids us to renounce forever these
unfeeling brethren. We must endeavor to forget our former love for
them_; we must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity which denounces
our separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, enemies
in war; in peace, friends.
_We might have been a free and great, people together; but a
communication of grandeur and of freedom, it seems, is below their
dignity. Be it so, since they will have it. The road to happiness and to
glory is open to us too; we will climb it apart from them, and acquiesce
in the necessity which denounces our eternal separation._
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 intentions, do, in the name, and by
the authority of the good people of these _states, (viii) reject and
renounce all allegiance and subjection to the kings of Great Britain,
and all others who may hereafter claim by, through, or under them; we
utterly dissolve all political connection which may heretofore have
subsisted between us and the Parliament or people of Great Britain; and,
finally, we do assert the colonies to be free and independent states_;
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, we mutually pledge to each other
our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor."
Mr Lee's resolution, declaring the colonies "free and independent
states," was adopted on the 2d of July, and that day, rather than the
4th, should be celebrated as our national anniversary. It was only the
_form of the Declaration_, which accompanied the resolution, that was
adopted on the latter day.
The debates on the question of the adoption of the Declaration of
Independence were long and animated, for there was very little unanimity
in feeling and opinion when they began in June. Richard Henry Lee, the
Adamses, of Massachusetts, Dr. Witherspoon, of New Jersey, and Edward
Rutledge, of South Carolina, were the chief speakers in favor of the
measure, and John Dickenson, of Pennsylvania, against it. Although it
was evident, from
* Free people
** An unwarrantable
*** Us
**** Have
* (v) And we have conjured them by
* (vi) Would inevitably
* (vii) Doctor Witherspoon, who was a Scotchman by birth, moved the
striking out of the word Scotch.
* (viii) Colonies {281}
[Illustration: 0289]
[Illustration: 0290]
Note. This draft is in the handwriting of Mr. Jefferson. The amendments
were made by Dr. Franklin and John Adams. The alterations, by
interlining, in the portion here given, are in the handwriting of Mr.
Adams. It will be perceived, by a comparison, that nearly the whole
of this paragraph was omitted in the Declaration adopted on the 4th of
July.
[[[Action of the several Colonies on the Subject of
Independence.--Adoption of the Declaration.]]]
{282}the first introduction of the resolution, that a majority of the
colonies would vote for it, its friends were fearful that a _unanimous_
vote of the colonies could not be obtained, inasmuch as the Assemblies
of Maryland and Pennsylvania had refused to sanction the measure, and
South Carolina, Georgia, and New York were silent. The delegates from
Maryland were unanimously in favor of it, while those from Pennsylvania
were divided. On the 24th of June, at a convention held in Philadelphia,
the people expressed their willingness, by resolution, "to concur in
a vote of Congress, declaring the united colonies free and independent
states and by the unwearied exertions and great influence of Charles
Carroll, William Paca, Samuel Chase, and others, the Convention of
Maryland recalled their former instructions on the 28th of June, and
empowered their delegates "to concur with the other colonies in a
declaration of independence." The most important barriers to unanimity
were now broken down. When a vote was taken in committee of the whole
House, all the colonies assented to the Declaration, except Pennsylvania
and Delaware; four of the seven delegates of the former voting
against it, and the two delegates who were present from Delaware were
divided--Thomas M'Kean favoring it, George Read opposing it. Mr. M'Kean,
burning with a desire to have his state speak in favor of the great
measure, immediately sent an express after Cæsar Rodney, the other
delegate from Delaware, then eighty miles distant. Rodney was in the
saddle within ten minutes after he received Mr. M'Kean's letter, and
arrived in Philadelphia on the morning of the 4th of July, just before
the final vote was taken. Thus Delaware was secured. On that day the
Declaration was taken up for final decision. Robert Morris and John
Dickenson, of Pennsylvania, were absent. The former was in favor of,
the latter was against the measure. Of the other five who were present,
Doctor Franklin, James Wilson, and John Morton were in favor of it, and
Thomas Willing and Charles Humphreys were opposed to it; so the vote of
Pennsylvania was also secured in favor of the Declaration. The question
was taken, and on the 4th of July, 1776, a unanimous vote of the
thirteen colonies * was given in favor of the great Declaration which
pronounced them _Free and independent states_. *** The annunciation was
made in the following plain manner in the journal of Congress for that
day:
"Agreeably to the order of the day, the Congress resolved itself into
a committee of the whole, to take into their further consideration the
Declaration; and, after some time, the president resumed the chair,
*** and Mr. Harrison reported that the committee have agreed to a
declaration, which they desired him to report. **** The Declaration
being read, was agreed to as follows:
_A DECLARATION BY THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
IN CONGRESS ASSEMBLED._
When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people
to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another,
and to assume, among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal
station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them,
a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should
declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident--that all men are created equal;
that they are
* Georgia was not represented in the Congress of 1774. On the 20th
of July, 1775, Congress received a letter from the convention of that
colony, setting forth that it had acceded to the general Association,
and appointed delegates to attend Congress.--See Journals of Congress,
i., 161.
** On the 9th of September, 1776, Congress resolved, "That in all
Continental commissions, and other instruments, where heretofore the
words 'United Colonies' have been used, the style be altered, for the
future, to the 'United States.' I--Ibid., ii., 328. From that day the
word colony is not known in our history.
*** John Hancock was then President of Congress. He was chosen to that
post on the 19th of May, 1775, as successor to Peyton Randolph, who was
called to his home in Virginia. Randolph was now dead.
**** The great importance of this event does not seem to have
been realized even by many men in public life. Anderson, in his
Constitutional Gazette, announced the fact thus, as a mere on dit,
without commentary or further reference to the subject: "On Tuesday
last the Continental Congress declared the united Colonies free and
independent States."
[[[The Declaration of Independence as Adopted.]]]
{283}endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that
among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That, to
secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving
their just powers from the consent of the governed; that, whenever any
form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right
of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute a new government,
laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in
such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety
and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long
established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and,
accordingly, all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed
to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by
abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train
of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces
a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it
is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards
for their future security. Such has been the patient sufferance of these
colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter
their former systems of government. The history of the present King of
Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all
having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over
these states. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his assent to laws the most wholesome and necessary for
the public good.
He has forbidden his governors to pass laws of immediate and pressing
importance, unless suspended in their operations till his assent should
be obtained; and, when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend
to them.
He has refused to pass other laws for the accommodation of large
districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right
of representation in the Legislature--a right inestimable to them, and
formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual,
uncomfortable, and distant from the repository of their public records,
for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his
measures.
He has dissolved representative houses repeatedly, for opposing, with
manly firmness, his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused, for a long time after such dissolutions, to cause
others to be elected; whereby the legislative powers, incapable of
annihilation, have returned to the people at large for their exercise;
the state remaining, in the mean time, exposed to all the dangers of
invasion from without and convulsions within.
He has endeavored to prevent the population of these states; for that
purpose obstructing the laws for the naturalization of foreigners;
refusing to pass others to encourage their migration hither, and raising
the conditions of new appropriations of lands.
He has obstructed the administration of justice, by refusing his assent
to laws for establishing judiciary powers.
He has made judges dependent on his will alone for the tenure of their
offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither swarms of
officers, to harass our people and eat out their substance..
He has kept among us, in times of peace, standing armies, without the
consent of our Legislatures.
He has affected to render the military independent of, and superior to,
the civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to
our constitutions, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his assent to
their acts of pretended legislation:
For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us;
For protecting them, by a mock trial, from punishment for any murders
which they should commit on the inhabitants of these states;
For cutting off our trade with all parts of the world;
For imposing taxes on us without our consent;
For depriving us, in many cases, of the benefits of trial by jury;
[[[The Declaration of Independence as Adopted.]]]
