inhabitants of the cities, and those educated patriotic people who,
although no gentle blood flowed in their veins, had either obtained
office under Joseph's reign or had imbibed the political views of that
monarch. But all of these men combined formed but an insignificant
fraction of the people compared to the numerous nobility, who, after
their enforced submission during ten years, were eager to turn to the
advantage of their own class the victory they had achieved over Joseph.
During the initial preparations for the elections to the Diet, and in
the course of the elections, sentiments were publicly uttered and
obtained a majority in the county assemblies, which caused a feverish
commotion among the common people and the peasantry.
The latter especially now eagerly clung to innovations introduced by the
Emperor Joseph, so beneficial as regarded their own class, and were
reluctant to submit to the restoration of the former arbitrary landlord
system. Their remonstrances were answered by the counties to the effect
that Providence had willed it so that some men should be kings, others
nobles, and others again bondmen. Such cruel reasoning failed to satisfy
the aggrieved peasantry. Symptoms of a dangerous revolutionary spirit
showed themselves throughout a large portion of the country, and an
outbreak could be prevented only by the timely assurance, on the part of
the counties, that the matter would be submitted to the Diet about to
assemble.
The Diet, which had not been convened for twenty-five years, opened in
Buda in the beginning of June, 1790. The coronation soon took place.
Fifty years had elapsed since the last similar pageant had been enacted
in Hungary. After a lengthy and vehement contest extending over ten
months, in the course of which the Diet was removed from Buda to
Presburg, the laws of 1790-1791, which form part of the fundamental
articles of the Hungarian Constitution, were finally passed. By them the
independence of Hungary as a state obtained the fullest recognition. The
laws, which were the result of the cooperation of the crown and the
Estates, declared that Hungary was an independent country, subject to no
other country, possessing her own constitution, by which alone she was
to be governed.
Important concessions were also made to the rights of the citizens of
the country. The privileges of the nobility were left intact, but the
extreme wing of the reactionary nobles had to rest satisfied with this
acquiescence in the former state of things, and were not allowed to push
the narrow-minded measures advocated by them. The majority of the Diet
was influenced in their wise moderation, partly by the exalted views of
the King and to a greater extent yet by the disaffected spirit rife
among the people, and especially threatening among the Serb population
of the country. The laws secured the liberties of the Protestant and the
Greek united churches, remedied the most urgent griefs of the peasantry,
and declared those who were not noble capable of holding minor offices.
Although the most important measures of reform were put off to a future
time by the Diet of 1790-1791, several preparatory royal commissions
having been appointed for their consideration, yet the work it
accomplished was the salutary beginning of a liberal legislation which
culminated, not quite sixty years later, in the declaration of the equal
rights of the people as the basis of the Hungarian commonwealth.
After the meeting of this Diet, however, very little was done in the
direction of reforms. The good work was interrupted, partly by the
premature death of Leopold II (March 1, 1792), and partly by the warlike
period, extending over twenty-five years, which, in Hungary as
throughout all Europe, claimed public attention, and diverted the minds
of the leaders of the nation from domestic topics. Francis I, the son
and successor of Leopold II, caused himself to be crowned in due form,
and much was at first hoped from his reign. But the Jacobin rule of
terror in Paris, and the dread of seeing the revolutionary scenes
repeated in his own realm, wrought a complete change in his character
and policy.
He soon stubbornly rejected every innovation, and gradually became a
pillar of strength for the European reaction, that extravagant
conservatism which expected to efface the effects of the French
Revolution by an unquestioning adherence to the old and traditional
order of things. This illiberal spirit of the monarch rendered
impossible for the time any further reform movement in Hungary. Every
question of desirable change met with the most obstinate opposition on
the part of the King, and the reforms submitted by the royal commissions
were considered by every successive Diet without ever becoming law.
