Class _ tliOl 
 Book T^b 
 
HISTORY 
 
 AMERICAN WARS: 
 
 COMPRISING THE 
 
 WAR OP THE EEYOLUTION 
 
 WA R OF 18 12. 
 
 BEING A COMPLETE 
 
 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES, 
 
 FROM THE YEAR 1775 TO 1815. 
 
 WITH A HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. 
 BY R. THOMAS, A. M. 
 
 i^iSSJii "^^'5-.** ~^-j^^^. 
 
 Sufferings of the Army at Valley Forge. 
 ILLUSTRATED WITH EIGHTY-ONE ENGRAVINGS. 
 
 HARTFORD: 
 PUBLISHED BY HOUSE <k BROWN. 
 1847. 
 

 Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1844, 
 
 BY EZRA STRONG, 
 
 In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Connecticut. 
 
 ■■/ '/ c> y >^ s5r' 
 
 J 
 
 ^<p 
 
 STEREOTYPliD BV 
 
 GEORGE A. CURTIS, 
 
 HEW ENGLAKU TYPE AND STEREOTVPE FOUNDRT, BOSTON. 
 
PREFACE 
 
 The history of the two great wars, which the American 
 states maintained against Great Britain, constitutes the 
 most interesting portion of our national annals, and it has 
 been looked upon as a serious deficiency in our libraries 
 that they possess no properly executed work embracing 
 that important period distinguished by these events. Sep- 
 arate histories of both the wars have been written by many 
 hands, but the want has been felt of a continuous history, 
 commencing with the outbrealc of the revolutionary hos- 
 tilities, and brought down to the termination of the war of 
 1812, when the United States of America, having emerged 
 with success from a second grand struggle with the greatest 
 naval power of Europe, took a prominent rank among the 
 nations of the earth, and convinced the people of the old 
 world, by evidences not to be mistaken, that a powerful 
 empire was rising in the west, under the auspices of the 
 free institutions of America. 
 
 In attempting to supply this deficiency, the author of the 
 following work has, of course, been compelled to go over 
 ground which has been traversed by many a preceding 
 writer. Yet he has not confined himself to a bare repetition 
 of the facts which the pages of those writers already pre- 
 sent. He has sought for new facts, new illustrations, and 
 1* 
 
Vi PREFACE. 
 
 new attractions for the reader. He has endeavored to com- 
 bine a proper degree of entertainment with the soUd useful- 
 ness of an accurate historical work. Anecdotes and minute 
 details have been introduced occasionally, not only to give 
 variety and picturesqueness to the narrative, but as serving 
 the main piupose of liistorical writing, by affording occa- 
 sional dimpses into the genuine spirit and temper of the 
 times, and placing the scenes and personages before the 
 reader's eye with a dramatic vividness, which is doubly 
 sure to arouse the attention and dwell long upon the 
 memory. 
 
 The author tnists that he has done adequate justice to 
 the patriotism, courage, and virtues of our revolutionary 
 sires, and the heroic combatants by land and sea. who so 
 nobly vindicated their country's honor, and covered with 
 glory the star-spangled banner during the late war with the 
 " mistress of the ocean." It has been his object to set forth 
 the achievements of the American arms with the foil meed 
 of praise to which our brave soldiers and sailors are entitled, 
 and on all occasions to excite a proper national feeling. 
 At the same time he has studied to observe a strict and 
 honest impartiahty in the narrative, and to do justice to the 
 motives of all parties. 
 
 The reader, it is beheved, will find this volume a more 
 full, accurate and satisfactory compendirun of the history- 
 of the United States, during the period embraced in it. than 
 any publication, in a popular shape, that has yet appeared. 
 In the style and illustrations, the author has studied clear- 
 ness and perspicuity, and in the occasional remarks and 
 moral reflections, he has introduced such sentiments as, it is 
 hoped, will have a tendency to strengthen our esteem for 
 the wise and good men of our country, and augment the 
 attachment of every American to the free institiuions under 
 which we hve. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 iKTEODUCTIOy. .13 
 
 CHAPTEE II. 
 
 AxEKicAX RETOLmox. — State of feeling among the North American colo- 
 nists — Loyalty of the Americans — Effect of the peace of Paris — Political 
 privileges of the colonies — Scheme for taxing the Americans — Eesoia- 
 tions of the House of Commons — Imposition of duties on imports — Penal 
 enactments — Remonstrances of the colonists — Scheme for a stamp act — 
 Opposition in the House of Commons — Speech of Colonel Barre — Tne 
 stamp act passed — Franklin's remark upon the stamp act — Consternation 
 in America — General disaffection of the colonies — Resolutions in the 
 legislature of Virginia — Speech of Patrick Henry — Combination among 
 the colonies — Excitement on the subject of the stamp act — Disnubances 
 at Boston — Affairs in Connecticut and the southern colonies — Stamped 
 paper btimt at ZVew York — General opposition to the stamp act — Discon- 
 tent in England — Speech of Lord Chatham in parliament — Repeal of the 
 stamp act — Farther designs of the British government — The tea tax — 
 Proceedings in 3Iassachusetts — Convention at Boston — British troops 
 sent to Boston — Xon-importatioa league — Boston Massacre — Discovery 
 of the Hutchinson leners — Great excitement at Boston — Arrival of the 
 tea ships — Ferment at Boston — Destruction of the tea, . . .25 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Amekicax RzvoLmoy. — Indignation of the British government at the 
 destruction of the tea — Boston port-bill — General Gage eovemor of 
 3Iassachusetts — The Quebec bill — General congress at Philadelphia — 
 Further encroachments of the British in 3Iassachusens — Gage forrines 
 Boston Xeck — General court at Concord — Outrage in Boston — Oo:ur- 
 rences in Rhode Island and New Hampshire — Efforts of Lord Chatham 
 and Dr. Franklin in behalf of the colonies — Gage's expedition to Salem 
 — Exasperation of the people of Massachusetts — Battle of Lexingtoii— 
 
Vm CONTENTS. 
 
 Provincial congress in Massachusetts— Capture of Ticonderoga and 
 Crown Point— Movements of the British at Boston — Battle of Bunker 
 Hill, 52 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Washington appointed commander-in-chief — Siege of Boston — Perfidy of 
 General Gage — Howe assumes the command — Siege of Boston — Burning 
 of Falmouth — Confederation of the colonies — Sufferings of the inhabitants 
 of Boston — Bombardment of the town — The Americans occupy Dorches- 
 ter Heights — Evacuation of Boston by the British — Expedition of Sir 
 Peter Parker against South Carolina — Defeat of the British at Charleston 
 — Declaration of Independence — British expedition to New York — Battle 
 of Long Island — Retreat of the Americans — Capture of New York — 
 Disasters of the Americans — Conquest of the Jerseys, . . .74 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 American Revolution. — Project for the invasion of Canada by the Ameri- 
 cans — Extraordinary march of Arnold through the woods of Maine — 
 Expedition of Montgomery against Canada — Capture of Montreal — . 
 Siege and attack of Quebec — Death of Montgomery — Perseverance of 
 Arnold — Evacuation of Canada by the Americans — Desperate condition 
 of the American camp — Fortitude and resolution of Washington — Cap- 
 ture of the Hessians at Trenton — Affair of Princeton — Successful move- 
 ments of Washington — The British expelled from the Jerseys, . 92 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 American Revolution. — I^abors of congress — Continental currency — Rava- 
 ges committed by the British — Tryon's expedition to Connecticut — 
 Adventures of Putnam — Campaign in the Jerseys — Expedition of the 
 British against Philadelphia — Battle of Brandywine — Capture of Phila- 
 delphia — Battle of Germantown — The army at Valley Forge — Anecdote 
 of Lydia Darrah — Campaign in the north — Burgoyne's expedition — Cap- 
 ture of Ticonderoga — Siege of Fort Stanwix — Defeat of Herkimer — 
 Stratagem of the Americans — Murder of Miss M'Crea — Burgoyne's 
 advance — Battle of Bennington — Gates commander of the northern army 
 — Battle of Stillwater — Retreat of Burgoyne to Saratoga — Surrender of 
 Burgoyne, , . 110 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 American Revolution. — Effects of the capture of Burgoyne in Europe — 
 Astonishment and mortification of the British — Opposition in parliament 
 — Obstinacy of the ministry — Treaty of alliance with France — War 
 between France and England — Evacuation of Philadelphia by the British 
 — Battle of Monmouth — Arrival of a French fleet in America — Campaign 
 in Rhode Island — Ravages of the British — Anecdotes of the war — Thomas 
 Paine— Intrigues of the British — Massacre at Wyoming— Surprise and 
 massacre of Colonel Baylor's regiment— Savage warfare in Pennsylvania 
 
CONTENTS. IX 
 
 —Campaign in Georgia— Capture of Savannah by the British— Invasion 
 of South Carolina— Peril of Charleston— Georgia overrun by the British 
 —They retreat from Charleston— Devastations of the British in Vir- 
 ginia, ... 134 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 Amekicam Revolution. — Tryon's marauding expedition to Connecticut — 
 New Haven plundered — Barbarities of the British— Capture of Stony 
 Point— Sullivan's expedition against the Indians— Exploits of Paul Jones 
 — Failure of the expedition to the Penobscot— War in the south — Arrival 
 of D'Estaing's fleet— Siege of Savannah — Repulse of the French and 
 Americans— Death of Pulaski— Gallant exploit of Colonel AVhite — The 
 British evacuate Rhode Island — Clinton invades South Carolina— Siege 
 of Charleston— Surrender of the town — Defeat of Colonel Buford at the 
 Waxhaws — General Gates appointed to the command in the south — Par- 
 tisan war of Marion and Sumter— Knyphausen's excursion to New 
 Jersey — Arrival of a French fleet and army, under DeTiernay and 
 Rochambeau — Lord Cornwallis in South Carolina — Battle of Camden — 
 Disasters of the Americans — Cornwallis threatens North Carolina — 
 'Colonel Furguson's expedition to the north — Defeat of the British at 
 King's Mountain — Atrocities of the war — Imprisonment and escape of 
 General Wadsworth, 157 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 American Revolution. — Treason of Arnold — Capture and execution of 
 Andre — Adventures of Sergeant-Major Champe — Arnold's invasion of 
 Virginia — His marauding expedition to Connecticut — Capture of New 
 London — Catastrophe of Fort Griswold — Revolt of the Pennsylvania line 
 — Foreign relations of the United States — Aflairs in Florida and Louisi- 
 ana — Capture of Mr. Laurens — Mission of John Adams to Holland, 177 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 American Revolution. — -Campaign in the south — General Greene appointed 
 to the command of the southern army — jMarch of Cornwallis to North 
 Carolina — Battle of Cowpens — Defeat of Pill's tory regiment — Greene's 
 retreat to Virginia — Battle of Guilford — March of Cornwallis to Virginia 
 — Clinton sends troops to the Chesapeake — Battle between Green and 
 Rawdon — Devastations of the British in Virginia — Manoeuvres of Steuben 
 and La Fayette — bold stratagem of General Wajme — Greene's move- 
 ments in South Carolina — Battle of Eutaw Springs — War in Virginia — 
 Cornwallis fortifies himself in Yorktown — Washington's dexterous ma- 
 noeuvres — Arrival of De Grasse's French fleet — Battle between De Grasse 
 and Admiral Graves — Siege of Yorktown — Surrender of Cornwallis — 
 Campaign of Greene and Wayne in the south — Expulsion of the British 
 from the Carolinas and Georgia, ....... 196 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 American Revolution. — Obstinacy of George III. — Effects of the surrender 
 of Corn'ti'allis — Opposition in parliament — Change of ministry — Sir Guy 
 
X CONTENTS. 
 
 Carleton appointed to the command in America — Negotiations at Paris — 
 Peace between the United Slates and Great Britain— General pacification 
 in America and Europe — Treatment of American prisoners by the British 
 — The Jersey prison-ship — Depreciation of the continental currency — 
 Discontents of the army— Mutiny of the Pennsylvania line— Outrage 
 committed upon congress— Decisive measures of Washington — The army 
 disbanded — Washington resigns his commission 216 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 The Confedkration. — Washington retires to private life — State of the 
 country — Defects of the old confederation — Embarrassments after the 
 termination of the war — Foundation of the Order of Cincinnati — Trouble 
 in the Eastern States — Insurrection of Shays — The militia of Massa- 
 chusetts raised — Affair of Springfield— Defeat of the insurgents— Tran- 
 quillity restored — Plan for a new federal government — Convention of 
 Philadelphia — Formation of the Federal Constitution — Washington elected 
 president— His tour through the country — Hamilton's financial system 
 — United States Bank established — "Vermont admitted into the Union 
 — First census — Indian war — Defeat of St. Clair — AVayne's campaign — 
 Defeat of the Indians — Treaty of Grenville — The Whiskey Insurrection 
 in Pennsylvania — Commencement of the French Revolution — Arrival of ' 
 Genet in the United States — His extraordinary behavior and recall — 
 Jay's treaty — Adams elected president — Hostility of the French Directory 
 — Capture of the Insurgente — Peace with France — Death of Wash- 
 ington, 226 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 Jefferson's Administration. — Purchase of Louisiana — Commercial afi^airs 
 — War Avith Tripoli — Destruction of the frigate Philadelphia — March of 
 General Eaton from Egypt — Capture of Derne — Peace with Tripoli — 
 Affairs with Spain — Burr's conspiracy — Reelection of Jefferson — Trou- 
 bles with Great Britain — Attack on the Chesapeake — Singular effects of 
 this outrage— Depredations upon American commerce — Paper blockades — 
 Napoleon's Berlin decree — The British orders in council — Mr. Jefferson's 
 gun-boat system — The embargo — Non-intercourse with England — Madi- 
 son elected president — Erskine's mission — Affair of the President and 
 Little Belt — Revocation of the Berlin and Milan decrees and the British 
 orders in council, . 242 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Settlement of the Western States. — Expedition of Daniel Boone to 
 Kentucky — Henderson's expedition — Indian wars — Battle of Blue Licks 
 — Emigration to the west — Settlement of Tennessee — Settlement of Ohio 
 — Purchase of Indian lands — Expedition of Lewis and Clarke — Intrigues 
 of the British among the Indians — Hostility of Blue Jacket and Tecumseh 
 — Impostures and intrigues of the prophet — Treaty of the Wabash — Nego- 
 tiations with Tecumseh — Confederacy of the Indian tribes against the 
 United States — Indian murders and robberies — General Harrison marches 
 
CONTENTS. XI 
 
 against the Imlians— Battle of Tippecanoe— Defeat and dispersion of the 
 enemy — Flight of the prophet, 258 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 War of 1812.— Relations with Great Britain— Bad faith of the British 
 cabinet — Impressment of American seamen — Affair ^f John Henry — 
 Party dissensions — Declaration of war with Great Britain — Mob at Balti- 
 more — Cruise of Commodore Rogers — Chase of the Constitution — Cap- 
 ture of the Guerriere — Capture of the Alert— Capture of the Macedonian 
 — Capture of the Frolic — Capture of the Java — Exultation of the Amer- 
 icans — Military operations by land— Errors of the cabinet — Campaign of 
 General Hull — Invasion of Canada — Capture of Mackinaw by the British 
 — Surrender of Hull's army — Harrison's march — Capture of Fort De- 
 fiance — War on the Niagara frontier — Dearborn's armistice — Attack on 
 Queenstown — Misconduct of the New York militia — Affairs on the lakes 
 — End of the campaign of 1812 — Meeting of congress — Negotiations for 
 peace — Reelection of Mr. Madison, 281 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 War of 1812. — Harrison's winter campaign — Massacre at the River Raisin 
 — Affairs on Lake Ontario — Capture of York — Death of General Pike — 
 Capture of Fort George — Disaster at Stony Creek and Beaver Dam — 
 Attack on Sackett's Harbor — War on the Atlantic coast — Devastations 
 of the British in the Chesapeake — Bombardment of Lewistown — Cock- 
 burn's marauding expedition — Capture of the Peacock — Loss of the 
 frigate Chesapeake — Loss of the Argus — Capture of the Boxer — Loss of 
 the Essex — War in the west — Defence of Sandusky by Major Croghan — 
 Perry's victory on lake Erie — Harrison's invasion of Canada — Battle of 
 the Thames and death of Tecumseh, 300 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 War of 1812. — Operations on the northern frontier — Wilkinson appointed 
 to the command — Expedition against flloutreal — Affair of Chrystler's 
 Field — March of Hampton — Failure of the campaign — Naval affairs on 
 lake Ontario — Burning of Newark — Capture of Fort Niagara — Burning 
 of Buffalo — Indian war in the south — Massacre at Fort Mimms — Hostile 
 movements of the Creeks — Jackson's campaign — Battle of Talladega — 
 Defeat of the Indians— Battle at the Horse-Shoe Bend— Pacification of 
 the south, 327 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 War of 1812. — Operations on the northern frontier— Affair of La Cole Mill 
 — Operations on lake Champlain— Naval aflairs on lake Ontario— Cap- 
 ture of a British force at Sandy Creek— Operations on the Niagara fron- 
 tier—Gallant exploit of Captain Holmes— War on the Atlantic coast- 
 Attack of Saybrook— Gun-boat battle in Long Island Sound— Capture of 
 Eastport— Bombardment of Stonington— Invasion of Maine— Cruise of 
 the Constitution— Capture of the Epervier, Reindeer and Avon— Loss 
 
Zll CONTENTS. 
 
 of the Presideui — Capture of the Cyane and Levant — Cruise of the 
 Hornet — Captiire of the Penguin — Gallant exploit of the privateer Arm- 
 strong, 346 
 
 CHAPTEE XIX. 
 War of 1812. — l^egotiations for peace — Campaign on the Niagara — Battles 
 of Chippeway and Bridgewater — Affairs in the Chesapeake — Capture of 
 Washington — Attack on Baltimore — Affairs on the Champlain frontier — 
 Invasion of Prevost — Battle of Plattsburg and M'Donough's victory — 
 Invasion of Louisiana — Battle of New Orleans — Peace of Ghent, 364 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Declaration of Ixdependence, . . . . . . .381 
 
 Anecdotes of the Revolution, 386 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 INTRODUCTORY SKETCH. 
 
 The following work will be found to contain a complete 
 history of the American Republic, from that period when 
 the North American states, inspired by a unity of principle, 
 and aiming at a common purpose, combined their sympa- 
 thies, their aspirations, and their endeavors in a grand 
 national effort, which cemented still more strongly the 
 original ties of kindred blood and common parentage, and 
 led to the great federal miion of the present day. The 
 sources of American history are clear and distinct. The 
 people of this country are not compelled to search for their 
 origin, like most other nations, in the obscurity of barbar- 
 ous ages and the regions of fiction. Their genealogy is too 
 short ai 'oo well ascertained to admit of the embellish- 
 ments ana exaggerations of a poetical fancy. At a period 
 comparatively recent, their ancestors, consisting of a few 
 families, were detached from the great mass of the Euro- 
 pean population, and left to their own resources in a vast 
 wilderness, where they were surrounded by enemies and 
 forced to struggle against every disadvantage. In the short 
 space of two centuries, while some of the older states of 
 Europe have scarcely made any perceptible advances, these 
 few families increased to a great nation, and took their 
 place among the most powerful and enlightened states in 
 the world. The soVirces of national wealth, and the pro- 
 ductive powers of man, which are obscurely traced in the 
 slow progress of old and populous communities, are devel- 
 oped here on a gigantic scale. It is a fortunate thing for 
 the philosophic student, that the history of a people whose 
 career has been so singular and instructive, is remarkably 
 2 
 
14 INTRODUCTORY SKETCH. 
 
 full and complete. All the leading events and circumstan- 
 ces which have influenced the fortunes or character of the 
 people of this country, from the first settlement of a few 
 forlorn emigrants, down to the present day, are within the 
 reach of investigation; and the steps of that unexampled 
 progress, by which a handful of men have expanded to a 
 mighty nation, can be accurately and satisfactorily traced. 
 
 North America was discovered by John Cabot, in 1498. 
 He then held a commission from Henry the seventh, of 
 England, to make discoveries and take possession of new 
 territories in the name and in behalf of the king of England. 
 Acting upon the principles then current in Europe, that all 
 countries inhabited by heathens became the property of any 
 Christian power that first discovered them, the British sov- 
 ereign maintained his claim to the northern part of the new 
 world. Though Queen Elizabeth and James I. denied the 
 authority of the pope to give away the country of the infidels, 
 yet they so far adopted the fanciful distinction between the 
 rights of heathens and the rights of Christians, as to make it 
 the foundation of the respective grants by which they con- 
 veyed the several portions of the territory of North America 
 to their own subjects. They freely gave away what did 
 not belong to them, with no other proviso than that "the 
 territories and districts so granted, be not previously occu- 
 pied and possessed by the subjects of any other Christian 
 prince or state." The first English patent which was given 
 for the purpose of colonizing the country discovered by 
 Cabot, was granted, by Elizabeth, to Sir Humplirey Gilbert, 
 in 1578. In 1584, she licensed Sir Walter Raleigh to 
 "search for heathen lands not inhabited by Christian peo- 
 ple," and granted to him all the soil " within two hundred 
 leagues of the places where his people should make their 
 dwellings and abidings." Under his auspices a small col- 
 ony took possession of a part of the American coast, which 
 now forms North Carolina; but no permanent settlement 
 was effected till the reign of James the first. 
 
 Virginia is the most ancient of the British American col- 
 onies ; but the New England settlements were those which 
 exercised the most powerful influence in the western world. 
 
INTRODUCTORY SKETCH. 16 
 
 It was a most favorable circumatance for the United States 
 that the country was colonized chiefly by men of the Saxon 
 race. What would have been its situation had it been 
 peopled by any of the southern nations of Europe, is well 
 apparent from the present state of the Spanish American 
 communities. The English, who formed the leading part 
 of the colonists, had been, to a great degree, emancipated 
 from superstition and priestcraft by the Reformation. 
 They had imbibed more liberal ideas in politics than any 
 other nation of the world, and had made greater progress 
 in industry and the useful arts. The first settlers, no doubt, 
 considered their removal to the western continent as a 
 painful sacrifice, but, after they had acquired strength to 
 maintain themselves against the Indians, the advantages of 
 their situation began to appear. An immense territory was 
 spread out before a small number of men, who possessed 
 the skill and industry of a mature society. The colonists 
 left Europe when the effects of industry, the true source of 
 national strength, had begun to develop themselves ; when 
 civil liberty began to be understood and valued ; when 
 religion was stripped of many of its corruptions; when 
 knowledge was advancing, and society was settling on its 
 proper basis. 
 
 What was the extent of the obligations by which the 
 colonies were bound to the mother country, is a subject of 
 nice discussion ; whether they arose from nature and the 
 British constitution, or from compact, is a question neces- 
 sarily connected with many others. While some contended 
 that the king of England had a property in the soil of 
 America, by virtue of a right derived from prior discovery, 
 and that his subjects, by migrating from one part of his 
 dominions to another, did not lessen their obligation to obey 
 the supreme power of the nation, it was inferred that the 
 emigrants to the English colonies continued to owe the 
 same obedience to the king and parliament as if they had 
 never quitted the land of their nativity. But if, as others 
 maintained, the Indians were the only lawful proprietors of 
 the country in which their Creator had placed them, and 
 they sold their claims to men who, as emigrants, had a 
 
16 INTRODUCTORY SKETCH. 
 
 right to leave their native country, and, as subjects, had 
 obtained chartered permission to do so, it would follow, from 
 these premises, that the obligations of the colonists to the 
 parent state must have resulted more from compact and 
 the prospect of reciprocal advantage, than from natural 
 obligation. This opinion was held by the people of New 
 England, who were the first among the colonists to per- 
 ceive the encroachments of the royal power, and the fore- 
 most in resisting it. 
 
 Although Virginia claimed the appellation of the "Old 
 Dominion," in consequence of having received the first 
 English colony in America, yet the settlers there were so 
 deficient in enterprise, ingenuity, hardihood and persever- 
 ance, that their establishments remained for a long time in a 
 state of insignificance, and they scarcely deserved the appel- 
 lation of a regular colony till many years after the settle- 
 ment in New England. The true history of the United 
 States began here. New England is the quarter from which 
 has proceeded the greatness of the western republic. Ply- 
 mouth rock is the foundation of American freedom. Reli- 
 gious persecution compelled the English puritans to seek an 
 asylum in the western world. They landed on the shores 
 of Massachusetts in December, 1620. The country was 
 an inhospitable wilderness, and the severities of a North 
 American winter made this wilderness more dreary and 
 appalling. They were at first received by the savage 
 inhabitants with a degree of simple humanity. They 
 smoked with them the pipe of peace, purchased a tract of 
 the uncultivated waste, erected huts on the frozen shore, 
 and established a community on the broadest principles of 
 political liberty. They entered into a voluntary compact 
 with each other, to form a regular society, and drew up a 
 covenant by which they bound themselves to submit to 
 order and subordination. Their jurisprudence was marked 
 with wisdom and dignity, and their simplicity and piety 
 were displayed in the regulation of their police, the nature 
 of their contracts, and the punctuality with which they 
 observed them. They chose their own magistrates, inde- 
 pendent of any foreign control. A perfect democracy was 
 
INTRODUCTORY SKETCH. 17 
 
 founded on the shores of Massachusetts Bay; and this 
 obscure transaction, on which the world did not bestow 
 even a passing notice at the time, now stands chronicled in 
 history as the most important event of the seventeenth 
 century. 
 
 From the local situation of the Massachusetts settlers, 
 who were separated by a broad ocean from their kindred 
 of the parent state, and surrounded by a world of savages, 
 a compact with the king of England was thought necessary. 
 A charter was easily obtained, which stipulated, on the 
 part of the crown, that Massachusetts should have a legis- 
 lative body within itself, subject to no control, except the 
 king's negative within certain limits, to any laws which 
 might be thought prejudicial to the realm of England. 
 Modes of government, nearly similar to that of Massachu- 
 setts, were established in most of the other colonies. But 
 the corrupt principles which prevailed in the courts of the 
 Stuart dynasty, quickly followed the emigrants into their 
 distant retreats and disturbed them in the enjoyment of 
 their free institutions. It soon became evident that there 
 was a strong party in England who wished to govern the 
 colonists with a rigorous hand. They discovered their 
 inclinations by repeated attempts to alter and annul the 
 American charters on the most frivolous pretences. 
 
 The colonists, and, above all, the New Englanders, 
 looked upon their charters as a voluntary compact between 
 their sovereign and themselves, by which they were bound 
 neither to be subject to, nor to seek protection from, any 
 other prince, nor to make any laws repugnant to those of 
 England. They did not consider the charters as binding 
 them to yield any obedience to a parliament in which they 
 were unrepresented. The prospects of advantage which 
 the emigrants to America expected from the protection of 
 their native sovereign, and the prospect of aggrandizement 
 which the sovereign expected from the extension of his 
 empire, made the one as willing to grant, as the other to 
 receive, the charters ; but neither party reasoned clearly on 
 their nature, nor understood their extent and significance, 
 nor distinctly foresaw their tendencies. For a while the 
 2* 
 
18 - INTRODUCTORY SKETCH. 
 
 charters opposed a barrier to all open and gross encroach- 
 ments of tiie mother comitry on the rights of the colonists. 
 Long before the declaration of independence, several of the 
 colonies, on different occasions, had declared that they 
 onght not to be taxed, bnt by their own provincial assem- 
 blies, and that they considered subjection to acts of a 
 British parliament, in which they had no representation, as 
 a grievance. 
 
 It is particularly worthy of remark, as illustrating the 
 question of the original political rights of the Americans, 
 that, of the whole thirteen colonies which took up arms 
 against the encroachments of the crown, not one was settled 
 at the expense of the government, excepting Georgia, the 
 most recently established and least important of the num- 
 ber. Towards the settlement of that southern frontier, 
 considerable sums had at diflerent times been granted by 
 parliament, but the twelve other provinces had been wholly 
 settled by private adventurers, without any advances from 
 the national treasury. It does not appear, from existing 
 records, that any compensation for their lands was ever 
 made to the aborigines of America, by the crown or parlia- 
 ment of England ; but policy as well as justice led the col- 
 onists to purchase and pay for what they occupied. 
 
 Another point, important to be kept in mind, is that the 
 first American settlers left England at a period when the 
 dread of arbitrary power was the predominant feeling of 
 the nation. Except in the case of.Georgia, all the colonies 
 obtained their charters between the years 1603 and 16S8. 
 During this period a remarkable struggle between preroga- 
 tive and privilege commenced, and was carried on till it 
 terminated in a revolution in England, which was highly 
 favorable to popular liberty. The religion of the colonists 
 also nurtHred a love for liberty. They were chiefly pro- 
 testants, and all protestantism is fovinded on a strong claim 
 to natural freedom, and the right of private judgment. A 
 majority of them were of that class of men, called, in Eng- 
 land, dissenters ; their tenets, embracing the most rigid 
 portion of the protestant religion, are hostile to all inter- 
 ference of authority in matters of opinion, and predispose 
 
INTRODUCTORY SKETCH. 19 
 
 those who cherish them to an inclination for civil lib- 
 erty. 
 
 The inhabitants of the colonies, from the beginning, 
 especially in New England, enjoyed a government very 
 little short of mdependence. They had not only the image, 
 but the substance, of the English constitution. They chose 
 most of their magistrates, and paid them all. They had in 
 effect the sole direction of their internal government. The 
 chief mark of their subordination consisted in their making 
 no laws repugnant to the laws of the mother country ; in 
 submitting their laws to the approbation of the king, and 
 obeying such restrictions as were laid on their trade by 
 parliament. These restrictions were to a great extent 
 evaded with impunity. The other small checks were 
 scarcely felt, and, for a long time, were in no respects inju- 
 rious to their interests. Under these favorable circumstan- 
 ces the colonies had advanced nearly to the magnitude of 
 a nation, Avdiile the greater part of Europe was almost 
 wholly ignorant of their progress. Some arbitrary pro- 
 ceedings of the governors appointed by the crown, some 
 proprietary partialities or democratical jealousies, now and 
 then interrupted their political calm, but the circumstances 
 of the country afforded but little scope for the intrigues of 
 politicians or the turbulence of demagogues. All this time 
 they were rising higher, and, though not aware of the fact, 
 growing fast to a greater degree of political consequence. 
 
 From small and hardly perceptible beginnings, the col- 
 lision between the royal authority and the rights of the 
 colonists grew to such an extent as to attract serious 
 notice. It was evident that the mother country was 
 inclined to make a more liberal use of her prerogative than 
 the colonists judged to be consistent with their natural and 
 constitutional rights. The legislature of MassSchusetts 
 maintained the most persevering opposition against the 
 royal governors, on the question of their right to fix his 
 salary. The restrictions upon the trade and manufactures 
 of the colonies increased, and soon began to be felt a griev- 
 ance. In 1750, special acts of parliament forbade the 
 erection of any iron works in the colonies ; obstructions 
 
20 INTRODUCTORY SKETCH. 
 
 were also thrown in the way of other branches of industry ; 
 the commerce between one colony and another was fettered 
 by the most absurd and vexatious prohibitions. These 
 measures were of the most offensive character, and seemed 
 designed to crush the native talent of the Americans and 
 keep them in a constant state of inferiority. 
 
 One of the first occurrences, which, as an evidence of 
 their increasing importance, drew on the colonies a large 
 share of attention in Europe, was the capture of Louis- 
 burg, in 1745, from France, during the war between that 
 country and Great Britain. This enterprise was projected 
 by Governor Shirley, of Massachusetts, and undertaken by 
 the sole authority of the legislature of that state. The 
 reduction of this important fortress, the Gibraltar of Amer- 
 ica, as it was then considered, gave both the French and 
 English enlarged ideas of the value and strength of the 
 American colonies. Both nations now became eager to 
 extend their boundaries in this quarter, and the peace 
 which ensued was of short duration. On the renewal of 
 hostilities, a design was projected by the British govern- 
 ment to draw forth the resources of the colonies in a uni- 
 form system of operation against the French. A general 
 meeting of the governors and chief members of the pro- 
 vincial legislatures, was held at Albany, in 1754. The 
 British commissioners at this congress were of opinion that 
 a union of the colonies was necessary, and they proposed a 
 plan to the following effect : that a grand coiuicil should be 
 formed of members, to be chosen by the provincial legisla- 
 tures, which council, together with a governor to be 
 appointed by the' crown, should be authorized to make 
 general laws, and also to raise money from all the colonies 
 for their common defence. The leading members of the 
 colonial Assemblies were of opinion that, if this plan were 
 adopted, they could defend themselves from the French 
 without any assistance from Great Britain. This plan, 
 when submitted to the British government, excited their 
 jealousy. They foresaw that a union of the colonies might 
 teach them the secret of their own strength, and lead to 
 notions of independence. The " Albany Plan of Union" 
 
INTRODUCTORY SKETCH. 21 
 
 was therefore rejected, and another scheme framed by the 
 ministry, which was far from meeting the approbation of 
 the colonies. 
 
 This jealousy of the increasing strength of the colonies 
 never abandoned the British ministry. During the wars 
 with France, many of the provinces made exertions in the 
 common cause far beyond what was expected of them. 
 As often as money or men were wanted by the ministry, 
 requisitions were made upon the legislatures : these were 
 generally complied with in a prompt and bountiful manner. 
 Yet Mr. Pitt, the minister, is said to have told Dr. Frank- 
 lin, that, when the war closed, if he should be at the head 
 of affairs, he would take measures to prevent the colonies 
 from having a power to refuse or delay the supplies that 
 might be wanted for national purposes. In the prosecution 
 of this war the advantages derived from the colonies by 
 Great Britain were immense. Upwards of four hundred 
 privateers were fitted out of the colonial ports to cruise 
 against the French. The number of colonial troops who 
 served in the different campaigns amounted to twenty-three 
 thousdnd and eight hundred. In addition to these they 
 sent powerful reinforcements to join the expeditions which 
 captured Havana and Martinique. The success of the 
 British arms, in consequence of the aid afforded by the 
 American colonies, laid the foundation of that great naval 
 superiority of England, which subsequently excited the 
 envy and the fears of Eflrope. The peace of 1763, gave 
 Great Britain .the possession of an extent of country equal 
 in dimensions to several kingdoms of Europe. The posses- 
 sion of Canada in the north, and of East and West Florida 
 in the south, made her almost sole mistress of the North 
 American continent. 
 
 But another consequence, entirely unforeseen, "followed 
 the overthrow of the French power in North America. 
 The jealous feelings of liberty and independence, which 
 were already cherished in the colonies, and which grew 
 out of their local situation and the state of society among 
 them, were increased by the removal of hostile neighbors. 
 The events of the war had also given them some experi- 
 
22 INTROmCTORY SKETCH. 
 
 ence in military operations, and much confidence in their 
 own strength. They were not slow in foreseeing their 
 future importance from the rapid increase of their popula- 
 tion and the extension of their commerce; and being 
 extremely jealous of their rights, they readily admitted, 
 and with pleasure indulged, ideas and sentiments which 
 were favorable to independence. Yet of this tJiey were all 
 unconscious themselves. Not a word had been uttered 
 about resisting the authority of the mother country; but 
 the colonists knew their rights, and saw, more clearly than 
 ever, the means of resisting any encroachments upon them. 
 
 At the peace of 1763, the national debt of Great Britain 
 amounted to one hundred and forty eight millions sterling ; 
 a sum which was considered at that day as most enor- 
 mous, although it has since been augmented six fold. Yet 
 the means then possessed by the nation for meeting this 
 expense were comparatively small. The ministry, in their 
 deliberations for raising a revenue to pay off the interest of 
 the debt, among other expedients turned toward the colo- 
 nies for supplies. A general scheme of taxation by the 
 authority of parliament at first suggested itself, but the 
 question was open to controversy. On the one hand it was 
 urged that the late war originated on account of the colo- 
 nies, and that it was reasonable, considering it had termi- 
 nated in a manner so favorable to their interests, that they 
 should contribute tOAvards defraying the expenses of it. 
 The colonists admitted the streil^th of this argument ; but 
 the ministerial party contended farther, that the British 
 parliament, as the supreme power of the empire, was con- 
 stitutionally vested with an authority to tax every part of 
 the British dominions. This doctrine, plausible enough 
 in itself, and conformable to the letter of the British consti- 
 tution ^-hen the whole dominion was represented in one 
 assembly, was reprobated in the colonies as contrary to the 
 spirit of the British government, when. the empire became 
 so far extended as to have many distinct representative 
 assemblies. 
 
 The colonists regarded the excellence of the British con- 
 stitution to consist in the popular character of the parlia- 
 
INTRODUCTORY SKETCH. 23 
 
 ment, where the people had a share in the government by- 
 appointing members, who formed one of its constituent 
 branches, and without whose concurrence no law, binding 
 on them, could be enacted. In England, on the contrary, 
 it was asserted to be essential to the unity of the empire 
 that the British parliament should have a right of taxation 
 over every part of the royal dominion. In the colonies it 
 was believed that taxation and representation were insep- 
 arable, and that the Americans could neither be free nor 
 happy if their property could be taken from them without 
 their consent. The people of America reasoned on this 
 subject in a summary way. If a British parliament, said 
 they, in which we are unrepresented, and over which we 
 have no control, can take from us any part of our property 
 by direct taxation, they may take as much as they please, 
 and we have no security for anything that remains, but 
 their own forbearance. The Americans inherited this 
 jealousy of arbitrary power from their ancestors. They 
 viewed the exclusive right of laying taxes on themselves, 
 by the authority of the mother country, in the same light 
 as the British parliament viewed its peculiar privilege of 
 raising money independent of the crown. The parent 
 state appeared to the colonists to stand in the same relation 
 to their local legislatures, as the king of Great Britain to 
 the parliament ; his prerogative being limited by that palla- 
 dium of the people's liberty, the exclusive privilege of 
 granting their own money. 
 
 There were precedents in the history of England which 
 justified this reasoning. The love of property strengthened 
 it among the colonists, and it had a peculiar force in their 
 minds, three thousand miles removed from the parent 
 state, and growing up to maturity in a new world, where, 
 from the extent of country and the state of society, every 
 feeling favorable to political liberty was zealously cher- 
 ished. On the other hand, the people of Great Britain 
 revolted against the pretensions and claims of the colonists. 
 Educated in habits of submission to parliamentary author- 
 ity and parliamentary taxation, they conceived it to be the 
 excess of contumacy for the colonists to refuse obedience to 
 
24 INTRODUCTORY SKETCH. 
 
 the power which they had been taught to revere. Not 
 advertmg to the common interest which existed between 
 the people of Great Britain and their representatives, they 
 beUeved that the same rights existed, ahhough the same 
 community of interests was wanting. The pride of an 
 opulent, conquering nation aided this mode of reasoning. 
 " What," said they, " shall we who have so lately humbled 
 France and Spain, be dictated to by our colonists ? Shall 
 our subjects, educated by our care and defended by our 
 arms, presume to question the rights of parliament, to 
 which we are obliged to submit?" Reflections of this 
 kind, so congenial to human vanity, operated so exten- 
 sively that the people of Great Britain were accustomed to 
 speak of the colonies and their inhabitants as a kind of 
 property, without any regard to the feelings or the political 
 rights of the human beings whose welfare was so deeply 
 interested in the matter. The love of power and of prop- 
 erty on the one side of the Atlantic, was opposed by the 
 same powerful passion on the other side. 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 CHAPTER II, 
 
 American Revolution. — State of feeling among the North American 
 colonists — Loyalty of the Americans — Effect of the peace of Paris — 
 Political privileges of the colonies — Scheme fur taxing the Americans — 
 Resolutions of the House of Commons — Imposition of duties on imports 
 — Penal enactments — Remonstrances of the colonists — Scheme for a 
 stamp act — Opposition in the House of Commons — Speech of Colonel 
 Barre — The stamp act passed — Fra?iklin''s remark upor), the stamp act — 
 Consternation in America — General disaffection of the colonies — Reso- 
 lutions in the legislature of Virginia — Speech of Patrick Henry — Com- 
 bination among the colonies — Exciternent on the subject of the stamp act 
 — Disturbances at Boston — Affairs in Connecticut and the southern 
 colonies — Stamped paper burnt at New York — General opposition to 
 the stamp act — Discontent in England — Speech of Lord Chatham in 
 parliament — Repeal of the stamp act — Farther designs of the British 
 government — The tea tax — Proceedings in Massachusetts — Convention 
 at Boston — British troops sent to Boston — Non-importation league — 
 Boston Massacre — Discovery of the Hutchinson letters — Great excite- 
 ment at Boston — Arrival of the tea ships — Ferment at Boston — De- 
 struction of the tea. 
 
 The history of the North American colonies now assumes 
 an entirely new character, although the spirit and temper 
 of the colonists remained the same. Great Britain had from 
 the beginning treated her children in the western world as 
 a grudging and» unnatural step-mother. The narrow and 
 illiberal policy of the British government towards her 
 North American colonies, from their first settlement, was 
 3 
 
26 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 calculated to alienate the affections of the colonies from the 
 parent country; yet, from their exposed situation and 
 habitual loyalty, this conduct, long persevered in, produced 
 no sensible impression on the Americans ; their loyalty and 
 attachment to the interests of Britain were not in the small- 
 est degree impaired, down to the period of the peace of 
 Paris, in 1763. Never had they shown so much zeal, or 
 made such great sacrifices in the cause of their country, as 
 during the preceding war ; having lost more than twenty- 
 five thousand men, expended all the revenues they could 
 raise, and involved themselves deeply in debt. Nearly all 
 the burden of the war in America had fallen on the colo- 
 nies ; and their exertions were altogether disproportionate 
 to their means, and tended greatly to impoverish and dis- 
 tress them. After eight years' arduous struggles, attended 
 with the greatest sacrifices, the successful termination of 
 the war, — the dominion of France in America being relin- 
 quished forever, — occasioned universal joy throughout the 
 colonies ; they forgot their suflerings and distresses, in the 
 fair prospects which the peace afforded. 
 
 But these prospects were of short duration ; the peace of 
 Paris formed a new era in the views and conduct of Great 
 Britain towards her colonies in America. The possessions 
 of France in America having been ceded to Britain, and 
 having no longer any fear of her power in this hemisphere, 
 a system of measures was pursued towards the colonies, 
 originating in jealousy, and tending to despotism. As soon 
 as the colonies had fought their way to a condition which 
 aftbrded the prospect of rapidly increasing in population 
 and wealth, attempts were made to restrict their commer- 
 cial and political privileges, and gradually to reduce them 
 to the most wretched state of colonial vassalage. For a 
 century and a half, the colonies had been left to themselves, 
 as to taxation ; their own local assemblies had provided the 
 necessary revenues to defray the expenses of their govern- 
 ments; and the parliament of Great Britain had, neither 
 directly nor indirectly, ever attempted to derive a dollar of 
 revenue from America. Although various acts had from 
 time to time been passed, regulating the trade and com- 
 
PROJECTS OF TAXING THE COLONIES. 1764. 27 
 
 merce of the colonies, yet none of these were designed or 
 regarded, either in Britain or America, as revenue laws. 
 
 But, in an inauspicious moment, the British ministry con- 
 ceived the idea of taxing the colonies, under the pretence 
 of providing for their protection, but in reality to relieve 
 the nation from the immense debt, the weight of which 
 hung heavily upon it. This impolitic scheme, originating 
 with the cabinet, was easily introduced into parliament; 
 and, in March, 1764, as a prelude to the memorable stamp 
 act, the house of commons resolved, — " That towards 
 defraying the necessary expenses of protecting the colonies, 
 it may be necessary to charge certain stamp duties upon 
 them;'''' and this resolution was followed by what was 
 commonly called the sugar act, passed on the 5th of April, 
 and introduced by the following truly alarming preamble : 
 ^'Whereas it is just and necessary that a revenue be 
 raised in America, for defraying the expenses of defending, 
 protecting, and securing the same; we, the commons, &c., 
 towards raising the same, give and grant unto your majesty, 
 after the 29th day of September, 1764, on clayed sugar, 
 indigo, and coffee, of foreign produce, and various other 
 articles, the sum of," <fee. This was the first act adopted 
 by parliament for the avowed object of raising a revenue 
 in the colonies. 
 
 The justice of this measure, which appeared so clear to 
 the British parliament, was regarded in America as oppres- 
 sion and tyranny, and occasioned great excitement and 
 alarm. The deceptive pretension, that the revenue was to 
 be raised for the purpose of protecting the colonies, was 
 only adding insult to injustice ; as the colonies supposed 
 that they were capable of protecting themselves ; and they 
 apprehended that the object was rather, under the pretence 
 of affording them protection, to maintain a military force 
 in America, for the purpose of dragooning them into sub- 
 mission, and enforcing an unconstitutional system of taxa- 
 tion; thereby rendering them the instruments of forging 
 their own chains. 
 
 This act was rendered more disgusting by a provision 
 that the money raised by it must be paid in specie, and 
 
28 
 
 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 another, that those charged with having violated the reve- 
 nue laws might be prosecuted in the courts of admiralty ; 
 whereby they were deprived of the privilege of trial by a 
 jury, and were liable to be condemned by a single officer 
 of the crown, whose salary was to be paid from the very 
 forfeitures decreed by himself And this was not all, or 
 even the worst ; as the trial was conducted on such prin- 
 ciples, that the accused, contrary to the well-known maxims 
 of the common law, and repugnant to every idea of justice, 
 was obliged to prove himself innocent, or suffer the pen- 
 alties of the law. These iniquitous proceedings destroyed 
 all security of property, and left every one at the mercy 
 of the minions of the British crown. Their pernicious 
 influence was soon felt extensively in the colonies ; they no 
 longer regarded Great Britain as an affectionate mother, 
 but viewed her in the light of a selfish, cruel, and imperious 
 step-mother. 
 
 George Grenville. 
 
 The designs of the ministry were perceived, and occa- 
 sioned great alarm, which spread wider and wider, until 
 
THE STAMP ACT. 
 
 -1765. 
 
 29 
 
 it became universal in the colony. The press, that great 
 engine of truth and liberty, was called into requisition ; the 
 subject was ably and elaborately discussed ; and the more 
 it was discussed, and the better it was understood, the 
 more strong and determined the opposition became. All 
 the colonies petitioned and remonstrated against these 
 obnoxious measures, and most of them appointed agents to 
 present their memorials to parliament, or the king. But, 
 notwithstanding the opposition and excitement in America, 
 and the remonstrances of the colonies, Mr. George Gren- 
 ville, who was at the head of the treasury, prepared the 
 Stamp Act, and introduced it into parliament in February, 
 1765. It was opposed, with all the powers of eloquence, 
 by Alderman Beckford, Mr. Jackson^ Colonel Barre, Sir 
 William Meredith, and others. 
 
 Colonel Barre. 
 
 In the debate on the stamp act, Mr. Charles Townshend, 
 
 defending the measure, used the following language : 
 
 "And now will these Americans, children planted by our 
 
 own care, nourished up by our indulgence till they are 
 
 3# 
 
30 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 grown to a degree of strength and opulence, and protected 
 by our arms ; — will they grudge to contribue their mite to 
 relieve us from the heavy weight of that burden which 
 we lie under?" This called forth an energetic and elo- 
 quent reply from Colonel Barre, the friend of the colonists, 
 and the individual who conferred on them the name by 
 which they were known during the early part of the strug- 
 gle — that of " Sons of Liberty." He retorted upon Towns- 
 hend in the following style: — " They planted by your 
 care! — No — your oppressions planted them in America. 
 They fled from your tyranny to a then uncultivated and 
 inhospitable country, where they exposed themselves to 
 almost all the hardships to which human nature is liable. 
 And yet, actuated by principles of true English liberty, 
 they met all hardships with pleasure, compared with those 
 they suffered in their own country from those who should 
 have been their friends. — They nourished vp by your 
 indulgetice ! They grew up by your neglect of them. As 
 soon as you began to care about them, that care was exer- 
 cised in sending persons to rule them, to spy out their 
 liberties, to misrepresent their actions, and to prey upon 
 them. — They protected by your arms ! They have nobly 
 taken up arms in your defence; have exerted a valor, 
 amidst their constant and laborious industry, for the de- 
 fence of a country whose frontier was drenched in blood, 
 while its interior parts yielded all its little savings to your 
 emolument. I know more of America than the most of 
 you, having seen, and been conversant in that country. 
 The people, I believe, are as truly loyal as an)'- subjects 
 the king has, but they are a people jealous of their liber- 
 ties, and Avho trill vindicate thcni, if they shoidd be violated. 
 The subject is too delicate — 1 will say no more." These 
 bold and forcible apostrophes, thrown out on the spur of 
 the moment, with exceeding force and confidence, threw 
 the whole house of commons into amazement. The mem- 
 bers were struck dumb, and sat for some minutes, gazing 
 upon one another in silent amazement. 
 
 On the second reading of the bill,, various petitions, not 
 only from the colonies, but from the London merchants 
 
THE STAMP ACT. 1765. 31 
 
 interested in the American trade, were presented ; but the 
 petitions were not even received, being refused on the plea 
 that no memorial could be received on a money bill. Hav- 
 ing passed both houses of parliament, on the 22d of March, 
 the stamp act received the royal assent. Dr. Franklin, 
 then in England, as agent for Pennsylvania, wrote to 
 Charles Thompson, afterwards secretary of congress — 
 " The sun of liberty is set ; you must light up the lamps 
 of industry and economy." Mr. Thompson, in a spirited 
 reply, observed, " that he thought other lights would be 
 lighted up to resist these unconstitutional measures." It 
 is unnecessary to add, that this prediction was soon ful- 
 filled. 
 
 This unjust and impolitic act was the first great cause 
 which led to the American revolution. It was passed in 
 parliament on the 7th of February, 1765, under the min- 
 istry of Grenville. The period of thirteen months which 
 followed, was the most eventful and tumultuous of any 
 which had hitherto occurred in the colonies ; the appre- 
 hensions of the people were roused to the highest pitch, 
 and the most determined spirit of opposition prevailed 
 throughout the colonies. 
 
 The Americans had not believed that the act would be 
 passed ; and, on receiving the intelligence, every one was 
 struck with astonishment, and filled with consternation. 
 They looked at each other with amazement, and, for a 
 short interval, hesitated what course to pursue ; but soon, 
 recovering from their consternation, they determined not 
 to submit to such a flagrant outrage on their rights. In 
 Boston, the ships in the harbor, in token of the deepest 
 mourning, suspended their colors half-mast high ; the bells • 
 were tolled ; and the hateful act, with a death's head in 
 front of it, with the motto — " The folly of England, and 
 the ruin of America,''^ was paraded in solemn procession 
 about the streets. 
 
 A settled discontent soon spread throughout the colonies, 
 and the opposition became general and determined ; the 
 spirit of the people gave a tone to the colonial assemblies, 
 and bold and decided resolutions were adopted against the 
 
32 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 iniquitous scheme of parliamentary taxation. Virginia 
 took the lead, and, on the 28th of May, 1765, Patrick 
 Henry introduced his celebrated resolutions into the house 
 of burgesses, which declared that the inhabitants of that 
 colony were entitled to, and had possessed and enjoyed, all 
 the rights, liberties, and privileges of the people of Great 
 Britain; that the general assembly of the colony had 
 always exercised, and alone possessed, the power to levy 
 taxes and imposts on the inhabitants of the colony, and 
 that they " were not bound to yield obedience to any law 
 or ordinance whatsoever, designed to impose any taxation 
 whatever upon them, other than the law and ordinances of 
 the general assembly." In his defence of these resolutions, 
 Henry gave vent to that celebrated burst of eloquence: 
 " Caesar had his Brutus, Charles the First his Cromwell, 
 
 and George the Third" "Treason! treason!" burst 
 
 from the lips of the speaker, and most of the members of 
 the assembly. Henry faltered not an instant, but, with 
 the most emphatic determination of voice and manner, 
 continued, — '■'■ may jirofit by their example ! " 
 
 These resolutions were communicated to all the colo- 
 nies, and the spirit they breathed spread from one legisla- 
 ture to another, and their sentiments were reiterated in 
 resolutions adopted by the legislatures, and the freemen in 
 public meetings. Committees were appointed, by the 
 assemblies of the colonies, to correspond with each other, 
 and to meet for consultation ; the object of which was to 
 secure harmony of feeling and concert of action. These 
 measures had a very happy effect. In the mean time, the 
 press teemed with constant publications, vindicating the 
 rights of the colonies ; and many of them were of a highly 
 inflammatory .character, calculated to raise the public 
 mind to the highest pitch. The pulpit, also, particularly 
 in New England, labored in the same cause, with great 
 zeal and effect. The flame of liberty kindled from breast 
 to breast, and spread from province to province, until 
 the conflagration became general. The spirit of opposi- 
 tion ran so high, as to break out into acts of tumult and 
 disorder. 
 
THE STAMP ACT. 1765. 33 
 
 Patrick Henry. 
 
 In Boston, the effigy of Mr. Oliver, the stamp master, 
 was burnt, and his house assailed, partly demolished, and 
 his furniture destroyed ; and, soon after, the house of Wil- 
 liam Storer, deputy-register of the court of admiralty, was 
 attacked, and the books and files of the court destroyed ; 
 and the house of Benjamin Hallowell, comptroller of the 
 customs, shared the same fate. These outrages were 
 followed by a more bold and daring attack upon the dwell- 
 ing of Mr. Hutchinson, lieutenant-governor of the prov- 
 ince; he was obliged to flee to save his life, and his 
 house was entirely demolished, except the walls, and every- 
 thing in it destroyed or carried off". Similar outrages were 
 committed in other places. In Connecticut, Mr. Ingersoll, 
 the stamp officer, was burnt in effigy in many towns ; and 
 whilst he was proceeding from New Haven to Hartford, 
 where the assembly was in session, he was pursued and 
 overtaken by a large concourse of people, some from more 
 than thirty miles, and compelled to resign his office, which 
 was followed by three hearty cheers of liberty and pro- 
 perty. This took place at Weathersfield, from whence 
 
34 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 the people, who were headed by mihtia officers, proceeded 
 to Hartford, where Mr. Ingersoll was compelled to read 
 his resignation in the hearing of the assembly, which was 
 succeeded by loud acclamations of liberty and property. 
 In New York, the stamp officer was compelled to resign, 
 and Liieutenant-Governor Golden was burnt in effigy, with 
 a stamp bill in his hand, suspended from his own coach, 
 and the whole was consumed together. 
 
 In the southern colonies, the public feeling did not lead 
 to the same excesses ; but in all of them, means were 
 found to compel the stamp officers to resign ; and in all 
 the colonies the assemblies adopted resolutions in opposi- 
 tion to the stamp act, although, in many of them, the 
 royal governors prorogued and attempted to stop their 
 proceedings. The members of the colonial assemblies 
 were animated and encouraged by the people, who, in 
 most of the towns, instructed them to oppose the stamp 
 act. But the most important measure to unite the colo- 
 nies, and give energy and effect to their opposition, was 
 convening a continental congress, consisting of deputies 
 appointed by each colony. This measure was first pro- 
 posed by the assembly of Massachusetts. The meeting 
 was appointed to be holden in New York, in October. 1765. 
 All the colonies, except New Hampshire, Virginia, North 
 Carolina, and Georgia, sent deputies ; the three last of 
 these colonies were prevented by their governors, and the 
 first excused itself on account of its peculiar situation. 
 The congress, after mature deliberation, adopted a decla- 
 ration of rights, and a statement of the grievances of the 
 colonies, and asserted, in the strongest terms, their ex- 
 emption from all taxes not imposed by their own repre- 
 sentatives. It also prepared a petition to the house of 
 commons. 
 
 As the first of November, the time when the stamp act 
 was to go into operation, approached, public feeling be- 
 came still stronger, and was excited to the utmost to pre- 
 vent the execution of the law. In New York, ten boxes 
 of stamps, which had arrived there from Connecticut, were 
 seized by the populace and burned ; and in other ports, 
 
THE STAMP ACT. 1765. 35 
 
 the masters of vessels, which brought out stamps, were 
 compelled to return with their detestable cargoes, or de- 
 liver them up to the people to be destroyed. In Boston 
 and many of the other principal towns, the first of Novem- 
 ber, 1765, was kept as a day of mourning and deep distress ; 
 all the shops were shut, the bells were tolled, muffled, and 
 the effigies of the authors and abettors of the act were car- 
 ried in procession through the streets,' and then torn to 
 pieces and consumed by the flames. 
 
 The lawyers of the supreme court in New Jersey re- 
 solved that they would not purchase the stamps in their 
 professional business, and that they would relinquish their 
 practice as a sacrifice to the public good ; and the principal 
 merchants in the colonies, and great numbers of other 
 classes of the inhabitants, entered into solemn engagements, 
 not only to refuse to use the stamps, but also not to import 
 any more goods from Great Britain until the stamp act 
 should be repealed. Associations were formed, called the 
 "Sons of Liberty," the object of which was, to assist and 
 protect with force, if necessary, every one who might be 
 in danger from his resistance or opposition to the stamp act. 
 Such was the effect of these measures, that, on the first of 
 November, when the act went into operation, not a sheet 
 of stamped paper could be purchased througliout the whole 
 extent of the colonies. 
 
 The restrictive measures produced distress and tumults 
 in England, large numbers of the manufacturers being 
 thrown out of employment, and more than forty thousand, 
 with black flags, appeared in the streets of London, and 
 surrounded the royal palace and parliament house. For- 
 tunately, a change of ministry took place, in consequence 
 of what was called the regency bill, and Lord Grenville 
 was succeeded by the Marquis of Rockingham, as first 
 lord of the treasury, and the Duke of Grafton and General 
 Conway were appointed secretaries of state. In January, 
 1766, the parliament met; the affairs of America occupied 
 the principal attention, and the first talents of the house 
 were engaged in the discussion. Lord Chatham, who had 
 been confined to his bed by sickness when the stamp act 
 
36 
 
 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 Lord Chatham. 
 
 was passed, now came forward as the great champion of 
 the rights of the Americans, and with his manly and all- 
 powerful eloquence opposed the unjust, unconstitutional, 
 and dangerous measure ; he even justified the Americans 
 in their resistance of an act of tyranny and oppression. 
 After a long and animated discussion, the act was repealed, 
 on the 18th of March, 1766 ; accompanied, however, with 
 a declaration, " that the king and parliament had, and 
 of right ought to have, full power and authority to make 
 laws and statutes of sufficient force to bind the colonies, 
 and his majesty's subjects in them, in all cases whatever J^ . 
 An act of indemnity was also passed. 
 
 The repeal of the stamp act occasioned universal joy, 
 both in Great Britain and America; the ships in the 
 Thames displayed their colors, and the whole city of 
 London was illuminated : and in the colonies, notwith- 
 standing the declaratory act, asserting the principle of 
 taxation, the rejoicings were universal ; the non-importa- 
 tion resolutions were rescinded ; animosities, ill-treatment, 
 and everything past, were forgotten, and commercial in- 
 
THE TEA-TAX. 1767. 37 
 
 tercourse with Great Britain was resumed with greater 
 activity than ever before had been witnessed. The colo- 
 nies hoped and beheved that harmony would now be 
 restored, and did everything in their power to promote 
 this desirable object. But the officers of the crown, the 
 minions of power, and the expectants of place, kept up a 
 correspondence with the officers of the British government 
 at home, and attempted to promote their own selfish views 
 by misrepresenting their countrymen. Governor Bernard, 
 of Massachusetts, was the head of this party, which con- 
 tributed so much to breed difficulties and bring matters to 
 a crisis. Notwithstanding that the declaratory act still 
 hung over the heads of the colonies, like a portentous 
 cloud, it was not generally expected that the British gov- 
 ernment would very soon make another so dangerous an 
 experiment. But these reasonable expectations, however, 
 soon proved to be fallacious, and all reliance on the justice 
 or liberality of Britain was found to be deceptive and 
 dangerous. 
 
 Notwithstanding the distraction into which the colonies 
 had been thrown by the stamp act, within a few months 
 after its repeal, and before the wounds it had occasioned 
 had had time to heal, the chancellor of the exchequer, 
 Charles Townshend, came forward with a new scheme of 
 taxing America, and was so sanguine in his* views, that 
 he pledged his character for the success of the project. 
 The new revenue scheme was, to take off the duties on 
 teas which were paid in Great Britain, and to levy three 
 pence per pound on all that was purchased in America, 
 and also a duty on tea, paper, glass, and several other arti- 
 cles. A board of customs was established, and commis- 
 sioners appointed to sit in Boston to collect the duties ; the 
 custom officers were to be paid from the revenue thus 
 raised ; and the governor, judges of the superior court, and 
 other officers in Massachusetts, who had hitherto been 
 dependent for their salaries on the colonial legislature, to 
 render them independent of the people, and more devoted 
 to Great Britain, were also to be paid from these revenues. 
 And, to carry the iniquitous system into effect — as unjust 
 4 
 
38 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 laws can only be enforced by unjust means — the powers 
 of the court of admiralty were greatly extended, so as to 
 deprive the people of trial by jury in prosecutions for vio- 
 lating the revenue laws. Writs of assistance, as they were 
 called, issued by the governor, or any officer of the rev- 
 enue, authorized searching the house of the most respecta- 
 ble inhabitant in the province, on suspicion of the conceal- 
 ment of contraband or smuggled goods. 
 
 When intelligence of these new parliamentary regulations 
 reached America, they occasioned universal astonishment, 
 and revived all the excitement and alarm which prevailed 
 during the stamp act. In the minds of reflecting men, 
 they were regarded as more dangerous than that detested 
 measure ; as an indirect and disguised system of taxation 
 had a more certain and fatal tendency to undermine the 
 liberties, and enslave the people, than direct taxes. The 
 colonies, assailed by the same injuries, had recourse to 
 their former measures of complaint and supplication ; but 
 their petitions were not even read, and their remonstrances 
 were treated with contempt, thus adding insult to injustice. 
 
 These accumulated injuries and indignities aroused the 
 fears and spirit of the colonies ; and a circular letter, ad- 
 dressed to the other colonies, by the assembly of Massa- 
 chusetts, contributed to diffuse the flame, and lead to 
 concert of acftion. This letter was dated the 11th of Febru- 
 ary, 1768, and the sentiments it contained were responded 
 to by most of the colonial assemblies. From the bold 
 and determined conduct of the general court of Massachu- 
 setts, it was prorogued by the governor. Another general 
 court was convened in May following. The governor, in 
 his first communication, insolently demanded of them, as 
 required by the British secretary of state, to rescind the 
 resolutions of the preceding assembly, which led to the 
 ciicular letter, and intimated that, unless they complied 
 immediately, they would be dissolved at once. But the 
 assembly acted with a firmness which became the de- 
 fenders of liberty; and, instead of complying with his 
 haughty mandate, petitioned the king for the removal of 
 Governor Bernard, and charged upon him a long catalogue 
 
A STANDING ARMY IN MASSACHUSETTS. 1768. 39 
 
 of crimes. The governor, exasperated at their conduct, 
 immediately dissolved the assembly, and applied to the 
 commander-in-chief of the king's troops, then in New 
 York, to have several additional regiments sent to Boston. 
 Alarmed at these circumstances, the inhabitants of Boston 
 besought the governor to convene another assembly ; but 
 he treated their request with contempt. 
 
 The crisis required something to be done without delay, 
 and, accordingly, letters were written to every town in 
 Massachusetts, requesting the appointment of delegates to 
 meet in convention at Boston, before the arrival of the 
 troops. Delegates from ninety-six towns met on the 22d 
 of September. The governor instantly sent them an angry 
 message, commanding them to disperse, threatening, in 
 case of refusal, that they should suffer the consequence of 
 their temerity. The convention, however, was not fright- 
 ened into submission, but gave their reasons for convening, 
 continued their deliberations, and prepared a petition to 
 the king. On the 1st of October, the troops arrived, and 
 landed, and, sword in hand, paraded through the streets 
 of Boston, which were filled with vast crowds, who, with 
 sullen silence, denoting the deepest resentment, witnessed 
 this, the first act in the great and bloody drama about to 
 be performed. No tumult or resistance, however, ensued, 
 notwithstanding the troops were quartered in the houses 
 of the inhabitants. The assembly met in May, 1769, and 
 immediately adopted resolutions, that the placing an armed 
 force Avhere the legislature was convened, to overawe their 
 deliberations, was a breach of privilege ; and that the quar- 
 tering of troops on the inhabitants in time of 'peace was 
 illegal, and a violation of the rights and liberties of British 
 subjects. 
 
 A standing army was now stationed in the capital of 
 Massachusetts, for the avowed object of coercing the inhab- 
 itants into submission ; their commerce was fettered, their 
 characters were traduced, the legislature was prevented 
 from meeting, and the petitions of all classes to have it 
 convened, were treated with contempt by an insolent gov- 
 ernor, who threatened to augment the troops, and enforce. 
 
40 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 at all hazards, his arhitrary and tyrannical measures. It 
 cannot be surprising that the fears and exasperations of the 
 people exceeded what had ever been witnessed before. At 
 this alarming conjuncture, there was no alternative but 
 submission or resistance. Petitions had been treated with 
 such contempt, that to memorialize any branch of the Brit- 
 ish government would be equivalent to submission ; and 
 there were but two ways of resistance — eitlier an appeal to 
 the sword, or an entire suspension of all commercial inter- 
 course with Great Britain. This commerce, as was said 
 by Mr. Pitt, in his speech, furnished the means whereby 
 Britain had carried on the war with France, and, if con- 
 tinued by the colonies, would furnish the means for their 
 own oppression. 
 
 As all the colonies were involved in one common dan- 
 ger, they readily entered into the most solemn engage- 
 ments that no British or India goods should be imported, 
 except a few specified articles of necessary use. The 
 effects of these arrangements were soon felt in England, 
 and produced clamors and even tumults in some parts of 
 the kingdom. But the partisans of the crown in America 
 endeavored, by their correspondence, to induce the minis- 
 try to persevere in their oppressive measures, and repre- 
 sented, in the strongest terms, that the interruption of com- 
 merce was only an effort of desperation, which could not 
 last long. They advised the ministry to purchase large 
 quantities of goods, designed for tlie American market, and 
 also to allow the merchants engaged in the American 
 trade a premium equal to the profits of their stock in busi- 
 ness. "If these measures are adopted," said Mr. Oliver, 
 secretary in Massachusetts, in one of his letters, " tlie game 
 will soon be tip with my coiintrymen.^'' 
 
 The general court, which convened at Boston in May, 
 sat several weeks without doing any business, as they 
 refused to act as long as an armed force was quartered in 
 the town and surrounded the house where they were in 
 session. They were finally adjourned to Cambridge. They 
 sent several messages to the governor to have the troops 
 removed ; but, after evading the matter for some time, he 
 
TROUBLES IN MASSACHUSETTS. 1768. 41 
 
 declared that he had no authority over the king's troops ; 
 thus admitting that the mihtary was above the civil power 
 in the province. Governor Bernard sent a provoking mes- 
 sage, stating the expenditures of quartering the troops on 
 the town, and requesting that provision should be made 
 for the same, and also for their future support. The assem- 
 bly were thus called on to maintain the instruments by 
 which they were to be oppressed and enslaved. But, 
 instead of complying with this request, they passed several 
 spirited resolutions, censuring the conduct of the governor 
 and General Gage, who commanded the troops, for their 
 rash and oppressive measures, their wanton violations of 
 the constitution, the introduction of a standing army in 
 time of peace, and their encroachments on the liberties of 
 the citizens and of the province. 
 
 The governor had received an order to repair to Eng- 
 land, and lay before the king the state of the colony, which 
 he communicated to the assembly, with a request that his 
 salary might be continued during his absence, as his office 
 would remain. But the assembly informed him, in decided 
 terms, that they could not comply with either of his 
 requests. On receiving this answer, he immediately, after 
 a short, angry, and threatening speech, prorogued the 
 legislature. He soon after set soil for Europe, — then little 
 thinking he should never return to a countryj that, by his 
 violent temper and arbitrary conduct, he had brought to 
 the brink of civil war. His reception at court convinced 
 the Americans of the truth of what they feared, that the 
 governor had been sent for as a tool of mischief, rather 
 than for an impartial inquiry into the real situation of the 
 province, or an investigation of his own conduct. 
 
 Thomas Hutchinson, the lieutenant-governor, was ap- 
 pointed to succeed Governor Bernard. Hutchinson was a 
 native of Boston, and had run a career of popularity. 
 Whilst, however, he was courting the people at home, he 
 was not less assiduous in ingratiating himself into the 
 favor of the British government, by misrepresenting his 
 countrymen. He was artful and plausible, and possessed 
 of popular talents, but was insidious, intriguing and am- 
 4* 
 
42 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 bilious, and the extreme of avarice marked every feature 
 of his character. His r» npointment was amiounced at the 
 close of the year I7b9. He immediately assumed a 
 haughty tone, and aimed at more high-handed measures 
 than his predecessor. He commenced his administration 
 by informing the assembly that he was indejieiident of 
 them and the people, as his majesty had made provision 
 for his salary. Secure of the favor of his sovereign, he 
 treated the people and the assembly with contempt, and 
 answered their repeated solicitations to remove the troops 
 from the capital, by withdrawing the garrison from a strong 
 fortress in the harbor of Boston, who were in the pay of 
 the province, and replacing them by two regiments of the 
 king's troops. 
 
 The ebullitions of popular feeling were so high as to 
 occasion great alarm with the leading patriots, that it 
 would break out into acts of violence, which might injure 
 the cause of the people. The miserable minions of power 
 in America endeavored to promote this result, and openly 
 avowed " that the only method to restore tranquillity was 
 to take off the original incendiaries, whose writings had 
 instilled the poison of sedition into the people." James 
 Otis, the most active, bold and influential patriot of the 
 day, having published, under his proper signature, some 
 severe strictures on the conduct of the officers of the crown, 
 was assaulted in a public room, by a band of hired ruf- 
 fians, with swords and bludgeons, and, being covered with 
 wounds, was left for dead. The assassins made their 
 escape, and took refuge on board the king's ships in the 
 harbor. Mr. Otis survived, but the lamp of his under- 
 standing, Avhich had glowed with such effulgence, was 
 overcast with clouds and darkness. Mr. John Adams says, 
 that he "laid the foundation of the American revolution, 
 with an energy, and with those masterly talents, which no 
 other man possessed ;" and he is justly considered as the 
 first martyr to American liberty. 
 
 The insults which the inhabitants of Boston constantly 
 experienced from the soldiers, increased their animosit;^ 
 towards them to such a degree, as to lead to violence and 
 
BOSTON MASSACRE. 1770. 
 
 43 
 
 bloodshed. On the 2d of March, 1770, an affray took 
 place between a party of soldi-^r^ of the 29th regiment, 
 and some ropemakers, hi front ol" Mr. Gray's rope walk. 
 
 " '~n MB!gli'l"Mi'll'lllil' »>= 
 
 i W't 
 
 Boston Massacre. 
 
 This was followed by a more alarming outrage on the 
 5th; the mdignant populace pressed upon and insulted 
 the soldiers, Avhile under arms, and assailed them with 
 clubs, sticks, and snowballs covering stones. Being dared 
 to fire by the mob, six of the soldiers discharged their 
 muskets, which killed three of the citizens, and wounded 
 five others. The town was instantly in commotion ; and 
 the mass of the people were so exasperated, that it required 
 the utmost exertions to prevent their rallying, and driving 
 the British myrmidons out of town ; and nothing but an 
 assurance that the troops should be withdrawm, prevented 
 this resort to force. The captain of the party, and eight 
 men, were brought to trial ; two of the men were found 
 guilty ; the captain and the other men were acquitted. A 
 general meeting of the inhabitants was immediately as- 
 sembled in Faneuil Hall, who unanimously resolved that 
 no armed force should be suffered longer to reside in the 
 capital; and a committee was appointed to wait on the 
 governor, and request the immediate removal of the troops. 
 
44 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 The governor refused to act, under pretence of want of 
 authority ; but Colonel Dalrymple, alarmed at the state 
 of thmgs, proposed to withdraw the 29th regiment, which 
 was more culpable than any other. But he was informed 
 that not a soldier should be left in town ; he was reluc- 
 tantly compelled to comply, and, within four days, not a 
 red-coat remained in Boston. 
 
 This tragical affair produced the deepest impression on 
 the minds of the people ; and the anniversary of the mas- 
 sacre of the 5th of March, 1770, was commemorated for 
 many years, and orations delivered, in which the blessings 
 of civil liberty, the horrors of slavery, the dangers of 
 standing armies, and the rights of the colonies, were set 
 forth in glowing terms. These annual orations adminis- 
 tered fuel to the fire of liberty, and kept it burning with 
 an incessant flame, and in no small degree promoted the 
 cause of the colonies. 
 
 In the spring of 1773, the schooner Gaspee was stationed 
 at Providence, to prevent smuggling ; and the conduct of 
 the commander having exasperated the inhabitants, two 
 hundred men entered on board the schooner at night, and 
 compelled the captain and crew to go ashore, and then set 
 fire to the vessel. The government offered a reAvard of 
 five hundred pounds for the apprehension of any of the 
 persons engaged in this outrage ; but such was the spirit 
 and unanimity of the people, that this pecuniary induce- 
 ment produced no effect, and the authors of the outrage 
 could not be discovered. About this period, the letters of 
 Governor Hutchinson and Mr. Oliver, to their friends in 
 England, urging the government to adopt more decisive 
 and vigorous measures to coerce the colonies into sub- 
 mission, were discovered and sent back to America by 
 Dr. Franklin. These, being published by the assembly 
 of Massachusetts, greatly contributed to inflame the public 
 mind and exasperate the people against these officers of 
 the crown, who were justly charged with having shame- 
 fully betrayed their trust, and the people, whose rights it 
 was their duty vigilantly to guard. 
 
 The British government now attempted a system of 
 
THE TEA-TAX. 1773. 45 
 
 cajolery, by a show of moderation. Whilst the other 
 duties were repealed, that on tea was retained, for the sole 
 and avowed object of maintaining the power, which par- 
 liament had asserted, of collecting a revenue in America. 
 The ministerial scheme was cunning and artful, but did 
 not, in the least degree, deceive the vigilance of the Amer- 
 icans. The object was to cheat the colonies out of their 
 rights, by collecting an indirect, imperceptible duty, little 
 more than nominal in amount, which, however, if acqui- 
 esced in, would have been an admission of the j^rinciple 
 or right of Britain to raise a revenue in America. It was 
 an attempt to obtain, covertly and by fraud, what they 
 had attempted but failed to obtain openly hy force. 
 
 In the first place, measures were adopted, openly and 
 explicitly, for taxing the colonies, the duties to be paid 
 directly by the consumer ; but, being unable to enforce 
 this act, it was repealed, accompanied with a declaration 
 of the right of parliament to tax the Americans, in all 
 cases whatsoever. This naked assertion of a right, when 
 the application of it had been attempted and abandoned, 
 did not give the Americans much concern ; they would 
 not have cared, if the British had kept that assertion of a 
 right to do wrong on their statute-book as long as the two 
 countries existed, provided they had not attempted to exer- 
 cise their assumed right. 
 
 The duty was more artfully disguised than a single im- 
 post. It was, in fact, no additional burden on the con- 
 sumers of tea, it being only a difierent ijiode of collecting 
 the duty which had before been paid ; yet this alteration 
 of the mode involved the right and power of parliament 
 to establish a revenue system in America. According to 
 the former regulations, the teas of the India Company 
 were first brought to England, where a duty was paid 
 before they were sent to the colonies. The scheme was 
 merely to change the place and mode of collecting the 
 duty ; it was to be paid in America, instead of England ; 
 for which purpose, custom regulations v/ere established, 
 and ofhcers appointed. A duty of three pence on a pound 
 of tea would not be felt by the people, and this, or rather 
 
46 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 a greater duty, had been paid before, in England ; so that, 
 instead of the burdens of the people being increased, they 
 were rather lightened by this new regulation. So artfully 
 disguised was this scheme. 
 
 It is a maxim with many politicians, and too generally 
 correct, that the people will not be alarmed or excited by 
 any principle, however it may be fraught with danger; 
 that they must feel and suffer, before their fears will 
 arouse them into action. But this maxim did not hold 
 true with the Americans; they saw the danger, and re- 
 solved to resist, at the hazard of their lives, a iwinciple 
 calculated to undermine the foundation of their liberty, 
 although its operation at the time was not felt in the 
 slightest degree. The resistance of the Americans to the 
 scheme of collecting a duty on tea in America, instead of 
 England, was the resistance of the principle which that 
 scheme involved, solely, as no additional burden was 
 thereby imposed on the people. It is not, however, to be 
 supposed that the colonists would have been so alarmed, 
 and aroused to such a spirit of resistance, by the new 
 regulations as to tea, had it not been for the previous 
 measures of the parent country, evincing, in the clearest 
 manner, a settled design to exercise the power of taxation 
 over them. They considered the new regulations as to 
 tea as an artful and disguised revenue system, although it 
 imposed no additional duty; and they were determined 
 not to be cheated out of their liberties, as they had before 
 resolved not to be frightened out of them. 
 
 Measures were immediately adopted to prevent the 
 introduction of the tea into the country, so as to avoid the 
 payment of the duty ; and such was the strength and una- 
 nimity of public opinion, that, without the aid of law, or 
 rather in opposition to law, they were enabled to render 
 their measures efficient, solely by the force of public senti- 
 ment ; although measures, of all others, the most difficult to 
 enforce, as interfering both with the interests and the estab- 
 lished habits of the people. In most of the towns through- 
 out the colonies, the people assembled, and resolved to dis- 
 continue the use of tea, which was now regarded as an 
 
THE TEA-SHIPS AT BOSTON. — 1773. 47 
 
 herb — however agreeable as a beverage — noxious to the 
 political constitution. In the large commercial cities, reg- 
 ulations were adopted to prevent the landing of tea ; com- 
 mittees were appointed to inspect merchants' books, propose 
 tests, and make use of other means to defeat the designs 
 of Britain. Where it could be done, consignees of the teas 
 were persuaded or compelled to resign, or to bind them- 
 selves not to act in that capacity. 
 
 The teas consumed in the colonies had been principally 
 smuggled into the country by the Dutch and French, who 
 were favored by the inhabitants in evading the revenue 
 laws. During the four or live years that the new system 
 had been in existence, very trifling quantities of teas had 
 been introduced into the colonies : and instead of the re- 
 strictive measures being relaxed, as was expected in Eng- 
 land, they increased in vigor and eflicacy, and the quantity 
 of tea introduced had constantly diminished. 
 
 As had been the case Avith other matters of difference 
 between the two countries, the principal struggle, growing 
 out of the regulations as to tea, occurred at Boston. The 
 other provinces had avoided the alternative which was 
 reserved for this, of either suffering the teas to be disposed 
 of, or to destroy them by violent means. Knowing the 
 spirit of the inhabitants of Boston, the India Company had 
 been more cautious as to the cargoes shipped for that 
 port, than those sent to the other provinces ; and the zeal 
 of Governor Hutchinson, and the other officers of the 
 crown there, greatly surpassed that of the crown officers 
 in the other colonies, and Avas calculated to frustrate the 
 measures of the inhabitants. The tea-ships destined to 
 Boston were all consigned to the sons, cousins, and persons 
 who were the merest tools of Governor Hutchinson. When 
 called on to resign, the only answer they would give was, 
 " that it was not in their power." The tea-ships arrived 
 at Boston in November, 1773. 
 
 As the consignees could not be induced to resign, the 
 next plan was, to compel the vessels to return without 
 landing their detestable cargoes ; but the collector refused 
 to give a clearance without the vessels were discharged 
 
48 
 
 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 of dutiable articles, and the governor refused to give a 
 pass for the vessels until they were properly qualified 
 from the custom-house; and to guard against the ves- 
 sels being taken, possession of, and conducted out of the 
 harbor, the governor ordered Admiral Montague, who 
 commanded the naval force, to keep a vigilant look-out, 
 and to suffer no vessel, coasters excepted, to pass the for- 
 tress from the town, without a pass signed .by himself. 
 The rigorous adherence to these measures, afforded great 
 satisfaction to the governor and his minions, and all the 
 British party; they flattered themselves that the "Sons of 
 Liberty," after all their clamor, resolutions, and schemes 
 to resist the tea system, were outmanaged, and that it 
 would be impossible for them to prevent the landing and 
 sale of the obnoxious cargoes. 
 
 Their measures had been planned so wisely, and their 
 execution was intrusted to agents of such known fidelity 
 to the crown, and who were under the immediate influ- 
 ence and control of the governor, that they thought there 
 was not a loophole, whereby the rebellious Americans could 
 escape paying the hateful tax. The governor, after all he 
 had witnessed and experienced, judging rather from his 
 feelings than his knowledge, was entirely ignorant of pub- 
 lic sentiment, and of the spirit of the people; he had no 
 idea that they had determined to resist the obnoxious 
 measure, at every hazard, even that of life. Nothing short 
 of this bold step could prevent the deep-laid scheme against 
 the liberties of the country from succeeding. 
 
 Both parties had taken their measures, and the British 
 party were confident of success ; the contest was advanc- 
 ing to a crisis ; alarm and dismay prevailed ; the deepest 
 anxiety was depicted in every countenance. Had an inva- 
 ding army been in the neighborhood, threatening to sack 
 the town, or had the pestilence which walks in darkness 
 ravaged its pavilions, greater gloom could not overspread 
 the town, or stronger indications been exhibited of a pend- 
 ing event, big with the fate of three millions of people. 
 
 During this suspense, a report was started, which spread 
 with the rapidity of lightning through the town, that Ad- 
 miral Montague was about to seize the ships, and dispose 
 
TEA DESTROYED AT BOSTON. — 1773. 49 
 
 of their cargoes, at public auction, within twenty-four 
 hours ; which was beUeved to be a cunning device of 
 Hutchinson, as this would as effectually have secured the 
 duties, as if the teas had been sold at the stores of the con- 
 signees. This rumor was like an electric shock. Leaving 
 their employments, the people rushed into the streets, and, 
 with amazed and terrified countenances, every one seemed to 
 say. What shall we do to prevent the consummation, in so 
 bold and daring a manner, of this iniquitous scheme 7 In a 
 few moments, as from an instinctive impulse, a vast crowd 
 repaired to the Old South church, in Boston, and organized 
 themselves into a public meeting. Previously to taking any 
 other step, a message was sent to the governor and the con- 
 signees, who with difficulty could be found, as they were 
 afraid to encounter even the looks of an indignant and in- 
 jured people. No satisfactory answers were returned : but, 
 instead of complying with their wishes, whilst the assem- 
 bled multitude were quietly, notwithstanding the excite- 
 ment which prevailed, consulting on their critical situation, 
 and the measures proper to be adopted, the sheriff entered 
 with an order from the governor, styling them an illegal 
 and seditious assembly, and ordering them immediately 
 to disperse. But he did not bring with him the posse comi- 
 tatuSj as the power of the county was already assembled, 
 and it was that which the sheriff was ordered to disperse. 
 This mandate was treated with deserved contempt, and the 
 sheriff hissed out of the house, mortified and chagrined ; 
 and a confused murmur followed, not only in the house, 
 but among the vast multitude from without ; but soon 
 order was restored, and the meeting adjourned, without 
 adopting any vote or resolution. The leaders probably 
 supposed that such a meeting was not the place to discuss 
 and devise measures to meet the crisis. 
 