{284}For transporting us beyond seas, to be tried for pretended
offenses;
For abolishing the free system of English laws in a neighboring
province, establishing therein an arbitrary government, and enlarging
its boundaries, so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument
for introducing the same absolute rule into these colonies;
For taking away our charters, abolishing our most valuable laws, and
altering, fundamentally, the forms of our governments;
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested
with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated government here, by declaring us out of his protection,
and waging war against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burned our towns, and
destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries, to
complete the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with
circumstances of cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most
barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow-citizens, taken captive on the high seas,
to bear arms against their country, to become the executioners of their
friends and brethren, or to fall themselves by their hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections among us, and has endeavored to
bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers the merciless Indian savages,
whose known rule of warfare is an undistinguished destruction of all
ages, sexes, and conditions.
In every stage of these oppressions we have petitioned for redress in
the most humble terms: our repeated petitions have been answered only
by repeated injury. A prince whose character is thus marked by every act
which may define a tyrant is unfit to be the ruler of a free people. *
Nor have we been wanting in our attentions to our British brethren. "We
have warned them, from time to time, of attempts by their Legislature to
extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them
of the circumstances of our 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 these usurpations,
which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence.
They, too, have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity.
We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity which denounces 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 intentions, 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 connection 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 honor.
It was two o'clock in the afternoon when the final decision was
announced by Secretary Thomson to the assembled Congress in Independence
Hall. It was a moment of solemn interest; and when the secretary sat
down, a deep silence pervaded that august assembly.
* The undisputed records of our colonial history bear ample testimony
to the truth of every charge contained in this indictment. These I have
cited in a small volume containing Biographical Sketches of the Signers
of the Declaration of Independence, and the Declaration Historically
Considered.
[[[Ringing of the Liberty Bell.--Signers of the Declaration.--Its
Reception in New York and elsewhere.]]]
{285}Thousands of anxious citizens had gathered in the streets of
Philadelphia, for it was known that the final decision was to be made on
that day. From the hour when Congress convened in the morning, the old
bellman had been in the steeple. He placed a boy at the door below, to
give him notice when the announcement should be made. As hour succeeded
hour, the gray-beard shook his head, and said, "They will never do it!
they will never do it!" Suddenly a loud shout came up from below, and
there stood the blue-eyed boy, clapping his hands and shouting, "Ring!
ring!" Grasping the iron tongue of the old bell against which we are
now leaning, backward and forward he hurled it a hundred times, its
loud voice proclaiming "Liberty throughout all the land, unto all the
inhabitants thereof." The excited multitude in the streets responded
with loud acclamations, and with cannon-peals, bonfires, and
illuminations, the patriots held a glorious carnival that night in the
quiet city of Penn.
The Declaration of Independence was signed by John Hancock, the
president of Congress, only, on the day of its adoption, and thus it
went forth to the world. Congress ordered it to be entered at length
upon the journals. It was also ordered to be engrossed upon parchment,
for the delegates to sign it. This last act was performed on the second
day of August following, by the fifty-four delegates then present;
it was subsequently signed by two others, * making the whole number
fifty-six. ** A fac simile of their signatures, carefully copied from
the original at Washington City, is given on the two following pages.
The Declaration was every where applauded; and in the camp, in
cities, churches, and popular assemblies, it was greeted with every
demonstration of joy. Washington received it at head-quarters in New
York on the 9th of July, *** and caused it to be read, at six o'clock
that evening, at the head of each brigade. It was heard with attention,
and welcomed with loud huzzas by the troops; and on that same evening
the populace pulled down the leaden equestrian statue of George III.,
which was erected in the Bowling Green, at the foot of Broadway, in
1770, and broke it in pieces. The material was afterward consigned to
the bullet-molds. Other demonstrations of mingled joy and indignation
were made in New York then, which will be more fully noticed hereafter.
The Declaration was read to a vast assemblage collected in and around
Faneuil Hall, in Boston, by Colonel Crafts, at noon, on the 17th of
July. When the last paragraph escaped his lips, a loud huzza shook
the old "Cradle of Liberty." It was echoed from without; and soon the
batteries on Fort Hill, Dorchester, Nantasket, and Long Island boomed
forth their cannon acclamations in thirteen rounds. A banquet followed,
and bonfires and illuminations made glad the city of the Puritans. In
Philadelphia, the grand demonstration was made on the 8th of July. From
the platform of an observatory, erected near the
* These were Thomas M'Kean, of Delaware, and Matthew Thornton, of New
Hampshire. The former, on account of absence with a regiment of City
Associators, of which he was colonel, did not sign it until October.
Doctor Thornton was not a member of Congress when the Declaration
was signed, but, being elected in the autumn following, he obtained
permission to sign the instrument, and affixed his signature to it in
November.
** The delegates represented the several states as follows: New
Hampshire: Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton.
Massachusetts: John Hancock, John Adams, Samuel Adams, Robert Treat
Paine. Rhode Island: Elbridge Gerry, Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery.
Connecticut: Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver
Wolcott. New York: William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis,
Lewis Morris. New Jersey: Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis
Hopkin-son, John Hart, Abraham Clark. Pennsylvania: Robert Morris,
Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James
Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson. George Ross. Delaware: Cæsar Rodney,
George Read, Thomas M'Kean. Maryland: Samuel Chase, Thomas Stone,
William Paca, Charles Carroll, of Carrollton. Virginia: George Wythe,
Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson,
Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton. North Carolina: William
Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn. South Carolina: Edward Rutledge, Thomas
Hayward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton. Georgia: Button
Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton.
*** On the same day, the Provincial Assembly of New York, then in
session at White Plains, adopted a resolution expressive of their
approbation of the measure, at the same time pledging their lives
and fortunes in support of it. They also, by resolution, gave their
delegates in Congress liberty to act in future, upon all public
measures, in accordance with their best judgments. See Journals of
Congress, ii., 250. {286}
[Illustration: 0296]
{287}
[Illustration: 0297]
Walnut Street front of the State House, by Rittenhouse, many years
before, for the purpose of observing a transit of Venus, John Nixon read
the Declaration to a vast concourse of people gathered from the city and
surrounding country. When the reading was finished, the king's arms over
the seat of justice in the court room * were torn down and burned in
the street; and at evening bonfires were lighted, the houses were
illuminated, and it was not until a thunder-shower at midnight compelled
the people to retire, that the sounds of gladness were hushed. Newport,
New London, Williamsburgh, Norfolk, Charleston, Savannah, and other
large towns, manifested their great joy; and from every inhabited
hill and valley, town and hamlet of the old Thirteen States, arose the
melodies of freedom, awakened by this great act of the people's proxies.
Thousands of hearts in Europe, beating strongly with hope for the
future, were deeply impressed. Bold men caught the symphony, and
prolonged its glad harmony, even until it wooed sleeping slaves from
their slumbers in the shadows of despot-
* The second story of the State House was occupied by the courts; and
while the Continental Congress was in session below, the Provincial
Assemblies met above.
[[[The Principles of the Declaration, and their Effects.--Opinions of
Raynal, Mirabeau, and Napoleon.]]]
{288}ism forth to the clear light, panoplied in the armor of absolute
right. France was aroused, and turning in its bed of submission, like
the Titans beneath old Ætna, to look for light and shook thrones,
crumbled feudal altars, whereon equality was daily sacrificed, and so
rent the vail of the temple of despotism, that the people saw plainly
the fetters and instruments of unholy rule, huge and terrible, within
the inner court.
