i*iS'n;iyy":«;i'''i' ' YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMEEICA, WxQtoDtx^ of tl)e Continent TO THE ORGANIZATION OP GOVERNMENT UNDER THB FEDERAL CONSTITUTION. BY RICHARD HILDRETH. IN THREE VOIUMES. VOL. III. ^. NEW YORK: HARPER & BROTHERS, P U B L I I^E¥s7 " 82 CLIFF STREET. 1849. Entered, according to Act of Confess, in the year one thousand eight hundred and forty-nine, by Harper & Bsotioirs, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Southern District of New York. CONTENTS OF THE THIRD VOLUME. [A complete Analytical Index will be found at the end of the volume.] CHAPTEU XXX. ATTEMPT TO COLLECT THE TAX ON TEA. BOSTON PORT BILL. ACT FOR REGULATING THE GOVERNMENT OF MASSACHUSETTS. CONTINENTAL CONGRESS. AMERI CAN ASSOCIATION. PROVINCIAL CONGRESS OF MASSA-. CHUSETTS ASSUMES THE GOVERNMENT AND PRE- PARESFOR WAR. INDIAN HOSTILITIES ON THE WEST ERN FRONTIER. Page NuUiiication of the Tea Tax 25 Ministerial Arrangement with the East India Company ... 25 Puhlic Meeting in Philadelphia 26 Proceedings in Boston ; Tea destroyed 26 Proceedings at New York and Philadelphia 30 Fourth Boston Tea Vessel ; more Tea destroyed 30 Judges' Salaries in Massachusetts ...» 30 Tea at New York and Charleston 31 Hearing on the Petition for Hutchinson's Removal 32 Proceedings of Parliament 32 Gage Governor of Massachusetts ; Boston Town Meeting , . 34 Responses ; Continental Congress proposed 34 Proceedings and Dissolution of the Massachusetts General Court 35 Solemn League and Covenant 37 Sympathy for Boston ; Arrival of Troops ; Addressers 37 Appointment of Delegates to the Continental Congress .... 38 Mandamus Counselors ; Tumult at Cambridge ; SufTolk Resolves 40 Continental Congress meets 42 III.— A ii CONTENTS. Page Declaration of Colonial Rights 43^ American Association ; Petitions and Addresses 44 Secret History of the Congress 45 M[assachusetts Provincial Congress . 46 War with the Ohio Indians ; Speech of Logan 49 Resolutions of the Virginia Officers 50 Creeks and Cherokees . . .> 51 Enforcement of the Association; Connecticut 51 Third Session of the Massachusetts Congress ; Minute Men 51 Seizure of Cannon and Stores 52 Maryland ; Pennsylvania ; South Carolina 53 New Hampshire ; New Jersey ; Pennsylvania Convention ; Quakers 64 Congregationalists ; Presbyterians ; Episcopalians 55 New York ; Georgia 56 CHAPTER XXXL VIEWS AND MEASURES OF THE BRITISH MINISTRY AND PARLIAMENT. BATTLE OF LEXINGTON. BLOCKADE OF BOSTON. CONTINENTAL CONGRESS REASSEMBLES. CONTINENTAL ARMY. CONTINENTAL PAPER MONEY. DOWNFALL OF BRITISH AUTHORITY IN THE COLONIES. TRANSYLVANIA. Views of the Ministry ; Tucker's Proposition 57 New Parliament ; Opposition to the ministerial Policy .... 59 Proceedings of ParUament ; Chatham's Scheme of Concilia tion 61 New England restraining Bill ; Declaration of Rebellion . . 61 North's conciliatory Proposition ; attempted Negotiation ... 62 Supplementary restraining Bill ; Petitions 63 Motions of Burke and Hartley ; London Remonstrance .... 64 Ireland ; New York Petition gg Sewall, Adams, and Ruggles 65 Second Massachusetts Congress ; Gerry ; Expedition to Salem 66 Steps toward raising a New England Army 67 Expedition to Concord ; Battle of Lexington 67 CONTENTS. iii Page Blockade of Boston ; Massachusetts Army 69 Paper Money ; Address to the People of Great Britain .... 69 Rhode Island Army ; Nathaniel Greene ^ 70 Connecticut Army ; New Hampshire Volunteers 70 Connecticut Mediation ; Gage declared a public Enemy ... 71 Provincial Convention in New York ; Association 71 ~ Pennsylvania Volunteers ; Committee of Safety 72 Delaware and Maryland ; Henry's March on Williamsburg 73 North Carolina ; Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence 73 Ticonderoga and Crown Point ; _ Vermont 74 Capture of Ticonderoga, Crown Point, and St. John's 74 New Hampshire Army -. 76 Provincial Congress in New Jersey 76 Continental Congress reassembles ; its Proceedings 76 Provincial Congress in New York '. 78 Continental Army ; Officers appointed 80 Battle of Bunker HiU ; Death of Warren 82 Washington assumes the Command ; Riflemen 85 Bills of Credit ; Declaration of the causes of taking up Arms . 87 Petition to the King ; Addresses •. . .: 87 Indian Commissioners ; Post-office ; Hospital 88 Treasurers ; Liability for the Bills of Credit 89 Massachusetts ; Rhode Island and Connecticut 89 New Hampshire ; Flight of Wentworth 90 New York ; Northern Military Department 90 ColUsion with the Asia ; Alexander Hamilton 91 New York Committee of Safety ; Flight of Tryon 91 New Jersey ; Maryland ; Virginia ; Flight of Dunmore. . . 92 North Carolina ; Flight of Martin 93 South Carolina ; Flight of Campbell 93 Georgia adopts the Association 9-5 Report on Lord North's conciliatory Proposition 95 Obstacles to the Subjection of the Colonies by Force ... . 96 Transylvama IV CONTENTS. CHAPTER. XXXII. THIRTEEN UNITED COLONIES. CAMP BEFORE BOSTON. CONTINENTAL NAVY. INVASION OF CANADA. RE -EN LISTMENT OF THE ARMY. PROCEEDINGS OF PARLIA' MENT. AFFAIRS OF NEW YORK AND THE SOUTH. Page Thirteen United Colonies 99 Scarcity of Powder ; Treachery of Church 99 British Depredations; Naval Afiairs 100 Rhode Island ; Loyalists suppressed 102 Invasion of Canada ; Allen taken Prisoner 102 Chpture of St. John's and Montreal 103 Advance upon Quebec ; unsuccessful Assault 104 Camp before Boston ; Re-enlistment of the Army 107 Washington's Embarrassments ; Ma^animity of Colonel Whitcombe 108 Northern Army ; other Troops 109 Proclamation and counter Proclamation . 109 Secret Committee for Foreign Affiiirs ; Paper Money 110 Resignation of British Officers ; Howe Commander-in-chief 110 Parliamentary Proceedings Ill The British in Boston 113 Affiiirs of New York ; Rivington's Press 113 Tioops from Connecticut; Long Island Tories disarmed. . . 114 Loyalists of Tryon County 115 Dunmore's Operations against Virginia 116 Loyalists' Insurrection in North Carolma 118 G«orgia ; Flight of Governor Wright 120 CHAPTER XXXIII. RECOVERY OF BOSTON. AMERICAN ARMY DRIVEN OUT OF CANADA. DEFENSE OF CHARLESTON. DECLARA- , TION OF INDEPENDENCE. The British driven from Boston 121 Treasury ; Continental Fleet 123 New General Officers ; Northern Army. 123 Ideas of Independence ; Advice to New Hampshire 124 CONTENTS. ,^ Paie Hesitation of Pennsylvania and New Jersey 125 Maryland Instructions ; Common Sense 126 New Hampshire assumes Government 126 Retreat of the Northern Army; Affair of the Cedars 127 Battle of Three Rivers ; Canada abandoned ; Nova Scotia 128 South CaroUna assumes Government ; Defense of Charleston 1 29 Ideas of Independence ; British Vessels declared lawful Prize 130 Commercial Regulations ; Agent sent to France 131 Increasing Inclination for Independence 131 Adams's Resolution ; Virginia Instructions 132 Adams's Resolution in Pennsylvania 132 Hesitation of Maryland ; Departure of Eden 132 Massachusetts Instructions 133 Independence proposed in Congress; Debates 133 Board of War; Virginia assumes Government 134 Question of Independence in New York and Pennsylvania . 135 In New Jersey; Governor Franklin imprisoned 135 In Maryland ; Independence declared .- 136 Ratified by New York ; Pennsylvania Convention 137 Tories ; Change in their Position 137 Plan of Confederation 139 CHAPTER XXXIV. DEFENSE OF NEW YORK. NAVAL OPERATIONS ON LAKE CHAMPLAIN. LOSS OF NEW YORK. RETREAT THROUGH THE JERSEYS. NEWPORT OCCUPIED BY THE BRITISH. CHEROKEE WAR. KENTUCKY. City of New York ; Plot against Washington 140 Washington's Army ; Flying Camp 140 Defense of New York ; Proclamation of Independence .... 141 British Army arrives; the Howes as Commissioners 142 Affairs of the Northern Department 143 Struggle for the Command of Lake Champlain 144 The British retire to Canada 145 Re-enforcements to Washington ; Promotions 146 Sectional Jealousies 147 British Re-enforcements ; the Hudson reconnoitered 148 vi CONTENTS. Pago Battle of Long Island 148 Camp on Harlem Heights ; Nathan Hale 150 I^egotiation with Congress 151 Proclamation of the Howes; Enlistment of Loyalists 152 British land on York Island ; the City evacuated 152 Great Fire in New York; Camp at Harlem Heights 152 Battle of White Plains .' . 154 Washington crosses the Hudson 154 Loss of Fort Washington ; Fort Lee abandoned 155 Sittings of the New York Convention. 156 Diminution of Washington's Army, ; Retreat . . ; 156 State Governments of New Jersey and Pennsylvania 157 Excitement at Philadelphia ; Washington crosses the Dela ware ; 158 Lee taken Prisoner ; Troops from the Northern Army .... 159 Newport occupied by the British 159 New Proclamation by the Howes ' 160 Congress adjourns to Baltimore 160 State Governments of Maryland and Delaware 161 British Cantonments 161 Cherokee War ; Kentucky 161 CHAPTER XXXV. ENLISTMENT OF A PERMANENT ARMY. RECOVERY OF THE JERSEYS. EXCHANGE OF PRISONERS. NAVAL WARFARE. FOREIGN TRADE. NEGOTIATIONS ABROAD. DECLINING CREDIT OF THE PAPER MONEY. STATE GOVERNMENTS. Reorganization of the Army : 164 Great Powers conferred on Washington 165 Battle of Trenton; Washington occupies Trenton 166 Battle of Princeton 168 Washington retires to Morristown 169 Military Plundering; Washington's Proclamations 170 Winter Quarters at Morristown ; Reputation of Washington 171 Exercise of his extraordinary Powers 172 Medical Department ; new General Officers 172 CONTENTS. yji Page Cavalry ; Pickering Adjutant General. 173 Quarter-master and Commissary Departments 174 Exchange of Prisoners ; Case of Lee ?. . 174 111 treatment of American Prisoners 175 Policy of Congress as to Exchanges 175 Naval Affairs ; Privateering ; Trade ; National Flag ..... 175 Relations with France ; Beaumarchais 177 Commissioners to France 178 Commissioners to other Courts 180 Paper Money — its Depreciation ; Loan ; Lottery ^81 Attempts at regulating Prices and sustainilTg the Paper ... 181 Loan Offices ; new Issues of Paper 182 Constitution of North Carolina ; Land Office 183 Organization of the new Government of Pennsylvania .... 183 New Jersey ; American Refugees in New York 184 Constitution of New York; Georgia,; Congress . 184 CHAPTER XXXVI. DETERMINATION OF THE MOTHER COUNTRY TO SUBDUE THE COLONIES BY FORCE. FIRST MOVEMENTS OF THE CAMPAIGN. FOREIGN OFFICERS. LA FAYETTE. EXPEDITION AND SURRENDER OF BURGOYNE. Proceedings of Parliament 186 Difficulties of recruiting ; Loyalist Recruits 187 Expedition up the Hudson ; Action at Boundbrook 187 Battle of Danbury 188 Meigs's Expedition to Long Island ; Capture of Prescott. . . 188 Northern Army ; negro Recruits ; indented Servants 189 Uncertainty as to the Movements of the British 190 Washington at Middlebrook 190 Howe attempts to Force an Engagement 190 Embarks his Army 191 Doubts and Movements of Washington 191 Foreign Officers ; Jealousy as to Rank 192 Engineer Officers ; Pulaski ; La Fayette 193 Expedition to Staten Island ; Arrest of Quakers and others 195 Northern Department ; Invasion by Burgoyne 196 viii CONTENTS. Page Indian Allies ; Proclamation; Ticonderoga taken 197 Loss of Skenesborough and Fort Anne 198 St. Clair's Retreat ; Battle of Hubberton 198 Impediments to the' Advance of the British 199 Alarm and Dissatisfaction ; Schuyler recalled 19& Proclamations ; Affairs of Vermont 200 The British reach the Hudson ; Schuyler retreats 201 Siege of Fort Schuyler ; Arnold sent to reheve it 201 Movements of the British ; Detachment under Baum 202 Langdon and Stark ; Battle. of Bennington 203 Gates assumes the Command ; Jenny M'Rea 204 Fort Schuyler relieved ; the Six Nations 206 Gates at Behmus's Heights ; first Battle 205 Stark ; the MiUtia in Burgoyiie's Rear 208 Change of Circumstances in the American Camp 208 Second Battle of Behmus's Heights ; Skirmishes 209 Retreat of Burgoyne ; he offers to capitulate 211 Loss of the Posts in the Highlands 212 Capitulation of Burgoyne 214 The British evacuate the Highlands 214 Gates's Reputation ; Wilkinson ; Schuyler 215 CHAPTER XXXVII. LOSS OF PHILADELPHIA. WINTER QUARTERS AT VAL LEY FORGE. INCREASING DEPRECIATION OF THE PA PER MONEY. FINANCIAL EXPEDIENTS. CABAL AGAINST WASHINGTON. DETENTION OF BURGOYNe's TROOPS. Howe ascends the Chesapeake 216 Lands at the Head of Elk and marches on Philadelphia. . . 216 Circumstances of Washington ; his Force 217 Battle of Brandy wine ; Affairs of Delaware 218 A second Battle prevented ; Wayne surprised- 220 Philadelphia abandoned ; Washington's extraordinary Powers 221 The British occupy Philadelphia ; Duche.; Galloway 221 American Forts on the Delaware 222 Battle of Germantown ; Re-enforcements 223 Resolution to hold the Posts on the Delaware 224 CONTENTS. -^ Page Defense of Red Bank 225 The Ameiricans driven from the Delaware 225 Aid demanded from the Northern Department 226 Attack on Philadelphia proposed, but abandoned 226 Prdceedings of Congress ; Finances 226 Regulation of Prices; Springfield Convention 227 sil^commendations of Congress — first Requisition 228 'Confiscations ; Provincial Bills to be caUed in 228 Seizures of army Supphes ; Restrictions on Trade 229 Expenditures ; Howe's Winter Q^arters 230 American Encampment at Valley Forge . 230 Distress of the Army _. 231 New Haven Convention ; Pennsylvania Laws 232 Cabal against Washington 232 Its total Failure , 236 Conway ; Gates ; Miffiin . . . . ^ 236 Detention of Burgoyne's Army'. 237 CHAPTER XXXVIII. EFFECTS IN ENGLAND OF BURGOYNE's SURRENDER. RE SULTS OF THE WAR THUS FAR. ALLIANCE BETWEEN FRANCE AND THE UNITED STATES. BRITISH COMMIS SIONERS FOR CONCILIATION. RECOVERY OF PHILADEL PHIA. UNSUCCESSFUL ATTACK ON NEWPORT. RAPID DECLINE OF THE PAPER MONEY. EXECUTIONS AT PHILADELPHIA. WAR ON THE FRONTIER. Effects in England of Burgoyne's Surrender 238 New Regiments ; Relief of American Prisoners 238 Proceedings of Parliament ; new Scheme of Conciliation . . 239 Results of the War to England ; to America 240 Small Success of the British ; Loyalist Corps 243 Reorganization of the American Army 243 '¦Earge Issues of Paper ; Depreciation ; Half Pay promised . 244 Resolution of Congress on the Scheme of Conciliation 245 Treaties with France ; their Reception in America 246 Determination of England to continue the War 247 Burgoyne and Howe ; Clinton Commander-in-chief 247 X CONTENTS. Page Foraging Parties ; Washington's Army 248 La Fayette at Barren Hill 248 Commissioners for Conciliation 248 Philadelphia evacuated ; Battle of Monmouth. 249 Court Martial on Lee 251 Arrival of a French Fleet ; Alarm at New York 251 Expedition against Newport ; naval Operations . 252 Failure of the Expedition ; Ul Feeling in consequence. .... 263 The British Commission ; Johnstone's Overtures to Reed and others 264 Continued Detention of Burgoyne's Troops 265 Final Manifesto of the Commissioners 256 La Fayette chaUenges Lord CarUsle 266 Departure of the Commissioners 267 British marauding Expeditions 257 British and French Fleets ; British Troops sent to Georgia 258 American Winter Quarters ' 258 Executions at Philadelphia ; Arnold and Reed 259 Communication with New Orleans ; East Florida 269 Troubles from the Western Indians ; Clarke's Expedition . . 260 County of lUinois ; Six Nations 261 Ravage of Wyoming ; War in Western New York 262 Expedition against Florida 263 Issues and Depreciation of Paper Money .''. 264 Second and third Requisitions ; Expenditures ; Treasury . . 265 Franklin sole Minister to France 266 Articles of Confederation ; Jay President of Congress 266 CONTENTS. J.J CHAPTER XXXIX. DIPLOMATIC TROUBLES. TREASURY AND ARMY. GEOR GIA SUBDUED. SOUTH CAROLINA INVADED. BRITISH MARAUDING EXPEDITIONS. PENOBSCOT OCCUPIED BY THE BRITISH. CONQUEST AND SETTLEMENTS IN THE WEST. EXPEDITION AGAINST THE SIX NATIONS. TERMS OF PEACE DISCUSSED. SPAIN BECOMES A PARTY TO THE WAR. UNSUCCESSFUL ATTACK ON SAVANNAH. ISSUE OF PAPER MONEY STOPPED. NA VAL AFFAIRS. Page Proceedings in relation to Deane 267 His Address, and Paine's Reply 268 Supplies forwarded by Beaumarchais 268 Result as to Deane 26-9 Low Ebb of Congress 270 Proposed Expedition agaiust Canada relinquished 270 Flood of Paper Money; fourth Requisition 271 Effects of the Depreciation; Engrossers and Monopolizers. . 271 New moneyed Interest 272 Reorganization of the American Army 273 Numbers and Position of the hostile Armies 274 War transferred to the South 274 Lincoln. appointed to the Southern Department 274 New Constitution of South Carolina . 275 State of Affairs in the Southern Department 275 Georgia invaded ; Defeat of Howe ; Savannah taken 275 Prevost marches from Florida ; Subjection of Georgia 276 Defense of South Carolina 276 Condition of the three Southern States 277 Rising of the North Carolina Loyalists 277 Colonel Brown ; mutual Cruelties 278 Defeat of Ashe ; Royal Authority re-estabUshed in Georgia 278 Efforts of South Carolina ; Counter Advances of Lincoln and Prevost 279 Danger of Charleston ; Neutrality proposed 280 Repulse at Stono Ferry ; Prevost retires 280 Virginia plundered by Matthews 281 xii CONTENTS. Page King's Ferry on the Hudson occupied by the British 281 Tryon's Expedition up the Sound 282 Surprise of Stony Point ; it is repccupied by the British .... 282 Massachusetts Expedition to Penobscot ^ 283 Surprise of Paulus Hook — Inactivity of the main Armies . . 284 Further Successes in the Illinois ; Settlements in Kentucky 284 Settlements in West Tennessee ; Boundaries 286 Hostilities with the Six Nations ; New Jersey Troops 287 Expeditions into the' Country of the Siy Nations 287 Spain takes Part in the War 289 Suggestions of France as to the Terms of Peace 290 Terms of Peace as agreed to by Congress 290 Ministers appointed ; Huntington President of Congress ... 291 Spanish Conquests in West Florida , 292 Operations in the West Indies ; D'Estaing sails for Georgia 292 Repulse at Savannah 293 Alarm at New York ; Newport evacuated 294 American Winter Quarters ; Detachments South 296 Disposition of the British Forces 295 Treasury Department ; alarming Depreciation 295 Riots in PhUadelphia . 297 Hartford Convention ; Greene and Wadsworth 298 Issue of Paper stopped ; BiUs of Exchange ; Expenditures ; fifth Requisition 299 Naval Affairs ; John Paul Jones 300 CHAPTER XL. FINANCES AND THE ARMY. SQUTH CAROLINA SUBDUED. ARRIVAL OF A FRENCH AUXILIARY FORCE, TOTAL DEFEAT AND DISPERSION OF THE SOUTHERN ARMY, Financial Distresses ; forced Contributions 301 Specific Supplies ; sixth Requisition 301 Scheme for a new Paper Currency ; Commissary Certifi cates 302 Severe Winter ; Board of Associated Loyalists 303 State of the Army ; Army Pay 803 Report of the Committee sent to Camp' 304 CONTENTS. xiij Page Clinton's Expedition against South Carolina 304 Defense of Charleston ; its Capitulation 305 British Expeditions into the Interior ; Proclamations 307 Destruction of Buford's Regiment 30'? Submission of South CaroUna ; third Proclamation 308 Cornwallis in Command ; North CaroUna LoyaUsts 308 New Detachments to the Southerti Department 309 Promised Aid from France ; Distress of the Army 309 More Bills of Exchange ; Bank ; Promptitude of Pennsyl vania 310 Battle of Springfield ; Advance of Clinton into New Jersey 310 Arrival of a French auxiliary Army 311 The French blockaded in Newport 311 New Arrangement of the Quarter-master's Department . . '. 312 De Kalb's March to the South ; Troops in that Department 313 Gates advances on Camden 313 Partisan Corps — Sumter and Marion 313 Re-enforcements to Gates ; Battle of Camden 314 Defeat of Suinter and Dispersion of his Corps :.... 316 Efforts to coUect a New Southern Army 3l6 British Rule in South CaroUna 317 Reappearance of Partisan Corps 317 CHAPTER XLI. GLOOMY STATE OF AMERICAN AFFAIRS. TREACHERY OF ARNOLD. REORGANIZATION OF THE ARMY. FINAN CIAL EXPEDIENTS. NORTH CAROLINA INVADED. AF FAIRS OF GREAT BRITAIN. ARMED NEUTRALITY. MILITARY OPERATIONS IN EUROPE, ON THE OCEAN, AND IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES. HOLLAND A PARTY TO THE WAR. Scale of Depreciation — the Paper goes on depreciating .... 318 Financial Distresses ; seventh Requisition 318 Anxiety of Washington ; his Visit to Hartford 318 Treachery of Arnold ; Andre's Visit to the Highlands 319 His Journey to New York through the Neutral Ground. . . 321 His Arrest ; Escape of Arnold 322 xiv CONTENTS. Pago Trial and Execution of Andre 323 Reorganization of the Army 324 Half Pay for Life ; Officers ; eighth Requisition 324 Greene appointed to command in the South 326 Invasion of North Carolina 326 Battle of King's Mountain 326 Retreat of Cornwallis ; Re-enforcement for his Army. .... 327 Partisan Warfare ; Sumter and Marion 327 Efforts to re-enforce the Southern Army ; Greene takes Com mand 328 Savage Partisan Warfare 329 New York Frontier ; Winter Quarters 329 Specie; Trade with New York 330 Bills on Europe; Expenditures 331 Declining State of American Affairs 331 Armed Neutrality ; British Commerce suffers 331 Operations in the West Indies ; Hurricanes 332 Siege of Gibraltar; War in the East Indies 333 Revolutionary Movements in Ireland 333 Agitation in Great Britain ; ministerial Majority 333 Rupture with Holland 334 Plunder of St. Eustatius 335 CHAPTER XLIL REVOLT OP THE PENNSYLVANIA AND NEW JERSEY LINES. VIRGINIA INVADED. GREENe's FIRST CAMPAIGN IN THE CAROLINAS. WEST FLORIDA IN THE HANDS OF THE SPANIARDS. Offers of Arnold , 336 Revolt of the Pennsylvania Line 337 Arrangement with the Revolters 337 CaU on the States for Money; Laurens sent to France. . . . 338 Revolt of the New Jersey Line 338 Washington's Feelings as to Officers and Soldiers 339 Virginia invaded by Arnold 339 Attempt to capture him fails ; additional Force under P|hil- Ups 340 CONTENTS. ^y P.ige Supply of Provisions demanded at Mount Vernon ; Wash ington's Sentiments on that Subject 341 Attempt to surprise Morgan 341 Battle of the Cowpens 342 CornwaUis converts his Army into a light Corps 342 Escape of Morgan 342 The British force the Passage of the Catawba 343 Reunion of Greene's Forces ; Retreat into Virginia 344 The British and Tories in North CaroUna ; Greene re-eaiters the State 344 Tories cut to Pieces ; Movements of the Armies 345 Battle of GuUford 346 Cornwallis retires toward Wilmington 347 Greene advances into South Carolina ; CornwalUs into Vir ginia 348 Battle of Hobkirk's HiU 349 Rawdon's Communications in Danger ; he retreats 349 Raises the Siege of Ninety-six and again retires 350 The Armies go into Summer Quarters 350 Success of Greene; cruel Partisan Warfare 361 Executions ; Case of Colonel Hayne 351 Pensacola taken by the Spaniards ; . . . 352 Flight of the Connecticut Settlers at Natchez 352 Operations of General Clarke ; Progress of Kentucky .... 352 CHAPTER XLIII. PHILLIPS AND CORNWALLIS IN VIRGINIA. AJIMY. FI NANCES AND DEBT. FINAL DOWNFALL OF THE PAPER MONEY. FRENCH LOAN AND SUBSIDY. JUNCTION OF THE FRENCH AND AMERICAN ARMIES. OPERATIONS IN THE CAROLINAS. CAPTURE OF CORNWALLIS. La Fayette marches to the Relief of Virginia 354 Excursion of Phillips — immense Plunder 354 British PoUcy as to Slaves 355 Cornwallis arrives in Virginia 355 Richmond evacuated; Virginia Assembly 356 Tarleton's Dash at Charlottesville 356 xvi CONTENTS. Page Nelson Governor ; Complaints against Jefierson ; Dictator ship proposed , ' 367 Virginia Armory destroyed ; Ravage of the Country 357 Movements of La Fayette and CornwaUis ; the British at Yorktown 357 Washington's Army ; ninth Requisition ; PubUc Debt .... 368 Estimate for 1781 ; Proposed Federal Impost 359 Failure of the New Tenor Scheme 360 Heads of Departments — Robert Morris 36l Final DownfaU of the Paper Money 361 Financial Resources 362 French Fleet expected ; Movements in consequence 362 March to the Southward 363 French Loan and Subsidy 363 Greene takes the Field-^ Efforts of North CaroUna 364 Battle of Eutaw 364 Greene retires again to the High HUls of Santee 365 Tories surprise Hillsborough ; harsh Measures against them 366 The Count De Grasse and his Fleet 366 The French Fleet in Command of the Chesapeake 367 British Expedition against New London , . . . 368 Cornwallis invested , 368 Capitulation of CornwalUs 369 Efforts of Clinton for his ReUef 370 Re-enforcements sent to Greene 371 Affairs of Virginia ; Jefferson justified 371 Winter Quarters ; Promotions 371 Tenth Requisition ; Circular Letter 372 Schuyler's House attacked ; Frontiers of New York 372 Southern Department ; State Governments re-estabUshod . . 373 CONTENTS. jjyij CHAPTER XLIV. STATE CONSTITUTIONS. THE CONFEDERATION. WEST ERN LANDS. CONGRESS. EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS. BANK OF NORTH AMERICA. INTER-STATE CONTRO VERSIES. VERMONT. WESTERN SETTLEMENTS. Page Local Governments ; Confederation 374 State Constitutions 374 State Legislatures ; Assembly 375 Senate or Legislative Council 376 The Executive — President or Governor 377 State Jurisprudence ; Judiciary 378 Chancery Jurisdiction 379 Inferior Courts ; Courts of Probate ; Divorces 379 Forms of Judicial Proceedings ; Law Reports 380 Appointment of Judges ; Justices of the Peace 380 Delegates to Congress ,. . . 381 Right of Shffrage 381 Provisions on the Subject of ReUgion 382 Education 385 Descent of landed Property 387 Public Lands ; Proprietary Claims in Pennsylvania and Maryland 388 Peculiar constitutional Provisions 389 Changes effected by the Revolution 390 Tieory of the Rights of Man ; Slavery 390 Redemptioners 395 Articles of Confederation 395 Points of Controversy in framing them ; Mode of voting ; Apportionments 397 Question of the Western Lands 398 Cessions by New York, Connecticut, and Virginia; Con federation adopted 399 The Continental Congress 401 Effect of the Adoption of the Articles of Confederation upon the powers of Congress 402 Its Authority under the Articles 402 Proposed Amendment to the Articles 403 IIL— B xviii ? CONTENTS. Page Heads of Departments ; Finance , 404 Continental Navy ; Admiralty Courts 404 Departments of Foreign Affairs and of War . 404 Bank of North America . 405 Pennsylvania ; Bank Charter ; Banks in Boston and New York.... 405 Provision for settUng inter-state Controversies 406 Boundaries of Virginia and Pennsylvania -406 Territorial Suit between Connecticut and Pennsylvania ... 406 Vermont ; Negotiations for her Admission into the Union. . 407 Western Settlements — Pennsylvania Law of Treason 410 CHAPTER XLV. DIPLOMATIC AFFAIRS. CHANGE OF MINISTRY IN EN GLAND. TREATY OF PEACE. STATE OF THE-- ARMY. WAR ON THE FRONTIER. EMPTINESS OF THE FEDER AL TREASURY. DISCONTENT OF THE OFFICERS. COM MUTATION OF THE liALF PAY. CONQRESS INSULTED BY MUTINEERS. DISBANDMENT OF THE ARMY. NEW YORK EVACUATED. WASHINGTON RESIGNS HIS COM MISSION. THE CINCINNATI. THE TORY REFUGEES. John Adams at Paris 411 He proceeds to Holland; his Suspicions of the French Court 412 Anxiety to gain the Aid of Spain 412 New Instructions to Jay 412 Mediation of Russia and Germany ; Modification in the In structions for negotiating a Peace 4rl3 Five Commissioners appointed .: 413 Failure of the Mediation 414 Dana's fruitless Mission to Russia 414 Effects in England of CornwalUs' s Surrender 415 Rockingham Prime Minister ; Overtures toward Negotiation 415 Shelburne Prime Minister; his Views 416 Steps toward the Commencement of Negotiations. 416 Oswald required to obtain new Powers 417 Views of Vergennes — Claims of the Spanish Court 417 Letter of Marbois 418 CONTENTS. xix Page The' Negotiation proceeds ¦without the Knowledge of Ver gennes -J , 418 Preliminary Treaty as agreed to 418 Communicated to Vergennes — ^his Conduct toward America 420 Financial Embarrassments 421 Proposition to make Washington King 421 Indian War at the West — Massacre of the Christian Dela- wares 422 Unsuccessful -Expedition against Sandusky 423 Inroads into Kentucky — Battle at the Big Blue Lick 423 Operations in the Southern Department ; Georgia recovered 424 Distress of the Southern Army ; Charleston evacuated .... 424 Cherokees and Creeks . . . •. 425 Estimate for 1783 ; eleventh and twelfth Requisitions .... 425 Western Lands ; New York Cession accepted 426 Complaint of Pennsylvania ; Commissioners for liquidating outstanding Accounts 426 Defeat of the proposed Federal Import Duty 427 Discontents of the Officers ; proposed Commutation of the Half Pay 428 Departure of the French Troops 428 Relations with France : 429 Emptiness of the Treasury ; 429 Parties in Congress 430 First Newburgh Letter ; Position of Washington 430 Second Newburgh Letter ; Meeting of the Officers 43'2 Commutation of the Half Pay. 432 Arrival of the PreUminary Treaties ; Peace proclaimed . . . 433 Southern Department ; Furloughs authorized 434 Proposed Amendment as to the Basis of Contributions .... 435 Re-proposal of the Federal Import Duty ; Revenue and Ces sions caUed for 436 Address to the States; CaU for Money 436 Renewed Discontents among the Officers ; last Promotions 436 Congress insulted by Mutineers 436 Question of the Residence of Congress 438 Unsuccessful Attempts to modify the Preliminary Tl'eaty . . 439 Expatriation of American LoyaUsts XX CONTENTS. Page Carleton refuses to surrender the Negro Refugees ' 440 Washington's fareweU Letter to the States ; Disbandment of the Army. 440 Troops furnished by each State 441 New York evacuated; Washington takes leave of his Offi cers ^41 Final Departure of the British ; Washington's Accounts . . 441 He resigns his Commission ; Mifflin's Address 442 Order of the Cincinnati 443 British Bounty to the Tory Refugees 443 Softening in America of the Feeling against the Tories .... 444 CHAPTER XLVI. , COST OF THE WAR. ¦ FEDERAL AND STATE DEBTS. WEST ERN LANDS. REGULATION OF COMMERCE. PEACE ESTABLISHMENT. COMMITTEE OF STATES. ANNUAL REQUISITIONS. DIPLOMATIC AFFAIRS. INDIAN TREAT IES. NAVIGATION OF THE MISSISSIPPI. - COINAGE AND MINT. PECUNIARY DISTRESS AND PUBLIC DISCONTENT. SHAYS'S REBELLION. PROPOSED AMENDMENT OF THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION. RELIGIOUS ORGANIZA TIONS. Cost of the War 445 Paper Money Issues, Continental and State 446 Taxes ; Federal and State Debts 447 Acceptance of the Virginia Cession ^ 448 Jefferson's Report on the Western Territory 449 Obstructions to American Commerce 46t) Congress asks for Power on that Subject 450 Jefferson's Plan for Commercial Treaties 451 MUitary Peace EstabUshment ; Estimate for 1784 .461 Resignation of Morris, Livingston, and Lincoln 463 Committee of States 463 Proposed Federal City ; Congress adjourns to New York . . 464 Jefferson Minister to France ; Consular Convention 464 Treaties with Prussia and Morocco , 455 CONTENTS. x^j^ Page Difficulties with Great Britain 465 Treaties with the Northwestern Indians ; Knox Secretary of War 466 District of Kentucky ; Project of Independence 467 Growth of Tennessee 458 King's anti-slavery Motion ; Massachusetts Cession 458 Federal System of Land Surveys and Sales 459 Estimate for 1785 459 Organization of the new Congress 460 Federal Impost ; Regulation of Commerce 460 Treaties with the Southwestern Indians and the Shawanese ; Indian Bureau ....,,;- 461 Connecticut Cession accepted ; Modification of the Plan for subdividing the Western Territory 462 Estimate for 1786 ; Backwardness of the States 462 Federal Currency; Mint 463 Claims of Spain; Navigation of the Mississippi 464 British Debts; Hamilton and the Trespass Act 465 Economical Fruits of the late War ; new moneyed Class ; Creditors and Debtors . 465 Unsound Currency ; Taxation Disputes 466 Symptoms of Disruption 468 State of Frankland 468 Treason Act of Vifgima ; 470 Steps toward constituting Kentucky as a State 470 Troubles in Wyoming 471 Disturbances in Massachusetts 472 Mob in New Hampshire 473 Increasing Discontents in Massachusetts ; Habeas Corpus Act suspended 473 Troops raised by Congress 474 Shays's RebeUion 474 Proposed Federal Convention 477 Convention sanctioned by Congress ; Delegates elected .... 478 CathoUc Church in the United States 479 Protestant Episcopal Church 479 Methodist Episcopal Church ; Baptists 480 Presbyterians, CongregationaUsts, UniversaUsts 480 xxii CONTENTS. CHAPTER XLVII. FORMATION OF THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION. Page Meeting of the Convention' — Washington President 482 Rules of Proceeding 482 Members of the Convention ; its Character 482 Rhode Island not represented 484 Randolph's Resolutions, or Virginia Plan, referred to a Com mittee of the Whole ¦ 484 Question as to the Powers of the Convention . . . ; 485 Confficting Views of the large and small States 486 Election of the first Branch of the National Legislature by the People ; Term of Service 487 Second Branch of the national Legislature ; Term of Service ; Method of Choice ' 488 Ratio of Representation 488 National Executive ; Franklin's Ideas as to Salaries 489 Judiciary ; Presidential Veto 490 Veto on State Laws 49 1 Virginia Plan as amended and reported back to the House. 491 Dissatisfaction of the smaU States ; Patterson's New Jersey Plan 492 Debate renewed in Committee of the Whole 492 Hamilton's Speech and Plan 493 The national Plan reported back to the House 494 Warm Discussions ; a Chaplain proposed 496 Proportional Representation in the first Branch carried .... 4^5 Prpportional Representation in the second Branch carried . . 495 Great Excitement ; Reference to a Grand Committee .... 495 Report of the Committee 496 New Questions ; Northern and Southern Parties 496 Number and Apportionment of the first Branch 496 Future Apportionments ; Question of Slave Representation 497 Last Effort for a proportional second Branch 501 Equal Representation in the second Branch agl:eed to 502 New York unfepresented in the Convention 502 Disappointment of the National Party 502 Final Triumph of the smaU States 503 CONTENTS. xxiii Page Delegates from New Hampshire take their Seats ...*.... 503 Additional Provisions respecting the Legislature 603 The Executive '«i. 503 The Judiciary 504 Committee of Detail 504 Property Qualifications 507 Capacity of Members of Congress to hold Office 507 BUls of Credit ; Restrictions on the States ; the MiUtia. . . ' 608 Regulation of Commerce ; Slave Trade 509 Dissatisfaction with this Part of the Report; King's Speech 510 Speech of Gouverneur Morris ; Replies by Sherman and Pinckney 611 Prohibition to tax Exports conceded 513 Debate on the Slave Trade ; Compromise 614 The three Compromises of the Constitution 519 Provisions relating to the President and Vice-president .... 620 Qualifications and Powers of the President 521 Surrender of Fugitives and Persons bound to Service 522 Amendments ; Federal Debt ; Ratification 522 New Modification of Parties ; Committee on 'Style 623 Modification of the Veto ; BiU of Rights ; Inspection Laws 523 Final Amendments ; proposed Amendments rejected 524 Objections of Mason, Randolph, and Gerry 526 Counter Objections of Charles Pinckney 525 Attempts at ConciUation ; Signatures 525 Records of the Convention 626 CHAPTER XLVIII. ORDINANCE FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF THE TERRITORY NORTHWEST OF THE OHIO. SETTLEMENT OF INTER STATE CONTROVERSIES. RATIFICATIONS OF THE FED ERAL CONSTITUTION. EMIGRATIONS TO THE WE^T. CLOSE OF THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS. Organization of the Northwest Territory 527 First Sales of public Lands ; Ohio Company 529* Kentucky asks Admission into the Union 529 Congress refers the new Constitution to the States 530 xxiv CONTENTS. Pngo i;stimate fijr 1787 ; fourteenth Requisition 530 St. Clair drovemor of the Northwest Territoiy 631 Territgsrial Suit between Massachusetts and New York. : . . 531 Suit between Georgia and South CaroUna ; South Carolina ¦ Cession '. 532 Georgia Cession; Governors of Georgia 532 Doubtful J"ate of the Constitution in the States 633 Democratic Sentiment against it 534 Parties for and against it ; the Federalist 534 Ratified by Delaware and Pennsylvania 635 By New Jersey, Georgia, and Connecticut ; ' Governors of Connecticut 536 Convention in New Hampshire ; Continental Congress .... 536 Massachusetts ratifies 536 Ratifications by Maryland, South Carolina, and New Hamp shire 537 Virginia ratifies ; New York ratifies 538 Conditional Ratification in North Carolina ; Rhode Island StUl Obstinate ; 639 State of Frankland expires - 539 First Settlements in Ohio 540 Settlements in Western New York 541 AppUcation of Kentucky referred to the new Govemment . . 543 State of the Continental Finances ; fifteenth Requisition . . 643 Settlement of Revolutionary Accounts 544 MUitary Establishment 545 Elections under the new Constitution 646 End of the Continental Congress 546 Authorities 549 Index .^ 565 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER XXX. ATTEMPT TO COLLECT THE TAX ON TEA. . BOSTON PORT BILL. ACT FOR REGULATING THE GOVERNMENT OF MASSACHUSETTS. CONTINENTAL CONGRESS. AMERI CAN ASSOCIATION. PROVINCIAL CONGRESS OF MASSA CHUSETTS ASSUMES THE GOVERNMENT AND PRE PARES FOR WAR. INDIAN HOSTILITIES ON THE WEST ERN FRONTIER. T HE taxation dispute, after a ten years' growth, was chapter now fast coming to a head. The ministers saw with ]_ no little vexation that the tax on tea, retained for the 1773. express purpose of vindicating the authority of Parlia ment, was substantially nullified, partly ty smuggling, and partly by the non-importation and non-consumption agreements, observed as yet with considerable fidelity, especially in the middle and southern colonies. Perhaps it would have been the more politic course to have given time for these combinations to die away, leaving the gradual introduotion of the use of duty-paid tea to the vigilance of the custom-house officers, to appetite, and commercial cupidity and rivalry. Instead of adopting that temporizing policy, the impatient ministers resolved to force at once upon the reluctant colonies a large quantity of the obnoxious article, well satisfied that, if landed and offered for sale, it would easily! find its way into consumption. By an act of the preceding session, the allowance of 26 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER drawback on teas exported had been reduced to three xxx. , fifths of the duty. So far as America was concerned, a 1773. drawback of the whole duty was now revived. The ^"'y- existing restraints upon the East India Company, to export teas on their own account, were also repealed, and arrangements were presently entered, into with that .- company for the consignment of several cargoes of teas ? to the principal American ports. No sooner did this project become known in America than steps were taken to counterwork it. A public Oct 2. meeting of the people of Philadelphia protested, in eight resolutions, against taxation by Parliarnent, and de nounced as " an enemy to his country" '? whosoever shall aid or abet in unloading, reoeiving, or vending the tea." In accordance with one of the resolutions, a com mittee was appointed to wait on the reputed consignees in that city, " to request them, from a regard to their own characters, and the publio peace and good order of the city and province, immediately to resign their ap pointments." The Messrs. Wharton gave a satisfactory answer, which was received with shouts of applause. Groans and hisses greeted the refusal of another firm to commit themselves till the tea arrived. The names of three well-kflown firms in Boston pres ently began to be noised about as the intended consignees of the East India Company's tea. An anonynlous notice was sent to these reputed consignees to be present at noon on a certain day, under Liberty Tree, to resign their appointments, for whioh day and hour an anony mous hand-bill oalled a publio meeting to hear their res- Nov. 3. ignation. Several hundred persons assembled aooord- Jhgly ; the consignees not appearing, a committee was sent to wait upon them ; but this committee they treat ed with contempt. ATTEMPT TO COLLECT THE TAX ON TEA. 27 Two days after, by a oall of the selectmen, a ¦ legal chapter xxx. town meeting was held, at whioh Hancock presided. . After a preamble of their own, this meeting adopted the 1773. eight Philadelphia resolutions, with a supplement, ac- ^°^- ^¦ knowledging some remissness hitherto in the matter of the agreement not to import or consume tea, but insist ing for the future upon strict observance. A committee, appointed in the terms of one of the resolutions, waited upon the consignees to request them to resign. After some little delay and evasion, they replied, that, being as yet without definite advices from England, they could give no decisive answer — a reply voted by the meeting " unsatisfactory" and " daringly afTrontive." News presently arriving that the tea ships had sailed, and might be daily expected, another town meeting was summoned for the next day, to consult " what further Nov. n. application shall be made to the consignees, or other wise to act as the town shall think fit at the present dangerous crisis." In the evening, the house of Clarke, one of the consignees, was surrounded by a crowd mak ing many offensive noises, and a pistol having been fired at them, they retorted by smashing ia the windows. The town meeting, the next day, sent a committee to Nov. 18. the consignees to inquire definitively whether or not they intended to resign. Upon receipt of ah answer in the negative, the meeting dissolved without a word. This evidence of a determination to act instead of resolv- ingj struck terror into the consignees. They present ed a petition the next day to the governor and council, Nov. 19. asking to resign themselves and the property committed to their oare into the hands " of his excellency and their honors," and praying them to take measures for landing and securing the teas. The council, led by Bowdoin, were very little inclined to interfere. They deprecated 28 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER the late riot at Clarke's house, at least in words, and ad- XXX. ' vised that the rioters be prosecuted ; but they asked 1773. further time to consider the petition. Several adjourn ments accordingly took place, and before any decision was reached one of the tea ships arrived. The council hav- Nov. 28. ing met the next day, presented a paper to the governor declining to become parties to an unconstitutional attempt to levy taxes, against which the General Court had so repeatedly protested, or to make themselves chargeable for the tea by interfering to receive it. Meetings in all the neighboring towns had resolved to sustain Bos ton ; and while the council was thus declining to in termeddle with the matter, .a mass meeting, or " body," as they called themselves, of the people of , Boston and Nov. 29. the neighboring towns, assembled in Faneuil Hall, sent for the owner of the tea ship, ordered her to be moored at a certain wharf, find appointed a guard of twenty-five volunteers to watch her. It was resolved to send her baok with her cargo, and the master and the owner were oharged not to attempt, at their peril, to unlade her. The consignees, among whom were two of the govern or's sons, frightened at these demonstrations, took refuge at the castle, where was a regiment of British regulars. Nov. 30. The " body" having met again the next day, the gov ernor sent the sheriff of the county with a proclamation declaring the meeting illegal, and ordering the people to disperse. They heard the message, hissed it, and voted unanimously not tb regard it. The governor was pow erless. He had ordered the Cadets, his guard of honor, to be in readiness ; but what could he expect of a com pany commanded by Hancock ? The troops' at the cas tle and the ships of war in the harbor had no warrant to interfere in a purely municipal matter ; nor was there any ground for the governor to oall upon them till ATTEMPT TO COLLECT THE TAX ON TEA. 29 something in the nature of riot, if not of rebellion, had chapter actually occurred. The consignees offered, if the tea might be landed, to kefep it in store till orders came 1773. from England; but this was rejected, and the master and the owner of the vessel were both constrained to promise to carry it baok. The owners of two other ves sels on the way were required to make a similar promise. Tea was denounced as a " pernicious weed," and all per sons who might^encoforward be conoerned in its import ation were declared enemies of their country. After a resolution to carry the matter through at the risk of their lives and property, the " body" dissolved, leaving mat ters in the hands of a committee. The owner of the vessel was very little disposed to carry out the agreement extorted from him. The gov ernor was resolved that no clearance should be granted till the cargo was landed. At the expiration of thirty days from her arrival the vessel would be liable to seizure for non-payment of duties. Two other tea ships pres ently arrived, and were placed m custody like the other. Provoked and alarmed at the non-departure of the first vessel, the " body" reassembled. The owner was sent Dec. 14. for, and a committee was appointed to go with him to demand a clearance, whioh the collector, after taking time to consider, refused to give till the cargo was land- Dec. 16. ed. The owner was then sent anew to the governor, at his country-house at Milton, to request a permit, withput whioh the vessel oould not pass the fort and the ships of war in the harbor. He returned late in the afternoon, and announced the governor's refusal ; he had no power, he said, to grant the permit till a clearance was first ex hibited. This had been anticipated and prepared for. A band of some fifty men, "very dark-complexionqd persons, dressed like Mohawks, of very grotesque appear- 30 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER ance," so says the Massachusetts Gazette of that day, xxx .approached the hall with an imitation of the war-whoop, 1773. and, while Josiah Quincy harangued the people on the necessity of adhering to their resolution whatever might be the consequences, the pretended Mohawks proceeded to the wharf and boarded the tea vessels. It was now six o'clock ; the- evening dusjt had set in ; the " body" was dissolved, and the people, hastening to the wharf, looked on with silent anxiety, while ip the course of two hours three hundred and forty-two chests of tea were drawn up from the holds of the vessels and emptied into the water. Nov. 25. In New York, at the demand of a popular meeting, the consignees of the expected tea had declined to aot, whereupon Governor Tryon had issued orders for re ceiving it into the barracks. The vessel, driven by stress of weather to the "West Indies, did, not arrive for some rrionths;; and before her arrival Tryon had departed, leaving affairs again in Colden's hands. The vessel bound for Philadelphia was stopped four Dec. 25. miles, below the city, and information having just arrived of the destruction of the tea at Boston, the captain was persuaded to return to England without attempting to land his cargo. A fourth tea vessel, destined for Boston, was wrecked on Cape Cod. The few chests of tea saved from her oar- go were placed, by the governor's order, in the castle. Some twenty chests or more, brought by another vessel on the private account of Boston merohants, were seized and thrown into the water. 1774. The General Court of Massachusetts, at their next ^^^- meeting, took up with great earnestness the subject of the payment of the judges' salaries by the crown, — an arrangement lately announced, and which John Adams ATTEMPT TO COLLECT THE TAX ON TEA. 31 had vigorously attacked in the Boston Gazette. Four chapter XXX of the five judges promised to continue to take their pay of the province; Oliver, the chief justice, having declined 1774. to oome into this arrangement, the House carried up to the council articles of impeachment against him. Hutch inson cut short these proceedings by a prorogation, and, in accordance with an intimation given to the court, pres ently prepared to leave for England. At length, after great delays, the New York tea ship arrived at Sandy Hook. The pilots, under instructions April 21. from the city committee, refused to bring her up, and a " Committee of Vigilance" soon took possession of her. Brought to town, the captain was informed by a deputa tion from the city committee that he must take back ship and cargo. He desired to see the consignee, and was escorted to him ; but the consignee declined to give any orders. Meanwhile, another ship, commanded by a New York captain, arrived at the Hook, and, on assur ance that she had no tea on board, was allowed to come to town. But a report to the contrary soon spread, and the captain was obliged to acknowledge that he had eighteen chests, not belonging to the East India Com pany, but a private adventure. The indignant populace seized the tea and emptied it into the river. A day or two after, with great parade, headed by a band playing. God save the King, the bells ringing, and colors flying from the liberty pole and the shipping, the captain of the East India tea ship was escorted from the custom-house to a pilot-boat, whioh took him to the Hook, where, un der directions of the Committee of Vigilance, the anchors were weighed, and the vessel started on her homeward voyage. The Charleston tea ship reached that city the same day that the New York tea ship reached the Hook. The 32 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER teas were landed, but were stored in damp cellars, where xxx. . they soon became worthless. #". 1774. Before news of the fate of the tea at Boston oould ar- Feb. rive in England, a hearing had been had before the Privy Council, at the special request of Hutchinson's friends, on the petition for his removal from the government of Massachusetts. The foul-mouthed Wedderburne, after ward Lord Loughborough, retained as counsel for Hutch inson, poured upon Franklin, who was present as agent for Massachusetts, and whom he accused of surrepti tiously obtaining Hutchinson's letters, a torrent of abuse, which seemed to give great satisfaction to their lordships of the council, Dunning, retained on the other side, made but a shabby appearance, speaking so low that no body could hear him. The petition was disnussed as " groundless, scandalous, and vexatious," and the minis ters followed up the matter by dismissing Franklin from his office of deputy post-master for the colonies. March 14. When, presently, the fate of the tea became known, ministerial indignation rose to a high pitch. Leave was asked by Lord North to introduce into Parliament, then ih session, a measure, soon famous as the Boston Port Bill, shutting up the harbor of that town, and removing the seat of government to Salem. The audacity of the Bostonians had silenced the friends of the oolonists, and this motion encountered but slight opposition. Even Barre and Conway gave it their approval, and their por traits disappeared from Faneuil Hall in consequence. Two members who attempted to speak against the bill March 25. were coughed down. On the question of its final passage, Burke opposed it, and so did Johnstone, a naval officer, lately governor of Florida, and now, a member of Par liament, well versed and taking a deep interest in colo nial afiairs. It passed, however, with very few negatives. PROCEEDINGS OF PARLIAMENT. Another bill soon followed, " for better regulating the cuapter government of Massachusetts Bay," amounting, in fact, . to an abrogation of the charter. This bill gave to the 1774. crown the appointment of counselors and judges of the ^P"^ ^¦''• Superior Court. The appointment of all Other officers, military, executive, and judicial, was bestowed on the governor, independently of any approval by the council. The selection of jurors was taken from the selectmen of the towns and given to the sheriffs. All town meetings, except for elections, were prohibited. A third bill, intended to meet cases like that of the Boston massacre, and to protect the servants of the crown against the verdicts of colonial juries, provided for the trial in England of ^ all persons charged in the colonies with murders committed in support of government. These bills — opposed by Barre, Conway, Johnstone, Pownall, Dunning, Burke, and Fox ; supported by North, Attorney-general Thurlow, Lord George Germaine, and Jenkinson, afterward Earl of Liverpool, and for many years prime minister — were carried in both houses by a majority of more than four to one. A fourth bill, for quartering troops in America, a new edition of the former act, was also brought in by the ministers. Chatham rose in the House of Lords to op pose this bill, and, in spite of feeble health, spoke with all his old animation, going over the whole ground, and declaring his unalterable opinion that Britain had no right to tax America. A fifth act, known as the Quebec Act, designed to prevent that newly-acquired province from joining with the other colonies, restored in civil matters the old French law — the custom of Paris — and guaranteed to the Catho lic Church the possession of its ample property, amount ing to a fourth part or more of the old French grants, with HI.— C 34 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chapter full freedom of worship. The calling of an Assembly XXX- Z was indefinitely postponed, the legislative authority, ex- 1774. cept for taxation, being committed to a council nomina ted by the crown. The boundaries of the province were also extended to the. Mississippi on the west, and the Ohio on the south, so as to include, besides the present Canada, the territory now the five states northwest of the Ohio. In the Commons, Burke brought forward a motion to repeal the tax on tea. In his speech on this occasion, the earliest of the splendid series of his published par liamentary orations, he reviewed the history of the at tempt to tax the colonies, and proposed to go back to the state of things before the passage of the Stamp Act. But the ministers were resolved, by making an exam ple, to terrify the colonies into submission. Not a little to Hutchinson's mortification. Gage, direct ed to resume his command in America, had been commis sioned also as governor of Massachusetts, to which rebel lious province four additional regiments were ordered. As May 13. Gage entered the harbor, a town meeting, at which Sam uel Adams presided, had assembled to take the Port Bill into consideration, news of whioh had just arrived. This was an occasion of great and solemn anxiety. In the common cause, Boston had thrown herself into the gap. Would the other mercantile cities of America — would the country at large — look on quietly and see her suffer ? It was proposed to renew the non-importation agreement as to all British goods ; and Paul Revere, a Boston me chanic, an active " Son of Liberty," was sent to New York and Philadelphia to invoke sympathy and co-opera tion. May 17. Public meetings at Providence and Newport responded ''^^ ¦ to Boston, and suggested the idea of a Continental Con- CONTINENTAL C ONGRESS PROP OSED. 35 gross. The Connecticut Legislature, then in session, chapter xxx. passed a series of resolutions pointedly condemning the , late acts of Parliament, and recommending the assembly 1774. of a Continental Congress. The old Committee of Cor- ^^y 24. respondence at New York was composed principally of " Sons of Liberty" of the middle class, headed by M'Dougall, Sears, Willett, and Lamb, upon whose dis cretion the more wealthy citizens did not entirely rely. News arriving of the Boston Port Bill, at a public meet- May 1.5. ing held on the occasion the old committee was dis solved, and a new one elected, composed of fifty-one mem bers, in which many of the principal citizens took part. This committee, however, was not quite ready to come into the non-importation plan. In a letter to Boston May 23. they proposed instead " a congress of deputies from the colonies," and in another letter a few days after, they re quested the Boston committee to fix the time and place of meeting. A similar view was taken in Philadelphia, and simi lar suggestions were made by a committee appointed at May 26. a public meeting in that city. Their letter suggested, also, the policy of paying the East India Company for their tea, if the difficulty could be got over in that way. The inhabitants of Annapolis, more ardent, wished to adopt the non-importation agreement at once, and simi- May 21. lar resolutions were passed at a publio meeting in Balti more county, and other counties, in Maryland. The Vir ginia House of Burgesses, in session when news of the Boston Port Bill arrived, appointed the first of June, the day on which the bill was to go into operation, to be ob served as a fast. This suggestion, taken up ahd carried out in Philadelphia and many other places, gave a sen sible exhibition of the publio feeling. Dunmore dissolv- May 26. ed the Assembly ; but most of the members met the 36 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER next dav and signed a declaration that an attack upon xxx. .one colony was an attack upon all, threatening ruin to 1774. the rights of all unless repelled by the '* united wisdom of the whole ;" and the committee of correspondence was advised to communicatfe with the other colonies on the expediency of a general Congress. Letters arriving from Boston, Philadelphia, and Annapolis, some twenty- May 30. five of the nearest delegates were called together by let ter from the speaker. Some were for adopting the non importation agreement at once ; but it was finally re solved to refer the matter to a convention of all the late burgesses, to meet at Williamsburgh on the first of August. May 26. Shortly after Gage's arrival, he met the General Court at Boston for the annual election of counselors. That business over, he adjourned the court to Salem. He had gone to the extent of his charter authority in reject ing thirteen of the twenty-eight elected counselors, but those who remained did not at all suit his purpose. On June 7. the reopening of the court, in reply to his address de livered at Boston, they reflected so severely on his two immediate predecessors that he refused to hear the reply read through. The representatives passed resolutions advising the citizens of Boston to be firm and patient, and the people of the other towns to assist their dis tressed brethren of the metropolis. They recommended an entire abstinence from the use of British goods, and of all articles subject to parliamentary duty. They also requested the governor to appoint a fast ; and when he refused, appointed one themselves. In compliance with suggestions made, as we have seen, from various quar ters, they adopted a resolution that " a meeting of com mittees from the several colonies on this continent is highly expedient and necessary, to consult upon the DELEGATES TO THE CONGRESS. 37 present state of the country, and the miseries to which chapter XXX we are and must be reduced by the operation of certain ' acts of Parliament; and to deliberate and determine on 1774. wise and proper measures to be recommended to all the colonies for the recovery and re-establishment of our just rights and liberties, civil and religious, and the res toration of union and harmony between Great Britain and America, whioh is most ardently desired by all good men." The first of September was designated as the time, and Philadelphia as the place of meeting. Thomas Cushing, the speaker, James Bowdoin, Samuel Adams, John Adams, and Robert Treat Paine, were ohosen delegates. A treasurer was appointed, and the towns were called upon to pay in their respective shares of the sum of d£500, voted to the delegates in pay ment of their expenses, to be assessed on the inhabit ants according to the last apportionment of provincial taxes. Hardly was this business completed, when Gage, informed of what was going on, sent the provincial sec- June 17. retary to dissolve the court. Finding the doors shut, and being denied admittance, the secretary read on the steps the governor's proclamation. So ended the last session of the last provincial General Court of Massa chusetts. The non-importation and non-consumption agreement recommended by the General Court had been adopted at a publio meeting in Boston in the form of " a solemn June 8. league and oovenant," to commence on the first of Oc tober next. Gage attempted in vain to prevent the other towns from joining in it. Public meetings continued to be held by different towns and counties through the col onies, by all of which the resolution was avowed to sup port Massachusetts in the pending quarrel. Boston was -wholly dependent upon commerce, and the 38 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER shutting up of the port deprived the greater part of the inhabitants of their accustomed means of livelihood. In 1774. a spirit of generous sympathy, the use of the wharves in Salem and Marblehead was freely tendered to the Bos ton merchants, and contributions were taken up through out the colonies for the relief of the poorer inhabitants. By arrivals from Ireland, New York, Halifax, and Quebec, seven regiments were soon collected in Massa chusetts, one of which was stationed at Salem, now the seat of government, one at the castle in Boston harbor, and the other five in the town. The townspeople re commenced their former system of annoyance ; desertions were promoted, and every means was employed to make the situation of the troops as uncomfortable as possible. The people in the country hastened to replenish their stock of ammunition, and devoted their leisure to mili tary exercises. June 1. On Hutchinson's departure for England, a compli mentary address, signed by many merohants and law yers, had been presented to him:; but all who signed it soon became stigmatized as " Addressers," and many found it expedient to recant. An attempt Vas even made at Boston by the partisans of the mother country, and those to whom the present aspect of affairs seemed July 5. alarming, to break up the Committee of Correspondence ; but it failed entirely ; and the publio meeting whioh the malcontents had called passed a vote of entire confidence in that committee. Two days before action on that subject by the Massa chusetts General Court, the Assembly of Rhode Island June 15. had appointed delegates to a general Congress. The June 3. Assembly of Connecticut had already authorized a sim- Julyi3. ilar appointment, which was presently made by the Committee of Correspondence. The New Hampshire DELEGATES TO THE CONGRESS. 39 Legislature, at a late session, in spite of Wentworth's chapter XXX attempts to prevent it, had appointed a Committee of ' Correspondence, in consequence of whioh he had dis- 1774, solved them. A meeting of the committee, held at Junes Portsmouth, to appoint delegates to Congress, was dis persed by Governor Wentworth and the sheriff ; but the business was completed by a convention of delegates whieh met at Exeter. Similar conventions, for the same July 21. purpose, were held in Maryland and New Jersey. The ^^^^Z Assembly of New York, at a session early in the year, had appointed a Committee of Correspondence ; but as that committee declined to assume the nomination of delegates to Congress, that business was undertaken by the oity committee of fifty-one, in conjunction with a committee of mechanics. Some difficulty occurred in respect to this nomination between those who preferred M'Dougall, an old leader of the " Sons of Liberty," and the more moderate friends of John Jay, a rising young lawyer of Huguenot descent, a son-in-law of William Livingston. The dispute was finally settled by opening a poll, at whioh the mayor and aldermen pre sided, and all who paid taxes were allowed to vote. Philip Livingston, John Alsop, Isaac Low, James Du- ane, and John Jay, the delegates thus chosen, were July 28, adopted by the city of Albany, and by some towns in Westchester and Dutchess. The counties of Orange, Kings, and Suffolk sent separate delegates ; the rest of the province was unrepresented. Upon Governor Penn's refusal to oall a special session of the Assembly, the in habitants of Philadelphia met in town meeting, and ap- June 18. pointed a committee for the oity and county. Upon their invitation, a " committee for the province of Penn sylvania," composed of delegates elected in the several counties, assembled at Philadelphia. They passed res- July 5. 40 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chapter olutions in' support of the rights of the colonists, and recommended to the Assembly, which, notwithstanding 1774. Penn's late refusal, had just been called together, in con- July 21. sequence of an alarm of Indian war on the western fron tier, the appointment of delegates to the Congress — a recommendation speedily complied with by that body. Aug. 1. In Delaware, the members of Assembly, called together by a circular letter from the speaker, made a similar ap pointment. Aug. 1. The Virginia Convention, besides choosing seven dele gates to the proposed Congress, adopted resolutions to im port no more slaves, nor British goods, nor tea; and, if co lonial grievances were not speedily redressed, to export no more tobacco to England ; and not to deal with any mer chant who should refuse to come into this agreement. In spite of Governor Martin's efforts to prevent it, a like con- Aug. 25. vention, by which a like appointment was made, and sim ilar resolutions were adopted, was soon after held at New born, in North Carolina, by invitation of the Committee of Vigilance for Wilmington. A public meeting, at tended by persons from all parts of the province, held at July 6. Charleston, in South Carolina, had resolved to support Massachusetts in the vindication of her rights ; had ap pointed a general committee of ninety-nine members ; and had selected delegates to the proposed Congress — a Aug. 2. selection presently ratified by the Assembly, the conse quence of which was a dissolution. The influence of Governor Wright prevented the election of delegates from Georgia. Among the new counselors appointed by writ of man- Aug. 1. damus, under the act whioh now oame into force for re modeling the government of Massachusetts, was Rug gles, formerly president of the Stamp Act Congress. The greater part accepted and were sworn in ; but they SUFFOLK RESOLVES. 41 became at once obiects of bitter public odium. In the chapter xxx. western part of the province a session of the Superior Court was broken up ; and even in Boston the juries re- 1774. fused to be sworn, lest, by consenting to act, they should recognize the authority of the new government. In spite of Gage's denunciation of such assemblages as seditious and treasonable, town meetings and county conventions were held throughout the province to protest against the new system. Alarmed at the spirit thus evinced, having removed the seat of government from Salem back to Boston, Gage began to fortify Boston Neck, the only land avenue to the town. He also sent a body of soldiers to the upper Sept. i. part of Charlestown, to seize a quantity of powder stored there belonging to the province. The news of this seiz ure brought together a tumultuous assembly from Mid dlesex county, whioh proceeded to Cambridge, where several of the new counselors resided, surrounded their houses, and oompelled them to resign. A rumor spread ing that the ships of war in Boston harbor were bom- Sept. 2. barding the town, bodies of armed men from Connecti cut marched into Massachusetts, but returned on find ing the rumor false. Tarrings and featherings, and other aots of violence, became so common, that all sus pected partisans of the mother country were obliged to seek refuge with the troops; The convention for Suffolk county, to which Boston belonged, in their meeting at Milton, resolved that " no Sept. 6. obedience was due to either or any part of the recent acts of Parliament." They recommended the meeting of a provincial Congress, and exhorted all tax collectors not to pay over any money in their hands till the gov ernment should be constitutionally organized. Such of the new counselors as should persist in refusing to resign, 42 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chapter were pronounoed " obstinate and incorrigible enemies of xxx. .their country." Similar resolutions were passed in the 1774. other counties. Those of Suffolk were forVvarded to the Sept. 5. Continental Congress, already assembled at Philadelphia. That Congress consisted of fifty-three delegates, the leading men of twelve provinces, Georgia, alone of the originally British colonies, being unrepresented. Besides others of less note, there were present in this assembly the two Adamses, of Massachusetts ; Sherman and Deane, of Connecticut ; Philip Livingston, Jay, and Duane, of New York ; William Livingston, of New Jersey ; Gallo way, of Pennsylvania ; Rodney, Read, and M'Kean, of Delaware ; Chase, of Maryland ; Randolph, Richard Henry Lee, Washington, and Henry, of Virginia ; the two Rutledges, and Gadsden, of South Carolina. The post of honor was freely conceded to Virginia by the choice of the now aged Peyton Randolph as president. Charles Thompson, late master of the Quaker academy at Philadelphia, was chosen secretary. Samuel Adams, himself a stiff Congregationalist, moved the appointment of an Episcopal chaplain, and Jaoob Duche, a popular preacher of Philadelphia, was accordingly appointed. As no means were at hand to estimate the relative import ance of the colonies, it was agreed that each province should have a single vote. All proceedings were to be with closed doors, and nothing was to be published ex cept by order. Upon receipt of the Suffolk resolutions, the Congress resolved that the whole continent ought to support Mas sachusetts in resistance to the unconstitutional change in her government ; and that any person accepting office under the new system ought to be held in detestation as a publio enemy. A correspondence was presently en tered into with General Gage, remonstrating against the CONTINENTAL CONGRESS. 43 fortification of Boston, and his arbitrary exeroise in other chapter XXX respeots of the illegal power he had assumed. A committee of two from each province reported, in 1774. the form of a series of resolves, accepted and adopted by the Congress, a " Declaration of Colonial Rights." The enjoyment of life, liberty, and property were claimed in this Declaration as natural rights. The privilege of be ing bound by no law to which they had not consented by their representatives was claimed for the oolonists in their oharaoter of British subjects. The sole and ex clusive power of legislation for the colonies was declared to reside in their respective Assemblies, reserving to Par liament the enactment of such laws only as might be essential to the bona fide regulation of trade, but ex cluding aU taxation, internal or external. The oommon law of England was claimed as the birthri,ght of the col onists, including the right of trial by a jury of the vicin age, the right of public meetings, and of petition. A protest was made against standing armies maintained in the colonies without their consent ; and a similar pro test against legislation by councils dependent on the crown — this last in allusion to the Quebec Act. All immunities hitherto enjoyed in the colonies, whether by charter or custom, were claimed as established rights, beyond the power of the mother country to abrogate. Eleven aots of Parliament, passed sinoe the accession of George III. — the Sugar Aot, the Stamp Act, the two Quartering Acts, the Tea Aot, the Aot Suspending the New York Legislature, the two Aots for the trial in Great Britain of offenses committed in America, the Bos ton Port Bill, the Aot for Regulating the Government of Massachusetts, and, the Quebec Act — were enumerated in conclusion as having been passed in derogation of the rights of the colonies.' 44 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chapter As means for enforcing this claim of rights, fourteen articles were agreed to as the ba.sis of an "American 1774. Association," pledging the assooiators to an entire com mercial non-intercourse with Great Britain, Ireland, and the West Indies, and the non-consumption of tea and British goods : this non-intercourse to be extended to such provinces of North America as should decline to come into the Association, and to last till the obnoxious." acts of Parliament were repealed. The non-importation clauses were to commence in December, but the non- exportation clauses were postponed for nine months long er. The slave trade was specially denounced, and en tire abstinence from it, and from any trade with those concerned in it, formed a part of the Association. The assooiators were also pledged to encourage the breeding of sheep and the disuse of mourning. Traders were not to be allowed to enhance the price! of goods in oonse- quenoe of this agreement. Committees were to be ap pointed in every county, city, and town, to detect and to publish the names of all violators of it ; and all deal ings with such " enemies of American liberty" were to be immediately broken off. Patrick Henry, who had electrified the Congress by his eloquence, was selected by the committee, to whioh that business was intrusted, to draft the petition to the king. But this draft, when received, did not give satis faction. Dickinson, lately added to the Pennsylvania delegation, was added also to the committee, and a new draft was prepared by him, whioh the Congress approved. A memorial to the inhabitants of British America was drawn up by Richard Henry Lee. The grave, manly, yet fervid eloquence of the " Address to the People of Great Britain," drafted by Jay, was universally admired. Short letters, inclosing the doings of Congress, were ad- CONTINENTAL CONGRESS ^rj dressed to the colonies of St. John's (now Prince Ed- chapter ^ YYY ward's). Nova Scotia, Georgia, and the two Floridas, in- xxx viting them to join in the Association. 1774. An elaborate " Address to the Inhabitants of Canada" w^as drawn up by Dickinson. Both the civil and eccle siastical provisions of the Quebec Act were highly offen sive to the other colonies, as well as to the small body of British settlers in Canada. -»But the French Cana dians, and especially the priests, were so well satisfied with the restoration of their, old laws and security to their religion, that the eloquent appeal of Congress for union and co-operation had but little effect ; the less, in deed, as the Canadians and their religion were .but slight ingly alluded to in the Address to the People of Great Britain. The petition to the king, along with a vote of thanks' to the advocates of the colonies in both houses of Par liament, was inclosed in a letter to the colonial agents. Having made provision for another Congress to meet the May following, unless rec^resS of grievances should mean while be obtained, after a busy session of eight weeks this remarkable assembly adjourned without day. The course of measures finally adopted in the Con gress had not been agreed to without considerable oppo sition and a good deal of debate. " Every man in this assembly," wrote John Adams to his wife, " is a great man, an orator, a critic, a statesman, and therefore every man, upon every question, must show his oratory, his criticism, and his political abilities. The consequence is, that business is spun out to an immeasurable length." After the first flush of confidence was over, suspicions and jealousies began to revive. There were in all the colonies many wealthy and influential men, who had joined, indeed, in protesting against the usurpations of 46 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chapter the mother country, but who were greatly disinclined to any thing like a decided rupture. Galloway proposed, 1774. as a means of aooommodation, a union of the colonies, with a Grand Council authorized to regulate colonial affairs jointly with the British Parliament — Parliament and the council to have a mutual negative on each oth er. This plan seemed at first to find a good deal of favor ; but, after a warm debate, was rejected by a majority of one, and was even refused an entry on the journal. Still, however, it was generally believed that matters might yet be accommodated. The two Adamses, who thought differently, were regarded by several mem bers as desperate men with nothing to lose, too muoh implicated by the long struggle in Massachusetts to be safe guides for gentlemen who had estates to forfeit. The zeal of these two northern members was seconded, indeed, by the impetuous and plain-spoken Gadsden, who proposed to attack Gage, and expel him from Bos^ ton before he could be re-enforced. The Congress, how ever, was not yet prepared for any direct assumption of political authority. Even the American Association, the nearest approach to it, was warmly opposed, not only by Galloway and Duane, but by all the South Carolina members except Gadsden. It was only at the last mo ment that Gadsden's colleagues were induced to sign it, by an exception in favor of rice inserted into the non- exportation clause. These differences in Congress were veiled, however, from the publio eye by the injunction of secrecy. The proceedings of that body went forth with all the weight Oct. 20. of apparent unanimity. The signature of the Associa tion by the members of Congress may be considered as the commencement of the American Union. While the Continental Congress was still in session, MASSACHUSETTS CONGRESS. 47 matters in Massachusetts were fast verging to a crisis. cIhapter xxx. Gage had summoned a House of Representatives to meet . him at Salem, to proceed to business under the late aot 1774. of Parliament ; but the spirit evinced in the resolutions of the town meetings and county conventions induced him to issue a proclamation countermanding the Assem bly. It was denied, however, that the governor could prorogue the court till it had first met ; and, notwith standing the countermand, most of the members elect assembled at Salem on the day appointed. As nobody Oct. 7. appeared to open the session and administer the oaths, they adopted the advice already given by the Essex county Convention, resolved themselves into a Provincial Congress, adjourned to Concord, and there organized by Oct. i. choosing John Hancock as president, and for secretary Benjamin Lincoln, a farmer of Hingham, afterward a major general in the revolutionary army. A large com mittee, appointed to consider the state of the province, reported an address to Gage, which the Congress adopt ed ; after which they adjourned to Cambridge, whenoe a Gommittee was sent to present the address to the gov ernor. The Congress, in this address, protested their at tachment to Great Britain, their loyalty to the king, and their love of peace and order, but complained of the re cent aots of Parliament, the employment of the powers of government to harass and enslave them, the military force concentrated in Boston, and the fortifications erect ing there. The people, they declared, would never be satisfied till these military preparations were discontin ued and those fortifications demolished. Gage replied that his military preparations were only in self-defense, and justified by threats every where ut tered. He disavowed, on behalf of Great Britain, any design to harass or enslave ; expressed a wish for har- 48 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chaptbsi mony ; begged them to consider, while complaining of violations of their charter, whether their present assem- 1774. bly was not a violation of it ; and required them, in con clusion, to desist from their illegal proceedings. So far from desisting, the Congress appointed a Com mittee of Safety, at the head of which was John Han cock, with power to oall out the militia. A committee was also raised to take measures for the defense of the province, and another to procure military stores and pro visions, toward which the sum of j£20,000, $66,666, was appropriated. Copstables and other collectors of taxes were ordered to pay no more money to the late treasurer of the province, but to hand over all future col lections to a new treasurer appointed by the Congress. Preble, of Falmouth, an old militia officer, Artemas Ward, a colleague of Ruggles on the bench of the Wor cester Common Pleas, and Pomeroy, who had led a regi ment at the battle of Lake George, were commissioned as generals. The militia were called upon to choose com pany and regimental officers of their own, and to perfect themselves in military discipline. The Congress disa vowed any intention to attack the British troops ; but, as their oapital was occupied by a large foroe, as the mili tary stores of the province had been seized, and as there was too much reason to apprehend a still more direct in vasion of their rights, they declared these measures neces sary for defense. Gage issued a proclamation denouncing their proceedings, to which no attention was paid, while the recommendations of the Provincial Congress had all the foroe of law. Gage had no support except in his troops and a few trembling officials, while the zealous co operation of an intelligent, firm, energetic, and over whelming majority of the people gave to the Congress all the strength of an established government. < WAR ON THE WESTERN FRONTIER. 49 While, the colonies were thus busy in defense of their chapter xxx. rights, the frontiers of Pennsylvania and Virginia had . been again visited by Indian war. Surveyors sent un- 1774. der the royal authority, at the request of the Assembly of Virginia, to extend the western limits of that prov ince, had pushed their explorations to a great distance westward. Some of these surveyors had descended the Ohio as far as the falls, and had traced up the Kentucky a considerably distance from its mouth. Collisions took plaoe between thege explorers and the Indians on the Ohio. Under the impulse of a. false rumor of previous hostilities on the part of the Indians, nine persons, the family of Logan, a chief distinguished for friendship to the whites, were murdered in cold blood. This and other April. similar atrocities excited the Indians tO revenge. The jurisdiction of the region about Pittsburg was still dis puted between Virginia and Pennsylvania. St. Clair and others, who reoogijized the authority of Pennsylvania, endeavored to conciliate matters, and an appeal, was made to Sir WiUiam Johnson by the Pennsylvania au thorities to induce the Six Nations to act as mediators. Just at this time Sir William died, but the business was undertaken by his son-in-law, Guy Johnson, soon ap pointed his successor as superintendent of the Northern Indians. While these efforts for peace were made by Pennsylvania, Conolly and others iji the Virginia in terest were bent on war, in which they were fully sup ported by Governor Dunmore. Daniel Boone was sent June. to guide baok by land the surveyors employed on the Lower Ohio ; after whioh he was placed in command of a frontier fort. Volunteers to maroh against the Indians were easily obtained. Major M'Donald, with four hund red men, having assembled at Fish Creek, on the Ohio, just below Wheeling, marched against and destroyed the Aug. 7. III.— D .50 HISTORY OF T,HE UNITED STATES. CKSJTE^ Shawanese village on the Muskingum, some sixteen; , miles below the present Coshocton ; but the Indians xxx, 1774. made their escape. Dunmore himself, with ^fifteen hundred men,, presently moved against the Indian vil lages on the Scioto, while Colonel Lewis, with another division of twelve hundred men, desO;pnded the Kenhawa. Near the mouth of that river Lewis found the Indians in force, under Logan, Cornstalk, and other chiefs, A Oct. 10. very hard-fought battle ensued ; the Virginians finally carried the day, but not without the loss of sixty or sev enty killed, and a large number ¦wounded. Shelby, aft erward first governor of Kentucky, led a company in this battle. Alarmed at Dunmore's approach toward their vMlages, the Indians had already entered into negotiations, and Dunmore sent word to Lewis to put a stop to hostili ties — orders which the backwoodsmen were somewhat re luctant to obey. Logan was not^present at the treaty, but he sent the following speech : "I appeal to any white man to. say if ever he entered LOgan's cabin hungry, and he gave him not meat ; if ever he came oold and naked, and he, clothed him not. During the last long and bloody war, Logan remained idle in his cabin an advocate for peace. Such was my love for the whites, that my countrymen pointed as they passed, and said, ' Logan is the friend of white men !' I had even thought to have lived with you but for the injuries of one man. Colonel Cresap, the last spring, in cold blood, and un provoked, murdered all the relatives of Logan, not even sparing women and children. There runs not a drop of my blood in the veins of any living creature. This oalled on me for revenge ! I have sought it ; I have killed many ; I have fully glutted my vengeance ! - For my people, I rejoice at the beams of peace ; but do not ENFORCEMENT OF THE ASSOCIATION. gj harbor a thought that mine is the joy of fear. Logan chapter XXX never felt fear. He will not turn on his heel to save his life I Who is there to mourn for Logan ? Not one !" 1774. At Fort Gower, at the junction of the Hocking with the Ohio, the ofiicers of Dunmore's army, on their home- Nov. 5. ward march, held a meeting, at whioh they compliment ed the governor, and resolved tp bear faithful allegiance to the king, but also to maintain the just rights of America by every means in their power. At the same time with these difficulties on the Vir ginia frontier, some collisions took place in Georgia be tween the settlers on the recently ceded lands, and the Creeks and Cherokees, who seemed disposed to support eaoh other in oase of hostilities. But, instead of having recourse to arms, Governor Wright proclaimed a suspen sion of trade. The Indians by this means were soon brought to terms, and a new treaty of peace was ar- Oct. 24. ranged. Two successive cargoes of tea which arrived at Ports- 1"'^" mouth had been reshipped. A quantity brought to An- oot. napolis was burned, and the ship with it ; the owner him self, to soothe the excitement, setting fire to it with his own hand. The Assembly of Connecticut gave orders to the towns to lay in a double supply of ammunition. They directed the cannon at New London to be mount ed, and the militia to be frequently trained. The pro ceedings of the Continental Congress were approved, and the same delegates were reappointed. Nov. 3 Measures meanwhile were every where on foot, by the appointment of committees of inspection, to enforce the American Association. Philadelphia set the example. Nov. 22. New York followed by appointing a city committee of sixty, with full powers for that purpose. At a third session of the Massachusetts Congress, held after a Nov. 23, 52 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. ^ CHAPTER short adjournment, the delegates to the late Continental XXX. . Congress made a report of the doings of that body, all 1774. of whioh were fully approved. It was voted to enroll twelve thousand " minute men" — volunteers, that is, from among the militia, pledged to be ready for servioe at a minute's notice; and negotiations were ordered with the other New England colonies, to make, up this force to twenty thousand. John Thomas, of Plymouth county, who had led a regiment in the late war, and William Heath, a Roxbury farmer, were commissioned as generals. Domestic manufactures were strongly urged upon the attention of the people. The same dele gates as before were appointed to the Continental Con gress to be held in the spring. Directions were also is sued for the election of a new Provincial Congress, to meet early in the year, at which time the members of the last elected council were requested to be present. The Congress then adjourned to attend the annual thanks giving, of which they had assumed the appointment. Their authority was zealously seconded in every town by a Committee of Safety, vested with general executive powers, a Committee of Correspondence, and a Committee of Inspection, appointed to look after the observance of the American Association. In the absenoe of the ships of war usually stationed in Narraganset Bay, forty-four pieces of cannon were taken from the batteries at Newport and ^jonveyed to Dec. 6. Providence. When called upon by the British naval commander for an explanation. Governor Wanton blunt ly avowed that these cannon had been taken away to prevent theit falling into his hands, and were intended for use against any power that might offer to molest the colony. This movement in Rhode Island was induced by a royal proclamation prohibiting the export of military ¦?,|.;* ENFORCEMENT OF THE ASSOCIATION. 53 stores to America. It was soon followed up in New chapter Hampshire. Instigated by Paul Revere from Boston, , xxx. and led by John Sullivan, a leading lawyer, late a dele- 1774. gate to the Continental Congress, and by John Langdon, ^^°- ^^¦ a principal merchant of Portsmouth, a large party en tered the fort at that place, which was only guarded by four or five men, and carried off a hundred barrels of powder, some cannon and small arms. The doings of the Ccmtinental Congress were approved Dec. 8. by a convention in Maryland, and the several counties took measures for enforcing the Association. The Convention of Maryland assumed, in faot, the powers of government ; they ordered the militia to be enrolled, and voted £10,000 to purchase arms. The Assembly of Pennsylvania also approved the doings of Congress, and appointed delegates Dec. i5. to the new one. In South Carolina, delegates to the 1775. new Congress, and committees of inspection to enforce ^^"- "¦ the Association, were appointed by a provincial conven tion, of which Charles Pinckney was president, called together by the committee of ninety-nine. Some of the members of this convention, particularly the indigo planters from the upper counties, took great offense at the exception of rice from the' non-exportation agree ment, regarding it as a piece of unjustifiable partiality. A motion was made to instruct the new delegates to use their endeavors at the ensuing Congress to cause this exception to be stricken out. Gadsden, one of the late delegates, disclaimed any responsibility in this mat ter, the very proposal of which had occasioned, he, said, great disgusts, and a cessation from business for several days, to give the South Carolina delegates time to recol lect themselves. It had only been yielded at last for the sake of preserving the union of America. He was in fkvor of striking it out. John Rutledge alleged, in 54 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chapter defense of himself and his three colleagues, that without xxx. . this exception the Association wOuld have operated with 1775. particular severity on South Carolina; and he proposed to equalize matters by a compensation to the indigo planters. A committee was appointed on that subject, but the plan of compensation proved unsatisfactory. The question then recurred on the original motion, when the rice planters prevailed by a very close vote — a vote, however, which tended not a little to increase the disaf fection in the upper counties. Among other powers con ferred by the South Carolina Convention upon the local committees was that of grantiiig extensions upon all debts, security being given ; nor could any suit be brought without their permission. The Assembly of New Jersey, in spite of Governor Jan. 24. Franklin's efforts, approved the doings of Congress, which Jan. 25. were ratified also in New Hampshire by a convention of delegates. The tendper of the Pennsylvania Assembly, though the aotion of Congress had been approved by that body, seemed too moderate to the warmer spirits. They Jan. 23. called a Provincial Convention ; and, besides taking effect ual means for enforcing the Association, adopted a resolu tion, that "if the British administration should determine to effect by force a submission to the late acts of Parlia ment, in suoh a situation , we hold it our indispensable duty to resist suoh force, and, at every hazard, to defend the rights and liberties of America." The president of this convention was Joseph Reed, a young lawyer of Presbyterian origin, who had married a daughter of De Berdt, the late Massachusetts agent in London. A leading spirit in it was Thomas Mifflin, a young Quaker distinguished for energy of chai-acter, and gifted with a remarkable flow of popular eloquence. But the Quakers generally did not share Mifflin's enthusiasm. They had SECTARIAN IN'FLUENCES ON POLITICS. 55 declined to .have any thing to do with enforcing the As- chapter xxx. sociation. While the Convention was sitting, the Quak er yearly meeting, assembled at Philadelphia, put forth a 1775. " testimony," in which their members were called upon " to unite in abhorrence of every measure and writing" "tending to break off the happy connection of the colonies with the mother country, or to interrupt their just sub ordination to the king." The religious sentiments of the other leading sects were not without a certain effect on politics. The Con gregational ministers of New England, an intelligent and very influential body, headed at this period by Chaunoy and Cooper, of Boston, cherished a traditionary Sentiment of opposition to British control— ^a sentiment strengthen ed, of late years, by the attempts of the English Sooiety for the Propagation of the Gospel to build up Episco pacy in New England by supporting there some thirty Episcopal missionaries. An unseasonable revival of the scheme for a bishop in the colonies had recently excited a bitter controversy, in which, sinoe Mayhew's death, Chaunoy had oome forward as the Congregational cham pion — a controversy which could only tend to confirm the Congregational, body in hostility to the extension of English influence. The larger part of the Presbyterians, the most numer ous sect in the middle colonies, derived their origin from the dissenting sections of the Scottish Churoh. For the most part, they had the same political sympathies with the Congregationalists of New England. Measures had been taken, of late years, to give concentration and unity to this sect by the establishment of an annual synod at Philadelphia. Witherspoon, an eminent Scottish clergy man, who had arrived some years before to take charge of the College of New Jersey, was presently sent a dele- 56 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chapter gate to Congress, of whioh body he became an active ^_ member. The native-born Presbyterians were almost 1775. all stanch Whigs; but the Scotch traders and mer chants, numerous in the southern colonies, adhered gen erally to the Tory side. - The Episcopal clergy throughout the colonies leaned, with very few exoeptions, to the support of the crown ; and in the middle and northern provinces their flocks were chiefly of the same way of thinking. In the southern colonies, where episcopacy was the established and pre vailing form of worship, religion, uninflamed by sectarian contention, seems to have exercised very little influenoe oveif political opinions. The scheme, indeed, for an American bishop, so far from meeting with any count enance in Virginia, was denounced by the Assembly as " the pernicious project of a few mistaken clergymen." The Episcopalians were more numerous and influen tial in New York than in any other northern province ; and, for some years past. New York had evinced a de gree of backwardness. The moderate Assembly, chosen in 1769, and still in existence, declined to sanction the Jan. 16. proceedings of the late Continental Congress, or to ap- Feb. 23. point delegates to the new one. Yet they did by no means abandon the colonial cause; a petition to the king, a memorial to the House of Lords, and a repre sentation and remonstrance to the Commons, were for warded to their agent, Edmund Burke — documents not materially different in their tone from those adopted by the Continental Congress. In Georgia, the committee of Christ Churoh parish Jan. 18. oalled a Convention to meet at the same time with the Assembly. But only seven out of the twelve parishes were represented ; and the influence of Governor Wright was still sufficient to prevent the adoption by that prov ince of the American Association. VIEWS OF THE MINISTRY. 51 CHAPTER XXXL VIEWS AND MEASURES OF THE BRITISH MINISTRY AND PARLIAMENT. BATTLE OF LEXINGTON. BLOCKADE OF BOSTON. CONTINENTAL CONGRESS REASSEMBLES." CON TINENTAL ARMY. CONTINENTAL PAPER MONEY. DOWN FALL OF BRITISH AUTHORITY IN THE COLONIES. TRAN SYLVANIA. JliNCOURAGED by information from America, de- chapter XXXI rived from officials whose opinions were greatly influ- enced by their wishes. Lord North and his colleagues be- 1774. lieved that a little firmness and energy on the part of the mother country would shake the resolution and break up the apparent union of the colonies. Even in New England and Virginia a considerable number of the wealthy and respectable were known to be warmly at tached to the mother country, though overborne and si lenced, for the present, by the violence of the opposite party. In New York the friends of the crown were strong ; many landed proprietors and merchants adhered to that side ; a considerable part of the inhabitants con sisted of recent emigrants, whose habits of loyalty were less easily shaken ; while among those born in the prov ince there prevailed a strong prejudice against the people of New England, sufficient, it was believed, to prove a serious obstacle to any hearty co-operation. The Quakers, so numerous and influential in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware, and not without weight in North Carolina, were known to be generally 58 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER opposed to violent measures. The Germans, numerous XXXI in Pennsylvania and the Garolinas, ignorant of the En- 1774. glish language, and unaccustomed to political rights or discussions, did not fjilly enter into the feelings* of the English colonists. The Scotch Highlanders, settled in New York, North Carolina, and Georgia, were very ig norant and very loyal. The arts of Governor Martin had secured the attachment of the North Carolina Reg ulators, from whom several loyal addresses had already been received. New England, New Jersey, and Penn sylvania were known to be deeply imbued with republi can ideas ; but the law of primogeniture which prevailed in New York and the South, co-operating with the in stitution of slavery, had raised up in those provinces a local aristocracy,, whose opinions and feelings, as it was thought, could not, without the greatest difficulty, allow them permanently to co-operate with the democratic pop ulation of the other colonies. ^ Should their union remain perfect, the united re sources of the colonies were deemed wholly inadequate to any obstinate or lengthened resistance. With the usual bravado of military men, British officers boasted how, at the head of a few regiments, they ' could march firom one eiid of America to the other. Even if the Americans dared to fight at all, whioh those officers pro fessed very much to doubt, one or two battles, it "was be lieved, would quell their proud spirit, and make them glad to acoept of peace on almost any terms. Of all the British speakers and writers who exercised their pens and tongues on what had now become a ques tion of universal interest, only one had the good sense and good feeling to recommend a peaceful separation. This was Dean Tucker, a pamphleteer of that day, author of the " Light of Nature," a work so much applauded by VIEWS OF THE MINISTRY. 59 Paley. He proposed that Parliament, by a solemn act, chapter XXXT declaring them to have forfeited all the privileges of British subjects by sea and land, should cut off the re- 1774. bellious provinces from the British empire ; with pro vision, however, for granting pardon and restoration to either or all of them, on their humble petition to that effect. Had this pacific plan been adopted. Great Brit ain would still have retained in America a large party of influential adherents. The furious hatred which the war generated— a hatred which has not yet wholly died out — would i}ot have been excited against her. The colonies, differing among themselves, might have adopt ed, in consequence, different lines of policy. At the worst, they could only have been lost, and that with out the expenses of a war, and the mutual antipathy which the war produced. But this scheme, so different from vulgar expedients, was denounced on all sides as the height of folly. Even the philosophic Burke, whose philosophy, however, was always bounded by precedent, scouted it as " childish." A general election had recently taken place in Great Nov. 30. Britain, but the result boded no good to the colonies. Parties in the new House of Commons stood very muoh as before. Lord North, and his colleagues in the min istry, had an overwhelming majority. Ministers not only were sure of support from Parliament, and from the personal feelings of the king, strongly bent upon bring ing the colonies to unconditional siibmission, they were also sustained by the general sentiment of the British people, by whom the stigma of rebelKon was already af- fixied to the oonduot of the colonists. Yet there was not wanting, both in and out of Par liament, a very respectable minority opposed to subduing the colonists by force, and anxious to promote an arnica- 60 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. ^ chapter ble adjustment. The merchants trading to America XXXI. . were very averse that any occasion should be given to 1774. their debtors for postponing or refusing the payment of their debts, or that actual war should put a final stop to a profitable trade already so seriously threatened by the American Association, compared with which all for mer non-importation agreements had been limited and inefficient. The English Dissenters were inclined by religious sympathies to favor. the, colonists. Suoh frag ments of the old Whig party as had not coalesced with the " king's friends," headed by the Marquis of Rock ingham and the Earl of Chatham, supported by the eolo- nial experienoe of Pownall and Johnstone, and sustain ed by the eloquence of Burke, Barre, Dunning, and the youthful Fox, few, but able, maintained with zeal those principles of liberty which had descended to them from the times of the English civil wars, and whioh the threatened civil war in America seemed now again to arouse to new life. 1775. After a long absence, Chatham reappeared in the Jan. 20. House of Lords, and proposed an address to the king ad vising the recall of the troops from l^oston ; but this motion, though supported by Lord Camden, after a warm debate was rejected by a very decisive majority. In the Commons, the papers relating to America were re- Jan. 26. ferred to a committee of the whole; The petitions for conciliation, whioh flowed in from all the great trading and manufacturing towns of the kingdom, ought properly to have gone to the same committee ; but the ministers procured their reference to another committee for a sub sequent day, whioh the opposition derided as a " com mittee of oblivion." Among the papers laid before Par liament was the petition from the Continental Congress to the king. Three of the colonial agents, Franklin, PROCEEDINGS OF PARLIAMENT. 61 BoUan, and Arthur Lee, to whose oare this petition had chapter XXXI been intrusted, asked to be heard upon it by counsel at the bar of the House. But their request was refused 1775. on the grortnd that the Congress was an illegal assem bly, and the alleged grievances only pretended. Still persevering in his schemes for conciliation, Chat ham brought forward in the Lords a bfll for settling the Feb. i. troubles in America. It required a full acknowledg ment on the part of the colonists of the supremacy and superintending power of Parliament, but provided that no tax should ever be levied except by consent of the colonial Assemblies. It contain^ed, also, a provision for a Congress of, the colonies to make the required acknowl edgment, and to vote, at the same time, a free grant to the king of a certain perpetual revenue, to be placed at the disposal of Parliament. Chatham exerted himself on this occasion with renewed and remarkable vigor ; but, in spite of aU his efforts, after a warm and very pointed debate, his bill was refused the courtesy of lying on the table, and, contrary to the usual course, was re jected by a vote of two to one at the first reading. Agreeably to the scheme foreshadowed in his speech on the address. Lord North, in the House of Commons, brought in a bill for cutting off the trade of New En- Feb. 3 gland elsewhere than to Great Britain, Ireland, and the British West Indies — intended as an offset to the Amer ican Association — and suspending the prosecution from those colonies of the Newfoundland fishery, a principal branch at that time of their trade and industry. An address to the throne, proposed by the ministers, and Feb, 7. carried after great debates, declared that a rebellion al ready existed in Massachusetts, countenanced and fo mented by unlawful combinations in other colonies. Effectual measures were recommended for suppressing 62 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chapter this rebeUion ; and the suppOrt of Parliament was pledged to the king in the maintenance of the just authority of 1775. the crown and the nation. Yet the private sentiments of Lord North were not materially different from the opinions avowed and main tained by Chatham. In urging the use of force against the colonies, he yielded to the exigencies of his position at the head of the ministry rather than to his own sense of justice and sound policy. Not willing to relinquish the idea of conciliation, in the midst of the hot debate on the New England Restraining Bill, the minister astonished the nation, and his own party espeoially, by himself bring ing forward a conciliatory proposition, in substance very little different from that whioh Chatham had offered, and whioh the House of Lords had so peremptorily rejected. This motion, less precise and specific than Chatham's, proposed, in vague and general terms, that when the As sembly of any province should offer to make a provision, suitable to its circumstances, for raising a sum of money, disposable by Parliament, for the oommon defense, and should engage to provide for the support of civil govern ment and the administration of justice within its own limits, and such offers should be approved by the king and Parliament, it would be proper, so long as such provi sion should continue to be made, to forbear the levy of any duties or taxes within suoh colony by act of Parlia ment except such as might be required for the regulation of trade, the net produce to be carried to the account of such province. This motion was warmly opposed by the ultra supporters of the authority of the mother country, who complained of it as yielding up the whole matter in controversy. North argued, on the contrary, that it yielded nothing, and pledged the mother country to noth ing. He did not expeot that it would be generally ao- PROCEEDINGS OF PARLIAMENT. 