 In a few hours after the adjournment of the public meet- 
 ing, the bold measure, on the success of which the great 
 question of taxation hung suspended, was contrived, ma- 
 tured, and ripened for execution ; and, in the evening of 
 Dec. 16th, appeared in the streets a large number of per- 
 sons, disguised as savages, armed with a tomahawk in one 
 6 
 
50 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 hand, and a club over tlie shoulder ; who, in a silent and 
 solemn manner, not a voice being heard, marched, in Indian 
 file, through the streets, amidst a crowd of astonished spec- 
 tators, the most of whom knew not what to think of so 
 unexpected and strange an exhibition; and its novelty, 
 and the surprise which it occasioned, may have prevented 
 any steps being taken to oppose their design. 
 
 They proceeded directly towards the wharves where the 
 tea-ships lay; boarded them, and, without the least hesi- 
 tation or delay, knocked open the tea-chests, three hundred 
 and forty-two in number, and emptied the contents over- 
 board. The deed was done with so much silence and 
 expedition, that, although surrounded by the king's ships, 
 no opposition was made or attempted. The "Indians," 
 having effected their object, showed no marks of triumph ; 
 no savage war-whoop was heard ; nor did they commit any 
 other violence or disorder, but, in the same silent, solemn, 
 and orderly manner, marched back through the town, fol- 
 lowed by a vast crowd. No movements on the part of the 
 British, or disturbance by the people, followed this event ; 
 and it was observed at the time, that the stillest night suc- 
 ceeded which Boston had enjoyed for several months. No 
 persons assisted the savages in the destruction of the tea, 
 except some boys or young men, who had assembled on 
 the occasion, and voluntarily took a part in what was going 
 on. One of these youths collected the tea which fell into 
 his own shoes, and those of several of his companions, put 
 it in a phial, and sealed it up, which is now in his posses- 
 sion, containing the same obnoxious tea, which, in this 
 instance, was considered as more dangerous to the political 
 health and constitution of the people even than strong 
 drink. The number of savages, manufactured for the 
 occasion, has been variously estimated, from sixty to 
 eighty. 
 
 In the other colonies, the tea met witli an equally unwel- 
 come reception; although none of them displayed such spirit 
 and decision as the people of Boston. At New York, the 
 tea was landed under the cannon of a man-of-war. But 
 it met with no purchasers. In' other places it was thrown 
 
DESTRUCTION OF TEA AT BOSTON. — 1773. 
 
 51 
 
 into damp warehouses, where it was spoiled. Thus the 
 scheme of the " tea-tax" was frustrated at the very outset, 
 and the crafty manceuvres of the British cabinet resulted 
 in nothing but disappointment and mortification to them- 
 selves. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 American Revolution. — Indignation of the British government at the 
 destruction of the tea — Boston port-bill — General Gage governor of 
 Massachusetts — TJie Quebec bill — General congress at Philadelphia — 
 Further encroachments of the British in Massachusetts — Gage fortifies 
 Boston Neck — General court at Concord — Outrage in Boston — Occur- 
 rences in Rhode Island and Neio Hampshire — Efforts of Lord Chatham 
 and Dr. Franklin, in behalf of the colonies — Gage's expedition to Sa- 
 lem — Exasperation of the people of Massachusetts — Battle of Lexington 
 — 'Provincial congress in Massachusetts — Capture of Ticondcroga and 
 Croivn Point — Movements of the British at Boston — Battle of Bunker 
 Hill. 
 
 The success of these bold and daring measures aston- 
 ished Governor Hutchinson and the British party, and 
 seemed to convince him that the "Sons of Liberty" were 
 not quite so contemptible as he had represented them in 
 his letters to the ministry ; and it even astonished the 
 whigs in the other colonies, and contributed to fan the 
 flames of liberty, and give them a deeper glow, and more 
 intense heat. 
 
 When the intelligence of the destruction of the tea at 
 Boston reached England, accompanied with all the exag- 
 geration and coloring Avhich Hutchinson could give to the 
 story, it produced the utmost excitement and indignation 
 with the ministerial party ; and even the opponents of the 
 American revenue system could not justify so rash and 
 desperate a measure. Parliament at once determined to 
 crush the devoted place which was the seat and cause of 
 this high-handed resistance to its supremacy. Its omnipo- 
 tent power, and all the terrors of its wrath, were to be 
 concentrated and directed against the rebellious town of 
 Boston. Under the auspices of Lord North, who was now 
 
THE BOSTON PORT-BILL. 1774. 53 
 
 prime minister, a bill was immediately introduced to "dis- 
 continue the landing and discharging, landing and shipping 
 of goods, wares, and merchandise, at the town of "Boston, 
 or within the harbor." This bill, called the " Boston Port- 
 Bill," passed on the 25th of March, 1774, and, when it was 
 known at Boston, threw the inhabitants into the utmost 
 consternation. A general meeting was called, and resolu- 
 tions adopted, expressive, in strong terms, of their sense of 
 the oppressive measure; and they requested all the colonies 
 to unite in an engagement to discontinue all importations 
 from Great Britain. This proceeding had immediate effect, 
 and most of the colonies resolved to make common cause 
 with Massachusetts, in her opposition to the unconstitu- 
 tional measures of parliament. 
 
 The 1st of June, when the Boston port-bill was to go 
 into operation, was appointed, by the people of Massachu- 
 setts, to be kept as a day of fasting and prayer. On that 
 day, business ceased at Boston, at twelve o'clock, noon, 
 and the harbor was shut against all vessels. The custom- 
 house was removed to Salem. Sailors, merchants, laborers 
 and artificers were immediately thrown out of employment. 
 The immense property in stores, wharves and ships was 
 rendered useless. The rents of houses ceased, for want of 
 the means of payment. Provisions grew scarce, and all 
 persons avIio depended on their daily labor were threatened 
 with starvation or beggary. A calamity such as this might 
 indeed have been expected to break the spirit of the Bos- 
 tonians, and bow them to a speedy submission to ministerial 
 rule. But, to the astonishment of the British cabinet, all 
 these sufferings were endured with inflexible fortitude and 
 resolution. No word of submission was uttered, and the 
 inhabitants showed an invincible determination to endure 
 the last extremities sooner than abandon their political 
 rights. In this resolve they were animated by the sym- 
 pathy and charities of their neighbors. Provisions were 
 sent in from the towns in the vicinity ; and the people of 
 Marblehead generously offered the merchants of Boston 
 the use of their harbor, wharves and warehouses, with 
 their personal assistance in unlading their goods, free of all 
 5# 
 
54 AMERICAN REVOLUTION, 
 
 expense. The flame of patriotism was kept alive by letters 
 and addresses from town meetings and conventions in 
 various parts of the country, and the spirit of resistance 
 against British encroachments Avaxed stronger than ever. 
 
 Meantime, General Gage, the commander-in-chief of the 
 British forces in North America, had been appointed gov- 
 ernor of Massachusetts, and arrived at Boston, with a 
 reinforcement of troops, on the 13th of May, 1774, His 
 first proceeding was to involve himself in an altercation 
 with the legislative body, and his next to dissolve them. 
 The committee of correspondence at Boston drew up a 
 declaration, which they entitled a solemn league and cov- 
 enant, wherein the subscribers bound themselves, in the 
 most solemn manner, to suspend all commercial intercourse 
 with Great Britain, from the last day of the ensuing month 
 of August, until the Boston port-bill and other unpopular 
 laws were repealed, and the colony of Massachusetts fully 
 restored to all its rights. They also bound themselves 
 not to consume or purchase any goods whatsoever which 
 arrived after the specified time. 
 
 The Boston port-bill was soon followed by another act 
 of parliament "for the better regulating government in the 
 province of Massachusetts Bay;" the object of which was 
 to alter the charter, so as to make the judges and sheriffs 
 dependent on the king, and removable at his pleasure. 
 And this act was soon succeeded by another, which pro- 
 vided, that any persons indicted for murder, or other cap- 
 ital offence, committed in aiding the magistrates in enforcing 
 the laws, might be sent by the governor either to any 
 other colony or to Great Britain for his trial. The Quebec 
 bill followed in rapid succession, enlarging the boimds of 
 that province, and conferring many privileges on the Ro- 
 man Catholics, The design of this was to secure the attach- 
 ment of that province, and prevent its joining with the 
 colonies in their measures of resistance. These measures, 
 instead of intimidating the colonies into submission, only 
 confirmed their fears of the settled designs of Great Britain 
 to deprive them of their chartered rights, and reduce the 
 colonies to the lowest state of political degradation and 
 
CONGRESS AT PHILADELPHIA. 1774. 56 
 
 oppression. A sense of common danger led to an extensive 
 correspondence between the colonial governments, which 
 resulted in the opinion, that it was expedient to convene a 
 general congress, to consist of deputies from all the col- 
 onies. 
 
 This congress met at Philadelphia, on the 5th of Septem- 
 ber, 1774, and comprised among its members some of the 
 most distinguished patriots, statesmen, and orators in this 
 country, or perhaps in any other. Notwithstanding the 
 ferment which prevailed in most of the colonies, their pro- 
 ceedings were characterized by coolness, unanimity, and 
 firmness. They published a long and solemn declaration 
 of rights, as British subjects, and maintained, in the 
 strongest terms, their exemption from taxation by parlia- 
 ment ; besides which, they prepared a petition to the king, 
 which was refused to be answered; an address to the 
 people of Great Britain ; another to the people of America. 
 These documents were drawn up with a masterly hand, 
 and exhibited great dignity and ability, and were, in every 
 respect, worthy of the men who had confided to them the 
 liberties of their country and the destinies of three millions 
 of their countrymen, threatened with slavery. The pro- 
 ceedings of congress did not tend to allay public feeling ; 
 and as the royal agents in Massachusetts seemed deter- 
 mined to push matters to extremities, and reduce the people 
 to unconditional submission, by arbitrary and forcible 
 means, everything now threatened a civil war. A new 
 council, and new judges in Massachusetts, were appointed 
 by the crown ; and the latter attempted to enter upon the 
 execution of their offices ; but the juries refused to be sworn 
 under them ; the people in some counties assembled to pre- 
 vent their proceedings. About this time, the famous 
 " Tree of Liberty," in Boston, which had been pruned and 
 ornamented with so much pride and care, was cut down 
 by the British. 
 
 General Gage, apprehending danger from a general 
 muster of the militia, caused the magazines and ammuni- 
 tion at Charlestown and Cambridge to be removed to 
 Boston, and fortified the neck which joins Boston to the 
 
56 
 
 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 main land, at Roxbuiy. These measures occasioned a 
 universal panic ; delegates from all the towns in the county 
 of Suflfolk met, and spirited resolutions, and a remonstrance 
 to the governor, were adopted. 
 
 The general court had been summoned to meet at 
 Salem ; but, from the turbulence of the times, the governor 
 issued his proclamation, countermanding their meeting : 
 yet, in defiance of the governor's mandate, ninety members 
 met, resolved themselves into a provincial congress, chose 
 
 John Hancock. 
 
 John Hancock president, and adjourned to Concord, nine- 
 teen miles from Boston. They fearlessly proceeded to 
 business. After addressing the governor, and reiterating 
 their grievances, in the face of British law and British 
 troops, they proceeded to adopt the first measures which 
 were taken, directly and avowedly, preparatory to an 
 appeal to the sword, in defence of their rights and liberties. 
 They regulated the militia, made provision for furnishing 
 the people with arms, and for supplying the treasury ; and 
 such was the enthusiasm of the people, that their recom- 
 mendations had the force of law. Governor Gage was 
 
OUTRAGE IN BOSTON.- -1775: 67 
 
 filled with rage at these daring proceedings, and issued a 
 proclamation, in which he insinuated that they amounted 
 to rebellion. 
 
 Early in 1775, parliament passed the fishery bills, 
 which prohibited the colonies from trading in fish with 
 Great Britain, Ireland, and the West Indies, and from 
 taking fish on the banks of Newfoundland. These acts 
 were intended to operate on the town of Boston, which 
 had become the devoted object of ministerial wrath. The 
 various statutes which Avere passed, occasioned deep and 
 general distress in Boston and its vicinity ; but their breth- 
 ren in the other colonies sympathized with them, and 
 promptly supplied them with provisions of every descrip- 
 tion for the relief of the sufferers. This policy of the 
 British government was not only oppressive, but mean and 
 contemptible. Partial legislation is always odious and 
 tyrannical ; yet it consisted with the justice and dignity of 
 the British nation ; and a series of acts were passed, and 
 the power of the nation exerted, to crush the town of 
 Boston, because it had shown a more determined spirit of 
 resistance to their oppressive and unconstitutional measures 
 than had appeared in other places. The ministry were 
 not sensible that the colonies considered themselves all 
 engaged in a common cause ; they were in hopes to humble 
 and crush the rebellious inhabitants of that devoted town, 
 which they thought would be such a terrific example as 
 would frighten all the colonies into submission. But their 
 designs recoiled on the heads of their authors ; for these 
 oppressive measures towards the Bostonians only served to 
 exasperate the people throughout all the colonies, who 
 regarded them as cruel and detestable. 
 
 In March, 1775, the public indignation was greatly 
 excited by the following base and most shameful transac- 
 tion : — 
 
 The people from the country, whose business called them 
 into Boston, were suspected by the officers of purchasing 
 guns from their soldiers. In order to furnish an oppor- 
 tunity to inflict punishment, and to raise occasion for a 
 serious quarrel. Lieutenant Colonel Nesbit, of the forty- 
 
58 
 
 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 seventh regiment, ordered a soldier to offer a countryman 
 an old rusty musket. A man from Billerica was caught 
 by this bait, and purchased the gun for three dollars. The 
 unfortunate man was immediately seized by Nesbit, and 
 confined in the guard-house all night. Early next morning 
 they stripped him entirely naked, covered him over with 
 warm tar and then with feathers, placed him on a cart, 
 and conducted him tlu'ough the streets as far as Liberty tree, 
 where the people began to collect in vast numbers, and the 
 military, fearing for their safety, dismissed the man, and 
 retreated to their barracks. The party consisted of about 
 thirty grenadiers with fixed bayonets, twenty drums and 
 fifes playing the rogue's march, headed by the redoubtable 
 Nesbit with a drawn sword ! This was done by a British 
 field officer and grenadiers ! The selectmen of Billerica 
 remonstrated with General Gage respecting this outrage, 
 but obtained no satisfaction. 
 
 Fniiislniu/it of n man from Billerica. 
 
 The breach between Britain and the colonies had now 
 become so wide, as, with the mass of the people, nearly to 
 exclude all ideas of reconciliation ; and both parties began to 
 make preparations for an appeal to the sword. No alter- 
 native was left the Americans but slavery, or resistance by 
 force. Measures were adopted for training the militia to the 
 
AFFAIRS IN RHODE ISLAND AND NEW HAMPSHIRE. — 1775. 69 
 
 use of arms, to encourage the manufacture of gunpowder, 
 and for collecting all kinds of military stores ; and com- 
 mittees of public safety were appointed in all the towns in 
 the province. 
 
 From the natural advantages of its situation and the 
 works thrown up on the neck, Boston had already become 
 a strong-hold. It was also, at the pleasure of the governor, 
 capable of being made a secure prison for the inhabitants, 
 who would thereby, become hostages for the province at 
 large. The Bostonians saw the danger, and several schemes 
 were projected to avert it. One of the boldest of these was 
 to burn the town and retire into the country ; but neither 
 this daring enterprise, nor any other decisive proceeding, 
 was ultimately determined on. At Rhode Island, the people 
 seized and carried away all the ordnance belonging to the 
 crown in that colony. The assembly of the province also 
 passed resolutions for the procuring of arms and military 
 stores, and for training and arming the inhabitants. The 
 province of New Hampshire, which had hitherto shown a 
 moderate temper, and had behaved with more respect to 
 the British government than the other provinces of New 
 England, as soon as they heard of the resolutions of Rhode 
 Island, and received a copy of the royal proclamation, pur- 
 sued the same plan. A body of men assembled in arms, 
 and marched to the attack of Fort William and Mary, at 
 Portsmouth, remarkable only for being the object of the first 
 military operation in New Hampshire. This fort was taken 
 December 13th, and supplied them with a quantity of pow- 
 der. No other act of hostility or violence happened during 
 the winter of 1774 ; but a firm determination of resistance 
 was universally spread, and increased every day. The 
 arrival of the king's speech and the addresses of the new 
 parliament added to the flame that was already kindled. 
 
 The king's speech, in the opinion of the colonists, cut off 
 all hopes of reconciliation, and made them strain every 
 nerve to provide against the storm they saw gathering 
 against them. It is very remarkable that all the public 
 acts and declarations, which, in England, were recom- 
 mended as the means of pacifying the colonists, by iritimi- 
 
60 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 dating them, constantly operated in a different manner. 
 The secretary of state for the American department issued 
 a circular letter forbidding, in the king's name, the election 
 of deputies for the ensuing general congress. In spite of 
 this, the elections took place, unobstructed, throughout the 
 country. 
 
 The year 1775, an epoch forever memorable in American 
 history, had now arrived. The British government showed 
 no disposition to relax its coercive measures. The colo- 
 nists exhibited no symptoms of a submissive spirit, and it 
 was evident that a haslile collision must soon take place. 
 What added to the infatuation of the liritish ministry was 
 the belief, then prevalent in that country, that the Ameri- 
 cans were cowards, and would never dare to oppose the 
 British arms in case of extremities. This notion had been 
 encouraged by the rhodomontade of many of the officers of 
 the royal army who had served in America, and who had 
 not the penetration to discover, under the homely manners 
 of the American yeomanry, any signs of military spirit. 
 Under this delusion, it was confidently believed, in Eng- 
 land, that an army of five thousand men could march 
 through the country from one end to the other. Matters 
 were therefore carried, in the cabinet and parliament, with 
 a high hand and an arrogant tone. At the close of the 
 past year, the king had delivered an address to parliament, 
 full of the most bitter denunciations against the colony of 
 Massachusetts, and avowing a determination to suppress 
 all attempts in favor of American liberty. The parliament 
 concurred in these sentiments by a large majority. The 
 more sagacious among the British statesmen, however, saw 
 the storm coming, and made the most strenuous endeavors 
 to check the rash and precipitate measures of the ministry. 
 The venerable Earl of Chatham left his retirement, and 
 again entered the house of lords, where his powerful elo- 
 quence was exerted in an attempt to dissuade his country- 
 men from the design of subduing the colonists by force of 
 arms. He recommended conciliatory measures, and in 
 particular the immediate removal of the troops from Boston. 
 His remonstrances, however, had not the slightest effect. 
 
HOSTILITIES IN MASSACHUSETTS. 1775. 61 
 
 Equally unavailing was the petition of congress to the king, 
 which Dr. Franklin and others now laid before parliament, 
 with a request to be heard in its support. The petition 
 was rejected by a large majority. The lords and commons 
 then passed an address to the king, declaring the people of 
 Massachusetts rebels; and the next day a more decisive 
 blow was struck by the ministers, in procuring the passage 
 of an act restricting the trade of the New England colonies, 
 and depriving them of the Newfoundland fishery. 
 
 The Bostonians, in the mean time, in spite of their suf- 
 fering condition, avoided every kind of outrage. Massa- 
 chusetts had successfully engaged the other colonies to 
 make common cause with her. .A new provincial congress 
 met in February, 1775, and published a resolution, advis- 
 ing the people to furnish themselves with arms, and make 
 every preparation to resist the invading armies which were 
 expected from Britain for the destruction of the colonies.' 
 In all parts of Massachusetts the inhabitants obeyed these 
 hints. Arms and powder were manufactured a.nd stored 
 in various places, military bands organized, and the pro- 
 ceedings in every quarter gave "dreadful note of prepara- 
 tion." These things did not escape the notice of General 
 Gage. On the 2Gth of February, having learnt that a 
 quantity of military stores had been collected at Salem, he 
 despatched one hundred and forty soldiers, in a transport 
 from the castle, to seize them. They landed at Marble- 
 head, and took up their march for Salem. Not finding the 
 stores there, they proceeded to Danvers, but were stopped 
 at a draw-bridge, where a body of thirty or forty militia 
 were drawn up. After some parley and an attempt to 
 pass, the troops returned to Boston, without effecting their 
 object. 
 
 But the flames of war could no longer be kept from 
 bursting out. News arrived in Boston of the king's speech, 
 of the resolutions adopted by parliament, and finally of the 
 act by which the people of Massachusetts were declared 
 rebels. The Avhole province flew to arms. General Gage 
 was informed that the provincials had amassed large quan- 
 tities of arms and ammunition in the towns of Worcester 
 6 
 
62 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 and Concord. Excited by the loyalists, who had persuaded 
 him that he would find no resistance ; considering the cow- 
 ardice of the patriots, and perhaps not imagining that the 
 sword would be drawn so soon, he resolved to send a few 
 companies to Concord, to seize the military stores. It was 
 said, also, that he had in view, in this expedition, to get 
 possession of the persons of John Hancock and Samuel 
 Adams, two of the most ardent patriot chiefs, and the prin- 
 cipal directors of the provincial congress. But to avoid 
 causing irritation and the popular tumults which might 
 obstruct his design, he took his measures wiih caution and 
 secrec}^ He ordered the grenadiers and several companies 
 of light infantry to hold themselves in readiness to march 
 out of the city at the first signal, pretending that it was in 
 order to review and execute manoeuvres. The Bostonians 
 entertained suspicions, and sent to warn Hancock and 
 Adams to be upon their guard. Gage, to proceed with 
 more secrecy, commanded a certain number of officers, 
 who had been made acquainted with his designs, to go, as 
 if on a party of pleasure, and dine at Cambridge, on the 
 road to Concord. It was on the evening of the 18th of 
 April that these officers dispersed themselves upon the 
 roads, to intercept the couriers that might have been 
 despatched to give notice of the movements of the- troops. 
 Gage gave orders that no person should leave Boston; nev- 
 ertheless, Doctor Warren, one of the most active patriots, 
 had timely intimation of the scheme, and immediately 
 despatched messengers, some of \vhom found the roads 
 obstructed by the ofllcers, but others made their way in 
 safety to Lexington, a town on the road to Concord. The 
 news was soon divulged; the people flocked together; 
 alarm bells were rung; and the firing of cannon spread 
 the agitation throughout the neighborhood. In the midst 
 of this tumult, at eleven in the evening, a strong detach- 
 ment of grenadiers and light infantry was embarked at 
 Boston, and landed at Phipps' farm, wlicnce they marched 
 toward Concord. 
 
 The troops were under the command of Lieutenant 
 Colonel Smith and Major Pitcairn, who led the vanguard. 
 
BATTLE OF LEXINGTON. 1775. 
 
 63 
 
 The militia of Lexington, as the intelligence of the move- 
 ment of this detachment was uncertain, had separated in 
 the night. But, at five in the morning of the 19th, advice 
 was received of the approach of the royal troops. The 
 people who happened to be near, assembled to the number 
 of about seventy, — certainly too few to entertain the design 
 of fighting. I'he English appeared, and Major Pitcairn 
 cried, in a loud voice, "Disperse, you rebels! lay down 
 your arms and disperse ! " The provincials did not obey ; 
 upon which he sprung from the ranks, discharged a pistol, 
 and, brandishing his sword, ordered his soldiers to fire. 
 The provincials retreated. The English continuing their 
 firo, the former faced about to return it. The British gave 
 th'^^e cheers, and advanced towards Concord. The inhab- 
 
 Battle of Lexington. 
 
 itants assembled and appeared disposed to act upon the 
 defensive; but, seeing the numbers of the enemy, they fell 
 back and posted themselves on the bridge, north of the 
 town, intending to wait for reinforcements from the neigh- 
 boring places ; but the light infantry assailed them with 
 fury, routed them, and occupied the bridge, whilst the others 
 entered Concord, and proceeded to the execution of their 
 orders. They spiked two pieces of twenty-four pound can- 
 
64 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 noiij destroyed their carriages and a number of wheels for 
 the use of the artillery, threw into the river and into wells 
 five hundred pounds of bullets, and wasted a quantity of 
 flour deposited there by the provincials. Before the work 
 of destruction was completed, however, the sound of distant 
 alarm-bells, and the sight of bodies of men gathering upon 
 the neighboring hill, admonished the British of approach- 
 ing danger, and their commander, apprehensive lest his 
 retreat should be cut ofl', gave orders for a retreat. 
 
 But it was now broad day, and the whole neighborhood 
 was roused. From every quarter, people came rushing 
 toward Concord and Lexington, with such arms as they 
 could hastily snatch. Before they had proceeded many rods 
 on their march homeward, scattering shots, from behind 
 walls and fences, apprized the British that the enemy were 
 upon them. The light infantry, who scoured the country 
 above Concord, were obliged to retreat, and on entering 
 the town, a hot skirmish ensued. A great number were 
 killed on both sides. The light infantry having joined the 
 main body of the detachment, the English retreated pre- 
 cipitately towards Lexington. Already the whole neigh- 
 borhood had risen in arms. Before the detachment had 
 reached Lexington, its rear guard and flanks suffered 
 great annoyance from the provincials, who, posted behind 
 trees, walls and fences, kept up a brisk fire, which the 
 troops could not return. The English found themselves 
 in a most perilous situation. General Gage, apprehensive 
 of the event, had despatched in haste a reinforcement of 
 sixteen companies, with some marines and two field-pieces. 
 This body arrived very opportunely at Lexington, at the 
 moment when the royal troops entered the town on the 
 other side, pursued with fury by the provincial militia. It 
 appears highly probable that, without this reinforcement, 
 they would have been all cut to pieces or made prisoners ; 
 their strength was exhaused, as well as their ammunition. 
 After making a considerable halt at Lexington, they re- 
 newed their march towards Boston, the number of the 
 provincials increasing every moment, although the rear 
 guard of the English was less molested, on account of the 
 
BATTLE OF LEXINGTON. 1775. 
 
 65 
 
 two field-pieces, which repressed the impetuosity of the 
 Americans. But the flanks of the cohmm remained ex- 
 posed to a very destructive fire, which assailed them from 
 every sheltered spot. The royalists were also annoyed 
 by the heat, which was excessive, and by a violent wind, 
 which blew a thick dust in their eyes. The American 
 scouts, adding to their natural celerity a perfect knowledge 
 of the country, came up unexpectedly through cross roads, 
 and galled the English severely, taking aim especially at 
 the officers, who, perceiving it, kept much on their guard. 
 Finally, after a march of incredible fatigue, and a loss of 
 two hundred and seventy-three men, the English, over- 
 whelmed with lassitude, arrived at sunset in Charlestown. 
 
 
 
 Hefreat from Lexington. 
 
 The news of the battle of liexington spread like a con- 
 flagration, and aroused the hardy sons of the country to a 
 manful resistance. The agriculturist left his plough in 
 the furrow, and the mechanic dropped his tools in the 
 shop, and the great mass of the people repaired to Boston, 
 with such arms as could be found. General Putnam, of 
 Connecticut, was ploughing in his field, when the intelli- 
 gence reached him. He immediately abandoned the 
 plough, and, without stopping to change his clothes, set 
 6* 
 
m 
 
 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 off for Boston. Within a few days a large army was 
 collected, under the command of Generals Ward and Put- 
 nam, and entrenched themselves on the heights around 
 Boston. When the tidings of these events reached the 
 south, the population were aroused to the contest with 
 the same animated zeal which had been displayed at the 
 north, and the alarm spread far and wide through the 
 country. 
 
 Putnam tuld oj the battlt of Lixi/igtvn. ' 
 
 On the 28th of April, 1776, a provincial congress assem- 
 bled in Massachusetts, and issued the following general 
 circular : " We conjure you, by all that is dear, by al\ 
 that is sacred, that you give all possible assistance in 
 forming an army, in defence of the country. Our all is at 
 stake. Death and destruction arc the certain consequences 
 of delay. Every moment is infinitely precious ; an hour 
 lost may deluge your country in blood, and entail per- 
 petual slavery upon the few of your posterity that survive 
 the carnage. We beg and entreat, as you will answer it 
 to your country, to your consciences, and, above all, as 
 you will answer it to your God, that you will hasten, by 
 all possible means, the enlistment of men, to form an army, 
 and send them forward to head quarters, at Cambridge, 
 Avith that expedition which the vast importance and 
 instant urgency of the affairs demand." This, as might be 
 
CAPTURE OF TICONDEROGA. 1775. 67 
 
 expected, aroused the energies of the country, and inspired 
 the people with the most heroic feehngs. The call was 
 promptly obeyed, and the Sons of Liberty enlisted them- 
 selves with the greatest alacrity for the defence of their 
 rights. 
 
 The responsibilities which now rested on the fathers of 
 the revolution were great, and their services important. 
 They had to embody and discipline new and inexperi- 
 enced troops, bring order out of confusion, and to supply 
 both arms and ammunition, being without funds, and 
 almost without authority to raise them. Besides this, the 
 army was to be supplied with provisions, in the face of a 
 formidable, well-disciplined, and well-furnished enemy. 
 But the zeal and ability of the officers were equal to the 
 crisis. Of some it is even recorded, that, for a succession 
 of days and nights, they were constantly at the head of 
 their respective guards, without a change of raiment. 
 
 At this critical epoch, Colonel Ethan Allen raised a body 
 of Green Mountain Boys, on the New Hampshire grants, 
 composing the state now called Vermont. With this force 
 he undertook to surprise the garrisons of the English on 
 lake Champlain. With two hundred and thirty men, he 
 repaired to Castleton, where he met one hundred and 
 seventy-two more, by concert with certain officers of the 
 militia. In this plan. Dean, Wooster, and Parsons, with 
 others in Connecticut, cooperated, and sentinels were 
 posted on the difierent routes to Ticonderoga, to intercept 
 intelligence of the intentions of the Americans. About this 
 time, Colonel Benedict Arnold, who had arrived to assist in 
 the enterprise, consented to act in concert with Colonel 
 Allen, and no unnecessary delay prevented them from 
 moving forward to the object which they determined to 
 accomplish. Colonel Allen crossed the lake on the 10th 
 of May, with a detachment of only eighty-three men, with 
 which he attacked Fort Ticonderoga early in the morning. 
 With this small number he rushed into the fort while the 
 garrison was asleep. Captain Delaplace was ordered to 
 surrender the garrison instantly, as he would save them 
 from immediate destruction. The captain inquired by 
 
68 
 
 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 what aulhority; to whom Colonel Allen replied, "In the 
 name of the Great Jehovah, and the Continental Congress." 
 The fort was immediately surrendered, and the soldiers 
 paraded without arms. The prisoners consisted of four 
 officers, forty-four privates, with several women and 
 children, who were sent into Connecticut for security. 
 The fruits of his victory were — one hundred and twenty 
 iron cannon, fifty swivels, more than three tons of balls, 
 two ten-inch mortars, and a quantity of shells, flints, gun 
 carriages, powder, flour, pork, &c., with two brass can- 
 non, and many other valuables. With the remainder of 
 the party. Colonel Seth Warner, a native of Connecticut, 
 crossed the lake, and took the fortress of Crown Point by 
 surprise, with more than one hundred pieces of cannon. 
 Colonel Arnold, who had embarked on the lake in a small 
 schooner, captured an English armed vessel, and returned 
 to Ticonderoga with his prize. Thus was a free commu- 
 nication with Canada secured by the command of the 
 lake. 
 
 Capture of Ticonderoga. 
 
 While the tide of success thus waited on the American 
 arms in the north. General Gage contemplated an attack 
 upon the American troops at Roxbury, under the command 
 of General Thomas. The number of troops at this place 
 
SIEGE OF BOSTON. 1775. 69 
 
 amounted, in all, to but seven hundred militia, and they 
 were nearly destitute of both arms and ammunition. 
 What was wanting in force, however, was supplied by 
 stratagem. The Americans were marched round a hill in 
 full view of the enemy, and displayed to such advantage 
 through the day, that the British general was completely 
 hoaxed, and the attack was not made. Reinforcements 
 soon arrived, and the place was saved. The success 
 which attended the American arms in their frequent skir- 
 mishes with the foraging parties of the British, among the 
 small islands which abound in Massachusetts Bay, gave 
 them confidence and courage to face the English forces 
 with confidence and success in more important under- 
 takings. 
 
 On the 25 th of May, the three British generals, Howe, 
 Olmton and Burgoyne, arrived at Boston. They were 
 able and experienced, and to them was committed the 
 task of putting down all opposition, and of bringing the 
 revolted colonists to a state of absolute and unconditional 
 submission, during the first campaign. Two days after 
 this, the provincials, under Putnam and Warren, defeated 
 a strong force of the enemy on the islands, and destroyed 
 the vessel armed and stationed for their defence. The 
 same success attended their arms on the 30th, and the 
 British were greatly distressed by a removal of the cattle 
 from the islands, and the communication with Boston was 
 now closed. 
 
 On the part of the continentals, the sufferings were 
 severe. The small pox had been communicated from 
 Boston, and raged in the army to an alarming degree. 
 Money was exceedingly scarce, and the whole force, in- 
 cluding officers and soldiers, did not exceed eight thou- 
 sand. Under all their discouragements, and in their 
 undisciplined state, nothing could keep them together but 
 the most ardent zeal for the cause of their common coun- 
 try. A prcKjlamation was issued by General Gage, on the 
 12th of June, in the king's name, offering a general am- 
 nesty, excluding only John Hancock and Samuel Adams. 
 Those who should refuse these gracious offers, or corre- 
 
70 AMERICAN REVOLUTION, 
 
 spond with, or aid and assist the refractory, were denounced 
 as rebels, and threatened to be treated as such. Martial 
 law was also declared in the province. 
 
 The proclamation was very properly considered as a 
 public declaration of war, and the precursor of hostile 
 operations, and the enemy was watched with the utmost 
 vigilance. Colonel Prescott, with a detachment of one 
 thousand men, was ordered to fortify Bunker's Hill, in 
 Charlestown ; but as the operation was in the night, he 
 fortified a portion of it, called Breed's Hill, which was 
 nearer to Boston, The boldness of this movement both 
 perplexed and astonished General Gage, who saw that it 
 jeopardized his own safety in Boston. He determined to 
 dislodge them from this position without delay. The 
 Americans were under command of Generals Warren and 
 Putnam, and Colonel Prescott, of whose military skill the 
 British had no very exalted opinion. The works on the 
 hill were slight and incomplete, as the Americans had 
 but a single night, and that the shortest in the year, to 
 accomplish the labor. They consisted of a redoubt of 
 earth on the brow of the eminence, and a breastwork 
 down the slope consisting of o, rail fence faced with hay. 
 The British commander despised this mock fortification 
 no less than he did the courage of his opponents, and 
 deemed it a mere pastime to drive the Americans from their 
 post. 
 
 About noon of the 17th of June, a body of three thousand 
 men, the flower of the British army, under the command of 
 General Howe, were embarked in boats and ferried across 
 the water to the Charlestown side. To cover ilieir ap- 
 proach, the town was set on fire by the British, and its 
 great mass of wooden houses were immediately involved 
 in a pyramid of flame. The British men-of-war and 
 floating batteries opened a tremendous fire as the army 
 formed in order of battle and advanced up the hill. The 
 fire of the Americans was reserved until the English 
 arrived to within seventy yards. A sudden and well- 
 directed fire of musketry was then opened, which spread 
 destruction in the ranks of the assailants, and kept them in 
 
'III ill 
 
 
 
 
 i^ . 
 
 4^ 
 
 I'ilj 
 
 I I f0 
 
72 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 check. The slaughter was dreadful, and the enemy fled 
 in disorder. The chagrin and mortification of the officers 
 was extreme, and the men were rallied to another charge. 
 They were again repulsed, cut to pieces, and put to the 
 rout. At this crisis General Clinton arrived from Boston 
 with a reinforcement, and, the troops being once more 
 rallied, renewed the charge, and the carnage became 
 dreadful. The time was a critical one. The powder of 
 the provincials was nearly expended, and the cartridge 
 boxes of the dead were searched, that the fire might be 
 continued, when their wings were outflanked by the 
 enemy, and the lines were exposed to a raking fire 
 from the British artillery. The cannonade increased from 
 the British ships and batteries, and the exertions of the 
 enemy were redoubled. The troops were pressed on by 
 the swords and bayonets in the rear, and the points of 
 British bayonets were met by clubbed muskets, until num- 
 bers prevailed, and the Americans were compelled to retire. 
 Nevertheless, the provincials maintained their position 
 with the most obstinate bravery, defending themselves 
 with the butt-ends of their muskets after their ammunition 
 was expended. The redoubt was attacked on three sides 
 at once, and at length carried at the point of the bayonet. 
 General Warren received a shot in the breast, and fell 
 dead on the spot. The provincials, overpowered by num- 
 bers, abandoned the works, and retreated over Charlestown 
 neck in safety, notwithstanding the shot of a man-of-war 
 and two floating batteries, which completely commanded 
 the isthmus. 
 
 The assailants remained masters of the field, but their 
 loss was vastly greater than the advantage gained. One 
 thousand and fifty-four men, or more than one third of their 
 number, were killed or wounded, making this one of the 
 bloodiest battles in which the British troops had yet been 
 engaged. Pitcairn, who commanded the Lexington expe- 
 dition, was among the slain, and the slaughter of the 
 officers was out of all proportion to that of the privates. 
 On the other hand, the effects of the battle were equal to a 
 victory to the provincials. Their loss amounted to one 
 
BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 1775. 
 
 73 
 
 hundred and thirty-nine killed, and two hundred and four- 
 teen wounded and missing. Though driven from their 
 position, yet the imexpected firmness, courage, and good con- 
 duct their raw troops had exhibited, and the ter^'ible effect 
 of their fire upon the enemy, raised a degree of confidence 
 among them equal to that of a positive triumph. They 
 encamped on an eminence immediately without the penin- 
 sula of Charlestown, so that the British remained closely 
 blockaded as before. The British troops, instructed by 
 this severe lesson, no longer considered their antagonists 
 as cowards. Passing from the extreme of contempt to 
 that of respectful regard for the courage of their enemy, 
 they made no farther endeavors to penetrate into the coun- 
 try ; and the battle of Bunker Hill, as this action is now 
 called, checked at once and forever the advance of the 
 British arms in Massachusetts. 
 
 Battle of Bunker Hill. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Washington appointed commander-in-chief — Siege of Boston — Perfidy 
 of General Gage — Howe assumes the command — Siege of Boston — 
 Burning of Falmouth — Confederation of the colonies — Sufferings of 
 the inhabitants of Boston — Bombardment of the toivn — The Ameri- 
 cans occupy Dorchester Heights — Evacuatioji of Boston by the British 
 — Expedition of Sir Peter Parker against Sotith Carolina — Defeat of 
 the British at Charleston — Declaration of Independence — British €xj)e- 
 dition to New York — Battle of Long Island — Retreat of the Americans 
 — Capture of New York — Disasters of the Americans — Conquest of the 
 Jerseys. 
 
 General Washington was appointed, by the congress at 
 Philadelphia, commander-in-chief of the American armies, 
 and immediately, on receiving his commission, he repaired 
 to the seat of war at Boston. He fixed his head-quarters 
 at Cambridge, three miles from Boston, and applied him- 
 
 Hovse in Cambridge where Washington resided. 
 
 self to the business of disciplining the troops, and pressing 
 more closely the blockade of the town, which now began 
 
SIEGE OF BOSTON. 1775. 75 
 
 to feel the effects of the war. The royal forces in Boston 
 continued closely blocked up by land, and, being shut 
 out from fresh provisions and vegetables, they began to 
 feel great distress. The provincials watched the more 
 carefully to keep out supplies, thinking the soldiers would 
 suffer the hihabitants to depart, for fear of a famine; or, at 
 least, that the women and children would be suffered to 
 remove, which was repeatedly demanded. There is some 
 reason to imagine that Gage considered the inhabitants as 
 necessary hostages for the security of the town and the 
 safety of the troops. To keep women, old men and chil- 
 dren confined as pledges for their own safety, argued that 
 they were unwilling to fight the provincials on fair terms. 
 It had often been asserted in England that a few regular 
 troops would march through all America ; but now, a 
 general, with an army of the best troops in the service, was 
 cooped up in a town, and durst not even stay in it without 
 old men, women and children, to guard them ! General 
 Gage, at length, entered into an agreement with the town's 
 people, that, if they would deliver up their arms, they 
 should have libert}/' to go where they pleased with their 
 property. The arms were accordingly given up ; but, to 
 their amazement and mortification, he refused to let them 
 depart. Many, however, were suffered afterwards to quit 
 the town at different times, but they were obliged to leave 
 all their effects behind ; so that those who had hitherto 
 lived in affluence, were at once reduced to poverty. 
 
 General Gage returned to England, in October, 1775, 
 and the command of the army at Boston fell to General 
 Howe. This officer soon after issued a proclamation, by 
 which those of the inhabitants who attempted to quit the 
 town, without leave, were condemned to military execu- 
 tion. By another proclamation, such as obtained permis- 
 sion to leave the town, were, by severe penalties, excluded 
 from carrying more than a small specified sum of money 
 with them. He also required the forming of associations, 
 by which the remaining inhabitants should offer their per- 
 sons for the defence of the place. Such of them as he 
 approved were to be armed, formed into companies, and 
 
76 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 instructed in military exercises ; the remainder being 
 obliged to pay their quotas in money towards the common 
 defence. 
 
 The limited time for which the soldiers in the provincial 
 army before Boston were enlisted, had nearly expired, and 
 it was necessary that some measure should be taken for 
 supplying their place. A committee of the general con- 
 gress were sent to Boston to take the necessary measures. 
 in conjunction with Washington, for keeping the army 
 from disbanding. Of all the difficulties which the Ameri- 
 cans encountered in their attempts towards establishing a 
 military force, nothing was more important than the want 
 of gunpowder; for though they used the utmost diligence 
 in collecting nitre, and all the other materials for the man- 
 ufacture, the results of their own industry and skill were 
 small. They had not yet opened that commerce with for- 
 eign states, which subsequently procured them a supply 
 of military stores. The scarcity of gunpowder was so 
 great, that it Avas said the troops at Bunker's Hill had not 
 a single charge left after that short engagement ; and the 
 deficiency in the army before Boston was at one time so 
 great, that nothing but General Howe's ignorance of the 
 circumstance could have saved the besiegers from being 
 dispersed by a single attack. They left nothing undone 
 to supply the defect, and, among other temporary expedi- 
 ents, had contrived to purchase, without notice or suspi- 
 cion, all the powder from the European settlements on the 
 coast of Africa. 
 
 Meantime, plundering, threatening and hostilities were 
 constantly carried on along the American coast. The 
 town of Falmouth, in the district of Maine, was doomed 
 to share in these calamities. Some disorder relative to the 
 loading of a lumber-ship, caused the British admiral to 
 issue an order for the destruction of the town. 
 
 On the morning of the ISth of October, a cannonade was 
 begun, and continued with little intermission through the 
 day. About three thousand shot, besides bombs and car- 
 casses, were thrown into the town, and the sailors landed 
 to complete the destruction, but were repulsed with the 
 
CONFEDERATION OF THE COLONIES. 1775. 77 
 
 loss of a few men. The principal part of the town, which 
 lay next the water, consisting of about one hundred and 
 thirty dwelling-houses, two hundred aiid seventy-eight 
 stores and warehouses, a large new church, and a hand- 
 some court-house, with the public library, were reduced to 
 ashes. The destruction of Falmouth provoked the Ameri- 
 cans to the highest degree, and probably pushed on the 
 congress of Massachusetts Bay to the daring measure of 
 granting letters of marque and reprisal, and establishing 
 courts of admiralty, for the trial and condemnation of Brit- 
 ish ships. In this law, they declared an intention of de- 
 fending the coasts and navigation of America, extending 
 the power of capture only to such ships as should be em- 
 ployed in bringing supplies to the armies employed against 
 them. From this time, they did all that was in their 
 power to seize such ships as brought supplies to the 
 troops. 
 
 During the course of the summer, 1775, articles of con- 
 federation and perpetual union were entered into between 
 the several colonies which were already associated, Avith 
 liberty of admission to tliose of Quebec, St. Johns, Nova 
 Scotia and the two Floridas and Bermudas. They con- 
 tained rules of general government, in peace and war, both 
 with respect to foreigners and each other. These articles 
 were drawn up by the general congress, and by them 
 transmitted to the different colonies, for the consideration 
 of their respective assemblies. If the articles met their 
 approbation, they were to empower their delegates to the 
 ensuing congress to ratify and confirm them ; and from 
 that time the union which they established was to con- 
 tinue firm, until, besides a redress of grievances, reparation 
 was made for the losses sustained by Boston, for the burn- 
 ing of Charlestown, for the expenses of the war, and until 
 the British were withdrawn from America. 
 
 When the autumn approached, and appearances of plenty 
 gave the colonists ground to conjecture what might be 
 spared out of the abundance of a plentiful harvest, it was 
 resolved by the congress, that if the late restraining laws 
 
 were not repealed within six months, from the 20th of 
 
 7# 
 
78 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 July, 1775, their ports from that time should be open to 
 every state in Europe, which would admit and protect 
 their commerce, " free of all duties, and for every kind of 
 commodity, excepting only teas and the merchandise of 
 Great Britain and her dependencies. 
 
 By the delays and misfortunes which the transports and 
 victuallers from England experienced, the forces in Boston 
 were reduced to great distress. What added to the afflic- 
 tions which they already suffered, was the mortification 
 of seeing several vessels, which were laden with the neces- 
 saries and comforts of life, captured by the provincials in 
 the very entrance of the harbor, whilst the tide and wind 
 disabled the ships of war from preventing it. The loss of 
 most of the coal-ships was severely felt, as fuel could not 
 be procured, and the climate rendered that article indispen- 
 sable. The houses of Boston were pulled down for fuel. 
 The inhabitants were in a most deplorable condition ; de- 
 tained against their will, or cut off from all intercourse 
 with their friends, exposed to all the consequences of that 
 contempt and aversion with which a greater part of them 
 were regarded by the soldiers, and at the same time in 
 want of every necessary of life. The attempts made to 
 procure provisions were not attended with great success. 
 
 Meantime, the besieging forces at Boston waited for tlie 
 hard frosts of mid-winter, in expectation of attacking the 
 town by crossing over upon the ice. But the uncommon 
 mildness of the season disappointed these hopes, and they 
 were forced to remain quiet through the winter. The 
 arrival of a copy of the king's speech, with an account of 
 the fate of the petition from the continental congress, still 
 farther excited the people. They burnt the king's speech 
 publicly in the camp ; and on tliis occasion they changed 
 their colors from a plain red ground, which they had hith- 
 erto used, to a flag with thirteen stripes, as a symbol of the 
 union and number of the colonies. 
 
 During this state of affairs, the American cruisers grew 
 daily more numerous and successful against the transports 
 and store-ships. Among a niultitude of other prizes, they 
 had the good fortime to capture one which gave a new 
 
DORCHESTER HEIGHTS FORTIFIED. — 1776. 79 
 
 impulse to their military operations. This was an ord- 
 nance ship from Woolwich, which had separated from her 
 convoy, and being herself of no force, she was taken, with- 
 out defence, by a small privateer, in Boston Bay. This 
 vessel contained several pieces of fine brass carmon, a large 
 quantity of small arms and ammunition, and a mortar, 
 with all manner of tools, utensils and machines necessary 
 for camps and artillery, in the greatest abundance. 
 
 By this fortunate acquisition, the American troops became 
 supplied with the very articles of which they had long 
 stood in need. They delayed not a moment to avail them- 
 selves of the advantage. On the 2d of March, 1776, a 
 battery was opened at Lechmere Point, directly opposite 
 Boston, from which a heavy bombardment and cannonade 
 were directed against the town with great effect. Many 
 buildings were demolished and set on fire, and the troops 
 and inhabitants were constantly employed in extinguishing 
 the flames. The British commander began to feel alarmed 
 for the safety of his army ; but matters grew rapidly more 
 threatening. Three days after, he saw, with inexpressible 
 surprise, at the dawn of day, the ramparts of a new forti- 
 fication, which had arisen during the night, on the heights 
 of Dorchester, commanding the town and harbor on the 
 south. The morning mist having magnified these works 
 to a gigantic size, added much to the consternation and 
 amazement of the British officers, who, in their accounts 
 of the siege, affirm that this apparition recalled to their 
 minds those tales of magic and enchantment with which 
 eastern romances are filled. The situation of the king's 
 troops was now very critical. Shot and shells vv^ere poured 
 in upon them from the new works. Others were rapidly 
 constructing on the neighboring hills, commanding the 
 town and a considerable part of the harbor. In these cir- 
 cumstances, no alternative remained but to abandon the 
 town, or dislodge the enemy and destroy the new works. 
 General Howe adopted the latter plan. Two tliousand 
 men were embarked in transports, and fell down the harbor 
 to the castle, with a design to land on the beach opposite, 
 and carry the works on Dorchester heights by storm. 
 
80 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 Every preparation was made by the Americans for the 
 defence. Hogsheads filled with stones, and chained to- 
 gether, were planted on the brow of the hill, to be rolled 
 down upon the ranks of the assailants. The British were 
 aware of the desperate nature of their attempt. Murmurs 
 of irresolution were heard, and exclamations that it would 
 be " another Bunker Hill affair." In this dispirited con- 
 dition of the troops, a furious storm, which happened dur- 
 ing the night, supplied the British commander with a 
 plausible excuse for deferring the attack. A council of 
 war was held, and resulted in a determination to retreat 
 from Boston. A fortnight was passed in preparations for 
 departure, till, on the 17th of March, 1776, the besieged 
 were quickened in their movements by a new battery 
 erected by the Americans on Nook's Hill, at the northern 
 point of the peninsula of Dorchester. Delay was no longer 
 safe. By ten in the forenoon of that day, all the king's 
 troops, together with such of the inhabitants as were at- 
 tached to the royal cause, were embarked and under sail. 
 As the rearguard went on board the ships, Washington 
 marched into the town, where he was received in triumph 
 by the people, with every demonstration of joy and grati- 
 tude. {Several ships of war were left in the bay by the 
 British, to protect the vessels which should arrive from 
 England. In this they were not perfectly successful. The 
 great extent of the bay, with its numerous creeks and 
 islands, and the number of small ports that surround it, 
 aflbrded such opportunities to the provincial armed boats 
 and privateers, that they took a number of valuable trans- 
 port ships, who were still in ignorance that the town had 
 changed its masters. 
 
 Washington was now in possession of the capital of 
 Massachusetts, but being ignorant of the destination of the 
 lleet, and apprehensive of an attempt upon New York, he 
 detached several regiments for the protection of that city, 
 on the very day on which he took possession of Boston. 
 The royal army were not as yet in a situation which 
 admitted of their undertaking any important expedition. 
 They did not exceed nine thousand effective men, and 
 
EXPEDITION AGAINST CHARLESTON. — 1776. 
 
 81 
 
 were in some respects very ill-provided. This army, 
 nevertheless, was three times more numerous than had 
 been thought sufficient to conquer all America. Their 
 repulse was a mortifying blow to the schemes of the min- 
 istry, who had given out that the sight of a few grenadiers 
 would frighten all the colonies into a compliance with their 
 measures. Their invincible troops had been obliged to 
 abandon Boston, before a newly-raised militia, who were 
 styled cowards in England. 
 
 The fleets, transports and victuallers, which had been 
 sent from England, met with bad weather in their passage ; 
 many delays and untoward circumstances befel them, 
 which in a great degree frustrated their designs. A squad- 
 ron, under Sir Peter Parker, destined for the invasion of 
 South Carolina, sailed from Portsmouth, about the end of 
 the year 1775, but, suffering great delays, did not reach 
 Carolina till May, 1776. In the beginning of June, the 
 fleet anchored off Charleston, and made preparations for 
 attacking the place. Two of the ships mounted fifty guns, 
 four were frigates of twenty-eight, to which were added 
 four more ships of sma'ler force and a bomb-ketch. The 
 
 Attack on Fort Moultrie. 
 
 passage of the bar was a work of difficulty and danger, 
 especially to the two large ships, which, though lightened 
 
82 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 of their guns, both struck on the bar several times. The 
 land forces were commanded by Generals Clinton, Corn- 
 wallis and Vaughan. 
 
 The British troops landed on Long Island, which lies 
 eastward of Sullivan's, being separated only by a creek, 
 which was deemed passable at low water. The Caroli- 
 nians had posted some forces, with a few pieces of cannon, 
 near the northeast extremity of Sullivan's Island. Gene- 
 ral Lee was encamped with a considerable body of forces 
 upon the continent to the northward of the island, with 
 which he had a communication by a bridge of boats. 
 Long Island is a naked, burning sand, where the troops 
 suftered much from their exposure to the heat of the sun. 
 Both the fleet and the army were greatly distressed through 
 the badness of the water ; that which is found upon the 
 sea-coast of Carolina being very brackish. Nor were they 
 in any better condition with respect to the quantity or 
 quality of their provisions. Though the greatest despatch 
 was necessary, on account of these inconveniences, yet 
 such delays occurred in carrying the design into execution, 
 that it was near the end of the month before the attack on 
 Sullivan's Island took place. This leisure was improved 
 by the provincials^ with great diligence, for completing 
 their works. Everything being at length settled for the 
 attack, the bomb-ketch, covered by an armed ship, took 
 her station on the morning of the 2Stli of June, and began 
 by throwing shells at Fort Moultrie, as the fleet advanced. 
 About eleven o'clock, four other ships brought up directly 
 against the fort, and began a most furious and incessant 
 camionade. Three ships were ordered to the westward, 
 to take their station between the island and Charleston, 
 with a design to demolish the works of the fort, and, if 
 possible, to interrupt the communication between the island 
 and continent, and cut ofl" the retreat of the garrison. This 
 part of the design miscarried by the unskilfulness of the 
 pilot, who entangled the frigates in the shoals, where they 
 all stuck fast; and tliough two of them were got oft', it was 
 then too late to be of any service. One was burnt by the 
 crew the next morning, to prevent her falling into the hands 
 
ATTACK ON FORT MOULTRIE. 1776. S3 
 
 of the Americans. The ships suffered excessively from the 
 fire of the batteries, and the slaughter on board was dreadful. 
 Scarcely was ever British valor put to so severe a trial. 
 The battle continued till the darkness of the night com- 
 pelled the assailants to desist. Sir Peter Parker, after using 
 every eifort, finding that all hopes of success were at an 
 end, and the ebbing tide near spent, withdrew his shattered 
 vessels, between nine and ten o'clock in the evening, after 
 an engagement which had been supported for above ten 
 hours with uncommon courage and resolution. One of his 
 ships had one hundred "and eleven, and another seventy- 
 nine, killed and wounded. The frigates did not suffer so 
 severely, for the provincials pointed their fire principally 
 at the ships of the line. 
 
 This defeat was a most unexpected blow to the British. 
 They had never imagined that this insignificant fort would 
 have been able to withstand the heavy fire of their squad- 
 ron for the space of an hour ; though, upon trial, it was 
 found that, after ten hours' severe cannonade, it was as far 
 from being reduced as at the beginning. The provincials 
 showed, on this occasion, a degree of skill and intrepidity 
 which would have done honor to veteran troops. Both 
 oflicers and men performed their duty to the amazement of 
 their enemies, and conducted their fire with such delibera- 
 tion and design, that almost every shot did execution. 
 Colonel Moultrie, who commanded in the fort, received 
 great and deserved praise from his countrymen. 
 
 Hitherto the colonists had maintained their struggle 
 against the encroachments of the mother country, Avithout 
 abandoning the hope that pacific councils and conciliatory 
 measures might heal the breach between them. But as 
 the British ministry continued to manifest the most hos- 
 tile and arrogant spirit, and showed a fierce determination 
 to reduce them by force of arms to unconditional sub- 
 mission, their feelings became more and more alienated, 
 and they began to despair of any amicable settlement of 
 their difliculties. The news that sixteen thousand German 
 mercenary troops had been hired to make war upon them, 
 added still more to their resentment. Ere long they began 
 
84 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 to disown the authority of the king, and to declare, in 
 speech and writing, that nothing remained for them but a 
 complete and final separation from tlie British crown. 
 The popular feeling soon found a correspondent expression 
 in public bodies, and at length the continental congress, on 
 the 4th of July, 1776, issued the Declaration of Indepen- 
 dence ; thus dissolving the connection of the colonies with 
 England, and claiming for them a rank among indepen- 
 dent nations. This declaration was received everywhere 
 throughout the country with the highest exultation, and 
 the ennobling prospect of a separate national existence now 
 animated the colonists with new courage and resolution to 
 repel their invaders. 
 
 Washington, meantime, confident that the British would 
 never appear again at Boston, marched his army to New 
 York, anticipating the next attack in that quarter. He 
 was right in his conjecture. The forces that evacuated 
 Boston proceeded first to Halifax, to await reinforcements 
 from England. A grand scheme of conquest was now pro- 
 jected by tiie British ministry. The execution of it was 
 entrusted to Lord and Sir William Howe, two officers of 
 good character and known abilities, in whom the nation 
 reposed much confidence. A powerful army was appointed 
 for this service. The whole force was supposed to amount 
 to thirty-five thousand men. The British troops were sup- 
 posed to be the best in the world, and their generals the most 
 skilfnl. They were well provided with all sorts of provis- 
 ions, Avar] ike stores and ammunition, and were also sup- 
 ported by a numerous fleet. The general and admiral, 
 beside their military power, were invested with authority 
 as commissioners, by act of parliament, for restoring peace 
 to the colonies, and for granting pardon to such as should 
 deserve mercy. 
 
 While Sir William Howe waited at Halifax for rein- 
 forcements, he was pressed by the want of provisions. He 
 at last, without waiting for his brother. Lord Howe, 
 departed from Halifax, on the 10th of June, 1776, and 
 arrived at Sandy Hook about the end of the month. On 
 their passage, the fleet was joined by six transports with 
 
BATTLE OF LONG ISLAND. 1776. 85 
 
 Highland troops, which had been separated from their 
 companions in their voyage. Those that were missing, 
 with about four hundred and fifty soldiers and several 
 officers, were taken by the American cruisers, and carried 
 into Boston. General Howe found the entrance of New 
 York harbor strongly fortified. Long Island, on account 
 of its extent, did not admit of its being so strongly guarded ; 
 it was, however, in a tolerable state of defence, and had 
 considerable encampments at the end of the island next to 
 New York. Staten Island, being of less consequence, was 
 neglected ; — this was certainly a great oversight in the pro- 
 vincials. 
 
 On the 10th of July, the British landed on Staten Island. 
 Their troops were cantoned in the villages, where they 
 received plenty of provisions. General Howe \vas here 
 met by Governor Tyron, with several other loyalists, who 
 had taken refuge on board a British ship at Sandy Hook. 
 These persons gave him an account of the strength of the 
 provincials. He was also joined by about sixty men from 
 New .Jersey, who came to take up arms in the royal cause, 
 and about two hundred militia of the island, who were 
 embodied for the same purpose. This afi'orded a flattering 
 prospect to the general, that when the army was landed 
 and collected in force to support the loyalists, such num- 
 bers would join him as would enable him to bring the war 
 to a speedy conclusion. The American army at New York 
 amounted to little more than seventeen thousand men, a 
 part of which force was encamped at Brookl^ai, on Long 
 Island. The combined forces of the British amounted to 
 twenty-four thousand, Avhich were landed near the Nar- 
 rows, nine miles from the city, on the 2d of August. On 
 the 17th, the British forces, under Sir Henry Clinton, 
 Percy, and Cornwallis. attacked the American camp on 
 Long Island, which was defended by Brigadier-General 
 Sullivan, who was defeated, with the loss of more than a 
 thousand men, while the loss of the British was less than 
 four hundred. Brigadier-Generals Lord Stirling and 
 Woodhull fell into the hands of the English. General 
 Washington perceived with anguish what would be the 
 8 
 
86 ' AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 result of the battle, but he dare not draw oft' more troops 
 from the city, as he would not even by that measure be 
 able to cope with the British. On both sides, this battle 
 was expected. On the 22d, the British eflected a landing 
 at Utrecht, near the Narrows, inider cover of the ships, and 
 every preparation Avas made to meet them manfully. 
 Colonel Hand was ordered to the high ground, in order to 
 protect the pass leading to Flatbush. Lord Cornwallis was 
 ordered to secure this pass, if it could be done without an 
 engagement. He halted at the village, finding that the 
 pass was secured by tlie Americans. On this occasion, 
 Washington issued the following orders : 
 
 " The enemy have now landed upon Long Island. The 
 hour is fast approaching in which the honor and success 
 of this army, and the safety of our bleeding country, 
 depend. Remember, officers and soldiers, that you are 
 freemen, fighting for the blessing of liberty ; that slavery 
 will be your portion, and that of your posterity, if you do 
 not acquit yourselves like men. Remember how your 
 courage has been despised and traduced by your cruel 
 invaders, though they have found, by dear experience at 
 Boston, Charlestown, and other places, what a few brave 
 men can do in their own land, and in the best of causes, 
 against hirelings and mercenaries. Be cool, be determined. 
 Do not fire at a distance, but wait for orders from your 
 officers." 
 
 Preparations were now made for a pitched battle. The 
 American camp was strengthened by six additional regi- 
 ments, and all things put in readiness for an immediate 
 attack. The direct road across the heights lay through 
 the village of Flatbush, where the hills connnenced, and 
 near which was an important pass. General Putnam had 
 detached part of his army to occupy the hills, and defend 
 the passes. It appears, however, that it was not the plan 
 of the colonists to attempt any decisive battle till they had 
 exercised their troops in skirmishes and taught them a little 
 military knowledge. They knew that the British troops 
 were highly disciplined, and longed for nothing more than 
 an opportunity to put an end to the war by a single stroke. 
 
BATTLE OF LONG ISLAND. — 177G. 87 
 
 Their safety depended much upon speedy action. The 
 colonists, on the other hand, were as yet raw troops ; a 
 sudden attack and a signal overthrow would have dispir- 
 ited them and frustrated all their hopes. When everything 
 was prepared for forcing the hills, General Clinton, at the 
 head of the van of the army, with fourteen field-pieces, 
 began, on the evening of the 26th of August, his march 
 from Flatland. Having passed through the part of the 
 country called the New Lots, they reached the road that 
 crosses the lulls from Bedford to Jamaica, where, wheeling 
 to the left towards the former place, they seized a consid- 
 erable pass, which the Americans had, through some 
 unaccountable neglect, left unguarded. The main body, 
 under Lord Percy, with ten field-pieces, followed at a 
 moderate distance, and the way being thus successfully 
 opened, the whole arm^^ passed the hills without opposition, 
 and descended by the town of Bedford into the lower 
 country, which lay between them and Putnam's lines. 
 The engagement was begun early in the morning of the 
 next day, by the Hessians, at Flatbush, and by General 
 Grant, along the coast; and a warm cannonade, with a 
 sharp fire of small arms, was eagerly supported on both 
 sides for some hours. During this time, the king's troops 
 gained no advantage, but were on the point of being 
 repulsed, when the fleet made several manoeuvres on their 
 left, and attacked a battery on Red Hook. This move- 
 ment embarrassed the right wing of the colonists, which 
 was engaged with General Grant, and called off their 
 attention totally from the left and rear, where their greatest 
 danger lay. Those who were engaged with the Hessians 
 were the first that perceived their danger ; they accordingly 
 retreated in large bodies and in good order, with a design 
 to recover their camp. They were, however, attacked furi- 
 ously by the king's troops, and driven back into the woods, 
 where they were met by the Hessians, and alternately 
 intercepted and chased by the dragoons and light infantry. 
 In these critical circumstances, some of their regiments, 
 though overpowered by numbers, forced their way to the 
 lines; some kept the woods and escaped. Great numbers 
 
88 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 were killed, and the discomfiture of the Americans at this 
 point was decisive. 
 
 The riglit wing of the provincials, engaged with General 
 Grant on the coast, were so late in knowing what was 
 going on in other parts, that they were intercepted in their 
 retreat by some of the British troops, who, in the morning, 
 had not only turned the heights upon their left, hut had 
 traversed the whole extent of country in their rear. Such 
 of them as did not flee to the woods, which were the 
 greatest number, were obliged to throw themselves into a 
 marsh, where many were drowned, or suffocated in the 
 mud. A considerable number, however, made their escape 
 to the lines, though they were much diminished in their 
 flight by the fire of the pursuers. The loss of the Ameri- 
 cans on this occasion was very great. Nearly a whole 
 regiment from Maryland, consisting altogether of young 
 men of the best families, were totally cut off. 
 
 In this situation there was no hope left but in a retreat, 
 and even this was exceedingly difficult, under the watch- 
 ful eye of an active enemy, with a powerful army, flushed 
 with success, almost close to their works. This desperate 
 task was, however, undertaken, and executed with great 
 address by Washington. On the night of the 29th, the 
 American troops were withdrawn from the camp, and, with 
 their baggage, stores, and almost all their artillery, con- 
 veyed to the water-side, embarked, and ferried over to 
 New York, with such silence and order, that the British, 
 though within six hundred yards, knew nothing of the 
 movement. The dawn of day showed them the lines 
 abandoned, the American rearguard in their boats and out 
 of danger. Those who are acquainted with the usual 
 noise and confusion attending the breaking up of a camp, 
 and the march of so many thousand men, even in open 
 day, must acknowledge that this retreat required an ex- 
 traordinary address to conduct it, and deserves the name 
 of a master-piece in the art of war. 
 
 A fleet, consisting of upwards of three hundred sail, 
 including transports, covered the waters of the bay, while 
 the ships of war, hovering round the island, threatened 
 
CAPTURE OF NEW YORK. 1776. 89 
 
 destruction to every part, and were continually engaged 
 with the American batteries. Thus an almost constant 
 cannonade was kept up for many days, and the troops, 
 who had so lately escaped from imminent danger, had 
 little time for repose. At length, the British having set- 
 tled their plans for the attack of the city, the squadron 
 made a movement in the North river, with a design to 
 draw the attention of the provincials to that side of the 
 island. Other parts were also threatened, to increase the 
 uncertainty of the real point of attack. Covered by five 
 ships of war upon their entrance into the river, they pro- 
 ceeded to Kip's Bay, about three miles north of New York, 
 where, being less expected than in other places, the pre- 
 paration for defence was not so great. The works were, 
 notwithstanding, tolerably strong and well-manned, but 
 the fire from the ships was so sev.ere and well-directed, 
 that the fortifications were deserted, and the army landed 
 without opposition. The loss of New York was the im- 
 mediate consequence. 
 
 The provincials, harassed by the fire of the men-of-war, 
 abandoned the city on the 15th of September, with their 
 other posts on that part of the island, and retired to the 
 . North End, where their principal strength lay. They 
 were obliged to leave a great part of their artillery and 
 military stores behind. They had some men killed and a 
 few taken prisoners in the retreat. The king's troops 
 suffered considerably, but this loss was concealed as much 
 as possible. Many of the American regiments behaved 
 badly on this occasion. Their late severe losses on Long 
 Island appear to have had an unfavorable effect upon their 
 conduct at this time. Part of the British army took pos- 
 session of New York, and the rest encamped near the 
 centre of the island, thus occupying it from shore to shore. 
 Washington took post on the island at Kingsbridge, where 
 he had a communication with the continent. He erected 
 strong works on both sides of the passage. The nearest 
 encampment of the British was on the heights of Haarlem, 
 at the distance of about a mile and a half Between the 
 two armies were the strong grounds called Morris' Heights. 
 8* 
 
90 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 In this situation skirmishes frequently happened, and it 
 was found that, by degrees, the apprehensions of the pro- 
 vincials began to wear away. 
 
 A few days after the capture of New York, a fire broke 
 out, by which nearly a third part of the city was reduced 
 to ashes ; and unless the exertions of the troops and the 
 sailors of the fleet had preserved the remainder, not a 
 house would have been left standing. Some persons, who 
 "were thought to have been concerned in the cause of this 
 calamity, were thrown into the flames by the soldiers, and 
 burnt to death, though it could never be ascertained who 
 were the real authors of the conflagration. 
 
 General Howe, being reinforced by a division or two of 
 Germans, marched towards the American army encamped 
 at White Plains. On the 2Sth of October, a general skir- 
 mish commenced between the advanced parties. On the 
 29th, the general moved in columns to the support of his 
 van, and to bring on a general engagement. General 
 Washington kept him at bay until the 31st, when he re- 
 tired to higher ground, and left a strong rearguard to cover 
 White Plains. The British general now abandoned the 
 enterprise, and on the 8th of November drew oft' his army 
 towards Kingsbridge. On the 1.5th, he sent a summons to 
 Colonel Magraw, commanding Fort Washington, and the 
 next day stormed the fort, and made prisoners of the whole 
 garrison. On the 18th, Lord Cornwallis moved to the 
 attack of Fort Lee ; but General Greene drew off" the gar- 
 rison, abandoned the fort, and joined Washington, who, 
 on the 22d, crossed North river, and retired to Newark, 
 where he found himself almost abandoned by the army, and 
 left to the mercy of a victorious pursuing enemy, with only 
 about three thousand five hundred men to accompany him 
 in his flight. On the 28th, Washington retired to Bruns- 
 wick, and Lord Cornwallis entered Newark with his 
 victorious army. The British pursued to Brunswick, and 
 Washington retired to Princeton, December 1st. Corn- 
 wallis halted a week at Brunswick, agreeable to orders ; 
 and, in the mean time, Washington saw himself abandoned 
 by the Jersey and Maryland brigades of militia, whose 
 terms of service then expired. 
 
CAMPAIGN IN THE JERSEYS. 1776. 
 
 91 
 
 On the 7th, CornwaUis advanced upon Princeton, and 
 Washington retired to Trenton. The next day Corn- 
 waUis entered Trenton, just at the critical moment that 
 Washington, with his remnant of an army, had crossed 
 the Delaware, and secured the boats to prevent his passing. 
 General Howe had joined Lord CornwaUis at Newark, and 
 now made a stand at Princeton, and issued the proclama- 
 tion of the king's commissioners, profiering pardon and 
 peace to all such as should submit in sixty days. 
 
 Such were the distresses of the army and the country, 
 when they saw their liberties about to expire under the 
 pressure of an overwhelming foe, that men of the first 
 distinction, in great numbers, in that part of the country, 
 embraced the overture, and made their submission. 
 
 To add to the distresses of this most trying scene. Gen- 
 eral Lee, who had harassed the rear of the British army, 
 with about three thousand men, was surprised in his quar- 
 ters, on the 18th of December, and taken by the enemy. 
 The Jerseys were thus completely overrun by the victori- 
 ous armies of the British, and nothing but disaster waited 
 upon the Americans, 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 American Revolution. — Project for the invasion of Canada by the 
 Americans — Extraordinary/ march of Arnold through the woods of 
 Maine — Expedition of Montgomery against Canada — Capture of 
 Montreal — Siege and attach of Quebec — Death of Montgomery — Per- 
 severance of Arnold — Evacuation of Canada by the Americans — Des- 
 perate condition of the American camp — Fortitude and resolution of 
 Washington — Capture of the Hessians at Tre7iton — Affair of Prince- 
 ton — Successful movements of Washington — The British expelled from 
 the Jerseys. 
 
 While the important events related in the preceding 
 chapters were taking place, occurrences of almost equal 
 nagnitude and importance were in progress in another 
 )art of the continent. At an early period of the struggle, 
 congress determined to strike a blow where the enemy- 
 east expected it. A resolution was adopted to invade 
 IJanada. This design was approved by Washington, and 
 le projected a plan for this purpose as novel as it was 
 )oId. He conjectured that there must exist a route, through 
 he district of Maine and Lower Canada, to Quebec, through 
 he wilderness and across the mountains, which, though 
 niknown to the rest of the world, and frequented only by 
 he mountaineers during summer, might serve to conduct 
 m army from the shores of the Atlantic to those of the St. 
 Lawrence. The greater part of this region was nothing 
 3ut an immense forest, without a human inhabitant ; yet 
 :he difficulty of obtaining provisions for an army in these 
 iesert solitudes was entirely overlooked in the sanguine 
 lopes of surprising Quebec. A force of eleven hundred 
 nen was immediately organized at Cambridge, and placed 
 imder the command of Colonel Arnold, an officer of great 
 bravery, even to rashness, and of a firmness not to be 
 shaken. Colonel Burr, afterwards vice-president of the 
 
Arnold's expedition to Quebec. — irrs. 
 
 93 
 
 United States, joined the expedition. On their arrival in 
 Canada they were to unite themselves with the forces of 
 General Montgomery, who was to invade the country by 
 the way of the lakes. 
 
 CoIoHtl Arnold. 
 
 The expedition embarked at Newburyport, in transports, 
 for the Kennebec, on the 13th of September, 1775. So 
 rapid were the preparations for this enterprise, that, fourteen 
 days from the time the scheme was determined on, the 
 troops embarked at Gardmer, on the Kennebec, in two 
 hundred batteaux, which had been built, equipped and 
 provisioned in the interval. Arnold divided his men into 
 three bodies. The first, composed of riflemen, under Cap- 
 tain Morgan, formed the vanguard, to explore the country, 
 sound the fords, prepare the ways, and look out for port- 
 ages around the falls and rapids. Wherever the stream 
 ceased to be navigable, it became necessary for the soldiers 
 to carry upon their backs all the lading of the boats, and 
 finally to drag the boats themselves by land. The second 
 detachment kept a day's march in the rear of the first, and 
 the third followed at the same uiterval. The perils and 
 difficulties of the undertaking soon became apparent. The 
 current was rapid ; the bed of the river was rocky ; the falls 
 and rapids obstructed their progress almost at every step ; 
 
94 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 the water entered the boats and damaged their provisions 
 and ammunition. The land journey presented difficulties 
 no less formidable. Their route lay through thick forests 
 and over rugged mountains. The men were compelled to 
 wade through marshes and quagmires, and to climb steep 
 precipices, encumbered with their arms and baggage. 
 Their provisions began to fail them before they reached 
 the head streams of the Kennebec. 
 
 By the l(3th of October, they had advanced no farther 
 than Dead river, where, finding no prospect of a supply 
 of provisions, Arnold directed Colonel Enos, who com- 
 manded one of the divisions, to send back all the sick and 
 those who could not be furnished with food. Enos, taking 
 advantage of this occasion, deserted with his whole divi- 
 sion, and returned to the camp before Boston. The army 
 were inflamed with indignation at the sight of the desert- 
 ers, whose abandonment of their com!*ades might occasion 
 the miscarriage of the whole enterprise. Enos was brought 
 to trial before a court martial ; yet he was acquitted on the 
 plea of extreme necessity, and the acknowledged inability 
 of his men to procure sustenance in those wild and desert 
 regions. Courage and perseverance were expected from 
 the soldiers, but not impossibilities. 
 
 Arnold pin-sued his march with the two other divisions. 
 For thirty-two days he traversed these fearful solitudes, 
 without seeing one human habitation or one human face. 
 Marshes, mountains, woods and precipices were encoun- 
 tered at every step, and seemed to cut off all prospect of 
 success, or rather all hope of safety. Famine now stared 
 them in the face ; they ate their dogs, their moosehide 
 moccasins, the leather of their cartouch-boxes, and their 
 shoes. The rj^ins fell in torrents sometimes for three days 
 together. One night, after they had halted at a late hour, 
 and were endeavoring to take a little repose, they were 
 suddenly roused by a freshet, which came rushing upon 
 them in a torrent, and hardly allowed them time to escape 
 before the ground on which they had lain down was over- 
 flowed. In a few days the rain was changed to snow, 
 which fell two inches deep, and added the sufferings of 
 
Montgomery's expedition to quebec. — irrs. 95 
 
 cold to those of hunger and fatigue. Ice formed on the 
 surface of the water, in which the men were obhged to 
 wade and drag the boats. The passage of Dead river 
 was one of the most difficult in their whole progress. Sev- 
 enteen falls obstructed their course up this stream ; and 
 near the source they were forced to make their way 
 through a chain of small lakes, filled up with logs and 
 other impediments. Yet, menaced with starvation and 
 harassed by incredible fatigues, they resolutely kept onward. 
 The courage, fortitude, and perseverance exhibited in this 
 extraordinary march, are unsurpassed in the history of 
 military enterprise. 
 
 At length, on the 27th of October, they found themselves 
 on the summit of the highlands which separate the sources 
 of the Kennebec from the streams that flow into the St. 
 Lawrence. Every species of food, even shoes and leather 
 breeches, had now disappeared. No house nor human 
 being was yet in sight. Despair seemed to take possession 
 of almost every heart; but Arnold, with a small party, 
 made a forced march ahead, and, to their inexpressible joy, 
 on the 30th of October, reached the habitations of some 
 French Canadians, on the river Chaudiere. He was well 
 received by the inhabitants, and, after recruiting his fam- 
 ishing party, returned with a supply of provisions for his 
 main body. Thus rescued from starvation, a general joy 
 reanimated the troops, and they pushed forward with 
 alacrity. On the 9th of November, they arrived at Point 
 Levy, on the St. Lawrence, opposite Quebec, having ac- 
 complished a march of several hundred miles through one 
 of the most formidable wilds ever traversed by an invading 
 army. 
 
 . In the mean time, another body of New York and New 
 England troops, to the amount of two thousand men, under 
 Generals Schuyler and Montgomery, had been embodied 
 for this campaign in another quarter. Batteaux and flat 
 boats were built at Ticonderoga and Crown Point, to con- 
 vey them through lake Champlain to the river Sorel, by 
 which they were to enter Canada. Schuyler proceeded to 
 Albany, to conclude a treaty with the Indians, which he 
 
96 - AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 had been negotiating for some time ; but being from illness 
 unable to return, the whole conduct of the enterprise fell 
 upon Montgomery. His first measure was to detach the 
 Indians from the British service; and, being strengtliened 
 by the arrival of reinforcements and artillery, he prepared 
 to lay siege to the fort of St. John. This fort was garri- 
 soned by nearly all the regular troops then in Canada, and 
 was well provided with stores, ammunition and artillery. 
 The parties of the provincials were spread over the adja- 
 cent country, and were everywhere well received by the 
 Canadians. While matters were in this situation, Ethan 
 Allen, who seems to have acted rather as a volunteer than 
 as a person obedient to any regular command, undertook 
 to surprise Montreal. He set out upon this hazardous 
 enterprise, at the head of a small party of provincials and 
 Canadians, without the knowledge of the commander-in- 
 chief. His attempt was unsuccessful. The Canadian 
 militia, supported by a few regular troops, met the adven- 
 turer at some distance from Montreal, defeated his troops, 
 and took him prisoner, with forty others ; the rest of the 
 party escaped into the woods. Allen and his fellow-pris- 
 oners were, by the order of Sir Guy Carleton, governor of 
 Canada, loaded with chains, and in that condition sent to 
 England. 
 
 Meantime, Montgomery pressed the siege of St. John's, 
 but Carleton was indefatigable in his endeavors to raise 
 forces for its relief Colonel M' Clean, with some Scotch 
 and Canadians, to the number of one hundred, were posted 
 near the junction of the Sorel with the St. Lawrence. 
 Carleton used his utmost diligence to effect a junction with 
 M'Clean, and then to march to the relief of St. John's; but 
 his purpose was defeated by the activity of the provincials. 
 He was attacked at Longueil, in attempting to cross the 
 river from the island of Montreal, by a party of Ameri- 
 cans, who easily repulsed the Canadians, and frustrated 
 his whole plan. St. John's surrendered, and Montgomery 
 immediately approached Montreal. A capitulation was 
 proposed by the principal French and English inhabitants, 
 including a sort of general treaty, which Montgomery 
 
MONTGOMEKY's expedition to QUEBEC. — 1775. 97 
 
 refused, as they were in no state of defence to entitle them 
 to a capitulation, and were on their side unable to fulfil 
 the conditions. The Americans took possession of Mont- 
 real upon the 13th of November, 1775. 
 
 It was now the season of the year when troops usually 
 go into winter quarters ; and, in such a climate as that of 
 Canada, this step appeared more especially necessary. It 
 seems a task beyond the ordinary powers of man, for 
 troops to march in that season through a wild and unculti- 
 vated country, covered with forests, thickets and deep 
 snows. Yet the Americans, encouraged by their good 
 fortune, pushed on to attempts altogether beyond their 
 strength. Their success upon the lakes seduced them into 
 the hopes of capturing the city of Quebec ; and they seem 
 to have forgotten or despised the dangers and fatigues of 
 an inclement season, in the prospect of finishing with glory 
 so important an enterprise. The provincials had now the 
 whole command of the lakes. General Prescott had been 
 obliged to enter into a capitulation, by which the whole of 
 the naval force, consisting of eleven armed vessels, was 
 surrendered into their hands. 
 
 When Arnold reached Point Levy, opposite Quebec, the 
 inhabitants were in a wavering situation ; the English sub- 
 jects were disaffected, and the French were not to be trusted 
 witli the defence of the city. There were no troops in the 
 place till M' Clean's newly-raised regiment of emigrants 
 arrived from the Sorel. The river alone saved Quebec 
 from an immediate capture, as the inhabitants had taken 
 the precaution to secure all the boats in the stream. But 
 after some days' delay the Americans procured a number 
 of canoes and crossed the St. Lawrence, under cover of a 
 dark night, notwithstanding the vigilance of the ships of 
 war in the river. Tlie inliabitants now began to think of 
 securing their property. The disaffected, both English and 
 Canadians, finding the danger pressing, united for their 
 common defence. Had the city been taken by surprise, it 
 is highly probable that the malecontents would have joined 
 the conquerors ; but as it was now doubtful whether the 
 attack would succeed, they considered it the wisest course 
 9 
 
98 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 to remain true to those who had the possession. The in- 
 habitants were embodied and armed, and the sailors landed 
 from the ships to man the batteries. The besieged were 
 considerably superior in numbers to the besiegers, and 
 Arnold had no artillery. It is probable that he depended 
 upon the disaffection of the inhabitants, but being disap- 
 pointed in this, nothing remained practicable but to guard 
 the roads and cut off supplies from the city, till Montgom- 
 ery should arrive. Arnold manoeuvred for some days upon 
 the heights near Quebec, and sent two flags to summon the 
 inhabitants to surrender, but they were fired at, and no 
 message was admitted ; upon which he withdrew his 
 troops into close quarters. 
 
 During these proceedings, Montgomery had received 
 large supplies for his army at Montreal, and was advanc- 
 ing upon Quebec. Yet he found his progress beset with 
 great difficulties. His army was composed wholly of raw 
 soldiers, transported suddenly from the plough to the field, 
 unused to discipline, and entirely deficient in military skill. 
 He left some troops at Montreal and other posts, and sent 
 detachments into different parts of the province, to encour- 
 age the Canadians, and forward supplies of provisions. 
 With the remainder he pushed on to join Arnold. His 
 march lay over bad roads; the first snows of winter had 
 fallen, and the weather was severe. The troops sufiered 
 intense hardships, v/liicli they encountered with great reso- 
 lution. 
 