The period which now followed was gloomy in the extreme, as well for
Hungary as for the Austrian provinces of Francis I. The inhabitants of
these countries were constantly called upon by the King in the course of
the wars to make sacrifices in treasure and blood, by furnishing
recruits and by paying high taxes. At the same time the Government
resorted to the most absolute and arbitrary measures to prevent the
people from being contaminated with French ideas. The press was crushed
by severe penalties. Every enlightened idea was banished from the
schools and expunged from the school-books. Only men for whose extreme
reactionary spirit the police could vouch were appointed to the
professorships or to other offices. A system of universal spying and
secret information caused everybody to be suspected and to suffer from
private vindictiveness, while those who dared to avow liberal views were
the objects of cruel persecution.
FOOTNOTES:
[28] From Vambery's _Hungary_, in Story of the Nations Series (New York:
G. P. Putnam's Sons), by permission.
SIEGE AND SURRENDER OF YORKTOWN
A.D. 1781
HENRY B. DAWSON LORD CORNWALLIS
After almost seven years of struggle, the American colonies,
with the aid of France, won by the success of their arms
that independence which they declared in 1776. The close of
the Yorktown campaign with the surrender of Cornwallis
virtually ended the Revolutionary War.
While the victory of the Americans over Burgoyne at Saratoga
(1777) produced a most encouraging effect upon the colonies,
their scattered forces still had much arduous work before
them. The defeat of Washington at Brandywine and at
Germantown (September and October, 1777) left the British,
under Howe, in possession of Philadelphia. Being in no
condition to keep the field, Washington went into winter
quarters at Valley Forge, twenty miles northwest of that
city. There, in the most inhospitable surroundings, the army
remained from the middle of December, 1777, suffering untold
privations, while the British passed a winter of gayety in
Philadelphia. The American camp consisted of log huts with
windows of oiled paper. The soldiers built the huts in
bitter weather, their only food being cakes of flour and
water which they baked at the open fires. To the hardships
of exposure were added the sufferings of disease; to
scarcity of provisions, lack of clothing. The men, said
Lafayette, "were in want of everything; they had neither
coats, hats, shirts, nor shoes; their feet and their legs
froze till they became black, and it was often necessary to
amputate them."
After such a winter it seems remarkable that Washington
could have so strengthened his army as to win the Battle of
Monmouth in the following June. The next considerable events
of the war were the taking of Stony Point by the British in
1779, and its recapture by Anthony Wayne in the same year.
The war went on during the next two years with varying
results, but none decisive. The defection of Benedict Arnold
deprived the Americans of a capable soldier and gave him to
the enemy. The American victory at the Battle of the
Cowpens, January 17, 1781, was offset by the triumph of
Cornwallis at Guilford Court House, March 15th, but this was
that general's last success on American soil. His own
account of the surrender of Yorktown, in a letter addressed
to Sir Henry Clinton, here follows the complete narrative of
Dawson, which covers the final year of the actual War of the
American Revolution.
HENRY B. DAWSON
The seventh year of the War of the Revolution was productive of great
events. Opening with the mutiny of the Pennsylvania line of troops, its
progress soon developed the disaffection of the New Jersey line also,
and all the skill of General Washington was necessary to maintain that
discipline in the army on which the salvation of the country depended.
The resources of the country, from the long-continued struggle through
which it had passed during six years, had become exhausted; its currency
had become depreciated beyond precedent; and the people, weary of the
contest, were lukewarm as well as enervated.
At that time, also, the Federal Congress appeared to lack that nerve and
decision which had marked the proceedings of the same body earlier in
the war; and contenting itself with "recommendations," without
attempting to enforce its requisitions or even to advise the adoption of
compulsory measures by the States, it left the troops who were in the
field without clothing, provisions, or pay, and indirectly forced upon
them those acts of apparent insurrection which, resolved to their first
elements, might not improperly have been called "acts of necessity," and
been justified, in charity, as essential to their self-preservation.
So gloomy, indeed, were the prospects of American independence at that
time that the interposition of some foreign government was, by general
consent, considered absolutely essential; and never were the good
qualities of the Commander-in-Chief more nobly displayed than at this
period, when, amid the most pressing discouragements, referred to, he
urged the States to strengthen the bonds of the confederacy and to renew
their efforts for the great final struggle with their haughty and
determined enemy.