53 ceptable in America, but he hoped to use it as a means chapter XXXI of dividing the colonies. With these explanations, the motion was carried. An indirect negotiation had mean- 1775. while been attempted with Franklin, through the agency of Lord Howe. But Franklin did not 'regard the min isterial proposals as lilicly to be satisfactory, and seeing the pass to which things were coming, he embarked for March. Pennsylvania. In opposition to the New England Restraining Bill, testimony was heard as to the extent and importance of the fisheries, and their intimate connection with the trade of the mother country ; but all without avail. That bill had hardly passed the Commons when fresh informa- March 2. tion arrived from America of the support so generally given there to the proceedings of the Continental Con gress. In consequence of this news, another bill was brought in, extending similar restrictions to all the colo nies except New York, North Carolina, and Georgia. The Assemblies of New York and Georgia had declined to adopt the American Association; the ministers were encouraged by Governor Martin to entertain hopes of North Carolina also — a delusion to which the agent of that province contributed, by taking upon himself to keep back a petition from the Assembly, containing, as he al leged, many " strange inaccuracies and reflections on the Parliament and ministry." The merchants interested in the West India trade were heard on their petition against this new restraining bill. They gave in evidence the great and increasing magnitude of the sugar trade ; the entire dependence on the North American colonies of those concerned in the sugar cultivation for the indis pensable articles of provision and lumber, and the danger of famine were trade with those provinces broken off. A petition from the Assembly of Jamaica, laid before 64 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chapter Parliament, while it confessed the weakness of that col- XXXI. ' ony by reason of its great slave population, and its total 1775. inability, therefore, to mstke any resistance by arms, yet energetically sustained the olaim of rights set up by the North American provinces, and vehemently protested aga,inst the " plan almost carried into execution for re ducing the colonies into the most abject state of slavery." Petitions for conciliation were presented from the En glish Quakers, from the British settlers in the province of Quebec, and froitn numerous » manufacturing towns. .' The friends of the ministry got up also a few counter- petitions for' vigorous proceedings against the rebellious colonies. Burke, as representative of the Rockingham section March 22. of the opposition, brought forward a series of resolutions proposing the abandonment of all attempts at parlia mentary taxation, and a. return to' the old method of raising American supplies by the free grant of the co lonial Assemblies. He supported these resolutions in an elaborate speech ; but his motion was voted down, as was a similar one, introduced a few days after by David Hartley, on behalf of the Chatham section of the oppo sition. Wilkes, whom the ministry had labored so hard to crush, and whom the king regarded as his mortal enemy, had not only been returned a member of the present Par liament — to exclude him from which no attempt was made — but he was also Lord-mayor of London, in which April 30. capacity he presented to the king a remonstrance from the oity authorities, expressing " abhorrence" of the measures in progress for " the oppression of their fellow- subjeots in the colonies," and entreating the king, as a first step toward the redress of grievances, to dismiss his present ministry. PROCEEDINGS OF PARLIAMENT. 65 Some apprehensions began to be felt lest the disoon- chapter XXXI tents in America might extend to Ireland, where the L. Protestant portion of the iphabitants had hitherto been 1775. employed to keep the papist majority in subjection. That majority, amounting to seven eighths of the entire popplation, were not only deprived of all political privi leges, but were subjected also to a great many rigorous and oruel restraints, designed to keep them ignorant, poor, and helpless. Even the Protestant minority, on whom England relied to keep down the papists, were by no means on a level with the inhabitants of Great Britain. They had, indeed, a Parliament of their own, but that Parliament had not even the rights possessed by the American colonial Assemblies. It was held in striot subordination by the British ministry, without whose consent no bill could be introduced. In matters of trade,, Ireland was regarded as a foreign country ; we have had more than one occasion to notice with what jealousy she had been excluded from trade with the colonies. It was now judged expedient to concifiate the Irish by relaxing somewhat these commercial restrictions. But already the ideas started in the colonies were sowing the seeds of a revolution in Ireland. Toward the end of the session, Burke asked leave to May 15. lay before the Commons the remonstrance lately voted by the Assembly of New York. Much to the disap pointment of those who had counted on the defection of that province, this document was found to be so emphatic in its claim of rights that the minister opposed and pre vented its reception. Meanwhile, in the colonies, matters had reached a decisive issue. Jonathan Sewall, attorney general of Massachusetts and judge of the Admiralty, in a series of articles in a Boston newspaper, made a vigorous effort IIL— E 66 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER to convince his countrymen of the folly and danger of fur- XXXI ther resistance. To these articles John Adams promp% 1775. replied. Ruggles got up a counter-association against ^^^- that of the Continental Congress, and he persuaded a few persons to sign it ; but it became necessary to send a detachment of British troops to Marshfield to protect the signers against popular vengeance. Feb. 1. The new provincial Congress of Massachusetts, con sisting of upward of three hundred members, having met at Cambridge, Elbridge Gerry, a merchant of Marble- head, for two or three years past prominent in the Gen eral Court, was placed at the head of the Committee of Supplies. Active measures were taken for arming and -drilling the militia, and espeoially for procuring powder ; and magazines of provisions and military stores began to be laid up at Conoord, Worcester, and other places. An appeal to the people was put forth, and a day of fasting and prayer appointed ; after which the Congress took a short adjournment. Aware of what was going on. Gage sent a detachment to Salem, whence the British troops had been withdrawn for concentration at Boston, to seize some cannon said to be deposited there. A hundred and fifty regulars, sent Feb. 26. from Boston by water, landed at Salem on this business. Not finding the cannon there, they marched in search of them toward the adjoining town of Danvers. At a bridge between the towns they encountered a party of militia, under Colonel Pickering, who claimed the bridge as private property, and proposed to dispute the passage. It was Sunday ; one of the Salem ministers interfered, and, taking advantage of reverence for the day, with much difficulty prevented a collision. The soldiers were allowed to pass the bridge, but soon returned without finding the cannon. About the same time, two officers BATTLE OF LEXINGTON. 67 were sent in disguise to examine the country and the chapter XXX] roads toward Worcester. '_ The Connecticut Assembly, in a special session, though 1775. they declined to take immediate steps for enlisting troops, '^^''- ^~^^- yet commissioned David Wooster as major general, and Joseph Spencer and Israel Putnam as brigadiers. The Massachusetts Congress shortly after voted to raise an April 8. army for the , defense of the province. They sent com mittees , to , the other New England colonies to solicit their aid and concurrence, and meanwhile took another recess. Gage's force at this time amounted to twenty-eight hundred and fifty men. As the spring opened, he determ ined by active movements to nip these rebellious prep arations in the bud. Two officers, sent from Boston to make a reconnaissance, reported that some cannon and a quantity of provisions and military stores had been col lected at Concord, an interior town about twenty miles from Boston. To destroy these stores, eight hundred British troOps, light infantry and grenadiers, left Boston, under Colonel Smith, with great secrecy, shortly after midnight, andreached Lexington, within six miles of Con- April i9. cord, before sunrise. But the alarm had been given — it was supposed their object might be to arrest Hancock and Samuel Adams, who were lodging at Lexington — and the, minute men of the neighborhood, about a hund red in number, had assembled on the Green in front of the meeting-hguse. The head of the British column came suddenly upon them, led by two or three officers, who oalled upon the minute men to throw down their arms and disperse. When these orders were not instant ly obeyed, a volley was fired, by which eight of the min ute men were killed, and several wounded. The British alleged, however, that the minute men fired first. The 68 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chapter survivors scattered at once, and the regulars marched on to Concord. As they approached that vfllage, another 1775. body of minute men was seen assembled on a hifl in front of the meeting-house; but, as the regulars ad vanced, they retired across a bridge to another hifl baok of the town. The bridge was taken possession of by the regulars, a guard of three companies was stationed at it, and three other companies were sent across to de stroy some stores at a distance. The main body halted near the meeting-house, and commenced destroying the stores found there. The minute men on the hill, in creased by constant accessions, presently advanced to ward the bridge. The guard of regulars, having retired across it, began to take up the planks; and, as the minute men continued to approach, they fired. The fire was, returned, and several regulars were killed ; yet suoh was the hesitation at this first shedding of blood, that the three British companies beyond the bridge were suffered to ;:ecross without molestation. They fell baok to the village, and the whole detachment commenced a speedy retreat. It was time. The alarm had spread ; the country was up. The minute men, hurrying in from every side, threatened the rear, the flanks, the front of the retreating column, and from behind trees, fences, and stone walls, poured in an irregular but gall ing and Jatal fire. The British suffered very severely ; the commanding officer was wounded ; the retreat was fast turning into a rout ; the whole party would have fallen into the hands of the provincials but for season able aid found at Lexington, whither Gage, with wise caution, had dispatched Lord Percy with a supporting column of nine hundred men and two pieces of cannon. The artillery kept the minute men at bay ; Percy's men received their exhausted companions within a hollow BLOCKADE OF BOSTON. ,j 9 square, and the retreat, after a short halt, was again re- chapter XXXI commenced. By throwing out strOng flanking parties, Percy covered his main body, and by sunset the regu- 1775. lars reached Charlestown, worn out with fatigue, and with a loss in killed and wounded of near three hundred men. The provincial loss was about eighty-five. The exhausted regulars encamped on Bunker Hill, under cover of the ships of war in the river. The next day they crossed the ferry to Boston. From all parts of New England volunteers marched at once, and within a day or two after the fight, Boston was beleaguered by a considerable but irregular army. The news, forwarded hy express, spread fast through the colonies. Yet, with the hottest haste which could then be made, it took twenty days to reach Charleston, in South Carolina. The reassembled Congress of Massachusetts voted to April 22. raise thirteen thousand six hundred men, arranged pres ently into twenty-seven regiments. The other New En gland colonies were called upon to make up the army to thirty thousand men. Ward was appointed captain general, Thomas lieutenant general. A regiment of ar tillery was authorized, the command being given to Grid- ley, appointed also chief engineer. . A captain's commis sion was promised to any person who would enlist fifty- nine men ; any body who could procure the enlistment of ten companies was to be made a colonel. This meth od facilitated raising the men, but brought many incom petent ofiicers into the servioe. The issue of paper mon6y, one of the greatest mis eries of war, disused in Massachusetts for the last quar ter of a century, was now revived. Provincial notes were issued to the amount of £100,000, $333,333, in sums small enough to circulate as a currency. 70 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER Depositions to show that the regulars had fired first XXXI. . at Lexington, without provocation, were dispatched to 1775. England by a special packet, with a short but energetic address to the inhabitants of Great Britain, expressing the resolution "to die or be free." FrankliA, to whom this address and the depositions were inclosed', was re quested to have them printed and distributed, and to com municate them espeoially to the city of London. But Franklin had sailed for America, leaving the Massachu setts agency in the hands of Arthur Lee. The appeal to the other New England colonies was April 25. not made in vain. The Rhode Island Assembly voted an army of observation of fifteen hundred men — a meas ure opposed, however, by Governor "\Vanton and two or three of the assistants, who entered a protest against it as dangerous to their charter privileges, likely to involve the colony in a war, and contrary to their oath of al legiance. Stephen Hopkins and Samuel Ward, former governors and political rivals, were reappointed delegates to the Continental Congress. Wanton was rechosen gov ernor at the election shortly after ; but, as he did not May 3. appear to take the oaths, the Assembly directed that the duties of the office should be performed by Deputy-gov ernor Cooke, who oontinued for the next three years at the head of affairs. A body of Rhode Island volunteers had appeared before Boston, led by Nathaniel Greene, a young iron master, educated a Quaker, but now disowned by that communion on account of his military propensi ties. He was appointed by the Assembly commander-in- chief of the army of observation, with the rank of brig adier. April 26. The Connecticut Assembly voted to raise six, regi ments of a thousand men each, four of them to serve with the army before Boston. Wooster, Spencer, and BLOCKADE OF BOSTON. 7I Putnam, already commissioned as generals, were each to chapter XXXI have a regiment ; the other three were to be commanded by Hinman, Waterbury, and Parsons. Putnam was 1775. already in the camp before Boston. Old man of sixty as he was, on hearing the news, of the battle of Lexing ton, he had left his plow in the furrow to put himself at the head of the Connecticut volunteers. A special convention of delegates from the nearest April 21. towns, oalled together by the New Hampshire Commit tee of Safety on hearing the news of the battle of Lex ington, did not think it best to anticipate the action of a Provincial Congress, already summoned for the seven teenth of May, by taking steps for organizing an army ; but the several towns were requested to forward sup plies to the volunteers who had followed Stark to Bos ton. Meanwhile, the Massachusetts Congress directed enlistments- among the New Hampshire soldiers in camp. As the new regiments began to be formed, the volun teers returned home. For some weeks the foroe before Boston was very small, amounting to only two or three thousand men. In hopes that matters might possibly be reconciled. Governor TrumbuU . and the Connecticut Assembly sent May 1. a deputation to Gage to act as mediators — a step which excited much alarm in Massachusetts. The Provincial Congress remonstrated against any separate negotia tions ; and they voted Gage a public enemy, an instru- May 5. ment in the hands of tyrants, whom there was no further obligation to obey. Some correspondence took place between Gage and Trumbull, but nothing came of the Connecticut mediation. The Assembly of New York having refused to appoint delegates to the new Continental Congress, an ardent struggle had taken plaoe in the city, not- altogether un- March lO. 72 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER accompanied with violencOj on the question of electing members to a Provincial Convention for the purpose of XXXL 1776. choosing such delegates. The popular party carried the April 22. day ; and by the Convention presently held, twelve dele- *' gates -were appointed, any five of whom were authorized to represent the province in the Congress. The Corresponding Committee of New York, on re oeiving news of the battle of Lexington, drew up an Asso ciation for the Defense of Colonial Rights, whioh every body was called upon to sign — an expedient presently adopted in several other of the colonies, those especially in which considerable differences of opinion existed. The same committee also issued a circular to the several county committees, recommending the speedy meeting of a Provincial Congress, "to deliberate on and direot such measures as may be expedient for our oommon safety." News having arrived of the fight at Lexington, a great April 24. publio meeting was held in Philadelphia, at whioh meas ures were taken for entering into a volunteer military association, whioh soon pervaded the whole province. In spite of the admonitions of their elders, many^ of the yoUng Quakers took a part in this organization. Mifffin was the moving spirit of the whole. John Dickinson accepted the command of a regiment, as did Thomas M'Kean and James WUson, leading lawyers in the city. M'Kean was a native of Pennsylvania, of Scotch-Irish descent ; Wilson was born in Scotland, but he had stud ied law and for the last eight years had been a resident in Philadelphia, where his talents had raised him to con- May 1. spicuous notice. The Assembly, which met shortly after, appropriated ^£,1800 toward the expenses of the volun teers. They also appointed a Committee of Safety, of which Franklin, just returned from England, was made chairman. This committee took measures for the de- HENRY'S MARCH ON WILLIAMSBURG. 73 fense of Philadelphia, and in a short time assumed the chapter XXXI whole executive authority. Franklin, Wilson, and Will- ing were added to the congressional delegation ; Gal- 1775. loway, at his own earnest request, was excused from serving. Governor Penn laid Lord North's conciliatory proposition before the Assembly, but it did not meet with much favor. The Delaware Assembly had already approved the doings of the late Continental Congress, and had ap- March 10. pointed delegates to the new one, in which they were presently imitated by the Assembly of Maryland, April 24. The Virginia Convention, which met at Richmond to March 20. appoint delegates to the new Continental Congress, had been persuaded, by the energy and eloquence of Patrick Henry, to take measures for enrolling a company of volunteers in each county. Before news arrived of the battle of Lexington, Governor Dunmore had ordered the April 21. powder belonging to the province to be taken from the public store at WUliamsburg, and placed on board an armed vessel in the river. This proceeding caused a great excitement, increased by news of the Lexington fight. Having collected some companies of the new vol unteers, Henry marched toward Williamsburg, and com pelled the king's receiver to give bills for the value of the powder taken away. Dunmore sent his family on May 4. board a ship in the river, fortified his palace, and issued a proclamation declaring Henry and his coadjutors guilty of rebellion ; but their conduct was sustained and ap proved by numerous county conventions. In spite of all Martin's efforts to prevent it, a Pro vincial Congress met in North Carolina simultaneously April c with the Assembly, and, for the most part, composed of the same members. Both bodies concurred in approving the proceedings of the late Continental Congress, and in 74 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER appointing delegates to the new one. News arriving of the battle of Lexington, an Association was entered- into 1775. by the friends of colonial rights, pledging the assooiators to defend those rights by force, if necessary. The citi zens of Mechlenburg county carried their zeal so far as May 21. to resolve, at a public meeting, to throw off the British connection, and they framed a formal Declaration of In dependence. But this feeling was by no means general. There were many who refused to sign the Association, or to take the oath of neutrality tendered instead. Count er combinations were also entered into for sustaining the royal authority. The fortresses of Ticonderoga and Crown Point, on the northern frontier of New England and New York, the possession of which had cost such severe struggles during the late war, were held by very slender garrisons. Apart from their importance as military positions, es pecially as Canada did not unite with the other colonies, their cannon and military stores offered a very tempting prize. The controversy between the inhabitants of Ver mont and the authorities of New York had reached a high pitch. The New York Assembly; at its late ses- March3i. sion, which proved, indeed, to be its last, had passed an act offering rewards for the apprehension of those who had been most active in opposing their jurisdiction, and declaring such as did not surrender within a, oertain time guilty of felony, and liable to suffer death. The April 11. Green Mountain Boys retorted by holding a Convention, which totally renounced the authority of New York. Previous to the battle of Lexington, the expediency of seizing Ticonderoga and Crown Point had been sug gested to the Massachusetts Committee of Safety, a board of thirteen members, which exercised the general executive direction of affairs. Their attention was now TICONDEROGA AND CROWN POINT. 7.5 recalled to the subject by Benedict Arnold, a New Haven chapter XXXI trader and shipmaster, wht) commanded a company of '__ volunteers in the camp before Boston. Arnold received 1775. a commission as colonel, with authority to raise men in Vermont to attempt the surprise of those fortresses. The attention of Connecticut had been called to the same subject, and, about the time of Arnold's departure, some persons deputed for that purpose had induced Ethan Al len and Seth Warner, the two most active leaders among the Green Mountain Boys, to raise a force for the same enterprise. Arnold, as yet without men, joined Allen's party and claimed the command, but, being refused, agreed to serve as a volunteer. Allen approached Ticon deroga with eighty men, penetrated undiscovered into the center of the fort, surprised the commanding officer in his bed, and summoned him to surrender " in the name May 10. of the great Jehovah and the Continental Congress !" Crown Point was taken by Warner with equal ease. The total garrisons of both posts were only sixty men. Upward of two hundred pieces of artillery, and a large and precious supply of powder, of whioh there was a great scarcity in the camp before Boston, feU into the hands of the captors. Arnold was presently joined by some fifty recruits, who had seized a schooner, and taken several prisoners and some pieces of cannon at Skenes borough, a new settlement (now Whitehall, at the head of Lake Champlain)r, founded by Colonel Skene, a British officer, who had gone to England to soficit an appoint ment as governor of Ticonderoga. In this captured ves sel Arnold proceeded down the lake, entered the Sorel, surprised the post of St. John's, where the navigation May 10. terminates, captured an armed vessel there, and carried off some valuable stores. Allen proposed to hold St. John's, but was obliged to retire by a superior force 76 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chapter from Montreal. Arnold, with his vessels, returned to XXXI. ' Crown Point. 1775. Meanwhile the Provincial Congress of New Hamp- May 17. shire appointed a treasurer, issued bUls of credit, and voted to raise three regiments, the troops in the camp before Boston to constitute two. Nathaniel Folsom was appointed brigadier ; Stark, Read, and Poor were codi- missioned as colonels. May 15. The New Jersey Assembly, called together by Governor Franklin to consider Lord North's conciliatory proposi tion, declined to approve it, or to take any decisive step in the matter, except with the consent and approbation of the Continental Congress, already met. No sooner May 23. had the Assembly adjourned than a Provincial Congress was organized, and an Association agreed to for the de fense of colonial rights, similar to that of New York. Measures were taken for organizing the militia, and j£lO,000 were issued in bills of credit for the payment of expenses. But the Congress declined to raise regular troops till some general plan should first be agreed upon. May 10. To the Continental Congress assembled at Philadel phia all eyes were now eagerly turned. The Eastern del egates were escorted into the city by a cavalcade. Ran dolph was again elected president, and Charles Thompson secretary^ But Randolph being soon oalled home to at tend as speaker of the Virginia Assembly, a session which Dunmore hadr summoned to take Lord North's concilia tory proposition into consideration, his seat in the Con gress was filled by Thomas Jefferson, provisionally ap pointed for that purpose, and his plaoe as president by May 24. John Hancock. The parish of St. John's, in Georgia, inoluding the district about the River Midway, had ohosen March 25. Lyman Hall as their special representative, and as suoh he was admitted, but without a vote. Having resolved CONTINENTAL CONGRESS. 77 itself into a Com(mittee of the Whole, to take into con- chapter XXXI sideration the state of the colonies, a full account of the recent events in Massachusetts was laid before the Con- 1775. gross. To this same committee was also referred a letter ^^y ' ^ from the Provincial Congress of Massachusetts, asking ad vice as to the form of government to be adopted there, and requesting the Continental Congress to assume the con trol and direction of the forces assembled before Boston. The former Congress had claimed no political power, though the signature of the American Association had made a near approach to it. The present Congress, oalled upon by the publio voioe of the colonies, entered at once on the exercise of a comprehensive authority, in which supreme executive, legislative, and, in some cases, judicial funotion were united — an authority without any formal sanction or fixed limits, except the ready obedi ence of a large m^jo^^ity in most of the colonies. If this majority was any where doubtful — ahd, now that war approached, of those hitherto active in the colonial cause some began to shrink — the supporters of the Congress more than made up for lack of numbers by superior in telligence, activity, and zeal. The Committee of the Whole reported, and Congress May 2C. resolved, that hostilities had been commenced by Great Britain. They denied any intention of throwing off their allegiance, and expressed an anxious desire for peace ; but voted, at the same time, that the colonies ought to be put in a posture of defense against the at tempt to compel them by force to submit to the scheme of parliamentary taxation. It was deemed useless to memorialize Parliament any further ; but by the influ ence of Dickinson, against the strenuous efforts of John Adams and his colleagues, another petition to the king was voted. In New England the idea of independence be- 78 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. (;hapter gan already to be freely entertained — a notion, as yet, ^^^'' very unpalatable in the middle and southern colonies. 1775. It was resolved that no provisions ought to be fur nished to the British army or navy, that no bills of ex change drawn by British officers ought to be negotiated, and that no colonial ships ought to be employed in the transportation of British troops. Besides a committee on the petition to the king, com mittees were appointed to prepare an address to the people of Great Britain, an address to the people of Ire land, a letter to the Assembly of Jamaica, and an appeal to the " oppressed inhabitants of Canada." A proclama tion was also issued for a day of solemn fasting and prayer. It was resolved that no obedienoe was due to the, late act of Parliament for subverting the charter of Massachusetts; and the Congress of that province, in answer to their application, were advised to organize a government in as near conformity to the charter as cir cumstances would admit. A rumor spreading that a British regiment had been ordered from Ireland to New York, in answer to an application on that subject from the city committee. Congress advised that the troops be aUowed to land and to occupy the barracks, but not 'to fortify the town, nor to intercept the communication with the country. May 22. A Provincial Congress for New York, assembled on the suggestion of the city committee, appointed Nathaniel WoodhuU as president. The members did not vote in dividually. A oertain number of votes were allowed to each .county, in proportion to its assumed wealth and population. They forwarded to Philadelphia a scheme to furnish funds for defending the colonies by the issue of a continental currency, substantially the same with that presently adopted. They also took measm'es for NEW YORK CONGRESS. 7 9 enlisting four regiments for the defense of the province, chapter XXXI and for erecting fortifications, recommended by Congress, '_ at the head of York Island and in the Highlands of the 1775. Hudson. Meanwhfle, at the suggestion of Congress, they invited Wooster, with his Connecticut regiment, to assist in defending the city against the expected British troops. Wooster marched accordingly, and encamped at Harlem, whence he sent troops to Long Island to guard against British cruisers and foraging parties, and to cut off supplies of provisions sent to Boston. The Continental Congress were very anxious for the defense 6f Ticonderoga ; and the New York Provincial Congress agreed to furnish provisions for Colonel Hinman, who had marched thither with his Connecticut , regiment. There was in the province a large and powerful party warmly attached to the British connection — a party not without its representatives even in the Provincial Con gress, of whioh the tone, in consequence, was compara tively moderate. Gouverneur Morris, a leading mem ber, a young lawyer, a shoot of that Morris family so conspicuous in the colonial history of New York and New Jersey, and the originator of the project for con tinental paper money, saw in prospect, should a separa tion from the mother country take place, only " the dom ination of a riotous mob." A great deal of time was accordingly spent on a plan for conciliation. This plan, agreed to by the majority, in spite of the strenuous op position of M'Dougall, Sears, and other " Sons of Lib erty," required a repeal of all the obnoxious acts of Par liament, but acknowledged the right of the mother coun try to regulate trade, and the duty of the colonies to contribute to the common charges by grants to be made by the colonial Assemblies, or by a general Congress specially called for that piu:pose. 80 HISTORY OP THE UNITED STATES. chapter The Continental Congress proceeded, meanwhile, to the XXXI . delicate task of appointing a commander-in-chief. Una- 1775. nimity on this important oooasion was muoh promoted by John Adams, very anxious to conciliate the good- will and support of the southern colonies. George Washington, jU'Ui ly' present as a member of Congress from Virginia, was nominated by Johnson of Maryland, and unanimously ohosen. He accepted the appointment in a modest speech, in which he declined any compensation beyond payment of expenses. Artemas Ward, Charles Lee, Philip Schuyler, and Israel Putnam, were ohosen major generals; Horatio Gates, adjutant general, with the rank of brigadier. Ward and Putnam were already in oom mand in the camp before Boston, the one as captain gen eral, under a Massachusetts commission, the other as a Connecticut brigadier. Schuyler had been recommended as a major general by the New York Provincial Congress. Gates, an Englishman by birth, formerly a captain in the British servioe, had recently sold out his commission and settled in Virginia. Lee was a person of very ec centric habits, a mere soldier of fortune, but possessing a high reputation for military experience and science, having served with distinction both in Europe and Amer ica. He held, at the time of his election, a lieutenant colonel's commission in the British service. During the last eighteen months he had been traveling through America, and had recently been induced by Gates to purchase lands in Virginia. For some unknown private cause, he was bitterly hostile to the British ministry. Congress undertook to indemnify him for any pecuniary loss he might sustain by entering into their service, and subsequently advanced him $30,000 for that purpose. Before accepting this Atnerican appointment, he resigned his British commission in a formal letter to the Score- CONTINENTAL COMMISSIONS. yj tary of War. A strenuous opposition was made in Con- chapter XXXI gross to the appointment of both Lee and Gates. Wash- ington urged it on account of their mflitary knowledge 1775. and experience, but they both occasioned him afterward a great deal of trouble. Pomeroy, Heath, and Thomas, of Massachusetts ; June 22. Wooster and Spencer, of Connecticut ; and Greene, of Rhode Island, already holding colony commissions as gen eral officers, were commissioned as brigadiers. To these were added Sullivan, a member of Congress from New Hampshire, and Montgomery, of New York, a native of the north of Ireland. Though bred a lawyer, and with out military experience, Sullivan soon proved himself an able officer. Montgomery had served with credit in a subaltern rank at the siege of Louisburg, and under Wolfe at Quebec. Within two or three years past he had dis posed of his oommission, had married into the Livingston family and settled in New York, and, along with Schuy ler, had been recommended for military rank by the New York Provincial Congress, of which he was a member. The colonels and other inferior officers in the camp before Boston were confirmed in their oommands, and presently received Continental commissions. The selection of gen eral officers by Congress occasioned a -good deal of heart burning, partioularly the Connecticut appointments. Wooster and Spencer, who had led regiments in the last French war, complained loudly at being superseded by Putnam, who had not risen in that servioe beyond the rank of lieutenant colonel. A representation on this subject was made to Congress by the Connecticut officers and the Connecticut Assembly. Pomeroy, from some disgust, Jiad already retired, nor did he acoept his con tinental commission. Before these new arrangements were completed an im- III.— F 82 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chapter portant battle had been already fought. Largely re-en- XXXI. . forced by the arrival of additional troops, under Generals 1'775. Howe, Burgoyne, and Clinton,- distinguished and accom plished officers, the British army in Boston had been in creased to twenty regular regiments, amounting to up ward of ten thousand men. Thus strengthened. Gage had June 12. issued a proclamation of martial law, offering pardon, however, to all who would forthwith return to their al legiance, John Hancock and Samuel Adams excepted, whose guilt was too flagitious to be overlooked. The New England army before Boston, sixteen thousand strong, consisted of thirty-six regiments,- twenty-seven from Mas6achusetts,''and three from each of the other colonies. John Whitcombe, who had led a regiment in the French war, and Dr. Joseph Warren, president of the Congress and chairman of the Committee of Safety, June 15. had been appointed first and second major generals of the Massachusetts forces. To make the blockade of Boston more complete, by order of the Committee of Safety, Colonel Prescott, with about a thousand men, including a conipany of artil- June 16. lery with two field pieces, marched at nightfall to take possession of Bunker Hill, a considerable eminence just within the peninsula of Charlestown, and commanding the great northern road from Boston. By some mistake, Prescott passed Bunker Hill and advanced to Breed's Hill, at the southern end 'of the peninsula, and much June 17. nearer Boston. Before morning the troops had thrown up a considerable redoubt, greatly to the surprise of the British, who opened immediately a fire upon them from the ships in the harbor and the batteries in Boston. Un der the direction of Gridley and of Knox, late commander of a Boston artillery militia company, the provincials labored on undisturbed by the fire. By noon they had BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. ^3 thrown up a breastwork extending from the redoubt, chapter XXXI down the northern slope of the hill, toward the water. Cannon mounted in the redoubt would command the 1775. harbor, and might make Boston itself untenable. To avert this threatened danger, three thousand men, pick ed corps of the British army, led by Generals Howe and Pigot, embarked in boats from the wharves in Boston, June I7. and landed at the eastern foot of Breed's Hill. Such was the want of order and system in the provincial camp, and so little was the apprehension of immediate attack, that the same troops, who had been working all night, still occupied the intrenohments. General Putnam was on the field, but he appears to have had no troops and no command. The same was the case with General Warren, whom the. rumor of attack had drawn from Cambridge. Two New Hampshire regiments, under Stark, arrived on the ground just before the aotion be gan, and took up a position on the left of the unfinished breastwork, but some two hundred yards in the rear, under an imperfect cover, made by pulling up the rail fences, placing them in parallel lines a few feet apart, and filling the intervening space with the new-mown hay whioh lay scattered on the hill. Other troops had been ordered to Charlestown ; but, owing to some mis apprehension, they did not arrive in season to take part in the battle. The supply of ammunition was very short. About three in the afternoon of a brilliant summer's day, the British troops advanced toward the redoubt, supported by a redoubled fire from the ships and the batteries. The neighboring hills, and the roofs and steeples of Boston, were crowded with anxious spectators. The assailants pressed forward till within a hundred yards of the provincials, when they were suddenly check- 84 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chapter ed bv quick and heavv -vollevs from the redoubt and YYYT d L tf tl XXXI. .breastwork, delivered with the unerring aim of marks- 1775. men. Before a fire so deadly the regulars wavered, broke, and fell baok in disorder to the landing place. Soon, however, they were rallied by their officers, and again brought up to the charge. During the first at tack some scattering shots had come from the houses on the British left. Infuriated by repulse. Gage gave orders for setting the village of Charlestown on fire. The wooden buildings burned rapidly, and the tall spire of the meeting-house was soon wrapped in flames. While this conflagration added new horrors to the scene, the British line again moved forward. Again the same fatal fire drove them baok in confusion to the landing place. General Clinton passed over from Boston to give his assistance. The troops, by great efforts on the part of the officers, were rallied and led a third time up the hfll, and now with better success. The powder of the provincials began to fail, and no supply was at hand. Some British artillery pushed into the gap between the breastwork and the rail fence, planted their pieces, and swept the breastwork from end to end. The grena diers assailed the redoubt on three sides at once, and carried it at the point of the bayonet. Pending the main attack, the British light infantry advanced upon Stark's troops behind the rail fence, but were warmly received, and kept at bay till the redoubt was carried ; after which the whole body of the provincials made good their retreat over Charlestown Neck, under an incessant fire from the floating batteries, whioh did, however, but little mischief. The provincials might consider such a defeat as little less than victory. Out of three thousand British troops engaged, over one thousand were killed or wounded — a WASHINGTON ASSUMES THE COMMAND. 85 loss such as feW battles show.* The ministry were so chapter little satisfied with the accounts sent them of this trans- aotion, that Gage was superseded in oommand. The 1775. provincial loss was four hundred and fifty ; but among the slain was General Warren. Ardent, sincere, disin terested, and indefatigable, his death was deeply de plored. He left an iafant family, with smaU means of support ; for whom, by the zeal and perseverance of Arnold, the Continental Congress was at last pushed to make some provision. The battle of Bunker Hill fig ures in history as having tested the ability of the pro vincials to meet , a British army in the field. That, however, was a point on whioh the provincials them selves never had any doubts, and the battle, at the mo ment, was less thought of than now. Nor were the men engaged in it all heroes. The conduct of several officers on that day was investigated by court martial, and one, at least, was cashiered for cowardice. Heath was appointed major general in Warren's place, June 20. and a similar oommission was given to Frye, both colonels in the Massachusetts army, and Frye commander-in- chief of the Massachusetts forces at the unfortunate cap ture of Fort William Henry. But these commissions, and the other previous ones, were soon superseded by the new continental appointments. About a fortnight after the battle of Bunker HiU, Washington, attended by sev- juiy 2. oral ardent young men from the southern provinces, ar rived in the camp and assumed the command. He found there excellent materials for an army, but great deficiencies of arms and ammunition, and great defects of discipline and organization. To prevent the British, not greatly inferior in numbers, and perfectly armed, equipped, and disciplined, from penetrating into the coun try, it was necessary to guard a circuit of eight or nine 86 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER miles. Washington established his head-quarters at XXXI. , Cambridge. Ward, in oommand of the right wing, was 1775. stationed at Roxbury ; and Lee, with the left, on Pros pect Hill. Joseph Trumbull, a son of the governor of Connecticut, and commissary for the troops of that prov ince, was appointed commissary general of the consoli dated army. The post of quarter-master general was given by Washington) under authority from Congress, to Mifflin, who had followed him from Philadelphia as un aid-de-camp. The post of secretary to the commander- in-chief was bestowed on Joseph Reed, another Phila- delphian ; but, on Reed's return to Philadelphia a few months afterward, Washington selected for that im portant and confidential , duty Robert H. Harrison, a lawyer of Maryland, with whom he had formerly had business relations, and who continued for several years to discharge its responsible duties very much to the general's satisfaction. Edmund Randolph, a nephew of Peyton Randolph, but whose father, the at torney general of Virginia, was a decided Royalist, had accompanied the commander-in-chief to Boston, and acted for a while as aid-de-camp. But he was presently recalled to Virginia by his uncle's sudden death. The camp was soon joined by some companies of rifle men from Maryland, Virginia, and Western Pennsylvania, enfisted under the orders of Congress. One of the Vir ginia companies was led by Daniel Morgan, formerly a wagoner, in which capacity he had been wounded at Braddock's defeat. A man of Herculean frame and in domitable energy, his qualities as a partisan soon made him distinguished. Otho H. Williams, lieutenant of one of the Maryland companies, rose ultimately to the rank of brigadier. These new auxiliaries, most of whom were PROCEEDINGS OF CONGRESS. 87 Irishmen, did not make themselves very agreeable to the chapter New, England troops. While Washington was engaged in organizing the 1775. army, the Continental Congress was busy with measures for its support, pay, and government. In conformity with the suggestions of the New York Provincial Con gress, it was voted to issue two millions of dollars in con- June 23 tinental bills of credit. Articles of War were agreed to, June so and a Declaration was, issued, setting forth the " causes July 6. and necessity ior taking Up arms." " Our cause is just," said this declaration ; " our union is perfect. Our in ternal resources are great ; and, if necessary, foreign assistance is undoubtedly attainable." Any intention, however, to dissolve the union with Great Britain was emphatically disclaimed. "We have not raised armies with the ambitious design of separating from Great Britain and establishing independent states." "In de fense of the freedom that is our birthright we have taken up arms. We shall lay them down when hostilities shall cease on the part of the aggressors, and all danger of their being renewed shall be removed." A petition to the king, firm but respectful, drawn by Dickinson — the last attempt at reconciliation on the part of the col onists — was adopted and signed by all the members. July 8. An Address to the Inhabitants of Great Britain re-stated the chief points of the controversy, and called upon the British people, as " men, countrymen, and brethren," not to countenance proceedings as dangerous to British as they were to American liberty. As a pendent to this address, a letter of thanks was sent to the mayor and livery of London for their spirited opposition to the op pressive and ruinous ministerial system of colonial ad ministration. These documents were intrusted to Rich ard Penn, then about to visit England, a grandson of the 88 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. cHAi^TER founder of Pennsylvania, late governor of the province, and brother of the present governor, for many years past 1775. a resident in America. An Address to the People of July 21. Ireland, returning hearty thanks for the sympathy ex hibited for the colonies, significantly alluded to the griev ances under which that island labored. A letter to the July 25. Assembly of Jamaica returned thanks also for their sympathy. " The peculiar situation of your island for bids your assistance. But we have your good wishes. From the good wishes of the friends of liberty and man kind we shall always derive consolation." The importanoe of keeping on good terms with the Indians was not overlooked. Three boards were consti tuted for Indian affairs : one for the Six Nations and other northern tribes ; a second for the Cherokees and Creeks ; and a third for the intervening nations. Five hundred dollars were voted for the education of Indian youth at Wheelock's school^ recently established at Han over, in New Hampshire. In the camp before Boston, Massachusetts already had a body of Stockbridge Indians, the last remains of the tribes of Western New England. Overtures had also been made to the Six Nations through Kirkland, a missionary to the Oneidas, whose support was presently assumed by Congress. But Kirkland, and all the other dissenting missionaries, were soon ordered out of the country by Guy Johnson, the British Indian agent, whose hostile attitude occasioned some apprehen sions. John Adams, dining some time after at Cam bridge with Mifflin, the quarter-master, found at table some Indians of the Cagnawagas, or French Mohawks, who " made a savage feast of it." Louis, head chief of the Cagnawagas, half blood of the negro and Indian, was complimented with a oommission as colonel, and faith fully adhered to the American cause. PROCEEDINGS OF CONGRESS. 8 0 Ever since Franklin ha?d been dismissed from his office chapter xxxi. of post-master, William Goddard had been traveling from colony to colony, exerting himself to get up a " constitu- 1775. tional post-office" in opposition to the royal mail, which by this time was nearly broken down from failure of postages. Congress now established a post-office system of its own, and appointed Franklin post-master general. July 20. An army hospital was also organized, the directorship July 27 of whioh was given to Dr. Benjamin Church, a phy sician of Boston, who had almost rivaled Warren in his zeal for the colonial cause. Washington was authorized to keep up in Massachusetts such a body of troops as he might think necessary, not exceeding twenty -two thou sand men. To toeet increasing expenses, another million in bills of credit had already been authorized. Two joint treas- July 17. urers were also appointed, George Clymer and Michael Hillegas, the latter of whom remained in office as long as the confederation lasted. The liability for the three millions of bills already out was distributed among the July 29. colonies, subject, however, to future revision, in the ratio of their supposed " number of inhabitants, of all ages, in cluding negroes and mulattoes ;" the bills to be redeemed in four annual installments, to commence at the end of four years. While the Continental Congress was thus busy with the common interests, the local conventions and com mittees were by no means idle. In Massachusetts, agree ably to the advice given by Congress, a House of Rep resentatives was presently ohosen, as if under the charter, and an election for counselors was had as usual, the July 19. members of the last-chosen council being present to vote. By the terms of the charter, in the absence of the gov ernor and lieutenant governor, the executive authority 90 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER devolved on the councU. Those offices being considered XXXI. u -1 as vacant, that authority was assumed by the council ; 1775. and under this system the government went on tUl the adoption of a Constitution five years afterward. In plaoe of the various committees of correspondence, safe ty, and inspection, hitherto existing in the several towns, a single executive committee was authorized, to combine all those powers. The democratic charter governments of Rhode Island and Connecticut, as they placed the management of affairs in officers chosen directly by the people, required no change. Under the administration of the firm and energetic Trumbull,^ Connecticut took a foremost stand. Nor was Rhode Island wanting, though the extent of her coast exposed her greatly to maritime depredations, and made it necessary to raise a regiment, in addition to those before Boston, for local defense. Wentworth, governor of New Hampshire, having lost all control over that province, shut himself up in the fort at Portsmouth, whereupon his house was pillaged July, by a mob. He prorogued the Assembly, now in session for the last time, and presently retired to Boston for safety, leaving the political control of the province in the hands of the Provincial Congress and the local com mittees. June 25. About the time that Washington passed through New York on his way to Boston, Governor Tryon returned from England ; and the same escort of honor whioh the Provincial Congress ordered for the continental com mander-in-chief was ordered also for the royal governor. In spite of the efforts of the Congress to prevent -it, the oity corporation presented to Tryon a loyal g,ddress. Immediately after the seizure of Ticonderoga and Crown Point, Allen and Arnold had written to Congress, DOWNFALL OF BRITISH AUTHORITY. gj urging an advance upon Canada, where there were only chapter XXXI. two British regiments, about eight hundred strong. This . seemed, at first, too much like taking the offensive; the 1775. New York Provincial Congress had expressly disclaimed any intention to make war on Canada. Soon, however, a different policy prevailed. To the four regiments which the Congress of New York had undertaken to raise, a fifth was added of Green Mountain Boys. Including these regiments, one of which was commanded by M'DougaU, and another by James Clinton, brother of George Clinton, five thousand men were voted by the Continental Con gress, nominally for the defense of New York, but really for the invasion of Canada. A separate northern mili tary department was established, the command of which was given to Schuyler. Wooster, with his troops at Harlem, was ordered to Albany. Sears was presently sent at midnight to remove the Aug. 22, guns on the battery at the southern point of the oity of New York. Some shots fired at a boat from the Asia, a ship of war whioh lay in the harbor, were answered with a broadside, which killed three of Sears's party. Among those engaged in this affair was Alexander Ham ilton. A native of Nevis, in the West Indies, a youth of eighteen, for a year or two past a student in King's College, he had made himself quite conspicuous among the patriots by some able essays in the newspapers, and a few months after, through the interest of M'Dougall, notwithstanding his extreme youth, was appointed cap tain of a company of artillery. Having issued $112,000 in bills of credit, to be re deemed by taxes in two years, the New York Congress adjourned for a month, leaving the management of affairs Sept. with a Committee of Safety. An unsuccessful attempt was made by that committee to disarm the people of Long 92 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER and Staten Islands, many of whom refused to sign the XXXI, '¦^ J !_ '"n Association. These recusants were encouraged by iry- 1775. on, who presently became so obnoxious that he found it necessary to retire on board the Asia. Oct. 3. The Provincial Congress of New Jersey made addi tional provisions for organizing the militia, and appointed PhUemon Dickinson and William Livingston generals to command it. They also proceeded, at the request of the Continental Congress, to enlist two regular battalions. The command of one was given to Maxwell, that of the other to Alexander, a leading person in the colony, a member of the council, known by courtesy as Lord Ster ling, in consequence of a olaim he had set up to a vacant Scotch peerage. To pay the expenses thus incurred, ^30,000 were issued in provincial bills. July 28. The Maryland Convention, having reassembled, drew up an Association to be signed by all the freemen, ap pointed committees of safety and correspondence, issued paper money, organized the militia, and collected mili tary stores. An attempt to break into the colonial magazine of arms at Williamsburg, in which a person was wounded June 8. by a spring-gun, whioh the governor had caused to be secretly placed there, occasioned quite a tumult, and Dunmore took refuge in a ship of war in the river. The Burgesses, in session to oonsider Lord North's concilia tory proposition, after vainly entreating the governor's return, declined to continue any official intercourse with him, and adjourned by their own authority, having first protested their true allegiance to the king and earnest attachment to the British connection. July 17. The royal government thus at an end, delegates from the several counties met at Richmond, organized them selves into a Convention, and passed ordinances for em- DOWNFALL OF BRITISH AUTHORITY. go bodying the militia as minute men, for enlisting two chapter XXXI regular regiments, of which Henry and Woodford were chosen colonels, and for issuing treasury notes on the 1775. credit of certain taxes imposed by the same ordinance, to be appropriated partly for the expenses now incurred, and partly to discharge unsettled accounts growing out of the late Indian war. Independent companies were also authorized for the defense of the frontiers. As in the other provinces, a Committee of Safety, appointed by the Convention, assumed the executive authority. Governor Martin, of North Carolina, alarmed at the progress of the Association in that province, had first fortified his house at Newborn, and then retired to the fort at the mouth of Cape Fear River. When a body of July 17. militia approached the fort, he abandoned that also, and took refuge on board a ship of war in the river. The as sooiators followed up their advantage with energy. They disarmed their opponents, and confined as prisoners on their plantations those whose influence was most dreaded. The Continental Congress, to sustain their cause in North Carolina, where Tories were so numerous, voted to fur nish support for a thousand men. On the strength of this engagement, a new Convention met at Hillsborough > and voted two regiments, of which Howe and Moore were Aug. 20. appointed colonels. A proclamation forbidding their meet ing,, which Martin issued from on shipboard, was de nounced by the Convention as "a scandalous, malicious, and scurrilous Ubel, tending to disunite the good people of the province," and they ordered it to be burned by the common hangman. A third regiment was presently au- Sept. thorized, of which Francis Nash was appointed colonel. The Provincial Congress of South Carolina, at a sec ond session, adopted an Association, drawn up by Henry Laurens, their president. They appointed a Committee June. 94 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER of Safety, issued $600,000 of paper money, and voted xxxi. . to raise two regiments, of which Gadsden and Moultrie 1775. were chosen colonels. Lieutenant-governor Bull was utterly powerless to prevent or interrupt these proceed ings. While the Convention was stUl in session. Lord WUliam Campbell, who had acquired by marriage large possessions in the province, arrived at Charleston with a commission as governor. Received with courtesy, he July, presently summoned an Assembly ; but that body declined # to proceed to business, and soon adjourned on its own au thority. The Committee of Safety pursued with energy measures for putting the province in a state of defense. A good deal of resistance was made to the Association, especially in the back counties. Persuasion failing, force was used ; and by the energy and activity of William Henry Drayton, in an armed progress through the back settlements, the disaffected were oompelled to stipulate neutrality. Drayton was a nephew of Lieutenant-gov ernor Bull, a young lawyer, whose charges to the grand juries on colonial rights, during a temporary occupation some ten months before, by his uncle's favor, of a seat on the bench, had contributed not a little to stir up the spirit of opposition. A vessel was fitted out by the Com mittee of Safety, which seized an English powder ship off St. Augustine and brought her into Charleston. Moultrie was presently sent to take possession of the fort in Charles ton harbor. No resistance was made. The small garri- Sept. 16. son, in expectation of the visit, had already retired on board-the ships of war in the harbor. Lord Campbell, the governor, accused of seoret negotiations with the Chero kees and the disaffected in the baok counties, was soon obUged to seek the same shelter. A regiment of artillery was voted ; and measures were taken for fortifying the harbor, from which the British ships were soon expelled. DOWNFALL OF BRITISH AUTHORITY. 95 The flame, also, had spread into Georgia, beyond the chapter XXXI. power of Governor Wright to quench it. The powder . magazine at Savannah was robbed of its contents. A 1775. meeting at Savannah appointed a Council of Safety, of ^^^ ^^ which William Cawin was president. A new Provincial Convention met, and Georgia, hitherto " the defective July 4. link in the American chain," adopted the American As sociation, and appointed as delegates to the Continental Congress, Lyman Hall, already there from St. John's Parish, Archibald Bullock, Dr. Jones, John Houston, and , the Rev. Dr. Zubly, a Swiss by birth, ipinister of the Presbyterian church at Savannah. A powder ship which had arrived at the mouth of tfee river was seized, and a part of its contents forwarded to the camp before Boston. Sir James Wright issued proclamations, but his power was gone. Stuart, the agent for the Southern Indians, sought safety at St. Augustine. Lord North's conciliatory proposition, recommended to the attention of Congress by the Assemblies of Pennsyl vania, New Jersey, and Virginia, had been referred to a committee, and with it an informal paper, handed to a member of Congress by a gentleman, who said it had been drawn up, at the minister's desire, by an official of the British treasury, and that he had received it from Lord North himself This paper strongly urged the ac ceptance of Lord North's proposition as being the best which, in the present temper of the British nation, the ministry oould propose. The committee, however, after some delay, made a report, which Congress accepted and July 3i. ordered to be published, in whioh the unsatisfactory char acter and unsafe vagueness of the ministerial offer were elaborately exposed. Having ordered funds to be for warded to Massachusetts and New York for the payment and support of the troops. Congress took a short recess. 96 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. cHAPTEEu . 1 The domineering spirit of the British ministry and XXXL \" '"' - ^^ nation on the one hand, the ardor of resistance to the 17f 5.' exeroise by the mother country of the taxing power on the -other, brought to a focus by ^the attempt to coerce Massachusetts, and kindled into a blaze by the Lexing ton fight, had precipitated a contest, the length, the sac rifices, the labors, the costs of whioh none, at that time at. all foresaw. The ministry hoped to awe the dolonies into speedy submission. The colonial leaders, looking only at the bright side of their prospects, flattered them selves that one or two campaigns would finish the war, and, whether the connection with Great Britain contin- ¦ * ¦ ued or not,would secure on a firm foundation the rights of the colonies. This confidence, as appeared by the re sult, was somewhat excessive ; yet, deficient as the col onists -w-ere in arms, money, and military organization, the nature of their country and the character, of tjie population placed almost insuperable obstacles in the way of their subjection by force. The settlements ex tended for a thousand miles along the Atlantic, and from a hundred to two hundred miles inland. This extensive territory, for the most part rugged, intersected by, swamps and rivers, covered with woods, and highly de fensible, was inhabited by an agricultural population, not collected in towns and oities, but scattered in farms and plantations, nowhere presenting any vital points of attack. The only towns of any considerable size Were Boston, Newport, New York, Philadelphia, Norfolk, and Charleston ; and of these, the three largest scaroely con tained twenty thousand inhabitants eaoh, while* neither of the others reached half that number. * It was not dif ficult for the British troops to obtain possession of these towns. It was easy, also, to march through, and even to reduce to temporary subjection those portions of the SETTLEMENTS IN KENTUCKY. southern colonies in which slaves were numerous, and chap 97 TER XXXI. where the level surface and ease of water communication . facilitated military movements. Fortunately for Amer- 1775. ioa, the first collision had occurred with the yeomanry of New England, freeholders who fought for their farms and firesides, simple in their habits, inured to toil, but intelligent, not without education, and full of the spirit and energy qf freemen. A similar yeomanry, though less homogeneous, less intelligent, and less energetic, formed, in the middle colonies, the bulk, of the inhabit ants. Even in the south, except in the tide-water count ies, where cultivation was carried on by slaves, the pop ulation, though stiU less intelligent and less energetic, yet partook, to a great degree, of the same general char acter. Suoh a population, in such a country, if tolera bly united, it was next to impossible to subdue by force. In the midst of these commotions, far off in the west ern woods, by some of these same hardy yeomen an em bryo state began to be formed. Richard Henderson, a North Carolina lawyer and speculator, elevated from very humble life by his. own energy and talent, had been induced,, by reports of the fertile region on the banks of the Lower Kentucky, to purchase from the Cherokees, March. for a few wagon loads of goods, a great tract south of that river. He associated some others with him in the proprietorship ; and the adventurous Boone, who had been present at the treaty, was soon afterward sent to mark out a road and to commence a settlement. Though he encountered several parties of hostile Indians, Boone persevered in the enterprise, and built a palisadoed fort April. or " station" at Boone.sborough, the first permanent En glish lodgment within the limits of the present state of Kentucky. Harrod, an equally bold backwoodsman, founded Harrodsburg about the same time. HI.— G 98 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER Regardless of a proclamation issued by Dunmore pre- , vious to his flight from Williamsburg, denouncing Hen- XXXI. 1^775. derson's purchase as iUegal and void, and offering the March 17. -(^gstern lands for sale under authority of the crown, del egates from Boonesborough, Harrodsburg, and two other May 23. settlements presently, met at Boonesborough, and organ ized themselves as the Asseinbly of Transylvania. Hen derson presided on behalf of the proprietaries. A compact was entered into between the proprietaries and the set- * tiers. Courts and a militia were organized, and laws were enacted — among other purposes, for preserving game, and punishing profane swearing and Sabbath breaking. Sept. 25. The proprietaries of Transylvania; presently held a meeting at Oxford, in Granville county. North Carolina, and appointed James Hogg as a delegate to the Conti nental Congress at Philadelphia. Hogg proceeded thith- Oct. 22. er"; but, though he was favorably received by several of the members, the olaim of Virginia to that country, as being within her charter, proved an obstacle to the rec ognition of the new colony. About the same time, a not less adventurous party set out from Connecticut to colonize the banks of the Lower Mississippi. After eleven years' solicitation in England, greatly broken in mind and body. General Ly man, agent of the " MUitary Adventurers," as they oall ed themselves, had at last obtained a grant in the prov ince of West Florida. He proceeded to Natchez, laid out a nurnber of townships in that vicinity, and was presently followed by four hundred families from Con- 1776. necticut, who descended, in the space of six weeks, from the head of the Ohio. The state of feeling in Connect icut heightened the disposition of these Loyalist emi grants to seek homes elsewhere. They were destined, however, to great sufferings. THIRTEEN UNITED COLONIES. 99 CHAPTER XXXIL THIRTEEN UNITED COLONIES. CAMP BEFORE BOSTON. CONTINENTAL NAVY. INVASION OF CANADA. RE-EN LISTMENT OF THE ARMY. PROCEEDINGS OF PARLIA MENT. AFFAIRS OF NEW YORK AND THE SOUTH. N the reassemblv of the Continental Consress, the chapter XXXII. o Georgia delegates having taken their seats, the style was . assumed of The Thirteen United Colonies. 1775. One of the first subjects to be considered was the ^P'' ^' alarming scarcity of ammunition and military stores. Washington had found, in the camp before Boston, scaroely nine rounds of powder to a man. Active op-, orations were completely paralyzed by thjs deficiency. A council of war, called to oonsider the ^pediency of Sept. 8. an attack on Boston, advised against it. Besides measures entered into by the publio at large with great zeal for promoting the discovery of lead mines and the manufacture of saltpeter, a secret committee of Congress was instituted to import powder and lead from Sept. is. the West Indies. The non-importation agreement was also suspended in favor of all vessels bringing powder and warlike stores. Some of the powder seized by the South Carolinians was presently forwarded to Washing ton's camp. Dr. Churoh, the head of the hospital department, was detected, soon after his appointment, in a secret corre spondence with Gage. Its extent or objeot did not clear ly appear ; but as Church was known to be very much involved in his pecuniary circumstances, the worst was 100 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chapter suspected. Tried by a court martial, he was found XXXII. r J J . guUty of " criminal correspondence with the enemy." In 1775. spite of a very ingenious defense before the bar of the Oct. 3. Massachusetts House of Representatives, of which he was Oct. 37. a member, he was expelled; and presently, by order of Congress, was confined a olose prisoner in Connecticut, being debarred the use of pen, ink, and paper. After an imprisonment of several months, his health failing, he was suffered to enabark for the West Indies ; but the vessel in which he sailed was never afterward heard of Church was succeeded at the head of the army medical department by Dr. John Morgan, a professor in the med ical sohool of Philadelphia, of whioh, indeed, he had been one of the founders. A constant alarm was kept up by British cruisers which hovered on. the ooast of New England, and landed occasionally to obtain supplies. Lieutenant Mowatt, who commanded one of these cruisers, chased a vessel from the West Indies into Gloucester harbor. The boats sent to take her being repulsed by the townspeople, Mowatt Aug. 13. fired upon the town, and attempted to land. But he was again repulsed, with the loss of his boats, and thirty- five men taken prisoners. Narraganset Bay was muoh annoyed by a squadron ' of British cruisers, and Bristol Oct. 7. was bombarded to frighten the inhabitants into furnish ing a supply of provisions. Mowatt was presently sent to Falmouth (now Portland), where, a few months be fore, the loading of a royal mast ship had been obstruct ed, and Mowatt himself arrested and treated with some rudeness. On the refusal of the inhabitants to give up their arms, after allowing two hours for the removal of Oct. 18. the women and children, a bombardment was commenc ed, and. that rising town of five hundred houses was pres ently in flames. The townspeople, not to be so fright- CONTINENTAL NAVY. 101 ened, stood to their arms, and defeated Mowatt's attempt chapter , XXXII to land. Such useless outrages did but exasperate feel- ings already sufficiently inflamed. 1775. It was not long before the colonists tried their hands also at maritime warfare. Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Connecticut equipped each an armed vessel or two. In Massachusetts a law was passed to authorize and en- Nov. lO. courage the fitting out of privateers, and a court was established for the trial and condemnation of prizes. Maryland, Virginia, and South Carolina each had their navy boards and armed vessels, and so did Pennsylvania for the defense of the Delaware. Five or six armed ves sels, fitted out by Washington, cruised to intercept the supplies received at Boston by sea. Most of the officers of these vessels proved incompetent, and the men muti nous ; but Captain Manly, of the schooner Lee, furnished a brilliant exception. In the midst of storms he kept the hazardous station of Massachusetts Bay, and, among other prizes, captured an ordnance brig laden with heavy guns, mortars, and working tools — a most acceptable supply to the Continental army. Under instructions from the Assembly of Rhode Island, the delegates of that colony oalled the attention of the Continental Congress to the subject of a navy. A Ma rine Committee was appointed, and four armed vessels were ordered to be fitted out at continental expense. All ships of war employed in harassing the colonies, and all vessels bringing supplies to the British forces, were declared lawful prize. JPrivateering was authorized, and Nov. 25 the colonies were requested to establish courts for the trial of captures, reserving an appeal to Congress. Rules and Regulations for the Navy were adopted ; and the Naval Committee were presently authorized to fit out Dec. I3. thirteen frigates, of from twenty-four to thirty -two guns. 102 HISTORY bF THE UNITED STATES. chapter The exposed condition of Rhode Island, and the pres- XXXII. ^ ' ence of a British squadron in Narraganset Bay, encour- 1775. aged the partisans of the mother country, of whom there were many in Newport. A large number of the mer chants in all the chief commercial towns of the colonies were openly hostile, or but coldly inclined to the com mon cause. In Newport a jealousy was felt of Provi dence, as aspiring to become the capit&.l. The authori ties of Rhode Island asked troops from the camp before Boston, but Washington was not able to spare any. Gen eral Lee, sent to Newport to advise about throwing up fortifications, oalled the principal persons among the dis affected before him, and obliged them to take a tremen dous oath to support the authority of Congress. The As- Nov. 6. sembly met shortly after, and passed an aot, subjecting to death, with confiscation of property, all who should hold intelligence with, or assist the British ships. But, to save Newport from destruction, it presently became necessary to permit a certain stated supply to be fur- lii^ed from that town. The clergy and the seigneurs of Canada, well satisfied with the late Quebec Act, were inclined to sustain the British authority ; but some partisans of the American cause were hoped for among the cultivators and citizens, as well as among the immigrants since the conquest. The body of the Canadian people, notwithstanding a proclamation of martial law, paid very little attention to Governor Carleton's loud calls uj)on them to arm for the defense of the province. Hinman's Connecticut regi ment, stationed at Ticonderoga, at the head of whioh Aug. Schuyler placed himself, descended the lake in boats, en tered the Sorel, and occupied the Isle Aux Noix. After Sept. 6. an unsuccessful attempt on St. John's, where was a gar rison of five or six hundred British troops, the principal INVASION OF CANADA. j^ q 3 regular force in Canada, leaving the command to Mont- chapter XXXiL gomery, Schuyler returned to the rear to hasten for- ward men and supplies. The equipment of the New 1775. York regiments was greatly delayed by the difficulty of finding arms, and Wooster was ordered from Albany to join Montgomery. Meanwhile Ethan Allen, with a small party, prinoi- Sept. 24. pally Canadians, was taken prisoner in a wild attempt, without orders, to surprise Montreal. Contrary to Carle- ton's usual oonduot, Allen experienced very hard usage, being sent in irons to England, &.nd treated rather as a leader of banditti than as a prisoner pf war. Joined by Wooster and by some Canadians, Mont gomery renewed the siege of St. John's. By the sur prise and capture of Chambly, lower down the Sorel, Nov. 3. against which he sent a detachment, , he obtained a sea sonable supply of ammunition, whioh enabled him to press the siege of St. John's with vigor. For the relief of that important post. Governor Carleton exerted him self to raise the Canadian militia ; but, in attempting to oross from the island of Montreal to the south bank of the St. Lawrence, he was repulsed by an advanced division of Montgomery's army. Another party of Ca nadian militia from the neighborhood of Quebec, advanc ing up the Sorel, was driven down that river to its junc tion with the St.. Lawrence, at which point the Ameri cans established a post and erected batteries. Relief thus cut off, the garrison of St. John's presently surren- Nov. 3. dered as prisoners of war ; after which Montgomery pushed forward to Montreal, a town at that time of but two or three thousand inhabitants, open, and without fortifications. Carleton passed down the river in a fast- sailing boat, and escaped to Quebec. General Prescott, with the feeble garrison, attempted to escape the same Nov. 12. 104 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chapter way, but were intercepted by the batteries at the Sorel, XXXII. and taken prisoners. 1775. With the woolens found at Montreal the American general was enabled to clothe his troops, of which they stood in great need. A regiment of Canadians was or ganized under Colonel Livingston ; but Montgomery en countered great discouragements in the lateness of the season and the insubordination of his soldiers, of whom many, disgusted with the hardships of the service, de serted and returned home. Still he pushed on for Que bec, in expectation of meeting there a co-operating foroe. When obliged to give up the command of Ticonde roga to Hinman, Arnold had behaved with a good deal of insubordination ; had disbanded his men, and returned in disgust to the camp before Boston. There, however, he presently obtained employment in an enterprise sug gested some time before by Brewer, colonel of one of the Sept. Massachusetts regiments. Detached with eleven hund red men, inoluding a company of artillery and Morgan's Virginia riflemen, to co-operate with the northern army against Quebec, Arnold ascended in boats to the head of the Kennebec, and, guided in part by the journal of a British officer who had passed over that route some fif teen years before, struck across the wilderness to the head streams of the Chaudiere, down whioh he descend ed toward the capital of Canada. In crossing these un inhabited wilds the troops suffered severely, and the rear division, disoouraged and short of provisions, turned about and gave over the enterprise. With the other divisions Arnold persevered; and, after a six weeks' struggle, a few days before Montgomery entered Mon- Nov. 5. treal, he reached the south bank of the St. Lawrence, opposite Quebec. He was kindly received by the Ca nadian peasantry, and his sudden appearance caused the INVASION OF CANADA. 105 greatest alarm. Quebec had but two hundred regular chapter XXXII troops ; there was a good deal of discontent among the inhabitants. Could Arnold have crossed at once, he 1775. might, perhaps, in the absence of Carleton, have got pos session of the city. But, on some intimation of his ap proach, the boats had all been removed or destroyed, and some days elapsed before he could collect birch-bark canoes in which to cross. Meanwhile Carleton made his appearance, having escaped down the river from Montreal. He sent all the non-combatants out of the city ; organized the traders and others into military com panies ; landed the sailors ; and, with his foroe thus in creased to near twelve hundred men, put the town into a oomplete state of defense. Two armed vessels were ¦ stationed in the river to intercept Arnold ; but he crossed in the night ; and, ascending the same rugged precipices whioh Wolfe had climbed before him, drew up his forces on the Plains of Abraham. His little army, hardly five Nov. u. hundred and fifty effective men, approached the city, ; but the garrison did not oome out to meet him; and, as he had no means to undertake a siege, he retired some twenty miles up the river to wait for Montgomery, of whose approach he had notice. Leaving Wooster in command at Montreal, Mont gomery advanced down the river ; but all his Connecti cut troops became entitled to their discharge on the tenth of December, and his ranks were so thinned by desertions and the detachments he was obliged to leave behind him, that, when he joined Arnold, their united force did not Dec. i. exceed st thousand men. They returned, however, to Quebec, and opened batteries against it; but their artil lery, only a few field pieces, was too light to take any effect. The works were extensive ; some weak point might perhaps be found ; an assault was resolved upon 106 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chapter as the last desperate chance. While a snow-storm was XXXII. '^ • J • J. waited for to cover the movement, deserters carried into 1775. the town information of what was intended. To dis tract the enemy's attention, two feints were made against the upper town. It was against two opposite sides of the lower town that the real attacks were directed, the one led by Montgomery, the other by Arnold. Some rockets, thrown up as a signal, being seen by the enemy, they took the alarm and hastened to the ramparts. Mont- Dec. 31. gomery, with the New York troops, approached the first barrier, on the south side of the lower town. The en emy fled ; not, however, without discharging a piece of artillery, by which Montgomery and his two aids were slain. Disoouraged by the loss of their leader, this divi sion abandoned the attack. Arnold, on his side, pushed through the northern suburb, and approached a two-gun battery, the advanced post of the enemy in that direction. While cheering on his men, the bone of his leg was shat tered by a musket ball. He was borne from the field ; but Morgan, at the head of his riflemen, made a rush at the battery, carried it, and took the guard prisoners. Morgan had no guide ; the morning was dark ; totally ignorant of the situation of the town, he came to a halt. He was joined by some fragments of other companies, and, when the day dawned, found himself at the head of some two hundred men, who eagerly demanded to be led against the second barrier, a few paces in front, but con cealed from sight by a turn in the street. Morgan gave the order, and his men advanced and planted their lad; ders ; but those who mounted saw on the other side a double hedge of bayonets ready to receive them, while a fire, at the same time, was opened by parties of the en emy relieved from duty elsewhere by the failure of the other attack, and sent out of the gates to take them in CONTINENTAL ARMY. jq^ the rear. Exposed in a narrow street to an incessant chapter fire, Morgan's ranks were soon thinned. His men threw '^^^"' themselves into the store-houses on eaoh side of the street ; 1775. but, overpowered by numbers, benumbed with oold, their muskets rendered unserviceable by the snow, they were obUged to surrender. Not less than four hundred men were lost in this unlucky assault, of whom three hund red became prisoners. Arnold retired with the remnant of his troops three mUes up the river, and, covering , his camp with ramparts of frozen snow, kept up the block ade of Quebec through the winter. While these operations were carried on in Canada, the term of service of the troops before Boston was rap idly approaohing its termination. The time of the Con necticut and Rhode Island regiments expired early in December. None of the troops were engaged for a longer period than the first of April. A committee from Philadelphia had visited the camp, '^o*°oo'^ and, in consultation with Washington, and with commit tees from the New England colonies, had agreed upon a plan, presently sanctioned by Congress, for the reorgan- Nov. 4. ization of the besieging army. It was to consist, accord ing to this plan, of twenty-six regiments, besides rifle men and artillery : Massachusetts to furnish sixteen, Connecticut five, New Hampshire three, and Rhode Island two — in all, about twenty thousand men ; the officers to be selected by Washington out of those al ready in service, willing and qualified to aot. But this was a business muoh easier to plan than to execute. The selection of officers was a most delicate and embar rassing matter, in which not qualifications only, but provincial and personal prejudices had to be consulted, for not a man would enlist till he knew the officers un der whom he was to serve. Even then, enlistments. 108 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chapter though only for a year, were obtained with difficulty. The first effervescence of patriotism was over. The 1775. barracks were cold and comfortless, and the supply of fuel scanty. A short experience of military life had damped the ardor of many. All the new recruits re quired a furlough to visit their families. Those who did not re-enlist refused to serve a moment, beyond their time. One or two of the Connecticut regiments marched off some days beforehand. The camp was in danger of be ing left bare, and, to supply the deficiency in the Con tinental regiments, five thousand militia had to be called in, who answered muoh better than Washington had feared. Surrounded with difficulties, the commander-in-chief exhibited a fortitude, assiduity, discrimination, and pa tience absolutely essential for the station whioh he held, and amply vindicating the judgment of Congress. In his private correspondence he could not wholly suppress his feelings. He complained bitterly of "an egregious want of publio spirit," and of " fertility in all the low arts of obtaining advantage." Yet at least one striking instance of disinterestedness was displayed. In arranging the new regiments. Col onel Asa Whitcombe, an officer of merit, who had served in the late French war, was left out on account of his advanced age. His men took offense at it, and refused to re-enlist, when the colonel set them an example by himself enlisting as a private soldier. Such magnanim ity did not pass unacknowledged. One of the other col onels gave up his regiment, to which Whitcombe was appointed, and Washington noticed his conduct with par ticular approbation in general orders. Age, in a measure, disqualified Gridley, who had hitherto commanded the artillery. That arm was in a CONTINENTAL ARMY. j^ 0 9 very defective state. An equivalent for Gridley 's half chapter pay on the British establishment was secured to him by Congress, and the oommand of the artUlery, with the 1775. rank of colonel, was given, on Washington's recommend ation, to Knox, who visited Ticonderoga, selected cannon there, and, with the help of the pieces captured by Man ly, soon placed that department on a better footing. According to an arrangement recommended by a com mittee of Congress sent to consult with Schuyler, the northern army was to consist of nine, increased pres ently to eleven battalions, two to be recruited out of the troops already in that service, two to be enlisted in Can ada, two from Pennsylvania, and one eaoh from New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey. Besides the regiments included in these two armies, Congress had already taken into colonial pay the three regiments of South Carolina, presently increased to five, the three regiments of North Carolina, to which three more were soon afterward added, and the two regiments of Virginia, increased first to six, and then tO nine. Vir ginia and Maryland had been oalled upon for additional riflemen, sufficient to make up a regiment. Delaware had been called upon for one regiment, Pennsylvania for six, New Jersey for two, New York for four, and Georgia for one. Two of the regiments- from Pennsylvania, one from New Jersey, and three from New York, were to serve in Schuyler's army. Among the Pennsylvania colonels were Magaw, who commanded the battalion of riflemen, St. Clair, Irving, and Wayne. A third New Jersey reg iment, and two others presently raised in Rhode Island for local defense, were subsequently taken into conti nental pay. A proclamation having been issued in the name of 110 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chapter the king, declaring the colonies in a state of rebellion, .and threatening with punishment all who should aid or xxxn. 1775. abet them. Congress also proclaimed their resolution to Dec. 6. retort upon the supporters of the ministry any severities which might be inflicted upon their friends and parti sans. A seoret committee, of which Franklin was chairman, for corresponding with the friends of the colonies in Brit- Nov. 29. ain, Ireland, and elsewhere, constituted the first rudi ment of a state department. A correspondence was ira.-. mediately opened by this committee with Arthur Lee and C. W. F. Dumas. Arthur Lee, a brother of Richard Henry Lee, resided in London as a barrister, and had taken a warm interest in American affairs, having acted as agent for Virginia, and, after Franklin's departure, for Massachusetts also. Dumas, a Swiss, but long resident in Holland, where Franklin had become acquainted with him during a visit to that country, proved a faithful and assiduous agent. Nov. 29. Already three additional millions in continental bills of credit had been ordered to be issued, to be apportioned like the former three miUions, and to be redeemed in four annual installments, to commence at the end of eight years. Meanwhile, on the other side of the water, a strenu ous opposition continued to be made by the mercantile interest, and especially by the corporation of London, to the coercive policy adopted by the ministers. Lord Ef fingham and the eldest son of Lord Chatham took the unusual but honorable course of resigning their com missions in the army rather than to be obliged to serve in so unnatural a struggle. Oglethorpe, founder of Georgia, now the senior gen eral in the British service, having declined the proffered BRITISH FORCES FOR AMERICA. Ill command in chief, it was given, after Gage's recall, to chapter XXXII General Howe, younger brother of that Lord Howe who fell in the attack on Ticonderoga, and who himself had 1775. commanded the light infantry in Wolfe's famous battle on the Plains of Abraham. In the debate on the address, in reply to the speech Oct. 26. from the throne at the opening of Parliament, the con duct of the ministry was severely canvassed. They lost the support of General Conway and the Duke of Graf ton, both of whom resigned their places and went over to the opposition. Lord George Germaine was appoint ed secretary for the colonies, but Dartmouth still ad hered to the ministry, and received another office. In spite of a few defections, Lord North was still sustained by a powerful majority, and Parliament promptly voted twenty-five thousand men to be employed in America. As it was difficult to obtain enlistments in Great Brit ain, Hanoverian troops were hired to garrison the fort resses in the Mediterranean, in order to set free an equiv alent number of British soldiers for service in America. This employment of foreign mercenaries was very much stigmatized by the opposition ; but the same policy was presently carried much further. In the course of the session, treaties were laid before Parliament, by whioh the Duke of Brunswick and the Landgrave of Hesse- Cassel agreed to hire out seventeen thousand of their sub jects to servo as mercenaries in America. The employ ment of German troops had been suggested by Lord Howe, who expressed, in his correspondence with the ministry, a great dislike of Irish Catholic soldiers as not at all to be depended on. These treaties, after violent de bates, were sanctioned by Parliament, and the necessary funds were voted. The forces to be employed in America were thus raised to upward of forty thousand men. 112 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chapter The petition of the Continental Congress to the king, ^^^"' intrusted to the care- of Richard Penn, had been pre- 1775. sented through Lord Dartmouth, who informed Penn that no answer would be giyen. Examined as a wit ness before the House of Lords, Penn expressed a positive opinion that no designs of independency had been formed by Congress ; and as he had been lately a resident at PhUadelphia, and was personally acquainted with many of the members, his opinion seemed entitled to great weight. But the ministry, at this very time,- were in possession of letters written by John Adams, and inter cepted at the Newport ferry, which looked very much the other way. On the strength of Penn's testimony, the Duke of Richmond moved that the petition of Con gress, whieh had been laid before ParUament along with other papers relating to the colonies, might be made the basis of a conciliation with America ; but after a warm debate this motion was rejected. In the House of Com- Nov. 16. mens, Burke introduced a bill repealing the offensive acts, and granting an amnesty as to the past, thus waving the points in dispute. This bUl, though supported by one of Burke's ablest speeches, was rejected by a majority of two to one. A similar movement, made shortly after ty Hartley, on the part of the other section of the opposi tion, shared a similar fate. Dec. 21. The ministry, on their part, carried a bill prohibiting all trade with the thirteen rebel colonies, and declaring their ships and goods, and those of allpersons trafficking with them, lawful prize. A section of this act, deemed in America excessively oruel, authorized the impress ment, for servioe in the royal navy, of the crews of all captured colonial vessels. Another section provided for the. appointment of commissioners by the crown, with authority to grant pardon and exception .from the penal- THE BRITISH IN BOSTON- 113 ties of this act to such colonies or individuals as might, chapter XXXII by speedy submission, seem to merit that favor. L. Among the adherents of the mother country assembled 1775. in Boston, three companies of " Loyal American Assooia tors" had been organized, and placed under the oommand of Ruggles. General Howe was well satisfied that Bos ton was not a point from whioh military operations could be advantageously carried on, and, but for the deficiency of shipping, would have, evacuated that plaoe before the setting in of winter. Abundant supplies were sent from England at very great expense, but many ships were wrecked, and others were captured ; and the British troops felt the want, during the winter, of fuel and fresh provisions. Fuel was supplied by pulling dowrt houses. To diminish the consumption of provisions, numbers of the poorer people were sent out of the town. The troops on Bunker Hill remained under canvas the whole winter, and suffered severely from the oold. The British officers amused themselves as they oould. They got up baUs and a theater. The Old South, the largest meeting house in the town, was turned into a riding school. Informed by his spies that preparations were making in Boston for sending off a squadron, Washington's at tention was turned to New York. The Committee of Safety for that province were not thought to act with much energy. The oity and the neighboring districts were full of those who refused to sign the Association, and with whom Tryon, from on board the Asia, kept up' a constant communication. Rivington's Gazette, the government paper in New York, had long been a thorn in the side of the patriots. 'More than once already the publisher had been oalled on, and obliged to promise less freedom in his strictures ; but of late he had grown bolder, and more offensive than ever. The Committee III.— H 114 HISTORY OF THE UNlTE^D STATES. CHAPTER of Safety having declined to interfere. Sears, on behalf _of the " Sons of Liberty," proceeded to Connecticut, 1775. mustered there a party of seventy-five light horse, and, after calling several suspected Tories to account on his way to the city, entered New York at, noon, drew up his men before Rivington's office, and, amid the cheers Nov. 25. of an, assembled crowd, broke his press, and earried off the type, fhe party, on their return to New Haven, were welcomed back by salvos of cannon. Of those not sorry for the destruction of the press, many did not like this interference from abroad. When the new Provin cial Congress presently met, a petition was presented complaining of the outrage on Rivington ty rioters from Connecticut. Thus urged, the New York Congress made a representation on the subject to the Continental Congress and to Governor TrumbuU, who was request ed, at least, to send back the types. Richmond and Queen's county had refused to elect delegates to the new Provinpial Congress, and the machinations of Tryon con tinued to excite a good deal of alarm. As there were no Continental troops at New York, and the local militia was not much to be relied upon, the agency of Sears and the authority of Governor TrumbuU were employed to raise in Connecticut a body of volunteers for the defense of that oity. General 1776. Lee was ordered thither by. Washington to take the J""- command. A list of " delinquents" who had voted against sending members to the Provincial Congress having been pubUshed, the Continental Congress ordered that they should be put out of the protection of the United Colonies, and that all trade and intercourse with them should cease. Under their orders, also, Colonel Howe, with a regiment of New Jersey minute men, joined by some of SterUng's regulars, proceeded to dis- LOYALISTS IN NEW YORK. II5 arm the Long Island Tories, and to arrest some of the chapter . . XXXII. principal delinquents. Tryon threatened a bombard- _^.^_ ment in case the Connecticut troops entered the city. 1776. The Provincial Congres,s begged Lee to forbear ; but he persisted in sending forward his volunteers ; and a com- Feb. mittee of the Continental Congress, which presently ar rived, supported his plans and confirmed his authority. He was soon joined by Lord Sterling's New Jersey regi ment. But neither Lee, nor Sterling, who succeeded to the oommand on Lee's removal to the South, could stop March. the communication with the British ships. Tryon kept up a constant correspondence with his adherents. He even had spies in Philadelphia, who gave him accurate information, in spite of the injunction of secrecy, of all the doings of Congress. Nor was it only in the city of New York and its' en virons that the Loyalists were formidable. Thirty miles northwest of Albany, on the extreme frontier of the prov ince, at Johnstown and the neighborhood, was a colony of Scotch Highlanders, established there by Sir William Johnson, whose son and heir. Sir John Johnson, as well as Guy Johnson, the new Indian agent, both adhered to the British rule. The whole district west of the Scho harie had been erected two or three years before into the new county of Tryon. There were firm Whigs among the inhabitants, but many Tories also ; and Schuyler found it necessary to send a detachment from Jan. 20. Albany to disarm the Johnsons and the Highlanders, and to compel them to give hostages. Guy Johnson had already retired to Canada, drawing after him most of the Mohawks, who were received into British pay and service. Sir John Johnson gave his parole to Schuyler not to take up arms against America. But he presently fell again under suspicion, and a party being sent to ar- May. 116 HISTORY OF THE UI^ITED STATES. chapter rest him, he fled to Canada, where he was commissioned XXXU: ' ' ' as colonel, and raised from among his tenants and others 1776. two battalions of "Royal Greens," weU known afterward, and not a little dreaded, on the frontiers of New York. The celebrated chief. Brant, who had been educated in Wheelock's school, served Guy Johnson as secretary, and was very active on the British side. 1775. Lord Dunmore, after his departure from WiUiams- ^^P*" burg, being joined by several British armed vessels in the Chesapeake, began to threaten Lower Virginia. The settlers west of the Laurel Ridge had met at Pittsburg, had agreed to support the Americau Association, and had chosen delegates to the Virginia Convention. Dunmore, however, not without hopes of making some impressioai in that quarter, gave to Conolly, formerly his agent in that region, a lieutenant colonel's commission, and sent him to visit Gage at Boston. After his return, Conolly proceeded up the Chesapeake, landed near its head, and set off with several companions on his way across the mountains, in hopes, by his personal influence with the western settlers, to raise a regiment, and, in conjunction with some regulars from Detroit, to operate against the back part of Virginia,. , It was even said to be a part of his plan to stimulate the Indians to hostilities. But Nov. the whole scheme was out short by ConoUy's arrest at Fredericton, in Maryland, whenoe he and his companions were sent prisoners to Philadelphia. Meanwhile Dunmore landed at Norfolk, and seized and carried off a printing press, on which he printed a proclamation,, which he dispersed abroad, declaring mar tial law, calling upon aU persona able td bear arms to join him, and offering freedom to all slaves and indent ed servants of rebels who would enlist under his banner.^ Having drawn together a considerable force, Dunmore DUNMORE IN VIRGINIA. 117 ascended Elizabeth River to the Great Bridge, the only chapter XXXII. pass by which Norfolk. oan be approached from the land. side; dispersed some North Carolina militia collected 1775. there ; made several prisoners ; and then, desoending the river, took possession of Norfolk. The rise of that town Nov. 23. had been very rapid. Within a short time past it had become the principal shipping port of Virginia. Its pop ulation amounted to several thousands, among whom were many Scotch traders not well disposed to the Amer ican cause. ^ Fugitive slaves and others began now to flock to Dunmore's standard. A movement was made in his fa vor on the east shore of Maryland, which it required a thousand militia to suppress. The Convention of Vir ginia, not a little alarmed, voted four additional regi ments, afterward increased to seven, all of which were presently taken into continental pay. Among the col onels of the new regiments were Mercer, Stephen, and Muhlenberg, the latter a clergyman, who laid aside the surplice to put on a uniform. The Committee of Safe ty were authorized to imprison all persons guilty of tak ing up arms against the colony, and to appropriate the produce of their estates to the public service. Wood ford, with the second Virginia regiment, took possession of the causeway leading to the Great Bridge, whioh was still held by Dunmore's troops. An attempt to dislodge the Virginians having failed with loss, Dunmore aban- Dec. 7. doned the bridge and the town, and again embarked. Norfolk was immediately occupied by Woodford, who was promptly joined by Howe's regiment from North Carolina. After a descent on the eastern shore of Virginia, to 1776. whose aid marched two companies of Maryland minute •'*"¦ men, being re-enforced by the arrival of a British frigate. 118 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. niAPTER Dunmore bombarded Norfolk. A party landed and set it XXXII. ¦ r .; on fire. The town was mostly buUt of wood, and that 1776. part of.it nearest the water was rapidly consumed. The part which escaped was presently burned by the provin cials, to prevent it from becoming a shelter to the enemy. Thus perished, a prey to civil war, the largest arid rich est of the rising towns of Virginia. Dunmore oontin ued, during the whole summer, a predatory warfare along the rivers, of whioh bis naval superiority gave him the command, bnrning houses and plundering plantations, from which he carried off upward of a thousand slaves. He was constantly changing his place to elude attack; bvit watched, pursued, and harassed, he finally found it necessary to retire to Si'. Augustine with his adherents and his plunder. The squadron from Boston, whioh had alarmed Wash ington for the safety of New York, was destined, in fact, for the coast of Carolina. General Clinton was on board with a small body of troops. Clinton, like Howe, was not wholly disconnected with America, being an oftshoot of that Lincoln family so intimately associated with the early history of Massachusetts. His father, also, had been governor of New York. After touching at New York, where he arrived the same day with General Lee, Feb. having held a conference with Tryon, who had formerly been governor of North Carolina, Clinton sailed again for that coast. Governor Martin, aware of his approach, and anticipating aid also from an armament to be dis patched from Ireland, had kept up a constant intercourse with the Regulators, and especially with the Scotch Highlanders, settled in great numbers in the southern counties. He had given commissions, as general and colonel, to two recent immigrants, officers of the British army, leading persons of the clans M'Donald andM'Leod, LOYALISTS IN NORTH CAROLINA. 