[Illustration: 9298]
They pulled down royalty, overturned distinctions, and gave the first
impulse to the revolutions which have since spread from that focus
to purify the political atmosphere of Europe. Back to our glorious
manifesto the struggling nations look, and, when they wish to arraign
their tyrants, that indictment is their text and guide. * Its specific
charges against George the Third of course are irrelevant, but the great
truths set forth have no limit in their application and appositeness.=
```"Throughout the world its voice is sounding!
````Life and death are in its call!
```Kings and thrones in dust confounding;
````Millions rising o'er their fall!
```Brothers, on! till, bless'd as we,
```They've plenty, peace, and Liberty!"
`````Mrs. R. Balmanno.=
```"E'en now the word that rous'd our land
````Is calling o'er the waves, 'Awake!'
```And pealing on from strand to strand,
````Wherever ocean surges break.
```Up to the quicken'd car of toil
```It rises from the teeming soil,
````And bids the slave his bonds forsake.
```Hark! from the mountain to the sea,
```The Old World echoes 'Liberty!'
````Till thrones to their foundations shake."
`````Mary E. Hewitt.=
It was an easy matter to declare the colonies free and independent; it
was not so easy
* "With what grandeur, with what enthusiasm, should I not speak of those
generous men who erected this grand edifice by their patience, their
wisdom, and their courage!" wrote the Abbé Raynal in 1781. "Hancock,
Franklin, the two Adamses, were the greatest actors in this affecting
scene; but they were not the only ones. Posterity shall know them all.
Their honored names shall be transmitted to it by a happier pen than
mine. Brass and marble shall show them to remotest ages. In beholding
them, shall the friend of freedom feel his heart palpitate with
joy--feel his eyes float in delicious tears. Under the bust of one of
them has been written, He wrested thunder from heaven and the scepter
from tyrants.* Of the last words of this eulogy shall all of them
partake."--Essay on The Revolution in America.
* I ask," exclaimed Mirabeau, on the tribune of the National Assembly of
France, while descanting upon our Declaration, "I ask if the powers who
have formed alliances with the States have dared to read that manifesto,
or to interrogate their consciences after the perusal? I ask whether
there be at this day one government in Europe--the Helvetic and Batavian
confederations and the British isles excepted--which, judged after the
principles of the Declaration of Congress on the 4th of July, 1776, is
not divested of its rights?" And Napoleon afterward, alluding to the
same scene, said, "The finger of God was there!"--See Bailey's Preface
to Records of Patriotism.
** This gives the appearance of the shorter steeple, which took the
place of the stately one taken down in 1774. This was its appearance
during the Revolution. A huge clock case was upon each gable of the main
building of the State House.
* "Eripuit colo fulmen sceptrumque tyrannis
* This line was the exergue of a medal which was struck in Paris in
honor of Franklin, when he was the United States embassador at the court
of Versailles in 1777. It was written by Turgot, the Controller-general
of the Finances of France, who died four years afterward.
[[[Organization of State Governments.--Adjournment of Congress to
Baltimore.--__Trip to Red Bank.]]]
{289}to _maintain_ that declaration. The die being east, Congress
put forth all its energies to secure union and harmony among the
confederated states, and these, in turn, perceived the necessity
of prompt action in civil affairs. The resolves in Congress in May,
recommending the several states to organize governments for themselves,
based upon democratic principles, were heeded, and, soon after the
publication of the Declaration of Independence, most of the states
took action on the subject, and formed constitutions. New Hampshire had
already formed a state government. The charters of Connecticut [[January
5, 1776]] and Rhode Island, being considered sufficiently democratic,
were not altered. New Jersey had adopted a constitution two days before
the Declaration of Independence was voted in Congress. (a) Virginia
adopted one on the 5th of July; Pennsylvania, on[[ a July 2, 1776]]
the 15th; Maryland, on the 14th of August; Delaware, on the 20th of
September; North Carolina, on the 18th of December; Georgia, on the 5th
of February, 1777; New York, on the 20th of April; South Carolina, on
the 19th of March, 1778; and Massachusetts deferred the important work
until the 1st of September, 1779. In the mean while, the necessity for
Federal union became apparent, and this subject occupied the thoughts
and active efforts of the statesmen of America. They finally elaborated
a scheme of general government; and on the 15th of November, 1777,
Congress adopted _Articles of Confederation_, having debated the subject
three times a week for nearly seven months. Copies of these articles
were sent to the various state Legislatures for approval, but they did
not receive the sanction of all until March, 1781, when they became the
organic law of the Union, and continued such until the adoption of the
Federal Constitution in 1787.
During the summer and autumn of 1776, military operations were active,
and that session of Congress was one of the busiest during the war. The
disastrous battle of Long Island or Brooklyn occurred in August; the
skirmishes at Harlem, Kingsbridge, Throg's Neck, and White Plains; the
fall of Forts Washington and Lee; the retreat of the American army under
Washington across the Jerseys, and the menacing approach of a large
British army toward Philadelphia, all occurred in rapid succession
during the autumn. Disasters, gloom, and despondency were on every side;
and Congress, alarmed at the proximity of British and Hessian troops,
then only awaiting the freezing of the Delaware to march to the capture
of Philadelphia, withdrew to Baltimore on the 12th of December, as we
have already seen, where they resumed their deliberations on the 20th.
Let us close the record, and, like the fugitive Congress, leave the old
State House for a season.
Toward noon, accompanied by a friend (Mr. Samuel Agnew), I left the city
[[November 27, 1848]] to visit the remains of the old forts at Red Bank,
on the Jersey shore of the Delaware, a few miles below Philadelphia.
Unable to gain positive information respecting a ferry, we concluded to
drive down to Fort Mifflin, and obtain a passage there. We crossed the
Schuylkill, and, passing through the cultivated country on its
right bank, missed the proper road to Fort Mifflin, and reached the
termination of the one we were traveling, at a farm-house. Here we
ascertained that we could not obtain ferriage at the fort, so we crossed
the Schuylkill again, upon a bateau, near its mouth, and, returning to
the city suburbs, found the proper avenue to League Island, * whence we
could be ferried to Red Bank. Our blunder consumed two hours, and then
we had to wait almost another hour upon the dike which defends League
Island from the waters of the Delaware, before a skiff, for which we
telegraphed by a white handkerchief upon a ratan, came over to us. The
river is there about a mile wide; and while the waterman was slowly
rowing across, we dined upon bread and cheese, cold sausage, and grape
jelly, which the kind consideration of my friend's wife had furnished at
our departure. It was a rather uncomfortable pic-nic on that unsheltered
dike in the keen November wind.
Leaving my horse in a stall at the ferry, we crossed to the great coal
depot, upon Eagle
* This is a low island just below the city suburbs, and, until protected
by a heavy stone dike, was formerly almost covered with water at high
tide. It is now a very fertile piece of reclaimed land, and is reached
from the main by a bridge, the intervening channel being quite narrow.
[[[Fort Mercer.--Donop's Grave.--Whitall's House.--De Chastellux's Visit
there.]]]
{290}Point, on the Jersey shore, about half a mile above the site of
Fort Mercer, at Red Bank. We met a resident gentleman on the way to the
fort, who kindly turned back and pointed out the various localities.
[Illustration: 9300]
The embankments and trenches are quite prominent, and will doubtless
long remain so, for a forest of young pines now covers and protects
them from the destroying hand of cultivation. The form of the fort and
outworks, as denoted in the sketch, was easily distinguished, and the
serried lines of the soldiers' graves were palpable along the brow
of the high bank. These are the graves of those who were slain in the
battle which occurred there in the autumn of 1777. They were buried in
boxes, and now their remains are often exposed by the washing away of
the banks.