The enemy, still anxiously seeking to establish his power in the
Southern States, had sent General Arnold to Virginia, with a strong
detachment of troops, to cooperate with Lord Cornwallis, who was busily
engaged, in a series of movements, in measuring his strength and his
skill with General Greene; and, soon afterward, a second detachment,
under General Phillips, was sent to the same State.
Early in May the Count de Barras arrived from Europe with the welcome
intelligence of the approach of reenforcements from France; and that a
strong fleet from the West Indies, under Count de Grasse, might be
expected in the American waters within a few weeks. In view of these
facts a conference between General Washington and the Count de
Rochambeau was held at Weathersfield soon afterward, and the plans of
the campaign were discussed and determined on.
Among the principal operations proposed was an attack on the city of New
York; and in accordance with these plans the allied forces of America
and France moved against that city. Every necessary preparation had been
made for the commencement of active operations, when, on August 14th, a
letter reached General Washington in which the Count de Grasse informed
him that the entire French West Indian fleet, with more than three
thousand land forces, would shortly sail from Santo Domingo for the
Chesapeake, intimating, however, that he could not remain longer than
the middle of October, at which time it would be necessary for him to be
on his station again. As the limited period which the Count could spend
in the service of the allies was not sufficient to warrant the
supposition that he could be useful before New York, the entire plan of
the campaign was changed; and it was resolved to proceed to Virginia,
with the whole of the French troops and as many of the Americans as
could be spared from the defence of the posts on the Hudson; and instead
of besieging Sir Henry Clinton, in his head-quarters in New York, a
movement against Lord Cornwallis and the powerful detachment under his
command was resolved on.
At the period in question Lord Cornwallis had moved out of the
Carolinas, formed a junction with the force under General Phillips, and
had overrun the lower counties of Virginia, until General Lafayette, who
had been sent to the State some weeks after, by superior skill and the
most active exertions had succeeded in checking his progress. The
purpose of the allies was to prevent the escape of Lord Cornwallis from
his position near Yorktown; and General Lafayette was ordered to make
such a disposition of his army as should be best calculated to effect
that purpose. In case this purpose should be defeated, and Lord
Cornwallis succeed in effecting a retreat into North Carolina, it was
designed to pursue him with sufficient force to overawe him: while the
remainder of the armies, at the same time, should proceed, with the
French fleet, to Charleston, which was, at the same time, the enemy's
head-quarters in the South.
The marine force of the allies was composed of two fleets--that of
Admiral Count de Grasse, then on its way from the West Indies, composed
of twenty-six sail of the line and several frigates; and that of Admiral
Count de Barras, then at anchor in Newport, composed of eight sail of
the line, besides transports and victuallers: their military force
embraced the main bodies of the American and French armies, under
Generals Washington and Rochambeau, then near New York; the detachment
of American troops, under General Lafayette, then in Virginia; and more
than three thousand French troops, under General Saint-Simon, who were
then on their way from the West Indies with the Count de Grasse.
The main body of the enemy's force, under Sir Henry Clinton, was in the
city of New York and its immediate vicinity; Lord Cornwallis, with his
own command and that which, under Generals Phillips and Arnold, had
overrun some portions of Virginia, numbering in the aggregate about
seven thousand three hundred fifty men, exclusive of seamen and Tories,
was occupying the neck of land between the James and York rivers, where
General Lafayette was holding him in check; while the Southern army,
under Lieutenant-Colonel Balfour, through the successful movements of
General Greene, was mostly confined to Charleston and its immediate
vicinity. Admiral Rodney, with a large naval force, was leisurely
spending his time in securing his portion of the spoils in the West
Indies; Sir Samuel Hood, with fifteen sail of the line and six smaller
vessels, had been detached by Admiral Rodney to intercept Admiral de
Grasse, and to maintain an equality of power in the American waters; and
Admiral Graves, with part of his fleet in New York and a part before
Newport, caused the enemy to feel perfectly secure in the positions he
occupied.