119 whose members were numerous in North Carolina. In chapter XXXII the settlements about Cross Creek (now Fayette ville), L and among the Regulators in the more northern counties, 1776. M'Donald enlisted some fifteen hundred men, with whom he attempted to reach the coast. Informed of this move- Fob. ment, Moore marched from Wilmington with his regi ment and some detachments "of militia, amounting in the whole to about a thousand men. When the two parties had approached within four miles of each other, M'Don ald sent a letter to Moore, requiring him to join the royal standard, under pain of being treated as an enemy. Moore, who was hourly expecting re-enforcements, po litely declined, but promised a more explicit answer the next day. Accordingly, the next day, he sent to M'Don ald, requiring him to sign the Association agreed upon by the North Carolina Congress. Without returning any answer, M'Donald. marched hastily off toward the coast. Having sent one detachment to Cross Creek, to out off his retreat in that, direction, and another to join and re- enforce Caswell, who was marching from Newborn with the militia of that district, and who. presently took post at Moore's Creek Bridge, about sixteen miles from Wil mington, with the rest of his troops, to which considera ble accessions had been made, Moore marched in pursuit. To reach Wilmington, M'Donald must cross Moore's Creek Bridge. Finding it occupied by Caswell, he or dered an attaek. M'Leod advanced bravely at the head of the column ; but, at the first fire, he fell, pierced with twenty balls, and his followers, seized with a sudden pan ic, fled in the greatest disorder. Moore was just behind ; and not less than eight hundred and fifty of the Loyalists were made prisoners. . The common men were disarmed and dismissed; M'Donald and his officers were detained, and presently were sent northward for safe keeping. ^ 120 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chapter The North Carolina Congress ordered four more regi- , ments to be raised, and the Highlanders and Regulators xxxn. 1776. to be disarmed. The defeat of M'Donald disconcerted "^P"'^- the plans of Martin and Clinton, whose force was not large enough to effect any thing without local support. The troops expected from Ireland met with great delays, and did not arrive till two months afterward. Jan. 20. Sir James Wright had oalled together the Assembly of Georgia at the beginning of the year ; but, instead of paying any attention to his communications, they pro ceeded to choose an executive council, of which Archibald Bullock was appointed president. Wright was made a prisoner in his own house ; but he presently forfeited his pa;role, and escaped on board a ship in the river. A pro- Feb. 4. vincial regiment was ordered to be formed, of whioh La^hlan M'Intosh, a protege of Oglethorpe, was appoint ed colonel. There were, however, many persons in Georgia not well inclined to observe the American As sociation. Eleven vessels at Savannah had loaded with rice,, and the king's ships in the river below oame up to assist them in escaping to sea. M'Intosh, however, took measures to prevent it, in which he was presently aided by a detachment sent from Charleston. In the course of. the operations whioh followed, all but two of the ves sels were taken or destroyed. RECOVERY OP BOSTON. J21 CHAPTER XXXIIL RECOVERY OF BOSTON. AMERICAN ARMY DRIVEN OUT OF CANADA: DEFENSE OF CHARLESTON. DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. JJY great efforts and unwearied assiduity, Washington chapter had brought the army before Boston into a tolerable state of organization, and he was now exceedingly anxious to 1776. expel the British. While their attention was distracted by a cannonade from several advanced batteries on the eminences of Cambridge nearest to Boston, taking ad vantage of a dark night, he sent a strong detachment to March i. occupy Dorchester, now South Boston, Heights, an ele vation corresponding on the south to Breed's Hill on the north, and overlooking and commanding both the harbor and the town of Boston. During the night a strong re doubt was thrown up, from whioh the provincials must be dislodged, or the town be abandoned. Preparations for attack were immediately made ; but a violent storm delayed the embarkation ; and the works in the mean time were so strengthened, that the recollection of Bun ker Hill left but little hOpe of successful assault. Had Howe made an attack, it was Washington's plan to em bark four thousand men in boats in Charles River, and to land in the town. An indirect communication was presently opened with Washington through the selectmen of Bcston, and it was tacitly understood that the town should be left uninjured on condition that the parting troops were not harassed. These troops amounted to seven thousand men, besides 122 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. ( CHAPTER two thousand sailors and marines, and a thousand or xxxin. fifteen hundred Loyalists, who fled with the retreating 1776. army. Many of these unfortunate persons abandoned large properties, leaving their homes with no other means of subsistence than the rations allowed them from the army stores. Eleven days were employed in the em barkation. All the cloths that could be found in the town were carried off by the British, and pains were taken to destroy salt, molasses, and other articles. The departing fleet of a hundred and fifty vessels lay. for some days in Nantasket Roads. So soon as the evacu ation of the town was ascertained, Washington, at the March 27. head of several regiments, entered in triumph. The townspeople, Suoh of them as- had remained, released from a tedious and irksome restraint, received him with every demonstration of .joy, while numerous fugitives, scattered through the country during the British occu pation, many of them dependent on charity for support, now riegained their homes and employments. To com memorate the recovery of Boston, Congress ordered a medal fo be struck. The British troops sailed for Halifax ; but as Wash ington could not tell what their actual destination might be, he hastened off the main body of the army for New York, which he expected would become the next point of attack. Extensive fortifications were commenced at Boston, where five regiments were left under General Ward. That officer presently resigned his commission ; but he continued to take an active part in publio affairs as a member of the Massachusetts Council, and presently as a delegate to Congress. Rhode Island was guarded by two regiments raised in that colony, and presently taken into Continental pay. May 8. Some six weeks after the evacuation of Boston, a Brit- TREASURY AND NAVY. 123 ish squadron, with a number of transports, ignorant of chapter XXXIII that event, arrived, and anchored in Nantasket Roads, '_ below the town. They were soon driven out by the 1776. troops and the militia; and the population volunteered to complete the unfinished fortifications. Three other transports, with Lieutenant-colonel Campbell and two hundred and fifty men, which entered the harbor a few days after, were captured, and the soldiers made prisoners. Increasing expenses had obliged the issue of four ad- Fob. 17. ditional miUions of Continental paper, one million of which was in biUs of less denomination than one dollar. A Standing Committee was appointed to superintend the treasury, of which the accounts were becoming compli cated. An auditor general, with clerks and assistants, was presently appointed, to act under this committee, of April i. which Gerry, now a delegate from Massachusetts, was an active member, and generally its chairman. Such were the rudiments of the present treasury department. The Marine Committee, by active exertions and at great expense, had fitted out a squadron of eight vessels, whioh sailed on a cruise under Commodore Hopkins. Feb. The scarcity of powder still oontinued, though several powder mills had been established in the neighborhood of Philadelphia, as ¦well as manufactories of arms and foun dries for cannon. In hopes to obtain a supply of this es sential article, Hopkins made a descent on New Provi dence. He took the governor and some other prisoners, and carried off a quantity of military stores, but failed of the powder. After engaging a British ship of war, which he suffered to esoape, he returned to Newport, muoh to the disgust of Congress, by whom an inquiry was ordered into his conduct. The vacancy occasioned by the non-acceptance of Pomeroy was filled by the appointment of Colonel Frye ; March. 124 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER but he soon resigned, as did John Whitcombe, promoted XXXIII ' . to the same rank of brigadier, an old officer, like Frye 1776. a colonel in the French war. Arnold was made a brig adier for his gaUant conduct at Quebec. Two new mU itary departments, the Southern and the Middle, were established, and six new brigadiers, Armstrong, Thomp son, Lewis, Moore, Sterling, and Howe, were commis sioned from "the middle and southern colonies. The feame rank was also conferred on the Baron de Woedtke, a for eign officer, who disappointed the hopes of Congress by turning out a miserable drunkard. Wooster's conduct had not given satisfaction, and Thomas, promoted to the rank of major general, was sent to supersede him. Woos ter resigned in consequence; not, however, till he had obtained an inquiry into his conduct, and a favorable re port. Generals Thompson and Sullivan were also order ed to the northern department. Great efforts were made to enlist and equip the regiments designed to re-enforoe the northern army — a business whioh met with many discouragements and delays, not alone from the difficulty of enlisting the men, but from the still greater difficulty of supplying them with arms. Dr. Franklin, with Chase, and Charles Carroll, of Maryland, appointed by Pongress commissioners to Canada to conciliate the favor and good will of the inhabitants, proceeded to Montreal, accompa nied by Carroll's brother, a Jesuit, afterward first Catho lic archbishop of the United States. After the evacua tion of Boston, ten regiments were sent to re-enforoe the northern army. A total and final separation from the mother country began, meanwhile, to be publicly discussed. That idea encountered strenuous opposition, but was every where making rapid progress. After twO applications from the Convention of New Hampshire for advice as to the form QUESTION OF INDEPENDENCE. 125 of government to be adopted in that province, the Con- chapter tinental Congress had recommended to call a "full and free representation of the people," and if, upon consulta- 1775. tion, it should seem necessary, " to establish such a ^°^' •'• form of government as in their judgment wiU best pro duce the happiness of the people, and most 'effectually secure peace and good order in the province during the maintenance of the present dispute between Great Brit ain and the colonies." Similar advice upon a similar application was given to Virginia, and shortly after to Nov. 4. South Carolina. This advice seemed a little startling to the Assembly of Pennsylvania, and, on oooasion of re-electing their Nov. 9. delegates to Congress, they strictly enjoined them " to dissent from, and utterly reject any proposition, should such be made, that may cause or lead to a separation from our mother country, or a change of the form of this government." To the Assembly of New Jersey, in ses sion at the same time, , Governor Franklin complained of the open avowal of sentiments tending to a separation from Great Britain, and of the appearance of essays in the newspapers favorable to that " horrid measure." Several petitions against independency were presented to the Assembly, and the petitioners being called up and examined, declared their apprehension that such a de sign was in progress. The House replied to the gov ernor, "We know of no sentiments of independency that are, by men of any consequence, openly avowed, nor do we approve of any essays tending to encourage such a measure." They resolved that the reports of independ- Nov. 28 enoy were, in their apprehension, " groundless ;" but, at the same time, they voted instructions to their delegates in Congress the same with those just given in Pennsyl vania. A new and separate petition to the king was Dec. 5. 126 HISTORY OF TH;E UNITED STATES. chapter even proposed, a measure from whioh they were only XXXIII 1 r ' 1 L dissuaded by the earnest efforts of Dickinson, Jay, and 1775. Wythe, sent as a committee from Congress, and admit ted to address the Assembly. 1776. The Convention of Maryland provided for the defense ¦^^"- '• of that colony by ordering the enlistment of seven inde pendent companies and one battalion, of which William Smallwood, a member of the Convention, was ohosen colonel. The lieutenant colonel was Mordeoai Gist, aft erward a brigadier general. But, whUe thus raising Jan. 12. troops, instructions were given, at the same time, to the Maryland delegates in Congress to entertain no proposi tion of independency without the previous consent and approbation of the Convention. No little excitement was produced by the publication in Philadelphia about this time of "Common Sense," a pamphlet by Thomas Paine, a recent emigrant from En gland, and editor of the Pennsylvania Magazine. This pamphlet, written at the suggestion of Benjamin Rush, a young physician and ardent patriot, argued, in that plain and convincing style for which Paine was so dis tinguished, the folly of any longer attempting to keep up the British connection, and the absolute necessity of a final and formal separation. Pitched exaotiy to the pop ular tone, it had a wide circulation throughout the col onies, and gave a powerful impulse to the cause of inde pendence. A Provincial Convention in New Hampshire, elected Jan. 5. in conformity to the advice of Congress, assumed the character of a House of Representatives, and proceeded to elect a council composed of twelve members, distrib uted among the several counties. This councU, whioh chose its own president, and constituted the second branch of the Legislature, was in future, like the House of Rep- NEW HAMPSHIRE ASSUMES GOVERNMENT. 127 resentatives, to be annually elected by the people. While chapter XXXIII in session, this legislative body acted also as supreme l^_ executive; at other times that authority was exercised 1776. by a Committee of Safety, at the head of which was the president of the council. Nothing was said in the frame of government about a judiciary, but the Assembly con stituted a Supreme Court and County Courts muoh on the model of the colonial judiciary. Mesheok Weare, one of the justices of the Supreme Court, an unambitious but honest and most worthy man, was chosen president of the council and chief justice, offices which he contin ued to fill, to the general satisfaction, till the end of the war. This arrangement was expressly declared to be temporary, to continue only while the dispute with the mother country lasted. Suoh "was the first example set of " assumption of government," a proceeding not agreed to without a protest on the part of several timid mem bers, who thought that a small colony like New Hamp shire ought to have waited for the previous action of New York and Virginia, larger provinces, whose poUtical predicament was similar to hers. With the opening of spring, re-enforoements were sent on from Montreal, and the siege of Quebec was re newed. But the northern army was surrounded with difficulties. Moses Hazen, a half-pay Heutenant in the British army, formerly a captain of Rangers under Wolfe, and distinguished as a partisan, had accepted a commis sion as colonel of the second Canadian regiment, but he found it difficult to fill the ranks. The Canadians would not take the Continental paper money ; the supply of specie was very scanty ; and, small as the army was, it was difficult to feed it. Upon the unexpected appear anoe of some British ships in the river, the besieging May 6, army, under Thomas, retreated to Sorel in a good deal 128 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chapter of confusion. The new troops suffered terribly from the XXXUI. ^ ¦' small-pox, of which disorder Thomas soon died. A post 1776. at the Cedars, above Montreal, garrisoned by four hund red men, disgracefully surrendered to a party composed principally of Canadians and Indians ; and a hundred men more were lost in an attempt to recover it. To save these prisoners from being murdered by the Indians — so it was alleged, but the British denied it — Arnold, who commanded at Montreal, signed a cartel of exchange, by which it was agreed to release as many prisoners in the hands of the Americans. But Congress refused to ratify this agreement ; and this refusal presently becanae a serious obstacle in the way of any regular exchange of prisoners. As the spring advanced, several British and German regiments began to arrive in the St. Lawrence. They made their rendezvous on both sides of the river, about half way from Quebec to Montreal. Sullivan, who had June 4. just assumed the chief command, very anxious to do something briUiant, sent Thompson with two thousand men, inoluding St. Clair's, Wayne's, and Irving's regi ments; to surprise one of these divisions. This attack was repulsed with a loss of two hundred and thirty in killed and prisoners, inoluding among the latter Thomp son himself and Colonel Irving. Wayne was badly wounded. Pressed by the superior force of the enemy, raised by successive arrivals to thirteen thousand men, the northern army retreated out of Canada, in the eniu. phatic words of John Adams, " disgraced, defeated, dis. contented, dispirited, diseased, undisciplined, eaten up with vermin, no clothes, beds, blankets, nor medicines, and no victuals but salt pork and flour," and a scanty supply of that. The retreat was rapid, but well con- ducted and \\rithout loss. Chambly, Montreal, and St. SOUTH CAROLINA ASSUMES GOVERNMENT. 129 John's passed back again into tbe hands of the British, chapter The American army retired up Lake Champlain to. Crown Point. Hazen's regiment accompanied the re- 1776. treating army, and continued to serve under the same commander to the end of the war. ' Carleton was pres ently rewarded for the recovery of Canada by the Order of.the Bath, while Sullivan received the thanks of Con gress for his prudent retreat. Shortly after the army reached Crown Point, Gates, who had . been made a major general with that view, arrived and assumed the command. i Partisans of the American cause were more nnmerous in Nova Scotia than in Canada. They had formerly petitioned Congress, and had recently opened a com munication with Washington. The distance, isolation, and weakness of Nova Scotia made assistance impracti cable ; but more than onoe; at subsequent periods, Mas sachusetts was solicited to aid in revolutionizing that province. The Convention of South Carolina, acting on the ad vice of Congress, and following the example of New Hampshire, resolved itself into an Assembly, and chose March 24. from its own body a legislative councU of thirteen mem bers. By the concurring vote of this council and Assem bly, John Rutledge was ohosen president, and Henry Laurens vice-president. Of an executive council of six members, over whioh the vice-president was to preside as an ex-officio seventh member, three were chosen by the legislative council and three by the Assembly. A judiciary was also organized, William Henry Drayton being appointed chief justice. Suoh was the temporary form of government adopted in South Carolina, to last during the war. Though the three regiments already authorized were far from lull, two new regiments of ri- III.— I 130 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chapter flemen were ordered to be raised. A new batch of paper XXXIII. ¦ money was also issued to pay expenses, of the amount 1776. of which the Germans and others in the hack counties began loudly to complain. The British squadron from Ireland, destined to oper- May. ate against the Carolinas, arrivled, after great delays, at Cape Fear, where Martin and Clinton, with his detach ment from Boston, were still waiting for it. It consist ed of ten ships of war under Sir Peter Parker, and had seven regiments on board, of whioh Clinton assumed the command. All hope of co-operation from the interior of North Carolina being dissipated by the defeat of M'Don ald, it was resolved to attack Charleston. Informed of this intended expedition through a package of intercepted letters to Governor Eden and others. Congress had. ap pointed Lee to oommand in the southern department. On the first alarm, several regiments of Virginia and North Carolina troops had marched for Charleston...,. Joined to the South Carolina regiments and the militia, they made up a force of near six thousand men ; but Lee esteemed the prospect of a successful resistance by no means very- promising. After considerable delay at Cape Fear, the June 4. British fleet appeared off the harbor of Charleston, but before the final attack was made three weeks elapsed, busily employed by th? provincials in throwing up fortifi cations. The entrance to Charleston harbor was guard ed, by an unfinished fort oniSuUivan's Island, in which Moultrie was stationed with his regiment. The British plan was, while part of the fleet, bombarded in front, and the remainder gained a station to rake the ramparts from end to end, to land troops to attack the fort in the rear. Three of the British vessels, while attempting to June 28. gain a ra,king position, became entangled among shoals, and grounded. Tho^e in front, received with a very QUESTION OF INDEPENDENCE. 131 warm cannonade, were obliged to retire with severe dam- chapter XXXIII age and loss. The naval attack having failed, the at- tempt to land was not persevered in. One of the ground- 1776. ed vessels stuck fast, and the next day was abandoned and set on fire. Lord Campbell, the ex-governor, who fought as a volunteer on board the flag ship, was mor tally wounded. Without making any further attempt, the squadron sailed to join the main British army, whioh had arrived in the Bay of New York on the very day of the attack on Fort Moultrie. Dunmore's ravages in Virginia and the Tory insur rection in North Carolina gave a strong impulse to the idea of independence in the southern provinces, while the evacuation of Boston greatly strengthehed the friends of tbat measure in the north. The Continental Congress had taken a new step in that direction by declaring all March 13. British vessels whatever lawful prize. This was presently followed iip by regulations on the subject of trade, by which the American Association was April 6. so modified as to allow the; export of produce to all coun tries not under the dominion of Great Britain, and a free trade in all goods not of British origin, except in slaves, the importation of whioh was still prohibited. It was recommended, at the same time, to the colonial Assem blies and Conventions, to make proper regulartions for the entry and clearance of vessels. Silas Deane had been already dispatched to France by the Seoret Committee as a commercial and diplomatic agent. Though urgently requested by the Committee of Ob servation and Inspection for the oity of Philadelphia, the Assembly of Pennsylvania refused, by a large majority, to April 6. recall their instructions to their delegates. Schemes, in consequence, began to be entered into for setting aside the proprietary government. The North Carolina Con- 132 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. r chapter vention authorized their delegates to join with the other .XXXUI. A 1-1 • J . colonies in declaring independence. The Assemblies of 1776. Rhode Island and Connecticut indicated their inclina- April 23. .j-JQjj ijy dispensing with the oath of aUegiance to the May 7. king. Encouraged by symptoms every where apparent, Con- .May 10. gress, on the motion of John Adams, adopted, a resolu tion, recommending to the Assemblies and Conventions of the colonies, in all oases where it had not already been done, to establish governments adequate to their exi gencies. Before this resolution was promulgated, the May 15. Convention of Virginia appointed a committee to draw up a Bill of Rights and a Frame of Government: At the same time, the Virginia delegates in Congress were instructed to propose in that body a declaration of inde pendence. That very day Congress had voted, by way of preamble to their resolution above recited, that "all oaths for the support of government under the crown of Great Britain were irreconcilable with reason and good conscience; and that the -exercise of. every kind of au thority under that crown ought to be totally suppressed, and aU the powers of government exerted, under author ity from the people of the, colonies, for the maintenanOe of internal peace, and the defense of their lives, liberties, and properties against the hostile invasions and cruel depredations of their enemies." , Steps were taken in Philadelphia to carry out this recommendation. The Pennsylvania Assembly met a May 20. few: days after, but a public meeting protested against their proceeding to business; nor was it without diffi culty that they obtained a quorum. In Maryland the resolntion d^d not meet with fuU re- May 21. sponse. The Convention voted, on the contrary, that it was not necessary to suppress every exercise of author- QUESTION OF INDEPENDilNCE. ]33 ity under the crown. In consequence of several inter- chapteu •' ^ XXXIII. cepted letters, Congress had recommended to arrest Gov ernor Eden. The Baltimore committee volunteered in 1776. that matter, but became involved, in consequence, in a collision with the Convention. A committee reported that, in such correspondence as the governor had carried on with the British ministry, he did not appear to have acted in a hostile character. This report was accepted ; but, at the same time, it was voted to signify to Eden that the publio safety and quiet required him to leave the province. At the annual election in Massachusetts, the voters May30. were requested to instruct their representatives on the subject of independence, and these instructions were unanimous in its favor. The subject, at length, was formally introduced into Congress by Richard Henry Lee, who moved, at the re- June 7. quest of his colleagues, and in obedienoe to the instruc tions of the Virginia Convention, " that the United Col onies are, and ought to be, free and independent states, and that their political connection with Great Britain is, and ought to be, dissolved." Debated the next day in June 8. Committee of the Whole, this resolution was sustained by the mover, by Wythe, his colleague, and very earnest ly by John Adams. It was opposed by John Dickinson, by his colleague Wilson, by Robert R. Livingston, of New York, and Edward Rutledge, of South Carolina, not as bad or improper in itself, but as premature. Of this important debate, whioh, like all the other proceedings of the Continental Congress, took place with closed doors, we possess only the merest outline. Several members besides those named, distinguished then and afterward for good service to their country, opposed the resolution. It passed by a bare majority, seven states to six. The 134 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chapter delegations of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Maryland were expressly instructed against it. Those from New 1776. York, Delaware, and South Carolina, as yet without instructions or olear intimation of the opinions of th^ir respective provinces, were unwilling to assume the re sponsibUity of so decided a step. The Reverend Dr. Zubly, one of the Georgia dele gates, much alarmed at what was going on, was pres ently accused by Chase of Maryland of having violated the injunction of secrecy by sending letters to Governor Wright, whose flight was not yet known in Philadelphia. Zubly denied the charge; but his sudden departure seemed to confirm the accusation, and his colleague, Houston, , was sent in pursuit of him. To give time for greater unanimity, the subject was postponed till the first of July ; but, meanwhile, a com mittee was appointed, consisting of Jefferson, John Ad ams, Franklin, Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston, to prepare a formal declaration of independence. Two other committees were appointed, , at the same time : one to draw up a plan of confederation ; the other to prepare a scheme of the terms proper for foreign alliances. A Board of War was also established, consisting of five members of Congress, with a secretary and clerks, the first rudiments of a War Department. John Ad ams, selected for the important post of chairman of this committee, presently resigned the office of chief justice of Massachusetts, to whioh he had been lately appointed. His successor in that office was William Cushing, the only one of the late judges who adhered to the popular side, and who seemed. to have a sort of hereditary olaim to the office, it having been held by his father and grandfather. Adams's position at the head of the War Department gave him full insight into the details ofaf- QUESTION OF INDEPENDENCE. 135 fairs, and he complained, like Washington, of " corrup- chapter XXXIII tion even in this infant age of our republic," and of a "predominating avarice which threatened the ruin of 1776. America." The golden age of pure, disinterested patri otism is much like all other golden ages ; that which seems to U' such at a distance will hardly bear a close inspection. The new form of government for Virginia being hast- June 12. ily completed, Patrick Henry was chosen governor un der it, partly in compensation for the slight he had expe rienced in being passed over in the nomination of conti nental brigadiers. Of the details of this new government, an account will be found in a subsequent chapter. The Provincial Congress of New Yotk having recalled Jay from Philadelphia to inform them more particularly of the state of affairs, asked of their constituents express instruction on the question of independence, and also as to assumption of government. The people of the several counties were to recall such members of the Provincial Congress as they saw fit, and to appoint new ones; and the Congress, thus reorganized and instructed, was to open on the ninth of July. The Assemblies of New Hampshire and Connecticut unanimously instructed their delegates in Congress to concur in the declaration. The Assembly of Pennsylvania, under the heavy pressure of public opinion, rescinded their instructions. A " Pro- June 8. vincial Conference" presently met, sanctioned the decla- June I8. ration of indepen4ence, and made arrangements for a con vention to frame a new government. The Provincial Congress of New Jersey, somewhat un expectedly, appointed a nOw set of delegates, with in structions to vote for independence. , Governor Franklin had been made a prisoner in his own house, and placed upon parole by Sterling, some months before, ; but, as he 136 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chapter persisted in corresponding with the enemy, he was again arrested, and sent a prisoner to Connecticut, where he 1776. was subjected to a pretty rigid confinement. , Through the efforts of Chase in calling county con ventions, a change had also taken plaoe in Maryland ; June 28. and .the same day that the British fleet wa? so gallantly repulsed in its attack upon Charleston, the Maryland Convention empowered its delegates in Congress " to con cur with the other United Colonies, or a. majority of them, in declaring the said colonies free and independent states." That same day, the committee appointed to draft it reported to Congress a Declaration of Independ- July 1. ence. The subject being resumed in Committee of the Whole, nine eolonies voted for the declaration. New York declined to vote, as no instructions were yet re ceived ; Delaware was divided ; the delegation of Penn sylvania stood three for and four Against it ; that of South Carolina, one for and three against it. July 4. When the question oame up for final action, two, of the Pennsylvania members who had voted in the nega tive absented themselves. Csesar Rodney, from Dela ware, decided the vote of that province in the affirma tive. The vote of South Carolina was also given the same way. New York stiUdeclined to vote. The draft of a declaration, prepared by Jefferson, and reported by the committee, was then taken up. Not to offend the friends of America in Great Britain, it was agreed to strike out several paragraphs espeoially severe upon the British government. An emphatic denuncia tion of the slave trade, and a charge against the king of having prostituted his negative for the defeat of all leg islative attempts to prohibit or restrain "tbat execrable traffic," was also, omitted. It would have been going a little too far to ask Georgia to vote for that clause. Thus DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 137 amended, the declaration was adopted, and signed bv chapter XXXIIl most of the members present. The new Provincial Congress of New York, which 1776. met a few days after at White Plains, with authority July 9. to form a governnient, gave their sanction to the Decla ration, which thus became the unanimous aot of the Thirteen United States. It was presently ordered to be engrossed on parchment, and was subsequently signed by all the- delegates then present, including several who Aug 2. were not members at the time of its adoption. .- A State Convention assembled at Philadelphia took July. the government of Pennsylvania into its own hands. The Assembly, indeed, continued to meet, but no quoram oould be obtained ; and that old colonial Legislature ex pired at length in the utterance of a vain protest against Sept. the new system. Dickinson, Andrew Allen, late chief justice of Pennsylvania, and others who had opposed the Declaration, were recalled from Congress. Dickinson, who had hitherto exerted a great influenoe, experienced a sudden and total prostration. Alsop, of Nov? York, resigned his seat in disgust. Some others, also active hitherto in the colonial cause, now drew back. William Allen, a brother of Andrew, threw up his oommission of lieutenant colonel in the Continental army ; but the ex ample was not followed; In the position of that considerable class of persons who had remained in doubt, the Declaration of Inde pendence and the assumption of state government made a decided change. It was now necessary to choose one side or the other. Very serious, too, was the change in the legal position of the class known as Tories, in many of the states a very large minority, and in all respect able for wealth and 'social position. Of those thus stig matized, some were inclined to favor the utmost claims 138 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chapter of the mother country ; but the greater part, though determined to adhere to the British connection, yet dep- 1776. recated the policy which had brought on so fatal a quar rel. This loyal minority, especially its more conspicu ous members, as the warmth of political feeling increas ed, had been exposed to the violence of mobs, and to all sorts of personal indignities, in which private maUce, or a wanton and insolent spirit Of mischief, had been too often gratified under the disguise of patriotism. The barbarous and disgraceful practice of tarring and feather ing, and carting Tories — 'placing them in a cart, and carrying them about as a sort of spectacle — had become, in some places, a favorite amusement. To restrain these outrages, always to be apprehended in times of tumult June 18. and revolution. Congress had specially committed the oversight of. Tories and suspected persons to the regu larly appointed committees of inspection and observa tion for the several counties and districts. But even these committees were not always very judicious or dis criminating in the exeroise of the despotic powers im plied in that delicate trust. By the recent political changes, Tories and suspected persons became exposed to dangers from the law as well as from mobs. Having boldly seized the reins. of gov ernment, the new state authorities claimed the allegi ance of all residents Within their limits; and, under the lead and recommendation of Congress, those who refused to acknowledge their authority, or who adhered to their enemies, were exposed to severe penalties, confiscation of property, imprisonment, banishment, and, finally, death. The new governments, however, were slow in resorting to extreme measures. The most obnoxious Tories had already emigrated ; and, for the present, the new govern ments contented themselves with admonitions, fines; re- PLAN OF CONFEDERATION. 139 cognizances to keep the peace, and prohibitions to go be- chapter yond certain limits. To many of the more ardent lead- 1 ers, this leniency appeared dangerous. " Can we sub- 1776. sist," wrote Hawley to Gerry, " did any state ever sub- July 17. sist, without exterminating traitors ? It is amazingly wonderful that, having no capital punishment for our in testine enemies, we have not been utterly ruined before now." The committee of one from each state, on the terms of confederation and the powers of Congress, soon report ed a plan in twenty articles. That report, of which July 12. eighty copies were printed — the printers as well as the secretary being put under an oath of seoreoy hot to dis close the contents or furnish copies to any body — was presently debated in Committee of the Whole, and, after July 22. warm discussions as to the equal vote of the states, and whether, in fixing the ratio of taxaltion, slaves should or should not be included in the count of population, the plan was amended and reported back to the House. But Aug. 23. the serious differences of opinion which had been^ devel oped, and the intervention of other more pressing busi ness, prevented any further aotion during the current year. Two additional issues of paper money had been ^^^ fg found necessary, each of five millions of dollars. So long, indeed, as these issues kept Congress in funds, that very oommand of money gave an authority whioh any articles of confederation would rather tend to restrict than to am plify. 140 HISTORY' OF THE UNITED STATES- CHAPTER XXXIV. DEFENSE OF NEW YORK. NAVAL OPERATIONS ON LAKE CHAMPLAIN. LOSS OF NEW YORK. RETREAT THROUGH THE JERSEYS. NEWPORT OCCUPIED BY THE BRITISH. CHEROKEE WAR. KENTUCKY. chapter JLn no part of the confederacy was the British party XXXIV _more numerous pr influential than in the city of 1776. New York and its environs. Both for that reason, and beoause of its fitness as' a central point for military op erations, it was expected that the main efforts -of the enemy would soon be directed thither. April 26. Having assumed the command in that city, Wash ington had issued a proclamation strictly prohibiting all intercourse with the enemy's shipping. But to break up the communication between ex-governor Tryon and his friends was no easy matter. The mayor of the oity, detected in a correspondence with Tryon, was thrown into prison. A plot was even discovered for seizing the American commander-in-chief, and convoying him on board one of the British ships. This scheme was to have been accomplished through the agency of somfe of the soldiers of Washington's guard, corrupted for the purpose, one of whom wa^ tried and shot for his partici pation in this affair. Inoluding the troops found at New York, Washing ton's whole army, exclusive of the regiments left in gar« risen at Boston or sent to the northern department, did not exceed eight thousand men, very imperfectly equip ped and scantily provided. To supply this deficiency, DEFENSE OF NEW YORK. 141 Congress had oalled for thirteen thousand eight hundred chapter , o XXXIV militia from New England, New York, and New Jer- L sey, and for ten thousand more from Pennsylvania, Del- 1776. aware, and Maryland, these last designed to constitute -^""^ •*• " a flying camp" for the protection of New Jersey. Washington gave the oommand of this camp to Mercer, just promoted to the rank of brigadier general. Though his opposition to the Declaration of Independ ence had cost him his popularity, Dickinson did by no means abandon the cause. When the associated Phila delphia militia were ordered to New Jersey to form a part of the flying camp, he marched at the head of his regiment. While waiting the arrival of these re-enforcements, obstructions were sunk, under Putnam's direction, in the North and East Rivers, and forts and batteries were erected to guard the narrowest passages. Fort Wash ington, at the northern end of York or Manhattan Island, and JFort Lee, on the opposite Jersey shore, were the strongest of these works ; but, with the limited means at Washington's disposal, it was no easy matter to put the oity into a satisfactory state of defense. The proclamation of independence was signalized at July e. New York by destroying a picture of the king which had decorated the City Hall. The king's leaden statue, whioh stood in the Bowling Green, was also' thrown down and run into bullets. This' feeling of exultation was, however, far from unanimous. A large number of the wealthier citizens looked on with distrust ; and tho Episcopal plergy showed their dissatisfaction by shutting up the churches. The question of independence had been brought for ward at a favorable moment. During the discussion, no British troops had a foothold any where in the Thir teen Colonies. Just, before the declaration was adopted, 142 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER General Howe made his appearance in the waters of XXXIV 1 • New York with the late garrison of Boston and other 1776. troops from HaUfax; and, a few days after, he landed on June 28. gtaten Island, which Washington had not been strong enough to occupy. He was received there with great demonstrations of joy by the Tory inhabitants, who pro ceeded to embody themselves as a loyal militia. Prom ises of support were also sent in by the Loyalists of Long Island and New Jersey, and Tryon encouraged the British commander with. hopes of an extensive defection. A few days after the landing of the British army. Ad miral Lord Howe arrived from England with large re- enforcements. These two brothers, intrusted with the chief military and naval oommand in America, were commissioned also, under the late act of Parliament, to receive the submission of such coVnmunities, or individ uals as might throw , themselves on the king's mercy. A circiilar declaration to the late royal governors, con taining a statement of this commission, and an offer of July 14. pardon tp all who would submit, wals sent on > shore under a flag. It also contained a request to give to this offer as extensive a circulation as possible. As soon as this July 19. paper reached Congress, they ordered it to be published in all the newspapers, that the people might see how " the insidious court of Great Britain had endeavored to disarm and amuse them," and that " fhe few" whom "hopes of moderation andT justice on the part of the Brit ish government had still kept in suspense" might now at length be convinced " that the vilor alone of their country is to save its liberties." The commissioners presently attempted to- open a communication, first with Washington, and afterward with Congress, through the medium of Franklin, whom Loj-d HoWe had known in London ; but their unwUling- THE NORTHERN ARMY. 143 ness to recognize the military rank of Washington, or chapter ... o ' xxxiv. the political existence of Congress, proved obstacles in the way of any such intercourse. 1776. While New York was threatened with attack on the south, its northern frontier was in no less danger. The American army had retreated out of Canada, extremely disorganized, and in horrible suffering. The state of their army on this frontier was a cause of great anxiety to Congress and the Board of War. Besides ten regiments already dispatched' thither from New York, three of the regiments at Boston were sent in the same direction, and measures were taken for ad ditional enlistments in Connecticut and Massachusetts. A council of war decided that Crown Point was not ten- July 7. able, and the troops, short of provisions, with no accom modations for the sick, and suffering from a pestilential fever, fell baok to Ticonderoga. Schuyler, in spite of his zeal and undeniable merit, was very unpopular with the New England troops, who still cherished many prejudices against the people of New York ; nor was Schuyler himself altogether free from corresponding prejudipes against the New Englanders. It was through the influence of the New England dele gates in Congress that Gates had been made a major general, and appelated to oommand the northern army. That army, by retreating out of Canada, had arrived within Schuyler's district. To prevent collision between the two commanders. Congress declared that, by appoint- July 8. ing Gates, they had no intention to supersede Schuyler ; and they recommended to the two generals to parry on the military operations iu that quarter with harmony, so as best to promote the publio service. The prejudice ^of the New Englanders against Schuyler caused many reports to his disadvantage. He was even accused of 144 HISTORY OP THE UNITED STATES. chapter treachery. He offered to resign ; but Congress express- ed entire confidence in his^ patriotism, and refused to 1776. allow it. Re-enforcements oontinued to arrive ; but the northern army suffered terribly from the small-pox and camp fever. In the three months since the opening of the campaign, it had lost by death and desertion not less than five thousand men. The whole remaining force hardly exceeded that number, of whom two thousand were on the siok list. Carleton was at the foot of Lake Champlain with a well-appointed army of thirteen thousand men. By the wise precaution of Sullivan, the retreating Americans had carried off or destroyed all the water craft on the lake, of whioh, by means of a few armed vessels, they still held the oommand; As no road existed on either shore, both of which were still an unbroken wilderness, it was only possible for the British to advance by water. Every thing depended, therefore, on the oommand of the lake ; , and a vigorous competition was begun in tho build ing of vessels. Arnold's conduct in seizing the goods of the Montreal merohants at the evacuation of that oity had subjected him to some discredit ; but in war, vigor and courage are of more account than all the social virtues ; and Arnold was presently selected by Gates to command thp American vessels, for which, indeed, his former experience as a ship-master peculiarly qualified , him. Ship-carpenters and' navAl stores were sent from the New England sea-ports ; and, with indefatigable labor and heavy expense, the Americans, in the course of three months, equipped a flotilla of sixteen vessels, very various in size and sort, and manned by soldiers drafted from the army. But in this matter of naval equipment Carleton had greatly the advantage. Besides twenty smaller craft, and a number of armed boats NAVAL OPERATIONS ON LAKE CHAMPLAIN. 145 dragged up the Sorel and over the rapids of Chambly, chapter five vessels, the frames of which had been brought from '_ England, and carried over land from Montreal to St. 1776. John's, each larger than *the strongest American ship, were soon launched on the lake. This formidable flo tilla, manned by seven hundred seamen from the British ships in the St. Lawrence, presently proceeded in quest of Arnold.Aware of his inferiority, the American commander had chosen a position in advance of Crown Point, between an island a^nd the main shore, where the whole British squadron could not attack him at once. In the engage ment which foUowed, one American vessel was burned Oct. 6. and another sunk ; the rest, greatly damaged, sailed off by night in hopes to reach Ticonderoga, and to find shelter there under the guns of the fort. But .they were pursued, overtaken the next day, and again brought to action near Crown Point. The vessels furthest ahead kept on their course and reached Ticonderoga ; of those in the rear, one was taken ; and, to save the rest from a similar fate, Arnold ran them on shore and set them on fire. The crews succeeded in escaping to the land. The Americans lost eleven vessels and ninety men. The British had one vessel blown up and two sunk ; their loss in men was reported at fifty. Command of the lake thus secured, Carleton took possession of Crown Point, where he was soon joined by his army. Advanced parties were sent forward as far as Ticonderoga, whioh Gates held with his whole force, amounting now, by accessions of militia, to eight thou sand men. Tho American works seemed too strong for an assault ; it was too late in the season to undertake a siege ; and Carleton presently retired down the lake, and put his troops in winter quarters. IL— K 146 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER By the departure of the militia and the expiration of XXXIV «/ r the term of service of the -regulars, the northern army 1776. meltedi-apidly away. Several regiments which had yet a short time to serve marched under Gates to join Wash ington, who, by this time, was very hardly pressed. During the winter, Ticonderoga was hel4 by a very slen der garrison. ^ So slowly were the requisitions of tI!ongress complied Aug. 1. with, that, a month after the arrival of the Howes, Washington's army did not exceed twenty thousand men, of whom a fifth part were sick, and as many more absent on detached duty. Before active operations commenced, seven thousand additional militia came in, and some fur ther re-enforoements afterward. Lincoln, who had been secretary to the first Provincial Congress of Massachu setts, led the militia of that state. The New York mili tia, over whioh the Convention then in session had given Washington full powers, was led by George Clinton. Mifflin, having been promoted to the rank of brigadier, resigned his office of quarter-rhaster general, to which Colonel Stephen Moylan was appointed ; but the new quarter-master soon resigned, and Mifflin was persuaded again to resume that important duty. As Washington Aug. 9. complained of a deficiency of general ofiicers, Heath, Spencer, Sullivan, and Greene were made major- gener als. Commissions as brigadiers were given to Read and Nixon of Massachusetts, Parsons of Connecticut, M'Dou gall and James Clinton of New York, and St. Clair of Pennsylvania ; and the same rank was presently con- Sept. 4. ferred on Stephen of Virginia, Gadsden and Moultrie of Sept. 16. South Carolina, M'Intosh of Georgia, Maxwell of New Oct. 23. Jersey, and Smallwood of Maryland. Gates's place as adjutant general was supplied by Joseph Reed. Thad- deus Kosciusko, so distinguished afterward in- Poland, en- WASHINGTON'S ARMY. 147 tered the service as an engineer, in which capacity he chapter continued to serve during the war. William Palfrey, a Boston merchant, an aid-de-camp to Lee, and afterward 1776. to Washington, had been appointed pay-master general. Very ill equipped, and with very little discipUne, the army was greatly distracted by sectional jealousies. In the regiments from the states south of New England, there was the usual marked distinction between officers and men. The officers were all of the class calling themselves "gentlemen;" the soldiers, for the most part, were a very inferior set. In the New England regi ments, on the other hand, a large part of the officers were farmers and the sons of farmers, who hardly pre tended to gentility, and, except by the temporary posses sion of commissions, hardly distinguished from a large proportion of those who served in the ranks. The "gen tlemen" of the Middle States turned up their noses at these plebeian officers with as muoh contempt as had ever been exhibited by the " gentlemen" of the British regi ments of the line when caUed to co-operate with colonial levies. Alexander Graydon, a captain in Shea's Penn sylvania regiment, mentions in his " Memoirs" sitting on a court martial for the trial of a lieutenant in Small- wood's regiment, arrested for disrespect to General Silli- man, of the Connecticut militia : " As the majority of the court," says Graydon, " were Southern men, it is not at all wonderful that Stewart was soon acquitted with honor. In so contemptible a light were the New England men regarded, that it was scaroely held possi ble to conceive a case which oould be construed into a reprehensible disrespect of them." Reed, the new adju tant general, shared this feeling to a certain extent, and made himself very unpopular with the Eastern troops. To suoh a height did these jealousies rise, and so openly 148 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER did they exhibit themselves, that Washington felt obliged XXXIV. '' , to reprobate them in general orders. 1776. MeanwhUe, by re-enforcements from Europe, includ ing a part of the German mercenaries, to whom were added the forces lately employed against Charleston, .and some regiments from Florida and the West Indies, Howe's army, encamped on Staten Island, was raised to twenty-foilr thousand men. The obstructions placed by General Putnam, with vast labor and expense, in the Hudson and East Rivers, were not found to'answer the purpose intended. In spite of the artillery of Forts Washington and Lee, several British vessels ascended the Hudson. An attempt was made to burn them with fire ships ; but, having recon noitered and taken soundings, they descended again With out material injury. It was, however, by way of Long Island that Howe proposed to approach the oity. Washington had ex pected as much ; and a corps of the American army, nine thousand strong, lay at Brooklyn, opposite New York, behind intrenohments thrown "up under the direc tion of Greene. Between this camp and the bay at the southwest corner of Long Island, where the British army presently landed, there stretched a range of thickly- wooded hills, crossed byi;wo roads; a third road followed the shore round the western base of these hills ; and a fourth, penetrating inland, turned' them on the east. Intrenohments had been thrown up to guard the passes over these hills and around their western base, and troops had been detailed for that servioe. A severe at tack of sickness had obliged Greene to give up the com mand ; Putnam, from his recent transfer to it, was yet imperfectly acquainted with the situation of the works ahd passes in front of- the camp ; and in the confusion BATTLE OF LONG ISLAND. I49 and want of discipline which prevailed, the orders to chapter ^ -^ xxxiv. watch and guard those passes were imperfectly obeyed. ¦ Two British columns advancing by night, one by the 1776. shore road and the other over the hills, captured or eva ded the patrols, forced the defiles without difficulty, and early the next morning oame in contact with two Amer- Aug. 27. ipan corps, one under Sterling, sent forward by Putnam, on news of the approach of the British^ to guard the shore road, the other under Sullivan, who advanced hast ily, with such troops as he could collect, to prevent the passage over the hills. Meanwhile, a third British col umn, led by Clinton, proceeded along the eastern road, whioh had been left unguarded, turned the hills, and pushed in between Sullivan's corps and the American camp. Driven backward and forward between a double fire, a few of that corps took advantage of the broken and wooded ground to escape ; but the greater part were taken prisoners, and SuUiyan with them. The corps under Sterling made a steady resistance to the troops in their front, and when Clinton threatened to gain their rear, by great exertions they got back to the camp, not, however, without losing their commander, who was taken prisoner while oovering the retreat. For this important .victory, in. whioh he lost less than four hundred men, Howe was rewarded by the Order of the Bath. The American loss was never very accurately ascertained ; but, besides several hundreds killed or miss ing, about a thousand remained prisoners in the hands of the enemy. Some five thousand men had been en gaged in the battle, principally from New Jersey, Penn sylvania, Delaware, and Maryland. Smallwood's Mary land regiment, forming a part of Sterling's division, be haved with great gallantry, and suffered very severely. The victorious forces, fifteen thousand strong, en- 150 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER camped directlv in front of the American lines, which a XXXIV. r J 1 T, ¦ 1 vigorous assault might probably have carried. But, with 1776. the caution fashionable at that day in military opera tions, and not diminished by. the experiment at Bunker Hill, preparations were made for regular approaches. Aug. 28. The camp at Brooklyn had been re-enforced ; but Washr ington would noi risk the loss of so considerable a part of his army ; and, after holding a council of war, he de termined to withdraw the troops. The oommand of the boats was given to Colonel G-lover, of Massachusetts, and they were manned with the men of his regiment, mostly fishermen of Marblehead. M'Dougall, who was not with out some experienoe in marine affairs, superintended the Aug. 29. embarkation, and, in the course of the night, favored by a thick fog, a masterly retreat was effected across the East River. As a consequence of this- n^ovement, the whole of Long Island fell into the hands of the British. WoodhuU, late president of the Provincial Congress, employed on Long Island, with a small body of militia, in driving off cattle, was surprised the day after the bat tle by a party of light horse, under Oliver Delancey, wounded after his capture and treated with suoh oruel neglect that his wounds mortified, and he died in con sequence. The Long Island Tories, who had experienced "considerable harshness, had now an opportunity to retort on their opponents. Washington left a tjonsiderable force in the city, but his main body was encamped on Harlem Heights, very strong ground toward the northern end of York Island. That all things might be ready for instant retreat, the surplus stores and baggage were sent across Harlem Riv er, on the east side of whioh, at Morrisania, Washing ton's head-quarters were established. It was very desirable, at this moment, to obtain oor- NEGOTIATION WITH CONGRESS. 151 rect information of the force and position of the British chapter XXXIV troops at Brooklyn ; and at Washington's desire, and the request of Colonel Knowlton, Nathan Hale, a captain in 1776. one of the Connecticut regiments, a young man of educa tion and enthusiasm, volunteered, on that hazardous serv ioe. He crossed to Brooklyn, obtained the necessary in formation, and was about to return, when he was arrest ed on some stispioion, and being betrayed by his em barrassment, was carried before General Howe, tried and convicted as a spy, and hanged the next morning. Two or three days after the battle, in hopes that Con- Sept. i. gress might npw be somewhat mollified, Sullivan was sent with a verbal message, conveying the desire of the Howes to confer with some members of that body, not in their character of members of Congress, but as private gentlemen, with the view of ascertaining if some com promise of the pending dispute were not possible. It was also proposed to exchange Sullivan and Sterling for Generals Prescott and M'Donald, prisoners in the hands of the Americans, to which Congress agreed. To the other proposal, after considerable debate, they replied, that, being the representatives of the independent states of America, they oould not consistently send any of their members in a private capacity ; but that, being ever desirous of a reasonable peace, they would send a committee to wait upon the Howes, upon whom they could look in what light they pleased. Franklin, John Adams, and Edward Rutledge, appointed on this com mittee, met the British commissioners on Staten Island ; but the conference produced no result. They " were very explicit in their opinion," so Lord Howe wrote to Lord George Germaine, " that the associated colonies could not accede to any peace or alliance but as free and independent states ;" and they even undertook to argue 152' HISTORY OP THE UNITED STATES. chapter that the best thing Great Britain could do was to ac- XXXIV. ° knowledge them as such. 1776. Foiled in this movement, the Howes issued a procla mation, in whioh they declared the intention of the Brit ish government to revise the instructions to the royal governors, and all acts of Parliament by which the ool onists might think themselves aggrieved ; and they oall ed on the people to judge for themselves whether it we're not better to rely on this promise, and to return to their aUegianoe, than to sacrifice themselves to ' the unjust and precarious cause in which they were engaged. Measures were also taken for enlisting auxiliaries among the Loyalists. Oliver Delancey, the captor of WoodhuU, brother of a former governor of New York, and Courtlandt Skinner, late attorney general of New Jersey and speaker of the Assembly, were commissioned as brigadiers, with authority to raise four battalions each, which the able and active Tryon, still claiming to be gov ernor of New York, was to oommand as major general. The negotiation with Congress having failed, military operations were presently resumed. British ships as cended on both sides of York Island ; a battery was erected on an island near Hell Gate ; and, while the at tention of the Americans was thus distracted, under cover of the fire of his ships in the Hudson and E ast Rivers, which Sept. 15. swept across the whole' island, Howe landed near Kipp'« Bay, three miles above the oity. The troops posted to guard this landing, panic-struck by the late disasters, fled without firing a gun. Two New England brigades, brought up to support them, seized with a like panic, ran away in the most shameful manner, leaving Wash ington, .who had come up to view the ground, exposed to capture within eighty paoes of the enemy. Greatly ex cited at this dastardly conduct, he threw his hat on the NEW YORK EVACUATED. 153 ground, exclaiming, " Are these the men with whom I chapter XXXIV am to defend America ?" His attendants turned his horse's head, and hurried him from the field. 1776. Orders, were sent to Putnam, who commanded in the oity, to evacuate at once. The retreat was made, of necessity, in a very hasty and disorderly manner ; three hundred men fell into the hands of the enemy ; the heavy artillery was left behind, with a large quantity, of pro visions and military stores. It was only by moving rap idly by the Greenwich road, along the western shore, that Putnam escaped at aU. In a skirmish the next day, the Americans behaved Sept. I6. better, and repulsed the enemy, not, however, without the loss of Colonel Knowlton, of Connecticut, and one or two other very promising officers. The British, on entering the city, were received with open arms by> their numerous partisans. A few nights after a fire broke out, which spread rapidly, and, before Sept. 20. it could be extinguished. Trinity Church and near a third part of the town lay in ruins. It was reported to have been kindled by the " Sons of Liberty," and some persons, seized on this suspicion, were precipitated into the flames by the enraged British soldiers. It would seem, however, to have been accidental, and to have oWed its spread to a long and excessive drought. The Americans still remained intrenched on Harlem Heights, and in this position the armies lay facing each other for several weeks. The sick in the American camp were very numerous ; it was impossible to find proper hospitals ; and they lay about in almost every barn, sta ble, shed, and even under the fences and bushes. The troops were not the only sufferers. Washington was obliged to issue very severe orders, to restrain, not the private soldiers, but even some of the officers, from 154 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chapter plundering the unfortunate inhabitants of York Island, XXXIV, . under pretense that they were Tories. 1776. Not venturing to attack the American camp, Howe Oct. 12. detaoheda part of his forces to occupy Throg's Point, on the mainland shore of the Sound. Undeterred by the fire of Forts Washington and Lee, British ships, ascended the Hudson, and cut off aU supplies from the country south and west of that river. Thus indanger of being shut in on both sides, Washington, under advice of a counoU of war, extended his forces across King's Bridge. York Island was thus abandoned, except Fort Washington, in which a garrison was left of three thousand men. The army, arranged in four divisions, under Lep, Heath, Sul livan, and Lincoln, by movements to the left, was gradu ally concentrated in, a strongly-fortified camp near White Plains. There was a great deficiency of draught cattle, and the removal of the baggage was not accomplished without very severe labor. The British followed up the Oct. 28. retreating army, and attacked M'Dougall, who occupied, with sixteen hundred men, a commanding height on the right of the American camp, but separated from it by the River Bronx. The Americans resisted but feebly ; and, after a short struggle, in which they lost three or four hundred men, killed and prisoners, they Were driven from the hill. A general engagement now seemed inevitable ; but, while Howe delayed, for satisfactory reasons, as Corn wallis afterward testified before the House of Commons, but whioh political motives made it impossible either for Howe or himself to explain, Washington fortified a stUl stronger position, two miles in his rear, on the heights of North Castle, into whioh he unexpectedly withdrew, and in whioh the British general did not venture to E^ttaek him. Oct. 31. Howe moved, instead, toward King's Bridge. New Jer- WASHINGTON CROSSES THE HUDSON. 155 sey seemed to be threatened, and all the troops from the chapter XXXIV states south of the Hudson were ordered to the west side 1 of that river, whither Washington's head-quarters were 1776. also transferred. To avoid the British ships, the Amer ican troops were obliged to maroh as far north as King's Ferry, at the entrance of the Highlands, being thus sub jected to a painful circuit of sixty miles. Heath's divi sion was stationed in the Highlands, with orders to throw up additional fortifications for the defense of that im portant pass. Lee, with the remainder of the New En gland regiments, was left to guard the east side of the Hudson. The term of the New England militia, which oomposed no inconsiderable part of the army, was novv just about to expire. Washington was inclined to abandon York Island al together, by withdrawing the troops left in garrison there. But, in that case, all chance of control over the naviga tion of the Hudson would be lost — a matter deemed of great importanoe by Congress, and espeoially so by the New York Convention. Fort Washington, and the works on Harlem Heights, were held by Magaw's and Shea's Permsylvania regiments, Rawlins's Maryland rifle men, and some of the militia of the flying camp. Greene, who commanded on the Jersey side, thought the position might be maintained. Before the commander-in-chief was able to make a personal examination, it was unex pectedly assaulted firom four different points by as many British columns. The extent of the lines, still unfinish ed, was altogether too great for the garrison. Colonel Magaw, who commanded, made the best defense he could, and the assailants, in gaining possession of the outworks, lost some four hundred men. But when the enemy ap peared within a hundred yards of the fort, into whioh the garrison had crowded, the discouraged soldiers refused 156 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER to man the lines, and the whole foroe, two thousand in XXXIV. ' r 11 ¦ 1 -, number, with a great quantity of artillery, fell into the 1776. hands of the British. Nov. 16. rpjjjg ggygj-g i^Iqt^ .^a.g gQQii followed up. Some six thousand British troops, a greater force than Washing ton could muster, were landed on the Jersey shore, above Fort Lee. To avoid being shut up in the narrow neck between the Hudson and Hackensack, Washington was obliged to evacuate that post, with- the loss of baggage, artillery, and stores. During these operations, the New York Convention was greatly alarmed lest the numerous Tories of that state should rise in arms, and openly join the British forces. Often obliged, by the movements of the armies, to change its locality, that body sat successively at Har lem, King's Bridge, Philip's Manor, Croton River, and Fishkill : some of the time, to guard against surprise, with arms in the hands of its members. A committee was appointed, of which Jay was chairman, " for inquir ing into, detecting,, and defeating conspiracies." That committee had funds at its disposal, . a special armed force, and unlimited powers. Many Tories were seized by its order, and sent into Connecticut for safe keeping, their personal property being forfeited to the use of the state. The jails, and, occasionally, even the churches, wiere crowded with prisoners, many of whom were re leased on giving security not to go beyond certain lim its. The Tories, though very numerous, succumbed to these strong measure^. The same passive and cautious spirit which had kept them from sympathizing with the colonial cause,. kept them also from any very active ex ertions on the other side. Washington's army, by this time, was greatly re duced. The term of service of the militia was fast ex- RETREAT THROUGH THE JERSEYS. 157 piring. The whole flying camp soon claimed their dis- chapter charge ; and no inducements could procure a moment's delay. Some of the New York militia refused to do 1776. duty. Howe, they said, offered " peace, liberty, and safety"— so they understood his proclamation — and what more could they ask ? The continentals were enlisted only for a year, and their term of service was fast draw ing to a close ; nor did they always wait to complete it, desertions being very numerous. Exclusive of Heath's division in the Highlands, and the corps under Lee on the east side of the Hudson, Washington's army did not exceed four thousand men. The ground which he occu pied' was a level plain between the Hackensack and the Passaic ; the army had no intrenching tools ; and a Brit ish column, led by Cornwallis, was rapidly approaching. Obliged to retreat, but anxious not to be out off from Philadelphia, Washington crossed the Passaic to Newark, his troops exposed to all the severity of approaching win ter, without tents, badly supplied with blankets, and very imperfectly clad. The British, well furnished with ev ery necessary, pressed upon him -with a much superior force ; . and Washington again retired, first across the Nov. 28. Raritan to Brunswick, and thence to Princeton, where a corps was left, under Sterling, to check the enemy's ad vance, while Washington continued his retreat to Tren- Dec. 2. ton, where he transported his remaining stores and bag gage across the Delaware. The first state Legislature under the new Constitution of New Jersey, having met at Princeton, had chosen Aug. 27. William Livingston as governor, an oflice which he con tinued to hold till after the adoption of the Federal Con stitution. Though Livingston had esteemed the Dec laration of Independence premature, no one was more stanch than he in its support. In compUance with 158 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chapter Washington's earnest and repeated solicite^tions, he had XXXIV ' . made every effort to get out the militia ; but disaffec- 1776- tion was openly exhibited in many places, and very few took the field. The defenseless Legislature, as muoh the sport of war as the New York Convention, retired first to BurUngton, then to Pittstown, and then to Hat- Dec. 2. tonfield, on the verge of the state, where it dissolved, leaving behind scaroely a vestige of the lately-established state government. On the other side of the Delaware things were in no better condition. An election had lately been held in Pennsylvania under the new state Constitution. By a numerous and influential party, inoluding all the law yers and principal merchants, that Constitution was es teemed altogether too democratic. That party plotted, in some of the counties, to prevent the Constitution from going into operation, by neglecting to choose the coun selors,,^ in whom the executive authority was vested. Nov. 28. The Assembly had lately met, but was obliged, in con sequence of these machinations, to adjourn without or ganizing the new government. The news of Washington's retreat produced the great est commotion in Philadelphia ; fears on one side, and hopes on the other. Putnam had been sent to take the command in that oity. Mifflin was also there, endeav oring to raise the spirits of the people. ' Some fifteen . hundred oity militia, sent forward through the active agency of Mifflin, joined Washington at Trenton, and he Dec. 7. advanced again upon Princeton. But Cornwallis ap proached with a superior force, and the. American army was obliged to oross the Delaware. As the rear guard left the Jersey shore, the advance of the British came in sight ; indeed, during tlie whole course of the retreat, the American rear guard, employed in pulling up bridges, LEE TAKEN PRISONER. igg was constantly within sight and shot of the British pio- chapter XXXIV neers sent forward to rebuild them. Washington had secured all the boats in the Delaware, and he placed 1776. his forces so as to guard the principal fords. The ene my, finding no means to cross, ocdupied the eastern bank above and below Trenton. During this rapid and anxious retreat, Washington had sent repeated orders to Lee to oross the Hudson and to join the main army. Ambitious and self-con ceited, esteeming himself almost the only officer in the American service who possessed any military science, Lee preferred a separate oommand. He flattered him self with the idea of attacking New York, or assailing the rear of the enemy, or otherwise performing some brilliant exploit.^ Brooding over these vain projects, he moved slowly through New Jersey by a road about twenty miles west of the British army. Having care lessly quartered, with a small guard, at a house three miles from his main body, information was given by one of the Tories, of whom that region was full,, and he was surprised and made prisoner by a troop of British caval ry sent for the purpose. The value of Lee's services had been a good deal exaggerated in both armies, and an importanoe quite excessive was ascribed to his capture. Of seven regiments detached from the northern army, four, led by St. Clair, had joined Lee ; but the two from New Jersey, whose term of enlistnient was about to ex pire, had hardly entered their own state, when they dis banded to a man. The three other regiments were halted at Morristown, in consequence of an alarm from the eastward, which also caused Washington to recall his orders lately sent to Heath to send on a brigade of regulars from-the division in the Highlands. The occasion of that alarm was a fleet from New York 160 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chapter with six thousand troops on board, whioh made its ap- xxxiv. *^ . '^ pearance off Newport, in Rhode Island. The possession 1776. of that town, the second in New England, would prove a great annoyance to those states, while its harbor would afford a rendezvous for the British ships, essential almost for the occupancy of New York.r The few troops sta- Dec. 8. tioned there evacuated the town without attempting any defense ; Commodore Hopkins, with several Continental cruisers and a number of privateers, escaped up the bay, and were blocked up at Providence. As soon as Wash ington heard of this invasion, he dispatched Spencer and Arnold to look after the defense of Rhode Island. He Dec. 20. was soon after joined by Lee's division, which Sullivan, on succeeding to the corrimand, had led across the Dela ware. The Howes, in their Oharaoter of king's commission ers, had issued a new' proclamation, calling upon all in surgents to -disband, and upon all political bodies to re linquish their usurped authority, and allowing sixty days within which to make submission. The speedy triumph of the mother country seemed certain, and many persons, those especially of large property, including sev eral who had taken an active part iit>the Revolution, hastened to "make the required submission. Tucker, president of the late New Jersey Convention, which had sanctioned the Declaration of Independence, and formed the state. Constitution, now abandoned his country's cause, and took a British protection. So did Allen and Galloway, late delegates from Pennsylvania to the Con tinental Congress. For the ten days after the issue of the proclamation, two or three hundred persons oame in every day to take the oaths. The great body of the Quakers were known to be op posed to the war ; and Putnam and Mifflin, dreading CONGRESS RETIRES TO BALTIMORE. iQi the effects of the proclamation should the British oross chapter XXXIV the Delaware, strenuously recommended the removal of Congress. Their adyioe was adopted; and, leaving a 1776. committee behind. Congress adjourned to meet again at Dec. 12 Baltimore. ^ The elections under the new Constitution of Mary land were now going on. Thomas Johnson, a member of Congress and a stanch patriot, the same who had recommended Washington for commander-in-chief, was chosen governor. But in Maryland, as well as in Penn sylvania, the number of the disaffected was very con siderable. The same feeling operated very strongly in Delaware. The Convention which framed a Consti tution for that state recalled from Congress M'Kean and Rodney, the two delegates who had giyen the vote of Delaware for independence. Nor were the more ar dent patriots very weU satisfied with the choice present ly made of John M'Kinley as president under the new Constitution. Contrary to Washington's expectations, the British, content with having overrun the Jerseys, made no at tempt to pass the Delaware, but established themselves in a line of cantonments at Trenton, Pennington, Bor- dentown, and Burlington. Other corps were quartered in the rear, at Princeton, Brunswick, and Elizabeth- town. While these important operations had been going on at the north, the western frontier of the Carolinas and Georgia had been visited by an Indian war. Stuart, the British superintendent of Indian affairs for the southern department, formerly commandant at Fort Loudon, and Cameron, his deputy, a resident in the Indian country, and oonnected, by marriage with several of the chiefs, possessed great influenoe over the Cherokees. Shortly III.— L 162 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chapter after the attack on Charleston, and in co-operation with XXXIV. ' . ^ that enterprise, the Cherokees had been induced to oom- 1776. mence hostiUties against the back settlers, now rapidly increasing. A strong force, collected in the Carolinas and Virginia, marched into the Cherokee country, dis persed the Indians, and destroyed the growing corn. Cameron sought refuge at Pensacola. Reduced almost to a state of starvation, humbled and subdued, the Cher- 1777. okees presently submitted to a peace, by whioh they ^"" yielded up a large tract of territory, inoluding the in fant settlements on the Tennessee. James Robinson, tho pioneer of those settlements, was appointed the joint Indian agent of Virginia and North Carolina. The Legislature of Virginia divided the county of Fin- castle, which hitherto had included all the southern set tlements of that state west of the mountains, into the three new counties of Washington, Montgomery, and Kentucky. ' The Transylvanian settlers gave over, for the present, their plan of an independent community, and concluded to organize under the authority of Virginia. The county of Kentucky included the whole present state of that name. Henderson's claim was presently quieted by granting to him and his associates, two hundred thou sand acres of land at the mouth of Green River. ENLISTMENT OF A PERMANENT ARMY. 153 CHAPTER XXXV. ENLISTMENT OF A PERMANENT ARMY. RECOVERY OF THE JERSEYS. EXCHANGE, OF PRISONERS. NAVAL WARFARE. FOREIGN TRADE. NEGOTIATIONS ABROAD. DECLINING CREDIT OF THE PAPER MONEY. STATE GOVERNMENTS. JLn the midst of that laborious and anxious campaign chapter xxxv. resulting in the loss of New York and the retreat through the Jerseys, Washington had been in constant correspond- 1776. ence with Congress respecting the enlistment and organ ization of a new army. He had represented, in plain and strong terms, the wastefulness, as weU as the dan gerous uncertainty of the system of short enlistrnents and militia drafts, and its total incompatibility with sys tem, order, and discipline. Numbers had not been want ing. First and last, during the year. Congress had in the field forty-seven thousand Continentals, besides twen ty-seven thousand militia, a much more numerous force than the States at any time afterward were able to mus ter. But numbers were nothing without discipline and science, for want of which the Americans had been beaten in almost every engagement. ¦ ' '• ¦ " The government of an army," so Washington wrote to Congress, to be effective, must' be " a perfect despot ism." To that the militia would not submit ; and, when the two kinds of troops served together, the in subordination of the militia was communicated to the regulars, whose annual term of servioe expired almost before they had learned the duties of a soldier. AbhOr- 164 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chapter rpnoe of a standing army, to be quartered on the oolo- , nies, had precipitated the Revolution. In Congress and xxxv. 1776. in the States there prevailed a just and reasonable dread of despotic authority, and among" those willing to serve as soldiers a settled disinclination tp enlist for long periods. But, to continue the war, a standing army, was absolutely necessary. A committee of Congress, sent to camp while the American army still occupied Harlem Heights, on York Island, had matured a plan for suoh an army, for the most part in accordance with Washington's views. According to -this plan, which was adopted by Con gress, all the hitherto scattered continental forces were to be embraced in one grand whole, to consist of eighty- eight battalions, of seven hundred and fifty men each, to be raised in the several states in proportion to their as- ^ sumed population and ability. Hazen's Canadian regi ment was, also to be kept up, to be recruited in any of the states, and hence known as "Congress's own." Massachusetts and Virginia were each to furnish fifteen battalions, Pennsylvania twelve. North Carolina nine, Connecticut eight, South Carolina six. New York and New Jersey four each, New Hampshire and Maryland three, each, ^Rhode Island two, Delaware and Georgia eaoh one. The men were to be enlisted for the war, and to be entitled, at the end of their service, to a land bounty of a hundred acres. Colonels were to have five hundred acres, and inferior officers an intermediate quantity corresponding to their rank. Twenty dollars bounty was to be given to each recruit. Such, how ever, was the difficulty in obtaining enlistments for the war, that an option was presently aUowed of enlisting for three years ; but these three year recruits were to have no land. The states were to' enlist their respective quotas, and to provide them with arms and olothing. ENLISTMENT OF A PERMANENT ARMY. igg But the expense of this operation, as well as the pay and chapter XXXV support of the troops in the field, was to be a common '_ charge. Colonels and all inferior officers, though commis- 1776. sioned by Congress, were to be appointed by the states. Agents were to be sent to the camp to arrange this iih- portant matter: The Articles of War were revised, and made more strict. ' Besides the state establishments for that purpose, national founderies and laboratories for the manufacture of military stores were set up at Carlisle, in Pennsylvania, and Springfield, in Massachusetts. A clothier general for the army was also appointed. So jealous were the states of their sovereignty, and so great was the dread of military power, that it was not easy to arrange this scheme on paper. To carry it into effect was still more difficult. Amid the disasters of the campaign, recruiting had proceeded very slowly. To stimulate enlistments, Massachusetts offered an extra bounty of $66. The same policy was adopted by Mary land and other states ; and this bid. for recruits was car ried stiU higher by counties and townships. Washing ton and Congress protested against a practice which threatened to involve an overwhelming expense, and whioh, to a oertain extent, defeated its own objeot, by inducing those inclined to enlist to stand out for still higher offers. - Congress, however, promised eight doUars to every person obtaining a recruit. Several states were greatly behindhand in the appointment of officers, without whom enlistments could not begin, and of those who were appointed, a considerable number had obtained their commissions more through the influence of family and connections than by reason of qualifications. The foroe agreed upon, even if promptly furnished, did not seem sufficient to Washington. Upon his earn est representations. Congress, having reassembled at Dec. 27. 166 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES: CHAPTER Baltimore, authorized him to enlist and ofiicer sixteen XXXV additional battalions of foot, and to raise and equip three 1776. regiments of artiUery, three 'thousand Ught horse, and a corps of engineers. Knox, who still remained at the head of the artillery, at Washington's earnest request, had been made a brigadier.' As yet only a troop or two of cavalry had been attached to the army ; and a body of horse, which Howe had contrived to mount — a descrip tion of force to which the Arherioan soldiers were unac customed — ^had inspired great terror during the late cam paign. While these additions to the army were author ized. Congress, alarmed at the dangerous aspeot of affairs invested the commander-in-chief, for the next six months, with almost dictatorial powers. He was authorized to displace all officers under the rank of brigadier ; to fill up all vacancies ; to take, for the use of the army, what ever he might want, allowing the owners a reasonable price ; and to arrest and confine for trial, by the civil tribunals, all persons disaffected to the American cause, or refusing to take the continental paper money. By exerting all his persuasive powers of eloquence, Mifflin, in a tour through the neighboring districts of Pennsylvania, had raised and brought into camp some additional Pennsylvania militia. By this and other ac cessions, Washington's army had increased to seven thou sand men ; but the term of most of the regulars was just about to expire. While he had yet a considerable force at his disposal, and before the end of the sixty days lim ited in the late British proclamation, Washington and his offioers judged it highly desirable to strike some ef fectual blow at the enemy. The festivities of Christmas would be apt to relax the watchfulness of the canton ments on the other side of the Delaware. A body of fifteen hundred Hessians, stationed at Trenton, was se- BATTLE OF TRENTON. 167 looted by Washington as the objeot of attack. On the chapter evening of Christmas, with two thousand five hundred ^^^^' of his best men and six pieces of artillery,, including the 1776. New York company under Alexander Hamilton, he com menced crossing the Delaware about nine miles above Trenton. Two corps of mUitia, one opposite Trenton, the other lower down, at Bristol, under General Cadwallader, were to have crossed at the same time ; but the quantity of floating ice made the passage impossible. It was only with great difficulty, and after struggling all night, that Washington's troops got over at last. About four o'clock Dec. 26, in the morning, in the midst of a snow storm, they com menced their maroh for Trenton in two columns, one led by Greene, the other by Sullivan, Stark's New Hamp shire regiment heading Sullivan's advance. The two columns took different roads — Sullivan along the bank of the river, the other some distance inland. It' Was eight o'clock before they reached the town ; but the Hes sians, sleepy with the night's debauch, were completely surprised. Some little resistance was made by the guard of the artillery, but they were soon overpowered, and the pieces taken. Washington's artillery was planted to sweep the streets of tho town. The Hessian command er, while attempting to form his troops, was mortally wounded. The light horse and a portion of the infantry, who fled on the first alarm, escaped to Bordentown. The main body attempted to retreat by the Princeton road, but found it already occupied by Colonel Hand and his regiment of Pennsylvania riflemen. Thus out off, ig norant of the force opposed to them, and without enthu siasm for the cause, they threw down their arms and surrendered. About a thousand prisoners were taken and six cannon. The Americans had two frozen to death, -two killed, and a few wounded in assaulting the 168 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chapter artillery, among them James Monroe, then a lieutenant, ^^^^' afterward President of the United States. Had the mi- 1776. litia lower down been able to cross, the success might have been stilt more complete. Washington reorossed the Delaware with his prison ers, who were sent to Philadelphia, and paraded through the streets in a sort of triumph. The British, astonish ed at suoh a stroke from an enemy whom they reckon ed already subdued, broke up their encampments along the Delaware, and retired to Princeton. Washington thereupon reoocupied Trenton, where^ he was speedily joined by three thousand six hundred Pennsylvania militia, relieved, by the withdrawal of the enemy, from Dec. 31. their late duty of guarding the Delaware. At this mo ment the term of service of the New England regiments expired ; but the persuasions of their offioers, and a bounty of ten dollars, induced them to remain for six weeks longer. ' Alarmed by the surprise at Trenton, and the signs of new activity in the American army, Howe detained Cornwallis, then jnst on the point of embarking for En gland, and sent him to take the command at Princeton. Re-enfprcements came up from Brunswiok, and Corn walUs advanced in force upon Trenton. Washington 1777. occupied the high ground on the eastern bank of a spiall Jan. 2. j.jygj, -vvhich enters the Delaware at that town. The bridge and the ford above it were guarded by artillery. After a sharp cannonade, the British kindled their fires and encamped for the night. Washington was now in a dangerous predicament. He had about five thousand men, half of them militia, but a few days in camp. Could such an army stand the attack of British regulars, equal in numbers, and far superior in discipline and equipments ? To attempt BATTLE OF PRINCETON. 169 to cross the Delaware in the face of the enemy would chapter XXXV be more hazardous than a battle. Washington, accord- L ing to his custom, called a council of war. The large 1777. force whioh Cornwallis evidently had with him led to the inference that the corps in the rear oould hot be very strong. The bold plan was adopted of gaining that rear, beating up the enemy's quarters at Princeton, and, if fortune favored, faUing on his stores and baggage at Brunswick. In execution of this plan, the American baggage was silently sent off down the river to- Burling ton ; and, after replenishing the camp fires, and leaving small parties to throw up intrenohments within hearing of the enemy's sentinelSj the army marched off about midnight by a circuitous route toward Princeton. Three British regiments had spent the night in that town ; and by sunrise, when the Americans entered it, t^o of Jan. 3. them were already on their march for Trenton. The leading regiment was attacked and broken ; but it present ly rallied, regained the Trenton road, and continued its maroh to join Cornwallis. General Mercer, who had led this attapk with a column of militia, was not very well supported ; he fell mortally wounded while attempting to bring up his men to the charge, and was taken pris oner. The marcfiing regiment in the rear, after a sharp aotion, gave way, and fled toward Brunswick. The regiment in the town occupied the college, and made some show of resistance ; but some pieces of artillery being brought to bear upon them, they soon surrender ed. Three hundred prisoners fell into the hands of the Americans, besides a severe loss to the enemy in killed and wounded. The American loss was about a hund red, including several valuable offioers. When Cornwallis heard the roar of the cannon at Princeton, ¦ he penetrated at once the whole of Wash- 170 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chapter ington's plan. Alarmed for his magazines af Bruns- XXXV. wiok, he hastily put his troops in motion, and by the 1777. time the Americans were ready to leave Princeton^ he was again close upon them. Again Washington was in great danger. . His troops were exhausted ; all had been one night without sleep, and some of them longer ; many had no blankets ; others were barefoot ; all were very thinly clad. It was necessary to give over the attack upon Brunswiok, and to occupy some more defensible ground, where the troops oould be put under cover. At Morristown, on the American right, were the skeletons of three regiments, detached, as already mentioned, from the northern army ; also the troops sent forward by Heath, but stopped on the reception of Washington's counter mand. Some militia had also joined them. The high ground in that vicinity offered many strong positions. As Cornwallis would hardly venture to cross the Dela ware with an enemy in his rear, Washington concluded to maroh for Morristown, where he intrenched himself Not anxious to continue this winter campaign, Corn wallis retired to New Brunswiok. The parties sent out by Washington to assail and harass the British quarters were eagerly joined by the inhabitants, incensed by the plunder and ravage of the British and Hessians, against whom even Howe's protections had proved a very uncer tain defense. Plundering, into which soldiers very eas Uy fall, was by no means confined to the British. Wash ington was again obliged to issue stern orders against " the infamous practice of plundering the inhabitants under pretense that they are Tories." Another proclamation was presently issued, requiring Jan. 25. all thoso who had taken British protections either to re move within the enemy's lines, or else to repau- to the nearest general oflioer, give up their protections, and take WINTER QUARTERS AT MORRISTOWN. 171 an oath of allegiance to the United States. Obiections chapter • XXXV were made to this proclamation, and one of the New Jer- ____!_ sey delegates in Congress raised some question about it, 1777. on the ground that it was an interference with state rights, allegiance being due to the state, and not to the confederacy ; but Congress sustained Washington in the course he had taken. Huts were erected at Morristown, and there the main body pf the American army remained during the win ter. The right was at Princeton, under Putnam ; the left in the Highlands, under Heath ; Pantonments were established at various places along this extended Une. Skirmishes occasionally took plaoe between advanced parties, but for six months no important movement was made upon either- side. Washington, busy in organiz ing the new army, was, in fact, very weak. Recruits came in but slowly ; and detachments of militia, prin cipally from the Eastern States, had to be called out for temporary service. These were judiciously posted, so as to make the best possible show ; but, for several months, there was little more than the shadow of an army. The enemy, made cautious by their losses, fortunately were ignorant of Washington's real situation. The strong ground occupied by the Americans, and the winter, which had now-fairly set in, seemed to forbid the hope of successful attack. In skirmishes, the Americans were generally successful ; the British quarters were straitened, their supplies were cut off, and they were re duced to great distress for' forage and fresh provisions. The recovery of the Jerseys by the fragments of a defeated army, whioh had seemed just before on the point of dissolution, gained Washington a high reputa tion, not at home only, but in Europe also, where the progress of the campaign had been watohed with 172 HISTORY OP THE UNITED STATES. chapter great interest, and where the disastrous loss of New xxxv. , York and the retreat through the Jerseys had given a 1777. general impression that the Americans would not be able to maintain their independence. The recovery of the Jerseys produced a reaction. The American general was extoUed as a Fabius, whose prudence availed his country not less than his valor. At home, also, these successes had the best effect. The recruiting service, which before had been almost at a stand, began again to revive, and considerable progress was presently made in organizing the new army. The extensive powers which Congress had intrusted to Washington were exercised energetically indeed, but with the greatest circumspection, and a single eye to the public good. The state appointments of offioers for the new army, too often the result of favoritism, were rectified so far as prudence would justify ; and, by com missions in tho sixteen additional battalions, Washington was enabled to provide for suoh meritorious officers as had been overlooked in the new appointments. A great clamor having been raised against Dr. Mor gan's management of the hospital department, he . was . summarily removed from office, and Dr. Shippen, his coUeague in the medical school at Philadelphia, appoint ed in his plaoe. The whole department was reorgan ized : Dr. Craik was appointed Shippen's assistant ; Dr. Rush, afterward greatly distinguished in his profession, an active politician, who had signed the Declaration of Independence as one of the new delegates from Pennsyl vania, was made surgeon general for the middle depart ment. The small-pox had been a terrible scourge to the American troops, and Washington caused all the new re cruits to be inoculated and carried through the disorder. This change in the medical staff was extended to the ORGANIZATION OF THE, NEW ARMY. 173 northern department also. Schuyler complained that the chapter XXXV officer at the head of it had been discharged without con- suiting him ; but Congress pronounced his letter disre- 1777. spectful, and required an apology. Morgan subsequent ly procured an inquiry into his conduct by a committee of Congress, and was honorably acquitted. Sterling, Mifflin, St. Clair, Stephen, and Lincoln were Feb. i9. commissioned as major generals-^^-Lincoln, taken from the ranks of the Massachusetts militia, which he had twice led to Washington's assistance, was promoted over the heads of all the brigadiers. Arnold, whose conduct while in command at Montreal, and the unsettled ac counts of whose Canada expedition had left some shade on his character, complained loudly of being overlooked on this occasion. Eighteen new brigadiers were also com missioned : Poor, of New Hampshire ; Glover, Patterson, Varnum, and Learned, of Massachusetts; Huntingdon, of Connecticut ; George Clinton, of New York ; Wayne, De Haas, Cadwallader, Hand, and Reed, of Pennsylvania ; Weedon, Muhlenburg, Woodford, and Scott, of Virginia; Nash, of North Carolina ; and Conway, an Irishman by birth, but a Frenohman by education, an officer of thirty years standing in the French army, but whose merit was not equal to his pretensions. The army was now well supplied with general offioers, but state claims and political influenoe had more to do with some of these ap pointments than considerations of merit or the good of the servioe. Eaoh state claimed a number of general officers, proportioned to its quota of troops. Four regiments of horse were enlisted under Colonels Bland, Baylor, Sheldon, and Moylan. Cadwallader' and Reed, to whom the command of the horse was offered, both declined their appointments. The office of adjutant general, vacant by the resignation of Reed, who had made 174 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. cHAPTE^i himself very obnoxious to, the Eastern troops, was given XXXV to Timothy Pickerings a colonel of the Massachusetts line, 1777. The quarter-master's department, at tho head of whioh Mifflin stiU remained, was regulated and organized by the appointment of assistant quarter-masters, wagon masters, and comniissaries of forage, all of whom were required to make monthly returns. Congress also un dertook to regulate the commissary department by di viding- its duties between a commissary of purchases and a commissary of issuesj and by assuming the appoint ment of the principal subordinate offioers. Insisting upon the selection and entire control of all the officers employed in his department. as absolutely necessary to insure uniformity and obedienoe, Joseph Trumbull, the late commissary general, resigned ; nor was the new sys tem found to work so well as Congress had hoped. In the course of the war the British had taken near five thousand prisoners, the Americans about three thou sand. At first aU exchanges had been refused, on the ground that the Americans were rebels ; but, after Howe'o arrival at New York, he had opened a negotiation on the subject.- A good deal of obstruction occurred from the refusal of Congress to fulfill Arnold's stipulation at the Cedars ; but, finally, a cartel was arranged, and a par tial exchange effected. As the Americans had no prisoner of equal rank with Lee, they offered in exchange for hira, in the terms of the cartel, six Hessian field offioers taken at Trenton. Though Howe did not choose to take the responsibUity of bringing Lee to a trial, he claimed him, nevertheless, as a deserter from the British army, and refused the ex change. Congress ordered the six Hefesians, together with Lieutenant-colonel Campbell, a British officer who had been taken at Boston, to be committed to close prison, EXCHANGE OF PRISONERS. 175 to suffer whatever extremities might be infiioted on Lee. chapter xxxv. Howe presently received orders to send Lee to England , for trial ; but he delayed to do so, being apprehensive of 1777. the effect upon the German officers of the awkward pre dicament of the six Hessians. In consequence of his representations on that subject, he was subsequently in structed to treat Lee as a prisoner of war. Another controversy presently arose. The Americans taken at Long Island and Fort Washington, and con fined in New York, had suffered extremely during the winter from want of the necessaries of life. Howe earn estly disclaimed all knowledge of any ill treatment; but he seems to have left the custody of the prisoners to the New York Tories, from whom they received little meroy. Many died ; and of those sent out for exchange in the spring, a large part were feeble and emaciated. Wash ington refused to send back, in return, an equal number of well-fed, healthy Hessians and British, and he justi fied that refusal in an able correspondence with General Howe. These disputes interrupted for some time the prog- cess of exchange, which Congress, indeed, was very little anxious to expedite. Every prisoner sent into New York was a repruit to the British army, while those re ceived in return were men whose term of service had expired. This consideration of policy had more weight than pity for the suffering prisoners, whose protracted de tention was, however, none the less ascribed to the im practicability and obstinacy of the British commander. Elias Boudinot, a citizen of New Jersey, of Huguenot descent, and presently a member of Congress from that state, was appointed commissary for prisoners. In subordination to the Marine Committee, two navy boards had been established, to' whom the executive 176 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER functions of that department had been ohiefiy oom- YYYT7- . *^ .mitted, one for the Eastern, the other for the Middle xxxv. 1777. States. Of the thirteen frigates ordered by Congress, several had been finished and equipped ; and the addi tional construction of three seventy-fours, five large frig ates, and one' or two sm.aller vessels, was presently au thorized. But these building operations were soon sus pended by want of money, and the high price of labor and naval stores. The officers of the national vessels, of which several had been purchased, besides those or dered to be built, were not very competent, and few of them n^et with much success. Hopkins, with his squad ron, was blocked up at Providence. Privateering, prin cipally from New England, had been entered upon with great zeal, and the scarcity occasioned by the interrup tion of regular commerce had been partially supplied by the success of the cruisers. The homeward-bound Brit ish vessels from the West Indies,, deeply laden, and pass ing for a great distance along the American ooast, offered rich and tempting prizes. In the first year of this naval warfare, near three hundred and fifty British vessels had been captured, worth, with their cargoes, five miUions of dollars. Since the resolution of Congress on the "subject of commerce, a new foreign trade had been opened to Amer ica. Shipments of tobacco and other staples were made to France, Spain, and Holland, sometimes direot, but principaUy by way of the West Indies ; and, through the same channel, supplies of manufactured goOds were re ceived. An indirect commerce was also kept up with the British West Indies ; St. Eustatius, a Uttle Dutch island of the Caribbee group, possessing a fine harbor, and enjoying the privileges of a free port, soon became a great mart for this traffic. This trade, however, was NATIONAL FLAG. 177 not carried on without great risks. A large number of chapter American vessels, principally laden with lumber and provisions, fell into the hands of British cruisers, and 1777. served in some measure to relieve the necessities of the British islands, reduced to great di,stress by the non- intercourse and the war. According to Edwards, the historian of the West Indies, this interruption of accus tomed supplies occasioned in Jamaica alone the starva tion of not less than fifteen thousand negroes. The necessity of a national flag being felt, espeoially in the marine ser-vice. Congress presently adopted the happy June i4. f. idea of the stars and stripes, a star and a stripe for eaoh of the thirteen states. Still smarting under the loss of their late North Amer ican empire, and anxious to share in the American trade, the French, both the court and the merchants, saw with delight the British colonies rising in arms against the mother country ; ia spite of the remonstrances of the British embassador, American privateers found no diffi culty in selling their prizes in French ports ; armed ves sels, to saU under American commissions, were even al lowed to be secretly fitted out. Shortly after the breaking out of hostilities, in conse quence of representations made by Arthur Lee to the French embassador at LondOn, Vergennes, the French minister . for foreign affairs, had sent M. Beaumarchais, well known at Paris as a courtier, a dramatist, and a political intriguer, to concert measures with Lee for re- / mitting to America arms and military stores to the value of a million of livres, about $200,000. The French court was not yet prepared for an open breach with En gland, and, to cover up this transaction, and to give it a mercantile appearance, these arms were to be remitted by Beaumarchais under the fictitiods mercantile firm of IIL— M 178 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER Hort-ales and*Co. Before this matter could be finally ar- rancrfid, Doanc had arrived at Paris; not openly in any 1776. public capacity, but apparently as a private merchant. ^^y- He was courteously received by Vergennes, and was presently introduced to Beaumarchais, with whom he completed the arrangements commenced with Lee in London. It was agreed that Hortales and Co. should send the proposed supplies by way of the West -Indies, and that Congress should remit tobacco and othei: produce in payment. Beaumarchais presently dispatched three vessels, and others subsequently, with valuable cargoes, inoluding two hundred pieces of artillery and a supply of smaU arms from the king's arsenals, four thousand tents, and clothing for thirty thousand men. This whole transac tion was conducted with great secrecy and a good deal of mystery. Deane's movements were olosely watohed by British agents ; and- the French pourt would trust none of its secrets to Congress, whose most private de liberations, by some means or other, became speedily known to the British ministry. , ' Shortly after the Declaration of Independence, a plan ^ of treaties with foreign powers had been reported by the committee on that subject, and their report being ac cepted by Congress, Franklin, Deane, and Jefferson had Sept. 26. been appointed commissioners tp the French court. Un- wiUing to leave his wife, whose health was declining, Jefferson refused the appointment, and Arthur Lee, who still remained at London, was substituted for him. The seoret committee oharged with the oversight Of foreign affairs were directed to remit bills or to export produce till they had established in France a fund for the sup port of the commissioners, who were directed to live in a style " to support the dignity of their publio character." COMMISSIONERS TO FRANCE. 