[Illustration: 8300]
At the southern line of the fort, close by the bank, are the remains of
the hickory-tree which was used as a flag-staff during the battle; and
near it are traces of the gateway of the fort. A little below, and in
the path leading to the house of Mr. Whitall, is the grave of Count
Donop, marked by a small, rough sandstone, about fourteen inches in
height.
Vandal fingers have plucked relic-pieces from it, and so nearly was the
rude inscription effaced that I could only decipher a portion of the
words, Donop was lost, as seen in the sketch. **
[Illustration: 7300]
Even his bones have not been allowed to molder in his grave, but are
scattered about the country as cherished relics, his skull being in
possession of a physician of New Jersey!
A few rods south of Donop's grave, close by the river bank, is the
ancient residence of the Whitall family. It is a two-story house, built
of brick, and is now (1851) one hundred and three years old. The date
of its erection is given on the north gable, where the characters "I A
W [James and Anna Whitall] 1748," are delineated by dark, glazed brick.
The Whitalls were Quakers, and of course, although Whigs, took no part
in the war. This fact made some suspect the old man of Toryism. *** I
was informed by the present owner that, when the attack was made upon
the fort, and his grandmother was urged to flee from the house, she
refused, saying, "God's arm is strong, and will protect me; I may
* Red Bank, where these remains are, is in the township of Woodbury,
in Gloucester county, New Jersey. The fortifications erected there were
little more than earthen embankments, and a ditch covered by abatis.
The arrow in the sketch denotes the direction of Fort Mifflin, on the
opposite side of the Delaware.
** The Marquis de Chastellux, who visited this spot in 1781, says, in
his Journal (i., 260), "We had not gone a hundred yards before we came
to a small elevation, on which a stone was vertically placed, with this
short epitaph: 'Here lies buried Colonel Donop'" M. de Mandait was the
guide on the occasion. He acted in the double capacity of engineer and
officer of artillery at the battle, and had the charge of arranging
and defending the post, under Colonel Green. "He assured us," says the
marquis, "we could not make a step without treading on the remains of
some Hessian, for near three hundred were buried in the front of the
ditch."
*** De Chastellux, in recording his visit, says: "On landing from our
boat, he [Manduit] proposed conducting us to a Quaker's, whose house is
half a musket-shot from the fort, or rather the ruins of the fort; for
it is now destroyed, and there are scarcely any reliefs of it remaining.
'This man,' said M. de Manduit, 'is a little of a Tory; I was obliged
to knock down his barn, and fell his fruit trees; but he will be glad
to see M. de La Fayette, and will receive us well.' We took hint at his
word; but never was expectation more completely deceived. We found
our Quaker seated in the chimney corner, busied in cleaning herbs. He
recollected M. de Manduit, who named M. de La Fayette to him; but he
did not deign to lift his eyes, nor to answer any of our introducer's
discourse, which at first was complimentary, and at length jocose.
Except Dido's silence, I know nothing more severe; but we had no
difficulty in accommodating ourselves to this bad reception, and made
our way to the fort.--Travels, i., 259.
[[[Anecdote of Mrs. Whitall.--Old Cannon.--Distant View of Fort
Mifflin.]]]
{291}do good by staying." She was left alone in the house; and while the
battle was raging, and cannon-balls were driving like sleet against and
around her dwelling, she calmly plied her spinning-wheel in a room in
the second story. At length a twelve-pound ball, from a British vessel
in the river, grazing the American flag-staff (the walnut-tree) at the
fort, passed through the heavy brick wall on the north gable, and with a
terrible crash perforated a partition at the head of the stairs, crossed
a recess, and lodged in another partition, near where the old lady was
sitting.
[Illustration: 0301]
Conceiving Divine protection a little more certain elsewhere after this
manifestation of the power of gun-powder, the industrious dame gathered
up her implements, and with a step quite as agile as in youth, she
retreated to the cellar, where she continued spinning until called to
attend the wounded and dying who were brought into her house at the
close of the battle. She did, indeed, "do good" by remaining; for, like
an angel of mercy, she went among the maimed, unmindful whether they
were friend or foe, and administered every relief to their sufferings,
in her power. She scolded the Hessians for coming to America to butcher
the people. At the same time, she bound up their wounds tenderly, and
gave them food and water. The scar made by the passage of that iron ball
is quite prominent in the gable; it is denoted in the engraving by
the dark spot. I saw within the house where the missile cut off the
wood-work in its passage, and where it lodged.
On the green, between the Whitall house and the river, lies a portion
of an iron cannon which burst during the engagement. That event killed
several of the Americans. The picture represents its present appearance,
with its breech blown away. Beyond it is the Delaware, and in the
distance, opposite, is seen Fort Mifflin, lying almost upon the water
level on Fort or Great Mud Island, near the western shore. In the far
distance, bounding the view, are the hills of Pennsylvania, toward
Valley Forge.
In the summer of 1777, Sir William Howe, the British commander-in-chief,
sailed from New York (a) with a large land force, and with a naval
armament under his brother [[ a July 23]] Richard, Earl Howe, and,
landing at the head of Chesapeake Bay, (b) commenced [[ b August 25.]]
a victorious march toward Philadelphia. Washington, informed of the
movement, went out from Philadelphia to meet him, and had proceeded
beyond the Brandywine, in the neighborhood of Wilmington, when the
van of the enemy appeared at Kennet Square. The battle of Brandywine
occurred soon afterward, (a) in which the Americans were [[ a September
11]] defeated, and driven back toward Philadelphia. The enemy pushed
steadily forward, and entered the city in triumph. (b) In anticipation
of the possibility [[ b September 26.]] of such an event, the Americans
had applied themselves diligently to the erection of obstructions in
the Delaware, to prevent the ascent of the British fleet, and also in
rearing batteries upon the shores to cover them. Upon isolated marshes,
or low islands of mud,
[[[Military Works on the Delaware.--Obstructions in the River.--Their
Removal by the British.--Capture of Billingsport.]]]
{292}made green by reeds, a little below the mouth of the Schuylkill,
they erected a strong redoubt, with quite extensive outworks, and called
it Fort Mifflin. These islands were called Great and Little Mud Islands.
The former, on which the redoubt and main works were erected, has been
called Fort Island ever since that time.
[Illustration: 8302]
On the opposite shore of New Jersey, a strong redoubt, called Fort
Mercer, was also erected, and well supplied with artillery. In the deep
channels of the river between, and under cover of these batteries, they
sunk ranges of strong frames, with iron-pointed wooden spikes, called
_chevaux de frise_, which formed almost invulnerable _stackadoes_.
Three miles further down the river, at Byllinge's Point * (now
Billingsport), was a redoubt with extensive outworks, covering strong
_stackadoes_, which were sunken there in the navigable channel of the
river, between the main and Billing's Island.
In addition to these works, several armed galleys and floating batteries
were stationed in the river, all forming strong barriers against the
fleet of the enemy. This circumstance troubled the British general, for
he foresaw the consequences of having his supplies by water cut off,
and the danger to which his army would be exposed in Philadelphia if
unsupported by the fleet.