 Early in December, Montgomery effected a junction with 
 Arnold, at Point aux Trembles, and proceeded to visit Que- 
 bec. He wrote a letter to the governor, magnifying his 
 own strength, commenting on the weakness of the garri- 
 son, the impossibility of relief, and recommending an imme- 
 diate surrender. The flag which carried this letter was 
 fired upon, as well as every other which was sent; so that 
 all communication was cut off between the besiegers and 
 the inhabitants. It was a hopeless attempt in Montgomery 
 to invest a fortified place with a number of troops not supe- 
 rior to those who defended it. His only prospect of success 
 seems to have depended upon the eflect which his warlike 
 
ATTACK ON QUEBEC. 1775. 99 
 
 preparations and the violence of his attack might have 
 produced upon the inhabitants, who, being hastily embod- 
 ied, might be struck with panic ; or he might have hoped, 
 in case his first attack should miscarry, to weary out the 
 garrison with continual alarms. He accordingly com- 
 menced a bombardment with five small mortars, which 
 continued for some days ; but his metal was too light to 
 produce any considerable effect against the formidable 
 walls of Quebec. Meanwhile, the snow lay deep upon the 
 ground, and such was the severity of the weather, that 
 human strength seemed incapable of withstanding it in the 
 open field. The New York troops felt these sufferings 
 most keenly, and did not show so much steadiness and 
 resolution as the hardy New Englanders, who had trav- 
 ersed the wilderness with Arnold. These men exhibited 
 amazing constancy and intrepidity. 
 
 Montgomery found at last that some decisive blow must 
 immediately be struck, and resolved to storm the place. 
 On the 31st of December, under cover of a violent storm 
 of snow, he disposed his little army into four divisions, of 
 which two made false attacks against the upper town, 
 Avhilst Montgomery and Arnold conducted the real assault 
 at the other extremity of the place. By this means the 
 alarm was excited in both towns, and might have discon- 
 certed the most experienced troops. From the side of the 
 river St. Lawrence, and round to the Basin, every part 
 seemed equally threatened. Montgomery, at the head of 
 the New York troops, advanced against the lower town, 
 under Cape Diamond ; but, in consequence of some diffi- 
 culties which had retarded his approach, the signal for 
 engaging had been given, and the garrison alarmed before 
 he could reach the spot. He, notwithstanding, pressed on 
 in a narrow file, in a straitened path, having a precipice 
 down to the river on one side, and a high rock hanging 
 over him on the other. Having seized and passed the first 
 barrier, accompanied by a few of his bravest men, he 
 marched boldly to attack the second. This was much 
 stronger than the first, and was defended by a battery of 
 cannon loaded with grape-shot. The troops, however. 
 
 Lore 
 
100 
 
 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 rushed with impetuosity to the attack. Montgomery v/as 
 killed at the first assault. His aid-de-camp fell at his side, 
 with most of the officers and soldiers near him. The 
 attempt was at once foiled by this disaster, and the remain- 
 der of the troops instantly retreated. 
 
 Death of Montgomery. 
 
 In the mean time, Arnold was not idle in his quarter. 
 With an intrepidity that would have done honor to veteran 
 troops, his division attacked that part of the town called 
 the Saut, at Matelot, and having penetrated through St. 
 Roques, they stormed a strong battery, which they carried 
 after an hour's sharp engagement. Here Arnold was 
 wounded, his leg being shattered by a bullet, and his men 
 were obliged to carry him back to the camp ; but these 
 troops did not retreat hastily upon the departure of the 
 commander, like the New York detachment. Arnold's 
 place was supplied by other officers, who, with no less 
 intrepidity, continued the attack. They were as yet igno- 
 rant of Montgomery's death, and were so far from being 
 dejected by their own loss, that they pushed on with greater 
 vigor, and made themselves masters of another battery. 
 
 .J^v^- 
 
REPULSE OF THE AMERICANS AT QUEBEC. 1775. 101 
 
 Had all the provincial troops on this occasion been equal 
 to those of New England, notwithstanding the misfortunes 
 they sustained by the loss of their general officers, they 
 would doubtless have taken the city. 
 
 On the retreat of Montgomery's division, the garrison had 
 time to turn their whole attention to Arnold. The situa- 
 tion of the assailants was now such that, in attempting a 
 retreat, they were obliged to pass a considerable distance 
 within fifty yards of the walls, exposed to the whole fire 
 of the garrison. A strong detachment, with several field- 
 pieces, issued through a gate which commanded that pas- 
 sage, and attacked them furiously in the rear, while they 
 were already engaged with the troops which poured upon 
 them in every other quarter. In these desperate circum- 
 stances, without a possibility of escape, attacked on all 
 sides, and under every disadvantage of ground as well as 
 numbers, they obstinately defended themselves for three 
 liours, and at last surrendered. 
 
 After the unsuccessful attack of Quebec, the besiegers 
 immediately quitted their camp, and retired three miles 
 from the city, where they strengthened their quarters as 
 well as they were able, being apprehensive of an assault 
 from the garrison; but the one army was as unfit for pur- 
 suing, as the other was to sustain a severe attack. The 
 governor wisely contented himself with the unexpected 
 advantage he had obtained, without hazarding the fate of 
 the province by a rash enterprise. Quebec was out of 
 danger, and the supplies that were expected would not 
 fail to relieve the whole province. Arnold, who Avas now 
 commander-in-chief, saw the perils of his situation. The 
 weather continued uncommonly severe, and the hope of 
 assistance was distant. Notwithstanding, the provincials 
 bore all with patience and resolution. 
 
 Arnold, who had hitherto displayed uncommon abilities 
 in his march into Canada, discovered on this occasion the 
 vigor of a determined mind, and a genius full of resources. 
 Wounded and defeated, he put his troops in such a condi- 
 tion as to keep them still formidable ; and, instead of ap- 
 pearing as one who had met with a repulse, he continued 
 9# 
 
102 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 to threaten the city, by turning the siege into a blockade, 
 and eftectually obstructed the arrival of supplies of provi- 
 sions and necessaries for the town. He despatched an 
 express to General Wooster, who was at Montreal, to bring 
 succors and take upon him the command ; but this could 
 not inniicdiatcly be done. It appears, from the whole of 
 his operations, that Carleton considered it a dangerous 
 expedient to attack Arnold in the field, though he had 
 nearly double the number of his troops ; and that, had it 
 been in the power of General Wooster to send a suitable 
 reinforcement, the fate of Quebec would still have been 
 doubtful. Had not Arnold been wounded, notwithstand- 
 ing the death of Montgomery, it is not improbable that 
 Uucbcc would have been taken that evening. 
 
 The American forces, after having blockaded Quebec 
 for five months, found it impossible to reduce the city. 
 The British received reinforcements in the spring, which 
 augmented the number of their troops to thirteen thousand 
 men. The small-pox, together with the hardships of the 
 season, had reduced the numbers of the Americans so low 
 that it was found necessary to withdraw from Canada. 
 They accordingly retreated from the province by the way 
 of lake Champlain, and by the end of June, 1776, Canada 
 was completely evacuated by the Alnerican armies. Thus 
 nothing but defeats and calamities crowned the efforts of 
 the Americans. 
 
 The British, having thus expelled the continental forces 
 from the Jerseys and Canada, flattered themselves that the 
 contest was now at an end. They had the most plausible 
 reasons for sucli a belief. Their enemies were routed, dis- 
 persed, and obliged to save themselves by flight. The last 
 feeble remnant of an American army had retreated across 
 tlie Delaware, amid the storms of winter, tracking the 
 frozen soil Mnth the blood from their naked feet. All hope 
 for the cause of the revolution seemed utterly extravagant 
 and chimerical. But nothing could subdue the soul or 
 shake the firmness of Washington. The destinies of his 
 country had been committed to his hands, and he resolved 
 to fight as long as an arm was left him to lift the sword. 
 
CAPTURE OF THE HESSIANS AT TRENTON. 1776. 103 
 
 "Sooner than submit,' exclaimed he, "we will be driven 
 into the wilderness, — across the Mississippi, — across the 
 whole continent of America, into the Pacific Ocean ! " 
 With this brave resolution, he still made a stand on the 
 western bank of the Delaware. The British did not pur- 
 sue him beyond that river, and the American troops gained 
 a breathing time. 
 
 The overweening confidence of the enemy soon threw 
 them ofl^ their guard, and they took no great precautions 
 against a foe whom they imagined they had disabled 
 forever. Washington, ever active and vigilant, discovered 
 that General Howe had fallen into such security that he 
 had extended the wings of his army from Trenton down 
 the river to Burlington, for the purpose of lodging his 
 troops more comfortably, thus offering a number of sepa- 
 rate points of attack to the Americans. Knowing the 
 weakness of Washington's forces, they kept a negligent 
 guard, which did not fail to come to the knowledge of 
 Washington, who instantly planned a scheme to fall upon 
 them by surprise. A body of fifteen hundred British gren- 
 adiers and Hessians Avas stationed at Trenton, on the Del- 
 aware, under the command of Colonel Ralle. The night 
 of Christmas was appointed by Washington for an attack 
 upon this post. Boats were prepared at a convenient spot, 
 and the troops, in three columns, marched in order and 
 silence toward the Delaware. The officers exhorted the 
 soldiers to be firm and valiant, and to wash out the stain 
 of the defeats of Long Island, New York and the Jerseys. 
 They represented to them that this night was to decide the 
 cause of liberty and the fate of the country. The troops 
 were animated with extreme ardor, and demanded to be 
 led onward. 
 
 In the dusk of the evening they reached the banks of 
 the river, Washington hoped that the passage of the 
 troops with their artillery might be efl^ected before mid- 
 night, so as to enable them to reach Trenton by daybreak. 
 But the cold was so intense, and the river so much ob- 
 structed by floating ice, that it was four in the morning 
 before the artillery could be landed. All the troops having 
 
104 
 
 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 crossed, preparations were made for the attack. The first 
 corps was parted in two divisions, one of which, tnrning 
 to the right, marched towards Trenton by the river road. 
 The other, led by Washington in person, took the upper or 
 Pennington road. The distance by the roads being equal, 
 it Avas supposed the two cohmms might arrive simultane- 
 ously. The troops used all their eflbrts to arrive before 
 day, but a thick fog and a misty sleet, which made the 
 road slippery, retarded their march. The two divisions 
 reached Trenton at eight in the morning. So much vigi- 
 lance and secrecy had been observed in making prepara- 
 tions for this expedition, that, notwithstanding the lateness 
 of the hour, the enemy had no knowledge or suspicion of 
 tlie impending attack. 
 
 ^^ 
 
 Washington crossing the Delairare. 
 
 The first intimation the royal commander had of the 
 approach of an enemy was in the attack of his outposts, 
 which the Americans drove in at the first assault. Ralle 
 despatched a regiment to their relief, to hold the assailants 
 in check, and gain time for the rest of his forces to arrange 
 themselves. But the defeated troops involved this body in 
 
CAPTURE OF THE HESSIANS AT TRENTON. 1776. 105 
 
 disorder, and both fell back tiimultuously upon Trenton- 
 He then drew out his whole body of Hessians, and advanced 
 to meet the Americans in the open field. At the first onset, 
 Ralle fell mortally wounded, and the Americans charging 
 his line with great fury, the Hessians took to flight, leav- 
 ing behind them six pieces of artillery. They attempted 
 to escape by the Princeton road, but Washington ordered 
 a strong force to cut off their retreat. The Hessians, sur- 
 rounded on every side, were compelled to lay down their 
 arms and surrender at discretion. Some few, chiefly cav- 
 alry and light infantry, in all not exceeding five hundred 
 men, effected their escape on the lower road to Bordentown. 
 Another detachment of Hessians, who were out upon a 
 foraging excursion at some distance from, the camp, learning 
 the disaster of their countrymen, retreated precipitately to 
 Princeton. 
 
 By this brilliant and successful stroke, Washington cap- 
 tured above a thousand prisoners, with the loss of only 
 two men killed, and two or three others who perished by 
 cold. The Hessians had thirty or forty killed. Washing- 
 ton immediately re-crossed the Delaware with his prison- 
 ers and the captured artillery. Strong bodies of the enemy 
 were quartered in the neighborhood, and his own force 
 were unable to cope with the numbers they might assem- 
 ble in a few hours. The news of the success at Trenton 
 was quickly propagated through the country, and had a 
 powerful and instantaneous effect in reviving the spirits, 
 courage and hopes of the people, which had before sunk to 
 the lowest point of depression. Washington caused the 
 prisoners to be marched, with a sort of triumphal pomp, 
 through the streets of Philadelphia, followed by their arms 
 and banners. The Hessians, being a people with whom 
 the Americans were unacquainted, had been objects of 
 great terror throughout the land, and the most extravagant 
 and terrific stories were circulated of their courage and 
 ferocity. The spectacle of a thousand of these formidable 
 warriors led captive by the American militia, at once dis- 
 pelled the illusion, and inspired the colonists with a new 
 and exciting confidence. 
 
106 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 The British, on the other hand, were equally astounded 
 at the sudden disaster which had fallen upon them. They 
 imagined their enemy vanquished, dispirited, and every- 
 where fleeing before them. They were unable to conceive 
 how troops of such high renown had been compelled to lay 
 down their arms before a body of raw militia, with wretched 
 equipments and no discipline. Their whole army through- 
 out the Jerseys was instantly in motion. Colonel Donop, 
 who occupied Bordentown with a strong body of Hessians, 
 immediately abandoned his post, and retreated precipitately 
 to join General liCslie, at Princeton. General Grant, who, 
 with the main body of the army, occupied New Bruns- 
 wick, immediately advanced to the same place. Lord Corn- 
 wallis, — who was at New York, on the point of embarking 
 for England, in the belief that the war was finished, — 
 returned with the utmost expedition to the army. The 
 Americans, on all sides, ran to arms, and, in a few days, 
 the forces of Washington were so much augmented by 
 militia and volunteers, that he judged himself in a condi- 
 tion to strike another blow at the enemy. Accordingly, he 
 crossed the Delaware, and took post at Trenton. 
 
 Cornwallis, with a strong British force, was then en- 
 camped at Princeton. On the news of Washington's 
 movement, he put his troops in motion on the 2d of Jan- 
 uary, 1777, to meet his antagonist. The British advanced 
 corps reached Trenton about four the next morning. Their 
 rearguard was posted at Maidenhead, a village half-wa^'' 
 between Trenton and Princeton. Other bodies were on 
 their march from New Brunswick to join Cornwallis, and 
 Washington, finding so strong a force close upon him, took 
 a strong position behind Assumpink Creek, close to Tren- 
 ton, having secured the bridge. The British came up and 
 attempted to pass the stream at various points, but were 
 repulsed by the Americans. A heavy cannonade was kept 
 up till night, but Washington maintained his post. Corn- 
 wallis waited for reinforcements, intending to advance to 
 the assault the next day. Washington was now in a crit- 
 ical position. The strength of the enemy rendered it highly 
 perilous to meet him in full force. To recross the Dela- 
 
BATTLE OF PRINCETON. 1777. 107 
 
 ware was a most hazardous movement, in the face of the 
 British army and with the river more than ever obstructed 
 by drift-ice. The imminent danger of the American army 
 aroused the genius of Washington, and led him to a reso- 
 lution which crowned the campaign with the most impor- 
 tant success for the American arms. He resolved to 
 abandon, at once, the banks of the Delaware, and carry 
 the war into the heart of New Jersey. 
 
 A council of war approved the plan, and dispositions 
 were instantly made for carrying it into effect. The bag- 
 gage was sent down the river to Burlington ; the weather, 
 which had been for two days moist, warm and foggy, 
 suddenly changed by a cold northwest wind, the ground 
 froze hard and rendered the roads passable. At one o'clock 
 in the morning of the 10th, the enemy's camp appearing 
 perfectly quiet, the Americans kindled a long line of fires 
 in front of their camp, to deceive the enemy into the belief 
 that they were suffering from the sudden change of weath- 
 er. Then, leaving guards at the bridge and fords, they 
 marched off with great promptitude and silence. Taking, 
 a circuitous route, in order to avoid the British post at 
 Maidenhead, they directed their course upon Princeton, 
 and, at break of day, fell suddenly upon the place. The 
 British defended themselves so vigorously that the Ameri- 
 can militia were repulsed, and General Mercer, in attempt- 
 ing to rally them, was mortally wounded. Washington, 
 seeing his vanguard put to the rout, and perfectly aware 
 that the loss of the day would involve the ruin of his army, 
 immediately advanced with a body of his best troops, and 
 restored the fortune of the day. The British were every- 
 where driven off the field. They lost one hundred men 
 killed, and three hundred taken prisoners. After the bat- 
 tle, the Americans took possession of Princeton. 
 
 Nothing could surpass the astonishment of Cornwallis, 
 when, at broad day the next morning, the American camp 
 was discovered empty. The cannonade at Princeton had 
 been heard at his quarters, but the British, not dreaming 
 of an enemy in that direction, imagined it to be thunder, 
 although it was then the depth of winter. Finding him- 
 
108 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 self oiit-generalled by this bold and masterly manoBUvre, 
 and fearing for the safety of his magazines at Brunswick, 
 he immediately decamped for that place. At Princeton, 
 he again encountered the American army. Washington, 
 whose policy it was to avoid a pitched battle with a force 
 so superior, drew off his troops skilfully towards the moun- 
 tains in the northern part of Jersey, breaking down the 
 bridges in his rear. Cornwallis, after marching and counter- 
 marching, found it impossible to gain any advantage over 
 his enemy, and fell back upon Brunswick, where the alarm, 
 occasioned by Washington's bold movements, had been so 
 great, that the troops had begun to remove the baggage and 
 stores. 
 
 Washington, having recruited his little army, soon re- 
 connnenced offensive operations, and scoured the whole 
 country as far as Raritan river. He then crossed this 
 stream, and, penetrating into the county of Essex, made 
 himself master of Newark, Elizabeth town and Woodbridge; 
 so that he commanded all the Jersey coast in front of Staten 
 Island. He selected his positions with so much judgment, 
 and fortified them with such a degree of skill, that the 
 enemy were unable to drive him from a single post. Thus, 
 in a few months, was the face of things entirely changed. 
 The British army, after having victoriously overrun the 
 whole of the Jerseys quite to the Delaware, and caused 
 even Philadelphia to tremble for its own safety, found itself 
 expelled from almost every part of the territory, and cooped 
 up in the two posts of New Brunswick and Amboy. And 
 this had been accomplished by an army reduced to ex- 
 tremity, but which, under the guidance of a skilful and 
 indefatigable leader, had obliged a victorious and powerful 
 enemy to abandon all thoughts of offensive war, in order to 
 protect himself. 
 
 If the Americans were astonished at these unexpected 
 exploits of their little army, the surprise and admiration 
 on the other side of the Atlantic were no less striking. 
 The nations of Europe saw, in the leader of the American 
 army, a chief, whose military talents, courage and perse- 
 verance placed him in a rank with the most celebrated 
 
SUCCESSES OF THE AMERICANS. — 1777. 
 
 109 
 
 commanders of antiquity. The name of Washington at 
 once acquired a briUiant reputation ; it was in the mouths 
 of all people, and was celebrated by the pens of the most 
 eminent writers. Military men studied his campaigns, 
 and pronounced him the American Fabius. 
 
 Gijteial Putnam. 
 
 10 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 American Revolution. — Labors of congress — Continental cvrrenaj — 
 Ravages committed hj the British — Tryon^s expedition to Connecticut 
 — Adventure of Putnam — Campaign in the Jerseys — Expedition of the 
 British against Philadelphia — Battle of Brandywine — Capture of Phil- 
 adelphia — Battle of Germantown — The army at Valley Forge — Anec- 
 dote of Lydia. Darrah — Campaign in the north — Burgoyne's expe- 
 dition — Capture of Ticondcroga — Siege of Fort Slanwix — Defeat of 
 Herkimer — Stratagem of the Americans — Murder of Miss M' Crea — 
 Burgoyne^s advance — Battle of Bennington — Gates commander of the 
 northern army — Battle of Stillwater — Retreat of Burgoyne to Sara- 
 toga — Surrender of Burgoyne. 
 
 Congress, in the mean time, was occupied in the diificult 
 task of giving harmony and united action to tlie movement 
 and feehngs of the different communities which composed 
 the American confederation. The governments of the thir- 
 teen colonies remained distinct and independent, and the 
 authority of congress rested only on a voluntary compliance 
 on th^ part of the several colonial governments. It was 
 the business of congress to apportion the quotas of troops 
 to be raised in each colony, to solicit supplies, to settle 
 plans of campaign, and to negotiate with foreign govern- 
 ments. 
 
 But, above all, it was important to raise funds. No army 
 could be maintained without money, and a revolutionary 
 government in the very outset of its career could not hope 
 to obtain credit with the capitalists of Europe. Congress 
 determined to try what could be done with the people on 
 the strength of their own credit. A scheme was projected 
 to emit bills in the name of the colonies, which should pass 
 for money. Whether any individuals among those who 
 devised or sanctioned this scheme, had any precise notion 
 of the extent to which it was possible to be carried out, 
 
SIX VI D O^ ' li L. ARc',^ 
 
 CO 
 
 ta^ >>5 to o 
 
 S^S sv3,^p 
 
 ^:2 
 
 
 
 o a lA »z] s 
 
 0) Wra ^em 
 
 2. et, 
 
112 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 does not appear ; but it proved, in the end, to be the boldest 
 and most gigantic scheme of finance that was ever con- 
 ceived. On the 22d of Jmie, 1775, congress passed a resolve 
 " that a sum not exceeding two miUions of Spanish milled 
 dollars be emitted by the congress, in bills of credit, for the 
 defence of America, and that the twelve confederated colo- 
 nies be pledged for the redemption of the bills." This reso- 
 lution passed unanimously ; the dangers of the country 
 were too urgent to allow time to be wasted in minor scru- 
 ples. The prospects of the "continental currency," as it 
 was called, were very slender from the beginning. The 
 country possessed no revenue or means of any sort for the 
 redemption of the bills. Yet the patriotism of the people 
 gave them a Avelcomc reception, and the paper dollars 
 passed current. In the sequel, this led to the most remark- 
 able consequences, which we shall describe in the proper 
 place. 
 
 During the year 1777, the enemy wantonly destroyed 
 the New York water Avorks, an elegant public library at 
 Trenton, and the grand orrery which was placed hi the 
 college at Princeton. These acts, added to the shameful 
 and horrible atrocities committed upon the females in New 
 Jersey, called out the following speech of Governor Liv- 
 ingston, to the general assembly of New Jersey. 
 
 " They have plundered friends and foes; such as were 
 capable of division, they have divided ; such as were 
 not, they have destroyed; they have warred on decrepit 
 old age and defenceless youth ; they have committed hos- 
 tilities against professors of literature and the ministers 
 of religion, against public records and private monuments. 
 They have butchered the wounded, asking for quarters ; 
 mangled the dead, weltering in their blood ; refused the 
 dead the rites of sepulture ; suffered prisoners to perish for 
 want of sustenance ; insulted the persons of females, disfig- 
 ured private dwellings of taste and elegance, and profaned 
 edifices dedicated to Almighty God." 
 
 In April, 1777, General Howe detached Governor Tryon, 
 with the command of a major-general of provincials, at the 
 head of about two thousand men, to destroy the American 
 
ADVENTURE OF GENERAL PUTNAM. 1777. 113 
 
 stores at Danbury, in Connecticut. Tryon executed this 
 commission, and destroyed one thousand eight hundred 
 barrels of beef, two thousand bushels of wheat, eiglit hun- 
 dred barrels of flour, one thousand seven hundred tents, one 
 hundred hogsheads of rum, &C., with the lose of about a 
 hundred men, killed, wounded, and taken, of the Ameri- 
 cans. But this expedition cost the British a severe loss. 
 Three generals were in the neighborhood, Wooster, Arnold, 
 and Sullivan. About six hundred militia were collected 
 in great haste, and followed in pursuit about two miles, 
 during a heavy rain. The next morning the troops were 
 divided. Wooster fell in the rear of the enemy, while 
 Arnold was posted at Ridgefield, in their front. Wooster 
 attacked the enemy, and was mortally wounded in the 
 contest. The troops had to retreat. Arnold gave them a 
 severe reception at Ridgefield, and was repulsed, but 
 rencAved the attack during the next day. The yeomanry 
 of the country through which they passed towards the 
 sound, constantly annoyed them, and they made a precipi- 
 tate retreat to their ships, which conveyed them to New 
 York. They lost, in killed, wounded, and missing, about 
 one hundred and seventy ; while the loss of the Americans 
 did not exceed one hundred. General Wooster lingered 
 until the 2d of May, and expired, in his seventieth year. A 
 mormment was voted to his memory by congress, and a 
 horse, splendidly caparisoned, was presented to Arnold, as 
 a token of respect for his intrepidity and good conduct. 
 
 During the above expedition, General Putnam, who had 
 been stationed with a respectable force at Reading, and was 
 then on a visit to his outpost, at Horse-Neck, was attacked 
 by Tryon, with one thousand five hundred men. Putnam 
 had only a picket of one hundred and fifty men, and two 
 field-pieces, without horses or drag-ropes. He, however, 
 placed his cannon on the high ground near the meeting- 
 liouse, and continued to pour in upon the advancing foe, 
 until the enemy's horse appeared upon a charge. The 
 general now hastily ordered his men to retreat to a neigh- 
 boring swamp, inaccessible to horse, while he himself put 
 spurs to his steed, and plunged down the precipice at the 
 10* 
 
tl4 
 
 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 church. This is so steep as to have artificial stairs, com- 
 posed of nearly one hundred stone steps^ for the accommo- 
 dation of worshippers ascending to the sanctuary. On the 
 arrival of the dragoons at tiic brow of the hill, they paused, 
 thinking it too dangerous to follow the steps of the adven- 
 turous hero. Before any could go round the hill and 
 descend, Putnam had escaped, uninjured by the many 
 balls which were fired at him in his descent : but one 
 touched him, and that only passed through his hat. He 
 proceeded to Stamford, where, having strengthened his 
 picket with some militia, he boldly faced about and pur- 
 sued Governor Tryon on his return. 
 
 Putnam's escapr-. 
 
 Early in T777, Washington found himself at the head 
 of a respectable army, amounting to above seven thousand 
 men. The Briti-sh were much superior, but Washington, 
 by judiciously selecting strong points of defence, contrived 
 to frustrate every attempt of his enemy to penetrate again 
 into the Jenseys. Sir William Howe took the field, at the 
 head of a very strong force, and, l)y marching and counter- 
 marching, Ihrough the montiis of June and July, made 
 every possible mana^uvre to bring his antagonist to battle ; 
 but Washington foiled ail his endeavors so successfully 
 that Howe gave up his design, and determined to make an 
 
BATTLE OF BRANDYWINE. 1777. 115 
 
 attempt upon Philadelphia by sailing up Delaware Bay. 
 The British army was therefore embarked, and in the 
 beginning of August arrived at the Capes of Delaware. 
 Here, for some unlvnown cause, the British commander 
 altered his plan, and the squadron put to sea again, sailed 
 up the Chesapeake, and landed the troops in Maryland. 
 AVashington immediately broke up his camp before New 
 York, and advanced southward to meet the British. 
 
 From the eastern shores of the Chesapeake, the British 
 army moved towards Philadelphia on the 3d of September. 
 Washington had crossed the Delaware, determined to risk 
 a battle in defence of the city. His army consisted of 
 about eight thousand effective men. On the 11th of Sep- 
 tember, the two armies met at Brandywine Creek, near the 
 Delaware. The British marched to the attack in two 
 columns, led by General Knyphausen and Lord Corn- 
 wallis. Another column attacked the right wing of the 
 Americans. Washington, deceived by false intelligence, 
 delayed to make the proper dispositions for repelling the 
 assault of Cornwallis. The right flank of the Americans 
 was turned, and the troops compelled to retreat. The 
 result was a defeat of the Americans, with the loss of 
 twelve hundred killed and wounded; among the latter 
 were La Fayette and General Woodford. The loss of the 
 British was not above half that of the Americans. After 
 this victory the British continued to advance, and gained 
 possession of all the roads leading to Philadelphia. Many 
 partial actions took place, but it was found impossible to 
 defend the city. .Sir William Howe entered Philadelphia 
 in triumph on the 20th September, 1777. Congress retired 
 to Lancaster, and afterwards to Yorktown. 
 
 Just before this, the Marquis de lia Fayette, a young 
 French nobleman, arrived in the United States, and tender- 
 ed his services to congress, and he received a commission 
 as brigadier-general in the service. He joined the army, and 
 served at his own expense, and soon became the companion 
 and the friend of Washington. His talents as a soldier 
 were first displayed at Chad's Ford, where he received a 
 wound in the leg, the effects of which he carried to his 
 
116 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 grave. The Count Pulaski, a Polish gentleman, also dis- 
 tinguished himself in the American army, and was honored 
 with the commission of major-general. 
 
 La Fayette. 
 
 Most of the British army was cantoned in Germantown. 
 Washington, having received reinforcements, attacked this 
 place on the 4th of October. He drove the British into the 
 village, hut the latter took possession of a strong stone 
 linuso. from which thoy could not be dislodged. The 
 nioniing was foggy, and this embarrassed the movements 
 of the Americans. Nearly one half their troops were 
 obliged to remain inactive. After a severe conflict, the 
 assailants found it necessary to retire. The retreat was 
 performed in haste, and Lord Cornwallis, with the British 
 liglit borse, pursued the Americans for some miles. The 
 loss ol" tbe British was about five hundred; that of the 
 Aiuericaus. one thousand. Soon after the battle, the British 
 nMreated (Vom (»ermantown. 
 
 Tli(» niipronch to Pbiladelphia from the sea was strongly 
 guarded by forts on the Delaware, but the British were 
 aware that without the command of the river the posses- 
 
THE ARMY AT VALLEY FORGE. — 1777. 117 
 
 sion of the city would be of little value. Accordingly, 
 early in October, a force of two thousand men, under 
 Count Donop, attacked the fort at Red Bank, which was 
 garrisoned by four hundred men, under Colonel Greene. 
 The Americans defended the place with such bravery that 
 they compelled the assailants to retire, with the loss of four 
 hundred men, including their commander. The British 
 also attacked Fort MifHin, with no better success, losing 
 two ships, one of them of sixty-four guns, which was 
 burnt. In spite of these repulses, the British renewed 
 their attempts, and brought so strong a force to the attack, 
 that it was found necessary to evacuate the forts on the 
 Delaware in November. Some of the American armed 
 vessels escaped up the river, but many of them were taken 
 or burnt. 
 
 Various military movements took place during the re- 
 mainder of the -season, but none of them produced any 
 decisive result. About the middle of December, Washing- 
 ton's army went into winter quarters at Valley Forge, 
 about sixteen miles from Philadelphia. Here they built 
 huts in the midst of the woods, and passed the winter 
 amid continual suffering and privation. Many of them 
 were without blankets and almost destitute of clothes. 
 Provisions, too, were scarce. Yet neither the sufferings 
 of hunger nor cold could shake their constancy to the 
 cause of their country. They submitted to all without 
 murmurs or insubordination. 
 
 When the British army held possession of Philadelphia, in 
 1777, General Howe's head quarters were in Second street, 
 the fourth door below Spruce, in a house before occupied 
 by General Cadwallader. Directly opposite, resided Wil- 
 liam and Lydia Darrah, members of the society of Friends. 
 A superior officer of the British army, believed to be the 
 adjutant-general, fixed upon one of their chambers, a back 
 room, for private conference ; and two of them frequently 
 met there, with fire and candles, in close consultation. 
 About the 2d of December, the adjutant- general told Lydia 
 that he would be in the room at 7 o'clock, and remain late ; 
 and they wished the family to retire early to bed ; adding, 
 
118 
 
 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 that when they were going away they would call her to let 
 them out and extmgnish their fire and candles. She ac- 
 cordingly sent all the family to bed; but, as the officer had 
 been so particular, her curiosity was excited. She took 
 off* her shoes and put her ear to the key-hole of the con- 
 clave, and overheard an order read for all the British troops 
 to march out late in the evening of the fourth, and attack 
 General Washington's army, then encamped at White 
 Marsh. On hearing this, she returned to her chamber, and 
 lay down. Soon after, the officer knocked at the door, but 
 she rose only at the third summons, having feigued herself 
 asleep. Her mind was so much agitated, tliat, from this 
 moment, she could neither eat nor sleep, supposing it to be 
 m her power to save the lives of thousands of her country- 
 men, but not knowing how she was to convey the infor- 
 mation to General Washington, not daring to confide in 
 her husband. She quickly determined to make her way 
 as soon as possible to the American outposts. She informed 
 her family, that, as she was in want of flour, she would go 
 to Frankford for some; her husband insisted that she 
 
 Lijdia Darrah communicating the intendtd attack upon Washington's army. 
 
 shoukl take the servant maid with her, but, to his surprise, 
 she positively refused. She got across to General Howe, 
 
THE ARMY AT VALLEY FORGE, 1777. 119 
 
 and solicited, what he readily granted, to pass through the 
 British troops on the lines. Leaving her bag at the mill, 
 she hastened toward the American lines, and encountered 
 on her way an American lieutenant-colonel (Craige) of the 
 light-horse, who, with some of his men, was on the look-out 
 for information. He knew her, and inquired where she 
 was going. She answered, in quest of her son, an officer 
 in the American army, and prayed the colonel to alight 
 and walk with her. He did so, ordering his troops to keep 
 in sight. To him she disclosed her secret, after having 
 obtained from him a solemn promise never to betray her 
 individually, as her life might be at stake with the British. 
 
 He conducted her to a house near at hand, directed 
 something for her to eat, and hastened to head quarters, 
 when he made General Washington acquainted with what 
 he had heard. Washington made, of course, all prepara- 
 tion for baffling the meditated surprise. Lydia returned 
 home with her flour; sat up alone to watch the movements 
 of the British troops ; heard their footsteps ; but when they 
 returned in a few days after, did not dare to ask a question, 
 though solicitous to learn the event. The next evening, 
 the adjutant- general came in, and requested her to walk 
 up to his room, as he wished to put some questions. She 
 followed him in terror ; and when he locked the door and 
 begged her, with an air of mystery, to be seated, she was 
 sure that she was either suspected or had been betrayed. 
 He inquired earnestly whether any of her family were up 
 the last night he and the other officer met. She told him 
 that they all retired at eight o'clock. He observed, "I 
 know you were asleep, for I knocked at your chamber 
 door three times before you heard me. I am at a loss to 
 imagine who gave General Washington information of our 
 intended attack, unless the walls of the house could speak. 
 When we arrived near White Marsh, we found all their 
 cannon mounted, and the troops prepared to receive us, 
 and we have marched back like a parcel of fools." 
 
 In the month of December, 1777, the troops at Valley 
 Forge were employed in erecting log huts for winter quar- 
 ters, when about one half of the men were destitute of 
 
120 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 shoes, stockings, and other necessary articles of clothing ; 
 some thousands were without blankets, and were obliged 
 to warm themselves by fires all night after the fatigues of 
 the day. At one time nearly three thousand were unfit for 
 duty, from the want of clothing, and it was not uncommon 
 to trace their march, over ice and frozen ground, by the 
 blood from their naked feet. They were often allowed only 
 half allowance for several weeks in succession. It was with 
 difliculty that men could be found in a condition fit for 
 camp duty. Under these unexampled sufferings, the sol- 
 diers exercised a degree of patience and fortitude, which 
 has no equal, and reflects the highest honor on them. The 
 army was not without consolation; the commander-in-chief 
 manifested a fatherly concern for their sufferings, and made 
 every exertion in his power to remedy the evil. Being 
 authorized by congress, he reluctantly resorted to the 
 unpopular expedient of taking provisions from the inhabi- 
 tants by force, and thus procured a small supply for imme- 
 diate necessity. This was the unhappy condition of the 
 army, on whom Washington had to rely for the defence of 
 everything held most dear by the Americans, and this too 
 while situated within sixteen miles of a powerful adver- 
 sary, with a greatly superior army of veterans, watching 
 with a vigilant eye for an opportunity to effect its destruc- 
 tion. 
 
 But while the campaign of 1777 in the south resulted no 
 way to the advantage of the Americans, events were 
 taking place in the north of the most momentous character, 
 and which led to the most brilliant success of the American 
 arms. A new plan for invading the colonies was devised 
 by the British cabinet, the design of which was to open a 
 free communication between Canada and New York by 
 marching a powerful army south from Quebec. The 
 ministry were sanguine in their hopes that by this move- 
 ment New England, which was regarded as the soul of the 
 American confederacy, might be severed from the southern 
 colonies and be compelled to submission. The design was 
 a bold one, and would have been a master-stroke in the 
 military art, had the projectors shown proper knowledge 
 
BURGOYNe's campaign. — 1777. 121 
 
 and judgment in their estimation of the means for carrying 
 it into success. But the leader whom they appointed to 
 conduct the enterprise was General Burgoyne, an officer 
 who had fought with great bravery in the wars in Europe, 
 but was rash, presumptuous, conceited, and full of contempt 
 for the military prowess of the Americans. He made no 
 scruple of boasting, that, with an army often thousand men, 
 he would march in triumph from one end of the continent 
 to the other. Inspired by these vain boastings, the minis- 
 try made extraordinary efforts to raise and equip the most 
 formidable army that had ever been sent to America. A 
 large body of German mercenaries was added to the troops 
 enlisted in England. Generals Frazer, Philips and Rei- 
 desel, officers of known talents and tried courage, were 
 appointed to command them. Burgoyne, as lieutenant- 
 general of the British forces in America, received ample 
 powers for perfecting all the arrangements for the cam- 
 paign. A strong body of savages were subsidized in Can- 
 ada to assist the* British army with the horrors of the 
 tomahawk and scalping-knife, and the whole army rendez- 
 voused at Quebec, in May, 1777. Sir Guy Carleton, gov- 
 ernor of Canada, although the military command of the 
 province was taken out of his hands by the appointment 
 of Burgoyne, yet made every exertion to promote the 
 undertaking. 
 
 Burgoyne now found himself at the head of an army of 
 ten thousand men, most thoroughly armed, equipped and 
 victualled, and furnished with the finest train of brass 
 artillery ever before seen in a British army. It consisted 
 of sixty or seventy pieces, sixteen of which were twenty- 
 four pounders. His plan- was to proceed with the main 
 body of the army, by the way of lake Champlain, to the 
 river Hudson, while a detachment under St. Leger made a 
 circuit by lake Ontario and penetrated to Albany by the 
 route of the Mohawk. The army proceeded in boats up 
 the St. Lawrence and Sorel, and on their arrival at lake 
 Champlain were joined by the Indians. Burgoyne held a 
 council with his savage allies. A war dance was performed; 
 a profusion of strong liquor was dealt out to them, and the 
 11 
 
122 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 general, in a long speech, aroused their animosity against 
 the " Bostonians," as the men of the revolution were then 
 called. He tliought proper also to indulge a little in the 
 hypocritical language of humanity, — as if a lesson of 
 humanity, addressed to a savage while marching to battle, 
 were anything but a mockery. He cautioned the ferocious 
 barbarians not to scalp the wounded, nor their prisoners ; 
 but a bounty was to be given for every prisoner taken and 
 brought in alive. 
 
 In June, the army arrived at Crown Point, and on the 
 19th, operations were commenced against Ticonderoga. 
 General Gates had been succeeded in his command at the 
 north by General Schuyler, who placed this fortress in 
 good order for defence, and gave the command to General 
 St. Clair. The fort was approached by the British, on 
 the right wing of the American army, on the 2d of July, 
 and possession taken of Mount Defiance. This lies con- 
 tiguous to Ticonderoga, and overlooks the fortress. This 
 mount had hitherto been deemed inaccessible, and had 
 remained unoccupied. Cannon were hoisted by tackles, 
 until the force was sufFicient to dislodge the garrison. To 
 save the men, Ticonderoga was now abandoned, and the 
 American land force retired to Hubbardton, and thence to 
 Castleton, where a stand was made, about thirty miles 
 from Ticonderoga. 
 
 General Frazer, supported by General Reidesel, com- 
 menced a pursuit in the morning, with the hght troops of 
 the Britisli and Germans, and overtook the American rear- 
 guard, under Colonel Warner, at Castleton, and commenced 
 an attack on the 7th, which became sharp and bloody. 
 The British were routed at first, with loss ; but finding that 
 Colonel Warner Avas not supported by General St. Clair, 
 they rallied to the combat, and, with the bayonet, charged 
 and dispersed the American rear, with the loss of about 
 three hundred men ; and Colonel Warner retired with the 
 remainder of his troops to Fort Ann. 
 
 Burgoyne, with the main body of the British army, 
 sailed from Ticonderoga, in pursuit of the American fleet ; 
 destroyed and dispersed the whole, and landed at Skenes- 
 

124 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 borough, now Whitehall. He there detached Lieutenant- 
 Colonel Hill, with a strong party, to dislodge the Americans 
 from Fort Ann. The garrison marched out on the morn- 
 ing of the 6th, and commenced an attack upon the detach- 
 ment, which was sharply supported by both parties for 
 about two hours, with apparent success on the part of the 
 Americans ; but a party of Indians appeared and joined 
 Colonel Hill, and the Americans withdrew from the field, 
 abandoned the fortress, and retired to Fort Edward, July 
 12th. The whole force, at this time, at Fort Edward, did 
 not exceed five thousand men. 
 
 The operations of both armies were now commenced 
 with vigor. In his retreat, the American general destroyed 
 bridges, and obstructed the roads, to impede the pursuit of 
 Burgoyne ; but all these difficulties were surmounted, and, 
 on the 30th, the British force reached Fort Edward, which 
 had been abandoned by Schuyler on the 27th. He retired 
 to Saratoga, and, on the 1st of August, removed to Still- 
 water, only twenty-five miles north of Albany. The 
 nation saw, with deep regret, that this remnant of an army 
 was compelled to flee before a victorious enemy, and that 
 those important fortresses were abandoned. These events 
 greatly depressed the spirits of our countrymen, while tli^ 
 foe exulted in the triumph. 
 
 On the 3d of August, Colonel St. Leger was detached by 
 General Burgoyne against Fort Stanwix, on the Mohawk, 
 as a diversion. To relieve the fort, the American general, 
 Herkimer, advanced with eight hundred militia. Near the 
 fort he fell into an Indian ambush, and was killed in a 
 most severe action. The garrison sallied out, decided the 
 sanguinary contest, drove off the Indians, and relieved the 
 fortress. The colonel sent a summons to the fort to sur- 
 render, but Colonel Gansevoort returned a prompt and 
 spirited refusal. The siege of the fort was continued, and 
 the garrison were too weak to relieve themselves. An 
 object which cannot be accomplished by force is often 
 obtained by stratagem. Major Butler, a noted officer 
 among the Indians, and a man by the name of Cuyler, 
 who was taken up as a spy, were prisoners in the Ameri- 
 
11* 
 
126 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 can camp. It was proposed that they should be employed 
 as deceptive messengers to spread an alarm and induce 
 the enemy to retreat. General Arnold soon after arrived, 
 and approved of the plan. It was accordingly agreed that 
 they should be liberated on condition that they should 
 return to the enemy and make such exaggerated report 
 of General Arnold's force, as to alarm and put them to 
 flight. They were also promised that their estates should 
 be returned to them if they succeeded. Matters being 
 thus adjusted, and Cuyler's coat shot through in two 
 or three places, he started directly for the Indian camp, 
 where he was well known, and informed their war- 
 riors that Major Butler was taken, and that himself 
 narrowly escaped, several balls having passed through his 
 coat, and that General Arnold, with a vast force, was ad- 
 vancing rapidly towards them. The stratagem was suc- 
 cessful ; the Indians determined to quit the siege ; nor was 
 it m the power of St. Leger to prevent them. The conse- 
 quence was, that St. Leger, finding himself deserted by 
 his Indians, to the number of seven or eight hundred, 
 deemed his situation so hazardous that he decamped in the 
 greatest confusion, leaving his tents and most of his artil- 
 lery and stores behind. In the evening, while on their 
 retreat, St. Leger had a warm altercation with one of 
 the officers about the ill-success of the expedition. Two 
 sachems, observing this, resolved to have a laugh at their 
 expense ; they directed a young warrior to loiter in the 
 rear, and then, on a sudden, run as if alarmed, calling out. 
 They arc coming — they are commg ! On hearing this, the 
 two commanders rushed into a swamp near by, and the 
 men threw away their packs and hurried off. This joke 
 was repeated several times during the night. 
 
 Burgoyne's savage allies not only proved an embarrass- 
 ment to his movements, by their fickleness and inconstancy, 
 but the horrid cruelties which they practised upon the 
 defenceless inhabitants excited the utmost indignation 
 throughout the country, and brought increased odium upon 
 the British cause. A most aggravated case of this sort 
 was that of Miss M'Crea, a young and beautiful American 
 
BURGOYNE's campaign. 1777. 
 
 127 
 
 girl, who was betrothed to a British officer. She fell into 
 the hands of two of the savages, who disputed about the 
 possession of her, and finished the altercation by dashing 
 a tomahawk into her head. This tragical circumstance 
 became the subject of a correspondence between Generals 
 Gates and Burgoyne ; and the wide circulation of the 
 story throughout the country inflamed the people to the 
 utmost zeal against the nation who could employ these 
 savage auxiliaries. 
 
 Murder of Miss M' Crea. 
 
 During these movements, General Washington detached 
 General Lincoln to the northward, to take command of 
 such eastern militia as might join the northern army. He 
 arrived at Manchester on the 2d of August, where he took 
 the command of six hundred militia, and, on the 6th, he 
 was joined by General Stark, with eight hundred more. 
 General Stark was a soldier of merit, and had deserved 
 well of his country, by his distinguished services in the 
 famous battle of Bunker's Hill ; but he had felt himself 
 wounded by the neglect of congress, after the battle, and 
 retired. He engaged at this time in the service of his 
 country, upon the express condition that he should not be 
 constrained to serve under a continental officer ; he accord- 
 ingly resisted the pressing solicitations of General Schuy- 
 
128 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 ler, to join him in checking the progress of General Bur- 
 goyne. 
 
 Burgoync continued to advance, and, on the 30th of 
 July, reached the Hudson at Fort Edward. On the 9th 
 of August, he detached Colonel Baum, with five hundred 
 Germans and one hundred Indians, to seize on the Ameri- 
 can stores at Bennington, to enable him to pursue his 
 march to Albany. General Stark was apprized of this 
 movement, and sent expresses to collect the neighboring 
 militia, and marched to meet the enemy on the 14th, sup- 
 ported by Colonels Warner, Williams, and Brush. The 
 advance parties of the two armies met, and commenced a 
 skirmishing, that continued through the day. On the 15th, 
 all operations were suspended by the excessive rains that 
 fell; but, on the 16th, General Stark was joined by the 
 Berkshire militia, under Colonel Symonds, and he detached 
 iNichols to take post in the rear of the enemy on the left, and 
 Colonel Hcndrick to take post in the rear of his right, to 
 he supported by Colonels Hubbard and Stickley, still far- 
 ther on the right. About three o'clock in the afternoon. 
 General Stark commenced an attack upon the enemy, 
 strongly intrenched, and supported by two field-pieces. 
 The attack became general, and was valiantly supported 
 on both sides : the Indians fled ; the Germans were over- 
 powered, forced from their intrcnchments, and put to flight. 
 The militia, flushed with the successes of the day, aban- 
 doned the pursuit, and gave themselves up to plunder. At 
 this eventful moment, Lieutenant-Colonel Breyman joined 
 Colonel Baum with a reinforcement; they rallied to the 
 charge, and renewed the combat. Colonel Warner led on 
 his regiment of continentals, at this critical moment, and 
 supported the action until the militia could recover their 
 order, and advance to the charge. The action soon be- 
 came general, and continued through the day. The Ger- 
 mans again gave way, and secured their retreat under 
 cover of the night, leaving their artillery, baggage, &c., 
 with two hundred slain, and seven hundred prisoners, 
 among whom was Colonel Baum. This was an important 
 action, and proved ruinous to General Burgoyne. 
 
BATTLE OE BENNINGTON. — 1777. 129 
 
 The following anecdote of the battle of Bennington 
 deserves to be noticed for the honor of the person who was 
 the subject of it, though his name has not been ascertained. 
 A venerable old man had five sons in the field of battle 
 near Bennington. Being told that he had been unfortunate 
 in one of his sons, " What," says he, " has he deserted his 
 post, or shrunk from the charge ?" Being told that he had 
 been slain, but fell contending mightily in the cause, "Then 
 I am satisfied," replied the good old man ; '• bring him and 
 lay him before me." The corpse was brought in and laid 
 before him. He then called for a bowl of water and a 
 napkin, and with his own hands washed the gore and dirt 
 from the wounds. 
 
 The victory of Bennington had the most important 
 effect. It immediately turned the tide of success, which 
 till then had run almost constantly against the Americans. 
 They now gathered fresh courage ; bodies of mihtia began 
 to flock to the scene of action. General Gates was ap- 
 pointed to the command of the northern army, and there 
 was now a well-grounded hope of checking the progress of 
 Burgoyne. On the rear of the British was an American 
 force, under General Lincoln, and, on the IStli, General 
 Brown destroyed the British stores at lake George, releas- 
 ing a number of American prisoners. Successful opera- 
 tions were also commenced against Ticonderoga and 
 Skenesborough, now Whitehall. Burgoyne had crossed 
 the Hudson, and finally took post at Stillwater, but three 
 miles from General Gates. 
 
 On the ISth of September, Gates detached about three 
 thousand men to offer the enemy battle ; but he declined 
 the combat. On the 19th, the scouting parties of the two 
 armies commenced a skirmishing, that led to a general ac- 
 tion, which continued through the day, and was supported 
 with great zeal and intrepid bravery. Night closed the 
 scene, and the two generals drew oft' their armies to pro- 
 tect their camps, and waited with impatience the returning 
 day. In this action, the American loss was about three 
 hundred, and that of the English about five hundred. 
 
 The American strength was now about seven thousand, 
 
130 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 not including about two thousand under General Lincoln, 
 who were then at Bennington. The Indian allies of Great 
 Britain were deserting the standard of General Burgoyne 
 since the late contest, and four of the Six Nations favored 
 the cause of America, and furnished one hundred and fifty- 
 warriors. The troops under General Lincoln now added 
 to the force under General Gates, and revived the spirits 
 of the army. 
 
 The two armies were within cannon shot, and had fre- 
 quent skirmishes until the 7th of October, when the advanc- 
 ing parties came in contact about three o'clock in the 
 afternoon. The gallant Colonel Morgan, at the head of his 
 famous rifle corps, and Major Dearborn, leading a detach- 
 ment of infantry, commenced the action. In all parts 
 of the field the conflict became extremely furious and 
 obstinate, each disdaining to yield the palm of victory. 
 Death appeared to have lost his terrors. The Americans 
 continued to press forward with renewed strength and 
 ardor, and compelled the whole British line, under Bur- 
 goyne, to yield to their deadly fire, and retreat in disorder. 
 The German troops remained firmly posted at their lines ; 
 these were now boldly assaulted by General Learned and 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Brooks, with such intrepidity, that 
 their Avorks were carried, and their brave commander, 
 Colonel Breyman, was slain. All the equipage of the 
 brigade fell into the hands of the Americans. Nightfall 
 put a stop to the action, though the victory was most deci- 
 sive. Besides Colonel Breyman, General Frazer, the 
 most valuable officer in the British service, and Sir Fran- 
 cis Clark, aid-de-camp to General Burgoyne, were mortally 
 wounded. Several other ofliccrs and about two hundred 
 privates were made prisoners ; nine pieces of cannon 
 and a considerable quantity of ammunition fell into the 
 hands of the Americans, which were much wanted. The 
 loss of the Americans did not exceed thirty killed and one 
 hundred wounded, while one hundred of the enemy were 
 killed, and left unburied on the field. 
 
 On the 8th, General Gates detached a body of troops to 
 get into the rear of the British army. Burgoyne took tho 
 

 
 u^f^-" 
 
132 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 alarm, and immediately retreated to Saratoga, which he 
 accomplished the next night, leaving his hospital, contain- 
 ing three hundred sick and wounded, with medicinal stores 
 and two hundred barrels of flour, behind. On their retreat, 
 the British committed the most wanton devastations, burn- 
 ing and destroying almost every house within their reach. 
 Tlie elegant and valuable country-seat belonging to Gene- 
 ral Schuyler, near Saratoga, did not escape their fury. 
 
 In this critical situation. Sir Henry Clinton made an 
 unsuccessful effort to relieve Burgoyne. He pushed up the 
 Hudson river, captured Forts Montgomery and Clinton, 
 which were bravely defended by General James Clinton 
 and his brother, who, with a part of the garrison, made 
 their escape. Sir Henry, with wanton cruelty, set fire to 
 houses and buildings of every description, destroying, by 
 conflagration, the church and every other building in the 
 beautiful town of Esopus. 
 
 After the capture of the two forts, Clinton despatched a 
 messenger, 1)y the name of Daniel Taylor, to Burgoyne, 
 with the intelligence. Fortunately, he was taken on the 
 way as a spy. Finding himself in danger, he was seen to 
 turn aside and take something from his pocket and swal- 
 low it. The American commander ordered a severe dose 
 of emetic tartar to be administered ; this produced the 
 effect ; he discharged a small silver bullet, which, being 
 unscrewed, was found to enclose a letter to BTU-goyne. 
 '• Out of thine own mouth thou shall be condemned." 
 The spy Avas tried, convicted and executed. 
 
 General Burgoyne now perceived that all the passes in 
 his rear were strongly guarded, and that further retreat 
 was next to impossible. In this difficulty, he called a 
 council on the 18th of October. While the council was 
 deliberating, an eighteen pound shot crossed the table, and 
 they resolved unanimously to propose terms with General 
 Gates. The proposals of Gates were rejected, and General 
 Burgoyne then sent in terms, on which the capitulation 
 was f]j:ially made. The news of the capture in the High- 
 lands is said to have arrived at this juncture, which led 
 General Burgoyne to hesitate, in expectation of relief from 
 
SURRENDER OF BURGOYNE. 1777. 
 
 133 
 
 Sir Henry Clinton. General Gates, seizing the critical 
 moment, drew up his army in battle array, and sent in a 
 flag, demanding a reply in ten minutes. The responsi- 
 bility was great, and Burgoyne felt it. The treaty was 
 signed on the 17th of October, and returned in due time. 
 
 The whole British army marched out of their lines, de- 
 posited their arms, and became prisoners of war. The 
 Americans marched in, under the tune of Yankee Doodle, 
 and took quiet possession. General Gates ordered supplies 
 to be issued to the British army, who were destitute, and 
 the solemn scene was closed. The trophies which were 
 gained by this great victory, were five thousand seven 
 hundred and ninety-one prisoners, a train of brass artillery 
 and other ordnance immensely valuable, consisting of 
 forty-two pieces of brass cannon, besides seven thousand 
 muskets, with seventy-two thousand cartridges and an 
 ample supply of shot, shells, and clothing for seven thou- 
 sand men, with a large number of tents and other military 
 stores. 
 
 12 
 
 Surrender of Burgoyne. 
 
CHAPTER VII. " 
 
 American Revolution. — Effects of the caj)ture of Burgoyne in Europe — 
 Astonishment and mortification of the British — Opposition in parlia- 
 ment — Ohstinaaj of the ministry — Treaty of alliance with France — 
 War between France and England — Evacuation of Philadelphia by the 
 British — Battle of Monmouth — Arrival of a French fleet in America — 
 Campaign in lihode Island — Ravages of the British — Anecdotes of the 
 ivar — Thomas Paine — Intrigues of the British — Massacre at Wyoming 
 — Surprise and massacre of Colonel Baylor's regiment — Savage war- 
 fare in Pennsylvania — Campaign in Georgia — Capture of Savannah 
 by the British — Invasion of South Carolina — Peril of Charleston — 
 Georgia overrun by the British — They retreat from Charleston — De- 
 vastations of the British in Virginia. 
 
 The capture of Burgoyne's army produced the most im- 
 portant results on the other side of the Atlantic. The 
 spectacle of a whole British army laying down their arms 
 and surrendering prisoners of war, at once fixed the atten- 
 tion of all Europe. The turn of affairs in favor of the 
 American cause was prodigious. The previous disasters 
 of the American arms had induced a belief in Europe, even 
 among the friends of the colonists, that the cause of inde- 
 pendence could not succeed. The rapid advance of Bur- 
 goyne into the interior, the fall of the important fortress of 
 Ticonderoga, and the boastful announcements of victory 
 made by the British and circulated all over Europe, had 
 produced a general impression that the colonists were at 
 length completely subdued. In the midst of the exulta- 
 tions in England, at these flattering prospects, came the 
 unexpected and astounding intelligence that Burgoyne and 
 his army had laid down their arms before a victorious 
 American army. On the evening of the day on which the 
 ministry received their private despatches containing the 
 news, a rumor of their contents had got into the house of 
 
EFFECTS OF THE VICTORY AT SARATOGA. — 1777. 
 
 135 
 
 commons, just as the members had assembled. One of 
 them arose, and with the most imperative earnestness of 
 manner addressed the treasury benches, demanding what 
 were the accounts from America. Being compelled to dis- 
 close the mortifying fact, the chancellor of the exchequer 
 arose, and, in a weak and faint voice, informed the house it 
 was too true that General Burgoyne and his army were 
 prisoners of war. 
 
 At this announcement, a storm of indignation, sarcasm, 
 reproach and invective was poured upon the king's min- 
 isters by the speakers of the opposition, who overwhelmed 
 them with the bitterest declamation on their imbecility, 
 rashness and obstinacy. Edmund Burke, who had been 
 
 Edmund Burke. 
 
 from the beginning the friend and champion of the colo- 
 nists, exhausted all the powers of his eloquence in attempt- 
 ing to convince the ministry and their partisans of the 
 madness of their attempt to reduce the Americans by force. 
 But, in spite of all this tempest of argument and rhetoric, 
 and the mortifying calamities which had fallen upon the 
 arms of Britain, such was the infatuation of the court and 
 
136 
 
 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 ministry, that the hostile temper was kept up. The min- 
 isters declared, "If ten thousand men cannot conquer Amer- 
 ica, j^/Zy thotisand shall!'''' And with the help of a strong 
 majority in parliament, more supplies were raised, new 
 troops levied, and the war carried on. 
 
 The most important among the immediate consequences 
 of the capture of Burgoyne, was the treaty of alliance 
 between America and France. 
 
 Dr. Franklin, who, after having served the country as 
 colonial agent in England, had returned to America in sea- 
 son to sign the Declaration of Independence, sailed immedi- 
 ately after on a mission to Paris. He was well received 
 by the French, among whom he stood in high reputation 
 for his brilliant discoveries in science. But, during the 
 early part of his residence there, the affairs of the colonists 
 were in so unpromising a condition that he was unable to 
 accomplish anything in their favor by negotiation. Frank- 
 lin was joined by Silas Deane and Arthur Lee, as associate 
 commissioners in the negotiation : and at length, on the 
 news of the important victory of Saratoga, the French 
 
ALLIANCE WITH FRANCE. — 1778. 
 
 137 
 
 ministry conceived so high an opinion of the spirit and 
 determination of the Americans, that they resolved to 
 espouse their cause. Accordingly, on the 6th of February, 
 1778, a treaty of alliance between the French king and the 
 thirteen American states was signed at Paris. By this 
 treaty the king acknowledged the independence of the colo- 
 nies, and agreed to assist them with a fleet and army, in 
 case war should break out between France and England ; 
 in the event of which, the contracting parties were to make 
 common cause, and neither party was to lay down arms 
 till the independence of the United States should be firmly 
 secured. The news of this treaty exasperated the British 
 ministry with the highest rage against the French. Their 
 ambassador was immediately recalled from Paris, and war 
 shortly afterwards broke out between the two kingdoms. 
 
 Silas Deane. 
 
 The British army, under Sir Henry Clinton, lay inactive 
 at Philadelphia during the early part of 1778. But the 
 intelligence of the French alliance, and the apprehension 
 of seeing a French squadron on the coast, caused that gen- 
 eral to conceive fears for his safety, and he decided to 
 12* 
 
138 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 abandon Philadelphia. On the 18th of June, the royal 
 army crossed the Delaware, on the road to New York. But 
 Washington had foreseen this, and prepared the militia of 
 New Jersey to give the British a troublesome march. He 
 crossed the Delaware in pursuit, and the hostile armies met 
 at Monmouth on the 28th, sixty-four miles from Philadel- 
 phia. The contest was severe, and the weather so hot, 
 that numbers of both armies perished from that cause, and 
 the use of water when it could be obtained. Owing to the 
 misconduct of General Lee, the Americans failed of achiev- 
 ing a decided victory. They remained on the battle- 
 ground, intending to renew the contest in the morning, but 
 the enemy made good a retreat. The loss of the Americans 
 was eight officers and sixty-one privates killed, and one 
 hundred and sixty wounded. The British loss, in killed, 
 wountled and missing, was three hundred and fifty-eight 
 men, including officers. One hundred prisoners Avere taken, 
 and the loss by desertion was one thousand. Sir Henry 
 retired, by forced marches, to Sandy Hook, where he was 
 taken on board the lleet, and embarked the army for New 
 York. General Lee was censured by a court-martial for 
 disobedience of orders on this occasion. It appears that he 
 first declined a particular command, and then asked for it. 
 Washington directed liim to commence the attack, "unless 
 there should be powerful reasons to the contrary ;" and his 
 disobedience " and doubtful movements" appear to have 
 marred the expected success, and justified the event, in 
 depriving him of his command. 
 
 The French government, by the terms of the treaty, had 
 now entered into the war. On the 8th of July, Count 
 D'Estaing entered the capes of the Delaware, with the 
 Toulon fleet, after a passage of eighty-seven days : Lord 
 Howe had been gone only eleven days, and Sir Henry 
 Clinton had evacuated Philadelphia only one month before, 
 and was now embarking his army at Sandy Hook, for New 
 York. The French fleet was about double the force of the 
 English, both in the number of ships and weight of metal. 
 
 D'Estaing landed Mr. Gerard, French minister to the 
 United States, who was most cordially received by congress 
 
OPERATIONS OF THE FRENCH FLEET. 1778. 139 
 
 at Philadelphia, and, on the 9th, set sail for Sandy Hook, 
 where he arrived on the 11th, and blockaded the English 
 squadron in the harbor. The count made all possible 
 efforts to attack the English fleet in the harbor, but found 
 it impracticable to cross the bar with his heavy ships, and, 
 on the 22d, agreeably to advice from General Washington, 
 he set sail for Newport, to cooperate in the destruction of 
 the British fleet and army at Rhode Island. Admiral 
 Byron's squadron arrived at Sandy Hook, a few days after 
 the departure of the French fleet, in a very broken, sickly, 
 dismasted, distressed situation. The provision ships from 
 Cork arrived also, and entered the harbor of New York iii 
 safety, to the inexpressible joy of the British army, who 
 were in great want of supplies, 
 
 D'Estaing arrived off Point Judith on the 29th of July; 
 and such was the joy upon the occasion, that it diftused 
 the fire and zeal of 1775 and 1776 throughout New Eng- 
 land. Volunteers, by thousands, flocked to the standard 
 of their country to join General Sullivan, and cooperate 
 with their illustrious allies in the reduction of Rhode Island. 
 Washington had detached La Fayette and General Greene, 
 with two thousand men, to join the general enterprise. 
 The American force was now about ten thousand strong. 
 Sir Robert Pigot, who commanded at Newport, had been 
 reinforced with five battalions, which rendered his force 
 about six thousand strong. Thus balanced, the parties 
 commenced their operations. D'Estaing entered the har- 
 bor of Newport on the 18th of August, without opposition. 
 General Pigot, the British commander, destroyed the 
 English shipping, to prevent their falling into the hands of 
 the French. On the 9th of August, at eight in the morning, 
 Sullivan began to cross over Avith his army from Tiverton, 
 the enemy having abandoned their works at the north end 
 of the island. At two in the morning, Lord Howe appeared 
 off Point Judith, with a fleet of twenty-five sail of the line, 
 where he anchored for the night. On the 10th, D'Estaing, 
 eager to meet the British fleet, took advantage of the wind, 
 and put to sea. The two fleets manoeuvred through the 
 day, without coming to action. On the 11th, a violent gale 
 
140 AMERICAN KEVOLUTION. 
 
 sprang up, and continued through the 12th and 13th, 
 which parted the fleets, dismasted the French admiral's 
 ship, destroyed her rudder, and greatly damaged several 
 others. On the 14th, the gale abated, and close and severe 
 actions commenced between several single ships of the two 
 fleets, but nothing decisive. The count, having collected 
 six of his ships, covered his disabled fleet, and stood in for 
 Newport, and came to anchor. Greene and La Fayette 
 went on board the admiral's ship, and pressed him to 
 enter the harbor of Newport, and complete the enterprise ; 
 but the fleet was so shattered by the storm, and the oflicers 
 were generally so averse, that the count concluded to sail 
 for Boston. 
 
 Meantime the troops under General Sullivan had gained 
 the north end of the island, and marched down upon the 
 enemy's lines, ready to cooperate with the French fleet, 
 and commence the attack ; but their sufferings in the storm 
 were so severe, that the troops were in a deplorable state. 
 On the 15th, the American army had recovered from their 
 fatigues, and were again prepared for action. In this situ- 
 ation they continued, anxiously waiting the movements of 
 the French fleet, to join in the general attack; but, to their 
 grief and astonishment, they saw them weigh and stand 
 ofl" for Boston, on the 24th. The mortification of General 
 JSullivan was greater than the pride of an American soldier 
 could sustain, and he expressed himself unguardedly, in 
 his general orders, on the occasion. On the 28th, however, 
 Count D'Estaing wroie to congress, from Boston, and 
 explained his movements to their satisfaction.. 
 
 Sullivan soon saw himself abandoned by most of the 
 volunteers, which reduced his army to a standard below 
 that of the enemy, and he hastened to secure his retreat. 
 
 On the 2.5th, he sent otf his heavy cannon, and on the 
 29th retired to the north end of the island. General Pigot 
 pursued with his whole force, to intercept his retreat. The 
 advance-guard of the enemy was soon engaged with the 
 rearguard of the Americans, and a severe action ensued, 
 that continued through the day. The next day, Sullivan 
 learnt that Lord Howe was again at sea, and that the 
 
RAVAGES OF THE BRITISH. 1778. 141 
 
 French fleet was not expected to return to Newport, and he 
 hastened to evacuate the island. With the assistance, of 
 Greene and La Fayette, he conducted his retreat in the 
 presence of a superior foe, whose sentries Avere not more 
 than four hundred yards distant from the American sentries; 
 and, on the morning of the 1st of September, 1778, the 
 retreat was accompHshed without the loss of a man, or any 
 part of the artillery or baggage. The same day, Clinton 
 arrived o(f Newport, on board of the fleet under Lord 
 Howe, with four thousand troops, to cut off the American 
 retreat; but, learning the departure of the French for Boston 
 and the retreat of the Americans, he set sail for Boston, in 
 pursuit of the French. On the morning of the 3d, he dis- 
 covered the French fleet in the harbor of Boston, strongly 
 posted, and returned to New York. On the 5th, Howe 
 commenced an attack upon the American shipping in New 
 Bedford harbor, and destroyed about seventy sail, besides 
 small craft, stores, dwelling-houses, and vessels on the 
 stocks, together Avith the magazine, to the amount of twenty 
 thousand pounds sterling. He then attacked Martha's 
 Vineyard, destroyed all the vessels, and carried off the arms 
 of the militia, and public money, three hundred oxen, and 
 ten thousand sheep, and returned to New York with his 
 plunder. 
 
 These and many other marauding excursions, in which 
 the British soldiery abandoned themselves to every excess 
 of wanton violence and brutality towards the defenceless 
 inhabitants, only exasperated the people to a more deter- 
 mined resistance against their invaders. Volumes might 
 be filled with anecdotes illustrating the spirit and temper 
 which prevailed at this period. The limits of our work 
 will allow us to specify one or two incidents. 
 
 In a former chapter we have related the story of a citizen 
 of Billerica, in Massachusetts, who was tarred and feathered 
 by the British grenadiers, in Boston, for purchasing a mus- 
 ket. The man -who had been thus shamefully dealt with, 
 obtained revenge in his own way. Keeping in his posses- 
 sion the same old musket^ an opportunity was not long 
 wanting for that purpose. His country flew to arms, to 
 
142 
 
 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 redress public grievances, and he to revenge his private 
 ones. As soon as he heard that the British had marched to 
 Concord, he seized the same musket, and flew to the scene 
 of action. When the British were on the retreat, he selected 
 a tree, with thick boughs, by the road-side, and, taking 
 deliberate aim, every shot from the dear-bought musket 
 took off one of the enemy. Aiming particularly at the 
 officers, he soon brought down the commander of the tar- 
 kettle. Half a dozen shots were fired into the tree ; two of 
 the bullets passed through his hat, but did no other dam- 
 age. He Avas also present at the battle of Bunker Hill, 
 where he had an opportunity of using the old musket to 
 still greater advantage ; reserving his fire, agreeably to the 
 mode enjoined by Putnam, until he could see the enemy's 
 eye, he brought down his man at every shot. He was the 
 last to leave the ditch, and when his powder and ball were 
 expended, he fought furiously with the butt of his musket, 
 and as he daished in the skulls of two or three in quick 
 succession, he exclaimed, "That's to pay for the tar and 
 feathers." 
 
 tnj of Sergeant JasjK 
 
 Mr. Jasper, a sergeant in the revolutionary army, had a 
 brother, who had joined the British, and who, likewise, held 
 
ADVENTURES OF SERGEANT JASPER. 1778. 143 
 
 the rank of sergeant in their garrison at Ebenezer, in Geor- 
 gia. No man could be truer to the American cause than 
 Sergeant Jasper; yet he warmly loved his tory brother, 
 and actually went to the British garrison to see him. His 
 brother was exceedingly alarmed, lest he should be seized 
 and hung as an American spy; for his name was well 
 known to many of the British officers. "Do not trouble 
 yourself," said Jasper; "I am no longer an American sol- 
 dier." "Thank God for that. William," exclaimed his 
 brother, heartily shaking him by the hand; "and now, 
 only say the word, my boy, and here is a commission for 
 3^ou, with regimentals and gold to boot, to fight for his 
 majesty King George." 
 
 Jasper sliook his head, and observed, that, though there 
 was but little encouragement to fight for his country, he 
 could not find it in his heart to fight against her. And 
 there the conversation ended. After staying two or three 
 days with his brother, inspecting and hearing all that he 
 could, he took his leave, returned to the American camp, 
 by a circuitous route, and told General Lincoln all that he 
 had seen. Soon after, he made another trip to the English 
 garrison, taking with him his particular friend, Sergeant 
 Newton, who was a young man of great strength and 
 courage. His brother received him with his usual cor- 
 diality ; and he and his friend spent several days at the 
 British fort, without giving the least alarm. On the morn- 
 ing of the third day, his brother observed that he had 
 bad news to tell him. " Ah ! what is it?" asked William. 
 "Why," replied his brother, "here are ten or a dozen 
 American prisoners, brought in this morning, as deserters, 
 from Savannah, whither they are to be sent immediately ; 
 and, from what I can learn, it will be apt to go hard with 
 them, for it seems they have all taken the king's bounty." 
 
 " Let us see them," said Jasper. So his brother took him 
 and his friend Newton to see them. It was, indeed, a mel- 
 ancholy sight to see the poor fellows, handcuffed upon the 
 ground. But when the eye rested on a young woman, 
 wife of one of the prisoners, with her child, a sweet little 
 ]joy of five years, all pity for the male prisoners was for^ 
 
144 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 gotten. Her humble garb showed that she was poor ; but 
 her deep distress and sympathy with her unfortunate hus- 
 band proved that she was rich in conjugal love, more pre- 
 cious than all gold. She generally sat on the ground, 
 opposite to her husband, with her little boy leaning on her 
 lap, and her coal-black hair spreading in long, neglected 
 tresses on her neck and bosom. Sometimes she would sit 
 silent as a statue of grief, her eyes fixed upon the earth ; 
 then she would start with a convulsive throb, and gaze on 
 her husband's face with looks as piercing sad, as if she 
 already saw him struggling in the halter, herself a widow, 
 and her son an orphan ; while the child, distressed by his 
 mother's anguish, added to the pathos of the scene by the 
 artless tears of childish suifering. Though Jasper and 
 Newton were undaunted in the field of battle, their feelings 
 were subdued by such heart-stirring misery. As they 
 walked out into the neighboring wood, the tears stood in 
 the eyes of both. Jasper first broke silence. " Newton," 
 said he, " my days have been but few ; but I believe their 
 course is nearly finished." "Why so, Jasper?" "Why, 
 I feel that I must rescue those poor prisoners, or die with 
 them; otherwise, the remembrance of that poor woman 
 and her child will haunt me to my grave." "That is 
 exactly what I feel, too," replied Newton; "and here is 
 my hand and heart to stand by you, my brave friend, to 
 the last drop. Thank God, a man can die but once ; and 
 why should we fear to leave this life in the way of our 
 duty?" 
 
 The friends embraced each other, and entered into the 
 necessary arrangements for fulfilling their desperate reso- 
 lution. Immediately after breakfast, the prisoners were 
 sent on their way to Savannah, under the guard of a ser- 
 geant and corporal, with eight men. They had not been 
 gone long, before Jasper, accompanied by his friend New- 
 ton, took leave of his brother, and set out on some pre- 
 tended errand to the upper country. They had scarcely, 
 however, got out of sight of Ebenezer, before they struck 
 hito the woods, and pushed hard after the prisoners and 
 their guard, whom they closely dogged for several miles, 
 
ADVENTURES OF SERGEANT JASPER. 1778. 145 
 
 anxiously watching an opportunity to make a blow. The 
 hope, indeed, seemed extravagant; for what could tioo 
 unarmed men do against ten., equipped with loaded muskets 
 and bayonets 7 However, unable to give up their country- 
 men, our heroes still travelled on. 
 
 About two miles from Savannah, there is a famous spring, 
 generally called the Spa, well known to travellers, who 
 often stopped there to quench their thirst. "Perhaps," 
 said Jasper, "the guard may stop there." Hastening on 
 through the woods, they gained the Spa, as their last hope, 
 and there concealed themselves among the thick bushes 
 that grew around the spring. Presently, the mournful 
 procession came in sight of the spring, where the sergeant 
 ordered a halt. Hope sprung afresh in the bosoms of our 
 heroes, though, no doubt, mixed with great alarm; for "it 
 was a fearful odds." The corporal, with his guard of four 
 men, conducted the prisoners to the spring, while the ser- 
 geant, with the other four, having grounded their arms 
 near the road, brought up the rear. The prisoners, wea- 
 ried with their long walk, were permitted to rest themselves 
 on the earth. Poor Mrs. Jones, as usual, took her seat 
 opposite her husband, and her little boy, overcome with 
 fatigue, fell asleep in her lap. Two of the corporal's men 
 were ordered to keep guard, and the other two to give the 
 prisoners drink out of their canteens. These last ap- 
 proached the spring, where our heroes lay concealed, and, 
 resting their muskets against a pine tree, dipped up the 
 water. Having drunk themselves, they turned away, with 
 replenished canteens, to give to the prisoners also. " Now 
 Newton, is our time," said Jasper. 
 
 Then, bursting like lions from their concealment, they 
 snatched up the two muskets that were resting against the 
 pine, and, in an instant, shot down the two soldiers who 
 were upon guard. It Avas now a contest who should get 
 the two loaded muskets that fell from the hands of the 
 slain; for, by this time, a couple of brave Englishmen, 
 recovering from their momentary panic, had sprung and 
 seized upon the muskets ; but before they could use them, 
 the swift-handed Americans, with clubbed guns, levelled a 
 13 
 
l46' AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 final bloAV at the heads of their brave antagonists. The 
 tender bones of the skull gave way, and down they sunk, 
 pale and quivering, without a groan. Then, hastily seiz- 
 ing the muskets, which had thus a second time fallen from 
 the hands of the slain, they flew between their surviving 
 enemies and their weapons, grounded near the road, and 
 ordered them to surrender; which they instantly did. 
 They then snapped the handcuffs of the prisoners, and 
 armed them with muskets. 
 
 At the commencement of the fight, poor Mrs. Jones had 
 fallen to the earth in a swoon, and her little son stood 
 screaming piteously over her. But when she recovered, 
 and saw her husband and his friends freed from their fet- 
 ters, she behaved like one frantic with joy. She sprung 
 to her husband's bosom, and, Avith her arms round his 
 neck, sobbed out, " My husband is safe — bless God, my 
 husband is safe." Then, snatching up her child, she 
 pressed him to her heart, as she exclaimed, "Thank God! 
 my son has a father yet." Then, kneeling at the feet of 
 Jasper and Newton, she pressed their hands vehemently, 
 but, in the fulness of her heart, she could only say, " God 
 bless you ! God Almighty bless you ! " . For fear of being 
 retaken by the English, our heroes seized the arms and 
 regimentals of the dead, and, with their friends and cap- 
 tive foes, recrossed the Savannah, and safely joined the 
 American army at Purisburgh, t-o the inexpressible aston- 
 ishment and joy of all. 
 
 The celebrated Thomas Paine, then known only as a 
 political writer, came to xlmerica in the early part of the 
 contest, and employed his pen with great success in de- 
 fence of the cause of independence. He was master of a 
 plain, forcible and homely style, admirably fitted for popu- 
 lar effect. His pamphlet entitled Common Sense had a 
 prodigious circulation, and contributed not a little in 
 strengthening the feeling of opposition to the domineering 
 spirit of Britain. Paine's political writings were numerous, 
 and much applauded by the friends of free institutions. 
 But his popularity received a severe shock by his subse- 
 quent writings against religion, which' were 'composed 
 amidst the maddening frenzy of the French revolution. 
 
DIPLOMATIC MEASURES OF THE BRITISH. — 1778. 147 
 
 Thomas Paine. 
 
 The following extract of a letter from General Washing- 
 ton, sti'ikingly illustrates the situation of affairs at this 
 period : " It is not a little pleasing, nor less wonderful, to 
 contemplate, that, after two years' manoeuvring, and under- 
 going the strangest vicissitudes that perhaps ever attended 
 any one contest since the creation, both armies are brought 
 back to the very point they set out from, and the oifend- 
 ing party, in the beginning, is reduced to the spade and 
 pick-axe for defence. The hand of Providence has been 
 so conspicuous in all this, that he must be worse than 
 an infidel that lacks faith, and moredian wicked, that has 
 not gratitude enough to acknowledge his obligations." 
 
 The British, distrusting the success of their arms, deter- 
 mined to accomplish their oliject by the arts of diplomacy. 
 An attempt was made to bribe Mr. Reed, and other mem- 
 bers of congress, to assist in reconciling the Americans to 
 the English government. The instrument of this attempt 
 was George Johnston, Esq., one of the British commis- 
 sioners. Mr. Reed replied — " I am not worth buying, but 
 such as I am, the king of England is not rich enough to do 
 it." The facts were disclosed to congress, and excited 
 considerable feeling. Congress then resolved, that all let- 
 ters addressed to members of congress by British commis- 
 sionerSj or agents, or any subjects of the king of Great 
 
148 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 Britain, of a public nature, should be laid before that body. 
 To this resolution, a spirited reply was made from New 
 York, by Johnston, and a total disavowal of the facts, on 
 the part of Sir Henry Clinton, Lord Carlisle, and Mr. 
 Eden. At the same time, a ratification of the convention 
 of Saratoga was tendered, that the troops of Burgoyne 
 might be suffered to embark for England. This was de- 
 clined by congress, unless ratified by the British govern- 
 ment. By the terras of Saratoga, the British troops were 
 to be sent home on their parole. This was not done, as 
 the British officers had violated the treaty in not giving 
 up their side arms, and Burgoyne' s troops were detained 
 at Boston. 
 
 The British commissioners then appealed to the peo- 
 ple, and this was allowed by congress, trusting that the 
 good sense of the inhabitants would treat it with contempt, 
 and cover the authors with lasting disgrace. Chagrined 
 by their failure in this insidious measure, they denounced 
 the American government in a manifesto, threatening the 
 American people with destruction, if they determined to 
 persevere in their rebellion, and adhere to their alliance 
 with France. This idle threat was fairly met by congress, 
 by a statement of the mode of warfare adopted by the 
 enemy, which was thus concluded : "If our enemies pre- 
 sume to execute their threats, or persist in their present 
 career of barbarity,. we Avill take such exemplary ven- 
 geance as shall deter others from a like conduct. We 
 appeal to that God, who is the Searcher of hearts, for 
 the rectitude of our intentions, and in his holy presence 
 declare, that as we are not moved by any light or hasty 
 suggestions of anger or revenge, so, through every possible 
 change of fortune, we will adhere to this our determina- 
 tion." 
 
 Dr. Franklin, till now a commissioner at the French 
 court, was appointed minister plenipotentiary to the court 
 of Versailles, with instructions to negotiate for an expedi- 
 tion to Canada. About this time, the Sieur Gerard deliv- 
 ered his credentials to congress, and was recognised as a 
 minister from the French court. La Fayette requested 
 
DESTRUCTION OF WYOMING. 1778. 149 
 
 leave to return to France, to which congress readily con- 
 sented, and directed the president to express to him, by- 
 letter, the thanks of congress, for that disinterested zeal 
 that led him to America, as well as those services he had 
 rendered the United States, by the exertions of his cour- 
 age and abilities, on many signal occasions. They also 
 directed Dr. Franklin to cause an elegant sword to be 
 made, with proper devices, and presented to the marquis, 
 in the name of the United States. Congress, at the same 
 time, addressed a letter to the king of France, expressive 
 of the high sense they entertained of the talents and 
 services of the marquis. He took his leave of congress by 
 letter, repaired to Boston, and embarked for France. 
 
 During these movements, the Indians, in concert with 
 the tories, began their ravages upon the Susquehanna; in 
 August, 1778, they entered the settlements in a body of about 
 sixteen hundred ; defeated Colonel Butler, at the head of 
 about four hundred men, and cut off his party with a ter- 
 rible slaughter. They took one small fort at Kingston, 
 and then carried Fort Wilkesbarre; butchered the garrison, 
 and burnt the women and children in the barracks. They 
 next proceeded to lay waste the settlements in the valley 
 of Wyoming with fire and sword, and destroyed the cattle 
 in the most wanton and barbarous manner ; but spared 
 the persons and property of the tories. These savage 
 marauders were commanded by Colonel Johii Butler, a 
 tory refugee, who was more cruel than his savage allies. 
 The Americans were commanded by Colonel Zeb Butler, 
 cousin to the commander of the savages. The women 
 and children took refuge in the fort, which was defended 
 by Colonel Dennison. After most of his men had fallen, he 
 went out with a flag, to inquire what terms would be 
 granted to them, on surrendering the garrison. He re- 
 ceived from the ferocious Butler a reply in two words ; 
 "The hatchet." Colonel Dennison Avas finally obliged to 
 surrender at discretion ; when the threat of Butler was 
 rigidly executed. The inhabitants, including women and 
 children, were inclosed in the houses and barracks, which 
 were immediately set on fire, and the demons of hell 
 13=^ 
 
150 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 glutted their vengeance in beholding their destruction in one 
 general conflagration. They even extended their cruelty 
 to the cattle in the fields, shooting some, and cutting out 
 the tongues of others, leaving them alive. A few of the 
 inhabitants only escaped, who fled to the woods, destitute 
 of provisions or covering, shuddering with fear and dis- 
 tress ; their sufferings were extreme. The cries of widows 
 and orphans called loudly for the avenging hand of heaven. 
 The name of Colonel John Bnthr ought to be consigned 
 to eternal infamy, for the base treachery and cruelty with 
 which he betrayed his kinsman, Colonel Zeb Butler, a 
 respectable American officer, while under the sanction of a 
 flag. 
 