179 Besides the payment of their expenses, they were to re- chapter oeive " a handsome allowance" for their time and trouble. '*' Franklin sailed for France in the Reprisal, of sixteen 1776. guns, one of the new Continental frigates, the first na- 0'='- tional American vessel to show itself in the eastern hemisphere. He arrived in safety ; and Lee, from Lon- Dec. don, presently joined his colleagues. The commissioners were received by Vergennes, privately, with marks of favor, but without public acknowledgment, or any open reoognition of their diplomatic character. The firmness of the Americans, and their resolution to maintain their independence, were still regarded as doubtful. France was secretly strengthening her navy and preparing for War ; but a serious obstacle was encountered in the de ranged state of her finances, over which Neckar had just been oalled to preside. A considerable number of captured British seamen had been brought into French ports by American pri vateers, and the American commissioners, shortly after their arrival, addressed a note to Lord Stormont, the British embassador^ proposing to exchange them for American prisoners in the hands of the British. " The king's embassador receives no application from rebels, unless they come to implore his majesty's mercy :" such was Stormont's stately reply, written on a slip of paper, which the commissioners sent baok again for ^ his lord ship's " better consideration." The American commissioners received from the French government a quarterly allowance, amounting in the whole to about $400,000 ; and half as much more was advanced on loan by the farmers general, to be repaid by remitfences of tobacco. This money was principally applied to the purchase of arms and supplies for the troops, and the fitting out of armed vessels — a business 180 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAETER left verv muoh in the hands of Deane, who had been XXXV A ' bred a merchant, and who stiU continued to have the 1777. chief management of the transactions With Beaumar-^ -April, chais. Of the ships first dispatched under that arrange ment, two were taken by the enemy ; a third-, arrived very seasonably with arms for the new regiments, which began' at last to fill up. After the loss of New York, the commissioners had been instructed by Congress to press the subject of a treaty, and to offer very favorable terms as to commerce and the division of, conquests. Commissioners were also ap pointed to the other European courts — Franklin, and, when he declined, Arthur Lee, to Madrid ; WilUam Lee, a brother of Arthur, and lately one of the sheriffs of London, to Vienna and Berlin ; and Ralph Izard, of South Carolina, to Florence. These appointments, how ever, were perfectly useless. Before information of them arrived at Paris, Lee, at the request of his brother, com missioners, had already visited Spain. He was stopped short at Burgos by an agent of the Spanish govern ment ; a smaU sum of money was promised to pay for military stores shipped from Bilboa; but Lee was not allowed to proceed to Madrid. His activity presently vented itself in a still more fruitless expedition to Ger many. Izard made no attempt to visit Florence, but remained at Paris, drawing a salary from the almost ex hausted funds of the commissioners. William Le^,'after a useless visit to Berlin, where his papers were stolen, through the contrivance, as was thought, of the British resident minister, returned to Paris to keep Izard, com pany, i The convenient expedient of postponing tht*burdens of the war by the issue of bills of credit had stood Con gress and the states in excellent stead. The value of CONTINENTAL PAPER MONEY. 181 this, paper had kept up remarkably. Eighteen months chapter • XXXV expired, and twenty milUons of Continental bills. bad been authorized, besides large local issues, before any 1777. very marJked signs of depreciation had made their ap pearance. At length, however, it began to be obvious that depreciation oould only be prevented by stopping the issue ; and Congress, as a substitute for further issues, had proposed to raise a loan of five millions of dollars at an iiiterest of four per cent, A lottery was also author ized,, designed to raise a like sum on -loan, the prizes being payable in loan-office certificates. With the oon tinued ill success of the American arms, after the loss of New York, the paper money continued to depreciate. The disaffected refused to take it; and among the other ex traordinary powers conferred upon Washington, he was authorized, as we have seen, to arrest and imprison all such maligners of the credit of Congress. But depreciation was not confined to the seat of war nor to the disaffected districts. It was felt also in New England, where it had been aggravated by large local issues. At a Convention of the New England States, Jan. held at Providence at the beginning of the year, to con sult about the defense of Rhode Island, and other mat ters of common interest, a scheme was agreed upon for regulating by law the prices of labor, produce, manufac tured articles, and imported goods ; and this project, though strenuously opposed by the merchants, was pres ently enacted into law by the New England Legislatures. Congress sought to sustain their failing credit by a resolution that their bills "ought to pass ourrent in all Jan. 14. payments, trade, and dealings, and be deemed equal in value to the same nominal sums in Spanish dollars;" and that all persons refusing to take them ought to be considered " enemies of the United States," upon whom 182 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chapter it was recommended to the local authorities to infiict XXXV ' _-s " forfeitures and other penalties." The states were 1777. oalled upon to make the bills a legal tender, and to pro vide " for drawing in their several quotas at sueh times as had been or should be fixed by Congress." Except as to the first six millions, no such time had yet been ap pointed. It was also recommended to the states to raise by taxation, and to remit to the national treasury, "suoh sums as they shall think most proper in the pr*esent sit uation of their inhabitants," these sums to be passed to the credit of the paying states. The advice was also given to avoid the further emission of lOoal bills of credit, and*to adopt measures for redeeming those already out. The doings of the New England Convention having been laid before Congress, their scheme for regulating Feb. 15. prices was approved. The other states were advised to imitate it, and to call for that purpose two conventions, one from the Middle, the other from the Southern States. In accordance with this recommendation, a Convention for the Middle States, in which New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia were March 26. represented, presently met at Yorktown, and agreed upon a scale of prices. But this scheme, though very popular, was found whol ly impracticable. The traders every where^ combined to defeat it; while the embarrassments whioh it placed in the way of commerce aggravated instead of diminishing the evils complained of The scheme of a loan was still earnestly pursued. Feb 22. '^^° miUions, and presently thirteen millions more, of loan-roffioe certificates were authorized, in sums from $200 to $10,000, makmg the whole amoun#thus at tempted to be borrowed equal to the outstanding issue of Continental bills. Loan offices were opened in all the STATE GOVERNMENTS. 183 states ; the rate of interest was raised from four to six chapter xxxv. per cent. ; and the receipt wa^ authorized, under certain limitations, not of Continental bills merely, but of state 1777. bills also. Loans, however, came in but slowly ; the treasury ran low ; the loan ofiioes were overdrawn ; and the issue of bills of credit was reluctantly recommenced. Ten additional millions were speedily authorized, and May 20. as the issue increased, the depreciation increased also. The commissioners in France had been instructed to borrow money there; but suoh instructions were much more easily given than executed. Just before the close of the year, the North Carolina 1776. Convention had agreed upon a state Constitution, under ^°' ^ which Richard Caswell, the conqueror of M'Donald, was cljosen governor. At an early session of the new Legis- 1777. lature, the territory lately ceded by the Cherokees was erected into the district of Washington. A land office system was also established, consisting of an entry taker and a surveyor in each county. Any person was at lib erty to enter six hundred and fifty acres of land for him self, and one hundred more for his wife, and the same for eaoh 'of his ohildren — the lands thus entered to be paid for at the rate' of £2 10s. per hundred acres, exclu sive of the fees of entry and survey., If any greater quan tity were entered, double price was to be paid. The pressure of danger from abroad had somewhat allayed the opposition to the new Constitution of Penn sylvania. The deUnquent counties elected counselors, and the new government was finally organized by the March*. ohoice of Thomas Wharton, Jr., as president, and George Bryan as vice-president. Wharton's father was a wealthy and influential Quaker, opposed to the Revolu tion ; but the son had been from the beginning an active partisan of the popular cause. Though the Constitu- 184 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER tion was submitted to, its opponents were by no means satisfied. M'K§an, appointed chief justice. Reed and 1777. Roberdeau, presently sent as delegates to Congress, Rush, and others, adhered; after some hesitation, to the con stitutional party.; but the opposition, who took the name of " Republicans," included most of the merchants, law yers, and leading citizens of Philadelphia. As they gen erally had the votes and assistance of the disaffected, they made the administration of the government no easy task. This internal contest, added to the extent of disaffection, operated greatly "to diminish the effective force of Penn sylvania. The state government of New Jersey having again re established itself, a militia law was passed — not, how ever, very satisfactory to Washington or to Governor Livingston, since it allowed pecuniary payments in lieu of personal service. Another act, passed on the recom mendation of Livingston, confiscated the personal estate of all refugees within the British lines. who did not re turn within a fixed period — a policy adopted also in New York. The governor and twelve of the represent atives were constituted a Committee of Safety, with ex tensive powers, to aot during the recess. The refugees assembled in New York endeavored to indemnify themselves for their confiscated property by the fitting out of privateers and by plundering expedi tions. Livingston became a particular object of their ha tred. Mutual injuries inflamed to a high pitch the fury of civil discord, and each side charged the other with dis graceful cruelties. April aa. The Convention of New York, authorized for that purpose, found time at length to complete their frame of government — the first American Constitution that gave the ohOioe of governor to the people. George Clin- STATE GOVERNMENTS. 135 ton, the active and energetic commander of the New chapter xxxv. York militia, and lately commissioned as a Continental . brigadier, was presently elected governor, an office whioh, 1777. by successive re-elections, he continued to hold for eight- ^"'^ ^ een years. Jay was appointed chief justice, and Robert R. Livingston ohanoellor. Until the meeting of the first Sept. Legislature, affairs continued to be administered by a Committee of Safety. ¦ Georgia, also, having framed a Constitution, was now Feb. 5. first divided into eight counties — four along the sea- coast, and four up the Savannah. The parish of St. John's, whioh had anticipated the rest of the state in sending a delegate to Congress, was constituted into the county of Liberty ; the other were named from Chat ham, Camden, Burke, and other distinguished English advocates of colonial rights. Bullock having suddenly died. Button Gwinnet, late a member of Congress; and one of the signers of , the Declaration of Independence, was ohosen president of the council ; but when the ohoioe Feb. 22. presently oame on of governor under the new Consti- May 8. tution, he was beaten by John Adam Trueitlen. Gen eral M'Intosh had taken a warm part in the contest, and subsequently to the election had spoken disparag ingly of Gwinnet, who presently challenged him. In the duel that ensued Gwinnet was killed, a circum stance which infused new bitterness into the party quar rels of that little state. 186 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER XXXVI. CHAPTER XXXVL . DETERMINATION OF THE MOTHER COUNTRY TO SUBDUE THE COLONIES BY FORCE. FIRST MOVEMENTS OF THE CAMPAIGN. FOREIGN OFFICERS ; LA FAYETTE. EXPEDI TION ANI> SURRENDER OF BURGOYNE. A HOUGH the Declaration of Independence had lost the Americans a portion of their English friends, a large and inteUigent section of the British people stiU protest ed against the war as unjust and unnatural. On the whole, however, it was dec'idedly popular ; and the pro ceedings of Parliament, during the session of 1776—77, evinced, on the part of the ministry and their adherents, a fixed intention to reduce the revolted oolonists to un conditional submission. 1776. ,A motion in the House of Commons to revise those ^"^^ ^' aots of Parliament by which the Americans considered themselves aggrieved, was lost by a large majority. Lord Chatham, in spite of his growing infirmities, went to the House of Lords to make a similar proposition, which shared there the same fate. The moral force of the op position was somewhat weakened by their own dissen sions. The Rockingham section, disgusted by the obsti nate determination of ministers, ceased to attend in their seats when American affairs were discussed. Lord Shel- burne's friends, inoluding the particular adherents of Pitt, refused to join in this secession, which they considered a dereliction of public duty. 1777. Letters of marque and reprisal were issued against ^^^- the American's, and authority was given to secure and FIRST MOVEMENTS OF THE CAMPAIGN. 187 detain in custody, without bail or trial, except at the chapter discretion of the Privy Council, all persons accused or . susp'ected of treasons committed in America, or pf piracy 1777. on the high seas. Besides,. the main army to operate against Philadel phia, the ministry had formed a scheme for an invasion from Canada, apprehensions of whioh had led the Amer icans into their late unsuccessful attempt to conquer that province. Whatever supplies of men or money the min isters asked were readily voted. But in England, as well as in America, enUstments were a matter of diffi culty. Lord George Germaine was possessed with an idea, of which Sir William Howe found it very difficult to disabuse him, that recruits might be largely obtained among the ' American Loyalists. In spite, however, of all the efforts of Tryon, Delancey, and Skinner, the troops of that description hardly amounted as yet to twelve hundred men ; and Howe complained, not with out reason, of the tardiness of the ministers in filling up his army. As the spring opened, the British bpgan to show some signs of activity. A detachment sent up, the Hudson March 23. destroyed a quantity of stores collected at Peekskill, the lowest point on the river held by the Americans. In consequence of this attack, new efforts were made to strengthen the defenses of the Highlands, and Heath having been transferred to Boston, Putnam was sent to take the command there. A considerable corps under Linooln, detached to guard the upper valley, of the Raritan, had been stationed at Boundbrook, in the vicinity of the British post at Bruns wick. Owing to the negligence of a militia guard, Lin ooln was near being surprised by a detachment under April 13. Cornwallis,. which marched out of Brunswiok for that 188 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chapter purpose. He escaped, however, with the loss of two L pieces of artiUery*, some baggage, and twenty men. 1777. A few days later, Tryon was dispatched from New April 23. York, at the head of two thousand men, on an expedi tion against Danbury, an inland town near the western boundary of Connecticut, where a large quantity of pro visions were eoUected for the supply of fhe American army. Tryon landed between Fairfield and Norwalk, reached Danbury unmolested, and set fire to the maga zines, all of which were destroyed, with their contents ; after which he commenced a speedy retreat. Two corps of militia had mustered to intercept him, one under Wooster, the other under Arnold, who happened to be in that vicinity, and who volunteered as their leader. Three attacks were made on the retreating British ooltimn, one by Wooster, who fell mortally wounded, and two by Ar nold, who exhibited his usual daring, courage, and had two horses shot under him. Tryon's superior force en abled him to repel these attacks, and he made good his retreat with a loss of a hundred and seventy killed and wounded. The loss of the militia was about a hundred. In acknowledgment of Arnold's gallantry, he was made a major general, and Congress presented him with a horse fully caparisoned. But he still complained that the pro motion of junior officers over his head had deprived him of his proper relative rank. This marauding expedition wa« presently retaliated by May 24. Colonel Meigs, of Connecticut, who landed on the east end of Long Island with two hundred men, destroyed twelve vessels, and a great quantity of provisions and forage Col lected at Sag Harbor, took ninety prisoners, and returned without the loss of a man. Anothfer little expedition shortly after was a source of great triumph to the Americans, and of no little mor- FIRST MOVEMENTS OF THE CAMPAIGN. 189 tifioation to the enemy. General Prescott, the same chapter XXXVI who had been made prisoner at Montreal, now the com- manding ofiicer at Newport, had signalized his zeal against 1777. the rebels by offering a reward for the capture of Arnold, an insult whioh Arnold had retorted by offering half the amount for the capture of Prescott. Spies in Newport had sent information that Prescott quartered carelessly at a country house on the outskirts of the town ; and a small party, with that express objeot in view, landed one night on the island and carried him off. Thus a second July 13. time prisoner, he was held as a Tiostage for Lee, who had been captured muoh in the same way, and for whom Prescott was subsequently exchanged. The northern department, again placed under the sole oommand of Schuyler, had been so bare of troops during the winter that serious apprehensions had been felt lest Ticonderoga might be taken by a sudden movement from Canada over the ice. The northern army was still very feeble ; and the regiments designed tp re-enforce it filled up so slowly, notwithstanding the offer of large ad ditional bounties, that Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Hampshire were obliged to resort to a kind of con scription, a draft of mUitia men to serve for twelve months as substitutes tiU the regiments could be filled. In forming the first New England army, the enlistment of negro slaves had been speciaUy prohibited ; but re cruits of any color were now gladly accepted, and many negroes obtained their freedom by enUstment. The middle and southern colonies, whence Washing ton's recruits were principally to come, were still more behindhand. Of the men enlisted in those, states, many were foreign-born, redemptioners, or indented servants, whose attachment to the cause could not fully be relied upon. Congress had offered bpunties in land to suoh 190 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chapter Germans as might desert from the British, and Howe XXXVI. ° , . X J7 ., ¦ now retorted by promising rewards in money to loreign- 1777. ers deserting the American servioe. Congress, as a coun tervailing measure, at Washington's earnest request re linquished a plan they had adopted of stopping a portion of the -pay of the indented servants in , the army as a compensation to their masters for loss of service. That compensation was left to be provided .for at the public expense, and the enlisted servants were all declared freemen. Washington was still at Morristown, waiting with no little anxiety the movements of the British. The ex pected re-enforcements and supplies, espeoially tents, the want of which had kept Howe from moving,, had at last arrived. Burgoyne had assumed the oommand in Can ada ; but what his intentions were Washington did not know — whether he would advance by way of Lake Champlain, or, what seemed more probable, would take shipping in the St. Lawrence, and join Howe in New York. Nor could he tell whether Howe would move iip the Hudson to co-operate with Burgoyne, or whether he would attempt PhUadelphia ; and if so, whether by land or water. Philadelphia, however, seemed the most probable ob ject of attack ; and the more effectually to cover that city, leaving Putnam in the Highlands with a division May 28. of Eastern troops, Washington moved to a piece of strong ground at Middlebrook, about twelve miles from Prince ton. He had with him forty -three regiments, arranged in ten brigades and five divisions ; but these regiments were so far from being full, that the whole amounted to only eight thousand men. June 13. Howe presently marched out of New Brunswick with a powerful army, designing apparently to force his way FIRST MOVEMENTS OF THE CAMPAIGN. 191 to Philadelphia. Washington oalled to his aid a large chapter part of the troops in the Highlands; the Jersey militia turned out in foroe ; Arnold, to whom had been assign- 1777. ed the command at Philadelphia, was busy with Mifflin in preparing defenses for the Delaware. It was Howe's real object not so much to penetrate to Philadelphia as to draw Washington out of his intrenohments, and to bring on a general engagement, in whioh, upon any thing like equal ground, the British general felt oer tain of viotory. With that intent, he made a sudden and rapid retreat, evacuated New Brunswick even, and fell back to Amboy. The bait semned to take ; the American van, under Sterling, descended to the low grounds, and Washington moved with the main body to Quibbletown. But when Howe turned suddenly about, and attempted to gain the passes and heights on the American left, Washington, ever on the alert, fell rap idly back to the strong ground at Middlebrook. In this retrograde movement Sterling's division lost a few men and three pieces of artillery ; but the American army- was soon in a position in which Howe did not choose to attack if. Defeated in this attempt to bring on a general aotion, and having made up his mind to approach Philadelphia by water, the British commander withdrew into Staten June 30 Island, where he embarked the main body of his army, not less than sixteen thousand strong, leaving Clinton, who had lately been honored with the Order of the Bath, to hold New York with five thousand men, and, by ex peditions up the Hudson and into New Jersey, to co-op erate as well with Burgoyne as with the attack upon Philadelphia. Washington knew from spies, of whom he always had a number in New York, that a fleet of transports was 192. HISTORY OF THE UNITED' STATES. CHAPTER fitting out there, but its destination was kept seoret. xxxvr L_ Perhaps Howe meant to proceed up the Hudson to oo- 1777. operate with Burgoyne; and the probability of such a movement seemed to be increased by the arrival of news that Burgoyne was advancing up Lake Champlain. Per haps, with the same objeot of aiding Burgoyne, Howe might make an attempt upon Boston, thus finding em ployment at home for the New England militia, and pre venting any re-eiifOrcements to Schuyler's army. Un der these impressions, Washington moved- slowly toward the Hudson ; but when the British fieet went to sea, he retraced his steps Joward the Delaware; and news ar- .lulyso. riving that the ships had, been seen off Cape May, he ad vanced to Germantown. Instead of entering the Dela ware, the British fleet was presently seen steering to the eastward, and all calculations were thus again baffled. It was thought that Howe was returning to New York, or had sailed for New England, and the army was kept ready to maroh at a moment's notiee. Washington^ in the interval, proceeded to Philadelphia, and there had an interview with Congress. , ' At the commencement of the war, the aid of foreign officers had been thought higljly desirable, especially in the departments of artillery and engineering, in whioh there was a gre^t defioiency of native skill and science. It was one part of Deane's commission to engage a few officers of this description, a matter in which he had gone a good deal beyond his instructions. Beset with endless solicitations, to which the fear of giving offense, and the hope of securing influence, induced him too often fo yield, he had sent out not less than fifty ofiicers of all ranks, to whom he had made extravagant promises of promotion, whioh occasioned great discontent among the native officers, and no little embarrassment to Congress. FOREIGN OFFICERS. I93 Greene, SuUivan, and Knox, in a joint letter, a few chapter weeks before Washington's visit to Congress, had threat- ened to resign if a Certain M. Du Coudray were promoted 1777. to the Command of the artUlery, with the rank of major general, agreeably to a contract whioh Deane had signed with him, in consideration of certain supplies which he had furnished. Congress, with a just sense of its dig nity, voted this letter of the generals " an attempt to infiuence their decision, an invasion of the liberties of the people, and indicating a want of confidence in the jus tice of Congress," for which the writers were required- to make an apology. Having consented. to serve for the present as a Volunteer, with a merely nominal rank, Du Coudray was drowned shortly after in crossing the Schuylkill. There was, indeed, among the American officers ex cessive jealousy and great heart-burnings on the subject of rank, precedence, and command, not only as to for eigners, but as to eaoh other. Congress professed to be governed in its promotions by the complex considerations of former rank, meritorious service, and the number of troops raised by the states to whioh the officers respect ively belonged. But the officers imagined, and not al ways without reason, that intrigue and personal favor had quite as much influence. Among the contracts made by Deane was one with Du Portail, La Radiere, and Du Govion, three engineer offioers of merit, recommended by the French court, who were now placed at the head of the engineer depart ment, thus completing the organization of the ne-w army. Kosciusko, whose entry of the servioe has been already mentioned, was appointed engineer for the northern de partment. The Count Pulaski, who had already gained distinc- Ili.— N 194 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chapter tion in Europe by his attempts to resist the first par- XXXVI X d J- tition of Poland, had just arrived in America, and had 1777. offered his services, to Congress. The foreign officers above named were persons of merit ; but too large a proportion of those who came to seek commissions in America, whether sent by Deane, or adventurers on their own account, even soriie Who brought high recommendations, were remarkable for noth ing but extravagant self-conceit, and boundless demands for rank, command, and pay. ¦Of a very different character was the Marquis De la Fayette, a youth of nineteen, belonging to one of the most illustrious families of France, who had just arrived in Ameripa, and whom Washington now met at Phila delphia for the first time. Like all other French nobles of that day, he had received a military education, and held a oommission in the French army. In garrison at Metz, he had been present at an entertainment given by the governor of that oity to the Duke of Gloucester, brother of the British king, and on that occasion, from the duke's lips, he first heard the story of the American re bellion. His youthful fancy was fired by the idea of this transatlantic struggle for liberty, and, though mas ter of an ample fortune, and married to a wife whom he tenderly loved, he resolved at onoe to adventure in it. For that purpose he opened a communication with Deane. His intention . becoming known, the French court, which still kept up the forms of neutrality, for bade him to go. But he secretly purchased a ship, which Deane loaded with military stores, and set sail at a mo ment when the news of the loss of New York and the retreat through the Jerseys made most foreigners de- spair of the American cause. The French court sent orders to the West Indies to intercept him ; but he sailed STATEN ISLAND EXPEDITION. 195 directly for the United States, arrived in safety, present- chapter XXXVI ed himself to Congress, and offered to serve as a volun- L teer withodt pay. Admiring his disinterestedness not 1777. less than his zeal, and not uninfiuenced by his rank and connections. Congress gave him the oommission of major general which Deane had promised ; but, for the present, content with the rank without any oommand, he entered the military family of Washington, for whom he "soon contracted a warm and lasting friendship, whioh Wash ington as warmly returned. La Fayette brought with him eleven other offioers ; among them the Baron De Kalb, a German veteran, presently commissioned as major general. While Howe's uncertain movements kept Washington in doubt, Sullivan, who had been left in New Jersey with his -division, availed himself of the absence of the main British army to undertake an expedition against Staten Island, then held by about three thousand British troops, one third of whom were Loyalists, stationed nearest the Jersey shore, and a great scourge to the people of New Jersey, whom they plundered without meroy. Sullivan effected a landing with a thousand men, in three divi- Aug. 22. sions, surprised two Loyalist regiments, and took a num ber of prisoners, who were sent off in a captured vessel. Seeing British uniforms on board this vessel, some of Sullivan's boats took the alarm and fled. His return was thus delayed by want of sufficient transportation, and bis rear guard was cut off by a body of British reg ulars which oame up from another part of the island. The papers and records of the yearly meeting, of the New Jersey and Pennsylvania Quakers being taken by this expedition. Congress, from an examination of them, advised the. council of Pennsylvania to arrest eleven leading and wealthy members of that sect, residents of 196 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chapter Philadelphia, among others, Thomas Wharton, father of the president of Pennsylvania. 1777. In view of the danger of invasion, John Penn, joint proprietary and late governor of Pennsylvania, and Ben jamin Chew, late chief justice, had been compelled, a few weeks before, to give their parole. They were now, by the advice of Congress, sent prisoners to Fredericks burg in Virginia, as were also such of the other arrested persons as refused to affirm allegiance to the State of Pennsylvania. Measures had already beeh taken to sup press the Tories, said to be very numerous in Sussex, the southern county of Delaware ; and Congress now recommended to all the states to arrest all persons, Quak ers or others, "who have, in their general conduct and conversation, evinced a disposition inimical to the cause of America ;" also, to seize the papers of the Quaker yearly meetings, and to transmit the political part of their contents to Congress. What added to the present feelings of alarm, disas trous news had arrived from the north, where events of the utmost, importance were transpiring. The force in Canada at Burgoyne's disposal had been a good deal underrated by Washington and by Congress ; nor could they "be induced to believe that any thing was intended in that quarter beyond a feigned attack upon Tioonderoga, in order to distract attention from Philadelphia. Hence the less pains had been taken to fill up the ranks of the northern army, whioh, indeed, was much weaker than Congress had supposed. At least ten thousand men were necessary for the defense of Tioonderoga alone ; but St. Clair, who commanded there, had only three thousand, very insufficiently armed and equipped. The posts in the rear were equally weak. It was a part of Burgoyne's plan not merely to take ) BURGOYNE'S INVASION. 197 Tioonderoga, but to advance thence upon Albany, and, chapter with the co-operation of the troops at New- York, to get possession also of the posts in the Highlands. The Brit- 1777. ish would then oommand the Hudson through its whole extent, and New England, the head of the rebellion, would be completely cut off from the middle and south ern colonies. Burgoyne started on this expedition with a brilliant army of eight thousand men, partly British and partly Germans, besides a large number of Canadian boatmen, laborers, and skirmishers. On the western shore of Lake Champlain, near Crown Point, he met the Six Na tions in council, and, after a feast and a speech, some four hundred of their warriors joined his army. His next step was to issue a proclamation, in a very gran- June 29. diloquent style, setting forth his own and the British power, painting in vivid colors the rage and fury of the Indians, so difficult to be restrained, and threatening with all the extremities of war aU who should presume to resist his arms.. Two days after the issue of this proclamation. Bur- July 1. goyne appeared before Ticonderoga. He occupied a steep hill whioh overlooked the fort, and which the Americans had neglected because they thought it inaocessible to ar tillery. Preparations for attack were rapidly making, and St. Clair saw there was no chance for his troops ex cept in instant retreat. The baggage and stores, placed in bateaux, under convoy of five armed galleys, the last remains of the American flotilla, -were dispatched up the July 6. narrow southern extremity of the lake to Skenesborough, now Whiteha.U, toward which point the troops retired by land, ih a southeasterly direction, through the New Hamp shire grants. While General Eraser pursued the retreating troops. 198 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER followed by General Reidesel with a corps of Germans, XXXVI _!^ Burgoyne forced the obstructions opposite Ticonderogaj 1777. and, embarking several regiments, pursued and overtook the American stores and baggage, all of which feU into his hands. The garrison of Skenesborough, informed of Bur goyne's approach, set fire to the works, and retreated up Wood Creek to Foft Anne, a post about half way to the Hudson. They had a sharp skirmish with a British reg iment whioh followed them ; but other troops ooming up, they set fire to the buildings at Fort Anne, and retired to Fort Edward. The van of -St. Clair's troops, at the end of their first day's march, had reached Castleton, a distance of thirty miles from Tioonderoga; but the rear, which ¦ included many stragglers, and amounted to twelve hundred men, contrary to St. Clair's express orders, stopped short at Hubberton, six miles behind, where they were overtaken July 7. the next morning, and attacked by Eraser. One of the regiments fied disgracefully, leaving most of their offioers to be taken prisoners. The other two regiments, Under Francis and Warner, made a stPut resistance ; but when Reidesel came up with his Germans, they too gave way. Francis was killed, and many with him ; some two hnndred were taken prisoners. Those who escaped were so oompletely dispersed, that when Warner joined St. July 9. Clair two days after, he had with him less than ninety men. Having heard of the fall of Skenesborough, and fear ing to be cut off by the enemy, St. Clair retired upon Rutland ; his whereabouts was for some time unknown, July 13. but, after a seven days' maroh, he joined Schuyler at Fort Edward, on the Hudson. Here was assembled the whole force of the northern army, amounting to about BURGOYNE'S INVASIO.N. 199 five thousand men ; but a considerable part were mi- chapter XXXVI litia hastily oaUed in ; many were without arms ; there was a great defioiency of ammunition and provisions ; 1777. and the whole force was quite disorganized. The region between Skenesborough and the Hudson was an almost unbroken wilderness. Wood Creek was navigable as far as Fort Anne ; from Fort Anne to the Hudson, over an exceedingly rough country, covered with thick woods, and intersected hy numerous streams and morasses, extended a single military road. While Burgoyne halted a few days at Skenesborough to put his forces in order, and to bring up the necessary sup pUes, Schuyler hastened to destroy the navigation of Wood Creek by sinking impediments in its channel, and to break up the bridges and causeways, of which there were fifty or more on the road from Fort Anne to Fort Edward. At all those points where the construction of a side passage would be difficult, he ordered trees to be felled across the road with their branches interlocking. All the stock in the neighborhood was driven off, and the militia of New England was summoned to the rescue. The loss of Ticonderoga with its numerous artillery, and the subsequent rapid disasters, oame like a thunder bolt on Congress and the northern states. " We shall never be able to defend a post," wrote John Adams, pres ident of the Board of War, in a private letter, "till we shoot a general." Disasters, the unavoidable result of weakness, were ascribed to the incapacity or cowardice of the offioers. Suggestions of treachery even were whispered ; and the prejudices of the New Englanders against Schuyler broke out with new violence. In the anger and vexation of the moment, all the northern gen erals were recalled, and an inquiry was ordered into their Aug. i. conduct ; but the execntion of this order was suspended 200 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER on the representation of Washington that the northern XXXVI army could not be left without offioers. Washington 1777. shared the general surprise and vexation ; but he had confidence in Schuyler, and he did aU in his power to re-enforce the northern army^. Two brigades from the Highlands, Morgan with his rifie corps, the impetuous Arnold, and Lincoln, a great favorite with the Massachu setts militia, were ordered to, the northern department. Washington declined the selection of a new commander .\ug. 4. tendered to him by Congress, and that selection, guided by the New England. members, fell upon Gates. Burgoyne meanwhile issued a new proclamation for a convention of ten deputies from each township, to as semble at Castleton, to confer with Governor Skene, and to take measures for the re-establishment of the royal authority. Schuyler, in a counter-proclamation, threatened the utmost rigor of the law of treason against all who complied with Burgoyne's propositions. Subse quently to the Declaration of Independence, the inhab itants of Vermont had organized themselves into an in dependent §tate, had adopted a Constitution, and had applied to Congress for admission into the Union. A Continental regiment had been raised and officered in Vermont, of whioh Warner had been commissioned as colonel. But Congress, through the influence of New York, disclaimed any intention to countenance the pre tensions of Vermont to independence; and the Vermont petition for admission into the Union had been lately^ dismissed with some asperity. If Burgoyne, however," founded any hopes of defection upon this circumstance, he found himself quite mistaken. The advance from Skenesborough cost the British in finite labor and fatigue ; but beyond breaking up the roads and placing obstacles in their way, Schuyler was BURGOYNE'S INVASION. £01 not strong enough to annoy them. These impediments chapter were at length overcome ; and Burgoyne, with his troops, artillery, and baggage, presently appeared on the banks 1777. of the Hudson. The British army hailed with enthu siasm the sight of that river, objeot of their toil, whioh July 29. they had reached with great efforts indeed, but with an uninterrupted career of success, and a loss of not above two hundred men. It now only remained for the British to force their way to Albany ; nor did it seem likely that Schuyler oould offer any serious resistance. His army, not yet materially increased, was principally composed of militia without discipUne, and the men from the eastward very little inclined to serve under his orders, and constantly deserting. Fort Edward was untenable. As the Brit ish approached, the Americans crossed the river, and re tired, first to Saratoga, and then to Stillwater, a short distance above the mouth of the Mohawk. Hardly had Schuyler taken up this position, when news arrived of another disaster and a new danger. While moving up Lake Champlain, Burgoyne had de tached Colonel St. Leger, with two hundred regulars. Sir John Johnson's Royal Greens, some Canadian Rangers, and a body of Indians under Brant, to harass the New York frontier from -fche west. St. Leger laid siege to Aug. 3- Fort Schuyler, late Fort Stanwix, near the head of the Mohawk, then the extreme western post of the State of New York. General Herkimer raised the militia of Tryon county, and advanced to the relief of this import- • ant post, whioh was held by Gansevoort and Willett, with two New York regiments. About six miles from the fort, owing to want of proper precaution, Herkimer Aug. 6. fell into an ambush. Mortally wounded, he supported himself against a stump, and encouraged his men to the 202 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER fight. By the aid of a successful sally by Willett, they xxxvi. ° •' , • . succeeded at last in repulsing the assailants, but not with- 1777. out a loss of four hundred, including many of the leading patriots of that region, who met with no mercy at the hands of the Indians and refugees. . Tryon county, whioh included the whole district west of Albany, abounded with Tories. It was absolutely nec essary to relieve Fort Schuyler, lest its surrender should be thfr signal for a general insurrection. Arnold volun teered for that service, and was dispatched by Schuyler with three regiments ; with the rest of his army he with drew into the islands at the oonfiuenoe of the Mohawk and the Hudson, a more defensible station than the camp at Stillwater. The oommand of Lake George, as well as of Lake Champlain, had passed into the hands of the British. That lake furnished a convenient means of transporta tion ; a large quantity of provisions and stores for the British army had arrived at Fort George, and Burgoyne was exerting every effort for their transportation to hLs camp on the Hudson. The land carriage was only eight een miles ; but the roads were so bad, and the supply of draft cattle so small, that, after a fortnight's hard labor, the British army had only four days' provisions in advance. " To try the affections of the country, to mount Rei- desel's dragoons, to complete Peters's corps of Loyalists, and to obtain a large supply of cattle, horses, and car riages," so Burgoyne expressed himself in his instruc tions, it was resolved to send a strong detachment into the settlements on the left. Colonel Baum was sent on this errand, with two pieces of artiUery and eight hundred men, dismounted German dragoons and British marks men, with a body of Canadians and Indians, and Skene and a party of Loyalists for guides. BATTLE OF BENNINGTON. 20; Langdon, the principal merchant at Portsmouth, and chapter XXXVI a member of the New Hampshire council, having patri- . otically volunteered the means to put them in motion, 1777. a corps of New Hampshire militia, called out upon news of the loss of Tioonderoga, had lately arrived at Ben nington under the command of Stark. Disgusted at not having been made a brigadier. Stark had resigned his Continental commission as colonel, and, in agreeing to take the leadership of the mUitia, had expressly stipulated for an independent oommand. On that ground he had just declined to obey an order from Lincoln to join the main army — a piece of insubordination whioh might have proved fatal, but which, in the present case, turned out otherwise. Informed of Baum's approach, Stark sent off expresses for mUitia, and for Warner's regiment, encamp ed at Manchester, and joined by many fugitives since the battle of Hubberton. Six miles from Bennington, on the appearance of Stark's forces Baum began to intrench Aug. 14. himself, and sent baok to ipurgoyne for re-enforoements. The next day was rainy, and Stark, also expecting re-en foroements, delayed the attack. Baum improved the in terval in throwing up intrenohments. Breyman marched to his assistance, but was delayed by the rain and the badness of the roads, which also kept back Warner's reg iment. Having been joined the next day by some Berk- Aug. I6. shire mUitia under Colonel Simmons, Stark drew out his forces, and about noon approached the enemy. " There they are !" exclaimed the rustic general-^^" we beat to day, or Sally Stark's a widow !" The assault was made in four columns, in , front and rear at the same time, and after a hot aotion of two hours the intrenohments were carried. Th'fe Indians and provincials escaped to the woods ; the Germans were mostly taken or slain. The battle was hardly over, and Stark's men were in a good 204 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chapter deal of confusion, when, about four in the afternoon, Brey- XXXVI _man was seen coming up. Warner's regiment luokUy 1777. arrived at the same time. The battle was renewed and kept up tUl dark, when Breyman abandoned his baggage and artillery, and made the best retreat he oould. Be sides the kUled, about two hundred in number, the Amer icans took near six hundred prisoners, a thousand stand of arms, as many swords, and four pieces of artillery — a seasonable supply fOr the militia: now flocking in from all quarters. ^ The American loss wais only fourteen killed and forty-two wounded. Just at the moment when a turn in the affairs of the northern department became fully apparent, the two brig ades from the Highlands having arrived, and the militia fast pouring in, Schuyler, muoh to his mortification, was Aug. 22. superseded by Gates. He still remained, however, at Al bany, and gave his assistance toward carrying on the campaign. The day after Gates assumed the oommand, Morgan arrived with his rifle corps, five hundred strong, to whioh were presently added two hundred and fifty picked men under Major Dearborn, of Scammell's New Hampshire regiment. The victory of Stark had a magical effect in reviving the spirits of the people and the courage of the soldiers. Indignation wa^ also aroused, by the cruelties reported of Burgoyne's Indian allies. A most pathetic story was told of one Jenny M'Rea, murdered by Indians near Fort Edward. Her family were Loyalists ; she herself was engaged to be married to a Loyalist officer. She was dressed to receive her lover, when a party of In dians burst into the house, carried off the whole family to the woods, and there murdered, scalpedf and mangled them in the most horrible manner. Such, at least, was the story, as told in a letter of remonstrance from Gates BURGOYNE'S INVASION. 205 to Burgoyne. Burgoyne, in his reply, gave, however, chapter XXXVI a different account. According to his version, the mur- der was committed by two Indians sent by the young 1777. lady's lover to conduct her for safety to the British camp. Tfiey quarreled on the way respecting the division of the promised reward, and settled the dispute by killing the girl. Even this correction hardly lessened the effect of the story, or diminished the detestation so naturally felt at the employment of suoh barbarous allies. The artful Arnold, while on his maroh for the relief of Fort Schuyler, had sent into St. Leger's camp a very exaggerated account of his numbers. The Indians, who had suffered severely in the battle with Herkimer, and who had glutted their vengeance by the murder of pris oners, seized with a sudden panic, deserted in large num bers. Two days before Arnold's arrival, St. Leger him- -*¦"§• 22. self precipitately retired, leaving his tents standing, and the greater part of his stores and baggage to fall into Arnold's hands. On returning to Gates's camp, Arnold received the command of the left wing. These checks were not without their effect on the Six Nations. Burgoyne's Indians began to desert him — an example which the Canadians soon followed. The Onon- dagas and some of the Mphawks joined the Americans. Through the influence of the missionary Kirkland, the Oneidas had all along been favorably disposed. It was only the more western clans, the Cayugas, Tuscaroras, and Seneoas, which adhered firmly during the war to the British side. The American army being now .about six thousand strong, besides detached parties of militia under General Lincoln, whioh hung upon the British rear. Gates left his island camp, and presently occupied Behmus's Heights, a spur from the hiUs on the west side of the Hudson, jut- 206 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chapter ting olose upon the river. By untiring efforts, Burgoyne had brought forward thirty days' provisions, and, having 1777. thrown a bridge of boats over the Hudson, he crossed to Saratoga. With advanced parties in front to repair the roads and bridges, his army slowly descended the Hud son ; the Germans on the left, by a road cjose along the river ; the British, covered by Ught infantry, provincials, and Indians, by the high ground on the right. Gates's camp, on the brow of Behmus's Heights, the segment of a circle, the convex toward the enemy, was connected with the river by a deep intrenohment, covered by strong batte;ries. The right was also covered by a sharp ravine desoending to the river, and thickly wood ed. From tfie head of this ravine, toward the left, which was defended by a breastwork of logs, the ground was level and partially cleared, some trees being felled, and others girdled. The extreme left, at a distance of three quarters of a mile from the river, was a knoll, a little in the rear, crowned by strong batteries. There was anoth er battery to the left of the center. Between the two armies were twO more deep ravines, both wooded. An Sept. 19. alarm being given about noon that the enemy was ap proaching the left of the encampment, Morgan was sent forward with his riflemen. Having forced a picket, his men, in the ardor of pursuit, fell unexpectedly upon a strong British column, and were thrown- into temporary confusion. Cilley's and Scammell's New Hampshire regiments were ordered out to re-enforce him.' Hale's regiment of New Hampshire, Van Courtlandt's and Hen ry Livingston's of New York, and two regiments of Con necticut militia, were successively led to the field, with orders to extend to the left, and support the points where they perceived the greatest pressure. About three o'olook the aotion became general ; and till nightfall the fire of FIRST BATTLE OF BEHMUS'S HEIGHTS, 207 musketry was incessant. The British had four field- chapter pieces ; the ground occupied by the Americans, a thick 1, wood on the borders of an open field, did not admit the 1777. use of artillery. On the opposite side of this field, on a rising ground, in a thin pine wood, the British troops were drawn up. Whenever they advanced into the open field, the fire of the American marksmen drove them back in disorder ; but when the Americans followed into the open ground, the British would rally, charge, and force them to fall back. The field was thus lost and won a dozen times in the course of the day. At every charge the British artiUery fell into possession of the Americans, but the ground would not allow them to carry off the pieces, nor could they be kept long enough to be turned on the enemy. Late in the afternoon, the British left being re-enforced from the German column. General Learned was ordered out with four regiments of Massa chusetts and another of New York. Something decisive might now have occurred, but the approach Of night broke off the Contest, and the Americans withdrew to their camp, leaving the field in possession of the British. They en camped upon it, and claimed the victory ; but if not a drawn battle, it was one of those victories equivalent to a defeat. The British loss was upward of five, hundred, the American less than three hundred. To have held their ground in the circumstances in which the armies stood, was justly esteemed by the Americans a decided triumph. In anticipation of an aotion. Gates had ordered the detached corps to join him. Stark, with the victors of Bennington, had arrived in camp the day before. Their term of service, however, expired that day ; and satisfied with laurels already won, in spite of all attempts to de tain them, they marched off the very morning of the bat- 208 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER tie. In consideration of his courage and good conduct at XXXVI. , • , J- i.- /• Bennington, Congress overlooked the insubordination ot 1777. Stark, whioh, in a resolution just before, they had point- Oct. 4. edly oondemned, and he was presently elected a brigadier. Oct. 20. Howe and M'DougaU about the same time were ohosen major gpnerals. , ' ' Before receiving Gates's orders to join the main body, a party of Lincoln's miUtia, led by Colonel Brown, had Sept. 17. surprised the posts at the outlet of Lake George, and had taken three hundred prison^Crs, also several armed vessels, and a fieet of bateaux employed in transporting provisions up the lake. Uniting with another party under Colonel Johnson, they approached Tioonderoga, and beleaguered it for four days. Burgoyne's communications thus en tirely cut off, his situation became very alarming, and he began to intrench. His diflioulties increased every mo ment. Provisions were diminishing, forage was exhaust ed, the horses were perishing. To retreat with the ene my in his rear was as difficult as to advance. A change of circumstances not less remarkable had taken place in the American camp. Gates's army was increasing every day. The battle of Behmus's Heights was sounded through the country as a great victory, and the harvest being now over, the militia marched in from all sides to complete the overthrow of the invaders. Lin ooln, with the greater part of his militia, having joined Sept. 22. the army, he received the oommand of the right wing. Arnold, on sOme quarrel or jealousy on the part of Gates, had been deprived, sinoe the late battle, of his oommand of the left wing, which. Gates assumed in. person. Gates was neither more able nor more trustworthy than Schuy ler ; but the soldiers believed him so ; and zeal, alacrity, and obedienoe had succeeded to doubts, distrust, and in subordination. Yet Gates was not without his difli- SECOND BATTLE OF BEHMUS'S HEIGHTS. 209 culties. The supply of ammunition was very short, and chapter the late change in the commissariat department, taking place in the midst of the campaign, made the feeding 1777. the troops a matter of no little anxiety. There was still one hope for Burgoyne. A letter in cipher, brought by a trusty messenger from Clinton, at New York, informed him of an intended diversion up the Hudson ; and could he maintain his present position, he might yet be relieved. But his troops, on short allow ance of provisions, were already suffering severely, and it was necessary either to retreat or to find relief in an other battle. To make a reconnaissance of the Amer ican lines, he drew out fifteen hundred picked men, and formed them less than a mile from the American Oct. 7. camp. The two camps, indeed, were hardly cannon-shot apart. As soon as Burgoyne's position was discovered, his left was furiously assailed by Poor's New Hampshire brigade. The attack extended rapidly to the right, where Morgan's rifiemen maneuvered to cut off the Brit ish from their camp. Gates did not appear on the field any more than in the former battle ; but Arnold, though without any regular command, took, as usual, a leading part. He seemed under the impulse of some extraordi nary excitement, riding at full speed, issuing orders, and cheering on the men. To avoid being cut off from the camp, the British right was already retreating, when the left, pressed and overwhelmed by superior numbers, be gan to give way. The gallant Fraser was mortally wounded, picked off by the American marksmen ; six pieces of artUlery were abandoned ; and only by the greatest efforts did the British troops regain their camp. The Americans followed close upon them, and, through a shower of grape and musketry, assaulted the right of the British works. Arnold forced an entrance ; but he III.— O 210 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chapter was wounded, his horse was shot under him as he rode into one of the sally-ports, and his column was driven 1777. back. Colonel Brooks, at the head of Jackson's regi ment of Massachusetts, was iuore successful. He turn ed the intrenohments of a German brigade, forced them from the ground at the point of the bayonet, captured their camp equipage and artillery, and, what was of still more importance, and a great relief to the Ameri can army, an ample supply of ammunition. The re peated attempts of the British to dislodge him all failed, and he remained at night in possession of the works. Darkness at length put an end to the fighting ; but the Americans slept on their arms, prepared to renew it the next morning. The advantages they had gained were decisive. The British had • lost four hundred men in killed, wounded, and prisoners ; artillery, ammunition, and tents had been captured ; and the possession of a part of the works by the Americans would enable them to renew the attack the next day with every chance of success. For the safety of the British army, a change of position was indispensable ; and, while the Americans slept, the British general, with skill and intrepidity, order and silence, drew back his discomfited troops to some high grounds in the rear, where the British army ap- Oct. 8. peared the next morning drawn up in order of battle. That day was spent in skirmishes. While attempting to reoonnoiter. General Lincoln was severely wounded, and disabled from further servioe. Fraser was buried on a hill he had designated, amid showers of balls from the American lines. The Baroness de Reidesel, who followed the camp with her young children, and whose quarters were turned into a sort of hospital for the wounded ofiicers, has left a pathetic account of the hor rors of that day, and of the retreat that, followed. RETREAT OF BURGOYNE. 211 To avoid being surrounded, Burgoyne was obliged to chapter abandon his new position, and, with the loss of his hospi- '_ tals and numerous siok and wounded, to fall back to Sar- 1777. atoga. The distance was only six miles ; but the rain ^'^^ ^ fell in torrents, the roads were almOst impassable, the bridge over the FishkUl had been broken down by the Americans, and this retrograde movement consumed an entire day. The same obstacles prevented, however, any serious annoyance from the American troops. During this retreat, the better to cover the movements of the army. General Schuyler's house at Saratoga and exten sive saw-mills were set on fire and destroyed. A body '• " of artificers, sent forward under a strong escort to re pair the bridges toward Fort Edward, found that road Oct ii. and the ford across the Hudson already occupied by the Americans. The fleet of bateaux, loaded with the Brit ish supplies and provisions, was assailed from, the left bank of the river, and many of the bpats were taken. The lading of the others was only saved by a most la borious and difficult transportation, under a sharp Amer ican fire, up the steep river bank to the heights occupied by the British army. Even the camp itself was not safe ; grape and rifle balls fell in the midst of it. Burgoyne's situation was truly deplorable. He had heard nothing further from New York, and his effective foroe was now reduced to four thousand men, surround ed by an enemy three times as numerous, flushed with success, and rapidly increasing. AU the fords and passes toward Lake George were occupied and covered by in trenohments ; and even should the baggage and artillery be abandoned, there was no hope of forcing a passage. Au account of the provisions on hand showed only three Oot. i3. days' supply. The troops, exhausted with hunger and fatigue, and consoious of their hopeless situation, could 212 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chapter not be depended on, especially should the camp be attaok- p.d A councU of war, to which not field offioers only, 1777. but aU the captains commandant were summoned, ad vised to open a treaty of capitulation. Gates demanded, at first, an unconditional surrender ; but to that Burgoyne would not submit. The Ameri can commander was the less precise about terms, and very eager to. hasten matters, lest he too might be attack ed in the rear. He knew, though Burgoyne did not, that the intended diversion from New York, delayed for some time to await the arrival of forces from Europe, had at length been successfully made, and that all the Ameri can posts in the Highlands had fallen info the hands of the British. Should Burgoyne continue to hold out, this new enemy might even make a push on Albany. The main defenses of the Highlands, Forts Clinton and Montgomery, on the west bank of the Hudson, separated from each other by a small stream, and too high to be battered from, the water, were surrounded by steep and rugged hills, which made the approach to them on the land side very difficult. To stop the ascent of the ene my's ships, frames of timber, with projecting beams shod with iron, had been sunk in the channel. A boom, form ed of great trees fastened together, extended from bank to bank ; and in, front of this boom was stretched a huge iron chain. Above these impediments several armed ves sels were moored. On an island a few miles higher up, and near the eastern bank of the river, was Fort Con stitution, with another boom and chain. Near the en trance of the Highlands, and below the other posts, Fort Independence occupied a high point of land on the east bank of the river. It was at PeekskiU, just below Fort Independence, that the commanding officer in the High lands usually had his head-quarters. The two brigades LOSS OF THE FORTS IN THE HIGHLANDS. 213 sent to the northern army, and other detachments whioh chapter XXXVI Washington had himself been obliged to draw from the ' Highlands, had sp weakened the regular garrison, that 1777. Washington became much alarmed for the safety of that important post; The remainder of the New York mili tia, not under arms in the northern department, had been called out by Governor Clinton to supply the plaoe of the detached regulars ; other mUitia had been sent from Con necticut ; but, as no signs of immediate attack appeared, and as the harvest demanded their services at home, Put nam allowed most of them to return. Half the New York militia were ordered back again by Clinton; but, before they had mustered, the posts were lost. Putnam was at Peekskill with the main body of the garrison, which amounted in the whole to not more than two thousand men. While a party of the enemy amused him with the idea that Fort Independence was their objeot, a stronger party landed lower down, on the other side of the river, and, pushing inland through the defiles of the Highlands, approached Forts Clinton and Montgomery, of which the entire garrison did not exceed six hundred men. Before assistance could be sent by Putnam — in deed, before he knew of the attack — the forts, muoh too extensive to be defended by so small a foroe, were both taken. Governor Clinton, who commanded, his brother, Oct. 5. General James Clinton, and a part of the garrison, avail ing themselves of the knowledge of the ground, escaped across the river ; but the Americans suffered a loss of two hundred and fifty in killed and prisoners. Fort Consti tution was immediately evacuated by the few troops that held it ; and two new Continental frigates, with some other vessels, were set on fire to prevent their faUing into the hands of the enemy. Even Peekskill and Fort Inde pendence were abandoned, the stores being conveyed to 214 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. ,*¦ chapter FishkiU, whither Putnam retired v^ith his forces. The XXXVI. ' , ¦ IJ booms and chains were removed, so that ships could pass 1777. up ; and a British detachment under Tryon burned Con- *^^'"- ^- tinental ViUage, a new settlement on the east side of the river, where many public stores were deposited. Informed of these movements, and very anxious to Oct. 16. have Burgoyne's army out of the way. Gates agreed that the British troops should maroh out of their camp with the honors of war, should lay down their arms^ and be conducted to Boston, there to embark for England, under an engagement not to serve against the United States till exchanged. Having heard from a deserter of the advance of Clinton, Burgoyne hesitated to ratify the treaty; but, on consideration, and consultation with his offioers, he did not choose to run the risk of breaking it. The prisoners included in this , capitulation were five thousand six hundred and forty-two ; the previous losses of the army amounted to near four thousand more. The arms, artillery, baggage, and camp equipage became the property of the captors. The German regiments con trived to save their colors by cutting them from the . staves, rolling thera up, and packing them away with Madame de Reidesel's baggage. As soon as the garrison of Ticonderoga heard of the surrender, they hastily destroyed what they could, and retired to Canada. Putnam no sooner heard of it than he sent pressing dispatches for assistance. The British had proceeded as high up as Esopus, which they burned about the very time that Burgoyne was capitulating. Putnam had been already joined by some three thousand militia, to which a large detachment from Gates's army was soon added. As it was now too late to succor Bur goyne, having dismantled the forts in the Highlands, the British returned to New York, carrying with them sixty- END OF THE NORTHERN CAMPAIGN 215 » seven pieces of heavy artillery, and a large quantity of chapter XXXVI provisions and ammunition. Before their departure, they burned every house within their reach — a piece of malice 1777. ascribed to Tryon and his Tories. The capture of a whole British army, lately the ob ject of so much terror, produced, especially in New En gland, an exultation proportionate to the recent alarm. The military reputation of Gates, elevated to a very high pitch, rivaled even the fame of Washington, dimmed as it was by the loss of Philadelphia, which, meanwhile, had fallen into the enemy's hands. The youthful Wil kinson, who had acted during the campaign as deputy ad jutant general of the American army, and whose "Mem oirs" contain the best account of its movements, being sent to Congress with news of the surrender, was pres ently honored with a brevet commission as brigadier gen eral ; which, however, he speedily resigned, when he found a remonstrance against this irregular advance ment sent to Congress by forty-seven colonels of the line. The investigation into Schuyler's conduct resulted, a year afterward, in his acquittal with the highest honor. He insisted, however, in resigning his commission, though strongly urged by Congress to retain it. But he did not relinquish the service of his country, in which he oontinued as active as ever, being presently chosen a member of Congress. 216 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER XXXVIL LOSS OF PHILADELPHIA. WINTER QUARTERS AT VAL LEY FORGE. INCREASING DEPRECIATION OF THE PA PER MONEY. FINANCIAL EXPEDIENTS. CABAL AGAINST WASHINGTON. DETENTION OF BURGOYNE'S TROOPS. Wi chapter t t E left Washington at Philadelphia, still uncertain XXXVII. '_ as to the destination of Howe's fieet and army. The 1777. transports had been seen standing to the southward, and it began to be imagined that Charleston was their ob jeot. Authentic intelligence was at length received that Aug. 22. the British ships had entered the Chesapeake, whioh, indeed, had been Howe's intention from the beginning. The accounts; he had received of the obstructions in the Delaware hadLinduced him to select the head of Chesa peake Bay as the point whenoe Philadelphia might be easiest approached. He hoped, too, perhaps, to be aided by a Tory insurrection among the numerous disaffected in that region. Howe's appearanoe in the Chesapeake alarmed Vir ginia. The militia was oalled out, and Thomas Nelson, a wealthy planter, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, was placed at their head. After considerable delays by contrary winds, Howe landed at the head of Elk, the northeasternmost- branch Aug. 27. of Chesapeake Bay, whence he issued a declaration, offer ing pardon to those who had been active in the rebellion, if they would now submit, and security and protection to all who remained peaceably at home. A few days after, as soon as his stores and baggage DEFENSE OF PHILADELPHIA. 217 could be landed, he Commenced his march in two col- chapter umns for Philadelphia, distant about sixty miles. ' Having given courage to the partisans of Congress, 1777. and inspired the disaffected with respeot, by marching ^®P*- ^ his army through Philadelphia, Washington concentrated his forces at Wilmington, there to await the approach of the enemy, under circumstances, however, in several respeots, much less favorahjle than those whioh enabled the northern army so successfully to repel the cotem- poraneous advance of Burgoyne. Here was no rough, impracticable country to delay the enemy's maroh ; nor any difficulty to be encountered by Howe in obtaining or transporting supplies. Here was no New England to pour in militia, and tp surround the enemy with an over whelming foroe. The same zeal was not felt in Penn sylvania ; a large part of the Quakers, a wealthy and infiuential class, were disaffected, or, at best, neutral ; while the German population cared little' for the war, ex cept how to esoape its burdens. The Pennsylvania mili tia, as organized by a reoent act of Asserably, counted thirty thousand men ; but the largest number at any one time whioh the loudest calls oould bring into the field did not exceed three thousand. These militia were com manded by Armstrong, who had resigned his, Continental commission, but who now exerted himself for the defense ofjthe state. Delaware, also, had many disaffected ; but a corps of her miUtia took the field under Csesar Rodney. The Jersey militia turned out under General Philemon Dickinson ; but a part of them were soon recalled, and stationed at Elizabethtown and Amboy, in consequence of a movement by Sir Henry Clinton, who retorted the late attack on Staten Island by invading New Jersey with Sept. 12. two thousand troops, penetrating the country in various directions, and driving off the cattle. 218 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chapter With all these re-enforcements, Washington was stiU XXXVU. TJ I, J u i inferior to the enemy even in numbers. He had about 1777. fifteen thousand men ; but the sick, as usual, were very numerous, and his effective foroe did not exceed eleven thousand. The mUitia of Maryland and Virginia oalled to assist him had not yet arrived. After some maneuvering and several skirmishes, Wash- Sept. 11. ington retired behind the Brandywine, a small stream every where fordable. While one column of the British army, under Khiphausen, approached Chadd's Ford, and threatened the Americans in front, anotfier column, led by Cornwallis, made a great oirouit to the left, crossed the Brandywine higher up, and attempted to gain the American rear. Sullivan, who commanded the American right, marched with three divisions to intercept Cornwal lis. But, deceived by false information, and delayed by contradictory reports, he was late in coming up, and be fore his line was well formed it was attacked by the en emy. The extreme right, the last to reach the ground, soon began to give way. Their flank thus exposed, the regiments continued to break off by the right, till pres ently the' whole line retreated in confusion. Greene, who commanded the reserve, brought up his division, checked the advance of the enemy, and covered the retreat. While the main foroe of the Americans was thus drawn off, Kniphausen advanced with his column on Chadd's Ford, which Wayne bravely defended with Lincoln's di vision. But, informed of Sullivan's retreat, and quite unable to cope with half the British army, he too fell baok, and yielded up the ford. The American array re tired to Chester, and the next day to Philadelphia, and thence to Germantown. The behavior of the trpops had been by no means uniform. Several of the older regi ments had stood their ground with the greatest intrepidi- BATTLE OF BRANDYWINE. £19 ty, while others of the newer levies had given way at chapter XXXVII onoe. The British loss in killed and wounded was about L six hundred. That of the Americans was greater ; but, 1777. as no returns were ever made, it was never accurately ascertained. Congress and the Board of War had adopted the policy of ordering an inquiry into the con duct of every officer who failed of success. It was but a few weeks before that Schuyler, and all the generals of the northern army, had been recalled ; Sullivan's re cent miscarriage at Staten Island had also been referred to a court of inquiry. The present defeat was laid af his door, and an attempt was made to suspend him from command till the inquiry into his conduct already order ed could take place ; but, on Washington's representation that his services in the field could not be spared, this attempt was abandoned. The inquiry resulted after ward in an honorable acquittal. The first of SuUivan's brigades to give way was one of Maryland troops, com manded by Deborre, a lately promoted foreign officer. Though wounded in his efforts to rally the men, Deborre was recalled from the army, and subjected to a court of inquiry ; whereupon he threw up his commission, declar ing that if the Americans would run, it was very hard to hold him responsible for it. Pulaski, who served in this action as a volunteer, did suoh good service in col lecting the scattered troops and covering the retreat, that Congress, in compliance .with the recommendation of Washington, gave him the rank of brigadier general, and the command of the horse. The evening after the battle, a British party entered Sept. 12. WUmington, made M'Kinley, the president of thp state, a prisoner, and seized a vessel, on board of which were the pubUc records and money, and much private prop erty. George Read, a delegate in Congress, and, at the 220 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER same time, speaker of the Delaware Assembly, succeeded in that latter capacity to the vacant oflSioe. He lament- 1777. ed, without much ability to remedy, the indifference and disaffection which crippled the energies of his little state. At the next election, the more energetic party prevailed, and Csesar Rodney was chosen president. After a day or two of rest and refreshment, Washing- Sept. 16. ton reorossed the SchuylkiU and marched upon the Brit ish left. The armies met twenty mUes from PhUadel phia, and the advanced parties were already engaged, when a violent storm interrupted the impending battle. The arms of the Americans, bad enough at best, were rendered unserviceable by the rain ; and, to secure time and opportunity for repairs, Washington retired across , the Schuylkill. Wayne's division, however, was left be hind, concealed in a wood on the British left, to form a junction with two thousand Maryland militia employed in harassing the British rear. Information as to Wayne's position was soon carried to the British commander by some of the disaffected, so numerous in that neighborhood ; and, under their guidance, he was suddenly attacked by Sept 20. a strong detachment, and obliged to retire with the loss of three hundred men. The British loss was only seven. While Washington maneuvered to prevent the enemy from crossing the Schuylkill above him, Howe crossed Sept. 22. below, and thus placed himself between Philadelphia and the American army. Nothing but a battle and a vic tory could now save that city. Washington's troopsj inferior in numbers, had been much fatigued and har assed by their recent marches. They were sadly defi cient in shoes and olothing ; their arms were bad ; while the irregular supplies consequent on the recent changes in the commissary department, and the increasing finan cial embarrassment of Congress, had even sometimes de- HOWE ENTERS PHILADELPHIA. 221 prived them of food. Under these circumstances, it seem- chapter ed too hazardous to risk a battle. The necessity of abandoning Philadelphia had been 1777. foreseen. The hospitals, magazines, public stores, and muph private property had been already removed. Con gress had adjourned to Lanoaster, having first invested Washington with extraordinary powers, to last for sixty days, presently extended to double that period. He was authorized by this vote, as on the former occasion, to suspend misbehaving ofiicers, to fill all vacancies, to take provisions and other necessaries for the army wherever he could find them, within seventy miles of head-quar ters, paying the owners therefor, or giving certificates, for the redemption of whioh the public faith was pledg ed. He was also authorized to remove or secure, for the benefit of the owners, all goods which might prove^^ serviceable to the enemy. Retiring beyond the Susquehanna to York, Congress presently authorized Washington, in addition to his oth er extraordinary powers, to seize, to try by courts mar tial, and to punish with death all persons within thirty miles of any town occupied by the British, who should pilot them by land or water, give or send them intelli gence, or furnish them with provisions, arms, forage, fuel, or stores of any kind. To the youthful Hamilton, now one of his aids-de camp, Washington had committed the delicate trust of demanding in Philadelphia, before it passed into the en emy's hand, blankets, shoes, and clothing for the supply of the army — a duty which Hamilton executed with -his usual promptitude and tact. Howe found in Philadelphia many to welcome him Sept. 25. — among others, Duche, the late chaplain of Congress, who presently sent a letter to Washington, advising 222 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chapter him to give over the ungodly cause in whioh he was XXXVII <-j •/ engaged. Four regiments were quartered in the oity ; 1777. Galloway, who had accompanied the army, was made superintendent of police. The bulk of the British en camped at Germantown, some ten miles distant. Though obliged to give up the city, the Americans still commanded the river below, which they had been at great pains to fortify. At the confluence of the Schuylkill and the Delaware was Fort" Mifflin, built on a low island of sand and mud. Opposite, at Red Bank, on the Jersey shore, was Fort Mercer, a strong redoubt, well provided with heavy artillery. Obstructions had been sunk in the channel of the Delaware, similar to those in the Hudson, consisting of heavy timbers fast ened together, with projecting beams pointed with iron. At BilUngsport, on the Jersey shore, three miles lower down, extensive but unfinished works had been thrown up to guard some similar obstructions in the river. Above these obstructions were several floating batteries and armed vessels. The British fleet had recently ar rived in the Lower Delaware ; but, till these obstruc tions were removed, whioh oould only be done by ob taining possession of the Jersey shore, no communication could be opened with Philadelphia ; and supplies for the army had to be sent up by land from Chester, at great risk of capture by the Americans. Washington still remained in his camp near the Schuyl kill, about fourteen miles from Germantown, where he had at last been joined by the Maryland militia, dimin ished, however, by desertion to one half the expected number. Some re-enforcements had also arrived from New Jersey. Informed by intercepted letters that one British detachment had been sent across the Delaware to aid in removing the obstructions in the river, and an- BATTLE OF GERMANTOWN. 223 other to Chester, to escort up a train of provisions from chapter XXXVll the fleet, Washington resolved to take advantage of this opportunity to attack the British camp at Germantown. 1777. The troops marched in four columns ; two, composed wholly of militia, were to gain the enemy's rear, one on each flank, whUe the other two, oomposed of Continent als, and led by 'SuUivan and Greene, were to attack in front. These two column^, after marching all night, entered Germantown about sunrise. They took^the en- Oct. 4. emy entirely by surprise, and seemed Ukely to carry every thing before them. But the morning was dark and foggy ; a stone house, into which some companies of British light infantry had thrown themselves, and which several regiments of Greene's column stopped to attack, caused disorder and delay. Germantown was a village of one street, across which the British lay encamp ed at right angles. The ground in their front abounded with small but strong incloSures, which every where broke the line of the advancing troops. The regiments were separated ; some stopped short early, while others advanc ed with vivacity. The darkness was suoh as to make it impossible for the officers to know their own position or that of the enemy. The fiank attacks seemed to have failed altogether. The superior discipline of the British enabled them to take advantage of this confusion. They soon rallied, and attacked in their turn. Some of the American corps had expended their ammunition ; others were seized With a sudden panic. What had promised to be a victory was soon changed into a defeat, and al most a rout. The British loss in this battle was upward of six fiundred ; the American loss exceeded a thousand, of whom four hundred were prisoners. Several valuable officers were slain. General Nash, while oovering the retreat with his brigade, was mortally wounded. 224 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER To make himself secure, Washington retired some !!_ twenty mUes into the country. He had previously sent 1777. orders to the Highlands for twelve hundred men of the garrison there to maroh to his assistance. Information came at this unpropitious moment that the posts, thus weakened, had been attacked, and carried by the British. The apprehensions thus excited were, however, allayed by news of the'surrender of Burgoyne. The troops from the Highlands soon joined the camp ; some additional militia arrived from Maryland and a few from Virginia, and Washington reoocupied his old station. Preparatory to an attack on the defenses of the Del- Oct 19. aware, Howe drew his forces close to Philadelphia. The works at BilUngsport had been already captured, the ob structions in the river opposite removed, and batteries erected to play on Forts Mercer and Miffiin. Besides several Continental vessels, there was a flotilla in the river, commanded by Hazelwood, belonging to the State of Pennsylvania. In an attack on the enemy's batteries, the Delaware Continental frigate had been lost ; and the crews of the flotilla were so discouraged, that many; both officers and men, deserted to the enemy. But Hazel- wood did not despair. With the Pennsylvania galleys and the Continental vesselsj now also placed under his command, he prepared for a desperate resistance. Two Rhode Island regiments, under Colonel Greene, garrison ed the fort at Red Bank ; Colonel Smith, of.the Mary land line, held Fort Mifflin. These forts, with the last remaining obstructions whioh they guarded, it was de termined to hold to the last extremity. Could the com munication between the British fleet and army be pre vented, Howe might yet be compeUed to evacuate the city. To attack the post at Red Bank, Count Donop, with THE AMERICANS DRIVEN FROM THE DELAWARE. 225 twelve hundred picked men, crossed the Delaware at chapter Philadelphia, and marched down the Jersey side, while 1 several British ships of war ascended the river as high 1777. as the obstructions would admit, and opened a furious '-''"• ^^• cannonade on Fort Mifflin and the fiotilla. On Donop's approach, Greene abandoned the outworks of Red Bank, and retired into the principal redoubt. The assaulting column was received with a terrible fire of musketry and grape ; Donop fell mortally wounded, and the attack was repulsed with a loss to the enemy of four hundred men. This was the first assault in the course of the war which the Americans had repulsed. Of the ships which assailed Fort Mifflin, the Augusta sixty-four was blown up, the,-Merlin frigate was burned, and the others retiredi_with heavy damage. Every effort was made to strengthen and supply the forts in the Delaware ; but the hopes raised by the de fense of Red Bank were doomed to disappointment. The British, re-enforced from New York, took possession of' Province Island, a low mud bank similjjf to Mud Island, and separated from it only by a narrow channel. Here they erected batteries, whioh kept up a constant fire on Fort Miffiin. The defense was most gallant ; the gar rison laboring by night to repair the breaches made dur ing the day. But this could not last long ; the ram parts crumbled under the continued fire ; the enemy's ships approached within a hundred yards of the fort; and the place was pronounoed no longer tenable. The gar rison was accordingly withdrawn ; Red Bank also was Nov. 16. evacuated; the remaining obstructions in the river were removed by the British, and a communication was at last opened between the enemy's fieet and array. During these operations, Washington had written re peatedly to Putnam and Gates to send on re-enforoe- IIL— P 226 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER ments from the Highlands and the northern army. XXXVII 1 a ' When these letters seemed not to be attended to, he dis- 1777. patched Hamilton with ample powers, and discretionary authority to hasten forward the troops. Gates had sent to the southward more than five thousand men; but these forces were detained by Putnam, who now had nine thousand men, besides the militia which had reoently joined him. He seemed to be revolving some scheme for retaliating his late loss of the Highlands by an attack on New York, and it required a very pointed and au thoritative letter from Hamilton, who does not seem to have formed a very high opinion of Putnara's rhilitary capacity, to put on the march the troops which Wash ington had demanded. Hamilton then proceeded to Al bany, and, not without some reluctance on the part of Gates, obtained two additional brigades. They did not arrive, however, any more than the troops from Putnam's camp, till after the British had gained the command of the Delaware. Some of Was^jjngton's more ardent officers were earn est for an attack on Philadelphia ; but, after mature con sideration by a council of war, that scheme was aban doned. Congress msanwhile, in session at York, on the west side of the Susquehanna, determined to establish a new Board of War, to be oomposed of persons not members of Congress. John Adams, thus released from his ardu ous duties as head of the Committee of War, was sent to France as one of the commissioners to that court, Deane being recalled to give an account of his conduct, espe cially in the matter of the extravagant promises he had made to foreign offioers. Having acted for two years and more as president of Nov. Congress, Hancock resigned, and was succeeded by Henry DEPRECIATION OF THE PAPER^MONEY, 227 Laurens, of South Carolina. The Articles of Confedera- chapter XXXVII tion, the consideration of whioh had been resumed in April, '_ having been agreed to at last after repeated and warm 1777. debates, were now sent out with a circular letter, urging Nov. 17. upon the states immediate ratification. But, on the part of some of the states, ratification was long delayed. A more urgent subject of deliberation was that of finance. Since the issue of the ten millions of new- bills authorized early in the year, to which two millions more had been added in August, the depreciation had become alarming. Anxious to fill their treasury without fur ther issues. Congress had pressed the subject of loans, and, as a new inducement to lenders, had offered to pay the interest on all money advanced before March, 1778, in bills drawn on their commissioners in France. It be came necessary, however, to authorize a million more of Nov. Continental bills, and another million soon after, making Dec. the amount issued up to the end of the year thirty-four millions. The depreciation, meanwhile, increased so rap idly, that the bills, nearly at par for the first three months of the year, had sunk, by the end of it, to three or four for one. CrCdit failing at home. Congress looked earn estly abroad, and their commissioners at the courts Of France and Spain were instructed anew to exert their utmost endeavors to obtain loans. The scheme for regulating prices by law had proved a complete failure ; so much so, that a convention of del egates from New England and New York, assembled at Springfield during the past summer to concert measures July 30. for the defense of Rhode Island and for an attack on New port, had recommended the repeal of aU acts for regu lating prices, and to substitute for them laWs against forestalling and engrossing, by which was meant the acoumfilation of stocks in the hands of merchants and 228 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER speculators. This same convention- also recommended XXXVII L the redemption of all state issues, and the levying of 1777. taxes for the support of the war — a policy already adopt ed by Massachusetts and some other states. The doings of the Springfield Convention being laid Nov. 22. before Congress, that body acknowledged the abeady ex cessive issues of paper, and earnestly recommended to the several states to raise by taxation, for the servioe of the ensuing year, five millions of doUars for the federal treas ury, aecording to a provisional assignment of quotas. Congress also recommended to refrain from the further issue of state bills of credit ; to call in and redeem those already out exceeding one dollar in amount; and to pro vide for state expenses in future by taj^es to be levied within the year. Three conventions were also proposed — one for the eight northern states, another for Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina, and a third for South Car olina and Georgia ; to meet early the next year, for the purpose of fixing a new scale of prices, to be enacted and enforoed by the several state Legislatures ; the Continent al coraraissaries to be authorized to seize goods at those prices when the holders of superfiuous stocks refused to sell them. Nov. 27. A recommendation followed to make speedy sale of all property belonging to persons "who had forfeited the right to the protection of their several states," the pro ceeds to be invested in loan-office certificates. So far as forfeiture and sale were conoerned, this recommendation was not unheeded. Acts already had been, or soon were passed, in most of the states, proscribing all wealthy absentees by name, and putting their property into the hands of trustees — the proceeds, after paying their debts, and making some provision for their famiUes when resi dent, to be paid into the state treasuries. As a finan- PROPOSED RESTRICTIONS ON TRADE. 229 cial expedient, this procedure proved a complete failure ; chapter but it gratified party hatred, and served to enrich some 1 speculators. 1777. The disaffected, it was said, combined to give a pref erence to the old colonial paper money over that of rev olutionary origin ; and the states were advised to oall in Doc. 3. and replace by their own, or by Continental bills, all cir culating paper bearing date prior to the battle of Lex ington. The pressing wants of the soldiers occasioned a further recommendation to seize for the army's use all woolens, Dec. 3i. blankets, stockings, shoes, and hats in the hands of any citizen of the United States for the purpose of sale, giv ing receipts for the same, and to inflict penalties on all who should atterapt to evade suoh seizure ; also, to au- ¦ thorize the Continental commissaries to seize, under sim ilar receipts, all stock and provisions necessary for the army, " purchased up or engrossed by any person with a view of selling the same." For the restraint of persons " endeavoring, by every means of oppression, sharping, and extortion, to procure enormous gains," it was recom mended to limit the number of retail traders, and to im pose bonds upon them to observe all laws made for their regulation. Conscious of the arbitrary harshness of these recommendations. Congress, in the circular letter which proposed them, declared that " laws unworthy the char acter of infant republics are become npcessary to supply the defects of public virtue, and to correct the vices of some of her sons." The immediate oooasion of this reporaraendation was a transaction at Boston, as to which Congress complained that, after their agent had agreed to purchase a certain quantity of clothing " at the most extravagant rate often to eighteen hundred per cent.," the sellers even then re- 230 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chapter fused to deliver the goods unless the money were first XXXVII. ° "^ ^_ paid down, " thereby adding to extortion the crime of 1777. wounding the public credit," and "manifesting a dispo- . sition caUous to the feelings of humanity , and untouched by the severe sufferings of their countrymen, exposed to a winter's campaign in defense of the oommon Uberties of their country." It appeared, however, when this sub ject came to be investigated by the Massachusetts Legis lature, that the prices asked were only the ourrent rates, while the alleged refusal to deliver the goods unless paid for was flatly denied. The root of the difficulty was the growing amount of expenditure, the increasing depreciation of the paper money, and the real scarcity of manufactured goods, es peciaUy olothing and blankets, occasioned by the inter ruption of commerce and the non-arrival of expected sup plies from France. The outgoes from the federal treas ury for the current year reached, in specie value, about twenty-five millions of dollars — a greater sum, by five millions, than the total expenditure of the two previous years. During those years, however, very large advances had been made by the states in paper money and other wise, td ah amount exceeding, perhaps, the whole expend itures from the federal treasury — advances which had bur dened the states with very heavy debts, and which'they had not been able to continue. Warned by the events of the last winter, Howe kept his troops within a strongly fortified Une, extending firom the Delaware to the SchuylkUl. Once, indeed, he march- Dec. 10. ed out, and a skirmish ensued, which^seemed likely to end in a general engagement ; but the British army suddenly retired. They did not even attempt to forage without sending out very strong parties. , Determined to restrict the enemy within the narrowest WINTER QUARTERS AT VALLEY FORGE. £31 possible limits, Washington established his winter quar- chapter 'XXXVII ters at Valley Forge, a piece of high and strong ground L on the south side of the Schuylkill, about twenty miles 1777. from Philadelphia. The soldiers, to the number of eleven thousand. Were quartered in log huts, arranged in streets like a cify, each hut containing fourteen men. To facili tate such movements as might be necessary, a bridge was thrown aoross the Schuylkill ; and, to prevent the coun try people from supplying Philadelphia with forage and provisions, bodies of light horse and militia were stationed at different points. With the same objeot in view, and to serve as a guard to the State of Delaware, the Mary land line, reduced now to fourteen hundred men, were stationed at Wilmington. The chief body of the horse was sent to Trenton ;^ but Pulaski encountered great dif ficulties in finding either quarters for his men or forage for his horses. The Pennsylvania Assembly, then in session at Lan caster, protested against this going into winter quarters ; but the state of the array made it absolutely necessa ry. Such was the destitution of shoes that all the late marches had been tracked in blood — an evil whioh Wash ington had endeavored to mitigate, by offering a premium for the best pattern of shoes made of untanned hides. For want of blankets, many of the men were obliged tp sit up all night before the camp fires. More than a quar ter part of the troops were reported unfit for duty be cause they were "barefoot and otherwise naked." Even provisions failed ; and on more than one occasion there was a, famine, in thfi camp. However reluctant to adopt such an expedient, Washington was obliged to subsist his army by sending out parties to seize corn and cattle wherever they oould find them. Certificates were given for these seizures ; but their payment was often long de- 232 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER layed, and when finally met, it was in the depreciated "¦ , Continental bills,' contrasting very unfavorably with the 1777. gold in whioh the British paid. Washington had com plained loudly during the recent movements of the inef ficiency of the quarter-master's department, left, by Mif flin's resignation, in total confusion, and without a head. This disorder was the more felt, beoause it appertained to that department to transport impressed suppUes to the pamp. Washington addressed energetic remonstrances, not to Congress only, but to the states, and not without effect. The Convention, recommended by Congress, of delegates from the eight northern states, met at New Haven, and 1778. agreed upon a scale of prices, according to which provi- Jan. 8. sions and olothing were to be paid for by the army com missaries. Some of the states attempted, by legislatiouj to enforce the New Haven scale of prices generally ; but these attempts proved no more successful than former ones of the same sort. Recourse was also had, with the same objeot in view, to internal ¦embargoes, whioh proved a great embarrassment to commerce. The state authorities of Pennsylvania, thOugh very sore at the loss of their capital, and dissatisfied at Wash ington's going into winter quarters, yet exerted them selves for the relief of the army by passing an act against forestalling, and another. regulating the supply of wagons for transporting impressed provisions to camp — aots, how ever, whioh did not quite come up to the wishes and ex pectations of the commander-in-chief While Washington was exerting himself to the ut most to preserve the army from total disorganization, a project was, on foot to remove him from the chief com mand. Several persons conspicuous in Congress and the army were more or less concerned in this movement ; CABAL AGAINST WASHINGTON. 233 .-t.' but most of the .information respecting it has been care- chapter XXXVII fully suppressed, and its history is i^ivolved in some ob- scurity. Every biographer, has been very anxious to 1778. shield his special hero frora the charge of participation in this affair, indignantly stigmatized, by most writers, as a base intrigue. Yet doubts, at that time, as to Washington's fitness for the chief coraraand, though they might evince prejudice or lack of sound judgment, do not necessarily imply either selfish ends or a malicious dis position. The Washington of that day was not Wash ington as we know him, tried and proved by twenty years of the most disinterested and most-' Successful pub lic services. As yet he had been in command but little more than two years, during whioh he had suffered, with some slight exceptions, a continued series of losses and defeats. He had recovered Boston, to be sure, but had lost New York,"? Newport, and Philadelphia. He had been completely successful at Trenton, and partially so at Princeton, but had been beaten, with heavy loss, on Long Island and at Fort Washington, and lately in two pitched battles on ground of his own choosing at Bran dywine and Germantown. What a contrast to the bat tles of Behmus's Heights, and the capture of Burgoyne's whole army ! Want of success, and sectional and per sonal prejudices,^had created a party in Congress against Schuyler and against SuUivan. Could Washington es- cape the common fate of those who lose ? Richard Hen ry Lee and Samuel Adams seem to have been the lead ers of a party gradually formed in Congress, and for some time strong enough to exercise a material infiuence on its action, which ascribed to the comraander-in-chief a lack of vigor and energy, and a system of favoritism deleterious to the pubUc servioe. The Pennsylvanians were muoh annoyed at the loss of Philadelphia ; and sev- 234 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER oral leading persons in that state seem to have oo-oper- XXXVII ' ated with this party, especially Mifflin — a plausible, ju- 1778. dioious, energetic, ambitious man, very popular and very influential, but of whose reoent management of the quar ter-master's department Washington had loudly, com plained. Nor were other malcontents wanting in the army. The marked confidence which Washington re posed in Greene gave offense to some; others had pur poses of their own to serve. Conway aspired to the of fice of inspector general, the establishment of which he had suggested ; and, not finding his pretensions favored by Washington, he indulged in very free criticisms on the state of the troops, and the incapacity of the com mander-in-chief Gates, who' might aspire, since his suc cesses at the north, to the most elevated station, should the post of commander-in-chief beoome vacant, had lately behaved toward Washington with marked coldness and neglect. A correspondence highly derogatory to Wash ington's military character was carried on between Gates, Mifflin, and Conway. By the ' indiscretion of the youth ful Wilkinson, who talked rather too freely over his cups at Sterling's quarters when on his way to Congress with the news of Burgoyne's surrender, a pointed sentence from one of Conway's letters to Gates leaked out, and was communicated by Sterling to Washington, who in closed it in a note to ConWay. Suspecting that Hamil ton, during his visit to Albany, had, as he expressed it, " stealingly copied" Conway's letter. Gates demanded to know, in very high terms, by what breach of confidence Washington had become possessed of the extract. When Wilkinson was given as the authority, he ohanged his ground, and, in an elaborate letter, alleged that the pre tended extract was a forgery, and that Conway had writ ten nothing of the sort. Conway's letter, however, was CABAL AGAINST WASHINGTON. 