Immediately after the battle at Brandywine, Earl Howe sailed down the
Chesapeake, and entered the lower Delaware with several light vessels,
among which was the Roebuck, commanded by Captain Hammond. That officer
represented to General Howe, that if a sufficient force could be sent
to reduce the fortifications at Billingsport, he would take upon himself
the task of opening a passage for vessels through the _chevaux de frise,
or stackadoes_, at that point. Howe readily consented to attempt
the important measure. Two regiments, under Colonel Stirling, were
dispatched from Chester, in Pennsylvania, for that purpose. They crossed
the river a little below Billingsport, marched in the rear of the
unfinished works, and made a furious assault upon the garrison. The
Americans were dismayed at this unexpected attack, and believing
themselves incompetent to make a successful defense, they spiked their
cannons, set fire to the barracks, and fled. The English remained long
enough to demolish the works on the river front; when Hammond, by the
great exertions of his men, made a passage-way seventy feet wide in the
_chevaux de frise_, and, with six vessels, sailed through, and anchored
near Hog Island. Stirling returned to Chester, and, with another
detachment, proceeded to camp, as an escort of provisions, bearing to
General Howe intelligence of his success.
[Illustration: 6302]
Howe now determined to make a general sweep of all the American works
on the Delaware, and, preparatory thereto, he called in his outposts and
concentrated his whole army near to and within Philadelphia. Two Rhode
Island regiments, belonging to General Varnum's *** brigade, under
Colonel Christopher Greene, garrisoned the fort at Red Bank, and
*So called in honor of Edward Byllinge, the purchaser of Lord Berkley's
moiety of the province of New Jersey. Slight remains of this redoubt, it
is said, yet remain.
** This cut, copied from an old print, shows the form of the chevaux de
frisé. A is a profile view, and B a plan. The spikes were made of heavy
timbers, about thirty feet in length. Partially filled with heavy stone,
they presented a formidable obstacle to vessels. It is said that these
obstructions were mainly planned by Dr. Franklin, and constructed under
the immediate supervision of M. Du Plessis Manduit, a French engineer.
*** James Mitchell Varnum was born at Dracut, Massachusetts, in 1749,
and graduated in the first class at Providence College in 1769. He
afterward studied law at East Greenwich, became an active politician in
Rhode Island, espoused the patriot cause, and joined the army in 1775.
In February, 1777, he was commissioned a brigadier in the Continental
service. He served under Sullivan in the operations on Rhode Island, in
1778, and the next year resigned his commission and left the army. He
was a delegate to Congress in 1786, and the following year was appointed
a judge of the Northwestern Territory. He died at Marietta, Ohio,
January 10, 1790, aged forty-one. His brother, Joseph Bradley Varnum,
was also an officer in the Revolution; a member, from Massachusetts, of
the first Congress after the adoption of the Federal Constitution; was
four years speaker of the Lower House, and succeeded Timothy Pickering
as United States senator in 1811. He died on the 11th of September,
1821, aged seventy-one years.
[[[The American Fleet in the Delaware.--Hessian Expedition against Fort
Mercer.--Storming of the Fort.]]]
{293}about the same number of the Maryland line, under
Lieutenant-colonel Samuel Smith, occupied Fort Mifflin, on Mud Island.
The American fleet in the river, consisting chiefly of galleys and
floating batteries, was commanded by Commodore Hazlewood. * It was quite
as important to the Americans to maintain these forts and defend the
river obstructions as it was to the British to destroy them. It was
therefore determined to hold them to the last extremity, for it was
evident that such continued possession would force Howe to evacuate
Philadelphia.
Count Donop, with four battalions, consisting of twelve hundred picked
Hessians, was sent by Howe to attack Fort Mercer, at Red Bank. They
crossed the Delaware, and landed at Cooper's Ferry, on the 21st of
October. The same evening they marched [[1777]] to Haddonsfield, in New
Jersey, a little above Gloucester. As they approached Timber Creek,
on their way down the river, the Americans took up the bridge, and the
enemy were obliged to march four miles up the stream to a shallow ford.
They arrived at the edge of a wood, within cannon-shot of Fort Mercer,
on the morning of the 22d. Their appearance, full-armed for battle,
was the first intimation the garrison had of their approach. Although
informed that the number of Hessians was twenty-five hundred, the little
garrison of four hundred men, in a feeble earth fort, and with only
fourteen pieces of cannon, were not intimidated. They made immediate
preparations for defense. While thus engaged, a Hessian officer, who was
permitted to approach the fort with a flag and a drummer, rode up,
and insolently proclaimed, "The King of England orders his rebellious
subjects to lay down their arms; and they are warned that, if they stand
the battle, no quarters whatever will be given!" ** "We ask no quarters,
nor will we give any!" was the prompt reply of Colonel Greene. The
Hessian and the drummer rode hastily back to Donop, and the assailants
began at once the erection of a battery within half cannon-shot of
the outworks of Fort Mercer. All was activity and eagerness for combat
within the fort. The outworks were unfinished, but the redoubt was a
citadel upon which the garrison placed much reliance. Skill and bravery
were called to combat fierceness, discipline, and overwhelming numbers.
It was four o'clock in the afternoon when a brisk cannonade was opened
from the Hessian battery, and at a quarter before five a battalion
advanced to the attack, on the north part of the fort, near a morass
that covered it. Finding the first advance post and the outworks
abandoned, but not destroyed, the enemy imagined that they had
frightened the Americans away. Filled with this idea, they raised the
shout of victory, and, with the drummer just mentioned beating a lively
march, rushed toward the redoubt, where not a man was to be seen. They
were about to ascend the ramparts, to plant the flag of conquest upon
a merlon, when, from the embrasures in front, and from a half-masked
battery upon their left flank, formed by an angle of an old embankment,
a shower of grape-shot and musket-balls poured upon them with terrible
effect, driving them back to the remote intrenchments.
Another division of the enemy, under the immediate command of the brave
Donop, attacked the fort on the south side at the same time, passed
the abatis, traversed the fosse or ditch, and some actually leaped the
pickets, and mounted the parapet of the redoubt; but the fire of the
Americans was so heavy and continuous that they were soon
* The following is a list and description of the American fleet:
Thirteen galleys, one bearing a thirty-two pounder; two carrying each
a twenty-four pounder; ten each an eighteen pounder. Twenty-six
half-galleys, each carrying a four pounder. Two xebeques, each carrying
in bow two twenty-four pounders; in stern, two eighteen pounders;
in waist, four nine pounders. Two floating batteries (the Arnold
and Putnam), one carrying twelve eighteen pounders, one ten eighteen
pounders. One provincial ship, ten eighteen pounders. Fourteen
fire-ships. The brig Andre Doria, of fourteen six pounders. One
schooner-galley, in bow two eighteen pounders; in stern, two nine
pounders. One brig-galley, in bow two eighteen pounders; in stern, two
nine pounders. There were also a number of fire-rafts.
** De Chastellux, i., 262.
[[[Repulse of the Hessians at Red Bank.--Count
Donop.--Lieutenant-colonel Greene.--Monument at Red Bank.]]]
{294}forced back, and driven out with great loss. They retreated
precipitately to Haddonfield, under Lieutenant-colonel Linsing, (Donop,
and Mingerode, his second in command, being wounded), leaving between
three and four hundred of their comrades behind. They were considerably
galled, when first retreating, by the American galleys and floating
batteries in the river. The conflict was short, but severe. The precise
loss of the enemy is not known. Marshall estimates it at four hundred
in killed and wounded. Colonel Donop, the commander of the expedition,
fell, mortally wounded, at the first fire. After the engagement, while
Manduit, the French engineer, who directed the American artillery on the
occasion, was out with a detachment, fixing the palisades, he heard a
voice among the slain, saying, "Whoever you are, draw me hence." It was
the voice of Count Donop. Manduit had him conveyed into the fort, and
the next day to Mr. Whitall's, where he attended him until his death,
which occurred three days afterward. "It is finishing a noble career
early" [he was thirty-seven], said Donop to Manduit, "but I die the
victim of my ambition and of the avarice of my sovereign." * The loss of
the Americans within the fort was eight men killed, twenty-nine wounded,
and a captain taken prisoner while reconnoitering. The number killed by
the bursting of the cannon, mentioned on a preceding page, is not known.