 Early in October, Sir Henry Clinton detached Captain 
 Ferguson, with about three hundred men, upon an expedi- 
 tion to Little Egg Harbor, under a strong convoy, to de- 
 stroy the American shipping and privateers; but these 
 being removed, Captain Ferguson proceeded up to Chesuut 
 Neck, where he destroyed such vessels as were there, 
 together with the whole village, and laid waste the adja- 
 cent country, and rejoined the squadron. On the lotli, 
 the convoy, with the troops, moved round to another landing 
 place not far distant, and landed two hundred and fifty 
 men, under the command of Captain Ferguson, who ad- 
 vanced into the country in the silence of night, and 
 surprised Count Pulaski's light infantry ; killed the Baron 
 de Base and Lieutenant De la Broderic, with fifty privates. 
 These were mostly butchered in cold blood, begging for 
 mercy, under the orders oino quarters ; but Count Pulaski 
 closed this horrid scene, by a sudden charge of his cavalry, 
 that put to flight the murderous foe, and thus saved the 
 remnant of his infantry. Captain Ferguson made a hasty 
 retreat, embarked liis party, and returned to New York. 
 
 Admiral Graves arrived at New York, on the 16th of 
 October, in a most shattered condition, from a violent 
 storm, which detained him the remainder of the month, to 
 repair the ffeet. About the first of November he put to 
 sea, and appeared off' the harbor of Boston, on a visit to the 
 Count D'Estaing; but a violent storm here overtook him, 
 
152 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 scattered his fleet, destroyed the Somerset, of sixty-four 
 guns, on the shores of Cape Cod, and forced the rest into 
 Rhode Island for shelter. 
 
 About this time a regiment of American cavalry, com- 
 manded by Colonel Baylor, being posted on the lines near 
 Tappaan, their situation was betrayed by some tories. A 
 party of the enemy surprised them while in a barn, in the 
 night, and massacred a part of them with the most savage 
 cruelty. The commander of the party who disgraced 
 themselves by this foul deed, was the English general 
 Grey. Colonel Baylor's detachment consisted of one hun- 
 dred and four horsemen. The attack was so sudden, that 
 they were entirely defenceless, and the enemy immediatsly 
 commenced the horrid M^ork of slaughter. Their entreaties 
 and cries for mercy were totally disregarded. Very few 
 only of this regiment escaped. 
 
 The war now exhibited scenes of the most unrelenting 
 barbarity. Except in few instances, the rules of civilized 
 warriors seemed liardly to be known, and the combatants 
 seemed mutually determined on a war of extermination. 
 Hostilities Avere carried anew into the Susquehanna coun- 
 trj\ Colonel William Butler, at the head of a Pennsylva- 
 nia regiment, with a band of riflemen, led an expedition to 
 the Indian villages, which he destroyed, and, after enduring 
 the greatest hardships, returned in safety in sixteen days. 
 To avenge this incursion. Colonel .Tohn Butler, at the head 
 of a strong party, surprised Colonel xllden, at Cherry Val- 
 ley, who was killed, and the greatest cruelties were perpe- 
 trated. Fifty or sixty men. women, and children, were 
 killed or made captives, and even the dead were made 
 monuments of savage barbarities. 
 
 All further designs against the north seemed now to be 
 abandoned. Clinton and Prescott, who commanded in East 
 Florida, concerted a plan of operations against Georgia. 
 Before this could be carried into efiect, two parties entered 
 Georgia from Florida, one by land, and the other by water. 
 The latter advanced to Sunbury, and summoned the place 
 to surrender ; but receiving a spirited reply from Colonel 
 Mackintosh, the attempt was abandoned. The other party 
 
OPERATIONS IN GEORGIA AND CAROLINA. 177S. 153 
 
 made for Savannah, but. being firmly opposed by General 
 Screven and Colonel Elbert, nothing was ejSected. if we 
 except the plundering of negroes and cattle, and the com- 
 mission of the most wanton barbarities. Colonel Screven 
 was killed in the defence. 
 
 On the 27th of November, 1778, Colonel Campbell em- 
 barked at Sandy Hook, at the head of one regiment, two 
 battalions of regulars, and four of tories. with a detachment 
 of artillery. — in all about twenty-five hundred men. — and 
 arrived at the mouth of the Savannah, the latter part of 
 December, and soon landed his troops. The American 
 general, R. HoAve, was posted in this place, at the head of 
 about eight hundred militia and regulars, worn down by a 
 fruitless expedition against Florida. He chose a judicious 
 position to cover Savannah, but was out-generalled, sur- 
 prised in camp, and routed, with a considerable loss of men 
 and arms. The fort, with its contents, forty-eight pieces 
 of cannon, twenty-three mortars, all the shipping, a large 
 store of provisions, and the capital of the state, fell into the 
 hands of the victors. The defenceless inhabitants were 
 bayoneted in the streets, and the remnant of the troops 
 escaped to South Carolina. About this time, Sunbury fell 
 into the hands of General Prescott, who marched to Savan- 
 nah, and took command of the royal army. The inhabi- 
 tants were directed to lay down their arms, or use them in 
 support of the royal cause. 
 
 On the 25th of September, General Lincoln was appointed 
 to the command of the southern army, but he did not arrive 
 at Charleston until the 4th of December. He was joined 
 by Generals Ashe and Rutherford, with about two thousand 
 North Carolina militia, destined to act in defence of South 
 Carolina. As Georgia was the point of attack, Lincoln 
 raised somethmg less than a thousand men, and joined the 
 remains of the troops under Colonel Elbert, establishing 
 his head quarters at Purysburgh. Here he found himself 
 at the head o? but fourteen hundred men, and even this 
 small force destitute of arms, cannon, tents, and almost of 
 powder and lead. The mihtia of South Carolina were 
 without discipline or subordination, and, on the 24th of 
 
154 
 
 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 January, 1779, they had generally returned to their homes. 
 About eleven hundred militia from North Carolina supplied 
 their place, and the whole force Avas about twenty-four 
 hundred. General Prescott had taken possession of Port 
 Royal island, South Carolina; and General Moultrie, at the 
 head of the Charleston militia, attacked the island, dis- 
 lodged the enemy, and compelled the colonel to retire into 
 Georgia, with much loss. He took post at Augusta, and, 
 by fomenting divisions and encouraging insurrections, 
 caused much distress. But a party from the district of 
 Ninety-six, under Colonel Pickens, pursued the banditti, 
 which they overtook, routed, killed, or dispersed, and their 
 leader. Colonel Boyd, was slain. The remainder threw 
 themselves on the clemency of the state. Seventy were 
 tried, convicted, and sentenced to death ; but the sentence 
 was executed on five of the principals only, and the remain- 
 der were pardoned. 
 
 Lincoln determined to dislodge the enemy from Georgia, 
 and directed General Wilhamson to take a strong position 
 near Augusta, to watch the motions of Colonel Campbell ; 
 
CAMPAIGN IN CAROLINA. 1779. ISW 
 
 and General Ashe was ordered to the support of Wilham- 
 son, with about two thousand men. On receiving the 
 intelhgence of this junction, the British retired about four- 
 teen miles down the river. Measures were concerted by 
 the American generals, and the plan of operations settled. 
 
 On the 3d of March, Colonel Prevost gained the rear of 
 the American camp by a circuitous march, and commenced 
 a furious attack. The continentals advanced to the charge, 
 to check the invaders ; but the militia were panic-struck, 
 and flight ensued. The regulars, under General Elbert, 
 were cut to pieces, and the militia, under General Ashe, 
 never returned. The Americans lost one hundred and fifty 
 killed, and one hundred and sixty-two captured : the 
 wounded not numbered. About four hundred and fifty 
 rejoined General Lincoln. Georgia now belonged to the 
 enemy, and a free communication was opened with the 
 tories of South Carolina. 
 
 In this state of alarm, John Rutledgc was appointed gov- 
 ernor of the state, and to him and the council was given a 
 dictatorial power. A large body-of militia was assembled 
 at Orangeburg, near the centre of the state, to act as might 
 be required. Williamson sent parties into Georgia to dis- 
 tress and plunder the enemy. On this, Lincoln remarked 
 to the governor, that tlie innocent and the guilty, the aged 
 and infirm, women and children, would,be equally exposed 
 to the effects of this order. Lincoln was now reinforced at 
 his camp, at Black Swamp, a. id advanced into Georgia, 
 leaving a strong guard, under General Moultrie, at Purys- 
 bnrgh. Prescott permitted the Americans to advance one 
 hundred and fifty miles, that he might surprise General 
 Moultrie. Moultrie eluded tlie attack, by a change of posi- 
 tion. Lincoln, learning the movements of Prescott, moved 
 by forced marches in support of Moultrie, and to cover 
 Charleston. The governor took alarm by the movements 
 of Prescott, and destroyed the suburbs, that he might 
 guard against the advance of the enemy. The neighbor- 
 ing militia were called in to join his troops in defence of 
 Charleston. 
 
 On the 11th of March, Prescott crossed the ferry, and 
 
156 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 appeared before Charleston; on which day the Count Pu- 
 laski arrived; and entered into the defence of this city with 
 spirit. The object of Prescott was to capture the town 
 before Lincoln could arrive; and his operations were con- 
 ducted with such vigor, that the civil authority sent out 
 the following proposition: "South Carolina will remain 
 in a state of neutrality till the close of the war, and then 
 follow the fate of her neighbors, on condition the royal 
 army withdraw." To which General Prescott replied: 
 "The garrison are in arms, and they shall surrender pris- 
 oners of war." But, before General Prescott could 
 accomplish anything of importance, Lincoln arrived, and 
 the enemy withdrew to Beaufort, and thence to Georgia. 
 Plunder and devastation marked their steps. Slaves, to 
 the number of three thousand, were taken, and sent for 
 sale to the West Indies. 
 
 An expedition was fitted out, by Sir Henry Clinton, 
 under Sir George Collier and General Matthews, from 
 New York, who took possession of Portsmouth, and the 
 remains of Norfolk, in Virginia, in May, 1779. On the 
 same day a detachment was sent to Suffolk, and destroyed 
 provisions, naval stores, and vessels, leaving the town in 
 ashes ; and gentlemen's seats, as well as plantations, were 
 burnt and ravaged. On the coast the same ravages were 
 committed by the ^ect. About one hundred and thirty" 
 vessels Avere destroyed or captured, with about three 
 thousand hogsheads of tobacco. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 American Revolution. — Tn/on^s marauding expedition to Connecticut — 
 New Haven plundered — Barbarities of the British — Capture of Stony 
 Point — Sullivan^s expedition against the Indians — Exploits of Paul 
 Jones — Failure of the expedition to the Penobscot — War in the south — 
 Arrival of D'Estaing's fleet — Siege of Savannah — Repulse of the 
 French and Americans — Death of Pulaski — Gallant exploit of Colonel 
 White — The British evacuate Rhode Island — Clinton invades South 
 Carolina — Siege of Charleston — Surrender of the town — Defeat of 
 Colonel Buford at the Waxliaws — General Gates appointed to the 
 command in the south — Partisan war of Marion and Sumter — 
 Knyphausen^s excursion to New Jersey — Arrival of a French fleet and 
 army, under De Tiernay and Rochambeau — Lord Cornwallis in South 
 Carolina — Battle of Camden — Disasters of the Americans — Cornivallis 
 threatens North Carolina — Colonel Ferguson^ s expedition to the 
 north — Defeat of the British at King^s Mountain — Atrocities of 
 the loar — Imprisonment and escape of General Wadsworth. 
 
 Early in 1779, Sir Henry Clinton had concerted measures 
 with the tories and British under his command, to assume 
 a general system of predatory war in America, and sub- 
 mitted his plans to the British ministry, who expressed 
 their approbation. This plan soon reached the American 
 commission, at Paris, and was communicated to Governor 
 Trumbull, of Connecticut, on the 6th of April, 1779. 
 Clinton detached General Try on, formerly governor of New 
 York, with two thousand six hundred land forces, protected 
 by a squadron under Sir George Collier, and supported by 
 General Garth, to begin their depredations in Connecticut. 
 On the 4th of July, the armament moved into the sound, 
 and the commanders issued their proclamation to the 
 citizens of Connecticut, offering pardon and protection to 
 all such as would return to their allegiance, but threatening 
 ruin and destruction to all who should reject this over- 
 14 
 
168 
 
 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 ture. On the morning of the 6th, Tryon landed his division 
 at East Haven; Garth landed at the same time at West 
 Haven, and proceeded directly to New Haven, and gave 
 up the town to promiscuous pillage. The militia collected 
 so fast on the next day, that the enemy abandoned the 
 town in haste, burnt several stores on Long wharf, and em- 
 barked their troops. The infamous Tryon next proceeded 
 to the plunder of East Haven, and then sailed for Fairfield. 
 The town and vicinity were laid in ruins, and the enemy 
 embarked for Norwalk, which was next laid in ashes. He 
 then returned to New York. In this incursion, four houses 
 for public worship, near one hundred dwellings, eighty 
 barns, about thirty stores, seventeen shops, four mills, and 
 five vessels were burnt ; and, in addition to this destruc- 
 tion of property, the greatest acts of brutality were perpe- 
 trated. Women were insulted and abused, while their ap- 
 parel was robbed, and desks, trunks, and closets were rifled. 
 The strong post of Stony Point, on the Hudson, had been 
 taken by the British, and garrisoned with a formidable 
 force. General Wayne was despatched on an expedition 
 
 Storming of Stony Foint. 
 
 against it. He commenced his inarch on the 15th July, 
 at noon ; and, after having crossed the mountains, through 
 
EXPLOITS OF PAUL JONES. 1779. 159 
 
 dangerous and difficult defiles, he approached the fort about 
 eight of the same evening. Having reconnoitred the posi- 
 tion of the enemy, the general put himself at the head of 
 his brave troops, and, at twenty minutes past twelve pre- 
 cisely, on the night of the 16th, entered the fort with 
 screwed bayonets, amidst a most tremendous fire of musket 
 and grape, and carried the fortress without firing a gun. 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Fleury entered the fort with his divis- 
 ion, upon the opposite side, at the same time, and both 
 parties met in the centre ; but the garrison was spared and 
 made prisoners of war, to the number of five hundred and 
 forty-three. Wayne dismantled the fort, and brought off 
 the cannon, stores, &c., agreeably to orders. Congress 
 passed a vote of thanks to Washington, Wayne, and the 
 officers and soldiers under their command, for the masterly 
 exploit in the capture of Stony Point. 
 
 The English, having persuaded the Six Nations of In- 
 dians, the Oneidas excepted, to take up the hatchet against 
 the United States, General Sullivan was sent with a de- 
 tachment of from four to five thousand men to chastise 
 them. He marched up the Susquehanna, and attacked 
 them in their fortifications, which were well constructed. 
 The resistance was obstinate, but they were compelled to 
 yield, and took to flight. According to his instructions, 
 their country was devastated, and one hundred and sixty 
 thousand bushels of corn were consumed. 
 
 In naval affairs, the Americans had met with much suc- 
 cess by means of their small privateers, which greatly 
 annoyed the commerce of the British, and benefitted the 
 colonists by the capture of many valuable prizes, not only 
 of merchant ships, but also of store-ships and transports, 
 laden with arms, ammunition and supplies for the British 
 armies. The most famous among the American naval 
 commanders was John Paul Jones, a native of Scotland, 
 who had settled in Virginia previous to the breaking out of 
 the revolution. He received the first appointment of 
 lieutenant in the American navy, and was so successful 
 in his early cruises with a small vessel, in 1776, that he 
 was sent by congress to France the next year, where he 
 
160 
 
 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 obtained a large vessel, and, in 1778, sailed for the coast of 
 Scotland. Here he kept the country in a constant state of 
 
 Paul Jones. 
 
 alarm, captured Whitehaven, with two forts and twenty 
 pieces of cannon, and burnt the shipping in the harbor. 
 He returned to Brest with two hundred prisoners. In 1779, 
 he put to sea again, in the frigate Bon Homme Richard, 
 and, on the 23d of September, fought his celebrated action 
 with the British frigate Serapis, off Flamborough Head, on 
 the coast of England. The Serapis was much superior in 
 strength to the Richard. This was the most desperate 
 battle ever fought. The ships were grappled together, and 
 the guns met muzzle to muzzle. In this position they lay, 
 strewing the decks with carnage and destruction, about 
 two hours. Both ships were frequently on fire, but the 
 Serapis not less than ten or twelve times. 
 
 The American frigate Alliance was near, and attempted 
 to cooperate in the action, with some good effect, until the 
 darkness of the evening rendered it impossible to distin- 
 guish correctly, when she killed eleven men, and wounded 
 
EXPEDITION TO THE PENOBSCOT. 1779. 161 
 
 several others, on board the Bon Homme Richard. At 
 this critical moment the Serapis struck, and closed the 
 sanguinary scene. The Bon Homme Richard, at the close 
 of the action, was so much of a wreck as to have seven 
 feet of water in her hold, which rendered it necessary to 
 remove the crew on board the Serapis, and the wounded 
 on board the Pallas. On the 24th, her pumps were closely 
 plied ; but, on the 25th, she went down. Fortunately, no 
 lives were lost. The Pallas engaged and took the Countess 
 of Scarborough, at the same time, and Commodore Jones 
 sailed with his prizes for the coast of Holland, and anchor- 
 ed off the Texel. 
 
 During the course of this year, the district of Maine was 
 the scene of some military operations. A detachment of 
 British forces from Halifax had taken possession of Castine, 
 on the Penobscot, in 1779, and strongly fortified that port. 
 This gave an alarm to the people of Massachusetts, and 
 the government at Boston projected a scheme to expel them 
 from the place. A body of militia was drafted and placed 
 under the command of General Lovell. A fleet of nearly 
 twenty small men-of-war and privateers, besides twenty- 
 four transports, were collected, and an embargo for forty 
 days was laid by the legislature of Massachusetts on all 
 the shipping in the state, to obtain a supply of seamen. 
 The whole undertaking was prosecuted by the government 
 of Massachusetts, without the cooperation of the continental 
 forces. In consequence of this, much delay attended the 
 preparations, and the British received intelligence of the 
 design in season to take effective measures for their defence. 
 When the armament was ready for sailing from Boston, it 
 lay wind-bound in Nantasket Roads for some days, and 
 Colonel M'Lean, who commanded the British post on the 
 Penobscot, received intelligence of the departure of the 
 fleet from Boston, four days before its arrival in the bay. 
 The British were posted on a peninsula in Penobscot Bay, 
 and had thrown up an intrenchment on the isthmus. The 
 part toward the river was steep and difficult of access, and 
 v/as also defended by frigates and batteries, the principal 
 battery being situated about the centre of the peninsula. 
 14^ 
 
1Q2 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 It is possible that even the raw mihtia which composed 
 the land forces of the expedition might have succeeded in 
 capturing the place, had the American commanders pos- 
 sessed the requisite talent for the business. Unfortunately, 
 Lovell, their general, and Saltonstall, the commodore, were 
 deficient both in skill and resolution. The troops were 
 landed on the 28th of July, and should have been led 
 immediately to storm the British works. Lovell, on the 
 contrary, summoned the garrison to surrender; which 
 being refused, he spent two days in erecting a battery. 
 The British improved this time, and what followed during 
 an ineffectual cannonading, for finishing and strengthening 
 their works, till they were out of apprehension of being 
 stormed. The militia soon became tired of these tedious 
 proceedings, and manifested much anxiety to return to their 
 homes. Lovell, in consequence, M'^rote to the government 
 of Massachusetts, who applied to General Gates, then com- 
 manding at Providence, for a reinforcement of four hundred 
 continental troops. This request was granted, and a regi- 
 ment was ordered to the Penobscot. Lovell waited its 
 arrival in order to storm the enemy's works. But it was 
 already too late. Sir George Collier, who commanded the 
 British fleet at Sandy Hook, had received information, by a 
 Boston paper, of the expedition then on foot ; for no secrecy 
 appears to have been observed, during the preparations, as 
 to the design of the whole. He put to sea immediately, on 
 the 3d of August, and before the reinforcement had pro- 
 ceeded half way, he appeared with his squadron in Penob- 
 scot Bay. His unexpected arrival brought the Americans 
 at once between two fires. They abandoned their batteries 
 and reembarked. The fleet was drawn up in a crescent 
 across the river, as if to offer the enemy battle, but in reality 
 to check the advance of the British, by a show of resistance, 
 until the transports could escape up the river and land the 
 troops on the western shore. But the British commander 
 was too conscious of his own strength to permit this strat- 
 agem to succeed. As they approached, the Americans 
 made all sail in retreat. The British pursued, and the 
 American ships were all taken or destroyed. The miUtia 
 
SIEGE OF SAVANNAH. 1779. 163 
 
 escaped on shore, but found themselves in an uncultivated 
 wilderness, without provisions or guides. For many days 
 they roamed through these gloomy and pathless deserts, 
 losing several of their number, who perished in the woods, 
 till, exhausted with famine and fatigue, they at length 
 reached the settlements. Such was the disastrous issue of 
 an enterprise which might have succeeded under the con- 
 duct of skilful and energetic leaders. 
 
 We shall now return to the operations in the southern 
 states. Instead of pursuing General Prescott in his retreat 
 to Georgia, General Lincoln devoted all his powers and 
 strength to the defence of Charleston against any further 
 attack. After learning the success of D'Estaing in the 
 West Indies, Governor Rutledge, General Lincoln, and the 
 French consul, wrote to the count, inviting him to coop- 
 erate with the Americans in the reduction of Savannah. 
 The invitation was accepted, and, on the first of September, 
 1779, he arrived ofi' Charleston, with a fleet of twenty sail 
 of the line, two of fifty guns, and eleven frigates. A British 
 eighty-gun ship and three frigates were taken by surprise. 
 On the arrival of the French, Lincoln marched with all his 
 troops for Savannah. The fleet sailed to join him ; the 
 French troops were landed in ten or twelve days, and 
 D'Estaing summoned the town to surrender to the arms of 
 the king of France. Lincoln remonstrated against this, 
 as the Americans were acting in concert. The count 
 persisted, and General Prescott demanded a cessation of 
 hostilities for twenty-four hours, to deliberate, which was 
 granted. During this time, seven or eight hundred British 
 troops arrived from Beaufort, and Prescott determined to 
 defend the town to the last extremity. The count saw his 
 error, and consulted Lincoln, and they united their efforts 
 to carry the town by a regular siege. 
 
 On the 23d of September the allies broke ground, and 
 commenced their operations. On the 4th of October, they 
 opened their batteries, and began to play upon the town 
 with nine mortars, and fifty-four pieces of cannon, which 
 continued four or five days without intermission, but with- 
 out any apparent efl?ect. On the morning of the 8th, the 
 
164 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 enemy sallied out, and attempted to set fire to the abattis ; 
 but the materials were green, the weather moist, and the 
 attempt failed. General Prescott next requested that the 
 women and children might be removed ; but this was 
 refused, and the allies resolved to carry the town by storm. 
 On the morning of the 9th, the assault commenced. The 
 attack was well concerted, and bravely executed, by the 
 allies ; yet the fire of the enemy was so destructive, that 
 the troops gave way, after having planted the French and 
 American standards upon the British redoubts. At this 
 eventful moment the brave Count Pulaski fell, mortally 
 wounded, at the head of his legion, when charging the 
 enemy in their rear, in the full career of victory. The allies 
 supported this desperate conflict fifty-five minutes, under 
 a deadly fire from the enemy's batteries, and then made 
 good their retreat, with the loss of six hundred and thirty- 
 seven French, and two hundred and thirty-four continen- 
 tals, killed and wounded. The defence of the place was 
 well conducted by General Prescott, and he certainly 
 deserved the applause of his king and country. In consid- 
 eration of the bravery of Count Pulaski, congress resolved 
 that a monument be erected to his memory. 
 
 During the siege of Savannah, an event occurred honor- 
 able to an enterprising individual, and Avhich should not be 
 forgotten. A captain of Colonel Delancey's battalion of 
 refugee troops, with about one hundred royal regulars, 
 were posted about twenty-five miles from Savannah. Colo- 
 nel John White, of the Georgia line, was desirous of 
 capturing this party. His whole force, however, consisted 
 of only six volimtcers^ including his own servant. It was 
 only by a well-concerted stratagem that he could hope for 
 success. In the night, he kindled a number of fires in dif- 
 ferent places, and exhibited the appearance of a large 
 encampment. Having arranged his plan, he summoned the 
 captain to surrender, threatening his party with entire 
 destruction, by a superior force, in case of a refusal. 
 Deceived by the appearances, he immediately signified his 
 readiness to comply with the demand, and made no 
 defence. Captain White had now the satisfaction to see 
 
SIEGE OF CHARLESTON. 1780. 165 
 
 the whole of the prisoners, amounting to one hundred and 
 forty, divest themselves of their arms, and submit to him- 
 self and six volunteers. The prisoners were safely con- 
 ducted by the captors a distance of twenty-five miles, 
 during the night, to the nearest American post. 
 
 D'Estaing embarked his troops, and seven ships were 
 ordered for the Chesapeake, one of which only arrived at 
 the place of destination, the fleet having been dispersed by 
 a storm. The remainder steered for the West Indies. 
 Meantime, Sir Henry Clinton, expecting an attack on New 
 York by the French fleet, ordered General Pi got to evacu- 
 ate Rhode Island, which order was accomplished, and the 
 troops repaired to head-quarters at New York. Near the 
 close of December, as the coast was still clear. Sir Henry 
 planned an expedition to South Carolina. He embarked 
 seven thousand five hundred troops, under convoy of Ad- 
 miral Arbuthnot, and about the last of January, 1780, he 
 appeared off" Charleston. As one ordnance ship and sev- 
 eral transports had been wrecked and lost on the passage, 
 and several taken by the Americans, he was not prepared 
 to effect a landing until February 11th, when he landed 
 on the south side of John's Island, thirty miles from the 
 city. But this expedition had been foreseen by congress, 
 and preparations were made to meet it. Three continen- 
 tal frigates were to sail for the port, and a trusty officer 
 was despatched to the Havana, in order to obtain ships 
 and troops for the defence, promising, as a return, two 
 thousand men to cooperate with the Spaniards in the re- 
 duction of St. Augustine. 
 
 To the British force of seven or eight thousand men. 
 General Lincoln could oppose but two thousand four hun- 
 dred, near half of whom were militia ; yet with them he 
 hoped to defend the city. The continental frigates arrived, 
 and, landing their crews, guns, and equipments, prepared 
 to act on the defensive. The British admiral entered the 
 harbor with all the ships which could pass the bar. On 
 the 10th of April, Charleston was summoned to surrender, 
 which the commander refused. On the 12th, Clinton 
 opened his batteries on the town, and his fire was promptly 
 
166 
 
 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 returned during eight successive days. On the 18th, a 
 reinforcement arrived from New York, of three thousand 
 men, and the besiegers approached within three hundred 
 yards of the American hues. A council of war was called 
 by General Lincoln, at which it was made evident that a 
 retreat would be attended with many distressing incon- 
 veniences, if not altogether impracticable, and Lincoln 
 determined to continue the defence. But, shortly after, he 
 again summoned another council of war, and at the event- 
 ful moment, the flag of the enemy was seen to wave on 
 the walls of Fort Moultrie. Sullivan's Island fell into the 
 hands of the enemy on the 6th of May. 
 
 Sir Henry Clinton. 
 
 Clinton pushed his approaches, and, on the 8th, he opened 
 a correspondence with Lincoln ; renewed his summons, 
 offered terms, &c., and threatened to renew hostilities at 
 eight o'clock the next day. The eventful hour arrived, 
 and awful, solemn silence ensued; neither party fired a 
 gun ; all was anxious suspense for an hour, yet neither 
 party moved a proposition. At nine, the besieged opened 
 
DEFEAT OF BUFORD. — 1780, 167 
 
 a fire upon the enemy, who, in their turn, opened their 
 batteries upon the town, which threatened to bury it in 
 ruins. The town was repeatedly on fire, and many houses 
 were burnt ; at the same time the besiegers advanced their 
 last parallel to the distance of twenty yards, and prepared 
 for a general assault by sea and land. The critical mo- 
 ment had now arrived. The people, by their leaders, called 
 on General Lincoln to renew the conference, and make 
 terms with the enemy. The lieutenant-governor and coun- 
 cil enforced the request. The militia threw down their 
 arms, and all was submission. Lincoln renewed the con- 
 ference with the British commander, and accepted his 
 terms. Sir Henry complied, and the next day the garrison, 
 with all such as had borne arms, marched out, and became 
 prisoners of war on the 12th of May. The French consul, 
 and the subjects of France and Spain, were, with their 
 houses and effects, to be protected; but they themselves 
 were to be considered prisoners of war. 
 
 At this time. Colonel Buford was advancing through the 
 upper country, with a party of three hundred Virginians, 
 to the relief of Charleston. When the British Colonel 
 Tarleton learnt the position of this party, he advanced 
 with about seven hundred cavalry and mounted infantry, 
 by a forced march of one hundred and five miles in fifty- 
 four hours, and surprised them at the Waxhaws, and sum- 
 moned the colonel to surrender. A parley ensued ; and 
 during the conference, Tarleton' s men, surrounded the 
 party, and cut them to pieces, while begging for quarters. 
 Thirty-seven only were made prisoners, and the remainder 
 Avere either killed or wounded in the butchery. Lord Corn- 
 wallis highly applauded the act, and recommended Colonel 
 Tarleton specially to the favor of his sovereign. With this 
 blow, the state of South Carolina was subdued, and a reg- 
 ular British government was organized. 
 
 General Gates, then in Virginia, was appointed to suc- 
 ceed General Lincoln in the southern command. Georgia 
 and South Carolina were now wholly subdued, and the 
 enemy saw his way clear to advance into North Carolina. 
 To counteract these movements of Tarleton, and keep up 
 
168 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 the spirits of the people, Generals Marion and Sumter, at 
 the head of their flying parties, kept up a system of preda- 
 tory warfare, that greatly harassed and annoyed the enemy. 
 So sharp and desperate were their attacks, that, in one 
 instance. General Sumter reduced the Prince of Wales' 
 regiment, from the number of two hundred and seventy- 
 eight, to nine. While the brave Sumter was thus harassing 
 the enemy, and animating the zeal of the inhabitants, a 
 considerable force was traversing the middle 'states south- 
 ward, for the relief of the British troops,. 
 
 Washington with his army still lay before New York. On 
 the 6th of June, 1780, the British generals, Knyphausen, 
 Robertson, Tryon and Sterling, crossed from Staten Island 
 into New Jersey, at the head of five thousand regulars. 
 On the 7th, they advanced to Connecticut Farms, distant 
 about five miles, in quest of the Rev. James Caldwell, 
 whose patriotic zeal had rendered him peculiarly obnox- 
 ious ; wantonly shot his wife in her own house, then burnt 
 the house and meeting-house, with about a dozen other 
 dwelling-houses. The royal army next attempted to ad- 
 vance to Springfield, but were checked by Colonel Dayton, 
 supported by General Maxwell, and they fled in disorder. 
 Washington considered this movement as a feint, to open 
 the way for an attack upon West Point. He accordingly 
 detached General Greene, at the head of a strong party, to 
 watch the motions of the enemy. Washington, learning 
 from Greene th^t Springfield was their object of destina- 
 tion, sent forward a detachment to support Greene. The 
 enemy advanced upon Springfield at five in the morning 
 of the 23d of June. Greene disputed every pass valiantly, 
 but obstinate bravery was constrained to yield to superior 
 numbers. Greene retired to tlie high grounds, and the 
 enemy gained the town, which they destroyed. The com- 
 mander-in-chief, sensible of the worth and talents of Gen- 
 eral Greene, returned the thanks of himself and his suffering 
 country to him and the men under his command. But this 
 skirmish did not pass off" so lightly. The militia rallied in 
 considerable force, and drove the enemy to Staten Island, 
 in a precipitate retreat. 
 
ARRIVAL OF DE TERNAY AND ROCHAMBEAU. 1780. 169 
 
 La Fayette, who had been to France on leave of absence, 
 now returned to America. He had negotiated for supplies 
 from the French government, and an armament was soon 
 to follow him. On the 10th of July, a French fleet arrived 
 at Newport, Rhode Island, consisting of two ships of eighty 
 guns, one of seventy-four, four of sixty-four, two frigates 
 of forty, a cutter of twenty, an hospital ship pierced for 
 sixty-four, one bomb-ship, and thirty-two transports, under 
 the command of the Chevalier de Ternay. They brought 
 regiments of land forces, together with the legion of De 
 Luzerne, and a battalion of artillery ; in the whole, about 
 six thousand, under the command of Lieutenant-General 
 Count de Rochambeau. 
 
 General Heath received the count at his landing, and 
 put him and his troops in possession of the island, where 
 they were handsomely accommodated. The general assem- 
 bly, then in session at Newport, by their special committee, 
 presented the count with a complimentary address; to which 
 the count replied with assurances that a much greater force 
 would soon follow him, and that his whole powers would 
 be devoted to the service of the United States. "The 
 French troops," added the count, "are under the strictest 
 discipline, and, acting under the orders of General Wash- 
 ington, will live with the Americans as brethren. I am 
 highly sensible of the marks of respect shown me by tlie 
 assembly, and beg leave to assure them that, as brethren, 
 not only my life, but the lives of the troops under my com- 
 mand, are devoted to their service." La Fayette witnessed 
 these respectful attentions to his countrymen, and, in honor 
 to our French allies, Washington directed, in his general 
 orders, that black and white cockades should be worn as 
 a compliment. 
 
 After the fall of Charleston, Clinton committed the care 
 of the southern states to Lord Cornwallis, with four thou- 
 sand men, and returned to New York. The arrival of the 
 French fleet at Rhode Island, gave Admiral Arbuthnot 
 considerable alarm. His whole force amounted to but four 
 ships of the line. But he was joined by Admiral Graves, 
 with six line-of-battle ships, and felt himself secure from 
 15 
 
170 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 attack in New York. With this reinforcement Clinton 
 concerted an attack on the French fleet at Newport, and 
 immediately embarked eight thousand troops. The fleet 
 put into Huntiugton Bay, on Long Island. The country 
 was alarmed, and the militia turned out in force. But 
 Washington made a diversion, by moving his whole force 
 down to Kingsbridge, and threatening New York. The 
 plan succeeded, and the British returned to New York in 
 haste. 
 
 In the south, Lord Cornwallis, having settled the gov- 
 ernment of ^^outh Carolina, pre})ared to subdue the rebel- 
 lious spirit of the North Carolinians. General Gates, with 
 a very small army, moved across Deep river, on the 27th 
 of July, 1780, to watch the motions of the enemy. On the . 
 6th of August, he was joined by General Caswell, at the 
 head of a fine body of North Carolina militia, who were in 
 good spirits, but under bad discipline ; and he encamped 
 at the Cross Roads, on his way to Camden. On the 13th, 
 he moved forward his army to Clermont, where he was 
 joined by Brigadier-General Stevens, with about seven 
 hundred Virginia militia. An express also arrived, inform-i 
 ing him that Colonel Sumter would join him at Camden, 
 with a detachment of South Carolina militia, and that an 
 escort of clothing, ammunition and stores was on its way 
 from Charleston to Camden, for the use of the garrison 
 posted there. Gates immediately detached Lieutenant- 
 Colonel Woodford, at the head of the Maryland line, con- 
 sisting of one hundred infantry, a company of artillery, 
 with two brass field-pieces, and about three hundred North 
 Carolina mihtia, to join Sumter, reduce the forts, and inter- 
 cept the convoy. Gates prepared to support Sumter with 
 his whole force, of about four thousand. 
 
 But Cornwallis had anticipated this movement, and 
 entered Camden the day previous, designing to attack 
 Gates in his camp at Clermont. Botli generals put their 
 armies in motion early in the evening of the 15th of August, 
 and their advance parties met in the woods of Camden, 
 about two o'clock in the morning of the 16th. A conflict 
 ensued ; the Americans gave way in some disorder, but 
 
BATTLE OF CAMDEN. 1780. 171 
 
 they soon recovered, and a skirmishing continued through 
 the night. When morning appeared, both generals made 
 their dispositions to contest the field. An action com- 
 menced; the regular troops were firm, but the militia, being 
 overpowered by the British bayonets, gave way, and dis- 
 persed as they fled. The victory was complete, and the 
 American general and his regulars were abandoned to their 
 fate. Several parties of militia, who were advancing to 
 join the army, turned their arms against the fugitives, and 
 thus completed the overthrow. The pursuit continued for 
 more than twenty miles, and the road was strewed with the 
 fragments of this routed army, together with the wounded, 
 the dead, and the dying. A party of horse, supported by 
 two hundred infantry, at the distance of more than eighty 
 miles from the scene of action, upon the first intelligence, 
 abandoned their ground, and sought safety by flight. The 
 brave Baron de Kalb fell in this action, much and deserv- 
 edly lamented. He was at the head of the Maryland 
 troops, and se^nd in command. Congress ordered that a 
 monument should be raised to his memory at Annapolis. 
 
 The British, however, reaped no permanent advantage 
 from their victory at Camden. Their losses and want of 
 supplies, in a sickly season, hindered them from following 
 up the stroke. At length, in September, Cornwallis took up 
 his march from Camden, towards Charlottetown, in North 
 Carolina. To hold South Carolina in check, and to preserve 
 the way open to retreat thither, if necessary, he had not 
 contented himself with leaving a strong garrison in Charles- 
 ton. Several detachments were distributed upon different 
 points of the frontier. Colonel BroAvn was posted at Au- 
 gusta, Cruger at Ninety-six, and Trumbull at Camden. 
 Cornwallis then advanced with the main body of his army 
 towards Columbia, while Tarleton, with the greater part 
 of the cavalry, passed the Wateree, and ascended along its 
 eastern bank. The two corps were to re-unite at Char- 
 lottetown, where they arrived about the last of September. 
 Cornwallis, however, soon perceived that he had under- 
 taken a far more arduous enterprise than it had seemed at 
 first. The inhabitants were not only hostile, but most 
 
172 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 vigilant and audacious in attacking detached parties, and 
 cutting ofl' the British suppHes : hence the royaUsts could 
 not sally into the open country, except in strong bodies. 
 The American colonel, Sumter, always enterprising and 
 prompt to seize any occasion for infesting the British, 
 seemed to be everywhere at once upon the froiUiers of the 
 two Carolinas. Another partisan corps, of similar charac- 
 ter, had just been formed, under the direction of Colonel 
 Marion. At length, Cornwallis received the alarming intel- 
 ligence, that Colonel Clarke had assembled a numerous 
 body of mountaineers, from the upper parts of the Caroli- 
 nas, a most hardy and warlike race of men. The British 
 thus found themselves surrounded by clouds of enemies, 
 and more in the situation of a besieged army, than in that 
 of troops marching upon an offensive expedition. 
 
 Colonel Ferguson had been detached by Cornwallis to 
 the frontiers of North Carolina, to encourage the tories to 
 take up arms. A considerable number had repaired to his 
 standard, but the greater part of them were the most prof- 
 ligate and ferocious of men. Believing any enormity jus- 
 tified by the sanction of their chief, they perpetrated the 
 most atrocious and wanton cruelties, massacring indis- 
 criminately almost every person that fell in their way, and 
 laying waste the country with fire. These horrid excesses 
 inflamed the coldest hearts with the desire of vengeance. 
 The mountaineers were transported with fury, and de- 
 scended into the low country in torrents, arming themselves 
 with whatever weapons came within their reach, and 
 foaming with rage at the name of Ferguson. With loud 
 cries they called upon their chiefs to lead them upon the 
 track of this bloody monster, that they might cause him to 
 expiate the ravages and slaughter with which he had 
 marked his career. Each of them carried, besides his arms, 
 a wallet and a blanket. They slept on the naked eartli in 
 the open air. The water of the rivulet slaked their thirst, 
 and they fed on the cattle which they drove along with 
 them, or the game they hunted in the forest. Thus they 
 ranged the country, under seven or eight different leaders, 
 everywhere demanding Ferguson with loud exclamations, 
 
BATTLE OF KINg's BIOUNTAIN. — 1780. ITS 
 
 and at every step swearing to exterminate him from the 
 face of the earth. At length their pursumg efforts brought 
 them in sight of their enemy. 
 
 On the hne which divides the two Carolinas, near the 
 head waters of the Santee, is a woody height with a circu- 
 lar base, called King's JMountain, which commands a wide 
 plain surrounding it. Ferguson was found posted upon 
 this height, waiting the approach of his enemies, whom he 
 confidently expected to defeat and disperse, should they 
 venture to attack him. The mountaineers were too thirsty 
 for vengeance to practise any delay in the assault. They 
 fell upon his troops at once, drove in the advanced guard, 
 and then, formmg in several columns, rushed forward to 
 attack the main body on the summit of the mountain. 
 The attack and the defence were equally obstinate; the 
 mountaineers, some from behind trees, and others under 
 the cover of the rocks, maintained a brisk fire. At length 
 a body of them arrived upon the brow of the eminence. 
 The British repulsed them with the bayonet, but were the 
 next moment attacked by another body which came up on 
 another side. The bayonets were turned upon the new 
 assailants, who receded in their turn, till the arrival of a 
 third body gave the British a fresh occupation. In this 
 manner, the battle was kept up for an hour, when the 
 Americans summoned Ferguson to surrender. He obsti- 
 nately refused, and the battle was renewed and continued 
 till Ferguson was slain sword in hand. The summit of 
 the mountain was now completely overrun by the Ameri- 
 cans ; and his successor in the command, finding further 
 resistance hopeless, advised his men to lay down their 
 arms, which was done. » The carnage had been dreadful ; 
 the killed and wounded amounting to five or six hundred 
 on the part of the British. Two hundred escaped during 
 the action. Eleven hundred prisoners and fifteen hundred 
 stand of arms were taken. The loss of the Americans was 
 trifling, with the exception of that of Colonel Williams, one 
 of their leaders. The British prisoners were well treated, 
 but the utmost severity was displayed toward the loyalists, 
 several of whom were hung on the field of battle, as a repri- 
 15* 
 
174 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. * 
 
 sal for the execution of a number of the patriots who had 
 been put to death in a similar manner by the loyalists at 
 Camden, Ninety-six and Augusta. 
 
 The effects of this victory were most important. The 
 loss of the whole of Ferguson's corps was a severe blow to 
 the British. The loyalists no longer manifested the same 
 zeal to join the army of Cornwallis, and he found his forces 
 diminishing. He was, in consequence, compelled to relin- 
 quish for a time the invasion of North Carolina, where the 
 American cause was decidedly in the ascendant. He 
 therefore resolved to maintain himself in South Carolina 
 till he could receive reinforcements. In November, Gen- 
 eral Sumter defeated the British in two actions at Broad 
 river and Blacks tock ; and with these successes the 
 Americans closed the year 1780 in the Carolinas. 
 
 Anecdotes of individual adventure and suffering often 
 display, in a much more lively and impressive manner, the 
 nature of hostile transactions, than general narratives of 
 greater events. Among numerous others, we may select 
 the capture of General Wadsworth, who commanded a 
 body of Massachusetts state troops at Camden, in Maine, in 
 1780. The time for which the men had enlisted having 
 expired, Wadsworth dismissed them to their homes, reserv- 
 ing only six as a guard. A neighboring inhabitant com- 
 municated the knowledge of this to the officer who com- 
 manded the British forces at Penobscot, and a body of 
 twenty-five soldiers was secretly despatched to make 
 Wadsworth prisoner. They landed within four miles of 
 the general's quarters, concealed themselves in the house 
 of a Methodist preacher, — a professed friend to him, but in 
 reality a traitor, — and late at night suddenly attacked his 
 house. The sentinel gave the alarm, and a soldier running 
 out, the assailants got possession of the door, and entered 
 the house. They soon overpowered the guard and became 
 masters of all the premises, except the room in which the 
 general with his wife and another lady had barricaded 
 themselves. He had a pair of pistols, a blunderbuss 
 and a musket, which he employed with great dexterity, 
 being determined to defend his life to the last moment. 
 
ADVENTURES OF GENERAL WADSWORTH. — 1779. 175 
 
 With the pistols and musket, which he discharged several 
 times, he defended the window and door of the room, and 
 drove away the enemy who were attempting to enter. 
 He next resorted to his bayonet, with which he kept them 
 at bay till he received a ball through his left arm, when he 
 was forced to surrender. The house exhibited striking 
 evidences of the severity of the conflict. Not a window 
 had escaped destruction ; the doors were all broken down ; 
 two of the rooms were set on fire, the floors covered with 
 blood, and on one of them lay a brave old soldier, danger- 
 ously wounded, and begging for death that he might be 
 released from misery. The anxiety of the general's wife 
 was inexpressible, and his own was greatly increased by 
 the uncertainty of the fate of his little son, only five years 
 old, who had been exposed to all the danger from the firing 
 into the house ; he, however^ escaped unhurt. 
 
 Wadsworth was at first exposed to great insult and 
 abuse from his captors, who were enraged against him for 
 his success in baffling their designs. He was marched 
 ofl" to the British quarters, where he received more civil 
 treatment, but was kept in close confinement. He 
 requested to be exchanged or sent home on parole, but this 
 was refused, and shortly after he learned that, on the retarn 
 of a privateer then on a cruise, he was to be sent to 
 England. Major Burton, another American prisoner, was 
 confined in company with Wadsworth, and they resolved 
 to attempt their escape. They were confined in a grated 
 room in the officers' barracks within the fort. The walls 
 of the fortress, exclusive of the depth of the ditch, were 
 twenty feet high, and guarded with paling andchevauxde 
 frise. Two sentinels kept watch over the prisoners, and 
 all the issues of the fort were beset by guards. An escape 
 seemed impossible. 
 
 By great industry, seconded by the utmost caution, they 
 succeeded in cutting through the wooden partition of their 
 room, artfully concealing their work at the end of every 
 day's labor. At the end of three weeks, the work was so 
 far completed that an opening might be made whenever a 
 favorable moment for escape offered. On the evening of 
 
176 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 the 18th of June, a heavy storm of rain, with thunder and 
 hghtning, afforded them this opportunity. Under cover of 
 the darkness of the night and the noise of the rain and 
 thunder, they succeeded in breaking out of the room, 
 traversed the passages of the building, and reached the 
 wall of the fort. Here they were obliged to creep along 
 among the sentry-boxes at the moment when the relief 
 was shifting sentinel. Having gained a favorable spot on 
 the top of the wall, they let themselves down by the rope 
 which they had made by cutting their blankets into strips. 
 They landed in safety, and groped their way in the thick 
 darkness among the rocks, stumps, and bushes, till they 
 reached the cove, which was a mile in breadth. By great 
 good fortune the tide was out, leaving the water only three 
 feet deep. Wads worth, who had lost his companion in the 
 dark, crossed the water in safety, and, proceeding through 
 the woods till about seven miles from the fort, had the good 
 fortune to rejoin him. It was now necessary to cross the 
 Penobscot river, which could not be forded, and, very 
 fortunately, they found a canoe, with oars, on the bank, in 
 which they immediately embarked. While on the river, 
 they discovered a British barge, which had been sent from 
 the fort in pursuit of them; but, by hard rowing, and taking 
 advantage of their knowledge of the windings of the 
 stream, they escaped the pursuit, and reached the western 
 shore in safety. After wandering in the wilderness for 
 several days and nights, exposed to extreme fatigue, and 
 with no other sustenance than a little dry bread and meat, 
 which they carried in their pockets, they reached the 
 settlements on the river St. George, where they were safe 
 from the pursuit of their enemies. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 American Revolution. — Treason of Arnold — Caflure arid executionof 
 Andre. — Adventures of Scrgearil-Major Champe — Arnold'' s invasion of 
 Virginia — His marauding expedition to Connecticut — Capture of Neio 
 London — Catastrophe of Fori Grisioold — Revolt of the Pennsylvania 
 line — Foreign relations of the United States — Affairs in Florida and 
 Louisiana — Capture of Mr. Laurens — Mission of John Adams ts 
 Holland. 
 
 During the year 17S0, an occurrence took place without 
 a parallel in American history, and which was near lead- 
 ing the affairs of the colonists to the brink of ruin. This 
 was the treason of General Arnold, who deserted the 
 American cause, sold himself to the enemies of his country, 
 and engaged in the British service. He was a man with- 
 out principle from the beginning; and, before his treachery 
 was discovered, he had sunk a character, raised by impet- 
 uous valor attended with success, without being the pos- 
 sessor of any other intrinsic merit. He had accumulated 
 a fortune by peculation, and squandered it discreditably, 
 long before he formed the plan to betray his country. 
 Montreal he had plundered in haste ; but in Philadelphia 
 lie went to work deliberately to seize everything he could 
 lay hands on, which had been the property of the disaf- 
 fected party, and converted it to his own use. He entered 
 into contracts for speculating and privateering, and at the 
 same time made exorbitant demands on congress for com- 
 pensation for his services. In his speculations he was 
 disappointed by the common failure of such adventures; 
 in the other attempt he was rebuffed and mortified by the 
 commissioners appointed to examine his accounts, who 
 curtailed a great part of his demands as unjust, and for 
 which he deserved severe reprehension. Involved in debt 
 
178 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 by his extravagance, and reproached by his creditors, his 
 resentment wronght him up to a determination of revenge 
 for this pubhc ignominy. 
 
 The command of the important post at West Point, 
 on the Hudson, had been given to Arnold. No one sus- 
 pected, notwithstanding the censures that had fallen upon 
 him, that he had a heart base enough treacherously to 
 betray his military trust. Who made the first advances 
 to negotiation, is uncertain ; but it appeared, on a scrutiny, 
 tha't Arnold had proposed overtures to Clinton, character- 
 istic of his own baseness, and not very honorable to the 
 British commander, if viewed apart from the usages of 
 war, which too frequently sanction the blackest crimes. 
 His treacherous proposals were listened to, and Clinton 
 authorized Major Andre, his adjutant-general, a young 
 officer of great integrity and worth, to hold a personal and 
 secret conference with the traitor. Andre and Arnold had 
 
 Old Fort FuUiam, West Poitit. 
 
 kept np a friendly correspondence on some trivial matters, 
 previous to their personal interview. Washington having 
 been called by urgent business to Hartford, the conspira- 
 tors considered this a good occasion for the accomplish- 
 ment of their design. A meeting was agreed upon between 
 
TREACHERY OF ARNOLD. 1780. 
 
 179 
 
 Arnold and Andre. To effect this purpose, the British 
 sloop of war Vulture moved up the Hudson to a conve- 
 nient spot not far from West Point, and, on the 21st of Sep- 
 tember. Andre landed from her and passed the night on 
 shore in secret conference with Arnold. The dawn com- 
 ing on before they had concluded their deliberations, Andre 
 was concealed in the house of an American, named Smith, 
 who was secretly a tory. The following night he attempt- 
 ed to return to the Vulture, but the boatmen refused to 
 take him on board, as she had shifted her position in con- 
 sequence of the shot fired at her from the shore. It became 
 necessary for him to take a land journey to New York. 
 He disguised himself in Smith's clothes, having previously 
 worn his regimentals, and, with a horse and passport, 
 under the name of John Anderson, furnished him by 
 Arnold, set out on his way down the river. He passed 
 several guards and posts of the Americans, and already 
 imagined himself out of danger, when accident, combined 
 with his own want of caution, threw him unexpectedly 
 into their hands. 
 
 Capture of Andre. 
 
 Three of the American militia, named John Paulding. 
 
180 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 David Williams and Isaac Van Wert, chanced to be recon- 
 noitring the country in the neighborhood of Tarrytown, 
 a village not far from the British posts, when Andre was 
 passing through that place. One of them presented his 
 musket and commanded him to stand, Andre, instead of 
 producing his passport, most inconsiderately declared him- 
 self a British officer, and requested not to be detained, as 
 he had important business. They ordered him to dismount ; 
 on which he exhibited Arnold's passport; but the militia 
 men, being suspicious that something was wrong, took him 
 aside among the bushes and proceeded to search him. 
 They found papers concealed in his boots, and at once pro- 
 nounced him a spy. Andre now discovered, for the first 
 time, that he was in the hands of his enemies. He offered 
 the men his gold watch, horse, and one hundred guineas, 
 to be released. They replied that ten thousand guineas 
 would not bribe them ; and immediately carried him off 
 to Colonel Jameson, who commanded the advance post. 
 
 On examining Andre's papers, they were found to con- 
 tain, in the hand-writing of Arnold, the most exact accounts 
 relative to the American forces, their numbers, equipments 
 and magazines, the garrison of West Point, the various 
 military positions, and the best modes of attacking them. 
 Jameson was so dull a man that these overwhelming 
 proofs never caused him to suspect Arnold's treachery. 
 He sent the papers to General Washington, and at the same 
 time despatched an express to Arnold, acquainting him that 
 Anderson was taken, with his papers. Instead of keeping 
 Andre in close custody, he sent him also to Arnold ; and 
 these two conspirators would have made their escape to- 
 gether, but for the presence of mind of Major Tallmadge, 
 the second in command under Jameson, who, suspecting 
 the treason of Arnold, prevailed upon his colonel to bring 
 back the prisoner, before he had reached West Point. 
 Arnold, the moment he received the letter announcing the 
 capture oi Anderson, sprang up from the table at which he 
 was seated at breakfast, ran down to the shore, and, throw- 
 ing himself into a'boat, rowed on board the Vulture. Thus 
 the author of this base scheme of treachery escaped, and 
 
TREACHERY OF ARNOLD. 1780. 181 
 
 left the unfortunate instrument of his treason to expiate 
 the crime with his Ufe. 
 
 As soon as Andre found no hopes of escape remained 
 for himself, he made a virtue of necessity, and announced 
 himself as the adjutant-general of the British army. The 
 whole plot was thus apparent. The public was struck with 
 amazement. Nobody had ever suspected Arnold capable 
 of such a deed of monstrous villany. The officers of the 
 American army were in doubt whom they should trust, and 
 Washington was filled with anxiety lest the plot should 
 have extensive ramifications. After much investigation, 
 however, it was satisfactorily ascertained that Arnold had 
 no accomplices, and a sentiment of pious gratitude was 
 .felt throughout the country, at the happy providence 
 which had saved the nation in this perilous conjuncture. 
 
 The traitor Arnold, immediately on his arrival on board 
 the Vulture, had the eff"rontery to write a letter to Wash- 
 ington, declaring that he abandoned the cause of the rev- 
 olution out of pure pat7-iotism ! and declaiming against the 
 ingratitude of the country, which had not rewarded him 
 according to his deserts, — as if the American people had 
 mountains of gold to heap upon him. He requested that 
 his wife might be sent to him ; and, in a second letter, no 
 less insolent, demanded the release of Andre. Mrs. Arnold 
 was allowed to join her husband, but Andre was retained 
 and put upon his trial before a court-martial, as a spy. 
 Andre, disdaining all subterfuge and evasion, and studying 
 only to place his character in a fair light, voluntarily con- 
 fessed many facts which he might have kept secret. He 
 made no attempt to palliate anything relating to himself, 
 while he concealed with scrupulous nicety whatever might 
 endanger the safety of others. The court were extremely 
 struck with his candor and magnanimity, and showed how 
 much they felt for his perilous situation. But, after a full 
 examination of the circumstances, they declared, unani- 
 mously, that Major Andre, having been taken in disguise, 
 within the American lines, ought to be considered a spy 
 from the enemy, and, conformably to the laws of war and 
 the usage of nations, he ought to suffer death. Sir Henry 
 16 
 
182 
 
 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 Clinton made the most unwearied etTorts to procure the 
 release of Andre, but his arguments were entirely without 
 weight, and his appeals to the humanity of Washington 
 were judged to proceed with a very ill grace from the man 
 under whose authority were perpetrated the horrors of the 
 Jersey prison-ship. 
 
 Major Andre. 
 
 Andre was hanged as a spy, at Tappaan, on the hanks 
 of the Hudson, on the 2d of October, 1780. The fortitude, 
 equanimity and gentle deportment which he exhibited on 
 tlie occasion, touched the hearts of the spectators. "Bear 
 witness," said he, "that I die like a brave man." Thus 
 perished, in the prime of life, ah accomplished and amiable 
 man, who was esteemed and beloved wherever he was 
 known. The stern rules of military discipline, and the 
 safety of the country, allowed no mitigation of his hard 
 fate, which called forth the sympathies both of his friends 
 and enemies. They thought only of his youth, accom- 
 plishments and amiable character, and were willing to 
 overlook that he was rash and presumptuous, and had 
 engaged in a desperate design which he had not the skill 
 to accomplish. 
 
ADVENTURE OF CHAMPE. — 17S0. 183 
 
 After the capture and conviction of Andre, Washington 
 conceived the project of capturing Arnold, then in New 
 York, and releasing Andre. He sent for Major Lee to his 
 quarters, to consult with him on the subject, and procure 
 a man for the dangerous enterprise. "I have sent for 
 you," said Washington, "in the expectation that you have 
 some one in your corps who is willing to undertake a deli- 
 cate and hazardous project. Whoever comes forward will 
 confer great obligations upon me personally, and, in behalf 
 of the United States, I will reward him amply. No time 
 is to be lost ; he must proceed, if possible, to-night. I in- 
 tend to seize Arnold, and save Andre." Major Lee named 
 a sergeant-major of his corps, by the name of Cliampe, — a 
 native of Virginia, — a man full of bone and muscle, with a 
 countenance grave, thoughtful, and taciturn, — of tried cour- 
 age, and inflexible perseverance. Champe was sent for by 
 Lee, and the plan proposed. This was, for him to desert — 
 to escape to New York — to appear friendly to the enemy — 
 to watch Arnold, and, upon some fit opportunity, with the 
 assistance of some one whom Champe could trust, to seize 
 him, and conduct him to a place on the river, appointed, 
 where boats should be in readiness to bear thern away. 
 
 Champe listened to the plan attentively ; but, with the 
 spirit of a man of honor and integrity, replied — " that it 
 was not danger nor difliculty that deterred him from 
 immediately accepting the proposal, but the igtiominy of 
 desertion ., and the hypocrisy of enlisting loith the enemy f^ 
 To these objections Lee replied, that, although he would 
 appear to desert, yet, as he obeyed the call of his com- 
 mander-in-chief, his departure could not be considered as 
 criminal, and that, if he sufl^sred in reputation for a time, 
 the matter would one day be explained to his credit. As 
 to the second objection, it was urged, that to bring such a 
 man as Arnold to justice, — loaded with guilt as he was, — 
 and to save Andre, — so young, so accomplished, so be- 
 loved, — to achieve so much good in the cause of his coun- 
 try, was more than sufficient to balance a wrong, existing 
 only in appearance. 
 
 The objections of Champe were at length surmounted, 
 
184 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 and he accepted the service. It was now eleven o'clock at 
 night. With his instructions in his pocket, the sergeant 
 returned to camp, and, taking his cloak, valise, and order- 
 ly-book, drew his horse from the picket, and mounted, 
 putting himself upon fortune. Scarcely had half an hour 
 elapsed, before Captain Games, the officer of the day, 
 waited upon Lee, who was vainly attempting to rest, and 
 informed him that one of the patrol had fallen in with a 
 dragoon, who, being challenged, put spurs to his horse and 
 escaped. Lee, hoping to conceal the flight of Champe, or 
 at least to delay pursuit, complained of fatigue, and told 
 the captain that the patrol had probably mistaken a coun- 
 tryman for a dragoon. Carnes, however, was not tlius to 
 be quieted ; and he withdrew to assemble his corps. On 
 examination, it was found that Champe was absent. The 
 captain now returned, and acquainted Lee with the dis- 
 covery, adding, that he had detached a party to pursue the 
 deserter, and begged the major's written orders. After 
 making as much delay as practicable without exciting 
 suspicion, Lee delivered his orders — in which he directed 
 the party to take Champe if possible. " Bring him alive," 
 said he, " that he may suffer in the presence of the army ; 
 but kill him if he resists, or if he escapes after being 
 taken." 
 
 A shower of rain fell soon after Champe's departure, 
 which enabled the pursuing dragoons to take the trail of 
 his horse, — his shoes, in common with those of the horses of 
 the army, being made in a peculiar form, and each having 
 a private mark, which was to be seen in the path. Mid- 
 dleton, the leader of the pursuing party, left the camp a 
 few minutes past twelve, so that Champe had the start of 
 but little more than an hour — a period by far shorter than 
 had been contemplated. During the night, the dragoons 
 Avere often delayed in the necessary halts to examine the 
 road ; but, on the coming of morning, the impression of the 
 horse's shoes was so apparent, that they pressed on with 
 rapidity. Some miles above Bergen, — a village three miles 
 north of New York, on the opposite side of the Hudson, — 
 on ascending a hill, Champe was descried, not more than 
 
ADVENTURE OF CHAMPE. 1780. 
 
 185 
 
 half a mile distant. Fortunately, Champe descried his 
 pursuers at the same moment, and, conjecturing their 
 object, put spurs to his horse, with the hope of escape. By- 
 taking a ditferent road, Champe was, for a time, lost sight 
 of — but, on approaching the river, he was again descried. 
 Aware of his danger, he now lashed his valise, containing 
 his clothes and,orderly-book, to his shoulders, and prepared 
 himself to plunge into the river, if necessary. Swift was 
 his flight, and swift the pursuit. Middleton and his party 
 were withhi a few hundred yards, when Champe threw 
 himself from his horse and plunged into the river, calling 
 
 ^iictiiture of Sergeant-Major Champe. 
 
 aloud upon some British galleys, at no great distance, for 
 help. A boat was instantly despatched to the sergeant's 
 assistance, and a fire commenced upon the pursuers. 
 Champe was taken on board, and soon after carried to 
 New York, with a letter from the captain of the galley, 
 stating the past scene, all of which he had witnessed. The 
 pursuers, having recovered the sergeant's horse and cloak, 
 returned to camp, where they arrived about three o'clock 
 the next day. On their appearance with the well-known 
 horse, the soldiers made the air resound with the acclama- 
 tions that the scoundrel was killed. The agony of Lee, 
 16* 
 
186 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 for a momentj was past description, lest the faithful and 
 intrepid Champe had fallen. But the truth soon relieved 
 his fears, and he repaired to Washington to impart to him 
 the success, thus far, of his plan. 
 
 Soon after the arrival of Champe in New York, he was 
 sent to Sir Henry Clinton, who treated him kindly, but 
 detained him more than an hour in asking him questions, 
 to answer some of which, without exciting suspicion, re- 
 quired all the art the sergeant was master of He suc- 
 ceeded, however, and Sir Henry gave him a couple of 
 guineas, and recommended him to Arnold, who was wish- 
 ing to procure American recruits. Arnold received him 
 kindly, and proposed to him to join his legion. Champe, 
 however, expressed his wish to retire from war ; but as- 
 sured the general, that, if he should change his mind, he 
 would enlist. Champe found means to communicate to 
 Lee an account of his adventures ; but, unfortunately, he 
 could not svicceed in taking Arnold, as was wished, before 
 the execution of Andre. Ten days before Champe brouglit 
 his project to a conclusion, Lee received from him his final 
 communication, appointing the third subsequent night for 
 a party of dragoons to meet him at Hoboken, opposite New 
 York, when he hoped to deliver Arnold to the officers. 
 Champe had enlisted into Arnold's legion, from which time 
 he had every opportunity he could wish to attend to the 
 habits of the general. He discovered that it was his cus- 
 tom to return home about twelve every night, and that, 
 previously to going to bed, he always visited the garden. 
 During this visit, the conspirators were to seize him, and, 
 being prepared with a gag, they were to apply the same 
 instantly. 
 
 Adjoining the house in which Arnold resided, and in 
 which it was designed to seize and gag him, Champe had 
 taken off several of the palings and replaced them, so that 
 with ease, and without noise, he could readily open his way 
 to the adjoining alley. Into this alley he intended to con- 
 \'^ey his prisoner, aided by his companion, one of two asso- 
 ciates who had been introduced by the friend to whom 
 Champe had been originally made known by letter from 
 
ADVENTURE OF CHAMPE. — 1780. 187 
 
 the commander-in-chief, and with whose aid and counsel 
 he had so far conducted the enterprise. His other associate 
 was with the boat, prepared, at one of the wharves on the 
 Hudson river, to receive the party. Champe and his friend 
 intended to place themselves each under Arnold's shoulder, 
 and thus to bear him through the most unfrequented alleys 
 and streets to the boat, representing Arnold, in case of 
 being questioned, as a drunken soldier, whom they were 
 conveying to the guard-house. When arrived at the boat, 
 the difficulties would be all surmounted, there being no 
 danger nor obstacle in passing to the Jersey shore. These 
 particulars, as soon as made known to Lee, were commu- 
 nicated to the commander-in-chief, who was highly grati- 
 fied with the much-desired intelligence. He desired Major 
 Lee to meet Champe, and to take care that Arnold should 
 not be hurt. 
 
 The day arrived, and Lee, with a party of accoutred 
 horses, (one for Arnold, one for the sergeant, and the third 
 for his associate, who was to assist in securing Arnold,) 
 left the camp, never doubting the success of the enterprise, 
 from the tenor of the last received communication. The 
 party reached Hoboken about midnight, where they were 
 concealed in the adjoining wood — Lee, with three dragoons, 
 stationing himself near the shore of the river. Hour after 
 hour passed, but no boat approached. At length the day 
 broke, and the major retired to his party, and, with his led 
 liorses, returned to the camp, when he proceeded to head- 
 quarters to inform the general of the much-lamented dis- 
 appointment, as mortifying as inexplicable. Washington, 
 liaving perused Champe' s plan and communication, had 
 indulged the presumption, that, at length, the object of his 
 keen and constant pursuit was sure of execution, and did 
 not dissemble the joy which such a conviction produced. 
 He was chagrined at the issue, and apprehended that his 
 faithful sergeant must have been detected in the last scene 
 of his tedious and difficult enterprise. 
 
 In a few days, Lee received an anonymous letter from 
 Champe's patron and friend, informing him, that, on the 
 day preceding the night fixed for the execution of the plot, 
 
188 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 Arnold had removed his quarters to another part of the 
 town, to superintend the embarkation of troops, preparing, 
 as was rumored, for an expedition to be directed by him- 
 self; and that the American legion, consisting chiefly of 
 American deserters, had been transferred from their bar- 
 racks to one of the transports, it being apprehended that if 
 left on shore until the expedition was ready many of them 
 might desert. Thus it happened that John Champe, in- 
 stead of crossing the Hudson that night, was safely depos- 
 ited on board one of the fleet of transports, from whence he 
 never departed until the troops under Arnold landed in 
 Virginia. Nor was he able to escape from the British army, 
 until after the junction of Lord Cornwallis at Petersburg, 
 when he deserted, and, proceeding high up into Virginia, he 
 passed into North Carolina, near the Saura towns, and, 
 keeping in the friendly districts of that state, safely joined 
 the Americans soon after they passed the Congaree, in pur- 
 suit of Lord Rawdon. His appearance excited extreme 
 surprise among his former comrades, which was not a little 
 increased when they saw the cordial reception he met with 
 from the late major, now Lieutenant-Colonel Lee. His 
 whole story was soon known to the corps, which repro- 
 duced the love and respect of officers and soldiers, hereto- 
 fore invariably entertained for the sergeant, heightened by 
 universal admiration of his late daring and arduous attempt. 
 
 Champe was introduced to General Greene, who very 
 cheerfully complied with the promise made by the com- 
 mander-in-chief, so far as in his power; and, having 
 provided the sergeant with a good horse and money for his 
 journey, sent him to General Washington, who munificently 
 anticipated every desire of the sergeant, and presented him 
 with a discharge from further service, lest he might, in the 
 vicissitudes of war, fall into the hands of the enemy ^ when, 
 if recognised, he was sure to die on a gibbet. 
 
 In October, 1780, Clinton detached Arnold on a maraud- 
 ing expedition, into Virginia, with about one thousand six 
 hundred men, and a number of armed vessels. He laid 
 waste the country upon James river, in several predatory 
 excursions, until his progress was arrested by the appear- 
 
MASSACRE AT FORT GRISWOLD. 1780. 189 
 
 ance of the French squadron from Newport. This fleet 
 put an end to the ravages of Arnold, by capturing and 
 destroying a very considerable part of his fleet ; and would 
 have caused the destruction of the traitor, had not a British 
 fleet appeared from New York, for the relief of Arnold, and, 
 by a naval engagement ofl" the capes of Virginia with the 
 French fleet, aflbrded him an opportunity to escape to New 
 York. The French returned to Newport. 
 
 Soon after Arnold's return from Virginia, he was de- 
 spatched on a new excursion to Connecticut, his native 
 state. His force consisted of two thousand infantry and 
 three hundred cavalry, accompanied by forty ships and 
 transports. He landed his troops at the moiUh of New 
 London harbor, and proceeded to the town. Fort Trum- 
 bull was in a condition to make but little resistance, but 
 Fort Griswold, on the other side of the river, was bravely 
 defended by Colonel Ledyard and a few militia, hastily 
 collected. The assault on the fort was made by Colonel 
 Eyre, who was three times repulsed, and, receiving a mortal 
 wound, the command devolved on Major Bromfield, who, 
 with a superior force, carried the place at the point of the 
 bayonet. On entering the fort, the British officer inquired 
 who commanded. Colonel Ledyard answered, "I did, 
 sir, but you do now," and presented his sword as a 
 prisoner. The British officer took it, and plunged it into 
 the body of Colonel Ledyard. An indiscriminate slaughter 
 immediately ensued, and seventy-three men were left dead 
 in the fort, about forty wounded, and the same number 
 taken prisoners. Arnold continued on the New London 
 side, suffered the town to be plundered, and destroyed by 
 fire sixty dwelling-houses and eighty-four stores, besides 
 the shipping, naval stores, and a large amount of goods 
 and provisions. The militia collected with great spirit and 
 promptness to avenge the murder of their friends. The 
 enemy became alarmed, and made a. hasty retreat, after a 
 loss of two officers and forty-six soldiers killed, and eight 
 officers and thirty-five men wounded. 
 
 The vest Avorn by Colonel Ledyard at the time he was 
 massacred, has been deposited with the Connecticut His- 
 
190 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 torical Society, at Hartford. The sword entered in front, 
 near the heart, and passed entirely through his body. The 
 two gashes, one in front, the other in the baclc of the vest, 
 remain the same as when on the unfortunate victim. 
 
 The most dangerous symptoms were exhibited in the con- 
 duct of a part of the army, towards the end of the year 1780. 
 The revolt of the whole Pennsylvania line spread a tempo- 
 rary dismay throughout the country. On the 1st of January, 
 1781, upwards of a thousand men, belonging to that portion 
 of the army, marched in a body from the camp in the Jer- 
 seys. Others, equally disaffected, soon followed them. 
 They took post on an advantageous ground, chose for their 
 leader a sergeant-major, a British deserter, and saluted 
 him as their major-general. On the third day of their re- 
 volt, a message was sent from the officers of the American 
 camp ; this they refused to receive ; but to a flag which 
 followed, requesting to know their complaints and inten- 
 tions, they replied, that "they had served three years; 
 that they had engaged to serve no longer ; nor would they 
 return or disperse until their grievances were redressed and. 
 their arrearages paid." 
 
 General Wayne, who commanded the line, had been 
 greatly beloved and respected by the soldiers, nor did he 
 at first doubt but that liis influence would soon bring them 
 back to their duty. He did everything in the power of a 
 spirited and judicious officer to quiet their clamors, in the 
 beginning of the insurrection ; but many of them pointed 
 their bayonets at his breast ; told him to be on his guard ; 
 that they were determined to march to congress to obtain 
 a redress of grievances ; that though they respected him as 
 an officer, and loved his person, yet, if he attempted to fire 
 on them, "he was a dead man." Sir Henry Clinton soon 
 gained intelligence of the confusion and danger into which 
 the Americans were plunged. He improved the advanta- 
 geous moment, and made the revoltcrs every tempting 
 oflfer. But the intrigues of the British officers, and the 
 measures of their commander-in-chief, liad not the smallest 
 influence ; the revolted troops, though dissatisfied, appear- 
 ed to have no inclination to join the British army. They 
 
REVOLT OF THE PENNSYLVANIA LINE. 1781. 
 
 191 
 
 / //^^ 
 
 General Wayne. 
 
 declared, with one voice, that if there was an immediate 
 necessity to call out the American forces, they would still 
 fight under the orders of congress. Several British spies 
 were detected, busily employed in endeavoring to increase 
 the ferment, who were tried and executed with little core- 
 mony. 
 
 The prudent conduct of the commander-in-chief, and the 
 disposition which appeared in government to do justice to 
 their demands, subdued the mutiny. A committee was 
 sent from congress to hear their complaints, and, as far as 
 possible, to relieve their sufferings. Those whose term of 
 enlistment had expired, were paid off and discharged ; the 
 reasonable demands of others were satisfied ; and a general 
 pardon was granted to the offenders, who cheerfully 
 returned to their duty. But the contagion and mutinous 
 example of the Pennsylvania line had spread in some de- 
 gree its dangerous influence over other parts of the army. 
 It operated more particularly on a part of the Jersey troops, 
 soon after the pacification of the disorderly Pennsylvania 
 soldiers, though not with equal success and impunity to 
 
192 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 themselves. A few of the principal leaders of the revolt 
 were tried by a court-martial, and found guilty. As a 
 second general pardon, without any penal inflictions, would 
 have had a fatal effect on the army, two of them sufiered 
 death for their mutinous conduct. This example of sever- 
 ity put a period to every symptom of open revolt, though 
 not to the silent murmurs of the army. They still felt 
 heavily the immediate inconveniences of the deficiency of 
 almost every article necessary to life ; they had little food 
 and seldom any covering, except what was forced from 
 the adjacent inhabitants by military power. 
 
 France had acknowledged the independence of America; 
 and the whole house of Bourbon now supported the claim 
 of the United States, though there had yet been no direct 
 treaty between America and Spain. It had been the general 
 expectation, for some time before it took place, that Spain 
 would soon nnite with France in support of the American 
 cause. From this expectation, the Spaniards in South 
 America had prepared themselves for a rupture a consid- 
 erable time before any formal declaration of war had taken 
 place. They were in readiness to take the earliest advan- 
 tage of such an event. They had accordingly seized Pen- 
 sacola, in West Florida, and several British posts on the 
 Mississippi, before the troops stationed there had any inti- 
 mation that hostilities were declared, in the usual style, 
 between England and Spain. Don Bernard de Galvez, 
 the Spanish governor of Louisiana, had proclaimed the 
 independence of America, in New Orleans, at the head of 
 all the forces he could collect, as early as the 19th of Au- 
 gust, 1779, and had proceeded immediately to surprise and 
 conquer, wherever he* could, the unguarded British settle- 
 ments. The British navy, generally masters of the ocean, 
 had, early after hostilities commenced, beaten some of the 
 Spanish ships, intercepted the convoys, and captured or 
 destroyed several of the homeward-bound fleets of mer- 
 chantmen. But, by this time, the arms of Spain had been 
 successful in several enterprises by sea. At the Bay of 
 Honduras and in the West Indies, they also soon gained 
 several other advantages. Galvez had concerted a plan 
 
CAPTURE OF MR. LAURENS. — 1780. 193 
 
 with the governor of Havana, to surprise Mobile. He 
 encountered storms, dangers, disappointments and difficul- 
 ties, almost innumerable. This enterprising Spaniard 
 recovered, however, in some measure, his losses; and 
 receiving a reinforcement from Havana, with a part of 
 the regiment of Navarre, and some other auxiliaries, he 
 landed near Mobile, and reduced the whole province of 
 West Florida, in May, 1781. 
 
 It was, indeed, some time after the accession of Spain, 
 that any other European power explicitly acknowledged 
 the independence of the United States ; but Mr. Izard, who 
 was sent by congress to Tuscany, and Mr. William Lee, 
 to the court of Vienna, in 1778, inspired with that lively 
 assurance which is sometimes the pledge of success, had 
 met with no discouraging circumstances. Holland had a 
 still more difficult part to act, than France, Spain, or per- 
 haps any other European power, who actually had adhered 
 to, or appeared inclined to favor, the cause of America. 
 Her embarrassments arose in part from existing treaties 
 with Great Britain, by Avhich the latter claimed the Dutch 
 republic as their ally. 
 
 The unfortunate capture of Mr. Laurens, the American 
 envoy, prevented for a time all public negotiations with 
 Holland. He had been vested with discretionary powers, 
 and had suitable instructions given him, to enter into pri- 
 vate contracts and negotiations, as exigencies might offer, 
 for the interest of his country, until events had ripened for 
 his full admission as ambassador of the United States of 
 America. The British commander knew not the rank of 
 his prisoner, until the packages, thrown overboard by Mr. 
 Laurens, were recovered by a British sailor. Notwith- 
 standing the resentment of the British envoy at the Hague, 
 the conduct of the Dutch court remained for some time so 
 equivocal, that neither Great Britain nor America were 
 fully satisfied with their determinations. It is true, a 
 treaty with the United States was for some time postponed; 
 but the answer of the Dutch government to the remon- 
 strances of Sir Joseph Yorke, the British envoy, not being 
 sufficiently condescending and decided, his resentment 
 17 
 
194 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 daily increased. He informed his court, in very strong 
 terms, of the effect of his repeated memorials, of the con- 
 duct of the Dutch government, and of that of the principal 
 characters of the Batavian provinces. Great Britain soon 
 after, in the recess of parliament, amidst all her other diffi- 
 culties, at war with France, Spain and America, and left 
 alone by all the other powers of Europe to decide her own 
 quarrels, declared hostilities against the Netherlands ; and 
 a long manifesto from the king was sent abroad in the lat- 
 ter part of December, 1780. 
 
 The capture of Mr. La.iwens was, however, no small 
 embarrassment to the British ministry. Their pride would 
 not sufler them to recognise his public character ; they 
 dared not condemn him as a rebel ; the independence of 
 America wa§ too far advanced, and there were too many 
 captured noblemen and officers in the United States, to 
 allow of such a step, lest immediate retaliation should be 
 made. He was confined in the tower, forbidden the use 
 of pen, ink, and paper, and all social intercourse with any 
 one ; and was even interdicted converse with his young 
 son, who had been several years in England for his edu- 
 cation. 
 
 ^•^'^'''<iU^^X, J,,/^ ^^ -^- 
 
 John Adams. 
 
MISSION OF JOHN ADAMS TO HOLLAND. 1780. 195 
 
 Immediately after the news of the capture and imprison- 
 ment of Mr. Laurens, the American congress directed John 
 Adams, who had a second time been sent to Europe in a 
 pubhc character, to leave France and repair to Holland, 
 there to transact the affairs with the States-General, which 
 had before been entrusted to Mr. Laurens. Mr. Adams' 
 commission was enlarged. From a confidence in his tal- 
 ents and integrity, he was vested Avith ample powers for 
 negotiation, for the forming treaties of alliance and com- 
 merce, or the loan of moneys, for the United States of 
 America. Not fettered by precise instructions, he exer- 
 cised his discretionary powers with judgment and ability. 
 Thus, in strict amity with France and Spain — on the point 
 of a treaty of alliance with the Batavian Republic — and in 
 the mean time Sweden and Denmark balancing, and nearly 
 determined on a connection with America, the foreign rela- 
 tions of the United States, in general, wore a very favora- 
 ble aspect. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 American Revolution. — Campaign in the south — General Greene ap- 
 pointed to the cominand of the southern army — March of Cornwallis to 
 North Carolina — Battle of Cowpcns — Defeat of PiWs tory regiment — 
 Greeners retreat to Virginia — Battle of Guilford — March of Cornival- 
 lis to Virginia — Clinton sends troops to the Chesapeake — Battle beliveen 
 Greene and Rawdon — Devastations of the British in Virginia — Manoeu- 
 vres of Steuben and La Fayette — Bold stratagem of General Wayne—' 
 Greeners movements in South Carolina — Battle of Eutaw Springs — 
 War in Virginia — Cornioallis fortifies himself in Yorktown — Wash- 
 ington's dexterous manosuvres — Arrival of De Grasse's French fleet — 
 Battle between De Grasse and Adrniral Graves — Siege of Yorktown — 
 Surrender of Cormvallis — Campaign of Greene and Wayne in the 
 south — Expulsion of the British from the Carolinas and Georgia. 
 
 We must now resume our narrative of the campaign in 
 the south. General Gates having retired from the service, 
 General Greene was appointed, by congress, to succeed him. 
 He immediately repaired to the scat of war, and exerted him- 
 self to rally and concentrate the scattered forces of the Amer- 
 icans. Early in January, 1781, Cornwallis moved from 
 ?iis camp at Winnesborough, and directed his march toward 
 North Carolina, across the territory lying between Broad 
 and Catawba rivers. To check his progress, the Americans 
 decided to threaten the post of Ninety-six, at the same 
 time that Colonel Morgan, with five hundred Virginia reg- 
 ulars, some companies of militia, and Colonel Washington's 
 body of ligVit-horse, were detached by Greene to guard the 
 fords of the river Pacolet. Greene himself, took post on the 
 Pedee, opposite Cheraw Hill. This division of his forces 
 was judged very hazardous, as, if the British general 
 had pushed onward, he miglit have thrown himself between 
 the two parties and crushed each one separately, Greene, 
 possibly, had the means of knowing that his enemy was not 
 
BATTLE OF COWPENS. — 1781. 197 
 
 prepared for a rapid and decisive movement. Cornwallis, 
 anxious for the safety of Ninety-six, ordered Tarleton, Avith 
 his legion of cavahy and a body of infantry, to advance 
 and cover that fortress. Tarleton, on arriving there, found 
 everything quiet. The Americans had withdrawn, after 
 some slight skirmishes ; on which he wheeled about and 
 marched upon Morgan, confident of being able either to fall 
 upon him by surprise and put him to the route, or at least to 
 drive him beyond Broad river, which would have left the 
 way clear for the royal army. Cornwallis, being apprized 
 of his design, gave it his sanction, and lent his aid by 
 moving up tiie left bank of the river to threaten Morgan's 
 rear. The scheme at first promised fall success. Tarleton 
 effected a quick and safe passage across the Ennoree and 
 Tiger, and made his appearance on the banks of the Pacolet. 
 Morgan retreated before him, and Tarleton closely pushed 
 in pursuit. 
 