235 not produced ; and to Washington's sarcastic allusion to chapter xxxvn that fact, and to the manifest discrepancy between his .' first and second letters. Gates, anxious to hush up the 1777. matter, made a very tame and submissive answer. In the composition of the new Board of '^V^ar, the in fluence of the party opposed to Washington became very apparent. Gates was raade president of it, and Mifflin a member. The other members were Pickering, who re signed for that purpose his office of adjutant general, Jo- Nov. seph Trumbull, the late commissary general, and Richard Peters, secretary of the old board. Harrison, Washing ton's seoretary, was elected, but declined. In spite of Washington's earnest remonstrances, Conway, promoted over the heads of all the brigadiers to the rank of major general, was made inspector of the armies of the United Dec. 14. States. An attempt was also made, but without suc cess, to gain over La Fayette, by offering him the com mand of an expedition against Canada. Besides these open measures, calculated to disgust Washington, and to cause him to resign, secret intrigues were resorted to of a -very disreputable character. Anonymous letters. Criti cising "Washington's conduct of the war, were addressed to Patrick Henry, governor of Virginia, and to Laurens, president of Congress^ but these gentlemen, in the true spirit of honorable candor, at once inclosed these letters to Washington. One of them Washington ascribed • to Dr. Rush. When these intrigues became known in the army, 1778. they produced among the officers a grCat burst of indig nation. Nor did the idea of a new commander-in-chief find any support in the state Legislatures or the public mind. In spite of losses, the inevitable result of insuffi cient means, Washington was firmly rooted in the respect and affection of the soldiers and the people, who had not 236 HISTORY OF THE UNITED S.TATES. chapter faded to peroeive and to appreciate his incomparable qual- Lifications for the station which he held. Seeing how 1778. strongly the country and the army were against them, most of the parties conoerned in the late project for a new oommander-in-ohiof denied or concealed as much as possible their participation in it ; and the result served at onoe to evince and to strengthen the hold of Washing ton on the general confidence. March. Being presently ordered to the northern department, Conway sent a letter to Congress, in which he complained of ill treatment in being thus banished from the scene of action, and offered to resign. Very pontrary to his inten tion, he was taken at his word. All his attempts to get the vote reconsidered were in vain. He was wounded soon after in a duel with General Cadwallader, who had accused him of cowardice at the battle of Brandywine ; and, supposing himself near his end, he sent an humble apology to Washington. On his recovery he returned to France. April. Gates was sent to the Highlands to superintend the new fortifications to be erected there. Both he and Mif flin ceased to act as members of the Board of War, and their place on it was ultimately supplied by two mem bers of Congress, appointed to serve for short periods. Mifilin obtained leave to join the army again ; but the other officers, not liking this intrusion on the part of one who had never held any command in the line, got up a June, charge against him, whioh was referred to a court of in quiry, of having mismanaged the quarter-master's depart ment. The accounts and business of that department had been left in a good deal of confusion ; but there seems to have been no serious ground of charge against Mifflin. Finding himself so unpopular with the ofiicers, he pres- August. ently resigned his comnussion of major general ; but he DETENTION OF BURGOYNE'S TROOPS. 237 continued to take an active and leading part in affairs, chapter XXXVII being presently appointed a member of Congress from L Pennsylvania. 1778. The more Congress reflected on the terms of Bur goyne's capitulation, the less satisfactory those terms appeared. The troops of that army, transported to En gland and placed in garrison there, would relieve just as many other men for servioe in America. Some cavils had begun to be raised about an alleged deficiency of oar- touch boxes surrendered, when an impatient letter from Burgoyne furnished a much more plausible pretext. The British general complained that proper accommodations Jan. had not been furnished to his offioers, and, in the vexation of the moment, incautiously alleged that the Americans had broken the convention; Catohing eagerly at this hasty expression, whioh Congress chose to construe into a repudiation of the treaty by the very offioer whO had made it, it was resolved to suspend the embarkation of Jan. the troops " till a distinet and explicit ratification of the convention of Saratoga shall be properly notified by the court of Great Britain." Nor could any remonstrances nor explanations on the part of Burgoyne obtain any change or modification in a policy founded, indeed, more on considerations of interest than of honor, and for which Burgoyne's letter had but served as a pretext. The trans ports whioh had arrived at Boston were ordered to depart. Burgoyne only, with one or two attendants, was suffered to go to England On parole. March. 238 HISTORY OF THE. UNITED STATES. CHAPTER XXXVIII. eJ'FECTS in ENGLAND OF BURGOYNE'S SURRENDER. RE SULTS OF THE WAR THUS FAR. ALLIANCE BETWEEN FRANCE AND THE UNITED STATES. BRITISH COMMIS SIONERS FOR CONCILIATION. RECOVERY OF PHILADEL PHIA. UNSUCCESSFUL ATTACK ON NEWPORT. RAPID DECLINE OF THE PAPER MONEY. EXECUTIONS AT PHIL ADELPHIA. WAR ON-THE FRONTIER. CHAPTER X HE news of the surrender of Burgoyne's army pro- xxxvm. ° •' •' '^ T] . duCed a great sensation in England, increased by the dis- 1777. position of France to sustain the revolted colonies, now ^^"^ too evident to be any longer mistaken or denied. Yet the ministry still found support, not only in the pride and pugnacity of the British nation, but in more sordid motives of pecuniary profit. All wars, indeed, by the enormous expenditure to which they give rise, always raise up a large class of contractors and others interested in their continuance. To supply the place of Burgoyne's troops, Liverpool and Manchester undertook to raise eaoh a thousand men. There had beeh a partial change in the politics of London, and great efforts were made to induce that city to follow this example. The new lord-mayor entered zealously into the project ; but it failed entirely, and the ministry ' had to be content with a subscription of ^£20,000, raised among their adherents. A like failure happened in Bris tol ; nor did the plan succeed muc^ better in the BngUsh counties. In Scotland it was more successful; Glasgow and Edinburgh each raised ajregiment; and several more NEW SCHEME OF CONCILIATION. 239 were enlisted in the Scotch Highlands by the great land- chapter xxxvni holders of that region, to whom the appointment of the offi- '. cers was conceded. 1777. Those friendly to America raised contributions also, but for a different purpose. Some hundreds of American prisoners in England, through the carelessness of the gov ernment, and the cupidity and dishonesty of their keepers, were suffering severely for the necessaries of life. As soon as this became publicly known, a liberal subscription was set on foot among the British friends of America, and these necessities were speedily relieved. At a short session of Parliaraent, just pre-vious to the olose of the year, some warm discussions occurred on American affairs. When Parliament reassembled, after 1778. the Christmas holidays, the opposition renewed their at- ^"' taoks with increased vigor. They assailed the late rais ing of troops by cities and individuals as an infringement of parliamentary rights. Burke attacked, as Chatham had done at a previous session, the employraent of Indian auxiliaries. In Committees of the Whole on the State of the Nation, the losses, expenses, and hopelessness of the war were fully exposed — considerations not without seri ous weight in the mind of Lord North himself To the surprise — and disgust even — of some of his most ardent supporters, he presently oame forward with a new plan Feb. it. of conciliation. In his speech on this occasion, he de clared, what his private correspondence since published abundantly confirms, that he had alwa/s been in favor of peace, and opposed to taxing America. He found the tea tax in existence when he came into power ; he had not thought proper to repeal it, but he formed no specific scheme for enforcing it. By the drawback allowed of the whole British duty, the arrangeraent with the East In dia Company seemed to be a real favor to the Americans, 240 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER and he could not have anticipated the effects it produced. xxxvni. ^ . . , » ,.¦ It was the same with the Coercive Aots. As soon as this 1778. became apparent, he had proposed a scheme of conoUia- tion. That scheme, misunderstood and misrepresented, had been rejected by America. The results of the war had greatly disappointed his expectations ; but to those results it was now necessary to conform. With that view he introduced two biUs : pne, renouncing, on the part of the British Parliament, any intention to levy taxes in America — conceding, in substance, the whole original ground of dispute ; the other, authorizing the appoint ment of five commissioners, the commanders of the naval and military forces to be two, with ample powers to treat for the re-establishment of the royal authority. While these bills were under discussion, David Hart ley, a member of Parliament of the Chatham party, al ways opposed to the war, and active in the late meas ures for the relief of the American prisoners, was sent to Paris, to endeavor to open a negotiation with the Amer ican commissioners there. Great Britain had, indeed, sufiicient oooasion to be sick of a war whieh had cost her already more than twenty thousand men, and a hundred millions of dollars of pub lic expenditure. Five hundred and fifty British vessels, besides thpse recaptured, had been taken by American cruisers, involving an additional charge of not less than , » ,* twelve millions of dollars. These cruisers had so infest ed even the British seas, that convoys had beoome neces sary from one British port to another. To this must be added the loss of the American trade ; a large mass of American debts held in suspense by the war ; the exile of the American Loyalists, and the confiscation of their property. The British West Indies had suffered severe ly by the interruption of their accustomed supplies of pro- RESULTS OF THE WAR THUS FAR. 241 visions and lumber from the North American colonies, chapter XXXVIII The British merchants complained, though humanity re- ^ joiced over it, that the slave trade had been reduced to 1778. one fifth of its former amount. To all these evils was now added the threatened and alarming danger of French intervention and a French war. By the rebelUous oolonists, the losses and miseries of warfare had been not less seriously felt. The Newfound land fishery, and the trade to the West Indies, hitherto the main reliance of New England, had been quite brok en up. Nine hundred vessels had fallen into the hands of the enemy, and those that remained were comparative ly useless. The coasting trade had been destroyed ; and Boston and the other New England sea-ports, cut off from their usual supplies, experienced a great scarcity of bread- stuffs, enhanced by internal embargoes, whioh began to be laid by the several states. Add to this, great public debts rapidly accumulating, and aU the doubt, uncer tainty, and losses necessarily attendant on a deprecia- tino- currencv. The war had been carried on at a very hpavy expense ; the frequent draughts of militia, besides the interruption to agriculture, had proved a most costly and wasteful expedient, attended by great loss and de- ,«truotion of arms and equipments, which the service could very badly spare. There had been great want of system and accountability in all the departments, the natural re sult of the sudden introduotion of an entirely new scale and new scheme of expenditures. Peculation, a custom ary incident of all wars, had not failed to improve so convenient an opportunity. The easy resource of bills of credit and the loan offices had contributed to foster extravagance. Already the liabilities contracted by Con- o-ress amounted to upward of forty millions of doUars ; but this was far from showing the whole expense of the IIL— Q 242 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER war. The debt of Massachusetts alone, independent of XXXVIII. her share of the Continental liabilities^, amounted to five 1778. miUions of dollars, partly in state bills of oredit, and part ly in certificates of loan. No other state owed so muoh ; but all had issued bills of credit, and all were deeply in debt. These separate state debts made a sum total of not less than twenty-five millions, thus raising the whole expenditure to at least sixty-five miUions of dollars. The loss of life had also been enormous. Few, com paratively, had perished in battle ; but the siok had al ways been very numerous ; and the mortality in the hos pitals, ill provided with comforts and even with necessa ries, had been truly frightful. Insufficiefloy of clothing, and even sometimes- of food, had aggravated the effects of disease ; whUe difficulties about the exchange of pris oners, whioh Congress, from reasons of policy, had been little anxious to remove, had exposed multitudes to a miserable death in jails and prison ships. The oost and calamities of the war had, indeed, far ex ceeded all the calculations of those most eager to enter into it. Yet a vast majority of the American people a majority greater now than at the time when independ ence -was declared — were wholly disinclined to peace on any terms short of entire independence. The very ca lamities to which they had been exposed, and the efforts tp whioh they had been driven, had quite estranged them ' from the British connection, and made all thoughts pf re turn to it intolerable. Nor, on the whole, was there any thing discouraging in the results of the struggle hitherto. After a three years' contest, all that the British could bpast was the possession of Long Island and Staten Island, of the in sular cities of Newport and New York, and on the main land, of Philadelphia, eaoh of which places it required an REORGANIZATION OF THE ARMY. 2 43 army to keep. The expected impression on the surround- chapter ing country had not been made. There were in several ' of the states considerable bodies of disaffected persons ; 1778. but no movements had taken place among them favora ble to the invaders. Sinoe the occupation of Philadel phia, Allen, of Pennsylvania, the skme who had thrown up his Continental commission of lieutenant colonel when independence was declared, Chalmers, who had great in fiuence in Maryland, artd Clifton, a leader among the Roman Catholics, had been commissioned as colonels ; but their united efforts had raised less than a thousand recruits. Inolading those under Delancey, Skinner, and Sir John Johnson, there were now in the British service thirteen corps of LoyaUsts, amounting in the whole to three thousand six hundred men. Objects as they were of proscription and confiscation, the bitter hatred toward their countrymen felt by these refugees, and the preda tory war which they carried on, tended not a little to em bitter and inflame the contest. While Parliament was debating about conciliation, the states were called upon by Congress to fill up their battalions ; or, if recruits could not be obtained, to supply their plaoe by draughts of militia. Army auditors were appointed to settle all outstanding accounts ; a new or ganization of the staff departments introduced raore of order and accountability. Greene, a very favorite offi oer with Washington, was persuaded to acoept the im portant plaoe of quarter-master general ; Colonel Jere miah Wadsworth, of Connecticut, was appointed com missary general ; the adjutant generalship, resigned by Pickering when he accepted a seat at the Board of War, was given to Colonel Scamrael, of New Harapshire. Bar on Steuben, a Prussian offioer, an expellent disciplina rian, had lately tendered his services to Congress. Pros- 244 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER ently appointed inspector, with the rank of major general, in plaoe of the worthless Conway, he first introduced into 1778. the American army a uniform system of exercise and tac- May. tics. By a new organization, each battalion of foot was to consist, offioers included, of five huhdred and eighty- two men, arranged in nine companies; the battalions of horse and artillery to be a third smaller. This would have given for the Continental army a foroe of sixty thou sand men and upward ; but it never really amounted to half that nuraber. In consideration of their large slave population, no troops were asked of South Carolina and Georgia except for local defense. Finding his command of the horse disagreeable to the native officers, Pulaski obtained leave to raise what he called a legion, an independent corps of two or three hund red men, part cavalry armed with lances, and part foot. Armand, a French officer of merit, was at the head of an other similar corps. A third independent corps, composed wholly of cavalry, was raised by Henry Lee, a Virgin ian, already distinguished as a partisan officer. The new fortifications in the Highlands were zealously prosecuted, under the direction of Kosciusko, at whose suggestion the works at West Point were now first commenced. No attention had been paid by the states to the late recommendation of taxes ; and Congress had no way of sustaining the army except by additional issues of paper Jan. money. A further loan of ten milUons had been author ized ; but that availed nothing, for the former loans were not yet half filled up. The empty treasury had to be replenished in January by a new issue of three millions in bills of oredit. Tv\^o millions more were issued in February, two miUions in March, six mUlions, and a half in April, five millions in May, and as many more in June, making in the first half of the year an addition of twen- PROMISE OF HALF PAY. 245 ty-three millions and a half to the already superabund- chapter , . , • 1 . XI • . ,, , XXXVIII. ant issue. A new impulse was thus given to the depre- ciation, which Congress and the states strove in vain to 1778. arrest. This depreciation had already produced a serious defal cation in the pay of the army, and many offioers, seeing better prospects elsewhere, had thrown up their commis sions. Washington was very unwilUng thus to lose the assistance of tried officers, who had gone through an ap prenticeship to the service ; and, by earnest and repeated recommendations, he prevailed at length upon Congress, May. but not without very great difficulty, to promise half pay for seven years to all offioers who should serve to the end of the war. To all soldiers who served to the end of the war, a gratuity of eighty dollars was promised. Washington had proposed for the ofiicers half pay for life ; the term of seven years was adopted as a compro mise. Congress had a great horror of permanent mili tary and half-pay establishments^-a sentiment in which they sympathized with the country. Before any military movements had occurred beyond mere foraging expeditions, draughts of Lord North's con ciliatory bUls arrived in America, and were very busily April 15. circulated by the disaffected. Fearful of the effects which this new offer might produce. Congress ordered the bills to be published in the newspapers, and, along with them, the report of a committee of their body, criticising the proposed compromise with muoh keenness. This re port concluded with a resolution, unanimously- adopted, denouncing as open and avowed enemies all who should attempt ^a separate treaty, and declaring that no confer ence should be held with any commissioners till the Brit ish armies were first withdrawn, or the independence of the United States acknowledged. 246 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER Whatever might have been the effect, under other oir- L cumstanoes, of Lord North's plan of conciliation, it was 1778. wholly counteracted by the arrival shortly after, andbe- ^^y- fore accounts had reached America of the actual passage of the bills, of two treaties with France, brought out by a French frigate dispatched for that express purpose. Lord North no sooner had . brought into Parliament his bills for conciliation, than Vergennes signified to the American commissioners his readiness to treat. The capture of Burgoyne's army, and, still more, the spirit exhibited, notwithstanding the loss of Philadelphia, in Washington's attack upon the British army at German. town, had satisfied the French court that the Americans were strong and in earnest. The proposition of the French minister was eagerly met. Two treaties were Jan. 30. speedily signed : one, of friendship, and commerce ; the other, of defensive alliance, in case Great Britain should declare war against France. The great object of these treaties purported to be the merpantile and political independence of the United States. No peace was to be made till that object was attained, and then only by mutual consent. The con tracting parties guaranteed to each other their respective possessions in America. The right was reserved for Spain to become a party to the aUiance. The treaty of friendship and commerce being corn- March 13. municated to the British court, the displeasure of the king and his ministers wis signified by the recall of the British embassador from Paris, amounting, in substance, to a declaration of war. These treaties, ratified by Congress as soon as reoeiv- May 5. ed, were hailed every where throughout the United States with tke greatest enthusiasm. That hereditary national hatred of France, whioh hitherto had pervaded Anierioa, ALLIANCE WITH FRANCE. 247 was now suddenly changed to respeot, gratitude, and af- chapter feotion, though not without some remnants, and pres- 1 ently some occasional outbursts of the old feeling. 1778. These treaties, mean-vvhile, had given rise to very warra debates in the British Parliament. It seemed useless to the members of Lord Rockingham's party, who oomposed the bulk of the opposition, to stand out any longer against the independence of America. ,To protract the war, with France as a party to it, would involve an immense ex penditure, while it could only serve to aggravate the quar rel, to embitter the Americans, and to bring thera under the influence of France. Was it not wiser to raake peace at once, and, abandoning all attempts at political author ity, to secure as far as might be, and before they became further engaged in any new connections, the commerce and good- Will of the late colonists ? Propositions to that effept were brought forward in both houses of Parliament. In the upper house they en countered the warm opposition of Lord Chatham, who fell April 7. in a fainting fit, from which he 'never recovered,, while protesting against the dismemberment of the empire. In the House of Comraons the same ground was taken by Lord Shelburne, who presently became the acknowledged head of the parliamentary supporters of the late Earl of Chatham. The wise lesson of yielding in time is no less difficult for' statesmen and for nations than for private in dividuals. To teaoh the British Parliament and people to yield to what was inevitable, raore millions must be spent, more blood must fiow ! ^ Having returned to England on his parole, and re ceiving from the ministry but a cool reception, Burgoyne appeared in his seat in the House of Commons, and de nounced the inefficient conduct of the war. Complaining that his demands for men and supplies had not been met 248 .HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chapter with sufficient promptitude, Sir William Howe had re- XXXVIII L quested to be recalled ; and the command-in-chief of the 1778. British army was presentiy assumed by Sir Henry Clinton. As the spring opened, strong foraging parties of the British army issued from PhUadelphia. An expedition May 7. up the Delaware captured or burned a considerable num ber of vessels, including the unfinished Continental frig ates which had been conveyed for safety to Trenton. Washington was still encamped at VaUey Forge with an effective foroe of hardly twelve thousand men ; nor did it seeiu possible, with all the efforts made to fiU up the ranks, that the Continental army, inoluding the troops at Wilmington, West Point, and Ticonderpga, and a brigade lately sent into New Jersey, oould be carried be yond twenty thousand. ¦ Now that the Delaware was liable to be blocked up by a French fieet, Philadelphia could no longer be safely held by the British. An intention to evacuate it began to be rumored. Tp gain intelligence as to this matter, as well as to restrict the enemy's foraging parties, Wash ington sent La Fayette, to whom the oommand of a di vision had lately been given, with a strong detachment of the best troops, to occupy Barren Hill, between Valley Forge and Philadelphia, some ten miles in advance of the camp. He had not long been there when Clinton sent a much stronger foroe to cut him off; but the young May 20. general escaped by a seasonable and handsome retreat. The three civil commissioners appointed under Lord North's aot were the Earl of CarUsle, WiUiam Eden, a brother of the late governor of Maryland, known after ward as Lord Auckland, and Governor Johnstone, who had been from the commencement a conspicuous oppo nent in Parliament to the whole American policy of min isters. A passport to visit Congress having been refused COMMISSIONERS FOR CONCILIATION. 249 by Washington to Adam Ferguson, the commissioners' chapter , xxxvni secretary, they presently sent to that body a copy of their '_ coramission, and an address, in which they proposed a sus- 1778. pension of hostiUties. They suggested in it, as the basis •'""^ ^^- ¦ of a final settlement, an extension of the' privileges of trade hitherto allowed to the colonies ; an understanding that no military force should be kept up in any colony without the consent of its Assembly ; an arrangement for sustaining the Continental bills of oredit, and their ultimate discharge ; a representation of the oolonies in the British Parliament, and of the British governraent in the colonial Assemblies ; and such an organization of the colonial administrations as to yield almost every thing short of total independence. Such an offer, two years before, would have been ea gerly grasped at. But times had ohanged. Jealous, however, of the infiuenCe whioh the commissioners might exercise. Congress resolved to. have as little to do with thera as possible. A very brief answer was given to their June 17. address in the terras of the resolution above mentioned, refusing to treat unless the independence of the states were first acknowledged or the British troops withdrawn. The commissioners raade a long and argumentative re- July i. joinder ; but of that Congress took no notice. , The preparations for-evacuating Philadelphia had mean while been completed. The baggage and stores, and a considerable number of non-combatants who adhered to the British, were sent round to New York by water ; the army, abpiit twelve thousand strong, having crossed the June \s. Delaware, took up its line of march through the Jerseys As soon as the evacuation was known, Washington, with his whole jbrce, marched in pursuit. The weather was hot and rainy ;--the British were a good deal encum bered with baggage and provision wagons, and the Ameri- 250 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER cans soon began' to come up with them. The question XXXVIII. o f of a general engagement had been warmly discussed in a 1778. council of war ; Lee, whose, exchange had been recentiy effected, and who held, next to Washington, the highest rank in the service, had strongly opposed if ; Greene, and other officers, were in favor of fighting. Washing ton himself inclined to that opinion, and he sent forward June 25. La Fayette with two thousand men to press upon Clin ton's left, and crowd him off from the high grounds. , Lee's rank entitled him to the leadership of this corps ; but, as he had opposed fightingj he yielded it up to La Fay ette. The next day, however, Lee changed his mind ; and, being' sent forward with two additional brigades, by virtue of his superior rank he assumed the command of the whole advanced division. The enemy encamped at .lune 28. Monraouth Court Housp. The next morning Washing ton sent word to Lee, who was now about six miles in advance, to make an attack, promising to bring up the whole army to suppprt it. He advanced accordingly, but, muoh to his surprise, presently met Lee retreating. Greatly irritated, Washington uttered a very sharp repri mand, and ordered the line of battle to be formed. A warm but indecisive action followed, broken off by the approach of night. The British retired under cover of the darkness, and, having gained the high grounds of Nev- isink, placed theraselves in a position secure from attack. The American loss in this action was about two hundred, partly killed and wounded, partly disabled by the extreme heat. The British loss was about three hundred ; but great numbers, especiaUy of the Germans, who had mar ried, or formed other connections in Philadelphia, took occasion, during the march across the Jerseys, to desert, and the total British loss in the retreat hardly fell short of two thousand men. COURT MARTIAL ON LEE. 251 Greatly offended at Washington's pointed and public chapter XXXVIII rebuke, the day after the aotion Lee wrote him a letter '_ in no very respectful tone. Washington's answer, so far 1778. from satisfying hira, drew out another letter still more disrespectful. Lee was arrested, and was presently tried June 30. by court martial for disobedience of orders; for having made an unnecessary, shameful, and disorderly retreat ; and for disrespect to the comraander-in-chief in the two letters above mentioned. He defended himself with a good deal of ability, justifying his retreat on the ground that the enemy appeared in unexpected force in front, and that it was necessary to disentangle himself from a morass in his , rear, which, in case of defeat, would have made escape impossible. The court acquitted him of the more serious part of the charges, but found hira guilty of the rest, and sentenced hira to be suspended for one year. This waS the end of Lee's service in the Araerican array. Shortly after the expiration of his sentence, in a sudden heat of passion at some suspected slight, he addressed an insolent letter to Congress, soon after retracted and apolo gized for, but whioh occasioned his dismissal from the service. From his' position at Nevisink, Clinton found a short transportation to New York in Lord Howe's fieet, whioh had just arrived from Philadelphia with the baggage and stores. The retreat of the British was none too soon. They had been gone but a few days when the Count D'Estaing arrived off the Delaware with a French fieet July 6. of twelve ships of the line and four frigates. This fleet, muoh superior to Lord Howe's, had on board four thou sand French troops. There came out in it M. Gerard, late seoretary to the king's council, muoh employed in the American negotiation, and appointed embassador to the United States. Deane also took this opportunity to 252 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chapter obey the or' ers of Congress, by returning home to give xxxvm. •' a ^ J an account of his mission. 1778. Having, sent his passengers up the Delaware in a frig ate, D'Estaing sailed for Sandy Hook, and came to anchor off the harbor of New York. A joint attack by sea and land upon that oity was seriOusly meditated- With that July 21. objeot in view, Washington crossed the Hudson with his army, and 'encamped at White Plains. New York was thrown into the greatest alarm ; but the pilots declined to take the heavier French ships over the bar, and the projected attack had to be abandoned. The next most feasible undertaking seemed to be an expedition against Newport, then held by a British army of six thousand men, under General Pigot. This British occupation of Newport was a great eyesore to New En gland. An attack had been projected the year before, and a great expense incurred ; but, from various reasons, it had been abandoned. Congress had ordered an inquiry into the causes of that failure, and Spencer, who had held the command in Rhode Island, had resigned his oommission in consequenoe^ He was, however, immediately sent as a delegate to Congress from Connecticut. Foreseeing that Newport might become the object of attack, Washington had directed Sullivan, Spencer's successor in that comraand, to call upon Rhode Island, Massaohusetts, and Connecticut for five thousand mili tia, a oall which had been promptly obeyed. WiUiam Greene, Cooke's^ successor as governor of Rhode Island, exerted himself to the utmost. The Massachusetts mili tia marched under John Hancock as general. Two brig ades of Continentals were sent on from the raain array. Great enthusiasm prevaUed, and every thing promised success. The French ships occupied Narraganset Bay, and opened a comraunication with the American army ATTACK CN NEWPORT. 253 at .the head of it. They even entered the harbor of New- chapter - . . ..... xxxvm. port, and obliged the British ¦ j burn or sink six frigates which lay there. A week, h iwever, elapsed after D'Es- 1778. taing's arrival off Newport be fore the Continental troops could oome up — an unavoidt ble delay, but fatal to the enterprise. The American array, ten tl ousand strong, arranged in two' divisions, one commandet by Greene, and the other by La Fayette, presently landed -at the north end of the Aug. lo. island, where they expected to be joined by the four thou sand troops of the French fieet, agreeably to the plan of attack as arranged with the French admiral. But D'Es taing, eager to take advantage of his superiority over Howe, on discovering the British fleet had put to sea, carrying the troops along with him. ¦Within four or five days after D'Estaing's departure from Sandy Hook, four British men-of-war had arrived singly at New York, all of whioh, had D'Estaing kept that station, would probably have fallen into his hands. Even with this re-enforcement, Lord Howe was still in ferior to the French fleet ; but, resolved to risk every thing for the relief of Newport, he had sailed at onoe, and presently appeared off that harbor. In hopes of D'Estaing's speedy return, the Americans marched down the island, established themselves within twO miles of the enemy's works, and opened a cannonade upon them. Meanwhile the fleets, struggUng for the weather gage, were separated by a furious storm. D'Es- Aug. 15. taing presently reappeared off Newport, with two of his Aug. 20. ships dismasted, and the others badly damaged. Muoh to the disgust of Sullivan and his officers, and in spite of a written protest on. their partj the French admiral insist ed on sailing immediately to Boston to refit. Sullivan sent La Fayette to Boston to urge the re- 254 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chapter turn of the French ships, but without success. The XXXVIU. -^ on- militia, muoh discouraged, began to desert. buliivan 1778. abandoned his fines before the town, and retiired by night. Aug'. 29. Pursued and attacked, he maintained his ground in a sharp aotion, attended by the loss of two hundred men, and a somewhat larger loss to the British. The enemy thus checked, SuUivan continued the retreat with judg ment, and soon established himself on strong ground at the northern end of the island, whence, a night or two Aug. 31. after, he crossed in safety to; the main land — a very sea sonable movement, as the' British army was re-enforced the next day by four thousand men from New York, led by Clinton in person. Lord Howe, whose' vessels had suffered comparatively little in the storm, had sailed to cut off the French ships from Boston ; but he found them so securely moored in the harbor that he did not venture an attack. The loud and pointed complaints of SuUivan, always too little able to command his feelings, were echoed through New England. Old anti-Gallican prejudices began to revive.- A serious riot broke out at Boston be tween the American and French sailors. It required all the policy of "Vyashington to allay these rising disgusts. To soothe the mortified D'Estaing, Congress passed a res olution approving his conduct. His retiring to Boston . seems, indeed, to have been demapded by a due regard to the safety of his fieet. The British commissioners for conciliation, in addition to their public -acts, had not been wanting — at least one of them — in private efforts with individuals. Johnstone had brought letters of introduction to several members of Congress from their friends and connections in Great Britain, among others, to Robert Morris, Reed, and Dana, to whom he wrote, urging the expediency of some arrange- COMMISSIONERS FOR CONCILIATION. 25'^ mentji ahd suggesting tn sorae of his letters that those chapter XXXVIII persons instrumental in it could not fail of high honors '. and rewards. These letters, by order of Congress, were 1778. laid before that body; Reed also made a statement of a distinct offer made to him, through a Mrs. Furgerson, a lady of Philadelphia, who had connections in the British army,' of £10,000, and any office he might choose in the colonies, if he would lend his aid in bringing about a reoonciUation ; to whioh he had replied " that he was not worth purchasing ; but, suoh as he Was, the King of England Was not rich enough to buy him." Upon the strength of these communications, resolutions were passed by Congress accusing Johnstone of an attempt at bribery Aug. ii. and corruption, and declining to hold any further corre spondence with him, ( or with the commission of which he was a member. Johnstone made an angry reply, in which he announ ced his withdrawal from the comraission. The other oora- missioners published a paper, disavowing any responsibil ity for Johnstone's private letters or actions ; but in this same paper, which seemed, indeed, to be intended chiefly for the public at large, they accused Congress of exceed ing its powers, and of wantonly sacrificing, by the treaty with France, the best interests of the American people. No official answer was made to these two documents ; but they were very severely handled, as the former pa pers of the comraissioners had been, in publications by individual members of Congress. The commissioners had already remonstrated against the detention of Burgoyne's army, contrary to the terms of the capitulation, a ratification of whioh they presently Sept. tendered, signed by Sir Henry Clinton, the Earl of Car lisle, and WilUam Eden. They made, at the same time, a new demand for the release of the troops. But a new 256 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chapter loop-hole was found by Congi-ess. It was not for nothing XXXVIII •^ o 1 _that so many lawyers sat.,in that body. As aU their acts 1778. were subject to approval by Parliament, Congress denied the authority of the commissioners to make a definitive ratification. Application was presently made, for the fourth time, to Sir Henry Clintpn for passports for ves sels to be employed in transporting supplies to Boston Tor the oonventiori troops ; and upon his neglect to grant thera, the troops were marched off to Charlottesville, in Virginia, where they could be more easily guarded and raore cheaply fed. They wPre quartered in log huts ; the soldiers and officers had gardens, and the encarapraent forraed quite a village. Some of them, especially the offi cers, were afterward exchanged ; but fhe greater part re mained prisoners till fhe end of the war. Oct. 3. The discomfited comraissioners finally published an elaborate manifesto, addressed, not to Congress only, but to the Assemblies and the people of the states, charging upon Congress the responsibility of continuing the war ; offering to the state Assemblies separately the .terms al ready proposed to Congress ; reminding those in arms that all the points originally in dispute had been con ceded by Great Britain ; suggesting to the clergy that the French were papists ; appealing to all lovers of peace not to suffer a few arabitious raen to subject the country to the miseries of unnecessary warfare ; allow ing forty days for submission ;, and threatening, if this offer were rejected, the desolation of the country as a fu ture leading object of the war. A stop was put to the attempt to circulate this manifesto under flags of truce, but Congress caused it to be published in the newspapers, along with their counter manifesto, and other comments calculated to neutralize its intended effect. As the British commissioners, in their address, had DEPARTURE OF THE COMMISSIONERS. 257 spoken very disparagingly of France, La Fayette persist- chapter ed, in spite of the remonstrances of Washington and ^ D'Estaing, in sending a challenge to the Earl of Car- 1778. lisle ; but that nobleman politely declined any responsibil ity for his publio aots to any body but his own sovereign. At the end of the forty days limited in their manifes to, much to the relief of Congress, by which body they had been regarded from the first as very dangerous per sons, the commissioners returned to Europe. The ad vances made by Hartley to Franklin at Paris met with no better suooess. Nothing now remained but to fight it out. Already, before the departure of the commissioners, the war began to assume the savage oharaoter whioh they had threatened. An expedition frora Newport burned the Sept. 5. towns of New Bedford and Fairhaven, on Buzzard's Bay, and levied a heavy contribution of sheep and cattle on the defenseless island of Martha's Vineyard. To facil itate a similar expedition against Little Egg Harbor, in New Jersey, Clinton marched out of New York with his whole army, one division on either side of the Hudson. These divisions, by the command of the river, might be reunited at a moment's warning, while Washington could only reunite his army, distributed also on both sides of the river, by a long and tedious maroh through the High lands. Baylor's regiment of horse, on duty in New Jer sey, was surprised and cut to pieces. The town of Egg Oct. Harbor was burned, and all the surrounding country rav aged. The infantry of Pulaski's legion was also sur prised, and bayoneted without meroy. The Americans complained of the wanton oruelty „of these proceedings. The British replied that the towns burned were shelters for privateers. The refusal of quarter was excused by pleading the excitement of a surprise and a night attack. Ill— R 258 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chapter As soon as the destination of D'Estaing had beoome L known in England, an English fleet, under Admiral By- 1778. ron, had been sent to foUow him across the Atlantic. This fleet encountered very rough weather, and did not arrive at New York till late in the season, before whioh period Admiral Lord Howe, following his brother's exam ple, had resigned his oommand and returned to England. **feyron proceeded to Boston to look after the French ships stUl engaged there in refitting. An attack was appre hended, and Gates was sent to supersede Heath. But the English fleet was again dispersed in a storm, by whioh one of the vessels was wrecked on Cape Cod ; and D'Estaing, by this time completely refitted, took Nov. 1. the opportunity to sail for the West Indies, as between France and England the principal seat of war. The very day that D'Estaing left Boston, five thousand Brit ish troops, escorted by a strong squadron, sailed from New York on the same destination. Some three weeks later, another British detachment of three thousand five hnndred men was sent from New York on an expedition against Georgia. But even, with this heavy reduction of its garrison. New York was still too strong for Wash ington. The American troops were hutted for the winter in a line of cantonments extending from Danbury in Coimeo- ticut, across the Hudson at West Point, to Elizabethtown in New Jersey. A tolerable supply of clothing had'been received from France, under a new contract with an agent sent by Beaumarchais to America ; to insure a supply of provisions. Congress had laid an embargo on all exports. The comniissary department was now on a better footing ; and the soldiers, on the whole, were bet ter clothed and fed than they had been since the com mencement of the war. But the depreciation pf the EXECUTIONS AT PHILADELPHIA. 259 bills of credit had reduced their pay to a trifle, and the chapter XXXVIII officers espeoially were greatly distressed for money; 1 After the evacuation of Philadelphia by the British, 1778. Congress and the state government had returned to that city. The more open and notorious Tories had retired with the British army ; yet many wealthy and respect able citizens who remained behind were well known to have been very favorably disposed toward the invaders. Some had shown this disposition so openly as to have ex posed themselves to prosecutions under the state law of treason. A large number of indictments were found ; trials were commenced ; Reed was employed to aid the attorney general in the prosecutions ; and two Quakers, John Roberts and Abraham Carlisle, were found guilty. October. Great efforts were made to save them ; but Vice-presi dent Bryan, now, by Wharton's death, at the head of the government, could not be persuaded to grant a pardon, and they were both executed. Twen ty-three others were Nov. 22. tried; but, through the efforts of Wilson, who acted as their counsel, they were all acquitted. The execution of the . two who suffered gave new bitterness to the vio lent party disputes of Pennsylvania. The feeling against the Tories was stUl further ex cited by the oonduot of Arnold, again appointed, on ac count of his wounds, whioh disqualified him for active service, to the military command in Philadelphia. Ar nold ingratiated himself with the rich Tories,, from among whom he presently married a young, beautiful, and ac complished second wife ; and his leaning toward this hos tile party soon brought him into collision with Reed, to whom the Assembly gave the vacant office of president. Dec. 28. From the American post at Pittsburg, made the head quarters of a western military department, a communi cation had been opened with New Orleans. Captain 260 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chapter WUling, sent thither the year before, had succeeded in XXXVIII 1 obtaining, with the countenance, if not the aid of Gal- 1778. vez, the Spanish governor, a supply of arms and ammu nition. Willing had invited the EngUsh settlers of West Florida to join the American Union, but without success.. Early in the present year he again descended the river for a new supply of arms and munitions. Having ob tained crews at New Orleans to row the boats back to Pittsburg, WiUing remained behind with his followers, seized an English vessel at Manshao, and proceeded to Ba ton Rouge and Natchez, burning houses, abducting slaves, and committing other outrages on the English planters. A British foroe, sent from Pensacola, made WUling pris oner. Forts were built by these troops at Manshao, Ba ton Rouge, and Natchez, for the defense of the settlers. Indications of Indian hostilities appearing on the west ern frontier. Congress had sent three commissioners to Pittsburg to investigate the subject. These commission ers reported that the Western Indians were stimulated to hostility by the influenoe of Hamilton, the British com mandant at Detroit, in consequence of which Congress resolved to send an expedition against that post. While this matter was in agitation, an expedition, hardly less important, was undertaken and accomplished by George Rogers Clarke, a backwoodsman of Kentucky. Under authority from the State of Virginia, and with some aid from that state in money and supplies, Clarke enlisted two hundred men for three months, with whom he em barked at Pittsburg, and descended to the falls of the Ohio. Thirteen families of settlers following in his-train, June, established themselves on an island at the falls. Joined by a number of Kentuckians, Clarke proceeded down the river to within sixty miles of the mouth ; hid his boats ; and marched by land against Kaskaskia, one of the old CONQUEST OF ILLINOIS. 261 French settlements near the Mississippi. When the Vir- chapter ^'^ . xxxvni. giniatis reached the town, they were on the point of starv- ation ; but the inhabitants, taken entirely by surprise, 1778. submitted without a struggle. Cahokia, and two other July 5. neighboring poets, also submitted. The inhabitants were promised security on taking an oath of allegiance to the United States. The governor, or commandant at Kas kaskia, in whose possession written orders from Hamil ton were said to have been found, dii^eoting him to stim ulate the Indians to hostility, was sent a prisoner to Vir ginia. Several slaves belonging to him were confiscated, and sold for d£5€0, which was divided among the troops as prize money. Clarke at onoe established friendly re lations with the Spanish commander at St. Louis, on the other side of the Mississippi. The news of the alliance between France and the United States, and the respeot shown for their property and religion, tended to reconcile the French inhabitants , of Kaskaskia to the change. A deputation sent to Vin- cennes, or St. Vincent's, on the Wabash, induced the peo ple there also to take an oath of allegiance to Virginia. A part^, sent to Richmond with the news, carried orders from Clarke for building a stockade at the falls of the Ohio, first rudiment of the present city of Louisville. The Virginia Assembly erected the conquered country, Oct. embracing all the territory north of the Ohio claimed as within their limits, into the county of Illinois. Five hundred men were ordered to be raised for its defense, an order which Clarke had in part anticipated by enlist ments made on his own responsibility. The Six Nations, though somewhat discouraged by the result of Burgoyne's invasion, still adhered, except the Oneidas and Tuscaroras, and a part of the Mohawks, to the British interest. The Loyalist corps, under Johnson 262 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER and Butler, occupied the posts in Western New York, and xxxvm. ' r r Tory refugees, settled among the Indians, were always 1778. ready to stimulate them to hostilities. Among ,the settlements most exposed to attack was Wyoming, on the Susquehanna, the jurisdiction of which was still in dispute between Connecticut and Pennsylva nia, a dispute several times brought before Congress, but as yet undecided, notwithstanding tbe advice and good offices of that body to bring about an araioable arrange ment. There had oome in among the Connecticut set tlers at Wyoming a number of Dutch and Scotch from New York, some thirty of whom, shortly after the com mencement of the war, had been seized under suspicion of being Tories, and sent to Connecticut for trial. They were discharged for want of evidence ; but if not Tories before, they soon became so. Returning, to the Valley of the Mohawk, whence they had emigrated to Wyoming, , they enlisted into the partisan corps of Johnson and But ler, and waited eagerly their chances of revenge. Though Wyoming did not number three thousand in habitants, it had furnished two full companies to the Continental army, and had thus, in a manner, deprived itself of the means of defense. Congress, upon rumors of intended Indian hostilities, had ordered a third com pany to be raised as a local garrison ; but this corps was as yet hardly organized, and very imperfectly armed. July. Suoh was the state of the settlement when there appear ed at the head of the valley an overwhelming force of Tories and Indians, principally of the Seneca tribe of the Six Nations, led by Colonel Butler. ^ Some of the inhab itants were waylaid and slain. The upper fort, held by disaffected persons, surrendered at onoe. The company of Continentals, with all suoh others as could be muster ed, marched out to meet the enemy ; but they were sur- DESTRUCTION OF WYOMING. 263 rounded, defeated, and driven baok with heavy loss ; and chapter several who were taken prisoners were put to death by i the Indians with horrible torments. Those who escaped 1778. fled to Fort Wyoming, which was speedily invested. The surviving Continentals, to avoid being taken prisoners, embarked, and escaped down the river ; after which the fort surrendered upon proraise of security to life and prop erty. Desirous to fulfill these terms, Butler presently marched away with his Tories ; but he oould not induce the Indians to follow. They remained behind, burned the houses, ravaged the fields, kiUed such as resisted, and drove the miserable women and ohildren through the woods and mountains to seek refuge where they might- These barbarities, greatly exaggerated by reports em bodied sinoe in poetry and history, excited every where a Uvely indignation. Wyoraing was presently reoocupied by a body of Continental troops. A Continental regi ment of the Pennsylvania line, stationed at Schoharie, penetrated to the neighboring branches of the Upper Sus quehanna, and destroyed the settleraent of Unadilla, oc- Oct. cupied by a mixed population of Indians and refugees. The Indians and Loyalists soon took their revenge by surprising Cherry Valley. The fort, whioh had a Con- Nov. lo. tinental garrison, held out ; but Colonel Alden, who lodg ed in the town, was kiUed, the lieutenant colonel was made prisoner, and the settlement suffered almost the fate of Wyoming. Resolved to crush these dangerous internal enemies. Congress ordered a large foroe on that servioe ; but the approach of winter made it necessary to wait.The people of Georgia had been a good deal annoyed by predatory parties from East Florida, led by refugees who had found shelter there, and who exercised a pre dominating influence over the Creek Indians. The better 264 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chapter to undertake an expedition against St. Augustine, Gen- xxxvm. ^ ° . CT- • ,, .. eral Howe, the commanding American officer in the south- 1778. em department, removed his head-quarters from Charles ton to Savannah. John Houston, eleoted governor of Georgia the January preceding, joined in the expedition, and some mUitia also from South Carolina. The troops crossed the Altamaha, and penetrated with difficulty as far as the St. Mary's ; but the expedition was retarded and interrupted by disputes about command, by sickriess among the men, and the loss of draught horses, and was presently abandoned. The refugees of Florida retorted by an invasion in their turn. One party penetrated to the Ogeechee. An other, approaohing by water, laid siege to Sunbury, but soon retired without accoraplishing any thing. The bills of oredit still continued the main financial resource of Congress ; and, as they went on depreciating, the issue of necessity became greater and greater. In addition to the twenty-three millions and a half issued during the first six months of the year, five millions were authorized in July, fifteen millions in September, and ten millions eaoh in November and December, making an issue of sixty -three millions and a half during the year, and raising the whole amount outstanding to near a hund red millions. Several millions of these bills had been ex changed for certificates of loan bearing interest ; but the bills thus borrowed had been immediately paid out again, and the ©ertifiCates of loan, serving themselves to a cer tain extent as a currency, helped also to increase the de preciation, which, before the end of the year, amounted in the North to six, in the South to eight for one. The Loyalists at New York having made it a business to counterfeit the paper. Congress was obliged to with draw from circulation two entire emissions, amounting FINANCES AND EXPENDITURES. 265 to ten millions of dollars. A rumor that the biUs would chapter XXXVTTT never be, redeemed, but would be suffered to feink in the '_ hands of the holders, was denounced as "false and de- 1778. rogatory to the honor of Congress." In addition to fif- ^®''- ^''• teen millions of paper dollars whioh the states had just been called upon to raise by taxes, a further call was Dec. 3i. made for six milUons annually for eighteen years,, to com mence with 1780, to be appropriated to pay the interest of all loans made to the United States previous to that year, the balanoe, as well as the fifteen millions previ ously called for, to be canceled. But measures so feeble were totally insufficient to support the failing oredit of the Continental paper. During the current year, the total expenditure of Con gress amounted to sixty-seven millions of paper dollars, worth in specie about twenty-four millions, being nearly the same amount expended the year preceding. The great expenditure and complicated accounts of Congress had made it necessary to create additional treasury offi oers. Besides the auditor and treasurer, officers already existing, a controller and two chambers of accounts were constituted, to aot under the committee which had the Sept. general superintendence of the treasury. When John Adams arrived at Paris, he found a very violent quarrel going on there between Deane and Frank lin on the one ;part, and Arthur Lee on the other ; nor did the recall pf Deane bring that quarrel to an end, though Adams avoided as much as possible being mixed up with it. To get rid of this dispute, and the incon veniences thence arising. Congress appointed Franklin Sept. i4. sole commissioner to the court of France, Arthur Lee still retaining his oommissionership to Spain, though not allowed, as we have seen, to enter that country. In this new arrangement no notice was taken of Adams, not evpn 266 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chapter so far as to send him letters of recall ; and, not a little XXXVHL , , ¦ , J- . piqued at this neglect, he hastened home, intending, as 1778. he wrote to his wife, to return to the practice of the law at Boston, " to make writs, draw deeds, and be happy !" The commissioners at Paris had obtained from the French court a small loan of three mUlions of livres, about $500,000 ; but this proved a very insufficient fund out of which to meet their various engagements for the pur chase of arms and stores, and' the equipment of cruisers, and to pay the bills for interest drawn upon them by Congress. The Articles of Confederation, referred to the states, had come back with divers proposed amendments, all of which, however, were disagreed to in Congress ; and in the course of the ourrent year the articles were ratified, under special powers for that purpose, by the delegates of all the states except Delaware and Maryland ; but, as unanimity was necessary, the holding baok of these states prevented the articles from going into effect. The presidency of Congress, resigned by Laurens, was Dec. 10. conferred on Jay, who had reappeared in that body after a two years' absence, during whioh he had been busily employed in the local affairs of New York. DIPLOMATIC TROUBLES. 267 CHAPTER XXXIX. DIPLOMATIC TROUBLES. TREASURY AND. ARMY. GEORGIA SUBDUED. SOUTH CAROLINA INVADED. BRITISH MA RAUDING EXPEDITIONS. PENOBSCOT OCCUPIED BY THE BRITISH. CONQUEST AND SETTLEMENTS IN THE WEST. EXPEDITION AGAINST THE SIX NATIONS. TERMS OF PEACE DISCUSSED. SPAIN BECOMES A PARTY TO THE WAR. UNSUCCESSFUL ATTACK ON SAVANNAH. ISSUE OF PAPER MONEY STOPPED. NAVAL AFFAIRS. Al LLMOST the whole business of the commissioners to chapter XXXIX. France, so far as related to the receipt and expenditure of. money, had passed through the hands of Deane, of 1778. whose capacity and honesty Franklin entertained a high opinion, and of whom John Adams afterward said "that he had been a dUigent servant of the publio, and had rendered useful services." Arthur Lee, an unquiet, en vious, irritable, and suspicious man, very anxious to ob tain for himself the sole management of the mission, had quarreled, soon after his arrival at Paris, with Franklin and Deane, and had written home letters full of insinua tions against both his colleagues. Isnard, dissatisfied, it would seem, at not having been consulted about the French treaty, had written home similar letters. Car- michael, who had been employed at Paris as an agent or secretary of the commissioners, but who was now in America, and was presently ohosen a delegate to Con gress from Maryland, insinuated that Deane had appro priated the public money to his own use. He and Deane were examined at the bar of Congress ; and Deane final- 268 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER ly made a written report. Out of this affair sprung two violent parties. Robert Morris, and other members of 1778. Congress well acquainted with mercantile matters, took the side of Deane. But there was a powerful party against him, headed by Richard Henry Lee, brother of Arthur Lee, and chairman of the Committee for Foreign Affairs. Deane published in the Philadelphia Gazette an " Address to the People of the United States," in which he commented with much acrimony on the con duct of Richard Henry Lee, and his two brothers, Arthur and William, claiming, also, credit to himself, araong oth er things, for the supplies . obtained through Beaumar- 1779. chais. A reply soon appeared in the Philadelphia Pack- Jan. 2. g^^ written by Paine, the author of " Common Sense," who, besides a gratuity of d£500 from the State of Penn sylvania, had been rewarded for that pamphlet by the post of seoretary to the Committee for Foreign Affairs. Availing himself of documents in his custody, Paine con tended, in reply to Deane, that the arrangement with Beaumarchais had in fact been made by Arthur Lee in London; and that those supplies, though nominally fur nished by a mercantile house, oame really from the French court. Gerard, the French embassador, complained loudly of Paine's publication, as involving a charge of duplicity in the oonduot of the French court toward Great Britain. Paine, in consequence, resigned his office ; and, to ap pease the French minister, a resolution of Congress ex pressly denied that any present of supplies, previous to the late treaty of alliance, had been received from the French court. The precise state of facts in relation to this matter has never been fully ascertained. Some of the stores shipped by Beaumarchais were certainly de rived from the royal arsenals. An examination of the DIPLOMATIC TROUBLES. 269 French treasury books, made subsequently to the French chapter XXXIX Revolution, showed that a million of livres in money had been furnished to Beaumarchais by the French court. 1779. This advanoe, however, though suspected, was a state secret ; nor Could any information on the subjeet be obtained from Vergennes, to whom Franklin had been direoted to apply. The shipraents by Beauraarchais amounted to a much larger sum, exceeding, according to his account, a miUion of doUars. He gave credit for the proceeds of certain cargoes of tobacco remitted by Con gress ; but a very heavy balance still remained, for which he had an agent at PhUadelphia soliciting repayment. Beaumarchais presently obtained from Congress, to ward the liquidation of his account, bills of exchange, payable three years after sight, drawn on Franklin, for near half a miUion of dollars, and by him accepted, and paid when due out of funds lent by the French court. The accounts of Beaumarchais seem to have been very carelessly kept. This was one of the charges against Deane ; but it seemed to bear with almost equal weight against both Lee and Franklin. The discussion respecting the diplomatic agents grew warmer and warmer, till it was finally proposed to recall them all. Isnard and William Lee were recalled. Their missions, indeed, had been perfectly useless. Deane was finally discharged from his long and irksome attendance on Congress, with a paltry allowance for his time, whioh he refused to acoept ; and he presently returned to Europe for the settlement of his accounts, under which he claimed a large balance against the United States. Though he had entered Congress with the reputation of being a rich man, this claim seemed now to constitute his sole pecun iary means. Congress neglected to appoint any body to act for them in the settlement of the accounts of their 270 HISTO|,Y OF THE UNITED STATES. chapter agents abroad ; and Deane, thus deprived of all resources, XXXIX. _. _ - ' was reduced to great pecuniary distress. No proof ap- 1779. pears that he had been dishonest, or had employed the publio money in speculations of his own, as his enemies aUeged ; but he had occupied the unfortunate position of having large sums of public money pass through his hands before any proper system of vouchers and accounta bility had been established, and he fell before the same spirit of malignant accusation whioh presently Assaulted Wadsworth, Greene, Morris, and even Franklin himself, but which they had better means for warding off. Some letters from Deane to his friends in America, intercepted and published a year or two afterward, in which he ex pressed the wish and hope for an accommodation with Great Britain, ruined him forever, and extinguished the least desire to do hira justice: While distracted by these disputes. Congress was re duced to a very low ebb. Many of the ablest members had left it, and were devoting their attention to the af fairs of their respective states. The number in attend ance seldom amounted to thirty, and was often less than twenty-five. Washington passed five weeks at Philadel phia early in the year, in conference with a coramittee of Congress, and his letters at that period evince his se rious alarm at the state of affairs. A grand scheme had been devised by Congress for the invasion and conquest of Canada by the aid of a French fleet which Franklin had been instructed to solicit. But, in the present state of the treasury and army, Washing ton regarded suoh an enterprise as wholly irapractioable. He entertained some suspicions, also, that sUeh an enter prise, even if successful, might inure rather to the ad- - vantage of France than of the United States. The French court, however, disoouraged this project of con- RAPIJ) DEPRECIATION OF THE PAPER MONEY. 271 quest ; and, in consideration of the weakness of the array chapter XXXIX and the. emptiness of the treasury, it was resolved to limit L offensive operations to an attack on Detroit and an ex- 1779. pedition against the Six Natiohs. With a hundred millions pf the Continental paper money in circulation, Congress commenced the new year by authorizing the issue of fifty millions more, for the redemption of which, on or before the first of January, 1797, the faith of the United States was pledged, under the futile schenie already* mentioned of the contribution by the states of six millions annually for eighteen years. As all the channels of circulation were already full to overflowing, these notes could derive little or no addi tional value from their character as a currency. Con sidered as an investment, what would be the worth of the notes of the most solvent promisor, not bearing in terest, and not payable for eighteen years ? The issue, however, did not stop here. Ten millions more were authorized in February, with twenty additional raillions of loan-office certificates — a great superfluity, sinoe the loans previously authorized were far from being taken up. In April, five miUions more of bills of oredit were authorized ; and in May and June, twenty millions more. Under this rapid issue, the depreciation soon reached twen ty for one ; and Congress, in alarm, called upon the states May 2i. to pay in, during the current year, besidesithe fifteen mil lions already called for, fojty-five millions more of the bills. Among the other evils to which the rapid depreciation of the. paper gave rise was a spirit of speculation and fraud on the one side, and of unfounded jealousies and suspicions on the other. Even the most intelligent of those who had not made the subject a particular study were inclined to ascribe to' an extortionate spirit that feonstant and alarming rise of prices, chiefly due to the 272 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chapter rapid depreciation of the paper. , "It gives me very sin- ' cere pleasure to find," wrote Washington to Reed, now 1779. President of Pennsylvania, "that the Assembly is so weU disposed to second your endeavors in bringing those murderers of our cause, the monopolizers, forestallers, and engrossers, to condign punishment. It is much to be la mented that eaoh state, long ere this, has not hunted them down as pesJjg to sooiety, and thp greatest enemies we have to the happiness of Amerioa. I would to God that some one of the more atrocious in each state was hung in gibbets upon a gallows five times as high as the one prepared for Haman. No punishment, in my opinion, is too severe for the man .who can build his greatness upon his country's ruin." When Washington wrote in this strain, what was to be expected of the inconsiderate mul titude ? These complaints, though greatly exaggerated', were not altogether without foundation. In place of the old moneyed and mercantile interest, almost annihilated by the Revolution, a new moneyed interest had sprung into existence since the war, and, as the resources of Congress and the states diminished with the rapid decline of pub lic credit, began to exercise a constantly increasing in fluence over American affairs. -»;Sudden fortunes had fieen acquired by privateering, by rise in the prices of foreign goods, by the sutlers who followed the camp, and by oth ers who knew how to raake money out of the great pub lic expenditures. It was remarked that, while the hon est and patriotic were impoverished, rogues and Tories were fast growing rich. While Congress continued to. put forth issue after is sue of new paper — their only resource for carrying on the war — ^what wonder if an operation so inevitably in jurious to the weak, the ignorant, and the honest, should be imitated by individual speculators ? what wonder fj^ REORGANIZATION OF THE ARMY. 273 capitalists and traders strove to take advantage, for their chapter XXXIX own private benCfit, of the necessities of the army and '_ of the wants of the pubUo ? But, instead of mending the 1779. matter, the laws against forestalling and engrossing only aggravated it. Those laws, evaded by rogues, operated only to the, disadvantage of the honest. Upon the report of a committee appointed to confer with Washington, the constitution of the army under went some modifications. Of the sixteen additional bat talions raised at large, several had been already disbanded for want of recruits. Those whioh remained were con tinued on their old footing, as were also Hazen's Cana- diaii regiment, and the three independent corps command ed by Armand, Pulaski, and Lee. The four regiments . of cavalry and the artUlery, amounting to forty -nine com panies, hitherto independent establishraents, raised at large, were now to be credited toward the quota of the states in which they had been enlisted. These state quotas, by the new arrangement, were reduced tP. eighty battalions: Massachusetts to furnish fifteen, Virginia and Pennsylvania eleven each, Connecticut and Maigr- land eight each, the two Carolinas six each. New York fivoj New Hampshire and New Jersey three each, Rhode Island two, Delaware and Georgia one each. Huger of South Carolina, Sumner and Hogan of North Carolina, Gist of Maryland, and William Irvine of Pennsylvania, were added to the list of brigadiers. Congress allowed each state two hundred dollars boun ty for eaoh recruit, and the states made large additional offers ; but the depreciation of the paper had reduced this high-sounding sum to a very raoderate araount. It be came necessary again to fiU up the ranks by draughts from 'the militia ; and even in this way they were never more than half fuU. III.— S 274 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER The whole force of the American army, exclusive of XXXIX '_ the few troops in the southern department; consisted, late 1779. in the spring, of only sixteen thousand men. Of these, three thousand were in New England, under Gates, whose head-quarters were now at Prpvidenoe ; seven thousand were still in the neighborhood of Middlebrook, Washing ton's head-quarters during the past winter ; of the re maining six thousand, a part were in the Highlands, un- der-M'Dougall, employed there in completing the defenses of West Point, and a part on the east side of the Hud son, under Putnam. As the British had eleven thousand men at New York, and four or five thousand at Newport, it was impossible for Washington to attack either place with the least hope of suooess. A four years' war had satisfied the British ministry how difficult was the task of reducing the northern and middle oolonies. Not having succeeded in reaching the head or heart of the confederacy, they resolved now to strike at its extremities. During the remainder of the war, the Southern states were the principal theater of ac tion ¦; the fate of immense and fertile regions was decided by armies consisting of only a few regiments, and by en gagements whioh, in the bloody annals of modern Euro pean warfare, would scarcely be regarded as' more than skirmishes. But the importance of battles does not de pend upon the forces engaged, or the numbers of kiUed and wounded. History, indeed, as she grows more en lightened and humane, would gladly turn away altogether from suoh wretohed scenes of hate and carnage,-and she dwells upon them only in proportion to their political con sequences, and their connection with civil affairs. In this point of view, the incidents of the southern campaigns become worthy of particular attention. Howe's oommand in the southern departnient had not INVASION OF GEORGIA. 2 75 given satisfaction ; and, at the request of the southern chapter XXXIX delegations in Congress, Lincoln had been sent to super- 1_ Sede him. He had hoped to lead a new expeditioniagainst 1778. Florida ; but, on arriving at , Charleston, was obliged to Dec. give up any such ideas. The South Carolina Legislature had adopted, a few months before, a new Constitution, differing from the first one principally in depriving the governor of his veto power. On that ground, esteeming it too democratic, Rutledge had refused to sign it: but he had 'yielded so far to the wUl of the Legislature as to resign. Rawlins Lowndes, his successor, signed the new Constitution, and had been ohosen the first governor under it. The six South Carolina regiments, composing, with the Georgia regiment, the regular force of the southern de partment, did not muster above eight hundred men in the whole ; nor was it possible to fill up the ranks. These troops were at Savannah, where Howe still commanded. The paper money of South Carolina had depreciated to such a degree that a pair of shoes cost $700, and other articles in proportion. It was found excessively difficult to supply with arms a body of militia sent from North Carolina. To add to Lincoln's troubles, news presently arrived of the capture or dispersion of the Continental troops at Savannah, and of the occupation of Georgia by the British. The detachment frora New York pf three thousand five hundred men, oomraanded by Colonel Carapbell, to operate against Georgia, has been already noticed. Hav ing entered the Savannah just at the close of the year, Dec. 28. they landed on the right bank, some miles below the town. Howe placed himself in front of Savannah with six hundred Continentals and as many militia, his left resting on the river, and his right, and rear covered by a 276 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER morass, aoross whioh, as he supposed, there was but one XXXIX 1 - practicable road. Informed by a nCgro of a private path, 1778. CampbeU. threw a detachment behmd Howe; and the Airiericans being attacked at onoe in front and rear, were put to oomplete rout. The British loss did not amount to thirty. ' Of the Americans, four hundred and fifty were taken prisoners, and Savannah, w^th the artillery, stores, and shipping, fell into the hands of the victors. Orders had been sent to General Prevost, who com manded in East Florida, to unite his forces to those, un der Campbell, and to assume the command. He had marched, accordingly, with seven hundred men ; but, in traversing the uninhabited ooast whioh then separated Florida and Georgia, his troops suffered severely from lack of provisions, having sometiraes nothing but oysters 1779. to eat. When at length he appeared before Sunbury, Jan. 9. .(.jjg^^ pQg|.^ garrisoned by two hundred Continentals, sur rendered at onoe. Prevost pressed forward to Savannah, and, having as sumed the command, dispatched Campbell against Au gusta, which also surrendered, the garrison escaping aoross the river. A proolaraation was issued, offering pardon to all who would return to their allegiance. The raore con spicuous of the patriots fied for safety to South Carolina ; all those suspected of disaffection were di'sarraed, and the whole state quietly ^ubraitted to the invaders. As soon as news of these misfortunes arrived at Charles ton, the South Carolina militia were called out ; but very few obeyed the summons. Lincoln's chief foroe consist ed in the militia lately arrived from North Carolina. These, with the fragments of Howe's army, amounting in the whole to some fourteen hundred raen, he stationed to guard the passages pf the Savannah. The force un der Prevost was much larger ; but he hesitated to cross LOYALIST RISING IN NORTH CAROLINA. 277 a river, the marshy borders of which were often overflow- chapter XXXIX ed to the width of three or four miles, and only threaded at one or two points by narrow causeways. Some at- 1779. tempts were made, indeed, to advanoe by the sea-coast. A British detachment took possession of Port Royal, but was attacked and repelled by Moultrie. The population of the three Southerfi colonies, very diversified, was without any unity of sentiraent or inter est. The wealthy planters in the low country along the sea-coast were,, for the raost part, zealous Whigs; but the superabundance of slaves, far exceeding the whites in number, left that region without soldiers. In the inte rior, scattered settlements of Dutch, Germans,, Quakers, Irish Presbyterians, and Scotch Highlanders occupied separate districts, with very little of interraixture, or even of intercourse. The Quakers, Dutch, and Gerraans troub led theraselves little with politics, but they favored peace and quiet, and were disposed to subrait to the invaders. The Scotch-Irish were generally ardent Whigs, and so were the backwoodsraen, who had reoently penetrated araong the mountains of the West, made so, in part at least, by Indian hostilities, which they attributed to Brit ish influenoe. The Scotch Highlanders were mostly To ries, and so were the Regulators in the interior of North Carolina. The British and Scotch traders, who exer cised no little influence over the interior villages, were generally Tory in their politics. Encouraged by, the success of the British in Georgia, and prompted by emissaries sent among them, some seven hundred North Carolina Loyalists erabodied themselves, and marched across the country toward Augusta. They were attacked on their march by a body of militia from the upper counties of South Carolina, led by Colonel Pickens. The leader of the party was slain, and a large 278 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chapter number were taken prisoners; but some three hundred XXXIX L kept together, and reached Augusta. Seventy of the.pris- 1779. oners were put on trial for treason, found guilty, and sen tenced to death ; and five, the most infiuential and act ive, were hanged. Among the British troops in Georgia were four bat talions of Carolina refugees, one of them corhmanded by Colonel Brown, originally a trader, whom the ardent Whigs, at the commencement of the contest, had tarred and feathered, and otherwise tortured. Brown's revenge was implacable. In command at' Augusta, he eagerly followed the example lately set by hanging Whig pris oners. Thus began a system of cruelties on bofh sides which gave to the contest in the three Southern states a character of bitter, ferocity quite beyond any thing ex hibited at the North. Feb. Lincoln's force being considerably increased by acces sions of militia, he detached General Ashe with fpurteen hundred raen to occupy a post opposite Augusta. On the approach of this foroe the British evacuated that town, and retired down the river ; Ashe crossed in pur suit, and followed as far as Brier Creek, about half way to Savannah, on whioh stream he took iip a position quite unassailable in front. , By a maneuver simUar to March, that so successful before Savannah, the British threw a detachment into his rear ; Ashe's miUtia, at the first at tack, threw down their arms, and fied; some four hund red were killed or made prisoners ; and of the whole de tachment, not more than four hundred and fifty rejoined Linooln. Seven pieces of cannon and aU the baggage feU into the hands of the British, whose loss in the ac tion was only five kiUed and eleven wounded. This victory enabled the British to repccupy Augusta, , and to reopen. a communication with the Cherokees and DANGER OF CHARLESTON. 279 Carolina Loyalists. Secured now in the quiet possession chapter of Georgia, Prevost issued a proclamation reinstating L Sir James Wright as governor, and re-establishing the 1779. administration and laws as they had been prior to 1775. Alarmed at the threatening position of the British, the State" of South CaroUna made every effort to re-en force Lincoln's army. John Rutledge was induced to accept again the office of chief magistrate, and was in vested with extraordinary powers. The Assembly also passed a new and more stringent militia law, under which some additional forces were organized. Thus re-enforced, Lincoln, in hopes to recover the up per part of Georgia, so as to give the Legislature of that state a chance to assemble, marched toward Augusta, April. leaving Moultrie, with a thousand militia, to guard the passes of the Lower Savannah. Prevost took advantage of Lincoln's departure to cross the Savannah with three thousand men. Moultrie's militia offered but little re sistance, and retreated before him. Information was sent to Lincoln of this movement ; but he was already well on his way to Augusta. Content with detaching a bat talion to re-enforce Moultrie, he crossed the Savannah, and marched dovvn on the other side, with thp double purpose of drawing Prevost back, and of giving encour agement and support to the American party among the inhabitants. At first, Prevost had no intention of raaroh- ing upon Charleston ; but the terror he inspired, and the invitations and assurances of those who flocked to his standard, determined him to do so. Information of this -^ movement being sent to'Lincolii by express, the Amer ican army reorossed the river, and hastened to the relief of Charleston ;, but, as Prevost had the advantage of several days' maroh, the position of that oity, wholly without defenses on the land side, becarne very critical. 28 0 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER Rutledge was at Orangeburg, trying to assemble the country miUtia. Had Prevost , marched forward with- 1779. out stopping, he nught have entered the town almost without resistance. WhUe he delayed to collect infor mation ^and arrahge his plans, the townspeople were dili gently employed in throwing up fortifications, in which every body, bond and free, was alike called upon to as sist. Moultrie arrived with his militia, as did also the battalion detached by Lincoln; Rutledge also marched into the town with some additional militia ; and, just as the British array approached, Pulaski, detaohed with his legion for servioe in the southern departraeUt, also made his appearance. May 11. When summoned to surrender j Rutledge offered to stipulate the neutrality of South Carolina during the war, leaving it to be decided at the peace to whom it should belong. This did not meet the views of the British, who wanted South Carolina as a standing ground whence to operate against the more northern colonies. An assault was expected. But the works were how strong ; Lincoln Was approaching; and the British army, after foraging for some days among the plantations in the vicinity of Charleston, retired into the island -of St. John's, carrying off with them as plunder sorae three or four thousand slaves. '¦ Frora the main land to the island of St. John's, aoross Stono River, a sort of bridge was made of sloops, schoon ers, and other small vessels, to cover which a redoubt wa? constructed on the main land. Lincoln having arrived encamped on Charleston Neck. Presently he appearee: June 20. before this redoubt, and ordered an attack, in whioh, after a severe struggle, the assailants were repulsed, with, the loss of two hundred men. But Prevost had already de termined to retire, and he withdrew first to Beaufort on VIRGINIA PLUNDERED. 281 Port Royal Inlet, where he left a garrison, and presently, chapter • ' XXXIX with the main body of his forces, into Georgia. The . weather had become very hot ; the troops on both sides 1779. began to suffer from fever. The militia disbanded, and active operations were suspended for the present. While Prevost was plundering in South Carolina, Gen eral Matthews, detaohed from New York with two thou sand five hundred men, was carrying on a similar opera tion in Virginia. The squadron which escorted, these troops having entered the Chesapeake, passed up Eliza- May 8. beth River, and took the fort and town at Portsmouth with very little opposition. Norfolk, somewhat revived from its ruins, fell also into the hands of the British. These two towns, on opposite sides of the river, were chief places of deposit for the. produce of .Virginia, and chief seats of her foreign trade, which, in spite of the war, was very considerable. A little higher up, at Gosport, the State of Virginia had established a navy -yard. Not less than a -hundred and thirty merchant vessels were burned or taken by the British in the James and Elizabeth Riv ers. An unfinished Continental frigate at Portsmouth, and eight smaller ships of war on the stocks at Gosport,- were also burned. The suddenness of the attack, the f haractpr of the country, every where intersected by nav igable rivers, and the large number of slaves araong the population, prevented, almost the show of resistance. Mat thews retired in a few days with a booty, among other things, of three thousand hogsheads of tobacco. The damages inflicted by this expedition were estimated at not less than two millions of dollars. No sooner had this expedition returned than Clinton ascended the Hudson in person with a strong squadron and six thousand men. He landed his troops on both sides of the river, a few miles below the posts at Ver- 282 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER planck's Point and Stony Point, by whioh the opposite L landings of King's Ferry were defended. The works at 1779. Stony Point, on the west side of the river, were unfinish ed, and, on the approach of the enemy, were abandoned. Cannon placed in this fort commanded the works at Ver- planok's Point, and that post, invested from the land side, was obliged to surrender. It was by King's Ferry that the great road from the Eastern to the Middle States crossed the Hudson ; and, in consequence of the loss of it, a tedious oirouit through the Highlands became neces sary. The garrisons left in the conquered posts were, a great annoyance to the surrounding country, and a source of danger to the important but as yet unfinished works in the Highlands. The more effectuafiy to cover those works, Washington .changed the position of his army ; a large detachment was eraployed in their completion, and, in the course of the summer, they were mostly finished. July 4. Shortly after CUnton's return, Tryon made an expedi- tion up the Sound with two thousand six hundred men, in the course of whioh he plundered New Haven, and burned Fairfield and Norwalk. He then proceeded to Sag Harbor, at the east end of Long Island, and was pre- paring for a descent on New London, but was suddenly recalled in consequence of an alarm occasioned in New York by the surprise \of Stony Points an enterprise planned by Washington, and very vigorously executed by Wayne. July 16. Two columns, from different points, entered the works about one in the morning ; the surprise was coraplete ; some fifty of the garrison were killed, and the remainder, to the number of four hundred and fifty, were made pris oners. Wayne's loss in killed and wounded was about one hundred. Operations were commenced against Ver- planok's Point ; but the British army marched out of New THE BRITISH OCCUPY THE PENOBSCOT. 283 York to defend.it and Washington, Who did not choose chapter XXXIX to risk a battle, found it necessary to abandon Stony , Point, whioh the British reoocupied. 1779. A British force of five or six hundred men from Nova Scotia, penetrating into the eastern and unsettled parts of Maine, had •established themselves in a post on the Penobscot. The State of Massaohusetts fitted out an expedition to dislodge these intruders. The naval part of it, consisting of nineteen armed ships, three of them Continental vessels, was placed under the command of Saltonstall, a Connecticut sea-captain in the Continental servioe. This fieet conveyed to the Penobscot fifteen hundred militia, commanded by General Lovell, a brave man and a favorite with the troops, but without military experience. With the loss of one hundred men he effect- July 26. ed a landing near the enemy's post ; but, finding the in trenohments too strong to be carried by assault, he sent back to Gates, at Boston, for a detachraent of Continent als. Tfie news of this expedition having been earried to New York, Sir George Collier, who had recently succeed ed to the naval coramand on the American station, sailed for the Penobscot with five heavy ships, of war. The Massaohusetts army, as he approached, abandoned their Aug. 13. works and re-embarked, intending to ascend the river out of reach of the British ships. As the enemy gained upon them, five frigates and ten smaller vessels were run on shore and blown up. The others fell into the hands of the British. The soldiers and seamen escaped to the shore ; but, all that region was then desert and uninhabited. Dividing into small parties and suffer ing muoh for want of provisions, the soldiers wandered through the woods near a hundred miles before they could reach an inhabited country. Saltonstall was tried by court martial and cashiered. Be$ides the mortification 284 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chapter of failure and disgrace, this expedition involved a heavy XXXIX. ' _ expense, which remained for several years a bone oi oon- 1779. tention before Congress would cohsent to assume it as a federal charge. Aug. 18. The surprise of Paulus Hook (now Jersey City), a post held by the British opposite New York, and the cap ture of the garrison, reflected not a little oredit on Lee's corps, by which that feat was accomplished. But be tween the main armies little more than skirmishes oc curred. Nof Washington only, but Clinton also, com plained of a deficiency of forces. Listening with eager ness to the flattering and plausible accounts transmitted by the American refugees of the exhaustion of the Amer ican states. Lord George Geririaine was negligent in for warding the necessary supplies and re-ehforcements, and expected from Clinton, as he had done from Howe, a great deal more than he was able to perform. Clarke, still commanding in the newly-conquered Il linois, had given fresh proofs of vigor and enterprise, and a further extension to the authority of Virginia. Ham ilton, the British commandant at Detroit, had descended Jan. to Vincennes, on the Wabash, with a party of eighty sol diers, to watch Clarke, and to organize an expedition against hira, in which he expected to be largely aided by the Indians. Informed by a French trader of Hamilton's presence at Vincennes, Clarke mustered one hundred and seventy raen, and, after a sixteen days' march, five of whioh were spent in wading the drowned lands on the Feb. 23. Wabash, he suddenly appeared before that town. It sur rendered at once, and the fort capitulated after a short struggle. Hamilton Was sent, prisoner to Virginia, and, on the charge of having instigated the Indians to oruel hostilities, was kept in close jail, and treated with much severity. By giving greater security against the Indians SETTLEMENTS IN THE WEST. 285 north of the Ohio, this conquest facilitated the settlement chapteu of Kentucky. The number of " stations" began to mul- tiply. The erection of a block-house marked the com- 1779. mencement of the present city of Lexington. By the ^P'^'' Virginia land system, as established by law, all who May. had settled west of the mountains before June, 1778, were entitled to olaim four hundred acres without any payment, if they chose to pay taxes on so muoh, and they had a right of pre-eraptioi* to an adjoining thousand acres. Warrants were to issue on the payment of d£40 per hundred acres — a price nominally high, but reduced by the depreciation of the currency to a trifle. To ac tual settlersj " too poor to procure lands in the ordinary method," a credit of two years and a half was presently allowedjthe price for a four hundred acre lot being re duced to twenty specie dollars. The whole tract between the Green River and th,e Tennessee was expressly re served for military bounties. To guard against Indian hostilities, the grant or settleraent of any lands north west of the Ohio was expressly forbidden. Subsequent ly, however, a grant of one hundred and fifty thousand acres on the north bank of the Ohio, immediately oppo site the falls of that river, was made to Clarke and his associates in the conquest of Illinois. To Clarke him self, however, that enterprise proved but a ruinous busi ness. To subsist his troops at Vincennes, he was obliged to make, forced loans on the traders, for which he drew drafts on the treasury of Virginia. These drafts being protested, Clarke was called upon personally to pay them, and subsequently was involved, in consequence, in great pecuniary embarrassments. While Clarke was thus extending the domain of Vir ginia, the first settlements took place in Western Ten nessee, under the guidance of that same James Robin- 286 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chapter son, eleven Vears before the patriarch and founder of East XXXIX. 'V ^ . ., Tennessee. With a company of ten persons, he fol- 1779. lowed the Oby to its junction with the Cumberland; some of his companions embarked there, while the rest pursued the river banks by land to the spot how the site May. of the city of Nashville, where they were soon joined by some thirty or forty others. Having planted a crop of corn, and leaving three persons to watch it, they re turned for their families. Some traveled t^rpugh the Aug. woods, driving their cattle before them ; others embarked, with the women and children, on 'the head waters of the Tennessee, intending to descend that river to its mouth, and then to proceed up the Cumberland;^' But, delayed by the ice of an uncommonly severe winter, they did not reach their destination till the following spring. Upon the expiration of Henry's third term of office as governor of Virginia, not being re-eligible under the Con- June, stitution, Jefferson was chosen to succeed him. To pre vent disputes about jurisdiction, commissioners were mu tually appointed to run the boundary line between Vir ginia and North Carolina. When they reached the sum mit of the Cumberland Mountain, they differed ; the North Carolina commissioner abandoned the survey ; but Walker, the commissioner for Virginia, continued it as far as the Tennessee River, down which he descended, and ascertained, by observation, the point on the Missis sippi where the line ought to strike. Just above that 1780. point Fort Jefferson was presently erected, in the coun- April. ^;j.y of the Choct.aws. The settlements about Nashville, erected into the county of Davison, notwithstanding some annoyances from the Indians, had a rapid growth. Walk er's boundary line, owing to misallowanoe for deviation of the compass, inclined somewhat to the north — a cir oumstance which recommended it as the true boundary EXPEDITION AGAINST THE SIX NATIONS. 287 to North Carolina and Tennessee. As such it still con- chapter tinues to be recognized, so far as concerns Tennessee. '_ The Senecas, meanwhile, audi the refugees among 1779. them, continued their depredations on the frontiers of New York and Pennsylvania. The Onondagas, though professing neutrality, were believed to share in these hos tiUties, and a detachment from Fort Stanwix, moving suddenly upon them, destroyed their villages. The In- April. dians retorted by assailing the settleraents of Schoharie, in New York, and the western borders of Ulster county. The frontiers of Pennsylvania, partioularly the vicinity of Pittsburg, were exposed to sirailar assaults. Owing to the thinness, of the Continental array, and to the low state of the finances, the proposed enterprise against Detroit had been abandoned. That against the Six Nations, of which the raain object was the capture of Fort Niagara, was a good deal delayed for want of means to put the troops in motion. The officers of one of the New Jersey regiments ordered on this expedition sent a memorial to the Legislature of that state, demand- May. ing, in very peremptory style, a provision, within three days, for the pressing wants of the officers and men. This meraorial, which looked very much: like a threat, placed the Legislature in an awkward predicament. Their honor was partially saved by the officers agreeing to withdraw their memorial, it being understood that the Legislature should at once take intO' consideration the de mands contained in it. The sum of £200 was accord ingly voted to each ofiicer, and $40 to each man, and the money forwarded at onoe. The oommand of the enterprise against the Indians, declined by Gates, was given to SuIUvEin. Three brig ades from the main army, under Poor, Hand, and Max well, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey 288 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER, troops, were assembled at Wyoming. A New' York brig- ade. under James CUnton, hitherto employed in guarding 1779. the frontier of that state, crossed firom- the Mohawk to Lake Otsego, dammed the lake, and so raised its level, an^then, by breaking away the dam, produced an artifi cial flood, by the aid of whioh the boats were rapidly carried down the northeast branch of the Susquehanna to form a junction with Sullivan. While this junction was still delayed. Brant surprised, plundered, and burned the village of Minisink, near the northwest oorner of New Jersey. A detachment of fhe Orange' County militia, to the number of a hundred' ahd fifty men, marched in pursuit, but they fell into an am- July 22. bush from whioh only thirty escaped. SuUivan's army, amounting to five thousand men^ Aug. 22. passed up the Chemung branch of the Susquehanna. At Newtown, now Elmira, they encountered a strong body of the eneray, partly Indians and partly Tories, under Brant, the Sutlers, and Johnson, intrenched on a rising ground, and disposed in ambuscade. Sullivan de- Aug. 22. tached Poor to gain their rear, while he attacked them in front with artUlery. Having put them to rout, he crossed to the hitherto unexplored valley of the Genesee. That want of food might compel the Indians and their Tory allies to emigrate, every thing was ravaged. The anoient Indian orchards were cut down ; many bushels of corn were destroyed ; and eighteen vUlages, composed largely, of frame houses, were burned. This expedition through an unknown country, covered, for the most part, with thick forests, was extremely laborious ; provisions failed — such, at least, was the reason that Sullivan gave — and the attack upon Niagara, the great object of the enterprise, was abandoned. A simultaneous expedition from Pittsburg aScended the SPAIN A PARTY TO THE WAR. 289 Allegany, and visited with similar devastation all the chapter Indian villages along that river. Pending 'these opera- ' tions, and to prevent any aid from Canada, divers arti- 1779. fices were employed by Washington to create the belief of an intended invasion .of that province. The expedition of Sullivan did not accomplish its main object. The Indians and Tories of western New York, though dispersed for the moraent, soon renewed their dep redations — an annoyance which continued as long as t^e war lasted, and to which the fury of revenge added new ferocity. SuUivan had ooraplained, during the expedition, of the insufiioienoy of the means at his disposal ; his temper was hot and quick ; and the freedom with which he expressed his opinions strengthened the party against him in Con gress. On the score of ill health, he offered to resign his comraission ; and all the efforts of his friends to procure him a. temporary relief from active service did not avail to prevent its acceptance. He presently took his seat in Congress as a delegate firom New Hampshire. The Spanish court had come forward, early in the year, as a mediator between France and Great Britain ; and, pending this offer, the French erabassador had been urgent with Congress to fix what terms of peace they wonld accept, and to appoint ministers authorized to ne gotiate. The Spanish offer of mediation being first evad ed and then rejected by Great Britain, the Spanish court had published a manifesto, equivalent, in fact, to a dec- June. laration of war. Though rapidly sinking in the scale of European importanoe, Spain still possessed a. powerful navy, equipped from the prooeeds of her American mines. With her vast colonial empire, not liking the example of transatlantic rebellion, she had looked but coldly on the American cause. Yet she was anxious to recover Flori- III.— T 290 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chapter da ; and she hoped to acquire, as a part of that province, a large tract east of the Mississippi. She was also espe- 1779. cially anxious to regain the fortress of Gibraltar, the pos session . of which by the British gave a severe shock to the national pride. But, though she joined France in the war against Great Britain, Spain did not yet acknowl edge the independence of the United States. The state of the French finances was such as to make the French court very anxious for a speedy termination of the war ; and hence the suggestions of M. Gerard to Congress, repeated by his successor, the Chevalier Lu- zernp, that the Americans ought, perhaps, to be satisfied, as the Swiss and Dutch had bepn, with an indirect ac knowledgment of their independence ; and to be moder ate, also, in their other demands. Any pretensions to Canada or Nova Scotia were emphatically discouraged. It was suggested that the right to fish on the banks of Newfoundland should not be too pertinaciously claimed ; and, especially, that such concessions should be made to Spain, on the subject of the Mississippi' and the country on its banks, as would induce her to come heartily into the alliance. In all these suggestions something very unpalatable was found ; what the delegates from one section of the States were inclined to yield, tljose firom another section as pertinaciously resisted. After a fuU discussion of the whole subject, at different times, from February to Au gust, with muoh warmth, and a great display of sec tional feeling, it was finally resolved to insist upon the Mississippi as low down as the thirty-first degree of north latitude for a western boundary. A southern boundary was demanded along that same thirty-f\rst de gree east to the App^lachicola, and down that river to meet a dfie west line drawn from the head of the St. INSTRUCTIONS FOR NEGOTIATING A PEACE. £91 Mary's, and through the St. Mary's to the Atlantic Ocean chapter — the northern boundary of Florida, as fixed by the proc- lamation of 1763. The original limits of the province 1779. of QuCbec, as established by that sarae proclamation, were adopted for the northern boundary — a Une drawn from the outlet of Lake Nepissing to the St. Lawrence at the forty-fifth degree of north latitude ; thence along that paraUel across the foot of Lake Champlain to the head of the Connecticut ; thence by the height of land separating the waters flowing into the St. Lawrence from those flowing into the sea, to meet a due north line drawn frora the head of the St. Croix ; which line and the St. Croix itself, from its source to its mouth, were to form the northeastern boundary. But, rather than to continue the war, the peninsula included between Lakes Erie, On tario, and Huron was to be yielded up. The explicit acknowledgment of the independence of the United States was made an indispensable condition. Massachusetts was very urgent that the right to fish on the banks of New foundland should be placed on the same footing. Vir ginia was equally zealous for the free navigation of the Mississippi. But, in the instructions finally agreed to, neitheif was insisted on as, absolutely indispensable. In separate instructions, however, ,for the negotiation of a treaty of commerce with Great Britain, the right to fish on the banks of Newfoundland was made indispensable. On the question of appointing a minister to negotiate for peace and oomraeroe under these instructions, the sarae sectional feeling displayed itself The ordinary division of parties in Congress was between New England and Penn sylvania on the one side, and New York and the South on the other. Adams, who had returned from France in the same ship with Luzerne, the new French rainis- ter, was the Eastern, candidate ; Jay was proposed and 292 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER supported by the South. This difference was compro- XXXIX M. I. J ' , raised by appointing Adams commissioner to negotiate 1779. with Great Britain, and, at the same time, sending Jay to Sept. 27. gpg^ijj ^ negotiate for the free navigation of the Missis sippi, and a loan of five miUions of doUars — Arthur Lee's commission to the Spanish court being thus superseded, in spite of aU the efforts, of his friends to prevent it. Lee presently came to Amerioa, and was appointed a delegate to Congress from Virginia. Carmichael and Dana, botb members of Congress, one from Maryland and the other from Massaohusetts, were appointed secretaries of lega tion — Dana to Adams, and Carmichael to Jay. Lau rens was appointed, a month or two after, commissioner to Holland, to negotiate a loan ; but several months elapsed before his departure. The presidency of Congress, made vacant by Jay's ap- Sept. 28. pointment to the Spanish mission, was filled by Samuel Huntington, of Connecticut. Galvez, the Spanish governor at New Orleans, was prompt to take steps for estabUshing a claim to the terri tory east of the Mississippi. As soon as he heard of the declaration of war, he invaded West Florida with a foroe of fourteen hundred men, Spanish regulars, American volunteers, and people of color. Fort Bute, at Pass Man- Sept, shao, was taken without difficulty. The principal Brit ish force, four hundred regulars and one hundred militia, was stationed at Baton Rouge ; but that post speedUy surrendered, as did also Fort Panmure, reoently built near Natchez. By another expedition a few months after. Mobile was captured, leaving Pensacola the only post of West Florida in the possession of the British. Military and naval operations of considerable import anoe had meanwhfle occurred in the West Indies. Pre-. vious to D'Estaing's arrival, the Island of Dominica had ATTACK ON SAVANNAH. 