So close was the combat at one time, that several Hessians were pierced
by the gun-wads of the Americans. **
The conduct of Lieutenant-colonel Greene *** on this occasion was highly
applauded, and [[November 4, 1777]] Congress ordered the Board of War to
present him with an elegant sword.
This tribute was given to his family at the close of the contest, when
Colonel Greene was no longer living to receive it. He had been basely
murdered in his quarters, near Croton River, in Westchester county, New
York, by a band of Tories, consisting of about one hundred and fifty
dragoons, under Colonel Delaney, who surprised his post. Colonel Greene
fell after his single arm had slain several of his assailants. They
attempted to carry him off, but he died upon the road. Major Flagg, a
meritorious officer, was killed at the same time; also two subalterns
and twenty-seven men were killed or wounded. ****
In commemoration of the battle at Red Bank and the valor of Colonel
Greene, a monument of blue veined marble, about fifteen feet high, was
erected in 1829, just within the northern line of the outworks of
Fort Mercer, and within a few feet of the margin of the Delaware. This
tribute to the memory of valor and patriotism was made by some New
Jersey and Pennsylvania volunteers. While it is a testimony of one of
the most noble traits in human character, it bears an exhibition of the
existence of another of the most detestable. In the inscription were the
words _New Jersey and Pennsylvania_, in a single prominent line. Some
Jersey scoundrel almost obliterated the word Pennsylvania; and afterward
some Pennsylvania Vandal, in the fierceness of his retaliatory zeal for
the credit of his state, disgraced it, so far as insignificance could do
it, by obliterating the words New Jersey. The whole line is destroyed;
and that marble shaft perpetuates a remembrance of unknown barbarians as
well as of honored patriots. (v)
* De Chastellux, i., 266.
** Marshall. Ramsay. De Chastellux. Major Ward's Letter.
*** Christopher Greene, a native of Rhode Island, was a brave and
accomplished soldier. When the battles at Lexington and Concord awakened
the nation, he went to the field. After the battle of Bunker Hill he
was appointed colonel of a Rhode Island regiment, and in that capacity
accompanied Arnold through the wilderness to Quebec, and fought bravely
under the walls of that city, when beleaguered by Montgomery. In the
autumn of 1777, he was placed in chief command at Fort Mercer, at
Red Bank, with his own and Angell's regiments, which formed a part of
General Varnum's brigade. He there behaved with gallantry, and received
marks of approbation from Congress. He continued in active service
until his death, which occurred on the 13th of May, 1781, at the age
of forty-four years. Lieutenant-colonel Greene left a widow, with three
sons and four daughters. She was the child of J. Lippitt, Esq., of
Warwick, Rhode Island.
**** See Heath's Memoirs. Bolton, in his History of Westchester County
(ii., 391), says that the house in which Greene was quartered belonged
to Richard Davenport, and is situated at the end of a narrow lane which
diverges from the Pine's Bridge road, about a mile below the residence
of William Smith. When he wrote (1848) the house was in the possession
of Joshua Carpenter, a grandson of Davenport.
* (v) The following is a copy of the inscriptions upon the monument:
South side.--"This monument was erected on the 22d Octo., 1829, to
transmit to Posterity a grateful remembrance of the Patriotism and
Gallantry of Lieutenant-colonel Christopher Greene, who, with 400 men,
conquered the Hessian army of 2000 troops (then in the British service),
at Red Bank, on the 22d Octo., 1777. Among the slain was found their
commander, Count Donop, whose body lies interred near the spot where
he fell." West side.--"A number of the New Jersey and Pennsylvania
Volunteers, being desirous to perpetuate the memory of the distinguished
officers and soldiers who fought and bled in the glorious struggle for
American Independence, have erected this monument, on the 22d day of
October, A.D. 1829."
[[[Attack on Fort Mifflin.--American Flotilla.--Lieutenant-colonel
Smith.]]]
{295}The firing of the first gun from the Hessian battery upon Fort
Mercer was the signal for the British vessels to approach and attack
Fort Mifflin. They had already made their way through the lower barrier
at Billingsport, and the Augusta, a sixty-four gun ship, and several
smaller vessels, were anchored just above it, waiting for flood tide.
[Illustration: 8305]
As soon as Fort Mercer was attacked, the Augusta, with the Roebuck,
of forty-four guns, two frigates, the Merlin, of eighteen guns, and
a galley came up, but were kept at bay by the American galleys and
floating batteries. These galleys did good execution, not only upon the
British vessels, but by flanking the assailants at Red Bank.
The attack upon Fort Mifflin was deferred [[October 23, 1777]] until
next morning, when, the Hessians being driven from Fort Mercer, the
whole power of the American flotilla was brought to bear upon the
British fleet. A heavy cannonade was opened upon Fort Mifflin, and
attempts were made to get floating batteries in the channel in the
rear of Mud Island. Lieutenant-colonel Smith, * the commandant at Fort
Mifflin, who was vigilant and brave, thwarted every attempt thus to
outflank him (if the term may be used in reference to a garrison in a
fort), and by a gallant defense essentially aided the American flotilla
in repulsing the enemy. The fire was so fierce and incessant, that the
British ships endeavored to fall down the river. A hot shot struck and
set fire to the Augusta; and at noon, while lying aground upon a mud
bank near the Jersey Monument at Red Bank. **
* Samuel Smith was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, July 27th,
1752. His education, commenced at Carlisle, was completed at an academy
at Elkton, in Maryland, after his father made Baltimore his place of
residence. He was in his father's counting-house five years, and then,
in 1772, sailed for Havre in one of his father's vessels, as supercargo.
Having traveled extensively in Europe, he returned home to find his
countrymen in the midst of the excitements of the opening of the
Revolutionary hostilities. The battles of Lexington, Concord, and Bunker
Hill had been fought. Fired with patriotic zeal, he sought to serve
his country in the army, and in January, 1776, obtained a captain's
commission in Colonel Smallwood's regiment. He was soon afterward
promoted to the rank of major, and early in 1777 he received a
lieutenant colonel's commission. In that capacity he served with
distinction in the battles of Brandywine and Fort Mifflin, suffered at
Valley Forge, and participated in the action on the plains of Monmouth.
At the close of the war he was appointed a brigadier general of militia,
and commanded the Maryland quota of troops in the "Whisky Insurrection"
in Pennsylvania. He served as major general in the war of 1812, and
commanded the troops assembled for the defense of Baltimore in 1814.
During a riot in Baltimore in 1836, when the civil power was inadequate
to quell the violence of the mob, the aged general, then eighty-four
years old, appeared in the streets with the United States flag, placed
himself at the head of peaceful citizens, and very soon restored order
and tranquillity. In the autumn of that year he was elected mayor of the
city, which office he held until his death on the 22d of April, 1839,
at the age of eighty-seven years. General Smith was elected a
representative in Congress in 1793, and served until 1803. He was again
elected in 1816, and served six years longer. He was also a member
of the United States Senate for a period of twenty-three years. The
accompanying portrait is from an engraving by St. Memin, an artist who
engraved a large number of the distinguished men of our country at about
the commencement of the present century. The signature is from a frank,
kindly sent to me by his son, General Smith, president of the Maryland
Historical Society.
** This view includes the monument, a portion of the Delaware, and the
mouth of the Schuylkill, on the western shore.
[[[Successful Defense of Fort Mifflin.--Preparations for another
Attack.--Plan of the Fort.]]]