 Morgan now found his situation critical, — an active and 
 enterprising enemy pressing upon his rear, and a river in 
 front. By retreating still farther, he was under the neces- 
 sity of crossing the river in the face of the enemy. He 
 determined, therefore, to make a stand and give him battle. 
 He took post, January 17th, at the Cowp?ns, and drew up 
 his troops in three divisions. The first, composed of 
 militia, under Colonel Pickens, occupied the front of a wood 
 in view of the enemy. The second, composed of regulars, 
 under Colonel Howard, was concealed in the wood itself 
 The third, consisting of Washington's cavalry, was posted 
 behind the second division as a reserve. Tarleton, eager 
 for the fight, and confident of victory, came up and formed 
 in two lines, his infantry in the centre of each, and his 
 cavalry on the flanks. Everything seemed to assure him 
 the victory. He was superior in cavalry, and his troops, 
 both officers and soldiers, manifested the greatest confidence 
 and ardor. He began the attack upon the advanced body of 
 the Americans with great spirit. The militia, as had been 
 expected, made but a feeble resistance, and then broke and 
 fled in confusion. Pursuing their advantage, the British 
 
 then fell upon the second line, but here they made less 
 17^ 
 
198 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 impression, and the battle raged fiercely, without any dis- 
 position to yield on the part of the Americans. The British 
 light horse made an attack upon Washington's cavalry, but 
 were repulsed. Tarleton, finding now a more obstinate 
 resistance in all quarters than he had anticipated, pushed 
 forward a battalion of his second line, and, at the same time, 
 directed a charge of cavalry upon the American right flank. 
 The attack was pushed so vigorously that the American 
 regulars gave way and were thrown into disorder. The 
 British now imagined the day was their own, and rushed 
 forward with their cavalry in pursuit of the fugitives, but 
 Washington's troop, still in perfect order, and which had 
 been waiting for the decisive moment, fell suddenly upon 
 them with such impetuosity that he gave them an instant 
 check. And now the tide of success began to turn. The 
 militia had been rallied and brought back to the fight. 
 Morgan was visible everywhere, and his presence and 
 words reanimated the spirits of his soldiers. Taking 
 advantage of a moment of enthusiasm, he urged them in 
 one general and precipitate charge upon the enemy. The 
 .shock was tremendous, and the J^ritish, astonished at this 
 furious attack from an enemy whom they had thought 
 utterly overthrown, at first paused and then everywhere 
 gave way. In vain did their officers employ exhortation, 
 prayers and threats to stay the fugitives ; they broke their 
 ranks and fled in confusion, and the defeat of the British 
 army was total. 
 
 Such was the issue of the battle of Cowpens, one of the 
 most obstinately contested conflicts of the whole Avar. 
 Tarleton lost, in killed, wounded and prisoners, above eight 
 hundred men, together with two pieces of cannon, the 
 colors of the seventh regiment, and all his baggage and 
 carriages. The effects of this victory were most decisive 
 and important. The destruction of the best part of the 
 British cavalry and tha total defeat of Tarleton, who had 
 been, till that period, the terror of the whole southern coun- 
 try, animated the Americans with fresh spirits. The loss 
 of the horses was a most severe one to the British, as the 
 face of the country, which is flat and open, renders cavalry 
 
DEFEAT OF COLONEL PILL. 1781. 199 
 
 of the Utmost importance to a campaign in that quarter. 
 The consequences of this battle were heavily felt by the 
 British during the remainder of the war in the Carolinas 
 and Virginia ; it was, in a word, decisive of the fate of those 
 provinces. 
 
 Cornwallis, irritated by this unexpected defeat, immedi- 
 ately put his army in motion to pursue the victorious 
 Americans. Greene, finding his forces insufficient to meet 
 the enemy, retreated before him into Virginia. This retreat 
 however, did not prove so beneficial to the royal cause as 
 Cornwallis had anticipated, yet it caused the British to 
 redouble their efforts in stimulating the inhabitants to take 
 arms on their side. Cornwallis despatched Tarleton into 
 the district between Haw and Deep rivers, to raise a corps of 
 loyalists, who were represented as very numerous in that 
 quarter. His exertions were not in vain. The family of 
 Pill, one of the most considerable of the country, was also 
 one of the foremost in setting this example. Already a 
 colonel of that family had assembled a considerable body 
 of his most audacious partisans, and was on his way to join 
 Tarleton. But Greene, who was fully sensible how preju- 
 dicial it would prove to the American cause if he suffered 
 their arms to be weakened in North Carolina, and fearing 
 the tories might revolutionize that province, had ordered 
 Lee's cavalry to the banks of the Dan to counteract the 
 efforts of the British. Lee made a rapid march and fell in 
 with Colonel Pill's troops. These loyalists, totally unac- 
 quainted Avith the profession of arms, took no precautions 
 to reconnoitre the country on their march in order to obtain 
 intelligence of their enemies, and, on the sight of Lee's 
 troops, imagined they were Tarleton's corps. The Ameri- 
 cans, who knew their business better, immediately charged 
 them with great impetuosity. The loyalists, not yet dis- 
 covering their mistake, shouted, "Long live the king!" 
 but the fury of their assailants only raged the fiercer, and, 
 in a few minutes, the few of them who survived were 
 obliged to surrender. Thus these rash and hiexperienced 
 men were led to slaughter by a hot-headed and presump- 
 
200 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 tuous chief, who had imagined that the spirit of party could 
 supply the place of talent and knowledge. 
 
 At the news of this catastrophe, Tarleton, who was in 
 the immediate neighborhood, put his troops in motion, with 
 intent to encounter Lee ; but an order of Cornwallis checked 
 him and drew him back to Hillsborough. This was caused 
 by a bold movement of Greene, who had re-crossed the 
 Dan and again threatened to overrun North Carolina. He 
 took post on the western bank of the river, toward the head 
 streams of the Haw, in a strong position, to avoid the 
 necessity of an immediate battle, as his reinforcements had 
 not yet arrived. Cornwallis immediately quitted Hillsbo- 
 rough, crossed the Haw, and detached Tarleton to scour 
 the country as far as Deep river. The two armies were 
 now separated only by the Haw, and daily skirmishes 
 ensued. The two generals manoeuvred a long time with 
 great ability, Cornwallis to bring his enemy to battle, and 
 Greene to avoid it. The American was skilful enough to 
 keep his antagonist at bay ; but toward the middle of 
 March he received reinforcements of militia and regulars, 
 and determined no longer to decline a decisive action, but, 
 on the contrary, to march directly upon the enemy. He 
 accordingly pushed forward his whole force, and took a 
 position at Guilford Court House. 
 
 Cornwallis immediately advanced to meet his antagonist. 
 His army consisted of above two thousand four hundred 
 veteran troops. The forces of Greene were much superior 
 in number, but the greater part were militia. Not five hun- 
 dred men in his army had ever seen service. All the adja- 
 cent country was covered with thick woods, interspersed 
 here and there with spots of cultivation. A gentle and 
 woody declivity traversed and extended far on both sides 
 of the great road which leads from Salisbury to Guilford. 
 This road runs through the centre of the forest. In the 
 neighborhood of Guilford were two open fields, of moderate 
 extent, adapted to military evolutions. On the 15th of 
 March, Greene had occupied, with a body of troops, a wood, 
 covering the slope of an eminence, and likewise drawn up 
 
BATTLE OF GUILFORD. 1781. 201 
 
 a portion of his army in the contiguous plain. In this 
 position he designed to receive the enemy. His order of 
 battle was in three divisions ; the first, composed of North 
 Carolina militia, under Generals Butler and Eaton, was 
 posted toward the foot of the hill on the edge of the forest. 
 Its front was covered by a thick hedge, and two pieces of 
 cannon defended the great road. The second division 
 comprised the Virginia militia, under Generals Stevens 
 and Lawson, and was formed in the woods parallel to the 
 first, about eight hundred yards in the rear. The regu- 
 lars, under General Huger and Colonel Williams, filled 
 the plain which extends from the forest to Guilford. This 
 ground permitted them to manoeuvre. Two other pieces 
 of cannon, planted upon an eminence which covered their 
 flank, commanded also the highway. Colonel Washington, 
 with his dragoons and Linch's riflemen, flanked the riglit 
 wing; and Colonel Lee, with a detachment of light infan- 
 try and the dragoons of Campbell, the left. 
 
 Cornwallis drew up in the following manner ; General 
 Leslie, with an English regiment and the Hessian regiment 
 of Boze, occupied the right of the first line; and Colonel 
 Webster, with two English regiments, the left. A bat- 
 talion of guards formed a reserve to the first, and another 
 to the second. The artillery and grenadiers marched in 
 close column in the great road, where Tarleton was also 
 posted with his legion, but with orders not to move, except 
 upon emergency, until the infantry, after having carried 
 the wood, should advance into the plain behind it, where 
 cavalry could act. The battle began by a brisk cannon- 
 ade on both sides. The British then, leaving their artillery 
 behind, rushed forward through the fire of the enemy into 
 the intermediate plain. The Carolina militia at first stood 
 fire, but, on being charged with the bayonet, broke their 
 ranks and fled. The British then assailed the Virginia 
 militia, who maintained their ground longer, but at length 
 fell back. The British, having gained the open ground, 
 next attacked the American regulars, but here they met 
 with a firm resistance, and Leslie, finding he could make 
 no impression upon the American left, sheltered his men 
 
202 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 behind a ravine. The action was supported in the centre 
 with great fury. Stewart, with the British guards and 
 grenadiers, had fallen so fiercely upon the Delaware troops, 
 that he had broken their line and taken two pieces of can- 
 non, but the Marylanders came promptly to their assist- 
 ance, and not only restored the battle, but forced the British 
 to recoil in disorder. At this moment Washington's cav- 
 alry came up and charged them with such impetuosity 
 that he put them to flight, with great slaughter, and 
 recovered the two cannon. Colonel Stewart, who com- 
 manded this body of British, was killed. 
 
 Had the Americans promptly taken advantage of this 
 success, by planting their artillery on the hill bordering the 
 great road, they would at once have cut the left wing of the 
 enemy off from the centre and right, and obtained a decisive 
 victory. But instead of taking possession of the height, they 
 contented themselves with the advantage they had gained, 
 and repaired to the posts they had previously occupied. 
 The British at once saw this oversight, and lost no time 
 in placing their artillery upon the hill, from which they 
 poured in a destructive fire upon the American regulars. 
 This turned the fortune of the day. The British centre 
 and left rallied, and a charge was made upon the American 
 flank. The whole weight of the battle now fell upon the 
 American regulars, who, finding themselves assailed on 
 diflerent sides, began to think of retreat. They withdrew 
 step by step, without breaking their ranks, and still pre- 
 serving a manacing attitude. They were obliged, how- 
 ever, to abandon their cannon. The British then advanced 
 and charged General Greene's right wing, which was forced 
 to give way. The Americans no longer contested the 
 field, and withdrew about three miles from the scene of 
 the battle, where they halted to take care of their wounded 
 and collect their scattered forces. 
 
 The Americans lost thirteen hundred men, in killed and 
 wounded and prisoners, in this obstinate conflict. The 
 loss of the British exceeded six hundred. Cornwallis 
 remained master of the field, but, except the honor of the 
 victory, he reaped no advantage from his success. Tho 
 
CAMPAIGN IN SOUTH CAROLINA. — 1781. 203 
 
 loss of SO many of his veteran troops could not be repaired. 
 Greene withdrew, nnmolested, behind Reedy Fork, while 
 the British general, from the fatigue of his soldiers, the 
 multitude of his wounded, and the strength of the new 
 position which the Americans had taken, could not pursue 
 him with any hope of success. Greene moved from Reedy 
 Fork, and encamped at the Iron Works on Troublesome 
 Creek. Cornwallis became embarrassed by the refusal of 
 the inhabitants to join his standard after the battle of 
 Guilford ; his provisions also failed him, and he fell back 
 upon Bell's Mills, on Deep river, abandoning a great part 
 of his wounded to the care of the Americans. He soon 
 decamped from this neighborhood, and marched with all 
 possible expedition towards the eastern parts of North 
 Carolina. He found many difficulties in his way, but 
 pursued his route with great perseverance. His army 
 cheerfully sustained the severest fatigue ; but, as they had 
 frequently done before, they marked their way with the 
 slaughter of the inhabitants, through a territory of many 
 hundred miles in extent from Charleston to Yorktown. It 
 was afterwards computed that fourteen hundred widows 
 were made, during this year's campaign only, in the dis- 
 trict of Ninety-six. A detail of all the small rencounters 
 tliat took place this year in both the Carolinas, would only 
 fatigue the reader. It is enough to observe that the Amer- 
 icans, under various leaders, were continually attacking, 
 with alternate success and defeat, the chain of British 
 posts planted from Cam^^en to Ninety-six ; and as Greene 
 liimself expressed his sentiments in this embarrassed situa- 
 tion, "We fight, get beaten; rise and fight again; the 
 whole country is one continued scene of slaughter and 
 blood." Fierce encounters were still kept up between the 
 British detachments posted on advantageous heights, and 
 on the banks of deep and unfordable rivers which inter- 
 sected each other, and the hardy chieftains who led the 
 Carolinian bands over mountains, declivities, swamps and 
 rivers, to the vicinity of Charleston. Thence they were 
 often obliged to retreat back from the borders of civiliza- 
 tion, again to seek safety in the dreary wilderness ; until 
 
204 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 the British, wearied by a constant course of harassing 
 conflicts, at length drew in their outposts, and concentrated 
 their forces. 
 
 In the mean time, Chnton had detached a fleet from New 
 York, with fifteen hundred troops on board, to cooperate 
 with Cornwalhs. The troops were landed in Chesapeake 
 Bay, and committed the most alarming depredations. In- 
 effectual attempts were made to dislodge them. A move- 
 ment was now made, by Greene, towards South Carolina. 
 He boldly advanced, and gave battle to Lord Rawdon, 
 who was in the vicinity of Camden, on the 25th of April. 
 A desperate contest ensued, and victory was doubtful. 
 Both withdrew from the conflict, and left the field covered 
 with the dead. Ilawdon retired to Camden, and strength- 
 ened his position. Greene advanced, and, by a desperate 
 assault, was on the point of carrying the strong fortress of 
 Ninety-six, the reduction of which would have recovered 
 all South Carolina, except Charleston. At this critical 
 moment, Lord Rawdon put himself at the head of seven- 
 teen hundred fresh troops, then arrived from Ireland, and, 
 by forced marches, advanced to the relief of Ninety-six. 
 The approach of this force compelled Greene to abandon 
 the assault, when engaged hand to hand with the enemy, 
 and when victory was ready to decide in his favor. The 
 general drew off his army towards Camden, in good order. 
 The British pursued, but Greene eluded them, by filing 
 off towards Charleston, and taking a strong position upon 
 the hills of Santee. Rawdon retired to Charleston. 
 
 The war, during these operations in the south, raged 
 in Virginia. The British were under the command of 
 General Phillips, and the ravages of the enemy exceeded 
 all description. At Petersburg, they destroyed all the ship- 
 ping and about four hundred hogsheads of tobacco. At 
 Osborn's Mills, they took two ships and ten smaller vessels, 
 laden with cordage, flour, &c. Four ships and a number 
 of smaller vessels were burnt or sunk, besides many others 
 destroyed by the Americans, to prevent their falling into 
 the hands of the enemy, together with about three thousand 
 hogsheads of tobacco, April 27. On the 30th, they pene- 
 
Wayne's movements in Virginia. — i78i. 205 
 
 trated to Manchester, and destroyed twelve hundred hogs- 
 heads more ; thence they proceeded to Warwick, and laid 
 waste the shipping, both in the river and on the stocks ; also, 
 extensive rope-walks, tanneries, warehouses, and maga- 
 zines of flour, mills, <fcc., in one general conflagration, and 
 then embarked on board their shipping. 
 
 The Baron Steuben, with a small American army, op- 
 posed this party, but his force was insufficient to make any 
 serious impressions. La Fayette was detached with troops 
 to assist him ; but such was the state of the military funds, 
 that, when he arrived in Baltimore, he was obliged to bor- 
 row two thousand guineas, on his own responsibility^ to 
 enable him to proceed. On the strength of this, he advanced 
 to Richmond, where he joined the baron, with the Virginia 
 militia, and covered Richmond. Here he watched the move- 
 ments of the enemy, though too weak to check all their 
 operations. On the 9th of May, General Phillips entered 
 Petersburg, where he died on the 13th. 
 
 Cornwallis had advanced from Guilford to Wilmington, 
 and left Greene in the rear. From Wilmington he ad- 
 vanced to Petersburg, where he found eighteen hundred 
 troops, and, being thus reinforced, he advanced towards 
 Richmond, in order to dislodge La Fayette. Flushed by 
 recent triumphs, in a letter to Sir Henry, he thus wrote, 
 "The boy cannot escape me." He did escape, however, 
 and evacuated the place on the 27th of May. On the 7th 
 of June, General Wayne joined La Fayette, with eight 
 lumdred of the Pennsylvania militia. While on the 
 march, however, supposing the main army of Cornwallis 
 had crossed the river James, he attacked what he sup- 
 posed to be the rearguard, when, to his surprise, he found 
 the general at the head of the army, ready to receive him. 
 Finding no time was to be lost, he advanced to the charge, 
 at the head of his column, in gallant style. The conflict 
 was sharp, and, availing himself of his first impression, he 
 hastily withdrew, leaving the general as much astonished 
 as he found him. He retreated in good order, without 
 pursuit, as Cornwallis probably concluded that it was 
 IS 
 
206 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 an ambuscade. The British retired in the night, and 
 marched to Portsmouth. 
 
 Meantime, Greene, at his post on the heights of the 
 Santee, was not inactive. He made great exertions to 
 strengthen his army by new recruits, and to disciphne the 
 whole force by frequent manoeuvres. The mihtia of the 
 surrounding districts, resorted, in great numbers, to his 
 standard, and he felt himself sufliciently strong for active 
 operations. In tlie beginning of September, the intense 
 heats having subsided, he moved forward, with a design 
 to expel the British from the posts they occupied in the 
 interior of South Carolina. Taking a circuitous course 
 toward the upper Congaree, he crossed that stream, and 
 descended rapidly along the western bank, with all his 
 forces, to attack the British post near the confluence of 
 that river with the Santee. Colonel Stuart, who com- 
 manded the troops at this place, finding the American 
 army superior to his own, especially in cavalry, retreated 
 to Eutaw Springs, where he threw up works. Greene 
 pursued him to this place, and, on the 8th of September, a 
 severe battle was fought. 
 
 T'he Americans marched to the attack in three lines, the 
 advance being composed of the Carolina militia, the second 
 line of regulars, and the reserve comprising Washington's 
 dragoons and the Delaware militia. Colonel Lee, with his 
 legion of cavalry, covered the right flank, and Colonel 
 Henderson the left. The British troops were drawn up 
 in two lines; the vanguard being defended on the right by 
 the little stream of the Eutaw, and the left resting upon a 
 thick wood. The second line, forming a reserve, Avas sta- 
 tioned upon the heights commanding the Charleston road. 
 After some skirmishing between the irregulars of both 
 armies, the engagement became general and was main- 
 tained, for a considerable time, with balanced success. At 
 length the Carolina militia broke and retired in disorder. 
 The left of the J^ritish quitted its position to pursue them, 
 causing a gap in their front line. Greene, perceiving his 
 advantage, pushed forward his second line, and charged 
 
BATTLE OF EUTAW SPRING. — 1781. 207 
 
 the enemy so vigorously that they were thrown into dis- 
 order, and began to retreat. To complete their route, Lee, 
 with his cavalry, turned their left flank and attacked them 
 in the rear. The whole left wing of the British now took 
 to flight; the right only held firm. Greene brought up the 
 regulars, and attacked it briskly in front, while Washing- 
 ton's dragoons fell upon the flank. The British now gave 
 way in all quarters, and retreated in haste and disorder to 
 their intrenchment. Several cannon and a great number 
 of prisoners fell into the hands of the Americans. The 
 victory seemed to be fully accomplished. 
 
 But in the moment of anticipated victory, an unexpected 
 rally of the enemy checked the Americans in the full tide 
 of success. The British, in their flight, had the presence 
 of mind to throw themselves into a very large and strong 
 house, where they made a desperate defence. A body of 
 them took shelter in a thick and almost impenetrable brush- 
 wood, and another in a garden fenced with palisades. 
 Here the battle recommenced, with more fury than at first. 
 The Americans made the bravest and most persevering 
 attempts to dislodge the enemy from these new posts. They 
 brought up four pieces of artillery and commenced batter- 
 ing the house. Colonel Washington attempted to penetrate 
 the wood, and Lee endeavored to force the garden; but 
 their efforts were vain. The British repulsed them with 
 great slaughter, and Washington was wounded and taken. 
 Stuart rallied his right wing, pushed it forward, and by a 
 circuitous movement gained the left flank of the Americans. 
 Greene was now convinced that it was impossible to make 
 any further impression upon the enemy ; he therefore, put 
 an end to the carnage, by drawing oft" his troops. The 
 Americans returned to their first encampment, carrying oflT 
 most of their wounded, and five hundred prisoners; but 
 losing two pieces of cannon. 
 
 The battle of Eutaw was one of the most hard-fought 
 contests that took place during the whole war. The 
 American troops exhibited uncommon valor. Impatient 
 to close with their enemies, they promptly resorted to the 
 bayonet, which they had seemed to dread at the commence- 
 
208 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 ment of hostilities ; but which was now become a formi- 
 dable weapon in their hands. The British, on their part, 
 defended their posts with great resolution. The Americans 
 lost, in killed, wounded and prisoners, six hundred men. 
 The loss of the British was much greater; and, on the 
 night of the following day, they abandoned their entrench- 
 ments, and retreated down the river to Monk's Corner, 
 having destroyed their magazines and thrown into the rivor 
 a great quantity of arms. Congress voted public thanks 
 to those who had distinguished themselves in this battle, 
 and presented to General Greene a gold medal and one of 
 the captured standards. 
 
 The grand operations of the war were now about to be 
 transferred to Virginia. The Americans had no consider- 
 able army in that state. Washington lay in his canton- 
 ments about New York, where the hostile attitude of Clinton 
 demanded his constant vigilance. With these inviting 
 prospects, Cornwallis marclied from Wilmington, in April, 
 1781, and, with some occasional resistance from small par- 
 ties of the Americans, reached Petersburg, in Virginia, on 
 the 20th of May. Here he was joined by the British forces 
 under General Philips, and shortly after by a reinforcement 
 of fifteen hundred men from New York. 
 
 Cornwallis now found himself at the head of an army 
 amounting nearly to ten thousand men, — a force suffi- 
 ciently formidable to bear down all opposition. The troops 
 of the Americans did not exceed three thousand men, two 
 thirds of whom were militia. These were commanded by 
 La Fayette, who retired as Cornwallis advanced. After 
 crossing James river, the British marched and counter- 
 marched for some weeks. They took Charlotteville, and 
 destroyed a great quantity of stores. Cornwallis then fell 
 back upon Richmond, and, on the 26th of .lune, retreated 
 to Williamsburg. La Fayette had the address to make 
 his force appear much greater than it really was ; and, by 
 keeping in an imposing attitude, he compelled his adver- 
 sary to act with caution. Many skirmishes took place, 
 but no decisive action ensued. About the 1st of July, 
 Cornwallis received letters from Chnton, stating his fears 
 
WAR IN THE SOUTH. — 1781. 209 
 
 of being attacked in New York, and requesting a rein- 
 forcement from the army of Cornwallis. He recommended 
 that tlie troops remaining in Virginia should take post in 
 some strong situation till the danger at New York had 
 passed. To comply with these suggestions, Cornwallis 
 resolved, to retreat toward the shores of the Chesapeake. 
 Portsmouth, near Norfolk, where the British had a strong 
 garrison, was first fixed upon as the station for the army ; 
 but, on account of the fleet, Yorktown was afterward found 
 a preferable spot. The troops were, therefore, removed 
 from Portsmouth to Yorktown, and here the whole British 
 army fortified themselves in July, 1781. The detachment, 
 however, to reinforce Clinton was not sent away. Corn- 
 wallis expected to be further strengthened by the speedy 
 arrival of a British squadron from the West Indies. 
 
 Washington, in the mean time, had been eyeing the 
 movements of Cornwallis, in the south, with great anxiety. 
 During the early part of the season, he had hopes of strik- 
 ing an important blow, by attacking New York, in con- 
 junction with the French land and sea- forces and a strong 
 body of militia, to be suddenly raised for that purpose. 
 The failure of several of the states to forward their militia 
 in season, and the arrival of three thousand German troops 
 at New York, caused this design to miscarry. Washing- 
 ton felt the deepest mortification at this disappointment ; 
 yet, before long, he had cause to regard it as one of the 
 most fortunate events of his life. He was soon enabled 
 to employ his army with the most brilliant success in 
 another quarter. 
 
 Early in August, intelligence was received that a pow- 
 erful French fleet, under the Count de Grasse, was to sail 
 immediately from the West Indies for the Chesapeake, 
 with several thousand land troops on board. Washington 
 now saw an opportunity for making a most important 
 change in the campaign. Cornwallis had shut himself up 
 in Yorktown, and Washington discerned at once the pos- 
 sibility of uniting his army with the French in Virginia, 
 and overpowering his enemy at a single stroke. This plan 
 required great skill and address ; but the American cora- 
 18* 
 
210 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 mander accomplished it with an ahihty that has seldom 
 been equalled. To abandon the neighborhood of New 
 York, with all his forces, would lay the country open to 
 the incursions of the strong British army in that city; but 
 a stratagem of Washington obviated the danger from this 
 source. He wrote letters to the officers at the south, stat- 
 ing his inability to assist them with any part of his army, 
 as he was about to make an immediate attack on New 
 York. These letters were intercepted by the British, as 
 had been foreseen, and Clinton was completely deceived as 
 to the real intentions of Washington. Fearing an immedi- 
 ate attack, he dared not send aid to Cornwallis, but left 
 that officer to his fate. 
 
 Washington, by a variety of well-combined mancBUvres, 
 kept New York and its dependencies in a continual state 
 of alarm for several weeks, when, towards the end of Au- 
 gust, judging that the proper conjuncture had arrived, he 
 suddenly broke up his camp, made a rapid march across 
 the .Terseys and Pennsylvania, to the head waters of the 
 Chesapeake, embarked the army in boats, descended the 
 bay, and landed safely in Virginia. He reached Williams- 
 burg on the 14th of September. 
 
 In the mean time, the fortunate arrival of a French fleet 
 under tlie Count de Grasse, in the Chesapeake, on the 30th 
 of August, hastened the decision of important events. No 
 intelligence of this had reached New York ; nor could any- 
 tliing have been more unexpected to the British admiral, 
 Sir Samuel Hood, who arrived soon after in the Chesa- 
 peake, than to find a French fleet, of twenty-eight sail of 
 the line, lying there in perfect security. About the same 
 time, near twenty British ships of the line, from the West 
 Indies, joined the squadron imdcr Admiral Craves, before 
 New York. This fleet sailed for the Chesapeake, and 
 entered the bay six days after the arrival of the Count de 
 Grasse. The French squadron had not been discovered 
 by the British commander, nor had he gained any intelli- 
 gence that Count de Grasse was on the American coast, 
 until the morning of the 5th of September, when the Eng- 
 lish observed them in full view within Cape Henry. The 
 
SIEGE OF YORKTOWN. — 1781. 211 
 
 fleets were nearly equal in strength, and a spirited action 
 ensued. Equal gallantry was exhibited on both sides, but 
 neither could boast of victory. Both squadrons were con- 
 siderably injured, and one British seventy-four was ren- 
 dered totally unfit for service, and set on fire by the crew. 
 The English, indeed, were not beaten, but the French 
 gained a double advantage ; for while the Count de Grasse 
 remained at a distance, watched by the British navy, he 
 secured a passage for the fleet of the Count de Barras from 
 Rhode Island, and gained to himself the advantage of 
 blocking up the Chesapeake against the enemy. Barras 
 brought with him the French troops from Rhode Island, 
 amounting to about three thousand men. These joined 
 La Fayette, whose numbers had been greatly reduced. 
 This reinforcement enabled him to support himself by de- 
 fensive operations, until, in a short time, they were all 
 united under the command of the Count de. Rochambeau. 
 The British fleet continued a few days in the Chesapeake. 
 Their ships were so much injured, that a council of war 
 pronounced it necessary to return to New York. 
 
 In the mean time, Clinton wrote letters, full of specious 
 promises, to buoy up the hopes of Cornwall is by strong 
 assurances that no time should be lost in sending forward 
 a force sufiicient for his relief He informed him that a 
 fleet, under the command of Lord Digby, who had recently 
 arrived at New York, would sail for the Chesapeake by the 
 5th of October; that Clinton himself was nearly ready to 
 embark with a large bodj^ of troops. These flattering 
 assurances from the commander-in-chief indaced Corn- 
 wallis to avoid a general action. His situation had been 
 for some time truly distressing. Embarrassed between his 
 own opinion and the orders of his superiors, flattered by 
 the promise of timely relief, in such force as to enable him 
 to cope with the united armies of France and America, 
 he waited the result, and would not suffer himself to be 
 impelled by any circumstances to risk his army beyond the 
 probability of success. The mouth of the river at York- 
 town was blocked up by the French fleet ; the American 
 army, in high health and spirits, strengthened by daily 
 
212 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 recruits, led on by Washington, in conjunction with a 
 French army, under Rochambeau, an officer of courage, 
 experience, and ability, were making rapid advances. On 
 the 28th of September, they left Williamsburg, and on the 
 6th of October, twelve thousand strong, they opened their 
 trenches before Yorktown. 
 
 On the 9th, the American batteries began to play upon 
 Yorktown, with twenty-four eighteen and ten inch mor- 
 tars, which continued through the night. The next morn- 
 ing the French opened a destructive fire from their batteries, 
 without intermission, for about eight hours; and on the 
 succeeding night, a terrible fire was kept up from the whole 
 line, without intermission, until morning. The horrors of 
 this scene were greatly heightened by the conflagration of 
 two British ships, set on fire by the shells of the allies and 
 consumed in the night. The next morning, October 11th, 
 the allies opei\ed their second parallel, at the distance of 
 two hundred yards, and another British ship was consumed 
 by their shells. On the 14th, Washington ordered two 
 battalions to advance to the second parallel, and begin a 
 large battery in the centre and in advance. The enemy 
 met this movement with an incessant fire from two re- 
 doubts, in advance of their works, as well as from their 
 whole line, that continued through the night. Washing- 
 ton detached La Fayette in the morning, at the head of 
 the American light infantry, supported by the Baron Vio- 
 menil from the line of the French, to advance and storm 
 these redoubts, which had so annoyed them through the 
 night. Lieutenant-Colonel Hamilton commanded the van 
 of the corps. The redoubt was promptly carried by La 
 Fayette, at the point of the bayonet, but the captives were 
 spared. The Marquis sent his aid, Major Barbour, through 
 the whole line of the enemy's fire, to notify the Baron Vi- 
 omenil of his success, and inquire where he Avas, to which 
 the Baron repUed, "I am not in my redoubt, but shall be 
 in five minutes." In five minutes his redoubt was carried. 
 
 On the morning of the 16th, Cornwallis detached Lieu- 
 tenant-Colonel Abercrombie, at tlie head of four hundred 
 men, upon a sortie, to destroy two batteries the allies had 
 
SURRENDER OF CORNWALLIS. 1781. 213 
 
 erected in llie night. He succeeded, and spiked the can- 
 non. The French suffered severely in the defence of these 
 works ; but the Britisli gained no permanent advantage. 
 On the afternoon of the same day, the alhes opened 
 their batteries, covered with about one hundred pieces of 
 heavy cannon, and such was their destructive fire, that the 
 British hues were soon demolished and silenced. Alarmed 
 for his safety, Cornwallis now prepared to retire ; his boats 
 were collected, and a part of his army was embarked across 
 to Gloucester Point, opposite to Yorktovvn, then under the 
 command of Lieu tenant- Colonel Tarleton ; but a violent 
 storm suddenly arose, which defeated the plan, and it was 
 with the greatest difficulty that the British could recover 
 their boats, 
 
 Cornwallis now, seeing that all hope of succor or escape 
 was vain, and that there was nothing left but submission, 
 requested a parley, on the 18th, for twenty-four hours, 
 and that commissioners might be appointed to arrange arti- 
 cles of capitulation. Washington consented, and commis- 
 sioners were appointed accordingly. On the 19th the arti- 
 
 Surrender of Curnwalhs. 
 
 cles were signed, and the whole British army marched out, 
 pTisojiers of war. The same terms were prescribed by the 
 commissioners to Lord Cornwallis, that had been prescribed 
 
214 AMERICAN REVOLUTION, 
 
 to General Lincoln, at Charleston, just eighteen months 
 before. Lincoln was then refused the honors of war, and on 
 this occasion he was deputed to receive the sword of his 
 lordship. Thus the mission of the Marquis La Fayette to 
 France, in the winter of 1779-1780, was consummated by 
 the fall of the hero of the south, at Yorktown. Cornwallis 
 pressed hard for permission to embark the British and 
 German troops to Europe, under suitable engagements not 
 to serve during the war; also, that the. tories might be 
 protected ; but both were refused. His lordship was, how- 
 ever, indulged with the permission that the Bonetta sloop 
 of war might pass unsearched ; and many of the most 
 obnoxious tories escaped from the rage of their injured and 
 insulted countrymen. 
 
 Seven thousand troops, with one thousand five hundred 
 seamen, were taken prisoners with Cornwallis; together 
 with one frigate of twenty-four guns, besides transports, 
 (twenty of which had been sunk or otherwise destroyed,) 
 seventy-five brass and sixty-nine iron ordnance, howitzers 
 and mortars ; also a military chest containing two thousand 
 pounds sterling, which, trifling as it was, could not fail to 
 be acceptable to the army. The ships Avere given to the 
 French. 
 
 Washington closed this glorious scene at Yorktown by 
 publishing to the army, both officers and soldiers, in general 
 orders, the grateful effusions of his heart. He ordered the 
 whole to be assembled in divisions and brigades, to attend 
 to divine service, and render thanks to that God who had 
 given them the victory. Congress received the letter of 
 Washington on the 24th, announcing the capture of the 
 British army, with the most cordial satisfaction, and imme- 
 diately resolved to move in procession, at two o'clock, to the 
 Lutheran church, and return thanks to Almighty God, for 
 crowning with success the allied arms of America and 
 France. Congress next resolved, that a proclamation be 
 issued for the religious observance of the 13th of December, 
 then next, as a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, 
 throughout the United States. 
 
 Thus joy, gratitude, and praise to God were united, and 
 became miiversal, and swelled with transports every patri- 
 
THE BRITISH EXPELLED FROM THE SOUTH. — 1782. 215 
 
 Otic breast throughout United America. Congress resolved, 
 on the 25th, " that thanks be presented General Washing- 
 ton, Count de Rochambeau, Count de Grasse, and the 
 officers of the different corps, and the men under their com- 
 mand, for tlieir services in tlie reduction of Lord Corn- 
 walhs." They next resolved, "that a marble column be 
 erected at Yorktown, adorned with emblems commemora- 
 tive of the alliance between the United States and his most 
 Christian Majesty, and inscribed with a succinct account 
 of the surrender of the Britieh army;" and "that two 
 stands of colors be presented to General Washington, and 
 two pieces of ordnance be by him presented to Count de 
 Rochambeau, as trophies of their illustrious victory ; and 
 that the Chevalier de la Luzerne be requested to inform 
 his most Christian Majesty, that it was the wish of congress 
 that Count de Grasse might be permitted to accept the 
 same testimonials with the Count de Rochambeau. 
 
 Rochambeau, with his army, took up his winter quarters 
 in Virginia; but the troops under the command of St. 
 Simon were embarked for the West Indies, and the Ameri- 
 can troops returned to their former stations, excepting such 
 cavalry and infantry as were necessary to the service of 
 General Greene; these were sent forward in November, 
 under the command of General St. Clair, to cooperate in 
 the southern war. The French fleet sailed at the same 
 time for the West Indies, and the operations of the season 
 were generally closed. Washington retired to Philadelphia, 
 to give repose to his mind, as well as to confer with con- 
 gress upon the future exigencies of the nation. 
 
 Greene, in the mean time, continued posted on the high 
 liills of Santee, and, after the captiire of Cornwallis, a re- 
 inforcement from Washington's army was despatched to 
 him under General Wayne. Strengthened by this force, 
 he took up his march for Georgia. The British abandoned 
 their posts as he advanced, and laid waste the country. 
 The Creek Indians also made irruptions, and harassed the 
 state, but Wayne defeated them, and put them to the rout. 
 After many military manoBuvres the British abandoned 
 Georgia in July, and the Carolinas in December, 1782, 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 American Revolution. — Obstinacy of George III. — Effects of the sur- 
 render of CormvalHs — Opposition in parliament — Change of ministry 
 — Sir Guy Carleion appointed to the command in America — Negotia- 
 tions at Paris — Peace betiveen tlie United States and Great Britain — 
 General pacification in America and Europe — Treatment of Am.erican 
 prisoners by the British — The Jersey prison-ship — Depreciation of the 
 continental currency — Discontents of the army — Mutiny of the Penn- 
 sylvania line — Outrage co?nmitted upon congress — Decisive measures of 
 Washington — The army disbanded — Washington resigns his commis- 
 sion. 
 
 From the beginning of the revolutionary contest, George 
 the Third had been most obstinate and uncompromising in 
 his opposition to the Americans. Even the capture of 
 Cornwalhs did not bring him to reason, and, in his speech to 
 parhament, he still urged hostile measures for putting down 
 what he called the " spirit of rebellion." But the nation 
 liad at last begun to open its eyes to the monstrous folly of 
 the American war. Army after army had laid down their 
 arms before the victorious Americans. Millions upon mil- 
 lions of treasure had been wasted in vain efforts to bring 
 them again under the British yoke, yet the attempt was 
 now more desperate than ever. The embarrassments of 
 trade and commerce, caused by the long war, were felt 
 more and more severely every day, and the opposition in 
 parliament grew so formidable, that Lord North's cabinet 
 saw plainly their administration was approaching its end. 
 At length the house of commons votecl an address to the 
 king, requesting him to put an immediate end to the war in 
 America. Further resolves in parliament, condemning the 
 conduct of the ministry, completed the overthrow of Lord 
 North, and, on the 22d of March, 1782, he resigned his 
 place of prime minister. 
 
THE ROCKINGHAM ADMINISTRATION. — 1782. 
 
 217 
 
 The Marquis of Rockingham succeeded him, and a new- 
 cabinet, friendly to the cause of American independence, 
 was immediately formed; one of the members of which 
 
 Charles James Fox. 
 
 was Charles James Fox, who had been one of the most 
 powerful among the whig leaders in parliament. Military 
 
 Sir Guy Carleton. 
 
 operations in America were immediately suspended, and as 
 one earnest of the sincerity of this resolution, the command 
 19 
 
218 AMERICAN EEVOLUTION. 
 
 of the British forces in America was taken from Sir Henry 
 Chnton, and given to Sir Guy Carleton, who was directed 
 to advance the wishes of the British government for an 
 accommodation with the United States. Agreeably to his 
 instructions, Sit Guy proposed a correspondence with con- 
 gress, and sohcited of the commander-in-chief a passport 
 for his secretary. This was however refused, as the United 
 States had stipulated not to negotiate without the consent 
 of the French government. 
 
 As soon as information of the capture of Cornwallis was 
 received at the French court, the government proposed to 
 congress the immediate appointment of commissioners to 
 treat of peace. John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, John 
 Jay, and Henry Laurens, were accordingly chosen. These 
 were met by Mr. Fitzherbert and Mr. Oswald, at Paris, on 
 the part of Great Britain. Negotiations were opened with 
 the American ministers, and at length, on the 30th of 
 November, 17S2, provisional articles of peace between 
 Great Britain and America were signed. By these articles, 
 the independence of the states was fully acknowledged. 
 The definitive treaty between Great Britain and the United 
 States was signed at Paris, on the 3d of September, 1783, 
 by Messrs. Franklin, Adams and Jay, on the part of 
 America, and David Hartley, on the part of Great Britain. 
 A treaty of peace between Great Britain, Spain and Hol- 
 land, was also concluded on the same day. Peace had 
 been signed with France on the 20th of January, 1783. 
 Thus, a final close was put to the war, both in Europe 
 and America, at the loss of an immense extent of territory 
 to Great Britain, together with fifty thousand men, who 
 perished by the various calamities of war, and the expen- 
 diture of not less than one hundred millions sterling. All 
 this enormous loss might have been prevented by a reason- 
 able degree of moderation in conceding the just demands 
 of the colonists at the beginning of the troubles. The 
 measures of the British cabinet were conceived in. igno- 
 rance, executed with rashness and obstinacy, and led to 
 final calamity and disgrace. 
 
 The treatment of the Americans, when taken prisoners, 
 
THE JERSEY PRISON-SHIP. 1782. 219 
 
 leaves a dark stain on the character of the British com- 
 manders in America. The common usages of war are 
 sufficiently cruel ; but the Americans were considered as 
 rebels, and exposed to brutal cruelties, at which humanity- 
 shudders. They were tortured with every species of suf- 
 fering, to induce them to enter the royal service ; and hun- 
 dreds submitted to death rather than bear arms against 
 their country. The Jersey prison-ship has acquired a 
 most melancholy fame. This vessel was stationed in East 
 river, at New York, and was employed chiefly for the 
 imprisonment of seamen. Several affecting narratives are 
 extant, written by the sutTerers in this dismal hulk. Their 
 details fill our hearts with sorrow, and arouse our indig- 
 nation at the barbarity of men, who, calling themselves 
 Christians, practised cruelties more wanton than those of 
 savages. During the last six years of the war, upwards 
 of eleven thousand prisoners died on board the Jersey, the 
 greater number in consequence of inhuman treatment. 
 For years their bones lay in heaps on the shore of Long 
 Island, as the British seldom took care to bury the bodies 
 of their victims. Some years ago these bones were col- 
 lected into one place, and a monument erected over them. 
 The history of this pile stamps with indelible disgrace the 
 name of Sir Henry Clinton. 
 
 But although the war was at an end, the country was 
 left in a state of painful embarrassment The history 
 of the continental paper currency presents us the most 
 remarkable facts. One of the first acts of the congress 
 which assembled immediately after the battle of Lexington, 
 was to emit bills to the amount of two millions of dollars, 
 which circulated freely, like gold and silver, throughout 
 the country, though nobody knew when or how they were 
 to be redeemed. Within about a month, another million 
 was issued. This had equal success, and, on the 10th of 
 June, 1776, three millions more were added. Paper money 
 now answered every purpose of specie, and millions after 
 millions, at different dates, were put forth, as the exigencies 
 of the colonies required new funds. No reflecting man 
 could indulge an expectation that these bills would ever 
 
220 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 be paid; yet such was the patriotism of the inhabitants, 
 that whoever pretended to doubt their value was regarded 
 as disaffected to the cause of freedom ; and it is indispu- 
 table that, without these paper dollars, the revolutionary 
 war could never have been carried on. But the immense 
 quantities which continued to be uttered by congress, 
 added to the counterfeits on an enormous scale by the 
 British, caused, before long, a depreciation in their current 
 value. Towards the end of 1777, they passed at the rate 
 of two or three for one in silver. In 1778, they were five 
 or six for one ; in 1779, twenty- seven and twenty-eight 
 for one; in 1780, fifty or sixty for one; from this it de- 
 clined to several hundred for one, till, toward the close of 
 the year, they were dropped by common consent. 
 
 During this rapid depreciation, new issues were contin- 
 vially made, though the value realized by the government 
 did not correspond to the nominal amount of the emissions, 
 as they were obliged to issue them, in the first instance, at 
 the current rate of depreciation. Between four and five 
 hundred millions were thus put into circulation from first 
 to last, not one of which was ever redeemed. There is no 
 example, in the history of the world, of a financial scheme 
 so bold and successful as this. When the paper ceased to 
 circulate, every one was convinced of the necessity of the 
 measure, and no person regretted it, or seemed to feel its 
 loss. It is true, each man was ostensibly some dollars 
 poorer than before ; but the loss of a heap of worthless 
 paper, which could no longer serve any useful purpose, 
 restored a confidence in mercantile transactions, that was 
 of far higher value than the number of dollars it repre- 
 sented. No stagnation of business, nor symptom of what 
 is called in modern phrase a "pressure in the money mar- 
 ket," followed this surprising revolution in the finances of 
 the country. As for the final redemption of the bills, every 
 person saw its utter impossibility. 
 
 Yet, when it became necessary to disband the army, the 
 most alarming embarrassments arose in consequence of 
 this singular state of aff'airs. The country possessed no 
 means of paying the soldiers, and they uttered loud mur- 
 
THE ARMY DISBANDED. 1783. 221 
 
 murs. A committee from the army waited on congress 
 and represented their grievances and claims. The discon- 
 tent among the ranks was further increased by inflamma- 
 tory writings, circulated anonymously, calling upon the 
 soldiers not to desist from their claims while they had 
 arms in their hands. Washington made every exertion 
 to quell the rising discontents, but the mutinous spirit was 
 . so strong that no efforts could hinder it from breaking out 
 into open violence. On the 20th of June, 1783, a body of 
 Pennsylvania troops, with some others, marched from Lan- 
 caster to Philadelphia, where congress were sitting, sur- 
 rounded the State-house, and threatened the members with 
 the last degree of outrage, unless their demands were 
 granted in twenty-four minutes. This gross insult was 
 resented by congress with proper spirit and self-respect. 
 They refused to listen to the demands of the mutineers, 
 and resolved to remove from Philadelphia to Princeton, 
 where they might pursue their deliberations in safety. 
 Washington took the proper steps to suppress and punish 
 the mutineers. He despatched a body of fifteen hundred 
 men, under General Robert Howe, who quickly reduced 
 the malecontents to obedience, without bloodshed. Meas- 
 ures were then taken by congress to provide for paying the 
 army. There was no national treasury, and the only 
 expedient was, to grant certificates to the soldiers, to the 
 amount of their wages, which were to be paid at a future 
 time. By this method they were dismissed, and in some 
 degree satisfied. 
 
 The discontent of the soldiery led to no further acts 
 of violence, and the farewell orders of Washington were 
 issued to the army on the 2d of November, 1783, from 
 which the following is a selection : — ■ 
 
 " A contemplation of the complete attainment, at a period 
 earlier than could have been expected, of the object for 
 which we contended against so formidable a power, can- 
 not but inspire us with astonishment and gratitude. The 
 disadvantageous circumstances, on our part, under which 
 the war was undertaken, can never be forgotten. The 
 signal interpositions of Providence, in our feeble condition, 
 19* 
 
222 AMERICAN " REVOLUTION. 
 
 were such as could scarcely escape the attention of the 
 most unobserving, while the unparalleled perseverance of 
 the armies of the United States, through almost every pos- 
 sible suffering and discouragement, for the space of eight 
 long years, was little short of a standing miracle." His 
 closing words are, — " and being now to conclude these his 
 last public orders, to take his ultimate leave, in a short 
 time, of the military character, and to bid adieu to the 
 armies he has so long had the honor to command, he can 
 only again offer in their behalf his recommendations to 
 their grateful country, and his prayers to the God of armies. 
 May ample justice be done them here, and may the choicest 
 of Heaven's favors, both here and hereafter, attend those 
 who, under the divine auspices, have secured innumerable 
 blessings for others ! With these wishes, and this bene- 
 diction, the commander-in-chief is about to retire from 
 service. The curtain of separation will soon be drawn, 
 and the military scene to him will be forever closed." 
 
 The army was now disbanded by the proclamation of 
 congress, of which Dr. Thatcher gives the following sketch, 
 with the parting scene between General Washington and 
 his officers :— '' Painful, indeed, was the parting scene ; no 
 description can be adequate to the tragic exhibition. Both 
 officers and soldiers, long unaccustomed to the affairs of 
 private life, turned loose on the world to starve, and to 
 become a prey to vulture speculators. Never can that 
 melancholy day be forgotten, when friends, companions 
 for seven long years in joy and in sorrow, were torn asun- 
 der, without the hope of ever meeting again, and with 
 prospects of a miserable subsistence in future. Among 
 other incidents, peculiarly affecting, on this occasion, were 
 the lamentations of women and children, earnestly entreat- 
 ing that those with whom they had been connected in the 
 character of husband and father, would not withdraw from 
 them the hand of kindness and protection, and leave them 
 in despair ; but, in several instances, the reply was, ' No ; 
 we took you as companions during the war, and now we 
 are destitute of the means of support, and you must pro- 
 vide for yourselves.' " 
 
THE ARMY DISBANDED. 1783. 223 
 
 On the 25th of November, 1783, the British army evac- 
 uated New York, and the American troops, under General 
 Knox, took possession of the city. Soon after, Washing- 
 ton and Governor Clinton, with their suite, made their 
 pubhc entry into the city on horseback, followed by the 
 lieutenant-governor and the members of council for the 
 temporary government of the southern district, four abreast; 
 General Knox, and the officers of the army, eight abreast ; 
 citizens on horseback, eight abreast; the speaker of the 
 assembly, and the citizens on foot, eight abreast. The 
 governor gave a public dinner, at which the commander- 
 in-chief and other general officers were present. The 
 arrangements for the whole business were so well made 
 and executed, that the most admirable tranquillity suc- 
 ceeded through the day and night. On Monday the gov- 
 ernment gave an elegant entertainment to the French 
 ambassador, the Chevalier de la Luzerne. Washington, 
 the principal officers of New York state and of the army, 
 and upwards of a hundred gentlemen, were present. Mag- 
 nificent fireworks, infinitely exceeding everything of the 
 kind before seen in the United States, were exhibited at the 
 Bowling Green in Broadway, on the evening of Tuesday, 
 in celebration of the definitive treaty of peace. They 
 commenced by a dove descending with the olive branch, 
 and setting fire to a marron battery. 
 
 On Tuesday noon, December 4th, the principal officers 
 of the army assembled at Francis' tavern, to take a final 
 leave of their much-loved commander-in-chief Soon after, 
 Washington entered the room. His emotions were too 
 strong to be concealed. Filling a glass, he turned to them 
 and said: " With a heart full of love and gratitude, I now 
 take leave of you. I most devoutly wish that your latter 
 days may be as prosperous and happy as your former ones 
 have been glorious and honorable." Having drank, he 
 added, "I cannot come to each of you to take my leave, 
 but shall be obliged to you if each of you will come and 
 take me by the hand." General Knox, being nearest, 
 turned to him. Incapable of utterance, Washington, in 
 tears, grasped his hand, embraced and kissed him. In the 
 
224 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 same affectionate manner he took leave of each succeeding 
 officer. In every eye was the tear of dignified sensibility, 
 and not a word was articulated to interrupt the eloquent 
 silence and tenderness of the scene. Leaving the room, 
 he passed through the corps of light infantry, and walked 
 to AVhite-Hall, where a barge waited to convey him to 
 Paulus' Hook. The whole company followed in mute and 
 solemn procession, with dejected countenances, testifying 
 feelings of delicious melancholy, which, no language can 
 describe. Having entered the barge, he turned to the 
 company, and, waving his hat, bade them a silent adieu. 
 They paid him the same affectionate compliment, and, 
 after the barge had left them, returned in the same solemn 
 manner to the place where they had assembled. ' The pas- 
 sions of human nature were never more tenderly agitated 
 than in this interesting and distressful scene. 
 
 Congress was now in session at Annapolis, to whom, on 
 the 23d of December, the commander-in-chief resigned his 
 commission. The governor, council, and legislature of 
 Maryland, several general officers, the consul general of 
 France, and numerous citizens of Annapolis, were present. 
 The members of congress were seated, and covered, as 
 representatives of the sovereignty of the Union ; the spec- 
 tators were Uncovered, and standing. The general was 
 introduced to a chair by the secretary, who, after a decent 
 interval, ordered silence. A short pause ensued, when 
 Thomas Mifflin, the president, informed the general, that 
 " the United States, in congress assembled, were prepared 
 to receive his communications;" — on which he rose, with 
 dignity, and delivered this address : — 
 
 " Mr. President — The great events on which my resig- ' 
 nation depended having at length taken place, I now have 
 the honor of offering my sincere congratulation to congress, 
 and of presenting myself before them, to surrender into 
 their hands the trust committed to me, and to claim the 
 indulgence of retiring from the service of my country. 
 
 " Happy in the confirmation of our independence and 
 sovereignty, and pleased with the opportunity afforded the 
 United States of becoming a respectable nation, I resign 
 with satisfaction the appointment I accepted with diffi- 
 
WASHINGTON RESIGNS HIS COMMISSION. 1783. 225 
 
 dence ; a diffidence in my abilities to accomplish so ardu- 
 ous a task, Avhich, however, was superseded by a confi- 
 dence in the rectitude of our cause, the support of the 
 supreme power of the Union, and the patronage of Heaven. 
 
 " The successful termination of the war has verified the 
 most sanguine expectations ; — my gratitude for the interpo- 
 sitions of Providence, and the assistance I have received 
 from my countrymen, increase with every review of the 
 momentous contest. 
 
 " While I respect my obligations to the army in general, 
 I should do injustice to my own feelings, not to acknowl- 
 edge, in this place, the peculiar services and distinguished 
 merits of the persons who have been attached to my person 
 during the war. It was impossible the choice of confiden- 
 tial officers, to compose my family, should have been more 
 fortunate. Permit me, sir, to recommend in particular 
 those who have continued in the service to the present 
 moment, as worthy of the favorable notice and patronage 
 of congress. I consider it as an indispensable duty to close 
 this last solemn act of my official life, by commending the 
 interests of our country to the protection of Almighty God, 
 and those who have the superintendence of them, to his 
 holy keeping. 
 
 "Having now finished the work assigned me, I retire 
 from the great theatre of action ; and bidding an affection- 
 ate farewell to this angust body, under whose orders I have 
 long acted, I here offer my commission, and take my leave 
 of all the employments of public life." 
 
 "When accepting his commission, congress, through their 
 president, expressed in glowing language to Washington 
 their high sense of his wisdom and energy, in conducting 
 the war to so happy a termination, and invoking the 
 choicest blessings upon his future life. 
 
 President Mifflin concluded as follows : " We join you 
 in commending the interest of our country to the protection 
 of Almighty God, beseeching Him to dispose the hearts and 
 minds of its citizens to improve the opportunity afforded 
 them of becoming a happy nation ; and our prayers for 
 you, sir, that your days may be happy, and He will finally 
 give you that reward which this world cannot give." 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 The Confederation. — Washington retires to private life — State of the 
 country — Defects of the old confederation — Embarrassments after the ter- 
 mination of the loar — Foundation of the Order of Cincinnati — Trouble 
 in the Eastern Slates — Insurrection of Shays — The militia of Massa- 
 chusetts raised — Affair of Springfield — Defeat of the insurgents — 
 Tranquillity restored — Plan for a new federal governtncnt — Convention 
 of Philadelphia — Formation of the Federal Constitution — Washington 
 elected president — His tour through the country — Hamilton^ s financial 
 system — United States Bank established — Vermont admitted ijito the 
 Union — First census — Indian ivar — Defeat of St. Clair — Wayne^s 
 campaign — Defeat of the Indians — Treaty of Grenville — The Whiskey 
 Insurrection in Pennsylvania — Commencement of the French Revolu- 
 tion — Arrival of Genet in the United States — His extraordinary beha- 
 vior and recall — Jm/'s treaty — Adams elected president — Hostility of 
 the French Directory — Capture of the Insurgente — Peace with France — 
 Death of Washington. 
 
 The American army being disbanded, the soldiers, 
 covered with honorable scars, returned quietly to their 
 homes. Washington, refusing alike public honors, titles 
 and pay, withdrew to the abode of private retirement, at his 
 farm at Mount Vernon ; and the world saw, with astojiish- 
 ment and admiration, an army and its chief voluntarily 
 lay down their arms, after seven years' service, with the 
 only remuneration for their labors which arose from the 
 consciousness of having established the liberties of their 
 country. The United States had now an independent 
 national existence, yet the general government had no con- 
 solidation or permanent system. The states during the 
 war had adhered to each other by the pressure of a com- 
 mon danger, and the authority of congress, although rest- 
 ing solely on the spontaneous consent of the several bodies 
 which formed the confederacy, was found sufficient for the 
 
THE ORDER OF THE CINCINNATI. — 1783. 227 
 
 common purposes of war. It was very clear to all think- 
 ing men that such a system of administration could not be 
 permanent, and that, being the growth of a sudden neces- 
 sity, it must perish when the exigencies that called it into 
 existence, had passed away. 
 
 Yet, after the return of peace, an attempt was made to 
 continue the government of the confederation. Money for 
 public purposes was raised by congress in annual requisi- 
 tions upon the states, while each state collected its own 
 revenue by taxation, customs, &c. Endeavors also were 
 made to establish relations with foreign countries by the 
 authority of congress. John Adams was sent as American 
 minister to the court of Great Britain, in 1785, but although 
 he was amicably received, it was found impossible to effect 
 a commercial treaty or to raise a loan, as the government 
 of the states had no efficient head or proper organization. 
 The defects of the government soon began to be felt in 
 commercial embarrassments and financial perplexities. 
 Foreign trade declined, money was scarce, property of 
 every kind depreciated in value, and the country sunk into 
 wide-spread and deep distress. A treaty of amity and 
 commerce Avas arranged between Prussia and the United 
 States, in 1785, but, from the causes above specified, it led 
 to no perceptible benefit to the country. 
 
 Before the army was disbanded, the officers instituted a 
 society, at their camp on the Hudson, designed to perpetu- 
 ate the friendship they had mutually contracted in their 
 warfare for liberty. In honor of the Roman patriot, Cin- 
 cinnatus, who, after leading his countrymen to victory, 
 retired voluntarily to his farm, they named it the Society 
 of Cincinnati. The principle of hereditary transmission 
 was adopted, and the "Order of the Cincinnati" was to 
 descend to the eldest son of each member, in regular suc- 
 cession, like an order of nobility. So wide a departure 
 from republican notions, raised a serious clamor, not only in 
 America, but among liberal men in Europe. Much public 
 discussion was the consequence, and the genius of Mira- 
 beau was called forth in an essay against the hereditary 
 principle of the Cincinnati. So strong a disapprobation 
 
228 THE CONFEDERATION. ' 
 
 caused the society to abolish this anti-repubhcan feature 
 of their constitution, and very few members of the " Order 
 of Cincinnati" are in existence at this day, — sixty years 
 from its foundation. 
 
 The unsettled state of public affairs soon led to domestic 
 troubles. The New England states being the most densely 
 peopled, felt most deeply the pressure of the times. New 
 Hampshire, Rhode Island and Connecticut were agitated 
 by the most alarming symptoms of discontent. In Massa- 
 chusetts the troubles were exasperated to a public and 
 hostile outbreak, known as Shays' rebellion. Seditious 
 movements were made in the western counties, where the 
 people imagined the courts of law to be an insufferable 
 grievance. Inflammatory writings were circulated, tu- 
 multuous assemblies held, and at length the malecontents 
 found a leader in Daniel Shays, a minor officer in the revo- 
 lutionary army. He collected an armed body of several 
 tliousand men, at Springfield, in the winter of 1786, who 
 threatened to march to Boston, and, by compulsory mea- 
 sures, to oblige the general court to redress the grievances 
 of the people, Avhich they alleged were brought upon them 
 by enormous taxation and other severities. They, how- 
 ever, thought proper to send forward a petition, instead of 
 marching, sword in hand, to the capital ; which, had they 
 done in a prompt and unscrupulous manner, there seems 
 little doubt they would have taken possession of Boston, 
 and dispersed the legislature. 
 
 Shays, however, possessed none of the qualities for a 
 revolutionary leader. He made a feeble attempt upon the 
 arsenal at Springfield, on the 25th of January, 1787, but 
 General Shcpard, who commanded a body of militia 
 stationed to guard it, dispersed the whole band of insur- 
 gents by a single discharge of cannon. Meantime, the 
 militia of the eastern counties were called out by Governor 
 Bowdoin, and placed under the command of General 
 Lincoln. The insurgents, with Shays at their head, took 
 possession of a hill at Pelham. Lincoln marched against 
 them, and Shays, finding his condition desperate, attempted 
 to open a negotiation. He had a force of two thousand 
 
CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 1787. 229 
 
 men about the 1st of February, but, after a few weeks, 
 they began to abandon him, and Lincohi, being reinforced, 
 advanced to the attack. Shays retreated, and was pursued 
 through a most severe snow-storm, and, at Petersham, 
 Lincoln overtook him and put his whole force to the rout. 
 Some other skirmishes took place during the latter part of 
 February, but the rebels were entirely defeated, and Shays 
 was driven out of the state. Tranquillity was restored in 
 a few weeks, and Shays, some time afterward, received a 
 pardon from the government. 
 
 Every judicious man in the country now saw the neces- 
 sity of a new form of general government for the states. 
 The first proposal of a federal system was made by Mr. 
 Madison, in the legislature of A^irginia. This proposal was 
 encouraged by men of influence in every quarter of the 
 country, and was received with such general favor as to 
 bring forth a resolution in congress, recommending a con- 
 vention of delegates to be held at Philadelphia, on the 
 second Monday in May, 1787, for the purpose of remodel- 
 ing the government. Accordingly, delegates were chosen 
 by all the states, and met in convention at the time and 
 place appointed. Washington was president of the con- 
 vention. The labors of that important assembly continued 
 through four months; but as the debates were carried on with 
 closed doors, we have lost a most valuable and interesting 
 portion of our history. At length the Constitution of the 
 United States was completed — that scheme of govern- 
 ment, under which the American republic arose to wealth, 
 po^ver and national glory, with a rapidity unexampled in 
 • the history of the world. 
 
 Yet this noblest and wisest political institution that 
 mankind had yet seen, found its enemies. The anti-fed- 
 eralists, or opponents of the constitution, formed a strong 
 party. With some, this opposition arose from a sincere 
 apprehension of the danger of a consolidated federal gov- 
 ernment, with a single cliief, who, it was feared, would be 
 too much of a king. Even the sagacious Patrick Henry 
 declared that the constitution had "an awful squinting 
 towards monarchy ! " Others opposed it from the mere 
 20 
 
230 
 
 THE CONFEDERATION. 
 
 spirit of contradiction, or a factious desire to perpetuate 
 the troubles and perplexities of the old system, as desperate 
 men find most profit in desperate times. But the federal- 
 ists were much the stronger party, and, fortunately for the 
 country, their superior talents, influence and respectability 
 brought the minds of the people to incline decidedly in favor 
 of the federal constitution. John Adams, residing in Lon- 
 don as American minister, published, in 1787, a most able 
 work, entitled " Defence of the American Constitution." 
 Madison, Hamilton and Jay wrote the " Federalist," a 
 series of essays, displaying, with great acuteness, the ex- 
 cellencies of the new system. These writings had a pow- 
 erful effect, and before the 14th of July, 1788, ten of the 
 states pronounced in favor of it, and on that day it was 
 ratified by congress, and the American Republic was es- 
 tablished. The remaining states shortly after joined the 
 federal union. New York acceded on the 2(7th of July, 
 1788, North Carolina, in November, 1789, and Rhode 
 Island, in May, 1790. It had been settled that the con- 
 stitution should go into operation on the 4th of March, 1789. 
 All the elections were held the year previous. 
 
 Inauguration of Washington. 
 
 There could be but one voice as to the man who should 
 receive the honor of being the first president of the United 
 
Washington's administration. — 1789. 231 
 
 States. George Washington was chosen unanimously. 
 John Adams was vice-president. Washington felt great 
 reluctance at accepting the powers and responsibilities of 
 so high an office, but the wish of his countrymen was to 
 him a command. The first congress was convened at 
 New York, on the 4th of March, and proceeded without 
 delay to raise a revenue by imposing duties on importa- 
 tions ; to constitute a federal judiciary by establishing a 
 supreme court; to organize the executive administration, 
 by creating the departments of war, foreign affairs and the 
 treasury. Jefferson was appointed secretary of state ; 
 Hamilton, secretary of the treasury; and General Knox, 
 secretary at war. It must strike the reader as most re- 
 markable, that the American republic, which, in a few 
 short years, was destined to become a first-rate naval 
 power, and to carry her flag to the most remote corners of 
 the ocean, did not at this period possess a single ship of 
 war. There was, of course, no navy department. After 
 the adjournment of congress, the president made a tour 
 through New England, where he was received by the in- 
 habitants with an affection bordering on adoration. People 
 of all classes crowded to behold the man whose virtues 
 and talents exalted him, in their view, above the heroes of 
 ancient and modern times ; and to present to him the un- 
 dissembled homage of their grateful hearts. But to none 
 did his visit give more exquisite pleasure than to the offi- 
 cers and soldiers of the "patriot army," who had been his 
 companions in suffering and in victory ; who were endeared 
 to him by their bravery and fidelity in war, and by the 
 magnanimity with which, in peace, they endured unmer- 
 ited neglect and poverty. 
 
 At the next session of congress, which commenced in 
 January, 1790, Mr. Hamilton, the secretary of the treasury, 
 made his celebrated report upon the public debts con- 
 tracted during the revolutionary war. Taking an able and 
 enlarged view of the advantages of public credit, he recom- 
 mended that not only the debts of the continental congress, 
 but those of the states, arising from their exertions in the 
 common cause, should be funded or assumed by the §en- 
 
232 THE CONFEDERATION. 
 
 eral government ; and that provision should be made for 
 paying the interest, by imposing taxes on certain articles 
 of luxury, and on spirits distilled within the country. 
 Upon this report, an animated debate took place. Its re- 
 commendations were opposed by that party who had seen, 
 or thought they had seen, in the constitution, many fea- 
 tures hostile to freedom, and who remembered that Mr. 
 Hamilton, when a member of the convention, had pro- 
 posed that the president and senate should be appointed to 
 hold their offices during good behavior. They now ex- 
 pressed their fears that the assumption of these debts 
 would render the government still stronger, by drawing 
 around it a numerous and powerful body of public credi- 
 tors, who, in all the contests with the states or the people, 
 would be bound, hj the strongest of all ties, that of inter- 
 est, to support it, whether right or Avrong. This party, 
 existing principally in the southern states, and professing 
 an ardent attachment to the equal rights of man, took the 
 name of republican. Mr. Madison proposed that when- 
 ever the public securities had been transferred, the highest 
 price which they had borne in the market should be paid 
 to the purchaser, and the residue to the original holder. 
 After an eloquent debate, this proposition was rejected. 
 The party denominated federal, and existing principally 
 in the northern states, supported throughout, with great 
 ability and force of reasoning, the plans of the secretary ; 
 but, on taking the vote in the house of representatives, they 
 were rejected by a majority of two. 
 
 Afterwards this national measure was connected, as is 
 too frequently the case in legislative bodies, with one 
 which had excited much local feeling. It was understood 
 that, should the seat of government be fixed for ten years 
 at Philadelphia, and afterwards permanently at a place to 
 be selected on the Potomac, some southern members would 
 withdraw their opposition to the funding system. A law 
 to that effect was accordingly enacted. The former dis- 
 cussion was then resumed. The plans of the secretary 
 were adopted in the senate, and afterwards in the house ; 
 two members representing districts on the Potomac chang- 
 
Washington's administration. — iroi. 233 
 
 ing their votes. The debt funded amounted to a Uttle 
 more than seventy-five milUons of dollars ; upon a part of 
 which three per cent, and upon the remainder six per 
 cent, interest was to be paid. The effect of this measure 
 was great and rapid. The price of the public paper, which 
 had fallen to twelve or fifteen cents on the dollar, suddenly- 
 rose to the sum expressed on the face of it. This differ- 
 ence was gained, in most instances, by purchasers of the 
 securities, who, feeling indebted, for this immense acces- 
 sion of wealth, to the plans of the secretary, regarded him 
 with enthusiastic attachment. But in others, this wealth, 
 suddenly acquired without merit, excited envy and dissat- 
 isfaction. These joined the republican party, who, fancy- 
 ing they were witnessing the fulfilment of their predictions, 
 became more active in their opposition. 
 
 The recommendation of the secretary, to impose addi- 
 tional duties, was not acted upon until the next session of 
 congress. Those on distilled spirits were proposed in order 
 to render the burdens of the inhabitants beyond the Alle- 
 gany mountains, where no other spirits were consumed, 
 equal to those of the inhabitants on the sea-coast, who 
 consumed most of the articles on which an impost duty 
 was paid. In the beginning of the year 1791, they were 
 laid as proposed. A national bank, recommended also by 
 the same officer, was in the same year incorporated. Both 
 measures met a violent opposition. 
 
 In 1791, Vermont adopted the constitution, and applied 
 to congress to be admitted into the Union. The territory 
 of this state, situated between New Hampshire and New 
 York, was claimed by both, and both had made grants of 
 land within its limits. In 1777, the inhabitants, refusing 
 to submit to either, declared themselves independent. Al- 
 though not represented in the continental congress, yet, 
 during the war, they embraced the cause of their brethren 
 in the other states, and to them their aid was often rendered, 
 and was always efficient. Agreeably to their request, an 
 act was now passed, constituting Vermont one of the mem- 
 bers of the Union. An act was also passed, declaring that 
 the district of Kentucky, then a part of Virginia, should be 
 20* 
 
234 THE CONFEDERATION. 
 
 admitted into the Union on the 1st day of June, in the suc- 
 ceeding year. 
 
 In 1791, was completed the first census or enumeration 
 of the inhabitants of the United States, They amounted 
 to 3,921, .326, of which number 695,655 were slaves. The 
 revenue, according to the report of the secretary of the 
 treasury, amounted to ^4,771,000; the exports to about 
 nineteen, and the imports to about twenty millions. A 
 great improvement in the circumstances of the people be- 
 gan, at this period, to be visible. The establishment of a 
 firm and regular government, and confidence in the men 
 whom they had chosen to administer it, gave an impulse 
 to their exertions, which bore them rapidly forward in the 
 career of prosperity. 
 
 In 1790, a termination was put to the war, which, for 
 several years, had raged between the Creek Indians and 
 the state of Georgia. Pacific overtures were also made to 
 the hostile tribes inhabiting the banks of the Scioto and 
 the Wabash. These being rejected, an army of fourteen 
 hundred men, commanded by General Harmer, was de- 
 spatched against them. Two battles were fought near 
 Chilicothe, in Ohio, between successive detachments from 
 this army and the Indians, in which the latter were vic- 
 torious. Emboldened by these successes, they made more 
 vigorous attacks upon the frontier settlements, which suf- 
 fered all the distressing calamities of an Indian war. Ad- 
 ditional troops were raised, and the command of the whole 
 was given to General St. Clair. With near tAvo thousand 
 men, he marched, in October, 1791, into the wilderness. 
 By desertion and detachments, this force was reduced to 
 fourteen hundred men. On the 3d of November, they 
 encamped a few miles from the villages on the Miami, 
 intending to remain there until joined by those who were 
 absent. But, before sunrise the next morning, just after 
 the troops were dismissed from the parade, they were 
 attacked unexpectedly by the Indians. The new levies, 
 who were in front, rushed back in confusion upon the reg- 
 ulars. These, Avho had been hastily formed, were thrown 
 into disorder. They, however, with great intrepidity. 
 
DEFEAT OF GENERAL ST. CLAIR. — 1791. 235 
 
 advanced into the midst of the enemy, who retired from 
 covert to covert, keeping always beyond reach, and again 
 returning as soon as the troops were recalled from pursuit. 
 In these charges, many brave and experienced officers 
 were killed ; the loss of men was also great, and no perma- 
 nent impression was made upon the enemy. At length, 
 after a contest of three or four hours, St. Clair, whose ill- 
 health disabled him from performing the active duties of 
 commander, determined to withdraw from the field the 
 remnant of his troops. The instant that the directions to 
 retire were given, a disorderly flight commenced. Fortu- 
 nately for the survivors, the victorious Indians were soon 
 recalled from pursuit, to the camp, by their avidity for 
 plunder ; and the vanquished continued their retreat un- 
 molested to the frontier settlements. In this battle, the 
 numbers engaged on both sides were supposed to be equal. 
 Of the whites, the slaughter was almost beyond example. 
 Six hundred and thirty were killed and missing, and two 
 hundred and sixty were wounded, — a loss which proves 
 at once the obstinacy of the defence and the bravery of 
 the assailants. 
 
 On receiving information of this disaster, congress, re- 
 solving to prosecute the war with increased vigor, made 
 provision for augmenting, by enlistment, the military force 
 of the nation to five thousand men. This force was put 
 imder the command of General Wayne. He advanced into 
 the Indian territory, in the autumn of 1793, and erected a 
 fortification on the spot where St. Clair had been defeated, 
 which he named Fort Recovery. The season was too far 
 advanced for military operations, and he wintered in the 
 neighborhood. The early part of the summer was spent 
 in attempts to negotiate with the enemy, and cautious 
 movements on the part of the Americans. At length, on 
 the 8th of August, 1794, he reached the rapids of the 
 Miami, with a force of three thousand men, and marched 
 down the stream to meet the enemy, who were strongly 
 posted in a fortification, skirted by a thick wood and the 
 rocky bank of the Miami, where they had collected two 
 thousand strong. Wayne attacked them on the 20th of 
 
236 
 
 THE CONFEDERATION. 
 
 August. After an obstinate battle of an hour, the Indians 
 were defeated and driven from their fort with great loss. 
 
 Wayne^s victory over iJie Indians. 
 
 In the neighborhood of the battle-field was a strong fort, 
 garrisoned by British troops, although far within the 
 American limits. This fortification, with several others, 
 the British continued to hold, on the plea that the United 
 States had failed to execute some articles of the treaty of 
 1783; and it was supposed that the Indian hostilities were 
 owing to the intrigues of British agents at these posts. 
 The defeated savages fled from Wayne's army into the 
 shelter of a wood under the guns of this fort, where it was 
 found impossible to dislodge them. Wayne laid waste the 
 Indian towns and cornfields, and completely broke the 
 power of the Indians. On the 3d of August, 1795, a treaty 
 was agreed upon at Greenville, which established peace, 
 and restored the frontiers to tranquillity. 
 
 Although the general operation of the federal constitu- 
 tion had been highly successful, yet there were some excep- 
 tions. The state of Pennsylvania had shown symptoms 
 of discontent for three or four years ; and a seditious man- 
 ifestation took place in 1794, called the Whiskey Insurrec- 
 tion. The anti-federal party had been strong in this 
 
FRENCH REVOLUTION. 1793. 237 
 
 quarter ; but the chief opposition arose against an act of 
 congress, imposing a duty on the distillation of spirits. 
 The opposition grew to such a height, that, in 1794, the 
 law was publicly set at defiance. The revenue officers 
 were obstructed in the execution of their duty, and the 
 marshal was shot at by a body of armed men. Houses 
 were attacked and burnt, and furious outrages perpetrated. 
 The government took prompt and decisive measures to 
 quell the insurrection. The militia of Pennsylvania and 
 the neighboring states were raised and marched against 
 the rioters. They fled without striking another blow, and 
 tranquillity was speedily restored. 
 
 In the mean time the French revolution had broken out, 
 and information was received of the declaration of war by 
 France against England and Holland. The United States 
 were greatly interested for the success of France, which 
 had assisted us during our revolution. The French people, 
 at the same time, regarded the Americans as their brethren, 
 bound to them by the ties of gratitude ; and when the kings 
 of Europe, dreading the establishment of republicanism in 
 her borders, assembled in arms to restore monarchy to 
 France, she looked across the Atlantic for sympathy and 
 assistance. The new government, recalling the minister 
 whom the king had appointed, despatched the citizen 
 Genet, of ardent temper, and a zealous republican, to sup- 
 ply his place. In April, 1793, he arrived at Charleston, in 
 South Carolina, where he was received by the governor 
 and the citizens in a cordial manner. At his first landing, 
 he proceeded to acts violating the rules of international 
 Jaw, by commissioning armed vessels from Charleston to 
 cruise against the British. This was promptly resented 
 by the British minister at Philadelphia, who complained 
 of Genet's proceedings, and Washington sent instructions, 
 accompanied with rules for the observation of neutrality, 
 to the governors of all the states. Genet, mistaking the 
 character both of his own office and of the American peo- 
 ple, attempted to excite a popular clamor against Wash- 
 ington. He issued the most absurd and extravagant 
 inflammatory publications, addressed to the passions of the 
 
238 THE CONFEDERATION. 
 
 people, and actually called upon them to resist the author- 
 ity of their government. In this outrageous proceeding he 
 was seconded by all the wild, ignorant and senseless dem- 
 agogues in the country. Kis language toward the govern- 
 ment became so insolent that Washington refused to hold 
 any farther intercourse with him, and the French govern- 
 ment were obliged to call him home. 
 
 In 1794, the navigation of the Mississippi was secured 
 to the United States by a treaty with Spain, concluded by 
 Mr. Pinckney, American envoy at Madrid. Mr. Adams 
 had returned from England, and Mr. Jay had succeeded 
 him as American minister in the same year. He effected 
 a commercial treaty with Great Britain, which proved very 
 beneficial to the country, although it excited great clamors 
 at the moment. By this treaty, all the American posts 
 occupied by the British were given up, and a general 
 settlement of all disputes between the two countries was 
 concluded. 
 
 Washington, who had been reelected president in 1792, 
 now signified his determination to retire from political life, 
 and John Adams was chosen to succeed him. He entered 
 upon his oflTice in March, 1797. The relations of the 
 United States with France now assumed a hostile com- 
 plexion. Genet's successors, Fauchet and Adet, practised 
 intrigues and manoeuvres inconsistent with their diplomatic 
 character. The language of the French Directory was 
 overbearing and insolent, and at length they issued orders 
 for the capture of American vessels, on the ground that 
 they had permitted themselves to be searched by British 
 cruisers. Hostilities immediately broke out. There was 
 no formal declaration of war by congress, but the govern- 
 ment issued an order for the capturing of all armed French 
 vessels. On the 9th of February, 1799, the American 
 frigate Constellation, of thirty-six guns, commanded by 
 Captain Truxton, being on a cruise among the West India 
 Islands, fell in with the French frigate I'lnsurgente, of forty 
 guns, and captured her, after an engagement of an hour and 
 a quarter. The Insurgente was much superior in force to 
 her antagonist. On the 1st day of February, 1800, the 
 
\ 
 
 DEATH OF WASHINGTON. — 1799. 239 
 
 Constellation fought another battle with the French frigate 
 La Vengeance, of fifty-four guns. After a most obstinate 
 and bloody engagement of above four hours, the French 
 ship was silenced, but a squall suddenly springing up, 
 enabled her to escape, and she arrived at Curasao in a 
 shattered condition, with one hundred and sixty men killed 
 and wounded. 
 
 The spirit of the country was completely roused by the 
 insults of the French government. Preparations were 
 made for raising an army, and Washington was appointed 
 commander-in-chief. The United States, in arms at home 
 and victorious on the ocean, commanded the respect of 
 their enemy. The directory made overtures of peace. 
 The president immediately appointed ministers, who, on 
 their arrival at Paris, found the executive authority in the 
 possession of Bonaparte as first consul. They were 
 promptly accredited, and, in September, 1800, a treaty was 
 concluded satisfactory to both countries. 
 
 While this negotiation was in progress, the whole Ameri- 
 can people were overwhelmed Avith sorrow, by the sudden 
 death of the father of his country. On the 14th of Decem- 
 ber, 1799, after an illness of one day only, Washington ex- 
 pired. Intelligence of this event, as it ra.pidly spread, pro- 
 duced spontaneous, deep, and unaffected grief, suspending 
 every other thought, and absorbing every different feeling. 
 Congress, then in session at Philadelphia, immediately 
 adjourned. On assembling the next day, the house of 
 representatives resolved "that the speaker's chair should 
 be shrouded in black, and the members wear black during 
 the session ; and that a joint committee should be appointed 
 to devise the most suitable manner of paying honor to the 
 memory of the MAN, first in war, first in peace, and first 
 in the hearts of his countrymen." 
 
 The senate, on this melancholy occasion, addressed a 
 letter of condolence to the president of the United States. 
 "This event," they observe, "so distressing to all our 
 fellow-citizens, must be particularly heavy to you, who 
 have long been associated with him in deeds of patriotism. 
 Permit us, sir, to mingle our tears with yours. On this 
 
240 
 
 THE CONFEDERATION. 
 
 occasion, it is manly to weep. To lose such a man, at 
 such a crisis, is no common calamity to the world. Our 
 country mourns a father. The Almighty Disposer of 
 human events has taken from us our greatest benefactor 
 and ornament. It becomes us to submit with reverence to 
 HIM who maketh darkness his pavilion. 
 
 "With patriotic pride we review the life of our WASH- 
 INGTON, and compare him with those of other countries 
 who have been preeminent in fame. Ancient and modern 
 names are diminished before him. Greatness and guilt 
 have too often been allied ; but his fame is whiter than it 
 is brilliaut. The destroyer of nations stood abashed at the 
 majesty of his virtues. It reproved the intemperance of 
 their ambition, and darkened the splendor of victory. 
 
 " Such was the man whom we deplore. Thanks to God, 
 his glory is consummated. Washington yet lives on earth 
 in his spotless example — his spirit is in heaven. Let his 
 countrymen consecrate the memory of the heroic general, 
 the patriotic statesman, and the virtuous sage ; let them 
 teach their children never to forget that the fruits of his 
 labors and of his example a?-e their inheritance^^ 
 
 Tomb of Washington. 
 
CONGRESS REMOVES TO WASHINGTON. 1800. 
 
 241 
 
 Agreeably to the report of the committee, and the unani- 
 mous resolves of congress, a funeral procession moved from 
 the legislative hall to the German Lutheran church, where 
 an oration was delivered by General Lee, a representative 
 from Virginia. The procession was grand and solemn, the 
 oration impressive and eloquent. Throughout the Union 
 similar marks of affliction were exhibited. A whole be- 
 reaved people appeared in mourning. In every part of 
 the republic, funeral orations were delivered, and the best 
 talents of the nation were devoted to an expression of the 
 nation's grief. 
 
 In 1800, congress removed from Philadelphia to a place 
 which had been previously selected; and public buildings 
 were erected on the Potomac, a few miles above Mount 
 Vernon, to which the name of Washington was given, and 
 congress commenced its session for the first time at this 
 place in November. 
 
 21 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Jefferson's Administration. — Purchase of Louisiana — Commercial 
 affairs — War with Tripoli — Destruction of the frigate Philadelphia — 
 March of General pMton from Egypt — Capture of Derne — Peace with 
 TVipoli — A [fairs with Spain — Burr\s conspiracy — Reelection of Jeffer- 
 son — Troubles with Great Britain — Attack on the Chesapeake — Singu- 
 lar effects of this outrage — Depredations upon American commerce — 
 Paper blockades — Napoleon'' s Berlin decree — The British orders in 
 council — Mr. Jefferson'' s gun-boat system— The embargo — Non-inter- 
 course loith England — Madison elected president — Erskine^s mission — 
 Affair of the President and Little Belt — Revocation of the Berlin and 
 Milan decrees and the British orders in council. 
 