As has been stated, the intelligence from Admiral de Grasse changed the
plans of the allies; and, instead of General Clinton and the main body
of the enemy in the city of New York, Lord Cornwallis and the combined
forces under his command, then at Yorktown, were made the objects of
General Washington's attention. In executing this plan, however, it was
necessary to exercise great caution, not only to prevent Sir Henry
Clinton from moving to the assistance of Lord Cornwallis, but also to
prevent Admiral Graves from joining Sir Samuel Hood, and, by occupying
the Chesapeake, keeping open the communication by sea between Yorktown
and New York.
For this purpose, on August 19th the New Jersey line and Colonel Hazen's
regiment were sent to New Jersey, by way of Dobbs Ferry, to protect a
large number of "ovens" which were ordered to be erected near
Springfield and Chatham in that State; and forage and boats, with some
efforts to display the same, were also collected on the west side of the
Hudson, by which the enemy was led to suppose that an attack was
intended from that quarter. Fictitious letters were also written and put
in the way of the enemy, by which the deception was confirmed; and Sir
Henry Clinton appears to have supposed that Staten Island, or a position
near Sandy Hook, to cover the entrance of the French fleet into the
harbor, was the real object of the movements, until the allied
forces--which had crossed the Hudson, leaving General Heath, with a
respectable force, on its eastern bank--had passed the Delaware, and
rendered the true object of the movement a matter of obvious certainty.
The body of troops with which General Washington moved to the South
embraced all the French auxiliaries, led by Count Rochambeau; the light
infantry of the Continental army, led by Colonel Alexander Scammel;
detachments of light troops from the Connecticut and New York State
troops; the Rhode Island regiment; the regiment known as "Congress'
Own," under Colonel Hazen; two New York regiments; a detachment of New
Jersey troops; and the artillery, under Colonel John Lamb, numbering in
the aggregate about two thousand Americans and a strong body of French.
It is said that the American troops, who were mostly from New England
and the Middle States, marched with reluctance to the southward, showing
"strong symptoms of discontent when they passed through Philadelphia,"
and becoming reconciled only when an advance of a month's pay, in
specie--which was borrowed from Count Rochambeau for that purpose--was
paid to them.
The allies, having thus successfully eluded the watchfulness of the
enemy in New York, pressed forward toward Annapolis and the Head of
Elk, whither transports had been despatched from the French fleet to
convey them to Virginia; and, on September 25th, the last division
reached Williamsburg, where, with General Lafayette and his command, and
the auxiliary troops, the entire army had rendezvoused.
In the mean time the enemy, as well as the French auxiliaries, had not
been inactive. Lord Cornwallis, vainly expecting reenforcements from New
York, had concentrated his army at Yorktown and Gloucester, on opposite
sides of the York River, and had been busily employed in throwing up
strong works of defence, and preparing to sustain a siege.
Admiral Graves, after a bootless cruise to the eastward for the purpose
of intercepting some French storeships, had returned to New York on
August 16th or 17th, and since that time had been employed in refitting,
taking in stores, etc., in blissful ignorance of the approach of Admiral
de Grasse. Admiral Rodney, advised of the movements of the French fleet,
had sent "early notice" to the Admiral commanding in America; but his
despatches, which were sent by the Swallow, Captain Wells, never reached
Admiral Graves. Sir Samuel Hood's squadron also had been sent to the
northward to check the movements of the French fleet or to strengthen
the fleet of Admiral Graves, after touching at the Chesapeake, before
the French fleet arrived there, had sailed for New York, and on the
afternoon of August 28th had reached that port, and communicated to the
Admiral the first intelligence of the movements of the French fleet
which he had received. On August 31st the Admiral, with five ships
belonging to his own command, and the squadron under Sir Samuel Hood,
sailed for the Chesapeake, where he found the French fleet, and on
September 5th accepted the invitation to fight which the Admiral de
Grasse extended to him; but considered it prudent to return to New York
immediately afterward.