{296}shore, she blew up. The engagement continued with the other vessels
until three o'clock in the afternoon, when the Merlin also took fire
and blew up, near the mouth of Mud Creek. The conflict now ceased; the
Roebuck dropped down the river, and passed below the _chevaux de frisé_
* at Billingsport, and the Americans remained masters of the Delaware
forts for a short season. **
[Illustration: 8306]
It was, indeed, cut a short season that quiet possession of the river
was vouchsafed the patriots. Although repulsed, his ships beaten back,
and his mercenary allies decimated, Howe was not discouraged; and he
labored eagerly and hopefully to dislodge the Americans from their
strong posts upon the only avenue through which his army could receive
food and clothing, and his magazine supplies for the winter.
[Illustration: 9306]
A timely re-enforcement from New York enabled him to act with energy. He
took possession of Province Island, lying between Fort Mifflin and the
main, and at different points works were thrown up to strengthen his
power and annoy the patriots. This was on the 1st of November; and from
that time never, was a garrison more harassed than that at Fort Mifflin;
and never was patience and courage more nobly exhibited than was then
shown by Lieutenant-colonel Smith and his compatriots.
Old Fort Mifflin was upon the lower end of Mud (now Fort) Island, having
its principal fortification in front, for the purpose of repelling ships
that might come up the river.
On the side toward Province Island (a low mud bank, nearly covered at
high water, and separated from Mud Island by a narrow channel) the fort
had only a wet ditch, without ravelin or abatis. This part was flanked
by a blockhouse at each of its angles. These were not strong. When the
Americans saw the enemy take possession of Province Island, and begin
the planting of batteries to bruise their weakest points, they were
sensible that Fort Mifflin would be untenable if the British completed
their works. Such, too, was the painful conviction of Washington, and
from his camp at Whitemarsh he put forth all his energies to prevent
the evil. But, weak in numbers, and deficient in every thing which
constitutes the strength of an army, he was obliged to see the
enemy, day alter day, rearing his battle-works, without being able to
interpose. He had sent anxious requests to General Gates to forward
re-enforcements from the North, Burgoyne's invading army being cap-
* The Merlin, like the Augusta, had got aground, and stuck so fast that
it was impossible to get her off. The obstructions which the Americans
had placed in the river had caused such a change in the channels, that
the pilots of the British vessels were completely at fault.
** On the 4th of November, ten days after the battle, Congress honored
Lieutenant-colonel Smith and Commodore Hazlewood, by voting each an
elegant sword.--Journals of Congress, iii., 374.
*** Explanation.--A, the inner work or redoubt; bbb, a high, thick stone
wall, built by Montressor, with indentations, where the men boiled
their kettles. This wall was pierced with loop-holes for musketry. cccc
block-houses, built of wood, with loop-holes, and mounting four
pieces of cannon each, two on the lower platform; ddd, barracks; eee,
stockadoes; fff trous de Loup; g g, ravelins. On the southeast side were
two strong piers, and a battery mounting three cannons.
[[[Washington's Efforts to Re enforce his Army.--Conduct of Gates and
Putnam.--Second Attack on Fort Mifflin.]]]
{297}tured, and no other formidable enemy requiring a large force in
that quarter; but that officer, doubtless willing to see his _rival_
unsuccessful, gave no heed to his orders until longer non-compliance
would have been positive disobedience. * To break up the encampment at
Whitemarsh, and move the army to the west side of the Schuylkill, would
be to leave depositories of stores and hospitals for the sick within
reach of the enemy. It would also leave the fords of the Schuylkill in
the custody of the royal troops, and render a junction of the expected
Northern forces with the main army difficult, if not impossible.
Furthermore, it might bring on a general engagement, which, with
his weakened forces, the commander-inchief knew might be fatal. Thus
situated, Washington viewed the progress of the enemy in his designs
upon Fort Mifflin with intense anxiety.
The British erected five batteries on Province Island, of eighteen,
twenty-four, and thirty-two pounders, within five hundred yards of
Fort Mifflin. They also brought up, by the new channel made between Hog
Island and the main by the changing of the current by the _chevaux
de frise_, a large floating battery, mounting twenty-two twenty-four
pounders, within forty yards of an angle of the fort. They also brought
to bear upon the fort four sixty-four gun ships, within nine hundred
yards, and two forty gun ships. Altogether the enemy had fourteen strong
redoubts, and these were well manned and furnished with heavy artillery.
On the 10th of November, the enemy opened their batteries on land and
water, and for six consecutive days poured a storm of bombs and round
shot upon the devoted fortification. With consummate skill and courage,
Lieutenant-colonel Smith directed the responses from the ordnance of the
fort. The artillery, drawn chiefly from Colonel Lamb's regiment, were
commanded by Lieutenant Treat, who was killed on the first day of
the siege, by the bursting of a bomb. On that day the barracks alone
suffered, but on the morning of the 11th the direction of the enemy's
fire was changed; a dozen of the strong palisades were demolished, and
a cannon in an embrasure was disabled. The firing did not cease until
midnight, and many of the garrison were killed or wounded. Colonel
Smith, the commander, had a narrow escape. He had just gone into the
barracks to write a letter to General Varnum, when a ball passed through
a chimney. He was struck by the scattered bricks, and for a time lay
senseless. He was taken across to Red Bank, and the command devolved on
Lieutenant-colonel Russell, of the Connecticut line. That officer was
disabled by fatigue and ill health, and Major Thayer, of the Rhode
Island line, volunteered to take his place. Major Henry, who sent daily
reports to Washington of the progress of the siege, was also wounded
on the 11th, but he continued with the garrison. On the 12th, a two-gun
battery of the Americans was destroyed, the northwest block-house and
laboratory were blown up, and the garrison were obliged to seek shelter
within the fort. The enemy continued to throw shells at night, and
fearful indeed was the scene. At
* Gates had ample stores and a formidable force; and had he acted with
the energy of true patriotism, he might have re-enforced Washington, by
which the Delaware forts could have been saved, and the enemy driven
out of Philadelphia. But he was vainly expecting soon to supersede
Washington in the chief command, and he treated his orders with
indifference. So tardy were his movements, when he concluded to comply,
that Washington sent Colonel Hamilton to hasten his march. When Hamilton
arrived at Albany, he found Gates reluctant to part with any of his
troops; but, after much persuasion, he consented to send Morgan's
corps and some thin brigades to the commander-in-chief. Hamilton
was indignant, and by plain speech caused Gates to send a stronger
re-enforcement. These, on their march down the Hudson, encountered a
check from Putnam, who, dreaming of glory to be derived from an attack
on New York, had actually detained a part of the force sent forward by
Gates, and had marched them to Tarrytown, while he had himself advanced
to White Plains. Thus, by tardy movements in Congress, and the undutiful
ambition of subordinate officers, Washington was often foiled. Hamilton,
by advice of Governor Clinton, assumed the authority of issuing a
peremptory order to Putnam to put the Continental troops in motion for
Whitemarsh.
* I now, sir," he wrote, "in the most explicit terms, by his
excellency's authority, give it as a positive order from him, that all
the Continental troops under your command may be immediately marched
to King's Ferry, there to cross the river, and hasten to re-enforce the
army under him." The Massachusetts militia and some new recruits were
to replace the Continental soldiers thus sent away. So much did Hamilton
censure Putnam when he returned to head-quarters, that it was thought a
court martial would arraign the veteran; but the matter was passed
over without notice, obedience having followed the peremptory order of
Washington's representative.