 Towards the close of Mr. Adams' administration, party- 
 spirit had risen to an unusual lieight in the United States. 
 A violent struggle succeeded, at the election of president, 
 between the federal and democratic party. Mr. Adams 
 had lost his popularity, and no choice was made by the 
 people. When the election came to the house of represen- 
 tatives, in consequence of an original provision of the con- 
 stitution, which has since been amended, thirty-six ballot- 
 ings took place in the house of representatives, before the 
 president was chosen. At length, Thomas Jefferson was 
 chosen president, and Aaron Burr vice-president. They 
 entered upon their offices amid the heat of high party 
 dissensions, in March, 1801. 
 
 The most important event of Mr. Jefferson's administra- 
 tion, was the acquisition of Louisiana by the United States. 
 This country, which the Spaniards had recently conveyed 
 to the French, comprised also an immense extent of terri- 
 tory, out of which have since been formed the states of Ar- 
 kansas, Mississippi, Missouri, and the unsettled territories 
 of the west. In 1803, the United States purchased it ot 
 
WAR WITH TRIPOLI. — 1801. 
 
 243 
 
 France, for fifteen millions of dollars, — a very small sum, 
 considering the intrinsic value of the territory. Yet this 
 transaction was loudly condemned at the time, by short- 
 sighted people, as an extravagant waste of the public 
 money. 
 
 Jefferson. 
 
 During Mr. Jefferson's administration, the United States 
 became involved in hostilities with one of the Barbary 
 powers. The bashaw of Tripoli, as early as 1799, de- 
 manded the payment of a tribute from the United States, 
 and, being refused, his cruisers captured several American 
 vessels. Hostilities immediately commenced against that 
 piratical power, although the United States possessed only 
 a small number of ships of war. In August, 1801, the 
 United States schooner Enterprise, Captain Sterrett, fell in 
 with a Tripolitan cruiser off Malta, and, after an obstinate 
 action of two hours, captured her. Captain Sterrett' s instruc- 
 tions did not allow him to make a prize of the vessel; accord- 
 ingly, after cutting away her masts and throwing her guns 
 overboard, he gave her up to the crew, leaving them sail 
 and rigging sufficient to carry them into port. From this 
 time till 1803, the United States kept several ships of war 
 in the Mediterranean, and some small actions took place 
 off Tripoli. 
 
 The American navy had now received some slight aug- 
 mentation. In 1794, a vote was passed in congress, to 
 
244 
 
 Jefferson's administration. 
 
 build six frigates, and before many years they were built. 
 These were the Constitution, the President, the United 
 States, the Constellation, the Congress, and the Chesa- 
 peake. There were added, also, a few brigs and schoon- 
 ers. The government now resolved to see what could be 
 done to chastise the Barbary pirates. In August, 1803, 
 Commodore Preble was despatched with a squadron, con- 
 sisting of the Constitution and Philadelphia frigates, the 
 Argus, Siren and Nautilus brigs, and the Vixen and En- 
 terprise schooners. On their arrival off Tripoli, the Phila- 
 delphia, in chasing a vessel into port, struck on a rock, and, 
 before she could be got off, was surrounded by the Tripoli- 
 tan gun-boats and compelled to surrender. On a change 
 of wind she was set afloat and towed into the harbor of 
 Tripoli. The remainder of the squadron bore away for 
 Syracuse. 
 
 As none of the Tripolitan cruisers dared venture out of 
 
 Burning of the rhiladelphia. 
 
 port while the American squadron was in the Mediterra- 
 nean, a scheme was projected to venture boldly into the 
 
WAR WITH TRIPOLI. 1804. 245 
 
 harbor of Tripoli, and cut out the Philadelphia, or set her 
 on fire. Lieutenant Stephen Decatur offered to conduct 
 this hazardous undertaking in a small schooner, with sev- 
 enty-six men. He sailed from Syracuse, accompanied by 
 the brig Siren. On the IGth of February, 1S04, they arrived 
 oif Tripoli. The schooner entered the harbor at night, and 
 ran alongside the Philadelphia, before it was discovered 
 that she was an enemy. Decatur, with a select body of 
 seamen, boarded her, sword in hand, soon cleared her 
 decks, and gained entire possession of the ship. The cas- 
 tle, the batteries and the Tripolitan flotilla opened a tre- 
 mendous fire upon them, and the harbor was soon covered 
 with launches approaching to the rescue ; but Decatur and 
 his men set fire to the Philadelphia, and escaped to sea 
 without loss. 
 
 This daring enterprise having been successfully accom- 
 plished. Commodore Preble proceeded to bombard the city. 
 For several successive days, in August, the town was can- 
 nonaded, and assaults were made on the shipping in the 
 port. The Tripolitan batteries mounted one hundred and 
 fifty guns, and the town was defended by an army of forty- 
 five thousand Arabs. The enemy sustained much damage, 
 and several of their gun-boats were captured. An attempt 
 was made, on the 16th of September, to blow up the castle 
 and batteries by a fire-ship, the Intrepid, which was loaded 
 with a hundred barrels of powder, and three hundred 
 shells. This vessel, in charge of Lieutenants Wadsworth, 
 Somers and Israel, proceeded into the harbor under cover 
 of night. The design was to set fire to the train on ap- 
 proaching close to the enemy's quarters, while the crew 
 escaped in a boat. Before this could be done, two galleys, 
 of one hundred men each, suddenly shot alongside the 
 Intrepid, and she instantly blew up, with the most terrible 
 effect, destroying both her crew and enemies. It is not 
 known whether this dreadful catastrophe happened by 
 accident or design. 
 
 The Tripolitan war still lingered on. The American 
 naval force was insufticient to reduce the city, and all 
 negotiations with the bashaw were without effect. In this 
 21^ 
 
246 Jefferson's administration. 
 
 emergency the Americans resorted to a new expedient. 
 Hamet, the former bashaw, had been dethroned and ex- 
 pelled by his brother, and was now an exile in Upper 
 Egypt. General William Eaton was despatched to nego- 
 tiate with him, in the hopes of gaining him over to the 
 Americans. Hamet commanded an army of Mamelukes, 
 then at war with the Turkish government. Eaton brought 
 him into his plan. Hamet furnished the American general 
 with a strong body of Arabs, well mounted, and seventy 
 Greek soldiers. With this force, Eaton left Alexandria, on 
 the 6th of March, 1805, for an expedition across the sandy 
 desert of Barca, into the Tripolitan territory. In a march 
 of a thousand miles, the troops endured an immense degree 
 of peril and suffering, and, on the 25th of April, arrived 
 before the town of Derne, under the government of the 
 bashaw. The barbarian chief meantime had received 
 intelligence of Eaton's expedition, and was hastening Avith 
 an army to the relief of Derne. Eaton, at his arrival, 
 learnt that the bashaw was within a day's march.* For- 
 tunately the American squadron arrived in the bay of 
 Derne at that precise moment. No time was to be lost; 
 the town Avas summoned to surrender ; but the command- 
 ant returned for reply, " My head, or yours ! " Eaton 
 stormed the walls on the 27th, and Derne was taken by 
 as strange an armament as ever fought under an American 
 flag — Arab cavalry, Greek infantry, and American marines 
 and sailors. The Tripolitan forces were completely routed, 
 and Eaton fortified himself in the town. 
 
 The bashaw experienced considerable delay on his 
 march, and it was the 18th of May before he arrived ivith 
 his army before the walls of Derne, where Hamet had set 
 up his government. He immediately assaulted the place, 
 but, after a contest of four hours, was repulsed, and with- 
 drew to the mountains, although his troops outnumbered 
 their opponents ten to one. Many skirmishes followed, 
 and, on the 10th of June, another general battle was 
 fought. The small American vessels in the harbor kept 
 up a well-directed fire, and checked every advance of the 
 Tripolitaus. The next day the Constitution arrived, and 
 
burr's conspiracy. 1806. 247 
 
 struck such terror into the enemy that they fled instantly 
 to the desert, leaving most of their baggage behind them. 
 
 Many other skirmishes ensued, and the war was con- 
 tinued till June, when the bashaw, finding it impossible to 
 expel the Americans from his territory, and too hazardous 
 to venture his ships to sea, thought best to come to terms. 
 A treaty was accordingly concluded between him and Mr. 
 Lear, the American agent, by which the American cap- 
 tives were ransomed for sixty thousand dollars, and 
 Hamet was left to shift for himself. It is generally thought 
 that, had the management of aflairs been left to Eaton, 
 the war w^ould have been closed in a manner much more 
 profitable and honorable to the United States. 
 
 The conduct of the British and Spanish governments, at 
 this period, indicated no very friendly disposition towards 
 America, and there was a portion of our citizens who con- 
 tended that war Avould be justifiable against Spain ; while 
 another portion urged a suspension of commercial inter- 
 course with England, in retaliation for her aggressions. 
 This unsettled state of affairs continued for some time, and 
 proved very embarrassing to commercial enterprise, and 
 highly exciting to political parties. A declaration of war, 
 by the United States, against either of these powers, never- 
 theless, would have been a rash and desperate deed ; and 
 while there was any hope of success in negotiation, it was 
 preferable to avoid hostilities. The controversy with 
 Spain respecting the territory formerly occupied by that 
 nation, was the cause of an expedition on the Mississippi, 
 which, though professedly harmless to the United States, 
 gave the country much alarm, in 1806, and led many peo- 
 ple to apprehend a design to dissolve the Union. The 
 citizens of Kentucky and Tennessee had been complaining, 
 for more than two years, of Spanish aggression, and seemed 
 on the point of breaking out into acts of hostility. Some 
 were so highly excited as to threaten to form a separate 
 government in the valley of the Mississippi. A wide field 
 was thus presented to the ambition of Aaron Burr, who 
 was vice-president of the United States from 1800 to 1804, 
 and Avho had lost the confidence of both the great political 
 
248 Jefferson's administration. 
 
 parties of the country. Nothing could allay his appetite for 
 intrigue and notoriety. He became involved in a quarrel 
 with Alexander Hamilton, which resulted in a duel, and 
 Hamilton fell by the hand of Burr, in June, 1804. From 
 that moment Burr was totally ruined in his political fortunes, 
 and his reckless ambition drove him to desperate measures. 
 
 He travelled into the western parts of the United States, 
 in 1805 and 1806, and acquainted himself accurately with 
 the state of public feeling there, and the resources Avhich 
 that region ofiered for the accomplishment of his design. 
 He professed, as yet, no specific object, and possibly had 
 not matured his plans. To different persons he made dif- 
 ferent declarations, but it was generally understood that 
 his plan was to raise an army and invade Mexico. This, 
 perhaps, was a cover to a more dangerous design ; for it is 
 supposed that his ultimate purpose was to erect an inde- 
 pendent government in the valley of the Mississippi, com- 
 posed of the western states and territories, and the newly 
 acquired region of Louisiana, which contained a hetero- 
 geneous population, at that time in a state of great discon- 
 tent. If this plan did not succeed, a blow Avas to be struck 
 upon Mexico. The full extent of Burr's projects nex^er 
 was known, but many individuals in Washington, Phila- 
 delphia, New York, and other places, had knowledge of 
 his designs, to which the public was a stranger. The 
 mystery which attended all his proceedings gave great 
 alarm. The president had early intelligence that some- 
 thing of a treasonable aspect was going forward, and he 
 took measures for watching the movements of Burr. He 
 wrote to the governor of Louisiana, and to tlie commander 
 of the United States troops in that quarter, to be on their 
 guard against his machinations. 
 
 All this while Burr avowed no treasonable or hostile 
 intentions. He even pretended that the president was 
 privy to his designs. His associates also avowed that 
 General Wilkinson, who commanded the United States 
 troops at New Orleans, was a party to all his schemes. 
 Burr's first object appears to have been, to take possession 
 of New Orleans, and there to collect a sufficient number 
 
burr's conspiracy. 1806. 249 
 
 of discontented and unscrupulous adventurers to maintain 
 himself in arms against the federal authority, which, at 
 such a distance, he supposed could not act against^ him 
 with any promptness and effect. In the latter part of 1806, 
 Burr collected a hody of his adherents on the Ohio. Many 
 persons of respectability and influence joined his standard, 
 some of whom, probably, were not made acquainted Avith 
 the extent of his undertaking. Having furnished his band 
 with military stores and provisions, he proceeded down the 
 river, declaring, in some places, a design of invading 
 Mexico, and, in others, asserting that he was authorized by 
 the president to keep the Spaniards in order, who remained 
 on the territories of the United States. The number of his 
 actual followers was not large, but it was said that he had 
 several thousand men in readiness to join, him on due 
 notice. 
 
 But the mystery with which he shrouded his whole 
 scheme, soon caused it to miscarry. Many of his followers 
 became alarmed at the dark rumors and insinuations which 
 prevailed respecting the designs of their leader. Few of 
 them knew, precisely, on what sort of an enterprise they 
 were proceeding, and the unknown dangers of it assumed, 
 every moment, a more portentous aspect. One by one 
 his followers fell off. Some of his agents and correspond- 
 ents were arrested at New Orleans, and sent to Washington 
 for examination. His friends attempted to represent the 
 matter as unimportant, and no part of the secret could be 
 got out of them. But the suspicion was now general ; the 
 public authorities were vigilant, and before Burr could 
 reach New Orleans, he was arrested and sent to Virginia. 
 He was put on trial for treason before the supreme court 
 of the United States, at Richmond, in August, 1807. His 
 confidential friends, who were few, revealed none of his 
 secrets, and, as no legal proof could be obtained of any 
 overt treasonable act committed by him, he was acquitted. 
 The mystery of the affair has never been cleared up to the 
 present day, and " Burr's conspiracy" is destined to exer- 
 cise the ingenuity of many a historian and romancer, in 
 time to come. After this affair, the ambitious, restless, 
 
250 Jefferson's administration. 
 
 and intriguing Aaron Burr, who, had his lot been cast on 
 the other side of the Atlantic, might have gained a crown, 
 sunk into complete obscurity, and passed a long life in 
 retirement, abandoned and forgotten by the whole world. 
 Although acquitted by a jury, the people believed him 
 guilty ; and, by their desertion and contempt, he was re- 
 duced to a condition of the most abject wretchedness. 
 The ease with which his plans were defeated, demon- 
 strated the strength of the government; and his fate will 
 ever be an impressive warning to those who, in a free 
 country, listen to the suggestions of criminal ambition. 
 
 Mr, Jefferson was reelected president in 1804. Party 
 spirit had abated none of its fierceness ; and the Americans 
 almost universally took sides in the contest then raging 
 between France and England. The right of searching 
 American ships and impressing British sailors from them, 
 had been strongly insisted on by the British ; and this 
 right, although in the highest degree repugnant to the feel- 
 ings of the American people, had not been contested by the 
 treaty of 1794. Such a license could not fail to be scanda- 
 lously abused by the British cruisers, who were then the 
 undisputed lords of the ocean. It was not long before a 
 gross and wanton outrage was perpetrated by the British 
 upon the American flag. On the 22d of June, 1807, the 
 American frigate Chesapeake, Captain Barron, sailed from 
 Norfolk on a voyage to Europe. Not apprehending hostil- 
 ities, she was in an imperfect state of equipment. She 
 passed the British ships Bellona and Melampus, lying in 
 Lynnhaven bay, whose appearance was friendly. There 
 were two other British ships that lay off Cape Henry, one 
 of Avhich, the Leopard, a heavy frigate, weighed anchor, 
 and in a few hours came alongside the Chesapeake. 
 
 A British officer immediately went on board, and de- 
 manded certain deserters from the British squadron, said 
 to be on board the Chesapeake. To this. Captain Barron 
 replied, that he did not know of any being there, and that 
 his duty forbade him to allow of any muster of his crew, 
 except by their own officers. During this interview, Bar- 
 ron noticed some proceedings of a hostile nature on board 
 
ATTACK ON THE FRIGATE CHESAPEAKE. — 1807. 251 
 
 the adverse ship, but he could not be persuaded that any- 
 thing but menace was intended by them. When the Brit- 
 ish officer departed, he gave orders to clear his gun deck, 
 and, after some time, he directed the men to their quarters 
 secretly, and without beat of drum; still, however, with- 
 out any serious apprehensions of an attack. Before these 
 orders could be executed, the Leopard commenced a heavy 
 fire ; which, unfortmiately, was very destructive. In about 
 thirty minutes, the hull, rigging, and spars of the Chesa- 
 peake were greatly damaged ; three men were killed, and 
 sixteen wounded ; among the latter was the captain him- 
 self. Such was the previous disorder, that, during this 
 time, the utmost exertions were insufficient to prepare the 
 ship for action, and Captain Barron thought proper to strike 
 his colors. The British captain refused to accept the sur- 
 render of the Chesapeake, but took from her crew the three 
 men formerly demanded as deserters, and a fourth, claimed 
 as a runaway from a merchant ship. This gross and 
 wanton outrage inflamed the whole population of the 
 United States with indignation, and, for the moment, extin- 
 guished all party spirit in the national feeling which it 
 aroused. The president issued a proclamation, ordering 
 all British ships out of the waters of the United States. 
 The British government disavowed the act of Admiral 
 Berkley, who commanded the squadron to which the 
 Leopard belonged, and removed him from his command on 
 the American station ; but the claim of the right of search 
 and impressment was not abandoned. 
 
 But the attack on the Chesapeake produced more impor- 
 tant results in the sequel — results never foreseen nor imag- 
 ined either by the Americans or the British. The outrage 
 upon the American flag sunk deep into the minds of the 
 people, and the history of the aff"air led to the conclusion 
 that there was a lack of discipline in the American navy. 
 A determination was adopted never to afljord the chance for 
 a repetition of the insult ; and a system of the most perfect 
 and admirable discipline was introduced into the American 
 naval service. Every ship that put to sea was manned 
 with a crew perfectly trained to meet the enemy at a 
 
252 Jefferson's administration. 
 
 moment's warning ; and the consequence was, that when 
 the war with Great Britain broke out, the American navy 
 struck at once into a brilUant career of victories that threw 
 all Europe into astonishment. A striking instance of retri- 
 butive justice ! A wanton and unjustifiable outrage of the 
 British led the way to their own defeat and mortification ! 
 
 The insignificance of the American navy at this period, 
 and the wide extent of American commerce, offered the 
 strongest temptations to the British. Possessing a thousand 
 ships of war, and having no rival on the ocean, they con- 
 sidered it in their power to plunder and insult every mari- 
 time nation with perfect impunity. Actuated by the spirit 
 of rapacity and insolence, the British cruisers made no 
 scruple to capture American ships and impress their crews 
 whenever it suited their convenience. Seven frigates, large 
 and small, with a few minor craft, constituted the whole 
 effective naval force of the Americans ; yet, while the 
 national flag was exposed to constant insults, nothing 
 was done to increase the naval defence of the country 
 except building a large fleet of gunboats. This scheme of 
 Mr. Jeflferson proved a most signal failure. The gunboats 
 were of very little service in harbor, and good for nothing 
 at sea, and they speedily fell into contempt and neglect. 
 
 Remonstrances against the spoliations and insults of the 
 British proved of no avail ; all demands for redress were 
 refused, and they now carried on their depredations upon a 
 grand scale. Setting at defiance the laws of nations, they 
 adopted the system of " paper blockade," by which a whole 
 coast was laid under a commercial interdict. France and 
 all other countries in possession of the French were in this 
 manner cut off from all connection with neutral nations ; 
 and American ships bound to those countries were captured 
 by British cruisers, carried into port, and condemned by 
 the British admiralty courts. 
 
 Such a proceeding was nothing less than a gross public 
 robbery, and soon involved the United States in embarrass- 
 ments with the French. Napoleon declared that if the 
 United States submitted to this arrogant assumption of 
 power by the British, they assumed, in so doing, an attitude 
 
THE ORDERS IN COUNCIL. — 1807. 253 
 
 of hostility toward France. To counteract the British 
 paper blockade, he determined to retort it against Great 
 Britain. This led to the famous Berlin and Milan de- 
 crees. From the imperial camp at Berlin, on the 21st of 
 November, 1806, he issued a decree, complaining of the 
 violation of the rights of nations by the British government, 
 and declaring that it had become necessary to enforce 
 against them their own maritime code. The British 
 islands were therefore declared in a state of blockade, and 
 all intercourse with them was forbidden to neutral nations. 
 The British government retorted on their part, on the 7th 
 of January and 11th of November, 1807, by issuing their 
 orders in council, declaring in a state of blockade all ports 
 in Europe from which the British flag was excluded, and 
 all trade in the products or manufactures of such countries, 
 contraband. Napoleon replied to this by a decree, dated 
 at Milan, on the 17th of December, 1807, declaring that 
 every ship, of whatever nation, which should submit to a 
 search from an English vessel, should be liable to capture 
 and condemnation as English property. The same penalty 
 was denounced against all ships holding any intercourse 
 with Great Britain or her colonies, or any country occupied 
 by British troops. 
 
 In this extraordinary manner, the commerce of the United 
 States became the prey of the two great belligerent powers, 
 and, between Scylla and Charybdis, saw nothing but de- 
 struction. Unjustifiable as these acts were, in both parties, 
 Napoleon was more reasonable than the British govern- 
 ment. He declared that the Berlin and Milan decrees 
 should be rescinded as soon as the British abandoned their 
 own unjustifiable and barbarous system of maritime plun- 
 der ; and this was all the satisfaction the Americans could 
 get amidst their calamities. More than a thousand of their 
 vessels, most of them with rich cargoes, were captured 
 before the year 1812. 
 
 Yet, strange as it may seem, the ocean was still covered 
 with American ships ! The reckless and adventurous spirit 
 of the merchants incited them to the most desperate enter- 
 prises, and when a ship was captured, another immediately 
 22 
 
254 Jefferson's administration. 
 
 took her place. Such of these as escaped the piracies of 
 the belhgerent powers, made profits so enormous, that the 
 avarice of the traders received a tenfold stimulant, and the 
 spirit of commercial avarice continued to rush to sea with 
 every plank that could be made to float. Commerce he- 
 came a lottery, in which enormous prizes came up among 
 a great number of blanks. Some extraordinary device was 
 thought necessary to save the American commerce from 
 total destruction ; for, although some individuals grew rich 
 in these adventures, the country was a great loser. Such 
 an expedient was the embargo, Avhich, in the winter of 
 1807, was laid on American shipping, by act of congress. 
 By this act, all trade with Great Britain, France and other 
 nations, was interdicted. The most violent clamors were 
 raised throughout the country, especially in the maritime 
 towns, by this act. The embargo was denounced as uncon- 
 stitutional, and the two parties which divided the country 
 were inflamed into the most bitter animosities. The expe- 
 diency of the measure was, indeed, very questionable at 
 the outset. It was impossible to enforce the embargo law 
 to the full extent, especially in the eastern states, where it 
 was particularly disrelished. After considerable distress, 
 occasioned by a stagnation of business, which affected all 
 classes, the embargo was partially repealed at the end of 
 a year, and another scheme put upon trial, in the shape of 
 a non-intercourse act, by which all commerce with Great 
 Britain and France was interdicted. 
 
 Mr. Jefferson, having served two terms, retired from 
 office, and James Madison was elected president in 1808. 
 His administration commenced in March, 1809, and was 
 marked, in the beginning, by an event which, for a short 
 time, opened new and flattering prospects for the country. 
 
 Erskine, the British minister to the United States, pro- 
 posed an arrangement for the settlement of the disputes 
 between tlie two countries, giving positive and official 
 assurances that the orders in council should be revoked, as 
 far as concerned the United States, provided the non-inter- 
 course with Great Britain should be repealed. He also 
 offered reparation for the attack on the Chesapeake, and 
 
ERSKINe's treaty. 1809. 255 
 
 agreed that an envoy extraordinary should be sent by Great 
 Britain to conclude a treaty for the full adjustment of all 
 affairs depending between the United States and Great 
 Britain. These proposals were gladly embraced by the 
 American cabinet, and a treaty was signed and ratified on 
 the 19th of April, 1809, comprising an adjustment of all the 
 disputes between the two powers in relation to the above 
 points. Mr. Madison, confiding in the good faith and sin- 
 cerity of the British minister, immediately issued his pro- 
 clamation, announcing that he had received official infor- 
 mation that the orders in council would be repealed on the 
 10th of June, and that the trade between the United States 
 and Great Britain might be renewed on that day. 
 
 This announcement caused as much joy throughout the 
 country as a proclamation of peace. The event was cele- 
 brated everywhere by public rejoicings and illuminations, 
 and all parties united in applauding the measure and its 
 promoters. This universal exultation, however, was soon 
 followed by the most mortifying disappointment. The 
 British government disavowed the treaty, and recalled their 
 minister, on the plea that he had transcended his instruc- 
 tions. 
 
 Nothing was left again to the United States but vain 
 remonstrances and negotiations, while their commerce con- 
 tinued to be plundered and their flag insulted. Erskine's 
 successor at Washington, Mr. F. J. Jackson, publicly insulted 
 the American government by the insolence of his language. 
 They refused to hold any further intercourse with him, and 
 he was forced to return home. The nation had endured 
 so long a series of outrages, that the British sought now for 
 every occasion to repeat their insults. British ships of war 
 infested the coast of the United States, fired upon the 
 vessels, and imprisoned the crews. This spirit of daring 
 insolence, however, soon met with a severe rebuke. On 
 the 16th of May, 1811, a rencounter took place between an 
 American and a British ship of war, ofli' the capes of Vir- 
 ginia. The British sloop-of-war Little Belt fell in with 
 the United States frigate President, on a dark evening, when 
 the ships did not understand each other's force. Commo- 
 
256 Jefferson's administration. 
 
 dore Rogers, who commanded the President, hailed the 
 Little Belt, and was answered by a shot. Broadsides were 
 then fired by both ships, till the Little Belt ceased firing, 
 with thirty-two men killed and wounded. Captain Bing- 
 ham, of the Little Belt, published a statement of the case, 
 representing it as a hostile attack upon his ship, and aflirmed 
 that the President fired the first gun. The British govern- 
 ment sustained their captain, and demanded satisfaction. 
 A court of inquiry was ordered by the Americans. Full 
 evidence appeared that the British ship began the attack, 
 and after a clear statement of the case by Mr. Monroe, the 
 secretary of state, the British cabinet appeared convinced 
 that the Americans were in the right. They could not be 
 ignorant of the hectoring and insolent character of their 
 naval commanders, at this epoch of Britain's maritime 
 supremacy, and nothing further was said about the affair. 
 Furthermore, they made amends for the outrage upon the 
 Chesapeake, by giving up the men taken from her. and 
 bestowing a pension on the families of the killed and 
 wounded. 
 
 But the main points in dispute betAveen the two countries 
 still remained unsettled. American ships continued to be 
 captured, the orders in comicil remained in force, and 
 affairs tended rapidly toward a crisis. On the 1st of May, 
 1810, congress had passed an act, declaring that if either 
 Great Britain or France should, before the 3d of March 
 following, cease to violate the neutrality of the United 
 States, the non-intercourse should be repealed with regard 
 to that power. On learning this measure, the French gov- 
 ernment informed the American minister at Paris that the 
 Berlin and Milan decrees would be revoked on the 2d of 
 November, 1810. A proclamation from the president, in 
 consequence, announced that the non-intercourse with 
 France had ceased. When the American minister at Lon- 
 don pressed the British government to follow this example, 
 he was answered that no proof existed of the repeal of 
 Napoleon's decrees. In fact, the repeal had never been 
 formally made public at Paris, although the capture of 
 American vessels by the French ceased at the time speci- 
 
REPEAL OF THE ORDERS IN COUNCIL. 1812. 
 
 257 
 
 fied. At length, after much negotiation, Napoleon pub- 
 lished his act of repeal on the 28th of April, 1811. The 
 British cabinet then, in consequence of promises repeatedly- 
 given to follow the example of France, issued, on the 23d 
 of June, 1812, a conditional revocation of the orders in 
 council. This measure, had it been adopted a few months 
 sooner, would have prevented the war of 1812, and 
 changed the whole subsequent course of American history. 
 
 22^ 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Settlement of the Western States. — Expedi/ion of Daniel Boone 
 to Kentucky — Henderson^ s expedition — hidian wars — Battle of Blue 
 Licks — Emigration to the loest — Settlement of Tennessee — Settlement 
 of Ohio — Purchase of Indian lands — Expedition of Lewis and Clarke — 
 Intrigues of the British among the Indians — Hostility of Blue Jacket 
 and Tecumseh — Impostures and intrigues of the prophet — Treaty of 
 the Wahash — Negotiations with Tecumseh — Confederacy of the Indian 
 tribes against the United Slates — Indian murders and robberies — General 
 Harrison marches against the Indians — Battle of Tippecanoe — Defeat 
 and dispersion of the enemy — Flight of the prophet. 
 
 We must now suspend our narrative of the foreign rela- 
 tions of the United States, in order to give the reader a 
 connected relation of the exploration and settlement of the 
 vast American domains in the west. The long chain of 
 the Allegany mountains, drawn like a belt along the baclt 
 frontier of the Atlantic states, was for many years the 
 boundary, not only of settlement, but even of knowledge 
 and ideas respecting the North American continent. The 
 discoveries which the French from Canada and Louisiana 
 made of the regions on the Mississippi, sulliciently showed 
 that the original notions of the narrowness of the continent 
 W3re very far from the truth. It was long before the 
 settlers suspected the magnitude of the territory which lay 
 between the mountains and the river, and that this com- 
 prised a valley, the most extensive, the most fertile, and 
 the most finely watered, that exists, probably, on the face 
 of the globe. It was obvious, however, that beyond the 
 mountains there lay a vast region to which the United. 
 States had an undoubted claim. As, therefore, the eastern 
 territory became comparatively filled up, and the spirit of 
 emigration and enterprise received new stimulants, iha 
 
BOONE's expedition to KENTUCKY. — 1769. 259 
 
 eyes of the people were turned in that direction. The 
 settlement of this region, however, was attended with so 
 many dangers, that only a few of the most adventurous 
 and brave spirits attempted at first to break through these 
 barriers. 
 
 Colonel Boone 7naking a settlement in Kentucky, 
 
 Daniel Boone, at first a farmer and a hunter, and after- 
 wards a colonel, had the merit of first penetrating into and 
 exploring Kentucky. On the 1st of May, 1769. he set out, 
 with five companions, from his farm on the Yadkin, in 
 North Carolina. He passed the moimtain wilderness, and, 
 on the 7th of June, found himself on the banks of a river 
 flowing westward toward the Mississippi. Ascending an 
 eminence, he saw spread before him the vast and beautiful 
 forest plains of Kentucky. Plunging into the bosom Of 
 this fruitful wilderness, he found it peopled Avith number- 
 less wild animals, particularly buffaloes, in immense 
 droves. The Indians, however, were already lying in 
 wait to attack the adventurers. That race seem to have 
 felt an instinctive conviction that the moment in which 
 a white man should fix his foot on the soil west of the AUe- 
 ganies, would be fatal to the name and existence of the 
 red tribes. They, therefore, manifested their hostility at 
 
260 SETTLEMENT OF THE WESTERN STATES. 
 
 the very outset. As Boone and one of his companions 
 were straying from the rest of the party, they were set 
 upon by the Indians and made prisoners. They experi- 
 enced great crueUy, and expected more ; but Boone, always- 
 on the watch, caught a moment when the savages lay in 
 deep slumber, touched his companion, and they made their 
 escape. He soon after had the satisfaction of meeting his 
 brother, who had come across the mountains in search of 
 him. They spent a considerable time in roaming about 
 this vast country, where tliere was not a white man except 
 their own party, exposed to continual dangers, but finding 
 delight in this wild independence. At length Boone, in 
 1773, brought his family into the country; they were 
 accompanied by five other families, and forty persons more 
 joined them on the road. In their passage across the 
 mountains, they were attacked by Indians, and lost six of 
 their number. 
 
 Kentucky now began to attract the attention of the gov- 
 ernment. Governor Dun more, of Virginia, appointed offi- 
 cers to survey the country, and engaged Boone to attend 
 them as a guide. He accordingly completed, along with 
 them, in sixty days, a tour of eight hundred miles, which 
 enabled them to form a more complete idea than before of 
 the extent and capabilities of the country. Soon after, a 
 colonial undertaking was projected on a greater scale, 
 Nathaniel Henderson, a self-taught man, who had raised 
 himself by his talents to the judicial bench, crossed the 
 Allcganies with ten wagons, loaded with coarse woollen 
 cloths, spirits, and other articles for trading with the 
 Indians. With the aid of Boone, he convened a meeting 
 of "the Cherokees at Wataga, in March, 1775, where he 
 concluded a treaty, by which they ceded to him one hun- 
 dred square miles of territory on the Kentucky and Ohio. 
 An old Cherokee, however, closed the transaction by say- 
 ing, " Brothers, we have given you a fine land, but you 
 will have trouble in settling it." Henderson now vacated 
 his seat on the bench, and commenced sovereign and legis- 
 lator. By grants of valuable land on the most liberal 
 terms, he attracted settlers from all parts, composed a new 
 
SETTLEMENT OF KENTUCKY. 1780. 261 
 
 code of laws expressly for them, and administered the gov- 
 ernment without reference to any authority higher than 
 his own. The whole of this proceeding, however, was 
 considered absolutely inconsistent with the duties which 
 he owed as a British subject. The purchase of lands, and, 
 much more, of a kingdom, had been expressly prohibited, 
 without the concurrence of the governors and provincial 
 assemblies. Henderson's proceedings were not sanctioned 
 by the government; all persons were forbidden to join him, 
 and he himself was outlawed, and a reward offered for his 
 apprehension. But the warrants of government could not 
 yet be executed on the banks of the Ohio. The Indians, 
 having made a fair bargain, considered it a point of honor 
 to maintain him in possession of the territory, and his 
 colony was daily augmented by new emigrants. 
 
 Henderson, however, was unable permanently to estab- 
 lish his claim. The legislature of Virginia decided against 
 his pretensions, but made him and his associates an indem- 
 nity, by granting them two hundred thousand acres of 
 land, at the mouth of Green river, with which they were 
 satisfied. The system of colonization in the western ter- 
 ritory, being thus fairly put in train, seemed likely to 
 advance with rapid steps ; but it encountered a powerful 
 check from the revolutionary war. The British govern- 
 ment, by the most inhuman policy, engaged the savages 
 as their allies, and the frontier settlements were soon ex- 
 posed to all the horrors of Indian warfare. At Boonsbor- 
 ough they began their hostilities by hovering round the 
 settlement, destroying the cattle, and shooting the men at 
 the plough. As their numbers increased, they made bolder 
 advances, and closely invested the fortification in which 
 the settlers had secured themselves. Boone himself, sally- 
 ing out to obtain provision, was captured. He found 
 means, however, to ingratiate himself with the Indians, 
 and his life was spared. He was carried off, first to De- 
 troit, and then to Chillicothe. Here, seeing a body of four 
 hundred Indians, painted and armed for an attack upon 
 Boonsborough, he stole oflT, and, travelling one hundred 
 and sixty miles, with only a single meal, reached the fort. 
 
262 SETTLEMENT OF THE WESTERN STATES. 
 
 The Indians appeared in a few days, and invested it, but. 
 not being skilful in this species of warfare, they were re- 
 pulsed by the small body of defenders, and obliged to raise 
 the siege. The Indians, however, laid waste the neigh- 
 boring settlements, and hostilities were kept up without 
 any abatement. A bloody battle was fought at Blue Licks 
 on the 19lh of August, 1782. A body of settlers, to the 
 number of one hundred and seventy-six, rashly attacked a 
 very superior force of Indians, and were defeated, with the 
 loss of sixty-one killed and eight made prisoners. 
 
 The termination of the revolutionary war checked the 
 hostile incursions of the savages, and they were obliged to 
 abandon Kentucky to the settlers. The fertility of the soil, 
 which was found superior to that of any of the old states, 
 the desire to possess landed property, and the spirit of 
 enterprise kindled by the late contest, united to urge the 
 Americans into this path of adventure. A tide of popula- 
 tion began to flow across the Alleganies, amounting some- 
 times to twenty thousand persons in a year, and producing 
 a growth the most rapid, perhaps, that ever took place in 
 any society. In 1782, there were only a few hundred 
 inhabitants; in 1790, they had increased to seventy-three 
 thousand; in 1800, to two hmidred and twenty thousand. 
 In the first enthusiasm of emigration, many persons, not 
 being able to dispose of their property in the Atlantic 
 states with sufficient despatch, are said to have abandoned 
 it altogether, rather than delay their departure. Yet the 
 difficulties of emigration were not small ; the steep ridge 
 of the Alleganies was to be crossed, over which no road 
 existed passable for carriage or wagon. All who emigrated 
 went on foot or on horseback. They were exposed to 
 danger from the Indians, who, though unable to make 
 head in open combat, carried on desultory and destructive 
 attacks. 
 
 Troubles also beset them after these difficulties and 
 dangers were surmounted. The business of disposing of 
 the lands was not yet reduced to a regular system ; neither 
 the description of the locality, nor the mode of conveying 
 the title, was sufficiently accurate, and in many cases gross 
 
SETTLEMENT OF TENNESSEE.- — 1796. 263 
 
 impositions were practised. Lots of one hundred thousand 
 acres of territory, that never existed, were sold in Europe, 
 and even in the great towns of the United States. The 
 consequence was, that the titles in Kentucky were, in gen- 
 eral, exceedingly vague, and subjected to conflicting claims, 
 which could only be settled by the tedious remedy of a 
 lawsuit. The only check to this evil which the govern- 
 ment could devise, was, to ordain that the old claimant, 
 who ejected the actual possessor, should indemnify him 
 for all expenses incurred in brhiging it under cultivation ; 
 a penalty which, joined to the previous lawsuit, proved 
 often a sufficient bar to the enforcement even of a legal 
 right. Kentucky was admitted into the Union in 1792. 
 
 Kentucky was found to be bounded on the south by a 
 long and lofty branch of the Alleganies, called the Cum- 
 berland or Laurel Mountains ; and, so long as fertile tracts 
 of unoccupied land continued to be found in abundance in 
 Kentucky, no attempt was made to pass this barrier. 
 When, however, the crowds which came yearly over the 
 mountains, found all the best land occupied, they began 
 to look across the mountains, and a brisk movement took 
 place in that direction. They found a soil highly favor- 
 able to vegetation, and watered by fine streams ; but here 
 it was necessary to travel in caravans, to guard against the 
 attacks of the Cherokees. A bloody war was to be main- 
 tained with that powerful tribe, who were, at length, partly 
 subdued and partly conciliated. Tennessee, which, in 
 1790, had so few inhabitants that it was not thought 
 advisable to number them, contained, in 1800, a popula- 
 tion of one hundred and five thousand. The state was 
 admitted into the Union in 1796. 
 
 After the settlement of Kentucky and Tennessee, a vast 
 range of territory, extending twelve hundred miles along 
 the northern bank of the Ohio, remained still in the undis- 
 turbed possession of the natives. The districts bordering 
 on Pennsylvania and Canada had been formerly a debata- 
 ble ground between the French and English, and were 
 occupied only by military posts. The most important of 
 these was Fort Du Quesne, which fell into the hands of 
 
264 
 
 SETTLEMENT OF THE WESTERN STATES. 
 
 the English, during the war of 1756, and subsequently 
 became Pittsburg. After the peace of 1763 had confirmed 
 all these regions to Great Britain, that government, by a 
 most absurd regulation, prohibited the formation of settle- 
 ments upon any waters except those flowing into the Atlan- 
 tic. The tempting aspect and luxuriant fertility of the 
 plains of the Ohio, attracted emigrants in spite of every 
 obstacle. But the hostility of the Indians, to which they 
 were exposed, without any protection, rendered their situ- 
 ation extremely precarious. These dangers increased dur- 
 ing the war of independence, when these fierce tj'ibes were 
 supported by British aid. It was not till the year 1788, 
 that the Ohio Company of New England formed a settle- 
 
 Settlement of Marietta. 
 
 ment, on a considerable scale, at Marietta, at the conflu- 
 ence of the Muskingum and the Ohio. The settlers 
 continued to be harassed by the Indians, whose enmity 
 broke out repeatedly into open war, till, in 1795, a pacifi- 
 cation was effected at Greenville, and the government of 
 the United States began, on a large scale, that system of 
 purchase, which has since proved so rich a source of in- 
 come to the country. The Wyandots, Delawares, Pota- 
 Avotamies, Kickapoos, and other tribes, received the value 
 
SETTLEMENT OF OHIO. — 1302. 265 
 
 of twenty thousand dollars in manufactured goods, to- 
 gether with,an obligation on the part of the United States to 
 pay them annually the value of nine thousand five hundred 
 dollars. The Indians ceded to the United States the most 
 valuable of the lands on the north bank of the Ohio, to 
 its junction Vv^ith the Miami. In this transaction the red 
 men sold, like Esau, their birthright and their home for a 
 trifle. Yet when we reflect, that, by this process, vast 
 regions, that were then a howling wilderness, have been 
 converted into the abode of populous and civilized commu- 
 nities, and that it was a proceeding much more equitable 
 and mild than those which have commonly effected this 
 object, we feel our censure of it disarmed. 
 
 The government of the United States, having thus secured 
 the peaceable disposal of a great extent of rich territory, 
 soon adopted a systematic mode of distribution, which at 
 once secured the titles of the proprietors, and brought an 
 ample revenue into the treasury. The land was parti- 
 tioned into townships of six miles square. Those town- 
 ships were subdivided into sections of six hundred and 
 forty acres, and these into quarter sections. The lands 
 were put up to sale in quarter sections, and reservations 
 were made for the erection of schools and seminaries of 
 learning. Ohio, Avhich, in 1787, contained only five thou- 
 sand inhabitants, in 1802 numbered sixty thousand. Ohio 
 was admitted into the Union in 1802, 
 
 Ohio being thus speedily filled up, the bold enterprise of 
 the American emigrant pushed him forward into new 
 regions, where wide tracts of rich land might be found. 
 By the Indian treaty of 1795, the Americans had obtained 
 some territories beyond the Miami. In 1804, 180.5, and 
 1 809, fresh treaties conveyed to them the best of the lands 
 between that river and the Wabash, — the lowest and largest 
 tributary of the Ohio. This was erected into a territory 
 under the name of Indiana. 
 
 A bold and hazardous exploring expedition was projected 
 
 by the American government, destined to cross the entir^ 
 
 breadth of the continent, to penetrate into regions known 
 
 hitherto only by the faintest rumor, and to reach the 
 
 23 
 
266 
 
 SETTLEMENT OF THE WESTERN STATES. 
 
 Pacific, the grand western boundary of America. Its first 
 destination was to ascend to its source the Missouri, aheady 
 known as the greatest tributary of the Mississippi, or rather 
 as the primary river, to which the Mississippi itself is sub- 
 ordinate. This expedition was planned by President Jef- 
 ferson, a zealous promoter of interior discovery; and it was 
 led by Captain Meriwether Lewis, his private secretary, 
 and by Captain William Clarke, with a band of troops and 
 attendants, amounting in all to forty-five ; of which six- 
 teen, however, were only to proceed to a certain distance. 
 They had a keel-boat, fifty-five feet long, accompanied by 
 two open boats, called periogues. On the 16th of May, 
 1804, after a winter spent in preparation, they were afloat 
 on the Missouri. Some miles up that river, the French had 
 already founded the village of St, Charles, still peopled by 
 their nation to the number of four hundred and fifty. 
 
 The Osage river is the first grand tributary of the Mis- 
 souri. It runs from the southwest through a fertile coun- 
 try. The people of the same name, comprising three tribes, 
 of upwards of twelve hundred warriprs, appeared large and 
 
 Indians huntinf' in deerskins. 
 
 well-formed, but less warlike than the northern Indians, 
 
 'who have also the advantage over them of using the rifle. 
 
 The expedition then came to the important tributary of the 
 
 Kansas, flowing from the westward, and which, at the 
 
LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. — 1804. 267 
 
 junction, is more than half the breadth of the Missouri. 
 The Indians of the same name, on its banks, have been 
 reduced to three hundred, — as, though equally fierce and 
 warlike, they were unable to withstand the fire-arms with 
 which their enemies, the Sauks and Ayauways, have been 
 supplied by the European traders. Higher up they came 
 to the great estuary of the Platte, coming from sources far 
 in the west, and rolling a more rapid stream than the Mis- 
 souri itself This river is occupied by considerable tribes 
 of Indians. The Pawnees ranked once among the most 
 numerous of the Missouri races; and, though they have 
 suffered severely in their contests with the Indians of the 
 west, they still count four considerable bands. The Ottoes, 
 once their rivals, are now much reduced, and obliged to 
 place themselves under their protection. Both these tribes 
 cultivate the ground, and employ themselves only occa- 
 sionally in hunting. The Kite Indians, farther to the west, 
 are constantly on horseback, and are so named from the 
 rapidity of their movements. They are the fiercest of all 
 the Indians, never yielding in battle, or sparing their ene- 
 mies. 
 
 Above the Platte, the Missouri became less rapid and 
 more winding; and the scenery, consisting of a valley 
 enclosed between two ranges of bold heights or bluffs, was 
 extremely interesting. Here the Americans had a confer- 
 ence with fourteen of the Ottoe and Missouri Indians. The 
 grand chief, indeed, whose name in English signifies Little 
 Thief, was unfortunately absent; but Big Horse, White 
 Horse, and Hospitality, held a most amicable conference, 
 expressed their satisfaction with the change of government 
 to the United States, and hoped their great father, the 
 president, would send them arms for hunting and defence. 
 The Missouri was found here to wind in an extraordinary 
 manner. Near this spot, the Americans were visited by 
 eight chiefs of tlie Ottoes and Missouris, among whom was 
 now Little Thief, accompanied not only by Big Horse, but 
 by Crow's Head, Black Cat, Big Ox, and Big Blue Eyes. 
 With these worthies a very amicable council was held, 
 concluded by a dram ; and as they honestly confessed, that, 
 
268 
 
 SETTLEMENT OF THE WESTERN STATES. 
 
 in the present war, they had been themselves the aggres- 
 sors, by steahng two horses and some corn, Captain Lewis 
 more readily and hopefully undertook to mediate an accom- 
 modation. Proceeding upwards, they came to the Ricaress, 
 a handsome and well-proportioned race, and in their beha- 
 vior somewhat more meritorious than the others. Their 
 chiefs, Lighting Crow and Eagle's Feather, declined the 
 proffer of whiskey, and expressed wonder that their great 
 father should send them a liquor which made men fools. 
 They received presents with thankfulness, but did not beg 
 them in the importunate style of the former Indians. 
 
 Indian dance. 
 
 By the time the party reached the latitude of 47°, six- 
 teen hundred miles above the Missouri junction, a cold wind 
 blew from the northwest, ice began to form on the rivers, 
 and all the symptoms of winter were thickening. They 
 determined to build a fort, where they might spend the 
 winter with some comfort, and be ready in the spring to 
 start for the head of the Missouri and the passage of the 
 Rocky Mountains. They called it Fort Mandan, from the 
 Indian people among whom they now were. Here they 
 spent the winter. On the 7th April, 1805, the party broke 
 
LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. — 1804. 269 
 
 up from Fort Mandan, thirty-two strong, in six canoes, and 
 two large periogues. On the 13th, they passed the influx 
 of the rapid stream of the Little Missouri, and on the 26th 
 came to the much more important river of the Yellowstone, 
 descending from the Black Mountains, and almost rivalling 
 the Missouri itself. These two rivers rolled through wide 
 plains, varied with wood, and animated by vast herds of 
 buffalo, deer, elk, and antelope. The abundance of game 
 was now most extraordinary. Buffaloes were seen to the 
 number of three thousand, and on some occasions even ten 
 thousand at once. They were intermingled, however, with 
 animals of a more formidable character, among which the 
 brown bear was preeminently terrible. 
 
 Continuing to ascend in an almost due westerly direction 
 from the junction of the YelloAvstone, the party came to 
 two great channels, or forks, as the Americans call them, 
 which involved the leaders in great perplexity. One flowed 
 from the north and the other from the south, and they were 
 unable to decide which was the real Missouri, by ascend- 
 ing which they Avould reach the head of the Columbia. 
 The great falls of the Missouri were to afford the only sure 
 test by which this doubtful question was to be solved. In 
 search of these they formed a light exploratory expedition, 
 depositing their heavy goods in a hole, or cache, as the 
 French traders called it, floored with dry branches, cov- 
 ered with skins, and earth over them. In two days they 
 came to a ridge, from the top of which they had a beauti- 
 ful view of the Rocky Mountains, now completely covered 
 with snow, and consisting of several ranges rising above 
 each other, till the most distant mingled with the clouds. 
 On the following day a sound was heard as of a distant 
 waterfall, and spray driven before the wind rose high above 
 the plain like a column of smoke. The sound, swelling 
 as they approached, became at length too tremendous to be 
 anything but the great fall of the Missouri. Captain Lewis, 
 hurrying impatiently over some rugged rocks which inter- 
 vened, at length reached the centre, and enjoyed the sub- 
 lime spectacle of this stupendous object, which, since the 
 creation, had been lavishing its magnificence on the desert. 
 23^ 
 
270 SETTLEMENT OF THE WESTERN STATES. 
 
 The river here throws itself down a precipice of three hun- 
 dred yards wide, for about a third of which breadth it falls 
 in one smooth and unbroken sheet. 
 
 The identity of the Missouri being thus established 
 beyond all controversy, the expedition was immediately 
 moved up the river. The voyage was laborious, there 
 being a rapid current against them, and the channel often 
 obstructed by inlets and shallows. The first mountain 
 ranges now hemmed in the river more closely, and often 
 hung over it in perpendicular cliffs. It was not, however, 
 till the 19th July that they came to the grand gates of the 
 Rocky Mountains. Of all pass-scenery in the world, this 
 appears to be the most awful. The rocks, for upwards of 
 five miles, rising perpendicularly from the water's edge, 
 form a most sublime and extraordinary spectacle. For 
 three miles there is not a spot, except one of a few yards, 
 on which a man can stand between the water and the per- 
 pendicular mountain-wall. The frowning darkness of 
 these rocks projecting over the river, and menacing destruc- 
 tion to all beneath, appeared to the navigators truly awful. 
 The Missouri, at some distance above, was found separat- 
 ing into three branches, which, coming from the loftiest 
 recesses of the rocky chain, united to form it. 
 
 Continually ascending towards the most central recesses 
 of the Rocky Moimtains, they at last came to a point where 
 a foot could be placed on each side of the river ; and one of 
 the party, in a fit of enthusiasm, thanked God that he had 
 lived to bestride the Missouri. Proceeding onward, they 
 reached a small gap, formed by high mountains on each 
 side ; from the foot of one of which welled out the spring- 
 head of this greatest river in the world, and whose channel 
 for three thousand miles they had so laboriously ascended. 
 They had now reached the hidden sources of that river, 
 which had never yet been seen by civilized man ; and as 
 they quencjied tlieir thirst at the chaste and icy fountain, 
 — as they sat down by the brink of that little rivulet, — they 
 felt themselves rewarded for all their labors and all their 
 difficulties. " Proceeding onward, they found the roads 
 excessively rough, strewed Avith rocks and large stones, 
 
LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. — 1804. 271 
 
 over which it seemed absokitely impossible to ride; but the 
 fine Indian horses, quite accustomed to these obstacles, 
 carried them easily and swiftly over every difficulty. At 
 length they came in view of a mountain, the loftiest yet 
 seen, and were told that its rocky sides hemmed in the 
 river so close as to prevent all possibility of passing. It 
 was necessary, therefore, to set out in a different and more 
 northerly direction, by which they might reach the river 
 below this obstruction. They had a very severe journey, 
 and the Americans, though they could endure considerable 
 hardship, were ill able to brook a privation of the first 
 wants of nature, which, in the course of the journey, began 
 to be experienced. Their first resource was to kill and eat 
 the horses on which they rode, though rather too meagre 
 for the purpose. They were next fain to purchase and 
 dress the dogs which the natives kept for domestic pur- 
 poses, though they themselves had so little idea of eating 
 them, that they called the strangers by the opprobrious 
 name of dog-eaters. 
 
 Passing through several tribes of Indians, they reached 
 the Columbia, and saw in the west, at the distance of one 
 hundred and fifty miles, a very high mountain, covered with 
 snow, which, from its direction and appearance, was sup- 
 posed to be Mount St. Helens, laid down by Vancouver, as 
 visible from the mouth of that river. In four days they 
 came to the great falls. As they descended the Columbia, 
 its channel gradually widened, till it attained a breadth of 
 two miles, and even expanded into a species of bay filled 
 with islands. Then, having ascended a hill, and the fog, 
 which had involved the western horizon, clearing up, they 
 enjoyed the delightful prospect of the ocean; — that mighty 
 ocean, the boundary of America and of American domin- 
 ion, to reach which had been the object of all their labors, 
 the ground of all their anxieties. This grand and cheering 
 prospect, and the distant roar of the breakers, gave new life 
 to all the travellers. Yet they had not reached the end of 
 their troubles. They were tossed about for a fortnight in 
 a sea which their frail canoes were ill able to sustain, and 
 amid deluges of rain, before they could fix upon Meriwether 
 
272 SETTLEMENT OF THE WESTERN STATES. 
 
 Bay as a spot where they could securely establish them- 
 selves for the winter. The expedition returned safely by 
 the same route, the following year. 
 
 The most unwarrantable interference with the Indians 
 residing within the limits of the United States, was prac- 
 tised by the British, from the year 1783, quite doAvn to the 
 commencement of the war of 1812. During a great part 
 of this time they kept the Indians in hostility with our west- 
 ern settlements, and when the probability of a new Avar 
 between the two countries became very strong, their in- 
 trigues were pushed to such an extent as to infuse a gen- 
 eral spirit of hostility into all the savage tribes within their 
 influence. For some years before the war, Little Turtle 
 and Blue Jacket were the leading chiefs among the north- 
 western tribes. They had disagreed about the manner of 
 opposing Wayne's army. The plan of Blue Jacket was 
 adopted, and led to the total defeat of the Indians, as had 
 been predicted by his rival. After this event, Little Turtle 
 continued on friendly terms with the Americans. He was 
 oC opinion that the Indian tribes were unable to contend 
 against them ; that no national aid would be afforded them 
 by the British ; and that, by going to war with the Ameri- 
 cans, they would only lose more of their lands. Blue 
 Jacket had more confidence in the British ; he thirsted for 
 revenge against the Americans, and he wished to regain 
 the lands which had been ceded by the treaty of Green- 
 ville. His influence increased, while Little Turtle was 
 becoming unpopular. He found in Tecumseh, a Shawanese 
 chief whom he associated with himself in his views and pro- 
 jects, an able and persevering coadjutor. The leading prin- 
 ciples of their policy were, to unite all the tribes in one 
 confederacy ; to prevent the sale of their lands by any single 
 tribe, and to join the British in the event of a war, for the 
 purpose of recovering the territories which they had 
 already ceded. They contended that, by the treaty of 
 Greenville, the United States had acknowledged the right 
 to their lands to remain jointly in all the tribes, and that, 
 consequently, the Americans had no right to purchase 
 lands from any single tribe, without the consent of the 
 
INTRIGUES OF THE PROPHET. — 1804. 273 
 
 Others. Blue Jacket did not live to execute his schemes, 
 but they were dihgently pursued by Tecumseh, and this 
 chief was encouraged and supported by the British agents. 
 
 The various tribes who were in the habit of visiting 
 Detroit and Sandwich, were annually subsidized by the 
 British. Where the American agent, at Detroit, gave one 
 dollar, by way of amnesty, the British agent, on the other 
 side of the river, would give them ten. This may serve 
 as a specimen of the arts by which the British endeavored 
 to gain over the savage tribes to their interests. The 
 Indians wished also to try their strength against the "big 
 knife," as they called the Kentuckians, in order to wipe 
 away the disgrace of their defeat by General Wayne. 
 The British promised them aid in case of a war, and their 
 natural inclination to bloodshed was thus inflamed, and 
 they stood ready for hostile movements the moment a 
 favorable opportunity should occur. About the year 1S04, 
 a Shawanese Indian, the brother of Tecumseh, proclaimed 
 himself a prophet, alleging that he had been commanded 
 by the Great Spirit, who made the red man, to inform them 
 that the misfortunes they had encountered were owing to 
 their having abandoned the mode of life which he had pre- 
 scribed for them, and adopted the manners and dress of 
 the whites ; and he was commanded to tell them that they 
 must return to their former habits, and dress in skins 
 instead of blankets. The prophet fixed his residence at 
 Greenville, where the treaty was made in 1795. 
 
 The fame of this chief soon spread through the surround- 
 ing tribes, and he quickly found himself at the head of a 
 considerable band of followers, composed principally of the 
 most licentious and dissolute young men of the Shawanese, 
 Delawares, Wyandots, Potawotamies, Ottawas, Chippe- 
 ways and Kickapoos. Besides these, he was visited by 
 immense crowds from the tribes of the Mississippi and 
 Lake Superior. The most absurd stories were told and 
 believed by the Indians, of his power to perform miracles, 
 and they exposed themselves to all sorts of fatigue and 
 suffering to get a sight of him. The people of Ohio became 
 much alarmed at this great assemblage of the Indians upon 
 
274 SETTLEMENT OF THE WESTERN STATES. 
 
 their frontier, and a mission was sent by the governor of 
 that state, to insist upon their removal. The United States' 
 agent at Fort Wayne, also made a remonstrance to the 
 prophet against his design of forming a permanent settle- 
 ment at Greenville, which was within the boundary of the 
 United States. Accordingly, in 1808, the prophet removed 
 to the Wabash, and fixed his residence on the northern 
 bank of that river, near the mouth of a small stream 
 called tliQ Tippecanoe. 
 
 The land in this neighborhood was the property of the 
 Miamis, who made strong objections to the occupancy of 
 it by the prophet; but he had too strong a band of 
 adherents to be expelled by force, and continued to remain 
 in that spot. In September, 1809, a treaty was made 
 between the American government and the Miamis, Dela- 
 wares, and Potawotamies, by which the Indians ceded a 
 tract extending sixty miles up the Wabash. The prophet 
 and his followers were not parties to this treaty, as they 
 had no claim to the land. During the negotiation of the 
 treaty, Tecumseh was busy intriguing against the Ameri- 
 cans ; and, after its accomplishment, he threatened to kill 
 the chiefs who had signed it, and declared his determina- 
 tion to prevent the land from being surveyed and settled. 
 He brought great numbers of the Indians from the sur- 
 rounding tribes to join his brother's party, and was, in 
 fact, the prime mover in all the proceedings conducted in 
 the name of the prophet. 
 
 General Harrison, who was then governor of the North- 
 west Territory, having heard of these doings, sent a mes- 
 sage to Tecumseh, informing him that if he possessed any 
 reasonable claim to lands ceded to the Americans, they 
 should be given up, or indemnities offered for them. He 
 invited him to Vincennes to exhibit his claim. Accord- 
 ingly, in August, 1810, Tecumseh, attended by several 
 hundred warriors, came to that town, and held a confer- 
 ence with the governor. Tecumseh made a long speech, 
 but said nothing to the purpose. General Harrison replied, 
 and as soon as he had finished Tecumseh gave a signal 
 to his warriors, on which they seized their tomahawks and 
 
INDIAN HOSTILITIES. — 1810. 276 
 
 war-clubs, and sprang suddenly on their feet. The gov- 
 ernor, with the greatest presence of mind, immediately 
 sprang from his chair, drew his sword, and put himself in 
 an attitude of defence. His situation was eminently criti- 
 cal. None of his attendants were armed, and the Indians 
 greatly outnumbered all the inhabitants of the town. His 
 firm countenance, however, checked the audacity of the 
 savages. He instantly ordered up a guard of a sergeant 
 and twelve men, who were not far off; then, turning to 
 Tecumseh, he told him he was a bad man, and he would 
 have no further intercourse with him ; he therefore ordered 
 him instantly to return home. The next morning, how- 
 ever, Tecumseh made an apology, and desired another 
 conference ; but the negotiations which followed came to 
 nothing. 
 
 The activity, zeal, and perseverance which this savage 
 chief manifested in his endeavors to unite all the Indian 
 tribes in a league against the Americans, are most remarka- 
 ble. He visited all the tribes along the western bank of 
 the Mississippi, and on the great lakes, repeatedly, before 
 the year 1811. So sanguine were his followers, at this 
 time, and to such a degree were they encouraged by the 
 British agents, that they believed, in the event of a war 
 between the British and Americans, they should be able 
 to drive the Americans across the Ohio, and regain all the 
 territory on the northwest of that river. The negotiations 
 which preceded the treaty of Ghent, show that the British 
 ministry indulged in a delusion equally extravagant. 
 
 In the winter and spring of 1811, depredations and 
 murders began to alarm the frontiers of the Indiana, 
 Illinois and Missouri territories. The perpetrators were 
 demanded of the respective Indian chiefs, but no satisfac- 
 tion could be obtained. Alarm spread throughout all the 
 westeru country. The inhabitants held meetings, and 
 forwarded to Washington the most urgent requests for 
 defensive measures against the hostilities of the Indians. 
 The president immediately ordered Colonel Boyd's regi- 
 ment, then quartered at Pittsburg, to repair, without delay, 
 to Yincennes, and receive orders from Governor Harrison, 
 
276 SETTLEMENT OF THE WESTERN STATES. 
 
 who was also directed to raise a body of militia, for the 
 defence of the country. Upon this announcement, compa- 
 nies of militia and volunteers flocked to his head quarters, 
 and he soon found himself at the head of a respectable 
 force. 
 
 In the latter part of September, Harrison commenced his 
 march up the Wabash, with a force of about nine hundred 
 eiFective men. Conformably to his orders from the presi- 
 dent, he halted within the limits of the United States, and 
 despatched some friendly Indians, as messengers, to the 
 prophet, to induce him to deliver up the nnirderers, and 
 the horses which had been stolen by his people. These 
 negotiators were treated with great insolence, and the 
 demands were rejected with disdain, by the prophet and his 
 comicil. To put an end to all hope of accommodation, 
 a small war-party of Indians approached the American 
 camp for the purpose of commencing hostilities. Finding 
 no stragglers without the lines, they fired upon a sentinel, 
 and wounded him severely. Negotiation now appeared 
 hopeless. The Delaware chiefs informed the governor 
 that nothing but force would obtain either satisfaction for 
 injuries done, or security for the future. The prophet's 
 force was daily augmenting, and everything wore the 
 most threatening aspect. In this state of affairs, Harrison 
 judged it necessary to erect a fortification within the limits 
 of the United States, where his invalids, of which he had 
 a large number, might be deposited. In this fortification, 
 which the officers named Fort Harrison, all the inefficient 
 portion of the army having been deposited, the remainder 
 took up the line of march for the enemy's country, on the 
 29th of October. 
 
 On the evening of the 5 th of November, the army 
 reached a spot about two miles from the prophet's tOAvn. 
 None of the enemy were yet seen. The troops encamped, 
 and kept a strict guard, as it was ascertained that the 
 prophet was already informed of their approach. The 
 following day they recommenced their march, and dis- 
 covered parties of the enemy, with whom attempts were 
 made to open a communication by the advanced guards, 
 
BATTLE OF TIPPECANOE. 1811. 27f 
 
 attended by interpreters. The enemy, however, rejected 
 every pacific overture, and Harrison continued to advance. 
 The country became broken by ravines and covered with 
 thick woods and tall prairie grass. With great difficulty, 
 and using the utmost precaution, the troops made their 
 way, with clouds of Indians hanging on their flanks and 
 front, till they arrived close to the prophet's town, where 
 they encamped. Harrison now obtained a parley with the 
 Indians, who put on a pacific countenance, and professed 
 a wish to avoid hostilities. A suspension of arms was, 
 accordingly, agreed upon, and the following day appointed 
 to hold a conference, and discuss terms of peace. Things 
 now wore a pacific aspect, and the soldiers began to ex- 
 press their regrets at being obliged to return to their homes 
 without witnessing a battle. 
 
 Harrison, however, Avas not thrown ofi" his guard by 
 these friendly demonstrations. Familiar with Indian 
 character and Indian arts, he suspected treachery, and, 
 like a prudent general, took all precaution against a sur- 
 prise. The strictest arrangements were made to meet a 
 sudden attack. The front and rear lines were composed 
 of United States' troops, flanked by companies of militia. 
 Three companies of mounted riflemen were posted on the 
 left flank, and the remaining cavalry were stationed in 
 the rear of the front line and left flank. A very strong 
 night guard was put upon duty, orders issued for the 
 sharpest vigilance to be observed throughout the camp, 
 and the troops to lay on their arms. These precautions 
 were by no means superfluous. The treacherous savages 
 had made preparations to assault the camp under cover of 
 the night, and, by killing the sentinels before an alarm 
 could be given, to surprise the sleeping soldiers, whom 
 they hoped to massacre before they had time to prepare 
 for their defence. The sun went down quietly; the hum 
 and bustle of the Indian town died away, and everything 
 seemed hushed in repose. The night, at the beginning, 
 was cloudy and dark ; the moon rose late, and, after mid- 
 night, there was a drizzling rain ; day-break was not far 
 24 
 
278 SETTLEMENT OF THE WESTERN STATES. 
 
 off, and all the dangers of the night were apparently past : 
 but this was the very moment of peril. 
 
 A little after four in the morning, a sentry was gazing 
 upon the marshy prairie which skirted the front of the 
 camp. Never had he seen the tall grass so strangely 
 agitated. Not a breath of wind was blowing, yet the sur- 
 face of the prairie was moving as if stirred by a strong 
 breeze. He cried, "Who goes there'?" but not a sound 
 was heard in reply. His eye scrutinized every part of the 
 waving field before him, but no living thing could be seen. 
 Suddenly, with the quick thought of a backwoodsman, he 
 stooped to the earth, and looking under the tall grass, 
 behold ! an Indian silently and cautiously creeping towards 
 him ! In an instant he fired ; a tremendous Indian yell 
 burst from the cover, and a cloud of savages rushed at 
 once upon the left flank of the Americans. The guard in 
 that quarter gave way, overpowered by the suddenness 
 and fury of the attack. But the general and the other 
 chief ofiicers were already at their posts. Knowing the 
 greatest danger of surprise to be towards morning, they 
 had risen before the assault commenced. Dispositions to 
 meet the enemy were promptly made; and the mounted 
 riflemen received the next onset. The Indians, expert in 
 the use of muskets, poured in a most destructive fire ; but 
 the troops, who sprang to their arms at a moment's warning, 
 received the attack with the greatest firmness. The onset 
 of the savages was such as to strike terror into every one, 
 yet all orders were executed with coolness and promptitude. 
 The camp fires were immediately extinguished, that the 
 enemy might be embarrassed for want of light. 
 
 The attack was now extended to all quarters of the 
 camp post, flank and rear. The dragoons on the left were 
 severely annoyed by the enemy lodged in the woods. In 
 the other quarters, the Indians advanced and retreated, 
 making a loud rattling noise with deer-hoofs. They fought 
 with desperation, and seemed resolved to conquer or die. 
 The troops, however, firmly stood their ground. During 
 the contest, the prophet remained in safety on an adjacent 
 eminence, singing a war-song. He had told his followers 
 
BATTLE' OF TIPPECANOE. 1811. 279 
 
 that the Great Spirit would render the arms of the whites 
 unavaiUng, and that their bullets would not hurt the In- 
 dians, who would have light, while their enemies were 
 involved in thick darkness. The fight raged with unabated 
 fury, and he was informed that his men were falling. He 
 told them to fight on, and they would soon see his predic- 
 tions accomplished ; and then he began to sing louder. But 
 his incantations failed of effect ; the American bullets con- 
 tiimed to strike down the savage assailants ; and their 
 tumultuous onsets could not shake the firmness of the 
 troops. Major Davies's cavalry made an attack upon the 
 Indians in the woods, but the major being mortally 
 wounded, the attack was repulsed. A company of infantry 
 then advanced to the charge, with fixed bayonets, and 
 drove the enemy from the wood. Daylight now approached, 
 and a body of infantry and cavalry, under Major Wells, 
 advanced upon the enemy's right. The Indian line was 
 broken, repulsed and driven into a swamp. Attacks, at the 
 same time, were made upon the remaining bodies of the 
 enemy, who were all driven from their ground, and the vic- 
 tory of the Americans was complete. Forty Indians were 
 found dead on the field of battle. Numbers of dead were 
 carried off", and many were subsequently found buried, and 
 thrown three and four together into holes and places of 
 concealment. Their total loss in killed and wounded was 
 estimated at one hundred and fifty. The American loss 
 was equally severe. Among the killed were nine officers. 
 General Harrison had a musket ball graze his head, cutting 
 off" a lock of hair. 
 
 The victory of Tippecanoe immediately dispersed all 
 the hostile Indians in the neighborhood. The prophet's 
 town was found deserted by all but an old chief, whose leg 
 was broken. He was treated with humanity and attention. 
 His wounds were dressed, and he was instructed to tell his 
 countrymen that if they would abandon the prophet, and 
 return peaceably to their respective tribes, they would be 
 forgiven. It was judged necessary to destroy the prophet's 
 town, which had been the rendezvous for all the bad 
 characters in that quarter, and all the enemies of the United 
 
280 
 
 SETTLEMENT OF THE WESTERN STATES. 
 
 States. The houses were burnt, the utensils of the Indians, 
 and corn and other provisions, destroyed. The army 
 remained in camp two days, to dress the wounded, and 
 then returned to Vincennes. The prophet, after his flight 
 from Tippecanoe, was instantly abandoned by all his fol- 
 lowers, who, after this defeat, lost all faith in his super- 
 natural pretensions. Even his life was endangered by the 
 sudden change in the feeling of those whom he had too 
 successfully deluded. Most of the Indian tribes who had 
 been influenced by his arts, seeing him driven from his 
 sanctuary and strong-hold, and all his impostures exposed, 
 offered their submission to the United States, and sued for 
 peace. The prophet fled to Canada, where, for many years, 
 he lived on a pension from the British government, and 
 afterwards emigrated to the west of the Mississippi. 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 War of 1812. — Relations ivilh Great Britain — Bad faith of the British 
 cahinct — Impressment of American seamen — Affair of John Henry — 
 Party dissensions — Declaration of ivar loith Great Brilaiii — Mob at 
 Baltimore — Cruise of Commodore Rogers — Chase of the Constitution 
 — Capture of the Gucrriere — Capture of the Alert — Capture of the Mace- 
 donian — Capture of the Frolic — Capture of the Java — Exultation of the 
 Americans — Military operations by land — Errors of the cabinet — Cam- 
 paign of General Hull — Invasion of Canada — Capture of Mackinaw 
 by the British — Surrender of Hull's army — Harrison' s march — Capture 
 of Fort Defiance — War on the Nia gara frontier — Dearborn's armis- 
 tice — Attack on Queenstown — Misconduct of the New York militia — 
 Affairs on the lakes — End of the campaign of 1812 — Meeting of con- 
 gress — Negotiations for peace — Reelection of Mr. Madison. 
 
 We now return to the foreign afiairs of the United States. 
 Early in 1812, the relations of the comitry with Great 
 Britain had reached a critical point. All the negotiations 
 with the British cabinet led to no satisfactory results, but, 
 on the contrary, produced nothing but chicanery and equiv- 
 ocation. It was evidently their wish to protract the settle- 
 ment of affairs as long as possible. The American com- 
 merce offered a rich harvest of plunder for the British 
 cruisers, and the American crews Avere a constant source 
 for the supply of recruits for their navy by impressment. 
 Thousands of sailors, Avith the legal evidence of their citi- 
 zenship in their pockets, were taken forcibly from Ameri- 
 can ships, and compelled to serve in the British navy. The 
 impression began to prevail that a resort to arms was the 
 only thing which could redeem the character of the nation 
 and compel foreign powers to respect her flag. In Novem- 
 ber, 1811, President Madison recommended to congress that 
 the country should be put in a state of defence ; yet the 
 hope of accommodating difficulties by negotiation was still 
 24* 
 
282 WAR OF 1812. 
 
 SO strong, that nothing of consequence Avas done except 
 authorizing a loan of eleven millions of dollars in March, 
 1812. 
 
 The feeling of hostility to England was further aggra- 
 vated by an affair which came to light about this time. 
 While the embargo law was in operation, the governor of 
 Canada had despatched a secret emissary, named John 
 Henry, into the eastern states, to sound the disposition of 
 the people, who were thought inclined to dissolve the 
 Union and revolt against the federal government. This 
 man does not appear to have disclosed his mission to any 
 person in the United States, but he wrote despatches to the 
 governor, containing the news which he had picked up on 
 his journey. Not being rewarded by the British govern- 
 ment for his services, he disclosed the whole affair to the 
 American cabinet, who paid him fifty thousand dollars for 
 his papers. These documents were published by the 
 American government, and gave rise to much discussion, 
 not only in the United States, but in Great Britain. Lord 
 Liverpool, the British prime minister, defended the pro- 
 ceeding in the house of lords, but it was generally consid- 
 ered, both in America and Europe, as a transaction highly 
 discreditable to the British government. 
 
 It was now evident that hostilities with Great Britain 
 could not be avoided much longer. There were grounds 
 of complaint, too, against France, but it was admitted on 
 all hands that the insults of the British were by far the 
 most aggravating. Violent party dissensions agitated the 
 United States, as the prospect of a war grew more and more 
 certain. At length, on the 1st of June, 1812, the subject 
 was proposed to congress in a message from President 
 Madison. After a warm debate, a declaration of war was 
 passed in the house of representatives by a majority of 
 thirty, and in the senate by a majority of six. It received 
 the signature of the president on the 18th of June, 1812, 
 and on that day war existed between the United States 
 and Great Britain. 
 
 Party spirit, at this period, raged with uncommon vio- 
 lence. The opposition to the government was strong, and 
 
WAR WITH GREAT BRITAIN. 1812. 283 
 
 the declaration of war was denounced as a desperate and 
 fatal measure. The country was m a most imperfect state 
 of defence, with hardly anything like an army or navy, 
 and the most wealthy and populous portion of the Union 
 was the most decidedly averse to the war. The commer- 
 cial towns of the eastern states, which had the most to 
 suffer from hostilities, were, of course, the most strenuous 
 in opposing it. The extravagant gains of commerce, in 
 spite of the enormous hazards attending it, offered still an 
 irresistible attraction. Troubles also menaced the country 
 in other quarters. A mob, at Baltimore, on the 20th of 
 June, assaulted the office of a newspaper which was dis- 
 tinguished for the violence of its opposition to the war. 
 On the 2Sth of July, another mob made an attack on the 
 house of the editor, and the next day further outrages 
 were perpetrated ; one person was killed, and several 
 wounded. 
 
 At the moment of the declaration of war, a squadron, 
 under Commodore Rogers, lay at New York, consisting 
 of the frigates President, Congress, United States, and the 
 sloop of war Hornet. On the 21st of June, they put to sea, 
 in pursuit of a British squadron, which had sailed as the 
 convoy of the West India fleet the preceding month. 
 While thus engaged, the Britisli frigate Belvidera was 
 discovered, to which they instantly gave chase. The 
 chase was continued from early in the morning until past 
 four in the afternoon, when the President, outsailing the 
 other vessels, had come within gun-shot; she opened a fire 
 with her bow guns, intending to cripple the Belvidera, 
 which returned it with her stern-chasers. The firing was 
 kept up for ten minutes, when one of the guns of the Pres- 
 ident burst, killed and wounded sixteen men, and fractured 
 the leg of the commodore. By this accident, and the 
 explosion of the passing-box, the decks were so much shat- 
 tered, as to render the guns on one side useless. The ship 
 was then put about, and a broadside fired, but without the 
 desired effect, though considerable injury was done the 
 Belvidera. This vessel, having thrown overboard every- 
 thing she could spare, now gained ground. The chase 
 
284 WAR OF 1812. 
 
 was continued until eleven o'clock at night, before it was 
 deemed hopeless. The squadron then continued in pursuit 
 of the convoy, which it did not give over until within sight 
 of the British channel ; then stood for the island of Madeira, 
 and thence, passing the Azores, stood for Newfoundland, 
 and thence, by Cape Sable, arrived at Boston the 30th of 
 August, having made prize of several British vessels ; but, 
 owing to the haziness of the weather, they were less suc- 
 cessful than might have been expected. The frigate Essex 
 went to sea from New York on the 3d of July. The brigs 
 Nautilus and Vixen were at the same time cruising off the 
 coast. The sloop of war Wasp was at sea, on her return 
 from France. 
 
 The Constitution, Captain Hull, sailed from Annapolis 
 on the 5th of July. On the morning of the 17th, off Egg 
 Harbor, she was chased by a ship of the line, the Africa, 
 and the frigates Shannon, Guerriere, Belvidera, and iEolus. 
 These vessels were approaching rapidly, with a line breeze, 
 while it was nearly a calm about the Constitution. At 
 sunrise the next morning, escape from the enemy was 
 almost hopeless, as they were then within five miles. The 
 Constitution was, therefore, cleared for action, determined 
 to make a desperate resistance. The enemy still drawing 
 near, and the ships being upon soundings, boats were sent 
 ahead, with anchors, for the purpose of warping, — there 
 prevailing almost a calm. The enemy, finding the Con- 
 stitution gaining upon them, resorted to the same expedient. 
 The chase continued, in this manner, for two days, partly 
 sailing with light breezes, and partly warping, until the 
 20th, when the Constitution ran her pursuers entirely out 
 of sight. This escape, from so great a disparity of force, 
 was considered as deserving a high rank in naval exploits, 
 and was much admired at the time, as evincing superior 
 nautical skill. The advantage to the British, in this chase, 
 was considerable, when we reflect that their foremost ves- 
 sel had the assistance of all the boats of the ^squadron for 
 the purpose of towing. 
 
 The Constitution, having arrived safely at Boston, put 
 to sea again on the 2d of August. On the 19th, a vessel 
 
CAPTURE OF THE GUERRIERE. 1812. 285 
 
 hove in sight, and a chase instantly commenced. It was 
 soon discovered to be the Guerriere, Captain Dacres, one 
 of the best frigates in the British navy, and which seemed 
 not averse to the rencounter, as she backed her maintopsail, 
 waiting for the Constitution to come down. This was a 
 most desirable occurrence to our brave tars, as this frigate 
 had, for some time, been in search of an American frigate, 
 having given a formal challenge to all our vessels of the 
 same class. She had at one of her mastheads a flag, on 
 which her name Avas inscribed in large characters, by way 
 of gasconade, and on her fore topsail the words, " Not the 
 Little Belt," in allusion to the broadsides which the Presi- 
 dent had given that vessel before the war. The Guerriere 
 had looked into several of our ports, and affected to be 
 exceedingly anxious to earn the first laurels from the new 
 enemy. The Constitution, being made ready for action, 
 now bore down, her crew giving three cheers. At first, it 
 was the intention of Captain Hull to bring her to close 
 action immediately ; but, on coming within gun-shot, she 
 gave a broadside and filled away, then wore, giving a 
 broadside on the other tack, but without effect. Both ships 
 now continued wearing and manoeuvring for three quar- 
 ters of an hour, the Guerriere attempting to take a raking 
 position ; but failing in this, she bore up, under her topsail 
 and jib. The Constitution, perceiving this, made sail to 
 come up with her. Captain Hull, with admirable coolness, 
 received the enemy's fire without returning it. 
 
 The enemy, mistaking this conduct on the part of the 
 American commander for want of skill, continued to pour 
 out his broadsides, with a view to cripple his antagonist. 
 From the Constitution not a gun had been fired. Already 
 had an officer twice come on deck, with information that 
 several of the men had been killed at their guns. The 
 gallant crew, though burning with impatience, silently 
 awaited the orders of their commander. The moment so 
 long looked for, at last arrived. Sailing-master Aylwin 
 having seconded the views of the captain with admirable 
 skill, in bringing the vessels exactly to the station intended, 
 orders were given, at five minutes before five, P. M., to fire 
 
286 
 
 WAR OF 1812. 
 
 broadside after broadside in quick succession. The crew 
 instantly discovered the whole plan, and entered into it 
 with all the spirit the circumstance was calculated to 
 inspire. Never was any firing so dreadful. For fifteen 
 minutes the vivid lightning of the Constitution's guns con- 
 tinued one blaze, and their thunder roared with scarce an 
 intermission. The enemy's mizzenmast soon went by the 
 board, and he stood exposed to a raking fire, which swept 
 his decks. The Guerriere had now become unmanageable ; 
 her hull, rigging, and sails dreadfully torn ; when the Con- 
 stitution attempted to lay her on board. At this moment. 
 Lieutenant Bush, in attempting to throw his marines on 
 board, was killed by a musket ball, and the enemy shot 
 ahead, but could not be brought before the wind. A rak- 
 ing fire now continued for fifteen minutes longer, when his 
 mainmast and foremast went, taking with them every spar, 
 
 Capture of the Guerriere. 
 
 excepting the bowsprit. On seeing this, the firing ceased, 
 and, at twenty-five minutes past five, she surrendered. 
 " In thirty minutes," says Captain Hull, " after we got 
 
CAPTURE OF THE ALERT. 1812. 287 
 
 fairly alongside of the enemy, she surrendered, and had 
 not a spar standing, and her hull, above and below water, 
 so shattered, that a few more broadsides must have carried 
 her down." 
 
 The Guerriere was so much damaged, as to render it 
 impossible to bring her in ; she Avas, therefore, set fire to 
 the next day, and blown up. The damage sustained by 
 the Constitution Avas, comparatively, of so little conse- 
 quence, that she actually made ready for action when a 
 vessel appeared in sight the next day. The loss on board 
 the Guerriere was fifteen killed and sixty-three wounded; 
 on the side of the Constitution, seven killed and seven 
 wounded. It is pleasing to observe, that even the British 
 commander, on this occasion, bore testimony to the human- 
 ity and generosity with which he was treated by the victors. 
 The American frigate was somewhat superior in force, but 
 this diflerence bore no comparison to the disparity of the 
 conflict. The Guerriere was thought to be a match for 
 any vessel of her class, and had been ranked among the 
 largest in the British navy. The Constitution arrived at 
 Boston, on the 28th of August, having captured several 
 merchant vessels. 
 
 On the 7th of August, Commodore Porter, of the 
 Essex, fell in with a fleet of merchantmen, and at night 
 cut out a brig with a hundred and fifty soldiers on board, 
 which Avas ransomed for fourteen thousand dollars. On 
 the 13th of August, he fell in with the Alert, a British sloop 
 of war. Notwithstanding the inferiority of force, such was 
 the confidence of the Britisli naval commanders in their 
 own prowess at this period, that the Alert ran immediately 
 alongside the Essex, and engaged her with three cheers. 
 In eight minutes the Alert struck her colors, with seven 
 feet water in her hold. She was taken possession of, and 
 brought safe into port. On the 30th, towards dark, the 
 Essex discovered an enemy's frigate, and lay by during 
 the night, with lights hoisted; but in the morning the 
 enemy was not to be seen. The Essex arrived in the Del- 
 aware on the 7th of September. 
 