293 already been taken from the English by a French expe- chaptei; XXXIX. dition fiom Martinique. The English squadron, whioh . sailed from New York the sarae day that D'Estaing left 1779. Boston, arrived first at its destination, and, joining some other ships already there, had proceeded against St. Lu cie. The attempt of D'Estaihg to relieve that island was not successful ; , but its climate proved very fatal to the English garrison. Upon the arrival of Byron's fieet from Newport, D'Estaing took refuge at Martinique. After exhausting every attempt to provoke hira to an ao tion, Byron sailed to oonvoy the homeward-bound West Indiamen on the first part of their passage. - During his absence, a detachment from Martinique captured the En glish island of St. Vincent's. D'Estaing, largely re-en forced from France, saUed also with his whole fleet, and made a conquest of the neighboring island of Grenada ; but, before this conquest was quite oompleted, Byron re turned, and an indecisive engagement took place. 'The English fleet, greatly damaged, put into St. Christopher's for repairs. D'Estaing then sailed to escort the home- Aug. ward-bound fleet of French West Indiamen ; and, having set them on their way, he stood for the coast of Georgia with twenty-two ships of the line. A frigate was dispatched to Charleston with news of his arrival, and a plan was presently concerted with Lin coln for an attack on Savannah. Re-enforced by several North Carolina regiments, detaohed by Washington for service in the southern department, and by the militia, whioh turned out, on this occasion, in considerable num bers, Lincoln marched with aU speed for Savannah, which D'Estaing had already sumraoned to surrender, having Sept. lO. landed a body of French troops before it. ' Prevost, at the first alarm, had recalled the greater part of the gar rison of Beaufort. His troops had worked incessantly in 294 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chapter throwing up new intrenohments,, and already they had a XXXIX. ° ^ 1 ¦ , hundred guns mounted. The besiegers commenced with 1779. regular approaches; but D'Estaing soon grew impatient of delay. His fieet, which lay off shore, raight be driven to sea in one of those violent storms comraon on that coaSt at that season of the year ; or it might be attacked by the British fieet, while the troops and part of the guns were employed in the siege ; or during his absence from the West Indies, already too long, some dangerous enter prise raight be attempted there. The siege must be aban doned, so it seemed to the impatient and anxious D'Es taing, or else the plaoe must be carried by assaulfr.. An Oct. 9. assault was resolved upon, and madfr by two columns, one French, the other American. Some of the outworks were carried ; but Pulaski, at the head of his legion, hav ing been mortally wounded, the American column retired. The French also were .repulsed with great slaughter. D'Estaing, a military as well as a naval ofiicer, received two slight wounds while superintending the attack. The loss of the British was only fifty-five; that of the allies, exceeding a thousand, fell ohiefiy on the French, who had gallantly assumed the post of danger. As soon as D'Estaing oould re-embark his troops, he sailed for the West Indies. Lincoln returned to Charleston, and the miUtia called out for the occasion were disbanded. This second failure in the attempt at co-operation with the French occasioned no less dissaltisfaction than the first. Resolved to make the South the principal theater of military operations, Clinton had been l)usy during the summer in strengthening the fortifications of New York. When he heard of the arrival of D'Estaiflg's fleCt off the coast, fearing that New York might be attacked, he strengthened himself still further by ordering the evaou^ ation of Newport, whioh the British had now held for MOVEMENTS TOWARD THE SOUTH. 295 about three years. The posts on the Hudson,, at Ver- chapter XXXIX planck's Point and Stony Point, were also evacuated, and an expedition just about to sail for the West Indies was 1779. detained for the defense of the city. ^'^^- ^^¦ Washington, too, expected the co-operation of D'Es taing in an attaek on New York; and, to strengthen hira- self for it, had called out railitia from New York, Connec ticut, and Massachusetts. These militia were now dis banded, and Washington went into winter quarters near Morristown. West Point, and the other posts on the Hud son, were guarded by strong detachments. The cavalry were sent into Connecticut. As Lincoln complained that the Southern militia could not be depended on, Washington's army was still further reduced by detaching the remaining North Carolina regi ments, and the whole of the Virginia line, for service in the South. When assured of D'Estaing's departure, as soon as he oould make the necessary preparations, Clinton embarked Dec. 26. for Savannah with seven thousand troops. The Loyal ist corps in the British service numbered at this time about- five thousand men. Of these, one thousand were already at Savannah ; two thousand more sailed with Clinton ; the remainder were left at New York with Kniphausen, who held that city with a powerful garrison. The Treasury Board, lately reorganized much after July 30. the model of the new Board of War, oon.sisted now of three- members of Congress, to be ohanged every six months, andsof two permanent comraissioners, not mem bers of Congress, under whom were an auditor general, SLK auditors, a 'treasurer, and three chambers of accounts. In consequence of this new arrangement, Gerry retired from the Treasury Board, of whioh he had been the most active member, and generally the president. To assist 296 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chapter in settling the forms of business in this and the other ex- XXXIX ecutive departments — a source of no little embarrassment 1779. to Congress — ^their envoys abroad had been instructed to obtain and transmit information as to the methods adopt ed in these matters in France, Britain, and other coun tries of Europe. But no organization of the treasury department could prevent the rapidly increasing depreciation of the bills of oredit. Though passing at the rate of twenty for one, the bills were still a lawful tender for the payment of debts ; and dishonest debtors availed themselves of the opportunity to discharge their liabilities at a very cheap rate. Washington himself was a sufferer by this spe cies of legalized robbery. Laws limiting prices were still in force in several of the states. The rapid depreciation threw all contracts into confusion. The honest and con scientious, the ignorant and the fielpless, were the suffer ers, while the shrewd, the artful, and the unscrupulous were enabled to make great gains. To stop the public clamor whioh this state of things occasioned. Congress re- Sept. 1. solved that the issue should not exceed two hundred mUl ions in the whole. According to an exposition drawn up Sept. 13. by Jay, and put forth on this occasion, the bills already out and circulating amounted to a huhdred and sixty mill ions. The loans prior to the 1st of August, 1778, the - interest of whioh was payable in bills on France, were seven raillions and a half The loans contracted since, the rate of interest upon whioh was to increase in pro portion to the increase of the issue, were upward of twen ty-six milUons. The debt abroad was estimated at four millions. Out of sixty raillions of paper dollars already oalled for from the states, only three millions Ijad been paid into the public treasury. About a quarter part of the existing depreciation was ascribed to excess of issue ; RIOT IN PHILADELPHIA. £97 the rest was accounted for by "want of confidence." chapter XXXIX This confidence Congress vainly attempted to restore by '_ lauding the paper as the only kind of money " whioh oan 1779. not make to itself wings and fly away ! It remains with us, it will not forsake us, it is always ready at hand for the purposes of commerce, and every industrious man oan find it !" Suoh were the miserable sophistries to whioh Congress was reduced, and to which even suoh men as Jay consented to give currency. In spite of these laudations, the paper continued to depreciate, and prices to rise. This rise, whioh many chose to ascribe to monopoly and extortion, occasioned a serious riot under the very eyes of Congress. Party spirit in Pennsylvania was still very violent. The con stitutional party, in whose hands the adraimstration was, were in favor of regulating trade by law, and of strong measures against engrossers. The leaders of the oppo site party took the other side. A comraittee of the citi zens of Philadelphia, after the example of Boston and oth er towns, had undertaken to regulate the prices of rum, salt, sugar, coffee, flour, and other leading articles, to which regulation Robert Morris, and some other leading merchants, refused to conform. Wilson, whose late de fense of the accused Quakers was not forgotten, and who took an active part on this occasion, became peculiarly obnoxious. He was denounced as a defender of Tories, and it was proposed to banish him and others to New York. The threatened persons, with their friends, among whom were Clymer and Mifflin, assembled, armed, at Wil- Oct. 4. son's house. The moh approached, with drums beating, and dragging two pieces of cannon, and they opened a fire of musketry on the house, whioh the defenders returned. One of the garrison was killed, and two wounded, and the mob was just about to foroe the doors, when President 298 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. (.¦HAPTER R(eed made his appearance, followed presently by a few XXXIX. 1 r» 1 horsemen of the city cavalry, who had mustered for the 1779. preservation of the peace. A man and a boy of the mob were killed, and many others severely Wounded. The citizens turned out and patrolled the streets, but it was several days before order was restored. Prosecutions were coramenoed on both sides ; 'but, disregarding, the insinu ation that it favored the mob, the Assembly terminated all proceedings by an aot of oblivion. To attempt any longer to deny or to disguise the de preciation was useless ; a convention of the five Eastern Oct. 20. states, held at Hartford, proposed a new regulation of prices on the basis of twenty for one ; and they advised a convention at Philadelphia, at the commencement of the year, for the general adoption of this soheme. Congress Nov. 19. approved this proposal, but urged the states to adopt the regulation at once, without waiting for a convention. The expenditures of the quarter-raaster's and commis sary's departments, swelled by the continued depreciation to an enormous nominal amount, began to raise a great clamor. The officers employed in those departments were paid by a commission on their expenditures, and Greene and Wadsworth, and their subordinates, were loudly accused of extravagance and mismanagement, and Of growing rich at the publio expense. Some of the sub ordinate officers were incapable ; others were dishonest ; but the heads of the departments could not justly be held responsible for the conduct of officers not appointed by themselves. Congress expressed full confidence in the integrity and abilities of Greene and Wadsworth ; but Wadsworth insisted on resigning, and Ephraim Blane was chosen in his place. It was only with great reluct ance that Greene consented to serve a little whUe longer. He complained, in a letter'to Washington, of the irksome- FINANCIAL DIFFICULTIES. 299 ness of an ungracious office, whioh opened no avenue to chapter XXXIX. distinction, and which he had accepted only to relieve the commander-in-chief from being himself obliged to perform 1779. its duties. " Who ever heard," he asked, " of a quarter master general in history ?" Yet to feed and quarter an army is often far more difficult than to conduct its mili tary movements, and in the American servioe, especial ly, required no small amount of executive talent. Before the end of the year the remainder of the two hundred miUions of Continental bills was issued, and " the press was stopped-" The depreciation now stood at thirty for one. Washington, who saw no other means for feed ing his array, doubted the expediency of the stoppage ; and, as we shall see in the next ohapter, an atterapt was soon raade to revive it in a new form. The sums oalled for frora the states oame in very slowly. As a means of meeting their immediate neces sities. Congress adopted the delicate expedient of selling bills of exchange, at long dates, on Jay and Laurens, to be met by the produce of loans to be obtained in Spain and Holland. The frigate in whioh Jay sailed, dismast ed in a storm, had put into Martinique for repairs, and Jay was still detained at that island. Laurens had not embarked at all. These bills were sold for paper at the rate of twenty -five for one, the purchaser being required to lend an additional amount equal to the purchase money. The total expenditures of the year reached the amount of one hundred and sixty millions of dollars. One hundred millions of this were new issues, the remainder the pro duce of loans, bills sold, and taxes ; but the whole specie value did not exceed ten miUions — a very deoided falling off from the expenditures of the preceding years, indica tive of the diminishing resources of Congress. The only provision for the year ensuing, besides the yOO HISTORY OP THE UNITED STATES. fiHAPTER unpaid balance of the sixty -five miUions of paper already XXXIX J L^ caUed for, was a further caU for fifteen millions month- 1779. ly, to commence with February. Georgia, being in pos- Oct. 6. session of the enemy, was excused from this contribution. The efforts at naval warfare on the part of the Amer icans were by this time a good deal diminished. Sev eral of the Continental vessels had been captured or lost ; others, for want of funds, remained on the stocks un completed. The vigilance of the British squadron had greatly diminished the number of privateers. Several armed vessels, however, public and private, still kept the seas ; and a part of the money obtained in France was expended in fitting out cruisers in the French ports. Of all the American naval commanders, none became so dis tinguished as John Paul Jones, a -Scotsman by birth, but, when the war began, a resident in Anierioa, and one of the first offioers commissioned in the Continental navy. Ap pointed to oommand the Ranger of eighteen guns, he had made himself formidable in the British seas, and had even ventured at descents on the Scotch coast. He presently received the comraand of a mixed French and Americaii squadron, fitted out in France, but under American col ors, of which the heaviest vessel, a forty-two gun ship, was oalled the Bon Homme Richard. While cruising with this squadron, Jones encountered a fieet of mer chant ships from the Baltic, convoyed by a heavy frigate and another vessel. One of the most desperate engage- Sept. 24. ments recorded in the annals of naval warfare ensued. In spite of the misbehavior of One of Jones's captains, both the British ships were taken ; the larger one by boarding from the Bon Homme Richard, which was in a sinking condition at the time, and whioh went down the day following, in consequence of damages received in the action. FINANCES AND THE ARMY. SOI CHAPTER XL. FINANCES AND THE ARMY. SOUTH CAROLINA SUBDUED. ARRIVAL OF A FRENCH AUXILIARY FORCE. TOTAL DE FEAT AND DISPERSION OF THE SOUTHERN ARMY. Vy ONGRESS commenced the new year with very anx- chapter ious deliberations on the all-important subject of finance. ' Delegates had been appointed from several states to the 1780. proposed Convention at Philadelphia ; but the meeting ^^" was postponed, to give time for the other states to make similar appointments. Suoh, however, was the rapid de preciation of the paper, as speedily to destroy all hopes of any regulation of prices. It soon reached forty for one. The oomraissariesj greatly in debt, had neither money nor oredit, and starvation began to stare the soldiers in the face. To support his army, Washington was again obliged to resort to the harsh expedient of levying contri butions on the surrounding country. Eaoh county was Called upon for a certain quantity of flour and meat ; but, as the civil authorities took the matter of supply in hand; for whioh certificates, were given by the pommissaries, on the appraiseraent of two magistrates, the use offeree did not beoome necessary. In the present unstable state of the currency, the plan Feb. 25. was adopted of calling upon the states for " specific sup plies" — ^beef, pork, flour, corn, hay, tobacco, salt, rum, and rice — to be credited at certain fixed prices to the states by whioh they were furnished. The coraraissaries, for immediate use, instead of money received draughts 302 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER on the state treasuries for portions of their unpaid quotas XL. . of the requisitions heretofore made. 1780. The states were advised to repeal aU laws making the old bills a legal tender. Congress offered to receive gold and silver at the rate of forty for one in discharge of the unpaid state quotas. A plausible scheme was also adopt ed, which seemed to promise a moderate supply to the federal treasury ; and, at the same time, the drawing in and canceling of the outstanding bills of credit, the rapid depreciation of which kept the currency in a oomplete state of derangement; and operated as a great obstacle to all ooramerCial transactions. As the bills came in, in payment of the fifteen millions monthly already called for, they were to be canceled ; but, for every twenty dollars so canceled, one dollar was to be issued in " new tenor," bearing interest at five per cent., and redeemable in specie within six years ; these new bills to be guaranteed by the confederacy, but to be issued on the oredit of the individual states in proportion to their payments of the old tenor ; each state to provide for re deeming its own issues at the rate of a sixth part yearly, and to receive to its own use six tenths of the new issue, the other four tenths to belong to Congress. This pro cess, if fully carried, out, would substitute for the out standing two hundred raillions of old bills ten raillions in " new tenor," of which six would go tp the states paying in the bills, and four to the federal treasury. While a better, and, it was hoped, a stable currency would thus be provided in plaoe of the old tenor, the states would be . furnished with means to purchase " the specifics" de manded by Congress. The federal treasury, also, would be moderately supplied, without the necessity of imposing new taxes. The holders of commissary certificates for supplies fiir- FINANCES AND THE ARMY. 393 nished to the array complained very loudly of bein.g call- chapter ed upon to pay Continental taxes while those certificates ' were stiU undischarged. A new impulse was given to 1780. the depreciation of the paper by a resolve of Congress, May 26. that commissary certificates might be received at their nominal value in payment of all Continental taxes. This, in fact, was making so much addition to the already su perfluous currency. The same severe winter that arrested the West Ten nessee emigrants on their voyage up the Cumberland, froze the Hudson and the harbor of New York. Knip hausen was greatly alarmed for the safety of the city, thus deprived of all the advantages of its insular situa tion. The garrison and inhabitants, cut off from their usual supplies by water, experienced a great scarcity of fuel and fresh provisions. The whole j)opulation was put under arms. It was now that the " Board of Associated Loyalists" was formed, of which Franklin, late royal gov ernor of New Jersey, released by exchange from his te dious confinement in Connecticut, was made president. Washington, however, was in no oondition to undertake an attack, and the winter passed off with a few skirmishes. Washington's entire forpe scarcely exceeded ten thou sand men, a number not equal to the garrison of New York ; and even of these a considerable part were militia draughts, whose terms of servioe were fast expiring. - Con gress had called upon the states to fill up their quotas by Feb. 5. draughts or new enlistments, so as to constitute an army of thirty-five thousand men. Though only scantily and partially complied with, this requisition led to a new dif ficulty. Recruits could only be obtained by very large bounties, much to the chagrin of the old soldiers enlisted for the war, who saw the service of new comrades paid for at exorbitant rates, while they failed to receive, even 304 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chapter in depreciated paper, the moderate stipend for which they XL. .had engaged. 1780. There existed, also, another source of complaint. Mas sachusetts and other states had recognized the deprecia tion of the currency by making a provision for their sol diers accordingly. This act of justice had not yet been imitated by Pennsylvania. The soldiers of that line and some others ooraplained loudly of this inequality. COn- April 10. gress passed a resolution that, as soon as the state of the finances would allow, the deficiency of pay occasioned by depreciation should be made up to all the troops. But this resolution, however satisfactory in itself, afforded no immediate relief. A new system was under consideration for the commis sary's and quarter-master's departments, drawn up by Miffiin and Pickering, whioh Greene complained of as im practicable, and whioh he denounced, in his private let ters, as intended to embarrass the army — a denunciation which seems to have grown out of the mere faot that Mifflin was conoerned in it. After a warm struggle in Congress, this soheme, and, indeed, the whole organiza tion of the army, was referred to a coraraittee, of which Schuyler was chairman, appointed to visit the camp, and, in conjunction with Washington, vested with very ex tensive powers. In a report sent to Congress shortly May. after their arrival in camp, this, comraittee represented "that the array was five months unpaid; that it seldom had more than six days' provisions in advance, and was on several occasions, for sundry successive days, without meat ; that the army was destitute of forage ; that the medical department had neither sugar, tea, chocolate, wine, nor spirits ; and that every department was with out money, or even the shadow of credit." While the prospect was thus gloomy at the north, the CHARLESTON BESIEGED. 305 war was proceeding at the south with results exceeding- chapter ly disastrous to the states. The British expedition under ' Sir Henry Clinton, after a very stormy passage and the 1780. loss of several vessels, sorae by shipwreck and others by capture, had arrived at Savannah early in the year. As Jan. soon as the transports could be refitted, Clinton had pro ceeded northward, and landed his troops on St. John's Feb. n. Island. The ships of war sailed to blockade Charleston. The British army gradually advanced through the chain of islands along the coast. Several weeks were consumed in this operation, an interval busily eraployed by Du Por tail, the chief engineer, who had joined Lincoln's army, in strengthening and completing the fortifications. Gov ernor Rutledge was invested by the Legislature with dic tatorial powers. Slaves were impressed to labor on the works. Efforts were made, though without muoh sup- cess, to assemble the neighboring militia. Prom that re source, however, little was to be hoped.. South Carolina had represented to Congress her inability to operate with mUitia, " by reason of the great nuraber of citizens nec essary to remain at home to prevent insurrection among the negroes and their de.sertion to the enemy." It had been proposed to the Southern states to raise three thou sand negro troops, the men to be paid for at the rate of ^1000 per head, and to be emancipated when discharged from service. But this plan, ardently advocated by the younger Laurens, was_ received at the South with great suspicion and disUke. The inhabitants of Charleston were very zealous for defending the town, and with the re-enforcements known to be on the way Lincoln hoped to be .able to hold it. Of the Virginia and North Carolina regiments, detached, as we have seen, from the main army for servioe in the III.— U 306 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chapter Southern department, several soon arrived, and Lincoln's " force was thus raised to upward of seven thousand men, 1780. including two thousand three hundred Continentals, one thousand North Carolina mUitia, and the militia of the city, amounting to near four thousand. All the aid sent in from the surrounding country did not amount to two hundred men. For the defense of the harbor, Linooln relied on four Continental and two French frigates, aided by several smaUer vessels. But the English ships, in muoh supe- April 7. rior foroe, crossed the bar without difficulty. With very trifiing loss, they ran by Fort Moultrie, which had proved such an obstacle four years before. To prevent the en emy's ships from ascending Cooper's River, and so rak ing the American lines, several vessels of the squadron, now otherwise useless, were sunk aCross the channel. The communication with the country north of Cooper's River was kept open by two Continental regiments of horse, stationed at Monk's Corner, about thirty miles from Charleston. But these |regiments were presently April 14. surprised, dispersed, and partly Cut to pieces by Colonel Tarleton, the enterprising commander of the British cav alry. Upon the arrival of a re-enforcement from New York, the country north of Cooper's River was occupied by a British detachraent. The investment of Charles ton thus became complete. Threatened, at the same time, by the British ships and by a body of troops land- May 6. ed on the island. Fort Moultrie surrendered. The same day the fragments of the American horse were again sur prised and dispersed by Tarleton. As the means of defense failed one after another, it had been propcsed to abandon the town; but that project was not considered feasible by Linooln. Seeing no hopes of a successful defense, he offered to capitulate; but Clinton SOUTH CAROLINA SUBDUED. 397 refused the terms he demanded. The British pushed their chapter XL. operations with energy ; the third parallel was complet- . ed ; the American works were full of breaches ; the one- 1780. my were evidently preparing for an assault. A new negotiation resulted in the surrender of the garrison. May 12. the Continentals to march out with colors cased, and to lay down their arras as prisoners of war ; the railitia to be dismissed on their parole to take no further part in the contest, and to be secure in their persons and prop erty so long as that parole was not violated. Gadsden, the lieutenant governor, and five of the council, were in cluded in this capitulation. Governor Rutledge, with the other three counselors, had left the city, at Lincoln's earn est request, before the investment was complete. In possession of the capital of South CaroUna, Clinton sent off three expeditions ; one northwardly, across the Santee, against Buford's regiment of the Virginia line, on its march for Charleston ; another toward Augusta ; and a third toward Camden and the upper district. A circular was issued, calling upon the loyally disposed to form a militia, and to help in re-establishing the royal government. A proclamation foUowed, threatening ex- May 22. emplary severity and confiscation of property as the pen alty for appearing in arms against the royal authority. A second proclamation offered pardon to all who returned June 1. to their allegiance, except such as " under mock forms of justice had polluted themselves with the blood of their loyal fellow-subjects." Informed of the expedition sent against him, Buford retreated rapidly up the northeast side of the Santee ; but Tarleton made a forced maroh of a hundred and five miles in fifty-four hPurs, and overtook him at Waxhaws, near the boundary of North Carolina. Attacked with impet- May 29. uosity, the regiment was totally, defeated. No quarter 308 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. cHAP/TER was given ; a hundred and thirteen v^ere killed on the Xji. o ; . spot, and out of two hundred prisoners, the greater part 1780. were badly .wounded. Buford escaped witl;i a few of his raen, but the regiraent was completely broken up. The British loss wafe only eighteen. The two other British detachments, in their maroh through the state, nowhere found even the shadow of re sistance. Every where they received the submission of the inhabitants, some of whom gave their parole, as the people of Charleston had done ; while the rest, less scru pulous or less, patriotic, took the oath of allegiance as June 3. British subjects. By a new proclamation, all paroles, ex cept of those actually taken in arms, were discharged, and no choice was allowed but to- take the oath of allegiance or to be treated as enemies. The conquest of South Carolina thus completed. Sir Henry Clinton returned to New York, taking a part of the troops with him, but leaving Cornwallis with four thousand men to hold and to extend the reoent conquests. The heat of the weather, and the difficulty of obtaining supplies, retarded the movements of Cornwallis. His troops were subsisted by seizures of corn and cattle from the hostile without any compensation, and from the loyal on certificates of the British commissaries. The nuraerous Loyalists of North Carolina had been advised, by eraissaries sent among them, to gather their crops and to keep quiet till the autumn, when the Brit ish army would march to their assistance. But, impa tient of the severities to which they were exposed, they flpw at once to arms. Of two considerable parties which assembled, one was attacked and dispersed by General Rutherford, at the head of a detachment of railitia ; the other, arapunting to eight hundred men, suoceeded in reaching the British posts. FINANCIAL EMBARRASSMENTS. 309 Most of the southern Continental trpops had been in- chapter eluded in the capitulation of Charleston." •' There now re- ' mained in the whole southern department only a single 1780. Continental regiment, Porterfield's, of the Virginia line, which had stopped short at Salisbury, in North Carolina, on the news of Lincoln's surrender. Before hearing of the surrender of Charleston, Washington, with the consent of Congress, had already detached De Kalb, with the Dela ware and Maryland regiments, for service at the South. Conveyed by water from the head of Elk to Petersburg, in Virginia, they marched thenoe for the Carolinas. All the Continental troops raised south of Pennsylvania were henceforth attached to the southern army, and all the money paid in by those states was specially appropriated to the support of that department. Shortly after the departure of the Maryland^ and Del aware troops, news was received at Washington's camp April 26. that a French fleet and army might speedily be, expected on the American coast. This news was brought by La Fayette, who had spent the winter in France, and by whose persevering efforts this aid had been obtained, and the promise, also, of a supply of arms and clothing. , . To put Washington in a condition to co-operate, the states were urgently called upon by Congress to pay up at onoe ten May 19. million paper dollars of their over-due quotas. Supplies, indeed, were urgently needed ; there was almost a famine in the camp. Two Connecticut regiments broke out into open mutiny, threatening to march home or to help them- May 22. selves. A circular to the states from the comraitteeat camp, and another from Washington, pointed out the ne- June 22. oessity of sending forward immediately their quotas of men and specific supplies. In this emergency, Congress again resorted to the ex pedient of selling bills on Jay. As Laurens had not yet 310 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chapter sailed on his mission to Holland, John Adams, who was XL ' ' now again at Paris as commissioner to negotiate for peace, 1780. was instructed to acoept the bills drawn on Laurens; and, as a means of meeting these acceptances, he was further authorized to attempt the negotiation of a Dutch loan. At this time of need on the part of the array, Robert Morris, Clymer, and some other citizens of Philadelphia, having received a deposit of bills on Jay as a sUpport to their credit, and an indemnity in case ' of loss, formed a joint stock, or bank, as it was Called, the object of whioh was, without any profit to themselves, to transport to the camp a supply of provisions. Those concerned in this bank belonged to the Repub lican party, as they called themselves. The Constitu tional party, not to show less zeal, availed themselves of their majority in the Assembly to invest President Reed with authority to proclaim martial law, should suoh a step become necessary in order to meet the requisitions of Congress. In the midst of these efforts to prepare for active op erations, Kniphausen, commanding the British forces at June 6. New York, landed at Elizabethtown with the bulk of Ms army, and advanced into, the country toward Springfield. Finding the American army in his front, he retired after burning a few houses. Clinton arrived soon after with his troops from Charleston, and, with a column of six thou sand men, he also advanced on Springfield, which Greene was guarding with a detachment about fifteen hundred June 23. strong. After a sharp aotion, the enemy forced the bridge over the Rahway, a small river which covers the town. The Americans lost seventy- two men, killed and wound ed, and the village of Springfield was burned: But Greene posted his troops on the heights in the rear so as to stop the enemy's further advanoe. Washington ap- FRENCH AUXILIARY ARMY. 311 prehended other incursions of the sarae sort ; but CUn- chapter ton's main object was to secure a convenient spot for re- XL. freshing his troops, worn out by the winter's campaign 1780. in Carolina. With that purpose in view, he withdrew again the same day into Staten Island. In accordance with La Fayette's announcement, seven July lo. ships of the line, besides frigates and transports, with a French army of six thousand men, the first division in tended for the American service, presently arrived at New port. Judicious raeasures had been taken to prevent dis putes. Roohambeau, the commander of these troops, was direoted to put himself under Washington's orders ; and on all points of precedence and etiquette, the French of ficers were to give place to the Americans. Washington had hoped, with the assistance of this French force, to attack New York. But his ranks were still very thin ; and there was a great deficiency of arms, owing to the non-arrival of the promised supply from France. Six British ships of the line, whiCh had followed the French fleet aoross the Atlantic, presently arrived at New York. Having now a naval superiority, instead of waiting to be attacked, the British proposed to attack the French at Newport, for which purpose Clinton em- July 27. barked with six thousand men. The French threw up fortifications, and prepared for a vigorous defense ; the mi litia of Connecticut and Massaohusetts marched to their assistance; Washington crossed the Hudson with his ar my, and threatened New York. As Clinton and Arbuth- not, the admiral, could not agree upon a plan of opera tions, the British troops were disembarked. But the fleet proceeded to blockade the French ships, and the army was obliged to remain at Newport for their protection. News presently arrived that the French second division July 3i. was detained at Brest, blockaded there by another Brit- 312 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER ish squadron. Instead of being an assistance, the French auxiliaries threatened to be a burden ; three thousand five 1780. hundred miUtia were kept under arras at Newport to as sist in guarding the French ships. Thus a third tirpe, as it seemed, almost by a sort of fatality, the atterapt at French co-operation proved a failure. After much discussion. Congress had finally agreed to a new arrangement of the quarter-master's department, the business of which was greatly increased by the duty imposed upon it of transporting to the carap the specific supplies. This new arrangement did not suit the views of Greene, who esteemed the number of assistants too small, their salaries too low, and the whole scheme inef ficient. He threw up his office in a somewhat emphatic letter, whioh gave great offense to some merabers of Con gress. It was even proposed to deprive him of his com mission — a step against which Washington earnestly re monstrated in private letters to merabers of that body, representing the disoontent it would oooasion, the proba bility that the officers would make comraon cause with Greene, and the danger of rousing the irascibility of raen unpaid, living on their own funds, many of thera greatly distressed for raoney, anxious to resign, and only kept in the service by sentiraents of patriotisra, and unwilling ness to abandon a cause in which they had already risked and suffered so much. The ungracious and difficult office of quarter-master, thufe thrown up by Greene, was under- August, taken by Colonel Pickering. The battalions of the Delaware and Maryland lines, de- June, tached under De Kalb for service at the south, after cross ing the southern boundary of Virginia, made their way slowly through a poor country very thinly inhabited. No magazines had been laid up ; the commissaries had nei ther money nor credit ; the soldiers, scattered in small GATES ADVANCES ON CAMDEN. 313 parties, oollected their own supplies by impressraent — chapteei lean cattle from the cane-brakes, and Indian corn, the only grain which that region produced. 1780. Besides Porterfield's Virginia regiment at Salisbury, there were two corps of North CaroUna militia in front, one under Rutherford, the other under Caswell, ohiefiy employed in keeping down the Tories. Governor Nash, ohosen at the recent election as Caswell's successor, had been authorized by the Legislature to send eight thou sand men to the relief of South Carolina ; but to raise and equip them was not so easy. De Kalb's soldiers pres ently came to a full stop at the Deep River, an upper tributary of the Cape Fear. At this point they were overtaken by Gates, appointed by Congress to the com- July. mand of the southern departraent. Gates pressed forward on the direot road to Camden, through a barren and generally a disaffected country. The troops were greatly weakened on the march by dis eases brought on by the use of unripe peaches and green corn as substitutes for bread. Having crossed the Pee- dee. Gates formed a junction with Porterfield, who had marched down that river to meet him. He was also joined by Rutherford with his militia, and was presently overtaken by Armand's legion, detached for service in the southern department, and with whioh the remainder of Pulaski's corps was incorporated. The news of Gates's approach, and of efforts made in North Carolina and Virginia to recruit the southern army, raised the hopes of the South Carolina patriots. Return ing from North Carolina, where he had taken refuge, Sumter headed an insurrection in the district north and west of Camden. He made successful attacks on the British posts at Rooky Mount and Hanging Rook. ;^„|; g' Emerging from the swamps of the Lower Peedee, Mari- 314 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER on, with a few ragged followers, began to annoy the Brit- ____ish outposts. Lord Rawdon, known afterward. in En- 1780. gland and India as Earl of Moira and Marquis of Hast ings, commanded the British advanced posts in the inte rior of South Carolina. Perceiving a change in the spirit of the people, he oollected his forces at Camden. Having passed the Pine Barren region, Gates formed a junction with Governor Caswell. He was presently joined by General Stevens, with a brigades of ^rginia militia, and now reckoned his forces at six thousand men, a fourth of whom were Continentals. Some four hund red men were detaphed to the right to co-operate with Sumter, who had a considerable irregular foroe, and who was striving to gain the enemy's rear. Cornwallis, who had hastened from Charleston for that purpose, now assumed the oommand of the British army. His whole effective force did not ranch exceed two thou sand men ; but he could not retreat without giving up the whole open country, besides abandoning his hospitals, in whioh were upward of eight hundred sick. Determ ined on a battle, he marched by. night against Gates's camp at Rugeley's Mills. Unaware of this movement, Gates had put his forces in motion that very same night, intending to occupy another position nearer Camden. Marching thus in opposite directions, early the next morning the advanced parties of the two armies unex- Aug. 6. pectedly encountered each other in the woods. After spme skirmishes the line was formed, and, with the dawn of day, the battle began. The British rushed with oharged bayonets upon Gates's center and left, composed almost entirely of militia, who threw away their arms and fied, almost without firing a gun. Gates and Caswell were fairly borne off the field by the fugitives, whom they found it impossible to rally. BATTLE OF CAMDEN. 315 sinoe the further they fled the more they dispersed. De chapter Kalb's Continentals, on the right, stood their ground with . XL. firmness ; but they were presently taken in fiank ; their 1780. commander was mortally wounded ; and they too were broken and obliged to fly. Closely pursued for twenty- eight miles, they were entirely dispersed. Every oorps was scattered ; men and offioers, separated frora eaoh oth er, fled in small parties, or singly, through the woods. All the baggage and artillery fell into the hands of the en emy. The road for miles was strewed with the killed and wounded, overtaken and cut down by the British caval ry. The Americans lost some nine hundred killed, and as many raore taken prisoners, of whora many were wounded. Arms, knapsaoks, broken-down wagons, and dead horses scattered along the road, indicated the haste and terror of the flight. This total rout of the American army cost the British only three hundred and twenty-five raen. Three or four days after the action, some two hundred men, with Gates and a few other offioers, collected at Charlotte, in North Carolina, up the Valley of the Wa- teree, eighty miles or raore from the field of battle. Here they heard of a new disaster. Just before the late aotion, re-enforced by the four hund red men from Gates's army, Sumter had intercepted and captured a convoy approaching Camden from the south, and had taken two hundred prisoners. Hearing of Gates's defeat, he retreated rapidly up the west bank of the Wa- teree, but was followed by the indefatigable Tarleton, who moved with suoh rapidity, that out of his force of three hundred and fifty horsemen, more than half broke down in the pursuit. Thinking himself entirely out of dan ger, Sumter had encamped at two -in the afternoon. No Aug. 18. proper watoh was kept, and Tarleton entered the camp entirely by surprise. The captured stores were reoov- 316 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER ered ; the British captives were released ; one hundred " and fifty Americans were kUled, and three hundred made 1780. prisoners. Sumter himself escaped with difficulty ; his corps was completely dispersed. No organized American foroe was now left in either of the Carolinas. Should the British army advanoe, it would be impossible to make any stand at Charlotte, a little viUage in an open plain. Gates retired first to Sal isbury, and then to Hillsborough, the seat of the North Carolina government, wfiere he made all possible efforts toward the collection and organization of a new army. But the great number of Tories in North Cafolina, many open and more seoret, paralyzed, to a great degree, the energies of that state. To promote military subordina tion, and as a means of filling up the Continental quota, deserters frprn the militia were punished, under an act of Assembly, by being compelled to enlist in the regular bat talions. But for these unwilling recruits there was neith er clothing nor arras. The three Southern states had not a single battalion in the field, nor were the next three much better provided. The Virginia line had been most ly captured at Charleston, or dispersed in .subsequent en gagements. The same was the case with the North Car olina regiments. The recent battle of Camden had re duced the Maryland line to a single regiment, the Dela ware line to a single company. Out of the straggling soldiers, the survivors of that fatal field, and new recruits that came in from Virginia, Gates presently organized a foroe of about a thousand men. Great efforts were made by Maryland, where Thomas Sim Lee was now govern or, to supply her deficient regiments. The militia were divided into classes, each class being required to furnish a soldier, either free or a slave. In the Maryland as well a^ other Continental lines, many negroes served with BRITISH RULE IN SOUTH CAROLINA. 3^7 credit, and were rewarded with their liberty in conse- chapter XL. quence. It was impossible for Cornwallis to follow up his vie- 1780. tory by invading North Carolina till he had first received supplies and re-enforoements. Meanwhile, he took strong measures for restraining that spirit of insurrection so gen erally displayed on Gates's approach. Among the pris oners taken at Sumter's defeat were some who had for merly submitted, and taken British .protections. Several of these were hung upon the spot, and all who should im itate their conduct were threatened with a like fate. An order was issued for sequestrating the property of all who had left the province to join the king's enemies, and of all who held coraraissions under Congress, or who opposed the re-establishraent of the royal authority. Gadsden, and forty other principal inhabitants of Charleston, ac cused of violating their parole by correspondence with the enemy, were seized and sent prisoners to St. Augustine. Measures of this sort, whioh they had employed without scruple against their Tory neighbors, seemed to the Whigs of South Carolina excessively cruel when exer cised upon themselves. But these severities did not suppress the spirit of re volt. Partisan corps again made their appearance. Ma rion, who had great talents for that sort of service, is sued afresh from the swamps of the Peedee. Sumter presently oollected a new force, with which he harassed the northwestern districts, and in whioh he was aided by volunteers from beyond the mountains. These officers, both formerly colonels in the Continental line, were com missioned by Rutledge as generals. But the utmost of whioh they were capable, without assistance from the North, was a mere gueriUa warfare. 318 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER XLL GLOOMY STATE OF AMERICAN AFFAIRS. TREACHERY OF ARNOLD REORGANIZATION OF THE ARMY. FINANCIAL EXPEDIENTS. NORTH CAROLINA INVADED. AFFAIRS OF GREAT BRITAIN. AI^MED NEUTRALITY. MILITARY OPER ATIONS IN EUROPE, ON THE OCEAN, AND IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES. HOLLAND A PARTY TO THE WAR. CHAPTER -c*- SCALE of depreciation had been -adopted by Con- gress. beginning with Marchy 1778, at one and three 1780. quarters for one, and ending with the last March at for- June 27. ly for one, acoordingto which all loan-office and commis sary certificates were to be liquidated. As the depreoi- Sept. 5. ation still went on, orders were presently issued to re ceive on loan only the new paper, specie, or its equivalent. Washington's array, though far short of the numbers called for, continued to be fed with the greatest difficulty. The system of specific supplies was found excessively cumbersome and uncertain. The federal treasury re mained empty, and Congress oalled earnestly on the states to carry out the scheme for extinguishing the old bills of oredit, which proved, by their continued depreciation, a great obstacle to all commercial and financial operations. Aug. 26. For immediate use, the states were required to pay in, before the end of the year, their respective quotas of three miUions of dollars, in specie, or bills of the nevy tenor. Washington contemplated the aspeot of affairs with the greatest alarm. Doubtful if the array could be kept to gether for another campaign, he was exceedingly anxious to strike sorae decisive blow. He proposed to Rocham- -TREACHERY OF ARNOLD. 3^9 beau, commanding the French troops at Newport, an at- chapter XLl. tack upon New York ; but that was not thought feasible . without a superior naval foroe. Letters were sent to the 1780. French admiral in the West Indies entreating assistance ; and Washington presently proceeded to Hartford, there Sept. 19. to meet Rochambeau, to devise some definite plan of operations. During Washington's absenoe at Hartford, a plot came to light for betraying the important fortress of West Point and the other posts of the Highlands into the hands of the enemy, the traitor being no other than Arnold, the most brilliant officer and one of the most honored in the Amer- loan army. The qualities of a brilliant soldier are un fortunately often quite distinct from those of a virtuous man and a. good citizen. Arnold's arrogant, overbearing, reckless spirit, his disregard Of the rights of others, and his doubtful integrity, had made hira many enemies ; but his desperate valor at Behmus's Heights, covering up all his blemishes, had restored hira to the rank in the army which he coveted. Placed in coraraand at Philadelphia, his disposition to favor the disaffected of that city had in volved him, as has been mentioned already, in disputes with Governor Reed and the Pennsylvania councU. Arnold's vanity and love of display overwhelmed him with debts. He had taken the best house in the city — that formerly occupied by Governor Penn. He Uved in a btyle of extravagance far beyond his means, and he endeavor ed to sustain it by entering into privateering and mer cantile speculations, most of whioh proved unsuccessful. He was even accused of perverting his military authority to purposes of private gain. The complaints on this point, made to Congress by the authorities of Pennsylvania, had been at first unheeded ; but, being presently brought for ward in a solemn manner, and with sorae appearance of 320 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER offended dignity on the part of the Pennsylvania council, . an interview took place between a committee of that body XLI, 1780. and a committee of Congress, whioh had resulted in Ar nold's trial by a court martial. Though acquitted of the more serious charges, on two points he had been found guilty, and had been sentenced to be reprimanded by the comraander-in-chief. Arnold claimed against the United States a large bal anoe, growing out of the unsettled accounts of his Can ada expedition. ' This claim was greatly cut down by the treasury officers, and when Arnold appealed to Congress, a committee reported that more had been allowed than was actually due. Mortified and soured, and complaining of publio in gratitude, Arnold attempted, but without success, to get a loan from the French minister. Some months before, he had opened a correspondence with Sir Henry Clin ton under a feigned narae, carried on through Major An dre, adjutant general of the British array. Having at length made himself known to his correspondents, to give importanoe to his treachery, he solicited and obtained from Aug. 3. Washington, who had every confidence in him, the oom mand in the Highlands, with the very view of betraying that important position into the hands of the enemy. To arrange the terms of the bargain, an interview was necessary with some confidential British agent ; and An dre, though not without reluctance, finally volunteered for that purpose. Several.previous attempts having fail ed, the British sloop-of-war Vulture, with Andre on board, Sept. 15. ascended the Hudson as far as the mouth of Croton Riv er, some miles below King's Ferry. Information being sent to Arnold under a flag, the evening after Washing- Sept. 21. ton left West Point for Hartford he dispatched a boat to the Vulture, which took Andre on shore, for an interview CAPTURE OF ANDRE. 321 on the west side of the river, just below the American chapter lines. Morning appeared before the arrangements for the ' betrayal of the fortress oould be definitely completed, and 1780. Andre was reluctantly persuaded to oome within the American lines, and to remain till the next night at the house of one Smith, a dupe or tool of Arnold's, the same who had been employed to bring Andre from the ship. For some reason not very elearly explained, Smith de clined to convey Andre baok to the Vulture, whioh had attracted the attention of the American gunners, and, in consequence of a piece of artillery brought tp bear upon her, had ohanged her position, though she had afterward returned to her former anchorage. Driven thus to the necessity of returning by land, Sept. 22. Andre laid' aside his uniforra, assuraed a citizen's dress, and, with a pass from Arnold in the narae of John An derson, a narae which Andre had often used in their pre vious correspondence, he set off toward sunset on horse back, with Smith for a guide. They crossed King's Fer ry,, passed all the Araerican guards in safety, and spent the night near Crora Pond, with an acquaintance of Smith's. The next morning, having passed Pine's Bridge, Sept. 23. across Croton River, Smith left Andre to pursue his way alone. The road led through a district extending some thirty miles above the island of New York, not included in the lines of either army, and thence known as the " Neutral Ground," a populous and fertile region, but very much infested by bands of plunderers oalled "Cow Boys" and " Skinners." The " Cow Boys" lived within the British lines, and stole or bought cattle for the sup ply of the British army. The rendezvous of the " Skin ners" was within the American lines. They professed to be great patriots, making it their ostensible business to plunder those who refused to take the oath Of allegiance HI.— X 322 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. PHAPTER to the State of New York. But they were ready, in fact, XL. _ tp rob any body ; and the cattle thus obtained were often. 1780. sold to the Cow Boys in exchange for dry goods brought from New York. ' By a state law, all cattle driven to ward the oity were lawful plunder when beyond a cer tain line ; and a general authority was given to any body to arrest suspicious travelers. The road to Tarrytown, on which Andi-e was travel- ing, was watohed that morning by a small party, on the look-out for cattle or travelers ; and just as Andre ap- proaohed the village, while passing a small brook, a man sprang from among the bushes and seized the bridle of his horse. He was immediately joined by two others ; and Andre, in the confusion of the moment, deceived by the answers of his captors, who professed to belong to the " Lower" or British party, instead of producing his pass, avowed himself a British offioer, on business of the high est importance. Discovering his mistake, he offered his watch, his purse, any thing they might, name, if they would suffer him to proceed. His offers were rejected; he was searched, suspicious papers were found in his stockings, and he was carried before Colonel Jamison, the commanding officer on the lines. Jamison recognized in the papers, which contained a full desoription of West Point and a return of the forces, the hand-writing of Arnold ; but, unable to realize that his commanding officer was a traitor, while he forwarded the papers by express to Washington at Hartford, he di-- rooted the prisoner to be sent to Arnold, with a letter men-. tioning his assumed name, his pass,' the circumstances of his arrest, and that papers of " a very suspicious charac ter" had been found on his person. Major ' Talmadge, the second in command, had been absent wMle this was doing. Informed of it on his return, with much diffi- ESCAPE OF ARNOLD. 323 oulty he procured the recall of the prisoner ; but Jamison chapter persisted in sending forward the letter to Arnold. Wash- XLL ington, then on his return fi'om Hartford, missed the ex- 1780. press with the documents; his aids-de-oamp, who pre ceded him, were breakfasting at* Arnold's house when Sept. 24. Jamison's letter arrived. Pretending an immediate oall to visit one of the forts on the opposite side of the river, Arnold rose from table, called his wife up stairs, left her in a fainting fit, mounted a horse which stood saddled at the door, rode to the river side, threw himself into his barge, passed the forts waving a handkerohief by way of flag, and ordered his boatmen to row for the Vulture. Safe on board, he wrote a letter to Washington, asking. protection for his wifcj whom he declared ignorant and innocent of what he had done. Informed of Arnold's safety, and perceiving that no hope of esoape existed, Andre, in a letter to Washing ton, avowed his name and true character. A board of officers was constituted to consider his case, of whioh Sept. 29. Greene was president, and La Fayette and Steuben were members. Though cautioned to say nothing to crimi nate himself, Andre frankly told the whole story, declar ing, however, that he had been induced to enter the Amer ican lines contrary to his intention and by the misrepre sentations of Arnold. Upon his own statements, without examining a single witness, the board pronounced him a spy, and, as such, doomed him to speedy death. Clinton, who loved Andre, made every effort to save him. As a last resource, Arnold wrote to Washington, stating his view of the matter, threatening retaliation, and referring particularly to the oase of Gadsden and the other South Carolina, prisoners at St. Augustine. The manly and open behavior of Andre, and his highly amiable private character, created no Uttle sympathy in 324 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. , CHAPTER his behalf ; but martial policy was thought to demand . his execution. He was even denied his last request to 1^0. be shot instead of being hanged. Though in striot ac- Oct. 2. cordanoe with the laws jof war, Andre's execution was de nounced in England as inexorable and oruel. It certainly tended to aggravate feelings already sufficiently bitter on both sides. The committee at camp, of which Sohuyler was chair man, had matured at length, in conjunction with Wash ington, a plan for a new organization of the army, to Oct. 8. which Congress gave its assent. The remains of the six teen additional battalions were to be disbanded, and the men to be distributed to the state' lines. The organiza- ' tion was also changed. The array was to consist of fifty regiments of foot, including Hazen's, four regiments of artillery, and one of artificers, with the two partisan oorps under Armand and Lee, and four other legionary corps, two thirds horse and one third foot. All new en listments were to be for the war. Massachusetts and Virginia were to furnish eleven regiments each, Penn sylvania nine, Connecticut six, Maryland five. North Car olina four, New York three. New Hampshire, New Jersey, and South Carolina two eaoh, Rhode Island, Delaware, and Georgia eaoh one. Hazen's regiment, and the corps of Armand and Lee, were to be recruited at large. If full, this army would have amounted to thirty-six thou sand men; but never half that number were in the field. The offioers thrown out by this new arrangement were to be entitled to half pay for life, now pronused also to all offioers who should serve till the end of the war. Washington's earnest and repeated representations had extorted this promise from Congress, in spite of the oppo sition of Samuel Adams, and of a party whioh he head- INVASION OF NORTH CAROLINA. 325 ed, very jealous of miUtary power, and of every thing chapter which tended to give a perraanent character to the array Robert H. Harrison, who had fUled so long the confi- 1780. dential post of seoretary to the coramander-in-chief, hav ing accepted the office of chief justice of Maryland, was succeeded by Jonathan Trumbull, son of the governor of Connecticut, and late paymaster of the northern depart ment. The office of adjutant general, resigned by Soam- mell, was given to Hand. Smallwood succeeded to the command of De Kalb's division ; Morgan, lately sent to the southern department, was raade a brigadier. To provide means for supporting the army, the states were called upon for their respective quotas of six raill ions of dollars in quarterly payments, to commence the following May, and to be met partly in "specifics," and the residue in gold or silver, or paper of the new emis sion. Gates's laurels, acquired in the campaign against Bur goyne, had been quite blasted by the disastrous rout at Camden. Having ordered an inquiry into his conduct, Oct. 5. Congress requested Washington to name his successor. Thus oalled upon, he selected Greene. Lee's corps of horse and sorae companies of artillery were ordered to the south ; Steuben was sent on the same service, and Kos ciusko, as engineer, to supply the plaoe of Du Portail, taken prisoner at the surrender of Charleston. CornwalUs, raeanwhile, having completed his arrange ments, had commenced his march into North Carolina. The main army, under his own coramand, was to advance by Charlotte, Salisbury, and Hillsborough, through the counties in whioh the Whigs were the strongest. Tarle ton was to move up the west bank of the Catawba with the cavalry and light trpops ; while Furguson, with a body of Loyalist militia, which he had volunteered to em- 326 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER body and organize, was to take a still more westerly route XLI. . along the eastern foot of the mountains. 1780. , The British army had not been long on its march when a numero,us but irregular body of insurgents from the upper country of South Carolina appeared before Au gusta. Colonel Brown, who commanded, there, intrench ed himself on a neighboring hill; and on the approach of a British force from Ninety-six, a post intermediate be tween Camden and Augusta, but more northerly than either, the assailants retreated- with precipitation. Word was sent to Furguson, in hopes that he raight be able to intercept them. With that view, he pressed cloSe upon the mountains, when he suddenly encountered an unex pected enemy. A strong foroe of mounted- backwoods men, armed with rifles, their provisions at their backs, led by Shelby and Sevier, afterward first governors of Ken tucky and Tennessee, issuing from the valleys of Clinch and Houlston,, and joined by some partisan oorps in the region east of the mountains, direoted their maroh against Furguson. Informed of his danger, he retreated with precipitation, but was pursued by a thpusand men with the best horses and rifles, selected from a body of twice that number. In thirty-six hours they dismounted but Oct. 9. onoe. Finding esoape impossible, Furguson chose a strong position at King's Mountain, a few miles west of the Catawba, where he drew up his men and waited the attack. The assailants were repeatedly driven baok by the bayonet, but they returned as often, pouring in a murderous fire from their rifies, by which one hundred and fifty of the Tories were killed, and a greater number wounded. So long as they had Furguson to encourage them, they stood their ground, but when -he feU, eight hundred men, the survivors of the fight, threw down their arms and surrendered. Ten of the most active and ob- PARTISAN WARFARE. 327 noxious of these prisoners were selected and hung upon chapter XLI. the spot — an outrage which did "not fail of severe and. speedy retaliation. The backwoodsmen soon dispersed and 1780. returned home ; but the spirits of the Southern people, depressed as they had been by a long series- of disasters and defeats, were not a Uttle raised by this their first con siderable viotory. Cornwallis had already reached Salisbury, a district whioh he found very hostile, and where he was living at free quarters. Having relied a good deal on the support of Furguson, on hearing of his defeat he commenced a retrograde movement as far as Winnsborough, in South Oct. 29. Carolina. Immediately after the battle of Camden, General Les lie had sailed from New York with three thousand men to re-enforce CornwalUs. He had entej;ed the Chesa peake, ascended the Elizabeth River, and fortified him self at Portsmouth, a convenient station whenoe to Co operate against North Carolina. When Leslie heard of the defeat of Furguson and the retreat of the British army, he embarked his troops and proceeded to Charles- Dec. ton, thence to march to join Cornwallis. Marion meanwhile again issued from the swamps, and threatened to cut off the coramunication with Charles ton ; but Tarleton drove him back to his coverts. Sum ter, also reappearing in the northwest, repulsed a detach ment under Major Wemyss, and, having joined with some other partisan corps, threatened to attack Ninety-six. Tarleton was sent to out hira off; but Sumter, informed of his danger by a deserter, coramenoed a rapid retreat. As he could not esodpe, he chose an advantageous posi tion at Blaokstook Hill. The British van coraing up, Nov. Tarleton made a precipitate attack, but was repulsed with loss. Sumter, however, was severely wounded ; and. 328 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER after conveying their commander to a place of safety, his XLI. , men disbanded and dispersed. 1780. Considerable efforts, meanwhile, had been making to reorganize the southern army. To supply the place of Oct. their captured regiraents, the Asserably of Virginia vot ed three thousand raen, apportioned amoiig the counties. A tax was laid of two per cent, on all property, to raise means for paying bounties. Besides $12,000 in the de preciated paper, worth two or three hundred in specie, promised at once to all voluntary recruits, they were to receive at the end of the war three hundred acres of land,. and a "healthy, sound negro," or $200 in gold or sUver. To make up the deficit of voluntary enlistments, men to serve for eighteen months were to be drafted from the militia. Supplies of olothing, provisions, and wagons were also levied on the counties. The seizure of provisions was authorized at certain stipulated prices ; and to supply, the empty treasury, ten millions of pounds in state bills ofcredit were issued, redeemable at the rate of forty for one,, equivalent to $850,000. The North Carolina Legislature, at their recent session, had consti tuted a Board of War, and were exerting the feeble re- souroes at their command to re-establish their Continental regiments, r; Drafts and recruits, and one or two entire battalions, oame forward ; and, as Cornwallis retired. Gates -advanced, first to Salisbury, and then to Charlotte. Dee. 2. It was at Charlotte that Greene joined the army and assumed the coramand. He found the troops without pay, and their clothing in tatters. There was hardly a dollar in the military chest. Subsistence was obtained entirely by impressment. Greene entered at once on ac tive opeirations. Morgan, with the Maryland regiment and Washington's dragoons of Lee's corps, was sent across the Broad River to operate on the British left and rear. PARTISAN WARFARE. 329 while the main body encamped on the Peedee to cover chapter the fertile district to the northward, and to threaten the. XLl. British communication with Charleston. 1780. Not, however, by the armies alone were hostilities car ried on. All the scattered settlements bristled in hostile array. Whigs and Tories pursued eaoh other with little less than savage fury. Small parties, every where under arms, some on one side, sorae on the other, with very lit tle reference to greater operations, were desperately bent on plunder and blood. The Legislature of North Carolina passed a law to put a stop to the robbery of poor people under pretense that they were Tories — a practice carried even to the plun der of their clothes and household furniture. They im posed penalties, also, on the still more outrageous practice of expeditions into South Carolina for indiscriminate rob bery, the spoils being brought into North Carolina for sale. The first offense was to be punished with thirty- nine lashes on the bare back, the second with death. In spite of Sullivan's expedition the year before, the frontier of New York oontinued to be harassed by Indians and Tories. Sir John Johnson ascended Lake Charaplain October. with a force of eight hundred men, took Fort George and Fort Anne, held at that time by very sraall garrisons, and sent forward plundering parties as far as Saratoga. An other body of Indians and Tories, advancing frora Niaga ra, expelled the Oneidas, the friends of theAraericans, and compeUed them to seek refuge and food in the neighbor hood of Albany. Fort Schuyler was repeatedly threat ened ; the fertile district of Schoharie was ravaged, and a large quantity of wheat destroyed, sorely needed by Washington's starving army. Colonel Brown, with a party from Berkshire, march ing up the Mohawk to relieve the New York frontier, 330 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chapter was seduced into an ambush, and slain with forty-five of XLI his men ; but the same Indian and Tory party was de- 1780. feated the same day, at Fox MiUs, by General Van Rens- '^'''- ^^- selaer. To proteot this frontier, the New York line was stationed for the winter at Albany. Washington's head quarters were estabUshed at New Windsor, above West Point. The Eastern troops were hutted in the High lands, the New Jersey regiments at Pompton, and the Pennsylvania line near Morristown. The French array, whioh still remained at Newport, by paying for all their supplies in hard money, proved a great' comfort to the farmers of New England; and help ed to restore the exhausted currency of specie. Specie was also derived from New York by means of an active trade with the adjacent country, which it was vainly at tempted to suppress. Hard raoney and ready payment proved a temptation too strong to be resisted. Whigs and Tories alike joined in it. The bills of exchange, the sale of which liad been re sorted to by Congress as a means of raising money, prov ed a very serious erabarrasraent to the ministers abroad. April. Jay, oh arriving at Madrid, found Cumberland, the dram atist, already there, sent from England to counteract his negotiations, and to arrange a separate peace with Spain. The Spanish court declined to advance money to take up the biUs drawn on Jay except on a relinquishment by the United States of all |)retensions to navigate the Missis sippi, and to the country on the lower banks of that river. Jay was not authorized to make any such concession, and it was only with the greatest difficulty that he obtained a loan of $150,000, payable in three years. This was by no means enough to cover his acceptances, and Frank lin was obliged to take up the balance, as well as the bills drawn on himself and Laurens, out of a loan of four DECLINING STATE OF AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 331 mUlion livres ($740,740), granted by the French court chapter — a fund very insufficient, however, to meet the numer- • ous deraands upon it. 1780. Exclusive of these suras obtained abroad, the debts contracted by arrears of army pay and comraissary certif icates at home, and such specific supplies as had been received, the expenditures from, the federal treasury for the year 1780 amounted to $83,000,000 in old tenor, and $900,000 in new, the whole valued in specie at about ^3,000,000, a great faUing^ off from the expend itures even of the last year, and an indication of the rap idly declining resources of Congress. Sp far, indeed, as related to America, Great Britain had good reason to be satisfied with the late campaign. Georgia was entirely subdued, and the royal government re-established. The possession of Charleston, Augusta, Ninety-six, and Camden, supported by an army in the field, secured entire control over all the wealthy and pop ulous parts of South Carolina. North Carolina was full of Tories, anxiously awaiting the approach of Cornwallis. The three Southern states were incapable of helping them selves, and those further north, exhausted and penniless, were little ablc'to send assistance. It seemed as if the promises so often made by Lord George Germaine's Amer ican correspondents were now about to be fulfilled, and the rebel colonies to sink beneath the aopuraulated press- _ure of this long-protracted struggle. Yet the pressure of the war was not felt in Amerioa alone. The rebellion, begun in Massachusetts, threaten ed, in its consequences, to involve Great Britain in a struggle with the whole maritime world. The British had claimed, and in the last war had rigorously exercised, the belligerent right of placing great restrictions on the trade of neutial nations. This same policy, known as 332 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER " the Rule of 1756," had been adopted in the present VT T ' XLI _ war, greatly to the annoyance of the Baltic states, pre- 1780. vented under it from sending to France and Spain their timber and naval stores, for whioh the pending naval hos tiUties created a great demand. To resist interference with their traffic, Russia, Denmark, and Sweden, early in the year, had formed a combination, called the " Armed NeutraUty," proclaiming, as the principle of their associ ation; that " free ships make free goods ;" in other words, that neutrals might carry what goods they pleased, with out liability to search or seizure. However little they might reUsh this declaration, the British ministry were cautious how they added the Baltic fleets to a naval com bination against them, already sufficiently formidable. British commerce was suffering severely. A convoy, July, bound to Quebec, fell into the hands of American priva teers ; another, more valuable, oomposed of East and Aug. West India ships, was captured by the Spanish fleet, and carried into Cadiz. The combined French and Spanish fleets in the West Indies far outnumbered the British ships, and, but for a deadly sickness among the crews, would have undertaken sorae oapital enterprise. It was this sickness which had prevented any response to the urgent request of Wash ington and Roohambeau for naval co-operation. De Gui- chen, the French admiral, in consequence of it, proceeded directly to France in oonvoy of the French merchantmen, instead of stopping, as had been asked and hoped by Wash ington and Rochambeau, to give a French naval superi ority on the North American ooast. What the rage of war spared, the fury of the elements Oct. threatened to devour. The West Indies were visited by a series of hurrioanes unparalleled in violence. The Brit ish islands were great sufferers, and many ships of war WAR IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES. 333 were lost ; but the main British fleet, under Rodney, es- chapter XLI. caped, having sailed for New York, to be ready for the ex pected approach of De Guiohen. The Spanish fleet, which 1780. alone remained in the West Indies, though out of the se verest range of the hurricane, was very seriously damaged. The Spaniards pressed the siege of Gibraltar with characteristic perseverance and unaccustomed energy. The war had spread also to the East Indies, where a con test had been going on for two or three years between the English East India Company and the Mahrattas, to which the instigations of the French had recently added a war with Hyder All. Descending from his mountain plateau of Mysore, that formidable chief spread desola tion through the dependencies of Madras, and reduced that British province almost to the brink of ruin. With one auxiliary army in the United States acting under Wash ington, France sent another to India to co-operate with Hyder AU ; and it required all the genius and unscrup ulous' promptitude of .Warren Hastings to save the Brit ish Indian empire from destruction. To oppose the combined fleets of France and Spain, Great Britain was obliged to keep afloat an iramense naval foree. To guard against the danger of invasion from France, eighty thousand volunteers had been en rolled in Ireland. This proved, however, but a danger ous resource. .The Irish volunteers, with arras in their hands, raised a loud outcry against the comraercial and political subordination -in which Ireland was held. The American soheme of non-importation and non-consump tion agreements began to be imitated, and steps ^ere taken toward vindicating the independence of the Irish Parlia ment a blow at British power hardly second to the Rev olution in America. In Great Britain itself, an agitation had commenced 334 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER in favor of parliamentary reform. The repeal of some XLL , of the harsher persecuting statutes against the Catholics, 1780. in which the ministry took the lead, proved very unsat isfactory to the ultra-Protestant bigotry of England and Scotland, and gave, occasion to a series of riots in London, during whioh that oity remained for several days in the hands of a furious mob. But this outburst of fanaticism, by the reaction it produced, tended to strengthen the Oct. hands of the ministry ; and, in the new ParUament lately eleoted. Lord North obtained a decisive majority. Holland, under the house of Orange, had been long an ally, almost a dependency of Great Britain ; but the Republican party,' always advocates for an alliance with France, had lately gained the ascendency. Under the lead of VanBerkel, grand pensionary of Amsterdara, they were strongly inclined to join the Armed Neutrality^, the commercial doctrines of which the Dutch had a great in terest in sustaining. The idea was also entertained of entering into a commercial treaty with the United States. Sept. Laurens, at length, had embarked for Holland ; but was captured on his passage by a British frigate, and being carried to England, was committed to the Tower on a charge of high treason. His papers, thro wni overboard at the time of his capture, but recovered by a British sailor who sprung in after them, betrayed a private correspond ence carried on with the Amsterdara magistrates. The States-General were oalled upon in a very imperious tone to disavow this correspondence, and to punish those con cerned in it. Disgusted with the coolness with which the States-General promised to take the matter into con- Dec. 2. sideration, the British minister retorted by a declaration of war. The Dutch fleet was still formidable ; but the impulse of passion was seconded by the prospect of plun der held out by the Dutch commerce and colonies. PLUNDER OF ST. EUSTATIUS. 335 Before this declaration of war was generaUy known in chapter XLI the West Indies, Rodney's fleet, just returned from New " York, surrounded the Dutch island of Eustatius, whioh, 1781. by its neutral character, its possession of a good harbor, ^^'^ and its privilege of a free port, had become a sort of en trepot for supplying America with British goods. An immense quantity of merchandise was collected there, a considerable part of which belonged to British merchants and American refugees. Besides two hundred and fifty ships, many of them loaded, the whole merchandise on the island, estimated as worth fifteen mUUons of doUars, was seized as lawful prize. A fleet of thirty Dutch ships, which had sailed a few days before, was pursued and taken. All this immense plunder was sold at a mUitary auction, to whioh buyers of aU nations — even those at war with Great Britain — were invited, under promise of safe-conduct. The inhabitants, including raany British subjects, besides being robbed, were treated with great harshness, and shipped off the island. The islands of Saba and St. Martin's, and the Dutch colony of Deme- rara and Essequebo, also submitted to the British. The appetite for plunder, so characteristic at all tiraes of the British array and navy, and so outrageously displayed at Eustatius, raised a great outcry against these railitary robbers, and brought down upon them the deserved odium of all Europe — an outcry in which many British mer chants joined. The plunder of Eustatius presently be came the subject of bitter discussion in the British House of Commons. Rodney, who appeared there, being him self a member, excused it on the ground that all the resi dents of that island were engaged directly or indirectly in traffic with the enemy, and that British subjects so en gaged were among the fittest objects for military plunder. 336 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER XLIL REVOLT OF THE PENNSYLVANIA AND NEW JERSEY LINES. VIRGINIA INVADED. GREENE'S CAMPAIGN IN THE CARO LINAS. WEST FLORIDA IN THE HANDS OF THE SPAN IARDS. chapter Arnold, rewarded for his tieachery by a gratuity of $50,000 and a, coramission as brigadier general in the 1780. British army, had published, shortly after his flight, an " Address to the Inhabitants of Amerioa," in whioh he attempted to gloss over his treason by abusing Congress and the French alliance. He also put forth a " Proc lamation to the Officers and. Soldiers of the Continental Army," Contrasting the beggary and wretchedness of their condition with the prompt pay and abundant supplies of the British service. To invite them to desert, he offered three guineas, $15, to every private soldier, and to the officers commissions in the British army according to their rank and the number of men they might bring with them. This effort on the part of one, himself a traitor, to corrupt the Araerican soldiers, was received with con- terapt, and produced no result. Other causes, however, occasioned a most alarming revolt; A warm dispute had sprung up in the Pennsylvania regiments, hutted near Morristown, as to the terms on which the men had enlisted. The officers raaintained, and such seems to have been the fact, that the soldiers, at least the greater part of them, had enl^isted for three years and the war. The soldiers, disgusted by want of pay and olothing, and seeing the large bounties paid to REVOLT OF THE PENNSYLVANIA LINE. 337 those who re-enlisted, alleged, on the other hand, an en- chapter XLI I listraent for three years or the war ; and, as the three years had now expired, they demanded their discharges. 1781. This demand being refused, the whole line, to the num- -^^^ ber of thirteen hundred men, broke out into open revolt. They killed an offioer who atterapted to restrain them, wounded several others, and, under the leadership of a board of sergeants, marched off toward Princeton, with the avowed intention of procuring redress at the point of the bayonet. Wayne, wbo coramanded at Morristown, sent provisions after the troops to keep them from plun dering. He followed himself, with one or two other offi cers ; and, though his authority was no longer regarded, being a favorite among the soldiers, he was suffered to re main in their carap. Wayne proposed to the sergeants to send a deputation to Congress and the Pennsylvania As sembly, which proposition they seemed inclined to adopt, but the soldiers would not Usten to it, and the next day continued their march. The crisis was truly alarming. The temper of the other troops, unclothed and unpaid, was very uncertain. The position of the revolters at Princeton would enable them to throw themselves at any moraent under British protection. Already sorae British agents had been sent to tamper with them ; these they had arrested ; but who could tell how long this would last ? Under these circumstances, pride bent to necessity, and a committee of Congress, and another of the Pennsylva nia Council, after conferring together, proceeded to meet the revolters. The Congressional coraraittee stopped at Trenton; President Reed proceeded to Princeton. As terms of accommodation, he offered, and the revolters ac cepted, an immediate supply of clothing ; certificates for the arrearages of their pay ; the promise of a speedy set- ni— Y 338 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chapter tlement of aU arrears ; and the discharge of aU who had XLIL . enfisted for three years or the war. On this latter point 1781. it was judged best not to be very particular ; the oaths of the soldiers were taken as to the terms of their enlist ment, and almost the whole line was discharged. The British emissaries, being given up by the soldiers, were Jan. 11. hung as spies. , Very muoh alarmed at this outbreak, Washington had Jan. 7. written urgent letters to the governors of the New En gland states, setting forth the dangerous necessities of the army, and calling loudly for money. These letters were sent by Knox, who was instruoted to press the matter in person. Congress also addressed a letter to the seven Northern states, calling for $900,000 in specie, or its equivalent, for the immediate payment of their respective lines. Half this sum, equivalent to three months' pay, was presently forwarded. Massachusetts' and New Hamp shire sent besides, to eaoh of their soldiers engaged for the war, a gratuity of tweUty-four specie dollars. Such, however, was the difficulty of raising money in the States, that a foreign loan to a large araount seemed the only hope of saving the army from speedy dissolution. A faction in Congress, especially the friends of Arthur Lee, thought Franklin too inefficient in this matter, and Colonel John Laurens, one of Washington's aids-de-camp, son of President Laurens^ was dispatched to France, to represent the pressing wants of the American army. The success of the Pennsylvania troops in obtaining their discharge induced a part of the Jersey line to imi tate their example. The New Jersey Legislature had Jan. 20. already appointed a committee to inquire into the griev ances of the soldiers, and that committee offered to pro ceed in the inquiry as soon as the revolters returned to their duty. Some did so ; but the larger number still REVOLT OF THE NEW JERSEY LINE. 339 stood out, claiming to be discharged, as the Pennsylva- chapter nians had been, on their own oaths. Washington was XLII. satisfied, by this time, that he could rely on the fidelity 1781. of the Eastern troops ; and he sent from West Point a detachment under Howe, whioh compelled the revolters to absolute submission. .Their camp was surrounded, they were obliged to parade without arms, and the offi cers were called upon to name three of the most guilty, who were tried by drum-head court-raartial, and sentenced to death. From some mitigating circumstances one was reprieved ; the other two were shot on the field, the exe cutioners being drafted from among their companions, who, then divided into platoons, were raade to apologize to their officers, and to promise submission for the future. The sympathies of Washington, so warm for the offi cers, did not extend in the same degree to the men of the array. On a former occasion he had checked the officers of the New Jersey line for mingling up their grievances with those of the men. Common soldiers, he thought, could not reasonably expect any thing more than food and olothing. That was all they received in other armies; their pay, by reason of the nuraerous deductions to which it was subject, being fittle more than nominal. Wash ington regarded as an expensive anomaly the plan adopt ed in New England and some other states, of providing for the families of the soldiers. Shortly after Leslie's departure from the Chesapeake, as mentioned in the preceding chapter, to proceed by water to Charleston to join Cornwallis, sixteen hund red British troops under Arnold, principally of the Loy alist oorps, were sent from New York to reoooupy Ports mouth. Anxious to signalize himself by sorae remark able exploit, Arnold, with about nine hundred men, pro ceeded up James River. Governor Jefferson called out Jan. 4 340 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. (CHAPTER the militia ; but the attack was so sudden, the white pop- XLU. , . ... ulation was so small, the plantations were so scattering, 1781. and the planters were so much occupied in looking after their slaves, that hardly two hundred men oould be col lected for the defense of Richmond, a village of eighteen hundred inhabitants, . of whom half were blacks. , Ar nold entered the town without resistance. Many pub lio and eome private buildings were burned, and with them a great many valuable stores. Others had been removed by the activity of Jefferson. A large quantity of tobacco and other private property was destroyed by the invaders. Jefferson promptly rejected a proposal that Richmond should be spared if ships might be sent to take away the tobacco. Steuben was in Virginia collecting and organizing re cruits for Greene's army. Some had been forwarded, but several hundred remained behind, waiting for olothing and arms, whioh it was very difficult to supply. A body of militia presently rallied around Steuben. Nelson oollect ed another corps. A French sixty-four and two frigates from Newport, taking advantage of a storm, which had disabled the blockading squadron, entered the Chesapeake. Feb. Thus threatened by land and water, Arnold found it nec essary to retire to Portsmouth, too high up to be reached by the French ships, which, after making some prizes, presently returned to Newport. i Not strong enough for offensive operations, Steuben was content to watch Arnold. To assist in his capture, Washington detached La Fayette with twelve hundred men, drawn from the New England and New Jersey lines ; ' and to co-operate in this movement, at Washington's earn est request, the whole French fleet presently sailed from Newport with a body of French troops on board. The British blockading squadron, which had made its INVASION OF VIRGINIA. 341 winter station in Gardiner's Bay, at the east end of Long chapter XLII. Island, pursued the French ships, and off the capes of the . Chesapeake a naval engagement took place. Worsted 1781. in this engagement, the French returned to Newport ; '^^'^ch 16. the British squadron entered the Chesapeake ; and the troops at Portsmouth Were speedily re-enforced by two thousand raen sent frora New York, under General Phil lips, long a prisoner in Virginia under Burgoyne's con vention, but lately exchanged for Lincoln. This failure on the part of the French fleet, the fourth futile attempt at co-operation, stopped the maroh of La Fayette's troops. They halted at Annapolis, in Maryland, in a great state of destitution — without shoes, hats, or tents. The British frigates, ascending the rivers of Virginia, levied contributions upon all the tide-water counties. One of these vessels entered the Potomac ; and the manager at Mount Vernon, to save the buildings from destruction, consented to furnish a supply of provisions. Washing ton, in a letter to his manager, highly disapproved of this procedure, declaring his preference to have had the build ings burned rather than saved by the " pernicious exam ple" of furnishing supplies to the enemy. Without waiting for Leslie, who was marching from Charleston to join him, cotemporaneously with Arnold's invasion of Virginiaj Cornwallis left his camp at Winns- Jan. 1, borough, and pushed northward, between the Broad River and the Catawba, designing to interpose hiraself between Greene and Morgan, against whom Tarleton had been de taohed with the light troops, about a thousand in number. Aware of Tarleton's approach, Morgan retired behind the Pacolet, intending to defend the ford ; but Tarleton crossed six miles above, and Morgan made a precipitate retreat. The Broad River was before him, and if he oould oross it he was safe. There was also a hilly dis- 342 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER trict on his right, which might afford him protection ; but. XLIL . rather than be overtaken while retreating, Morgan pre- 1781. ferred to fight on ground of his own selection. He chose for that purpose a plaoe called " the Cowpens," some three mUes south of the boundary of the Carolinas, and thirty miles west of King's Mountain, the scene of Furguson's defeat. The forces on both sides were about equal, but half pr more of Morgan's men were South Carolina militia, under General Pickens, who had recently joined him. These he drew up in front, in a line by theraselves. His Continentals, on whom his hopes chiefly rested, were stationed on an eminence in an open wood, and the cav alry, as a reserve, on the slope in the rear. The British, Jan. 17. though worn down by the rapid pursuit, advanced ira- petuously with loud shouts, confident of victory. The militia fled before them. The advance of the British en dangered the flanks of the Continentals, and it becarae necessary to make a retrograde movement. This move ment the British mistook for retreat, and they were rush ing forward with some confusion, when-, thp Continentals suddenly faced about, poured in, at thirty yards' distance, a deadly fire, and charged and broke the British line. The British cavalry, while pursuing the flying militia, were charged and defeated by the American horse. Tarle ton's whole foroe was thus put to total rout. Closely pursued, the British lost,an killed and prisoners, more than six hundred men, with all their baggage and artil lery. Morgan's loss was less than eighty. Escaping with a few horsemen, Tarleton joined Corn wallis, who was near at hand. When Leslie came up the next day, Cornwallis ordered all the stores and su perfluous baggage to be burned, himself setting th ex ample by giving up a large part of his own. The loss of his light troops was thus made up for by converting GREENE'S FiRST CAMPAIGN. 343 his whole army into a light infantry corps. The only chapter wagons saved were those with hospital stores, salt, . xm. and araraunition, and four empty ones for the siok and 1781. wounded. Having made this sacrifice, Cornwallis marched the next day, in hopes to intercept Morgan before he could Jan. I9. cross the Catawba. Sensible of his danger, that active officer, leaving the severely wounded under a flag of truce, having crossed the Broad River immediately after the ao tion With Tarleton, had pushed for the Catawba as fa'st as his encumbered condition would allow ; and, two hours before the British van made its appearanoe, he completed the passage of that river. A sudden rise of the water Jan. 29. took plaoe before the British could cross, and Morgan thus gained time to send off his prisoners and to refresh his weary troops. As soon as Greene heard of the battle of the Cowpens, he put his troops in motion for a junction with Morgan. Hastening forward himself with a small guard, two days after the passage- of 'the Catawba he assuraed in person Jan. 3i. the command of Morgan's division. In hope to detain the British on the other bank till his main body came up, Greene oalled out the neighboring militia to assist in guarding the fords of the Catawba. As soon as the wa ters fell, Cornwallis attacked a private ford, guarded by Feb. i. General Davidson with three hundred raen, and, in spite of a gallant defense, in which the commander and forty others fell, he forced a passage. Another body of mili tia was attacked and dispersed by Tarleton. The pas sage of the river being thus secured, it becarae necessary for Greene to push for the Yadkin, so the Peedee is called in its upper course. Before he was fairly over the Brit- Feb. 3, ish van carae up, and, after a smart skirmish, several of Greene's wagons feU into the eneray 's, hands. But he 344 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. ? CHAPTER had taken oare to secure all the boafs, and, by a sudden XLH, . rise of the river, the fords became impassable. 1781. Keeping on to Guilford Court House, Greene effected a junction with his main body, which had moved up the left bank of the Yadkin to meet him. While these move ments were still going on, he had heard of the invasion of Virginia by Arnold ; also, that Wilmington, at the mouth of the Cape Fear River, had been occupied by a British forCe from Charleston. ' Notwithstanding the junction of his two divisions, Greene was yet by no means out of danger. His united force amounted to only two thousand three hundred men, of whom six hundred were militia. Cornwallis, with an army somewhat superior in numbers, and much bet ter appointed, was marching up the Yadkin, intending to occupy the fords of the Dan, the narae of the Roa noke in its upper course, so as to cut off the Araerican army from Virginia, whence alone supplies and recruits could corae. It was necessary to anticipate this raove- ment ; and, leaving Colonel Williams, an able offioer of the Maryland line, to whom Morgan, on account of ill health, had relinquished the comraand of the light troops, to delay the maroh of the enemy, Greene hastened to the Feb. 14. nearest ferry, and crossed into Virginia with his baggage and raain body. The light oorps, olosely pursued by the British army, effected the passage also, after a forty miles' maroh that same day. Few of the soldiers had shoes, and this long and hasty march was tracked with blood. The American army thus driven out of the state, Corn wallis marched to Hillsborough, the late seat of the state government. The North Carolina state authorities had fled to Newborn ; but that town was presently attacked by a detachment from Wilmington, whioh dispersed the mUitia of the intervening counties, entered Newborn,, de- GREENE'S FIRST CAMPAIGN. 345 stroyed all the salt, sugar, rum, and raerchandise of ev- chapter XLH. ery kind to be found there, burned the shipping, and re turned again to Wilmington without molestation. The 1781. inhabitants of North Carolina were called upon to make their submission, and the well-affected to embody and to join the British array. The Tories in North Carolina were numerous ; but the repeated checks which they had received, and the sharp penalties visited upon their re- beUious movements by the state government, had taught them caution.. Still, there was so muoh stir among thera, that Greene, assured that re-enforceraents were approach ing frora the north, hastened to recross the Dan, not with any intention of fighting, but, by movements from one point to another, and by sending out skirmishing parties, to prevent the Tories from embodying in foroe. Tarleton had been detached to the banks of the Haw, to cover and aid a party of Tories organizing there. Sent in pursuit of him, Lee encountered those same Tories on the march to join Tarleton. They mistook the Araeri can for the British horse, suffered theraselves to be sur rounded, and were cuf^to pieces without mercy — a bloody execution, which spread general terror, and made the To ries still more cautious than before. To protect the large Tory population on the Haw and Deep Rivers, and to subsist his army, obliged, as he was, to live at free quarters, Cornwallis crossed the Haw, and encamped on Aliraance Creek. Greene followed ; but, though re-enforced by some Virginia miUtia, he was still too weak to risk an aotion. T?o avoid attack, he took a new position every night. His forraer experience was not without use to him ; he now acted as his own quar ter-master, and, to guard against surprise, never com municated to any one, the day beforehand, where his next encampment was to be. The Ught troops and 346 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER partisan miUtia were busy, meanwhile, in harassing the ^ enemy, and keeping the Tories in awe. Greene, as weU xm. 1781. as Cornwallis, lived at free quarters, or, if he paid at aU, paid only in certificates. Joined by fresh troops from Maryland and Virginia, his Continentals now amounted to sixteen hundred men. His whole foroe was presently raised to four thousand five hundred, by a body of six weeks' volunteers from Virginia and North Carolina. Anxious to avail himself of these volunteers, he approach ed the British army, and, in his turn, sought a battle. Though Greene's foroe was more than double of his, rely ing on the superior discipline of his troops, Cornwallis did not decline. At such a distance from his supplies, in a region where his enemies were zealous and determined, and his fiiends doubtful and wavering, he considered a viotory essential to secure his position. March 15. As the armies approached, a warm skirmish took place between the advanced light infantry. All that vicinity was a wilderness of high trees and thick underwood, with here and there a clearing. Greene had drawn up his first and second lines on a wooded hill, with an open field in front, sorae two or three miles from Guilford Court House. The first line, North Carolina militia, many of them compelled to serve as a punishment for their sus pected Toryisra, were posted behind a rail fence in the skirt of the wood. In the road on their right were plant ed two pieces of artillery. The second line, of Virginia militia, were posted entirely in the wood, three hundred yards in the rear. Among them were a considerable num ber of discharged Continentals ; but General Stevens, their commander, took the precaution to station a row of sen tinels behind them, with orders to shoot down the first who ran. The third line, four Continental regiments, two of Maryland and two of Virginia, was stationed in GREENE'S FIRST CAMPAIGN. 347 the rear of the militia, in another open field, nearer the chapter XLII court-house, on the right of the road. The two fianks were covered by light troops. The baggage had been 1781. left seventeen miles in the rear. At the first charge of the British, the North Carolina militia fled, throwing away their arms, and even their knapsacks and canteens. The Vuginia militia stood better, and from behind the trees poured in an effective fire ; but they could not hold out against the British bayonet. Greene relied on his Continentals ; but a newly-raised Maryland regiment broke and fied at the first charge. The British, rushing forward in pursuit, were checked by a heavy fire frora the other regiments, and, being charged by Washington's horse, were driven baok in confusion. The British artil lery opening on the pursuers, the fugitives were rallied ; and, finding his artillery captured and hiraself very hard pressed, Greene directed a retreat. It was raade with or der, the severe loss of the British, upward of five hundred men, preventing any active pursuit. The American army lost on the field upward of four hundred men ; and a large part of the militia dispersed and returned home. The wounded of both arraies lay scattered over a wide space. There were no houses nor tents to receive thera. The night that followed the battle was dark and tem pestuous ; horrid shrieks resounded through the woods ; many expired before morning. There were no provisions in the British camp ; the soldiers had marched and fought without eating ; nor was it till the evening of the day af ter that they received a trifling allowance. Such is war ! The British gained nothing by this dear-bought victory ; the gain, in fact, was all on the other side. The British army was so weakened, and Cornwallis found it so difficult to obtain provisions, that he resolved to fall back on Cross Creek (nowFayetteville), where there was a settlement of 348 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER Tories, and where he hoped supplies might reach hira up xm. , the Cape Fear River from Wilrnington. In this expecta- 1781. tion, however, he was disappointed; and, finding provis ions very scarce at Cross Creek, he continued to faU back toward the mouth of the river. Though his numbers had been greatly dirainished by the departure of the militia, Greene, too, found it diffi cult to subsist his 'army, for which purpose he halted on Deep River. Cornwallis having retired toward Wilming ton, Greene adopted the bold policy of marching directly into South Carolina, held in subjection by Rawdon with a small British foroe. Either Cornwallis must march in pursuit, thus relieving North Carolina, or Rawdon, if un supported, might be driven back, and the open country of South Carolina and Georgia be recovered. April. - At the head of eighteen hundred men Greene advanced rapidly upon Camden, where RaSvdon was posted with about nine hundred men, ohiefiy of the Loyalist-regiments. Camden was connected on the one hand with Charleston, on the other with Ninety-six and Augusta, by a chain of posts slightly fortified, and garrisoned mostly by bodies of Loyalist militia, but strong enough to resist the mount ed partisan corps under Marion and others, which con tinued to give the British some annoyance, though una ble to excite any serious alarm. Greene pushed along the road which Gates had followed some seven or eight months before, through the country of the Regulators, a barren region, where it was by no means easy, espeoiaUy at that season of the year, to find subsistence for the troops. Having entered South Carolina, he detaohed Lee with his cavalry to join Marion, and to assail Raw don's line of communication with Charleston. Greene w^s well on his march before Cornwallis was aware of his intention. It was then too late to succor GREENE'S FIRST CAMPAIGN. 349 Rawdon, and Cornwallis iraitated Greene's bold policy by chapter XLII. marching north toward Virginia, to join the British foroe . already there under Arnold and Pljillips. 