[[[Gallant Defense of Fort Mifflin.--Destructive Effects of Cannons and
Bombs.--Plan of Operations on the Delaware]]]
{298}sunrise on the 13th, thirty armed boats made their appearance; and
during that night the heavy floating battery was brought to bear upon
the fort.
[Illustration: 0308]
It opened with terrible effect on the morning of the 14th, yet that
little garrison of only three hundred men managed to silence it before
noon. Hitherto the enemy did not know the real weakness of the garrison;
on that day a deserter, in a boat, carried information of the fact to
the British, who were seriously thinking of abandoning the siege, for
they had suffered much. Hope was revived, and preparations were made for
a general and more vigorous assault. At daylight, on the 15th, the Iris
and Somerset, men-of-war, passed up the east channel to attack the fort
on Mud Island in front. Several frigates were brought to bear on
Fort Mercer; and the Vigilant, an East Indiaman of twenty twenty-four
pounders, and a hulk with three twenty-four pounders, made their way
through a narrow channel on the western side, and gained a position to
act in concert with the batteries on Province Island, in enfilading the
American works. At ten o'clock, while all was silent, a signal-bugle
sent forth its summons to action, and instantly the land batteries and
the shipping poured a terrible storm of missiles upon Fort Mifflin. The
little garrison sustained the shock with astonishing intrepidity, and
far into the gloom of evening an incessant cannonade was kept up. Within
an hour, the only two cannons in the fort which had not been dismounted
shared the fate of the others. Every man who appeared upon the platform
was killed by the musketeers in the tops of the ships, whose yards
almost hung over the American battery. Long before night not a palisade
was left; the embrasures were ruined; the whole parapet leveled; the
block-houses were already destroyed. Early in the evening Major Thayer
sent all the remnant of the garrison to Red Bank, excepting forty men,
with whom he remained. Among those sent was the brave Captain
* Note. Explanation of the Map.--This shows the main operations upon the
Delaware between the middle of October and the close of November, 1777.
Fort Mifflin is seen on the lower end of Mud Island. A, B, two British
transports; C, the Experiment; D, the Vigilant frigate; E, the Fury
sloop; F, a passage opened through the stockadoes; G,
American fleet burned at Gloucester; H. the village of Woodbury and
Cornwallis's encampment on the 21st of November, 1777; I, camp on the
24th, between the branches of Timber Creek; J, a battery of two eighteen
pounders and two nine pounders; K, fort at Billingsport, Colonel
Stirling's corps, and Cornwallis's camp on the 18th of November; L,
redoubt on Carpenter's Island; M, on Province Island, to cover the
bridge in the direction of Philadelphia; N, a battery of six twenty-four
pounders, one eight-inch howitzer, and one eight-inch mortar; 0, a
battery with one eight-inch howitzer and one eight-inch mortar; P, a
battery with one thirteen-inch mortar; n, two twelve pounders; o, one
eighteen pounder; S, stockadoes in the channel in front of Fort
Mifllin; a, a small vessel; b. wreck of the Merlin; c, the Liverpool:
d. Cornwallis galley; e, the Pearl; f the Somerset; g, the Roebuck; h,
wreck of the Augusta; i, the Iris; j. ship sunk; k, the Vigilant; l, the
Fury; W, the Whitall house, just below Fort Mercer. The parallelograms
around Fort Mercer denote the attack bv Donop, on the 22d of October.
The small island between Red Bank Island and the Jersey shore is
Woodbury Island, on which the Americans erected a small battery. The
creek, just below Fort Mercer, is Woodbury Creek, a deep and sluggish
stream, near the Delaware.
[[[Retreat of the Garrison.--Destruction of the Fort.--Movements in New
Jersey.--Fort Mercer Abandoned.]]]
{299}(afterward Commodore) Talbot, of the Rhode Island line, who was
wounded in the hip, having fought for hours with his wrist shattered by
a musket ball. At midnight, every defense and every shelter being
swept away, Thayer and his men set fire to the remains of the barracks,
evacuated the fort, and escaped in safety to Red Bank. Altogether it was
one of the most gallant and obstinate defenses made during the war. In
the course of the last day, more than a thousand discharges of cannon,
from twelve to thirty-two pounders, were made against the works on Mud
Island. Nearly two hundred and fifty men of the garrison were killed and
wounded. The loss of the British was great; the number was not certainly
known. *
Fort Mercer was still in possession of the Continental troops. Howe
determined to dislodge them; for, while they remained, the obstructions
in the river could not, with safety, be removed. While a portion of
his force was beating down Fort Mifflin, he was busy in fortifying
Philadelphia. He had extended intrenchments across from the Delaware to
the Schuylkill. Having received more re-enforcements from New York, he
sent Cornwallis to fall upon Fort Mercer in the rear. That officer,
with a detachment of about two thousand men, crossed the Delaware from
Chester to Billingsport, where he was joined by some [[November 18,
1777]] troops just arrived from New York. Washington had been apprised
of this movement, and had detached General Huntington's brigade to join
that of Varnum in New Jersey. He also ordered Major-general Greene to
proceed with his division to the relief of the garrison, and to oppose
Cornwallis. That able officer, accompanied by La Fayette, who had
not yet quite recovered from a wound received in the battle on the
Brandywine, crossed the Delaware at Burlington, and marched with a
considerable force toward Red Bank. He expected to be re-enforced
by Glover's brigade, then on its march through New Jersey, but was
disappointed. Ascertaining that the force of Cornwallis was greatly
superior to his own in numbers, General Greene abandoned the plan of
giving him battle, and filed off toward Haddonfield. Colonel Greene,
deprived of all hope of succor, evacuated Fort Mercer, leaving the
artillery, with a considerable quantity of cannon-balls and stores, in
the hands [[November 20]] of the enemy. Cornwallis dismantled the fort
and demolished the works. His army was augmented by re-enforcements,
and, with about five thousand men, he took post at and fortified
Gloucester Point, whence he might have a supervision of affairs in Lower
Jersey. Morgan's rifle corps joined General Greene, but the Americans
were not strong enough to venture a regular attack upon Cornwallis. A
detachment of one hundred and fifty riflemen, under Lieutenant-colonel
Butler, and an equal number of militia, under La Fayette, attacked a
picket of the enemy three hundred strong, killed between twenty and
thirty of them, drove the remainder quite into the camp at Gloucester,
and returned without losing a man. General Greene soon afterward
withdrew from New Jersey and joined Washington, and Cornwallis returned
to Philadelphia. The American fleet, no longer supported by the forts,
sought other places of safety. On a dark night, the galleys, one
[[November 21, 1777]] brig, and two sloops, crept cautiously along the
Jersey shore past Philadelphia, and escaped to Burlington. Seventeen
other vessels, unable to escape, were abandoned by their crews, and
burned at Gloucester. ** The American defenses on the Delaware were now
scattered to the winds; the obstructions in the river were removed;
the enemy had full possession of Philadelphia; Congress had fled to the
interior, and the broken battalions of the patriot army sought winter
quarters on the banks of the Schuylkill, at Valley Forge.
Gloomy indeed were the November twilights of 1777 to the eye and
heart of the patriot, for there were no brilliant omens of a pleasant
to-morrow. Not so was the bright sunset and radiant twilight of that
November evening in 1848, when we left the ruins at Red Bank and sought
a waterman to convey us back to League Island. There was no cloud in the
heavens; an orange glow suffused the chambers of the west where the
king of day had gone to his couch, and promises of a fair to-morrow were
revealed in the clear sky.
* Gordon, ii., 276. Botta, ii., 51. Washington's Letters.
** See plan on the preceding page.
[[[Ancient Philadelphia.--The "Slate-roof House" and its
Associations.]]]
{300}