 A brilliant victory also awaited the frigate United States, 
 
288 WAR OF 1812. 
 
 under the command of Captain Decatur. On the 25th of 
 October, near the Azores, she encountered the British 
 frigate Macedonian, Captain Carden, a new vessel, of excel- 
 lent equipment. The Macedonian, having the weather- 
 gage, kept at long shot, and this prevented the United 
 States from using the greater part of her. guns, which were 
 carronades. But as soon as the United States was able to 
 close with her enemy, the action began in earnest, and the 
 Macedonian soon had her mizzenmast shot away and her 
 other spars and rigging damaged. She struck, after an 
 action of an hour and a half from the first shot. The 
 superiority of the American gunnery, in this action, was 
 very remarkable, both for its greater rapidity and effect. 
 From the continued blaze of her guns, the United States 
 was, at one moment, thought by her antagonist to be on 
 fire; a mistake of very short duration. On board the 
 Macedonian there were thirty-six killed and sixty-eight 
 wounded. She lost her mainmast, her main-topmast, and 
 main yard, and was much cut up in her hull. The United 
 States suffered so little, that a return to port was not 
 necessary ; she had only five killed and seven wounded. 
 Among the killed was Lieutenant Funk, of whom the 
 commodore spoke in the highest terms. Lieutenant Allen 
 was on this occasion highly applauded. The commodore 
 arrived at New York on the 4th of December, with his 
 prize. 
 
 Commodore Decatur, already a great favorite, experi- 
 enced the same demonstrations of gratitude as were shown 
 to Captain Hull ; nor was there denied him that new spe- 
 cies of praise, which the generous conduct of our heroic 
 seamen has uniformly drawn forth, the praise of the 
 enemy. All the private property belonging to the men and 
 officers on board the Macedonian, was restored to the cap- 
 tured, with the most rigid exactitude ; and their treatment 
 was the most polite and humane. An act of generosity 
 and benevolence, on the part of our brave tars of the victo- 
 rious frigate, deserves to be honorably recorded. The car- 
 penter, who was unfortunately killed in the conflict with 
 the Macedonian, had left three small children to the care 
 
CAPTURE OF THE JAVA. 1812. 291 
 
 Still flying, there being no seamen left to pull them down. 
 Lieutenant Biddle leaped into the rigging, and hauled them 
 down with his own hands. Thus, in forty-three minutes, 
 complete possession was taken of the Frolic, after one of 
 the most bloody conflicts anywhere recorded in naval his- 
 tory. The condition of this unfortunate vessel was inex- 
 pressibly shocking. The berth deck was crowded with the 
 dead, the dying, and the wounded ; and the masts, which 
 soon after fell, covered the dead, and everything on deck, 
 leaving her a most melancholy wreck. Captain Jones sent 
 on board his surgeon, and humanely exerted himself in 
 their relief, to the utmost of his power. The loss on board 
 the Frolic was thirty killed, and fifty wounded ; on board 
 the Wasp, five killed, and five slightly wounded. This 
 was one of the most decisive actions fought during the 
 war. The Wasp and Frolic were both captured the same 
 day by a British seventy-four, the Poictiers, Captain Beres- 
 ford. 
 
 The Constitution, under the command of Captain Bain- 
 bridge, sailed from Boston again, in October, in company 
 with the Hornet sloop of war, on a voyage round Cape 
 Horn. They continued in company till they arrived on the 
 coast of Brazil. The British sloop of war Bonne Citoyenne 
 was then lying in the harbor of St. Salvador, with a large 
 quantity of specie on board, and the Hornet, in hope of cap- 
 turing her, remained cruising off" the place. The Constitu- 
 tion parted company and steered to the south. On the 29th 
 of December, she discovered an enemy's frigate, which 
 proved to be the Java, Captain Lambert, heavily armed 
 and manned, having one hundred seamen over her comple- 
 ment, together with a British general and a large number 
 of naval and military ofiicers, which she was carrying to 
 the East Indies. An action ensued, which lasted two hours, 
 first at long-shot and afterwards at close quarters, when 
 the Java surrendered, with the loss of sixty killed and above 
 a hundred wounded. The Constitution had nine killed 
 and twenty-five wounded. The Java was so much dam- 
 aged in the action, that she was set on fire by the captors, 
 and the prisoners were landed at St. Salvador, on parole. 
 
292 WAR OF 1812. 
 
 In consequence of the damage sustained in the action, as 
 well as the loss of the company of the Hornet, the Consti- 
 tution returned to Boston. 
 
 The surprise and astonishment, both in Europe and 
 America, at this brilliant succession of naval victories, 
 were unbounded. The arrival of the Constitution at Bos- 
 ton, after her first victory, produced a burst of exultation 
 among the people, which would seem utterly extravagant 
 when considered as caused merely by the capture of an 
 enemy's frigate. But at this period the invincibility of the 
 British upon the ocean was a belief of so long standing, so 
 firmly fixed in the minds of most men, and had been so 
 fully confirmed by the uniform good fortune of their navy, 
 that the achievement of Captain Hull acted at once like 
 the dissolution of a spell. The charm of British invin- 
 cibility was now broken, and the highest opinions were 
 conceived of the skill and courage of American seamen. 
 Captain Hull was received with the highest honors at 
 Boston. The wharves were crowded with immense throngs 
 of people as he landed. AH parties united in welcoming 
 him with the most enthusiastic cheers ; and the triumph of 
 the American navy was the more glorious as it was alto- 
 gether unexpected. Congress voted their thanks to the 
 officers and crew of the Constitution, together with fifty 
 thousand dollars for the loss of their prize. Many of the 
 state legislatures also bestowed public honors upon them. 
 The conquerors in the subsequent naval victories received 
 similar testimonials. 
 
 The American privateers also met with great success in 
 the beginning of the Avar. Before the end of 1812, between 
 two and three hundred prizes were brought into the ports 
 of the United States, and the prisoners captured were com- 
 puted at more than three thousand. The only public ves- 
 sels lost were the schooner Nautilus, and the small brig 
 Vixen, which were captured by the enemy's frigates. The 
 naval service was now exceedingly popular, and at the 
 next session of congress an act was passed, authorizing the 
 building of six ships of the line, and twelve frigates and 
 sloops of war, together with as many vessels on the lakes 
 
CAMPAIGN OF GENERAL HULL. 1812. 293 
 
 as should be necessary. From the exhausted state of the 
 treasury, however, and the difficuUy of raising loans, the 
 building of the ships did not proceed with all the rapidity 
 that was wished, and none of them, except the smaller 
 ones, were completed in season to meet the enemy during 
 the war. 
 
 The commencement of the war was not equally favora- 
 ble to the Americans by land, from causes which are obvi- 
 ous. The land forces of the United States had none of that 
 experience and perfect discipline, which had given such 
 wonderful efficiency to the little American navy. The sys- 
 tem pursued by the war department, moreover, was char- 
 acterized by a deplorable want of shrewdness and foresight. 
 Instead of appointing to the command of the troops officers 
 in tlie prime of life, characterized by enterprise, activity, 
 and prompt, decisive action, the department committed the 
 fatal mistake of selecting superannuated officers, past the 
 meridian of life, and in a declining state of both corporeal 
 and mental power. The only recommendation of theae 
 men Avas, in some instances, their revolutionary services; 
 but, although in early life they had exhibited courage and 
 talent, when the war of 1812 broke oiit they no longer 
 possessed the energy and decision to command armies. 
 Under such leaders, the commencement of the war was 
 signalized by a most mortifying calamity. 
 
 The campaign began on the northwest frontier, where 
 the savage tribes, under the instigation of the British, had 
 commenced hostilities. The army was placed under the 
 command of General Hull, who has acquired the most 
 unfortunate celebrity by the disastrous termination of his 
 campaign. His force consisted of about two thousand five 
 hundred men, half of which were Ohio militia. Early in 
 July he moved from his camp at Dayton, and marched 
 upon Detroit. Here he prepared to invade Canada, and on 
 the 12th of July he crossed the river with most of his force, 
 and called by proclamation upon the inhabitants to submit. 
 The confident style of this document was by no means in 
 the best taste, and was not at all justified by the result of the 
 undertaking. By a rapid march he might have overrun a 
 25^- 
 
294 WAR OF 1812. 
 
 great extent of the country, and kept possession of the 
 whole as far as the Niagara frontier,^ where another Ameri- 
 can army, nnder General Dearborn, was stationed to co- 
 operate with him. But Hull possessed neither courage, 
 decision, nor skill. He lay idle for more than three weeks 
 at Sandwich, near Maiden, opposite Detroit. No British 
 force was in the vicinity to impede his march, but this 
 long delay enabled the enemy to raise a force of militia 
 and Indians, which soon increased to a formidable amount. 
 
 Meantime a body of a thousand British and Indians sud- 
 denly appeared before the important fortress of Mackinaw, 
 where the garrison consisted of only fifty-seven men, and 
 were totally unprepared for hostilities. Such had been the 
 negligence of the American government, that no prepara- 
 tions whatever had been made for hostilities on the fron- 
 tier, up to the day when the declaration of war was issued, 
 and the garrison of Mackinaw received the first intelligence 
 of that event by a summons to surrender. No resistance 
 could be made, and the loss of this important post removed 
 every check upon the hostilities of the Indian tribes in the 
 neighborhood, who all rose against the Americans, and 
 "the whole northern hive," as Hull expressed it, "came 
 swarming upon the flanks of the army." 
 
 The negligence and incapacity of the war department 
 may go far to explain the disasters of this campaign, but 
 they can in no way excuse the sluggishness, indecision and 
 cowardice of General Hull, which alone produced the main 
 catastrophe. He had it in his power to strike a bold stroke 
 and intimidate the enemy, instead of which he lay inactive 
 till the British had accumulated a suflicient force to render 
 his designs impracticable. 
 
 Another gross oversight, by an American oflicer, accel- 
 erated the consummation of this train of disasters. Dear- 
 born, who commanded on the Niagara frontier, received a 
 proposal for a suspension of arms, from Sir George Prevost, 
 governor-general of Canada. This proposal was grounded 
 on the repeal of the orders in council, the intelligence of 
 which had just been received, and, possibly, might lead to 
 a treaty of peace. Dearborn suffered himself to be over- 
 
CAMPAIGN OF GENERAL HULL. — 1812. 295 
 
 reached in this matter, and agreed, early in August, to an 
 armistice, on his own frontier, to continue till the pleasure 
 of the president should be known. By this most unwise 
 arrangement, Prevost was enabled to detach a large part 
 of his force against Hull ; while Dearborn, being at a much 
 greater distance by the line of ma^ch, could do nothing for 
 his relief. The president, on learning Dearborn's armis- 
 tice, instantly annulled it ; but it was too late. The British 
 had triumphed. 
 
 Hull's incapacity, irresolution and sluggish movements, 
 had disheartened the whole army. Disasters soon began 
 to fall upon them. On the 4th of August, a detachment 
 of two hundred men, sent to escort a supply of provisions 
 for the army, was defeated at Brownstown, by a party of 
 Indians. A council of war was held, and decided that an 
 immediate attack ought to be made upon Maiden. In 
 consequence, Hull issued a general order for the attack on 
 the 7th of August. But, on the next day, to the astonish- 
 ment of every one, the army was ordered to break up their 
 encampment and recross the river. The troops, although 
 now fairly ashamed of their general, were obliged to obey 
 orders, and passed over to Detroit. There was a talk 
 among the officers of taking the command of the army 
 away from General Hull, on account of his gross incapa- 
 city ; a bold measure, but which would have been justified 
 by the necessity of the case. Nothing of the kind, how- 
 ever, was done, and Hull, on the following day, detached 
 a body of six hundred men, under Colonel Miller, across 
 the river again. This party engaged a body of British 
 and Indians, near Maguaga village, and drove them off the 
 ground with considerable loss. The Indians were com- 
 manded by Tecumseh. Miller proceeded to Brownstown, 
 but was immediately afterwards ordered back to Detroit' 
 and Canada was a second time evacuated. The gross 
 blundering and irresolution of the commander-in-chief, 
 throughout the whole campaign, are without a parallel in 
 American history. 
 
 The British had a force of fifteen hundred men at Mai- 
 den, under General Brock. Had the Americans been 
 
296 WAR OF 1812. 
 
 commanded by an officer of any capacity, offensive opera- 
 tions would not have been ventured upon by the enemy. 
 But Hull's behavior tempted the British commander to a 
 bold movement. On the 15th of August, he summoned 
 Hull to surrender, and, being refused, opened his fire upon 
 Detroit. After a cannonade of two days, the British cross- 
 ed the river, and took post about three miles from Detroit. 
 It is probable that Brock did not design an immediate 
 attack, but hearing that a detachment of three hundred 
 men had been recently sent away from Detroit, he deter- 
 mined to assault it. The American army was stationed 
 in the fort and town, in the most favorable situation for 
 receiving the enemy. A sharp conflict was expected ; the 
 Americans were confident of victory. But who can de- 
 scribe the chagrin and mortification which took possession 
 of these troops 7 At the very moment the destruction of 
 the enemy was certain, orders were given not to fire. The 
 troops were ordered to stack their arms, and, to the aston- 
 ishment of all, a white flag, in token of submission, was 
 suspended from the walls. Words are wanting to express 
 the feelings of the Americans on this occasion ; they con- 
 sidered themselves basely betrayed, in thus surrendering 
 to an inferior force, without firing a gun, when they were 
 firmly convinced the enemy were in their power. 
 
 General Hull was exchanged for thirty British prisoners, 
 brought before a court-martial, charged with treason, cow- 
 ardice, and unofficer-like conduct, and was sentenced to 
 death. The sentence was remitted by the president, but 
 his name was ordered to be struck from the rolls of the 
 army. The nation was overspread with gloom in conse- 
 quence of this disaster, and the war would have become 
 highly unpopular, had not an unexpected turn in the tide 
 of success been suddenly eflected by the brilliant victories 
 soon after achieved by the American navy. 
 
 The catastrophe of the northwestern army had been 
 foreseen by the more sagacious of the American officers, 
 and the governor of Ohio was urged, at an early period, to 
 send reinforcements. In Ohio and Kentucky three thou- 
 sand of the militia were raised, and marched for Detroit, 
 
Harrison's campaign. — 1812. 297 
 
 but on their arrival at Cincinnati, on the 27th of August, 
 they received the news of Hull's surrender. This caused 
 delay. Drafts of militia were made also in Pennsylvania 
 and Virginia, and the whole force was put under the com- 
 mand of General Harrison. The army marched from Cin- 
 cinnati to Piqua, on the Great Miami, where Harrison 
 received intelligence that Fort Wayne was besieged by the 
 Indians. A body of five hundred men was despatched for 
 its relief, and, in a few days, the whole army marched for 
 the same place. The Indians, hearing of Harrison's 
 approach, raised the siege and decamped. The army 
 arrived at Fort Wayne on the 12th of September. A 
 detachment, sent for the purpose, destroyed the Indian 
 towns on the forks of the Wabash. 
 
 Harrison was superseded in the command of the army 
 by General Winchester, who marched upon Fort Defiance, 
 where a strong force of British and Indians Avas posted. 
 They evacuated the fort, and Winchester took possession 
 of it on the 20th of September. Four days after this, 
 Harrison received his appointment of commander-in-chief 
 of the northwestern army; and the plan of a campaign 
 was projected for the purpose of covering the western 
 frontier and again invading Canada. The season was 
 now far advanced, and the American posts were spread 
 along a very wide extent of frontier. To penetrate into 
 Canada was impracticable ; and, after calculating his 
 means, Harrison was forced to abandon the scheme of 
 attacking Detroit. Several actions were fought with the 
 Indians, but no decisive advantage was gained, except the 
 dcstructioii of the Indian towns and the waste of their 
 corn-fields, and the dispersion of such bodies of the sav- 
 ages as ventured to collect in any considerable force. 
 
 On the northern frontier, the Americans gained no 
 advantages to compensate them for the disaster at Detroit. 
 The chief American posts were at- Plattsburg, Sackett's 
 Harbor, Black Rock, and Buffalo. Some inconsiderable 
 skirmishes and incursions took place along the banks of 
 the St. Lawrence, which led to no results. On the Niagara 
 frontier, a body of New York militia, amounting to three 
 
298 WAR OF 1812. 
 
 thousand men, under General Van Rensselaer, had been 
 assembled for the invasion of Canada. Their head quar- 
 ters were at Lewistown, eight miles below the falls. On 
 the 11th of October, they made an attack upon Queens- 
 town, on the British side. A detachment of regulars was 
 sent from Black Rock to assist in the attack. The British 
 had received intelligence of the design some time previous, 
 and sent reinforcements to Queenstown from Fort George. 
 The Americans embarked to cross the river, when, at the 
 same moment, a heavy fire was opened upon them, and, 
 the current being very strong, the boats were thrown into 
 disorder. A body of one hundred men, under Colonel Van 
 Rensselaer, landed safely, stormed the fort and silenced 
 the enemy's batteries. Reinforcements were soon received 
 by both parties, and the battle became general. The British 
 were repulsed, and General Brock, in attempting to rally 
 his troops, fell, mortally wounded ; but, assisted by a rein- 
 forcement of several hundred Indians, the British returned 
 to the attack, and were once more repulsed. Van Rensselaer 
 now recrossed the river, to hasten the passage of the troops ; 
 but, to his great mortification, the militia, at the critical 
 moment, refused to proceed, alleging that the general had 
 no authority to lead them beyond the territory of the United 
 States. 
 
 The victory was thus snatched from the Americans, at 
 the moment of full success, by this cowardly behavior of 
 the militia. At length, overpowered by numbers, they 
 recrossed the river, with six hvmdred of their number 
 killed and wounded, and the loss of three hundred prison- 
 ers. Van Rensselaer resigned the command, and was 
 succeeded by General Smythe. of the regular army, who 
 made a feeble attempt against the enemy, by despatching 
 a few small parties into Canada. Nothing, however, was 
 effected ; the militia returned to their homes full of cha- 
 grin and mortification at the failure/of the campaign, from 
 which they had anticipated some very brilliant results. 
 The clamors against Smythe were loud and violent, and 
 the pubhc opinion set strongly against him. 
 
 Some ships of war had been built by the two hostile 
 
AFFAIRS ON THE LAKES. 1812. 299 
 
 parties on the lakes. The American Ontario squadron 
 was commanded by Commodore Chamicey. It consisted 
 of seven small schooners, and this small fleet kept the 
 command of the lake through the season, although the 
 British had double the force afloat. In November, Chaun- 
 cey fell in with the Royal George, of twenty-six guns, and 
 chased her into Kingston, where he was repulsed by the 
 batteries. On Lake Erie, the Americans had but a single 
 armed vessel at the beginning of the war, which was sur- 
 rendered at Detroit. On the 9th of October, Lieutenant 
 Elliot, of the navy, crossed over from Black Rock, and 
 cut out two British vessels from under the guns of Fort 
 Erie. One of them, an armed vessel, was burnt, and the 
 other, with a valuable cargo of furs, was brought ofl" in 
 safety to Black Rock. 
 
 In November, 1812, congress assembled, and immediately 
 took measures to open a negotiation for peace, by instruct- 
 ing the American minister at London to give formal assur- 
 ance to the British government, that a law should be passed 
 forbidding the employment of British subjects in American 
 ships, in case the British would reciprocate the regulation ; 
 thus removing the ground of complaint between the two 
 countries on the subject of impressment. The British 
 government refused to listen to this proposal, and avowed 
 a determination not to abandon the right of impressment, 
 on which, it was asserted, the naval pov/er of the empire 
 depended. Notwithstanding this, a law was passed by 
 congress, forbidding the employment of British seamen in 
 American vessels, after the close of the existing war. 
 
 Some further attempts were made at an armistice hy 
 negotiation with Admiral Warren, who commanded the 
 British squadron 'on the American station, but without 
 effect. Mr. Madison was this year reelected president, 
 and Elbridge Gerry was elected vice-president. 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 War of 1812. — Harrison^s lointer campaign — Massacre at the River 
 Raisin — Affairs on Lake Ontario — Capture of York — Death of Gen- 
 eral Pike — Capture of Fort George — Disaster at Stony Creek and 
 Beaver Dam — Attack on Sackctt's Harbor — War on the Atlantic coast — 
 Devastations of the British in the Chesapeake — Bombardment of Lew- 
 istoivn — Cockburn^s marauding expedition — Capture of the Peacock — 
 Loss of tlie frigate Chesapeake — Loss of the Argus — Capture of the 
 Boxer — Loss of the Essex — War in the west — Defence of Sandusky 
 by Major Croghan — Perry^s victory on Lake Erie — Harrison''s inva- 
 sion of Canada — Battle of the Thames and death of Tecumseh. 
 
 The capture of Hull's army laid open the whole north- 
 western frontier to the incursions of the British and Indians, 
 and it became of the utmost importance to recover posses- 
 sion of the territory of Michigan. It was determined, 
 therefore, to undertake a campaign in the depth of winter. 
 A body of fifteen hundred regulars and militia rendez- 
 voused at Upper Sandusky, early in January, 1S13, under 
 General Harrison. From this post he detached two bodies 
 of men, one under General Winchester, to the rapids of 
 the Miami, and the other, under Colonel Lewis, to French- 
 town, on the river Raisin, which was then threatened by the 
 Indians. These detachments, after defeating the enemy 
 in some skirmishes, united at Frenchtown. Winchester, 
 who took the command, unfortunately neglected all pre- 
 cautions, though he had every reason to believe a strong 
 body of the enemy were on their march against him. 
 About day-light, on the 22d of January, he was suddenly 
 attacked by a numerous force of British and Indians, under 
 Colonel Procter. The American commanders, Winchester 
 and Lewis, were made prisoners, and a portion of the 
 Americans put to the rout. The remainder, being advan- 
 
MASSACRE AT FRENCHTOWN. — 1813. 301 
 
 tageously posted, stood upon their defence, and, although 
 hard-pressed by an overwhelming force, kept the enemy 
 at bay. The British represented to Winchester that no- 
 thing but an immediate surrender conld save the troops 
 who held out from being massacred by the Indians. The 
 general, influenced by these representations, sent a flag of 
 truce, ordering the remainder of the troops to surrender. 
 The ammunition of the Americans being nearly expended, 
 they surrendered, on condition of being protected by a 
 guard, and having their sick and wounded safely trans- 
 ported to Amherstburg on the following day. The British 
 commander agreed to these terms, but the unfortunate 
 prisoners experienced the most horrible perfidy and cruelty 
 from their inhuman captors. The savages tomahawked 
 both officers and soldiers in cold blood, burnt them alive, 
 and strewed their mangled carcasses over the country. 
 We shall spare the reader the details of this dreadful mas- 
 sacre, which inflicts the deepest infamy on the character 
 of Procter and his officers, who made no attempt to prevent 
 or stop the inhuman deed. 
 
 The massacre at Frenchtown clothed Kentucky and 
 Ohio in mourning. Bands of volunteers, indignant at the 
 treachery and cruelty of their foes, hastened to the aid of 
 Harrison. He marched to the rapids of the Miami, where 
 he erected a fort, which he called Fort Meigs, in honor of 
 the governor of Ohio. On the 1st of May, it was invested 
 by a large number of Indiaiis, and by a party of British 
 troops from Maiden, the whole commanded by Procter. 
 On the 6th, General Clay, at the head of twelve hundred 
 Kentuckians, made an attempt to raise the siege. Divid- 
 ing his force into several parties, he made an impetuous 
 onset, and drove the besiegers from their works. His 
 troops, supposing the victory complete, and disregarding 
 the orders of their commander, dispersed into the woods. 
 The enemy, returning from their flight, obtained an easy 
 victory. Of the Americans, two or three hundred escaped 
 into the fort; about three hundred were killed or made 
 prisoners ; the remainder fled to the nearest settlements. 
 The enemy sustained considerable loss. The fort contin- 
 26 
 
302 WAR OF 1812. 
 
 ued to be defended with bravery and skill. The Indians, 
 unaccustomed to sieges, became weary and discontented. 
 On the 8th of May, notwithstanding the entreaties of their 
 chief, Tecumseh, they deserted their allies. On the 9th, 
 the enemy, despairing of success, made a precipitate re- 
 treat. Harrison, leaving Clay in command, returned to 
 Ohio for reinforcements ; but in this quarter active opera- 
 tions were not resumed until a squadron had been built 
 and prepared for action on Lake Erie. 
 
 At Sackett's Harbor, on Lake Ontario, a body of troops 
 had been assembled, under General Dearborn, and great 
 exertions were made, by Commodore Chauncey, to build 
 and equip a squadron on the lake, sufficiently powerful to 
 contend with that of the enemy. By the 25th of April, 
 the naval preparations were so far completed, that Dear- 
 born, with seventeen hundred troops, embarked on board 
 the fleet, and were conveyed across the lake to the attack 
 of York, the capital of Upper Canada, where they arrived 
 on the 27th. An advanced party, led by Brigadier-General 
 Pike, who was born in a camp, and bred a soldier from his 
 birth, immediately landed, although opposed at the water's 
 edge by a superior force. After a short but severe conflict, 
 the enemy were driven to their fortifications. The rest of 
 the troops having gained the shore, the whole party pressed 
 forward, carried the first battery by assault, and were 
 moving towards the main works, when the enemy's maga- 
 zine blew up, with a tremendous explosion, hurling upon 
 the advancing troops immense quantities of stone and 
 timber. Great numbers were killed; the gallant Pike 
 received a mortal wound. The troops halted for a moment, 
 but, recovering from the shock, again pressed forward, 
 and soon gained possession of the town. Of the British 
 troops, one hundred were killed, nearly three hundred were 
 wounded, and the same number made prisoners. Of the 
 Americans, three hundred and twenty were killed and 
 wounded, and nearly all of them by the explosion of the 
 magazine. The flag which waved over the fort was car- 
 ried to the dying general ; at his desire it was placed under 
 his head, when, with a smile of triumph on his lips, he ex- 
 
CAPTURE OF FORT GEORGE. — 1813. 
 
 303 
 
 pired. The ships, public buildings, and military stores, 
 were then destroyed, and the fleet left the place. 
 
 Victory of York. 
 
 The object of the expedition being attained, the squad- 
 ron returned to Sackett's Harbor, where the wounded 
 and prisoners being landed, and other troops taken on 
 board, it sailed to Fort George, at the head of the lake. 
 After a warm engagement, the enemy abandoned, and the 
 Americans entered, the fort, on the 27th of May. The fugi- 
 tives retired to the heights at the head of Burlington Bay. 
 On their retreat, they were joined by a detachment from 
 Fort Erie and Chippeway. Two brigades, under Generals 
 Chandler and Winder, Avere despatched in pursuit. On 
 the evening of the 5th of June, they encamped at Stony 
 Creek, in the vicinity of the enemy, who, considering their 
 situation desperate, turned upon their pursuers, and at- 
 tacked them in the night. The Americans received them 
 with coolness; but such was the darkness, that General 
 Chandler, intending to place himself at the head of his 
 artillery, fell into the midst of a British party. A few 
 
304 
 
 WAR OF 1812. 
 
 minutes afterwards, the same mistake was committed by 
 General Winder. Satisfied with the capture of these 
 officers, and a few other prisoners, the enemy made a pre- 
 cipitate retreat. The American troops returned to Fort 
 George. The misfortune was soon followed by another. 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Boerstler, having been sent, with five 
 hundred men, to disperse a body of the enemy collected at 
 the Beaver Dams, was surrounded, and the whole detach- 
 ment made prisoners. 
 
 Attack of Sacketfs Harbor. 
 
 While the greater part of the American army was thus 
 employed in Canada, the British made an attack upon the 
 important post of Sackett's Harbor. On the 27th of May, 
 their squadron appeared before the town. Alarm guns 
 instantly assembled the citizens of the neighborhood. 
 Dearborn had resigned, and General Brown, of the New 
 York militia, commanded in chief, his whole force amount- 
 ing to about one thousand men. By his orders, jel slight 
 breastwork was hastily thrown up, at the only place 
 where the enemy could land. Behind this, he placed the 
 
ATTACK OF SACKETt's HARBOR. — 1813. 305 
 
 militia, the regulars, under Colonel Backus, forming a 
 second line. On the morning of the 29th, one thousand 
 British troops landed from the squadron. They advanced 
 towards the breastwork. The militia, seized with a sudden 
 panic, fled in confusion. Colonel Mills, in a vain attempt 
 to rally them, was mortally woimded. The regulars, after 
 a spirited resistance, were compelled to retire towards the 
 town, but in their retreat they took possession of the houses 
 on the road. From these coverts they poured so destruc- 
 tive a fire upon the British column, that it halted and fell 
 back. General Brown, by a stratagem, converted this 
 slight check into a precipitate flight. Collecting the panic- 
 struck militia, he directed their course along a road, which, 
 while it led from the village, appeared to the British com- 
 mander to lead to the place of landing. Perceiving them 
 marching with great speed, he supposed that their object 
 was to cut ofl" his retreat. Struck with panic, he immedi- 
 ately wheeled to the right-about, retreated and reembarked 
 so hastily as to leave behind most of his wounded. Gen- 
 eral Brown, in recompense for his services, was appointed 
 a brigadier in the regular army. 
 
 Meanwhile, upon the sea-coast, a distressing and preda- 
 tory war was carried on, by a large detachment from the 
 powerful navy of Great Britain. One squadron, stationed 
 in Delaware Bay, captured and burned every merchant 
 vessel which came within its reach. On the 4th of 
 February, a squadron, consisting of two ships of the line, 
 three frigates, and other vessels, made its appearance in 
 the Chesapeake, apparently standing for Hampton Roads. 
 The alarm was immediately sounded at Norfolk, and the 
 militia called in from the upper part of the state. No 
 attempt, however, was made upon the town, the enemy 
 contenting himself with destroying the smaller vessels 
 employed in the navigation of the bay, and eflectively 
 blockading its waters. About the same time, another 
 squadron, under the command of Commodore Beresford, 
 appeared in the Delaware, consisting of the Poictiers, the 
 Belvidera, and some other vessels, which, in the sariie 
 manner, destroyed a number of small trading vessels, and 
 26* 
 
306 WAR OF 1812. 
 
 attempted several times to land, but were as often repulsed 
 by the militia, hastily collected. 
 
 On the 10th of April, Beresford made a demand on the 
 people of the village of Lewistown for a supply of provis- 
 ions, which was refused by Colonel Davis, commanding at 
 that place. The Belvidera frigate was ordered to move 
 near the village and bombard it, until the demand should 
 be complied with. This was obeyed, but without eifect ; 
 after a cannonade of twenty hours, the enemy were unable 
 to make any impression on the place. The fire had been 
 returned from some batteries, hastily thrown up on the 
 bank, with considerable eifect. On the 10th of May, the 
 same squadron sent out their barges in the neighborhood 
 of Lewistown, to procure water. Major George Hunter was 
 detached, by Colonel Davis, with one hundred and fifty 
 men, to oppose their landing, which the major did with so 
 much gallantry, that he compelled them to hasten to their 
 shipping. The squadron soon after returned to Bermuda, 
 where Sir J. Borlase Warren, who commanded on this 
 station, was engaged in fitting out a more considerable 
 armament for the attack of our sea-coast during the sum- 
 mer. 
 
 Soon after the departure of the squadron, the Spartan 
 and some other frigates entered the Delaware. One of 
 their vessels, the Martin, was discovered, on the 29th of 
 July, slightly grounded on the outer edge of Crow's Shoals. 
 A detachment of the gun-boat flotilla immediately moved, 
 and, anchoring in a line al^out three quarters of a mile from 
 the sloop, opened a destructive fire upon her. The Junon 
 frigate soon after came off to her relief A cannonade was 
 kept up, during an hour, between the gunboats and these 
 two vessels, in which the latter suffered great injury. 
 Finding it impossible to drive off" this small fleet, they 
 manned their launches, tenders, and cutters, to cut off" the 
 gun-boats at the extremity of the line. One was unfortu- 
 nately taken, after a desperate resistance against eight 
 times her number. 
 
 Scenes of a different kind were, in the mean while, acting 
 in the Chesapeake. The squadron, which returned in 
 
MARAUDINGS IN THE CHESAPEAKE. — 1813. 307 
 
 February, still continued to carry on a predatory war along 
 the shores and inlets. It was here that Admiral Cockburn, 
 a man infamous in the history of the war, began his plun- 
 derings and outrages. At first they were directed against 
 the detached farm-houses, and seats of private gentlemen, 
 unprepared for and incapable of defence; these were 
 robbed, and the owners treated in the rudest manner. 
 The cattle which could not be carried away were doomed 
 to wanton destruction. It was impossible to station a force 
 at each farm-house, to repel these miserable and disgraceful 
 incursions ; yet, in several instances, Cockburn and his 
 ruffians were bravely repelled by a collection of the neigh- 
 bors, without authority, and under no leader. The spirited 
 citizens of Maryland formed bodies of cavalry, which were 
 stationed at intervals along the shore, to be drawn out at a 
 moment's warning. Cockburn took possession of several 
 islands in the bay, particularly Sharp's, Tilghman's, and 
 Poplar islands, whence he could seize the opportunity of 
 making a descent upon the neighboring shores, when the 
 inhabitants happened to be ofi" their guard. Encouraged 
 by his success against the farmers, and his rapacity 
 increasing by" the booty which he had already obtained, 
 Cockburn now resolved to undertake something of a more 
 bold and adventurous character, in which his thirst for 
 plunder might be gratified- in a higher degree. He, there- 
 fore, directed his attention to the unprotected villages and 
 hamlets along the bay, carefully avoiding the larger towns, 
 the plundering of which might be attended with some 
 danger. 
 
 The first of these expeditions was against the village of 
 Frenchtown, containing six dwelling-houses, two large 
 store-houses and several stables. It was important, how- 
 ever, as a place of deposit, on the line of packets and 
 stages from Philadelphia to the city of Baltimore, and 
 Cockburn rightly conjectured that here there might be pri- 
 vate property to a considerable amount. He accordingly 
 set out on this expedition, from his ship, the Marlborough, 
 in barges, with five hundred marines ; a sufficient number 
 to have carried the town on their backs. Some show of 
 
308 WAR OF 1812. 
 
 resistance was made by a small party of militia collected 
 from Elkton, but which moved off as the admiral ap- 
 proached. The store-houses were destroyed, together with 
 the goods they were unable to carry off, to an immense 
 amount. Amongst other objects of wanton destruction, 
 was an elegant drop-curtain, intended for the theatres of 
 the cities before mentioned. The brand was applied to 
 some of the private dwelling-houses, and to several vessels 
 lying at the wharf After achieving this glorious victory, 
 the admiral, fearing the approach of the militia, hastily 
 retired to his ship. 
 
 The, next exploit of the admiral was of still greater 
 importance. The town of Havre de Grace is situated on 
 the Susquehannah, about two miles from the head of the 
 bay, and is a neat village, containing twenty or thirty 
 houses. On the 3d of May, before daylight, his approach 
 was announced by a few cannon shot and the firing of 
 rockets. The inhabitants, roused from their sleep, leaped 
 up in the greatest consternation, and the more courageous 
 repaired to the beach, where a few small pieces of artillery 
 had been planted on a kind of battery for the purpose of 
 defence against the smaller watering or plundering parties 
 of the enemy. 
 
 After firing a few shots, the inhabitants, with the excep- 
 tion of an old man named O'Neill, all fled on the approach 
 of the barges, abandoning the village to the mercy of Cock- 
 burn. O'Neill alone continued to fight, loading a piece of 
 artillery, and firing it himself, until, by recoiling, it ran over 
 his thigh, and wounded him severely. He then armed 
 himself with a musket, and, limping away, still kept up a 
 retreating fight with the advancing column of the British, 
 who had by this time landed and formed ; after which he 
 moved off to join his five or six comrades, whom he 
 attempted in vain to rally. 
 
 Cockburn having been reinforced by a fresh squadron, 
 under Admiral Warren, containing a number of land troops, 
 resolved to make an attempt upon Norfolk, and, on the 20th 
 of June, the British fleet of thirteen large ships entered the 
 mouth of James river. Craney Island, at the mouth of 
 
CAPTURE OF THE CHESAPEAKE. — 1813. 311 
 
 him and to each other, set sail, on the 1st of June, in pur- 
 suit of the Shannon. Towards evening of the same day, 
 they met off Boston hght, and instantly engaged, with unex- 
 ampled fury. In a very few minutes, and in quick suc- 
 cession, the sailing-master of the Chesapeake v/as killed ; 
 Captain Lawrence and three lieutenants were severely 
 wounded ; her rigging was so cut to pieces that she fell on 
 hoard the Shannon ; her chest of arms blew up ; Captain 
 Lawrence received a second and mortal wound, and was 
 carried below. At this instant, the position of the ships 
 being favorable, Captain Broke, at the head of his marines, 
 boarded the Chesapeake, when, every officer who could 
 take command being killed or wounded, resistance ceased, 
 and the American flag was struck by the enemy. This 
 unexpected defeat impelled the Americans to seek for cir- 
 cumstances consoling to their pride; and, in the journals of 
 the day, many such were stated to have preceded and 
 attended the action. But nothing could allay their grief at 
 the fall of the youthful and intrepid Lawrence. His pre- 
 vious victory and magnanimous conduct had rendered him 
 the favorite of the nation, and he was lamented with sor- 
 row, deep, sincere, and lasting. When carried below, he 
 was asked if the colors should be struck. "No," he re- 
 plied, " they shall wave while I live." When the fate of 
 the ship was decided, his proud spirit was broken. He 
 became delirious from excess of mental and bodily suffer- 
 ing. Whenever able to speak, he would exclaim, " Don't 
 give up the ship ! " — an expression consecrated by his coun- 
 trymen ; and he uttered but few other words during the 
 four days that he survived his defeat. 
 
 This victory was not achieved without loss. Of the crew 
 of the Shannon, twenty-four were killed, and fifty-six 
 wounded. Of that of the Chesapeake, forty-eight were 
 killed, and nearly one hundred wounded. Great was the 
 exultation of the enemy. Victories over the frigates of 
 other nations were occurrences too common to excite emo- 
 tion; but the capture of an American frigate Avas considered 
 a glorious epoch in the naval history of Great Britain. The 
 honors and rewards bestowed upon Captain Broke, were 
 
312 . WAR OF 1812. 
 
 such as had never before been received but by the con- 
 queror of a squadron. These demonstrations of triumph 
 were inadvertent confessions of American superiority, and 
 were to the vanquished themselves sources of triumph and 
 consolation. 
 
 The next naval engagement was fought in the English 
 channel, on the 14th of August, between the American brig 
 Argus and the British brig Pelican. The British vessel 
 was of superior force, and \vas victorious. Lieutenant 
 Allen, who commanded the Argus, was killed. After this 
 disaster, success again inclined to the side of the Ameri- 
 cans. On the 4th of September, the American brig Enter- 
 prise, commanded by Lieutenant Burrows, captured the 
 British brig Boxer, commanded by Captain Blythe. These 
 vessels were of equal force, but the great effect of the fire 
 of the Enterprise furnished to the Americans another proof 
 of the superior skill of their seamen. Both commanders 
 were killed in the action, and were buried, each by the 
 other's side, in Portland. 
 
 Porter, in the Essex, had been cruising in the Pacific for 
 nearly a year, in the course of which he had captured sev- 
 eral British armed whale ships. Some of these were equip- 
 ped as American cruisers and store-ships; and the Atlantic, 
 now called the Essex Junior, of twenty guns and sixty 
 men, was assigned to Lieutenant Downes. The prizes 
 which were to be laid up, were convoyed by this officer to 
 Valparaiso. On his return he brought intelligence to Cap- 
 tain Porter that a British squadron, consisting of one frig- 
 ate and two sloops of war, and a store-ship of twenty guns, 
 had sailed in quest of the Essex. The commodore took 
 measures immediately to repair his vessel, which having 
 accomplished, on the r2th of December, 1813, he sailed for 
 Valparaiso, in company with the Essex Junior. Not long 
 after the arrival of Porter at Valparaiso, Captain Hillyar 
 appeared there in the Phoebe frigate, accompanied by the 
 Cherub sloop of war. These vessels had been equipped 
 for the purpose of meeting the Essex, with picked crews, 
 in prime order, and hoisted flags bearing the motto, " God 
 and our country, British sailors' best rights; traitors offend 
 
CAPTURE OF THE ESSEX. — 1814. 313 
 
 ihemJ' This was in allusion to Porter's celebrated motto, 
 " Free trade and sailor's rights." He now hoisted at his 
 mizzen, " God, our country, and liberty : tyrants offend 
 them." On entering the harbor, the British commodore 
 fell foul of the Essex, in such a situation as to be placed 
 completely in the power of the latter. The forbearance of 
 Captain Porter was acknowledged by the English com- 
 mander, and he passed his word and honor to observe the 
 same regard to the neutrality of the port. 
 
 The British vessels soon after sailed and cruised off the 
 port 'about six weeks, rigorously blockading the Essex. 
 Their united forces amounted to eighty-one guns, and about 
 five hundred men, — about double that of the Essex; but the 
 circumstance of this force being divided in two ships, ren- 
 dered the disparity still greater, and was by no means 
 coimterbalanced by the Essex .Junior. Captain Porter, 
 being prevented, by this great disparity of force, from en- 
 gaging, made repeated attempts to draw the Phoebe into 
 action singly, either by manoeuvring or sending formal 
 challenges; but Captain Hillyar carefully avoided the com- 
 ing to action alone. The American commander, hearing 
 that an additional British force was on its way, and hav- 
 ing discovered that his vessel could outsail those of the 
 British, determined to venture out, and, while the enemy 
 was in chase, enable the Essex .Tunior to escape to a place 
 of rendezvous previously appointed. On the 28th of March, 
 1814, the wind coming on to blow fresh from the south- 
 ward, the Essex parted her starboard cable, and dragged 
 her larboard anchor to sea. Not a moment was lost in 
 getting sail on the ship, as it was determined to seize this 
 moment to escape. In endeavoring to pass to the wind- 
 ward of the enemy, a squall struck the Essex, just as she 
 was doubling the point, which carried away her main-top- 
 mast. The British immediately gave chase, and Captain 
 Porter, being unable to escape in his crippled state, endeav- 
 ored to put back into the harbor ; but, finding this imprac- 
 ticable, he ran into a small bay, and anchored within pistol 
 shot of the shore, where, from a supposition that the enemy 
 would continue to respect the neutrality of the port, he 
 27 
 
314 WAR OF 1812. 
 
 thought himself secure. The British ships, however, im- 
 mediately attacked him. The mimanageable condition of 
 the Essex enabled them to take the most advantageous posi- 
 tions for raking her, so that the entire broadsides of the 
 enemy took effect, while the Essex could bring but three 
 guns to bear upon them. Still she maintained the conflict 
 for three hours, when, having one hundred and twenty-four 
 of her crew killed and wounded, and being set on fire by 
 the shot of the enemy, she struck her colors. Captain Por- 
 ter was paroled, and permitted to return to the United States 
 in the Essex Junior, which was converted into a cartel for 
 the purpose. On arriving off the port of New York, the 
 vessel was detained by the Saturn razee, and, to the dis- 
 grace of the British navy, he was compelled to give up his 
 parole, and declare himself a prisoner of war, and, as such, 
 he informed the British officer that he would attempt his 
 escape. In consequence of this threat, the Essex Junior 
 was ordered to remain under the lee of the Saturn ; but the 
 next morning Captain Porter put off in his boat, though, 
 thirty miles from shore, and, notwithstanding the pursuit 
 by those of the Saturn, arrived safely in New York. 
 
 Meantime, important preparations were making on the 
 western frontier, although the spring and summer of 1813 
 had pas.sed away without any incident in this quarter 
 worthy of being recorded. The general attention was now 
 turned towards it with much anxiety, and the armies of 
 the Niagara and St. Lawrence rested on their arms, await- 
 ing the issue of Harrison's campaign, and the result of the 
 contest for the supremacy on lake Erie. The British, 
 aware of the consequence of a defeat, had, with great assi- 
 duity, labored to strengthen themselves. The reinforce- 
 ments continually arriving at Fort George, were evidently 
 destined to follow up the advantages which Procter might 
 gain, in conjunction with the commander on the lake. In 
 the mean while, in the neighboring states of Kentucky and 
 Ohio, the people were excited in a most surprising degree ; 
 had it been necessary, they would have risen e?i masse ; 
 almost every man capable of bearing a musket was anx- 
 ious to march. The governor of Ohio had scarcely issued 
 
Harrison's campaign. — 1813. 316 
 
 his proclamation, calling on volunteers, (for the obligations 
 of law to render military service were no longer thought of,) 
 than fifteen thousand men presented themselves, completely 
 armed and equipped, — more than five times the number 
 required. 
 
 Shelby, the venerable governor of Kentucky, a revolu- 
 tionary hero, and the Nestor of the war, made it known 
 that he would put himself at the head of the citizens of 
 that state, and lead them to seek revenge for the murder 
 of their relatives and friends, but limited the number of 
 volunteers to four thousand. The state of Kentucky, 
 called, by the natives, "the dark and bloody ground," 
 forty years ago was an uninhabited forest, possessed by no 
 tribe of Indians, but, from time immemorial, the theatre of 
 sanguinary wars. At this day, it blooms beneath the hand 
 of agriculture; it is filled with beautiful towns and villages, 
 and is the abode of peace, opulence, and refinement. The 
 inhabitants are descended from the planters of Virginia 
 and North Carolina, and emigrants composed of the enter- 
 prising and intelligent of the other states. Living in 
 abundance, and at their ease, and more remote from the 
 seats of commerce, they have imbibed less of foreign attach- 
 ments or feelings than any of our people, and are, perhaps, 
 more enthusiastically devoted to the institutions of free- 
 dom. They have not a little of the manners of chivalry in 
 their generous and hospitable deportment ; fearless of dan- 
 ger, regarding dishonor more than death, but, with these 
 qual-ities, a benevolence and humanity which has scarcely 
 a parallel. Had the elder brethren of this confederacy acted 
 like this younger member, the Ganadas would have been 
 ours, and Britain would never have dared to insult us 
 with her unwarrantable pretensions. 
 
 The transactions which are now to be related, may 
 justly rank amongst the most pleasing to our feelings and 
 national pride, of any which took place during the contest. 
 The campaign opened with an affair, which, though com- 
 paratively of smaller consequence than some others, is, in 
 its circumstances, one of the most brilliant that occurred 
 during the war. This was the unparalleled defence of Fort 
 
316 WAR OF 1812. 
 
 Sandusky, by a small body of troops commanded by a youth 
 of twenty-one years of age. In August, 181.3, before the 
 arrival of the Ohio and Kentucky volunteers, which did 
 not take place until the following month, hostile move- 
 ments had been made upon all the diiferent forts estab- 
 lished by the Americans on the rivers which fall into lake 
 Erie. After the siege of Fort Meigs, the British had been 
 considerably reinforced by regulars, and an unusual num- 
 ber of Indians, under their great leader, Tecumseh, It was 
 all-important to reduce these forts before the arrival of the 
 volunteers. Major Croghan, then commanding at Upper 
 Sandusky, having received intimation that the enemy 
 were about to invest the fort of Lower Sandusky, had 
 marched to this place with some additional force, and had 
 been occupied with great assiduity in placing it in the best 
 posture of defence. But the only addition of importance 
 which the time would allow him to make, was a ditch, of 
 six feet deep, and nine feet wide, outside the stockade of 
 pickets by which these hastily constructed forts are en- 
 closed, but which can afford but a weak defence against 
 artillery. He had but one six-pounder, and about one 
 hundred and sixty men, consisting of regulars and detach- 
 ments of the Pittsburgh and Petersburgh volunteers. Gen- 
 eral Harrison, not conceiving it practicable to defend the 
 place, ordered Croghan to retire on the approach of the 
 enemy, after having destroyed the works. This, our young 
 hero, taking the responsibility upon himself, determined to 
 disobey. 
 
 On the first of August, Procter, having left a large body 
 of Indians, under Tecumseh, to keep up the appearance of 
 a siege of Fort Meigs, arrived at Sandusky with about five 
 hundred regulars, seven hundred Indians, and some gun- 
 boats. After he had made such dispositions of his troops 
 as to cut ofl" the retreat of the garrison, he sent a flag, 
 demanding a surrender, accompanied with the usual base 
 and detestable threats of butchery and cold blood massacre, 
 if the garrison should hold out. A spirited answer was 
 returned by Croghan, who found that all his companions, 
 chiefly striplings like himself, would support him to the 
 
CROGHAN's defence of SANDUSKY. — 1813. 317 
 
 last. When the flag returned, a brisk fire was opened 
 from the gun-boats and howitzer, and which was kept 
 up during the night. In the morning, they opened with 
 three sixes, which had been planted, under cover of the 
 night, within two hundred and fifty yards of the pick- 
 ets, but not with much effect. About four o'clock in the 
 afternoon, it was discovered that the enemy had concen- 
 trated his fire against the northwest angle, with the inten- 
 tion of making a breach. This part was immediately 
 strengthened by bags of flour and sand, so that the pickets 
 suflered but little injury. During this time, the six-pounder 
 was carefully concealed in the bastion, which covered the 
 point to be assailed, and it was loaded with slugs and 
 grape. 
 
 About five hundred of the enemy now advanced in close 
 column to assail the part where it was supposed the pick- 
 ets must have been injured; at the same time making 
 several feints, to draw the attention of the besieged to 
 other parts of the fort. Their force being thus divided, a 
 colunm of three hundred and fifty men, which were so 
 enveloped in smoke as not to be seen until they approached 
 within twenty paces of the lines, advanced rapidly to the 
 assault. A fire of musketry from the fort for a moment 
 threw them uito confusion, but they were quickly rallied 
 by Colonel Short, their commander. Avho, now springing 
 over the outer works into the ditch, commanded the rest to 
 
 follow, crying out, "Give the' d d Yankees no quarter ! " 
 
 Scarcely had these words escaped his lips, and the greater 
 part of his followers landed in the ditch, when the six- 
 pounder opened upon them a most destructive fire, killing 
 and wounding the greater part, and, amongst the first, the 
 wretched leader, who was sent into eternity before his 
 words had died upon the air. A volley of musketry was, 
 at the same time, fired upon those who had not ventured. 
 The oflicer who succeeded Short, exasperated at being 
 thus treated by a few boys, formed his broken column, and 
 again rushed to the ditch, where he, and those who dared 
 to follow him, met with the same fate as iheir fellow-sol- 
 diers. The small arms were again played on them — the 
 27^ 
 
318 WAR OF 1812. 
 
 whole British force was thrown into confusion, and, in 
 spite of the exertions of their officers, fled to the woods 
 panic-struck, whither they were soon followed by the 
 Indians. The little band of defenders, forgetting in a 
 moment that they had been assailed by merciless foes, 
 who sought to massacre them, without regarding the laws 
 of honorable war, now felt only the desire of reliev- 
 ing wounded'" men, and of administering comfort to the 
 wretched. Had they been friends, had they been brothers, 
 they could not have experienced a more tender solicitude. 
 The whole night was occupied in endeavoring to assuage 
 their sufferings ; provisions and buckets of water were 
 handed over the pickets, and an opening was made, by 
 which many of the sufferers were taken in, who were im- 
 mediately supplied with surgical aid; and this, although a 
 firing was kept up with small arms by the enemy until 
 some time in the night. The loss of the garrison amounted 
 to one killed and seven wounded ; that of the enemy was 
 supposed to be at least two hmidred. Upwards of fifty 
 were found in and about the ditch. It was discovered, 
 next morning, that the enemy had hastily retreated, leav- 
 ing a boat and a considerable quantity of military stores. 
 Upwards of seventy stand of arms were taken, besides a 
 quantity of ammunition. This exploit called forth the 
 admiration of every party in the United States. Croghan, 
 together with his companions, were highly complimented 
 by General Harrison. They afterwards received the 
 thanks of congress. Croghan was promoted to the rank 
 of lieutenant-colonel, and presented with an elegant sword 
 by the ladies of Chihcothe. Soon after this affair, Tecum- 
 seh raised the siege of Fort Meigs, and followed Procter to 
 Detroit. All hope was now giA^en up by the enemy of 
 reducing these forts, until they could gain the ascendency 
 on the lake. 
 
 The utmost exertions had been made, in the mean while, 
 by Captain Perry, to complete the naval armament on 
 lake Erie. By the 4th of August, the fleet was manned ; 
 but several of the vessels were with difficulty got over 
 the bar of Port Erie, on which there are but five feet 
 
BATTLE OF LAKE ERIE. 1813. 319 
 
 water. • He sailed in quest of the enemy, but, not meeting 
 him, returned on the 8th, and, after receiving a reinforce- 
 ment of sailors, brought by Captain Elliot, sailed again on 
 the 12th, and on the loth anchored in the bay of Sandusky. 
 Here, after taking in about twenty volunteer marines, he 
 again went in quest of the enemy ; and, after cruising off 
 Maiden, returned to Put-in Bay, a distance of thirty miles. 
 His fleet consisted of the brig La^vrence, of twenty guns ; 
 the Niagara, Captain Elliot, of twenty; the Caledonia, 
 Lieutenant Turner, three ; the schooner Ariel, of four ; the 
 Scorpion, of two ; the Somers, of two, and two swivels ; 
 the sloop Trippe, and schooners Tigress and Porcupine, 
 of one gun each ; making a fleet of nine vessels, and fifty- 
 four guns. On the morning of the 10th of September, the 
 enemy was discovered bearing down upon the American 
 squadron, which immediately got under weigh, and stood 
 out to meet him. The superiority was decidedly on the 
 side of the British. The Americans had three more vessels, 
 but this was much more than counterbalanced by the size 
 of those of the enemy, and the number of their guns. 
 Their fleet consisted of the Detroit, Captain Barclay, of 
 nineteen guns, and two howitzers; the Queen Charlotte, 
 of seventeen guns. Captain Finnis; the schooner Lady 
 Prevost, Lieutenant Buchan, of thirteen guns, and two 
 howitzers ; the brig Hunter, of ten guns ; the sloop Little 
 Belt, of three; and the schooner Chippewa, of one gun 
 and two swivels ; in. all, six vessels and sixty-three guns. 
 The Americans stood out of the bay. The British fleet 
 had the weather-gage; but the wind soon after changed, 
 'and brought the American fleet to windward. The line of 
 battle was formed at eleven, and fifteen minutes before 
 twelve, the enemy's flag- ship, the Q,ueen Charlotte, opened 
 her fire upon the Lawrence, which she sustained for ten 
 minutes, before she could approach near enough for her 
 carronades to return. She, therefore, bore up, making sig- 
 nals for the other vessels to hasten to her support, and, 
 about twelve, brought her guns to bear upon the enemy. 
 The wind being too light, the remainder of the squadron 
 could not be brought up to her assistance, and she was 
 
320 
 
 WAR OF 1812. 
 
 compelled to fight two hours, with two ships of equal 
 force. The contest was, notwithstanding, kept up with 
 unshaken courage, and a degree of coolness which deserves 
 admiration. By this time the liawrence, which had so 
 long borne the fire of the whole of the British force, had 
 become entirely unmanageable ; every gun was dismounted, 
 and, with the exception of four or five, her whole crew 
 either killed or wounded. Perry now, with admirable 
 presence of mind, resolved to shift his flag, leaped into his 
 boat, and, heroically waving his sword, passed unhurt to 
 the Niagara. 
 
 At the moment he reached the Niagara, he saw with 
 anguish the flag of his ship come down ; she was utterly 
 unable to make further resistance, and it would have been 
 a wanton waste of the remaining lives to continue the con- 
 test. The enemy was not able to take possession of her. 
 
 Perry's victory on Lake Erie. 
 
 Captain Elliot, seconding the design of the commodore, 
 volunteered to bring up the rest of the fleet; for, at this 
 critical moment, the wind had increased. Perry now bore 
 
VICTORY ON LAKE ERIE. 1813. 321 
 
 down upon the enemy with a fresh ship, and, passing 
 ahead of the Detroit, Q,ueen Charlotte, and Lady Prevost, 
 poured a destructive broadside into each from his starboard, 
 and from his larboard into the Chippewa and Little Beh. 
 In this manner, cutting through the hne, he was within 
 pistol shot of the Lady Prevost, which received so heavy 
 a fire as to compel her men to run below. At this moment 
 the Caledonia came up, and opened her fire. Several others 
 of the squadron were enabled soon after to do the same. 
 The issue of a campaign, the mastery of a sea, the glory 
 and renown of two rival nations, matched for the first time 
 in squadron, were the incentives to the contest. But it 
 was not long before the scale turned in favor of Perry, and 
 his ship, the Lawrence, was again enabled to hoist her flag. 
 The Queen Charlotte, having lost her captain and all her 
 principal officers, by some mischance ran foul of the De- 
 troit, and the greater part of the guns of both ships were 
 rendered useless. They were now compelled to sustain, 
 in turn, an incessant fire from the Niagara, and the other 
 vessels of the squadron. The flag of Captain Barclay was 
 soon after struck, and those of the Queen Charlotte, the 
 Lady Prevost, the Hunter, and the Chippewa, came down 
 in succession ; the Little Belt attempted to escape, but was 
 pursued by two gun-boats and captured. 
 
 Thus, after a contest of three hours, was this important 
 naval victory achieved, in which every vessel of the enemy 
 was captured. If anything could heighten this glorious 
 victory, it was the modest and yet sublime manner in 
 which it was announced by the incomparable Perry : "We 
 
 HAVE MET THE ENEMY, AND THEY ARE OURS." Britain had 
 
 been beaten in single combat, — she was now beaten in 
 squadron, where she had conceived herself invincible. 
 The loss in this bloody affair was very great in proportion 
 to the numbers engaged. The Americans had twenty- 
 seven killed, and ninety-six wounded; amongst the first 
 were Lieutenant Brooks, of the marines, and Midshipman 
 Laub ; amongst the latter were Lieutenant Yarnell, Sail- 
 ing-master Taylor, Purser Hamilton, and Midshipmen 
 Claxton and Swartwout. The loss of the British was 
 
322 WAR OF 1812. 
 
 about two hundred in killed and wounded ; and the num- 
 ber of prisoners amounted to six hundred, exceeding the 
 whole number of the Americans. Commodore Barclay, a 
 gallant officer, who had lost an arm at the battle of Tra- 
 falgar, was severely wounded, and the loss of officers, on 
 the side of the British, was unusually great Among the 
 officers particularly spoken of on this occasion, were Cap- 
 tain Elliot, Lieutenants Turner, Edwards, Forest, Clark, 
 and Cummings, besides those already mentioned. The 
 victory of Commodore Perry left the Americans in full 
 command of lake Erie, but Detroit and Maiden still 
 remained in possession of the British. The triumph of 
 the American arms seemed to unite conflicting parties ; and 
 the kindness extended to the British captives reflected the 
 brightest glory on our country. 
 
 But the territory still occupied by the enemy was to be 
 retaken. For the accomplishment of this purpose, Colonel 
 Johnson, with a body of Kentuckians, were destined to act 
 against Detroit, and Harrison was to march against Mai- 
 den. Finding Maiden untenable, the British general 
 destroyed, and then evacuated it. On the 2d of October, 
 Harrison, with about three thousand five hundred men, 
 crossed the river into Canada, commenced a pursuit, and, 
 on the 5th, the enemy was overtaken at the Moravian 
 towns, on the Thames. Colonel Johnson, who had formed 
 a junction with General Harrison, being sent forward to 
 reconnoitre the British and Indian forces, gave intelligence 
 that the enemy were prepared for action, at the distance 
 of a few miles. On their left was the river, and their 
 right, consisting of Indians, under Tecumseh, rested on a 
 swamp. The American force consisted of Ohio militia 
 and four thousand Kentuckians, the flower of their 
 state, commanded by Governor Shelby, who arrived at 
 the camp of General Harrison on the 7th of September. 
 The enemy was drawn up imder cover of a beech wood, 
 by which a narrow strip of land was covered. The 
 Americans were soon formed in battle array. General 
 Trotter's brigade formed the front line, supported by 
 Desha's divisions on the left. The brigade of General 
 
BATTLE OF THE THAMES. 1813. 323 
 
 King formed the second line, in rear of General Trotter's, 
 and Chile's acted as a corps of reserve, both under the 
 command of Major-General Henry. The brigades aver- 
 aged five hundred men each. Governor Shelby occupied 
 the angle formed by the brigades of Trotter and Desha. 
 The regular troops, numbering only one hundred and 
 twenty men, were formed into columns, and occupied the 
 narrow space between the river and the road, for the pur- 
 pose of seizing the artillery, should the enemy be repulsed. 
 The order of General Harrison was, to form Colonel John- 
 son's mounted men in two lines, in front of the Indians, but 
 the underwood being too close for cavalry to be effective, 
 he determined on a new mode of attack. 
 
 Knowing the dexterity of the backwoodsmen in riding 
 through forests, and the little inconvenience to them of 
 carrying their rifles in such a situation, Harrison deter- 
 mined to refuse his left to the Indians, and charge on the 
 regulars drawn up among the beech trees. The mounted 
 regiment was accordingly drawn up in front. The army 
 moved on but a short distance, when the mounted men 
 received the enemy's fire, and were instantly ordered to 
 charge. The horses in front of the column at first recoiled 
 from the fire, but soon after got in motion, and immediately, 
 at full speed, broke through the enemy with irresistible 
 force. In one minute the contest was over in front. The 
 mounted men instantly formed in the rear, and poured a 
 destructive fire, and were about to make another charge, 
 when the British ofllcers, finding it impossible to form their 
 broken ranks, immediately surrendered. Upon the left the 
 onset was begun by Tecumseh with great fury. Colonel 
 R. M. Johnson, who commanded on that flank of his regi- 
 ment, received a galling fire, which he returned with effect, 
 while the Indians advanced towards the point occupied by 
 Governor Shelby, and at first made an impression on it ;. 
 but the aged warrior brought a regiment to its support. 
 The combat now raged with increasing fury; the Indians, 
 to the number of twelve or fifteen hundred, seemed deter- 
 mined to maintain their ground to the last. 
 
 The terrible voice of Tecumseh could be distinctly heard 
 
324 
 
 WAR OF 1812. 
 
 encouraging his warriors ; and, although beset on every 
 side, excepting on that of the morass, they fought with 
 more determined courage than had ever been witnessed in 
 these people. An incident soon occurred, however, which 
 decided the contest. Colonel Johnson rushed towards the 
 spot where the warriors, clustering around their undaunted 
 chief, appeared resolved to perish by his side. In a moment 
 a hundred rifles were aimed at the American, whose uni- 
 form, and white horse which he rode, rendered him a con- 
 spicuous object. His holsters, dress, and accoutrements, 
 were pierced with bullets, his horse and himself receiving a 
 number of wounds. At the instant his horse was about to 
 sink under him, the daring Kentuckian, covered with blood 
 from his wounds, was discovered by Tecumseh. The chief, 
 having discharged his rifle, sprang forward with his toma- 
 hawk, but, struck with the appearance of the warrior who 
 stood before him, hesitated for a moment, and that moment 
 
 Death of Tecumseh. 
 
 was his last. The Kentuckian levelled a pistol at his 
 breast, and they both, almost at the same instant, fell to the 
 
DEATH OF TECUMSEH. 1813. 325 
 
 ground. The Kentuckians rushed forward to the rescue 
 of their leader, and the Indians, no longer hearing the voice 
 of Tecumseh, soon after fled. Near the spot where this 
 scene occurred, thirty Indians were found dead, and six 
 whites. 
 
 Thus fell Tecumseh, one of the most celebrated Indian 
 warriors that ever raised the tomahawk against us, and 
 with him fell the last hope of our Indian enemies. This 
 mighty warrior was the determined foe of civilization, and 
 had for years been laboring to unite all the Indian tribes in 
 opposing the progress of the settlements to the westward. 
 Had such a man opposed the European colonists on their 
 first arrival, this continent, in all probability, would still 
 have been a wilderness. To those who prefer a savage, 
 uncultivated waste, inhabited by wolves and panthers, and 
 by men more savage still, to the busy city, to the peaceful 
 hamlet and cottage, to science and the comforts of civiliza- 
 tion, — to such it may be a source of regret that Tecumseh 
 came too late. But if the cultivation of the earth, and the 
 cultivation of the human intellect and the human virtues, 
 are agreeable in the sight of the Creator, it may be a just 
 cause of felicitation that this champion of barbarism was 
 the ally of Great Britain at a period when he could only 
 draw down destruction on his own head, by savagely 
 daring what was beyond his strength. But Tecumseh fell, 
 respected by his enemies as a great and magnanimous 
 chief. Although he seldom took prisoners in battle, he 
 treated well those that had been taken by others ; and, at 
 the defeat of Dudley, actually put to death a chief whom 
 he found engaged in the work of massacre. He had been 
 in almost every engagement with the whites since Har- 
 mer's defeat, although, at his death, he scarcely exceeded 
 forty years of age. 
 
 Tecumseh had received the stamp of greatness from the 
 hand of nature, and had his lot been cast in a different 
 state of society, he would have shone as one of the most 
 distinguished of men. He was endowed with a powerful 
 mind, with the soul of a hero. There was an uncommon 
 dignity in his countenance and manners. By the former he 
 28 
 
326 WAR OF 1812. 
 
 could be easily discoyered, even after death, among the rest 
 of the slain, for he wore no insignia of distinction. When 
 girded with a silk sash, and told by General Procter that 
 he was made a brigadier in the British service, for his con- 
 duct at Brownstown and Magagua, he returned the present 
 with respectful contempt. Born with no title to command 
 but his native greatness, every tribe yielded submission to 
 him at once, and no one ever disputed his precedence. 
 Subtle and fierce in war, he possessed uncommon elo- 
 quence. His speeches might bear a comparison with those 
 of the most celebrated orators of Greece and Rome. His 
 invective was terrible, as we had frequent occasion to 
 experience, and as may be seen in the reproaches which 
 he applied to Procter, a few days before his death, in a 
 speech which was found amongst the papers of the British 
 officers. His form was uncommonly elegant, his stature 
 about six feet, his limbs perfectly proportioned. He was 
 honorably interred by the victors, by whom he was held 
 in much respect, as an inveterate, but a magnanimous 
 enemy. 
 
 The loss of the Americans, in this engagement, was more 
 than fifty killed and wounded, among whom was Colonel 
 Whitely, a revolutionary soldier, killed. The loss of the 
 British was nineteen killed, and fifty wounded. Six hun- 
 dred were taken prisoners. Of the Indians, one hundred 
 and twenty were left on the field. Several pieces of can- 
 non, taken in the revolution, and which had been surren- 
 dered by General Hull, were trophies of this victory. 
 General Procter fled when the charge was made, and 
 escaped down the Thames, by means of fleet horses, 
 though closely pursued. His carriage, together with his 
 private papers, were captured. 
 
CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 War of 1812. — Operations on the northern frontier — Wilkinson ap- 
 pointed to the command — Expedition against Montreal — Affair of 
 Chrystler's Field — Marxh of Hampton — Failure of the campaign — 
 Naval affairs o?i Iiahc Ontario — Burning of Neivark — Capture of 
 Fort Niagara — Burning of Buffalo — Indian ivar in the south — Mas- 
 sacre at Fort Minims — Hostile movements of the Creeks — Jackson's 
 campaign — Battle of Talladega — Defeat of the Indians — Battle at the 
 Horse-Shoe Bend — Pacification of the south. 
 
 The victory of the Thames put an end to the hostiUties 
 of the savages, and the northwestern frontier rested in 
 security. Most of the vohmteers returned home. Har- 
 rison stationed General Cass at Detroit, with about one 
 thousand men, and proceeded with the remainder to join 
 the central army at Bufialo. The successes of the north- 
 western army, and the victory on lake Erie, prepared the 
 way for the invasion of Canada. A formidable force was 
 collected on the frontier, under experienced officers, and 
 the Indians declared against the British. General Arm- 
 strong was at the head of the war department, and much 
 was expected from his experience and zeal. Improvements 
 were introduced, especially in the selection of officers. 
 The secretary proceeded to the northern frontier, to put his 
 plans into operation. The plan was, perhaps, judicious, 
 but the season was too far advanced to accomplish his 
 intentions. 
 
 General Wilkinson was called from the southern army, 
 to command on the Ontario frontier. The force directly 
 under his command amounted to eight thousand men, and 
 he expected to be joined, in October, by the force under 
 Harrison. General Hampton commanded about four 
 thousand men at Plattsburg. The plan of the campaign 
 
328 WAR OF 1812. 
 
 was, to descend the St. Lawrence, pass the British posts 
 above, form a junction with General Hampton, and invade 
 Montreal. Tlie army, which had been distributed in dif- 
 ferent corps, and stationed at various points, was to be 
 concentrated at some place most convenient for its embar- 
 kation. For this purpose. Grenadier's Island, which lies 
 between Sackett's Harbor and Kingston, was selected, on 
 account of its contiguity to the St. Lawrence, as the most 
 proper place of rendezvous. On the 2d of October, 1813, 
 Wilkinson left Fort George, with the principal body of the 
 troops, and soon reached the island, Avherc he occupied 
 himself incessantly in making the necessary preparations 
 for the prosecution of his enterprise. By the 23d, the 
 troops thus collected exceeded seven thousand men. 
 
 General Brown, now a brigadier in the service of the 
 United States, was ordered to take the command of the 
 advance of the army at this place. On the 1st of Novem- 
 ber, a British squadron made its appearance near French 
 Creek, with a large body of infantry. A battery of three 
 eighteen pounders, skilfully managed by Captains M'Pher- 
 son and Fanning, soon forced them to retire. The attack 
 was renewed the next morning, but with no better success; 
 and as the other corps of the army now daily arrived, the 
 enemy thought proper to move off. On the 6th, the army 
 was put in motion, and in the evening landed a few miles 
 above the British Fort Prescott. After reconnoitring the 
 passage at this place, and finding that the fort commanded 
 the river, Wilkinson directed the fixed ammunition to be 
 transported, by land, to a safe point below, and determined 
 to take advantage of the night to pass with the flotilla, 
 while the troops were marched to the same point, leaving 
 on board the boats merely a sufficient number to navigate 
 them. Availing himself of a heavy fog which came on in 
 the evening, the commander endeavored to pass the fort 
 unobserved; but, the weather clearing up and the moon 
 shining, he was discovered by the enemy, Avho opened a 
 heavy fire. General Brown, who was in the rear with the 
 flotilla, thought it prudent to land for the present, until the 
 night should grow darker. He then proceeded down the 
 
Wilkinson's campaign. — isis. 329 
 
 river, but not without being discovered, and again exposed 
 to a severe cannonade; notwithstanding which, not one 
 of three hundred boats suffered the sUghtest injury. Be- 
 fore ten o'clock the next day, they had all safely arrived at 
 the place of destination. A messenger was no\/ despatched 
 to General Hampton, informing him of the movement of 
 the army, and requiring his cooperation. The army was 
 delayed for half a day in extricating two schooners, loaded 
 Avith provisions, which had been driven into a part of the 
 river near Ogdensburgh, by the enemy's fire. A body of 
 twelve hundred men, under Colonel Macomb, being de- 
 spatched to remove the obstructions to the descent of the 
 army, he was followed by the main body. On passing the 
 first rapids of the St. Lawrence, the barge of the com- 
 mander-in-chief was assailed by two pieces of artillery, but 
 without any other injury than cutting the rigging. The 
 attention of the enemy was soon diverted by Lieutenant- 
 Colonel Eustis, who returned theii' fire from some light 
 barges, while Major Forsythe, at the same time, landed 
 some of his riflemen, attacked them unexpectedly, and 
 carried off three pieces of their artillery. 
 
 On the 9th of November, a skirmish occurred between 
 the American riflemen and a party of militia and Indians. 
 In the course of the day, the cavalry and four pieces of 
 artillery, under Captain M'Pherson, were ordered to clear 
 the coast as far as the head of the Longue Saut ; and in 
 the evening the army arrived at the place called the Yellow 
 House, which stands near the Saut. As the passage of 
 this place was attended with considerable difficulty, on 
 account of the rapidity of the current and of its length, it 
 Avas deemed prudent to wait until the next day; when 
 Brown recommenced his march at the head of his troops. 
 It was not long before he found himself engaged with a 
 strong party at a block-house near the Saut, which, after 
 a contest of a few minutes, was repulsed by the riflemen 
 under Forsythe, who was severely wounded. About the 
 same time, some of the enemy's galleys approached the 
 flotilla, Avhich had landed, and commenced a fire upon it, 
 by which a number of boats were injured. Tavo eighteen-; 
 28* 
 
330 WAR OF 1812. 
 
 pounders, however, being hastily run on shore, a fire from 
 them soon compelled the assailants to retire. The day 
 being now too far spent to attempt the Saut, it was resolved 
 to postpone it until the day following. On the 11th, the 
 enemy's galleys approached, for the purpose of attacking 
 the rear of the American flotilla. General Boyd now 
 advanced, with his detachment formed in three columns. 
 Colonel Ripley passed the wood which skirts the open 
 ground called Chrystler's Field, and drove in several of 
 the enemy's parties. On entering the field, he met the 
 advance of the British. Ripley immediately ordered a 
 charge, which was executed with surprising firmness, so 
 that these two regiments, nearly double his numbers, 
 were compelled to retire ; and, on making a stand, were, a 
 second time, driven before the bayonet, and compelled to 
 pass over the ravines and fences, by which the field was 
 intersected, until they fell on their main body. 
 
 General Covington had, before this, advanced upon the 
 right of the enemy, where his artillery was posted ; and, 
 at the moment Ripley had assailed the left flank, the right 
 was forced by a determined onset, and success appeared 
 scarcely doubtful. Unfortunately, however, Covington, 
 whose activity had rendered him conspicuous, became a 
 mark for the sharp-shooters of the enemy, stationed in 
 Chrystler's house, and he was shot from his horse. The 
 fall of this gallant ofiicer arrested the progress of the brig- 
 ade, and the artillery of the enemy threw it into confusion, 
 and caused it to fall back in disorder. At this critical 
 moment, Ripley, who had been engaged with the enemy's 
 left flank, threw his regiment between the artillery and the 
 advancing column, and fnistrated their design. The Brit- 
 ish fell back with precipitation. The regiments which 
 had broken had not retired from the field, but still con- 
 tinued to keep up an irregular fight with various success. 
 The action soon after ceased, having been kept up for two 
 hours, by little better than raw troops against an equal 
 number of veterans. The British force consisted of detach- 
 ments from the forty-ninth, eighty-fourth, hundred and 
 fourth, the Voltigeurs, and the Glengary regiments. The 
 
Wilkinson's campaign. — isis. 331 
 
 enemy soon after retired to their camp, and the Americans 
 to their boats. In this battle, the loss of the Americans, in 
 killed and Avounded, amounted to three hundred and thir- 
 ty-nine, of whom one hundred and two were killed. The 
 British loss could not have been less than that of the 
 Americans. This appears to have been a drawn battle ; 
 the British and Americans both leaving the ground. 
 
 On the 11th of November, the army joined the advance 
 near Barnhart. The commander-in-chief received infor- 
 mation from General Hampton, which put an end to the 
 design against Montreal. On the 6th, a few days before 
 the battle of Chrystler's Field, the commander-in-chief had 
 given orders to Hampton to meet him at St. Regis ; but 
 soon after this order, a letter was received from Hampton, 
 in which, after stating that, from the state of Wilkinson's 
 supply of provisions, and the situation of the roads to St. 
 Regis, which rendered it impossible to transport a greater 
 quantity than could be carried by a man on his back, he 
 had determined to open a communication from Plattsburgh 
 to Conewago, or by any other point on the St. Lawrence 
 which the commander-in-chief might indicate. Hampton, 
 some time before this, with a view to a further move- 
 ment of troops, had descended the Chateaugay river, about 
 the same time that the army was concentrated on lake 
 Ontario. Sir George Prevost, perceiving this movement 
 towards Montreal, had collected all his force at this point 
 to oppose the march of Hampton. On the 21st of October, 
 the Americans crossed the line, but soon found the road 
 obstructed by fallen timber, and the ambuscade of the 
 enemy's militia and Indians. A wood of considerable ex- 
 tent was to be passed before they could reach the open 
 country ; and while the engineers were engaged in cutting 
 their way through. Colonel Purdy was detached, with the 
 light troops and one regiment of the line, to turn their 
 ■ flank, and then seize on the open country below. In this 
 he succeeded, and the army by the next day reached the 
 position of the advance. But it was discovered that about 
 seven miles further there was a wood which, had been 
 felled, and formed into an abattis, and that a succession 
 
332 WAR OF 1812. 
 
 of breastworks, some of them well supplied with artillery, 
 had been formed by the main body of the enemy. Purdy, 
 on the 25th, was ordered to march down the river on the 
 opposite side, and, on passing the enemy, to cross over, 
 and attack him in the rear, whilst the brigade under Gen- 
 eral Izard would attack him in front. Purdy had not 
 marched far when his orders were countermanded ; but, 
 on his return, he was attacked by the enemy's infantry 
 and Indians, and at first thrown into confusion, but the 
 assailants were soon after repulsed. They came out at the 
 same moment in front, and attacked Izard, but were com- 
 pelled to retire behind their defences. Hampton, finding 
 that the enemy was gaining strength, determined to retreat^ 
 A council of officers was called by the commander-in-chief, 
 and the army retired to winter quarters at French Mills. 
 In this manner the northern campaign, which had excited 
 great expectations throughout the coimtry, completely 
 failed, in consequence of the gross incapacity of the com- 
 manders, Wilkinson and Hampton. 
 
 While these things were taking place on the land, the 
 navy on the lake was not idle. Chauncey, it has been 
 seen, after his first attempt to bring the enemy to action, 
 returned to Sackett's Harbor, for the purpose of obtaining 
 a fresh supply of provisions. After being reinforced by a 
 new schooner, he again sailed on a cruise; and, on the 
 17th of September, discovered the British squadron near 
 the Niagara. The British, on perceiving the Americans, 
 made sail to the northward, and were pursued daring four 
 days and nights ; but, owing to the dull sailing of a greater 
 part of the American squadron, they kept out of their reach. 
 On the fourth day, off Genesee river, Chauncey, having 
 a breeze. Avhile the British lay becalmed, endeavored to 
 close with them. This he was not able to accomplish, the 
 enemy taking the breeze also, when the American squad- 
 ron had approached within half a mile. After a running 
 fight of more than three hours, the British escaped, but 
 the next morning ran into Amherst Bay, whither the 
 American commodore, for want of a pilot, did not think it 
 prudent to follow, but contented himself with forming a 
 
OPERATIONS ON LAKE ONTARIO. 1S13. 333 
 
 blockade. In the running fight the British sustained con- 
 siderable injury ; that of the Americans was very trifling. 
 The blockade was continued until the 17th of September, 
 when, in consequence of a heavy gale which blew from 
 the westward, Ghauncey was compelled to lea\e his station, 
 and the British escaped into Kingston. 
 
 After remaining but a short time in Sackett's Harbor, 
 Ghauncey received information that the enemy was in the 
 harbor of York. He, therefore, made sail to that place ; 
 and, on the 27th, early in the morning, discovered the enemy 
 in motion in the bay, and immediately stood for him. 
 This being perceived by the British commodore, he stood 
 out, and endeavored to escape to the southward, but find- 
 ing that the American was close upon him, tacked his 
 squadron in succession, and commenced a well-directed 
 fire at the Pike, in order to cover his rear. A smart action 
 followed, in which the British had the worst of it, and 
 made sail for the shore. The American squadron pursued 
 them, but the chase was at length reluctantly given up, as it 
 came on to blow almost a gale, and there was no hope of 
 closing with the enemy before he could reach the British 
 batteries, and without great risk of running ashore. Ghaun- 
 cey was justly entitled to claim a victory in this aflair. 
 Although the enemy were not captured, they were certainly 
 beaten. Two of their vessels were at one moment com- 
 pletely in the power of the Americans ; but, from his eager- 
 ness to close with the whole fleet, they effected their escape. 
 In addition to the general policy of Sir James Yeo, the Brit- 
 ish commodore, the late aflair on lake Erie had rendered 
 him particularly careful to avoid an engagement. The 
 loss on board Ghauncey's ship, the General Pike, was con- 
 siderable, owing to her having been so long exposed to the 
 fire of the enemy's fleet; the most serious, however, was 
 occasioned by the bursting of one of her guns, by which 
 twenty-two men were killed and wounded ; the total 
 amounted to twenty-seven. 
 
 About the beginning of October, the commodore again 
 chased the enemy's fleet for several days, and forced it to 
 take refuge in Burlington Bay. The next morning, on send- 
 
334 WAR OF 1812. 
 
 ing the Lady of the Lake to reconnoitre, it was discovered 
 that Sir James had taken advantage of the darkness of 
 night, and escaped to Kingston. Much pleasantry was 
 indulged, at this time, at the shyness of the British knight, 
 and his ungallant escape from the Lady of the Lake. 
 The chase was now renewed, and, favored by the wind, 
 Chauncey came in sight of seven schooners, and captured 
 five of them, in spite of their efforts to escape by sepa- 
 rating. Chauncey remamed master of the lake during the 
 remainder of the season. 
 
 View of Buffalo. 
 
 General Harrison arrived at Buffalo soon after the depart- 
 ure of the commander-in-chief, but could not follow for 
 want of transports. He embarked after the main body had 
 gone into winter quarters. Fort George was left under the 
 command of General M'Clure, who commanded the militia, 
 whose term of service had nearly expired. This force was 
 soon reduced to a handful of men, and the place was no 
 longer tenable. The enemy was in march with a large 
 force. The fort was blown up, and the few troops crossed 
 the river just in time to escape the British. But this 
 retreat was preceded by an act which every American 
 ought to condemn. Newark, a handsome little village, 
 
OPERATIONS ON THE NIAGARA, 1813. 335 
 
 near the fort, would greatly favor a besieging army ; and 
 orders were given by the secretary, that, if necessary for 
 the defence of the fort, the village should be destroyed, to 
 prevent the enemy from taking shelter in it. By an 
 astonishing misconception of these orders, the general gave 
 notice to the inhabitants to retire, and left the village in 
 flames. The act was promptly disavowed by the govern- 
 ment. The order, so misconceived, was soon enclosed to 
 Sir George Prevost, expressing regret, and declaring the 
 act unauthorized. Prevost, however, did not wait for the 
 disavowal of the American government; he had already 
 inflicted a retaliation sufficient to satisfy the vengeance 
 of the fiercest enemy. At daylight on the 19th of De- 
 cember, Fort Niagara was surprised by Colonel Murray, 
 with about four hundred men, and the garrison, nearly 
 three hundred in number, and principally invalids, was 
 put to the sword; not more than twenty being able to 
 escape. The commanding officer, Captain Leonard, ap- 
 pears to have been shamefully negligent ; he was absent at 
 the time, and had used no precautions against an assault. 
 Having possessed themselves of this place, they soon after 
 increased their force, and immediately proceeded to lay 
 waste the Niagara frontier with fire and sword. The 
 militia, hastily collected, could oppose no resistance to a 
 large body of British regulars and seven hundred Indians. 
 A spirited but unavailing attempt was made by Major 
 Bennett to defend Lewistown. This village, together with 
 that of Manchester, Young's Town, and the Indian village 
 of the Tuscaroras, were speedily reduced to ashes, and 
 many of the inhabitants butchered. 
 