The Admiral Count de Grasse, with a naval force of twenty-six sail of
the line and some smaller vessels, had sailed from Santo Domingo on
August 5th; on the 30th of the same month he entered the Chesapeake and
anchored at Lynn Haven; on the following day he had blockaded the mouths
of the James and York rivers, and prevented the retreat of the enemy by
water; and, as has been before stated--notwithstanding the absence of
about nineteen hundred of his men, besides three ships of the line and
two fifties with their crews--had gone out and fought with Admiral
Graves and nineteen sail of the line. General the Marquis Saint-Simon,
at the head of thirty-three hundred French troops, had been landed from
the fleet on September 2d; joined General Lafayette on the 3d; and on
the 5th, with the latter officer and his command, had moved down to
Williamsburg, fifteen miles from York, and cut off the retreat of the
enemy by land. Admiral de Barras, with his squadron and ten transports,
having on board the siege-artillery and a large body of French troops
under M. de Choisy, sailed from Newport on August 25th, and entered Lynn
Haven Bay in safety on September 10th, while Admiral de Grasse was
absent in engagement with Admiral Graves.
As before mentioned, the different divisions of the allied forces
rendezvoused at Williamsburg, in the vicinity of Yorktown, in the latter
part of September. At the same time the enemy's fleet, overawed by the
superior force of the combined fleets under Admirals de Grasse and de
Barras, had returned to New York, leaving General Cornwallis and his
army to the fortunes of war; and enabling the naval force of the allies
to cooperate with their military in all the operations of the siege.
General Heath, with two New Hampshire, ten Massachusetts, and five
Connecticut regiments, the corps of invalids, Sheldon's Legion of
Dragoons, the Third regiment of artillery, and "all such State troops
and militia as were retained in service," remained in the vicinity of
New York to protect the passes in the Highlands, and to check any
movement which Sir Henry Clinton might make for the relief of Lord
Cornwallis.
At daybreak on September 28th the entire body of the army moved from
Williamsburg, and occupied a position within two miles of the enemy's
line; the American troops occupied the right of the line; the French
auxiliaries the left. York, the scene of operations referred to, is a
small village, the seat of justice of York County, Virginia, and is
situated on the southern bank of the York River, eleven miles from its
mouth. On the opposite side of the river is Gloucester Point, on which
the enemy had also taken a position; and the communication between the
two posts was commanded by his land-batteries and by some vessels-of-war
which lay at anchor under his guns.
On September 29th the besiegers were principally employed in
reconnoitring the situation of the enemy and in arranging their plans of
attack. The main body of the enemy was found intrenched in the open
ground about Yorktown, with the intention of checking the progress of
the allies, while an inner line of works, near the village, had been
provided for his ultimate defence; Lieutenant-Colonel Simcoe, with his
legion, the Eightieth regiment of the line, and the Hereditary Prince's
regiment of Hessians, the whole under Lieutenant-Colonel Dundas, being
in possession of Gloucester Point. The only movement was an extension of
the right wing of the allied armies, and the consequent occupation of
the ground east of the Beaver-dam Creek, by the American forces.
On the evening of that day Lord Cornwallis received despatches from New
York in which Sir Henry Clinton advised his lordship that "at a meeting
of the general and flag officers, held this day (September 24, 1781) it
is determined that above five thousand men, rank and file, shall be
embarked on board the King's ships, and the joint exertions of the navy
and army made in a few days to relieve you, and afterward to operate
with you. The fleet consists of twenty-three sail of the line, three of
which are three-deckers. There is every reason to hope that we start
from hence October 5th." Gratified with this promise of assistance, and
probably confident of his ability to hold his inner position until he
could be relieved, Lord Cornwallis imprudently retired from the outer
line of works which he had occupied, and on the same night (September
29th) occupied the town, leaving the outer lines to be occupied by the
allies, without resistance, on the next day.