1781. Not being strong enough to assault or to invest Cam den, after various movements Greene encamped at Hob kirk's Hill, within two miles of the British lines. Raw don made a circuit, and following the edge of the swamp, relied upon as a cover to the American left, gained that flank ; but Greene promptly formed his troops, and the April 25 attempted surprise proved a failure. The, British, ad vancing with a very narrow front, were exposed to a gall ing fire from the American artillery, and Greene order ed the extremities of his line to take the British column on either flank, while Washington's horse fell upon their rear. They seemed on the point of being surrounded, when Rawdon oalled up his reserve and extended his front. Gunby's veteran Maryland regiment, whioh form ed the American center, though distinguished in many previous actions, gave way before the charge of the Brit ish coluran. The whole line was thus thrown into con fusion, and obliged to retreat over the hiU. The superi ority of the Americans in cavalry prevented any pursuit ; and Washington's horse brought off the cannon which the retreating troops had left behind. Greene retired some twelve miles to Rugeley's Mills, where he encamped. The loss on either side was about two hundred and fifty. Two days before this battle, Fort Wa,tson, on the San- April 23. tee, one of the posts on the line of comraunication between Camden and Charleston, had surrendered to Lee and Ma rion. The inhabitants between the Peedpe and the San tee hastened to take up arms. All the passes were occu pied. The British line of communication on the north side of the Santee was broken. Colonel Watson, on his march with five hundred men to re-enforce Rawdon, after 350 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER vainly attempting to make his way up that side of the XLH. . river, was obliged to descend the Santee, cross near its 1781. mouth, and maroh up on the other side. Thus re-en- May 8. forced, Rawdon sought another battle ; but Greene had occupied another position, too strong to be assailed. Meanwhile, Lee and Marion crossed to the south side of the Santee, and laid siege to Fort Motte. Alarmed at these operations in his rear, Rawdon aban- May 10. doned Camden, and, followed by a number of Tory fami lies, retreated to Monk's Corner. , Fort Motto surrender ed ; Sumter took the post at Orangeburg ; and, after tak ing Fort Granby, Lee was sent against Augusta. He was joined in this enterprise by the Whig militia of the . upper district, led by Pickens, and, after a brave defense, June 5. Augusta was obliged to capitulate. Greene, meanwhile, had marched against Nineiy-six, the chief British strong hold in the upper country, where he was presently joined by Lee. Ninety-six was very obstinately defended by a garrison of American Loyalists ; and the unwelcome intelligence presently arrived that Rawdon, re-enforced by three regi ments from Ireland, was advancing to relieve it. An as sault was attempted ; but the storming party was re pulsed with loss, and, as Rawdon approached, Greene June 18. abandoned the siege, and retired across the Saluda. Rawdon followed as far as the Ennoree ; but the heat of the weather had become excessive ; Rawdon had re solved to contract the limits of his defense ; Ninety-six was abandoned, and the British army retired to Orange burg, followed by a train of frightened Tory families. Greene followed also ; but presently retired to the hills of Santee to refresh his troops, and to Wait for supplies and re-enforcements. The British army encamped on the July. Congaree, distant from Greene, in an air line, not more GREENE'S FIRST CAMPAIGN. 354 than fifteen miles ; but the character - of the intervening chapter XLII. country was such, intersected by rivers and swamps, that . the armies oould not meet except by a circuit of seventy 1781. miles. In this active campaign of seven months, though de feated in two pitched battles, Greene had reaped all the fruits of victory. The larger part of South Carolina had been recovered, the British being now, confined to the comparatively narrow district between the Santee and the Lower Savannah. Though active operations by the main arraies were suspended, the partisan oorps on both sides still kept the field. Eaoh party, in its turn, rifled and burned the houses of opponents. Blood was very fxeely shed ; even the women and children were not always spared. The stealing of eaoh others' slaves was a main part of these operations. It was in that way that Sumter paid his men. These bands of plunderers, while they effected lit tle or nothing of permanent importance, added exceeding ly to the horrors of the war. The British commander shot as deserters all who were taken in arms after having once accepted British protec tions. The execution on tha:^t score of Colonel Hayne, a Aug. 4. distinguished citizen of Charleston, who had given his pa role at the surrender of that city, but had afterward been taken in arms, produced a very aggravated state of feel ing. Greene issued a proclamation threatening to re taliate ; and the partisan corps were restrained with dif ficulty from shooting suoh British officers as fell into their hands. Greene, too, thought himself obliged to shoot as deserters all those found in the ranks of the enemy who had onoe served in his own. These mutual executions infiamed to the highest pitch the fury of civU hatred. 352 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chapter)- While the British conquests in South Carolina were XLH. .thus curtailed, what remained of the province of West 1781. Florida passed into the hands of the Spaniards. Galvez, Feb. 28. the Spanish governor of Louisiana, saUed from New Or leans to attack Pensacola with an army of fourteen hund- May 9. red men. Joined by a squadron from Havana and by a re-enforcement from Mobile, he obtained possession of the harbor, and Colonel Campbell, who oomraanded the Brit ish garrison, was at length induced to surrender. Pending this siege, a false report of the approach up the river of a British squadron had induced the Connec ticut iramigrants near Natchez to attack and recapture Fort Panmure. Informed of their mistake, and of the fall of Pensacola, and alarmed at the idea of Spanish venge ance, they resolved to fiy through the woods to Geor gia. Men, women, and children set out on horseback, and during a journey of more than four months, suffered most cruelly from hunger and the hostilities of the In dians. On reaching the frontiers of Georgia they divided into two companies : one fell into the hands of the Whig insurgents on that frontier ; the other, foUowing down the right bank of the Altamaha, crossed near its mouth, Aug. and at last reached the British post at Sunbury. In the course of the same suramer the Spanish post at St. Louis was attacked by a British party which descend ed frora Mackinaw by way of Lake Michigan and the Illinois ; but *^® siege was raised by General Clarke, who still oomraanded on the western frontier. Clarke also raised the siege of Fort Jefferson, which the Choctaws had attacked with great fury. But this fort, which gave serious offense to that tribe as an intrusion on their lands, and whioh could only be sustained at great trouble and expense, was presently abandoned. The district west of the Tennessee reraained, indeed, till 1818, in possession PROGRESS OF KENTUCKY. 353 of the Choctaws, the only resident Indians found by the chapter XLII white men within the limits of Kentucky. Such was the increase of inhabitants in that new district, that it 1781. was already divided into three counties : Jefferson, the region about Louisville ; Fayette, the region around Lex ington ; and Lincoln, the region between the Kentucky and the Cumberland. Clarke, coramissioned as briga dier general, was still the military commander. A fierce war was carried on with the Indians north of the Ohio, both ^^-^parties alternately invading eaoh other. The In dians, in one of their late invasions, had been led by a British officer, and supported by two pieces of artillery. Clarke's head-quarters were at Fort Nelson, now Louis- viUe. Spies and scouting parties watched the hostile Indians, and Clarke employed a galley, mounting some small pieces ef cannon and moved by oars, to cruise up and down the river. Among the now numerous emi grants to Kentucky were many deserters from the Amer ican army, siok of mUitary restraints, and seeking, in those western wilds, that personal freedom and independ ence which military law did not allow. The Virginia pa per money was so depreciated that warrants for a thou sand acres of land might be purchased for five doUars in specie. Warrants were purchased in unlimited numbers, and the whole surface was covered with double and triple surveys, many of them very vague, whence resulted af terward a great uncertainty of land titles and excessive litigation. IIL— Z 354 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTERXLIIL PHILLIPS AND CORNWALLIS IN VIRGINIA. ARMY, FINANCES, AND DEBT. FINAL DOWNFALL OF THE PAPER MONEY. FRENCH LOAN AND SUBSIDY. JUNCTION OF THE FRENCH AND AMERICAN ARMIES, OPERATIONS IN THE CAROLI- , NAS. CAPTURE OF CORNWALLIS. CHAPTER JJiVEN without the aid of Cornwallis, the British troops XLUI , under Phillips were more than a match for all the for- 1781. COS which Virginia could muster j To afford assistance April 20. iq ^jja^^ state, La Fayette's detached corps, whioh had stopped short in Maryland after the failure of the French fleet to enter the Chesapeake, was ordered to resume' the maroh for Virginia^ Principally drafts from the New England regiments, these troops, were fearful of the climate and indisposed to the service, and many deserted. After shooting a deserter or two. La Fayette adopted the more effectual raeasure of appealing to the pride of his sol diers. He offered free passes to all who wished to leave hira, while he secured the affection of the troops by ob taining for thera at Baltiraore, on his own credit — for no one would trust the United States — a supply of hats, shoes, blankets, and overalls, of which the detachment stood greatly in need. Having finished his fortifications at Portsmouth, and thus secured a place of retreat, Phillips proceeded up James River and the Appomattox, took Petersburg, and destroyed four thousand hogsheads of tobacco, part of the " specif ics" demanded of Virginia, collected there for shipment to France. The entire foroe of the Virginia line under PHILLIPS IN VIRGINIA. 355 arms at this moraent was less than one thousand men, chapter serving under Greene, and about half as raany raore naked '__ recruits whom Steuben was striving to arm and equip. 1781. Not able to muster troops enough to make any effectual ¦^-P'^'^ '^^¦ resistance, his Continentals being mostly without arms, Steuben retreated to Richmond. Phillips followed, and arrived opposite, on the banks of the James River, just as La Fayette's division frora Baltiraore entered the town. Even the invasion of the state had called into the field less than three thousand militia ; and Richmond owed its temporary safety to the presence of La Fayette's New England detachment. PhUlips retired to City Point, at May 2. the junction of the James and Appomattox. After col lecting an immense plunder in tobacco and slaves, besides destrpying ships, mills, almost every thing, indeed, that fell in his way, he embarked his army, and dropped sorae distance down the river. The policy adopted by Dunmore, at the beginning' of the contest, of arming the slaves against their masters, had not been persevered in by the British. Neither in Vir ginia nor in the Carolinas had the negroes been regarded in any other Ught than as property and plunder. The slaves carried off first and last from Virginia alone were estimated at not less than thirty thousand. Had they been, treated, not as property, but as men and the king's subjects, and oonverted into soldiers, the conquest of the Southern states would have been almost inevitable. Having marohed across the whole breadth of North Carolina with less than two thousand men, encountering no opposition on the way which a small advanced guard, under Tarleton, had not easily overcome, Cornwallis pres ently reached Halifax, on the Roanoke, whence orders were sent to Phillips to proceed to Petersburg, to meet him. Bodies of light troops were thrown out from Hal- 356 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chapter ifax toward Petersburg ; the fords of the Meherrin and XLIH. , the Notaway were occupied ; and the junction of the two 1781. British corps was effected without any obstruction. Re- May 20. enforced, shortly after, by four additional regiments from New York, Cornwallis greatly outnumbered La Fayette's army, which consisted of little more than one thousand Cpntinentals and two thousand militia. The most valuable stores having already been removed May 25. from Richmond, La Fayette, abandoning that town, re tired northwestwardly toward the Rappahannoo, to form a junction with the Pennsylvania line under Wayne, recruited, sinoe the late revolt and disbandment, to about a thousand men, and now on their maroh to join the Southern army. The Assembly of Virginia, as a means of meeting the present eraergenoy, besides conferring '^^ery extensive pow ers upon Governor Jefferson, had proclaimed martial law within twenty miles of either array, and had authorized the issue of fifteen additional millions of pounds in bills of credit, at the rate of forty for one. The depreciation, already three times as much, received a great impulse from this immense additpnal issue, and the bills proved but a very ineffectual resource. Upon La Fayette's re tirement from Richmond, the Assembly adjourned to Char lottesville, The prisoners under Burgoyne's capitulation, encamped in that vicinity for two years past, obliged sud denly to leave their comfortable huts and little gardens, were hastily marched, for security, over the mountains to Winchester.When about thirty miles from Richmond, finding that the junction of La Fayette and Wayne could not be pre vented, CornwaUis stopped the pursuit. But a light in fantry party, under Colonel Simooe, was detached to break up the Virginia laboratory and armory at the junction of CORNWALLIS IN VIRGINIA. 357 the Rivanna with the Jaraes, some sixty miles above chapter XLHI. Richmond, insufficiently guarded by a body of half-armed . recruits under Steuben. Another party, composed of oav- 1781. airy, under Tarleton, was sent to make a dash at the Virginia Assembly at Charlottesville, and-to capture Jef ferson, who resided in the neighborhood. Tarleton met and destroyed twelve wagons loaded with clothing and stores for Greene's array. He also raade prisoners of several gentlemen — among them seven members of As sembly — who had fled for safety from the lower country. On the news of his approach, the Asserably adjourned in June 4. great confusion to Staunton. Jefferson, whose term of office had just expired, received warning, and had a very narrow escape. The late governor had already declared his intention not to be a candidate for re-election, and, when the As sembly oame together at Staunton, General Nelson, the June 7. commander of the Virginia militia, was chosen to suc ceed him. There was, indeed, some disposition to throw the blame of the late disasters on Jefferson. A motion was even made in the Assembly for his impeachment. It was also proposed, considering the present emergency, to appoint a dictator — a proposition defeated by a few votes. Simooe had already completely succeeded in the objeot of his expedition. Steuben, with his recruits, retreated without attempting any opposition. A large quantity of arms under repair, powder, and other stores, which could very hardly be spared, were destroyed by the British ; after which,. Simooe and Tarleton, having joined their forces, descended the Jaraes River, one party on 'either bank, ravaging every thing before thera. Joined by Wayne, La Fayette again advanced, and in terposed himself in a strong position near Charlottesville, June 12. between the British army and some large quantities of 358 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER stores rcmovcd from that town on the enemy's approaeh In consequence of Clinton's apprehensions that Wash- 1781. ington meant to attack New York with the aid of a French fleet, Cornwallis had just received orders to send a part of his troops to that city. To embark the troops as direoted, Cornwallis marohed off toward WUliamsburg, foUowed cautiously by La Fayette, who was presently joined by Steuben with' his hew levies. La Fayette's force amounted now to four thousand men, half Continentals. CornwalUs had many more men ; his cavalry, mounted from the stables of the planters, whose horses, begrudged to Greene, were how seized by. the British, ravaged the country in every direction, and spread every where the greatest alarm. After a sharp aotion with a party of La July 6. Fayette's troOps at the Jamestowh Ford; Cornwallis cross ed the James River, and retired to Portsraouth. Part of his troops were embarked for New York, but were speed ily disembarked on the reoeipt of fresh orders to occupy sorae strong and defensible position in Virginia conven ient for ulterior operations. Portsmouth did not seem to be suoh a place ; and Cornwallis selected, in preference, the two opposite peninsulas of Yorktown and Gloucester, projecting into York River — a raore central position, and more convenient and accessible for heavy ships. Thither Aug. 1. he presently removed with his whole army, araounting to eight thousand men, attended by several frigates and smaller vessels, whioh oontinued their depredations up the rivers.. The destruction of property by the reoent inva sion was estimated at not less than ten millions of dollars. The Southern states were very anxious for the personal presence of Washington in that department ; but he be lieved that the South might most effectually be relieved by striking some decisive blow at New York. The means, however, for such a blow were not so obvious. The su- ARMY, FINANCES, AND DEBT. 359 periority of the British naval force still kept the French chapter XLHI. army idle at Newport. The Southern states, invaded . and overrun, were hardly able to defend themselves ; while 1781. the Eastern states, hitherto so sturdy, seemed now al most exhausted. Recruits for the army carae forward very slowly. The New York regiments had been de taohed to defend that state from Tory and Indian in vasion. The Pennsylvania line, and even some drafts from the Eastern regiments, had been sent to Virginia. Late in the spring, the entire force under Washington's immediate command fell short of seven thousand men- — not equal to- the nuraber of Loyalists employed at that time in the British servioe. It was with the utmost dif ficulty that even this small force was fed. To obtain a supply of provisions, Washington was obliged to send May 10. Heath to the Eastern states with a circular letter and pressing representations. In addition to the requisitions of the last year, which re mained, in a great measure, undischarged. Congress had oalled upon the states for six additional millions, in quar- March is. terly instaUments, to commence on the 1st of June, pay able in money of specie value. The scheme of specific supplies, found very unmanageable, and attended with great expense, was now finally abandoned. The domestic debt of the Union, under the scale of de- April 16. preoiation adopted by Congress — estimating the outstand ing old tenor at seventy-five for one, to which rate it had now sunk— amounted to twenty-four millions of specie dollars, to which some five millions were to be added, due abroad. Interest to the annual amount of a million of dollars was already payable on the liquidated portion of this debt. The. estimate for the ourrent year, inoluding the pay ment of half a miUion of outstanding commissary cer- 36P HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chapter tifioates, amounted to nineteen millions and a half of specie dollars. To meet this large sum, the yet unpaid 1781. requisitions of the last year were counted on for nine miU- ions, and three installments of the six miUion requisition lately made for an additional four millions and a -half The exchange of the outstanding " old tenor" for bills of the new emission, if completed, would put three miUions two hundred thousand dollars into the federal treasury. Half a million in commissary certificates was reckoned on as the produce of the outstanding paper money requisi tions. Half a mUlion more was hoped for as the produce of a proposed federal duty of five per cent, on all imports. Suoh an impost, as a fund toward paying the interest and principal of the publio debt, had been recommended by a convention of the New England states, held at Hart ford the preceding autumn. This proposition had been Feb. 3. approved by Congress ; the states had been called upon to make thp necessary grant of authority ; some of them had already complied, and the consent of the rest was confidently, expected. The greater part of this estimated income, falling short * as it did of the estimated expenditures, was destined nev er to be realized. The " new tenor" scheme did not an swer the expectation of its projectors. As the old paper continued to depreciate, tb^ new suffered a corresponding decline. Taught by experience, "the inefficiency of all attempts to support the credit of paper money by oom- May 22. pulsory acts," Congress recommended the repeal of any laws which might still be in force making paper bills of any sort a legal tender. At the same time, the states were informed that, as the expenses of the oarapaign had been calculated in " soUd coin," the requisition must be met in that or its equivalent. So far from being suoh an equivalent, the " new tenor" had already sunk to four for FINAL DOWNFALL OF THE PAPER MONEY. 354 one. Its further issue could only be attended with heavy chapter XLIII loss, and Congress reluctantly advised that it be stopped. After a good deal of discussion, it had been determined, 1781. early in the year, to abandon the old system of boards ^""® ^ and committees, and to put foreign affairs, war, marine, and finance, each under a single head. The first filled of these departraents was that of finance, the appointraent being accepted by Robert Morris, on the express oondition that all transactions should be in specie value. Thus rejected by the government, its creator, the pa per money, of which upward, of a hundred millions in old tenor still remained outstanding, declined in value more rapidly than ever. The local paper currencies, to which Pennsylvania, North CaroUna, and especially Virginia, had recently made great additipns, partook of a similar decline. The paper fell to a hundred, a hundred and twenty -five, two hundred, and presently five hundred for one. Speculators were willing to buy any kind of goods with it at any price, and a large amount was sent frora Philadelphia to Boston to be so invested, of whioh the Bostonians loudly ooraplained. The decline of the paper was so rapid that nobody was willing to hold it for a day. Finally it sank to a thousand for one. The soldiers in camp combined not to take it, and before the end of the year it dropped entirely out of circulation. Washington's circular letter obtained some supplies from New England. Morris made a contract with Penn sylvania, by which he agreed to furnish all the " specifics" required of that state, in value a milUon of dollars or more, on the credit of certain taxes which the Assembly had im posed. But as yet, impressment of provisions still con tinued the main resource for supporting the army. Mor ris oould only obtain a little money by selling bills on Franklin, for whioh it was hoped the French court would 362 HISTORY OF' THE UNITED STATES. chapter enable hira to provide. A few of these bills constituted VT TTT ^ r XLHI. . the only thing in the nature of cash with whioh it was 1781. possible to furnish Greene. Shortly after the arrival of CornwaUis in Virginia, a frigate frora the Count de Grasse, the new French adrairal in the West Indies, brought inforraation that he might speedily be expected on the American coast with a pow- June 25. erful fleet. The French army marched from Newport, where it had lain idle for eleven months, to join Wash ington in the Highlands. Washington and Roohambeau both wrote to the admiral, pressing him to bring addi- July. tional troops. The combined army, moving from the Highlands, encamped , within twelve miles of King's Bridge. These movements, and espeoially an intercept ed letter from Washington tp Rochambeau, containing allusions to a projected attack on New York, had occa sioned the order to CornwaUis to send troops to that city. The arrival of three thousand Hessians had caused the countermand of those orders, and the direction to, Corn wallis, already mentioned, to occupy sorae strong and central position in Virginia. Aug. Another French frigate presently arrived with inforraa tion that De Grasse would sail directly for the Chesa peake. His stay must of necessity be short ; Washing ton's ranks were still very thin ; Rochambeau was op posed to an attack on New York, as too great an under taking for the foroe at their disposal. It was finally re- Aug. 17. solved to take advantage of De Grasse's promised aid to strike ,a blow at Cornwallis in Virginia. Orders were sent to La Fayette to take up a position to out off the retreat of the British army into North Carolina. At the same time, every effort was raade to conceal frora Clin ton the change of plan, and to keep up the idea that an attack on New York was still intended. FRENCH LOAN AND SUBSIDY. 353 The French troops, and a division of the American chapter XLHI army under Linooln, crossed the Hudson at King's Fer- L. ry, and moved off through NCw Jersey toward the head 1781. of the Chesapeake ; but, to deceive Clinton, ovens were built near the southern waters of New York harbor, as though a large body of troops were to be stationed there. Ignorant of their precise destination, but not well pleased at this long southern march, the New England troops, as they passed through Philadelphia, exhibited some signs of dissatisfaction. It was thought that a small payment in specie would restore their good humor ; but Morris, who had already strained his credit to the utmost, was totally destitute of money. . Roohambeau advanced him $20,000 from the French military chest, on a promise of repayment by the first of October. At this critical moraent Laurens landed at Boston, on his return frora Aug. 25. France, with a large supply of olothing, arras, and am munition, and, what was still more acceptable, half a million of dollars in cash. Besides a loan of four millions of livres, $740;740, to take up the bills already drav^n upon him, Franklin had obtained from the French court, before Laurens's ar rival, a subsidy of six millions of livres, $1,111,111, to , be appropriated principally to the purchase of supplies for the army, but partially, also, to the payment of outstand ing acceptances, or such additional bills as might be drawn. The downright and positive manner of Laurens in de manding money was by no means agreeable to the French minister ; but Vergennes agreed to guarantee a loan in Holland for the benefit of the United States to the amount of ten millions of livres more, $1,851,851. In communicating to Congress these acceptable favors, the French embassador seriously remonstrated against the practice of drawing bUls without any previous provision 364 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chapter to take them up — a practice highly embarrassing to the XLHI. .French treasury, and totally inconsistent with financial 1781. regularity. It was also intimated that the state of the French finances was such as to make the repetition of any suoh aid as the present entirely out of the question. While Washington was thus furnished with the means of operating with energy and decision, Greene also had again taken the field. His successes had strengthened the hands of the North Carolina Whigs. Abner Nash, the governor of that state for the last two years, had .been suoceeded by Thomas Burke. A law was passed for com pelling the counties to fill up thp vacancies in the regi ments of the line. Measures, were taken for keeping two thousand militia in the field by means of a monthly draft. Horses were sent to Greene to remount his cavalry ; and great efforts were made to buy or borrow arms, of which there was a lamentable defioiency. Three hundred hors es were also received from Virginia, impressed by Jeffer son's orders, to save thera from falling into the hands of the British. An offer had also been made of militia ; but Greene declined it, pressing the state rather to fill up her empty' Continental ranks. Aug. 22. The heat having somewhat abated, Greene marohed up the Wateree to Camden, crossed that river and the Congaree also, and, being joined by the militia of the up per districts under Pickens, approached the British array, which retired before hira down the Santee. Marion also joined Greene's army with his partisan corps. A large mounted party of the enemy, sent out to forage, was sur- Sept. 8. prised near Eutaw Springs, and many of them made pris oners. Those who escaped gave the alarm. Colonel Stu art, to whom Rawdon, on his departure for England, had relinquished the coramand of the British army, forraed his troops in an oblique line across the road, in which GREENE'S SECOND CAMPAIGN. 365 were planted two pieces of artillery. Greene advanced chapter XLIII in two lines, the militia in front. His attack, made with great vigor, principally on the artUlery and the British 1781. left, was just as vigorously met. The artiUery on both sides was repeatedly taken and retaken. By great ex ertions, the British left was broken at last, and viotory seemed to declare for the Americans ; but a party of the routed troops threw themselves into a strong stone house with a picketed garden adjoining, and, though the Amer ican artUlery was brought up, all attempts to dislodge them proved unsuccessful. Meanwhile, a British battal ion on the right of the road, after repulsing a charge of the American horse, gained the rear of the attacking col umn. The British left raUied, and the Americans were finally repulsed. They lost two of their four pieces of artillery, but carried off one belonging tothe enemy. In this hard-contested action, Greene had somewhat more and the British somewhat less than two thousand men. The loss was very heavy on both sides ; that of the Brit ish amounted to near seven hundred men, of whom two hundred and fifty were prisoners. The American loss was almost as great. Colonel Washington, commanding the American horse, was wounded and taken prisoner. Both sides claimed the victory, but all the advantage of the aotion accrued to the Americans. Stuart presently re tired to Monk's Corner, and the British were thenceforth restricted to the narrow tract between the Cooper and Ash ley. Greene, however, was too muoh exhausted to con tinue active operations. His troops were barefoot and half naked. He had no hospital stores, hardly even salt, and his ammunition was very low. He retired again to the hills of the Santee, where the militia left hira. In the distressed condition of the arrny, signs of rautiny appeared in the camp, and an execution became necessary to keep it down. 366 HISTORY OP THE UNITED STATES. chapter a bold enterprise on the part of one Hector M'Neal Yr.TTT ^ '¦ XLUI. _ revived the spirits of the North Carolina Tories. At the 1781. head of a body of LoyaUsts he surprised HUlsboroUgh, a Uttle vUlage, the capital of the state, and not only cap tured a small body of Continental troops, but made pris oners, also, of Governor Burke and his council. M'Neal was attacked and slain on his retreat by a party of mili tia, but his followers succeeded in getting into Wilming ton with their prisoners. The North Carolina Loyalists began to make new move ments ; but General Rutherford marohed into the disaf fected districts at the head ^of a body of militia, drove the Tories from their dwellings, burned their houses, destroy ed their crops, and, with very little regard to former prom ises or. capitulations, resorted to all sorts of severities in hopes of driving them all into Wilmington. y/,. Meanwhile that French fleet for^ which Washington was Aug. 3. so anxiously looking made. its appearanoe on the Ameri can coast. ' The Count De Grasse had sailed from France toward the end of Maroh with twenty-six ships of.the line, followed by an immense convoy of two or three hund red merohantraen. Rodney, still busy in selling the plun der of Eustatius, sent Hood, With seventeen ships of the line, to out the Frepch off frora Martinique. Though joined by four more heavy ships, which came out from that island; De Grasse studiously avoided a close engage- April 29. ment ; and, during an aotion at long shots, the whole con voy got safe into the harbor of Fort Royal. Several of Hood's vessels, having exposed themselves to the fire of the whole French fleet in their efforts to bring on a gen eral engagement, had suffered severely; Hood bore away to Antigua for repairs, and De Grasse meanwhile aeoom- June. pfished the conquest of Tobago. He then proceeded with the fleet of merchantmen to St. Domingo,- whence he pros* FRENCH FLEET ENTERS THE CHESAPEAKE. 367 ently sailed with an immense return convoy bound for chapter France. After seeing this convoy well on its way, De Grasse changed his course and steered for the Chesapeake. 1781. Rodney expected that part of the French ships would pro- ^"S- 5 coed to the American coast ; but, having no idea that the whole fleet would take that direction, he judged it suffi cient to re-enforoe Graves, who oomraanded on the Ameri can station, by sending Hood thither with fourteen ships of the line. Hood antieipated the French fleet, and arrived Aug. 25. first off the Chesapeake. Not finding Graves there, he proceeded to New York. The very day of his arrival, news, was received that the French squadron at Newport, un der Du Barras, had put to Sea, plainly with intent to form a junction with the French ships from the West Indies. In hopes to out off one or the other of the Frer^oh, squad rons before this junction could be effected, Graves sailed with the united British fleet, amounting now to nineteen ships of the line. But, on arriving off the entrance of the Sept. .5. Chesapeake, much to his surprise, he found De Grasse, with twenty -four ships of the Une, at anchor just inside of Cape Henry. ' Having reached the Chesapeake six days before, De Grasse had found an offioer of La Fayette's on the look out at Cape Henry, at whose request he had sent four ships of the line and several. frigates to block up James and York Rivers, so as to out off CornwalUs's retreat. Three thousand French troops had also landed, and march ed to join La Fayette. No less surprised at the sudden appearance of the Brit ish fleet than Graves was at seeing them, the French ships sUpped their cables and stood out to sea. The fleets con tinued maneuvering in sight of each other for five days. A distant cannonade was interchanged ; but De Grasse took care to avoid a olose aotion, his great object being 368 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chapter to cover the arrival of the squadron from Newport. Dur- ¦VT TTT ¦*¦ -^ .ing these maneuvers, Du Barras entered the bay, and XLIII, 1782. along with him several transports loaded with heavy ar- Sept. 10. .jjiiery for the siege of Yorktown. His object thus accom plished, De Grasse immediately returned to the Chesa peake. Obliged to burn one ship, totally disabled in his attempts to bring on an action, and having several others badly damaged. Graves returned to New York to refit, leaving the French fieet in undisturbed possession of the bay. The run of ill luck, which on so many previous oc casions had defeated the atterapt at French and American co-operation, seemed at last to have turned. Transports Sept. 17. were sent to bring down the French and American ar mies ; and, in an interview between Washngton, De Grasse, and Rochambeau, the plan of , operations was speedily arranged. Having discovered Washington's real pbject, Clinton had attempted to interrupt it by a diversion at the north. The Highlands, held by fourteen regiments, and now again under the command of Heath, were too strong to be at tacked; but an expedition under Arnold, recalled from Virginia several months before, to advise about an attaek on the Highlands, was sent against the ooast of Connect icut. New London, a resort of privateers, And a depot Sept. 7. for the West India trade, was plundered and burned, and a great amount of property destroyed. Fort Griswold, on the opposite side of the river, was carried by assault, with a loss to the British of two hundred raen — a loss retaliated by the raeroiless slaughter of the garrison. Colonel Led- yard, the oommander, and some sixty others, being raas- saored after the surrender. As the militia of the neigh borhood began to assemble, Arnold, who knew and dread ed their spirit, hastened to re-embafk. The combined French and American army, by the help CAPTURE OF CORNWALLIS. 369 of the French transports, soon forraed a junction with La chapter Fayette at Williamsburg, whence they marched to invest Cornwallis. Three thousand five hundred Virginia mi- 1781. litia had assembled at La Fayette's camp under Govern- ^^P'' '^'' or Nelson. The Continentals, those under La Fayette and those brought from the north, amounted to five thou sand five hundred. The French, including the troops landed by De Grasse, were seven thousand in number. The besieging army thus amounted to sixteen thousand men. The British foroe, about half as numerous, was mostly at Yorktown, and against that place the operations of the besiegers were prinoipally directed. The works on the opposite side, at Gloucester, were merely blockaded. Yorktown had been made as strong as possible, works having been thrown up in advance to impede an enemy's approach. The most interesting event of the siege was the simultaneous storming of two of these advanced re- Oct. 14. doubts by two parties, one French, the other American. The van of the American party was led by Hamilton, whose thirst for military fame had induced him to seek a oommand in the line. The captured redoubts were included in the second parallel ; the ramparts of Corn walUs crumbled fast under the fire of the besiegers ; his guns were dismounted ; his shells began to fail ; the hope of relief from New York grew faint. A sally was at tempted, but without much success. As a last resort, Oct. 16. Cornwallis thought of passing his army across to Glou cester, forcing a passage through the troops on that side, and making a push for New York. But a violent storm drove his boats down the river, and even that desperate scheme had to be abandoned. The event of an assault oould not be doubtful, and, to save the useless shedding of blood, Cornwallis proposed to Oct. 17. oapitulate. A treaty was accordingly opened, and the III.— A A 370 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chapter British troops, about seven thousand in number, surren- XLIU. ^ ' ' dered to Washington as prisoners of war. The loss of 1781. the British during the siege, in killed, wounded, and'pris- Oct. 17. oners, had amounted to five hundred and fifty men. The American loss was about three hundred ; but among the slain was the accomplished and popular Scammeli, late adjutant general. The ships and naval stores, with fif teen hundred seamen, were given up to the French. Washington would enter into, no express agreement for the safety of the refugees in the British carap ; but Corn wallis was aUowed the use of a ship, to pass without ex amination, nominally to send dispatches to Clintotf, in whioh sorae of the most obnoxious escaped to New York. Lincoln, who had given up his sword to Cornwallis at Charleston, was appointed to receive the surrender of the' British troops. The rigor of the British on that occasion was not forgotten ; now, as then, the capitulating fPrce was required to march out with colors eased. Clinton, meanwhile, had been anxiously awaiting the repairs of the British fleet, which received also sorae re- enforceraents ; and, the very day of the capitulation, he sailed from New York with seven thousand men, determ ined to rescue Cornwallis at aU hazards. When off the Capes of the Chesapeake, news was received of the sur render ; and, as the British fleet was still muoh inferior to the French, Graves hastily returned to New York. Washington desired to follow up this success by an at tack on Charleston ; but De Grasse, anxious to return to the West Indies, was unwilling to co-operate. He even declined to take the responsibility, at that stormy period of the year, of landing at the mouth of Cape Fear River a re-enforcement for Greene's army. Greene's troops of the Virginia Une, levies for a Umited period, had become entitled to their discharge, leaving him, in spite of his FRENCH AND AMERICAN WINTER QUARTERS. 37 1 earnest and repeated remonstrances, without a single Vir- chapter ginia soldier in his army. The aid intended frora that '_ state had been diverted by the reoent invasion. After 1781. the surrender of Cornwallis, Wayne, with two thousand Pennsylvania Continentals, marched off to Greene's as sistance. X Governor Nelson, very active during the siege of York- town, had sometimes been obliged to order impressments on his own authority, without that concurrence of the council which the law required. The Legislature having assembled, he resigned his office, and was indemnified by Nov. a special aot. His successor was Benjamin Harrison, also a signer of the Declaration of Independence, for several years an active member of Congress, late speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates, and governor for the next thr^e years. The Assembly, at the same session, not withstanding the late attempt at impeachment, passed a resolution highly approving the oonduot of Jefferson while governor. Since the supply of money from France, Morris had adopted the plan of feeding the troops at the north by con tract. The Virginians, very restive under impressraents, which they passed a special aot to prohibit, except in case of invasion and by warrant of the governor, complained loudly that the same system was not extended to the south. The French army, under Rochambeau, remained en camped for the winter at WUliamsburg. The Continent als returned to their old position near the Highlands, de tachments being stationed at Pompton and Morristown. The prisoners of CornwalUs's army were marched over the mountains to Winchester, whence a part of them were sent to Lanoaster, in Pennsylvania. Knox and Du Portail had been recomraended for pro motion by Washington, on account of their distinguished 372 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chapter services in the siege of Yorktown. Du Portail was im- VT,TTT O XLIU. . mediately raised to the rank of major general ; and Knox 1781. presently obtained the same honor, delayed, however, by an atterapt on the part of the friends of M'Intosh, James CUnton, and Moultrie, whose commissions as brigadiers were prior to Knox's, to secure the same promotion for them. This attempt was successful only in the oase of Moultrie. Hazen, colonel of the Canadian regiment, had been made a brigadier some months before, and the sarae rank was presently conferred on Colonel WUliams, of Ma ryland, commander,'since Morgan's retirement, of Greene's light troops. Washington spent some time in Philadelphia urging speedy preparations fdr the next campaign. For the Oct. 1. service of the ooming year. Congress had already called upon the states, in addition to unpaid outstanding requi sitions, for eight mUlions of dollars, payable quarterly in specie or comraissary certificates. The states were re quested to impose separate and distinct taxes for their re spective quotas of this sum ; those taxes to be made pay able to the loan-office coramissioners, or to federal collect ors to be appointed by Morris, for whom was asked the same summary power possessed by the state collectors. At Washington's suggestion, an earnest circular letter calling for men and raoney was sent to all the states ; but the people were too muoh impoverished and exhausted to make any great efforts, and the general expectation of peace furnished new excuses for backwardness. The frontiers of New York continued to suffer from Tory and Indian invasion. General Schuyler's house in Aug. the outskirts of Albany was attacked and robbed by a bold party of marauders, and some of the inmates .parried pris oners to Canada. Schuyler saved himself by barricading his chambbr door, firing on the enemy, and giving orders THE THREE SOUTHERN STATES. 373 from the window as though a large party were .coming to chapter his assistance. Colonel Willett, employed with his regi- ment in the defense of the frontier, had a sharp encoun- 1781. ter at Johnstown, the former residence of the Johnsons, *-*"''• ^^¦ with five or six hundred Tories, whom he repulsed with loss. The surrender of Cornwallis was soon felt in the south ern department. Wilmington was evacuated, thus dash ing all the hopes of the North Carolina Tories. Greene 1782. approached Charleston, and distributed his troops so as to ^*"' confine the enemy to the neck and the adjacent islands. In re-establishing the state government of South Caro lina, none were allowed to vote who had taken British pro tections. John Matthews was eleoted governor ; araong the earliest proceedings of the Asserably was the passage of a law banishing the most active British partisans, and confiscating their property. The servipes of Greene were Jan. also gratefully reraerabered in a vote of 10,000 guineas, $50,000, to purchase him an estate. The Georgia Assembly, in a meeting at Augusta, chose John Martin as governor, and passed a law of confisca tion and banishment very sirailar to that of South Caro lina. Greene presently received from this province also the present of a confiscated plantation, l^orth CaroUna acknowledged his services by a grant of wild lands. 374 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER XLIV. STATE CONSTITUTIONS. THE CONFEDERATION. WESTERN LANDS. CONGRESS. EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS. BANK OF North America, inter-state controversies. VERMONT. WESTERN SETTLEMENTS. CHAPTER -C OR seven years the states of Amerioa had been en- XLIV. , gaged in a bloOdy, anxious, and expensive contest, in 1782. the course of whioh, every state, in turn. New Hampshire alone excepted, had become the seat of war and the scene of ravages, carried often to a fearful extent. In the midst of this engrossing struggle, the people had upon their hands the still raore serious task of organizing their re spective local governments, and arranging terms of con federation and union. The establishment of independent governments in the states, and the adoption of written constitutions in most of them, have been already noticed as they occurred. The idea of these constitutions was evidently derived from the royal charters, originally in aU the^ oolonies, and in sev eral of them down to the Declaration of Independence, the basis of the colonial administrations. Even after that declaration, in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Isl and, these sarae charters continued, with sorae raodifica- tions, to serve as the basis of state governments. The Constitutions of New Harapshire, South Carolina, Vir ginia, and New Jersey, adopted in haste just before the Declaration of Independence, were formed without much deliberation, and in some points were very defective. The Constitution of Maryland, and especially that of New STA.TE CONSTITUTIONS. 375 York, in whioh John Jay had a principal share, were more chapter carefully and elaborately drawn. South Carolina revised and modified her first Constitution in 1778. The same year, the council and House of Representatives .of Massa chusetts, exercising the powers of government under the modified charter, undertook to frame a constitution for that state ; but, when submitted to the people for ap proval — a practice then introduced for the first time — that Constitution was rejected, principaUy beoause it in cluded no Bill of Rights, and beoause a special conven tion had not been sumraoned to frame it. Suoh a spe cial constitutional convention — a practice then first in troduced — met the next year. John Adams, who had 1779. just returned from his mission to France, was a mora- ^^P*' ber ; and so was Samuel Adams, absent for that purpose from his seat in Congress. The Adamses and Bowdoin, acting as a sub-comraittee, reported, at an adjourned ses- 1780. sion, the draft of a constitution, whioh, being modified •'^"¦ and adopted by the Convention, and approved by the peo ple, went into operation the same year. John Hancock July. was chosen the first governor under this new Constitu- Oct. tion. It was presently taken for a raodel, in many re spects, by a convention which met in New Hampshire 1783. to frarae a new constitution for that state; Though all these original state constitutions have since been super seded or variously raodified, their main features are still preserved, and a sketch of 'their principal provisions forms an essential part of our revolutionary history. For all practical purposes — even to the extent of alter ations of the Constitution, except in a few states, where different provisions were made — the sovereign power was vested in the respective State Legislatures, which, except in Pennsylvania and Georgia, eonsisted of two branch es. The more numerous branch retained the narae it 376 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chapter had borne in colonial times ; in Massachusetts and other XLIV. ' , ^. .,,.... states, it was the House of Representatives ; m Virginia, the House of Burgesses ; in North CaroUna, the House of Commons ; in other states, the House of Assembly. The other branch retained in some states the colonial title of CouncU; Virginia caUed it the Senate, an appellation adopted in most of the states. Members of Assembly were eleoted generally for a year, but in South Carolina for two years. In every state except Pennsylvania, to be eligible to a seat some property qualification was required — a requisition sinoe generally abandoned. The representatives were chosen in New England by the towns; in the other states, by counties ; the distribution being regulated by a general, but not always very precise, regard to the ratio of pop ulation. Nowhere, except in Massachusetts, Connecti cut, and South Carolina, did the representative^ equal a hundred in number. The second branch of the Legislature, the Senate or Legislative Council, seems to have been designed to fill the plaoe of the forraer colonial councils, as the conserva tive branch of the government, the special representative of the wealthier class and of the rights of property. Hehoe the larger pecuniary qualification generally requir ed for a seat in that body ; and, in some states, a higher pecuniary qualifioation to vote for its members ; while, in the apportionment of senators, the amount of taxes paid by the several distriots was in several states taken into eonsideration. In Maryland, the senators were ap pointed, not direotly by the people, but by electors ohosen for that special purpose. By the first Constitution of South Carolina, the counselors were selected by the As sembly out of its own body ; by the Constitution of 1778, their election was given direotly to the people ; but that STATE CONSTITUTIONS. 377 arrangement was considered by John Rutledge and others chapter quite too democratic. The senatorial term of service in Maryland was five years, in New York and Virginia four years, in several other states two years, in Massachusetts and New Hampshire one year. The struggles of colonial times had occasioned great jealousy of executive authority intrusted to the hands of a .single magistrate. In New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, and Delawaroj the executive authority was exercised by a committee or council, the president of whioh was also president of the state, but with very little authority be yond any other counselor. The case was similar in Mas sachusetts previous to 1780. _The governor of South Carolina under the second Constitution was wholly de prived of the absolute negative allowed to the president under the first — another stretoh of deraocracy to whioh Rutledge objected. The other states, including South Carolina under her second Constitution, and Massachu setts after 1780, had governors, who, in general, were ohosen by the Legislatures, and required to possess a con siderable pecuniary qualification — in South Carolina as high as d£l0,000. Only New York and Massaohusetts adopted the practice, whioh existed also in Connecticut and Rhode Island under their royal charters, of electing the governor by the people — a practice imitated also in New Harapshire under her second Constitution.. Only in Massachusetts, New York, and Maryland did the gov ernors possess any power of appointing executive or ju dicial offioers ; and even in those states the assent and approval of a, council was required. By the second Con stitution of New Hampshire, the president of that state had a similar authority. In Massaohusetts alone was the governor intrusted with a qualified negative oU the acts of the Legislature. Even in mere ministerial duties. 378 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chapter the governor's sole office in raost of the states, he could XLIV. ° . , , J • J only act, except in New York, with the advice and con sent of an executive councU appointed by the Legisla ture, generally from its own body. Several of the Con stitutions carried their precautions so far as carefuUy to limit the re-eligibility of this feeble officer. In all the states, either by the Constitutions or by leg islative enactments, the EngUsh common law, and aU those English statutes hitherto reeognized and acted upon in the colonies respectively, were ^ made the basis of state jurisprudence. The foroe of law was also continued to all existing colonial statutes until repealed or altered, ex cept in South Carolina, where a particular enumeration and re-enactment was made of the colonial statutes in tended to be recognized. . . All the states. With the exception of Georgia, estab lished or oontinued some supreme tribunal, authorized to review and correct the decisions of inferior courts. In Georgia, the several county oourts each had final juris diction, juries being expressly declared by the Constitu tion to be judges of the law as well as the faot ; but a chief justice, appointed for the state, presided in all these courts. In New York, the state Senate, in imitation of the British House of Lords, was made the Supreme Court of Errors, assisted, as in England, by the chancellor and the judges. In New Jersey, the governor and council, as had been the oase in colonial times in all the crown col onies, constituted the Court of Appeals. In Virginia, a Court of Appeals was composed of the , admiralty and chancery judges, and the judges of the General Court ; but the judges of that particular court whose decision was under review did not sit in it. In Maryland and South Carolina, the presiding judges of the District Courts oomposed a Court of Appeals ; but their jurisdic- STATE JURISPRUDENCE. 379 tion did not extend to chancery oases. The Supreme chapter •^ XLIV. Court of North Carolina fulfilled the same functions, as did courts with the sarae, or nearly the same, titles in Con necticut, Rhode Island, Massaohusetts, New Harapshire, Pennsylvania, and Delaware, substantially in all, and in the two former colonies precisely the same with the tri bunals of colonial tiraes. Chancery jurisdiction, in spite of the opposition made to it by the oolonists, who regarded with dread its prolix proceedings and heavy fees, had been introduced into all the crown colonies excepting New Hampshire ; and wher ever it had been introduced, it was still retained. In New Jersey and South Carolina, the governor was chan cellor, as in colonial times. In New York and Mary land, a separate offioer was appointed with that title. In Virginia there were several district chancellors. In North Carolina and Georgia, the administration both of law and equity was intrusted to the same tribunals. In Penn sylvania, a limited chancery power was oonferred upon the Supreme Court. In Connecticut, the Assembly vest ed the judicial oourts with chancery powers in sraaller cases, reserving to itself the decision in matters of more importance. In the rest of New England old prejudices against chancery practice still prevailed, the consequence of which was a restriction for many years to the insuffi cient system of common law remedies. Even to this day the courts of Massaohusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine possess equity powers only in oertain specified cases. The old soheme of county courts for the adjudication of smaller civil cases, and of Courts of Sessions, oomposed of the justices of the peace of eaoh county, for the trial of petty crimes, was retained throughout the states, as was also the system, of separate tribunals for probate of wUls, administration of estates of deceased persons, and guar- 380 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER dianship of minors — a method introduced during colonial times, and founded on the practice of the ecclesiastical courts in England. The power of granting divorces was, for the most part, retained by the Legislatures, but in some states was conferred on the courts. The old forms of writs and legal process, the author ity of " The State," " The Commonwealth," or " The People," being substituted for that of the king, were stUl retained in all the states ; and, out of a pedantic spirit of imitation on the part of the lawyers, in spite of the efforts of the state Legislatures to give greater simplicity to legal proceedings, the forms and practice of the courts, even subsequently to the Revolution, were made more and more to oonform to English technicalities. This spirit on the part of the lawyers, who formed a very influential por tion of every state Legislature, proved a serious obstacle to all attempted reforms and simplifications of the law. 1784. Connecticut, however, set the example of requiring the judges to give in writing the reasons of their decisions. Kirby's Reports, published in 1789, containing the Con necticut oases from 1785 to 1788, was the first of a se ries of American law reports, of which we have now up ward of six hundred volumes. In Connecticut and Rhode Island the judges were an nually appointed by the Assemblies ; in Georgia the chief justice was appointed in the same way, the county judges being annually elected by the people. In New Jersey, Delaware, and Pennsylvania, the judges were appointed by the Assembly for a term of seven years. In the other states they were to hold their -office during good behavior, the appointment resting in Massachusetts, New York, and Maryland with the governor and council, and in the re maining states with the Legislature. In Virginia, the jus tices of the peace still retained all the extensive authority RIGHT OF SUFFRAGE. 381 with which they had been vested in colonial times ; and chapter XLIV they obtained, besides, the additional prerogative of nom- inating the candidates to fill vacancies in their, own body. The justices of the peace in all the states, besides their criminal jurisdiction borrowed from the English practice, seem also to have been invested with a jurisdiction, in troduced during colonial times and peculiar to America, as judges in the first instance for the smallest class of civil oases. By the Constitution of Georgia and the second Consti tution of New Hampshire, the delegates to the Continent al Congress were to be eleoted by the people. In all the other states they were appointed by the Legislatures. The right of suffrage, upon the contraction or expan sion of which the character of governments so greatly de pends, was given in New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Del aware, and South Carolina, to all resident tax-paying free men. In Pennsylvania, the eldest sons of freeholders, twenty-one years of age, oould vote without payment of taxes — a provision borrowed from Rhode Island. In the other states a pecuniary qualification was required, ex cept that in North Carolina resident tax-paying freemen could vote for members Of the House of Commons. In Virginia the old colonial practice reraained in foroe ; none could vote except possessors of a freehold of fifty acres or a town lot. A similar freehold was required in North Carolina as a qualification to vote for senators. In New York, none could vote for governor or senators who did not possess an unincumbered freehold worth $250, nor for merhbers of Alserably unless they had a freehold worth $50, or paid $10 annual rent. In Rhode Island the old provision continued in force which confined the right of voting to freeholders possessing a clear landed property of the value of $134, or their eldest sons. In the other 382 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER states, property, whether personal or real, of from $33 to $200, sufficed to qualify a voter — qualifications now al most entirely dispensed with. The provisions of these early constitutions on the sub ject of reUgion betrayed a curious struggle between an cient bigotry and growing liberality. On the eve of the Revolution, Congregationalism still oontinued the estab lished religion in Massachusetts, New Harapshire, and Connecticut. The Church of England enjoyed a similar civil support in all the southern colonies, and partially so in New York and New Jersey. It was only in Rhode.Isl- and, Pennsylvania, and Delaware that the equality of all Protestant sects had been aoknowleged — an equality in the two latter colonies extended also to the Catholic reUg ion, the public exercise of which was illegal in most or all the others. Catholic priests being liable, in Massachusetts and New York, to perpetual imprisonment, or even death. The Constitution of Massaohusetts seemed to guaran tee entire freedom of religious opinions and the equality of all sects ; yet the Legislature was expressly authorized and impliedly required to provide for the support of min isters, and to compel attendance on their services — a clause against which the people of Boston protested and struggled in vain. The Legislature also took upon itself to subject to heavy penalties any who might question re ceived notions as to the nature, attributes, and functions of the Deity, or the divine inspiration of any book of the Old or New Testament — reviving, in fact, the old colo nial laws against blasphemy. Similar laws remained in force in Connecticut, and were re-enacted in New Hamp shire. Favored by the Legislature, and still more So by the courts, Congregationalism continued to enjoy in these three states the prerogatives of an established churoh, and to be supported by taxes from which it was not easy CHURCH ESTABLISHMENTS. 333 for Dissentprs to esoape,' nor possible except by contribu- chapter ting to the support of some other ohurch on whioh they regularly attended. The rainisters, once ohosen, held their jflaces for life, and had a legal claim for their stipu lated salaries, unless dismissed for oauses deeraed sufficient by a council mutually chosen from among the ministers and members of the neighboring churches. The Church of England, the great majority of whose members were Loyalists, lost by the Revolution the es tablishment it had possessed in the southern colonies, and the official countenance and the privileges it had enjoyed in New York and New Jersey. But it retained its par sonages, glebe-lands, and other endowments, which, in some of the states, and especially in the city of New York, were by no means inconsiderable. By the second Constitution of South Carolina, the " Christian Protestant religion" was declared to be the es tablished religion of that state. All persons acknowledg ing one God, and a future state of rewards and punish ments, were to be freely tolerated ; if, in addition, they held Christianity to be the true religion, and the Old and New Testaments to be inspired, they might form church es of their own, entitled to be admitted as a part of the establishment. The election of their own ministers Was secured to all the churches, which were to be entirely supported out of their own funds, and the voluntary con tributions of their members. The Constitution of Maryland contained an authority to the Assembly to levy a " general and equal tax" for the, support of the Christian religion, to be applied to the maintenance of such minister as the tax-payer should designate, or, if he preferred it, to the support of the poor ; •but no attempt was ever made by fhe Maryland Assem bly, to exercise the authority thus vested in it. • 'i*-. 384 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chapter The Constitutions of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Del- aware. North Carolina, South CaroUna, and Georgia ex pressly repudiated the compulsory system by providing that no man should be required to attend any church, or pay any ohurch rate or tax against his will. No mention of the subject of religion was made in the Constitution of Virginia ; but the question came up.in the first Assembly. By the influx of Scotch-Irish Presby terians and other dissenters, espeoially Baptists, into the upper counties, the Episcopalians had become a minority of the people. But they still had a majority in the As sembly ; and it was only after warm debates that Jeffer son and George Mason procured the passage of a law re- 1776. pealing all the old disabling acts, legalizing all modes of worship, releasing Dissenters frora parish rates, and sus pending their collection until the next se'ssion — a suspen sion made perpetual in 1779, and the more readily, as most of the clergymen of the Church of England were Tories. By the Religious Freedom Act of 1785 all par ish rates were abolished, and all religious tests abrogated. This act, of whioh the passage was procured by the earn est efforts of Jefferson and Madison, seconded by the Pres byterians, Baptists, and other dissenters from the late Established Church, seemed to them the more impera tively called for in consequence of an attempt the year before, supported by Washington and Henry, and nearly successful, to pass a law in conformity to the ecclesias tical system of New England, compelling all to contribute to the support of some minister. By the Constitutions of New York, Delaware, and Maryland, priests, or ministers of any religion, were dis qualified to hold any political office. In Georgia, they could not be members' of Assembly. AU gifts to pious uses were absolutely prohibited by the Constitution of PUBLIC EDUCATION. 385 Maryland, except grants of land, not exceeding two acres chapter each, as sites for churches and church-yards. In several of the states religious tests were still kept up, and they were even to be found in some constitutions which, in other respeots, were among the most liberal. The old prejudice against the Catholic religion could not so easily be got rid of In New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, the chief officers of state were required to be Protestants. In Mas sachusetts and Maryland, all office-holders must declare their belief in the Christian religion ; in South Carolina they must also believe in a future state of rewards and punishments ; in North Carolina and Pennsylvania, they were required to aokndwledge the inspiration of the Old and New Testaments ; and in Delaware, to believe in the doctrine of the Trinity. Though somewhat soften ed from the harshness of former tiraes, religious bigotry and intolerance were by no raeans extinct. The French alliance had, however, a powerful effect in dirainishing the deep-seated prejudices against Catholicism, and Rhode Island presently set an example of liberality in this par- 1784. ticular by repealing the' law, so contrary to the spirit of her charter, by which Catholics were prohibited frora be coming voters. The old colonial laws for the observation of Sunday continued in force in all the states. Only the Constitutions of Pennsylvania, North Caro lina, Massachusetts, and the second Constitution of New Hampshire, made any mention of the all-important sub ject of education ; and the clauses on that subject in the Constitutions of Pennsylvania and North Carolina, by which the Legislature was required to establish schools for general instruction, remained, in fact, a dead letter. The CoUege of Pennsylvania being in the hands of Episcopalians strongly suspected of Toryism, the property IIL— B B 386 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. A CHAPTER and privilesres of that institution were transferred by act XLIV. r o „„ , . of Assembly to the University of Pennsylvania, a new cor- 1779. poration erected and .endowed by the Legislature. After the triumph. of tbe anti-constitutional, or, as they called themselves, the Republican party, this act of transfer was repealed, and for some years both institutions went on to gether ; but they were reunited again in 1791. Dick inson College, at Carlisle, was incorporated in 1783, and Franklin CoUege,. at Lancaster, in 1787. The latter has ceased to exist. Jefferson procured the abolition of the two professor ships of divinity, and a third for the Greek and Latin lan guages, in the College of WiUiam and Mary, and the sub stitution for them of professorships of anatomy, medicine, and chemistry ; law and police ; and modern languages. But his attempt to introduce a system of common schools did not succeed. An establishment for education in the district of Kentucky, endowed with confiscated lands, was incorporated in 1783 by the name of the Transylvania Seminary ; the same year the Hampden Sidney Apade- my, established by the Presbyterians in 1774, reeeived a charter as a college. The Constitution of Massachusetts dignified the college at Cambridge with the title of University, and guaran teed its property and privileges: A medical sohool was added to it in 1 782. The same Constitution oharged upon the Legislature to cherish the interests of literature and the sciences, " especially the publio schools and grammar schools in the towns." These town schools, and the same was the oase in New Hampshire and Connecticut, and also with the county schools of Maryland, were continued on their old colonial footing. It was only these four states that could boast any thing lilie a system of publio edu cation, and many years elapsed before their example was imitated. DESCENT OF LANDED PROPERTY. 397 f The project of a college for Maryland, delayed by the chapter state of public affairs and by disputes.,between the inhab- itants of the eastern and Western shores as to its site, was 1782. presently taken in hand by the Assembly, an act being passed for erecting the county school at Chester, in Kent county, into Washington College, " in honorable and per petual memory of his Excellency General Washington, the illustrious and virtuous coramander-in-chief of the ar mies of the United States." By a subsequent aot, a per- 1784. petual grant was raade to this college of d£ 12 50, ourrent money ($4166 25), annuaUy, to be paid out of marriage, tavern, and peddlers' licenses, and fines and forfeitures ac cruing on the eastern shore. By another act of the same session, provision was made for establishing another col lege for the western shore at Annapolis, to be callpd St. John's, to wMch was granted a similar endowment of £1750 ($5832 75), annuaUy, the two colleges to consti tute- together the University of Maryland. The college of St. John's is still in existence ; that of Washington has disappeared, as has also the " perpetual grant" voted by the Assembly. Through the procurement of Hamilton, the New York Assembly presently passed an aot erecting a board of twen- 1787. ty-ohe members, called " Regents of the University of the State of New York," to whioh were intrusted the visitation and oversight of all the schools and colleges that were or might be established in the state — a board after ward imitated in France, and which still continues to exist. • J Few matters of munipipal law have a more direct bearing upon politics than the descent of landed property. Upon this point all the state constitutions were silent ex cept that of Georgia, which prohibited entails, and pro vided for the equal distribution among all the children. 388 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chapter or other heirs in equal degree, of the landed as well as personal property of intestates. By the law, as it stood at the period of the Revolution, in New England, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware, the Mosaic rule pre vailed, providing, indeed, for a distribution amofig the chUdren, but giving to the eldest son a double share. In New York and the southern colonies, the English system of primogeniture was in foroe. But the exaraple of Geor gia was soon imitated. North Carolina adopted the rule of equal distribution in 1784 ; Virginia followed in 1785 ; New York and Maryland in 1786 ; and SoUtb Carolina in 1791. In 1789 the Legislatures of New Hampshire and Massachusetts deprived the eldest son of his double share ; Connecticut, did the same in 1792 ; Pennsylva nia and Delaware in 1794; and Rhode Island in 1796. Entails also were every where done away with, or the means of outting them off made easy. In the late crown colonies the royal quit-rents were abolished. The states assumed the ownership of all un- granted lands within their limits, or, in case those lands were occupied by Indians, the exclusive right of pre-emp tion. In Pennsylvania, by an aot of Assembly of 1779, all the proprietary claim of the Penn family to ungranted lands, or to quit-rents, was vested in the state, reserving, howPver, to the late proprietaries, all their private prop erty, including the lands heretofore set out and appropri ated as proprietary tenths or manors, with the quit-rents accruing therefrom. The Assembly also, as a' manifest ation of " their liberality and remembrance of the enter prising spirit whioh distinguished the founder of Pennsyl vania," granted to his heirs and representatives, late pro prietaries of the province, the handsome sum of £130,000 sterling, $524,000, payable in instaUments, to commence pne year aftfer the peace. Besides the amount thus vot- PECULIAR PROVISIONS. 339 edi and faithfully paid, the Penns received a large in- chapter XLIV demnity, also, from the British government.. So far as American indemnity was concerned, Henry Harford, the infant proprietary of Maryland, was less lucky. In 1780, the Legislature of that state abolished the quit-rents, and declared thp proprietary estates forfeit ed ; nor was any attention ever paid to the claim for in demnity subsequently set up. Harford's illegitimate birth, and the circumstance that he held by will and not by de scent, disinclined the Marylanders to regard him as the representative of the Calverts. On the expiration of Lee's terra of, office, William Paca was elected governor of 1782. Maryland.. Most of the peouUarities in the several state govern ments as first established oan be traced back to colonial times. There were some, however; purely theoretical in their origin, which, though sinoe abandoned, deserve to be noticed. In Pennsylvania, two persons from each county were to be chosen every seven years to act as a " Council of Censors," with power to investigate all breaohes of the Constitution, to send for persons and pa pers, to pass oensures, and ordain impeachments. It was also provided that no person should be a member of As sembly raore than four years in seven. The Constitu tion of New York established a " Council of Revision," consisting of the govprnor, chanpellor, and judges of the Supreme Court, to which were to be submitted all bills about to pass into laws. If objected to by this council, a majority of two thirds in both branches of the Legisla- turewas required to pass them. The same Constitution provided for a " Council of Appointraent," to consist of sixteen senators, to be annually selected by the Assem bly, four from each of the four senate districts into which the state was divided. All nominations to office made 390 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. xnv. CHAPTER by the governor required the sanction of this council- By .the Constitution of Georgia, aU mechanics, even though destitute of pecuniary quaUfication, were entitled to vote by virtue of their trades. All persons privileged to vote, and failing to do so, were subject to a penalty of £5 — i provision borrowed, indeed, from the colonial Legislatures of Maryland and Virginia, but specially intended to oper ate, it is probable, on the disaffected, so numerous in that state. It is apparent from this review that the Revolution made no Sudden nor violent change in the laws or polit ical institutions of Amerioa beyond casting off the su perintending, power of the mother country ; and even that power, always limited, was replaced to a great extent by the authority of Congress. The most marked peculiarity of the Revolution was the public recognition of thp theory of the equal rights of man — a theory set forth in the Declaration of colonial rights made by the first Congress at Philadelphia ; solemn ly reiterated in the Declaration of Independence ; and ex pressly or tacitly recognized as the foundation principle of all the new governments. But this principle, brought forward for a special purpose, encountered in existing prejudices and institutions many serious and even formi dable obstacles to its general application, giving rise to several striking political anomalies. Some of these anom- aUes have been already pointed out ; the most startling of all was domestic slavery, an institution inconsistent not only with the equal rights of man, but even with the law of England, as solemnly deoided in the oase of Somersett four years before the Declaration of Independ ence ; an institution, therefore, whioh the- colorfal Leg islatures and courts had no capacity to legalize, but which, at the commencement of the struggle with the SLAVERY. 391 mother 'Country, existed nevertheless as a matter of fact chapter in every one of the United Colonies, i In half the Union it still exists, preventing, more than all other oauses, that carrying out of the principles of the Revolution, that as similation and true sooial union toward which the states have constantly tended, but which they are stiU so far from having reached. ^^ That this anomaly was felt at the tirae is clearly enough evinced by the fact that no distinct provision on the subject of slavery appears in any state Constitution except that of Delaware, which provided "that no person hereafter imported from Africa ought to be held in slav ery under any pretense whatever ;" and that " no negro, Indian, or mulatto slave ought to be brought into this state for sale from any part of the world." The legal prooeedings mentioned in a former chapter as having been commenced in Massachusetts prior to the Revolution to test the legality of slavery there, though resulting in favor of the claimants of freedom, failed, how ever, to produce a general emancipation. Some attempts made at the commencement of the Revolution to intro duce the subject into the provincial Congress of Massa chusetts' were defeated ; and that body seemed to recog nize the legality of slavery by a resolution that no negro slave sfiould be enlisted into the array. In 1777, a prize ship from Jaraaica, with several slaves on board, was brought into Salem by a privateer. The slaves were ad vertised for sale ; but the General Court interfered, and they were set at liberty. The declaration, presently in serted into the Massachusetts Bill of Rights, that " all men are born free and equal," was held by the Supreme Court of that state to prohibit slavery. So it was de oided in 1783, upon an indictment for assault and bat tery against a master for beating his alleged slave. A 392 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER similar clause in the second Constitution of New Hamp- shire was held to guarantee personal freedom to all born in that state after its adoption. An aot of the Pennsylvania Assembly of 1780, passed principally through the efforts of George Bryan, and a little prior in date to the ratification of the Constitution of Mas saohusetts, forbade the further introduction of slaves, and gave freedom to all persons thereafter born in that state. Moderate as it was, this aot did not pass without a good deal of opposition. Several merabers of Aspmbly entered a protest against it, acknowledging, indeed, "the humani ty and justice of manumitting slaves in time of peace," but denouncing the present aCt as "imprudent" and "prema ture," and likely to have^ byway of example, a most dan gerous effect on the southern states, whither the seat of war seemed about to be transferred. In 1784, laws sim ilar to that of Pennsylvania were enacted in Connecticut and Rhode Island. The Virginia Assembly, on the motion of Jefferson, pro hibited, in 1778, the further introduction of slaves. In 1782 the old colonial statute was repealed, which forbade emancipations except for meritorious services, to be ad judged by the governor and council. This repeal re mained in foroe for ten years, during which period private emancipations were very numerous. But for the subse quent re-enactment of the old restrictions, the free col ored population of Virginia might now have exceeded the 1783. slaves. Maryland followed the footsteps of Virginia both in prohibiting the further introduction of slaves and in removing the restraints on emancipation. That feeling which led in New England and Penn sylvania to the legal ab^oUtion of slavery, was stron'gly re sponded to by the most illustrious and enlightened citi zens of Maryland and Virginia. Jefferson denounced SLAVERY. 393 the whole system of slavery, in the raost emphatic terras, chapter • as fatal to manners and industry, and endangering the_ very principles on whioh the liberties of the state wpre founded — " a perpetual exeroise of the raost unremitting despotism on the one part, and degrading subraission on the other." Similar sentiments were entertained and ex pressed by Patrick Henry. "Would any one believe," he wrote, " that I am a master of slaves of my own pur chase ? I am drawn along by the general inconvenience of Uving here withput them. I will not — I oan not j ustify it ! I believe a time will oome when an opportunity will be offered to abolish this lamentable evil. Every thing we can do is to improve it, if it happens in our day ; if not, let us transmit to our descendants, together with our slaves, a pity for their unhappy lot, and an abhorrence of slavery." Washington avowed to all his correspond ents " that it was among his first wishes to see some plan adopted by which slavery may be abolished by law." But these generous sentiments were confined to a few liberal and enlightened men. The uneducated and un reflecting mass did not sympathize with thera. Jefferson, in his old age, in a. letter on this subject, says, " From those of a former generation, who were in the fullness of age when I came into public life, I soon saw that nothing was to be hoped. Nursed and educated in the daily habit of seeing the degraded oondition, both bodily and mental, of those unfortunate beings, not reflecting that that deg radation was very much the work of themselves and their fathers, few had yet doubted but that they were as legiti mate subjects of property as their horses and cattle. The quiet and monotonous course of colonial life had been dis turbed by no alarm and little reflection on the value of liberty, and when alarm was taken at an enterprise on their own, it was not easy to carry them the whole length 394 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chapter of the principles which thev invoked for themselves. In XLTV 1 ir J the first or second session of the Legislature after I be came a member, I drew to this subject the attention of Colonel Bland, one of the oldest, ablest, and most respect ed members, and he undertook to move for certain mod erate extension of the protection of the laws to these peo ple. I seoonded his motio~n, and, as a younger member, was more spared in the debate ; but he was denounoed as an enemy to his country, and was treated with the great- -ost indeoorum." With the advanoe of the Revolution the sentiments of Jefferson made a oertain progress, re sulting in the prohibition of the slave trade and the free dom of emancipations, already mentioned ; yet, though the Constitution of Virginia , declared Ufe, liberty, and property to be unalienable rights, no legal restraint was placed upon the exorbitant and despotic power hitherto exercised over those held as slaves ; and Washington, in 1785, complained in a letter to La Fayette that recalled attention to the federal impost, the power to levy which . had been asked by Congress near three years before. A speoial oomraittee, Feb. appointed to look into the matter, reported that nine states had so far granted the power that Congress might aet, provided the four others,* Georgia, Maryland, New York, and Rhode Island, would come into the measure. It appeared by the.'report of another committee that the power to regulate commerce for a term of years had been INDIAN AFFAIRS. 461 granted by all the states except Delaware, South Caro- cHAPTEiE Una, and Georgia; but in several cases the grant was. XLVL partial or conditional. The grant of the impost, strongly 1786. pressed upon the defaulting states, was presently obtain ed from Rhode Island, Maryland, and Georgia. New York also yielded to the importunities of Congress, but reserved the collection to her own offioers, and made the duties payable in her own newly -issued paper money — reservations considered by Congress as oompletely vitia ting the grant. , 1785. Commissioners appointed for that purpose had lately ^ y^Q^ negotiated treaties with the Cherokees, the Choctaws, jan. 4. and the Chickasaws, by which those nations, acknowl- •'^''- *'¦ edging the Sovereignty of the United States, were con firmed in possession of by far the larger part of the pres ent states of Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi, with portions of Georgia and North Carolina. A treaty had also been formed with the lately hostile Shawanese, by Jan. 3i. which they were limited to a tract between the Miami and the Wabash. The Indian bureau was presently re- Aug. 7. organized by ordinance, and made subordinate, as till lately it remained, to the Department of War. Two superintendents were to be appointed, one for the district north of the Ohio, the other for the region south of that river, whose busine'ss it was to see that the regulations of Congress were enforced ; to keep the Indians quiet by doing them justice ; and to prevent those encroachments and that misconduct on the part of the frontier settlers '¦ by which Indian hostilities were, generally provoked. There was exhibited, indeed, even on the part of the state authorities, a strong ^sposition to intermeddle with that exclusive control over Indian affairs bestowed upon Congress by the Articles of Confederation. Georgia claimed the right to make treaties of peace and war with 462 HiItORY of THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER her neighbors, the Creeks, at her own pleasure. North XLVL . Carolina, having undertaken, of her own authority, to as- 1786. sign boundaries to the Cherokees and to grant'a part of their lands, was much offended at the concessions lately made to them. Virginia presently called upon the con federacy to pay the expense of an expedition by the Ken- tijckians against the Shawanese, undertaken without any authority from Congress. The consent of Congress to accept the cession of Sept. 11. Connecticut, notwithstanding the reservation whioh she claimed, completed the title of the Union to the "lands northwest of the Ohio. This concession to Connecticut was perhaps partially due to her quiet submission to the decision of the federal court in the Wyoming controversy. An ordinance had been reported for the goyernment of the Western Territory, but the surveys and explorations now going on had exposed the total disregard of all local boundaries, and the consequent inconveniences which would' result frora outting up the western country into sraall states, according to the scherae proposed in the Vir ginia act of cession, adopted in that of Massachusetts, and sanctioned in Jefferson^'s accepted report. Virginia and Sept. 29. Massachusetts were therefore called upon to modify their cessions, so as to allow the division of the country north west of the Ohio into three or five states, at the option of Congress. «* *' Aug. 3. The estimate for the current year, including the pay- %r -ment of two'installments of the foreign debt, falling due on the first of January following, amounted to $3,777,000, and that sum was accordingly required of the states, $1,606,000 of it being made'payable in indents. The requisition of the last year still remained in a great part unpaid. Rhode Island had made her Continental taxes receivable in lately-issued paper money, which FINANCES— MINT. .^;- 453 circulated at a great discount. New Jersey positively chapter XLVI refused to pay at all till New York consented to the '_ federal irapost. Though persuaded to recall this re- 1786. fusal, she made no provision for collecting the money. Pennsylvania objected" to pay, on the ground that a dis proportionate amount had been assigned to her ; South Carolina claimed credit for supplies furnished to Greene's army in 1782 and 1783, a part payment, as she alleged, of the eight million requisition of 1781. The unsettled condition of the state accounts allowed eaoh state to- set up the old pretense of being already in advanoe of her just proportion. To get rid of this excuse, a measure was proposed in Congress, and completed at the next session, for bringing the several state accounts to a close, by the appointment of commissioners with full powers for that purpose. But, as the proposed amendment to the Arti cles of Confederation touching the ratio of distribution had as yet been agreed to by only eleven states, and as the appraisement required by the original articles had never been made, even after the accounts were all set tled, it would still remain impossible to strike the balance between the respective states and the Union. The emptmess of the federal treasury did not prevent Congress from exercising the power conferred by the Ar- Aug. 8. tides of Confederation to regulate the currency and coin age of the eountry. The dollar, being the coin most oom mon and best known in Araerica, was taken as the raon ey unit ; and that decimal scale was now adopted, so su perior to all other monetary subdivisions. Originally proposed by Jefferson during his short inerabership of Congress, it was now p]§||ferred to a more complicated scheme suggested by Gouverneur Morris. A mint was presently estabUshed, but the poverty of Congress allow- Oct ic. ed rio coinage except a few tons of copper cents. 464 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. OHAPTER Troubles meanwhUe were breeding with Spain in rela- XLVI L tion to boundaries and the navigation of the Mississippi 178p. — a matter of great prospective iraportanoe to the rising settlements of Kentucky and Tennessee, and not with out its effect, also, on the value of the federal lands north west of the Ohio. Spain denied the competency of Great Britain to oede to the United States territory conquered and occupied by Spanish troops. She still held the set tlements about Natchez, and she claimed that Florida, to which, by her treaty of peace with Great Britain, she had regained the title, extended on the Mississippi as far north at least as the mouth of the, Yazoo — a fact con ceded, as she alleged, bythe seoret artiole in the treaty between Great Britain and the United States. Nor would she allow any claim to the navigation of that part of the Mississippi within exclusively Spanish terri tory. On the departure of Jay, Carmichael had remain ed at Madrid as American charge des affaires. Sorae of fense had been taken by that proud court at the repre sentation there of the United States by a minister of such inferior rank, and it was only on the remonstrances of La Fayette that Carmichael had been allowed to remain. 1785. Spain presently sent as minister to the United States M. ^^y- Gardoqui, a Spanish merchant, and the negotiation had been renewed between him and Jay as seoretary for for eign ^affairs. Meanwhile ' the jealousy of the southern states, particularly of Georgia, was greatly excited by » the negotiation of a close treaty of alliance between the Spanish authorities of Florida and the Creeks, to whom belonged all the eastern part of the present state of Ala bama, and all, that part of thepresent state of Georgia west of the Altamaha and Ooonee Rivers. The set tlers on the Cumberland were severely harassed by the Creeks, supplied with arms and ammunition, and stim- DIFFICULTIES WITH SPAIN. 46.5 nlated to hostilities, as was alleged, by French and Span- chapter ish traders. For the sake of peace, an arrangeraent of bounda- 1786. ries with Spain, and a treaty of commerce which was very much desired, the delegates in Congress from the northern states were willing to relinquish the navigation of the Mississippi for a limited period of twenty-five or thirty years. The delegates of the seven northern states approved a plan of that sprt submitted by Jay. The five Aug. southern states warmly opposed it ; and they insisted that, under the Articles of Confederation, no authority could be given to make such a concession without the vote of nine states. The same feeling animated the southern Legis latures, and the southern and western people ; and a great sectional jealousy was aroused as to the intentions of the northern and eastern states. The seizure by the Spanish garrison at Natchez of some American boats desoending the Mississippi produced a great excitement araong the western settlers. Great Britain still delayed to send a minister to the United States ; nor had any progress as yet been made by Adams at London toward a settlement of the points in dispute. As the obstacles to the recovery of British debts were not yet removed, the British still retained the western posts. In New York, however, the Trespass Aot of 1783 was declared void by the Supreme Court, as being in confiict with the British treaty — a decision procured by the efforts of Hamilton, who had engaged in the study of the law subsequently to the peace, and had already risen to decided eminence at the bar. This decision at first raised a loud clamor,..; but Hamilton ably defended it in a series of newspaper essays. One large portion of the wealthy men of colonial times ; had been expatriated, and another part had been irapov- III._G G 466 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chapter erished by the Revolution. , In their place a new money- ¦VT TTT •' XLVL . ed class had sprung up, especially in the eastern states, 1786. men who had grown rich in the course of the war as sut lers, by privateering, by speculations in the fluotuating paper money, and by other operations not always of the most honorable kind. Large claims against their less fortunate neighbors had ,accumulated in the hands of these raen, many of whom were disposed to press their legal rights to the utraost. The sudden fortunes raade by the war had introduced a spirit of luxury into the maritime towns, and even the taste and manners of the rural inhabitants had been tainted by the effects of raili tary servioe, in which so large a part of the raale popu lation had been more or less engaged. The fisheries, for merly a chief resource of New England,' broken up by the war, had not yet been re-established. The farmers no longer found that. market for their produce which the French, -American, and British armies had furnished. The large importation of foreign goods, subject to little or no duty, and sold at peace prices, was proving ruinous to all those domestic manufactures and mechanical em ployments which the non-consumption agreements and the war had created and fostered. Immediately after the peace, the country had been flooded with imported goods, and debts had been unwarily contracted for which there was no means to pay. The imports from Great Britain in the years 1784 and 1785 had amounted in value to thirty milUons of. dollars, while the exports thither had not exceeded nine millions. The lawyers, whose fees were thought enormous, and who were fast growing rich from the multiplicity of suits with whioh all the courts abounded, were regarded with no very fa vorable eyes by the mass of the oitizens, impoverished by the same causes to whioh they owed their wealth. There POVERTY AND DISCONTENT. 467 was an abundance of discontented persons more or less chapter XLVI connected with the late array, deprived by the peace of their accustomed means of support, and without oppor- 1786. tunity to engage in productive industry. The commu nity, from these various oauses, was fast becoming di vided into two embittered factions of creditors and debt ors. The certificates of the publio debt, parted with at a great discount by the offioers and others to whom they had been given, were fast accumulating in the hands of a few speculators able to wait for better times. With the example of the old tenor paper money before their eyes, an opinion gained ground among the people, op pressed by taxes to meet the interest on these debts, that the holders of certificates by purchase were only entitled to reoeive what they had paid — an opinion whioh tended to still further depreciation. Others of the debtor party had raore extensive views. Stop and tender laws were called for, and in some states were passed. New issues of paper money were demanded, whioh, by their depreoia- tion, might sweep off the whole mass of debt, public and private. Such issues were made in New York and Rhode Island, in which latter state John Collins had just been eleoted governor. The Rhode Island paper soon depreoi- "ated to eight for one. Laws were enacted to enforce its circulation ; but, though simUar to those formerly recom mended by Congress to support the credit of the Conti nental money, they were now generally denounced as op pressive and unjust, and obtained for Rhode Island an unenviable notoriety. Even those states which issued no paper were far from enjoying a sound currency. The excessive importation of foreign goods bad drained the country' of specie. The circulating medium consisted principally of treasury or ders on the state tax collectors, and depreciated certifi- 468 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chapter cates of state and federal debt. Even among those in XLVL . favor of meeting the public liabUities by taxation, there 1786. was a lack of agreement as to the way in whioh taxes should be raised. The excessive importation of foreign goods, and the consequent pressure upon domestic man ufacturers, had diminished a good deal the old prejudice against customs duties. A party had sprung up in favor of raising a large part of the publio revenue in that way, thus reviving the old colonial schemes for the protection of domestic industry by duties upon foreign goods. This, however, was opposed by the merchants as injurious to their interests. They came forward as the champions of free trade, and iilsisted upon the old system of direot taxation. A large part of the people seemed quite dis inclined to submit to either method. The weakness, for some years past so evident in Con gress, had begun to extend to the states. Not only was the idea in circulation of separating into two or three con federacies, but some of the principal states seeraed them selves in danger of splitting into fragments. Imraediately after the aot of cession passed by North Carolina in 1784, the people of East Tennessee, piqued at being thus disposed of, and alleging that no suffioient provision was made for their defense or the administra tion of justice, had assembled in convention at Jones- borough to take raeasures for constituting themselves into an independent state. Notwithstanding the speeay repeal of the act of cession the same year it was pass ed, and the erection, by the North Carolina Assembly, of the Tennessee counties into a separate judicial and military district, with a Superior Court and a brigadier 1784. general of their own, a second convention assembled at ^°- ^*' Jonesborough, and determined to organize an independ ent government under the name of the State of Frank- STATE OF FRANKLAND. 459 LAND or Franklin, fOr both naraes appear to have been chapter XLVI used. A provisional organization was made on the basis of the Constitution of North Carolina, the subject of a 1784. permanent constitution being referred to a new conven tion to meet the next year. Under this provisional ar rangement an Assembly met; John Sevier, one of the 1785. heroes of King's Mountain, was ohosen governor ; laws were passed ; oourts were constituted ; new counties were erected; and an address, signed by the speakers of the two houses of Assembly, was transmitted to Governor Mar tin, informing him that the inhabitants of Washington, Sullivan, and GreOne, now the State of Frankland, had declared themselves independent of North Carolina, and no longer considered themselves under her jurisdiction. Governor Martin immediately issued a manifesto, in which April. he went at length into the alleged grounds of separation, and exhorted all conoerned in it to return to their duty. The Assembly of North Carolina, at their next session, though they insisted on their authority, yet adopted mod erate measures only, and passed an act of oblivion as to all such as would submit. The Convention for framing a constitution for the new state having met, a draft, pro- Nov. posed by a coramittee, and very elaborately prepared to secure " the poor and the ruled from being trampled on by the rich and the rulers," was rejected by the Conven tion, and the provisional form of government already in operation, based on the Constitution of N'orth Carolina, was adopted as the permanent one. The rejected draft had given rise to warm debates, and the partisans of the new government becarae thus divided into two parties. A third party, in favor of adhering to North Carolina, be gan now to appear, at the head of whioh Colonel Tipton placed himself William Cooke was deputed by the Con vention of the new state as a delegate to Congress, with 470 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER a memorial asking admission into the Union. But he XLVI met with no encouragement. The North CaroUna party 1785, in Frankland so far raUied, that in the spring of 1786 elections were held in all the counties for rnembers of the North Carolina Asserably. But the state government still maintained its organization ; two sets of officers ev ery where claimed authority ; party spirit ran high ; col lisions were frequent ; and a civil war seemed to be im pending. Virginia was not a little alarmed by a movement in Washington county of that state, adjoining Frankland, toward a. union with it^a moveraent led by Carapbell, one of Sevier's oompanions in the affair of King's Mount ain, and which Patrick Henry, again chosen governor of Virginia on the expiration of Harrison's term, brought with much alarm to the notice of the Assembly. In con sequenoe of this . movement- in Washington, and the co- ternporaneous agitation in Kentucky, the Assembly of October. Virginia passed a law similar to that of Pennsylvania, subjeoting to the penalties of treason all attempts to erect a new state in any part of her territory, without permis sion first obtained of the Asserably. The Legislature of Virginia Soraewhat reluctantly Nov. followed up this repressive legislation by an act author izing the election of five delegates frora each of the seven counties of Kentucky, to take into consideration the forming an independent government. Should the Convention determine upon it, separation was consented to, provided Congress, before the first of June, 1787, would admit the new state into the Union, and provid ed further that Kentuoky would agree to assume her proportion of the Virginia debt ; the navigation of the Ohio to remain forever free and open to all the states ; all land titles held under Virginia to bo good and valid; KENTUCKY. 47I the Virginia land warrants to be located till Septeraber, chapter 1788 ; and no speoial taxation to be levied on the lands. XLVL of non-resident proprietors, oitizens of the United States. 1786. The Convention thus authorized was prevented from meet- ^^P'- ing, except in number smaller than a quorum, by an ex pedition again&t the Indians north of the Ohio, which the people of Kentucky had undertaken without authority either from Virginia or Congress, but justified in their eyes by some recent Indian depredations, the authors of which were not known. Upward of a thousand raen as sembled in arms, under George Rogers Clarke, and march ed for the Wabash. At Vincennes they plundered the boats of the Spanish traders, and thus helped to oorapli- oate the relations with Spain. But they soon quarreled among themselves, and returned without effecting any thing against the Indians. An application to Virginia, on the part of such merabers of the Convention as had met at the tirae appointed, resulted in a new aot of the Virginia Asserably, authorizing a new oonvention to be held the next year. The Connecticut settlers at Wyoraing, greatly dis satisfied by the refusal of Pennsylvania to confirm their titles, had risen in insurrection against the Pennsylvania authorities. Matters had been accomraodated for the moment ; but John Franklin, one of the settlers, a man of great energy and perseverance, in repeated visits to Connecticut, had persuaded the old members of the Sus quehanna Company to corae forward as olaimantsof the soil of so muoh of the Valley of Wyoming and the adja cent districts as they had originally purchased of the In dians. The company was reorganized ; hew shares were created ; iramigrants were invited; Ethan Allen, of Ver mont, was taken into service. The Pennsylvania As sembly at last passed a law confirming the Connecticut 472 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chapter titles of prior da,te to the decision at Trenton, but the people of Wyoming stiU resisted the jurisdiction of Penn- 1786. sylvania, and openly aimed at erecting a,sta,te of their own — at least such was the case with the "wild Yan kees," or " Half-share men," as they were called, the new settlers introduced under the auspices of the Sus quehanna Company. Sept. A convention of the people of Maine was sitting at Portland, to consider the expediency of erecting them selves into an independent state. This, however, w^s but a trifle compared with disturbances which began to appear in the southern and western counties of Massa ohusetts. The General Court had voted customs and excise duties, producing a revenue sufficient to meet the interest on the state debt ; but it was neoessary also to meet the installments of the principal, and to make some response to the repeated requisitions of Congress. The annual state tax amounted to near a million of dollars, and many of the farmers had fallen behindhand in their payments. They were encumbered, besides, with pri vate debts, to which law costs were added. A multitude of suits were pending in all the oourts. County conven tions, called to complain of grievances, had been followed, Aug. in Worcester and the counties west of it, by armed mobs, which prevented the courts from sitting. The real diffi culty was the poverty and exhaustion of the country consequent upon the war ; the want of a certain and re munerative market for the produce of the farmer, and the depression of domestic manufactures by competition frora abroad. But, as often happens in such cases, the. popular mind glanced only at the surface. These fun damental difficulties were overlooked. The grievances principally dwelt upon were, the extortions of the law yers, the aristocratic character of the Senate, the high DISTURBANCES IN NEW ENGLAND. 