 Major Mellory advanced from Slosser, to oppose the 
 invaders, but was compelled by superior numbers to re- 
 treat. On the 30th, a detachment landed at Black Rock, 
 and proceeded to Buffalo. General Hall had organized a 
 body of militia, but, on the approach of the enemy, they 
 could not be induced to hold their ground. The village 
 was soon after reduced to ashes, and the whole frontier, 
 for many miles, exhibited a scene of ruin and devastation. 
 Here was indeed ample vengeance for the burning of New- 
 
336 
 
 WAR OF 1812. 
 
 ark. Even the British general was satisfied, as appears 
 by his proclamation of the 12th of January : " The opportu- 
 nity of punishment has occurred, and a full measure of 
 retribution has taken place ! " and he declared his intention 
 of "pursuing no farther a system of warfare so revolting 
 to his own feelings, and so little congenial to the British 
 character." 
 
 Burning of Buffalo. 
 
 Notwithstanding the opposition on the floor of congress, 
 the war was evidently becoming popular. The conduct of 
 the enemy in the prosecution of hostilities was such as to 
 awaken the feelings of every American. The victories 
 which we had obtained at sea, came home to the feelings 
 of the whole nation. Affairs in the south had assumed a 
 serious aspect, and no sooner had the northern armies 
 retired into winter quarters, than the public attention was 
 kept alive by the interesting events which transpired in the 
 country of the Creeks during the winter. That ill-fated 
 people had at length declared war. In consequence of the 
 threatening appearances to the south, and the hostilities 
 which already prevailed with the Indians inhabiting the 
 Spanish territory. Governor Mitchell, of Georgia, was 
 required, by the secretary at war, to detach a brigade 
 to the Oakmulgee river, for the pitrpose of covering the 
 
WAR WITH THE CREEK INDIANS. — 1813. 337 
 
 frontier settlements of the state. Governor Holmes, of the 
 Mississippi territory, was, at the same time, ordered to join 
 a body of militia to the volmiteers under General Claiborne, 
 then stationed on the Mobile. In the course of the summer 
 of 1813, the settlers in the vicinity of that river became so 
 much alarmed, from the hostile deportment of the Creeks, 
 that the greater part abandoned their plantations, and 
 sought refuge in the different forts ; while the peace party 
 amongst the Creeks had, in some places, shut themselves 
 up in forts, and were besieged by their countrymen. 
 
 The commencement of hostilities was witnessed by one 
 of the most shocking massacres that can be found in the 
 history of our Indian wars. The settlers, from an imper- 
 fect idea of their danger, had adopted an erroneous mode 
 of defence, by throwing themselves into small forts or sta- 
 tions, at great distances from each other, on the various 
 branches of the Mobile. Early in August, it was ascer- 
 tained that the Indians intended to make an attack upon 
 all these stations, and destroy them in detail. The first 
 place which they would attempt would probably be Fort 
 Mimms, in which the greatest number of families had been 
 collected. Towards the latter part of August, information 
 was brought that the Indians were about to make an 
 attack on this fort, but unfortunately too little attention 
 was paid to the warning. During the momentary contin- 
 uance of the alarm, some preparations were made for de- 
 fence, but it seems that it was almost impossible to rouse 
 them from their unfortunate disbelief of the proximity of 
 their danger. The fort was commanded by Major Beasley, 
 of the Mississippi territory, with about a hundred volun- 
 teers under his command. By some fatality, notwithstand- 
 ing the warnings he had received, he wa^ not sufficiently 
 on his guard, and suffered himself to be surprised on the 
 30th, at noon-day. The sentinel had scarcely time to 
 notify the approach of the Indians, when they rushed, with 
 a dreadful yell, towards the gate, which was wide open. 
 The garrison was instantly under arms, and the major flew 
 towards the gate, with some of his men, in order to close 
 it, and, if possible, expel the enemy ; but he soon after fell, 
 29 
 
33S WAR OF 1812. 
 
 mortally wounded. The gate was at length closed, after 
 great slaughter on both sides ; but a number of the Indians 
 had taken possession of a block-house, from which they 
 were expelled, after a bloody contest, by Captain Jack. 
 The assault was still continued for an hour on the outside 
 of the pickets. The port-holes were several times carried 
 by the assailants, and retaken by those within the fort. 
 
 The Indians now for a moment withdrew, apparently 
 disheartened by their loss, but, on being harangued by 
 their chief, Weatherford, they returned with augmented 
 fury to the assault. Having procured axes, they proceeded 
 to cut down the gate, and, at the same time, made a 
 breach in the pickets, and, possessing themselves of the 
 area of the fort, compelled the besieged to take refuge in 
 the houses. Here they made a gallant resistance ; but the 
 Indians at length setting fire to the roofs, the situation of 
 these unfortunate people became altogether hopeless. The 
 agonizing shrieks of the unfortunate women and children 
 at their unhappy fate, woidd have awakened pity in the 
 breasts of tigers. It is only by those who have some faint 
 idea of the nature of Indian warfare, that the horror of 
 their situation can be conceived. The terror of the scene 
 had already been sufficient to have bereft them of their 
 senses; but what heart does not bleed at the recital of its 
 realities? Not a soul was spared by these monsters. From 
 the most aged person to the youngest infant, they became 
 the victims of indiscriminate butchery; and some, to avoid 
 a worse fate, even rushed into the flames. A few only 
 escaped by leaping over the pickets while the Indians 
 were engaged in the work of massacre. About two hun- 
 dred and sixty persons, of all ages and sexes, thus perished, 
 including some friendly Indians and about one hundred 
 negroes. 
 
 On the receipt of this disastrous intelligence, the Tennes- 
 see militia, under the orders of General Jackson and Gen- 
 eral Cocke, immediately marched to the country of the 
 Creeks. On the 2d of November, General Coffee was de- 
 tached, with nine hundred men, against the Tallushatches 
 towns, and reached the place about daylight the next morn- 
 
WAR WITH THE CREEK INDIANS. 1813. 339 
 
 ing. The Indians, apprized of his approach, were prepared 
 to receive him. Within a short distance of the village, the 
 enemy charged upon him, with a boldness seldom displayed 
 by Indians. They were repulsed, and after a most obsti- 
 nate resistance, in which they would receive no quarters, 
 they were slain almost to a man, and their women and 
 children taken prisoners. There were nearly two hundred 
 of the warriors killed in this affair. The loss of the Ameri- 
 cans was five killed and forty wounded. Late in the morn- 
 ing of the 7th, a friendly Indian brought intelligence to 
 General Jackson, that, about thirty miles below his camp, 
 were a number of Creeks collected at a place called Talle- 
 dega, where they were engaged in besieging a number of 
 friendly Indians, who must inevitably perish vmless speed- 
 ily relieved. This officer, whose resolutions were as rap- 
 idly executed as they were formed, marched at twelve 
 O'clock the same night, at the head of twelve hundred men, 
 and arrived within six miles of the place the next evening. 
 At midnight he again advanced; by seven o'clock was 
 within a mile of the enemy, and immediately made the 
 most judicious arrangements for surrounding them. Hav- 
 ing approached in this manner, almost unperceived, within 
 eighty yards of the Indians, the battle commenced on their 
 part with great fury ; but, being repulsed on all sides, they 
 attempted to make their escape, but soon found themselves 
 enclosed; two companies having at first given way, a space 
 was left through which a considerable number of the ene- 
 my escaped, and were pursued to the mountains with great 
 slaughter. In this action, the American loss was fifteen 
 killed and eighty wounded. That of the Creeks was little 
 short of three hundred ; their whole force exceeded a thou- 
 sand. 
 
 General Cocke, who commanded the other division of the 
 Tennessee militia, on the 11th detached General White 
 from Fort Armstrong, where he was encamped, against the 
 hostile towns on the Tallapoosa river. After marching 
 the whole night of the 17th, he surprised a town at day- 
 Ught, containing upwards of three hundred warriors, sixty 
 of whom were killed, and the rest taken prisoners. Hav- 
 
340 WAR OF 1812. 
 
 ing burnt several of their villages, which had been deserted, 
 he returned, on the 23d, without losing a single man. The 
 Georgia militia, under General Floyd, advanced into the 
 Creek country about the last of the month. Receiving 
 information that a great number of Indians were collected 
 at the Autossee towns, on the Tallapoosa river, — a place 
 which they called their beloved ground, and where, accord- 
 ing to their prophets, no white man could molest them, — 
 General Floyd, placing himself at the head of nine hun- 
 dred militia and four hundred friendly Creeks, marched 
 from his encampment on the Chatahouchee. On the even- 
 ing of the 28th, he encamped within ten miles of the place, 
 and, resuming his march at one o'clock, reached the towns 
 about six, and commenced an attack upon both at the same 
 moment. His troops were met by the Indians with un- 
 common bravery ; and it was not until after an obstinate 
 resistance, that they Avere forced, by his musketry and bay- 
 onets, to fly to the thickets and copses in the rear of the 
 towns. In the course of three hours the enemy was com- 
 pletely defeated and the villages in flames. Eleven Ameri- 
 cans were killed and fifty wounded, — among the latter the 
 general himself. Of the enemy, it is supposed that, beside 
 the Autossee and Tallasse kings, upwards of two hundred 
 were killed. This just retribution, it was hoped, would 
 bring these wretched creatures to a proper sense of their 
 situation ; but, unfortunately, it had not this effect ; — they 
 still persisted in their hostilities. In December, General 
 Claiborne marched a detachment against the towns of Ec- 
 canachaca, on the Alabama river. On the 22d, he came 
 suddenly upon them, killed thirty of their warriors, and, 
 after destroying their villages, returned with a trifling 
 loss. 
 
 After the battle of Talledega, Jackson was left with but 
 a handful of men, in consequence of the term of service of 
 the militia having expired. On the 14th of January, 1814, 
 he Avas fortunately reinforced by eight hundred volunteers 
 from Tennessee, and, soon after, several hundred friendly 
 Indians. He was also joined by General Coffee, with a 
 number of officers, his militia having returned home. On 
 
WAR WITH THE CREEK INDIANS. — 1813. 341 
 
 the 17th, with a view of making a diversion in favor of 
 General Floyd, and at the same time of reheving Fort Arm- 
 strong, which was said to be threatened, he penetrated 
 the Indian country. On the evening of the 21st, behev- 
 ing himself, from appearances, in the vicinity of a large 
 body of Indians, he encamped with great precaution, and 
 placed himself in the best attitude for defence. Some time 
 in the night, one of his spies brought information that he 
 had seen the enemy a few miles off, and, from their being 
 busily engaged in sending away their women and children, 
 it was evident they had discovered the Americans, and 
 would either escape or make an attack before morning. 
 While the troops were in this state of readiness, they were 
 vigorously attacked on their left flank about daylight. The 
 enemy was resisted with firmness, and, after a severe con- 
 test, they fled in every direction. This was, however, soon 
 discovered to be a feint. Coffee, having been despatched, 
 with four hundred men, to destroy the enemy's camp, with 
 directions not to attack it if strongly fortified, returned 
 with information that it would not be prudent to attempt it 
 without artillery. Half an hour had scarcely elapsed, when 
 the enemy commenced a fierce 'attack on Jackson's left 
 flank. It seems they had intended, by the first onset, to 
 draw the Americans into a pursuit, and by that means create 
 confusion; but this was completely prevented by Jackson's 
 causing his left flank to keep its position. Coffee, with about 
 fifty of his officers, acting as volunteers, assailed the Indi- 
 ans on the left, while about two hundred friendly Indians 
 came upon them on the right. The Avhole line giving them 
 one fire, resolutely charged, and the enemy, being disap- 
 pointed in their plan, fled with precipitation. On the left 
 flank of the Indians the contest was kept up some time 
 longer ; General Coffee was severely wounded, and his aid 
 killed. On being reinforced by a party of the friendly In- 
 dians, he compelled the enemy to fly, leaving fifty of their 
 warriors on the ground. Jackson, being apprehensive of 
 another attack, fortified his camp for the night. The next 
 day, fearing a want of provisions, he found it necessary to 
 29* 
 
342 
 
 WAR OF 1812. 
 
 retreat, and, before night, reached Enotachopco, having 
 passed a dangerous defile without interruption. 
 
 The Americans now continued their march without far- 
 ther molestation. In these different engagements about 
 tAventy Americans were killed, and seventy-five wounded ; 
 in the last, about one hundred and eighty of the Creeks 
 were slain. Meanwhile, General Floyd was advancing 
 towards the Indian territory, from the Chatahouchee river. 
 On the 27th of January his camp was attacked by a large 
 body of Indians about an hour before day. They stole 
 upon the sentinels, fired upon them, and then rushed with 
 great impetuosity towards the line. The action soon 
 became general; the front of both flanks was closely 
 pressed, but the firmness of the oflicers and men repelled 
 their assaults at every point. As soon as it became suf- 
 ficiently light, Floyd strengthened his right wing, formed 
 his cavalry in the rear, and then directed a charge ; the 
 enemy were driven before the bayonet, and, being pursued 
 by the cavalry, many of them were killed. The loss of the 
 Americans was seventeen killed, and one hundred and 
 thirty-two wounded. That of the Indians could not be 
 ascertained ; thirty-seven of their warriors were left dead 
 on the field. By this time it might be supposed that the 
 Creeks had been satisfied with the experiment of war; but 
 they appear to have been infatuated in a most extraordi- 
 nary degree. From the influence of their prophets over 
 their superstitious minds, they were led on from one 
 ruinous effort to another, in hopes that the time would at 
 last arrive when their enemies would be delivered into 
 their hands. 
 
 Jackson, having received considerable reinforcements 
 from Tennessee, and being joined by a number of friendly 
 Indians, set out on an expedition to the Tallapoosa river. 
 He proceeded from the Coosa on the 24th of March, 
 reached the southern extremity of the Ncav Youca on the 
 27th, at a place called the Horse-shoe Bend of the Coosa. 
 Nature furnishes few situations so eligible for defence; and 
 here the Creeks, by the direction of their prophets, had 
 made their last stand. Across the neck of land they had 
 
WAR WITH THE CREEK INDIANS. 1814. 343 
 
 erected a breastwork of the greatest compactness and 
 strength, from five to eight feet high, and provided with a 
 double row of port-holes artfully arranged. In this place 
 they considered themselves perfectly secure. The assail- 
 ants could not approach without being exposed to a double 
 and cross fire from the Indians who lay behind. The area, 
 thus enclosed by the breastworks, was little short of one 
 hundred acres. The warriors from Oakfuskee, Oakshaya, 
 Hilebees, the Fish Ponds, and Eupata towns, had col- 
 lected their forces at this place, in number exceeding a 
 thousand. 
 
 Early in the morning of the 27th, Jackson, having 
 encamped the preceding night within six miles of the bend, 
 detached Coffee, with the mounted men and nearly the 
 whole of the Indian force, to pass the river at a ford about 
 three miles below their encampment, and to surround the 
 bend in such a manner that none of them should escape by 
 attempting to cross the river. With the remainder of his 
 force, Jackson advanced to the point of the breastwork, 
 and planted his artillery on a small eminence, within 
 eighty yards of the nearest point of the work, and within 
 two hundred and fifty of the farthest. A brisk cannonade 
 was opened upon the centre, and a severe fire was kept up 
 with musketry and rifles when the Indians ventured to 
 show themselves behind their defences. In the mean time. 
 Coffee, having crossed below, had advanced towards the 
 village. When within half a mile of that, which stood at 
 the extremity of the peninsula, the Indians gave their yell. 
 Coffee, expecting an immediate attack, drew up his men 
 in order of battle, and in this manner continued to move 
 forward. The friendly Indians had previously taken 
 possession of the bank, for the purpose of preventing the 
 retreat of the enemy ; but they no sooner heard the artil- 
 lery of Jackson, and the approach of Coffee, than they 
 rushed forward to the banks ; while the militia, appre- 
 hending an attack from the Oakfuskee villages, were 
 obliged to remain in order of battle. The friendly Indians, 
 unable to remain silent spectators, began to fire across the 
 stream, about one hundred yards wide, while some plunged 
 
344 WAR OF 1812. 
 
 into the river, and, swimming across, brought back a num- 
 ber of canoes. In these the greater part embarked, landed 
 on the penmsiila, then advanced into the village, drove the 
 enemy from their huts up to the fortifications, and contin- 
 ued to annoy them during the whole action. This move- 
 ment of the Indians rendered it necessary that a part of 
 Coffee's line should take their place. 
 
 Jackson, finding that his arrangements were complete, at 
 length yielded to the earnest solicitations of his men to be 
 led to the charge. The regular troops were in a moment 
 in possession of the nearest part of the breastworks ; the 
 militia accompanied them with equal firmness and intre- 
 pidity. Having maintained, for a few minutes, a very 
 obstinate contest, muzzle to muzzle, through the port-holes, 
 they succeeded in gaining the opposite side of the works. 
 The event could no longer be doubtful. The enemy, 
 although many of them fought Avith that kind of bravery 
 which desperation inspires, were cut to pieces. The whole 
 margin of the river which surrounded the peninsula was 
 strewed with the slain. Five hundred and fifty-seven 
 were found, besides those thrown into the river by their 
 friends, or drowned in attempting to escape. Not more 
 than fifty could have escaped. Among their slain was 
 their great prophet Manahoe, and two others of less note. 
 About three hundred women and children were taken 
 prisoners. Jackson's loss was twenty-six white men 
 killed, and one hundred and seven wounded ; eighteen 
 Cherokees killed, and thirty-six wounded ; and five friendly 
 Creeks killed, and eleven wounded. 
 
 This most decisive victory put an end to the Creek war. 
 The spirit and power of these misguided men were com- 
 pletely broken. Jackson soon after scoured the country on 
 the Coosa and Tallapoosa. A party of the enemy, on the 
 latter river, on his approach, fled to Pensacola. The 
 greater part of the Creeks now came forward, and threw 
 themselves on the mercy of the victors. A detachment of 
 militia from North and South Carolina scoured the country 
 on the Alabama, and received the submission of a great 
 number of Creek warriors and their prophets. In the 
 
END OF THE CREEK WAR. — 1814. 
 
 345 
 
 course of the summer, a treaty of peace was dictated to 
 them, by Jackson, on severe but just terms. They agreed 
 to yield a portion of their country as an indemnity for the 
 expenses of the war. 
 
CHAPTER XYIII. 
 
 War of 1812. — Operations on the northern frontier — Affair of La Cole 
 Mill — Operations on lake Champlain — Naval affairs on lake Ontario 
 — Capture of a British force at Sandy Creek — Operations on the Ni- 
 agara frontier — Gallant exploit of Captain Holmes — War on the At- 
 lantic coast — Attack of Saybrook — Gun-boat battle in Long Island Sound 
 — Capture of Eastport — Bombardment of Stonington — Invasion of 
 Maine — Cruise of the Constitution — Capture of the JEpervier, Reindeer 
 and Avon — Loss of the President — Capture of the Cyane and Levant 
 — Cruise of the Hornet — Capture of the Penguin — Gallant exploit of 
 the privateer Armstrong. 
 
 The northern army remained in their winter quarters, on 
 the St. Lawrence, till the end of February, 1S14, when, in 
 pursuance of orders from the secretary at war, they removed 
 to Plattsburg. From this place a body of two thousand 
 men were marched to Sackett's Harbor, under General 
 Brown, with a proportion of field-pieces and battering can- 
 non. Towards the end of March, Wilkinson determined 
 to erect a battery at a place called Rouse's Point, on lake 
 Champlain, where his engineer had discovered a position 
 from which the enemy's fleet, then laid up at St. John's, 
 might be kept m check. The ice breakmg up on the lake 
 sooner than usual, defeated his plan. A body of the ene- 
 my, upwards of two thousand strong, on discovering his 
 design, had been collected at La Cole Mill, three miles 
 from Rouse's Point, for the purpose of opposing him. With 
 a view of dislodging this party, and, at the same time, of 
 forming a diversion in favor of Brown, who had marched 
 against Niagara, Wilkinson, at the head of about four thou- 
 sand men, crossed the Canada lines on the 30th of March. 
 
 After dispersing several of the enemy's skirmishing par- 
 ties, he reached La Cole iMill, a large fortified stone house, 
 occupied by the British. An eigh teen-pounder was ordered 
 
BATTLE OF LA COLE MILL. — 1814. 347 
 
 up, but, owing to the nature of the ground over which it 
 had to pass, the transportation was found impracticable; a 
 twelve-pounder and a five-inch howitzer were therefore 
 substituted. These arrangements being made, the battery 
 opened upon the house, and the fire was promptly returned. 
 The different corps were greatly exposed to the fire from 
 the house. It was found impossible to effect a breach, al- 
 though the guns were managed with great skill. Captain 
 M'Pherson was wounded at the commencement of the 
 attack, but continued, notwithstanding, at his post, until a 
 second shot had broken his thigh. His next officer, Lara- 
 bee, was shot through the lungs. Lieutenant Sheldon kept 
 up the fire until the end of the affair, and behaved in a 
 manner which drew forth the praise of his general. The 
 British commander, perceiving that the Americans persisted 
 in bombarding the house, made a desperate sortie, and 
 several times charged upon the cannon, in which he was 
 repulsed by the covering troops, and compelled to retire to 
 his fortress with loss. It being now found impracticable to 
 make an impression on this strong building, whose walls 
 were of unusual thickness, the commander-in-chief, calling 
 in his different parties, fell back in good order. The loss 
 of the Americans in this affair was upwards of one hun- 
 dred and forty in killed and wounded : that of the British 
 is not ascertained. Many were the difficulties under which 
 the army labored, besides the deplorable incapacity of their 
 general. Lack of system, a severe climate, sickness, un- 
 foreseen expenses, abuses in every department, want of 
 experience and education in the subalterns, and the dis- 
 graceful conduct of many of the frontier inhabitants, in 
 supplying the enemy with provisions, are among the num- 
 ber of misfortunes under which the country labored ; be- 
 sides which, the enemy was regularly informed of every- 
 thing which transpired on the American side. 
 
 Shortly after the affair of La Cole, the greater part of the 
 British force was collected at St. John's and the Isle Aux 
 Noix, for the purpose of securing the entrance of the squad- 
 ron into lake Champlain, on the breakmg up of the ice. 
 This was effected early in May. Some time before this, 
 
348 WAR OF IS12. 
 
 on the suggestion of Wilkinson, Commodore M'Donough 
 had fortified the mouth of Otter river, so as to secure a 
 passage for his Uotilla, which then lay at Yergennes, higher 
 up the river, waiting for its armament. This precaution 
 proved of great service. The commodore had labored with 
 indefatigable industry, to provide a naval force on this lake, 
 to cope with that of the enemy. The vessels had been built 
 during the autumn and winter, but their armament did not 
 arrive before spring. 
 
 The first object of the enemy, when they found the navi- 
 gation open, was to attempt the destruction of the Ameri- 
 can fleet, before it could move upon its element, prepared 
 to meet them. On the 12th of May, not long after the 
 erection of the battery on the cape, at the entrance of the 
 river, a bomb vessel, and three large galleys, were stationed 
 by the enemy across the creek, for the purpose of blockad- 
 ing the squadron, and, at the same time, to intercept naval 
 supplies, which, it was supposed, would be sent by water, 
 for the purpose of completing its armament. Captain 
 Thornton, of the light artillery, and Lieutenant Cassin, 
 with a nimiber of sailors, were ordered to the defence of 
 the battery. Indications being, at the same time, discov- 
 ered of an attempt by the enemy to assail the battery in 
 the rear. General Davis, of the Vermont militia, called part 
 of his brigade, in order to oppose the landing. At day- 
 break, on the 14th, the enemy commenced an attack upon 
 the works, but were so effectually resisted, that they were 
 compelled to withdraw from their position with the loss "of 
 two galleys, which they were obliged to abandon. Soon' 
 after, the whole squadron moved down the lake, but not 
 without some skirmishing with General Wright, of the mi- 
 litia, as they passed Burlington. Commodore M'Donough 
 had attempted to bring some of the American vessels to the 
 mouth of the river, but the British squadron had disap- 
 peared before he could attain his object. 
 
 While the naval preparations were making on lake 
 Champlain, the winter and spring were taken up with the 
 preparations for a contest of superiority on lake Ontario. 
 The British converted it, however, into a contest in build- 
 
ATTACK ON OSWEGO. — 1814. 349 
 
 ing the greatest number and the largest ships. At Kings- 
 ton a ship of extraordinary size was building ; for the ene- 
 my no longer trusted, as they had done with other nations, 
 to superior seamanship and valor. Commodore Chauncey 
 was under the necessity of building additional vessels, for 
 the purpose of maintaining, as nearly as possible, an equal- 
 ity of force. On the 25th of April, 1814, three of the ene- 
 my's boats, provided with the means of blowing up the 
 vessels, succeeded in getting close into Sackett's Harbor 
 undiscovered, but before they could execute their purpose, 
 they were detected, and fired upon by Lieutenant Dudley, 
 the officer of the guard, on which they threw their pow- 
 der into the lake, and pulled ofl". Failing in all these 
 attempts, from the vigilance of the Americans, they next 
 formed the determination to intercept the naval stores on 
 their way from Oswego, where they had been deposited. 
 Thither Sir James Yeo proceeded with his whole fleet, and 
 having on board a large body of troops, under General 
 Drummond, proceeded, on the 5th of May, with the deter- 
 mination of storming the town, and capturing the equip- 
 ments destined for the new vessels. 
 
 The British commenced a heavy bombardment, which 
 was kept up for several days. The unexpected and gallant^ 
 resistance of the garrison, consisting of three hundred men, 
 under Lieutenant-Colonel Mitchell, was in vain against 
 such superior force. The schooner Growler, then in Os- 
 wego Creek to receive the cannon, was sunk, to prevent her 
 from being taken, and all the tents that could be procured 
 were pitched on the village side, to give the appearance of 
 a large force of militia. At one o'clock, fifteen barges, filled 
 with troops, moved towards the shore, preceded by several 
 gun-boats, while a heavy cannonade was commenced by 
 the larger vessels. They were so warmly received by the 
 battery on shore, that the boats were twice repulsed, and 
 one of the largest fell into the hands of the Americans. The 
 squadron now stood off, but this was evidently for the pur- 
 pose of renewing the attack, in such a manner as to render 
 it effectual. They again approached on the 6th, having 
 resolved to land under cover of their ships ; they accord- 
 30 
 
350 WAR OF 1812. 
 
 ingly kept up a heavy fire for three hours, while their land 
 forces, two thousand in number, under General De Watte- 
 ville, succeeded in gaining the shore, after being gallantly 
 opposed by Lieutenant Pearce and his seamen. Colonel 
 Mitchell now abandoned the fort, and, joining his corps to 
 the marines and seamen, engaged the enemy's flank, and 
 did great execution. Finding further resistance useless, he 
 fell back, formed his troops, and took up his march to the 
 falls of Oswego, destroying the bridges in his rear. Hither, 
 to the inexpressible disappointment of the British, the naval 
 stores had been removed, and all their trouble, and the loss 
 which they sustained, procured them nothing more than a 
 few barrels of provisions and some whiskey. This was 
 purchased with the loss of two hundred and thirty-five 
 men, in killed and wounded. They were certainly enti- 
 tled to the victory, but they never thought proper to claim 
 it. The loss of the Americans was sixty-nine in killed, 
 wounded and missing ; among the first, a promising offi- 
 cer, Lieutenant Blaney. On the evening of the same day, 
 a part of the force proceeded to Pultncyville, and demanded 
 the public stores. The inhabitants were unable to repel 
 the invaders, who indulged themselves in their usual dep- 
 redations ; when General Swift, of the New York militia, 
 opportunely arriving, with a part of his brigade, put them 
 to flight. 
 
 The British, soon after, hearing that the Superior, wnicn 
 had lately been launched, had received her equipments 
 from the interior, broke up the blockade and returned to 
 Kingston. Another new ship, the Mohawk, was at this 
 time on the stocks, and as she would have to be supplied 
 with her equipments from the same place, it Avas deter- 
 mined, since the British had disappeared, to transport them 
 by water, and avoid the expense and delay of land trans- 
 portation. To deceive the enemy, who had numerous 
 gun-boats hovering about the diflerent creeks, a report was 
 circulated that it was intended to forward the stores to the 
 Oneida lake. Nineteen barges were loaded at Oswego, 
 and Major Appling was despatched by General Gaines, with 
 a detachment to aid Captain Woolsey, in their defence. 
 
AFFAIR OF SANDY CREEK. — 1814. 351 
 
 On the 28th of May, Captain Woolsey, finding the coast 
 clear, reached the village by sunset, and, taking advantage 
 of the darkness of the night, put into the lake. The next 
 day they reached Sandy Creek, and, ascending it a few 
 miles, despatched a boat to look out for the British on the 
 lake; this boat was discovered by some gun vessels, and 
 immediately chased. Major Appling and Captain Woolsey 
 determined to draw them into an ambuscade. As had 
 been anticipated, the enemy pushed their gun-boats and 
 cutters up the creek, while a party landed and ascended 
 along the bank. The Americans now rushed suddenly 
 upon them, and, in a few moments, after one fire, by which 
 a number of them were killed and wounded, the whole 
 party was taken prisoners, consisting of four lieutenants 
 of the navy, two lieutenants of the marines, and one hun- 
 dred and thirty men, together with all their boats and 
 cutters. 
 
 Captain Holmes, with a party of about one hundred and 
 sixty rangers and mounted men, proceeded, on the 21st of 
 February, against some of the enemy's posts. About the 
 beginning of March, he received intelligence that a British 
 force, which afterwards proved to be double his own, was 
 descending the river Thames. Holmes, finding himself 
 not in a situation to give battle, from the fatigues which 
 his men had already encountered, and- his ignorance of the 
 strength of the enemy's party, fell back a few miles, and 
 chose a strong position, where he was confident of being 
 able to defend himself until he could obtain the necessary 
 information of the British. He despatched a small body 
 of rangers for this purpose, but which soon returned, pur- 
 sued by the enemy, but without being able to learn his 
 strength. The British, perceiving the strength of Holmes' 
 position, resorted to stratagem for the purpose of drawing 
 him from it. They feigned an attack, and then retreated, 
 taking care not to show more than sixty or seventy men. 
 Holmes now pursued, but with caution; and, after pro- 
 ceeding about five miles, discovered their main body 
 drawn up to receive him, on which he immediately re- 
 turned to his former position. Having disposed of his 
 
352 WAR OF 1812. 
 
 troops in the most judicious manner, lie firmly waited for 
 them ; being protected in front by a deep ravine, and the 
 approaches on the other side somewhat difficult. The 
 attack was commenced at the same moment on every 
 point, with savage yells and the sound of bugles, the reg- 
 ulars charging up the heights from the ravine. The other 
 sides were rapidly assailed by militia and Indians. They 
 first approached within twenty paces of the American 
 lines, against a very destructive fire : but the front section 
 being cut to pieces, those who followed severely wounded, 
 and many of their officers cut down, they retired to the 
 woods, within thirty or forty paces, and the firing continued 
 with great spirit on both sides. The American regulars, 
 being uncovered, were ordered to kneel, that the brow of 
 the heights might assist in screening them from the enemy. 
 But the enemy's covering was insufficient, a single tree 
 atfording no shelter, even to one, from the extended line 
 of the Americans, much less to the squads that stood to- 
 gether. On the other sides, the attack was sustained with 
 equal coolness, and with considerable loss to the foe. The 
 Americans had, on three sides, thrown together some logs 
 hastily, and no charge being made, they could aim their 
 pieces at leisure, with that deadly certainty whicli belongs 
 to the backwoodsman. The British, after an hour of hard 
 fighting, ordered a retreat; and, as the night approached, 
 Holmes thought it not advisable to pursue; besides, his 
 men were much fatigued, and many of them had nearly 
 worn out their shoes on the hard frozen ground. The 
 American loss on this occasion did not amount to more than 
 six killed and wounded. According to the statement of 
 the British, their loss was sixty-five killed and wounded, 
 besides Indians. In consequence of his good conduct in 
 this alfair, Captain Holmes was promoted to the rank of 
 major. 
 
 The northern sea-coast, which had thus far experienced 
 httle molestation from the enemy, became the object of 
 attack early in the spring. On the 7th of April, a body of 
 sailors and marines, to the number of two hundred, ascend- 
 ed the Connecticut river as far as Saybrook, where they 
 
GUN-BOAT BATTLE. — 1814. 353 
 
 spiked the cannon, and destroyed the shipping. They 
 proceeded thence to Brockway's Ferry, where they did the 
 same, and, afterwards, unapprehensive of attack, care- 
 lessly remained twenty-four hours. In the mean time, a 
 body of militia, together with a number of marines and 
 sailors, under Captain Jones and Lieutenant Biddle, had 
 collected for the purpose of cutting off their retreat ; but 
 the British, taking advantage of a very dark night, and 
 using muffled oars, escaped to their fleet, after having de- 
 stroyed two hundred thousand dollars' worth of shipping. 
 
 Abou*- this time the coasting trade was much annoyed 
 by a British privateer, the Liverpool Packet, which cruised 
 in the sound. Commodore Lewis sailed with a detach- 
 ment of thirteen gun-boats, and succeeded in chasing her 
 off. On his arrival at Saybrook, he found upwards of fifty 
 vessels bound to the eastward, but afraid to venture out. 
 The commodore consented to take them under convoy, but 
 Avas not able to promise them protection against the squad- 
 ron then blockading New London. They, however, being 
 disposed to run the risk, he sailed with them on the 2.5th, 
 and, in the afternoon of the same day, was compelled to 
 throw himself between his convoy and a British frigate, a 
 sloop of war and a tender, and kept up a contest until the 
 coasters had safely reached Ncav London. Having at- 
 tained his object, he determined to try what he could do 
 with his gun-boats against the enemy's ships. Furnaces 
 being hastily constructed, he began to throw hot balls at 
 the enemy's sides, and repeatedly set their ships on fire, 
 without receiving any injury himself. The sloop soon 
 withdrew, and the fire was principally directed against the 
 frigate. One shot passed through her, very near her maga- 
 zine ; her lieutenant and a great number of her men were 
 already killed ; her captain was on the point of striking, 
 when he observed that the gun-boats had ceased firing. 
 The night soon after coming on, the gun-boats desisted 
 from the attack, determined to wait until morning. At 
 daylight they perceived the squadron towing away. It was 
 resolved to pursue them, but several other frigates soon 
 made their appearance, and put a stop to this design. 
 30* 
 
354 WAR OF 1812. 
 
 Formidable squadrons were kept up before the ports of 
 New York, New London, and Boston ; and the whole 
 eastern coast was exposed to the enemy- The war was 
 carried on here in a very different manner from that at the 
 south. Hardy, the British admiral, would not permit any 
 wanton outrages upon private property, or upon defence- 
 less individuals. In spite, however, of his general de- 
 meanor, there were particular instances of the contrary on 
 the part of the officers commanding smaller parties, and 
 actuated by a thirst for plunder. At the towns of Ware- 
 ham and Scituate, they burned all the vessels at their 
 moorings ; and at the former they set fire to an extensive 
 cotton manufactor3^ At a place called Boothbay, they 
 met with a spirited resistance, and were repeatedly repulsed 
 in various desperate attacks. An invasion of a more 
 serious nature was made in July. On the 11th of that 
 month. Hardy, with a strong force, made a descent on 
 Moose Island, and, after taking possession of Eastport, de- 
 clared all the islands and towns on the eastern side of 
 Passamaquoddy Bay to appertain to his Britannic majesty, 
 and required the inhabitants to appear, within seven days, 
 and take the oath of allegiance. About two thirds of the 
 inhabitants submitted; but, in the month of August, the 
 council of the province of New Brunswick declared that, 
 notwithstanding the oath of allegiance, they should be 
 considered as a conquered people, and placed under mili- 
 tary government. Eastport was soon after strongly forti- 
 fied ; but it was found extremely difficult for the enemy to 
 subsist his troops, and the desertions were so frequent as 
 to render it almost impossible to keep up a garrison. 
 
 Hardy soon after sailed, with a part of his squadron, for 
 the purpose of attacking Stonington. The appearance of 
 this force excited much alarm among the inhabitants, 
 which was not diminished when they received a message 
 from the commodore to remove the women and children, 
 as he had received orders to reduce the place to ashes. 
 The inhabitants, although with very trifling means of 
 defence, determined to make an attempt to save their 
 property. The handful of militia of the place repaired to a 
 
BOMBARDMENT OF STONINGTON. — 1814. 355 
 
 small battery erected on the shore, and to a breastwork 
 thrown up for musketry, and at the same time despatched 
 an express to obtain assistance from General Gushing, com- 
 manding at New London. In the evening of the 8th of 
 August, five barges and a large launch, filled with men, 
 approached the shore, under cover of a heavy fire from the 
 ships. The Americans, reserving their fire until the enemy 
 were within short grape distance, opened their two eigh- 
 teen-pounders, and soon compelled the invaders to retire 
 out of the reach of their battery. They next proceeded to 
 another part of the town, which they supposed defence- 
 less; but a part of the militia being detached thither with 
 a six-pounder, the barges were again repulsed. The enemy 
 then retired to their ships, but determined to renew the 
 attack in the morning ; and, in the mean time, kept up a 
 bombardment until midnight. The next morning it was 
 discovered that one of the enemy's vessels had approached 
 within pistol shot of the battery, and the barges advanced 
 in still greater numbers than the day before ; these were 
 again gallantly repulsed, and the vessel driven from her 
 anchorage. The squadron then renewed the bombardment 
 of the town, but without effect ; and, on the 12th, the 
 commodore thought proper to retire. The inhabitants, 
 after this gallant defence, — which, considering the means 
 with which it was eflected, and the great disparity of force 
 opposed to them, deserves much praise, — once more occu- 
 pied their dwellings in security. 
 
 Not long after this the British took possession of all that 
 part of the district of Maine between Penobscot river and 
 Passamaquoddy Bay, and declared it to be held as a colony. 
 On the 1st of September, the governor of Nova Scotia and 
 Admiral Griffith entered the Penobscot river, and took 
 possession of Castine, which the garrison had previously 
 evacuated. A proclamation was then issued, declaring 
 that possession of that part of the province of Maine, east 
 of the Penobscot, was formally taken in the name of his 
 Britannic majesty. The country, which contained about 
 thirty thousand inhabitants, was then gradually occupied, 
 and possessed until the conclusion of the war. 
 
356 WAR OF 1812. 
 
 Another affair took place soon after, which furnished a 
 still stronger proof of the now acknowledged superiority 
 of America upon the ocean, an acknowledgment more 
 strongly expressed than by words. In the month of April, 
 Captain Stewart was on his return in the Constitution, 
 after a cruise, when he was chased by two British frigates 
 and a brig, but escaped, by superior seamanship, into 
 Marblehead. Some time before, after capturing the public 
 schooner Pictou, he fell in with the British frigate La Pique, 
 Captain Maitland, who fled on the approach of the Consti- 
 tution, and succeeded in making her escape. 
 
 The year 1814 was also distinguished by farther naval 
 successes of the Americans. The sloop of war Peacock, 
 Captain Warrington, while on a cruise, on the 29lh of April, 
 discovered the British brig of war Epervier, Captain Wales, 
 having several vessels under convoy. Captain Warrington 
 engaged the Epervier, while the others were making their 
 escape. At the first broadside, the foreyard of the Peacock 
 was totally disabled by two round shot in the starboard 
 quarter. By this she was deprived of the use of her fore 
 and fore-topsail, and was obliged to keep aloof during the 
 remainder of the action, which lasted forty-two minutes. 
 In this time she received considerable damage in her 
 rigging, but her hull was not at all injured. 
 
 The Epervier struck, having five feet water in her hold, 
 her topmasts over her side, her main boom shot away, her 
 foremast cut nearly in two, her rigging and stays shot 
 away, her hull pierced by forty-five shot, twenty of which 
 were within a foot of her water line. Eleven of her crew 
 were killed, and her first lieutenant and fourteen men 
 wounded. The sum of one hundred and eighteen thousand 
 dollars in specie was found in her, and transferred to the 
 Peacock. The day following, Captain Warrington dis- 
 covered two frigates in chase. He took all the prisoners 
 on board the Peacock, and leaving a sufficient number on 
 board the Epervier for the purpose of navigating her, he 
 directed her to seek the nearest port. By skilful seaman- 
 ship the captain succeeded in escaping from the enemy's 
 ships, and reached Savannah, where he found his prize. 
 
CAPTURE OF THE REINDEER AND AVON. 1814. 357 
 
 Lieutenant Nicholson, by his good management, had 
 brought her in, after encountering very great difficulties. 
 
 The new sloop of war Wasp, Captain Blakely, sailed 
 from Portsmouth, and, after capturing seven merchant- 
 men, fell in with the British brig of war Reindeer, Captain 
 Manners, in the British Channel. Captain Blakely com- 
 menced the action with his after carronades on the star- 
 board side. Shortly after, the larboard bow of the enemy 
 coming in contact with the Wasp, Captain Manners gave 
 orders to board, but the attempt was gallantly repulsed by 
 the crew of the Wasp, and the enemy was several times 
 repelled. Orders were then given to board in turn. Throw- 
 ing themselves with promptitude upon her deck, the Amer- 
 icans succeeded in the execution of their orders; and, at 
 length, the flag of the enemy's ship came down. She was 
 almost cut to pieces, and half her crew was killed and 
 wounded. The loss of the Wasp was five killed and 
 twenty-one wounded. The Reindeer, having been found 
 altogether unmanageable, was blown up, and Captain 
 Blakely steered for L'Orient, to provide for the wounded 
 of both crews. 
 
 After leaving L'Orient, and capturing two valuable Brit- 
 ish merchantmen. Captain Blakely fell in with a fleet of 
 ten sail, under convoy of the Armada seventy-four, and a 
 bomb ship. He stood for them, and succeeded in cutting 
 out of the squadron a brig, laden with brass and iron can- 
 non and military stores, from Gibraltar. After taking out 
 the prisoners and setting her on fire, he endeavored to cut 
 out another, but was chased off" by the seventy-four. In 
 the evening of the 2d of September, at half past six, he 
 descried two vessels, one on his starboard, and one on his 
 larboard bow, and hauled for -that which was farthest to 
 windward. At seven she was discovered to be a brig of 
 war, and at twenty-nine minutes past nine she was under 
 the lee bow of the Wasp. An action soon after commenced, 
 which lasted until ten o'clock, when Captain Blakely, sup- 
 posing his antagonist to be silenced, ceased firing, and de- 
 manded if he had surrendered. No answer being returned, 
 he commenced firing, and the enemy returned broadside for 
 
358 
 
 WAR OF 1812. 
 
 broadside, for twelve minutes, when, perceiving that the 
 two last were not returned, he hailed again, and was in- 
 formed that she was sinking, and that her commander had 
 struck. Before the Wasp's boat could be lowered, a second 
 brig of war was discovered : the crew were instantly sent 
 to their quarters, and the Wasp was standing to for the 
 approach of the stranger, when two other brigs appeared. 
 He now made sail, and endeavored to draw the first one 
 after him, but without .effect. The name of the prize has 
 since been ascertained to have been the Avon, Captain 
 Arbuthnot, of the same force as the Reindeer. She sunk 
 immediately after the last man had been taken out of her. 
 She had eight killed, and thirty-one wounded, including 
 her captain, and several other officers. The Wasp soon 
 repaired her damage, and continued on her cruise. On the 
 21st of September, she captured, off the Madeiras, her thir- 
 teenth prize, the British brig Atalanta, of eight guns, and 
 the only one she sent into port. The return of this vessel, 
 after her brilliant cruise, was, for a long time, fondly looked 
 for by our country ; but all hope has at last vanished of 
 ever seeing her again. There is but little doubt that the 
 brave commander and the gallant crew have found a com- 
 mon grave in the waste of ocean ; but they will always 
 live in the fond gratitude and recollection of their country. 
 The blockade of Commodore Decatur's squadron, at 
 New London, having been continued imtil after the season 
 had passed in which there existed any prospect of escape, 
 the ships were ordered up the river, while the commodore, 
 with his crew, were transferred to the President, then at 
 New York. A cruise was contemplated, in conjunction 
 with the Peacock, the Hornet, and the Tom Bowline store 
 ship. The commodore, thinking it more safe to venture 
 out singly, appointed a place of rendezvous, and ordered 
 the other vessels to follow. In sailing out of the harbor of 
 New York, by the negligence of the pilot, the President 
 struck upon the bar, and remained there thumping for two 
 hours, by which her ballast was deranged, and her trim for 
 sailing entirely lost. The course of the wind preventing her 
 from returning into port, she put to sea. At daylight she 
 
CAPTURE OF THE PRESIDENT. 1814. 359 
 
 fell in with a British squadron, consisting of the Endymion, 
 Tenedos and Pomona frigates, and the Majestic razee. In 
 spite of every exertion they gained upon her ; the foremost, 
 the Endymion, got close under her quarters and commenced 
 firing. The commodore determined to bear up and engage 
 her, with the intention of carrying her by boarding, and 
 afterwards escaping in her, and abandoning his own ship. 
 In this he was prevented by the manoeuvring of the ene- 
 my, who protracted the engagement for two hours, until 
 the rest of the squadron \Vhxe fast gainuig upon them. 
 He now assailed the Endymion, and in a short time com- 
 pletely silenced her, leaving her a wreck. The President 
 was also considerably damaged, having lost twenty-five 
 men, killed and wounded. On the approach of the squad- 
 ron, the gallant commodore, unwilling to sacrifice the lives 
 of his men in a useless contest, on receiving the fire of the 
 nearest frigate, surrendered. On this occasion we cannot 
 pass in silence the dishonorable conduct of the British ofii- 
 cers of the navy, where such ought least to have been 
 expected. 
 
 The generous and heroic character of Decatur is ac- 
 knowledged wherever the American flag is known, and 
 requires no testimony in its support, for the British them- 
 selves have often declared their admiration of this chival- 
 rous officer. The commodore was taken on board the 
 Endymion, for the purpose of acting the miserable farce of 
 surrendering his sword to the officer of a frigate of equal 
 size, but which would have fallen into the hands of the 
 commodore, but for the approach of the squadron. Deca- 
 tur indignantly refused to give up his sword to any one but 
 the commander of the squadron. 
 
 Not the least among the exploits of our naval heroes, was 
 the capture of two of the enemy's ships of war by the Con- 
 stitution, Captain Stewart. Having sailed on a cruise, he 
 discovered, on the 20th February, 1815, two ships, one of 
 which bore up for the Constitution, but soon after changed 
 her course, to join her consort. The Constitution gave 
 chase to both, and at six, P. M., ranged ahead of the stern- 
 most, brought her on the quarter, her consort on the bow, 
 
360 "WAR OF 1812. 
 
 and opened a broadside, which was immediately returned. 
 An exchange of broadsides continued until both ships were 
 enveloped in smoke, upon the clearing away of which, the 
 Constitution finding herself abreast of the headmost ship, 
 Captain Stewart ordered both sides to be manned, backed 
 topsails, and dropped into his first position. The ship on the 
 bow backed sails also. The Constitution's broadsides were 
 then fired from the larboard battery, and in a few moments 
 the ship on the bow, perceiving her error in getting stern- 
 board, filled away Avitli the -intention of tacking athwart 
 the bows of the Constitution, while the other fell off entirely 
 unmanageable. The Constitution then filled away in pur- 
 suit of the former, and, coming within a hundred yards, 
 gave her several raking broadsides, and so crippled her 
 that no further apprehensions were entertained of her abil- 
 ity to escape. The captain therefore returned to the first, 
 which immediately struck. Possession was then taken of 
 her by Lieutenant Hoffman, and she proved to be the frigate 
 Cyane, Captain Gordon Falcon, of thirty-four guns. Cap- 
 tain Stewart then steered in pursuit of the other vessel, and 
 after a short resistance, in which she suffered considerably, 
 she struck, with five feet water in her hold. She proved to 
 be the sloop of war Levant, of eighteen thirty-two pound 
 carronades. The loss on board the two ships amounted to 
 about eighty in killed and wounded; on board the Consti- 
 tution there were four killed and eleven wounded ; but the 
 ship received a very trifling injury. On the 10th of March, 
 Captain Stewart entered the harbor of Port Praya with his 
 prizes, and on the 11th, the British squadron, of two sixty- 
 gun ships and a frigate, appeared off the entrance of the 
 harbor. Captain Stewart, having no faith m his security 
 in this neutral port, made sail with his prize, the Cyane, 
 and, though closely pursued, had the good fortune to escape 
 into the United States. The Levant was recaptured in a 
 Portuguese port, in contempt of the neutral state. The 
 Peacock, Hornet, and Tom Bowline, left New York a few 
 days after the President, without having received informa- 
 tion of her capture. On the 23d of January, 1S15, the 
 Hornet parted company, and directed her course to Tristan, 
 
CAPTURE OF THE PENGUIN. — 1815. 361 
 
 Da Cunha, the place of rendezvous. On the 23d of March, 
 she descried the British brig Penguin, Captain Dickinson, 
 of eighteen guns and a twelve-pound carronade, near that 
 island. Captain Biddle hove to, while the Penguin bore 
 down. At forty minutes past one, the British vessel com- 
 menced the engagement. The firing was hotly kept up for 
 fifteen minutes, the Penguin gradually nearing the Hornet, 
 with the intention to board, her captain having given 
 orders for this purpose, but was killed by. a grape shot. 
 Her lieutenant then bore her up, and running her bowsprit 
 between the main and mizzen rigging of the Hornet, gave 
 orders to board. His men, however, perceiving the crew 
 of the Hornet ready to receive them, refused to follow him. 
 At this moment, the heavy swell of the sea lifted the 
 Hornet ahead, and the enemy's bowsprit carried away her 
 mizzen shrouds and spanker boom, and the Penguin hung 
 upon the Hornet's quarter, with the loss of her foremast 
 and bowsprit. Her commander then called out that he 
 had surrendered, and Captain Biddle ordered his men to 
 cease firing. At this moment an officer of the Hornet 
 called to Captain Biddle, that a man was taking aim at 
 him in the enemy's shrouds. He had scarcely changed his 
 position, when a musket ball struck him in the neck, and 
 wounded him severely. Two marines immediately level- 
 led their pieces at the Englishman, and killed him before 
 he brought his gun from his shoulder. The Penguin had, 
 by that time, got clear of the Hornet, and the latter wore 
 round to give the enemy a fresh broadside, when they 
 cried out a second time that they had surrendered. It Avas 
 with great difficulty that Captain Biddle could restrain his 
 crew, who were exasperated at the conduct of the enemy. 
 In twenty-two minutes after the commencement of the 
 action, she was taken possession of by Lieutenant Mayo, of 
 the Hornet. The Penguin was so much injured, that Cap- 
 tain Biddle determined on taking out her crew and scuttling 
 her; and afterwards sent off" his prisoners by the Tom Bow- 
 line, which by this time had joined him with the Peacock. 
 The enemy lost fourteen in killed, and twenty-ei'ght wound- 
 ed ; the Hornet one killed and eleven wounded. Captain 
 31 
 
362 WAR OF 1812. 
 
 Biddle, being compelled to part from the Peacock by the 
 appearance of a British ship of the line, after being closely- 
 pursued for several days, effected his escape into St. Salva- 
 dor, where the news of peace soon after arrived. The 
 capture of the Cyane, the Levant, and the Penguin, took 
 place before the expiration of the time limited by the second 
 article of the treaty of peace. 
 
 The exploits of the privateers continued to rival those 
 of our national vessels. In one instance the enemy was 
 compelled to pay dearly for his disregard of the sanctuary 
 of a neutral port. The privateer Armstrong lay at anchor 
 in the harbor of Fayal, when a British squadron, consist- 
 ing of the Carnation, the Plantagenet, and the Rota, hove 
 in sight. Captain Reid, of the privateer, discovering, by 
 the light of the moon, that the enemy had put out his 
 barges, and was preparing to attack him, cleared for ac- 
 tion, and moved near the shore. Four boats, filled with 
 men, approached, and making no answer on being hailed, 
 a fire was opened upon them, which was returned; but 
 they soon called out for quat'ter, and were permitted to 
 haul off. They then prepared for a more formidable 
 attack. The privateer was now anchored within a cable's 
 length of the shore, and within pistol shot of the castle. 
 The next day they sent a fleet of boats, supported by the 
 Carnation, which stood before the harbor, to prevent the 
 escape of the privateer. At midnight, the boats approached 
 a second time, to the number of twelve or fourteen, manned 
 with several hundred men. They were suflered to approach 
 alongside of the privateer, and, without waiting an attack, 
 they were assailed with such astonishing fury, that, in forty 
 minutes, scarcely a man of them was left alive. During 
 these attacks, the shores were lined with the inhabitants, 
 who, from the brightness of the moon, had a full view of 
 the scene. The governor, with the first people of the 
 place, stood by and saw the whole affair. After the 
 second attack, the governor sent a note to the commander 
 of the Plantagenet, Captain Lloyd, requesting him to de- 
 sist, but was answered, that he was determined to have 
 the privateer at the risk of knocking down the town. 
 
THE PRIVATEER ARMSTRONG, 1814. 
 
 363 
 
 The American consul having communicated this infor- 
 mation to Captain Reid, he ordered his crew to save their 
 effects as fast as possible, and to carry the dead and 
 wounded on shore. At daylight the Carnation stood close 
 to the Armstrong, and commenced a heavy fire ; but, being 
 considerably cut up by the privateer, she hauled off to 
 repair. Captain Reid, now thinking it useless to protract 
 the contest, on her reappearance, scuttled his vessel, and 
 escaped to the shore. The British loss amounted to one 
 hundred and twenty killed, and one hundred and thirty 
 wounded; that of the Americans was only two killed 
 and seven wounded. Several houses in the town were 
 destroyed, and some of the inhabitants wounded. 
 
CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 War of 1812. — Negotiations for 'peace — Campaign on the Niagara — 
 Battles of Chifpnvay and Bridgewater — Affairs in the Chesapeake — 
 Capture of Washington — Attack on Baltimore — Affairs on the Cham- 
 plain frontier — Invasion of Prevost — Battle of Plattsburg and M'- 
 Donough\s victonj — Invasion of Louisiana — Battle of New Orleans — 
 Peace of Ghent, 
 
 During the course of the preceding events, the United 
 States had made every demonstration of a wish to put an 
 end 10 hostihties on reasonable terms. In these efforts they 
 were aided by the emperor of Russia, who, early in 1813, 
 offered his mediation between the two powers. The gov- 
 ernment of the United States acceded to this proposal, and 
 despatched three commissioners, Adams, Gallatin and Bay- 
 ard, to St. Petersburg, with power to conclude a treaty of 
 peace. This reasonable offer, however, was rejected by the 
 British cabinet, on the most frivolous grounds. 
 
 The campaign of 1814, on the Niagara frontier, did not 
 commence till the summer was far advanced, when a pretty 
 strong American force was concentrated at Black Rock. On 
 the 2d of July, a body of three thousand five hundred men, 
 commanded by General Brown, crossed the river and cap- 
 tured Fort Erie. A force of three thousand British, under 
 General Riall, was posted at Chippeway, in a very strong 
 position. Brown advanced against them on the 5th, and 
 a general engagement ensued on the plain in front of the 
 town". Both sides combatted with great obstinacy. Gen- 
 erals Ripley and Scott distinguished themselves at the 
 head of their respective corps. After many vicissitudes, in 
 which the tide of success fluctuated between the contend- 
 ing armies, the Americans followed up their attack so 
 fiercely that the British were repulsed at every point, and 
 
BATTLE OF CHIPPEWAY. 1814. 
 
 365 
 
 retreated slowly till near the town, when their retreat be- 
 came a confused and precipitate flight. They rallied, how- 
 ever, under the batteries of Chippeway, and night put an 
 end to the battle. The British suffered a loss in the battle 
 of Chippeway of four hundred and fifty- three killed and 
 
 '^v^^ 
 
 Battle of Chippeway. 
 
 wounded, with forty-six prisoners. The loss of the Amer- 
 icans, in killed, wounded and missing, was three hundred 
 and twenty-eight. The merit of this victory was much 
 augmented by the fact that the American troops were 
 mostly raw recruits, while the British were veterans who 
 had fought under Wellington. 
 
 Brown continued to advance upon the enemy, who drew 
 off" in the direction of Fort George. After much skirmish- 
 ing, the two armies met in battle at Bridge water, near the 
 falls of Niagara, on the 25th of July. The enemy occu- 
 pied an eminence well fortified, and defended by thrice the 
 number of men mustered by the Americans, while the 
 latter sustained the unequal conflict more than an hour, 
 
 when orders were given to advance^ and charge the enemy's 
 31% 
 
366 
 
 WAR OF 1812. 
 
 heights^ and break the British hne. But, the order being 
 countermanded, .the British pressed forward on the ninth 
 regiment, which, with wonderful firmness, withstood the 
 attack of their overwhelming numbers. The desperate 
 efforts of the troops led General Riall, the British com- 
 mander, to overrate the numbers to which he was opposed, 
 and he sent to General Drummond for reinforcements. 
 
 Battle of Bridge-water. 
 
 About this time an awful pause ensued between the two 
 armies ; for a time no sound broke upon the stillness of the 
 night, but the groans of the wounded, mingled with the 
 distant din of the cataract of Niagara. The shattered 
 regiments were consolidated into one brigade, and the 
 struggle continued with various manoeuvres. Captain 
 Ketclium had the good fortune to make prisoner of General 
 Riall, and of the aide of General Drummond ; the latter a 
 most fortunate circumstance, as it prevented the concen- 
 tration of the British force, contemplated by that officer, 
 before the Americans were prepared for his reception. 
 
 The enemy's artillery occupied a hill, which was the 
 
BATTLE OF BRIDGEWATER. 1S14. 367 
 
 key to the whole position, and it wonld be in vain to hope 
 for victory Avhile they were permitted to retain it. General 
 Ripley, addressing himself to Colonel Miller, inquired, 
 Mdiether he could storm the batteries at the head of the 
 twenty-first, while he would himself support him with the 
 younger regiment, the twenty-third. To this the wary 
 but intrepid veteran replied, in an unalfectcd phrase, "I 
 WILL TRY, SIR ;"^— words which were afterwards given as 
 the motto of his regiment. The batteries were immedi- 
 ately stormed, and carried at the point of the bayonet. 
 
 Disheartened by these repeated defeats, the British were 
 on the point of yielding the contest, when they received 
 fresh reinforcements from Fort Niagara, which revived 
 their spirits, and induced them to make another and still 
 more desperate struggle. A conflict, dreadful beyond de- 
 scription, ensued. The right and left repeatedly fell back, 
 but were again rallied. At length the two lines closed 
 with each otiier on the very summit of the hill, which they 
 contested with terrific violence at the point of tlie bayonet. 
 The British were completely beaten, and retired beyond 
 the borders of the field, leaving their dead and wounded. 
 The loss, on this occasion, was in proportion to the obsti- 
 nacy of the conflict, the Avhole being seventeen hundred and 
 twenty-nine; of which the British amounted to twenty- 
 seven more than the Americans. Generals Brown and 
 Scott were both wounded. The Americans now fell back 
 upon Fort Erie and extended its defences. Having been 
 reinforced by a thousand men, the enemy appeared before 
 Fort Erie on the 3d of August, and commenced with regu- 
 lar approaches. By the 7th, the defences were sufficient 
 to keep the enemy at bay. Until the 14th, the cannonade 
 was incessant, and the enemy gained ground, but in skir- 
 mishes the Americans were generally victorious. General 
 Gaines now commanded at Erie, and Colonel Drummond 
 was preparing to assail him. At half past two in the 
 morning of the loth, the attack was commenced by three 
 columns. On the second attempt, the British gained the 
 parapet, and the enemy received the orders of Colonel 
 Drummond, to '■'■give no quarter V The order was faith- 
 
368 WAR OF 1812. 
 
 fully executed, and a terrible strife ensued. Colonel Drum- 
 mond Avas killed, and the British were finally defeated. 
 Their loss in this assault was two hundred and twenty- 
 two killed, including fourteen officers of distinction, one 
 hundred and seventy-four wounded, and one hundred and 
 eiglity-six prisoners. The Americans lost seventeen killed, 
 fifty-six wounded, and ten prisoners. 
 
 Nothing further of particular importance took place until 
 September, when General Brown, observing that the enemy 
 had just completed a battery, which could open a most 
 destructive fire, the next day planned a sortie, which has 
 been considered a military chef-d'oeuvre. The British 
 force consisted of thi.-ee brigades, of one thousand five 
 hundred men each, one of which was stationed at the 
 works in front of Fort Erie; the other two occupied a camp 
 two miles in the rear. Their design was to storm the 
 batteries, destroy the cannon, and drive off" the besiegers. 
 Porter, Davis, Ripley and Miller took charge of this haz- 
 ardous enterprise, and, on the 17th, assaulted the enemy's 
 batteries with such fury, that, after a short conflict, the 
 works fell into the hands of the Americans. The cannon 
 were then spiked, the batteries demolished, and the Ameri- 
 cans returned to the fort with their prisoners, and the 
 trophies of this signal exploit. The American loss in this 
 affair was five hundred and eleven; that of the enemy 
 upwards of a thousand, besides their cannon. 
 
 \Vc now return to the war upon the coast. About the 
 middle of August, the British entered the Chesapeake with 
 a fleet of about sixty sail, including transports, under 
 Admiral Cockburn, and landed six thousand men at Bene- 
 dict, on the Patuxent, under the command of General 
 Ross. On the 22d, they reached the Wood-yard, twelve 
 miles from "Washington, where Commodore Barney caused 
 a large flotilla of gun-boats to be destroyed, to prevent their 
 falling into the hands of the enemy. On the 23d, the 
 British reached Bladensburgh, six miles from Washington, 
 where they dispersed the militia, after a short resistance, 
 and advanced to the city. Conmiodore Barney had assem- 
 bled a small force in defence of the capital, but lie was 
 
ATTACK ON BALTIMORE. 1814. 369 
 
 soon overpowered by numbers, wounded and taken pris- 
 oner, and the capital fell into the hands of the enemy. By 
 order of General Ross, the capitol, the president's house, 
 the executive offices, the navy-yard and the ships were 
 burnt. The enemy retired, on the night of the 25th, by 
 rapid marches, and regained their ships. 
 
 On the 1 1th of September, the British appeared at the 
 mouth of the Patapsco, about fourteen miles from Balti- 
 more, with a fleet of ships of war and transports, amount- 
 ing to fifty sail. On the next day, the land forces, to the 
 number of six thousand men, the veterans of Wellington, 
 debarked at North Point, and, under the command of Gen- 
 eral Ross, took up their march for the city. A body of three 
 thousand militia, under General Strieker, marched towards 
 North Point, to oppose the enemy. On the 12th, they 
 reached the head of Bear Creek, seven miles from the city, 
 where they halted, with the exception of the cavalry and 
 riflemen, who were pushed forward in advance of the en- 
 campment. The next morning information was received 
 that the enemy were debarking troops under cover of their 
 gun-vessels, which lay ofl: the blufl'at North Point, within 
 the mouth of the Patapsco river. The baggage was im- 
 mediately ordered back under a strong guard, and disposi- 
 tions were made to receive the enemy. A detachment was 
 ordered to advance, which had scarcely proceeded half a 
 mile, when they came in contact with the main body of 
 the enemy. A sharp skirmish ensued, in which several of 
 the Americans were killed and wounded, but not unre- 
 venged, for in this aflair the enemy lost their commander- 
 in-chief. General Ross. This officer had imprudently 
 proceeded too far, for the purpose of reconnoitring, when 
 he was killed by one of the company of Captain Howard, 
 who was in the advance. 
 
 After the death of Ross, the command devolved on 
 Colonel Brook, who continued to push forward, notwith- 
 standing this occurrence. The American detachment fell 
 back; the enemy commenced throwing rockets, which did 
 no injury ; and immediately the American artillery opened 
 their fire upon them. The enemy's right column now dis- 
 
370 WAR OF 1812. 
 
 played, and advanced. Unfortunately, at this juncture, 
 an American regiment, from some sudden panic, after 
 giving a random fire, broke and retreated in such confusion 
 as rendered it impossible to rally it, and occasioned much 
 disorder. The fire by this time became general, from right 
 to left; the artillery poured an incessant and destructive 
 stream upon the enemy's left column, which endeavored 
 to shelter itself behind a log house, but this was instantly 
 in a blaze. 
 
 About ten minutes past three, the British line came on 
 with a rapid discharge of musketry. The fire was inces- 
 sant, until about twenty-five minutes before four o'clock, 
 during which time General Strieker gallantly contended 
 against four times his numbers ; but, finding that the une- 
 qual contest could be maintained no longer, and that the 
 enemy was about to outflank him, he was compelled to 
 retire upon his reserve, which he efiected in good order. 
 
 In the mean time, the naval attack on Fort M' Henry 
 had already commenced from five British bomb vessels, at 
 the distance of two miles ; when, finding themselves suffi- 
 ciently near, they anchored, and kept up an incessant 
 bombardment. A tremendous fire was opened from the 
 fort, which compelled them, precipitately, to gain their 
 former position. The bombardment was kept up during 
 the whole day and night. The city of Baltimore, thus 
 assailed on both sides, awaited the result with death-like 
 silence, and yet no eye was closed in sleep. 
 
 By the next morning the bombardment ceased, after 
 upwards of fifteen hundred shells bad been thrown, a 
 large portion of which burst over the fort, and scattered 
 their fragments amongst its defenders. The enemy, not 
 willing to abide such rough handling, retreated under cover 
 of a dark and stormy night, and, in the morning, General 
 Winder was detached in pursuit ; but the time which had 
 elapsed was suflicient for embarkation, and the rear could 
 not be cut off. The next day the fleet descended the bay, 
 to the great joy of the inhabitants of Baltimore. 
 
 We shall now return to the operations on the northern 
 frontier. About the 1st of September, Sir George Prevost 
 
WAR ON THE CHAMPLAIN FRONTIER. 1S14. 371 
 
 led his army to Plattsburg, while the fleet proceeded up 
 lake Champlaiii on his left, to make a simultaneous attack 
 by land and water. The peace in Europe permitted the 
 English government to transport large bodies of troops, and 
 they had already sent on a considerable arm}- to Canada. 
 Fourteen thousand of these were organized, under Prevost, 
 and the remainder were sent to oppose General Brown, on 
 the Niagara. To oppose this overwhelming force. General 
 Macomb, the American commander in the north, had but 
 fifteen hundred regulars, including new recruits and inva- 
 lids. The works were in no state of defence, and the stores 
 and ordnance were in great disorder. The British took 
 possession of Champlain, on the 3d of September, and, 
 from the proclamations and impressments of wagons and 
 teams in this vicinity, it was soon • discovered that their 
 object was an attack on Plattsburg. Not a moment was 
 to be lost in placing the works in a state of defence. Ma- 
 comb called on General Mooers for the New York militia. 
 Mooers collected about seven hundred ; and small detach- 
 ments were posted so as to watch and harass the enemy, 
 who continued to advance till they reached Plattsburg, 
 which is situated on the northeast side of the Saranac, near 
 its entrance into lake Champlain, directly opposite the 
 American works. The town was, of course, abandoned, 
 and occupied by the British. Attempts were made to take 
 possession of the bridge, but it was resolutely guarded by 
 the Americans. When our troops had passed the bridge, 
 the planks were raised, and used for a breastwork. The 
 enemy, now masters of the village, instead of attempting 
 to carry the American works on the opposite side of the 
 river, which their vast superiority of force might have 
 enabled them to do, contented themselves with erecting 
 works, whence they continued to annoy the Americans, 
 and constantly skirmishing at the bridges and fords. By 
 the 11th, the fifth day of the siege, a considerable force of 
 New York and Vermont militia, which had been continu- 
 ally collecting, lined the Saranac, and repelled the attempts 
 of the British to cross, while, at the same time, a conside- 
 rable body was sent to harass their rear. There was 
 
372 
 
 WAR OF 1812. 
 
 scarcely an intermission to the skirmishes which took place 
 between them and the militia, who acted, after the first 
 day, with great intrepidity. 
 
 The principal cause of delay, which was fortunate for 
 the Americans, was the momentary expectation of the 
 British fleet, which was intended to cooperate. On the 
 morning of the 11th, at eight o'clock, the look-out boat of 
 Commodore M'Donough announced its approach. It con- 
 sisted of the Confiance, carrying thirty-nine guns, twenty- 
 seven of which were twenty-four pounders; the brig Lin- 
 net, of sixteen guns ; the sloops Chub and Finch, each 
 carrying eleven guns ; thirteen galleys, five of which car- 
 ried two, and the remainder one gun. M'Donough, at this 
 moment, lay at anchor in Plattsburg bay. His fleet con- 
 sisted of the Saratoga, of twenty-six guns ; the Eagle, of 
 twenty ; the Ticonderoga, of seventeen, the Preble, seven : 
 
 Battle of Plattsburg. 
 
 and ten galleys. Besides the advantage which the enemy 
 possessed in being able to choose their position, their force 
 was much superior. The number of guns in the British 
 
BATTLE ON LAKE CHAMPLAIN. 1814. 373 
 
 fleet amounted to ninety-five, and of men to upwards of a 
 thousand; while that of the Americans was eighty-six, 
 and the number of men less by two hundred. The Amer- 
 ican vessels were moored in line, with five gun-boats and 
 galleys on each flank. At nine o'clock, the British an- 
 chored in line, abreast of the American squadron, at about 
 three hundred yards distance. 
 
 In this situation the whole force on both sides became 
 engaged ; and, at the same moment, the contest commenced 
 between Macomb and Prevost. One of the British sloops 
 was soon thrown out of the engagement, by running on a 
 reef of rocks, while one division of the enemy's galleys 
 was so roughly handled as to be compelled to pull out of 
 the way. The American commodore maintained the une- 
 qual contest for two hours ; but the greater weight of the 
 enemy's battery seemed to incline the scale of victory, 
 although he suffered prodigiously. The chances against 
 the Saratoga were accidentally increased by the commander 
 of the Eagle, who, not being able to bring his guns to bear 
 as he wished, cut his cable, and anchored between the 
 Ticonderoga and Saratoga, by which this vessel was ex- 
 posed to a galling fire from the enemy's brig. The guns 
 on the starboard side had by this time been either dis- 
 mounted or become unmanageable. The situation of the 
 enemy was but little better. To both, the fortune of the 
 day depended on the execution of one of the most difficult 
 naval manoeuvres — to wind their vessel round, and bring 
 a new broadside to bear. The Confiance essayed it in 
 vain, but the eftbrts of the Saratoga were successful. A 
 stern anchor was let go, the bower cable cut, and the ship 
 winded with a fresh broadside on the frigate, which soon 
 after surrendered. A broadside was then brought to bear 
 on the brig, which surrendered in fifteen minutes after. 
 The sloop opposed to the Eagle had struck to Captain 
 Henley some time before, and drifted down the line. Three 
 of the galleys were sunk, the others escaped ; all the rest 
 of the fleet surrendered. By the time this bloody contest 
 was over, there Avas scarcely a mast in either squadron 
 capable of bearing a sail, and the greater part of the ves- 
 32 
 
374 WAR OF 1812. 
 
 sels in a sinking state. There were fifty round shot in the 
 hull of the Saratoga, and in the Confiance one hundred 
 and five. The Saratoga was twice set on fire by hot shot. 
 The action lasted two hours and twenty minutes. Captain 
 Downie, the commander of the Confiance, was killed. The 
 total loss in the American squadron amounted to fifty-two 
 killed and fifty-eight wounded. The loss of the enemy 
 was eighty-four killed, one hundred and ten wounded, and 
 eight hundred and fifty-six prisoners, which actually ex- 
 ceeded the number of their captors. 
 
 This engagement, so deeply interesting to the two rival 
 nations, took place in sight of the hostile armies. But they 
 were by no means quiet spectators of the scene ; a hot 
 engagement was kept up during the whole time ; the air 
 was filled with bombs, rockets, shrapnels, and hot balls. 
 Three desperate etforts were made, by the British, to cross 
 over and storm the American works, in which they were 
 as often repulsed, with considerable loss. An attempt to 
 force the bridge was bravely defeated. The British 
 attempted a ford about three miles above, but were so 
 briskly assailed by a body of volunteers and militia posted 
 in a wood, that the greater part of the detachment was cut 
 to pieces. The efforts of the enemy naturally relaxed, after 
 witnessing the painful sight, so little expected, of the entire 
 capture of their fleet. The firing was, however, kept up 
 until night. At night the enemy withdrew their artillery, 
 and raised the siege. The plans of Prevost were com- 
 pletely frustrated. Under the cover of the night, he sent 
 off all his baggage and artillery for which he found means 
 of transportation ; and, before day the next morning, his 
 whole force precipitately retreated, leaving behind their 
 sick and wounded. Vast quantities of military stores and 
 munitions of war were abandoned by them, and still 
 greater quantities were afterwards found hid in marshes, 
 or buried in the ground. They were hotly pursued ; a 
 number of stragglers were picked up, and upwards of five 
 hundred deserters came in. 
 
 Thus was this portentous invasion most happily repelled, 
 and another of our inland seas made glorious by the vie- 
 
WAR IN THE SOUTH. — 1814. 375 
 
 tories of free Americans. Meantime, negotiations for peace 
 were going on in Europe, but the British demanded a large 
 portion of territory, and a total relinquishment of the lake- 
 shores, as a sine qua von. To these conditions it is evident 
 our government could not accede, and the negotiations were 
 broken off. 
 
 About this time, a convention, composed of delegates 
 from several of the New England states, met at Hartford, 
 the members of which were hostile to the war. This step 
 occasioned much excitement, and was the subject of many 
 speculations. It was charged with the design of sundering 
 the union of the states ; but, after a brief session, terminated 
 in an address and remonstrance, or petition to congress, 
 enumerating several objections to the federal constitution. 
 It was presented to several states for approbation, but was 
 uniformly rejected. 
 
 The public attention was next awakened by a most 
 alarming state of affairs to the southward. The Creek 
 war was renewed, and a powerful invasion of Louisiana 
 was threatened. General Jackson, after concluding a 
 treaty with the Creeks, moved his head quarters to Mobile. 
 Here, about the latter end of August, he received certain 
 information that three British ships of war had arrived at 
 Pensacola, and that thirteen ships of the line, with trans- 
 ports, were daily expected, with ten thousand troops, for 
 the purpose of invading some of the southern states. On 
 the receipt of this information, he immediately wrote to 
 the governor of Tennessee, calling for the whole quota of 
 that state. 
 
 On the 15th of September, three vessels of war, from 
 Pensacola, appeared before Fort Bowyer, which commands 
 the entrance to Mobile Bay. A proclamation was issued 
 by Colonel Nichols, commanding his majesty's forces in 
 Florida, addressed to the inhabitants of Louisiana, Ken- 
 tucky and Tennessee, inviting them to aid the British. 
 He likewise made a proposition to the pirates of Barataria. 
 This nest of desperadoes amounted to five or six hundred, 
 and their commander, Lafitte. had been outlawed by the 
 American government. Lafitte rejected the British offer. 
 
376 WAR OF 1812. 
 
 and, on a pardon being offered him by the governor of 
 Louisiana, he joined the Americans. 
 
 Jackson, finding the governor of Pensacola affording as- 
 sistance to the British, marched to the attack of the place. 
 Pensacola was taken on the 7th of November. The com- 
 mandant of the fort evacuated it witli his troops just as 
 the Americans were preparing to make a furious assault. 
 The British withdrew their shipping, and Jackson, having 
 accomplished his purpose, returned to Mobile. Hearing 
 of the danger of New Orleans, he next repaired thither for 
 its defence, and arrived on the 2d of December. He put 
 in requisition all the powers of his mind, and took the 
 most active measures to prevent the effects of an expected 
 invasion. Batteries were constructed in important situa- 
 tions, and every obstruction put in the way of the invaders. 
 
 About the 5th of December, certain intelligence was 
 received that the British fleet, consisting of at least sixty 
 sail, was off the coast. Commodore Patterson immediately 
 despatched five gun-boats, under the command of Lieuten- 
 ant Jones, to watch the motions of the enemy. On the 
 14th, the gun-boats, while becalmed, were attacked by 
 nearly forty barges and twelve hundred men, and, after a 
 contest of an hour with this overwhelming force, the 
 flotilla surrendered. 
 
 By a variety of manoeuvres the British continued to ad- 
 vance till they reached the bank of the Mississippi, eight 
 or ten miles below New Orleans. Here General Jackson 
 had constructed his chief defence, consisting of a breast- 
 work extending from the river on his right to a cypress 
 swamp on his left. To hasten the construction of these 
 works, cotton bags were used, as the cheeks of the em- 
 brasures. As the enemy was still annoyed by the schooner 
 Caroline, which lay in the Mississippi, they set to work in 
 constructing batteries to attack her, and, on the 27th of 
 December, threw hot shot, by which she was set on fire 
 and blown up, about an hour after she was abandoned by 
 her crew. The Louisiana then took her station. On the 
 28th, the British advanced up the levee in force, with the 
 intention of driving Jackson from his entrenchments, and, 
 
BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS, 1815. 377 
 
 at the distance of half a mile, commenced an attack with 
 rockets, bombs, and a heavy cannonade, as he approached 
 the American works, which were yet unfinished. The 
 Louisiana, discharging her broadside upon the enemy's 
 column, caused great destruction i the fire from the Amer- 
 ican batteries was not less destructive ; and, after a violent 
 struggle of seven hours, the British retired. 
 
 The British force amounted to little short of fifteen 
 thousand of the finest troops ; that of the Americans to 
 about six thousand, chiefly raw militia. The British now 
 prepared for a serious attempt on the American works. 
 With great labor, they had completed, by the 7th, a canal 
 from the swamp to the Mississippi, by which they were 
 enabled to transport a number of boats to the river. It 
 was their intention to make a simultaneous attack on the 
 main force of General Jackson on the left bank, and, cross- 
 ing the river, to attack the batteries on the riglik The 
 works of the Americans were by this time completed. The 
 front was a straight line of one thousand yards, defended 
 by upwards of three thousand infantry and artillerists. 
 The ditch contained five feet water, and its front, from 
 having been Hooded by opening the levees, and frequent 
 rains, was rendered slippery and muddy. Eight distinct 
 batteries were judiciously disposed, mounting, in all, twelve 
 guns, of different calibre. On the opposite side of the 
 river there was a strong battery of fifteen guns, and the 
 entrenchments were occupied by the Louisiana militia and 
 Kentucky troops. The British commander, having made 
 every preparation for an attack, on the morning of the 8th 
 of January detached Colonel Thornton, with a considera- 
 ble force, to attack the works on the riglit bank of the 
 river. He then moved, with his whole force, exceeding 
 twelve thousand men, in two divisions, under Major Gen- 
 erals Gibbs and Keane, and a reserve under General 
 Lambert. The first of these ofiicers was to make the 
 principal attack ; the two columns were supplied with 
 scaling ladders and fascines. The British deliberately 
 advanced in solid columns, over an even plain, in front of 
 the American entrenchments ; the men carrying, besides 
 32* 
 
378 
 
 WAR OF 1812. 
 
 their muskets, fascines, and some of them ladders. A dead 
 silence prevailed until they approached within reach of the 
 batteries, which commenced an incessant and destructive 
 cannonade; they, notwithstanding, continued to advance 
 in tolerable order, closing up their ranks as fast as they 
 were opened by the fire of the Americans. When they 
 came within reach of the musketry and rifles, these joined 
 with the artillery, and produced such dreadful havoc that 
 they were instantly thrown into confusion. Never was 
 there so tremendous a fire as that kept up from the Amer- 
 ican lines ; it was a continued stream ; those behind load- 
 
 B attic of New Orleans. 
 
 ing for the men in front, enabling them to fire with scarcely 
 an intermission. The British columns were literally swept 
 away; hundreds fell at every discharge. The British 
 officers were now making an eflbrt to rally their men, and, 
 in this attempt, their commander. Sir Edward Packen- 
 ham, was killed. 
 
 The two generals, Gibbsand Keane, succeeded in push- 
 ing forward their columns a second time : but the second 
 
BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS. 1815. 379 
 
 approach was more fatal than the first; the continued 
 rolling fire of the Americans resembled peals of thunder. 
 It was such as no troops could withstand. The advancing 
 columns broke, and no effort to rally them could avail ; a 
 few platoons only advanced to the edge of the ditch, to 
 meet a more certain destruction. An unavailing attempt 
 was made to rally them a third time, by their officers, 
 whose gallantry, on this occasion, deserved a better fate, 
 in a better cause. Generals Gibbs and Keane were carried 
 away, severely wounded, the former mortally. The plain 
 between the front of the British and the American lines 
 was strewed with dead. So dreadful a carnage, consider- 
 ing the length of time and the numbers engaged, was, 
 perhaps, never witnessed. Two thousand, at the lowest 
 estimate, fell by the American shot. The loss of the 
 Americans did not exceed seven killed and six wounded. 
 General Lambert was the only general officer left upon 
 the field ; being unable to check the flight of the British 
 columns, he retired to his encampment. 
 
 In the mean time, the detachment under Colonel Thorn- 
 ton succeeded in landing on the right bank, and imme- 
 diately attacked the intrenchment. The American right, 
 believing itself outflanked, abandoned its position, while 
 the left maintained its ground for some time ; but, finding 
 itself deserted by those on the right, and being outnum- 
 bered by the enemy, they spiked their guns and retired. 
 But the British, seeing the fate of the assault on the left 
 bank, immediately recrossed the river. 
 
 During the night of the 8th, the British abandoned 
 their camp and retreated precipitately. From the nature 
 of the country, it was found impossible to pursue them. 
 Their loss in this fatal expedition was immense ; besides 
 their generals, and a number of valuable officers, their 
 force was diminished by at least five thousand men. They 
 made all possible haste to their fleet, reembarked, and 
 abandoned the country. The glorious defence of New 
 Orleans produced the most lively joy throughout the United 
 States, and was creditable in the highest degree to General 
 Jackson and his brave troops. The courage of the Amer- 
 
380 WAR OF 1812. 
 
 ican militia and the skill of their officers have seldom 
 been crowned with such brilliant success. 
 
 But the war was now drawing to a close. The pacifica- 
 tion of Europe, consequent on the downfall of Napoleon, 
 had removed the main grievances which had led to hos- 
 tilities — namely, the impressment of seamen and illegal 
 blockades. A negotiation was opened at Ghent, in the 
 Netherlands, toward the end of 1814, between the Amer- 
 ican commissioners, J. Q. Adams, Bayard, Clay, Russell, 
 and Gallatin, and the British commissioners, Gambier, 
 Goulburn, and Adam. On the 24th of December, 1814, 
 a treaty of peace was signed. It was immediately ratified 
 by the prince regent; and, on the 18th of February, 1815, 
 it was ratified by the senate of the United States. This 
 happy event gave satisfaction to all parties, and was wel- 
 comed by expressions of the greatest joy on both sides of 
 the Atlantic. The war had left the United States deeply 
 in debt, and commerce had suffered largely. But the 
 honor of the country had been vindicated, and a national 
 spirit aroused throughout the land. At the close of the 
 contest the United States stood higher than ever in repu- 
 tation abroad, and took a high rank among the naval 
 powers of the world.