473 salary of the governor, the sessions of the General Court chapter in Boston, the refusal to issue paper raoney, and especial- ly the reoent grant of the " suppleraentary funds," cer- 1786. tain specific taxes, that is, conceded to Congress, in addi tion to the proposed federal irapost, as a raeans of paying the interest on the federal debt. Nor were there wanting artful, restless, discontented individuals, deceivers rather than deceived, such as always step forth on suoh occa sions for the gratification of their own unoorafortable feel ings, or for the sake of a little notoriety, to inflame pub lic discontent, and^to flatter popular delusions. The ex ample of the Revolution so lately accomplished naturally enough suggested an appeal to arms and the overthrow of the existing state government as appropriate means for the remedy of social evils. To that point matters in Massachusetts seemed to be fast tending. The sarae ideas prevaUed also in the neighboring states. Under the new Constitution of New Hampshire, Mesheok Weare had been ohosen president in 1784, succeeded in 1785 by John Langdon, and the next year by General Sul livan. An armed mob surrounded the Legislature, in ses- Sept. sion at Exeter, demanding a remission of taxes and an im mediate issue of paper money — a projeot whioh the Legis lature had referred to the people, but upon which no vote had yet been taken. The energetic promptitude of Sulli van succeeded in dispersing this mob without bloodshed. Alarmed at the aspeot of affaUs in Massachusetts, Gov ernor Bowdoin oalled a special session of the General Sept. Court. The malcontents had no open advocates in that body ; but they were not without strong sympathy there. An attempt was made to satisfy them by yielding to sev eral of their demands. Acts were passed dirainishing the legal costs of the collection of debts, and allowing the pay- raent of back taxes and of private debts in certain articles 474 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER of produce at specified prices. As the passage' of these XLVL .acts did not seem to allay the pubUc agitation, Bowdoin 1786. caUed out the mUitia to protect the sessions of the courts in the southern counties.. The Habeas Corpus Act was suspended, not, however, without an address from the General Court, in which pardon for past offenses was of fered to all who would give over unlawful proceedings. This condition'of things in Massachusetts attracted the very serious attention of Congress. It was feared that the malcontents, who were very numerous in the western part of the state, might seize the arras in the federal arsenal at Springfield, and rauster in sufficient foree io overturn the government. Under pretense of raising troops to aot Oct. 21. against the northwestern Indians, Congress voted to enlist thirteen hundred men to sustain the government of Mas sachusetts. A speoial requisition of about half a milUon of dollars was raade upon the states for the support of these troops, on the credit of which a loan was authorized, it being understood that some wealthy men of Boston would advanoe the raoney. But the insurrection had al ready broken out before these troops could be raised. Daniel Shays, late a captain in the Continental array, at the head of a thousand arraed men or more, took pos- Dec. 5. session of Woroester, and effectually prevented the session Dec. 25. of the Supreme Court in that town. At the head of an other smaller body, he repeated the sarae operation at Springfield ; but, beyond preventing the session of the courts, these insurgents do not seera to have had any plaiL Bowdoin called out at once four thousand mUitia, to serve. for thirty days, under the command of General Lincoln. The necessary means to sustain these troops in the field were obtained by loan in Boston. In the depth of one 1787. of the severest of winters, the quotas of the eastern ooun- Jan. 19. .jjgg assembled at Boston, whence they presently marched SHAYS'S REBELLION. 475 to Worcester, on their way to Springfield, to relieve Gen- chapter XLVL eral Shepherd, who was guarding the federal arsenal there, . at the head,of a small body of western militia. The raal- 1787. contents had appeared in that neighborhood to the nura ber of near two thousand men, in three bodies, under three different leaders, of whom Shays was the principal. The others were Luke Day and EU Parsons, from the district west of the river. Shays demanded possession of the arsenal, and approached from Wilbraham to take it. Jan. 25. Shepherd pointed some pieces of cannon against the ad vancing column ; and, when the insurgents persisted in approaohing, he gave orders to fire. The first discharge was over their heads ; when the pieces were leveled at their rank&, a cry of murder arose from Shays's men, who broke and fled in confusion, leaving three killed and one wounded. ¦ Upon Lincoln's approach the next day, the insurgents retreated toward Amherst. They were followed, but raade Jan. 27. good their retreat to Pelham, where they took post on two high hills, almost inaccessible by reason of the snow. The weather was very severe, and Linooln turned aside to Hadley to put his troops under oover. Negotiations ensued. The insurgents offered to disperse on condition of a general pardon ; but Lincoln had no authority to make such a promise. While this negotiation was still pend ing, the insurgents, hard pressed for provisions, broke up their camp and retreated to Petersham, on the borders of Feb. 3. Worcester county. As soon as Linooln was informed of this movement, at six o'clock the same evening he started in pursuit. Pushing on all night through a driving north east snow-storm, he accomplished a march of forty miles, one of the most remarkable on record, and entered Peter sham early the next morning, to the utter astonishment of the insurgents, of whora one hundred and fifty were 476 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER made prisoners. The rest, having had a few minutes' XLVL . warning, fled hastily by the northern road. Most of the 1787. leaders escaped into New Hampshire. The insurgents east of the Connecticut being thus dispersed, Lincoln moved into ¦ Berkshire, the extreme western county, where the malcontents were still more numerous. Feb. 3. Meanwhile the General Court had been called together in a new special session. A declaration of rebellion was put forth, and money was voted, and men also, to supply the place of Lincoln's militia, whose term of service would soon expire. The neighboring states were called upon to assist. in arresting and dispersing the insurgents, some of whom lurked in their borders, whence they made plunder ing incursions into Massachusetts, proceeding even so far as to kidnap and carry off some of their most obnoxious opponents. Some eighty of these plunderers from New Feb, 27. York, after an attack on Stockbridge, were intercepted by as many militia, and an action ensued, in which two were kiUed and thirty wounded. New Hampshire, Connecti cut, and New York promptly coraplied with the request of Massaohusetts to assist in arresting these refugees. Rhode Island and Verraont were more backward. Some * of the leaders, fled to Canada, but they found no counte nance there. A free pardon, on laying down their arras and taking the oath of allegiance, was offered to all who had served among the insurgents as privates merely or as non-com- raissioned offioers, with deprivation, however, for three years,, of the right to vote, to serve as jurymen, or to be employed as schoolmasters, inn-keepers, or retailers of ardent spirits. A commission was instituted, author ized to confer pardon, on such terms as they might see fit, on those not included in this, offer — aetive leaders, those taken in arms a second time, or suoh as had fired SHAYS'S REBELLION. 477 upon or wounded any loyal subject of the common- chapter XLVL wealth. Of those taken in arms and tried by the courts, fourteen were found guilty of treason and sen"tenoed to 1787. death. Many others were convicted of sedition. None, however, were executed ; indeed, the punishments in flicted, and the terms imposed by the coramission above mentioned, of whioh seven hundred and ninety persons took the benefit, were in general very moderate. Harsh measures would not have been safe. At least a third of the population were thought to sympathize more or less witl^ the insurgents ; and even the slight penalties ira- posed upon those who submitted did not pass without se rious opposition. At the ensuing general election the May. prevalefioe of these .sentiments becarae very apparent. The energetic Bowdoin was dropped, and the popular Hancock was reinstated as governor. Many of those, also, who had been most zealous against the insurgents, lost their seats in the General .Court. These events, during their progress, had exoited the liveliest interest throughout the Union, and they tended to confirm the impression, for some time past every where gaining ground, that some extensive political change was absolutely neoessary. That which struck every body as the first and most essential step was the. reorganization of the federal government, with powers adequate to its important functions. Hardly, indeed, had the Articles of Confederation been adopted, when the Assembly of New York unanimously recommended a convention to revise and amend them, by 1782. giving to Congress an increase of authority. The Gen eral Court of Massachusetts had subsequently passed similar resolutions ; but, by the representation of their delegates in Congress, had lately been persuaded to repeal them. Commissioners appointed by Maryland, of which 478 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chapter state General Smallwood had been lately chosen govern- XLVL . . . .J,.. . . pr, to arrange, with other commissioners Irom Virginia, 1785. a compact respecting the navigation of the Potomac, had agreed to recommend a new commission, with authority to fix, subject to the consent of Congress, a tariff of du ties, to be enforced by both states. On this question of duties, and, indeed, of commerce generally, Virginia had invited all the states to meet in convention at Annapolis. Eight states had appointed delegates, and those from Vir ginia, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New 1786. York actually met at the time and plaoe appointed. Sept. But, finding their number so few, and the powers of sev eral of them very muoh restricted ; oonsidering, also, the alarming aspect of affairs^for Shays's rebellion was just then on the point of breaking out — ^reflecting, moreover, that the regulation of commerce involved other important political questions, they resolved to reooraraend a con vention of delegates from all the states, to meet at Phil adelphia the following May, tb consider the Articles of Confederation, and to propose such changes therein as raight render them " adequate to the exigencies of the Union." This proposal was transmitted to all the state Legis latures, and was presently laid before Congress. After gredt delays, occasioned by the non-attendance of its mem- 1787. bers, that body had been organized at last by the elec- Feb. 2. |.JQjj q£ General St. Clair as president. The idea of the proposed convention was at first rather coldly received ; but seven states had already appointed delegates to it ; and, what had no less weight, all hopes of an"* independent federal revenue were finally dashed by the peremptory re fusal of the Assembly of New York to grant the impost on terms compatible with the acceptance of Congress. Under these circumstances, a resolution was passed giv- RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS. 479 ing sanction and approbation to the meeting of the pro- chapter XLVL posed convention, to which delegates were presently cho- , sen from all the states ex with a Continuation of the History of Vir ginia, 1630. (Reprinted in Churchill's Col lection of Voyages, vol. ii.) Perfect Pescription of Virginia, 1649. (Reprinted in the Massachusetts Historio al Collections, vol. xix. ; Force, vol. ii.) Virginia and Maryland; or. Lord Balti more's Printed Case uncased and answer ed. (Reprinted in Force, vol. ii.) Hammond, Leah and Rachel; or, the two fruitful Sisters, Virgima and Mary land. (Reprinted in Force, vol. ii.) Strong, Babylon's FaU in Maryland ; or, Relation of an Assault made by divers Pa pists and Popish Officers of the Lord Bal timore's against the Protestants in Mary land, 1655. Laiigford, A jnst and cleei-e Refutation of a false and scandalous Pamphlet, enti tled Babylon's Fall in Maryland, &c., 1655. Beginning, Progress, and Conclusion of Bacon's Rebellion, by T. M. Force, vol. i. Cotton, Anne, Account of our late Troub les iu Virginia. (Force, vol. i.) Barwell Narrative of Bacon's Rebell- 552 AUTHORITIES. ion, in the Massachusetts Historical Col lections, vol. ii. (Reprinted in Force, vol. i.) Account of the present State of Virginia (1697), in the Massachusetts Historical Col lections, vol. V. Jones, Present State of Virginia, 1724. Beverly, History of Virginia, 17G9. An other edition, 1723. Keith, History of Virgima. Small 4to, 1738. Stith, History of the first Discovery and Settlement of Virginia till 1624 (compiled from the MS. Records of the Virginia Com pany). 1747, 8vo. Jefferson, Notes on Virginia, 17S1. Burk, History of Virginia to 1806, with Appendices of original Papers, 3 vols. 8vo. Campbell, J. W., History of Virginia to 1781, 13mo. . Campbell, Charles, Introduction to the History of the Colony and ancient Domin ion of Virginia. Henning, Statutes at large of Virginia, with Appendices of Historical Documents, 1619-1792. 13 vols: 8vo. Revised Code of Virginia, editions of 1792, 1808, 1819. Proceedings of the Convention of Vir ginia, 1774, 1775. Journal of the House of Delegates and Senate of Virginia, 1776-90. Bacon, Laws of Maryland at large, 1765, foho. Acts of Assembly of the Province of Ma ryland from 1792 to 1795! Collection ofthe Laws of Maryland, fo lio, 1727. Kilty, Laws of Maryland to 1800., 2 vols. 4to. Dorsey, Laws of Maryland to 1839. 3 vols. 8vo. Bosman, History of Maryland to 1600. 2 vols. 8vo. M'Mahon, Historical View of the Gov ernment of Maryland. M'Sken-y, History of Maryland, 1634- 1848. De Laet, Novus Orbis seu Descriptionis Indis Occidentalis, libri xviii., Van der Donck, Description of New Netherland, 1633. (Translation in the New York Historical Collections, second series.) Megalopolensis, Account of the Maguas, or Five Nations, -in Hazard, Historical Collections, vol. i. Plantagenet, Description of the Prov ince of New Albio4 (Reprinted in Force, vol. i.) De Vries. Korte Historiael. (Parts re lating to New Netherland translated in the New York Histtiripal Collections.) Acrelius, History of New Swedea (Translation in the New York Historical Collections.) Holm, History of New Sweden, 1702. (Translation in the Pennsylvania Historical Collections, vol. iii.) Yates and Moplton, History of New York. Ante-Colonial and Dutch. O'Callaghan, History of New Nether land, or New York under tbe Dutch. 2 vols. Pieces relating tq New England, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland, in Purchas, part ii., book x. Smith, Captain ' John, Description of New England, 1616. (Reprinted in the Massachusetts Historical CoUecrions, vol. xxvi. ; Force, vol. ii.) Brief Relation of the Discovery and Plantation of New England, the general Form of Govemment intended, &c., 1622. (Reprinted in the Massaohusetts Historic al Collections, vol. xix.) . Smith, Captain John, New England's Trials, declaring the Success of 80 Ships employed thither within these eight Years, 1622. (Reprinted in Force, vol. ii.) Bradford and Winslow's Journal of the Settlement of Plymouth, commonly called Mourt's Narration. (Reprinted in the Massachusetts Historical Collections, vols. viii. and xix.; and in Young's Chronicles of the Pilgrims ; abridged in Parchas.) Winslow, Good News from New En gland ; or, a true Relation of Things very remarkable in the Plantation of Plymouth, 1624. (Reprinted iu Young.), History of Plymouth Colony [by Brad ford ?], in Hazard, HistoricA Collections, vol. i. ; Young, Chronicles otTihe Pilgrims. The Planter's Plea, with a Manifestatidu of the Causes moving such as have lately undertaken a Plantation in New England [at Massachusetts Bay], 1630. (Reprint ed in Force, vol. ii.) Dudley's Letter to the Countess of Lin- AUTHORITIES. 553 coin, 1630. (Reprinted in the Massachu setts Historical Collections, vol. viii. ; Force, vol. ii. ; and Young, Chronicles of Massachusetts.) .^j, Smith, Captain John, Advertisement to the unexperienced Planters of New En gland, 1631. (Reprinted in the Massachu setts Historioal Collectipns, vol. xxiii.) Morton, New English Canaan, 1632. (Reprinted in Force, vol. ii.) Wood, New England Prospect, 1634. Examination of Mrs. Anne Hutchinson before the Court at Newtown. Appendix to Hutchinson, vol. i. Histories ofthe Pequod War, by Mason, Gardiner, Underbill, and Vincent, 1637^38. (Reprinte^,in the Massachusetts Historic al Collections, vols, xviii., xxiii., and xxvi. Lechford, Plain Dealing ; or. News from New England, 1643. A short View of New England's present Government, both ecclesiastical and civil, compared with the anciently-received and established Gov emment of England. (Reprinted in the Massachusetts Historical Collections, vol. xxiii.) Relation of the Indian Plot, 1642, iu the Massachusetts Historical Collections, vol. xxiii. New England!s First Fruits in respect ofthe Progress of Learning in the College at Cambridge, 1643. (Reprinted in the Mas sachusetts Historioal Collections, vol. i.) Welde, Story of the Rise, Reign, and Ruin of the Antinomians, Familists, and Libertines that infested the Churches of New England, 1644. Gorton, Simplicity's Defense ^against a seven-headed Church Govehiment in New England, 1645. (Reprinted in the Rhode Island Historical Collections, vol. ii.) Winslow, Hypocrisy Unveiled, with a brief Narrative of the true Grounds of the first planting of New England, 1646. (Re ply to the above.) (The Brief Narrative reprinted in Young, Chronicles of Massa chusetts.) Child, New England's Jonah cast up at London, 1647. (Reprinted in the Massa chusetts Historical Collections, vol. xiv.) Winslow, New England's Salamander discovered, 1647. (Reply to the above.) (Reprinted in the Massachusetts Historic al Collections, vol, xxii.) Daybreaking of the Gospel with the In dians of New England, 1647. (Reprinted in the Massachusetts Historical Collec tions, vol. xxiv.) Josselyn, Account of two Voyages to New England, 1647. (Reprinted in the Massachusetts Historical Collections, vol. xxiii.) Shepherd, Clear Sunshine df the Gospel breaking forth upon the Indians of New England, 1648. (Reprinted in the Massa chusetts Historical Collections, vol. xxiv.) Original Papers relating to D'Aulney and La Tour, in the Massachusetts Histor- ical Collections, vol. xxvii. Platform of Church Discipline agreed upon in the Synod at Cambridge, in New England, 1649. 1653, and numeroua edi tions. Winthrop, Journal or History of New England, 1630-49, with Notes by Savage., 2 vols. 8vo, 1825. Winthrop, Papers in the Massachusetts Historical Collections, vol. xxix. Winslow,, Glorious Progi-eas of the Gos pel among the Indians in New England, 1649. (Reprinted in the Massachusetts Historical Collections, vol. xxiv.) Eliot arid Mayhew, The Light appear ing more and more, 1651. (Ib.) Clarke, 111 News from New England ; or, a Narrative of New England's Persecu tion ; wherein it is declared that while Old England is hecolning new. New England is becoming old, 1653. Strength out of Weakness (Letters of Eliot, &;c.), 1652. (Reprinted in the Mas sachusetts Historical Collections, vol. xxiv.) Extracts from the Records of the Prov ince of Maine, 1640-51, in the Massachu setts Historical Collections, vol. i. Tears of Repentance (Narratives of In dian Converts, by Eliot and others), 1653. (Reprinted in the Massachusetts Historic al Collections, vol. xxiv.f Johnson, Wonder-working Providence of Zion's Savior in New England ; or. His tory of New England from 1688 to 1652. London, 1654. (Reprinted in the Massa chusetts Historical Collections, vols, xii., xiii., xiv., xvii., xviii.) Farther Manifestation of the Progress of the Gospel. (Reprinted in the Massa chusetts Historical Collections, vol. xxiv.) 554 AUTHORITIES. Gorges, Sir Ferdinando, Narrative of the original Undertaking of Plantations in New England, 1658. (Reprinted in the' Massachusetts Historical Collections, vol. xxvi. ; Maine Historical Collections, vol. i.) Bishop, New England judged, not by Man, but by the Spirit of the Lord, and the Sum sealed up of New England's Per secution, being a brief Relation of the Peo ple called Q.uakers in those Farts of Amer ica, Ice., 1666^ Resolutions concerning the Subjects of Baptism by a Synod at Boston, 1662. Original Papers relating to the Royal Commission of 1664, in the Massachusetts Historical Collections, vol. xviii. Doings of an ecclesiastical Council at Boston in relation to Anabaptists, ] 667, in the Massachusetts Historical Collections, vol. xviii. Morton's New England Memorial, 1669. Davis's Edition, with Notes, 1826. Gookin, Historioal Collections of the In, dians in New England, in the Massachu setts Historical Collections, vol. i. Gookin, Historical Account of the Doings and Sufferings of the Christian Indians in New England, in the Transactions of the American Antiquarian Society, vol. ii. Papers relating to the Indians of New England, in the Massachusetts Historical Collections, vols, iii.) ix., and x. Papers relating to Philip's War and the preceding Negotiations, in the Massachu setts Historical Collections, vols, ii., v., and vi. The present State of New England with, respect to the Indian War, wherein is an Account of the true Reason thereof, to gether with most of the remarkable Pas sages that have happened. By a Mer chant of Boston, with two Continuations, 1776. (Reprinted in Drake's Old Indian Chronicle.) The War in New England visibly ended, being a true and perfect Account brought in hy Caleb Moore, Master of a Vessel newly arrived from Rhode Island, 1677. (Reprinted in Drake.) True Account of the most considerable Occurrencea in the War between tbe En- gliah and the Indians in New England, 1676. (Reprinted in Drake.) Wheeler, Narrative of Captain Hutch inson's Expedition to the NipmucltjCoun- try. (Reprinted in the New Hampshire Historical Collections, vol. ii.) The entertaining History of King Phil ip's War, with some Account of the-'Di- vine Providence toward Colonel Benjamin Church, 1716. History of the Captivity and Restora tion of Mistress Mary Rolandson, a Minis ter's Wife in New England, 1682. Increase Mather, Brief Histpry of the War with the Indians from June 24, 1675, to August 12, 1676. Mather, Increase, RelalHon of Troubles that have happened in New England by Reason of the Indians there from the Year 1614 to the Year 1675. Hubbard, Narrative ofthe Troubles with the Indians in New England from the planting thereof in 1607, but chiefly ofthe late Troubles in the two last Years, 1673 aud 1676, to which is added a Discourse ahout the War with the Pequods in 1637. Hubbard, Histoiy of New England to 1680, in the Massachusetts Historical Col lections, vols. XV. and xvi. Original Documents relating to the Nar raganset; Country, in the Massachusetts Historical Collections/ vols. v. and xxi. Roger Williams, Letters, in the Massa. chusetts Historical Collections, vols, i., xviii., and xxi. Dunton, Life and Errors. (Extracts in the Massachusetts Historical Collections, vol. xii.) Original Papers relating to Andros, in the Massachusetts Historical Collections, vols, xii., xviii., and xxvii. Cotton Mather, Memorable Providences relating to Witchcrafts and Possessions, 1689. Narrative of the Miseries of New En gland by Reason of an arbitrary Govem ment established there, 1689. Revolution in New England justified, 1690. Phipps's Expedition against Canada, in the Masaachuaetts Historical Collections, vol. xxiii. - Increaae Mather, Account of the Nego- tiationa fbr a new Charter, 1791. Brattle, Letter on the Salem Witch craft, 1692, in the Massachusetts Historic al Collections, vol. v. 'if,' AUTHORITIES. 555 Recantations of Confessors of Witch craft, in the Massachusetts Historical Col lections, vol. xiii. Extracts from Danvers' Church Recotda relating to Witchcraft, in the Massachu setts Historical Collections, vol. xxiii. Cotton Mather, Wonders Of the Inviaible World, 1692. Calef, More Wonders of the Inviaible Worid, 170O. Some few Remarks on a scandaloua Book written by Robert Calef, 1700. Gray, Remarks on the .early Laws of Massachusetts, with the Code called the Body of Liberties, now first printed in the Masaachuaetts Historical Collections, vol. xxviii. The Book of the General Laws and Lib erties concerning the Inhabitants of. the Massachusetts Bay, 1660. Laws and Orders (on separate folio sheets) from 1660 to 1668. General Laws and Liberties ofthe Mas sachusetts Colony, revised and reprinted, 1672. The Book of the general L aws of the In habitants ofthe Jurisdiction of New Plym outh, 1671. 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Laws, Treaties, and other Documents having operation aud respect to the Public Lands. Published by Order of Congress, 1810. Journal of tbe Convention for Framing the Federal Constitution. Secret Proceedings and Debates of the Federal Convention, by Yates and Lan sing, with Martin's Genuine Information. Madiaon Papers, 3 vols., including a fuU Report of the Debates ofthe Federal Con vention. Eliot, CoUection of Debates in the State Conventions on the Federal Constitution, 4 vols. Chandler, American Criminal Trials, 2 vols. Adams, John, History of the Disputes with America, from their Origin in 1754. Stedman, History of tbe Origip, Prog ress, and Termination of the American War, 2 vols. 4to. Andrews, History of the War with Amerioa, France, Spain, and Holland, 1775-83. 4 vols. 8vo. AUTHORITIES. 563 Gordon, History of the Rise, Progress, and Establishment of the Independence of the United States, 4 vols. , Warren, Mercy, History of the Rise, Progress, and Termination of the Ameri can Revolution, interspersed with Bio graphical, Politioal, and Moral Observa tions, 3 vols. Ramsey, History of the American Rev olution. 2 vols. Ramsey, History of the United States, 1607-1808. 3 vols. Botta, Storia della guerra deU* Indepen- denza degli Stati Uniti d' America. Pitkin, Political and Civil History of the United States. 3 vols. Lossing, Seventeen Hundred and Sev enty-six ; or, the War of Independence. Doddridge, Notes on the Settlements and Indian Wars of the western Parts of Virginia and Pennsylvania. Imlay, Topographical Description of the Western Territory of America. F-ilson, Discovery, Settlement, and pres ent State of Kentucky, 1781. (Annexed to Imlay.) Narrative of Daniel Boone. (Ib.) Marshall, History of Kentucky. 2 vols. Butler, History of the State of Ken tucky, second .edition. Haywood, Natural and Aboriginal His tory of the State of Tennessee. Haywood, Civil and Political History of the State of Tennessee up to 1796. Proceedings of the Ohio Historical and Philosophical Society. Atwater, History of the State of Ohio, Natural and CivU. Burnet, Notes bu the Northwest. Hildretb, S. P., Piouepr History of the State of Ohio. Turner, Pioneer History of the Holland Purchase in Western New York. Slade, CoUection of Vermont State Pa pers. AUen, Ira, Natural and Political History of Vei*mont. i WiUiams, Natural and Civil History of Vermont. 2 vols. Thompson, History of Vermont. Journal of the Episcopal Convention, 1785-86-89. Constitution of the Presbyterian Church in the United States. White, Memoirs of the Protestant Epis copal Church in the United States. Hawks, Contributions to the Ecclesias tical History of the United States. 2 vols. WUberforce, History of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States. Loskiel, History of the Moravian Mis sions in North America, 1792. Heckewelder, Narrative ofthe Moravian Missions among the Delawares and Mo- hegans. ^ Brown, History ofthe Shakers. Minot, History of the Insurrection in Massachusetts, 1786. Wilmot, Historical View of the Com mission for Inquiry into the Losses of American Loyalists. Thomas, History of Printing in America, with a Biography of Printers and au Ac count of Newspapers. 2 vols. Dunlap, History of the American The atre. \ Dunlap, History of the Risfe and Prog ress of the Arts of Design in America. 3 vols. Cooper, History of the Navy of the Uni ted ^tates of America. 2 vols. Holmes, Americau Annals. 3 vols. Pitkin, Statistical yiew of American Commerce. Edwards, History of the West Indies. 4 vols. Southey, Chronological History of the West Indies. 4 vols. FrankUn, Works, "with a Life by Sparks. 10 vols. Washington, Correspondence, Address es, Messages, &c., with a Life hy Sparks. 12 vols. Revolutionary Orders of General Wash ington during the Years 1788-83. Adams, John, Letters to his Wife. 3 vola. 18mo. Adama, John, Letters to Tudor, append ed to the Republication of Nov-Anglus et Massachusettensis. Adams, John, Twenty-six Letters re specting ihe Revolution, 1789. Adams, Mrs., Wife of John Adams, (Let ters. 2 vols. ISmo. Jefferson, Memoirs, Correspondence, and Papers. 4 vol's. Jay, Life and Writings, edited by his Son. 2 vols. 564 AUTHORITIES. Official and other Papers of the late Ma jor-general Alexander Hamilton. Life of Alexander Hamilton, by his Son. 2 vols. MarshaU, Life of Washington, with an Introduction. 5 vols. Biography of the Signers of the Decla ration of Independence. 9 vols. Tudor, Life of James Otis. Memoir of Josiah Clainoy, by his Son. Austin, Life of Gerry, with cotemporary Letters to the Close ofthe American Rev olution. 2 vols. Wirt, Sketches ofthe Life and- Charac ter of Patrick Henry. Tucker, Life of Jefferson. 2 vols. Lee, R. H., Life and Correspondence of Arthur Lee. 2 vols. Lee, R. H., Life and Correspondence of Richard Henry Lee. 3 'vols. . Sedgwick, Memoir of WiUiam Living ston. Morris, Gouverneur, Life ahd Writings of, by Sparks. 3 vols. Graydon, Memoirs of a Life passed prin cipaUy in Pennsylvania. Heath, Memoirs written by himself. Lives of Marion, by Weems and Horry, Simms and James. Life of General Stark. (Annexed to the American edition of Rogers's Journal.) Humphrey, Life of Putnam. Johnson, Life of Greene. 2 vols. 4to. Duer, Life of Lord SterUng, with Selec tions from his Correspondence. WiUett, Wm. M., Narrative of the Mil itary Actions of Colonel Marinns WiUett. Life of General Lincohi, in the Massa chusetts Historioal CoUections, vol. xiii. Life and Correspondence of Joseph Reed, by his Soit 2 vols. Memoirs of General Charles Lee. Joumal and Letters of the late Samuel Curwen, an American Refugee in En gland fi-om 1775to 1784. Life and Oorrespondence of Peter Van Schaiok. Trumbull, John, Reminiscences of his own Time. Sabine, American Loyalists ; or. Bio graphical Sketches of Adherents to the British Crown in the War of the Revolu tion. Flint, Life of Daniel Boone. Murray, John, Life, by himself. Lives of Stark, Putnam, Lincoln, Greene, Ethan AUen, Montgomery, Arnold, Wayne, Steuben, Warren, Sullivan, Pulaski, Reed, Henry,- Otis, and Palfrey,iu Sparks's Amer icau Biography. AUen, American Biographical Diction ary. Washington and the Generals of the American Revolution. 2 vols. INDEX. [Chronological lists of Governbrs of Colonies and States' wUl be found in the Index.] AcADlE, grants of, i., 92, 202 ; exploration, 1., 92, 93 ; settlements in, i., 96 ; occu pied by Kirk, i., 202 ; restored, ib. ; collis ions with New Plymouth, i., 203, 227 ; seized lay Cromwell's orders, i., 389 ; re stored, i., 447 ; state of, ii„ 104 ; occu pied by Phipps, ii., 134 ; recovered by the French, ii., 141 ; Church's expedi tion against, ii., 253 ; March's expedition against, ii., 259 ; conquered by Nichol son, ii., 262 ; ceded to England, ii,, 276 ; dispute as to boundaries, ii, 435. See Nova Scotia. Acadiens, expatriation of, ii., 457. Acts and ordinances of ParUament respect ing America — for the benefit ofthe New foundland fishery (1543), i., SO ; confirm ing Raleigh's Patent (1584), i., 83 ; es tablishing a commission for the colonies (1643), i., 304 ; for Subduing the Royalist colonies (1650), i., 355; navigation ordi nances (1651), i., 358; navigation acts (1660, 1663, 1673, 1696), i., 471, 474, 511; ii., 197 ; restricting woolen manufactures' (1699), ii., 813 ; for the trial of pirates (1700), ii., 303 ; gi'viug premiums on na val stores (1704, 1710, 1721), ii., 257, 297 ; regulating tbe currency (1707), ii., 258 ; re specting impressments (1707), ib. ; intro ducing the post-office system (1710), ii., 262 ; restricting the manufaetcQ-e of hats (1732), ii., 352 ; regulating the coUection of debts (1732), ii.,, 352 ; Molasses Act (173i3),ii., 356; Naturalization Act (1740), ii., 373 ; in restraint ofjoint-stock compa nies (1741), ii., 380 ; regulating New En gland biUs ofcredit (1751), ii., 406 ; relat ing to colonial levies and soldiers' quar ters (1755), ii., 448 ; Paper Money Re straining Act (1764), ii., 508 ; .Sugar Aot (l'?64), ii., 520 ; Stamp Act (1765), ii., 588 ; quartering acts (1765, 1774), ii., 535; iii;, 33 ; repeal of the Stamp Act (1766); ii., 536 ; act declaratory of the poWei* of ParUament (1766), ii., 536 ; l^ownshend's Tax Act (1767), ii., 538 ; creating a colo nial board of customs (1767), ib. ; allow ing drawback on tea (1^67, 1773), ib. ; iii., 26 ; suspending the powers of the New York Assembly (1767), ii., 540 ; for trials in England (1767, 1774), ii., 561 ; iii., 33 ; Boston Port BiU (1774), iii., 32 ; for regulating the govemment of Mas sachusetts (1774), iii., 33 ; Q.uebec Act (1774), ib. ; restraining colonial trade (1775), iii., 61, 63 ; conciliatory propo sition (1775), iii., 62 ; declaring colonial Vessels lawful piize, and for appointing commissioners to receive the submission' ofthe colonists (1776), iii., 112; renounc ing the right of taxation (1778), iii., 240 ; for the appointment of commissioners for' reconciliation, ib. ; authorizing a truce or peace (1782), iii., 416; authorizing the consecration of American bishops (1787), iii., 480. Adams, John, ii., 559 ; iii., 30 ; delegate to Congress, iii., 37,45-46,52; replytoSew- aU, iii., 66; interoepted letters, iii., 112; resolution against British authority, iii., 138; zeal for independence, iii., 133; president ofthe Board of War, iii., 134, 199 ; on committee to visit the Howes, iii., 151 ; argument as to the apportion ment of quotas, iii., 397 ; sent to France, iii., 826 ; retums, iii., 266 ; assists in framing the Constitution of Massachu setts, iii., 375 ; minister to negotiate with Great Britain, iii., 292, 411 ; author ized' to negotiate a Dutch loan, iii., 310, 412 ; minister to Holland, iii., 412 ; joint coiumissioner to treat for peace, iii., 413 ; 418, 419 ; his suspicions of France, iii., 414, 429 ; negotiates a treaty with Hol land, iii., 418 ; minister to England, iii., 455, 465 ; chosen vice-president, iii., 546. 566 INDEX. Adams, John CI., iii, 411. Ada-ms, Samuel, ii, 381 ; drafts protest, ii, 521 ; his character, u., 542 ; interview 'With Hutchinson, ii, 555 ; presides at a Boston town meeting, iii, 34 ; delegate to Congress, iii., 37, 46, 52 ; at Lexington, iii, 67 ; excepted in Gage's proclama tion, iii, 88 ; heads a party against Wash ington, iii., 233 i opposes half pay, iii, 324 ; votes for the Federal Constitution, iii, 537. Admiralty courts, ii., 198 ; iii, 404. Aix la Chapelle, treaty of, ii, 404. Albemarle, county of, ii, 27, 29, 39, 43, 810, 213. See North Carolina. Alexander, WiUiam (Lord Sterliilg), ii, 469 ; colonel, iii, 92 ; brigadier, iii, 124 ; at Long ^sland, iii, 149 ; sent to 'Con gress with a message, iii., 151 ; at Prince ton, iii, 157 ; n^ajor general, iii, 173 ; exposes Conway, iii., 234. AUen, proprietor of New Hampshire, ii, 142, 312. ' , AUen, Ethan, j}., 573 ; iii., 75, 103, 471. Alsop,, John, member of Congress, iii, 39, 137. Amadas and Barlow, voyages of, i, 81. Amalgamation of races, i, 114, 412, 519, 568 ; ii, 178, 429-430. America, name of, i, 34 ; aboriginal inhab itants, i, 68. Amerigo Vespucci i, 34. Andre, in., 380-324. Andros, Governor of- New York, i, 495 ; ii, 55, 60, 76; of New England, ii., 108- 114; of Virginia, ii, 101, 181. * Annapolis, i, 569 ; ii, 183. Antinomianism, i, 243. Appalachees, ii, 828. , ArgaU, i, 113, 114, 117. Armand, iii, 344, 313, 334. Armstrong, John, ii., 471 ; general, iii, 146, 217. Armstrong, Captain, iii., 431. Arnold, Benedict (Governor of Rhode Isl and), ,i., 291, 405,467. Arnold, Benedict (thetraitor), captain and colonel, iii, 74 ; at Tioonderoga, ib. ; marches for Ctuebec, iii, 104 ; wounded, iii, 106 ; brigadier general, iii.,, 124 ; in command at Montreal, iii, 128 ; com mands the fiotUla, iii, 144 ; sent to Rhode Island, iii, 160 ; promotions over hun, iii., 173 ; at Danbury, iii., 188 ; ma jor general, ib. ; at Philadelphia, iii., 191 ; in the North, iii, 200 ; relieves Fort Schuyler, iu., 208, 205 ; commands Gates's left wing,.^iii., 205 ; deprived of his command, iii., 208 ; again wounded, iii, 209 ; regains his rank in the army, iii, 319 ; again at PhUadelphia, iii, 259, 319; his" treason, iii, 319; his reward, iii, 336; letters to Washington; iii, 323; attempts to seduce the American sol diers, iii, 336 ; invades Virginia, iii, 339 ; expedition to New London, iii, 368. Assiento treaty, ii, 276, 374. Atherton, Humphrey, lieutenant, i, 294 ; captain;i.,373; majorgeneral,i., 392,465. Atwood, ii, 203, 205. Bacon, Nathaniel, Jr., i, 526, 531-547, 549. Bahamas, i, 280; ii, 28, 279. Baltimore, first lord, i., 205, 206; second lord, i., 207, 346, 354, 360, 565 ; third lord, i, 517, 564, 566, 567, 568, 569 ; ii, 69-72, 74, 117, 118, 172, 322 ; fourth lord, ii., 322 ; fifth lord, ii., 322, 341,568. Baltimore, town of, ii, 414. Bank of North America, iii, 405. Banks, ii, 107, 285, 297, 354, 380; 'iii., 406. B aptists, in New England, i, 289, 290, 349, 393, 403, 464, 497, 499 ; ii, 306, 388, 577 ; in Virginia, i, 512, 519; iii, 384; inPenn- sylvania, ii; 344 ; in the colonies gener- I ally, ii, 577 ; in the states, iii, 481. Barbadoes, i., 133, 288, 384, 355, 356; ii., 28, 34, 35. * Barclay, Robert, ii,, 61. Barre, Colonel, ii., 534, 537; iii, 32. Bartram,' ii, 413. Baum, Colonel, iii^, 202-203. Baxter, Richard, i, 461 ; ii., 147, 151. Bayard, lis, 115, 116, 119 ; his trial, 204. Beaumarchais, iU., 177, 178, 268-269. Belcher, Jonathan, ii, 295; agent, ii, 346, 348 ;jgovernor of Massachusetts, ii, 347, 350, 353, 355, 380 ; governor of New Jer sey, ii, 410. Belcher, chief justioe of Nova Scotia, ii, 457. Belhngham, Richard, i., 179, 224, 298, 308, 319, 476 ; governor of Massachusetts, i., 271, 390, 469 ; his singular marriage, i., 879, 280. Benezet, ii, 420. Bennet, Richard, i.,356, 357, 362. Berkeley, Dr. George, ii., 348. IN'DEX. 567 Berkeley, Sir WiUiam, governor of Vir ginia, i, 339, 340, 366, 511; 517, 549 ; his implacability, i, 551, 553 ; opinion of free schools, i, 523 ; death, i., 555 ; joint proprietary of Carolina, ii, 25, 86, 39. Bermudas, i., 109, 111, 113; ii, 29. , Bernard, governor of New Jersey, ii, 476 ; of Massachusetts, ii, 498, 549, 550. Beverly, i, 548, 547, 548, 556, 560, 562. BienviUe, ii, 820-224, 281, 282. ' Blackstone,'tbe old settler, i, 178, 831. Blair, James, ii, 173, 208, 327. Block, i, 137. Blue Laws, i, 262. Bogardus, i, 145, 435. BoUan, ii, 404, 431, 549. Boone, Daniel, ii., 575 ; iii, 49, 97, 424. Bosomworth, Mary, ii, 478. Boston, i, 185, 196, 197 ; fortified, i, 219, 331s ii, 400; churches in, first, i, 187, 244; 4'/2 ; second, i, 333, 381 ; third, i, 472; fourth, ii., 250; threatened by tbe French, ii, 196, 400 ; press riot, ii, 401 ; Stamp Aot riots, ii, 527 ; custom-house riots, ii., 544 ; troops quartered in, ii., 547 ; iii., 38 ; massacre, ii, 555 ; caucus, 560; affair ofthe tea, iii, 26-1^0; public meetings in; ii., 345, 402, 527, 561 ; iii., 26, 34, 37 ; siege of, iii., 69, 82-86, 99, 107, 108, 113 ; British expeUed, iu., 181. Boudinot, EUas, iu., 175, 426. Bourgeoise, Marguerite, ii, 89. Bowdoin, James, ii., 543;-iu., 27, 37, 375; governor of Massachusetts, iii, 460, 473, 477. Boyle, Robert, i, 461 ; ii, 174. Boylston, Zabdiel, ii, 300. Braddock, ii, 448, 459-461. Bradford, governor of New Plymouth, i, 162, 286. Bradstreet, Simon, i, 179, 319 ; agent to England, i., 451, 470 ; governor of Massa chusetts, 497, 504; ii, 114, ,147. Bradstreet, General, ii, 469, 483. Brant, iii, 116, 888. Bray, Thomas, ii., 178. Brebeuf, ii., 83. Breda, peace of, i, 446-447. Bressani, i, 430 ; ii, 84. Brewster, WiUiam, i, 157, 175. Brown, John and Samuel, i, 182-183, 194. Brownists, i, 154, 156. Buccaneers, i, 314 ; ii, 29, 38, 199. Buckongahelas, iii, 456.. BuU,'WiUiam, ii, 493 ; iii., 94. Burdett, i, 259, 266. Burgoyne at Boston, iii, 82 ; marches from Canada, iii., 197 ; capitulates, iii, 812- 814 ; his letter to Congress, iii, 837 ; in Parliament, iii, ,847. Burke, Edmund, agent for New York, ii., , 554 ; iii, 65 ; motions and speeches, ii, 536, 549 ; iii., 34, 64,- 112 ; his opinion of Tucker's proposal, iii., 59. Burnet, governor of New York, ii, 316-319 ; of New Jersey, ii, 320 ; of Massachu setts, ii, 345-347. Burroughs, hung as a wizard, ii, 159. Butler, motions and speeches in the Fed eral Convention, iii, 488, 498, 499, 506, 519, 581, 522. Cabot, John, i, 35. Cabot, Sebastian; i, 36, 41, 77. Cadets, Boston, ii, 355- iii, 28. Cagnawagas, or French Mohawks, ii, 130. Calef, Robert, u., 164, 166. California, i, 48. Cambridge Platform, i, 328. Camden, Lord, ii, 536, 537, 538. Campanius, John, i, 433. Canada, i, 45, 90, 97 ; granted to the Com pany of New France,!., 202; conquered by Kirk, but restored, ih.4 embassies to and firom Massachusetts, i, 377 ; ii, 68, 253, 258 ;, transferred to the French West India Company, ii, 91 ; resulted by the crown, ii, 95 ; ecclesiastical system, ii, 89 ; system of government, 330 ; milita ry force, ii, 447 ; ceded to the English, ii, 503 ; invaded by the Americans, iii., 104-107, 124; their expulsion, iii, 128. Canonicus, i, 164, 231, 239, 841, 351. Canochet, i, 487. • .Capuchins, ii, 383. Carleton, Sir Qny, governor of Canada, iii, 102, 103, 105; drives the Americans out of Canada, iii, 128 ; advances up Lake Champlain, but .returns, iii, 144; com mander-in-chief, iii., 415, 416. CarUsle, Earl of, iii., 248, 857. Carolana, ii, 25. Carolina, Huguenot settlement in, i, 71 ; New England settlements in, ii^ 26, 211 ; Virginia settlement in, ii, 27 ; charters of, ii, 25, 28, 42, 336 ; Constitutiori or Grand Model, ii, 30, 43, 211. See North and South Carolina. 568 INDEX. Carroll, Charles, ii, 414, 568 ; iii, 124. CarroU, Jqhn, iu., 184, 479. Carteret, Sir George, ii, 26,' 51, 58, 61. Cartier, i; 45, 47. Caswell, Richard, iii., 119, 183, 540. Catholics in England, i, 804 ; ii, 124 ; iii, 334; in Maryland, i, 209, 214, 359, 517 ; ii., 240, 325, 413 ; iii, 479 ; in New York and Massachusetts, ii, 227 ; iii., 479 ; in Pennsylvania, Iii, 343 ; in Rhode Island, i, 459 ; iii, 385 ; disqualified in several states to hold office, Iii, 385. Cayugas, ii, 86, 88 ; iii, 205. Cessions of western lands by New York, iii, 399, 426 ; Virginia, iii, 399, 449 ; Con necticut, iii, 399, 462 ; Massachusetts, iii, 458 ; North Carolina, ib. ; South Car olina, iii., 532 ; Georgia, iii, 533. Champlain, i, 91, 92, '97 ; ii, 81. Charles I., his commission for the govem ment of Virginia, i, 130 ; for colonial af- fau-a, i, 219, 264. Charles II., letters to Massachusetts, i, 453, 469, 497 ;. sends commissioners to New England, i, 462 ; immigrants to Carolina, ii,, 36. ^ Charleston, ii, 34, 35, 36, 377 ; attacks upon, ii, 231 ; iii, 130, 280 ; siege and surren der of, iii, 305-306 ; evacuated, iii.> 425. Charlevoix, ii., 86, 193, 281, 317, 331. Charters and Royal Patents relating to America — Cabot's first patent»(1496), i., 35 ; Cabot's second patent (1498), i, 36 ; GUbert's (1578), i, 78 ; Raleigh's (1583), i., 80 ; first of Virginia (1606), i, 94 ; sec ond of Virginia«(i609), i, 108 ; supple mentary charter of Virginia (1612), i, 113 ; great patent of New England (1620), i, 152 ; first grant of Nova Scotia > (1621), i, 169 ; second grant of Nova Sco tia (lesJS), i, 173 ; fii-st charter of Massa chusetts Bay (1629), i, 179, 226, 864, 504 ; charter of Maryland (1633), i, 806, 570 ; of Maine (1639), i, 266 ; of Providence Plantations (1644, by the Parliamentary commissioners), i, 305; third grant of Nova Scotia (1656, by Cromwell), i, 389 ; of Connecticut (1662), i, 456, 4,57 ; ii, 110, 114, 119 ; iii, 374 ; first of Carolina (1663), ii, 25 ; of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations (1663), i,, 457 ; ii, 109, 114, 119 ; iii, 374 ; first of New York (1664), i., 442 ; second of Carolina (1665), ii, 88 ; second of New York (1674), ii, 55 ; pat ent of Virginia (1676), ii, 550 ; of Penn sylvania (1681), ii, 62 ; second of Massa chusetts (1691), ii., 142; supplement to it, ii.; 311 ; of Georgia (1733), ii, 363, 453. Chase, iii, 48, 124, 134, 136, 449. Chaumonot, ii, 88. Chauncy, President, i., 393, 456. Chaunoy, Dr. Charles, ii., 387, 579. Cbeckley,, John, tried for libel, ii, 308. Cherokees, i, 53; ii, 101, 228, 269, 277, 890 ; treaty with, ii, 335; forts built in their country, ii., 472 ; first war with, ii., 491, 497 ; cessions hy, ii, 576 ; second war with, iii, 161 ; third war with, iii/, J24, 425 ; treaty with the United States, iii., 461. Cherry Valleysurprised, iii, 263. Chickasavvs, i, 53; ii, 332; war with the French, ii., 335, 336 ; Virginia fort in their territory, iii, 286, 353; treaty with tbe United Statea, ii, 467. Child, Dr., :., 318, 322. Chippewas, ii, 83 ; iii, 456. Choctaws, i, 53; ii, 332, 335; iii, 352; treaty with the United States, iii, 461. Church, Major, i, 480, 488, 489, 493 ; colo nel, ii, 136, 161, 194, 253. Church, Dr., ii., 89, 99. Chnrch of England, i, 153, 804, 452; ii, 123, 390 ; in Virginia, i, 96, 123, 512 ; ii., 182 ; iii, 384 ; in Massachusetts, i, 182, 187 ; ii, 107, 307-309; iii., 55; in Con necticut, u., 308, 388 ; iu Rhode Island, ii, 308, 349 ; in New York, ii, 187, 248, 409 ; iii, 56, '383 ; in Pennsylvania, ii, 63, 242 ; in Maryland, ii., 172, 182, 210, 840; in North Carolina, ii, 33, 233, 292; iii, 383 ; in South Carolina, ii, 32, 230, 333; iii, 383 ; in the colonies generally, iii., 56 ; ia ¦ the United States, iii, 383, 479. Cincinnati, Order of, iii, 443. Clarendon, Lord, i, 457, 461, 464 ; ii, 35. Clarendon, county of, ii, 88, 34. Clarke, John, i, 856, 890; fined, i„ 379; agent of Rhode Island in England, i, 378, 383, 394, 456, 457. - Clarke, General George Rogers, iii, 360, 384, 353, 353, 47l! Clayborne, WiUiam, i, 308, 809, 345, 356, 357, 511. Cleves, George, i., 366, 374. Clinton, George, ii., 546, 553 ; iii, 146 ; brig adier general, iii., 173 ; governor of New York, iii, 185, 313, 538. INDEX. 569 Clinton, Sir Henry, general, iii, 82, 84, 118, 130 ; iu command at New York, iii, 191 ; expedition up the Hudson ; iii, 212 ; in vades New Jersey, iii., 217 ; expedition to Rhode Island, iii, 254 ; commander- in-chief, iii., 248 ; expedition up the Hud son, iii, 281 ; inactivity, iii, 284 ; to South Carolina, iii., 295, 304-307 ; again at New York, iu.', 308, 310, 311, 323, 368 ; attempts to reUeve Cornwallis, in., 370 ; supersed ed, iii, 415. Clinton, James, colonel, iii., 91 ; brigadier general, in., 146, 213, 288. Clymer, George, iu., 89, 297, 310. Cobbett, Thoinas, i, 379, 382, 406. Coddington, WiUiam, i, 179, 246; at Rhode Island, i, 256, 288, 324, 378, 395, 398; tums duaker, i., 406 ; governor, i, 474 ; ii., 106. Coinage by Massachusetts, i, 385 ; by Ma ryland, i, 517 ; by the United States, iii., 463. Colden, CadwaUader, ii, 319, 358, 394, 434, 440 ; Uentenant governor of New York, ii., 496, 531, 554 ; iii., 30. Colleges, in Virginia, i, 121 ; ii., 174 ; iu., 386 ; iu Massachusetts, i, 263 ; ii., 463 ; iii., 386 ; at Q.uebec, u., 83 ; in.Connecti- cut, u., 254 ; ia New York, u., 409 ; iii, 387; in New Jersey, ii., 411, 577; in Pennsylvania, u., 413 ; iu., 385; in Rhode Island, ii., 577 ; in New Hampshire, ib. ; in Majyland, iii., 387. Conant, i, 171, 176, 178. Confederation, Articles of,ui, 139, 227, 266, 395-400. Congress at New York, ii, 133 ; at Alba ny, ii, 442-444 ; Stamp Act Congress, ii, 526, 529-531. (See Continental Con gress, Conventions and Congresses, Pro- vinciai) CoNNECTicnT, colony and state — Bound aries, i, 287, 438, 457; ii, .44, 77, 106, 256, 313, 357 ; iii, 406 ; charter, i, 456 ; counties, i, 460 ; ecclesiastical system, i, 461; iii., 382. — Governors: from 1639 to 1654, John Haynes and Edward Hop kins alternately, i, 261, 394. 1655, Thomas WeUs, i, 394. 1656, John Webster, ib. 1657, John Winthrop, ib. 1658, Thomas Wells, ib. 1659, John Winthrop, i, 394, 444, 460. 1676, WiUiam Leet, i, 460. 1680, Robert Treat, ii, 110. 1687, Sir Edmund Andros, ib. 1689; Robert Treat, ii., 114. 1696, FitzJohn Winthrop, ii, 134, 184. 170.7, Gurdon SaltonstaU, u., 255. 1734, Joseph Talcot, ii., 313. 1741, Jonathan Law, ii., 387. 1751, Roger Wolcott, u., 450. 1754, Thomas Fitch, ii, 450, 537. 1766, WiUiam Pitkin, ii, 541. 1769, Jonathan TrumbuU, ii., 571; iu., 71, 86, 325. 1784, Matthew Griswold, iU., 536. 1785, Samuel Huntingdon, iii., 536. Judicial system, i, 361 ; u., 356 ; iu., 379, 380; laws,i., 371, 460; ii., 387,407; ni., 388, 333, 395. Connecticut, lords proprietors of, i, 217. Connecticut River, 331, 32ft 1649, John Endicott, )., 329. 1650, Thomas Dudley, i, 339. 1651, John Endicott, i, 371. 1654, Richard BeUingham, i, 390. 1655, John Endicott, i, 371, 444, 469. 1665, Richard BeUingham, i, 469. 1673, John Leverett, i., 476, 496, 497. 1679, Simon Bradstreet, i., 497. 57i INDEX. 1685, Joseph Dudley {presidenf), ii, 105,107. . 1686, Sir Edipund Andros, ii., 108-113. 1689, Simon Bradstreet, ii, 114. 1698, Sir WUUam Phipps, ii, 144, 184. 1694, WiUiam Stoughton (lieut. gov.), ii, 185. 1708, Joseph Dudley, ii., 318.' .;1715, WilUam TaUer [limt. gov.), ii, 395. 1716, Samuel Shate, ii, 896, 303, 311. 1733, WiUiam Dummer {lieut. gov.), ii, 396, 3Q8. 1738, WilUam Bumet, ii, 345-347. 1729, WiUiam Dummer [lieut. gov.), ii, 347. 1730, Jonathan Belcher, ii., 347, 350, 353, 355, 380. 1741, WiUiam Shirley, ii, 381. 1749, Spencer Phipps [lieut. gov.), ii., 406. 1753, WiUiam Shirley, ii., 446, 474. 1757, The CouncU, ii, 475. 1757, Thomas Po'wnall, ii, 474, 475. 1760, Francis Bernard, ii, 498^ 549. 1770, Thomas Hutchinson [lieut. gov. and gov.), ii, 499, 551, 555, 560, 563, 572 ; iii, 28, 31, 32, 34. 1774, Thomas Gage, ui, 34, 46,47, 48, 66, 67, 71, 82, 85. 1774-1775, Committee of Safety, iii.,48. 1775-1780, The CouncU, iii, 89. , 1780, John Hancock, iu., 3'75. 1785, JamesBow^oin, 111,460, 473,477. 1787, John Hancock, iii, 477, 537. Judiciary, i, 233, 299 ; ii, 143, 170 ; iii, 379 ; laws, ;., 216, 225, 270, 374-379, 368, 405, 407, 408 ; ii, 167, 407 ; in., 388. Massachusetts (Indian confederacy), i, 161, 179, 197. Massasoit, i, 161, 168, 164, 166, 331, 478. Mather, Richard, i, 333, 363. Mather, Increase, i, 456, 492, 498, 499, 505 ; ii, 112, 115, 118, 144, 147, 157, 164, 165. Mather, Cotton, u., 114, 149, 157, 160, 164, 166, 219, 300, 306. Maverick (the old planter), i, 178, 193, 318. Maverick (the commissioner), i, 462, 468. Mayhew, Thoraas, i, 374. M'DougaU, n., 554 ; iu., 39, 79 ; colonel, iii, 91 ; brigadier general, iii, 146, 150, 154 ; major general, iii, 208, 274, 404, 428. M'Intosh, Colonel, iu., 120 ; brigadier gen eral, iii., 146, 185. M'Kean, Thomas, ii, 530 ; iu., 42, 72, 161, 184 ; president of Congress, iii, 40. - M'Rea, Jenny, iii, 204. Medical schools, ii, 513 ; iii, 386. Megalopolensis, i, 429. Meigs, Colonel, iii., 188. Menendez, i, 73-'?5. ^ Mercer, Captain, u., 471 ; colonel, iii. 111' ; brigadier general, iu., 141 ; killed, iii, 169. Merrimac,'exploration of, and settlements on, i, 225, 272, 475; ii, 312. Methodist Episcopal Churoh, ii, 578 ; iii, 480. Mexico conquered, i, 40. Mexico, Gulf of, explored, i., 40 ; claimed by the Spaniards, ii, 93, 220. Mexico, New, i, 76. Mey, i, 137, 139. Miantoniraoh, i, 239, 241, 348, 283, 291, 292-293. Michigan, Lake, explored, ii, 93. Mifflin, Thomaa, iu., 54, 72 ; quarter-mas ter general, iii, 86; brigadier general, in., 146, 158, 166 ; major general, iii, 173, 232 ; unfriendly to 'WashingtoD, iii, 234, 235 ; member of Congress, iii, 236, 304 ; president of Corigfess, iii, 442. Milboume, ii, 117, 119, 134, 139. Minisink bumed, iii, 288. Minuets, 'i, 141, 413. Miasissippi River, viaited by De Soto, i, 48 ; explored by Marquette, ii, 93 ; by Hennepin aud Le Salle, ii, 97 ; by D'lb- ber'ville, ii, 231, 224 ; English expedition to, ii, 222 ; boundary between the Span- iah and Engliah, ii, 502 ; western bound- ai-y of the United States, iii, 290, 418- 419; navigation of, u., 335, 434, 502; iii, 464-465. Mitchell, Jonathan, i, 455, 456. Mitchell's map, ii, 447. ' Mohawks; i, 138, 251, 418, 477, 493; li., 81, 83, 86, 91, 133, 303, 318 ; retire to Cana da, iii, 115. See Five Nations. Mohegans, i, 236, 484 ; ii, 256. Mompesaon, Roger, ii., 218. Monhiggon, i, 151, 164. Mouicans, i, 102, 107. Montgomery, Captain, ii, 500 ; brigadier general, iii, 81, 103; kiUed, in, 106. Montreal, i, 45 ; ii, 89 ; plundered by the Iroquois, iii, 103, 129 , taken hy tbe En glish, ii, 496 ; by the Americans, in., 103 ; evacuatVi iii,, 188. INDEX. 579 Moody, Lady, i, 289, 424. Moody, minister of Portsmouth, i, 501, 506 u, 166. Moravians, u, 343, 367, 377, 389, 471, 505 iii, 422. Morgan, Captain Daniel, iii, 86, 104, 106 colonel, iii, 200, 204 ; brigadier general, ui, 325, 328, 341, 343, 344. Morgan, Dr., ii, 513 ; iii, 100, 172, 173. MorreU, i, 170, 172. Morris, Lewis, u., 248, 264, 314, 315, 317, 358 ; governor of New Jersey, ii, 361. Morris, Robert H., ii, 451. Morris, Gouverneur, iii., 79, 430 ; speeches and motions in the Federal Convention, iii., 498, 499, 504, 507, 508, 511,. 517, 51§, 519, 525. Morris, Robert, iii, 268, 297, 310 ; superin tendent of finance, iii, 361, 363, 404, 421, 428, 429, 453; organizes tbe Bank of North America, iii, 405 ; a land spec ulator and prisoner for debt, iii, 542. Morton, Nathaniel, i, 158, 170. Morton of Merry Mount, i, 174, 193, 194, 195, 219. Moulfa-ie, Colonel, iii, 94, 130; brigadier general, iii, 146, 277, 279, 280; major general, iii, 373. Monroe, James, iii, 168. ( Nanticokes, i, 344 ; ii, 413. Narraganset country, i, 465, 491 ; ii, 313. Narragansets, i., 164, 336, 241, 251, 311, 312, 373, 466, 476, 484, 485, 491. Narvaez, i, 44. Nash, Colonel, iii, 93 ; brigadier general, iii, 173; kiUed, iU., 223. Natchez, Indian tribe, i, S3 ; ii., 332, 333. National flag, iii., 177. Naturalization, act of Parliament regula ting, ii, 373. ) Navy, Continental, iii, 101, 123; 176, 404. Navy Department, iii, 101, 175, 404. Neal, Walter, i, 201. New Albion, on the Pacific coast, i, 79. New Albion, province of, i, 148, 423. New Amsterdam, i, 141, 147, 416, 424, 436, 439, 441, 445. See New York city. Newburgh addresses, ii., 430-431, 432. Newcastie, Duke of, ii., 284, 391, 339, 393, 430. New England, ooast of, explored by Smith and named, i, 151 ; previous explora tions by the French, i, 92, 93; explored by the Dutch, i, 137 ; Great Patent of, i, 152 ; councU for, i, 167-168, 172, 218, 225-226. New England, United Colonies of, i, 285 ; prooeedings of the commissioners for, i, 293, 301, 304, 311, 312, 316, 335, 326, 373, 378, 386, 387, 388, 393, 399, 405, 407, 434, 437, 461, 466. New England ram, ii, 356, 433. Newfoundland, island and banks of, i, 37, 46, 50, 80, 151, 305; ii, 128, 194, 876, 404; iu, 417, 418, 419. New France, i, 97 ; company of, i, 303 ; ii, 81, 90 ; extension to the west, ii, 92,- 98, 103-104 ; atate of, ii, 330, 447. New Hampshire, province and state of — ^Patent, i, 200 ; annexed to Massachu setts, i, 273; ii, 105; disannexed and made a royal province, 494, 600, 505 ; ii, 142; boundaries, ii, 312, 355, 372, 407- .408 ; constitution, Colonial^ ii, 354 ; state, iii., 126, 374, 375, 377, 381, 383, 385 ; coun ties, ii., 573 ; ecclesiastical establish ment, ii, 309 ; iu., 383. • Governors, Lieutenant Governors, and Presidents : 1680, John Cutts (acting), i, 501. 1683, Edward Cranfield [lieut. gov.), i, 505-506. 1685, Walter Barefoote [lieut. gov.), i, 506. 1686-1693, reannexed to Maaaachu- setta. 1693, John Usher [lieut. gov,), ii, 201. 1697, WiUiam Partridge {lieut. gov.), ii, 201. 1698, Samuel Allen, proprietary and governor, ii, 808. 1699-1741, same governor with Mas sachusetta, ib. 1703, John Usher [lieut. gov.), ii, 351. 1716, George Vaughan ( lieut. gov.), ii, 311. 1717, John Wentworth [lieut. gov.),ih. 1733, David Dunbar [lieut. gov.), iii, 355. 1741, Benning Wentworth, ii, 382, 407, 510, 530. 1767, John Wentworth, ii„ 541, 572 ; iii, 38, 90. 1775, Mesheok Weare, iii, 126. 1785, John Langdon, iii, 443. 1786, John SuUivan, ib. 1788, John Langdon, iii, 536. , 580 INDEX. Judiciary, ii., 355 ; iu., 379 ; laws, i, 501 ; iii, 388. New Hampshire grants, ii., 407, 510, 572. New Haven, colony of — Constitution in Church and State, i, 262. Governors : 1639, Theophilus Eaton, i., 262. 1658, Francis Newman. 1661, WilUam Leet, u., 460. New Jersey, province and state (see East and West Jersey) — Boundaries, ii, 51, 572 ; constitution, colonial, ii, 216 ; state, iii., 157, 374, 378, 379. Governors : 1700-1738, same with those of New York. 1738, Lewis Morris, u., 361. ,- 1746, Johii Hamilton (acting), ii, 410. 1746, John Reading (acting), ib. 1747, Jonathan Belcher, ii, 410. 1758, Francis Bernard, u., 476. 1760, Thomas Boone, ii.~.498. 1761, Josiah Hardy, ii, 498. 1763, WiUiam Franklin, ii, 530 ; iu., 54, 76, 125, 136. 1776, WUliam Livingston, iii, 157, 483. New Mexico, i, 77. New Netherland, i, 98, 137, 142 ; intra- sions from New England, i., 146, 416, 417, 434, 438, 440, 443 ; system of coloni. zation and govemment, i, 141, 414, 436- 437, 449. Directors : 1624, Peter Minuets, i., 141. 1633, Walter Van TwiUer, i, 145. 1638, WUUam Kieft, i, 149. 1649, Petraa Stuyvesant, i, 437-445. See New York. New Orleans, ii, 281. Newport, Christopher, i, 99, 103, 105, 106, 107, 111. Newport, town of, i, 290, 323 ; ii, 257, 349, 419, 487 ; occupied by the British, iii., 160 ; attack upon, in., 253 ; evacuated, iii, 294 ; French ariny blockaded there, iii., 311, 330. New Providence, i, 280, 281 ; u., 89, 279. New Somerset, i, 265. ' Newspapers at Boston, ii, 3B4 ; at Phila delphia, ii, 305; at Williamsburg, ii, 340 ; at Newport, ii, 350 ; at New York, ii, 359 ; iii, 113 ; at AnnapoUs, ii, 414 ; at Portsmouth and New Haven, ii, 449 ; at Savannah, ii, 511 ; at Lexington in Kentucky, ui, 530 ; in the colonies gen eraUy, ii, 541. New Sweden, i, 413-414, 433, 440. New York, province and state (see New Netherland) — Boundaries, ii., 44, 77,357, 572 ; iii., 531 ; constitution, colonial, ii., 47, 54, 56, 76, 140, 393; state, iii, 184, 374, 377, .389 ; counties, ii, 57, 77, 140, 572 ; ecclesiastical establishment, ii, 45, 187, 189 ; in., 383. Governors : 1664, Richard Nichols, i, 445. 1667, Francis Lovelace, ii, 54. 1673, July 30— 1674, Oct. 31, Dutch re gime re-established, ii, 55-56. 1674, Edmund Andros, u., 56, 60. 1681, Antony Brockholst, ii, 76. 1683, Thomas Dongan, ib. 1688, Francis Nicholson [lieut. gov.), ii, 112, 116. 1689, Jacob Leisler (acting), iii., 119. 1691, Henry Sloughter, iu.,' 138. 1691. Richard Ingolsby [lieut. gov.), iu., 182. 1692, Benjamin Fletcher, ib. 1698, Earl of BeUamont, iu, 200, 203. 1701, Johu Nanfan [lieut. gov.), iii, 204. ' 1702, Lord Combury, ii, 205, 246, "248. 17.08, Lord Lovelace, ii, 249. 1709, Richard Ingolsby [lieut. gov. ),ih. 1710, Robert Hunter, ii, 263, 313-r3l6l 1719, Peter Sohuyler (actmg), ii, 317. 1720, WiUiam Burnet, ii, 316-319. 1728,. John Montgomery, ii, 357. 1731, Rip Van Dam (acting), ii, 358. 1733, WiUiam Cosby, ii, 358-360. 1737, George Clarke, ii, 360, 392. 1743, George Clinton, U., 393. ' 1753, Danvers Osborne, ii., 440. 1753, James Delancey [lieut. gov.), ib. 1755, Sir Charles Hardy, ii, 462. 1757, James Delancey [lieut. gov.), ii., 473. 1760, Cadwallader Colden (acting), ii, 496. 1761, Robert Moncton, ii, 500. 1762, CadwaUade'r Colden [lieut.gov.), u., 500, 531-532. 1765, Sir Henry Moore, ii, 532. 1769, CadwaUader Colden [lieut.gov,), ii, 554. 1770, Earl of Dunmore, ii, 572. INDEX. 581 1771, WiUiam Tryon, il, 572-573. 1773, CadwaUader Colden [lieut. gov.), iii, 31. 1775, WiUiam Tryon, iii., 90, 91. 1775-1777, Provincial Congress and Committee of Safety, iii., 78, 90, 91, 185. 1777, George Clinton, iii, 185, 213, 538. Judiciary, ii, 46, 140, 201 ; iu., 378, 379 ; laws, ii, 44, 227, 361, 419. New York city (see New Amsterdam), i, 445; population, ii, 57, 267, 391 ; iu., 96; Leisler's insurrection, ii, 116; churches, ii., 188, 189, 247 ; negro plot, ii, 267 ; pre tended plot to bum the city, ii, 391 ; growth of, u., 512 ; Stamp Act riots, ii, 531 ; affair of the tea, iii., 30 ; city com mittee, iii, 39 ; delegate to Congress elected, ib. ; address to Tryon, iii, 90 ; guns seized, iii, 91 ; Rivington's press destroyed, iii, 113 ; troops from Connec. ticut occupy the city, ib. ; plot against Washington, iii, 140 ; he abandons the city, iii, 153 ; great fire, iii, 154 ; evacu ated by the British, iii, 441. Niagara, fortified by the French, ii., 317, 436 ; takeu by Johnson, ii, 487 ; held by the British, iii, 262, 288, 441, 545. Niantics, i, 239, 373, 388, 390, 392, 491. Nicholson, Francis, governor of New York, ii, 112, 116 ; of Vu-ginia, u., 173, 208, 247 ; of Maryland, ii, 182 ; commands a colo nial army, ii, 261, 266; captures Port Royal, ii, 263 ; govemor of South Caro. Una, ii, 389. Nicola, Colonel Louis, proposes to make ¦Washington king, iii,, 421-422. Ninigret, i, 373, 386, 388, 390, 491. North Carolina, province and state of (see Albemarle and Carolina) — Bound aries, ii., 337 ; iii, 286 ; constitution, co lonial, ii, il, 29, 339, 415 ; state, in., 183, 376, 379, 385; counties, u., 213, 339. Governors : 1664, William Drammond, ii, 27. 1667, Samuel Stevens, ii, 29. 1674, Cartwright, u., 39. 1676-1683, period of contested author ity, ii, 39-41. 1683, Seth Sothel. 1688-1690, interregnum. 1690, PhiUp LudweU, ii, 310. 'i^ 1692, Thomas Harvey, ib. 1694, Henderson Walker, ii., 213. 1699, Robert Daniel, ib, 1703, Thomas Cary, ii, 233. 1708-1711, period of contested author ity. 1711, Hyde, ii, 268. 1715, Charies Eden, ii, 279. 1723, Burrington, ii, 293. 1785, Sir Richard Everard, ib. 1731, Burrington, ii., 339. 1734, Gabriel Johnston, ii, 339, 415. 1753, Michael Rowan (acting), ii, 441. 1754, Arthur Dobbs, u, 452. 1766, WUUam Tryon, ii, 570. 1773, Joseph Martin, ii, 570. 1775-1777, Provincial Congress and Committee of Safety, iii, 73, 93. 1777, Richard CasweU, iii, 183. 1780, Abner Nash, iU., 313. 1781, Thomas Burke, iu., 366. 1784, Alexander Martin, iii, 469. 1785, Richard CasweU, Ui, 540. 1788, Samuel Johnston, ib. Laws, ii, 292, 423; iii, 329, 388, 394. Northeast passage to India, i., 71. North, Lord, ii, 556, 557 ; iii, 33, 61 ; concil iatory proposition, iii, 62 ; new scheme of conciliation, iii, 239 ; resigns, iii, 415. Northwest passage to India sought for by Cabot, i., 41 ; by Frobisher, i., 78 ; by Davis, i, 82 ; by Weymouth, i, 93 ; by Hudson, i, 97. Northwest Territory, ordinance for the govemment of, iii, 527 ; settlements in, iii., 540 ; St. Clair appointed govemor, iii, 531, 541 ; laws, iii, 541. Norton, John, i, 225 ; sermon before the Synod, i., 327 ; succeeds Cotton, i, 393 ; agent to England, i, 451, 453, 454. Nova Scotia, granted to Sir William Al exander, i, 169, 173 ; baronets of, i, 173 ; ceded to France, i, 203 ; granted to Tem ple and others, i, 389 ; given up to France, i., 447 ; province of, ii, 276, 435-436, 449, 457-459, 510 ; iii., 139, 439. Oakes, ii, 115, 144, 148, 249. Oglethorpe, ii, 362, 365 ; general, ii, 375, 376,383,385; iii. Ill, 455. Ohio Company, ii, 433 ; in., 539, 541. Oldham, i., 171, 177, 320, 239. Oneidas, ii, 86, 88, 193, 318 ; iu., 205, 261, 329'. Onondagas, ii, 86, 88, 91, 193 ; iii., 205. Opechancanough, i, 124, 340, 341. 582 INDEX. Orphan houae, ii, 386. Oswald; Richard, iii, 416, 417. Oswego, ocapied by the English, ii, 318 ; taken by the French, ii, 470 ; held by the British, iu., 262, 545. Otis,- James, ii, 476 ; argues against writs of assistance, ii, 499; his Rights ofthe Colonies, ii, 521 ; member ofthe Stamp Act Congress, ii, 526, 530 ; leader of the Massachusetts representatives, ii, 543 ; aaaault upon, ii, 559. Ottawaa, ii.,'88. Paine, Thomas, iii, 126, 268. Pamunkey, Clueen of, i, 539. Paper money, Continental, suggested, iii, 78 ; issues of, iu., 87, 89, 110, 133, 139, 183, 327, 244, 264, 271 ; Congressional re port upon, iii, 396 ; issue stopped, iii, 399 ; redemption of, iii, 446 ; deprecia tion of, iii, 181, 337, 845,, 364, 871, 296, 298, 299, 361 ; scale of depreciation, iii., 318 ; ceases to circulate, iii, 361 ; new tenor scheme, iii, 302; ita failure, iii, 360 ; redemption of, iii, 446. Paper money, in New France, ii, 103 ; in Massachusetts, n., 136, 366, 394, 345, 354, 379, 380; use of, discontinued, ii, 404- 406; resumed, iii, 69; ftmded, iii, 446; in South Carolina, ii, 829, 885, 337, 338 ; iu., 94, 130, 375 ; in North Carolina, u., 370, 339, 441 ; iii., 361 ; in New York, ii, 360, 366, 314, 361, 462, 467 ; iii, 91 ; in Connecticut, u., 260, 354, 450 ; in Rhode Island, ii, 259, 297, 3501 iii, 462, 467 ; iu New Hampshire, u., 259, 311, 354, 450 ; iii, 473 ; in New Jersey, ii, 260, 450 ; in Pennsylvania, ii, 321, 342, 439, 452 ; iii., 361, 446 ; in Louisiana, ii, 336 ; in Mary land, iu., 341 ; in Virginia, ii, 452, 465; iii, 93, 338, 353, 356, 447. Paper money loan system, ii, 293. PaperMoneyRestrainingActs,ii., 406, 508: Passaconaway, i, 837, 883, 313. Patrick, Captain, i, 187, 387, 435. Patterson, speeches and motions in the Federal Convention, iu., 492, 497, 502. Pavonia, i, 143, 415. Paxton mob, ii, 505. Pemaquid, i., 201, 376 ; absorbed by Mas sachusetts, i, 475 ; a part of New York, i., 495 ; fort at, ib. ; reannexed to Maa- Baohuse'tts, ii, 143 ; new fort at, ii, 161, 194, 202. Penn, WUUam, ii, 58, 62, 64, 65 ; first visit to America, ii, 66-75 ; his Indian policy, ii, 73 ; his favor with James II., ii, 78 ; dissatisfaction with proceedings inPenn. sylvania, ii., 79; faUs into disgrace, u., 131; deprived of his jurisdiction, ii, 133; restored to it, ii, 186 ; second visit to ' America, ii., 805-807 ; Lloyd's memorial, ii., 243; Penn's letter to the colonists, ii, 245; his contract for ceding the sov ereignty, ii, 246 ; his sona, u., 244, 343, 411 ; his grandsons, u., 505, 570 ; iii, 87, 112, 196 ; indemnity to the family, iii, 388, 444. Pennsylvania — Boundaries, ii, 69, 74, 78, 341 ; iii, 406 ; chartfer, ii, 63 ; colonial constitution. Frame of Govemment, ii, 65 ; act of settlement, ii, 67 ; new aet of settlement, ii., 186; charter of privUeges, ii, .206, 242, 245 ; state constitution, iii, 137, 157, 375, 376, 377, 381, 384,385, 389 ; counties, ii, 66, 344, 445. Govemora, Deputy Govemora, and Preaidents : 1682, WilUam Penn, ii., 66-75. 1684, The CouncU, ii, 75. 1686, Five commissioners, ii, 79. 1689, John BlackweU, ii, 80. 1690, The CouncU, U., 80. 1693, Benjamin Fletcher, ii, 183, 186. 1695, William Markham, ii, 186. 1699, WiUiam Penn, ii, 205, 207. 1701, Andrew Hamilton, U., 207, 242. 1703, Edward Shippen (acting). 1704, John Evans, ii, 842-245. 1709, Charles Gookin, n., 245, 320. 1717, Sir 'WiUiam Keith, ii, 320. 1736, James Logan (acting), ii, 345. 1738, George Thomas, ii, 378, 411. 1747, Anthony Palmer (acting). 1748, James HamUton, u, 41 2. 1754, Robert H. Morris, u., 451. 1756, WUliam Denny, U, 467, 494. 1759, James Hamilton, ii, 494. 1763, John Penn, ii, 505. 1771, James Hamilton (acting). 1771, Richard Penn, u., 570. 1773,. John Penn, ii, 570. 1777, Thomas Wharton,. iu., 183. 1778, George .Bryan [vice president), iu., 259. 1778, Joseph Reed, ui, 259. 1781, WiUiam Moore, iii, 405. 1788, John Dickinson, iii., 405. INDEX. 583 1785, Benjamin Franklin, m.,^ 482. 1788, Thomas Mifflin. Judiciary, u., 75, 244, 320 ; iu., 379, 380 ; laws, ii, 65, 67, 183, 186, 206 ; iu., 388, 392; proprietary claims and conti-over- sies — with the Assembly, ii., 186, 243, 245, 378, 379, 412, 439, 451, 466, 494, 507 ; with Maryland, ii, 69, 74, 78, 341 ; with Connecticut, ii, 570 ; with Virginia, ii, 572 ; proprietary manors, ii, 344 ; ui., 388. Penobscot Bay, entered, i, 91, 93; occu pied by the French, i, 237 ; ii, 104 ; by the English, u., 485 ; iu., 283. Penobscot Indiana, ii, 129, 304, 497. PeppereU, Sir WilUam, U., 396, 398, 448, 477. Pequods, i., 236, 237, 247, 349, 251, 373, 392. Pessaoaa, i, 311; 312, 373, 386, 466. Petera, Hugh, i, 229, 269, 274, 423, 448. Phelps, Oliver, iii, 541. Philadelphia, founded, ii, 73; growth of, u., 205, 379, 513; charter, u., 307; forti fied, ii, 403 ; proceedings reapecting the tea, iii, 26, 30 ; volunteer militia of, u., 403, 506 ; iii, 72 ; zeal for independence, iii, 131, 133 : alarm in, iii, 158 ; occupied by the British, iii, 221 ; evacuated, iii, 949 ; executions, iu., 259 ; riot, iii., 297 ; mutiny, iii, 437 f Congress removes from, ib. PhUip of Mount Hope, i, 478-489. PhUip H. of Spain, i, 78, 86. Phipps, Constantine, ii, 183. Phipps, Sir WiUiam, u., 134, 135, 141 ; gov ernor of Massachusetts, ii, 144, 157, 161, 184. Physicians, i., 338, 514 ; ii, 50, 493, 513 ; Ui, 386. Pickens, Colonel, intercepts Tories, iii, 277 ; at the Cowpens, iii, 342 ; takes Augusta, iii., 350 ; joins Greene, iii, 364; invades the Cherokees, iii, 424. Pickering, Timothy, iii, 66 ; adjutant gen eral, iii, 174 ; on the Board of War, iii, 235 ; quarter-master general, iii, 312. Pinchou, i, 838. Pinckney, Charles Cotesworth, iii., 483; motions and sp'oecbes in the Federal Convention, iii, 498, 508, 516, 518, 530, 525. Pinckney, Charles, President of South Car olina Convention, iii, 53 ; motions and speeches in the Federal Convention, iii, 490,- 491, 501, 505, 506, 507, 513, 515, 516, 517, 519, 520. Pirates, ii, 199, 203, 279. See Buccaneers. Pitt, WUUam, miniater, u., 480, 481 ; re signs, 501 ; attacks the Stamp Act, ii, " 534 ; again minister, ii, 538 ; opposes Americau taxation, iu., 33 ; soheme of conciliation, iii, 61, 186 ; his death, iii., 247. Plymouth, New, colony of.— Agreement with the London partners, i, 157, 173 ; boundaries, i, 174, 464 ; compact, i, 159; first patent, i, 163 ; second patent, i, 174 ; counties, ii, 109 ; ecclesiastical system, i., 175, 393. Governors : 1620, John Carver, 1., 159. 1621, WiUiam Bradford, i, 162. 1635, Edward Winslow, i, 286. 1634, Thomas Prince, ib. 1635, WiUiam Bradford, ib. 1636, Edward Winslow, i, 231. 1637, WiUiam Bradford, i, 286. 1638, Thomas Prince, ib. 1639, WilUam Bradford, i., 286, 394. 1644, Edward Winslow, i, 394. 1645, WiUiam Bradford, ib. 1657, Thomas Prince, ib. 1673, Josiah Winslow, i, 485. 1680, Thomas Hinckley, u., 109. 1686, Annexed to Massachusetts, ib. 1689, Thomas Hinckley, ii, 114. 1692, Incorporated with Massachu setts, ii, 141. Laws, i, 175, 393, 405. Pocahontas, i, 104, 113, 116. , Pooanoketa, i, 161, 476. Poles sent to Virginia, i., 106. Ponce de Leon, i, 39. PontgTav6, i, 90, 91, 92, 97. Pontiac, ii, 504. Population ofthe colonies, ii, 127, 378, 447. Post.offlce, nnder Neal's patent, ii, 181 ; under act of Parliament, ii, 363, 327 ; continental, iii, 89. Potato, cultivation of, i, 89 ; ii, 313. Poutrincourt, i, 93, 96. Powhatan Indians, i, 103. Powhatan, i, 101, 103, 104, 107, 113, 124. Pownall, Governor of Massachusetts, ii., 474, 476 ; his plan of colonial administra tion, ii., 539-540; opposes niinisters, ii, 549, 552. Presbyterian immigrants, ii, 37, 78, 313. 584 INDEX. Presbyterian Church of the United States, iii, 481. Presbyterlanisin, in Great Britain, i., 328, 453 ; U., 77, 123 ; in America, ii, 78, 388, .409; in, 55. Prevost, marches from Florida, iii, 276 ; re establishes the British govemment in Georgia, iii, 279 ; invades South Caro lina, iu., 279. Prices, limitation of, i., 196 ; iii., 181, 182, 227, 232. Printing in Massachusetts, i., 263 ; censor ship 0^ i, 456 ; ii, 107 ; freedom of, ii, 298 ; prohibited in Virginia, i, 559 ; in troduced, ii, 340; in Pennsylvania, ii, 80, 172 ; in New York, ii., 77, 172. , Prisoners, exchange of, iii, 174. Privateering, u., 278, 500 ; iii, 100, 176, 27*2, 322 ; treaty with Prussia renouncing, iii, 455. Providence, i, 231 ; covenant, i, 256. Providence Plantations, charter and government, i, 305, 322-323. Presidents : 1647, John Coggeahall. 1648, Jeremiah Clarke. 1649, John Smith. 1650, Nicholaa Eaaton, i, 378. Interregnum. 1655, Roger WUliama, i., 396-399. 1657, Benedict Arnold, i, 405. 1660, William Brenton. 1662, Benedict Arnold. See Rhode laland and Providence Plantations. Pulaski iu., 193, 219, 244, 294. Putnam, larael, ii, 464 ; iii, 67, 71 ; major general, iii, 80 ; at Bunker Hill, iii, 83 ; at Long Island, iii, 148 ; evacuates New York, iii, 153 ; in command at Philadel phia, iu., 158 ; in the Highlands, iii, 187, 190, 212, 213, 214, 236, 374. (fakers, sect of, i, 401 ; ii, 57 ; iii, 57 ; 'persecution of, in New England, i, 399, 405-409, 453, 473, 483 ; in Virginia, i, 513, 519 ; in Maryland, i, 517. Quakers, in North Carolina, ii, 39, 367 ; iii., 277, 394 ; in West New Jersey, ii, 58 ; inPennsylvania, ii, 66, 171, 183, 344, 378, 403, 412, 466, 471 ; iu., 55, 195, 217. Q.uehec founded, i, 97 ; taken by Kirk, i, 202 ; ecclesiastical institutions of, ii, 83, 89, 92; attacked hy Phipps, ii, 135; Walker's expedition, ii, 266 ; state of, ii, 331 ; taken by Wolfe's army, ii, 491 besieged by Arnold and Montgomery, iii, 104-107."* ' dUEEJEc; province of, ii, 503 ; boundaries, ii, 503 ; iii, 34 ; govemment of, iiij 33- 34. duo Warranto, writs of, against the Vir ginia Company, i.,129 ; against the Mas sachusetts "Company, i, 226, 264, 504; against Lord Baltimore, i, 570 ; against tbe proprietors of Carolina, ii, 42, 288, 336 ; against the freemen of Connecticut aud Rhode laland, ii, 107-108 ; against the Jersey proprietors, ii, 112. , Raleigh, Sir 'Walter, i, 80, 87, 88, 94, 156. Raleigh, city of, i, 85. Randolph (the enemy of Massachusetts), ,i., 494, 496, 497, 498, 499, 502, 503, 504 ; ii, 108, 109, 112, 198. Randolph, Peyton, agent to England, ii, 438-439, 458 ; in the House of Burgess es, ii, 534; heads the non-importation agreement, ii, 550; president of Con gress, iii, 43, 76 ; death of, iii,- 86. Randolph, Edmund, aid-de-camp to Wash ington, iii, 86; governor of Virginia, iii, 483 ; motiona and speeches in the Fed eral Convention, ill., 484, 488, 489, 498, 501, 503, 504, 506, 507, 517,' 519, 584 ; re fuaea to aign the Constitution, iii, 526 ; supports it iu the Virginia Convention, iu., 538. Raritans, i, 419. Rasles, Sebastian, U., 225, 299, 303, 303. Raymbault, ii, 83. RazziUai, i, 308, 337, 399. Read, George, iii, 43, 319-820, 488. Recollects in Canada, ii, 83, 93. Redemptioners. See^Indented Servants. Reed, Joseph, president of the Pennsylva nia Convention, iii, 54 ; aid-de-camp and secretary to 'Washington, iii., 86 ; adju tant general, iii, 146 ; declines the rank of brigadier and the command of the cav alry, iii, 174 ; member of Congress, in., 184, 254 ; aids in the state prosecations, iu., 259 ; president of Pennsylvania, iu., 259, 272, 897-898, 337. Regicides, i, 448, 449, 488. Regulators, in South Carolina, ii, 567; in North Carolina, u., 569. Rensselaerswyk, i, 143, 149, 429, 446. Requisitions, Continental, first, iii, 228; INDEX. 585 second and third, iii., 265; fourth, iii., 271; fifth, iu., 299; sixth, iii, 301; sev enth, iii, 318; eighth, iii., 324; ninth, iii, 358 ; tenth, iu., 373 ; eleventh and twelfth, ui, 435; thirteenth, iii, 462; fourteenth, iii, 530 ; fifteenth, iu., 544. B.evival, great, U., 386. Rhode Island, or Aquiday, i, 356, 383, 333, 334. Rhode Island and Providence Plant ations. See Providence Plantations — Boundaries, i, 464, 465; ii., 106-107, 3l3, 373 ; charter and laws, i, 457-459 ; coun ties, ii, 254, 313. Governors : 1663, Benedict Arnold, i, 467. 1666, 'William Brenton, ib. 1669, Benedict Arnold, ib. 1672, Nicholas Easton, ib. 1675, 'William Coddington, i, 474. 1676, Walter Clarke, i, 487. 1677, Benedict Amold, ii, 106. 1679, John Cranston, ib. 1680, Peleg Sandford, ib. 1683, 'WiUiam Coddington, ib. 1685, Henry Bull, ib. 1686, Walter Clarke, ib. 1686-1688, Sir Edmund Andros, ii, 109. 1689, Henry BuU, ii., 114. 1690,.Johu Easton, ii, 194. 1695, Caleb Carr, ii, 195. 1696, 'Walter Clarke, ib. 1698, Samuel Cranston, ii, 203. 1727, Joseph Jeuckes, ii, 313. 1732, WiUiam Wanton, ii, 349. 1734, John Wanton, u., 350. 1741, Richard 'Ward, ib. 1743, WiUiam Greene,. ii, 406. 1745, GideomWanton, ib. 1746, WiUiam Greene, ib. 1747, Gideon 'Wanton, ib. 1748, WiUiam Greene, ib. 1755, Stephen Hopkins, ii, 450. 1757, 'William Greene, ib. 1758, Stephen Hopkins, ib. 1762, Samuel 'Ward, ii., 577. 1763, Stephen Hopkins, ib. 1765, Samuel Ward, ib. 1767, Stephen Hopkins, ih. i 1768, Josiah Lyndon, ib. 1769, Joseph Wanton, ib. ; iu., 52. 1775, Nicholas Cooke, iu., 70. 1778, WiUiam Greene, iii, 252. 1786, John Collins, iu., 467. 1789, Arthur Feuner. Ribault, i., 71, 73, 73, 74, 75. Rice, cultivation of, in South Carolina, ii, 213, 417 ; in Louisiana, ii, 383 ; an enu merated article, ii., 333. Roanoke, i; 81 ; colony of, i, 82-85. Robertson, James, patriarch of Tennessee, U., 575; iii, 162, 285-286. RoberUal, i, 46, 47. Robinson, John, i., 156, 157, 167, 172. Rochambeau, Count, arrives at Newport, iu., 311 ; marches, iii, 362, 363 ; iu Vir ginia, iU., 369, 371. Roche, De la, i, 90. Rodney, ui, 333, 335, 416. Rodney, Csesar, iu., 42, 136, 161, 217, 220. Rogers, Ezekiel, i, 271, 285. Rogers, Jonathan, i, 500. Rogers, Major, ii, 487. Rogers, Nathaniel, i, 271. Rogerenes, sectof, i, 500. Ruggles, Timothy, ii, 463, 527, 530 ; iu., 40, 66, 113. Rush, Dr. Benjamin, iu., 126, 172, 184, 235. Rutledge, John, ii, 530; iu., 42, 46, 53; president of South Carolina, iii, 189,875; govemor of South Carolina, iii, 879-380, 305, 307 ; speeches and motions in the Federal Convention, iu., 484, 488, 489, 498, 501,' 503, 504, 506, 507, 517,518,519, 524. Rutiedge, Edward, iii., 42, 46, 133, 151. Ryswick, peace o^ ii, 196. Sagadahoc, i, 150, 495 ; ii, 56, 141. Sagard, u., 82. St. Augustine, i., 74, 76 ; ii, 28, 39, 229, 375, 377 ; iu., 317. St. Castm, Baron, i, 496 ; u., 104, 112, 128, 194, 251. St. Clair, u., 572 ; iu., 109, 146 ; major gen eral, iii, 173, 197 ; president of Congress, iii, 478 ; govemor ofthe Northwest Ter ritory, iii, 531, 541. St. Eustatius, u., 430 ; iii, 335. St. Lawrence, bay and river, i, 45. St. Louis, founded, ii, 512. St. Thomas, ii, 430. Saltonstall, Sir Richard, i, 178, 185, 188, 224 ; his letter to Cotton and Wilson, i, 382. SaltonstaU, Richard, i, 281, 282, 298, 306, •. 319. 586 INDEX. Saltonstall, Garden, ii, 255. Sassafras, i, 90. Say, Lord, i, 201, 217, 256, 258, 280, 304, 433, 449. Saybrook, settlement and fort, i, 330, 863, 887, 336. Schenectady, destruction of, ii, 131. Schools, Pu^jlio, in New England; i, 370, 371, 393-394 ; Ui, 386 ; in Maryland, u., 182; 325; iii, '386. Sohuyler, Peter, ii, 134, 141, 254, 261. Schuyler, PhUip, n., 469, 546, 553 ; major general, iii, 80 ; commands iu the north- em department, iu, 91, 108, 115, 143, 173, 198, 199, 204 ; house burned, iu., 211 ; ac quitted with honor, iii, 815 ; member of Congress, iu., 215, 304, 324, 405. Sears, Isaa?, ii., 532 ; in.,.79, 91, 113, 114. Sedg,wick, Robert, i, 388, 389, 391. , Seminoles, ii, 231. Senecas, u., 86, 89, 102, 317; iii, 542. Sequeen, i, 241, 252. Sevier, John, at King's Mountain, iii, 326 ; govemor of Frankland, iii, 469, 539. Shaftesbury, Lord, i, 567 ; ii., 25-26, 41. Shakers, ii, 578. Shawanese, ii, 101, .465, 466, 504 ; iii, 50, 456, 461, 462. Shawomet or Warwick, i, 291, 297, 317, 323, 377, 379. Shays, Daniel, ui, 474, 475, 542. Shelbume, Lord, ii, 538; iii, 247; prime minister, iii, 416. Shepherd, Thomas, i, 233, 455. Sherman, Roger, iii, 42 ; speeches and mo tions in the Federal Convention, iii, 487, 488, 489, 490, 495, 501, 507, 508, 513, 514, 515, 517, 518, 522, 523, 524. Ship-building in New England, i, 200, 270, 331 ; n., 39r; in Virginia, i., 510. Shirley, WiUiam, Govemor of Massachu setta, u., 381, 395, 401-402, 406 ; colonel, u., 398 ; boundary commisaioner, ii, 406, 446 ; general, iii, 448, 461 ; commander- io-ohief, iu., 462, 464, 467. Silk, attempta to produce it, in Vitginia, i, 122, 124, 128, 364, 515 ; in Carolina, u, 36 ; in Georgia, u., 364, 367. Six Nationa (aee Five Nations) oede thei* country east ofthe Blue Ridge, ii., 328 ; cede the valley, ii, 394 ; relinquish all claim to Pennsylvania, ii ., 445 ; treaty of neutrality with the French, ii, 470 ; join the English, ii, 485, 487 ; cede the dis trict between the Ohio and the Tennes see, ii, 574 ; overtures to, by Congress, iii, 88; join Burgoyne, iu., 197, 201; part ofthe confederacy favorable to tbe Amer icans, iu., 205, 261 ; inroads upon the frontier, iii, 262, 263, 288 ; SuUivan's ex pedition, in., 287-289 ; further inroads, iii, 329, 359 ; treaty with the United States, iii, 456 ; migration and decline, iu,'543. ¦ ~ ¦ Skene, Colonel, in., 75, 202. Slavery, its introduction into America, i, 44 ; in England, i, 119-120 ; ii., 125, 214, 426, 565 ; in Vurginia, i, 119, 518, 531, 561 ; ii., 177-180, 335, 339, 433, 493-494 ; iii, 393-394; in Maryland, i, 519, 565, 568 ; U., 323 ; iu., 392 ; in Massachusetts, 1, 278, 282; ii, 271, 419, 563; iii, 391: in Coiinecticut,i., 372-; u., 419 ; iu., 392 ; in Rhode Island, i, 373; u., 419; iii, 392; in New Netherland, i, 441; in„New York, ii, 48, 419 ; iii, 394.; in New Jer sey, ii; 419 ; iii, 394 ; in North Carolina, ii, 33, 423 ; iii, 394 ; in Souiib Carolina, ii, 33, 371, 431 ; iii, 394 ; iu Georgia, u., 368, 371, 385, 417, 422 ; in., 395 ; in the colonies generaUy, ii, 419-430. Slave trade, i; 282;'-ii., 214, 329, '427 ; in., 44, 131, 509-530. Smallwood, iii, 126, 146 ; major general, ill., 325 J govemor of Maryland, iii, 478. Smibert, the artist, ii, 350. Smith, John, i, 100 ; in 'Virginia, i., 101, 103, 104, 106, 109-110 ; in New England,. i., 151 ; efforts to promote its settlement, i, 152, 194. Smith, Sir Thomas, i, 87, 112, 118. Society for Propagating the Gospel, ii, - 215, 230, 233, 308-, 537-538. Somers, Lord, ii, 124, 125, 231. Somera, Sir George, i, 99, 109, 111. ' Someraett'a eaae, ii, 565. Sona of Liberty, ii, 529. South Carolina. See Carolina — Bound aries, iii, 532 ; counties, ii, 38 ; consti tution, colonial, ii., 30, 34, 42, 211, 337; state, iu., 129, 275, 375, 376, 377, 378, 379, 381 ; ecclesiastical establishment, u., 32, 212, 230, 232 ; iu., 383. Governors : 1670, 'WiUiam Sayle, ii, 33. 1671, Joseph West, u^ 34. 1671, John Yeamans, ib. 1674, Joseph West, U., 35. INDEX. 587 1683, Joseph Morfeton, u., 36. 1684; Joseph West, ib. 1684, Richard Kyrie, ib. 1684, Joseph West, ib. 1684, Robert duarry, ib. 1685, Joseph Moreton, ib. 1686, James CoUeton, u., 42. 1690, Seth Sothel, u., 43. 1692, Philip LudweU, U., 210. 1693, Thomas Smith, ib. 1695, John Archdale, u., 211. 1696, Joaeph Blake, ii, 212. 1700, James Moore, ii, 228. 1703, Nathaniel Johnson, n., 230. 1709, Edward Tynte, U., 232. 1710, George Gibbs (acting), ib. 1712, Charles Craven, U., 232, 269. 1716, Robert Daniel (acting), u., 285. 1717, Robert Johnson, u., 886-287. 1719, James Moore (acting), ii., 288. 1721, Sir Francis Nicholson, u., 289- 291. 1785, Arthur Middleton (acting), u.,291. 1730, Robert Johnson, u., 337-338. 1735, Thomas Broughton [lieut. gov.), u, 338. 1737, AViUiam BuU (acting), ib. 1743," James Glen;U, 383, 439, 472. 1756, 'WUUam H.Littieton, u,473, 492. 1760, WilliamBuU(ZieM<.g-!W.),ii,493. 1768, Thomas Boone, ib., 498. 1763, WiUiam Bull [lieut.gov.), u.,i93. 1766, Lord Charles Montague, ib. 1769, WUUam BuU (lieut. gov.), ib. ; iu, 94. 1775, Lord WiUiam CampbeU, ui, 94, 131. 1775, John Rutledge [pres.), iii., 129. 1778, Rawlins Lowndes, iu., 275. 1779, John Rutiedge, iU., 379. 1783, John Matthews, iu, 373. 1783, Benjamin Guerard, iii, 434. 1785, 'WUUam Moultrie. 1787, Thomas Pinckney. 17^9, Charles Pinckney, iii., 484. Laws, U., 37, 811, 813, 339, 830, 271, 275, 285, 289, 337, 421 ; hi, 373, 378, 388, 425. Spencer, Joseph, iu., 67 ; major general, in, 146, 160, 853. Spotswood, Governor of Virginia, ii, 340, 367, 876, 377, 336, 337, 378. Staudish, MUes, i, 161, 163, 166, 174, 313. Stark, John, ii, 487 ; iU., 71, 76, 83, 167, 203, 208. State Department. See Foreign Afi'airs. Stepben, Adam, ii, 465 ; iii, 117, 146, 173. Sterling, Lord. See Alexander. Steuben, in., 243, 323, 335, 340. Stockbridge Indians, ii, 389, 446 ; iii, 88. Stoughton, Israel, i, 331, 848, 251, 334. Stoughton, 'WilUam, i, 494, 498, 503 ; ii, 109, 144, 156, 163, 166, 185, 2,49. Suffrage, right of, iu., 381, 506. Suits, territorial, ui, 406, 531, 533. SulUvon, John, iii, 53, 80, 134 ; commands the northern army, iii, 126 ; major gen eral, iii, 146; at Long laland, iii., 149 ; exchanged, iii,- 151, 160 ; at Trenton, iii, 167 ; leads an expedition to Staten Isl and, .iii, 195 ; at Brandywine, iu., 318 ; at Germantown, iu., 323 ; leads an expe dition against Newport, iu., 352 ; against the Six Nations, iU., 887; member of Congreaa, iii, 80, 289 ; governor of New Hampahire, iu., 473. Sumter, ui, 314, 315, 317, 327, 350. Sunday Lawa, in Rhode Island, i, 459 ; in South CaroUna, ii, 37 ; in New York, ii, 46, 192 ; in Pennsylvania, u., 68 ; in Mas sachusetts, u., 169 ; in Virginia, ii, 176 ; in Transylvania,- ii,i., 98 ; in the states generally, iii., 385. Superior, Lake, explored, ii, 92, 574. Susquehanna Company, ii, 445, 571 ; iu., 471. Synods, New England, i, 253, 327, 455, 498; ii, 309; Presbyterian, iu., 55, 481. 343, 575; Talon, ii, 92. Tarleton, Ui, 306, 315, 335, 387, 341, 345, 355, 357. Temple, Thomas, i, 389, 447, 449. Tennessee, first settlements in, u., in., 286. See Frankland, state of Tests, religious, iii, 385. Texas, n., 99, 883. Theatricals in America, ii, 407. Thomas, John, iii, 52, 69, 81; takes the command in Canada, in., 124, 137, 128. Thompson, Charles, u., 472 ; iii., 43, 76. Thury, ii, 139, 187. Tobacco, production and use of, i, 64, 88, 116, 132, 1^8, 131, 133, 173, 181, 197, 215, 364, 514, 520, 560 ; ii., 40, 283. Tonti,' u., 96, 97, 98, 222, 223. Tories, English, i, 567; u., 553; Ameri can, i, 558 ; in Massachusetts, in., 66, 113 ; in Connecticut, iii., 98 ; in Rhode 588 INDEX. Island, iu., 103 ; in New York, iu., 114, 115, 140, 150, 156, 175, 195, 303, 364, 388, 329; in New Jersey, iu., 166, 184; in Pennsylvania, iii, 160, 217, 220, 259 ; in Delaware, in., 161, 196 ; in Maryland, iii., 161 ; iu Virginia, ui, 117 ; in North Carolina, iii, 74, 93 ; risings of, iii, 119, 277, 308, 316, 331, 345, 373 ; in South CaroUna, iu., 94, 329, 373; in Georgia, iu., 373 ; in the colonies generaUy, iu., 57-58, 137, 196, 228, 419 ; emigration of, iu., 439 ; softening toward, iii, 444 ; pro vision for by the. British govemment, ib. See LoyaUst corps. Townsbend, Charles, his scheme of Amer ican taxation, ii., 538. Township system in New England, i., 186, 508. ^ Trade, American: amount of imports and exports at diiferent periods, ii, 213, 329, 432, 559 ; iu., 466. Transylvania, iu., 96, 162. Treasury Department, iii, 89, 123, 265 ; re organized, iu., 295, 361, 403. Trumbull, Jonathan, ui, 335. Trambull, Joseph, iii, 96rl74, 235. Tryon, Governor of North Carolina, ii, 570 ; of New York, ii, 573-573 ; iu., 90, 93 ; major general, iu., 152, 214-215, 282. Tuscaroras, u., 228, 268-270. Uncas, i, 248, '283, 292, 373, 385, 392, 409, 476. UnderhiU, Captain, i, 187, 247, 248, 249, 255, 859 ; his penance, i, 871 ; removes to Connecticut, i, 373 ; serves the Dutch, i, 424-427 ; hostility to tbem, i, 395, 439. Union of the colonies, proposed by Penn, ii, 198; by Coxe, ii, 444; bythe Albany Congress, ii, 443. See Congress ; also. Confederation, New England. UniversaUsts, ii, 578 ; iii, 481. UsseUinx, i, 413. Utrecht, peace of, ii, 275-276. Van Cuyler, i, 429. Van der Donck, 1, 429, 431, 437. Vane, Henry, i, 229 ; governor of Massa chusetts, i., 235, 244, 246, 247, 322, 382, 395, 448, 455. Vasco de Gama, i, 36. VasSall, WiUiam, i., 188, 260, 319, 321, 392. Vergennes, French Minister of ^Foreign Affairs, sends Beaumarchais to London, iii., 177 ; reception of Deana iii, 178 ; ofthe American commissioner, iii, 179 ; offers to treat, iii, 246; guarantees a loan in Holland, iii, 363; disUkes John Adams, iii, 411'; his views as to the diplomatic policy p{ the United States, iU., 414 ; as to the terms of peace, iii, 417 ;. his con duct toward America, iii, 421. Vermont (see New Hampshire Grants), U., 303 ; iii., 74, 200, 407-410. Verrazzani, i, 42. ViUibon, ii., 141, 194, 235. Vine, attempted cultivation of,, in Virginia, i, 133, 128, 130 ; iu Carolina, u., 36. Virginia, discovery, name, and attempted colonization of, 1,81-88 ; North Virginia, i, 90-94. Virginia charter, i., 94. Virginia, London Company of, organiza tion of, i, 99 ; expeditions sent out hy, i, 99, 105, 106, 109, 112, 118, 119 ; charter ot i., 108; supplementary charter, i, 113; dissensions in, i, 122, 186 ; charter for feited, i, 129 ; restoration of applied for, i, 335. Virginia, North, Company of, i, 150. See New England. Virginia, colony and state — Boundaries, i, 94, 206 ; ii, 28 ; iu., 286, 406 ; coun ties, i, 135, 523 ; constitution, colonial, i, 118, 123, 513, 523, 550 ; u., 234, 414 ; state, iu., 132, 374, 376, 377, 381, 384 ; ecclesi astical system, i, 123, 186, 138, 336, 363, 512; ii, 182; iii, 384. Governors': 1611, Lord de 'War, i, 109, 111. 1611, Sir Thomas Dale [dep. gov.), i., 113. , 1611, Sir Thomas Gates [dep. gov.), ib. 1614, Sir Thomas Dale [dep, gov.), i, 116. 1616, George Yeardley [dep. gov.), ib. 1617, Samuel ArgaU [dep. gov.), i, 117. 1619, Sir George Yeardley, i, 117. 1621, Sir Francis 'Wyatt, i, 123. 1626, Sir George Yeardley, i, 130. 1637, Francis 'West (acting), lb. . 1639, John Potts (acting), i, 131. 1629, John Harvey, ib. 1635, John 'West (acting), i, 210. 1636, John West, ib. 1639, Sir Francis Wyatt, ib. 1641, Sir WiUiam Berkeley, i, S39. 1652, Richard Bennet,' i., 357. INDEX. 589 1655, Edward Diggs, i, 361. 1656, [Samuel Mathews, i, 363. 1660, Sir WiUiam B erkeley, i., 366, 511. 1662, Francis Moryson (acting), i, 511. 1663, Sur WiUiam Beiteley, i., 517, 531, 533-524, 531-555. 1677, Herbert Jefi'reys [lieut. gov.), i,, 555. 1678, Sir Henry Chicheley [dep. gov.), i, 557. 1680, Lord Culpepper, i, 558. 1684, Lord Howard of Effingham, i., 562-564; ii, 173. 1688, Nathaniel Bacon (acting), i, 564. 1690, Francis Nicholson [lieut. gov.), ii., 173. 1692, Sir Edmund Andros, ii, 181. 1698, Francis Nicholson, U., 208. 1705, Edward Nott, ii., 335. 1706, Edmund Jennings, ii, 340. 1710, Alexander Spotswood [lieut. gov.), ii., 340, 868, 326-328. 1722, Hugh Drysdale [lieut. gov,), ii, 329. 1727, 'William Gouch [lieut. gov.), ii, 329, 340. 1749, Thomas Lee (acting), ii., 437. 1750, Lewis Burwell (acting), ib. 1752, Robert Dinwiddle [lieut. gov .), ib. 1758, Francis Fauquier [lieut, gov,), ii, 508. 1768, Lord Boutetourt, u., 545. 1770, 'WiUiam Nelson (acting). 1773, Lord Dunmore, ii, 563. 1775, 1776, Provincial Convention, iii, 93, 117, 132. 1776, Patrick Henry, iii, 135. 1779, Thomas Jefferson, iii., 286, 339, 356, 357, 371. 1781, Thomas Nelson, iu., 357, 371. 1781, Benjamin Harrison, iii., 371. 1784, Patrick Henry, iu., 470. 1786, Edmund Randolph, iii, 483. 1788, Beverly Randolph, iii, 538. Judiciary, i, 118, 123, 127, 337, 513, 523, 557 ; ni, 378, 379 ; laws, i, 112, 126, 132, 335, 363, 511 ; ii., 175-180, 235-240, 414 ; iii, 388, 392. Waldron, Major, i., 490 ; ii, 128. Walloons, first settlers on Long Island, i, 141. ¦Wampum, i., 269, 384. Wampanoags, i., 161, 476, 491. War, department of, iii, 134, 226, 235, 405, 453, 456. Ward, Artemaa, iii, 48 ; captain general of Massachusetts Bay, iii, 69; Continental major general, iii, 80, 122. Ward, Nathaniel, i, 225, 271, 274, 381. Warner, Seth, ii., 573 ; iu., 75, 198, 200, 203. Warren, Joseph, U., 560 ; Ui, 82, 83, 85. Wars, Indian. See Indian wars. Wars, intercolonial — First, ii, 126-137, 141, 183, 187, 193-196.— Seoond, u., 227- 231, 251-254, 258-26?, 265-267, 275-376. —Third, ii, 376-379, 382-383, 394 ; cap ture of Louisburg, ii., 395-398, 399-401, 403, 404.— Fourth, (1754), battie of Great Meadows, ii, 442; (1755), expatriation of the French neutrals, ii., 457-459 ; Brad dock's defeat, ii., 460-461 ; battle of Lake George, ii, 462-463 ; Shirley's expedi tion to Niagara, ii, 461-462, 464 ; (1756), capture of Oswego hy the French, ii., 470; (1757), Loudon's expedition against Louisburg, ii, 474 ; Fort William Henry taken by the French, ii, 475 ; (1758), cap ture of Louisburg, ii., 482; battle of Ti conderoga, ii, 483 ; capture of Fort Fron tenac, ib. ; capture of Fort du duesne, u., 484-485 ; (1759), capture of Ticonde roga and Crown Point, ii., 486 ; capture of Fort Niagara, ii, 488 ; battle of the Heights of Abraham — capture of due- bee, U., 488-491 ; (1760), battie of Sillery, ii, 495; capture of Montreal, ii., 496; (1761), expedition to the West Indies, ii., 500 ; (1762), capture of Havana, ii., 501. War of the Revolution— (1775), battle of Lexington, iii, 67; capture of Ticonde roga and Crown Point, iii, 75 ; battle of Bunker Hill, iii, 82 ; capture of St. John's and Montreal, iii, 103 ; assault on due- bee, iii, 104 ; battle of Great Bridge, iii, 117 ; (1776), of Moore's Creek Bridge, ni, 119; British expelled from Boston, iii., 121; affair ofthe Cedars.iU., 128 ; Thomp son's defeat, iii, 138 ; battle of Long Isl and; iii, 148 ; New York abandoned, iu., 153 ; battle of White Plains, iu., 154 ; Fort Washington stormed, iu., 155; Fort Lee abandoned, iii, 156j retreat through the Jerseys, ui, 156-158; Lee taken pris oner, iii, 159 ; Newport occupied bythe British, iii, 159 ; battle of Trenton, iii, 167 ; (1777), battle of Princeton, iu., 168 ; British expedition up the Hudson, iu. 590 INDEX. 187 ; battle of Boundbrook, ib. ; battle of Danbary, iii, 188 ; Meigs's expedition to Long Island, ib. ; capture of Prescott, in., 189 ; expedition to Staten Island, in., 195; Tioonderoga abandoned, iu., 197; battle of Hubbardton, iii, 198 ; siege and battle of Fort Sohuyler, iii, 301 ; battle of Bennington, iu., 803'; Fort Schuyler relieved, iii, 305; firet battle of Beh mus's Heights, iii., 806-207; Burgoyne's communications cut off, iii, 308; second battle of B ehmus's Heights, in., 809-310 ; retreat of Burgoyne, iii, 311 ; forts in the Highlands taken hy the British, iii, 213 ; Burgoyne's capitulation, iii, 814 ; battle of Brandywine, iu., 818-319 ; Phil adelphia abandoned, iii, 381 ; battle of Germantown, ui, 833 ; defense of Red Bank, iii, 885; the British gain com mand of the Delaware, ib. ; winter quar ters at VaUey Forge, iii, 231 ; (1778), Philadelphia evacuated by the Britiah, iii, 249 ; battle of Monmouth, iii, 250 ; expedition againat Newport, iii., 253 ; battle of Rhode laland, ui, 254; skfr- mishes aud surprises in New Jersey, iu., 257 ; Kaskaskia taken, iii, 260-261 ; Wyoming and Cherry VaUey, iii, 262- 263 ; invasion of Florida, iii., 264 ; inva sion of Georgia, ib.; British detachment from New York enters the Savannah, ni., 275 ; (1779), Howe's defeat— Savan nah takeu and Georgia subdued, iii., 276 ; Tory rising in North Carolina, iii., 277 ; Vincennes taken hy Clarke, iii, '284; battie of Briar Creek, iii., 278 ; South Carolina invaded, iii, 279 ; Charleaton inveated,iii., 380; battle of Stono Ferry, ib. ; Virginia plundered by Matthewa, iii., 281 ; British expedition up the Hud son, ib. ; Connecticut 'plundered, iii, 282 ; surprise of Stony Point, ib. ; Penobscot expedition, iii, 283 ; Natchez and Mo bile taken by the Spaniards, ui, 293 ; aur prise of Paulas Hook, ib.; expeditions against the Six Nations, iu., 387-289; Newport evacuated, iii, 294 ; siege and assault of Savannah, ib. ; (1780), South CaroUna invaded, iii, 305; siege and capitulation of Charleston, iii., 306 ; Bu ford surprised, iii., 307 ; LoyaUat rising in North Carolina, iii, 308; battie of Springfield, Ui., 310 ; French auxUiary armyblockadedinNewport, in., 311; bat tle of Camden, iii, 313 ; partisan corps in the South, iii, 313, 315, 317, 327, 329, 351 ; Sumter's defeat, iu., 315 ; treachery of Amold, iu., 319; North Carolina invad ed, iii, 325; battle of King's Mountain, ui, 326 ; (1781), revolt of'the Pennsylva- . nia and New Jersey lines, iu., 337, 338 ; Virginia plundered by Amold, iii, ^39 ; ijattle of the Cowpens, iii, 342; Mor gan's and Greene's retreat, iii, 343-344 ; 'Wilmington occupied by the Brilish, iii, 344; advance of Greene; Tories cut to piecea, iii, 344, 345 ; battle of Guilford, Ui, 346 ; battle of Hobkirk'a HiU, iu., 349 , siege of Ninety-aix, iu., 350; Pensacola taken bythe Spaniards, iii, 353 ; Clarke's operations in the West, ib. ; Virginia 'plundered by Phillips, iii., 354 ; La Fay ette in Virginia, ib. ; Cornwallis in Vir ginia, iii, 355-357 ; 'Washington and the French army march for Virginia, Ui, 362; battle of Eutaw, in., 364; North Carolina Toriea, iii, 366 ; attack>pn New London, iii., 368 ; capture of CornwaUis, iii, 369-370 ; WUmington evacuated, ui, 373; (1782),' 'Wayne enters Georgia, ui, 434 ; Savannah evacuated, ib."; Charles ton evacuated, iii., 425; (1783), mutiny at PhUadelphia, iii., 436 ; New York evac uated, iii., 441. Warwick, Eari of (Lord Rich), i.,117, 118, 177, 217, 304, 306. Warwick. See Shawomet. Washington, John, i, 537. 'Washington, George, carries a message to the French on the AUegauy, ii., 438 ; lieutenant colonel, ii, 441 ; coUisiou with a French party, ib. ; succeeds to the chief command; surrenders Fort Ne cessity, and retires, ii, 443 ; quits the service, U., 447; aid-de-camp to Brad- dock, u., 460, 461 ; gratuity voted to him, ii., 465 ; colonel, ib. ; visit to Boston, ii, 466; his defense ofthe Virginia frontier, ii, 468, 474 ; member of the Continental Congress, iii, 42 ; chosen commander- in-chief, iii, 80 ; in the camp before Bos ton, ui, 85, 107, 121 ; at New York, ui, 140, 147-150; at Harlem Heights, iu., 150-152 ; evacuates the city, iu., -153 ; crosses the Hudson, iii, 155 ; retreats through the Jerseys, iU., 157 ; crosses tbe Delaware, iii, 158 ; his views re specting a petmanent army, iii, 163 ; INDEX. 591 dictatorial powera, iii., 166 ; at Trenton, iii, 167, 168 ; at Princeton, in., 169 ; at Morristown, ^ii, 170; at Philadelphia, iii, 192, 216 ; at Wilmington, iu, 217 ; driven from the Brandywine, iu., 218 ; abandons PhUadelphia, iu., 221 ; extra ordinary powers, ib. ; at Germantown, iu., 233 ; defense of the Delaware, Ui., 224 ; sends for aid to the northern de partment, iii, 225 ; at VaUey Forge, ui, 231, 248; cabal against him, iu., 232-235; at Monmouth, iii, 349 ; crosses the Hud son, iii, 353 ; winter quarters, 1778-1779, iii, 358; at PhUadelphia, iu, 370; his de nunciation of monopolizers, iii, 272 ; win ter quarters, 1779-1780, iu., 395 ; anxie ty, iu., 318 ; recommends half pay for Ufe, ,lii, 334; suppresses the New Jersey re volters, iii, 339 ; marches against Corn waUis, iii, 353 ; hia opinion of slavery, ui., 393 ; answer to tbe proposal to make him king, iu., 433 ; his course oh the half- pay question, in., 431 ; fareweU letter to the states, iii, 440 ; parting with his offi cers, iu., 441 ; his accounts, ib. ; resigns his commission, iii., 442 ; presides over the Federal Convention, iii, 483, 535, 536 ; chosen President of the United States, lu., 546. "Wayne, Anthony, colonel, iii, 109, 188 ; brigadier, iii, 173, 318, 220, 337, 356, 371, 424. 'Welde, i, 196, 257, 263, 874, 382. West, Benjamin, ii, 513. West, Francis, admiral of New England, i., 168; govemor of Virginia, i, 130. 'West India Company, Dutch, i, 140, 487, 433; French, u, 91. West Indies, discovered and named, i, 33 ; Spanish colonies in, i, 39 ; EngUsh aud French settlements in, i, 133, 283, 284, 355, 391 ; ii, 276, 279, 502 ; warlike op erations in, i, 355, 391 ; u., 377, 382, 500, 501 ; iu, 292-293, 332, 366. West Jersey, li., 58, 59, 207. 'Weston, Thomas, i, 157, 165, 170. ¦Wesley, Charies, ii, 369 ; John, U., 369-370, 390, 578. 'Weymouth, voyage of, i, 93. WhaUey, the regicide, i, 448. Wheelwright, i, 245, 246, 247, 253, 254, 355, 258, 259, 273. Whigs and Tories (party names), i, 567 ; a., 552. See Tories. White HiUs, i.,.285. Whitfield, George, u., 385, 388, 390, 396, 518. Wilkinson, iu., 215, 234. WiUiam III., U, 115, 124, 127, 133, 164, 217, 218. WUUams, Rogtr, i, 188, 191, 222 ; doctrine of soul-liberty, i, 223, 237 ; banished, i, 228 ; flight, i, 230 ; at Providence, ib. ; embassy to the Narragansets, i., 240 ; a Baptist, then a Seeker, i, 889 ; visit to England, i, 291, 304 ; again at Provi dence, i, 306, 312, 323 ; remonstrances with Massachusetts, i, 384, 398 ; aecond visit to England, i., 379, 382, 394 ; again at Providence, ii, 395 ; president, ii., 396, 397, 398, 399 ; his dispute with the duakers, i, 473 ; captain in Philip's war, i, 487. 'Williams, Colonel Ephraim, ii, 463. Williams, Colonel Otho, commands the light troopa of Greene, -iii, 344; briga dier, iU., 372. 'WUUamaburg, ii, 209, 414. Williamaon, speeches and motions hi th^ Federal Convention, iii, 498, 499, 513, 517, 518, 519. WUson, John, first minister of Boston, i, 187, 244, 245, 248, 327, 380, 382, 383. WUson, James, ui, 72, 73, 133, 259, 297 ; speeches and motions in the Federal Convention, in., 487, 489, 490, 491, 493, 498, 500, 501, 506, 507, 517, 519, 521, 522 ; sustains the Conatitutioniu the Pennsyl vania Convention, iii, 536. Winslow, Edwai'd, visit to Massasoit, i, 162; voyage to Monhiggon,!., 164; sec ond visit to Maasasoit, i, 166 ; agent for New Plymouth, i, 170 ; second visit to England; imprisonment, i, 226 ; govem or of New Plymouth, i, 231, 286 ; agent for Massachusetta, i, 317, 319, 322, 323, 324 ; commissioner for Jamaica, i, 390, 391. 'Winslow, Josiah, i, 485. Winslow, General, i, 456, 469. 'Winthrop, John, i, 178'; govei-nor of Mas- aacbusetts, i, 183, 246, 279, 385, 315, 321 ; deputy govemor, i, 199, 302, 307 ; mem ber of the Standing Council for Life, i, 234, 307 ; opposes Mrs. Hutchinson, i, 244 ; gift to, i, 264 ; letter to Lord Say, i; 280-281; affair of Gorton, i, 295 ; affafr of La Tour and D'Aulney; i, 300-302, 592 INDEX. 304, 316 ; affair of the Bingham militia, i., 307 ; his speech, i., 308 ; affair of Child and other petitioners, i, 319-320 ; his ac count of the opening of the synod, i, 387-328 ; his death and journal, i, 329. Winthrop, John, the younger, i, 194, 339 ; founds New London, i., 335 ; his connec tion with the duaker persecution, i, 407 ; govemor of Connecticut, i, 394, 444, 456, 460 ; obtains the Connecticut charter, i, 456. Winthrop, Fitz-John, general, ii., 134; agent, ii, 184 ; govemor, ii., 195. Winthrop, 'Wait, U., 156. Winthrop, John, ii., 348. Witamo, squaw-saoheni, i, 489. Witchcraft, i., 278, 378, 399; ii, 145; in Newbury, ii., 147 ; in Charlestown, ii, 149 ; in Salem and Andover, ii., 158, 156, 161, 163. 'Witherspoon, ui, 55. Wolfe, General, ii, 486, 488-491. WoodhuU, ii, 483; iu., 78, 150. Wooster, David, major general of Connec ticut, in., 67 ; marches to New York, iii.. 79; Continentalbrigadier,iii., 81; march es to Albany, iii, 91 ; to Canada, iu., 103 ; resigns, iii., 134 ; killed, iii, 188. Writs of Assistance, ii., 499. Wyandots, i., 53 ; ii, 88 ; iii, 456 Wyoming, purchased by the Susquehan na Company, ii, 445 ; settlements in, ii, 571; jurisdiction disputed, ib.; ravaged by Indians and Tories, iii, 368 ; jurisdic tion' of, assigned to Pennsylvania, iii., 406 ; disturbances in, iii., 406, 471. Wythe, George, n., 524; iii, 126, 483. Yamassees, ii, 228, 269, 276/ 289. Yellow fever, in Boston, ii, 167 ; in Phila delphia and Charleston, ii, 205 ; in North Carolina, ii, 269. Yorktown, occupied by CornwaUis, iii, 358 ; siege and surrender of, iii, 369- 370. Zenger, his trial for libel, ii, 359. Zubly, Rev. Dr., in., 95, 134. ' Zwanandal, i, 143. THE END. ERRATA. VOL. I. Page 4S, line 17 from bottom, for " Vasquez Coronada,'' read " Vasquez Coronado." Page 49, Une 3 from top, for " Coronada," read " Coronado;" Une 9 from top, for " Coronada's," read " Coronado's." Page 241, Une 8 from top, for " Narragansets,'' read " Pequods.'' Page 319, line 13 from bottom, for "Prince," read " Bradford." Page 333, line 6 from top, for " thirteenth," read " thirtieth." Page 405, line 5 from bottom, for " President Amold had succeeded WiUiams as governor," read " Benedict Ampld had succeeded WiUiams as president." VOL. II. Page 175, first line. The only present of money made by William III. to the Virginia College was the £2000, $10,000, of outstanding quit-rents, which makes the parsimonious objection of Seymour still more strikirig. The authority for the anecdote is Franklin in his Meinoirs. Page 473, first line. The fort mentioned at the top of the page was not* Fort Loudon, but Fort Chissel, on the Houlston, built iu 1758. Fort Lon don had been built the year before, more to the south, at the junction of the TeUico with the Tennessee, in .what is now Monroe county. Page 518, Une 15 from bottom, for "Lord GrenviUe," read "George.* GrenviUe." Page 556, line 8 'from bottom, for " Francis North," read " Frederic North." ? Page 575, Une 3 from top, for "James Robinson,'' read "James Robert son." ¦' f .^ VOL. III. Page 162, line 11 from top, for "James Robinson," read "James Rob ertson." Page 285, last line, for "James Kol^son," read "James Robertson." YALE UNIVERSITY 39002 0037957148b